Pastor:  Good morning!  You’re new, right?

Joe:  Hi. Yes,  I’m Joe and this is my wife, Jill.

Pastor:  Great to have you here this morning.

Jill:  Yes, first time here.  Really loved the service.

Pastor:  Well, God bless you both.

Joe:  Do you have a moment? We were just wondering if we could ask you a few questions.

Pastor: Sure. Fire away.

Joe: How many services do you have here?

Note:  This is code for, “I like to sleep in late on Sundays.”

Whether you grew up believing that Muslims were at best mysterious foreigners who liked rigid prayer rituals and head coverings—and at worst, jihad-warriors sent from hell to destroy Christianity—you had better get used to their influence. The Islamic world, along with their doctrine and their money, is influencing every sector of the global marketplace.

And I thought somehow that Muslims shunned consumerism.  According to the Halal Journal, the halal food industry (the market that caters to the dietary guidelines set out in the Koran) is worth an estimated $632 billion each year, and it’s growing quickly. Hotels, businesses, fashion, and health care are all getting a piece of the Islamic action, with the combined economic impact set at a trillion dollars annually,according to Time magazine.