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themoscowtimes--2019-11-28--Russia, Syria Agree to Restore Ancient Palmyra

themoscowtimes

Russia, Syria Agree to Restore Ancient Palmyra

Russian and Syrian state museums have signed two agreements to begin restoring the ancient city of Palmyra after it was heavily damaged by the Islamic State, the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg has said. Aided by Russian airstrikes, the Syrian army captured Palmyra from the Islamic State twice in March 2016 and March 2017. The terrorist group had destroyed several centuries-old monuments in Palmyra, including the facade of its Roman Theater, the Temple of Bel, the Tetrapylon and the Monumental Arch, during its occupation of the site. The UNESCO world heritage site’s revival will begin with a restoration of the National Museum of Palmyra, The Art Newspaper quoted Hermitage director Mikhail Piotrovsky as saying Tuesday. “We are preparing for the day after tomorrow, it’s not yet possible to do anything tomorrow,” Piotrovsky was quoted as saying about the project's timeline at a signing ceremony in Damascus. The agreements’ long-term goals entail restoring 20 Syrian antiquities primarily from Palmyra and launching an international campaign to restore the ancient city, the art news website reported Wednesday. One was signed between the Hermitage and Syria’s authority for museums and antiquities, and the other between Syria’s museums authority and the Russian Academy of Sciences’ history of material culture institute. Piotrovsky had said in August that it would take around two years to restore the National Museum of Palmyra. He vowed that Russia would help restore the Palmyra museum but not the damaged ancient monuments. In 2017, Piotrovsky presented a 3D model detailing a 20,000-square-meter area of Palmyra to Syria to help restore the ancient city. Russian experts created the 3D model in about a year using photographs taken on the ground after Palmyra’s initial liberation. Russia organized an international press tour of Palmyra in April 2016, which included a concert performance featuring Sergei Roldugin, a close friend and confidante of President Vladimir Putin. This year, two Russian tour operators began offering travel packages to Syrian cities including Palmyra, though they noted that demand is not high.

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/11/28/russia-syria-agree-to-restore-ancient-palmyra-a68365

Thu, 28 Nov 2019 13:24:00 +0100

conflict, war and peace

post-war reconstruction

theguardianuk--2019-05-21--Water supply restored for millions in Libya averting crisis

theguardianuk

Water supply restored for millions in Libya, averting crisis

Water supplies to the Libyan capital and surrounding cities have been restored two days after they were cut off when an armed group stormed a control room, averting shortages that could have caused a humanitarian crisis. “The crisis of halting water supplies has ended and flows have started,” the Great Man-Made River company, a pipe network supplying ground water from the Sahara, said in a statement. On Sunday, an armed group had stormed a pumping station run by the Great Man-Made River south of Tripoli, forcing employees to shut down water pipes connected to underground wells. The pipes supplied water to Tripoli, a city of more than 2 million people, and other coastal areas. The group claimed to be supporters of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the leader of the Libyan National Army (LNA). Haftar’s force dominates the east and south of Libya and has been trying to take the capital from the UN-backed government of national accord (GNA). The link with Haftar has been disputed. There were claims the armed group was operating independently and that the GNA was making a link to undermine support for the controversial general. Haftar’s forces have been besieging Tripoli since 4 April with tacit support from countries including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, but it is generally accepted that the LNA’s plans for a quick victory and the defeat of the GNA have been thwarted. The agency that oversees the water project, first commissioned by the former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, insisted it had never taken sides in the current civil strife and said water supplies should never be used to pursue any interest. “Water is God’s gift to all and should not be used to dictate or bargain under any conditions at all,” the authority said. As a result of the attack, water was cut not just to Tripoli but also to Gharyan and some other western mountain cities. Supplies to residents were not immediately halted because the water system holds two days of capacity. The incident underlined the vulnerability of Libya’s civil fabric to a prolonged war. The authority previously warned it was finding it difficult to repair leaks because of the fighting. Libya periodically suffers from water outages. The GNA accused the armed group of seeking to “lock the water from the capital to lower the morale of its inhabitants”. The episode may rebound badly on Haftar as he seeks to persuade the international community he can be the upholder of security against the criminal militias who have afflicted the weak GNA government in Tripoli. It will also add to the sense that the siege is deepening a general lawlessness in Libya that others, including Islamic State, are beginning to exploit. There have been a number of Isis hit-and-run attacks in the past month, mainly in the south of the country. The east and west of Libya have been divided for much of the time since Gaddafi was ousted with the help of Nato-backed forces in 2011.

Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/21/millions-without-water-libya-armed-group-cuts-off-supply

2019-05-21 10:22:04+00:00

conflict, war and peace

post-war reconstruction

tass--2019-09-17--Kiev vows radical measures in Donbass unless peace is restored in a year

tass

Kiev vows ‘radical measures’ in Donbass unless peace is restored in a year

"All in all, we have just six months or a year. And Zelensky’s formula ends by a phrase that we don’t have five years to continue talks. This is a conventional 'Zelensky’s formula'," Pristaiko said, stressing that Kiev would make every effort to live up to people’s expectations. However, unless the Donbass crisis is ironed out in the near future, Kiev will be forced to implement "new radical measures," the top Ukrainian diplomat said, citing the president’s formula. The minister explained that Zelensky’s plan on ending the war in Donbass in the near future also implies a prisoner exchange. "For example, we will try to return all our guys and girls, this is one part," Pristaiko said. Kiev will also take steps to reach out to people, who are on the other side of the contact line, he noted. In particular, the Ukrainian authorities plan to build a bridge in Stanitsa Luganskaya, and simplify pension application procedures. In February 2015, participants of the Contact Group for settling the crisis in Donbass signed the Package of Measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreements, known as Minsk-2, which had been earlier backed by the Normandy Four (Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine) leaders. The document envisages not only ceasefire, the withdrawal of hardware, amnesty and the restoration of economic ties, but also a constitutional reform in Ukraine aimed at ensuring the decentralization of powers while taking into account a special status for Donbass. However, this plan has not been fulfilled due to Kiev’s stance.

https://tass.com/world/1078466

2019-09-17 06:57:36+00:00

conflict, war and peace

post-war reconstruction

tass--2019-12-20--Kiev has no plans so far to restore railway traffic with Donbass, says senior diplomat

tass

Kiev has no plans so far to restore railway traffic with Donbass, says senior diplomat

KIEV, December 20. /TASS/. There are no plans now to restore railway traffic with the territories of Donbass that are not controlled by Kiev, Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Vasily Bodnar said in the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) on Friday. "Of course, railway traffic is out the question now. The issue at hand is opening additional checkpoints for humanitarian needs. The Contact Group has been tasked with that, and it is working on that," he said when asked by lawmakers whether plans were in store to restore railway traffic with the territories of Donbass that are not controlled by Kiev (the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics - TASS).

https://tass.com/world/1101655

Fri, 20 Dec 2019 14:26:54 +0300

conflict, war and peace

post-war reconstruction

unian--2019-05-06--Expert explains when Ukrainian sovereignty in Donbas may be restored

unian

Expert explains when Ukrainian sovereignty in Donbas may be restored

Romanenko says it is necessary to conduct an all-for-all swap and hold further talks on Donbas' future. Former deputy chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Lt Gen (Reserve) Ihor Romanenko has said fighting in Donbas can be stopped within a year, but restoring Ukrainian sovereignty in those territories may take years. "The return of Donbas can be interpreted as the end of the war. This is quite a long way. [For example,] Russia and Japan are still in a state of legal war, territorial claims have not been resolved yet. There are quite a lot of countries in the world that are in such a state," the expert said, commenting on the statement by advisor to Ukrainian President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky Ivan Aparshyn that Donbas could be returned to Ukraine within five years, according to the Ukrainian online news outlet Obozrevatel. Read alsoExpert says Russians ready to launch large-scale military actions this year According to Romanenko, it is necessary to conduct an all-for-all swap and stop the hostilities to hold further talks on Donbas' future. "As for ceasing the fire, I think this is a realistic task for this year if we are engaged in negotiations and progress. But we see the story with Russian passports in Donbas that Putin has begun, economic pressure, a halt to oil shipments. They say one thing, do another thing, but think something completely different, unfortunately," he said. Commenting on the likelihood of the return of Donbas with the use of force, the general said: "It's not a question to prepare a plan, and if we're well prepared, we can reach the border within a month. But Russia under Putin will not stop. They will start counter-actions resulting in territorial losses, etc. The question is not to temporarily put the flag either 10 km from the contact line, or even at the border, but to resolve the issue for the restoration of sovereignty. And it is not quite easy." Romanenko did not rule out the deployment of a UN peacekeeping mission to Donbas. "If negotiations begin, the UN mission can be involved. But if we positively advance in the negotiations, the issue can be resolved without the UN mission. If only they [peacekeepers] agree, they will study the issue, conduct reconnaissance, and assess the situation this year. At best, they may appear there in a year," he explained.

https://www.unian.info/politics/10539669-expert-explains-when-ukrainian-sovereignty-in-donbas-may-be-restored.html

2019-05-06 08:06:00+00:00

conflict, war and peace

post-war reconstruction

unian--2019-07-03--Zelensky Over EUR 10 bln needed to restore Donbas

unian

Zelensky: Over EUR 10 bln needed to restore Donbas

The return of Crimea and peace in Donbas are safeguards of peace both in Europe and the rest of the world. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said more than EUR 10 billion is needed to restore the war-torn Donbas. "Returning our territories and captives, achieving peace – those are the most important things. This is the first thing that a citizen-oriented government should provide," Zelensky said during a Ukraine Reform Conference held in Toronto, according to the presidential press service. "And we can't do without your support here," he said, addressing the participants in the conference. According to Zelensky, Ukraine is facing two major challenges. The first one is economic: according to preliminary estimates, more than EUR 10 billion is needed to restore Donbas. "This autumn, we will hold a forum in Mariupol. We invite foreign investors interested in financing infrastructure and humanitarian projects in Donbas," the president said. Another challenge is related to communication. The president emphasized that Ukraine should also return [the minds of] its people, not only its territories. "They shouldn't lose contact with Ukraine. These are our citizens. And today, they are scared. They have a Ukrainian passport, they are given 'passports' of 'LPR' and 'DPR,' and now they are being offered Russian ones as well. They're scared because someone's trying to confuse them in answering the question 'Who are we?' They are Ukrainians. Whatever language they speak… And we must realize this throughout the country if we really want their return. Obviously, this is the most difficult issue facing Ukraine. We shall always say: Donbas and Crimea are Ukraine," he said. According to Zelensky, Russian leadership should finally hear and comprehend the fact that Donbas and Crimea are part of Ukraine. "The whole world must say this out loud. Tirelessly. It's not only Ukraine who needs this, but also you. Because the return of Crimea and peace in Donbas are safeguards of peace both in Europe and the rest of the world. Remember this when you next time discuss the issue of sanctions," he said, addressing the participants in the conference.

https://www.unian.info/economics/10604685-zelensky-over-eur-10-bln-needed-to-restore-donbas.html

2019-07-03 09:40:00+00:00

conflict, war and peace

post-war reconstruction

unian--2019-10-03--U.S. calls on Russia to withdraw troops from Donbas to restore Ukraine's control over border

unian

U.S. calls on Russia to withdraw troops from Donbas to restore Ukraine's control over border

Free and fair elections require withdrawing Russian-led forces and illegal armed formations from Ukraine's territory. The U.S. Embassy in Ukraine has called on the Russian Federation to withdraw its troops and illegal armed formations from the occupied Donbas to restore Ukraine's control over its international border for fair elections in the region. Read alsoMilitary expert: "DPR"/"LPR" threats to keep Ukraine border go against 'Steinmeier formula' "We welcome progress towards peace in eastern Ukraine and we call for reinstatement of Ukrainian control of its international border. Free and fair elections require withdrawing Russian-led forces and illegal armed formations from Ukraine's territory, and a secure environment. Russia needs to display the political will to make this happen," the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv wrote on Twitter on October 3. As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday said the Ukrainian side at Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) talks in Minsk had responded to a letter from Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the TCG, Ambassador Martin Sajdik that the so-called "Steinmeier formula" on the peace settlement in Donbas was "pending approval." "We responded to Mr. Sajdik's letter that we have been in the process of approval of the wording of the 'Steinmeier formula,'" Zelensky said. "The 'Steinmeier formula' should be incorporated in a new law on special status [the law on special provisions of local self-government in certain districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions], which is not ready yet," Zelensky said. According to the president, a new law will be developed by the Parliament in close cooperation and open discussion with the public and no "red line" will be crossed in the new law. At the same time, Zelensky says that local elections in Donbas can only take place under Ukrainian law and only after the troops are withdrawn. As regards the timing of the withdrawal of Russian troops from the occupied territories of Donbas and the prevention of holding the elections before the withdrawal, Zelensky said that it would be discussed during the Normandy summit.

https://www.unian.info/politics/10708368-u-s-calls-on-russia-to-withdraw-troops-from-donbas-to-restore-ukraine-s-control-over-border.html

Thu, 03 Oct 2019 20:54:00 +0300

conflict, war and peace

post-war reconstruction

unian--2019-10-05--Ukraine's FM announces plans to restore railway communication with occupied Donbas

unian

Ukraine's FM announces plans to restore railway communication with occupied Donbas

As of today, Russian-led forces in Donbas control a part of the railways with which communications were stopped in 2014 due to hostilities. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko has declared the authorities' readiness to restore railway communication with occupied Donbas. Read alsoEx-CIA officer may replace Volker as special envoy to Ukraine – media During the Savik Shuster's Freedom of Speech TV panel show while discussing the restoration of the bridge in the village of Stanytsia Luhanska, he assured the vehicles would drive across the bridge in a month or a month and a half. Other bridges and new crossing checkpoints will appear later. "Perhaps, a railway communication will appear so that people could comfortably move from one side of the contact line to another one," he said. As of today, Russian-led forces in Donbas control a part of the railways with which communications were stopped in 2014 due to hostilities.

https://www.unian.info/politics/10710003-ukraine-s-fm-announces-plans-to-restore-railway-communication-with-occupied-donbas.html

Sat, 05 Oct 2019 17:12:00 +0300

conflict, war and peace

post-war reconstruction

foreignpolicy--2019-05-05--Russias Payback Will Be Syrias Reconstruction Money

foreignpolicy

Russia’s Payback Will Be Syria’s Reconstruction Money

Russia had several motivations when it intervened in Syria on behalf of President Bashar al-Assad in September 2015. The Kremlin was nervous about losing control of the naval base in Tartus, its most important strategic asset in the Middle East, if the regime were toppled by Western-supported rebels. More broadly, it hoped that by proving itself a reliable ally to Assad, it would earn credentials among other authoritarian leaders in the region. Almost four years later, with rebels having mostly abandoned calls for regime change and losing large swaths of their enclaves, Russia has achieved most of its short- and medium-term goals in Syria. A growing number of signs suggest Moscow is now shifting focus to another objective: The Kremlin would like Syria to provide it a financial windfall. According to three Lebanese politicians across the political divide, money is now the leading factor motivating Russia’s policy efforts in Syria. Above all, Russia would like to absorb a large chunk of the estimated $350 billion needed for Syria’s reconstruction, which would allow it to diversify its resource-based economy by securing contracts in a wide range of sectors such as building power plants and other infrastructure. “Russia wants our money to rebuild Syria so Russian companies can get the contracts,” a senior European Union diplomat told Foreign Policy. This effort has yet to succeed because, even as the war has mostly ended, international reconstruction efforts remain far off—largely because of Syria’s own lack of cooperation. Russia would clearly be in a strong position to win reconstruction contracts from Syria, given its political influence over the Assad regime. The problem is that Syria lacks the money—and other sources are lacking. Russian President Vladimir Putin has tried to use Syrian refugees as a bargaining chip, offering to facilitate their return home in exchange for Western financial assistance to Syria. Last June in Helsinki and in August near Berlin, Putin asked the United States and the EU to pay for reconstruction if they wanted the refugees who had already poured across the Middle East and into Europe to return home and also to avoid a second exodus. Putin claimed that at least 1.7 million refugees could go back to Syria in the near future. The Russian government also announced that it would set up joint committees with refugee-hosting nations such as Lebanon to facilitate their return. Ten months on, the joint committees have reported little progress, and there has hardly been any return migration of refugees. In short, Moscow’s plan to win reconstruction money through refugee repatriation seems likely to fail. Foreign Policy’s conversations with several EU diplomats, politicians in countries sheltering refugees, and Russian analysts suggest that the biggest reason for that failure is the obstinacy of the man Russia intervened to save. There is a growing consensus among observers, in the West and in the Middle East, that Assad does not want anti-regime refugees to return. Although there is no official data, it’s widely believed that a large percentage of the 6 million Syrians forced to flee their country oppose Assad. Take the case of Syrians willing to return from Lebanon, a nation hosting 1.5 million Syrians and one that is friendlier to Assad compared with Turkey or Europe. Even from there, the Assad government is actively refusing Syrians re-entry, normally without offering any official explanation. Under the repatriation process, Lebanon’s General Security Directorate prepares a list of Syrians willing to go back and shares it with its counterparts in Syrian intelligence. Only those allowed by the Syrian regime are given the right to go back. Mouin Merhebi, Lebanon’s state minister for refugee affairs until January this year and a supporter of Sunni Prime Minister Saad Hariri, said the fact that such a list is asked for by the Syrian state is an indicator of Assad’s unwillingness to accept the refugees. “How can they explain why they are asking for the list of the returnees? They don’t allow anyone to return without approval from the Mukhabarat [the Syrian intelligence branch],” he said. “Is it logical that Syrians in Lebanon need permission to go back to their own country?” Merhebi said that during his time in office, the difference in numbers between the those who applied to go and those who finally could was massive. “I have been told by our General Security officials that when a list of 5,000 Syrians was sent, on an average just about 60-70 were cleared,” he said. Alain Aoun, a member of parliament for the Free Patriotic Movement, the party of Lebanese President Michel Aoun and a political ally of Hezbollah—and so generally softer on Assad—sits on the opposite side of the political divide to Merhebi. However, he endorsed his assessment and said the Assad government did not seem overly concerned about the return of its people. “The Syrian regime is not doing anything to take its refugees back,” he said. Aoun quoted a meeting with Cardinal Paul Gallagher, the foreign minister of the Vatican, which has taken a close interest in the refugee issue, to substantiate his assertion. “Gallagher told a visiting Lebanese delegation that Assad would never take back the millions who fled.” At least four Western diplomats made the same point to Foreign Policy. Russia has correctly grasped that the high number of Syrian and other refugees who have arrived in EU countries in the last five years has created domestic political pressure, including the rise of populist and far-right parties. Putin appears to think that he can arrange a quid pro quo: soften EU sanctions and even provide reconstruction aid and Syria in return will become a more attractive place to which refugees can return. If Assad allows only a small number of refugees back, it would be hard for EU governments to justify lifting sanctions, let alone spending taxpayers’ money on reconstruction projects. Moreover, as two of the diplomats said, a large part of that money would presumably end up in Russian pockets. There is a divide in the EU in any case over the ethics of such an arrangement; but all sides agree, at least publicly, that Russia must extract safety guarantees for the refugees, and at least some promise of political reforms. Russia, however, has achieved few concessions from Assad, other than the release of the death certificates of a few hundred detainees from the tens of thousands allegedly killed in state prisons, and nothing with regard to guarantees of returnee safety or real political change. Russian analysts say Moscow had originally envisaged a sect-based power-sharing arrangement, modeled on Lebanon, between the Syrian government and several opposition groups as the political panacea for the conflict. But Russia could neither convince the regime nor the rebels to compromise and abandoned the plan. Now it has reduced its ambitions and is focused on using its leverage with Assad to agree on a constitutional committee whose members have been appointed by the regime, the opposition, and representatives of Syrian civil society. Max Suckov, a Russia analyst, said Moscow would achieve little more in terms of a political settlement. “Russia is not very hopeful about a political settlement which satisfies all Syrian actors,” he said. “I think Russia has accepted that Syria will continue to be a centralized state, but that certainly makes it difficult to convince the EU to pay for reconstruction.” Amal Abou Zeid, officially the Lebanese Foreign Ministry’s representative to the Russia-Lebanon repatriation committee and someone known to be close to Russia, said the West should water down its expectations. Assad, he said, had won the war, not the opposition. “Assad has reclaimed more than 80 percent of the land in Syria, which means that what was being accepted last year may not be acceptable to the government now,” Abou Zeid said. “While others have a say, he has the upper hand in dictating the terms.” Although he admitted that the Russian initiative had failed to take off, he blamed U.S. recalcitrance; the United States has maintained a hard anti-Assad line. To lure America to play ball, Abou Zeid hinted that Moscow had suggested that Russian and U.S. firms actively cooperate in the hunt for business in Syria. “At the end, Russians are on the ground in Syria, and the Americans understand what that means,” he said. “There can be an agreement between the two. I don’t rule out the possibility that they will have contracts together.” The United States and the EU both insist on a political transition as a precondition for re-engagement, but Abou Zeid was optimistic that if the West was not prepared to inject money, Russia would convince Arab states. He said Russia was intensively lobbying with Gulf nations to revoke Syria’s suspension from the Arab League and pave the path for their petrodollars to rebuild Syria. Neither the West nor the Arabs have yet bitten on Russia’s lure of joint projects and splitting the spoils of war. On the other side, a diplomatic source who often visits Syria said it was clear that the Assad regime was in no mood to make concessions and any further political changes would be cosmetic. Russia thus remains stuck waiting for a financial windfall that may never arrive.

Anchal Vohra

https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/05/05/russias-payback-will-be-syrias-reconstruction-money/

2019-05-05 08:28:03+00:00

conflict, war and peace

post-war reconstruction

rawstory--2019-03-22--Syria vows to recover Golan as Trump policy shift draws criticism

rawstory

Syria vows to recover Golan as Trump policy shift draws criticism

The Syrian government vowed to recover the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights as its allies and enemies alike condemned U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday for moving to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the territory seized in war. Trump’s statement on Thursday marked a dramatic shift in U.S. policy over the status of a disputed area that Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Middle East conflict and annexed in 1981 – a move not recognized internationally. Against this backdrop of hostility toward the U.S. move, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo landed in Beirut after visiting Israel on Friday. He is expected to pile pressure on the government to curb the influence of the Iran-backed Hezbollah. The declaration is the latest in a series of moves that have fueled anger among Israel’s Arab enemies and U.S.-allied Arabs. It follows the U.S. recognition in December 2017 of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital – a decision that also drew international criticism as the disputed city’s status remains at the heart of the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Russia, an ally of President Bashar al-Assad with forces in Syria, said Trump’s comments risked seriously destabilizing the region and expressed hope the statement was just declaratory. Iran, Assad’s main regional ally and which also has forces in Syria, condemned the statement as illegal and unacceptable. Turkey, a U.S.-allied state and an adversary of Damascus, also criticized the move, saying it had brought the Middle East to the edge of a new crisis and the legitimization of the occupation of the Golan Heights could not be allowed. Damascus said the Golan Heights would remain “Syrian, Arab” and Trump had shown contempt for international law. “The Syrian nation is more determined to liberate this precious piece of Syrian national land through all available means,” the Syrian government said. Though the Golan Heights had been calm for decades, the frontier has reemerged as a flashpoint for regional tensions during the Syrian war. Last May, Israel accused Iran’s Revolutionary Guards of launching a rocket salvo into its territory from the Syrian side of the frontier. Israel, which has mounted numerous air strikes against what it has called Iran-backed targets in Syria, has demanded Russia keep forces allied to Tehran away from the frontier. The Syrian side of the frontier was held by rebel forces for years until pro-government forces recovered it in July. POMPEO TO FLAG HEZBOLLAH CONCERNS Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said: “we cannot allow the legitimization of the occupation of the Golan Heights”. The Arab League, which suspended Syria in 2011 after the start of its civil war, said Trump’s comment paved “the way for official American recognition” of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights and said it “completely beyond international law”. Trump’s statement has given a boost to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the middle of his re-election campaign. Netanyahu has praised Trump for “making history” with the statement. In Lebanon, Pompeo is expected to flag U.S. concerns about Hezbollah’s growing role in government: the group has three ministers in government and together with its allies controls more than 70 of parliament’s 128 seats. The United States is a major donor to the Lebanese army but its allies, including the Sunni Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, have been weakened as Iran’s role has deepened through Lebanon, Iraq and Syria and Saudi influence has retreated. Washington has reintroduced sanctions on Iran and imposed new financial sanctions on Hezbollah which Lebanon’s Hezbollah-aligned president, Michel Aoun, said on Thursday were hurting all Lebanese. Reporting by Ali Abdelaty in Cairo/Tom Perry in Beirut, Maria Kiselyova in Moscow, and Parisa Hafezi in Dubai, Yousef Saba in Cairo, Ezgi Erkoyun and Ali Kucukgocmen in Istanbul; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore, Darren Schuettler and Raissa Kasolowsky and Samia Nakhoul

Reuters

https://www.rawstory.com/2019/03/syria-vows-recover-golan-trump-policy-shift-draws-criticism/

2019-03-22 11:49:26+00:00

conflict, war and peace

post-war reconstruction

sputnik--2019-03-22--Syria Determined to Recover Israeli-Occupied Golan Heights Lambasts Trump

sputnik

Syria 'Determined' to Recover Israeli-Occupied Golan Heights, Lambasts Trump

The Syrian Foreign Ministry has condemned US President Trump’s comments on the Golan Heights as “irresponsible”, adding that the Syrian people are determined to recover the area through “all available means”, Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reports. The Ministry pointed out that Trump's statement "confirms the US’s blind commitment to Israel and support for its aggressive behaviour". READ MORE: Golan Heights' Liberation Possible With 'Endeavor of Syrians' — Iranian Lawmaker "It became clear to the international community that the United States and their reckless policies, which are dominated by arrogance and hegemonic ambitions, are a major factor in exacerbating the situation in the global arena and threaten peace and stability," the Ministry underscored. It also noted that the US clearly violates international law and a number of UN resolutions, in particular, Resolution 497, in which Israel’s intentions to establish its laws in the Golan Heights are considered invalid and illegal. Iran has also criticised what it described as Trump’s “illegal” and “unacceptable” remarks on the Golan Heights. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that Moscow’s position on the matter remains unchanged and that “changing the status of the Golan Heights by bypassing the Security Council is a direct violation of UN decisions”. The statement comes after Trump tweeted on Thursday that “after 52 years it is time for the United States to fully recognise Israel's Sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which is of critical strategic and security importance to the State of Israel and regional stability.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for his part, thanked Trump for “boldly” recognising Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights "at a time when Iran seeks to use Syria as a platform to destroy Israel". US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in turn, claimed during his visit to Jerusalem on Thursday that President Trump had been sent by God to Earth in order to save Israel. A strategic area covering some 1,200 square kilometres, the Golan Heights were occupied by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War. Netanyahu has repeatedly underlined that the Jewish state would not meet Syria's demands that it retreat to the 1967 lines because they were “indefensible”, and that the Golan Heights would “remain in the hands of Israel forever”.

https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201903221073444893-syria-trump-golan-heights-israel/

2019-03-22 05:46:00+00:00

conflict, war and peace

post-war reconstruction

nationalinterest--2019-12-22--The Communists Never Recovered From This Decisive Korean War Battle

nationalinterest

The Communists Never Recovered From This Decisive Korean War Battle

Key point: It is estimated that about 6,000 Chinese attacked the defenders at Kapyong. The Chinese always attacked at night. It was April 22, 1951, and the Communists had just launched the largest offensive of the Korean War. Nearly 350,000 troops, spread out across the Korean Peninsula from the Imjin River to the Sea of Japan, slammed into thinly held U.N. positions. The heaviest blows fell in the west and west-central sectors, manned by the American I and IX Corps. The Eighth Army, a multinational force newly under the command of Lt. Gen. James A. Van Fleet, reeled southward in the face of unremitting pressure from Chinese human-wave assaults. The enemy offensive, although long expected, still unnerved a number of frontline units. This was certainly true of the Republic of Korea’s 6th Division, stationed at the left of the IX Corps front, north of Route 3A and Line Kansas. The South Koreans disintegrated before the Chinese, retreating in disorder for 10 miles, then falling back another eight miles before attempting to regroup and move north again under orders to reoccupy Line Kansas. The New Zealand 16th Field Artillery Regiment and the U.S. 213th Field Artillery Battalion, escorted by the British 1st Battalion, Middlesex Regiment, were sent north up the Kapyong River Valley to provide support for the embattled ROK troops. These units were attached to the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade, which at the outbreak of the enemy offensive was standing in reserve at Kapyong, near the confluence of the Kapyong and Pukhan Rivers and astride one of the prime invasion routes to Seoul. During the day on April 23, Brig. Gen. B.A. Burke, commanding the 27th Brigade, received orders to occupy the high ground north of the town of Kapyong and move into position to control movement through the Kapyong River Valley. Burke put the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (RAR), on Hill 504 east of the river and the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, on Hill 677 west of the river. A distance of about 1.9 miles of open ground separated the two hills. Despite the presence of the 27th Brigade artillery units, the ROK 6th Division proved unable to reorganize effectively and push forward. In fact, under enemy pressure, the South Korean troops began streaming farther southward in the late afternoon of the 23rd. Captain Owen R. Browne, commanding officer of the Princess Pat’s A Company, described what he saw. “I was witnessing a rout,” he said. “The valley was filled with men. Some left the road and fled over the forward edges of A Company positions. Some killed themselves on the various booby traps we had laid, and that component of my defensive layout became worthless. Between 1530 hours and 1800 hours all of A Company speeded up its defensive preparations and digging as it watched, helpless to intervene, while approximately 4,000-5,000 troops fled in disorganized panic across and through the forward edges of our positions. But we knew then that we were no longer 10-12 miles behind the line; we were the front line.” Major Ben O’Dowd, commanding A Company of the Australian 3rd Battalion, observed the same scene from the vantage point of Hill 504’s forward slopes. “Soon the mob of ROK soldiers became thickened up with civilian refugees: men, women, children and animals, all bunched together in a confusing melee; screaming, shouting, crying children, with their cattle, with their goods on their back,” recalled O’Dowd. “We knew that the situation was getting dangerous and we had something to really worry about. I knew, from past experience, that Chinese soldiers would mix in with the civilians they had terrorized to clog up the roads. They would be in civilian clothes or in uniform, in the half light and be penetrating to the rear in numbers.” Retreating along with the South Koreans were the New Zealand and American artillery units and the Middlesex Battalion. The Middlesexers were originally slated to take up positions on Hill 794, north of and across the Kapyong River from the Canadians on Hill 677. But orders had been changed, and the battalion moved through the valley and downriver to establish a position to the west of a big bend in the river, south of the Canadians and northeast of 27th Brigade headquarters. The New Zealand and American artillery set up in front of the Middlesex Battalion and behind the Australian battalion’s headquarters, which was located near another big bend in the river, just south of a ford and along a road leading north to the nearby village of Chuktun-ni. North of the village itself, B Company, 3 RAR, occupied a northeast-running ridge that stood like an island in the Kapyong Valley, an arm of land through which ran a road from the northeast. This subsidiary valley cut between B Company’s position on the island ridge and the main Australian positions on Hill 504. The 3 RAR headquarters was located about 1.6 miles southwest of the forward Australian companies. The Canadian positions on Hill 677 were more consolidated than the spread-out Australians. The three infantry battalions of the 27th Brigade were not within mutually supporting distance of each other—in fact, the individual companies within the Australian and Canadian battalions were hard-pressed to provide mutual support due to the nature of the terrain. A realistic appraisal of the situation allowed only for the occupation of strongpoints, with significant gaps remaining between units. The brigade’s fourth infantry battalion, from the King’s Own Scottish Borderers Regiment, had just arrived near the front to replace another unit and was being held in reserve. It would not participate in the coming action at Kapyong. The Australians were in the most exposed position, and they were attacked first by units of the Chinese 118th Division on the evening of April 23. Beginning at about 9:30 pm, the Chinese launched a series of attacks within 30 minutes, the first against a platoon of Sherman tanks from A Company, U.S. 72nd Tank Battalion, that had located itself forward of B Company. Ensuing Communist attacks struck 3 RAR on the island ridge, and the forward platoon of A Company, 3 RAR, on the slopes of Hill 504 to the east; and one against 3 RAR headquarters south of Chuktun-ni. The last attack was the most significant. Chinese were infiltrating through the open ground west of the river between the Australians and the Canadians. They also had moved between the Australian battalion’s headquarters near the river and the rifle companies on the high ground to the northeast. Lt. Col. I.B. Ferguson, commanding 3 RAR, found himself with grave communications difficulties. His telephone lines to all but one company had been cut, and his radio link to the forward units was inefficient. The supporting artillerymen came under small-arms fire and began to move their batteries southward, taking up new positions behind the Middlesex Battalion. This dislocation severely affected the availability of fire support during the night. Moreover, an American heavy mortar company that had been positioned near the artillery subsequently abandoned its equipment and 35 vehicles and retreated on foot all the way to Chunchon, 10 miles to the east. Well before midnight, the Chinese had succeeded in cutting off the Australians from the rest of 27th Brigade. Another attack against the platoon of American tanks in front of B Company mortally wounded the platoon leader and caused the tanks to withdraw down the valley. B Company, on the island ridge, was assaulted by a large number of Chinese shortly before midnight. After two hours of intense action, the enemy withdrew with heavy casualties. The Australians suffered no casualties in the attack, but O’Dowd’s A Company was subjected to continued assaults throughout the night. He recalled: “The initial contacts in A Company came as a series of enemy probing patrols, bumping into our forward weapon pits at various points, searching for soft spots. Then the fight for our ridge line started in earnest with the Chinese blowing bugles and whistles. They used these sounds as signals to assemble their men. When the bugles and whistles stopped we knew that they were on their way. Some of the soldiers did not carry weapons—just bucketfuls of grenades. Our next indication of an assault was the showers of grenades that started exploding all around us. The Chinese grenadiers had the job of keeping my diggers’ heads down so the riflemen and machine gunners could rush in and get amongst us.” Unlike B Company, A Company on the forward slopes of Hill 504 was absorbing heavy casualties in repeated Chinese attacks that caused the pullback of one platoon. Meanwhile, the battalion headquarters area near the river was in danger of being overrun; Ferguson issued orders for a withdrawal at first light. But some time after 2 am, the enemy broke contact and fell back to regroup. At about 4 am, Ferguson requested that a company from the Middlesex Battalion be sent forward to assist his threatened headquarters defenders. The Middlesexers subsequently cleared the high ground near 3 RAR headquarters, but were forced to withdraw after taking heavy fire from the higher ground to the west. Ferguson ordered B Company to withdraw from its position on the island ridge to the rear of Hill 504 with the coming of dawn. This proved to be a highly controversial decision—B Company had withstood the enemy onslaught from its isolated vantage point and remained in good condition. Many blamed General Burke for the order.

Warfare History Network

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/communists-never-recovered-decisive-korean-war-battle-107351

Sun, 22 Dec 2019 03:00 EST

conflict, war and peace

post-war reconstruction

globalresearch--2019-05-01--Tolerance and Spirituality Debunking the Islamophobic View of an Intolerant Islam

globalresearch

Tolerance and Spirituality: Debunking the Islamophobic View of an “Intolerant Islam”

This incisive article by Professor Henry Espiritu was first published by Global Research in November 2017 “And thou wilt find the nearest in friendship to the believers to be those who say, ‘We are Christians’. That is because there are priests and monks among them and because they are not proud.” (Al-Qur-an, Surah Maidah: 82) The current expansion in mass media and communications reveal more evidently that our world contains variety of cultures, races, religions, and ideologies. Despite globalization and its attendant efforts towards homogeneity, ours is still a pluralist world. As such, tolerance is a foundational notion and a very relevant conceptual and practical prerequisite in establishing a pluralistic society. In pluralism’s point of view, people living in a society with varied religious, cultural, and ideological commitments should enjoy equal rights and should not sacrifice their beliefs at the mercy of the hegemonic ideology of a particular State or of the dominant religion of the majority community. In our highly globalized world, tolerance and amity are all the more needed for the survival, cohesion, and progress of its citizens. The contemporary mass media portray Islamic societies to be intolerant of other’s religious and ideological persuasions. The purpose of this paper is not to examine whether the contemporary media is right or wrong in perceiving Islamic societies as intolerant. My aim in this essay is to show that authentic Islam—as contained in the pristine revelation of the Qur-an—promotes tolerance, harmony, and goodwill of all peoples despite their differences. In this paper, I want to reflect straight from the original source of Islamic tenets (i.e., the Qur-an) the tolerant attitude of Islam vis-à-vis religious, cultural, and ideological diversities found in human societies. Likewise, I will endeavor to show various thematic perspectives found in selected passages of the Qur-an that encourage tolerance and societal concord. Side by side with my exposition of authentic Islam’s framework of tolerance, I will likewise provide several historical instantiations of this “spirituality of tolerance” in the lives of selected Muslim savants and revered Islamic personalities of various epochs in their encounter with Christians. I sincerely hope that by showing the tolerant and pluralistic pronouncements of the Qur-an, and the historical instantiations of tolerance manifested in the exemplary lives of these prominent Muslims as they relate with Christians, I will be able to encourage Muslims to fully practice and live-out the Islamic mandates of amity and inter-religious understanding in their daily lives. Moreover, I further hope that in this essay, I will be able to inform non-Muslims that genuine Islam—as contained in the Qur-anic revelation, in the model conduct of the Prophet, and in the exemplary lives of pious Muslim personages—is a very tolerant religion that acknowledges and respects the divergent beliefs and ideological views of others. The Dynamics of Tolerance: Philosophical, Metaphysical, and Mystical Presuppositions Firstly, let me briefly explicate my own conceptual framework and philosophical presuppositions in understanding tolerance. Tolerance presupposes plurality and diversity of identities. Pluralism further presupposes alterity or otherness, since diversity entails variety of identities and plurality of existing values. The opposite of pluralism is hegemony where one particular value is imposed and where there is an enforced totalization of expressions of life to make human values comply to a uniformed worldview and a set praxis. Now, tolerance can only exist in a pluralistic framework since pluralism celebrates in the difference of the “other”. Tolerance is a very important ethical value in the face of the alterity of the “other”. Tolerance therefore presupposes an “other” since without an “other”, there is nothing to tolerate at all. In hegemony, however, the “other” is swallowed and annihilated by the sheer imposition of uniformity and forcible totalization. Thus with the absence of the “other” in a hegemony, tolerance will also be non-existent—this is why all totalitarian and hegemonic societies are most intolerant of differences and dissenting views. Secondly, I consider tolerance as spirituality. A person who can tolerate the “other” is able to see the unitive Source Who permits and wills these various differences and diversities as found in the world. This unitive Bond that permeates all diverse phenomena of creation and transcends multiplicities—the mystics termed, “the One God”. In the words of the Holy Qur-an: Therefore—for the Qur-an—God is both the Ultimate Source of these diversities and the Essential End of all varied cosmic entities. Spirituality or mysticism acknowledges God as the unifying Connectivity that deeply binds the whole of creation to Himself despite their apparent differences and multiplicities. Muslim and Christian mystics are well able to tolerate religious differences because in their inner beings, these mystics see the vision of the One, and this unitive vision enabled them to go beyond creedal and dogmatic differences. It is by this divine grace of an all-inclusive vision of the One that enables saints and mystics to tolerate the “otherness” of the other (See Frithjof Schuon, Understanding Islam. London: Mandala Books, 1964; pp. 13-18.). Tolerance in dealing with others, particularly the religious “other” is spirituality because by tolerating differences, one acknowledges the divine Wisdom of God who wills that these differences be made manifest. By reflecting on this ineffable theological tension regarding the plurality or diversity of God’s creation and the essential oneness of creation in the Being of God, mystics of all religious traditions appreciate the mystery and spirituality of tolerance; an unfathomable and sympathetic understanding that is holistically related to a consciousness of divine unity manifesting in and through diversity. Tolerance permits us to experience the sympathetic feeling of divine inter-connectedness among diverse creatures in the divine immanence of the Creator who permits these differences. My own prayerful reflections evidently reveal to me that authentic Islam, i.e., the Islam as expressed in the pristine pages of the Qur-an and in the exemplary conduct set forth by Prophet Muhammad—in contrast with the rigid and hegemonic “Islam” as interpreted by “extremist” exegeses or “fundamentalist” hermeneutics—clearly advocates pluralism and encourages tolerance in its relationship with the religious “other”. In the next subsections, we will examine how the Qur-anic understanding of pluralism is intimately connected to the spirituality of tolerance. We will also see how the Qur-anic discourse of tolerance is practically exemplified in the lives of selected Muslim saints in their encounter and dialogue with Christians. The Qur-anic View of Pluralism and Its Relevance to an Islamic Understanding of Tolerance The Qur-an is fully conscious of the pluralistic nature of human societies. Many Qur-anic passages describe the diverse expressions of life as found in human communities. Pluralism is therefore a fact, which the Qur-an accepts as the basic reality of our human existence. The Qur-an says: “For every one of you We appointed a law and a way. And if Allah had pleased, He would have made you a single people, but that He might try you in what He gave you. So vie with one another in virtuous deeds. To Allah will all return, so He will inform you of that wherein you differed.” (Surah Maida:48; The Holy Qur-an: Maulana Muhammad Ali Translation) The above passage is a very decisive proclamation supporting tolerance. The verse fully points out the pluralistic condition of humankind. The passage admits to the existence of societal and religious diversity characterizing human communities when it declares; “for everyone of you, We appointed a law and a way”. Notice that this verse says that our pluralistic situation is willed and permitted by God so as to test human communities so that each community will vie with each other in doing good deeds. It further says: “And if Allah had pleased, He would have made you a single people, but that He might try you in what He gave you. So vie with one another in virtuous deeds”. Surah Maida:48 is likewise a very relevant verse in understanding the nature of the Islamic understanding of tolerance. If God willed that this world contains socio-cultural and religious diversities (when He could have made the world a “single people”), and if God himself has a divine reason for allowing these diversities (so that each society will “vie with one another in virtuous deeds”); then humankind should strive to accept, tolerate, and appreciate the fact of our pluralistic world. Good Will, Courtesy, and Mutual Respect: The Basic Ethical Pillars of Qur-anic Tolerance Maulana Muhammad Ali Lahori (circa 1879-1951), was an eminent Pakistani scholar of Qur-anic and Hadith exegesis. He authored exhaustive and authoritative books of Qur-anicexegesis, collectively known in Urdu as Bayan-e Qur-an (Qur-anic Lectures) and a comprehensive commentary of the Prophetic Traditions, entitled The Manual of Hadith. Maulana Muhammad Ali Lahori strove to present Islam as a rational, tolerant, and forward-looking religion during the era of the British rule of then undivided India. In this period of the British Raj, various Christian missionary groups representing different denominations compete for the conversion of Indians to Christianity. Seeing the zeal of these missionaries, Maulana Muhammad Ali began to reflect on the state of the Muslims in India. He re-evaluated the Indian appropriation of Islamic tenets and found out that the Muslims in India were enveloped with customs which were thought to be Islamic, but in reality, were products of obscurantism, and therefore devoid of Islamic significance. Maulana Muhammad Ali likewise engaged the Christian missionaries in friendly dialogues to clarify common misconceptions of Islam. His scholarly book, The Religion of Islam, which was the result of these dialogic exchanges, show a very rational explication of Islam; at the same time fully cognizant of the Christian missionaries’ objections against Islam by responding to these objections using the Qur-an and Sunnah as bases of clarification. In all his writings, one can admire the profound respect that Maulana Muhammad Ali accorded to his interlocutors, both Christians and Muslims. I will quote from his Urdu commentary of the Holy Qur-an on the necessity of courtesy (adab), good will (ahsan), and respect or honor (izzat) in dialoguing with others. Commenting on the Qur-anicayah (verse): “Call to the way of thy Lord with wisdom and goodly exhortation, and argue with them in the best manner” (Surah Nahl:125), Maulana Muhammad Ali had this to say: Maulana Muhammad Ali, in his encounters with Christian missionaries, was able to articulate and apply the ethical principles of dialogue and tolerance, which were already laid down by the Holy Qur-an (namely in Surah Nahl:125 and in Surah Ankabut:46). Maulana Muhammad Ali understood tolerance as something inherent in our being persons of good will; and that this divine awareness of good intention leads us to respect the viewpoint of the other person even if we do not subscribe to his creedal tenets. The verse in Surah Nahl:125 encourages Muslims to dialogue with the religious “other” in the spirit of sincere courtesy, profound sensitivity, and deep respect for each other’s differences, by granting a concordant presumption that the other’s intention in striving to convert another person is due to good will (i.e., for the “other’s” spiritual salvation). Maulana Muhammad Ali asserts that Surah Maida:48 is an explicit endorsement of pluralism and its attendant duty of tolerating the various diversities of humankind. I quote from Maulana Muhammad Ali’s exhaustive Qur-anic commentary to this particular passage: As commented by Maulana Muhammad Ali, Surah Maida:48 explicitly declares that Almighty God sent his messengers to diverse groups of people and gave these communities their respective commandments in keeping with the different circumstances of each community. The laws prescribed by God to the different communities ensure the holistic development of their respective people. The verse continues, “And if Allah had pleased, He would have made you a single people, but that He might try you in what He gave you. So vie with one another in virtuous deeds”. This verse clearly pointed out that if God so willed it, He can create a single community out of varied groups of people. Nevertheless, God planned that humankind be varied in its communitarian expressions. God’s endowment of a pluralistic world is His grace to humanity. Our differences provide venues for existential celebration of life and of living: variety and diversity being the potent antidote to our humdrum existence. Each community has its own unique way of life, its own customs and traditions, its own laws. Nevertheless, no matter how diverse these ways of life are, it should be understood in the light of the Almighty’s life-affirming purpose in allowing such diversities, i.e., human flourishing. It is therefore clear from Surah Maidah:48 that although God can produce a uniformed world of totalities by imposing a single law for all communities, yet He prefers to create pluralistic communities so that humankind will learn the values of tolerance, amity, harmony, and fraternity. Another aim of God in creating varied communities is to test human beings in the conduct of virtuous deeds. He tests the various societies if they can live amicably and cordially with each other despite their differences. The divergence in each society’s ways of life should not be a cause of disharmony and differences; instead, societal divergences should prod each community to vie with one another in the performance of virtuous conduct (Cf., Reza Shah Kazemi, The Metaphysics of Interreligious Dialogue. London: Institute of Isma’ili Studies, 2001; pp.5-7.). The Qur-an insists that the best way of putting an end to religious, cultural, and ideological conflicts is to tolerate differences with openness and good faith. Each religious community should do righteous deeds according to their tenets; leaving to God the judgment as to which community is the best. The final section of the passage states: The verse is very precise in stating that it should be left to God (and to God alone) in deciding the truth of the matters that peoples dispute. It is not for humans to pontificate which view is true and which is wrong. Vain and fruitless arguments as to which religious, ethical, and ideological point of view is right or wrong will only lead to communal fracas and infringement of societal concord. Likewise, the verse firmly admonishes human beings to contend with one another in good deeds by utilizing their own respective laws as bases of their righteous conduct. God as the Ultimate Source of Divine Revelation: A Central Tenet in the Qur-anic Understanding of Tolerance The prologue of Surah Maida:48 states, “And We have revealed to thee the Book [i.e., the Qur-an] with the truth verifying that which is before it [i.e., the previous scriptures]…and a guardian over it”. This verse is a strong proclamation in favor of tolerance and pluralism. The Qur-an is referred to as “guardian” of the truths revealed by earlier scriptures. Likewise, one of the roles of the Qur-an is “a verifier” of previous scriptures. According to Ustaz Abu Ya’qub Sijistani, a Fatimid theologian and philosopher of the tenth century AD, this verse implies that the scriptures of various religions may be different, but the Ultimate Source of all revealed scriptures is the One and Only God. Thus, scriptures of different faiths are based on Divine revelation. The tolerant nature of Islam as a religion can be seen in this verse in that, the Qur-an takes it upon itself to be the confirmer, verifier, and guardian of truths revealed in earlier scriptures (Paul Walker, Abu Ya’qub al-Sijistani: Intellectual Missionary. London: I.B. Tauris Publishers, 1996; pp. 26-32, 58.). Before elaborating further on Ustaz Abu Ya’qub al-Sijistani’s view of the Qur-an as the guardian and verifier of previous divinely revealed books and the implications of this Qur-anic guardianship to an Islamic framework of tolerance, a brief historical background of Ustaz Sijistani’s life is in order. Ustaz Abu Ya’qub Sijistani—although himself an Isma’ili Shi’a—maintained amicable relations with the orthodox Sunni majority during the period of the Fatimid Caliphate (i.e., 10th-11th century A.D.). To the dismay of the rabid Shi’as, Ustaz Sijistani forbade his disciples to curse the first three Caliphs of Islam (Khulafa-ar-Rashidin); warning them, that Prophet Muhammad lavished praise on these three Caliphs, and therefore, it is never right and against Islamic prudence to curse whom the Prophet had abundantly praised. His endeavor to establish Sunni-Shi’a rapprochement was also matched by his spiritual and intellectual relationship with the Coptic Christians of Egypt, the Arab Orthodox Christians of Iraq, the Byzantine Christians of Anatolia, and the Jews. He studied the Torah in Hebrew and the New Testament in the Syro-Aramaic text. He often consulted Jewish rabbis and Orthodox Christian hermits and enquired from them regarding their interpretation of some obscure passages of the Bible. His encounters with Christianity and Judaism were indeed intellectually stimulating since Ustaz Sijistani wrote six (6) religio-philosophical treatises reflecting on his relations with Christianity and Judaism, not to mention the orthodox Sunni Islam. Sijistani’s main books, The Wellspring of Wisdom (Yanbu-al-Hikmat) and Proofs of Prophecy (Ithbat-un-Nubuwwat) were written to show that God is the ultimate Source of Revelation and that this divine Revelation is progressive, i.e., it is sent according to the measure of the spiritual preparedness of humankind to receive divine guidance. Ustaz Sijistani was therefore a perfect example of an “ecumenical Muslim”—if I may be permitted to coin such a term. Let us now explicate on Sijistani’s understanding of progressive revelation and its implication to an Islamic perspective of tolerance. As per Ustaz Sijistani, the inclusive nature of the Islamic faith can be clearly observed in the Qur-an’s numerous narrations regarding the ministries of Jewish, Christians, and other pre-Islamic prophets. The Qur-an’s inclusion of the prophets of other religions preceding Islam is meant to illustrate the pluralistic and tolerant dimension of the Qur-anic Revelation. The list of prophets as found in the Qur-an was never meant to be exhaustive; it was meant to illustrate the extent of the universal chain of prophethood. Thus, we can safely assume that other religious communities that were not mentioned in the Qur-an are likewise included in the all-inclusive Qur-anic guardianship (Walker, Ibid, pp. 45-58, 110-112.). Furthermore, Sijistani opined that the Qur-an fully acknowledges the different expressions of worship undertaken by different religions, while at the same time firmly holding to the Islamic expressions of worship (i.e., the five-times-a-day liturgical prayers, prescribed pilgrimage, Ramadhan fasting, etc.). In Surah Baqara:148 it is stated: “And everyone has a goal to which he turns (himself), so vie with one another in good works”. Abu Ya’qub al-Sijistani, interpreted the phrase, “everyone has a goal to which he turns” to signify the diverse spiritual communities and their different approaches of worship (Ibid, pp. 49-51.). Ustaz Sijistani, also pointed out that Surah Baqara:148 is very much related to the phrase in Surah Maida:48, viz; “For everyone of you We appointed a law and a way”. The Qur-an on the Oneness of Humankind and Diverse Expressions of Human Cultures The Qur-an, in many numerous passages explicitly proclaims the oneness of humankind. Humanity was “created from a single being” (Surah Nisah:1). All humans came from a single ancestry and living in the same homeland, earth (Surah Hujurat:13). Furthermore, Surah Baqara:213 says that the whole of humankind is essentially one in origin—from God, humankind’s Creator. God sent various messengers with their respective scriptures to guide the peoples of the world to righteous living. These prophets were sent to different places of the world and their revelations were suited to the varying milieus, mentalities, contextualities, situations, and circumstances of the peoples and societies in which they were being sent. However, instead of respecting other societies’ contextualities, people began to be divided and incessantly fight against each other. Surah Baqara:213 further states that God in giving His revelation to different communities did not intend that they fight each other; but that each communities respect each other’s differences. The Qur-an balances its affirmation of the ontological oneness of humankind by equally highlighting on the divergent racial, linguistic, ideological, religious, and national identities of each society. God wills these identities; as the Qur-an plainly states, “And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and the diversity of your tongues and colors. Surely, there are signs in these for the learned” (Surah Rum:2). This passage acknowledges cultural differences as “signs” of God and must be duly appreciated as these “signs” serve as venues for each society’s expression of identity. Cultural differences are essential for establishing a community’s identity and these divergences should prompt peoples to celebrate each other’s cultural and national identities (See, Maulana Muhammad Ali’s commentary of Surah Baqara:213, Hujurat:13 and Maida:48; op.cit.). Therefore, the Qur-an undoubtedly recognizes cultural, religious, and societal diversities as being willed by Divine Providence; even as it equally affirms the essential unity and oneness of humankind. Tolerance and the Diverse Liturgical Expressions of Worship Found in Other Faiths As of this juncture, it is noteworthy to quote some Qur-anic passages that illustrate the practical dimensions of Islamic tolerance with respect to the different worship expressions of other faith-traditions. The Qur-an says: The great master of Islamic mysticism, Hazrat Shaykh-al-Akbar Muhaiyuddin Ibn Arabi (circa 1164-1240 AD), in his Sufi treatise, Bezels of Wisdom (Fusus al-Hikam) provided a very universal and inclusive interpretation of the above passage, showing the tolerant nature of Islamic Sufism that Ibn Arabi espoused. Before discussing Ibn Arabi’s explanation of the above-mentioned passage, I feel that it is beneficial for our understanding to describe briefly his historical contextuality. Ibn Arabi’s tolerant and pluralistic approach to Islamic spirituality can best be gleaned in his oft-quoted pronouncement: Now let us come to Ibn Arabi’s inclusivist exegesis of Surah Baqara:177 and how this exegesis conduces to an Islamic spirituality of tolerance. Commenting on the above-mentioned verse, Ibn Arabi says: Ibn Arabi admits that although in Islam, there exists a specific direction and prescribed liturgical postures by which a Muslim faces when praying, yet for him, the Qur-an equally acknowledges with respect the various directions and gestures of prayer adopted by other religions in their worship. More importantly, for Ibn Arabi, Surah Baqara:177 encourages religious pluralism and tolerance by going beyond (i.e., transcending) the ritual demands of different ceremonial expressions of worship and focusing instead on the importance of humane character, viz, compassion towards others and persevering faith in the midst of trials and difficulties (See, Henry Bayman, The Station of No Station: Open Secrets of the Sufis. Berkeley, California: North Atlantic Books, 2001; pp. 166, 206.). Ibn Arabi explained that the divine purpose of the various prescribed acts of worship is for the spiritual education of humankind, aside from the avowed aim of glorifying God. For him, more than the outward manifestations of piety, the crucial intention of the Qur-an is for the Islamic Ummah(community) to produce proper human beings who are sensitive to the needs of others. The Qur-an endeavors to create compassionate and “humane” persons who act with benevolence and equanimity to everybody with no regard whatsoever to racial, cultural, religious, or ideological differences (Ibid, pp. 97-98, 103.). Instantiations of Tolerance from the Life of the Prophet of Islam and His Companions The Qur-an clearly reveals that, “all the children of Adam are equally honored” by God (See, Surah Bani-Israil:70). The Qur-an also takes an all-inclusive humanistic view in its understanding of justice and equality among all peoples. When it comes to judging actions that either benefit or harm humanity, the Qur-an does not distinguish between Muslims and non-Muslims. As pointed out in Surah Nisah:123-124, The Qur-an further affirms; “so he who does an atom’s weight of good will see it. And he who does an atom’s weight of evil will see it” (Surah Zilzal:7-8.). According to the Qur-an, God does not consider a person’s dogmatic or creedal commitment when rendering judgment of an action. Everyone will be given their just recompense based on one’s deeds and not because of one’s religious adherence. Furthermore, the Qur-an exhorts Muslims to respect places of worship of other faith-traditions and to ensure that these will be protected and safe from acts of vandalism and destruction. Surah al-Hajj:40 says; “And if Allah did not repel some people by others, cloisters, and churches, and synagogues, and mosques in which the name of Allah is much remembered would have been pulled down” (Maulana Muhammad Ali Translation.). The abovementioned verse is very explicit in enjoining Muslims to sacrifice even their very own lives to defend the sanctity of churches and synagogues, and not just mosques. Interestingly, this particular passage avers that whether in church, synagogue or mosque, God’s name is “commemorated in abundant measure” in all these places of worship (Cf., Muhammad Hamidullah, Islam: An Introduction. Lahore: Kitab Islami Wakf, 1979; pp.34-35. See also Kazemi, op.cit., p.12.). Here, we can find that the Qur-an did not make any distinction between shrines of worship—it acknowledges the sacredness of places of worship where God’s name is celebrated with reverence; no matter what faith-tradition these shrines belong. The Qur-an solemnly affirms, “there is no compulsion in religion” (Surah Baqara:256). The Qur-an is very keen in preserving freedom of conscience and freedom of belief—two crucial elements which are at the heart of tolerance. In this connection, a narration of two episodes in the life of the Prophet Muhammad is very pertinent in order to show that Islam fully respects the freedom of peoples to practice their own faith. When the people of Medina accepted the Prophet as their lawmaker and chief governmental executive, the Prophet himself immediately asked his scribes to write a declaration assuring the freedom of Jews and Christian residents of Medina and Najran to practice their faith. Likewise, when Christian monks and priests from Abyssinia came to Medina to see the Prophet, they inquired where they can hold their Eucharistic service (since they were still in Medina on a Sunday), the Prophet Muhammad gladly offered half of the space of his masjid (i.e., the first masjid built by the Prophet’s own hands) to the Christian priests for their liturgy. The priests tearfully thanked the Prophet for his hospitality, munificence, and cordial act of tolerance by offering and allowing them to hold their Divine Liturgy in his masjid (See, Maulana Muhammad Ali, The Religion of Islam. Columbus, Ohio: Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha’at Islam Lahore, 1990; pp.281-291. For numerous instances showing the Prophet Muhammad’s tolerance and concordant treatment to non-Muslims particularly Christians and Jews, see also, Mumtaz Ahmad Faruqui, Anecdotes from the Life of Prophet Muhammad. Columbus Ohio: Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat Islam Lahore, 1997; pp.18-19, 35-37, 40-43.). In keeping with the example of the Prophet Muhammad, the second Caliph of Islam, Hazrat Umar al-Farooq, assured the delegation of Coptic and Orthodox Christians that their churches, convents, and monasteries were to be protected and to be held inviolable by the Islamic State. The same Caliph Umar climbed by foot to Mount Sinai, Egypt to sign a treaty guaranteeing the safety of the monks and nuns of St. Catherine’s monastery. During this visit, the Caliph gave five thousand dirhams for the repair of the monks’ convent and chapel. The trustworthy Arab historian, At-Tabari narrated that the call for the noon prayer once overtook Caliph Umar while he was having consultations with the Orthodox Christian patriarch of Jerusalem at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The kind patriarch offered Caliph Umar to pray inside the church premises. The Caliph gently declined the patriarch’s offer saying that he was afraid that future Muslims might claim the church for themselves on account of the fact that the second Caliph of Islam prayed his noon prayer inside it. Caliph Umar then went out of the church and prayed at a vacant yard nearby (Cf., Hafsah Dawud Zikri, The Exemplary Precedents of our Righteous Sunni Ancestors. Pakpattan, Pakistan: Daawat-e Irshad, 1963; pp.68-85.). These historical instances and many others show the extent of amity, tolerance, and concordance that the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad afford to Christians. The continued existence of Arab, Coptic, Armenian, Greek, and Kurdish Christian communities in the Middle East and the marked presence of churches and convents in these Islamic realms give witness to the tolerant attitude of authentic Islam to the religious “other”. Epilogue: Acceptance of “the Other” as Foundational Basis of an Islamic Spirituality of Tolerance The Qur-an is very explicit in its pronouncement that non-Muslims should be given the right to worship based on the prescriptions of their own scriptures. As already mentioned in this paper, non-Muslims were given their civil, political, and religious rights during the time of the Prophet Muhammad. After the Prophet’s demise, the Holy Companions and the immediate Caliphs of the Prophet made numerous provisions so that the rights of Jews and Christians will be acknowledged and respected. Tolerance towards non-Muslims were also implemented by various Islamic monarchs like the pious Umayyad Caliph, Umar ibn Abdul Aziz; the Abbasid Caliph, Harun-al-Rashid; the just Sultan of Palestine, Saladdin Ayyubi; the Mughal Sultan Akbar; the Ottoman emperors, Fatih Mehmet and Kanooni Suleyman; and the emirs of the Moorish courts of Cordova and Grenada. These Islamic monarchs not only tolerated non-Muslims, much more, they employed Jews, Christians, and even Hindus in their administration, supported their respective places of worship, clergies, and educational institutions. These non-Muslims were accepted with dignity and treated with respect and at par with the Muslim citizens. Authentic Islam based on the Qur-an and as practiced by the Prophet and his companions are not against the promotion of a pluralist egalitarian society that guarantees tolerance and respect to all religious communities within the society. The Qur-an recognizes religious diversity not only as a basic reality of human existence but also as a venue for humanity’s spiritual development (Cf., Surah Maida:48.). It is indeed very regrettable that in our contemporary times, most of the so-called Muslim nations are perceived as lagging behind in fulfilling the spirit of tolerance as plainly expressed in the Qur-an and the Tradition (Sunnah) of the Prophet. It is equally lamentable that political and religious extremism failed to see the pluralistic, concordant, and tolerant dimension of Islam as found in the Qur-anictexts and in the conduct of the Prophet. As amply shown in history, it cannot be denied that there were many instances of bloody conflicts between Christians and Muslims and that atrocities and violence can be equally attributed to both sides. The era of the Crusades during the Middle Ages and the more recent phenomenon of Western colonization of Muslim lands painted a different picture of Christianity in the perceptions of Muslims—a grim and greedy “Christianity” which is far from the peace-loving Christianity of Christ and of the Gospels. Similarly, basing their perceptions on the Western media’s skewed descriptions of Muslims and the intolerance of some Islamic movements, Christians perceived a rigid and inflexible Islam—an “Islam” very different from the tolerant and inclusive Islam of the Holy Qur-an. It is high-time now for both Muslims and Christians to move past these historical contingencies—contingencies that were political, economic, and pragmatic in nature; which had little or even nothing to do with the essential spiritual and religious contents of both faiths as expressed in their respective Scriptures (Jean Rene Milot, Muslims and Christians: Enemies or Brothers? New York: Alba House, 1997; pp. 31.). Indeed, it is high time now for both Muslims and Christians to go back to their respective Scriptures and be nourished by the precepts of tolerance, understanding, and amity enjoined by both the Bible and the Qur-an. In so doing, both the largest and the second largest religions of the world will be able to contribute actively towards achieving world peace. It is likewise imperative for academicians engaged in Muslim-Christian dialogue and researchers of Islamic political philosophy to work out theoretic and praxis in pursuance to the Qur-anic vision of tolerance and amity, by taking into consideration present realities of our pluralistic world. There is no contradiction in accepting the truth of ones’ own religious and ideological perspective and in tolerating or respecting the beliefs of others. Similarly, the Qur-anic belief in the ontological oneness of humanity does not contradict the pragmatic reality that humankind’s expressions of culture, spirituality, and political ideology are varied and diverse. Authentic Islam as found in the Qur-an respects the freedom of conscience of every individual; which includes the right to practice one’s own religious, cultural, ethnic, and ideological commitments. By paying careful and prayerful reflection to what the Qur-an says regarding tolerance, coupled with the faithful adherence to the Qur-anic values of amity and harmony amidst differences, Muslims and non-Muslims will be able to live a tranquil, serene, and secure life—a life of dignity and justice by accepting with openness and good faith each other’s differences. May this hope become a Reality for all Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Insha-Allah (God willing)! Bayman, Henry. The Station of No Station: Open Secrets of the Sufis. Berkeley, California: North Atlantic Books, 2001. Maliki, Shahabuddin. Light from the Sayings of Shaykh Ibn Arabi. Decca, Bangladesh: Markaz Towheedi, 1977. Prof. Henry Francis B. Espiritu is Associate Professor-VI of Philosophy and Asian Studies at the University of the Philippines (UP), Cebu City. He was former Academic Coordinator of the Political Science Program at UP Cebu from 2011-2014. He was also the former Coordinator of Gender and Development (GAD) Office at UP Cebu. His research interests include Islamic Studies particularly Sunni jurisprudence, Islamic feminist discourses, Islam in interfaith dialogue initiatives, Islamic environmentalism, Classical Sunni Islamic pedagogy, the writings of Imam Al-Ghazali on pluralism and tolerance, Turkish Sufism, Muslim-Christian dialogue, Middle Eastern affairs, Peace Studies and Public Theology.

Prof. Henry Francis B. Espiritu

https://www.globalresearch.ca/tolerance-and-spirituality-debunking-the-islamophobic-view-of-an-intolerant-islam/5616728

2019-05-01 07:00:47+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

lifesitenews--2019-11-12--100 priests, lay scholars call Pope Francis to repent for Pachamama idolatry at Amazon Synod

lifesitenews

100 priests, lay scholars call Pope Francis to repent for Pachamama idolatry at Amazon Synod

Nov. 12, 2019, 11:30 AM EST update: Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò added his name this morning to the statement urging Pope Francis to repent for Pachamama idolatry. Read full report here. November 12, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – An international group of 100 priests and lay scholars published a statement today to protest the pagan worship of Pachamama that took place last month during the Amazon Synod in Rome with Pope Francis' active participation and apparent support. They called upon the Pope to “repent publicly and unambiguously of these objectively grave sins” and asked bishops’ around the world to “offer fraternal correction to Pope Francis for these scandals.” Titled “Protest against Pope Francis's Sacrilegious Acts,” the statement (read full below) highlights Pope Francis' personal responsibility for the worship of a pagan idol in Rome. Among the signatories, which include more than 20 priests and deacons, are Professor John Rist, Professor Roberto de Mattei, Professor Claudio Pierantoni, Professor Josef Seifert, as well as Professor Anna Silvas. There are also to be found twenty priests and deacons, among them Father Brian Harrison and the outspoken critic of Pope Francis, Father Cor Mennen. The prominent German Catholic laywoman, Gloria Princess of Thurn und Taxis, also signed, in addition to authors such as Henry Sire, José Antonio Ureta, and Dr. Gerard J.M. van den Aardweg. The priests and scholars “protest against and condemn the sacrilegious and superstitious acts committed by Pope Francis, the Successor of Peter, in connection with the recent Amazon Synod held in Rome,” and they give detailed evidence of the different incidences of pagan worship during the Amazon Synod. Most prominently, Pope Francis hosted a pagan ceremony with Pachamama statues in the Vatican Gardens on Oct. 4 and even blessed one of the statues. Additionally, he prayed in front of the Pachamama statue at St. Peter's Cathedral on October 7 and then accompanied it in procession into the synod hall. As the statement points out, “Pope Francis himself confirmed that these wooden images were pagan idols. In his apology for the removal of these idols from a Catholic church, he specifically called them Pachamama, a name for a false goddess of mother earth according to pagan religious belief in South America.” The signers make it clear that pagan worship by Catholics is unacceptable. They state that “the rendering of worship to anyone or anything other than the one true God, the Blessed Trinity, is a violation of the First Commandment,” and that therefore “absolutely all participation in any form of the veneration of idols is condemned by this Commandment and is an objectively grave sin, independently of the subjective culpability that only God can judge.” The authors also quote Professor Josef Seifert with regard to Pope Francis' claim that these statues had been used “without idolatrous intentions.” Stated Seifert: “Even if there is no subjective idolatrous intention behind this, as Pope Francis affirms, the objective fact of putting idols in a Church, let alone in St Peter's, is an offence against God and an objectively sacrilegious act.” For the signers, the Pachamama worship that took place under Pope Francis' leadership “was anticipated by the statement titled 'Document on Human Fraternity', signed by Pope Francis and Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Mosque, on February 4, 2019.” That document states that the “diversity of religions” is “willed by God.” “Pope Francis’ involvement in idolatrous ceremonies,” the signers continue, “is an indication that he meant this statement in a heterodox sense, which allows pagan worship of idols to be considered a good positively willed by God.” Additionally, the statement refers to the many cardinals and bishops who have already condemned the Pachamama veneration in Rome (among them Cardinals Burke, Müller, Brandmüller, Urosa; and Archbishop Viganò, as well as Bishops Eleganti, Voderholzer, and Azcona). And the statement also quotes a passage from Holy Scripture which makes clear that “the things which the heathens sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to God” and that “you cannot be partakers of the table of the Lord, and of the table of demons” (St. Paul). “We respectfully ask all the bishops of the Catholic Church,” the signers conclude, “to offer fraternal correction to Pope Francis for these scandals, and to warn their flocks that, according to the divinely revealed teaching of the Catholic faith, they will risk eternal damnation if they follow the present examples in offending against the First Commandment.” Clergy and scholars are invited to add their signatures by going here. We the undersigned Catholic clergy and lay scholars protest against and condemn the sacrilegious and superstitious acts committed by Pope Francis, the Successor of Peter, in connection with the recent Amazon Synod held in Rome. These sacrilegious acts are the following: • On October 4, Pope Francis attended an act of idolatrous worship of the pagan goddess Pachamama. (1) • He allowed this worship to take place in the Vatican Gardens, thus desecrating the vicinity of the graves of the martyrs and of the church of the Apostle Peter. • He participated in this act of idolatrous worship by blessing a wooden image of Pachamama. (2) • On October 7, the idol of Pachamama was placed in front of the main altar at St. Peter’s and then carried in procession to the Synod Hall. Pope Francis said prayers in a ceremony involving this image and then joined in this procession. (3) • When wooden images of this pagan deity were removed from the church of Santa Maria in Traspontina, where they had been sacrilegiously placed, and thrown into the Tiber by Catholics outraged by this profanation of the church, Pope Francis, on October 25, apologized for their removal and another wooden image of Pachamama was returned to the church. (4) Thus, a new profanation was initiated. • On October 27, in the closing Mass for the synod, he accepted a bowl used in the idolatrous worship of Pachamama and placed it on the altar. (5) Pope Francis himself confirmed that these wooden images were pagan idols. In his apology for the removal of these idols from a Catholic church, he specifically called them Pachamama (6), a name for a false goddess of mother earth according to pagan religious belief in South America. Different features of these proceedings have been condemned as idolatrous or sacrilegious by Cardinal Walter Brandmüller, Cardinal Gerhard Müller, Cardinal Jorge Urosa Savino, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, Bishop Athanasius Schneider, Bishop José Luis Azcona Hermoso, Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer, and Bishop Marian Eleganti (7). Lastly, Card. Raymond Burke has given the same assessment of this cult in an interview. (8) This participation in idolatry was anticipated by the statement entitled “Document on Human Fraternity”, signed by Pope Francis and Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Mosque, on February 4, 2019 (9). This statement asserted that: “The pluralism and the diversity of religions, colour, sex, race and language are willed by God in His wisdom, through which He created human beings. This divine wisdom is the source from which the right to freedom of belief and the freedom to be different derives.” Pope Francis’s involvement in idolatrous ceremonies is an indication that he meant this statement in a heterodox sense, which allows pagan worship of idols to be considered a good positively willed by God. Moreover, despite privately advising Bishop Athanasius Schneider that “You [the Bishop] can say that the phrase in question on the diversity of religions means the permissive will of God…” (10), Francis has never corrected the Abu Dhabi statement accordingly. In his subsequent audience address of April 3, 2019 Francis, answering the question “Why does God permit that there are so many religions?”, referred in passing to the “permissive will of God” as explained by Scholastic theology, but gave the concept a positive meaning, declaring that “God wanted to permit this” because while “there are so many religions” they “always look to heaven, they look to God (emphasis added).” (11) There is not the slightest suggestion that God permits the existence of false religions in the same way He permits the existence of evil generally. Rather, the clear implication is that God permits the existence of “so many religions” because they are good in that they “always look to heaven, they look to God.” Worse, Pope Francis has since confirmed the uncorrected Abu Dhabi statement by establishing an “interfaith committee”, (12) which later received the official name of “Higher Committee,” (13) located in the United Arab Emirates, to promote the “goals” of the document; and promoting a directive issued by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue addressed to the heads of all the Roman Catholic institutes of higher studies, and indirectly to Catholic university professors, asking that they give the “widest possible dissemination to the document,” including its uncorrected assertion that God wills the “diversity of religions” just as He wills the diversity of color, sex, race and language. (14) The rendering of worship to anyone or anything other than the one true God, the Blessed Trinity, is a violation of the First Commandment. Absolutely all participation in any form of the veneration of idols is condemned by this Commandment and is an objectively grave sin, independently of the subjective culpability that only God can judge. (15) St. Paul taught the early Church that the sacrifice offered to pagan idols was not offered to God but rather to the demons when he said in his First Letter to the Corinthians: “What then? Do I say, that what is offered in sacrifice to idols, is any thing? Or, that the idol is any thing? But the things which the heathens sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to God. And I would not that you should be made partakers with demons. You cannot drink the chalice of the Lord, and the chalice of demons: you cannot be partakers of the table of the Lord, and of the table of demons.” (1 Cor. 10:19-21) By these actions Pope Francis has incurred the reproach uttered by the Second Council of Nicaea: “Many pastors have destroyed my vine, they have defiled my portion. For they followed unholy men and trusting to their own frenzies they calumniated the holy Church, which Christ our God has espoused to himself, and they failed to distinguish the holy from the profane, asserting that the icons of our Lord and of his saints were no different from the wooden images of satanic idols.” (16) With immense sorrow and deep love for the Chair of Peter, we beg Almighty God to spare the guilty members of His Church on earth the punishment that they deserve for these terrible sins. We respectfully ask Pope Francis to repent publicly and unambiguously of these objectively grave sins and of all the public offences that he has committed against God and the true religion, and to make reparation for these offences. We respectfully ask all the bishops of the Catholic Church to offer fraternal correction to Pope Francis for these scandals, and to warn their flocks that according to the divinely revealed teaching of the Catholic faith, they will risk eternal damnation if they follow the present examples in offending against the First Commandment. 1. See the complete video of the pagan ritual on Vatican News: https://www.religionenlibertad.com/video/118451/Ritual-de-la-Madre-Tierra-en-el-Vaticano.html 3. See here a photo of the event: https://catholicherald.co.uk/commentandblogs/2019/10/12/amazon-synod-where-we-are-after-week-one/ 6. See the words of the Holy Father with an English Translation here: https://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2019/10/francis-defiant-in-defense-of-pagan.html. 15. As explained by Professor Josef Seifert: “Even if there is no subjective idolatrous intention behind this, as Pope Francis affirms, the objective fact of putting idols in a Church, let alone in St Peter's, is an offence against God and an objectively sacrilegious act.” See: https://gloria.tv/post/nK8YgEUATNuj4WXBi9WrfBzPg See all the relevant biblical references in Bishop Schneider’s open letter: https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/bishop-athanasius-schneider-issues-open-letter-condemning-pachamama-statue-as-new-golden-calf 16. Concilium Nicaenum II (787), in: Corpus Christianorum. Conciliorum Oecumenicorum Generaliumque Decreta, ed. G. Alberigo, I: The Oecumenical Councils. From Nicaea I to Nicaea II, Turnhout 2006, 295-345.

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/nearly-100-priests-lay-scholars-call-pope-francis-to-repent-for-pachamama-idolatry-at-amazon-synod

2019-11-12T11:00:00+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

osce--2019-08-21--To combat religious hatred we must recognize its link to other human rights abuses OSCE human righ

osce

To combat religious hatred, we must recognize its link to other human rights abuses, OSCE human rights head says

WARSAW, 22 August 2019 – Amid increasingly violent outbreaks of religious intolerance, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) welcomes the first-ever United Nations International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion today, and calls on governments to promote the interfaith dialogue and education needed to combat hatred and violence. “The hate crimes and intolerance we are seeing against people with a particular religion or belief rarely take place in isolation, but go hand in hand with other human rights violations,” said ODIHR Director Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir. “The negative effect of such violence and discrimination should not be underestimated, on the communities concerned but also on the security situation in the OSCE region overall.” In order to counteract hate crime and discrimination, governments are encouraged to adopt a comprehensive approach that helps to build a culture of mutual respect and understanding  through interfaith and interreligious dialogue and partnerships, and education programmes that promote equality and respect for human rights. At the same time, they have to develop a strong support system to assist victims. The efforts of civil society, including religious or belief communities and other community organizations, are vital in this area, making the freedom to carry out their activities and access to funding particularly important. ODIHR is making every effort to assist countries across the OSCE in living up to their commitments on freedom of religion or belief as well as tolerance and non-discrimination. It works with a wide range of stakeholders to ensure that no group is singled out for protection at the expense of another. More information about ODIHR’s work in this area is available here.

SMukhametrakhimova

https://www.osce.org/odihr/428384

2019-08-21 13:09:51+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

osce--2019-11-12--Freedom of religion or belief the focus of conference supported by OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzeg

osce

Freedom of religion or belief the focus of conference supported by OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina

More than 50 representatives of religious communities, local authorities and civil society organizations from across Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) gathered to discuss freedom of religion or belief at a conference on 12 November 2019 in Sarajevo, organized by the OSCE Mission to BiH. The discussion focused on the modes of co-operation between local authorities and religious communities, the challenges religious communities face at the local level and the possibilities of advancing inter-religious dialogue. “Advancing of freedom of religion or belief on the principles of inclusion and non-discrimination is essential for human security and the future stability of this country,” said Jasna Dobricik, Head of the Human Dimension Department of the OSCE Mission to BiH. “We hope that today’s event will contribute to strengthening this fundamental freedom in the upcoming period.” she added. Igor Kožemjakin, Executive Secretary of the Interreligious Council in BiH, emphasized that freedom of religion or belief is one of the central themes the Interreligious Council in BiH focuses on. “By monitoring attacks targeting religious edifices we contribute to their better protection and by issuing joint statements condemning such attacks, we build resilience to extreme and violent narratives, while sending the message of peace, tolerance and co-existence.” The conference is part of the OSCE Mission to BiH’s wider efforts to improve the co-operation of local authorities and religious communities in an inclusive and non-discriminatory manner.

SMukhametrakhimova

https://www.osce.org/mission-to-bosnia-and-herzegovina/438647

Tue, 12 Nov 2019 13:53:51 +0000

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

bbc--2019-08-19--Where Christians are banned from selling property to Muslims

bbc

Where Christians are banned from selling property to Muslims

In Lebanon, a Muslim Shia family was asked to leave its house because it was in a Christian neighbourhood. Mohammed lived in a building in Hadath for around two years but when he tried to register the deed his application was declined. The town, near Beirut, has been implementing the ban on property exchange from Christians to Muslims for years, but this latest case has revived the debate about the fragility of co-existence between different religions in the country.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-49399480

2019-08-19 23:01:30+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

bigleaguepolitics--2019-12-27--Ilhan Omar in 2013: ‘Sadly’ Some Muslims Celebrate Christmas

bigleaguepolitics

Ilhan Omar in 2013: ‘Sadly’ Some Muslims Celebrate Christmas

Minnesota’s Rep. Ilhan Omar apparently isn’t a fan of the Christmas spirit, and spoke in disapproving terms of other Muslims who choose to celebrate the Christian holiday in a 2013 tweet. According to Omar, it’s unfortunate that some Muslim Americans should choose to celebrate a storied American holiday. Islamic reformer Imam Tawhidi shared the old tweet on Thursday. Trending: Pope Francis Unveils Globalist New World Religion at Summit with United Nations Leader Some Muslims do in fact celebrate Christmas, and the practice isn’t as uncommon as Omar’s tweet might make it seem. Jesus is revered as a prophet in Islam. Perhaps ironically, it may be more common for Muslims in Islamic countries(usually with substantial Christian minority populations) to celebrate Christmas than in the west. take our poll - story continues below Some American Jews also celebrate Christmas in a secularized fashion. Since being elected, Omar hasn’t spoken of the same spiteful anti-Christmas sentiment. She even went so far as to wish the constituents of her district a Merry Christmas, but her holiday greetings might seem hollow in light of her remarks about the tradition back in 2013. Omar has increasingly become a progressive leader in the Democratic Party. There are other reasons to believe she harbors a fair degree of Islamist views, including a vote against official recognition of the Armenian genocide. It’s hard to think of a cultural position more alienating to Americans- be they residents of a liberal district in Minnesota, or the most conservative areas of the country- than actively discouraging celebration of Christmas. Perhaps Omar would prefer living in a country where celebration of the holiday is actively repressed.

Richard Moorhead

https://bigleaguepolitics.com/ilhan-omar-in-2013-sadly-some-muslims-celebrate-christmas/

Fri, 27 Dec 2019 02:42:35 +0000

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

breitbart--2019-03-17--Media Silence Surrounds Muslim Massacre of Christians

breitbart

Media Silence Surrounds Muslim Massacre of Christians

The mosque attacks were indeed a horrific affair and worthy of universal condemnation. Presidents, prime ministers, royalty, and religious leaders rushed to extend their condolences to victims and their families — as well they should — while decrying the hate that purportedly motivated the shootings. Without exception, the mainstream media gave top billing to the shootings, with newspapers carrying the story on their front pages and television news channels leading off their broadcasts with the story. The bizarre aspect of the coverage was not, in fact, the attention paid to a heinous crime committed in New Zealand, but the absolute silence surrounding the simultaneous massacre of scores of Christians by Muslim militants in Africa. As Breitbart News alone reported among major news outlets, Fulani jihadists racked up a death toll of over 120 Christians over the past three weeks in central Nigeria, employing machetes and gunfire to slaughter men, women, and children, burning down over 140 houses, destroying property, and spreading terror. The New York Times did not place this story on the front page; in fact, they did not cover it at all. Apparently, when assessing “all the news that’s fit to print,” the massacre of African Christians did not measure up. The same can be said for the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, the Detroit Free Press, the LA Times, and every other major paper in the United States. The news shows from the three major television channels did not mention the story, and nor did CNN or MSNBC. There are several possible explanations for this remarkable silence, and none of them is good. Since, in point of fact, Muslim radicals kill Christians around the world with alarming frequency, it is probable that one more slaughter did not seem particularly newsworthy to the decision-makers at major news outlets. Muslims being killed, on the other hand, may strike many as newsworthy precisely because it is so rare. A second motive for the media silence around the massacre of Christians in Nigeria may be geo-political and racial. New Zealand is a first-world country where such things are not supposed to happen, whereas many people still consider Africa to be a backwards place where brutal killings are par for the course. Moreover, the slaughter of black Christians in Africa may not enkindle rage among westerners the way that the murder of white and brown Muslims in New Zealand would. Finally, the story simply does not play to the political agenda that many mainstream media would like to advance. How much mileage can be gained from Muslims murdering Christians, when Christians in America are often seen as an obstacle to the “progress” desired by liberals? The left sees Christians in the United States as part of the problem and seeks to undermine their credibility and influence at every turn rather than emboldening them. Anti-Christian bias has been rightly called “the last acceptable prejudice,” one that few bother condemning. “No one much cares about offending Christians,” wrote the coalition of African-American pastors in an essay last Tuesday. “In fact, mocking, belittling, and blaspheming Christianity is becoming a bit of a trend in our culture. Anti-Christian bigotry truly is the last acceptable prejudice.” “The hypocrisy on display is astounding,” the pastors continued. “Christianity is the dominant religion of our country. It is the foundation of our government and morality. And yet, Christians are treated as fair game for mockery and insult.” Christians are by far the most persecuted religious group in the world, but the mainstream media routinely ignore this fact as if it were unimportant or uninteresting. As a result, many people do not even realize how widespread the persecution is or that 75 percent of the victims of religious persecution around the world are Christians. Whatever the reason — or reasons — for the media silence surrounding the most recent massacres of Christians in Nigeria as well as numerous other such events, it should give right-thinking people pause. By all means, the lethal shootings of dozens of Muslims in New Zealand is a massive story and merits extensive coverage. But it only stands to reason that similar coverage should be devoted to the slaughter of Christians. For the moment, it serves as a poignant reminder that a double standard is at work when it comes to news coverage, and that it is Christians who inevitably draw the short straw.

Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/breitbart/~3/3b1CzNbfzWA/

2019-03-17 16:44:14+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

dailyheraldchicago--2019-12-21--How Muslims in the suburbs view Jesus, Mary and Christmas traditions

dailyheraldchicago

How Muslims in the suburbs view Jesus, Mary and Christmas traditions

Abiha Khan is no stranger to Christmas. It was an annual observance at the Catholic school Khan attended while growing up in Karachi, Pakistan. Many Muslims like Khan attend Catholic schools for the quality of their education. But it wasn't until Khan had children of her own that she began to appreciate the more cultural aspects of the Christian holiday. "We put up a tree every year ever since I had my kids," said Khan, 30, of Barrington Hills. "Basically, we do it in the spirit of the holidays." Khan's children -- Kabir, 5, and Hussain, 4 -- get excited every year around the holidays. They believe in Santa Claus and make wish lists for presents. Khan puts up stockings for them, leaves out cookies and milk for Santa, and puts presents under the tree before Christmas morning -- none of which she views as religious. "It's a fun family thing. It's just a happy time for all of us," she said. Muslims don't celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday. Yet many Muslims share a deep reverence for certain principal characters of the Christian faith. Jesus is exalted as a notable prophet in the Islamic tradition, and an entire chapter in the Quran -- Islam's holy book -- is dedicated to his mother, Mary. Muslims and Christians also have shared beliefs in past prophets, such as Adam, Noah, Abraham and Moses, as well as Jesus' virgin birth, his performing of miracles, and his prophesied return in the end of days. "Jesus is considered one of the greatest prophets in Islam," said Rachid Belbachir, resident scholar for the Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America based in Park Ridge. "As part of the faith, we have to believe in all the prophets." Mary is the only woman named and honored in the Quran with an entire chapter. "It just shows you the level of respect of how Muslims view her," Belbachir said. "For us, Mary, peace be upon her, exemplifies the perfect pious woman." While Muslims really don't celebrate the birth of prophets, Christmas is an opportunity to remember their legacies and contributions to mankind. "Jesus is exemplary in how he was kind in taking care of his mom. At Christmas, it's a reminder for us to be kind to our parents as Jesus was," Belbachir said. Azam Nizamuddin, an adjunct professor of Islamic theology at Loyola University of Chicago, emphasizes these commonalities in interfaith work for the Islamic Foundation of Villa Park. "We consider Mary to be one of the seminal women figures in Islamic history," he said. "Mary serves as a role model for piety." Aside from the religious ties between the Abrahamic faiths, the sensory overload of festive songs, holiday decorations and store sales this time of year also make Christmas unavoidable, Nizamuddin said. "That's just a cultural phenomenon that you can't really escape unless you are really not a part of society," he said. Participating, even nominally, in these holiday festivities is becoming more common among some religious and secular Muslims, second- or third-generation immigrants, Muslim converts whose family members celebrate Christmas, and those who are part of interfaith marriages or want to indulge in the spirit of the season through gift-giving and spending time with family and friends. The desire to be included prompts others to join in. Abiha Khan's elder son, Kabir, is the only Muslim kid in his class. "I don't want him to feel left out," she said of holiday parties and activities. Christmas has become such a cultural holiday that many Muslim families are putting up Christmas trees, exchanging gifts, gathering for family dinner, yet not celebrating the religious aspects, said Shazia Khan of South Barrington. "There are still a lot of Muslim and Jewish families who don't celebrate Christmas," Shazia Khan said. "We do feel a lot of pressure for our kids that we don't celebrate Christmas because it's all around us." Kiran Ansari Rasul of Elgin said she gives gifts to her three children's schoolteachers as well as mail carriers and housekeepers at Christmas, just as she would for the Islamic celebrations of Eid, which occur twice a year. "Living here and the kids being born and brought up here, we can't just pretend that nothing is happening," Ansari Rasul said. "Each family draws their own line. This is how we choose to celebrate. We talk more about community and respecting others ... reminding the kids to just be extra kind."

http://www.dailyherald.com/news/20191221/how-muslims-in-the-suburbs-view-jesus-mary-and-christmas-traditions

Sat, 21 Dec 2019 16:55:46 -0500

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

dickmorrisblog--2019-04-20--Chivalry The Christian Response To Muslim Aggression History Video

dickmorrisblog

Chivalry: The Christian Response To Muslim Aggression – History Video!

Click Here to give me your thoughts and continue the discussion. Please forward this email to any friends or family who may be interested in viewing my video commentary! How To Get Rid Of Deep Belly Fat: A Nutritional Guide — CLICK HERE NOW! View Dick’s most recent videos in case you missed them! Missing From Mueller: How Hillary Started The Collusion Hoax – Dick Morris TV: Lunch Alert! Mueller Report Gives Dems Enough Rope To Hang Themselves – Dick Morris TV: Lunch Alert! Trump Is Right: Send Illegals To Sanctuary Cities – Dick Morris TV: Lunch Alert!

Dick Morris

http://www.dickmorris.com/chivalry-the-cristian-response-to-muslim-aggression-history-video/

2019-04-20 09:00:26+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

disrn--2019-12-15--Boko Haram, Fulani Muslims have killed more than 1,000 Christians in Nigeria since January

disrn

Boko Haram, Fulani Muslims have killed more than 1,000 Christians in Nigeria since January

According to U.K.-based nonprofit organization Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART), over 1,000 Christians living in Nigeria have been killed by terror group Boko Haram and Fulani extremists this year alone. The organization released a report on November 18 entitled "Your Land or Your Body" which details its findings: "Islamist Fulani militia continue to engage in an aggressive and strategic land grabbing policy . . . They attack rural villages, force villagers off their lands and settle in their place — a strategy that is epitomized by the phrase: ‘your land or your blood.'" Additionally, Islamic terror group Boko Haram has vowed to kill every Christian they encounter. They have displaced hundreds of thousands of people in Nigeria. HART also reported that approximately 6,000 Christians have been killed since 2015 while another 12,000 have been displaced from their villages.

Disrn

https://disrn.com/news/fulani-militia-responsible-for-killing-over-1000-christians-in-nigeria-since-january-2019/

Sun, 15 Dec 2019 12:20:55 -0500

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

drudgereport--2019-01-21--Philippine Vote on Muslim Self-Rule Puts Christians on Edge

drudgereport

Philippine Vote on Muslim Self-Rule Puts Christians on Edge...

COTABATO, Philippines—A Muslim-majority region in the Philippines voted on a proposal for greater self-determination, a pivotal attempt at peace that tests the fragile relationship between Muslims and a Roman Catholic minority concerned about creeping Islamic authority. To most of the four million people in the Muslim areas of the southern island of Mindanao, the vote offers a hopeful end to decades of conflict between armed groups and the government in this overwhelmingly Catholic country of 100 million people. The fighting...

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DrudgeReportFeed/~3/IzSe7aohD3k/philippine-vote-on-muslim-self-rule-puts-christians-on-edge-11548039823

2019-01-21 21:13:37+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

drudgereport--2019-02-04--Life under ISIS led these Muslims to Christ

drudgereport

Life under ISIS led these Muslims to Christ...

Four years have passed since the Islamic State group's fighters were run out of Kobani, a strategic city on the Syrian-Turkish border, but the militants' violent and extreme interpretation of Islam has left some questioning their faith. A new church is attracting converts. It is the first local Christian place of worship for decades. “If ISIS represents Islam, I don’t want to be a Muslim anymore,” Farhad Jasim, 23, who attends the Church of the Brethren, told NBC News. “Their God is not my God.” Religious conversions are rare and taboo in Syria, with those who abandon Islam often ostracized by their families and communities. “Even under the Syrian regime before the revolution, it was strictly forbidden to change religion from Islam to Christianity or the opposite,” said Omar, 38, who serves as an administrator at the Protestant church. (He asked for his last name not to be revealed for safety reasons. The church's priest declined to be interviewed.) “Changing your religion under ISIS wasn’t even imaginable. ISIS would kill you immediately,” he added. While residents are still dealing with the emotional scars left by the brutality of ISIS, Omar says many people in Kobani have been open-minded about Christianity. “Most of the brothers here converted or come to church as a result of what ISIS did to them and to their families,” he added. “No one is forced to convert. Our weapon is the prayer, the spreading of spirit of love, brotherhood and tolerance.” Islamic leaders around the world have spoken against the extremists' ideology, accusing the ISIS militants of hijacking their religion. In 2014, more than 100 Muslim scholars wrote an open letter to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi saying the militant group has “misinterpreted Islam into a religion of harshness, brutality, torture and murder.”

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DrudgeReportFeed/~3/UbfnrYy2UTU/life-under-isis-led-these-muslims-christ-n963281

2019-02-04 12:49:39+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

foreignpolicy--2019-04-25--Sri Lankas Christians and Muslims Werent Enemies

foreignpolicy

Sri Lanka’s Christians and Muslims Weren’t Enemies

In November 2016, Sri Lanka’s justice minister announced to Parliament that 32 locals from four families had joined the Islamic State. Given the minister’s ties to some anti-Muslim Buddhist prelates, his claim was quickly dismissed as opportunistic­—even racist. Since then, however, credible evidence has backed him up. Meanwhile, the Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the deadly Easter Sunday bombings that killed around 360 people, including nearly 40 foreigners. To be sure, the Islamic State has a reputation for taking credit for terrorist acts it had nothing to do with. Its claims must therefore be treated skeptically. At the same time, however, there is no gainsaying that Islamist terrorist groups in South Asia and elsewhere support the Islamic State’s vision for a caliphate and crave alliance with it. And these groups, in solidarity with the Islamic State, have in the past targeted Christians on Easter. One such group is Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, which killed 75 people in Lahore, Pakistan, in March 2016. Yet the specifics of the Sri Lankan case make it unusual. For one, given the planning, sophistication, and scale, the attacks there on April 21 rank as one of the worst terrorist acts recorded. But more importantly, the relationship among the country’s Buddhists, Christians, and Muslims makes the targets the attackers picked somewhat strange. After all, why would the Islamic State or those allied with it go after the Christian minority when it is the radical Sinhalese Buddhist nationalists who have perpetrated violence against the island’s Muslims in recent times? The histories of Sri Lanka’s ethno-religious groups only add to the puzzle. In 2009, the country’s decades-long civil war ended with the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). During the violence, the LTTE often resorted to suicide bombings, and it is understandable that people initially thought the group was responsible for the weekend attacks. Although the Sri Lankan military has feared an LTTE comeback, though, the now defanged group never really mounted such coordinated bombings even at the height of its military power. In any case, the LTTE never attacked Christians if only because many Tamil Christians played a leading role in the separatist struggle. Meanwhile, extremist Buddhists have periodically attacked Christian evangelical groups, but suicide bombings are not really their forte. This left Islamist extremists as the potential culprits, yet Muslims in Sri Lanka have never before resorted to suicide bombings, and their moderate leaders have gone to great lengths to discourage reprisals for anti-Muslim attacks. The two local Islamist groups that the government claims were involved in the bombings are relatively obscure. One is Jammiyathul Millathu Ibrahim (JMI), of which little is known. The other is National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ), which appears to have been set up after Sinhalese Buddhist radicals with links to the previous Mahinda Rajapaksa regime orchestrated a wave of anti-Muslim violence in June 2014. There exist various jamath organizations in Sri Lanka and South Asia thanks to breakaway factions. The NTJ could well be one such breakaway faction. The NTJ gained some notoriety when one of the Easter suicide bombers desecrated a Buddha statue last December. It is unlikely someone intent on participating in coordinated suicide attacks would have wanted to expose himself by resorting to such an inflammatory act, so last weekend’s attacks must have been planned recently. The NTJ is surely linked to the Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamath, whose puritanical demands have caused it to clash with Islamist groups in the south Indian state. The NTJ has likewise upset moderate Sri Lankan Muslims for its ambitions to impose a Wahabi lifestyle on the island’s Muslims within its reach. But no one appears to have thought the group was capable of unleashing the carnage it did this past Sunday. Muslims amount to less than 10 percent of Sri Lanka’s population, and JMI and NTJ followers are unlikely to account for even 2 percent of those. Their miniscule size, coupled with the sophisticated nature of the attacks and the targeting of churches rather than Buddhist temples and assemblies, was therefore one reason for concluding a foreign hand was involved. Now pro-Islamic State posts on social media claim that the attacks were a response to the Christchurch, New Zealand, mosque shootings that killed 50 Muslims. The Sri Lankan government has also concluded that the Christchurch shootings were what inspired the attack. But the murder of Muslim worshippers in New Zealand had nothing to do with Sri Lanka or Sri Lankans. So why was the country chosen? Appreciating the Islamic State worldview, which is rooted in a binary of “believers” versus “infidels,” may help in this regard. The group envisions a permanent war between believers who defend Islam and crusaders who undermine the religion in varied ways, including those whose lifestyles are antithetical to fundamental Islamic values. Their worldview respects no borders and nationalities. As far as the Islamic State and its affiliates are concerned, then, Sri Lankan Christians fit into the crusader bracket and qualify to being attacked. A second reason Sri Lanka was picked is perhaps because, post-civil war, it represents a soft target. If security blanketed the island during the ethnic conflict, the LTTE’s total defeat, the new government’s less militaristic approach to governance, and the need to make the country more tourist friendly encouraged an increasingly lax atmosphere, especially outside the northeast. If the Islamic State could locate a more porous venue to reiterate its agenda, it will have. This means that all countries, especially those with so-called crusader populations, must brace against similar attacks. A third reason for picking Sri Lanka was the availability of a newly radicalized cohort of Muslims. It may turn out that some of the suicide bombers had traveled to Islamic State redoubts in the Middle East, but even if none did, the anti-Muslim sentiment that has bubbled up in Sri Lanka since 2012 was arguably sufficient to radicalize Sri Lankan Muslims at home. Thus, while the focus at this point is quite rightly on the innocent victims of the attacks and their perpetrators, Sri Lankans must come to terms with how politicians and Buddhist leaders have enabled and manipulated Islamophobia for personal gain and thereby contributed to this disaster. Despite alerts from moderate Muslims and specific intelligence passed on from the Indian government, Sri Lankan officials failed to fully appreciate the threat these Islamists posed. Bad blood between the president and prime minister, and the chaos it has engendered, may partly explain the intelligence failure. The Sri Lankan intelligence community’s obsession with an LTTE revival could as well. It is almost certainly the case, though, that the government would have taken the threat more seriously had Buddhist temples been on the terrorists’ hit list. Ultimately, the Easter Sunday bombings bode ill for Sri Lanka’s Muslims. Anti-Muslim sentiment, especially among nationalist Buddhists, is bound to ratchet up. Most of the dead were Sinhalese and Tamil Christians, and those groups may now join the Islamophobia bandwagon, too. Already some Muslim shops have been attacked, and Muslims fearing reprisals have fled to safer locations. In this context, how the Sri Lankan government responds to anti-Muslim violence is of paramount importance—because a government that allows Buddhist extremists or others to operate with impunity will only invite more Islamist terrorism. The potential ethno-religious instability these Easter attacks portend may work well for former President Rajapaksa, under whose leadership the LTTE was defeated amid allegations of war crimes. He and his family seek to return to power in elections this year, and they will claim that it takes a Rajapaksa to defeat Islamist extremism as well. Whether true or not, they will argue that the Islamic State has come to Sri Lanka and that a return to unyielding Rajapaksa rule is the only way to defeat it.

Neil DeVotta

https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/04/25/sri-lankas-christians-and-muslims-werent-enemies/

2019-04-25 19:18:35+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

fortruss--2019-03-18--Christchurch Attack Decoded A Manifestation of Israels Master Plan to Orchestrate War between the

fortruss

Christchurch Attack Decoded: A Manifestation of Israel’s Master Plan to Orchestrate War between the Muslim and Christian World

Sabtain Ahmed Dar is a Pakistan-based political analyst and a research fellow at the Department of Political Science, Punjab University. He specializes in Pakistan affairs and geopolitics, specifically the US strategy in the Middle East and South Asia. He also writes for Fort Russ News and his analysis can also be found at the public portal of the Belgrade based Center for Syncretic Studies.  The terrorist attack on Muslims by a white supremacist terrorist has resulted into more depression and confusion among the people. It is time to explain this subject critically to eliminate uncertainty about what is happening at the global level in the context of white supremacist terrorism. If decoded and analyzed properly, the signs and symbols involved in this attack are not only mysterious but also provide links about the involvement of those of are benefiting from the war on terrorism and other radical ideologies resulting into the more division among the people. With uncertainty among the masses there is one thing which is plain and clear to the casual eye; that this terrorist attack is an act to incite violence among the Christian and the Muslim world. Firstly, why would an Australian white supremacist terrorist would go all the way to New Zealand and choose a city named “CHRIST-CHURCH” to attack “MUSLIMS”? There is no coincidence involved here; it was a carefully planned operation to send a clear message to the Muslims. According to the first investigative report by the New Zealand authorities there are no international agencies involved in the attack. But if one carefully and logically raises the question that who will benefit if there is more division and hatred among the Muslims and the Christian countries? A: The Zionists. With that being said, it must be clear to the readers that not all “Jews” conform to the principles and the ideology of Zionism and not all “White People” in the world comply with the manifesto of “White Supremacists”. The current anarchy in between the masses is the result of a global campaign based on “divide and conquer strategy” being implemented by the Zionists for their New World Order to rule the world from Jerusalem. This article will attempt to prove this point by the use of decoding signs and symbols. According to my thesis, this terrorist act is part and parcel and a manifestation of the long planned master plan to divide the Christian and Muslim world to the advantage of the Zionists. The covert nature of state-sponsored terrorism and secrecy involved at the international level must not restrict the analysts to provide new knowledge into the field of international relations. An investigative attempt with logically deducted questions coupled with the ability of reading signs and symbols is all what the analysts need to decode state-sponsored terrorism. Odin: God of “White Supremacists” and the Cosmic War between Good and Evil Brenton Tarrant before leaving for the attack left a message online on 8chan saying; “it is time to do something practical… if I did not come back safely… I will meet you in Valhalla”. Q: What is Valhalla? A: In mythology, Valhalla (Hall of the Slain) is a majestic, enormous hall located in Asgard, ruled over by the god Odin. Those who die in combat travel to Valhalla upon death. If we talk about in the context of Jewish kabbalah (based on Egyptian mythology), Odin is KETHER of KABBALAH, also known as Wotan (Father of the Gods) and the Father of the “Glorious Dead”. In Hindu scriptures a deity Shiva is also known as the “God of the Death”. In Egyptian mythology “God Anubis” is also known as the “God of the Dead”. Anubis is the son of “Goddess ISIS”, ISIS does not represent the Islamic Civilization in the Middle-east the acronym “ISIS” is itself a sign for those who can see beyond the veils that there is a cosmic war going on in between the Good and Evil. Who decided the acronym for the so-called Islamic State? According to me, those who have created the ISIS project in the Middle-east are mocking the one-eyed people whose heart have been corrupted and eyes are blinded through deceit and lies by the Zionists. It should be noted here that the modern freemasonry and Talmudic-Judaism followed by the Zionists is based on the satanic Egyptian mythology and worship the same Egyptian gods. In many engravings God Odin is represented with a single eye. Odin doesn’t hesitate and sacrifices one of his eyes to be able to drink from the fountain of wisdom. He discovers ineffable things and obtains Wisdom (Mastery), but he needs more: to obtain power over life and death in an attempt to reject the notion of judgement and afterlife. In Christianity and Islam this one eyed deity is known as “Anti-Christ” and “Al-Messiah Al Dajjal”. The role of Dajjal and Anti-Christ in Christianity and Islam is to corrupt the heart of true religion of the Lord most high and deceive the people into deep materialism based on Satanism.  The truth of the matter is that these satanic secret societies have infiltrated and manipulated the true heart of Christianity replacing truth with falsehood based on evil mythological scriptures to perpetrate the evil agenda of Satan. When Brenton Tarrant was brought by police during a court hearing he was noticed by everyone making a so-called “Okay Sign”; it must be clear that he was not making an okay sign rather making “666- the sign of the Satan (Odin)”. One of the secrets of signs and symbols used in Satanism is “Secrecy”. According to me “Secrecy” is the religion of Satanism. Because Satan operates in secrecy; as it is said; “the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was to convince the world that he does not exist”.  Because if the people led to believe that the Satan exists; they will also come to the conclusion that God also exists and his divinely ordained messages are true. Brenton was also found carrying three lockets during the attack; those lockets have insignia of “Order of the Black Sun”. If you take twelve “Swastikas” and merge them into a one diagram it becomes the symbol of the order of the Black Sun. Swastikas is used as a symbol by the Nazis (Third Reich), Zionists and Brahman-Hindus (RSS-BJP) to represent their fascist evil ideology and pride. Readers must not be surprised about those on social media who applauded the terrorist activity of Brenton Tarrant. This is a proof of an invisible cosmic war in the language of signs and symbols. The plain meaning of Swastika in so-called sacred geometry is “As above, So Below”; which means it is a sign of the allegiance in between those who live above the surface of the earth and those who live underneath the earth (the Valhalla – The slain hall (hell) of the dead who died fighting for their cause). But a deeper meaning of Swastika in the context of the study of Bible and Quran reveals that it is a sign of “Sun” and allegiance in between the Humans (who rejected the true message of Lord most high) and the Satan. Swastika if converted into triangular shape becomes what we commonly known as the six pointed so-called Star of David on the flag of Israel. This six pointed star has nothing to do with Prophet David (peace be upon him) it is merely a satanic symbol to mock the prophet of Lord Most High. In a nutshell, the earth has changed… one can feel it in the water… one can feel it the air. The man has rejected to submit himself to the word of Lord Most High. Sovereignty no longer comes from the Lord; Man has become sovereign. Man himself has become God; and when man attempts to become God his words also becomes Godly. This is the prime reason behind the current anarchy in human knowledge of modern civilization because we have rejected the “Divine Law” as a principle to function in the society and formed our own Laws based on our own vested interests.  Therefore, humans have fall a prey to Satan and his schemes since the beginning of history. This is the prime reason behind groups in the world order who have either unintentionally or intentionally sided with Evil; resultantly destroying the natural order of peace. The credibility of this document is still questionable but “The Great Replacement” a 78-page document written by the alleged killer of almost 50 Muslims in Christchurch contains poetry and illustrations which provides a catechism about the sinister intentions of its author, as if to preempt the usual questions that follow atrocities of this kind. I was able to read the whole document before it was taken down by the authorities from the internet. Certain lines are written in an ironic, messing-with-you tone, but they are easy to detect if one is aware of the study of signs and symbols in the international relations. Not all manifestos and ideological documents are this mediocre or written in such a repulsively casual tone. For instance; “Q: You are a bigot, racist, xenophobe, islamophobe, Nazi, Mossad agent, fascist! Brenton Answer: Compliments will get you nowhere.” Brenton wishes to hasten a civilizational war. His model is Anders Behring Breivik, the Norwegian neckbeard who murdered 77 people, mostly liberal teens at an island retreat, in 2011 and Oswald Mosley (overtly a leader of British Union of Fascists during the inter-war period and covertly a freemason who worked for the Zionists to Second World War). The civilization that most offends him is Islam, because of its so-called attempt to colonize the West through immigration. He hates those Muslims who are peaceful; he hates those who are not white. “The unarmed invader is far more dangerous to our people than the armed invader,” he says. “We have no real idea on how to deal with them, we are unable to attack them or fend them off in any meaningful way.” He is ideological but satanic like Breivik, and comes close to denying that he is even Christian, his locket showing the insignia of the “Order of the Black Sun” (a satanic secret society) is a proof that he is not a Christian. The Great Manifesto resembles with the ideology of the ISIS and their operations against the Muslims in the Middle-east. Both “White Supremacists terrorists” and “ISIS terrorists” are ideologically driven to kill everyone in their way who does not conform to their radical ideologies. Even if we reject the notion that they are being secretly armed, funded and aided by the Zionists to wage deceptive hybrid warfare against the peaceful people; they are indirectly or unintentionally implementing their strategy of divide and conquer. Christchurch Suspect Sent a Symbolic Message to Turkey and Pakistan Authorities in Bulgaria, Turkey, Croatia and some journalist in Pakistan have confirmed that Brenton Tarrant, 28, had been to their countries in 2016-18. Hungarian counterterrorism authorities also suggested that Tarrant had visited but revealed no other information, and local media in Bosnia reported a 2017 trip there. While the details of Tarrant’s travels are sketchy, authorities in those countries said they are investigating his movements and any contacts he might have had with local people. The countries who attacked Muslim Syria but defending Muslims in New Zealand are pure Hypocrites, real Perpetrators. His soundtrack as he drove to the Christchurch mosque included a nationalist Serb song from the 1992-95 Bosnian war that tore apart Yugoslavia. The song glorifies Serbian fighters and former Bosnian Serb political leader Radovan Karadzic — the man jailed at the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague for genocide and other war crimes against Bosnian Muslims. The gunman’s rifles contained the names of legendary Serbs and Montenegrins who fought against the 500-year rule of the Muslim Ottomans in the Balkans, written in the Cyrillic alphabet used by the two Orthodox Christian nations. The western media claim about Brenton being psychopath is far from truth and an attempt to stop the masses to raise questions which are still unanswered. It was a carefully planned operation and was a deep-ideological driven attack to send clear message to the Islamic civilization. Turkey is one of the last powerful Muslim nations in the contemporary world. Recently, Turkey has successfully protected its borders from the Zionist-led “Kurdistan Project” which was aimed at Balkanizing Iraq, Syria and Turkey. According to me, the message is clear to Turkey in the context of the work for “Neo-Ottoman Empire” in the aftermath of the end of “Treaty of Lausanne” in 2023. This neo-ottoman empire project is allegedly being sponsored by the CIA to balkanize the Asia Minor and Eastern Europe to restore former Ottoman territories. In reality, it is merely a scheme by the Zionists to engage Turkey into new wars against the orthodox Christians and repeat the history of wars of 18th and 19th century in between the Ottomans and the orthodox Christian civilization in Eastern Europe. So readers should not be surprised in future if they read the news of Muslims attacking the Churches or Christians attacking the Mosques in Asia Minor or Eastern Europe. The future conflicts in between Turkey and Easter European countries are part of the Zionist strategy of fomenting wars between the Christian and Muslim world. Erdogan is of aware of this coming anarchy this is why he was portrayed as a dictator of the Muslim world. Erdogan played an intelligent double game with the US and Israel by overtly acting against Syria and covertly sustained Bashar Al Assad. He not only destroyed the Zionist scheme to overthrow Assad but also destroyed the Ralph Peters “Blood Borders Strategy”. Most of the analyst of study only the face value of a political development will not believe this; but I will leave you two hints here “the secret lies in the surprising resignation of “Ahmet Davutoğlu” in 2016 and later in the artificially created “Turkish Lira Crisis” in 2018. As far as Pakistan is linked, Brenton Tarrant before leaving for the attack said “Remember Lads subscribe to PewDiePie (YouTube Channel)”. Felix Kjellberg, alias PewDiePie is not the name you would normally link to a terrorist attack or extremist behavior of any kind, but why would Brenton said subscribe to PewDiePie? These far right extremists and recruiters talk from definite statements to ironic references. Few days ago during the Pakistan-India tensions over the issue terrorism in Kashmir, Felix uploaded a video showing his support to Pakistan after Indian T-series (YouTube channel) announced to remove tracks of Pakistani singers from their channel. There are reports from the Pakistani senior journalists such as Sabir Shakir and Zafar Halali that Pakistan may have an Israeli pilot in its custody after it shot down two Indian jets in Budgam, Kashmir. One of the jets with its pilots fell into Pakistan’s territory, it was reported earlier that two pilots have been arrested by Pakistan’s security forces. Brenton’s ironic statement before killing almost 50 Muslims (including Pakistanis) clearly suggests that Brenton has sent a symbolic message to Pakistan. And the decoded message is loud and clear; “hand over the Israeli pilot or otherwise bear the consequences”. If we talk about New Zealand, it is a peaceful country with a soft society living in harmony with the natural order. According to me, New Zealand was also deliberately framed into this terrorist activity to punish New Zealanders who voted recently at the United Nations against the United States’ move to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Concluding Thoughts: The Zionist Master Plan and the Clash of Civilizations The wars in the Middle-east are the wars for the state of Israel. The US strategy (influenced by Israel Lobby) of war and regime change in the Middle-east is eventually enhancing the security of the state of Israel at the expense of millions of Muslims being slaughtered and being displaced from their lands. I have been saying this for years that the issue of deceptive war on terrorism cannot be understand without studying the role of the Jews and its Talmudic ideology of wars against the goyim (non-Jews). Since 2001 they are at war with Islam. The war on terror is in reality is a war against Islam. The migrants immigrating from the Middle-east to Europe and other continents are being framed by the Zionist controlled media as rapists and murderers to incite violence among Muslims and Christians living in harmony with each other. A division or civil war between Christians and Muslims in Europe put the Zionist Jews (who controls the power structure Israel today) into strategic advantage. Thus, simultaneously serves their objective of disintegrating Europe Union back to the point of balance of power system. A balance of power system in Europe is essential for the Zionists to foment future wars for not only profits but also for their Middle-east project. I will be no surprised if European Union gets disintegrated in the next 10 years. Therefore, framing Muslim refugees as rapist and murderers is part of their strategy of predictive-programming to foment future conflicts and wars. The studies and researches in top global universities on the subject “Clash of Civilizations” have been deliberately funded and aided by them. The “Order out of Chaos” has been long planned by the Zionists. But the question arises why would Zionists want a clash of civilization? A: The current map and the security arrangement of the Middle-east do not allow Israel to expand its territory to complete its biblical mission of “Greater Israel” (From Nile to Euphrates). Thus, a civilizational clash upon the Middle-earth is required to redraw the map of the Middle-east to the advantage of the state of Israel. Surprisingly, the war objectives of ISIS, White supremacist terrorists, Hindutva and Zionists are in complete harmony with each other to initiate a “Clash of Civilization”. The failure of the ISIS in the Middle-east will not put an end to the complete ISIS project. The start of a new mode of hybrid war is around the corner, where we will see ISIS fighting against the White Supremacists terrorists around the globe, resulting into more anarchy and chaos in the world. The spread of ISIS militants from Levant to South Asia and from South Asia to Far East leaves plenty of clues for the investigators. The security agencies who work for the cause of the Zionists have made ISIS a global phenomenon. Both of them will work as pawns for the global domination of the Zionists and their New World Order or as they say “Order out of Chaos”.

Guest Author

https://www.fort-russ.com/2019/03/christchurch-attack-decoded-a-manifestation-of-israels-master-plan-to-orchestrate-war-between-the-muslim-and-christian-world/

2019-03-18 17:45:13+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

frontpagemagazine--2019-04-23--Washington Post Hundreds of Christians Were Murdered by Muslim Terrorists And Then Christians Po

frontpagemagazine

Washington Post: Hundreds of Christians Were Murdered by Muslim Terrorists... And Then Christians Pounced

After the New Zealand mosque shootings, the media was fine with Islamist activists accusing Chelsea Clinton of complicity in the massacre because she had opposed anti-Semitism. But when hundreds of Christians are murdered, the Washington Post goes on the offensive. First, the Post tries to make it appear as if the idea that Muslim terrorists are targeting chuches is a controversial conspiracy theory. "To some, it was further proof that Christians in many parts of the world are under attack. Several churches were targeted in Sunday’s bombing attacks, along with hotels and a banquet hall. At one Catholic church in Negombo, more than 100 people were killed. The attack took place on Easter, one of the most important dates on the Christian calendar," the Post writes. "To some". However to the Post, there was no reason to think that church bombings occuring on Easter Sunday might have a religious motive. Unless they're black churches in America. In which case the motive becomes quite apparent and obvious. The larger theme however is 'far-right anger'. "Christianity under attack? Sri Lanka church bombings stoke far-right anger in the West," the Post headline declares. The Post's definition of "far-right" includes Marine Le Pen, Frank Gaffney and unknown people on Reddit. Also this is the definition of 'anger'. > American far-right activists offered their own responses. “Followers of Jesus worldwide are being killed and otherwise terribly persecuted every day,” Frank Gaffney, a former Reagan administration aide now best known for his anti-Muslim rhetoric, said on his radio show. “All too often, their losses go unremarked.” That seems very angry. If the Post tried to define a similar comment by a Muslim as an example of "anger"  after the New Zealand shootings, there would have been a good deal of anger. Then the Post goes back to questioning whether the attacks targeted Christians? > But no group has come forward to claim the attacks yet. In contrast, after the Christchurch attack, suspected perpetrator Brenton Tarrant was quickly caught alive; he left a lengthy manifesto explicitly outlining his far-right, anti-Muslim motives for the shootings, a document that circulated within hours of the attack. > > Less than 8 percent of Sri Lankans are Christian, with the vast majority of them Roman Catholic; 12.6 percent are Hindu, and 9.7 percent are Muslim, while the remaining majority are Buddhist, according to the country’s 2012 census. The civil war that wreaked havoc in Sri Lanka for decades before finally ending in 2009 was based generally around nationalism and ethnic identity rather than religion. What is the point of all this arm waving except a Trutheresque excercise in introducing doubt. Is there a more morally abysmal paper in this country than the Washington Post?

Daniel Greenfield

https://www.frontpagemag.com/point/273558/washington-post-hundreds-christians-were-murdered-daniel-greenfield

2019-04-23 04:59:00+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

frontpagemagazine--2019-04-25--After Sri Lanka Christian Massacre Media Deploys quotMuslims Fear Backlashquot Meme

frontpagemagazine

After Sri Lanka Christian Massacre, Media Deploys "Muslims Fear Backlash" Meme

The media's lack of decency can be scientifically measured by the interval of time that passes between a Muslim terrorist attack and its attempt to shift the conversation, transforming perpetrators into victims, by deploying its, "Muslims fear backlash" meme. The media's patience after the Islamic church bombings in Sri Lanka was impressive. It may even be a new record. But the New York Times and the Washington Post (not to mention, obviously, Al Jazeera) have deployed the ultimate weapon. _Sri Lanka’s Muslims Face an Angry Backlash After Easter Sunday Attacks_ , the New York Times weeps. _Sri Lanka's Muslims Fear Retaliation After Easter Attacks on Christians_ , the Washington Post fusses. The New York Times claims that "Christian gangs" are running amok terrorizing helpless Muslim victims. And this is happening in a country where Christians are not only a minority, but are outnumbered by Muslims. The Times portrays Muslim migrants in Sri Lanka as fleeing for their lives from Christian "gangs". The Post claims that. "in Colombo, Muslims have formed ad hoc neighborhood watch committees, checking for unfamiliar vehicles and visitors." Because you never know when Christians will pull off a mass bombing campaign targeting mosques. Like the one that never happened. Also, according to the Post, Muslim feelings were hurt. > "Leaders of one mosque in Negombo said they offered joint funeral rites for Fatima Alsa, a teenage Muslim girl from a partly Christian family who died in the bombing at St. Sebastian’s Catholic Church and was later buried under a palm tree in the local Islamic cemetery. > > Later, though, mosque officials said they were politely rebuffed when they made further overtures to local Christians and were urged by church officials to stay at home and avoid any problems. > > “We wanted to do more, but we were asked not to,” said one mosque member, Mohammad Sufaree, who also expressed indignation that a second meeting with local church officials had been abruptly broken off. “This is why the Muslim community is hesitant to come out beyond its boundaries. We always take risks, but we feel left out in the middle of the jungle.” So they attempted to appropriate one of the bombing victims (it's highly unlikely that Fatima was Muslim if she was in a Catholic church on Easter Sunday) and then made it all about their feelings and their sensitive souls. And then blamed the Christians for not appreciating their outreach enough. And the media is cheerfully advancing their agenda because the story suits its narrative.

Daniel Greenfield

https://www.frontpagemag.com/point/273587/after-sri-lanka-christian-massacre-media-deploys-daniel-greenfield

2019-04-25 08:39:00+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

frontpagemagazine--2019-04-30--California Muslim Terrorist Wanted to Kill Christians Jews Bought Nails Long Enough to Puncture Or

frontpagemagazine

California Muslim Terrorist Wanted to Kill Christians, Jews, Bought Nails Long Enough to Puncture Organs

The media would love to ignore it, but Islamic terrorism isn't going anywhere. This latest case is a reminder that Muslim terrorist plots continue to pop up and get shut down. Another day, another Islamic plot. This one targeted beaches, parks and piers in Southern California. > "I feel like I should make a christians life miserable tomorrow for our fallen bros n sis in [N]ew Zealand...maybe a jews life...they shed our blood...no Muslim should have to experience this, a message needs to be sent." With nails. [Long nails.](https://legalinsurrection.com/2019/04/terror-plot- targeting-southern-california-sites-foiled-by-the-fbi/) > According to a federal affidavit, “after considering various attacks — including targeting Jews, churches, and police officers — Domingo decided to detonate an IED at a rally scheduled to take place in Long Beach this past weekend. As part of the plot, Domingo asked his confederate — who actually was cooperating with the FBI as part of the investigation — to find a bomb-maker, and Domingo last week purchased several hundred nails to be used as shrapnel inside the IED. > > “Domingo said he specifically bought three-inch nails because they would be long enough to penetrate the human body and puncture internal organs,” the affidavit states. > > According to a criminal complaint filed by federal prosecutors, Domingo posted a video online in which he professed his Muslim faith on March 2, and the next day, he made another posting in which he said, “America needs another vegas event” – referring to the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas – that would give “them a taste of the terror they gladly spread all over the world.” The war goes on. > During subsequent meetings outlined in the affidavit, Domingo continued to express his desire to commit a terrorist act, at points contemplating a drive- by shooting with a modified AK-47-style rifle he owned, and at other points considering the use of an IED.   During an April 3 meeting, Domingo allegedly expressed support for ISIS and said “if ISIS ‘came here,’ he would swear allegiance to ISIS,” according to the complaint. How many others like him are out there?

Daniel Greenfield

https://www.frontpagemag.com/point/273627/california-muslim-terrorist-wanted-kill-christians-daniel-greenfield

2019-04-30 07:11:33+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

instapundit--2019-04-24--NOT HOLDING MY BREATH HERE When Christians Are Under Attack Muslims and the Left Need to Defend T

instapundit

NOT HOLDING MY BREATH HERE: When Christians Are Under Attack, Muslims and the Left Need to Defend T…

NOT HOLDING MY BREATH HERE: When Christians Are Under Attack, Muslims and the Left Need to Defend Them.

Glenn Reynolds

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pjmedia/instapundit/~3/c4pJLU5t2qI/

2019-04-24 16:07:14+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

lifesitenews--2019-10-29--How Amazon Synod could lead to more Muslim violence against Christians

lifesitenews

How Amazon Synod could lead to more Muslim violence against Christians

October 29, 2019 (Turning Point Project) — As I said in a recent column, Pope Francis doesn't understand Islam. More proof of that came on October 4th when the pope participated in what has been described as a "highly symbolic tree-planting ceremony." Well, you could call it that, but most tree-planting ceremonies don't involve mandalas, hymns to "Mother Earth" and kneeling before statues of pregnant women. Presumably, that's how Amazonian Indians conduct tree-planting ceremonies, but this ritual was held in the Vatican Gardens, and one of the statues (a carving, really) was presented to Pope Francis during the fertility rite. But what does Islam have to do with it? Well, in one sense, nothing. Islam wants nothing to do with such activities. Islam was founded as a strict monotheistic religion, and when its founder entered Mecca in 630 he removed and destroyed the 361 idols to pagan gods that were on display in the Kaaba. In another sense, however, it's likely that Ayatollahs and Imams everywhere are paying close attention to the Catholic Church's new found interest in "Mother Earth". Why? Well, first you need to understand just how seriously some Church leaders are about transforming the Church into something new and strange. Unless you've been on an extended vacation in the more remote areas of the Amazon rainforest, you know that the preparatory document for the Amazon Synod seems to be preparing us for a new Church with an Amazonian face. The document seems to affirm the legitimacy of pantheism, paganism, and ancestor worship. Moreover, contrary to established doctrine, it asserts that the Amazon region is itself a source of divine revelation. The actual proceedings of the Synod and the omnipresence of "Mother Earth" worshippers in Rome suggest that the preparatory document was not just a pipe dream, but a plan of action. The hope that older and wiser heads would prevail at the Synod is beginning to fade because, although there are a lot of older heads in attendance, they seem to be filled not with wisdom, but with "the beat, beat, beat of the tom-tom." Yet, at the same time that Church leaders are drifting toward pantheism, they are also trying to improve relations with Islam. The latest move in that direction was the meeting in Abu Dhabi in February between Pope Francis and Ahmad Al-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar. The resulting document on "Human Fraternity" was filled with UN-type nostrums about human brotherhood and the essential sameness of all religions. Although the document contained many misrepresentations of Islamic beliefs, the Grand Imam went along with it. He must have realized that the Pope's bridge-building initiative would provide a certain legitimacy for Islam. After all, the Vatican seal of approval still carries some weight in the world. But the Church's new Amazonian venture may prove to be a bridge too far for Al-Tayeb and other Muslim leaders. There is no room in Islam for pantheism, and certainly not for worship of "Mother Earth." Muhammad's central message to the pagan tribes of Arabia was that there is only one God. The first of the Five Pillars of Islam is the recitation of the statement of faith: "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah." That's fairly short as creedal statements go; and it's quite straightforward. There is only one God, and that's that. The phrase is whispered by the father into the ear of a newborn child, and it appears on the flags of many Islamic states as well as on the flags of jihadist organizations. The oneness of God is the central teaching of Islam. By the same token, the worst sin, from an Islamic viewpoint, is shirk — the sin of practicing idolatry or polytheism. The sin of shirk also includes associating partners with God — such as in the formulation, "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." Devout Muslim are constantly on guard against falling into jahiliyyah — the "Age of Ignorance" which existed before the coming of Islam. One of the major manifestations of this ignorance or "stupidity" was the worship of idols in the form of the sun, or animals, or mythical deities. Now that the Catholic Church seems in danger of falling back into the Age of Ignorance and polytheism, one wonders how much longer Islamic leaders will be willing to maintain the illusion that Catholics and Muslims share a common purpose and common values. By encouraging the Church to drift down the Amazon, Pope Francis puts at risk the dialogue he has carefully cultivated with Islam. Of course, a moratorium on the Church's dialogue with Islam would not in itself be a bad thing. The meetings have been very much to the advantage of Islam, and it's difficult to see much benefit to the Church. Indeed, the dialogue has, arguably, put more Christians at risk. That's because one of the "red lines" for resuming the dialogue after Al-Tayeb cancelled it was that the Catholic partners should refrain from any criticism of Islam. The strange willingness of Catholic leaders to overlook Islam's role in the slaughter of Christians in the Middle East and Africa is best explained by their tacit acceptance of the red line. But now, with the Church's apparent openness to pantheism, everything may change, and the risks to Christians will likely be multiplied. Islamic leaders may reason that their "partnership" with the Catholic Church is becoming more of a liability than an asset. The Catholic belief in the Trinity is bad enough, but this new flirtation with the gods of the woods and the waters may prove to be the last straw. From the Muslim point of view, this is nothing less than shirk. And shirk must be punished. In the Koran, the mere fact of unbelief is sufficient justification for Muslims to wage war against infidels. As news of the Church's turn toward pantheism spreads through the Muslim world — and it will probably spread in a greatly exaggerated fashion — it is likely that persecution of Christians will ramp up. An increasing number of Muslims will come to believe that in killing Christians they are offering up worship to God, who, if the Koran is any indication, has a deep dislike of polytheists. Meanwhile, the "moderate" Muslims who engage in dialogue with Church leaders will have more leverage. They may not wish to drop the dialogue altogether, because it has been very useful to them. The spread of Islam throughout Europe was enabled in part by the fact that the Vatican lobbied strongly in favor of mass Muslim migration. But now, our Muslim "partners" may feel free to up the ante. Since they can't afford to lose the goodwill of the more excitable members of their own flock, they will be tempted to demand more concessions and more signs of submission from the Church. And they will quite probably succeed. Under Francis, the Church has already adopted a submissive attitude toward Islam — one that even exceeds its submissive attitude toward the secular world and the primitive world. Francis's Amazon gambit will only go to prove what Muslims have always claimed about Christians — namely, that they have departed from the path ordained by God. And it will provide more evidence that Islam is the one true faith. The probable result? More conversions to Islam, and more aggressiveness towards Christians. It's not inconceivable that in many parts of the world — including Europe — Christians will be forced to accept the dhimmi status that was imposed on conquered Christians in the past. After the Regensburg Address, Archbishop Bergoglio said that Pope Benedict had set back the Church's relations with Islam by twenty years. Now that he is pope, it looks as though that relationship will be set back by a good 1,400 years. Published with permission from the Turning Point Project.

https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/how-amazon-synod-could-lead-to-more-muslim-violence-against-christians

2019-10-29T23:29:00+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

lifesitenews--2019-11-28--Remembering when Christian cavalry smashed the Muslim army and saved Europe

lifesitenews

Remembering when Christian cavalry smashed the Muslim army and saved Europe

November 27, 2019 (The Bridgehead) — Europe is filled with great Gothic churches, but for me Vienna's St. Stephen's Cathedral has always been one of the greatest. Not because her soaring bell tower and serrated steeples are so much more beautiful than those of other cities, but because it was St. Stephen's that presided over some of Europe's most consequential battles, when the forces of Islam rode up to Vienna to smash through into Europe and do to her great cathedrals what they did to Constantinople's Hagia Sophia. I had the opportunity not only to explore the church earlier this year (Mozart's funeral was held here, and the bones of St. Valentine are kept in a chest in one of the chapels), but to give a brief speech on a stage in front of the church for the Austrian March for Life. The Ottomans thought St. Stephen's was a prize, too, and when they laid siege to Vienna in 1529, Sultan Suleiman I (the Magnificent) was riding high. He had been racking up victories across the continent, and decided that the first great conquest that would lead to his domination of Europe would be the magnificent city of Vienna. He boasted that he would be having breakfast in St. Stephen's Cathedral within two weeks of the siege. When the date came and went, Vienna's defenders, a coalition that included German Landsknechts, Spanish Musketeers, and Italian mercenaries, both Catholic and Protestant, sent the sultan a message to let him know that his breakfast was getting cold. Fierce defenders and savage weather eventually drove the Ottomans back, and Christian Europe, for the time being, was safe. In July of 1683, the Ottomans decided to try again, this time under the ambitious leadership of "Black" Mustafa, the Empire's grand vizier. They arrived to lay siege to the city, demanding surrender. Count Ernst Rudiger von Starhemberg, the commander of Vienna's garrison, scorned the ultimatum: "Let them come; I'll fight to the last drop of blood." As the siege dragged on and hunger and exhaustion began to fell the city's inhabitants, it began to look as if the defenders might have to do just that. Frantic pleas for assistance were sent out to the leaders of Christian Europe, calling for men and arms to repel the invaders. The calls were heeded, and a massive relief force made up of soldiers from Saxony, Baden, Franconia, Bavaria, Swabia, and Poland began to move towards Vienna. The battle, a chaotic, bloody affair, began on September 11, 1683 — but there is one moment that stands out, immortalized against the backdrop of an epic struggle between civilizations. As Black Mustafa and the Turks tried desperately to force their way into the city before the relief troops could swing the advantage to the defenders, the Polish King Jan Sobieski emerged from the forests on the hills above the Ottoman attackers. At 6 PM, at his command, an awe-inspiring cavalry charge plunged over the crests of the hills and pounded towards the invaders, a magnificent force of 18,000 horsemen. The Polish king, at the head of 3,000 heavy lancers known to history as the Winged Hussars, led the charge. These knights were named for the wings of birds of prey attached to the backs of their armour, which streamed behind them in the wind and made them resemble a cloud of avenging angels. The Winged Hussars and the thousands of cavalrymen that followed them smashed into the Ottomans, trampling many of them to death. By the time the horsemen hammered down the hill, many of them were simply riding too fast to stop, and they cut through the enemy troops like a battering-ram of horse, man, and steel. The charge proved to be the fatal blow to the Ottoman siege, and the battle to save Vienna was won within three hours. With the battle in hand and Vienna saved from the forces of Islam once again, King Jan Sobieski sat down in his tent to write a letter to his adored wife, something he did nearly every day when he was forced to be away from her. There is an interesting cultural footnote to all of this. Most people do not know that J.R.R. Tolkien's famous Battle of Pelennor Fields, the struggle for the city of Minas Tirith between the soldiers of Gondor and the forces of the Dark Lord Sauron recounted in The Return of the King, is actually based on the charge of King Jan Sobieski and his Winged Hussars. Tolkien sets the scene with chilling foreboding: "It was dark and dim all day. From the sunless dawn until evening the heavy shadow had deepened, and all hearts were oppressed. Far above a great cloud streamed slowly westward from the Black Land, devouring light, borne upon war; but below the air was still and breathless, as if all the Vale of Anduin waited for the onset of a ruinous storm." As the battle began in earnest, King Theoden emerges from the forest ahead of his cavalry, the fearsome Rohirrim. As he contemplates the destruction of the city, the king hears a booming sound from Minas Tirith, and suddenly stands erect: "Tall and proud he seemed again; and rising in his stirrups he cried in a loud voice, more clear than any there had ever heard a mortal man achieve before: Arise, arise, Riders of Théoden! Fell deeds awake, fire and slaughter! spear shall be shaken, shield be splintered, a sword-day, a red day, ere the sun rises! Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor! "With that, he seized a great horn from Guthláf his banner-bearer, and he blew such a blast upon it that it burst asunder. And straightway all the horns in the host were lifted up in music, and the blowing of the horns of Rohan in that hour was like a storm upon the plain and a thunder in the mountains." Walking through Vienna last month, I stumbled across an iron plaque with Jan Sobieski's visage peering out from it near the Hapsburg palaces bolted to a wall, cloaked in regal finery and sporting an impressive moustache. The plaque had been placed there in September of 1983 — I couldn't read the inscription on it — but someone had very recently placed a ribboned wreath beneath it to commemorate what the Polish king had done for Vienna, and for civilization itself, all those years ago. For some reason, seeing the wreath cheered me up. Perhaps it is because it is encouraging to see that a few people still remember their history, and still take the time to honor those who took the weight of civilization on their shoulders when everything hung in the balance. Published with permission from The Bridgehead.

https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/remembering-when-christian-cavalry-smashed-the-muslim-army-and-saved-europe

2019-11-28T00:50:00+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

liveaction--2019-11-01--Christian, Muslim, and Jewish leaders unite to condemn assisted suicide

liveaction

Christian, Muslim, and Jewish leaders unite to condemn assisted suicide

As assisted suicide spreads throughout the world, religious leaders are taking a stand. In a meeting at Vatican City, leaders from the three Abrahamic monotheistic religions — Judaism, Christianity, and Islam — gathered to sign a declaration condemning the practice, and urging for greater palliative care options to be put into place instead. Representatives from the Vatican, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the Patriarchate of Moscow and All Russia, and Muslim and Jewish scholars and leaders were present, or expressed their support. Signees, who included David Rosen for the American Jewish Committee, Vincenzo Paglia for the Vatican, a representative for the Orthodox Church, and Samsul Anwar from the Indonesian Muhammadiyah (an Islamic social and cultural association), all agreed that assisted suicide poses a threat to inherent human dignity. Others sent letters of support. The idea was the brainchild of Avraham Steinberg, co-president of the Israeli National Council on Bioethics, according to the Times of Israel. “I think it’s by itself an historic event that the three major religions come together, talk to each other, agree on something and even sign on it,” he said at a press conference. “We oppose any form of euthanasia – that is the direct, deliberate and intentional act of taking life – as well as physician-assisted suicide – that is the direct, deliberate and intentional support of committing suicide – because they fundamentally contradict the inalienable value of human life, and therefore are inherently and consequentially morally and religiously wrong, and should be forbidden without exceptions,” the document read. “Care for the dying, is both part of our stewardship of the Divine gift of life when a cure is no longer possible, as well as our human and ethical responsibility toward the dying (and often) suffering patient.” READ: Assisted suicide laws a ‘direct assault’ on dignity of persons with disabilities, says council Instead of helping people to die, the document asserts that “we are morally and religiously duty-bound to provide comfort, effective pain and symptoms relief, companionship, care and spiritual assistance to the dying patient and to her/his family.” The document, which is almost 2,000 words long, demanded that physicians not participate in coercing, pressuring or assisting a patient’s suicide, called for greater palliative care options for the dying, and said laws are needed to protect the rights and the dignity of all people. It also noted that the three religions “share common goals and are in complete agreement in their approach to end-of-life situations,” which sometimes are in conflict with “current secular humanistic values and practices.” Assisted suicide is being legalized more and more often in countries across the world, and while it is framed as a way for the dying to have death with “dignity,” the reality is quite different. Instead, the vulnerable — such as the elderly and the disabled — are often targeted, manipulated, and scared into thinking death is their best and only choice. “To take the initiative to shorten a person’s life is murder,” Rabbi Eliezer Simcha Weiss, who represents the Chief Rabbinate, told the Jerusalem Post, adding, “It was remarkable that representatives of the three major monotheistic groups were able to come together around the idea that we are all created in the image of God, and cannot take a life. People must realize that there is a glimmer of light that religions who have been warring together have found common ground and that is in the sanctity of human life. A person who saves a life saves an entire world, and a person who destroys a life destroys an entire world.” “Like” Live Action News on Facebook for more pro-life news and commentary!

Cassy Fiano-Chesser

https://www.liveaction.org/news/christian-muslim-jewish-leaders-condemn-assisted-suicide/

Fri, 01 Nov 2019 21:03:09 +0000

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

naturalnews--2019-03-17--All the religious massacres you didnt hear about over the past year have one thing in common Chr

naturalnews

All the religious massacres you didn't hear about over the past year have one thing in common... Christians were killed instead of Muslims

(Natural News) On January 27, Muslim extremists bombed a Roman Catholic cathedral on the Philippine island of Jolo, killing some 20 people and injuring dozens of others. But you probably didn’t hear about this horrific religious massacre because the perpetrators were violent Islamic terrorists that targeted Christians, which means the Leftist media pretty much completely ignored it. Though they often go unreported, there have actually been hundreds of similar such attacks by Muslims against Christians just within the past year alone, and almost none of them were given national, let alone global, media attention. That’s because the only tragedies that ever get reported by the fake news media are those that propagate an anti-white, anti-gun, and anti-Christian narrative. Take the most recent alleged gun massacre in New Zealand, for instance. The fake news media won’t shut up about it, for one, and many of these same propaganda outlets are actually making up false narratives about the alleged shooter simply because he’s a white male who supposedly went on a rampage against Muslims while they were worshiping in their mosques. It’s the perfect scenario for the Leftist media to go nuts with all sorts of crazy narratives blaming white people, conservatives, and even President Trump and his “rhetoric” for this evil act of violence, while also throwing in anti-Second Amendment talking points while they’re at it. But these same disinformation mouthpieces were nowhere to be found when Filipino Christians were murdered in cold blood in the name of Allah – why is that? Sponsored solution from the Health Ranger Store: The Big Berkey water filter removes almost 100% of all contaminants using only the power of gravity (no electricity needed, works completely off-grid). Widely consider the ultimate "survival" water filter, the Big Berkey is made of stainless steel and has been laboratory verified for high-efficiency removal of heavy metals by CWC Labs, with tests personally conducted by Mike Adams. Explore more here. After all, both incidents are similar in that a religious group was targeted by deranged terrorists who openly admitted that they were out for innocent blood. The difference, however, is that in the eyes of the Left, it’s perfectly alright for the lives of Christians to be terminated by extremists because that’s considered to be “tolerance.” But when Muslims are targeted, it’s automatically “Islamophobia” and “racism” by white people against brown people. The aforementioned religious terror attack that took place in the Philippines was hardly an isolated incident, by the way. It happens all the time, all over the world – though the average person remains completely unaware of it, thanks to a perpetual mainstream media blackout designed to cover up the truth. As of this writing, there have been 453 Islamic terror attacks in 31 different countries so far this year – and these are just the ones that have been reported. In total, just in 2019 so far, there have been a shocking 1,956 people murdered by Islamic terrorists, and another 2,019 injured, according to TheReligionOfPeace.com. Had each of these incidents been reportedly as widely and aggressively as the most recent New Zealand attack, the general public would clearly see the threat of radical Islamic terrorism, and perhaps call for Muslims to be banned from the country much in the same way that they’re demanding guns be banned. But because such incidents are kept under wraps, there’s a widespread illusion among Leftists that everything is a-okay, and that Muslims are just perfect little darlings who assimilate peacefully into Western society. Everyday Leftists are also guilty of willfully covering up this inconvenient truth, especially as they seek to legislatively stop “hate crimes” and “hate speech” against all people groups in this country except, you guessed it: white people and Christian people. In other words, whites and Christians are now the only unprotected members of American society who are always guilty of everything that’s bad, according to Democrats, and who are never unfairly targeted or mistreated by anyone else due to their “privilege.” Meanwhile, Muslim terrorists are allowed to wreak havoc all across the globe in the name of “diversity.” For more related news, be sure to check out Evil.news.

Ethan Huff

http://www.naturalnews.com/2019-03-17-religious-massacres-you-didnt-hear-about-christians-were-killed.html

2019-03-17 13:04:31+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

naturalnews--2019-12-29--Of course: Muslim officials working on behalf of United Nations block Christians from receiving aid

naturalnews

Of course: Muslim officials working on behalf of United Nations block Christians from receiving aid

(Natural News) For the umpteenth time, the reason why the United States and other Western nations should refrain from taking in any more refugees and immigrants from Muslim-majority countries is because they don’t work and play well with our Christian heritage. This has been proven yet again by none other than that august international organization of Left-wing, anti-Christian bias, the United Nations. As reported by the Clarion Project, Muslim officials working with the UN have been blocking Christian refugees from Syria, especially those who have converted to Christianity from Islam, from receiving any assistance: The moves includes blocking them from entering refugee camps and labeling them as security risks, a status which makes them ineligible for emigration to Western countries, including the U.S. and Britain. This anti-Christian bias also extended to the United States under the Obama administration. In fact, as the Clarion Project noted, a federal judge chastised 44’s administration for failing to admit a larger number of Christian refugees from Syria into the country (but President Donald Trump is the racist and the bigot). Mind you, the Obama administration exceeded its goal of admitting Syrians into the U.S. by 1,000 (10,000 were admitted in total), but just 56 of those refugees were Christians. “To date,” wrote U.S. District Judge Daniel Manion at the time, “there has not been a good explanation for this perplexing discrepancy.” After President Trump took office in January 2017, he promised to remedy the situation and help Christian refugees specifically (they comprise 10 percent of Syria’s population). However, “moves from Jordanian officials working for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) have thwarted that effort by labeling Christian refugees as security risks and refusing their entry into refugee camps,” the Clarion Project reported. (Related: Egyptian woman issues warning to Americans: ‘Wake up’ or be destroyed from within by Islamic immigration.) Meanwhile, as Breitbart News reported in March 2018, U.S. taxpayers supplied Jordan with $500 million in foreign aid, in part — get this — to fund a border wall and build a defensive line against jihadi terrorists attempting to cross into its territory from Syria and Iraq. ‘They block you and laugh at you and threaten you’ As for the Jordanian UN officials’ actions, CBN reported that two countries could remedy the situation if they wanted to: The U.S. and Britain, but so far neither has done so (keep in mind that the U.S. State Department may be headed by a Trump appointee, but as we’ve seen regarding this “Ukrainegate” fiasco, the line diplomats and diplomatic officials are hard-core anti-Trump Leftists). That said, one British official, Lord George Carey, the former archbishop of Canterbury, has filed suit against Britain’s Home Office (the equivalent of the U.S. State Department). The suit correctly contends that “politically correct” officials have been “institutionally biased” against Christian refugees. “You have this absurd situation where the scheme is set up to help Syrian refugees and the people most in need, Christians who have been ‘genocided,’ they can’t even get into the U.N. camps to get the food,” Carey’s attorney, Paul Diamond, explained, according to the Clarion Project. “If you enter and say I am a Christian or convert, the Muslim UN guards will block you [from] getting in and laugh at you and mock you and even threaten you,” he added. And by doing nothing about it, Western Christian-dominated governments are being complicit in “the steady crucifixion of Middle East Christians.” It should be noted that while Jesus was a Jew, Christianity began in the Middle East, and now in most countries it has nearly been completely eradicated, replaced by Islam, which teaches hatred and violence against “non-believers” is okay. “It would be simple just to open up a refugee camp for religious minorities, for Christians, Yazidis, whatever they are, and they’d be safe. But no one does that,” Diamond said.

JD Heyes

http://www.naturalnews.com/2019-12-29-muslim-un-officials-block-christians-aid.html

Sun, 29 Dec 2019 11:28:10 +0000

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

newspunch--2019-03-18--Muslim Extremists Slaughter 100 Christians Media Blackout

newspunch

Muslim Extremists Slaughter 100 Christians – Media Blackout

Over 100 Christians have been slaughtered by Muslim extremists in Nigeria over the past three weeks, amid a total media blackout. Following the tragic events in New Zealand last Friday, politicians and the mainstream media were quick to condemn the attacks in Christchurch. Some even politicized the tragedy to call for stricter gun laws and to demonize conservatives on social media. Newspapers have carried the story on their front pages and news channels around the world have led their broadcasts with it. Breitbart.com reports: The bizarre aspect of the coverage was not, in fact, the attention paid to a heinous crime committed in New Zealand, but the absolute silence surrounding the simultaneous massacre of scores of Christians by Muslim militants in Africa. As Breitbart News alone reported among major news outlets, Fulani jihadists racked up a death toll of over 120 Christians over the past three weeks in central Nigeria, employing machetes and gunfire to slaughter men, women, and children, burning down over 140 houses, destroying property, and spreading terror. The New York Times did not place this story on the front page; in fact, they did not cover it at all. Apparently, when assessing “all the news that’s fit to print,” the massacre of African Christians did not measure up. The same can be said for the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, the Detroit Free Press, the LA Times, and every other major paper in the United States. The news shows from the three major television channels did not mention the story, and nor did CNN or MSNBC. There are several possible explanations for this remarkable silence, and none of them is good. Since, in point of fact, Muslim radicals kill Christians around the world with alarming frequency, it is probable that one more slaughter did not seem particularly newsworthy to the decision-makers at major news outlets. Muslims being killed, on the other hand, may strike many as newsworthy precisely because it is so rare. A second motive for the media silence around the massacre of Christians in Nigeria may be geo-political and racial. New Zealand is a first-world country where such things are not supposed to happen, whereas many people still consider Africa to be a backwards place where brutal killings are par for the course. Moreover, the slaughter of black Christians in Africa may not enkindle rage among westerners the way that the murder of white and brown Muslims in New Zealand would. Finally, the story simply does not play to the political agenda that many mainstream media would like to advance. How much mileage can be gained from Muslims murdering Christians, when Christians in America are often seen as an obstacle to the “progress” desired by liberals? The left sees Christians in the United States as part of the problem and seeks to undermine their credibility and influence at every turn rather than emboldening them. Anti-Christian bias has been rightly called “the last acceptable prejudice,” one that few bother condemning. “No one much cares about offending Christians,” wrote the coalition of African-American pastors in an essay last Tuesday. “In fact, mocking, belittling, and blaspheming Christianity is becoming a bit of a trend in our culture. Anti-Christian bigotry truly is the last acceptable prejudice.” “The hypocrisy on display is astounding,” the pastors continued. “Christianity is the dominant religion of our country. It is the foundation of our government and morality. And yet, Christians are treated as fair game for mockery and insult.” Christians are by far the most persecuted religious group in the world, but the mainstream media routinely ignore this fact as if it were unimportant or uninteresting. As a result, many people do not even realize how widespread the persecution is or that 75 percent of the victims of religious persecution around the world are Christians. Whatever the reason — or reasons — for the media silence surrounding the most recent massacres of Christians in Nigeria as well as numerous other such events, it should give right-thinking people pause. By all means, the lethal shootings of dozens of Muslims in New Zealand is a massive story and merits extensive coverage. But it only stands to reason that similar coverage should be devoted to the slaughter of Christians. For the moment, it serves as a poignant reminder that a double standard is at work when it comes to news coverage, and that it is Christians who inevitably draw the short straw.

Sean Adl-Tabatabai

https://newspunch.com/muslim-extremists-slaughter-100-christians-media-blackout/

2019-03-18 22:14:46+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

newspunch--2019-04-04--Pope Francis Compares Christians To Fungus Hails Muslims As Sons of Abraham

newspunch

Pope Francis Compares Christians To Fungus; Hails Muslims As ‘Sons of Abraham’

Pope Francis has praised Muslims as “sons of Abraham” while comparing Christians to a microscopic single-cell fungus, during a bizarre speech in Morocco, a North African nation with a 99 percent Muslim majority. After ordering Christians in the nation not to convert Muslims to the gospel of Christ, Pope Francis said God wants Christians to be like “yeast” and promoted his idea of “inter-faith brotherhood”, before defending his recent track record of visiting Muslim states. “Some may ask, ‘But why does the pope visit the Muslims and not only the Catholics?’” Pope Francis said on April 3. “With Muslims, we are descendants of the same father, Abraham,” he said. “What God wants is fraternity between us in a special way,” he added, noting that this was the motive behind his travels to Arab states. Pope Francis, who previously shocked Catholics around the world by holding an Islamic prayer and Quran recital in the Vatican, has history when it comes to disregarding Biblical teaching in favor of pushing contemporary liberal ideology. Last year Pope Francis was been caught on radio attempting to steer his flock away from Jesus Christ, telling listeners that “Jesus turned into Satan”. Accusing Jesus of “debasing himself up to the point of totally annihilating himself”, Pope Francis spread Satanic doctrine further when he said that Jesus Christ “made himself the devil, the serpent, for us,” according to L’Osservatore Romano, the daily newspaper of the Vatican. The heretical statement by Pope Francis comes after he broke with centuries of Christian tradition earlier this year, telling a crowd of 33,000 Catholics in Rome that “a personal, direct, immediate relationship with Jesus Christ” must be avoided at all costs. Pope Francis also used the Morocco trip to continue to promote the New World Order agenda of one world religion. Just five years into his papacy, Francis has more than any pontiff in history laid much groundwork for the prophesied one–world religion. On his first day in Morocco, Pope Francis signed an “Appeal for Jerusalem,” with the Moroccan King Mohammed VI. The joint-declaration called for Jerusalem to be preserved as a “peaceful place of meeting for the three monotheistic religions,” the pope explained. An historic interfaith covenant was signed in the Middle East on 4 February, and the media in the United States has been almost entirely silent about it. Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, considered to be the most important imam in Sunni Islam, arrived at the signing ceremony in Abu Dhabi with Pope Francis “hand in hand in a symbol of interfaith brotherhood.” But this wasn’t just a ceremony for Catholics and Muslims. According to a British news source, the signing of this covenant was done “in front of a global audience of religious leaders from Christianity, Islam, Judaism and other faiths.” The globalization movement cannot be underestimated. It is the process of transitioning the world into a global government while eroding the rights of the individual and taking away our freedoms. World religious leaders, led by the increasingly anti-Christian Pope Francis, are playing a leading role in this great deception. The Catholic Church, under “liberal bulldog” Pope Francis, is taking another terrible U-turn. Allowing the worship of another god under the guise of “liberal tolerance” directly contradicts God’s word. The attempt to absorb a heathen religion – the most anti-Christ religion on the face of the earth – is a direct slap in the face of God, His Son, and faithful Christians around the world. The jesuit Pope is a leading player in the plot to usher in a New World Order, determined to mislead his flock while serving the global cabal.

Baxter Dmitry

https://newspunch.com/pope-francis-christians-fungus-hails-muslims-sons-abraham/

2019-04-04 21:21:45+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

newspunch--2019-04-04--Pope Francis Orders Catholics Not to Convert Muslims to Christianity

newspunch

Pope Francis Orders Catholics Not to Convert Muslims to Christianity

Pope Francis has warned Catholics in Morocco not to attempt to convert Muslims to Christianity under any circumstances. The head of the Catholic Church issued the warning during an address at St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rabat, Morocco on Sunday. Telegraph.co.uk reports: “Please, no proselytism!” he told an audience of around 400, who greeted the pope’s arrival by ululating and applauding, while hundreds more gathered outside the cathedral. Christians are a tiny minority in Morocco where 99 percent of the population is Muslim, with sub-Saharan Africans making up a large part of the country’s 30,000-strong Catholic community. Islam is the state religion and authorities are keen to stress the country’s “religious tolerance” which allows Christians and Jews to worship freely. But Moroccans are automatically considered Muslim if they are not born into the Jewish community, apostasy is socially frowned upon, and proselytising is criminalised. “I protect Moroccan Jews as well as Christians from other countries, who are living in Morocco,” King Mohammed VI told crowds on Saturday, following the pontiff’s arrival. There are a few thousand Christian converts in Morocco, who since 2017 have called openly for the right to live “without persecution” and “without discrimination”. Francis is the first pontiff to visit the North African country since John Paul II in 1985 and the cathedral had been repainted for the occasion. Waiting for the pope outside, a Nigerian man said the visit “shows that living together is possible in Morocco.” But “there are things to improve, notably the question of migrants and that of Moroccan Christians,” said 36-year-old Antoine, who works for an association to defend migrant rights. The need to support migrants was mentioned again Sunday by Francis, who has made the issue a focal point of his papacy. On Saturday he visited migrants at a Caritas charity centre, where the pope criticised “collective expulsions” and said ways for migrants to regularise their status should be encouraged. Morocco says it has a “humanistic” approach to migration and rejects allegations by rights groups of “brutal arrest campaigns” and “forced displacement” to the country’s southern border.

Sean Adl-Tabatabai

https://newspunch.com/pope-francis-catholics-not-convert-muslims-christianity/

2019-04-04 08:43:14+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

newswars--2019-07-29--City Council Scraps Christmas Concert Because Muslims Sikhs May Not Feel Included

newswars

City Council Scraps Christmas Concert Because Muslims, Sikhs “May Not Feel Included”

A city council in Australia has voted to scrap funding for an annual Christmas event over supposed concern that not all religions in the community are included, while simultaneously protecting the budget for the annual staff Christmas party. Mitcham Council in Adelaide has opted to end ‘Carols By the Creek,’ which has been held for nearly twenty-five years. “People of Muslim faith, and Sikh faith, and the multitude of other faiths we have in our community may not feel included,” Counselor Darren Kruse told local media. The decision drew backlash from the community, as well as some in Australian media. “What weak, self-loathing rot. People talk about the culture wars – this is cultural shame, cultural humiliation, cultural embarrassment, it’s even cultural vandalism,” said Sky News’ Chris Kenny. “There’s no shame in continuing your culture, enjoying it, adding to it, and celebrating it.” “This episode just exposes the intellectual, moral, social, and cultural weakness of the virtue signalers and the green-left poseurs.” Kenny went on to point out that councilors open every meeting with an acknowledgement that the land upon which they meet is the “traditional land” of the indigenous Kaurna people, whose “spiritual relationship with their country” is respected by local officials. “So, indigenous spiritual beliefs are deferred to at every council meeting, but it seeks to remove funding from a function tied to Christian beliefs?” Kenny said. “You’re either in to these spiritual beliefs, or you’re not.” Additionally, while councilors aimed to save $45,000 in canceling Carols By the Creek, they ensured that $12,000 was still budgeted for the staff Christmas party. “They might not like carols, but they won’t scrap their own prawns and bubbly,” Kenny said. Outrage from constituents has prompted the council to call a special meeting to revisit their decision. Alex Jones breaks down how history is repeating itself, and the modern day Democrat crusade against conservatives in America resembles the outrageousness seen during the French ‘Reign Of Terror.’

Dan Lyman

https://www.newswars.com/city-council-scraps-christmas-concert-because-muslims-sikhs-may-not-feel-included/

2019-07-29 21:19:11+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

pamelagellerreport--2019-01-03--Nigeria Muslims kill 7 Christians day after Christmas media narrative of clashes is false

pamelagellerreport

Nigeria: Muslims kill 7 Christians day after Christmas; media narrative of “clashes” is false

More of the Muslim genocide of Christians in Africa. Silence by a leftwing media and an OIC-driven UN aids and abets the ongoing genocide of Islamic supremacism. These are not “clashes” of two roughly equal opponents; Muslims are regularly attacking and slaughtering Christians — over 6,000 (mainly women, children and the aged) in 2018. Where is the outrage of the left at the persecution of the vulnerable? Where is the voice of “Black Lives Matter” protesting against so many black lives lost? Where are the lamentations of the feminists over the slaughter of women? All remain still, all keep silent, for these are the deeds of Islam. “Fulani Muslims kill 7 Christians day after Christmas; media narrative of clashes is false, watchdog says,” by Stoyan Zaimov, Christian Post, December 28, 2018: Islamic Fulani radicals murdered seven Christians in a Nigerian town the day after Christmas, according to persecution watchdog group International Christian Concern. The ICC, which has been documenting the targeted killings of believers in Nigeria, said that armed Fulani militants attacked the town of Rawuru in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State on Wednesday. The village suffered another deadly incident in June, when 230 Christians were murdered by militants. “The size and coordination of those attacks showed that this could not just be another small local clash. It was clearly a well thought out and preplanned attack meant to kill as many people as possible,” ICC said. “These types of attacks are not the normal farmer-herder conflict that the Nigerian government has been trying to claim they are,” they continued, referring to both government and international mainstream media reports attempting to portray the murders as a result of clashes between nomadic Fulani herdsmen and Christian farmers… The Truth Must be Told Please take a moment to consider this. Now, more than ever, people are reading Geller Report for news they won't get anywhere else. But advertising revenues have all but disappeared. Google Adsense is the online advertising monopoly and they have banned us. Social media giants like Facebook and Twitter have blocked and shadow-banned our accounts. But we won't put up a paywall. Because never has the free world needed independent journalism more. Everyone who reads our reporting knows the Geller Report covers the news the media won't. We cannot do our ground-breaking report without your support. We must continue to report on the global jihad and the left's war on freedom. Our readers’ contributions make that possible. Geller Report's independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe our work is critical in the fight for freedom and because it is your fight, too. Please contribute to our ground-breaking work here. Make a monthly commitment to support The Geller Report – choose the option that suits you best.

Pamela Geller

https://gellerreport.com/2019/01/nigeria-muslims-kill.html/

2019-01-03 15:00:10+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

pamelagellerreport--2019-01-10--Retail Giant Amazon selling Jesus Christ bathmats but removes all mats with Allah in Arabic for fe

pamelagellerreport

Retail Giant Amazon selling Jesus Christ bathmats but removes all mats with Allah (in Arabic) for fear of offending Muslims

But what about Christians or Jews or Hindus or Wiccans, for that matter. As a Jew, “palestinian” symbols are deeply offensive, as offensive as Nazi symbolism as both stand for the genocide of the Jews. Amazon must remove those too. Amazon, the largest online retailer in the world, caved to terror-tied CAIR’s sharia demands and removed bathroom and outdoor mats, which carried verses and the word Allah in Islamic calligraphy. But, Amazon has no issue with mats with images of Jesus Christ. Wherever Islamic mores and traditions conflict with American ones, it is American mores — consistent with freedom and individual liberty — that are abandoned. If Amazon is going to cave to the most extreme and barbaric ideology on the face of the earth, then they must cave to everyone’s hair trigger sensibilities. Tweet @Amazon and tell them to remove these mats and copies of the Quran, as it is filled with hate and exhortations of genocide and Mein Kamf (My Jihad). Sorry, the jihadis don’t tell tell us whats good and what’s forbidden. The Truth Must be Told Please take a moment to consider this. Now, more than ever, people are reading Geller Report for news they won't get anywhere else. But advertising revenues have all but disappeared. Google Adsense is the online advertising monopoly and they have banned us. Social media giants like Facebook and Twitter have blocked and shadow-banned our accounts. But we won't put up a paywall. Because never has the free world needed independent journalism more. Everyone who reads our reporting knows the Geller Report covers the news the media won't. We cannot do our ground-breaking report without your support. We must continue to report on the global jihad and the left's war on freedom. Our readers’ contributions make that possible. Geller Report's independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe our work is critical in the fight for freedom and because it is your fight, too. Please contribute to our ground-breaking work here. Make a monthly commitment to support The Geller Report – choose the option that suits you best.

Pamela Geller

https://gellerreport.com/2019/01/amazon-sharia-christ-bathmats.html/

2019-01-10 02:33:19+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

pamelagellerreport--2019-06-18--Muslim Mob Burns Christian Church After Arrest of Imam in Niger

pamelagellerreport

Muslim Mob Burns Christian Church After Arrest of Imam in Niger

When does the world stop denying reality while persecuting the handful of us who dare speak candidly ? How many millions must die in the cause of Allah? A mob of Muslim activists sacked and set fire to a Christian church in Niger this weekend to protest the arrest of an influential imam. On Saturday night, scores of demonstrators in Maradi, Niger’s third largest city, torched the church of the Assembly of God in the Zaria neighborhood along with the car of the parish pastor. In another neighborhood, the Life to the Full Christian church was sacked. Witnesses told Agence France Presse (AFP) that on late Saturday evening, groups of young Muslims laid barricades across the road and burned old tires in protest of the arrest of Cheick Rayadoune, the influential imam of the mosque of Zaria. Police had arrested the imam earlier in the day after he had preached at Friday services against a new government bill on the organization of the exercise of worship, calling the proposed legislation “anti-Islam.” After several hours of detention, the imam was released. A senior official of the Niger’s Ministry of the Interior told AFP that there is “nothing anti-Islamic” in the proposed legislation, which is the fruit rather of extensive consultation and is intended to counter measures advocated by “obscurantist terrorist organizations” in the country. In 2017, Niger’s Ministry of the Interior convoked Nigerien Muslim scholars to work together on drafting the bill. In late April, the Council of Ministers adopted the legislation, which was drafted to “prevent the risks of abuses found in other countries” and to provide means for the state to “regulate practices that are common in the religious sphere,” according to an official statement. The council’s communiqué emphasized a “total absence of rigorously defined norms” concerning “the exercise of worship” in the nation, against a backdrop of increasing “fundamentalist and extremist religious tendencies” in various regions of the country. The bill still needs to be adopted by Parliament to become law. Imam Cheick Rayadoune has said that he was misinformed about the content of the bill, having been falsely led to believe that it would impose same-sex marriage. He said he will correct the error in his sermon this Friday. Meanwhile, police have detained 178 Muslim demonstrators over Saturday’s violence. Niger is a country that is overwhelmingly Muslim, with only 1-2 percent of Christians of a population of more than 20 million. The country is not unaccustomed to religiously motivated violence. After the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed by the French newspaper Charlie Hebdo in 2015, anti-Christian mobs killed ten people in Niamey and destroyed most of the churches in the capital, as well as in Zinder, the second largest city in the country.

Pamela Geller

https://gellerreport.com/2019/06/muslims-set-church-ablaze-imam.html/

2019-06-18 13:30:54+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

pamelagellerreport--2019-10-16--Canada: Imam orders Muslims NOT to vote for filthy Jewish and Christian candidates

pamelagellerreport

Canada: Imam orders Muslims NOT to vote for filthy Jewish and Christian candidates

This is wholly consistent with Islamic text and teachings. Muslims curse Christians and Jews 17 times a day in their daily prayers. The final two verses of the Fatiha ask Allah: “Guide us to the straight path, the path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have evoked anger or of those who are astray.” The traditional Islamic understanding of this is that the “straight path” is Islam — cf. Islamic apologist John Esposito’s book Islam: The Straight Path — while the path “of those who have evoked Allah’s anger” are the Jews, and those who have gone “astray” are the Christians. The classic Qur’anic commentator Ibn Kathir explains that “the two paths He described here are both misguided,” and that those “two paths are the paths of the Christians and Jews, a fact that the believer should beware of so that he avoids them. The path of the believers is knowledge of the truth and abiding by it. In comparison, the Jews abandoned practicing the religion, while the Christians lost the true knowledge. This is why ‘anger’ descended upon the Jews, while being described as ‘led astray’ is more appropriate of the Christians.” Ibn Kathir’s understanding of this passage is not a lone “extremist” interpretation. In fact, most Muslim commentators believe that the Jews are those who have earned Allah’s wrath and the Christians are those who have gone astray. This is the view of Tabari, Zamakhshari, the Tafsir al-Jalalayn, the Tanwir al-Miqbas min Tafsir Ibn Abbas, and Ibn Arabi, as well as Ibn Kathir. One contrasting, but not majority view, is that of Nisaburi, who says that “those who have incurred Allah’s wrath are the people of negligence, and those who have gone astray are the people of immoderation.” Wahhabis drew criticism a few years back for adding “such as the Jews” and “such as the Christians” into parenthetical glosses on this passage in Qur’ans printed in Saudi Arabia. Some Western commentators imagined that the Saudis originated this interpretation, and indeed the whole idea of Qur’anic hostility toward Jews and Christians. They found it inconceivable that Muslims all over the world would learn as a matter of course that the central prayer of their faith anathematizes Jews and Christians. But unfortunately, this interpretation is venerable and mainstream in Islamic theology. The printing of the interpretation in parenthetical glosses into a translation would be unlikely to affect Muslim attitudes, since the Arabic text is always and everywhere normative in any case, and since so many mainstream commentaries contain the idea that the Jews and Christians are being criticized here. Sheikh Younus Kathrada warns Muslims they will be judged if they vote for Jews or Christians next week: ‘They are all evil’ A Canadian imam called candidates in the country’s upcoming elections “evil and filthy” supporters of Zionism who approve of homosexuality, warning Muslims they would be judged for their votes. “This voting is a testimony and will be recorded,” Sheikh Younus Kathrada of Victoria, British Columbia, said in a sermon on October 11. “On Judgment Day, you will stand before Allah and be asked about it. If you plan on voting, ask yourself prepare the answer first — what am I going to tell Allah when Allah asks me: ‘You voted for that filthy non-Muslin, why?’” continued Kathrada. “He or she approves of homosexuality, which Allah declared forbidden from above the seven heavens.” In a video of the sermon from the Middle East Media Research Institute, Kathrada said the political candidates in the elections “oppose” Muslims and are all supporters of Zionism. “You think that they want good for you? I already told you what Allah said: ‘Never will they [the Jews and the Christians] be pleased with you.’ They will continue to oppose you. You are fighting a losing battle. They are all evil. Every single one of them,” Kathrada said. “They are all evil and filthy. Do you know that every one of them, without exception, supports the Zionists against Islam and the Muslims,” he added. Kathrada has previously said Muslims should not wish Christians “Merry Christmas,” saying doing so is worse than murder. Canada’s elections will be held on October 21. The latest opinion polls show Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals neck-and-neck with the Conservative Party of Andrew Scheer, with each tallying around 32 or 33 percent, leaving both leaders far from an absolute majority. The left-leaning New Democratic Party has been a surprise in the campaign. With polls giving it close to 20 percent, it could leave Trudeau with little alternative but to seek an alliance should the Liberals fall short of 50 percent.

Pamela Geller

https://gellerreport.com/2019/10/imam-filthy-christians-jewws.html/

Wed, 16 Oct 2019 15:40:16 +0000

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

prepareforchange--2019-05-02--Attempts to start MuslimChristian warfare backfire on Zionists

prepareforchange

Attempts to start Muslim/Christian warfare backfire on Zionists

The recent massacre of Sri Lankan Christians plus attacks on churches and mosques have turned into a fatal mistake for the Zionists, multiple sources confirm.  In reaction, the U.S. Department of Defense is handling background checks to root out Israeli dual citizens, agents, assets, and sayanim (Hebrew for “helpers”), Pentagon sources say. Arab and Iranian TV broadcasts throughout the Muslim world have quoted this writer and others as saying ISIS stands for Israeli Secret Intelligence Service.  “Almost all Arabs think ISIS is created by Israel and regional governments,” one prominent Arabian TV personality confirmed.  This means that when “ISIS” claimed responsibility for various recent attacks, the satanic Israeli regime of Benjamin Netanyahu committed international suicide and lost all regional support, especially among Jews (as opposed to satanists pretending to be Jews). Pentagon sources say “The Jew York Times” was forced to publish the following editorial cartoon: “The NYT International Edition and German dachshund is another dog whistle to Europe, Asia, and the rest of the world after Sri Lanka that Zionism=terrorism,” the Pentagon sources explain.  The sources added, “Trump is not so blind,” and “any Trump outrage is just kabuki theater, as the military intelligence community, patriots, and Europe post-Notre Dame have had it with Israel.” “Anti-Zionism is now mainstream, as Ilhan Omar, the Democrats, and The New York Timesnormalize the conversation,” the sources say.  As a part of the attack on Zionists, “the Department of Justice may prosecute Chicago Jewish billionaire and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker for tax fraud,” the sources add. Also, the Mueller Report is going to be followed with an anti-Zionist blitzkrieg, including the Department of Justice Inspector General’s report and FISA declassification,” the sources say.  “Trump is apparently saving Israel for last,” they add. Speaking of Israel, a U.S. military officer involved in negotiations over the Golan Heights says the Israeli army “is fed up with Bibi [Benjamin Netanyahu] and unable to hold Golan anyway.”  The U.S. military is negotiating with the lawyer of the Arab League over the details of the return of the Golan to Syria, he says. Israel, Zionism, central banking, and North Korea were also important topics of discussion between representatives of Asian secret societies and the White Dragon Society (WDS) that took place last week.  The Asian secret society representative said that a limited war was going to take place soon in … This source also independently confirmed that North Korean strongman Kim Jong-un had brought a U.S. F-35 fighter with him as a gift when he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week.  Russia responded by agreeing to support North Korea in its move to reunify the Peninsula, the source said. The WDS, for its part, said such a war would need to take place in tandem with a surrender ultimatum to Israel in order to ensure that the situation did not escalate unintentionally into a World War III. The Asian society source also noted that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his ruling party would be replaced with a coalition of opposition parties over the coming year or so, as the new Emperor took over.  However, the WDS pointed out that the opposition, just like the ruling party, was full of low-IQ nepotistic hacks who would not be able to deal with Japan’s fundamental problems like a shrinking population and plunging living standards. The WDS said the Bank of Japan would have to be nationalized and its financial system would have to be reset;  otherwise, special forces would step in and remove the entire corrupt Japanese body politic. The Asian society source agreed that this would have to take place, after hearing how Singapore’s incredible success was due in large part to the fact that it does not have a central bank. In his book From Third World to First, Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew explains why he determined that “Singapore should not have a central bank that could issue money and create currency.”  It was because “We were determined not to allow our currency to lose its value.”  Instead, Singapore used “a currency board which only issued Singapore dollars when backed by its equivalent value in foreign exchange (based on a basket)” (pg 72).  In other words, Singapore has a currency backed by money earned from selling real stuff to the real world.  “Not spending more than we collect in revenue has been a guiding principle,” he explains later (pg 232). In the same book, Lee quotes former Finance Minister Lim Kim San as saying, “A central bank is an easy way out for a finance minister who wants to juggle [his figures] when he has a deficit in his budget.” What’s interesting is that as Singapore separated from Malaysia, Malaysian Finance Minister Tan Siew Sin said, “If the central bank system is an inferior system, then it is clear that it is a mistake made by every industrialized country of the Western world….” (pg 231). Sin sinned and went ahead and created the Malaysian central bank, which is now engulfed in a giant corruption scandal involving the usual suspects like Goldman Sachs and the Rothschilds.  Since independence in 1965, the reality-based Singapore dollar has risen 300% against the Malaysian ringgit.  Also, having started at an equal level, Singapore’s per capita GDP is now U.S.$58,000 compared to Malaysia’s U.S.$9,900. The U.S. dollar, for its part, has lost 84% of its value since it was taken off the gold standard in 1971.  The real living standard for 90% of Americans also has plunged dramatically since then. The widespread appeal of the following Ben Garrison cartoon also shows that the world, like Singapore did long ago, is now waking up to the Zionist central bank Babylonian debt slavery scam. https://www.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/iAHofwAbVE4MmqpIx8sIQA_RTntosyljnYme_7Gez3g.jpg?itok=dIYprQHH Former mainstream economists and pundits such as David Stockman, Director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Ronald Reagan, are finally figuring things out.  Stockman notes how central banks (including China’s) created $15 trillion “from thin air” since the Lehman crisis of 2008. https://davidstockmanscontracorner.com/15-trillion-from-thin-air-the-massive-central-bank-fraud-on-the-world-economy/ This $15 trillion sum is the money that was created using fake “gold-backed” bonds forged by Wilfredo Saurin. https://benjaminfulford.net/2016/10/03/document-dump-shows-federal-reserve-board-based-on-outright-fraud/ That money has now run out and new attempts at Zionist forgery are being systematically quashed.  Instead, a global financial reset is being prepared, according to sources involved in the planning.  However, a senior MI6 official in charge of establishing the quantum financial system says the new system will not just be suddenly announced. “The reset doesn’t work like that.  It is a change project, so the current system runs in tactical while the new system is developed in strategic.  They both then conjoin.  It’s a bit like building a new motorway alongside an older road, really,” he says.  “The algorithm for deployment also includes the off-ledger assets and the debt reset piece,” he explains.  The resulting currency will be a hybrid of existing currencies, he says.  This probably explains why world currencies have been moving within a narrow band relative to each other recently. The West, especially the U.S., had better hurry up with the reset and it had better be good, because the rest of the world is moving on regardless.  The Asian secret society source says Asia has been plowing ahead and building its alternatives to Western-dominated institutions like the UN, the IMF, the World Bank, etc.  He noted that a massive construction project was under way in Laos to create the new Asian-centered UN there. China’s trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is also gathering so much momentum that soon only the U.S. will be the only country that isn’t part of it. Russia’s Putin, speaking at last week’s BRI summit, explained that the U.S. was being isolated by its “growing protectionism, with illegitimate unilateral restrictions imposed bypassing the UN Security Council or, even worse, trade wars.” By contrast, Putin noted, “the Great Eurasian Partnership and the Belt and Road concepts are both rooted in the principles and values that everyone understands:  the natural aspiration of nations to live in peace and harmony, benefit from free access to the latest scientific achievements and innovative development, while preserving their culture and unique spiritual identity.” http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/60378 At its meeting last week with the Asian secret society, the WDS suggested bankrupting the corrupt and now deeply divided Zionist Washington, D.C. political establishment. Instead, the Asians could work with the British Commonwealth and the Western military intelligence community to create a future planning agency to work in harmony with the BRI.  The Asian representative supported this proposal.  An actual and concrete method to make this happen was also proposed, but for reasons of operational security we cannot disclose this to our readers yet. To close, we note that the “Jewish” new President of the Ukraine celebrated his victory with a satanic hand sign. https://www.timesofisrael.com/zelensky-win-makes-ukraine-1st-country-outside-israel-with-jewish-pm-president/ We can guess that many of the satanists are preparing to return to their Khazarian homeland in the Ukraine.  The Jews, for their part, are about to liberate Israel and free themselves from millennia of Babylonian slavery. Disclaimer: We at Prepare for Change (PFC) bring you information that is not offered by the mainstream news, and therefore may seem controversial. The opinions, views, statements, and/or information we present are not necessarily promoted, endorsed, espoused, or agreed to by Prepare for Change, its leadership Council, members, those who work with PFC, or those who read its content. However, they are hopefully provocative. Please use discernment! Use logical thinking, your own intuition and your own connection with Source, Spirit and Natural Laws to help you determine what is true and what is not. By sharing information and seeding dialogue, it is our goal to raise consciousness and awareness of higher truths to free us from enslavement of the matrix in this material realm.

Edward Morgan

https://prepareforchange.net/2019/05/01/attempts-to-start-muslim-christian-warfare-backfire-on-zionists/

2019-05-02 04:49:53+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

prisonplanet--2019-03-18--Media Silence Surrounds Muslim Massacre of Christians

prisonplanet

Media Silence Surrounds Muslim Massacre of Christians

Political leaders and public figures were falling over themselves this weekend to condemn the mosque attacks in New Zealand, while dozens of Christians were slaughtered by Muslims in Nigeria to the sound of crickets. The mosque attacks were indeed a horrific affair and worthy of universal condemnation. Presidents, prime ministers, royalty, and religious leaders rushed to extend their condolences to victims and their families — as well they should — while decrying the hate that purportedly motivated the shootings. Without exception, the mainstream media gave top billing to the shootings, with newspapers carrying the story on their front pages and television news channels leading off their broadcasts with the story. The bizarre aspect of the coverage was not, in fact, the attention paid to a heinous crime committed in New Zealand, but the absolute silence surrounding the simultaneous massacre of scores of Christians by Muslim militants in Africa. As Breitbart News alone reported among major news outlets, Fulani jihadists racked up a death toll of over 120 Christians over the past three weeks in central Nigeria, employing machetes and gunfire to slaughter men, women, and children, burning down over 140 houses, destroying property, and spreading terror. This article was posted: Monday, March 18, 2019 at 5:41 am

admin

https://www.prisonplanet.com/media-silence-surrounds-muslim-massacre-of-christians.html

2019-03-18 10:41:11+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

prisonplanet--2019-12-03--Muslim Men Beat Christian Street Preacher in Norway

prisonplanet

Muslim Men Beat Christian Street Preacher in Norway

A gang of four Muslim men attacked a Christian street preacher in Norway, kicking him in the face and threatening to kill him if he did not convert to Islam. The four men approached Roar Fløttum last week when he was preaching and praying for the sick on a street in Trondheim and asked him to come with them to pray over a friend who was injured. When they got him alone, they pushed him down a cellar staircase, beat him, robbed him, and threatened to kill him if he did not convert to Islam, as reported by the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe, a Vienna-based watchdog group. “I asked if they wanted to be prayed for and one agreed, saying he had back pain,” Fløttum told the Norwegian daily Norge Idag. The men “wanted to take me to a friend who they said had injured his foot and was now waiting to be picked up to be taken to the emergency room. I trusted them and joined them. They took me to a backyard. They were very nice and I couldn’t believe they would deceive me,” Fløttum said. The preacher said that as soon as they entered the backyard, the men pushed him down a cellar staircase and began hitting and kicking him in the face. This article was posted: Tuesday, December 3, 2019 at 6:37 am

admin

https://www.prisonplanet.com/muslim-men-beat-christian-street-preacher-in-norway.html

Tue, 03 Dec 2019 11:37:10 +0000

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

redstate--2019-05-20--A Christian Church in England Made Plans to Cover Crosses a Picture of Jesus in Order for Muslims

redstate

A Christian Church in England Made Plans to Cover Crosses & a Picture of Jesus in Order for Muslims to Pray to Allah

Here’s something you don’t hear often. According to the Mirror, a Christian church in Britain recently considered covering up its crosses and a picture of Jesus in order for Muslims to pray there in observance of Ramadan. The tossed-around idea was volleyed on May 9th at the St. Matthew and St. Luke’s church in Darlington. They were told that a cross and a well-known devotional image of Jesus, a copy of The Light of the World by the pre-Raphaelite artist William Holman Hunt, would be covered up. The plans were discussed at a meeting held at the church on May 9 attended by the Rev Lissa Scott, the priest in charge, and Gerald Lee, a former mayor of Darlington who seeks to boost racial harmony through a group called Celebrating Communities. Two notes from the meeting read as follows: One aisle in church to be cleared of chairs for Muslim men to say prayers. Cover Christian crosses/photographs in small rooms for ladies to say prayers. I guess they were tryin’ to celebrate diversity. But the Diocese of Durham got word of the scheme and gave it the ol’ kibosh. It let ’em know church law prohibits acts of worship by non-Christians in a Church of England building. “While it is vital to build good interfaith relations, it is clear that an act of worship from a non-Christian faith tradition is not permitted within a consecrated Church of England building. This is a legal position outlined in Canons B1/2/3 and B5 Section 3 where it states: ‘all forms of service used under this Canon shall be reverent and seemly and shall be neither contrary to, nor indicative of any departure from, the doctrine of the Church of England in any essential matter’. Another critic of the idea was Episcopal Bishop Gavin Ashenden, erstwhile chaplain to the Queen: Despite the assertions of some, Gavin believes Christianity and Islam make very strange bedfellows: But the community event will still go on — prayers will be said in a nearby building, with everyone coming together at St. Matthew and St. Luke’s for a celebratory meal. A house of worship welcoming all people is a good thing. It may even be said to be a critical thing. But covering up the faith of the congregation isn’t exactly letting your light shine. A consecrated British church tried to hide it under a bushel in the name of unity. And they’re not the only ones — see the 2nd video below. We’re living in very, very strange times. See 3 more pieces from me: CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION: Islamic Terrorists Storm West African Church, Murder 6 Including The Priest, & Burn It To The Ground Nice Try: Kirsten Gillibrand Tells Georgia It’s Anti-Christian To Be Anti-Abortion IS THIS FOR REAL? ‘The View’ Hosts Claim Obama’s 8 Years Were Scandal-Free. Meghan McCain Laughs And please follow Alex Parker on Twitter and Facebook. Thank you for reading! Please sound off in the Comments section below. For iPhone instructions, see the bottom of this page. If you have an iPhone and want to comment, select the box with the upward arrow at the bottom of your screen; swipe left and choose “Request Desktop Site.” If it fails to automatically refresh, manually reload the page. Scroll down to the red horizontal bar that says “Show Comments.”

Alex Parker

https://www.redstate.com/alexparker/2019/05/20/christian-church-england-made-plans-cover-crosses-picture-jesus-order-muslims-pray-allah/

2019-05-20 21:29:18+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

rferl--2019-02-04--Muslims In The Middle East Urged To Embrace Christians

rferl

Muslims In The Middle East Urged To 'Embrace' Christians

The head of Sunni Islam's highest seat of learning has urged Muslims in the Middle East to "embrace" local Christians. Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the grand imam of Cairo's Al-Azhar Mosque, made the call on February 4 during an interfaith meeting in the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) attended by Pope Francis. The head of the Roman Catholic Church, who is on his first official visit to the Arabian Peninsula, called for a halt to wars in the Middle East, citing the conflicts in Yemen, Syria, Iraq, and Libya. Sheikh Ahmed and Pope Francis addressed the gathering in Abu Dhabi after signing a document calling on world leaders to work together to "spread the culture of tolerance." The Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together also condemns those using God's name to justify violence. Members of religious minorities have been attacked repeatedly by extremists in countries across the Middle East in recent years. They have also faced legal and social discrimination, as well as restrictions on their ability to practice their faith. On February 5, Francis was set to celebrate an outdoor mass in Abu Dhabi expected to draw 120,000 people.

https://www.rferl.org/a/muslims-in-the-middle-east-urged-to-embrace-christians/29751171.html

2019-02-04 21:05:54+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

sputnik--2019-02-05--Grand Imam Urges Muslims to Embrace Christians Amid Pope Francis UAE Visit

sputnik

Grand Imam Urges Muslims to 'Embrace' Christians Amid Pope Francis' UAE Visit

Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, a prominent Islamic figure and the Grand Imam of al-Azhar in Egypt, called Christians "companions" of Muslims during a historic inter-faith summit in the UAE capital on Tuesday, which was also attended by Pope Francis, the BBC reported. "My message to you is: 'Embrace your Christian brothers and sisters. They are companions in the state. They are close to us. There are special bonds between us,'" he said. Furthermore, he urged Muslims who reside in Western countries to integrate into local communities without losing their identities. He also encouraged them to seek assistance among local religious leaders. "If you have any problems regarding your religion in the countries you find yourselves [in], you need to speak to your religious leaders and resolve them that way, the grand imam stated" The summit comes after years of violence in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), involving many hard-line Islamist groups persecuting local Christians. At the same time, the West has been struggling with the influx of MENA migrants, with many of them refusing to integrate, leading to societal tensions.

https://sputniknews.com/world/201902051072144804-pope-francis-imam/

2019-02-05 13:54:00+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

sputnik--2019-06-04--Swedish Lesbian Bishop Grilled for Claiming She Has More in Common With Muslims Than Christians

sputnik

Swedish Lesbian Bishop Grilled for Claiming She Has 'More in Common With Muslims' Than Christians

Eva Brunne, the bishop of Stockholm in the Church of Sweden, has sparked strong reactions by saying that she has more in common with Muslims than with the so-called Christian right. While discussing various religions' attitudes towards human dignity in Swedish Radio's “People and Faith” programme, Eva Brunne stressed that all people are equally valuable as all have been created by God. “Democracy and human dignity are interrelated, and I think that democracy is better off with diversity, because then we all have to think about what people we are and who we are living with. In fact, we all have the same value, even if we do not speak the same language, pray to God in the same way or look the same. We will live in one country together,” Brunne said. Brunne argued that the concept of Christian values has been kidnapped by populists. “Sometimes I have more in common with Muslims who I meet than with the Christian right”, she continued, to which the presenter responded with “Whoa”. Brunne also argued that only a “tiny minority” of all Muslims are terrorists. Furthermore, she argued that extremism exists in all religions, and referenced the Christian crusades and witch trials. Brunne stressed that she herself doesn't want to be associated with the Christian right. “I had such a hard time believing what I heard on the radio that I had to listen one more time online to confirm that I did not hear it wrong or somehow misunderstood it. Sadly I heard quite right”, former Sweden Democrat Thoralf Alfsson wrote in his blog. “Why doesn't Brunne convert? Just put on a tent and try to become an imam,” blogger, writer and journalist Katerina Janouch wrote. “Such a crackpot belongs more in a [mental institution] than in the bishop's seat. Luther is turning in his grave,” Alternative for Sweden party leader Gustav Kasselstrand tweeted. ​“One day, for no reason whatsoever, the Swedes began to eye their ancestors' pagan religion,” blogger and journalist Henrik Palmgren argued. “Most Christians have nothing in common with Brunne, so, pretty accurate…”, a user named Maya Pinyon tweeted. Bishop Brunne, who is openly lesbian, has previously made headlines by proposing to replace the crucifix on the Seamen's Church in Stockholm with an arrow pointing towards Mecca to signal the church's inclusivity. Brunne is also known for her partisan campaigning for the left-of-the-centre Social Democrats and against the right-wing Sweden Democrats.

https://sputniknews.com/europe/201906041075601453-swedish-bishop-islam-christianity/

2019-06-04 05:42:02+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

sputnik--2019-11-12--Syria's Christians, Muslims Unite to Create Future for Children of Daesh Sex Slaves - NGO

sputnik

Syria's Christians, Muslims Unite to Create Future for Children of Daesh Sex Slaves - NGO

The association is working with Syria's Muslim religious officials on this initiative, dubbed "One name one future," to create a law that would allow these children have a name and be registered as citizens, Avveduto explained. The project is supported by bishop George Abou Khazen, Apostolic Vicar of Aleppo, and Mahmoud Akam, Mufti of Aleppo, who first recognized the social emergency. The initiative is currently being promoted through four centres in eastern Aleppo, where the religious community takes care of the children, teaches them "to speak, to read, to hope, with a lot of psychological effort." Apart from helping the marginalised children, Pro Terra Sancta is also trying to find permanent jobs for mothers. Although negotiations with Syria's parliament have not brought any practical results thus far, Avveduto said he remained optimistic. Christian NGO Surviving Under Bombs in Syria’s Idlib to Help Locals of All Creeds The presence of the Pro Terra Sancta non-profit association, which is run by the Franciscan friars, in the terrorist-controlled Idlib province of Syria is a unique situation in which the charity's workers are living under the threat of bombings and hiding their Christian symbols to help local civilians of all creeds satisfy basic needs and survive during the war. Sputnik spoke with Andrea Avveduto, the charity's communications chief, about its activities in Idlib and problems it must overcome for the sake of helping the others. According to the official, the charity enjoys the help of about 40-50 Christians in the province. The United Nations estimates that Idlib is still home to more than 10,000 terrorists, with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (al-Qaeda affiliate, formerly known as the Nusra Front, banned in Russia) as the main terrorist force operating there. "We transfer money to our people there from Lebanon, in order to surpass the sanctions. Because otherwise, it is impossible. We made bank transfers in Lebanon. It was very dangerous, it is still very dangerous, but we cannot help directly because of the sanctions, because they cut bank transfers to 60-70 persons,” Avveduto said. Apart from helping with food and non-food items, the two friars living in Idlib — Fr. Hanna Jallouf and Fr. Louai Bshrat — have been trying to run schools in their convents in the Knaye and Yacoubieh villages following the collapse of the school system in 2013. There, Christian teachers teach art, music, Arabic and English languages, mathematics and religion, including the Koran. All children are welcome. Wherever possible, Pro Terra Sancta’s emergency centres in Syria also focus on supporting micro-enterprises. The association also runs centres for deaf or blind children. In Aleppo, they are operating a school for young deaf people, which is attended by 60 students. The official also noted "a strong relationship" between all the churches during the war. Muslim children also go to the schools supported by the organization, Avveduto assured. He added that the association also rebuilds churches. Pro Terra Sancta is financed by public and private donations. According to Avveduto, public financing comes from “public foundations, like the peace conference of bishops, and other institutions from the European Union,” while private contributions come mainly from Italy, where one of the two headquarters of the organization is located, the other is in Jerusalem. During the past seven years, they have collected several millions of euros and claim that more than 20,000 people are assisted every month through different support mechanisms.

https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201911121077290490-syrias-christians-muslims-unite-to-create-future-for-children-of-daesh-sex-slaves---ngo/

Tue, 12 Nov 2019 19:46:36 +0300

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

theblaze--2019-02-03--ISIS brutality leading some Syrian Muslims to convert to Christianity

theblaze

ISIS brutality leading some Syrian Muslims to convert to Christianity

ISIS brutality leading some Syrian Muslims to convert to Christianity New Christian church opened along Syria-Turkey border last fall

Teri Webster

https://www.theblaze.com/news/new-christian-church-syria-isis

2019-02-03 18:07:36+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

thedcclothesline--2019-01-01--Christians Being Told Stop Saying Jesus Is The Son Of God It Provokes Muslims

thedcclothesline

Christians Being Told, “Stop Saying Jesus Is The Son Of God. It Provokes Muslims.”

Editor’s Note:  Claiming Jesus is the Son of God provokes a lot more than Muslims.  In fact, when Jesus clearly stated such, Jews came after him to stone Him for blasphemy. 39 They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, 40 but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. 41 You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. 43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.” 48 The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” 49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honour my Father, and you dishonour me. 50 Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge.51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” 52 The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” 54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ 55 But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” 57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.  -John 8 “This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.” -John 5:18 “31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” 33 The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.” 34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? 35 If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken—36 do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming’, because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? 37 If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; 38 but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” -John 10 The fact that Jesus claims to be “I Am” in John 8 is nothing short of claiming to be the God who delivered the children of Israel from Egypt, who told Moses to tell them that “I Am” had sent him, and gave them the Law and brought them into the promised land.  Sadly, many Jews, as well as Muslims and other religious people, reject Jesus as God, the Messiah, the Savior of the world.  Many would as soon crucify Him again today, along with His followers.  Still, Jesus came to save men from every tribe, people, nation and language (Revelation 5:9). Buried in the concluding paragraphs of a Christmas Eve Washington Times report about Muslims in Uganda forcing Christians to convert to Islam was the extraordinary revelation that in that country, Muslims now consider any public statement of the Christian Faith to be a calculated insult to Muslims, for which they can justifiably exact revenge. This is, or should be, sobering news for the comfortable Christians of the West who have made an idol out of “interfaith dialogue” and fastidiously avoid saying anything remotely critical about Islam, even as the Muslim persecution of Christians continues worldwide. “In June,” the Times reported, “a group of Muslims attacked Christian preachers in eastern Uganda during a ‘crusade,’ where Christians publicly profess their faith and invite others to join. Muslims in the town accused the Christians of mocking Islam by publicly saying Jesus was the Son of God.” In response, said Christian pastor Moses Saku, the Muslims became violent: “They became very angry and began throwing rocks at Christians, chanting ‘Allah akbar.’ Many Christians were injured during the incident.” The Christians appealed to the Muslims to have respect for those of other faith; the Muslims responded with contempt. One Muslim, Abubakar Yusuf, declared: “We have now declared a jihad against them. We are not going to allow anybody to despise Islamic teachings at their church or crusade. We will seek revenge.” How did the Christians “despise Islamic teachings”? By preaching aspects of Christianity, such as the divinity of Christ, that Islam denies. The Christians, knowing how delicate their situation was, would never have dreamed of actually saying something critical about Islam itself; but to the Muslims who heard them, just enunciating the tenets of their Christian faith was criticism enough. And they refused to stand for it. A few years ago, when jihadis attacked AFDI’s Muhammad Art Exhibit and Cartoon Contest in Garland, Texas, some Christians castigated me for co-sponsoring and speaking at the event. They said that Pamela Geller and I, as co-organizers of the event, were being needlessly provocative, poking Muslims in the eye, goading them, etc. These charitable and enlightened Christians said that Christians should instead be deferential to others’ religious sensibilities. At the time, I responded to these people by explaining that giving in to violent intimidation (our event was a response to the jihad murder of the Charlie Hebdo Muhammad cartoonists in Paris) would only encourage more violent intimidation, and that given the fact that Muslims frequently found even basic expressions of Christian faith to be “provocative,” they were effectively cutting the ground out from under themselves and their children, making it impossible for them to practice Christianity in the future. These incidents in Uganda are proof that this was correct. In declaring jihad and stating that the Muslims were now on a quest for revenge, Abubakar Yusuf and the Muslims who agree with him are in effect saying that the public expression of the Christian Faith mocks Islam and despises Islamic teachings. Abubakar Yusuf’s announcement that the Muslims had “declared jihad” against the Christians and would “seek revenge” against them was tantamount to a declaration that the Christians must submit to the hegemony of the Muslims, not daring to practice their faith openly, but only in private, behind closed door, and at the sufferance of their Muslim overlords. This is exactly the status that Islamic law prescribes for Christians in lands governed by Islamic law, and so it is clear that Abubakar Yusuf is no lone fanatic, but is enunciating what many Muslims in Uganda believe to be only right and proper. The lesson is clear, and not just for Uganda. If the advice of the cosseted, suburban Western Christians who were excoriating me for the Garland event is to be heeded, Christians should make no public expression of their faith at all, and convert to Islam, so as to avoid mocking, provoking, and offending Muslims, and poking them in the eye. And what it comes to it, that is most likely the exact thing that those Christians will do. Robert Spencer is the director of Jihad Watch and author of the New York Times bestsellers The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades) and The Truth About Muhammad. His latest book is The Complete Infidel’s Guide to Iran. Follow him on Twitter here. Like him on Facebook here.

Robert Spencer

https://www.dcclothesline.com/2019/01/01/christians-being-told-stop-saying-jesus-is-the-son-of-god-it-provokes-muslims/

2019-01-01 17:42:27+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

thedcclothesline--2019-05-27--Islamic Court Acquits Two Muslims Convicted of Burning Christian Couple to Death in Pakistan

thedcclothesline

Islamic Court Acquits Two Muslims Convicted of Burning Christian Couple to Death in Pakistan

(CNSNews.com) – It was one of the most gruesome killings linked to allegations of blasphemy in Pakistan, and now two Muslims convicted of burning alive a young Christian man and his pregnant wife have been acquitted. Shahzad Masih and his wife Shama were attacked and murdered in Punjab province in 2014 by a Muslim mob enraged by claims that a Qur’an had been desecrated. Mobilized by announcements over mosque loudspeakers in nearby villages, the mob dragged the couple from a building where they were being held against their will. Amid cries of “Allahu Akbar” and “kill infidel Christians,” according to eyewitnesses, the assailants beat Shahzad and Shama with clubs before burning them alive in a brick kiln where they worked as indentured laborers. The oldest of their three children, then aged six, witnessed the murder. Relatives reportedly fled the scene with the other two. In a country where vigilante killings of people accused of blasphemy are not rare, the grisly slaying sent shockwaves through minority communities and drew condemnation further afield, with a senior Vatican official, the late Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, saying he was “shocked by the immense barbarity of this act.” “I ask myself, how can one stand by and watch when crimes religion declares to be legitimate are committed?” Tauran, who was in charge of interfaith dialogue at the Holy See, was quoted as saying on Vatican Radio. “Not even animals behave like this!” Then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif pledged justice would be done, saying that “a responsible state cannot tolerate mob rule and public lynching with impunity.” Eyewitness estimates of the mob put the number at between 400 and 1,000. Police in Punjab registered a case against 660 individuals, and the province’s anti-terrorism court (ATC) later indicted 106 of them. In November 2016, the ATC sentenced five men to death, and ten others to jail terms for their roles in the killings. The rest were acquitted. The five on death row appealed, and last week the Lahore High Court acquitted two of them – Hafiz Ishtiaq, an imam, and Muhammad Hanif – while upholding the death sentences of the remaining three. Blasphemy is a capital offense in the world’s second biggest Islamic country, where mainstream “Barelvi” Sunni Muslims are known for their zealous views regarding blasphemy and shari’a. Statistics compiled by human rights groups show that Christians, Ahmadis and other minorities are disproportionately affected by the notorious laws, while outside the legal system numerous instances of mob violence and murders linked to blasphemy accusations have been recorded. Often the accusations are vague, and in some cases accusations of blasphemy have been used as pretexts to settle personal gripes or business feuds. In the case of Shahzad and Shama, after the young mother burned some papers and items belonging to her recently-deceased father-in-law, a Muslim co-worker claimed to have found burnt remnants of pages from a Qur’an. According to the Legal Evangelical Association Development (LEAD), a non-profit advocacy group involved in the case from the outset, eyewitnesses reported that the couple had wanted to flee the area. However, their employer claimed they owed him money and had them detained in a building near the kiln, where they were held until the attack took place. Commenting on the acquittal, LEAD director, human rights lawyer Sardar Mushtaq Gill said Thursday that the authorities in Pakistan “refuse to learn that this cycle of violence against minorities, particularly Christians, will end only if the Islamist perpetrators are brought to justice.” Gill said justice was far from having been delivered in the murder of the couple. Human Rights Focus Pakistan president Naveed Walter also criticized the acquittals. “It is shocking that five years have passed but justice has not been given to the victims’ family,” he said on Friday. Walter said several court cases involving minorities, including blasphemy laws, have been dragging on for years. He said HRFP has observed that cases where minorities are victims tend to be drawn out, due to pressure on judges from radical groups. Similarly, decisions are sometimes delayed to avoid resistance from Islamic elements. Walter said delaying justice serves to encourage perpetrators, and may result in more problems for minorities. LEAD director Gill has been hounded and faced death threats for his work on the Shahzad and Shama case. Representing eyewitnesses to the murders, he and they were threatened both inside and outside court premises during proceeding in 2016. He recalled being visited in June 2016 by three men on the pretext of discussing a legal matter, who after turning the conversation towards issues of blasphemy, including the Asia Bibi case, took out a firearm and threatened to shoot him if those accused of murdering the couple were convicted. After a further court appearance a week later, Gill said two men on motorcycles chased the car he was traveling in and opened fire, missing the vehicle. “After this incident, I and my family went into hiding in Pakistan before being forced to flee from Pakistan secretly on August 8, 2016,” he said. Now in Sri Lanka, Gill and his family are awaiting resettlement as refugees. Under Pakistan’s penal code, a person convicted of insulting Mohammed or desecrating the Qur’an faces a death sentence or life imprisonment. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent statutory body, called on the State Department every year since 2002 to designate Pakistan a “country of particular concern” (CPC) for severe religious freedom violations.

Pamela Geller

https://www.dcclothesline.com/2019/05/27/islamic-court-acquits-two-muslims-convicted-of-burning-christian-couple-to-death-in-pakistan/

2019-05-27 16:35:15+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

theduran--2019-05-30--Muslim-Christian relations in Russia

theduran

Muslim-Christian relations in Russia

One of the many fantastic things about Russia that you will near learn from the mainstream media is how cordial relations are between Muslims and Christians. Russia is a secular country. The government does not support or oppose any religion. People are free to practise any faith so long as this does not encourage them to break the law. At least 50% of Russians are Orthodox Christians. There are others who belong to different Christian denominations. At least 10% of Russia’s population is Muslim. There are Buddhists, Jews and even Hari Krishnas. I I have seen Hari Krishnas chanting their mantras on the street. Plenty of people are atheists. There are over 70 indigenous minorities in Russia. Some of them are Muslims. There are also immigrants from Muslim countries of the erstwhile USSR. The Muslim community in Russia is growing rapidly. Contrary to what you might believe Islam was openly practised throughout the Soviet era. Mosques and madrassas were allowed but there were not many of them. I am a convinced anti-communist. One of the things I must commend communist for it ending theocracy and obscurantism. People have the right to practice their faith. There are mosques in every major Russian city. Some women choose to wear a hijab. Religious reactionaries are very thin on the ground in Russia. Chechnya is one of the autonomous republics of Russia. Ramazan Kadyrov is president there. Laws in Chechnya reflect the traditional values of the people. You can hear the ‘azan’ or prayer call there. Alcohol is not permitted there. Russia has laws intended to maintain societal harmony. People are not permitted to spread odium towards any ethnic or religious community. Some consider this to be an excessive infringement on free expression. Other countries restrict free speech on other issues. You might disapprove of this law but it certainly ensures that the different ethnic and religious communities live together amicably. One of the things that has always impressed me is the fabulously warm relations between different religions.

George Callaghan

https://theduran.com/muslim-christian-relations-in-russia/

2019-05-30 11:07:55+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

thegatewaypundit--2019-01-08--Amazon Bows to Sharia Removes Products That Are Offensive to Muslims After CAIR Request But Anti-

thegatewaypundit

Amazon Bows to Sharia: Removes Products That Are ‘Offensive to Muslims’ After CAIR Request But Anti-Christian Items Still For Sale

Screenshot of items removed by Amazon after Muslims complained As expected, Amazon, the Seattle-based online retailer bowed to Sharia law and removed a variety of doormats and bathmats with verses from the Quran and other references to Mohammed. CAIR said in a statement that the products, which were being sold by independent sellers on Amazon, are offensive to Muslims because they “would be stepped-on or otherwise disrespected by customers.” After Amazon kissed the Sharia law ring and removed the Muslim products, CAIR thanked them in statement. “We thank Amazon for its swift action on this issue and hope it sends a message to manufacturers of such inappropriate and offensive items that they will not profit from Islamophobia or any other form of bigotry,” Masih Fouladi, executive director of CAIR’s Washington state chapter, said in the statement. CAIR saw this as a victory and vowed to keep an eye on Amazon and other retailers in the United States who dare violate Sharia law and ensured Muslims they would take swift action to prevent products from being sold that would “promote bigotry.” “CAIR will continue to work with Amazon and other retailers and manufacturers to ensure that products are not exploiting or promoting bigotry for commercial gain,” said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. “We thank all those who reported these offensive items to CAIR and contacted Amazon.” In contrast, Amazon has countless anti-Christian products on its website such as t-shirts with a rainbow flag and a caption that says, “Jesus had two fathers and he was alright.” Imagine how the left and their mouthpieces in the media would react if Christians demanded Amazon remove these t-shirts. The Muslim lobby is also trying to force Amazon into giving Muslim employees multiple prayer breaks a day. Newly elected Muslim Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN) was protesting with Muslim Amazon employees shortly before Christmas. We also learned Tuesday that CAIR, an Islamic organization with terrorist ties, is lobbying to have American Christians and conservatives removed from Twitter and Facebook if they dare criticize Islam. Had enough yet, America?

Cristina Laila

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/01/amazon-bows-to-sharia-law-removes-products-that-are-offensive-to-muslims-after-cair-asks-them-to/

2019-01-08 23:12:00+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

thegatewaypundit--2019-03-15--ICYMI 120 Christians Slaughtered By Muslim Herders In Nigeria MEDIA SILENT

thegatewaypundit

ICYMI: 120 Christians Slaughtered By Muslim Herders In Nigeria – MEDIA SILENT

As media outlets across the world bring you the minute-by-minute updates of the Christchurch mosque shooting in New Zealand, those same outlets have been mostly silent on the recent mass slaughter of Christians in Nigeria by muslim herdsmen. Those attacks have resulted in 120 dead and 140 homes burned to the ground. At least 120 people have been killed by alleged Fulani militant attacks since February in the Kaduna state of Nigeria with the latest attacks on Monday resulting in the deaths of over 50 and the destruction of more than 140 homes. On Monday, 52 people were killed, dozens injured and around 143 homes were destroyed in attacks on the villages of Inkirimi, Dogonnoma and Ungwan Gora in the Maro district of the Kajuru Local Government Area, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide. The Monday attack followed an attack on Sunday in the Ungwan Barde village in Kajuru in which 17 people were killed and dozens of homes were burned. In late February, there was another attack in Maro that resulted in the deaths of about 38 Christians and saw homes and a church burned. On Feb. 10, 10 people were killed in an attack in Ungwan Barde as six others were killed in isolated attacks the day before. CSW, a United Nations-recognized NGO that advocates for persecuted Christians worldwide, reports that victims in the attacks on Monday included women and children. Survivors told the nonprofit that the attackers were separated into three groups. One group shot and killed people, the second set fire to buildings, and a third ran after people fleeing the scene. Nigeria ranks as the 12th worst country in the world when it comes to Christian persecution, according to Open Doors USA’s 2019 World Watch List. In 2018 alone, thousands of Christians were killed by militant Fulani herdsmen, leaving some to say that genocide is occurring in the Middle Belt of Nigeria. Kaduna state is not alone in suffering from Fulani violence as other states in the Middle Belt have faced it too. On March 4, Fulani militants in the Benue state reportedly attacked three villages, killing 23 people with bullets and machetes, according to International Christian Concern. CSW is calling on the Nigerian federal government to address the spike in violence in a “decisive and unbiased manner.” “The relentless death and destruction is a sad indictment of the continuing failure by both levels of government to fulfill the primary mandate of protecting all its citizens impartially,” Thomas argued.

Brock Simmons

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/03/icymi-120-christians-slaughtered-by-muslim-herders-in-nigeria-media-silent/

2019-03-15 23:30:23+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

thegatewaypundit--2019-05-08--Persecuted Christian Asia Bibi Flees to Canada After Muslim Blasphemy Law Acquittal in Pakistan

thegatewaypundit

Persecuted Christian Asia Bibi Flees to Canada After Muslim Blasphemy Law Acquittal in Pakistan

In November 2018 hundreds of thousands of Muslims rallied in Pakistan demanding that Christian mother Asia Bibi be beheaded for insulting Islam. Asia Bibi, a poor farm laborer and Christian, was released in October from prison in 2018 for the blasphemy charges. Bibi was not allowed to leave Pakistan until her trial was over. Earlier this week Asia Bibi arrived in Canada after fleeing Pakistan. She was not safe there despite her acquittal. The Christian woman who spent years on death row in Pakistan for alleged blasphemy before she was acquitted last year has left the country for Canada, her lawyer confirmed to Fox News on Wednesday. Asia Bibi was convicted on blasphemy charges in 2009 after a quarrel with a fellow farmworker who accused her of insulting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. After spending eight years on death row, the 54-year-old’s conviction was overturned last year by the Supreme Court. Despite being a “free woman” after the death sentence was thrown out, she has been in protective custody – itself a kind of prison – because of religious extremists’ calls for her hanging.

Jim Hoft

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/05/persecuted-christian-asia-bibi-flees-to-canada-after-muslim-blasphemy-law-acquittal-in-pakistan/

2019-05-08 18:26:24+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

thegatewaypundit--2019-05-15--Radical Muslim Travels to Canada Cuts Chilling Video Warning He Is There to Kill Christian Pakistan

thegatewaypundit

Radical Muslim Travels to Canada, Cuts Chilling Video Warning He Is There to Kill Christian Pakistani Dissident Asia Bibi

A radical Muslim released a video a frightening video online that he has traveled to Canada to murder Christian dissident Asia Bibi. Asia Bibi, a poor farm laborer and Christian mother of five, was released in October 2018 from prison in Pakistan after being jailed on blasphemy charges. Bibi was convicted on blasphemy charges in 2009 after a quarrel with a fellow farmworker who accused her of insulting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. Bibi was not allowed to leave Pakistan until her trial was over. She finally fled to Canada this week. And already at least one radical Muslim has traveled to Canada to murder Asia Bibi. In the video the man sings an Islamic chant honouring Muhammed and professes that he a beloved believer of Islam will slay the blasphemer Asia Bibi. In the video the man sings an Islamic chant honouring Muhammed and professes that he a beloved believer of Islam will slay the blasphemer Asia Bibi. He warns the ‘Enemies of Islam and the Jew Government that set Asia Bibi free’ that he will kill her. In the meanwhile a number of churches in Pakistan have informed BPCA that they are receiving threats from local militants and have been warned that the growth of IS in Pakistan is imminent. Overall the situation in Pakistan has been relatively quite after the Pakistani Government arrested over 3500 extremist leaders from Tehreek-e-Labaaik, IS and Tehreek-e-Taliban. Moreover, one of the former leaders of Thereek-e-labaaik, Afzal Qadri announced his retirement from the group and issued an apology to General Qamar Javed Bajwa and the superior judiciary to whom he directed incendiary remarks after Asia Bibi’s acquittal. A video of his apology can be viewed (here) Security around churches in Pakistan has been stepped up significantly since the release of Asia Bibi and teams of security officials can be seen at churches up and down the country.

Jim Hoft

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/05/radical-muslim-travels-to-canada-cuts-chilling-video-warning-he-is-there-to-kill-christian-pakistani-dissident-asia-bibi/

2019-05-15 14:16:56+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

themanchestereveningnews--2019-03-16--Christians simple message of solidarity with Manchester Muslims after Christchurch terror attack to

themanchestereveningnews

Christian's simple message of solidarity with Manchester Muslims after Christchurch terror attack touches hearts around the world

The kind gesture of a Christian in Manchester in the wake of the Christchurch terror attack has touched thousands of hearts around the globe. Andrew Graystone was horrified when he woke to the news 49 people had been killed as they attended Friday prayers at a mosque in New Zealand. Andrew, a Christian from Levenshulme, knew he wanted to do something to show his support to Muslims in Manchester. Andrew, 57, said: "I woke up on Friday morning and I heard the terrible news about the killings in the mosque in Christchurch in New Zealand. "I began to think about how I would feel if I was a Muslim in Manchester going to Friday prayers today, perhaps feeling afraid or angry, and what small thing I could do to make a difference. "You can either meet these things with either fear or friendship - that's the choice we have to make and in the end friendship wins." Andrew, a writer, decided to take a sign bearing a message of friendship to Madina Mosque near to his home in Levenshulme. The 57-year-old penned a simple but moving message to show to worshippers as they arrived for Friday prayers ‘You are my friends. I will keep watch while you pray.’ "Levenshulme is a very multicultural community with churches, mosques and even a Jain temple all very close together," he explained. "The relationships are generally really good but something like the New Zealand incident can test them. "I thought what had happened in New Zealand happened during Friday prayers. "Something I could offer to people in Manchester was to literally watch their backs or at least stand outside with a smiling face at the doors of the mosque as they arrive. "You could see people wondering what I was doing at first. Perhaps they thought I was some sort of protester with a placard. "But as they saw the message they smiled and after prayers they came out to thank me. People said they were glad to be supported. "I belong to a church and so we have a lot in common." The mosque’s Iman, Zafar Iqbal, said he mentioned Andrew’s touching gesture during Friday prayers today. Andrew, a father-of-two, said he has received hundreds of messages from all over the world since a photo of him holding his sign was posted on social media. Alleged gunman Brenton Tarrant, 28, was charged with murdering 49 people in Christchurch today. He was arrested along with two others and explosives were detonated in what appears to be a carefully planned terror attack.

Charlotte Dobson

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/christchurch-mosque-shootings-manchester-message-15983059

2019-03-16 07:00:00+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

therightscoop--2019-03-18--Nigerian Muslims slaughter 120 Christians in three weeks but the MSM refuses to cover it

therightscoop

Nigerian Muslims slaughter 120 Christians in three weeks, but the MSM refuses to cover it…

On Saturday it was reported that Fulani Muslims in Nigeria had massacred horrific numbers of Christians in just three weeks. And yet the only thing the media seems to care about is Muslims getting gunned down in mosques in New Zealand. First, here’s the latest report on these Christian massacres in Nigeria via Breitbart: The recent death toll of Christians in Nigeria has reached 120 with this week’s slaughter of more than 50 by Fulani Muslim militants in the Kaduna state of Nigeria, the Christian Post reported. The Fulani jihadists, who have become a greater threat to Nigerian Christians than the Islamist terror group Boko Haram, stormed the villages of Inkirimi, Dogonnoma, and Ungwan Gora in the Kajuru Local Government Area last Monday, destroying 143 homes, killing 52 people, and wounding dozens more. The assailants reportedly split into three groups, the first of which fired upon the people, the second set fire to buildings, and the third chased down people fleeing from the scene. Victims of the assault included women and children. Monday’s incident followed an attack the day before in the Ungwan Barde village in Kajuru, where 17 Christians were killed and dozens of homes were burned. In the first week of March, Muslim extremists massacred more than 30 Christians in Karamar village, setting fire to several houses and a church. The terrorists reportedly shot at families trying to escape the fire, killing 32. The spate of recent attacks against communities has taken place within the predominantly Christian Adara chiefdom of southern Kaduna. We’ve been reporting on these Fulani Muslim massacres for years. Last July Nigeria was said to be the deadliest place in the world, with 238 people slaughtered in one Christian village. You’d think the recent spate of Christian killings would get at least some coverage in the media, but they haven’t, according to Breitbart: The New York Times did not place this story on the front page; in fact, they did not cover it at all. Apparently, when assessing “all the news that’s fit to print,” the massacre of African Christians did not measure up. The same can be said for the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, the Detroit Free Press, the LA Times, and every other major paper in the United States. The news shows from the three major television channels did not mention the story, and nor did CNN or MSNBC. The massacre of Christians in Nigeria is certainly not new, as we’ve been covering them for almost a decade now. But even so, you’d think that 52 Christians being slaughtered last week would have moved the needle in the media. The last time I remember Nigeria getting a lot of attention in the media was when Boko Haram kidnapped over 250 school girls in 2014. Remember Michelle Obama’s infamous #hastag activism? The horrific Muslim killings in New Zealand most certainly deserved international attention. But Christians being slaughtered by Muslims in Nigeria deserve at least some attention as well, because what’s happening there has made Nigeria one of the worst places for Christians in the world.

The Right Scoop

https://therightscoop.com/nigerian-muslims-slaughter-120-christians-in-three-weeks-but-the-msm-refuses-to-cover-it/

2019-03-18 15:35:31+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

therightscoop--2019-03-30--PA Muslim lawmaker blames white nationalism for Christian prayer that she found so offensive

therightscoop

PA Muslim lawmaker blames ‘white nationalism’ for Christian prayer that she found so offensive!

Of course CNN had Movita Johnson-Harrell to whine about why hearing the words “Jesus Christ” is so offensive to her. She actually blames white nationalism for a Christian prayer! LOL! What?! Like we said before, the prayer that Borowicz gave was absolutely normal and typical of most Christians. Maybe if you’re a faithless secularist you cringe at hearing the words “Jesus Christ” mentioned, but we actually have a long history of invoking Christianity in the United States. It’s only recently that people recoil in horror like a vampire before a crucifix. I love Smerconish melting down at the thought someone might mention the words “Jesus Christ” in a prayer thirteen times. I guess there’s a constitutional limit on that? Idiot. And ironically, at the end she tries to “inform” people that Jesus is in the Koran too. So then why is she offended by hearing the words? So stupid. We covered the story earlier here if you want to read more about it.

SooperMexican

https://therightscoop.com/pa-muslim-lawmaker-blames-white-nationalism-for-christian-prayer-that-she-found-so-offensive/

2019-03-30 16:04:01+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

thetelegraph--2019-02-03--Pope visits UAE in first for Gulf state as important step for dialogue between Christians and Musl

thetelegraph

Pope visits UAE in first for Gulf state as 'important step' for dialogue between Christians and Muslims

Pope Francis will make a landmark visit to the United Arab Emirates this week, where he is due to meet government officials, senior Islamic clerics and hold a stadium mass for 135,000 mostly low-paid South East Asian migrant workers. It is the first time a Pontiff has visited the Gulf region, where the majority of the population is Muslim, most laws, financial services and customs are based on Islam, and there are restrictions on the promotion of Christianity and other non-Islamic religions. Bishop Paul Hinder of the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia (which covers the UAE, Oman and Yemen) described the visit as “an important step in the dialogue between Muslims and Christians” and urged that it “contribute to mutual understanding and peace-making in the Middle East.” In parallel to Pope Francis’ visit, the UAE is also hosting 700 diverse religious leaders and scholars – including leading moderate Sunni authority Dr Ahmed Al Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Al Azhar in Egypt and the Chairman of the Muslim Council of Elders – at a Global Conference of Humanity. Despite the dominance of Islam, the UAE is home to more than one million practising Catholics, mainly blue-collar workers from the Philippines, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Among these communities there has been considerable excitement about the Pontiff’s visit and the Holy Mass scheduled for Tuesday morning.

Penny Streather

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/02/03/pope-visits-uae-first-gulf-state-blue-collar-catholic-community/

2019-02-03 06:00:00+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

thewashingtonstandard--2019-09-17--Minnesota Muslims Indoctrinating Educators Against Islamophobia Attack Christian Privilege

thewashingtonstandard

Minnesota: Muslims Indoctrinating Educators Against “Islamophobia” – Attack “Christian Privilege”

Minnesota school boards are receiving a three-page handout with the full support of their jihad Attorney General Keith Ellison, aka Hakim Muhammad that seeks to indoctrinate educators against “islamophobia” while attacking what they refer to as “Christian Privilege.” Of course, Muslims have to come up with that like disgruntled blacks have to come up with “White Privilege” to address something that doesn’t even exist. With that said, Dr. Muhammad Khalifa is the author of the three-page propaganda piece. Dr. Khalifa is an associate professor in the Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy and Development at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. He also has been engaged in “equity audits” in US schools. Khalifa is also an author of several books, including Leading with Community: Culturally Responsive School Leadership for Minoritized Youth , The School to Prison Pipeline: The Role of Culture and Discipline in School , Handbook on Urban Educational Leadership and Becoming Critical: The Emergence of Social Justice Scholars . Understand that the contents of the propaganda below, and propaganda it is, was paid for with your tax dollars via a grant from the US Department of Education (Grant Soo4D110021).  The grant itself is as unconstitutional as the Department of Education and the extention to use government money, which is taxpayer money to promote Islam is a clear violation of the First Amendment. Here are the documents. Islamophobia and Christian … by Tim Brown on Scribd Of course, Dr. Khalifa uses the illogical term of “islamophobia” to attack those that disagree with Islam saying that it is “one of the most widespread, rapidly-growing, and tolerated types of oppression in school and society today.” There is nothing oppressive about being anti-Islam that is for sure.  It’s actually the other way around.  I’m sure if there are Christians in Muslim countries they feel oppressed and marginalized as well, but you won’t hear Dr. Khalifa going to one of those countries to speak up for the Christians and talk about “Muslim Privilege,” will you? However, let me remind you of just how illogical and ridiculous the term “islamophobia” actually is. On September 26, 2013, Ned May of the International Civil Liberties Alliance (ICLA), blasted the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) over the use of the term “Islamaphobia” at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s Human Dimension Implementation Meeting, calling it “a violation of logic.” May laid out a succinct argument for why it was undefined and, as a result, invalid. In other words, “islamophobia” does not exist at all. Khalifa then went on to pursue the tired old saw of “White Privilege” and added “Christian Privilege.”  What was the evidence he provided for such assertions? Then he added that “Christian Privilege” also encompassed “more complex issues” such as: It’s called being in a culture that was based on the Bible, Dr. Khalifa, not the Koran.  The differences in Islamic culture and Christian culture could not be contrasted more.  One produces freedom and prosperity.  The other produces totalitarianism and oppression. Of course, Khalifa doesn’t speak about how he would deal in an Islamic country and their education system at all and what that might look like because it would totally debunk his claims here. However, he wants to emphasize that Muslims are  seen as “subhuman, irrational, violent or backward.” Khalifa also tells educators to “recognize that Islam is not a religion in the sense that Western Europeans separated faith from other aspects of life; it is a way of life.” That is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard!  If your religion is not a way of life, it is not a religion.  The Christian religion speaks to every area of life from the individual to the family to the Church to the government.  It speaks to law, how we govern ourselves, love our neighbors, and love God.  It teaches us who we are, who God is and who the Savior of mankind is, the Lord Jesus Christ.  Those that compartmentalize faith from their lives do not understand Christianity that’s for sure. However, Khalifa says that educators must “accommodate the aspect of Muslim life in school, including daily prayer spaces, prayer washing (abulation) spaces, and Friday prayer spaces, or fasting.” On what basis?  There is no right to any of that for an antichrist Muslim in a Christian culture.  There just isn’t. Additionally, the indoctrination of other students is crucial. Khalifa says that educators are to “infuse curriculum and school activities with intellectual traditions that originate in the Muslim World.” Again, why?  Would Muslim countries do that for Christians?  Nope. He also believes that prominent Muslims she be praised and use school resources, including staff, school space, student activities, and even financial resources to advocate for causes important to Muslim inclusion and belongingness. Here’s a tip, why don’t school stop trying to be inclusive of Muslims and Islam and start teaching the Bible like they used to do and demand that Muslims assimilate into our society rather than submit to them attempting to pull us into their demonstrably hellish society.  Islam has a dirty, disgusting and ruthless 1,400-year track record of following the non-prophet Muhammad. It’s time for schools to not only reject people like Dr. Khalifa, but to start turning away Muslims crying about not feeling included because they are Muslim.  Then convert to the true Christ and to the true God and the teachings found in the Bible.  Not only will you benefit from that, but you will then feel the inclusion you so desperately desire.  Until then, no… just no! Article posted with permission from Sons Of Liberty Media

Tim Brown

https://thewashingtonstandard.com/minnesota-muslims-indoctrinating-educators-against-islamophobia-attack-christian-privilege-2/

2019-09-17 23:24:26+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

thewashingtonstandard--2019-10-12--Robert George: “Christians and Muslims must join hands….Let Christians and Muslims never again rega

thewashingtonstandard

Robert George: “Christians and Muslims must join hands….Let Christians and Muslims never again regard each other as enemies”

Robert George: “Christians and Muslims must join hands….Let Christians and Muslims never again regard each other as enemies” As is always the case with exhortations such as this one, note how one-sided it is. Robert George tells Christians not to hate Muslims, which is a very good thing for him to tell them, but he never says a word about trying to get Muslims not to hate Christians. As far as this article is concerned, the onus is entirely on the Christian side to build bridges and make peace. One may argue that George is a Christian, and so he doesn’t presume to preach to Muslims, and that’s all very well, but where are his “dialogue” partners issuing similar exhortations to Muslims to regard Christians as friends and allies, and to lay aside direct and explicit Qur’anic commands not do so? Here is that command: “O you who have believed, do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies. They are allies of one another. And whoever is an ally to them among you – then indeed, he is of them. Indeed, Allah guides not the wrongdoing people. (Qur’an 5:51) Does Robert George even know that this verse exists? Does he think there are no Muslims who take it seriously? The renowned and eminently mainstream Qur’an commentator Ibn Kathir explains it this way: “Allah forbids His believing servants from having Jews and Christians as friends, because they are the enemies of Islam and its people, may Allah curse them.” Will Robert George’s dialogue partners tell him what they’re doing to mitigate the force of this passage and other anti-Christian material in the Qur’an and Hadith? Here is some information on Hamza Yusuf from Discover the Networks: …In 1995, Yusuf described Judaism as “a most racist religion.” In 1996 he expressed his contempt for the United States: “[America] a country that has little to be proud of in its past and less to be proud of in the present. I am a citizen of this country not by choice but by birth. I reside in this country not by choice but by conviction in attempting to spread the message of Islam in this country. I became Muslim in part because I did not believe in the false gods of this society whether we call them Jesus or democracy or the Bill of Rights.” On September 9, 2001 – just two days before the al Qaeda attacks against America – UCLA’s Al-Talib magazine co-sponsored a benefit dinner titled “Justice for Imam Jamil Al-Amin” (a convicted cop-killer formerly known as H. Rap Brown) at UC Irvine. Among the speakers at this benefit was Sheikh Hamza Yusuf, who spoke about the fate he foresaw for America: “They [Americans] were ungrateful for the bounties of Allah, and so Allah caused them to taste fear and hunger. That is one reason and, I would say, that this country is facing a very terrible fate. The reason for that is that this country stands condemned. It stands condemned like Europe stood condemned for what it did…. This country [America] unfortunately has a great, a great tribulation coming to it. And much of it is already here, yet people are too to illiterate to read the writing on the wall.” At this same rally, Yusuf lamented that Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, the blind Egyptian cleric convicted of masterminding the 1993 World Trade Center bombing as well as unfulfilled plans to destroy various Manhattan bridges and tunnels, had been “unjustly tried” and “condemned against any standards of justice in any legal system.”… Yusuf also…lamented “what happened in the 19th century with the abdication of Islamic Law and the usurpation of it … by western legal systems.”… And here is some information on Ismail Royer from the Investigative Project on Terrorism: According to a biography posted on IslamOnline.net, Royer began working as a CAIR communication specialist in 1997. According to media reports, he continued to work for CAIR at least through the beginning of October 2001. When police stopped Royer for a traffic violation in September 2001, they found in his automobile an AK-47-style rifle and 219 rounds of ammunition. He was indicted in June 2003, with 10 others, on a variety of charges stemming from participation in the ongoing jihad in Kashmir. Specifically, the indictment charged that Royer engaged in propaganda work for Lashkar-e-Taiba and “fired at Indian positions in Kashmir.” Lashkar-e-Taiba was designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization on December 26, 2001. Thus, while news reports indicated he still worked for CAIR, according to a federal indictment, Royer purchased an AK-47 assault rifle and 219 rounds of ammunition, distributed newsletters for a group later designated as a foreign terrorist organization, and fired at Indian targets in Kashmir. Again, Awad has minimized CAIR’s ties to Royer, noting Royer was also “a former employee of Starbucks Coffee.” In January 2007, in response to Senator Boxer’s withdrawal of the award to Elkarra, Awad claimed that “CAIR had no knowledge of Royer’s travels and activities before he joined CAIR.” Additional charges listed in a superseding indictment against Royer and his 10 co-conspirators included conspiracy to levy war against the United States and conspiracy to provide material support to Al Qaeda. On January 16, 2004, Royer pleaded guilty to weapons and explosives charges and agreed to cooperate fully with the government. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Royer got out early, of course, and now proclaims that he has rejected his previous “extremism.” All right. Will he start telling Muslims to reject Qur’an 5:51 and take Christians (and Jews) as friends? “Muslims and Christians must unite against hate,” by Robert George, America, October 4, 2019: …First, Muslims worship God. Often, this is doubted or denied by Christians—even some Catholics. But the church herself unambiguously affirms it. Of course, as “Nostra Aetate” notes, Islam and Christianity differ in important ways in how they understand God. Christians believe God is a Trinity of persons. Muslims do not. Christians believe Jesus is God—the second person of the Blessed Trinity. Muslims do not. Still, the God whom Muslims (and Jews) worship is the true God. Second, the church has esteem for Muslims. One cannot hold in contempt those for whom one has esteem. Catholics are enjoined to eschew hatred for Muslims and oppose discrimination against them. We must recognize that most Muslims are decent, honorable people. Yes, there are evildoers who claim to act in the name of Islam while committing atrocities—and they must be resolutely opposed by all legitimate means, including the use of force. But we must not tar innocent Muslims with responsibility for their crimes. Catholics are enjoined to eschew hatred for Muslims and oppose discrimination against them…. It has been my privilege and joy to work with Muslims like the Islamic scholar Hamza Yusuf, the author Suzy Ismail and Ismail Royer, the director of the Islam and Religious Freedom Action Team for the Religious Freedom Institute, in defending human life in all stages and conditions, beginning with child in the womb; in securing religious freedom for people of all faiths; in protecting refugees from persecution and terror; in opposing pornography and human trafficking; and in upholding marriage as the union of husband and wife. I urge my fellow Christians of all traditions to remember how much we share with faithful Muslims—the vast majority of whom want for themselves and their children what we want for ourselves and our children: a peaceful society, a decent culture, a fair and flourishing economy, an excellent system of education and the freedom to worship and to bring our religiously inspired convictions concerning justice and the common good into the public square and to make our case, in freedom and peace, to our fellow citizens. Christians and Muslims must, as never before, join hands to bear witness to God’s sovereignty, to God’s love for each and every member of the human family, to God’s desire that we lead upright lives. Let Christians and Muslims never again regard each other as enemies. Let us rather recognize each other as brothers and sisters under the fatherhood of “the one God, living and subsisting in Himself; merciful and all-powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth.”

The Washington Standard

https://thewashingtonstandard.com/robert-george-christians-and-muslims-must-join-hands-let-christians-and-muslims-never-again-regard-each-other-as-enemies/

Sat, 12 Oct 2019 22:25:42 +0000

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

thewashingtonstandard--2019-12-25--Another Christmas in the Age of Jihad: Oppression of Christians in Muslim Lands & Appeasement of Mu

thewashingtonstandard

Another Christmas in the Age of Jihad: Oppression of Christians in Muslim Lands & Appeasement of Muslims in Post-Christian Lands

Another Christmas in the Age of Jihad: Oppression of Christians in Muslim Lands & Appeasement of Muslims in Post-Christian Lands Another Christmas is upon us, and the story is familiar: in Muslim lands, Christians are oppressed and in constant danger of violent jihad attacks. And in the lands once known as Christendom, Christians freely abdicate their own traditions and mores in order to appease and accommodate Muslims. Take, for example, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, Indonesia. In the Sharia-compliant Aceh province, the BBC reported Monday that Christians “are preparing to celebrate Christmas in makeshift tents in the jungle.” Why? Because “their churches were destroyed four years ago by Islamic vigilante groups and the police,” and “local authorities are stopping them from rebuilding.” Another Indonesian province, West Sumatra, has “banned Christians from celebrating Christmas in private homes….This year, authorities have barred Christians from holding worship services and Christmas celebrations in Sungai Tambang, Sijunjung Regency and Jorong Kampung Baru, Dharmasraya Regency in West Sumatra.” An Indonesian named Sudarto, who is director of the Center for Inter-Community Studies, explained: “They did not get permission from the local government since the Christmas celebration and worship were held at the house of one of the Christians who had been involved. The local government argued that the situation was not conducive. It has been going on for a long time, so far they have been quietly worshiping at the home of one of the worshipers, but they have applied for permission several times. Yet the permit to celebrate Christmas was never granted.” Nor is that all: “The house where they performed worship services was once burned down in early 2000 due to resistance from residents.” Anti-Christian sentiment in Indonesia runs so high that Indonesian President Joko Widodo felt it necessary to warn Muslims against committing violence against Christians on Christmas. Nearly 200,000 police officers have been deployed to protect the nation’s Christians. Meanwhile, in Australia, according to 3aw.com, “a couple were left stranded and out of pocket after a rideshare driver refused to pick them up because they had a Christmas ham….They ordered an Uber, but as they approached the car the driver told them the ride was cancelled.” Why? “The driver told the couple he wouldn’t take them home with the ham because he was Muslim.” But surely Uber fired or at least disciplined this supremacist clown, no? No. In fact, Uber charged the couple for a cancelled ride. In England, reports the Mail on Sunday, “children at a primary school have been told not to sing the word ‘Lord’ in the Christmas carol Away In A Manger – so that pupils of all beliefs can join in….Youngsters at Whitehall Primary School in Chingford, Essex, have also been told to sing edited versions of two modern hymns when they attend a carol service and nativity play at a nearby church on Tuesday. The words ‘Jesus the saviour’ in the carol Love Shone Down have been replaced with ‘Jesus the baby’, while the words ‘new King born today’ in the carol Come And Join The Celebration have been replaced with ‘a baby born today.’” Why? Whitehall Primary School head teacher Zakia Khatun explained that she didn’t want students of other beliefs to feel “excluded.” She “defended her decision, insisting the school is inclusive of all children, and maintained that last year 60 children did not attend the carol service and nativity at St Peter and St Paul Church in Chingford because of their religious beliefs.” Britain has been home to non-Christians for centuries, and they never complained about Christmas carols. There is only one group in Britain that might object to calling Jesus “Lord,” and that group isn’t likely to attend the Christmas pageant now that the word has been removed, because the whole idea of celebrating the birth of Jesus is predicated upon the now-unmentionable title. One mother noted: “If he was just a baby boy named Jesus, there wouldn’t be a celebration in the first place. He is our Lord and Saviour and King of all Kings – that’s the whole point. It is also a tradition – it is taking away the traditions of the country.” And in Germany, a Muslim woman who supports the Islamic State (ISIS) “started an apprenticeship as a truck driver sponsored by the employment office, where she also stood out due to radical statements. During a driving exercise, she is said to have answered the teacher’s question of where she actually wanted to go: ‘I’m going to the next Christmas market.’” Christmas markets in Europe have more than once been targeted for jihad massacres. None of this is new, or surprising. It’s just another Christmas in the age of jihad.

The Washington Standard

https://thewashingtonstandard.com/another-christmas-in-the-age-of-jihad-oppression-of-christians-in-muslim-lands-appeasement-of-muslims-in-post-christian-lands/

Wed, 25 Dec 2019 14:55:23 +0000

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

wnd--2019-12-16--Muslim militia wipe out 1,000 Christians in year

wnd

Muslim militia wipe out 1,000 Christians in year

More than 1,000 Christians have been murdered by Islamic militia in Nigeria within the last year and more than 6,000 since 2015. It's the key finding of a new report, "Your Land or Your Blood," from the Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust, according to the Church Times. The report was presented at the International Organisation for Peace and Social Justice crisis conference in London last month. The founder of HART, Baroness Caroline Cox, said the perpetrators are Muslim Fulani herdsmen who "seek to replace diversity and difference with an Islamist ideology which is imposed with violence on those who refuse to comply. It is – according to the Nigerian House of Representatives – genocide." One pastor, not identified in the report, said: "Every day we carry new corpses to the cemetery. They kill farmers. They destroy our homes and churches. They kidnap and rape women." Cox said the U.K.'s Foreign Office should be working to "ensure the Nigerian government takes effective action to protect all its citizens and call to account those who perpetrate atrocities." The report said: "Since January, there have been five serious attacks in Kaduna State, in the center of the country, resulting in an estimated 500 deaths. There were at least another five attacks in the counties of Bassa and Riyom, and more in Taraba State. The militant Islamist group Boko Haram remains in power around the Chad border region, including parts of Borno State in the north." The Fulani are a nomadic ethnic group of about 20 million across 20 countries in west and central Africa. "The terrorist group was listed as the fourth most deadly in the Global Terrorism Index in 2016 and 2017," the Times report said. "While the underlying causes of violence are complex, the asymmetry and escalation of attacks by well-armed Fulani militia upon predominantly Christian communities is stark, and must be acknowledged," Cox said. "It is too simplistic to label these atrocities as driven by desertification, climate change, or competition for resources," she said. "Unless the U.K. and Nigerian governments are willing to address the massacre's ideological roots, they will never be able to help the innocent victims being slaughtered on the killing fields of Plateau, Benue, Taraba, southern Kaduna, and parts of Bauchi."

WND Staff

https://www.wnd.com/2019/12/muslim-militia-wipe-1000-christians-year/

Mon, 16 Dec 2019 01:29:11 +0000

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

bbcuk--2019-04-07--Jewish and Muslim women on working together to combat prejudice

bbcuk

Jewish and Muslim women on working together to combat prejudice

'Anti-Semitism is a scourge on any society' Jeremy Corbyn says he will continue to oppose anti-Semitism and that Labour has taken steps to address it.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-47845354

2019-04-07 14:51:40+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

cnn--2019-03-17--These Muslims and Jews in Ilhan Omars district are united in frustration

cnn

These Muslims and Jews in Ilhan Omar's district are united in frustration

Minneapolis (CNN) Rep. Ilhan Omar's controversial comments about Israel and Jews have driven a wedge through her Democratic Party in Congress. But in her home district in Minnesota, her words are bringing some Jewish and Muslim activists, constituents and leaders together ... in denunciation. Omar Jamal, Steve Hunegs, Mohamed Ahmed and Avi Olitzky agree on the characterization of language Omar used: When Omar talked about Jews "hypnotizing" the world, it was anti-Semitic. When she said American support for Israel was "all about the Benjamins baby," referring to $100 notes, it was anti-Semitic. And when she questioned whether American Jews had loyalty to Israel, it was anti-Semitic, they all said. Local leaders want her to understand why her words were causing so much pain. Omar's office did not respond to a request for comment on this story. "I don't think we were looking into her heart and accusing her of being an anti-Semite," said Hunegs, who is the executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas (JCRC). Hunegs was one of several faith leaders who met recently with Omar, the first Somali-American representative in Congress and one of two Muslim women elected last year. "We wanted to show her how what she had said was consistent with the statements of anti-Semites and anti-Semitism over time," Hunegs said. Olitzky, a senior rabbi, said he was contacted by some of his many congregants alarmed at what they had heard and read from Omar, and also had the opportunity to address it with her. "Congresswoman Omar shared with me that she understood our pain and listened to that pain. But then the tweets continued and the comments continued," he said. Both he and Hunegs said they had been approached by local Muslims, including Somalis, asking how they could help their Jewish neighbors in Minneapolis. "We can reinforce the good relationships that already exist, because in a sense people are kind of sick and tired of it and they want to move forward and find ways to work together," Hunegs said. Jamal said the excitement of Omar's election was "beyond imagination" for him and other Somalis and Somali refugees who had fled to America. But what has happened since has been disappointing. "(When you are elected,) you're supposed to bring people together, you're supposed to create a sense of unity instead of farther dividing them and pitting one group against the other," Jamal said. Ahmed dismissed the argument that Omar was merely criticizing the Israeli government -- something all the men interviewed by CNN said was her prerogative and not the problem. "I speak as a friend of Israel and a brother to the Palestinians by faith," he said. "We believe in Palestinian rights and freedoms, but we will not do it denigrating our Jewish community." Ahmed and Jamal acknowledged their views were not echoed throughout the entire local Somali Muslim community and could even stir anger. Ahmed says people in his own family don't see things the way he does when it comes to Rep. Omar. But he and Jamal hope she will now watch her words so she can move on to more pressing local issues in Congress and at home they can move on too. "We have more other urgent issues to talk about. We have other concerns ... in this country at this moment," Jamal said. The disappointment among them is palpable. Hunegs said: "It's unfortunate and, almost in the classical sense, tragic because she has the capability of being an important bridge builder." That's part of what's frustrating to one of Rep. Omar's supporters. "I think we are throwing the baby out with the bathwater here if we just tear her down as a really incredible political leader that she has been," Minneapolis resident Andrea Halverson says. "And basically turn this into a smear campaign. That's a huge mistake." Halverson says all of the circling around Omar over this issue has become a distraction. But many are worried the distraction will keep Omar from being able to do her job. Ahmed said: "It's only been two months. I'm exhausted. She's only been in Congress for less than three months." The local leaders hope Omar makes up for what they see as a rough start in Congress by what she does next. "Words can't cancel out words; actions cancel out words," Olitzky said. "And so, we continue to look to Rep. Omar to cancel out the words that she's already shared, with action." Both Hunegs and Ahmed commented on the apparent support for Omar and her comments from white supremacist and former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard David Duke. "When David Duke of the Ku Klux Klan agrees with you, you're not doing something right," Ahmed said.

Sara Sidner

http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_allpolitics/~3/6GzXDrgO6Wk/index.html

2019-03-17 17:03:50+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

dailyheraldchicago--2019-12-20--Muslim, Jewish women come together to promote tolerance, understanding

dailyheraldchicago

Muslim, Jewish women come together to promote tolerance, understanding

Shazia Khan and Linda Rothnagel have more things in common than is apparent at first glance. Khan, of South Barrington, is a hijab-wearing Muslim, originally from Hyderabad, India, raised in Detroit. Rothnagel, of Barrington, is Jewish and was born and raised in the Chicago area. The two women have one mission -- building bridges between Muslims and Jews and fighting hate, negative stereotyping and prejudice. Together, they colead the Northwest suburban chapter of Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom -- a national organization promoting personal relationships between Muslim and Jewish women. Group members hosted a lunch Friday for homeless DuPage County residents at the DuPage PADS in Wheaton. "This is a time of year when giving and celebrating is more common, and so we wanted to participate in the holidays by doing a charitable event in the spirit of Christmas," said Khan, 44, a mother of four and a primary care physician at Loyola Medical Center in Oakbrook. Khan said the concept of charitable giving -- sadaqah or tzedakah -- is ingrained in Islam and Judaism. The group also has passed out knapsacks with supplies to the homeless, and collected items for a care closet for homeless students at Oswego East High School in years past. Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom has 12 Chicago-area chapters and 150 chapters nationwide. The Northwest suburban chapter brings together women from Barrington, Bloomingdale, Carol Stream, Hanover Park, Hoffman Estates and South Barrington. Monthly gatherings spark conversations around common topics, such as the role of Jesus in both traditions, how the Quran and Torah depict the story of Moses, important holidays and how they are celebrated, charity, fasting and the challenges of raising children in the faith. "It is astounding how similar our religious traditions are ... the stories, the challenges we share, the same goals and values we have for our families," Khan said. "When you talk about Abrahamic faiths, you truly understand where that term comes from." Rothnagel, 63, who works for a not-for-profit legal aid program and has two grown children, said group members generally are open to learning from each other and sharing. She was drawn to it because of previous experience being part of an interfaith alliance while living in Israel during the 1970s. "Sometimes, Middle East politics gets in the way of Jewish-Muslim relations," Rothnagel said. "(The group) has helped me have a more sophisticated understanding (of Muslims)." Khan said she felt Americans have become more divided by race and religion after the 2016 presidential elections. "I needed to help others understand my faith because it wasn't going to happen (otherwise)," she said. "The philosophy of spreading tolerance and understanding one relationship at a time is very powerful. We don't realize the importance of just one-on-one interaction between families, neighbors and individuals. That personal relationship builds so much trust and understanding ... that is the foundation that is going to build tolerance and understanding in our larger society." Rothnagel said the goal is to go into the community and educate people about both religions.

http://www.dailyherald.com/news/20191220/muslim-jewish-women-come-together-to-promote-tolerance-understanding

Fri, 20 Dec 2019 18:04:16 -0500

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

frontpagemagazine--2019-01-07--Lara Kollab Muslim Doc Discussed Destroying Jewish Immune Systems While Studying Medicine

frontpagemagazine

Lara Kollab, Muslim Doc Discussed Destroying Jewish Immune Systems While Studying Medicine

After [Canary Mission's original report on Lara Kollab](https://canarymission.org/blog/post/Lara_Kollab), the Muslim doctor who talked about giving Jews the wrong medicine, went viral, she issued the expected apology, claiming that she had been immature and apologizing for all the pain she had caused. The issue isn't whether she caused people emotional pain, but that someone trying to be a doctor was discussing poisoning a particular ethnic group with the wrong medicines. This is a compelling reason to make sure that she never has a position where she's able to work with anything more advanced than frogs. And, Canary Mission [has also dug up more social media from Kollab](https://canarymission.org/individual/Lara_Kollab). And while she's claimed that her hate predated her pursuit of medicine this murderous thought not only dates back to a medical exam, but was part of her notes. > On May 4, 2013, Kollab tweeted: “Studying for my med micro final, came across this. Clearly, I pay attention in class and write very useful notes.” > > The tweet featured a handwritten note that read: > > “People who support Israel should have their immune cells killed so they can see how it feels to not be able to defend yourself from foreign invaders.” Someone who openly fantasizes about using their profession to inflict harm on a population should never be allowed to practice medicine.

Daniel Greenfield

https://www.frontpagemag.com/point/272480/lara-kollab-muslim-doc-discussed-destroying-jewish-daniel-greenfield

2019-01-07 20:34:47+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

frontpagemagazine--2019-04-19--Jews in Obama039s Muslim Indonesia Have to Stay Hidden

frontpagemagazine

Jews in Obama's Muslim Indonesia Have to Stay Hidden

Obama loved talking and writing about Indoonesia. Did he, in all that time, find the time to mention the plight of Indonesia's Christians, Chinese and other non-Muslim minorities, including Jews? Of course not. Islamophobia matters. Anti-Semitism doesn't. Here's a [snapshot of life](https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/asia-and- australia/.premium.MAGAZINE-inside-the-secret-world-of-indonesia-s-jewish- community-1.7138662) for Jews in Indonesia. > About an hour’s drive from the city center on a low-traffic day, some of Indonesia’s small Jewish community gathers once a month to secretly pray on Shabbat... Although the Indonesian constitution guarantees religious freedom for all, the government only extends official recognition to Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Confucianism. Yet despite the challenges surrounding their religious identity, Indonesia’s Jews are determined to continue practicing and preserving their faith. I'm sure this is another one of those, "It's not anti-Semitism, it's anti- Zionism" things. > Inside a nondescript building in this Jakarta suburb — which the Jewish community requested not be named for fear of reprisal — one room has been converted into a space for prayers... They hide their religious identity well, and it is only after entering the prayer room that religious symbols and signs become visible. A wooden partition with the Star of David cleverly incorporated into its carved wood design conceals a flight of stairs leading to the shul. If only the ADL, the AJC, and the other lefty groups were as concerned about the treatment of Jews in Indonesia as they are over "Islamophobia".

Daniel Greenfield

https://www.frontpagemag.com/point/273528/jews-obamas-muslim-indonesia-have-stay-hidden-daniel-greenfield

2019-04-19 09:03:53+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

frontpagemagazine--2019-08-18--Jewish Man Attacked by Muslims Again in Berlin

frontpagemagazine

Jewish Man Attacked by Muslims Again in Berlin

The [New Nazis](https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/jewish-man-assaulted-and- cursed-in-arabic-in-berlin/), the ones beloved by the media, are doing their part to carry on the work of the original models. > An Orthodox Jewish man was assaulted in Berlin by two men who cursed him in Arabic, he told police. > > The incident happened on Tuesday in the Charlottenburg area of the German capital, Bild reported Wednesday. The men fled the scene after knocking the Jewish man to the ground. > > The Jewish man, aged 55, sustained a heavy blow to his head and called emergency services for treatment. He was not seriously injured. Police are looking for the attackers. Meanwhile the media keeps pretending that Rep. Tlaib is a victim of some Jewish conspiracy.

Daniel Greenfield

https://www.frontpagemag.com/point/274662/jewish-man-attacked-muslims-again-berlin-daniel-greenfield

2019-08-18 07:35:23+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

motherjones--2019-03-16--A Pittsburgh Jewish Group Is Raising Money for New Zealands Muslim Community

motherjones

A Pittsburgh Jewish Group Is Raising Money for New Zealand’s Muslim Community

When a gunman killed 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh last October, Muslim groups quickly launched a crowdfunding campaign to help shooting victims, raising more than $200,000 in just four days. Now, Time reports, the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh is responding in kind by raising funds to support the Muslim community in New Zealand affected by the massacre that killed 49 and left dozens more wounded on Friday. “Unfortunately we are all too familiar with the devastating effect a mass shooting has on a faith community,” Meryl Ainsman, chair of the board of the Jewish Federation, said in a statement released Friday. “We are filled with grief over this senseless act of hate. May those who were injured heal quickly and fully, and may the memories of the victims forever be a blessing.” According to the statement, those who wish to donate can give online at the Jewish Federation’s website, or send checks to 2000 Technology Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. Other fundraising efforts, being vetted by Impact Your World, according to CNN, are also underway. They include New Zealand Council of Victim Support Groups, which has a crowdfunding campaign, and the Muslim crowdfunding site LaunchGood—which helped raise money for Tree of Life victims—has set up a fund for the families.

Bryan Schatz

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/03/pittsburgh-jewish-group-donations-new-zealand-muslim-community/

2019-03-16 19:01:05+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

pamelagellerreport--2019-01-02--WATCH Muslim Washington Post writer chanting Allah is the greatest Death to America Death to Isr

pamelagellerreport

WATCH: Muslim Washington Post writer chanting “Allah is the greatest. Death to America. Death to Israel. Curse the Jews. Victory to Islam.”

The left loves to throw words like Nazi at people who refuse to submit to their totalitarianism. Pure projection. Slaughterers and devout annihilationists are given a platform to spew their poison in mainstream media outlets. My colleagues and I? Never. Jeff Bezos, proud owner of the Washington Post, is like one of those Third Reich financiers. Video surfaces of Muslim WaPo op-ed contributor chanting ‘Death to America’ ‘Death to Israel ‘Curse the Jews’ Less than two months after he was given prominent op-ed space in the Washington Post, a video has surfaced of Houthi rebel leader Mohammad Ali al-Houthi launching a shoulder-fired missile and then reciting the Houthi slogan, which calls for “Death to America.” The Washington Post contributor chants, “Allah is the greatest. Death to America. Death to Israel. Curse the Jews. Victory to Islam.” He has also taken to his unverified but media– and think tank-cited Twitter account to repeat the infamous Houthi slogan. Ali Shihabi, the founder of the Arabia Foundation, a Washington D.C.-based Middle East think tank, confirmed to Conservative Review that it is indeed al-Houthi in the video. Shihabi tells CR that it is “documentary evidence of the type of leader” that the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen is up against, whom “many critics have ignored.” Other videos have surfaced showing Mr. al-Houthi traveling in a vehicle with very young male soldiers (the Houthi rebels draft child soldiers) while stationed at a mounted machine gun. al-Houthi is the head of the Houthis’ Supreme Revolutionary Committee. He is described as “one of the most powerful men” in the Iran-backed rebel group. On November 9, the radical extremist leader was given valuable space in the Washington Post’s Global Opinions section, edited by Karen Attiah, a passionate advocate for the controversial slain Saudi activist Jamal Khashoggi, who in his last days worked as a de facto asset to the Qatari and Turkish regimes. After Jamal Khashoggi’s death, Attiah worked to turn the Global Opinions section into a space to pursue his pro-Islamist, anti-Saudi monarchy agenda. In his Washington Post column, the Houthi radical claimed to want “peace for Yemen.” “We love peace — the kind of honorable peace defended by our revolution’s leader, Abdulmalik al-Houthi. We are ready for peace, the peace of the brave. God willing, Yemenis will remain the callers of peace and lovers of peace,” al-Houthi wrote. Of course, to al-Houthi, the road map to peace begins and ends with placing blame on all of the issues in Yemen squarely with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Nowhere in the piece did the Washington Post add a disclaimer or note the fact that the Houthis routinely commit war crimes. The facts tell a story far removed from al-Houthi’s unchecked propaganda. The Houthis have become notorious for their ruthless behavior, which includes the systematic detention and torture of journalists and the forced recruitment of child soldiers. The UN’s World Food Program has recently alleged that the Houthis are to blame for stealing desperately needed aid meant for the people of Yemen, letting commanders like al-Houthi eat well while the group contributes to the ongoing famine and mass starvation inside the country.

Pamela Geller

https://gellerreport.com/2019/01/wapo-allah-greatest-death-ot-america-israel-allah.html/

2019-01-02 20:16:15+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

pamelagellerreport--2019-01-18--Kenya Devout Muslim terrorists who attacked hotel and murdered 14 say they were targeting Zionist

pamelagellerreport

Kenya: Devout Muslim terrorists who attacked hotel and murdered 14 say they were targeting “Zionist Jews”

Of course the Jews were targeted: antisemitism is a basic tenet in Islam, and another basic Islamic tenet is the obligation to wage war against Jews and other unbelievers and subjugate them under Islamic law. And then instead of calling out this savagery, hatred, and bloodlust and standing against it, in the West and among the global “human rights community” the focus is all on “islamofauxbia,” while the rise in antisemitism, a direct result of massive Muslim migration into the West, is ascribed to the “far-right” and white supremacists, while Islamic antisemitism is ignored. And so there will be many more attacks like this one. “Deadly attack in Kenya directed against ‘Zionist Jews,’ terror group says,” by Ben Cohen, The Algemeiner, January 17, 2019 (thanks to Mark): The Somali Islamist terror group that carried out Tuesday’s attack on a hotel complex in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi has issued a fresh statement declaring that the atrocity was directed against “Zionist Jews.” The assault claimed the lives of 14 people, including U.S. citizen Jason Spindler — a survivor of the Sept. 11, 2001 Al-Qaeda atrocity in New York…. Wednesday’s statement from the Somalia-based Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen (more commonly known as “Al-Shabaab”), an affiliate of Al-Qaeda, stated that it had carried out the Nairobi attack as “a response to the witless remarks of U.S. President Donald Trump and his declaration of Al-Quds (Jerusalem) as the capital of Israel.” The statement accused Trump of having granted “the Zionist Jews the approval to desecrate the sanctity of one of Islam’s holiest sites with their filth and vile policies of ethnic cleansing without considering the suffering of the millions of Muslims languishing under the throes of the Zionist occupation for decades.” Headlined “Jerusalem Will Never Be Judaized,” the statement was published on Al-Shabaab’s channel on the social media platform Telegram, and subsequently translated by the Washington, D.C.-based Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). Al-Shabaab claimed to have killed more than 50 “unbelievers” in Nairobi, adding that the attack was carried out “in accordance with the guidelines of Ayman al-Zawahiri in targeting Western and Zionist interests worldwide and in support of our Muslim families in Palestine.”… Noting that Tuesday’s attack was “among a series of operations specifically targeting Western and Zionist interests in Africa,” the Al-Shabaab statement called on the “Muslims families in Palestine” to be patient and rest assured that the “Zionist occupiers and their Western patrons and protectors will never find safety anywhere until safety becomes a reality in Palestine and all Muslim lands.” “Be patient for all the injustices of the Zionist and the Crusaders will be meted out to them in equal measure,” it went on to say. The statement concluded with a message to the “Zionist Jews,” whom it described as “killers of the Prophets and brothers of monkeys and pigs,” saying: “Know that by oppressing the Muslims in Palestine, you are waging a war against the entire Muslim ummah (global community of believers). Neither Britain nor America will be able to protect you from the strikes of the mujahideen. Know that we will hold you to account for every blood spilt in Palestine ounce for ounce. What awaits you is a fate similar to that of your ancestors of Bani Quraydha (a Jewish tribe in Arabia during the 7th century) at the hands of the Prophet Muhammad and his noble companions.” The Truth Must be Told Please take a moment to consider this. Now, more than ever, people are reading Geller Report for news they won't get anywhere else. But advertising revenues have all but disappeared. Google Adsense is the online advertising monopoly and they have banned us. Social media giants like Facebook and Twitter have blocked and shadow-banned our accounts. But we won't put up a paywall. Because never has the free world needed independent journalism more. Everyone who reads our reporting knows the Geller Report covers the news the media won't. We cannot do our ground-breaking report without your support. We must continue to report on the global jihad and the left's war on freedom. Our readers’ contributions make that possible. Geller Report's independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe our work is critical in the fight for freedom and because it is your fight, too. Please contribute to our ground-breaking work here. Make a monthly commitment to support The Geller Report – choose the option that suits you best.

Pamela Geller

https://gellerreport.com/2019/01/kenya-terrorists-jews.html/

2019-01-18 15:00:09+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

pamelagellerreport--2019-02-09--Rampant Jew-Hatred Infects Europe UK in the wake of mass Muslim immigration

pamelagellerreport

Rampant Jew-Hatred Infects Europe, UK in the wake of mass Muslim immigration

Muslims in Europe Becoming Less Secular, More Muslim Professor emeritus of the University of Louvain, Felice Dassetto, has claimed the number of secular Muslims in Europe is in steep decline and more are becoming radicalised. Professor Dassetto said the secular world and its values are becoming less attractive to contemporary Islam and that Muslims are turning toward more reactionary forms of the faith, Il Giornale reports. “There is a bit of disaffection, but there is no mass abandonment of the faith, the phenomenon affects at most 10 to 15 percent,” Dassetto said, noting that at least 80 percent of Muslims across Europe now claimed to be religious. Dassetto also noted that Friday prayers in various mosques were seeing more younger Muslims participate…. WATCH: Online anti-Semitism sweeps France at levels not seen before The volume and level of anti-Semitic online hate has reached levels never seen before, according to an I24 new report. When one website closes, the anti-Semites simply find another. The problem “may already be too deeply ingrained in French society,” the report says. Antisemitic incidents in UK at record high for third year in a row. Jewish community leaders and politicians have condemned a third successive year with a record number of antisemitic incidents. Last year, 1,652 incidents, a 16% increase on 2017, were logged by the Community Security Trust, which has monitored antisemitism for 35 years and provides security to the UK Jewish community. Record high antisemitic incidents in the UK for 2018 According to the CST – a Jewish community organization that works in cooperation with the UK police – there were 1,652 reported incidents of antisemitism, a 16% rise from the 1,420 antisemitic incidents recorded by CST in 2017, which was itself a record annual total, as were the 1,375 incidents of 2016. Austria: Chancellor of Austria Kurz blames Muslim migration for rising anti-Semitism in Europe The Truth Must be Told Please take a moment to consider this. Now, more than ever, people are reading Geller Report for news they won't get anywhere else. But advertising revenues have all but disappeared. Google Adsense is the online advertising monopoly and they have banned us. Social media giants like Facebook and Twitter have blocked and shadow-banned our accounts. But we won't put up a paywall. Because never has the free world needed independent journalism more. Everyone who reads our reporting knows the Geller Report covers the news the media won't. We cannot do our ground-breaking report without your support. We must continue to report on the global jihad and the left's war on freedom. Our readers’ contributions make that possible. Geller Report's independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe our work is critical in the fight for freedom and because it is your fight, too. Please contribute to our ground-breaking work here. Make a monthly commitment to support The Geller Report – choose the option that suits you best.

Pamela Geller

https://gellerreport.com/2019/02/europe-rampant-jew-hatred.html/

2019-02-09 22:00:10+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

pamelagellerreport--2019-02-09--Why Can Muslims Be Jew-Haters Without Comment from Media

pamelagellerreport

Why Can Muslims Be Jew-Haters Without Comment from Media?

It used to be that an American politician could not get away . But how times have changed since the 2018 election, which brought us two newly elected Muslim Congresswomen into office. By the lack of media outrage, it appears that they can say just about anything about how Jews are just not so good for the world. Well, since 74 long years have now passed since Auschwitz was liberated on January 27, 1945—maybe the message of media silence today means that Jews should just be less sensitive to racial libel smears by now. Or, is this media silence instead of outrage only granted as a Muslim “privilege?” Or a Democratic Party “privilege?” Or perhaps it is a double privilege, if the politician fits both categories? On the other hand, if a demented old Holocaust-denier happens to run for Congress as a Republican, and won’t leave him be. “Are you a Nazi?” Is the question asked of the elderly white supremacist? “You’re a Nazi,” is the mainstream media charge tossed at him. Well, if the shoe fits. But, in the interest of full reporting, “This guy is a fringe candidate who has been doing this for over a decade with no real connection to the GOP,” wrote Jesse Hunt, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee. So sanity returns to the election field, via the voice of the GOP, which is ready and willing to throw its own outrageous politicians under the bus, whenever mainstream media comes calling to ask about the outrage. Now, on the other hand, what if you get elected as a lovely, albeit , (side digression, with a frantically-waving red-flag: one who ran , and, according to her own father , registered to vote from a false address when she ran for office the first time)? Well, then if you are that kind of politician, you can if they dare to oppose your racist boycotts of Israel; you can cover the state of Israel on your Congressional office world map with a sticky note reading “Palestine” in red ; you can be a member of Facebook groups which also deny the Holocaust, and call Jews “Satanic. ” And the magic trick is that the mainstream channels CNN, MSNBC, HuffPo, The New York Times, Salon, Vox, and The Washington Post won’t even notice such outrageous things. When you are running under the banner of the Democratic Party, and your name is an Islamic one, like , the mainstream media will grant you the magic powers of a master illusionist. They will be completely blind to outrageous awards and donations you receive from terror-related groups, while you in turn praise their “invaluable” and “vital” “advocacy efforts.” They will not be outraged by your support of “a young girl” whose “voice should be lifted,” as you wrote to your followers—that girl being a terrorist whom Israeli authorities had recently incarcerated for assaulting an IDF soldier and for proclaiming that “everyone must” attack Israeli Jews by means of “stabbings, martyrdom-seeking operations [i.e. suicide bombings], throwing stones.” But that’s only the warm-up act, from one Islamic master illusionist. If you’re a and somebody out of the blue shockingly alleges that you tried to rape her in 1982, but she can’t remember enough basic facts to even begin to support her stunning claims, or to find any witnesses or evidence against you, then mainstream media will be awash in Leftist outrage, as the mob against you tries to break down the doors of the Supreme Court , to whatever end which comes by way of outraged mobs who won’t let facts or reason get in their way. But, if you run for political office in America on the Democratic Party ticket as a charming, yet , who wears a , you can be the second headline act in the magic show. To your self-fooled mainstream media audience, you have become a master illusionist. You have them all so enraptured by the exotic charm of your foreign headcover that you can get away with all sorts of outrages. For example, you can ask for clemency on behalf of men on trial for trying to join ISIS ; you can say that “Drawing attention to the apartheid Israeli regime is far from hating Jews ”; you can promote the illusion that you are the first “refugee” ever to be elected to Congress (when you were really only the fifth or so of a set which includes two Jews elected long before you, and the first was actually a Jew who escaped the Nazis); and you can bizarrely . You are so good at pulling your civilization jihadist illusions on them, that you can make Poppy Harlow of CNN look just a little bit baffled , as she seems too hopelessly seduced by that anachronistic cloth wrapped about your head for no sanely explicable reason of feminist rights logic in the 21st Century. What’s more, if you pretend to apologize for the anti-Jewish things you have said, the blinded will you immediately, and Jewish Democrats on Capitol Hill will you onto the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Your illusions are so seductive to a willfully blind mainstream media, that CNN, MSNBC, HuffPo, The New York Times, Salon, Vox, and The Washington Post will barely notice—minus an op-ed here and there—the jihadist things you say and do—things that should outrage our civilization. There seems to be little limit to the outrageous things you can get away with, when you are , a master illusionist performing to the mainstream media, as they fail to see the civilization jihad on stage in front of them. So, are the illusions being performed by these elected civilization jihadis really that masterful? Or is the truth more that the mainstream media blindness is that willful? One interesting point is that, contrary to popular myth, The New York Times has inside information that Holocaust-deniers are not all Republicans. Another point would be that journalists, beyond being Leftist Democrats, understand that criticizing Muslims gets you called racist. (Or slaughtered by jihad) But on a more insidious level, while the Leftists of mainstream media are not inclined to be warned by the civilization threat of , they are quite inclined to embrace at least the sentiment of it. In other words, they might agree entirely with the Islamic Movement that the traditions of the Western world must be destroyed, to be replaced by the utopian collective that they each fantasize can take its place. And so if hateful double standards help the society to get there, then, well, screw the Jews, if the Muslims openly express a problem with them. In politics, everything is a tool, a means to an end—politicians and their journalistic compatriots will often have an endgame in mind, but they are not known for consistently applying any deeply held, humanistic moral principles to get there. Mainstream “journalists” today are clearly aligned with Leftist politicians on one side of the culture war. By application or exclusion of selective outrage, they have become adept at weaponizing morality against the culture they want to take down; and alternatively, to boost the alien elements they want to build up into power against their native culture. So, the president can attempt to enact a temporary travel ban preventing unvetted people (not all of them Muslim) who originate from dangerous enemy nations from entering the country until the administration can figure out how to plausibly vet them. On the Left side of the culture war,  that’s deemed worthy of enough to immobilize airports, and is provided the requisite mainstream coverage to promote the narrative. As a civilization jihadist, Islamic supremacist Congresswoman can outrageously accuse mildly pro-Israel politicians of not being loyal to the United States—but only a handful of Jews (or non-Jews) in the media will find themselves capable of being outraged by the antisemitism, or by the activist supremacy, or by the blatant jihad against our traditional way of life and freedoms. The problem is not even that Islamic supremacists Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib are openly pushing their bigoted, supremacist Islamic agenda of conquest. It is not even that the Left has lowered the bar of tolerance to the point that almost anybody, domestic or foreign, can be an anti-American bigot in public and get away with it. The problem is that the people whose job it is in journalism to not cover up for them, are doing so, systematically with destructive intent, or willful blindness. Muslims are commanded by Allah to wage civilizational war against our society; If hijab-wearing members of the Islamic Movement actually adhere to the system they publicly choose to represent, then Allah’s command of them, , is not really a choice. But a Leftist, socialist journalist writing an article about “rising anti-Semitism” which doesn’t mention the civilization jihadist, Islamic supremacist Congresswomen in the room, is really quiet a choice that journalist does make. Our society will rise or fall on that choice.

Pamela Geller

https://gellerreport.com/2019/02/muslim-jewhaters-free-pass.html/

2019-02-09 21:30:33+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

pamelagellerreport--2019-06-03--Muslim Doctor Subjected to Hate Campaign by Muslim Jew-Haters Over Charity Work With Jews

pamelagellerreport

Muslim Doctor Subjected to Hate Campaign by Muslim Jew-Haters Over Charity Work With Jews

They’d rather sick ‘Palestinian’ children die than having anything to do with Jews. Beastly. The charity was named after Rozana Salawhi, a Palestinian girl  who was saved by doctors at Hadassah after falling from an apartment block in the Palestinian city of Ramallah in the West Bank. Project Rozana was originally set up six years ago by the Jewish women’s group Hadassah Australia, which has strong links with Jerusalem’s Hadassah Hospital. The group’s goal as stated on its website is to “build better understanding between Israelis and Palestinians through health.” Dr. Jamal Rifi’s support for Project Rozana has led to him being branded an “enemy” by pro-Iranian and pro-Hezbollah activists in his local community because the charity has Jewish members, Australian news outlets reported on Friday. A Muslim doctor in Sydney, Australia, has become the target of an antisemitic, anti-Zionist hate campaign because of his work helping sick Palestinian children obtain treatment in Israeli hospitals. Project Rozana says its aim is build bridges between Israelis and Palestinians through medicine. Please take a moment to consider this. Now, more than ever, people are reading Geller Report for news they won't get anywhere else. But advertising revenues have all but disappeared. Google Adsense is the online advertising monopoly and they have banned us. Social media giants like Facebook and Twitter have blocked and shadow-banned our accounts. But we won't put up a paywall. Because never has the free world needed independent journalism more. Everyone who reads our reporting knows the Geller Report covers the news the media won't. We cannot do our ground-breaking report without your support. We must continue to report on the global jihad and the left's war on freedom. Our readers’ contributions make that possible. Geller Report's independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe our work is critical in the fight for freedom and because it is your fight, too. Please contribute to our ground-breaking work here. Make a monthly commitment to support The Geller Report – choose the option that suits you best.

Pamela Geller

https://gellerreport.com/2019/06/jihad-jewahters-target-muslim-dr.html/

2019-06-03 21:03:11+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

pamelagellerreport--2019-10-07--Muslims hurl firebombs, burn tires as Jews pray at Joseph’s Tomb

pamelagellerreport

Muslims hurl firebombs, burn tires as Jews pray at Joseph’s Tomb

This is the hatred, bigotry and barbarity in which Rep. Rashida Tlaib was raised. Palestinian terrorism and Palestinian incitement against the Jews must be debated in the United States Congress. Palestinian media reports 7 wounded as Israeli security forces disperse rioters during pilgrimage of 1,000 Jews to the tomb ahead of Yom Kippur. Dozens of Palestinians rioted on Sunday night following the pilgrimage of some 1,000 Jews, under Israeli security escort, to the Tomb of Joseph in Shechem to pray. The rioters threw firebombs and burning tires at security personnel. There were no Israeli reports of casualties during the incident, however the PA’s Wafa news agency reported that seven rioters had been wounded after “Israeli forces escorted a convoy of buses packed with over a thousand fanatic Jewish settlers to the site, located in the Palestinian-controlled area, sparking confrontations with Palestinian residents.” Wafa stated that the injured Palestinians had been “protesting” the “raid” and “attempting to block settlers’ access to the site”. “Among the settlers who raided the site were Israeli Minister of Economy and Industry Eli Cohen, leader of the council of settlers in the occupied West Bank Yossi Dagan, and Knesset member Moshe Arbel,” Wafa reported. Watch close to 1000 Jews praying at Joseph’s Tomb moments before they were attacked The Truth Must be Told Please take a moment to consider this. Now, more than ever, people are reading Geller Report for news they won't get anywhere else. But advertising revenues have all but disappeared. Google Adsense is the online advertising monopoly and they have banned us. Social media giants like Facebook and Twitter have blocked and shadow-banned our accounts. But we won't put up a paywall. Because never has the free world needed independent journalism more. Everyone who reads our reporting knows the Geller Report covers the news the media won't. We cannot do our ground-breaking report without your support. We must continue to report on the global jihad and the left's war on freedom. Our readers’ contributions make that possible. Geller Report's independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe our work is critical in the fight for freedom and because it is your fight, too. Please contribute to our ground-breaking work here. Make a monthly commitment to support The Geller Report – choose the option that suits you best.

Geller Report Staff

https://gellerreport.com/2019/10/muslims-firebomb-jews-yom-kippur.html/

Mon, 07 Oct 2019 14:44:30 +0000

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

pamelagellerreport--2019-11-01--U.S. Muslim and Left-Wing College Students Call for ‘Slaughter of Jews’ and ‘Bloodshed’

pamelagellerreport

U.S. Muslim and Left-Wing College Students Call for ‘Slaughter of Jews’ and ‘Bloodshed’

It’s the bloody Nazis all over again. They were leftists too.And they partnered with with Muslims. Same hate, next century. Meet the activists behind the host chapter of this year’s conference, and see the vile and deplorable things they have said on social media. The Truth Must be Told Please take a moment to consider this. Now, more than ever, people are reading Geller Report for news they won't get anywhere else. But advertising revenues have all but disappeared. Google Adsense is the online advertising monopoly and they have banned us. Social media giants like Facebook and Twitter have blocked and shadow-banned our accounts. But we won't put up a paywall. Because never has the free world needed independent journalism more. Everyone who reads our reporting knows the Geller Report covers the news the media won't. We cannot do our ground-breaking report without your support. We must continue to report on the global jihad and the left's war on freedom. Our readers’ contributions make that possible. Geller Report's independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe our work is critical in the fight for freedom and because it is your fight, too. Please contribute to our ground-breaking work here. Make a monthly commitment to support The Geller Report – choose the option that suits you best.

Pamela Geller

https://gellerreport.com/2019/11/college-nazis-for-real.html/

Fri, 01 Nov 2019 15:00:12 +0000

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

sputnik--2019-01-05--UK Mosque Cancels Event Honouring Muslims Who Saved Jews Amid Backlash

sputnik

UK Mosque Cancels Event Honouring Muslims Who Saved Jews Amid Backlash

The exhibition at the London mosque, which was devoted to Muslims who helped save Jewish lives during the Holocaust, has been cancelled without an official explanation, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) reported. The cancellation of the event, held by the Centre for Islamic Understanding in Golders Green, was preceded by Muslim protests that were largely fuelled by statements of Roshan Salih, the editor of a Muslim media outlet called "5 Pillars". The man slammed the organisers of the exhibition for preparing it "in conjunction with Israeli oppressors ", suggesting that the Centre shouldn't have done it in collaboration with Yad Vashem, a Jewish holocaust memorial organisation. Salih praised the mosque for "responding to community concerns" and cancelling the event. A Jewish activist who helped the Centre for Islamic Understanding organise the exhibition, Rabbi Natan Levy, stressed the importance of remembering how "Jewish and Muslim communities have historically always supported each other". Levy hopes that by spending time together and better understanding their "commonalities and differences", Jews and Muslims will learn to stand as "united front against hatred". The Arab-Israeli conflict broke out upon the foundation of the Jewish state in 1948, resulting in several major armed conflicts and numerous minor clashes on the Israeli border that led to thousands of deaths and left many more displaced. While certain Muslim states have abandoned the rivalry, others, like Iran, have vowed to destroy Israel, denying its right to exist.

https://sputniknews.com/europe/201901051071245011-uk-mosque-exhibition/

2019-01-05 16:30:10+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

thinkprogress--2019-05-14--Ilhan Omar Jan Schakowsky call on Jews and Muslims to stand united against white nationalism

thinkprogress

Ilhan Omar, Jan Schakowsky call on Jews and Muslims to stand united against white nationalism

Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar (MN) and Jan Schakowsky (IL) penned a joint op-ed on Tuesday, calling for Muslim and Jewish communities to stand together in the face of resurgent white nationalism. “White nationalists win when our two communities are divided,” the two, who are Muslim and Jewish themselves, wrote on CNN. “They seek to exploit our divisions and grievances to further an agenda of hate. But we know that when we are united, we are stronger. We know this because in our own communities, Jewish and Muslim constituents have joined hands in solidarity and denounced these hate-filled massacres.” “We may not see eye to eye on all issues, but we must acknowledge that attacks on our faiths are two sides of the same bigoted coin,” they continued.  “As Americans, we must all stand together in rejecting hate and embracing one another to create a country and a culture of unity and justice.” Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), who is also Muslim, have faced repeated bad-faith attacks over their supposed anti-Semitism in recent months. In February, Omar faced a firestorm of accusations, particularly from the right, after she tweeted that Republican support for Israel is “all about the Benjamins” and that pro-Israel groups like AIPAC were influencing the United States’ pro-Israel stance. The Minnesota congresswoman later apologized for her comments “unequivocally,” saying she was “listening and learning, but standing strong.” Over the weekend, Tlaib faced her own round of anti-Semitism accusations from Republicans, who falsely suggested that Tlaib had spoken warmly of the Holocaust during a Yahoo News podcast. In reality, Tlaib had suggested she felt a “calming feeling” when remembering how her Palestinian ancestors had provided refuge to Jews after World War II. Experts say there has been a worrying uptick in white nationalism and far-right extremism over the past two years and numerous studies support this claim. As Omar and Schakowsky noted in their column Tuesday, there has been a sharp increase in both anti-Semitic incidents — which have more than doubled from 2017 to 2018 according to the ADL — and anti-Muslim incidents, which have risen from 260 in 2017 to 300 in 2018, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations. The latest example of this surge in hate crimes occurred at the Diyanet Mosque in New Haven, Connecticut, on Sunday, where a fire broke out, rendering the mosque uninhabitable. On Monday, the New Haven Fire Department announced that the fire had been set intentionally. According to The New Haven Register, local churches have offered to hold services for the displaced Muslim worshipers while the mosque undergoes repairs. Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have largely avoided commenting on or providing solutions for the rise in far right extremism. Following an attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in March, Trump was asked whether he saw white nationalism as a growing threat around the globe. “I don’t really,” he said. “I think it’s a small group of people that have very, very serious problems.” Trump has also infamously praised the neo-Nazis and white supremacists who attended the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, describing them as “very fine people” and more recently as people who simply “felt very strongly about the monument to Robert E. Lee.” This apathy has trickled down to rank-and-file Republicans as well. During a congressional hearing on white nationalism in April, Republicans repeatedly yielded their time to conservative commentator Candace Owens, who in turn spent most of her time talking about how the hearings were a waste of time and that Democrats were the real racists. This point is not lost on Reps. Omar and Schakowsky. “Addressing this hate should not be a partisan issue in the United States,” they wrote Tuesday. “Yet the current administration has manifestly failed to address its rise.” They added, “White nationalism is on the rise. And we must defeat it — together.”

Luke Barnes

https://thinkprogress.org/ilhan-omar-jan-schakowsky-jews-muslims-stand-united-against-white-nationalism-32b48ec66179/

2019-05-14 16:52:22+00:00

religion and belief

interreligious dialogue

thesun--2019-10-15--Bella Hadid is the most beautiful woman in the world because her face shape, lips and chin are ‘perf

thesun

Bella Hadid is the most beautiful woman in the world because her face shape, lips and chin are ‘perfect’, according to the’ Golden Ratio’ equation

SUPERMODEL Bella Hadid has been named as the most beautiful woman in the world – according to the ‘Golden Ratio of Beauty’. The 23-year-old was found to be a 94 per cent match to the ratio, a mathematical equation known as Beauty Phi devised by the ancient Greeks. They calculated the perfect face shape, including the size and position of the lips, nose, chin and jawline – with Bella’s features most closely matching the ideal ratio. The top ten list was compiled by a Harley Street clinic surgeon, Dr Julian De Silva, who used digital facial mapping to see how modern celebs matched up. Bella came out on top with a 94.35 per cent match, although her sister, fellow supermodel Gigi Hadid, 24, failed to make the top ten. In second place was Beyoncé was who was a 92.44 per cent match, and taking third place was Amber Heard with 91.85 per cent. Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift made up the top five, and the only Brit on the list was Kate Moss in sixth place, with a 91.05 per cent match. Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman, Katy Perry and Cara Delevigne also made the top 10. Dr De Silva, who runs the Centre For Advanced Facial Cosmetic And Plastic Surgery, in London, said: “Bella Hadid was the clear winner when all elements of the face were measured for physical perfection. “She had the highest overall reading for her chin which, with a score of 99.7%, is only 0.3% away from being the perfect shape. "Bella also came second behind Scarlett Johansson for the positioning of her eyes. “Beyoncé ran her a close second, scoring the highest marks for the shape of her face (99.6%) and getting very high scores for her eyes, brow area and lips. “These brand new computer mapping techniques allow us to solve some of the mysteries of what it is that makes someone physically beautiful and the technology is useful when planning patients’ surgery.” The software also ranked stars by their most perfect feature, with Amber’s nose rated the best, Scarlett’s eyes were a near-perfect match, and Cara’s lips and eyebrows came out on top. Beyoncé had the highest ranking face shape, Kate Moss’s forehead was the closest to perfect, while Bella’s chin came out best overall. And we revealed how Bella Hadid is among stars who've transformed the granny cardigan into a sexy garment. In other fashion news, we told you how one woman’s ‘atrocious’ engagement ring was bizarrely compared to a ‘sad penis’ by wedding shamers. Plus Dunelm is selling Teddy Bear fleece slippers and dressing gowns priced from £5 – and they’ve got dozens of five-star reviews.

Rebecca Flood

https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/10139459/bella-hadid-most-beautiful-woman-world-beauty-phi-face-perfect/

Tue, 15 Oct 2019 11:54:55 +0000

science and technology

mathematics

bbcuk--2019-10-03--The triangulation points that mapped Britain

bbcuk

The triangulation points that mapped Britain

In 1936, the Ordnance Survey began to construct concrete triangulation pillars, or trig points, to aid accurate measurement and map-making using the principles of trigonometry. By 1962, more than 6,000 had been built. And Stephen McCoy and Stephanie Wynne are trying to photograph the 310 primary pillars still standing. The pillars were built in positions where at least two other points could be seen in order to form triangles for accurate measurement. McCoy and Wynne's work comprises large 360-degree panoramic photographs produced by placing the camera on top of the triangulation pillar, alongside a picture of the pillar itself.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-49760110

2019-10-03 00:08:14+00:00

science and technology

mathematics

sottnet--2019-09-23--Googles quantum supremacy to render all cryptocurrency and military cryptography breakable

sottnet

Google's "quantum supremacy" to render all cryptocurrency and military cryptography breakable

Supercomputer breakthrough will allow Big Tech giant to control the world.The Big Tech corporation's new quantum processor took a mere 200 seconds to complete a computing task that would normally require 10,000 years on a supercomputer.The 53-qubit quantum computer can break any 53-bit cryptography in seconds, meaning Bitcoin's 256-bit encryption is vulnerable once Google scales its quantum computing to 256 qubits, something their own scientists say will be possible by 2022.Modern military cryptography will also eventually be rendered obsolete given that the number of qubits in Google's quantum computers will double at least every year, according to the report, growing at "double exponential rate," which is even faster than Moore's Law.At this rate, Google will be able to break all military encryption by 2024, a frightening prospect given the company's close ties to China.The prospects of Google controlling such vast supercomputer power when it applies to the field of surveillance is also chilling."Google will rapidly come to dominate the world, controlling most of the money, all speech, all politics, most science and technology, most of the news media and all public officials," writes Mike Adams."Google will become the dominant controlling authoritarian force on planet Earth, and all humans will be subservient to its demands. Democracy, truth and freedom will be annihilated."Read Adams' full article for a comprehensive breakdown of what this means for the future - a beast system controlled by Google that makes Skynet look amateur in comparison, controls all secrets, communications and financial transactions.Google has come a long way from "don't be evil" to establishing a monopoly over technology that will literally allow them to become the most dominant force on the planet.

https://www.sott.net/article/420870-Googles-quantum-supremacy-to-render-all-cryptocurrency-and-military-cryptography-breakable

2019-09-23 18:17:25+00:00

science and technology

mathematics

tass--2019-11-01--Cryptography Experts of Penta Security Release PALLET Z

tass

Cryptography Experts of Penta Security Release PALLET Z

SEOUL, South Korea, Nov. 1, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Penta Security Systems Inc. has officially launched PALLET Z, the world's first rugged book cold wallet for enterprises, following PALLET X, which launched in March. PALLET Z is a digital asset management solution that utilizes a hardware security module based on PALLET framework, a crypto algorithm blockchain protocol developed by Penta Security. Along with PALLET Card and PALLET Bridge, Penta Security managed to demonstrate its 22-year experience in cybersecurity and cryptography by releasing the safest enterprise-level digital asset management environment. Built upon a common technical foundation, PALLET framework, PALLET Z is designed to protect against the biggest asset management threats, critical for maximizing systematic efficiency in managing digital assets. PALLET Z is best optimized for institutions that are not only in need of the Two-Factor Authentication function for rigorous asset management but also Segregation of Duties (SoD) function that prevents any independent asset abuse and a smooth payment system for transaction transmissions. It allows users to block all external access by separating from all network environments except PALLET Z Card, including blocking access of all untrusted devices and preventing against independent wallet restoration through Secret Sharing function. Together, the features and keys are operated in a trusted execution environment (TEE) that enables 6 multi-functions including multi-signature and multi-party computation. PALLET Z was first introduced at Fintech & Blockchain 2019 Japan this month in Tokyo. At the event, Penta Security seized the opportunity to showcase PALLET products and explained usage through demonstration. "With an increasing number of countries accelerating blockchain development, we're more than thrilled to be introducing PALLET products across the world," said SangGyoo Sim, CTO of Penta Security. "As the top cybersecurity vendor in Asia, we're hoping to initiate the movement towards the DeFi ecosystem with digital asset management, node, and custody services via our PALLET products." Penta Security Systems Inc. is a leader in data, IoT, and blockchain security solutions and services. With 22 years of expertise in powering secured connections, Penta Security is the top cybersecurity vendor in Asia, as recognized by Frost & Sullivan, and APAC market share leader in the WAF industry. Penta Security continues its push for innovation as a pioneer in securing blockchain-based environments. For more information on Penta Security, visit . For partnership inquiries, email .

https://tass.com/press-releases/1086492

Fri, 01 Nov 2019 09:00:01 +0300

science and technology

mathematics

instapundit--2019-07-04--WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS TO BE SELF EVIDENT The Geometry of Liberty

instapundit

“WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS TO BE SELF EVIDENT”: The Geometry of Liberty….

“WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS TO BE SELF EVIDENT”: The Geometry of Liberty . InstaPundit is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com

Charlie Martin

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pjmedia/instapundit/~3/ordvPqPSS3Q/

2019-07-04 20:34:14+00:00

science and technology

mathematics

yahoonews--2019-09-13--A traffic jam around the moon Physicist Michio Kaku on aliens space travel and his search for th

yahoonews

'A traffic jam around the moon': Physicist Michio Kaku on aliens, space travel and his search for the 'God Equation'

BARCELONA, Spain — In 1955, when Michio Kaku was 8 years old growing up in San Jose, Calif., he somberly studied the front page of the evening newspaper. Below the photograph of a book on a desk, he read the caption “This is the unfinished manuscript of the greatest scientist of our time” — Albert Einstein, who died without realizing his dream of unifying all the known physical forces into one theory. Kaku decided then and there to dedicate his life to finishing it. The theoretical physicist and futurist, who teaches at the City University of New York Graduate Center, and collaborates with scientists outside Geneva at CERN, home to the Large Hadron Collider, believes that more than six decades later, physicists are almost there. In Barcelona to speak at the third annual Ufology World Congress, Kaku, whose most recent book is “The Future of Humanity: Terraforming Mars, Interstellar Travel, Immortality, and Our Destiny Beyond Earth,” spoke with Yahoo News on topics from the state of human evolution to the upcoming traffic jam around the moon. The interview has been lightly edited for space and clarity: Yahoo News: Fifty years ago, UFOs were front-page news, but now there’s a stigma when people talk about them seriously, particularly scientists. What’s behind that? Michio Kaku: Traditionally, there’s been the giggle factor. Every time you talk to a physicist or a scientist about UFOs, their eyes kind of roll and they start to giggle. Science is based on things that are testable, reproducible and falsifiable. So when scientists hear stories about UFOs, they’re thinking… You mention that the game is changing. What’s causing that? First, we have military pilots who have given us testable evidence, evidence we can now look at to calculate the parameters. Before, it was “something sailed over the sky!” What does that mean? We now know they travel between Mach 5 and Mach 20, we now know they zigzag such that the centrifugal force would crush any living tissue — so they must be cybernetic or robotic. So there are two possibilities. … They could be hypersonic drones [which are being developed by Russia, the U.S. and China]. The other possibility that now has to be put on the table is that they’re extraterrestrial — which used to be the subject of the giggle factor. But now we’ve located 4,000 exoplanets around other stars in the galaxy. For the first time in history, we have a census of the galaxy. We now know on average every star has a planet going around it — and about one in five has an Earth-like planet. That means there are billions of Earth-like planets orbiting other stars in our backyard, not even other galaxies. That makes the chances seem somewhat higher that life could be out there somewhere. In the case that we do encounter aliens, should we assume they’re more advanced than we are? I’m a physicist. We rank civilizations by energy. So one day when we intercept messages from alien civilizations, we’ll ask, What level are they? A Type 1 civilization is planetary. They control the weather. They can modify volcanoes and earthquakes. Anything planetary, they control. A Type 2 civilization is stellar. They control the star; they control the energy output of the entire star. They colonize nearby solar systems. They are immortal. Nothing known to science can destroy a Type 2 civilization. Meteors and comets can be deflected. If their star becomes unstable, they just leave and move to another star. A Type 3 civilization, which is galactic, they can roam the galaxy. Now, if we are visited by aliens from outer space, they’re possibly Type 2, more than likely Type 3, meaning they are thousands of years ahead of us in technology. Scientists giggle because a starship going between stars isn’t imaginable with our technology. What’s the mistake? The mistake is to assume extraterrestrials are only 100 years more advanced than us. Where does our civilization fit on that scale? If we grow at 3 percent per year in energy consumption … we will be a Type 1 civilization in 100 years, around 2100. What is the internet? The first planetary technology to be developed. By 2100, we’ll have many planetary technologies. We’re seeing the beginning of a planetary language. English and Mandarin Chinese are the two most popular languages on the internet. The European Union is the beginning of a planetary economy. Rock and roll, the beginning of planetary youth culture. Chanel and Gucci, the beginning of planetary high fashion. So we’re seeing the beginning of a planetary civilization, right in our own lifetime. In 100 years, we will have our first starship. That’s already planned — to build a starship within 100 years, but it’s a primitive starship, very clunky, it looks like a Model T and is based on fusion. By the time you’re a Type 2 or Type 3 civilization, you have other ways to travel. So when scientists giggle, it’s because they’re ignorant of the fact that these can be Type 2 or Type 3 civilizations, in which case their technology is far beyond what we can even imagine. That’s why we have to keep our eyes and ears open. In your writings, you talk about how 99.99 percent of all species become extinct and that we need a Plan B or Planet B. The dinosaurs didn’t have a space program, and that’s why they’re not here today. We do have a space program. And people like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. When they were children, they dreamed of going to the stars. Now they have billions of dollars. They can take out their checkbook now and create a moon rocket. We’re going to have a traffic jam around the moon very soon. Starting next year. What do you mean — all those satellites that Musk is planning to launch? All the satellites, and NASA has the SLS [Space Launch System] booster that next year will be test-fired. If all goes well, it will orbit around the moon unmanned and a few years after that humans will board the SLS booster rocket with the Orion space capsule. Elon Musk has a parallel program where he creates his own rockets, the Falcon Heavy, fully capable of going to the moon. And Jeff Bezos has the Armstrong rocket. Then the Chinese have the Long March rocket. So think about that — not one, not two, not three, but four moon rockets. We’re going to have a traffic jam around the moon. And Elon Musk would like to take it one step further and go to Mars. Then again, he has the rocket to prove it. It’s called the BFR — “B” for big, “R” for rocket, “F” for your imagination. It’s been dubbed “The Starship,” and it’s the biggest rocket on the books right now. We need Plan B, an insurance policy. I don’t think we should move our civilization to Mars — that’s too expensive. [But] the cost is going down. It costs $10,000 a pound [to put] anything into orbit around the Earth. To put you on the moon, it’s about $100,000 a pound. To put you on Mars, about $1 million a pound. But the prices are dropping — that’s the key. And now Elon Musk has a reusable rocket. Why’s that important? Because if cars were not reusable, every time you took your car on a ride, you junked your car, cars would be prohibitively expensive. That’s what we do with rockets. We junk them. Once rockets become fully reusable, that’s going to open up space. Beyond scientists, what’s behind the knee-jerk reaction to dismiss any talk of alien life as tinfoil-hat blather? Is it a human distrust of “the unknown” or what? Look at the year 1600, when the monk Bruno was burned alive in Rome for proclaiming there were aliens up there. The Catholic Church was threatened by the idea that you could have a civilization outside of the Catholic Church. Do they have the sacraments, do they have saints, do they have Jesus Christ, do they have the Trinity? It’s better just to burn people rather than confront that. [Johannes] Kepler wrote the first science fiction story, believe it or not. It was called “The Dream” — he had to say it was a dream. He dreamed about going to the moon and visiting moon people. So he wrote the first modern science fiction story, but he had to write it as a dream because he knew what happened to Bruno. So we’ve always been frightened of “the other.” As Arthur C. Clarke said, “Either they’re out there, or they’re not. Either way, the thought is frightening.” If they’re not out there, that means we’re alone in the universe — that’s frightening. And if they’re there, it’s frightening because then we wonder, “Who are they? What do they want?” My colleague Stephen Hawking, the late physicist, said we should be careful announcing our existence. Because look what happened to Montezuma when he met Cortés — he thought Cortés was a god. In fact, Cortés was a pirate and a plunderer of civilizations. He just wanted gold. So what would aliens want? That’s the other question. Do they want gold, minerals, water? Well, we don’t have anything that they would want. Gold is not precious for an extraterrestrial civilization. It’s a rather useless metal as a conductor of electricity. Water? There’s plenty of ice in outer space. We don’t have anything they would want to plunder. So I think for the most part, they’re going to be peaceful. If they’re already Type 2 or Type 3, they’ve had plenty of time to work out sectarian, religious and racial differences. So I think for the most part, they’ll be peaceful. But we should still be a little bit careful. We don’t really know what their opinions are. So tell us about your work in string field theory. You’re trying to finish Einstein’s equation? That’s right. We want to find the “God Equation” — the ultimate theory that explains the entire universe. We want an equation that’s maybe 1 inch long that would allow us to “read the mind of God” — those are Einstein’s words. And how’s it going? We think we have it! It’s called string theory. It’s not in its final form, and it’s not testable yet, [but] we have the Large Hadron Collider outside Geneva. We’re testing the periphery of the theory, but the theory itself is a theory of the universe — so it’s very hard to test. But we physicists are optimistic. We think we will be able to test the theory. And we think it is the final theory. So physics ends at that point. Another era opens up, but one era ends when we finally prove this is the Theory of Everything. What’s your office like? How do you work? It’s like how a musician works. Musicians have melodies playing in their heads. And they look out the window and once in a while they sit down at the piano and pluck out melodies. Then they go back to staring out the window again. Because they’ve memorized all the notes, all the tunes, and they’re just dancing in their head. For us, it’s equations, not melodies. I’ve memorized all the equations of string theory — they’re just floating in my head. And I have to piece them together like a jigsaw puzzle, just like a musician pieces together notes to create a symphony. So it’s close to music. If string theory is correct, it means that all the subatomic particles — the electrons, the protons — are nothing but musical notes on a tiny vibrating rubber band. So that physics is nothing but the harmonies of the vibrating rubber bands. Chemistry is nothing but the melodies you can create from the vibrating strings. The universe is a symphony of strings. And the mind of God is cosmic music resonated through hyperspace. With all your parallel universes, where does death fit into that model? Within a few decades, we will have, first of all, digital immortality — that will come very fast — and eventually, genetic immortality. Digital immortality is when we digitize everything known about you — there are several companies advertising to digitize your relatives, so you can talk to your parents forever. It’s not science fiction anymore. I would love to talk to Einstein. One day somebody will digitize everything known about him — his memoirs, diaries, tapes, interviews, everything. One day we may be digitized and our descendants, even our great-great-grandchildren, will want to talk to us because we have been digitized. So I think when we meet aliens from outer space, they’ll be immortal. Genetic immortality is further down the line, but already we’ve identified many genes, about 60 so far, linked to the aging process. But with what’s called CRISPR technology, we’ll have genetic engineering, and we’ll be able to edit out a lot of the mistakes that cause aging. Aging, by the way, is error — a buildup of error in our DNA — that’s what aging is: the accumulation of error. But we can correct these errors. So genetic engineering will be possible. I think our grandkids might reach the age of 30 and stop. They may like being 30 for a few hundred years. This is coming very fast. When we meet aliens from outer space, I think they’re probably be part genetic, part cybernetic, because the rigors of outer space are pretty severe. I find your books are like a drug that pulls readers into a different world. Why do you write them? Why bother to explain all these things to the masses? When I was 8 years old, something happened which changed my whole outlook on life. They announced that a great scientist had died and in the evening newspaper they put a picture of his desk with an open book. And the caption said, “This is the unfinished manuscript of the greatest scientist of our time.” So I said to myself, what could be so hard that a great man couldn’t finish it? So I went to the library over the years and read up on this strange man and his desk. It turns out his name was Albert Einstein, and that unfinished book was the unified field theory. I said this is better than any adventure story. I wanted to read that book that he couldn’t finish. So today I can read that book — and I see all the dead ends and frustrations he had; today we can solve many of the equations that he couldn’t because we have string theory. So it’s sad that Einstein died in 1955 because the string revolution was several decades later. Do you think humanity is still evolving? With civilization, the smallest unit of history is the decade. Anything smaller and you get random fluctuations, and you go crazy trying to figure out all these blips and bumps. But if you look at it decade by decade, then you see the sweep of technology. You realized our grandparents lived before telephones, radios, the telegraph was just coming in, high speed travel was the horse, and long distance communication was yelling out the window. And people didn’t live very long — for most of human history, life expectancy was about 30 or under. So today, when you look at it decade by decade, you see the enormous progress that was made. Every time I read the newspaper, I see the birth pangs of a Type 1 [planetary] civilization. It’s not going to be easy, there are ups and downs, but that, I think, will be the greatest transition in modern civilization, when we hit Type 1 and have a planetary system — not necessary a planetary government, we’ll have many governments —but a planetary society, planetary thinking, a planetary culture. I think that’s beginning already. In that sense, yes. I read political commentaries and they act like one little blip is the end of the world. And I say, it’s just a blip you’re talking about. Look at the march of history. Download the Yahoo News app to customize your experience.

https://news.yahoo.com/a-traffic-jam-around-the-moon-physicist-michio-kaku-on-aliens-space-travel-and-his-search-for-the-god-equation-090020986.html

2019-09-13 09:00:43+00:00

science and technology

mathematics

lifesitenews--2019-10-18--Bishop Schneider dedicates new book to faithful who feel abandoned by silent and errant shepherds

lifesitenews

Bishop Schneider dedicates new book to faithful who feel abandoned by silent and errant shepherds

Editor’s note: The following address was delivered at the Rome launch of the first book-length interview with Bishop Athanasius Schneider, titled Christus Vincit: Christ’s Triumph Over the Darkness of the Age, held at the Palazzo Cardinal Cesi on Monday, October 14. The book, published by Angelico Press, is now available through Amazon. From different sides I was asked several times to consent to the publishing of a book length interview. In doing so, my first thought was directed to the brave lay faithful, to fathers and mothers of families, to young men and young women, who are living amid the darkness of our unbelieving, hubristic and decidedly anti-Christian age. Unbelief and human hubris towards God and His supernatural Revelation have already penetrated widely into the life of the Church in our time. The brave lay faithful, the “little ones” in the Church, feel abandoned, since the vast majority of the shepherds seek their refuge in silence, while other shepherds for different motives have passed over to the enemies, thereby becoming wolves in sheep’s clothing. While speaking in my book as clearly as possible, I wanted to share something of my experience of the Catholic Faith and life, primarily with those who truly constitute the existential periphery within the Church of our time, that is to say: the “little ones,” who are confused, scandalized, and marginalized by worldly minded churchmen, who unscrupulously sell in the temple of God the white doves, i.e. the simple faithful. One can recall in this regard the following commentary of Origen from the beginning of the third century: To the current situation within the Church one can fully apply the following lucid words of Pope Pius X: The relentless enemy of mankind never sleeps; according to the events of the times, and the occurrence of events, he tactically changes language, but is always ready for the fight. Indeed, the more that error pursued by the truth is condemned to hide, the more one must fear for the perilous ambushes behind which it will not be long that he will re-establish his always deadly artilleries. Therefore, we can never abandon ourselves to a false security without incurring those anathemas launched against the false prophets who announced peace where peace was not and sang the victory when everything called us to fight. It is therefore necessary in all times, and especially in this one, when the great conspiracy is hatched directly against our Lord Jesus Christ, against his supernatural and revealed religion, against the people, whose false teachers say evil is good and good is evil, calling darkness light and light darkness, vocantes tenebras lucem et lucem tenebras, seducing many minds that bend to every wind of doctrine. That is why we believe the time to speak, the tempus loquendi,has come (Archivio Segreto Vaticano, Epistolae ad principes. Positiones et minutae157 (1907-08), fascicolo 35a). In modern times we possess an admirable example of the fidelity to one’s baptismal vows in Blessed Karl of Austria, the last Emperor of Austria. In the extremely difficult times of the First World War and occupying the highest political and social position, he nevertheless denied any compromise which would undermine the validity of the commandments of God in public life and which would dethrone Jesus Christ from His influence over social life. Blessed Karl categorically refused any collaboration with sin and with godless powers. During his Swiss exile, more than once high-level exponents of Freemasonry had offered Emperor Karl to work for the recovery of the throne under the condition of a freer marriage legislation, a freer school education and the admission of Freemasonry in Austria. The response of the Blessed Karl to this offer was truly exemplary. He answered: “What I have received from God, I cannot accept from the hand of the devil” (Summ. test. p. 145, § 221, Anna Francesca Lamich). What a glaring contrast we see between such a heroic testimony of fidelity to his baptismal vows on the part of a lay faithful, in this case of Blessed Emperor Karl of Austria, and those churchmen who, in our day, actively collaborate with the promotion of sin and with anti-Christian and freemasonic powers. Such churchmen betray not only their baptismal vows, but even more the vows of their episcopal ordination. Indeed, many influential churchmen in our days engage in promoting the equality of all religions and the substitution of active evangelization with interreligious dialogue. In this way they not only betray Christ, but commit a great sin against the love for their neighbor. Those, however, who are bringing to the people of our dark age the light of Christ’s truths and the sweetness of His kingdom, are, in fact, the greatest benefactors of humankind. In that sense we may understand and recall also the following prophetical words of Pope Pius XII: “Precisely because of this apocalyptic foresight of disaster, imminent and remote, We feel We have a duty to raise with still greater insistence the eyes and hearts of those in whom there yet remains good will to the One from Whom alone comes the salvation of the world — to One Whose almighty and merciful Hand can alone calm this tempest — to the One Whose truth and Whose love can enlighten the intellects and inflame the hearts of so great a section of mankind plunged in error, selfishness, strife and struggle, so as to give it a new orientation in the spirit of the Kingship of Christ” (Encyclical Summi Pontificatus, 24). Christus vincit! Thank you for your attention!

https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/bishop-schneider-dedicates-new-book-to-faithful-who-feel-abandoned-by-silent-and-errant-shepherds

2019-10-18T18:05:00+00:00

religion and belief

religious text

lifesitenews--2019-11-05--EXCLUSIVE: LifeSiteNews translates Final Document of the Synod on the Amazon into English

lifesitenews

EXCLUSIVE: LifeSiteNews translates Final Document of the Synod on the Amazon into English

VATICAN CITY, November 5, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) ― LifeSiteNews has translated the Final Document of the Amazon Synod into English for the benefit of English-speaking Catholics, as the document has been officially released by the Vatican only in Spanish, although an “unofficial” working translation has been given to the press — one that omits certain controversial passages in the document. The full translation is found below, and also here in PDF format. LifeSite’s Spanish-speaking reporters, Martin Barillas and Matthew Cullinan Hoffman, prepared this English translation so that Catholics who do not speak Spanish will have access to a document that may have wide-reaching effects on the universal Church. As readers will see, the Final Document was largely a toned-down version of many of the same elements that led cardinals and bishops to denounce the synod preparatory documents for undermining the Catholic faith. Essential matters of Christianity, such as supernatural grace, the truths of divine revelation, freedom from idolatry and superstition, the importance of traditional family values and sexual morality, salvation from sin, and eternal life with God, are mentioned only briefly and in passing, or entirely omitted. They are largely replaced with an agenda that conforms closely to eco-socialist and cultural diversity ideologies, displacing distinctly Christian values with an alternative set of concerns. The words “Trinity,” “heaven,” and “hell” never appear, and “sin” only a handful of times, never with specificity except to mention “ecological sin” in paragraph 82. “Salvation” is mentioned four times but never with regard to sin. The name “Christ” appears frequently though, a total of 24 times. The document repeatedly exalts indigenous cultures and traditions, characterizing them in almost entirely positive terms without mentioning that they are largely inspired by paganism and a pantheistic worship of nature. The Synod Fathers mention the deep moral collapse of the region without any reference to causes within indigenous and local cultures. Instead, the document blames the existence of vices in the area on capitalist economic development and urbanization [10]. It also encourages the creation of new religious rites inspired by the ritual practices and worldview of local cultures [for example 52, 116-119], largely ignoring their pagan foundation, and only briefly mentioning that such traditions need to be “purified” [52]. No mention is made of pedophilia, incest, and burying deformed children alive, practices that traditionally have been widespread among indingeous groups, nor the rampant forms of superstition and idolatry that characterize their traditional cultures. Perhaps most alarming for defenders of life and family is the synod’s neutral-sounding description of “new family structures” that have emerged in the region, explicitly mentioning an increase in divorce, the loss of institutional marriage, and the rise of single-parent families with no expression of concern, or disapproval: “Thus, we find new family structures: single-parent families under the responsibility of women, an increase in separated families, consensual unions and reunited families, a decrease in institutional marriages. The city is an explosion of life because ‘God lives in the city’ (DAp 514)” [34]. An almost absolute cultural relativism is promoted with the condemnation of any attempt to “impose” one way of life or even one kind of religion over another, and claims that Amazonian cultures are “equal” to others: “We are all invited to approach Amazonian peoples as an equal to an equal … Colonialism is the imposition of certain ways of living of some peoples over others, economically, culturally, or religiously. We reject an evangelization of a colonialist style” [55]. Nature itself is treated as a person, the subject of rights [74, 84], although man is seen as the “center” of the economy [73], and repeated mention is made of “mother earth” [10, 25, 101]. The expression is taken from a highly metaphorical canticle of praise to God by St. Francis of Assisi, but also dovetails with pagan conceptions of the earth as a mother goddess, a notion to which the Synod Fathers make an oblique reference [101]. The Virgin Mary is only mentioned in an invocation at the end of the document, but is called “Mother of the Amazon” [120]. The document mentions Pentecostal and Evangelical Protestant sects in the region and even offers a brief criticism of them as emotionalistic and “closed off,” but fails to note that they have replaced Catholicism as the majority religion in the Amazon, and encourages dialogue and even cooperation with such groups [24]. “Evangelization” is mentioned many times, but with little specificity regarding is meaning, and in the context of a multiculturalist agenda: “The evangelization that we propose today for [the] Amazon is the inculturated proclamation that generates processes of interculturality: processes that promote the life of the Church with an identity and an Amazonian face” [55]. The document almost entirely attributes the region’s vices to modern economic development, which is characterized in mostly negative terms, contrasted with the virtuous pre-civilized lifestyles of the indigenous. It characterizes economic activities like logging and mining as “extractivism” [27, 67], and claims that the region is endangered by anthropocentric climate change. Such activities are to be opposed with the alternative of nature-friendly primitivism in the region. The document asks that governments cease to consider the Amazon as their “inexhaustible pantry” and adopt more ecologically friendly economic policies [71]. The right to life “from conception to death” is mentioned once, but never abortion, euthanasia, and other traditional attacks on the right to life, which is instead explained as the right of the indigenous “to have their own and tranquil life, respecting the values ​​of their traditions …” [80]. As expected, the Final Document seems to open the way to a married priesthood, women in clerical “orders,” and a general assault on the patriarchal structure of the Church, encouraging women to take leadership positions. In a long section following the subtitle “New paths for ecclesial ministry” [93-133], readers will find proposals for new lay ministries [93-96], official ministries for women [102], encouragement for the work of the “Study Commission on the Women’s Diaconate” [103], a “broader understanding” of the permanent diaconate [104], and the admittance to the priesthood of married men already deacons [111]. Regarding this last proposal, the author of the document wrote: “With regard to this, some wished that the topic be addressed in a universal way,” apparently referring to ordination of married men outside of the Amazon region. The document admits the need for “missionaries,” to the region but tends to confine their activities to matters of social justice. Every congregation of professed religious is invited to begin a missionary endeavor in one of the Amazonian countries [40]. It also encourages indigenous missionaries, writing, “Amazonia must also be evangelized by Amazonians” [26], and even states a “preferential option for indigenous peoples” [27]. The Synod Fathers place great emphasis on Pope Francis’ agenda of a decentralized “synodal” Church that allows each region to make its own rules and even doctrine. The words “synodal” and “synodality” occur a whopping 41 times. There are also proposals for a “synodal structure” for the Amazon [112-115], which would allow it to develop its own regional form of Catholicism and incorporate its native traditions into its religious practices. A definition of “ecological sins” as “an action or omission against God... others, the community and the environment” is proposed, as are ecological ministries at the parish level [82]. A global fund to repair the world’s “ecological debt” to the Amazon is proposed, as are “responsible habits that respect and value the peoples of Amazonia, their traditions and wisdom, protecting the land and changing our culture of excessive consumption, the production of solid waste, stimulating reuse and recycling” as well as reducing our dependence on fossil fuels, plastics, meat, and fish. The synod makes reference to a large number of other social and economic issues in the region, including migration, youth unemployment and suicide rates, drug addiction, and human trafficking. These concerns were added to the more timid and subdued expression of the themes promoted by the “liberation theologians” who created the preparatory documents, to produce a document that may be used in the future to open the way to more novelty and innovation in the Catholic Church, while retaining a superficial expression of some of the Church’s more traditional forms of doctrine. SYNOD OF BISHOPS SPECIAL ASSEMBLY FOR THE PAN-AMAZONIAN REGION AMAZONIA: NEW WAYS FOR THE CHURCH AND FOR A HOLISTIC ECOLOGY FINAL DOCUMENT English translation from the original Spanish by Martin Barillas and Matthew Cullinan Hoffman, for LifeSiteNews Note: The Spanish original can be found here. The final vote tally on each paragraph can be found here. 1. “And he who sat on the throne said: “Look, I make all things new” And he said: “Write: these words are faithful and true!” (Rev. 21.5) After a long synodal path of listening to the People of God in the Church of the Amazon, which Pope Francis inaugurated during his visit to the Amazon, January 19, 2018, the Synod was held in Rome in a 21-day fraternal meeting in October 2019. The climate was an open, free, and respectful exchange on the part of the pastoral bishops of the Amazon region, male and female missionaries, laymen and laywomen, and representatives of the indigenous peoples of the Amazon. We were witnesses participating in an ecclesial event marked by the urgency of the issue that claims to open new paths for the Church in the region. Serious work was shared in an environment marked by the conviction of hearing the voice of the Spirit present. The Synod was held in a fraternal and prayerful environment. Several times the interventions were accompanied by applause, singing, and all with deep contemplative silences. Outside the synodal hall, there was a notable presence of people coming from the Amazonian world who organized acts of support with different activities, processions, such as the opening with songs and dances accompanying the Holy Father from Peter's tomb to the synodal classroom. It impacted the Via Crucis of the martyrs of the Amazon, in addition to the massive presence of the international media. 2. All participants have expressed an acute awareness of the dramatic situation of destruction affecting the Amazon. This means the disappearance of the region and its inhabitants, especially indigenous peoples. The Amazon rainforest is a "biological heart" for the increasingly threatened land. It is in an unbridled race to death. It requires radical changes with great urgency, a new direction that can save it. It is scientifically proven that the disappearance of the Amazonian biome will have a catastrophic impact for the whole planet! 3. The synodal process of the People of God in the preparatory stage involved the whole Church in the region: the Bishops, missionaries and missionaries, members of Churches of other Christian confessions, lay men and women, and many representatives of the indigenous peoples, regarding the consultation document that inspired the Instrumentum Laboris. It stresses the importance of listening to the voice of the Amazon, moved by the greater breath of the Holy Spirit in the cry of the wounded land and its inhabitants. The active participation of more than 87,000 people, which came from different cities and cultures, as well as numerous groups from other ecclesial sectors, was registered, as well as the contributions of academics and civil society organizations in specific core issues. 4. The celebration of the Synod highlighted the integration of the voice of Amazon with the voice and opinion of the participating pastors. It was a new listening experience to discern the voice of the Spirit that leads the Church to new paths of presence, evangelization and intercultural dialogue in Amazonia. The call for the Church to be an ally of the Amazon region, raised in the preparatory process, was strongly affirmed. The celebration ends with great joy and the hope of embracing and practicing the new paradigm of integral ecology, the care of the "common home," and the defense of the Amazon. THE AMAZON: FROM LISTENING TO INTEGRAL CONVERSION “Then he showed me a river of water of life, shining like crystal, that comes out of the throne of God and the Lamb ”(Rev. 22:1). 5. "Christ points to the Amazon" (Paul VI, attributed). He frees everyone from sin and grants the dignity of the Sons of God. Listening to the Amazon, in the spirit of the disciple and in the light of the Word of God and Tradition, impels us to a profound conversion of our schemes and structures to Christ and his Gospel. The voice and song of the Amazon as a message of life 6. In the Amazon, life is inserted, linked, and integrated to the region that, as a vital and nourishing physical space, is the possibility, sustenance and limit of life. The Amazon, also called the Pan-Amazon region [Panamazonía], is an extensive territory with an estimated population of 33,600,000 inhabitants, of which between 2 and 2.5 million are indigenous. This space, made up of the Amazon River basin and all its tributaries, covers 9 countries: Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana. The Amazonian region is essential for the distribution of rainfall in the regions of South America and contributes to large air movements around the planet. At present, it is the second most vulnerable area in the world in relation to climate change due to the direct action of man. 7. The water and land of this region nourish and sustain nature, life and cultures of hundreds of indigenous communities, peasants, people of African descent, mestizos, settlers, river dwellers, and inhabitants of urban areas. Water, the source of life, has a rich symbolic meaning. In the Amazonian region, the water cycle is the connecting axis. It connects ecosystems, cultures and regional development. 8. In the Amazon region, there is a multiethnic and multicultural reality. The different peoples knew how to adapt to the region. Within each culture, they have built and rebuilt their worldview, their signs and their meanings, and the vision of their future. In indigenous cultures and peoples, ancient practices and mythical explanations coexist with modern technologies and challenges. The faces that inhabit Amazonia are quite varied. In addition to the original peoples, there is a great racial blending born of encounter and disagreements among the different peoples. 9. The search of Amazonian indigenous peoples for life in abundance is materialized in what they call "good living" [buen vivir], and which is fully realized in the Beatitudes. It is about living in harmony with oneself, with nature, with human beings, and with the Supreme Being, since there is an intercommunion throughout the entire cosmos, where there is nothing that excludes or is excluded, and where we can establish a plan of a full life for everyone. Such an understanding of life is characterized by the connectivity and harmony of relationships between water, territory and nature, community life and culture, God and the various spiritual forces. For them, "good living" [buen vivir] is to understand the centrality of the transcendent relational character of human beings and of creation, and requires “good doing.” This integral way is expressed in its own way of organizing on the part of the family and the community, embracing a responsible use of all the goods of creation. Indigenous peoples aspire to achieve better living conditions, especially in health and education, to enjoy sustainable development led and determined by themselves, one that maintains harmony with their traditional ways of life, dialoguing between the wisdom and technology of their ancestors and that which they have newly acquired. The cry of the earth and the cry of the poor 10. But the Amazon today is a wounded and deformed beauty, a place of pain and violence. The attacks on nature have negative consequences for the life of peoples. This unique socio-environmental crisis was reflected in the pre-synodal hearings that pointed out the following threats to life: appropriation and privatization of natural assets, such as water itself; legal logging concessions and the entry of illegal loggers; predatory hunting and fishing; non-sustainable mega-projects (hydroelectric, forest concessions, massive logging, single-crop farming, roads, waterways, railways, and mining and oil projects); pollution caused by the extractive industry and city dumps and, above all, climate change. They are real threats that have serious social consequences associated with them: diseases derived from pollution, drug trafficking, illegal armed groups, alcoholism, violence against women, sexual exploitation, trafficking and trafficking in persons, the sale of organs, sex tourism, the loss of the original culture and identity (language, spiritual practices, and customs), the criminalization and murder of leaders and defenders of the territory. Behind all this are the economic and political interests of the dominant sectors, with the complicity of some rulers and some indigenous authorities. The victims are the most vulnerable sectors: children, youth, women and sister mother earth. 11. The scientific community, for its part, warns of the risks of deforestation, which to date is close to almost 17% of the total Amazon forest, and that threatens the survival of the entire ecosystem, endangering biodiversity and changing the life cycle of water for the survival of the tropical forest. In addition, the Amazon also plays a critical role as a buffer against climate change and provides invaluable and fundamental life support systems related to air, water, soils, forests, and biomass. At the same time, experts remember that, using advanced science and technologies for an innovative bio-economy of standing forests and flowing rivers, it is possible to help save the tropical forest, protect Amazonian ecosystems and indigenous and traditional peoples, and at the same time provide sustainable economic activities. 12. One phenomenon to address is migration. In the Amazonian region, three simultaneous migration processes are occurring. First, the cases of mobility of indigenous groups in territories in which they traditionally circulate, separated by national and international borders. Secondly, the forced displacement of indigenous, peasant and river-dwelling peoples expelled from their territories, and whose final destination is usually the poorest and worst urbanized areas of the cities. Third, interregional forced migration and the phenomenon of refugees, who are forced to leave their countries (among others, Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba) and must cross Amazonia as a migratory corridor. 13. The displacement of indigenous groups expelled from their territories or attracted by the false sheen of urban culture, represents a unique set of migratory movements in Amazonia. The cases in which the mobility of these groups occurs in territories of traditional indigenous circulation, separated by national and international borders, requires cross-border pastoral care capable of understanding the right to free movement of these peoples. Human mobility in the Amazon reveals the face of Jesus Christ impoverished and hungry (cf. Mt. 25:,35), expelled and homeless (cf. Lk. 3:1-3), and also in the feminization of migration that makes thousands of women vulnerable to human trafficking, one of the worst forms of violence against women and one of the most perverse violations of human rights. Trafficking in people linked to migration requires permanent pastoral work in networks. 14. The life of Amazonian communities not yet affected by the influence of Western civilization is reflected in the beliefs and rituals about the actions of the spirits of divinity, named in innumerable ways, with and in the territory, with and in relationship with nature (LS 16, 91, 117, 138, 240). Let us recognize that for thousands of years they have taken care of their land, their water and their forests, and have managed to preserve them until today so that humanity can benefit from the enjoyment of the free gifts of God's creation. The new paths of evangelization must be constructed in dialogue with this fundamental knowledge in which they manifest seeds of the Word. The Church in the Amazon Region 15. The Church, in its process of listening to the cry of the region and the cry of the people, has to remember its past. Evangelization in Latin America was a gift of Providence that calls everyone to salvation in Christ. Despite the military, political and cultural colonization, and beyond the greed and ambition of the colonizers, there were many missionaries who gave their lives to transmit the Gospel. The missionary sense not only inspired the formation of Christian communities, but also legislation such as the Laws of the Indies, which protected the dignity of the indigenous people against the abuses of their peoples and territories. Such abuses caused injuries in the communities and overshadowed the message of the Good News. Frequently the announcement of Christ was made in collusion with the powers that exploited the resources and oppressed the peoples. At the present time, the Church has the historic opportunity to differentiate itself from the new colonizing powers by listening to the Amazonian peoples to be able to exercise their prophetic activity with transparency. In addition, the socio-environmental crisis opens up new opportunities to present Christ in all his liberating and humanizing potential. 16. One of the most glorious pages of the Amazon has been written by the martyrs. The participation of the followers of Jesus in his passion, death, and glorious resurrection has accompanied the life of the Church to this day, especially in the moments and places in which she, because of the Gospel of Jesus, lives in the midst of a sharp contradiction, as happens today with those who fight courageously in favor of an integral ecology in the Amazon. This Synod recognizes with admiration those who fight, with great risk of their own lives, to defend the existence of this territory. 17. Listening to the clamor of the land and the cry of the poor and the people of the Amazon with whom we walk calls us to a true integral conversion, with a simple and sober life, all fueled by a mystical spirituality in the style of Saint Francis of Assisi, an example of integral conversion lived with Christian happiness and joy (cf. LS 20-12). A prayerful reading of the Word of God will help us understand more deeply and discover the groans of the Spirit, and will encourage us in the commitment to care for the "common home." 18. As a Church of missionary disciples, we beg the grace of that conversion which “implies letting out all the consequences of the encounter with Jesus Christ in relations with the world around them” (LS 217); a personal and community conversion that commits us to harmoniously relate to the creative work of God, which is the "common home"; a conversion that promotes the creation of structures in harmony with the care of creation; a pastoral conversion based on synodality, which recognizes the interaction of all of creation; a conversion that leads us to be an outgoing Church that enters the heart of all Amazonian peoples. 19. Thus, it will be possible to carry out the only conversion to the living Gospel, which is Jesus Christ, in interconnected dimensions to promote an outreach to the existential, social and geographical peripheries of the Amazon. These dimensions are: pastoral, cultural, ecological, and synodal, which are developed in the next four chapters. “..unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (Jn. 3:5) 20. An outgoing missionary Church calls us to a pastoral conversion. For the Amazon region this movement means also “navigating” our rivers, our lakes, and among our people. Water unites and separates us in Amazonia. Our pastoral conversion will be Samarian, in dialogue, and accompanying people with real faces of indigenous, peasants, descendants of Africans, migrants, young people, and city residents. All of this will require a spirituality of listening and proclamation. This is how we will proceed and navigate in this chapter. 21. The Church is missionary by its nature and has its origin the “fount of God’s love.” The missionary dynamism that springs from God’s love radiates, expands, overflows, and is diffused throughout the Universe. “We are inserted by baptism into the dynamic of love by the encounter with Jesus that gives a new horizon to life” (DAp 12). This overflow impels the Church towards a pastoral conversion and transforms us into living communities that work as teams and networks in the service of evangelization. Understood this way, mission is not something optional, a Church activity among others, but its very nature. The Church is mission! “Missionary action is the paradigm of all work in the Church” (EG 15). Being a missionary disciple is something more than completing tasks and making things. It is found in the order of being. “Jesus tells us, His disciples, that our mission in the world must not be static, but is itinerant. A Christian is itinerant.” (Francis, Angelus, 30/06/2019). 22. We want to be an Amazonian, Samaritan Church, embodied in the way in which the Son of God became incarnate: "He took our infirmities, and bore our diseases” (Mt 8,17b). He who became poor to enrich us with his poverty (2 Cor 8.9), through his Spirit, exhorts the missionary disciples of today to reach out to everyone, especially the original peoples, the poor, those excluded from the society, and others. We also want a Magdalene Church, which feels loved and reconciled, that announces with joy and conviction Christ crucified and risen. A Marian Church that brings forth children in the faith and educates them with love and patience, while also learning from the wealth of the people. We want to be a servant Church: kerygmatic, educating, inculturated in the midst of the towns we serve. b. The Church in ecumenical, interreligious, and cultural dialogue 23. The multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-religious reality of Amazonia demands an attitude of open dialogue, recognizing the multiplicity of interlocutors: indigenous, river-dwellers, peasants and afro-descendants, other Christian churches and religious denominations, organizations in civil society, popular social movements, government: in sum, all people of good will who seek to defend life, the integrity of creation, peace, and common good. 24. In the Amazon, “relations between Catholics and pentecostals, charismatics, and evangelicals are not easy. The sudden appearance of new communities, linked to the personality of certain preachers, contrasts strongly with the principles and ecclesiastical principles of historic Churches and may hide the danger of being dragged along by emotional waves of the moment or of closing off the experience of the faith in protected and tranquil environments. The fact that not a few Catholics feel attracted by these communities is a cause of friction, but can become on our part a reason for self-examination and pastoral renewal” (Pope Francis, 28.9.2019). Ecumenical, interreligious, and intercultural dialogues must be taken up as an irrevocable way towards evangelization in the Amazon (cf. DAp 227). The Amazon is an amalgam of creeds, the majority of which are Christian. In view of this reality, effective means of communication open up to us: “Expressing good sentiments is not enough. Effective gestures that penetrate spirits and shake up consciences are necessary, pushing each person towards internal conversion, which is the basis of all progress on the road of ecumenism” (Benedict XVI, Message to the cardinals at the Sistine Chapel, 20/04/2005). The centrality of the Word of God in the life of our communities is a factor for union and dialogue. In the context of the Word, there are many actions that can be taken in common: translations of the Bible to local languages, joint editions, dissemination and distribution of the Bible, meetings of theologians, and meetings between male and female Catholic theologians and theologians of other confessions. 25. In Amazonia, interreligious dialogue takes place especially with indigenous religions and religions of Afro-descendants. These traditions deserve to be known, understood in their own expressions and in their relationship with the forest and mother earth. Together with them, Christians, based on their faith in the Word of God, engage in dialogue, sharing their lives, their worries, their struggles, their experiences of God, to deepen each other's faith and act together in defense of the “common home.” Therefore, the churches of Amazonia should develop initiatives of encounter, study, and dialogue with the followers of these religions. Sincere and respectful dialogue is the bridge towards the construction of "good living" [buen vivir]. In the exchange of gifts, the Spirit leads more and more towards truth and good (cf. EG 250). A missionary Church that serves and accompanies the Amazonian peoples 26. This Synod wants to be a strong call to all the baptized of Amazonia to be missionary disciples. The sending of the mission is inherent in baptism and is for all the baptized. Through it, we all receive the same dignity of being sons and daughters of God, and none can be excluded from the mission of Jesus to his disciples. "Go all over the world and proclaim the Good News to all creation" (Mk 16,15). Hence, we believe it is necessary to give a greater missionary stress to native vocations; Amazonia must also be evangelized by Amazonians. a. A Church with an indigenous, peasant and Afro-descendant face 27. It is urgent to give indigenous pastoral care its specific place in the Church. We start from diverse realities and diverse cultures to define, elaborate and adopt pastoral actions, which allow us to develop an evangelizing proposal among the indigenous communities, placing ourselves within the framework of an indigenous pastoral care and land. The pastoral care of indigenous peoples has its own characteristics. Colonizations motivated by extractivism throughout history, with the different migratory currents, put them in a situation of high vulnerability. In this context, as a Church, it is still necessary to create or maintain a preferential option for indigenous peoples, by virtue of which diocesan indigenous pastoral organizations must be established and consolidated with a renewed missionary action that listens, dialogues, is embodied and has a permanent presence. The preferential option for indigenous peoples, with their cultures, identities and stories, requires us to aspire to an indigenous Church with our own priests and ministers always united and in total communion with the Catholic Church. 28. In recognizing the importance of the attention that the Church is called to give in the Amazon to the phenomenon of urbanization and the problems and perspectives related to it, a reference to the rural world as a whole and to rural pastoral care in particular is necessary. From the pastoral point of view, the Church must respond to the phenomenon of the depopulation of the countryside, with all the consequences that result from it (loss of identity, prevailing secularism, exploitation of rural work, family disintegration, etc.). 29. Given its increase and volume, the phenomenon of migration has now become an unprecedented political, social, and ecclesial challenge (cf. DA, 517, a). Given that, many ecclesial communities have received migrants with great generosity, remembering that: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (Mt. 25:35). The forced displacement of indigenous, peasant, Afro-descendant, and riverine families, expelled from their territories due to pressure on them or asphyxiation in the absence of opportunities, requires pastoral work on the periphery of urban centers. For this, it will be necessary to create missionary teams for their accompaniment, coordinating the conditions of reception with the parishes and other ecclesial and extra-ecclesial institutions, offering inculturated liturgies and in the languages ​​of the migrants; promoting spaces of cultural exchanges, favoring the integration in the community and in the city and motivating them to activism in this work. 30. Among the various faces of Pan-Amazonian realities, that of young people present throughout the region stands out. They are young with faces and indigenous identities, Afro-descendants, river-dwellers, extractivists, migrants, refugees, among others. Young residents of rural and urban areas, who daily dream and seek better living conditions, with a deep desire to have a better life. Young students, workers and with an important presence and participation in various social and ecclesial spaces. Among the Amazonian youth, sad realities such as: poverty, violence, diseases, child prostitution, sexual exploitation, drug use and trafficking, early pregnancy, unemployment, depression, human-trafficking, new forms of slavery, organ trafficking, difficulties in accessing education, health and social assistance. Unfortunately, in recent years, there has been a significant increase in suicide among young people, as well as the growth of the young people in prison and crimes between and against young people, especially Afro-descendants and those on the margins. They, living in the huge region of the Amazon, have the same dreams and desires as other young people in this world: to be taken into consideration, respected, to have opportunities for study, work, for a future of hope. But they are experiencing an intense crisis of values, or a transition to other modes of conceiving reality, where ethical elements are changing, even for young indigenous people. The Church's job is to accompany them to deal with any situation that destroys their identity or damages their self-esteem. 31. Young people are also especially present in the migratory contexts of the region. Special attention is needed towards the reality of young people in urban centers. More and more cities are receiving all the ethnic groups, peoples, and problems of the Amazon. The rural Amazon is becoming depopulated. Cities face huge problems of juvenile delinquency, lack of work, ethnic struggles and social injustices. Here, in particular, the Church is called to be a prophetic presence among young people, offering them adequate accompaniment and appropriate education. 32. In communion with the reality for Amazonian youth, the Church proclaims the Good News of Jesus to young people, discernment, and vocational accompaniment, the place of appreciation for local culture and identity, youth leadership, the promotion of the rights of youth, the strengthening of creative, innovative and differentiated spaces of evangelization through a renewed and bold youth ministry. A pastoral care that is always in process, centered on Jesus Christ and his project, dialogical and integral, committed to all existing youth realities in the region. Indigenous young people have enormous potential and actively participate in their communities and organizations, contributing as leaders and activists in defense of rights, especially regarding territory, health, and education. On the other hand, they are the main victims of insecurity over indigenous lands and the absence of specific and quality public policies. The spread of alcohol and drugs often reaches indigenous communities, seriously damaging young people and preventing them from living in freedom to build their dreams and actively participate in the community. 33. The prominence of young people appears clearly in the documents of the Synod on Young People (160, 46) in the papal exhortation Christus Vivit (170) and in the Encyclical Laudato Si (209). Young people want to be protagonists and the Amazonian Church wants to recognize their space. She wants to be a listening partner recognizing young people as a theological place, as "prophets of hope," committed to dialogue, ecologically sensitive and attentive to the "common home." A Church that welcomes and walks with young people, especially in the peripheries. Faced with this, three emergencies arise: promoting new forms of evangelization through social media (Francis, Christus Vivit 86); helping the young indigenous to achieve a healthy interculturality; helping them to cope with the crisis of anti-values that destroys their self-esteem and makes them lose their identity. d. A Church that travels down new paths in the urban pastorate 34. The strong tendency of humanity to concentrate in cities, migrating from the smallest to the largest, also occurs in the Amazon. The accelerated growth of the Amazonian metropolis is accompanied by the creation of urban peripheries. At the same time, lifestyles, forms of coexistence, languages ​​and values ​​configured by the metropolis are transmitted and are increasingly being implemented both in indigenous communities and in the rest of the rural world. The family in the city is a place of synthesis between traditional and modern culture. However, families often suffer from poverty, poor housing, lack of work, increased consumption of drugs and alcohol, discrimination and child suicide. In addition, in family life there is a lack of dialogue between generations: traditions and language are lost. Families also face new health problems, which require adequate education in maternity. The current rapid changes affect the Amazonian family. Thus, we find new family structures: single-parent families under the responsibility of women, an increase in separated families, consensual unions and reunited families, a decrease in institutional marriages. The city is an explosion of life because "God lives in the city" (DAp 514). In it there are anxieties and searches for the meaning of life, conflicts, but also solidarity, fraternity, desire for goodness, truth and justice"(cf. EG 71-75). Evangelizing the city or urban culture means “to achieve and, so to speak, modify, by force of the Gospel, criteria of judgment, values ​​that matter, centers of interest, lines of thought, sources of inspiration and models of human life, which are presented in contrast to the Word of God and the plan of salvation "(EN 19). 35. The rights of all people in the city should be defended. The right to the city that is demanded can be defined as the equitable enjoyment of cities within the principles of sustainability, democracy, and social justice. However, it will also be necessary to influence public policies and promote initiatives that improve the quality of life in the rural world, thus preventing its uncontrolled displacement. 36. The grassroots ecclesial communities have been and are a gift from God to the local Churches of the Amazon. However, it is necessary to recognize that, over time, some ecclesial communities have settled, weakened, or even disappeared. But the vast majority continue to persevere and they are the pastoral foundation of many parishes. Today the great dangers of ecclesial communities come mainly from secularism, individualism, lack of social dimension, and lack of missionary activity. Therefore, it is necessary that pastors encourage in each and every one of the faithful a missionary discipleship. The ecclesial community must be present in the public policy participation spaces where actions are articulated to revitalize culture, coexistence, leisure and celebration. We must fight so that the “slums” [favelas] and “shanty towns” [villas miseria] have fundamental basic rights secured: water, energy, housing, and the promotion of integral ecological citizenship, and also that there be instituted a ministry of welcoming in the urban communities of the Amazon for fraternal solidarity with migrants, refugees, homeless people and people who have abandoned rural areas. 37. Special attention should be paid to the reality of indigenous people in urban centers because they are the most exposed to the enormous problems of juvenile delinquency, lack of work, ethnic struggles, and social injustices. It is one of the biggest challenges of today: more and more cities are the destinations for all ethnic groups and peoples of the Amazon. An indigenous pastoral ministry of the city that meets this specific reality will have to be articulated. 38. Pastoral action is based on a spirituality that is based on listening to the Word of God and the cry of His people, so as to then be able to announce the good news with a prophetic spirit. We recognize that the Church that hears the call of the Spirit in the cry of the Amazon can make its own the joys and hopes, the sorrows and anxieties of all, but especially of the poorest (cf. GS 1), who are favorite daughters and sons of God. We discover that the mighty waters of the Spirit, similar to those of the Amazon River, which periodically overflow, lead us to that overabundant life that God offers us to share in the proclamation [anuncio]. 39. Traveling missionary teams in the Amazon are weaving and making community along the way, helping to strengthen ecclesial synodality. They can bring together several charisms, institutions and congregations, lay men and women, religious men and women, priests. Gather together to go where one cannot go alone. The travels of missionaries who leave their headquarters and spend time visiting one community at a time and celebrating sacraments give rise to what is called the “pastorate of visitation.” It is a type of pastoral method that responds to the current conditions and possibilities of our churches. Thanks to these methods, and by the action of the Holy Spirit, these communities have also developed a rich ministeriality that is a reason for thanksgiving. 40. We propose an itinerant network that would bring together the different efforts of the teams that accompany and energize the life and faith of the communities in the Amazon. The paths of political influence for the transformation of reality must be discerned by pastors and laity. With a view towards moving from pastoral visits to a more permanent presence, congregations and / or provinces of religious of the world, who are not yet involved in missions, are invited to establish at least one missionary front in any of the Amazonian countries. "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (Jn 1,14) 41. Latin America has immense biodiversity and great cultural diversity. The Amazon is a land of forests and water within it, of moors and wetlands, savannas and mountain ranges, but above all a land of countless villages, many of them thousands of years old, ancestral inhabitants of the region, peoples of ancient perfume that continue to aromatize the continent against all despair. Our conversion must also be cultural, incline us towards the other, to learn from the other. Be present, respect and recognize their values, live and practice inculturation and interculturality in our proclamation of the Good News. Expressing and living the faith in the Amazon is always a challenge. It is embodied not only in pastoral care but in concrete actions for others: in health care, education, in solidarity and support for the most vulnerable. We would like to share all of this in this section. The face of the Church in the peoples of the Amazon 42. In the territories of the Amazon there is a multicultural reality that requires a vision that is all inclusive and uses expressions that allow identifying and linking all groups and reflect identities that are recognized, respected and promoted both in the Church and society, which must find in the Amazonian peoples a valid interlocutor for dialogue and meeting. Puebla [Third General Conference of the Latin American Episcopate] speaks of the faces that inhabit Latin America and notes that, in the original peoples, there is a mixing [mestizaje] that has increased and continues to increase with the encounters and disagreements between the different cultures that are part of the continent. This face, which also belongs to the Amazonian Church, is a face embodied in its region, which evangelizes and opens paths for people to feel accompanied in different processes of evangelical life. Also, there is a renewed missionary sense on the part of the members of the same peoples in carrying out the prophetic and Samaritan mission of the Church that must be strengthened with openness to dialogue with other cultures. It is only a missionary Church that is inserted and inculturated that will raise up the particular indigenous churches, with Amazonian faces and hearts, rooted in the cultures and traditions of the people, united in the same faith in Christ and diverse in their way of living, expressing and celebrating it. 43. In the people of the Amazon, we find teachings about life. The original peoples and those who came later and forged their identity in coexistence, provide cultural values ​​in which we discover the seeds of the Word. In the jungle, it is not only plants that are intertwined and link one species to another: people also interrelate with each other in a network of alliances that benefits everyone. The forest lives by means of inter-relationships and interdependencies that occur in all areas of life. Thanks to this, the fragile balance of the Amazon was maintained for centuries. 44. The thinking of indigenous peoples offers an integrated view of reality, which is capable of understanding the multiple connections between everything that is created. This contrasts with the dominant current of Western thought that tends to fragment in order to understand reality, but fails to re-articulate the set of relations between the various fields of knowledge. The traditional management of what nature offers them has been done in the way we call sustainable management today. We also find other values ​​in the native peoples such as reciprocity, solidarity, a sense of community, equality, family, social organization and a sense of service. b. A Church that is present and allied with the peoples of the region 45. Greed for land is at the root of the conflicts that lead to ethnocide, as well as murder and criminalization of social movements and their leaders. The demarcation and protection of land is an obligation of the national states and their respective governments. However, many of the indigenous territories are devoid of protection, and those already demarcated are being invaded by extractive initiatives such as mining and forest extraction, by large infrastructure projects, by illicit crops and by large estates that promote monoculture and extensive livestock. 46. ​​In this way, the Church undertakes to be an ally of the Amazonian peoples to denounce the attacks on the life of indigenous communities, the projects that affect the environment, the lack of demarcation of their territories, as well as the economic model of predatory and ecocidal development. The presence of the Church among indigenous and traditional communities requires the awareness that the defense of the land has no other purpose than the defense of life. 47. The life of indigenous, mestizo, river dwellers, peasants, Afro-Brazilian [quilombola] and / or afro-descendants, and traditional communities, is threatened by destruction, environmental exploitation, and systematic violation of their territorial rights. It is necessary to defend their rights to self-determination, the demarcation of territories and prior, free and informed consultation. These peoples have “social, cultural and economic conditions that distinguish them from other sectors of the national community, and which are governed totally or partially by their own customs or traditions or by special legislation” (Conv. 169 ILO, art. 1, 1a). For the Church, the defense of life, community, land, and the rights of indigenous peoples is an evangelical principle, in defense of human dignity: "I have come so that men may have life and have it in abundance" (Jn. 10:10b). 48. The Church promotes the integral salvation of the human person, valuing the culture of indigenous peoples, speaking of their vital needs, accompanying movements in their struggles for their rights. Our pastoral service constitutes a service for the full life of the indigenous peoples, which moves us to announce the Good News of the Kingdom of God and to denounce the situations of sin, structures of death, violence and injustices, promoting intercultural, interreligious, and ecumenical dialogue (cf. DAp 95). 49. A specific chapter specifies Indigenous Peoples in Voluntary Isolation (PIAV) or Indigenous Peoples in Isolation and Initial Contact (PIACI). In the Amazon there are about 130 towns or segments of villages, which do not maintain systematic or permanent contacts with the surrounding society. Abuses and systematic violations of the past caused their migration to more inaccessible places, seeking protection, seeking to preserve their autonomy and choosing to limit or avoid their relations with third parties. Today they continue to have their lives threatened by the invasion of their territories from various fronts and their diminished demographics, being exposed to ethnic cleansing and disappearance. In his meeting with the Indigenous Peoples of January 2018 in Puerto Maldonado, Pope Francis reminds us: “They are the most vulnerable among the vulnerable ... Continue to defend these most vulnerable brothers. Their presence reminds us that we cannot dispose of common goods at the rate of an avid consumption.”(Fr. PM). An option for the defense of the PIAV / PIACI does not exempt local Churches from pastoral responsibility over them. 50. This responsibility must be manifested in specific actions for the defense of their rights, rendered concrete in effective actions, so that governments will take up the defense of their rights through the legal and inviolable protection of the territories they occupy in a traditional manner, including adopting precautionary measures in regions where their presence is not officially confirmed due to insufficient evidence, and establishing mechanisms for bilateral cooperation between governments when these groups occupy cross-border spaces. At all times, respect for their self-determination and their free decisions for the type of relationships they want to establish with other groups must be guaranteed. For this, it will be necessary that all of the people of God, and especially the neighboring populations of the PIAV / PIACI territories, be sensitized to respect these peoples and the importance of inviolability of their territories. As St. John Paul II said in Cuiabá, in 1991 “The Church, dear Indian brothers and sisters, has always been and will remain at your side to defend the dignity of human beings, their right to have a peaceful and proper life, respecting the values ​​of their traditions, customs and cultures”. 51. With the incarnation, Christ left behind his prerogative as God and became man in a particular culture to identify with all mankind. Inculturation is the incarnation of the Gospel in indigenous cultures (“what is not assumed is not redeemed” St. Irenaeus, cf. Puebla 400) and at the same time it is the introduction of these cultures into the life of the Church. In this process, the peoples are protagonists, accompanied by their agents and pastors. a. The experience of faith expressed in popular piety and inculturated catechesis 52. Popular piety constitutes an important medium that links many peoples of the Amazon with their spiritual experiences, their cultural roots and their community integration. They are manifestations with which the people express their faith, through images, symbols, traditions, rites, and other sacramentals. Pilgrimages, processions, and festivities should be valued, accompanied, promoted, and sometimes purified, as they are privileged moments of evangelization that should lead to the encounter with Christ. Marian devotions are deeply rooted in Amazonia and throughout Latin America. 53. The non-clericalization of brotherhoods, confraternities, and groups linked to popular piety is characteristic. The laity assume a role that they hardly achieve in other ecclesial areas, with the participation of brothers and sisters who perform services and direct prayers, blessings, traditional sacred songs, encouraging novenas, organize processions, promote patron feasts, etc. It is necessary to “give an appropriate catechesis and accompany the faith already present in popular religiosity. A concrete way may be to offer a process of Christian initiation ... that leads us to become more and more like Jesus Christ, causing the progressive appropriation of their attitudes”(DAp 300). b. The mystery of faith reflected in an inculturated theology 54. Indian theology, theology with an Amazonian face, and popular piety are already a wealth of the indigenous world, its culture, and spirituality. The missionary and pastoral agent, when he carries the word of the Gospel of Jesus, identifies with the culture and the encounter from which the testimony, the service, the announcement, and learning of the languages ​​takes place. The indigenous world with its myths, narrative, rites, songs, dance, and spiritual expressions enriches intercultural encounters. Puebla already recognizes that «cultures are not empty territories, lacking authentic values. The evangelization of the Church is not a process of destruction, but of consolidation and strengthening of these values; a contribution to the growth of the "seeds of the Word" »(DP 401, cf. GS 57) present in cultures. a. Respect for cultures and the rights of peoples 55. We are all invited to approach Amazonian peoples as an equal to an equal, respecting their history, their cultures, their style of "good living" [buen vivir] (PF 06.10.19). Colonialism is the imposition of certain ways of living of some peoples over others, economically, culturally, or religiously. We reject an evangelization of a colonialist style. Announcing the Good News of Jesus implies recognizing the seeds of the Word already present in cultures. The evangelization that we propose today for Amazon is the inculturated proclamation that generates processes of interculturality: processes that promote the life of the Church with an identity and an Amazonian face. b. The promotion of intercultural dialogue in a global world 56. In the evangelizing task of the Church, which should not be confused with proselytism, we must include clear processes of inculturation of our missionary methods and schemes. Specifically, it is proposed that the Church’s research and pastoral centers, allied with the indigenous peoples, should study, compile, and systematize the traditions of the Amazonian ethnic groups to favor an educational program based on their identity and culture to help in promoting and defending their rights, preserving and disseminating their value to the Latin American cultural scene. 57. Educational actions are today challenged by the need for inculturation. It is a challenge to look for methodologies and content appropriate to the people in which to exercise the ministry of teaching. For this, knowledge of their languages, beliefs and aspirations, needs and hopes is important; as well as the collective construction of educational processes that have both the form and the content, the cultural identity of the Amazonian communities, while insisting on the formation of integral ecology as a transversal axis. c. The challenges for health, education and communication 58. The Church assumes as an important task the promotion of preventive health education and the offer of health care in places where government aid does not reach. It is necessary to favor integration initiatives that benefit the health of the Amazon. It is also important to promote the socialization of ancestral knowledge in the field of traditional medicine typical of each culture. 59. Among the complexities of the Amazonian region, we highlight the fragility of education, especially among indigenous peoples. Although education is a human right, educational quality is poor and school dropout is very frequent, especially among girls. Education evangelizes, promotes social transformation, and empowers people with a healthy sense of criticism. “A good school education at an early age plants seeds that can produce effects throughout life” (LS 213). It is our task to promote an education for solidarity, which springs from the awareness of a common origin and a future shared by all (cf. LS 202). Governments must be required to implement a public, intercultural and bilingual education. 60. The world, increasingly globalized and complex, has developed an unprecedented information network. However, such instantaneous information flow does not lead to better communication or connection between peoples. In the Amazon, we want to promote a communicative culture that favors dialogue, the culture of encounter, and the care of the “common home”. Motivated by an integral ecology, we wish to strengthen the communication spaces that already exist in the region, in order to urgently promote a comprehensive ecological conversion. For this, it is necessary to collaborate with the training of native agents of communication, especially indigenous ones. They are not only privileged interlocutors for evangelization and human development in the region, but also help us spread the culture of "good living" [buen vivir] and care for creation. 61. In order to develop the various connections within the entirety of Amazonia and improve its communications, the Church wants to create a Pan-Amazonian ecclesial communication network, which comprises the various means used by private churches and other ecclesial organizations. Its contribution may resonate and aid in the ecological conversion of the Church and the planet. REPAM may assist in advising and supporting the training processes, monitoring and strengthening of communications in the Pan-Amazonian region. 62. In this sense, we propose the creation of a network for bilingual education for Amazon (similar to Fe y Alegría) that offers educational proposals that respond to the needs of the communities, respecting, valuing, and integrating cultural and linguistic identity among them. 63. We want to sustain, support and favor the educational experiences of intercultural bilingual education that already exist in the ecclesiastical jurisdictions of the Amazon, and involve Catholic universities so that they may work in and become committed to, networks. 64. We will look for new forms of conventional and non-conventional education, such as distance education, according to the needs of places, times and people. "I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly" (Jn 10.10) 65. Our planet is a gift from God, but we also know that we live in the urgency of acting in the face of an unprecedented socio-environmental crisis. We need an ecological conversion to respond appropriately. Therefore, as the Amazonian Church, in the face of the growing aggression against our biome threatened by its disappearance with tremendous consequences for our planet, we put ourselves on a path inspired by the proposal of integral ecology. We recognize the wounds caused by human beings in our region; we want to learn from our brothers and sisters of the original peoples, through a knowledgeable dialogue, the challenge of providing new answers in the search for models of fair and solidary development. We want to take care of our "common home" in Amazonia and propose new paths for it. Towards an integral ecology from the encyclical Laudato si’ a. Threats against the Amazonian biome and its peoples 66. God has given us the earth as a gift and as a duty, to take care of it and to answer for it; We are not its owners. Integral ecology is based on the fact that "everything is closely related" (LS 16). That is why ecology and social justice are intrinsically linked (cf. LS 137). With integral ecology a new paradigm of justice emerges, because “a true ecological approach always becomes a social approach, which must integrate justice into discussions about the environment, to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor”(LS 49). Integral ecology, therefore, connects the exercise of the care of nature with that of justice for the most impoverished and disadvantaged people on earth, which are God's preferred option in revealed history. 67. It is urgent to face the unlimited exploitation of the "common home" and its inhabitants. One of the main causes of destruction in Amazonia is predatory extractivism that stems from the logic of greed, typical of the dominant technocratic paradigm (LS 101). Faced with the pressing situation of the planet and Amazonia, integral ecology is not just one more way that the Church can choose for the future in this territory, it is the only possible way, because there is no other viable path to save the region. The depredation of the territory is accompanied by the shedding of innocent blood and the criminalization of the defenders of the Amazon. 68. The Church is part of an international solidarity that must favor and recognize the central role of the Amazonian biome for the balance of the planet's climate; encourages the international community to provide new economic resources for its protection and the promotion of a fair and supportive development model, with the prominence and direct participation of local communities and native peoples in all phases from the approach to the implementation, also strengthening the tools already developed by the framework convention on climate change. 69. It is scandalous that leaders and even communities are criminalized, simply for claiming their rights. In all Amazonian countries there are laws that recognize human rights, especially those of indigenous peoples. In recent years, the (Amazonian) region has undergone complex transformations, where the human rights of the communities have been impacted by norms, public policies and practices focused mainly on expanding the extractive frontiers of natural resources and on the development of megaprojects and of infrastructure, which exert pressure on indigenous ancestral territories. This is accompanied, according to the same report, of a serious situation of impunity in the region regarding human rights violations and barriers to obtaining justice (IACHR / OAS Report, Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of the Panamazonía. 5 and 188. Sept . 2019). 70. For Christians, interest and concern for the promotion and respect of human rights, both individual and collective, is not optional. The human being is created in the image and likeness of the Creator God, and his dignity is inviolable. That is why the defense and promotion of human rights is not merely a political duty or a social task, but also and above all a requirement of faith. We may not be able to modify immediately the prevailing destructive and extractive development model, but we do have the need to know and make clear: where are we? On whose side are we? Next to whom are we? What perspective do we assume? How do we transmit the political and ethical dimension of our word of faith and life? For this reason: a) we denounce the violation of human rights and extractive destruction; b) we take up and support the divestment campaigns of extractive companies related to the socio-ecological damage of the Amazon, starting with the ecclesial institutions themselves and also in alliance with other churches; c) we call for a radical energy transition and the search for alternatives: “Civilization requires energy, but the use of energy should not destroy civilization!” (Pope Francis, Address to participants in the conference “Energy transition and care of the common home,” June 9, 2018). We propose to develop training programs on the care of the "common home", which should be designed for pastoral agents and other faithful, open to the whole community, in "an effort to raise awareness of the population" (LS 214). b. The challenge of new fair, supportive and sustainable development models 71. We note that human intervention has lost its “friendly” character, to assume a voracious and predatory attitude that tends to squeeze reality until the exhaustion of all a

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lifesitenews--2019-11-18--Bishop Schneider’s handbook for correcting errors in life of Church today

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Bishop Schneider’s handbook for correcting errors in life of Church today

November 18, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – Bishop Athanasius Schneider, the auxiliary bishop of Astana, Kazakhstan, has just published a new book titled Christus Vincit: Christ's Triumph Over the Darkness of the Age. In this wide-ranging book-long interview with Diane Montagna, this prelate covers first his own biography and spiritual formation and then discusses in separate parts some problems of our time in the Church and in the world. In a sense, he presents in his book a sort of handbook for the necessary correction of mistakes in the life of the Church in the recent decades. Since this book is so fertile in spiritual guidance and inspiration, this book review desires to concentrate mostly on certain aspects of Schneider's presentation, namely his thoughtful, calm, differentiated, faithful, but truthful critique of some statements of the Second Vatican Council and its application in theory and practice in the past decades of the life of the Church, to include Religious Liberty, the 1986 Day of Interreligious Prayer at Assisi, interreligious meetings and instances of “false ecumenism,” the radical reform of the rite of the Mass (Novus Ordo), Communion in the hand, as well as ambiguities regarding the terminology and the use of natural family planning and the ends of marriage. While Bishop Schneider shows himself a loyal son of the Church and of the Pope, he at the same time shows us that we must first and foremost be loyal to the deposit of faith, unchangeably transmitted to us by the Church, and, in this light, we need to raise our voice, in those instances, where by statements or by practical norms the integrity of the doctrine of the faith and the Apostolic tradition is obfuscated within the life of the Church; and we should do this precisely out of love for the truth and for the Church herself. Bishop Schneider does so carefully, without rejecting the documents or the teaching of the Second Vatican Council as a whole. Instead, he proposes to correct only some ambiguities and errors that have crept into the life of the Church after the Council. First, Bishop Schneider presents us with a principle: “God is more important, and eternity is more important, than the creature and the temporal realities, just as the soul is in itself more important than the body, for the soul is immortal.” Out of this principle flows the conviction that the Church should always have the supernatural at the center of her activities. Yet, Bishop Schneider sees that Modernism – which is a “denial or the weakening of the supernatural” and the inordinate stressing of history and reason – has entered the life of the Catholic Church: “Since the Second Vatican Council,” he states, “the Church in her life has yielded in large measure to the influence of secularism and naturalism.” In this sense, he adds, there has currently taken place “an eclipse” of the “primacy of God, of eternity, of the primacy of grace, of prayer, of sacredness, and of adoration.” Before going into more detail concerning his concerns about some affirmations of the Second Vatican Council, Bishop Schneider explains that as a teenager, he instinctively rejected the idea of standing and receiving Holy Communion in the hand when in 1973 he came out of the underground Church in the Soviet Union and started to live in Germany. When he was 15 years of age, he started to read some texts written by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, the founder of the Society of St. Pius X, but he “experienced a dilemma.” His own veneration for the reigning pope was in conflict with the insights of Lefebvre that he found “substantially right.” Since he at the time did not read the texts of the 1962-1965 Council directly, but, rather, commentaries by conservative authors presenting them, he had at first “no concern or suspicion that there might be problems with the texts of the Council.” At the time, he practiced a “total 'infallibilization' of the Council.” Now Bishop Schneider sees that this conclusion was wrong. He says: “Nowadays, I realize that I 'turned off' my reason. However, such an attitude is not healthy and contradicts the tradition of the Church, as we observe in the Fathers, the Doctors, and the great theologians of the Church over the course of two thousand years.” Such an attitude to “turn off” reason the bishop now calls “extreme ultramontanism” as well as a “blind defense of everything that was said by the Council, which seemed sometimes to require mental acrobatics and a 'squaring of the circle.'” Here, Bishop Schneider tells us that we should cautiously drop such an attitude: “But criticism has always been present and allowed within Church tradition, since it is the truth and faithfulness to divine revelation and tradition that we should seek, which in itself implies the use of reason and rationality and avoiding erroneous acrobatics. Some explanations of certain obviously ambiguous and erroneous expressions contained in the Council’s texts now seem to me to be artificial and unconvincing, especially when I reflect upon them in a more balanced and intellectually honest manner.” That is to say, we are called to approach with a true sense of the Church (sensus ecclesiae) those potentially ambiguous and erroneous expressions of the Council, and to do so with an “intellectually honest manner.” When he himself became a bishop, that is to say a teacher of the Catholic faith, Bishop Schneider started looking at these Council texts more in detail, also based on his knowledge of the Church Fathers. He also was called by the Holy See to visit different houses of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) four years ago, in 2015, which helped him study the problems of the Council more in detail. Bishop Schneider also noticed that the Vatican, in dealing with the SSPX, did not take their arguments “seriously.” But he himself earnestly realized that “we need to take the objections offered by Archbishop Lefebvre more seriously.” In dealing with the Vatican and the SSPX, Bishop Schneider then realized that the Vatican used “a kind of argument from authority, but not rooted in a deeper theological reasoning, and without going into the substance of the arguments.” The Vatican said, according to Schneider: “You are wrong, our position is the only correct one and it represents the continuity with the previous tradition of the Church.” Further developments strengthened Bishop Schneider's conviction that we need to listen more carefully to the arguments of the SSPX: “With the growing crisis in the Church, and especially given the situation created after the two Synods on the Family, the publication of Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis’s approval of the pastoral guidelines of the bishops of the Buenos Aires region (which foresee, among other things, the admittance to Holy Communion of unrepentant adulterers), and the declaration on diversity of religions he signed in Abu Dhabi, I realized that we need to take the arguments of the SSPX more seriously.” As he states later in the book: “This pontificate is a logical consequence of the so-called “spirit of the Council” and of the ambiguous elements in some of the Council texts.” Bishop Schneider now realizes that “some expressions of the Council could not so easily be reconciled with the constant doctrinal tradition of the Church. I noticed that some teachings—let us say, on the topics of religious freedom, collegiality, the attitude towards non-Christian religions, and the attitude towards the world—were not in an organic continuum with previous tradition.” Schneider adds that the resistance against any such a debate about these matters exists perhaps also because “there is an unconscious fear that if one were to accept that some of the non-definitive teachings of the Council are ruptures with the constant previous tradition of the Church, then the era of a blind ultra-montanism-as-a-substitute-for-orthodoxy will collapse.” For Bishop Schneider it is now clear that there does exist a certain form of discontinuity and rupture: “An honest examination shows that in some expressions of the Council texts there is a rupture with the previous constant tradition of the Magisterium.” And here he stresses that the Second Vatican Council “was pastoral in character, and that the Council did not intend to propose its own definitive teachings.” While the prelate now thinks that the majority of the Council texts are no rupture, certain elements very well might have to be corrected or amended by a “future pope or a council.” When asked as to whether the Council was a mistake or not, Bishop Schneider especially answers that “history will tell us this from a distance.” However, “from the point of view of the facts, of the evidence, from a global point of view,” Bishop Schneider goes on to say, “Vatican II did not bring real spiritual progress in the life of the Church. After the Council, a disaster occurred at almost every level of the Church’s life. The plan and intentions of the Council were primarily pastoral, yet, despite its pastoral aim, there followed disastrous consequences that we still see today.” At the same time, the prelate insists that the “Council had many beautiful and valuable texts. But the negative consequences and the abuses committed in the name of the Council were so strong that they overshadowed the positive elements which are there.” The positive elements of this Council are in his eyes its “universal call to holiness”; the teaching on Our Lady; “the teaching on the family as a domestic church”; and the importance of the laity. Schneider says, for example: “It was the first time that an ecumenical council spoke so extensively and deeply about the role of Our Lady in the Church and in the history of salvation.” And about the laity, the bishop says that this time is “the hour of Catholic families, large families” and he adds that “a very positive contribution of the Council was the beautiful doctrine of the family as a domestic church.” In studying some problematic affirmations of the Council, the Kazakh bishop rejects the thematic principle of the “hermeneutic of continuity,” which “cannot be used blindly in order to eliminate unquestioningly any evidently existing problems.” He further comments on this principle and its application, saying that it “would transmit artificially and unconvincingly the message that every word of the Second Vatican Council is infallible and in perfect doctrinal continuity with the previous Magisterium.” Such a method, Schneider explains, would “violate reason, evidence, and honesty, and would not do honor to the Church, for sooner or later (maybe after a hundred years) the truth will be stated as it really is.” This conclusion is, I believe, a very important aspect of Bishop Schneider's overall reasoning. Any major mistakes committed by the Shepherds of the Church in the last six decades will one day be openly known to us – and they are already known to God – and the Church in our days does best in honoring truth about herself, especially in light of her duty to lead souls to heaven. Any distortion of truth may well have a devastating effect on souls and their yearned-for eternal life. Let us together face the truth and thus help to purify the life of the Church from errors so that the Catholic faith might be revived in its beauty and integrity. Bishop Schneider recommends several books for our further study of the Second Vatican Council, among them Roberto de Mattei's The Second Vatican Council – An Unwritten Story (2012) and Romano Amerio, Iota Unum: A Study of Changes in the Catholic Church in the Twentieth Century (1996). Moreover, the Kazakh prelate points out that the Council itself had stated that “the Magisterium is not above the Word of God, but serves it.” Yet, at the same time, the Council itself showed an “ecclesiocentrism” (which is a “hidden anthropocentrism”) that had come into the life of the Church since the Second Vatican Council, whereas before that time there was the phenomenon of an “insane ultramontanism.” When asked as to whether this principle also applies to Pope Paul VI's “abusing papal power in his implementation of Vatican II,” especially by changing the liturgy “in a way that had never occurred before,” Bishop Schneider agrees. “Human and administrative elements were put at the center of the life of the Church and above the constant tradition of the Church.” An example can be seen in the “liturgical reform of Paul VI,” who in certain ways “put himself above Tradition,” the “great liturgical Tradition, which is inseparably linked to doctrine.” With the Council, the bishop sees that the Church started to “flirt with the world” and to “beg for sympathy and recognition of the world.” One could say that this spirit affects not only some documents of the Second Vatican Council, but also many documents of Pope Francis like Laudato Si or Amoris Laetitia. However, Bishop Schneider insists about these documents that “I will not reject the entire document but receive from it what is good.” He points to historical examples where later popes corrected errors in other councils (such as the Council of Florence in its decree for the Armenians), but also to St. Thomas Aquinas who “accepted many philosophical insights from Aristotle in spite of the fact that not all things in Aristotle are perfect.” Unfortunately, the spirit of Modernism, Bishop Schneider explains, has been infiltrating into the Church for quite some time before the Second Vatican Council – even though Pope Pius X had tried to fight it at the beginning of the 20th century – so much so that Pope Pius XII, in 1950, had to intervene by condemning (without naming them by name) “well-known theologians of the so-called 'nouvelle théologie' (Chenu, Congar, de Lubac, etc.) and by publishing the encyclical Humani Generis.” Bishop Schneider also praises Pope Pius X's encyclical Pascendi, saying that it is still “relevant” and that clearly states that “Modernism is the most dangerous phenomenon in the entire history of the Church.” For Bishop Schneider, God allows to happen this darkening of the life of the Church today in order to bring out of it a greater good. He is convinced that the Church will shine brighter after this period of crisis. He also sees that “even in midst of so many clerical Judases inside the Church today, we have to maintain always a supernatural vision of the victory of Christ, who will triumph through the suffering of His Bride, who will triumph through the suffering of the pure and little ones in all ranks of the members of the Church: children, youth, families, religious, priests, bishops, and cardinals. When they remain faithful to Christ, when they keep unblemished the Catholic faith, when they live in chastity and humility, they are the pure and little ones in the Church.” And he does now already see many “snowdrops” growing in the Church, announcing a new and true springtime. These “snowdrops” are the “little ones” of the Church: “We can see many little spiritual snowdrops: these are the little ones in the Church, those who do not belong to the administrative and power structure of ecclesiastical 'nomenklatura.' These spiritual snowdrops are little children, innocent boys and girls, young chaste men and virgins, true Catholic spouses, fathers and mothers of families, single persons, widows, monks, cloistered nuns, who are the spiritual 'gems' of the Church—and also simple priests who, because of their fidelity to the faith, are oftentimes marginalized and humiliated. There are also lay people and members of the clergy who courageously defend Christ the Truth in the middle of the battlefield at the cost of personal and temporal advantage. I would call them the spiritual 'salmon' of our day, since they are swimming against the tide and jumping over obstacles towards the pure waters of their origin.” Therefore, Bishop Schneider insists that Christ is winning. He reminds us that “on the obelisk in St. Peter’s Square are inscribed the words Christus vincit, and the tip of that obelisk contains a relic of the true Cross. The Roman Church, the Apostolic See of St. Peter, is crowned, so to speak, with these luminous words Christus vincit, and with the power of the Holy Cross of Christ. Even if during the present crisis and spiritual obfuscation one might have the impression that the enemies of Christ and His Cross have to a certain extent occupied the Holy See, Christ will defeat them. Christus vincit!” The healing path in the life of the Church will be, according to Bishop Schneider, a path “which puts Christ—the Incarnate Word, Incarnate Truth, the Incarnate Son of God—unmistakably in the center of the doctrinal teaching, the celebration of the liturgy, the moral life, and especially at the center of the missionary zeal and activity of the entire Church.” Here, the “path to victory for the Catholic Church has to begin with a thorough renewal of the Eucharistic liturgy and the Eucharistic life of the Church,” since “the sacrament of the Eucharist is the heart of the Church, from which her entire life is built up and vitally sustained.” We have to center our lives on Christ. And “Christ will overcome the current crisis of His Church in and through the Eucharist.” At the end of this book, Bishop Schneider places a longer quote from St. Peter Julian Eymard on this very topic. This saint insists that the Eucharist is the center of the Church, for example when he says: “In our own day He still goes out to uncivilized nations; and wherever the Eucharist is brought, the people are converted to Christianity. That is the secret of the triumph of our Catholic missionaries and of the failure of the Protestant preachers. For them, man is battling alone; for us, Jesus is battling, and He is sure to triumph.” “The root of the current religious indifferentism, or the theory of the alleged divinely-willed character of other religions, is to be found in some ambiguous phrases of the documents of the Second Vatican Council—especially in its Declaration on the Church’s Relation to Non-Christian Religions, Nostra Aetate. Describing Buddhism, for example, the Council states uncritically that 'it teaches a way by which men, in a devout and confident spirit, may be able either to acquire the state of perfect liberation, or to attain, by their own efforts or through higher help, supreme illumination' (n. 2). Pope Benedict XVI himself pointed out the weakness of this conciliar document, saying: 'It speaks of religion solely in a positive way, and it disregards the sick and distorted forms of religion.' Also ambiguous is the already-mentioned statement from Lumen Gentium n. 16, which says that we Catholics and the Muslims together adore the one God ('nobiscum Deum adorant'). The other root, which we also mentioned, is to be found in the affirmation of Dignitatis Humanae that the choice even of a false religion—including the worship of the “supreme divinity” (Dignitatis Humanae, n. 4)—is a natural right of the human person (“in ipsa eius natura”: Dignitatis Humanae, n. 2). However, the natural right of the free will of the human person consists only in the choice of what is morally and intellectual good, i.e., the choice of virtue and of the one true religion, not just of the “supreme divinity.” The abuse itself of free will, however, in choosing evil (sin) and error (false religion), is never positively willed by God. Hence the choice of a sin or of an error, such as a false religion, can never be the expression of a natural right (“in ipsa eius natura”). Otherwise one has to say that committing adultery, homosexual acts, murder, lying, idolatry, blasphemy would be a natural right of the human person. There is no natural right to insult and blaspheme Jesus Christ, as is done, for example, in certain “signs and rites” of non-Christian and even Monotheist religions.” “Before the Second Vatican Council, the Church had always taught the tolerance of other religions to some degree. However, with the Council’s Declaration on Religious Freedom Dignitatis Humanae, there was in my opinion a drastic change regarding the previous and universal Magisterium of the Church, which had always said that error does not have the same right as truth to be propagated. Error has no rights by nature, just as we have no right by nature to sin. God has not given man liberty in order to carry out a moral evil (sin) or an intellectual evil (error). The more we live in accord with God’s will, with the truth, the freer we are—and the more our freedom grows. Dignitatis Humanae made a change that is difficult to reconcile with the perennial Magisterium of the Church. One might easily deduce from this document that truth and error have the same rights by nature, by contending that the choice of error, the choice of a false religion, is a natural right of the human person. There are some people who say, 'My conscience dictates that I have to create a Satanic church to worship Satan. This is permitted by the freedom of my conscience and the freedom of religion.'” [Question:] Where would you locate the problem with the document? What is the “change”? “The text of Dignitatis Humanae says that the freedom to choose one’s religion is a right which is founded in the very nature of the human person (n. 2: “in ipsa eius natura fundatur”), with just limitations when there is a danger to public order in society. However, man does not have the right by nature to commit a sin or to embrace error. There is no natural right to offend and to outrage God, since a religion of idolatry and any false religion is an outrage committed against God. We can tolerate sin and error, but they do not have a natural right; this would be a perversion of God’s created order, since God created all human beings for the unique end of knowing and worshiping explicitly God the Most Holy Trinity. Creation, and natural right, are ordered to divine revelation. Therefore, there cannot be even a natural right to worship merely a 'Supreme Being,' as stated in Dignitatis Humanae, n. 4. In divine revelation, God positively commanded every human being to worship only the true God; namely, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Furthermore, the concept of 'Supreme Being' is in itself unclear and is understood by non-Christian religions, even by Muslims, in diverging ways, and oftentimes in a disfigured manner. Besides, the original text in Dignitatis Humanae n. 4 does not say 'ens supremum' (Supreme Being), but instead 'numen supremum,' which usually means 'supreme divinity.' Other official translations of this expression are more accurate, e.g., 'la divinité suprême' (French), 'suprema divinità' (Italian), 'la Divinidad' (Spanish). These expressions are highly ambiguous, because in idolatrous religions there is also a 'supreme divinity' amidst a pantheon of so-called 'divinities.' It is surely against revealed truth to say that God positively wills the worship merely of a 'Supreme Being,' and that the human person should have a natural right to it ('in ipsa eius natura fundatur'). The only right given by God to the human person consists in knowing and worshipping the one true God, the Most Holy Trinity.” [Question] Was there a legitimate concern on the part of those who drafted Dignitatis Humanae that prompted their formulations? “The question of religious freedom has been changed by the concrete historical situation. We now live in a completely secularized and non-Christian society, with de facto atheistic governments in Europe. We are in a new situation, comparable to that of Christians living under pagan, Roman society. We are now entering a kind of new persecution. But we cannot change the principles. One principle is that only the truth has rights; another is that every human society, and even governments, ought to recognize Christ and worship Him. These truths are unchangeable; they are revealed truths, as Pius XI states in Quas Primas. The state, of course, should not interfere in Church affairs. However, as representatives of the people, they must publicly worship Christ, the true God, and practice the true religion, which is only the Catholic religion. This is the constant Catholic truth, which no ecclesiastical authority can change into its contrary. The concrete, practical application of this truth in a changed historical situation is another question.” “A traditional interpretation of the Second Vatican Council’s document on religious freedom could say that we Catholics can claim our religious liberty on the basis of being citizens—as citizens, we have the same rights as those of other religions. However, I hope that in the future the affirmation of the Council document about a natural right to choose a false religion will be changed, because the claim that 'religious freedom is a natural right' is, in its present formulation, theologically incorrect and misleading. The Council says that the right to religious freedom, which ultimately also includes the choice of a false religion (which is, however, expressly prohibited by God), has its foundation 'in the very nature' of the human person (Dignitatis Humanae, n. 2). Unfortunately, this statement relativizes the correct affirmation in the same document that says that man has the 'moral obligation to seek the truth' (ibid.). Only the choice of the true religion, that is, the Catholic religion, is a natural right positively willed by God. God is the Creator of natural rights, hence He cannot positively will the diversity of religions or the worship of merely a 'Supreme Being.' I have a natural right to do good and to know the truth, and the truth is the Catholic religion. I have a right to the true religion. Not every religion can be the object of this right by nature. We have no right by nature to adore idols. Some religions also venerate a 'Supreme Being,' and since they have no divine revelation, even their concept of the 'Supreme Being' can be wrong and idolatrous and hence offensive to God. Idolaters can only have a civil right as citizens. So, as citizens—whether Catholic or Muslim and so on—we have the same right to life, to a just salary, and such things. Juridical matters have to be the same in the sense that these religious communities are simply civil associations, and civil associations have the same rights. We already live in a new pagan society, but we cannot change the constant traditional theological principles.” “This is somehow already present in the texts of the Second Vatican Council—in the declaration Nostra Aetate and also Dignitatis Humanae on religious freedom. Relativism is already implicitly there along with a false ecumenism, when, for example, the Second Vatican Council praises Hinduism as a religion, saying that “in Hinduism, men contemplate the divine mystery. . . . They seek freedom through a flight to God with love and trust” (n. 2). How can you praise a religion which mainly worships idols? The affirmation of Dignitatis Humanae n. 4, that every person has a natural right, a right from his nature, to choose his own religion according to his conscience, and to worship the 'numen supremum,' i.e., 'supreme divinity'—this affirmation is wrong. We do not have the natural right to commit sin and to commit error. All religions outside the Catholic faith represent as a whole a system of errors, and are thereby objectively offensive to God, the Supreme Truth. They contain some truth, of course, but this truth is due to the light of natural reason and not to the religion as such, which is against the will of God and constitutes thereby an offense to God. Subjectively we don’t know about the eternal destiny of such persons, because only God knows their intentions and their heart. However, persons who adhere to false religions are in objective danger of not attaining eternal salvation. In such a decisive theological matter as the truth that God wills only the religion born of the faith in Jesus Christ, God and man, we must avoid any words of confusion and of a purely worldly wisdom.” “Therefore, the intention of the Second Vatican Council to stress the divinely established office of bishops and episcopal collegiality was meaningful. However, the affirmation in Lumen Gentium n. 22 that there are two supreme permanent authorities for governing the whole Church—the pope on the one side, and the entire episcopal college with the pope on the other side—is doctrinally ambiguous and needs a further clarification.” “Something that should prompt us to reflection in the Church today is the real danger of religious indifferentism and dogmatic relativism, which are being promoted through a false ecumenism and ambiguous interreligious statements.” “Since the Council, one of the greatest dangers inside the Church has arisen out of interreligious dialogue. The way such dialogue was conducted, especially in the Assisi meetings of John Paul II and Benedict XVI—seen in their results—were expressions of a relativizing of the uniqueness of Christ and His Church for the eternal salvation of souls. It is a relativizing of the biblical truth that Christ is the unique Savior and that all who are not Christians have to accept Christ as their God and Savior and adore Him in order to be saved. It is a relativizing of the obligation and indispensable mission of the Church to proclaim this truth clearly to all non-Christians. In this way, clerics in the Church in our days are committing, in my opinion, a great sin of omission in neglecting to proclaim Christ to all non-Christians, as the Apostles did. Interreligious meetings like those held in Assisi convey to the entire world the message that the Catholic religion stands on the same level with other religions, as a member of a kind of 'Parliament of the World’s Religions.'” “The Second Vatican Council strongly emphasized so-called episcopal collegiality. However, we can observe in recent decades that this teaching and its practical implementation contain some ambiguities and dangers. The danger is that collegial organisms, especially bishops’ conferences, often obfuscate and limit the divinely established authority of individual diocesan bishops. Collegiality and so-called 'synodality' are defective in their implementation if they harm the divinely established structure of the Church. The extreme papal-centrism in the Church today has made it almost impossible for bishops publicly, fraternally and, of course, respectfully, to admonish the pope, if he manifestly deviates from the constant teaching of all his predecessors and from the unchanging sacramental practice of the Church. In admittedly very rare cases, when a pope by his non-definitive teachings or by his omissions is considerably damaging the clarity and integrity of the doctrine of faith and the discipline of the sacraments, the possibility exists for the bishops to express not only a private but also a public fraternal admonition towards the pope. If such an act of fraternal admonition were not considered scandalous, and if the bishops who expressed the admonition did not have to fear reprisals, and if their act would not be wrongly labeled 'schismatic,' then the true spirit of collegiality, which Vatican II theoretically intended, would be also practically realized —principally and only for the universal spiritual good of souls. I think that a future pope has to issue a document on the papal ministry itself, correcting the errors of papolatry, but also stating that it is sometimes possible and necessary for bishops—of course with respect and prudence—to publicly admonish the pope, when he departs from the uninterrupted and constant Tradition of the Church, and that such an act should not be considered irreverent, disobedient, or schismatic.” “It is a fact that the Holy See has enacted a number of measures which considerably weakened the integrity of the rule of prayer (lex orandi), the rule of faith (the lex credendi), and the rule of life (lex vivendi). The drastic change of the millennia-old rite of Mass enacted by Pope Paul VI unquestionably weakened the essentially sacrificial, Christocentric, and latreutical character of the Mass, shifting it more towards the meaning of a fraternal banquet and a community-centered prayer meeting, which phenomenologically is more similar to Protestant prayer services.” “Our first duty is to adore God the Holy Trinity and the Incarnate and Eucharistic God in the sacrament of the Eucharist. To our situation I would apply the words of the prophet Jeremiah: 'They have turned to me their back and not their face' (Jer 32:33). Indeed, many of the shepherds of the Church have turned their backs on their first duty: they have turned their backs on prayer and the proclamation of Christ. These words of the prophet are in some way a picture of the Church today and of the way the new Mass is usually celebrated: they have turned away from the Lord.” “Never in the bimillennial history of the Church were there perpetrated such horrible offenses against the Blessed Sacrament, so many trivializations of the Sacrifice of the Mass on the part of the clergy and on the part of the faithful, as in our time. The 'reform' of the liturgy and its implementation had the effect of desacralizing and weakening faith in the Real Presence and in the sacrificial nature of the Mass. We see this above all in the practice of the reception of Holy Communion in the hand and standing, which reveals this deepest wound and disease in the life of the Church today.” “The style of the Novus Ordo Mass, with its significantly reduced sacredness and ritual beauty, instead transmits mediocrity. Young people who really believe are not attracted by mediocrity. The rite of the traditional Latin Mass also transmits a clear hierarchical order and even in some way the solemnity of a military discipline, characteristics which especially attract young men.” “We have to turn to the Lord, to convert to the Lord. The entire Church has to turn away from secularism, from being immersed in naturalism, from the loss of the sense of supernatural, from the anthropocentric attitude. The entire Church has to convert once again and turn herself toward the Lord in the liturgy, even in a visible manner. The celebration of the Mass ad Deum (we can also say ad orientem, ad crucem, ad apsidem) would be the first and indispensable step in the process of the Reform of the Reform. It would essentially reshape the thinking of the clergy and laypeople in terms of what true prayer is and what the meaning of the Mass is—that it is a sacrifice, the divine sacrifice of our Redeemer on the Cross, and not simply a religious banquet event or a Protestant-style religious instructional event. Celebration towards the people destroys over time the central truth that the Mass is substantially the same as the Sacrifice of Calvary. The Holy Mass is not the perpetuation of the Last Supper. It is the sacramental perpetuation of the mystery of the Cross. This truth has to shape our attitude and our exterior position. It was Martin Luther who started to spread the Eucharistic heresy that the Mass is a kind of repetition and commemoration of the Last Supper and not the sacrament of the Sacrifice on the Cross.” “To state, as the Council did in Lumen Gentium n. 16, that Muslims adore together with us the one God ('nobiscum Deum adorant'), is theologically a highly ambiguous affirmation. That we Catholics adore with the Muslims the one God is not true. We don’t adore with them. In the act of adoration, we always adore the Holy Trinity, we don’t simply adore 'the one God' but the Holy Trinity consciously—Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Islam rejects the Holy Trinity. When the Muslims adore, they do not adore on the supernatural level of faith.” “The Koran is not the revelation of God, but a kind of anti-revelation of God, because the Koran expressly denies the divine revelation of the Incarnation, of the eternal divinity of the Son of God, of the redemptive sacrifice of Christ on the Cross, and therefore denies the truth of God, the Holy Trinity. This ambiguous affirmation of the Second Vatican Council must be corrected. This affirmation is not infallible and was not meant by the Council to be such.” “The affirmation of the Second Vatican Council should have been written more precisely, in order to avoid misunderstandings. Perhaps it could be formulated in this way: 'Muslims adore God in an act of natural worship, and thus in a substantially different way than we Catholics do, since we adore God with supernatural faith.' If the phrase had been formulated in this or some similar way, it would have avoided wrong applications in interreligious dialogue and wrong teachings in so many theological faculties and priestly seminaries in our days.” On Praying with the Jews: “The practicing Jews, who are the spiritual descendants of the Pharisees and the Talmud rabbis, rejected Jesus as the Messiah and still reject Him, and they expressly reject the Holy Trinity. As Christians, we always pray to the Holy Trinity. You cannot say: 'Today I will pray only to the One God of the Old Testament or to the Creator.' It would be an apostasy. The central mystery of our faith says that the Three Divine Persons are ineffably and mutually united. Each Person is present and living in the other. Catholic theology calls this truth the 'circumincessio' of the Three Divine Persons. Every prayer you make begins with the sign of the Cross and the invocation of the Holy Trinity. Therefore, we cannot pray with the Jews, who reject the Holy Trinity and the Cross. We could maybe exceptionally recite with them the psalms, which are common to us, on a special occasion, for example when there is a disaster or natural catastrophe. We could join and pray to God with a specific psalm invoking the mercy and help of God.” “The interreligious meetings held in Assisi by Pope John Paul II greatly contributed to a further growth and spread of religious indifferentism and of the view, even within the Church, that all religions are ultimately equal. These interreligious meetings in Assisi attained their logical consequences in the interreligious document of Abu Dhabi, dated February 4, 2019 and signed by Pope Francis, which says that 'the pluralism and the diversity of religions, color, sex, race and language are willed by God in His wisdom.'” On Communion for non-Catholics and unrepentant adulterers: “In giving this permission, the Council and the Code of Canon Law laid the foundation for carrying out a theological contradiction and a visible ecclesiastical lie. The principle laid down in the aforementioned Council text, and in can. 844 of the Code of Canon Law, has its logical consequence in the recently introduced regional pastoral norms admitting unrepentant adulterers to Holy Communion in some cases, in an alleged 'urgent spiritual need' or a 'spiritual emergency.' Some of these norms were even approved by Pope Francis on the basis of Amoris Laetitia. In fact, these unrepentant adulterers, who cohabitate more uxorio in a civil union with a person who is not their legitimate spouse, live in the visible and objective state of public sin. However, one of the main arguments for admitting such persons to Holy Communion is very similar to the one (can. 844) for admitting to Holy Communion non-Catholic persons who visibly and objectively live in a state of schism and heresy. In both cases—that of public sinners who are living in an objectively adulterous union, and that of persons who are in objective schism and heresy—proponents cite the argument of an 'urgent and deep spiritual need or emergency' which has to be evaluated individually on a case-by-case basis and with pastoral accompaniment and discernment.” “The ancient discipline of the Church, witnessed to by the Apostolic Fathers and all the great Fathers of Church, admitted dying persons to Holy Communion only when they repented and desired to be visibly reconciled with the Church. This discipline has been valid for two thousand years.” “The Church of Christ 'subsists' in the Catholic Church However, the affirmation that 'the Church of Christ subsists in the Catholic Church,' which comes originally from Lumen Gentium, is insufficient. It is not wrong, but it is insufficient. It would be clearer to state, for example: 'The only Church of Christ is the Catholic Church, and only in her are realized and subsist in fullness all the truths and all the means of salvation of the Church of Christ.' Even now, a lot of bishops say that you can continue to be Muslim or Lutheran. Such affirmations promote relativism, in the sense that every religion is relative, including the Catholic religion. We surely are weakening the doctrine on extra ecclesiam nulla salus.” “I think that the expression 'natural family planning' is not correct. This expression seems to be coined in response to the abortion-focused organization 'Planned Parenthood.' It sounds too technical and, in some way, bureaucratic. One makes an economic plan for grain production, or cultivating and raising chickens or cows, a kind of 'plan for the breeding of chicken or cattle.' This is planning. I applaud the couples who have heroically avoided contraception, and who have sacrificed in order to practice conjugal life according to the design and will of God. However, for me it is unworthy to apply the word 'planning' to human persons and to new possible citizens of heaven, to the children of God. We need [Question:] Would you use the expression “responsible parenthood”? “I don’t like it much, either. We must all be responsible, of course, but the phrase is quite often misused and can be very subjective, so that by your own criteria you decide what is responsible and what is not responsible. In some way, the expression 'responsible parenthood' contains the danger of falling into a contraceptive mentality, even when you use natural methods, which God provided in the cycle of the woman’s body. The observation of the natural cycle of a woman’s fertility can be used with a contraceptive mentality, as a contraceptive method. Therefore, this expression is already in some way ambiguous, because there is at least an implicit lack of trust in God, in His providence, a lack of trust and confidence that it is ultimately He who determines the calling into existence of a new possible citizen of heaven. In using specific terminology—particularly in such a delicate matter as the transmission of human life—we have to think about the ultimate consequences.” “It is my personal opinion that when the spouses appear before the judgment of God, He will show them all the possible children to whom He wanted to give life, so that they might be future citizens of heaven, and whom the parents by their selfishness in their sexual encounter refused. Children whom God would have called into existence.” “Therefore, God will show them all the children they purposely avoided having—either through artificial or natural methods. It is a matter of trust in God. It is a matter of faith. In my opinion, it would usually be better for a husband and wife to say: 'O Lord, we allow you to decide. You are wiser than we are.' Therefore, I would not say that it is irresponsible to have many children. There are many cases in human history and Church history of very large families.” “The Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes did not change this directly, but avoided speaking of the distinction between the primary and secondary end [of marriage]. By avoiding these expressions, the Council left some ambiguity regarding the first end of marriage. This caused erroneous interpretations and applications. However, Gaudium et Spes also left us the following traditional teaching about the nature of matrimony: 'By their very nature, the institution of matrimony itself and conjugal love are ordained for the procreation and education of children and find in them their ultimate crown' (n. 48). The Magisterium of the Church has constantly taught that the life-giving procreative end is objectively the first or primary end. Yet it is inseparably united with its second aim, the subjective unitive end. Unfortunately, in the current Code of Canon Law (can. 1055), the secondary end of marriage is mentioned first and only then the primary one, thus opening a new questionable understanding and practice. When the subjective unitive end is the first aim, couples might argue that 'this is the first aim of our marriage, so we can use contraception,' because procreation was listed second after the unitive end. This attitude can be in the minds of the spouses, because procreation was mentioned by the Council and also by the Code of Canon Law in second place—not saying it is the secondary end but mentioning it in the second place. I regret this reversal, and we have to have the Magisterium again state the correct order of the ends of marriage. Every human action, every human institution and society, has to have an objective principal and first end; this is logical. When we don’t have this, all our energies and commitments are weakened and confused. We have witnessed in recent decades the negative consequences of this reversal for marriage, family, and sexuality in general. We have to state again that the first end for which God created human sexuality and marriage is to give life, for the spouses to be 'one flesh' in order to give new life, to give birth to a possible citizen of heaven. This first end is of course inseparably linked with the unitive end, the aspect of mutual help.”

https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/bishop-schneiders-handbook-for-correcting-errors-in-life-of-church-today

2019-11-18T17:50:00+00:00

religion and belief

religious text

lifesitenews--2019-12-04--UK bishop allows pagan Hindu festival to be celebrated on Catholic church grounds

lifesitenews

UK bishop allows pagan Hindu festival to be celebrated on Catholic church grounds

WIMBLEDON, UK, December 4, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – A London Catholic parish allowed a Hindu group to hold a “Diwali” pagan festival in its parish hall next to the church. The local archbishop defended the decision after a parishioner complained, but has also decided to review policy after LifeSiteNews reached out for comment. On October 12, Sacred Heart Church in Wimbledon hosted the “Diwali Mela” festival which was put on by a group that aims to “promote and encourage” Indian culture. Diwali, called a “festival of lights,” is the most important Hindu religious festival of the year. Key rituals generally include lighting candles and often include worshipping Hindu pagan deities including Lakshmi (goddess of prosperity) and Lord Ganesha (god of intelligence). The Hindu religion holds itself to be the universal religion for the whole world. Promotional material for the festival in the Catholic parish hall included colorful pictures of Hindu deities and children dressed up as Hindu deities to act out Hindu myths. A member of the Catholic parish contacted the archbishop of Southwark, John Wilson, one month prior to the event to express concern about the event. In an email obtained by LifeSiteNews, the parishioner wrote: “Ecumenism, dialogue and hospitality notwithstanding, I can’t see how hosting a pagan festival on Church property is not contrary to the First Commandment.” The first of the Ten Commandments given by God to Moses in the Old Testament states: “I am the Lord thy God. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” The author of Psalms points out that “all the gods of the pagans are demons” (Psalm 95.5). “If we ourselves have not faith in Christ and manifest our indifference to paganism by hosting this festival, then we should expect Mass attendance to decline in our country,” the parishioner added. Archbishop Wilson, responding to the parishioner a week and a half later, indicated that he was satisfied that the event was “cultural” and not “religious” and pointed the parishioner to Church documents about “interreligious dialogue.” In an email obtained by LifeSiteNews, the archbishop stated: “I have contacted the Parish Priest, Canon John Clark, who offered the following response after seeking clarification from the Hall Secretary: ‘The Mela is a purely cultural event open to all who would like to come along. This is the third Mela and all have been held here without any problems. We have approached the organising committee of the Mela and they have confirmed that it is a cultural not a religious event. They have made a summary of the programme for the day and none of it has a religious element. I enclose a copy of their response for your benefit. As far as I know their Mela is not operated by a commercial company. We have a number of contacts with the Hindu community as they often hold their wedding receptions and birthday parties here.’” The archbishop continued: “Canon Clark also forwarded to me the response of the person organising the event: ‘Thank you for the call, I am attaching the poster for the event. It’s open to all and is organised for all. Mainly kids’ activities, food stalls and merchandise stalls. Kids’ activities include but not restricted to face painting, henna, and such. Food stalls for a feast of Indian food and non-alcoholic drinks. Merchandise stalls like decorative things for around the house or clothes. There’s no religious programme or activity intended. Actually an afternoon with family to enjoy with kids having fun and eating good food!’” Archbishop Wilson concluded his letter, stating: “We must always be faithful to Christ and the teaching of His Holy Catholic Church.” He added: “Alongside this, we must also pursue genuine friendship and dialogue with people of other religious traditions, in the service of the common good, as enunciated in the teaching of the Church and by St John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis.” LifeSiteNews reached out to Archbishop Wilson asking if allowing a pagan religious festival on Church property undermines the Church’s claim that she alone offers the true religion and provides the only path to the Kingdom of God by means of her carrying on the work of Jesus. The Church is committed to proclaiming the fullness of the Catholic Faith in Christ as the Saviour of the world. If I didn’t believe this I would not belong to the Church, nor spend my life trying to be a witness to Christ so that others might also know, love and serve Him. This is not mutually exclusive with seeking to sustain good and friendly relationships with people of different cultures and religions. This sense is expressed in the annual messages for Divali [sic] by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and the Bishops Conference of India. Indeed, it is often with people of other religious traditions that we find common voice in defending the values of human life and the family. In this particular situation, there appears to be a disagreement between the organisers of the event, who have hired the hall for the past three years without incident, and the person who raised a complaint this year. There also seems to be a difference concerning the understanding of what is cultural and what is solely and explicitly religious. When I sought clarification from the organisers of this event, I was told: “It’s open to all and is organised for all. Mainly kids’ activities, food stalls and merchandise stalls. Kids’ activities include but not restricted to face painting, henna, and such. Food stalls for a fast of Indian food and non-alcoholic drinks Merchandise stalls like decorative things for around the house or clothes. There’s no religious programme or activity intended. Actually an afternoon with family to enjoy with kids having fun and eating good food!” It was explained that it is called a Diwali Mela, a festival in the sense of a ‘fair,’ rather than an explicit religious celebration. The church hall is available for social and community use and there was not, and should not, be any compromise of any Church property consecrated for divine worship. LifeSiteNews then asked how the Archbishop would respond to Catholics in the parish and in his diocese who are scandalized by the decision to allow this pagan festival to take place on Church property. He replied: I have received one formal complaint from a parishioner about the hire of the church hall at Sacred Heart Parish in Wimbledon for a Divali [sic] fair and I am obviously sorry if anyone feels scandalised by this. In this context, the Catholic Church has a profound witness to give in our diverse society. First, to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ and the beauty of the Catholic Faith. Second, secure in our identity and mission, to the importance of interfaith friendship, without compromising any truths of that Faith. I want all the parishes in our Diocese to be evangelising communities. I think we do this by positively proposing the truth we hold dear in a way that is respectful and engaging. As Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI reminded us, the Church grows by ‘attraction,’ ‘just as Christ draws all to himself by the power of his love.’ We are currently reviewing the documentation used for the hire of non-consecrated Church property. The “Diwali Mela” festival, which ran on October 12 as scheduled, is hosted by a group called the “Social Spark Hub.” The group states on its website that it was founded in 2015 to “promote and encourage the Indian Culture” with the primary goal to “help children learn about different customs, religious and cultural beliefs.” This year, the group became part of the “Kailash Narain Mehrotra Foundation,” a registered UK charity. The Foundation states that its charitable object is to “advance religious harmony” specifically by “spreading Sanatan culture and Sanatan religious scriptures” and “encouraging observance and celebration of Hindu festivals.” “Sanatan” is another word for the Hindu belief system. Both "Social Spark Hub" and the “Kailash Narain Mehrotra Foundation” list the same contact phone number on the UK’s Charity Commission website. Advisor to Archbishop: Hindu deities are ‘just manifestations of the divine’ The parishioner went on to respond to the archbishop’s original email, providing evidence from social media posts by “Social Spark Hub” that the group does, in fact, include a religious dimension to the “Diwali” event, including putting on a play at a previous festival in the same location called a “Ramleela", this particular one depicting the Hindu god Ram's life. The parishioner noted that “Ramleelas” are considered by Hindus to be a religious event in the same way that Christians would consider a Nativity or Passion play to be a religious event. The parishioner wrote to the archbishop: “We should love the sinner but hate the sin. Hindus violate the First Commandment with their pagan worship, but they are not culpable, because they do not know Christ. We do know Christ, so we are without excuse. We should of course treat all Hindus with the utmost Christian Charity, but this does not mean allowing them to use the Sacred Heart Parish Hall to celebrate Diwali. It cannot be compared with holding a birthday party in the hall.” The following day, the parishioner unexpectedly received an email from Deacon Jon Dal Din, who appears to have a special role within the archdiocese as advisor on interreligious dialogue. Deacon Dal Din was listed in 2015 as “Director of Westminster’s Interfaith agency.” The email, intended for Archbishop Wilson, appears to have been accidentally sent to the parishioner. The Deacon appears to be responding to the Archbishop’s request for guidance on how to deal with the parishioner’s concerns. In an email obtained by LifeSiteNews, the deacon told the archbishop: “I think you have far more important things to do than waste time responding to these letters.” “My understanding of a [Diwali] Mela is that it is an Indian cultural event and celebration, although there may be a religious element involved, in the same way that many people celebrate Chinese New Year and people of all faiths and cultures celebrate Christmas,” the deacon wrote. “It is interesting how [the parishioner] has highlighted selected texts from the Hindu group and not others. I doubt [the parishioner] read the texts you attached. [The parishioner] quotes Pope Benedict. I fear [the parishioner] has a narrow view of mission, evangelisation, proclamation and dialogue. All must be done in a spirit of Love. Jesus’ new Commandment,” he added. Deacon Dal Din in his email went on to quote at length a talk Pope Francis gave during his September 2019 visit to Africa where he answered questions about evangelisation and proselytism. During his talk, the Pope said he felt “bitterness” when he was introduced to Catholics who had converted from other religions. Deacon Dal Din said, “[The parishioner] continues to call Hindus pagans. Well perhaps they are, from [the parishioner’s] perspective, because they are not Christians. [The parishioner] would probably feel the same if Sacred Heart were to offer Iftar to the Muslim community during Ramadan. [The parishioner] does not realise that Hindus believe in one God. Their deities are just manifestations of the divine, as indeed, all humans and creation itself are manifestations of the divine.” “Allowing Hindus to celebrate Diwali Mela in the Church Hall is part of Dialogue of Life, being a good neighbour. Jesus did not mix only with the virtuous, but with sinners and outcasts. Like Pope Francis he reached out to the poor and those on the peripheries,” he stated later in the email to the archbishop. Archbishop Wilson’s decision to allow the Hindu festival to run on Church property comes at a time when many Church leaders, including Pope Francis, have signaled that the Catholic Church may not contain the fullness of God’s revelation and may not be the only sure path established by God to reach the Kingdom of Heaven. In February of this year, the Pope claimed in a joint statement with a Grand Imam that a “pluralism and diversity” of religions is “willed by God.” Despite backlash from concerned Catholics around the world, which included criticism from priests, bishops, and cardinals, the Pope has not recanted this statement. The Pope also alarmed Catholics around the world when he participated in events surrounding the recently concluded Amazon Synod in Rome that included the worship of the pagan idol "Pachamama."

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/uk-bishop-allows-pagan-hindu-festival-to-be-celebrated-on-catholic-church-grounds

2019-12-04T16:20:00+00:00

religion and belief

religious text

westernjournal--2019-12-30--Bible’s Scriptures Unblemished After Blazing Fire Destroys Nearly Everything Else in Its Path

westernjournal

Bible’s Scriptures Unblemished After Blazing Fire Destroys Nearly Everything Else in Its Path

A family’s heirloom Bible has remained intact after a massive shed fire on Christmas Eve in Socastee, South Carolina. Louis McGowan had been celebrating Christmas Eve with his family when, around 11:00 p.m., he saw flames running up the side of his shed on his security camera. McGowan told WPDE that he raced outside to see if he could tame the blaze, but the fire began to rage too fast. Within 10 minutes, firefighters from Horry County Fire Rescue responded to the home and stopped the blaze, but the shed and its contents were utterly destroyed. “A lot of things in here is like unrecognizable for the most part,” McGowan told WPDE. “It’s just destroyed.” TRENDING: After Biden Claims He's in Debt and Unemployed, Court Finds His $2.5 Mil Hollywood Home As McGowan watched the shed go up in flames, he took a mental inventory of what had been inside, which included two sentimental family heirlooms: an American flag from his great grandfather’s burial and a Bible that had belonged to McGowan’s father. When McGowan walked through the charred remnants of his shed the following day, he tried to decipher objects that had melted into unrecognizable lumps. He was able to locate both the flag and the Bible, which had been sitting on a shelf in the shed. The flag was mostly burned and blackened, with some sections of fabric intact. But when McGowan opened up his father’s Bible, he found the pages unscathed, readable, and entirely intact. The cover was blackened and the book’s edges a bit burned, but the scriptures inside were untouched. “There isn’t a thing in here you can’t read. Everything is 100 percent readable,” McGowan said. “There’s some of dad’s favorite psalms.” As McGowan flipped through the pages, he was able to look on Biblical passages his father had highlighted years ago. On the eve of one of the most important dates in the Christian faith, the Bible was able to withstand the fire. RELATED: Man Who Spent 23 Years Making 27,000 Crosses for Shooting Victims Across Country Is Retiring “I just think it’s amazing that the Bible stayed intact,” McGowan said. Overall, McGowan has remained optimistic about the fire that leveled his shed to the ground, thankful that his family was unharmed. “Everybody is fine. All of this can be replaced,” he said. We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.

Kim Davis

https://www.westernjournal.com/bibles-scriptures-unblemished-blazing-fire-destroys-nearly-everything-else-path/

Mon, 30 Dec 2019 21:54:10 +0000

religion and belief

religious text

activistpost--2019-12-20--Michigan County Threatens to Demolish Amish Homes Unless They Give Up Religious Beliefs and Upgrade

activistpost

Michigan County Threatens to Demolish Amish Homes Unless They Give Up Religious Beliefs and Upgrade

After harassing the Amish community for years regarding its water supply and disposal, the county health department posted signs on the Amish families’ homes earlier this year condemning them as “unfit for human habitation” and filed lawsuits against 14 Amish families in November. If successful, the lawsuits would result in the demolition of the Amish families’ homes and would effectively banish an entire religious community from Lenawee County. The ACLU and Wright & Schulte filed answers to those lawsuits Wednesday in Lenawee County Circuit Court, which include counterclaims against the county for religious discrimination in violation of the federal and state constitutions and the federal Fair Housing Act. “The county is persecuting this Amish community because of their deeply held religious beliefs that have safely guided their way of life for generations,” said Phil Mayor, senior staff attorney with the ACLU of Michigan. “Lenawee County residents should be outraged that their local officials, using taxpayer money and in the county’s name, have condemned their Amish neighbors’ homes and are threatening to demolish their houses, and leave them homeless. They should contact their county commissioners and other local officials and implore them to end this vicious attack on the Amish religion.” The Amish community in Lenawee County adheres to their “old order” religious way of life by hand-pumping water from wells, using outhouses instead of flush toilets, and not using electricity, cell phones, or automobiles. Despite the fact that the Amish community’s choice to live in traditional ways causes no harm to themselves or anyone else, the Lenawee County Health Department has condemned their homes and is now asking a court to authorize the demolition of their property, unless the Amish community abandons its religious beliefs. “This is not a question of public health — it’s Lenawee County officials using religious discrimination as a tactic to run this Amish community out of their homes and destroy their way of life,” said Richard Schulte, attorney with Wright & Schulte, LLC. “This community’s commitment to live according to their religion harms no one.” Sean Walton is a researcher and journalist for The Daily Sheeple, where this article first appeared. Send tips to [email protected] Subscribe to Activist Post for truth, peace, and freedom news. Become an Activist Post Patron for as little as $1 per month at Patreon. Follow us on SoMee, Flote, Minds, Twitter, and Steemit. Provide, Protect and Profit from what’s coming! Get a free issue of Counter Markets today.

Activist Post

https://www.activistpost.com/2019/12/michigan-county-threatens-to-demolish-amish-homes-unless-they-give-up-religious-beliefs-and-upgrade.html

Fri, 20 Dec 2019 18:10:31 +0000

religion and belief

religious text

cbsnews--2019-05-02--HHS rule lets health care workers refuse care that violates religious beliefs

cbsnews

HHS rule lets health care workers refuse care that violates religious beliefs

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a finalized "Conscience Rule" protecting health care professionals who refuse to provide care that violates their religious beliefs, such as performing abortions. "The final rule fulfills President Trump's promise to promote and protect the fundamental and unalienable rights of conscience and religious liberty, a promise he made when he signed an executive order in May 2017 protecting religious liberty," HHS said in a statement announcing the finalized rule, which expands existing protections. In 2017, Mr. Trump signed executive orders to "defend freedom of religion and speech in America." One of the directives gave the IRS discretion in enforcing the Johnson Amendment, which prohibits nonprofits such as churches and charities from "directly or indirectly" engaging in a political campaign. Critics of the "Conscience Rule" argue it could limit medical access for women seeking abortions, as doctors who oppose to the practice on religious grounds could refuse a woman care. There are concerns about health care professionals discriminating against LGBT individuals, in violation of medical ethics. The rule will also help protect individuals who object to administering certain vaccines. The American Medical Association called on HHS to withdraw the proposed conscience rule in April 2018, saying the rule "would function as a shield for people asserting objections on religious or moral grounds and could permit them to withhold care from already vulnerable groups." Roger Severino, the director of HHS' Office for Civil Rights, said Thursday that "laws prohibiting government funded discrimination against conscience and religious freedom will be enforced like every other civil rights law." "This rule ensures that healthcare entities and professionals won't be bullied out of the health care field because they decline to participate in actions that violate their conscience, including the taking of human life. Protecting conscience and religious freedom not only fosters greater diversity in healthcare, it's the law," Severino continued. On Thursday, the president held the National Day of Prayer service, where he declared that "people are so proud to be using that beautiful word, 'God,' and they're using the word God again and they're not hiding from it."

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/conscience-rule-hhs-finalizes-rule-protecting-health-care-workers-who-refuse-care-over-religious-beliefs/

2019-05-02 19:04:38+00:00

religion and belief

religious text

dailybeast--2019-12-29--The Scientific Explanation for the Enduring Appeal of Religious Fundamentalist Beliefs

dailybeast

The Scientific Explanation for the Enduring Appeal of Religious Fundamentalist Beliefs

There is no War on Christmas—it’s been more like a surrender. Overall, Christianity is in steep decline. We are witnessing what Dr. Robert P. Jones has accurately described as “the end of white Christian America.” The percentage of Americans who identify as Christian has dropped 12 points in the last decade, while that of the “nones” (atheist, agnostic, spiritual-but-not-religious) has increased 9 points. At the same time, those who have remained faithful are more fundamentalist than ever. Moderate Protestantism has declined, while conservative evangelical religion has increased as a percentage of America’s religious, with immediate political consequences: Donald Trump would not be president had conservative evangelicals and Catholics not rallied to his side, despite his many personal transgressions and evident lack of faith.

Jay Michaelson

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thedailybeast/articles/~3/i8a86tgud7s/the-scientific-explanation-for-the-enduring-appeal-of-religious-fundamentalist-beliefs

Sun, 29 Dec 2019 10:02:10 GMT

religion and belief

religious text

drudgereport--2019-06-20--New Lincoln Bible surfaces offers clues of religious beliefs

drudgereport

New Lincoln Bible surfaces, offers clues of religious beliefs...

A Bible that once belonged to President Abraham Lincoln resurfaced 150 years after his death, pointing to the faith he clung to at a pivotal moment in American history and when he was growing more overtly religious. Lincoln's faith has long been debated over the years. He was known as the "village atheist" as a young man but he gave one of the most explicitly religious speeches ever by a president during his second inaugural address. Scholars say the new discovery helps solidify his faith in his later years. On Thursday, the Bible will go on display for the first time at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Ill. The 16th president was given the Holy Book on June 16, 1864, during a rare wartime trip to Philadelphia raising money for wounded soldiers, where Lincoln donated 48 signed copies of the Emancipation Proclamation that were sold for fundraising. He was gifted the 18-pound, gilted Bible decorated with the words "faith," "hope," and "charity" by the hospital that treated wounded and ill soldiers during the Civil War. The cover of the Bible reads: “Presented to Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, by the Ladies of the Citizens Volunteer Hospital of Philadelphia.” A few months later, upon receiving another copy of the Bible as a gift, Lincoln wrote, "In regard to this Great Book, I have but to say, it is the best gift God has given to man. All the good the Saviour gave to the world was communicated through this book. But for it, we could not know right from wrong. All things most desirable for man's welfare, here and hereafter, are to be found portrayed in it." US-CHINA TRADE WAR COULD LEAD TO SHORTAGE ON BIBLES, CHRISTIAN BOOKS, PUBLISHERS SAY Mary Lincoln, a widow after Lincoln's assassination, gave the Bible, the sixth known to historians that was owned by the Lincoln family, to their neighbor who lived across the street. The neighbor was the Rev. Noyes W. Miner, a Baptist minister who read the book of Job at the Republican president's funeral. On the back, the first lady inscribed: “Mrs. Abraham Lincoln to N.W. Miner, D.D., Oct. 15, 1872.” She wrote that Miner was "a friend very much beloved by my husband" and historians speculate the former first lady gave the Bible to Miner as a way to protect her husband's legacy as she had angrily rejected assertions that he was an atheist. Miner once wrote that Lincoln “believed not only in the overwhelming Providence of God, but in the divinity of the Sacred Scriptures" and that the first lady told him at Ford's Theater that Lincoln was planning a post-White House visit to Jerusalem to “see the places hallowed by the footsteps of the Saviour.” On Oct. 15, 1881, Miner wrote: "the bullet from the pistol of the assassin entered his brain, and the soul of the great and good President was carried by the angels to the New Jerusalem above." ONLY SIGNED COPY OF US RECOGNITION OF 'STATE OF ISRAEL' CAN BE YOURS FOR $300G Another Bible owned by Lincoln was used by former President Barack Obama at his 2009 and 2013 inauguration and it was also used by President Trump at his 2017 inauguration. The recently unveiled Bible will go on public display at the request of Miner's family, who passed the keepsake down from generation to generation. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “The donation of this Bible offers a new opportunity to reflect on Lincoln’s religious beliefs,” Ian Hunt, head of acquisitions for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, said in a statement. “It’s a tangible connection to the fascinating question of what Lincoln believed and how those beliefs evolved as he endured tragedy after tragedy.”

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DrudgeReportFeed/~3/XkODEe2KGdM/rare-bible-abraham-lincoln-discover-historians

2019-06-20 22:46:36+00:00

religion and belief

religious text

mercurynews--2019-06-19--Letter Freedom to choose religious beliefs may disappear in time

mercurynews

Letter: Freedom to choose religious beliefs may disappear in time

In “We mustn’t forget value of religious people in society” (Opinion section, June 16), Abiya Ahmed wondered if years from now her young son will even care about religion when he reads a letter she has written to him. As he looks back on the time in which she wrote this letter, will he see a vibrant religious community opposing a president of the United States whose actions seem designed to destroy the Constitution, the backbone of our democracy which makes possible religious freedom? Or will he observe a silence from those who should care? Letter: Will new A’s stadium be impacted by sea-level rise? Letter: EBMUD should find other ways to raise the resources Letter: America’s future at risk till we become well-informed Letter: Trump has now broadcast invitation for interference When he reads her letter, will he have the political freedom to choose the religious beliefs of his mother? Submit your letter to the editor via this form Read more Letters to the Editor

Letters To The Editor

https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/06/19/letter-freedom-to-choose-religious-beliefs-may-disappear-in-time/

2019-06-19 10:10:47+00:00

religion and belief

religious text

newsbusters--2019-03-19--March Badness Outsports Condemns Christian NCAA Tourney Teams For Religious Beliefs

newsbusters

March Badness: Outsports Condemns Christian NCAA Tourney Teams For Religious Beliefs

In an example of two-faced reporting, the sports blog SBNation on Monday declared Abilene Christian University's upcoming first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance "an amazing accomplishment." But its Outsports section (a strident mouthpiece for LGBT pressure groups) considered it "March Badness" when anti-LGBT bigots like Abilene Christian and Liberty University qualify for the NCAA Tournament. Both schools earned "Shame List" designation. "As these two notorious schools of higher learning celebrate making it to the Big Dance this week, they also have the dishonor of being selected as two of the 150 colleges and universities named to 'The Shame List' by Campus Pride. This online index identifies the 'absolute worst campuses for LGBTQ youth' in the U.S., according to the org’s website," reports Outsports LGBT pitbull Dawn Ennis. "Shame on you, Liberty University and Abilene-Christian University." Abilene Christian (players and coach celebrating NCAA Tournament berth in photo) and Liberty both have "horrid" histories of anti-LGBTQ actions, programs and practices, Ennis continued: “When it comes to Christian schools, there are few more famous than the one founded by Jerry Falwell in 1971: Liberty University” They added: Quoting Campus Pride, Ennis accused Abilene-Christian of implementing "an aggressive, discriminatory ban on same-sex relationships for student employees (including same-sex dating) that has created an inhospitable, harmful climate.” Despite the so-called flagrant records of open discrimination against LGBT students, Abilene-Christian and Liberty both get a pass from the NCAA, Ennis groans. Previous Outsports posts condemned the NCAA for not condemning universities with religious beliefs on sexuality: Anthony Nicodemo scolded the NCAA for selling out the LGBT community: “A host of schools cloaked under the umbrella of ‘Christian institutions’ have athletes and coaches sign agreements forbidding them from coming out as gay. Schools like BYU prohibit same-sex relationships on campus.” Haven Herrin wrote: “The NCAA’s own house isn’t in order. They are complicit with Christian schools that are often the proving ground for religious discrimination strategies that state legislatures borrow. NCAA member schools have been carving out pockets for legal bigotry as long as there has been a Title IX.” Other schools who, in Outsports' opinion, deserved the big hammer of the LGBT juggernaut coming down hard on them are George Fox University, a Quaker-affiliated school in Oregon, and several interdenominational or interfaith universities that are "without doubt practicing various forms of Christianity to the exclusion of all other faiths." Though individual institutions are reaping the wrath of an LGBT activist media outlet here, the NCAA is the real target. Ennis wants the NCAA to mete out harsh punishment to Christian bigots, but instead, she complains that “the NCAA turns a blind eye to what goes on back on campus.” Apparently the NCAA respects the fact that religious freedom and free speech are America's first liberties and private universities are free to live out their faith.

Jay Maxson

https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/culture/jay-maxson/2019/03/19/march-badness-outsports-condemns-christian-ncaa-tourney-teams

2019-03-19 22:30:00+00:00

religion and belief

religious text