A question for Islam.

I feel the need to write something about some of the concerns I have about the future. I am a 62 years old Englishman. I currently do not live in England, but I am proud of my country and its culture. I regard myself as a civilised European, and I am concerned for the future of the values that I hold dear, and for the future of the civilisation that has struggled to exist in Europe. Although I myself am not a father, I am concerned for the future of the step-children and the step-grandchildren I now have .

What worries me? In a word – Islam. OK, there are many things to worry about in the future, but for me, now, I have serious worries about the so-called 'religion of peace'.

We could argue forever about causes, origins, who is to blame and so on. That could be an interesting, and maybe even a fruitful, discussion. But right now Europe faces a human crisis of enormous proportions that must be dealt with as quickly, efficiently and humanly as possible.

But it is not even this terrible event that concerns me most. The Islamic population of all European countries is rising, mostly as a result of natural increase, not immigration. Islamic politicians will soon begin to have some influence on democratically elected governments. And that increase can only grow.

Can you, followers of the prophet, set my mind at rest about a few things please?

If Islam is the religion of peace why are so many people killed in its name? Admittedly, the majority are your co-religionists, but many are not. Can you not see that to claim to be peaceful and yet to kill, and kill, and kill seems very odd to me. In this month of September 2015 alone somewhere between 50 and 100 people have died as a direct result of people acting in the name of Islam. All of them were Moslem by the way.

Why is this possible?

Can you tell me why many Islamic states, those countries where Islam is already in power, never condemn these attacks? And yet they can condemn, with outrage, the slightest perceived insult to their beliefs.

Why do these states inflict both corporal and capital punishment on anyone who does not accept the very narrow boundaries of their religion of peace?

Why, in these states, are women treated so terribly badly? The explanation that it is a cultural thing will not do. Culture is just a name for what we do together, it can change, and has changed, a lot. Much higher on the moral scale than so called 'cultural norms' is simple humanity. Treating another human being how you, yourself, would like to be treated. That trumps all I feel.

Why, in these states, is science ignored, or so badly distorted it may as well be ignored. Scientific and technological progress is the only way that we, as human beings, can hope to survive on this planet of ours and give everyone a better standard of living.

Why, in these states, is education so undervalued? I don’t mean religious indoctrination, I mean education. To teach the next generation how to think for themselves is vital, but I don't see that in these states.

Why, in these states, is artistic expression subject to policing and punishment? The ability to freely express our creativity is an important part of being human. To deny that produces stunted and crippled people.

Why, in these states, is the value system so distorted that a few very rich Moslem’s can travel to the West and indulge in all the things forbidden to everyone else.

These states, these Islamic states, appear to me to be genuinely from the Dark Ages. And when I see the, as yet distant, possibility that my own country may become one I become concerned, worried, frightened even.

So, followers of the prophet, should I be afraid? And if not, why not?