How Islamism Drives Muslims to Convert

The antigovernment protests that erupted in Iran in the last days of 2017 showed that millions of Iranians are now disillusioned with the Islamic Republic. Moreover, there are signs that quite a few Iranians are now also disenchanted with Islam itself. Often silently and secretly, they are abandoning their faith. Some opt for other faiths, often Christianity.

This trend is being observed and reported, with understandable excitement, by Christian news sites. “Despite Regular Targeting and Imprisonment, Christianity in Iran Is Spreading,” the Iranian Christian news agency Mohabat News reported recently. The Christian Broadcasting Network, which transmits globally from Virginia, even declared, “Christianity is growing faster in the Islamic Republic of Iran than in any other country in the world.”

While a 2015 study by two researchers, Duane Alexander Miller of St. Mary’s University in San Antonio and Patrick Johnstone of WEC International in Singapore, estimated Iranian converts to Christianity from Islam from 1960 to 2010 at 100,000, it is hard to know the exact number. But the trend seems strong enough to worry Iran’s religious establishment — and make it turn to a solution it knows well: oppression.

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has reported that since 2010 more than 600 Christians in Iran have been arbitrarily detained. Iranian authorities have also raided services, threatened church members and imprisoned Christians, particularly evangelical Christian converts.

FULL ARTICLE FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES 

PATEL: Don’t use Islam as excuse to carry out horrors of female genital mutilation

Earlier this week, a federal judge in the United States dismissed charges against two doctors and six others involved in the genital mutilation of nine girls at a suburban Detroit clinic.

While many are disappointed the case had to be dropped because of state-federal complications, what outraged me the most was that the accused in this case claimed female genital mutilation (FGM) was a ‘religious’ act and that it should, therefore, be above the law.

As a young Muslim woman, I am tired of hearing about medieval and regressive social behaviour that supposedly has some kind of religious justification; especially when it concerns my faith of Islam.

Muslim women like me are caught between Islamophobes who condemn Islam and every Muslim for anything that moves – and our own medieval zealots who use Islam to justify practices like FGM, forced marriages and domestic violence.

It should be clear to all that FGM has absolutely no basis in any of the Abrahamic religions – and there is no mention of it in the Quran. In fact, we find quite the opposite: That the Quran strongly condemns ‘mutilating the fair creation of God’ as being something inspired by the Devil himself.

FULL ARTICLE FROM THE TORONTO SUN 

True Islam Does Not Kill Blasphemers

The agony of Asia Bibi, a 54-year-old Roman Catholic and mother of five, shows there is something rotten in her country, Pakistan — and in the broader world of Islam.

She was arrested for blasphemy in 2009 after Muslim co-workers on a destitute farm denounced her for merely drinking from the same cup and, during the subsequent quarrel, for “insulting Prophet Muhammad” — a charge Ms. Bibi always denied. Yet she was convicted in 2010 and spent the next eight years in solitary confinement, on death row.

Luckily, Pakistan’s Supreme Court last month saved her from execution, clearing her of the charges and also setting her free. But Pakistan’s militant Islamists, especially those in the notorious Tehreek-e-Labbaik religious party, which is obsessed with punishing blasphemers, were enraged. They forced the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan to accept a court petition to reverse the case and bar Ms. Bibi from leaving the country. She and her family, fearing vigilante violence, went into hiding.

I am hoping that the traumatized family will be able to leave Pakistan safely, to find asylum in some free nation. As a Muslim, I feel ashamed of the cruelty they have suffered at the hands of people who act in the name of my faith.

FULL ARTICLE FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES 

Interfaith encounter at a mosque

It started with our own curiosity. Every year at my church, St. Martin-in-the-Fields in central London, we have a fall lecture series. A parade of speakers, panels, and dialogues explores what we take to be the most pressing issues of our time. For the last few years, with series themes such as “Who is my neighbor?” and “Reformation,” we’ve felt the need to include a Muslim perspective. The great thing about inviting a speaker from a different social location is that it can draw in people who share that identity, and so we started to find a number of Muslims coming not just to the lectures given by a Muslim but to the other lectures as well.

And so it was that an invitation came for me to return the favor. A mosque in South London asked me to come and speak. We had decided our fall series theme for this year would be “Encounter,” and we had asked the usual pageant of distinguished speakers to come to St. Martin’s. But this year there was also something different: an opportunity to go to a mosque to­gether and not just talk about an encounter but actually have one.

I visited ahead of time to get a feel for what we’d be doing and saying. I said to my colleague and companion, “What on earth is that?”

“It’s the mosque,” he replied.

“But it’s huge,” I gasped.

“Oh yes, it’s the largest mosque in Western Europe. They get 14,000 people here for Eid and several thousand every Friday.”

FULL ARTICLE FROM THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY 

The Holy Land belongs to all three faiths – we cannot simply colonise it with one

As Christmas approaches, devout Christians feel the need to reconnect with the places where Christ was born and raised, where he tried to spread his message, where he suffered and died. They are beguiled by trips offered by travel companies and Tourist Israel. The Holy Land includes modern day Israel, Palestine and western Jordan.

This business is booming. Do the virtuous seekers of spiritual healing know that they are going to some of the most disputed, heartbreakingly conflicted zones in the world today? Over the centuries, various holy land sites have been sacred to all three Abrahamic faiths – Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Jewish believers believe these were promised to them by Abraham, and for Muslims, Jerusalem is where Prophet Mohammed was sent glorious dreams and despatches from Allah. For centuries the three faiths were able to coexist in peace. Not any longer.

The current Israeli government is exerting its dominance like never before. Bethlehem has been turned into a walled prison; last year Palestinians were denied entry into Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, one of Islam’s most revered sites. Benjamin Netanyahu’s voracious mission is now backed by Donald Trump and various fanatical US Christians, to the extent that the President moved the US embassy to Jerusalem, to show Muslim Arabs that they meant nothing to him or his government. The all-powerful Abrahamic God, it seems, has been colonised.

FULL ARTICLE FROM I NEWS

Islam is religion of holistic vision, not cherry-picking to suit political agenda — Jordanian King

‘Greater jihad’ is personal, internal struggle to defeat ego, share a world of peace, harmony, love — King

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah said that Islam is a religion of holistic vision, “not the cherry-picking of verses to suit a political agenda”, stressing that all 1.8 billion Muslims around the world are working to defend Islam against the “malignant sub-minority who abuse our religion”.

In his speech at a ceremony in Washington, DC, as he accepted the 2018 Templeton Prize on Wednesday, His Majesty underlined Jordan’s historic privilege as the land of prophets and its role in maintaining and defending their message of peace and goodness, according to a Royal Court statement.

His Majesty said that he accepts the award on behalf of all Jordanians, because all he is being honoured for “simply carries onward what Jordanians have always done”, and that is to live in mutual kindness, harmony and brotherhood.

FULL ARTICLE FROM THE JORDAN TIMES 

Commentary: Muslims must fight anti-Semitism in our midst

In a story most Muslims believe to be authentic, the Prophet Muhammad stands up as a Jewish funeral procession goes by. His companions wonder why he shows such respect. “It is only a Jew,” they say. The Prophet replies, “Was he not a soul?”

I have mixed feelings about this story. I like its message: everyone has a soul and should be honored. But it bothers me, too; the need to remind us that even a Jew has a soul, and must be honored, leaves me uneasy.

In the early hours of Saturday, Oct. 27, when I first learned of the attack at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, I felt cold shivers. I worried the attacker was a Muslim. I suppose every minority reacts with similar insecurity, because we know how blame works.

Now we know the attacker was Robert Bowers, who is not Muslim. But probably random white men of Christian origin were not asked, as if they all shared blame, “What do you think about the attack on the Tree of Life synagogue?”

To be honest, my initial fear that the attacker might be Muslim wasn’t just an expression of an insecure minority but the result of what I know to be a real problem: the persistence of anti-Semitism in Muslim communities. Like many Muslims, I grew up with anti-Semitic attitudes, in my case in the Beyoglu neighborhood of Istanbul. I remember when, in 1986, only a few miles from my home, a terrorist killed 22 Jews at the Neve Shalom Synagogue during a Shabbat service.\

FULL ARTICLE FROM THE POSTBULLETIN 

Nigerian First Lady Aisha Buhari calls for collaboration between Muslims, Christians against sexual abuse

The Wife of the President, Mrs Aisha Buhari has called for collaboration between Muslims and Christians in tackling the menace of sex abuse in Nigerian universities, workplaces and families.

Aisha made this call at a Public lecture with the theme “Life of an Ideal Muslim in Public Office,’’ organised by the Aisha Buhari Foundation on Saturday at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa.NAN reports

She warned youths to stick to Islamic way of life in order not to be led astray by some leaders they looked up to.

The Wife of the President tasked the Jama’atu Nasril Islam and the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs to work towards coming up with a code of conduct for Nigerian Muslims.

“I will like to plead with the two notable bodies- that is the Jama’atu Nasril Islam and the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs to work together to fine-tune the way of life of an ideal Muslim; to make it compulsory for all Nigerian Muslims to follow a specified way of life.

“We have to implement. It not just reading the Koran and fail to implement either because of politics or societal intimidation.

“It is high time we set a standard for every Muslim in Nigeria; the Supreme Council has started working on something; very soon, we are going to have a workshop that will bring all Nigerian Muslims together and to come up with a specific way of life for every Nigerian Muslim.

FULL ARTICLE FROM DAILY POST (NIGERIA) 

Egyptian Muslim Teacher Cleans Coptic Church to Promote Tolerance

Hebaa Saad Hashash, a Muslim teacher in the city of Mallawi in Minya, started an initiative with her Muslim girl students to clean a Coptic church in order to promote peace and tolerance among Christians and Muslims.

In an interview with Al Arabiya, she said that she did it for her country and fellow Copts who have been living in harsh conditions following the recent terrorist incident on the Monastery of St. Samuel.

She added that it is her duty as an educator and school director to set an example for younger children of peace and coexistence between religions.

“The Messenger believeth in what hath been revealed to him from his Lord, as do the men of faith. Each one (of them) believeth in Allah, His angels, His books, and His messengers.

“We make no distinction (they say) between one and another of His messengers,” she said.

The initiative was praised in social media sites in Egypt, showing the photos of Muslim girls cleaning the church in Mallawi that revealed the spirit of tolerance and unity between Muslims and Copts in Egypt.

She stated that she was surprised that the images have been widely shared on social media sites.

The Christian community in Minya have always been the centre of sectarian tension. Earlier in July, the Christian community in another Minya village faced a mob of extremists attacking their church after it received approval.

FULL ARTICLE FROM EGYPTIAN STREETS.COM

 

Thanksgiving Prayers For Dinner 2018: Christian, Jewish, Muslims Words To Offer Thanks

Every year on the fourth Thursday of November, millions of Americans nationwide gather for a Thanksgiving Day filled with feasting and celebrations. An important part of the day is gathering around the tables for dinner with loved ones.

Several people choose to say their prayers and share what they are thankful for. While some prayers are improvised, most major religions have standard or suggested words and phrases for blessing a meal. Here are suggested Catholics, Protestant, Jews and Muslims prayers gathered from faith-based organizations.

Catholic prayer:

Today we give thanks for our many blessings as we pray for those in need. We give thanks for our family and friends as we pray for those who are lonely. We give thanks for our freedoms as we pray for those who are oppressed. We give thanks for our good health as we pray for those who are ill. We give thanks for our comfort and prosperity as we share our blessings with others. On this day of Thanksgiving, May the love of God enfold us, the peace of God dwell within us, and the joy of God uplift us. Amen.

Protestant prayer:

Heavenly Father, on Thanksgiving Day, we bow our hearts to you and pray. We give you thanks for all you’ve done, especially for the gift of Jesus, Your Son. For beauty in nature, your glory we see, for joy and health, friends and family. For daily provision, your mercy and care, these are the blessings you graciously share. So today we offer this response of praise, with a promise to follow you all of our days. Amen.

Jewish prayer:  

For the laughter of the children, for my own life breath, for the abundance of food on this table, for the ones who prepared this sumptuous feast, for the roof over our heads, the clothes on our backs, for our health, and our wealth of blessings, for this opportunity to celebrate with family and friends, for the freedom to pray these words, without fear, in any language, on any faith, in this great country, whose landscape is as vast and beautiful as her inhabitants. Thank You, God, for giving us all these.  Amen.

Central American immigrants and their families pray before Thanksgiving dinner on Nov. 24, 2016 in Stamford, Connecticut. Photo: Getty Images/John Moore

Muslim prayer:

Thank You, Allah T’aala is all that I can say. For who knows whether we’ll make it, with grit, come what may, and without Allah’s Mercy we may try all night and day forgetting what we’re worth, a clot of blood, just clay. However, with His Mercy a mountain can we move with ease and no great effort, just hope in Him, just love. So, Thank You Allah T’aala is all that I can say. Just help me share this blessing with all who come my way. Bless Muhammad and his sacred Household inconsequential me.

Arabic: “Allahomma barik lana fima razaqtana waqina athaban-nar. Bismillah.”

English: “Oh Allah! Bless the food You have provided us and save us from the punishment of the hellfire. In the name of Allah.”

FULL ARTICLE FROM INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES