| According to the news, France recently experienced | | | | year 2012. They differ in the details, but there is a |
| its first incident of "burka rage." It seems that a | | | | sense, even among the general population that hasn't |
| woman in a clothes shop tore off the burka of a | | | | studied these things for themselves, that something |
| Muslim woman, following a tense argument between | | | | big is about to happen. |
| the two. | | | | A common motif on the list of 2012 predictions is the |
| France's government has been moving toward | | | | coming of a world dictatorship. Whoever the dictator |
| banning the burka as well as other religious-related | | | | (or dictators) may be, it's a certainty that he will be |
| face coverings. As a consequence, there has been | | | | helped in his schemes by widespread religious conflict |
| much discussion of the issue throughout the country, | | | | and violence. In fact, he will probably do whatever he |
| with a great deal of acrimony on all sides. | | | | can to encourage and exacerbate it. |
| Besides calling the burka an affront to France's | | | | An outbreak of religious wars would cause millions of |
| national values, some French lawmakers have said | | | | people to rise up and demand a strong man to make |
| that criminals wear burkas and other veils as a | | | | everyone behave. Because religious conflicts tend to |
| disguise. They also, of course, worry about terrorists | | | | cut across national boundaries, he would need to be |
| wearing veils to hide their faces as they commit acts | | | | given the power to make and enforce rules on every |
| of death and destruction. | | | | country in the world. |
| What this is really about is colliding religions, or | | | | Escalating religious conflict would also make people |
| perhaps in this case the collision of religion with a | | | | more susceptible to efforts to bring all faiths under |
| modern secular society. Make no mistake, such | | | | the umbrella of a single, world religion -- a New Age |
| collisions will multiply over the coming months and | | | | synthesis of belief, perhaps. |
| years, so add burka rage to the list of 2012 | | | | The burka rage incident in France is a small example |
| predictions. | | | | of the rising tensions surrounding religion and religious |
| Many seers and prognosticators, from ancient | | | | expression. It should come as no surprise that most |
| Mayans to modern scientists, are prophesying that | | | | everyone's list of 2012 predictions places conflict of |
| that world will be shaken to its foundations in the | | | | this type high up the page. |