Tag Archives: Islam

Crucifix ban in Italy a victory for Muslims

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Before Soile Lautsi appealed to European Court of Human Rights, Muslims in Italy had been working hard to have the “small body on two wooden sticks” removed from classrooms. A victory for Muslims and Soile Lautsi and a sad defeat for Western Civilisation:

In 2003, the Union of the Muslims of Italy (UOMII), led by a radical convert to Islam named Adel Smith, brought a court action to have the crucifix removed from all public schools in that predominantly Catholic country. Calling the crucifix a “small body on two wooden sticks,” and “a miniature cadaver,” Smith and UOMII lobbied hard for their removal. Also on their agenda was the removal of an “offensive” 15th century Giovanni di Modena fresco in the Bologna cathedral and the deletion of Dante’s Divine Comedy from the school syllabus. Smith said both showed the prophet Mohammed cast into hell and were blasphemous against Islam.

The local Italian Court ruled in favor of the Smith and the Muslims. The schools appealed.

The matter was taken up by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France (along with a similar action by a different plaintiff), and in a stunning decision, which has gone almost entirely unreported by most major news outlets and cable programs (with the exception of a small, peripheral mention on Fox News) in this country, that Court also ruled last week that displaying crucifixes in the Italian schools violated Europe’s principle of “secular education,” and “might be intimidating for children from other faiths.

Throwing Rifqa Bary to the Wolves

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More on the 17 year-old Muslim girl who converted to Christianity. Read it all here:

Geller: Rifqa Bary is a teenage apostate. She escaped her devout Muslim home when her parents were advised by members of their extremist mosque that Rifqa had converted to Christianity.

Rifqa Bary’s father threatened to kill her if “she had this Jesus” in her heart. And so she ran away to Florida, as far away as she could get, and stayed with sympathetic Christians. She has since been placed in foster care, and the battle rages on to get this young woman to return to her devout Muslim family and Muslim community. Having spoken to many apostates in the States, living as a Christian in a devout Muslim household is not an option, despite her father’s dubious assertions.

FP: So what happened in court?

Geller: There were key developments in Judge Daniel Dawson’s juvenile court yesterday. It was a bizarre scene. Ohio started their own proceedings to get Rifqa back when they lost jurisdiction two months back.  So two courts met at the same time on the same matter; both listening to each other’s statements via audio link. Both judges were deciding the case of whether Rifqa Bary goes back to Ohio. To say this was unusual is understatemen.

The upshot is that Ohio has jurisdiction and the Florida court maintains emergency jurisdiction at least until the 27h of October.  The law is clear on this.

FP: Is Rifqa safe in Ohio?

Geller: No, I do not believe she is. As soon as she ran away, Ohio law enforcement dismissed her charges of abuse — before they had even conducted an investigation. A month ago, Ohio Governor Strickland publicly stated that he wanted Rifqa back in Ohio. Strickland has been a supporter of CAIR. Not surprising, as he has been on the receiving end of substantial dollars from the Muslim community.  CAIR is very involved in the case. They are advising Mohamed and Aysha Bary (Rifqa’s parents). The Muslim community and particularly the Noor Mosque, will not be warm to such a vocal apostate. Imagine the psychological abuse for a 17 year old girl upon her return. 75 pound Rifqa vs the Islamic machine. David meets Goliath.

FP: What can we do to help Rifka?

Geller: Call, write, fax, snail mail, Governor Charlie Crist, gently persuasively. Every day.

Governor Charlie Crist’s office:

Phone:  (850) 488-4441, (850) 488-7146.

Fax: (850) 487-0801

Email: Charlie.Crist@MyFlorida.com

The 17 year old convert from Islam to Christianity to be sent back to Ohio

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The 17 year old who fears for her life is to be sent back to the place she fears will lead to her death:Add an Image

A 17-year old girl who fled from her home, fearing her Muslim parents would kill her for converting to Christianity, must go back to Ohio, a Florida judge ruled Tuesday.

Judge Daniel Dawson ruled Ohio has jurisdiction over the case involving the teen, Rifqa Bary.

Before the girl gets sent back, the judge says he needs immigration papers proving her status in the U.S. and proof from the state of Florida that she can continue her virtual schooling and receive credit in Ohio.

She is expected to be placed in foster care when she returns and will also be provided with psychiatric evaluations. Her parents will also receive psychiatric evaluations.

“If I had stayed in Ohio, I wouldn’t be alive,” she said. “In 150 generations in family, no one has known Jesus. I am the first — imagine the honor in killing me.”

If an attempt is made on this girl’s life, perhaps judge Daniel Dawson will be sent for a psychiatric evaluation.

Insulting for Jesus

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A Christian couple who own a hotel have been charged with a criminal – yes criminal – offence for insulting a guest:

Ben and Sharon Vogelenzang are awaiting trial accused of breaching public order by insulting a guest at their hotel in Aintree, Liverpool, about her religion.

The couple, who are members of an evangelical congregation, were arrested by police after getting into a discussion with the woman about the differences between Christianity and Islam earlier this year.

Mrs Vogelenzang, 54, is understood to have described Muslim dress as putting women into “bondage” while her husband, 53, allegedly described the Prophet Mohammed as a “warlord”.

The Christian Institute, which is finding the Vogelenzangs’ defence, said that the case showed that Christians are suffering growing “persecution” by officials who use the law to prevent them speaking about their faith.

I left Britain 35 years ago, but as far as I remember, insulting guests was an accepted way of life in British hotels. No more, it seems. Those who want to see how it’s done properly, watch this:

Mass producing Muslims

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As Christendom aborts and birth-controls itself into extinction, Muslims in Africa are being encouraged to go forth and multiply. Novel idea:

The new leader of the Anglican church in Nigeria believes that Muslims are “mass producing” babies to take over Africa.

The Most Revd Nicholas Okoh, who believes that Christianity is under attack from Islam, was elected primate of Nigeria earlier this month, making him one of the powerful figures in Anglicanism.

Nigeria, where the Anglican church has 17 million adherents, is split between Christianity and Islam.

In a sermon in Beckenham, Kent, in July he spoke of African Christians being “surrounded by Islamic domination”.

In extracts quoted by The Times, he said: “They spend a lot of money, even in places where they don’t have congregations, they build mosques, they build hospitals, they build anything.

“They come to Africans and say, ‘Christianity is asking you to marry only one wife. We will give you four’.”

He went on: “That is the type of evangelism they are doing: mass-production, so if you have four wives, four children, sixteen children, very soon you will be a village.”

Meanwhile, Rowan Williams – who know something about hair mass-production since he has more in his eyebrows than Osama bin Laden does in his beard – is beating back the onslaught of Islam by positive engagement and good wishes:

The Archbishop of Canterbury has released a message for the Muslim festival Eid.

Sending “warm good wishes” to the Muslim community, Dr Rowan Williams cites recent positive examples of Christian and Muslim “engagement”.

“My great hope for the coming year is that our festivals will increasingly be occasions of mutual gladness,” he says.

Please appease me

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Do you have to behave like someone else in order to understand them and what they believe? If I want to understand Freemasonry, do I need to roll up one trouser leg and call someone “worshipful master” or if I am trying to decide whether to become an extreme Pentecostal, should I handle some poisonous snakes to see how it feels?

The answer is no, because I don’t have to try something to conclude that I don’t agree with it; this concept seems be beyond the grasp of liberal Christians bent on “understanding” Muslims:

Ramadan can be a time of great spiritual renewal for Muslims. Non-Muslims can also have a ‘taste’ of fasting if they follow the recommendation of London mayor Boris Johnson, as I did last Friday, for this report.

Contrary to a twisted existentialist view of belief, engaging in a Muslim ritual will not make you a Muslim nor will it help you understand Islam; it won’t even help you understand Muslims unless you take the condescending view that a hungry Muslim during Ramadan feels different from a hungry non-Muslim any other time of the year.

The intent in all this appears to be to conciliate Muslims by convincing them that, as Christians, we are sufficiently insecure in our beliefs that we are willing to set them aside for a while and try theirs – to prove we can get along.

All it really proves is that Western liberal Christianity no longer deserves the name derived from its founder.

Mayor of London suggests non-Muslims fast for Ramadan

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But will he encourage Muslims to attend church at Easter? Probably not.Add an Image

Boris Johnson calls for a day of fasting to ‘help understand Muslims’

London Mayor Boris Johnson today encouraged people to undergo a day of fasting to help them gain a better understanding of their ‘Muslim neighbour’.

Speaking during a visit to the East London Mosque and London Muslim Centre he said Muslims in the capital were ‘challenging traditional stereotypes’ to show they wanted to be part of the mainstream.

Mr Johnson’s visit coincided with the holy period of Ramadan in which participating Muslims fast from dawn until sunset.

He said: ‘Whether it’s in theatre, comedy, sports, music or politics, Muslims are challenging the traditional stereotypes and showing that they are, and want to be, a part of the mainstream community.

‘That’s why I urge people, particularly during Ramadan, to find out more about Islam, increase your understanding and learning, even fast for a day with your Muslim neighbour and break your fast at the local mosque.

Observing a religious ceremony for appearance’ sake without actually believing what the ceremony represents would normally be called hypocrisy.

Boris Johnson’s suggestion appears more bizarre in light of some of his earlier remarks about Islam:

..It will take a huge effort of courage and skill to win round the many thousands of British Muslims who are in a similar state of alienation, and to make them see that their faith must be compatible with British values and with loyalty to Britain. That means disposing of the first taboo, and accepting that the problem is Islam. Islam is the problem.

To any non-Muslim reader of the Koran, Islamophobia — fear of Islam — seems a natural reaction, and, indeed, exactly what that text is intended to provoke. Judged purely on its scripture — to say nothing of what is preached in the mosques — it is the most viciously sectarian of all religions in its heartlessness towards unbelievers. […]

The trouble with this disgusting arrogance and condescension [of Theo Van Gogh’s killer] is that it is widely supported in Koranic texts, and we look in vain for the enlightened Islamic teachers and preachers who will begin the process of reform. What is going on in these mosques and madrasas? When is someone going to get 18th century on Islam’s mediaeval ass?

Burqa burglars

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It was only a matter of time before the stocking over the head was replaced by a burqa: now it’s happened:

Police are searching for a burqa-clad man who helped steal designer watches worth £150,000 in an armed robbery yesterday.

The man and two accomplices, armed with a handgun and an axe, burst into Michael Jones Jewellers on the High Street in Banbury, Oxfordshire, at about 2.20pm.

The incident is the latest in a spate of ‘burqa robberies’ where thieves conceal their identity with the full-body garment typically worn by Muslim women.

Reminds me of this:

Jesus, unlike Muhammad, had interesting things to say

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According to Sebastian Faulks:

Sebastian Faulks, the best-selling author, has risked angering Muslims after claiming the Koran has “no ethical dimension” and dismissing the words of Muhammad as the “rantings of a schizophrenic”.

Faulks claims that the Koran offers no interesting stories compared with the Bible, and simply tells its readers to believe in God or “burn forever”.

“There is also the barrenness of the message. I mean, there are some bits about diet, you know, the equivalent of the Old Testament, which is also crazy.

“But the great thing about the Old Testament is that it does have these incredible stories. Of the 100 greatest stories ever told, about 99 are probably in the Old Testament and the other is in Homer,” he said.

“With the Koran there are no stories. And it has no ethical dimension like the New Testament, no new plan for life.”

And in a move that is likely to anger many Muslims, he calls into question the worth of Muhammad.

“Jesus, unlike Muhammad, had interesting things to say. He proposed a revolutionary way of looking at the world: love you neighbour, love your enemy, be kind to people, the meek shall inherit the Earth. Muhammad had nothing to say to the world other than, ‘If you don’t believe in God you will burn forever.'”

Predictably, Faulks has been accused of stirring up religious hatred against Muslims. By blowing up innocent people and rejoicing in their deaths, Muslims do a far better job of fomenting hatred against themselves than Faulks’ paltry efforts; that fact probably isn’t something that will keep him safe, though.

Blaspheming in Ireland

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Is to be no more: Ireland introduces a new blasphemy law:

The Irish government plans to bring into force a new law in October that critics say is a return to medieval justice.

The legislation, aimed at providing judges with clear direction on the 1937 Constitution’s blasphemy prohibition, imposes a fine of up to 25,000 euros — about $39,000 — for anyone who “publishes or utters matter that is [intentionally meant to be] grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters held sacred by any religion, thereby causing outrage among a substantial number of the adherents of that religion.”

Police with a search warrant will be able to enter private premises and use “reasonable force” to obtain incriminating evidence.

The truth is, there are already blasphemy laws actively operating in every Western nation: they only prohibit an offence against Islam, though and the penalty is often death at the hands of a demented Muslim. So effective are the existing laws that a new book from Yale Press – the fearless bastion of controversy and free speech – is self-censoring itself by not publishing the notorious Mohammed cartoons in a book about the cartoons.

At least the new Irish blasphemy law evens things up by prohibiting Christian blasphemy too – although the penalty is a measly maximum of $39,000, not death.

Richard Dawkins has an opinion, of course:

“It is a wretched, backward, uncivilized regression to the Middle Ages,” said prominent atheist author Richard Dawkins in a statement last month, arguing that the law risks shattering Ireland’s new image as a “modern, civilized . . . green and pleasant silicon valley.”

Now, Richard, since when did you care about civilisation? As long as we are evolving, surely that’s all that matters; why are you not happy with the remorseless evolution that produced this new blasphemy law?