The Arab Spring Is Looking A Little Stormy

The Global Post reported today on the elections being held in Tunisia.

The article reports:

Despite deep divisions among the various political parties over Tunisia’s future — the most contentious being the debate between secularists and Islamists — the election itself was a source of both national and regional pride for many Tunisians today.

…“If Ennahda wins, I would like to see sharia [Islamic] law,” said Tawfiq bin Mohammed bin Abdullah, a 62-year-old Ennahda supporter.“There are many women in Tunisia who do not know true Islam. Ennahda will not impose, but it will explain what it is in the Koran. And hopefully they will come to the true Islam.”

Others are drawn to Ennahda not only for its religious message, but for its longer history as a serious opposition group.

“Ennahda, they want to preserve our civil rights,”said 22-year-old Khalil Elalmi, a medical student who was arrested and beaten during the revolution.“They want to preserve our rights and take into consideration the law of Islam.”

“Their objective is to help people get a better life.”

Sharia Law and democracy are not compatible. We need to remember that. One of the most amazing aspects of Brigitte Gabriel’s story (see rightwinggranny.com) was her account of what happened to Lebanon (formerly the garden spot of the Middle East):

Lebanon was 67 percent Christian and was a truly multi-cultural country—there was freedom of religion for all religions. Gradually Muslims immigrated to Lebanon and became the majority of the country. The Muslims formed the Arab Lebanese Army, attacked Christians in a church, and started a civil war. The Muslims killed Christians, burned churches, and committed other atrocities. None of the western democracies came to the aid of Lebanon.

Unfortunately, unless the people involved in the Arab Spring protests wake up quickly, they will see their freedom disappear as quickly as they thought they had obtained it. When the Muslim Brotherhood takes over a country, there is no freedom of religion and no freedom for women.

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Putting The Focus Where The Problem Is

Peter king

Image via Wikipedia

As Congress tries to find ways of cutting the federal budget, a few Congressmen are looking at ways to make some agencies more efficient in dealing with the problems they were created to solve. In Washington, that is easier said than done.

Representative Peter King is asking for changes at the Department of Homeland Security that would allow the Department to focus formally on “homegrown violent Islamist extremism.” Joe Lieberman has introduced a companion bill in the Senate that would require a czar to oversee the program.

The article reports:

“Sen. Lieberman and I think it’s important to focus on the most serious threat, and Islamist radicalism is the most dangerous threat,” the Long Island Republican said. “By not saying that, we would be creating the appearance of equivalency with any number of different threats.”

Under President Obama, Homeland Security has avoided the term “terrorism” and references to radical Islam.

Whether it is politically correct to say so or not, the majority of our problems with terrorism have been with Islamist extremists. It is foolish to say that by ignoring that fact, we are doing something constructive.

The article further reminds us:

Both bills, for example, would consolidate redundant DHS offices and impose tight controls on spending by the agency, which has wasted billions in its first seven years.

Most notably, the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that DHS spent more than $4 billion on nuclear detection equipment that either didn’t work or wouldn’t fit in lanes at U.S. ports of entry.

It will be interesting to listen to the debate as these two bills move through Congress.

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The Third Choice For A Non-Muslim In An Islamic State

Tonight I had the privilege of hearing the Reverend Dr. Mark Durie, Vicar ofImage of Mark Durie St. Mary’s Anglican Church in Caulfield, Australia, speak on the subject of dhimmitude. Reverend Durie is the author of the book The Third Choice.

Reverend Durie began his lecture with a brief historical perspective of how the religion of Islam treats those who are not Muslims in countries where Islamists are in control. The religion of Islam gives the non-believers in a land they conquer three choices—convert to Muslim, death by the sword, or dhimmitude. Dhimmitude is an option that is traditionally open only to Jews and Christians—pagans must either convert to Islam or be killed.

Reverend Durie points out the Sharia Law (the Islamic justice system) guides all aspects of a man’s life. It assumes an Islamic state. In an Islamic state those who choose dhimmitude are required to pay an annual tax (jizya tax) to the state in recognition of their defeated status. The ritual surrounding that payment makes it clear that the dhimmis are expected to pay the tax gratefully for the privilege of keeping their heads for another year.  Part of the ritual includes two ritual blows to the neck, mimicking the beheading of the person.  At this point it was pointed out that Sharia law will be part of the new Palestinian State when or if it is created—religious freedom will not be part of the state.

The aim of Dhimmitude is to destroy the souls of the conquered people. Even if they do not convert to Islam, they will still be in submission to Islam.  The system is very damaging to the dhimmis. It is designed to destroy their love for life.

There have been some very negative cultural effects of Dhimmitude on western countries. Many western leaders have remained silent as Christians are persecuted in the Islamic world. Western leaders have been afraid to engage in a discourse about the theology of Islam, refusing to look at it critically. All faiths are not equal, and what you believe matters.

One of the problems in dealing with the spread of Islam is that Islamists have successfully controlled the vocabulary. When President Obama spoke in Cairo in June 2009, he exhibited the cultural traits of dhimmitude—he expressed gratefulness for Islam’s contributions to civilization and stated, “Islam has a proud tradition of tolerance.” These statements reflect the gratitude to Islam and the inferiority of the dhimmis in dhimmitude. There was no desire to actually address the intolerance Islam has shown to non-Muslims.

Reverend Durie stated that he is optimistic that Islam will not eventually reach its goal of world domination. He pointed out that where Sharia law is in effect, there has been a negative reaction to it. In Algeria and Iran, thousands are converting to Christianity. Islam’s rise is not based as much on Islam’s strength as much as it is based on the western world’s weakness.  Islam sets long-term goals—centuries rather than years. The western world needs to learn to set longer goals—reflected in education, text books, cultural strength, and appreciation of freedom.  We need to learn to pass the torch of western civilization from one generation to the next.

There is an expression in some Christian circles, “God has no grandchildren—He only has children.” We need to make sure that the coming generations understand the gift and blessings of freedom that are a major part of western civilization.

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