Category Archives: USA

Pope Benedict and holy war

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Daniel Johnson“Yesterday, the pope insisted that he did not agree with Manuel. But it is clear that he sympathized with this monarch of a doomed Christian civilization enough to use him as a mouthpiece through which he could pose his own implicit questions to Islam. Does the Muslim understanding of Allah allow rational debate about the morality of violence, given that the doctrine of jihad is a central pillar of Islam? If Allah is above reason, might violent jihad, including terrorism, be not merely justifiable but obligatory, as many Muslim scholars argue?

“By now, the answer to these questions is clear: churches firebombed in the West Bank and Gaza, a nun murdered in Somalia. Such persecution is, alas, routine in many Muslim lands, and Catholics are not the only victims. But it is clear that Muslim leaders – even those of ‘pro-Western’ countries such as Turkey or Pakistan – are not yet ready for the ‘frank’ dialogue proposed by the pope. By pointing out that violence is a part of medieval Islam, not a ‘distortion’, as Western liberals like to think, Benedict has touched a raw nerve.

“No, this pope is not naïve. It is our liberal, theologically illiterate politicians who are naïve. We are already at war – a holy war, which we may lose.”

Daniel Johnson in the New York Sun, 18 September 2006

Blame ‘grievance-nurturing multiculturalism’ for Muslim outrage at Pope

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“The combination of grievance-nurturing multiculturalism and instant headlines is having a disastrous effect on the worldwide Muslim community. There seems to be no limit to its spokesmen’s willingness to voice outrage; and their messages are then picked up by fanatics who mount appalling attacks on Christians in Muslim countries. When was the last time a Muslim leader apologised for such atrocities?

“The truth is that barbaric attacks happen weekly. No wonder that Benedict favours an urgent dialogue with Muslims on the subject of religious violence, rather than the usual touchy-feely exchange of compliments…. We suspect that Western public opinion is not displeased that Benedict has said the unsayable. Now it is time for other churchmen to tell their Muslim counterparts that, in addition to dishing out criticism, they must learn how to take it.”

Editorial in the Daily Telegraph, 18 September 2006

Over at Jihad Watch, Robert Spencer welcomes these “trenchant words from the Telegraph”.

Egypt’s Coptic Church rejects Pope’s Islam remarks

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Egypt’s Coptic Church has rejected Pope Benedict XVI’s remarks implicitly linking Islam and violence saying that Christianity taught love and respect for other faiths. “The Church categorically rejects the comments of the Vatican Pope,” said spokesman Bishop Murqos, whose church’s leader Shenuda III also bears the title pope.

“The Christian religion commands us to love other people whatever their faith,” the spokesman said in comments carried by the opposition daily Al-Wafd on Saturday. “We must respect the Muslim faithful and their prophet as we respect the followers of Jesus Christ and it is unacceptable to offend their religious beliefs. We utterly reject any offence to Islamic values or the Prophet.”

AFP, 16 September 2006

Over at Jihad Watch, Hugh Fitzgerald has a ready explanation for the Coptic pope’s principled and admirable stand on this issue – he’s being “held hostage” by those evil Muslims!

Dhimmi Watch, 17 September 2006

Pope gets it wrong on Islam

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Juan Cole writes: “what is most troubling of all is that the Pope gets several things about Islam wrong, just as a matter of fact. He notes that the text he discusses, a polemic against Islam by a Byzantine emperor, cites Qur’an 2:256: ‘There is no compulsion in religion.’ Benedict maintains that this is an early verse, when Muhammad was without power.

“His allegation is incorrect. Surah 2 is a Medinan surah revealed when Muhammad was already established as the leader of the city of Yathrib (later known as Medina or “the city” of the Prophet). The pope imagines that a young Muhammad in Mecca before 622 (lacking power) permitted freedom of conscience, but later in life ordered that his religion be spread by the sword. But since Surah 2 is in fact from the Medina period when Muhammad was in power, that theory does not hold water.

“In fact, the Qur’an at no point urges that religious faith be imposed on anyone by force.”

Informed Comment, 15 September 2006

NYT comes down against pope

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Pope (3)“There is more than enough religious anger in the world. So it is particularly disturbing that Pope Benedict XVI has insulted Muslims, quoting a 14th-century description of Islam as ‘evil and inhuman’….The Vatican issued a statement saying that Benedict meant no offense and in fact desired dialogue. But this is not the first time the pope has fomented discord between Christians and Muslims.

“In 2004 when he was still the Vatican’s top theologian, he spoke out against Turkey’s joining the European Union, because Turkey, as a Muslim country was ‘in permanent contrast to Europe’. A doctrinal conservative, his greatest fear appears to be the loss of a uniform Catholic identity, not exactly the best jumping-off point for tolerance or interfaith dialogue.

“The world listens carefully to the words of any pope. And it is tragic and dangerous when one sows pain, either deliberately or carelessly. He needs to offer a deep and persuasive apology, demonstrating that words can also heal.”

Editorial in New York Times, 16 September 2006

Needless to say, Robert Spencer denounces this reasoned criticism as a characteristic example of the “dhimmi” NYT appeasing the Muslim hordes.

Dhimmi Watch, 15 September 2006

Oriana Fallaci dead, Robert Spencer inconsolable

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Oriana FallaciThe woman who wrote that “Muslims have been told to come here and breed like rats” has died. Robert Spencer is heartbroken:

“Many times in her last months, after she did me the honor of calling me her friend, I thought to myself, What can I do for Oriana? Of course, the only answer was to do exactly what I am doing here at this site, and in my books, and in traveling around the country speaking, trying to alert people to the reality and magnitude of the global jihad.

“I invite you, then, on this day of sadness and loss, to pay tribute to Oriana. There is no way we can make up for what we have lost in her. But the best way we can pay tribute to Oriana is by becoming Oriana. Let there be a hundred new Orianas today, a thousand new passionate and articulate and absolutely unbowed defenders of Western culture and civilization, with a fine contempt for all the many weapons of physical and psychological intimidation that the jihadists and their non-Muslim allies and tools in the Western media and government establishments use to try to silence and discredit us.

“Buy her books. Give them to your friends and coworkers. Explain to them why she said … that ‘Europe becomes more and more a province of Islam, a colony of Islam’. Explain to them why that matters for so much that they hold dear. Enlist them also in the anti-jihad resistance.

“And when we prevail, we will be able to memorialize her fittingly, as a light that shone in our darkest days. May her memory be eternal.”

Jihad Watch, 15 September 2005

Chin up, Robert. As readers of our site can confirm, there is is no shortage of racist bigots ready and willing to replace dear departed Oriana.

US senator rejects Bush’s ‘Islamic fascists’ slur

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold called on President Bush to refrain from using the phrase “Islamic fascists,” saying it was offensive to Muslims and has nothing to do with terrorists fighting the United States.”We must avoid using misleading and offensive terms that link Islam with those who subvert this great religion or who distort its teachings to justify terrorist activities,” Feingold said Tuesday in a speech to the Arab American Institute on Capitol Hill.

The Wisconsin senator, a potential 2008 presidential candidate, said the label “Islamic fascists” makes no sense and doesn’t help the U.S. effort to combat terrorism. “Fascist ideology doesn’t have anything to do with the way global terrorist networks think or operate, and it doesn’t have anything to do with the overwhelming majority of Muslims around the world who practice the peaceful teachings of Islam,” Feingold said.

Associated Press, 12 September 2006

Stand by for a denunciation at Dhimmi Watch.

Church sign stirs anger in Florida

Posted on by Bob Pitt

muslims can convert“Muslims can convert to Christianity here!” read the sign Monday in front of the Congregational Church on Laurel Road. It was an invitation that the church’s pastor, K.C. McCay, admitted he didn’t expect anyone to accept. But coming on the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, it was bound to stir a response. And it did.

“If church leaders are really interested in saving people, they would find much less offensive ways to do it,” said Ahmed Bedier, director of the Tampa chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. “Religious leaders are adding fuel to the fire. It’s a shame.”

The church, which was founded by McCay’s father in 1977, has between 50 and 100 members, depending on the time of year. It is a conservative church that views Christianity as the only path to God. “We will not vary from that,” McCay said. “If Muslims want us to water it down, that might be all right for you, but we’re not biting.”

HeraldTribune.com, 12 September 2006

5 years on, US Muslims decry prejudice

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Five years after the terrorist 9/11 attacks, many American Muslims complain they continue to face discrimination and stereotyping because of their Islamic attires or identities, while others blame the problem on the misconception of Islam and urge fellow Muslims to work hard to reflect the right picture of their faith.

“The prejudice against Muslims is widespread since 9/11,” Dr. Siraj Islam Mufti, a retired faculty from the University of Arizona and a retired chaplain from the US Department of Justice told IslamOnline.net. “Some advocate profiling based on ethnicity, religion and even identification cards. As a result, there is an increase in a variety of hate crimes committed against Muslims,” added Mufti, now a Contractor to the Federal Correctional Institutions as Imam and a contract Imam with the Corrections Corporation of America in Arizona.

“I experienced some difficult moments of racial profiles,” insists hijab-clad Iman Hadi, remembering she faced her worst experience at the JFK airport in her way back from Egypt. “We were singled out and were detained for about 6 hours for no reason,” she complained. “They took us to a room where I found tens of Arabs and Muslims, even Egypt Air’s pilots were waiting there. They asked us several questions and treated us in a very aggressive way. And the officer was very rude and was trying to humiliate us.”

For Hadi, this was the moment when she felt stranger and unsafe in her own country where she lived for more than 20 years.

Islam Online, 12 September 2006