Unpopular Arab Thoughts That All Arabs Have Thought

WASHINGTON, Mar. 29 /Christian Newswire/ — The Washington-DC based human rights group, International Christian Concern (ICC) has just learned that an Ethiopian evangelist named Tedase was beaten to death by militant Muslims on Monday, March 26th, as he and two young women were on a street evangelism assignment in Jimma, Ethiopia. This marks the second time in six months that Christians residing in Southeast Ethiopia have been attacked and killed by extremist (Wahabbi) Muslims.

On Monday afternoon Tedase and two female coworkers were conducting street evangelism on Merkato Street in Jimma, Southern Ethiopia. Merkato Street runs by a Wahabbi Mosque. As the team was walking by the Mosque, a group of Muslims exited the Mosque and began to run after them to confront them. Tedase’s female coworkers ran away from the mob but Tedase continued on. The Muslims caught up with Tedase, pulled him into the mosque, and savagely beat him to death. Sources from Jimma reported that Tedase was beaten with a calculated intention to kill him. This was no accident or case of mob frenzy getting out of control. His body was later taken to the hospital for an autopsy and he was buried Tuesday, March 27.

Our sources also reveal that Jimma Christians were conducting an evangelism campaign, and news of the outreach was spreading among Jimma residents as well as militant Muslim groups in the area. The Muslims that belonged to the Wahabbi sect purposefully beat Tedase to death as a message to Christians that they are ready to combat evangelism.

Aftershocks of the September 2006 Pogrom

This most recent incident in Ethiopia confirms ICC’s decision to include this country in its Hall of Shame list, which highlights nations where Christians are enduring the most severe persecution. It is important to note that the Muslims who attacked Tedase belonged to the Wahabbi brand of Islam, an extremist sect imported from Saudi Arabia. It is clear that the Christians in Ethiopia are feeling Saudi Arabia’s influence, particularly in Jimma, a Muslim dominated area where local authorities are almost exclusively Muslim. It was only six months ago, in September of 2006, that Muslim extremists burned down a number of churches and parishes, as well as Christian homes. As many as 2,000 Christians were displaced by the attack, an attempt to intimidate Christians with the hopes of converting them to Islam.

Evangelical church leaders are fearful that if police ignore Tedase’s death, it will be a green light for Muslim groups in the area to attack their Christian neighbors at will and without retribution. We appeal to concerned individuals to contact the Ethiopian embassy in their own countries to ask for an investigation of Tedase’s murder.

Ethiopian Embassy, Washington D.C.
3506 International Drive, NW
Washington, DC 20008 USA
Tel: 202/364-1200
Fax: 202/587-0195
info@ethiopianembassy.org

Ethiopian Embassy, London
17 Princes Gate
London SW7 1PZ UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 7589 7212
Fax: +44 (0)20 7584 7054
info@ethioembassy.org.uk

Ethiopian Embassy, Canada
#210-151 Slater Street
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1P5H3
Tel:- 613-235-6637
Fax: 613-235-4638
infoethi@magi.com

A Moving and Inspirational Testimony — A Thought-Provoking Analysis
MEDIA ADVISORY, Mar. 28 /Christian Newswire/ — How Was it Possible? is a moving autobiography written by former Hitler youth and German soldier, Hilmar von Campe. While describing his life and remorse as an active participant in the greatest tragedy of the twentieth century, von Campe warns the world that it faces greater challenges today then it did with Adolph Hitler.

Von Campe lived through years of Nazi power and brain-washing. After the war, he learned about the Holocaust and Nazi atrocities. It was then that he came to grips with his own contribution to these horrors and his moral responsibilities for them.

“Hilmar is in a unique position to illuminate the mindset that allowed Hitler to rationalize the extermination of millions of Jews – given his personal travails during that tragic era. Americans would do well to heed his insights into similar dangers they are facing with Radical Radical Islam today. ” — Dr. James C. Dobson, Founder & Chairman, Focus On The Family

“The growth of the Third Reich in Eastern Europe was infinitesimal as compared today to that of Radical Islam. The powerful delivery system of the Internet makes it possible for terrorist organizations to spread their message of hate and violence to a worldwide audience, with a simple ‘key stroke.’”

Von Campe lectures at churches and major events nationwide, as he compares the Nazi philosophy to that of Radical Islam. His analysis is both shocking and thought-provoking, as he discusses:

How Radical Islam follows the footprints of the Third Reich.

How Russia recruited and trained Yasser Arafat, and helped the Palestinian leader form the PLO, launching terrorism as we know it today.

Hitler’s persecution of Jews has been taken to new levels by Radical Islam, and today all non- Muslims are potential victims.

How God changed von Campe’s heart, and how God uses von Campe to touch the hearts and minds of others.

About the Author
Listed in the 1992 “International Who’s Who of Intellectuals,” von Campe is the author of five books. He is a WWII veteran of the German Army and former prisoner of war in Communist Yugoslavia, who narrowly escaped in 1945, after crossing seven borders to freedom. Hilmar von Campe is now an American citizen. For more on Hilmar von Campe, please go to: www.talkguests.com/voncampe.htm

Announcement coming to you late, but at least we know they care!

WASHINGTON, Mar. 28 /Christian Newswire/ — Officials from the Justice Department will hold a seminar as part of the Department’s First Freedom Project to address federal laws protecting religious freedom. Topics will include religious discrimination, religious land use, and prosecuting religion-based hate crimes.

Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales announced the First Freedom Project in February 2007 as an initiative to protect religious liberty. The initiative includes the creation of a Department-wide Task Force on Religious Liberty, increased outreach to individuals and organizations concerned with religious liberty issues, and a series of regional seminars. This seminar will be held TOMORROW, MARCH 29 at 9:00 A.M. CST.

Event Details—

Who:

Bradley J. Schlozman, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri
Eric Treene, Special Counsel for Religious Discrimination, Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division
Steven H. Rosenbaum, Chief, Housing and Civil Enforcement, Civil Rights Division
Mark Kappelhoff, Chief, Criminal Section, Civil Rights Division
Jeff Lanza, Special Agent, FBI Kansas City Field Office

What: First Freedom Project Seminar

When: Thursday, March 29, 2007, 9:00 A.M. CST

Where: Hyatt Regency Crown Center, Kansas City, Missouri

Note: Admission is free, but registration is required. To register, call Jacqueline Greene at 202- 514-5410

WASHINGTON, Mar. 29 /Christian Newswire/ — The Christian Defense Coalition was sponsoring a public celebration of The Stations of the Cross when they were ordered to leave a public sidewalk in front of the Library of Congress while they were kneeling in prayer.

The group had been granted a permit by the United States Capitol Police and they were not blocking pedestrian traffic on the public sidewalk.

The Coalition calls the incident a trampling of the First Amendment and a gross violation of protecting religious expression in the public square.

Coalition Director, Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, wonders why anti-war protesters were allowed to spray paint the United States Capitol Building with no consequences, while peaceful Christians were ordered to leave a public sidewalk for praying.

The Christian Defense Coalition is now in discussion with lawyers at the American Center for Law and Justice to consider all their legal options and ensure religious freedom is protected in the nation’s capital.

Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense Coalition, comments, “One of the cornerstones of our democracy is the right of every America to peacefully express their views in the public square free from government interference and harassment. All citizens, regardless of their faith traditions, should be able to publicly express them with the full assurance that their beliefs will not be trampled or crushed by public officials or law enforcement. Sadly, that was not the case yesterday in Washington, D.C.

“It is extremely troubling when American citizens are told by federal law enforcement officials that they are not allowed to pray on a public sidewalk and they must ‘move along’ or face the consequences. The Christian Defense Coalition is in the process of considering all our legal options and will continue to work diligently to ensure that the First Amendment and free speech rights are protected in the public square.”

See a news article and photos from the event

HERE

BUDAPEST, Hungary, Mar. 27 /Christian Newswire/ — In a truly tragic story regarding tainted food poisonings of hundreds of dogs and cats, one should consider that abortion is actually related to this very sad story. According to a previous article, Pet Owners Double Checking Cabinets, the substance that is killing these beloved animals is “aminopterin, a cancer drug that once was used to induce abortions in the United States and is still used to kill rats in some other countries, state Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker said.”

“I find it amazing that the justified outrage against this poisoning incident cannot be also turned toward the continued slaughter of the unborn by abortifacient drugs like RU-486.” So says Phil Magnan, Director for Biblical Family Advocates. “Remarkably this same substance that is killing these pets has been used to kill rats. It was also used to induce abortion in the 50’s and 60’s, but was discontinued because there were the serious side effects of producing very deformed children, when the administration of aminopterin failed to kill the child in the womb, as it was an abortifacient drug.”

BFA hopes that many Americans as well as the many other countries will reconsider the debate about the use of abortifacient drugs. Magnan continued “It would truly be remarkable if the FDA had as much consideration for the unborn as they do for these suffering animals. RU-486 and the many other abortion drugs are nothing more that human pesticides marketed by organizations like Planned Parenthood, who kill millions of tiny humans this way. I am also waiting for animal rights advocacy groups to speak against the poisoning of the animal species called humans. If it is not compassionate to poison an animal, why do we poison pre born humans? Even Jesus Christ said we were of greater value than the animals.”

Don’t take the postings on this site the wrong way. I am grateful for your visits and readership and comments, but you must please know that unless I write an article or sign a comment as “Salib” then I do not necessarily endorse it. This is in response to several recent comments that I am for or against Rick Warren, and also George el MAsry’s article, and others.

If a press release appears here, I may or may not agree with it or even believe it. I merely post things that have to do with what I am interested in sharing with you all.

You will not believe how many people send me things to post here. I do try to weed out the ones that are ridiculous, but sometimes one or two will slip through. Nonetheless, thanks to all of the people who visit me here all the time, and leave messages of support-and messages of opposition. I value each one of them.

May our Lord Jesus bless you today,
Salib

– Offers Interim Plan
WASHINGTON, Mar. 26 /Christian Newswire/ — An “urgent plea for immediate, pan-Anglican readiness after the U.S. Episcopal Church’s desertion from Anglicanism last week” was made today by a national organization of orthodox Anglican laypersons. It advocates rapid, multi-group development of “The Anglican Church of the United States of America” as a new province-in-waiting. Announcement would be immediate, with operations following swiftly.

“Faithful Anglican groups with shared interests are needed, such as the Anglican Communion Network and already-defected organizations which have melded shared interests in Common Cause Partners and the Federation of Anglicans in the Americas. At long last their goal of a unified Anglican church in the U.S.A. that is faithful to Christ can become a reality,” Lay Episcopalians for the Anglican Communion (LEAC) said.

“We should create the new unified product now — up and operating as soon as possible, not next year or the year after — in order to stop the hemorrhaging of our Anglican lifeblood. That’s a great challenge and awesome change of pace for church people, but we can do it. We should selflessly engage our can-do American spirit rather than the casual, no-hurry, wait- and-see mode with which we have been all too comfortable. A new cultural dynamic is needed to give actual solutions in saving our debilitated Anglicanism highest corporate priority.

“LEAC has been working on the “province-in-waiting” for several months and will offer its organizational ideas and work product as suggestions for a way forward to a new pan-Anglican church in the United States. It will provide administrative and coordinating help as desired. Our progressing work is benefited greatly by consultation with leading bishops and laypersons, among whom is Bishop John R. Rodgers, retired Episcopal priest who headed the Trinity Episcopal School of Ministry and was a founder of the Anglican Mission in America.

“There is similar work in other quarters. Hopefully it will be accelerated with broader-based teaming. Our only interest is collaborative restoration of Anglicanism here and accomplishing our missionary obligation to advocate interests of the laity in their hopes for restoring and sharing in the protection of a healthy denomination in Christ.

“You can be sure that if the captain of an ocean liner announced that the ship would sink at sea on September 30, there would a great demand that lifeboats and release systems are in order. Already- committed laypersons want the lifeboats in order now to move toward a post-TEC Anglican landscape and bring in other, often confused, even disparate faithful together in a new, safe church,” LEAC explained. “There should be urgent engagement of diverse, cooperative resources, maximizing our common beliefs and working through differences to arrive at an optimal denomination for all.

“There is too much relaxation in the idea that everything is in the hands of the Anglican Communion. Of course that’s true, but the Communion is beset by its own difficulties, diverting its sharp focus from urgent needs in this country. More importantly, the formative task is now ours as tragic losses in our faith cry out for disciplined, sustained action to prepare an operating province-in-waiting. That American work is obviously not the communion’s. We need the new operating church as soon as possible, ready to receive additional faithful groups later when and if the worldwide group invites us in to replace TEC and it seems appropriate to do so, we’ll be ready,” the Washington-based organization said. “We can start very soon with standby commitments from those dioceses, parishes and individuals who are now ready to step forward into a Scripturally reliable new church.”

Announcement now of that readiness “will forestall further Balkanizing of our national orthodox resources and the disastrous flight from the pews experienced in recent years,” LEAC said. Average Sunday attendance at U.S. Episcopal churches has shrunk about fifty per cent since liberalism took firm control nationally in the early 1990s. Only conservative parishes are growing, most of them in at least impaired communion with the international Anglican denomination but awaiting Anglican rebirth in America.

“These conservative parishes will grow even faster once they are freed from the crippling oppression and intimidation of The Episcopal Church,” adds Hudson Barton, who is LEAC’s province-in-waiting coordinator.

LEAC said it is contacting leadership organizations and individuals asking them to share in organizing additional roundtable discussions.

Last week the House of Bishops of the U.S. Episcopal Church (TEC) rejected a proposal by the primates of the worldwide Anglican Communion which might have brought the U.S. church back into active status internationally.

Primates representing more than half of the Anglican Communion’s communicants have declared various levels of impaired relations after consecration of an openly homosexual bishop and refusal to prohibit church recognition of homosexual partnerships. The U.S. church was given until September 30 to reply to a demanding proposal, but several foreign primates have said the action last week served as an answer.

LEAC said there is need for readiness to replace TEC as the national church when the communion disposes of the TEC problem and is open to a new Anglican province.

“That whole process may take years, but most leadership U.S. Anglicans agree that their future is coming into sharp focus very quickly, requiring real- time solutions,” said James Ince, founder and member of the steering committee of the one-year-old LEAC.

“With help from some of the most experienced bishops and laypersons, we have prepared a schematic structure, a collaborative Statement of Anglican Faith, a proposed new constitution and canons and a timetable for introductory operation on All Saints’ Day, November 1, 2007.

“The most critical thing we can do right now to halt the destruction of Anglicanism as a robust denomination in our country is announce authoritatively that there very soon will be a new, phased-in Anglican church, shortly ready to receive immediate membership, with provisions for standby or transitional memberships committed but awaiting a provincial declaration by the Anglican Communion. That can only be done by cooperating, collaborating groups with a powerful, demonstrated sense of commitment and mission in that work,” LEAC said.

LEAC is a nonprofit, tax-exempt corporation, a national advocacy organization faithful to the authority of Christian Scripture and the Anglican Communion

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Mar. 26 /Christian Newswire/ — For the next two weeks, March 26 through April 6, Randall Terry will guest host the radio show “Outside The Wire.” The live radio show airs weekdays 2-3 PM Eastern Time.

In the last 3 years, Randall Terry returned to college for a second BA; much of his study and research focused on Islam and Mohammed. Terry also began his Arabic studies in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Mt. Scopus Campus), and toured several Muslim nations for research on Islam. He has begun taking graduate courses –focusing on Islam, terrorism, and America’s defense.

Radio listeners will hear Terry expound on a seminar he teaches, “What Would Mohammed Do?” (Copyright, 2006), which unlocks much of the mystery surrounding Islamic culture, law, and the behaviors of Islamic extremists. Terry has debated Muslim leaders on TV and radio, and done extensive interviews around the nation on this topic.

Randall Terry comments, “To understand Islamic culture, law, family – as well as the sub-culture of terror – one must study Mohammed. “What would Mohammed Do?” is the question that provides the answers to questions about daily headlines as well as centuries of Islamic culture and conquest.

“Hostage taking, death threats to those who satirize Mohammed, decapitations, ’suicide bombers,’ dictators, the punishment of Muslims who convert away from Islam, the treatment of women, the lack of freedom of religion and freedom of speech in Islamic nations – all of these hold their roots in what Muslims call ‘The Traditions of the Prophet.’ When we learn Mohammed’s ‘traditions,’ we will understand Islam; only then will the news from Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia become clear.”

To watch or listen to Randall Terry:

Live on the air in Jacksonville, Florida, 1320 AM, WBOB, 2-3 PM Eastern

Live audio online at www.WJGR.com 2-3 PM Eastern

Live Video Streaming (Computer Television) at www.helloworld.com/randallterry by clicking the “Shows” Icon on the left, then clicking the “On Air Now” button. (No software or downloads required.) 2- 3 PM Eastern. Shows will be archived for later viewing.

Samples of Randall Terry’s written research on Islam is available online at www.randallterry.com/writings in the Islam section.

Escalating Oppression Seeks to Destroy Coptic Christians

JERSEY CITY, NJ, Mar. 20 /Christian Newswire/ — The U.S. has turned a blind eye to Coptic Christians, as they continue to suffer human rights abuses under Egypt’s regime. In lieu of the escalating violence and oppression against the Copts, the American Coptic Union is asking Congress to intervene on behalf of those victimized, and impose economic sanctions against Egypt. Since the current U.S. foreign policy appeases Egypt’s regime actions against Coptic Christians, it will inevitably endanger America’s interests in Egypt and the Middle East because the eventual eradication of Coptic Christians in Egypt will cause the U.S. to lose its political leverage in the region.

Recent Acts of Violence, Oppression and Subjugation

Murder of Copts by Muslims in Cairo
On March 9, 2007, two Coptic Christians were killed by Muslims in Imbabah, Cairo. Atta Attia and his son Magdy, were gunned down in front of their home by a group of Muslims who were waiting to murder them. The District Attorney investigating the case did not prosecute any of the Muslim attackers, but rather accused Attia’s second son, Essmat, of carrying a weapon, even though no weapon was found. As usual, the Egyptian authorities sought to protect the perpetrators and punish the victims.

Muslims Raid Christian Village in Armant, Qina Province
Christian villages have become the target of systematic persecution and violence by the Egyptian authorities. The most recent of these attacks was on February 22, 2007, when Muslims raided a Coptic Christian village in Armant, Upper Egypt. As a result, many homes and businesses belonging to Christians were set on fire and destroyed.

Report by Compass Direct

Report by United Press International

Direct threats against Copts in the US by the Patriarch and Egyptian Government
As a result of the American Coptic Union’s growing support against Article 2 of Egypt’s Constitution, Shenouda III, (the current disputed Patriarch on behalf of Egypt’ regime and the Muslim Brotherhood), publicly warned Copts against calling for the cancellation of Article 2. Shenouda has said that he fully endorses Article 2.

Shenouda’s message is disturbing because Article 2 calls for the implementation of Sharia Law as the main source of legislation in Egypt. This law seriously discriminates against Christians, women and non- Muslim minorities, thus encouraging violence against them. Copts have been targeted by Muslims for increased attacks as a result of Article 2.

Shenouda has also publicly supported the Muslim takeover of Jerusalem, and has called for America to stop supporting Israel. He has said publicly that the Al Aqsa Mosque should be protected by Muslims and must be taken from the Jews.

The American Coptic Union questions Shenouda’s motives, as his fiery speeches have only served to spread increased hatred against Copts, and have created an even greater anger among , Christians, Catholic, and Protestant, and Jews. And while aligning himself as a sympathetic and vocally active supporter of Egypt’s Arab Muslim agenda, Shenouda has done nothing to protect his flock. He has, instead, aligned himself with despicable actions perpetrated by the Egyptian government by cooperating in the cover up of numerous crimes against the Copts. He has also flagrantly compromised the safety and future security of the Copts by shamelessly aiding and abetting the Egyptian government in its forward movement to destabilize and eradicate the Coptic culture in Egypt, through continued persecution, fear and infiltration.

Egypt’s Persecution of a Muslim Sympathizer with Israel
During the recent espionage trial of Muhammed Ghunaim Al Attar, a Canadian Egyptian Muslim who was communicating with Israeli Jews, Mr. Hussein Abdu Ghany, Al Jazeera’s Cairo correspondent, said “According to Egyptian official sources this trial is a warning to the Copts in the US.” Not only was Al Attar arrested, but warrants were issued to three Israelis who were associated with him as well. Al Attar’s trial was understood to be a confirmation of this treat by Egyptian authorities against Coptic activists.

AHN Media Corp. Global News: Egypt Forbids Christians to Make Easter Pilgrimage to Israel as Egyptian Stands Trial as Spy For Israel

United Press International reports that the Egyptian government has banned Coptic Christians from traveling to Israel.

Another Coptic Bishop to be exiled by Egypt
Destroying the Coptic culture and religion is an ongoing process by the Egyptian government. Last month, Bishop Kerrolus of Nagah Hamadi, in Upper Egypt, was sent to a trial to excommunicate and exile him from his diocese. Many of his followers attended the trial to protest this action.
Bishop Kerrolus is the sixth bishop to be excommunicated and exiled. The other five are:

Bishop Armonious of Luxor,
Bishop Taklah of Deshnah,
Bishop Bafnatious of Samalutt,
Bishop Mina of Al Mina,
Bishop Mittias of Al Mahallah

With the help of Shenouda, Egypt’s regime has adopted a policy of excommunication and exile for these bishops who were helping their own parishioners and actively seeking to stop the forced conversion of Coptic Christians into Islam.

The American Coptic Union believes that Bishop Kerrolus’ involvement in the release of two kidnapped Christian girls by Muslim men in April of 2006 is the reason for his eventual excommunication and exile.

While living in Egypt, George Bebawi, a respected Coptic professor and dean of the Indiana Orthodox School for Christian Studies, was also exiled for his outspokenness against the Egyptian Patriarch. Dr. Bebawi, a popular figure among the Copts in both the U.S. and Egypt, has recently accused Shenouda of heresy and of spreading the teachings of Islam.

Egypt Continues to Include Article 2 in its Constitution
Despite the call by millions of Christian and moderate Muslims in Egypt to get rid of Article 2 from the constitution, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has joined forces with the Muslim Brotherhood to fight hard to include this article. .

The American Coptic Union implores the U.S. government to stop the Egyptian government from the continued violence and subjugation against the Coptic Christians before their presence in Egypt is completely destroyed.

http://compassdirect.org/en/display.php?page=news&lang=en&length=long&idelement=4780&backpage=summaries

http://www.upi.com/InternationalIntelligence/view.php?StoryID=20070214-015459-9320r

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7006709348

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/egypt_bans_easter_pilgrimage_to_jerusalem/20070308-101725-9436r/

The $124 billion supplemental appropriation is a good bill
to oppose. I am pleased that many of my colleagues will
join me in voting against this measure.

If one is unhappy with our progress in Iraq after four
years of war, voting to de-fund the war makes sense. If
one is unhappy with the manner in which we went to war,
without a constitutional declaration, voting no makes
equally good sense.

Voting no also makes the legitimate point that the
Constitution does not authorize Congress to direct the
management of any military operation - the president
clearly enjoys this authority as Commander in Chief.

But Congress just as clearly is responsible for making
policy, by debating and declaring war, raising and equipp-
ing armies, funding military operations, and ending
conflicts that do not serve our national interests.

Congress failed to meet its responsibilities four years
ago, unconstitutionally transferring its explicit war power
to the executive branch. Even though the administration
started the subsequent preemptive war in Iraq, Congress
bears the greatest responsibility for its lack of courage
in fulfilling its duties. Since then Congress has obedient-
ly provided the funds and troops required to pursue this
illegitimate war.

We won’t solve the problems in Iraq until we confront
our failed policy of foreign interventionism. This latest
appropriation does nothing to solve our dilemma. Micro-
managing the war while continuing to fund it won’t help
our troops.

Here’s a new approach: Congress should admit its mistake
and repeal the authority wrongfully given to the executive
branch in 2002. Repeal the congressional sanction and
disavow presidential discretion in starting wars. Then
start bringing our troops home.

If anyone charges that this approach does not support the
troops, take a poll. Find out how reservists, guardsmen,
and their families - many on their second or third tour
in Iraq - feel about it.

The constant refrain that bringing our troops home would
demonstrate a lack of support for them must be one of the
most amazing distortions ever foisted on the American
public. We’re so concerned about saving face, but whose
face are we saving? A sensible policy would save American
lives and follow the rules laid out for Congress in the
Constitution - and avoid wars that have no purpose.

The claim that it’s unpatriotic to oppose spending more
money in Iraq must be laid to rest as fraudulent.

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We should pass a resolution that expresses congressional
opposition to any more undeclared, unconstitutional,
unnecessary, preemptive wars. We should be building a
consensus for the future that makes it easier to end our
current troubles in Iraq.

It’s amazing to me that this Congress is more intimidated
by political propagandists and special interests than the
American electorate, who sent a loud, clear message about
the war in November. The large majority of Americans now
want us out of Iraq.

Our leaders cannot grasp the tragic consequence of our
policies toward Iraq for the past 25 years. It’s time we
woke them up.

We are still by far the greatest military power on earth.
But since we stubbornly refuse to understand the nature of
our foes, we are literally defeating ourselves.

In 2004, bin Laden stated that al-Qaeda’s goal was to
bankrupt the United States. His second in command,
Zawahiri, is quoted as saying that the 9/11 attack would
cause Americans to, “come and fight the war personally on
our sand where they are within rifle range.”

Sadly, we are playing into their hands. This $124 billion
appropriation is only part of the nearly $1 trillion in
military spending for this year’s budget alone. We should
be concerned about the coming bankruptcy and the crisis
facing the U.S. dollar.

We have totally failed to adapt to modern warfare. We’re
dealing with a small, nearly invisible enemy - an enemy
without a country, a government, an army, a navy, an air
force, or missiles. Yet our enemy is armed with suicidal
determination, and motivated by our meddling in their
regional affairs, to destroy us.

And as we bleed financially, our men and women in Iraq die
needlessly while the injured swell Walter Reed hospital.
Our government systematically undermines the Constitution
and the liberties it’s supposed to protect - for which it
is claimed our soldiers are dying in faraway places.

Only with the complicity of Congress have we become a
nation of preemptive war, secret military tribunals,
torture, rejection of habeas corpus, warrantless searches,
undue government secrecy, extraordinary renditions, and
uncontrollable spying on the American people. The greatest
danger we face is ourselves: what we are doing in the name
of providing security for a people made fearful by
distortions of facts. Fighting over there has nothing to
do with preserving freedoms here at home. More likely the
opposite is true.

Surely we can do better than this supplemental
authorization. I plan to vote no.

Hollywood Critics Skewer, Fans Love, “Little Movie with a Big Heart”

CHARLOTTE, NC, Mar. 15 /Standard Newswire/ — Veteran film producer Rick Eldridge was sure he had all the ingredients to cook up a successful box office hit. For his film “The Ultimate Gift,” based on the a book of the same name that has sold nearly 4 million copies worldwide, he landed veteran Hollywood heavyweight James Garner and young sensation Abigail Breslin to star in a movie that sought to teach the value of a legacy of hard work and integrity in relation to an inheritance of cash.

The film tells the story of an elderly and wealthy man (played by Garner) who leaves behind a video will that requires his grandson to perform various character- building tasks before he can inherit his grandfather’s wealth. Add in the likes of Golden Globe winner Brian Dennehy and screen veteran Bill Cobbs, and it’s no wonder that The Washington Post (and many others) have noted that the film is “well-acted by a first rate cast.” “The film aims to inspire a generation,” observed The Arizona Republic.

But what Eldridge didn’t count on was that his film would be given tough reviews by the critics because of what they perceived as being hidden religious and social messages.

“Reeking of self-righteousness and moral reprimand, Michael O. Sajbel’s ‘Ultimate Gift’ is a hairball of good- for-you filmmaking…. The movie’s messages – pro- poverty, anti-abortion – are methodically hammered home,” says New York Times reviewer Jeannette Catsoulis.

“There’s an anti-abortion message jammed into one scene with all the subtlety of an avalanche. Just in case you miss it, it’s repeated in the credits too. Some gift, eh?,” wrote Chicago Tribune critic Lou Carlozo.

These assessments have been a surprise to Eldridge. “The film’s single mom says she was glad she had her child. Calling that an anti-abortion message is a stretch,” he said. “And while the film certainly does inspire people to be giving and compassionate, what does that have to do with being ‘pro-poverty’? It’s hard to know how to respond to that kind of criticism, except to say that it clearly incites the wrong things.”

Mostly, it seems that there just isn’t any violence, cursing or sex in this movie, so a host of critics are calling it “sappy” or moralistic and wondering why moviegoers would pay to see it.

These days in Hollywood, it seems that it is rare to see a family movie critically acclaimed. “The Ultimate Gift is a people’s film, not a critic’s film,” said Eldridge. “And there is, increasingly, a big difference between those two things.”

Eldridge points to this week’s independent exit poll results from CinemaScore, which showed that a remarkable 99% of all respondents rated the film in the “A/B” category.

“This ‘little film with a big heart’, as one critic called it, celebrates the great American values of thrift, integrity, honor and family,” Eldridge said.

“I’m hoping that millions of Americans will ignore attempts to keep this film down and vote with their feet to send a message to the movie industry that a values- driven family movie about virtue can be a box-office hit.”

MIDLAND, Texas, Mar. 16 /Christian Newswire/ — CAA has learned a senior House Church leader was released after serving ten days administrative detention. Pastor Dong Quanyu was released from the Wancheng Detention Center, Nanyang city, Henan province at 9pm on March 16, 2007(Beijing time). He was detained along with 33 other House church leaders and three pastors from South Korea while they were having a Bible study together on March 6. After intensive international pressure the local police released 33 arrested house church leaders and three leaders from South Korea on March 7. One leader pastor Dong Quanyu was sentenced to 10 days administrative detention for an “illegal gathering”.

Photo: the arrested pastor Dong Quanyu

Pastor Dong is the vice-President of Chinese House Church Alliance. The authority refused to issue any official paper for his detention and release. Pastor Dong asked China Aid to pass on his thanks for the effort of all of the brothers and sisters from the international community. According to interviews with some released pastors, the interrogators have been receiving phone calls from all over the world after China Aid released its press release regarding the arrest.

CAA also learned that Beijing house church activist Hua Huiqi’s 77-year-old mother, Ms. Shuang Shuying, filed her formal appeal to Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court for re-trial. She was sentenced to two years by Beijing Chongwen District People’s Court on February 26, 2007 on the charge of willfully damaging public and private property. Ms. Shuang was accused of using her cane to destroy the hood of the Police Sonata sedan and the Jinque numerically controlled touch-screen. On February 7, when Ms. Shuang went to the Chongwen District government building seeking the whereabouts of her arrested son, pastor Hua Huiqi, a police car tried to run over her and she used her cane to protect herself. She was then forcefully put into a reception room by a group of PSB officers. During the struggle, her cane hit the police car and the touch-screen. Then without allowing anytime to cross- examine any of the evidence the prosecutors brought against Ms. Shuang, the court of first trial rushed to a verdict on the first work day after the Chinese New Year holiday. It is believed that by arresting pastor Hua and holding his mother for two years in prison until then end of 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, the Beijing authority intends to clean up the “trouble makers”. Both pastor Hua and his mother have been very active in defending the persecuted Christians and other socially oppressed groups in China.

According to the appeal paper, Ms. Shuang Shuying does not accept the criminal verdict of intentional destruction of property issued by Chongwen District People’s Court of Beijing Municipality on February 26, 2007 and “The verdict by the first court is not based on facts and legal grounds and therefore the conviction is wrong and the penalty is inappropriate. Therefore, the petitioner requests that the court of appeal repeal the verdict by the court of first trial and rule the petitioner not guilty, handling the case with humanitarian concerns.”

Letter of your concern can be sent to:

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)

WASHINGTON, Mar. 16 /Christian Newswire/ — Several thousand activists are expected to protest the U.S. military presence in Iraq during a march on the White House tonight. “Christian Peace Witness for Iraq,” organized by numerous religious left groups, including Sojourners/Call to Renewal and the National Council of Churches, seeks an immediate U.S. withdrawal from Iraq and calls upon the U.S. to “stop threatening other nations and Iran.” Following an ecumenical service at the National Cathedral and a march to the White House, several hundred of the protesters will perform acts of civil disobedience and risk arrest, which they term “divine obedience.”

Mark Tooley, IRD’s UM Action Director, commented:

“It is important to note that the march’s organizers are not merely opposing U.S. involvement in Iraq. In their promotional literature they advocate ‘the principles of pacifism upon which Jesus based his life and ministry.’ Quite simply, these groups oppose U.S. military action of any kind, no matter what the circumstances. This is a pacifist rally and an anti-U.S. rally, not an anti-Iraq War rally.”

“These ‘Christian Peace Witness’ organizers employ language about ‘reconciliation’ and ‘understanding,’ but they do not explain what to do about genocidal and autocratic regimes that care little for negotiation, save as a ploy to deflect international pressure. Amazingly, some of the march organizers recently returned from a visit with the Iranian president, and quickly accepted his assurances that Iran’s radical Islamist regime does not seek nuclear weapons.”

“The organizers of ‘Christian Peace Witness for Iraq’ see the U.S. as the exclusive culprit in all international crises. Their political and spiritual myopia offers nothing constructive to Christians and other people of faith who genuinely seek a peaceful and just world.”

“At best, Iran and the United States are seen as equally belligerent in the eyes of the organizers, and America’s involvement in Iraq is considered the main source of Iraq’s problems. This is a radical over- simplification of the situation that lays all problems at the U.S. doorstep.”

The Institute on Religion and Democracy, founded in 1981, is an ecumenical alliance of U.S. Christians working to reform their churches’ social witness, in accord with biblical and historic Christian teachings, thereby contributing to the renewal of democratic society at home and abroad.

www.ird-renew.org

WHEN: Monday, March 19, 10-11am

WHERE: The Zenger Room of The National Press Club, Washington, D.C.

WASHINGTON, Mar. 19 /Christian Newswire/ — Participants will discuss World Congress of Families IV — the largest international gathering of pro-family leaders, activists, scholars and parliamentarians. The theme of the Congress — which will take place in Warsaw, May 11-13 — is “Beyond Demographic Winter: The Natural Family As The Springtime of Nations.”

More than 3,500 delegates from over 70 countries will participate in the Warsaw Congress. Co-sponsors include many of the largest pro-family groups in America. (Go to www.worldcongress.org for a complete list of co- sponsors.)

Speakers at the Press Conference will include:

Allan Carlson – founder and International Secretary of the World Congress of Families and president of The Howard Center for Family, Religion & Society

Dr. Janice Crouse – Senior Fellow, Beverly LaHaye Institute, Concerned Women For America

Patrick Fagan – Senior Fellow in Family and Cultural Issues, The Heritage Foundation

C. Gwendolyn Landolt – National Vice President, Real Women of Canada

Austin Ruse – President, Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute

William L. Saunders, Jr. – Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for Human Life and Bioethics, Family Research Council

George Marlin, Chairman of The Philadelphia Trust Company, Board Chairman of The Howard Center For Family, Religion & Society and author of The American Catholic Voter: Two Hundred Years Of Political Impact, will moderate.

At the press conference, there will be a special announcement regarding Polish President Lech Kaczynski’s participation in the Warsaw Congress.

For more information, contact: Don Feder, communications director, at (508) 405-1337 or cell (508) 395-0142 or Larry Jacobs, cell (513) 515-3685.

It is an admission of defeat. Iraq is turning into one
of the world’s bloodiest battlefields in which nobody is
safe. Blind to this reality, Tony Blair said yesterday
that Britain could safely cut its forces in Iraq because
the apparatus of the Iraqi government is growing stronger.

In fact the civil war is getting worse by the day. Food is
short in parts of the country. A quarter of the population
would starve without government rations. Many Iraqis are
ill because their only drinking water comes from the
highly polluted Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

Nowhere in Mr. Blair’s statement was any admission of
regret for reducing Iraq to a wasteland from which 2
million people have fled and 1.5 million are displaced
internally.

Nadia al-Mashadani, a Sunni woman with four children, was
forced from her house in the Hurriya district of Baghdad
under threat of death by Shia militiamen on 25 December.
She was not allowed to take any possessions and is living
with her family in a small room in a school in a Sunni
neighbourhood. She told The Independent: “They promised us
freedom and now we find ourselves like slaves: no rights,
no homes, no freedom, no democracy, and not enough
strength to say a word.” Like many Sunni she believed the
US had deliberately fomented sectarian hatred in Iraq to
keep control of the country.

Mr. Blair’s description of Iraq might have been of a
different country from that in which Mrs. Mashadani is
trying to survive. He dodged the question of why Britain
can reduce its forces in Iraq below 5,000 by late summer
at the same time as the US is sending a further 21,500
soldiers as reinforcements.

He stressed that the situation where British troops are
based around Basra is very different from Baghdad and
central Iraq where the bulk of US forces are concentrated.

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The speed of the reduction in British forces in southern
Iraq will be slower than many senior British officers had
privately urged. Mr. Blair said “the UK military presence
will continue into 2008″. But long before then almost all
the remaining British forces will be located at Basra air
base and act in support of Iraqi military and police
units.

Mr Blair gave the impression that the presence of US and
British forces is popular among Iraqis. In fact an opinion
poll cited by the bipartisan Baker-Hamilton report of
senior Democrats and Republicans in Washington showed that
61 per cent of Iraqis favour armed attacks on US and
British forces.

Even as Mr Blair was speaking there were bitter divisions
within Iraq over the alleged rape of a Sunni woman in
Baghdad by three members of the Shia-dominated security
forces last Sunday. The predominantly Shia government
denounced the alleged rape victim, claimed she was lying
and commended the three officers she accused of raping
her. Although UN figures show that almost 3,000 Iraqis are
murdered by sectarian killers every month, the alleged
gang-rape has the capacity to move the country more deeply
into a civil war.

Mr Blair painted a picture of Iraq in which political
and economic progress is only being hampered by mindless
terrorists. He claimed that the aim of these groups was
“to prevent Iraq’s democracy from working”. But one of the
main problems is that the constitution and two elections
in 2005 have embedded differences between Sunni, Shia and
Kurds.

The Prime Minister said there were 130,000 soldiers in the
Iraqi army and 135,000 in the police force. He showed only
limited appreciation, however, of the extent to which
these forces are allied to the Shia militias or the Sunni
insurgents.

US government officials were putting on a brave face
yesterday in reacting to the drawdown of British troops in
Iraq. US spokesman still refer to “the coalition” but it
is now a very small group of countries. The largest group
after the British contingent is 2,300 soldiers from South
Korea. Denmark announced yesterday that it would withdraw
its 470 soldiers by August.

The government of prime minister Nouri al-Maliki is being
torn apart by conflicting pressures from the US and its
own Shia supporters. The US has considered forcing him out
of office but any succeeding government might be closer to
the US but would have limited popular support. Meanwhile
Mr. Maliki has complained that, for all the coalition talk
of respecting Iraqi sovereignty, he cannot move a company
of soldiers without US permission.

By Ali Sina

One of the most obvious mathematical mistakes of the Quran can be found in the division of the inheritance.

The laws of inheritance are spread out in several Suras. One can find references to them in Al-Baqarah(2), Al-Maidah(5) and Al-Anfal(8). But the details of these laws are spelled out in the Surah Nisa (4).

Q. 4:11
“Allah (thus) directs you as regards your Children’s (Inheritance): to the male, a portion equal to that of two females: if only daughters, two or more, their share is two-thirds of the inheritance; if only one, her share is a half. For parents, a sixth share of the inheritance to each, if the deceased left children; if no children, and the parents are the (only) heirs, the mother has a third; if the deceased Left brothers (or sisters) the mother has a sixth. (The distribution in all cases (’s) after the payment of legacies and debts…”

Q. 4: 12
“In what your wives leave, your share is a half, if they leave no child; but if they leave a child, ye get a fourth; after payment of legacies and debts. In what ye leave, their share is a fourth, if ye leave no child; but if ye leave a child, they get an eighth; after payment of legacies and debts…”

Q. 4:176
“If it is a man that dies, leaving a sister but no child, she shall have half the inheritance: If (such a deceased was) a woman, who left no child, Her brother takes her inheritance: If there are two sisters, they shall have two-thirds of the inheritance (between them): if there are brothers and sisters, (they share), the male having twice the share of the female. Thus doth Allah make clear to you (His law), lest ye err. And Allah hath knowledge of all things.”

Despite the fact that it says “Allah made them clear”, these laws are far from clear.

Verse 4:11 says that if a man has only one daughter, she gets half of the inheritance irrespective of other heirs. But since the same verse says that the portion of the male is twice that of the female, her brother is supposed to get all the inheritance. Isn’t this a discrepancy? Certainly there is an error in how this law is written. Yet the problem is aggravated further when the share of other heirs like parents and wives are taken into consideration.

There are cases when the total of the shares assigned to the heirs exceeds the patrimony. Take for example the following.

According to the above verses, if a man dies leaving behind a wife, three daughters and his two parents,

His wife’s share of his inheritance is 1/8. (In what ye leave, their share is a fourth, if ye leave no child; but if ye leave a child, they get an eighth)

His daughters would receive 2/3 (if only daughters, two or more, their share is two-thirds of the inheritance;)

and his parents each will get 1/6 of his inheritance. (For parents, a sixth share of the inheritance to each, if the deceased left children;)

When you add all these fractions the sum is more than the total of inheritance.

Wife1/8 = 3/24
Daughters 2/3 = 16/24
Father 1/6 = 4/24
Mother1/6 = 4/24
Total = 27/24

Now take another example. Say a man is survived by his wife, his mother and his sisters.

The wife receives 1/4 of the inheritance, (In what ye leave, their share is a fourth, if ye leave no child;)

the mother 1/3 (if only one, her share is a half. For parents, a sixth share of the inheritance to each, if the deceased left children; if no children, and the parents are the heirs, the mother has a third;)

and the sisters 2/3. (If there are two sisters, they shall have two-thirds of the inheritance (between them)

When we add up these fractions they too are more than the total.

Wife1/4 = 3/12
Mother 1/3 = 4/12
Sisters 2/3 = 8/12
Total = 15/12

In the above examples, the shares apportioned to the heirs exceed the total of the inheritance. In both cases the total of the inheritance sums to exactly one BEFORE taking into account the wife’s share.

What should be done if a man has two wives, one with children and the other without children? Does the one with children receive 1/8 and the one without children 1/4? And is this justice?

Now suppose a woman dies leaving a husband and a brother:

Husband receives half (In what your wives leave, your share is a half, if they leave no child.)

Brother receives everything (If (such a deceased was) a woman, who left no child, Her brother takes her inheritance.)

Does this mean that the parents, sisters and husband do not get anything? In that case where is the justice and if they do how can the brother get everything?

Husband, (1/2) = 1/2
Brother (everything) = 2/2
Total = 3/2

This verse does not specify that the brother gets everything only when there are no other heirs. It just says when there are no children he gets everything. In the same verse it says that if a man dies leaving a sister, she gets half. What will happen to the other half?

Here is another example: A woman leaves behind a husband, a sister and a mother.

Husband, (1/2) = 3/6
Sister (1/2) = 3/6
Mother (1/3) = 2/6
Total = 8/6

We can conclude that the Quran in matters of inheritance is very obtuse. It is so obtuse that Shiites and Sunnis practice this law differently. For example:

If a man leaves a wife and the two parents, the Shiits will give the wife 1/4 and then distribute the remainder as 1/3 for the mother and 2/3 for the father, i.e. they will receive 1/4 and 1/2 of the original estate (see #2741). Sunnis give the wife 1/4, the mother 1/3 and the father as the nearest male relative the rest, i.e. 5/12. As one can witness, the Quran is anything but clear.

In order to solve these problems the Islamic doctors of law have devised a complex “science” called “Al-Fara’id”. It contains rules of “Awl” and “Usbah,” and the laws of “Usool” of the Fara’id, the laws of “Hajb wa Hirman,” and many other issues relating to this matter.

The laws of “Awl” (accommodation) deals with cases when the inheritor’s shares exceed or “overshoot” the sum of the total inheritance. In such case the shares are adjusted to accommodate everyone. This is how it works:

Wife1/8 = 3/24 is changed to 3/27
Daughters 2/3 = 16/24 is changed to 16/27
Father 1/6 = 4/24 is changed to 4/27
Mother1/6 = 4/24 is changed to 4/27
Total = 27/24 27/27

and for the second case,

Wife1/4 = 3/12 is changed to 3/15
Mother 1/3 = 4/12 is changed to 4/15
Sisters 2/3 = 8/12 is changed to 8/15
Total = 15/12 15/15

Thus the problem is solved thanks to human ingenuity but the portions are not the same as indicated in the Quran. Each party has to waive part of his or her share in order to make this law work. This is a clear case in which the words of Allah needed human intervention in order to become applicable.

There are yet cases when the shares of the inheritors do not sum to a whole 100% and there is a surplus left.

Take for example a man who dies and leaves his wife and his parents.

Parents 1/3 = 4/12
Wife 1/4 = 3/12
Total = 7/12

Who will receive the balance 5/12 of the inheritance?

The following are other cases that after the distribution, there is a surplus of Inheritance::

scenario fund distributed surplus
Only a wife: = 1/4 3/4
Only a mother: = 1/3 2/3
Only a daughter = 1/2 1/2
Two daughters = 2/3 1/3
Only a Sister = 1/2 1/2
A mother and a sister = 1/3 + 1/2 = 5/6 1/6
A wife and a mother = 1/4 + 1/3 = 5/12 7/12
A sister and a wife = 1/2 + 1/4 = 3/4 1/4

In all these cases and many other combinations there is a surplus. What will happen to this surplus? Who will inherit it?

To deal with this problem the law of “Usbah” comes to effect. This law is to regulate the unclaimed shares, which have no corresponding people to receive them. Of course if the Quran was clear with no errors, there would have been no need for all these “sciences” and amendments.

The law of Usbah is based on the following Hadith.

Sahih Bukhari 8. 80. 724
Narrated Ibn ‘Abbas:
The Prophet said, “Give the Fara’id (the shares of the inheritance that are prescribed in the Qur’an) to those who are entitled to receive it. Then whatever remains, should be given to the closest male relative of the deceased.”

According to this law, a man who dies and is survived by only his daughter with no other close male relative except a second cousin, his daughter will receive half of his inheritance and the other half will go to the man’s second cousin. This seems quite unfair to the daughter, but it would be especially unfair if the man had a needy aunt or a female first cousin that would receive nothing because they are of the wrong gender.

Now suppose that a man has no other heir except his wife and a distant male relative. The wife will receive 1/4 and the distant male relative gets the balance, i.e. three times the inheritance that his widowed wife gets. Is this justice?

What if the deceased has no male relative at all? What will happen to the rest of his inheritance? What happens in the reverse case when a wife has no relatives? The husband will receive half of her inheritance; who will get the other half?

Note that in the Quran there is no priority for the distribution of the inheritance. In nowhere it says “first give to these and from what is left, give to those”. Even if we had to reinterpret these laws and prioritize them in the order that they are mentioned, it still does not work because in that case, each subsequent inheritor will have his or her share shrunk. Also in most cases the total inheritance will never be used up.

This is the fallacy in which Mr. Sami Zaatari engages. In an attempt to refute this article Mr. Zaatari wrote: “If A [ the deceased] left a widow or widower, the widow’s or widower’s share would first be calculated as in the first half of verse 4:1″

Mr. Zaatari must show us this instruction in the Quran. There is no provision in the Quran to pay certain inheritors first and divide the rest among other heirs. The fact remains that the Quran in matters of the division of the inheritance is wrong mathematically.

The obtuseness of these laws of inheritance is further emphasized in the following example. Consider the case of a man with only one daughter and 10 sons. According to the Quran, the daughter receives half while all the sons must share among themselves the other half. So each will receive not more than 1/20 of the inheritance. But this would contradict the other ruling that a male is to receive twice the share of the female.

Of course for 1400 years Muslims have practiced Islam and somehow they managed to make these confusing laws work. How they did it? They reinterpreted, adjusted and compromised to make sense of these nonsense laws. They put all the inheritance in a pool and gave to each male child twice the share of their female siblings. This solution, though satisfies one of the ruling of the Quran about the inheritance, it contradicts the other.

Despite all these incongruencies and errors the real problem with these laws is not the fact that they do not add up. The problem is in the inherent injustice that they embody. A fair minded person cannot avoid but to question, why daughters should receive half of what the sons receive? Why sisters receive less than brothers? And why a widower is entitled to double the share than a widow? Why the Quran states “to the male, a portion equal to that of two females”? (4:11). Think of a man with four wives. All the wives have to share the ¼ of his wealth, if he has no children and 1/8 if he has. In the first case each wife will receive 1/16 of the inheritance and in the second case 1/32. How a woman who may not be young enough to remarry can survive with such meager share in a male dominated society as Islamic countries? On the other hand a man who loses all his four wives will inherit half to ¼ of every wife’s wealth. Isn’t this the formula to enrich the men and impoverish the women? It is easier to forget the mathematical errors of the Quran than forgive its injustice.

The verse (4:175) claims that “Thus doth Allah make clear to you (His law), lest ye err. And Allah hath knowledge of all things.” As we saw, the above laws are anything but clear. They do not add up, the portions are not clearly defined, and the shares are distributed unfairly. It is up to Muslims to decide whether Allah, does not have the “knowledge of all things”, cannot add simple fractions, is confused and unfair or that the Quran is mistaken, and Muhammad was not a prophet of God. It is one or the other. You decide.

First read this:
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070313/D8NR9CJG0.html

Now this..

BUDAPEST, Hungary, Mar. 13 /Christian Newswire/ — A homosexual advocacy group, Servicemembers Legal Defense Network is demanding an apology from Marine Gen. Peter Pace who said in a Chicago Tribune interview that homosexuality was like adultery. He also stated that ” the military should not condone it by allowing gays to serve openly in the military.”

But Phil Magnan of Biblical Family Advocates disagrees with them in saying, “If there is any apologizing that needs to be done, it’s by homosexual advocates who have drawn millions of young people, including soldiers into a destructive, immoral and unhealthy lifestyle.”

“The homosexual community has sold the public their licentious lifestyle in the name of tolerance and freedom when they should be seeking to be freed from it. Ask the person dying from HIV if it was worth having hundreds of partners or if some of the millions who are enslaved to it would like to be free of it. We will find that the Bible warns against homosexuality not only because of the coming judgment, but that God wants people to be free from their bondage of sin through the gospel of Christ. Legitimizing homosexuality and trying to condone it as being natural does harm to the person trying to be free from it and the society that should not be tolerating it.”

BFA, Biblical Family Advocates also agrees with the General’s statement that homosexuality is like adultery as well and applauds his candor to put his country’s safety above being popular.

Magnan continued, “Any sexual relationship outside of a heterosexual marriage is a form of adultery, just as those who practice sex outside of marriage with those of the opposite sex. Even Jesus Christ condemned all unlawful sexual relations. There is not one condoned homosexual relationship in the entire Bible. Even though I can commend every soldier for putting their lives on the line for our country, they should put the effectiveness of their unit over their personal desires.”

WASHINGTON, Mar. 12 /Christian Newswire/ — “There are a lot of reasons why ‘American Idol’ drives me crazy,” said Douglas R. Scott, Jr., president of Life Decisions International (LDI). “For example, Americans should not be voting for the contestants they like but for the person they believe should be eliminated. And it is suggested that judges Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell audition every contestant but in truth they see only a handful. Remarkably good singers are eliminated by representatives of the producers in favor of people who cannot sing a note and others who can easily be belittled by Cowell. After all, the ‘freak factor’ draws a television audience.” But Scott is not concerned that the show’s producers are more interested in television ratings than in finding the best singer among those who audition. He is concerned that “American Idol” is aligning itself with the agenda of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Save the Children.

On March 8, 2007, “American Idol” announced its “Idol Gives Back” program, the stated goal of which is to “raise awareness of the effects of poverty on children and young people in the US and Africa.” Corporate sponsors of the television show, such as Coca-Cola and AT&T, have pledge to make a donation to Charity Projects Entertainment Fund (CPEF) for every person who calls to vote for a contestant on April 24, 2007. The Ford Motor Company has also pledged to support the effort. Scholastic Inc. has created a website for teachers and students. The following evening, several celebrities will appear on the show to promote “Idol Gives Back.” Americans will be invited to call a toll-free number or go online to make a donation to CPEF, which will turn the money over to UNICEF, Save the Children, and several other groups.

“For years UNICEF spokesmen denied promoting contraception or abortion,” wrote Winifride Prestwich in “UNICEF: Guilty As Charged.” She said records prove that “step by step over a 30-year period UNICEF has tied itself to the population controllers and to the anti-life, anti-family attitudes of such organizations as the International Planned Parenthood Federation.”

A major study released by the International Organizations Research Group documented UNICEF’s ties to abortion and radical feminism. Titled, “UNICEF, Women or Children First?” the report showed that UNICEF has helped to write many documents that call for increased access to abortion and the legalization of abortion worldwide. It was discovered that UNICEF had funded a program run by the Population Council, the group that holds the U.S. patent for the abortion pill RU-486. UNICEF has also supported a South African group (loveLife) that actively promotes abortion to its mostly underage audience. It is now official UNICEF policy to “Promote and expand access to sexual and reproductive health services, including access to condoms,” the report stated. A high-ranking UNICEF official has even called for his group to “make condoms available and accessible for everybody, everywhere and at all times. Abstinence is simply not a realistic option for most young people in the world today,” the official said.

Save the Children has a working relationship with what it calls “prominent international organizations.” Among these groups are several that are actively pro- abortion, including Better World Fund, Center for Reproductive Rights, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Population Action International, U.S. Committee for UNICEF. For example, in 2001 Save the Children worked with Planned Parenthood, Population Action Council and the pro-abortion National Audubon Society on the five-year “Planet campaign.” Sponsored by the rabidly pro-abortion David and Lucile Packard Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the purpose of the campaign was to “raise awareness of the connections between international family planning and the health of children, women and the environment.” The campaign consisted of television and print advertising, press relations, community outreach, special events, and other activities. Save the Children said the campaign’s website provided “an international forum for discussion of, and action on, women’s reproductive health–including family planning–in various countries and diverse cultures around the world.”

Save the Children has stated that “family planning” has been a “critical component” its work for nearly 20 years. Save the Children quoted from a UNICEF which stated that “family planning could bring more benefits to more people at less cost than any other single technology now available to the human race.” Save the Children noted that the report identified “access to family planning” as a “key factor contributing to maternal and child survival and well-being.”

“It is laudable that the people involved with ‘American Idol’ want to help the poor,” Scott said. “But it is tragic that they would choose to do so through groups like UNICEF and Save the Children to do so. These groups have far too much deadly baggage.” Scott urged pro-family Americans to support organizations that do not believe killing is an acceptable “solution” to poverty. “People who are pro-family should not cast an ‘American Idol’ vote on April 24.”

Life Decisions International (LDI) is dedicated to challenging the Culture of Death, concentrating on exposing and fighting the agenda of Planned Parenthood. LDI’s chief project is a boycott of corporations that fund the abortion-committing giant. To learn more about Planned Parenthood, please visit: www.fightpp.org/show.cfm?page=wrong

OAKBROOK, Ill., Mar. 1 /Christian Newswire/ — Eighty-one employers, representing 33 states, are being recognized by the Board of Directors of The Compassionate Friends for showing extra sensitivity to bereaved employees following the death of a child. The Compassionate Friends (TCF) is the nation’s largest self-help bereavement organization with nearly 600 chapters serving all 50 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico.

Generally nominated by the persons they have directly helped, these employers are receiving Compassionate Employer Recognition in 2007 for going above and beyond the normal policies of most companies in helping their employees when the death of a child occurred.

Criteria for Compassionate Employer Recognition include, but are not limited to:
1. Policies that reflect a compassionate attitude toward bereaved parents, siblings, and grandparents.
2. Additional time off beyond the familiar three days.
3. Flexibility in work assignments and evaluation of job performance.
4. Providing support services and/or time off to obtain counseling or seek a support group.
5. Other acts of compassion.

This is the seventh year for recognition of employers, with recipients jumping from three the first year, to the current 81 for 2007. Employers being recognized range in size from small companies such as MD Ilja J. Weinrieb, MD with two employees to FedEx in Memphis, Tennessee with 250,000 employees. To view a complete list of companies receiving Compassionate Employer Recognition, visit www.compassionatefriends.org.

“When a child dies, families begin a grief journey that follows them through all parts of their lives,” said Patricia Loder, Executive Director of The Compassionate Friends. “Today the need for support in the workplace so often takes a back seat to the demands of the marketplace. These 81 employers, large and small, public and private, are being recognized for providing the compassion and understanding that is vitally needed in the bereavement process.”

The mission of The Compassionate Friends is to assist families toward the positive resolution of grief following the death of a child of any age and to provide information to help others be supportive. To contact The Compassionate Friends, call toll-free 877-969- 0010 or visit the TCF national website at www.compassionatefriends.org. Nominations for the 2008 Compassionate Employer Recognition program will be accepted starting July 23, immediately following The Compassionate Friends 30th National Conference in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Announcing: NewsGuests.com and the “Move America Forward – These Colors Don’t Run!” Bus Tour — Coming to your city in the next 5 days.
WASHINGTON, Mar. 12 /Christian Newswire/ — On the eve of the 4th Anniversary of Operation Iraqi Freedom, a national patriotic caravan of military families will come to cities across America on its way from California to Washington, D.C. The “THESE COLORS DON’T RUN” caravan of vehicles including motorhomes, cars, trucks and motorcycles is being organized by the nation’s largest grassroots pro-troop organization, Move America Forward.

The patriotic and pro-troop caravan will stop at 25 cities across the country, conducting pro-troop rallies at each stop. At the rallies, Move America Forward will collect American flags from attendees – the flags will be brought to the final rally location on Capitol Mall in Washington, D.C. where they will be erected into a powerful and patriotic “Flag City” display.

At the conclusion of the rally each flag will be sent to a U.S. Service member stationed in either Iraq or Afghanistan along with a placard showing who donated the flag, and how it flew in a patriotic show of support for our troops and their missions in the war on terrorism.

The public is invited to join the caravan with their own vehicles, decorating them with red, white and blue patriotic flair.

NewsGuests.com national account manager Noel Zimmerman will be traveling on this caravan and looks forward to meeting you in person at each press conference along the way.

NewsGuests.com represents a wide variety of well-prepared guests who can enliven any show with pithy, pertinent and professional comments on the hottest topics in politics, public policy, culture and religion.

Our Mission: To stimulate thoughtful debate and presentation of controversial issues on radio and television news and public affairs shows by representing guests who have something to say, and who know how to say it NewsGuests.com can also provide spokespersons representing both sides of controversial issues