‘Advancement of Islamic Agenda For America’ Sign Posted Outside Michigan Mosque Is A Digital Fake

A sign reading “Advancement of Islamic Agenda for America” being posted outside a Michigan mosque is a digital fabrication. The photograph of a sign bearing an ominous threat from the group is a fake. There is no truth behind the image displaying a sign which bore a serious and ominous threat from the group “Advancement of Islamic Agenda for America.” Where did this originate?

Snopes reported that the photograph has been identified in social media postings as belonging to a mosque or some other Islam-associated administrative building in Michigan. The sign reads “Advancement of Islamic Agenda for America.”

The fake sign then advertises to viewers that organization’s ominous threat “AMERICA WE WILL KILL YOU ALL AND NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO STOP IT,” bracketed by invocations of the exaltation “ALLAH BE PRAISED.” However, the sign nor the organization is real.

FULL ARTICLE FROM BUSINESS 2 COMMUNITY

Holy Land Festival unites Muslims, Christians in hope for restored peace

Along the western banks of the Jordan River, the place of Christ’s baptism and today known as Qasr al-Yahud, numerous churches and monasteries of different religions sit vacant and silenced due to the dangerous landmines that lie beneath them.

For almost 50 years, Qasr al-Yahud has been empty due to the landmines installed during the 1967 Six Day war between the Arabs and the Israeli people.

Halo Trust, a nonprofit organization, has worked to remove the landmines in the Qasr al-Yahud area since 2012. The group is dedicated to providing save environments for those living in areas surrounded by landmines through landmine removal, as well as assisting in local community rebuilding in the aftermath of war.

Their work has brought together various religious denominations in efforts to preserve the sacred churches, such as the Coptic church, the Franciscan church and the Syrian church, that all sit on the site of Qasr al-Yahud.

“We’ve got agreements with the eight churches, we’ve got agreements with the Israeli government, and we’ve got agreements with the Palestinian authorities,” said Adam Jasinski, executive director of Halo Trust, in an interview with Catholic News Service July 15.

Jasinski spoke about the Jordan River landmine removal in a seminar at the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America as part of its fourth annual Holy Land Festival held July 15.

The festival cultivates a conversation of hope around the Holy Land, with many groups coming together to engage visitors with the situation of Christians and of peace in the Holy Land.

Father Jim Gardiner, a Franciscan Friar of the Atonement as well as a member of the Holy Land Committee of the Archdiocese of Washington, spoke to CNS about how the festival brought together so many different groups of people.

“Nobody knows who is Christian, Muslim or Catholic,” Father Gardiner said.

The interdenominational environment at the festival was a mere taste of what takes place at Bethlehem University, the first Catholic university in the Holy Land. Two Bethlehem University students, Lela Abu Ayyash and Lara Kasbari, spoke about their experiences living and going to school in Palestine during the Holy Land festival in a seminar.

FULL ARTICLE FROM THE CATHOLIC STANDARD 

Most White Evangelicals Don’t Believe Muslims Belong in America

As much of American society undergoes a secular shift, most Muslims and Christians continue to attend worship, adhere to tenets of their traditions, and proudly identify with their faiths.

 But despite this shared sense of religious devotion, as detailed in a new Pew Research Center report on what US Muslims believe and practice, survey data also show a huge gap in their perceptions of each other.

While Americans overall have warmed up to Muslims in recent years, white evangelicals express more concerns about US Muslims than any other religious group. Two-thirds of white evangelicals believe Islam is not part of mainstream American society and contend that it encourages violence more than other faiths, according to Pew.

Meanwhile, 72 percent of white evangelicals—compared to 44 percent of Americans overall—see a natural conflict between Islam and democracy. And 30 percent of Muslims themselves agree that the two are in conflict.

A small minority of Americans (6%) and Muslims (5%) attribute the tension to the belief that America is a Christian nation.

As CT reported in March, missions experts worry that evangelicals’ views of Muslims are sabotaging a long-dreamed-of moment. Previous research by Pew found that only 35 percent of white evangelicals say they have a personal connection to a Muslim, compared to about 40 percent of mainline Protestants and Catholics, 50 percent of unaffiliated Americans, and 73 percent of Jews.

FULL ARTICLE FROM CHRISTIANITY TODAY 

Reza Aslan Argues: There Is No Divide Between Islam and American Culture

Religion comes in countless forms, depending either on the soil from which that religion arose or the soil in which it was planted. What we call Christianity in America is not what Guatemalans call Christianity. It’s not what Iraqis call Christianity. What we call Islam in the United States is vastly different from Islam in Iran or Saudi Arabia or Nigeria or Indonesia.

The notion that religion clashes with a culture is a misunderstanding of what religion is, but, more specifically, the idea that Islam clashes with American culture is just foolishness, naiveté, and lies. There is no clash between Islam and American culture. In fact, there is no clash between any religion and any culture because religions are inextricably linked to culture.

Think of it this way: Culture is like a vessel, and religion is like water — it simply takes the shape of whatever vessel you pour it into. And this is why the prosperity gospel — the notion that what Jesus really wants for you is to drive a Bentley — can exist in the United States, and why the liberation gospel — the notion that Jesus was a warrior who fought oppression and poverty — exists in El Salvador. Both versions of Christianity are equally valid. They’re just dependent on the culture of the community to which they belong.

When you look at Islam in the United States what you see is an overwhelmingly moderate version of Islam, but more interestingly what you see is a highly individualistic form of the religion. Islam is a religion that often advantages the community over the individual, but in the United States, where the culture is rooted in radical individualism, you see a radically individualistic Islam forming. An Islam that, in America, is not beholden to traditions or to the consensus of Muslim scholars and Islamic trains of thought that came before — it is an Islam that is innovative. You have a version of Islam that is vibrantly feminist. You have a version of Islam that promotes gay and lesbian spirituality. You have versions of Islam that are quite pluralistic and democratic. And in every one of these cases, what you see is a religion that has married itself fully into culture.

FULL ARTICLE FROM FOREIGN POLICY MAGAZINE

Christian man prays with Jerusalem Muslims as religious tensions flare

Jerusalem (CNN)Nidal Aboud stood out as one among many. As the men around him bowed, he made the sign of the cross. As they chanted their prayers, he read the Bible to himself. And as they said “Allahu Akbar” — God is greatest — he stood silently and respectfully.

He was the only Christian among thousands of Muslims at Friday prayers in the Wadi el-Joz neighbourhood, outside the Old City of Jerusalem.

The photograph, taken by CNN, of this simple interfaith moment has been published in local media and widely shared on social network sites as a touching example of cooperation in a time of conflict.

The prayers took place after Israel restricted access to Al-Aqsa mosque, which sits on the holiest site in the Old City, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount.

Israel installs security cameras as Jerusalem tensions build

After an attack at the Lion’s Gate entrance to the siteleft two Israeli police officers dead last week, Israeli authorities installed metal detectors and limited entry to men over 50 and women. On Sunday, they installed security cameras, a move that is likely to further inflame tensions.

The security measures are seen by Palestinians and Arab countries as a unilateral attempt by Israel to control the site — considered holy by both the Muslim and Jewish communities — and they have triggered widespread demonstrations and violent clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces.

Aboud, a 24-year-old Palestinian who has never before joined the midday Muslim prayers, says he wanted to stand alongside Muslims as they worshiped.

“I had a dream since I was a child. I wanted to spread the world with love. I wanted to be the one who plants love in people’s hearts,” Aboud told CNN.

Holding a Bible with a cross draped around his neck, he said he didn’t feel out of place.

“I asked my Muslim friends for their permission to pray between them. They were asking me to stand beside them,” he said.

FULL ARTICLE FROM CNN 

Palestinian Christians, Muslims united: Archbishop

JERUSALEM

The image of a Palestinian Christian reading from his bible while the crowd of Muslim worshippers he stood among prostrated themselves on the ground, or Christian clergy joining their Muslim counterparts at the head of processions, have been widely shared during the past week of unrest over one of Jerusalem’s most important holy sites.

During more than a week of tension over new Israeli restrictions on access to Al-Aqsa Mosque, Jerusalem’s Greek Orthodox Archbishop Atallah Hanna has been among the most vociferous in his support of unity between Palestinian Christians and Muslims.

“It is our duty as Palestinian Christians and Muslims to remain united against Israel’s greed, which targets all of us,” he told Anadolu Agency as he mingled with the crowds gathered for prayers outside the walls of Islam’s third-holiest mosque.

“As everyone knows the Palestinian people are united against the occupation and racism,” he said.

Palestinian Muslims have refused to enter the mosque because of new metal detectors installed at its entrances following a gun attack that killed two Israeli police officers and three Palestinians.

Israel claimed the measures were a response to the attack but Palestinians see the measures as an attempt to expand Israeli control over the site, which according to historical agreements should remain under Muslim management and reserved for Muslim worship, though non-Muslims can visit. The mosque is also revered by Jews, who call it the Temple Mount.

“The churches of Jerusalem declared their solidarity with Al-Aqsa Mosque and we are here today to affirm our solidarity with our Muslim brothers,” the Archbishop said. 

FULL ARTICLE FROM AA.COM (TURKEY)

Florida Killings: Radical Islam And The Far Right, Under One Roof

The Hamptons condo and apartment complex in Tampa is quintessential Florida. Lush and modern, the stucco homes are painted in a soft rainbow of pastels. All around are palm trees, Spanish moss and lily pads.

“It is a very quiet place. You have a lot of children that live here. A lot of professionals live here, retirees,” said resident Michael Colon, 66.

But on May 19, that tranquility was shattered in an improbable case that involves four young roommates at the complex.

Two of the men are dead and the other two are in jail.

The story brings together fundamentalist Islam, neo-Nazis, guns and explosive materials — all under the same roof.

And the investigation has morphed to include Tampa police, the FBI, the ATF, the National Guard, as well as state and federal prosecutors.

From one extreme to another

The case began with a hostage drama.

Devon Arthurs, 18, was holding three people at gunpoint in a strip mall across the street from the Hamptons complex, according to police. Arthurs told police he was angry about U.S. military attacks in Muslim countries.

After 15 minutes, Tampa police persuaded Arthurs to surrender. He then led them to the apartment he shared with three other young men.

Arthurs said all four once held neo-Nazi beliefs (though some family members dispute this claim). But here’s the twist: Arthurs said he had converted to Salafi Islam, an ultraconservative form of the religion.

He told police he shot dead two of his roommates inside the apartment because they disrespected his new faith.

And the story kept growing stranger.

FULL ARTICLE FROM NPR

The Spaniards rediscovering their nation’s long-lost Islamic heritage

As he meanders through the spectacular Alhambra Palace in Granada, Spain, tour guide Yasin Maymir hones in on a section of ornate patterning on the interior walls.

“Arabic letters, Arabic phrases. There are more than 10,000 all around Alhambra,” he proudly says of the inscriptions.

Maymir continues through perfectly manicured gardens and grandiose rooms, occasionally stopping to speak of Islamic philosophies and architectural techniques incorporated into the design.

Alhambra tour guide, Yasin Maymir.

His fascination is obvious. Yet he believes the finer details of this history may be unfamiliar to many Spaniards.

“In Spain, in the schools,” Maymir says, “they would never teach you about the (country’s) Islamic history.”

While the Spanish government has taken steps to enable school students to learn about the Islamic faith in recent years, Maymir — whose Italian mother and Cuban father were converts to Islam and moved to Granada because of its rich Islamic past — says he began to understand this other side of his country’s history by studying the secrets of the Alhambra.

FULL ARTICLE FROM CNN 

Arizona senator defends Muslim opponent from online attacks

Democratic candidate Deedra Abboud, 45, came under attack after she posted a campaign message on Facebook with an image of the US Constitution.

The post prompted an onslaught of cyberbullying, including comments about Ms Abboud’s religion.

Mr Flake, 54, expressed his support for Ms Abboud on Twitter.

“Hang in there @deedra2018. Sorry you have to put up with this. Lots of wonderful people across AZ. You’ll find them,” he tweeted on Tuesday.

The senator also posted a link to an op-ed in The Arizona Republic calling out the online attack on Ms Abboud, which came after she posted a message about separation of church and state.

“Almost 250 years ago a group of dreamers came together and sketched out a revolutionary vision. No longer would they be shackled to the whims of a distant government, nor bound to the religion of an idiosyncratic king. They set out to forge their own futures, determine their own destinies, and follow their own faith,” she wrote.

“In their infinite wisdom, the Founding Fathers decreed that this nation would separate church and state, and in doing so protect both institutions. Government would be free from religious overreach, and religion would be free from government interference.”

FULL ARTICLE FROM THE BBC 

Where Christians and Muslims Live in Peace

Before departing for my recent trip to Jordan in the Middle East, I was repeatedly asked if I feared for my safety. Such questions are not new to me. Since my daughter has lived in Jordan for the past three years, I have repeatedly been asked variations of, “How do you sleep at night when your daughter lives in such an unsafe [usually meant “Muslim”] country?”

 

These questions, however, sadly misunderstand both Jordan and Islam. The biggest threat to my safety in Jordan’s capital city, as in any big city in which traffic overwhelm roads, was drivers! Although I had some near scrapes, I survived my many dicey encounters with Jordan’s erratic drivers unscathed.

While surrounded by countries in civil upheaval or civil war or just plain war, Jordan itself is a remarkable oasis of peace. When you think of Jordan, you should think of tranquility, beauty, Roman and Greek antiquity (and older), Islam, and Christianity. And—have I made my point?—peace.

 

Think, instead, of Wadi Rum, Jordan’s severely romantic desert landscape (where Matt Damon’s “The Martian” was filmed).

Think of Petra, the towering and sprawling remains of one of the ancient world’s most amazing cities (and you don’t need to just think of Petra, you saw it in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”).

Think of the Dead Sea, in which you can magically float, if not walk, on water. Think of Jordan’s verdant and craggy north, replete with pine trees and hot springs and Roman ruins. Think likewise of rich Roman mosaics preserved for two thousand years under the floors of some of the earliest Christian churches. And think of centuries and thousands of Christians pilgrimaging to the sites of Jesus’s baptism, the beheading of John the Baptist, and the valley where Moses died.

FULL ARTICLE FROM THE HUFFINGTON POST