Middle East Resources

Can We Be Good Without God?

2008-03-17T12:38:00.000-07:00

By Glenn Tinder, Professor of Political Science, University of Massachusetts, Boston. MA
December 1989
Archived by Atlantic Monthly www.theatlantic.com/politics/religion/goodgod.htm

Saved in our files, and now available to all, we recommend this delightful article by Glenn Tinder

To whet your appetite we will give you a few introductory paragraphs and let you look up the rest at your leisure.

"We are so used to thinking of spirituality as withdrawal from the world and human affairs that it is hard to think of it as political. Spirituality is personal and private, we assume, while politics is public. But such a dichotomy drastically diminishes spirituality, construing it as a relationship to God without implications for one's relationship to the surrounding world. The God of Christian faith (I shall focus on Christianity, although the God of the New Testament is also the God of the Old Testament) created the world and is deeply engaged in the affairs of the world. The notion that we can be related to God and not to the world--that we can practice a spirituality that is not political--is in conflict with the Christian understanding of God.
And if spirituality is properly political, the converse also is true, however distant it may be from prevailing assumptions: politics is properly spiritual. The spirituality of politics was affirmed by Plato at the very beginnings of Western political philosophy and was a commonplace of medieval political thought. Only in modern times has it come to be taken for granted that politics is entirely secular. The inevitable result is the demoralization of politics. Politics loses its moral structure and purpose, and turns into an affair of group interest and personal ambition. Government comes to the aid of only the well organized and influential, and it is limited only where it is checked by countervailing forces.Politics ceases to be understood as a pre-eminently human activity and is left to those who find it profitable, pleasurable, or in some other way useful to themselves. Political action thus comes to be carried out purely for the sake of power and privilege......

Chritian Love

Love seems as distant as spirituality from politics, yet any discussion of the political meaning of Christianity must begin by considering (or at least making assumptions about) love. Love is for Christians the highest standard of human relationships, and therefore governs those relationships that make up politics. Not that political relationships are expected to exhibit pure love. But their place in the whole structure of human relationships can be understood only by using the measure that love provides.
The Christian concept of love requires attention not only because it underlies Christian political ideas....

Season's Greetings or Islamic Propaganda?

2008-02-13T14:10:00.000-08:00

by Jacob Thomas
January 06, 2008

On Monday, 31 December, 2007, the Wall Street Journal published the following “Message” on page A9:

A Muslim Message of Thanks and of Christmas and New Year Greetings, December 2007

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
May God bless Muhammad and his kin and bless Abraham and his kin
Al-Salaam Aleikum; Peace be upon you; Pax Vobiscum

Peace be upon Jesus Christ who says: Peace is upon me the day I was born, the day I die, and the day I am resurrected(Chapter of Mary; the Holy Qur’an, 19:33).

During these joyful holidays we write to you, our Christian neighbors all over the world, to express our thanks for the beautiful and gracious responses that we Muslims have been receiving from the very first day we issued our invitation to come together to ‘A Common Word’ based on ‘Love of God and love of Neighbor’ (see www.acommonword.com for the document and the responses).

We thank you and wish you all a joyous and peaceful Christmas Holiday Season commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, may peace be upon him.

We Muslims bear witness that: There is no god but God, without associate, and that Muhammad is Servant and Messenger, and that Jesus Christ is His Servant, His Messenger, His Word cast to Mary, and a Spirit from Him … (Sahih Bukhari, Kitab Ahadith al-Anbiya’)

The “Message” continued by referring to the coincidence this year, between Muslim and Christian feasts: (Hajj, Christmas and New Year), and referred to the patriarch Abraham who was not allowed by God to sacrifice his son, thus affirming and proclaiming the sanctity of human life.

Then in an attempt to assume a moral high ground by making Islam eminently “Pro Life,” it referred to those “Muslim scholars who issued a historic declaration affirming the sanctity of human life – of every human life – as an essential and foundational teaching in Islam upon which all Muslim scholars are in unanimous agreement (see details atwww.duaatalislam.com).”

The “Message” ended with these words:“May the coming year be one in which the sanctity and dignity of human life is upheld by all. May it be a year of humble repentance before God, and mutual forgiveness within and between communities.

“Praise be to God, the Lord of the world.”

I would like to analyze this “advertisement-message,” and add my comments.

Analysis
The WSJ “ad-message,” coming on the last day of 2007, purports to be a “Season’s Greetings” addressed to the Christian World. It was prompted by “the beautiful and gracious responses that we Muslims have been receiving from the very first day we issued our invitation to come together to ‘A Common Word’ based on ‘Love of God and love of Neighbor." It must be noted here, that a Christian response to the Muslim overture, “A Common Word,” was drafted by some members of the Faculty of the Divinity School of Yale University, with several signatures of well-known academics and ministers appended to it.

Comments
In our attempt to understand the true meaning of the Islamic greeting of 31 December, it is first necessary to reflect on the context of the initial “Common Word” message, taken from Surat Al-‘Imran. This Qur’anic passage sets forth what I would like to call “The Rules of Engagement” for Muslims when they dialogue with Christians. Dialogue with non-Muslims can only take place on the basis of the Islamic authoritative texts.

Here are some Ayat of Surat Al-‘Imran, in Arberry’s Translation of the Qur’an: Say: 'People of the Book! Come now to a word common between us and you, that we serve none but God, and that we associate not aught with Him, and do not some of us take others as Lords, apart from God.’ And if they turn their backs, say: 'Bear witness that we are Muslims.’ V. 64

No; Abraham in truth was not a Jew, neither a Christian; but he was a Muslim and one pure of faith; certainly he was never of the idolaters. V. 67

People of the Book! Why do you disbelieve in God’s signs, which you yourselves witness? People of the Book! Why do you confound the truth with vanity, and conceal the truth and that wittingly? V. 70,71

Whoso desires another religion than Islam, it shall not be accepted of him; in the next world he shall be among the losers. V.85
Verse 85 in the Arabic original reads as follows: “Waman yabtaghi ghayra’l Islami deenan, falan yuqbala minhu, wahua fil’akhirati min’al- khasereen.”

It is clear that those Muslims who issued the invitation to dialogue, and adopted the term, “A Common Word” (Kalimaten sawa’en baynana wa-baynakom,) from the Qur’an, wanted to declare their complete adherence to the teachings of their sacred book. Furthermore, it must be noted that the tone of these texts from Chapter III is decidedly polemical.

Christians are charged with the sin of shirk, i.e. in claiming that Allah had associates! Then they are exhorted to “serve none but God.” Thus, if Christians want to engage in dialogue with Muslims, they must first renounce their belief in the Trinity.

Another Islamic requirement is to accept the authenticity of the Qur’anic version of Sacred History. This implies the rejection, for example, of the Biblical accounts of Abraham’s life. Thus verse 67 of Chapter III, categorically states: “ma kana Ibraheemu Yahudiyyan wala Nasraniyyan, walaken kana Hanifan Musliman …” (Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Nazarene, but he was a Hanif and a Muslim…) [Translation mine]

Verses 70 and 71 address the Christians, as those who mix truth with vanity, and who refuse to believe in Allah’s signs. A pretty bad trait for those who are to dialogue with Muslims!

Finally, the exclusivist nature of Islam is seen in verse 85:“Waman yabtaghi ghayr’l Islami deenan, falan yuqbala minhu, wahua fil’akhirati min’al khasereen.”(He who seeks a religion other than Islam, that will not be acceptable of him, and at the Last Day, he will be among the Lost.) [Translation mine]

Having dealt with the Qur’anic context of “A Common Word,” I turn to the contents of the 31 December “Message.” I find it very difficult to receive it as a bona fide “Season’s Greetings.” While its title seems genuine, as one proceeds to analyze its contents, it reveals expressions and views that are thoroughly alien to the history of Christianity as recorded in the Bible, a book that antedates the Qur’an by several centuries.

For example, the reference to Jesus Christ is taken from the text of the Qur’an. It naively assumes that Christians would gladly accept it, rather than stick to the authentic accounts of the life of Jesus Christ as recorded in the New Testament. These words from Surat Maryam 19:33, make Jesus say, “Peace is upon me the day I was born, the day I die, and the day I am resurrected.” It is rather ludicrous to quote from this chapter regarding Jesus Christ. Among other things it recounts a Mary who was alone under a palm tree, about to give birth to Jesus; who after he was born, addressed the critics of his mother for her supposedly immoral conduct, while yet a baby!

Did those who drafted the “Message” really expect Christians to be that gullible and prefer that bizarre account, to the ones given in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke?!

The “Message” continued, “We Muslims bear witness that: There is no god but God, without associate, and that Muhammad is Servant and Messenger, and that Jesus Christ is His Servant, His Messenger, His Word cast to Mary, and a Spirit from Him …(Sahih Bukhari, Kitab Ahadith al-Anbiya’)

All Christians (Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant,) subscribe to the doctrine of the Trinity, and the deity of Jesus Christ. Arabic-speaking Christians begin their prayers by invoking the name of God in this way: “Bismil Aab, wal Ibn, wal Ruh al Qodos, Ilah Wahed, Amen.” (In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, One God, Amen.” They would not regard it as a compliment, or a basis for dialogue, that Muslims consider Jesus Christ merely as “Servant, or as Messenger.”

The “Muslim Message of Thanks and of Christmas and New Year Greetings,” was a genre of Islamic propaganda aimed at Western people. The drafters of the “Season’s Greetings” hoped that their attempt would bear fruit among Christians. After all, who should ignore at this time of the year, such a gesture of good will? Here are Muslims who publicly declare that they honor and recognize Jesus as a prophet, isn’t that great? But who is this Jesus they honor? He is certainly not the Jesus Christ whose birth Christians celebrated on the 25th day of December.

He is a pale shadow of the Biblical Christ; in fact he is a pseudo-Messiah. He is the Messiah of Surat Maryam (19) that contains an intensive polemic against the historical and real Messiah of the Bible.

I don’t know how many of the readers of the 31 December, 2007, Wall Street Journal, received at its face value the “Message of Thanks…” I guess some who have been impacted by political correctness, may have welcomed the message as an expression of good will, especially at this time when we are involved in wars within Islamic lands. But I certainly hope that other savvy readers, who have done their homework on the history and sacred texts of Islam, would have realized that the WSJ ad is contradicted by the concrete facts of history. Islam remains an imperialistic worldview, and has never surrendered its dream of world domination. This they keep on trying to accomplish, either by force, or by subterfuge!

Editorial from 1911 Moslem World Journal

2007-12-28T12:44:00.000-08:00

The Moslem World
VOL. I. APRIL, 1911. No. 2.

EDITORIAL

MUCH has been written truly, if not always wisely, on the intolerance of the Moslem faith and the fanaticism of many of its votaries, but there is a sense in which Christianity is as intolerant as Islam; and although this intolerance may not and cannot take the form of Moslem intolerance toward Christianity, it is based on more vital issues, and is, therefore, of such a character that it can never be satisfied with compromise or concessions. It demands unconditional surrender.

In his recent book, "Crusaders of the Twentieth Century," Mr. Rice points out in a single sentence why it is that the gulf between Moslem theology and Christian theology can never be bridged. He writes: "There is not one cardinal fact concerning the life, person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ which is not either denied, perverted, misrepresented, or at least ignored in Mohammedan theology," and his entire chapter following this statement, and covering nearly a hundred pages, sets forth these per- versions, denials and misrepresentations.

Islam is, in a sense, the only anti-Christian religion. Other creeds and philosophies are non-Christian or frankly un-Christian. This world-wide faith joins issue with everything that is vital in the Christian religion, and stands or falls by its attitude toward the Christ. In this respect all schools of Moslem thought are practically the same. They differ in ritual and tradition; in interpretations, broad or narrow ; in going back to the old Koran or in advocating the new Islam; but whether Wahabis or followers of Seyyid Ameer Mi, their position as regards the Atonement, the Incarnation and the Deity of Christ is practically the same.

We assert as strongly as do all Moslems that there is only one God, but because there is only one God there can be only one Gospel, and the words 0f Dr. James Denney ("The Death of Christ," page 110) are very significant in this connection, especially as any reference to Islam was far front his mind: " If God has really done something in Christ on which the salvation of the world depends, and if He has made it known, then it is a Christian duty to be intolerant of everything which ignores, denies, or explains it away. The man who perverts it is the worst enemy of God and men ; and it is not bad temper or narrow-mindedness in St. Paul which explains this vehement language, it is the jealousy of God which has kindled in a soul redeemed by the death of Christ a corresponding jealousy for the Saviour."

The only Christianity that has a missionary message for the Moslem world is this vital Christianity. It is the only Christianity that can meet the deepest need of our Moslem brethren. Our love for them is only increased by our intolerance of their rejection of the Christ; we cannot bear it, it pains us; and the day is coming when many will confess Him in the words of a Moslem convert to a Bible-woman who was visiting her: " I see now that the very centre of your religion is Christ, and I want to love and serve Hint."

The main question even as regards the new Islam is not how much nearer they have come to Christian ethics and Christian civilisation in their attempts to reform the old system, but it is the old question, " What think ye of the Christ ? "

The Muslim World Journal was founded by Dr. Samuel M. Zwemer, a veteran missionary to the Muslim World.

The story of Kamil, published 1898, reprinted 2008

2007-12-19T17:08:00.000-08:00

Read Kamil’s story, written by a veteran Presbyterian missionary, Dr. Henry H. Jessup, and learn about life in the Eastern Mediterranean during the 1800s. It is currently available on http://www.unashamedofthegospel.org/ and will be in print early in 2008.

A young Muslim, gets hold of the Bible, becomes attracted to the person and work of Jesus Christ, and is tutored and nurtured by American missionaries in Beirut, Lebanon.

This book is replete with information about the spiritual struggles of Kamil, his pleading with his father, a prominent member of the Beirut Sunni population, to consider the claims of the Biblical Gospel, and the father’s utter rejection of his son’s pleas!

Having come to know the Lord Jesus Christ, Kamil is drawn instantly into mission work in central Syria, in the coastal regions of Arabia, and ultimately in Basra, Iraq. He becomes a fellow-worker with Samuel Zwemer, a pioneer missionary to Islam.

The “Story of Kamil” is more than a biography of a young convert whose life ended tragically as a martyr for his new-found faith. It is a rich source of the history of the region in the latter part of the 19th century, and an excellent sociological account of the life of Muslims and Christians, city people and Bedouins, foreign residents and Ottoman Turkish administrators.

Contact our web site if you wish to order a paperback copy.

Middle East Resources

A Fallacy Detected

2007-12-07T11:06:00.000-08:00

by Shirley W. Madany

It was with surprise and pleasure we discovered this September that some home schooled children (our own grandchildren) were being instructed in the realm of Logic with the help of an attractive and simple textbook designed and written by two brothers, former homeschoolers themselves. Nathaniel and Hans Bluedorn have made available to us all a text book titled “The Fallacy Detective: Thirty Six Lessons on How to Recognize Bad Reasoning”. It was written with the idea that Christians needed to strive for a higher standard of reasoning, in order to achieve the ability of discernment. “Logic is the science of thinking the way God thinks – the way Jesus taught us to think” (p.14)

You will have heard about “Islam’s Peace Offensive” and the proposal made by a group of Islamic clerics. The subject just won’t go away. and this is where the fallacy comes in as we inspect the “common word” between the Muslims and ourselves.

Two days ago a friend and colleague sent us an urgent request to look at the splendid web site put out by Dr. Ardel Caneday under the name The Race Set Before Us. She sent us the following URL:
http://trsbu.blogspot.com/2007/11/urgent-need-for-steadfast-perseverance.html

As this is a blog you will need to find the November 29th entry. Prof. Ardel Caneday has devoted his blog to discussing the pursuit of eternal life. You will find his comments stimulating and faith-building. For instance, he says: “Multiculturalism’s virtue of tolerance supplants the Christian grace of forbearance as Christians trade away forbearance towards people for tolerance for ideas, ideas hostile to the gospel. Multiculturalism, which is virulently but seductively anti-Christian depends heavily upon the new virtue driven by political correctness.”

His definition of political correctness is priceless:

"Political correctness is a virus. Intimidation carries this contagion from one individual to another as receiving hosts offer little resistance to the virus. Because the contagion exploits its host’s reluctance to offend the alleged sensibilities of hypersensitive people, political correctness seduces its host to accept the virus as newly acquired virtue to be passed on to others with religious zeal. Herein is the genius and power of political correctness. Once the host accepts political correctness as virtuous, external policing is rarely needed because the virus internally intimidates one’s conscience so that it becomes second nature to use newspeak and to chastise others who do not. Hence, the tyranny of political correctness: newspeak represents itself as virtue."

As you read on you will come to the crux of the matter. It is the preamble and response of Yale Center for Faith and Culture to the “common word between us and you” sent out from 138 Muslim clerics. Speaking of discernment we hope you notice how Prof. Caneday refers to the “god of Islam” using lower case for “god”.

Obviously Caneday is concerned about our steadfast perseverance in the face of this tempting solution to the world’s problems. An offer of peace which many can not refuse. They are softened by political correctness and naively attracted to the idea of world peace.
He gives you an opportunity to read not only this unbelievable response in which we ask forgiveness for sins we have not committed, but the real shock will come when you scroll down and read the list of evangelicals who signed their names to it. You are speechless with dismay.
It is a simple matter to get from the Yale web site to the Common Word website of the Muslims and there you can read the entire proposal, which boils down to the theoretical presentation that as both Islam and Christianity consider love to God and love to neighbor to be top priority, then there is our bridge to unity.

If you are interested in finding things in context you will look up the first passage quoted from the Quran which has the very phrase they use –"a common word between us and you". According to Arberry’s translation of the Qur’an this occurs at v.64 of the Surat Al Imran, one of the polemical sections of their holy book. You don’t even have to read between the lines – by the end of that section you come to this: “Whoso desires another religion than Islam, it shall not be accepted of him; in the next world he shall be among the losers.”

The people at Yale Divinity Center collected signatures of approval of their response.. You can read that response in full at a convenient spot in Caneday’s blog. A long list gives you an idea of evangelical support. But if you look at the Yale website you will see the full list of at least 13 pages of those who sponsor the reply. Prepare to lose some sleep after studying that list of names.

Don’t they realize that this so-called love for God is not comparable with the sacrificial love of our God who “so loved the world that He sent his only begotten son to be our Savior.” The Lord Jesus Christ is not just a major prophet; he is the eternal Son of God. Our “love” is defined and demonstrated in a way that does not harmonize with that of the Muslim. Historical evidence of a lack of love for the “other” prompts discussions which are ongoing in Muslim online papers regarding how to treat the “infidel”. Peace can only mean capitulation to Islam totally.

We join Dr. Caneday in his prayer that none of you will be tempted to join that list!

Also excellent on this subject:

www.barnabusfund.org

Rethinking P.E.A.C.E. - Loving God and Neighbor Together
Monday, November 26, 2007 (Discernment Research Group)

<http://herescope.blogspot.com/2007/11/rethinking-peace-loving-god-and.html>

Why Don't Christians Learn From the Jewish Experience?

2007-11-07T07:03:00.000-08:00

“Why Don’t Christians Learn from the Jewish Experience?”
“Limadha la Yastafid al-Masihiyyun min Tajribat al-Yahud ?”
Jacob Thomas 11/02/07

Lately, several articles have appeared in the online Arabic daily Elaph, dealing with the plight of the Christians living in the Arab world. Western media don’t focus their attention on this topic when they report on the Middle East, since they are preoccupied with the war in Iraq, and Iran’s attempt to develop nuclear weapons. Without minimizing the importance of these subjects, the status of Middle East Christians deserves the attention of the world. So, I was very pleased with the fact that some Arab writers have turned their attention to the worsening conditions of Mideastern Christians who are the remnants of the original inhabitants of the area.

On Friday, 26 October, 2007, I noticed an article in Elaph, with this intriguing title, “Why Don’t Christians Learn from the Jewish Experience?” Let me share with you excerpts from the article, followed by my analysis and comments.

The author began with these introductory remarks:

“In a previous article, I discussed the difficulties facing the life of Christians in the Arab world. I suggested that a realistic solution to their problem would require a mass migration of these Christians to Western countries. Several Christians objected to my proposal, but offered no realistic alternative toward the solution of the problem. They expressed the hope that somehow, coexistence between Muslims and Christian in the Arab world, would someday materialize.

“In this article, I would like to pose this question: ‘Why don’t Christians learn from the experience of the Jews who lived in the Arab world?’ They patiently endured religious persecution and racial discrimination; without expecting a change in their political situation, or the rise of a spirit of tolerance and coexistence. The Jews paid a heavy price for their patience: they were persecuted, oppressed, lost their properties and their citizenship in the Arab countries.

“When we consider the prevailing social, political, and religious conditions in the Arab world, how can Christians expect, in the near future, a complete change in their situation? Do they really look forward to the time when some of them would get nominated for high office in the Arab world, or be elected to such positions as prime minister, or president of the republic, with Muslim citizens voting for them?!

“Do Christians expect Shi’ites and Sunnis to be reconciled; thus reflecting the emergence of a new spirit of inter-communal tolerance?! Do they anticipate a change in the Islamic fiqh (jurisprudence) which is the source of the doctrinal and psychological barriers between Muslims and followers of other religions?!

“Unfortunately, there are no indications of the possibility of liberating Arab societies from their inherited backwardness. Discrimination exists even within members of the same family; fanaticism and intolerance begin at the tribal level, and then proceed to the ethnic, regional, and confessional levels. Religious extremism and fanaticism result from these perverted societal and psychological structures that have produced an irrational religious mind, marked by a lack of openness to the “Other.”

“How unfortunate then that many Christians, when they attack Irhab (terrorism) and fanaticism, attack at the same time, the very source of Islamic doctrines by denying their divine origin, considering them merely the human thoughts of the Prophet Muhammad. They fall into the same trap of fanaticism by assailing the beliefs of others.”

Analysis
The author described the difficulties that attend the lives of Christians in the Arab world, and proceeded to ask, “Why Don’t Christians Learn from the Jewish Experience?” This experience has been marked by religious persecution, ending with the Jews losing their properties, and their citizenship. He refrained from telling the whole story that after the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, almost the entire Jewish population in the Middle East had to leave their ancestral homes, and find refuge in Israel, Europe, and the Americas.

Comments
At first, I was very intrigued by the title of the article. I thought the author must have had in mind a worthwhile lesson that Christians living in the Arab world would learn from the experience of the Jewish people. So, what was that lesson that Christians should learn? Is it that the Jews of the Arab world had suffered a great deal since the rise of Islam? But so did the Christians. Both were labeled as “dhimmis” by the Islamic conquerors; they were tolerated within the Islamic Umma as long as they behaved properly, and paid the Jizya tax according to the Qur’anic prescription, ‘an yaden wahum saghirun.*

Actually, the lesson our author wanted Christians to learn was to pick up and leave their homelands or convert to Islam. It’s a recipe for a voluntary ethnic and religious cleansing. Why this drastic solution? Well, Arab Christians should not be naïve and expect Muslims to change their minds, and accept them as equals in rights and responsibilities. As he put it, “a realistic solution to their problem would require a mass migration of these Christians to Western countries.” What a solution! To uproot around 15 million people whose roots in Mesopotamia, the Levant, and Egypt, go back to more than three millennia? While I appreciate the author’s honest description of the awful plight of the Christians in the Arab world, I am terribly shocked by his surrealistic proposal!

Another disappointing part of the article was the last paragraph, where the author blamed some Christians for their intolerance. “How unfortunate it is that many Christians, who attack Irhab and fanaticism, attack at the same time the very source of Islamic doctrines by denying their divine origin, and consider them as merely the human thoughts of the Prophet Muhammad. Thus, they fall in the same trap of fanaticism by assailing the beliefs of others.”

I am not aware that Christians living in the Arab world openly engage in polemics against Islam. They know better than to do that. On the other hand, does he expect these Christian communities, after enduring 1400 years of marginalization and persecution, to forsake their allegiance to their Christian faith? To accede to his advice and accept the “sources of Islamic doctrine” as being of “divine origin,” would amount to becoming Muslims?! All that remains for them to formalize their conversion would be to utter the “Shahada.”

As a Levantine Christian, I have always keenly felt that what bothers our fellow Arabic-speaking Muslims is the fact that, even after fourteen centuries, we still cling tenaciously to our faith. It’s hard for them to comprehend that while our ancestors finally Arabized, nevertheless, we did not Islamize. Arabic-speaking Christians must be terribly stubborn, unwilling to accept Islam as God’s last message to mankind! It is too bad that Muslims cannot understand the reason for our “stubbornness!”

So, my response to the advice of the author of the article is: “No thanks, we will stay in our homelands; and while some of our people have reluctantly settled in the West, we will never contemplate a mass exodus from the lands of our fathers.”

* In Surah 9:29 of the Qur’an, we read the following about the Jizya tax:
“Fight those who believe not in Allah, nor the Last Day, nor hold forbidden that which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizyah with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued”
The Arabic original of “with willing submission and feel themselves subdued” is: ‘an yaden wahum saghirun.’ “saghirun” literally means “diminishing themselves” or “acting with utter submissiveness” vis-à-vis their Muslim masters!

Anxious for Dhimmitude

2007-10-27T16:41:00.000-07:00

By Mark D. Tooley
FrontPageMagazine.com 10/18/2007

A large group of senior Islamic clerics and teachers has recently issued “A Common Word Between Us and You,” a statement addressed to churches urging greater comity between Muslims and Christians. The clerics unapologetically espouse Muslim teachings, while asserting there is common theological ground between the two faiths. The Vatican and some conservative Protestants have commented that the Muslim outreach merits a thoughtful response.
But the Religious Left, always anxious to burnish its multicultural credentials, has responded to “Common Word” with enthusiasm.

The National Council of Churches’ (NCC) top (though outgoing) interfaith official hailed the Islamic outreach, saying it will fuel the “urgency” of the NCC’s own Muslim-Christian dialogue. Part of the NCC’s own interfaith ministry, as Shanta Premawardhana described it, is standing “in solidarity with Muslims at a time when many Muslims in the United States faced significant levels of discrimination,” post 9-11.

Premawardhana thanked the Muslim clerics and scholars for speaking out against Muslim “extremists.” Similarly, he boasted, the NCC is trying to “counter the voices of extremist Christians with initiatives aimed at teaching Christians about Islam and helping churches build relationships with mosques in their local communities," Premawardhana added.
Actually, “Common Word” did not criticize Muslim “extremists.” Nor did it attempt to modify Islamic teachings that demand that non-Muslims live in subordination to Islamic authority in majority Muslim societies. But it did call for non-violent interaction between Muslims and Christians, and it actually speaks of “freedom of religion.” This makes it “moderate.”
Perhaps an even more effusive reaction to “Common Word” was a quickly organized but lengthy statement from Ivy League seminary scholars, who were “deeply encouraged and challenged” by the Muslim outreach. They titled their piece “Loving God and Neighbor Together,” dedicated it, in typical seminary speak, to the “Infinitely Good God whom we should love with all our being.”

“We receive ‘A Common Word as a Muslim hand of conviviality and cooperation extended to Christians world-wide,” the academics enthused. “In this response we extend our own Christian hand in return, so that together with all other human beings we may live in peace and justice as we seek to love and our neighbors.”

The Ivy League seminary professors included with every reference to Jesus Christ a “Peace be Upon Him,” in a wan attempt to show the Muslims how attuned they are to Islamic lingo. No doubt the Islamic scholars will be impressed.
And the Ivy Leaguers opened their manifesto with apologies for Christianity’s perceived sins against Islam. “We want to begin by acknowledging that in the past (e.g. the Crusades) and in the present (e.g. the war in Iraq) Christians have been guilty of sinning against our Muslim neighbors.”

Naturally, the Ivy Leaguers want the Muslims’ forgiveness for all of Christianity’s countless outrages. “Before we ‘shake your hand’ in responding to your letter, we ask forgiveness of the All-Merciful One and of the Muslim community around the world.”

The “Common Word,” unlike the left-wing Western religious response to it, carefully avoided political statements. There is no mention of Iraq, or the Palestinians, or even of the Crusades. No apologies are offered for any of Islam’s historic depredations, nor did the Islamic clerics request any apologies from their Christian audience. But the Religious Left, when conversing with perceived victims of the Christian West, is always anxious to extend remorse.

The Ivy Leaguers also took some other political swipes, warning against serving “idols” such as a “ruler, a nation, [or] economic progress,” which leads to “deep and deadly conflicts.” The professors commended the Muslim clerics & scholars for their “generosity” and courage.
“It is with humility and hope that we receive your generous letter, and we commit ourselves to labor together in heart, soul, mind and strength for the objectives you so appropriately propose,” the Ivy Leaguers concluded portentously, sounding like a sad caricature of the Founding Fathers.

The Ivy League signers of “Loving god and Neighbor Together” included the dean of Yale Divinity School, the president of Princeton Theological Seminary, the dean of Harvard Divinity School, and several seminary professors from those schools.

Unlike the responses from the NCC and the Ivy Leaguers, the Muslim statement definitively asserted Islamic beliefs about Allah, about Muhammad as his only Prophet, about the authority of the Koran, and about divine judgment. Neither the NCC nor the academics appeared to be anywhere near as resolute in presenting Christian doctrines about God, Jesus Christ, the Bible, and the end times.

If the Muslim scholars behind “Common Word” do not already know it, they will soon learn: left-wing clerics and scholars in the West often will not talk about much less defend Christian theology because they themselves do not believe in its historic doctrines. For them, Christianity is mostly just a vessel through which the goals of the political Left can advance.

In dialogues with Muslims, the Religious Left wants to apologize for Christianity and form common alliances against traditional Christians and Jews, while also denouncing various foreign and military policies of the U.S. No doubt, many “Common Word” Muslim scholars and clerics will be glad to indulge this. But if they are looking for substantive exchanges over theological differences between Christianity and Islam, they will have to look elsewhere.

Mark D. Tooley directs the United Methodist committee at the Institute on Religion and Democracy.

The Myth of Islamophobia

2007-10-08T13:18:00.000-07:00

Author: Jacob Thomas on Friday, August 03, 2007

http://www.news.faithfreedom.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1444

During the lifetime of the USSR, it was customary for the Russian Communists and their fellow-travelers, to attempt to silence anyone who disagreed with their Marxist ideology. So they resorted to vilifying their adversaries by painting them as “bourgeois reactionaries” and “enemies of the toiling masses.” They acted according to the age long principle that attack was the best defence.

Nowadays, we find a similar strategy being used by Islamists and some “moderate” Muslims. They work hard to silence anyone who unveils the belligerent components of Islam. One of their tactics is to brand critics of Islam as manifesting “Islamophobia.”

To read more please go to URL as seen above.

Review of "Evidence Not Seen"

2007-08-29T10:00:00.000-07:00

Evidence Not Seen: A Woman’s Miraculous Faith in the Jungles of World War II – by Darlene Deibler Rose. Published by HarperSanFrancisco in 1988

This is the most powerful Christian book I have ever read. My introduction came in a friend’s letter. She mentioned this “inspiring and challenging” book and said about it; “Oh, to love Jesus like that!” I ordered a copy immediately and have ordered many more to give to friends.

Four years spent in a POW camp in the jungles of Indonesia don’t make for comfortable reading. After you lend it or recommend it you hope that the other person can stand to read the awful details of deprivations and hardships endured in such a location. Food was always scarce and insufficient, but somehow they coped.

Darlene Deibler only had a few years of married life before she and her husband were separated and confined in different camps. Russell Deibler did not survive. Darlene became a very young widow. She had been gifted with such a cheerful spirit and leadership qualities that she was chosen to be the leader of one of the women’s barracks at the camp. Her enthusiastic Christian spirit brought solace to many around her.

So this is the kind of book which could change your life. Certainly life will never be quite the same.

Before war interfered, that small group of missionaries were preparing, to bring the Good News to the primitive tribes in the vast interior of New Guinea. This would have been only 70 years since earlier missionaries had discovered that the people they were planning to work amongst had a culture of cannibalism. This was “hardship” missions in every way: isolated territory, no medical resources, difficult terrain and climate. Their faith had to be strong. The prison camp experience was a traumatic testing ground of that faith.

You sense the gift of love for those New Guinea tribesmen. After the war the mission work resumed and Darlene returned as Darlene Deibler Rose. You may ask if this kind of mission work had any noticeable results. Consider this news story which came to our attention just as I was preparing this review.

The Papua New Guinea tribesmen wanted to apologize publicly for their ancestors having cannibalized Methodist missionaries 129 years ago. What a thrill then to read: “Thousands of villagers attended the apology ceremony in East New Britain province and listened to words of praise for the English missionary who had brought the Gospel to their region. The apologetic Papuans, led by the Governor General of Papua New Guinea, offered their apologies to the High Commissioner of Fiji. Four Fijian missionaries, under the command of Rev. George Brown of the London-based Wesleyan Missionary Society, had been slain and eaten in 1878 by Tolai tribesmen, directed by their warrior chief Taleli. "We at this juncture are deeply touched and wish you the greatest joy of forgiveness as we finally end this record disagreement," Fijian High Commissioner Ratu Isoa Tikoca told the apologetic tribesmen at the August ceremony. Fiji itself had practiced cannibalism but gave up their meal habits under the influence of earlier missionary efforts.

The power of God so evident in Darlene’s life story is evident on a larger scale in the new nation of New Guinea.

Read Darlene’s story and let the Lord work in your life.

by Shirley W. Madany

Now They Call Me Infidel by Nonie Darwish

2007-08-09T13:35:00.000-07:00

Now They Call me Infidel: Why I Renounced Jihad for America,
Israel, and the War on Terror, by Nonie Darwish.
Sentinel, Penguin Books, 2006, 258 pp

From our first encounter with Nonie Darwish, through her articles and web site, we felt that she was someone special. We were attracted by her open and obvious love for America. That web site disappeared, only to reappear as www.arabsforisrael.com , with its unique opening statement:

To Muslims and Arabs across the globe: Reject hate, embrace love. Bring out the best in Islam by showing your compassion, gratitude and forgiveness. Make the holy land truly holy by giving Israel and the Jewish people the respect they deserve in their tiny little country. This is not a crisis over land. It is a crisis of the soul; a crisis in our faith, judgement and self confidence. Israel should not be regarded as an enemy, but as a blessing to our neighborhood. We need not fear peace, but embrace it.

These are remarkable words to be coming from the daughter of a “shahid” (a martyr for jihad) who was assassinated while serving as a high-ranking Egyptian military officer stationed in Gaza specifically to be of assistance to the Palestinians.

The September 2001 attack on the twin towers in New York was life-changing for many people. From that moment on Nonie Darwish felt compelled to take a stand. It led her to write her life story “Now They Call Me Infidel” which is a pure gift to all of us. She also stepped out into public life with all its demands of speaking engagements, and the disapproval she was bound to experience.

After reading her book with eagerness, I would suggest that it is the perfect book for supplemental reading by all High School students. Let them hear about Islam from someone who has experienced it fully from birth and has turned to Christianity and America for a better life. Let them sense her loyalty and love for her new country. As she describes it—“Many immigrants come to this great nation in search of material gain, which is fine; however, the biggest prize I gained was my religious freedom and learning to love. For me it was nothing short of cataclysmic. I had turned from a culture of hatred to one of love.”

In her book she describes her impressions of America. We Americans need to see our country through someone else’s eyes, so that we can withstand the propaganda that insinuates that we are the culprit and instigator of all the troubles of the world. It is eye-opening to read through the chapter “A New Beginning in America” and find out why the following words are in italics; and learn just how much our culture differs from the Muslim culture in Egypt. This is specially applicable to the difficult life programmed for women. She considers “friendliness and helpfulness”,” courtesy”, “diversity and multiculturalism”, “self-sufficiency, pride in labor”, “generous, honest, and open”, “informality”, “women’s relationships”, and “child rearing”.

Gradually, to Ms. Darwish’s horror she discovers that her beloved land of refuge, her America which means so much to her, is being attacked from within. She is painfully aware of those old patterns of hatred, as they eminate from mosque after mosque.

She lashes out at terrorists who are invading the Western countries: “America’s Islamic enemies and critics—even those who love living in the United States – are nothing more than pirates. That’s what Islamic terrorists are – pirates. Instead of building their own society as a model of what Islam should be, they leave it in ruins and look to conquer hard-working successful lands…..They cannot stand to live in a Muslim culture, and they have their eyes set on beautiful and welcoming democracies, not to blend in, but to rob those democracies of their soul and ruin the value system and culture that made them great….” p. 185. You need to get hold of this book and sense the depth of Ms. Darwish’s feeling as she begs you to save our precious country from the onslaught she sees coming.

She describes her shock at the Arab world’s response to 9/11. They dared to rejoice over the tragedy. When she phoned family members and close friends, whose opinions she had formerly trusted, she could not believe that many thought America deserved to suffer.

The last chapter is “Jihad Comes to America”. Nonie dismisses the popular and over-used definition of jihd as merely spiritual pursuit: “there is only one meaning for jihad, and that is: a religious holy war against infidels.” p. 201. She remarks that she is shocked by the radicalism she encounters on the American campus. “I am stunned to see them choose to revive the worst of Islamic culture in America rather than be part of America and demonstrate the best of Islamic culture.”

On page 159 there is a moving description of Nonie’s introduction to Christian worship when she and her husband and family attended a church and “listened to a message of compassion, love, acceptance, tolerance, and prayer for all humanity.” There had been some violence in the Middle East and the pastor prayed for everyone—“Muslims, Jews, and Christians. It was a very different message from the prayers to ‘destroy the infidels’ that I grew up with….I learned the most important command in scripture was “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Nonie had found what she was hungering for: “In this church, that day, my soul was revived and nourished with the love of a tolerant and forgiving God.” Knowingly she was willing to be called an infidel.

After a remarkable experience of visiting Israel Nonie explains: “I now fully understand why the United States supports Israel and rightfully so. My love of America now extends to Israel.” Hence the name of her new web site!

We salute another brave woman, and heartily recommend that you read this extremely important book.

By Shirley W. Madany

While Western Christians Theorize

2007-08-06T09:30:00.000-07:00

While Western Christians Theorize, Arabic-Speaking Christians & Muslims Dialogue

Rev. Bassam M. Madany
Middle East Resources Ministry
www.unashamedofthegospel.org

Introduction

The Internet has ushered in a new phase in the history of the Arabic-speaking peoples of the Middle East and North Africa. Communications between ordinary people take place on a daily basis at a much deeper level, as may be observed from the comments of the readers of online Arabic media.

One of the liveliest Arabic sites on the Internet is www.elaph.com As the first Arabic online daily, it began in London, England, on 21 May 2001. It has correspondents throughout the Arab world, as well as in Europe and the Americas. It publishes news and op-ed articles by Arab writers and intellectuals, and welcomes listeners’ comments.

The major difference between this new medium and the print press of the Arab world is the freedom enjoyed by all participants, both writers and respondents. No censorship inhibits the expression of various and conflicting opinions, as is the case in the print media.

On 11 June 2007, an article was posted which dealt with an ethical problem known in Arabic as Khulwa. This word describes a situation when a man and a woman, working at a government or business office, find themselves alone in a room or a cubicle. It is not my intention to comment on the specific fatwa that was issued by a professor at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, in which he offered a solution to the problem. My main interest lies in the comments that came almost instantly from 34 readers. Some referred to the topic of Khulwa, but the majority seized the occasion to begin a dialogue on an important religious subject prompted by the last sentence of the article in Elaph. It called for a new hermeneutic of the Islamic religious and cultural heritage.

The first response came from a Christian in Alexandria, Egypt. He began, “One thing is needed, as the Messiah told Martha, who was burdened by too many concerns.” He concluded, “We don’t need a new prophet. What we need is the one who said: ‘I am the truth, the resurrection, and the life.’”

About an hour later, another response was posted. “The Lord Jesus is the only one who gives rest. He said: ‘Come unto me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ Then he pleaded with the readers; ‘Come to the king and savior and you will find rest; you don’t need a nabi, or a mufti to help you. Cry out to God and ask him: ‘save me from my bewilderments and confusions, and help me to know your person.’”

I salute the Christian reader who initiated this dialogue that was totally unrelated to the Khulwa problem. He gave a sincere and Biblical marturia (testimony) about the Lord Jesus Christ.

Two hours after these comments appeared, a Muslim responded, manifesting his indignation at the contents of the Christian testimonies: “The Glorious Qur’an honors the Messiah as a human being and as an apostle; but it contradicts the claims of divinity and sonship attributed to him, and warns those who do so, with terrible sufferings in this life, and at the End.” He then proceeded to criticize the Christian doctrine of forgiveness of sins, based on the person and work of the Messiah.

A Christian responded by elucidating the role of Christ in granting forgiveness to those who trust in Him:

“Some people imagine that forgiveness happens simply with a word uttered by God, but such forgiveness would be cheap and encourages sinning. However, the forgiveness that cost much more than silver and gold, was purchased with the precious blood of a sinless lamb, is the basis for true forgiveness (I Peter 1:18-19). The Messiah came so that, anyone who believes in him may not perish, according to John 3:16.

Showing his genuine interest in the salvation of the Muslim respondent, the Christian witness went on saying:
“Have you ever met a sick person who says, ‘I won’t go to see a doctor unless I’m healed first?!’ God always takes the initiative by searching for man. God loves the sinners. ‘For while we were yet sinners, the Messiah died for us.’ (Romans 6:23) Forgiveness, in Christianity, is full and free, (References followed from John 5:24, Romans 8:1-2, and John 1:12.) No one should judge the veracity of these words, as long as he remains outside the faith.”

He ended his plea with these words:

“I have given these Biblical testimonies to show you that a man receives forgiveness as a free gift. However, it cost God the precious blood of his beloved Son to bring about our forgiveness. No one should belittle the value of the Messiah’s sacrifice on the cross.”

Three hours later, a Muslim from the UAE to responded:

“Also the Messiah, pbuh (peace be upon him), said: ‘Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’ (Matthew 4:10) At this point it must be pointed out that the Muslim misinterpreted or misunderstood our Lord’s answer to the devil. The Muslim continued looking for Scriptural proofs of the Qur’anic view of the Messiah. So he quoted Matt. 10:40: ‘He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me.’ The point he was trying to make, can only be understood if I refer to the Arabic text of the passage:‘man yaqbalukom yaqbaluni, wa’man yaqbaluni, yaqbalu al-ladhi arsalani.’ He interpreted the verb arsalani, i.e. He sent me, to mean that Jesus was simply a rasool, i.e. one who was sent. A clever argument, indeed; however he failed to realize that Christ was referring to the redemptive mission that God had sent him to accomplish.

A Christian respondent tried to convince the Muslim that according to the New Testament, Jesus never refused worship. He said: “The word ‘worship’ occurs sixty times in the New Testament; all of them have to do with worshipping Jesus, the Messiah. He accepted this worship. At other instances in the NT, when worship was directed at humans, it was always rejected, such as in Acts 10:25, in reference to Cornelius; and to the Angel in Revelation 19:10, and 22: 8-9 Other references to Jesus accepting worship are found in Luke 17:12-17 and John 20:29”

A Muslim responded by saying that the Messiah is merely “bashar” i.e. human. He then proceeded to quote from the word of Allah, who has no partners (i.e., the Qur’an) Surat al-Maida (Table) 73, and Women: 156 and al-Tawba 30 (Repentance) and ended by saying the ‘Qur’an has settled the matter. To quote from Biblical texts, is like hanging on to a spider’s web!’

In less than 30 minutes, the response came from a Copt. He began by pointing to the Qur’anic account of the miraculous birth of the Messiah referring to Surat Mariam: 21 and Surat Women: 171, as well as to other passages that relate the unique qualifications of the Messiah. He then proceeded to give a Biblical testimony about the Messiah: ‘Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God and the only mediator between God and man. He ended his words by saying: ‘I invite you to receive the Messiah.’

Another Christian joined the dialogue, and responded to the Muslim who had asserted that Jesus was merely a human being:

“We don’t deny that Jesus is human; our Christian faith teaches us that the Messiah is both God and man, and he is without sin. He is the Son of Man, as well as the Son of God. We believe that God was incarnate and came to our level as human beings, for our salvation. All the prophets from Adam to John the Baptist came to prepare the way for the Incarnate God. He came to save his people from their bondage to sin, and to help them regain the state they enjoyed prior to the fall. To understand the very essence of the Christian faith, you need to read the Holy Bible.”

Another Christian responded from Beirut, saying:

“The Messiah is the beginning and the end, the way, the truth, and the life. He is the Son of God. God did call him, ‘this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’ This is a mystery that is above the human mind. God sent his Son to redeem us on the cross and to save us from our sins. I plead with you dear reader, do try and understand the Christian faith. The Messiah said, ‘he who hears me has heard the Father and he who receives me, the Father will receive.’ Blessed are those who are saved; but the sinner who does not repent will be tormented in the fires of hell, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Four minutes after the above message appeared, an irate Muslim reader wrote:

“Enough your babblings!” He then quoted from Surat Al-Umran, ayah 61. It addresses a Muslim by warning him against listening to any argument that is brought forth by non-Muslims and that contradicts what had already descended, i.e. the Qur’an. He ended by a quotation from the verse that brings God’s curse upon all liars, meaning those who do not accept the teachings of the Qur’an!”

Responses followed quickly, one after another. Here is one, referring to Christ on the cross:

“He who could not save himself from the cross, how can he save others? What a person does not have, or possess, he cannot give to others. You Christians are simply dreaming; the Messiah is but a slave of Allah, and His messenger; he also needs Allah’s forgiveness. A Christian imagines he can commit the seven sins, and then go on to Paradise?!”

Another Muslim drew attention to what he called ‘minds that had stopped functioning’ by referring to the Biblical doctrine of original sin, which he considered as an absurdity.

“Earthly laws say that a person is innocent until proven guilty; however in Christianity, man is born sinful?! How could that be, when he is still like a clean page, with nothing written upon it?”

Seven minutes later, a Christian wrote:

“The Messiah taught us saying, ‘bless and don’t curse.’ So, we pray that you will be blessed and pray that the true God will open your heart to understand the truth.”

Almost thirty minutes later, an irate Muslim wrote:

“What’s going on? I feel as if I were sitting in a church! Why are we dealing with religious details, whether Christian or Islamic? You must understand that religion has to do with one’s relation with God. No need to advertise faith on the Internet; it’s sufficient to see religion reflected in one’s behavior, and with respect for the values of civilizations.”

Around 45 minutes later, a Muslim added his comments, using Biblical references to prove that the Messiah was no more than ‘abdullah, i.e. a slave of Allah:

“John said that Jesus lifted his eyes to heaven and said, this is life eternal (John 17:6) How can the Sender and the Sent-one be one, while the text refers to God and to Jesus, as the sent- one?”

A little before midnight, the final comment appeared:

“O people, all the apostles and prophets were sent by God to make Him known, in order that He may be worshipped. What are you talking about when you mention that God has three images (persons?) These are nothing but fabrications of human minds. As for the Injeel, it has been altered and changed, and many of its sections have been erased, to suit the whims of the priests who wanted to magnify their positions, and to lord it over simple people. Some of the contributors to this site aimed at convincing others of their positions, and cause them to depart from the true worship of God.”

Thus far, I have been quoting from the dialogue that began on 11 June, 2007, between Arabic-speaking Christians and Muslims. I am very thankful to the Lord that several Christians seized a golden opportunity, and gave a wonderful testimony about their faith.

As we reflect on the above quotations, we may classify them under three headings:
Scripture, the Person of Christ, and the Redemptive work of Christ.

All the Christians who participated in the dialogue manifested a strong belief in the final authority of the Bible, the Deity and humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the work of salvation He accomplished by His death on the cross, and His resurrection. On the other hand, Muslim respondents, denied vehemently the above mentioned doctrines, and affirmed the final authority of the Qur’an, their belief that the Messiah was one of many rasools (apostles) sent by Allah to enlighten mankind; and they denied the historicity of the crucifixion.

It must be observed that neither side had a difficulty in understanding the belief of the other side. The Internet dialogue proved that both Muslims and Christians, using the same language, and living within Daru’l Islam, differed in their faith commitments, due to their different premises, or presuppositions. Thus we may conclude that real communication did take place between Christians and Muslims, regardless of the fact that the dialogue did not end in changing the minds of either side.

This is one-third of an article to be found on our new website www.unashamedofthegospel.org
The URL is: http://www.faithwebsites.com/unashamedofthegospel/while_western_christians.cfm

2007-07-09T17:59:00.000-07:00

When Will Leaders Understand Islam ?

The fact that Islam is more than religion continues to escape the average American, including our president. Note his oft repeated words at the recent rededication of The Islamic Center in Washington, DC June 27, 2007: “The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. That's not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace. These terrorists don't represent peace. They represent evil and war.”

Now, in the aftermath of 9/11/2001, we need to realize that Islam is much more than a religion. It is not just a set of beliefs and a code of ethics that govern the life of individuals and their families. Our president referred with admiration to the OIC (Organization of the Islamic Conference) which represents 55 Islamic countries. That should be proof enough of the politicization of Islam . Here is what the scholar Bernard Lewis had to say about this point:

“In the modern world, the political role of Islam, internationally as well as domestically, differs significantly from that of its peer and rival, Christianity. The heads of state or ministers of foreign affairs of the Scandinavian countries and Germany do not from time to time foregather in a Lutheran summit conference. Nor was it customary when the Soviet Union still existed, for its rulers to join with those of Greece and Yugoslavia and, temporarily forgetting their political and ideological differences, to hold regular meetings on the basis of current adherence to the Orthodox Church. Similarly, the Buddhist nations of the East and Southeast Asia, the Catholic nations of South America, do not constitute Buddhist or Catholic blocs at the United Nations, nor for that matter in any other of their political activities.

“The very idea of such a grouping, based on religious identity might seem to many modern western observers absurd or even comic. But it is neither absurd nor comic in relation to Islam. Some fifty-five Muslim governments, including monarchies and republics, conservatives and revolutionaries, practitioners of capitalism and disciples of various kinds of socialism, friends and enemies of the United States, and exponents of a whole spectrum of shades of neutrality, have built up an elaborate apparatus of international consultation and even, on some issues, of cooperation. They hold regular high level conferences, and despite differences of structure, ideology and policy, have achieved a significant measure of agreement and common action.” p. 26 The Multiple Identities of the Middle East, by Bernard Lewis.

During the modern era, several European nations colonized large areas of the Muslim world, thus gaining a direct knowledge of Islam. During the early and late Middle Ages, it was Muslims who colonized several European countries. The Arab-Islamic conquest of Spain began in 710, and lasted until 1492! Most of Central and Eastern Europe came under Islamic rule for hundreds of years.

The first American military encounter with Muslims occurred soon after independence. The pirates of Tripoli terrorized maritime trade in the Mediterranean, so the U.S. Navy had to deal with them. Then, early in the 19th century, American missionaries entered several Middle East provinces of the Ottoman Turkish Empire. They built schools and hospitals, and played a big role in the renaissance of Arab culture. As a result of their presence, national Protestant churches were also formed.

It was after World War II that the United States got very involved in the Muslim world. Oil was discovered in Saudi Arabia in the 1930s, and U.S. oil companies were the first to develop and market it. When the French and British pulled out of the area in the aftermath of World War II, it was the United Sates that sought to fill the vacuum.

A leading expert on the history of the Arabs and of Islam was the late Lebanese/American Philip Hitti, who taught at Princeton University for almost fifty years. His book, Islam: a Way of Life has three parts. Part One, Islam As Religion; Part II, Islam As State; and Part III, Islam As Culture.

This development of Islam into a “way of life,” is rooted in its specific history, a history that is inextricably wedded to its founder, Muhammad. Born in Mecca in 570 AD, he began preaching the absolute unity of God. At the age of forty, in 622, he migrated with his some of his followers to Medina. There, he acted both as Prophet and Statesman. By 632, the year of his death, he had conquered Mecca, and gained the submission of the warring tribes of Arabia. His successors, the Caliphs, began the conquests of the Persian and Byzantine Empires. By 732, the new Arab-Islamic Empire stretched from Spain to India!

After the Mongolian invasion of the Middle East, and the fall of Baghdad in 1252, the newly Islamized Turks took over the cause of Islam and continued its conquests. In 1453, they brought an end to the Byzantine Empire when they overran Constantinople, and changed its name to Istanbul. The Ottoman Turks colonized vast territories of Central and Eastern Europe. They laid their first siege of Vienna in 1529, only twelve years after Martin Luther began the Reformation! Had the Turks succeeded in conquering Austria, the history of the West would have been radically different!

An objective study of the rise and expansion of Islam points to the fact that it spread primarily through the futuhat, i.e., conquests. In fact, Islam regards wars of conquest, as an essential part of the faith, calling them, Jihad. We do not minimize the fact that Islam is a religion, like other religions. It is a theistic religion, teaching that God is both the Creator and the Governor of the world. It has its religious rites and houses of worship, as well as a specific code of ethics. On the other hand, Islam has a political component that is essential for its proper functioning, and the well-being of the community of believers. Muslims must live under “Shari’a,” the Islamic law, and their rulers are expected to enforce it. Since, Islam is religion, politics, and culture in one entity Muslims carry with them the ideal of ultimately establishing an Islamic regime where the rule of Allah takes a concrete shape in the here and now.

As a result of this monolithic view of life, and the theocratic motif that is of the essence of Islam, it has not fostered any sort of societal pluralism among the subject peoples. Islam brought to an end the existence of the church in North Africa. In the Middle East, the one-time Christian majority has over the years become a small and marginalized minority.

“To write and speak honestly about the topic of Islam is not easy. It goes against the spirit of multiculturalism and pluralism that pervade our modern Western civilization. We believe in the freedom of religion, and the US Constitution guarantees this freedom to citizens and residents alike. This is a cornerstone of our way of life. But what if a specific religion brings to America a political baggage that is regarded by it adherents as part and parcel of their faith, but which happens to be incompatible with our modus vivendi? Is it wrong to face this reality a nd discuss it openly, without being charged with racial or religious prejudice? To ignore this subject is tantamount to burying our heads in the sand, and to invite unforeseen troubles in the future.” (Bat Ye’or in The Decline of Eastern Christianity Under Islam)

On June 27th President Bush spoke at The Islamic Center in Washington, DC.
“We need to rally the voices of Muslims who can speak most directly to millions in the Arab world left behind in the movement toward freedom and prosperity, For decades the free world abandoned Muslims in the Middle East to tyrants, and terrorists and hopelessness. This was done in the interests of stability and peace, but the approach brought neither. The Middle East became the incubator for terrorism and despair, and the result was an increase in Muslims’ hostility to the West I have invested the heart of my presidency in helping Muslims fight terrorism, and claim their liberty, and find their own unique paths to prosperity and peace.”

Considering his audience Bush made some rather strange statements which could have been challenged by even the simplest scholar. Since when did we abandon them to themselves? Wouldn’t the slightest move have been considered as meddling with their internal affairs? After a lengthy recitation of all our recent helpfulness in times of natural disasters Bush ended with another enigmatic jumble of words.

“So today, in this place of free worship, in the heart of a free nation, we say to those who yearn for freedom from Damascus to Tehran, you are not bound forever by your misery. You plead in silence no longer. The free world hears you. You are not alone. America offers you its hand in friendship. We work for the day when we can welcome you into the family of free nations. We pray that you and your children may one day know freedom in all things, including the freedom to love and to worship the Almighty God.”
Bassam and Shirley Madany

For complete text from the White House: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/06/20070627-2.html

Handel's Messiah

2007-06-10T05:48:00.000-07:00

Here is a comment received from a friend who was checking out our new website: www.unashamedofthegospel.org . He had come across the piece about Handel's Messiah which appears in "Tapestry". As an archivist he can often supply interesting additional information:

One detail that you probably knew, but which I will pass on just in case, concerns the article by Grant Dexter re the Messiah. And that detail is that the statue of Handel in Westminster Abbey has him holding a music score. It is often assumed that the Hallelujah Chorus is on
the score. But this is not the case. What's chipped into the open stone page of the score is the text and music for "I Know that My Redeemer Liveth."

A thought for today.

Why Copts of Egypt Fear Friday

2007-06-05T05:48:00.000-07:00

“Why Do the Copts of Egypt Fear Fridays?”

Author: Jacob Thomas on Jun 03, 2007

On 17 May, 2007, while glancing at the website of the online daily, Elaph, I noticed a very intriguing title of an article on the plight of the Christian community in Egypt: “Why Do the Copts of Egypt Fear Fridays?” The writer, himself an Egyptian now living in France, gave a realistic explanation that should stir our thoughts, and make us fully aware of the suffering of this brave minority. I share with the readers of FFI excerpts from the article, and follow with my analysis and comments.

“Islamists have taken upon themselves the responsibility to stoke the fires of religious discord and civil strife whenever they had been extinguished. The result is that Egypt becomes the victim, and both Muslims and Christians end up being the losers. It is quite evident that Islamists don’t want the attacks against the Copts to stop......

To continue reading this article please go to the following URL:

http://www.news.faithfreedom.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1327

Here is a heartfelt comment regarding this matter of Friday sermons which incite harmful actions:
"You will not believe the anguish I feel when I read the news that you list. I remember my childhood and the painful lessons I learned about Islam. Friday was a particularly difficult day to get through and hence your last article literally hit home. If my shoulder provides even the tiniest of comfort, then it is I who am honored. The only thing that keeps me going is that I really believe that finally the nightmare of 1430 years is about to be over, and I just may live to see its end."

A Sunday Blog

2007-06-03T11:23:00.000-07:00

The sermon title was: "All Scripture is God-breathed"

Leading up to the Scripture reading of 2nd Timothy 3: 10-17 we sang the following appropriate words, from the hymn titled "O Word of God Incarnate". A hymn written in 1867 by William Walsham How.

O Word of God incarnate, O Wisdom from on high
O truth unchanged, unchanging, O Light of our dark sky;
we praise thee for the radiance that from the hallowed page,
a lantern to our footsteps, shines on from age to age.

The Church from her dear Master received the gift divine,
and still that light she lifteth o'er all the earth to shine.
It is the golden casket, where gems of truth are stored;
it is the heav'n drawn picture of Christ, the living Word.

It floateth like a banner before God's host unfurled;
it shineth like a beacon above the darkling world.
It is the chart and compass that o'er life's surging sea,
'mid mists and rocks and quick-sands, still guides, O Christ to thee.

O make thy church, dear Savior, a lamp of purest gold,
to bear before the nations thy true light, as of old.
O teach thy wand'ring pilgrims by this their path to trace,
till, clouds and darkness ended, they see thee face to face.

Check our our new website www.unashamedofthegospel.org

The Writings of Canadian author Grace Irwin

2007-05-09T13:07:00.000-07:00

by Shirley W. Madany

The manuscript of "Compensation", Grace Irwin's latest published book, had lain forgotten in the attic for 75 years. When, in retirement, she had finished recording her six published novels for the Blind Mission she decided to take another look at it. "Compensation" had been her first attempt at writing a novel. It was rejected in 1927. Submitted again in 2002, it saw publication in 2003. This must be some kind of a record.

Prompted by the arrival of the film "Amazing Grace" to our neighborhood, I phoned Toronto to tell her about it. We hadn't heard from her for 2 years, so wondered if she was alive. To my great joy Grace answered the phone. We had delightful conversation and I learned that she was about to celebrate her 100th birthday at the Humberside Collegiate where she had taught for so many years.

Grace Irwin had a happy and fulfilling career as a High School English teacher. When she did start to write she gave us some very thoughtful novels. Two of them, written in the style of biographical fiction, were "Servant of Slaves", the life of John Newton, slave trader and hymn writer; and the life of Lord Shaftesbury in "The Seventh Earl". These were the fruit of months of research.

Years ago I discovered her then first novel "Least of All Saints" and reviewed it for the Winnipeg Free Press. It was to become a trilogy with "Andrew Connington" and "Contend with Horses", following after. Later I reviewed her "Three Lives in Mine", which was more of an autobiography.

Thus I read this latest unexpected book with the greatest pleasure. What a thrill to notice her youthful potential and to experience her skill again at portraying a place and time which you could almost feel and see. Most of Grace Irwin's books have this unusual quality of being so real you are sure they are true stories. Now, in "Compensation" we have some more historical fiction simply because of the time span between 1927 and 2003.

This delightful love story with an entrancing main character, Iris Dale, delivers a nostalgic memory picture of times gone by, when the lake district north of Toronto attracted the occasional tourist, while life in its tiny north wood villages was being left far behind the advances of the big city, Toronto. It was the era of road building and transition from horse and buggy to motor car. The era of early childhood deaths. That part of the story is all too real, remembering how my parents lost their first two baby girls. It adds an intense dimension to the simple name chosen for this book. As someone who owns all of her works I hope that this gem, which has come to us late in her life, will trigger a revival of all Grace Irwin books.

Borrowing from my review of "Three Lives in Mine" here is what I wrote:

In praise of "God's good men" Whether or not you have to relate to what you are reading is incidental. Grace Irwin's seventh book about three of God's good men is well worth reading.

Like a modern Jane Austen, she has captured almost a century of Torontonian social history. For the Christian, she has done even more. She has described a Christian environment which existed as living proof of the promise Paul made to the Galatians that the fruit of the Spirit would be "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. "Could this be how Toronto came to be known as "Toronto the Good"? Those attributes are to be found in abundance in Grace Irwin's description of her times.

As a devoted reader of her books it is impossible for me not to be prejudiced in her favour. Ever since I discovered her first book, Least of All Saints, and reviewed it for the Winnipeg Free Press, I have appreciated the skillful way in which she has recorded much of what is also my history. I refer to her Andrew Connington trilogy and her personal story, In Little Place.

I wonder how many Canadians are still required to memorize those lines from Tennyson's Ulysses: "I am a part of all that I have met; yet all experience is an arch wherethro' gleams that untravell'd world..." What a tonic to the imagination, I have been chanting that since High School days and find it popping up in more than one recent Canadian book like a trademark to an educational system of which we were justly proud.

Certainly, if you have read the vivid portrayal of the life and conversion of the slave trader/hymn writer John Newton in Miss Irwin's Servant of Slaves, and if you have been encouraged by what God can do for an entire country just by the faithfulness of one man like Lord Shaftesbury (The Seventh Earl), it will increase your interest in this new book. As usual, you will find your vocabulary enriched by a choice of words biased by a lifetime as a Latin and English teacher.

Grace Irwin's life has been full and rich. She takes issue with the prevailing wind of "self-fulfillment" for women. "I do not find my sense of personal worth in any or in the aggregate of my limited achievements. Rather it lies in the grateful realization that I have been privileged in varying degree to support, encourage, enable, cheer these men who have so immeasurably enriched me." She refers to her father, her brother John and her architect/preacher friend H.H.Kent.

There is no sign of weakness or wavering in this author. She writes with youthful vigour. We may not be able to turn the clock back, but our God has still the power to change individual lives and countries. One has to be careful when talking about "the good old days," or "when I was young", but surely in Three Lives in Mine, we catch a glimpse of Christian living which is historically accurate and refreshing to read.

With God's help and some ingenuity we ought to see if we can emulate the pattern of home life and standard of work ethic which is recorded in abundant detail in this book. Many of us can still relate to such a way of life and we're grateful to Grace Irwin for letting the world know that Christians did and do make a difference!

A Tale of Two States: India & Pakistan

2007-04-30T07:19:00.001-07:00

Author : Jacob Thomas on Apr 29, 2007 - 12:23 AM

Recently, while glancing at the kwtanweer.com site, I was attracted by the title of an article:
“Al-Hind wa Bakistan … al-‘Ilmaniyya’ Tantaser” (India & Pakistan … Secularism Wins.)
Here was an Arab Muslim intellectual, who having compared the history of these two states since their independence from Britain in 1947, concluded that the Indian experiment was a success story, while in contrast, Pakistan has done very poorly. The following are excerpts from the article, followed as usual, by my analysis, and comments.

“As we compare the secular Hindu State of India with the Islamic State of Pakistan, we are struck by the utter contrasts between the two. To begin with, India’s president now is a Muslim, which indicates that his religion did not keep him from reaching this high position. Furthermore, we should remember that he has played a major role in the development of the Indian nuclear program. Add to that, India has made great strides in the fields of technology, economics, agriculture, and education. It has achieved a remarkable level of democracy in its government. Compare all that success with the awful backwardness of the Islamic State of Pakistan, its system of religious education, its failing economy, the rise of terrorism with the blessing and encouragement of the tribal and religious leaders of the land.

“A comparison between India and Pakistan would lead an independent observer to pity the Pakistani government and its Muslim people. In contrast, India, having adopted a secular model for its government, has managed to spare itself many problems. It is true that India is not free of Hindu fanaticism; nor may we forget that its society is marked by the existence of the caste system; and has to cope with the problems stemming from population explosion. However, by adopting a secular system of government within a democratic framework, India has been in a better position to tackle its many challenges, when compared with such countries as Pakistan and Egypt.

To continue please go to the following URL:
http://www.news.faithfreedom.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1234

Our Loving God

2007-04-11T09:36:00.001-07:00

Our Loving God

We’ve a story to tell to the nations, That shall turn their hearts to the right,A story of truth and mercy, A story of peace and light,
We’ve a song to be sung to the nations, That shall lift their hearts to the Lord,A song that shall conquer evil, and shatter the spear and sword.
We’ve a message to give to the nations, That the Lord who reigns up above Has sent us His Son to save us, And show us that God is love.
We’ve a Savior to show to the nations, Who the path of sorrow has trod,That all of the world’s great peoples might come to the truth of God.

Refrain: For the darkness shall turn to dawning, And the dawning to noonday bright;And Christ’s great kingdom shall come on earth, the kingdom of love and light.
By H. Ernest Nichol

Children brought up in Christian homes are learning great truths from their earliest days. The Sunday school is where they learn hymns that will last them a life time. Hymns that will shape their attitudes towards all the peoples of the world.

One of the earliest hymns a child would know from memory is:

Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.. Little ones to Him belong, they are weak but He is strong.
Jesus loves me, He who died. Heaven’s gate to open wide. He will wash away my sin. Let His little child come in.
Jesus loves me, loves me still. Though I’m very weak and ill, from His shining throne on high comes to watch me where I lie.
Jesus loves me. He will stay. Close beside me all the way. If I love Him, when I die, he will take me home on high.

Yes, Jesus loves me! The Bible tells me so.

By Anna Bartlett Warner (1820-1915)

For the Christian, heaven is the home we long to see. Our expectations are centered on being “at home with Jesus.” We have felt his love all our lives. Hatred is never a part of our thoughts, unless it is hatred of the evil forces of life. But we struggle to “love our neighbor as ourself”. This is part of our Christian teaching.

We serve a risen Savior while we are here on earth, but heaven is our true home where we will enjoy eternal life with all the saints of the Lord.

In this year 2007 we see a great need to speak more about this quality of “love” to counterbalance the frequent unhappy evidence of the power of “hatred” in the lives of those who have been brought up without such love. We cannot imagine a mother rejoicing in the death of her suicide bomber son because he will then be blessed with the attentions of a promised “black-eyed” woman. Such insensitivity to the many deaths caused by that same son is beyond our comprehension.

In the month of March, 2007, a large group of Arabic speaking persons gathered in Zurich, Switzerland to address an enormous topic: The Plight of Minorities and Women of the Middle East and North Africa, with special emphasis on the role played by the Muslim Brotherhood in respect to horrific persecution. Think of how many people this encompasses. The group includes the Christians of Iraq and the new Christians of North Africa, and likewise includes the unhappy land-locked Kurds who have never been allowed their own country, plus many other minorities.

They need our love and our prayers. They are our neighbors.

Posted by Shirley

Happy Easter from the Mesopotamian

2007-04-09T16:39:00.000-07:00

After almost two month's silence our Iraqi friend posted a very positive and hopeful blog. It was dated April 7, 2007 and headed up "Happy Easter." We like to increase the coverage of voices like his, coming from the beleagured city of Baghdad. Here is what he has to say:

Regarding the situation in Iraq, again, events are unfolding in a way that I fully anticipated before.

Remember how I emphasized the importance of two things. The first was the Zarqawi document. I proclaimed it to be the single most important and prophetic document in this whole Third Gulf War affair. Remember how little confidence he had in the Sunnis, and his final prophetic derisive remark: "after all they are Iraqis, too". Yes the Sunnis are proving to be finally Iraqi above all, and the end of the Al Qaeda-Wahabi scourge is going to be at the hand of these very Sunnis on whom they counted to base their Taliban-like Caliphate.

The second thing: my emphasis on the "Anbar Slavation Council", and the necessity to promote and support this movement. The Al-Qaeda terrorists are defeating themselves by their blind brutality against all who oppose them. Also their stifling ideology simply cannot be tolerated long by the Iraqis that I know from any sect and ethnicity. Well the snow-ball effect has started and it would be very stupid not to invest in this natural movement which has already proved its tremendous effectiveness, having almost already cleaned the Anbar, with very modest numbers of poorly armed tribesmen. But these tribesmen know exactly where to find the enemy. Besides, this is a very good antidote to sectarianism. Sectarian civil war is receding now, as most Shiaas and Sunnis have both a common enemy now.

As the Iraqis have surprised the World before, during events such as elections and the like, I expect the World has a very big surprise in store in the not too distant future.

The haters, doubters, defeatists, anti-America psychopaths etc. are going to have some very nasty surprises. This apparently endless and unresovable conflict is going to be suddenly and incredibly concluded in an abrupt and rather anticlimatic manner, and that before the end of the Bush term, too.

This is my prophesy, and also my fervent hope.

Despite all the errors, sacrifices, bloodshed and suffering, Iraq, our beloved Mesopotamia is going to emerge more united than ever and Sunni, Shiaa , Kurd and all other ingredients of Iraqi society are going to live in a harmony unknown in all their long history. This is my prediction and my dream. Have I ever told you anything before that has not been vindicated by the unfolding events ?

Best regards to all my friends.

Zurich Conference on Minorities and Women in Middle East

2007-03-26T06:42:00.000-07:00

Conference on Status of Minorities and Women in Middle East (in Arabic language)

The following URLs will be of interest to anyone who can read journalistic Arabic. The subject matter is ultra important. “Elaph” is the most widely read online daily.

The conference for the Defence of Minorities and Women in the Middle East is being held in Zurich from 24-26 March, 2007.

The Introductory lecture blames the Ikhwan al-Muslimun for the persecution of minorities & woman: URL: http://www.elaph.com/ElaphWeb/ElaphWriter/2007/3/220877.htm

Another article: "M E Minorities Meet in Zurich"
URL: http://www.elaph.com/ElaphWeb/Politics/2007/3/221131.htm

"News & Opinions about the Zurich Conference":
URL: http://www.elaph.com/ElaphWeb/Politics/2007/3/221289.htm

A Thousand and One Fatwas

2007-03-19T11:33:00.000-07:00

By Jacob Thomas

On Saturday, 24 February 2007, the online daily, Al-Sharq al-Awsat published a lengthy article with the title, “Fuqaha al-Tajheel wa Fatawi Hasab al-Talab.” A literal translation would go like this: “The Fuqaha of Ignorance, and Fatwas to Order.” I have taken the liberty of giving it this title, “A Thousand and One Fatwas.”

The columnist began with these words:

“The most recent popular occupations in the Arab world are that of a Faqih (a legal expert, plural is Fuqaha), or a Da’iya (religious propagandist), or a Mufti (the person who issues legal opinions, mostly on ethical matters, his opinion is called a Fatwa; its plural in Arabic is Fatawi.) The qualifications of such persons are: an awareness of the presuppositions of the Islamic faith, plus a memorization of certain Qur’anic texts, as well as an acquaintance with some useful Hadiths. Their pronouncements are readily accepted by illiterate people who number around 65% of the Arab population.”

The article is lengthy, and so I share with the readers of FFI, those salient points that the author cites to prove his thesis regarding the proliferation of this popular and unhealthy type of Islamic “occupation.” He cited several Fatwas that are utterly irrational.

Forbidding or Legalizing Private Lessons

The article related a case in 2004 when the Egyptian Ministry of Education requested guidance from the country’s Mufti, about providing some students with private lessons in those subjects where they happen to be weak. His fatwa stated “that private lessons given by teachers of government schools should be forbidden outside those schools.” Another fatwa contradicted the above-mentioned one by stating that “if those lessons were not obligatory, and took place within the schools, and the tutor did not overcharge the student, then private lessons were all right.” The author went on pointing to the ridiculous nature of the whole discussion that preoccupied the Egyptian press; while such urgent problems as the population explosion, and the shortage of food supplies, hardly received any attention. He added that Egypt’s inability to feed its population makes it dependent on American aid, which amounts to around two billion dollars a year!

A Fatwa Forbidding Football (Soccer)

It took 36 pages to cover a fatwa that forbids football. The argument boiled down to the fact that the game was invented by the Kuffar (plural for Kafir, i.e. an infidel.) It was supported by a reference to a Hadith of the Prophet who had supposedly declared: “Man tashabbaha biqawmen, fahuwa minhom”, i.e. He who imitates others, becomes like them! If this is the case, the author of the article asked, “Why shouldn’t these Muftis forbid the use of the Internet and the computers as well? And if soccer is haram (forbidden), how come that it is the most popular sport in Egypt, and in Saudi Arabia?

A Fatwa Forbidding Sitting on Chairs

In introducing this specific fatwa, the columnist remarked, “This is not a stale joke, but a legal fatwa coming from a Da’iyat known as Um Ins* and who has her own website! She posted these words: ‘Warning: chairs, benches, and large cushions are forbidden, Allahu Akbar!’ In the body of her Fatwa, we read: ‘One of the worst habits in our great nation is the use of chairs.’ She listed three reasons why chairs are haram. ‘First, our righteous ancestors never used chairs. Had chairs been good, our beloved Prophet would have used them.’ The columnist remarked that “Um Ins forgot to mention that none of the products of technology, such as electricity, gas, cars, airplanes, telephones, refrigerators; were ever used by our Prophet and his immediate followers. Is she really sitting on the floor as she issues her fatwas for her website on the Internet?

“Second, she stated in her fatwa that ‘chairs are a Western invention. To use them and be impressed by them implied being equally impressed by their manufacturers who are from the West. How can we ever be impressed by Westerners when they happen to be our enemies?’

The third reason mentioned by this lady for forbidding the use of chairs is shockingly weird; I must be very circumspect in translating it. [Jacob Thomas]

‘The use of a chair or a large cushion causes the person to be relaxed; so when a woman sits on a chair her legs assume a position that makes her sexually excited, and this attracts men or jinns**, to have sex with her … Thus, for a woman to sit on a chair, is a wicked matter, and is tantamount to committing adultery.’

The columnist continued, “The fourth reason given by Um Ins for refraining to use chairs is that ‘by sitting on the floor, a Muslim remembers Allah, and this increases his spirituality as he confesses the greatness of the Creator.’”

A Fatwa that Legalizes Lying and Giving a False Testimony

Our columnist related another bizarre fatwa, “There is a three-page fatwa that gives the green light for a Muslim to lie. This is based on a Hadith: ‘Lying is permitted in the following cases: when a man may lie to please his wife; or during war, or when it brings about reconciliation among people.’”

An Opinion that Forbids the Use of the Letter X, such as in “Explorer”

The columnist in Al-Sharq al-Awsat related this unbelievable story:

“This is not a joke, but I read about this legal opinion in a Saudi newspaper. A businessman applied to the Saudi Ministry of Commerce to copyright a computer program that he called
Al-Mustakshef (Explorer). His application was turned down because the letter X looks like a cross, which would not sit well with Saudis! The businessman wondered why did the Ministry of education not bar the use of the plus sign +, and the multiplication sign X, as well, since both would remind people of the cross?!”

A Fatwa against Learning English

Another example was cited in the article about an absurd fatwa, this time regarding the use of a foreign language among Muslims.

“Again, I am not telling a joke! It happens to be an official fatwa coming from a sheikh that forbad the teaching of English. It was based on a claim by an Islamic jurist ‘that the Arabic language forms the banner and glory of Islam; thus, it is not lawful for a Muslim to speak in another tongue! A person who wants his child to learn English, for example, would be condemned on the Day of Judgment.’”

A Proliferation of Fatwas that Charge People with Apostasy

“Certain sheikhs and propagandists have specialized in issuing fatwas that charge all kinds of people with apostasy. One sheikh compiled a list of “The Apostates in the Arab World.” Seventy prominent Arab writers (Christian and Muslim) are mentioned in this list; and they are all considered worthy of death!”

Finally, a fatwa was issued declaring that ‘Al-Sharq al-Awsat Newspaper is an apostate publication!’”

The columnist commented: “Nothing remains halal*** for a Muslim; he must now keep himself secluded in a corner of a mosque, without leaving it for a moment!

“In conclusion, how can we fail to realize why our nation is lost? It has been left behind in the onward march of scientific and technological advances that are taking place everywhere else in the world. Having shared some of the Fatwas of Darkness and of Ignorance, I cannot help but cry out: O my Allah, where is our nation heading to!?”

This much I shared with the readers of FFI, a portion of the article on the proliferation of fatwas, muftis in the Arab world. I don’t feel that I can add any more comments to this impassioned article that describes so well the pathetic and hopeless state of affairs, not only in the Arab world, but throughout the entire length and breadth of Daru’l Islam.

* Da’iyat Um-Ins: A lady propagandist for Islam who calls herself Um (mother) Ins (Arabic for humans, the very opposite of Jinn)

** Jinn: According to the Qur’an, there are three categories of intelligent beings: Angels (both good and bad), Jinns, and Humans. Jinns may be either good or bad.

*** Halal: Arabic for lawful and permitted things, relating to food and ethical matters.

www.faithfreedom.org

March 2007

Mini Dictators

2007-03-15T07:02:00.000-07:00

“The Mini Dictator”
“Al-Dictator al-Saghir”
By Jacob Thomas

On 30 January, 2007, as I glanced at the Kuwaiti Tanweer website; I noticed an article with this intriguing title, “Al-Dictator al-Saghir.” This Arabic title may be translated as “The Small Dictator,” or “The Mini Dictator.” Here follows my translation of the article, and my comments.

The author began with a question, “Why did so many ordinary and educated Arabs stand up for the tyrant Saddam Hussein and defend him even after his death? And why did so many take pride that they disapproved of the hanging of the dictator, because it took place on the first day of ‘Eed al-Adha?

“I believe that the main reason, why both the ordinary and well educated Arabs took upon themselves to defend Saddam Hussein, is the fact that actually a mini dictator resides in our Arab-Islamic souls. It is this very dictator that causes many to beat their wives in the name of religion, or of manhood. Alas, Arab law is always on the side of the husband, regarding wife-beating as a type of discipline. This very law supports the man who commits a capital crime, on the pretext of defending the family’s honor; and hands out a mere six months jail term for the murder he committed ! Furthermore, such a criminal receives a special treatment in the prison; after all he was defending the reputation of his family! As for those laws that deal with personal status, women always receive the wrong deal. It is the same small dictator within our souls that allows us to beat our children on the pretext that we are disciplining them. It is here also that the law supports this mini-dictator.

“This small dictator does not want to be responsible to anyone. This is why we don’t even try to demand that the big dictator should be responsible for his acts. It is this very small dictator that rules the relation between the teacher and his students. Should we ignore the fact that a student is never able to ask for a review of his case when he receives a low grade for his work? Should we also ignore the tyranny we face whenever we have an application at one of the government’s departments and expect to have our problem resolved? The government’s representative behaves as if he had no regard for any law. Should we go on ignoring the fact that in all Arab countries, all prime ministers are appointed, and not one of them is elected by the people? Should we go on ignoring the fact that it is this dictator who dwells within the souls of those who send people to prison for an infringement of any law? Take for example the laws that deal with publications. As far as I know, anyone who dares to write critically of religious subjects will end in prison, all over the Arab world, with the exception of Lebanon. Do we want to deny the fact that Arab universities are nowadays nothing but intellectual prisons, in the sense that discussions are circumscribed within specific limits?

“Isn’t it this mini dictator, residing within our Arab souls, that allows our “big” leaders to behave above the law, all the time claiming unashamedly that they rule in the name of law? This mini dictator is an Arab product par excellence. No constitution, no rule of law, can deal adequately and properly with this dictator. The reason is, that psychologically, we are predisposed to allow this mini dictator to go on living within us, in order that we, in our turn, may continue to lord it over those who are weaker than ourselves.

“Therefore, the hanging of Saddam Hussein will not lead to the “hanging” of the mini Saddam who resides in our sick souls. This is why we have witnessed many Arabs showing all kinds of grief and sorrow when the big dictator left this world.”

The author of this brief article pointed to a deep-seated problem that has persisted throughout the 1400 years of Islamic history, namely, the absence of freedom and democracy in all aspects of life. Rulers have acted as if they possessed absolute power over their subjects.

While the first caliphs were chosen by the consensus of the leaders of the Islamic Umma in Medina, the caliphate became a hereditary position after the assassination of the fourth caliph, Ali in 661 A.D. From then on, these Islamic leaders ruled as absolute monarchs. I remember in my study of the history of Islam, that one caliph assumed this title:
“Al-Hakim bi-amri-Allah” i.e, “The Ruler by Allah’s Command.”

Coming to our times, most Islamic countries are under dictatorial or authoritarian regimes. This deep-rooted state of affairs clings to Islamic civilization due to the fusion of religion and politics into one entity. Since in Islam, human beings are regarded as Allah’s ‘abeed,* it becomes normal for Allah’s representatives on earth, whether he is a caliph, or a king, or a president, to assume the role of despot or hegemon.

The author of this brief article in describing the situation within the Arab world in his sarcastic style, pointed to the effects, or results of the Islamic theory and practice of government. He did not deal with the source that breeds dictators and dictatorships. It would have been dangerous for him, to point to the undeniable fact that the Islamic tradition is responsible for the persistence of this sad state of affairs. What a hopeless prospect for more than one billion of our fellow-human beings!

*‘Abeed is the plural of ‘abd, the Arabic for slave. Among Arab Muslims, the name ‘Abdallah, spelled sometimes, ‘Abdullah, is quite popular.

Readers who are familiar with Arabic, may access the original text by going to the following URL: http://www.kwtanweer.com/articles/readarticle.php?articleID=1371

War Memories

2007-02-26T14:03:00.000-08:00

by Shirley W. Madany

We were watching John Wukovits, author of “Eisenhower: a Biography”, give a talk on Book TV.(CSpan2). He touched on something which is a sore point with me, and then illustrated how he dealt with it. The point was this. While interviewing an elderly veteran, he was told that no one cared what had happened in those old battles. Therefore, there was nothing to show for their sacrifice. He asked one man what his family thought about him as a veteran of a famous battle. The answer was that his family didn’t even know about his war years. “No one cares about what we did 60 years ago.”

I have always cared intensely for the great loss of fine young men during World War II, because I knew so many of them. Looking at how Europe is now, it irritated me to think that my brother and friends, had all died for what appeared to be a losing cause. They were forgotten it seemed. And no one wanted to be in debt to some unknown airman or soldier.

Wukovits set out to remedy that situation. He was a teacher of 8th grade students and he took his problem right to them. He told them the story of the Battle of Tarawa, an atoll in the Pacific Ocean and one of the fiercest and bloodiest of battles. Then he asked everyone to write something about that Battle and hand it in. He diminished any attempts to be phoney, by saying they would all get an “A” no matter how much or how little they wrote.

The results were moving:

“Every time I look at the flag now, I will remember that story”…… “I’m thankful that people died for me and only me.”….. One girl wrote something beautiful: “Those soldiers did make a difference. I want that veteran to know that. I must accomplish my dream in order to honor those men. By doing this I will be accomplishing their dreams too.”…..Another girl wrote “I know now what sacrifice means. Even if it was a small battle and 21 were killed, that means 42 parents and maybe 100 brothers and sisters.” A boy said: “The school should be telling us more about these battles and you should be teaching us.”

Before ending his talk Wukovits told, what is evidently a familiar story, that Eleanor Roosevelt had a wartime prayer she carried with her and read every day.

Dear Lord,
Lest I continue my complacent way, Help me to remember that somewhere, somehow, out there a man died for me today. As long as there be war, I then must ask and answer, am I worth dying for?

Watching that TV program stirred up my own memories. It was time to write again about my beloved brother Roland Edison Dann, (1916-1942) a Pilot Officer in the Royal Canadian Air Force, who was killed January 22, 1942. His squadron patrolled the North Sea looking for enemy targets. They were watching for freighters taking iron ore to Nazi Germany. They had to act individually and without air cover, flying low over the deck of the ship. Bad weather helped but exacted its toll also. The project turned out to be so costly in men and planes that it was cancelled. (Fortunately there was no media waiting to pounce on military “mistakes”.) We were all involved in winning World War II—the men in action and all of us back home. Pointing out mistakes would not have helped anyone.

The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan was conceived and quickly built and spread across Canada. Boys, and they were just boys of 18 and 19, would come from Australia, New Zealand and Britain, for training as pilots, navigators, gunners, etc. Two such airports were located a few miles north and south of my home town of 8,000 people. It seemed half the population of Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, worked at those airports. I left school and started at the South Airport at 17, finishing up Grade 12 later, when the war was over. Canadian education was superb in those days. Grade 12 was equivalent to First Year University.

I have never agreed with the old saying that time heals. The news that Roly had been killed came as a terrible shock from which we never totally recovered. For her consolation my dear mother wrote the following poem:

Promotion !

In the ranks of the King! Do you see them?
Row on row in their uniforms blue
They have pledged themselves at all costs
To their earthly King to be true.

Yes! He’s there so young and so eager
The child of our heart’s desire;
All aflame with a passion for service
And of Flight he will never tire.

His wings! How proudly he wears them
On that uniform so neat and trim
“All set”, and trained for conflict
“Thumbs up” we are sure to win.

So he left us all full of elation
With a smile so courageous and sweet.
To England he came, how he loved it
His friends and relations to greet.

Stern is their mission and urgent.
These lads from Canada’s coast
In their blood runs the true strain of freedom
For God! King! And country their boast.

One day came the news we had dreaded
“Killed in action” we read with dismay.
And yet! Comes a voice to us—
Listen! “All’s well” I am only away.

Just “promoted to Higher Service”
So we think of him all the while
Though our hearts may be heavy with sorrow
We still can Look up and smile.

We rest in the confident knowledge
Some day we’ll be with him again.
Just at present he’s hidden from vision
But Faith makes the mystery plain.

E.M.D. 1942

Like the girl in Mr. Wukovits class, who felt she must live her life to her utmost to honor those men, I think that has been one of my deepest motivations. Starting at the airport at the very beginning of the war, losing my brother even before I started, and then seeing that by 1944 most of the boys we had met the year before had been killed in bombing raids made an indelible impression on me. Those were somber days. Looking at Britain as she is now I often think, did my brother die for that? At the first opportunity after the war I booked passage on a ship and roamed both England and Scotland. Sadly it included visiting air force cemeteries. Does freedom mean closing the churches, shutting out God and turning to political correctness and compromise? Does it mean providing a breeding ground for terrorist groups?

I had a subtle answer from Ayaan Hirsi Ali in her talk at the American Enterprise Institute recently. Ms. Hirsi Ali, the well known Somali parliamentarian in the Netherlands, has left Europe for America—the last refuge. She used an illustration which caught my imagination and gave me a better perspective on our shortness of memory. Family firms are well run by those who start them, and kept up reasonably well by the second generation, but by the third generation they don’t seem to care and the buildings themselves need repair and renovation. So it is with Freedom. Fighting for it is always going to be part of the agenda. You are constantly needing to take a stand.

At the end of his speech John Wukovits repeated these words:
“A man died for me today. Am I worth dying for? Go home and lead a good life.”

Academic Freedom for Students

2007-01-11T11:00:00.000-08:00

A Remarkable Achievement for Academic Freedom in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

By David Horowitz

Now that the dust has settled on the academic freedom hearings that were held in Pennsylvania from September 2005 to June 2006, it is time to look at what was actually accomplished. According to the teacher unions, and their allies in the press, the effort was a “waste of time.” This was the editorial comment in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for example. Others found the results modest, if worthy. The Associated Press began its report by noting that the legislative Committee on Academic Freedom had urged Pennsylvania universities “to review and make students aware of academic freedom policies.” This was a corrective to the existing state of affairs in which students were generally unaware that such policies exist. If you don’t know your rights, you might as well not have them.

But this was only the tip of the iceberg of what the hearings in Pennsylvania actually accomplished. The hearings were held over nine months at four locations – Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Millersville and Philadelphia. What they revealed was startling. Fact: all of Pennsylvania’s academic freedom provisions were written to protect professors; students in Pennsylvania did not have any academic freedom rights. Not a single public university in the Commonwealth had academic freedom provisions that applied to students.

Administrators from five Pennsylvania universities appeared before the committee and claimed that students were already protected by the academic freedom regulations on their books. But when the regulations were actually examined by the Committee, it was evident that they applied only to professors. In other words, students not only did not know their rights, they didn’t have any. The Committee has recommended that this deficiency be corrected, and Pennsylvania universities have already stepped forward to do so.

As soon as the hearings were concluded in June, the trustees of Temple – one of the three large public universities in the state -- undertook the writing of a new policy called “Faculty and Student Rights and Responsibilities.” The policy went into effect on August 1, 2006. For the first time in Pennsylvania history, Pennsylvania students have been provided with academic freedom rights. These rights are accompanied by a new grievance machinery specific to academic freedom matters, along with a system that reports abuses directly to the board of trustees.
Shortly after the new Temple policy was announced, the faculty senate at Penn State passed its own new Policy 20-00 which states, “Students having concerns about situations that arise within the classroom, or concerns with instructor behavior in a course that violates University standards of classroom conduct as defined in Policy HR64 ‘Academic Freedom,’ may seek resolution according to the recommended procedures established under Policy 20-00, Resolution of Classroom Problems.” As at Temple, Penn State’s academic freedom policy previously applied only to professors.
Penn State Policy HR 64 is one of the most powerful statements of the meaning of academic freedom on the books. It states: “The faculty member is entitled to freedom in the classroom in discussing his/her subject. The faculty member is, however, responsible for the maintenance of appropriate standards of scholarship and teaching ability. It is not the function of a faculty member in a democracy to indoctrinate his/her students with ready-made conclusions on controversial subjects. The faculty member is expected to train students to think for themselves, and to provide them access to those materials which they need if they are to think intelligently. Hence in giving instruction upon controversial matters the faculty member is expected to be of a fair and judicial mind, and to set forth justly, without supersession or innuendo, the divergent opinions of other investigators.” (emphasis added)

This would be powerful enough, but the policy also states: “No faculty member may claim as a right the privilege of discussing in the classroom controversial topics outside his/her own field of study. The faculty member is normally bound not to take advantage of his/her position by introducing into the classroom provocative discussions of irrelevant subjects not within the field of his/her study.”

In other words: No speeches on the Iraq War in English classes where the course matter is not about Iraq or American foreign policy. No in-class attempts to promote a political candidate during elections. No personal agendas that have nothing to do with the academic subject the students have signed up for.

The adoption of these new policies is a watershed event in the history of education not only in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, but nationally as well. Pennsylvania is the first state in the nation where universities have instituted academic freedom policies that protect students as well as professors. May the rest of Pennsylvania’s universities follow the examples of Temple and Penn State, and may the nation’s universities do so as well.

Happy Hajj! You're Not Invited

2006-12-23T18:05:00.000-08:00

By Patrick Poole
FrontPageMagazine.com December 22, 2006

As Jews began their Hanukkah celebrations this week, commemorating the recovery of the Holy Land and the Temple from foreign invaders by Judas Maccabeus, and more than a billion Christians prepare for one of the holiest days of the church year, where the doors of Christian churches will be thrown open to anyone willing to hear the good news of Christ’s coming to earth as a human to redeem humanity, millions of Muslims are preparing for their own spiritual journey next week in the annual trek to Mecca to perform the Hajj.

But quite unlike the Jewish and Christian religious celebrations of Hanukkah and Christmas, if you are a non-Muslim, don’t plan on investigating the mysteries of Islam by joining your Muslim friends on their trip to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj – you’re not invited.

Perhaps no better contrast between Judaism, Christianity and Islam exists than the treatment of non-believers on the respective holy days of each religion. I recall fondly the many times that I have participated in the Passover seder at the invitation of Jewish friends and have each time been awed at the profound meaning attached to every element of the seder which is designed to illustrate the fascinating historical narrative of the Jewish people over the millennia that is the foundation of both the Christian and Islamic faiths.

I also remember the occasion several years ago when a Chinese friend of mine who was finishing his PhD at Ohio State joined my family and I for our Christmas Eve celebrations. After joining us for worship, he told us with tears in his eyes how that was the first time that he had ever heard the gospel message that Jesus Christ had come into the world to save sinners – a message that had been branded as counter-revolutionary and been outlawed in his own country. Needless to say, we were delighted when he joined us again the following year for Christmas Eve, where he was anxious to tell anyone at church who would listen how he had embraced the free offer of the gospel and become a Christian the previous year. Having returned home to China, my friend is now a leader in the underground Church there.

But if I wanted to join my Muslim friends next week on the Hajj, I would have to bear in mind that my reception would not be as friendly. I would be forbidden to bring my Bible or any Christian literature with me on my trip to Saudi Arabia, and be required to remove anything identifiably Christian from my person (crosses, etc.). There are no Christian churches allowed in the “Land of the Two Mosques”, so there would be no opportunity for me to join with fellow Christians there in our weekly celebration of the Lord’s Day, and I would constantly be under watch by the Wahhabi Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice police to ensure that I didn’t share my Christian faith with anyone else.

Even having arrived in Saudi Arabia and complying with the absolute ban of any expression of my faith, as I approached the holy city of Mecca, I would be denied entry. Despite all of the supposed Quranic endorsements of the “People of the Book” (i.e. Jews and Christians), as a kafir, my presence is not welcome at the Hajj. We should remember that the cardinal offense that prompted Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda lackeys to declare war on the “Crusaders and Zionists” in 1996 was the presence of American troops in the Arabian Peninsula, though nowhere near the sacred cities of Mecca or Medina.

For Muslims in the West, they have as much freedom as any other to practice their faith openly and freely without any fear of being molested. The number of mosques popping up all over America is a testament to that freedom.

Such is not the case for Jews and Christians in Islamic lands, however, where people of those faiths are subject to countless acts of intimidation and violence on a daily basis. Even in their synagogues and sanctuaries, believers are not immune from attack. In fact, many are prevented from approaching their own holy sites. In the Holy Land, Muslims occupy the Temple Mount – the historic location of the ancient Jewish Temple – and Jewish worshippers are subject to regular assaults by stone-throwing Muslim crowds at the nearby Wailing Wall and other sacred sites. And it was the mere presence of a Jew – Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon – near the Temple Mount in September 2000 that sparked the second intifada that has claimed the lives of hundreds of Jews, Christians and Muslims in recent years. Jews have also been forbidden from visiting the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron – Judaism’s second-most holy site – since it was converted to a mosque in 1266.

And earlier this month Turkish authorities feared that Pope Benedict might take the opportunity while touring the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul – one of the greatest churches in the world that was seized by Muslims after 1,000 years of constant use by Christians – that he might actually try to pray there.

It isn’t just the Hagia Sophia that has suffered the inglorious fate of being converted from its original use as a Christian church to be taken over by invading Islamic forces and made into a mosque. In her book, The Decline of Eastern Christianity under Islam. From Jihad to Dhimmitude, Bat Ye’or chronicles how innumerable Christian and Jewish holy sites, such as the Church of St. John in Damascus that was demolished by the Islamic Caliph Abd al-Malik in 705 and had the Umayyad Mosque built over it, were taken over for the exclusive use for Islamic worship during the constant waves of Islamic conquest. It is worth noting that even the Kaaba, the central location of worship in Mecca, was seized by Mohammad from non-Muslims.

Getting back to my original point – one of the constant complaints of Muslim apologists is that Westerners just don’t understand Islam. Fair enough; but is that entirely the fault of non-Muslims who are shut out of Islam’s most important rituals? And might it be the case that those of us, Christians and Jews alike, who are angered at the treatment of our brethren in Islamic lands do so not because of our alleged “Islamophobia”, but rather on the basis of real grievances?

As former President Jimmy Carter travels the country promoting his book identifying Israel as an apartheid state because they refuse to capitulate to Palestinian terrorism, perhaps he might take some time and try to join his Wahhabi patrons during the Hajj this year and see what religious apartheid is really all about. While believers and non-believers alike will enjoy the Hanukkah and Christmas holidays, the invitation for Jews and Christians to join their Muslim friends and neighbors for the Hajj this year didn’t get lost in the holiday mail. It was never sent.

Jesus Christ Our Lord Almighty

2006-12-01T16:30:00.000-08:00

by Bassam Michael Madany

One of the main themes of the Book of Revelation is the sovereignty and omnipotence of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a central fact of Christianity, and is much needed during our times. The triumph of Christ is confessed in the oldest Christian Creed: “And He shall come again, with glory, to judge the living and the dead, whose kingdom shall have no end.” (Nicea 325 A.D.) Nowadays, this Christian belief is being criticized as triumphalist and exclusivist. Let me give an example.

In the May 2003, issue of The Atlantic Monthly, Bernard Lewis who has taught Middle East history at the Universities of London, England, and at Princeton, New Jersey, contributed an article with this shocking title, “I'm Right, You're Wrong, Go To Hell: Religions and the Meeting of Civilization.”

I was both chagrined and disappointed that this great scholar posited equivalence between Christianity and Islam, in their respective outlook on the world; and more specifically, as they sought and still seek, to win converts to their specific faiths.

To begin with, Bernard Lewis reminds us in this article that, “only two civilizations have been defined by religion. Others have had religions but are identified primarily by region and ethnicity.” These two religions are Christianity and Islam, they “are the two religions that define civilizations, and they have much in common, along with some differences.”

Having thus set Christianity and Islam apart from the rest of world religions such as Judaism, Buddhism, and Hinduism, professor Lewis classified the latter as relativist religions, while the former two as triumphalist religions. “For some religions, just as ‘civilization’ means us, and the rest are barbarians, so ‘religion’ means ours, and the rest are infidels. Other religions, such as Judaism and most of the religions of Asia, concede that human beings may use different religions to speak to God, as they use different languages to speak to one another. God understands them all… The relativist view was condemned and rejected by both Christians and Muslims, who shared the conviction that there was only one true faith, theirs, which it was their duty to bring to all humankind. The triumphalist view is increasingly under attack in Christendom, and is disavowed by significant numbers of Christian clerics. There is little sign as yet of a parallel development in Islam.”

Professor Lewis regards Islam and Christianity as triumphalist religions. Both faiths consider all “others” as infidels. While, according to him, some Christian leaders are nowadays “disavowing” the triumphalism that has marked Christianity throughout history, there is no such parallel movement among Muslim leaders. In our globalized world, triumphalism (whether Christian or Muslim) is not conducive to world peace. In order to put across his thesis in the clearest way, Bernard Lewis sums up his disapproval of triumphalism, both in Islam and Christianity, with these words:

“For those taking the triumphalist approach (classically summed up in the formula "I’m right, you’re wrong, go to hell”), tolerance is a problem. Because the triumphalist’s is the only true and complete religion, all other religions are at best incomplete and more probably false and evil; and since he is the privileged recipient of God’s final message to humankind, it is surely his duty to bring it to others rather than keep it selfishly for himself.”

The first point I would like to make is that, great as the scholarship of Bernard Lewis is, his lumping together of the “triumphalism” of the two religions is neither proper, nor objective. One has to be careful in categorizing the faith of others. As a Christian, I find the title of his article very offensive. It is a caricature of Christianity to sum up its attitude to the “other” as being, “I’m Right, You’re Wrong. Go to Hell.”

Throughout history, Christians, beginning with the apostolic age, sought to win converts through preaching and witnessing. It was none other than the Risen Lord that gave his church the marching orders: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I will be with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18b-20 (NIV)

The greatest missionary of the First Century was Paul. After his conversion, his life was dedicated entirely to the spread of the faith, and the organization of churches in the Mediterranean world. He described his mandate in the opening words of his Letter to the Romans: “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.” Romans 1:16 (NIV)

Paul’s message consumed him. He was absolutely convinced that the Risen Savior had entrusted with the message that brings salvation to all kinds of people regardless of their ethnic or religious background. As to the primary means for converting “others,” God had ordained the preaching of the Gospel. In his First Letter to the Corinthians, Paul wrote, “For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.” 1:21 (NIV)

In contrast with this peaceful spread of Christianity, Islam spread primarily through conquest. When studying the history of Islam back in Syria in the late forties, my teachers at the Syrian College used to glory in the “Futuhat” (Conquests) of the Arabs. By 732 A.D., one century after the death of Muhammad, Islam had conquered territories stretching from Spain in the west, to India in the east. While Christians and Jews were allowed to remain in their respective religions, pagans were forced to Islamize. Furthermore, the People of the Book (as Christians and Jews were called) had to submit to some stringent rules that greatly limited their freedoms. They were designated by the Arab invaders as Dhimmis (an Arabic word that means ‘protected.’) Their status is known as Dhimmitude. Originally, the Christians of the Middle East formed the majority population. A few centuries later, they became minorities in such areas as Syria, Palestine, and Egypt. The Church disappeared in North Africa.

Professor Lewis should not have posited equivalence between Christianity and Islam as far as the method for gaining converts. As a historian, he should know better than that!

The second point in my criticism of the article of Bernard Lewis is that he fails to see the great contrast between what he calls the “triumphalism” of the two religions. Yes, Christians do believe in the ultimate triumph of the Gospel. Their faith is summarized in these great words of Revelation 11:15b “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.” (NIV) And in one of the most familiar passages of this NT book, we hear the heavenly choir sing these triumphant words: “Hallelujah! For Lord God Almighty reigns.” 19:6b (NIV)

Islam, throughout history, has been triumphalist. Notwithstanding its many setbacks, especially after the leader of modern Turkey, Kemal Ataturk, abolished the caliphate in 1924, Muslims have never ceased to believe in the final triumph of their faith.

Today, the inevitable triumph of Islam remains the core belief of the radical Islamists. They do not and would not hesitate to use any means to bring about the triumph of Islam, even if that meant total confrontation with the rest of the world.

On the other hand, if Christianity is described as a triumphalist faith, its triumphalism is related to an eschatological event. While the gospel has many implications and applications for the here and now, its complete fulfillment takes place beyond the horizon of this world order. Nowhere is this made plainer than in Romans 8. Let us listen to that great confession of Paul as he describes the ultimate triumph of the Christian faith:

“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits with eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. … For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. For who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” Romans 8:18-21, 24, 25 (NIV)

Yes, I do believe in the ultimate triumph of my Christian faith. But I know that this triumph will not come because of any military campaign, or through any worldly means. The victory of Christ over the world will become visible and evident to all, at his Second Coming. Paul described the triumph of Jesus Christ in these memorable words: “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father.” Philippians 2: 9-11 (NIV)

Therefore, there is no equivalence between Christianity and Islam, neither in their core beliefs, nor in the way they conceive of history, and its End. Much as I still appreciate the works of Bernard Lewis, I am very, very disappointed with his article because his thesis is flawed, both historically and theologically.

Message was delivered at the Chapel of Mid-America Reformed Seminary, Dyer, Indiana on Friday, March 12, 2004
Middle East Resources http://www.levant.info/

A Voice from Mesopotamia

2006-11-15T16:30:00.000-08:00

We have shared this Mesopotamian’s blog more than once and we are touched by his heartfelt lament following our elections. There are so many fine upstanding citizens in Iraq. It is always a relief to see a posting from him. Too lengthy a silence made one anxious.

Sunday, November 12, 2006
RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION

Hi,

We can’t in all honesty blame the American public for being frustrated at the failure of their government to resolve our Iraqi issue. If that is the case, you can imagine how we, the Iraqi people, are feeling; we who are burning in the fires of the crisis and are being crucified daily in the most horrific way.Yet, it is no use blaming those whose most urgent wish is to see the right outcome of this situation. We can’t blame the American people, whose indignation is righteous and is caused by their impatience at not seeing positive progress towards stability, democracy, reconstruction, respite from the daily horrors that go on in Baghdad and elsewhere in the country, and generally progress towards the goals that we all wish for. This is righteous indignation, noble sentiments for which we as Iraqis should be appreciative and even grateful. Indeed, after all these sacrifices, there should be some more positive results to show for them. Yes indeed, when a great power with powerful allies, engaged in an enterprise that is basically very noble and enjoys the support of the majority of the people, stakes its reputation and prestige, not to mention the blood of its sons and daughters and the treasure of its land; it is not permissible to arrive at such a state of affairs as we have now. The consequences of failure are unthinkable not only for us, the Iraqis, but also for all free people in the world, with the American people foremost, whether they belong to this party or that.

Never mind the chorus of America haters, and all the discordant din of international hypocrisy. This fight against terrorism is more just than the struggle against fascism and Nazism was. There can be no neutrals in this battle. The terrorists are worse than the fascists, these killers specializing in murdering and torturing the innocent are by far more heinous than any other kind of vermin. No decent human being can find any excuses for these zombies. Worse still, anybody who heaps invective against those confronting this inhuman evil, is almost as guilty as the beast himself.

America was not always right, but this time by God, its fight is as just as the sun is bright in an Iraqi summer day. Anybody who cannot see this is as blind in heart as in sight.

The only thing that America is guilty of is that of underestimating the viciousness of the enemy, and not so much his military capability; because the enemy’s weapon is not so much military prowess, but evil and viciousness. He specializes in hitting below the belt. He has no rules and no scruples, and will stop at nothing. He is absolutely devoid of any kind of human feeling. To think that you can reason with him or somehow accommodate his wishes and desires is absolute folly and suicide. This was clearly illustrated lately in Iraq when all kinds of overtures and approaches were made in forlorn hopes of appeasing him. This only resulted in boosting his morale and appetite for murder and violence.

America seems to have become confused and loosing sight of the fundamentals of the issue and even who the real enemy is. Of course this was aided by a massive propaganda assault aimed directly at the American public from abroad and from within. Yet this is absolutely not a partisan issue.

It is tragic that this matter is used for partisan purposes and for electoral considerations. When the ship of state starts sinking, it will take down everybody with it. You ask us Iraqis about this. And this is war, my friends. You can’t have half wars. In war you just have to go all the way. You either win or lose, and if you lose you are lost. In no other situation is this more true than this our war.

Democrat or Republican, America has no option but to find a way to win this war. All real Americans must be as sure of that as all real Iraqis.

Resource Materials

2006-11-05T08:00:00.000-08:00

In June 1958, Rev. Bassam Madany was appointed as Arabic Broadcast Minister of The Back to God hour. He pioneered Arabic radio missions and developed a Bible-based ministry, (1958-1994) which emphasized the centrality of the Word of God in missions to Muslims.

He has authored several books in Arabic for his follow up ministry. They can be accessed on an Arabic-language web site: http://www.kalimtalhayat.com/. Mrs. Shirley Madany was involved in several aspects of his ministry and directed the follow-up department of Saatu’l Islah, the Arabic name of the radio mission. For more information about their retirement ministry see http://www.levant.info/.

Rev. Madany authored “The Bible and Islam: A Basic Guide to Sharing God’s Word with a Muslim.” It has gone through many printings in the USA, two printings in Nairobi, Kenya, and two printings in the Russian language in Moscow, Russia. In 2005 Shirley W. Madany published “Muslims Meeting Christ”, a book of testimonies from listeners whose lives were impacted by the Arabic radio and literature ministry. Then in 2006, Bassam and Shirley Madany published “An Introduction to Islam” consisting of 33 articles, book reviews, and commentaries on Islam. Rev. Madany is a frequent lecturer on the Christian response to the challenge of Islam.

A free CD is available containing the following items: 12 Arabic language books that Rev. Madany produced during his 36 year radio ministry, 100 audio sermons, the entire Arabic Bible in PDF, Arabic hymns and video clips.

An Introduction to Islam ($12.50). Muslims Meeting Christ ($10.00), The Bible and Islam ($7.50) Checks should be made payable to Bassam M. Madany. bashir106@comcast.net.

A Selection of Articles on Islam

2006-10-16T14:00:00.000-07:00

These articles can be found at the site of Faith Freedom International, www.faithfreedom.org
which is a grass root movement of ex-Muslims. When accessed these articles will provide you with an idea of some topics being discussed on Online Arabic sites.

“Moderate” Muslims Muddy the Waters 2006/04/08

Turkey: A Case Study in Failure to Secularize 2006/04/02

Denial: A Characteristic of the Islamic Mind 2006/03/21

Human Rights Violations in Arab Prisons 2006/03/17

Western Columnists, Please do your Homework when Writing on Islam! 2006/06/05

Is Islam a Tolerant Religion Part III
Saturday, August 12, 2006 (Op-Ed)

Is Islam a Tolerant Religion? Part II
Sunday, July 09, 2006 (Op-Ed)

Is Islam a Tolerant Religion?
Friday, June 30, 2006 (Op-Ed)

Reformation in Islam: “Islam of Mecca” versus “Islam of Medina”
Thursday, June 22, 2006 (Modernism & Reformism)

Western Dhimmitude
Friday, June 16, 2006 (Op-Ed)

Muslims Questioning Islam
Wednesday, May 31, 2006 (Op-Ed)

Putting It Bluntly

2006-10-13T16:00:00.000-07:00

October 7, 2006

French disconnexion

The difference between journalism that is politically correct, and journalism that is journalism, can be quite striking. I was reading a long article in the current number of the highbrow quarterly, Foreign Affairs, on “France and its Muslims”, by Stéphanie Giry. Here is the magazine’s own summary:

“The recent panic over the rise of Islamic extremism in Europe has overlooked a key fact: the majority of European Muslims are trying hard to fit in, not opt out. This is especially clear in France, where the picture is much brighter than often acknowledged. Unfortunately, cynical politicians and the clumsy elite are now making matters much worse.”
In the writer’s own words: “Some French and foreign observers have interpreted last November's riots in poor, largely Muslim neighbourhoods throughout the country as a skirmish in a broader clash of civilizations. Yet the strife had little to do with yearnings for a worldwide caliphate and much to do with domestic socioeconomic problems.”

It would be hard to put the politically-correct position more succinctly. Ms Giry faithfully echoes all the old quasi-Marxist thought clichés about the oppression of an urban proletariat -- producing a class war having little or nothing to do with religion. The solution thus presents itself: more sensitivity, more public spending, and would all those ham-headed rightwing people please shut up.

Yet reading between her own lines, one is reminded of the extraordinary efforts the French government has made to assist Muslim immigrants with schools, community centres, special public services, positive discrimination, and everything else a munificent welfare state can think of.

One then turns to an unusual item in Thursday’s Daily Telegraph, which mentions that 2,500 French police officers have been injured so far this year in otherwise unreported continuing clashes with Muslim youths in France’s housing estates and “banlieues”.
The matter came up because the head of a police union (Michel Toomis of Action Police) had appealed to the French government to supply his members with armoured cars, to patrol certain Muslim neighbourhoods. Among other things, he mentioned that, “We are in a state of civil war, orchestrated by radical Islamists. This is not a question of urban violence any more, it is an intifada, with stones and Molotov cocktails.”

There are two ways to reconcile these two articles. One is to assume that the Telegraph dispatch, confirmed by several sources in France, was made up from whole cloth. The other is to assume that the Foreign Affairs writer, even though she has a law degree from Yale, is writing nonsense.

That the politically-correct account is a lie, is demonstrated by one large fact. When the rioting in France’s Muslim ghettoes increased last year -- to the point where Muslim gangs were leaving their own neighbourhoods and torching cars and other property belonging to nice gliberal people -- the French state finally quelled it. How? By calling in imams from the Muslim Brotherhood to talk the rioters down. What possible use could radical imams be, in a class war? And why hadn’t the incessant promises of “more sensitivity, more public spending” from Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin stopped all the chanting of “Allahu Akhbar!” as the flames went up?

In its final desperate act of appeasement, the French state made itself utterly beholden to the same radicals who had instructed the Muslim youth. Their core demand is Shariah rule in France’s Muslim neighbourhoods now, and over the whole country later.

The reason French police are being injured, at the current rate of 14 per day, is that they are obliged to enter neighbourhoods where they are not welcome. They are trying to enforce French secular law in territory now claimed for the Dar al-Islam.

I don’t want to be misunderstood. An earlier generation of Muslim immigrants in France, and throughout Europe, made no demands, and did try to assimilate. But that was before the radical “Islamists” got to their children, through both the mosques, and the street culture. Moreover, it is probably true that the great majority of Muslims, in France and worldwide, still do not want Shariah imposed, whether violently or peacefully.

Nor can one say that no one in France will talk about this problem. The famous philosophy professor, Robert Redeker, wrote a frank article in Le Figaro on September 19th, in which he said contemporary Islam “exalts violence”.

But he is now in hiding, changing locations every 48 hours, after numerous plausible death threats. And Le Figaro’s chief editor has delivered an obsequious apology for publishing his article, to the whole Muslim world, through Al-Jazeera TV.

"The majority of European Muslims ... trying hard to fit in" are irrelevant to this developing story.

David Warren© Ottawa Citizen

www.Davidwarrenonline.com

An Excellent Editorial

2006-09-27T08:01:00.001-07:00

Benedict the Brave
Wall Street Journal Editorial

The pope said things Muslims need to hear about faith and reason.

(Tuesday, September 19, 2006 12:01 a.m. Page A20)

It's a familiar spectacle: furious demands for an apology, threats, riots, violence. Anything can trigger so-called Muslim fury: a novel by a British-Indian writer, newspaper cartoons in a small Nordic country or, this past week, a talk on theology by the head of the Roman Catholic Church.

In a lecture on "Faith and Reason" at the University of Regensburg in Germany, Benedict XVI cited one of the last emperors of Byzantium, Manuel II Paleologus. Stressing the 14th-century emperor's "startling brusqueness," the pope quoted him as saying: "Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."

Taken alone, these are strong words. However, the pope didn't endorse the comment that he twice emphasized was not his own. No matter. As with Salman Rushdie's "Satanic Verses," which millions of outraged Muslims didn't bother to read (including Ayatollah Khomeini, who put the bounty on the novelist's life), what Benedict XVI meant or even said isn't the issue. Once again, many Muslim leaders are inciting their faithful against perceived slights and trying to proscribe how free societies discuss one of the world's major religions.

Several Iraqi terrorist groups called for attacks on the Vatican. A cleric linked to Somalia's ruling Islamist movement urged Muslims to "hunt down" and kill the pope. In an apparently linked attack Sunday in Mogadishu, a nun was gunned down in a children's hospital. Pakistan's parliament unanimously adopted a resolution condemning the pontiff and demanding an apology.

Under pressure and no doubt to stop any further violence, the pope on Sunday did so. "I am deeply sorry for the reactions in some countries to a few passages of my address . . . which were considered offensive to the sensibility of Muslims," he told pilgrims at his Castelgandolfo summer residence. The quote doesn't "in any way express my personal thought. I hope this serves to appease hearts."

It was a gracious gesture on the pope's part, especially because his original argument deserves to be heard, not least by Muslims. The offending quotation was a small part in a chain of argument that led to his main thesis about the close relationship between reason and belief. Without the right balance between the two, the pontiff said, mankind is condemned to the "pathologies and life-threatening diseases associated with religion and reason"--in short, political and religious fanaticism.

In Christianity, God is inseparable from reason. "In the beginning was the Word," the pope quotes from the Gospel according to John. "God acts with logos. Logos means both reason and word," he explained. "The inner rapprochement between Biblical faith and Greek philosophical inquiry was an event of decisive importance not only from the standpoint of history of religions, but also from that of world history. . . . This convergence, with the subsequent addition of the Roman heritage, created Europe."

The question raised by the pope is whether this convergence has taken place in Islam as well. He quotes the Lebanese Catholic theologist Theodore Khoury, who said that "for Muslim teaching, God is absolutely transcendent, his will is not bound up with any of our categories." If this is true, can there be dialogue at all between Islam and the West? For the pope, the precondition for any meaningful interfaith discussions is a religion tempered by reason: "It is to this great logos, to this breadth of reason, that we invite our partners in the dialogue of cultures," he concluded.

This is not an invitation to the usual feel-good interfaith round-tables. It is a request for dialogue with one condition--that everyone at the table reject the irrationality of religiously motivated violence. The pope isn't condemning Islam; he is inviting it to join rather than reject the modern world.

By their reaction to the pope's speech, some Muslim leaders showed again that Islam has a problem with modernity that is going to have to be solved by a debate within Islam. The day Muslims condemn Islamic terror with the same vehemence they condemn those who criticize Islam, an attempt at dialogue--and at improving relations between the Western and Islamic worlds--can begin.

Positing Equivalence between Christianity & Islam

2006-09-22T14:00:00.000-07:00

A Dangerous and False Theory

By Rev. Bassam M. Madany
http://www.levant.info/

Radio, television, and the print media, brought us several articles and commentaries on the occasion of the Fifth Anniversary of September 11, 2001. The New York Post Online edition published an article by Ralph Peters, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, with this title, “Islam-Haters: An Enemy Within.” He referred to “a rotten core of American extremists,” without naming them, “who are standing in the way of properly dealing with the global menace of jihadism.”

On September 12, 2006, Robert Spencer, an authority on the history of Islam, and author of several books on the subject, responded on FrontPageMagazine.com, with an article entitled, “Ralph Peters’ Fog of Confusion.” For a full text of the article, please go to:
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=24330

It is not my intention to deal with all the charges of Ralph Peters, but I restrict myself to a comment he made about God, as He is revealed in one of the historical Books of the Old Testament. In his article that appeared on the New York Post Online edition, on September 7, 2006, Mr. Peters criticized those he termed as “Islam-Haters” for pointing to references in the Qur’an that support violence against non-Muslims:

“As for the books and Web sites listing all those passages encouraging violence against the infidel, well, we could fill entire libraries with bloody-minded texts from the Christian past. And as a believing Christian, I must acknowledge that there’s nothing in the Koran as merciless as God’s behavior in the Book of Joshua.”

A few days later, Ralph Peters made similar remarks during the “Symposium: 9/11 Five Years Later,” that was presided over by Jamie Glazov of FrontPageMamazine.com published on 9/11/06 (http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=24313)

“Blanket hatred is blanket hatred, no matter how piously it’s couched in terms of patriotism or ‘defending our civilization.’ I cited the Book of Joshua because of the grotesque thirst for blood of our own Old Testament deity--far uglier than anything in the Koran (which is simply stream-of-consciousness nonsense--Mohammed should sue James Joyce for plagiarism). We could compile endless volumes of Christian hate speech that’s stacked up over the past thousand years (it really hit its stride in the tenth century). Unfair to cite only the Muslim hate-mongers without noting that we’ve had plenty of our own.”

It is so unfortunate that a retired United States officer who has had some experiences overseas, including tours of duty in Muslim lands, and who regards himself as “a believing Christian,” manifests such an ignorance of both Christianity and Islam. Not keeping his confusion to himself, he goes public by equating Christianity with Islam, as far as encouraging violence towards those who don’t belong to their communities. (continued on levant web site).

To read the full text of this article please go to: www.levant.info/MER114.html

A Tale of Four Sermons, Part II

2006-08-19T13:30:00.000-07:00

Also posted on this day is Part I of this piece, by Louis Palme, to be found on www.news.faithfreedom.org

Jesus, Final Statements to His Disciples (John 13 - 16 excerpts)
My children, I shall not be with you very much longer. You will look for me; but I tell you now what I told the Jewish authorities, “You cannot go where I am going.” And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another, then everyone will know that you are my disciples. . . .

I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one goes to the Father except by me. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. If not, believe because of the things I do. I am telling you the truth: whoever believes in me will do what I do – yes, he will do even greater things, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask for in my name, so that the Father’s glory will be shown through the Son. If you ask me for anything in my name, I will do it.

My commandment is this: love one another, just as I love you. The greatest love a person can have for his friends is to give his life for them. And you are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because a servant does not know what his master is doing. Instead, I call you friends, because I have told you everything I heard from my Father. You did not choose me, I chose you and appointed you to go and bear much fruit, the kind of fruit that endures. And so the Father will give you whatever you ask of him in my name. This, then, is what I command you: love one another.

If the world hates you, just remember that it has hated me first. If you belonged to the world, then the world would love you as its own. But I chose you from this world, and you do not belong to it; that is why the world hates you. They would not have been guilty of sin if I had not come and spoken to them; as it is, they no longer have any excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father also. This, however, was bound to happen so that what is written in their Law may come true: ‘They hated me for no reason at all.’

I have told you this, so that you will not give up your faith. You will be expelled from the synagogues, and the time will come when anyone who kills you will think that by doing this he is serving God. People will do these things to you because they have not known either the Father or me. But I have told you this, so that when the time comes for them to do these things, you will remember what I told you.

I have told you this so that you will have peace by being united to me. The world will make you suffer. But be brave! I have defeated the world!

Mohammed’s final sermon (al-Tabari, Vol IX, No. 1754)
O people, listen to my words. I do not know whether I shall ever meet you again in this place after this year. O people, your blood and your property are sacrosanct until you meet your Lord, just as this day and this month of yours are sacred. Surely you will meet your Lord and He will question you about your deeds. I have [already] made this known. Let he who has a pledge return it to the one who entrusted him with it; all usury is abolished, but your capital belongs to you. Wrong not and you shall not be wronged. Allah has decreed that there will be no usury, and the usury of Abbas b. Abd al-Muttalib is abolished, all of it. All blood shed in the pre-Islamic days is to be left unavenged. The first such claim I revoke is that of Ibn Rabiah b. al-Harith b. Abd al-Muttalib, who was nursed among the Banu Layth and was slain by the Banu Hudhayl. His is the first blood shed in the pre-Islamic days with which I shall set an example. O people, indeed Satan despairs of ever being worshipped in this land of yours. He will be pleased, however, if he is obeyed in a thing other than that, in matters you minimize. So beware of him in your religion, O people, intercalculating a month is an increase in unbelief whereby the unbelievers go astray; one year they make it profane, and hallow it another [in order] to agree with the number that Allah has hallowed, and so profane what Allah has hallowed, and hallow what Allah has made profane. Time has completed its cycle [and is] as it was on the day that Allah created the heavens and the earth. The number of the months with Allah is twelve; [they were] in the Book of Allah on the day He created the heavens and the earth. Four of them are sacred, the three consecutive [months] and the Rajab [which is the month of] Mudar, which is between Jumada and Sha’ban.

Now then, O people, you have a right over your wives and they have a right over you. You have [the right] that they should not cause anyone of whom you dislike to tread on your beds; and that they should not commit any open indecency. If they do, then Allah permits you to shut them in separate rooms and to beat them, but not severely. If they abstain from [evil], they have the right to their food and clothing in accordance with the custom. Treat women well, for they are [like] domestic animals with you and do not possess anything for themselves. You have taken them only as a trust from Allah, and you have made the enjoyment of their persons lawful by the word of Allah, so understand and listen to my words, O people. I have conveyed the Message, and have left you with something which, if you hold fast to it, you will never go astray; that is, the Book of Allah and the sunnah of his Prophet. Listen to my words, O people, for I have conveyed the Message and understand [it]. Know for certain that every Muslim is a brother of another Muslim, and that all Muslims are brethren. It is not lawful for a person [to take] from his brother except that which he has given him willingly, so do not wrong yourselves. O Allah, have I not conveyed the message?

Jesus’ issues: Love for one another .Followers are friends, not servants.
Bearing fruit that endures. Understanding the world’s hatred for Christians
Preparing for people who will kill thinking they are serving God

Mohammad’s issues:
Settling debts, but forbidding usury
Amnesty for bloodshed occurring in pre-Islamic days
Preserving the Islamic calendar (which is 11 days short of a solar year)
Treatment of wives (like domestic animals)
Ordaining the Koran and the Sunnah (words/actions of the Prophet) as basis for Laws
Muslims are brothers of one another

A Tale of Four Sermons, Part I

2006-08-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

In June of 2006 Louis Palme posted four sermons on the web site of www.news.faithfreedom.org He chose the first and final sermons from our Lord Jesus Christ, and the first and final recorded words of the Prophet Mohammed. They speak for themselves.

The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5, 6, and 7)
Happy are those who know they are spiritually poor; the Kingdom of heaven belongs to them!
Happy are those who mourn; God will comfort them!
Happy are those who are humble; they will receive what God has promised!
Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires; God will satisfy them fully!
Happy are those who are merciful to others; God will be merciful to them! Happy are the pure in heart; they will see God!
Happy are those who work for peace; God will call them his children!
Happy are those who are persecuted because they do what God requires; the Kingdom of heaven belongs to them!

Happy are you when the people insult you and persecute you and tell all kinds of evil lies against you because you are my followers. Be happy and glad, for a great reward is kept for you in heaven. This is how the prophets before you were persecuted.

You are like salt for all mankind. But if salt loses its saltiness, there is no way to make it salty again. It has become worthless, so it is thrown out and people trample on it.
You are like light for the whole world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a bowl; instead he puts it on the lampstand, where it gives light for everyone in the house. In the same way your light must shine before people, so that they will see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven.

Do not think that I have come to do away with the Law of Moses and the teachings of the prophets. I have not come to do away with them, but to make their teachings come true. Remember that as long as heaven and earth last, not the least point nor the smallest detail of the Law will be done away with – not until the end of all things. So then, whoever disobeys even the least important of the commandments and teachers others to do the same, will be least in the Kingdom of heaven. I tell you, then, you will be able to enter the Kingdom of heaven only if you are more faithful than the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees in doing what God requires.
You have heard that people were told in the past, “Do not commit murder; anyone who does will be brought to trial. But now I tell you: whoever is angry with his brother will be brought to trial, whoever calls his brother ‘You good-for-nothing!’ will be brought before the Council, and whoever calls his brother a worthless fool will be in danger of going to the fire of hell. So if you are about to offer your gift to God at the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar, go at once and make peace with your brother, and then come back and offer your gift to God.

You have heard that it was said, “Love your friends, hate your enemies.” But now I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may become the sons of your Father in heaven. For he makes his sun to shine on the bad and good people alike, and gives rain to those who do good and to those who do evil. Why should God reward you if you love only the people who love you? Even the tax collectors do that! And if you speak only to your friends, have you done anything out of the ordinary? Even the pagans do that ! You must be perfect—just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Make sure you do not perform your religious duties in public so that people will see what you do. If you do these things publicly, you will not have any reward from your Father in heaven.
So when you give something to a needy person, do not make a big show of it, as the hypocrites do in the houses of worship and on the streets. They do it so that people will praise them. I assure you, they have already been paid in full. But when you help a needy person, do it in such a way that even your closest friend will not know about it. Then it will be a private matter. And your Father, who sees what you do in private, will reward you.

Mohammed’s First Friday Sermon in Medina (Tabari, Vol. VII, No.1258)
Praise be to Allah. I praise him, and call on him for help, forgiveness and guidance. I believe in him, do not deny him and am an enemy of whoever denies him. I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah alone, without partner, and that Mohammed [sic] is his servant and his Messenger, whom he has sent with guidance, light and exhortation after an interval in the appearance of messengers, at a time when knowledge is scarce, men are led astray, time is cut short, the Last Hour is at hand and the End is close. Whoever obeys Allah and his Prophet has been rightly guided; whoever disobeys them has erred, been remiss and gone far astray. I recommend to you the fear of Allah, for the best thing which a Muslim can enjoin upon a Muslim is that he should exhort him to seek the Other World and command him to fear Allah. Beware of what Allah has warned you against concerning himself. There is no better advice than this and no better admonition. The fear of Allah, for whoever acts according to it in fear and dread of his Lord, is a trusty aid to what you desire of the Other World. He who sets aright what is between him and his Lord in secret and in public, seeking nothing thereby but the face of Allah, will be remembered in this world, and will have a treasure in that which is after death. Then a man will have need of that good which he has done previously; and as for that which is otherwise, he will wish that there was a great distance between him and it. Allah warns you to beware of himself, but Allah is merciful to his servants and to those who believe his word and fulfill his promises. Allah says: “The sentence that cometh from me cannot be changed, and I am in no wise a tyrant unto my servants.” Fear Allah, then, in this world and the next, in secret and in public. He who fears Allah will have his evil deeds forgiven and his reward magnified; he will achieve a great success. The fear of Allah will ward off Allah’s hatred and retribution and wrath. The fear of Allah will make people blameless in the sight of Allah, will please the Lord and will raise their degree. Seize hold of your portion, and do not be remiss with regard to Allah. Allah has caused you to know his Book and has opened his path before you in order that he may know those who speak the truth and those who lie. Act well, then, as Allah has acted well with you. Be enemies of his enemies, and strive on Allah’s behalf in the way to which he is entitled. He has chosen you and named you Muslims, “that he who perished (on that day) might perish by a clear proof (of his sovereignty) and he who survived might survive by clear proof.” There is no power but with Allah. Remember Allah frequently and act for the sake of that which is after today; for he who sets aright which is between him and Allah will have that which is between him and other men taken care of by Allah. That is because Allah pronounces judgment upon men whereas they do not pronounce judgment upon him, and because Allah rules men whereas they do not rule him. Allah is most great. There is no might but with Allah the great.

Happiness vs. Fear:
Jesus: mentions happiness 10 times
Mohammed: mentions fear 8 times, beware 2 times
Enemies:
Jesus: love your enemies
Mohammed: Be enemies of Allah’s enemies
Public worship:
Jesus: Do not perform your religious duties in public. Those who do so will not have any reward from God in heaven.
Mohammed: He who sets right with Allah in public and in private will be remembered in this world and will have treasure in the next.
Reconciliation:
Jesus: make peace with your brother
Mohammed: If you are right with Allah, what is between you and other men will be taken care of by Allah

The Goal of Iran: Dominating the Region

2006-07-24T07:45:00.000-07:00

Israel Facing the Islamist Declaration of War Part II [1]
http://www.news.faithfreedom.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=280

Jacob Thomas on Jul 23, 2006

While most of the print Arab media have focused their attention on the details of the tragic events engulfing the Middle East, some Arab journalists are pointing specifically to the role of the Iranian regime in initiating the bloody confrontation between Hezbollah and Israel. An editorial on the Elaph online newspaper for Sunday, 16 July, appeared with this headline: “Iran’s New Alliance Ignited the Fire that’s Burning Lebanon.”

The following are excerpts from the article that underline the unease of several Arab commentators about the growing Iranian influence in the region.

“Hezbollah embarked on a military operation that ended with the killing and kidnapping of Israeli soldiers within Israel’s borders. It was an operation that could not have been justified at all; it was totally and completely against Lebanon’s interests. The Lebanese are extremely tired and weary, due to the wars that have been inflicted upon them. Consider the number of killed and wounded, and the terrible destruction that’s going on in Lebanon, and realize the gigantic nature of the tragedy of the Lebanese!

“The big question is: for whose advantage was that operation which started this war? In order to understand who benefits from the Hezbollah operation, we must consider the timing for the attack It is well-known that the Lebanese economy relies heavily on the tourist season as an essential part of the yearly income. Why did Hezbollah not wait until the summer season was over, to initiate their attack on Israel? What a lame excuse that Hezbollah gave for the goal of its operation, namely the liberation of their prisoners that were still being held in Israel! But those prisoners had been there in custody for years!

“In order to understand the timing of Hezbollah’s operation we should consider the words of King Abdallah II, of Jordan. He warned about the rise of a ‘Shi’ite Crescent’ that would extend from Iran to Hamas in Palestine, passing through Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon. His warning was in place as the current events have demonstrated. It is turning out to be much more than a ‘crescent.’ It has become a ‘deadly scorpion’ whose head is in Tehran, while its tail is in southern Lebanon, and in the south suburbs of Beirut. This dangerous situation can no longer be dealt with by the resort to vapid diplomatic declarations. Hezbollah’s foolish acts have rendered such a course totally ineffective.

“Let’s consider again the ‘timing’ of the operation. For whose advantage was it undertaken? We should not forget that Iran was under great international pressure due to its nuclear program. So, it continued to play for time and prolonged its diplomatic negotiations. At the same time, Iran pursued her plan to cause troubles all over the Middle East. It was Iran that prompted the action of Hezbollah in Israel. Thus, the leader of Hezbollah offered Lebanon and its people, as a sacrifice on the altar of Iranian interests. Hassan Nasrallah never bothered to inform the legitimate government of Lebanon, or the Arab governments, about his plans to initiate an attack on Israel. The real decision for Hezbollah’s action was taken in Tehran, and was accomplished through the help and cooperation of Syria.

“Iran and its allies thought that the ‘sacredness’ of the ‘Palestinian Cause’ and of the ‘Resistance Movement in Lebanon’ would immobilize the Arabs, and render them unable to unmask the true nature of Iran’s schemes in the region. Iran’s calculations failed due to Saudi Arabia’s warning about Tehran’s plan. Added to the Saudi position were the declarations of Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates that decried the actions of Hezbollah. As a result of their incursion into Israel, the destruction of Lebanon has begun. The Arab countries must construct a plan to face the Iranian strategy that seeks to dominate the Middle East. Iran must be stopped from executing its plan; this whole matter has taken on an existential nature!”

Thus far, the comments of an Arab editorialist on the deteriorating situation in the Middle East. His remarks centered on Iran’s role in igniting the fires that are burning Lebanon. He did not deal with the broader issues of the type of war that is being waged by the Islamists, not only in Lebanon and Israel, but all over the world. Unfortunately, the general media took up the words of Jacques Chirac regarding the “disproportional” Israeli response to Hezbollah attacks, and began to repeat them ad nauseam. What they failed to emphasize was the radical changes that have taken place in the method of warfare as practiced by the Islamists, and the logical and necessary responses to such tactics.

We are grateful therefore for the publication in June 2006, of a book dealing with this subject under the title of, “INSURGENTS, TERRORISTS, AND MILITIAS,” by Richard H. Shultz Jr. and Andrea J. Dew (Columbia University Press, 316 pages, $29.50) It was reviewed in the 19 July, 2006 issue of The Wall Street Journal by Robert D. Kaplan. He titled the review, The Tribal Way of War. I highly recommend his review as it throws a great light on the new circumstances that we face in the global war against Islamic jihadism. The URL for this article is: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115325852604910271.html [3] Unfortunately, it is available only to subscribers, but your Public Library would certainly provide you with early editions of the Journal so that you can peruse this valuable piece of information.

I restrict myself to a few quotations from The Tribal Way of War.

“While the U.S. spends billions of dollars on sophisticated defense systems, the dime-a-dozen kidnapper and suicide bomber have emerged as the most strategic weapons of war. While we tie ourselves in legal knots over war's acceptable parameters, international law has increasingly less bearing on those whom we fight. And while our commanders declare ‘force protection’ as their highest priority, enemy commanders declare the need for more martyrs. It seems that the more advanced we become, the more at a disadvantage we are in the 21st-century battlefield.

“In ‘Insurgents, Terrorists, and Militias,’ Richard H. Shultz Jr. and Andrea J. Dew, both of Tufts's Fletcher School, have produced a wise and cogent briefing book about who our enemies are and how to anticipate their field tactics. The problem, they state early on, is that the Pentagon -- the product of a rational, science-based Western culture -- relies on objective quantification for its analysis. But what happens, the authors ask, if there is nothing to quantify? What happens if the enemy is merely an organic part of the landscape, revealing its features only at the moment of attack? Well, then all we can do is study these ‘idiosyncratic’ human landscapes and use anthropology to improve our intelligence assessments.

“The Somali way of war -- so startling to U.S. Army Rangers in Mogadishu in 1993 -- emerged from Somalia's late-19th-century Dervish movement, on which the country's top warlord, Mohammed Farah Aidid, based his strategy. What the West viewed as fanaticism was merely the Somali proclivity for judging a man's character by his religious conviction and his physical ability to fight without limits. In the Somali worldview, our aversion to killing women and children was a weakness that could be exploited by using noncombatants as human shields. Clearly, the task of anticipating the enemy's tactics requires thinking that goes beyond Western moral categories.

“Our progressive global culture -- with its emphasis on convenience and instant gratification -- finds it difficult to cope with such warriors, for whom war is a first resort rather than a last one. And what if a warrior takes command of a large and modernizing nation-state, as Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has done? We are accustomed to adversarial states with rational goals, like China. In the long run, China may constitute a greater threat to American world leadership than Iran. Yet China is a traditional and, therefore, legitimate power. We will have a serious military competition with the Chinese, but only through miscalculation would we ever fight them. Yet the darkest cloud on the 21st-century horizon is big states whose leaders may simply like to fight. Their reasons are tied up with pride, vengeance and martial religiosity and cannot be gratified through negotiations.”

To read the Elaph article dealing with the fire Iran ignited in Lebanon, and then to proceed to the book review of 19 July in the WSJ, is a very frightening experience. But both articles provide us with a realistic description of our “New World Disorder.” Are our leaders giving heed to these early warnings; or are they, by neglecting these warning signs, repeating the costly mistakes of Western leaders during the 1930s? Only time will tell.

Israel Facing the Islamist Declaration of War Part II
Links
[1] http://www.news.faithfreedom.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=280
[2] ttp://www.news.faithfreedom.org/index.php?name=News&catid=&topic=19
[3] http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115325852604910271.html
[4] http://www.news.faithfreedom.org/user.php

Freedom in Christ

2006-07-03T11:02:00.000-07:00

How Great Is Freedom!

On 18 June 2006, the online Arabic daily newspaper, Elaph, published an article under the title “Is Islam a Tolerant Religion?” It brought immediately a total of 97 responses from readers all over the world. Some were appreciative of the article for its frankness, while others were extremely critical.

One of the responses was unique, and attracted my attention. Writing on 20 June, the author, calling himself, “A Convert to the Light of Christianity,” started his testimony in this way:

“How Great Is Freedom!”

“For several years, I was lost in a religion, not knowing truth from errors. I saw unlawful [illegal, sins] being committed in its name. Innocent people were being killed in its name, and young girls were also being raped in its name.

Finally, God brought me to the light of Christianity. I realize that now, Muslims would declare that my life is no longer secure, [as a murtad, i.e. apostate, my blood should be shed]. My situation has become similar to all those who have discovered the way of truth, and left the way of Islamic error! It doesn’t matter: if I am killed, I would die as a clean Christian, and not as a criminal Muslim.

I was no longer able to put up with all the horrible crimes committed by Muslims against all “Others.” With me, there are now more than 3,500 Muslims who have found the light of Christianity and have been saved, for ever, from the nightmare of Islam.

O Lord, guide everyone to the way of Truth, to the Light of the great and noble Christianity.”

A convert to the light of Christianity.

Urgent Comments from Baghdad

2006-06-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

We are relieved once again to find our friend "the Mesopotamian" still alive and able to post his thoughts on his blogspot. Please read what he has to say:

"Today, I have something quite serious to talk about. At long last, it has come to be realized that any security strategy in Iraq must start from securing the Capital. This is something that I have said long ago and was probably the main reason for starting to blog just to get across this message.

"It would have been easier to implement such a strategy earlier before the “enemy” has had enough time to infest many neighborhoods and entrench in considerable areas of the Capital. Indeed it was the enemy who started the offensive with a deliberate and coordinated plan that escalated especially after blowing up the shrines in Samara, which was definitely an important part of the plan in order to escalate sectarian violence and invite retaliation which would then facilitate and help a campaign of “ethnic cleansing” to clear increasingly large chunks of the capital and turn them into “Faluja” style safe havens for the “insurgency”.

"I don’t know whether people abroad are really aware of the real situation in Baghdad right now. The capital is divided along sectarian lines with parts of it becoming no-go zones especially for Shiaa’s, and these zones are not just in the peasant outskirts of the city but have moved to the heart of middle class areas especially to the west of the city. The situation has worsened considerably in the last couple of months. Many of our relatives and acquaintances ......."

Please turn to the full text of this Baghdadi's heart-rending plea. You will find it on his oft-mentioned blogspot www.messopotamian.blogspot.com

Zan Tyler's New Book on Homeschooling

2006-06-23T14:50:00.000-07:00

7 Tools for Cultivating your Child’s Potential by Zan Tyler. 2005. Broadman and Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee

In spite of the unique title of this attractive book, and regardless of your age or station in life, here is a combination life story/practical advice/devotional book which is guaranteed to hold your attention.

To give you a taste of its contents let me quote two paragraphs.

P110 “America has gone from a country that once welcomed God (and His Word) to one where His Word is unwelcome outside the church. When a Christian view of the world prevailed in our society, being able to define worldview was not so important. Now that we live in a society that prefers to view the world apart from God, Christians must educate themselves on what a biblical worldview is and why it’s important. As Christian parents, we must commit ourselves to understanding worldview issues for our children’s sake because they are confronted daily with peer pressure and a pop culture that are often openly hostile to their values. If we choose to remain ignorant, our children’s faith will suffer.”

p.119“We must communicate to our children that each of them, in God’s economy, brings important gifts to employ in this world for God’s glory and our neighbor’s welfare. That is why we work. The engineer, the doctor, the mother, the lawyer, the car mechanic, the writer all serve God by doing their work well—by using their gifts to solve problems and improve the world. This idea of improving the world at every level is what God told Adam and Eve to do in the Garden of Eden.”

I can assure you that the end result of reading this lively piece of writing will be that you will get a glimpse of the value of any learning derived from “home” and an appreciation for the involvement of all parents, in conjunction with whatever style of schooling their children may be having.

Shirley W. Madany

Western Dhimmitude

2006-06-17T08:30:00.000-07:00

http://www.news.faithfreedom.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=105

Posted by: Jacob Thomas on Jun 16, 2006

It was natural for Western media to be preoccupied, during the week of June 4, 2006, with the news from Canada and Iraq. Early that week, the Canadian authorities uncovered a plot of Islamist residents who were planning to perpetrate some horrific acts of terrorism. The mainline media kept telling us that some of these terrorists were Canadian citizens, while others were long-time residents, but the “M” word was absent. There was complete silence about the fact that all those arrested were Muslims.

On Saturday evening June 9, PBS broadcast its “Washington Week.” Four journalists appeared with moderator, Gwen Ifill. First they dealt with the hottest news item: the killing of Zarqawi, near the northern Iraqi city of Ba’qubah, earlier during the week. Then, the moderator turned to the terrorist plot in Canada, saying,

“The threat of terror hit closer to home this week with the arrest of 17 suspected extremists in Canada. The arrest of 12 men and five teenaged suspects also raised questions about U.S.-Canadian border security amidst the on-going debate over immigration reform. NBC News Justice Correspondent Pete Williams updates us on the investigation into the homegrown terror suspects in Canada and the arrest of two more terror suspects in Britain with possible links to the Toronto group.”

I watched carefully to see whether any of the four commentators would mention the true identity of the plotters. Almost all, with one accord chanted the cliché that these men were “home grown terrorists.” But they were all Muslims. What’s wrong in identifying them with the “M” word? The fact that some or most of them were born in Canada meant nothing to those Muslims. As men who had embraced the teachings of radical Islam, they had only one loyalty --- to the Islamic Umma. The acts of terror they planned; such as storming the Parliament building in Ottawa, holding cabinet ministers hostages, beheading the Prime Minister, all those acts would hasten the victory of Islam over the world!

The mainline media, both in Canada and the United States, played down the true identity of the terrorists. After all, they must not offend the growing Islamic community in both countries, by any reference to the true source of the terrorists’ ideology.

The reticence of so many Westerners, both in government and in the media, to utter the “M” word, is shocking. But it has been coming for a long time. Back in July 1991, the late Jacques Ellul*, the French Protestant scholar of the University of Bordeaux, alluded to this phenomenon in his “Foreword” to Bat Ye’or’s Book, “The Decline of Eastern Christianity under Islam from Jihad to Dhimmitude.”**

Ellul’s “Foreword” remains as an excellent essay that should be read by all concerned about the global threat of Islamic extremism. The French scholar predicted the growing phenomenon, on both sides of the Atlantic, of the “Dhimmitude of the West.” Here are some very pertinent quotations:

“I have greatly stressed the characteristics of this war, [Ellul was referring to the institution of Jihad in Islam] because there is so much talk nowadays of the tolerance and fundamental pacifism of Islam that it is necessary to recall its nature, which is fundamentally warlike! Moreover, the author [reference here is to Bat Ye’or’s book] provides us an enlightening explanation of “Islamization,” a complex process whereby Islamicized populations supplanted peoples, civilizations, and religions in the conquered countries. This comprised two phases …the first is war; the second is the imposition of the dhimmi status.

“We are again faced with the fundamental choice: the world is still divided between the world of Islam and the world of war. And inside the umma, the only possible existence for the infidel is dhimmitude.

“This leads the author to pose the question which has become so alarming today: “Dhimmitude of the West”? After having thus covered thirteen centuries of history, read in the light of this question, we reach our present situation, actually feeling its ambiguity and instability. We misunderstand this situation, for lack of a clear vision of the alternative which, whether explicit or not, existed throughout the centuries and which the present book has the immense merit to analyze rigorously. The author has the courage to examine (summarily, because this is not the purpose of the book) whether a certain number of events, structures, and situations that we know in the West do not already derive from a sort of “dhimmitude” of the West vis-à-vis an Islamic world that has resumed its war and its expansion. Hostage-taking, terrorism, the destruction of Lebanese Christianity, the weakening of the Eastern Churches (not to mention the wish to destroy Israel), and conversely, Europe’s defensive reaction (antiterrorist infrastructure, the psychological impact of intellectual “terrorism”, political and legal restraints regarding terrorist blackmail): all this recalls precisely the resurgence of the traditional policy of Islam. Indeed many Muslim governments try to combat the Islamist trend, but to succeed would require a total recasting of mentalities, a desacralization of jihad, a self-critical awareness of Islamic imperialism, an acceptance of the secular nature of political power and the rejection of certain Koranic dogmas. Of course, after all the changes we have seen taking place in the Soviet Union, it is not unthinkable, but what a global change that would imply: a change in a whole historical trend and the reform of a remarkably structured religion! This book thus allows us to take our bearings, so as to understand more easily our present situation, as every genuine historical study should do --- without, of course, making artificial comparisons and by remembering that history does not repeat itself.”

Fifteen years have passed since Jacques Ellul penned these clear sounding words! How relevant these words, as the Islamic terrorism is multiplying shockingly! And how blind are Western politicians and the mainline media in exercising self-censorship when dealing with Islam and Muslims! “The Dhimmitude of the West” is here with us; it’s become a fait accompli, thanks to the ideologies of multiculturalism and political correctness.
Thus, as long as we refuse to use the word “Muslim” when dealing with the various manifestations of Islamic terrorism, our efforts in the “War on Terror” will be in vain. The enemy must be clearly identified, in order to stop his advances; and gain complete victory over him. We must throw off the self-imposed shackles of dhimmitude; this is the only way to achieve victory.

* Jacques ELLUL died in 1994 at 82. A jurist, historian, theologian and sociologist, he published more than 600 articles and 48 books, many of which were translated into a dozen languages (more than 20 into English). From 1950-70 he was a member of the National Council of the Protestant Reformed Church of France. Professor at the University of Bordeaux, his oeuvre includes studies on medieval European institutions, the effect of modern technology on contemporary society, and moral theology. In American academic circles, he was widely known for "The Technological Society" written in the 1950's (English edition, 1964) and recognized as one of the most prominent of contemporary thinkers.
** The Decline of Eastern Christianity under Islam: From Jihad to Dhimmitudeby Bat Ye’or, with Foreword by Jacques Ellul, published in 1996 by Associated University Presses, 440 Forsgate Drive, Cranbury, NJ 08512

Ex-Muslims Attracted to Western Secularism

2006-06-11T08:32:00.000-07:00

By Rev. Bassam M. Madany

From my earliest days, I noticed a certain fascination with Western secularism that was exhibited by Arab authors who dealt with modern history. For example, they showed a high regard and admiration for the French Revolution of 1789, notwithstanding the unbelievable bloodshed and turmoil that resulted from it.

During the past century, that attraction has manifested itself specifically in the rapid spread of Marxist ideology throughout the Middle East. In the 1960s, a Muslim professor at the American University of Beirut, Dr. Sadeq Jalal al-Adhm, published, “A Critique of Religious Thought.”(Naqd al-Fikr Al-Deeni.) This book was critical, not only of the Qur’an, but of all theistic religions. His approach and methodology were thoroughly Marxist. He got into trouble with the Lebanese authorities, but was exonerated from the charge of inciting divisions among the Lebanese religious communities. Al-Adhm stuck tenaciously to his secular ideology. The last sentence in a revised and expanded version of his “Critique” was this: “It is beyond doubt that Dialectical Materialism is the best known attempt to formulate a complete and universal worldview that can be reconciled with the spirit of this age and its sciences. I believe that this is exactly what Jean-Paul Sartre meant when he said: ‘Marxism is the philosophy for our times.’”

We now have unassailable proof that Marxism has been an utter failure, both ideologically and practically. We need only to read Aleksander Solzhenitsyn’s “The Gulag Archipelago” to see that Sartre, Albert Camus, and all their Middle Eastern disciples, were wrong in their prophecies.

Having said that, I don’t want to imply that Western Secularism has ceased to attract Arab and Muslim intellectuals. For example, early in 2006, I came across a relatively new Arabic-language website, http://www.kwtanweer.com/ , serving as a forum for dialog among Arab intellectuals who are concerned about tajdeed (renewal), tahdeeth (modernization), and Islah (reformation.) As I glance daily at their contributions, I can’t help but notice how most of them manifest the impact of Western secular worldviews on their thoughts. This is clearly seen by their repeated references to such philosophers as Nietzsche, Kant, Descartes, Voltaire, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

In May 2006, a Syrian Muslim contributed an unusual article to the Tanweer (Enlightenment) site, in which he related his painful spiritual journey that ended with his leaving Islam. Its title was, “From Religion to No Religion: The Confession of a Muslim who has renounced Islam.”

If you wish to read more of this article please go to the following URL:
http://www.reformationtheology.com/missions/

Middle East Resources Newsletter - 2006

2006-05-31T14:20:00.000-07:00

We praise the Lord for twelve years of “retirement” ministry as of June, 2006. We delight to see our “resources” being sought after and thank God also for the health and strength he has given us to handle all the requests.

It seems that we are now deeply involved in both publications and distribution. We welcomed our third book from the printer this April. Sales are going well. We have had two unique opportunities in May to both lecture and sell our books. We hope you will enquire if you can increase the readership of our latest book “An Introduction to Islam.” It is a selection of 33 articles chosen in the hope of helping people to get a better understanding of Islam.

Our three books are: “The Bible and Islam”, “Muslims Meeting Christ” and “An Introduction to Islam.”

An Introduction to Islam by Bassam and Shirley Madany. ($12.50) Thirty-three articles currently to be found on www.levant.info are now available in print form. Articles which have elicited comments like the following: "I count it as such a privilege to be in the orbit of God's blessing in your ministry."...."Your material is so right on, and just what I need to get to know about what is happening in that troubled part of the world."....."I thank the Lord upon every remembrance of you and your ministry. You have been a pillar in our generation in holding to your uncompromising approach to Islam."

Muslims Meeting Christ by Shirley W. Madany. Published in July 2005 ($10.00)It is a joyful book based on some of the responses to our daily Arabic broadcast, Saatu'l Islah. Comments from an elderly Christian scholar and friend were an encouragement: "I read your book with tears in my eyes. Thank you for writing it." You will thrill to the testimonies of young and old, from Morocco to Iraq, as they tell of their love for Jesus.

The second printing of the Russian version of The Bible and Islam, came off the press in December 2001. To obtain copies please contact: GTimmerman@eamail.net , our Christian Reformed Church missionary in Russia.

You may write and purchase the English version or you are invited to freely download and print your own copy from our web site. Within the last month there has been a second printing of The Bible and Islam, undertaken by Life Challenge Africa, and printed in Nairobi, Kenya. And presently we are in correspondence with a missionary in Nigeria who will be supervising another reprint being done very shortly for use in West Africa.

This is all the Lord’s doing and we are merely His servants.

Joyfully serving the Lord,

Bassam and Shirley Madany

Updated Bibliography

2006-05-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

Please check out our updated Bibliography, available by link from this site.

We would draw your attention to a selection of URLs of web sites which we heartily recommend. They are located at the end of the list.

Bassam and Shirley Madany

Putting an End to Intolerance

2006-04-24T13:12:00.000-07:00

In an editorial published in FOURTH ESTATE, a publication of the University of Wisconsin, Green Bay, under the heading of “End the Intolerance,” one cannot help but notice the distorted logic of the post-modern mind.

I was struck, even though not surprised by the list of three topics that should not be tolerated, namely sexism, racism and homophobia. According to the moral code of this “Brave New World” these three items are sacrosanct. No one, not even within a civilization whose Constitution guarantees freedom of speech and expression, ought to say anything negative about sexism, racism, and homophobia!

The editorial went on mouthing high sounding declarations:

“Society desperately requires intolerance of sexism, racism and homophobia. Communities and individuals need to practice intolerance toward these societal ills, so the future inherits a world where equality is the standard and bigotry is an unacceptable occurrence.”

Now “Society” has become personalized, and it issues edicts that must be obeyed. The trilogy of the unforgivable sins is repeated as a mantra. When it comes to these “sins” both communities and individuals are called upon to “practice intolerance.” Wow! Are we living under a dictatorial regime? What if we do not buy the ideology of the radicals and anarchists? Would they resort to punishing us because we hold to a higher ethic? Are they borrowing the tactics of the morality police of Saudi Arabia, or the Islamic Republic of Iran?

The editor’s homily goes on to admonish us to heed the fundamentals of the “Brave New World.”

“Tolerance is not blindly accepting every person’s opinion as fact. Tolerance is a necessary component of democratic society because it means living harmoniously with one another. No one person’s path to happiness should infringe on anyone else’s path to happiness.”

OK, if “tolerance is not blindly accepting every person’s opinion as fact,” I have made my choice, and respond by saying I don’t accept your pontifications as fact. Your goal is to arrive at happiness, fine. However, I refuse to accept your definition of happiness. What you’ve described as the three sacrosanct commandments surely does not bring us to the bliss of your “Brave New World.”

What I thought was to be a brief homily turned out to be a lengthy sermon:

A primary benefit of democratic living is the pursuit of happiness. How can a person expect to seek happiness when radical right-wingers are telling him or her who to love, what to believe and what to do with his or her body, while not offering any rational explanations in the process?

What a denunciation of these “radical right-wingers!” These words remind me of the vocabulary used by the Communists in their propaganda to silence their opponents. “Radical Right-Wingers!” Just keep on repeating these charges until people begin to believe your falsifications!

The denunciations became concrete, with severe criticisms leveled against Wisconsin’s Assembly banning the gay marriage bill, and “South Dakota’s recent measures to deconstruct Roe v. Wade.”

The secular preacher waxed even more eloquent and began to fire these questions:

How can citizens of a democracy allow their elected representatives to dictate who they should or should not love? How can a state in the land of the free overturn legislation guaranteeing citizens reproductive freedom? Law within a democratic society should never be used to oppress freedom, but to expand it.

The height of arrogance was reached when the “preacher” asked:

What if Dr. King had decided not to speak at a little church in Montgomery, Ala.?

The preacher turned into a magician, by a slight of mouth! By declaring moral equivalence between Martin Luther King’s fight against the residue of slavery in American society, and the sins of “sexism and homophobia,” the editorial committed a grave error. In fact, it might have escaped the editor, that these words constituted an insult to the memory of the Rev. King, as well as to all African-Americans. Their right to freedom is based on the fact that all men and women are created equal by God. No mere humans may deprive them of their basic and inalienable rights.

Our editor’s understanding and definition of what constitutes unforgivable sins, has no relevance in a decent and harmonious society. In fact the prescriptions of the editorial would ultimately lead to moral chaos, and civilization’s return to barbarity.

The Dykes of Civilization

2006-04-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

by David Warren

www.davidwarrenonline.com
Columnist for Ottawa Citizen

I found a book in a junkshop this week, published in Canada, a half-century ago. With a foreword by Vincent Massey -- a dry stick, as he is remembered, but nevertheless our 18th governor-general. The book was published by the Anglican Church of Canada, Jarvis Street, Toronto. This was, in those days, a formidable imprimatur. While my copy is water-stained down the spine, and otherwise bedraggled (I did not pay much), it would have been a respectable thing when new, in 1958. It was published as the Lenten offering of the General Board of Religious Education.

The book is by Professor Samuel Henry Prince of King’s College, in Halifax. It is entitled: The Dykes of Civilization. The reader today will be taken aback; the word “diesel” may briefly flit through his mind.

Professor Prince meant dykes in the old-fashioned sense, of walls to hold water out or in. As, the dykes of Holland. The dykes to which he specifically refers are those of the Annapolis Valley, in Nova Scotia -- the “Evangeline” country of the once-immortal poet, Longfellow. They were built up by the first French settlers, in the middle of the 17th century; miles and miles of them, to hold out the sea, and reclaim the rich soils of the Grand Pré delta.

Using this literary conceit, the author compares the work of maintaining civilization to the work of maintaining these dykes. It does not matter who built them or when, for the purpose of maintenance -- if the dykes are ignored, they will disintegrate, and salt water will flood into the valley, poisoning the soil.

The late professor identified four main dykes which guard our “cultural and spiritual achievements”. He lists them, thus: “The Ermine (the insignia of Law); the Mantle (the insignia of Education); the Family Crest (insignia of the Home); and the Mitre (insignia of the Church). The Queen’s Bench, the Academic Chair, the Fireside, and the Altar are the guardians of our way of life.”“Perhaps when he wrote that,” I can hear my reader saying, “but surely not today.” I am myself sufficiently reactionary to be unsurprised by this list, though it appears to be in reverse order of importance. But I know many will titter at both the antiquated form, and the antiquated content.

I wrote some years ago in praise of an Ontario schoolbook, entitled Manners, that was passed to my teenaged grandmother, upon her entry into Canada, about 1913. I received several letters from readers unable to suppress their derision. One in particular found the idea that a young lady should have any manners at all, hysterically funny. Having no detectable good manners herself, she couldn’t see why anyone else would need any.

Now, “manners” would fall under all four of Professor Prince’s headings, for while manners may be codified, and recorded in a book, they are inculcated by every social institution. They live, or die.

A civilization is not a thing external, like the instruction manual for a computer. It consists of men and women, and the children they are raising, and their manners are only the outward expression of the civilization they carry, through time. Likewise, barbarism is an inward condition, though it finds outward expression in savage behaviour.

A half-century may seem a very long time to us today, given the speed at which our society is disintegrating. But it is less than one average lifetime, and I myself was actually alive when this Dykes book appeared. To any age that had not suffered a catastrophe, a half-century would seem a short period of historical time.

I, at least, am struck by how recent this book is, and by the memory that the Canada into which I was born was a country where ancient law, moral education, the traditional family, and the Christian church, were publicly upheld, and universally accepted. A civilized country.
Moreover, the author seems perfectly aware of currents in social life that will lead to disintegration. For instance, he stresses the changing view of sex -- that it has come to be regarded not as a means to a profound end, but as an end in itself, existing only for pleasure. He correctly predicts what must come of such a view.

Today is, for Christians, part of the vigil that will end tonight, in which we contemplate a world from which Christ is withdrawn. It is our own world we contemplate: where the dykes have been breached, and those who try to repair them are mocked.

Moderate Muslims Muddy the Waters

2006-04-08T14:15:00.000-07:00

By Jacob Thomas

Every Friday issue of The Wall Street Journal has an article on religion that appears under the general headline of “Houses of Worship.” The March 31, 2006, title of the article was “Holier Than Thou: Muslims declare each other apostates--with violent results.” The author, Masood Farivar, is a reporter for Dow Jones Newswires.

I appreciated much of what Mr. Farivar wrote. However, when I reached the last part of his article, I became very disappointed. Unfortunately, his contribution, as well as other ones coming from “moderate” Muslims, tends to muddy the water rather than give an accurate description of the true nature of Islam.

The author began by mentioning the plight of the Afghani Muslim who had converted to the Christian faith.

“The international uproar over the case of Abdul Rahman, the Afghan convert to Christianity charged with apostasy, has drawn attention away from a far more common and nefarious practice infecting religious practice in Islam: the accusation of heresy leveled by Muslims against fellow Muslims, a practice known as takfir. Historically, little more than a rhetorical device, takfir has in recent years grown into a deadly weapon in the hands of Muslim extremists bent on purging Islam of just about anyone who does not subscribe to their views. Today jihadist terrorists in Iraq have begun to use takfir as a rallying cry for violence against the Shiites.”

It is quite likely that most readers of the WSJ have never heard the word takfir. It is derived from an Arabic verb kafara “to be an infidel, or to blaspheme God.” The first time I heard of takfir was in connection with the name of a radical Islamist group in the United Kingdom, “Al-Hijra wal-Takfir.” The followers of this extremist group claim to follow in the foot steps of the Prophet who left Mecca in 622 A.D. and settled in Medina. That event, known in Arabic as Hijra (migration,) signified Muhammad’s separating himself from the kafirs (unbelievers) of Mecca, in order to settle in a pure milieu where he could freely spread Islam.

Mr. Farivar explained the serious consequences that result, when some Muslims accuse other Muslims of heresy:

“The concept of religious censure is not unique to Islam, of course, but under Islamic law the charge of apostasy may not only condemn the person to hell but require his immediate death, if he does not repent.”

Then he went on to give a historical account of a group of Muslims who anathemised everyone who disagreed with them. He referred to “the emergence in the late seventh century of a radical group known as Khawarij, whose members argued that committing a simple sin constituted heresy.” Actually, the case of the Khawarij, known also in English as the Kharijites, is much more complex, and needs further explanation.

When Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet, assumed the position of the fourth caliph in 655, Mu’awiya, the governor of Syria, revolted against him claiming that Ali was involved in the murder of Uthman, the third caliph. In the fight that ensued, the forces of Ali who held the upper hand were led to accept an offer for a truce that came from the other side. Some of Ali’s supporters did not agree with him, and left his camp. They were called the Khawarej, an Arabic word that signifies leaving a group. They became the prototypes for Islamic radicals. They assassinated Ali in 661. They went on to declare all Muslims (whether Sunnis or Shi’ites) who did not follow them, as unbelievers. They wrought havoc for a long time among the Muslims of the Middle East. This explains the similarity between these seventh century Khawarej and present-day Takfiris.

Mr. Farivar continued:

“Until recently, mainstream Muslims dismissed the takfiris as a fringe group, the extreme of the extreme. But with wanton terrorist acts on the rise, a response seemed required. The leaders of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan--themselves targets of apostasy charges--have denounced the takfiris.”

“Mainstream Muslim thinkers have also started speaking up. In the U.S., Mr. Siddiqi has led a group of prominent Muslim religious scholars in issuing a fatwa denouncing extremist interpretations of the Koran and hadith. In Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Abd al-Muhsin Al-Abikan, an eminent religious scholar, has given a series of high-profile interviews calling for a campaign to combat takfir culture among Muslims.

“Whether these arguments stem the tide of takfir-inspired violence remains to be seen. The lack of a central synod or council to define Islamic orthodoxy makes it difficult to issue a broad pronouncement discouraging the practice. What passes for sound belief in one country or one historical period may be seen as a heresy in another.

“That is not to say that there is no orthodoxy or, just as important, that religious leaders lack clout. They might want to remind the faithful, especially now, of the Prophet's tolerant teachings. As Sheikh Al-Abikan put it: “The authority to declare takfir is God's alone, and no man has that authority.’”

It is indeed helpful to read that “in the U.S., Mr. Siddiqi has led a group of prominent Muslim religious scholars in issuing a fatwa denouncing extremist interpretations of the Koran and hadith.” However, a “mainstream” reading of the Sacred Text of Islam reveals a very negative view of non-Muslims. Consider for example, the accusatory texts from the Qur’an:

"Because of the wrongdoing of the Jews We forbade them good things which were (before) made lawful unto them and because of their much hindering from Allah's way." Surah 4: 160

"O people of the Scripture! Do not exaggerate in your religion nor utter aught concerning Allah save the truth. The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only a messenger of Allah, and His word which He conveyed unto Mary, and a spirit from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers, and say not 'Three' --- Cease! (it is) better for you! Allah is only One God. Far it is removed from His transcendent majesty that he should have a son. His is all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth. And Allah is sufficient as Defender." Surah 4: 171

Above all, we should not forget that in the very first Surah of the Qur’an, known as
Al-Fatiha, mention is made of the Jews and Christians in a derogatory way:

“Ihdina as-Sirata’l Mustaqeem, Sirata’l al-Latheen an‘Amta ‘Aleyhem, Ghayra’l
Maghdoobi ‘Aleyhem, wala’Dalleen.”

“Lead us in the Right Path, the Path of those whom Thou hast blessed; and not in {the path of} those upon whom Thy wrath has come; nor of those who have gone astray” (Chapter 1:6, 7) [Translation is mine JT]

Muslim commentators explain that the Jews are “those upon whom” the wrath of God has come; as for Christians they are the ones who have gone astray. This chapter, which is in the form of an invocation addressed to Allah, is memorized by most Muslims. It defines their relation not only to Allah, but to the “Others” as well. It is ingrained in their memory that, while the grace of Allah has been abundantly given to them, those “Others” are either lost, or are the objects of Allah’s wrath!

The mass media and our political leaders incessantly tell us that mainline Islam is “tolerant” and “magnanimous.” They may refer to texts in the Qur’an that teach freedom of religion. Most of us have heard ad nauseam, the following verse:

“There is no compulsion in religion...” Surah 2: 256a

However, this verse must be understood in the light of history. Ask those communities that have endured 1400 years of Islamic domination about the true meaning of “La Ikraha fi’l-Deen,” i.e. the No Compulsion clause. They will tell you about the awful status of dhimmitude that they and their forefathers suffered. Sure, the People of the Book (Jews and Christians) were allowed to remain in their faith, but were subjected to the most humiliating conditions. Just read the books of Bat Ye’or to learn about this most degrading institution that was inflicted on the original inhabitants of the Middle East and North Africa. And please don’t forget to learn about the Ottoman’s abominable Devshirme, whereby thousands of young boys from the Balkans were forcibly taken from their parents, Islamized, and enrolled in the special corps of the Janissaries!

I return to the title of my essay, “Moderate Muslims Muddy the Waters.” Please read the last paragraph again:

“That is not to say that there is no orthodoxy or, just as important, that religious leaders lack clout. They might want to remind the faithful, especially now, of the Prophet's tolerant teachings. As Sheikh Al-Abikan put it: “The authority to declare takfir is God's alone, and no man has that authority.’”

These words of summing-up are very deceptive. To quote Sheikh Al-Abikan’s words may fool the naïve, but they are no different than the mantra, ‘Al-Islam hua al-Hall’ i.e. Islam is the Solution!

“The authority to declare takfir is God’s alone.” What a pious statement. It reminds me of the ruse of Mu’awiya’s camp back in 661! When his soldiers were losing in their confrontation with Ali’s forces, they suddenly lifted copies of the Qur’an on their spears and shouted, “Let God decide.” Pure and unadulterated exhibition of piety! But Allah had already spoken his final word, and this word must be interpreted by mere humans. The umpires that Ali and Mu’awiya agreed upon were not impartial. They deposed Ali, and confirmed his opponent as the lawful caliph of the Islamic Umma. Chaos broke loose as a result. Just read the accounts of the violent crimes committed by the Khawarej, to learn about the consequences of empty and vapid slogans!

It is up to moderate Muslims, if they are to be believed, to initiate a new hermeneutic of the Sacred Texts of Islam, and devise ways where those texts and teachings that declare gloom and doom of the “Others,” are interpreted as belonging to the distant past, and are no longer valid today. In our globalized and interdependent world, there is no room for any type of takfiri ideologies. I am waiting eagerly for true moderates who don’t engage in muddying the waters; but acknowledge the mistakes of the Islamic past.

The Mesopotamian

2006-03-25T19:04:00.000-08:00

If you would like to add a little balance to your thinking on the present situation in Iraq, please do read the last few postings of The Mesopotamian www.messopotamian.blogspot.com

Yes, there is a double "s" in the URL!

Denial: a Characteristic of the Islamic Mind

2006-03-25T13:15:00.000-08:00

by Jacob Thomas

Early in 2006, I discovered a relatively new Arabic web site: www. kwtanweer.com
It originates in Kuwait, and its goal, as its name Tanweer (Enlightenment) implies, is to provide a forum for the discussion of such topics as Religion & Modernity, Civil Society, Democracy, Human Rights, and Women’s place and role in society.

The subjects discussed in this forum are intriguing, as most of them would be considered avant-garde by an average Muslim. What catches my attention in my frequent perusal of the articles on this site are the readers’ comments. They tend to be very negative, and annoyed by any suggestion of changes in the status quo!

I would like to share with you an article with this title: Inkar (Denial). The author dealt with the topic of denial as a characteristic of the Islamic Mind. Years ago, I read books that dealt with the Arab Mind, but to my knowledge I have not noticed any book dealing with this larger topic such as the Islamic Mind. Even though, I would regard V. S. Naipaul’s books, An Islamic Journey, and Beyond Belief, as attempts to fathom and describe this mind.

The writer goes by the name of Ahmad al-Baghdadi; I presume that he is a Kuwaiti, but of an Iraqi background. He began with these lines:

Dr. Kamel al-Najjar, a respected author now living securely in the West, wrote an article published on the Internet dealing with the Crisis of the Islamic Mind. What he meant was the mind of Muslims and not of Islam, as a faith.

This crisis manifests itself as a serious illness besetting Muslims nowadays, namely their persistent denial of their lack of progress in the fields of scientific and human endeavors. At the same time, they keep on claiming that they are God’s best people; thus, justifying their mistakes or ignoring them in a rather shockingly naïve manner.

Everyone is aware of this lack of progress. The solution for this chronic illness requires an acknowledgement of this denial, in the same way as Dr. al-Najjar requires alcoholics, or drug addicts seeking healing, to acknowledge their condition, and confess publicly their desire for a cure. It is only after such a confession takes place that the treatment for the cure of an addict begins. On the other hand, as long as an alcoholic or a drug addict refuses to acknowledge the seriousness and reality of his condition, he is bound to continue in his substance abuse. People around him notice the results of his addiction, in spite of the fact that he persists in his denial.

Today, the Arabs’ failures are noticeable everywhere: in education, in economics, in politics, in culture, in administration, in technology, in manufacturing, and in human relations. If it were not for the mercy of God and the existence of the West, the Arabs would have perished, as their life expectancy would not have exceeded thirty years. [They should thank] the West that provides them with the necessities of life: such as food, medicines, technology, as well as university training for those fortunate Arabs [who manage to enter Western universities.]

And regardless of this evident lack of progress, we find Arabs taking a stand against intellectual pursuits, civil liberties, and science. They neither control the present, nor the future; all they possess is a past that ceased to exist around five hundred years ago. In other words, they glory in a culture that is no more!

Just as a car does not move without fuel, so is the condition of human civilizations; their fuel is liberty and democracy. Arabs refuse both. But they insist on claiming that they love freedom, intellectual life, and culture; while they keep on playing a broken record that proclaims the West’s indebtedness to the Islamic civilization. This is the apex of delusion!

Today, Arabs are in need of a quick medicine that would end their addiction to a dead past, and allow them to start a new life. This will not happen, as Dr. al-Najjar pointed out, unless they are ready to confess publicly their backwardness. This is the first step. The next step is the search for a cure. The prescription is ready and available from the American doctor: freedom and democracy.

That gifted Arab essayist Adonis once wrote: “A society that places at the top of the pyramid of its national concerns a policy of an oppressive security, and makes it the custodian for the conduct of politics, is in the process of self-destruction. There is no such thing as security without a security that guarantees freedom and democracy. Any Arab regime that arrests a citizen on account of his thoughts or opinions is arresting not merely one citizen, but an entire country. And a government that sends a citizen to prison for his thoughts is actually incarcerating itself.”

The Arabs today are living in the prison of their past, and the key to the gate of that prison is lost. What’s needed is the destruction of the gate itself, so that they may get out and experience freedom. Therefore we must destroy the shackles of that imaginary history that causes us to indulge in claiming a spurious greatness. We need to learn the lessons of history. Sometimes, however, we deny these lessons in the name of religion; other times in the name of Arab nationalism. Such denials lead to the death of any attempt for progress. So as long as Arabs cling to their concept of history with all its deceptions without attempting to separate truth from falsehood, facts from fiction, they will continue in their present state for ever.

These words of al-Baghdadi are strong medicine. They must express the exasperation of several Arab and Muslim intellectuals who are fed up with the status quo. The Internet allows them to utter such words which are regarded as extreme by the very people who need them the most.

Unfortunately the counter-denials pour into the web site. I was very disappointed by one response from a person who lives in Kuwait, the home of the Enlightenment site. He wrote, not only condemning the author of “Denial,” but all, yes all the contributors to Tanweer. Unfortunately, there are many like him who prefer to live within the prison of the past, because they are unwilling to acknowledge their addiction to a mythical view of Islamic history.

Mr. Badr (full-moon, as his Arabic name means,) shot back these shocking words: "Half of those contributing to this web site should be sent to prison, and the other half, should be confined to mental hospitals."

What a pity that a civilization that persists in denial, should prefer darkness to light!

Human Rights Violations in Arab Prisons

2006-03-17T14:42:00.000-08:00

By Jacob Thomas

That some Iraqi prisoners were mistreated at the Abu Ghraib Prison in Baghdad is now a fact of history. Soon after these violations of human rights became known to the United States Administration, they were properly dealt with. Unfortunately, some sections of the American media keep on harping on the topic. Every now and then, the New York Times for example, drags up some “event” that had taken place at that prison, and heralds it to its shrinking readership. One cannot escape being aware of that kind of propaganda parading as news.
So it was rather interesting to discover a more honest assessment of the whole affair, in an international online Arabic daily. I have in mind the March 13, 2006 issue of Al-Sharq al-Awsat that published an article with this headline: Human Rights Abuses in Arab Prisons.

I hesitate to share all the shocking information that appeared in this article. Some of the torture methods are beyond description. Nevertheless, I decided to translate the article and comment on some of its parts, not to minimize what happened at Abu Ghraib, but to underline the fact that some of our print and broadcast media have lost their balance, and therefore forfeited all credibility. So, here are excerpts from the article written by an Arab columnist for an Arab readership.

We have all been talking about the human rights violations that took place at Abu Ghraib Prison. Unquestionably, those American jailors were ugly and very repulsive by any human standards, in their treatments of the prisoners. But what about the human rights violations that have occurred in Arab prisons, and have been perpetrated by Arab hands?
I am holding in my hands a summary of the First Yearly Report for 2005, regarding conditions at the prisons and the treatment of prisoners in nine Arab countries. It was published by the Organization for the Reform of Criminal Law. The main points of the Report were printed in Al-Watan newspaper of Saturday, 11 March 2006.

At this point I would like to warn the reader to take a deep breath, and sit calmly as he, or she, reads the Report. I have purposely censored certain terrible descriptions that appeared in the Arabic original text. The report highlights the fact that the Arab World has become a place of expertise in the various means of torture. Here are some of the methods used to torture prisoners: ‘beating them with canes or cables in various areas of the body; placing a prisoner inside a rubber tire so that he becomes unable to move while he is being tortured. Not to forget the use of electric shocks, and the so-called ‘German chair’ for torture. In this horrible method a prisoner is placed on a moving iron chair that causes unbearable pressure on his back-bone, resulting in partial and temporary paralysis, and sometimes permanent. One should not forget to mention the resort to burning prisoners with cigarettes, and torturing them in water!’

The columnist concluded his comments on the Report: According to the report, the Organization for the Reform of Criminal Law aims at bringing about a reformation in the legislative structures and penal laws of the Arab world, protecting and defending human rights by building bridges of cooperation between the ORCL and the local branches in every Arab country. Its goal is to bring about a complete change in the concept of penal philosophy that would be in harmony with the dignity of human beings in accordance with International Law.
Taking account of the report of this young Arab organization, and accepting the veracity of its findings, we may conclude that the inhuman conditions as described in its report, would result in exacerbating the violence that grips the Arab world. Such prisons cannot but breed souls that, upon their release, are filled with feelings of hatred, victimhood, and desire to inflict vengeance upon society. Rather than becoming instruments for the reformation of their inmates, these prisons engender souls that are bent on committing more crimes.

How I wish the above article could have appeared on the pages of such dailies as the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and the Chicago Tribune; as well as being read by the men and women at NPR and PBS in their daily accounts of world news!

What added credibility to the shocking revelations of the article about the Human Rights Abuses in Arab Prisons were several responses that were published in the daily. The vast majority agreed with the columnist. Here are some examples:

From Egypt came this Email. The writer related a fable to underscore his conviction that those who torture prisoners will receive a terrible punishment in the hereafter:
A woman ended up in Hell because she had imprisoned her cat. If that was the punishment of a person who had maltreated an animal, what would be the punishment of those who torture their fellow-human beings?

An Arab living in Turkey wrote:
The Arab media have been preoccupied with the beatings that took place at Abu Ghraib; but they have forgotten, or purposely neglected those tortured in Arab prisons, as well as the mass graves of Saddam Hussein, and those of other Arab regimes. The media did that to cause the Arab street to forget their real problems.

An Iraqi having found refuge in Monte Carlo wrote on the 13th of March the following:
Iraqis have experienced various means of torture. As an Iraqi, let me share my experiences for the welfare of my Arab brothers. We have experienced horrific torture in Saddam’s jails. It is not even possible to compare them with conditions at Abu Ghraib. In all honesty I must say that American and British prisons [in Iraq ] are more humane than those existing in Arab lands. Arab prison guards know nothing but a culture of inhuman treatment and the torture of their prisoners.

The article in Al-Sharq al-Awsat and the comments of some of its readers, revealed how necessary it is for a truly responsible media in the West to focus their attention on such subjects as the “Human Rights Abuses in Arab Prisons” rather than endlessly resurrecting those abuses that took place in Baghdad. After all, these were temporary, while those going on right now (at least in nine Arab countries) are very real and under-reported!

Three Cheers for Canada!

2006-03-17T12:32:00.000-08:00

To discover why the cheering we recommend that you take a look at David Warren's article "Hail the chief", posted March 15th on his website: www.davidwarrenonline.com

More Denials of "The Clash"

2006-03-11T09:10:00.000-08:00

By Jacob Thomas

On Sunday, March 5, 2006, the In Depth Program on C-Span2 aired a 3-hour interview and call-in show with Francis Fukuyama. It was a very riveting television show that acquainted us with the titles of the literary works of the professor, such as The End of History and the Last Man (Free Press, 1992), and America at the Crossroads: Democracy, Power, and the Neoconservative Legacy (Yale University Press, March 2006).

It is not my intention to comment on the entire program as it ranged over a variety of subjects. My specific concern is Fukuyama’s views of world history, and his thoughts on Islam.

One of his early statements that caught my attention posited equivalence between Islam and Christianity. As far as I recall, he said something like this: “Seventy years ago, the Christian West had Nazi ideology, while at the same time the Muslim world was more tolerant.”

When asked about his view of Samuel Huntington’s The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order (1996,) it became quite apparent that he held an opposite view, even when it had to do with the “clash” between Islam and the West.

It was extremely unfortunate that the professor, whose fame has become global, (his End of History has been translated into many languages including Arabic,) juxtaposed the Christian West with Nazi ideology. Adolph Hitler did not base his National Socialism on the Christian tradition. He persecuted all Christians who criticized his policies. How can we ever forget the heroism of Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “whose efforts to help a group of Jews escape to Switzerland were what first led to his arrest and imprisonment in 1943? He was hanged in the concentration camp at Flossenbürg on April 9, 1945, one of four members of his immediate family to die at the hands of the Nazi regime for their participation in the small Protestant resistance movement.”*

Professor Fukuyama grew up in a pastor’s home, as his father was a minister in the United Church of Christ. In the interview, he said that his father’s theology was liberal. He did not consider himself to be a “practicing Christian.”

Unfortunately, Fukuyama, who said a good deal about Islam and the Middle East, did not evidence a proper knowledge of the history of Islam and its civilization. And yet he persisted in denying “the clash” between Islam and the West, because to acknowledge it would go against his basic philosophical commitment. He must have forgotten the utterly different ways in which Christianity and Islam spread in the world. Nothing in the history of the Church compares with the futuhat (conquests) of Islam in Asia, Africa, and Europe. They began in 632 A.D., first under Arab auspices, and later on, under the leadership of the Ottoman Turks, and continued for centuries.

A basic knowledge of European history would inform us that merely twelve years after the beginning of the Protestant Reformation (1517,) the Turks laid their first siege of Vienna. It was Islam that attacked the West, and not vice versa. And even though Western colonialism dominated most of the Muslim world for some centuries, yet it was neither a total domination, nor a final colonization of that world. On the other hand, most of the lands conquered by Islam have remained under their domination to this very day. It is too bad that a professor, who teaches at the prestigious Johns Hopkins University, does not give any attention to the brute facts of history! However, as Roger Kimball reminded us when commenting on “The End of History”:

We have Fukuyama the philosopher, impressively erudite, deeply committed to a neo-Hegelian view of the historical process. This Fukuyama seems to put greater stock in ideas than facts (indeed, one suspects that he would scorn the distinction between ideas and facts as an artificial construct). [Emphasis is mine JT]

Like most world-explaining constructions invented by humanity, Hegel’s dialectic acts as catnip on susceptible souls. Once one is seduced, everything seems marvelously clear and, above all, necessary: all important questions have been answered beforehand and the only real task is to apply the method to clean up the untoward messiness of reality. It is very exciting. “All of the really big questions,” as Fukuyama puts it in his preface, “had been settled.” But the problem with such constructs is that they insulate their adherents from empirical reality: since everything unfolds “necessarily” according to a preordained plan, nothing that merely happens in the world can alter the itinerary.
One of the most serious moral problems with the idea of the End of History is that it implacably transforms everything outside the purview of the theory into a historical “accident” or exception, draining it of moral significance. Hegel’s system tells us what has to happen; what actually does happen turns out not to matter much. Fukuyama admits that “we have no guarantees” that the future will not produce more Hitlers or Pol Pots. **

I turn now to Monsieur le President Jacques Chirac. During his recent visit to Saudi Arabia, he stated: “We must stop all those who fabricate the Clash of the Ignorant” The headline in the online daily Al-Sharq al-Awsat of March 6 proclaimed, “The first Western leader addresses Majlis al-Shura [the newly-organized Saudi approximation to a Parliament]. Chirac declared that France and Saudi Arabia must work together in the war against Irhab (terrorism) and extremism. He went on to say that both countries must stop all those who would create the ‘Clash of the ignorant’ [!] that some call the ‘Clash of civilizations.’”

What a pity that the President of France, having recently experienced some by-products of the Clash, joined in the chorus of its deniers! Has he forgotten one of the earliest pieces of French literature (le Chanson de Roland) that describes the death of Roland, as he fought the Saracens who were attacking France across the Pyrenees?

Finally I am indebted to Martin Kramer’s description of the continued attempts to persist in the denial of the Clash. On Wednesday, March 08, 2006, he wrote:

The West (and Israel) have mocked the prophet—not Muhammad, but Samuel Huntington, author of The Clash of Civilizations. Our elites have spent a decade denying the truth at the core of his thesis: that the Islamic world and the West are bound to collide. Even now, we glibly predict that possession of political power and nuclear weapons will make Islamists act predictably. It all makes perfect sense—to us. But the cartoon affair and the Hamas elections are timely reminders that our perfect sense isn't theirs.

Fortunately, it isn't too late. There is a clash of civilizations, but there isn't yet a war of the worlds. "You do not have God," they say. "God is with us." That is their prayer. But they lack power, resources and weapons. Today they burn flags; a united West can still deny them the means to burn more. It can do so if it acts swiftly and resolutely, to keep nuclear fire out of Iran's hands, and to assure that Hamas fails. ***

The more the denials of the Clash persist, the more it becomes evident that they are not based on a realistic reading of the history of the last 1400 years. They are either politically motivated or springing from philosophical positions that ignore the real world. But a realistic reading of the authoritative texts of Islam: Qur’an, Hadith, and the Sirats of the Prophet, coupled with an experiential knowledge of contemporaneous Islamic history, would make us fully aware of the Clash. What a pity, that so many Western “experts” and “pundits,” keep telling us that it doesn’t exist, or that it is simply a Clash of the Ignorant!

*http://www.dbonhoeffer.org/node/3
**http://www.newcriterion.com/archive/10/feb92/fukuyama.htm
***http://www.geocities.com/martinkramerorg/2006_03_08.htm

Christianity in Northern Cyprus Obliterated

2006-03-09T09:00:00.000-08:00

http://www.chiesa.espressonline.it/printDettaglio.jsp?id=46544&eng=y

In the northern part of the island, occupied by Turkey, the churches have become stables or mosques. The diary of a trip beyond the wall

By Sandro Magister

ROMA, March 9 2006 – The island of Cyprus was the first destination of the “special mission” that the Holy Spirit entrusted to Paul and Barnabas, according to what is written in the Acts of the Apostles, in chapter 13. On the island they found a Roman governor, Sergius Paulus, “an intelligent man who wanted to hear the word of God and believed, deeply shaken by the teaching of the Lord.”

But if Paul and Barnabas were to return to Cyprus today, to the northern part of the island, they would find not the Romans as governors, but the Turks. And instead of a Christianity being born, they would find a dying Christianity, with the churches and monasteries in ruin, or else transformed into stables, hotels, and mosques.

This is documented in a startling report from Luigi Geninazzi, who was sent to Cyprus by “Avvenire,” the newspaper of the Italian bishops’ conference. Cyprus became part of the European Union on May 1, 2004. But this was true only for the southern part of the island, which is Greek and Christian. The northern part was occupied by Turkey in 1974, with 40,000 soldiers. The Turkish occupation caused death, destruction, and a forced relocation of populations. About 200,000 Greek Cypriots of the Christian Orthodox faith who lived in the north of the island fled to the south. And likewise, the Turkish Cypriots of the south, Muslims, moved to the north.

In 1983 Turkey consolidated the occupation by creating a Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is internationally recognized only by the government of Ankara: 180,000 persons live there, 100,000 of whom are colonists originally from Anatolia.

A wall guarded by the blue helmets of the United Nations divides the two parts of the island and cuts through the capital, Nicosia. In April of 2004, the UN placed before a referendum a plan of confederation between the two states, but this was rejected by the Greek Cypriots of the south, who are four times as numerous as the Turkish Cypriots of the north. The Islamization of the north of the island has been concretized in the destruction of all that was Christian. Yannis Eliades, director of the Byzantine Museum of Nicosia, calculates that 25,000 icons have disappeared from the churches in the zone occupied by the Turks.

For a Turkey that aspires to enter the European Union, its actions in the north of Cyprus give a terrible impression of itself. And what it has done in destroying the Christian presence begun by Paul and Barnabas is described in the report that follows, published in “Avvenire” on Sunday, February 26:

"They did not even spare the stone altar..."

By Luigi Geninazzi

Europe ends here, in the most beautiful island of the Mediterranean, torn by a wall that splits it in two. Europe ends abruptly along a barrier of barbed wire, cement, and military turrets that splits Cyprus along its entire width and divides Nicosia, a capital wounded in its ancient heart.
For the UN, which guards over it with its blue helmets, it is the “green line.” But here the people continue to call it the “Attila line,” from the name that the Turks gave to the invasion.

The scourge has left its marks. It has struck Cyprus, the site of the most ancient Christian community on European soil, in its artistic, cultural, and religious treasury: stupendous Byzantine and Romanesque churches, imposing monasteries, mosaics and frescoes of inestimable value. It is a heritage that in the northern part of the island, under Turkish occupation, has been sacked, violated, and destroyed.

To realize this it is enough to cross the “Attila line” at the checkpoint of Nicosia, and there you are in the so-called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which greets the visitor with a large banner on which is written a topsy-turvy welcome: “How happy I am to be a Turk!” (a famous phrase of Kemal Ataturk). The nationalist pride of the descendents of the Ottoman Empire has also modified the natural countryside, carving the crescent moon and the red star on the side of the Pentadattilos Mountains, which dominate the wide plains.

The Turkish flag billows on the façade of the church of Agia Paraskevi, in the once Greek Orthodox village of Angastina. A sign says that work is underway to transform it into a mosque. The bell tower, which no longer bears a cross, is a strange minaret with the loudspeaker of the muezzin fixed upon an archway.

Christodoulos, the young archeologist accompanying me, is visibly shaken: “I was baptized here,” he says in a voice hoarse with emotion. He is one of the 200,000 Greek Cypriot refugees who, thirty years ago, lived in the north of the island and were chased out of their homes.
Christodoulos kneels on the spot where he was once baptized and lights a candle. The Turkish construction workers, squatting in front of the apse for their lunch break, look at him curiously: “Every time I come back to this area, it’s always worse,” he sighs.

We stop at Trachoni, where a jewel of the Renaissance once stood, the church of the Panagia, Our Lady. Now only the walls are left; the interior bears the signs of vandalism that has not spared even the stone altar, the pieces of which have ended up in a hole dug recently to search for who knows what treasure.

Ours is a sad pilgrimage that at every stop adds to one’s outrage and disbelief, a via dolorosa that retraces the places of Christian memory at risk of disappearing. At the village of Peristerona, on the road to Famagosta, the medieval monastery of Saint Anastasia (see photo) is being used as a stable, with the cows chewing their cud amid what remains of the ancient cells. The tombs of the cemetery have been profaned, and the gravestones broken.

We leave the countryside behind and go to the coast. Here many of the churches have been turned into restaurants, bars, and nightclubs, for the enjoyment of the tourists. At the top of the rock of Lapethos, which juts out over the sea, the church and convent of Agia Anastasia have become a sumptuous hotel with a swimming pool dug into the cloister, and a casino under the bell tower.

Almost the entire artistic patrimony of the Orthodox Church in the territory occupied by the Turks – 520 buildings between churches, chapels, and monasteries – has been sacked, demolished, or disfigured. Only three churches and one monastery, the monastery of Saint Barnabas, which has been turned into a museum, are in a more or less dignified state.

“The ruin is before our eyes, but the European Union prefers to look the other way,” the Cypriot foreign minister, George Iacovou, bitterly tells us. “The only hope is that, in the course of negotiations for Turkey’s adhesion to the EU, someone might pull out the dossier of shame.”
The Byzantine Academy of Nicosia has gathered detailed and meticulous documentation on the occupied churches in Cyprus. And for two years an attempt has been made at religious dialogue, with the support of the Orthodox bishop Nikiforos of the historic monastery of Kykko: “We have met with the Muslim leaders headed by Lefka, and I told them that respect for our places of worship is the basis for cooperation.” Nikiforos is moderately optimistic: “I encountered a lot of understanding. Errors have been made on both sides; we must overcome the divisions of the past and walk together.”

But the last word belongs to the politicians. Huseyn Ozel, a government spokesman for the so-called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, displays great cordiality with the foreign journalist. The destroyed and sacked churches? “There was a war, and bad things happened on both sides,” he explains. I point out to him that most of the mosques in Greek Cypriot territory have been restored, while his government has authorized the transformation of churches into restaurants and hotels, an insult to the sentiment of believers. “They did this to keep the buildings from falling into ruin, and anyway, these are decisions made by the preceding government, which I do not share,” Ozel counters.

I insist: what do you have to say about the churches that, still today, are being turned into mosques? The Turkish Cypriot functionary spreads his arms wide: “It is an Ottoman custom...”
It is a tradition that, unfortunately, continues. An unsettling calling card for a Turkey that aspires to enter the European club.

The Greek Orthodox bishop: "Europe, intervene!"

An interview with Chrisostomos Englistriota

In Cyprus, the head of the Church has always been an ethnarch, too, a leader of the people. This directly political role was exercised by the famous archbishop Makarios, the charismatic leader of the rebellion against the English domination during the 1950’s, and the first president of the independent republic of Cyprus.

“Our Church doesn’t practice politics anymore, but its authority has not diminished,” recalls the bishop of Paphos, Chrisostomos Englistriota. Since His Beatitude Chrisostomos I was struck by a grave illness, the bishop of Paphos has carried out his functions as leader of the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church on the island.

Q: Your Excellency, Cyprus remains divided. Can the Greek Orthodox Church foster dialogue between the parties?

A: “It is a situation that saddens us deeply, the result of a completely illegal military occupation. A true dialogue is impossible, because the Turkish Cypriots do not enjoy any autonomy; the last word belongs to the government of Ankara.”

Q: Are there contacts among the religious exponents?

A: “Some of our bishops have met with the leaders of the Turkish Cypriot Islamic community. It’s important to us to have good relations with them, but then when it comes time to discuss concrete matters, like the problem of the sacking and profanation of our churches, they don’t know what to say, they refer everything to the political authorities.”

Q: Have you tried to raise the question in international circles?

A: “Yes, of course. We have repeatedly turned to the European Union to ask for their intervention. The last time was in the autumn of 2004, after Cyprus entered the EU.”

Q: The results?

A: “Nothing so far. My personal conviction is that the European governments should exert pressure on Turkey, above all in this phase of the opening of negotiations for the entry of Ankara into the Union. But they don’t want to take advantage of this opportunity. And so the more time passes, the more our sacred places in the northern part of Cyprus are falling into ruin. The Turks want to destroy every trace of Hellenism and of Christianity. Only strong international pressure can stop them.”
__________

The newspaper of the Italian bishops’ conference in which the report and the interview were published on February 26: “Avvenire”
English translation by Matthew Sherry: traduttore@hotmail.com
For the latest articles go to the English home page: www.chiesa.espressonline.it
Sandro Magister’s e-mail address is s.magister@espressoedit.it

Western Columnists need to do better Homework

2006-03-04T09:20:00.000-08:00

By Jacob Thomas

I am prompted to write on this topic after reading an editorial in The Wall Street Journal of February 11, 2006, “Clash of Civilization: The dictators behind those Muslim cartoon protests.” The article began with comments on the violent riots that were going on in the Muslim world over the cartoons that had portrayed Muhammad in a Danish newspaper.

First, I begin with some very worthwhile quotes:

“The Western philosophical tradition is founded on the belief that the execution of Socrates for blaspheming the gods of Athens was an injustice. When British Muslims carry placards reading "Butcher those who mock Islam," they are making their differences with that tradition depressingly plain.
“Yet mass demonstrations almost never represent mainstream public sentiment in the West. Why then should we take it as given that they do among Muslims? Every society has its silent majorities, but it’s only in democracies that those majorities exercise a decisive influence. If Islamic societies seem premodern and violent, this surely has something to do with the fact that most Muslim countries today are places where there is no democracy; where silent majorities stay silent; where, to adapt W.H. Auden, ‘only the man behind the rifle has free speech.’
“Put simply, what we have witnessed isn't the proverbial rage of the Arab street. It's an orchestrated effort by illiberal regimes, colluding with fundamentalist clerics, to conjure the illusion of Muslim rage for their own political purposes. The Iranian mullahs seek to discredit Denmark as it assumes the rotating presidency of the U.N. Security Council, where Iran's nuclear program is being discussed. The secular Allawite regime in Syria wants to shore up its ties with the Sunni religious establishment, especially now that Bashar Assad's former vice president has declared a government in exile. The Saudis want to put behind them the latest stampede at the annual Hajj, where some 350 pilgrims were killed.
“There’s a lesson in this for those who would have us believe that what this cartoon conflagration represents is a conflict of civilizations. There is a conflict all right, not between civilizations, but within one, and it pits those who would make Islam barbaric and those who would keep it civilized. In that struggle, the heirs of Socrates and the heirs of al-Farabi must make common cause.”

This closing paragraph ignored the undeniable historical fact that a clash between Islam and the Western world, has been going on for the last 1400 years. An almost monotonous denial of this subject has increased ever since the publication in 1966, of Samuel P. Huntington’s The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of Word Order. However, ignoring or simply wishing it away does not make it disappear.

Thus, two weeks after reading the WSJ editorial, I noticed in the Kuwaiti online journal, Tanweer (Enlightenment), an article about the late Egyptian Islamist, Sayyed Qutb and his contribution to the intensity of the clash between Islam and the West! So when an informed Arab source acknowledges this historical fact, why not recognize it!?

I would like to remind Western columnists that of all the major world’s religions, Islam has always been, and is still, far more than a religion. One may conjecture that had its founder’s mission been accepted in Mecca, Islam may have remained a purely local Arabian religion. But the Hijra (Migration) to Mecca in 622 A.D., gave Muhammad an opportunity to become the founder and legislator of a new Commonwealth, the Umma of Islam. After his death in 632, his successors, the Caliphs launched the futuhat, the conquests of the world, impelled by a firm belief in the divine right of conquest! Thus from the early years of the seventh century, Islamic imperialism continued to expand in three continents: Asia, Africa, and Europe! It was finally checked in Europe at the gates of Vienna in 1683, when the Ottoman Turks failed for the second time, to conquer the capital of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. Thus, to ignore that aspect of the history of Islam, and its fundamental ideology of world conquest, does not help us face the global challenge of jihadism during the twenty-first century.

The closing sentence of the editorial merits some further comments. “In that struggle, (i.e. between “those who would make Islam barbaric and those who would keep it civilized”) the heirs of Socrates and the heirs of al-Farabi must make common cause.” These words imply that there is a similarity or equivalence between the historical journeys of Western and Islamic civilizations. But this is definitely not the case. Whereas Western civilization was formed by the appropriation and assimilation of the Greek philosophical tradition, the Roman law, and the Judeo-Christian heritage; Greek philosophy had only a passing and a minimal impact on Islam. Unfortunately, the heirs of the Muslim philosopher, al-Farabi (870-950 A.D.) have been dormant for almost an entire millennium!

This is not to deny that in the early years of the ninth century A.D., Baghdad became the center of learning, and the cultural life of the Arab-Muslim Umma reached its zenith. There was a great deal of freedom for the airing of various theological and philosophical views. Both Muslim and Christian scholars participated in this movement. The impact of Greek culture was great, but according to Dr. Mahmoud, an Egyptian scholar who wrote a great deal on the subject of Arab-Islamic civilization, “only a small group of intellectual elite felt this impact; the masses in Baghdad, and throughout the vast empire, were not influenced by Hellenism.”

For example, a group of intellectuals known as “Ikhwan al-Safa,” freely discussed in their letters some fundamental theological and philosophical topics. We may regard them as Muslim rationalists who sought to reconcile the tenets of Islam with Greek philosophy. With respect to the dating of the Qur’an, they posited the thesis that it was a historical record of Allah’s revelation. This did not meet with the approval of the great legal scholar, imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal who championed the doctrine that the Qur’an was uncreated, therefore eternal! Several Caliphs who were in power at the time, sided with the rationalists, by persecuting and imprisoning Ibn Hanbal. This event in the history of orthodox Islam is known as the “Ordeal of the Qur’an.” Later on, a new caliph sided with the orthodox view, the Imam was rehabilitated, and his teaching about the eternal nature of the Qur’an has prevailed to this day.
The tenth century A.D. proved to be the age of the “Closing of the Muslim Mind.” The person responsible for that “closing” was Al-Ghazzali (died in 1111 A.D.) This great Muslim thinker represents a powerful reactionary force in the history of Islamic thought. His influence on the Arab-Muslim mind and culture was to freeze them in a mold that led to stagnation. In his book, Ihya’ ‘Uloom al-Deen (The Revival of Religious Knowledge), “Al-Ghazzali defined every utterance a Muslim makes, and every step he must take, in order to guarantee the orthodoxy of his Islam. Everything is spelled out for the Muslim: how to eat, sleep, travel, fellowship with one’s wife and child, etc. No room was left for any spontaneity in the Muslim’s life. Al-Ghazzali closed the door of philosophy on the Muslims and it has remained closed for eight hundred years!” *

There were strong attempts early in the last century to “re-open the door of Ijtihad,” but they have all failed. And here we are, one hundred years later and the heirs of al-Farabi do not seem to be much alive, or of influence in the vast world of Islam. On the contrary, it is the orthodoxy of al-Ghazzali that is marching on. Alas, whenever I notice any attempt of some brave Arab intellectuals to champion the cause of democracy and free speech, the reactionary Salafists** rise up to silence them by warning them of the dire consequences of “kufr” (unbelief) within the Islamic Umma.

So, this is my plea to Western columnists: you owe it to your readers to do better homework when writing on this very complex subject of Islam and the West.
*A quotation from the Arabic text of “The Rational & the Irrational in our Cultural Heritage” by Dr. Zaki Naguib Mahmoud. No specific publication date is mentioned in the book; most likely it belongs to the late 1970s.
**Salafist, an Arabic word based on the root salaf, i.e. ancestors. Salafists are those who champion a total commitment to Islamic orthodoxy as defined by the great teachers of the early years of Islam.

Armenian Genocide and America's Response

2006-02-22T16:04:00.000-08:00

The Burning Tigris, The Armenian Genocide and America’s Response. A History of International Human Rights and Forgotten Heroes by Peter Balakian . 2003 HarperCollins Publishers.

Here is a book which our president and staff, and all of us, need to read. These comments printed on the jacket of the hardback will give you a good idea of its contents:

“Peter Balakian’s The Burning Tigris, is a gripping treatment of the official Turkish mass murder of a whole people, an event that adds its insane horror to the copious disgrace earned by the twentieth century. The book, fully documented with appalling details, is a masterpiece of moral history, and needs to be widely read.” --Paul Fussell, author of The Great War and Modern Memory

“The terrible fate of the Armenians, whose attempted destruction provided a template for the Jewish Holocaust, is brilliantly described, as is the remarkable response of the United States in the face of a humanitarian tragedy of a type that has, unfortunately, been repeated again and again, into our twenty-first century. Peter Balakian has done a great service to the history of the Armenians.” --Sir Martin Gilbert, author of The Righteous: The Unsung Heroes of the Holocaust.

“The Armenian Genocide is a double tragedy; the tragedy of the horrific event itself and the contemporary tragedy of its denial by Turkey. Peter Balakian tells the powerful and largely unknown story of America’s response to both these tragedies. This important and compelling book is long overdue.” --Deborah E. Lipstadt, author of Denying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory.

Comments from the publishers:
“This is the only study of a particular genocide that fully records the motivations of perpetrators, the suffering of victims, and the responses of the outside world. Balakian brillianty integrates all of these dimensions so that they become a single, compelling narrative. This book will be a classic, in terms of what it says about genocide and about the struggle of America—and humanity as a whole—to come to terms with it.”

“During the United States’ ascension in the global arena at the turn of the twentieth century, America’s humanitarian movement for Armenia was an important part of the rising nation’s first epoch of internationalism. Intellectuals, politicians, diplomats, religious leaders, and ordinary citizens came together to try to save the Armenians. The Burning Tigris reconstructs this landmark American cause that was spearheaded by the passionate commitments and commentaries of a remarkable cast of public figures, including Julia War Howe, Clara Barton, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Ambassador Henry Morgenthau, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Alice Stone Blackwell, Stephen Crane and Ezra Pound, as well as courageous missionaries, diplomats and relief workers who recorded their eyewitness accounts and often risked their lives in the killing fields of Armenia.”

21st Century Christians

2006-02-13T11:42:00.000-08:00

Are they really lacking in “sincerity” and to be classified as “liberal”?

Christians (so called) who have converted to Islam are turning up on talk shows, and in video segments which display their devotion to their new religion. They reveal unconsciously that they are totally unaware of both the history of Islam and of its involvement in current affairs. They have been attracted to Islam, the Religion, and are blissfully unaware of the fact that Islam is religion and politics (state) in one indivisible entity. Islam as merely a religion has never really existed.

A talk show host this morning urged a southern convert to describe why she had become a Muslim. She had already told us that she attended a full 12 years in a Roman Catholic school. Finally she blurted that the attraction was that they “were so sincere”. And yes, she did believe it was a religion of Peace!

A video which we discovered recently depicted four Texans who had forsaken their Bible-believing backgrounds to join the ranks of Islam in America. The main character, a young man who was on track to be a Baptist minister, declared with glee that “Islam was everything he wished Christianity had been.” He was so devoted to his new faith that he had not missed one of the five daily prayer times, no matter what his circumstances. He was the perfect advertisement of a satisfied customer. He stated that Christianity was just too liberal.

A young lady also featured in the video and graduate of Christian schools, displayed her fanatical devotion by being hyper covered from head to toe with the required Islamic dress for women. You felt that she was hypnotized by the “dress-up” part of her new life. She was an eager recruiter. How strange that just when the nuns of the Roman Catholic church have laid aside most of their distinctive dress, you see young American girls delighted to comply with the dress-up part of Islam.

Perhaps these two descriptions, ”liberalism” which could also be called secularism, and lack of sincerity, would make for good discussion in Bible Study groups. Is there any way we can improve our image?

The Apostle Paul in the 12th chapter of Romans, seemed to have anticipated these two classifications when he wrote:

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

This beautiful chapter describes perfectly what it ought to mean to be a Christian. “Love must be sincere”. Read the entire chapter and see how you score!

Shirley W. Madany

Contents of newly available Arabic CD

2006-01-31T19:30:00.000-08:00

Arabic Bible Outreach Ministry has produced a CD in Arabic with remarkable contents. This is how they describe it: “Pastor Bassam Madany is one of the pioneers in the Christian radio ministry to the Arab world (1958 to 1994). He and his wife, Shirley, served the Lord faithfully through this ministry for 36 years, reaching many with the gospel. His zeal and experience with this unique mission field are invaluable. Our CD contains 125 of his sermons in audio, and 12 Bible commentaries (all by Pastor Madany), as well as the entire Arabic Bible in PDF, several inspirational hymns, and a selection of video clips on the Person of Christ.”

The twelve books in Arabic, to be found on this CD, are as follows:

MESSAGES FROM PRISON A study in the book of Ephesians

ROMANS An in-depth exposition of Paul’s epistle to the Romans

THE BIBLICAL DOCTRINE OF THE ATONEMENT—a study of Old and New Testament teachings on the Atonement, with emphasis on the fulfillment of Old Testament prophesies in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

FAMILY WORSHIP—a devotional for the whole year with one subject studied each month. An appendix to this book includes the texts of the Ten Commandments, the Lord’s Prayer, Psalm 51, and the Nicene Creed.

SERMONS – A selection of sermons drawn from daily broadcasts.

REFLECTIONS IN CONTEMPORARY LIFE, PART I. This was a four volume set popular in university circles, both in the Arab World and in Europe. Muslims were concerned about Marxism, Existentialism, and Western Secularism, but found themselves unable to cope with these modern idolatries. This kind of study not only analyzes such topics but also gives a thoroughly Biblical answer.

TEACHINGS OF THE HOLY BIBLE—a book dealing with the fundamental teachings of Holy Scripture, as they relate to Christ and the believer’s walk with Him. Thoroughly Arabized in style, the major themes of the Bible are dealt with and supported by entire passages of Scripture which show their relevance to the life of 21st century man.

HEBREWS A commentary focusing on the themes in the Epistle to the Hebrews.

MESSAGES ON JOB A study in the Book of Job .

CHURCH HISTORY—A series of lessons in the history of the church during its early years.

THE OBEDIENCE OF FAITH—Features 13 messages dealing with the teachings of the Gospel according to Luke

GALATIANS –Freedom in Christ. The subject of freedom is universal. While most countries have achieved political freedom, every person still faces the basic question—how can I be truly free, not only from outside oppression but also from my own fears and perplexities? The gospel’s answer is clearly found in Paul’s letter to the Galatians. One is truly free when he believes in Christ.

Enquire at:

Available Resources

2006-01-07T12:49:00.000-08:00

When we started “Middle East Resources” as a retirement ministry in 1994, we considered the contents of our website www.levant.info to be our major contribution and “resource”. The Bible and Islam by Rev. Bassam M. Madany is available on that website and print copies are still in demand after more than 20 years and numerous reprintings. ($7.50) It is excellent as a study guide for church groups.

We have two new items we would like to promote:

Muslims Meeting Christ, by Shirley W. Madany. Published in July 2005 ($10.00)
It is a joyful book based on some of the responses to our daily Arabic broadcast, Saatu'l Islah. Comments from an elderly Christian scholar and friend were an encouragement: "I read your book with tears in my eyes. Thank you for writing it." You will thrill to the testimonies of young and old, from Morocco to Iraq, as they tell of their love for Jesus.

And:

A CD produced by Arabic Bible Outreach Ministry, contains 12 of Rev. Madany's Arabic books published during his radio ministry. The CD also contains a quantity of actual Saatu’l Islah broadcasts (audio), the entire Arabic Bible in PDF, a section of Arabic Hymns and Video Clips of relevant Christian topics. Our colleague at www.arabicbible.com/ said this about the marketing: “This CD is an appreciation of your labor of love - do with it as you see fit. It is for wide distribution and it is free of charge. The Lord will take care of our finances - the goal is to press on and get these materials into the hands of Arabic-speaking people.”

We can hardly believe this continuation of our radio ministry and its potential! We are delighted to see the beautiful format of the books which have been keyed in, rather than being scanned. The technicians have done a marvelous job. The broadcasts are as clear as if they were recorded yesterday.

All praise be to God for the vision and tremendous amount of work which went into this attractive production.

Please write to mer@levant.info if you want to order any of these three items.

Immunity

2005-12-28T08:03:00.000-08:00

by Shirley W. Madany

When it comes to robust health and communicable diseases we have made great strides. Young families are no longer faced with the threat of measles, chicken pox, mumps and polio, or the dreaded small pox. We are insistent on the use of immunization at an early age. Flu epidemics may still make inroads on school populations but the elderly are encouraged and offered suitable “shots” each fall to ward off whatever ‘flu virus may be expected. Good health is guarded by careful preventative measures. But how much thought do we give to building up our spiritual immunity against false doctrine, apathy or false religions? Right away the newly sensitive American would exclaim that such concepts are definitely not appropriate for a good American. Tolerance, in the form of excessive political correctness, has made us hesitant to have any strong dogmatic viewpoints.

We have a classic example in history of a once-thriving Christian population that completely disappeared. This was the community in North Africa that produced the church father, Augustine. The epidemic that destroyed every vestige of Christianity, was not biological, but spiritual. Church historians diagnose that quite probably the Christians in that region were in a weakened state, from heresies and from the battering they had received at the hands of the Vandals. When Islam in its infancy swept relentlessly across those desert lands, it met with little resistance. One after another, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco became Islamic countries. And the wave did not stop until Islam dominated all of Spain.

As we look around us today we would have to be blind not to read the signs of the times in the sad decline of Christianity in both Western Europe and the United Kingdom. And at the same time we are becoming more and more aware of the vigor of the new immigrants who are settling firmly in all these lands. It is no coincidence that they are from neighboring Islamic countries. And it is obvious they have a definite agenda—to promote the spread of Islam. Spain and France have predominantly North African workers coming from across the Mediterranean. Germany has a very large Turkish population. Britain has a mixture of Muslims from her former colonies, with a large number being Pakistanis.

Splendid cathedrals and humble churches are witnessing a decline in attendance. Writers tell us that we have entered a “post-Christian” era. Christianity that once flourished in Tunisia is now relegated to archeological ruins and museums. Are we going to witness the same thing happening again? Will more and more churches be turned into mosques?

These are challenging times for Christian families. How can we survive spiritually once we are weakened by our pagan environment? Certainly that is a legitimate way to describe our secular world. Television and Internet bring unwelcome people, situations and events into Christian homes. Movies have progressed (or regressed) to being art forms guided by philosophies, which play a part in the breakdown of Christian life. Permissive lifestyles are making themselves more and more “acceptable”. It is indeed difficult to maintain a healthy Christian walk through life.

There is a hymn that was popular in the 1950’s but is seldom heard any more. “We’ve a story to tell to the nations,..a song to be sung…a message to give….a Saviour to show—to the nations.” The chorus ends “And Christ’s great kingdom shall come on earth, the kingdom of love and light.” How can we regain this vigor? That seems to be the question. We have watchmen on the towers, and we have just as much access to the scope of the Internet as the Muslims do, but we seem to be lacking direction and leadership.

Have you ever heard of the III&E? It stands for “The Institute of Islamic Information and Education”, operating out of Chicago, IL. Quoting from material received in 1994 we read: “The III&E has only one goal, that is, to educate the American people about Islam and Muslims and do it fast.” Some of their goals: “To remove the mis-information, mis-understanding, mis-perception, and mis-apprehensions about Islam and Muslims in American textbooks, media and the minds of the North American people.” Considering the 2-½ hour PBS special, “Islam: Empire of Faith” which is being frequently rerun and which shows a glorious Islam with its bad parts glossed over; and now an alarming new textbook, which must go beyond their wildest aspirations, one has to admire their achievement of so many goals within 8 years time.

Daniel Pipes, (http://www.danielpipes.org/) one of the most prolific writers on the Internet, has the clearest and most relevant response to daily events. He has brought everyone’s attention, on February 11th, to something that has been bothering Christian parents greatly, who have children in Grade 7 Public Schools and who are using a new Houghton Mifflin text book called “Across the Centuries.” It would appear that as part of their studies the children are being given an in depth introduction to the religion of Islam. They are urged to “think like a Muslim.” Now, if they had sufficient immunity that would be a good thing, but what accentuates our problem is our blissful apathy and lack of knowledge about this mammoth religion. Thousands of people
may not even be aware that it is a threat to our very way of life.

But back to Grade 7 and that new textbook. Students are learning about an Islam that is described in glowing terms. They are given assignments which may lead them to write about going to Mecca on the hadj – to write about what countries they would have to travel through, etc. Or another assignment was to write a journal as if you were a Muslim soldier on your way to conquer Syria (one of the first countries into which Islam expanded). The textbook endorses the key articles of the Islamic faith—can you imagine Christianity being given such an opening? It is becoming more and more obvious that people in areas of leadership are hesitant to even use the words Jesus Christ.

Now back to a declaration printed by the III&E in February 1994. You can quickly find this organization on the Internet. Reading from their web pages you will have to agree that they are progressing well in their aims. Other goals were “to take the message of Islam to the entire North American population by the year 2012, to educate and train new Muslims and help them to integrate into the Muslim community at large, to recruit and train manpower to carry out the above task, and to raise money and necessary material resources to complete the above task.” Already we see this powerful religion being put on an equal footing with Christianity and Judaism. In actual fact, we see Islam being given a preferred spot.

Islam is on the march. World conquest is a natural part of the Islamic thrust. Already it is the third religion in many European countries. In France it is the second. Mosques and cultural centers are appearing at an alarming rate. Not everyone realizes that in Islam the mosque is not just another word for church. With Islam state and religion are one.

In spite of, or because of, the tragedy of September 11th, the Muslims are proclaiming loudly that they are seeing an increasing number of Americans converting to Islam. These converts are finding the legalistic approach to life attractive. They see also a devotion and daring which is sadly absent from the average Christian community. Another challenge for us. Certainly our young people should learn more about Islam but not through the role-playing suggested by that particular textbook.

In fact, we all need to be prepared to answer for our faith. Empty churches are just the first ominous sign. For our own immunity the most important step will be our determination to seek the Lord for strength to live consistent Christian lives. How we need to “put on the whole armor of God!” When a church loses its zeal for the truth, the signs of weakening show first in the lives of its people. What must a Muslim immigrant think of our nations’s Christianity? Our lives have to exhibit an obedience to the Word of God and His commands. We will have to take a stand against all the ways in which the pagan world batters at our family’s door. Our actions should demonstrate a deep reverence for God and a desire for sanctification. It is possible, with the help of God; to live healthy Christian lives in the midst of a sick society.

More from The Mesopotamian blog site

2005-12-16T11:42:00.000-08:00

December 15, 2005

Today was a tremendous moment of our history, a turning point and a real milestone. Say what you like; things are not perfect; there are countless problems; the “insurgency” is not going to disappear; the reconstruction effort is in shambles; there is corruption and thieving everywhere; errors and mistakes in everything. Yet despite all that, the political process is proceeding like a dream and the tree of freedom is taking roots, and that tree will continue to grow and grow and grow. The Iraqis are again confounding all the "pundits" and "experts". But some just cannot understand the true soul of a people. That this most profound revolution initiated by an act of liberation, by the daring praxis of the Americans, driven by some mysterious hand of the Providence, has touched the innermost womb of a nation, and that the present agonies of this nation are those of giving birth and new life. Oh no, that they cannot understand.

Well then, let them witness surprise after nasty surprise that will confound their logic and demolish their arguments. But the word mongers will always find something to say, as wild dogs are always wont to bark all the more hysterically as they are irked.The word of truth has a life of its own; it seems to perpetuate itself and spread in the consciousness and subconscious of peoples and generations like some incurable virus, that may remain dormant for a while but will manifest itself in the most dramatic way sooner or later.

Here is the outspoken view of an Iraqi, regarding the tremendous success of yesterday's election. It needs no further comment.

The St. Francis Internet Magazine

2005-12-15T10:20:00.000-08:00

We would like to introduce you to a new Internet Magazine which we heartily recommend.
You will find it at www.StFrancisMagazine.info. In the current issue you will be able to find 7 new articles--even a complete MA Thesis--on topics that are of interest to anyone with an interest in Christian mission and the Arab world.

The following is what you will find in the December edition:

Challenges for Christian Theology in the Middle East by Dr. Bernhard Reitsma. Dr. Bernhard Reitsma argues that in the context of the Middle East, Christian theologians must be completely at home in the doctrine of Christ and the Trinity. He then treats some of the issues that are involved in this, and he argues for the need for a good pneumatology and a good theology about Israel. Tolle et lege!

Trinity and Christian Missions to Muslims by Rev. Bassam M. Madany. Rev. Bassam M. Madany argues that the doctrine of the Trinity is crucial to the life and health of the church as well as to Christian missions. This doctrine does not stand by itself, but forms an integral part of the Biblical revelation regarding God and His relationship with mankind.

The Jewishness of Jesus: Relevant of Essential? By Dr. Bernhard Reitsma. Dr. Bernhard Reitsma treats the Jewishness of Jesus in his article The Jewishness of Jesus: Relevant or Essential? No mission worker in the Arab World can doubt the importance of this matter and Reitsma's article, written in the context of his own work in Lebanon, is important.

Re-thinking Missions Today: Neo-Evangelical Missiology and the Christian Mission to Islam by Rev. Bassam M. Madany. Rev. Bassam M. Madany is a critic of far-going efforts at contextualization. His article Re-thinking Missions Today: Neo-Evangelical Missiology and the Christian Mission to Islam was written in 1985, but it is as relevant today as it was then. As Madany was the main Christian radio broadcaster from the 1960s to the 1990s, his views are important.

The Cross of Middle Eastern Christians by Daniel Hoffman. This article is written by Daniel Hoffman, the director of Middle East Concern (MEC). It was his Masters Thesis about the human rights situation of Christians in Syria, Libya and Sudan. Can mission workers ignore human rights issues?

Emigration: A Solution for Persecution?By Middle East Concern (MEC) . Middle East Concern (MEC) wrote this paper which argues that emigration is not a solution for converts from Islam, and instead gives three suggestions for how to help new Christians to survive and prosper in the Arab World.

The Missional Church by Don Golden. Don Golden of World Relief wrote The Missional Church. It underlines the need for church and mission to be united. They cannot be separated. Golden's article is worthwhile considering - many missionaries in the Arab World act as if they work isolated from the worldwide church, the historic church, and even from the national churches in the Arab World. This article was first published on http://www.intersectcommunity.com/articles.php. A site full of relevant articles.

The Translation of the Bible

2005-12-11T11:58:00.000-08:00

When proclaiming the Biblical Gospel or teaching the contents of the Word of God to Muslims, one cannot ignore the baggage that Muslims bring to their hearing of the Bible in Arabic, or in any other Islamic language. Needless to mention that Muslims believe in the Qur’an as the final revelation of God to man, that it abrogates previous revelations, and that the Scriptures of the OT & NT have been corrupted prior to the rise of Islam.

The Christian messenger must do his utmost not to add any more difficulties, in his endeavor to bring the saving Word of God to Muslims. This is why, as a matter of principle, I do not favor having many translations of the Bible into Arabic, or any other Islamic language.
Let me be specific. Arabic is a living and changing language. I have personally compiled a list of the new Arabic vocabulary that I had not known or heard prior to 1950. Every time I look at Asharq al-Awsat or Assafir Newspapers, or the digital contents of BBC Arabic, I discover (now in 2005) new Arabic words. But, this does not mean that the language is of such a nature that ‘older’ Arabic cannot be deciphered by contemporary Arabs. Why? Because Arabic is based on the Qur’an. This document plays a very significant role in the life of all-Arabic speaking people, regardless of their religious affiliation. Arabic is tied to the Qur’an much more than English is related to the AV or to Shakespeare. Thus, the necessity for revision is much less needed than in Western languages.

One must always remember that any revision of an existing Arabic Bible is very confusing to Arabic-speaking Muslims. They cannot help but ask: why do you keep revising the Bible? We can and do read and understand the great books that were produced during the revival of Classical Arabic and Arab culture in the 19th Century; so why should the 1865 version of the Arabic Bible need revision?

But even a more serious reason for my refusing to believe in the need for new and newer versions of the Bible in Arabic is theological. I may be here stepping on dangerous grounds. The pioneers who worked on the translation of the Bible in the 19th Century were churchmen, and operated within confessional contexts. They adhered to the early Ecumenical Creeds and to the Reformed Catechisms and Confessions of Faith. They believed that that Reformation was a reforming movement within the Church, and that reformation can be achieved by turning to the Word of God. They had not rejected the Apostolic Tradition. They were not innovators, but reformers.

Part of being Confessionally Protestant (whether Lutheran or Reformed) is to believe that the primary means of grace is the preaching of the Word of God. See Romans 10 and I Corinthians 1 & 2. While emphasizing the importance of the written text of the Bible, the Reformers, and the denominational missionaries after them, believed that missions needed much more than a Bible translation. A.A. Hodge’s book on Systematic Theology was translated, and a great project of OT & NT commentaries was initiated. The Psalter was translated and we sang it in a beautiful Arabic poetic style.

If you would like to read the rest of this article please go to our web site www.levant.info and open up the new category of "Missiology".

Our web site is undergoing some changes which will make it easier to pursue certain subjects like Missiology, Theology, Islamics, etc. >

Posted by SWM

Iraq in 1992

2005-11-22T10:55:00.000-08:00

Letter from an Iraqi Refugee

An unforgettable letter from a northern Iraqi refugee reached us in November 1992 from Stockholm, Sweden: These letters demonstrate movingly how our daily radio broadcast enabled us to minister to people in transit through many countries, from Iraq to Sweden. We were a link with their past when they had listened to us in their home back in Irbil, Iraq..
“I have heard your voice for years—in Iraq, my homeland, then in Iran, next in Jordan and now here in Sweden. I am thrilled to be able to hear you. At last I can ask for and hope to receive all of your books.”
The following February, 1993, we received another longer letter which described and enlarged upon his first rather terse communication:
Dear Rev. Bassam Madany,
Greetings! I have just received your beautiful book, THE TEACHINGS OF THE HOLY BIBLE. I was so happy to get it and express my deep thanks. The books you are sending me are the only means of comfort in this land of refuge. Both my children and their mother are at present far away from me in another land of refuge. This forced separation took place around a year ago. I am now waiting on the Swedish authorities to bring the union of my family. Both my wife and my children are in an extreme need to be reunited with me and to find a better future.
We left our native land in northern Iraq around two years ago, exactly on 31st March, 1991. We were celebrating the first day of Easter. We dressed up for the occasion and went to church in our city of Irbil; I, my wife and three children accompanied by my aged mother and my older sister. We had left at home all the special food of Easter: colored eggs, stuffed chicken and many other of the nice things of our land.
Yes, we left for church at dawn as was our custom, and we never went back home. We were attacked (by Saddam Hussein’s army—this is a Kurdish area) and found ourselves fleeing on foot without food or drink. Finally we made it to Iran after a long march which took eight days over the Kurdistan mountains and valleys with snow and rain falling on us. The Iraqi army was following us with its huge guns and its air power. My story is very, very long. In fact, we experienced what the Lord mentioned in the Gospel:
“Let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak.” Matthew 24: 16-18
We left everything behind, and headed for the mountains. Our faith was strong that we were going to make it, having had communion early in the morning prior to the army’s attack. Would you believe it? They attacked us on that Holy Day in a beastly manner with their tanks, their airplanes and other weapons of destruction.
Please forgive me for these words. I just happened to remember those days and could no longer control my nerves and so had to express myself in this fashion. I will write again.

August 1993: Thanks for the three books you sent me which have become my constant companions. The Lord has listened to my prayers and yours. My family arrived recently from Jordan and they are all well. To God alone be the praise!

For more news about that radio ministry check our website www.levant.info

Posted by Shirley

"The American People" according to Lehrer and Shields

2005-11-16T16:00:00.000-08:00

By Winnifred Thomas

“For more than three decades, Iraq’s life was sheer and limitless terror” Fouad Ajami

“Thus media attention is a whole weapon in itself, and the main one from the view point of this terrorist group, and this subject should be a matter of primary consideration to strategists and planners of the War.” The Mesopotamian blogger.

After years of habitual listening to Jim Lehrer and his news report, one finds oneself weary of Jim’s plaintive and repetitive search for the correct answer from each interviewee, and just about ready to quit the habit. Lehrer’s questions are often phrased this way: “Considering the terrible results, you don’t think that going into Iraq was a mistake?” There is always that surprise and anxiety in the inflections of his voice. He is waiting for the fish to take the bait and then he will reel him in. (He seldom says “don’t you think” – it is rather phrased “you don’t think” as if putting the person on the spot.)

In this past week, Lehrer had both Sen. John McCain and Gen. Peter Pace on his show for in-depth interviews. He tried his best to trip them up.

Meanwhile on Veterans Day we had been fortunate enough to hear our President’s stirring speech to a group of Veterans in Pennsylvania. At last he bluntly attacked his opponents and declared that they could criticize his conduct of the war, that was their right; but he considered their recent attempts to rewrite history to be akin to treason. He pointed out various individual approvals and comments made in both Senate and the House at the time we entered the war with Iraq. Because he made some similar remarks on his way to Asia, a few days later, our biased media declared that the controversy was “escalating!”

John McCain, the Republican senator from Arizona, had just given a speech in Washington on how the United States can, and should win the war in Iraq. Lehrer asked McCain if he “bought” the idea that the invasion and occupation of Iraq has created more terrorists than it destroyed. McCain said that he did not buy that theory. In fact he thought that the war in Iraq was more important than the Vietnam War. The astonished Lehrer echoed his words with horror and surprise in his inflection: “More important than Vietnam. In what way?” McCain then went on to explain the very different enemy.

Lehrer had one more try before letting his victim go: “You know as well as anyone what the opinion polls show about the American people’s feelings about the whole Iraq enterprise at this point. They are down on it, and they are losing support for it. What’s the cause of that? Why don’t they get it, what you just said?”

He got a typical politician’s answer for that. But we could insert our own. What American people is he talking about? What kind of genuine polls are being used? Why hasn’t the media reported all the success and real progress being made in Iraq? If anything is being manipulated, it is our own public opinion and that by a mainline media which cannot be trusted.

One last question to McCain: “Do you believe that the costs thus far in lives and money and prestige …have been worth this going into Iraq?” McCain hedged but did say that if we hadn’t gone in and removed Saddam Hussein, he would have been acquiring all those dreaded weapons and using them on his neighbors, in the same way he used them on his own people. Here came the last plaintive gasp of Jim Lehrer: “So you have no second thoughts at all about the wisdom of going to war?” McCain admitted to lots of second thoughts when a soldier’s life is lost. But he didn’t say we shouldn’t have gone.”

Now for General Peter Pace, the newly appointed Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In this interview you got the crisp straight-forward answers of a life-time Marine. He managed to turn one of the first questions into a mini-lecture to Mr. Lehrer that “I truly believe that we do not want the American public or anybody else watching this broadcast to start counting bodies.” Lehrer was inclined to argue about that, as if the military had been quick to say how many insurgents or army men had been killed. Pace replied: “No. I am saying that anyone who, in the past, has been counting bodies has been presenting the wrong measure of success. The correct measure of success is how much of this country, how much of Iraq is being controlled by coalition forces to include, and most importantly to include the Iraqi armed forces themselves, how much security is being provided and it’s not about death counts. It’s about defining security so that the Iraqi people can live in freedom.”

Lehrer quickly switched to the matter of the insurgency and its strength. Pace replied: “The insurgents fear the fact the Iraqis will be able to pick their own future. So when I say that, no, to your question about how they are getting stronger, I believe they are not because of the elections—because the 64 percent of the Iraqi populous went and voted; because 210,000 Iraqis now serve in their armed forces and their police.”

So Lehrer then asked if it was just a matter of time and Pace replied: “I absolutely believe that, yes.

Every Friday night on PBS stations, there would be a summary of the week’s news dealt with by Mark Shields and David Brooks. We would then have to suffer through the mock indignation of Mr. Shields as he time and time again brought up with strangled voice the dreadful facts of “no WMDs”, Jim, we went in there and they told us untruths. We didn’t find any weapons of mass destruction. We have been deceived. It was all a big lie,” etc., etc., ad infinatum.

How one wishes that these two old friends, Jim and Mark, could be given copies of Kenan Makiyah’s “Republic of Fear” to read. Or that they could develop a taste for the numerous fine articles of Fouad Ajami, who teaches International Relations at Johns Hopkins University. They don’t seem to have a glimmer of feeling for the Iraqi people themselves and for their excitement over the success of both elections. In an article which appeared in the Wall Street Journal on September 28, 2005, Ajami remarked:
“For more than three decades, Iraq’s life was sheer and limitless terror.” He speaks out loud and clear for the Shi-ites in the south and the Kurds in the northern part of Iraq. “An edifice of Arab nationalism built by strange bedfellows—the Sunni political and bureaucratic elites, and the Christian Arab pundits who abetted them in the idle hope they would be spared the wrath of the street and of the mob—was overturned in Iraq.”

He imagines what it would have been like if oil had been located in Sunni provinces.

“They would have disowned both north and south and opted for a smaller world of their own and defended it with the sword. But this was not to be, and their war is the panic of a community that fears that it could be left with a realm of ‘gravel and sand.’”

“The claim that our war in Iraq, after the sacrifices, will have hatched a Shiite theocracy is a smear on the war, a misreading of the Shiite world of Iraq…..The new order shall give them what they want, a place in Iraq’s cultural and moral order, and a decent separation between religion and the compromises of political life.”

Fouad Ajami ends this article, which was called “Heart of Darkness,” with these words:

“It has not been easy, this expedition to Iraq, and for America in Iraq there has been heartbreak aplenty. But we ought to remember the furies that took us there and we ought to be consoled by the thought that the fight is a fight to ward off Arab dangers and troubles that came our way on a clear September morning, four years ago.”

By the way, Dr. Fouad Ajami who was born in Lebanon, and received most of his education in his native land, speaks now as an Arab-American.

If you look up the November 3rd blog from Baghdad, you will get something to think about: http://www.messopotamian.blogspot.com/. Summing up his talk about the media and about Al Jazeera television station in Qatar, our grateful friend says:

“What is paradoxical, is that the regime behind this outlet claims to be the most faithful ally and friend of the U.S. to whom it owes its prosperity and security especially in the face of historical claims by Saudi Arabia, and often makes very friendly gestures towards Israel, and where the biggest American military base is located housing the command of American forces in the entire region (Siliya, Qatar). To western people who do not understand the M.E., this may sound very strange. The answer however is very simple: Sectarian prejudice, i.e. the pathological hatred of the Shiaa sect, which is the majority in only one Arab country, which is Iraq. Indeed, the only Sunnis who are inclined to be more tolerant towards the Shiaa’s are the Iraqi Sunnis, especially in cities, having lived side by side for many centuries. Thus the fury of the Arabs and other Moslems against the Americans is not because they invaded and occupied Iraq, but because as a result of this action and the fall of the Saddam regime, the Shiaas have become liberated and acquired a louder voice. This by the way is also the main factor fanning the “insurrection” and terrorism in Iraq, a fact which is publicly proclaimed by people like Zarqawi. Thus, the development of representative democracy with the Iraqi Sunnis taking their rightful place is the real antidote to these stupid prejudices. This is the hope of all patriotic Iraqis of all sects and the final happy outcome that we are all praying and working for."

How could anyone think it has been a mistake to liberate 26 million people? And who else could have done it? Freedom has always been a costly commodity. We, ourselves, have enjoyed peaceful lives thanks to the sacrifices made in World War II.

I would like to think that there is a strong core of patriotic Americans who aren’t ashamed of their love of country. Every time the media talk about the “American People”in this negative way, I want to say – that’s not the group of people I know.

Thyroid/Lung Cancer: Treatment with Radio Active Iodine I 131

2005-11-11T19:45:00.000-08:00

by Shirley W. Madany

Talking with a nurse at the Cancer Center of Ingalls Hospital, Harvey, IL, where I was having a follow-up visit with the radiation oncologist Dr. Sharkar Sanwalani, we got around to what I thought were possible symptoms earlier in this year (2005). One always looks back to see if there weren’t some signs. She suggested that I write an article for a magazine or our blog site, as it is a subject which interests everyone. I know, myself, that ever since being diagnosed with cancer I have had an avid interest in the entire subject.

After having a CAT Scan because of some irregularities noticed on an X ray, I received a phone call from my doctor the following day. I should see a pulmonologist right away. I got an appointment and we were shown the results. There were visible nodules on both lungs. I should have the more intensive PET Scan right away and a lung biopsy at the hospital the following day. Another sober phone call, again on a Friday. There was no doubt about it. I should find an oncologist and go on from there. It was definitely cancer.

Dr. Mark Kozloff was recommended as oncologist. And that first phone call to make an appointment with him, gave an inkling of a very different kind of doctor. The receptionist said, “Hold on, he’ll want to speak to you”. That was a surprise. His words were a surprise also: “As you have to wait a week to see me, please call if you have any emotional problems during the week.” At our first meeting he explained that he always takes phone call from his patients immediately, so one accepts the inevitable interruption during an appointment, because that is how he operates.

Next I phoned our Pastor to tell him the sober news. I will always remember his words: “Shirley, you know that God is not surprised.” How true. Think about it. From the minute I heard I had cancer I had experienced a remarkable gift of peace. Like most new cancer patients I also had that acute sense of the shortness of life and a wish to tidy up loose ends. I saw my life taking a turn down an unknown and unexpected road, but not for one minute did I think that I had strayed from following Jesus This was all part of God’s will and God’s plan for my life..

Thus began a remarkable summer punctuated with appointments and tests. Sometimes things seemed to be moving too slowly but our doctor son urged patience, because when cancer appears in two locations it is absolutely imperative to locate the “starter”. Once that was finalized the cancer would henceforth go by that name. The lung biopsy gave definite results. The next thing then was an ultra-sound and biopsy of the thyroid.
After carefully studying the two sets of cancer tissues Dr. Mark Kozloff announced “If you have to have cancer, then I have good news for you. You don’t have lung cancer but rather thyroid cancer and that makes you eligible for targeted therapy, Radio Active Iodine!”

Before describing my adventures in the nuclear field of medicine let me go back to those supposed symptoms.

For months I had been extremely bothered by excess phlegm which made me almost lose my voice each evening and caused all kinds of coughing and clearing of the throat in order to answer the phone let alone carry on a conversation. About March a friend noticed that I was “wheezing”. I could feel it and hear it myself. So, I begged my primary care doctor to think of a solution to what I called a “condition”. He recommended that we try allergies first and I did get some relief from the product Zyrtec. However, he wanted me to see a specialist and it was then that I totally failed my first experience with a spirometer. I simply couldn’t exhale properly. The allergist said he was going to recommend that I see a pulmonologist because I obviously had an obstruction in my lungs. He ordered an X ray and the rest of the story followed when the X ray showed irregularities and a CAT Scan was prescribed.

Searching the Internet, I found that coughing and wheezing could be signals of cancer. And I regretted that the annual X ray had gone out of style. It was just fortunate that I had recently had a chest X ray prior to cataract surgery. Thus it was possible to compare and see that something was not right in the lungs.

It seemed another blip in the road when I didn’t qualify for a full-body Thyroid Scan. Dr. Kozloff suggested that we go the route of surgery immediately. By August 25th I was having thyroid surgery and recovering very quickly. A mass was found attached to one nodule and removed and most of the thyroid removed as well, with the comment from the doctor that he wondered how I had been swallowing all this time. The trachea had been displaced considerably.

Finally by September 19th I was given that full-body thyroid scan. It proved positively that the diagnosis of thyroid throughout the two areas was correct. I was ready to have the exceedingly remarkable “one time does all” full dose Radio Active Iodine I 131.

Since that treatment a physician friend wrote the following: I'm sure that most of your friends in the congregation have heard of the more common cancer treatments that were like mine (surgery followed by six months of chemotherapy) and not so much about the ones that are like yours (surgery followed by a single shot of I131). Maybe it would help them to know that in the case of a functioning thyroid, the situation is virtually unique among body organs in that the thyroid concentrates iodine in its cells; no other organ in the body does that, so we can "target" active thyroid cancer nicely, even the distant metastases, by giving it a "poisoned" form of iodine. In essence, you poison the "food" (the iodine) that only the thyroid has to have, then the thyroid cells take it up, and die. It's the same sort of principle that some people use for rats, slugs, termites, ants and mice--they put poison out disguised as food, and when the little creatures eat it, they die. In your case, your thyroid gland was still using iodine to make thyroid hormone, so all your doctor had to do was use the radioactive form of iodine to deliver a "bomb" to each thyroid cell, and boom! They all died. Fried. Gone! Since no other cells in the body use iodine like that, they weren't harmed. Since you can't live without thyroid hormone, you are probably on Synthroid or some other kind of thyroid replacement.

A graphic description!

The administration of the dose was unique. It was done by swallowing three capsules which were transported in highly insulated carrying cases and which could not be touched by anyone’s hand. They were lifted carefully with long tweezers into a paper cup, one at a time and an audience of three watched me do the successful swallowing of this highly dangerous material. The private room had been prepared against radiation and I would remain there until a high tech instrument showed a reading that declared me safe to be out in the public! The only way to wash the radiation out of my body was to drink large quantities of water. This became one’s main occupation during the almost 4 days I spent in that little “cell”. Certain precautions had to be taken by each nurse who entered my room and food trays were stored until I checked out. Finally, at noon on day four I was pronounced safe to go home, with certain precautions and instructions. . I had absolutely no ill effects and only that special instrument could tell that I was filled with radiation. (No. You don’t glow in the dark!)

I had brought several of Jan Karon’s “Mitford Series” to read again and a radio to provide good music. So it was a time for contemplation and meditation and rest. A time to thank God for the marvels of modern science and for real hope of a cure.

Later X rays and scans will tell us just how effective this treatment has been.

November 2005

A Steady Voice in an Unsteady World

2005-11-07T13:05:00.000-08:00

A Christian minister of Middle Eastern origin offers an excellent introduction to the core teachings of Islam as well as a refresher course in Christianity.

by Harry Antonides

“What does the future hold for relations between Christianity and Islam? That is uncertain, but one thing is clear: both religions have a message and a mandate. Christianity has a mandate to go into all the world and to preach the Gospel—a Gospel of salvation and reconciliation in Jesus Christ. Islam has a mandate to practice jihad and to bring the non-Muslim world under the rule of Allah and the injunctions of the Qur'an.”
George W. Braswell, Jr.

There is obviously no unity within the West about the nature of the threat we face …
How do we know what the religion of Islam, professed by more than a billion people, really stands for? On the one hand, Muslim leaders in the western democracies assure us that Islam is a religion of peace, and they quote from the Qur'an to back up this claim. They are assisted in this effort by such sanitized documentaries shown on American television as Islam: Empire of Faith and Legacy of the Prophet Muhammad.

Even President Bush insists that Islam is a religion of peace. But does he really know this? Or is he being diplomatic not to arouse the wrath of American Muslims?

Is 9/11 a precursor?

On the other hand, September 11, 2001, confronted us with a very different face of this religion. After all, the perpetrators of that spectacular crime left no doubt that they were motivated by their belief that they were obeying Allah and earning a special place in heaven for their "martyrdom." They were following the order given in the name of Allah by Osama bin Laden in 1998 when he called on all Muslims to kill Americans and Jews wherever they could.

What evil forces lurk behind Al Qaeda, Hizballah, Hamas, and similar terrorist organizations now causing great stress and wide-spread fear of coming disasters? How can we live together in one world with our differences? What will it take to avert the dreadful events of which 9/11 may be an ominous precursor? Are we inevitably drifting into a "clash of civilizations" that will smash whatever good modern culture has produced?

These are the kind of existential questions that crowd in on us when we reflect on the current world stage. There is obviously no unity within the West about the nature of the threat we face or about the way we should defend ourselves. Many are baffled by the depth of conviction of the radical followers of Islam (Islamists) who hold to the idea of Jihad, that is, holy warfare.

Who better to enlighten us than someone who was born into the Arab world, speaks the language, and knows its history? Bassam Madany is well suited to be our guide in finding our way through the thorny questions we face.

He is a Christian minister who spent most of his working life preaching the good news of the Gospel to the Arab world. Born in the province of Antioch, Syria, he received his early education in British and French schools. In 1950 he immigrated to the United States where he studied for the ministry. He served as the Back to God Hour Arabic broadcast minister from 1958 till his retirement in 1994. He also taught a number of courses in Middle East history. He and his wife Shirley now live in retirement near Chicago, where they operate a busy Internet information centre focused on the Middle East and the religion of Islam.

The Bible and Islam

The Rev. Madany has written extensively about his 36-year ministry to the Muslim world. This position gave him the opportunity to interact with tens of thousands of listeners who responded to his radio broadcasts. “… A formal adherence to the Bible as the Word of God, does not equip a person to be a missionary to Muslims." I want to draw attention to two of his publications.

The Bible and Islam: Sharing God's Word with a Muslim was first published in 1979. Its most recent printing with a new concluding chapter was published in 2003. It is an excellent introduction to the core teachings of Islam as well as a refresher course in Christianity. Here, in the author's own words, is the thrust of this study:

"It is equally my conviction that a formal adherence to the Bible as the Word of God, does not equip a person to be a missionary to Muslims. We need to grasp the purpose of the Word. In this book you will find a special emphasis on the redemptive character of the Gospel. Biblical revelation finds its focus in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Islam makes it doubly necessary to emphasize and re-emphasize that the Messiah did not come merely to teach and to heal, but to redeem His people from their sins.

"…Muslims are taught that man is not really sinful in the biblical sense of the word, and thus needs no redemption. It is extremely important therefore that we keep on emphasizing this biblical teaching that the Messiah came from God specifically to deal with the awful imperialism of sin."

The first chapter sets out the heart of Christian ministry as it is summarized in St. Paul's epistle to the Romans. Madany insists that St. Paul's teaching about human sinfulness, salvation by grace through Christ's death and resurrection, and the call to repentance and faith is what also must be presented to the Muslims.

Gospel versus Qur'an

At the same time he stresses the need for understanding what has made Islam such a prominent force in the world today. He explains what are the tenets of the Islamic faith that provide Muslims with a strong built-in aversion to the Christian Gospel.

For example, though the Qur'an pays considerable attention to Jesus, it considers Him to be inferior to Muhammad because the latter received the final, uncorrupted, eternally existent revelation from Allah, which supersedes all previous revelations. Muslims do not believe that Jesus suffered and died on the cross.

Further, Muslims consider the belief that Jesus is the Son of God blasphemous. They think that this would mean that God is not one, but is divided, and that would make Him less than complete and perfect—and therefore less than divine.

The Qur'anic insistence that every aspect of life must come under the direct rule of Islamic law is at the heart of the conflict between Islam and the Christian idea of freedom.

Another core teaching of Islam that is fundamentally at odds with biblical religion is the belief that salvation is not a gift of God's grace, but can be obtained by obeying all the commands for right living. That includes a strict regimen of prayer, alms giving, fasting, pilgrimage to Mecca, and sacrificing one's life for the advancement of Islam. Redemption is possible by obtaining the right knowledge and living according to all the commands of the Qur'an and the Hadith (the collected sayings of Muhammad).

The Qur'anic insistence that every aspect of life must come under the direct rule of Islamic law is at the heart of the conflict between Islam and the Christian idea of freedom. Madany writes:

"Islam is more than religion, and has always maintained an exclusivist political worldview. It has no room for non-Muslim entities (i.e. states) to freely exist within the context of the Household of Islam."

Where such laws (sharia) are put into effect there is no freedom of religion, nor freedom of any other kind. In fact, where sharia law rules, it is a crime punishable by death to convert to another religion. Invariably, such regimes strictly prescribe the place of women to one of servitude.

Madany shows that during its 1400 years of existence internal divisions have rocked Islam, leading to the existence of divergent streams of thought. The author provides fascinating details of the conflict between these factions, often fought with deadly ferocity. He describes this as a fierce battle between moderates, who are willing to co-exist and interact with the world outside Islam, and "Utopian Muslims whose vision is to re-create a world Islamic order…."

A panoramic perspective
A second publication prepared by Bassam and Shirley Madany is a collection of articles (some in the form of book reviews) available on CD. These 33 articles explore all the significant issues related to the meeting of the Muslim and Western world. Here are some of the topics dealt with in this collection: American Muslims; Islam is more than a religion; Islam and war; Jesus in the Qur'an; Muslims and Christians in dialogue; the attraction of Islam; the world after September 11, 2001; the complex nature of Middle Eastern relations.

These two publications provide a panoramic view of one of the most pressing issues of our time. The authors have managed to pull together a great many strands of a very complex reality. You will get acquainted with outstanding Muslim teachers who pleaded for moderation and goodwill toward the non-Muslim world—and sometimes paid for it with their lives. You will learn of some of the most dedicated and able Christian missionaries to the Muslim world. All of this is interspersed with the personal experiences of the two authors.

In short, these two publications will serve to give the readers an excellent overview of what for many has become an incomprehensible jumble of religious conflict and political turmoil. What makes these publications especially valuable is that they are written with a deep commitment to biblical truth and a profound love for the Arab people. At the same time these authors have no illusions about the dangers inherent in radical Islam. This is how Bassam Madany puts it:

"I write…as a Christian of Middle Eastern roots. I do hope, perhaps, I should say, I wish that the Islamic world would somehow experience a radical change in the direction of democracy and true freedom for its teeming millions. If not, the forecast remains for a very turbulent future. But as a Christian who takes the Bible seriously, I live in the light of the Christian hope as expounded by Saint Paul."

Bassam and Shirley Madany have developed their Middle East Resources ministry: www.levant.info. They can be reached by e-mail at MER@levant.info. An Introduction to Islam, is available on CD for U.S. $2.50.

Harry Antonides, based in Toronto, immigrated to Canada in 1948 and served as a staff member of the Christian Labor Association of Canada for 35 years. He can be reached hantonides@sympatico.ca. Originally published in Christian Courier, August 2, 2004.
Used with permission of the author.

Antonides review of Unholy Alliance by David Horowitz

2005-11-03T06:55:00.000-08:00

Ties That Bind

By Harry Antonides
Christian Courier October 18, 2005

Unholy Alliance: Radical Islam and the American Left by David Horowitz, Regnery Publishing, Inc. 2004. 296 pp.

"The nature of political doublespeak never changes and its agenda is always the same: Obliteration of historical memory in the service of power…. Only a restored memory can demolish totalitarian myths and make men free. " (David Horowitz, in Big Lies, Center for the Study of Popular Culture, 2005)

At first sight, a merger of the secular political left and the Islamist radical believers is an anomaly. But this book carefully dissects the secret of their partnership: their shared hatred of America. This explains why they have made common cause in their venomous opposition to the American-led war against Islamic terrorists.

The author stresses that this book is not about war critics as such, “but about the leaders of the organized anti-war movement and the practical support they are willing to give to America’s enemies and their agendas.” And what a gripping and deeply disturbing story this is.

Horowitz describes how the Left receives its inspiration from the Marxist ideology that has inspired millions in their search for a perfect world. One of its guiding principles is the belief that the existing world, especially the West, is rotten to the core and must be totally overthrown. As Marx put it: “Everything that exists deserves to perish.”

This totalizing and revolutionary principle at one time made American Communists look to the Soviet Union as the land of promise. That promise collapsed, but the same motive continues to inspire the post-Communist radicals including the anti-war Left. Horowitz convincingly demonstrates that this ideology is still firmly ensconced on American campuses.

Betrayal by the Intellectuals

This explains why patriotism is one of the prime targets of the radical protesters. A number of prominent university professors led the way mapping out a radical stance against their own country. Professor Eric Foner of Columbia University quoted Paul Robeson, an “icon” of the Communist Left and a winner of the Stalin Peace Price, who had claimed: “The patriot is the person who is never satisfied with his county.”

Foner, like Horowitz, grew up in a family of Communists but he never left the fold. His history of the United States, The Story of American Freedom, has been described as “his attempt to rehabilitate American Communism.” The same can be said about the influential book by another “fellow traveler,” the historian Howard Zinn, A People’s History, which, according to Horowitz, “reflects a left-wing culture that despises America in its very roots.” It is this type of source material that has given generations of American students not merely a warped but a bitterly antagonistic view of their own country. Here is Horowitz take on this reality:

As a result of the Left’s colonization of the academic social sciences, this anti-American culture is now part of the educational curriculum of America’s emerging elites, and as much an element of the cultural mainstream as any other historical tradition. Indeed, it is a dominant element. In 2004, the Organization of American Historians devoted an evening at its annual convention to honor Zinn and his work.

The shocking events of 9/11and their aftermath was the “defining moment” that set off a massive movement of opposition to the policies of the Bush administration. Again, the tenured university professors led the way.

Right after the beginning of the war in Iraq, a group of professors at Columbia University held a “teach-in” where they denounced the American-led military action. Professor of anthropology Nicholas De Genova called for “a million Mogadishus,” a reference to the 1993 humiliation of American soldiers in Somalia. He said that U.S. patriotism is a form of imperial warfare and white supremacy and that the “only true heroes are those who find ways that help defeat the U.S. military.”

Behind such shocking and hate-filled comments at a time when their own country is at war lies the conviction that America is not just afflicted by faults and shortcomings, but that it is an unjust society to the core. (In other words, a form of “total depravity” that calls for total “redemption.”)

Therefore, all its wars are also unjust, no matter what the alleged purpose may be. This premise leads many in the protest movement (especially in Europe) to the outrageous conclusion that President Bush is no better than Saddam Hussein.

One of the most notorious spokesmen for this view is Noam Chomsky, a prestigious professor of linguistics at the MIT. He is best known for his numerous books, articles and speeches as a relentless critic of the United States. He did not spend any time empathizing with the victims of 9/11, but the day after he proclaimed that the attacks amounted to a turning point in the war against imperialism, since “for the first time, the guns have been directed the other way. “

Despite his vitriolic language Chomsky has a large following not only in the U.S. but all over the world, spreading his hatred of America to overflow crowds and in his voluminous writings where he brazenly re-writes history.

At the beginning of the war in the Middle East, Chomsky addressed large Islamic crowds in India and Pakistan where he called the United States “the greatest terrorist state” that was planning to commit genocide in neighbouring countries. This attempt to turn his Muslim audiences against his own country in that volatile part of the world must have been his personal effort to “turn the guns around. “ In normal times such explosive falsehoods would be called treason.

Birds of a Feather

Horowitz provides a deft overview of the transition American radicalism underwent in order to survive the post-Stalinist disillusionment. He details the various phases of that transition from the old to the neo-Communism, which he describes as the time of the “forerunners,” including the “Utopians,” and the “nihilist Left,” to arrive at the current “Anti-American Cult” stage. At this point the Left has found common cause with the radical Islamists who believe that America is the “Great Satan,” responsible for the survival of the equally-detested nation of Israel.

Islamist radicalism originally was hostile to Communism, but that changed in the 1950s. The writings of Sayyid Qutb (1906-1966) have been influential in the shaping of the extremist Islamic movement and such leaders as Ayatollah Khomeini and Osama bin Laden, as well as the Islamic terrorist organizations Hizbollah, Hamas, and al Qaeda.

Qutb wrote that sharia amounts “to a universal declaration of the freedom of man from servitude to other men and from servitude to his own desires.” Horowitz points out that despite the libertine inclinations in some factions of the political Left, “Western radicals’ efforts to purify their tainted souls of ‘racism, sexism, and homophobia’ reflect parallel inclinations.”

Both movements, the secular Left and the Islamic radicals, are totalitarian in their ambition to control all of life and both are exacting in their demand for loyalty. Their radicalism makes them believe that the ends ultimately justify any means, including murder. As Horowitz writes: ”Like the salvationist agendas of jihad, the Left’s apocalyptic goal of ‘social justice’ is the equivalent of an earthly redemption.”

Marx said that people turn to religion (like opium users) to dull the pain and suffering caused by injustice and exploitation – under capitalism. He predicted that eliminating oppression and creating a society of justice will do away with the need for religion. The secularist half of this strange partnership is banking on Marx’s prediction; in the meantime they turn a blind eye to the religious zealotry of their newfound partners.

No Enemies on the Left

The final sections of this book detail how this combination of secular and religious fanaticism is played out in sabotaging the American government’s determination to respond forcefully to 9/11. This campaign is conducted by treachery and by cleverly exploiting the very freedoms in America that its enemies are determined to destroy.

The FBI and the CIA were hindered in their fight against crime and terrorism by the so-called “wall” that separated the two agencies. The Patriot Act intended to overcome that deficiency, and it has been an essential tool in exposing and convicting a number of key members of terrorist and terrorist-related organizations.

Horowitz names organizations and individuals who have consistently fought against the efforts of the Justice Department to bring to justice people who support and actively work for Islamic terrorist organizations. No matter how clear their guilt, the National Lawyers Guild, the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Bar Association, the Center for Constitutional Rights, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the American Muslim Council, and others in that fold are ready to defend them. They invariably do so by claiming victim status for the accused and denouncing the government as a destroyer of human rights.

Lynne Stewart is a prominent member of the Left establishment. A lawyer activist, she has made a name for herself as a staunch defender of the “victims” of the American government, which she denounced as a “poisonous government that spreads its venom to the body politic in all corners of the globe.” In the same breath she said that Ho Chi Minh, Mao Zedung, Lenin, Fidel Castro and Che Guevara are modern heroes.

She acted as counsel for the blind sheik Omar Abdel Rahman who was convicted as the mastermind of the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center. Stewart was found guilty of providing material support for the sheik’s terrorist activities. No matter, she continues to receive a hero’s welcome on university campuses and other events sponsored by the despisers of America.

When asked whether she would defend the right of citizens to protest against a revolutionary government that had “liberated” its people from the oppression of capitalism, she said: “I don’t have any problem with Mao or Stalin or the Vietnamese leaders or certainly Fidel locking up people they see as dangerous. Because so often, dissidence has been used by the greater powers to undermine a people’s revolution.”

The shame of it is that a person proclaiming such nonsense is a revered member of the American Left. This is historical revisionism at its most evil. The good news is that people with the determination to tell the truth are still with us.

David Horowitz’s Unholy Alliance is a remarkable and insightful book. It helps us to see through the veil of falsehood and secrecy that protects those who want to do us harm. It is an indispensable source of information to counter the twisted imaginations of the secular and the Islamist participants in this conspiracy.

[David Horowitz's Unholy Alliance can be purchased from the FPM Bookstore for $18.00.]

Denials of the Armenian Genocide

2005-10-29T07:50:00.000-07:00

Denials of the Armenian Genocide
By Rev. Bassam M. Madany

On Thursday morning, October 27, 2005, I picked up my copy of the Wall Street Journal and noticed on its front page this eye-catching headline: Turk-Armenian Fight Over WWI History Goes to a U.S. Court. Massachusetts Law Sparks a Free-Speech Debate about Teaching ‘Genocide.’

The article brought back childhood memories that go back to the 1930s. My father moved the family from Seleucia, near Antioch, to Alexandretta in 1934, to assume his new position as pastor of the Reformed Presbyterian church in that city. Unlike Seleucia, known by its Arabic name as Souedia, Alexandretta was a cosmopolitan city with various ethnic groups and missionary organizations. The R. P. Mission from Northern Ireland operated a mission school there, and this is where I began my education. There were also two Roman Catholic mission schools: one run by the French order known as Brothers of Christian Schools, and the other by an Italian order whose name now escapes me.

Being built near the Gulf of Alexandretta in northwest Syria, the city by that name had attracted Europeans from many lands. Its port was busy, as it was linked by railroad to the famous Berlin-Baghdad line.

One of the features of Alexandretta was that anyone growing up there would hear several languages being spoken. Of course the major language was Arabic, but Turkish and Armenian were also spoken, due to the presence of a sizeable refugee population that had escaped the massacres of WWI. This fact would be the occasion for my father to speak of his war experiences, including that terrible event that befell the Armenians living within the Ottoman Turkish Empire.

When WWI broke out between the Allies and Germany, Turkey joined the war against the Allies. Many young men living within the Ottoman lands were drafted into the Turkish army, including my father. Most of his fellow Syrians were sent to the front near Egypt as Turkey was trying to wrest that land from the British presence. Thousands perished in the Sinai; and even those who came back were in such weakened condition, like Uncle John Nicholas Madany, who died soon after reaching home. My father upon his conscription passed a language test in Turkish and was posted to serve at an army HQ in Mersine, Cilicia (Asia Minor.) Mersine was not far from the Biblical Tarsus, the birthplace of Saint Paul. Dad used to regale us with many stories about the Turkish and German officers he had to deal with. Such anecdotes were amusing; but there were some very disturbing accounts that he shared with us. Those had to do with the plight of the Armenians who lived in and around the province of Cilicia. Most of them were deported to the eastern part of the Empire, and reports were reaching Mersine that the vast majority of those Armenians perished.

It was after the end of WWI that the full story of the fate of the Armenians became known to the world. Thousands upon thousands of them driven from their homes were massacred, their churches destroyed, and those who managed to escape death, became refugees and scattered into many parts of the Middle East after the war.

Alexandretta, being not far from the Turkish mainland took in many Armenian refugees. Even a decade or more after the war, several of these people lived in what was known as the “camps.” The city was almost below sea level, and surrounded by several marshlands. They became the breeding grounds of swarms of malaria-carrying mosquitoes. Early in June, schools closed and most of the people would move to the near-by villages that dotted the mountains around the city. My father, the Irish Missionaries, and the majority of the congregation would move to an Armenian-populated village for the three summer months. We rented rooms from the local people, and heard from them more eye-witness accounts of what they called, “Sefer Berlik,” (Turkish for Wanderings in the Wilderness.) Actually, these words were a strange euphemism for the Genocide of the Armenians.

Back to Alexandretta in September, and the school year brought me in daily contacts with my fellow Armenian students. We had to study in three languages at school: the primary ones were Arabic and English, and French was required as well. What often intrigued me was the fact that when Armenians students conversed with one another, they spoke in Turkish or in Armenian. This became the occasion for my learning a few Turkish words, even though I must add that both my father and mother quite often would speak Turkish. They would also quote certain Turkish proverbs.

So why do I write an article about the Armenian Genocide ninety years later? Specifically, because that horrible episode has never, ever been acknowledged for what it was by Turkey. You must have noticed the title of the WSJ article in my first paragraph, and realized that the subject is not a dead issue. I will quote a few lines from the article and then add some comments:

“Nearly a century ago, perhaps a million or more Christian Armenians were slaughtered by Muslim Turks. It ranks among history’s major instances of genocide.

Or is “genocide” the wrong word?

For generations, Turks and Armenians have argued the point. Armenians say it was genocide, pure and simple. Some Turks respond that the deaths were a tragic byproduct of World War I and that both Turks and Armenians died.

Now, a Turkish group wants to settle the issue, American style: in court.

Yesterday in U.S. District Court in Boston, two public high-school teachers, one student and the Assembly of Turkish-American Associations filed suit challenging a Massachusetts statute that uses the word “genocide” to describe the Armenian deaths. The law sets guidelines for teaching about human rights in the state. The lawsuit argues that the state violates the plaintiffs’ free-speech rights by excluding from the curriculum a view of events more favorable to the Turks.”

For nine decades, Turkey has played down the real story of “sefer berlik” claiming that for military reasons, large numbers of Armenians living near the Russian border in Eastern Turkey had to be removed from their homes. So it was “inevitable” that some, or may be even many, perished during the harsh winter of 1915! So goes the Turkish account.

However, this is not an honest and objective account of what happened during WWI to the large Armenian population that had lived in that part of the world for centuries. The heartland of the Ottoman Turkish Empire was the home of Turks, Armenians, Assyrians, Syrians, and Greeks. The non-Muslim population enjoyed a degree of freedom and autonomy. However, during the nineteenth century, as the Ottoman Empire began to lose its grip over several areas in the Balkans, a nationalistic movement came into being known as the Young Turks. It spread especially among the Ottoman officer corps. This led to the abridgement of the freedoms that Christian ethnic groups had enjoyed. WWI gave the Young Turks within the Ottoman Government the chance to eliminate a sizable ethnic group such as the Armenians. The mass deportations that began in 1915, escalated into a veritable Genocide. Around one million Armenians perished due to hunger, disease, attacks and murderous acts by brigands, and soldiers of the Ottoman Army.

Now what pains me most is not only the persistence of the Turkish Governments over the years in their denial of the Genocide, but to note that this denial has been exported to the USA. And here at the end of October in the year of our Lord 2005, we read about the attempt of Turkish American Associations in Massachusetts to involve a U.S. federal court in this denial! This is shocking indeed.

Another troubling issue that this WSJ report reveals is that Turks who have immigrated to the United States, and I presume, have become naturalized American citizens, have carried with them a baggage that should have been left behind in the old country. In America, it is not part of our culture to hide terrible aspects of the past. We do not shy from confessing our national sins.

At this point, I would like to refer to the example of Germany and its involvement, during the Nazi era, in the persecution and eventual elimination of six million Jewish people. This crime against humanity is indescribable and utterly horrific. After the war, not only many Nazi officials were properly judged at the Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal, but West Germany assumed responsibility for the Holocaust of the Jews, and paid millions of German Marks to Israel and to individual Jews who had suffered from the Nazi persecution. (By the way, East Germany, under Soviet control, did not participate in any restitution plan.)

I don’t imply at all that money can ever atone for the sins of the Holocaust. The Nazi crimes will always be remembered as a manifestation of human depravity. But one aspect of the reparations that Germany paid to the victims of the Holocaust is very important: it exhibits a confession of the guilt and of the reality and authenticity of the Holocaust event. This is extremely important, not only for the Germans, but for the entire world.
Thus, it is shocking that Turkey persists after almost one century in denying the Genocide of the Armenians, and even more shocking to learn that Turkish immigrants who have established their home in America, have joined in this denial. What a pity! I certainly hope that the U.S. District Court in Boston will throw out the case, as an attempt to further falsify history, thus denying students in Massachusetts an opportunity to learn about a horrible event that took place during WWI in far away Turkey.

My Son's Teacher was a Terrorist

2005-10-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

My Son’s Teacher was an Irhabi (Terrorist)

By Jacob Thomas

On Sunday, 2 October 2005, two days before the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan, the online Arabic daily, Al-Sharq al-Awsat, published an article with a very eye-catching title. In the original, the title consisted of three words. Translated into English, it required six words: “My Son’s Teacher was an Irhabi,” i.e. a terrorist.
The writer is a Saudi lady who was terribly shocked and disturbed by discovering that one of the men involved in a terrorist attack on a government building in the capital had actually been her son’s teacher. She was outraged, and wrote a brief article. I would like to share it with the readers, and follow with some comments.

“Once, I wrote an article with the above title for the daily newspaper “Al-Riyad.” Having gone through a horrible experience, these words should be regarded as my clarion call for all to hear. My blood almost froze on my face as I read the terrorist’s name, and saw his photo.”

“Let me explain. In the aftermath of the terrorist attack on the Ministry of the Interior building, several newspapers published photos of those who had participated in the operation. My son, having glanced at the newspaper, pointed to the face of one of the terrorists and said in an agitated manner: Mother, this man was my teacher!”

“Two months prior to the attack, this same teacher stood just a short distance from my son’s desk and talked to him. Actually, only one inch separated him from my son’s mind and heart. Like all young students at the school, my son used to praise and love all his teachers. His little mind tended to receive and accept spontaneously his teachers’ instruction. Unfortunately, not all teachers at the school were careful, or observed a proper attitude vis-à-vis their young and sensitive students. Some spouted out their ideological views. Their vision and outlook on life had been formed by the myths they imbibed, as they sat and watched for hours one television channel: “Al-Jazeera.” After all, we all know that this television station broadcasts just one point of view, and quite often it is in the service of Irhab.”

“I must add that I have become weary of going several times to the school principal to remind him of the duty of teachers to keep their personal opinions to themselves. They were not supposed to share them with their young students, most of them being only ten years old! Some teachers may admire Usama bin Laden for having forsaken the world and gone to live in caves. But they should voice such thoughts among their friends as they meet them at their favorite cafes. There should be no room for any such propaganda at the school. Also, it is not the job of school teachers to issue fatwas that forbid their students from viewing certain television channels.”

“Yesterday, my son shared with me an incident that took place at his school. A teacher inquired from a student about his brother who had recently graduated from secondary school. The boy proudly informed him that his brother was very fortunate as he had received a government scholarship to study in America. The teacher responded angrily: “America, may Allah guide him to any place but America!”

“I happen to know exactly where the teacher would have wanted this student to go for his university education; however, this is not the purpose for writing the column. My point is: how are we to confront this Irhabi (terrorist) mentality, when we notice that all our efforts to spread a spirit of tolerance and an acceptance of the ‘Akhar’ (the Other) is being thwarted in the classrooms?”

“Recently I learned that a book advocating a positive and tolerant attitude toward the ‘Other’ was pulled out of circulation. It was scheduled to be distributed among our teachers and educators! However, some voiced certain reservations about the contents of the book. So the project was dropped. I wonder what those reservations were! What was wrong with a book that advocated tolerance, and the need for a proper approach in our dialogue with the ‘Akhar?’ Or are we supposed rather to tolerate extremists and radicals? Why do we seem to be oblivious of the existence of ideological ticking bombs in our society? Should we not be shocked to learn that some of our teachers were on the wanted lists, and had actually participated in terrorist attacks? I am sure that most of us were aware that several of the men who planned their suicidal attacks, were not among the unemployed. Some were teachers in our schools; others have even served as imams in our mosques, or worked in our security agencies. In other words, these Irhabis were right there, all around us, in the very heart of our society, and busy influencing the minds of our youth.”

Thus far the words of this distraught mother. I have commented before that any translation from Arabic into a Western language loses some of the full meaning of the original text. Actually, the mother’s words were brimming with an intensity of feelings, and with powerful allusions to a very disturbing phenomenon, not only in Saudi Arabia, but all over the Islamic world. She was pointing to a shocking disconnect with reality that pervades the world of Islam today. Globalism is here to stay; our world has become more interdependent than ever. While many Muslims are aware of this fact, yet they persist to ignore it, and continue to hate and vilify the “Akhar.”

Only one week after reading this article, I woke up to the news of a massive earthquake that hit Pakistan and some of the surrounding areas. Reports indicate that Pakistan has endured its worst natural catastrophe since its birth in 1947. President Pervez Musharraf appealed for international aid. By noon, President Bush promised to help the stricken country. I mention this to underline the obvious fact that tolerance and the acceptance of the ‘Other’ as a fellow-human being is absolutely necessary in our world today. But radical Islamists never cease to hurl their insults at the Infidels; but how do they explain the fact that when calamities strike Islamic lands, suddenly these same “Infidels” rush to help. The despised “Others” never reciprocate with insults or indifference. On the contrary, the common bonds of humanity transcend all inherited prejudices and insults; and so we watch people from all over the world, rush with help for the stricken Pakistanis.

Let me go back and make a few specific comments on the lady’s article.

The first thing that struck me about her words is the fact that in Saudi Arabia, as well as in most Arab countries where schools are government-run, the authorities seem to be incapable of enforcing the rule of law. When this mother went time and again to the principal with the plea that teachers should not be indoctrinating their young students, she got nowhere. Was the principal oblivious of the fact that a certain teacher at his school was spreading radical views with impunity? Why did he not take steps to warn him to cease and desist from his illicit activities?

Another revelation from the article was her charge that the notorious Al-Jazeera television station was being used as a vehicle for the spread of Islamic radicalism. I understand from some reports that this station is available via satellite, for Arab viewers in the United States

Furthermore, the incident of the teacher who became indignant upon hearing that a student was going to America for his studies was an alarming phenomenon. This radical teacher, who was blinded by his searing hatred of America, ignored the American role in the emergence of present-day Saudi Arabia. Was he really unaware that it was American petroleum engineers who discovered oil in the peninsula during the 1930s? Did he know what ARAMCO, stood for? This acronym, used both in Arabic and in English stands for the Arabian American Company. It was American ingenuity and resourcefulness that became a vehicle for the sudden riches that descended upon Saudi Arabia after WWII. This teacher must have never heard of the celebrations that took place in Lebanon, when the TAPLINE (Trans Arabian Pipeline) project was completed. This great engineering feat that brought crude oil from Eastern Arabia to the Lebanese coast on the Mediterranean just south of Sidon was planned by American engineers.

Another disturbing fact that was revealed in the lady’s article was the sudden withdrawal of a book that advocated tolerance in relations with non-Muslims? I have already written about the National Dialogue Initiative Project in Saudi Arabia that calls for a fresh outlook regarding non-Muslims. This “Initiative” was meant to involve various sections of Saudi society in helping them to re-define those regarded traditionally as Infidels. A new, down-to-earth word was being suggested: Al-Akhar, the Other. If that was the intention of some leaders in Saudi Arabia, what was then the reason to withdraw a book that championed this enlightened outlook?

The article referred to the existence of radical Imams occupying leadership in certain Saudi mosques. Are not all mosques under the supervision of the Ministry of Religious Affairs? It is true that the majorities of mosques are under the control of the government. But some rich Saudis seeking to “earn” extra credit with Allah by doing good deeds build local masjids (mosques) and invite non-supervised Imams. Such independent mosques attract Du’aat, propagandists for radical Islam. These “houses of worship” become the breeding ground for recruiting Irhabis. We should never forget that the infamous Muhammad Atta, the leader of the 19 highjackers who attacked us on 9/11/2001 became a “born-again” Islamist while attending “Al-Qods Mosque” in Hamburg, Germany. It was there that he imbibed the ideology that gave birth to his dream of reaching Paradise instantly by killing untold numbers of Infidels.

Finally, the article of this brave mother was both helpful and at the same time, extremely disturbing. The fact that it was first published in Al- Riyad newspaper, and then was made available on the web site of Al-Sharq al-Awsat, is heartening. Thousands of people in Saudia Arabia, and elsewhere read the article. It means that at least some Saudi women are not afraid to reveal their disgust with the behavior of the Islamists, and condemn them publicly.

On the other hand, the article revealed that things are out of control, and that Irhabis are able to attack, kill, and destroy in the very heart of the Islamic world. We rejoiced that a national initiative that aims at using a non-pejorative word to describe the non-Muslim is being suggested and discussed. But no sooner we read about this positive step being taken among Saudis, than we heard about a backward step. A book that was destined for use among teachers advocating a new vision of the non-Muslim had to be withdrawn. Someone in a position of power and authority caved in to the pressure from some ultras, and decided that the book should not be distributed.

The title of the article keeps ringing in my ears: “Mudarris ibni Irahabi.” My son’s teacher is (or was) a Terrorist! What a shocking, terrible, and horrific revelation!

10/12/05

Contextualization Interview

2005-10-07T19:03:00.000-07:00

Contextualization Interview
Rev. Bassam M. Madany

The contextualization movement among evangelicals spread in the1970s and caused a good deal of controversy among missionaries. The following interview with Rev. Bassam Madany took place in the mid-eighties. It is reproduced here to clarify issues, which are intimately connected with Christian missions throughout the world. It must be added that this movement continues to spread among some Christians on account of the claim that contextualizers make for the so-called assured results of their missiological methods. However, in the light of the historic Christian Faith, this movement represents a radical discontinuity with the Apostolic Tradition, as well as with the basic principles of the Protestant Reformation.

Q. It seems that you are uncomfortable with the word “contextualization”?

A. Yes, ever since the mid-l970s, when this word became widely used in missionary circles, it has carried a specific “ideological” baggage. I consider it a loaded word because it has not come to us from a consciously Biblical milieu but was imported from the WCC (World Council of Churches) and bears the stamp of its horizontalism.

Q. But is this a sufficient reason for discarding the entire concept?

A. Of course not. I am not against every form of contextualization. I am simply uneasy about any type that is ideologically oriented. For example, some of its proponents have made a wrong analysis of the work of missions during the last 200 years. They contend that missions among Muslims have failed. This assertion has been made, when most people in the Muslim world have yet to hear the Word of God. Can we expect conversion without the hearing of the message? We must take the parables of our Lord about the proclamation of the Word seriously. We have to integrate the teachings of Paul in Romans l0 and l Cor. 1and 2 into our theology of missions. Then, we would see clearly the priority of proclamation. Even though I reject any ideologically inspired contextualization, I am a firm believer in a Biblical type that allows one to relevantly and irenically [peacefully] present the Christian message to the followers of Islam.

I must also add for the sake of historical accuracy and intellectual honesty that “cross-cultural communication,” which is another buzzword of the contemporary mission

Contextualization Old and New

2005-10-05T17:14:00.000-07:00

Have you been disturbed by the latest trends in missionary methods and are you looking for some helpful resources?

We recommend that you read:

"A Statement of Missionary Concern" http://www.levant.info/Mer_p001.html

"Neo-Evangelicalism and It's Impact on Missions. Historical Overview by Frederick W. Evans
http://www.levant.info/MER_p009.htm

"Re-Thinking Missions Today: Neo-Evangelical Missions and Christian Missions to Islam by
Bassam M. Madany http://www.levant.info/Mer_p002.html

To be continued...

Attention Western Leftist Ideologues

2005-10-04T09:21:00.000-07:00

Western Propagandists versus Mideastern Truthfulness
J’Accuse (I Accuse) Part IV
By Jacob Thomas

Readers of this website (www.6thcolumnagainstjihad.com) know of my daily readings in the Arab Press to learn about their portrayal of the West, and especially of America. I am naturally attracted to those articles that evidence a sense of objectivity that transcends the usual anti-Western bias that afflicts most of the Arab media. So, here again, and to my great delight, I noticed in the 21 September issue of Al-Sharq al-Awsat, an article with this intriguing title, “Are Three Hundred Terrorists a Small Number?” by Abdel-Rahman Al-Rashed.

After reading the article, I began to think: how I wish that those Western leftist ideologues would read this article! It may cure them of the virus that has contaminated their thoughts vis-à-vis their countries and societies. They would discover the errors of Edward Said’s book, “Orientalism” that blames the West for the ills of the Muslim lands.
Too bad, that many of them are either unwilling or unable to consult the writings of those honest and objective Mideastern writers who have taken a clear stand against jihadism.

Unfortunately, one day after “Are Three Hundred Terrorists a Small Number?” appeared, I noticed an article in FrontPageMagazine.com by Joshua Prober, with this title, Ways of Propagandizing. It referred to the use in some colleges of a composition textbook, “Ways of Reading,” that had appeared in 1987, and which was actually nothing but a propaganda tool. Mr. Proper wrote:
“As Thomas Kerr, an assistant professor of writing at Ithaca College” put it, this textbook was not “only of reading but also of proselytizing and subverting the mind-numbing, consumer/capitalist/fascist/sexist/rascist/classist ideologies that surround us in the form of American mythologies and mass culture.”
“One of the ways that the two editors of “Ways of Reading” … of the University of Pittsburgh achieve this is by promoting Edward Said’s ideology, attacking his critics, and presenting a warped version of Middle East history.”
Enough of such trash that comes out of the writings of Western Propagandists parading as educators! Let me now share with you this honest op-ed article about the real criminals that feed the minds of the jihadists. They are just as responsible for the crimes committed by their disciples. The writer began by asking, “Are Three Hundred Terrorists a Small Number?” He then gave this answer:
“The problem with statistics is that they don’t always tell the truth. Take for example the number of Saudi terrorists active within Iraq. Some have opined that a mere 300 Saudi combatants in Iraq is relatively small when compared with certain previous estimates. It had been claimed earlier that there were around 16,000 Arab and Iraqi fighters in Mesopotamia ready to fight the “Kuffar,” (Infidels.) A mathematical comparison may seem to be a simple matter. However, in political calculations even 100 fighters is a big army capable of destroying an entire society. We must remember that those who have ben recruited by Al-Qaida have only one desire, that is, death! They are engaged in guerilla warfare and not in a conventional war. They find shelter in civilian areas among women and children, and hide their weapons in mosques; their clothes do not differentiate them from other innocent civilians.”

I don’t recall reading such words in many of the dispatches that appear in the mainline newspapers or hearing similar reports on the major TV networks, or PBS, or NPR stations! So much of what goes on under the banner of reporting is nothing but propaganda emanating from anti-Western, leftist worldview. Let’s go back to the Arab columnist:

“Actually, three hundred (Saudi) fighters are rather a large number, not to mention those recruits who failed to make it into Iraq, or many others who were killed in their confrontations with the multinational and Iraqi forces. In order to deal properly with the numbers of the mujahideen, the question should be rephrased: how were so many young men recruited from Saudia, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Sudan, as well as from the other Arab countries? They are very busy killing people and destroying the infrastructure of Iraq. This is the real question that must be asked.”

“After all, those who have recruited these young men and transported them to Iraq will also be able to launch them against their own societies. Thus, what must be feared are not only the mujahideen who remain as a real problem both today and tomorrow, but equally those ideologues who have trained them, both mentally and militarily. In our confrontation with Irhab (terrorism), we tend to pursue only the terrorists themselves and bring them to justice; since they are the ones who took up arms and committed capital crimes. However, the masterminds of Irhab, who stand behind the acts of terrorists, are left to live in peace. It is rather strange that in the current definition of this phenomenon, only those who are the perpetrators of terrorism are considered guilty and deserving of punishment.”

Mr. Al-Rashed proceeds to the heart of the problem, and excoriates the Du’aat, i.e. the Preachers or Propagandists of Irhab:

“It is very important to take note that many of the Du’aat of terrorism regard anyone with a different ideology as a Kafir or Infidel. Such preachers use religious terminology in their recruitment of young people, thus inflaming them with the glory of Jihad “in the Path of Allah.” Thus, these young jihadists embark on bombing mosques, schools, civilian, and military institutions. Why should we deal only with those who commit atrocities and not equally with those who had called for such acts? How are we to approach the jihadists who have been convinced by their teachers, that those Others [reference here is to the U.S. and British forces in Iraq] are invaders and Kuffar (plural of Kafir) and must therefore be fought? How can we convince them not to engage in their attacks, when they believe that in performing them, they gain entrance to Paradise? Can we blame them without first dealing with those who had indoctrinated them to commit their crimes?”
“To deal with this phenomenon in a proper manner, we must realize that the mujahid is not a lonely soldier, but behind him and backing him stands a group of ideologues, promoters, financiers, and lawyers. They are the ones who must be held responsible for the actions of the mujahideen. An indication of the seriousness of Irhab that is afflicting Iraq, is that its leadership has succeeded in recruiting young men from various Arab countries after subjecting them to a brainwashing on a massive scale. This is continuing to this very day. Should these leaders of Irhab succeed in using Iraq as a base for assembling their recruits, they would use the Jihadis as a weapon against their own societies under the banner of fighting the Kuffar, just as they had done that in Afghanistan, Kashmir, and Chechnya, for the last twenty years.”

By the way, the intensity of these words is rather attenuated by their translation into English. It is as if I had reduced their “voltage” from 220 to 110 volts! Read back in their original Arabic, they are powerful denunciations of a plague that it is totally of local origin. This is a fact that is being ignored by Western Propagandists who have swallowed the Saidian theory of the supposedly warped and distorted views of Islam and the Middle East that had been propounded by our Orientalists. I cannot help here, having spelled the name of the father of this anti-Orientalist school in the usual way, to differ radically from its transliteration, since it does not even approximate the way his name is pronounced in Arabic. Properly done, the name should be spelled, “Sa’eed” and not “Said.”

To go back to the article in Al-Sharq al-Awsat, I would like to add a further note. This website daily gives its readers the opportunity to respond. Of the six responses to this article, not one disagreed with the main thesis of the writer. Most of them sounded enthusiastic in their evaluation of the timeliness of the piece. “The article was more than excellent, greetings to my brother who manifests his awareness of the troubles within his nation,” wrote an Arab resident of Canada. Another resident of the US wrote to express his thanks, and predicted that the radicals will lose in the end. The very day that the article appeared, a reader in Saudi Arabia sent a lengthy letter of admiration, pointing at the same time to the Arab media that are failing to deal with this vexing problem.
Another correspondent, this time from Egypt, wrote to show his disappointment that the Arab nations seem to be lagging in their efforts to deal with the tragedy that is unfolding in Iraq.

While I see some rays of hope coming sometimes from within the Arab media, I mourn the fact that the true nature of the malaise that plagues the entire Muslim world is, quite often, not being actually explained by our mainline media, nor objectively taught in many of our colleges and universities. What a pity!

The Greatest Missionary Hymn

2005-09-24T08:33:00.000-07:00

“The Greatest Hymn”

By Rev. Bassam M. Madany

It was during my three years at the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh (1950-1953,) that I discovered Samuel M. Zwemer’s book, “The Cross Above the Crescent.” The subtitle was of special relevance to me as I was preparing for a
lifetime missionary career to Arabic-speaking Muslims: “The Validity, Necessity and Urgency of Missions to Muslims.”

Soon after I had finished reading the book, I wrote a letter to Dr. Zwemer, and sent it
c/o Zondervan Publishing House in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Before too long, I received a very warm letter from him. At the time, he was in his eighties, and was living at the home of his daughter in Alexandria, Virginia. I still remember a paragraph in his letter where he made some pointed references to the great hymns of the Church, especially those composed during the 19th Century, “The Great Century of Missions.” In April 1952, Dr. Zwemer went to his eternal reward, a few days before he was to reach 85!

Lately, I have been looking over several of Zwemer’s works in my library. I began to reread, “Thinking Missions with Christ,” published in 1934. Chapter 7 has this title “The Greatest Hymn.” The reference is to Reginald Heber’s “From Greenland’s Icy Mountains.” I would like to share with you some gems from this chapter, and add a few comments.

“Reginald Heber (1783-1826) became immortal through his missionary hymns, written before and after he went out as the second Anglican Bishop of Calcutta. Among his fifty-seven hymns, five are well known in the churches today: ‘Hosanna to the Living God’;
‘Brightest and Best of the Sons of the Morning’; ‘Holy, Holy, Holy’; ‘The Son of God
Goes Forth to War’; and ‘From Greenland’s Icy Mountains.’ Dr. Eugene Stock characterized the last of those mentioned as the greatest of all missionary hymns. It has been very widely used and has been translated into the leading languages of Europe and into many other languages on the mission fields. Is the hymn, as some say, ‘too old-fashioned and conventional for present-day use’? One meets with strong prejudice against certain of its expressions, but closer study will reveal new elements of power and beauty.” P. 73

Dr. Zwemer goes on to mention the many gifts and qualities of Reginald Heber:

“In 1815 he delivered the Bampton lectures, was made canon of St. Asaph in 1817 and soon after that was appointed Bishop of Calcutta, as successor to the first Bishop, Dr. Middleton. Bishop Heber is described as a brilliant scholar, a true poet, a devoted parish clergyman, a fascinating personality. … Four years before his consecration as Bishop, he wrote his great missionary hymn under circumstances that are most interesting.

“Mr. Heber, then rector of Hodnet, was visiting Dean Shirley, dean of St. Asaph and vicar of Wrexham, his father-in-law, just before Whit-Sunday, 1819. A royal letter had been issued, calling for missionary offerings in aid of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, on that particular day. Mr. Heber had gone to hear the dean preach and to take his share of the Sunday evening lectures just established in that church. On the Saturday previous, he was asked to prepare some verses to be sung at the close of the morning service. Sitting at the window of the old vicarage, in a short time he produced this hymn --- except the lines, ‘Waft, waft ye winds, His story,’ which he wrote later. … This was the first of modern missionary hymns that speaks imperatively to the conscience and at the same time with persuasion and tenderness. It came as a trumpet call to duty.”

“A lady residing in Savannah, Georgia, had in some way become possessed of a copy of the words, sent to this country from England. She was arrested by the beauty of the poetry and its possibilities as a hymn. … She had been told of a young clerk in a bank, Lowell Mason by name, just a few doors away, down the street. It was said that he had the gift for making beautiful songs. She sent her son to this genius in music, and in a half-hour’s time he returned with this composition. Like the hymn it voices, it was done at a stroke, but has lasted through the years.” Pp. 74-76

It seems that during the 1930s, some criticisms were leveled at Reginald Heber’s missionary hymn. Perhaps its language was too harsh, or it belittled people of other lands. Dr. Zwemer came to the defence of the hymn and answered its critics by writing:

“No one disputes that its language is chaste, its structure logical (once we grant the premises) and that it conforms in its imagery and rhythm to the laws of good hymnody. The fact is that this hymn offers a concise summary of the modern missionary enterprise as conceived by the men who laid its foundations. The first stanza proclaims the universality of the task; the second its necessity; the third its urgency; the fourth its certainty of accomplishment. One could hardly crowd an argument for the basis, the aim, the motive and the goal of missions into smaller compass than we have in these four verses of eight lines each.”

“Chains of error still bind men and women and little children in Africa and India. …
It was not the intention of Bishop Heber to assert that the inhabitants of Ceylon were sinners, vile above other men, but to point out, by one example of conditions in his day, the need for a Saviour from sin in all its terrible forms in all the world and the tragedy of spiritual blindness in the worship of the creature rather than the Creator --- whether on the Gold-coast of Chicago or of West Africa, man bows down to wood and stone.”
Pp.77, 78

Zwemer adds to his own defense of “From Greenland’s Icy Mountains” the words of a British Missionary that had spent twenty one years in India. In a letter dated February 22, 1934, sent to The British Weekly, the retired missionary referred to the new Methodist Hymn Book that had omitted Heber’s missionary hymn. He wrote:

‘Perhaps objection was taken to the final lines: “The heathen in his blindness bows down to wood and stone.” No one suggests that he bows down to wood and stone because he is enlightened; for in another hymn we sing, “And soon may the heathen … cast their idols all away.” If it be said that he does not bow down to wood and stone, but to the gods for whom they stand, that will not help; that only makes things worse.”’ P. 80

Dr. Zwemer ended his chapter on “The Greatest Hymn” with these stirring words:

“Can we whose souls are lighted with wisdom from on high” continue to discuss the spiritual values of higher Hinduism and deny to the masses of India the lamp of life? If we no longer feel the urgency of our message it is because we have lost the overwhelming sense of its necessity. He who knows what salvation is for himself must share the good news.
Salvation! O Salvation!
The joyful sound proclaim
Till earth’s remotest nation
Has learned Messiah’s name.

“There is no substitute for the missionary passion. To revive the spirit of evangelism, to restore the note of immediacy, to convince the world that we have a message sufficient for all men, everywhere and always, we must go back to the Gospel as proclaimed by the apostles: ‘Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures and rose again.’

Waft, waft, ye winds, His story,
And you, ye waters roll,
Till like a sea of glory
It spreads from pole to pole.

“This missionary hymn does not need revision. It needs reiteration and revival. Africa and India, and we ourselves still need the old Gospel.” P. 81

Seventy one years have passed since Samuel Zwemer, called by his biographer, J. Christy Wilson, “Apostle to Islam,” wrote this stirring commentary on Reginald Heber’s hymn. As I look over the contents of new and revised editions of several traditional Protestant hymn books, I discover the hymn is no longer there! I find this a sad and painful phenomenon. Should our children and grandchildren be deprived of the theology, appeal, and challenge of this great missionary hymn by its disappearance, at the very time when all other major world religions are reviving and spreading?

Since posting this we received the following URL: www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/f/r/fromgrim.htm
You might like to try it!

The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad

2005-09-17T12:26:00.000-07:00

Here is a book guaranteed to make you appreciate everything about you one hundred fold. You will be acutely aware of your own freedoms, of your utilities (imagine living in a large apartment building with no running water), and the many forms of beauty with which we are surrounded.

And your heart will ache for the various members of the bookseller's family as you learn of all their longings and disappointments in life as it is in Kabul.

Ms. Seierstad's book has already been translated into 31 languages and is destined to be a best seller. Having the opportunity to actually live with this Afghani family she has managed to translate that experience into a series of true to life stories. The Taliban mentality is still there and flourishing. The way of tradition is pursued relentlessly with no sentimentality allowed to enter into considerations. Dreams are dashed before they can hardly be uttered and this holds for both the men and the women in that household. Yes, it sounds grim and is grim but still one recommends this book highly. To know is to be a little more understanding. SWM

Message at the Gas Pumps

2005-09-04T20:50:00.000-07:00

The following is an article by a Levantine friend of ours which appears on
www.6thcolumnagainstjihad.com.

We Are All Paying the Jizya Tax
By Jacob Thomas

Part of my daily routine is to walk to the business area of town. On my way I pass a gas station that is always busy, even though the price of gasoline goes up daily. This morning, the regular unleaded gas was selling for $2.79 a gallon. Last week, it was 30 cents cheaper!

Naturally, I can’t help thinking of the implications of this escalating price of oil products. I have come to the conclusion that we are all paying an enormous jizya tax to the Muslim world. Someone has figured out that over ten trillion dollars have been transferred from the West to the oil producing countries during the last few years. I am not sure whether this figure is correct, but it is an undeniable fact that an enormous amount is being transferred daily to the household of Islam. This has some serious implications, for the present and the future. I’ll return to this point later.

First let me unburden myself. I am extremely disappointed in the West’s inability to plan for the future. We have been warned several times during the last fifty years about the danger of relying too much on Middle Eastern sources for our energy needs. We didn’t take them seriously, and continued to live in the present, giving a scant attention to the history of that turbulent area. For example, very few people would recall that during the Suez Crisis in 1956, the oil pipelines from the Iraqi oil fields to the Mediterranean ports were blown up, and a mini oil crisis ensued. The real one came during the Yom Kippur War (October 1973) when Saudi Arabia began an oil embargo on the United States. That was to punish us for the massive military help given to Israel as it faced the Egyptian Army that had crossed the Suez Canal, and was advancing in the Sinai.

Not only were we faced with rising prices of gasoline and diesel, but as a result of the embargo, a serious shortage developed of these products. However, the 1973-1974 oil crisis became a blessing in disguise. First, the Federal Government issued directives that would help save the consumption of gasoline and diesel by lowering the speed limit on the highways. Some of us may remember how uniform those signs became: 55 MPH! Then, car companies went into high gear to improve the mileage in their products. Whereas a V-8 engine in a sedan averaged between 16-18 miles per gallon, new V-6 engines replaced them in the late eighties and the early nineties and delivered between 25-30 MPG!

I don’t want to point my finger simply at the American car companies, but equally at their Japanese and German competitors, all of whom seemed to suffer from amnesia. Bigger engines crept back, bigger models, and before too long several gas guzzlers appeared on our highways. On several occasions in my conversations with young people, I would mention the gas shortages of the 1970s, and ask, “Did your parents ever mention the oil crisis of 1973-1974?” Most of the time, I was met with blank expressions. North Americans seem to have such short memories!
Nowadays, we hear discussions about alternative fuels, hybrid engines, and the possible use of hydrogen engines in the future. However such new techniques and the search for new sources of energy do not help in the present crisis. We face a very serious situation that demands urgent solutions. Beyond the steady transfer of wealth to the Islamic world, I fear that the spiraling rise in the price of oil has a direct relation to the growth of Jihadism. Behind every terror act, there is a long period of planning, as well as the necessary finances that are required to carry on the attack. To deprive the Jihadist of financial resources is like cutting off the oxygen supply in an aircraft.

I am not implying that all the monies that have gone into the coffers of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries are ending up in the hands of the Jihadists. But the fact remains that some of that money does go into their hands. Let’s not forget that they are bent on destroying us. Our way of life, everything we have inherited from our forefathers and which we cherish, everything is at stake. Ultimately, the Islamists attack us because of who we are. While these attacks are horrific, they are merely an extreme aspect of Islam’s perennial dream of world domination.
The struggle between Islam and the Rest of the world has been going on for the last 1400 years. It did not start in 1947, when India was partitioned, or in 1948, when Israel was born. It goes back to the dawn of Islam’s history. Muhammad died in 632, ten years after he made Medina the center of his new Islamic realm. Within one hundred years, the Arab-Muslim armies had conquered the Middle East, North Africa, and Spain. The Ottoman Turks continued the expansion of Islam in Eastern and Central Europe. In 1453, they had captured Constantinople, and brought an end to the Byzantine Empire. In 1529, they besieged Vienna, but failed to conquer it. They returned to that city in 1683, but this time their defeat was decisive, and marked the beginning of the decline and fall of their Islamic Caliphate. By1918, it was all over. In 1924, a secularist Turkish leader, Kemal Ataturk abolished the Caliphate, thus plunging Islam into a deep spiritual and ideological crisis.

Now unlike the crash of the USSR which unmasked the bankruptcy of the materialistic Marxist worldview, Islam’s powerful dream is nourished by a triumphalist theology that seeks to revive a global Islamic hegemony. This triumphalism is so utterly dangerous! And while the USA and the UK are doing their utmost to ward off further terrorist attacks, neither country seems to educate its citizenry about the true nature of Islam.

So, every time I pass by a gas station and notice the non-stop rise in gasoline prices, a Qur’anic verse comes to my mind. “Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya [Poll tax] with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.” (Qur’an (9:29) Surat Al-Tawba [Repentance] ‘Descended’ in Medina and has 191 Ayas)

My Levantine forefathers experienced the full brunt of this verse for thirteen hundred long years. After the Islamic conquest of their lands, they became “Dhimmis” and had no choice but pay the Jizya, and do that humbly! Now a new type of “Dhimmitude” is emerging in the West, thanks to political correctness, and the spread of the ideology of multiculturalism. Could it be that once again the Jizya is being imposed on us, and we can’t help but paying it at the gas pump?

A New Book by Robert Spencer

2005-07-27T09:05:00.000-07:00

As we are in the business of recommending books that need to be read we are pleased to be able to announce that Robert Spencer, well-known author of "Islam Unveiled" and "Onward Muslim Soldiers", has just published The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades). Scheduled for August it is already on sale.
WorldNetDaily.com has given its enthusiastic endorsement:
"Spencer details how the jihad that the non-Muslim world faces today is in direct continuity with the one the Crusaders fought against. It continues today in Europe and even in America while pressure groups intimidate the media into silence about the real nature and goals of Islam.....Spencer explains what we must do to stop the jihad onslaught not only militarily, but culturally. He maintains that we will not be able to defeat today's Islamic jihad without recovering pride in the superiority--yes, superiority--of Western Christian civilization. If we surrender our culture, he warns, soon we will be surrendering our homes."
Alas, it is only too true that both Europe and Britain have lost that pride in their past beliefs. They survived the two World Wars with glowing colors but lost their faith in God at almost the same time. It is so evident in the literature, movie and TV productions, available to us from Britain, just as our Hollywood reveals the soul of many Americans. Read Spencer's book and be challenged.
With God all things are possible!

For a book review of Islam Unveiled www.levant.info/MER_B016.HTM
For a book review of Onward Muslim Soldiers www.levant.info/MER_B018.HTM