A Reminder (not that you need it)

Gates of Vienna has a piece entitled Is Islam Compatible with Democracy?

"But in the words of the celebrated 14th century historian Ibn Khaldun himself: “in the Muslim community, the holy war is a religious duty, because of the universalism of the Muslim mission and (the obligation to) convert everybody to Islam either by persuasion or by force.” In Islam, says Ibn Khaldun, the person in charge of religious affairs is concerned with “power politics,” because Islam is “under obligation to gain power over other nations” (Muqaddimah, trans. Rosenthal, p. 183)."

Please note that last sentence. Our dreamy-eyed "leaders" seem to think things have changed.

The Gunslinger