Last post it was detrimental to actually observe the true definition of "Islamaphobia". That is, "To have a fear of..." in this case, Islam or Muslims. Now it's not necessarily being afraid of them as people and it would be unfair to paint every single one of them with the same broad brush, however it is a movement that concerns many. In fact, the world. One that calls on the Muslim believer to "eradicate the land of the infidel". I have asked the question of many a Muslim (I admit already knowing the answer) "Just who is the infidel?"That, of course, is the non believer. But the bigger question, and it is pertinent to exclude the Muslim scholars from this question, "Have the Imans and Clerics not called for Holy Jihad on the infidels?" The answer is unequivocally "Yes". I have found this question often answered in a low mumble to silence. It is important to note that is the Imans and clerics, NOT the scholars, whose commands are held with reverence. Then the knock out question, "Is it not also true that when this particular command is given that Muslims who then kill an infidel secure themselves a place in Heaven?"

I can honestly say I have NEVER recieved a response on the last question. Only a look of disappointment and more silence. That brought me to ask the question in the previous article, "Is Islamaphobia justifiable?"
I think the silence answers for itself. But let's move on to the misapplication of the word. Many Muslims will throw this word out when they feel they are essentially being persecuted for their faith. Planes, buses, cars, buildings, innocent women and children have all been blown to smithereens in the name of Islam. This has been a relentless constant in our world that has intensified with such wrath that it is only natural that "Islamaphobia" is alive and well.
Unlike a "cult" where a self proclaimed/appointed prophet successfully manages to brainwash those within the commune where the damage done is always from within, involving only those who took part, radical Islam is quite the opposite. It calls for death and destruction to all who stand on the outside. This apparently defines the "Religion of Peace" and tolerance. Let's look, once again, at the shining examples Islam thereby displaying the appropiate and well deserved scrutiny of this destructive faith.

Here are some examples you will never read about in mainstream media:
- Muslim militants killed at least two Christians and wounded dozens more on March 3, 2008, in the town of Nensabo located 325 km southeast of the capital Addis Ababa.....militants attacked the Christians, including women and children, while they were attending a worship service. (Classy, isn't it?)
the attack was part of a plan by Muslim militants, influenced by the spread of Wahhabism in the area, to wipe out Christians from the Muslim-dominated region. The plan included destruction of churches and attacks on Christian groups involved in missionary work.
- On February 10, Jemmal Abdo (30) and his wife, both Muslim converts to Christianity, were beaten and chased out from a mosque where they both worked in the capital city of Addis Ababa...Soon after their conversion, one of Jemmal's friends saw him talking with Christians and told the imam of the mosque. On February 10, Jemmal and his wife were interrogated in the mosque during a meeting called by Muslim leaders in an attempt to persuade the couple to recant their faith. The couple refused to do so, even after the leaders offered them higher positions and salaries if they denied Christ. The couple was then beaten and dragged out of the mosque. (More tolerance for ya!)
- An evangelist, Daniel Sodager Masih (55), was beaten by Muslims at approximately 7:30 p.m. in Lahore on February 11. Masih was preaching on the road when a Muslim man emerged from his nearby shop and began to shout at him. Masih told the man that he could not stop him from preaching God's Word. The man slapped Masih and was soon joined by another Muslim shopkeeper.
- Five church buildings were destroyed, several people injured, and the homes of a number of Christians burned in violence in Yana, Bauchi state, Nigeria on February 2, according to a February 12 report from Compass Direct. On the evening of February 1, Patience Yusuf met with an unidentified Muslim man outside her home upon his request. The man told her that he wanted to befriend and marry her but Yusuf refused him. The man begged her "in the name of God and his apostle, Muhammad," to become his girlfriend. Yusuf again refused, saying: "You are pleading in the name of a person I do not know. Jesus I know, but Muhammad I do not know." The man left and later that night told friends and neighbours that Yusuf had blasphemed against Muhammad.The next morning, he led a group of Muslims to Yusuf's house to confront her. She escaped to the local police station for protection but the mob followed her and demanded that she be killed for her alleged crime in accordance with Islamic law. When the police refused to give her up, the Muslims attacked the officers and burned down the station. Shortly afterwards, hundreds of armed Muslims rioted in the streets, attacking and injuring several Christians. Buildings belonging to the Evangelical Church of West Africa, the Church of Nigeria, the Apostolic Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Church of Christ in Nigeria were destroyed. Approximately 1,000 people were reportedly displaced in the violence.
- Police arrested and tortured a Christian teenager, Farzana (16), after her Muslim employer falsely accused her of theft in Lahore on March 27, according to a March 28 report from Sharing Life Ministry Pakistan. Following her arrest from the house of her employer, Muhammad Abid, the police took her to the station where she was tortured and forced to confess to stealing from Abid. The same day, at 11 p.m., the police searched Farzana's home and arrested her elderly father and three brothers, whom they also tortured. Her father and brothers were released the following day when a crowd protested the police's actions.No formal charge has been issued against Farzana and there is no evidence to indicate her guilt. However, it is common in Pakistan for Muslim employers to falsely accuse Christians of crimes, particularly young Christian girls who are forced to work as house servants.

- Four teachers, two British citizens of Somali origin - Mr. Daud Hassan Ali (64) and Ms. Rehana Ahmed (32) - and two unidentified Kenyans, were shot and killed by Islamist insurgents during a midnight raid on the Hakab Private English School in the town of Beledweyne, south-central Somalia on April 13. Al-Shabab, the militant Islamic group responsible for the violence, alleged that they fired indiscriminately and that the teachers were killed in cross-fire. Local people, however, believe that the teachers were singled out for their suspected evangelistic work. The wife of Daud Hassan Ali alleged that her husband was targeted because he was a Muslim-born convert to Christianity.
- On March 2, Pastor Motilal Das' 13-year-old daughter, Elina Das, was raped by five Muslims intent on stopping his ministry work in the village of Laksmipur, Mymensingh district, according to a May 8 report from Compass Direct. The Muslims abducted Elina while she was walking to a latrine outside her home. They gagged her and took her to a nearby tea stall where she was repeatedly raped. At approximately 3:00 a.m., Pastor Das found Elina unconscious on his doorstep. When he went to the police station, the officers reluctantly registered the case after accusing him of filing a false case. Muslims have since threatened to kill him and his family if he does not withdraw the charges. Pastor Das claimed that locals Muslim had have long been angered by his evangelistic work in the area and he had previously received death threats. Male Muslim classmates had repeatedly teased and harassed Elina, the only Christian in her school, about her faith.
- David Abdulwahab Mohamed Ali (29), a convert to Christianity from Islam, was killed by Muslim militants on April 22 at approximately 4:30 p.m. in the Somali town of Baidawa,...A cousin of Ali and two members of Al-Shabab, a militant Islamic organization affiliated with Al-Qaeda, were reportedly responsible for the murder. Ali, an evangelist who had helped to lead many to Christ, had been living in Ethiopia since 2000 and was in Somalia to visit family members.
- Dr. Robin Sardar (55) was falsely accused of blasphemy by a local Muslim, Muhammad Rafique, in the district of Hafizabad, Punjab on May 5, according to a May 7 report ...The tension between the men was sparked six months ago, when Rafique visited Sardar's clinic. Rafique shook the hands of his Muslim friends present but refused to shake Sardar's hand, saying, "It's my insult to shake hand with a Christian." Some weeks later, Rafique was angered when Sardar stopped him from setting up his shop stall in front of his clinic. He then filed a case against Sardar falsely accusing him of "humiliating the prophet Muhammad."When local Muslims heard of the charges, they used a loudspeaker to demand the killing of Dr. Sardar, calling him a "kaffir" (infidel). A mob intent on killing Dr. Sardar and his family surrounded his home but the police were able to prevent any violence. The militants then pressured the police to arrest Dr. Sardar on charges of blasphemy. He has been detained in a local prison.
- On May 12, the police rescued two Christian girls, Mary Chikwodi Okoye (15) and Uche Edward (14), who were kidnapped by Muslim militants three weeks ago in the town of Ningi, Bauchi state, according to a May 19 report from Compass Direct. The kidnappers initially took the girls to the house of a Muslim leader in the town of Wudil. Okoye's foster father and a group of believers heard where the girls were being held. When they arrived at the home, however, the girls had been relocated to the residence of a Muslim leader in Ningi. When the team went to this home they were told by the leader that the girls had converted to Islam and could not be released. The police then stepped in and evacuated the girls to eastern Nigeria where they were reunited with their biological parents.The following day, Muslims associated with a paramilitary arm of Kano state's Sharia Commission went on a rampage, attacking Christians and setting fire to local churches, in protest of the girls' release. Six church buildings -- the Deeper Life Bible Church, St. Mary's Catholic Church, All Souls Anglican Church, Church of Christ in Nigeria, Redeemed Christian Church of God, and the Redeemed Peoples Mission -- were destroyed in the attack. The Muslims also attacked shops belonging to Okoye's foster father, looting and destroying goods worth over 50 million naira
- Joseph Francis, a Christian rights activist and partner of Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS) was attacked by two unidentified Muslim militants in Lahore, Pakistan on May 23, according to a June 4 report from CLAAS. The men chased down Francis' vehicle on motorbikes and one of them pulled a gun in an attempt to forcibly stop his car. They accused Francis of committing blasphemy, a crime punishable by death, and threatened to kill him if he continued to work with CLAAS to help "blasphemers." Due to the heavy traffic, he was able to escape the men and call his staff members for help. When the staff members arrived they stopped the men, who then fled. This is the second attack on Francis in less than three months. On March 6, militants attacked his car as he arrived at a rehabilitation centre with a Christian girl who had been raped by Muslims.
- On May 25, a 12-year-old girl from a Christian family, Elishba, was raped by three Muslims in Lahore, according to a June 13 report from AsiaNews. Elishba's father, Niamat Masih, returned from work to find her not at home and grew worried for her safety because she suffers from mental problems. When he went outside to look for her he heard noises coming from a nearby home and went inside. He was met by the young Muslim men who fled at the sight of him. He then found Elishba lying unconscious on the floor with her clothing torn. Elishba's family initially refrained from reporting the crime or filing charges because they were threatened by local Muslims (Nothiung like spreading the love of allah)
- A mob of local Muslims attacked shops and homes belonging to Coptic Christians in the village of Al Nazla, Fayoum province, on June 19. When a convert from Christianity to Islam left that day on a three-day trip to Cairo, local Muslims concluded that she had gone missing. Rumours circulated that she had been abducted by her Christian family members. A mob of Muslims then went on a rampage in the village, beating and injuring Christians and destroying property
(This is NOT OK!)
(But apparently it is OK to insult the God of other's)If those who suscribe to Islam want to continue to cry out and continue to misappropiate the correct terminology, then judging by their actions on a worldwide scale it is quite confusing how they have never been labelled and/or accused of their blatant Christianphobic ways.
Until next time...
26 comments:
Wow, long post. I will have to re-read it to get it to sink in. I think on first reading, you are attempting to justifying islamaphobia.
As an atheist i find all devotion to religion strange to begin with. When it moves into scary territory such as people killing in the name of their 'God', i do find myself thinking that the World would be a more peaceful place without it. All religions have there extremes but what happens is that the majority seem to get tarred with the brush of the minority such as happened with the Islamics, American Evangelicals, and previously in N Ireland.
The extremes should not be ignored
and should be tackled but it is a very dangerous game to focus only on the extremes of anything and potentially stoke up hatred in such a combustible area such as religion.
Lucy,
Actually, you are correct. I am trying to justify it but within it's proper context. That is to have fear of..with good reason. Muslims are trying to misuse the term as one of racism and blatant discrimination.
As I point out in the article, when one takes into consideration their deploarable actions on a world wide scale, it is astounding that nobody has EVER acknowledged the "Christianphobia" these hypocrites impose on a daily basis.
The actions of Islam on a worldwide scale place the "infidel" in the position of having no alternative but to be "on his/her gaurd". To scrutinize and excercise caution.
Is it fair to the muslims who are not condoning of the more radicals? I would say no but at the same time they are pretty dam silent when it comes to being vocal against the radicals who are supposedly maligning the name of their god.
Publish a cartoon and the moderate muslims are up in arms worldwide. Blow up innocent women and children on a daily basis and not so much as a finger wagging.
As one writer put it:
"How do I differentiate between the true Arab/Muslim-Americans and the Arab/Muslim terrorists in our communities who are attending our schools, enjoying our parks, and living in OUR communities under the protection of OUR constitution, while they plot the next attack that will slaughter these same good neighbors and children?
The events of September 11th changed the answer. It is not my responsibility to determine which of you embraces our great country, with ALL of its religions, with ALL of its different citizens, with all of its faults. It is time for every Arab/Muslim in this country to determine it for me.
I want to know, I demand to know, and I have a right to know, whether or not you love America . Do you pledge allegiance to its flag? Do you proudly display it in front of your house, or on your car? Do you pray in your many daily prayers that Allah will bless this nation, that He will protect and prosper it? Or do you pray that Allah with destroy it in one of your Jihad's? Are you thankful for the freedom that only this nation affords? A freedom that was paid for by the blood of hundreds of thousands of patriots who gave their lives for this country? Are you willing to pr eserve this freedom by also paying the ultimate sacrifice? Do you love America ? If this is your commitment, then I need YOU to start letting ME know about it.
Your Muslim leaders in this nation should be flooding the media at this time with hard facts on your faith, and what hard actions you are taking as a community and as a religion to protect the United States of America . Please, no more benign overtures of regret for the death of the innocent because I worry about who you regard as innocent. No more benign overtures of condemnation for the unprovoked attacks because I worry about what is unprovoked to you. I am not interested in any more sympathy. I am only interested in action. What will you do for America - our great country - at this time of crisis, at this time of war?
I want to see Arab-Muslims waving the AMERICAN flag in the streets. I want to hear you chanting 'Allah Bless America ' I want to see young Arab/Muslim men enlisting in the military. I want to see a commitment of money, time, and emotion to the victims of this butchering and to this nation as a whole.
The FBI has a list of over 400 people they want to talk to regarding the WTC attack. Many of these people live and socialize right now in Muslim communities. You know them. You know where they are. Hand them over to us, now! But I have seen little even approaching this sort of action. Instead I have seen an already closed and secretive community close even tighter. You have disappeared from the streets. You have posted armed security guards at your facilities. You have threatened lawsuits. You have screamed for protection from reprisals.
The very few Arab/Muslim representatives that HAVE appeared in the media were defensive and equivocating. They seemed more concerned with making sure that the United States proves who was responsible before taking action. They seemed more concerned with protecting their fellow Muslims from violence directed towards them in the United States and abroad than they did with supporting our country and denouncing 'leaders' like Khadafi, Hussein, Farrakhan, and Arafat.
If the true teachings of Islam proclaim tolerance and peace and love for all people, then I want chapter and verse from the Koran and statements from popular Muslim leaders to back it up. What good is it if the teachings in the Koran are good, and pure, and true, when your 'leaders' are teaching fanatical interpretations, terrorism, and intolerance? It matters little how good Islam SHOULD BE if huge numbers of the world's Muslims interpret the teachings of Mohammed incorrectly and adhere to a degenerative form of the religion. A form that has been demonstrated to us over and over again. A form whose structure is built upon a foundation of violence, death, and suicide. A form whose members are recruited from the prisons around the world. A form whose members (some as young as five years old) are seen day after day, week in and week out, year after year, marching in the streets around the world, burning effigies of our presidents, burning the American flag, shooting weapons into the air. A form whose members convert from a peaceful religion, only to take up arms against the great United States of America, the country of their birth. A form whose rules are so twisted, that their traveling members refuse to show their faces at airport security checkpoints, in the name of Islam.
We will NEVER allow the attacks of September 11, or any others for that matter, to take away that which is so precious to us: Our rights under the greatest constitution in the world. I want to know where every Arab Muslim in this country stands and I think it is my right and the right of every true citizen of this country to demand it. A right paid for by the blood of thousands of my brothers and sisters who died protecting the very constitution that is protecting you and your family."
A long response I know but I think the staement says it all.
With regards to your comment about:
" i do find myself thinking that the World would be a more peaceful place without it"
Funny you mention that I just responded to an article in the local newspaper suggesting that very thing. Here is my response as it was printed in the paper:
"Dear Editor,
Re: Politicians not guided by God (August 1, 2008)
While Mr. Zienkiewicz makes for some valid points in his editorial regarding the religious beliefs that may or may not influence the mind and moral compass of our politicians, he still paints a very narrow picture with a rather broad brush.
To suggest that the bloodshed over the centuries is solely the responsibility of those who have “claimed” that God endorses them is nothing more then a simple minded statement that refuses to acknowledge the deeper realties of truth. That is, “Absolute power, absolutely corrupts”
In World War 2 Hitler claimed to be a devout Christian. Yet the only ones who believed him were the atheists. Christians, Muslims, and Jews alike recognized that this deranged man filled with hate was clearly not espousing the Christian values Christ taught in the New Testament. His only support came from atheistic nation’s, that being Russia and China.
While there is much one can actually dissect out of Mr. Zienkiewicz’s article I believe the focal point is this. That any politician who comes into a place of power will ALWAYS bring their moral compass with them, regardless of their “faith”. However, if the suggestion that a politician who comes to power leaves God out of the picture, or as Mr. Zienkiewicz states, “ when humanity abandons its belief that there is a supreme being looking down on us” neglects something rather crucial. That is, even the atheist brings his/her belief/moral system to the table.
Ironically the atheist, by suggesting there is no God without offering any kind of substantial evidence of His non existence, ends up in the precarious position of exercising the very “act of faith” that they would condemn others for. Only their (the atheists) moral compass is based on one of self righteousness and arrogance. They can be just as guilty of imposing their own will upon the people based upon their “Belief” of what is right and wrong..
Yet if one believe’s the world would be a far better place without the influence of God in our politicians (and I do concede that some, not all, have abused their posititons) then maybe we should heed Mr. Zienkiewicz’s advice and look to the shining examples of devout atheist leaders in our planets history such as, Slobodan Milosevic, Mao Tse-Tung, Joseph Stalin, Vladimir Lenin, and Pol Pot, just to name a few. If we were keeping a body count score just for the past century alone, then the atheist led nations are winning hands down. If abandoning our “belief” is the answer, as Mr. Zienkiewicz would suggest, then let the bloodshed begin."
Signed by my "real" name but I did not want to deprive you of the mystery of TIO :)
You have a valid point about Christianphobia and i also found the actions of the muslim extremists abhorrent over the mohammed cartoons.
I just find religion evokes such deep emotions in some that it becomes a highly volatile subject.
I was interested in the part of your letter where you describe the Atheist leaders as responsible for more deaths then religious ones. Of course i disagree but that could well be another very interesting debate for another day.
Your real name isn't Cecil or Sebastian is it because that would remove all the mystery and coolness you have built up.
LOL No those are not my real names...although I once had a cat named Sebastian!
Lucy,
On the one hand blaming believers is kinda lame since the bulk of humanity has been a believer of one sort or another. Very few true atheists in the total of human history.
But, even staying with strict atheists the list is quite impressive: Stalin, Mao, Hirohito, Lenin. They killed a whole lot of people...
A better qualifier is whether the motivation was religion. Using this qualifier we can add Hitler, Mussolini, and Atilla to the list of people that killed rampantly without a religious motivation.
TIO
Good logic and data. However, I'm going to suggest that the real driving factor is not religion. The real driving factor is the religion combined with the nation. Didn't most of your data (maybe all) come from ntaions that are Kingdoms? Muslims in the U.S. ,and I submit Canada, aren't running around killing Christians... and other infidels.
Q
Q - Hitler was certainly not an atheist unless he meant something other when he mentioned doing the Lords work by killing the Jews.
Lucy,
Hitler's motivation was the conquest of Europe. He used religion to manipulate. He wasn't really on a Christian mission.
Even if I'm wrong about that, I take it you won't dispute the many millions killed by atheists like stalin, lenin, mao, hirohito...
Hence, dispelling the weak argument that eliminating religion will eliminate, or even dramtically reduce, war.
Q
Lucy,
Also, anybody can call themself a Christian. There is no way to know what they really think... I believe that many American polits just do it to get votes, and don't really believe. Or, if they believe it means little to them in their daily lives.
Q
Q,
Some of those nations I wouldn't exactly qualify as kingdoms but dictaorships in some instance's.
Lucy and Q,
With regards to my letter to the editor, Q nails my point bang on when he states:
Hitler's motivation was the conquest of Europe. He used religion to manipulate. He wasn't really on a Christian mission.
Saying he was on a misssion for the Lord without qualifying it scripturally certainly displays the manipulation of the Christian faith.
Interestingly enough, Hitler's mother was Jewish. So what was his real motivation? Religion? I highly doubt it.
Saddam Hussein did exactly the same thing with Islam the last two years of his life when he was desperate.
TIO,
There is book that talks to this whole concept. I suggest you read "True Beleiver" by Eric Hoffer.
It was a standard read in university in the US circa 1970
Q
I don't dispute Stalin, Mao and the rest, Q but Hitler was no atheist, he was raised a devout Catholic, his speeches and even Mein Kampf are littered with references to God. I accept Stalin and Mao on my side of the debate but Adolf was one of yours.
Lucy,
I think the point is missed here.
Hitler "claimed" to be a Christian but anyone who has read the New Testament (and I know that you have not my dear) knows that he was simply trying to manipulate a facade of a relationship with the Almighty.
Christ even spoke of false teachers and leaders (future tense) in the scriptures when he said: "Many will kill and think they are doing God a service" (although I honestly believe this references Islam more then anything)
So according to the teachings of the Bible, Hitler did not exude any of the "fruits of the spirit". If they are not present, or evident, then they are only "claiming" but not living it out. They are branded in scripture as "False prophets" with the "spirit of anti-Christ".
Therefore, to the Christian, he is not one of "ours". He is in fact, worldly making him one of "yours". :)
Maybe we have a different definition of 'being religious'. To me anyone who poo-poos the idea of a creator is an atheist, anyone who doesn't commit either way is an agnostic, anyone who
believes is religious. Very simple view i agree but i view it in very simple way. is there a God, No. You are atheist. Is there a god, yes. You are religious. Hitler believed there was a god so back he goes firmly into your camp which Stalin is happy about because the fuhrer kept using his moustache comb without asking.
I haven't read the New Testament but by all accounts the Old Testament is the one with all the good bits in it.
I forgot to add right at the top, good to see you back and still disagreeing with me.
Lucy,
Very simple view i agree
Sheesh, and you libs call us narrow minded LOL
I am glad to be back, sporadically as it is at times. The last year has not allowed me to be here or write any where near as much as I used too.
Often thought about giving it up altogether but the thought of breaking your heart was to much of a burden for me to bear ;)
Lucy,
That is an interesting view of "religious". I'll stand by my position that blaming religious people for war is rather a weak statement, especially since your definition of religious includes the bulk of all humanity. Essentially everything can be blamed on religious people, likewise everything good can be credited to religious people. Not very revealing.
More importantly though was my point that war is not a religious trait, it is a human trait. Eliminating religion, even as you define it, will not eliminate war.
Q
Q - I didn't blame any religious people for wars, don't know where you got that from. I did say that when people start killing each other in the name of their god i find myself thinking the world would be more peaceful without it. Of course religious people start wars, and of course atheists start them as well have done and will continue to do so for as long as their are humans beings so i agree entirley with your last paragraph. I have a simplistic view of religion because i devote as little time as possible to the subject and hold my hands up everytime to TIO and yourslef that I have almost complete ignorance on the subject so have a very simplistic view of it as i have with for example, clouds.
Lucy,
Ahhh. I mis-interpreted this: "When it moves into scary territory such as people killing in the name of their 'God', i do find myself thinking that the World would be a more peaceful place without it."
But I see now that you recognize that the people are people and war comes with that. God is just another reason for war.
Q
God, oil, territory, ideologies and if not any of those i am sure we will think up other reasons, we do seem a bit too good at that.
TIO,
Blessings on you and yours.
Q
TIO
Hi there! Good to see that you're still around and posting. No time to read the loooong post right now. Just wanted to drop by and say hello.
Oh, and...Reason's Greetings!
Thanks for the greetings Q and Karen. I am still very much around but the last 5 months of my life has been committed to building a house.
I hope to get back to writing soon
Have a very Merry Christmas :)
PS: I miss you guys :(
Just a note, Hitler did not have any Jewish relatives. That is speculation, nothing more.
Oh, and to Lucy, look up what Hitler would say about religion to his closest confidants. Hitler did not in any way, shape or form believe in the Judeo-Christian deity. He spoke very, very poorly of Christians.
thanks for sharing nice blog and good information
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