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Europe's New Official History Erases Christianity, Promotes Islam

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  • "The patrons of the false Europe are bewitched by superstitions of inevitable progress. They believe that History is on their side, and this faith makes them haughty and disdainful, unable to acknowledge the defects in the post-national, post-cultural world they are constructing." — The Paris Statement, signed by ten respected European scholars.
  • German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière's proposal to introduce Muslim public holidays shows that when it comes to Islam, Europe's official "post-Christian" secularism is simply missing in action.
A few days ago, some of Europe's most important intellectuals -- including British philosopher Roger Scruton, former Polish Education Minister Ryszard Legutko, German scholar Robert Spaemann and Professor Rémi Brague from the Sorbonne in France -- issued "The Paris Statement". In their ambitious statement, they rejected the "false Christendom of universal human rights" and the "utopian, pseudo-religious crusade for a borderless world". Instead, they called for a Europe based on "Christian roots", drawing inspiration from the "Classical tradition" and rejecting multiculturalism:
"The patrons of the false Europe are bewitched by superstitions of inevitable progress. They believe that History is on their side, and this faith makes them haughty and disdainful, unable to acknowledge the defects in the post-national, post-cultural world they are constructing. Moreover, they are ignorant of the true sources of the humane decencies they themselves hold dear — as do we. They ignore, even repudiate the Christian roots of Europe. At the same time they take great care not to offend Muslims, who they imagine will cheerfully adopt their secular, multicultural outlook".
In 2007, reflecting on the cultural crisis of the continent, Pope Benedict said that Europe is now "doubting its very identity". In 2017, Europe took a further step: creating a post-Christian pro-Islam identity. Europe's official buildings and exhibitions have indeed been erasing Christianity and welcoming Islam.
One kind of official museum recently opened by the European Parliament, the "House of the European History", costing 56 million euros. The idea was to create a historical narrative of the postwar period around the pro-EU message of unification. The building is a beautiful example of Art Deco in Brussels. As the Dutch scholar Arnold Huijgen wrote, however, the house is culturally "empty":
"The French Revolution seems to be the birthplace of Europe; there is little room for anything that may have preceded it. The Napoleonic Code and the philosophy of Karl Marx receive a prominent place, while slavery and colonialism are highlighted as the darker sides of European culture (...) But the most remarkable thing about the House is that.as far as its account is concerned, it is as if religion does not exist. In fact, it never existed and never impacted the history of the continent (...) No longer is European secularism fighting the Christian religion; it simply ignores every religious aspect in life altogether".
The Brussels bureaucracy even deleted the Catholic roots of its official flag, the twelve stars symbolizing the ideal of unity, solidarity and harmony among the peoples of Europe. It was drawn by the French Catholic designer Arséne Heitz, who apparently took his inspiration from the Christian iconography of Virgin Mary. But the European Union's official explanation of the flag makes no mention of these Christian roots.
The European Monetary and Economic Department of the European Commission then ordered Slovakia to redesign its commemorative coins by eliminating the Christian Saints Cyril and Methonius. There is no mention of Christianity in the 75,000 words of the aborted draft of the European Constitution.
The European Commission ordered Slovakia to redesign its commemorative coins by eliminating the Christian Saints Cyril and Methonius. (Image sources: Coin - European Commission; Bratislava, Slovakia - Frettie/Wikimedia Commons)
German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière, of Angela Merkel's ruling Christian Democratic Party, recently suggested introducing Muslim public holidays. "In places where there are many Muslims, why can't we think about introducing a Muslim public holiday?", he said.
"The submission is moving ahead," replied Erika Steinbach, the influential former chair of the Federation of Expellees -- Germans expelled from various Eastern European countries during and after World War II.
Beatrix von Storch, a leading politician from Alternative for Germany Party (AfD), just tweeted: "NO! NO! NO!".
De Maizière's proposal shows that when it comes to Islam, Europe's official "post-Christian" secularism is simply missing in action.
A few weeks ago, a European Union-funded exhibition, "Islam, It's also our history!", was hosted in Brussels. The exhibition tracks the impact of Islam in Europe. An official statement claims:
"The historical evidence displayed by the exhibition – the reality of an old-age Muslim presence in Europe and the complex interplay of two civilisations that fought against each other but also interpenetrated each other – underpins an educational and political endeavour: helping European Muslims and non Muslims alike to better grasp their common cultural roots and cultivate their shared citizenship".
Isabelle Benoit, a historian who helped design the exhibition, told AP: "We want to make clear to Europeans that Islam is part of European civilisation and that it isn't a recent import but has roots going back 13 centuries".
The official European establishment has turned its back on Christianity. The establishment appear unaware of the extent to which the continent and its people still depend on the moral guidance of its humanitarian values, especially at a time when radical Islam has launched a civilization challenge to the West. "It is simply a problem of a packing that tends to fill a 'void'", just wrote Ernesto Galli della Loggia in the Italian daily newspaper Il Corriere della Sera.
"It is impossible to ignore that behind the packing are two great theological and political traditions -- that of the Russian Orthodoxy and Islam -- while behind the 'void' there is only the fading of the Christian consciousness of the European West".
That is why it is hard to understand the "logic" behind the official European animosity toward Christianity and its attraction to a basically totalitarian Islam. Europe could easily be secular without being militantly anti-Christian. It is easier to understand why thousands of Poles just took part in a mass protest along Poland's borders to voice their opposition to "secularization and Islam's influence", which is exactly the same as the official crazy EU credo.
During the Second World War, the Allies avoided bombing Brussels, because it was to be the site of European rebirth. If the European elite continue with this cultural repudiation of their Judeo-Christian-Humanistic culture, the city could be its grave.
Giulio Meotti, Cultural Editor for Il Foglio, is an Italian journalist and author.
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15 Reader Comments

Jeff PageOct 18, 2017 at 12:46
All we keep hearing from Brussels since the UK voted to LEAVE THE EU is that the organisation has been a guiding force and that since it's inception no European country has gone to war with another. However, it won't be countries that will need to fear war, but the people themselves, particularly in those countries that foolishly allowed thousands upon thousands of uncivilised Muslims to be housed within them! The fact that there are more and more attacks on Christian views and values by apparent "Intellectuals" says it all! Senility is raising its ugly head within many establishments where these "Intellectuals" voice their wisdom and twisted versions of reality as they see it. It's, a well known, fact that Arab money is being used to further the conquest of Islam in Europe and there will always be willing individuals wanting to get a slice of it. And many "Intellectuals" will be feathering their retirement nests. This is happening all over Europe and the US, there is, a ready, made, army, of people, only too willing to betray their fellow man for a handful of cash. The word "Parasite" comes to mind!
It is becoming glaringly obvious that it is the intention of European Politicians to replace the indigenous people and Christianity with Muslims and the horrors of Islam. They are using the terror threat as a weapon against their own people in order to achieve their aim. Of course, they are hoping to survive the takeover and become Islam's best friend, keep their jobs and also get rich out of it. The good thing, is, that, they along with the lefties, will, in fact, be the first people that the Muslims get rid of!
It does look as though the whole of western Europe will be taking a giant step backwards, the lunatics will be in charge of the asylum, and the aim of the EU by attempting to become totally multicultural will shoot itself in the head because the continent, will be run by a totalitarian regime worshipping Islam and a Paedophile Prophet!
Thankfully, in many countries of Europe, there is resistance building, and eventually, the lunatics will be removed and locked in secure asylums.
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C. W.Oct 18, 2017 at 11:32
Those who forget the lessons of history are doomed to repeat its errors. Christians have maintained that Christianity is the only way to God--as He is--and eternal life. If the people in general, and Christians, have allowed themselves and their society in Europe to drift away from their faith, a false, totalitarian belief system will take over. The people will be little more than slaves, freedom of speech will be gone with the wind.
It could happen in America, too, if we don't stay watch out.
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Hans LembølOct 18, 2017 at 11:27
Islam is NOT a part of European culture, nor of Europe's history apart from the fact that the Osmannian Empire tried to conquer Europe and was stopped at the gates of Vienna, and that a part of Spain was under Islamic rule until it was eventually liberated.
Neither our literature, our music, our science, our ideas of freedom and democracy have in any way been been positively influenced by Islam.
Islam does not belong here. It is an ideology that stands contrary to our Judeo-Christian culture in each and every aspect.
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Elizabeth LawsonOct 18, 2017 at 11:17
Once again we see the arrogance of the few against the many in the matter of European Christian history and culture. In spite of the perfectly dreadful, brutal and uncivilized history of Islam during its many incursions into Europe, it appears that some European "intellectuals" are now attempting to establish the primacy of Islam as an organizing principle of European culture. As the Scots would say, "bad cess" to them, and yes, these elites may well indeed have sounded the death knell for Brussels by their unworthy and obtuse conduct. One cannot help wondering if removal of. Christian history, as well as totalitariansm, was not the goal of these elites all along? The response to their outrageous proposals should be a resounding rejection by all we who are Christian. Poland, Hungary, and other Christian countries have led the way in defence of their Judeo Christian history and culture thus far. It is now time for the rest of we of the great common weal to follow suit.
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MichaelOct 18, 2017 at 10:56
It is hard to understand the "logic" behind the official European animosity toward Christianity and its attraction to a basically totalitarian Islam.
Is that so? Unlike secular humanism, Islam is the only belief system alternative to Judaeo-Christianity which has any coherence and persuasive power. I believe that the European elites are convinced that Islam is the one true religion. They're just not yet ready to go public.
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Edward ClineOct 18, 2017 at 10:20
Two of the most prominent newspapers in the U.S. are notorious for publishing "fake news." And now the EU is promoting "fake history." To paraphrase Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty-Four": "Europe has never been at war with Islam. Islam has always been an ally of Europe. Islam has always been a part of Europe's history." True, but in what role? Such as in the invasion of Europe, such as in the kidnapping and enslaving of about two million Europeans from European coastal towns by Islamic corsairs? And so on. The depredations committed by Europe's "ally" are practically endless. The depth and scope of the self-hatred of European governments is so depraved that those guilty of it should be committed to insane asylums.
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Juanita SkeltonOct 18, 2017 at 09:33
Secularization, by definition alone, should NOT be assigned to either of these modern religions as they appear around the globe today!
Islam is NOT a religion, but because people have been organized to believe it is, democracies are fooled into thinking they must constitutionally tolerate it. It is the most successful "propaganda campaign" that a profoundly authoritarian, tyrannical, dictatorial THEOCRACY can use to undermine DEMOCRACY.
Islam has NOTHING to do with humanitarianism or any moral philosophical underpinnings. It is even self-destructive! I don't see how any organized Islamic demographic area anywhere can sustain itself! Teaching martyrdom, honor killing, and ideas which sanction murder and suicidal bombings inorder to get to have "virgins in Paradise" is the most self destructive concepts a "government agency", hiding behind a pseudo-religion, can possibly undertake!!!! If you condition your "citizenry" to take upon themselves sacrificial actions that may cost them their lives and the lives of their children/posterity, how are you to gain a foothold? I realize that Muslim populations are expanding, exponentially in Europe but that is another "prong" in their military-caliphatic campaign to gain dominance. If European nations cut the "spigot" of welfare payments and medical coverage, THAT would no longer be an option! The wealth that Islam has comes from fossil fuel development. If you note, mostly the poor in any Islamic society end up becoming suicide bombers. Even the more educated Muslims who have attained to higher economic status, are willing to kill themselves for "virgins in Paradise", or payments to their survivors (PA indulgences, using taxpayers UN, NGO, charitable, monies!).
I find it so strange that any group of humans wanting to become a NATION, would hold on to ideas that manage to enslave their people to "honorable" martyrdom?!?!?
Mr. Meotti, taking issue over the rewriting of the history of the magnificent European nations, is understandable. Assigning religion to secularism, should NOT be in any scholarly tome, therefore it is NOT understandable!
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Michael MaguireOct 18, 2017 at 09:32
" Instead, they called for a Europe based on "Christian roots", drawing inspiration from the "Classical tradition" and rejecting multiculturalism:"
I totally agree with their "rejecting multiculturalism". That social engineering project has been an utter disaster for Europe, bringing very little but division, distrust, destruction of communities and vast amounts of criminality.
But whether Europe ought to return to the religious manipulation of the Roman Catholic Church ie. Europe's "Christian roots" or to be governed by violent, inhumane, unjust, Islamic Sharia Law, is equally questionable and undesirable. But nevertheless, that appears to be the way in which Europe is currently being driven.
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simonimOct 18, 2017 at 09:05
There is a continuing war between Islam and Christianity. The question is which side are you on?
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johnOct 18, 2017 at 08:54
The Poles, Hungarians, the Serbs and Austrians have it right with their resistance to allow more Muslim migrants. In their quest for cheap labor, Sweden, France, Germany and the UK are going to be overrun by Islam, the violence they are seeing now is just the beginning. Hopefully the people will see the folly their governments have setup and revolt against Brussels and Merkel's sponsor George Soros's One World Government.
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Menahem LesterOct 18, 2017 at 08:51
"The European Commission ordered Slovakia to redesign its commemorative coins by eliminating the Christian Saints Cyril and Methonius".
Is this a joke - or are you serious. What happened? - I presume that the Slovaks told the European Commission to get lost? What right have they to dictate to a sovereign nation?
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AndyOct 18, 2017 at 08:37
Read the Bible before it is banned completely. This is the great falling away and turning to other gods. When we see the moral bankruptcy of nations, we also see the doctrine of any-thing goes. Debauchery in all it's ugly forms is stampeding across the globe. Calling evil deeds good and good-evil. I find it interesting that in the name of 'sexual freedom' and 'equality', the filthiest of human behaviours is now deemed 'normal and appropriate' and anyone disagreeing is in jeopardy of being jailed for refusing to 'follow the party line'. Once all things sexual are permitted and openly practised, society will fall into anarchy and chaos. I thought this would come about differently, I guess I missed the clues of sexual transformation. The days are now evil, our children are being deceived, we are threatened if we try to protect them. The alphabet community and their supporters of 'no morals for me' need Christianity deleted so there can be no condemnation of their behaviour. Sad times ahead, especially thinking islam can fill the void. Aren't they all in for a rude surprise?
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Clive Stephen DelmonteOct 18, 2017 at 08:18
I despair of the EU leadership. They are doing all the things which will promote AfD in Germany and fascist resurgence in other EU states. Nowhere do the Muslim leaders reciprocate the gestures of our present EU leaders. The Muslims in the EU do not seek integration or a multicultural future in Europe.
Nowhere do the Muslims in the EU refer to, or acknowledge any kind of joint cultural heritage with Christians in the EU.
Our EU leaders are so intelligent in many ways and so stupid in others.
If there was anywhere to go, I might go there, but where ?
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Gene KellyOct 18, 2017 at 08:03
Europe seems resigned to suicide. Just why this is is not clear-but maybe Western Civilization has reached a dead end.
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HannaOct 18, 2017 at 07:10
Islam is not part of European civilization --- not yet --- but Islam WILL BE EUROPEAN CIVILIZATION --- Period!!! And if events continue the way they are going, Islam will control the world soon enough. That is all this world needs... GOD help us all. Thank you Giulio Meotti and Gatestone.
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