In early January Islamic terrorists struck Paris.  First there was the revenge execution of twelve cartoonists and editors at the Charlie Hebdo magazine offices.   Two terrorists, part of an Islamic Terrorist cell in the French capital, barged into the office building and called out specific men they then executed.  I do not countenance what the magazine published.  It was vulgar and highly offensive.  But the Islamic attack was an assault on free speech.

Next, a terrorist entered a Jewish kosher grocery store and took the patrons and staff hostage.  Four died before police killed the Muslim gunman.  So this one was an attack upon Jews.  And  against all people who love freedom.   The two attacks were connected, carried out by the same cell affiliated with Isis and Al-Qaeda.

Meanwhile in Nigeria, Muslim terrorists slaughtered 2000 people, many of them Christians.  The world is reeling.  And Islam, if there were still any question about it, has revealed its true nature.

Many have tried to claim that Islam is a religion of peace.  The reality is that Islam is the most violent religion on earth.  Many have declared that the majority of Muslims are moderate and do not support Jihad.  But one recent poll of highly educated Muslims in the United States reveals that 78 percent approve of Jihad and the killing of infidels, even if they would not personally join in the attacks.  

The truth is that the Koran is packed full of calls to kill non-believers.  The brutality directed against the infidels, Christians and Jews, is an essential tenet of this religion.  So-called moderate Muslims, for the most part, are those who take their faith casually.  Being a good and devout Muslim obligates one to extremism.  Read the Islamic holy books and see for yourself.

Currently in Paris there are 751 “no go” zones where it is either forbidden for non-Muslims to enter, or it is not safe for them to go.  And that includes police and other emergency personnel. Belgium has these zones.  So does England.  Visit Dearborn, Michigan and you will find virtually the same thing. These are places where Sharia law prevails and cancels out the national laws of the host country.  Essentially, the West has pockets of unassimilated Muslims who constitute a hostile force dedicated to the overthrow of the surrounding nation and its culture.

In short, we are facing an implacable enemy within our own borders.  An enemy that will stop at nothing to make Islam dominant.  Alert to people who love freedom: the Muslim next door may well be your mortal enemy.  You can’t tell by looking.  It is time we in the West faced the fact that we are in the midst of a great conflict between civilizations. Peace will come only when one side is able to dominate the other and force them to surrender.  At present we are losing.

That was why 3.4 million people gathered in Paris on Sunday, January 11, to stand for freedom and to protest Islamic terrorism.  The marchers were declaring that they would no longer tolerate Islamic terrorism.  It is a hopeful sign.  The French deputy premier declared, “We are at war with radical Islam.”  Forty-four world leaders joined the front lines of that great demonstration.  They included the French president, and the prime ministers of England, Germany, Belgium, and the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu. 

One leader was missing:  the president of the United States.  Not only did President Obama not bother to go, but Vice President Biden was not there.  Neither was Secretary of State Kerry.  And the Attorney General of the United States, who was in Paris for another meeting, hopped a plane and scampered back to the U.S.  America left a gaping vacuum in the ranks of those who rose to defend Freedom and oppose Evil.  And the message from a missing America was clear to allies and enemies alike.

The president had nothing on his official schedule last Sunday.  He could have gone.  He seems deliberately to want the United States to project a low profile so that we do not offend those who oppose us. In his view, we have pushed the world around for too long.  It is obligatory that we cease.  Perhaps our enemies will perceive that we are no longer a threat and they will treat us kindly.  It is a fool’s errand.

The prophet Jonah, he of being swallowed by the whale fame, traveled finally to Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrians to deliver a message from God.  The Assyrians are in part the ancient ancestors of todays Muslims—spiritually if not physically.  Jonah told them.  “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be destroyed.”  (Jonah 3:4)  Amazingly the Assyrians believed the warning from God and repented.   And God spared them. 

That same message needs to be proclaimed boldly today to the people of Islam.  But God is a merciful God.  He has made a way for sinful men to be reconciled and forgiven their evil.  It is only through faith in Jesus Christ.  Perhaps today’s Muslims will hear and repent and peace can come to the world.  If they do not, they will surely suffer the threatened fate of the Assyrians.

It would have been a help if the President had gone to Paris.  Being silent in the face of evil and declining to defend and promote what is good carries serious consequences—for us in America and for the Muslims themselves.  They never get the message.  The carnage does not stop.  Innocent people suffer.  Freedom is lost.  It is time—way past time--for the President of the United States to get America back in the game.

Dr. Rick Perrin is a minister in the Presbyterian Church in America and Chairman of the Board of World Reformed Fellowship..  He writes a weekly blog called ReTHINK which may be accessed at www.rethinkingnews.wordpress.com. He may be contacted directly at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..