Describing the United States as "the last best hope" for carrying on the ideals of western civilization, Republican presidential candidate Tom Tancredo called last night for an end to the nation's "bilingualization" and "Balkanization."

"I think Europe can not be counted on to help us in this endeavor," Tancredo said last night at Magdalen College in Warner. "They've already become, to a large extent, Islamicized. And that is worrisome." Referring to "Western" principles, Tancredo asked, "If we don't talk about them, who will? If we don't advance them, who will?"

Immigration is Tancredo's signature issue. Last night, he attempted to tie immigration to the threat posed by "radical Islam," and described the "grand experiment we call America" as rooted in "Judeo-Christian principles."

In a recent television ad in Iowa, Tancredo, a Colorado congressman, went even further. A voiceover in that ad warns viewers that "there are consequences to open border beyond the 20 million aliens who have come to take our jobs. Islamic terrorists now freely roam U.S. soil, Jihadists who froth with hate here to do as they have in London, Spain, Russia," according to Tancredo's campaign website.

Tancredo's comments didn't go unchallenged last night. One after another, audience members pressed him on his views on language, assimilation and border security, at times leading to heated exchanges.

"I speak the same language as the people that flew into the towers; I speak the same language as all the Iraqis we are killing; I speak many languages, and I'm proud of it," said Siham Elhamoumi, 22, who recently graduated from St. Michael's College in Vermont and traveled to the event with a group from the college. "Am I the enemy?" Elhamoumi then pulled her shawl over her head, so it covered her hair. "Am I the enemy if I do this?"

"Do you take us for idiots, for people who have no appreciation of our history?" she asked. "Perhaps you don't have an understanding of your country right now, of its composition."

Tancredo repeatedly broke in, asking Elhamoumi to pose a question. He finally asked her a question of his own: "Do you believe that we should replace the Constitution with Sharia law?"

"That is below me," Elhamoumi replied. "Do not belittle people's opinions and people's beliefs and people's religions. Do not put one religion above the other."

Tancredo repeatedly insisted that his views on immigration have "nothing to do with race or ethnicity or anything of that nature." His concern, he said, is national cohesion, whether Americans share the same fundamental principles, whether there is "a singleness of purpose about the idea of America."

Increasingly, he said, immigrants are failing to assimilate - to learn English and embrace American values - as they did in years past. As evidence, Tancredo cited the existence of a bilingual newspaper in Iowa. "We are seeing the Balkanization of America and the bilingualization, which I do not think is a good idea," he said.

Describing what he termed the lack of assimilation, Tancredo said, "I believe there is a serious threat, not just to the United States, but to western civilization."

When it came to discussing the millions of illegal immigrants already in this country, Tancredo was adamant in his opposition to granting a path to citizenship. Giving "amnesty" to those who entered the country illegally would "slap everyone in the face" who followed the correct procedure, he said.

Immigration has been a flashpoint in the Republican presidential campaign. Earlier this year, Arizona Sen. John McCain helped craft an unsuccessful compromise immigration plan. That plan included an employer-verification system and a path to legalization for some illegal immigrants. Other Republicans seized on the plan, criticizing it as too lax on border security.

Tancredo - who said he recognizes "fully well that I'm a long shot at best for the president of the United States" - took a subtle dig at his Republican opponents, describing well-known politicians as willing to shift their views depending on the audience.

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