Why are they so afraid of prayer?: "Detroit Prayer Event puts Muslim community on edge" AP, 11-11-11
DETROIT (AP) — An area with one of the largest Muslim communities outside the Middle East is bracing itself for a 24-hour prayer rally by a group that counts Islam among the ills facing the U.S. The gathering in Detroit at Ford Field, the stadium where the Detroit Lions play, starts Friday evening and is designed to tackle issues such as the economy, race, same-sex relationships and abortion. But the decade-old organization known as TheCall has said Detroit is a "microcosm of our national crisis" in all areas, including "the rising tide of the Islamic movement." Leaders of TheCall believe a satanic spirit is shaping all parts of U.S. society, and it must be challenged through intensive Christian prayer and fasting. Such a demonic spirit has taken hold of specific areas, Detroit among them, organizers say. In the months ahead of their rallies, teams of local organizers often travel their communities performing a ritual called "divorcing Baal," the name of a demon spirit, to drive out the devil from each location."Our concern is that we are literally being demonized by the organizers of this group," said Dawud Walid, executive director of Council on American-Islamic Relations' Michigan chapter, which last week urged local mosques and Islamic schools to increase security. "And given the recent history of other groups that have come into Michigan ... we're concerned about this prayer vigil stoking up the flames of divisiveness in the community." TheCall is the latest and largest of several groups or individuals to come to the Detroit area with a message that stirred up many of its estimated 150,000 to 200,000 Muslims. Recent visitors have included Florida pastor Terry Jones; members of the Westboro Baptist Church; and the Acts 17 Apologetics, missionaries who were arrested for disorderly conduct last year at Dearborn's Arab International Festival but were later acquitted. As with many other Christian groups, TheCall and its adherents believe Jesus is the only path to salvation. While they consider all other religions false, they have a specific focus on Islam, largely in response to the Sept. 11 attacks, terrorism overseas and fear that Islam, which is also a proselytizing faith, will spread faster than Christianity. TheCall is modeled partly on the Promise Keepers, the men's stadium prayer movement that was led in the 1990s by former University of Colorado football coach Bill McCartney. TheCall's first major rally was in September 2000 on the national Mall in Washington, drawing tens of thousands of young people to pray for a Christian revival in America. Co-founder Lou Engle has organized similar rallies in several cities, including a 2008 event at San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium two days before Election Day to generate support for Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in California. Theologically, Engle is part of a stream of Pentecostalism that is independent of any denomination and is intensely focused on the end times. Within these churches, some leaders are elevated to the position of apostle, or hearing directly from God. Muslims aren't the only ones concerned about Friday's event. A coalition of Detroit clergy plans to march to the football stadium Friday and hold their own rally. "We do not agree with the spread of a message of hate, but a message of peace and a message of love," the Rev. Charles Williams II, pastor of Historic King Solomon Church in Detroit, said Wednesday. "We love our Muslim brothers. We love those who are homosexual and we are not scared ... to stand up when the time calls for us to." Engle declined interview requests from The Associated Press, and one of his representatives referred calls to Apostle Ellis Smith of Detroit's Jubilee City Church. Smith, who appeared with Engle and other Detroit-area clergy in promotional videos filmed at Ford Field, considers himself a point-person for TheCall in Detroit. Smith told the AP that fears of the event taking on an anti-Muslim tone are overblown. He said attendees won't be "praying against Muslims," but rather "against terrorism that has its roots in Islam." "We're dealing with extremism," he said. "We're against extremism when it comes to Christians." Still, in a pre-event sermon he delivered Oct. 9 at a suburban church, Smith called Islam a "false," ''lame" and "perverse" religion. He said it was allowed to take root in Detroit because of the city's strong religious base. That's why TheCall event is "pivotal," he said. "That's why I believe it's by divine appointment: Detroit is the most religious city in America," Smith said in the sermon, adding later, "What I'm saying to you is Detroit had to happen because we have to break these barriers that have hindered in so many ways." The sermon was archived on the online sermon library Sermon.net. Smith on Thursday said he was offering his personal perspective that Islam is "a false religion, as many others are."He said the main focus of Friday's gathering is "loving God, loving God's people." Dawn Bethany, 43, said she is attending with about 70 others from Lansing's Epicenter of Worship, where she is the church's administrator. Bethany said she believes the event will be a "monumental spiritual experience," and "the negativity is a distraction from seeing who God is." God, she said, "is love."
This above article is obviously biased. The news media is now so transparently left wing. Once again-why should they be afraid about prayer? What worries me is how so many Mosques openly preach Jihad.Next Article: "Islamic Tolerance meeting" tolerate Islamic genocide of Assyrians and Copts-but don't criticize Islam
Free Speech Concerns Ahead of Meeting With Muslim Nations on Religious Tolerance By Judson Berger, Fox News 11-11-11 A looming meeting with Islamic leaders hosted by the State Department has religious scholars and advocacy groups warning that the United States may "play into" the push by some Islamic nations to create new laws to stifle religious criticism and debate. The meeting on religious tolerance, which is scheduled for mid-December, would involve representatives of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation -- a coalition of 56 nations which more or less represents the Muslim world. Critics describe the get-together -- the first in a series -- as a Trojan horse for the long-running OIC push for restrictions on speech. They note the track record of nations that want the dialogue, including Egypt, where recent military action against Coptic Christians raised grave concerns about intolerance against religious minorities. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton originally announced the meeting this past July in Turkey, where she co-chaired a talk on religious tolerance with the OIC. The event was billed as a way to foster "respect and empathy and tolerance" among nations. Delegates from up to 30 countries, as well as groups like the European Union, are also invited. A State Department official told FoxNews.com this week that the meeting is meant to combat intolerance while being "fully consistent with freedom of expression." A key worry is that the meeting could become a platform for Islamic governments to push for hate-speech laws which, in their most virulent and fundamentalist form, criminalize what they perceive as blasphemy. While Clinton has drawn a line in the sand, saying nations should not "criminalize speech," the upcoming meeting is seen by some as a misstep on a very sensitive issue."It's just an astonishingly bad decision," said Nina Shea, who sits on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and serves as director of the Hudson Institute's Center for Religious Freedom. Shea, who joined a group of scholars specializing in religious defamation for an event last week on Capitol Hill hosted by The Federalist Society, warned that the United States is virtually alone among western nations in not having hate-speech laws. She said the Obama administration doesn't need to delve deeper into religious speech issues with OIC nations, considering their history. Shea said she doesn't yet fear the possibility that hate-speech laws are coming to the U.S. any time soon, "but I am concerned the culture is changing on this." Jacob Mchangama, director of legal affairs for Denmark's Center for Political Studies, noted that the U.S. has resisted following Europe with hate-speech laws, but the Obama administration may be willing to "relax" its approach. He noted the administration co-sponsored a resolution with Egypt in 2009 that expressed concern about "negative racial and religious stereotyping," and said the upcoming December conference lends credibility to the OIC agenda. The push by Islamic nations, especially Pakistan, for global religious sensitivity on its surface sounds innocuous. But the debate often pits their cause against free speech, and western officials have long complained the nations spearheading the push are keen on shielding Islam specifically from criticism. In some countries, perceived protections against religious insult are used as license to threaten, bully and attack those who offend, intentionally or not. Most recently, the office of a French satirical newspaper was attacked after it published a Muhammad cartoon. That follows widespread 2006 protests over the publication of cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad in a Danish newspaper. And in Pakistan, whose blasphemy laws are internationally renowned for their broadness and severity, the legal protections on religious insult are used most often to protect Islam. Being charged with a blasphemy offense -- or criticizing the laws themselves -- can open the door to intimidation, or worse. Earlier this year, two Pakistani officials who had been critical of the laws were assassinated. The OIC, looking for international cooperation on the issue of religious tolerance, has pushed for so-called "defamation" resolutions before the United Nations for over a decade. Those resolutions were Islam-focused and called on governments to take action to stop religious defamation. Though the OIC took a pass on the resolution this year, the U.N. Human Rights Council in March approved a watered-down version that expresses concerns about religious "intolerance, discrimination and related violence." The adoption was generally seen as a successful move by the U.S. to replace the far-tougher resolutions the OIC has pushed over the past decade. But the upcoming meeting has been hailed by some OIC officials as a way to craft a tougher approach to curbing religious criticism. An August article from the International Islamic News Agency cited OIC "informed sources" saying the meetings were meant to develop a "legal basis" for the March resolution. The State Department official noted that the Human Rights Council's resolution does not call for limits on free speech or provide support for defamation or blasphemy laws. "Instead, the text notes the positive role that the free exchange of ideas and interfaith dialogue can have in countering religious intolerance," the official said. "We believe that implementing the specific, appropriate steps called for in the resolution will help to undercut support for such restrictions on expression and religious freedom." But Shea questioned why Clinton was moving to implement the non-binding measure. "It validates the OIC on speech," she said. "It plays into their agenda." The meeting has been set for Dec. 12-14, and is expected to be hosted by Suzan Johnson Cook, the U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom. It's unclear whether Clinton will attend. The meeting was announced around the same time as the Norway terror attacks, carried out by an individual said to harbor anti-Muslim views. December's meeting is the first in a series -- focusing on engaging religious minorities and training officials on religious awareness, as well as "enforcing laws that protect against" religious discrimination, according to the State Department. Lindsay Vessey, advocacy director with Open Doors USA, said her group is "cautiously optimistic" about the meetings. Vessey, whose organization advocates for persecuted Christians and has criticized the "defamation" resolutions in the past, said her organization remains hopeful the upcoming conference will turn out to be a "good thing." The conservative Traditional Values Coalition last month sent a letter to Clinton asking that the group be included as part of the discussion. President Andrea Lafferty told FoxNews.com her organization is "very concerned" the administration is becoming "cozy" with the OIC, which she claimed wants to "silence" voices critical of Islam.
I believe that Hillary Clinton is a traitor to the United States of America. Lets look at what she is doing. She is attending an Islamic conference that is about introducing "blasphemy" laws globally-to make it an international crime to criticize or question Islam in any way. And the sponsors of this conference have the audacity to title it a "tolerance" conference, while at the same time they have zero tolerance among the ethnic Christian minorities that live in their region-Christians who they not only persecute and discriminate against, but also carry out pogroms and massacres against.
STEALTH JIHAD: Network TV show portraying this as 'all-American' ... 'Danger is in the deception and obfuscation of the truth' Posted: November 10, 2011 8:40 pm Eastern By Michael Carl
According to The Learning Channel, its coming new "All-American Muslim" program is a "powerful series" taking viewers "inside the rarely seen world of American Muslims." And it uncovers a "unique community struggling to balance faith and nationality." Critics, however, say it is nothing more or less than a video version of jihad. The program launches on Sunday on the TLC Cable Channel. The producers went to Dearborn, Mich., the U.S. city that has the highest concentration of Muslims in the United States, and a producer who declined to be named told WND the stories focus on people. Ultimately, our shows are about telling the stories of the families featured in them. So, to some extent, the history of American Muslims settling in Dearborn may be touched upon, but ultimately, this is about the families' stories and what's going on in their lives today, not the past, per se," the producer said. The producer said he believes the program is a glimpse into a lifestyle with which most Americans are unfamiliar. "Like many of our programs, it offers viewers a glimpse into a world they may not otherwise experience, introducing them to real-life families who are going through everyday experiences that really resonate with our audience – from getting married, to having a baby to rooting for your favorite football team," the producer said. "We're excited about that because we think this group of families really will give our audience a taste of what life is like in Dearborn, Mich., for a variety of American Muslims – some quite traditional, and some not." But Islam analyst Pamela Geller says that perspective on the show is also its danger. "Clearly this program is designed to counter the fictional threat of 'Islamophobia' by showing Muslims who aren't terrorist monsters, but ordinary people living ordinary lives, balancing tradition and modern life, dealing with their families, their jobs, and a host of other issues," Geller said. "It is an attempt to manipulate Americans into ignoring the threat of jihad and to bully them into thinking that being concerned about the jihad threat would somehow victimize these nice people in this show. The problem is not people; it's ideology. The show doesn't address that," Geller said. The producer of the program says that for the most part, program makers purposefully avoided getting too deeply into some of the deeper issues surrounding Islam. "This show is not about politics. Viewers will gain insight into Islam, definitely, but more from the perspective of cultural traditions, how modern American Muslims in Dearborn live, family matters and so on," the producer said. "But we think there are interesting insights that will be offered by the show, so we hope people will tune in, just knowing that this is not an academic-type documentary about Islam, it's really about day-to-day life in Dearborn, as seen through the eyes of the families featured in the show, who are pretty diverse," the producer said. He said the program tried to avoid the issue that some Islamic clerics want to bring Islamic law – Shariah – into America. "As I say, viewers will get an insight into Islam and Muslim traditions as practiced by the families featured in the show who have varying practices when it comes to their faith. The show focuses on how each of these families balances their beliefs and traditions in their day-to-day lives," the producer said. Jerry Newcombe, Truth in Action Ministries' senior producer and analyst, says the major problem with the program is that it's not going to show the reality of "pure Islam." "It's a free country. Muslims are free to practice their religion here (thanks to Christianity, ultimately). What is sad, though, is that the truth about the goals of radical Islam are hidden from many Americans through programs like the one on TLC. Islam wants to take over the world. If they have to use force, they'll do that. But otherwise, they'll do it by what Robert Spencer calls 'stealth jihad,'" Newcombe said. A line from one of the first two episodes illustrates what both Geller and Newcombe are describing, when one of Muslim women says in a panel discussion, "We live our lives just like anyone else." That perception is one of the reasons why Jihad Watch publisher and Executive Director Robert Spencer shares the concerns expressed by Geller and Newcombe. Spencer says the program is attempting to produce a neutral view of Islam. "The show apparently is trying to show that Muslims go to clubs, like to have fun, etc. But this doesn't really establish anything," Spencer said. "The problem people have with Islam is its teachings of violence against and the subjugation of unbelievers. The problem is not with every Muslim person. It is with the supremacist ideology and the fervent believers in those noxious doctrines of warfare and subjugation," Spencer also said. Geller agrees. "It is trying to show nominal Muslims as the norm, as if their existence takes away the threat from devout Muslims," Geller said. "It is mentioned once but never explained: the man has to convert to Islam because a Muslim woman cannot marry a non-Muslim man. This is a supremacist measure designed to make the Muslim community always expand at the expense of the non-Muslim one. But there is no hint of that in this show," Geller said. Geller is making reference to the major issue in the program's first episode. One of the program's main subjects former Roman Catholic Jeff McDermott. McDermott converts to Islam so that he can marry Shadia Amen, the daughter of one of the five families featured in the program. While the program honestly portrays one of the Muslim men saying that anyone who marries a Muslim must be a Muslim, the subtle nature of the prevailing attitude can be missed by the average viewer. In an interview sequence, Jeff sits with Shadia in front of the camera and says, "They (referring to her family) made me feel comfortable." Shadia replies, "We (including herself with her family) wanted you to feel comfortable." Spencer believes the result might have been different if the couple had chosen the other possible path, which was for her to become a Catholic. "What if he and his bride to be decide to get married in the Roman Catholic Church, or leave Islam at some later date? In that case he may find her Muslim relatives somewhat less solicitous of their desire to put their happiness above all other things," Spencer said. When asked if the program is actually showing a more subtle version of strict Islam by subtly forcing the young Catholic man to convert to Islam to marry the young woman, Spencer said, "Precisely." Newcombe also believes the conversion issue for marriage isn't being dealt with realistically. He points to the ultimate question. "I'm sure the young man who converted from Catholicism to Islam to marry someone has no clue what he gave up in rejecting Jesus Christ. But it's a free country, and people can convert different ways. At least, Christians wouldn't attempt to kill him for leaving our religion – in the way that Muslims attempt to kill their own who leave their religion. In a strict Muslim country, it is a death sentence to leave Islam," Newcombe said. Spencer adds that the program also gives subtle clues to the realities of Islam's beliefs. "Another way the program is carefully presenting strict Islam is the 'traditional' Muslim man says that women should not be opening up clubs. There are lots of small clues here and there," Spencer said. Spencer was referring to a scene in episode two in which one of the young women wants to open a night club and her father objects saying, "Muslim women don't do that." Spencer and Geller agree that the focus of the program plays down the major emphases of Islam. Geller adds that the ultimate danger posed by a program presenting the "normal" side of life for American Muslims is that it isn't accurate. "The danger is, it's misleading. The Muslims portrayed in the show are free to choose their path. That is the beauty of living in a free society. But so many aren't, not only in Muslim countries, but here in America," Geller said. Geller points to two instances that reveal the consequences of Islam growing in any country where it gains the upper hand. "Who speaks for Jessica Mokdad who lived not far from where this show is taping? Mokdad was honor murdered by her stepfather, Rahim Alfetlawi, for 'not following Islam'. That happened in the same city that refuses to run my freedom bus ads. The ads were designed to help girls like Jessica. Despite our free speech victories in the Detroit court, Mokdad was honor murdered the week my ads were supposed to run," Geller said. "The danger is in the deception and obfuscation of the truth which results in the intellectual disarming of the American people," Geller also said. Dearborn often is called "Dearbornistan" by cultural critics because it has the largest concentration of Arab peoples outside of the Middle East. Dearborn's population is 30 percent Arab, with most of the people coming from Lebanon. A 2009 Associated Press report says that the large Lebanese population in Dearborn makes the Michigan city, "The heart of Shiism in the United States." Dearborn has also grown progressively more compliant with Shariah law. The city recently was the subject of controversy when members of a Christian group wanted to hand out Christian literature at a public park during a Muslim festival and were arrested and charged with creating a public nuisance. The Michigan-based Thomas More Law Center represented the Christians in the case, who eventually were acquitted.
I saw an advertisement for this TV show in "Entertainment Magazine." It showed a woman wearing a hijab that was made out of an American flag-sort of like "Uncle Sams" and "Captain America's" attire. If you believe in Sharia law-you are inherently anti-American, I don't care what kind of patriotic clothing you wear. Sharia is Islamic constitutional law. It is a political system. If you are trying to replace the US constitution with Sharia law-the Islamic constitutional system, you are clearly anti-American and a fifth-columnist and are in no way "all American." Now, why is this show on TV? Is there a demand for it? Are Americans clamoring for their programming to be clogged with Islamic propaganda? I am sure that the Saudis and Leftists are behind this programming. I was thinking about a movie that came out called "Red State" by Kevin Smith. In it, terrorists aren't Muslims-no, its born again Christians we need to be afraid of. How did this hateful garbage get made? Of course, nobody watched it-but it amazes me that this trash was financed. So, we see Holly wood lionizing Muslims and demonizing evangelical Christians.
Syria kicked out of Arab League Syria is massacring its own citizens. The Arab League responding by calling upon the Alawite regime of Syria to stop murdering its own people. Syria refused. In response they were kicked out of the League. Syria retaliated by having mobs ransack the embassies of Arab League members. I told a Syrian friend of mine that I expect that Assad won't make it to the end of next year-he replied that he doesn't expect him to make it to the end of this year. The King of Jordan said that it is in the best interests of Assad and of Syria for him to relinquish control and begin a smooth transfer of power. I think that Assad is going to try to flee to France (if they will take him) that or we will see him being beaten to death as we saw happening to Moammar Khaddaffi.
Israel to strike Iran? British intelligence chiefs have warned that Israel will launch military action to thwart Iran's nuclear weapons development efforts as early as Christmas, according to a report in The Telegraph. The United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency this week confirmed that Iran is developing a nuclear warhead that could fit on an existing missile. "Sources say the understanding at the top of the British government is that Israel will attempt to strike against the nuclear sites 'sooner rather than later' — with logistical support from the U.S.," The Telegraph reports. British ministers have reportedly been told to expect Israeli military action, and a senior Foreign Office official said the attack is expected "as early as Christmas, or very early in the new year." Read more on Newsmax.com: Report: Israel to Strike Iran by December
Frank Miller Condemns Islamic terrorism and "Occupy Wallstreet" extremism Note to comic book artist, Frank Miller: Kudos Frank! I think the "Holy Terror" was right on-as are your comments on "Occupy Wall Street". And-I have been to Iraq with the military twice. I have lived in the Middle East with Coptic Christians when I was a teenager-it opened my eyes to the danger ad threat of Islamic fanaticism. We must deal with this threat head on. They say art is meant to be "provocative and controversial" and you are the only artist I am aware of that has had to courage to artistically explore the relevant issue of Islamic extremism in the world today.
Family of victims of Maj. Hassan sue government: Hasssan was known to be an Al-Qaida agent, but the military promoted him for interests of tolerance, diversity, multi-culturalism and the fear of being discriminatory. So now the families are suing the army for negligence.
Last Note: I have been reading Jeremiads, Patrick J. Buchanan gets terminology correct in "Suicide of a Superpower" speaking of the October 31, 2010 massacre at "the Assyrian Catholic Church" and speaks of "Assyrian Catholics known as Chaldeans." See page 117. I think much of the book is right on. Calling Mesopotamia's Aramaic-speaking Christians "Assyrians" should please many Assyrians. I think his terminology is correct. The sensitivity of proper titles causes me stress sometimes. Please check out my blog at www.aramaicherald.blogspot.com and my youtube at www.youtube.com/aramaic12. I have hundreds of videos up.
SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE November 2011 edition contains an article on the persecution of Coptic Christians. It is good to see the word get out-however, the author writes about his journeys and the things he saw-I have done the exact same things-I wish I could write and article for Smithsonian or get that kind of national exposure.
