zTruth

Rep. Emily Virgin will you host a dinner at the Oklahoma State Capitol for a Christian holiday like you did for Ramadan?

On the 17th of August, for the first time in history Oklahoma Muslims prayed on floor of State Capitol at Inaugural Iftar dinner.  The event was hosted by Rep. Emily Virgin (D Norman) who had tweeted about it although she left off the key word - Iftar, which is specific to the Muslim holiday of Ramadan. 

Islamist organization, OIC, to partner with U.S. State Department on their anti-Islam defamation goals!

I foolishly thought the OIC had dropped their goals at the UN to make it a crime to criticize anything Islamic.  Now, it appears they negotiated a partnership to do this with the U.S. State Department! This is according tothe OIC's own news agency, the International Islamic News Agency:

Oklahoma AG has a duty to its citizens to question motive of CAIR!

Muneer Awad, who has been on the job at CAIR Oklahoma for less than a month and who just graduated from law school last year, said sharia law is merely a religious guide and a religious freedom right.  Is that accurate?  To me, religious guidance is not the same thing as religious rulings/sharia law. I am unaware the U.S. has legally defined it, yet.   Many Islamic countries use sharia as the basis for all their laws, which includes the loss of religious freedom, an irony worth noting. 

Federal judge rules graduate student can be dismissed for opposing gays

Here's an interesting case which show rigid Biblical beliefs can get you kicked out of grad school:

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against Eastern Michigan University by a student who was kicked out of its graduate program in school counseling last year for refusing, on religious grounds, to affirm homosexual behavior in serving clients.

In an order granting summary judgment to the university on Monday, Judge George Caram Steeh of the U.S. District Court in Detroit held that the university's requirement that the student be willing to serve people who are homosexual was reasonable, and did not amount to an infringement of the Christian student's constitutional rights to free speech and free expression of religion.

...The Alliance Defense Fund, a coalition of Christian lawyers that is helping to represent the student, Julea Ward, issued a statement on Tuesday saying it plans to appeal the judge's decision.

"Christian students shouldn't be expelled for holding to and abiding by their beliefs," said David French, a senior counsel for the group, which helped out in a similar lawsuit filed against Augusta State University, in Georgia, this month

I don't share the sames views at this student but I am a Christian.  I've known a number of gays over the years and found them to be some of the best and bravest people I've had the privilege of knowing.  

Do you think rigid religious views can be damaging to a society?

Muslim attorney to hold rally for four Christians arrested at Arab festival

How refreshing to see efforts being made to right what appears to be a wrong in Dearborn, Michigan:

A Muslim attorney from Dearborn plans to hold a rally on Monday to express support for the four Christian missionaries arrested last month for allegedly disturbing the peace at an Arab festival.

Majed Moughni said the rights of the four Christians were violated when police arrested them on July 19 during the Arab International Festival, one of the biggest gathering of Arab-Americans in the U.S. The missionaries claim that Islam promotes violence and want to convert Muslims to Christianity.

"They should never have been arrested," said Moughni, who is Arab-American and Muslim. "They have a constitutional right to freedom of speech and religion."

Moughni said that the rights of the missionaries should be respected even if people disagree with their views or aggressive tactics.

...Moughi was the organizer of the anti-terrorism rally in January outside the federal courthouse in Detroit during a hearing for the Christmas Day bomber. After organizing the rally, Moughni received a death threat from a Muslim man in Europe linked to a plot to kill a cartoonist who drew Islam's prophet, Mohammed.

Shortly after ex-CAIR chair voted on Jacksonville H.R. board, ACLU seeks end to Christian prayer before city meetings!

Shortly after the former chairman of the board of CAIR, an outgrowth of the Muslim Brotherhood/Hamas infrastructure in America was elected to the Jacksonville Human Rights Board, the ACLU wrote a letter to the Jacksonville City Council threatening a lawsuit if they continue to allow Christian prayer before their meetings. 

Did I mention the ACLU partners with CAIR?

The appointment of Parvez Ahmed was highly controversial.  For example, in 2008 he co-wrote a CAIR op-ed for convicted terror-supporter (DOJ document) Sami-al-Arian and claimed he was a political prisoner of the U.S. government!  CAIR, for those of you who don't know, was started by leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood.  Al-Arian admitted his involvement with this Islamic supremacist organization.  This is the organization that started Hamas who seeks the destruction of Israel for Islam.

In May, after his election to the council,  Ahmed wrote in the Huffington Post the opposition to his election was "contrived"    Contrived?  

The City of Jacksonville now reaps what they sowed, in my opinion.

Video:

Saudi-based OIC steps up efforts against Israel

The OIC, a Saudi-based and back inter-governmental Islamist organization,  held a press conference yesterday to claim the international community has isolated Israel and is now in conflict with many countries and faiths.  This is more of the Islamist spin on efforts they hope will led to Israel's decline rather than based in reality:

...Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said Israel was given a stern warning that its attack on the Freedom Flotilla was going to have far-reaching consequences. The incident has isolated the Zionist state from the international community, which has united in condemning Israeli aggression, he said.

...Flanked by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Malki at the press conference, he invited OIC Ambassadorial Groups in New York and Geneva to work for the adoption of an international stand condemning “this odious crime” and the lifting of the “lawless blockade on the Gaza Strip.”

...The meeting agreed that it was no longer a conflict between Israel and Palestine, rather it was Israel versus 32 countries whose citizens were on board the aid flotilla and who were of all faiths and backgrounds. “Therefore, it should be interpreted as an attack on the United Nations and its values,” Ihsanoglu said, calling for the convening of a UN General Assembly session on the issue...

Continuing on with their efforts to stop any criticism of Islam - even if it is true, In their 3rd annual Islamophobia report (pg 11 of the report), their expressed their displeasure and surprise the Obama administration did not buy in to their attempt to get a binding resolution to stop any criticism of Islam through the U.N.

...the criticism leveled by the US Administration on the OIC proposed legally binding instrumentwas not in line with the expectations raised by promise of engagement in the Cairo speech by President Obama. In October 26, 2009 the U.S. State Department released its Annual Report on International Religious Freedom. It was critical of what it said were international efforts to limit free speech in the name of combating defamation of religion, criticizing the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) for pushing such antidefamation measures in U.N. bodies. ...A positive response by the US to the OIC’s call for engagement towards evaluating and evolving norms towards combating Islamophobia –with particular reference to defamation of religions –would constitute a positive step forward in terms of backing President Obama’s words with action....

This is Islamism and its coming to a country near you. 

Must read: More about Imam Feisal Raul, leader of proposed Ground Zero mosque

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf (Imam Feisal or Imam Abdul-Rauf)  is the leader of the proposed $100 million 13 story mosque and community center which will be just two blocks from the site of the World Trade Center attack.   He is the Chairman and founder of the Cordoba Initiative which receives some of its funding from the Malaysian government.  The new gz mosque and center planned will be called the Cordoba House.   Cordova, Spain was a center of Islamic conquest and caliphate rule that lasted several hundred of years that took place over a 1,000 years ago, by the way.  So, Is the name just coincidental?  I highly doubt it - but who knows.

It appears from a New York Post article, and others sources, there's plenty of information about Feisal that you need to know and which the main stream media will probably not tell you. 

Excerpts from the New York Post:

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf is a key figure in Malaysian-based Perdana Global Peace Organization, according to its Website (z: see their about page and here)

Perdana is the single biggest donor ($366,000) so far to the Free Gaza Movement, a key organizer of the six-ship flotilla that tried to break Israel's blockade of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip Monday.

...“We have two Imam Raufs," Deborah Burlingame, the sister of the American Airlines pilot whose hijacked plane struck the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, told the New York Post. "We have the anti-Israel, anti-democratic imam, and we have the smiling, soft-spoken moderate Muslim who says, 'Why can't we all get along?'... "

Hummm...  Is it possible Perdana is pro Hamas? 

Rauf said in 2003 "And we believe that 100 years more of targeted assassinations will never dry up the reservoir of young Palestinians willing to give up their lives."  He then stated in 2004 that the U.S. and the West "must acknowledge the harm they have done to Muslims before terrorism can end" and that it was Christians who started mass attacks on civilians.  He also said there was an endless supply of angry young Muslims ready to martyr themselves and there was no sign of the attacks ending unless there was a fundamental change in the world.   Well, that doesn't seem too peaceful to me.  In fact, it's the typical talk of an Islamist.

Oh - but there's more.  Feisal started the Shariah Index that will rate countries’ Islamic law.  He has written of his fondness for Islamic law and claimed he needs no one's permission to build the mosque in the video linked above. 

He said to PBS;  "So any law, anything studied in the Quran or the hadith, is definitely [Sharia],' and  "what really defines Islamic law [is] the sum total of Islamic law as has been practiced by Muslims throughout the last 14, 15 centuries."  In another PBS interview he shilled again for Sharia by claiming people often think of few penalties for certain crimes (z:  those that are gruesome) and fail to consider the sum total of Islamic law.  Not too comforting. 

Critics claim Feisal's father, Dr. Muhammad Abdul Rauf, was a leader in the Islamic supremacist Muslim Brotherhood.  Dr. Rauf was born in Egypt and moved to Kuwait where Imam Feisal was born and then he came to America where he was involved in the building of the Islamic Cultural Center on the Upper East Side, according to a 1984 New York Times article which reported "plans for the center were first announced in the mid-1960's after organization efforts by Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Libya."  Imam Feisal, his son, is a permanent trustee of the Center.

On a 60 Minutes program which aired on 9/30/2001, shortly after the 9/11 attacks, Imam Feisal said "I wouldn't say that the United States deserved what happened," -- "but United States policies were an accessory to the crime that happened." Rauf further stated, “because we [Americans] have been accessory to a lot of innocent lives dying in the world,” it could be said that “[i]n fact, in the most direct sense, Osama bin Laden is made in the USA.”  Watch the September 30, 2001 segment at the 8:09 minute mark, but I recommend you watch the entire 15 minute video).

In October 2001, Rauf praised Sheik Yusef Qaradawi as "probably the most well-known legal authority in the whole Muslim world today."  One major problem here, he is the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood and is banned from the U.S. for his fatwas approving of martyrdom against Israel! 

On May 20th, just a couple weeks ago, New York Councilman Robert Jackson, Councilwoman Margaret Chin, State Sen. Daniel Squadron, City Comptroller John Liu and Borough President Scott Stringer actually stood with Imam Feisal against a tea party leader who opposed the mosque which he described with poorly chosen words, for which he later apologized.  State Sen. Daniel Squadron, City Councilwoman Margaret Chin and Councilman Robert Jackson, the Council’s sole Muslim, all spoke in favor of the plans.

There's strong and growing opposition to the Ground Zero mosque, including concerns expressed by my favorite Muslim, Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, who is  head of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy here and here.

Update 6/7/10:  1000 protest planned Islamic center, mosque near Ground Zero

Update 8/11/10: ACLJ infor on Imam Rauf

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Also see:

Perdana Global Demands Unconditional, Immediate Release Of Peace Activists 

screen shot taken 6/6/10:

 Daisy Kahn is his wife

Video: CNN interview with Daisy Kahn and Pamela Geller.

Kahn danced around the question about who is paying for the center.  She flatly denied Feisal's father was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood.

 Shariah Index Project

A 2008 archive copy on Cordoba Initiative website

2006 August:  The Shariah Project – Initial Meeting in Kuala Lumpur
Convened in Malaysia by Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the Shariah Project’s initial meeting assembled five distinguished scholars of Islamic holy law from four countries. In addition to Imam Feisal, the group included:  Professor Dr. Mahmood Ahmad Ghazi, Pakistan (Chairman of the Shariah Board for the State Bank of Pakistan and former president of International Islamic University); Professor Dr. Mohammad Hashim Kamali, Malaysia (Dean of the International Institute of Islamic Thought & Civilization and Former Interim Chairman, Constitutional Review Committee, Afghanistan); Professor Dr. Tahir Mahmood, India (Founder/Chairman, Amity University Institute for Advanced Legal Studies, New Delhi, and former Dean of the Faculty of Law, Delhi University); Dato’ Abdul Hamid Mohamad, Malaysia (Judge, Federal Court of Malaysia … Malaysian Supreme Court).  The Shariah Project is sponsored by the ASMA Society in cooperation with the Cordoba Initiative.

A NATION CHALLENGED: THE AMERICAN MUSLIMS A NATION …

New York Times - Oct 19, 2001
Imam Anwar Al-Awlaki, spiritual leader at the Dar al-Hijra mosque in ... Va., and Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, spiritual leader of the Al-Farah mosque in Lower ...

Update 8/11/10:  Archive copy of Cordoba Initiative showing Malaysia office where reporter

Oklahomans to decide on forbidding Sharia Law from court consideration

Oklahoma may become the first state in the nation to allow its citizens the right to decide whether state courts should be forbidden from using Sharia Law or other international laws when making legal decisions:

State Question 755, which likely will be on the ballot in November, would make in-state courts rely on federal and state laws when deciding cases and forbid courts from using international law or Sharia law when making rulings.

...Council on American-Islamic Relations spokesman Ibrahim Hooper said he has been working on Muslim civil rights issues for several decades and anti-Islam rhetoric is approaching “Nazi-like” levels.

...Saad Mohammed, director of Islamic information for the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City, said 80 percent of the U.S. Constitution is compatible with Sharia, which leads to justice and equality for all. Mohammed said extremists have distorted Sharia...

Hooper appears to have accused Oklahoma legislators of being Nazi-like!  CAIR, an outgrowth of the Islamic supremacist Muslim Brotherhood/Hamas infrastructure in America, often responds with name calling to avoid answering direct questions like in this case - the horrors of Sharia Law.

Mohammed is one of the founding members of its chapter in Oklahoma - a fact left out of the article linked to above. 

Most Islamic countries who use Sharia law as the basis for its ruling system does not give a Muslim the right to change their religion while, at the same time,  represses all other religions, including the building of churches and other houses of worships.  It is religiously supremacist and is what changed the Christian majority there forever.  Sharia Law stops religious freedom cold.  What's more, the entire history after full implimentation of Islam placed Muslims in the Middle East under strict Islamic rule by a long series of caliphates - until the last one was defeated in 1924.  Make no mistake, Islamists want this ruling system returned and a new caliphate in place.

The Oklahoma Director of CAIR, Razi Hashmi, said "the proposal is a way of promoting division and bigotry instead of promoting unity and understanding of other faiths and cultures,"  which is strikingly similar to his typical response to criticism of the highly controversial Islamist organization he represents.  Again, name calling is used to maneuvers out of answer direct questions regarding Sharia Law.  Did I mention the Muslim Brotherhood was created to gain power for the return of the caliphate?

The only members of the Islamic community in Oklahoma interviewed were from CAIR!  My God, this is one of the most controversial Islamist organizations in America which has a long and troubling history.  One has to seriously question why they were invited to come to Oklahoma by the Islamic leaders here, in the first place.  It certainly does not help the perception of our Muslim neighbors to have CAIR, an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation Hamas terror-funding trial, speak for them.  

Considering all this, I applaud the brave and excellent work by the Oklahoma legislators on this issue.

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Also see:

CAIR, the Muslim Brotherhood, and more

Ousted Rev. Franklin Graham will pray at the Pentagon

Rev. Franklin Graham was uninvited from giving a prayer at the Pentagon today because a few Muslims complained because he had the audacity to disagree and criticize the teachings of Islam!  But, that didn't stop Rev. Graham from going to the Pentagon to pray outside today as a citizen of this great country.

Franklin Graham soldiers on, prays at Pentagon

Below is a recent interview with Rev. Graham with NewsMax:

 Also see:

Pence urges re-invitation of Graham

Rev. Graham: I Don't Have to Be Invited to Pentagon to Pray for Our Troops

Supreme Court: Cross in Mojave Desert can stay!

Well, here is some good news which shows how important it is to have conservatives on the Supreme Court:

The Supreme Court said Wednesday that a federal court went too far in ordering the removal of a congressionally endorsed war memorial cross from its longtime home in California.

In ruling that the cross could stay, the justices said federal judges in California did not take sufficient notice of the government’s decision to transfer the land in a remote area of California to private ownership. The move was designed to eliminate any constitutional concern about a religious symbol on public land.

The ruling was 5-4, with the court’s conservatives in the majority.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars erected the cross more than 75 years ago atop an outcropping in the Mojave National Preserve.

Army conforms to sharia law and rescinds invitation to Rev. Franklin Graham!

Freedom of speech doesn''t extend to critics of Islam now that the U.S. Army has now bowed down to sharia law:  Army withdraws Franklin Graham Pentagon prayer day invitation over his criticism of Islam.

CAIR and all Islamic supremacists will be very pleased.

Is no one allowed to criticize Islam in America?

In the Middle East,  those who live under Sharia law face the possibility of death if they criticize Islam.  The undeniable religious supremacist nature of Islamic rule cannot be overlooked or ignored.

In America, CAIR, an organization founded by the Islamic supremacist Muslim Brotherhood, goes for the jugular of public officials who criticize Islam.  CAIR and their leftist partners. the dhimmicrats often work hand-in-hand to impose this same Islamic law onto non-Muslims - although they word-smith it so it's not so obvious but the intent is the same. 

The OIC, alleged to have possible ties to CAIR, is a Saudi-based and backed inter-governmental Islamist agency working to get a binding resolution approved at the U.N. that would make criticizing Islam illegal - worldwide, down to the local, state and national level.  They have already been successful in getting several non-binding resolutions passed. 

Americans had better wake up to what is going on here before it's too late.

The latest official on the hot seat this week is Rev. Franklin Graham who is scheduled to be the speaker at the Pentagon's National Day of Prayer on May 6th.  But, not if CAIR and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation get their way.  They want him uninvited.  CAIR whines that Rev. Graham said Muslims are enslaved by Islam.  But, isn't it true that Muslim cannot leave their religion in Islamic countries?  Can Rev. Graham not state this fact?  Can he also not say he does not believe in Islam?  

Think about this, anytime a Muslim recites the Quran they repeat verses that are anti-any other religion but Islam.   This is a book that makes it clear that Muslims believe Islam is the final religion that should rein over all others.  Hypocritcs?

Rev. Graham has the right to criticize Islam or any religion he wants.  Just as I do and just as you do.

Leaving Islam ads to go back on buses in Miami!

In a major victory against CAIR the "Leaving Islam" bus ads are going back up in Miami with 20 more being added, according to Jihad Watch.  Read their lawyer's statement if you get a chance, below is a short excerpt:

...It is ironic," Mr. Yerushalmi noted, "that the media allows CAIR to claim the mantle of a civil rights organization when it embraces censorship by the government all in the service of the "anti-blasphemy" platform of the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC), which calls for international legislation providing for criminal penalties against anyone who "insults Islam and its prophet Mohammed."

Mr. Yerushalmi added that the Center for Security Policy, a leading Washington D.C. national security think tank run by former Reagan administration official Frank Gaffney, has documented that CAIR is an illegal, unregistered foreign agent of the OIC, receiving millions of dollars from Islamic countries in order to pursue their political goals in the U.S. (See the CAIR Observatory at www.cairunmasked.org.) Mr. Yerushalmi is General Counsel to the Center for Security Policy.

..."This is not just an important day for the First Amendment. It is a 'teaching moment' to the media and to others in various government agencies who come across CAIR," Mr. Yerushalmi added. "CAIR is a criminal organization with ties to Hamas and other jihadists. This is not my opinion but the considered view of the U.S. Attorney's office, the FBI, and the federal courts, all based on the evidence CAIR has never refuted...

Army to consider uninviting Rev. Franklin Graham over criticism of Islam

Rev. Franklin Graham may be uninvited to the Pentagon on the National Day of Prayer because of his criticism of Islam over fears he may offend Muslims which was raised by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation who wrote a letter to Sec. Robert Gates stating that Muslims has contacted their organization and for Graham's criticism of Islam MRFF demanded that Rev. Graham being uninvited.

So, religious freedom means you are NOT free to criticism Islam, I guess?

Does that mean then that free speech is only free if you speak positively about Islam, which is required by shariah law?  Read Army considers rescinding invitation to evangelist.  If you recall,  CAIR issued a press release in December whining about Graham's criticism of Islam.  Applying shariah law to non-muslims is very troubling but this is what appears to be happening.  The Quran is offensive to Christians, if you think about it, because Muslims believe it is blasphemy to call Jesus the son of God.  So, it's OK for them to repeat these offensive verses but Christians can't speak up?  Come on.

No religion should ever be above criticism. EVER!  If the Army rescinds this invitation, it will be a dangerous step in the loss of our freedom of speech and the further bowing down to Shariah law.

Islamic propagation ads allowed on buses but leaving Islam ads not!

Islamic organizations spent thousands of dollars to proselytize Islam with bus ads in several major cities in America over the last couple of years. Christian ads like these would never be allowed in any Islamic country in the world because Islamic law is religiously supremacist.

So, when a simple ad that appealed to Muslims who might be considering leaving Islam was put on buses in Miami Dade country recently, CAIR threw a fit, complained, issued a press release and the ads were pulled! CAIR is an organization started by the Islamic supremacist Muslim Brotherhood as stated in  U.S. vs. Sabri Benkahla (page 58 in the footnote). It's totally beyond reason why this Islamist organization has any power based on the numerous court documents linking them to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas.  When will officials begin to act accordingly?

Below is a picture of the "Leaving Islam"  bus ad that was pulled:

 

(photos above from freedomdefense)

The organizers of the "leaving Islam" bus ads are Pam Geller and Robert Spencer who are called two of the worst anti-Islam hate-monerings by CAIR and other Islamic organizations.  They plan to file suit against the bus company.

I just have one question.  How can religious freedom for anyone be considered offensive?

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Also see:

freedomdefense

President Obama's Muslim advisor: Involve religious groups in foreign policy decisions!

President Obama's faith-based Muslim advisor, Dalia Mogahed, said; "Among the major recommendations of the (Obama's Faith-Based Advisory Board) task force on inter-religious cooperation is to involve religious communities more in the making of American foreign policy -- including leaders abroad and domestic ones!  

Their final recommendation with be presented March 9th.

Mayor Rex Parris clarifies Christian remarks

CAIR, an organization ID'd by the FBI in court documents as an outgrowth of the Muslim Brotherhood/Hamas infrastructure in America, has scored another big one.  They have been successful in getting clarification from Mayor Rex Parris from Lancaster, CA for his "Christian community" remarks a couple weeks ago.

CAIR threw their full weight against this mayor, as they do other officials to force them to gravel - apologize or whatever - because they speak in public about our country's Christian majority.  This time CAIR threatened to file a complaint with the Department of Justice. 

It is a sad, sad day in America when our own public officials can't speak about the faith that's the clear majority in America.  It's especially disturbing since CAIR's roots come from an Islamic supremacist organization banned in other parts of the world.

Video:

 

Christian father and daughter fear for life in Egypt

Video:

 

 

Rifqa Bary's parents reject court agreement

The Muslim parents of Rifqa Bary, Mohamed and Aysha Bary, withdrew their consent Thursday of a plan that allowed their daughter, now a Christian, to remain in foster care  until she turns 18.  They alleged misrepresentation.

The Bary's claim Rifqa has been allowed to communicate with a Florida pastor.

Dr. Bruce Prescott about your Mainstream Baptists blog...

 
Dr. Prescott:

I see that you haven't approved my comment on your post that declared CAIR OK was not a front for terrorists on your blog Mainstream Baptists.  Maybe you have been too busy to read it. 

Poll reveals Americans more prejudice against Muslims than Christians

Four Americans in ten said in a Gallup poll they felt at least a little prejudice towards Muslims - which is more than twice the number who felt the same towards Christians.  Could it psssible be because there are no large global Christianic movements working to create a Christianic supremacist state supported by multiple Christianic martyr attacks daily?  AND, the fact that many of our Muslim neighbors have Islamist organizations in America ID'd by the FBI as outgrowths of the Islamic supremacist Muslim Brotherhood infrastructure in America who speak for them?

Tomorrow is Religious Freedom Day! References to it removed from White House Website!

God Bless America for Religious Freedom Day!

Tomorrow is the anniversary of the passage, in 1786, of the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom.  President Bush issued a proclamation about this day every year as have other presidents.  You may be shocked to know, a search of the White House turns up zero items for "religious freedom day." 

The Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom is not at the address http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/42.htm where it has historically been. In fact, the whole website is gone.  But here are its archive pages, thanks to Wayback.

A search of the White House website for the phrase "Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom" turned up nothing, either. 

The Religious Freedom Day website has links to all of President Bush's proclamations for 2002 through 2009 and they have been removed from the White House website!

 Is President Obama going to ignore this day?

Update 1/16/10:  Presidential Proclamation--Religious Freedom Day (a sigh of relief - but I did notice a typo!)

screen shot taken 1/16/10 at 7 PM CT:

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Also see:

Here's the statute. 

Freedom Houses Report on Global Erosion of Freedom

Quote: State Senator Larry Shaw and CAIR's president called Christians extremists!

In an interview in the FayObserver posted yesterday, the president of CAIR, Larry Shaw, who is also a State Senator from North Carolina, was quoted as saying Christians were extremists:

"...You have extremists on the right," the seven-term senator said. "Christians, Ku Klux Klan, Nazis. All kinds of Islamic fanatics. All of them claim to speak for the majority, and that's unfortunate."

Shaw has been chairman of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, since March. The 15-year-old advocacy group with about 15,000 members has been the target of critics, especially since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the U.S.

Unless Shaw was misquoted here and the paper issues a correction, or I am reading this entirely wrong which I don't think I am,  this senator owes a written apology to all Christians. He could have misspoken which requires a written clarification, as well.

 There are no global movements seeking to create a fundamentalist Christianic state in countries throughout the world.  Nor are there Christianic terrorists attackings others daily in the name of their religion. 

But there are Islamist movements. 

Malaysia, now a more Islamist country, seizes 15,000 Bibles!

Islamists are trying to gain ground all over the world.  In Malaysia, one has to wonder if a more Islamists hard-line form of Islam is taking hold in the government as thousands of Bibles were seized in recent months because they containe to word Allah instead of God.  The Malaysian goverment has banned non-Muslims from using the word Allah.

Gunman wounds two at synagogue in Los Angeles this morning

A man with a hand gun entered the Adat Yeshurun Valley Sepharic synagogue in North Hollywood just after 6 AM this morning. The man then shot two men believed to be jewish, apparently, in their legs as they went for  prayer.  They are in stable condition at a local hospital. 

Police are still searching for the gunman.

KTLA video

Rifqa Bary ordered to return to Ohio by Florida judge

A Florida judge has ordered teenage runaway, Rifqa Bary, to return to her home state of Ohio, after proof her immigration papers are in order.  A hearing is set for October 23rd to address these issues prior to the transfer.  Once in Ohio, she will be placed in foster care. 

Bary ran away from home for fear she would be killed or harmed by her father after she converted to Christianity.  Her parents are Muslims.

Tulsa: Former Muslim, now atheist, received death threats

A former Muslim, who is now an atheist, received death threats after going public about his reason for leaving Islam and his dislike for all religions.  This didn't happen in a foreign country but in the middle of America in Tulsa, Oklahoma!

Sabri Husibi, a native of Syria, has lived in the United States for about 10 years.  On the 26th of September an interview with him was published by the Tulsa World titled Islamic student turned atheist to speak to group about his long decision to leave Islam and his rejection of all religions. 

Then, in a followup interview last Thursday Husibi told the World he received death threats and other angry phone calls which he said were from foreign-born Tulsa area Muslims whom he knew who took offense to his view on Islam.

CAIR complains about Bible Study form - school apologizes

CAIR, sprung from the Muslim Brotherhood/Hamas infrastructure in America, wrote a formal letter to Huron Park Elementary in Roseville, Michigan complaining that Bible study forms from a neighborhood church were sent home with students was inappropriate.

CAIR, is probably the most two-faced Islamist organization in America!  They won't hesitate to ask that Muslim students be released from school for Friday prayers, or send 100,000 Qurans to public officials or go into your child's school to speak about Islam and painting it as a natural progression from Christianity. 

As an unidicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation Hamas terror funding trial, CAIR's reputation is significantly tainted.  Yet, schools and politicians cave to them in disturbing ways.

Pope meets with president of Pakistan over treatment of Christians

Video of Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari as he met with Pope Benedict XVI today at the papal residence in Castel Gandalfo. :

Rifqa Bary to remain in Florida - parents file complaint

For now Rifqa Bary, the Christian teenager who ran away from home, will remain in Florida a judge ruled today.  But Ohio is likely to seek jurisdiction. 

Also,  her parents filed a complaint with the Florida police department against the Christian family who first helped her after she arrived in Florida,  They called authorities on her behalf right away, if I recall correctly.

Video:

Baptist Minister speaks about Rifqa Bary

Ergun Caner is a Baptist minister who lives in Virginia with his wife and kids.  Recently, he was interviewed about Rifqa Bary, the 17 year-old girl who fled her home in Ohio to Florida out of fear for her life after she converted to Christianity. 

It might interest you to know that Caner, too, was a Muslim in Ohio who became a Christian at age 16:

"...In her Aug. 30 sworn affidavit, the 17-year-old (Bary) said in June her father was pressured by leaders of the family mosque, the Noor Islamic Cultural Center in Columbus, to deal with reports they had received concerning Rifqa’s Christian conversion.

“In a fit of anger that I had never seen before in my life, he picked up my lap top, waived it over my head as if to strike me with it and said, ‘If you have this Jesus in your heart, you are dead to me! You are no longer my daughter,’” Rifqa said in the affidavit.

...Brian Williams, a 21-year-old friend of Rifqa, contacted FDLE (Florida Department of Law Enforcement) on Aug. 28, noting that he filed a report with the Columbus Police Department that she had told him about her father’s threat and her mother finding Christian materials in July. Williams also told FDLE he baptized Rifqa in June. He also said he drove Rifqa from a friend’s house to the bus station when she decided to flee.

...The FDLE report noted during the Aug. 27 interview with the Bary family, two officials of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) were present, including CAIR attorney Romin Iqbal who characterized honor killings as “cultural and tribal, not related directly to the Islamic religious practice.”

...According to Ergun Mehmet Caner, the FDLE report is an example of “political correctness” that may endanger Rifqa’s life.  “Her blood, which is almost certain to be shed if returned, is on their hands. The police and judicial branch in Florida were her last hope,” Caner said in a Sept. 15 interview with Florida Baptist Witness..."

Carner also told the Witness that a fatwa for his death was issued last year and he takes extra security precations.  He said “Death for apostasy from Islam is firmly rooted in the most sacred Muslim texts,” citing the Qur’an and the Hadith, collections about Islam’s prophet, Muhammad.“There is also a consensus by all four schools of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence, as well as Shi’ite jurists, that apostates from Islam must be put to death,” he said.  Rifqa, he said, brings dishonor to her family by her Christian faith. 

He was critical, too,  that CAIR was present during an interview with Bary's family.

Goveror Strickland of Ohio apparently issued a statement on the 11th that Rifqa should be returned to Ohio where officials there can protect her.

The Oklahoma Sponsoring Committee

Controversial community organizing workshops conducted by a partnership with the Industrial Area Foundation, founded by Saul Alinsky,  are taking place at a number of churches in Oklahoma City and surrounding areas. 

Fatwa in Egypt: Sin to construct churches

(photo from Washington DC rally for Coptic Christians)   

It's well known that it is hard to get a church built in a country under Sharia Law.  In Egypt recently controversy rose over a clarification fatwa that seems to emphasize Sharia law's Islamic supremacy goals: 

A controversial Fatwa (Islamic edict) prohibiting the construction of new churches in Egypt has provoked considerable discussion and spiraled into a crisis, involving the FatwaCouncil, Al-Azhar Grand Sheikh, Christian and Muslim religious personalities, and the media. It was also reported on 8/26/2009 that the jurists who issued the Fatwa are under investigation on orders of the Grand Mufti and the Justice Minister (z: probably just for show) 

The Fatwa (Arabic) in question was issued by the Al-Azhar affiliated "Dar el-Eftta" -- Fatwa Council for Islamic interpretations of laws in Islam. It stated "the will of a Muslim towards building a Church is a sin against God, just as if he left his inheritance towards building a nightclub, a gambling casino, or building a barn for rearing pigs, cats or dogs."

To highlight the reason for this "sin" the Fatwa went on to state: "Salvation in the Christian religion is the belief in Jesus as Lord, where Muslims fundamentally disagree on it. Muslims believe that Issa [Jesus in Arabic] peace be upon him, is a slave of Allah and His Messenger, and that Allah is one. He begets not and He is not begotten and there is none like unto Him. So if it is seen that one sect has deviated from this absolute Monotheism, then according to that person's own religion he is forbidden to donate for the erection of buildings where Allah is not worshiped alone."

A Coptic priest in Egypt, Rev. Estefanos Shehata, who has tried for two years to convert part of his home into a church had a death fatwa issued against him recently.

These are the Islamic laws that American Muslim leaders need to stand up against but won't.  You have to ask yourself why.

When President Mubarak of Egypt visited President Obama last month, Egyptian Coptic Christians Protested for Human Rights, Equality in Washington.

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Also see:

U.S. Copts Association

Free Copts

Copts United

Noor Islamic Center in Columbus, Ohio may provide clues to Rifqa Bary's fear

Rifqa Bary is a 17 year old Christian.  She was born into a Muslim family but converted 4 years ago.  After alleging she received death threats from her father for her conversion, she ran away from her home in Ohio and her story made national headlines.  The father denies he made any threats to her and she remains in foster care in Florida.

On Monday, her attorney filed an affidavit about the mosque her family attended;  the Noor Islamic Center in Columbus, Ohio, and its leader, who was identified by the FBI as a member of the Muslim Brotherhood.  Below are some highlights from the 35 page document (pdf file):

I. THE NOOR CENTER CEO AND THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD

The leader of the mosque, Dr. Hany Saqr, was previously an imam for another area mosque at the same time the largest known Al-Qaeda cell in the U.S. since 9/11 was operating out of the mosque. Additionally, Dr. Saqr was identified in exhibits submitted by the Department of Justice in a recent terrorism finance trial in Texas as being one of the leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood in North America – an international organization responsible for birthing virtually every Islamic terrorist organization in the world, including Al-Qaeda. One of his subordinates identified in those trial exhibits was identified in a FBI memorandum as providing $735,000 to Hamas while under Dr. Saqr’s direction.

II. THE NOOR CENTER SCHOLAR AND TERRORIST LEADERS

A former Islamic scholar associated with The Noor Center is Dr. Salah Sultan, a cleric that has been photographed with terrorist leaders designated as such by the U.S. government.

Dr. Sultan has recently appeared on television inciting violence against Jews, and he has previously appeared at events in support of designated terrorist organizations while an active part of the Noor Center community. Following his departure to Bahrain, unconfirmed reports indicate that his US citizenship application has been denied and that he has been banned from reentering the US.

III. THE NOOR CENTER AND EXTREMIST SPEAKERS

A number of extremist speakers have been featured at recent Noor Center events who are on record making statements in support of violence, terrorism and extremism.

Evidence also indicates that some of these speakers have been directly involved in fundraising and supporting the mosque since its inception. One regular speaker and fundraiser for the Noor Center was listed by federal prosecutors as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing trial.

IV THE NOOR CENTER TIED TO NATIONWIDE FBI TERROR INVESTIGATION

The Noor Center has also been directly tied to the ongoing nationwide investigation into Somali-American youths who have left the U.S. to train in terror camps operated by the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab terror organization.

CNN has identified Columbus as one of the main centers of the FBI’s investigation. This story was recently the subject of a lengthy front-page New York Times story..."

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Also see:

1992 Muslim Brotherhood phonebook

Download 1992_Phone_Directory (I believe page 3 shows Saqr as Hani Saker (614 is an Ohio area code).  Note: page 2:  Jamal Badawi - the man the Islamic Society of Tulsa invited to represent them in a public debate, also in the Oklahoma area code:  page 5: Foad Khaleely, page 4:  Nuridine Giayash) 

Court to rule on jurisdiction of Christian convert Rifqa Bary

A court hearing is underway in Tampa, Florida regarding 17 year-old Rifqa Bary, a Christian convert from Islam, who fears for her life.

WDBO is live blogging the hearing here.  Below is the latest:

This case is about jurisdiction, whether she can stay in the care of the Florida Department of Children and Families, or whether she has to be turned over to Ohio authorities.

..."Rifqa wants to be here," said one of her lawyers.

....update: A hearing is set for September 3rd at 2:30 p.m.  A dependency petition will be argued at that time.

update:  Rafqa is making her statement to the court. "I've been a christian for 4 years of my life. I love my parents but I am in fear of my life because of the past abuse. I assure your honor Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. I am a Christian, a believer."

...Rifqa will spend some time with her younger brothers, but does not want to meet with her parents at this time.

update: Rifqa is staying in a foster home. Her foster parents are not willing to allow supervised visitation of Rifqa's family or friends right now. The judge is recommending DCF take charge of the issue and hold these meetings in an outside location where it can be videotaped. 

...The hearing ended at 4:07 p.m.

The judge has ruled jurisdiction is in Florida, for now.

Update 8/24/09:  Not surprisingly, Time Magazine, which is owned by Timer Warner who also owns CNN,  - both spinners of the leftist ideology, hints in an article titled, A Florida Culture-War Circus Over Rifqa Bary, that if Bary's story is false this "saga" could be the result of a Crusades-era belief brainwashing and that Rifqa left home after a "dispute", rather than fear for her life as Rifqa said herself. A Muslim writer, Mohammad Anwar, wasted no "time" in his piece Case of Rifqa Barry, another attempt to defame Islam to bolster his claim that Bary's case is an attempt to defame Islam and spread hate against the religion and there is no such thing as honor killing in Islam. 

Yet, in Pakistan today, it was reported a man killed his wife and two daughters over honor.  And on the 13th of August, the Vancouver Sun reported Honour killings' of girls and women on the rise in Canada: expert, including a quadruple killing there in June.

According, to several reports, Bary's parents attend the Noor Islamic Cultural Center in Toledo, Ohio.  This mosque has been known for hosting some questionable speakers here and here

Update 9/4/09:  Judge in Rifa Bary case "willing to chance" mediation effort  WDBO Radio -  He further ordered them not to speak to the media about the case. The order does not apply to the principals, Rifqa or her parents back in Ohio.

The next hearing is scheduled for September 29.

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Also see:

zTruth : Rifqa Bary, a young Christian convert in her own words 

8/24/09 From a former Muslim, Nonie Darwash titled Saving Rafqa :

Apostates are to be given three days to repent and return to Islam. If the apostate refuses, he or she will be killed immediately. Books on Islamic Sharia agree unanimously on this point. For instance, Muslim scriptures such as the Sahih Hadith by the prophet Mohammad 9:50 states: "No Umma [a member of the Muslim community] should be killed for killing a Kaffir [an infidel]. . . Whoever changes his Islamic religion, kill him."

2. It is obligatory for a Muslim caliph to ask the apostate to repent and return to Islam. If he does, his return to the fold is accepted; but if he refuses, he must be killed.

3. There is no indemnity for killing an apostate, nor is there any expiation required, since killing an apostate is tantamount to killing someone who deserves to die.

4. The testimony of apostates is not admissible in Sharia courts.

5. An apostate cannot claim an inheritance from Muslim parents.

6. The marriage of an apostate is immediately dissolved if the spouse is and remains Muslim.

10/2/07:  Christianity's Image Problem - TIME:  ...It used to be, says David Kinnaman, that Christianity was both ... Rather, he sees resentment as focused on perceived Christian attitudes. ...

9/13/04:  TIME Magazine: The Struggle For The Soul of Islam:  A TIME cover story explaining the The Struggle For The Soul of Islam.

3/11/07:  JORDAN: Honour killings still tolerated

 

EU officials alarmed at U.N. conference attempts to stop criticism of Islam

EU officials appeared more alarmed and more outspoken about the OIC-backed attempt to shutter criticism of Islam at the U.N. Human Rights Council.  Let's face it, this is nothing more than an attempt to impose Sharia Law onto non-muslim countries and individuals:

European Union countries Tuesday stepped up their opposition to Muslim attempts to shield Islam from criticism and attack Israel through a U.N. conference on racism.

EU members were unusually outspoken in appearances before the U.N. Human Rights Council, saying they were worried about preparations for a global racism conference to be held next month because attention was being diverted from the real problems of racial discrimination.

"I am deeply disturbed by the turn this event is taking," Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Verhagen said.

...References to Israel and protection of religion in the current draft conclusion being negotiated for the so-called Durban II conference are unacceptable, Verhagen said.

"We cannot accept any text, which would put religion above individuals, not condemn discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, condone anti-Semitism or single out Israel," he said. Denmark, Germany, Belgium and Italy voiced similar concerns.

...The Obama administration said Friday the U.S. will stay away from this year's conference unless its final document is changed to drop all references to Israel and the defamation of religion

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More post on the OIC here:

Rifqa Bary, a young Christian convert in her own words

A very powerful and moving video:

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Also see

Christian convert teen fears for her life in America!

Statement From Lawyer Indicates Rifqa Bary's Parents Blame Pastors ... 

Teen claims she was in danger for converting to Christianity

This is how is was reported in the Pakistan Daily:

Pregnant Minor Lanka girl kidnapped by Ohio Christian Church

Florida principal could face fine and/or jail time for prayer

Florida principal, Frank Lay,  could face fines or jail time or both for violating an order NOT to preach religion at school:

...Last August, the American Civil Liberties Union sued the Santa Rosa County School Board, then-Superintendent John Rogers and (Pace High School Principal Frank)Lay on behalf of two unnamed Pace High students.

Citing examples throughout the district, the students said school officials violated the Constitution by promoting their religious beliefs in schools.

For years, Lay had done exactly that, according to supporters and critics alike, and his actions had gone largely unchallenged.

...Within a few months, the district admitted the allegations and hammered out an agreement that would take religion out of the classroom.

U.S. District Judge Casey Rodgers approved the agreement. A temporary injunction was issued on Jan. 19, then was made permanent on May 6.

Nine days later, after Lay signed the temporary injunction, he was accused of violating the order.

...On Jan. 28, he asked the school athletic director, Robert Freeman, to "bless the food" at a luncheon at Pace High for school personnel and booster club members instrumental in helping get a new fieldhouse. The school's culinary class prepared the meal.

Four-term School Board member Jo Ann Simpson, who was at the luncheon, couldn't believe her ears.

She reported what happened to Superintendent Tim Wyrosdick and the district's lawyers.

...Last month, after a series of legal filings, Rodgers ordered Lay and Freeman to appear on criminal contempt charges alleging they violated her order.

Their hearing is set for Sept. 17, and the possible punishment could range from fines to jail.

Religion should be kept out of all schools, period.

Suit filed after Muslim principal fires Christian coach

A former coach sues Dearborn schools in Michigan because his former assistant, a pastor,  caused him to be fired by Muslim principal, Imad Fadlallah, he claims.  As most of you know, it is against Islamic law to preach the Gospel of Jesus to a Muslim in Islamic ruled countries.  But, this happened in America!  

As is the casee in all lawsuits, facts presented will determine if there is any merit to the coach's claim.

A former high school wrestling coach who is Christian filed a lawsuit Monday against Dearborn Public Schools and a high school principal who is Muslim, saying he was terminated because of his association with an assistant who had helped convert a Muslim student to Christianity.

The suit was filed in Detroit by a Livonia law firm and attorneys with the Thomas More Law Center in Ann Arbor.

Jerry Marszalek, a longtime wrestling coach at Fordson High School in Dearborn, was let go last year by the district, which did not renew his contract.

The lawsuit says that the district and Imad Fadlallah, principal at Fordson High School, violated constitutional rights to free speech and exercise of religion, and Michigan laws against discrimination.

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Also see:

5/30/08:  Muslim principal fires wrestling coach; alleges his assistant converted Muslims

...According to Schlussel, the principal's cousin is Hezbollah spirtual leader, Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Fadlallah who is on the State Department Terrorist List and issued the fatwa to Hezbollah terrorists to murder over 300 U.S. Marines and U.S. Embassy officials. But in 2005, Hancock came under attack by some Muslims after he baptized in Port Huron a Muslim student from Dearborn.

..."If people want to come to Jesus, I'm here for them," Hancock said. He added that such activities were done outside Fordson and the wrestling team..."

Two Houston billboards takes aim at Hamas

 

Photo by JHV: AVA MILLER

More at Bridge Houston-StandWithUs partnership puts up billboards

Christian homes burned in Pakistan after broadcasts from mosques

According to Persecution.org,  this morning 100 Christian homes and churches were burned in the city of Kasur South in Pakistan after broadcasts were made from mosques in the area.  This organization also urges us to call Pakistani embassies worldwide to ask for protection for Christians in their country.

Pakistan US Embassy:  202 243-6500

New York City Council committee pass resolution for Muslim holidays in schools

The New York City Council Committee on Education voted to approve a resolution to add Muslim holidays to the school calendars:

"...Whereas, It should be noted that according to the Coalition, other localities with growing Muslim populations have incorporated Eid Ul-Fitr and Eid Ul-Adha into their school holiday calendar; and

Whereas, Such localities include Dearborn, Michigan and several New Jersey cities and townships including Irvington, Atlantic City, Trenton and Paterson; and

Whereas, New York City is a diverse and dynamic locality in which tolerance and acceptance are central values, and incorporation of Eid Ul-Fitr and Eid Ul-Adha as public school holidays would serve as an important embodiment of this tolerance and acceptance; and

Whereas, Assembly Member Michael Benjamin and Senator Bill Perkins have introduced State legislation (A.8108/S.5837) that would require the New York City school district to close schools on the first day of both Muslim holidays; and ...

Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the New York City Department of Education to incorporate the Muslim holidays of Eid Ul-Fitr and Eid Ul-Adha as observed school holidays in the school calendar for the city school district of the city of New York, and calling upon the State legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign into law, A.8108/S.5837, an Act to amend the education law, in relation to requiring that Eid Ul-Fitr and Eid Ul-Adha be school holidays in the city school district of the city of New York.

President Obama's post Egypt speech Q&A

After President Obama's speech in Egypt,  he sat down with a group of regional reporters for a question and answer session.  Two reporters, one Syrian and one Lebanese apparently did not attend because an Israeli reporter was invited, as well.

In any event, there is one part in the Q&A about religion worth passing along:

Q  Okay.  And the second is, you know, I read your book, "The Audacity of Hope," and I had a very great hope that you can reach the Muslim community because it seemed to me your understanding of a relationship between faith and politics, especially in black churches is very much -- I can imagine someone who is a Hamas or, you know, maybe radical Islamist would probably, if you take away the word "Islam" and change it with, you know, "black Christian," it's exactly the same.  Do you feel that way also?

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, you know, I think it's interesting -- obviously I'm a person of faith, and as a Christian, but also as somebody who believes very strongly in democracy and human rights and I'm a constitutional law professor, so I have some very strong ideas about how a pluralistic society lives together -- these are things that I do spend time thinking about.

What I tried to communicate in the speech and what I believe very strongly is that in an interdependent world like ours, where the world has shrunk and different peoples with different faiths and different ideas are constantly having to coexist, that we have to have a mature faith that says "I believe with all my heart and all my soul in what I believe, but I respect the fact that somebody else believes their beliefs just as strongly."  And so the only way that we are going to live together, or operate in a political system that can work for everybody is if we have certain rules about how we relate to each other.

I can't force my religion on you.  I can't try to organize a majority to discriminate against you because you're a religious minority.  I can't simply take what's in my religious beliefs and say you have to believe and abide by these same things.  Now, that doesn't mean that I can't make arguments that are based on my belief and my faith -- right?  If I'm a Christian, I believe in the Ten Commandments.  And it says, Thou Shalt Not Kill.  If I'm a politician and I say I'm going to pass a law against murdering somebody, that's not me practicing my religious faith; that's me practicing morality that may be based in religious faith, but that's a universal principle -- or at least one that can translate into a principle that people of various faiths can agree on.

I think it's very important for Islam to wrestle with these issues.  Now, I recognize that not all religious beliefs are going to be exactly the same in how they think about politics.  And so in Islam there's a debate about sharia and how strict an interpretation or how moderate an interpretation of that should be; or should that be something that is not part of the secular law.  I don't presume to make that decision for any country or any groups of people.  But I do think that if you start having rules that guarantee other faiths and other groups, or in the case of the United States, people with no faith at all, are somehow forced to abide by somebody else's faith, I think that is a violation of the spirit of democracy and I think that over the long term, that's going to breed conflict in some way.  It will lead to some sort of instability and destructiveness in that society.

But, as I said, I think this is a important debate that has to take place inside Islam.  I think in the meantime, the one thing I can say for certain is that people who justify killing other people based on faith are misreading their sacred texts.  And I think they are out of alignment with God.  Now, that's my belief.  And that, I think, is a debate that I think is settled for the vast majority of Muslims, but we have a very small minority that can be very destructive, and that's part of what I tried to discuss in my speech.

Afghan terrorist, wanted by the U.S., may share power with President Karzai

Is this for real?  Did the U.S. participant in this deal because this report says one particular terrorist will be removed from the "FBI's Most Wanted" list if he goes into exhile for three years.

"ONE of Afghanistan’s most wanted terrorists is to be offered a power-sharing deal by the government of President Hamid Karzai as the country’s warlords extend their grip on power.

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who is on America’s “most wanted” terrorist list, is to hold talks with the Kabul government within the next few weeks.

Hekmatyar is the leader of Hezb-i-Islami, which has been fighting Nato troops alongside the Taliban. The hardline group is responsible for many attacks in the eastern and central regions, including the massacre of 10 French soldiers in Sarobi last year. It controls Kapisa province, just 50 miles north of Kabul.

The party is expected to be offered several ministries and provincial governorships in return for laying down its arms and agreeing not to disrupt the presidential elections due in August.

Hekmatyar will not be offered a post but will be asked to go into exile in Saudi Arabia for three years, after which his name would be removed from the US list.

The controversial move follows the announcement of Mohammed Qasim Fahim, another former warlord, as Karzai’s running mate, a choice that had plunged diplomats into despair.

Fahim, a commander for the Northern Alliance, has been cited in reports by Human Rights Watch and other agencies for his role in massacres and criminal activities. “All the people most responsible for getting Afghanistan into the mess it’s in are coming back,” said a western diplomat. "

Times Online

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Also see:

List of specially designated nationals and blocked persons

Pope calls for coorperation among religions

Today, Pope Benedict XVI made a plea from a mosque in Jordan for the world's religions to get along.  He also expressed concern for Christians and other non-Muslims who live in Islamic nations:

"Pope Benedict XVI, speaking at a mosque in Amman, Jordan, also expresses concern about the discrimination that he says Christians and others face in Islamic nations such as Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

Pope Benedict XVI today called on Christians and Muslims to serve mankind with the "light of God's truth" while warning that extremists in nations such as Iraq were exploiting religious differences for political and violent agendas.

...During his speech, the pontiff made note of Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly, patriarch of the Chaldean Church, Iraq's largest Christian denomination. Tens of thousands of Christians have fled Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and subsequent sectarianism.

"I urge diplomats and the international community they represent, together with local political and religious leaders, to do everything possible to ensure the ancient Christian community of that noble land its fundamental right to peaceful coexistence with their fellow citizens," the pope said."

LA Times

President Obama will not participate in the National Day of Prayer!

At a press briefing, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs defended the Obama administration's plan to recognize the National Day of Prayer Thursday with a paper proclamation, rather than a public event at the White House.

Atheists praised the new president who felt this day marginalized them.

"No government -- federal, state or local -- has any business encouraging Americans to pray, or telling them when and how to exercise religious beliefs," said Buckner. "Doing so immediately excludes and marginalizes an estimated 15% of our population who 'have no religion.' That's nearly 45 million Americans, most of whom are patriotic, hard-working Americans."

From USA Today:

"The National Day of Prayer Task Force, which is run out of the Christian group Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs, Colo., has been eagerly awaiting word from the White House about plans for next Thursday's National Day of Prayer. Specifically, the group wants to know if President Obama will issue a proclamation observing the National Day of Prayer next Thursday and whether he'll host a formal White House event to mark the day—the latter being the practice of the Bush White House.

The White House tells me that there will be a proclamation but no White House event—which is how administrations prior to George Bush's marked the event. Bush had been in the habit of inviting National Day of Prayer Task Force Chairman Shirley Dobson and her husband, James—founder of Focus on the Family—to the East Room at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for the event. 

Video on Al-Jazeera: U.S. Military church service shares Christian faith

There's a video being shown on Al Jazeera TV today, no doubt, to paint a U.S. Military church service in Afghanistan in a bad light since these brave men and women  talked about how they share their faith.

Naturally, the far-left and the Islamists would be all upset by this video.  I say more power to our military.  They have a right to practice their faith. 

Christians have to stand strong in today's times or we could end up like Egypt, a once thriving Christian country.

The war,  or the politically correct and stupid phrase under the Obama administration; the "Overseas Contigency Operations", we are carrying out to save others and ourselves is really a struggle and a fight against a strict or literal interpretation of Islam which puts Islamic law at its core.  This fight likely will threaten the entire world for decades to come. Included in the literal interpretation are verses in the Quran that states Islam must dominate over all other religions.

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Also see:

US denies letting troops convert Afghans

Reuters - ‎6 hours ago‎

Trying to convert Muslims to any other faith is a crime in Afghanistan. An Afghan man who converted to Christianity was sentenced to death for apostasy in ...

 

Afghan calls for Bible distribution probe United Press International

Newsweek: The End of Christian America

Newsweek features an article in their latest issue titled "The End of Christian America".  It could be a bit of a stretch to take one survey as an absolute to declare the end to Christian America but that's not to say there isn't some truth to it, either.

Perhaps, though, this might be a blatant attempt by Democrats to de-Christianize America in order to further their agenda. 

In any event, America, a country born of Judeo-Christian values, appears to be threatened based on far-left advances.

From the Newsweek article:

"The percentage of self-identified Christians has fallen 10 points in the past two decades. How that statistic explains who we are now—and what, as a nation, we are about to become.

It was a small detail, a point of comparison buried in the fifth paragraph on the 17th page of a 24-page summary of the 2009 American Religious Identification Survey. But as R. Albert Mohler Jr.—president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, one of the largest on earth—read over the document after its release in March, he was struck by a single sentence. For a believer like Mohler—a starched, unflinchingly conservative Christian, steeped in the theology of his particular province of the faith, devoted to producing ministers who will preach the inerrancy of the Bible and the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the only means to eternal life—the central news of the survey was troubling enough: the number of Americans who claim no religious affiliation has nearly doubled since 1990, rising from 8 to 15 percent. Then came the point he could not get out of his mind: while the unaffiliated have historically been concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, the report said, "this pattern has now changed, and the Northeast emerged in 2008 as the new stronghold of the religiously unidentified." As Mohler saw it, the historic foundation of America's religious culture was cracking.

"A remarkable culture-shift has taken place around us," Mohler wrote. "The most basic contours of American culture have been radically altered. The so-called Judeo-Christian consensus of the last millennium has given way to a post-modern, post-Christian, post-Western cultural crisis which threatens the very heart of our culture."When Mohler and I spoke in the days after he wrote this, he had grown even gloomier. "Clearly, there is a new narrative, a post-Christian narrative, that is animating large portions of this society," he said from his office on campus in Louisville, Ky.

...Many conservative Christians believe they have lost the battles over issues such as abortion, school prayer and even same-sex marriage, and that the country has now entered a post-Christian phase..."

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Also see:

Most religious groups in USA have lost ground, survey finds  USAToday

Obama Names Pope-Basher to Faith-Based Initiative Board

CNSNews.com - ‎Apr 6, 2009‎

Reports surfaced last week that both Knox and former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy – the latter an opponent of same-sex marriage -- were asked to join ...

 

Dictionary Redefines 'Marriage' to Include Same-Sex Couples

Christian Post - ‎Mar 19, 2009‎

Whereas the company's dictionary editions prior to 2003 stated no mention of same-sex marriage, the latest version now defines marriage also as "the state ...

Vermont legalizes same-sex marriage Boston Globe

Same-sex marriage finally comes to the Midwest Indiana Daily Student

Rick Warren: Stopping Gay Marriage 'Very Low' on Priority List U.S. News & World Report

State Court of Appeals to Hear Two Same-Sex Marriage Cases

New York Times - ‎Mar 31, 2009‎

Since New York only recognizes marriage between one man and one woman, for any court to recognize same-sex marriage would be to recognize marriages that run ...

 

Sweden passes same-sex marriage CNN International

 

Mayor Gavin Newsom to be awarded for efforts for same-sex marriage

The San Francisco Examiner - ‎Apr 5, 2009‎

The mayor will be honored in New York City tonight with a leadership award for his efforts for same-sex marriage. In 2004, Newsom gained worldwide attention ...

 

Gay rights opponents, transgenders rally at Capitol

Connecticut Post - ‎13 hours ago‎

Both lawmakers called for the defeat of the same-sex marriage bill, which is on the Senate calendar. Peter Wolfgang, president of the FIC, renewed a call ...

 

In reversal, Schumer now supports same-sex marriage

Newsday - ‎Mar 24, 2009‎

Charles Schumer has become the last statewide elected official to support same-sex marriage, reversing his longtime stand against it. ...

New Hampshire Approves Same Sex Marriage Bill Livesteez

MN religious leaders want same-sex marriage amendment MSNBC

Calif.'s top lawyer seeks to overturn gay marriage ban

Calgary Herald - ‎Apr 3, 2009‎

The same court opened the door to gay marriage in a ruling over the summer. Only two states, Massachusetts and Connecticut, now recognize same-sex marriage, ...

Islamic scholars in Turkey call for reformation of Islam

A large group of Islamic scholars in secular Turkey have called for reform of their religion.  Their project is supported by the Turkish government. 

These scholars and the Turkish government should be applauded!

Video:

A group of Islamic scholars in Turkey is attempting to re-interpret some of Islam's most sacred texts. The goal: to give the faith a modern makeover.

"Mehmet Kirbasoglu is passionate about his faith in Allah, the Muslim God. But he believes that his religion needs a fresh interpretation for the 21st Century.

...And so for the past few years, Kirbasoglu, and 80 other Muslim Turkish scholars, have been examining the Hadith -- a collection of some 170,000 sayings attributed to the prophet Mohammed.

The Hadith is the second most sacred text in Islam after the Koran. It is also the basis of all Islamic Sharia law.

The Hadith includes some of the more controversial tenents, such as stoning adulterers, honor killings, female genital mutilation and amputation. The scholars will publish six volumes later this year that will throw out or re-interpret thousands of such practices...

Nahide Bozkurt, a leading Islamic historian, has written extensively on the life of the prophet Mohammed.

She concludes that many of the Hadiths were falsified, while others were made up to exert control over society...

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Also see:

Feb 26, 2008 Turkey in radical revision of Islamic texts  BBC

Reform-minded Turkish scholars prepare to reinterpret Islam ...  

Apr 24, 2008 ... In a sterile, boxy stone building in the shadow of Ankara's central mosque, a group of Turkish scholars is spearheading a reinterpretation ...

 

Mar 1, 2008 ...Is Turkey re-interpreting Islam? « BBC World Have Your Say  

Is there a move to radically reform Islam in Turkey? This Saturday at 1230 GMT, we at Newshour will be reporting on work in progress in Turkey to ...

Turkey strives for 21st century form of Islam | World news | The ...  

Feb 27, 2008 ... Turkey attempts to rewrite basis for Islamic sharia law while ... Sources say the Islamic reform project is so ambitious and so fundamental ...

Turkey: Islamic Reformers Look Back To Future