'Pleading for Permanence' - The Plight of the Armenian Christians

Fr Benedict Kiely, founder of Nasarean.org, a charity helping persecuted Christians, makes a powerful appeal for Christian Armenia, at risk of being wiped off the map by the Islamic nation of Azerbaijan, which is waging a brazen cultural genocide to complete the physical Armenian genocide of 1915 to 1917.  

Pleading for Permanence

The Turkic Azerbaijanis seek to eradicate all signs of the ancient Christian history of Armenia

Fr Benedict Kiely,  The European Conservative, Sept 8, 2024

When the forces of the Islamic State (ISIS) swept through Syria and Iraq, beginning in 2014, they immediately began destroying both churches and the Christian symbols within them. Visiting both Syria and Iraq many times, I have seen every Cross in a church defaced, statues broken, and icons scratched and damaged. There was a reason, for example, that ISIS used churches in Mosul as torture centres, prisons, and often places for target practice. It was not only to blaspheme and insult their true purpose, to gloat over the defeated Christian populace, but also to deny the building ever had a sacred use. There was far worse to see. In many places, ISIS destroyed Christian graveyards, something I saw with my own eyes. They not only destroyed the graveyards; they dug up the bodies of the Christian ancestors and threw them away. If there are no graveyards, it means the people were never there. The policy was not merely cultural vandalism; it was deliberate and planned.

Scruton wrote that “sacred spaces are steeped in the hope and sufferings of those who have fought for them. And they belong to others who are yet to be.” To eradicate hallowed ground not only denies the reality of an historical presence but also attempts to ensure that those who are “yet to be” will never return.

This policy is happening in another part of the world at this very moment. This time, not the work of a revolutionary force, but the work of a nation feted across the globe, especially because it has seemingly unlimited amounts of oil and gas. The oldest Christian nation on earth, Armenia, is suffering an historical and cultural genocide to accompany not only the physical genocide of 1915 to 1917 but the forced expulsion of all the Armenian citizens from the territory of Artsakh, or Nagorno-Karabakh, in 2023. In every area that the Islamic nation of Azerbaijan takes from Armenia, churches, monasteries, and religious signs and symbols have been destroyed. Graveyards are desecrated. The famous Armenian khachkar’s, the decorated stone Cross so typical of Armenian culture, some from at least the 9th century, have been broken, moved, or vandalised. Following the example of their Turkish overlords, who accompanied the Armenian genocide of the last century with a similar policy of the destruction of memory and presence, the Turkic Azerbaijanis are seeking to eradicate all signs of the ancient Christian history of Armenia, present since the 4th century. It is, in fact, the prevailing policy and the absurd fantasy of the government of Azerbaijan that the very state of Armenia has never existed, which is precisely why all historical signs must be eliminated. Meanwhile, the world watches and fills the oil tanks and pays the petrodollars...

Across the West, there is a destruction of memory, a denial of the past, exemplified by the refusal to acknowledge the foundational role of Christianity in the European Constitution; there is a reason why the European Commission is probably the most secular institution in Europe. Although churches, as they rapidly empty, are not being bulldozed, or at least not many, they are being used for other purposes, increasingly as mosques in Britain.

For those of us who care, this increased denial of people and place, their history and culture, as a weapon of war, must be fought vigorously. The defence of Christian Armenia is an imperative for all who claim the name of Christian. As in the Middle East, they belong where they have always been, where they deserve to be. As Roger Scruton noted, “By bearing the imprint of former generations, a corner of the earth pleads for permanence.”

Read the full article here.

Support Fr Benedict Kiely and Nazarean.org here...

New Martyr under the Sword of Islam, Arnaud Beltrame of France

By God's providence, even as Europe collapses before the onslaught of Islam, we are given an inspiring example of a believing Christian, in this case a French lieutenant-colonel gendarme who was also a practicing Catholic, who faithfully witnessed to his faith in Jesus Christ, even unto death. 

New Martyr Arnaud Beltrame shines especially through his self-sacrificial act of love, volunteering to take the place of a hostage being held by the murderous Muslim, laying down his life for another, adding Christian martyrdom to valiant heroism for his country.

See also:  Catholic Priest beheaded in France during Mass by Muslims linked to Islamic State

Arnaud Beltrame, Hero-Martyr Of France

Compiled from Rod Dreher's post at The American Conservative and a related article from Familie Chretienne:

France has produced a second martyr — the first was Father Jacques Hamel, slain at the altar while saying mass — in the contemporary battle against radical Islam. From Familie Chretienne, this news about Arnaud Beltrame, the French gendarme who willingly exchanged places with a hostage held by an ISIS militant. (Translated by Google.)

It turns out that the lieutenant-colonel was a practicing Catholic. The fact is that he did not hide his faith, and that he radiated it, he testified. We can say that his act of offering is consistent with what he believed. He went to the end of his service to the country and to the end of his testimony of faith. 

To believe is not only to adhere to a doctrine. It is first to love God and his neighbor, and to testify of his faith concretely in everyday life. In the happy or unhappy, even dramatic circumstances of our lives. The woman, to whom he offered to take his place to save her, took on a particular humanity. Arnaud Beltrame was suddenly close to her to take his place. The anonymous person who, suddenly, becomes close,

Islamic State targets Patriarch Kyrill, Vladimir Putin, in new 'BREAK THE CROSS' campaign

"The new poster against the Russian spiritual and political leaders shows the pair in crosshairs, with the words 'BREAK THE CROSS' in English and 'soon, very soon' in both Arabic and Russian." 

JIHADISTS THREATEN PATRIARCH KIRILL AND PRESIDENT PUTIN IN NEW PROPAGANDA POSTERS

OrthoChristian.com, Feb 26, 2018:

New propaganda posters from the jihadi organization ISIS are taking aim at His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and President Vladimir Putin of Russia in particular, as well as America and London, reports orthodoxia.info with reference to the SITE Intelligence Group.

The new poster against the Russian spiritual and political leaders shows the pair in crosshairs, with the words “BREAK THE CROSS” in English and “soon, very soon” in both Arabic and Russian.

The poster has been released on the eve of the March 18th Russian presidential election, and just after ISIS claimed responsibility for the shooting deaths of five Orthodox women just outside their church in Dagestan last Sunday. The Islamic State has also recently threatened to launch attacks against Russia due to the Kremlin’s support for Assad’s forces in Syria, as it has suffered massive blows in Syrian and Iraqi battlefields recently.

Convicted Jihadist Rises to Top Post at London Southwark Council

Convicted jihadist, Mulumebet Girma, was given a "top job" at the Southwark Council in London in 2013. She served time for assisting in the attempted murder of Tube passengers in 2005. Here's the Sky News coverage.

Girma was fired from her post at the council after her involvement in the terror plot came to light.

In a statement, Girma claims she told her employer that she had been jailed. Yet, seemingly, no one could be bothered to run a proper background check or type her name into a DuckDuckGo or Google search bar. A simple search would have uncovered her role in the July 21, 2005 terror plot with her brother-in-law, Hussein Osman. 

It took me less than 20 seconds before finishing my morning coffee to find her very own Wikipedia page. Get an eyeful. 

The face of your oppressor. Girma on the cover of the council magazine.

According to the BBC's report, Girma's position at the council did not give her access to police watch list data. Access to such information would put Londoners directly in harm's way if she were still waging political jihad. Even if she repented of her involvement in the 2005 terror plot there's still the risk of her being "gotten to" by those itching to bring Londoners into submission. 

That said, The Sun reports that she controlled a database that listed individuals with potential "links to terrorism..." 

What more can be said about this precarious situation? London has a habit of hiring negligent and/or degenerate elements to their housing councils. Remember the infamous Rotherham rape gang cover-up? PC culture seems to grease the gears of council business. 

Citizens of England: Your people are on fire and your leaders tune their fiddles.

More than Mercenaries: Russians Martyred by Muslims for refusing to deny Christ and embrace Islam

The Quran's commands in action: Islam's fourteen centuries of using the sword to try to force Christians to commit apostasy and deny Jesus Christ continues with the execution of two Russian soldiers.

The Quran explicitly commands Muslims to fight against and terrorize the unbelievers till they embrace Islam or “feel themselves subdued” as is seen in these verses:

Fight against those who believe not in Allah, nor in the Last Day, nor forbid that which has been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger and those who acknowledge not the religion of truth [i.e. Islam] among the people of the Book [Jews and Christians], until they pay the jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued. (Sura 9:29) 

So, when you meet those who disbelieve, smite at their necks till when you have killed and wounded many of them, then bind a bond firmly on them... Thus you are ordered by Allah to continue in carrying out jihad against the disbelievers till they embrace Islam. (Sura 47:4)

This of course brings to mind the powerful witness of New Martyr Evgeny Rodionov of Chechnya, who, after being captured by Muslims, refused to remove his baptismal cross and deny Christ. He was faithful to the end, and is now widely venerated as a martyr and saint by Orthodox Christians all around the globe. I saw icons of him at a recent visit to a ROCOR parish in Atlanta.

As of now, we know very little about Roman Zabolotny and Grigory Surkanov, except that they refused to deny Jesus Christ, and chose to die as Orthodox Christians. In many lives of the Holy Neo-Martyrs under the Turkish Muslim yoke, we saw sometimes deeply flawed people who came to life in Christ when confronted with the choice of death or denying Him to live as a Muslim. Many were offered riches, comfort and women in addition to being threatened with death, and still confessed Jesus Christ. The reality of one's immanent death helps sharply reveal some depths of the mystery of the soul. 

May Roman's and Grigory's sins be consigned to oblivion, may their memory be eternal, and may they receive the crown of martyrdom for witnessing to their faith with their very lives. May we be inspired by these ordinary, yet valiant and extraordinary believers, who were faithful unto death. 

Still from ISIS video, showing Roman Vasilievich Zabolotny and Grigory Mikhailovich Surkanov

Russian mercenaries captured by ISIS ‘are executed after refusing to reject Christianity and become Muslim' 

by Will Stewart, MailOnline, October 6, 2017 

(thanks to Jihad Watch and Blazing Cat Fur):

Two Russian mercenaries reportedly captured by ISIS jihadists are feared to have been executed because they refused to read out a statement saying they rejected their Christian faith and had become Muslim.

Samia the Confessor of Egypt

"We very well know our path, we know our place very well is in faithful hands. Our God is a strong God. He is a God of love. He gave us to love and not to hate."

Samia the Confessor

Translated by M.G., Coptic Orthodox Scientist, May 29, 2017 (Thanks to Fr Steven):

English transcript of an interview with one of the survivors of the shooting that occurred on May 26, 2017 in Minya, Egypt against the Coptic Christians. Samia lost most of her family and she continues to reflect the light of Christ, confessing her faith and love.

(0 minutes to 10:03 minutes):

Interviewer: I want you to tell me your name.

Samia: Samia Adly Ibrahim

Interviewer: Madam Samia, this isn’t easy, right?

Samia: Thank God. Believe me, we are comforted. I am not upset about those who went to heaven, believe me. I placed them in safe hands, better than the world and the problems of the world, all the bad things in the world. They left on the feast of the Ascension. And their dad came from America to have them around him.

Interviewer: Tell me first, where are you from?

Samia: I am from Nazlet Hanna in Fashn.

Interviewer: Fahn is in Bani Suef?

Samia: Yes

Interviewer: So that day, tell me from the beginning what happened?

Samia: what happened is that we were going to the monastery of Anba Samuel. We headed out in the faithfulness of God, singing with joy. And we were about to arrive and they attacked us. The blessing came to us.

Interviewer: “the blessing”?

Samia: Mm, blessing.

Interviewer: These criminals, these terrorists, you call them “the blessing”?

Samia: Yes, may God bless them and protect them.

Interviewer: bless who?

Samia: Bless the demons, to show them His way. Of course, God will reveal Himself for these people and He will show them His way one day. Because they are absent-minded. They do not know the strong faith. If they know the strong faith, they would not have seen the people who are faithful, the ones who know God, and hurt them. We were going to a holy place, we were going to pray in a holy place, to become comforted and joyous by it. So, they don’t want us to be joyful in the world. We don’t have a place in the world, believe me. We have a place in heaven. This world has no use. Plants, and at the end we will go to Paradise. We very well know our path, we know our place very well is in faithful hands. Our God is a strong God. He is a God of love. He gave us to love and not to hate.

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. 

Egypt: Islamic State kills dozens of Christians in Palm Sunday church bombings

St Mark's Cathedral in Alexandria also bombed; Pope Tawadros reported to be 'safe'.

'Prayers up' for these newest Coptic Orthodox Martyrs under the sword of Islam, and our heartfelt prayers and sympathies for their families!

Time once again to ask Muslims The Question:

When will you finally see the madness and falsehood of your false prophet, your bloodthirsty god, and your false religion? Repent and flee to Jesus Christ that you may be saved! If you continue in Islam after seeing this unending hatred and bloodshed committed according to the commands of Allah and Muhammad, through the Koran and the Hadith, you have no excuse. You are mired in spiritual delusion and deception! Flee to Jesus Christ now that you may be saved!

Ominous proof of widespread Muslim support for the Islamic State and its bloodthirsty jihad against Christians:

• Pew Poll: Between 63 Million and 287 Million ISIS Supporters in Just 11 Countries
• 81% Of Al Jazeera Arabic Poll Respondents Support Islamic State
• 80% of London Muslims Support ISIS
• Poll of U.S. Muslims Reveals Ominous Levels Of Support For Shariah, Jihad
• Western Muslims Express Solidarity with Islamic State Caliphate (ISIS)

Palm Sunday attacks: ISIS says it carried out bombings at churches in Egypt that killed at least 37
Fox News, April 9, 2017:

The ISIS terror group has claimed responsibility for two separate Palm Sunday bombing attacks at Coptic Christian churches in Egypt that have killed 37 people and injured more than 100. 

The first blast happened at St. George church in the Nile Delta town of Tanta, where at least 26 people were killed and 71 others wounded, officials said. 

Television footage showed the inside of the church, where a large number of people gathered around what appeared to be lifeless, bloody bodies covered with papers. 

Islamic State celebrates St. Petersburg attack: 'A metro to hell for the worshipers of the Cross'

ISIS states, “We ask Allah to bless the operation by the lions of the Caliphate, we ask Allah to kill the Crusaders…a metro to hell for the worshipers of the Cross.”

Robert Spencer at Jihad Watch notes:

"Once again we see that the Islamic State casts its conflict with the nations of the world solely in Islamic terms. It has never done anything else. Yet in examining its motivations and ideology, Western analysts routinely dismiss Islam as a factor."

What will come of this? Let's not forget that unlike craven Western leaders (with the exception of US President Donald Trump, who will no doubt be similarly tested by a major Islamic terrorist attack on US soil), Russian President Vladimir Putin has no qualms about taking swift and decisive action against Islam. Recall that only a few years ago, Putin had Russian security arrest 300 Muslims in a preemptive crackdown on jihadis ahead of the 2014 Olympics, and has routinely rounded up dozens of Muslims at a time in anti-jihad raids over the years.

Related:

• 8 people detained in connection with St. Petersburg Metro bombing – official
• More updates from RT.com

ISIS Celebrates St. Petersburg Metro Blast That Killed 10

by Shira Rubin and Gilad Shiloach, Vox, April 3, 2017:

ISIS supporters are celebrating two explosions on St. Petersburg subways that have killed at least 10 people and injured at least 20, according to Russian media reports.

“We ask Allah to bless the operation by the lions of the Caliphate, we ask Allah to kill the Crusaders,” said an ISIS supporter from the terror group’s al-Minbar online forum. 

Others celebrated by saying that the Monday bombs made for “a metro to hell for the worshipers of the Cross” and claimed that the attacks — which are still under investigation by Russian authorities — were revenge for Russia’s backing of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is fighting against ISIS and other rebel groups in a six-year-long civil war. Russian airstrikes and shelling in Syria have killed hundreds of people and reduced entire areas to rubble….

The Clash of Civilizations demands U.S. alliance with Russia

"Just as radical Islam’s terrorist atrocities span nations and boundaries, so, too, must our alliances against radical Islam. This is a mushrooming clash of civilizations that must be won before other, lesser battles can be engaged." — Tom Tancredo

This is an obvious policy recommendation, which has been advocated by Rod Dreher and others.

The Clash of Civilizations demands U.S. alliance with Russia
by Tom Tancredo, Breitbart News, December 24, 2016:

One of Donald Trump’s first acts after being sworn in as President of the United States should be to invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet with him to discuss a broad, coordinated campaign against ISIS.

Radical Islam has declared war on both, so an alliance to defeat that threat not only makes good sense, it is supported by historical precedent.

Only fools deny that the United States is at war with radical Islam. The Cold War with the Soviet Union ended some 25 years ago with the collapse of that monstrous, evil empire. And yet, some people refuse to recognize the urgency of fighting the real war and the necessity of forming alliances with all of Islam’s declared enemies.

It is amazing how many people have forgotten how we defeated Hitler in World War II. We did not do it alone.

Eric Allen Bell: 'Why I Do Not Hate Muslims'

"The way that Islam was first spread is nearly identical to how ISIS behaves, as it follows the commands of the Quran without compromise... Fortunately, most Muslims do not actually follow the Quran..." 

"Should we all start hating Muslims now? Should the free world deliver it’s value system upon the Islamic world using missiles? Should we repeat the holocaust of the 20th Century and dehumanize an entire group of people? Herein lies a problem that gets to the core of why human beings are stuck. We seem to only know how to solve problems in such a way that creates more problems..."

Eric Allen Bell is the liberal filmmaker who, in the process of trying to expose Islamophobia in Tennessee, came to realize that there is something very wrong about Islam itself. In this article he comes "very close to the kingdom of God" in expressing both the problem with Islam, and also why we must not hate Muslims.

As an Orthodox Christian, I would add only the following, that the chief reasons we do not hate Muslims are two: (1) Because they too are created in the image of God, and therefore we are called to love them and share the Gospel with them; and (2) Because we know we too are sinners in need of God's mercy, seeking to repent and come to truly know Christ, abide in Him, and allow Him to abide in us by the Holy Spirit. If we can keep these simple truths in mind and heart, and grow in love by the Holy Spirit, then we shall be better able over time to forgive, and to share the truth in love, even with our enemies.

And, who knows. We may even come to discover that in truth, we have no enemies, for those who hate us, persecute us, and kill us for following Christ give us the supreme opportunity to love Christ to the fullest, to confess Him before men, and to exalt His Name by our own suffering and death.


Why I Do Not Hate Muslims
by Eric Allen Bell, December 22, 2016
(Follow the link for much more on Mr. Bell's website, including video and his documentary work.)


The mandate of Islam is to force the world to submit to Islam. Our leaders tell us that Islam means peace. But lying about something does not make it so. Islam means submission. Islam opposes free speech, free thought and human rights.

Sharia Law is the codification of the Quran. The Quran is the holy book in Islam. Sharia mandates the stoning of women for adultery or being raped, it requires the amputation of limbs for theft, the hanging of homosexuals and death to anyone who dares to leave Islam. Islam is the religion of approximately 1.5 billion people on the planet at this time. According to the Pew Forum, when polled the majority of Muslims believe that it is at least sometimes okay to kill innocent civilians in the name of Islam.

US President, Barack Hussein Obama has said, in response to the continuous killing of civilians in the name of Islam that, “No faith teaches this”. However, Quran 9:5 says to Muslims, with regard to the unbeliever, to “kill them wherever you find them”. Obama can lie to himself, he can lie to appease and he can lie to those who place their trust in him. But facts don’t lie.

"The Quran is... preoccupied with what to do with the unbeliever, how to enforce rules and how to engage in warfare."

Fortunately, most Muslims do not actually follow the Quran. This might be due in part to the fact that about 2/3 of Muslims cannot read or write. Or maybe they are just humane enough not to harm someone just because their holy book says to do so, on page after page after page. Although the Quran, in chapter 4, commands a man to beat his wife, most Muslim men do not. However, still a significant percentage do.

Religion is an attempt to institutionalize one’s relationship with the Divine. However, when one reads the Quran it is clear that most of the passages do not deal with Allah, the god of Islam. Rather the book is obsessed with its own author, the “prophet” Muhammad. It is also very preoccupied with what to do with the unbeliever, how to enforce rules and how to engage in warfare. There is a strong argument to be made that Islam is first and foremost a tyrannical political system, then a brutal legal system with some religious overtones here and there.

Islamic State puts out Holiday Attack List Of U.S. Churches...

...calls on American Muslims to “turn the Christian New Year into a bloody horror movie.”

Dear Muslim reader, aren't you tired of all the killing and carnage in the name of Islam and Allah? Isn't it time for you to repent of your false religion which commands such hatred and bloodlust, and turn to Jesus Christ in the Orthodox Church, that you may have eternal life? We stand ready to welcome all sincere inquirers!

Whose call will you listen to?


Exclusive: ISIS Puts Out Holiday Attack List Of U.S. Churches
by Gilad Shiloach, Vocativ, December 22, 2016 (h/t Jihad Watch):

The Islamic State published the names and addresses of thousands of churches in the United States and called on its adherents to attack them during the holiday season, according to a message posted late-night Wednesday in the group’s “Secrets of Jihadis” social media group.

A user going by the name of “Abu Marya al-Iraqi” posted an Arabic-language message calling “for bloody celebrations in the Christian New Year” and announced the group’s plans to utilize its network of lone wolf attackers to “turn the Christian New Year into a bloody horror movie.”

Updates on the Cairo Jihad Bombing at St Mark's Coptic Cathedral

Possible links to both the Islamic State AND the Muslim Brotherhood... Four arrested by Egyptian police in connection with the investigation.

Follow the links below for full stories...


Islamic State claims responsibility for church bombing, Egypt says bomber was Muslim Brotherhood supporter, Jihad Watch, December 13, 2016:

The bomber could have been both a Muslim Brotherhood supporter and a supporter of the Islamic State. Although rivals, the two have the same outlook and goals, and the bomber was from one or the other... 

Trump names the enemy: 'Islamic terrorists continuously slaughter Christians…as part of their global jihad'

Vows to carry out 'mission' to 'eradicate' Islamic terrorists and their networks 'from the face of the earth'.

If Obama was the anti-Constantine, marginalizing and denigrating Christians while defending and advancing Islam, refusing to even name the enemy ('Islamic terrorism' and its 'global jihad'), President-elect Donald Trump has clearly set his course as defender of 'freedom-loving' peoples, and of Christians in particular.

UPDATE: Trump and Putin, in phone conversations last month, indicated that they would “tackle ISIS together.” Following the murder of the Russian ambassador to Turkey, Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to obliterate the Islamic State.

As he has done even since before announcing his candidacy, Mr. Trump continues to clearly name the enemy, the essential first step in defeating it.


President-Elect Donald Trump Reacts to Berlin Truck Attack
by Brendan Morrow, Heavy, December 19, 2016 (h/t Jihad Watch):

President-Elect Donald Trump has issued a statement after at least nine people were killed and 50 injured in a truck attack in Berlin, Germany.

This incident occurred on Monday at a crowded Christmas market in Germany’s capital. The assault is reminiscent of another truck attack that took place in Nice, France in July; ISIS claimed responsibility for that Nice attack, but it’s not yet clear whether Monday’s attack was inspired by ISIS.

In his statement, President-Elect Trump cites ISIS and says that Islamic terrorist organizations of its kind must be eradicated. While running for president, Trump repeatedly promised to use the words “radical Islamic terror,” distinguishing himself from President Barack Obama, who generally avoids this kind of language as to not give the impression that groups like ISIS are a representation of Islam.

Here is the president-elect’s statement:

The Case Against Hillary Clinton: Part 2 — The Islamist Connection and Immigration

Decades of Clinton support for Islamic supremacists, Saudi Arabia's millions of dollars in support of the Clintons, PLUS the fact of Hillary's closest aide, Huma Abedin and her immediate family having longstanding links to the Muslim Brotherhood and an anti-American Islamist journal, should disqualify Hillary Clinton from the Presidency.

Hillary Clinton's financial ties to Saudi Arabia, her foreign policy which directly aided the Arab Spring revolutions and the rise of ISIS, and her call for "Open Borders" and a 550% increase of Muslim immigration reveal her to hold motives and foreign alliances which are anti-American.

A vote for Hillary Clinton is a vote for stealth jihad, weaponized immigration, and for the overthrow of the United States of America by hostile foreign entities. 

Part 2 in a series on the Presidential Election. See Part 1 here.

Highlights of several articles follow. Click the links to read the full reports.

_______

THE CLINTON RECORD
A devastating exposé of the most unfit and undeserving individual ever to seek the American presidency.
by John Perazzo, FrontPageMag, October 14, 2016:

Never in American history has anyone as unfit and undeserving as Hillary Clinton run for U.S. President. While she stands on the threshold of being elected to the White House, she quite literally belongs in a prison cell. This article lays out the case against her, chapter and verse. 

Clinton's Support for the Iran Nuclear Deal 

Vowing that Mrs. Clinton will “preven[t] Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon,” the Clinton presidential campaign website assures Americans that “Hillary will vigorously enforce the nuclear agreement with Iran.” Is this a good thing? Consider that the agreement's key provisions were as follows: 

• Iran was permitted to keep more than 5,000 centrifuges.
• Iran received $150 billion in sanctions relief.
• Russia and China were permitted to supply Iran with weapons.
• Iran was given the discretion to block international inspectors from its military installations, and was promised that it would receive 14 days’ notice for any request to visit a given site.
• Only inspectors from countries that had diplomatic relations with Iran would be given access to Iranian nuclear sites; thus there would be no American inspectors.
• An embargo on the sale of weapons to Iran would be officially lifted in 5 years.
• Iran's intercontinental ballistic missile program would remain intact.  [...] 

The Radical Islamist Affiliations of Clinton's Closest Aide 

Hillary Clinton's closest aide for many years has been Huma Abedin, whose late father, Syed Abedin, was affiliated with the Muslim Students Association (MSA). The MSA grew out of the jihadist Muslim Brotherhood, which Islam expert Robert Spencer has described as “the parent organization of Hamas and al Qaeda.”34 

Huma's mother, Saleha Mahmood Abedin, is a prominent member of the Muslim Sisterhood — the Muslim Brotherhood's division for women. She is also a board member of the International Islamic Council for Dawa and Relief, a pro-Hamas entity that is part of the “Union of Good,” which the U.S. government has formally designated as an international terrorist organization. Saleha once wrote an article blaming America for having provoked the Islamic “anger and hostility” that led to the 9/11 attacks.35 

From 1996-2008, Huma Abedin was employed by the Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs (IMMA), a Saudi-based Islamic think tank founded by Abdullah Omar Naseef, a major Muslim Brotherhood figure who once served as secretary-general of the Muslim World League, a vehicle by which the Muslim Brotherhood promotes the ideology of Islamic supremacism. Naseef also had ties to Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda, with whom he communicated.36 Abedin was the assistant editor of IMMA's in-house publication, the Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs (JMMA). At least the first seven of those years overlapped with Abdullah Omar Naseef's active presence in the IMMA.37  [...] 

The Deadly Consequences of Clinton's Absurd Fictions About Islam & Terrorism 

In 2011 the Obama administration, in which Mrs. Clinton was obviously a major player, decided to purge, from the training materials and curricula of all federal intelligence and criminal investigators, every single item suggesting that “jihad” or “Islam” were in any way related to terrorism.39 Instead, the new objective would be “countering violent extremism,” improving “cultural competency training across the United States Government,” and promoting “cultural awareness.”40 All told, the FBI removed more than 1,000 presentations and curriculum items that were deemed “offensive” or “Islamophobic.”41 

The FBI's decision to change its training materials and interrogation methods went on to have deadly serious, real-world consequences. A particularly noteworthy case involved jihadist Omar Mateen, who in June 2016 entered a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida and murdered 49 people while wounding 53 others. The FBI had investigated Mateen extensively for 10 months in 2013 because he had family connections to Al Qaeda, he was a member of a Shi’a terrorist organization, and he had issued terroristic threats on a number of occasions. But eventually, the FBI canceled that investigation because, in accordance with the tenets of its revised training materials, it concluded that Mateen posed no threat to anyone; that his biggest problem was the psychic pain he was suffering as a result of “being marginalized because of his Muslim faith.” As a result of this absurd line of reasoning, 49 innocent people from Orlando are now lying in their graves.42 

Hillary Clinton agrees completely with the notion that it is both counterproductive and morally unjustified to suggest any connection between Islam and terrorism — the same delusional, preposterous mentality that enabled the Orlando mass murder to take place.  [...] 

Clinton's Role in the Rise of ISIS and the Stratospheric Growth of Worldwide Terrorism 

ISIS, which evolved out of Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), grew into the most powerful, well-funded horde of bloodthirsty barbarians in world history, right under Mrs. Clinton's nose, and precisely during her watch as secretary of state. While ISIS launched its campaign of mass rapes, beheadings, slaughters, and tortures of unimaginable brutality — and gained control over enormous portions of Iraq and Syria — Clinton and President Obama did absolutely nothing to thwart it.43 

Moreover, the rise of ISIS coincided with the expansion of terrorism to unprecedented levels all over the world. According to the Global Terrorism Index, fatalities caused by terrorism increased from 3,361 in 2000, to 11,133 in 2012, to 18,111 in 2013, to 32,658 in 2014. More than half of the 2014 killings were carried out by ISIS and Boko Haram, the latter of which has pledged allegiance to ISIS.44 In other words, worldwide terrorism has spiraled out of control under Obama, Clinton, and Clinton's successor, John Kerry.  [...]

Much, much more in the full article, with extensive citations and cross links primary sources.

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Saudis funding 20% of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign
by Robert Spencer, Jihad Watch, June 18, 2016:

The U.S. imam Warith Deen Mohammed said in 1999: “In Saudi Arabia it’s the Wahabi school of thought…and they say, ‘We’re gonna give you our money, then we want you to…prefer our school of thought.’ That’s in there whether they say it or not. So there is a problem receiving gifts that seem to have no attachment, no strings attached.” 

“Muslims are peaceful and tolerant people and have nothing whatsoever to do with terrorism.” — Hillary Clinton 

“The Clinton Foundation…disclosed in 2008 that it had accepted up to US$25 million from the Saudi Kingdom in the same year. Other foreign governments who have donated money to the Clintons include…Kuwait, Qatar, Brunei, Oman…” 

Hillary Clinton is bought and paid for.

Read the full report...

Fr. John Whiteford: 'The Immoral Policy of the United States Government in Syria'

A fearless and righteous statement from an Orthodox Christian priest in the United States; Fr. John Whiteford is speaking truth to power here, and rightly condemns the immoral, hypocritical and deceptive policies of the U.S. government in Syria. 

The same condemnation can be (and has been) made of U.S. policy towards Egypt, which resulted in the overthrow of the stable and lawful Mubarak government and the institution of a Muslim Brotherhood sharia regime so vile and repugnant that the military had to topple it to protect its citizens from Islam. In the Egyptian protests which led to Morsi's ouster, Obama was condemned as a supporter of Islamic terrorism, and Putin was seen as the defender of Christians. (Christians in Egypt continue to be persecuted by Muslim mobs and officials, and discriminated against by Egyptian law, but at least it is not the all-out jihad which existed under the Morsi reign of Islamic terror.)

The same condemnation can be (and has been) made of U.S. policy towards Iraq and Libya. Time after time, United States policy in the Middle East and North & Sub-Sahara Africa has been a primary causal agent of the rise of the Islamic State (ISIS) and other Islamic jihad groups, and the spread of Muslim persecution and genocide against Christians.

The government of the United States of America has the blood of tens of thousands if not millions of Christians on its hands. Electing the chosen successor to the current administration in Washington would be to perpetuate a U.S. foreign policy which is just as evil in its intent and blood-soaked in its effect as is the Democrats' pro-abortion position, which was cheered by thousands at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.

"I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement." (Rev. 17:6)

The Immoral Policy of the United States Government in Syria

by Fr. John Whiteford, October 6, 2016

I feel compelled, as a Christian and as an American citizen speaking only for myself, to condemn the policy of the United States government which has been to overthrow the Syrian government by arming and funding a radical jihadist insurgency. This has fueled and exacerbated a conflict which has witnessed the deaths of nearly half of a million Syrians, produced five million refugees, seven and a half-million internally displaced people, and has brought untold misery upon many millions more who have suffered either directly or indirectly as a result of this shameful policy. [1]

I cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that our government continues, with our tax-payer dollars,  to fund and arm those who are raping, murdering, and displacing Christians (who represent about ten percent of the overall population) and other religious minorities in Syria. [2]

Raymond Ibrahim: Is Obama Waging a “Narrative Battle” against ISIS or Reality?

"Acknowledging that untold millions of Muslims are engaged in similar behavior [to ISIS] leads to a much more troubling narrative with vast implications."

by Raymond Ibrahim, September 22, 2016

According to White House press secretary Josh Earnest, “When it comes to ISIL, we are in a fight—a narrative fight with them. A narrative battle.”  Earnest said this the day after two separate bombings occurred in New York, and an ISIS-linked Muslim went on a stabbing spree in Minnesota.  Obama’ spokesman later elaborated:

… remember ISIL is trying to assert a narrative, that they represent the religion of Islam in a war against the west and in a war against the United States. That is mythology. That is falsehood. That is not true. That is bankrupt ideology they are trying to wrap in the cloak of Islam.

This, of course, is a straw man argument: the real question isn’t whether ISIS “represents” Islam, but whether ISIS is a byproduct of Islam.  And this question can easily be answered by looking not to ISIS but Islam. One can point to Islamic doctrines that unequivocally justify ISIS behavior; one can point to the whole of Islamic history, nearly 14 centuries of ISIS precedents.

Or, if these two options are deemed too abstract, one can simply point to the fact that everyday Muslims all around the world are behaving just like ISIS.

For instance, Muslims—of all races, nationalities, languages, and socio-political and economic circumstances, in Arab, African, Central and East Asian nations—claim the lions’ share of Christian persecution; 41 of the 50 worst nations to be Christian in are Islamic.  In these countries, Muslim individuals, mobs, clerics, politicians, police, soldiers, judges, even family members—none of whom are affiliated with ISIS (other than by religion)—abuse and sometimes slaughter Christians, abduct, enslave and rape their women and children, ban or bomb churches, and kill blasphemers and apostates.

Timothy R. Furnish: Beheading in the Name of Islam

My friend — and fearless scholar of Islam, Mahdism, and Islamic eschatology — Tim Furnish, wrote this article over a decade ago, before the rise of ISIS and some of the more attention grabbing Islamic beheadings of recent years. In the article, Dr. Furnish sheds light on the bloody penchant for beheadings embedded in Islam's DNA. This helps to explain why the Islamic State Caliphate and other devout Muslim groups and "known wolves" are so intent to"strike the necks" of their victims.

Beheading in the Name of Islam
by Timothy R. Furnish, Middle East Quarterly
Spring 2005, pp 51-57

Timothy R. Furnish holds a PhD in Islamic History and is an author, analyst, and consultant to the US military who specializes in transnational Islamic movements, eschatology and Mahdism. His website is www.mahdiwatch.org.

An ISIS jihadi joyfully displaying his victim's head, July 2014.

Images of masked terrorists standing behind Western hostages in Iraq and Saudi Arabia have become all too common on Arabic satellite stations such as Al-Jazeera and Al-Manar. Islamist websites such as Muntadiyat al-Mahdi[1] go further, streaming video of their murder.

The February 2002 decapitation of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, true to its intention, horrified the Western audience. Chechen rebels, egged on by Islamist benefactors, had adopted the practice four years earlier,[2] but the absence of widely broadcast videos limited the psychological impact of hostage decapitation. The Pearl murder and video catalyzed the resurgence of this historical Islamic practice. In Iraq, terrorists filmed the beheadings of Americans Nicholas Berg, Jack Hensley, and Eugene Armstrong. Other victims include Turks, an Egyptian, a Korean, Bulgarians, a British businessman, and a Nepalese. Scores of Iraqis, both Kurds and Arabs, have also fallen victim to Islamist terrorists' knives. The new fad in terrorist brutality has extended to Saudi Arabia where Islamist terrorists murdered American businessman Paul Johnson, whose head was later discovered in a freezer in an Al-Qaeda hideout. A variation upon this theme would be the practice of Islamists slitting the throats of those opponents they label infidels. This is what happened to Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh, first gunned down and then mutilated on an Amsterdam street,[3] and to an Egyptian Coptic family in New Jersey after the father had angered Islamists with Internet chat room criticisms of Islam.[4]

The purpose of terrorism is to strike fear into the hearts of opponents in order to win political concession. As the shock value wears off and the Western world becomes immunized to any particular tactic, terrorists develop new ones in order to maximize shock and the press reaction upon which they thrive. In the 1970s and 1980s, terrorists hijacked airliners to win headlines. In the 1980s and 1990s, the car bomb became more popular; Palestinian terrorists perfected suicide bombings in the 1990s. But what once garnered days of commentary now generates only hours. Decapitation has become the latest fashion. In many ways, it sends terrorism back to the future. Unlike hijackings and car bombs, ritual beheading has a long precedent in Islamic theology and history.

Catholic Priest beheaded in France during Mass by Muslims linked to Islamic State

We are deep into a New Age of Christian Martyrdom under the Sword of Islam. How will we respond? 

My first reaction to this story, after the initial horror and shock, was to imagine it in a personal context.

My dear friend, Fr Thomas, an Orthodox Christian priest in Pennsylvania, recently concelebrated the Divine Liturgy with his beloved uncle, Fr. Igor, at the latter's home parish. Fr. Igor is 91 years old, and has been faithfully serving his parish for 58 years, the Church for much longer.

Pick the most venerable and faithful priest you know, and imagine he is the martyr, beheaded by a Muslim for his faith in Jesus Christ. Imagine Muslims attacking your church during the Divine Liturgy and taking hostages. Imagine them screaming "ALLAHU AKBAR!" and "DAESH!" as they shoot, stab and assault the faithful in your church.

Recall the horrific atrocities Muslims have committed against Christians and people everywhere: Beslan, Egypt, Libya, Iraq, Syria, France, Belgium, San Bernardino, Chattanooga, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Moscow, and so on.

Muslim jihad attacks against Christian churches during the divine services can happen anywhere, anytime, including in America and Canada.  God forbid, but they almost certainly will as Islam continues its global advance.

Last words of Christian girl, 12, burnt to death by Islamic State: ‘Forgive them’

We have another New Martyr under the Sword of Islam, an innocent and even nameless handmaiden of Jesus Christ, who, following the Lord's example, forgave her enemies as she was dying...

"A Christian girl cried 'forgive them' as she died in her mother's arms after ISIS fighters torched their home", because the mother did not instantly pay the jizya tax (the Islamic poll tax which Muslims demand from Christians as protection money, per the commands of the Koran and the words of Muhammad).

See also: 'Let us Forgive All, by the Resurrection'

Last words of Christian girl, 12, burnt to death by ISIS: ‘Forgive them’

by Harry Farley, Christianity Today via Pravmir, May 27, 2016

The young girl, thought to be 12 years old, died from her burns after the militants attacked her family’s home in Mosul, Iraq. Her story was among a number heard at a conference on the persecution of Christians in New York last month.

A human rights advocate described how the young girl had been in the shower when the jihadis came knocking.

“You have two choices, you are to leave or you are to pay the Jaziya,” they told the girl’s mother, according to a human rights advocate at the conference.

Her mother responded: “I will pay, just give me a few seconds, my daughter is in the shower.”

At this point the militants stormed the house shouting “you don’t have a few seconds.” They set the building on fire and left. Both mother and daughter managed to escape the burning building but the child had severe fourth degree burns and was rushed straight to hospital.

She died in her mother’s arms at the hospital. The last words she said were “forgive them”.