 |
| (Source Metroploitan Police) |
These Muslim thugs have been convicted after pleading guilty to GBH with intent after battering a Religious Education teacher in the name of their God because he was not a Muslim. This did not take place in an Islamic State but in England.
British Christian MP David Simpson has raised his concern over the treatment of Christians in the United Kingdom and around the world in a debate in the House of Commons this week.
Is anyone listening?
 |
| Sharing Tables event in Shotton, Flintshire |
A group of Christians and Muslims have shared a meal to show "solidarity" in an area that has seen protests about plans for an Islamic cultural centre.
Meanwhile, in Milan, Italy,
No illusions there!
With the best of intentions many Christians in this country are blind to the threat of Islam. Islamists are trying every trick in the book to dominate the world. There is only one way to the Father. We forget it at our peril.
Postscript
Read Voice Of The Copts and their suffering under Islam. Why do we pander to this alien ideology that would see our demise? We must be mad.
Yesterday I referred to reports that militant Islamists in Somalia had agreed to lift restrictions to allow aid to get through to the starving. Not only has this been denied by the rebels but they have even rejected the UN's claim that there is a famine in the region.
How odd, then, that 'Islamic Relief' is not only one of the charities listed on the Disaster Emergency Committee's 'East Africa Crisis Appeal' but the same appeal is an option for giving on their own web site. However, caution is needed in giving directly to Islamic Relief amid reports that little aid if any gets through to non-Muslims.
Updates
A reporthere (with pictures) on the 2.2 million starving Somalis the Islamist militants Al-Shabab claim do not exist. And they want to impose their ideology on the rest of us!!
More here (video)
and here. Better dead than Christian aided apparently.
Finally, an excellent summary of the problemhere - " 'The world should be ashamed' of Somalia crisis", a Today interview with Oxfam's Chief Executive, Dame Barbara Stocking.
Reading a preview of last night's 'The Seeker', part 1 of BBC2's presentationThe Life of Muhammad, I was surprised to read, "Perhaps owing to the sensitivity of the subject matter, the BBC were unable to provide preview tapes of this new three-part series presented by Rageh Omaar (above) which charts the life of Muhammad, messenger and final prophet of God worshipped by a billion-and-a-half Muslims across the globe. (My emphasis).
Messenger and final prophet of God? That bald statement implies a credibility not shared by Christians but how will others interpret it? What was actually said in the programme was that "for one-and-a-half billion Muslims, he is the last and greatest of that long line of prophets who have brought the word of God to humanity." Claimed to be "in the top three of world leaders" who "began a mission to give light to the world", one suicide bomber in the programme was able to claim that his martyrdom was "obedience to the one true god, Allah, following in the footsteps of the final prophet and messenger." It will be interesting to see in the remaining episodes how the prophet Muhammad is presented as "the ultimate role model".
As a Christian I find the implication offensive that Muhammad was the last in a line of Jewish prophets of which Jesus was just another. It was Jesus who said, "I am the light of the world" and "beware of false prophets". But there will be no outcry. No people on the streets. No book burning. That is in line with 'love your enemy' but what is the Anglican Church doing to address these issues? Not a lot. Not for the first time a Jewpoints the way!
St. Peter must be turning in his grave! The closing message of the York Synod is that "the Church of England could be virtually extinct in 20 years as elderly members die". We have also been told that "Christians should learn from Muslims how to exist as a 'minority' culture in British cities dominated by immigrants"!
How does the church hierarchy feel about what they have done? Bending over anyway necessary to accommodate anything but the traditional Christian faith, "feed my sheep" has been replaced by 'shepherd please thyself' as the Anglican church becomes ever more secular by the day. So much for the ordination of women, sexual freedom and all the other politically correct introductions that have relegated traditionalists to the awkward squad.
However bad it looks in England though it is much worse in Wales based on this piece news I received:
"Since Wales has neither a Provincial Episcopal Visitor (PEV) or Provincial Assistant bishop (PAB), and the Mission Society of Saint Wilfrid and Saint Hilda (SSWSH) is based on a society model centred on the PEVs, it would appear that, contrary to the expectations of the remnant Anglo-Catholic faithful who look to Credo Cymru for support, SSWSH will have no mission agenda in Wales. Indeed when asked specifically at a SSWSH gathering to clarify this point it was suggested that SSWSH would only work in the CofE. The liberal Bench of Bishops in Wales are adamant that, being all things to all people, they are able to cater for the diverse needs of their church, so they will not permit the English PEVs to cross the border to administer the sacraments of Confirmation and Ordination. Consequently, there is no episcopal bed rock for the society model in Wales. Those traditionalist Anglicans in Wales who were pinning their hopes on being Credo-SSWSHed had better read the small print; it seems that by not appointing a replacement PAB the Bench have Credo-swotted them!"
Following a recent protest against the closure of a church in the Rhondda, Archbishop Morgan complained that he could be accused of 'being a tyrant'. I have seen no evidence so far that it has previously bothered him. So it is to be lambs to the slaughter rather than feed my sheep. How long I wonder before a bishop recommends paying jizya for the privilege of living among our immigrant population?
One of the images not published in the BBC's gallery ofpictures illustrating events to mark the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 has been published in the Independent.ie showing Islamic extremists shattering the remembrance silence and burning the American flag.
We remember them all , the dozens of innocent Muslims, Christians and people of faith and no faith, murdered by Islamic extremists. Yet they still complain endlessly aboutIslamophobia!
Postscript
I receive daily alerts about supposed examples of 'Islamophobia'. The fifth today was a welcome change. You can read it here in the context of 9/11.
In my youth, our church choir used to sing the last line of each verse of Thy hand, O God, has guided, with great gusto: “one Church, one Faith, one Lord”, lingering lovingly on those last words.
The fifth verse said much:
And we, shall we be faithless?
Shall hearts fail, hands hang down?
Shall we evade the conflict,
and cast away our crown?
Not so: in God’s deep counsels
some better thing is stored:
we will maintain unflinching,
one Church, one Faith, one Lord.
Our church is dying while her leaders play politics. Faith needs to be nurtured; it is much more than a history lesson. Our ministers both sacred and secular must act quickly before it becomes no Church, no faith, one Lord.
http://www.youtube.com/user/Legendry101#p/a/F374EFA5EB9DCAD5/0/WtZ5JrDd8OE
The Church’s one foundation
is Jesus Christ, her Lord;
she is his new creation’
by water and the word;
from heaven he came and sought her
to be his holy bride,
with his own blood he bought her,
and for her life he died.
In some predominately Muslim schools mentioning Jesus is now regarded as unacceptable. The God of Abraham has to be the same God for Jews, Christians and Muslim or there would be three gods so if “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” why do we deny that truth by not proclaiming the Christian message? As another hymn aptly puts it:
Tolerance and understanding are fine but we are not all playing by the same rules. Christianity is being undermined in our own country.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/7805772/Schools-failing-to-teach-children-the-core-beliefs-of-Christianity-says-Ofsted.html
Rather than ‘maintain our church unflinching’, the Anglican church has become irrelevant to most British people except for rites of passage. Ecumenism has given way to inter-faith dialogue while Christians are persecuted abroad. Our tolerance has become our undoing. From The Telegraph: “In non-faith state schools, Christian assemblies are being dropped in favour of multi-faith worship, despite a legal requirement for Christian collective worship, and children are no longer taught the Lord's Prayer” according to an Ofsted report:
But at least one step in the right direction. We must stand up for what we believe, Muslims do.
"As part of Campbell Canada's commitment to diversity and extraordinary, authentic nourishment for all, our selection of Halal-certified products are here to help you meet your Islamic dietary requirements." - Another small step!
In the soup:
POSTSCRIPT
Pass this message to other Christians with the warning of the fate that befalls us if we allow others to impose their will. Spread the Word.
Like most Christians I let the matter rest but after reading the Mail Online article and more unsettling reports of Sharia law ideas of justice, I viewed the video again. Looking for further evidence I have watched reports of children being executed, some for so called homosexuality, one at the age of nine, stoning people to death on trumped up charges and more, all in the name of religion but the most alarming video confirms what is said in Three things about Islam can be viewed it HERE. If you need more click here.
Before the Pope?S visit I received a video clip Three things about Islam which confirmed my impression that inter-faith understanding was a one-way traffic so far as Islam is concerned. Christianity preaches love and forgiveness so when told that Islam is a religion of peace we accept that ?Assurance? From a Christian perspective. Watching the video shows that view to be seriouly mistaken. Conscious of the dangers of accepting one piece of evidence as ?Gospel?, the friend who sent me the link had spoken with ex-Muslim contacts who confirmed the veracity of the views expressed in the video. Islam's idea of peace is 'peace' under Sharia law which would then dominate our lives. Freedom of expression would be what was permitted under the Koran.
I suspect this revelation has been more of a shock to people than the frequent calls to sacrifice our Christian identity for inter-faith understanding. In our increasingly secular society the suggestion scarcely raises an eyebrow when we are told to celebrate CHRISTmas as a winter festival. That is hardly surprising when Christianity in schools has given way to all-faith teaching. That of course changes when the majority of children are Muslims. Christians who protest at the loss of our Christian identity are roundly condemned for their intolerance. It took Pope Benedict XVI during his recent visit to explain the dangers to Parliamentarians meeting in Westminster Hall that ?There are those who argue that the public celebration of festivals such as Christmas should be discouraged, in the questionable belief that it might somehow offend those of other religions or none.?
I am not a Daily Mail reader but I picked up this unsettling piece thanks to Cranmer (see Blog List). How many people in Great Britain, other than Muslims presumably, knew that we were eating meat slaughtered in the name of Allah, that is, animals having had their throats cut and left to bleed to death while ritual prayers are recited? I didn?T nor did many who have said they will vote with their feet and give New Zealand lamb a miss along with any other halal products they can identify. But the persoalan is identifying them. Even the apologists for political correctness must recognise that we have been victims of a subterfuge in the absence of proper labelling.
'The chop' has been in the news in the Netherlands uniting Jews and Muslims in their condemnation of laws which are now expected to ban slaughtering animals for halal and Kosher foods. This video has some exaggerated claims in defence of a system that many regard as cruel and outdated in civilized society.
It is a relief that at long last halal and kosher meat will have to be labelled under new EU rules. For too long we have been duped into buying meat that has been slaughtered in the name of Allah. Ritual circumcision, though not voluntary for an eight-year old, is nevertheless not a custom forced on Christians. Why should Christians and other non-Muslims become involuntary participants in another rite of a minority religion in this country? Ritual slaughter should also be banned in the UK.
The Lord Bishop of Oxford has been looking at figuresagain. Not filling Church of England schools with Muslims this time but looking forward to having the first woman bishop in his county.
He said "I am delighted we have got to this stage. We have had women deacons and priests for the last 17 years and it?S absolutely logical if we have women as deacons and priests we should also be able to have them as bishops." Faith by numbers. The illogical agenda of terbaru bishops which has virtually destroyed the Anglican Church as we knew it has nothing to do with the faith of the early church, tiny, determined, believing in the example set by Christ. It spreads secularism in stages so that it looks perfectly natural. Natural because the church is viewed by most people from a secular perspective seeing people in the workplace with leaders dressed up to give them a stature they would not otherwise enjoy.
"For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" Mark 8:36
Spot the difference?
The second picture is of a Mosque in Woking, Surrey, built in 1889, the first mosque to be built in the UK and Northern Europe. When Conservative Home reported on Saudi Arabia's funding of Islamism in 2006 there were thought to be around 1,600 mosques in Britain. Clicking on 'All towns' in this link now shows 1993 mosques, a 25% increase. Sunderland lists two, Sunderland Masjid and Masjid ibn Taymeeyahwith capacities of 345 and 195 respectively, 'including women' with the note, "The five times daily salaah in congregation in the masjid is enjoined on men, not on women. Women's salaah is expected to be discreet and private and therefore performed at home. About 72% of UK masjids make some provision for women, but many of these do so by allocating space only when specially asked for. Larger purpose-built masjids often have a gallery over the main masjid room, part or all of which is for women's use. (Excerpt from our book, Islam and Muslims in Britain - A Guide.)"
"The former, Millfield Mosque, also know as the Mosque of Sunderland, is illegal. Sunderland City Council has already agreed to sell the disused vehicle depot in St Mark’s Road, Millfield, which is hoped to provide a replacement for the “illegal” mosque operating further up the road. Many residents are furious at the plans, with one claiming Millfield will “end up being Mosquefield” and the council has received 623 letters of objection and a petition bearing 1,462 signatures."All part of the democratic process? Not at all. This is the customary cry of 'Islamophobia!' designed to silence protesters along with critics of the Islamification of Britain and beyond.
Why do we tolerate the Islamification of our country when there are ample reports worldwide which plainly illustrate the Islamic agenda resulting in death and destruction? All mosque building in the UK should be banned at least until there is clear evidence that Muslims accord to Christians and others the same freedoms they demand for themselves.
Update - Report from Iraq: In a country that used to be home to around five million Christians, only 200,000 remain today. Many have fled north to the relative safety of Kurdistan, while others have left the country altogether. [17/01/12]
Postscript
From today's Guardian [16/01/12], 'Sharia law compatible with human rights, argues leading barrister'. Googling 'sharia law sentences' will find plenty of examples to challenge this; there just twohere and here.
The Guardian article ends with the 'Top five sharia myths', the first about amputation claiming that 'Of the world's 50 or so Muslim-majority states, only about half a dozen allow for amputations'. Oh good show, that's OK then - unless your country is one of the half a dozen. Similarly, 'Stoning is mentioned in the Qur'an' with a nuanced denial that victims can contemplate while rocks of just the right size are enthusiastically hurled by those without sin. Again, 'Capital punishment for apostasy is mentioned by the Qur'an' - The Qur'an repeatedly warns believers who abandon their faith that they will have to account to God in the afterlife, but it does not provide for their punishment on earth. It was hadiths that later served to justify the death penalty. So that's OK too, death under hadith not the Qur'an.
I shall not comment on each but I can't ignore 'That suicide bombing is permissible under sharia law' with a duplicitous denial . Go to position 29 on this link for a detailed explanation of this deception. It explains that suicide bombers are regarded as martyrs dying for their cause and earning themselves a place in paradise. Better still, if you haven't already done so, watch the whole video. If you would rather take the article on trust, you should at least watch this video to understand the two faces of Islam.
 |
| Photo: Reuters |
The latest estimate of deaths resulting from bombings by Islamists in Nigeria has risen to 162. Where is the condemnation from Muslims who keep telling us that Islam is a religion of peace. Where are the voices which are quick to cry "Islamophobia!" at every opportunity in furtherance of their Islamist ideology? For those who have taken the trouble to check Islamist claims rather than accept them at face value it is clear that the 'religion of peace' means that there will be "peace" when Islam prevails, that is, on their terms only. Check it out on videohere, or here for a more comprehensive explanation, and read about peace, the 'Christmas spirit and Islam'here.
“The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12: 30-31
Even lapsed Christians tend to think in these terms and assume that others think likewise. The Equality and Human Rights Commission Triennial Review 2010 says that ?Democracy is predicated on the idea that every individual, no matter what their background or personal circumstances, should have an equal opportunity to have a say in decisions about the country?S future.? The dilema facing Christians and other religions is that Islam does not believe in democracy and denies people their basic human rights. Under Article 18 ?Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.? The penalty for converting from Islam is death. How do ?Honour killings? Square with Article 16 on the freedom to marry? There have been calls to allow Sharia law to operate in this country yet it is alien to our culture putting power into the hands of people who would deny others their human rights.
To question such anomalies is met with cries of Islamophobia, racism and bigotry. Political correctness based on Christian values of tolerance (love thy neighbour) encourages well meaning people of other faiths and of no faith to question the motives of those simply seeking the truth by asking questions. The English Defence League is getting a bad press with the usual PC labels attached to them. Most ?Causes? Become infiltrated causing negative effects but one thing is clear, most non-Muslims don?T have the faintest idea of what Islam is about. We tend to think of the Koran as their version of the Bible and we are led to believe that like Christianity it is a religion of peace but that peace is under Islam, not as we know it.
The vast majority of Muslims go about their daily lives peacefully and deplore extremism. The duduk perkara for Christians and those of other religions arises when they become the minority. Then the ?Infidels? Are treated as the second class citizens Muslims believe them to be unless they convert. Hence the Christian exodus from the Middle East which is the subject of the Vatican Synod now in progress. Immigration and high birth rates have seen Islamic communities growing in Non-Muslim countries. This leads to demands for Muslim schools and mosques which build communities within communities instead of integration. The proposed ?Ground Zero? Mosque development has highlighted the issue causing much controversy. If people have legitimate concerns they should be allowed to express their fears without being accused of racism and bigotry. To understand what is happening we need to educate ourselves to take a balanced view of what our greatest war-time leader Churchill, warned us of, that "the civilisation of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilisation of ancient Rome".
The documentary What the West Needs to Know, explains "everything you've always wanted to know about Islam but were afraid to ask. The feature documentary discovers the basis of Muslim violence in the Koran and the life of Muhammad: jihad terror Muhammad Koran Quran Fitna." If you are not willing to devote an hour and a half to the fuller explanation you can get a shorter but incomplete message here.
These videos raise legitimate concerns for Christians putting documented events of discrimination and killings into context which raises the question, Who is my neighbour? Or, more pertinently, What is my neighbour's attitude to me? That must be a legitimate question in a (currently) free society.
From the Vatican Synod today, an interesting report "that Christians are not called to fight against Islam. On the contrary, the interventions by Synod Fathers and Muslim guests expressed the need to work together to stop extremism and ensure full citizenship for Christians in Middle Eastern societiesdanquot;.
In the United Kingdom we know only too well that good intentions can be ruined by a small but ruthless minority. Ultimately, through dialogue, the futility of strife can give way to peace with the unlikeliest of opponents able to share a joke together. For our sins, our troubles were within Christianity. Christians have learnt to live together as have Jews and the desire to live peaceably with Muslims should be just as strong. But we have a conundrum which isn't as obscure as deciding which of two men is telling the truth. If a religion permits deception for its own gain (taqiyya), how are others to assess their claims?
Christians are now a minority in many previously Christian countries. Some estimate that a similar situation will prevail in Great Britain in two generations. So what are we to believe?
Postscript:
There is a helpful video here .
This tiny, carefully constructed island which the warbler calls home has been occupied by a fellow creature which she feeds and cares for as her own. Her inbred instincts of kindness and generosity overwhelm her, completely unaware that the cuckoo in her nest has a wholly different agenda.
The Christian faith which shaped much of our heritage is on the wane but unwittingly its principles still motivate the lives of most people in the British Isles; love thy neighbour, do unto others as you wish to be done by, etc. Familiar Christian landmarks like the vast Cathedral churches struggle on aided by tourism. Smaller churches which were built with their Norman towers in sight of others to warn of invasion still dot the landscape while town and city churches and chapels close, many to become Mosques. And why shouldn?T they people ask? Muslims need somewhere to pray! They ask as though the Muslim call to prayer is simply an expression of a faith which many Christians and other religions have now lost, unaware that it is a completely different religious ideology. They hear talk of peace - but at what price?
Islam is alien to our culture. The Koran is not the same as the Bible. When Muslims talk of peace they mean peace under Islam and Sharia law, not as we know it. Biblical-type argument in which one verse is pitched against another does not exist. In the Koran earlier verses are abrogated by later verses permitting dissemblance and are regarded as commandments. To this aim deception (taqiyya) is not only permitted but encouraged. In religious Islam the objective is clear for those who want to see it. Political Islam is less clear. How much is deception?
There have been warnings in the press of political infiltration but much is ignored in the guise of democratic rights and political correctness. That is a huge mistake. The democratic rights they demand under British law would be denied us under Islam. To allow the spread of a system that seeks to suppress all others is political and religious suicide. If it were a virus there would be health warnings. The fact that it is a religion is worse because people are intimidated against questioning it through fear of being accused of racism yet in Muslim countries Christians are persecuted and driven out. Couldn't happen here? Lebanon used to be a Christian country; it is no longer.
"Church cuts bishops where Muslims outnumber Christians by seven to one" was the headline in The Telegraph yesterday. "In some parishes in the Diocese of Bradford, more than 70% of residents are Muslims, while just 10% are Anglicans."
In 2008 quoting from 'Religious Trends', The Telegraph reported a prediction that "practising Muslims will outnumber worshipping Christians in Britain within 30 years." By 2035, there will be about 1.96 million active Muslims in Britain, compared with 1.63 million church-going Christians. The think-tank warned that 4,000 churches could close by 2020 if congregations continue to shrink at current rates.
The Church of England's Dioceses Commission Report does not suggest closing its cathedrals but the future looks bleak despite their conclusion [12.2] that "It continues to be the vocation of the Church of England to provide a Christian presence in every community.We envisage a structure that would enable the Church of England to engage more coherently with the people and communities of West Yorkshire and the western half of North Yorkshire, and with the institutions of civil society there."
For how long will that policy be sustainable?
Postscript
According to the latest estimates reported in The Telegraph (28 Dec 2010) there are now 2,869,000 Muslims in Britain so there are already 1.24 million more Muslims living here than the 1.63 million church-going Christians quoted above.
In a comment on my previous posttsavogadfly said... "I want the whole world to think about the phrase you put so neatly, regarding the merits of pen versus the sword to express disagreement." The illustration above is one of many which neatly emphasises the problem facing us in the free and democratic society radical Muslims seek to exploit.
The reaction to Baroness Warsi's claims of Islamophobia suggest that we may have reached a watershed. Islam claims special privileges under the cloak of persecution while preaching hatred and supremacy. Why is this tolerated? Previous warnings were ridiculed. Politicians must grasp the nettle before it is too late. The spread of Islam must be stopped to protect our democracy.
According to The Telegraph "A group of influential MPs will tomorrow call for Parliament to intervene over the historic reform as fears grow that the Church will reject plans allowing female bishops." For 'intervene' read 'interfere'. I am not surprised to see Sir Peter Bottomley involved. He lost my respect some time ago but I am disappointed to read that Frank Field has tabled an early day motion, which could abolish the Church's current exemption from equality laws relating to gender discrimination and ultimately force it to consecrate women.
Why is it that MPs tread so softly on the faith of Muslims yet when it comes the Church of England some see the Vicar as someone doing just another job in the workplace? Men and women are equal in the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church but not interchangeable. Faith in Christ's example, the tradition of the church and the overwhelming opinion of Christians is not discrimination. That is something manufactured by Women and the Church (WATCH) to suit their cause. MPs should know better.
I missed the Channel 4 programme,Make Bradford British, but since it has been referred to so many times and debated on the BBC's Question Time I caught up with it on 4OD. There is a Telegraph review here. Reading the review, I see I was not alone in thinking that Rashid, a Muslim former Rugby League player made the biggest impact. The reason being that out of eight people from various backgrounds brought together in an integration experiment he was the least co-operative, not out of malice, but because his religion came first which was clearly disappointing for the others in the house. What put a different complexion on the proceedings was not that Rashid insisted on praying five times a day but that he had to go to the mosque to pray, delaying the dinner he had offered to cook (he eventually went to a take-away) and disrupting the experiment in the process. The reason? In his own words because he would get a lot more blessings and rewards, the reward being '27 to 25 times more' if he prayed in a congregation rather than at home.
For most Christians, buying one's way to paradise is an alien concept, a concept explained here in 'Gather Blessings in the Mosques'. This article stresses that 'praying in the mosque and being attached to the mosque is a very pious and rewardable action gathering rewards and good deeds for the hereafter. God loves and rewards those who find repose and comfort in the mosques. Whoever builds a mosque seeking the pleasure of God, God builds a similar one for him in paradise'.The following paragraph helps to explain the thinking of Muslims and to understand the pressure for more mosques to be built:'There are six places in which a person is guaranteed the safekeeping of God, the Most High, as long as he is in one of them. In a congregational mosque, with a sick person, at a funeral, in his house, with a just ruler whom he supports and treats with respect, or at a place where people are fighting jihad! [my emphasis - Ed].
With almost daily stories of Christian churches being burned to the ground in Islamic states and worshippers murdered or driven out of their homeland it is illuminating toread "Britain is among the safest places for people to worship freely and in peace, an Islamic leader has said at the opening of a new £900,000 mosque in Feltham, west London" despite the constant reports of supposed Islamophobia. There is an interesting juxtaposition between the 'Gather Blessings in the Mosques' article referred to above and anarticle in the Left Foot Forward Blog under the headline 'Warsi’s call for the dominance of Christianity ignores that it’s Islam under threat'. In defence of mosque building, towards the end of the article there is a complaint about a statement in the Telegraph back in 2006:
"the most prominent religious building in the camera shot will not be one of the city’s iconic churches that have shaped the nation’s history, such as St Paul’s Cathedral or Westminster Abbey, but the mega mosque. Its arrival in London will be a significant coup for Islam and a major event for the country as a whole’. However, there was no complaint or even a mention about the introduction to the article where 'Abu Izzadeen, the firebrand Islamist militant, berated John Reid last week for "daring" to visit a Muslim area." Thisa concept that is spreading, a problem which was referred to in the CH4 programme where Bradford City centre was said to be now 95% Asian.
But these double standards are something to which we have become so accustomed that we hardly turn a hair. It was no surprise then that the head of the BBC, Mark Thompson, admitted that 'We’ll mock Jesus but not Mohammed'. Of course if anyone dared to offend Muslims there would be demonstrations and death threats from those who say they are British but Muslimfirst. Theybelieve that 'Mosques are special places filled with blessings and rewards, however, God has conferred a special blessing upon the nation of Muslims, the whole earth has been declared a mosque, so when the time for prayer comes and a believer is unable to pray in congregation in a building he may pray wherever he may be.' Hence the use of surrounding streets to justify more and bigger buildings.
We are surrounded by Islamic symbols be it mosque or Islamic dress and threatened with retribution against perceived threats while Christians are denied the opportunity to express their religion other than in their churches. The authorities pussyfoot around making endless excuses about unrepresentative extremists in apparent ignorance of fundamental Islamic teaching which regards non-Muslims as underdogs in a world that belongs to Allah. In the Question Time programme I referred to above, most speakers uttered the usual bland platitudes about living together apparently unconcerned about David Starkey's complaint that he was the one who would be arrested if he criticised the Quran because it prescribed the death sentence for his homosexuality, one of many Islamic 'sins' attracting the death penalty such as apostasy and blasphemy, often used to oppress Christians, particularly in Pakistan.
Unusual for the BBC, today's Breakfast News reported on the 'divided loyalties' of one million Pakistanis living in Great Britain out of 3.7 million expatriates who are to be given the vote in Pakistan in recognition that 5% of Pakistan's GDP had been sent back by overseas Pakistanis showing “solidarity and integrity of our motherland” despite their country's failure to protect minorities, something they insist on in Great Britain. On top of this comes therevelation that British war graves on the outskirts of Benghazi have been desecrated by Islamist militants and the symbol of Christ's redeeming love, the Cross, attacked with sledge hammers. This after Libyans had pleaded with the West to assist them in their struggle for freedom and theoutrage expressed after burning some copies of the Quran.
No doubt the CH4 experiment will show that multiculturalism can work in a house of eight people designed for the purpose but in the real world, Christianity is suppressed and only Islam is shown any respect, something that our children now pick up in school adding to the impression that in our multi-cultural society, Islam is holy when all the evidence is to the contrary. Apologists for a political ideology that seeks our demise should get their heads out of the sand, look around them and listen to someone with experience.
Much has been written recently about the cross and whether it is appropriate for Christians to wear it as an expression of their faith. At the same time in Afghanistan the cross has been publicly burned by Muslims who complain bitterly about any form of disrespect shown to their own faith.
It seems ironic then that Muslims claim Jesus as one of their own, a prophet referred to in the Quran as well as in the Bible. But that is only part of the story, a story which some years ago was the subject of an ITV programme,The Muslim Jesus. To the casual viewer I imagine the story would have been quite compelling without further evidence of the truth. Muslims deny that Christ died on the cross (some say another took His place) so they would have no objection to burning the cross as a Christian symbol. There is no dispute that Jesus is referred to in the Quran but the claim that Muhammad is mentioned in the Bible is readilydisputed even by many Muslims.
Visitors to Birmingham will be familiar with Islam being freely promoted on the streets as illustrated in this video. Last year I heard complaints that similar operations had been extended. A stall had been set up opposite a well-known Anglo Catholic church in a Cardiff suburb where, in common with many other areas, Christians are becoming marginalised as parishes become dominated by Islamic influences and appearance. When a dispute arose over the claim that 'Jesus was a Muslim' the police intervened. On being told that exception was taken to people shouting outside the Church that Jesus was a Muslim, the police response was that the pamphlets were not offensive and that we live in a free country. One wonders what would have been the reaction if Christians stood opposite one of the City's 32 mosques and made counter claims. The group still engages with passers by claiming: "Let us show you what the Bible really says about Islam - and how Jesus really was a Muslim"!
When Channel 4 broadcast a programme, 'UnderCover Mosques', to highlight what was being said inside rather than outside mosques, in this case the Green Lane Mosque in Birmingham, the West Midlands police and the Crown Prosecution Service ignored the hate allegations uncovered and investigated the programme makers instead. They were later forced to apologise after the programme makers were vindicated. The National Secular Society (no friend of Christianity) recently quoted this example in their evidence to the United Nations. Illustrating the extent to which Islamic influence is spreading around the world the NSS included this astonishing testimony:
"I am deeply saddened that in this Council of all places in the whole world, Sharia law has been ruled to be beyond discussion by distinguished delegates, unless they are "experts" and therefore presumably Muslim. If I have got that wrong and non-Muslim experts are acceptable, I will be quick to apologise.
For those of you who like solving simultaneous equations, or are logicians, I have a little exercise. If criticising Islam = Islamophobia, and Islamophobia = racism (as we are told), and racism = unacceptable (as we agree), does this therefore mean that criticising Islam is unacceptable? That is the very questionable algebra or dubious logic that is being increasingly employed to silence critics in the UK by guilt-tripping them. We must not allow criticism to be stifled in this manipulative way. I'm very much struck by Indian born UK writer Kenan Malik's opinion that: "The trouble with Islamophobia is that it is an irrational concept. It confuses hatred of, and discrimination against, Muslims, on the one hand, with criticism of Islam on the other. The charge of 'Islamophobia' is all too often used not to highlight racism but to stifle criticism. And, in reality, discrimination against Muslims is not as great as is often perceived - but criticism of Islam should be greater. All too often Islamophobia is used as an excuse in a way to kind of blackmail society."
I am not suggesting that restrictions to freedom of expression are the monopoly of any one religion. I therefore oppose all blasphemy laws, and helped in the abolition of the UK's remaining (Christian) blasphemy laws. We also know of censorship by Sikhs and Hindus. The worst example of countries operating a blasphemy law, however, is Pakistan where accusing a rival of blasphemy is a convenient way of removing them. Not only does this result in their removal to jail, but the survival prospects of those accused of blasphemy, far less convicted of it, is very poor. And the judiciary are wary of even trying such cases.
Looking at the categories of Muslim influence in What Islam Isn't, it is clear what is now happening in the UK and elsewhere around the world. Islamic street propaganda must be seen for what it is.
Jesus was NOT a Muslim. Hedied on the Cross and is the fulfilment of the prophecies.
