The Gulf Crisis and New World Order — Page 82
Fourth Friday Sennon Aug 24, 1990 Germany, which is re-emerging as a big power in Europe. Some nations of Europe are apprehending a great danger from this rising state, but are not expressing their feelings openly at present, yet internally they are realizing its inherent dangers. As to the government of the U. K. , it has, on many occasions, expressed such apprehensions that Germany would rise as a big power and then there is a possibility that it may repeal its previous mistakes which had culminated in a World War. Some time ago a Deputy Minister of England had to resign on this account. He had expressed such apprehensions during his visit to Germany, where he expressed certain views which were taken by the Germans to be the policy stance of the British Cabinet, although he had expressed them as his personal views. The British Cabinet confirmed that this was his personal opinion and even though he said that it was his honest opinion he was compelled to resign. But the matter does not end with this incident. Such voices are being raised repeatedly. Recently a British scholar, Mr. Anthony Burgis had appeared in a T. V. interview in Sweden. Probably, the report of the interview was published by the local papers also. He was introduced as a prominent British scholar who possessed a deep knowledge of Islam, and had vast and long-standing relations with some Muslim countries. It was stated that he had stayed in some Muslim countries for quite a long time, and had developed such a great desire to gain knowledge of Islam that it was feared that he might convert to Islam, but God saved him from this folly after the reality (of Islam) was dawned upon him. As if, narrowly escaping and coming back from the precipice. Now he was here and being presented as a great scholar who was fully conversant with the Muslim politics and possessed profound knowledge of Islam. So the real intention behind his returning lo Europe and expressing his views on different occasions, was to paint a very dire and tyrannical picture of Islam, and that the gist of his message was that, today if there was any religion inimical to human rights and to the freedom of conscience, it was Islam, and that today the greatest danger lo the world in the matter of freedom of conscience was from Islam. After having said this he at last spoke his mind on a question that is presently agitating the minds of the English people, that is, their apprehensions about the way Germany was going to rise as a great power. In this context, he forcefully stated that just as Germany's rise constitutes a great danger for Europe, so does Islam 82