How to Resist

A guide for the despised

I do not want to live in a Muslim country. In particular, I do not want to see sharia law established in England. I expect to be hated for saying that (and to be tarred as hateful by those doing the hating).

However, unless we do something about it, that is what will happen. A disciplined minority will prevail against an undisciplined majority. The problem is that if we resist in the wrong way, with the wrong motives, with the wrong 'disposition of the heart', then we shall lose. So I want to work out a 'guide for the despised' describing the right way forward for resisting the imposition of sharia law in England. It will be a Christian guide, not simply because I am a committed Christian but because the alternative grounds of resistance, in terms of secular human rights law and so on, are not strong enough or wise enough to do the job. They are in fact a major part of the problem, the principal cause of the structural weakness of the Modern West, the society that inherited Christendom and then destroyed it, but which has been kept going by drawing down the resources of that spiritual inheritance.

The rise of Islam in England is principally a spiritual phenomenon, and a spiritual impulse must be met with an equivalent spiritual response. We need to become familiar with, and adept in, the tools of spiritual combat. If we are unable to respond spiritually then we shall fail. More than that, if we are unable to respond in a Christian spirit then we will deserve to fail, for we shall have become conformed to the ways of the world and be conforming to the desires of the prince of this world, the satan, the devil, the true enemy.

Taking spiritual warfare seriously is the essential step. What that means is that we need to be prepared to take up the cross, as the sign and symbol and means by which the enemy is defeated, but also be prepared on a personal level to take up our own crosses, and to suffer. Understanding why the cross is so crucial (sorry, couldn't resist) may be the most important thing, for in it is captured all the difference between the Christian way of life and sharia.

In this writing I shall be exploring some of the profound theological differences between Christianity and Islam. My understanding of Islam is only average – I have studied it formally at undergraduate level, and lived for three years in a Muslim majority part of London – and so part of my purpose is to invite and engage with Islamic critique. In particular, I believe – I hope! – that there are classical strands of Islamic thought, principally associated with the sufi tradition, which resist the imposition of sharia from within Islam. It may be that – to put it simply here, and acknowledging that there needs to be much more detailed discussion in due course – the problem with sharia may have as much to do with the Wahhabi school of interpretation as financed by Saudi Arabia as it has to do with the deep spiritual roots of Islam. I am open to that. I would like to be persuaded of that.

What I fear – perhaps even more than the imposition of sharia in England – is a violent scapegoating of the Muslim community in England. To understand the forgiving victim – Christ – is to understand that we are not to victimise. The Kingdom of God cannot be built upon the bones of our neighbours, and the real spiritual victory would be won if we can make common cause with the Muslim community in this endeavour. Indeed, it is one of the most essential duties of the Christian in coming times to be prepared to defend the Muslim communities in England from physical aggression, from pogroms, from persecution of all sorts. As indeed we must also protect all minority communities in our country, most especially the Jewish community at this time. We must insist upon the equal treatment of all of us living in England under the common law, without fear or favour. That is the inheritance of our tradition, the treasure bequeathed to us by our ancestors. It is the spiritual and moral collapse of that tradition, as exhibited most clearly in the partialities shown by our police forces, which is one of the most concerning elements of the situation that we are now in.

I call this a guide for the despised. The despised in our nation now are not the foreigners, the obviously different in terms of race or gender or religion. No, the despised in our time are the indigenous working class, “white van man”. They are the ones who have no defenders and they are the ones who have had to endure the most malign consequences of our corrupt governing culture these last many decades. They are also the ones in whom the strength and the hope of England reside. It is principally to them that I am writing, not only that they – we – I – might be given the tools of resistance, but also that we might be reminded of the immense wealth bequeathed to us by our ancestors.

“Blessed are you who are poor, to you belongs the Kingdom of Heaven.

Blessed are you who are meek and obedient, you shall inherit the land.”

~~

This will be a running theme in the coming months as I want to turn it into a book. I’ve been mulling on the themes for a long time, but events seem to be outrunning my ponderings. I'll tag them with HTR(#) so that those who aren't interested can easily avoid this topic. I'm going to start writing about McGilchrist soon as well. My aim is to publish something twice a week, one on each topic, normally of about 1000 words a time.