By Charles Gardner —
The election of a Muslim as First Minister of Scotland has come as quite a shock to the British public in general, though few would probably admit it.
Not many were even aware that Humza Yousaf was in the wings for leadership of the Scottish National Party, which has majority representation in the devolved Edinburgh parliament, set up to run its own affairs on a host of issues.
Is this a sign of increasing Islamic influence in the nation as a whole? Undoubtedly, but there is more to it.
The UK has never been so secular – atheistic humanism is the new religion widely reflected by the mainstream media and liberal elite.
The irony, however, is that the election of a successor to Nicola Sturgeon following her recent resignation was a very close-run race. Kate Forbes, a delightful young lady who also happens to be a highly committed born-again Christian, was the front-runner until the ‘wokerati’ called her out for being a God-fearer (what could she have been thinking?) and all hell broke loose.
Yet despite this, she very nearly clinched the top job with 48 per cent of the votes. As the Aberdeen-based Press and Journal put it (she is from that part of the country), she snatched defeat from the jaws of victory!
Humza Yousaf, for his part, had failed in some of his previous ministerial roles, according to commentators who know more about Scottish politics than me (despite my Scottish ancestry).
What’s more, he has even served as media spokesman for Islamic Relief Worldwide, which the Israeli government has designated a ‘terrorist front’.
He has accused Israel of “killing innocent civilians” and referred to “starvation of the Gaza population and continuing human rights abuses”.
In 2008 he met with Hamas leader Mohammad Sawalha (also known as Abu Obaida) at a UK event, according to the Jewish Chronicle.
His grandparents settled in Scotland from the Punjab over 60 years ago and his wife’s family lives in Gaza.
Although, at just 37, older than his finance minister rival Kate Forbes, currently on maternity leave, he is the first Muslim to lead a major UK party, only months after Rishi Sunak became the first ever Hindu to become British Prime Minister.
Nevertheless, what I’m saying is that the wicked world of woke is the really big factor dictating the downward slide of Britain as the foundations of our Judeo-Christian civilization continue to crumble at the hands of a relative minority of hard-nosed God-haters.
The poisonous political correctness of the ‘progressive’ lobby is so lethal that the man and woman in the street is paralyzed into silence, fearful of being called out for being homophobic, Islamophobic, transphobic or whatever. Being antisemitic doesn’t seem to count with the liberal left.
Both homophobia and Islamophobia will most certainly have played a role in the Scottish poll. Kate Forbes bravely stood up squarely for her Christian beliefs and made it clear she was against same-sex marriage.
She was duly attacked by a colleague for her “socially conservative views on issues like gay marriage and abortion”.
On top of which, as is usually the case where Muslims are concerned, the elephant in the room is not addressed by journalists and fellow politicians – for fear of being accused of Islamophobia. After all, Muslims don’t believe in same-sex relationships either.
You can’t win. Yet the amazing thing is that Kate very nearly did. Fortunately, Scotland has a great Christian heritage, a size-able vestige of which would have counted in her favor.
London, however, 400 miles south of the seat of Scottish power, is a somewhat different animal (quite apart from the fact that almost twice as many people live there as in the whole of Scotland).
Costly celebrations were mounted along its streets to celebrate Ramadan, reflecting a significant Islamic influence in the capital, symbolized by its Muslim mayor Sadiq Khan.
Muslims have even moved into areas once considered very Jewish, provoking many residents to move out of the city following reported antisemitic incidents.
Is such Muslim incursion a harbinger for all of Europe? I guess so, although France has for some time been inundated with Muslim immigrants from their former North African colonies. And this has clearly contributed to a major spike in antisemitism which, as already mentioned, has also been a significant problem in suburban London in recent years.
That said, the presence of Muslims in the UK is seen by serious Christians, not as a threat, but as an opportunity to witness to the abundant life offered to all by our Jewish Messiah, Yeshua. (Bear in mind that London also has a thriving Christian community, led to a great extent by the vibrant black Pentecostals from Nigeria, the Caribbean and elsewhere.)
We Christians certainly do not hate Muslims (which is what the term Islamophobia is supposed to mean). On the contrary, we love them, because Jesus calls us to do so! And rightly so, because they are precious in his sight. With so many Muslims discovering the Messiah in other parts of the world, including the Middle East, why not here in Britain too?
