In the Jude-Christian Bible (New Testament), the greatest commandment Jesus said is "Love God and Lover Your Neighbor", which is over all the laws written (Old Testament). What about the Koran?
*Special Forward E-mail:
Allah or Jesus?
By Rick Mathes
Last month I attended my annual
training session that's required
for maintaining my state prison securitclearance. During the training
session there was a presentation by
three
speakers representing
the Roman Catholic, Protestant and
Muslim
faiths, who explained each of
their belief systems.
I was particularly
interested in
what the Islamic Imam had to
say. The Imam gave a great presentation
of the
basics of Islam, complete
with a video.
After the presentations,
time was
provided for questions and
answers. When it was my turn, I
directed my
question to the Imam and asked:
"Please, correct me if I'm wrong, but I
understand that most Imams and
clerics of Islam have declared a holy
jihad
[Holy war] against the infidels
of the world. And, that by killing an
infidel,
which is a command to all
Muslims, they are assured of a place in
heaven.
If that's the case, can you give me
the
definition of an infidel?"
There was no disagreement with my
statements
and, without hesitation, he
replied, "Non-believers!"
I responded, "So, let me make sure I
have this
straight. All followers of
Allah have been commanded to kill
everyone who
is not of your faith so they
can go to Heaven.Is that correct?
The expression on his face changed
from one
of authority and command to
that of a little boy who had just gotten
caught with his hand in
the cookie jar. He sheepishly replied,
"Yes."
I then stated, "Well, sir, I have a
problem trying to imagine Pope
John Paul commanding all Catholics to
kill
those of your faith or Dr Stanley
ordering Protestants to do the same in
order
to go to Heaven!"
The Imam was speechless. I continued,
"I
also have problem with being
your friend when
you and your brother clerics are telling
your
followers to kill me. Let me
ask you a question. Would you rather
have your
Allah who tells you to kill
me in order to go to Heaven or my Jesus
who
tells me to love you because I
am going to Heaven and He wants you to
be with
me?"
You could have heard a pin drop as
the
Imam hung his head in shame.
Needless to say, the organizers and/or
promoters of the 'Diversification'
training seminar were not happy with
Rick's
way of dealing with the Islamic
Imam and exposing the truth about the
Muslim's
beliefs.
I think everyone in the US should be
required to read this, but with the
liberal justice system, liberal media,
ACLU, there is no way this
will be widely publicized. Please pass
this on
to all your email contacts.
This is a true story and the author,
Rick
Mathes, is a well known leader
in prison ministry.
From: Prayer News Alert
To: Prayer News Alert
Sent: Saturday, October 23, 2004 9:13 PM
Subject: Weekly State Prayer Focus for WASHINGTON (Oct 24-30, 2004)
Shakedown for Treason
On December 15 Chuck prophesied exposure regarding a tie with Syria. September 2, 2004 Spc. Ryan G. Anderson, Washington National Guardsman was sentenced by a military jury to life in prison with eligibility for parole in 20 years for attempting to give aid and intelligence to the enemy. Anderson, a North Seattle resident and Muslim convert, was arrested February 12, 2004 following a government sting operation at Fort Lewis, Tacoma. One of the most powerful pieces of evidence was a video, secretly recorded three days before his arrest, showing Anderson share information on troop strengths, tactics and methods of killing U.S. soldiers and destroying M1 Abrams tanks and other vehicles with undercover agents he believed were al-Qaida operatives. Anderson's arrest came just weeks before his unit, the 81st Armored Brigade, deployed for a yearlong assignment in Iraq.
God is requiring His people to arise as worshipping warriors. Chuck challenged the state to a once a week watch from 3:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. from December 14 to March 21, 2004. You will have breakthroughs that you will not have at any other time. You will gain revelation from the Lord. God says: If you'll rise up early with Me, if you'll shake out the enemy, the enemy will be shaken out of this region There were 21 churches with corporate watches and over 100 individuals that recorded their watch day. ...more..
A co-worker of mine asked me why "they" hate America so much. I (Sal) wasn't able to answer her question right away, so I decided to re"search" on this topic:
"The reason Islam seems like such an angry religion today is because so many Muslims are angry. The reason so many Muslims are angry is because most of them live under antidemocratic regimes backed by America, with lagging economies and shrinking opportunities for young people." This is Thomas L. Friedman's explanation as it appeared first in one of his columns for The New York Times and now in his excellent book, "Longitudes & Attitudes: Exploring the World After September 11."
It's the kind of anger that can inspire 19 Muslims to attack the United States of America, but there is a largely unspoken factor that few in the mainstream media have addressed. It is the hatred of Jews. "-
Facts of Israel
"There is a Biblical explanation for this phenomenon. The hand of the Lord is upon the Israelis and his wrath is upon the Arab-Moslem opposition to Israel. We have written many articles in this newsletter documenting that the present ingathering of the Jewish people to the land of Israel is a fulfillment of ancient Biblical prophecy. One of the most common subjects of prophecy is that of the ingathering of the exiles to the land. On the other hand, God�s judgment is on those who are standing in the way of the ingathering and, in particular, those who are boldly opposing it. In the Biblical era, we read that on occasion God hardened the heart of the people opposing His purpose. We believe that same thing is happening today."-Israeli-Palestininan Conflict
'"The Qur�ān [1] (Arabic: القرآن ;al-ķur'ān, literally "the recitation"; also sometimes transliterated as Quran, Koran, or Alcoran) is the central religious text of Islam. Muslims believe the Qur'an to be the book of divine guidance and direction for mankind and consider the text in its original Arabic to be the literal word of Allah,[2] revealed to Muhammad over a period of twenty-three years[3][4] and view the Qur'an as God's final revelation to humanity.[5][6]"
-Teaches Violence? "Moussaoui details his hatred of America
(AP (yahoo news) - Fri Apr 14, 7:32 AM ET)
ALEXANDRIA , Va. - Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui insists he does not want to be executed, but for the second time he took the stand at his death-penalty trial and spouted off in a way that could eliminate any chance for mercy. Moussaoui mocked the tearful testimony of 9/11 victims and their families and wished for similar attacks every day until America falls. He gave a detailed explanation of his hatred for America, flipping through a Quran on the witness stand trying to find justification for his views."
Can't Label All Muslims as Terrorists
Canadian was falsely accused, panel says
Muslim held by U.S. was sent to Syria for interrogation
By Doug Struck
Updated: 4:42 a.m. CT Sept 19, 2006 "
TORONTO, Sept. 18 - Canadian intelligence officials passed false warnings and bad information to American agents about a Muslim Canadian citizen, after which U.S. authorities secretly whisked him to Syria, where he was tortured, a judicial report found Monday.
Same father-Abraham
Abraham is a father of all three faiths-Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was known for his faith that was shown through the "almost" sacrificial of his son, Isaac. This can be compared to how our Heavenly Father sacrificed his one and only Son-Jesus on the cross on Calvary...
Related Sites: Abraham and Isaac-the proposed sacrifice. What does it mean? Bible Stories : Abraham's Sacrifice, Jesus Answers Abraham and the Child of Sacrifice - Isaac or Ishmael?, from answering-isalm why does it matter so much Abraham was to sacrifice Ishmael... "Ishmael was born to Abraham and Hagar, [Abrahams servant girl] with the approval of Sarah, because Sarah was by then too old to have children. And she wanted Abraham to have a son to leave his wealth to.
however, God had other plans, and had the elderly
Sarah fall pregnant with Isaac.
Because Sarah was abraham's WIFE, Isaac became the proper heir.
Then Hagar and Ishmael were banished.
By ordering Abraham to sacrifice his ONLY LEGAl HEIR, God was testing Abraham's faith.
In those early days, a Jews lineage was very important to them.
A man's family line could only continue through proper marriage arrangements.
Abraham and Hagar were not married."
-"Read Genesis 22:1-18 to get the whole account accurately. He tested Abraham on obedience. If he sacrificed Isaac without hesitation, it would prove his willingness to obey God without knowing the reason why. Because Abraham did so, God provided the sacrificial ram in place of Isaac, his only son at that time. Ishmael was born later. Hope that answers your question. "
"Muhammad grew up worshipping many pagan gods in the Kabah including the moon, either called Hubal and Allah. After his conversion to monotheism, through the influence of Christians, Muhammad stopped worshiping the moon. The same is true for all Muslims since, down to the present day. However, the crescent moon is the universal symbol of Islam. Muslims will argue that there is no archeological evidence for the crescent moon symbol being used in Islam for the first few centuries after Muhammad. Yet Muslims also claim that Koran in its completed form existed in the time of Muhammad, yet there is no archeological evidence for this claim either. What we can be sure of, is the moon worship was more prevalent in Arabia than any other part of the world and that the symbol of the crescent moon has been used by the Arab religions as far back as the time of Abraham. It is a falsification of history to think there is no connection with the history of the crescent moon symbol of pagan moon god worship and Islam...
...Harran was likewise noted for its devotion to the moon-god. is shown to the right. Note the presence of the crescent moon on the Babylonian moon-god.
"The crescent moon and star symbol actually pre-dates Islam by several thousand years. Information on the origins of the symbol are difficult to ascertain, but most sources agree that these ancient celestial symbols were in use by the peoples of Central Asia and Siberia in their worship of sun, moon, and sky gods. There are also reports that the crescent moon and star were used to represent the Carthaginian goddess Tanit or the Greek goddess Diana...
Based on this history, many Muslims reject using the crescent moon as a symbol of Islam. The faith of Islam has historically had no symbol, and many refuse to accept what is essentially an ancient pagan icon.
" largest denomination of Islam. They are referred to as Ahl ul-Sunna (Arabic: أهل السنة; "people of the tradition"). The word Sunni comes from the word sunna (Arabic : سنة ), which means the tradition of the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad."
" minority sect that constitutes no more than 10% of the world Muslim population (according to statistics published by the 2006 edition of Encyclop�dia Britannica)[1]. It is short for �īʿat ʿAlī (شيعة علي "the party of Ali"). Shias believe that they adhere to the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad and the religious guidance of his family whom are referred to as the Ahl al-Bayt, while Sunni Muslims believe that Shias deviate from, and even violate the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad and the religious guidance of his family. Unlike Sunnis, Shi'ites do not consider the first three caliphs to have been "Rightly Guided"; the fourth, Ali, was to them the first rightful caliph. The singular/adjective form is �īʿī (شيعي.) and refers to a follower of the faction of Imam Ali according to the Shia ideology."
"U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison will address this year’s graduating seniors during the annual Commencement ceremony at the University of Minnesota, Morris.
The ceremony will begin at 2 p.m. May 17 on the Morris campus..
Ellison made history as the first African American from Minnesota to serve in the U.S. Congress. He also made history by becoming the first person of the Muslim faith in America to serve in Congress. His philosophy is one of "generosity and inclusiveness....
Now 44, Ellison was born and raised in Detroit, Mich. He moved to Minnesota in 1987 to attend the University of Minnesota Law School, where he earned his law degree in 1990. Keith and his wife, Kim Ellison, have four children and have lived on Minneapolis’ north side for the past 18 years. Kim is a high school mathematics teacher..."
Rejecting radical Islam -- one man's journeyupdated 7:59 p.m. EDT, Fri August 17, 2007
Editor's note: This is part one of a series of reports CNN.com is featuring from an upcoming, six-hour television event, "God's Warriors," hosted by CNN chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour.
Daveed Gartenstein-Ross
Daveed Gartenstein-Ross was born to Jewish parents in Ashland, Oregon. A college friend introduced him to Islam.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The path to faith often takes unexpected twists. In the case of Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, the road went through three of the world's major religions -- Judaism, Islam and Christianity -- and ultimately brought him to the FBI.
Born to Jewish parents who call themselves mystics, he grew up in what he calls the "liberal hippie Mecca" of Ashland, Oregon, a town of about 20,000 near the California border. It was in this ultraliberal intellectual environment that a young Gartenstein-Ross experimented with a radical form of Islam that eventually led him to shun music, reject women's rights and even refuse to touch dogs because he believed this was "according to God's will."
"I began to pray for the mujahedeen, for these stateless warriors who were trying to topple secular governments," he said.
His journey began in 1997, when as a junior at Wake Forest University, he began to examine his own spiritual identity after experiencing a couple of brushes with death caused by illness. "That kind of thing can cause spiritual discomfort and make you reevaluate what it is that you're living for," he told CNN in an upcoming documentary called "God's Warriors." Video Watch behind-the-scenes with CNN's Christiane Amanpour �
A college friend introduced him to Islam and he was intrigued by its peaceful message. "Islam was a very simple faith and as I learned more and more about it, it seemed more and more fascinating to me," he said.
That fall, he called home to tell his parents he was planning to become a Muslim.
"We felt it was OK," his father Moshe Ross said. "We were glad that he was going to study something and hopefully seriously. And we were happy with Islam."
God's Warriors
CNN's Christiane Amanpour examines the effects of Judaism, Islam and Christianity as a powerful political force around the world.
Watch Tuesday through Thursday, Aug. 21-23, at 9 p.m. ET
see full schedule �
When Gartenstein-Ross returned to Ashland, he got his first taste of radicalization when an imam at a local makeshift mosque blasted Western society.
"His argument was that the West was so inherently corrupt, so inherently anti-Islamic, that if we stayed in this society, then inevitably our faith would be eroded," said Gartenstein-Ross, who chronicled his experience in a book called "My Year Inside Radical Islam."
The humble mosque would soon move to a hilltop headquarters in Ashland, thanks to financial support from a Saudi Arabian charity known as the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, which has since been shut down by U.S. and Saudi authorities for alleged terror ties. Lawyers for Al-Haramain have denied those charges and have filed suit against the U.S. government seeking to have its name cleared.
Gartenstein-Ross said a man named Pete Seda, who ran the charity's local office, offered him a job. Seda became his mentor and within a few months Gartenstein-Ross said he found himself agreeing with extreme views. At Al-Haramain, he said he saw the religion which he had embraced for its tolerance become obsessed with rules and ideology.
"What I didn't expect was that over time my ideas would fall into line with theirs," he said. "I wasn't to shake hands with women. I wasn't to pet a dog. I wasn't to wear shorts that came up above my knees. But conversely, my pants legs couldn't be too long."
But at times, he still had doubts about some beliefs espoused at the mosque. Whenever he questioned the rules, his co-workers would tell him his own views were irrelevant. The view was that "your moral inclinations do not matter. All that matters is whether this is what's right according to God's will," said Gartenstein-Ross.
Don't Miss
* In Depth: God's Warriors
* Ask Amanpour
* How strong is your faith?
In 1999 he left his job at Al-Haramain for law school at New York University. Away from his co-workers, he was free to question the radical doctrines he'd learned in Oregon and meet with others about spirituality, including Christians. A year later, he converted to Christianity and was eventually baptized in the Baptist church.
It was a decision he took extremely seriously because he said his colleagues at Al-Haramain had preached that leaving Islam was punishable by death.
"This conversion out of Islam toward Christianity was certainly not one I took lightly in any way, because I realized there could be repercussions from it," he said.
The Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation would come up in his life again, but in a very different fashion. His first job after law school was as a clerk with the U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia. He had to undergo a background check and listed Al-Haramain as a previous employer. Soon, the FBI was quizzing him about the group.
Two years later, in 2004, federal agents raided the Ashland offices of Al-Haramain. When he learned of the bust, Gartenstein-Ross says he contacted the FBI. "I knew about some of Al-Haramain's contempt for U.S. tax law. I knew about the support these guys had for the mujahedeen in Chechnya," he said.
His mentor, Pete Seda, and another top Al-Haramain official now face conspiracy and tax fraud charges for allegedly helping provide $150,000 in funds meant for Muslim fighters in Chechnya. Lawyers for the group say it renounces terrorism, and in a lawsuit filed against the government last week, Al-Haramain says it's a "charitable organization that seeks to promote greater understanding of the Islamic religion."
Seda on Wednesday voluntarily returned to the United States to fight the charges and entered a plea of not guilty.
As for Gartenstein-Ross, he is now a counter-terrorism consultant who works with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington think-tank formed after September 11, 2001, that lists former FBI director Louis Freeh, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Sen. Joseph Lieberman among its "distinguished advisers."
He acknowledges his experience is atypical -- that most American Muslims are well-assimilated into American society and don't embrace radical Islamic ideas.
"There is a lot that's going right about Islam in the United States, and a lot of the conversations I've had with moderate Muslims and other Muslims in the past year-and-a-half have been encouraging in terms of what's happening with Islam in America," he said. E-mail to a friend E-mail to a friend"> Rejecting radical Islam -- one man's journey, CNN (Auguts 15th of 2007) "Editor's note: This is part one of a series of reports CNN.com is featuring from an upcoming, six-hour television event, "God's Warriors," hosted by CNN chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour
* Story Highlights
* Man says he became radical Muslim during college a decade ago
* "Ideas that I once thought unthinkable ... seemed like good ideas to me"
* Oregon group he worked for has since been shut down by the government
* Organization maintains it's a charity, seeks to have name cleared
* Next Article in U.S. �
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The path to faith often takes unexpected twists. In the case of Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, the road went through three of the world's major religions -- Judaism, Islam and Christianity -- and ultimately brought him to the FBI.
Born to Jewish parents who call themselves mystics, he grew up in what he calls the "liberal hippie Mecca" of Ashland, Oregon, a town of about 20,000 near the California border. It was in this ultraliberal intellectual environment that a young Gartenstein-Ross experimented with a radical form of Islam that eventually led him to shun music, reject women's rights and even refuse to touch dogs because he believed this was "according to God's will."
"I began to pray for the mujahedeen, for these stateless warriors who were trying to topple secular governments," he said.
His journey began in 1997, when as a junior at Wake Forest University, he began to examine his own spiritual identity after experiencing a couple of brushes with death caused by illness. "That kind of thing can cause spiritual discomfort and make you reevaluate what it is that you're living for," he told CNN in an upcoming documentary called "God's Warriors." Video Watch behind-the-scenes with CNN's Christiane Amanpour �
A college friend introduced him to Islam and he was intrigued by its peaceful message. "Islam was a very simple faith and as I learned more and more about it, it seemed more and more fascinating to me," he said.
That fall, he called home to tell his parents he was planning to become a Muslim.
"We felt it was OK," his father Moshe Ross said. "We were glad that he was going to study something and hopefully seriously. And we were happy with Islam."
God's Warriors
CNN's Christiane Amanpour examines the effects of Judaism, Islam and Christianity as a powerful political force around the world.
Watch Tuesday through Thursday, Aug. 21-23, at 9 p.m. ET
see full schedule �
When Gartenstein-Ross returned to Ashland, he got his first taste of radicalization when an imam at a local makeshift mosque blasted Western society.
"His argument was that the West was so inherently corrupt, so inherently anti-Islamic, that if we stayed in this society, then inevitably our faith would be eroded," said Gartenstein-Ross, who chronicled his experience in a book called "My Year Inside Radical Islam."
The humble mosque would soon move to a hilltop headquarters in Ashland, thanks to financial support from a Saudi Arabian charity known as the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, which has since been shut down by U.S. and Saudi authorities for alleged terror ties. Lawyers for Al-Haramain have denied those charges and have filed suit against the U.S. government seeking to have its name cleared.
Gartenstein-Ross said a man named Pete Seda, who ran the charity's local office, offered him a job. Seda became his mentor and within a few months Gartenstein-Ross said he found himself agreeing with extreme views. At Al-Haramain, he said he saw the religion which he had embraced for its tolerance become obsessed with rules and ideology.
"What I didn't expect was that over time my ideas would fall into line with theirs," he said. "I wasn't to shake hands with women. I wasn't to pet a dog. I wasn't to wear shorts that came up above my knees. But conversely, my pants legs couldn't be too long."
But at times, he still had doubts about some beliefs espoused at the mosque. Whenever he questioned the rules, his co-workers would tell him his own views were irrelevant. The view was that "your moral inclinations do not matter. All that matters is whether this is what's right according to God's will," said Gartenstein-Ross.
Don't Miss
* In Depth: God's Warriors
* Ask Amanpour
* How strong is your faith?
In 1999 he left his job at Al-Haramain for law school at New York University. Away from his co-workers, he was free to question the radical doctrines he'd learned in Oregon and meet with others about spirituality, including Christians. A year later, he converted to Christianity and was eventually baptized in the Baptist church.
It was a decision he took extremely seriously because he said his colleagues at Al-Haramain had preached that leaving Islam was punishable by death.
"This conversion out of Islam toward Christianity was certainly not one I took lightly in any way, because I realized there could be repercussions from it," he said.
The Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation would come up in his life again, but in a very different fashion. His first job after law school was as a clerk with the U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia. He had to undergo a background check and listed Al-Haramain as a previous employer. Soon, the FBI was quizzing him about the group.
Two years later, in 2004, federal agents raided the Ashland offices of Al-Haramain. When he learned of the bust, Gartenstein-Ross says he contacted the FBI. "I knew about some of Al-Haramain's contempt for U.S. tax law. I knew about the support these guys had for the mujahedeen in Chechnya," he said.
His mentor, Pete Seda, and another top Al-Haramain official now face conspiracy and tax fraud charges for allegedly helping provide $150,000 in funds meant for Muslim fighters in Chechnya. Lawyers for the group say it renounces terrorism, and in a lawsuit filed against the government last week, Al-Haramain says it's a "charitable organization that seeks to promote greater understanding of the Islamic religion."
Seda on Wednesday voluntarily returned to the United States to fight the charges and entered a plea of not guilty.
As for Gartenstein-Ross, he is now a counter-terrorism consultant who works with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington think-tank formed after September 11, 2001, that lists former FBI director Louis Freeh, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Sen. Joseph Lieberman among its "distinguished advisers."
advertisement
He acknowledges his experience is atypical -- that most American Muslims are well-assimilated into American society and don't embrace radical Islamic ideas.
"There is a lot that's going right about Islam in the United States, and a lot of the conversations I've had with moderate Muslims and other Muslims in the past year-and-a-half have been encouraging in terms of what's happening with Islam in America," he said. E-mail to a friend E-mail to a friend
CNN producer Brian Rokus contributed to this report. " Citizen Warrior But Isn't Isalm About Peace? "Here's the plan: First, where Muslims are a minority, they should build their numbers within the country by converting people (by preaching peace and tolerance) and having lots of babies. Then, as their numbers increase, they should start to prepare for an eventual overthrow of the government. And when the time is right, it is their duty as Muslims to rise up and establish an Islamic state. Yes, this is in the Koran. Also included are instructions for deceiving the unbelievers. So you will hear people who say "Islam is a religion of peace" who themselves are actively working toward the eventual violent takeover of a country." Cause of Terrorism?
Converts
Many Jew and Christian Families Convert To ISLAM - A GUIDE
*watch the part where a Caucasian guy shares how he was raised Christian, but didn't see the unity; thus converted to Isalm with other factors too...see Multicultural
"WASHINGTON — "Joe the Plumber" was only one of two Americans injected into the presidential election this past week. The other was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan , whom former Secretary of State Colin Powell invoked in his endorsement Sunday of Barack Obama .
Khan was a 20-year-old soldier from Manahawkin, N.J. , who wanted to enlist in the Army from the time he was 10. He was an all-American boy who visited Disney World after he completed his training at Fort Benning, Ga. , and made his comrades in Iraq watch "Saving Private Ryan" every week.
He was also a Muslim who joined the military, his father said, in part to show his countrymen that not all Muslims are terrorists.
"He was an American soldier first," said his father, Feroze Khan . "But he also looked at fighting in this war as fighting for his faith. He was fighting radicalism."
Khan was killed by an improvised explosive device in August 2007 along with four other soldiers and an Iraqi interpreter while searching a house in Baqouba, Iraq . He's one of four Muslims who served in Iraq or Afghanistan and are buried in Arlington National Cemetery , where 512 troops from those wars now rest.
About 3,700 of the U.S. military's 1.4 million troops are Muslims, according to Defense Department estimates.
Khan, a child of immigrant parents from Trinidad , was 14 when the Sept. 11 attacks happened. Feroze Khan said he remembered his son watching in stunned silence: "I could tell that inside a lot of things were going through his head."
Three years later, Feroze honored his son's request and allowed him to enlist him in the Army . "I told him: 'You are going to the Army .' I never said there is a war going on in a Muslim country. I didn't want him to get any ideas that he was fighting (against) his religion."
Feroze kept his fears for his son's safety to himself.
His son was assigned to the Stryker Brigade Combat Team out of Fort Lewis, Wash. , deployed to Iraq in 2006 and fought on Baghdad's Haifa Street , a Sunni insurgent stronghold.
His tour was extended as part of the surge of additional U.S. forces to Iraq , and he called or messaged home often until he was deployed to restive Diyala province, where he was under fire too often to contact home regularly.
But he prayed every day, his father said.
One Sunday morning, his son sent an instant message: "Hey Dad. Are you there?" Feroze Khan was out, and he saw the message when he returned.
A few hours later, his ex-wife called. Soldiers had knocked on her door in Maryland . Their only child was dead.
A few minutes later, soldiers appeared at Khan's door. "I guess it helped that I knew beforehand," he said. "There are no words to describe it."
Kareem Khan was a month from finishing his tour when he was killed.
On Sunday, Powell said that Khan's sacrifice and service had swayed him to discuss the way that Muslims have been portrayed in the presidential campaign, and the contention that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is a Muslim.
Obama "is a Christian," Powell said. "He has always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, 'What if he is?' Is there something wrong with being Muslim in this country? The answer is no. That is not America." He added: "I am troubled that within the (Republican) Party we have these kinds of expressions" suggesting that Obama is a Muslim, and that if he is, he likely associates with terrorists.
Powell said that he felt strongly about the issue after he saw a photo of Khan's tombstone in the New Yorker magazine . In the black-and-white picture, Khan's mother is resting her head on her son's tombstone. On each side of the stone are flowers, and in between is a copy of the Quran. On the face of the tombstone is a crescent and star, indicating that the soldier buried there is a Muslim.
"He was an American," Powell said. "
Related Sites: Arab American Pastor Seeks Help to Reach Muslims in America,
By Mark Ellis
Senior Correspondent, ASSIST News Service
Monday, September 24, 2007 "ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA (ANS) -- More than 300,000 Arab-Americans attend a street festival in Dearborn, Michigan every year, and one pastor was there with a team of volunteers to pass out Christian literature and DVDs in Arabic.
George Saieg
�We felt like we were in the Middle East, not in America,� says Pastor George Saieg, founder of Arabic Christian Perspective (www.ministrytomuslims.com). Originally from northern Sudan, Saieg won a lottery for a green card, which allowed him to come to the U.S. in 1996.
Like most immigrants, initially he preoccupied himself with making a living, but after the attacks of September 11, God placed a burden on his heart to reach his fellow Arab-Americans with the gospel. Since then, he�s organized small teams of volunteers for outreach at mosques and other places where Muslims gather throughout the U.S.
This summer, he and 70 volunteers from six states passed out 38,000 Jesus Films in Arabic at the 12th Annual Arab International Festival, the largest street festival of its kind in the U.S....cont...down below Outreach to American Muslims Impels Arabic Pastor
By Mark Ellis
Senior Correspondent, ASSIST News Service
(May 14th 2007) "
Pastor George Saieg
�I want to see every Muslim in America have the opportunity to hear the gospel,� says Pastor George Saieg, founder of Arabic Christian Perspective (www.ministrytomuslims.com). Pastor Saieg, originally from northern Sudan, grew up in a Christian family caught in the genocidal violence that swept over his native land like a tsunami terror wave.
Desperate for any escape, he won a lottery for a green card, which allowed him to come to the U.S. in 1996. Saieg found work in a liquor store in Anaheim, California, where armed intruders robbed him at gunpoint four times. �I believe God was preparing me, because working with Muslims is no less dangerous,� he says.
In the liquor store, he met several African-American Muslims. �I started talking with them and I found out they didn�t know anything about Islam,� he notes. �I was hurt, because the black people in Sudan were killed by Muslims.�
Like most immigrants, work preoccupied his first few years in the U.S. But after the attacks of September 11, God placed a burden on his heart to reach his fellow Arab-Americans with the gospel. �I saw this big vacant lot, and God gave me a vision for a book fair in a tent filled with Muslims coming to hear about Jesus,� he recalls. "
"Walls are very useful whether you want to keep someone out or keep something in. But walls around the mind that prohibit the restless soul from finding peace cannot be endured. The man in this story was born in the Middle East were walls are very common and they very nearly closed in on him until he found the door and his mind and heart and life were unhackled. www.pgm.org "
Farid\'s Testimony
AL HUFUF, SAUDI ARABIA - Sadek al-Jubran says he's all too familiar with fatwas that declare him an infidel.
As a member of a religious minority in a country without religious freedom, Mr. Jubran grew up with discrimination. It's something Shiites like him have regularly faced in this conservative Sunni-ruled kingdom - in the streets and at school, in courtrooms and at the office.
Over the past decade, however, Shiites have managed to gain a larger stake in Saudi Arabian society. They've seen incremental reforms, getting elected to local councils and being allowed to observe religious holidays openly.
But now, many worry that their steady progress is being checked. With a Sunni-Shiite cold war descending on the region, Saudi Arabia appears to be hardening its sectarian battle lines. That, experts say, could mean that it once again will regard its Shiite minority, mainly clustered in eastern oases like this one, solely as enemies of the state.
Recent rumblings from clerics and politicians alike recall the days when the kingdom braced against spreading influence from Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. Today, Saudi Arabia is on edge from the deepening civil war in Iraq and a possibly nuclear Iran.
"The plunge back into the abyss of the 1980s has been accelerated," says Toby Jones, an assistant professor at Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pa., who has written extensively about the Shiites of Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province.
"You don't see [Saudi King Abdullah] quashing any of this very, very public anti-Shiite rhetoric," says Mr. Jones. "That's a sign that he either isn't interested in doing it or that he can't."
Last month, 30 top Saudi clerics released a statement calling on Sunnis throughout the region to back the Sunni insurgents in Iraq against Shiites. This was followed by a ~~i~~fatwa~~/i~~ from prominent cleric Abdul Rahman al-Barak on Dec. 29 attacking Shiites.
"The rejectionists [Shiites] in their entirety are the worst of the Islamic nation's sects. They bear all the characteristics of infidels," he said in the religious ruling, according to a translation from Reuters.
Jubran, a lawyer and rights advocate from Al Hufuf, a Shiite city, says that religious rulings like the one issued by Mr. Barak hardly exist within a vacuum. They influence the Sunni majority and provoke a militant minority. And, he adds, "The danger of a ~~i~~fatwa~~/i~~ is that it's fixed and can't be changed."
Shiites make up about 10 to 15 percent of the country's roughly 16 million nationals, according to a 2005 International Crisis Group (ICG) report. Most live in the Eastern Province, where oil was first discovered and which remains the base for much of the petroleum industry. While they have been persecuted since Saudi Arabia's formation in 1932, it wasn't until their coreligionists in Iran overthrew the Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, that Shiites were emboldened to challenge the Saudi monarch.
"After the revolution, Shiites demonstrated to be able to celebrate imams' birthdays ... many were arrested," says Ali al-Marzouk, an activist from Al Qatif, another Shiite enclave. He was jailed between 1981 and 1983, he says, like hundreds of other young Shiite activists in the region, for taking to the streets to demand religious and social reforms.
The crackdown prompted Mr. Marzouk and many others to flee the country. He sought refuge in Iran. In 1993, he and others returned following a historic meeting between the region's Shiite leaders, including Jubran, and King Fahd, at which the king invited exiled Shiites to return and freed political prisoners in exchange for their allegiance. He also promised to address Shiite concerns, according to the ICG report.
"There was the welcoming back of the Shiites in the Eastern Province. It was not made a fuss about at the time to avoid offending Wahhabi sensibilities," says Robert Lacey, author of "The Kingdom: Arabia and the House of Saud," referring to the conservative Wahhabi clerics who hold sway with the monarch and have been responsible for much of the acerbic language against Shiites in mosques and in ~~i~~fatwas~~/i~~.
Until now, he says, there have been "Wahhabi sheikhs meeting with Shiite leaders ... away from the headlines. The reason it's not more publicized is for the same reason there aren't women drivers ... because there is a conservative majority."
While 1979 was a formative moment for the country's Shiites, many here say publicly that they are now committed to working within the system of local and national councils for continued change. And their greater economic foothold is evident in the new SUVs on the streets of Al Hufuf and the recently built villas of its neighborhoods.
Many Shiites say they hold better jobs than ever before in the region's oil companies. In Al Qatif, Shiites have been allowed to celebrate Ashura, the commemoration of Imam Hussein, whom they see as the third Imam and intended successor of the prophet Muhammad; Sunnis consider this view blasphemous.
"Shiites don't believe the basics [of Islam]," says Hamzah al-Tyer, imam of al-Rajhi mosque in Riyadh, where much of the vitriol against Shiites originates. He says that Sunni religious leaders address only Shiite leaders - not their followers - as "evil Muslims."
He adds that Shiites "are getting more power and we are getting less."
Dwight Bashir, a senior analyst with the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, says that "Shiites are concerned about [implications of regional issues] affecting their progress."
But the situation has changed since 1979, he says. "A lot of the Shiite population have it pretty good in the Eastern Province and they don't necessary want to rock the boat, especially if they are seeing some progress on these things. They might be holding hope."
Mr. Bashir says that a minority might embrace militant tactics if the monarch begins cracking down, threatening sectarian bloodshed. While there is evidence that King Abdullah, both as king and before taking the throne, has made some efforts to address Shiite concerns, analysts say he still must placate a very conservative Wahhabi base.
Ibrahim al-Mugaiteeb, a longtime rights advocate, runs the only independent, albeit unlicensed, rights group in the country, Human Rights First Society. "The situation is far from even close to what we want it to be," he says. But, he adds, "at least there is movement."
The Abraham Connection: A Jew, Christian and Muslim
in Dialogue, Vol. 6
George B. Grose (Editor) / Paperback / Cross Cultural Publications,
Incorporated / November 1994 Islam Revealed, by Dr. Shorrosh, who explains the force behind the fanatical, the moderate and conservative, sects of Islam. A Palestinian-born Arab Christian... Satanic Verses, from Salman Rushdie from Wikipedia, the encyclopedia
Forced Conversion Stories
Forced Islamic Conversion
How Christian children are being kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam in Zanzibar (Tanzania-AFRICA. Bin Laden urges Americans to convert, By LEE KEATH, Associated Press Writer (Friday, September 7th of 2007) " CAIRO, Egypt - Osama bin Laden appeared for the first time in three years in a videotape Friday released ahead of the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, telling Americans they should convert to Islam if they want the war in Iraq to end...
Bin Laden makes no overt threats and does not directly call for attacks, according to the transcript posted on ABC's Web site.
Instead, he addresses Americans, lecturing them on the failures of their leaders to stop the war in Iraq despite growing public opposition in the U.S.
"There are two solutions to stopping it. One is from our side, and it is to escalate the fighting and killing against you. This is our duty, and our brothers are carrying it out," bin Laden said.
"The second solution is from your side," he said. "I invite you to embrace Islam."
"It will also achieve your desire to stop the war as a consequence, because as soon as the warmongering owners of the major corporations realize that you have lost confidence in your democratic system and have begun to look for an alternative, and this alternative is Islam, they will run after you to please you and achieve what you want to steer you away from Islam," he said.
The al-Qaida leader had not appeared in new video footage since October 2004, and he had not put out an audiotape for more than a year, his longest period without a message.
The transcript also mentions the political activist and author Noam Chomsky, global warming, and refers to the Aug. 6 anniversary of the World War 2 bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
In Washington, an official said the U.S. government recently obtained a copy of the video and several intelligence agencies were studying it. The official agreed to discuss the matter only if not quoted by name.
The Homeland Security Department said Friday it had no credible information warning of an imminent threat to the United States, and analysts noted that al-Qaida tends to mark the Sept. 11 anniversary with a slew of messages.
White House deputy press secretary Tony Fratto declined to comment on the video until it had been fully analyzed, except to say it was a reminder of the continuing terrorist threat.
"This is why we need to be more vigilant and more persistent in our pursuit of terrorists," Fratto said. "We will continue to pursue them. And it reminds us that we need to be certain that our intelligence professionals have all the tools they need to continue to disrupt their activities."
The government was looking at bin Laden's physical characteristics � in part, for clues about his health after unconfirmed rumors earlier this year that he had died of kidney disease.
Soon after word emerged that the United States had the video, Islamic militant Web sites that usually carry statements from al-Qaida went down and were inaccessible. The reason for the shutdown was not immediately known.
Evan H. Kohlmann, a terrorism expert at globalterroralert.com, said he suspected it was the work of al-Qaida itself, trying to find how the video leaked to U.S. officials.
"For them this is totally disruptive that the U.S. government could have a copy before their targeted audience does," he said. "They could be concerned and trying to plug the leak quickly."
Bin Laden's beard appears to have been dyed, a popular practice among Arab leaders, said Rita Katz, director of the SITE Institute, a Washington-based group that monitors terror messages.
Katz said al-Qaida has consistently marked the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attack as one of its biggest successes.
In 2003, a videotape of bin Laden was released the day before the anniversary, and last year al-Qaida released a documentary describing the planning of the attacks.
Videotapes of bin Laden are the group's most powerful propaganda tools, and they use them sparingly, Katz said.
Over the last few years, al-Qaida leaders appear to have gotten better at distributing their missives. They are using subtitles and different languages and using the Internet to distribute them, rather than depending on a particular television station or network.
___
Associated Press writers Lara Jakes Jordan, Pamela Hess and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report. Korean Hostages in Afghanistan in 2007
Glad News! God Loves You My Muslim Friend
Tanagho, Samy
Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa (SEE DOWN BELOW)
Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa , Ministry to
Muslims , 3800 S. Fairview Road, Santa Ana , CA 92704, USA, or call (714)
979 4422 and ask for Samy Tanagho
Current Events
-Princes Diana & Dodi Diana and Arab Conspiracy
by Daniel Pipes and Hilal Khashan
Weekly Standard
November 10, 1997
"During church in Pemba, Mozambique, a totally blind muslim man recieves prayer for healing in the name of Jesus...and gets totally healed!!! This miracle happened right in front of my eyes...this muslim man not only recieved physical sight, but he got saved and baptized in Jesus' name! Just as in the book of Acts, God confirms His gospel through signs and wonders through the hands of His Church."
History
The Price of Submission
"History has shown us the price that Christians paid when they were force to submit to Islam invaders. Hundreds of churches were converted into Mosques while thousands more were looted and then destroyed. This video shows images of just a few of the churches that were forever changed because the onslaught caused under jihads"
Holidays
Ramadan "The fourth pillar of Islam, which is fasting, is practiced during the month of Ramadan. Ramadan is derived from an Arabic word for intense heat and scorched ground and shortness of rations. (in Arabic: رمضان, Ramaḍān) � � and it is the ninth month of the Islamic (Hijri) calendar, established in the year 638 CE. It is considered the most venerated, blessed and spiritually-beneficial month of the Islamic year. Prayers, fasting, charity, and self-accountability are especially stressed at this time; religious observances associated with Ramadan are kept throughout the month...."
Related Sites:Assalamualaikum and Welcome to
Ramadan on the Net, from holidays.net "Ramadan is the ninth month of the Muslim calendar. It is during this month that Muslims observe the Fast of Ramadan. Lasting for the entire month, Muslims fast during the daylight hours and in the evening eat small meals and visit with friends and family. It is a time of worship and contemplation. A time to strengthen family and community ties."
Christians pray for Muslims as Ramadan begins,
* Print View
* Mobile Version
Posted: 12 September, 2007
* Topics in this story:
* christians
* , pray
* , ramadan
* , sammy tippit
* , usa (Mission Network News) "USA (MNN) ― The anniversary of 9/11, the war in Afghanistan and Iraq, and tensions with Iran all have the world's attention. All of these issues have a direct tie to radical elements of Islam. So Christians today are asking fellow believers to begin praying earnestly for Muslims, as Islam's holiest month Ramadan begins tomorrow....."
Internet
Ecompany, internet service from United Arab Emirates (11/19/04)
From : <@emirates.net.ae>
Sent : Friday, November 19, 2004 6:28 AM
Were Not Afraid, a popular link since the bombings in Britain in June of 2005
*"7For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (fear), but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline"-2 Timothy 1 "Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling."-Psalm 2:11
"According to a source at MI5 � the British equivalent of the CIA � 1,500 white Britons are believed to have converted to Islam with the purpose of funding, planning, and carrying out surprise terror attacks, the newspaper reported.
Click here to read the full Scotland on Sunday report.
Security experts say the growing number of white terrorists poses a serious threat because they are less likely to be detected than members of the Asian community.
Terror groups like Al Qaeda reportedly began recruiting white non-Muslims in response to the success intelligence services have had in disrupting and stopping extremist plots around the world.
One reported strategy the terrorists use is to look for converts in prisons, where those in custody tend to be lonely and particularly susceptible. Recruiters comfort and support the inmate, with little mention � if any � to religion, according to the paper. Over time, conversations turn more radical.
One of leading Muslim leaders disputed the claims of radicalization, saying Islam's strict moral code made it unattractive to many Westerners, the paper reported."
"Assad was a faithful Muslim who was often concerned about whether or not his life was pleasing to God. After meeting a Christian family, he wanted to know what was so different about their lives, but he had a very difficult time accepting the fact that Jesus claimed to be God and not just a good man. He tells how Jesus eventually revealed himself"
"�If I had not become a Christian I would have been a Taliban,� says Brother John, a full-blooded Pashtun, and founder of a ministry devoted to presenting biblical Christianity within an Islamic context. His houses near the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan are lined with prayer rugs, and have the feel of an Eastern worship center. They�re completely filled with Islamic books except for one�the Bible."
Entire Muslim Family Finds Jesus
"Emmanuel moved to the Ivory Coast from Jamaica and then found Christ there. He prayed for his wife, Ramada to find Jesus too. Eventually, both former Muslims were Christian, and they started seeing miracles in their life. Now they are very happy because they have Jesus in their lives and know the true God"
Converted to Christianity "# Mehdi Dibaj - Iranian pastor and Christian activist[7] # Qadry Ismail - former American football player[19] "He now makes occasional appearances as an NFL analyst on ESPNEWS and is a track and field coach for West Boca Raton Community High School in Boca Raton, Florida where he lives with his wife and three children. Later in life he and Raghib converted to Christianity[1]."
# Tuğ�e Kazaz - Turkish model; Miss Turkey 2001[28]
# Abdul Rahman - Afghan convert to Christianity who escaped the death penalty because of foreign pressure[31] "In 1990, when working as a staff member for a Catholic non-governmental aid group providing medical assistance to Afghan refugees in Peshawar, Pakistan, he came in touch with Christianity and subsequently converted to the Catholic Church.[8] After his conversion he adopted the Biblical name Joel.[9]
In 1993, he moved to Germany and later unsuccessfully sought asylum in Belgium before returning to Afghanistan[10] in 2002 after the fall of the Taliban government.
Abdul Rahman's wife divorced him because of his conversion to Christianity.[10] In the ensuing custody battle over the couple's two daughters[11], who had been raised by Abdul Rahman's parents during his absence[7], the mother's family raised the issue of his religion as grounds for denying him custody.[11]...
When facing a possible death sentence, Abdul Rahman held firm to his convictions: "They want to sentence me to death and I accept it� I am a Christian, which means I believe in the Trinity� I believe in Jesus Christ." [19]" Daniel Ali- former Iraqi Kurdish Muslim scholar and writer; evangelizes in Catholic, Protestant and Messianic Jewish circles. "1959 (age 48�49), is an Iraqi Kurdish author, speaker and Islamic scholar. He was born in Iraqi Kurdistan and lived through the ethnic cleansing and Anfal campaign during the Baathist period from 1975 to 1988. He has published two books Inside Islam: A Guide for Catholics in 2003, and Out of Islam, Free at Last, in 2007. He moved to the United States in 1993, was baptized in 1995, and entered the Catholic Church in 1998. He has worked with the Jesuit Mitch Pacwa and travels around the United States speaking to wide audiences about Islam, and Iraq. [1]"
"In this rarely seen documentary, an undercover look at Muslim extremism in Britain. Undercover reporters go inside a Mosque and expose radicalism towards women and other religions."
Thank you for visiting GoodnewsEverybody! Please feel free to e-mail me (Sal) at info@goodnewseverybody.com on any comments, suggestions (e.g. any new websites),complaints, or anytype of feedback to improve this website.