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"Camilla Leyland, 32, pictured in Western and Muslim dress, converted to Islam in her mid-20s for 'intellectual and feminist reasons'"

Some observations:

1. Islam - particularly its core text, the Koran - has not been subjected to the intellectual scrutiny that the Christian Bible has. For over a hundred years, scholars have picked the Bible apart, analyzing it linguistically, discerning layers of development, etc., so that for many people it has lost much of its sacred character, viewed as the work of man rather than the word of God.

2. Islam is intellectually simpler than Christianity, i.e., it posits God, his prophet, and a moral code. Christianity, however, posits a Triune God and the doctrine of salvation by the sacrificial death of Jesus, both of which are ideas that many people sincerely cannot grasp. Much of Christianity is also preoccupied with dubious "end times" speculation that is unsettling and unproductive. Islam also has its "end times" aspect, but that seems much less urgent to most Muslims.

3. It is increasingly obvious that modern, secular society has become literally nihilistic, believing that life as a cruel accident, that all values are subjective, and even that notions of male and female are mere social constructs. The human spirit abhors a void, and modern society is a spiritual void.

4. "Separation of church and state" only works when most of the public - especially the ruling class - are active believers, and allow religious values a significant place in the public square. When the elite lose their faith, religion is pushed to the margins, becomes totally privatized, and no longer has a tangible presence in the wider culture. Thus the nihilism of the elite becomes palpable and oppressive. Secularists try to fill that void through idealizing politics, the state, and/or entertainment, but it doesn't work for most people. It is seen by perceptive people as shallow and dangerous.

Number One: Islam is solely responsible for the Dark Ages and the near total destruction of everything in Western civilization which pre-existed Mohammad, including the original form of Christianity.

Number Two: Islam is solely responsible for the desertification of Northern Africa and Egypt.

Number Three: Islam is solely responsible for the deaths of over 127 million people to date.

Number Three: This state of affairs will continue until the West critically examines the real history of the period 620 AD to 1400 AD. Else history will repeat.