“The Reformation brought about a renewed understanding of the importance of the individual based on the sanctity of life and the imago dei, that every individual is created in the divine image. In Islam, particularly in the Sharia, you have group rights. Rights are not based on the individual but rather on who you are on the basis of religion or on the basis of your sex (whether you are male) and this defines treatment.
And here is a real dilemma: If we institutionalize Islam, then at the end of the day, the very thing that had made you [America] so great and so important — which is your Judeo-Christian faith and your Judeo-Christian ethic which is at the very heart of the understanding of human beings — then [individual] rights will be removed. Now, you say ‘Is that possible?’ I point you to one issue that has just occurred.
Why is your government introducing Sharia-compliant mortgages? Now, some would say this is irrelevant. If Muslims are being prejudiced against in their fiscal arrangements in buying a house then why not allow them room for purchase of a home to function within their own religious/legal tradition? In the UK we have Sharia-compliant mortgages, Sharia-compliant pensions, we now have Sharia in schools, in prisons and a whole variety of ways from food to holidays. So what are individual rights?
When our government tried to introduce a bill on religious hatred in the UK, it was the Barnabas Fund that fought it initially (and I was the chairman). On two occasions we fought the government and we won both times. On the third occasion I just couldn’t cope with it anymore but thankfully we did win. Now, why was I so passionate in fighting against a religious hatred law? Because, as the Muslim community itself argued, this would have protected Mohammad. So if the law of the land protected Mohammad, what of Jesus? I would argue, protect Jesus as well. But every night on our television Jesus’ name is blasphemed but never once is Mohammad’s name to be blasphemed. At that point there would have been an inequality existing within our country, and Britain would have been equivalent to Pakistan on its blasphemy law. And it had to be fought.
So my fear is that de facto by degrees Islamic law and its position in society, through government action and others, is being established as a system. And if that happens then I fear for your [America’s] future. I think for the UK it is virtually hopeless to put it back and only a matter of time before we succumb.”
– Dr. Patrick Sookhdeo, Henry Forum at Capitol Hill Baptist Church (Washington, D.C.) 1:03:00-1:06:33. Whether you agree or not, this is a thought-provoking address. Listen here.
Listen to the full audio here:
Tony Reinke 
Cannot God defend Himself and preserve His Kingdom? That’s one question, and I think the answer is clear. Second: Is American democracy so weak, so fragile, that it will succumb to Islamist Law? I think the answer is equally clear. If our democracy has a threat, I’d say it comes more from the far right, the “theocons,” Dominionists and Reconstructionists, who would deconstruct our freedoms, our democracy, and replace it with a theocracy. I am not afraid of those on the outside; I’m more fearful of those who wear sheep’s clothing and are utterly convinced that they have such a grasp of God’s purpose and will that anyone who dares raise a question must be of hell itself.