Imagine if she were your daughter!

Christian girl, 14, is being threatened by Islamist death squads in Pakistan for fleeing forced marriage to Muslim man, 45 - as thousands sign petition to give her asylum

Maira Shahbaz fears for her life. The 14-year-old is in
 hiding after being accused of apostasy for breaking off
the  marriage - an offence punishable by death in Islam

Catholic altar server Maira Shahbaz is hiding after being accused of apostasy

Over 9,000 have signed petition asking PM to grant her and family asylum in UK

As a backbench Tory MP, Boris Johnson led calls for Mrs Bibi to be given asylum

Maira has now appealed directly to PM, saying in statement: 'Please protect me'

Mail Online   

This is not an isolated report. 

On Armistice Day, International Christian Concern reported that two Christians, a mother and son, were killed in an incident of religious hatred in a village located in the Gujranwala district of Pakistan. They were shot dead by their Muslim neighbour because as a Muslim family they did not like waste water flowing by their home from the house of an ‘untouchable’.

In Pakistan the term chura or churi is used to denote Christians as low caste and untouchable. It is widely held among Pakistan’s Muslim population that Christians are dirty and as a result must be relegated to the lowest rungs of society

Christians are relegated to the sectors of cleaning and sweeping in Pakistan. While Christians make up around 4% of the population, nearly 80% of them are involved in sanitary department and cleaning jobs that are considered impure for Muslims.

On Wednesday, 25th November, Set Your Captives Free – A Report on Christians unjustly detained for their Faith will be launched in the UK parliament by Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). 

The Report is intended as a springboard for ACN supporters to advocate for the release of those unjustly detained and demand perpetrators be brought to justice. It profiles individuals – young and old – both those kidnapped by extremist groups and others arrested by the state and held without charge.

As part of its advocacy campaign, ACN has so far collected more than 8,500 signatures calling on the Prime Minister to grant asylum to Pakistani 14-year-old Maira Shahbaz, profiled in the report, who is in hiding from her former abductor who has threatened to kill her, saying she is an apostate.  

Across the world, people will mark #RedWednesday by wearing red (e.g. putting on a red scarf), using social media to promote the campaign and lighting up public buildings in red.

You can sign the #RedWednesday petition HERE.

Oath of British values

Moderate Muslims?                                                                                                                             Source: Communities Digital News

"I know that for some, the content of this review will be hard to read, and I have

wrestled with what to put in and what to leave out, particularly because I know that

putting some communities under the spotlight – particularly communities in which 

there are high concentrations of Muslims of Pakistani and Bangladeshi heritage – will

add to the pressure that they already feel. However, I am convinced that it is only by

fully acknowledging what is happening that we can set about resolving these

problems and eventually relieve this pressure." - The Casey Review

The Casey Review is a review into "opportunity and integration" by Dame Louise Casey DBE CB. The above quote is from the Forward to her report. As ever the "pressure" indicates concern only for Pakistani and Bangladeshi heritage communities, the politically correct attitude which rendered the police and social services impotent while British Girls were raped by Muslim Gangs on 'Industrial Scale'.

Watching the BBC News at Six this evening it was telling that ethnic minorities who were interviewed saw no problems when asked about integration. Only an indigenous white couple, now in a minority, admitted that the situation was worse than it had ever been. Predictably Muslims are already complaining that the Report is divisive, a victimisation ploy currently being used by the gay community and previously by Women and the Church (WATCH) to achieve their aims to the detriment of others.

The report shows that there were an estimated 65.1 million people living in the United Kingdom in June 2015, with the population having risen by 4.1 million between 2001 and 2011. More than half of this growth was due to immigration. [1.15]

Among faith groups the number of people identifying themselves as Muslim grew most significantly, by 1.2 million people. This 72% increase is higher than for any other religious group and Muslims make up the largest non-Christian religious population in the UK at 2.8 million in total, compared with 0.8m Hindus, 0.4m Sikhs, 0.3m Jews and 0.3m Buddhists.

The Guardian typifies the problem in their account of the Report: 'Louise Casey's integration plan is behind the times' going on to say that "It was odd for the government’s tsar to focus so relentlessly on Muslims, and her aggression is likely to be counterproductive". Is the author blind to what is going on all around the world?

Because most Muslims live relatively peacefully in Great Britain and claim to be peace loving it is easy to be taken in, especially if one has been brought up in the Christian spirit of 'love thy neighbour'. Evidence that Islam is at the root of the integration problem is ignored. Witness ISIS in the Middle East, now spreading to Europe and the UK, Boko Haram in Africa and numerous other Islamic organisations elsewhere in addition to the legalised  oppression of non-Muslims in Islamic states such as in Pakistan and in Saudi Arabia where there is no religious freedom.

Islam does not believe in democracy. Sharia rules. In this article a Muslim writer explains why Islam and democracy are incompatible. Nevertheless, political and religious leaders are still taken in, believing that "if we can just get Muslims to understand the democratic way of life, then all our problems will vanish".

To paraphrase a quote by former US presidential candidate Al Gore, "Once in control, however, all bets are off, because Islam takes over. It is the "controlling legal authority" for Muslims.

Given that the Islamic doctrine of taqiyya encourages Muslims "to lie" to achieve their goals an 'Oath of British values' can have no value.

In the following video the Chairman of the Association of Muslim Schools says that "as Muslims we have a right to bring up our children in accordance with our beliefs which have served us all the centuries well". He said that it is the parent's right to educate the child until he is old enough to decide for himself.

Some recent examples here and here illustrate that Islamic education is completely divorced from British values. At the end of the video clip the Association Chairman is forced to admit that, contrary to British values, the penalty for apostasy in Islam is death. There is no escape. Islam is Islam. No other values count.

Not in my name

                                                                                                                                                                                                        Source: Independent/PA

"Not in my name". Of course not, but in the name of he who it is claimed "knows best"!

This is the key problem for non-Muslims. Are we 'kafirs' being deliberately misled in the same way that verses, or parts of them, are quoted from the Quran in an attempt to prove that Islam bears no fault.

When gunmen stormed the Radisson Blu hotel in Mali they were heard to shout "Allahu Akbar" as they began their attack, the cry used before animals are slaughtered in the Muslim manner.

Of course these atrocities are condemned by 'moderate' Muslims, especially when they are a minority. They would be mad not to do so. Meanwhile Christianity is being systematically wiped out where it originated in the Middle East with claims that it is "on course" to disappear from Iraq and Syria. I hear no Islamic condemnation.

On 18 November Newsnight considered [advance to 39 minutes] what we know about the Paris attackers, referring to an attack which "the perpetrators call jihad", raising the question of "the nature of religion and those who carry out cold blooded murder in its name". Professor Tariq Ramadan, Professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies at Oxford University, complained that Muslims had been asked to condemn such atrocities for ten years since the 7 July London bombings. It may not have occurred to him but it occurred to me that there has to be a problem with Islam, one that is blindingly obvious to others because it has existed for centuries with Islamic conquests and occupations, using their own laws to justify their actions. Similar concerns are not expressed about Christianity other than harking back to the Crusaders who sought only to protect Christians and their Holy places from invaders.

In response to the Professor's suggestion that the West was somehow complicit for targeting 'Muslim' countries, historian Tim Holland queried why the Yazidis had been targeted. But there was no answer to that because it was all that Newsnight had time for! Clearly not as important as the sporting fixtures which dominate airtime.

The answer to the question of why the Yazidis were targeted is simple. Islam demands that a choice be made when Muslims have control under Sharia. - Become a Muslim, pay the tax or die while women and children are taken into slavery. The plight of the Yazidis had some initial media coverage but that quickly disappeared from the headlines as many of the Yazidi people have from the face of the earth. Not for them the open doors which have allowed Muslims to flood into Europe, including two 'refugees' who have since been identified among the bombers in Paris.

But being a Muslim carries its own risks. In February CP World reported that an ISIL policing unit in Mosul had severely disfigured the faces of 15 Iraqi women by pouring acid on them as a form of punishment after the women were caught without their faces being veiled appropriately, by ISIS standards.

There is no way out. Apostasy carries a death sentence. Those who escape risk being beaten. Nissar Hussain, 49, suffered a shattered knee cap and broken hand when he was attacked with a pickaxe handle outside his home in Bradford.

Lying for the faith is permitted but questioning is not. Outsiders are accused of Islamophobia if they dare to question Islam. Continuing death and destruction should be enough for anyone to raise serious questions even in isolation but when it is on a continuous basis one has to question people's motives.

In Islam Jesus is regarded as a prophet so why are His words ignored? Jesus said: "Everyone who is committed to the truth listens to my voice."

Everyone deserves to know the truth. More honesty would save many.

Postscript [24.11.2015]

British women filmed 'urging young girls to join Islamic State terrorists in Syria'

and from the Jewish Journal:
Why are we abandoning the Christians?

Interfaith meeting to aid the spread of Islam

A study undertaken by the Muslim Council of Britain has analysed the 2011 Census
 to  reveal details of Britain's growing Muslim population.  Source: Mail Online

"The Muslim Council of Wales, an affiliate of Muslim Council Britain, is an accord of mosques, Muslim associations and institutions in Wales. It shall be informed and guided by the Sunnah in all its aims, policies and procedures".

From Wales Online: "Archbishop of Canterbury to address historic event in Wales at invitation of Muslim leaders. Justin Welby, will be joined by the archbishops of Wales, Scotland and Ireland in what is hoped to be a signal of interfaith cohesion...Muslim community leaders said they hoped the interfaith event at Cardiff City Hall, which coincides with the primates' visit, will send a message across Wales, the UK and internationally that inter-faith relations in Britain are strong, despite global tensions such as IS atrocities and the refugee crisis."

There is the whiff of Chamberlain's 'Peace for our time' about this gathering. The Muslim Council of Wales "shall be informed and guided by the Sunnah in all its aims, policies and procedures". That means no deviation from the Sunnah and the Koran, the spread of Islam by any means.

While religious leaders are engaged in conversation in Christian countries, Christianity is being crushed in Muslim countries. It is no coincidence that the main religion is Islam in the top 50 countries on the World Watch List of Christian persecution. This is explained by Dr. Peter Hammond in his book: "Slavery, Terrorism and Islam: The Historical Roots and Contemporary Threat". In Dr Hammond's list the United Kingdom is shown with a Muslim population of 2.7%. (At 2% to 5%, they begin to proselytize from other ethnic minorities and disaffected groups, often with major recruiting from the jails and among street gangs.)

By 2011 the Muslim population population in England and Wales rose to 5%. (From 5% on, they exercise an inordinate influence in proportion to their percentage of the population. For example, they will push for the introduction of halal (clean by Islamic standards) food, thereby securing food preparation jobs for Muslims. They will increase pressure on supermarket chains to feature halal on their shelves -- along with threats for failure to comply) leading to "Which restaurant chains have gone halal – and why?"

Christian Voice considers halal products from a biblical perspective, something that Archbishop Welby should reflect on as he prepares his speech. The Bible is clear: Jesus said "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." He also warned about false prophets: "They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. You will know them by their fruits".

Religious choice is not an option for Muslims. The number of Muslims in England and Wales grew by 80% to 2.7 million between the 2001 and 2011 censuses but there is a belief among some of Britain's Muslims that "leaving Islam is a sin and can even be punished by death". An investigation for the BBC has found evidence of young people suffering threats, intimidation, being ostracised by their communities and, in some cases, encountering serious physical abuse when they told their families they were no longer Muslims. Check "which countries still outlaw apostasy and blasphemy" here.

In Muslim countries non-Muslims face death or are forced to pay a poll tax, the Jizya, if they refuse to convert to Islam despite there being "no compulsion in religion", a verse abrogated in the Koran. There is no evidence that the young able-bodied Muslims migrating to Europe have any desire to cast off the yoke of oppression. Indeed Saudi Arabia has pledged to build 200 mosques in Germany to accommodate the spread of Islam.

If Justin Welby wants to make a positive contribution to interfaith relations he should start by encouraging Muslims to show their solidarity with Christians by refusing to build any more mosques while Christians are being massacred and their churches destroyed.

Fat chance! Read on.

Postscript [30.09.2015]

According to a new nationwide online survey of 600 Muslims living in the United States, significant minorities embrace supremacist notions that could pose a threat to America’s security and its constitutional form of government.

The numbers of potential jihadists among the majority of Muslims who appear not to be sympathetic to such notions raise a number of public policy choices that warrant careful consideration and urgent debate, including: the necessity for enhanced surveillance of Muslim communities; refugee resettlement, asylum and other immigration programs that are swelling their numbers and density; and the viability of so-called “countering violent extremism” initiatives that are supposed to stymie radicalization within those communities.

Full details here.

Spitting in the wind

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth  in him should not perish, but have everlasting life".   John 3:16

What links Barak Obama, Tony Blair and David Cameron?
Answer: Their claim that "Islam is a religion of peace" here. They should have checked the ideology (here and here).

The latest Islamic atrocity in Turkey bears witness to a corrupt ideology which puts Allah above everyone and everything while his holy warriors happily slaughter anyone to gain their supposed place in paradise with 72 virgins:

“Islam says: Whatever good there is exists thanks to the sword and in the shadow of the sword! People cannot be made obedient except with the sword! The sword is the key to paradise, which can be opened only for holy warriors!

There are hundreds of other [Koranic] psalms and hadiths urging Muslims to value war and to fight. Does all that mean that Islam is a religion that prevents men from waging war? I spit upon those foolish souls who make such a claim.”

“Islam grew with blood . . . . The great prophet of Islam in one hand carried the Koran and in the other a sword . . . . Islam is a religion of blood for the infidels but a religion of guidance for other people.”

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini

"In summary, there is no other conclusion except to admit that the overwhelming evidence shouts that killing is the big difference between Islam and all other religions". From 'Is It a Religion of Peace? Original Islam'.

Muslims base their faith on the Koran while Christians base theirs on the Bible which forms the basis of Britain's Christian values. Unlike the Bible which describes how Jesus shed his blood for all, the Koran dictates how believers must shed the blood of disbelievers and apostates to appease their god and ensure for themselves a life in paradise on the blood of innocents. Despite this glaring difference, equal weight is given to a religious ideology which condemns Christians and other disbelievers, regarded in Islam as "the worst possible crime", while ignoring the clear biblical warning about false prophets.

It is against this background that yesterday, Prime Minister David Cameron delivered a speech which outlined plans for a new Extremism Bill to prevent radicalisation. He was spitting in the wind. British values are anathema to Islam and British democracy is used as a tool for Islam's advancement. Our policy of equal opportunities for all encourages its growth while misplaced political correctness and false charges of Islamophobia allow Islamic influence to spread unabated, the worst excesses having been highlighted in Birmingham and in Birmingham's schools, in Rotherham where the most vile abuse of children has taken place and in Tower Hamlets where people were fearful of speaking the truth resulting in corrupt elections. Much of this was allowed to take place because the British people have been conditioned not to speak up for fear of being classed as racist, prejudiced and Islamophobic while Islamists 'run riot'.

Meanwhile Christianity is ridiculed in a manner that would not be tolerated if there were any hint of criticism of a Muslim's faith. Note how Liberal Leader Tim Farron was sneered at for his Christian faith on the BBC's Today programme and on Sky News driven to declare that his personal faith "will not affect his political decisions and that he supports equality".

Not content with having a Muslim heading the BBC's Religion and Ethics department, Mr Cameron's solution is to promote more Muslims to positions of power and influence in Great Britain, apparently ignorant of the fact that as Islam increases in strength, the danger to non-Muslims increases simply for being disbelievers. According to the Pew Research Center, Muslims are the world’s fastest-growing religious group so they hardly need any help from the British Prime Minister.

Muslims can only accept Christian values if they become Christians. Islam recognises Jesus as a prophet along with Abraham and Moses but against all the evidence Muslims deny that Jesus died on the Cross. This is not only false teaching, it is clear deception resulting in millions of Muslims being condemned by their own religion. There is no virtue in pretending Islam is a religion of peace when all the evidence is to the contrary. That the majority of Muslims do not take up arms does not mean that Islam is a religion of peace. This notion was nicely shot down by Alexander Boot in his blog entry 'Pardon me, boy, who is the Chattanooga shooter?'

Muslims are constantly trying to convert non-believers to Islam but there is a reluctance to refute erroneous Islamic teaching explaining that one of their own prophets, Jesus, showed the way to eternal life before Muhammad was born. That is what Muslims need to know, not how they should integrate their mistaken beliefs into Western culture. Until leaders grasp that, they will continue spitting in the wind.

Postscript [24.07.2015]

More "Easy Meat":
http://www.itv.com/news/2015-07-24/you-get-passed-around-victims-of-horrifying-aylesbury-child-sex-ring-speak-out/

"...the word “Asian” was used in
order to stop people from realising that the vast majority of the
criminals were Muslims, and that the vast majority of the victims
were non-Muslim girls..." Full report here.

Postscript [25.07.2015]

Read also ‘Ee bah gum–there’s Sharia up ‘ere! by The Rev Dr Peter Mullen in his Blog 'All Things Considered'.

Postscript [27.07.2015]

Islamist “Justice”: Slow Painful Death for Christian Mother in Pakistan by Raymond Ibrahim in Muslim Persecution of Christians. Petition for Asia Bibi's release here.

Leaving Islam

This video by an ex-Muslim neatly sums up how people use religion to satisfy their human desires. It considers the basic question of why any Creator would want some of those he created to destroy others he had created. It makes no sense except when the messenger wishes to distort the message for personal gain, sucking in the ignorant and ill-informed to believe that they too can benefit from the suffering of others. How could such a cruel God be worthy of worship?

Christianity is often accused of perpetrating evil acts similar to those now being carried out by warriors for Islam today. There is no denying that, in the past, appalling acts of cruelty were perpetrated in the name of Christ but the errors were of the messenger, not the message. With Islam it is both the messenger and the message and it is not history. It is being inflicted now in the name of one regarded in Islam as the perfect man which raises the question of how much Muslims really know about their messenger.

The following video lists twenty problems with the this belief:

If Muslims know but deny these facts it raises serious questions about their honesty. If they do not, they are being used unwittingly to support jihad against non-Muslims and need to escape before they too find that they are on the list to be cleansed for being the wrong kind of Muslims.

The 2014 Memri TV clip here shows the 'right kind' of Muslim (in their eyes), a Russian ISIS fighter justifying Islamic State massacres based on texts from the Quran. Some quotes from the transcript:

"With regard to the Islamic State, the Caliphate and the numerous accusations we have been accused of by those who sit idly by instead of going on Jihad, or those who do nothing for the religion of Allah, except for praying the five prayers, believing that by doing so, they are helping the religion of Allah… You are not helping yourselves or the religion of Allah. Anyone who sits idly by and does not help the Islamic State today will be held accountable on Judgment Day.
[…]
"You accuse us of the mass killing of Muslims, saying that we are blood-shedding murderers. Didn't the Prophet Muhammad and his companions shed blood? Haven't you read his biography, written by Ibn Hisham, which says that the Messenger of Allah killed 700 people in a single battle? He slaughtered 700 people – that is our Prophet and our religion.
[…]
"I say to all our Muslim brothers and sisters: Join the Islamic State. Join your brothers. Do not wait until death comes to you. Do not wait until the path is blocked. As long as you can, perform hijra. The hijra is a duty. If you read any book on Islamic faith, you will see that it is a duty to perform hijra from Dar Al-Kufr to Dar Al-Islam. Do not procrastinate. Do not delude yourselves. Do not say to yourselves that you will perform the hijra tomorrow or the day after."

More recently there has been an obsession in the media with how 'Jihadi John' was radicalized. He didn't need to be radicalized. Based on his knowledge of Islam he simply responded to the  claim "Anyone who sits idly by and does not help the Islamic State today will be held accountable on Judgment Day". He has been following the message of the messenger without any pretence that Islam is the 'Religion of Peace' in the normal accepted sense of the word peace. Despite his heinous crimes attempts have been made to portray Jihadi John as the victim. Similar efforts were made in respect of the deluded youngsters who set off to join the IS group in Syria. Like their founder, among others, this group believes that a girl of nine is of marriageable age! The IS guide to life for female jihadis is here. Any female who wants to embrace such a regime must be severely deluded or must have been indoctrinated by an ideology which rewards the guilty at the expense of the innocent.

Islam has been at war with non-believers since the seventh century, falsely claiming that the West has invaded their lands. They are not Muslim lands. They were obtained by conquest. For years the plight of the Copts was ignored. Now we are witnessing The Twilight of Middle Eastern Christianity. The message is blindingly obvious but there's none so blind as those who will not see - something of which President Obama is persistently accused.

It doesn't have to be like this. Muslims are held captive by fear. Execution for apostasy is still regarded as acceptable in Islamic states. Apart from accepted abrogations, "No change can there be in the Words of Allah (Sura 10:64) "There is none that can alter the Words of Allah (Sura 6:34). So if the religious ideology cannot be adapted to allow Muslims to live peaceably with others in the twenty-first century, its adherents must change if the carnage is to stop.

Listen to an Ex-Muslim terrorist who has found what other Muslims seek and follow his example. Eternal life, without slaughtering the innocent.

"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Answers please

"Don’t complain … we’ve all been caricatured here"

"What do you do if you see someone being mugged on the street? Well, if you’re the Welsh Establishment you just walk on by, and even go back and give the poor man another good kicking just to make sure he’s down."

Yesterday the Daily Wales republished an article about one of the most disgraceful events in the history of the Church in Wales. Under the authority of no less a figure than its own Archbishop, Dr Barry Morgan believed the images published in the Church in Wales’s periodical Y Llan to be so offensive to Muslims that the newsletter was pulped and subscribers asked to return their copies.

Dr Morgan said: "We recalled all the papers, I personally picked up some from some churches and they have all been pulped". He then phoned his Muslim chum making a grovelling apology, presumably forgetting that Jesus Christ, the Son of God is "the way and the truth and the life" and that no one comes to the Father except through Him. Perhaps Dr Morgan is ignorant of the fact that Muslims deny that Christ died for our sins, appeasing the wrath of God and taking it upon himself. Ironically the cartoon can be readily found by Googling the caption. The sorry saga is detailed here.

A letter of 2 Nov 2006 to the Church Times from the Archdeacon of Bangor concerning "a significant factual inaccuracy" can be found here.

As the events in Paris unfolded I was sickened by suggestions that the Charlie Hebdo journalists had somehow brought their slaughter on themselves for publishing material offensive to Muslims. Why should Islam alone be above scrutiny? They are not slow to condemn anyone who does not subscribe to Islam or even to a particular branch of Islam. In the Middle East, Christianity is facing extinction while Islam expands in the West. The link in my previous entry clearly illustrates the plight of non-Muslims in countries where Muslims increase as a percentage of the population. But ignoring all the evidence woolly minded liberals continue to perpetuate the myth that Islam is a religion of peace and accuse questioners of Islamophbia. There is nothing irrational about holding a religious ideology to scrutiny when the dangers are clear for all to see even if most of the atrocities are elsewhere. It is only a question of numbers.

On May 23, 2013, the day after the Woolwich incident in London, in which a British soldier was murdered by two Muslims groomed under Anjem Choudary, the Oxford Union debated the motion that “The House believes that Islam is a religion of peace”. Yes’s: 286 No’s: 168. One of the speakers in support of the motion was the media savvy Mehdi Hasan, political editor of the Huffington Post. His excuses for Islamic excesses are challenged in a follow up posting here. Two prominent people in a position to oppose such a motion, Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer, have been banned by the Home Secretary from entering Britain. Robert Spencer's rebuttal of Mehadi Hasan's claims can be read in full here.

Not all Muslims are terrorists but most terrorists subscribe to the Islamic supremacist ideology which classes Christians and Jews as apes and pigs. Christians and Jews may be offended by such charges but we defend ourselves with the pen, not the sword or AK 47. To subject those who would seek martyrdom using sophisticated weaponry and who find justification in their holy book written by a man considered perfect regardless of his life style is not an irrational fear, it is about the preservation of a civilised society.

Political and religious leaders must do better. There are too many questions. We need answers based on an authoritative, independent study of the facts, not excuses from committed Muslims trapped in their own ideology under threat of death for apostasy. Capitulation is not the answer.

No more excuses please

Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi is "a world-renowned scholar and head of the European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR) and president of the International Union for Muslim Scholars (IUMS). Many scholars consider him to be one of the most reputable mujtahids of the modern age." - Apr. 13, 2006. Full account here.

This is the reality for one young pregnant woman found guilty of apostasy as reported by the MailOnline: Sudanese woman, 27, who is a doctor and eight months PREGNANT to be flogged to death for the 'crime' of marrying a Christian man. Read Amnesty International's account here.

There can be no excuses for such barbarism as those used to suggest that Islam cannot be blamed for the abduction of over 200 girls by Boko Harem. If this is not Islam let Muslims everywhere raise their voices and demand an end to such practices.

"Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance."

Article 18 - The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Woolwich response: Deceptive, stupid or just plain ignorant?

A Baghdad church. More 'religion of peace' images here

It is entirely understandable that the authorities would want to avoid a backlash after the random, callous murder of an innocent British soldier in Woolwich. Less understandable is the response of the Prime Minister who defended Islam saying that it was "a betrayal of Islam" and "there is nothing in Islam that justifies this truly dreadful act" while his Deputy quoted from the Koran in apparent ignorance that one verse can be abrogated by another or another verse used as justification for acts of terror: [Remember] when your Lord inspired to the angels, "I am with you, so strengthen those who have believed. I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieved, so strike [them] upon the necks and strike from them every fingertip." [8:12]. Clegg said that the unspeakable act “flies in the face of the peace and love that Islam teaches” as he paid special tribute to London's Muslim community. Is he blind to what is happening around the world? Where is that 'peace and love' in Muslim dominated countries where Christians are leaving in droves in fear of their lives and their churches razed to the ground? 

Recent census figures clearly illustrate that Christianity in this country is on the wane while Islam is increasing rapidly, particularly among the young, giving rise to the prediction: “In another 20 years there are going to be more active Muslims than there are churchgoers”. The unwarranted glorification of Islam as the 'religion of peace' helps to validate a supremacist ideology encouraging more people to assume that there is nothing to fear from Islam, contrary to evidence worldwide. The perpetrators of the latest atrocity are believed to be of Nigerian descent, a country ravaged by Islamism. All should be aware of what is happening in Nigeria. Read  The Supremacist's Ideology Of Islam which explains 'ISLAM’S CLAIM FOR PEACE'.

Attempts to separate religion from its Islamist ideology are futile because the ideology dictates a way of life which elevates Muslims above Christians and Jews which has already resulted in the 'cleansing' of Islamic countries. If Messrs Cameron and Clegg are ignorant of this process around the world there is plenty of evidence available. They could start here by reading 'Islam and Extremism: What is Underneath' after picking up the basic differences between Islam and other religions here. 

With fear of possible reprisals it is not surprising that Muslims have gone to great lengths to distance themselves from this atrocity. Westernised Muslims may indeed be sincere in their condemnation but their motives can never be guaranteed because their religion sanctions dishonesty, taqiyya, in defense of Islam. 

The victim card is already being played, even in Cairo [here] where the persecution of Coptic Christians in Egypt is well documented. Conscious of requests for calm I effectively imposed self censorship in pondering whether to make this entry but the more I read the more absurd our position has become in making Islam untouchable at the expense of Chritianity in a supposedly Christian country. It is being defended as a sacred religion of peace enabling Islamism to gain ground because people are not given the full facts and accused of Islamophobia for daring to raise legitimate questions. In an article for the Observer Dr Matthew Goodwin, an associate professor at the University of Nottingham who advises the government on tackling race hatred wrote:

"Many have suggested that the events in Woolwich have fuelled a wave of public hostility towards British Muslims and Islam more generally. But our findings, based on a YouGov survey undertaken within 24 hours of the attack, suggest that the picture is both more complex and more positive.

First, we find some evidence to suggest that, in the aftermath of these tragic events, Britons were more likely to think positively about community relations. There are some challenging results, such as the finding that the number of citizens who think that conflict between groups is "largely inevitable" has risen by seven points to 40%, or that agreement with the suggestion that there will be a serious clash between British Muslims 
and white Britons has also risen, by nine points to 59%. But these buck the broader trend.

Compared with last year, when we ran the same survey, people are now either just as likely, or more likely, to endorse a series of more positive statements: that Muslims are compatible with the national way of life; are good citizens; make important contributions to society; and share British culture and values." [My emphasis - Ed.]

A measured response is essential but it is a grave error of judgement to take a head-in-the-sand view that Islam can be judged by Christian standards. If it is a 'religion of peace' why are there so many conflicts around the world involving Muslims? The fact the Muslims are fighting other Muslims is not an excuse for turning a blind eye to the threat. The Government has been busily discarding Christian values creating a spiritual vacuum that on current trends will be filled by Islam, an ideology that justifies not only the oppression of non-believers but death for apostasy. This is a dangerous strategy. Compare the statement at the end of the previous paragraph with this statement taken from the link at the end of the second paragraph:

"Even though Muslims claim their religion preaches peace, a critical observation shows that this is far from the truth.

As long as a Muslim population in a given area, community or Country is below 2%, they regard themselves as a peace-loving people who do not pose a threat to other citizens.

At 2%-5% Muslims begin to proselytize other disaffected ethnic minorities and groups often recruiting from the jails and street gangs. This is the case in about 5 Countries as you can see.

COUNTRY / MUSLIM %

Denmark / 2%

Germany / 3.7%

United Kingdom / 2.7%

Spain / 4%

Thailand / 4.6%"

Not only Government Ministers but religious leaders are following the line that such acts as witnessed in Woolwich have no place in Islam but the leadership of the church today has more to do with politics than defending Christian orthodoxy. By adding their validation of a religious ideology that seeks our extinction what hope can there be? Even if Islamist violence were not the reality that it is, Christians are supposed to believe that there is only one way to the Father and that is through Christ. If we lose that conviction we are already lost to the so-called 'religion of peace' under Islam. 

Perhaps there is some comfort in getting old after all - but what of our children and our children's children? If this pretence continues it will be too late to turn the tide. We need honesty based on world wide evidence, not blinkered denial. Ignoring legitimate concerns serves only to encourage rather than discourage elements in society looking for an excuse to take matters into their own hands. That must be avoided. Honesty must be the best policy.

For being a Christian...

... in Saudi Arabia this could be just part of the penalty. 

See reports here, here and here about a Lebanese man who was sentenced to six years in prison and 300 lashes for converting a Muslim woman to Christianity and a Saudi man who was sentenced to two years and 200 lashes for aiding her escape abroad. As severe as these penalties are they are relatively lenient when compared with the possible fatwa induced execution of those in Morocco who renounce Islam even though it is not a crime in that country.

Ideas of justice around the world can be brutal as this rough guide shows but where is the 'justice' in penalties for apostasy in the twenty-first century, especially when advocated in Great Britain? Each new report from around the world induces little reaction other than a shrug of the shoulders with gratitude that it does not happen here but elements of Sharia are increasingly common in this country with Muslims insisting that they have a right to bring up their children in accordance with their own beliefs while living in a Christian country, the exact opposite of what is allowed in Saudi Arabia where public Christian worship is banned and children are taught that Jews and the Christians are enemies of Muslim believers. 

In the video that follows, Richard Dawkins manages to strain an admission from Dr Mohamed Mukadam, the then Chairman of the Association of Muslim Schools, that in Islam  apostasy is dealt with by the death penalty but Dr Mukadam failed to see the connection in what happens in an Islamic country and what happens in Great Britain. The connection is the universal freedom of choice: 

"Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance."

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Article 18

The two faces of Islam

 

Spot the difference? 

The picture on the left shows what is left of another burnt-out church, this one in Zanzibar. Just one of many atrocities against Christians carried out in over 50 countries around the world with little or no comment let alone condemnation. 


The second picture is of a Mosque in Woking, Surrey, built in 1889, the first mosque to be built in the UK and Northern Europe. When Conservative Home reported on Saudi Arabia's funding of Islamism in 2006 there were thought to be around 1,600 mosques in Britain. Clicking on 'All towns' in this link now shows 1993 mosques, a 25% increase. Sunderland lists two, Sunderland Masjid and Masjid ibn Taymeeyahwith capacities of 345 and 195 respectively, 'including women' with the note, "The five times daily salaah in congregation in the masjid is enjoined on men, not on women. Women's salaah is expected to be discreet and private and therefore performed at home. About 72% of UK masjids make some provision for women, but many of these do so by allocating space only when specially asked for. Larger purpose-built masjids often have a gallery over the main masjid room, part or all of which is for women's use. (Excerpt from our book, Islam and Muslims in Britain - A Guide.)"


"The former, Millfield Mosque, also know as the Mosque of Sunderland, is illegal. Sunderland City Council has already agreed to sell the disused vehicle depot in St Mark’s Road, Millfield, which is hoped to provide a replacement for the “illegal” mosque operating further up the road. Many residents are furious at the plans, with one claiming Millfield will “end up being Mosquefield” and the council has received 623 letters of objection and a petition bearing 1,462 signatures." All part of the democratic process? Not at all. This is the customary cry of 'Islamophobia!' designed to silence protesters along with critics of the Islamification of Britain and beyond.

Why do we tolerate the Islamification of our country when there are ample reports worldwide which plainly illustrate the Islamic agenda resulting in death and destruction? All mosque building in the UK should be banned at least until there is clear evidence that Muslims accord to Christians and others  the same freedoms they demand for themselves.


Update - Report from Iraq: In a country that used to be home to around five million Christians, only 200,000 remain today. Many have fled north to the relative safety of Kurdistan, while others have left the country altogether. [17/01/12]


Postscript
From today's Guardian [16/01/12], 'Sharia law compatible with human rights, argues leading barrister'. Googling 'sharia law sentences' will find plenty of examples to challenge this; there just two here and here. 


The Guardian article ends with the 'Top five sharia myths', the first about amputation claiming that 'Of the world's 50 or so Muslim-majority states, only about half a dozen allow for amputations'. Oh good show, that's OK then - unless your country is one of the half a dozen. Similarly, 'Stoning is mentioned in the Qur'an' with a nuanced  denial that victims can contemplate while rocks of just the right size are enthusiastically hurled by those without sin. Again, 'Capital punishment for apostasy is mentioned by the Qur'an' - The Qur'an repeatedly warns believers who abandon their faith that they will have to account to God in the afterlife, but it does not provide for their punishment on earth. It was hadiths that later served to justify the death penalty. So that's OK too, death under hadith not the Qur'an.


I shall not comment on each but I can't ignore 'That suicide bombing is permissible under sharia law' with a duplicitous denial . Go to position 29 on this link for a detailed explanation of this deception. It explains that suicide bombers are regarded as martyrs dying for their cause and earning themselves a place in paradise. Better still, if you haven't already done so, watch the whole video. If you would rather take the article on trust, you should at least watch this video to understand the two faces of Islam.

The Way paved with good intentions?

From the Catholic Herald, Muslim scholars address Synod of Bishops.

"Ayatollah Mohaghegh Damad said the Koran’s view of Christian-Muslim relations is one of “friendship, respect and mutual understanding,” even though there have been “dark moments” in the relationship over the past 1,400 years."

"Earlier Mr al-Sammak had said the death penalty for apostasy from Islam to Christianity dated from a time “when changing religions meant joining the enemy – it was punished as an act of treason”. While some still think converts should be punished, he said the “golden rule” of Islam is that “there is no compulsion in religion, that’s what the Koran says”."

Others would question the words I have emphasised in italics above in that Muslims regard non-Muslims as second-class citizens if they do not accept Islam and Sharia. With no mention of abrogation, should taquiya be assumed? These are the real questions that must be addressed.