It may be that the resurgent radical Islam engaging in terrorism world-wide is the last-gasp of the Muslim religion and culture as a powerful force in the modern world. As we enter the 21st century, traditional Islam is under siege from two sources.

On the one side is the attractive power of Western consumer society in all its decadence--modern television programming, movies, music videos, pornography, fashion, consumer geegaws. In sum: the exaltation of the individual as hedonistic consumer. Enough anecdotal evidence can be found in media reports over the last decade to verify that many, many young Muslims have felt this attractive power, even in the Middle East.

On the other side is the attractive power of Christianity. While not widely reported in the MSM, Muslims are converting to Christianity at a rate probably not seen before in history. This is true not only for Africa, but there is even a growing movement of underground house-churches in Iran. Many of these conversions are the results of missionary radio with clandestine follow-up by local believers.

Not only is the future of the West at stake; the future of Islam is also.