Keir Starmer on Islamophobia

 

In the above video Keir Starmer speaks to Sadiq Khan about how Khan celebrates Eid before going on to discuss Islamophobia which he describes as 'intolerable'.

A phobia is a "persistent, irrational, intense fear of a specific object, activity, or situation (the phobic stimulus), fear that is recognized as being excessive or unreasonable by the individual himself." 

There is nothing irrational, excessive or unreasonable about the fear of Islam, a political ideology that sees non-Muslims as infidels. Three things you should know about Islam can be viewed here.

Douglas Murray is one of the few prepared to put the problem of fact and fiction into perspective as he does here.

Islamophobia (as explained here) is an invention designed to grant special privileges that Islam would deny to others.

Witness the fate of Iraqi Christians in 2014 when Islamists gained control there. It is happening to Christian Armenians in Azerbaijan.

The Christian Middle East is now predominantly Muslim, the fate of Great Britain if some Muslims have their way.

In April The Express reported that a "new survey found that nearly half - 46 percent - of British Muslims sympathise with Hamas while a third wished for Shariah law to be implemented in the UK."

Sadiq Khan says it is a priority for him to "build thousands more homes in London for Muslims to live near mosques and halal food shops."

"If Islam ran the country, it would be the end of all our freedoms" warns an ex-Muslim lady.

Starmer's vote gathering is truly offensive in a Christian nation. 

Postscript (28.06.2014)

Post by Rafe Heydel-Mankoo, including a prophetic Christopher Hitchins video on X here

Budget shock

"This ‘great altar stone’ as Lutyens’ referred to it, would stand as a memorial feature in the
Commission cemeteries and could be used by those of all faiths and none and act as a symbol of common sacrifice." CWGC

I was not the only person who was surprise by the Chancellor's opening statement in yesterday's budget speech as reported in the Daily Mail: 

"Jeremy Hunt has announced £1million plans for Muslims who died in the First and Second World Wars in his Budget. The chancellor said it would honour those Muslims lost 'in the service of freedom and democracy'."

Some responses here, here, here and here, all neatly summed up by Nigel Farage here.

Need one say more!

It's not cricket (2)

Oxford graduate Imran Khan was an international cricketer before he entered politics. Now as Pakistan's prime minister he has a plan which is definitely not cricket.

According to a report in MailOnline Imran Khan has a plan for Muslim-majority countries to force Western governments to criminalise insulting the Prophet Mohammed which he claims will work .

He said "lobbying Western nations, the EU and UN to adopt blasphemy laws with a warning of a trade boycott if they do not do so will be 'effective' in achieving their goal.

"He said leaders of Muslim-majority countries should call on the West to 'stop hurting the feelings' of Muslims across the world with their current freedom of speech laws, reports Pakistani newspaper Dawn." 

Britain's former foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind told MailOnline that trying to force Western countries to bring in such a ban would be 'a pretty foolish decision. It is not countries that insult the Prophet Mohammed, it's individual citizens'.

Meanwhile, International Christian Concern highlights the case of "a Christian accused of blasphemy in Pakistan [who] was tortured into making a false confession while spending more than two months in police custody." 

Such reports are not uncommon.

In As Good as Dead, the impact of the blasphemy laws in Pakistan, Amnesty International concluded:

    "Pakistan’s blasphemy laws are routinely used to target vulnerable people on the basis of false accusations. There is broad scope for their abuse which means that anyone can level an accusation of blasphemy, which can lead to criminal charges. Inadequate safeguards then mean the accused have few means to defend themselves. In a perversion of the justice system, the accused are often presumed to be guilty, on the basis of little or no evidence.

    "As the accused struggle to establish their innocence, they often face serious threats to their lives. Many people have been threatened and killed in revenge attacks after accusations of blasphemy were made against them. As Pakistan’s Supreme Court has acknowledged, the majority of blasphemy accusations are false. However, this does not prevent angry crowds, aroused by clerics and their supporters, from taking the law into their own hands while the authorities routinely fail to prevent these abuses and, by doing so, enable a culture of impunity.

    "This report documents cases which illustrate the broad scope for human rights violations and abuses, in order to highlight the need for urgent repeal of the laws and – until their repeal – the need for effective procedural safeguards to be put in place."

Need one say more!

Another tent...

An attentive bishop of Bangor modelling interfaith relations           Source: Twitter @ChurchinWales

Another tent, this time at the Welsh National Eisteddfod, where there has been 'great discussion' on how Wales is modelling interfaith relations.

The Church in Wales is obsessed with interfaith relations, almost as much as it is obsessed with same-sex relations. The Archbishop of Wales, John Davies, has been awarded an honorary doctorate in recognition of his services to the Church in Wales and of his 'leadership across faith communities' - that is, excluding orthodox Anglicans in their own ranks who continue to be ignored as if they no longer existed.

Islam denies that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He died on the cross for the sins of mankind. The sort of faith that the Church in Wales is moving towards, ignoring biblical teaching as it promotes same sex relations giving the impression that such relationships are to  be welcomed as a blessing, a favoured minority to be honoured while orthodox Anglicans are treated with contempt. 

Same sex relations should put the Church at odds with their Muslim brothers and sisters, not that the opinions of women count for much in Islam unlike the Church in Wales in which they are becoming dominant. The emphasis is on good relations regardless of theological differences. Getting along.

How jolly to be getting along in Wales while Christians and others abroad are being massacred for their faith. Just last week it was reported that at least 65 people lost their lives after suspected Boko Haram militants opened fire on a funeral in Nigeria's north-eastern state of Borno.

Did anyone in the tent even notice let alone condemn the atrocity. 

There is much more. 

From a recent Barnabas Fund report:

"An unprecedented humanitarian emergency is looming in the Sahel region of Africa following a surge in armed violence, warned UN aid agencies and NGOs in a report on 27 June. Around one million people fled their homes in the past year, bringing the total number of people displaced across the Sahel to 4.2 million, the report said. Displacement has increased five-fold in Burkina Faso and Niger, which have also recently seen a sharp rise in Islamist attacks against Christians."

Perhaps the scale of such reports is too daunting to comprehend and they happen far away.

They could, instead, have considered a single but not isolated incident. A ten-year-old Christian Pakistani boy who was working at a factory to care for his mother and two brothers. He was raped and tortured by his Muslim employers before he finally died on 10 July, 2019. His sin? He asked to be paid for the work he had done.

Many atrocities go unreported in the media but they can easily be found by Googling. Some links are provided in the right hand column of this blog.

I have not read of any condemnation of the highlighted atrocities from the world leaders who rushed  to support New Zealand’s Prime Minister when she condemned the reported Christchurch mosque shootings.

That is not to endorse the killing of Muslims but to deplore the double standards that allow the murder of Christians to go unreported while getting along with Muslims who, when they are the majority, expect all to conform under Sharia: convert, pay the jizya or die.

Getting along in Wales does nothing for the oppressed abroad while strengthening the hand in this country of a religious ideology that seeks to dominate others using deceit and jihad to advance their supremacist ideology.

Lamb to the slaughter

Halal lamb curry - BBC Countryfile style                                                                                                                                                        Source: BBC

I was not alone in being shocked at the BBC's Countryfile coverage of the plight of sheep farmers last Sunday.

"Roast lamb is getting rarer" it was claimed, not because of a shortage but "because there is no money in it when no-one buys it." Exports had doubled over the last 30 years. The legs go to the supermarkets but the rest goes abroad, it was stated.

Perhaps Wales Online had the answer when they reported:  "There are millions of sheep in Wales... so why is Welsh Lamb such a luxury ?" Grassland consultant Gareth Davies called for an investigation into the pricing process as the meat had come to be regarded as “a luxury” by consumers. He tweeted "In Tesco today and I didn't see any British lamb below £10 per kg. I sold lambs at £1.60. Would like to see breakdown of the other £8.40."

Rick Pendrous, editor at Food Manufacture magazine, said: “Welsh Lamb products are at a much higher premium than New Zealand lamb. From The Telegraph: "It has emerged a majority of New Zealand lamb sold in UK supermarkets comes from halal abattoirs in order to ensure it can be sold to both Muslim and non-Muslim nations. Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Waitrose and Marks & Spencer have all confirmed selling the imported meat."

This had led to growing pressure on supermarkets and restaurants to inform consumers how animals in their meat products are killed after it emerged some were selling halal meat without clear labelling.

Reacting to Countryfile 'promoting halal slaughter' the Express reported anger over the BBC's coverage: "The BBC has come under fire for broadcasting a segment on Halal meat on Sunday night’s Countryfile with viewers accusing the Corporation of hitting a “new low” and “justifying vile Halal slaughter practices on our soil”. This is a video clip from the programme

Discussing the practice the Imam featured in the video said: “There are certain practices where you want to fulfil a commandment of God and you’re basically invoking God’s name upon that. You are making the sacrifice in the name of God and now it’s made Halal. Halal means permissible and it’s been made permissible by God for you.”

He is not the loving God recognised by Christians. When the Apostle Peter said “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean, "The voice spoke to him a second time: 'Do not call anything impure' that God has made clean".

But the promotion of Islam goes beyond ritual slaughter of lamb. There have been many reports of our inability to confront the most dangerous aspects of Islam. ‘Rebel Priest’, Rev Jules Gomes graphically illustrated the problem when he wrote "Our most vulnerable girls pay sorely for our surrender to the Islamists".

The criminals, he says are often referenced as “Asians” rather than as “Muslims”. Although the predators hail from many ethnicities, many happen to be Pakistani.

"Rape in Pakistan is ‘often institutionalised and has the tacit and at times the explicit approval of the state.’ A Human Rights Watch study reports a rape every two hours and a gang rape every eight hours. What is particularly significant is the high percentage of Christian, Hindu, Sikh and other women from minorities raped by Muslim men in Pakistan. The British incidents reflect a perilous import from Pakistan."

God's name is invoked by Muslims in their cry Allahu Akbar (God is greater) when they slaughter the lamb and innocent victims of their intolerant ideology. Writing under the headline Danger, discrimination and dhimmitude the Barnabas Fund recently reported:

"Pakistan’s Christians are a suffering, vulnerable minority. They face violence at the hands of Islamist terrorists, discrimination in work and at school, and live with the ever-present threat of “blasphemy” allegations, which have led to Christian communities being ransacked by Muslim mobs. Authorities often turn a blind eye and are sometimes even complicit in crimes against Christians, including the abduction and forced marriage of women and girls.

There are too many 'blind eyes' turned in Great Britain but that the BBC should use licence payers' money to promote such an ideology is truly outrageous.

Bishop of St Asaph to extend the hand of friendship

The Rt Rev Gregory Cameron, Bishop of St Asaph, possibly the  next Archbishop.      Sourse: ITV

Traditionalists in the Church in Wales should not get too excited. The Bishop of St Asaph was addressing the need not to befriend 'traditionalist' Anglicans left leaderless in the Church in Wales but so-called 'terrorists' in an ITV discussion on "How we can tackle extremism?"

Observed taking refreshment after the funeral of Bishop David Thomas, the bishop of St Asaph then made time to give his views on matters Muslim rather than attempt with others present to put their own house in order. 

The three current Church in Wales diocesan bishops who attended the funeral ignored the family's invitation to robe in convocation dress and paraded themselves in cope and mitre in a gesture that once again appeared to be progressives thumbing their noses to traditionalists. Bishop David would not have been surprised given his treatment by Barry and his bench sitters during his time as Provincial Assistant Bishop. 

In the ITV discussion, listeners were led to believe that extremism results from Muslims being the victims. No mention of numerous verses in the Koran which command Muslims to kill infidels, Jews and Christians wherever they are found.

True, the hand of friendship should be extended but to draw Muslims to Christ by comparing His message of hope and forgiveness with instructions in the Koran to kill non-believers. However, when he speaks of love and friendship Bishop Gregory should remember that charity begins at home. His message would then carry more force.

"Be joyful and keep the faith!"

Yesterday's clerics' errors

 Lord Harries of Pentregarth, former Bishop of Oxford                                Picture credit: Endeavour Public Affairs

The former Bishop of Oxford, Lord Harries of Pentregarth, features in the Oxford Times "weighing in on EU vote". He is among 37 "faith leaders" who in an open letter to the public have called on Britain to stay in the EU. Lord Harries is a former collaborator of the Archbishop of Wales Dr Barry Morgan who together with Dr Morgan's predecessor and former Archbishop of Canterbury, Baron Williams of Oystermouth, signed the open letter. Considering this trio's judgement on the ordination of women and their liberal agenda resulting in the parlous state of Anglicanism, particularly in Wales, it is difficult to afford much credibility to their opinions on the European Referendum.

As for the former Bishop of Oxford, an ardent promoter of same sex marriage, his opinions would be better left in the ivory towers of Oxford. This is the cleric who suggested that the Coronation of Prince Charles should be opened with a reading from the Koran, as a ‘creative act of accommodation’ to make Muslims feel ‘embraced’ by the nation.

There will be plenty to 'embrace' based on report from Migration Watch, "The Refugee and Migrant Crisis in the EU – The Potential Implications for the UK". It claims that up to "half a million refugees and their relatives" could move to Britain after 2020 in a "secondary flow of refugees" because of EU rules on the free movement of people. While Germany, Greece and Italy had borne the brunt of Europe's refugee crisis, those granted asylum could settle in the UK in the coming years once they had acquired EU citizenship.

Based on his 2015 Christmas plea the Archbishop of Wales will be thrilled to read that Cardiff, Swansea and Newport have been named as three out of 10 places in the UK with the highest number of asylum seekers per head of population.

The 2011 census recorded 45,950 Muslims in Wales, far more than the 30,468 average Sunday attendances in 2014 reported by the Church in Wales. Most of the Muslims in Wales are spread between Cardiff (23,656), Newport (6,859) and Swansea (5,415) with smaller communities in the valleys and across rural and North Wales.

In their appeal to the electorate the faith leaders claim that "faith is about integration and building bridges, not about isolation and erecting barriers. As leaders and senior figures of faith communities, we urge our co-religionists and others to think about the implications of a Leave vote for the things about which we are most passionate."

TOSH! As the former Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks rightly pointed out on the BBC Newsnight programme last night, "multiculturalism has been a failure". He referred to the warning by Trevor Phillips, the former chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, that "British Muslims are becoming a nation within a nation". Trevor Phillips said we are "in danger of sacrificing a generation of young British people to values that are antithetical to the beliefs of most of us, including many Muslims".

The Remain campaign has lost much credibility by basing their claims on scare stories, foggy forecasts and guesstimates. There may or may not be problems if we leave but these pale into insignificance compared with the ramifications of uncontrolled immigration which have not been properly addressed.

Still in denial of the genocide of Armenian and other Christian minorities in the years 1915 and 1916, Turkey hopes to join the EU. That would result in 78 million mainly Muslim people, and rising, eligible to go where they please in Europe compared with Turkey's population of less than 30 million in 1960.

As Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan says, "Family planning not for Muslims". In Great Britain Census figures reveal a ‘startling’ shift in Britain’s demographic trend with almost a tenth of babies and toddlers born in England and Wales being Muslim'. Combining immigration figures with the higher birth rate it is understandable that some forecasters predict that Christianity is set to be a minority religion in Britain by 2050 as Islam and atheism rise.

The Justice Secretary Michael Gove has claimed that he has been forced to allow terror suspects to enter Britain because European Union rules left him powerless to intervene. During his time in the Cabinet Mr Gove "experienced frustration" at Britain’s "inability to refuse entry to those with a criminal record and even some who are suspected of terrorist links".

The only way to bring order to our borders is to "quit the EU", says former Tory leader Ian Duncan Smith.

Postscript [06.06.2016]

From the Rev Dr Peter Mullen: Bishops are no laughing matter

Guiding Synod

The General Synod yesterday approved a private members motion on a new promise introduced by Girl Guides UK in September 2013. Guiders, ex-guiders, lay and ordained queued to speak, mainly in favour of the motion. One woman priest went so far as to claim that she owed her ministry to her membership of the Girl Guides when she developed a liking for parading up the church aisle in uniform. Despite procedural manoeuvres including a call to proceed to next business, the motion had strong support although a male priest protested that Synod had no business meddling in the affairs of the Guide movement. At one stage unwholesome tittering erupted around the chamber after the mover confessed that she didn't like young girls very much; she preferred older women. In the sexually charged atmosphere created by the items on the agenda the mover was forced to clarify what she meant which tended to confirm a claim that the Church of England has become obsessed with sex and the ordination of women.

For reasons previously explained (here) I found it particularly ironic that the now secularised Church of England was complaining that the Guide movement was following the same path. The background paper [GS 1943A] compared the new "To be true to myself and to develop my beliefs" with the previous "To love my God". Better still would be the original "To do my duty to God and to the Queen". If that is not acceptable, then join an organisation or form one which accords with one's own beliefs. But that is not how it works today as traditionalist Anglicans have found to their cost. Feminist entrists in the Church of England have been so successful in appealing to a godless general public to promote their secular ideals that the spirit of the age is now more important than the Gospel giving rise to statements such as 'others would see the Church as increasingly “irrelevant” and promoting attitudes “akin to racism” over its response...to hold special services honouring same-sex relationships' - Justin Welby (here). 

Being true to oneself and to develop one's beliefs are fine principles in themselves as Buddhists would no doubt agree. 'To love my God' would probably have more appeal to Muslim recruits. For Christians there is only one way to the Father and that is through Jesus Christ. That is what the Church of England should proclaim.

The Scouts retain their promise "To do my duty to God and to the Queen" but unlike the (girls only) Guides, the Scouts have had to become gender neutral. How long before they are forced by a potential girl Scout to force another change. 

Synod,  'Physician heal thyself'.

You looking at me?

Photo: Global Research

The 'wise' can make compelling cases for just about everything. There is a reasoned defence by a distinguished professor who teaches law, philosophy, and divinity here of women choosing to wear the veil. There are many other opinions with highlights from the New York Times archives here. In Great Britain the general attitude is 'live and let live'.

Whether it is freedom of choice or freedom of religious expression, save for specific security or health care reasons, people in the UK are allowed to wear what they like provided they wear something. Whilst not a religious requirement, claims that wearing the veil is a religious requirement have become commonplace because Muslim scholars disagree on the subject, but claiming religious rather than cultural reasons has the effect of putting the subject off limits as Islamophobia.

In Egypt where Christians have been under constant attack there is a TV channel featuring only fully face-veiled women. But it is not all women. To quote: "There is also a big role for men at the channel. Maria TV’s owner, Ahmed Abdallah, is a prominent Salafist preacher, well known in Egypt for his anti-Christian rhetoric. Abdallah and his son Islam, the channel’s chief executive, were arrested last month for burning a Bible during a protest outside the U.S. Embassy in Cairo on Sept. 11."

Logic suggests that the modesty of these veiled women would be better protected using a radio show instead but then the visual effect of making the veil commonplace would be lost. In areas of Britain where Islamic influence dominates the sight of the niqab no longer raises an eyebrow - see 'Londonistan' here. Meanwhile in areas where Islamisation is in its infancy the veil actually draws attention. There is an element of cultural jihad here. In some instances the veil has become a means of Muslims thumbing their noses to the very people who have welcomed them choosing segregation in preference to integration. The gullible will see no problem with this until they become victims of exclusion in the land of their birth. In many of British cities in Britain, traditional tolerance has resulted in large areas being converted into ethnic ghettos.

'Live and let live' is not an idiom that appeals to Muslims, rather, it is do it our way, or else! While Muslims insist on their rights in this country, Christians abroad are not so fortunate, see here and here. They are not even allowed to practice their religion openly in some countries. Where it is permitted persecution prevails. In Pakistan on Sunday men, women and children not only had their clothes ripped from them but their bodies were ripped apart. This appalling act of barbarism, perhaps because it is only one of many in Muslin countries, has been almost neglected by the media. - Read Cranmer here for a full account - but beware if you are at all squeamish - and VOL here.

There are occasional protests from the Muslim community in response to acts of terror, usually when they feel vulnerable after another Muslim outrage but otherwise attacks by Muslims on non-Muslims around the world are simply brushed aside as the actions of Islamists who do not represent Muslims in general. They may not represent all Muslims but they all subscribe to the same faith which Islamists claim permits atrocities against fellow human beings, indeed, even against fellow Muslims for holding a contrary view to theirs. 

As a gesture of solidarity against Muslim terrorism women tempted to wear the veil could, if only temporarily, demonstrate their solidarity by rejecting it until Muslims eradicate the violence that shames them. Only then they will stop wondering: You looking at me?

Postscript: Veils, segregated schools and why we risk sowing the seeds of Islamic terror in Britain

From an article by Manzoor Moghal  in the Mail Online:

The aim of true multi-racialism should be to promote tolerance, understanding and integration. These are vital qualities if our increasingly diverse society is to function successfully. But while the vast majority of Muslims are tolerant people, the extremists are pushing in precisely the opposite direction. Their eagerness to impose their fundamentalist, alien values is undermining harmony, with suspicion and division rising in their place...

It’s claimed that, in defiance of all British traditions of tolerance, girls and boys are segregated at the school; that even non-Muslim staff are required to wear the hijab, the Muslim headscarf; and that stringed instruments, singing, the telling of fairy tales and even the use of the word ‘pig’ have all been banned. I am a proud Muslim — but I find this appalling. Such superstitious, divisive nonsense should have no place in a British school. We are not living in rural Pakistan or a Taliban-run region in Afghanistan. Apart from anything else, the pupils are being deprived of a proper, rounded education and therefore will not have the same life chances in adulthood.

Under the great English tradition of justice, we are all meant to be equal before the law, regardless of status, wealth or religion. Indeed, it is exactly that genuine equality under the law that has long attracted many migrants to Britain. ... Nothing imposes that sense of alienation more powerfully than the full veil, which is at the centre of a furore over whether it should be tolerated at educational colleges, or worn by hospital staff and defendants in court.

Read full article: here

Clang!

Photo: 'The Bell'

Writing a tribute to the retiring Dean in the July/August 2012 edition of the Llandaff Parish Magazine, The Bell, Archbishop Morgan wrote: 
"The Dean is called to be pastor to the congregation; to be someone who can, through the Cathedral’s worship, showcase best liturgical practice and someone who enables a ministry of welcome to organisations, parishes and institutions, so that through that ministry people feel that they are valued and cherished by God. It is an awesome responsibility." Without a hint of irony the Archbishop continued, "I have therefore appointed myself to be “in charge” of the Cathedral for the next few months".

In the September edition he writes of the Church in Wales Review Recommendation VIII, (The distinctive role of each cathedral as a centre of excellence should be fully integrated into the mission and ministry strategy of its Diocese):

    "It makes clear, what we know already, that any cathedral is central to the life of the diocese in which it is set.  Llandaff Cathedral as well as being a parish church is a place (like any other church, but with a special responsibility for it) of welcome, hospitality and friendship.  The Cathedral extends this to all the parishes of the diocese because it is  the diocesan church par excellence.  That dual role could lead to a conflict between the needs of parish and diocese.  That should never be the case, but rather should be embraced as a glorious opportunity to minister not just to the local community (the parish) but to the wider family of the diocese as well. 
That is why it is the Bishop’s church, the place where he has his chair – the place, in other words, where he has his home but the place from which he exercises oversight over the wider diocesan family.  And, it is in my capacity as Bishop, that I have decided to exercise direct oversight over the Cathedral for the time being."

So there you have it. The Archbishop has taken on the 'awesome responsibility' of making sure people feel that they are valued and cherished by God. Unless his words are intended as a veiled criticism of his former Dean's stewardship, this initiative comes rather late in his ministry. The truth is that people already feel valued and cherished by God but not by the Archbishop who sees ministry only on his terms. Claiming to be "gobsmacked" when he was appointed in 2003, Archbishop Morgan said he was "just an ordinary bloke who's got ordinary interests". Hardly! Just before his enthronement he came out with this observation:
   "Lots of priests who are homosexual by orientation don't practice and lead celibate lives and that is not a problem. "The problem comes if someone is homosexual and is promiscuous - then that is real issue, whether homosexual or heterosexual." He added:
the main challenge for the church concerned making "the connection between faith and life".

In another parish church at the other end of his diocese a packed congregation met on Sunday to celebrate the Feast of the Assumption in the knowledge that a much loved sister church looks set to be sold off to the local Muslim community, adherents of  a religion noted for its harsh treatment of homosexuality often leading to the death sentence but for reasons best known to himself, on good terms with the Archbishop. The question being asked was, "Will Archbishop Barry be prepared publicly to declare his support for female imams and same sex marriages in mosques?"  

For dwindling congregations the reality is that his liberal policy of 'connecting faith with life' has all but killed off the Church in Wales while facilitating illiberal Muslim expansion in his diocese but at least the Archbishop can be satisfied that in mosques, 'people feel that they are valued and cherished by God' - strictly on their terms of course. More here.  

Clang!

Postscript

In the last paragraph, above, I provided two links to reports of the oppression of Christians in Pakistan. Damian Thompson has  since published an article, Radical Islam revives an ancient hatred. It highlights the problems facing Christian minorities throughout the world. Read it here. Compared with issues surrounding homosexuality and the role of women in the church, the fate of Christians abroad receives very little attention. Celebrating diversity in our own country enhances the feel-good factor but this myopia ignores the fact that while good relations may be shared with minority Muslim communities, when Christians are in the minority the picture changes radically. To Muslims, Christians (and Jews) are "the worst of creatures" but this is not made obvious when Muslims are in the minority. In these circumstances deception is employed to hoodwink the gullible, see here (advance to position 18 if short of time and watch the whole later). Afterwards try to find 90 Mins to watch Islam - What The West Needs To Know.

All mosques in Europe should be destroyed says Archbishop

Can you imagine the outcry if a senior cleric were to claim that no more mosques should be built in Europe and existing ones razed to the ground? I have seen no British response to the claim by Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti, Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah al-Sheikh, when he said it was not only forbidden to build new churches on the Arab Peninsula but that all existing ones in the region should also be razed to the ground "as there are too many".

All credit then to Christians and Muslims in Austria for their condemnation but where is the British voice or has everyone here been cowed by accusations of Islamophobia? The British Government tell us that they have other priorities in the region but that is no excuse for the deafening silence in response to the continuing persecution of Christians throughout the world.

No Respect

George Galloway's 'Blackburn triumph' victory in winning the West Bradford by-election for his Respect Party has brought into sharp focus the power of the ballot box where many apparently disaffected young Muslims registered disapproval of their lot in the traditional British manner. 


Totally unacceptable is the other side of the Islamic coin which shows no respect for British values and culture claiming freedom of speech only to further their anti-British agenda.

Jesus was a Muslim!

Much has been written recently about the cross and whether it is appropriate for Christians to wear it as an expression of their faith. At the same time in Afghanistan the cross has been publicly burned by Muslims who complain bitterly about any form of disrespect shown to their own faith.

It seems ironic then that Muslims claim Jesus as one of their own, a prophet referred to in the Quran as well as in the Bible. But that is only part of the story, a story which some years ago was the subject of an ITV programme, The Muslim Jesus. To the casual viewer I imagine the story would have been quite compelling without further evidence of the truth. Muslims deny that Christ died on the cross (some say another took His place) so they would have no objection to burning the cross as a Christian symbol. There is no dispute that Jesus is referred to in the Quran but the claim that Muhammad is mentioned in the Bible is readily disputed even by many Muslims.


Visitors to Birmingham will be familiar with Islam being freely promoted on the streets as illustrated in this video. Last year I heard complaints that similar operations had been extended. A stall had been set up opposite a well-known Anglo Catholic church in a Cardiff suburb where, in common with many other areas, Christians are becoming marginalised as parishes become dominated by Islamic influences and appearance. When a dispute arose over the claim that 'Jesus was a Muslim' the police intervened. On being told that exception was taken to people shouting outside the Church that Jesus was a Muslim, the police response was that the pamphlets were not offensive and that we live in a free country.  One wonders what would have been the reaction if Christians stood opposite one of the City's 32 mosques and made counter claims. The group still engages with passers by claiming: "Let us show you what the Bible really says about Islam - and how Jesus really was a Muslim"!


When Channel 4 broadcast a programme, 'UnderCover Mosques', to highlight what was being said inside rather than outside mosques, in this case the Green Lane Mosque in Birmingham, the West Midlands police and the Crown Prosecution Service ignored the hate allegations uncovered and investigated the programme makers instead. They were later forced to apologise after the programme makers were vindicated. The National Secular Society (no friend of Christianity) recently quoted this example in their evidence to the United Nations. Illustrating the extent to which Islamic influence is spreading around the world the NSS included this astonishing testimony:


 "I am deeply saddened that in this Council of all places in the whole world, Sharia law has been ruled to be beyond discussion by distinguished delegates, unless they are "experts" and therefore presumably Muslim. If I have got that wrong and non-Muslim experts are acceptable, I will be quick to apologise.


For those of you who like solving simultaneous equations, or are logicians, I have a little exercise. If criticising Islam = Islamophobia, and Islamophobia = racism (as we are told), and racism = unacceptable (as we agree), does this therefore mean that criticising Islam is unacceptable? That is the very questionable algebra or dubious logic that is being increasingly employed to silence critics in the UK by guilt-tripping them. We must not allow criticism to be stifled in this manipulative way. I'm very much struck by Indian born UK writer Kenan Malik's opinion that: "The trouble with Islamophobia is that it is an irrational concept. It confuses hatred of, and discrimination against, Muslims, on the one hand, with criticism of Islam on the other. The charge of 'Islamophobia' is all too often used not to highlight racism but to stifle criticism. And, in reality, discrimination against Muslims is not as great as is often perceived - but criticism of Islam should be greater. All too often Islamophobia is used as an excuse in a way to kind of blackmail society."



I am not suggesting that restrictions to freedom of expression are the monopoly of any one religion. I therefore oppose all blasphemy laws, and helped in the abolition of the UK's remaining (Christian) blasphemy laws. We also know of censorship by Sikhs and Hindus. The worst example of countries operating a blasphemy law, however, is Pakistan where accusing a rival of blasphemy is a convenient way of removing them. Not only does this result in their removal to jail, but the survival prospects of those accused of blasphemy, far less convicted of it, is very poor. And the judiciary are wary of even trying such cases.


Looking at the categories of Muslim influence in What Islam Isn't, it is clear what is now happening in the UK and elsewhere around the world. Islamic street propaganda must be seen for what it is. 


Jesus was NOT a Muslim. He died on the Cross and is the fulfilment of the prophecies.

Our 'multi-cultural' society

I missed the Channel 4 programme, Make Bradford British, but since it has been referred to so many times and debated on the BBC's Question Time I caught up with it on 4OD. There is a Telegraph review here. Reading the review, I see I was not alone in thinking that Rashid, a Muslim former Rugby League player made the biggest impact. The reason being that out of eight people from various backgrounds brought together in an integration experiment he was the least co-operative, not out of malice, but because his religion came first which was clearly disappointing for the others in the house. What put a different complexion on the proceedings was not that Rashid insisted on praying five times a day but that he had to go to the mosque to pray, delaying the dinner he had offered to cook (he eventually went to a take-away) and disrupting the experiment in the process. The reason? In his own words because he would get a lot more blessings and rewards, the reward being '27 to 25 times more' if he prayed in a congregation rather than at home.

For most Christians, buying one's way to paradise is an alien concept, a concept explained here in 'Gather Blessings in the Mosques'. This article stresses that 'praying in the mosque and being attached to the mosque is a very pious and rewardable action gathering rewards and good deeds for the hereafter. God loves and rewards those who find repose and comfort in the mosques. Whoever builds a mosque seeking the pleasure of God, God builds a similar one for him in paradise'.The following paragraph helps to explain the thinking of Muslims and to understand the pressure for more mosques to be built: 'There are six places in which a person is guaranteed the safekeeping of God, the Most High, as long as he is in one of them. In a congregational mosque, with a sick person, at a funeral, in his house, with a just ruler whom he supports and treats with respect, or at a place where people are fighting jihad! [my emphasis - Ed]. 


With almost daily stories of Christian churches being burned to the ground in Islamic states and worshippers murdered or driven out of their homeland it is illuminating to read "Britain is among the safest places for people to worship freely and in peace, an Islamic leader has said at the opening of a new £900,000 mosque in Feltham, west London" despite the constant reports of supposed Islamophobia. There is an interesting juxtaposition between the 'Gather Blessings in the Mosques' article referred to above and an article in the Left Foot Forward Blog  under the headline 'Warsi’s call for the dominance of Christianity ignores that it’s Islam under threat'. In defence of mosque building, towards the end of the article there is a complaint about a statement in the Telegraph back in 2006: 
   "the most prominent religious building in the camera shot will not be one of the city’s iconic churches that have shaped the nation’s history, such as St Paul’s Cathedral or Westminster Abbey, but the mega mosque. Its arrival in London will be a significant coup for Islam and a major event for the country as a whole’. However, there was no complaint or even a mention about the introduction to the article where 'Abu Izzadeen, the firebrand Islamist militant, berated John Reid last week for "daring" to visit a Muslim area." This a concept that is spreading, a problem which was referred to in the CH4 programme where Bradford City centre was said to be now 95% Asian.


But these double standards are something to which we have become so accustomed that we hardly turn a hair. It was no surprise then that the head of the BBC, Mark Thompson, admitted that 'We’ll mock Jesus but not Mohammed'. Of course if anyone dared to offend Muslims there would be demonstrations and death threats from those who say they are British but Muslim first. They believe that 'Mosques are special places filled with blessings and rewards, however, God has conferred a special blessing upon the nation of Muslims, the whole earth has been declared a mosque, so when the time for prayer comes and a believer is unable to pray in congregation in a building he may pray wherever he may be.' Hence the use of surrounding streets to justify more and bigger buildings. 


We are surrounded by Islamic symbols be it mosque or Islamic dress and threatened with retribution against perceived threats while Christians are denied the opportunity to express their religion other than in their churches. The authorities pussyfoot around making endless excuses about unrepresentative extremists in apparent ignorance of fundamental Islamic teaching which regards non-Muslims as underdogs in a world that belongs to Allah. In the Question Time programme I referred to above, most speakers uttered the usual bland platitudes about living together apparently unconcerned about David Starkey's complaint that he was the one who would be arrested if he criticised the Quran because it prescribed the death sentence for his homosexuality, one of many Islamic 'sins' attracting the death penalty such as apostasy and blasphemy, often used to oppress Christians, particularly in Pakistan. 


Unusual for the BBC, today's Breakfast News reported on the 'divided loyalties' of one million Pakistanis living in Great Britain out of 3.7 million expatriates who are to be given the vote in Pakistan in recognition that 5% of Pakistan's GDP had been sent back by overseas Pakistanis showing “solidarity and integrity of our motherland” despite their country's failure to protect minorities, something they insist on in Great Britain. On top of this comes the revelation that British war graves on the outskirts of Benghazi have been desecrated by Islamist militants and the symbol of Christ's redeeming love, the Cross, attacked with sledge hammers. This after Libyans had pleaded with the West to assist them in their struggle for freedom and the outrage expressed after burning some copies of the Quran. 


No doubt the CH4 experiment will show that multiculturalism can work in a house of eight people designed for the purpose but in the real world, Christianity is suppressed and only Islam is shown any respect, something that our children now pick up in school adding to the impression that in our multi-cultural society, Islam is holy when all the evidence is to the contrary. Apologists for a political ideology that seeks our demise should get their heads out of the sand, look around them and listen to someone with experience.

The "Religion of Peace" (2)

Photo: Reuters

The latest estimate of deaths resulting from bombings by Islamists in Nigeria has risen to 162. Where is the condemnation from Muslims who keep telling us that Islam is a religion of peace. Where are the voices which are quick to cry "Islamophobia!" at every opportunity in furtherance of their Islamist ideology? For those who have taken the trouble to check Islamist claims rather than accept them at face value it is clear that the 'religion of peace' means that there will be "peace" when Islam prevails, that is, on their terms only. Check it out on video here, or here for a more comprehensive explanation, and read about peace, the 'Christmas spirit and Islam' here.