The United States now has its first Muslim congressman. Democrat Keith Ellison from the 5th congressional district in Minnesota was sworn in January 4. During his campaign he played down his religious affiliation, but upon election, asked to be sworn into office with his hand on the Qur`an rather than the Bible.

Ellison chose to use a copy originally belonging to Thomas Jefferson. He said that he chose it because "a visionary like Jefferson" believed that wisdom could be obtained from many sources.

History reveals an interesting kind of wisdom that Jefferson was looking for when he read the Qur`an. It was during the time when Muslim pirates were raiding U.S. shipping all along the Mediterranean and West African coasts. They were capturing ships and selling the crew and passengers in the slave markets.

Jefferson was studying the Qur`an to find a way to deal with these pirates. The U.S. had just won independence from Great Britain and had no significant navy to combat the pirates. Jefferson and John Adams were assigned as ambassadors to negotiate with the leader of the Barbary States.

After meeting with one of their leaders, they reported back to Congress that Islam "was founded on the laws of their Prophet, that it is written in their Qur`an, that all nations who should not have acknowledged their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as prisoners, and that every Musselman (Muslim) who should be slain in battle was sure to go to Paradise."

We see that this approach has not changed over the centuries. Islam`s advance in Africa today follows these same rules. Christians or non-Muslims who refuse to convert are either killed on the spot or taken as slaves. Suicide bombers are promised immediate tickets to Paradise.

Now, in our time, we are seeing a renewed advance of Islam, committed to taking down the "infidel" civilizations of the West. Weapons of mass destruction are their new "sword." But at the same time, they are using a far more subtle and dangerous tactic: infiltration.

So what held back their first advance a few centuries ago? Basically it was the growth of Christianity in the West. They knew that if they immigrated, they would be presented with the "Truth" that sets men free. The leaders knew that the beliefs of Islam were no match for biblical truth. Any who were exposed to western culture would be converted, blunting their attempt to conquer by infiltration.

This all changed in the last fifty years. Western Governments have legislated tolerance and the liberal churches embraced diversity, and are proudly "multicultural." Bible believers have backed off soul winning. As a result Islam leaders no longer see a threat to their people from Christianity. They have encouraged immigration, but not assimilation.

Muslims are welcomed and allowed to build communities of their own without integrating with the rest of society. Thousands of mosques are now serving those communities throughout Europe and America. Western families have limited their population through abortion and contraception, while Muslim immigrants have large families providing a growing influence now large enough to elect government officials. Some of these communities are pushing to install Sharia, civil law based on the Qur`an, for their people instead of our constitutional law.

The most recent terrorist attacks and uncovered plots involved largely "home grown" terrorists. They are born and radicalized in these local communities in our midst. They are using our religious freedom to grow Islam inside our nations. They feel safe because the church has largely abandoned the great commission.

No churches are allowed in Muslim controlled countries because they know the power of the gospel. But they now feel safe to infiltrate the West, because the churches are no longer a threat. The West is becoming increasingly concerned with this "clash of cultures."

Islam believes that the West is so morally decadent that it must be purged by the "sword" to make way for the moral purity of Muslim law. Their diagnosis is correct but their cure is of Satan. The only cure is repentance and revival to sweep across the Western continents. If this does not happen, we are doomed. No political appeasement or military might can turn back this new Muslim invasion. Only mass conversion to our Savior can save us. Soul winners, we have a lot of work to do.