AP
A top Libyan al Qaeda commander has urged his countrymen to overthrow Col. Moammar Gadhafi’s regime and establish Islamic rule, expanding the terror network’s attempts to capitalize on the wave of unrest sweeping the region.
Abu Yahia al-Libi, al Qaeda’s Afghanistan commander, said in a video posted on a militant website that after the fall of the regimes in Tunisia and Egypt, it is now Col. Gadhafi’s turn, as rebel fighters there press a nearly monthlong campaign to oust him.
Those nation’s autocratic governments — enemies of Islamic militants — practiced “the worst kind of oppression” with the backing of the West and failed to heed the lessons of history, he said.
“Now it is the turn of Gadhafi after he made the people of Libya suffer for more than 40 years,” he said, adding that it would bring shame to the Libyan people if the strongman were allowed to die a peaceful death.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Christian-Muslim clashes in Egypt kill 11
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Muslim-Christian clashes in the Egyptian capital Cairo have killed 11 people and wounded more than 90, security and hospital officials said on Wednesday.
The clashes broke out Tuesday night when a Muslim mob attacked thousands of Christians protesting against the burning of a Cairo church last week. Muslims torched the church amid an escalation of tensions between the two religious groups over a love affair between a Muslim and a Christian that set off a violent feud between the couple's families.
The officials said Wednesday that the killed were six Christians and five Muslims, all died from gunshot wounds. They said 94 people were wounded - 73 Muslims and 21 Christians.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The clashes added to a sense of ongoing chaos in Egypt after the momentous 18-day democracy uprising that toppled longtime leader Hosni Mubarak on Feb. 11. The uprising left a security vacuum when police have pulled out from Cairo and several other cities three days into the uprising.
The police have yet to fully take back the streets, something that has left space for a wave of violent crime and lawlessness in some parts of the nation.
The Christian protesters on Tuesday blocked a vital highway, burning tires and pelting cars with rocks. An angry crowd of Muslims set upon the Christians and the two sides fought pitched battles for about four hours.
Muslim-Christian clashes in the Egyptian capital Cairo have killed 11 people and wounded more than 90, security and hospital officials said on Wednesday.
The clashes broke out Tuesday night when a Muslim mob attacked thousands of Christians protesting against the burning of a Cairo church last week. Muslims torched the church amid an escalation of tensions between the two religious groups over a love affair between a Muslim and a Christian that set off a violent feud between the couple's families.
The officials said Wednesday that the killed were six Christians and five Muslims, all died from gunshot wounds. They said 94 people were wounded - 73 Muslims and 21 Christians.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The clashes added to a sense of ongoing chaos in Egypt after the momentous 18-day democracy uprising that toppled longtime leader Hosni Mubarak on Feb. 11. The uprising left a security vacuum when police have pulled out from Cairo and several other cities three days into the uprising.
The police have yet to fully take back the streets, something that has left space for a wave of violent crime and lawlessness in some parts of the nation.
The Christian protesters on Tuesday blocked a vital highway, burning tires and pelting cars with rocks. An angry crowd of Muslims set upon the Christians and the two sides fought pitched battles for about four hours.
Kill all the Christians, local imam tells villagers
COMPASSDIRECT
Islamic Mob Burns Down Church in Egypt
A Muslim mob in a village south of Cairo last weekend attacked a church building and burned it down, almost killing the parish priest after an imam issued a call to "Kill all the Christians," according to local sources.
The attack started on Friday evening (March 4) in the village of Sool, located in the city of Helwan 35 kilometers (22 miles) from Cairo, and lasted through most of Saturday. A local imam, Sheik Ahmed Abu Al-Dahab, issued the call during Friday afternoon prayers, telling area Muslims to kill the Christians because they had "no right" to live in the village. The attack started several hours later.
The Rev. Hoshea Abd Al-Missieh, a parish priest who narrowly escaped death in the fire, said the clamor of the church being torn apart sounded like "hatred."
"I was in the attack, but I can’t describe it," he said. "The sound of the church being destroyed that I heard – I can’t describe it, how horrible it was."
According to villagers, the mob broke into the Church of the Two Martyrs St. George and St. Mina, and as they chanted "Allahu Akbar [God is greater]," looted it, demolished the walls with sledgehammers and set a fire that burned itself out the next morning. Looters removed anything valuable, including several containers holding the remains of venerated Copts – most of whom were killed in other waves of persecution – then stomped and kicked the containers like soccer balls, witnesses said.
After the fire went out, the mob tore down what little remained of the church structure. The group of Muslims then held prayers at the site and began collecting money to build a mosque where the church building once stood, said the assistant bishop of Giza the Rev. Balamoun Youaqeem.
"They destroyed the church completely," he said. "All that was left is a few columns and things like that. As a building, it’s all gone."
Islamic Mob Burns Down Church in Egypt
A Muslim mob in a village south of Cairo last weekend attacked a church building and burned it down, almost killing the parish priest after an imam issued a call to "Kill all the Christians," according to local sources.
The attack started on Friday evening (March 4) in the village of Sool, located in the city of Helwan 35 kilometers (22 miles) from Cairo, and lasted through most of Saturday. A local imam, Sheik Ahmed Abu Al-Dahab, issued the call during Friday afternoon prayers, telling area Muslims to kill the Christians because they had "no right" to live in the village. The attack started several hours later.
The Rev. Hoshea Abd Al-Missieh, a parish priest who narrowly escaped death in the fire, said the clamor of the church being torn apart sounded like "hatred."
"I was in the attack, but I can’t describe it," he said. "The sound of the church being destroyed that I heard – I can’t describe it, how horrible it was."
According to villagers, the mob broke into the Church of the Two Martyrs St. George and St. Mina, and as they chanted "Allahu Akbar [God is greater]," looted it, demolished the walls with sledgehammers and set a fire that burned itself out the next morning. Looters removed anything valuable, including several containers holding the remains of venerated Copts – most of whom were killed in other waves of persecution – then stomped and kicked the containers like soccer balls, witnesses said.
After the fire went out, the mob tore down what little remained of the church structure. The group of Muslims then held prayers at the site and began collecting money to build a mosque where the church building once stood, said the assistant bishop of Giza the Rev. Balamoun Youaqeem.
"They destroyed the church completely," he said. "All that was left is a few columns and things like that. As a building, it’s all gone."
A Muslim Upbringing and Terrorism
FRONTPAGMAG
Interview with Nicolai Sennels, a Danish psychologist who worked for several years with young criminal Muslims in a Copenhagen prison. He is the author of Among Criminal Muslims. A Psychologist’s Experience from the Copenhagen Municipality. The book will be out in English later this year.
FP: Nicolai Sennels, welcome back to Frontpage Interview.
I would like to talk to you today about how a Muslim upbringing creates terrorists.
Let’s begin with this question: as a child psychologist, how would you explain that so many Muslims become terrorists or sympathize with terrorists?
Sennels: Thanks Jamie.
I have been working with children and adolescents for 15 years and as an experienced psychologist I have both theoretical and practical experience with the development of children’s personality. Having counseled more than 150 Muslim children and their parents, my clear conclusion is that Muslims in general raise their children very differently than non-Muslims. Even though all children are innocent babies when they are born, they can develop into violent and hateful fanatics when they grow up, if confronted with certain psychological circumstances.
Many have asked themselves: Why do so many Muslims become terrorists or sympathize with the terrorists? The answer does not only involve theology, but also psychology.
The question is if there are aspects of the way children are raised in Muslim culture that promotes a mindset that makes people more prone to become terrorists or to use terrorist like tactics such as using fear and violence in order to further a case that is directly against basic human rights, basic human values in general and the law.
My professional experience from working with criminal and non-criminal Muslims is that the general Muslim way of educating children contributes to the psychological development of such a mindset.
FP: Ok, so how exactly does a Muslim upbringing differ from a Western upbringing?
Sennels: Muslim upbringing is under the influence of religious views and cultural traditions which put the Muslim and Western cultural psychology into opposition in several central areas. As I have written about before (“Muslims and Westerners: The psychological differences” and “Among Criminal Muslims“) I have observed four major differences between the Muslim and the Western mind. I will explain later how these four Muslim psychological traits increase the risk of becoming a terrorist.
The first concerns anger. Western children are brought up to think that anger is a negative thing and that showing anger is embarrassing and probably the fastest way to “lose face” (lose social status). It is a sign of lack of control, joy and ability to do what one wants. As we say in Denmark “Only small dogs bark”. Muslim children on the contrary are to a high degree taught that anger and aggression is a socially acceptable tool for handling conflicts and expressing frustration. These clinical observations are supported by a major study done by the German University of Lower Saxony involving intense interviews with 45,000 children between 14 and 16 years of age. The conclusion is that “boys growing up in religious Muslim families are more likely to be violent“. The study, which was conducted by the leader of Lower Saxony Research Institute of Criminology and former Minister of Justice Christian Pfeiffer, also showed that “even when other social factors were taken into account, there remained a significant correlation between religiosity and readiness to use violence” among Muslims. My professional experience with Muslims is that not showing aggression when feeling provoked or criticized is seen as lack of courage or ability to protect one’s honor and this will cause loss of social status. The lack of will will in Western countries to defend our culture and values are generally among Muslims seen as an exploitable sign of vulnerability, because it makes us look weak, without courage and without pride in what we stand for.
The second difference between Muslim and Western upbringing concerns honor and self confidence. Westerners are in general brought up to think that handling criticism objectively and emotionally undisturbed is a sign of mental balance and personal strength. Trusting oneself and being able to use the criticism constructively if it is true and not caring if it is not, is a sign of authenticity and true self-confidence. In Muslim culture criticism is seen as an insult and it is expected – according to their view on anger – to respond aggressively. Being acutely aware of any kind of criticism and reacting aggressively (even being ready to kill own family members) in order to protect one’s honor is not seen as honorable in Western psychology. It is a sign of feeling insecure, weak and mentally out of balance. A recent study in so-called gelotophobia highlights this important cultural difference.
Gelotophobia is the “fear of being laughed at” and gelotophobic people easily feel ridiculed and victimized. They are characterized by a low self-esteem and lack of humor. Some societies are more gelotophobic than others. Studies show that the Middle East (33 percent) is three times more gelotophobic than the average Western European country (11-13 percent). Denmark turned out to be the least gelotophobic country in the world (1,7 percent is slightly gelotophobic). Gelotophobic cultures can not participate in intellectual debates because this involves taking critical arguments serious. People who can not handle criticism and only have very few valid arguments, easily feel powerless. Violence and threats (terrorism) then very easily becomes an – unfortunately often effective – option to avert criticism and get one’s way.
A third difference in the upbringing concerns the experience of how our lives are generally shaped. Psychology talks about inner and outer locus of control. Western culture is dominated by a feeling of inner control. This means that we see ourselves as the main responsible for our own actions, situation and state of mind. We see the way we think, our own viewpoint, our ability to handle our emotions and the reactions, we chose as the main factor giving our lives direction and deciding our feelings of happiness and suffering. If we have personal problems we ask ourselves “What did I do wrong, what can I do different?” We look for the answers within and a whole industry of countless psychologists, therapists, coaches, self-help books and magazines are built up around this world view.
The Muslim world has nothing of this belief system and no industry of personal counseling. This is because it is dominated by an outer locus of control. Muslim societies have strict outer cultural traditions, religious rules, powerful male authorities and often totalitarian regimes deciding almost every aspect of the individual’s life. There is little – if any – room for reflecting on, questioning or criticizing these outer factors of control. When a Muslim has personal problems he or she is therefore very likely to ask “Who did this to me?” Where we in the West believe in the Free Will, Muslims have their “Insha’ Allah”. Inner locus of control leads to self responsibility and increased ability of self-reflection. Outer locus of control leads to victim mentality and a need for outer borders in order to behave socially. Child psychological studies on Muslim upbringing show that “prevention of deviance through moral education is neglected in favor of punishment.” Put in another way: Installing fear for outer authorities is more important than developing the individual’s moral.
The fourth psychological difference concerns identity and tolerance. Until recently, where cultural relativism has proved to be a naive theory conceived by abstract minded professors without maturing life experience, most Westerners were taught that all religions and cultures are equal. We are told to be tolerant and even today many fear being called a racist when criticizing totalitarian religions, foreigners’ high crime rates or EU and our national states’ loose immigration laws. Muslims on the other hand are told that they belong to a certain religious group and that their loyalty are to the tribe (the Muslim society and the Umma) and to the religion – on the expense of loyalty towards respectively national identity and secular laws, and on the expense of tolerance towards “the others” — the non-Muslims. The strong Muslim identity among Muslims creates an equally strong Us-Them mentality. Research show that only 14 percent of the Muslims living in Denmark identify themselves as “Danish and democratic”. In Germany only 12 percent of the Muslims feel “German”.
A Swedish study quoted in the former Danish minister Karen Jespersen’s book Islam’s Power supports my own clinical observations and the above research in identity from Denmark and Germany. The study concluded that Muslim criminals never robs other Muslims, and that the violence and robberies against the non-Muslim Swedes are mainly intended to cause submission: “The robberies, which are only rarely planned, could happen weekly or even daily. The purpose was far from just getting money for consumption. The aim was also very much to show power and humiliate Swedes. It did not matter who was the victims, as long as it was a Swede: ‘When we make robbery, we feel that we are at war with the Swedes.’ ‘Yes, our assaults is an act of war, we are in war with the Swedes.’ ‘To me it is power, when the Swedes lay on the ground and kiss my feet.’ The psychology of identity and loyalty plays an immense role when assessing the risk of terrorist acts commuted by a person, group, organization or culture.
FP: How do these four Muslim psychological traits increase the risk of them becoming terrorists?
Sennels: Anger, hurt pride, a victim mentality and a strong feeling of belonging to a group that is superior and opposed to all others are the main components of the terrorist’s mindset. And this is exactly the feelings that Muslim upbringing and Muslim culture instills into a great many Muslims’ personality.
The cultivation of anger and seeing anger as a sign of strength provides the necessary aggression and motivation to harm the object on which one projects the anger. The hurt pride creates a feeling of need for revenge, fuels the anger and increase the wish for domination (“I will show you who are the strongest!”). The outer locus of control – the cause of the widespread and well known victim mentality in Muslim societies – creates an experience of oneself as a persecuted victim that is allowed to defend himself by all means against the brutal and unjust suppressor. The strong identity pinpoints both friends and enemies. Both in wars and in the Hollywood movies the designation and denigration of the enemy helps people feel less empathy with the enemy and thus destroys the psychological border that normally prevents us from harming “the bad guys” or feeling joy when they suffer or are killed. The values implemented in Muslim child education creates and strengthen this tendency to a great extent. Houndreds of thousands of Muslim children in the West attend Quranic schoolsand in many cases their negative view on non-Muslims are enhanced there.
Muslim culture basically creates a lot of angry people, with fragile self confidence, a great amount of victim mentality and a feeling of being opposed to non-Muslims. Combining such a culture with a violent ideology is the worst possible combination between psychology and religion you can have.
Interview with Nicolai Sennels, a Danish psychologist who worked for several years with young criminal Muslims in a Copenhagen prison. He is the author of Among Criminal Muslims. A Psychologist’s Experience from the Copenhagen Municipality. The book will be out in English later this year.
FP: Nicolai Sennels, welcome back to Frontpage Interview.
I would like to talk to you today about how a Muslim upbringing creates terrorists.
Let’s begin with this question: as a child psychologist, how would you explain that so many Muslims become terrorists or sympathize with terrorists?
Sennels: Thanks Jamie.
I have been working with children and adolescents for 15 years and as an experienced psychologist I have both theoretical and practical experience with the development of children’s personality. Having counseled more than 150 Muslim children and their parents, my clear conclusion is that Muslims in general raise their children very differently than non-Muslims. Even though all children are innocent babies when they are born, they can develop into violent and hateful fanatics when they grow up, if confronted with certain psychological circumstances.
Many have asked themselves: Why do so many Muslims become terrorists or sympathize with the terrorists? The answer does not only involve theology, but also psychology.
The question is if there are aspects of the way children are raised in Muslim culture that promotes a mindset that makes people more prone to become terrorists or to use terrorist like tactics such as using fear and violence in order to further a case that is directly against basic human rights, basic human values in general and the law.
My professional experience from working with criminal and non-criminal Muslims is that the general Muslim way of educating children contributes to the psychological development of such a mindset.
FP: Ok, so how exactly does a Muslim upbringing differ from a Western upbringing?
Sennels: Muslim upbringing is under the influence of religious views and cultural traditions which put the Muslim and Western cultural psychology into opposition in several central areas. As I have written about before (“Muslims and Westerners: The psychological differences” and “Among Criminal Muslims“) I have observed four major differences between the Muslim and the Western mind. I will explain later how these four Muslim psychological traits increase the risk of becoming a terrorist.
The first concerns anger. Western children are brought up to think that anger is a negative thing and that showing anger is embarrassing and probably the fastest way to “lose face” (lose social status). It is a sign of lack of control, joy and ability to do what one wants. As we say in Denmark “Only small dogs bark”. Muslim children on the contrary are to a high degree taught that anger and aggression is a socially acceptable tool for handling conflicts and expressing frustration. These clinical observations are supported by a major study done by the German University of Lower Saxony involving intense interviews with 45,000 children between 14 and 16 years of age. The conclusion is that “boys growing up in religious Muslim families are more likely to be violent“. The study, which was conducted by the leader of Lower Saxony Research Institute of Criminology and former Minister of Justice Christian Pfeiffer, also showed that “even when other social factors were taken into account, there remained a significant correlation between religiosity and readiness to use violence” among Muslims. My professional experience with Muslims is that not showing aggression when feeling provoked or criticized is seen as lack of courage or ability to protect one’s honor and this will cause loss of social status. The lack of will will in Western countries to defend our culture and values are generally among Muslims seen as an exploitable sign of vulnerability, because it makes us look weak, without courage and without pride in what we stand for.
The second difference between Muslim and Western upbringing concerns honor and self confidence. Westerners are in general brought up to think that handling criticism objectively and emotionally undisturbed is a sign of mental balance and personal strength. Trusting oneself and being able to use the criticism constructively if it is true and not caring if it is not, is a sign of authenticity and true self-confidence. In Muslim culture criticism is seen as an insult and it is expected – according to their view on anger – to respond aggressively. Being acutely aware of any kind of criticism and reacting aggressively (even being ready to kill own family members) in order to protect one’s honor is not seen as honorable in Western psychology. It is a sign of feeling insecure, weak and mentally out of balance. A recent study in so-called gelotophobia highlights this important cultural difference.
Gelotophobia is the “fear of being laughed at” and gelotophobic people easily feel ridiculed and victimized. They are characterized by a low self-esteem and lack of humor. Some societies are more gelotophobic than others. Studies show that the Middle East (33 percent) is three times more gelotophobic than the average Western European country (11-13 percent). Denmark turned out to be the least gelotophobic country in the world (1,7 percent is slightly gelotophobic). Gelotophobic cultures can not participate in intellectual debates because this involves taking critical arguments serious. People who can not handle criticism and only have very few valid arguments, easily feel powerless. Violence and threats (terrorism) then very easily becomes an – unfortunately often effective – option to avert criticism and get one’s way.
A third difference in the upbringing concerns the experience of how our lives are generally shaped. Psychology talks about inner and outer locus of control. Western culture is dominated by a feeling of inner control. This means that we see ourselves as the main responsible for our own actions, situation and state of mind. We see the way we think, our own viewpoint, our ability to handle our emotions and the reactions, we chose as the main factor giving our lives direction and deciding our feelings of happiness and suffering. If we have personal problems we ask ourselves “What did I do wrong, what can I do different?” We look for the answers within and a whole industry of countless psychologists, therapists, coaches, self-help books and magazines are built up around this world view.
The Muslim world has nothing of this belief system and no industry of personal counseling. This is because it is dominated by an outer locus of control. Muslim societies have strict outer cultural traditions, religious rules, powerful male authorities and often totalitarian regimes deciding almost every aspect of the individual’s life. There is little – if any – room for reflecting on, questioning or criticizing these outer factors of control. When a Muslim has personal problems he or she is therefore very likely to ask “Who did this to me?” Where we in the West believe in the Free Will, Muslims have their “Insha’ Allah”. Inner locus of control leads to self responsibility and increased ability of self-reflection. Outer locus of control leads to victim mentality and a need for outer borders in order to behave socially. Child psychological studies on Muslim upbringing show that “prevention of deviance through moral education is neglected in favor of punishment.” Put in another way: Installing fear for outer authorities is more important than developing the individual’s moral.
The fourth psychological difference concerns identity and tolerance. Until recently, where cultural relativism has proved to be a naive theory conceived by abstract minded professors without maturing life experience, most Westerners were taught that all religions and cultures are equal. We are told to be tolerant and even today many fear being called a racist when criticizing totalitarian religions, foreigners’ high crime rates or EU and our national states’ loose immigration laws. Muslims on the other hand are told that they belong to a certain religious group and that their loyalty are to the tribe (the Muslim society and the Umma) and to the religion – on the expense of loyalty towards respectively national identity and secular laws, and on the expense of tolerance towards “the others” — the non-Muslims. The strong Muslim identity among Muslims creates an equally strong Us-Them mentality. Research show that only 14 percent of the Muslims living in Denmark identify themselves as “Danish and democratic”. In Germany only 12 percent of the Muslims feel “German”.
A Swedish study quoted in the former Danish minister Karen Jespersen’s book Islam’s Power supports my own clinical observations and the above research in identity from Denmark and Germany. The study concluded that Muslim criminals never robs other Muslims, and that the violence and robberies against the non-Muslim Swedes are mainly intended to cause submission: “The robberies, which are only rarely planned, could happen weekly or even daily. The purpose was far from just getting money for consumption. The aim was also very much to show power and humiliate Swedes. It did not matter who was the victims, as long as it was a Swede: ‘When we make robbery, we feel that we are at war with the Swedes.’ ‘Yes, our assaults is an act of war, we are in war with the Swedes.’ ‘To me it is power, when the Swedes lay on the ground and kiss my feet.’ The psychology of identity and loyalty plays an immense role when assessing the risk of terrorist acts commuted by a person, group, organization or culture.
FP: How do these four Muslim psychological traits increase the risk of them becoming terrorists?
Sennels: Anger, hurt pride, a victim mentality and a strong feeling of belonging to a group that is superior and opposed to all others are the main components of the terrorist’s mindset. And this is exactly the feelings that Muslim upbringing and Muslim culture instills into a great many Muslims’ personality.
The cultivation of anger and seeing anger as a sign of strength provides the necessary aggression and motivation to harm the object on which one projects the anger. The hurt pride creates a feeling of need for revenge, fuels the anger and increase the wish for domination (“I will show you who are the strongest!”). The outer locus of control – the cause of the widespread and well known victim mentality in Muslim societies – creates an experience of oneself as a persecuted victim that is allowed to defend himself by all means against the brutal and unjust suppressor. The strong identity pinpoints both friends and enemies. Both in wars and in the Hollywood movies the designation and denigration of the enemy helps people feel less empathy with the enemy and thus destroys the psychological border that normally prevents us from harming “the bad guys” or feeling joy when they suffer or are killed. The values implemented in Muslim child education creates and strengthen this tendency to a great extent. Houndreds of thousands of Muslim children in the West attend Quranic schoolsand in many cases their negative view on non-Muslims are enhanced there.
Muslim culture basically creates a lot of angry people, with fragile self confidence, a great amount of victim mentality and a feeling of being opposed to non-Muslims. Combining such a culture with a violent ideology is the worst possible combination between psychology and religion you can have.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
From the heart of a Muslim
From Tawfik Hamid
I was born a Muslim and lived all my life as a follower of Islam.
After the barbaric terrorist attacks done by the hands of my fellow Muslims everywhere on this globe, and after the too many violent acts by Islamists in many parts of the world, I feel responsible as a Muslim and as a human being, to speak out and tell the truth to protect the world and Muslims as well from a coming catastrophe and war of civilizations.
I have to admit that our current Islamic teaching creates violence and hatred toward Non-Muslims. We Muslims are the ones who need to change. Until now we have accepted polygamy, the beating of women by men, and killing those who convert from Islam to other religions.
We have never had a clear and strong stand against the concept of slavery or wars, to spread our religion and to subjugate others to Islam and force them to pay a humiliating tax called Jizia. We ask others to respect our religion while all the timewe curse non-Muslims loudly (in Arabic) in our Friday prayers in the Mosques.
What message do we convey to our children when we call the Jews “Descendants of the pigs and monkeys”.. Is this a message of love and peace, or a message of hate?
I have been into churches and synagogues where they were praying for Muslims. While all the time we curse them, and teach our generations to call them infidels, and to hate them.
We immediately jump in a ‘knee jerk reflex’ to defend Prophet Mohammed when someone accuses him of being a pedophile while, at the same time, we are proud with the story in our Islamic books, that he married a young girl seven years old (Aisha) when he was above 50 years old.
I am sad to say that many, if not most of us, rejoiced in happiness after September 11th and after many other terror attacks.
Muslims denounce these attacks to look good in front of the media, but we condone the Islamic terrorists and sympathise with their cause. Till now our ‘reputable’ top religious authorities have never issued a Fatwa or religious statement to proclaim Bin Laden as an apostate, while an author, like Rushdie, was declared an apostate who should be killed according to Islamic Shariia law just for writing a book criticizing Islam.
Muslims demonstrated to get more religious rights as we did in France to stop the ban on the Hejab (Head Scarf), while we did not demonstrate with such passion and in such numbers against the terrorist murders.
It is our absolute silence against the terrorists that gives the energy to these terrorists to continue doing their evil acts. We Muslims need to stop blaming our problems on others or on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. As a matter of honesty, Israel is the only light of democracy, civilization, and human rights in the whole Middle East .
We kicked out the Jews with no compensation or mercy from most of the Arab countries to make them “Jews-Free countries” while Israel accepted more than a million Arabs to live there, have its nationality, and enjoy their rights as human beings. In Israel , women can not be beaten legally by men, and any person can change his/her belief system with no fear of being killed by the Islamic law of ‘Apostasy,’ while in our Islamic world people do not enjoy any of these rights. I agree that the ‘Palestinians’ suffer, but they suffer because of their corrupt leaders and not because of Israel .
It is not common to see Arabs who live in Israel leaving to live in the Arab world. On the other hand, we used to see thousands of Palestinians going to work with happiness in Israel , its ‘enemy’. If Israel treats Arabs badly as some people claim, surely we would have seen the opposite happening.
We Muslims need to admit our problems and face them. Only then we can treat them and start a new era to live in harmony with human mankind. Our religious leaders have to show a clear and very strong stand against polygamy, pedophilia, slavery, killing those who convert from Islam to other religions, beating of women by men, and declaring wars on non-Muslims to spread Islam.
Then, and only then, do we have the right to ask others to respect our religion. The time has come to stop our hypocrisy and say it openly: ‘We Muslims have to Change’.
I was born a Muslim and lived all my life as a follower of Islam.
After the barbaric terrorist attacks done by the hands of my fellow Muslims everywhere on this globe, and after the too many violent acts by Islamists in many parts of the world, I feel responsible as a Muslim and as a human being, to speak out and tell the truth to protect the world and Muslims as well from a coming catastrophe and war of civilizations.
I have to admit that our current Islamic teaching creates violence and hatred toward Non-Muslims. We Muslims are the ones who need to change. Until now we have accepted polygamy, the beating of women by men, and killing those who convert from Islam to other religions.
We have never had a clear and strong stand against the concept of slavery or wars, to spread our religion and to subjugate others to Islam and force them to pay a humiliating tax called Jizia. We ask others to respect our religion while all the timewe curse non-Muslims loudly (in Arabic) in our Friday prayers in the Mosques.
What message do we convey to our children when we call the Jews “Descendants of the pigs and monkeys”.. Is this a message of love and peace, or a message of hate?
I have been into churches and synagogues where they were praying for Muslims. While all the time we curse them, and teach our generations to call them infidels, and to hate them.
We immediately jump in a ‘knee jerk reflex’ to defend Prophet Mohammed when someone accuses him of being a pedophile while, at the same time, we are proud with the story in our Islamic books, that he married a young girl seven years old (Aisha) when he was above 50 years old.
I am sad to say that many, if not most of us, rejoiced in happiness after September 11th and after many other terror attacks.
Muslims denounce these attacks to look good in front of the media, but we condone the Islamic terrorists and sympathise with their cause. Till now our ‘reputable’ top religious authorities have never issued a Fatwa or religious statement to proclaim Bin Laden as an apostate, while an author, like Rushdie, was declared an apostate who should be killed according to Islamic Shariia law just for writing a book criticizing Islam.
Muslims demonstrated to get more religious rights as we did in France to stop the ban on the Hejab (Head Scarf), while we did not demonstrate with such passion and in such numbers against the terrorist murders.
It is our absolute silence against the terrorists that gives the energy to these terrorists to continue doing their evil acts. We Muslims need to stop blaming our problems on others or on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. As a matter of honesty, Israel is the only light of democracy, civilization, and human rights in the whole Middle East .
We kicked out the Jews with no compensation or mercy from most of the Arab countries to make them “Jews-Free countries” while Israel accepted more than a million Arabs to live there, have its nationality, and enjoy their rights as human beings. In Israel , women can not be beaten legally by men, and any person can change his/her belief system with no fear of being killed by the Islamic law of ‘Apostasy,’ while in our Islamic world people do not enjoy any of these rights. I agree that the ‘Palestinians’ suffer, but they suffer because of their corrupt leaders and not because of Israel .
It is not common to see Arabs who live in Israel leaving to live in the Arab world. On the other hand, we used to see thousands of Palestinians going to work with happiness in Israel , its ‘enemy’. If Israel treats Arabs badly as some people claim, surely we would have seen the opposite happening.
We Muslims need to admit our problems and face them. Only then we can treat them and start a new era to live in harmony with human mankind. Our religious leaders have to show a clear and very strong stand against polygamy, pedophilia, slavery, killing those who convert from Islam to other religions, beating of women by men, and declaring wars on non-Muslims to spread Islam.
Then, and only then, do we have the right to ask others to respect our religion. The time has come to stop our hypocrisy and say it openly: ‘We Muslims have to Change’.
Jihad on Ethiopia
CHRISTIANPOST
At least one Christian was killed and others injured when thousands of Islamic extremists set fire to 59 churches and at least 28 homes in western Ethiopia in the past five days, Christian leaders said.
More than 4,000 Christians in and around Asendabo, Jimma Zone have been displaced as a result of attacks that began on Wednesday (March 2) after Muslims accused a Christian of desecrating the Quran by tearing up a copy, sources said.
“The atrocity is still going on, and more people are suffering,” said a source in Addis Ababa who is in close contact with area church leaders.
The Christian killed, believed to have been a member of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, has not yet been identified.
“One Orthodox believer, whose daughter is a member of Mekane Yesus Church, has been killed,” an Ethiopian church leader told Compass. “Ministers were injured, and many more believers have been displaced.”
A pastor based in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa noted that evangelical church leaders have reported the attacks to authorities and asked officials for help, but no action had been taken at press time.
“The church requested more police protection,” he said. “The authorities sent security forces, but they were overwhelmed by the attackers.”
After the destruction began at Asendabo, it spread to Chiltie, Gilgel Gibe, Gibe, Nada, Dimtu, Uragay, Busa and Koticha, as Muslim mobs in the thousands rampaged throughout the area, sources said.
“Police at the site are not taking any action – they just watch what is happening,” said another source. “It is difficult to estimate the attack in terms of deaths, since we have no access to any location.”
Those displaced are in shelters in Ako, Jimma, Dimtu and Derbo, he said.
“We are very concerned that the attack that began on March 2 in Asendabo, which is the rural part of Jimma, is now heading to Jimma town,” he said.
The extremists also destroyed an Ethiopian Kale Hiwot Church (EKHC) Bible school building and two church office buildings, the source said. Of the churches burned, he said, 38 belonged to the EKHC; 12 were Mekane Yesus buildings; six were Seventh-day Adventist structures; two were Muluwongel church buildings, and another belonged to a “Jesus Only” congregation.
“Women and children are the most affected in this sudden attack,” he said. “It is needless to mention the believers’ houses and properties burned down. The overall estimated cost, may be worth over 60 million birr [US$3.55 million].”
Anti-Christian attacks in western Ethiopia in 2006 killed at least 24 people.
“Attacks on the church have been a common occurrence in predominantly Muslim areas of Ethiopia like Jimma and Jijiga,” the source said, adding that Christians are often subject to harassment and intimidation.
Asendabo, in Oromia Region, is about 300 kilometers (186 miles) from Addis Ababa.
At least one Christian was killed and others injured when thousands of Islamic extremists set fire to 59 churches and at least 28 homes in western Ethiopia in the past five days, Christian leaders said.
More than 4,000 Christians in and around Asendabo, Jimma Zone have been displaced as a result of attacks that began on Wednesday (March 2) after Muslims accused a Christian of desecrating the Quran by tearing up a copy, sources said.
“The atrocity is still going on, and more people are suffering,” said a source in Addis Ababa who is in close contact with area church leaders.
The Christian killed, believed to have been a member of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, has not yet been identified.
“One Orthodox believer, whose daughter is a member of Mekane Yesus Church, has been killed,” an Ethiopian church leader told Compass. “Ministers were injured, and many more believers have been displaced.”
A pastor based in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa noted that evangelical church leaders have reported the attacks to authorities and asked officials for help, but no action had been taken at press time.
“The church requested more police protection,” he said. “The authorities sent security forces, but they were overwhelmed by the attackers.”
After the destruction began at Asendabo, it spread to Chiltie, Gilgel Gibe, Gibe, Nada, Dimtu, Uragay, Busa and Koticha, as Muslim mobs in the thousands rampaged throughout the area, sources said.
“Police at the site are not taking any action – they just watch what is happening,” said another source. “It is difficult to estimate the attack in terms of deaths, since we have no access to any location.”
Those displaced are in shelters in Ako, Jimma, Dimtu and Derbo, he said.
“We are very concerned that the attack that began on March 2 in Asendabo, which is the rural part of Jimma, is now heading to Jimma town,” he said.
The extremists also destroyed an Ethiopian Kale Hiwot Church (EKHC) Bible school building and two church office buildings, the source said. Of the churches burned, he said, 38 belonged to the EKHC; 12 were Mekane Yesus buildings; six were Seventh-day Adventist structures; two were Muluwongel church buildings, and another belonged to a “Jesus Only” congregation.
“Women and children are the most affected in this sudden attack,” he said. “It is needless to mention the believers’ houses and properties burned down. The overall estimated cost, may be worth over 60 million birr [US$3.55 million].”
Anti-Christian attacks in western Ethiopia in 2006 killed at least 24 people.
“Attacks on the church have been a common occurrence in predominantly Muslim areas of Ethiopia like Jimma and Jijiga,” the source said, adding that Christians are often subject to harassment and intimidation.
Asendabo, in Oromia Region, is about 300 kilometers (186 miles) from Addis Ababa.
Muslims against Christians
Muslim extremists attack Christian worshipers in their churches all over the world on daily basis. These massacres result in killing innocent men, women and children while sleeping, praying or going to school.
The acts of pre-meditated massacres committed by Muslim extremists against Christians in the Muslim world, has become a phenomenon that needs to be addressed by all nations where Muslims live, by the United Nations, in particular.
The doctrine of abrogation gives license to Muslim extremists to persecute non-Muslims. From the beginning, Islam regarded both Christians and Jews as second-class citizens. Time and again, the Muslim texts, which are represented in the Quran and the second source of the Islamic law, known as the "Hadith" (sayings of the Prophet) and "Sunnah" (deeds of the Prophet), assert the intention of humiliating Christians and Jews. Never was a Christian or a Jew to be left in doubt about his inferior status. And it must be said that, on the whole, Christian communities were massacred and their churches were taken away and turned into mosques; to add insult to injury, Christian men and women were forced to wear special garments in order to identify themselves in public as "dhimmi", i.e. the insulted community.
History of persecutions of Christians and Jews under Islamic Sharia has been going on since the early Islamic invasion of the Middle East in the seventh century. During the reign of al-Mutawakkil (847-61), a wave of anti-dhimmi (anti-Christian) feeling swept the Middle East. The Calipha, Barhebraeus (d. 1286) reports, "was a hater of the Christians, and afflicted them by ordering them to bind bandlets of wool round their heads; and none of them was to appear outside his house without a belt and girdle. And the new churches were to be pulled down. And if they should happen to have a spacious church, even though it was ancient, one part of it was to be made into a mosque.
The Massacres of Armenians in 1915, which killed more than 1.5 million Christian Armenians in Turkey, in addition to half a million Syriac Orthodox, Syrian Catholics, Assyrians (i.e. the Church of the East), Chaldeans and other Christian minorities, who were massacred by the Muslim Turks and Kurds in the region of Tur 'Abdin in Southeast Turkey, is a reminder to what extent Muslim extremists can do to annihilate Christians, Jews and Hindus, if they have power and the upper hand.
In Sudan, it is estimated that more than 1.5 million Christians have been killed by the Janjaweed, the Arab Muslim forces in northern Sudan since 1984. (Source, Wikipedia).
In Gaza, under the auspices of Hamas, Christian citizens, Christian establishments and religious institutions are singled out and attacked by Muslim extremists belonging to the Islamic Hamas movement.
Saudi Arabia regularly imprisons Christians from other nations. Christians are arrested and lashed for practicing their faith in public. No one is allowed to be a citizen in this nation unless he or she is Muslim. Prayer services by Christians are broken up by the police, and people who convert to Christianity are often arrested and may be sentenced to death.
Every single state in the Arab League, except Lebanon, inserted in their constitutions provisions indicating that "Islam is the religion of the state"; or " the laws of the state must be based on Islamic Sharia"; or the "president must be Muslim". All these provisions in the constitutions of the Muslim countries demonstrate disrespect and discrimination against the original Christian inhabitants of these states. Such provisions encourage Muslim states and individuals to commit acts of violence and murder against the Christian minorities. Such constitutional provisions make it possible for fanatic parties to flourish and instigate riots and violence against the Christian minorities as we see in Iraq, Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Indonesia, and other Muslim nations.
The Arab league (consists of twenty-two Arab states) holds meetings to discuss issues related the Middle East, or involving Islam. The Arab league refuses to meet or discuss the execution of Christians and other minorities living in its Member States.
Arab Heads of States and their foreign ministers meet on a regular basis to discuss policies related to the Middle East. So far not a single meeting was held to discuss the persecution of the Christians living in their states.
The acts of pre-meditated massacres committed by Muslim extremists against Christians in the Muslim world, has become a phenomenon that needs to be addressed by all nations where Muslims live, by the United Nations, in particular.
The doctrine of abrogation gives license to Muslim extremists to persecute non-Muslims. From the beginning, Islam regarded both Christians and Jews as second-class citizens. Time and again, the Muslim texts, which are represented in the Quran and the second source of the Islamic law, known as the "Hadith" (sayings of the Prophet) and "Sunnah" (deeds of the Prophet), assert the intention of humiliating Christians and Jews. Never was a Christian or a Jew to be left in doubt about his inferior status. And it must be said that, on the whole, Christian communities were massacred and their churches were taken away and turned into mosques; to add insult to injury, Christian men and women were forced to wear special garments in order to identify themselves in public as "dhimmi", i.e. the insulted community.
History of persecutions of Christians and Jews under Islamic Sharia has been going on since the early Islamic invasion of the Middle East in the seventh century. During the reign of al-Mutawakkil (847-61), a wave of anti-dhimmi (anti-Christian) feeling swept the Middle East. The Calipha, Barhebraeus (d. 1286) reports, "was a hater of the Christians, and afflicted them by ordering them to bind bandlets of wool round their heads; and none of them was to appear outside his house without a belt and girdle. And the new churches were to be pulled down. And if they should happen to have a spacious church, even though it was ancient, one part of it was to be made into a mosque.
The Massacres of Armenians in 1915, which killed more than 1.5 million Christian Armenians in Turkey, in addition to half a million Syriac Orthodox, Syrian Catholics, Assyrians (i.e. the Church of the East), Chaldeans and other Christian minorities, who were massacred by the Muslim Turks and Kurds in the region of Tur 'Abdin in Southeast Turkey, is a reminder to what extent Muslim extremists can do to annihilate Christians, Jews and Hindus, if they have power and the upper hand.
In Sudan, it is estimated that more than 1.5 million Christians have been killed by the Janjaweed, the Arab Muslim forces in northern Sudan since 1984. (Source, Wikipedia).
In Gaza, under the auspices of Hamas, Christian citizens, Christian establishments and religious institutions are singled out and attacked by Muslim extremists belonging to the Islamic Hamas movement.
Saudi Arabia regularly imprisons Christians from other nations. Christians are arrested and lashed for practicing their faith in public. No one is allowed to be a citizen in this nation unless he or she is Muslim. Prayer services by Christians are broken up by the police, and people who convert to Christianity are often arrested and may be sentenced to death.
Every single state in the Arab League, except Lebanon, inserted in their constitutions provisions indicating that "Islam is the religion of the state"; or " the laws of the state must be based on Islamic Sharia"; or the "president must be Muslim". All these provisions in the constitutions of the Muslim countries demonstrate disrespect and discrimination against the original Christian inhabitants of these states. Such provisions encourage Muslim states and individuals to commit acts of violence and murder against the Christian minorities. Such constitutional provisions make it possible for fanatic parties to flourish and instigate riots and violence against the Christian minorities as we see in Iraq, Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Indonesia, and other Muslim nations.
The Arab league (consists of twenty-two Arab states) holds meetings to discuss issues related the Middle East, or involving Islam. The Arab league refuses to meet or discuss the execution of Christians and other minorities living in its Member States.
Arab Heads of States and their foreign ministers meet on a regular basis to discuss policies related to the Middle East. So far not a single meeting was held to discuss the persecution of the Christians living in their states.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
