As President Bush begins his second term, it may well be time for him to turn towards the European Theatre of Operations in the Global War on Terrorism. By this I do not, of course, refer to any attempt to mollify those European nations who foolishly opposed this President and his initiatives, but rather to the more insidious problem which threatens the very future of European freedom and, by extension, the security of the rest of the world.

That threat, to put it simply, is Islam. What their ancestors failed to win by the sword the Moslems of today are conquering by infiltration. If present trends are allowed to continue it seems inescapable to me that, in no more than a few decades, much of Europe will be Islamic.

It is believed that roughly 13% of France’s population consists of Moslems. Up to a third of young people in France today are of the Islamic faith. Think about that for a second. Our media doesn’t like talking about this because they fear being accused of bigotry and the like, but it’s important. The rise of Islam in Europe is the one of the most important news stories of our age and, certainly, one of the least reported-on.

Why is Islam a threat? Simply put: Islam, as it is practiced today in Europe and most of the world, appears to be incompatible with Western democracy. It is possible to combine Islam with democracy: Turkey and Malaysia will attest to that. But it is only possible to create this combination under certain conditions.

But what do Turkey and Malaysia have in common? I can answer in one word: authoritarianism. When Islam and democracy have been combined it has been with the presence of both authoritarian leadership and in the absence of any major religious strife. The world’s major Islamic democracy, Indonesia, is too young too make any judgements. The same goes for Afghanistan and, God willing, Iraq. But, if they do succeed, it will only be with a strong hand to guide them.

The question that we must ask is this: are Islam and democratic pluralism compatible? My best guess is that they are not. In a society where a strong leader exercises a high degree of control it’s possible that an Islamic democracy may survive and prosper. But is it likely or possible for Islam and a liberal, Western, democracy to co-exist? I’m not so sure.

Take a look at Holland. A filmmaker produces a film critical of Islam (specifically the beating of women in Islam!) and, in response, he’s murdered by a gang of thugs. Now, I’m sure that Holland’s Moslems will officially condemn this act, I’m quite sure they will. But I’m also certain that what they have to say privately will be different altogether.

It’s a familiar pattern now for those of us who’ve been following this closely over three long years. Moslems commit some crime or atrocity. Then Moslem authorities express shock and explain to us that hacking off heads and putting the video on the internet is a violation of Islam. Then, when they think no one’s watching, they go into their Mosque and shout that God is great, the Jews are vermin, and the infidel must be fought. Then, when it’s all exposed, all the congregants explain what a wise man their Imam is and how they’d never heard him say such a thing. Then whoever said that thing which wasn’t supposed to be heard says that they were misunderstood. Then the media drops the matter. Then the process repeats.

The problem is this: Islam is both a religion and a political ideology. Since the leaders of the “tolerant” West have a particular fondness for non-Christian (and these days, non-Jewish) religions, they’re unwilling to face up to Islam’s political implications. Thus, they’re willing to take pronouncements made by Islamic leaders in less-than-good faith at face value. And so the cycle goes on.

Because of the nature of Islam, it takes a degree of authoritarianism to keep it in check that Western leaders are incapable of exercising against anyone, let alone a religious minority. Thus, the problem continues to fester.

So long as Moslems are only a small percentage of the people this is a threat, because it may breed terrorism, but probably not a mortal one. However when, as in Europe today, Moslems are a major component of the population: then the threat becomes much more serious. I really don’t see how France as we know it survives with a population that is a third Islamic.

Already, this is a major factor in French decision-making. Don’t think that the French intransigence over Iraq or their support for the Palestinians is simply a matter of French anti-Americanism and corruption. Far more important in the matter was France’s Islamic population. Whole sectors of Paris are already essentially no-go zones for the police. What would have happened in those places had the French government supported the invasion of Iraq? France is becoming more anti-American not simply because that is how France is, but because France is becoming Algeria North.

So, what is to be done? I don’t think that Le Pen has the answer. Though, I hasten to add that, were I a French patriot, I’d probably support him. Simply put: deporting as many as eight million people in a population of sixty million is not a practical solution. I don’t think it’s practical for the three hundred million Americans to deport eight million illegals- and I don’t expect that the American illegals would become suicide bombers if we tried! Calls for deportation in France are, at this point, essentially calls for a Yugoslavian-style Civil War.

It may come to that: I don’t know. It may come to that in Holland too: I don’t know. The situation is a grim one and some sort of horrific end may be inescapable. There is still hope, but it’s fading.

If there is hope, I’m not sure where it can be found. In France the situation appears to be inescapable. In other parts of Europe perhaps a freeze on immigration from Islamic nations might help. But something must be done. This must be talked about.

Even North America won’t escape. In Canada the numbers of Moslems soared from just over 200,000 in the 1991 census to about 600,000 in the 2001 census. It’s entirely possible that, within a decade, Moslems might be 10% of the Canadian population. And who knows where we go from there?

The greatest demographic change in generations is occurring and we’re not talking about it out of a misplaced sense of sensitivity.

It’s time to talk.