Raymond Ibrahim: 'Islamic reform? Top Muslim university says no'

"Renewal is in no way possible concerning those texts which are irrefutable in their certainty and stability." 

- Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb 

"The problem is that many of the worst teachings plaguing the Islamic and non-Islamic worlds are derived directly from those texts deemed entirely reliable." 

- Raymond Ibrahim

Islamic reform? Top Muslim university says no

by Raymond Ibrahim, American Thinker, February 16, 2020

Pope Francis greets Egypt's Azhar Grand Imam Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb at Abu Dhabi Conference in 2019

Largely unknown to and unreported in the West, a large, two-day conference was recently hosted (Jan. 27–28) by Al Azhar University in Egypt and attended by the leading clerics and politicians from 46 nations. Titled "Renewal in Islamic Thought," it is currently the most significant response to Egyptian president Sisi's calls for reform, which he forcibly made on January 1, 2015.

The conference focused on the most pressing topics affecting the Islamic — and in some cases non-Islamic — world, including women's rights, government and society, and the question of "radicalization" and the emergence of jihadi terror groups such as the Islamic State.

I've watched many of the panels with great interest, and in the coming weeks, I hope to remark on some of these, but for now I wish to discuss what can be learned from the closing remarks of the grand imam of Al Azhar (and Pope Francis's good friend), Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb.

First, he — in agreement with the other clerics present — closed the door on the possibility for reform on a great number of issues: "Renewal," he announced, "is in no way possible concerning those texts which are irrefutable in their certainty and stability; as for those texts that are not entirely credible, they are subject to ijtihad [reinterpretation, especially based on changing circumstances]."

'The problem is that many of the worst teachings plaguing the Islamic and non-Islamic worlds are derived directly from those texts deemed entirely reliable.'

In plain language, the teachings of those Islamic texts that are deemed entirely reliable — chief among them, the Koran as well as certain hadith, including, according to mainstream Sunnism, all nine volumes of Sahih Bukhari — are not subject to any change; only those secondary Islamic texts, including many other volumes of hadith, the sira (biography of Muhammad), and other works of history, are open to debate.

The problem is that some — many — of the worst teachings plaguing the Islamic and non-Islamic worlds are derived directly from those texts deemed entirely reliable. The Koran, for example, very clearly permits the sexual enslavement of non-Muslim women, the beating of one's wife, and polygamy. The Koran calls on Muslims to have hate for and when convenient to war on non-Muslims just because they are non-Muslims. 

Raymond Ibrahim: 'The Dhimmi in the Mirror'

"If Christian minorities living under Islamic authority have little choice but to speak well of their 'coexistence' with Islam, why are Western leaders, politicians, and talking heads of all varieties—who are not under Islamic authority—also behaving like cowed dhimmis?"


Raymond Ibrahim applies his penetrating insights into the historical continuity of Islamic persecution of Christians to the tragic case of the Coptic Pope Tawadros II's recent remarks.

It should be noted that Orthodox Christian patriarchs and bishops subjugated under Muslim rule in the Islamic world have also made similar such statements, and some have even gone much further, to the borders (and beyond?) of outright blasphemy, heresy, and apostasy:

His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople has written of a “dialogue of loving truth” with Islam, and of Orthodoxy having for centuries “coexisted peacefully” with Islam, and projects the chimera of an “interfaith commitment... still felt and lived by Greeks [and] Turks” as an example for all to follow (Encountering the Mystery, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, Doubleday, 2008, xxxvii, 196, 174). 

Bartholomew has also called for the tearing down of “the wall of separation between East and West, between Muslims and Christians, between all religions of the world,” and has also asserted, “One who achieves the state of inner peace in relation to God is a true Muslim” (Encountering the Mystery, 205, 209). 

Patriarch Parthenius of Alexandria, in the Orthodoxos Typos 854, May 1982, praised Islam and Muhammad thusly: "The Prophet Muhammad is an apostle, He is a man of God, who worked for the Kingdom of God... When I speak against Islam, then I am not found in agreement with God." 

Metropolitan George Khodr of Lebanon has written: "I am completely sure that if you are a Christian and you know a lot about Islam and love what you know, your heart will embrace the Muslims around you and if you are educated, you will hold in esteem much from their religion and openly recognize the truth that is in their religion."

Christian bishops are called to "rightly divide the word of truth," not to praise a false religion, false god, and false prophet which vehemently denies Jesus Christ and violently persecutes and slaughters Christians. These false teachings are bound to at the least confuse the faithful, and at worst may lead them directly into apostasy and denying Jesus Christ. 

Orthodox hierarchs, including, tragically, the "first among equals" (the Ecumenical Patriarch) who spew forth such bald faced praises of the "forerunner of the Antichrist" should be met by swift denials and cries of "ANAXIOS" from faithful Orthodox Christians who are not ashamed of the Lord Jesus Christ and care not about those who kill the body but cannot touch the soul. 

The Dhimmi in the Mirror

by Raymond Ibrahim, August 1, 2018:

During a recent ceremony that was attended by more than 50 ambassadors and diplomats, many from Western nations, Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II reportedly said “that Egypt had a long history and civilization and has been a model for coexistence between Christians and Muslims for 14 centuries,” to quote the online website, Egypt Independent (I cannot locate his original speech in Arabic to confirm his precise words).

This assertion raises a host of questions, from its veracity, to the reason it was uttered by the representative head of the nation’s indigenous Christians.

As to the claim itself—that “Egypt … has been a model of coexistence between Christians and Muslims for 14 centuries”—this is somewhat literally true: from Islam’s initial invasion of Egypt in the late 630s, to the present, Egypt has indeed been a “model”—a paradigm—of what happens to native Christians when Muslims conquer their territory. Even the word “coexist,” though connoting living peaceably with others, literally only means to live together (including its Arabic form, ta‘ayush).

At any rate, and as documented in my new book, Sword and Scimitar: Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West, those 14 centuries saw a continuum of hostility ranging from wholesale persecution (in the worst of times) to mere discrimination (in the best of times) in Egypt. Much of this is confirmed by the History of the Coptic Patriarchs (which no doubt the latest Coptic patriarch is aware of). This multivolume account, compiled over the course of a millennium, covers the history of the Coptic Church under Islam till 1894.

Unmitigated Muslim persecution of Christians permeates its pages, including the burning and banning of churches and crosses; the fiscal extortion, slaughter, enslavement, mass rape, and forced conversion of Christians. Think what the Islamic State (“ISIS”) has been doing to Christians and others but on an exponential scale. Moreover, the persecutors weren’t “radicals” who have “nothing to do with Islam,” but leading heads of Islamic states, whether Arabs, Fatimids, Ayyubids, Mamluks, or Turks.

Raymond Ibrahim: 'Islam’s Erasure of Christianity'

The recent discovery of of "how an eighth century Koran was found to be written over... the Bible" has been hailed by the media as evidence of "cultural interactions between different religious communities.”

The truth, however, as Raymond Ibrahim proves in his most recent article, is much darker and far more foreboding:

"What is euphemistically referred to as 'cultural interactions between different religious communities' is a reference to the near cultural annihilation of Coptic Christian civilization by Islam. "

Islam’s Erasure of Christianity

by Raymond Ibrahim, May 14, 2018:

A recent article titled “Passages from the Bible discovered behind Qur’an manuscript” is a reminder that for centuries Islam has been literally and figuratively erasing Christianity.

The report tells of how an eighth century Koran was found to be written over a Christian book, possibly the Bible: “French scholar Dr Eléonore Cellard … noticed that, appearing faintly behind the Arabic script, were Coptic letters. She contacted Christie’s [an auction house], and they managed to identify the Coptic text as coming from the Old Testament’s Book of Deuteronomy—part of the Torah and the Christian Old Testament.”

What this means, and how Western scholars understand it, are two different things: “This is a very important discovery for the history of the Qur’an and early Islam,” said Cellard. “We have here a witness of cultural interactions between different religious communities.” Christie’s specialist Romain Pingannaud concurs: “It shows the contact between communities in the first centuries of Islam.”

What is euphemistically referred to as “cultural interactions between different religious communities” and “the contact between communities in the first centuries of Islam” is a reference to the near cultural annihilation of Coptic Christian civilization by Islam on the former’s own homeland.

The Martyrdom of Bassem, killed by Muslims for having a tattoo of the Cross on his wrist

Each Christian Martyr in the Islamic world provides us with an opportunity to be shocked out of our pathetic Western sloth and ease, which is why Orthodox writers throughout the centuries have always compiled lives of martyrs to strengthen the faithful.

New-Martyr Bassem was described by a friend (see below) as follows:

“Bassem was a very good man... Honest, quiet, modest, a light-hearted person and close friend to me. From early childhood he loved the Church and he was a man of prayer and worship. He didn’t renounce the faith and didn’t deny his Lord Jesus Christ. He didn’t fear death. Actually, he didn’t die but has won the real life in Heaven...”

The Muslims who killed Bassem were acting on the dictates of the demon Allah as recorded in the Qur'an:

Kill the mushrikun [unbelievers] wherever you find them, and capture them and besiege them, and prepare for them each and every ambush. (Sura 9:5) 

I will cast terror into the hearts of those who have disbelieved, so strike them over the necks, and smite over all their fingers and toes. (Sura 8:12) 

Against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your power, including steeds of war, to strike terror into the enemies of Allah and your enemies. (Sura 8:60) 

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)

Bassem Herz Attalhah did not love his life more than Christ. Rather, he willingly and openly witnessed to his faith in Christ by having the sign of the Cross tattooed on his wrist, a pious tradition which many Coptic Orthodox Christians observe. Bassem did this despite living in a region and in an age when simply being a Christian is likely to mean martyrdom because of Islam's hatred for the Cross and the vast numbers of Muslims who strive to carry out the murderous and satanic teachings of their false god and false prophet.

One more thing: 

Each Christian martyred by a Muslim is another bloody testimonial that the "god" of Islam cannot possibly be the same as the True God. 

Christian leaders who insist on defending Islam against criticism and who assert the "Same God" heresy are betraying every Christian martyred by Muslims since the early 7th century up to today, and they are betraying Jesus Christ Himself, who warned:

"I have told you these things so that you will not fall away... The time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God" (JN 16:1, 2). 

In the same discourse, the Lord very simply tells the reason why Muslims kill Christians:

"They will do these things because they have not known the Father or Me" (JN 16:3).

In other words, they do these things because they know and worship a different god, a false god.

So what should Christian leaders do when Muslims kill Christians? 

The Christian response to Muslims murdering Christians can be summed up in four clear steps (with a fifth for those Christian bishops and priests able to undertake it):

1. Confirm whether the murdered Christian was practicing his/her faith in Christ, and did not deny Him at the moment of trial;
2. If so confirmed, immediately recognize them as a martyr, who was faithful to Jesus even to the laying down of their life, and immediately extol them as an example for the faithful;
3. Condemn Islam as a false religion of the spirit of Antichrist, instigated by the devil (following the examples of St Gregory Palamas, St Sophronius of Jerusalem, St John Damascene, New Martyr Fr Daniel Sysoev, and others);
4. Forgive the Muslim, while simultaneously issuing a challenge to any Muslims horrified by the wicked acts of their co-religionists to repent of their false religion, and come to know the True God, through Jesus Christ in the Orthodox Church, so that they may be saved;
5. Provide catechetical classes specifically for Muslims seeking to learn about Jesus Christ in the Orthodox Church, as did Fr Daniel Sysoev of Moscow.

We live an a new age of martyrdom. It is well past time for us to vigorously proclaim Jesus Christ, to honor the martyrs who confessed Him even unto death, and to honor the Lord by plainly and without "nuance" rebuking the evil false religion which preaches and practices murder. "By their fruits you shall know them."

Is that so hard to do? 

Egypt: Sinai militants pledge to ‘kill more Copts’ after murdering man over cross tattoo

World Watch Monitor, January 15, 2018:

New-Martyr Bassem Herz Attalhah

Militants belonging to the ‘State of Sinai’ group in Egypt have promised to “kill more Copts” after murdering a 27-year-old Coptic man because of the tattoo of a cross on his wrist.

Bassem Herz Attalhah, also known as Haythem Shehata, was on his way home from work in El-Arish, capital of North Sinai governorate, on Saturday evening (13 January), with his brother Osama and neighbour and friend Mohamed, when they were stopped by three armed men, aged between 23 and 25.

“We thought they were policemen because they weren’t masked… They were wearing black jackets,” Osama, 38, told World Watch Monitor. “They approached us and asked Bassem to show them the wrist of his right hand, and when they saw the tattoo of the cross, they asked him: ‘Are you Christian?’ Bassem answered ‘Yes, I am Christian’, and repeated that again in a loud voice.”

The men then asked Mohamed his name and made him show his wrist. When they saw he had no tattoo, he was allowed to leave.

Then they turned to Osama.

Two reports highlight relentless Muslim Jihad and Genocide against Coptic Christians

Egyptian President el-Sisi seems unable to protect Coptic Christians as Muslim attacks escalate. Egyptian churches are suspending all functions for remainder of July after warnings of more Islamic jihad attacks.

The two reports below emphasize how dire, hopeless, and even betrayed our Coptic brothers and sisters must feel as this horrific wave of Islamic persecution continues to worsen. Even some of their bishops are "missing the point" per an incident related in the first story below:

One bishop found himself being berated by the victims' relatives for saying, "farewell to martyrs of the homeland."
The relatives interrupted the bishop, saying, "They are not martyrs of the homeland, they are martyrs of the Church, Father!"  

Another man, Mina Lamei, told Al-Monitor that, 'Martyrdom does not mean to be killed in cold blood."
He said the state should protect its citizens, "not congratulate them on their martyrdom."

1. Egypt's Copts Say They're Tired of Being 'Martyrs' As Deadly Attacks Continue

By Jay Gotera, Christian Post via AINA, July 14, 2017:

The streams of blood from defenseless Copts massacred by Islamist extremists continue to drench Egypt--with no end in sight.

Three more Coptic were found dead in a span of eight days from the last week of June to the first week of July, with a fourth victim killed in late May, World Watch Monitor reported.

Even as the Coptic Orthodox Church held another memorial service on July 3 commemorating 40 days since the bus attack in Minya that killed 29 Copts on Ascension Day, hopes for an end to the sectarian killings remain dim.

Although the Coptic community has remained steadfast in their faith and has bravely faced the danger of living in a country where they faced intense persecution, some have expressed exasperation at the inability of the Egyptian government to protect them, adding that they have grown tired of being "martyrs" for their homeland.

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.

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.”

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.

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. 

Muslim Clerics: Christian Worship Is ‘Worse than Murder and Bloodshed’...

...and building a Christian church akin to building “a nightclub, a gambling casino, or building a barn for rearing pigs, cats or dogs.”

Before we explore these statements of Muslim clerics, which incite Muslims to attack Christian churches throughout the Islamic world, let us look at a rare dissenting opinion.

Some weeks ago, in the aftermath of the Muslim jihad bombing at St Mark's Coptic Cathedral in Cairo — in which over 25 women and children were killed — Pravmir, one of the premier Russian Orthodox websites, re-posted a news article (originally in The Tablet, a UK publication) titled: 'Attacking churches is ‘prohibited in Islamic Sharia’, says Grand Mufti after deadly bomb blast in Cairo'.

The title of the article was taken from the featured quote, which followed updates on the horrific slaughter, the worst church attack in Egypt in recent years, a quote from Egyptian President el-Sisi, and a statement from the Coptic Church. The quotation is as follows:

The Grand Mufti, the highest official of religious law in Egypt, condemned the “deplorable terrorist attack”. 

Sheikh Shawky Ibrahim Abdel-Karim Allam said, 

“attacking churches whether by demolition, bombing, killing those inside, or terrifying people is prohibited in Islamic Sharia”. He called for unity against “terrorism that tries to instigate sectarianism and sedition among the two wings of Egypt – Muslims and Christians – in a bid to weaken the nation”.

The article title and quote from the Grand Mufti are deeply problematic and not to be taken at face value.

First of all, Pravmir should not have merely re-posted the Tablet article, but should have provided some context for the news report, as readers skimming their news feed might catch that title and be tempted to think that "all is well, Muslim leaders are denouncing terrorist attacks, and saying it is prohibited by sharia law."

In offering context, Pravmir might have observed that the Grand Mufti's statement actually contradicts the Koran, Muhammad's example, and fourteen centuries of Islamic jurisprudence, including leading Muslim clerics of today.

The long history of Muslim persecution of Christians flows unimpeded from the supposed eternal words of Allah in the Koran, and from the example and teachings of the founder of Islam, Muhammad, collected in the hadiths. The example of Muhammad is the lens through which the Koran is interpreted. And the example of Muhammad, and the words of the Koran are clear:

The Littlest Martyr: Ten-year-old Girl Wounded in Cairo Church Explosion Dies, Death Toll Rises to 27

"The bombing constituted one of the deadliest attacks on Egyptian Christians in years. The attacker detonated the bomb in the ladies section of the church, resulting in fatalities mostly among women and children."

Lord have mercy... Another holy and pure martyr received into the great cloud of witnesses:

When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the Word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.   — Rev. 6:9-11

Ten-year-old Girl Wounded in Cairo Church Explosion Dies, Death Toll Rises to 27
AINA, December 20, 2016:

Maggie Momen, who died Dec. 20, 2016, was one of the 49 people injured in the suicide bombing that struck a Cairo church on Sunday, Dec. 11, 2016. (AP)

Ten-year-old Egyptian girl Maggie Moemen, who was severely wounded in the bombing of Cairo's St. Peter and St. Paul's Church last week, died this morning, state news agency MENA reported.

Moemen, who was suffering from shrapnel in the brain and damage to her lungs, had been in a coma since the 11 December suicide attack on a church in the Coptic cathedral complex.

Her passing raises the death toll of the attack to 27.

The Atlantic: 'The Actual War on Christians - Egypt's Copts are under attack'

A fearless and essential article in a major publication exposes the systemic persecution of Coptic Christians by Muslims in Egypt. These lessons apply to wherever Christians live under Islamic rule.

Read and share widely...


The Actual War on Christians - Egypt's Copts are under attack
by Samuel Tadros, The Atlantic, December 17, 2016:

A nun cries as she stands at the scene inside Cairo's Coptic cathedral, following a bombing, in Egypt December 11, 2016

...Being a Copt was never a simple matter of attending different places of worship, but rather a salient feature shaping their lives. A Copt was a Dhimmi—the Islamic term used to refer to Christians and Jews, which means “protected person”—a tolerated second-class citizen, constantly reminded of his inferiority, and expected to behave.

Even at the height of Egypt’s experiment with liberalism from 1923 to 1952, a Copt could never escape his Coptic identity, nor, paradoxically, bring it to the public square. Under Egypt’s military rulers the Copts’ plight only worsened.

Despite proclamations of equality by the state, a Copt has never been an equal Egyptian citizen in the eyes of the law. Egyptian laws are, in fact, designed to remind him of his second-class nature.

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... 

Coptic Bishop Angaelos of the UK: 'Forgiveness is by no means synonymous with ignoring justice'

"As Christians, we also believe in forgiveness, but forgiveness is by no means synonymous with ignoring justice. Forgiveness ensures that our own hearts are not entangled in a web of anger and resentment, or corrupted by feelings of hatred or revenge. Forgiveness is ultimately liberating and empowering, but at the same time, justice is essential; not for the purposes of punishment, but to secure and protect our societies in which people must respectfully live side by side."


Bishop Angaelos comments a day after the brutal bombing and murder of 25 people in St Peter’s Coptic Orthodox Church – Cairo
Coptic Orthodox Church-UK via OCP Media,  12/12/16

Link includes embedded video of Bishop Angaelos on the BBC

HG Bishop Angaelos comments a day after brutal bombing and murder of 25 people in St Peter’s Coptic Orthodox Church, Cairo.
Today is a day of many emotions: sadness, nervousness, uncertainty, and understandably even anger at times. That is because yesterday was a day in which we witnessed the worst of humanity, when innocent women and children who decided to worship their God in their spiritual home had their lives needlessly and senselessly ended without warning. They were used as pawns; a means to an end. To the perpetrators of this heinous crime, their lives clearly held no greater value than scribbles on a strategic page; a plan that was to be executed for a cause to which they were merely incidental, collateral damage. Yesterday we saw beautiful lives lost, families separated and broken, and whole communities grieving; a truly painful time that has not only affected Coptic Christians, but Egyptian society at large, Muslims and Christians alike, and millions around the world.

Crimes will always be perpetrated and criminals will continue to exist, but such a strategic, vicious act is difficult to comprehend. It is indeed difficult to understand how a person might plan and execute such a horrific, ruthless and barbaric plot against innocent women and children. The only way to do this is to completely disregard the relevance, value and sanctity of any life potentially affected by these actions.

In recent decades, we have seen recurring acts of violence against Christians and Christian communities in Egypt. Time and time again, very few, if any, perpetrators have been brought to justice, and we subsequently continue to witness an escalation of these attacks. This is not a matter of blame, but accountability, with an expectation that barbaric acts such as these should never occur, but if they do, that their perpetrators are rightly and fairly held to account. This is not a call for vengeance, but a deterrent against similar future plans and aspirations.

Let us honor and exalt the Holy Coptic Neo-Martyrs of the Cairo Cathedral Jihad Attack

The world calls them 'victims', but we Christians call them 'Victors', for they loved the Lord Jesus Christ, and did not allow threats of persecution and murder by the enemies of mankind to keep them from confessing their faith in Him.

These photos show us 'normal' looking women, from late teens to their 50s and 60s, both young and mature. When they awakened on Sunday morning, they no doubt did not expect that this was the day they would pay the ultimate price for their faith in Christ.

But unlike the foolish rich man in the Lord's parable (LK 12:15-21), these women were found in the Church when their time came. Sunday morning, they faithfully went to the Divine Liturgy, giving thanks to the Lord. They put the Lord first, on the Lord's Day, and they were killed in the Church, during the Divine Liturgy, so their holy Guardian Angels immediately conducted their souls straight to the Lord.

And we in the West, who sometimes struggle to rouse ourselves to even attend the Liturgy, or are chronically slothful and tardy, can we even imagine what it is like for our brothers and sisters in Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Iran, Turkey, Indonesia, and all through the Islamic world, where they do not know if they will be the ones next to be killed, raped, beheaded, crucified or tortured for their faith in Jesus Christ?

So let us gain strength and courage from all our martyred sisters and brothers, who were faithful to the Lord to the end, and who have received the crowns of martyrdom, and thus live to intercede for us lowly ones.

Let us honor and exalt the Holy Coptic Neo-Martyrs, and all the 21st Century New Martyrs under the bloody sword of Islam, who are joining that 'great cloud of witnesses' in the heavenly kingdom!

And let us, at least, vow to be faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ even unto death, and to be found in the bosom of His Holy Church.

Remembering the Victims of the Cairo Cathedral Terror Attack
Egyptian Streets, December 12, 2016:

On Monday morning, Egypt’s Ministry of Health released the names and ages of 23 people who were killed in a terror attack that targeted a chapel connected to St. Mark’s Cathedral in Cairo.

Below are the translated names of 23 victims. A 24th victim remains unidentified as the death toll increased after the statement. Photographs of some victims were also found shared by their loved ones and friends on social media...

Raymond Ibrahim: 'Egypt’s Deadliest Church Attack'

Update, analysis, and context on the December 11, 2016 bombing of the Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo, Egypt.

Highlights:

• "In death toll and severity, this attack surpasses what was formerly considered the deadliest church attack in Egypt: a New Year’s Day bombing of a church in Alexandria that killed 23 people in 2011. 

• "Yesterday’s attack was also symbolically more significant:  St. Peter’s Church is attached to and used by St. Mark’s Cathedral, the seat of Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Christian church and home to its leader, Pope Tawadros II.

• "Although Western and English language media do not report them, there have been several minor and unsuccessful terror attacks on churches in Egypt in recent weeks and months."

• There are many instances of "moderate", ordinary Muslims persecuting their Christian neighbors. In one recent case in Minya, 80 Christian homes were burnt down by the Muslim 'neighbors', with Muslim "women and children shouting 'Allahu Akbar!' and 'We’ll burn the church, we’ll burn the church'."

Egypt’s Deadliest Church Attack
by Raymond Ibrahim, Gatestone Institute, December 12, 2016:

The worst attack on Egypt’s Christian minority in recent years occurred yesterday, Sunday, December 11, 2016. St. Peter Cathedral in Cairo, packed with worshippers celebrating Sunday mass, was bombed; at least 27 churchgoers, mostly women and children, were killed and 65 severely wounded. As many of the wounded are in critical condition, the death toll is expected to rise.

As usual, witnesses say that state security was not present and that police took an inordinate amount of time to arrive after the explosion. Preliminary investigations point to a bomb placed inside an unattended lady’s purse on one of the rear pews of the women’s section.

Mutilated bodies were strewn along the floor and pews of the cathedral. “I found bodies, many of them women, lying on the pews. It was a horrible scene,” said one witness.

“I saw a headless woman being carried away,” said Mariam Shenouda: “Everyone was in a state of shock. We were scooping up people’s flesh off the floor. There were children. What have they done to deserve this? I wish I had died with them instead of seeing these scenes.”

In death toll and severity, this attack surpasses what was formerly considered the deadliest church attack in Egypt: a New Year’s Day bombing of a church in Alexandria that killed 23 people in 2011.

Yesterday’s attack was also symbolically more significant: St. Peter’s Church is attached to and used by St. Mark’s Cathedral, the seat of Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Christian church and home to its leader, Pope Tawadros II.

It is to President Sisi’s shame that the deadliest church attack in Egypt occurred on his watch. Yet it is also unsurprising considering how little has really changed for Egypt’s Christians since Sisi ousted Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood in 2012.

Muslims bomb St. Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo, Egypt; 25 killed, dozens injured

Muslims honoring the birth of Muhammad: "The blast... coincided with a national holiday in Egypt marking the birth of Islam's Prophet Muhammad. Most of the victims are thought to be women and children."

This on the heels of a failed attempt to bomb another Coptic church less than a week ago.

Blast at Egypt's main Coptic Christian cathedral kills 25, injures dozens
Associated Press via Fox News, December 11, 2016:

CAIRO –  A bombing at Egypt's main Coptic Christian cathedral killed 25 people and wounded another 35 on Sunday, in one of the deadliest attacks carried out against the religious minority in recent memory. 

The attack came two days after a bomb elsewhere in Cairo killed six policemen, an assault claimed by a shadowy group that authorities say is linked to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. Islamic militants have targeted Christians in the past, including a New Year's Day bombing at a church in Alexandria in 2011 that killed at least 21 people. 

Egypt's official MENA news agency said an assailant lobbed a bomb into a chapel close to the outer wall of St Mark's Cathedral, seat of Egypt's Orthodox Christian church and home to the office of its spiritual leader, Pope Tawadros II. Egyptian state TV gave the casualty toll.

Egypt: Muslim throws bomb at entrance of packed church

Muslim 'drive-by' jihad terrorism against Christians is a global threat, even here in the USA.

Imagine that the drive-by jihad terror threat of Muslim's screaming 'Allahu Akbar' through a bullhorn outside a packed Orthodox church in Riverside California last April was not a 'mere' verbal threat, but that the Muslims had instead thrown a bomb at the entrance of the church, or opened fire on the congregation.

The death toll would have surpassed San Bernardino, Orlando, Paris, Nice, Egypt...

This is the age we live in, where Islamic jihad is global, and Christians are directly targeted by devout Muslims. Even here in the United States.

Why do Muslims target Christians? See my article:

• Freedom, Provocation and Targets - The Muslim predisposition towards jihad means 'no cartoons required'

Mr. Trump, let's get that Muslim immigration ban in place on Day One.


Egypt: Muslim throws bomb at entrance of packed church
by Raymond Ibrahim, Jihad Watch, December 7, 2016:

A man hurled an improvised bomb at the entrance of a packed church in Egypt in what observers say could’ve been a repeat of the Two Saints Church attack in Alexandria, 2011, which left 23 dead, and 100 injured. 

The bomb was dismantled before exploding.  The attack occurred during the late hours of Saturday, November 12. Thousands of Coptic Christian worshippers had assembled for a church celebration inside the St. George Church in Samalout, al-Minya province. 

New-Martyr Coptic Nun Mother Athanasia Killed by Muslims in Egypt

Another Coptic Orthodox New-Martyr of the 21st Century Jihad, the Nun, Mother Athanasia

OCP Media, July 6, 2016

+MEMORY ETERNAL+

Cairo- Egypt: Today, Mother Athanasia received the Crown of Martyrdom. She was gunned down by extremists of Muslims and gave her pure soul in Hands of our Lord Jesus Christ. She was a nun in the Monastery of Great St. George in Old Cairo.

Our Lord Said to us in the Gospel ” And don’t fear those kill the body but can not kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell “(Matthew 10 :28).

She was a pure nun.

May her prayers be with us. Amen

Source

Here is the statement from the Monastery of St George, where Mother Athanasia was a nun:

Statement from the monastery of St. George for nuns in old Cairo 

Today, 5 July 2016 Mother Athanasia of St. George Monastery for nuns in Old Cairo passed away while in a car with other nuns on Cairo Alex desert road heading to St. George monastery in Khatatba.

She was shot during a conflict that happened to take place between two conflicting parties she happened to pass by, which lead to the loss of her life immediately. We ask God to rest her soul in peace among the Wise Virgins.

Source