CHRIST OUR LORD AND GOD AGAINST ISLAM

Islam and Christianity are forever diametrically opposed

2009-06-26T14:24:00.005+02:00

A tenet of Islam is that both Mohammed and Jesus of Nazareth were both Muslims. Islam says both were prophets sent by Allah. If this were true, then it is mandatory that these two great prophets must coincide exactly in all points and never contradict each other. Did not the same Allah send both of them? Then, aren't even the smallest of contradictions between the two, very big red flags? And there are a great many, which you will see below. Christianity and Islam are necessarily forever diametrically opposed to one another, just as evil and good are. Oral confession of the deity of Jesus Christ is prerequisite to becoming a Christian (Romans 10:9-10). To a Muslim, this is blasphemy. To a Christian it is blasphemy to not attribute divinity to Jesus the Christ. The New Testament could not be clearer on this subject. The heart, core and soul of Christianity is allegiance to Jesus Christ as God, Lord, and Savior! Were Jesus Christ who the Muslim Qur'an who it makes him out to be, then Christianity would be blasphemous and baseless.

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9-10)

Surah 5:68 - Say: "O People of the Book! ye have no ground to stand upon unless ye stand fast by the Law (Torah), the Gospel (Injeel), and all the revelation that has come to you from your Lord."

Surah 29:46 Muslims are told by Allah, not to question the authority of the scriptures of the Christians, saying, "And dispute ye not with the People of the Book, but say, "We believe in the revelation which has come down to us and in that which came down to you; Our Allah and your Allah is one;

Islam says that Jesus did not die. So, again --Islam has proven to be false; because Muhammad claimed the Gospel is true, and all 4 Gospels (Injil) testify that Jesus died and rose from the dead. God does have a begotten Son (not made, but one with the Father), which Islam denies. The Jewish Torah / Taurat (Tawrat) clearly indicated this over 1000 years before Muhammad and Islam. In addition their are collateral 1st century sources that testify that Jesus was put to death. In the "Annals" written by Roman historian Tacitus, in Book XV, Chapter 44 we read "Christus, the founder of the name, was put to death by Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea in the reign of Tiberius." Roman historian Josephus also wrote about the death and Resurrection of Jesus. Even Satan says that Jesus died on the cross. Also, the Roman Historian Seutonius wrote in his work "Life of the Emperor Claudius" the following about Christians: "and deny the gods of Greece, and worship the crucified sage, and live after his laws." The Roman historian Pliny wrote about Jesus' death in Book X of his Epistles. Julius Africanus, quoting Thallus another Roman historian, who wrote in about 52 A.D. about the miraculas happenings the day the Son of God was killed. He wrote: "On the whole world there pressed a most fearful darkness; and the rocks were rent by an earthquake, and many places in Judea and other districts were thrown down". Like Muhammad, Satan also cringes in fear at the sight of the cross. Read this true Exorcism here.

Proverbs 30:4 (700 B.C.): "Who hath ascended up into heaven or descended? Who hath gathered the wind in His fists? Who hath bound the waters in a garment? Who hath established all the ends of the Earth? What is His name, and what is His son's name, if thou canst tell?"

(Psalm 2:11-12) Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

Even after Allah confirmed the Torah and Gospel, Islamic Mullahs and Imams have tried to sell the lie that the Christian Gospels and Jewish Torah have been corrupted.

This a complete lie! This lie is perpetuated by Islam, because of all the historic, scientific, and simple mathematical errors in the Koran/Qur'an - as you'll see below... The Qur'an just doesn't add up.

"They" could not have changed the Christian Gospels after Muhammad, since there are 5,735 (Welte, 2003) manuscripts of the whole or part of the Greek text of the New Testament (Injil) pre-dating Muhammad still in existence. Worldwide, there are 24,800 copies of these original manuscripts. These include the Codex Vaticanus (325-350 AD) located in the Vatican library and the Codex Siniaticus (350 AD) located in the British Museum. There are also 80,000 quotations in the works of early Christian writers which are so extensive that the New Testament could virtually be reconstructed from them without the actual New Testament documents. Then there is the obvious fact that the Christian Gospels were so widely distributed both before and after Muhammad, that any attempt to change (add/subtract) something in the Christian Gospels would have resulted in immediate discovery and condemnation. Additionally, the New Testament was handed down from apostolic times and its genuineness was guarded by Christian churches, and it was zealously watched by enemies of Christianity. A very wide protest would have resulted from both sides were it tampered with. Likewise, the Septuagint edition of the Old Testament was always in the hands of both Christians and Jews, both rivals in religion. Any attempts to change this by either side would have been vigorously attacked.

There are four more "safeguards" for the integrity of the Bible. (1) Jesus Himself read from Isaiah scroll in a Synagogue in Nazareth and declared it as Scripture (inspired from God), Luke 4:16-21; (2) The Dead Sea scrolls, found in 1947, verified the Jewish Torah back to 100 AD to 200 BC, when they were copied. Prior to this discovery, the oldest Torah dated to the 9th century AD. The Dead Sea scroll of Isaiah verified almost exactly the Isaiah scroll copied in the 9th century; (3) Early Church Fathers like Ignatius, Clement of Rome, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Irenaeus, who wrote from between 90-160 AD all cited in their writings Christian Gospel accounts (Guthrie, 1990, page 24); (4) We know that the writings of Moses were preserved as far back as 621 BC. 2 Kings 22 speaks of this at the time of the Israeli King Josiah. Ezra 7:14, Nehemiah 8:1-18, and Jeremiah 36 also speaks of the Jews maintaining Scripture.

Some versions of the Bible from 1881 differ in a few words here and there. However, the essential theological points remain the same and are complete. Bibles we recommend, that have not changed are: Protestants original Authorized King James (1611), Catholics Catholic Douay Reims - older versions

The Christian Bible predates Muhammad and Islam by more than 575 years. The Jewish Torah predates Muhammad and Islam by 1,000 - 3,000 years. Muhammad said for Muslims to read the Bible for "Guidance and Light." For Islam to say they are corrupted, then is to call Muhammad a liar for recommending it.

The same Bible Muhammad would have seen (if he ever did) is in both (1) The Vatican (Codex Vaticanus) and (2) British Museum (Codex Sinaticus). It is all there, including Jesus dying on the cross as atonement for our sins. And, His resurrection, and ascension into heaven - in front of many witnesses. The New Testament is preserved in almost perfect condition in these two Greek texts which both predate Muhammad and Islam by over 200 years.

Everything in the Christian/Jewish Bible is being authenticated by archeology. Consider the Babylonian cylinder inscription of Nabonidus (thought to be the last king of Babylon) which commemorates the reconstruction of a ziggurat at Ur by Nabonidus and records a prayer to Belshazzar (Daniel 5) his son 'the firstborn son, the offspring of my heart'. Not only does this prove that Belshazzar was indeed a member of the Babylonian royal family, which had long been disputed, but it also explains why Daniel is told he could be the third ruler (with Nabonidus and Belshazzar more or less acting as co-regents). Also, consider the 'chariot wheels' divers found in the Red Sea, proving the Hebrew Exodus from Egypy was real; and that the Egyptian army chasing the Jews was drowned by God (Yahweh), just as was recorded in the Jewish Bible.

Muslims should note that nowhere in the Qur'an there is even a suggestion that the Christian Biblical text has been altered or corrupted. The word "tahrif" is never used with reference to the Christian Gospels (Injil). The Qur'an occasionally accuses the Jews of altering their Scripture (like in Surah 5:13); but it never levels this accusation at Christians. It in no way implies that the text of the Gospel of Jesus (Injil) has been corrupted. In fact, the Qur'an attests to the validity of the Christian Gospels, Zabur (Psalms) and the Torah.

The uninspired Qur'an

The Jewish and Christian Bibles were written by "inspired men of God" who immediately committed God's Word to writing. Islam doesn't even have either an original or inspired Qur'an. The Muslim Qur'an was made up supposedly from "memory" from those who supposedly committed the words of Muhammad to memory, and from a few scraps found under a bed. This was originally begun about 15-20 years after Muhammad died at his wife Ayish's home in Medina, and he was lowered into a hole in the ground, where he remains. The compilation was not finished until at least 150 years after Muhammad's death. This "hearsay" argument seriously brings the credibility of the Qur'an into question. But, that's only the beginning. All the errors, including simple mathematical and historical errors you will see in the Qur'an below renders it impossible to be a divine revelation.

Al Bukhari, a Muslim scholar of the 9th-10th century, and the most authoritative of the Muslim tradition compilers, writes that whenever Muhammad fell into one of his unpredictable trances his revelations were written on whatever was handy at the time. The leg or thigh bones of dead animals were used, as well as palm leaves, parchments, papers, skins, mats, stones, and bark. And when there was nothing at hand the attempt was made by his disciples to memorize it as closely as possible.

Zaid b. Thabit said: “The Prophet died and the Qur’an had not been assembled into a single place.” (p. 118, Ahmad b. `Ali b. Muhammad al `Asqalani, ibn Hajar, "Fath al Bari", 13 vols, Cairo, 1939/1348, volume 9, page 9)

Zuhri reports, 'We have heard that many Qur'an passages were revealed but that those who had memorized them fell in the Yemama fighting. Those passages had not been written down, and following the deaths of those who knew them, were no longer known; nor had Abu Bakr, nor `Umar nor `Uthman as yet collected the texts of the Qur'an.

“During the battle of Yamama, 450 reciters of the Quran were killed.” (The True Guidance, An Introduction To Quranic Studies, part 4 [Light of Life - P.O. BOX 13, A-9503 Villach, Austria], p. 47- citing Ibn Kathir’s Al-Bidaya wa al-Nibaya, chapter on Battle of Yamama).
Muhammad's child wife said this after Muhammad died:

"The verse of the stoning and of suckling an adult ten times were revealed, and they were (written) on a paper and kept under my bed. When the messenger of Allah expired and we were preoccupied with his death, a goat entered and ate away the paper."

References: Musnad Ahmad bin Hanbal. vol. 6. page 269; Sunan Ibn Majah, page 626; Ibn Qutbah, Tawil Mukhtalafi 'l-Hadith (Cairo: Maktaba al-Kulliyat al-Azhariyya. 1966) page 310; As-Suyuti, ad-Durru 'l-Manthur, vol. 2. page 13

As to the Taurat (Torah), Jewish scribes painstakingly copied it via a system of checking, double checking and adding each letter on each line. Any attempt to change something in the Torah would have resulted in immediate discovery and condemnation. And copies of the Torah from around the world agree exactly. Thousands of the Hebrew Old Testament manuscript copies are still available for textual criticism, ranging in age from the second century B.C. (Before Christ) to the eleventh century A.D. (After Christ).

Source: True History of Islam, Mohammed an the Koran

Racial Hatred Arrest for Internet Blogger

2008-07-26T08:46:00.003+02:00

LionHeart UK

THE END.

Posted: 23 Jul 2008 07:36 AM CDT
I was due to attend Greyfriars Police station today to answer bail regarding my arrest on ‘suspicion of stirring up racial hatred’ through written material on this blog.

I was advised by my solicitor/lawyer yesterday that he had spoken to DC Holden regarding my attendance at the police station today and he told him that a decision still had not been made concerning me and my case so they are going to be bailing me for a further few months.

So the leash is still around my neck, but it’s more of an extendable leash now, like the one you put your dog on so they can run a little further, rather than a chock chain.

I lost everything because of the drug dealing gangs of Pakistani Moslems from Luton, my home, by business, my way of life and over 18 months of my life.

And I thank God daily for it because my blog now stands as a testimony for others to read about what is going on in Luton & Dunstable, which is Al Qaeda’s frontline within Great Britain, and the Islamic community that has set up camp there.

There are many cowards out there who disrespect me but just remember you’re the one who ran away not me, I’m just taking a rest now.

Let’s not forget that Luton played a central role on 7/7 and during ‘operation crevice’ the biggest anti-terror operation in British history which saw the bomb maker of the plot who was a taxi driver from Dunstable wanting to buy a dirty bomb from the Russian mafia in Belgium, and the Emir of the plot who was also said to be the recruiter of the lead bomber on 7/7 Mohamed Siddique Khan also another Pakistani Moslem known as Q from Bury Park Luton.

All these known factual links to International Islamic Terrorism and Al Qaeda’s War against Great Britain from this one locality of Luton.

My blog is an on the ground assessment of what is happening on the streets of Luton & Dunstable with regards to the paramilitary force of British born Pakistani Moslems, and then beyond what is happening on the streets, out of sight and mind.

Blended into the Bury Park community of Luton, living in the shadows is Al Qaeda in Britain, trained courtesy of Osama Bin Laden and the terror camps of Afghanistan/Pakistan who are now recruiting and commanding their Moslem brothers on our British streets.

Jihad (Holy War) against us and our way of life for Islam is their message.

By the time the British State have decided what they want to do with me I will have lost another year of my life to them, having the stress of these legal proceedings hanging over my head, and then I could lose another year if they finally decide to charge me and all for writing and telling people what I see with regards to Islam’s War within Great Britain and against our Western Civilisation, and calling Moslems savages.

As an uneducated man and not politically correct I think savages fits them quite well after watching beheadings, suicide bombings on buses and trains, flying planes into towers, chopping off peoples limbs for the most trivial of offences, the hatred that is aimed at those outside of the religion, and the hatred towards women and homosexuals and all because of the teachings of the religion. The list could go on and on, these are just a few examples that spring to mind of why I call Moslems savages.

The politically correct term for those who have jobs and careers to protect is - Terrorist

Ok not all Moslems act in that way but if they class themselves as Moslems by carrying the label and embracing the religion then they condone what is at the core of the religion which is the teachings of a 7th Century barbarian who was a bloodthirsty warmongering child molesting paedophile false prophet rapist.

Many who claim the label ‘Moslem’ only do so because it has been passed down from the generations, they don’t know the true heart and soul of the religion because they have never delved into the deepest depths of the pit of the religion. Those who do know the heart and soul are the religious Moslems who are committed to furthering the agenda of the Islamic religion in Great Britain and are the driving force.

Those who profess moderation and peace are a different side of the same coin they just have a different way of achieving the end time goal which is Islamic Rule upon the British Isles. This is the mandate of the Islamic Religion that all Moslems if they are true Moslems must adhere to and carry out, those who profess moderation and peace are taking the long term approach and those conducting Holy War are taking the faster approach, but both have the same end result in mind and they both work in tandem together.

So don’t believe the lies.

If a Moslem doesn’t want to live under Sharia Law then he/she is not a Moslem, it is like me as a Christian saying I don’t believe in Jesus, its that simple, and we have 3+ million Moslems in our Country.

Those who carry the label ‘Moslem’ but know nothing about the heart and soul of the religion know in the back of their minds that if they reject the label then they face a death sentence from religious Moslems as an act of apostasy which is one of the most abhorrent things imaginable and has no place within our civilized society but as with many other things it is an integral part of the Islamic religion.

If a Moslem leaves the religion he/she must be murdered for this offence, and there are many willing Moslem murderers out there willing to please Allah by shedding Apostate blood.

Those who leave Islam should find a place of safety and sanctuary within our land, and the Church is the place where you will find it, then you can break off the shackles that bind you and receive the Love of Jesus Christ from His servants, those like Bishop Nazir Ali who knows all to well about Apostasy among many other things within Great Britain.

He himself is now a target of the military wing of Islam because he dared speak out on behalf of the British people about the Islamification of Great Britain; does this not tell you something that everyone who speaks negatively about Islam has to live under fear of death?

And this is supposed to be a civilized 21st Century democracy in which we live.

No wonder there are so many cowards out there, but what does the future hold for our children and grandchildren with so many cowards in society who are doing nothing about those who are seeking to destroy all of our futures?

We cannot escape the facts in today’s British society and what they mean to our futures although this present government would like to sweep them under the carpet by saying ‘Islam means peace’, ‘Moslem and terrorist are two words that don’t go together’, ‘Islamic terror is anti-Islamic activity’, and it’s a small minority, so as to dupe the gullible British sheep people into a false sense of security by believing the lies about Labours block vote and their pet project, the British Islam they are foolishly trying to create like the deranged Liberals that they are.

You can hear the Islamic World laughing at these spineless treacherous traitors as they take over our Country, who are leading Great Britain into the gutter, surrendering and appeasing at every opportunity to save their cowardly necks from the inevitable, even giving the Islamic Kingdom of Great Britain their first State sanctioned building blocks for their own autonomy upon our Island, and releasing Al Qaeda terrorists back out into our society.

The Liberal Elite and the Islamic Kingdom of Great Britain are working together towards the destruction of the British homeland and the ancient ‘Realm’ in which we have lived for generations in their quest for the unachievable utopian multi cultural dream which is nothing more than social psychosis being inflicted upon British society by those patients with the disease of Liberalism who are now in charge of the Asylum which is Great Britain who have tried their Marxist social engineering project on our society at our expense while they sit back in their tax paid ivory towers.

Over our dead bodies our enemies will have to climb to defeat and destroy the ‘Realm’ is the message from the British people, I am just one of many across the land; we will not let the sacrifices our forefathers made for us be in vain, we will fight for righteousness for the sake of our children and grandchildren who are relying on us.

I put one question to you here; what are you doing about the future for your children apart from sitting on your big behind watching TV, filling your store house for the uncertain future the World faces, and complaining about 21st Century British life.

”What does it profit a man if he gains the whole World yet forfeits his own soul”

Why not make a conscious decision today to do something, even the smallest of things because it is the smallest of things that go towards the bigger picture, just like each individual brick played in building Rome.

’Evil prevails when good men/women do nothing’

If you have read this then the decision is in your hands, decide to act and make a difference in this World in which you live or go back to your cowardly dark slumber that you believe is light because of what it contains and live out the rest of your days under the Lord God Almighty’s gaze but void of His shadow over your life because you reject to help defend His kingdom on Earth, and the innocent, weak and vulnerable people who are relying on those who God has ordained to hold back the darkness.

You are reading this for a reason, each and every person who clicked on this blog today and every other day.

Osama Bin Laden is the Anti-Christ who seeks to defeat America and destroy Christendom in the War he has declared on behalf of Islam, and the Islamic Republic of Iran are seeking Nuclear bombs so they can wipe Israel from the Earth.

How long until the world in which we live changes again forever with this present global conflict going to the next level and phase?

The Islamic Civilisation v The Judeo/Christian Civilisation – Nuclear War

Them or us no middle ground, are you playing your part or are you one of those people in denial of the truth, consumed with other meaningless things pertaining to daily life which are so insignificant in the scale of the bigger things happening within life on Earth.

What will be living through the coming Apocalypse be like and are you preparing?

As I will not be posting on this blog again and I do mean it this time, there is a facebook group that I have set up that needs some life brought into it so I would ask that those who have contributed here will come and contribute there and bring some life to the group.

It’s up to you though.

There is 18 months worth of video’s, writings, facts, opinions and beliefs on the pages of this blog, so there is enough for people to read who arrive here, and if the police have not got enough to charge me yet based on my whole blog then is it not about time they let me go so I can get on with my life?

These extra few months are not going to change anything, its not like I am going to wake up one morning and start telling people to burn out the Islamic Kingdom and hang the British traitors who are against us from London bridge is it?

My beliefs and opinions are on each page of this blog and I have never once called for murder or violence against others, so why was I arrested?

I breached ‘community cohesion’, and how dare British citizens breach ‘community cohesion’, those newly formed racial hatred units in the police force need to show some work for their funding after all so I was viewed as an easy target for the detected crime statistics considering I was open and honest on my blog.

”Touch not my prophets and do my anointed no harm”

Do the British State want to make me a martyr for my words? They know I would accept it gladly because to be a martyr in any form as a Christian is the highest calling God can place upon our heads and that includes dying for our faith. The only thing different between a Christians joy of dying for his/her faith is that they die out of love for others, where as Moslems die to kill others.

No Christian would ever commit suicide to murder others that it mass murder plain and simple, but Moslems based on their religion wrap it up as martyrdom with the prize of 72 Virgins for their actions.

Islam is nothing more than a creation of the devil as the facts emanating from its heart and soul clearly show, and those who cannot see it are blinded by a different form of devil.

Although I have enjoyed writing my point of view about the Jihad for others to read and hopefully shed some light for those who could not see, blogging does not put food on the table or a roof over your head, and those things are more important to me than writing words for others to read at this point in time.

I will be back at some point in the future but not on this blog, this blog is now finished.

A book is on its way as long as someone will dare publish it and of course you will be in it, my avid readers from Bury Park, how rude would it be of me not to mention you for the world to read after everything.

You think your something because you hunt in packs and have instilled fear in people because of your willingness to commit brutal acts of violence and murder but in reality you aint all that, you just have had longer time to prepare for what is happening now because the British people were oblivious to you and your Islamic intentions.

Now though things are loud and clear.

You switched the light of Almighty God upon yourselves the day your threatened my life. He knew exactly what was going to happen in Great Britain and in Luton & Dunstable that’s why He chose me to let the light of heaven shine through me into the darkness where you devils from the pit inhabit that threaten His people and Kingdom on Earth. I am called and anointed as every other Christian is, to live and serve under His shadow, so how dare you devils in the embodiment of Moslems from Bury Park threaten the Lord’s anointed, a servant and ambassador of Heaven, I serve the King, so take note of your brother Bobby Khan because God knows who each of you are, the very hairs on your head are numbered.

There will be nothing said or done in the darkness that will not be brought out into the light.

One will chase a thousand and two ten thousand and I alone have chased and surrounded the first thousand of you, with you now surrounded on all sides with no where for to run or hide because you sit in your small encampment upon my land, the land my forefathers built for me, so what a liberty for you, our guests to throw our hospitality back in our faces by declaring war, committing acts of war and seeking to take over.

What did you think the response would be?

And those Al Qaeda in the shadows who are nothing more than psychologically twisted human beings who need their perception of life reconfigured now know who I am, and it is my pleasure to say come get me, just like I said to the cowardly London flag burners, before the thief come gets you.

You started this, the line in the sand was drawn, you crossed it, and believe me God will finish it.

I can only say open that dark twisted mind, let a little light from above in and repent of your actions, open your heart and allow Jesus Christ the light of life into your life, and into your dark Islamic heart before it is too late for you whoever you are, wherever you are, and your eternal soul ends up in the true lake of fire.

We cannot both be right!

Lionheart of England

P.S I have one more thing I am waiting to post which I have been waiting on for about 4 months, so if it does finally arrive as ‘old news’ then I will post it, so keep checking back, and if not then God knows and its in His hands.

It is “All for the Glory of God” after all.

I am the Lord, that is my name; And my glory I will not give to another’ nor my praise to carved images.

Any posts that I do make from now on that I think are important will be posted on Radarsite.

The Truth About Islam

2008-06-29T16:37:00.002+02:00

Some important texts, pictures, links !!!

L'islam vu par Mgr Gaume

2008-06-29T15:54:00.004+02:00

"Par la même cause s’expliquent les succès de Mahomet. A la tête d’armées fanatiques, le chamelier de la Mecque se présente à l’Arabe ignorant et corrompu; puis, le sabre d’une main, la coupe des plaisirs de l’autre, lui dit: Crois ou meurs.

Dans la foi qu’il demande pendant la vie, est l’autorisation de piller, de tuer, de réduire en esclavage tout ce qui n’est pas croyant; après la mort, le gage de tous les plaisirs sensuels dans un paradis de voluptés.

On conçoit encore qu’en flattant les passions, le mahométisme a pu se faire d’innombrables partisans. Pour obtenir un pareil résultat, il ne faut être ni dieu, ni thaumaturge, ni saint, ni prophète.

X Il en est ainsi de toutes les prétendues religions qui ont paru dans le monde. Pas une seule qui n’ait dû son origine, ses progrès et sa durée à l’émancipation de l’une des trois concupiscences du coeur humain: l’orgueil, la cupidité, la volupté.

Moins opposée est la lumière aux ténèbres, que le Christianisme à toutes ces fausses religions. Seul il ne pactise avec aucune faiblesse; seul il attaque de front tous les vices et tous les penchants corrompus; seul il prêche toutes les vertus et ordonne tous les genres de sacrifices" (Mgr Gaume, Credo, le refuge du Chrétien dans les temps actuels, opuscule 1866, p. 8)

Source: Christ-Roi.net

A Letter to Mankind

2008-05-15T21:56:00.004+02:00

Picture: Suicide Bomber

Dear fellow human,

Today humanity is being challenged. Unthinkable atrocities take place on daily basis. There is an evil force at work that aims to destroy us. The agents of this evil respect nothing; not even the lives of children. Every day there are bombings, every day innocent people are targeted and murdered. It seems as if we are helpless. But we are not!

The ancient Chinese sage Sun Zi said, "Know your enemy and you won't be defeated". Do we know our enemy? If we don't, then we are doomed.

Terrorism is not an ideology, it is a tool; but the terrorists kill for an ideology. They call that ideology Islam.

The entire world, both Muslims and non-Muslims claim that the terrorists have hijacked "the religion of peace" and Islam does not condone violence.

Who is right? Do the terrorists understand Islam better, or do those who decry them? The answer to this question is the key to our victory, and failure to find that key will result in our loss and death will be upon us. The key is in the Quran and the history of Islam.

Those of us, who know Islam, know that the understanding of the terrorists of Islam is correct. They are doing nothing that their prophet did not do and did not encourage his followers to do. Murder, rape, assassination, beheading, massacre and sacrilege of the dead "to delight the hearts of the believers" were all practiced by Muhammad, were taught by him and were observed by Muslims throughout their history.

If truth has ever mattered, it matters most now! This is the time that we have to call a spade a spade. This is the time that we have to find the root of the problem and eradicate it. The root of Islamic terrorism is Islam. The proof of that is the Quran.

We are a group of ex-Muslims who have seen the face of the evil and have risen to warn the world. No matter how painful the truth may be, only truth can set us free. Why this much denial? Why so much obstinacy? How many more innocent lives should be lost before YOU open your eyes?

We urge the Muslims to leave Islam. Stop with excuses, justifications and rationalizations. Stop dividing mankind into "us" vs. "them" and Muslims vs. Kafirs. We are One people, One mankind! Muhammad was not a messenger of God. It is time that we end this insanity and face the truth. The terrorists take their moral support and the validation for their actions from you. Your very adherence to their cult of death is a nod of approval for their crimes against humanity.

We also urge the non-Muslims to stop being politically correct lest they hurt the sensitivities of the Muslims. To Hell with their sensitivities! Let us save their lives, and the lives of millions of innocent people.

Millions, if not billions of lives will be lost if we do nothing. Time is running out! "All it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing." Do something! Send this message to everyone in your address book and ask them to do the same. Defeat Islam and stop terrorism. This is your world, save it.

The ex-Muslim Movement - www.faithfreedom.org

L'Islam vu par Mgr Freppel

2008-04-18T13:50:00.005+02:00

... et l'Europe devint chrétienne. Mais il était dit que chaque victoire de la croix serait suivie d'un nouveau combat, et que l'antique serpent écrasé par l'étendard du salut relèverait la tête après chaque défaite. Un homme donc - car ici-bas, en tête du mal comme en tête du bien, il n'y a toujours qu'un homme - un homme, dis-je, essaya d'arrêter la croix dans sa marche triomphale. A cet effet, il prit quelques lambeaux de la Bible, arracha quelques feuillets de l'Évangile et, y mêlant ses rêveries, il en fit le Coran. Puis, comme symbole de l'opposition à la croix, il adopta le croissant et, enfin, à la place du glaive spirituel de la parole, il mit le glaive matériel qui frappe et qui égorge. Voilà son œuvre : le Coran, avec le croissant pour signe et le cimeterre pour garde ... Jamais peut-être la croix n'avait rencontré d'adversaire plus formidable. Qu'était-ce, en effet, que le mahométisme en face de la croix ? C'était la glorification de la volupté, le déchaînement de toutes les passions brutales, l'empire de la chair substitué au règne de l'esprit, les convoitises sensuelles transportées jusque dans le monde futur. Et cependant, malgré l'appât qu'offrait à des instincts grossiers cette religion toute pétrie de sang et de boue, en dépit de la complicité qu’elle rencontrait dans les bas-fonds de la nature humaine, l'étendard du sensualisme a reculé devant le drapeau du sacrifice ; et tandis que le croissant apparaît comme le symbole de la décrépitude et de l'abrutissement, la croix est restée, pour les nations rangées autour d'elle, le signe de la grandeur, de la force et de la vie.

Voir: Points de vue sur l'Islam
(Mgr Freppel, Sermons inédits, A. Roger et F. Chernoviz, édit., 1896, tome 1, p. 372-373)

Voir aussi: Mgr Freppel - (Christ Roi)

Iraq: Christians Say Targeting By Extremists Amounts To Genocide

2008-04-18T07:39:00.003+02:00

By RFE/RL analyst Kathleen Ridolfo

Iraq's Christian community has been targeted by terrorists and sectarian militias (epa)
Iraq's Christian community says it is being targeted at an unprecedented level by insurgents, in what some claim amounts to a campaign of genocide carried out under the noses of Iraq and U.S. forces.

At least 10 churches have been bombed this year, two leading clergymen have been killed, and scores of worshippers targeted for practicing their religion. Though they make up only 3 percent of the population, Christians comprise nearly half the refugees fleeing Iraq, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Figures on the prewar size of the Christian community vary, with estimates ranging between 800,000 and 1.2 million. Today, estimates on the remaining number of Christians in Iraq put the community at between 500,000 and 700,000.

Unlike other groups in Iraq, Christians do not have militias or tribes to protect them. In their absence, they have relied on coalition and Iraqi forces for protection, and say they have been let down. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki vowed to increase protection for the Christian community following the March killing of Mosul Archbishop Bulus Faraj Rahhu, but it does not appear that he has followed through on his pledge.

The first major attack against the Christian community in Iraq came in August 2004 when five Baghdad churches were bombed over a 30-minute period. The Al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) appeared to be responsible for the bombings, and for the majority of attacks that have since targeted the Christian community. The first bombings came in response to an influx of foreign Christian missionary groups following the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime. Christians said the proselytizing of foreign missionaries to Muslims was seen as an arm of the U.S. occupation, and the indigenous Christian community was made to pay for the foreigners' actions.

ISI's main goal is to establish an Islamic state on the ground in Iraq that adheres to strict Islamic law. Christians who have fled Iraq report being pressured by Muslim insurgents, both Sunni and Shi'ite, to convert to Islam or leave Iraq. As ISI grew in strength, it increased its campaign against Christians, hanging posters in Baghdad's Christian neighborhoods demanding Christian women veil their faces. Locals reported in June 2007 that nearly 200 Christian families had fled Baghdad's Al-Durah neighborhood with just the clothes on their backs.

The other main perpetrator of violence against Christians in recent years has been the Shi'ite militia led by cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, Imam Al-Mahdi Army. The Al-Mahdi Army waged a brutal campaign against the Christian community in Baghdad and Al-Basrah beginning in 2004, driving people from their homes, bombing Christian-owned liquor stores and hair salons, and imposing jizya, an Islamic protection tax on those wishing to stay in their homes. In May 2007, the militia ordered Christian women in Baghdad to veil or face grave consequences.

Dozens of churches across the country have since been bombed, and hundreds of Christians killed. Moreover, campaigns of kidnapping for ransom targeting Christians became a main tool of intimidation by insurgents. Those who have not fled Iraq entirely are internally displaced, with the majority living inside the northern Kurdistan region. Observers say those who remain in the south may be forced to worship underground if they are to survive. In Al-Basrah, which had a vibrant Christian community before the war, some say the community has fled altogether.

The Assyrian International News Agency (AINA) reported in May 2007 that families in Al-Durah were told their property now belonged to ISI. One resident of Al-Durah told AINA in a March 2007 e-mail: "This has been going on for the past week, and it started even before Easter. We talked to many people within the American Embassy and Iraqi government, but it seems nobody really cares, because they have done nothing, or sometimes I wonder if they care at all. Neither the Iraqi nor the U.S. Army have any activity there, and they have delivered Durah to insurgents; and above all the U.S. Army went and put a camp in the Chaldean church [the Pontifical Babil College for Philosophy and Theology] to raise the hate among those Muslims toward Christians, as they are seeing them as allies for Americans, and that worsens things more."

As RFE/RL reported last year, Saudi gunmen holed up in Al-Durah demanded that each Christian pay 50,000 dinars ($40) in jizya to the mujahedin as the price for maintaining their religion, while ISI demanded Christians pay 250,000 dinars (about $200, the average monthly salary) to stay in their homes. Those who fled Al-Durah had to pay "exit" fees of $200 per person or $400 per car.

Europe May Offer Temporary Asylum

French and German officials have taken up the case of Christian refugees in recent weeks, saying they will push for their countries to give preference to Christians over other refugees fleeing Iraq, citing the bond of common faith.

Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner confirmed last month that France will give refuge to nearly 500 Iraqi Chaldean Christians. The Chaldean church is aligned with the Roman Catholic Church and recognizes the authority of the pope. Kouchner said on March 19 that he hoped the Iraqis would be in France within weeks. Mar Emmanuel III Delly, patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church, told "Le Figaro" that visas for Christians were not a solution, the French daily reported on April 14. "What is needed is to work for peace in Iraq, rather than providing places for Christians so that they can go begging in Europe," Delly said.

German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble pledged last week that his country may take up to 30,000 Christian refugees from Iraq. Schaeuble reportedly justified the focus on Christian refugees by saying Europe should accept those who were culturally closest to it. Schaeuble is offering temporary asylum, saying that those given shelter should return home once ethnic and sectarian tensions die down.

Meanwhile, in Canada, the advocacy group One Free World International has called on the government to make special provisions for taking in Christian refugees. Canada will reportedly admit some 2,000 Iraqi refugees this year, but has no specific provision in its quota for Christians. Nor does the United States, which says it will admit 12,000 Iraqi refugees by September 30. As of March 31, 2,627 Iraqis have arrived in the United States, according to State Department figures.

This week, members of the U.S. House of Representatives inaugurated the House Caucus on Religious Minorities in the Middle East. Iraqi religious minorities were on hand for the event, saying they would work to raise awareness in Congress to the violence and social displacement of minorities from once-integrated Iraqi cities.

It is debatable whether giving special preference to any group is a prudent policy. While there is no doubt that steps should be taken to preserve Iraq's Christian community, whose presence in Iraq predates the appearance of Islam, visas to far-flung countries may not be the best way to do it. Indeed, the decision by some countries to give preference to Iraqi Christians may backfire, and those Christians who remain in Iraq could become even more vulnerable to attack by insurgents than before.

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty © 2008 RFE/RL, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

St Clare, the Eucharist and the Fleeing of the Muslims

2008-04-11T20:39:00.006+02:00

"Amen, Amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you do not have life within you" Jesus

Years ago a sweet lady from my church offered me a very large and beautiful statue of St Clare of Assisi after I named my daughter Clare. I gladly accepted not knowing much about St Clare at the time except that she had bravely driven vicious soldiers from her convent while carrying Jesus in the Eucharist. It wasn't until I recently read Frank M. Rega's book St Francis and the Conversion of the Muslims that I realized that the Saracen soldiers that St Clare drove off-- were actually Muslims.

Clare was a beautiful Italian noblewoman who founded an order of nuns called the "Poor Clares." She was converted upon hearing St. Francis of Assisi preach. Thereafter, she developed a great desire to live a poor humble life for Jesus. She ran away from home, and in a little chapel outside Assisi, gave herself to God. St. Francis cut off her hair and gave her a rough brown habit to wear tied with a plain cord around her waist.

In the year 1240, St Clare saved her sisters and her convent from plundering hordes of Saracen mercenaries through the miracle of the Eucharist. As the Saracens were placing ladders against the walls of the convent she placed a monstrance containing the Eucharist in the sight of the men while she lay prostrate before Jesus and prayed. Here is an account of the incident from The History of Saint Clare, Virgin, written by Tommaso da Celano:

“By imperial order, regiments of Saracen soldiers and bowmen were stationed there (the convent of San Damiano in Assisi, Italy), massed like bees, ready to devastate the encampments and seize the cities. Once, during an enemy attack against Assisi, city beloved of the Lord, and while the army was approaching the gates, the fierce Saracens invaded San Damiano, entered the confines of the monastery and even the very cloister of the virgins. The women swooned in terror, their voices trembling with fear as they cried to their Mother, Saint Clare.

“Saint Clare, with a fearless heart, commanded them to lead her, sick as she was, to the enemy, preceded by a silver and ivory case in which the Body of the Saint of saints was kept with great devotion. And prostrating herself before the Lord, she spoke tearfully to her Christ: ‘Behold, my Lord, is it possible You want to deliver into the hands of pagans Your defenseless handmaids, whom I have taught out of love for You? I pray You, Lord, protect these Your handmaids whom I cannot now save by myself.’ Suddenly a voice like that of a child resounded in her ears from the tabernacle: ‘I will always protect you!’ ‘My Lord,’ she added, ‘if it is Your wish, protect also this city which is sustained by Your love.’ Christ replied, ‘It will have to undergo trials, but it will be defended by My protection.’ Then the virgin, raising a face bathed in tears, comforted the sisters: ‘I assure you, daughters, that you will suffer no evil; only have faith in Christ.’

Upon seeing the courage of the sisters, the Saracens took flight and fled back over the walls they had scaled, unnerved by the strength of she who prayed. And Clare immediately admonished those who heard the voice I spoke of above, telling them severely: ‘Take care not to tell anyone about that voice while I am still alive, dearest daughters.’”

According to Wikepedia "the term [Saracens] spread into Western Europe through the Byzantines and Crusaders. In the early centuries of the Roman Empire, the Saracens were a nomadic Moor tribe from the Sinai Peninsula...
After the rise of Islam, and especially at the time of the Crusades, its usage was extended to refer to all Muslims, including non-Arab Muslims, particularly those in Sicily and southern Italy. In Christian writing, [saracens came] to mean "those empty of Sarah" or "not from Sarah," as Arabs were, in Biblical genealogies, descended from Hagar and also called the Hagarenes."

St Clare, pray for conversion of the world to Christ and His Church--and for Christians to realize the immense gift Jesus gave us in the Eucharist. It is precisely because the world has lost its faith in Jesus and the Eucharist that we now face the suicidal depopulation of the West and the ensuing invasion of Islam. Only through the eating of the flesh of the Son of God will we carry Jesus life within us and bravely command every evil to flee our midst.

From Real Clear Religion: 10/04/08 08:24

St. Francis of Assisi: Not a Birkenstock-Clad Hippie But a Converter of Muslims

2008-04-04T18:14:00.005+02:00

An Interview with Frank Rega, author of St. Francis and the Conversion of the Muslims

By Michael Baggot, Thursday April 3, 2008

The relationship between Muslims and Christians received added attention this past Easter when Pope Benedict XVI publicly baptized Magdi Allam, the most prominent Muslim journalist in Italy. Allam knew that publicly renouncing his Islamic faith would bring attempts on his life from angered Muslims, but expressed conviction that his newfound faith would sustain him through any difficulties.

"You asked me whether I fear for my life, in the awareness that conversion to Christianity will certainly procure for me yet another and much more grave death sentence for apostasy. You are perfectly right. I know what I am headed for but I face my destiny with my head held high, standing upright and with the interior solidity of one who has the certainty of his faith." Allam stated.
"And I will be more so after the courageous and historical gesture of the Pope, who, as soon as he knew of my desire, immediately agreed to personally impart the Christian sacraments of initiation to me. His Holiness has sent an explicit and revolutionary message to a Church that until now has been too prudent in the conversion of Muslims."

Pope Benedict XVI's action in St. Peter's on Easter Vigil shows that the Catholic Church's increased emphasis over the last decades on dialogue and mutual understanding between Christians and Muslims does not exclude efforts to bring Muslims to faith in Jesus Christ.

In December, Catholic author Frank M. Rega released Francis of Assisi and the Conversion of the Muslims; With Concise Biography of the Saint, a book that has received much praise for its biographical portrait of the renowned saint and its highly pertinent focus on St. Francis's relationship with Muslims of the time.

"If you're tired of portraits of St. Francis as little more than a Birkenstock-clad hippie, a Peace Corps social worker, or an effeminate tofu-eating Green Party activist, read this book," wrote Dr. Philip Blosser on his blog.

During the Fifth Crusade to Egypt, St. Francis of Assisi walked into a Muslim camp in order to preach Christianity and convert the sultan. Rega's new book recounts St. Francis's bold encounter with the sultan and other important events from the life of the man from Assisi some claim more closely imitated Jesus Christ than any other saint in history.

In line with its reporting on major cultural issues, LifeSiteNews interviewed Frank M. Rega about his new book and his perspective about the lessons St. Francis has for the world and Catholic-Muslim relations.

LifeSiteNews: Could you summarize the history of the Fifth Crusade?

Frank Rega: Michael, thank you and LifeSiteNews for inviting me to talk about my book on St. Francis of Assisi and the Conversion of the Muslims. Your first question is very appropriate since it is important to set the stage for this historic encounter.

The Fifth Crusade was first called for by Pope Innocent III in 1215 at the Lateran Council. Innocent personally knew Francis and had approved his Rule in 1209 when Francis and his first followers went to Rome to seek Papal acceptance for his new Order. The crusade got underway in 1217 under Pope Honorius III. It lasted for four years, and was lost by the crusaders.

The goal was to first take Egypt before attempting to reach the Holy Land. In 1219 Francis was present in Egypt at the city of Damietta on the Nile, with some of his friars. That port city was eventually captured by the crusaders and held for over a year. But it was returned to the Muslims in 1221 after a crusader march on Cairo failed miserably, and the Christians gave up the crusade.

It was during a period of truce during the battle over Damietta in September 1219 that Francis preached to the Muslims, crossing over to the Muslim camp with Brother Illuminato, who was probably the interpreter.

LifeSiteNews: Why did St. Francis of Assisi support the Fifth Crusade?

Frank Rega: Francis understood that the Fifth Crusade was part of an ongoing just war in response to Muslim invasions of Christian lands, which included many attacks against Italian city-states all along the peninsula over the course of centuries. For example, in the year 846, Rome itself was sacked by 11,000 Muslims, who desecrated the tombs of Sts. Peter and Paul.

Further, the crusade was called for by the Holy Father, and it is well-known that Francis had perfect loyalty to the Catholic Church, and showed devout respect for priests and all the hierarchy. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, he felt the crusade was justified on spiritual grounds. As mentioned in the book, Francis told the Sultan "It is just that Christians invade the land you inhabit, for you blaspheme the name of Christ and alienate everyone you can from His worship."

LifeSiteNews: What did St. Francis say and do when he entered the Muslim camp?

St. Farancis and the SultanFrank Rega: It is important here to recognize the bravery of Francis. He preached to armed Muslims who a few days before had won a major skirmish at Damietta, killing about five thousand Christians. The Sultan, al-Malik al-Kamil was also the general of the Muslim army, and ruler of Egypt, Syria and Palestine. Francis first obtained permission from the Papal Legate to cross over the lines during a period of temporary truce. When he reached Muslim territory he and Brother Illuminato were taken prisoner, beaten and put in chains by the sentries.

Here we have an image of St. Francis that is utterly opposed to the statues of a docile friar surrounded by birds and other animals - St. Francis beaten and in chains! He was fully prepared for martyrdom. Upon meeting the saint, al-Malik asked him if he was a messenger from the crusaders. Francis replied that he was indeed a messenger, but a messenger from God. He then proceeded to give witness to his love for Jesus, and said that he wished to save the souls of the Sultan and his men.

LifeSiteNews: How did the sultan and his followers react to St. Francis's words and deeds?

Frank Rega: Initially the Sultan was taken aback by Francis' boldness. After all, the Muslims had just defeated the Christians in a pitched battle, and now one of them dares to state that the Muslims must convert to Christianity. However, the love flowing from Francis began to move the Sultan, and according to one contemporary writer, "that cruel beast became sweetness himself." However, the advisers to al-Malik, the imams, were not so impressed, and demanded that Francis and Illuminato should be beheaded in accordance with Islamic law.

Francis and his companion remained in the Muslim camp for many days, and parted on excellent terms with the Sultan. There is a story in the early Franciscan literature, described in my book, that al-Malik converted to the True Faith on his deathbed.

LifeSiteNews: Is a crusade against Islam needed today? If so, how should it be conducted?

Frank Rega: A traditional crusade by definition cannot be conducted today because it was a movement within Christendom to defend and counter-attack Muslim invasions of Christian lands. It was sponsored by the Church and relied on the support of Christian rulers and Kings. Without the backing of a strong Christendom, which no longer exists, a crusade as such would be impossible.

Furthermore, today an armed religious war would not be fruitful since the real battle is a "cold war" so to speak. It is a war of persuasion, conversion, and diplomatic dialog, since the Muslims have already launched their peaceful "invasion" of what was once Christian Europe. Of course I am only addressing the religious aspects here, and not the war on terrorism, which is in the secular domain.

LifeSiteNews: Do you think that Christian-Muslim dialogues have helped relations between the two groups or have they simply obscured the Christian mandate to go into the world and preach the Gospel to every creature?

Frank Rega: There is no doubt that ecumenism since Vatican II has diluted and weakened the efforts at evangelization. On the other hand, diplomatic dialog is quite necessary; for example, in negotiating to have the Saudi's allow Catholic worship and churches in their nation. But the pendulum is swinging towards the more traditional view of converting unbelievers rather than only dialoging for the sake of mutual understanding. One indication of the paradigm shift is the very public reception of Magdi Christiano Allam into the Church by the Holy Father himself.

Also, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a document last December reminding Catholics that ecumenical efforts should not cause us to neglect the gospel mandate to seek the conversion of others to Christ. This must be accomplished without coercion, but rather by a dialog of conversion. This is what Francis did in his conversations with the Sultan.

The problem arises with a certain philosophy of ecumenism that seeks some type of indefinite mutual coexistence of differing religions, or worse yet, that would strive for a for "pan-religion" by the merging of religious traditions. This approach is a denial that the Catholic Religion is the one true faith founded by Jesus Christ.

LifeSiteNews: What can St. Francis teach Christians of today about relating to Muslims?

Frank Rega: First, I think it is important to realize that St. Francis did not openly attack the Muslim religion or Mohammed. He was not armed with a copy of the Koran in one hand and the Catholic Catechism in the other. In fact there is no indication that he ever instructed his friars who undertook such a mission to study the Koran or the tenets of Islam. His goal was to carry to the unbelievers the very presence of Christ, and the essence of God's love, mercy, forgiveness and salvation.

This brings up a second point, the necessity to be strong in the basics of our Faith. One cannot relate as a Catholic to another religion while being hesitant, for example, about the truth of Christ's Resurrection from the dead on Easter.

Finally, Francis shows us that we must keep it simple. Simplicity was one of the hallmarks of his personality and of his approach to Christianity. Spiritual strength flows from the simple understanding and belief that Jesus is God, that he founded a Church to transmit the grace of salvation in His Name, and that Church is the Roman Catholic Church.

See previous LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Message of the Pope's Baptism of Prominent Muslim: Be Not Afraid to Acknowledge Christianity as The Truth:
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/mar/08032509.html

The Implications of Fundamental Islamic Expansion in North America
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/mar/08030504.html

Jesus and Muhammad's Words, Actions, Teachings Contrasted
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/mar/080305a.html

Abandonment of Judeo/Christian Heritage Has Left West Vulnerable to Fundamental Islam
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/mar/08030613.html

Multiculturism a Factor Turning Moderate Muslims Radical?
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/mar/080306a.html

Visit the site for Rega's latest book:
http://members.aol.com/fmrega7/francisandconversion.htm

Visit Rega's site:
http://members.aol.com/frankmrega/

Be Not Afraid to Acknowledge Christianity as The Truth

2008-03-27T08:12:00.006+01:00

Tuesday March 25, 2008
Message of the Pope's Baptism of Prominent Muslim: Be Not Afraid to Acknowledge Christianity as The Truth
Wouldn't it be obvious that true Christians would want all people to know the truth? Not the relativist Christians.

Editorial by John-Henry Westen

March 25, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - On Saturday night at the Easter Vigil in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI baptized Magdi Allam, one of Italy's most prominent Muslims who upon his conversion took the name Cristiano - which means Christian. Allam, the Deputy Director of one of Italy's largest newspapers - Corriere della Sera - wrote of his baptism the following day, saying, "Yesterday evening I converted to the Christian Catholic religion, renouncing my previous Islamic faith . . . For me it is the most beautiful day of [my] life."

As a prominent Muslim critic of Islamic extremism and terrorism, Allam had already received many death threats and had official Islamic death warrants - fatwas - signed against him. He was thus forced to live under constant security. He underwent his very public reception into the Catholic Church with the full knowledge that it would lead to much more dire death threats. "I know what I am headed for but I face my destiny with my head held high, standing upright and with the interior solidity of one who has the certainty of his faith," he wrote.

The most important part of Allam's Easter Sunday message, however, was the portion where he pointed out that the Pope made a "historical gesture" in personally baptizing him in a public event that would be televised worldwide. "His Holiness has sent an explicit and revolutionary message to a Church that until now has been too prudent in the conversion of Muslims, abstaining from proselytizing in majority Muslim countries and keeping quiet about the reality of converts in Christian countries," he said.

Allam surmised that the Church was acting thus, "out of fear. The fear of not being able to protect converts in the face of their being condemned to death for apostasy and fear of reprisals against Christians living in Islamic countries."

While true in many cases, that fear is used as an impetus for a relativistic attitude which has been creeping into Christianity for decades. The approach sees Christianity not as the one and only truth, but one truth among many. The phenomenon also expresses itself in dealing with the various denominations within Christianity. Thus invitations to convert to Christianity - or from one denomination to another - are quietly tolerated at best, and at times openly criticized, even by those who call themselves Christian.

For instance, take the recent debacle in the Church of England over homosexuality. The result has been a fracturing of the Church of England between those who wish to remain true to the Scriptures and those who have embraced sexual immorality. A group of the faithful were looking to enter the Catholic Church en masse. The Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC), which may represent as many as 400,000 Anglicans, was speaking with Vatican officials about such a move.

One would think the reaction of those within the Catholic Church would be a heartfelt reception with open arms to brothers who are struggling to hold to the truth about human sexuality amidst turmoil within their denomination. Insiders reported that Pope Benedict would be pleased to receive the group; however, the reaction of one high ranking Church official spoke volumes about the relativistic attitude of many Christians.

Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, commented on the proposed entrance of the TAC into full communion with the Catholic Church, suggesting that the Church was resistant to the move. "We are on good terms with the Archbishop of Canterbury and as much as we can we are helping him to keep the Anglican community together," Cardinal Kasper told The Catholic Herald in a story published December 6, 2007.

When asked whether he felt encouraged by the TAC's request, the cardinal replied: "It's not our policy to bring that many Anglicans to Rome." He added, "Of course, as a Catholic I am happy if one person joins our Catholic Church but I doubt such a big group is coming - I think there are still many questions to solve first."

The question of conversion of the Jews to Christianity raises the same point. A worldwide controversy was stirred up after Pope Benedict gave general permission for the Tridentine form of the Latin Mass to be celebrated. Nominally Jewish groups - such as the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), and the American Jewish Committee (AJC) - complained bitterly that praying for the conversion of the Jews was unacceptable.

The Good Friday prayers in the 'extraordinary form' - as the Latin liturgy is now called - contains prayers for the conversion of the Jews to Christianity. A slightly revised version issued by Pope Benedict reads: "Let us also pray for the Jews: that God our Lord might enlighten their hearts, so that they might acknowledge Jesus Christ as the Savior of all mankind. Let us pray. Let us bend our knees. Almighty and eternal God, whose desire it is that all men might be saved and come to the knowledge of truth, grant in your mercy that as the fullness of mankind enters into your Church, all Israel may be saved, through Christ our Lord. Amen."

A similar uproar to the Good Friday prayers occurred in the secular media when conservative pundit Ann Coulter spoke on air with CNBC's Donny Deutsch about her desire for all people, Jews included, to become Christian. Deutsch became hysterical when Coulter tried to explain that Christianity considers itself the continuation of Judaism, and thus Christians wish followers of Judaism to complete the journey - "we want Jews to be perfected" she phrased it.

Deutsch called Coulter's comment uneducated, "hateful and anti-Semitic" and went so far as to compare her to Iran in wishing to "wipe Israel off the earth." Again the ADL complained bitterly, calling Coulter anti-Semitic.

But why the hue and cry about Christians hoping the Jews will convert? Wouldn't it be obvious that Christians, true Christians, who believe in and follow Christ as 'the way, the truth, and the life' would want all people to know the truth?

It would be obvious to true believers of any religion, but not to relativists.

Orthodox Jewish Rabbi Yehuda Levin, the spokesman on moral issues for some 1000 Rabbis, explained this to me once in an interview on the Coulter kerfuffle. Rabbi Levin noted that Coulter's remarks could not be construed as anti-Semitic and that Jews who practice their faith were not scandalized by the remarks. "The Orthodox are very comfortable in their beliefs of their religion and their practices," he said. "The Jews who would be more offended by this are those that are not involved in day to day practice of Judaism."

Michael Medved, the well known practicing Jew and movie reviewer, commented on Coulter's remarks saying, "(A)ny American Jew who doesn't already understand that sincere Christians want the whole world ultimately to come to Christ - including us - is an ignorant fool. Yes, Christianity believes in converting people: and most of us received that memo about 2000 years ago. The proper response to the declaration that Christians want all of humanity to become Christian shouldn't be outrage or indignation; it ought to be, 'Duh!' If your friends or neighbors seek to share with you the greatest gift they've ever received, it's not usually a sign that they hate you; in fact, it's very likely an indication that they love you."

Levin pointed out moreover that true followers of Judaism, like true Christians and sincere believers in several other religions, feel they have the fullness of truth, and thus in charity hope for a day when all people will embrace the fullness of truth. He explained that especially on Jewish holidays special prayers are said, even several times a day, especially for non-Jews, that they will come to accept the truth.

All this is not to dismiss the very valid concerns over the safety and well-being of converts to Christianity from Islam. The newly baptized Cristiano Allam points out that even in Italy there are "thousands of Muslim converts to Christianity who are forced to hide their faith out of fear of being assassinated by Islamic extremists who lurk among us." He hopes that the Pope's action and his testimony will allow Christian converts from Islam to live their faith openly. "If in Italy, in our home, the cradle of Catholicism, we are not prepared to guarantee complete religious freedom to everyone, how can we ever be credible when we denounce the violation of this freedom elsewhere in the world?" he asks.

Allam suggests, "Benedict XVI, with his witness, tells us that we must overcome fear and not be afraid to affirm the truth of Jesus even with Muslims."

We must also reject the fear of public criticism and belittlement that comes from many quarters when we give public affirmation to faith in Christ. Giving in to such fear leads to a false ecumenism, which is nothing more than relativistic denial of absolute truth.

In his own Easter message delivered Sunday, Pope Benedict called on not only Christians, but all "men and women whose spirit is sincerely open to the truth," to realize that "Jesus Christ died and rose for all; he is our hope - true hope for every human being."

Welcome home Cristiano, and also to the battlefield.
URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/mar/08032509.html

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Further reading: Homepage Magdi Allam

Great Britain: Muslims 'to outnumber traditional churchgoers'

2008-03-26T16:42:00.011+01:00

By Jonathan Petre, Religion Correspondent
Last Updated: 2:15am GMT 26/03/2008

The increasing influence of Islam on British culture is disclosed in research today that shows the number of Muslims worshipping at mosques in England and Wales will outstrip the numbers of Roman Catholics going to church in little more than a decade.

Muslims kneel for prayer in a London mosque: Muslims 'will soon outnumber traditional churchgoers'
Projections show Muslims are to outstrip Catholic Sunday worshippers by 2020

Projections to be published next month estimate that, if trends continue, the number of Catholic worshippers at Sunday Mass will fall to 679,000 by 2020.

By that time, statisticians predict, the number of Muslims praying in mosques on Fridays will have increased to 683,000.

The Christian Research figures also suggest that, over the same period, the number of Muslims at mosques will overtake Church of England members at Sunday services.

Church spokesmen point out, however, that a growing number of Anglicans worship at other times of the week.

The projections show that, if the Churches do not reverse their historical decline, there will be more active Muslims than Christians in Sunday services across Britain before the middle of the century.

The figures, based on Government and academic sources and the latest edition of Christian Research's Religious Trends, come amid growing tensions over the place of Muslims in British society.

They follow fierce rows over the extent to which Islamic law should be recognised and over claims that "no-go" areas for non-Muslims are emerging in parts of the country.
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Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, provoked criticism by saying the introduction of some aspects of sharia into British society was "unavoidable".

The Bishop of Rochester, the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, faced death threats after writing in The Sunday Telegraph that Islamic extremism was turning some communities into "no-go" areas "where adherence to this ideology has become a mark of acceptability".

Peter Brierley, a former Government statistician who edited the latest Religious Trends, said that the continuing growth of the Muslim population since the 2001 census would have significant implications for society.

St Francis and the Conversion of the Muslims

2008-03-26T05:52:00.004+01:00

ST FRANCIS AND THE CONVERSION OF THE MUSLIMS

I recently finished an amazing book called St. Francis and the Muslims by Frank M. Rega from TAN. This book makes clear that St Francis made it his priority to convert the Muslims. Unfortunately St Francis' image has been distorted by liberal revisionist writers over the years who have created a false notion of him as a passive "PETA" pantheists who just happened to be Catholic. This book will tweak this modern notion of St Francis by revealing the truth of who he really was--an inspiring, courageous, Catholic who loved the truth and sought to boldly bring Jesus to everyone-- even those who were blinded by heresy.

Rega has thoroughly researched Francis and stands on firm ground in his telling of the story of Francis and his attempt to convert the Sultan. The famous meeting begins when Francis accompanies the crusaders to Damietta, Egypt with the goal of having a private audience with Sultan al-Malik al-Kamil who was the Islamic ruler of Egypt.

Prior to the battle of Damietta, Francis received a prophetic vision that the crusaders would lose the battle. He hesitatingly revealed his vision which was dismissed. The battle went forward, and the crusaders lost.

The crusaders losses were many. As one chronicler wrote--John the Baptist gained many companions that day due to the great many beheadings. "This horror befell about fifty horsemen, of the Knights Templar, thirty of the Germans, and over twenty Hospitallers."

Remarkably it was the loss at Damietta that gave St Francis the opportunity to finally meet the Sultan face to face in an attempt to convert him to the Christian faith.

St Francis sought permission to enter the camp of the Sultan from the Papal Legate who was hesitant to grant permission since al Kamil had reportedly stated that "anyone who brought him the head of a Christian should be awarded with Byzantine gold pieces". Eventually when confronted with the insistence and persistence of St Francis, the Papal legate allowed Francis and one companion, Brother Illuminato, to go into the Muslim camp.

Early documents all agree that upon entering the camp Francis and Illuminato were treated very roughly. One account states that they were insulted and beaten yet showed no fear even when threatened with torture and death. They kept repeating to their captors the word for "SULTAN" and were eventually dragged before him.

St Francis and Illuminato informed the Sultan that they were messengers sent from God. An early writing purports to contain the essence of their first words to the Sultan: "If you do not wish to believe we will commend your soul to God because we declare that if you die while holding to your law you will be lost; God will not accept your soul. For this reason we have come to you. They added that they would demonstrate the truth of Christianity to al-Kamil and his imams.

Surprisingly the Sultan was captivated by the sincerity of the men's concern for his eternal salvation. Al-kamil willingly listened to St Francis and permitted them great liberty in their preaching.

The Sultan told his imams that beheading Francis and Illuminato would be an unjust recompense for their efforts, since they had arrived with the praiseworthy intention of seeking his personal salvation. He said to Francis: "I am going to go counter to what my religious advisors demand and will not cut off your heads...you have risked your own lives in order to save my soul."

The Franciscans were the guests of the Sultan for many days. During that time the Sultan made certain that the men's wounds were taken care of.

Rega points out that although it might seem unusual that the Sultan would seemingly be so attracted to Christianity we must remember that Francis was one of the most charismatic and remarkable saints that the Church has ever seen.

There is a question as to whether the Sultan had a deathbed conversion to the faith as a result of his encounter with Francis. One historian writes wrote that: al-Kamil before dismissing the friar, privately asked him to pray that God would reveal to me the law and the faith that is more pleasing to Him. Illuminato remarked that the Sultan, after hearing Francis fervently preach the Gospel, always had the Christian faith imprinted on his heart."

According to the Little Flower of St Francis which is a widely read historical account of the first friars lives, Francis prophesied that the Sultan would have a deathbed conversion. After Francis' death he appeared to two friars and instructed them to find the Sultan and teach him the faith. It is also reported in the Little Flower that the Sultan instructed his sentinels to watch for two friars in the ports. When the friars were found the Sultan received them with great joy. "The friars after instructing al-Kamil in the faith, administered the Sacrament of Baptism to the dying Sultan and 'his soul was saved through the merits of St Francis'".

This book is a must read in our day when the zeal of Islam has been rekindled and so many are ready to violently confront the West once again. St Francis did not seek "dialogue" with the Sultan in order to minimize or diminish the differences that existed between the Catholic and the Muslim faith. Instead he boldly proclaimed the truths of Christianity. There is a naiveté on the part of so many liberals today who feel that we can simply dialogue until we find similarities between Catholicism and Islam.

If we equate our religion with theirs, it only leads to confusion and contempt. As demonstrated by St Francis's approach, Muslims are far more respectful and willing to listen to a person who acknowledges the great division that separates the two religions than to a person who says that all the religions are the same; that we all believe the same things; we all have the same faith.

Although Francis was not on a formal mission of peace, converting the muslims was his attempt to bring about peace. According to one scholar, Christopher Maier, "Francis like the crusaders wanted to liberate the holy places of Palestine from Muslim rule. What was different was his strategy...He wanted their total submission to the Christian faith."

If only there were even a few zealous Catholic missionaries who were willing to risk martyrdom by preaching Christ to the Muslims as boldly as Francis did--the face of the world could change. This book reads like a manual for our tumultuous times.

"He who will have lost his life for My sake shall save it for eternal life." (Luke 9:24; Matthew 25:46). "Do not fear those who kill the body" (Matthew 10:28), "and after that have no more that they can do." (Luke 12:4).

Santiago and El Cid in the Reconquista

2008-03-20T18:20:00.004+01:00

Forging a Unique Spanish Christian Identity:
Santiago and El Cid in the Reconquista

by Laura Elizabeth Gibbs

St. James the Moorslayer, one of the most valiant saints and knights the world ever had … has been given by God to Spain for its patron and protection.
— Cervantes, Don Quixote (1)

This is the will of God and of all His saints. … You see the sword bloody and the horse sweating: Thus it is that one [El Cid] conquers the Moors in the field.
— Poema de mío Cid (2)
In 711, Muslim armies from North Africa crossed the Straits of Gibraltar and entered the southern region of Spain. During the next seven years, the Muslims conquered the weak kingdom of the Visigoths and firmly established themselves on the Iberian peninsula. They called their territory al-Andalus or "Vandal land". Christian resistance to Muslim advances began almost immediately. However, the notion of a Christian holy war designed to exterminate or at least to expel the Muslims, and not simply to reconquer Spanish Christian territories, did not set in until the eleventh century during the reign of Alfonso VI (1085-1109). In this era of crusading reconquest, a need arose for the living presence of religious-national figures, capable of rallying around themselves the Spanish Christian forces. (3) Two figures emerged as emblems of Christian strength and supremacy: El Cid and Santiago. They fulfilled the needs of the Iberian Christians for heroes to emulate, and united them in their struggle for political and religious independence from Muslim rule. As Christian paragons, Santiago and El Cid became increasingly identified with one another. Christians attributed identical symbols to them, and their images merged to the point of indistinguishability in the artistic depictions of these historical individuals in the eleventh through thirteenth centuries. The unification of the spiritual and the secular, symbolized by the convergence of these figures’ images, marked the birth of the formation of a united Spanish Christian kingdom, and the creation of a unique national-religious identity in Spain.

Under the leadership of Alfonso VI a decisive program of crusading reconquest began. The monarch’s objective entailed uniting all of Spain under one crown and one religion. Tolerance and coexistence with the Muslims were no longer options if Alfonso sought to create a truly unified Spanish Christian kingdom. Thus, Santiago and El Cid grew to immense national and religious proportions because both fulfilled an historical need. Santiago represented the spiritual component of Alfonso’s agenda. The Leonese monarch called upon Spaniards to fight against the Muslims and establish the supremacy of the Catholic church. To ensure the success of the reconquest, Spaniards believed God sent his vassal Santiago to lead them in battle and help them realize their goal. El Cid represented the secular element of the Christian reconquista. As Alfonso’s vassal, El Cid united the Spaniards in their struggle to oust the infidels and reclaim the peninsula for the Spanish Christian monarch Alfonso and his peoples. The Christian reconquest created faith in Santiago and El Cid as leaders who inspired resistance to the Muslims, and promised ultimate victory over Islam. Despite the similarities these figures acquired in their roles as Spanish crusaders, their origins could not be more diverse.

Santiago or St. James was the son of Zebedee, a fisherman in Galilee, and Salome, the sister of the Virgin Mary. He and his brother John the Evangelist were devout disciples of Christ, and such zealous preachers of the good news that Christ named them Boanerges, "the brothers of thunder." In 44 A.D. Santiago became the first of the Twelve Apostles to suffer martyrdom when Herod Agrippa I arrested and beheaded him in Jerusalem. Tradition places Santiago in Spain proselytizing prior to his execution. Why then would his body be buried in Spain if he died in Jerusalem? According to legend, Santiago’s disciples Athanasius and Theodore took his body back to Spain when a ship miraculously appeared, guided by an angel, to transport them. They buried the saint in the area known today as Compostela, "field of stars," where Santiago lay forgotten for nearly eight centuries.

The rediscovery of the saint’s long-forgotten tomb in the ninth century occurred, tellingly enough, in a time of need "when Christian political fortunes in Spain were at there lowest ebb." (4) Christians suffered defeat time and again at the hands of the Muslims, until God unearthed the saint’s remains, and inspired them with the confidence that God was on their side, fighting in the battlefield with them through the figure of Santiago. "God gave us aid and we won the battle." (5) Christians endorsed the veracity of this claim by referring to the battle of Clavijo in 844. The night before the battle, Santiago appeared in a dream to the leader of the Spanish forces, King Ramirez of Castile, and promised him a victory over the Muslims in the fields of Clavijo. (6) The following day, as Christians fought the Muslims, the warrior-saint appeared on the battlefield in full armor riding on a white charger, with a sword in one hand and a banner in the other. Together with Santiago Matamoros, the Moorslayer, the Christians slaughtered the Muslim invaders and won a decisive victory. Undoubtedly, Santiago appeared in the battlefield at Clavijo for he left behind impressions of scallop shells (his symbol as the pilgrim saint) on the rocks in the field and even on the stones of neighboring houses. After this battle, Santiago’s name became the Christians’ battle cry, and his appearance in warfare the symbol of Christian victory.

According to legend, the saint aided the Spaniards at least forty times in earthly warfare, including the battle of Clavijo. This was a "brave assertion of faith in St. James, in the miracle at Clavijo, and in the patron saint’s heavenly care for Spain." (7) The Spaniards "needed Santiago as the supernatural ally who would sustain their courage and bring certain success to their arms." (8) This strong faith identified Santiago with the religious element of the reconquest and the revival of Spanish fortunes. It follows then, that at the end of the eleventh century when a decisively religious element entered the equation of the reconquista, an aggressive program of dignifying the apostolate of James and of exalting Compostela as the "second Rome" took place. (9) The image of Compostela as a "second Rome" points to the site’s religious significance, and established its importance as a preeminent place of pilgrimage. (10)

The successful ouster of the Muslims in 1492 was followed by skepticism regarding Santiago’s role in Spain’s holy war. Skeptics accepted Santiago as the patron saint of Spain, and even the possibility that he inspired Christians in warfare. But they flatly rejected the validity of the battle of Clavijo and the absurd notion of Santiago taking personal part in the conflict by slaughtering Muslims. In the eighteenth century, Pope Benedict XIV rebuffed the unbelievers, and stated that Santiago’s Spanish mission was an historical fact and that there was no further doubt or debate on this subject in Rome. Speaking for all of Christendom, Pope Benedict declared Santiago’s participation and leadership as an essential and factual element of Spain’s Christian warfare against the Muslims — case closed. (11) The Pope’s declaration reaffirmed the tie between Spanish nationalism and Christianity established by Alfonso in the late eleventh century.

Santiago’s and El Cid’s fearless and victorious participation in the crusading reconquest acquired grandiose and mythical dimensions. Both became national-religious heroes during the reconquista, but El Cid was neither a disciple of Christ nor a saint. Nevertheless, in the minds of his followers he was the perfect secular counterpart to the ecclesiastical figure of Santiago. He was born in 1043 to a family of noble origins in the town of Vivar, and named Rodrigo Díaz. He acquired the Arabic honorific title sid meaning "lord," as well as the epithet Campeador, meaning "champion." While it is difficult to disentangle history from myth, there is little evidence to suggest that either of these were used by contemporaries as official titles when addressing El Cid. (12) It is probable that after his death in Valencia in 1099 the heroic exploits of El Cid were preserved, and magnified, in Spanish oral tradition. By the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries, Rodrigo was no longer simply a gifted knight--he was the ever-victorious warrior lord, the Campeador El Cid.

The first documented use of the title "sid" appears in the epic Poema de mío Cid or Cantar de mío Cid. In this poem, composed in the Spanish vernacular in the early thirteenth century, "the hero is presented as a paragon, one whose lack of any self-destructive defect -- like the wrath of Achilles or the pride of Roland -- makes him the most perfect of all epic protagonists and the most successful." (13) El Cid represented the ideal Christian warrior, invincible in battle and flawless in character. The extraordinary image of El Cid developed in this epic prevailed over the less fantastic, but more realistic, image of the religiously indifferent, intelligent, successful medieval military strategist and warrior. Nevertheless, the legendary aspects of his character prevailed, serving as standards which Christians could follow on their path toward victory. This poem creates a window to the past into medieval Spain of the eleventh and twelfth centuries. It describes the hero in all his grandeur, and provides the context in which El Cid assumes his importance as the Campeador -- the unconquerable Christian warrior. In the legendary words of El Cid, "Thanks be to God Who is lord of the world/ I win battles, as pleases the Creator;/ Moors … go in fear of me." (14)

In 1072, El Cid became the vassal of Alfonso VI. To further secure his loyalty, in 1074 Alfonso arranged for El Cid to marry his niece Jimena Díaz. These were calculated efforts by Spain’s monarch to secure El Cid’s support for the national-religious warfare against the Muslims. Alfonso made careful attempts to thwart "any significant opportunity [on the part of El Cid] to exercise his military talents" without the king’s knowledge. (15) The king appears to have had a specific political-religious agenda, in which El Cid played an integral role.

During his reign, Alfonso "continued and extended the policy of alliance with the great French Benedictine monastery of Cluny, then achieving European prominence under Abbot Hugh the Great (1049-1109)." (16) By cooperating with the church and instituting Cluniac reform, Alfonso played a preeminent role in the Christianization of the reconquest. (17) His effort to create a unified Christian kingdom of Spain in the eleventh century sparked the need for religious and national figures under whom Christians could unite to defeat the infidel, satiated by the personages of El Cid and Santiago. People in Spain "were coming to believe that relations between Christians and Muslims were necessarily and justly hostile, that Christian warfare against Islam bestowed positive spiritual merit on the participant, and that the Muslims should be driven out of Spain." (18)

In accordance with his monarch’s wishes, El Cid participated in the unification of the religious and political spheres during the latter part of the eleventh century. One of the most important roles he played as a Christian war hero and patriot of the reconquest was the victory of his siege in Valencia and the Muslims defeat (1093-1094). (19) This triumph of Christianity was celebrated over a century later in the epic: "Great is the rejoicing in that place/ when My Cid took Valencia . . ./ My Cid rejoiced, and all who were with him,/ when his flag flew from the top of the Moorish palace." (20) In his role as a loyal Christian ruler El Cid converted Valencia’s Great Mosque into a Christian church, St. Mary’s Cathedral, in 1098. Furthermore, he proclaimed the Cluniac cleric Jerome of Périgord the bishop of Valencia. These acts indicated his solidarity with Alfonso and Cluniac reform, and his participation in the crusading mentality of the century.

An important manifestation of the crusading mentality during this time was the creation of an iconography of Santiago along national lines, using imagery rooted in the historical reality of the reconquest. As in the legend surrounding the battle of Clavijo, this iconography associated Santiago with the warfare against Islam; in it

Santiago is represented on a galloping [white] horse . . . sword in the right hand and the banner of victory in the left. Behind him the defeated infidels, crushed to the ground, helplessly moan; in front of him the powerless enemy surrenders . . . . Appropriately enough for the historical reality and the temper of the times, such an iconography of Santiago has received the designation of Matamoros . . . the slayer of the Moors. (21)

Through this iconography Santiago practically becomes El Cid: a folkloric figure riding upon a horse, leading the Christians to victory. The similarities in the depictions of these national religious heroes revolve around the use of four primary symbols: the sword, the banner of victory, the white horse, and the Muslims who lay dead at the feet of the victorious crusader. The banner of victory, like the horse, is usually white. This color symbolizes the spiritual purity of the Christians who will spill the red blood of the Muslim infidels. The most important of these symbols is the instrument of death, the sword, generally attributed to gods, heroes of unconquerable might, and Christian martyrs. It signifies military might, power, authority, and justice. (22) The Poema de mío Cid heavily emphasized the power of the sword, victoriously wielded by El Cid over the Muslims. For example, the epic describes the Almoravid leader Yusuf’s defeat at the hands of El Cid thus:

As pleased the Creator, they [the Christians] overcame them [the Muslims].
My Cid used his lance and then drew his sword;
he killed so many Moors that the count was lost;
above his elbow the blood ran.
…
My Cid was joyful, and all his vassals,
because God of His grace had given them triumph.
…
Thus he rode on Babieca, his sword in his hand. (23)

Using three of the four symbols, this excerpt indicates the Spaniards’ confidence that God empowered their national-religious heroes who ultimately led the Christians to victory. Once drawn, the sword of Santiago or El Cid, through the grace of God, became the tool by which Spain successfully expelled the Muslims, and completed its spiritual and secular union.

The development of a religiously and culturally homogenous Spanish kingdom, and the association of the images of Santiago and El Cid as paradigm Christian combatants continued throughout the remaining four centuries of religious reconquest. For Santiago, the process of intertwining his role as belligerent saint with crusading warfare culminated in 1170. In this year, the most famous Spanish military order, the Order of the Knights of Santiago, emerged, modeled upon the international order of the Knights of the Temple. (24) The Knights of Santiago was only one of several military-religious orders established to protect pilgrims on their journey to Compostela (the saint’s burial place), and most importantly, to fight against the Muslims. Like Santiago Matamoros, the knights "combined priestly devotion with soldierly blood-thirstiness. Their motto was Rubet ensis sanguine Arabum — ‘My sword is red with the blood of the Arabs’ — and their symbol was a sword-like cross with the scallop shell on the crosspiece." (25)

El Cid’s image as Christian and soldier evolved in a less militaristic and institutionalized manner. After his death in 1099, a "Cid-cult" grew up around his burial site in the monastery of San Pedro de Cardeña. In fact, many of the myths invented about El Cid and incorporated into history originated in Cardeña. The growth of the legend of El Cid occurred during a time when Christians were winning victories over Muslim forces in the East. The impact of the fall of Jerusalem in 1187 may have been felt in Spain, leading, for example, to a renewed interest in the paragon of Christian crusaders. By 1200, El Cid "had grown to uncommon heroic stature" outstripping even Spanish royalty as the subject of legendary interest. (26) This interest manifested itself in the composition of the epic Poema de mío Cid. In this poem, El Cid assumes Santiago’s role of Moorslayer and instills a combination of fear and admiration in both Christians and Muslims alike. His mission aimed at the complete reconquest of Muslim-Spain for Christianity; he would be satisfied with nothing less. As the Muslim Abengalbón laments in the epic, "In peace or in war he will have what is ours;/ who does not know the truth I hold stupid." (27)

The histories of Santiago and El Cid contain an inextricable mixture of historical fact and mythical legend. The legendary component fueled Spaniards’ faith in their ultimate victory over the Muslims. It gave them confidence when faced with an uncertain future. Thus, the mythical forces gave credence and urgency to the reality of divine intervention in Spain’s crusading reconquest. This intervention manifested itself in the forms of Santiago and El Cid — figures whose images over time intimately intertwined and became one. The resulting image was of a knight of uncommon heroic stature riding upon a white horse over a battlefield of slain Muslims, with a bloodied sword in one hand and the banner of victory waving in the other.

Spaniards believed God had brought Santiago from heaven to the battlefield and made El Cid invincible in war. Inspired by their heroes and inflamed by their passion for a united Spain under Christendom, Spanish Christians continued undeterred in their struggle against the infidel. Their struggles did not go unrewarded. When Pope Urban II called for the First Crusade in 1095, Spain had already experienced two significant victories against their Muslim opponents by retaking Toledo (1086) and Valencia (1094). The eleventh through the fourteenth centuries saw the gradual deterioration of Muslim power in Spain. By the twelfth century, the political-religious geography of the Iberian peninsula had changed radically from the tenth and eleventh centuries. In the fifteenth century Muslim rule in al-Andalus collapsed. The Muslim defeat in Spain was paralleled by an increase in the strength and power of the Christians. Guided by their religious national figures, Spaniards had succeeded in ousting the Muslims when they captured the city of Granada in 1492. The capture of Granada ended the chapter of Christian reconquest in Spain’s history, and ended Santiago’s and El Cid’s roles as inspirational leaders and invincible warriors in the eight centuries long reconquista. Spain succeeded in expelling the Muslim peoples and their religion, while simultaneously forging a new national Christian identity. The Iberian peninsula emerged from the Christian reconquest — as Alfonso VI intended it to be — unified under the Spanish monarchy of Isabela and Ferdinand and by its Christian faith.
Notes

1 Quoted in Ellen O. Feinberg, Following the Milky Way: A Pilgrimage Across Spain (Ames, Iowa, 1989) 82.

2 Poema de mío Cid, Canto 95, trans. W. S. Merwin, Medieval Epics (New York, 1959) 528.

3 William Melczer, The Pilgrim’s Guide to Santiago de Compostela (New York, 1993) 15.

4 Melczer, 15.

5 Poema de mío Cid, Canto 43, 497.

6 Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art, ed. James Hall (New York, 1974) 166.

7 T. D. Kendrick, St. James in Spain (London, 1960) 148.

8 Kendrick, 185.

9 Melczer, 21.

10 Santiago de Compostela continues to draw people from around the world to Spain to embark on a pilgrimage and visit the burial site of this country’s patron saint.

11 Kendrick, 185.

12 Richard Fletcher, The Quest for El Cid (Oxford, 1989) 3-4.

13 Edmund De Chasca, “History and Legend of The Cid,” The Dictionary of the Middle Ages. Vol. 3, ed. Joseph R. Strayer (New York, 1982-89) 387.

14 Poema de mío Cid, Canto 122, 553.

15 De Chasca, 384.

16 Bernard Reilly, The Medieval Spains (Cambridge, 1993) 93.

17 Pope Urban II (1088-99), a Cluniac, preached the First Crusade in 1095, one year after El Cid’s victory over the Muslim taifa state of Valencia. It is possible that the Spanish reconquista inspired Urban to appeal for the defense of Christendom against the infidel Muslims in the East, using El Cid as the prototype of the Christian crusader.

18 Fletcher, The Quest for El Cid, 50.

19 Aside from being a significant tactical victory, Valencia paralleled Santiago’s legendary participation and triumph at Clavijo in importance as a propaganda tool; both battles boosted Spanish Christian soldiers’ morale and confidence in their ability -- with God’s help -- to rid the Iberian peninsula of Muslims.

20 Poema de mío Cid, Canto 74, 512.

21 Melczer, 65-6.

22 Illustrated Dictionary of Symbols in Eastern and Western Art, ed. James Hall, illus. Chris Puleston (New York, 1994) 87-88.

23 Poema de mío Cid, Canto 95, 528.

24 Richard Fletcher, “Reconquest and Crusade in Spain c. 1050-1150,” Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, Fifth Series 37 (1986) 45.

25 Feinberg, 182-83.

26 Colin Smith, The Making of the Poema de mío Cid (Cambridge, 1983) 55.

27 Poema de mío Cid, Canto 83, 521.

Back to the 1996 Table of Contents

Ecumenismo: ebrei e islamici, discendenza di Abramo o figli del demonio?

2008-03-18T17:59:00.003+01:00

39 Gli risposero i giudei: «Il nostro padre è Abramo». Rispose Gesù: «Se siete figli di Abramo, fate le opere di Abramo! 40 Ora invece cercate di uccidere me, che vi ho detto la verità udita da Dio; questo, Abramo non l'ha fatto. 41 Voi fate le opere del padre vostro». Gli risposero: «Noi non siamo nati da prostituzione, noi abbiamo un solo Padre, Dio!». 42 Disse loro Gesù: «Se Dio fosse vostro Padre, certo mi amereste, perché da Dio sono uscito e vengo; non sono venuto da me stesso, ma lui mi ha mandato. 43 Perché non comprendete il mio linguaggio? Perché non potete dare ascolto alle mie parole, 44 voi che avete per padre il diavolo, e volete compiere i desideri del padre vostro. Egli è stato omicida fin da principio e non ha perseverato nella verità, perché non vi è verità in lui. Quando dice il falso, parla del suo, perché è menzognero e padre della menzogna. 45 A me, invece, voi non credete, perché dico la verità. 46 Chi di voi può convincermi di peccato? Se dico la verità, perché non mi credete? 47 Chi è da Dio ascolta le parole di Dio: per questo voi non le ascoltate, perché non siete da Dio».

48 Gli risposero i Giudei: «Non diciamo con ragione noi che sei un Samaritano e hai un demonio?». 49 Rispose Gesù: «Io non ho un demonio, ma onoro il Padre mio e voi mi disonorate. 50 Io non cerco la mia gloria; vi è chi la cerca e giudica. 51 In verità, in verità vi dico: se uno osserva la mia parola, non vedrà mai la morte». 52 Gli dissero i Giudei: «Ora sappiamo che hai un demonio. Abramo è morto, come anche i profeti, e tu dici: "Chi osserva la mia parola non conoscerà mai la morte". 53 Sei tu più grande del nostro padre Abramo, che è morto? Anche i profeti sono morti; chi pretendi di essere?». 54 Rispose Gesù: «Se io glorificassi me stesso, la mia gloria non sarebbe nulla; chi mi glorifica è il Padre mio, del quale voi dite: "È nostro Dio!", 55 e non lo conoscete. Io invece lo conosco. E se dicessi che non lo conosco, sarei come voi, un mentitore; ma lo conosco e osservo la sua parola. 56 Abramo, vostro padre, esultò nella speranza di vedere il mio giorno; lo vide e se ne rallegrò». 57 Gli dissero allora i Giudei: «Non hai ancora cinquant'anni e hai visto Abramo?». 58 Rispose loro Gesù: «In verità, in verità vi dico: prima che Abramo fosse, Io Sono». 59 Allora raccolsero pietre per scagliarle contro di lui; ma Gesù si nascose e uscì dal tempio.

Parola di Dio

GV. 39-59
http://www.ecclesiacatholica.it/ecume.htm

L’Islam réel et l’Islam imaginaire

2008-03-18T15:09:00.004+01:00

Par l’abbé Michel Boniface

Cet article fut d’abord publié dans le numéro de juillet-août 2001 de Pour qu’Il règne, la revue de la Fraternité en Belgique. M. l’abbé Boniface, prêtre de la Fraternité actuellement posté au Mexique, est d’origine syrienne, et anciennement de rite araméen. Sa famille vit actuellement en Belgique.

Les autorités civiles et religieuses du monde jadis chrétien se font une dangereuse illusion au sujet de l’islam. Selon eux, il y aurait d’une part un islam bon, ouvert, pacifique, tolérant, et d’autre part l’islam fondamentaliste, intégriste, violent qui serait une falsification de l’islam. Sur quelles preuves s’appuie-t-on pour prétendre cela et imposer cette image à l’opinion publique ?

L’interprétation séculaire du Coran, de la loi islamique, les exemples de la vie de Mahomet, l’histoire des nations islamisées, relèvent malheureusement de l’islam soi-disant fondamentaliste. La volonté de forger une image d’un islam libéral est le fruit d’une philosophie idéaliste qui ne tient pas compte de la réalité. Et la réalité se venge toujours.

Le rôle de l’islam pacifique

L’islam pacifique et ouvert fraie le chemin à l’islam fondamentaliste. Il y a des musulmans réalistes qui, intelligemment, profitent du moment favorable pour implanter l’islam dans les nations déchristianisées. Leur attitude « ouverte » contribue à fortifier l’islam. Leur réalisme les empêche d’exiger que l’islam règne en maître absolu. Les modérés savent cela et leur manière d’agir est très avantageuse pour l’islam. Cependant, ils n’oublient pas que l’islam est par nature théocratique, qu’il régit toute la vie de la cité. Ils savent qu’il n’y a pas de distinction, et encore moins de séparation, entre la religion islamique et l’Etat. Prétendre le contraire, c’est vouloir dénaturer l’islam; c’est imaginer un islam qui n’existe pas réellement.

Les musulmans fondamentalistes

Les musulmans qui prennent leur religion au sérieux et veulent la mettre en pratique telle qu’elle doit l’être, sont traités d’intégristes, de fanatiques ... Cette accusation est injuste car leur manière de voir et souvent d’agir correspond, malheureusement, à la doctrine islamique. Le Coran et la loi islamique les justifient. Que l’on soit en désaccord avec une telle doctrine est tout à fait légitime, mais vouloir fabriquer un islam imaginaire est illégitime et dangereux. Imaginer un islam à l’instar du christianisme, où il y a distinction entre le politique et le religieux, est une illusion supplémentaire, car le Coran lui-même, la tradition islamique, les faits et paroles de Mahomet la contredisent. Le Coran, pour les vrais musulmans, est la norme, la règle, parce qu’il est parole « divine ». Le Coran donc étant parole d’Allah, il doit, par les lois qu’il contient, régir toute la vie sociale et religieuse.

Les musulmans modérés ne nient pas cela. Certains libéraux le nient en pensée. Mais les uns et les autres préparent à long terme le terrain aux musulmans du Coran qui, lorsqu’ils seront forts et que les circonstances seront favorables, exigeront par tous les moyens la mise en application du vrai islam... Alors, nos idéalistes civils et religieux seront étonnés de ce que la réalité ne corresponde pas à l’islam de leur imagination. Alors ils auront peut-être du regret de n’avoir pas christianisé les musulmans qui dans leur immense majorité sont des descendants de chrétiens islamisés par la force, la menace, les lois discriminatoires qui les humiliaient, les brisaient et les acculaient parfois à la misère. Faut-il rappeler que tout le Proche-Orient et l’Afrique du Nord étaient chrétiens ? Ne serait-ce pas les principes gravés dans le Coran, les faits et dits de Mahomet et la loi islamique, imposés par la terreur à tant de nations chrétiennes, qui les ont islamisées ? L’islam intégriste est l’islam véridique, qui met en pratique la doctirne islamique. Le problème n’est pas l’intégrisme islamique, c’est l’islam tout court. L’intégrisme islamique tire ses principes du Coran et de la tradition islamique. L’action des intégristes effraye les ignorants qui ne veulent pas voir que l’islam par nature est conquérant, GUERRIER et non pas grossier. Le meilleur service que nos autorités civiles et religieuses peuvent rendre aux musulmans eux-mêmes et aux chrétiens c’est d’évangéliser les musulmans, de leur communiquer la connaissance et la croyance du Dieu Trinité qui est Charité. Toute autre attitude est une illusion.

Le Coran et la guerre

Les vrais musulmans qui veulent la guerre sainte suivent le Coran. En effet, le djihad est une prescription essentielle de l’islam. Le Coran, sans lequel il n’y aurait pas d’islam, le recommande avec véhémence : « Les vrais croyants disent : Dieu n’a-t-il pas ordonné un chapitre qui ordonne la guerre sainte ? » (Sourate 47 : 22) ou encore : « Tuez les idolâtres partout où vous les trouverez, faites-les prisonniers, assiégez-les et guettez-les dans toute embuscade » (Sourate 9 : 5) et « faites la guerre à ceux qui ne croient pas » (Sourate 9 : 29). « Quand vous rencontrerez les infidèles : tuez-les jusqu’à en faire un grand carnage, et serrez les entraves des captifs que vous aurez faits. Ensuite, ou vous les mettrez en liberté, ou vous les rendrez moyennant rançon » (Sourate 8 : 57). Selon le Coran, un non-musulman est un moins que rien : « Il n’y a point auprès d’Allah d’animaux plus vils que ceux qui ne croient point et restent infidèles » (Sourate 8 : 57). C’est pourquoi il faut les islamiser par la force, en les humiliant. Et ceux qui résistent contre l’islam et son fondateur doivent être châtiés selon le Coran : « Voici quel sera le destin de ceux qui combattent Allah et son envoyé : vous les mettrez à mort ou vous leur ferez subir le supplice de la croix, vous leur couperez les mains et les pieds alternés. Ils seront chassés du pays » (Sourate 5 : 37). Et comme les musulmans sont réalistes, ils tiennent compte des circonstances pour faire une paix temporaire ou la guerre : « Ne montrez pas de lâcheté et n’appelez point les infidèles à la paix quand vous leur êtes supérieurs » (Sourate 47 : 22).

En un mot, le Coran étant la parole d’Allah pour tous les musulmans, il est valable pour tous les temps, pour tous les peuples jusqu’à la fin du monde. Il doit être mis en application selon les indications qu’Allah lui-même donne à ses fidèles. Ceci explique logiquement ce qui se passe au Soudan, en Algérie, et dans de nombreux pays musulmans. Idéaliser l’islam c’est le plus grand tort que l’on puisse faire aux musulmans eux-mêmes. "

The Kosovo tragedy

2008-03-06T11:04:00.003+01:00

In early 2001 the world was alarmed by reports that the Afghani Talibs destroyed the gigantic statures of Buddha, unique monuments of ancient culture. At that time the topic of prostrate sculptures firmed up in the headlines of major newspapers and news reports from leading TV networks. Almost unnoticed against this background was another tragedy, which had begun a little earlier and continues to this day, namely, the destruction of monasteries and churches in Kosovo.

It did not happen in a remote country where the Talibs exercised complete sway, it, the crucifixion of Kosovo, was taking place in the very center of Europe, before the very eyes of peacemakers from the most developed countries. The Albanian extremists were finishing now what they had no time to complete during World War II. According to the data from the Serbian Orthodox Church, nearly 150 churches and monasteries have been destroyed for the last five years in Kosovo and Metochia, the cradle of Serbian Orthodoxy.

It was not just cultural monuments or sacred things that were destroyed. What was profaned was the very soul of a nation with rich traditions and an outstanding fate, a nation which helped to liberate Europe from fascism 60 years ago, sacrificing to the Victory about a million of its people.

According to many experts, Kosovo today has been turned into a breeding-ground of terrorism for the whole of Europe, a transfer point for drug dealers. Only a few surviving churches and the ruins of the churches which had no chance to survive the new barbaric times stand as tacit reminders of the past of that land.

The Religion portal, together with the Foundation of St. Andrew the First-Called, publishes a gallery of Kosovo churches as they were before the destruction and as they are now. Perhaps these pictures, more eloquently than any words, relate the tragedy of one of the largest European nations, which, strangely, was bypassed by world news reports.

Source: Interfax - Relgion - Kosovo

Absolute MUST-Read: The Destruction of the Christian Kosovo

Video shows Muslims desecrating a Serbian church in Kosovo - 25.02.2008

The video shows Muslim soldiers as they desecrate a Serbian Church. They obviously enjoy destroying pictures of saints, throwing around church benches, and spraying the Cross with machine gun fire. Can we think that with such images that Kosovo is truly "free"? This all happened not more than 1000 km away from us at the heart of Europe. We pray that these images remain the exception and do not become daily life for Christians in Kosovo. Additionally, the question is to what extent religions are an escape valve for a political anger, or are used for this purpose? (Source: Cathcon.blogspot.com)

Nous, les Chrétiens, nous croyons en un SEUL Dieu, mais...

2008-02-28T14:09:00.007+01:00

Formule appelée "Fides Damasi"

(Voir: http://catho.org/9.php?d=bvy)

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Nous croyons en un seul Dieu, Père tout-puissant, et en notre unique Seigneur Jésus Christ, le Fils de Dieu, et en un (seul) Dieu Esprit Saint. Ce ne sont pas trois dieux, mais le Père, le Fils et l'Esprit Saint que nous vénérons et confessons comme un seul Dieu: nous ne confessons pas le Dieu unique comme s'il était solitaire, ni comme si le même était le Père pour lui-même et était lui- même également le Fils, mais nous confessons que le Père est celui qui a engendré, et que le Fils est celui qui a été engendré; quand au Saint-Esprit il n'est ni engendré, ni non engendré, ni créé, ni fait, mais procède du Père et du Fils, coéternel, coégal et coopérateur du Père et du Fils, puisqu'il est écrit: "Par la parole du Seigneur les cieux ont été affermis", c'est-à- dire par le Fils de Dieu, "et toute leur solidité par le souffle de sa bouche" Ps 33,6, et dans un autre passage: Envoie ton Esprit, et ils seront créés, et tu renouvelleras la face de la terre (voir Ps 104,30).
C'est pourquoi dans le nom du Père, du Fils et de l'Esprit Saint nous confessons un seul Dieu, parce que "Dieu" est le nom de la puissance, non de la propriété. Le nom propre pour le Père est "Père", le nom propre pour le Fils est "Fils", et le nom propre pour l'Esprit Saint est "Esprit Saint". Et dans cette Trinité nous croyons un seul Dieu, parce qu'est d'un unique Père ce qui, avec le Père, est d'une même nature, d'une même substance, d'une même puissance. Le Père a engendré le Fils non pas selon la volonté, ni selon la nécessité, mais selon la nature.

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Aux derniers temps le Fils est descendu du Père pour nous sauver et accomplir les Ecritures, lui qui n'a jamais cessé d'être avec le Père, et il a été conçu du Saint-Esprit et est né de Marie la Vierge, a pris chair, âme et esprit, c'est-à-dire l'homme complet; et il n'a pas perdu ce qu'il était mais a commencé à être ce qu'il n'était pas; mais en sorte que s'il est parfait en ce qui est sien, il est également véritable en ce qui est nôtre.
En effet, lui qui était Dieu est né homme, et celui qui est né homme a opéré comme Dieu; et celui qui a opéré comme Dieu, meurt comme un homme; et celui qui est mort comme un homme ressuscite comme Dieu. Après avoir vaincu l'empire de la mort, il est ressuscité le troisième jour avec la chair avec laquelle il était né, avait souffert et est mort; il est monté vers le Père, et siège à sa droite dans la gloire qu'il possédait et possède toujours. Nous croyons que nous avons été purifiés dans sa mort et dans son sang pour être ressuscités par lui au dernier jour dans cette chair dans laquelle nous vivons maintenant; et nous sommes dans l'attente que nous obtiendrons de lui, soit la vie éternelle en récompense de notre bon mérite, soit la peine du supplice éternel pour nos péchés. Lis cela, tiens-le fermement, soumets ton âme à cette foi. Ainsi tu obtiendras du Christ Seigneur la vie et la récompense.

Mártires de nuestro tiempo

2008-02-21T15:34:00.004+01:00

Las persecuciones contra los cristianos se producen en la mayor parte de los casos en países de mayoría islámica. Iglesias incendiadas y profanadas en Indonesia, pueblos y escuelas cristianas destruidos en Nigeria, conversiones forzosas al Islam en los campos de refugiados de Sudán, fieles asesinados en Egipto, misioneros secuestrados y masacrados en el sur de Filipinas o material religioso requisado en Arabia Saudita

CAMILLE EID

En muchos lugares proclamar la fe cristiana equivale a arriesgar la vida. La masacre de 18 fieles paquistaníes en el interior de la iglesia de Santo Domingo en Bahawalpur, el pasado 28 de octubre, es tan sólo el último episodio de una tácita persecución que viene de lejos en Pakistán, hoy indispensable aliado de Occidente en la guerra contra el terrorismo. Allí se asiste, de hecho, desde hace años a una adecuación de la ley islámica a las instituciones del país. Los cristianos denuncian en particular algunas disposiciones del Código Penal, como la Ley sobre la Blasfemia, que castiga con pena de muerte a quienquiera que sea acusado de ofender a Mahoma y condena a cadena perpetua a todo el que ofenda el Corán. A pesar de las garantías sobre la tutela de los derechos de las minorías, los abusos de esta ley por parte de individuos o grupos radicales islámicos son frecuentes. En 1998, en señal de protesta contra la condena a muerte de un joven católico, el obispo de Faisalabad, John Joseph, se disparó un tiro en la cabeza tras haber dirigido una vigilia de oración contra un poder opresivo disfrazado de motivos religiosos. La decisión del general Musharraf de contener “los abusos” en la aplicación de la ley que se han comprobado, ha provocado las protestas de algunos dirigentes musulmanes. La voz de ciertos religiosos resonaba como un trueno: «La maldición de Alá caerá sobre quien ose enmendar la ley».

Desde luego, atrocidades no faltan. En mayo de 2000, algunos hombres enmascarados detuvieron un furgón cerca de Lahore con trabajadoras obreras que regresaban de su trabajo y separaron a las cristianas de las musulmanas. Entre las primeras había ocho muchachas que fueron violadas repetidamente bajo la amenaza de las armas. Sucesivamente se logró arrestar a los culpables, que resultaron ser miembros de Lakshar-e-Taiba, una organización integrista musulmana. Antes del proceso, Ashiq Masih, tío de una de las víctimas, fue detenido por cuatro hombres que lo golpearon y amenazaron de muerte si no retiraba la denuncia.

Más trágica aún es la situación de los 40 millones de cristianos que viven en Nigeria. Masacres y asesinatos están a la orden del día en el norte del país. En esa zona una veintena de estados regionales (Zamfara, Sokoto, Kano) han introducido o piensan introducir la ley coránica. Las tensiones desembocaron a finales de febrero de 2000 en enfrentamientos en la ciudad de Kaduna y en el estado de Abia, con el resultado de unos mil muertos, entre ellos muchos religiosos. El portavoz de la diócesis de Kaduna, Peter Yakubu, afirma que los extremistas habían ofrecido una recompensa de 100.000 nairas (alrededor de mil dólares) por la cabeza de cada sacerdote: fueron asesinados tres párrocos, ocho seminaristas y 38 pastores de varias iglesias protestantes, entre los cuales se encontraba el padre Clement Ozi Bello, de 26 años, un converso del islam. Enfrentamientos que se retoman con mayor o menor fuerza tras las incursiones aéreas americanas contra los talibanes afganos y que han dejado centenares de víctimas inocentes.

En el sur de Filipinas también está apunto de estallar un nuevo conflicto. El Frente Moro de Liberación Nacional (FMLN) amenaza con romper el acuerdo alcanzado en 1998 con el Gobierno de Manila, para retomar su guerra por la independencia de las regiones meridionales, donde se halla concentrada la minoría musulmana. Pero el grupo terrorista de Abu Sayyaf actúa ya hace tiempo contra los cristianos de la zona. En abrilde 2000 decapitaron a dos profesores cristianos, escogidos entre 29 católicos secuestrados de dos escuelas de la provincia de Basilan. Para liberar a los rehenes, los terroristas habían exigido - además de la excarcelación de un jefe suyo detenido en los EEUU - la prohibición de las cruces en la isla de Mindanao, donde reivindican la creación de un estado islámico independiente. Pocos meses después, los rebeldes islámicos del grupo raptaron nuevamente a 21 cristianos de la provincia de Lanar del Sur, masacrándolos en el interior de una mezquita.

Se encuentra en peligro también la secular convivencia islámico-cristiana en Egipto, donde el año del jubileo se inauguró del peor modo posible. Un enfrentamiento entre dos comerciantes, uno copto y otro musulmán, que estalló en el pueblecito de Al- Kosheh, a 440 kilómetros del sur del Cairo, degeneró en saqueos que se propagaron sucesivamente a los pueblos vecinos causando 25 muertos, todos ellos cristianos. En este país, donde el islam es la religión del Estado, la igualdad de “todos los ciudadanos ante la ley”, proclamada por la Constitución, es con frecuencia teórica y los cristianos tienen difícil acceso a los puestos claves y encuentran muchas dificultades para edificar o restaurar iglesias. El Alto Egipto, el área de mayor concentración de cristianos, es la misma donde actúan los integristas islámicos: más de 1400 muertos desde 1992, de los que, al menos, 160 eran coptos. Los atentados suelen dirigirse contra funcionarios del Estado o turistas, pero afectan también a los cristianos del lugar. En 1997 un comando islámico asesinó a 12 cristianos dentro de la iglesia de Abu Qorqas y, tres semanas después, otro comando irrumpió en los negocios coptos de Nag Hammadi, disparando a bocajarro.

Menos conocida es la situación de los cristianos en otro país “amigo de Occidente”, Arabia Saudita, donde todo culto religioso que no sea musulmán, incluso las prácticas privadas, se considera furtivo. Los más afortunados de entre los 600.000 cristianos inmigrantes en el reino deben recurrir a ámbitos extraterritoriales, como las embajadas, para poder reunirse. Aquellos a quienes sus representaciones diplomáticas niegan tal oportunidad, se ven obligados a formar grupos clandestinos de oración o de estudio de la Biblia, que se reúnen en casas privadas. Obviamente, nadie participa en estas reuniones sin correr un riesgo, porque la policía religiosa siempre está al acecho. El último suceso habla del arresto de 16 filipinos (entre ellos, cinco niños) que fueron sorprendidos leyendo y comentando la Sagrada Escritura en un apartamento de Riad.

La introducción de la Ley Islámica en 1983 supuso el primer acto de islamización “desde las altas esferas” en Sudán. El gobierno militar del general Omar-al-Bashir, que llegó al poder en 1989 mediante un golpe de estado favorecido por el Frente Nacional Islámico de Asan al-Turabi, llama “jihad” a la guerra que enfrenta al norte, musulmán, con el sur, cristiano y animista. Las atrocidades y discriminaciones que han sufrido los cristianos en 18 años de guerra son innumerables: desde la fustigación y posterior crucifixión de cuatro catequistas de la diócesis de Rumbeck por su negativa a convertirse al Islam, hasta el rapto de los niños de la etnia Toposa para ser encauzados en un programa de educación islámica, e incluso, la reducción a la esclavitud de miles de fieles cristianos. En enero de 1999, la asociación suiza, Chistian Solidarity International “compró” y liberó a 1.050 sudaneses, pagando a los traficantes musulmanes un “precio” medio correspondiente a 50 euros por persona.

La guerra civil que estalló en 1992 en Argelia ha afectado muy de cerca a la minoría cristiana. Diecisiete sacerdotes y monjas que decidieron quedarse para testimoniar el mensaje del amor en este país de mayoría musulmana han pagado el tributo de sangre. Tras estos nuevos mártires, cuatro misioneros del padre Bianchi fueron brutalmente masacrados en Tizi Ouzou, a finales de 1994. Siete monjes trapenses del monasterio deTiberine fueron raptados y decapitados por la GIA en marzo de 1993, y hasta el mismo obispo de Orán, monseñor Pierre Clavarie, conocido como “el obispo de los musulmanes” por su pasión por el diálogo con el Islam, fue asesinado mediante una bomba en agosto de 1996.

También en Indonesia las tensiones políticas y sociales, que culminaron con la guerra de la independencia de Timor Oriental, desembocaron en un áspero conflicto entre musulmanes y cristianos. Se calcula que en las Molucas, donde los cristianos constituyen la mayoría de la población, fueron asesinadas 5.000 personas en dos años y el número de dispersados asciende a medio millón. Los movimientos que luchan por imponer la shari’a islámica en el país de la Pancasila, la doctrina oficial multirreligiosa, no ahorran medio alguno en alimentar el miedo de los cristianos y hacer que el conflicto “interreligioso” se torne aún más disgregador y llame más la atención, desde del envío de voluntarios muyahidines contra la independencia de Timor Oriental hasta las serie de explosiones que acontecieron la víspera de la pasada Navidad y que dañaron numerosas iglesias de la capital, entre ellas, la catedral católica, causando 14 muertos y decenas de heridos.

Source: HUELLAS Revista internacional del movimiento de Comunión y liberación

Un jeune copte égyptien est déclaré musulman puis apostat

2008-02-21T13:20:00.001+01:00

Source: Notre-Dame de Kabylie - Lalla en Gerger

La presse a déjà évoqué le cas de Mohammed Hegazi, né musulman, qui après sa conversion au christianisme a voulu officialiser sa nouvelle religion sur ses papiers d'identité. Considéré comme apostat, aujourd'hui il craint pour sa vie et celle de son épouse. A propos de ce cas "L'Oeuvre d'Orient" (N° 750, janvier, février Mars 2008, page 18) en évoque un autre encore plus stupéfiant. Ayant rappelé l'histoire de Mohammed Hegazi, ce journal ajoute:

"Même si le grand mufti d'Égypte a récemment affirmé que la justice des hommes ne saurait se substituer à la justice divine, chaque jour ou presque la presse cairote se fait l'écho d'appels au meurtre. Si l'on en croit le quotidien. "Al-Messa'" les oulémas se seraient prononcés, contre le grand mufti, sur la nécessité de tuer l'apostat.

Les exemples de ce type ne manquent, hélas, pas. La presse égyptienne, qui jouit sous Moubarak d'une liberté de parole toute nouvelle est pleine de ces affaires. Elles se font si nombreuses que, dans. "l'Egyptien aujourd'hui" Hamdi Rezk n'hésite pas à parler d'une véritable guerre de l'apostasie. Une guerre où l'absurde le dispute au tragique.

Le cas du jeune Mina est en ce sens exemplaire. Mina a 16 ans. Avec ses camarades de classe, il se rend au bureau d'état civil pour y obtenir le numéro national d'immatriculation nécessaire à l'inscription au baccalauréat. Et là, stupeur, un fonctionnaire lui apprend qu'il est musulman. Musulman, car son père, dans le plus grand secret, a abandonné la religion chrétienne pour se convertir à l'islam. Mina ne comprend pas : il est chrétien depuis toujours, il croit en Jésus, il prie devant l'autel et demande la bénédiction de la Vierge Marie . Le fonctionnaire s'entête, il ne veut rien entendre. Mina, fidèle à la foi de son baptême, refuse la carte que l'homme lui tend et qui le dit musulman. En un instant, la vie de l'adolescent bascule. Malgré de nombreux soutiens, il ne pourra passer son Bac. Il intente alors un procès au tribunal administratif. Qui le déclare apostat.

Pourquoi apostat? C'est la question posée par de nombreux intellectuels de toutes confessions. Où est la faute de ce jeune homme qui jamais n'a renié l'Islam puisque jamais il ne fut musulman?"

La MEZQUITA DE CÓRDOBA fue una BASÍLICA CRISTIANA ocupada

2008-02-19T15:38:00.004+01:00

'EL PAÍS' se 'OLVIDA' de que la MEZQUITA DE CÓRDOBA fue una BASÍLICA CRISTIANA ocupada

El escritor se ha "olvidado" de añadir desde cuándo hubo una mezquita en ese lugar y que ésta se construyó en una basílica cristiana construida bajo la monarquía visigoda y ocupada por los invasores musulmanes. Claro que entonces el resto de su argumentación se habría hundido.

'El País' quiere conocer todo lo que ocurrió en el franquismo y ahí acaba su afán histórico. En un editorial publicado la pasada semana, el periódico progresista mutilaba la historia y se olvidaba de que la mezquita se construyó en un templo arrebatado por los invasores a los cristianos.

La verdad, no resulta creíble que un redactor de 'El País' escriba un editorial sin consultar datos en el espléndido servicio de documentación del periódico progresista. Por tanto, no parece casual la omisión del hecho de que la mezquita de Córdoba se construyó sobre una basílica cristiana consagrada a San Vicente.

En un editorial titulado de manera reveladora 'Mezquita', el periódico propiedad del enfermo Jesús Polanco insta a la Conferencia Episcopal y al Obispado de Córdoba a "dialogar" con los escasos mahometanos españoles que solicitan que se les ceda parte del templo para sus oraciones. Quien está a la cabeza de este movimiento es el ex comunista Mansur Escudero, a quien el periódico progresista apoyó descaradamente para que se mantuviera el frente de la Federación Española de Entidades Religiosas Islámicas (FEERI) frente a sus rivales, a los que identifica con el islamismo radical.

El periódico afirma que el uso común del templo cristiano con restos arquitectónicos de la época musulmana es decisión exclusiva de la Iglesia, pero concluye con la afirmación de que "la tranquilidad civil, que en algunos casos se está viendo alterada mediante invocaciones a la religión, o la politización de este tipo de problemas para sustentar actitudes xenófobas, afecta a todos los ciudadanos". ¿Una advertencia a los obispos de que si no ceden el periódico "aconsejará" al Gobierno nacional o a la Junta autonómica socialistas que expropien por el "interés público" la catedral?

En el párrafo anterior, el autor desconocido del editorial quizás el propio director Javier Moreno- está escrita la siguiente frase: "El templo, que fue mezquita hasta el siglo XIII y catedral desde el XVI, es uno de los edificios más representativos de la historia de España por cuanto expresa la importancia que adquirió el islam en la península, y forma parte de los bienes que la Unesco ha declarado Patrimonio de la Humanidad".

El escritor se ha "olvidado" de añadir desde cuándo hubo una mezquita en ese lugar y que ésta se construyó en una basílica cristiana construida bajo la monarquía visigoda y ocupada por los invasores musulmanes. Claro que entonces el resto de su argumentación se habría hundido.

No es aventurado deducir de este editorial y de otros textos publicados que el diario progresista y sus directivos, como Juan Luis Cebrián, respaldan completamente la Alianza de Civilizaciones y participan en la invención de una leyenda rosa sobre la religión fundada por Mahoma.

Durante el ataque musulmán a los dibujantes daneses que habían caricaturizado a Mahoma, 'El país' no sólo no publicó ninguna de las viñetas, sino que escribió un editorial titulado 'Cuidado con la sátira' en el que llamaba a pensar las críticas, bromas y opiniones occidentales sobre el islam y sus mitos.

Autor: solidaridad.net- Fecha: 2007-01-23

Coran - l'Islam démasqué

2008-02-04T10:23:00.000+01:00

Il va falloir s’y faire, depuis 2003 Laurent Lagartempe publie chaque année un livre sur l’islam. Vaste problème que l’on ne peut traiter en un seul livre, et dont l’auteur à résolu de faire le tour en plusieurs thèmes, dont il propose chaque fois une synthèse convaincante. Lagartempe a pris la véritable dimension du problème que pose au monde l’effervescence guerrière et subversive des populations musulmanes. L’islam, c’est un milliard d’hommes dont on voit surgir sur les écrans les visages vociférant de haine, chaque fois que quelqu’un en Occident ose dire ce que tout le monde sait et ressent de l’arrogance, de la violence et de l’intolérance des musulmans. L’islam dans l’avenir c’est la promesse d’infliger au monde entier, durant le 21e siècle ce que le communisme a infligé au monde entier durant le 20e siècle, un régime d’intimidation et de terreur ; terreur et intimidation beaucoup plus redoutables que celles du 20e siècle, à cause des nouveaux déchaînements technologiques et du poids des richesses pétrolières.
On ergote sur le point de savoir si l’islam c’est l’islamisme. Le discours bien connu des islamistes n’est rien d’autre que l’exact contenu du Coran ; le Coran est ce à quoi se soumet inconditionnellement tout musulman. Qu’ils le veuillent ou non, qu’ils en soient conscients ou non, les musulmans sont donc tous islamistes. Incontournable conclusion, l’islam c’est l’islamisme. Le petit guide du coran démontre l’évidence de cette réalité que l’on veut obstinément éviter de regarder en face. Le coran contre la République démontre cette autre réalité, non moins incontournable, que la publication, la diffusion et l’enseignement du Coran sont, au regard du code pénal français, des délits de « provocations à crimes et délits contre les personnes ». Il ne peut exister d’« islam en France » ni même d’« islam de France » sans que le Coran ait au minimum été expurgé de ces quatre cents versets incompatibles avec les lois de la République.
Le Coran est l’alpha et l’oméga de tout ce que sont et font les musulmans, en particulier ce qui peut leur être imputé de pire. Le Coran est à la racine de toutes les turpitudes de l’histoire musulmane du 7e au 19e siècle, soit pendant mille trois cents ans. C’est ce que démontre Histoire des barbaresques. L’hégémonie islamique en Méditerranée a fait que le Moyen Orient et les pays de la rive sud, autrefois prospères et hautement civilisés, ont fait retour à un archaïsme politique, social, culturel, et sombré dans un perpétuel sous-développement, dont ils n’arrivent pas à se sortir même aujourd’hui avec l’aide inespérée du pactole pétrolier dont ils bénéficient sans effort. Durant plus de mille ans les musulmans infligèrent au monde méditerranéen une « grande affliction » assortie d’une « grande régression ». Sarrasins et Turcs ont fait régner en Méditerranée un régime de piraterie et de brigandage des mers qui n’a cessé qu’au milieu du 19e siècle sous la pression de l’Occident. Il firent de ce qui avait été l’heureuse mare nostrum une mare infernum.
Or ce terrible passif engendré par la millénaire intoxication collective coranique, est précisément ce que la propagande musulmane contemporaine s’ingénie par tous les moyens à vouloir nous faire oublier. Le dernier ouvrage de Laurent Lagartempe L’islam démasqué se veut être une réplique systématique à toutes les ruses et complicités de ce puissant courant de désinformation. Ce n’est pas d’hier que date l’apparition d’un « voile rose » tendant à dissimuler les noirceurs du passé islamique. Dès le 16e siècle une diplomatie perverse ouverte aux influences turques, inaugurée par François 1e , a progressivement contribué à composer du monde musulman un visage exotique, coloré, avenant, dont la littérature s’est emparée pour le plus grand plaisir d’un candide public. Au 20e siècle ce sont des érudits « orientalistes » qui, s’étant véritablement entichés de philosophies persanes faussement imputées à la culture arabe, ont puissamment contribué à tisser et consolider le voile de désinformation sur la véritable nature de l’islam de toujours. Cette désinformation historique fait l’objet d’une première partie de L’islam démasqué qui vient de paraître. Puisant ensuite aux meilleures sources de l’information contemporaine (en particulier une importante contribution du CNRS) Lagartempe passe en revue tous les aspects de la désinformation contemporaine, et termine en désignant à l’attention du public la petite cohorte des chercheurs indépendants contemporains, auxquels on peut se fier pour faire toute la lumière sur ce qu’est véritablement l’islam.
Les écrits de Laurent Lagartempe ne sont ni savants ni idéologiques, ni polémiques. Ce sont de rigoureuses démonstrations basées sur des faits, des informations et des références incontournables, parce que puisés aux sources informatives les plus fiables.
A consommer sans modération par tous ceux qui désirent vraiment savoir ce qu’est le véritable islam de jadis, de maintenant et de toujours.

Les livres de Laurent Lagartempe sont également en vente sur amazon.

Source: Le nouveau Lagartempe est arrivé

Interdire l'Islam - pétition à la Cour internationale de Justice

2008-02-04T09:34:00.000+01:00

Je doute fort que les institutions onusiennes soient en mesure de rendre une décision aussi sensée et raisonnable, mais je recommande tout de même de signer cette pétition, qui demande la chose suivante à la Cour internationale de Justice (je traduis):

Interdire l’islam
Dans l’intérêt des valeurs humaines et de l’amour universel, nous adressons la présente pétition à la Cour internationale de Justice pour jugement.
Nous, pétitionnaires internationaux soussignés, demandons une interdiction de l’organisation nommée islam. Nous demandons cette interdiction en raison des actes criminels de son fondateur, Mahomet, et de la doctrine coranique qui légitimise des actes criminels, dont la pédophilie, l’assassinat, l’oppression des femmes par le déni de leurs droits humains, les peines de lapidation et de mutilation, et l’utilisation du terrorisme comme moyen d’intimidation et de pouvoir.

Voilà. Le projet est tout frais. À l’heure où je rédige ce billet, 17 personnes seulement ont signé cette pétition.
J’en profite pour rappeler ici mon propre projet sur la question.

Source: Le devoir de précaution: discréditer l'Islam

Enemy Islam. An Interview with the Bishop of Rumbek, Sudan

2008-01-31T19:41:00.000+01:00

Muslim persecution described by an eyewitness. Two million dead in twenty years. “And this is just the beginning. The challenge of Islamism is much worse than communism. Something the next pope will have to fully face”

ROMA – On May 26 in Naivasha, Kenya, the Arab-Islamic government of Khartoum signed a peace agreement with Christian and animist separatists from southern Sudan, ending twenty years of civil war.

Other than the south, the accord concerns the three bordering regions of Abyei, the Blue Nile and the Nuba Mountains. The agreement does not affect Darfur, which lies to the west along the Chad border where another bitter war between Arabs and black African tribes is being waged.

The long war in the south has put the Catholic Church found in these regions to a difficult test, as an extremely high number of Christians have been among the conflict’s two million victims. But as Msgr. Cesare Mazzolari, the Italian-born bishop of Rumbek (in southern Sudan) said in a recent interview: “A new Christianity will arise from the blood of martyrs.”

The interview – conducted by Stefano Lorenzetto and printed in the May 23 Sunday issue of the Milan-based daily, “Il Giornale” – is republished below in its full, original version.

The interview is an exceptional report, offering a perfect portrait of a frontier-land bishop who knows “his” Islam very well, sees it in practice and describes it without reticence as an Islam made also of crucifixions, slavery, forced conversions and trickery.

According to bishop Mazzolari there is a world of difference between Islam and Christianity: Allah is not the same God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

However the bishop does not idealize Christian warriors who have taken up arms against Muslims from Khartoum. Even they have committed their share of wrongdoings. The bishop reported such instances, and has subsequently endured problems on account of this

Even less so does the bishop praise the West and Western Christianity while lashing out vicious accusations against the United States. Following the attacks of September 11, the bishop views Americans as waging a furious hunt based on vengeance, which he says leads only to hatred.

The bishop explains how his extremely poor African faithful “experience September 11 everyday” in their lives. Yet they take no revenge. “They suffer injustice and disease without any bitterness. You can only learn from them,” he said.

When asked about Christian-Muslim dialog, the bishop responded: “One day they came and asked me to speak with Muslims, that is, to do the impossible.”

And when commenting on the question about a ‘clash of civilizations’, Mazzolari remarks: “This is just the beginning.”

In brief, the bishop’s interview is one that should be read in its entirety, bearing in mind one thing: when Pope John Paul II receives bishops from all over the world during their “ad limina” visits to Rome every 5 years, many of those hailing from Muslim countries think just like Mazzolari. And, when in audience with the pope, some of these bishops even speak up about it.

Meanwhile, in the Vatican there is also the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialog, a peace-loving organization involved in fostering interfaith relations.

The last official inter-religious meeting with Islamic faithful took place in Qatar on May 27-29, where the Vatican’s own delegation included cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran and archbishop Michael Fitzgerald. Among the Muslim representatives were Muhammad Sayyed Tantawi, the Sheikh of Al Azhar, and Youssef Al Qaradawi of Qatar University.

The latter is one of the most famous fundamentalist intellectuals in Arab society and a celebrity on the Al Jazira television network. In Sudan his equal is Hassan Al Turabi, whom Bishop Mazzolari describes as “the cleverest person in the world. He’s extremely intelligent, he’s an attorney, and he speaks English and French better than the English and French themselves. He has a sly, forked tongue. He always succeeds in getting what he wants from you”.

And Bishop Mazzolari explains why in the following interview.

“A Clash of Civilizations? This Is Just the Beginning”

An interview with bishop Cesare Mazzolari, by Stefano Lorenzetto

As he speaks, bishop Cesare Mazzolari fixes his gaze on a map of Sudan, his most beloved and troubled adopted homeland. Only once he raised his eyes, filled with tears, to look at me. It was then when he told me he would die a violent death: “The time to be martyred is drawing near. I hope the Lord grants us the grace to face such bloodshed. There’s a need for purification. Many Christians will be killed for their faith. Yet a new Christianity will arise from the blood of these martyrs.”

I asked him if and when the infernal frenzy we have been sucked into since September 11, 2002 would ever end. The bishop said in response: “God will send us a person with charisma capable of opening up a new way toward reconciliation or will allow for punishment, a measured test leading us to wisdom. We live in a blind and deaf world. We need to be really shaken up. We no longer listen to prophets. Of the few that have remained, we have eliminated from society.”

The bishop then burst into tears, which he could no longer hold back. Later his colleagues, who were also upset, told me that they “had never seen the bishop in such a state before.” Perhaps there was something tragic about to happen, to him and to us – only that the bishop took into account the Latin motto of his bishop’s coat of arms: “Per reconciliationem et crucem ad unitatem et pacem” (Peace and Unity through Reconciliation and the Cross). Usually bishops take such mottos from words of the Gospel. Yet the bishop of Rumbek wrote his all by himself, which is surely significant.

The 67 year old Bishop Mazzolari, a Combonian missionary from Brescia, Italy, has been living among Muslims since 1981, whom he says he knows quite well by now.

The bishop says he has seen what Muslims have done to an elderly missionary in his order. Once, he recounts, after having found half-empty bottle of whisky left by a transport operator in the back of a rail car, Muslims began beating him belligerently. “They struck him 50 times,” he said. “Halfway through it, a younger brother in the order begged them, saying, ‘Stop! Give the remaining beatings to me instead.’ However his plea was useless, as they kept striking him until the very end.”

He also witnessed what they did to an enslaved Christian boy named Joseph Santino Garang, who was crucified one Sunday when, after having lost a camel, he stopped to pray. “His owner pounded nails through his hands and knees then poured acid over his wounds. Now the poor boy is a hunchback and looks like a victim of polio. I met him in a camp of ex-displaced where, in order to make them return north, the camp’s officials forced them to push their own train cars.”

In southern Sudan, where Rumbek is located, a twenty year-long civil war, filled with violence and disease, has provoked 2-3 million deaths. Bishop Mazzolari can still preach the Gospel there, since he works in a territory controlled by of Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) under the command of John Garang, a Protestant rebel fighting against the Islamic government of Khartoum. His diocese is as large as all of Italy, where his 30 priests care for 350,000 faithful each. His cathedral is 20 meter-wide, zinc-roofed shed. “This way they can’t burn it down,” he explains.

The bishop sleeps under leafy branch-covered huts. “They prepare one for me in every village I go to,” he said. And he’s like the good shepherd leading a wondering flock in search of water and grain. As the bishop explains: “One in six displaced persons in the world is Sudanese. There is a dramatic difference between refugees and displaced people. A displaced person doesn’t even have a pot to cook with and must continually move around to flee from war, famine and disease.”

While the bishop eats twice a day, his faithful eat just two times a week. “With the added difference that I could eat meat for lunch and dinner, if I wanted,” he said with embarrassment. The bishop, however, said he survives on eating beans, bread, canned tuna and dried fish.

Then there was his comment about how he had to prepare cornmeal for his starving faithful, who “are so weakened by hunger they don’t even have the strength to cook.” Twice a week, he says, shipments of cabbage arrive from Kenya but don’t survive for more than a day in Sudan’s 40-50 degree heat.

From now until October should be the rainy season in Sudan. “We hope to be able to grow something,” the bishop said. For the time being, the scorching sun promises only drought. Just like last year, the year before, and the year before that.

A group of benefactors from Brescia gave him a Thuraya satellite phone to call the Cesar Association (+39.030.2180654) in Italy, headquartered in Concesio, the town where pope Paul VI was born. The bishop seemed quite surprised when I told him that Thuraya was a company based in the United Arab Emirates. He had thought it was Swiss. I fear that from today onward he won’t use the phone so willingly.

Q. – Do you convert many Muslims?

A. – “Absolutely not. Getting close to Islamic people is like giving them the death penalty. Those that convert freely are forced to flee. Yet they end up being caught and punished, anyway, thousands of kilometers away.”

Q. – Are there Catholics who convert to Islam?

A. – “Yes, unfortunately. Pushed by hunger, at least 3 million have headed north and have had to profess the shahada, the public profession of Muslim faith, in order to find jobs. These converts are then fire-branded, literally being stamped on their sides like cows so as to distinguish them from infidels.”

Q. – Do you have relations with Islamic authorities in Khartoum?

A. – “Once I used to have an entry visa. Now I’d be thrown in jail if I were to travel to the capital. They would say I inspired the revolt, despite the fact that armed separatists once took me hostage and banished me for 6 months, after I said they stole 60% of international aid meant for Sudan’s starving population. If want to return to Italy I have to take a land route to Kenya and then fly from Nairobi.”

Q. – Is the God of Christians the same as the Allah of Muslim?

A. – “No way! Where would the concept of the Trinity fit in? And Christ is certainly not the greatest of their prophets.”

Q. – Will a Muslim who leads a good life end up in the same heaven where you hope to go?

A. – “Yes, I am quite sure of this. God does not judge others like we do, in our severe and narrow-minded ways. There will be many different creatures in heaven, since each one leads a life according to what the Lord places in his heart.”

Q. – Do you think that after the New York and Madrid terrorist attacks a third world war has broken out?

A. – “I think, I mean I used to think, that things would have changed for the better after those massacres. Instead, I've noticed that a sense of fighting back has turned into vengeance.”

Q. – Should Bush have thanked Osama Bin Laden?

A. – “Uncertainty and poverty can turn up in your own home, even if you’re the wealthiest man in the world. Power does come from neither vengeance nor money. The president of the United States can no longer pick up a microphone and say: ‘Let’s round up and kill every last one of them.’ The wave of hatred that has filled the Islamic world will spread for years to come.”

Q. – What would He have felt obligated to say?

A. – “Today the Lord has come to visit even us.”

Q. – Yeah, in an airplane.

A. – “Over 90% of the planet lives in uncertainty. In some way the Americans have understood this well and have gone back to pray in churches. We have wasted a sign from heaven, using it to cause even more division among men instead of uniting them in compassion.”

Q. – Nice words. But coming from the mouth of a bishop, more than a state official.

A. – “The world is poor, just like it has always been. It’s not Bush’s duty to judge and sentence four-fifths of humanity. Otherwise the weakest populations get the impression that the greatest power is found in getting revenge. I believe, however, that vengeance belongs to a culture of primitives. The president of the world’s most powerful nation scoffed at the planet’s highest authorities, the UN and the pope. This damages trust in authority worldwide. And soldiers who were supposed to carry out such vengeance have gone out of their minds. They’re doing crazy stuff.”

Q. – But what does poverty have to do with the terrorists? Bin Laden is definitely not poor.

A. – “Bush cannot boast in front of anybody that he’s the world’s protector of human rights. I lived in the United States for 26 years. I was even ordained in San Diego, California. I worked among blacks and helped Mexicans mine-workers. I know that the rights of the poor and minorities are systematically stepped on in the United States. I always tell my Sudanese acquaintances thinking of heading across the Atlantic in search of prosperity: ‘Here you experience poverty in terms of food and culture. In America you’ll experience the worst misfortune that could ever befall you There you’ll understand what it means to be a slave.’ ”

Q. – But even the president’s main collaborators, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, are black!

A. – “I assure you that the vast majority of American blacks can aspire to become firemen or police officers at best.”

Q. – So, Bush should have turned the other cheek.

A. – “Spain, after the March 11 massacres in Madrid, reacted in completely opposite way.”

Q. – Nice way.

A. – “Whether you like it or not, I am casting a bit of influence over you in this interview. Maybe I make you feel bad; maybe I make you feel good. I don’t know. Bush doesn’t realize that, in spreading hate in all directions, the world is become even more divided.”

Q. – Excuse me, but it wasn’t him who declared this war.

A. – “You know, Islamic terrorism causes me grief, too. When a plane from Khartoum fires at another air freighter carrying food aid, what do you call this? The Sudanese experience September 11 every day, when there is no trace of their martyrdom in your newspapers. Why? They suffer injustice and disease without any bitterness. You can only learn things from them. They beat their drums and dance around, even with empty stomachs. Westerners are much poorer, humanly speaking. Believe me. I see the three thousand victims of the Twin Towers attacks everyday in the faces of those coming to me seeking food and not finding anything. And, as they are dying, they hear their bishop tell them: ‘The Lord loves you.’ Then with their last breath they whisper in my ear: ‘Tell the Lord we’ve been punished enough.’”

Q. – I’m sorry. But it doesn’t seem fair to blame this on the United States.

A. – “When their interests are at stake, the Americans are completely ready to a dialogue. They write ‘In God we trust’ on their dollar bills. Yet in reality they believe more in the dollar’s green than in God himself. Bush has even said he was for introducing the shariah, the Koranic law, all throughout Sudan — as long as there would be peace between the north and the south and they could begin drilling for the sea of oil Sudan floats on.”

Q. – I see. It’s all about oil, again.

A. – “The United States wants peace in Sudan. They also want the oil in Sudan. There are 1500 kilometers of pipeline from my diocese to Khartoum. Chevron began coming in 1978 to take our oil reserves. Then all the others came. Today the Chinese steal 42% of our crude, which they make a small army of mercenaries and former convicts drill for. Malaysia takes away 24% of it. Replacing Canada has been India. But history has its ways of putting the world back in order. As Paul VI warned us, ‘If you keep stepping on the poor, one day they’ll rebel on you. Woe to you who live to see the revolution of the poor.’ These were the words of a prophet who had understood well what terrorism would lead to, well enough to be ready to sacrifice his very own life to save his friend, Aldo Moro, who had been abducted by the terrorist group of Brigate Rosse. He knew the only way was that of Christ: through mercy.”

Q. – Did you see the footage of the beheading of Jewish American, Nick Berg?

A. – “No. But I heard it described so vividly that it’s like as if I had seen it. We have gone beyond mankind’s limits. We have become barbarians again.”

Q. – Is it possible that one day we’ll see footage in which Christians behead men while giving praise to Jesus?

A. – “They would have to be nuts if they were ever Christians doing this.”

Q. – Even the Church in the Dark Ages sent poor innocent men to the stake while reciting litanies.

A. – “It made a mistake. John Paul II apologized for this. History books, on the left page, record man’s sins and, on the right page, God’s forgiveness.”

Q. – Is it exaggerated when people talk about a clash of civilizations, as between the West and Islam?

A. – “No. This is just the beginning. The Church has defeated communism, but is just starting to understand its next challenge – Islamism, which is much worse. The Holy Father has not been able to take up this challenge due to his old age. But the next pope will find himself having to face it. The answer does not lie in thinking ‘we’re right and they’re wrong’. We boast about a Christian tradition which in actual fact we don’t live out. Yet Muslims are constant in practicing their faith, having a way of proselytizing superior to our own. When they teach you to say ‘sukran’ (thank you), for them this is missionary activity, since Arab is the language of the Koran.”

Q. – And yet some of your fellow bishops in Italy have allowed chapels to be used as mosques.

A. – “It will be the Muslims who convert us, not the other way around. Wherever they settle down, sooner or later they end up becoming a leading political force. The Italians are intent on welcoming them in an easy-going manner. But soon they’ll realize that the Muslims have taken advantage of their good-natured spirit, allowing ten times more to arrive than what was originally permitted. They are much more clever than we are. They knock my schools down and you leave your church doors wide open for them. If someone is a thief, you don’t give them a room in your apartment, because sooner or later you’ll find all your furniture gone.”

Q. – Recent statistics say that only 20% of Muslims in Italy respect the Koran’s teachings, just as only 20% of Catholics go to Mass every Sunday. Hence they are Muslims, but in name only.

A. – “But their Islamic culture remains. Religion is only a part of their civilization. No one can erase their belonging to the umma, the community of Muslim believers.”

Q. – Does it make sense to export our democracy in agricultural and sheep-herding societies that make no distinction between religion and politics?

A. – “No. This is idiotic. Islamic people base their decisions only and exclusively on the umma. They don’t even know what individual rights are. It’s absurd to teach them the first amendment of the American Constitution, which says Congress can make no law to prohibit freedom of worship or to limit freedom of speech or the press. They have absolutely no comprehension of this.”

Q. – Is the shariah in full effect in Sudan?

A. – “The fundamentalist government sustains it will only apply it to Islamic citizens. No one knows what will happen to an accused Christian, since the legal right to an attorney doesn’t exist there”.

Q. – Roberto Hamza Piccardo, secretary to the Union of Islamic Communities in Italy, told me the scourging that occurs in Sudan is merely symbolic, since “the flogger holds the Koran under his arm to ease up on the force of his lashings”.

A. – “I met this man. If you stand around listening to him, he’ll tell you another thousand lies just like this one.”

Q. – But even St. Benedict approved of floggings for “evil, stubborn, haughty and disobedient men.”

A. – “He didn’t become a saint for this, but despite this. These are little things associated with great men.”

Q. – Piccardo told me that some parts of the shariah enforced in Sudan, like the cutting off of hands, represent “the extremely rare cruel acts of local mafia bosses persecuting helpless people.”

A. – “It’s not true. It is the state that applies Koranic law most often. It cuts the hands and feet off of even non-Muslims and arrests them without evidence.”

Q. – Piccardo also told me that the Sudanese Islamist leader Hassan Al Turabi, “the famous jurist”, was against applying the death penalty, as the Koran would prescribe, against apostates – that is, Muslims who convert to other faiths.

A. – “Al Turabi is the cleverest person in the world. He’s extremely intelligent, he’s an attorney, and he speaks English and French better than English and French men themselves. He has a sly, forked tongue. He’s always succeeds in getting what he wants from you. I’ll give you a concrete example. It is stated in the English version of the Sudanese Constitution that Islam is the state religion and that other faiths are tolerated. However in the Arab version, there is not a trace of such a guarantee.”

Q. – Yet last November Al Turabi went to congratulate Gabriel Zubeir Wako, the archbishop of Khartoum, the first and freshly appointed cardinal. Even you have been in Sudan for 23 years and no one has ever laid a hand on you.

A. – “You should note that my hair has turned white. The greatest punishment Arabs can inflict is oppression, a sense of falsity. If they can fool you, they do it with will all their might. They are proud of their ability to trick you, to behave like liars and compliment you. Al Turabi will take Bush for a ride, wherever and whenever he wants. And he could do much worse things. I, rather than being tricked and playing the fool, prefer being slapped in the face. Muslims fill you with fear, they keep you in a permanent state of uncertainty. It’s a continuous psychological affliction, worse than torture.”

Q. – Is there slavery in Sudan?

A. – “The government authorities swear there isn’t. They went to say so at the United Nations, in Geneva. And yet my missions are full of former slaves. In 1990 I freed 150 of them personally, paying less than I would have for a full-breed dog: 50 dollars for females, 100 for males. I never did this again, since I realized that it could turn into a vicious circle, as they are then used as shepherds or sent to serve wealthy Arab families in Khartoum. And they force them to go to Koranic schools.”

Q. – Why did you become a missionary?

A. – “Perhaps because I used to watch my father, a vegetable grower, take soup to prisoners. I never thought about doing anything else. At 8 years old I was an altar boy at the Sacred Heart Church in Brescia run by Combonian missionaries. Then, when I was 9, I went to visit their seminary in Crema. At age 10 I entered their seminary”

Q. – Are you ever afraid?

A. – “I wouldn’t do what I do if I were afraid. You can’t get through life by being afraid. When I realize that one of my priests is afraid, I remove him from his mission. It is a contagious disease. The day I am afraid, I pray that God will take me with Him.”

Q. – Will you ever go back to Italy?

A. – “My home is Sudan. I have promised my faithful that I would never leave them, not even over my dead body. They already know where to bury me.”

Q. – Do you believe that Christians and Muslims will ever be able to live peacefully together?

A. – “Respect will come once we know each another. For the time being, we share only the earth on which we walk.”

Q. – Is there something that either I or my readers can do for you, father?

A. – “Pray a lot.”

Q. – Only this?

A. – “Don’t forget about us.”

Q. – I won’t forget.

A. – “Sure you will. The poor are quickly forgotten.”

Author: Sandro Magister
Publication: http://www.espressonline.it
Date: June 10, 2004
URL: http://213.92.16.98/ESW_articolo/0,2393,42160,00.html
Source: http://www.hvk.org/articles/0604/77.html

Vatican Councel and Papal Statements on Islam

2008-01-31T19:28:00.000+01:00

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops:
Vatican Councel and Papal Statements on Islam

São Francisco ao sultão Malek Kamel: Vós blasfemais o nome de Cristo

2007-12-07T20:24:00.000+01:00

Que São Francisco é esse apresentado na TV pela Lux Vide do catolicíssimo Ettore Bernabei? Quando o relato tocou na tecla das Cruzadas, aquilo que sabemos dos relatos da época foi revirado ao contrário como se fosse uma fritada.
Frente ao sultão Malek Kamel, São Francisco não pediu, de modo algum, perdão pela ofensiva do exército cristão. Do testemunho de Frei Illuminato, que o acompanhou nessa missão, sabemos que o santo disse:

“Os cristãos agem conforme a justiça quando invadem as vossas terras e vos combatem, porque vós blasfemais o nome de Cristo e vos esforçais para afastar de sua religião quanto mais homens puderdes afastar. Se, pelo contrário, vós quisésseis reconhecer, confessar e adorar o Criador e Redentor do mundo, eles vos amariam como a si mesmos”.

Além disso, quanto ao diálogo inter religioso, sabemos por São Boaventura, que São Francisco falando com o Sultão foi logo ao ponto mais delicado, sabendo que corria o risco do martírio:

“Pregou ao Sultão o Deus uno e trino e o Salvador de todos, Jesus Cristo”

E quando viu que ninguém lhe dava razão?

“Vendo que não fazia progressos na conversão daquela gente e que não podia realizar o seu projeto, prevenido por uma revelação divina, ele retornou aos países cristãos”

Contra as modernas “mutilações” de São Francisco é útil relembrar o que disse Bento XVI em Assis, no último 17 de Junho: “São Francisco é um verdadeiro mestre para os cristãos de hoje”

Fonte: São Francisco pacifista, enésima mentira da TV