Unpopular Arab Thoughts That All Arabs Have Thought

It seems that some people can dish it out but they can’t take it.

I’m talking, of course, about the people who come and write nasty comments on my blog, telling me how bad Christians/Christianity is, and praising Islam to the sky. Or the other people who have nothing but negative comments about anything but Islam.

I would like to remind these people that this is a free country, and that is exactly why I moved here in the first place! I had hoped that I could be friends, or at least friendly, with Moslems here, despite our religious differences, but it seems as though they won’t accept me unless I accept Mohammed.

That is even worse than the bad tradition in some churches that says you can’t marry someone from the same Religion but different church, or else you are an adulterer.

Why can’t everyone just tolerate everyone else and love each other? I do not agree with any of Big Mo’s “teachings” but I would never hate someone or even dislike them for believing them.

Can’t we agree to disagree? I’m SORRY I can’t accept what I have been taught is wrong, and I’m sure you’re sorry that you (Moslems) can’t accept Jesus as your savior, which you think is wrong, also.

I am very disturbed at this spirit of hatred that I have been noticing recently. Some of you may think that I have contributed to it, what with my acerbic posts, but I do speak in love. If you could see me saying what I have written, you would know that the expression on my face is a look of love, and that my voice is a relatively soft whisper of adoration for you, my Moslem brothers, whom I would die to save. Of course I am not sinless like Christ, so it wouldn’t make a difference whether I died for you or not, but at least you know that I would do it, and not just to “prove I was right.”

I am also very sad about the fighting between Egyptians, Christian and Moslem, and Protestant and Orthodox. But this is another blog altogether. In PEACE and LOVE,
Salib

Please note that I, Salib, have not written or contributed any of the following, I actually saw it on another blog. Please share this story or link with all of your Christian friends, for it seems as though we will need to help this Brother out at some not-so-distant time. Here you go, the full item:

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“Hooray for Michigan State University and Professor Wichman”

Well, what do we have here. Looks like a small case of some people being
able to dish it out, but not take it. Let’s start at the top. The story
begins at Michigan State University with a mechanical engineering professor named
Indrek Wichman. Wichman sent an e-mail to the Muslim Student’s
Association. The e-mail was in response to the students’ protest of the
Danish cartoons that portrayed the Prophet Muhammad as a terrorist. The
group had complained the cartoons were “hate speech.”

Enter Professor Wichman. In his e-mail, he said the following:

Dear Moslem Association:

As a professor of Mechanical Engineering here at MSU I intend to protest
your protest. I am offended not by cartoons, but by more mundane things
like beheadings of civilians, cowardly attacks on public buildings,
suicide murders, murders of Catholic priests (the latest in Turkey!), burnings of Christian churches, the continued persecution of Coptic Christians in
Egypt, the imposition of Sharia law on non-Muslims, the rapes of
Scandinavian girls and women (called “whores” in your culture), the murder
of film directors in Holland, and the rioting and looting in Paris France.

This is what offends me, a soft-spoken person and academic, and many,
many, many of my colleagues. I counsel you dissatisfied, aggressive, brutal, and
uncivilized slave-trading Moslems to be very aware of this as you proceeded
with your infantile “protests.” If you do not like the values of the
West — see the 1st Amendment — you are free to leave. I hope for God’s sake that
that most of you choose that option. Please return to your ancestral
homelands and build them up yourselves instead of troubling Americans.

Cordially,

I. S. Wichman, Professor of Mechanical Engineering”

Well! As you can imagine, the Muslim group at the university didn’t like
this too well. They’re demanding Wichman be reprimanded and mandatory
diversity training for faculty and a seminar on hate and discrimination
for freshman. How nice. But now the Michigan chapter of CAIR has jumped into
the fray. CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, apparently
doesn’t believe that the good professor had the right to express his opinion.
For its part, the university is standing its ground. They say the e-mail
was private, and they don’t intend to publicly condemn his remarks. That
will probably change. Wichman says he never intended the e-mail to be made
public and wouldn’t have used the same strong language if he’d known it
was going to get out.

How’s the left going to handle this one? If you’re in favor of the freedom
of speech, as in the case of Ward Churchill, will the same protections be
demanded for Indrek Wichman? I doubt it.

Hey folks, send this to everybody and ask them to do the same and tell
them to keep passing it around till the whole country gets it.
We are in a war.

MIDLAND, Texas, July 14 /Christian Newswire/ — CAA learned that a prominent female House Church leader was imprisoned in Jilin province on July 14, 2006. Additionally, in the past few days, 17 House Church pastors were detained at Henan and Sichuan Province.

Photo: Detention paper by Langzhong City PSB, Sichuan province
According to eyewitness reports, on July 11, pastor WANG Jinhua, a prominent House Church leader in China was arrested along with her husband Mr. XU Jinfu and their 8-year-old son XU Enze from their home in Fengman District, Jilin City, Jilin province. Sources familiar with this arrest told CAA that the 8- year-old boy was released after some members of the church led by pastor Wang went to the PSB of Fengman District of Jilin city to ask for the boy’s release.

After being interrogated for three days and nights, pastor WANG was transferred to Baishan Prison in Baishan Town, Jilin city. Her husband Mr. XU Jinfu was released on the same day. The interrogators signed their date of pastor WANG’s transfer and Mr. XU’s release as July 12th instead of July 14th in order to cover their illegal extension of summon time.

Following the couple’s arrest, another major leader of that church pastor YU Peng was forced to flee and is now on the run because he was put on the wanted list by the government. At least 3 other leaders of that church were questioned by the PSB of Jilin city. They were asked about pastor WANG’s relationship with “Three-Grade Servant”. “Three-Grade Servant” was a controversial religious group whose six major leaders including its Founder XU Shuangfu were sentenced to death on July 5, 2006.

Pastor WANG used to be a leader in the “Three-Grade Servant” group. However she left that group ten years ago and started her current evangelical house church.

Meanwhile, at 9:30am on July 9th, 15 House church leaders were arrested at Nanyuan House Church, Wangcun Town, Wolong District, Nanyang city, Henan province. 20 PSB members with 5 police vehicles raided the church when about 30 church members were having their Sunday service. According to eyewitness reports, PSB members broke the door of the church and confiscated the church offering box and loudspeaker. Four of them were released in the afternoon on the same day. 11 of them are still being detained. Five of them received criminal detention papers at Shangzhuang Detention Center and six received administrative detention papers at Yong An Lu Detention Center. The arrested 11 leaders were accused of “engaging evil cult” activities. CAA learned 10 names of the arrested. They are pastor LIU Wanlong, WANG Jie, CHEN Tongqing, CHEN Guangzhou, CHEN Guangzhi, ZHANG Wei, Xiao Qin(whose last name is not available), Xiao Fei(whose last name is not available), DUAN Xiaotong and his wife(whose name is not available).

CAA also learned when Pastor CHEN Tongqing’s wife and son went to the detention center to look for pastor CHEN, both of them were beaten by the prison police and Chen’s son was forced to go back home handing in his dad’s bibles and other Christian literature. The police confiscated these books.

In Sichuan province, at 2pm on July 6th, two House Church leaders from Chongqing city pastor DAN Wei and his wife XIAO Tianmin were arrested and imprisoned by 4 members of PSB of Langzhong City with 2 village officials while they were leading a Bible study at a host family at Beiguan Town, Langzhong City, Sichuan province. Both of them were accused as “evil cult “ leaders.

“The international community should be aware of the recent escalating campaign against evangelical house churches by the Chinese government in the name of clampdown against the controversial Three-Grade Servant group,” said Rev. Bob Fu of CAA, “We urge President Bush and other administration officials to speak up more forcefully on the deteriorating situation of religious persecution in China.” CAA urges the Chinese government to immediately release these arrested pastors.

Communicate your concern to the Chinese authority at the following address:

Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong,
Embassy of the People’s Republic of China
2300 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington DC 20008
http://www.china-embassy.org/
TEL: 202-7456743
Fax: 202- 588-0032 ; 202-7457473
Director of Religious Affairs: (202) 328-2512

Premier Wen Jiabao, PRC
PO Box 1741, The State Council, Beijing, PRC (zip code 100017)
Contact Phone:+86-10-66012399

Ms. Wu Aiying, minister of Ministry of Justice of PRC
Tel: +86-10-65205114
Fax: +86-10-64729863
Address: No. 10, Nan Da Jie, Chaoyangmen, Beijing City (Zip Code: 100020)

MIDLAND, Texas, July 6 /Christian Newswire/ — China Aid Association learned in the verdict of the first trial of a controversial religious group, three leaders were sentenced to death and another three were given two-year suspended death sentences. One more House Church leader was arrested at Sichuan Province today.

According to a reliable source that obtained a copy of the verdict issued by the Chief Judge Mr. Liu Qingyi of Intermediate People’s Court of Shuangyashan City, Heilongjiang Province, June 28, and delivered to the defense lawyers July 5, 2006, among the seventeen convicted in this case, Mr. Xu Shuangfu (60-years-old), Mr. Li Maoxing (55-years- old) and Mr. Wang Jun (36-years-old) were sentenced to death for murder, Ms. Zhang Min (35- years-old), Ms. Zhu Lixin (37-years-old) and Mr. Ben Zhonghai were given two-year suspended death sentences on the same charge. The remaining eleven received 3 to 15 year sentences.

Ms. Xu Baiyin, Mr. Xu Shuangfu’s daughter, who was notified of her father’s death sentence by the lawyers, told CAA this morning she believed her father is innocent and said, “The truth will be revealed one day before God’s judgment seat even if the justice is not done in this life.” CAA learned Xu has instructed his lawyers to continue to appeal to the high court. Two well-known defense lawyers Mr. Li Heping, Esq., of the Global Law (Gaobo Longhua) Firm, Beijing, and Mr. Zhang Lihui, Esq., of the Beijing Branch of the Xingyun Law Office, Zhejiang Province believe their clients are not guilty based upon the government’s evidence. According to the defense statement, the two lawyers found Xu Shuangfu’s confession was obtained by severe torture.

According to the prosecution paper accusations, in the period from 2002 to 2004, Mr. Xu Wenku (also known as Xu Shuangfu and Xu Shengguang) along with sixteen of his top leaders, murdered twenty leaders of the Eastern Lightning group. Xu was also accused of defrauding his congregation of over thirty- two million Yuan ($4 million).

Xu has been the leader of the Chinese religious group known as the Three Grades of Servants with a nationwide membership of over half a million. CAA believes that while many of mainstream Chinese House churches identify Mr. Xu’s group as doctrinally cultic, nevertheless, their basic constitutional rights should be protected.

Meanwhile, one more House Church pastor was arrested at 2:10 PM, July 6 (Beijing Time) at No. 4 Village, Hongshan Town, Langzhong City, Sichuan Province. Pastor Wang Shixiu (46-years-old) was shopping in her village when she was arrested by the PSB. Seven of the thirty leaders who were arrested May 28th, are still in custody. Dr. Li Baiguang, a legal scholar who met with President Bush in May, has taken up this case as the pastors’ legal representative. The Langzhong City government has agreed to an administrative review on July 5th.

CAA also learned that in the past few months, the city of Guangzhou, Guangdong Province has launched a campaign to clamp down on house churches there. With the exception of the house church led by well- known leader Pastor Samuel Lamb, most of the house churches there have been pressured to close. Two major ones, Meixin House Church and Wu Yang House Church had already been forced to shut down. One leader, who wishes to remain anonymous, told CAA that the police even brandished AK-47 rifles in a recent raid on his church.

CAA calls upon the international community to continue to press the Chinese government to respect the Chinese citizens’ constitutional rights on religious freedom. CAA urges the Chinese government to immediately release these pastors.

Premier Wen Jiabao, PRC
PO Box 1741, The State Council, Beijing, PRC (zip code 100017)
Contact Phone：+86-10-66012399
Email： gazette@mail.gov.cn

Ms. Wu Aiying, minister of Ministry of Justice of PRC
Tel: +86-10-65205114
Fax: +86-10-64729863
Email: pufamaster@legalinfo.gov.cn
Address：No. 10, Nan Da Jie, Chaoyangmen, Beijing City (Zip Code: 100020)

Issued by CAA on July 6, 2006

Another excellent article on the topic, visit Dr. Sally Bishai’s op-ed about The Marriage Three Proposal.

By Andrea Lafferty
Executive Director, Traditional Values Coalition
http://www.traditionalvalues.org/modules.php?sid=2784

July 12, 2006 - Defenders of the institution of traditional marriage were encouraged by three state court decisions in the past week. The Supreme Courts of Georgia and New York came down on the side of judicial restraint in legal challenges to bans on same-sex marriage. And, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court actually ruled correctly on a marriage amendment.

In Georgia, the court ruled that a marriage amendment passed by 77% of the voters in 2004 was constitutional and overturned a lower court decision violating the clearly expressed will of the people. Georgians have the right to amend their own constitution to define marriage as a one-man, one-woman union.

In New York, homosexual activists had challenged a ban on same-sex marriage, claiming that the New York Constitution mandated such marriages. The 4-2 decision declared that there is no constitutional right in New York for homosexuals to marry. The court also noted that such decisions should be in the hands of the legislature, not the courts. The New York Court of Appeals displayed judicial restraint, a welcome change from judicial activists who routinely impose their political agendas upon the American people.

In writing about the New York decision, Newsday described these judicial activists as individuals who view the U.S. Constitution, state constitutions and laws like Etch-A-Sketches. Noted Newsday, “These judges ignore what actually was intended and written, turn things upside down, shake and then write whatever they want.”

This is an apt description of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco and the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, which found a “right” to homosexual marriage in the 1780 Constitution of that state. A review of history shows that sodomy was a criminal offense in Massachusetts in the 18th century (and elsewhere), so it is unlikely that the state Constitution mandates same-sex marriage. The Supreme Judicial Court obviously viewed the state Constitution as an Etch-A-Sketch and eagerly imposed homosexual marriage upon Massachusetts.

Fortunately, this same court recently ruled that the Massachusetts state legislature and the people could vote on a marriage amendment to overturn this tyrannical decision. It was good of them to acknowledge the democratic process. Perhaps, there is hope for Massachusetts after all.

Judicial restraint is an alien concept to many judges, who view themselves as the real rulers of our nation. Judge Robert Bork has described these judges as “our robed masters” and has warned against the dangerous anti-democratic values that motivate these men and women.

A decade ago, Bork warned about judicial activism on the Supreme Court, noting they are “… our masters in a way that no President, Congressman, governor, or other elected official is. They order our lives and we have no recourse, no means of resisting, no means of altering their ukases. They are, indeed, robed masters.”

This is why it is so important for the Senate to confirm judicial conservatives to the federal bench—including the next vacancy on the Supreme Court. We must have men and women on the bench who understand that their role is to interpret, not make the laws. We must confirm judges who believe in judicial restraint and are not motivated by a desire to impose their own wills upon the American people.

Our choice is clear: We will be ruled by the people and their representatives or by unaccountable robed masters. Americans must demand that the Senate confirm judicial conservatives to our courts—or we will continue to lose our democratic freedoms to judicial tyrants.

MEDIA ADVISORY, June 19 /Christian Newswire/ — In response to Texas congressman Michael McCaul’s resolution on the plight of Palestinian Christians, Open Bethlehem’s chief executive Leila Sansour, a Christian from Bethlehem, has sent a letter to congress expressing her community’s shock at the gross misrepresentation of the real threat facing Christians of the Holy Land and has urged congress to pay heed to the real threat to the oldest Christian community in the world.

The letter dated 13 June states: “We are disappointed by the latest resolution drafted by congressman McCaul and congressman Crowley purporting to act on our behalf. The resolution seriously misrepresents the situation facing Christians in the Holy Land”.

The ill-conceived resolution accuses the Palestinian Authority of discrimination towards their own Christian community and blames it for the current wave of emigration of the Christians from the region. The resolution was drafted without any consultation with churches or Christian organizations in the Holy Land.

The resolution ignores the numerous calls from churches in Jerusalem and Bethlehem - and the overwhelming body of reports from international human rights organizations - that warn of the devastating effect of the Israeli system of closure, collective punishment and the construction of the wall. In the Holy City of Bethlehem, the wall forcefully expropriates most of Bethlehem’s valuable land and historic landmarks, depriving many Christian families of their homes, barring access to family and jobs in Jerusalem and all the lands that are on the other side of the wall.

By perpetuating the misconception that it is their Muslim neighbors and the Palestinian Authority who are creating this crisis, rather than policies imposed by the Israeli government, congressman McCaul is further entrenching the problems facing the Christian community rather than helping to address them.

The Open Bethlehem campaign was created to address the state of emergency in Bethlehem with full support from the Patriarchs of the churches in Jerusalem and all Bethlehem Civil institutions. His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI received the first Open Bethlehem passport, lending his support to the campaign alongside international figures such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu and President Jimmy Carter.

Open Bethlehem is encouraged by the interest shown by churches and church leaders across the US and the work of rep.Henry Hyde who has sought to bring congress’s attention to the plight of Christians in Palestine.

In a letter to the White House last Friday, Rep. Hyde stated that the Wall and expanding settlements are, “irreversibly damaging the dwindling Christian community.”

The report says that “the Bethlehem area is home to over 20 Israeli settlements and there are plans to build more. The settlements and the barrier completely encircle the Christian triangle of Bethlehem, Beit Jala and Beit Sahour (Shepherd’s Field).” In addition to causing housing and land shortages, “this construction physically obstructs the Bethlehem community from its spiritual, cultural and economic lifeline in Jerusalem.”

Since 2000, approx. 3,000 Christians from Bethlehem have emigrated. The UN states that: “This economic emigration will have a long-term impact on the multi- cultural character that has defined the city of Bethlehem for centuries.”

Leila Sansour says: “Palestinian Christians could very soon become unsustainable as a community. Their erosion will mean an end to sacred Christian traditions that go back to the time of Jesus, and an end to the presence of Christianity in the Holy Land. At this critical time it is imperative that Christians around the world act and speak responsibly about this issue. It is imperative that those who want to see an open, democratic and peaceful Middle East engage honestly with our plight.”
Church leaders from across the Christian denominations have criticised the resolution. In the letter to US congress Open Bethlehem has urged the formation of a fact finding mission from congress that would help representatives become closely informed about the situation.

Full text of the letter and resolution see www.openbethlehem.org

LONDON, June 19 /Christian Newswire/ — A shocking new book from an award-winning British journalist reveals how widespread Muslim immigration into Great Britain, coupled with the worldwide radicalization of Islam, has created a country within a country – a 5th column of Islamic jihad plotting war against the West from deep inside its bosom.

Melanie Phillips’ timely new work, LONDONISTAN, exposes the degree to which the global Islamic terror movement has infiltrated one of the capitals of Western civilization, and what it means for the future of that country…as well as our own.

Ominously, Phillips writes, the British experience holds significant lessons for America. Great Britain’s failure to deal with its radical Islam problem, and the widespread British condemnation of Israel, could lead to a breakup of the “special relationship” that has marked the U.S.-British relationship for a century. Moreover, it has profound implications for how a similarly open and tolerant nation must deal with sworn enemies residing within our own borders.

Phillips’ eye-opening account explores Great Britain’s failure not just to deal with the problem, but to even acknowledge one exists. LONDONISTAN paints a picture of a country so terrified of giving offense to its minority Muslim population that it has been cowed by radical clerics. With license to incite hatred and terror, London’s mosques have churned out thousands of foot soldiers in Islamic terrorism’s war against the West – including shoe-bomber Richard Reid, 9/11 plotter Zacarias Moussaoui, and the British Muslims who perpetrated last year’s hideous London Underground and bus bombings that killed 52 people.

LONDONISTAN provides a terrifying account of how top government officials in Great Britain have blatantly refused to recognize the true nature of their current crisis. Their failure of British police and intelligence services to acknowledge the Muslim terrorists operating within their midst renders their ability to defend Great Britain nearly worthless.

Among the shocking points revealed in Melanie Phillips’ LONDONISTAN:

How exasperated European security agencies, in a mocking reference to the Afghan training grounds for al-Qaeda, dubbed Britain’s capital city “Londonistan”
How Great Britain can be described as the birthplace of al-Qaeda
Why Brits can thank Prince Charles for London’s leading radical mosque, Finsbury Park
How the British push toward multiculturalism has provided cover for jihadist forces plotting terrorism
How British universities are being used as a major recruiting ground for Islamic terrorism
Plans for a 70,000 person mosque to be erected next to the Olympic Stadium in time for the 2012 games
Why the legions of Muslims in Britain who are British citizens not only feel no allegiance to their country, they are actively hostile to it
The newest political party in Europe is far left/Islamist, sympathetic to Saddam…and winning elections
How Muslim leaders in Britain are demanding – and are getting – special rights, along with the special application of Islamic religious law, known as “Sharia,” that denies rights to women
How the toleration by British authorities of Sharia law in certain quarters could lead to the effective legalization of polygamy
How the British Left has endorsed and advanced the grotesque anti-Semitism that infuses Islamism
The wholesale abdication by the Church of England in the face of this threat
How the British government is manipulated by the country’s radical Muslim clerics
How leading Brits are bending backwards to appease and accommodate a radical community bent on their annihilation
Why British police and intelligence services are impotent in the face of this growing threat
Great Britain has a celebrated history as the nation that stood up to Germany during World War II, but it has a less savory history in the run-up to that war, when British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain appeased Hitler in a bid to buy “peace in our time.” In LONDONISTAN, Melanie Phillips shows how the ruling class, the police, and the elites in modern day Great Britain are walking the same path as those who capitulated to Adolf Hitler. As Phillips makes clear (and as last year’s London bombings proved) that strategy is as likely to earn peace as Neville Chamberlain’s.

Melanie Phillips is an acclaimed columnist for London’s Daily Mail. Educated at Oxford, she won the Orwell Prize for journalism in 1996. She is the author of All Must Have Prizes, along with several other books. Many of her essays can be found on her website, www.melaniephillips.com

Including me..

A. It seems as though a large amount of my detractors are Moslems.
This can only be because they feel that I am being harsh on their so-called prophet, their religious printed matter (I could not, in good conscience, call it a “text”), and their whole cult in general.

I am very sorry these detractors feel this way. It is never Salib’s intention to harm, only to heal. But we must admit that a problem is present before we may get to the point where we can let the healing begin.

B. It seems as though a large number of my supporters are either devout Christians, Copts, or anti-Islamic Americans.
There is nothing wrong with this, and it only makes sense. Birds of a feather do flock together, as someone once said. In fact, those who hate Islamophobes also flock together, banding against people like me.
But moving back to my supporters, I wish to thank you for your support, and please remember that I do not mean to be a “hater,” I only wish to enlighten.

C. I do not understand how Moslems can be mad at me and others intent on proving the errors of Islam’s ways when we are merely quoting from their own book. You can’t blame me, blame what I have to work with!If these people have an issue with the words written in the “book,” then let them go into the depths of hell for five minutes and take it up with their beloved “prophet”.

Moslems, I cannot help it if “The Koran” is politically uncorrect to the Nth degree, I cannot help it if your tribe leader pushed murder, and I cannot help it if he changed laws to suit his own desires. If I was trying to take over a desert that ended up turning into the Middle East, I’m sure I would have done the same thing that he did (although I would have stayed away from kids.. and watermelons and donkeys, but that could just be me).

Moslems, do not be angered at the filth of your own book, just turn away.
Do not be upset that people in the west are on to Big Mo’s Big Plan, any more than you could be mad at your sister for walking in on you when it was you who were up to no good. Please do not feel such anger at people like me who are merely trying to expose the cancers of the world, so that we may heal the world from the ill health and misdeeds that arise from them.

I beg you to read the New Testament and get to know the person of Christ Jesus. Or, at least, get to know the imaginary “allah” of your religious book… I think you will get a much clearer picture of why so many people fear a much more widespread and large-scale conversion to this cult called Submission that instead reads like a cheap S & M manual.

June 29, 2006 – A report in the Chicago Tribune (June 19, 2006) indicates that secularism and Islam are rising influences in France as church attendance plummets.

Read More

WASHINGTON, June 26 /Christian Newswire/ — “We have a monster, an enemy in front of us.” – Ali El Jaouhar, ex-POW held captive by the POLISARIO Front for 23 years after a cease-fire was called.

The last of three luncheons with a delegation from Morocco occurred on Friday at The Columbus Hotel in Columbus, OH. An unusual exchange of communication between American Evangelicals and Moroccan Muslims has grown over the past two years, resulting in an unprecedented connection and understanding between the leaders of the two groups. This recent visit of a Moroccan delegation to the U.S. is a result of the ensuing friendship.

Hosted by the Evangelical organizations National Clergy Council and Christian Friendship Mission, the delegation last week traveled to Lancaster, PA, Pontiac, MI, and Columbus, OH, during the past week. The complementary luncheon events featured the Reverend Rob Schenck (pronounced SHANK), president of the National Clergy Council and an Evangelical minister, the Honorable Edward Gabriel, former US ambassador to Morocco and several victims of human rights abuses who were held in POLISARIO camps.

Attendees at the luncheons included a broad spectrum of leaders from the Evangelical community as well as representatives from Roman Catholic and mainline denominations.

The delegation continues to expose the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Western Sahara. Sadaani Ma Oulainie, a former child prisoner held hostage in Cuba for over a decade, and Ali El Jaouhar, an ex- POW detained for 23 years after the United Nations decreed a ceasefire between the warring countries of Morocco and Algeria, described their tortuous personal histories consisting of public beatings, humiliation, re-education, and the extended separation of families. Presently, thirty-year-old camps run by the Cuban-backed POLISARIO Front exist in southern Algeria where thousands of indigenous Sahrawi people of Western Sahara are sequestered and treated inhumanely, “worth less than donkeys”, says El Jaouhar.

The focus of these luncheons rests on the Christian community, requesting its help through prayer and by helping to further educate the public about the crisis. Church leaders, members and institutions are being asked to appeal to local members of Congress and specifically the US Ambassador for Religious Liberty, John Hanford, to investigate the charges against the POLISARIO Front and to broker a settlement that will allow detainees to leave the camps. Saadani plead with those in attendance, “I am asking that you scream for us.”

Columbus, Ohio, National Clergy Council representative the Reverend Dr. Samuel Farina, pastor of the large Christian Assembly on Karl Road and founder of numerous community outreach initiatives, closed with prayer and encouragement on Friday afternoon, “It is the cry of every human being to be free. As the people of God we can do something.”

Prior to this visit, a Moroccan delegation traveled to Trenton, NJ, and to Sarasota and Jacksonville, FL in March 2006. Additional visits are scheduled for August and December 2006 with plans to tour Texas and California respectively.

MEDIA ADVISORY, June 30 /Christian Newswire/ — “Just days before our nation celebrates its freedom, the top judge in the United States Navy has ruled that a chaplain can be punished for the content of his sermon in an optional chapel service and for his prayers while aboard ship!” says Janet Folger, President of Faith2Action, and author of the telling book, The Criminalization of Christianity.

Military Judge Anita K. Baker has endorsed a ruling that a commanding officer had grounds to punish Navy Chaplain Gordon Klingenschmitt for preaching an “exclusive” sermon. He was punished in writing three times by his commanding officer for preaching a service that included the Gospel. The service in question was a Christian memorial service in the chapel for a sailor, who died from injuries resulting from a motorcycle accident. This sailor had professed faith in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior shortly before his death. Attendance for the service was completely voluntary.

The sermon was advertised as a Christian service to honor the Christian faith of this sailor. The message included a quotation of John 3:36, which says “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

“Why has the Navy JAG ruled that the Bible can’t be quoted in the chapel?” asks Chaplain Klingenschmitt. He believes the Navy is contradicting its own code. “This proves they’ve been lying to the public for six months saying we have total freedom to quote the Bible, and pray in Jesus’ name during optional worship.” Klingenschmitt said. “Their top judge ruled we clearly don’t have that freedom.” The only appeal options for the chaplain are: (1) to file a lawsuit against the Navy in federal court; or (2) to have the decision overturned by either President Bush (202-456-1414) or Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld (703-692-5131).

“I told you so!” Folger enthused! “This is exactly what I predicted would happen in my book— Christianity is criminalized in sermons and prayers in America.” “If they can silence this chaplain today, they will silence you tomorrow. None of our religious freedoms are safe until this is reversed.”

By Randall A. Terry

What follows are excerpts of a much larger work in progress that compares the lives, teachings, and early disciples of Christ and Mohammed. These sections deal primarily with Mohammed, in order to introduce the reader to new concepts and information.

…I wish to point out one essential factor that I believe is central to understanding the history and contemporary life of Islam. Namely this: Islam is a theocentric (God-centered) blueprint for every aspect of life. Education, art, politics, family, war, peace, tax, the care of the poor, literature, prayer, worship, dealing with unbelievers… every facet of life for the individual and the community are explicitly under the rule and commands of Allah.

Most Western “analysts” - whether authors, radio hosts, or “talking heads” on television news broadcasts fail (or refuse) to grasp the significance and the implications of the word “theocentric.” To understand Mohammed, Islam, Islamic nations, and the recent wave of terrorist attacks, one must understand and even immerse oneself in the theocentric view of life, duty, and death as taught in Islam; and that theocentric view must be seen through the eyes and life of Mohammed.

Our current “media elite” (and God knows most college elite) are distinctly incapable of viewing the world through theocentric eyes because they despise that worldview [in the Judeo/Christian sense.] Therefore they are incapable of understanding, much less analyzing the Islamic mind…

…To understand Islam, one must grasp the Islamic mind—one that is theocentric in nature, and Mohammedan in texture and direction.

Mohammed’s vision of the Almighty and His specific directives are central to understanding Islam. As Christ is the central figure, hero, and example of the Christian faith, Mohammed is the central figure, hero, and example of the Islamic faith. Doing the will of Allah as revealed to Mohammed is the duty of Muslims; exploring Mohammed is the duty of all who want to understand Islam. Only in finding Mohammed’s life and voice can we understand the patterns and passions of the Islamic world.

In that light, we must ask in deadly earnest: What would Mohammed do? …

…After a decade of preaching and teaching various aspects of monotheistic worship and faith with very meager results, Mohammed took a sudden turn towards the use of force. It came at the battle of Badr.

This development took many of his followers by surprise. He decided to launch a very aggressive raid against a large caravan: “…when the messenger of God [Mohammed] heard that Abu Sufyan was arriving from Syria, he sent the Muslims out against them, saying, ‘This caravan belongs to Quraysh, and will carry much wealth. Attack it; God may present it to you.’ The men got ready, some pleased, others apprehensive because they had not thought the messenger of God would make war.” (Kathir, 253)

Again, note the surprise of some of Mohamed’s followers. Many Muslims did not go into battle with him; perhaps they thought that Islam was a “religion of peace.” Some of those who joined the attack were polytheists who wanted the booty of war. Also note that the attack of a caravan was not seen merely as a “train robbery,” but an act of war. Mohammed–the prophet, preacher and teacher–was about to trigger a war with a very powerful and respected city; he was attempting the theft of wealth of a dreadful aristocracy.

The Quraysh were key leaders of Mecca. The caravan that Mohammed was preparing to assault had a massive amount of wealth from nearly every key family of Mecca. Three hundred and thirteen militants responded to Mohammed’s call to arms and plunder. [1000 Meccans then mobilized to protect the caravan.]

…Once Mohammed saw that his men were ready to fight in spite of the odds, he began to frame the entire oncoming battle in theocentric terms. “He then said, ‘Go Forward in good spirits! God has promised me I shall take one of the two parties. I swear by God I feel I can already see their destruction!’ “ (Kathir, 260)

It was here that Mohammed spoke of killing and dying in battle as an act of religious devotion that would please God and earn the participants eternal life. For example, Ibn Ishaq, perhaps the most respected of all Islamic historians concerning the life of Mohammed recounts the following: “Then the apostle went forth to the people and incited them saying, ‘By God in whose hand is the soul of Mohammed, no man will be slain this day fighting against them with steadfast courage advancing not retreating but God will cause him to enter Paradise.’ “ (Ibn Ishaq, 300)

The effect of this message was immediate and profound. A man named Umayr “…was eating some dates which he had in his hand. ‘Fine, fine!’ said he, ‘Is there nothing between me and my entering paradise save to be killed by these men?’ He flung the dates from his hand, seized his sword, and fought against them till he was slain…” (Ibn Ishaq, 300) He believed his death in battle under Mohammed’s guidance would guarantee his entrance into paradise.

Another devoted believer in Mohammed’s words asked this question: “‘O apostle of God, what makes the Lord laugh with joy at his servant?’ He [Mohammed] answered, ‘When he plunges into the midst of the enemy without mail.’“ [Mail was small woven links of chain worn as body armor.] After hearing Mohammed’s response, he “…drew off the mail-coat that was on him and threw it away: then he seized his sword and fought the enemy till he was slain.” (Ibn Ishaq, 300) The battle of Badr was about to begin. “When the Messenger of God saw them coming forward into the valley from their position behind the sand hill at al-Aqanqal, he said, ‘O God, these men advancing are Quraysh in all their vanity and pride; they are antagonistic to you and they are calling your Prophet a liar. Oh God, give us your victory you promised us! Oh God, destroy them this morning.’” (Ibn Kathir, 268)

And so the “miracle” unfolded: “Then the apostle took a handful of small pebbles and said, turning towards Quraysh, ‘Foul be those faces!’ Then he threw the pebbles at them and ordered his companions to charge. The foe was routed. God slew many of their chiefs and made captive many of their nobles.” (Ibn Ishaq, 301)

As far as Mohammed and his men were concerned, this was a miracle that confirmed that “…There is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is his messenger.” 300 foot soldiers had miraculously routed 1000 soldiers, and killed and captured many of their chiefs. Only Allah could have wrought such a victory. In the same way that Christ’s miracles proved His message (See Matt 9:6; Mark 10:2 & 16:20; John 11: 41-45), Mohammed’s victory showed that his message and authority were true. What more proof was needed?

Another key result of the battle of Badr is that those killed in battle are now referred to and honored as martyrs. It is from this point that the theme of obtaining eternal life from martyrdom in battle takes center stage in the words and history of Mohammed. Space does not permit me to delineate this progression, but the insatiable desire for martyrdom in battle becomes a virtually unstoppable engine of war within the Muslim community and its theology. When unbelievers were encouraged to convert to Islam or face the threat of war, they were told: “We have men who love death more than you love life.”

…Allow me to quickly point out one other “miracle” associated with Mohammed. Mohammed was trying to take one of the forts of the Jews (at Khaybar) who he counted as his enemies. “The apostle said, ‘Tomorrow I will give the flag to a man who loves Allah and his apostle. Allah will conquer it by his means; he is no runaway.’ So he called Ali who was suffering from ophthalmia at that time and spat in his eye, saying, ‘Take this flag and go with it until God gives a victory through you.’ So Ali went off with it, gasping as he hurried… he did not return until God had conquered by his hands.”

On at least two occasions, Christ effected a blind man’s healing with His spittle. (Mark 8:23, John 9:6) The end of the matter was sight–with life and peace and joy. With Mohammed’s miracle of spitting in Ali’s eye, the end of the matter was war, conquering, and death…

After the Jewish fort of Khaybar had been taken by Ali, Mohammed summoned Kinana son of al-Rabi, who was a treasurer of Khaybar. Mohammed asked him where the treasure was kept, but Kinana denied any knowledge of its whereabouts.
Ibn Ishaq reports: “A Jew came to the apostle and said that he had seen Kinana going round a certain ruin every morning early. When the apostle said to Kinana, ‘Do you know that if we find you have it I shall kill you?’ He said yes. The apostle gave orders that the ruin was to be excavated and some of the treasure was found. When he asked him about the rest he refused to produce it, so the apostle gave orders to al-Zubayr son of al-Awwam, ‘Torture him until you extract what he has,’ so he kindled a fire with flint and steel on his chest until he was nearly dead. Then the apostle delivered him to Mohammed son of Maslama and he struck off his head…” (Ibn Ishaq, 515)

Mohammed then took the dead man’s wife, Safiya, and he “married” her within one or two days of her husband’s killing. (Ibn Ishaq, 515) She was 19 years old, and stunningly beautiful. Imagine the horror of this young wife who had seen her husband, her father and her people slain in cold blood being taken into the tent of the 52 year old Mohammed, and becoming his “wife.”

…after the “miracle” of the battle of Badr, Mohammed enjoyed an almost unbroken string of military successes. Those military successes resulted in death for his unbelieving enemies, booty for his followers, and served as dreadful warnings to those tribes and cities over which Mohammed had cast his gaze. The message that emerged was this: Come in peace to Islam, declare your allegiance to Mohammed and his religion, or run the risk of being swept away.

During that time of sudden military victory and expansion, he began to send out individuals or small bands of Islamic soldiers to strike down his enemies. As in the battle of Badr, their mission was to strike terror in the hearts of unbelievers–with the hope that they would see Mohammed’s military victories as a divine token of approval of his apostleship.

It was during this time that Mohammed began a new practice of dealing with his detractors: assassination. He would send out individuals or small groups (two or three or four men) with specific instructions to assassinate a certain man or woman. The intent of the assassinations was the same as open war: the punishment of specific unbelievers that had offended Mohammed, and the conversion of others to Islam who would see or hear of someone’s gruesome death, and then confess their faith in Mohammed. The fruit of the battle of Badr was going to seed…

[Upcoming excerpts will show the use of beheadings and assassinations; how Mohammed "won converts;" how Mohammed treated his enemies; the part that theft and plunder plays in the Mohammedan scheme; the treatment of hostages; dealings with Christians and Jews; and the vision of Islam to conquer the world in the same way that it conquered the Byzantine Empire... and nearly conquered Europe. By Randall Terry, 3501-B, Ponce de Leon Blvd, St. Augustine FL, 32084]

Sources

The Life of the Prophet Muhammad. Ibn Kathir. Volume II, Translated by Professor Trevor LeGassick. Garnet publishing.

The Koran. Translated from the Aribic by J.M. Rodwell

The Life of Muhammad. A translation of Ishaq’s Sirat Rasol Allah. Oxford University Press.

Al-Tabari, Volume VIII, New York University Press

A Short History of Islam, S.F. Mahmud, Oxford University Press