“All of you are infidels… we will go to paradise if we kill you and you will go to hell.”
There is no shortage of Muslims who believe that they will have a place in paradise if they die killing infidels even if their stock of virgins is depleted. It is neither here nor there that the vast majority of Muslims do not kill infidels. The God they worship sanctions death for unwilling converts as well as apostates. Unless Muslims face up to this reality and enter into serious dialogue about their supremacist religious ideology, the killings will go on and on.
After each atrocity the media scurry around to find any excuse they can to point the finger away from Islam. Why? It is the common thread that has linked 1400 years of violence. Two questions are usually asked. Was the perpetrator in need of psychiatric help? - as if other perpetrators are normal - and, Has the 'so-called' Islamic State claimed responsibility or is there any evidence of a link? The introductory video, 'Persecuted and Forgotten' clearly illustrates that the persecution of Christians is not peculiar to ISIS.
The quote "All of you are infidels… we will go to paradise if we kill you and you will go to hell" is taken from an article in the Catholic Herald: "A priest is slaughtered at Mass in rural France. This is what life is like for Christians in the Middle East". The article recalls: "One priest, Fr Thaer Abdal, was shot dead at the altar. In total, 58 innocent people were murdered. Their killers were members of an Iraqi faction of Al-Qaeda that had declared war on churches, “dirty dens of idolatry”, and in particular “the hallucinating tyrant of the Vatican. The Baghdad massacre was one of countless atrocities that have reduced ancient Christian communities in the Middle East to shrivelled and terrified ghettos or underground churches".
In Egypt: Muslim attacks on Christians are "increasing at alarming rate". So widespread has the problem become that after the French priest was murdered a 'UK Church leader' who asked to remain anonymous has warned that "it may be sign of things to come". He said:
"There needs to be a connection made between what is happening here and what has been happening in places such as Egypt, Nigeria, Pakistan and Iraq. Suddenly we are seeing this in Europe. It could be an alarming sign of things to come. There is a lot of copycat psychology in these kinds of attacks. We are hoping this does not turn into anything more serious and get out of hand, but we are concerned that it might." Full report here.
For Christians there is only one way to the Father, through Jesus Christ. There is no compulsion.
For Muslims "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger".
This is the basic statement of the Islamic faith: "anyone who cannot recite this wholeheartedly is not a Muslim".
When a Muslim recites this they proclaim:
That Allah is the only God, and that Muhammad is his prophet
That they personally accept this as true
That they will obey all the commitments of Islam in their life
Little surprise, then, that other religions are held in contempt by Islam. 'Blasphemy' is a tool often used in Islamic states. Sadly this process is aided by attitudes in the West which imply that only Islam is sacred. In the wake of latest atrocity in France it has been reported that a "Fireman Sam" episode has been pulled amid a "Koran row" in marked contrast to the persecution of Christians highlighted in the "Persecuted and Forgotten" video above.
In the following video, former Prime Minister Tony Blair along with former US Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton insist, contrary to all the evidence available, that Islam is a religion of peace, ignoring the opinions of experts. Only a sensible dialogue will expose the truth but while Islam is regarded as above criticism the West will remain compliant without uttering a word of the Shahadah.
After each atrocity the media scurry around to find any excuse they can to point the finger away from Islam. Why? It is the common thread that has linked 1400 years of violence. Two questions are usually asked. Was the perpetrator in need of psychiatric help? - as if other perpetrators are normal - and, Has the 'so-called' Islamic State claimed responsibility or is there any evidence of a link? The introductory video, 'Persecuted and Forgotten' clearly illustrates that the persecution of Christians is not peculiar to ISIS.
The quote "All of you are infidels… we will go to paradise if we kill you and you will go to hell" is taken from an article in the Catholic Herald: "A priest is slaughtered at Mass in rural France. This is what life is like for Christians in the Middle East". The article recalls: "One priest, Fr Thaer Abdal, was shot dead at the altar. In total, 58 innocent people were murdered. Their killers were members of an Iraqi faction of Al-Qaeda that had declared war on churches, “dirty dens of idolatry”, and in particular “the hallucinating tyrant of the Vatican. The Baghdad massacre was one of countless atrocities that have reduced ancient Christian communities in the Middle East to shrivelled and terrified ghettos or underground churches".
In Egypt: Muslim attacks on Christians are "increasing at alarming rate". So widespread has the problem become that after the French priest was murdered a 'UK Church leader' who asked to remain anonymous has warned that "it may be sign of things to come". He said:
"There needs to be a connection made between what is happening here and what has been happening in places such as Egypt, Nigeria, Pakistan and Iraq. Suddenly we are seeing this in Europe. It could be an alarming sign of things to come. There is a lot of copycat psychology in these kinds of attacks. We are hoping this does not turn into anything more serious and get out of hand, but we are concerned that it might." Full report here.
For Christians there is only one way to the Father, through Jesus Christ. There is no compulsion.
For Muslims "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger".
This is the basic statement of the Islamic faith: "anyone who cannot recite this wholeheartedly is not a Muslim".
When a Muslim recites this they proclaim:
That Allah is the only God, and that Muhammad is his prophet
That they personally accept this as true
That they will obey all the commitments of Islam in their life
Little surprise, then, that other religions are held in contempt by Islam. 'Blasphemy' is a tool often used in Islamic states. Sadly this process is aided by attitudes in the West which imply that only Islam is sacred. In the wake of latest atrocity in France it has been reported that a "Fireman Sam" episode has been pulled amid a "Koran row" in marked contrast to the persecution of Christians highlighted in the "Persecuted and Forgotten" video above.
In the following video, former Prime Minister Tony Blair along with former US Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton insist, contrary to all the evidence available, that Islam is a religion of peace, ignoring the opinions of experts. Only a sensible dialogue will expose the truth but while Islam is regarded as above criticism the West will remain compliant without uttering a word of the Shahadah.
Meanwhile the slaughter of the innocents continues.
Postscripts [31.07.2016]
From The Telegraph: Islamism is an attack on our civilisation – this must be recognised, not evaded.
also [03.08.2016]
From OnePeterfive ISIS Rejects Pope’s Interpretation of Their Own Religion
Postscripts [31.07.2016]
From The Telegraph: Islamism is an attack on our civilisation – this must be recognised, not evaded.
also [03.08.2016]
From OnePeterfive ISIS Rejects Pope’s Interpretation of Their Own Religion
"Ubi caritas Deus ibi est "
ReplyDeleteWhat else is there to say?
Should also say that if there is no charity (et amor) ,then God is not there.
ReplyDeleteThus ,to make it clear,I have no truck with PC apologists for Islam who claim that Allah is the 'same' God.
Whatever Allah is to them ,it is blasphemy for Christians to acknowledge Allah as God. God is part of the Holy Trinity : Allah is not.
Surely God is not part of the Trinity, He is the Trinity.
DeleteAs Ronald Knox said of Tennyson:
"I hope to see my Maker face to face
As Trinity man to Trinity man".