Coptic Martyrs and their Forgiving Families - Seeds of the Church in Egypt

“When people see this attitude [of forgiveness] from Christians and the church, they ask themselves, ‘What kind of power is this?’” he said. “But with this witness we must also declare the message of Christ, which we are fulfilling—literally. We may not see the response immediately. But we will in the near future.”

The Lord's grace is present and real among the Coptic faithful, as they persevere through the valley of the shadow of death, bearing their heavy cross of mass martyrdom, following Christ to their own Golgotha. Their profound faith — and their forgiveness of their Muslim persecutors — may be planting seeds for a new Orthodox Christian harvest in Egypt. May it be so!

Forgiveness: Muslims Moved as Coptic Christians Do the Unimaginable

Amid ISIS attacks, faithful response inspires Egyptian society.

by Jayson Casper, ChristianityToday, April 20, 2017

Coffins are carried to the funeral of Egyptian Christians killed in Palm Sunday bombings. (Photo: Mohamed El-Shahed/AFP)

Twelve seconds of silence is an awkward eternity on television. Amr Adeeb, perhaps the most prominent talk show host in Egypt, leaned forward as he searched for a response.

“The Copts of Egypt … are made of … steel!” he finally uttered.

Moments earlier, Adeeb was watching a colleague in a simple home in Alexandria speak with the widow of Naseem Faheem, the guard at St. Mark’s Cathedral in the seaside Mediterranean city.

On Palm Sunday, the guard had redirected a suicide bomber through the perimeter metal detector, where the terrorist detonated. Likely the first to die in the blast, Faheem saved the lives of dozens inside the church.

“I’m not angry at the one who did this,” said his wife, children by her side. “I’m telling him, ‘May God forgive you, and we also forgive you. Believe me, we forgive you.’

“‘You put my husband in a place I couldn’t have dreamed of.’”

Stunned, Adeeb stammered about Copts bearing atrocities over hundreds of years, but couldn’t escape the central scandal.

“How great is this forgiveness you have!” his voice cracked. “If it were my father, I could never say this. But this is their faith and religious conviction.”

Millions marveled with him across the airwaves of Egypt.

So also did millions of Copts, recently rediscovering their ancient heritage, according to Ramez Atallah, president of the Bible Society of Egypt which subtitled and recirculated the satellite TV clip.

“In the history and culture of the Copts, there is much taught about martyrdom,” he told CT. “But until Libya, it was only in the textbooks—though deeply ingrained.”

The Islamic State in Libya kidnapped and beheaded 21 mostly Coptic Christians in February 2015. CT previously reported the message of forgiveness issued by their families and the witness it provided.

“Since then, there has been a paradigm shift,” said Atallah. “Our ancestors lived and believed this message, but we never had to.”

The Fall of an Empire ~ The Lesson of Byzantium (VIDEO)

May 29 is the anniversary of the defeat of Constantinople in 1453 by the Ottoman Muslims. This fine documentary, scripted and hosted by Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov), Abbot of Sretensky Monastery in Moscow, presents a uniquely Russian Orthodox perspective on the history and fall of Byzantium, and the lessons to be drawn from the world's greatest and longest-enduring empire.


h/t to Fr Thomas Soroka

The Fall of Constantinople, 29 May 1453

"The great doors of Saint Sophia were forced open, and crowds of angry soldiers came in and fell upon the unfortunate worshippers. Pillaging and killing in the holy place went on for hours. Similar was the fate of worshippers in most churches in the city..."

by Dionysios Hatzopoulos, Romiosini:

In the city everyone realized that the fateful moment had come. In the city, while the bells of the churches rang mournfully, citizens and soldiers joined a long procession behind the holy relics brought out of the churches. Singing hymns, men, women, children, soldiers, civilians, clergy, monks and nuns, knowing that they were going to die shortly, made peace with themselves, with God and with eternity.

When the procession ended the Emperor met with his commanders and the notables of the city. In a philosophical speech he told his subjects that the end of their time had come. In essence he told them that Man had to be ready to face death when he had to fight for his faith, for his country, for his family or for his sovereign. All four reasons were now present. 

Furthermore, his subjects, who were the descendants of Greeks and Romans, had to emulate their great ancestors. They had to fight and sacrifice themselves without fear. They had lived in a great city and they were now going to die defending it. 

As for himself, he was going to die fighting for his faith, for his city and for his people... He thanked all present for their contribution to the defense of the city and asked them to forgive him, if he had ever treated them without kindness. 

'Breaking of the Crosses in North Carolina' continued: It's worse than we first thought

"[Pastor Jim] Melnyk said he has personally worshiped Allah with Muslims during interfaith gatherings in Raleigh... "

Journalist Leo Hohmann shines a light on the galloping apostasy in mainline Protestant churches, as typified in this story of how good intentions and generous hearts, cut off from the truth and fullness of the apostolic faith, can lead Christians to embrace a false god, false prophet, and false religion.

I look at this travesty as a 'teachable moment', and have provided commentary throughout the article.

Related:

'Breaking of the Crosses' in North Carolina: Christian leaders welcome conversion of church into mosque

Worshipping with Muslims? — "Our ultimate goal and divine mandate is not co-existence with Muslims but their conversion—as it is for all the children of men." —Fr. Lawrence Farley

Christian pastor in Bible Belt admits personally worshiping Allah
Muslim deity takes over church as leaders claim to honor 'same god'
by Leo Hohmann, WND, May 15, 2017

A former church has been taken over and converted to a mosque in a rural North Carolina county, and a group of Christian pastors took part in the conversion ceremony in an effort to show mutual respect for their Muslim neighbors. 

Crosses have been removed from the former church’s facade and steeple, and mosque leader Ali Muhammad turned them over to the group of pastors. 

“What they were attempting to do is honor our tradition and so they wanted to turn the crosses over to us,” said the Rev. Jim Melnyk, pastor of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Smithfield, a small town in Johnston County about 45 minutes south of Raleigh. “They were reaching out to us, and we were reaching out to them.” 

No, Rev. Melnyk.

They were symbolically "breaking the crosses", an eschatological sign of their belief in the ultimate triumph of Islam over Christianity, and then they duped you into thanking them for doing it.

Melnyk said he was joined by pastors from the United Methodist Church, United Church of Christ and three different Baptist congregations at Saturday’s ceremony, which marked the official conversion of a former Pentecostal church into a mosque. One lay person from the local Presbyterian Church was also present for the “celebration.” 

Melnyk told WND the mosque had reached out to the local churches through an interfaith group in Raleigh and was hoping to strike a welcoming and respectful tone for the two faiths. 

Melnyk said Christianity and Islam “share common origins and scriptures” and that he felt it was the right thing to do to participate in the mosque opening as a show of respect for Islam, a fellow monotheistic faith. 

“Christians, Jews and Muslims are all people of the book, and we all claim what the Hebrew Scriptures call the Abrahamic faith,” Melnyk told WND. “We call it the Old Testament, and Muslims also claim the Bible.” 

No, Rev. Melnyk.

This naive and false theology and history expressed by Rev. Melnyk is the perfect summation of why the Same God position is so dangerous.  Islam does not "share common origins and scriptures" with Christianity. To say so is to assert that Islam and Christianity are spiritually and ontologically linked, stemming from the same source, with the equally false implication that they are spiritually equivalent, leading their followers to the same destination.

Rather, Muhammad sought to appropriate Christianity and Judaism, retelling in the Koran, as Allah's mouthpiece, various events in the Old and New Testaments, yet in narratives with significant, irreconcilable differences from the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures, and always with the same purpose, the assertion that Islam was always the true religion, that Abraham, Moses, and even Jesus, were true Muslims, but that the Jews and Christians distorted their scriptures to conceal the true Islamic teaching.

UPDATE: Coptic Christians True Martyrs - Killed for Refusing to Renounce Their Faith in Jesus Christ

"As each pilgrim came off the bus they were asked to renounce their Christian faith and profess belief in Islam, but all of them—even the children—refused. Each was killed in cold blood with a gunshot to the head or the throat."

The classic Muslim way, just like with the 100,000 Holy Martyrs of Tbilisi, Georgia.

Update on this report.

The Copts continue to faithfully ascend their Golgotha, following the Lord Jesus Christ. Even though we are not in full ecclesial communion with the Coptic Orthodox Church, there have been fruitful talks in recent years, and we are certainly united with them through a communion of martyrdom, an ecumenism of blood.

Just like the Russian New Martyrs of the 20th century under the God-hating Soviet atheists, the Copts today are witnessing to Christ through confessing Him as Lord even unto death. And they and their families further fulfill the Lord's divine commands by forgiving and praying for their persecutors.

At every Divine Liturgy, at the Third Antiphon we chant the Beatitudes, from Matthew 5:3-11. We must wonder at what our Coptic brothers and sisters feel when they hear and sing these words:

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven...

The mass martyrdom of the Coptic Church in our time should force us all to our knees in tears and repentance for our lax and comfortable lives. May we be emboldened and encouraged in our faith by their ultimate sacrifice for love of our Lord Jesus Christ, and may the Lord strengthen us for our own time of trials, which is coming swiftly, and is already at the very doors.



In Ramadan Massacre, Egyptian Christians Killed for Refusing to Renounce Their Faith in Jesus

by Thomas D. Williams, PhD, Breitbart News, May 28, 2017:

Funeral procession for the New Coptic Martyrs of Egypt, killed by Muslims for refusing to deny Jesus Christ. They were on a holy pilgrimage to a sacred monastery when they were attacked by Islamic jihadis.

As more and more details emerge concerning Friday’s Ramadan attack on a busload of Christians on pilgrimage, the more it becomes evident that these 29 martyrs died solely because they were Christians.

Survivors of the attack said that the ten masked Islamic State militants did not merely open fire on the bus full of Christian pilgrims on their way to the Monastery of Saint Samuel the Confesor, but that the victims were made to descend from the bus and asked one by one whether they were Christians before being shot by the assailants.

According to one of the chaplains of the group, Father Rashed, as each pilgrim came off the bus they were asked to renounce their Christian faith and profess belief in Islam, but all of them—even the children—refused. Each was killed in cold blood with a gunshot to the head or the throat.

Why do Muslim jihadis kill children?

The Islamic State and other jihad groups claim to follow the Koran and the example of Muhammad. Yet surely Muhammad didn't kill children? Did he?

The Islamic State and other Muslim, jihad groups follow Muhammad's example. Yet they kill women and young children, as seen in the Egypt bus attack in which 28 Coptic Christians were killed, and in the Manchester jihad bombing. In both instances children as young as eight years old were among the victims.

The Religion of Peace website has a helpful section that debunks Muslim myths about Islam and Muhammad which we are fed after each deadly Muslim jihad attack.

Myths of Muhammad, The Religion of Peace:

The Myth: Muhammad Would Never Do Harm to a Child

"Our Prophet (peace be upon him) was a great man who would never order any measure that might do harm to an innocent child." 

The Truth:

It is probably fair to say that Muhammad did not approve of killing children intentionally. A verse from the Quran laments the pre-Islamic Arab practice of infanticide against baby girls, for example. Other evidence from the Hadith suggests that he instructed his men not to kill children in battle if it could be avoided, but to capture them for slavery.

He also gave children a reprieve, when telling his people to "kill those who disbelieve in Allah":

[Muhammad said] “Fight everyone in the way of Allah and kill those who disbelieve in Allah. Do not be deceitful with the spoils; do not be treacherous, nor mutilate nor kill children.” (Ibn Ishaq/Hisham 992)

But Muhammad’s definition of a child was not the same as contemporary understanding. Following the surrender of the Qurayza stronghold, he ordered the execution of every male child who had reached puberty. His men had the boys drop their pants so that that anyone with pubic hair could be beheaded (Abu Dawud 4390).

Why do Muslims kill Christians during Ramadan?

"Following Muhammad’s example, terrorists are emboldened to engage in acts of violence against those who reject Islam and in any way inhibit the spread of Islam. While Muslims are purifying themselves from the stain of sin during Ramadan, what better time is there to purge the faith and cleanse the land from all defilement by destroying the infidel?"

Muhammad with sword, leading pious Muslims into battle.

Why Do Terrorists Strike During Ramadan?
by William DiPuccio, May 26, 2017:

Ramadan 2017 opened with the bloody massacre of 28 Coptic Christians. Every year hundreds of people die in Ramadan attacks. According to statistics kept by thereligionofpeace.com, 2,988 people were killed in 2015, and 1,850 died in 2016.

Strict Muslims pattern their lives after the teaching and example of Muhammad who established a precedent for conducting attacks during the Arab holy months. Technically, Ramadan is not counted among the four holy months of Islam, but it is a solemn and holy observance.

Muhammad had begun a series of caravan raids against his own people, the Meccans, for rejecting his prophetic claims and persecuting Muslims. By universal agreement, fighting was prohibited during the holy months of the Arab calendar. So Muhammad hesitated to launch another raid during the holy month of Rajab.

But, he claims to have received a revelation encouraging the Muslims to fight. This marked the beginning of violence in the name of Islam:

Ramadan in Egypt: Muslims murder 26 Christians in bus on way to monastery

Islamic State jihadis honor Muhammad and their bloodthirsty god by killing peaceful, defenseless Coptic Christians on a holy pilgrimage to a sacred monastery. The death toll is now at 28 and may rise.

Soon after the news reports broke, our priest sent out an email to the parish in which he said the following:

When "God" is invoked to inspire such violence, then we have entered the realm of blasphemy.

That sums up what I have been writing about for almost a decade now, first in my book, and then on this blog, that Allah, Muhammad and Muslims blaspheme the True God through jihad, false theology, legalistic religious demands, female genital mutilation, child marriages, honor killings, sharia restrictions against free speech, death penalty for apostasy and blasphemy, and a whole range of barbaric practices ad infinitum. 

When one looks at Islam, it is clear that Allah is not the One True God, but a demonic imposter, that Muhammad is a false prophet, and that Muslims are all — whether jihadi or so called 'moderates' — under spiritual delusion.

This evil attack is completely in accordance with the commands of Allah in the Koran, and with the example of Muhammad in the ahadith. And we can expect much, much more of the same.

Ramadan in Egypt: Muslims murder 26 Christians in bus on way to monastery

by Robert Spencer, Jihad Watch, May 26, 2017:

Ramadan begins today. It is the month of jihad, the month when Muslims strive to please Allah more fervently. And so because murdering Infidels who are considered to be at war with Allah is a pious act, there is generally more bloodshed during Ramadan than during the rest of the year.

“26 killed, 26 injured as gunmen fire on Coptic Christian convoy in Egypt,” Straits Times, May 26, 2017:

CAIRO (Bloomb erg [sic], Reuters, AFP) – Gunmen in military fatigues opened fire on a bus carrying members of Egypt’s Coptic Christian minority killing at least 26 people, including children, the latest in a string of militant attacks targeting the community. 

Another 26 were wounded in the assault in Minya province, some 200km south of Cairo, said Ministry of Health spokesman Khaled Mogahed. 

The Copts were on their way to the Saint Samuel monastery, according to Minya’s governor Issam al-Bedewi. Bishop Anba Ermia, president of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Centre, said on Twitter that the attack may have killed as many as 35 people in a convoy of vehicles. 

Searing Insights from one who almost converted to Islam

"As much as possible we should preach Christ. But that doesn’t mean we should pretend Islam is what its naive defenders want it to be. The burning flesh and severed limbs of innocents are there in the heart of it...

"Islam has a problem, and it has had a problem since its very inception. It is at war against whatever people it comes across. It slaughters in the Philippines. It slaughters in India. It slaughters in Myanmar. It slaughters in Nigeria. It slaughters in the Sudan. It has done these things from the beginning, and it is all right there in the Quran, let alone the hadith."

Out of the millions of words posted at Rod Dreher's blog, the below comments from one of his readers, Annie, come with a special weight. She writes as a Western Liberal who flirted with Islam. And she has some challenging things to say to those who believe Islam is a religion of peace, equivalent or even superior to Christianity. She does not explicitly address the 'Same God' belief, but implicitly, she rips it apart. Good on Rod Dreher for putting Annie's words front and center.

Islam Through Western Liberal Eyes

Rod Dreher, The American Conservative, May 24, 2017:

Reader Annie comments on the Manchester bombing thread:

Western liberals have a bad habit of “denying agency.” Our self-absorbed knee-jerk tendency to blame all the world’s woes on the evil West is just a way of putting ourselves at the center of every story, for reasons best left unaddressed here. 

Those are our real sins, and every single person writing here is complicit in them.  

But let’s get something straight: this cultural relativism is nonsense. 

Islam has a problem, and it has had a problem since its very inception. It is at war against itself and against whatever people it comes across. It slaughters in the Philippines. It slaughters in India. It slaughters in Myanmar. It slaughters in Nigeria. It slaughters in the Sudan. It has done these things from the beginning, and it is all right there in the Quran, let alone the hadith. 

Deadly Mistakes and Political Correctness enabled the Manchester Jihad Mass Murder

The warning signs were all present, the Muslim jihadi was known to the police, yet they still did nothing, and allowed yet another jihad mass murder to take place. Woe unto the UK, as they allow their daughters to be raped by the thousands, and their citizens to be sacrificed to Muslims...

Aftermath of the suicide bomb which ripped through the foyer of the venue killing parents and children.

A quick scan of the news reports following the bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester UK reveals the United Kingdom is sick and dying, and will not survive much longer. Not only Prime Minister Theresa May and the UK government and police forces, but the press and media all exhibit a pathological denial of the truth about Islam, and a political paralysis which allows Muslims to murder English citizens at will rather than do anything whatsoever to effectively prevent it.

The attacker learned the Quran by heart. And acted upon it. This is why Islam is defeating Europe and the UK.

Key news stories from the last 36 hours:
(thanks to Jihad Watch for the extensive coverage)

“‘He was chanting Islamic prayers loudly in the street’: Neighbours of British-born Manchester suicide bomber tell of his ‘strange behaviour’ in the weeks before deadly attack,” by Nick Fagge, Paul Thompson and Julian Robinson, MailOnline, May 23, 2017:

Neighbours of British-born Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi have revealed his ‘strange behaviour’ in the weeks before he slaughtered 22 people. The 22-year-old British-born attacker was heard ‘chanting Islamic prayers loudly in the street’ outside his home in the south of the city.

Orthodox Prelate: ‘Europe will turn Muslim’ in 30 Years, Christians will live in secret

Unless the Lord returns first...

It's the demographics, with high Muslim birthrate and immigration rate, versus the much lower birthrate (well below replacement levels) of native Europeans. Russia has been reversing its negative demographic rate from the Soviet era, but still faces an uphill battle.


Orthodox Prelate: ‘Europe Will Turn Muslim’ in 30 Years, Christians Will Live in Secret by Michael W. Chapman, CNS News, May 18, 2017:

Archpriest Dmitri Smirnov,
chairman, Patriarchal Commission on Family Matters

Archpriest Dmitri Smirnov, chairman of the Patriarchal Commission on Family Matters, and the Protection of Motherhood and Childhood in the Russian Orthodox Church, said he believes Christian civilization is nearly dead and that in 30 years Europe will be dominated by Muslims, and Russia will suffer the same fate in about 50 years.

Speaking on Russia’s Soyuz TV on May 5 — translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) — Archpriest Smirnov said, “There is very little time left until the death of the entire Christian civilization. Several decades, perhaps 30 years, well, maybe in Russia it will last 50, no longer.”

“And then,” Christians “will be like peas scattered across European countries,” he said.

'Breaking of the Crosses' in North Carolina: Christian leaders welcome conversion of church into mosque

"Helping to open the mosque will be local Christian clergy, hoping to strike a welcoming and respectful tone for two faiths of similar origins in a shared community..."

Similar origins???

"Pastor Jim Melnyk, who leads St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Smithfield, will be one of the Christian church leaders taking part in Saturday’s ceremony. He said Christianity and Islam share common origins and scriptures..."

Common origins and scriptures???  Dhimmitude and Ignorance have kissed each other.

This pathetic, deceived 'pastor' should be severely reprimanded by his bishop, if not defrocked and excommunicated for deceiving his flock and denying Christ in such a blatant manner. Read my book Facing Islam for a clear explanation of why the 'Same God Heresy' (which this pastor Jim Melnyk undoubtedly follows) presents a "different gospel", a "different Jesus" and a "different Spirit" (cf. Gal 1:6-8 and 2 Cor 11:3-4).

Whether done through violent jihad by ISIS, or through stealth jihad by American Muslim groups, the 'breaking of the crosses' is an act of Islamic supremacism with eschatological and prophetic significance for Muslims.

Christians also need to be warned that observant Muslims see the removal of crosses from churches as a prophetic sign of the ultimate triumph of Islam over Christianity, and of Christianity's ultimate destruction. As the mosque organizer himself said:

“Part of it is destiny; it’s the will of God that we’re here...”

That sense of destiny is what drives Islamic jihad, whether violent or stealth, throughout the world. It is the belief in Islam's ultimate victory over Christianity.

Islamic eschatology holds that when Isa (the Islamic Jesus) returns, he will be a “good Muslim,” and will direct his followers to the Mahdi, the Muslim messiah, before taking a subservient position somewhat behind the Mahdi. Muhammad, as related in Islamic scriptures, prophesied that Isa will “fight the people for the cause of Islam. He will break the cross, kill the swine and abolish jizya” and establish the rule of Allah throughout the world (Hadith from Sunan Abu Dawud, Book of Battles, 37:4310).

See also:

• SIGN OF THE APOCALYPSE: Muslim 'Breaking of the Crosses' in Syracuse NY
• 'Breaking of the Crosses' in Syracuse Part 2: The Sharia Doctrine against the Cross

North Carolina: Crosses removed as Smithfield church becomes a mosque
Mosque moves into former Pentecostal church in Smithfield, NC | News & Observer, via  Creeping Sharia, May 14, 2017:

SMITHFIELD – It won’t be the first mosque in Johnston County, but for now it’s the only one.

On Saturday morning, the Islamic Center of Smithfield will open up in a vacant Pentecostal church, taking over the four-acre property and parsonage on Brightleaf Boulevard with future plans for a worship and community center and school. Helping to open the mosque will be local Christian clergy, hoping to strike a welcoming and respectful tone for two faiths of similar origins in a shared community.

Crosses have been removed from the former church’s facade and steeple, and Ali Mohammad, an organizer of the mosque and a Smithfield business owner, said they’ll be handed over to the group of pastors as a show of good faith.

Jan Sobieski: The Warrior-King Who Saved Europe From Islam

"The new Sobieskis won’t necessarily be soldiers. They will mainly be cultural warriors and Christian activists willing to put themselves on the front lines of the ideological war against this new incursion [of Islam]."

—  Miltiades Varvounis, author of Jan Sobieski: The King Who Saved Europe

From an insightful interview with the author of a new biography of the great Polish King Jan Sobieski, whose armies defeated the forces of Islam at the gates of Vienna in 1683, ending the Muslim hope for a direct military invasion of Europe.

Read all the way to the end for Varvounis' keen analysis of Islam's new invasion of Europe, the West, and the entire globe.


The Warrior-King Who Saved Europe From Islam
By Carrie Gress, National Catholic Register, May 31, 2016:

Poland’s kings are a fascinating bunch, ranging from great scoundrels like Boleslaw the Bold, who hacked up St. Stanislaw, to larger than life characters like King Kazimierz, who raised 14th century Poland to greatness. Even St. Jadwiga, who founded the Jagiellonian University, was technically “king” because 14th century Polish law did not allow for a queen.

While these rulers are discussed at length in City of Saints, there is another leader not to be overlooked. I caught up with Greek-Polish historian Miltiades Varvounis, author of Jan Sobieski: The King Who Saved Europe, to talk about another Polish king—King Jan Sobieski. Considered the greatest warrior king of his time, Sobieski is best known for winning the Battle of Vienna against the Ottoman Empire in 1683, but he his legacy goes well beyond the battlefield.

Gress: Why did you write the book Jan Sobieski: The King Who Saved Europe?

Varvounis: Jan Sobieski was one of the most illustrious rulers ever to command an army. He gained glory and fame in his thirties through his exceptional military skills and he was acknowledged as the greatest warrior-king of his time throughout the rest of his turbulent life. His patriotism, his strong faith and hope in God, his military reputation, his taste for arts and letters, and his talents – all these were legendary in his lifetime.

Since World War II, no English work has been published about the king who saved Europe from the warriors of Islam at the Battle of Vienna (1683); a battle which was the inspiration for J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic cavalry charge of the Rohirrim that lifted the Siege of Minas Tirith in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Although a great number of books in English have been published on Polish history since the fall of the Iron Curtain, “the Lion of Lechistan”, as Sobieski was called by his enemies, has remained neglected by historians outside Poland.

A personality like Jan Sobieski – the most famous Polish military figure and the savior of Christendom – can never be ignored and forgotten. I took the initiative to present Sobieski and his immortal deeds to the wide readership in the present-day lingua franca.

Sign of the Times: US Catholic Church punishing priests for speaking truth about Islam and jihad

In our age of worldliness and ever-spreading Christian apostasy, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops and Rome itself is siding with Islam against Catholic priests (and even against Catholic saints!) who speak forthrightly about Islam, Muhammad, and jihad.

Robert Spencer writes:

"The highly dubious proposition that Islam is a religion of peace has become a kind of superdogma that the U.S. bishops enforce with a stringency (and even ruthlessness) that they never display regarding actual Church teaching."

Will this Catholic Apologia for Islam — and its attendant persecution of faithful priests who serve as conscience to Rome's pan-ecumenist dreams — manifest itself in a dogmatic declaration of solidarity with Islam, a doctrinal embrace of the 'Same God Heresy', and a final shameful denial of Jesus Christ by formally affirming Muhammad as a prophet?

Time will tell, but this deeply disturbing trend in Roman Catholicism points only to one end: the Great Apostasy and the Religion of the Future, warned against by Blessed Hieromonk Seraphim Rose some forty years ago.

Our task? Be faithful unto the end, enduring criticism, mocking and persecution, willing to confess Jesus Christ even unto death, as the Lord Himself said:

"He who endures to the end shall be saved." (MT 10:22) 

"Whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels." (MK 8:38)

Another Day, Another Apology to Muslims

by Susan D. Harris, American Thinker, May 2, 2017 (via Creeping Sharia):

“Don’t listen to liberals, because the Muslims will cut your heads off.” That’s the comment that warranted the KRQE headline, “Parents accuse Belen priest of making discriminatory comments against Muslims.”

Apparently no one had a problem with the “don’t listen to liberals” part. Instead, being well trained in political correctness, it was the moment Fr. Jonas Romea, a priest in Belen, New Mexico, told a group of pre-K to eighth grade Catholic kids that there were Muslims terrorists that caused the problem.

Specifically mentioning Muslims cutting “heads off” was when parents became terribly offended on behalf of Islam. The next thing you know, a reporter at KOAT Action News was asking Fr. Romea if he didn’t think his remarks were “Islamophobia?” Fr. Romea said that he denied that label, and strengthened his point by saying:

“Recent reports out of the Middle East show that Catholics around the world are under attack. The news pieces that we get… from there tell us that actually, Christians are being slaughtered.”

KRQE reported that after receiving complaints about Fr. Romea’s remarks (made during a homily to students at Our Lady of Belen Church,) the “Archdiocese of Santa Fe sent out a letter to parents saying the homily didn’t fully embrace the message of Jesus Christ.”

Islamic FGM in Michigan - Part 6: Federal Law Doesn’t Require Healthcare Providers to Report FGM Despite Half a Million ‘At Risk’

An exhaustively researched article draws together numerous reports to paint a dark picture of the effects of mass Muslim immigration.


This is the sixth of a 7-part series on Islam and FGM: 

• Part 1  |  Part 2  |  Part 3  |  Part 4  |  Part 5  |  Part 6  |  Part 7

Federal Law Doesn’t Require Healthcare Providers to Report FGM Despite Half a Million ‘At Risk’

by Michael Patrick Leahy, Breitbart, April 27, 2017:

The barbaric practise of female genital mutilation — a procedure made unlawful by the Illegal Immigrant Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 — has been thrust to the fore of public debate in the United States following the arrests of Dr. Jumana Nagarwala, Dr. Fakhruddin Attar, and Attar’s wife Farida in Michigan this month.

According to reports, several young Somali girls were brought from Minnesota, one of twenty-four states that have passed legislation to make female genital mutilation (FGM) illegal according to state laws, to Michigan, one of twenty-six states in which FGM has not been made illegal in state law, where Dr. Nagarwala, with assistance from Mrs. Attar, performed the procedure outlawed by federal law in a medical office owned by Dr. Attar.

“Since 1996, there have been specific federal criminal penalties for performing FGM/C in the United States on anyone under 18 years old, including fines, up to 5 years in prison, or both. In 2013, Congress amended the federal statute related to FGM/C to criminalize the knowing transportation of a girl under 18 years old from the United States for the purpose of performing FGM/C abroad—often referred to as ‘vacation cutting,’ ” according to the June 2016 Government Accountability Office’s report Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting.

The current federal statute, which codifies both the 1996 law and the 2013 law can be seen here at U.S. Code Title 18 Part I Chapter 7 § 116 – Female genital mutilation.

Surprisingly, neither the 1996 federal law that outlawed FGM, nor the 2013 federal law that outlawed “vacation cutting” requires health care providers to report known or suspected instances of FGM to local, state, or federal health authorities or law enforcement. Current federal law criminalizes the practice of FGM, but does not specifically require reporting on it, though health care providers are obligated to report instances of child abuse, a category in which FGM falls.

With this paucity of reporting data, two recent studies, one by the Population Reference Bureau (PRB), another by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), have used demographic analysis to estimate that the number of women who have “undergone” FGM or are “at risk of the procedure” in the United States exceeds 500,000.

Islamic FGM in Michigan - Part 5: 'FGM is illegal in the United States. So why is it still happening here?'

"Many Muslims have insisted that the practice of FGM has nothing to do with Islam, that it is, originally, an African and pagan custom. This may be true. However, many Muslims believe it is religiously required..."

This is the fifth of a 7-part series on Islam and FGM: 

• Part 1  |  Part 2  |  Part 3  |  Part 4  |  Part 5  |  Part 6  |  Part 7

Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch explains why Muslims believe the barbaric practice of circumcision of the clitoris is religiously required:

Female genital mutilation is indeed sanctioned in Islam. “Circumcision is obligatory (for every male and female) (by cutting off the piece of skin on the glans of the penis of the male, but circumcision of the female is by cutting out the bazr ‘clitoris’ [this is called khufaadh ‘female circumcision’]).” — ‘Umdat al-Salik e4.3, translated by Mark Durie, The Third Choice, p. 64 

Why is it obligatory? Because Muhammad is held to have said so: “Abu al-Malih ibn Usama’s father relates that the Prophet said: ‘Circumcision is a law for men and a preservation of honour for women.’” — Ahmad Ibn Hanbal 5:75 

That’s why it is so common around the world:

• A Muslim cleric in Russia said that “all women should be circumcised.” 
• A Muslim cleric in India likewise urged that it be done. 
• A Muslim cleric in Australia said that Islamic law permitted the practice. 
• A leading U.S. Muslim jurist from the Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America (AMJA) said it was an “honor” in Islam. 
• A marabout — a Muslim holy man — was arrested in France for having it done on his daughters. 
• In the UK, there were 5,500 cases of FGM in 2016 alone. 
• It is commonly claimed to be an East African problem, but 93% of Muslim women in Malaysia have suffered this procedure, and it is common in Indonesia. 
• In one province in Iran, 60% of the women have suffered FGM.
• It is certain to become increasingly common in the United States.

FGM is illegal in the United States. So why is it still happening here?

By Dr. Phyllis Chesler, April 27, 2017 - Fox News:

Let's be clear: FGM (female genital mutilation) is illegal in the United States. That fact did not stop Drs. Humana Nagarwala, Fakhruddin Attar, and his wife Farida Attar, from allegedly performing these criminal and human rights atrocities against two vulnerable 7-year-old girls in the Detroit metro area. The physicians and Attar's wife have all been arrested. According to Fox 2 News in Detroit the three have been charged with female genital mutilation and conspiracy. The doctors are also charged with making false statements to investigators and trying to obstruct the investigation.

For years, many Muslims have insisted that the practice of FGM has nothing to do with Islam, that it is, originally, an African and pagan custom. This may be true. However, many Muslims believe it is religiously required.

Boldly, cleverly, the Detroit-area physicians are arguing that FGM is a "religious practice" and that to interfere with it is tantamount to religious discrimination. There is some proof that Mohammed allowed a female "exciser" to perform this mutilation -- but he advised her not to "overdo it."

FGM is practiced most widely in the Islamic world in the Arab Muslim Middle East, both in the Gulf and African states (such as Egypt, Somalia, Sudan); it has, increasingly, spread to Muslim communities in Central Asia (parts of Iraqi Kurdistan and Iran), and to the Far East (Malaysia and Indonesia).

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is not at all like male circumcision. Not only is the capacity for sexual pleasure destroyed, complications are routine and include bleeding, painful urination, cysts, dangerous and recurrent bladder and urinary tract infections, the growth of scar tissue that make marital intercourse a nightmare and that turns childbirth into an experience of danger and torture.

Islamic FGM in Michigan - Part 4: 'Everybody knows somebody who has gotten their daughter cut [FGM]…'

Importing Islam: "Female genital mutilation is alive and well in parts of the Western world where its adherents have migrated and formed communities."

This is the fourth of a 7-part series on Islam and FGM: 

• Part 1  |  Part 2  |  Part 3  |  Part 4  |  Part 5  |  Part 6  |  Part 7

QOTD: “Everybody knows somebody who has gotten their daughter cut [FGM]…”

Creeping Sharia, April 29, 2017; Source: AP | The La Grande Observer

The recent arrest of a Michigan doctor accused of performing the procedure on two 7-year-old girls from [Zehra] Patwa’s own Shiite Muslim sect, the Dawoodi Bohra, highlights how female genital mutilation is alive and well in parts of the Western world where its adherents have migrated and formed communities.

Dr. Jumana Nagarwala is accused of performing the procedure on two Minnesota girls that left them with scars and lacerations. Her attorney, Shannon Smith, insists that Nagarwala conducted a benign religious ritual that involved no mutilation.

Prosecutors on Friday charged two other Bohras, Dr. Fakhruddin Attar and his wife, Farida Attar, with conspiracy. Fakhruddin Attar owns the Detroit-area clinic where the alleged procedures were performed in February, and investigators say the couple knew Nagarwala was doing the procedures after business hours.

Islamic FGM in Michigan - Part 3: Lawyer says doctors accused of FGM are 'Muslims and they’re being under attack because of it'

Defense attorney Mary Chartier alleges that the Muslim doctors charged with a federal crime for performing female genital mutilations "are being persecuted because of their [Islamic] religious beliefs."

Her defense strategy may result in a massive victory for Islam in America, and the immediate advancement of Sharia law and jihad activity, all under the protection of the US Constitution as "religious freedom."

This is the third in a 7-part series on Islam and FGM: 

• Part 1  |  Part 2  |  Part 3  |  Part 4  |  Part 5  |  Part 6  |  Part 7

Protected by the veil of 'religious liberty'? How a federal felony case over Islamic female genital mutilation may subvert the US Constitution and advance Sharia law and the stealth jihad.

As Robert Spencer notes in his introductory comments below, 

Chartier is getting right to the heart of the matter: apparently she intends to argue that female genital mutilation is justified in Islam, and that therefore Dr. Attar was just exercising his freedom of religion.

If that is really what she intends to do, this will become a test case for the spread of Sharia practices in the U.S.: either Muslims will be allowed to violate existing U.S. laws under the rubric of the freedom of religion, or they will be called upon to obey U.S. laws even when those laws conflict with the teachings of Islam.

If the court rules for the latter, the U.S. will have a chance to continue to exist as a free society. If the court rules for the former, it will be opening the door to all manner of jihad activity and Sharia practices that violate laws regarding equality of rights and equality of access to services, and no one will be able to say a word against the spread of Sharia in the U.S.

Michigan: Lawyer says doctors accused of FGM are “Muslims and they’re being under attack because of it”

by Robert Spencer, Jihad Watch, April 27, 2017:

Dr. Attar’s attorney Mary Chartier said: “I do believe that the government does not fully understand the religious practices of Dr. Attar and Dr. Attar’s religion, and I think that’s why we are in this courthouse today, and what we’ll be fighting over for the next few months.”

Indeed: the government is likely clueless as to the Islamic justifications for female genital mutilation. 

Chartier is getting right to the heart of the matter: apparently she intends to argue that female genital mutilation (contrary to constantly repeated establishment media myth) is justified in Islam, and that therefore Dr. Attar was just exercising his freedom of religion. 

If that is really what she intends to do, this will become a test case for the spread of Sharia practices in the U.S.: either Muslims will be allowed to violate existing U.S. laws under the rubric of the freedom of religion, or they will be called upon to obey U.S. laws even when those laws conflict with the teachings of Islam. 

If the court rules for the latter, the U.S. will have a chance to continue to exist as a free society. If the court rules for the former, it will be opening the door to all manner of jihad activity and Sharia practices that violate laws regarding equality of rights and equality of access to services, and no one will be able to say a word against the spread of Sharia in the U.S.

“They have a religious belief to practice their religion. And they are Muslims and they’re being under attack because of it. I believe that they are being persecuted because of their religious beliefs and I do not make that allegation lightly,” Chartier said….

No, they’re “being under attack” for mutilating girls’ genitals. But Chartier is right: female genital mutilation is indeed sanctioned in Islam. “Circumcision is obligatory (for every male and female) (by cutting off the piece of skin on the glans of the penis of the male, but circumcision of the female is by cutting out the bazr ‘clitoris’ [this is called khufaadh ‘female circumcision’]).” — ‘Umdat al-Salik e4.3, translated by Mark Durie, The Third Choice, p. 64.

Islamic FGM in Michigan - Part 2: 'Examinations reveal that Muslim doctor’s claim she didn’t perform female genital mutilation is false'

"A juvenile protection petition filed on behalf of the victims in Minnesota, along with federal court documents, cite scarring, a small tear, healing lacerations and what appears to be surgical removal of a portion of [the victim's] genitalia…. 

"Prosecutors say they believe there are many other victims. According to the seven-count indictment, the three defendants are part of a bigger conspiracy that ran from 2005 until this year...


This is the second in a 7-part series on Islam and FGM: 

• Part 1  |  Part 2  |  Part 3  |  Part 4  |  Part 5  |  Part 6  |  Part 7

Michigan: Examinations reveal that Muslim doctor’s claim she didn’t perform female genital mutilation is false

Jihad Watch, April 27, 2017:

“The girls’ parents have not been charged.”

Why not? Obviously they wanted this done to their girls. Jumana Nagarwala didn’t steal into their homes in the dark of night and perform this barbaric procedure of her own accord.

“Report: Girl’s genital mutilation injury worse than doctor claims,” by Tresa Baldas, Detroit Free Press, April 26, 2017:

Two weeks after a doctor’s arrest, a grand jury indicted three in a genital mutilation case, sending it to trial. 

Dr. Jumana Nagarwala has maintained she never engaged in any genital cutting. 

But according to documents obtained by the Free Press, the injuries sustained by two Minnesota girls who prosecutors say had their genitals mutilated by Nagarwala at a Livonia clinic are much more severe than what the doctor has claimed. 

The details emerged as Nagarwala and two others were indicted Wednesday on genital mutilation charges in U.S. District Court, where the trio are accused of targeting young girls for years to carry out what prosecutors have described as a barbaric and illegal ritual. In this case, prosecutors say, when Nagarwala and her cohorts were discovered, they lied, deleted evidence and tried to hush others in their religious community to keep their crime a secret. 

Islamic FGM in Michigan - Part 1: 'Muslim physician charged with practicing female genital mutilation'

This federal case — believed to be the first of its kind in the USA — is becoming something of a legal test case which has the potential of rapidly advancing Islamic sharia law in the USA should female genital mutilation (FGM) be successfully defended in court as a Muslim religious practice, and thereby protected under the US Constitution.

Because of the importance of this case and what it reveals about the barbaric nature of Islam, this post is the first of a multi-part series covering the topic of Islamic female genital mutilation.

Most important of all is how this major news story and its revelations about this barbaric Islamic practice helps make abundantly clear that the desert pagan god of Islam is emphatically not the True God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The key statement from a representative of the US Department of Justice:

“According to the complaint, despite her oath to care for her patients, Dr. Nagarwala is alleged to have performed horrifying acts of brutality on the most vulnerable victims,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Blanco said in a statement. “The Department of Justice is committed to stopping female genital mutilation in this country, and will use the full power of the law to ensure that no girls suffer such physical and emotional abuse.” 

This is the first of a 7-part series on Islam and FGM: 

• Part 1  |  Part 2  |  Part 3  |  Part 4  |  Part 5  |  Part 6  |  Part 7

Detroit: Muslim physician charged with practicing female genital mutilation

Jihad Watch, April 14, 2017:

“The procedure is believed to initiate girls into adulthood and ensure their marriageability, according to Human Rights Watch, a New York nonprofit human rights organization.”

Human Rights Watch, unsurprisingly, is wrong. It’s actually done to reduce female sexual pleasure so that women are more easily controllable. This repulsive practice is justified in Islamic texts.

“Circumcision is obligatory (for every male and female) (by cutting off the piece of skin on the glans of the penis of the male, but circumcision of the female is by cutting out the bazr ‘clitoris’ [this is called khufaadh ‘female circumcision’]).” — ‘Umdat al-Salik e4.3, translated by Mark Durie, The Third Choice, p. 64

Why is it obligatory? Because Muhammad is held to have said so: “Abu al-Malih ibn Usama’s father relates that the Prophet said: ‘Circumcision is a law for men and a preservation of honour for women.’” — Ahmad Ibn Hanbal 5:75

“Narrated Umm Atiyyah al-Ansariyyah: A woman used to perform circumcision in Medina. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said to her: ‘Do not cut severely as that is better for a woman and more desirable for a husband.’” — Abu Dawud 41:5251

“Do not cut severely,” but not “Do not cut.”

That’s why it is so common around the world, and why it is certain to become increasingly common in the United States.

“Detroit physician charged with mutilating girls’ genitalia,” by Robert Snell, Detroit News, April 13, 2017:

Detroit — A Detroit emergency room physician was charged Wednesday with mutilating the genitalia of two 7-year-old girls in what is believed to be the first case of its kind brought under federal law. 

Jumana Nagarwala of Livonia was charged with female genital mutilation, a five-year felony, and transportation with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, a 10-year felony, according to a complaint unsealed Thursday in U.S. District Court.