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Showing posts with label catholics. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 5, 2018

Islam Is All About Conquering Infidels

Egypt's Al-Azhar Insists on Anti-Semitism

by A. Z. Mohamed
June 5, 2018 at 4:00 am

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/12438/egypt-azhar-antisemitism

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Signed by politicians from the right and left, as well as Jewish, Muslim and Catholic leaders, the declaration asks that "the verses of the Quran calling for the killing and punishment of Jews, Christians and unbelievers be [denounced as] outdated by theological [Islamic] authorities, as were the incoherencies of the Bible and the Catholic anti-Semitism abolished by Vatican II, so that no believer can rely on a sacred text to commit a crime."
"He [Abbas Shoman, Deputy to the Grand Imam of Al Azhar] also asked the signatories of the manifesto to understand that the Quran is the right way and "if they insist on their misguided understanding [of it], they should go to hell with their wrong understanding." — El Masry al Youm, Egyptian daily.
One wonders how, after having been taught Islamic supremacy all their lives, imams could even try to understand such a manifesto. Sheikh Shoman's remarks may just indicate his own indoctrinated anti-Semitism.
Saying that "Islamist violence has nothing to do with Islam" does not make it so. Like or not, it does.

Whether one likes it or not, the image of the Jews depicted and disseminated extensively by Quran is that they are inherently evil and enemies of Islam, enemies of "the religion of truth," and of all Muslims. When anyone, such as a moderate Muslim or non-Muslim, draws attention to this dismaying fact, such as its direct connection to an indoctrinated hatred of "all" Jews, and when anyone calls for a justified examination or reform of these views, he immediately faces accusations of "Islamophobia." He is then overwhelmed by dozens of false rationalizations and supposed justifications in a way that indicates a deeply-rooted avoidance by senior Muslim scholars and institutions -- and even many mainstream Muslims -- of the truth that Quranic verses are full of hatred of Jews. All of the Jews, no exceptions:

Al-Bukhari (3593) and Muslim (2921) narrated from the hadith of Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) say: "The Jews will fight you and you will prevail over them, then a rock will say: 'O Muslim, here is a Jew behind me; kill him.'"
In Saheeh Muslim (2922), it is narrated from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "The Hour will not begin until the Muslims fight the Jews and the Muslims will kill them, until a Jew hides behind a rock or a tree, and the rock or tree will say: O Muslim, O slave of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him. Except the gharqad (a thorny tree), for it is one of the trees of the Jews."

Christians (and all "disbelievers") are not far behind:

"They have certainly disbelieved who say, " Allah is the third of three." And there is no god except one God. And if they do not desist from what they are saying, there will surely afflict the disbelievers among them a painful punishment." (Quran 5:72) Sahih International translation.
"O you who have believed, fight those adjacent to you of the disbelievers and let them find in you harshness. And know that Allah is with the righteous." (Quran 9:123) Sahih International translation.
"O you who have believed, do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies. They are [in fact] allies of one another. And whoever is an ally to them among you – then indeed, he is [one] of them. Indeed, Allah guides not the wrongdoing people." (Quran 5:51) Sahih International translation

It was no wonder, therefore, that Egypt's al-Azhar University, the most influential school of Sunni Islam, was enraged by a call from many intellectuals in France to amend the verses in the Quran that disseminate anti-Semitism and hatred of non-Muslims.

Al Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt. (Image source: Sailko/Wikimedia Commons)

Recently, Al-Azhar condemned an open letter written by co-founder of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, Philippe Val, and signed by more than 250 French politicians and public figures such as former President Nicolas Sarkozy, three former Prime Ministers, elected officials, intellectuals, and artists, calling to reconsider outdated the Quran verses that provoke hatred and killing of Jews and promote anti-Semitism. Twelve members of Charlie Hebdo's staff, including its senior editor-in-chief, Stéphane Charbonnier, were murdered and 11 others injured by three Muslim extremists shouting "Allahu Akbar" ["Allah is the Greatest"], on January 7, 2015.
The new manifesto, "Against New Anti-Semitism," which emphasizes the need for urgent action against the rise of anti-Semitism and recent increase in violent anti-Semitic attacks in France, was published in the newspaper Le Parisien on April 21. "In our recent history, 11 Jews have been murdered -- and some tortured -- by radical Islamists because they were Jewish," the manifesto said.
Signed by politicians from the right and left, as well as Jewish, Muslim and Catholic leaders, the declaration asks that "the verses of the Quran calling for the killing and punishment of Jews, Christians and unbelievers be [denounced as] outdated by theological [Islamic] authorities, as were the incoherencies of the Bible and the Catholic anti-Semitism abolished by Vatican II, so that no believer can rely on a sacred text to commit a crime."
In response to the manifesto, the Deputy to the Grand Imam of al-Azhar, Abbas Shoman, decried any calls for purging or considering obsolete any verses of the Quran and labeled such calls as "absolute ignorance," the Egyptian daily al-Masry al-Youm reported. And in obvious taqiyya (dissimulation), Shoman denied that the Quran contains "any verses that command the killing of anyone that has not committed a crime that necessitates that, such as premeditated murder" and falsely described all "war and killing verses" as calling for justified self-defense and as verses of peace. He also asked the signatories of the manifesto to understand that the Quran is the right way and "if they insist on their misguided understanding [of it], they should go to hell with their wrong understanding." Notably, Sheikh Shoman overlooked that the French manifesto not only talks about the murder and abuse of Jews; it was also talks about the culture of anti-Semitism being promoted by dozens of Quranic verses. One wonders how, after having been taught Islamic supremacy all their lives, imams could even try to understand such a manifesto. Sheikh Shoman's remarks may just indicate his own indoctrinated anti-Semitism.
Islam is not the only religious text that contains violence and anachronistic passages -- a fact highlighted by a few imams such as Tareq Oubrou, imam of the Grand Mosque of the southern city of Bordeaux. Yet, as has been noted elsewhere, Islam is the only remaining religion in which "people still live by" these texts, where violence is divinely sanctioned.
Sheikh Shoman correctly says that Allah loves not the aggressor,

"Fight in the way of Allah those who fight you but do not transgress. Indeed. Allah does not like transgressors." (Quran 2:190) Sahih International translation.

Yet, it has often seemed easy to point to others as aggressors -- whether real or imagined -- to justify a "defensive" response and guarantee that the defense of Islam has been "just." The problem, of course, is that what constitutes an "aggression" is wholly subjective. While everyone has the right to defend oneself if attacked, justifications for what constitutes an attack have ranged from children naming a stuffed teddy bear Muhammad (the teacher, who was British, received death threats and served jail time) in the Sudan, or another teacher, in Spain, who was sued for having discussed ham, a major Spanish export, in class.
The Catholic Church issued a declaration ( November 18, 1964) that unequivocally absolved the Jews of all times -- whether in the era of Jesus or in later days -- from the ancient charge of deicide, which meant abolishing incoherencies of the Bible and traditional Catholic anti-Semitism. Muslims strongly believe that the Quran, which forbids befriending "disbelievers" is the permanent word of Allah, the only God, hasn't and will never be altered or modified and should not be equated with other religious texts have been altered and distorted.

"Let not believers take disbelievers as allies rather than believers." -- Quran 3:28; Sahih International translation.

In an egocentric and deceptive spirit, the "Observatory of Islamophobia," which is affiliated with the Egyptian Dar al-Iftaa (an institution run by al-Azhar scholars and is responsible for issuing fatwas [religious opinions]) denounced the manifesto as hateful and Islamophobic, and claimed it that causes attacks and antagonism against Muslims. The statement deliberately ignores that, according to the manifesto:

"French Jews are 25 times more likely to be attacked than their fellow Muslims. 10% of the Jewish citizens of Ile-de-France -- that is to say about 50,000 people -- were recently forced to move because they were no longer safe in some cities and because their children could not attend public schools anymore."

We will never be able to understand Islamist violence in Europe, the Middle East, and around the world if political and religious leaders -- including al-Azhar and Pope Francis -- insist on saying that Islamist violence has nothing to do with Islam. Saying that "Islamist violence has nothing to do with Islam" does not make it so. Like or not, it does.
As the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, remarked in a November 2016 lecture at the Catholic Institute of Paris, "If we treat religiously-motivated violence solely as a security issue or a political issue, then it will be incredibly difficult -- probably impossible -- to overcome it." The archbishop also insisted that, "Until religious leaders stand up and take responsibility for the actions of those who do things in the name of their religion, we will see no resolution."

A. Z. Mohamed is a Muslim born and raised in the Middle East.

© 2018 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Could This Be A Breakthrough?

A Jewish-Catholic Partnership against Islamist Violence?

by Lawrence A. Franklin
September 26, 2017 at 4:00 am

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11064/jewish-catholic

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The Pope's failure vociferously to denounce Islam-based violence concerns many among both Church hierarchy and lay people.
The pope's statements regarding Islam and his refusal directly to discuss mounting Christian martyrdom in Muslim lands defy credulity. Whether his words are willful blindness, innocent naiveté, or intellectual ignorance of the nature of Islam itself, it is confusing many of the faithful.
One moderate Muslim leader, Yahya Cholil Staquf, head of Indonesia's Nahdlatul Ulama, said that Westerners "should stop pretending that extremism and terrorism have nothing to do with Islam."

The Chief Rabbinates of world Jewry apparently want to partner with the Vatican to combat radical Islam. In a recent letter, they proposed a formal alliance between Judaism and Catholicism, calling "upon the [Catholic] Church to join us in deepening our combat against our generation's new barbarism, namely the radical offshoots of Islam."
This extraordinary alliance would unite Orthodox Jewry and the Holy See against their common enemy, jihadist Islam. The Rabbinates' letter identifies "the very real danger facing many Christians in the Middle East and elsewhere as they are persecuted and menaced by violence and death at the hands of those who invoke God's Name in vain through violence and terror."
The authors of this missive to Pope Francis -- the Chief Rabbinate of Israel (CRI), the Conference of European Rabbis (CER), and the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) -- represent the vast majority of the world's Orthodox Jews. Representatives of Judaism's Conservative and Reform wings did not sign the letter. Seemingly, any successful efforts by the Orthodox community to elicit the support of Conservative and Reform Jewish leaders would further strengthen the initiative's standing in the Vatican.
The Rabbinates chose the 50th anniversary of the Vatican's publication of the Papal Encyclical "Nostra Aetate" ("In Our Time") to launch their appeal. This document revolutionized relations between the Catholic Church and Judaism, as it formally absolved the Jewish people of any responsibility for Christ's crucifixion. Promulgated by Pope Paul VI on October 28, 1965 during the Second Vatican Council, the encyclical declared:

"His (Jesus') passion cannot be charged against all the Jews, without distinction, then alive, nor against the Jews of today. Although the Church is the new people of God, the Jews should not be presented as rejected or accursed by God, as if this followed from the Holy Scriptures."

The rabbis proposed an alliance to fight Islam-inspired anti-Semitic and anti-Christian narratives. The rabbis also praised Pope Francis for his 2015 Apostolic Exhortation "Evangelii Gaudium" ("Joy of the Gospel") as it acknowledges "that God continues to work among the people of the Old Covenant, bringing forth treasures of wisdom which flow from their encounter with His word." In addition, they complimented Francis for his denunciation "of a new, pervasive, even fashionable form of anti-Semitism."
Notably, after these complimentary references, they were silent about the Pope's apparent reluctance publicly to denounce Islamic terrorism. They also did not address his silence about particular passages in the Koran which have fueled both anti-Semitic and anti-Christian atrocities. Denunciations of Jews and Christians are highlighted in the very first chapter (Sura) of the Koran, in a prayer allegedly taught by Allah to his Messenger, Muhammad:

"Guide us on the Straight Path
The way of those upon whom You have bestowed Your Grace
not (the way of) those who have earned Your anger (Jews)
Nor those who went astray (Christians) "
Koran Sura One: Al-Fatihah (The Opening) Verses (Ayat) 6 and 7

Pope Francis has yet to address this reference and the many other denunciations of Jews and Christians in the Koran.
The following examples illustrate Pope Francis's public approach thus far. Avoiding criticism of Islam, he called the Koran "a prophetic book of peace." Also, on a flight back from Poland, he told reporters "It's not right to identify Islam with violence. It's not right and it's not true." More bewildering however, is his comment following the horrific murders at the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris: "in freedom of expression there are limits... you cannot provoke. You cannot insult the faith of others. You cannot make fun of the faith of others."
The Pope's failure vociferously to denounce Islam-based violence concerns many among both Church hierarchy and lay people. Some may wonder what motivates Francis to avoid pointed criticism of the violent excesses committed by the Muslim faithful. Some may also ask why Francis avoids condemning the extremist rhetoric of imams routinely urging attacks against Christians and Jews. The reluctance of Francis to criticize Islamic violence while not hesitating publicly to condemn evil, corruption, and social injustice elsewhere, invites inquiry.
One explanation for the Pope's seeming naïveté about Islam's hostility to Judeo-Christian civilization might be his perception of his role. He may well believe that his mission is to lead all men to Christ. No doubt he also believes that all things are possible in a God-created universe, even the ultimate conversion of Muslims to Christianity. On a human plane, he may understand that there is little hope for the peaceful coexistence of Judaism, Christianity, or secular democracy with Islam. The Church has a long view of the ways God moves in history. In this sense, Catholicism and Islam share a casual view of transient ideologies, governments and nation-states.
Even so, the Pope's statements regarding Islam and his refusal directly to discuss mounting Christian martyrdom in Muslim lands defy credulity. Whether his words are willful blindness, innocent naiveté, or intellectual ignorance of the nature of Islam itself, it is confusing many of the faithful. One moderate Muslim leader, Yahya Cholil Staquf, head of Indonesia's Nahdlatul Ulama, said that Westerners "should stop pretending that extremism and terrorism have nothing to do with Islam."
The Rabbinates' proposal for an alliance will receive a polite hearing, especially by the Vatican's "Commission of the Holy See's Religious Relations with Jews" and "The Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue." As yet, however, there is no sign that Francis will alter his outreach to the Muslim world or become more critical of Islam-based extremism. Another possible reason for the Vatican's reluctance might be its concern for minority Christian populations residing in Muslim-majority countries. Still another might be the Vatican's responsibility to secure Christendom's sacred sites in the Holy Land and to protect Vatican property and financial interests.
Pope Francis is no doubt sensitive to possible Muslim misperceptions about his intentions. The Vatican is not game to rejoin a centuries-old battle against Islamic expansionism. Indeed, Francis would want to avoid repeating the anti-Christian violence that followed Pope Benedict's obscure criticism of Islam. Responding to moderate and extremist indignation at Benedict's having quoted a medieval Christian Emperor's critique of Islam, Muslims killed a nun in Somalia, beheaded a priest in Iraq, and attacked churches in the West Bank.
Francis is also aware of the potential of explosive anti-Christian violence that might follow any cooperative effort by Jews and Catholics to combat Islamist violence. Indeed, Islamic leaders such Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the Muslim Brotherhood's principal theologian with a global Muslim following, called for "Al-Youm Al Ghadah" ("Day of Rage") after Pope Benedict XVI's lecture critical of Islam, that he delivered in Regensburg in 2006.[1]
For Jews, religious or secular, particularly in Europe, a partnership with the Vatican would provide a psychological boost, as many have already fled rising anti-Semitic, Islamist violence.
While the Rabbinates' proposal does not have the public endorsement of secular Jews, there is little doubt that many embrace similar sentiments. The document outlines the threat that both radical secularism and extremist Islam pose to religious liberty and the shared values of Judaism and Christianity. The Symposium on "Anti-Semitism and Minority Rights in the Middle East," sponsored by the Institute for the Study of Global Anti-Semitism and Policy (ISGAP)[2], convened in the Vatican on September 13, 2017, may provide Pope Francis a venue to embrace, or at least mention, this appeal for partnership.
Despite the Vatican's cautious approach to Islam-inspired violence, this unprecedented offer of partnership by Jewish religious leaders must tempt some within the Vatican's hierarchy to consider embracing their initiative. The Church is relieved after finally having purged remnants of anti-Semitism in its midst, in part due to the efforts of Pope John Paul II. It is now proud of its improved relations with official Judaism and the Jewish people.
Catholics, especially those who are minorities in Muslim-majority societies, and some of whom suffer persecution by Islamic militants, would presumably like Francis vigorously to defend their rights. The Vatican may nevertheless continue to mollify Muslim sensitivities, while still hoping to limit ongoing martyrdoms of Christians. This cautious approach is likely to endure until a catastrophic anti-Christian Islam-based atrocity precipitates a rebellion within the Church's hierarchy.

Pictured: Pope Francis visits the Great Synagogue of Rome on January 17, 2016. (Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images)

Dr. Lawrence A. Franklin was the Iran Desk Officer for Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld. He also served on active duty with the U.S. Army and as a Colonel in the Air Force Reserve, where he was a Military Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Israel.

[1] Catastrophic Failure: Blindfolding America in the Face of Jihad by Stephen Coughlin. Center for Security Policy Press: Washington D.C. 2015.
[2] Symposium at the Vatican, "Embargoed Announcement" sent to author by Richard Shonfeld, 7 Sep 2017.

© 2017 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Sunday, January 15, 2017

When A Nation Loses Its Religious Footing, Dangerous Things Can Happen

VIDEOObama: Hanukkah a Reminder Freedom Is a Blessing

Pew Report: Religion Plummeted in America During Obama Era

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by THOMAS D. WILLIAMS, PH.D.12 Jan 20173,055

In a new study of President Obama’s legacy, the Pew Research Center found that religious affiliation and practice dropped off dramatically during his two terms in the White House.

“When it comes to the nation’s religious identity, the biggest trend during Obama’s presidency is the rise of those who claim no religion at all,” Pew notes in a report released this week titled “How America Changed During Barack Obama’s Presidency.”

VIDEOObama: Hanukkah a Reminder Freedom Is a Blessing

When Barack Obama took office, those who identified as atheists or agnostics along with those who said their religion was “nothing in particular” totaled only 16 percent of the U.S. adult population. On leaving office 8 years later, the non-religious in America now make up nearly a quarter of the population.

On the contrary, the percentage of Americans who say they believe in God, consider religion to be very important in their lives, pray daily and attend religious services at least monthly have all dropped during the Obama years, Pew found.

America’s largest religious demographic, those who self-identify as Christians, plunged from 78 percent of the U.S. adult population to 71 percent 8 years later, and the majority of these losses taken place among adults who identify with mainline Protestantism and Catholicism. Evangelical Protestantism along with historically black Christian denominations have remained comparably stable.

During his 8 years as president, Obama nettled religious conservatives over and over with moves that seemed calculated to undermine religious liberty.

According to Tim Schultz, the president of the 1st Amendment Partnership, the Obama administration often viewed religion as an enemy standing in the way of their policy objectives.

“They view religious freedom as a kind of inconvenient speed bump on the way to those objectives in some way,” Schultz said.

Last spring, the Obama administration angered many conservatives with a “Dear Colleague” letter from the Department of Justice and Department of Education mandating that public schools had to allow students to use bathrooms corresponding with their gender identity rather than their biological sex.

The most egregious example of the Obama administration’s hostility to religion was what has been called “Obama’s War Against Little Sisters of the Poor.” The Obama administration claimed it had the power to compel church groups to provide abortion-related products and services, and tried to bully the Little Sisters—an order of Catholic nuns—into offering these services against their beliefs.

But the administration’s antipathy toward religious freedom became more explicit still in a 2016 report by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR) attacking religious liberty as a guise for discrimination.

In the rollout of the report, Obama-appointed chairman, Martin R. Castro, stated that religious liberty was simply a justification for bigotry, prejudice and discrimination.

Castro claimed that the phrases “religious liberty” and “religious freedom” were “code words for discrimination, intolerance, racism, sexism, homophobia, Islamophobia or any form of intolerance.”

The Chairman further declared that “today, as in past, religion is being used as both a weapon and a shield by those seeking to deny others equality.”

“We now see ‘religious liberty’ arguments sneaking their way back into our political and constitutional discourse,” Castro said, “in an effort to undermine the rights of some Americans.”

The USCCR’s report “Peaceful Coexistence: Reconciling Nondiscrimination Principles with Civil Liberties” proposed to examine the various legal and constitutional issues that arise when anti-discrimination laws and religious liberty come into conflict.

In its “Findings and Recommendations,” the report sided firmly with anti-discrimination laws over religious liberty, declaring that civil rights protections ensuring nondiscrimination are of “preeminent importance” in American jurisprudence, whereas religious exemptions “significantly infringe upon these civil rights.”

The Commission also stated that religious exemptions from nondiscrimination laws and policies must be “defined narrowly.”

In its majority statement, the Commissioners warned that threats to civil liberties, “cloaked as ‘religious freedom’ protection bills, are emerging in dozens of states and localities across the nation.”