�Wake Up!�: Muslim Persecution of Christians, July 2015

During celebrations of St Peter and St Paul, the Iraqi priest Fr Douglas Bazi further reflected that �We cannot celebrate the feast of two martyrs without remembering the living martyrs of our time.�

by Raymond Ibrahim, Gatestone Institute � September 21, 2015

Not only is the Islamic State (IS) persecuting Christians but so are the U.S.-supported �rebel� forces, which the Obama administration assures are �moderate.�  According to a recent NPR report, �With backing from U.S. allies, like Turkey and Saudi Arabia, this [U.S. supported] rebel coalition fights both the Syrian regime and the so-called Islamic State, or ISIS. But the coalition has extremists in its own ranks who have mistreated Christians and forced them out of their homes��just as IS has done.

In response, Mideast Christian leaders made clear that, far from expecting the West to intervene on their behalf, they merely wish that the West stops arming, supporting, or simply facilitating the Islamic terrorists making their lives a living hell�as plainly spelled out in a Christian Today article titled, �Syrian Christian leader tells West: �Stop arming terror groups who are massacring our people.�

According to the Patriarch of Antioch, Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, �If the West wants to do something about the present crisis, the most effective thing would be to support local governments, which need sufficient armies and forces to maintain security and defend respective populations against attacks.  State institutions need to be strengthened and stabilized. Instead, what we see is their forced dismemberment being fueled from the outside.�

Another Christian leader had another message to the West.  According to Iraqi priest Fr Douglas Bazi, once a torture victim who takes care of thousands of refugees forced to flee Mosul since the Islamic State took over the city last year, the West needs to �Wake up!�  During celebrations of St Peter and St Paul, the Iraqi priest further reflected that �We cannot celebrate the feast of two martyrs without remembering the living martyrs of our time.�

Nor are these martyrs limited to the Middle East.  Among the many Christians slaughtered in Nigeria in July was a young girl who was stoned to death for refusing to renounce Christ and convert to Islam.  Pastor Mark lost his daughter, Monica, in the Chibok abduction which involved almost 300 predominantly Christian girls kidnapped at the hands of the Islamic organization, Boko Haram.  He was told that his daughter refused to change her religion, and so was buried from the neck on down and then stoned to death.

The rest of July�s roundup of Muslim persecution of Christians around the world includes, but is not limited to, the following accounts, listed by theme.

Muslim Attacks on Christian Churches

Nigeria: Dozens of Christian churches were attacked in the Muslim-majority northern regions of the nation, where Boko Haram is headquartered:

• Thirty-two churches and 300 houses were burnt when Boko Haram jihadis attacked Mussa community in Borno State.  Thirteen people were also killed in the jihad.

• A female Muslim suicide bomber blew herself up in the Redeemed Christian Church of God on Sunday, July 5, in the town of Potiskum.  The priest and a woman and her two children were killed.   �People were just going to the church when the bomber entered, otherwise the casualty figure would have been higher,� said a Red Cross worker.   Earlier it was revealed that some of the nearly 300 Christian girls kidnapped by Boko Haram last year were being beaten, forced to convert to Islam, and indoctrinated into believing that their mission is to �slit the throats of Christians and to carry out suicide attacks.�

• On Sunday, July 12, explosives planted at a church in Jos went off but there were no casualties as the bomb was detected by the church�s security personnel.

• In response to a mosque explosion that killed 20 people�part of Boko Haram�s �Ramadan killing spree��rioting Muslims burned down two churches on July 6 in Jos.  According to the report, the mosque attack �has revived historic tensions between members of both faiths in Jos.  Christians in Nigeria now not only fear Boko Haram, but also attacks from their Muslim neighbors.�

Iraq:  The Islamic state blew up another Christian church under its authority, the Mother of Aid Church which had stood in central Mosul for thousands of years.  The blast also killed four children who were near the church at the time.  IS also transformed the St. Joseph Church, an ancient Chaldean church in Mosul, into a mosque.  Pictures of St. Joseph show that the dome has been painted black and the church has been stripped of all crosses and Christian symbols and images.

Egypt: Three church related attacks occurred:

• The Fathers Church in eastern Alexandria was attacked on July 21 by unknown assailants who hurled Molotov cocktails and other homemade bombs at the church. No one was injured, although the facade of the church was damaged from the attack.  Security discovered a bag with more firebombs on the scene from where the assailants fled. According to El Watan, the incident created a �state of panic� in the area, especially because the Fathers Church is considered the most important church for the Coptic Catholics of the region.

• Muslims suspended prayer in a church in the village of Arab Asnabt in Abu Qurqas, Minya, and called for demolishing it in an effort �to prevent Coptic Christians from practicing their religious rites.�

• Dozens of �incensed� Muslims congregated before the house of a Christian on the accusation that he was trying to use his home as a church.  Security arrived in time to disperse angry Muslims.  Coptic Christians trying to�or merely being accused of�turning their homes into churches in Egypt is not an uncommon occurrence and ultimately reflects the difficulties Christians face in building or even renovating their existing churches, all in accordance with Islamic law.

Niger: Approximately 70 Christian churches and an orphanage continue facing a lack of resources and difficult conditions in rebuilding six months after thousands of Muslims attacked and destroyed them in �revenge� for the offensive Muhammad cartoons published by the satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo�a secular magazine based in France that also habitually mocks Christianity.  �Since these incidents, it is as if life had stopped,� said Baptist pastor Jacques Kangind�.  Discussing when he entered his destroyed church�his home was also destroyed during the riots�the pastor said: �I felt very bad, such an indescribable feeling when I saw my ripped-up Bible on the ground. For a pastor, it was like my entire life was torn apart. I could not stop shedding tears.�

Muslim Violence and Slaughter of Christians

Nigeria: Boko Haram jihadis shot and killed 29 people in two Christian enclaves of northeast Nigeria.  Most people in Dille village ran but those who could not were gunned down and many homes were set ablaze.  Separately,  a woman suicide bomber blew herself up at a busy market in northeastern Damaturu town, killing 15 people and wounding 50.  And in Maikadiri village, at least 14 people were killed and 500 cows were slaughtered.

Iraq:  Christians kidnapped and held for ransom continue to be slaughtered even after their ransom is paid.   The body of Quais Abdul Shaya was returned to his family�after they had paid the demanded ransom of $25,000 USD. Saher Hanna, who worked at the Ministry of the Interior, was also killed after his Islamic abductors received his ransom.  Killing Christian hostages, including children, after receiving payment is not limited to the Islamic State and occurs in other Muslim nations such as Egypt.

Libya: Unconfirmed reports, including from the Libyan Herald, say that the Islamic State executed another Egyptian Coptic Christian they had seized.  Bekhit Nageh Efrank Ebeid, a 25-year-old laborer, was kidnapped along with two other Christians, Kofi Frimpong Sekyere from Ghana and Ibrahim Adeola from Nigeria.

Egypt: An unknown man attacked a Coptic nun in the Muslim-majority nation.  According to Fr. Abdel Quddus, �An unknown person stalked a sister in the diocese of Fashn, Beni Suef, and attacked her last week with a bladed weapon while she was outside her residence. He then hit her head against the wall and fled.�   And Wadie Ramses, a Christian who was kidnapped and held for 92 days by Islamic militants in the Sinai desert, managed to escape.  During his time in captivity he was blindfolded and handcuffed, beaten and abused.  According to his account, the most terrifying moments came when he would overhear his Muslim kidnappers debating whether to behead the Christian doctor or keep him alive to ensure a ransom.  The police, though given many opportunities, never put forth the effort to rescue him, said the Copt.

Apostasy, Blasphemy, and Proselytism

Uganda: Muslims once again tried to kill a Muslim convert to Christianity.  Last year, Hassan Muwanguzi, a former Muslim Sheikh and now born-again Christian, survived a poisoning attempts by Muslim relatives, but lost his twelve-year old daughter in a separate attack.  Most recently, Muslims broke into his house with knives and clubs in another attempt to assassinate the apostate.  Muwanguzi was at a prayer meeting at the time, but the foiled assailants stole thousands of dollars� worth of his possessions.  Despite the fact that Uganda is a majority-Christian nation, Muwanguzi lives in a majority-Muslim region, and faces regular death threats (read more about his travails here).

Pakistan: Muslims again used the �blasphemy� accusation to persecute Christian minorities:

• Two Christian women and the husband of one of the women in the Punjab were tortured by Muslim villagers.  Afterwards, they painted the women�s and man�s faces black, put shoes around their necks as �garlands��shoes are deemed ultra-degrading symbols in Pakistan�and paraded them around the town on donkeys, while the Muslim mob continued to taunt and beat them.  The two women, identified as Rukhsana and Rehana, were accused of committing blasphemy after they got into an argument with a Muslim woman who wanted to buy a carpet for a low price, to which the Christians refused. The Muslim woman then accused the Christians of committing blasphemy by saying that the carpet had images of Holy Books and Koran verses on it, which prompted the mob to drag the Christians out of their homes and beat them.

• Another Christian couple was nearly lynched by a Muslim mob after they were accused of �blasphemy.� The illiterate couple were using a banner that also allegedly carried scriptures from the Koran. After a local barber and two clerics denounced the couple, they were beaten and about to be hanged when police intervened.  A few months earlier, another couple was thrown into an oven and burned to death when they too were denounced of blasphemy.

• Two Christian brothers, Qaisar and Amoon Ayub of Lahore, were arrested on blasphemy charges after one of them was accused of posting material offensive to Islam on his website.  According to Qaisar, he closed his account in 2009 but one of his Muslim colleagues, Shahryar Gill, somehow managed to restore the website, while ownership remained in Qaisar�s name.  Apparently in revenge for some office quarrel, the Muslim framed the Christian, reported the �blasphemy� to the authorities, prompting the two brothers to flee Pakistan.  Years later, thinking things had cooled down, they tried to return to their wives and children, only to be arrested.

Sudan: Two imprisoned Presbyterian pastors are on trial and facing a possible death sentence. Rev. Yat Michael and the Rev. Peter Yen Reith of the South Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church are being charged with espionage and blasphemy under the Republic of Sudan�s Islamic laws.  Other church leaders say that Christians are often targeted for their faith and that the government�s accusations are pretexts: �This is not �something new� for our church.  Almost all pastors have gone to jail under the government of Sudan. We have been stoned and beaten. This is their habit to pull down the church. We are not surprised. This is the way they deal with the church,� said  Rev. Tut Kony.

Egypt: Three young Christians were arrested in Alexandria on charges of �contempt for Islam.� The previous evening, the Christians were seen handing out bags of dates to Ramadan fasting Muslims.  Some Muslims reported them to authorities, saying that the pamphlets contained �the teachings of Christ� were found in the bags of dates.  They were all arrested and charged with contempt for Islam.  The three Christian youth pled that the pamphlets were for their own personal use and not meant to be placed in the bags of dates.  They were ordered to pay 10,000 Egyptian pounds and released.

Dhimmitude: Generic Muslim Abuse of Christians

Pakistan: Christian girls continued to be abducted and raped in the Muslim majority nation.  A new report indicates that 1,000 non-Muslim girls are abducted, raped, forced to convert to Islam and/or �marry� their abductors every year.  Cases reported in July include:

• Tarfa Younis, a 12-year- old Christian orphan girl, was sold to a 55-year-old Muslim man who �repeatedly raped� her for over a year; the man�s nephew also abused her.  The traumatized girl managed to run away and reach the home of an uncle.  According to The Voice, a human rights organization involved in the case, �the practice of raping and forcing Christian girls into marriage continues in Punjab, especially in suburban areas.�

• Fouzia, a 25-year-old married Christian woman and mother of three children, was abducted on July 23 by Muhammad Nazir, another 55-year-old Muslim man. He forced her to convert to Islam and become his wife.   Her family asked Muhammad for her return, but he insisted that she voluntarily converted and married him�and that if they made any trouble �there would be serious consequences.�  According to human rights lawyer Sardar Mushtaq Gill:

Usually episodes like this proceed in the following manner: the family of the victim presents a complaint. The abductor lodges a counter-complaint affirming that the woman made a voluntary decision. In most cases the victims are minors, young adolescent girls. They suffer sexual violence, forced prostitution, domestic abuse and even sold to human traffickers.

Gill concluded that it is rare for such cases to end with the return of the girls to their original families.

Indonesia: A group of Muslims attacked and disrupted a Christian scout camp that had brought together thousands of young people and was organized by a Protestant group in Yogyakarta, central Java. The Muslim assailants argued that the Christian group was not authorized to organize any public activity�especially since it was Ramadan and public activities that violate the Islamic nature of the month are forbidden. On the second day of the event, local Muslims stormed the site and brought everything to a halt.  As a result of the raid, thousands of Christian participants from around the country were forced to leave the area.  According to the Christian camp manager, �organizers said they had official permission [to hold the event], but suddenly scores of radical Muslims arrived ordering everyone to clear off.� Commenting on the expulsion of Christians, Muhammad Fuad, head of the local branch of the Islamic Community Forum,  expressed satisfaction that the Christian event was shut down:  �It is good because everyone should understand how to behave towards the Muslim community.�[i]

Iraq: The Islamic State issued a call to its members at the University of Mosul to burn all books written by Christians�whether researchers, writers, or academics�that are found in the Central Library at the University of Mosul.

About this Series

The persecution of Christians in the Islamic world has become endemic.  Accordingly, �Muslim Persecution of Christians� was developed to collate some�by no means all�of the instances of persecution that surface each month. It serves two purposes:

1)          To document that which the mainstream media does not: the habitual, if not chronic, persecution of Christians.

2)          To show that such persecution is not �random,� but systematic and interrelated�that it is rooted in a worldview inspired by Islamic Sharia.

Accordingly, whatever the anecdote of persecution, it typically fits under a specific theme, including hatred for churches and other Christian symbols; apostasy, blasphemy, and proselytism laws that criminalize and sometimes punish with death those who �offend� Islam; sexual abuse of Christian women; forced conversions to Islam;  theft and plunder in lieu of jizya (financial tribute expected from non-Muslims); overall expectations for Christians to behave like cowed dhimmis, or third-class, �tolerated� citizens; and simple violence and murder. Sometimes it is a combination thereof.

Because these accounts of persecution span different ethnicities, languages, and locales�from Morocco in the West, to Indonesia in the East�it should be clear that one thing alone binds them: Islam�whether the strict application of Islamic Sharia law, or the supremacist culture born of it.

_____

[i]  According to Asia News:

Indonesia, the world�s most populous Muslim nation, has often been the scene of attacks or acts of intolerance towards minorities, whether Christians, Ahmadi Muslims or people of other faiths.

In Aceh, Islamic law (Sharia) is enforced, the only Indonesian province to do so. This is the result of a peace agreement between the central government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

However, more radical and extreme versions of Islam are growing in many other parts of the country, like Bekasi and Bogor, in West Java.

In addition, legal loopholes have been used to prevent Christians from building their places of worship, like the case involving the Yasmin Church in West Java.

Indonesia�s constitution recognizes religious freedom, but Christian communities, Catholics included (3 per cent of the population) have been the victims of religious violence and persecution.

_____

Previous Reports:

• June, 2015
• May, 2015
• April, 2015
• March, 2015
• February, 2015
• January, 2015

More previous reports here...

Muslim Migrants Converting to Christianity to Improve Asylum Chances

[Lutheran Pastor Gottfried] Martens asked Iranian refugee Mohammed Ali Zonoobi: �Will you break away from Satan and his evil deeds? Will you break away from Islam?� To which Zonoobi fervently responded: �Yes�. Martens then baptised him �In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.� Mohammed renamed himself Martin.

A seldom reported aspect of the Migrant Invasion of Europe. Let us hope and pray that a great many Muslims, finally freed from their native culture and the threat of death for apostasy, may be emboldened to leave Islam behind and turn to Jesus Christ.


Muslim Migrants Converting to Christianity to Improve Asylum Chances
by Nick Hallett, Breitbart London � September 8, 2015

Muslim migrants in Germany are converting to Christianity �in droves� in the hope it will improve their chances of winning asylum.

Hundreds of Iranians and Afghanis have been baptised at Trinity Church, a Lutheran church in Berlin, where Pastor Gottfried Martens offers a three-month �crash course� for new converts.

AP reports on one baptism where Martens asked Iranian refugee Mohammed Ali Zonoobi: �Will you break away from Satan and his evil deeds? Will you break away from Islam?� To which Zonoobi fervently responded: �Yes�.

Martens then baptised him �In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.� Mohammed renamed himself Martin.

Martin Zonoobi, a carpenter from Iran, arrived in Germany with his wife and children five months ago. He is one of many who have converted, with many claiming true belief has prompted them.

However, Pastor Martens admits that some convert just to improve their chances of winning asylum in Germany � as Christians who have apostatised from Islam they are likely to suffer heavy persecution if they are sent home.

Martens says motive is not important, however. �I know there are � again and again � people coming here because they have some kind of hope regarding their asylum,� he said.

�I am inviting them to join us because I know that whoever comes here will not be left unchanged.�

Many are so taken by the Christian message that they end up genuinely changing their beliefs anyway, Martens says. He adds that of those who have converted, only around one in ten stop attending church afterwards.

Although being Christian alone does not mean they will automatically win asylum � Merkel has even said that Islam �belongs in Germany� � many hope this will be enough to sway authorities.

None will openly admit converting just for asylum purposes as it could lead to them being deported as Christian coverts, possibly facing the death penalty when they return home.

Martens�s church is now reporting a surge in the congregation from 150 two years ago to more than 600 now. Some of the migrants coming to be converted are travelling from places as far afield as Rostock on the Baltic coast.

There no official figures on how many Muslims have converted to Christianity in Germany over the past few years, and the number is still tiny compared to the country�s four million strong Muslim population. Nonetheless, Martens describes the rate of conversions as a �miracle�.

He also claims to have at least 80 people, mostly migrants, waiting to be baptised.

Zonoobi�s wife Afsaneh, now known as Katarina, said the Christening marks a new beginning.

�Now we are free and can be ourselves,� she said.

�Most important, I am so happy that our children will have a good future here and can get a good education in Germany.�

'To remain Christians, if we can manage...' - Igumen Daniel (Irbits) on the new 'migration of peoples'

We are commanded by Christ in the Gospels to care for the sick, the imprisoned, the displaced, even to love our enemies. The challenge of the mass migrations of Middle Eastern peoples into Europe and Western nations is as much a challenge for us, as Christians, "to remain Christians",  as it is a logistical, cultural and national security challenge for Western governments.

More posts to follow on the Migrant Crisis...


'To remain Christians, if we can manage...'
Igumen Daniel (Irbits) on the new 'migration of peoples'
Interview by Peter Davydov, Pravoslavie � September 14, 2015

The arrival of thousands of refugees, migrants and settlers from Africa and Asia to �the Old World� is already being interpreted by many Europeans as a catastrophe, a curse, and a real challenge not only to the culture, economy, and the Christian faith of the continent (which is still alive, though is becoming very weak), but, therefore, to the very existence of the continent and its native inhabitants. Judging by the comments in the social networks and media reports, an undisguised panic, provoked by the new �Great migration of peoples� has begun. Beyond a doubt, there is a cause for fear and concern. But fear is alien to Christianity. It was not in vain that Christ said these words many times to His disciples: �Do not be afraid!� How not to be afraid, how to remain Christians in these disturbing, alarming times? What should Europe do not to be afraid? Igumen Daniel (Irbits), Abbot of the St. George�s Monastery in G�tschendorf (Brandenburg state, Germany), who is in charge of relations between the Berlin Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church with the German government and the public and is a member of the integration committee at the Federal Office of the Chancellor of Germany, answers these questions in his interview with Pravoslavie.ru.

�Father Daniel, as a person living in Germany do you consider the current influx of refugees to this country and to the whole of Europe a big problem? Or maybe even a danger? If yes, then what, in your view, is this jeopardy connected with and what is causing it?

�It may become a danger, provided that the refugee policy is wrongly pursued. After all, among those who make decisions there are many Christians not in name only, but also true believing Christians. And many people act according to the Christian beliefs, frankly thinking that, whenever aid is needed to people in extremely difficult circumstances of life, it should necessarily be rendered. Christ said, �Give food to the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, give shelter to strangers.� Or are these words of Christ no longer relevant to us? And how to do it competently depends on the professionalism of those who are in charge of this; so to say, ex officio.

The first step that should be taken is the registration of each individual arriving on the territory of Europe; this is important in order to prevent incidents like the one when a crowd of illegal immigrants got to Germany from Hungary.

�Do you believe that Germany will cope with this difficulty�financially, economically, and psychologically?

�I believe Germany has enough wisdom and strength to cope with this issue. With God�s help �since the Lord is always on the side of those who show mercy and give aid where it is needed.

Igumen Daniel (Irbits)

    �How do German people regard this: is the number of refugees, immigrants who are seeking to settle here, a critical one, exceeding the bounds of reason?

�It is not easy to answer this question right now. There are both positive and negative comments on this issue in the internet. I think we will see it with time. But, first and foremost, all depends on the desire of the migrants to integrate into our country�s life. To integrate honestly�not just declaratively, solely for the �cherished� benefits and comfort.

�Aren�t Germans afraid that they may literally �melt� into the total mass of displaced people, thus losing their own identity, which originally had strong Christian roots?

�Those who preserve the traditions of their own culture have nothing to be afraid of. On the contrary, a fine opportunity to show these traditions from their better side and to become an example for many nations arises before them.

�What is the situation with Christianity in today�s Germany, in your judgment? Some people are now raising an alarm, saying that we are witnessing the decline of Christianity in Europe. Is such a phenomenon really taking place in our days?

�Christianity is currently going through a very interesting period: in my view, there is a transition from an outward observance of the tradition and ritual to a deeper understanding of their inward nature and implementation of this in all the aspects of life. Believe me, there are no fewer genuine Christians in Germany than in other countries with the Christian tradition.

Syrian Refugee Camp

    

�Against the background of the overwhelming majority of Muslim refugees, do German residents make any distinctions between them (Muslims) and, say, Christians from Syria, or, �the refugees are all alike�?

�I can paraphrase the words of Jesus: everyone is treated by the authorities the same way, and with maximum mercy, regardless of their ethnic and religious background. Among the newcomers there are not only Muslims, but also Christians, including Orthodox Christians.

�In your opinion, is the Orthodox Church in Germany capable of contributing to the improvement of the present situation in some way?

�Yes, we will do all we can. For example, early in September I had a meeting with a member of Bundestag Jens K�ppen at my monastery, where we also discussed the issues surrounding the Christian refugees from Syria.

At the present time, I cannot publicly share the details of our conversation, but I can say that we are willing to help them at any moment.

I am firmly convinced: if only we remain Christians, we will be able to save Europe. If we succeed in this, then even the influx of migrants may become a kind of a mission. If we can manage�

Peter Davydov spoke with Igumen Daniel (Irbits)
Translation by Dmitry Lapa,

Pravoslavie.ru

14 / 09 / 2015

Sectsploitation: How to Win Hearts and Minds in the Islamic World

This 2009 article, though dated in terms of current events, is very helpful in setting forth the variegated landscape of Islam, and what that might portend for the Western response to the global jihad. Christians will acquire a more well-rounded understanding of the various sects of Islam by familiarizing themselves with this article.

by Timothy R. Furnish, PhD, History News Network, May 31, 2009

Mr. Furnish�s doctorate is in Islamic history, he works as an author and consultant, and his website is www.mahdiwatch.org

A rational discussion of Islam�s causal role in American �overseas contingency operations��the erstwhile �global war on terror�--or the multitude of �man-made disasters� besetting the modern world has become almost impossible in the current hyper-partisan American political climate. 

Many on the Left, who can�t be bothered to actually read a Qur�an, remain blindly convinced that there is nothing intrinsically violent in literalist Islam;[1] that all religions are equally peaceful (except perhaps for Christianity); and that the violent legions around the world engaged in decapitation, assassination and detonation in emulation of Muhammad are actually, unbeknownst even to themselves, motivated rather by something, anything, else: alienation, victimization, anti-Americanism, lack of education, etc. Some on the Left�such as candidate, if not President, Barack Obama�even continue clinging to the myth that �poverty causes Islamic terrorism,�[2] empirical data be damned. 

Too many on the Right, on the other hand, assume that the history of Islam is coterminous with a history of violence; that the only Muslims that matter are fundamentalist Sunnis motivated by death, domination and the pursuit of houris; and that while there may be a demographic sliver of moderate Muslims, there is no such thing as moderate Islam.[3]

Both are wrong.

President Obama, two months ago, told the New York Times that �the American military would reach out to moderate elements of the Taliban.�[4] In the same interview, the President explained further that �If you talk to General Petraeus�part of the success in Iraq involved reaching out to people that we would consider to be Islamic fundamentalists.� Leaving aside some rather crucial issues (whether the successful �surge� strategy can be translated directly to Afghanistan;[5] the questionable reduction of Sunni shaykhs in Iraq to mere Islamic fundamentalists; and the misconception that such a thing as a �moderate Taliban� actually exists), the Obama administration is nonetheless on the right track (as was that of Bush, albeit more publicly vocal) in its search for non-jihadist Muslims. In this vein, next month the President will deliver a major speech in Egypt, �seeking to strengthen U.S. relations with the Islamic world and fight extremism.�[6] One key to doing the former is to acknowledge that the Islamic world does have a long theological and historical strain of the latter--based largely on a literal reading of the Qur�an and the Hadiths (alleged practices and sayings of Muhammad)�as well as to identify, contact and support moderate branches of Islam.

Islam is not necessarily literally violent, but much if not most of the time literal Islam IS violent. How could it not be? Sura al-Nisa�[4]:34ff says �those wives from whom you fear rebellion�.beat them.� Sura Muhammad [47]:3ff and Sura al-Anfal [8]:12ff say �when you encounter the unbelievers on the battlefield, strike off their heads.� Sura al-`Imran[3]:157ff says �If you should die or be slain in the cause of God�before Him you shall be gathered.� Five different sections of the Qur�an promise �dark-eyed� huris, �bashful virgins whom neither man nor jinn will have touched,�[7] to those who die fighting on Allah�s behalf.

Of course, taken literally the Bible�at least the Old Testament�could promote violence: for example Deuteronomy 7:1ff tells the Hebrews not only to avoid intermarrying with the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, etc., but to �tear down their altars� and �utterly destroy them.� But modern Jewish rabbis and Israeli politicians do not cite such passages to justify violence, not just because these ancient peoples no longer exist but because a literal reading of such verses is no longer accepted, either in scholarship or in the popular mind.

As for the New Testament, it�s impossible to read it literally and condone violence. Matthew 26:52 says Jesus told Peter �put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword.� Furthermore, Jesus told his followers to �love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.�[8] The Crusades and the Inquisition were rejections of Jesus� teachings, not fulfillment of them�which is exactly the opposite of the case with Muhammad and jihad. However, there are New Testament passages that, taken literally, are problematic: for example, in Luke 10:19 Jesus told the 70 that �I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions�and nothing will injure you.� There are some tiny Christian denominations that encourage taking these passages literally, even going so far as to handle poisonous snakes during services.[9] But the vast majority of Christians�courtesy of several centuries of Biblical criticism, not to mention application of simple common sense�can put those passages in exegetical and historical context, realizing that what was true for the 12 Apostles and the 70 Disciples two millennia ago, not to mention Jesus Himself, is NOT necessarily binding on us today. Christianity, like Judaism, long ago developed a non-literalist exegetical paradigm, which is adhered to by a majority within each religion.[10]

The same is not true of mainstream Sunni Islam, which makes up some 87% of the world�s 1.5 billion Muslim population. In that majority Muslim community, �the doctrine of taqlid, of adherence to a given legal madhhab,[11] was elaborated into the doctrine that the �gates of ijtihad�[12]�had closed in the ninth century� [C.E.].[13] This meant that"the right of ijtihad" -- independent religion-legal reasoning -- was replaced by the duty of taqlid or �imitation.� Henceforth every jurist was an �imitator� (muqallid) bound to accept and follow the doctrine established by his predecessors.�[14] Original ideas about interpretation of the Qur�an were forbidden; only slavish imitation of early Muslim commentators, literalists all, was�and still is, technically�allowed. Thus, a Sunni Muslim confronted with the clear Qur�anic mandate of beheading for infidels on the battlefield cannot advance exegetical arguments that the passage 1) applied only in Muhammad�s time or 2) today is to be read metaphorically as �apologetic decapitation� or the like. The Qur�an reports, you do not get to decide. The ancient school of Mu`tazilism, which did briefly allow for non-literalism regarding the Qur�an, was stamped out in Sunnism.

But while this is the sitation within Sunni Islam, it is not necessarily true within non-Sunni Muslim denominations and sects. Islam is far more variegated than simply Sunnis and Shi`is. There are at least three major divisions of Shi`i Muslims, the largest of which is the Ithna`ashariyah, or �Twelvers,� of Iran, Iraq and Iraq (the others are the Ismai�ilis and the Zaydis), so called because they believe there have been only 12 Imams, or legitimate leaders of the Islamic world, since Muhammad (and that the 12th one, who disappeared in the 9th century C.E., did not die but will return as the eschatological Mahdi).

Because of the Islamic Republic of Iran�s general opposition to the U.S. on the world stage for the last quarter-century�epitomized by the Ayatollah Khomeini�s regime holding Americans hostage for 444 days, and reinforced by President Ahmadinejad�s Holocaust-denying and apocalyptic threats against Israel�many Americans (to include political analysts) lump Twelver Shi`is into the category of �Islamic fundamentalists.� However, Twelvers are anything but fundamentalist, since �Islamic Shi`ite jurisprudence [has been kept] alive and fresh throughout the ages� by �individuals who continuously follow the path of independent judgment, ijtihad�.�[15] One example of Shi`i new religion-political thinking is the concept of vilayet-i faqih, �Rule of the Jurisprudent,� which Khomeini developed to put the Twelver clerics in guardanship over the state until the coming of the Mahdi. One may say many things about this political ideology, but it is certainly something new under the sun�quite the opposite of Sunni-style taqlid. And if Twelver Shi`ism allows for new religion-political dispensations that are oppressive and inimical to non-Muslims, it also arguably holds the potential for developing other ideas that are opposed to the literalistic reading of the Qur�an regnant in Sunni circles. Last year, while at the Mahdism Conference in Tehran, I was discussing, with a researcher from the Bright Future Institute (the Iranian quasi-governmental entity which sponsored the conference), the interpretation of the violent passages of the Qur�an. When he told me the jihad passages were not to be taken literally, I replied (somewhat tongue-in-cheek), �but that�s not what the Salafists[16] say.� He replied, somewhat haughtily, �I am talking about TRUE Muslim interpretation.�

While the reformist potential of Twelver Shi`ism remains largely latent, another branch of Shi`ism long ago manifested it. The Isma�ilis, or �Seveners,�[17] started out as a violent, revolutionary brand of Shi`ism some 1100 years ago�in fact, one of their branches was the �Assassins��and evolved into a quietist, mystical form of Islam that teaches the necessity to �enable the believers to go beyond the apparent or outward form of the revelation in search of its spirituality and intellect.�[18]  Numbering perhaps 15 million worldwide, the Isma�ilis are headed by the Aga Khan and comprise substantial communities in South Asia (India and Pakistan), East Africa/Yemen, Europe and Canada. Their focus on the batini, �hidden,� meaning of the Qur�an and Islam over against the zahiri, �apparent,� one has enabled them, for example, to adopt a view of jihad in which its primary components are �microfinance, rural development, disaster reduction, the promotion of private-sector enterprise and the revitalisation of historic cities�[19] rather than IEDs, flogging of women and other violent expressions of jihad. One might think Isma�ili communities in Pakistan and Yemen could serve as legitimately Muslim intellectual and social counterweights to the al-Qa`idah types.

On the margins of Shi`i theology and practice are the Alawis of Syria and Lebanon. They make up some 10% of Syria�s population but run the country since both Presidents al-Assad�Hafiz and Bashar�have been Alawi, as is the bulk of the military and intelligence services. The Alawis began over a millennium ago as a Shi`i sect but as the centuries passed developed such heterodox beliefs and practices�divinization of Ali, the first Imam; reincarnation; non-utilization of mosques; drinking of wine�that as long as 700 years ago the famous Sunni cleric Ibn Taymiyah issued fatwas denouncing the Alawis as apostates whom it was lawful to kill.[20]

Because of the political considerations of the al-Assads, Syria under Alawi rule has allied itself with Twelver Shi`i Iran and this has reinforced Alawism�s position as a non-Sunni-fundamentalist, pseudo-Shi`i Islamic cult in which ijtihad is allowed to exist. Despite Damascus� geopolitical obstreperousness from an American (and certainly Israeli) point of view, one positive aspect of Alawi rule is its decidedly anti-jihadist position; in fact, Hafiz al-Assad crushed the Muslim Brotherhood in the early 1980s, and to this day Alawi Syria remains theologically, if not always politically, opposed to militant Sunnism. Were Syria to adopt a less confrontational stance toward its fellow Arab states like Egypt and Jordan, it might be possible for Alawi Arab Syria to serve as an ecumenical bridgehead between those states and the ijtihadistic Islamic Republic of Iran.

Alternatively, Syria�unlike the other two majority-Muslim states on the U.S. State Department�s terrorism sponsors list, Iran and Sudan�is ruled not by its majority (Syria is 75% Sunni Muslim) but by a small, heretical minority, a situation that might very well make for successful religious destabilization operations against Damascus, should the U.S. decide to go that route by, for example, building on the aformentioned Ibn Taymiyah fulminations. The Egyptians, for one, are fed up with what they see as Syrian and Iranian support for Hizbullah cells in their country.[21] How hard would it be for the Obama Administration to persuade the Egyptian government to have al-Azhar, the preeminent seat of Sunni Muslim scholarship, issue new fatwas underlining the non-Islamic nature of the Alawi regime and calling on the Sunni majority to rise up against it?

The fact that the Islamic world is divided into sects offers the West in general and the U.S. in particular a myriad of opportunities to both empower friends and punish enemies. And lest anyone wax too indignant about such imperial meddling by a Christian power in the Islamic world, know that the Muslim Ottoman Empire did exactly the same during the Reformation in Europe. No sooner were Luther�s 95 Theses fluttering in the wind on the Wittenberg church door than the Ottoman Sultan �was aware of and exploited this tear in the fabric of Christendom,� playing off the German Protestant rulers against their own overlord, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and urging them to ally with the French.[22]

Many other Islamic sects could be proffered as moderate�that is, non-literalist regarding the Qur�an�alternatives to Sunnism, including the Druze of Lebanon, Zaydis of Yemen, Alevis of Turkey and the Ibadis of Oman. But the major para-Islamic grouping that has been put forward as a collective alternative to both militant Sunnism and Iranian Shi`ism is Sufism, Islamic mysticism, most notably by Stephen Schwartz.[23]

Sufi orders developed early in Islamic history, similar to mystical movements in Judaism and Christianity, out of a dissatisfaction with mere adherence to Islamic law as a path to Allah and a desire to experience the Divine directly, usually through intensive prayer. Dozens, if not hundreds, of Sufi orders sprang up and many still exist, most notably the: Naqshabandis of South Asia, Iraq and Syria; Qadiris and Tijanis of West Africa; Bektashis of Turkey and the Balkans; Chishtis of India; Salihis of East Africa; etc. While no exact enumeration of their adherents has been done, a conservative estimate is that they number at least 45 million.[24] Schwartz maintains that �Sufis can help Islam and the world by tenaciously maintaining their attitudes of independence, pluralism, [and] respect for other faiths�.�[25] But while he also admits that there have been �many incidents of brutality against Sufis,�[26] he glosses over�indeed, largely ignores�the examples in Islamic history of Sufi-led and �staffed violence against other Muslims (and Christians, and Hindus, and Sikhs, and�.) over 14 centuries of Islamic history, the most notable of which include: Sayyid Muhammad Jawnpuri, a Chishti Sufi, whose Mahdavis of 15th century CE fought the Gujarat ruler; Sayyid Ahmad Barelwi,[27] a Naqshbandi Sufi, leader of an anti-Sikh and anti-British jihad in 19th century India; Muhammad Ahmad, a Sammani Sufi who led a massive Mahdist jihad against the Ottomans, Egyptians and British and by 1885 took over Sudan; Imam Shamil, the leader of several 19th century North Caucasus jihads against the Russians, who was a Naqshabandi; the �Mad Mullah� of Somalia, Muhammad bin `Abd Allah, a Salihi Sufi who led revolts against the Italians and British until his death in 1920.

Sufism particularly in the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as the early 20th, provided a ready-made organization and ideology which could all too often be put at the disposal of a charismatic Sufi shaykh convinced that he was on a mission from God. Indeed, this brand of Sufism has not totally dissipated, for earlier this year Naqshabandis from Iraq met the head of Hamas and provided him both ideological finanical support.[28]

But if Schwartz downplays the latent militancy of Sufism, he is exactly right that many Sufi orders and their members are opposed to jihadist Sunnism, not least because the progenitor of the latter�Muhammad b. `Abd al-Wahhab (d. 1792), founder of the Wahhabi sect of Saudi Arabia�hated the Sufis and his followers down to today largely retain that attitude. Sufis, like the aforementioned Isma�ilis, distinguish between the literal words of the Qur�an and their intrinsic meaning. As an example of how Sufi Islam can serve as a de facto ally in the war against jihadists, look no further than Somalia, where the Sufi umbrella group Ahl al-Sunnah wa-al-Jama`ah recently came out in support of the Mogadishu government of Shaykh Sharif Ahmad over against the jihadist threat from the al-Shabab organization.[29] Sufis may not pave the road to global harmony, but they certainly present�to paraphrase Margaret Thatcher�s line about Mikhail Gorbachev��an Islam we can do business with.�

Combining the three branches of Islam explicated in this paper (Isma�ilis, Alawis and Sufis) with the ones mentioned in passing (Druze, Zaydis, Alevis, Ibadis) and neo-Sufi, modernist groups such as the increasingly influential G�len movement of Turkey, we arrive at a figure of some 90-100 million adherents. This constitutes some 7 or 8% of the world Muslim population�admittedly, a small percentage but a figure probably equal to the hardcore Sunni jihadist ranks. (Add in the Twelver Shi`is and the figure doubles.) This is certainly a large enough slice of the global Muslim demographic pie to to have an effect, were their ideas to gain more prominence and traction in the global ummah (community), in undercutting fundamentalist Sunnism�s claim to sole legitimacy and providing ammunition to those who claim that Islam has been �hijacked� by such Sunnis. Sunni Muslims, by and large, are prohibited from, or simply scared of, telling the Taliban of the world that the very real violent injunctions of the Qur�an do not have to be taken literally. Were the Aga Khan, or Shaykh Hisham Kabbani,[30] to stand up next to President Obama and tell the mullahs of Swat that their wooden Qur�anic literalism was not only dangerous but wrong, we�d know the President had found the true moderate Muslims whom he seeks. And we�d all be the better for it.

NOTES:

[1] One of the foremost purveyors of this ahistorical view is Karen Armstrong (http://www.time.com). But, hard as it is to believe, former President George W. Bush publicly agreed with such sentiments (http://www.jihadwatch.org).

2]http://frontpagemagazine.com.

[3] This view is espoused by anti-jihadists such as Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Dutch legislator Geert Wilders.

[4]http://www.nytimes.com

[5] Three major differences between Iraq and Afghanistan that might affect the translation of the surge policy are: the latter has a much greater rural/urban population, a much less educated populace, and�most importantly�a large Sunni majority, whence springs the fundamentalist Sunni Taliban (whereas Iraq is 65% Shi`i, a branch not known for its dedication to violent Islam in the same fashion as fundamentalist Sunnism).

[6]http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/

[7] The last line, specifically, is from Sura al-Rahman[55]:36ff; the other references are found in Sura al-Naba�[78]:17ff, Sura al-Dukhan [44]:41ff, Sura al-Waqi�ah[56]:8ff and Sura al-Tur[52]:2ff,

[8] Matthew 5:44

[9] In fact, the father of one of my high school friends in Kentucky in the 1970s belonged to such a denomination, and he died from just such a snake bite.

[10] According to sources such as the 2007 �Time Almanac,� and www.adherents.com, Christians number some 2.1 billion, of which a majority consists of non-literalist/fundamentalist churches such as Roman Catholicism (1.1 billion), Eastern Orthodoxy (225 million), Anglicanism (77 million), Lutheranism (66 million), and many other denominations with membership in the low millions each. Biblical literalists of the �fundamentalist� Protestant variety (Southern Baptists, Assemblies of God, etc.) are large in real numbers but, world-wide, comprise a minority of the world�s Christian population. Of course, Biblical literalism exists within most, if not all, denominations�but by-and-large it predominates within those Protestant ones that adhere strictly to the concept of sola Scriptura much more than it does where Tradition is accorded a role alongside the Bible. As for Judaism, of the three major branches of the religion�Orthodox, Conservative and Reform�only the Orthodox still adhere to a literal reading of the Hebrew Scriptures, and they make up somewhere between 1/3 and less than � of the world�s Jewish population: http://www.jcpa.org. And yes, while there are other factors that determine whether adherents of any particular religion are �moderate� or �extremist,� it is also nonetheless true that Scriptural�Biblical or Qur�anic�literalism is almost certainly the major one and the starting point for analysis.

[11] �School� or �group� of interpretation

[12] �Independent judgment in a legal or theological question�

[13] Marshall G.S. Hodgson, The Venture of Islam, Vol. II: The Expansion of Islam in the Middle Periods (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1974), p. 406

[14] N.J. Coulson, A History of Islamic Law (Edinburgh: University Press, 1964), pp. 80ff.

[15] �Allamah Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Tabataba�I, Shi`ite Islam (Albany: SUNY Press, 1975), Seyyed Hossein Nasr, trans. and ed., p. 104.

[16] �Salafists� are Sunnis who believe in emulation of the �salaf,� �ancestors� of the the Islamic community who lived in Muhammad�s time. They are, in a very real sense, fundamentalists.

[17] So named because they trace the line of legitimate Imams through fewer, and slightly different personages, than do the Twelvers.

[18]http://www.akdn.org

[19]http://www.akdn.org

[20] See Yaron Friedman, �Ibn Taymiyya�s Fatawa against the Nusayri-`Alawi Sect,� Der Islam, 87 (2005), pp. 349-363

[21]http://www.memri.org

[22] Daniel Goffman, The Ottoman Empire and Early Modern Europe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), p. 111

[23] See his book The Other Islam: Sufism and the Road to Global Harmony (New York: Doubleday, 2008), as well as Getting to Know the Sufis,� The Weekly Standard, February 7, 2005: http://www.weeklystandard.com

[24] This is extraplolation based on the reasoning by several Islamic scholars that in the early 20th century Sufis comprised ~3% of the entire Muslim population.

[25]The Other Islam, p. 236

[26]Ibid.

[27] This man and his movement should not be confused with Ahmad Riza Khan Barelwi (d. 1921), founder of a neo-Sufi, anti-Deobandi movement in South Asia.

[28]http://www.memri.org

[29]http://www.voanews.com

[30] Head of the Naqshbandi-Haqqani order in America: http://www.naqshbandi.org/

- See more at: http://historynewsnetwork.org/article/83742#sthash.0mQlM459.dpuf

Raymond Ibrahim: Koran�s Contents � Not Carbon Dating � Cast More Doubt on Islam

"A book that calls for everything ungodly but claims to have been written by God is false on principle.  Carbon dating is irrelevant."


by Raymond Ibrahim, FrontPage Magazine, September 3, 2015

"It�s not the age of the Koran but its contents" which prove Islam is false.

The media is abuzz with news that a portion of the Koran, which Muslims believe was first recited by their prophet, Muhammad, may actually predate Muhammad himself.  Many seem to think that such news will have a large impact on the Muslim world and make Muslims rethink the veracity of their faith.

Thus Tom Holland, a British historian, asserts, �It destabilizes, to put it mildly, the idea that we can know anything with certainty about how the Koran emerged.  And that, in turn, has implications for the historicity of Mohammed and his followers.�

A Koranic manuscript consultant at Oxford�s Bodleian Library, Dr. Keith Small, is more emphatic and �told the Times that if the dating is confirmed, as he believed would happen, it could raise serious problems for Islam,� since �This would radically alter the edifice of Islamic tradition.  The history of the rise of Islam in late Near Eastern antiquity would have to be completely revised.�

Nonsense.  This recent discovery, far from threatening �the edifice of Islamic tradition� or �rais[ing] problems for Islam� is currently being used all around the Muslim world in support of Islam, for a number of reasons.

First, the carbon dating is not radically incongruous with Islamic dating.  It indicates that the text was written sometime between 568 and 645.  Muslim tradition holds that Muhammad lived between lived 570 and 632, and that the Koran was collated and finalized around 650.

In other words, if the text was written anytime from 610-645�a full 35 years that fall within the range of the carbon testing�it poses no problems for Islam, for Muslims believe that Muhammad began receiving �revelations� or the ayat that became the verses of the Koran when he was forty.  All it would mean is that, instead of believing that the Koran was collated in 650, portions of it were written down a few years earlier.

Hardly a thing to rock the faith of most Muslims.

In fact, there is very little that Western scholars and scientists can do or say about Islam that would have much influence on the Islamic mindset.  The fact is, over centuries, lots of things have emerged that should put the veracity of the Koran and Islam to the test�whether the plausible suggestion that Muhammad never existed, certainly not the Muhammad of Islamic tradition, or whether the fact that the Koran, which says of itself that it is written in �pure Arabic� (see 12:2, 13: 37), has several Syro-Aramaic words in it.  Or perhaps that the Koran says, very literally, that the sun sets in a pool of dark mud (18:86).

Science doesn�t hold much weight with the modern Islamic mindset�not when it contradicts the Koran.  The earth is round?  So say the lying infidels, responded the late Saudi grand mufti, Bin Baz: if the Koran says the earth is flat (88:20), the earth is flat!

Interestingly, even in the West, if people come to believe that the Koran predates Muhammad, it won�t matter much: we will still be told to respect Islam since Muslims believe it.  Whether one rejects the prophethood of Muhammad�the definition of a non-Muslim�or whether one rejects traditional Islamic chronology it�s the same conclusion: Islam is a false religion.

The problem here is that we are dealing with reciprocal projection�the Western mentality projecting its onetime appreciation for reason onto Muslims, and the Muslim mentality projecting its own subversive methods onto the Other, the Infidel, the sworn enemy.  Westerners may think this will have an impact on Muslim faith because they know it would have an impact on their own. Conversely, Muslims, who from the start have built their faith on casting doubt and aspersions on the faiths of others, are convinced that any Western claim, scientific or otherwise, that casts doubts on the origins of Islam is merely the latest infidel conspiracy.

After all, was it not Muhammad himself who taught that the texts of Judaism and Christianity�the Bible�are corrupt and fraudulent.  Is it not obvious, Muslims are thinking, that the infidels will turn this argument on us by saying the Koran is of dubious authenticity?

If reason was a cornerstone of Islamic thinking�it was laid in its grave by the ulema in the 10th century�Muslims would have lost faith in Islam a long time ago (many have and do but remain nominal Muslims due to fears of the apostasy penalty).

Meanwhile, it�s not the age of the Koran but its contents that speak against its veracity.

A book that calls for savagely killing all who do not submit to its authority; that calls for beheadings, crucifixions, and mutilations; that justifies theft, extortion, and the sexual enslavement of �infidel� women and children; a book that calls for everything ungodly but claims to have been written by God is false on principle.  Carbon dating is irrelevant.

But of course, while Western academics, politicians, and media can openly discuss this issue of the Koran�s dating�after all, it�s �scientific��criticizing the Koran from a moral point of view, which is what�s needed here, remains unthinkable (remember: morality is relative in the West).

And so, when all is said and done, the mantra that �Islam is peace� will continue to be chanted mindlessly in the West.

Pakistan: Christian Flood Victims Forced to Renounce Jesus Christ, Become Slaves to Muslims or Die

Sharia applied to disaster relief for Christians in the Muslim country of Pakistan: 

"More than 60 Christian families in the western Pakistani region of Kasur lost their homes and all worldly possessions when the deluge hit this summer... left to starve if they don't convert to Islam or become modern-day slaves in order to receive help from Muslims or the government..."

by Samuel Smith, Christian Post, via Pravoslavie, August 26, 2015

As torrential flooding spanned across various regions of Pakistan this summer and washed away thousands of homes, Christians in Kasur have received very little humanitarian aid and have been left to starve if they don't convert to Islam or become modern-day slaves in order to receive help from Muslims or the government.

Wilson Chowdhry, the president of the British Pakistani Christian Association, told The Christian Post that there are more than 60 Christian families in the western Pakistani region of Kasur that have lost their homes and all worldly possessions when the deluge hit this summer and washed their mud homes and everything inside them away.

While Muslims in the region have benefited from temporary shelter, clean water and food provided by Pakistani government agencies and Muslim charities, Christians have largely been without those bare necessities and medication needed to fight illnesses that can occur after flooding.

Chowdhry explained that some Muslim charities are giving Christians the option to convert to Islam and renounce Jesus if they want to receive help.

"We are are aware that this community has previously been offered aid from Muslim charities if they convert but they never accept conversion. They hold strong to their faith. They believe God will be their provider," Chowdhry explained. "These families have literally been struggling without food. Churches have opened up their doors but can't provide them much aid because the churches themselves in the region are struggling. We are talking about a very rural part of Pakistan."

Chowdhry added that as desperation started to get the best of the Christian population in Kasur, many Kasur Christians ended up signing bonded labor contracts in order to receive aid from Muslim landlords before BPCA arrived in the region.

"We have come in very late. We first went to Layyah and Gilgit, but if we could have arrived [in Kasur] seven days earlier, there could have been more lives that we potentially could have saved from this modern-day slavery," Chowdhry said. "Several families have already now signed contracts, which has now made them slaves for their Muslim landlords."

Although the flooding hit other regions like Layyah and Gilgit, Chowdhry stated that through "the grace of God," Christians in those areas were "unaffected" by the flooding. After BPCA officer Naveed Aziz visited Christians in Layyah and Gilgit, he then made his way to Kasur where he noticed that Christians in that region were not as fortunate.

"I was shocked at the immense devastation before me it was a lot to take in," Aziz said in a statement. "People are in real desperation and children are starving. I am surprised and shocked at the lack of help from Pakistani authorities."

As flooding has become a consistent problem for Pakistan over the last five years, Chowdhry said it "is not unusual" for the government to overlook helping the Christian communities.

"When it comes to flooding of Christian communities, the government seems to back away. Whereas with Muslim communities, they go straight in there, so do the Muslim charities," Chowdhry said. "Muslim charities depend upon their Muslim supporters for their donations to continue. So, helping Muslims helps support their particular group and the publicity that it generates for them."

The BPCA will aid 60 Christian families from two different Christian communities in Kasur. BPCA will provide basic food items like rice, flour and curry to help prevent those communities from starving. Additionally, the BPCA will provide medication for Dengue fever.

"I'm sure there is more, but these are the 60 families that we are going to be able to help. Anything larger scale than that, we are going to need to have a lot more resources," Chowdhry asserted. "They will literally be eating bread for the duration of the time that we are helping. That's what we can provide. It is a very basic but healthy enough to help them continue in the sustenance they need."

With donations from an unnamed African church, BPCA also plans to build three water pumps in the region to help get those communities access to fresh drinking water.

BPCA would love to provide more for the distressed community in Kasur, but only has enough funds to provide what little the organization can. BPCA started a fundraising effort to help Christian flood victims, however, the effort has only raised the equivalent of $392.

"To be honest with you, Christians and their lack of support, its very frustrating," Chowdhry admitted. "We do what little we can with the donations that are coming through. We are giving very basic meals at the moment. Luckily, we have the funding for the pumps from another group. People really need to dig down."

"In Matthew 25:40, which goes something like the King will say, 'When you have done it for the least of these, my brothers and sisters, you are doing it me,'" Chowdhry recited. "People need to kind of reflect on that, as Christians we need to help the needy."

Chowdhry is also calling on the Pakistani government to stop ignoring the Christian community and put in place infrastructure that will help limit damage caused by flooding.

"Our dams are outdated. There needs to be more dams restored. They need to be larger-size dams, those that would work more efficiently," Chowdhry argued. "In tandem with this, there has to be a more coordinated approach toward the damn [sic] infrastructure with India."

Islamic texts justify sex slavery

Perhaps you have seen the important NY Times article which has gone viral this week: 'ISIS Enshrines a Theology of Rape'. To those unfamiliar with Islamic history or jurisprudence, the revelations in the landmark article are shocking, mind-blowing. But to those of us who have been studying Islam for at least a little while, the NY Times piece seems long overdue.

Following my recent post of the article by Fr George Maximov, 'Women Saints Who Suffered Under Islam', I was thinking of doing some followup posts on the theme of Islam's treatment of women. First in the series has to be the below excellent article by Robert Spencer, in which he comments on the NY Times article and expounds on the theological foundations of sex slavery in the Quran and the example of Muhammad.

Why should Christians be made aware of this satanic component of Islam?

1) To shine light into the darkness, and expose the lie that the "god" of Islam is the same as the True God revealed to the world in the Person of Jesus Christ;

2) To wake up well intentioned but uninformed Christians, who have been led to believe that Islam is basically "almost the same" as Christianity. One Orthodox hierarch in the Middle East openly teaches that "if you are a Christian and you know a lot about Islam and love what you know, your heart will embrace the Muslims around you and if you are educated, you will hold in esteem much from their religion and openly recognize the truth that is in their religion." This kind of thinking is the leaven of apostasy;

3) To equip Christians to refute Muslim preachers and proselytizers, so instead of being silent before them, Christians may point out to them the errors in their beliefs, and hopefully, by God's grace, lead them to repent, that, as St Silouan prayed for the peoples of the whole world, "they may come to know Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit."

�He Said That Raping Me Is His Prayer to God�

It must be faced: in Islamic texts and teachings, the theological basis for this horror exists.

by Robert Spencer, PJ Media � April 14, 2015

There have been reports of hundreds of Yazidi women and children being sold at jihadi slave markets. In this picture a displaced Yazidi girl takes shelter at a school in Dahuk - See more at: http://en.alalam.ir/news/1645633#sthash.NqKlikgm.dpuf

�He told me that according to Islam he is allowed to rape an unbeliever. He said that by raping me, he is drawing closer to God. � He said that raping me is his prayer to God.�

These extraordinary statements come from girls who were kept as sex slaves by jihadis of the Islamic State, as reported in a lengthy and revealing New York Times piece that was published Thursday.

Not only does the piece illustrate the horrifying ordeal that Yazidi and other non-Muslim women endure at the hands of the Islamic State when they are forced into sexual slavery, but � most surprisingly � the article explains in detail how these monsters believe they are pleasing their bloodthirsty god by destroying these girls.

Reported the Times� Rukmini Callimachi:

In the moments before he raped the 12-year-old girl, the Islamic State fighter took the time to explain that what he was about to do was not a sin. Because the preteen girl practiced a religion other than Islam, the Quran not only gave him the right to rape her � it condoned and encouraged it, he insisted.

Both before and after he raped her, he prostrated himself in Islamic prayer:

�He told me,� the girl recounted, �that according to Islam he is allowed to rape an unbeliever. He said that by raping me, he is drawing closer to God.�

This was no isolated incident. A fifteen-year-old girl who had been forced into sex slavery recalled:

�He kept telling me this is ibadah� � that is, worship of Allah. �He said that raping me is his prayer to God. I said to him, �What you�re doing to me is wrong, and it will not bring you closer to God.� And he said, �No, it�s allowed. It�s halal.��

All this is reminiscent of Hamas� statement:

�Killing Jews is worship that draws us closer to God.�

What kind of god is this?

What kind of moral blindness has overtaken non-Muslim leaders? They sit and drink tea and �dialogue� with Muslim clerics while being careful to avoid mention of anything like this � if they�re even aware of it at all � much less ask them what they�re doing to combat within Muslim communities the theological basis for sex slavery.

It must be faced: in Islamic texts and teachings, such a theological basis manifestly exists.

The Times quotes Kecia Ali, an academic Islamic apologist at Boston University:

In the milieu in which the Quran arose, there was a widespread practice of men having sexual relationships with unfree women.

�Unfree women�: for some reason, Ali doesn�t want to say the word �slave.� She goes on to claim:

[I]t wasn�t a particular religious institution. It was just how people did things.

However � and surprisingly, considering the track record � the Times had the integrity to cite Cole Bunzel of Princeton University. The article noted that Bunzel points out:

[There are] numerous references to the phrase �Those your right hand possesses� in the Quran, which for centuries has been interpreted to mean female slaves. He also points to the corpus of Islamic jurisprudence, which continues into the modern era and which he says includes detailed rules for the treatment of slaves.
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There is a great deal of scripture that sanctions slavery. You can argue that it is no longer relevant and has fallen into abeyance. ISIS would argue that these institutions need to be revived, because that is what the Prophet and his companions did.

Bunzel is right: the seizure of infidel girls and their use as sex slaves is sanctioned in the Qur�an.

According to Islamic law, Muslim men can take �captives of the right hand� (Qur�an 4:3, 4:24, 33:50). The Qur�an says:

O Prophet! We have made lawful to you your wives to whom you have paid their dowries, and those whom your right hand possesses of those whom Allah has given you as spoils of war (33:50).

Qur�an 4:3 and 4:24 extend this privilege to Muslim men in general. The Qur�an says that a man may have sex with his wives and with these slave girls:

The believers must win through, those who humble themselves in their prayers; who avoid vain talk; who are active in deeds of charity; who abstain from sex, except with those joined to them in the marriage bond, or those whom their right hands possess, for they are free from blame. (Qur�an 23:1-6)

The rape of captive women is also sanctioned in Islamic tradition:

Abu Sirma said to Abu Sa�id al Khadri (Allah he pleased with him): O Abu Sa�id, did you hear Allah�s Messenger (may peace be upon him) mentioning al-�azl? He said: Yes, and added: We went out with Allah�s Messenger (may peace be upon him) on the expedition to the Bi�l-Mustaliq and took captive some excellent Arab women; and we desired them, for we were suffering from the absence of our wives, (but at the same time) we also desired ransom for them. 

So we decided to have sexual intercourse with them but by observing �azl (Withdrawing the male sexual organ before emission of semen to avoid conception). But we said: We are doing an act whereas Allah�s Messenger is amongst us; why not ask him? So we asked Allah�s Messenger (may peace be upon him), and he said: It does not matter if you do not do it, for every soul that is to be born up to the Day of Resurrection will be born. (Muslim 3371)

It is also in Islamic law:

When a child or a woman is taken captive, they become slaves by the fact of capture, and the woman�s previous marriage is immediately annulled. (Umdat al-Salik O9.13)

One Islamic State jihadi, when challenged over his sexual abuse of a twelve-year-old girl by a woman who pointed out �she�s just a little girl,� replied:

�No. She�s not a little girl. She�s a slave. And she knows exactly how to have sex. And having sex with her pleases God.�

The savage exploitation of girls and young women is, unfortunately, a cross-cultural phenomenon, but only in Islamic law does it carry divine sanction. Until this is confronted, many, many more young girls� lives will be destroyed at the hands of men who think that in doing so they are bringing a smile to the face of their angry, vengeful, violent god.