Welcome to Space City Con!
The Houston Summer Geek Festival
Space City Con is an all-ages festival of comics, sci-fi, fantasy, gaming, literature, and art, in the spirit of Houston, Texas! Envisioned as a "geek festival with free parking," SCC is conveniently located at the Westin Galleria convention center & hotel, August 10 – 12, 2012. Our goal is to put on the best convention possible for current generations of fans, and instill a love of comics, Sci-fi and fantasy in the next generation.
Stephen Andrew Missick is the author and illustrator of the "Hammer of God" which retells the Hanukkah story from the Book of Maccabees in the Bible and the Ennead-which tells the central story of Egyptian mythology. Mr. Missick has been deployed to Iraq twice.
Space City Con!
Space City Con is the Gulf Coast's newest fan culture convention, offering a robust mix of authors, artists, sci-fi, fantasy, comics, gaming, fan group networking, literature, writing workshops and more, in a venue meant to be more approachable to families and children. It was founded in 2012, and will be held at the Westin Galleria convention center & hotel, August 10 – 12, 2012. Conceived as a "Geek Festival with free parking", the event is attached to the 4th largest mall in America, in the 4th largest city in America—Houston, Texas. The grand Galleria Mall boasts 375 stores, a large food court, ice rink, various restaurants with a taste of Texas. Just as Houston has a broad economic mix in aerospace, energy, manufacturing, transportation; it boasts the world's largest concentration of healthcare and research institutions. Houston also has the first-ranked port in the United States and has always been home to an ever-growing international community, along with the famous NASA Johnson Space Center and Mission Control. In this same way, Space City Con will be a gathering of fans of all ages, with an exchange of pop culture passions. More than entertainment, a place to escape for a while, forge lasting friendships, and connect with talented creators across a spectrum of genres. For the inaugural year, Space City Con embraces the Kids Need to Read foundation, since our founders consider these elements as fuel for creative thinking, vocabulary, reading comprehension, and most of all, expanding the boundaries of what is known, into dreams and a yearning for what is unknown, what is unseen…but can be painted by the incredible human mind and spirit. Space City Con wishes to pass on the torch from one generation to the next, echoing the cry for "Inspiring Imagination!"
Thursday, August 9th
Registration Open. Dealer's Room / Artist Alley setup. Early pickup of 3-Day Badges. Noon - 7pm.
Gaming tourneys begin at 5pm.
No after-hours registration!
One-day badges must wait until the day chosen. No early pickup.
Friday, August 10th
Registration Open 9am - 7pm
Gaming events 10am with badge.
Convention Opens. Dealer's Room/AA Noon - 7pm
Evening and Night events 24 hours with badge - Live music, LARPS, Gaming, Panels.
No after-hours registration!
Saturday, August 11th
Registration Open 8am - 7pm.
Convention Opens. Dealer's Room/AA 10am - 7pm
Evening and Night events 24 hours with badge - Live music, LARPS, Gaming, Panels.
Masquerade Contest!
Bonnie Piesse - Unplugged, in Concert!
No after-hours registration!
Sunday, August 12th
Registration Open 9am - 3pm.
Convention Opens. Dealer's Room/AA 10am - 6pm - Wrap Up.
Some tournament events will close later.
Prayer to Christ the King: The Cristeros Prayer
Christ Jesus, I acknowledge You as our Universal King. All that exists has been created by You. I renew my promises of my Baptism, renouncing Satan, his temptations and his works, and I promise to be a good Christian. Most importantly, I promise, according to my means, to ensure the triumph of your will and holy church. Oh Jesus, I offer my humble actions so that every human heart acknowledges and lives your message of peace, justice and love. Amen.
(The Cristeros were Roman Catholics in Mexico who were forced to take up arms against their government when freedom of religion was under attack.)
Religious Freedom:
As you know, I am very concerned about the issue of religious freedom and efforts by Islamic radicals and leftists to end religious freedom. In America, the threat to religious freedoms comes from Liberals and radical hate groups such as Southern Poverty Law Center, People for the American Way, The American Civil Liberty Union, and "Freedom from Religion" groups such as Mickey Weiner's "Military Religious Freedom Foundation." I deal with this issue in "The Hammer of God" about Judah Maccabee (Aramaic for Judah the Hammer). The book "For Greater Glory" about the Cristeros revolution also deals with this important issue. The "Chick-Fil-A" controversy shows that certain Democratic Mayors and Obama minions are ready to go to war against Freedom of Religion. I am not a Catholic and never will be-but sometimes Christians need to set aside their denominational differences for the greater glory.
Overcoming the Attack on Religious Liberty Obama declares WAR on the Catholic Church! Our Church's Future is in DANGER! Your Religious Freedom Hangs in the Balance! Barack Obama has declared WAR on the Catholic Church! Obama's order that all Catholic employers must provide contraceptives, sterilization and abortion- causing drugs to their employees is the worst and most chilling in a long line of attacks by the most pro-abortion administration in U.S. history. (NOTE: THIS law went into effect August 1, 2012.)
This latest attack is so shocking that even many left-wing Catholics
complained about it — so many that Obama had to offer what looked like a compromise. Thank God, the U.S. Bishops wisely saw that Obama's "compromise" was no more than a bookkeeping trick. In fact his "compromise" is even worse than his original plan!
Here's why: under this phony "compromise," it's the insurance companies of Catholic institutions that
must provide "free" contraceptives and abortion-causing drugs for their employees.
But this is just a "shell game," because . . .
"there's no such thing as a "free lunch" – in the end, it's still the Catholic institutions that must pay for the immoral, baby-killing coverage.
Obama did NOTHING to remove the Church's moral objection
in fact, now there are NO real exemptions at all – not even for Churches!
and it's still a direct and unconstitutional attack on our religious liberty. But the Obama administration's "smoke and mirrors" doesn't end there. To try and justify its tyrannical mandate for contraception and abortion drugs, it has posted a set of false and misleading claims on the White House blog. Thank God, the U.S. Bishops have posted a document on their Web site that exposes Obama's lies and reveals the true effects of its appalling attack on religious liberty. But here's the question: How many Catholics will ever read it? It's time to face some ugly facts: (1) Millions of American Catholics use artificial contraceptives, even though the Church teaches that's a grave sin. (2) Fifty-four percent of U.S. Catholics voted for pro-abortion Obama. And (3) many "modern" Catholics were surprised that loyal Catholic commentators were so upset by his mandate. And frankly, how can we blame them? After 40-plus years of poor catechesis, open dissent by theologians, and distortion of Catholic doctrine by the news media, millions of Catholics don't even KNOW the Church's real teaching on contraception, let alone understand it. Why this is such a grave threat to religious liberty The media are hiding the truth: this latest attack is perhaps the most serious ever. Because no matter how the media spin it, this attack is NOT primarily about contraception,
it's about religious freedom. The Culture of Death is using government coercion to tell us how to live our Faith! But how do we stop it when so many American Catholics ignore the Church's moral teachings on contraception, homosexual "marriage" and even abortion? How do we persuade lukewarm Catholics to fight for their religious liberty when they don't even go to Holy Mass? Thank God, there IS a way! Let me explain: I can't count the times I've listened to some gifted Catholic apologist and said to myself, "If only Steve Ray could talk to my friend or family member" or "If only Father Bill Casey were here to explain to them why this is so important." And THAT is the answer—bringing these experts' powerful arguments to wishy-washy Catholics! To help you defeat Obama's mandate, I've personally interviewed some of today's most persuasive Catholic speakers on an exclusive CD that you can share with friends and family to help them see how crucial this fight for religious liberty really is
Overcoming the Attack on Religious Liberty, and it features a Catholic "Dream Team:" the well-known, solidly Catholic voices of Father William Casey of the Fathers of Mercy, Jesse Romero, M.A., of the "Reasons for Faith LIVE" radio show, popular author and apologist Stephen K. Ray, and Ignatius Press founder Father Joseph Fessio, S.J.
This unique CD is not just a collection of interviews but a frank, intimate conversation with these powerful Catholic spokesmen. What they reveal on this CD is the same unvarnished truth that they would share with a personal friend.
Why Catholics (and all Christians and freedom-loving Americans) MUST stand up for their Faith NOW more than ever - while there's still time
how Obama's contraception/abortion mandate is only the first step in a larger plan
why the government doesn't "give us rights," and why rights come from God
how to make an effective spiritual response to the attack on religious freedom
what to pray for to end this crisis
why government subsidies are a "deal with the devil"
why "An unjust law is NO law," as the Church has taught for 2,000 years
why we must obey God rather than men
what is the real response of the U.S. Bishops to this assault on religious liberty
what's in store for our children if we fail!
And all that is just the tip of the iceberg of what you'll discover in this hard-hitting, no-holds-barred CD. These interviews are straight talk that's straight from the heart, with nothing held back. Download FREE
Why Christians are leaving the Middle East-with Pastor Steve Khoury of Holy Land Missions
http://video.foxnews.com/v/1769554565001/
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/insideisrael/2012/May/Why-Are-Christians-Really-Leaving-Bethlehem/
Julie Stahl, CBN, JERUSALEM, Israel -- Arab Christians in Bethlehem have been suffering from human rights abuses and economic hardships for years. But some are trying to bring a message of hope into their lives. It could be described as a modern day exodus: Christians are leaving Palestinian Arab-controlled areas like Bethlehem in great numbers. "It's my prediction that if the remaining Christians in the West Bank and Gaza -- Gaza only has maybe a thousand, two thousand Christians," human rights lawyer Justus Weiner told CBN News. "If their needs are not addressed in 10 or 15 or at most 20 years, there won't be any Christians in the cradle of Christianity. This will be a kind of memorial, a museum." Weiner said the threat of persecution, including beatings and forced marriages between Christian women and Muslim men, are some of the reasons Christians have left. Although tourism and the economy picked up last year, uncertainty still prevails. Pastor Steve Khoury talked more about why Christians are leaving Palestinian areas in droves and what his ministry is doing to help, on 'The 700 Club' May 8. I know if you just look deep within their hearts, I know many people have fear and doubt in the unknown and unseen," Pastor Steve Khoury told CBN News. Pastor Khoury leads churches in Bethlehem and in Jerusalem. Part of the congregations' outreach includes Christmas banquets each year, sponsored in part by CBN. Khoury said they do many unorthodox things to bring the message that hope is only built on the solid rock of Jesus.cKhoury grew up on the mission field. His father, Dr. Naim Khoury, started Holy Land Missions 30 years ago. He said his experiences growing up as the son of a missionary taught him not only the life of a missionary, but also the struggles and battles of every believer. "God has burdened my heart in a great way," Khoury wrote on his web site. "He has shown me that Arabs can come to salvation; He has shown me that Jews can come to the Messiah, and that the people in Israel are losing hope in life." "Seeing people bleed every day, and seeing a person one day and gone the next because of violence has made me appreciate life," he said. There are only about 15,000 born-again Christians in Israel. They face daily persecution by the other two dominating religions. Pastor Khoury has seen church members attacked and discriminated against because of their faith. Several believers under his ministry have been martyred, including his own uncle. The church in Bethlehem has been firebombed 14 times, and Dr. Naim Khoury has been shot at several times in the last 10 years. Nevertheless, Holy Land Missions has reached out to thousands over the years through their many outreach programs, including Calvary Church in Jerusalem and First Baptist in Bethlehem.
Gaza Christians threatened with death by Radical Muslims
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/07/25/gaza-christians-fear-for-future-tiny-community/
"We aren't safe anymore," said Josef Elias, a 44-year-old Christian from Gaza City. "This is a conspiracy against our existence in the Holy Land." Fewer than 3,000 Christians live among Gaza's 1.7 million Muslim residents, and their numbers have rapidly shrunk in recent years, mainly because of the territory's turmoil. Some Christian families fled during the destruction from Israel's three-week military campaign against Hamas militants in the winter of 2008-2009. Others emigrated as Gaza's economy crumbled under Israel and Egypt's blockade, imposed after Hamas' takeover. Low birth rates also erode the community. Those who remain say they feel increasingly unwelcome amid the more assertive religiosity everywhere around them. With the latest conversions, only 10 Christians are known to have turned to Islam in the past eight years, according to community members. But some Christians say that while there is no officially sanctioned push to turn them to Islam, individual Muslims have become pushier in trying. The informal social pressure can range from strangers on the street urging them to embrace Islam to colleagues at work or university persistently discussing their Muslim faith with Christian colleagues. Particularly vulnerable to the advances are youth wanting to join Gaza's wider society and gain greater opportunities for marriage and jobs — as well as unhappily married Christians, since conversion to Islam is one of the few ways to get a divorce from their Church marriages. The community's tiny size makes it difficult to maintain independent institutions that preserve their identity. The community offers private schools for the younger children, but most Christian youths attend public high schools and later vie to get into Islamic University, considered the best in Gaza. In those environments, Christian youths mix with deeply devout Muslim students and teachers — and parents worry about their influence rubbing off onto their children. In Palestinian society, Muslims and Christians tend to emphasize that relations between the two communities are harmonious, and that they are bound by a shared attempt to shake off Israeli occupation of lands they want for a future state. At the same time, clear lines are drawn between Muslims and Christians. As in most parts of the Middle East, religion in the Palestinian territories is a badge of membership rather than a matter of personal choice. Those leaving the fold face expulsion from their families and communities. Overall, some 160,000 Christians live in the Holy Land, including 110,000 in Israel and the rest in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, said Bernard Sabella, a Palestinian researcher. The Gaza government said 2,980 Christians are registered in the territory, mostly Greek Orthodox. Christians said they believed the figure is closer to 1,500. In recent years, several Christian institutions were attacked by suspected Muslim hardliners. In at least two cases, including the torching of the local YMCA, assailants were caught and sentenced to prison. The most recent conversions touched a nerve in particular because the two — 24-year-old Ramez al-Amash and 32-year-old Hiba Abu Dawoud — came from prominent families. The two, who converted separately, disappeared from sight. Abu Dawoud took her three young daughters with her. Rumors swirled until a Muslim cleric announced last week they were under his protection. Reaction was fierce. Community members led by Gaza's Greek Orthodox Archbishop Alexious blared that the two had been forced to convert. "They kidnapped them ... they use even drugs," the archbishop told dozens of agitated Christian protesters gathered last week in the centuries-old Greek Orthodox Church of St. Perfidious in Gaza City. The demonstrators alternately chanted against Hamas, demanded the government bring back the converts, and shouted that their community was in peril. But the converts later told Hamas-linked TV stations that they freely adopted Islam after months of deliberations. Al-Amash said he had long questioned his faith and learned about Islam through the Internet and Muslim friends. He said he had asked his family to understand. Among some in the community, the conversions struck a chord of panic. "We lived together for years in Gaza: The sound of church bells ringing used to mix with the call of prayer from the mosque," said Elias, a government worker. But now, fearing for his children, Elias said he was looking for a way out. "I am thinking of leaving with my family," he said.
PRAYER POWER:
Template for prayer-the Model Prayer: Luke 11:1-4
Persistence in prayer: Luke 11:5-10
God's desire: Luke 11:11-13
Heart of Prayer-God's Glory-not your own- Matthew 6;5-13
Forgiveness-Matthew 6:14-15
Reconciliation: Matthew 18:15-17
Agreement: Matthew 18:18-20
Prayer Concepts/The Model Prayer
Invocation: "Our Father in Heaven"
Worship: "Hallowed by thy Name"
Alignment (Aligning your will to Gods) "Thy Kingdom come-thy will be done…"
Petition: "Give us this day our daily bread"
Repentance: "Forgive us our debts…
Forgiveness: "as we forgive…"
Deliverance: "Deliver us from evil…"
Glorification: "For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever…"
Aramaic Bible resources:
Aramaic Bible in Plain English
http://aramaic-plain-english.scripturetext.com
Syriac Text
http://pes.scripturetext.com/matthew/23.htm
Site also has interlinear Peshitta with Square Aramaic (Hebrew) letters rather than the Syriac letters.
THREATS AGAINST RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN THE US AND AROUND THE WORLD
Courts in Germany banned the practice of circumcision which violates the core tenants of Judaism and Islam. The Boy Scouts are being threatened due to their policy of not allowing homosexuals to be Scout Masters. The Boy Scouts are a private organization-if homosexuals don't like their policies then they need to start their own scouting organizations. These homosexuals are attacking freedoms-such as the freedom of association, freedom of religion and freedom of speech.
CHICK-FIL-A: The founder of Chick-fil-A stated that he is opposed to "gay marriage." Immediately thereafter, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, threatened to take action against Chick-Fil-A's in their towns and prevent Chick-fil-A from expanding in their cities. Chicago said that Mr. Cathy's Christian beliefs were not the "Chicago Way" and didn't reflect "Chicago Values." This was from Rahm Emmanuel, who is known for making death threats against his political opponents and became mayor of Chicago-although he didn't meet the legal requirements to hold that office. Chick-Fil-A actually backed down and stated that they had no official position on what marriage is and that the matter must be settled by the politicians and the courts. That didn't stop the homosexuals and their threats. It must be remembered that according to polls taken in Chicago-about 42% in Chicago are opposed to gay marriage and 42% are for it and the rest are undecided. Homosexuals claimed that Chick-Fil-A "hates gays" although there is no evidence for that. A homosexual activist berated a young woman in the drive through window for working for Chick-Fil-A and posted his hateful attack of her up on the internet-and it is very disturbing to watch. IRONICALLY-anti-bullying campaigns are usually pro-homosexual, because gays argue that most kids who are bullied are bullied because they are gay. I don't believe that all or most of victims of bullying are gay. At any rate, the homosexuals are now bullying people to frighten people so that no one will oppose their agenda. In America-you no longer have the right to an opinion. Certain beliefs-such as in traditional marriage, are now thought crimes. IT IS A VERY DANGEROUS PRECIDENT TO SEE THE GOVERNMENT TARGETING A PRIVATE CITIZEN BECAUSE HE VOICED HIS SINCERELY HELD RELIGIOUS BELIEFS. Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Atlanta and Washington DC attacked religious freedom and freedom of speech. Now, people will live in fear of their government if they believe, think or say the "wrong" thing. After Mike Huckabee announced the "Chick-Fil-A" appreciation day, radical homosexuals threatened to engage in public lewd behavior at Chick-Fil-A's the following Friday-but nothing much really happened, mostly because Christians returned to support Chick-Fil-A that Friday in response to the threats. COWARDS!!!! After three million people went to support Chick-Fil-A on "Chick-Fil-A" appreciation day, Congressmen began voicing their support for the company. Their voices were not heard until the masses spoke out-they are cowards.
MITT ROMNEY IS A COWARD, too (But, unfortunately, I am going to vote for him): Mitt Romney: Chick-fil-A 'Not Part of My Campaign' GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney says he wants nothing to do with the Chick-fil-A controversy and declined to defend the embattled fast food chain. At a Friday press conference, Romney, when asked about efforts to stop the restaurant from opening in several cities because of its stand in favor of traditional marriage, said, "Those are not things that are part of my campaign." (Although I am going to vote for Romney-conservatives must realize now that they will need to do everything in their power to oppose him once he takes office.)
Is Hillary Clinton's "Body Slave" an Islamist spy?
Hillary Clinton has a Saudi Arabian body servant, a woman named Huma Abedein, who is rumored to be Hillary's lesbian lover. There is strong reason to believe that Huma Abedein is an Islamist spy. Congresswoman Michelle Bauchmann and some other congressmen raised attention to this issue-but she was attacked by the RINO Republican Establishment and the news media refused to investigate the allegations-instead asking RINOs and others what they thought about the allegations-instead of doing substantive fact-finding-which is supposedly what journalism is all about. Of course, cry-baby Boehner and the Super-RINO McCain where outraged that someone would have the audacity to raise questions about Huma's Islamist Muslim Brotherhood connections and Bauchmann must be put in her place! (A RINO is a Republican In Name Only-people like John McCain, both George Bushes and people like Lt. Gov. Dewhearst.) (See the blog for additional information: www.aramaicherald.blogspot.com)
Congressman Weiner was the Democrats attack dog. He was forced to resign after posting obscene pictures of himself and using obscene messages online to pick up women from the internet. Congressman Weiner's wife is the same woman who works for Hillary Clinton. Not only that, but the same woman who was long rumored to be having an affair with Hillary amid decades of rumors that HIllary is bi-sexual or a lesbian. Huma (Weiner's wife) is a Muslim from a strict upbringing, who married a Jew. If Huma and Hillary are indeed lovers, it might explain Weiner's obsession with women online. Weiners Sham Marriage Designed to Cover Up Hillary Huma Lesbian Affair. Weiner was planning of a long political career-he had his eyes on the senate. By marrying Hillary's lover, he married into the politically powerful Clinton family and he also helped cover up Hillary's lesbian affair. But, since she is a Lesbian and always with Hillary he became sexually frustrated and posted the on-line dirty pictures of himself. Now it turns out that Huma Abedin is an Islamist/Jihadist/Al-Qaeda/Muslim Brotherhood Saudi Arabian spy.
JERUSALEM – Charges made in a 16-page letter by Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., against longtime Clinton aide Huma Abedin miss what may be one of the most troubling radical connections – Abedin's family is directly tied to the Muslim World League. The Muslim World League is an Islamic charity known to have spawned terrorist groups, including one declared by the U.S. government to be an official al-Qaida front. In her now well-publicized letter, Bachmann noted that Huma's father, Professor Syed Abiden, was the founder of the Institute for Minority Affairs, a Saudi group that "had the quiet but active support" of Umar Abdallah Nasif, the secretary general of the Muslim World League. However, WND was first to report an even more direct connection to the terror-stained charity – Huma's mother, Saleha Abedin, was the official representative of the Muslim World League in the 1990s. Saleha Abedin has been quoted in numerous press accounts as both representing the MWL and serving as a delegate for the charity. In 1995, for example, the Washington Times reported on a United Nations-arranged women's conference in Beijing that called on governments throughout the world to give women statistical equality with men in the workplace. The report quoted Saleha Abedin, who attended the conference as a delegate, as "also representing the Muslim World League based in Saudi Arabia and the Muslim NGO Caucus." The U.N.'s website references a report in the run-up to the Beijing conference that also lists Abedin as representing the MWL at the event. The website posted an article from the now defunct United States Information Agency quoting Abedin and reporting she attended the Beijing conference as "a delegate of the Muslim World League and member of the Muslim Women's NGO caucus." In the article, Abedin was listed under a shorter name, "Dr. Saleha Mahmoud, director of the Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs." WND has confirmed the individual listed is Huma Abedin's mother. The reports misspelled part of Abedin's name. Her full professional name is at times listed as Saleha Mahmood Abedin S.
Al-Qaida links
The MWL was founded in Mecca in 1962 and bills itself as one of the largest Islamic non-governmental organizations. But according to U.S. government documents and testimony from the charity's own officials, it is heavily financed by the Saudi government. The MWL has been accused of terrorist ties, as have its various offshoots, including the International Islamic Relief Organization, or IIRO, and Al Haramain, which was declared by the U.S. and U.N. as a terror financing front. Indeed, the Treasury Department, in a September 2004 press release, alleged Al Haramain had "direct links" with Osama bin Laden. The group is now banned worldwide by United Nations Security Council Committee 1267. There long have been accusations that the IIRO and MWL also repeatedly funded al-Qaida. In 1993, bin Laden reportedly told an associate that the MWL was one of his three most important charity fronts. An Anti-Defamation League profile of the MWL accuses the group of promulgating a "fundamentalist interpretation of Islam around the world through a large network of charities and affiliated organizations." "Its ideological backbone is based on an extremist interpretation of Islam," the profile states, "and several of its affiliated groups and individuals have been linked to terror-related activity." In 2003, U.S. News and World Report documented that accompanying the MWL's donations, invariably, are "a blizzard of Wahhabist literature." "Critics argue that Wahhabism's more extreme preachings – mistrust of infidels, branding of rival sects as apostates and emphasis on violent jihad –laid the groundwork for terrorist groups around the world," the report continued. An Egyptian-American cab driver, Ihab Mohamed Ali Nawawi, was arrested in Florida in 1990 on accusations he was an al-Qaida sleeper agent and a former personal pilot to bin Laden. At the time he was accused of serving bin Laden, he also reportedly worked for the Pakistani branch of the MWL. The MWL in 1988 founded the Al Haramain Islamic Foundation, developing chapters in about 50 countries, including for a time in Oregon until it was designated a terrorist organization. In the early 1990s, evidence began to grow that the foundation was funding Islamist militants in Somalia and Bosnia, and a 1996 CIA report detailed its Bosnian militant ties. The U.S. Treasury designated Al Haramain's offices in Kenya and Tanzania as sponsors of terrorism for their role in planning and funding the 1998 bombings of two American embassies in East Africa. The Comoros Islands office was also designated because it "was used as a staging area and exfiltration route for the perpetrators of the 1998 bombings." The New York Times reported in 2003 that Al Haramain had provided funds to the Indonesian terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah, which was responsible for the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people. The Indonesia office was later designated a terrorist entity by the Treasury. In February 2004, the U.S. Treasury Department froze all Al Haramain's financial assets pending an investigation, leading the Saudi government to disband the charity and fold it into another group, the Saudi National Commission for Relief and Charity Work Abroad. In September 2004, the U.S. designated Al-Haramain a terrorist organization. In June 2008, the Treasury Department applied the terrorist designation to the entire Al-Haramain organization worldwide
Bin Laden's brother-in-law
In August 2006, the Treasury Department also designated the Philippine and Indonesian branch offices of the MWL-founded IIRO as terrorist entities "for facilitating fundraising for al-Qaida and affiliated terrorist groups." The Treasury Department added: "Abd Al Hamid Sulaiman Al-Mujil, a high-ranking IIRO official [executive director of its Eastern Province Branch] in Saudi Arabia, has used his position to bankroll the al-Qaida network in Southeast Asia. Al-Mujil has a long record of supporting Islamic militant groups, and he has maintained a cell of regular financial donors in the Middle East who support extremist causes." In the 1980s, Mohammed Jamal Khalifa, Osama bin Laden's brother-in-law, ran the Philippines offices of the IIRO. Khalifa has been linked to Manila-based plots to target the pope and U.S. airlines. The IIRO has also been accused of funding Hamas, Algerian radicals, Afghanistan militant bases and the Egyptian terror group Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya. The New York Post reported the families of the 9/11 victims filed a lawsuit against IIRO and other Muslim organizations for having "played key roles in laundering of funds to the terrorists in the 1998 African embassy bombings" and for having been involved in the "financing and 'aiding and abetting' of terrorists in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing."
'Saudi government front'
In a court case in Canada, Arafat El-Asahi, the Canadian director of both the IIRO and the MWL, admitted the charities are near entities of the Saudi government. Stated El-Asahi: "The Muslim World League, which is the mother of IIRO, is a fully government-funded organization. In other words, I work for the Government of Saudi Arabia. I am an employee of that government. "Second, the IIRO is the relief branch of that organization, which means that we are controlled in all our activities and plans by the Government of Saudi Arabia. Keep that in mind, please," he said. Despite its offshoots being implicated in terror financing, the U.S. government never designated the MWL itself as a terror-financing charity. Many have speculated the U.S. has been trying to not embarrass the Saudi government.
Tied to Egypt's new Muslim Brotherhood president
Last month, author Walid Shoebat reported that while she acted as one of 63 leaders of the Muslim Sisterhood, the de facto female version of the Muslim Brotherhood, Saleha Abedin served alongside Najla Ali Mahmoud, the wife of Mohammed Mursi, Egypt's new president.Clinton met with Mursi last Sunday. Saleha Abedin and Mursi's wife both were members of the Sisterhood's Guidance Bureau, Shoebat found.
Hillary praise
Saleha Mahmood Abedin is an associate professor of sociology at Dar Al-Hekma College in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which she helped to create. She formerly directed the Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs in the U.K. and served as a delegate for the Muslim World League, an Islamic fundamentalist group Osama bin Laden reportedly told an associate was one of his most important charity fronts. In February 2010, Clinton spoke at Abedin's college, where she was first introduced by Abedin and then praised the work of the terror-tied professor: "I have to say a special word about Dr. Saleha Abedin," Clinton said. "You heard her present the very exciting partnerships that have been pioneered between colleges and universities in the United States and this college. And it is pioneering work to create these kinds of relationships. "But I have to confess something that Dr. Abedin did not," Clinton continued, "and that is that I have almost a familial bond with this college. Dr. Abedin's daughter, one of her three daughters, is my deputy chief of staff, Huma Abedin, who started to work for me when she was a student at George Washington University in Washington, D.C."
ROBERT SPENCER INTERVIEW FROM JIHAD WATCH Spencer interview: Abedin/Weiner: A Marriage Made by Hillary Clinton and the Muslim Brotherhood?
In "A Marriage Made by Hillary Clinton and the Muslim Brotherhood?" in FrontPage tonight Jamie Glazov interviews me about the strange case of Huma Abedin, Anthony Weiner and Hillary Clinton:
Frontpage Interview's guest today is Robert Spencer, the director of Jihad Watch and the author of the New York Times bestsellers The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades) and The Truth About Muhammad.
Frontpage: Robert Spencer, welcome to Frontpage Interview.
I would like to talk to you today about Anthony Weiner's marriage to his Muslim Brotherhood wife, Huma Abedin.
How is it exactly that a Muslim woman who is connected to the Muslim Brotherhood is married to a Jewish man? Something is not fitting here is it?
Spencer: Jamie, Islamic law prohibits a Muslim woman from marrying a non-Muslim man. A Muslim man may marry a non-Muslim woman, but not the other way around. This is yet another manifestation of Islamic supremacism: the idea is that a wife will become a member of her husband's household, and the children will follow the religion of the father. Thus, Muslim men marrying non-Muslim women ultimately enriches the Islamic community, while the non-Muslim community must forever be made to diminish.
Consequently, when a non-Muslim man begins a relationship with an observant Muslim woman, he is usually pressured to convert to Islam, and such conversion is made a condition of the marriage. Of course, laws are often honored in the breach, and this is not always true. So while we know that Huma Abedin's parents were devout and observant Muslims — indeed, her father was an imam — we don't know what exactly is going on with her marriage to Anthony Weiner.
Certainly the most likely scenario is that Weiner did convert to Islam, as Abedin's mother, a professor in Saudi Arabia, would almost certainly have insisted that he do so. Weiner has made no public statement of this conversion, but since it would almost certainly have cost him politically if he had announced it, this silence is not any indication that he didn't actually convert.
However, it is also possible, given the recent scandal involving Weiner's apparently frequent and sexually charged contact with other women, that the rumors that the Abedin/Weiner union is a political marriage of convenience are true. After all, in 2008, Hillary Clinton was running for president. There were widespread insinuations that she was involved in a romantic and/or sexual relationship with Abedin, her ever-present personal assistant. Those whisperings persisted into Clinton's tenure as Secretary of State. Abedin's 2010 marriage to Weiner, at which Bill Clinton presided, put those rumors to rest.
In Islamic law, a Muslim must officiate a marriage ceremony; hence if Bill Clinton was the only one officiating, the marriage was not valid according to Islamic law. Huma Abedin would undoubtedly have known that. Thus, if no Muslim was officiating along with Clinton, Weiner would not have had to convert to Islam, as the whole thing was a charade from the outset, apparently entered into with the full awareness of all parties concerned.
FP: This all seems very strange. What do you personally think is going on?
Spencer: Either Weiner converted to Islam to marry Abedin, and a Muslim was officiating at the ceremony along with Clinton, or the marriage is a sham and Abedin, at very least, is fully aware of that — and probably the others are also. I don't see any other possibilities.
FP: Sorry, I am a bit confused about the Bill Clinton angle. Isn't this a bit of a bizarre person to ask to officiate your wedding? One would think that in getting married, you have things like faithfulness and loyalty on your mind, no?
Spencer: Yes, Bill Clinton is a strange choice, indeed — unless the whole point of the union had to do more with the Clinton connection than with faithfulness and loyalty.
FP: According to Islamic Law, Huma Abedin could be killed, right? If the whole thing is not a charade and a trick, it is a bit bizarre that her family, who are Muslim Brotherhood and Muslim Sisterhood operatives, have allowed this and not punished her, no?
Spencer: Yes, Jamie. If the marriage is not a sham, it is exceedingly strange that Huma Abedin's mother and other Muslim Brotherhood connections would have no problem with it. She is, of course, a high profile individual in the United States, and thus is in a very different situation from that of a woman in Saudi Arabia who might enter into a relationship with a non-Muslim man. In Saudi Arabia, such a woman would almost certainly be murdered; would Brotherhood operatives murder the aide to the Secretary of State for committing the same sin? That is not so clear.
FP: Last year, Walid Shoebat translated the Arabic declarations relative to the validity of the Weiner-Abedin marriage. One publication Shoebat translated was the Al-Marsid newspaper, which reported on the marriage specifically:
"Dr. Anwar Shoeb of the faculty of Islamic law in Kuwait declared that the marriage between Anthony Weiner and Huma Abedin is null and void, considering it adultery as confirmed in the Sharia position, prohibiting the marriage of a Muslim woman to a non-Muslim, regardless of whether he is a Jew or a Christian. In this case, he assured the invalidity of the marriage certificate between them."
Your thoughts on this?
Spencer: Dr. Shoeb is completely correct, of course, from the standpoint of Islamic law. In light of that, it is striking that there is no record anywhere of any Islamic anger about Abedin's marriage or Hillary Clinton's connection with her. This lends credence to the possibility that the marriage is a sham, and is known to be a sham among those in the Islamic world who have been responsible for stirring up and manipulating popular anger about other matters, such as the cartoons of Muhammad.
FP: So, just to crystallize the matter then, there is a remote possibility that Abedin is actually being deceptive in her marriage to Weiner to follow Muslim Brotherhood instructions and to infiltrate the U.S. government, correct?
Spencer: Certainly. That is a very real possibility, and it should be investigated. But the only ones who have the means to do so are mainstream media journalists who are either clueless or complicit....
Something to think about
Before Islam came to dominate there, Afghanistan was a trade zone, with Aramaic Christians, Zoroastrians, Jews and Buddhists. There were schools and universities. It was a center of learning and a place where diverse cultures came together. Then the Muslims arrived and began the program of Islamization. And now, look at Afghanistan today!
Mike Huckabee's Chick-Fil-A Letter
Dear Friend, I have been incensed at the vitriolic assaults on the Chick Fil-A company because the CEO, Dan Cathy, made comments recently in which he affirmed his view that the Biblical view of marriage should be upheld. The Cathy family, let by Chick Fil-A founder Truett Cathy, are a wonderful Christian family who are committed to operating the company with Biblical principles and whose story is the true American success story. Starting at age 46 Truett Cathy built Chick Fil-A into a $4 billion a year enterprise with over 1600 stores. At 91, he is still active in the company, but his son Dan runs it day to day as CEO. It's a great American story that is being smeared by vicious hate speech and intolerant bigotry from the left. The Chick Fil-A company refuses to open on Sundays so that their employees can go to church if they wish. Despite the pressure from malls, airports, and the business world to open on Sundays, they still don't. They treat customers and employees with respect and dignity. I ask you to join me in speaking out on Wednesday, August 1 "Chick Fil-A Appreciation Day." No one is being asked to make signs, speeches, or openly demonstrate. The goal is simple: Let's affirm a business that operates on Christian principles and whose executives are willing to take a stand for the Godly values we espouse by simply showing up and eating at Chick Fil-A on Wednesday, August 1.Too often, those on the left make corporate statements to show support for same sex marriage, abortion, or profanity, but if Christians affirm traditional values, we're considered homophobic, fundamentalists, hate-mongers, and intolerant. This effort is not being launched by the Chick Fil-A company and no one from the company or family is involved in proposing or promoting it. There's no need for anyone to be angry or engage in a verbal battle. Simply affirm appreciation for a company run by Christian principles by showing up on Wednesday, August 1 or by participating online - tweeting your support or sending a message on Facebook. No need to make signs, honk horns, or have rallies. Just show up August 1, eat, and/or affirm support for a business that stands for something.
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