Okay then, I will say a little more about Islam’s alarming rise in Russia and around the world.
Islam since Mohamed has been a religion of conquest. It was only spread out throughout Arabia, then to Iran (the Sassanid Empire), and then to Egypt (the Eastern Roman Empire) by the sword. From those regions, this new Caliphate launched invasions of North Africa, Spain, Anatolia, and many other places. Islam’s central so-called prophet was a military leader, just as Jihad (holy war) was and is a core aspect of their religion. Another core teaching of Islam, inspired by the Talmud, permits Muslims to lie to ‘kafirs’ (non-Muslims). This is in the Koran. Don’t be fooled by modern apologists who try to explain away the history of Islam. Muslims who know their Koran do not really believe that it is a sin to lie to Christians. We see this again and again, Islam will change tactics to adapt to changing situations. Islamic apologists recently tried to cunningly edit their impromptu interview of Bishop Sozomenos of the Kyrikos synod, as the Bishop caught them off guard with his responses. Perhaps some will see my words as alarmist, but they are inspired by conversations with many ex-Muslims. These were not hate-filled people , but rather sober-minded people who saw the real spiritual danger of Islam. If Muslim people genuinely believe that their religion is not of the sword, then they have a false understanding of history and the Koran. All of those regions I mentioned were conquered by the sword and not by peaceful spreading of their faith, the way Our Lord and His Church conquered the Roman Empire for Christianity.
Back to the present day, Putin and the Kremlin regime, the self-proclaimed defenders of Orthodox Christianity, have unleashed Chechen Muslim brigades in Mariupol and elsewhere as their shock troops against Ukraine. These Chechens are a fearsome bunch, who waged a brutal guerilla war in the 1990s against Russia until Putin offered them a generous deal of autonomy. Islamic Iran has also become a key ally of the Kremlin. Russia has experienced a huge influx of Muslims from Central Asia and a large demographic growth of Muslims, as their religion encourages big polygamous families. This is not simply a Central Asian demographic phenomenon, as a significant number of ethnic Russians have converted to Islam. The spiritual emptiness of Soviet atheism and Western liberalism have left many Russians seeking meaning in far-eastern religions, and Islam is one of the biggest beneficiaries of this.
The ecumenist, Sergianist, and religiously indifferent Moscow Patriarchate has made no serious attempt to convert these people. In fact, successive Moscow patriarchs have stated that Muslims and Christians worship the same God - a blatant lie and blasphemy. Saint John Damascene had some very different things to say about the matter. The only voice in the MP who spoke against this cruel and cowardly indifference was Fr. Daniel Sysoev, whose missionary activities led to him being murdered by a Muslim fanatic in 2009. The MP cares little for converting Muslims, as they follow the Kremlin’s lead in everything. The MP website is full of declarations in support of the Muslim community, the Buddhist community, and the Jewish community. I can’t find a single article on there remotely critical of these false religions. The MP unreservedly are a secular ministry of the Russian state, and they feel no need to rock the boat. Saving people’s souls is put on the backburner because of the Kremlin’s political goals.
I could write just as much about Islam in Western Europe and America, but perhaps I will leave this until later.
