THE PROBLEM WITH ISLAM." Most Americans were oblivious to Islam until a certain Tuesday morning five years ago. But on Sept. 11, 2001, they woke up to learn they were in the midst of a world war, targeted for destruction by an enemy they had scarcely ever heard of. Today, militant Muslims are on the rampage worldwide, some recently calling for the assassination of the pope, with others threatening that unless Benedict XVI converts to Islam, Christian churches will be burnt to the ground. But such outrageous threats, as well as the mass murder that often follows, have become commonplace. On the slightest provocation – a newspaper publishing cartoons depicting Muhammad, a journalist making a comment about Muhammad during the Miss Universe pageant – angry Muslims erupt into a campaign of arson, brutality and murder. Meanwhile, as Western governments and journalism organizations continue to refer to Islam as a "religion of peace," virtually all terrorist acts worldwide – over 5,000 instances since 9-11 – have been committed by Muslims, against Jews, against Christians, against other non-Muslims, even against other types of Muslims. Yet, there's an even bigger Islamic threat than violent jihad. Today, the West is being transformed by Islam. Especially in Britain and Europe, where Islamic immigration is already well advanced, analysts conclude it's simply a matter of time before some of these nations have Muslim majorities. Then comes Sharia law and the total transformation of these formerly Christian countries into repressive Islamic states. Exaggeration? Consider that the Netherlands' justice minister, Piet Hein Donner, recently announced he would welcome Sharia law to his European nation – already rapidly filling up with Muslims – if the majority votes for it. Under Sharia, just as in Arab-Muslim nations currently under this strict Islamic legal system like Saudi Arabia, Europe may see amputations – as prescribed in the Quran – as punishment for certain crimes; women publicly flogged and sometimes hanged or stoned to death for adultery or other so-called "crimes against chastity"; and death sentences for leaving the Muslim religion, or even for preaching Christianity, as occurs in Pakistan under its notorious "blasphemy laws." What about America? Though the percentage of Muslims in this huge nation is much lower than in Europe, the growth of radical Islam already has a powerful foothold in many parts of American society. Beyond the rapid proliferation of Saudi-funded mosques, Islamic centers and schools teaching hatred for America, consider the nation's prison system. "Radical Muslim chaplains, trained in a foreign ideology, certified in foreign-financed schools, and acting in coordination to impose an extremist agenda have gained a monopoly over Islamic religious activities in American state, federal, and city prisons and jails," says author Stephen Schwartz. "Imagine each prison Islamic community as a little Saudi kingdom behind prison walls, without the amenities. They have effectively induced American authorities to establish a form of 'state Islam' or 'government-certified Islam' in correctional systems." Despite all this, most politicians and journalists in the West – whether out of sympathy, or out of fear of having their throats cut – are afraid to criticize Islam publicly. Yet if radical Islam can succeed in throttling all criticism, from the pope on down, it will have succeeded in imposing de facto sharia law– which prohibits all criticism of Islam or its prophet – on the entire world