World Watch List 2020: '260 Million Christians Experience High Levels of Persecution'

"...Not only does 'Islamic oppression' remain the chief 'source of persecution' faced by Christians in 7 of the absolute ten worst nations, but 38 of the 50 nations composing the list are either Muslim majority or have a sizable Muslim population."

A Global Catastrophe: '260 Million Christians Experience High Levels of Persecution'
by Raymond Ibrahim, February 3, 2020

The global persecution of Christians has reached unprecedented levels: “260 million Christians experience high levels of persecution” around the world, notes the recently published World Watch List 2020, an annual report that ranks the top 50 countries where Christians are most persecuted for their faith.

Additionally, “2,983 Christians were killed for faith-related reasons. On average, that’s 8 Christians killed every day for their faith”: “9,488 churches or Christian buildings were attacked,” and “3,711 Christians were detained without trial, arrested, sentenced and imprisoned.” (Note: All quotes in this article are from the WWL 2020 report.)

Dictatorial paranoia continues to make North Korea (#1) the worst nation. Christians found there are instantly “deported to labor camps as political criminals or even killed on the spot.”

Otherwise, and as has been the case in all statistics and reports on the global persecution of Christians, not only does “Islamic oppression” remain the chief “source of persecution” faced by Christians in 7 of the absolute ten worst nations, but 38 of the 50 nations composing the list are either Muslim majority or have a sizeable Muslim population.

"Perhaps the most disturbing trend is that the amount of persecuted Christians continues to grow year after year."

The overwhelming majority of these Muslim nations are governed by some form of shari‘a (Islamic law). It is either directly enforced by government or society or, more frequently, both, though societies—family members in particular—tend to be more zealous in its application. Brief summaries of the seven Muslim nations making the top ten follow:

INDEPENDENCE DAY SPECIAL - Islam in America Today, from Jihad Attacks to the 'Breaking of the Crosses'

The threat to Americans from Islam is real and growing, as this survey of news reports and investigative articles documents.

Starting below the Map of Mosques in America are current news stories from 2019. Below the break are key investigative articles analyzing the views and activities of Muslims and mosques in America. More than a mere "link dump," consider this a handy resource to share with others. 

Not included are articles on Muslim honor crimes, the Islamic doctrine on wife-beating, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM),  and other such aspects of Muslim culture.

One of the most troubling facts about these news stories is how so many are from states we associate with traditional Americana — the Heartland — not with Muslim enclaves like Dearbornistan, St Louis, and (with a couple of exceptions) "Little Mogadishu" Minneapolis. And this is far from a comprehensive list.

We have much to be thankful for this 4th of July, but this is also a sobering celebration. Consider what sort of god inspires and commands such atrocities and attitudes as those listed below. 

Let us hope and pray that this "One Nation, Under God," can yet turn to the True God. Otherwise...

"O say does that Star Spangled Banner yet wave, o'er the Land of the Free, and the Home of the Brave?"

2019 News Reports:

NY Times slanders Jihad Watch, tries to cover for Minneapolis' Somali community, the 'terrorist recruitment capital of the US'

"More men and boys from a Somali American community in Minneapolis have joined – or attempted to join – a foreign terrorist organization over the last 12 years than any other jurisdiction in the country."

Muslim Children in Philadelphia Proclaim True Islam: 'We will chop off their heads, subject them to eternal torture'

NYC: Giant sculpture proclaiming “There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet” goes up at Ground Zero

Indiana: Muslim had “kill list” of US service members, tried to join the Islamic State

Minneapolis’ ‘Little Mogadishu’ Sees 56 Percent Increase in Violent Crimes Caused by Somali Gangs

South Carolina: Man converts to Islam, plants bombs disguised as teddy bears for children to find

FBI discovers homegrown jihadi training camp in Alabama, similar to one in New Mexico

Michigan: Muslim who slashed cop’s throat while screaming “Allahu akbar” says he regretted not killing more people

America's judgment looms ever nearer: FGM, mutilation of children normalized and protected

"A federal judge has dismissed six charges of female genital mutilation against a doctor, declaring the nation’s female genital mutilation law as unconstitutional."

The unthinkable has happened: a brutal and dangerous practice performed on infant girls, originating from a deviant desert pagan religion, has now been given protected legal status in the United States.

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), the cutting of the clitoris of defenseless infant girls, has, through the fiat of a single federal judge in an historic, landmark case, become protected by the US Constitution, barring some overturning of this heinous and ignorant decision.

See my article:  FGM and Islam’s Mutilation of… Everything

Spiritually, this dark sign of our times converges with another rapidly spreading movement affirming a secular right to mutilate children.

America is swiftly enshrining the right of children to undergo hormonal therapy and sexual mutilation surgery to "reassign" their gender. Rod Dreher has been tracking the gender reassignment movement for the last few years now. The below exchange helps introduce one of his more comprehensive posts on this sign of the moral and spiritual collapse of America:

The woman told me that at her kids’ high school, a shocking number of students are going to their parents asking to be put on hormones and asking for surgery, because they are transgender. This is the cool thing, and the school is falling all over itself to be supportive, and to encourage an “ally” culture. 

“What about the parents?” I said. 

“They’re going along with it,” she replied. 

“Why on earth?!” I said. 

“Because they don’t want to lose their kids. Because everything in the culture tells them they should. Because they think that’s how they love their child. And these parents usually become the fiercest LGBT advocates.”

Welcome to post-Christian America, where mutilation of children joins pre-birth infanticide as the law of the land. Our judgment will be swift and harsh when it comes.

But, back to the protection of FGM and the advance of Sharia in America...

Islam defeats Free Speech in Europe

European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) sets ominous precedent, enforces Sharia restrictions on speech concerning Islam, criminalizes criticism of Muhammad.

In Europe, Free Speech Bows to Sharia

By ANDREW C. MCCARTHY, National Review, October 27, 2018

Europeans are free to say only what the courts let them.

When he was 50, the prophet of Islam took as his wife Aisha, who was then six or seven. The marriage was consummated when Aisha was nine.

This is not a smear. It is an accurate account of authoritative Islamic scripture. (See, e.g., Sahih-Bukhari, Vol. 5, Book 58, Nos. 234–236.) Yet it can no longer safely be discussed in Europe, thanks to the extortionate threat of violence and intimidation — specifically, of jihadist terrorism and the Islamist grievance industry that slipstreams behind it. Under a ruling by the so-called European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), free speech has been supplanted by sharia blasphemy standards.

The case involves an Austrian woman (identified as “Mrs. S.” in court filings and believed to be Elisabeth Sabaditsch Wolff) who, in 2009, conducted two seminars entitled “Basic Information on Islam.” She included the account of Mohammed’s marriage to Aisha. Though this account is scripturally accurate, Mrs. S. was prosecuted on the rationale that her statements implied pedophilic tendencies on the part of the prophet. A fine (about $547) was imposed for disparaging religion.

Islam's Conflict With Western Values & Human Rights

About one-third to one-half of Muslims (274.0 million - 503.5 million) in Muslim majority countries uphold beliefs and practices that are contrary to many Western values and international human rights.

This conclusion is part of my recently published study, "Muslim Beliefs & Practices: A Global Demographic Assessment."* The surveys used to compile the study were conducted by Pew Research (2008 - 2012) and covered 1.1 billion Muslims---two-thirds of the Muslim world. North America and Western Europe were not included.

The study found that though 69% (742 million) of Muslims want to live under sharia, those who support the harsh "hudud" punishments (stoning for adultery, amputation for theft, death for apostasy, etc.) ranged from 35% - 45%. Since these punishments are derived directly from the Quran, hadith, and sunna, support for them undoubtedly comes from Muslims who promote the traditional interpretation of those texts.

This group, consisting of 41% (369.7 million) of the survey population, believes that their lives faithfully reflect the hadith and the sunna of Muhammad. Statistically, they are not only more likely to promote the hudud punishments, but also to believe that both Islam and sharia have only one interpretation, that sharia should be the law of their country, and that proselytizing is a religious duty.

But more importantly, those who identify as devout Muslims overlap with 64% (581 million) of Muslims who believe that sharia is Allah’s revealed law, rather than a form of law developed by men and based on the word of Allah. For this reason they are more likely than other Muslims to reject the legitimacy of Western laws and government, along with the rights and values they protect.

It is highly implausible, if not naïve, to suggest that devout Muslims shed their deeply held beliefs in sharia when they immigrate to Western countries. Consequently, there is justifiable concern that immigrants from this group will have a strong impulse to resist and even change the host culture. In a 2016 French poll, 29% of Muslims said they rejected the country’s secular laws.

The full 29 page study graphs and analyzes 16 survey questions in detail, providing the historical, theological, political, and social background of Muslim beliefs and practices. It also includes an assessment of security, terrorism, and areas of potential conflict with Western culture.

______________________________________

* The study was first introduced on June 21 by an article in Front Page Magazine.

What is "White" Sharia? (Yes, this is a Thing)

Life was cheap to those who created Sharia. Sadly, Americans on the hard right/Alt-Right are openly talking about what their own version of Sharia would look like in the context of non-Islamic European-Americans.

White Sharia is a meme that likely began in late 2016. As far as I can tell, the Alt-Right podcast The War Room was one of the first to explore the idea and for almost two hours the hosts flesh out a graphic vision of white rape gangs and more.

White Sharia is conceptualized as a corrective to the decadence of Western feminism that has led many of our sisters and wives to debauch themselves in prodigal living resulting in less white babies and weaker marriages. This makes demographic replacement by non-Westerners/non-whites inevitable.

It should be mentioned that the Alt-Right and meme culture is based on irony and jokes meant to shock and steer conversation. Much like third-wave feminism, it's full of half-truths.

White Sharia is open to such heinous activities as "corrective rape" and polygamy to forcefully impregnate obstinate Western women of "good genes" who refuse to carry and birth children. By the calculation of White Sharia advocates, this strategy would jack-up desirable female genetic contribution during peak childbearing years that are usually lost to empowered promiscuity and careerism. Earlier childbirth means fewer sexual partners which equals stronger marriages. 

Andrew Anglin, infamous proprietor Alt-Right site The Daily Stormer once mentioned that Western women will eventually need to choose between Islamic Sharia and White Sharia. 

I've found that Leftists, "normies", and most conservative-types don't really understand the Alt-Right or meme-culture. They either don't get the high levels of irony or they pretend they don't. Much of the Alt-Right's belief-cycle plays out as follows (roughly):

1. Become conversant in spiritually/morally dangerous ideas (National Socialism, "helicopter rides" etc) in order to trigger your enemies and signal to fellow travelers.
2. Deploy ironic memes based on these ideas.
3. Begin to actually sympathize with the above ideas and/or start to see other human beings as vermin/sub-human/contemptible.

Ultimately, and these are just the facts, the Alt-Right and White Sharia are the result of the leftwing's war on traditional morality plus identity politics. It's also a result of the capitulation of establishment, economically-minded Republicans in government. The war, the identity politics, and the capitulation are all evil.

This is all totally antithetical to the Church's vision of complementary vocations for husbands and wives. Additionally, race/ethnicity are irrelevant in Christ. Christ transcends that for us. We don't have to obsess over it anymore.

Not unlike leftists today, there is a preoccupation in the Alt-Right with earthly justice with no concept of ultimate victory in the eschaton where God will "wipe away every tear" (Rev 21.4). Orthodox Christians have nothing to learn from Islam or Mohammed and ought not take cues from them. We have the fullness of the Truth and life with the witness of the saints. Darkness does not comprehend the light (Jn 1.5).

That said, it's unsurprising in this fallen world that some men would put their foot down and take on the role of oppressor in jest or in reality. If these men can do-no-right in the eyes of our culture's wicked pseudo-reality -- what do they have to lose? It's not right, but it's one of the choices the culture gave them so some men are going to choose it. Surprise, surprise.

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Graphic content warning! The links below are NSFW. Many contain racially charged, offensive and violent language. Presented here for educational purposes.
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*[Video] Explaining why White Sharia is "a good meme." A good place to start to understand the concept.

The women with the most alternatives, the best alternatives to family and reproduction do less of the family and reproduction.

*[Podcast episode] Put a baby in her belly!

November 2016. The War Room. White Rape Gangs #WhiteSharia. This podcast is hosted on a mainstream Alt-Right site.

*Could there be a hard right/Islamic alliance on the horizon? I doubt it, but someone is floating the idea.

People called us crazy, but we have said and continue to say this because this is based on historical precedent going back to the 15th century with the fall the Byzantine Empire to the Ottomans through the sale of the cannons to the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II and has persisted up through the First World War, Second World War, and will manifest again in the Third World War, as it is coming together today.

*A critique of White Sharia from within the hard right.

If "white sharia" does not sound as ridiculous to you as "white Zionism," then it is time to take stock of who you are and for what, exactly, you are fighting. In doing so, not only will you naturally arrive at a more workable political strategy, but you will have eradicated one more remnant of anti-white indoctrination from your core being.

*In Defense of White Sharia. The author responds to the critique above and lays out the case for stealing the patriarchal form of the enemy.

When I say we will have White Sharia in White Afghanistan one day, it means that we will have an extreme tribal patriarchy in the ethnostate. But it also offers visions of what that patriarchy and that ethnostate could look like. People can imagine themselves with a beard and an AK in the Appalachian Mountains. Images and examples are more powerful than words. That is why joking about White Sharia is more powerful than pleas for returning to long-dead traditions.

*[Video] Emily Youcis, former Philadelphia Phillies snack vendor, stumping for White Sharia.

*White Sharia Will Make You Dumb. A critique of the bizarre eugenics argument for White Sharia.

*They Want Us Caged: Anti-Feminism, "White Sharia" & Traditionalism. Click the link for a standard feminist response.

*[Video] Titled WHITE SHARIA NOW. A laugh track is edited in over a documentary-style video of young white women debauching themselves.

Google enforcing Sharia Law, blocking ads containing the keyword 'jihadwatch'

At some point this blog will no doubt be shut down by Google. Before that happens I hope to have an independent hosting service lined up to host Facing Islam. But no matter what we do,  the 'powers and principalities' will do all they can to stamp out any public presentation of True, Apostolic, Orthodox Christianity, and any true, Apostolic, Patristic, Christian criticism of Islam. 

I have not experienced any problems yet of this nature. That is no doubt due in large measure to the fact that I have never tried to monetize this blog. I have been criticized by some family members for not doing so, but to me, it is far more important to do all I can to expose the lie of Islam and advance the Truth of Jesus Christ as lived and experienced in the Orthodox Church, than to try to make a few dollars from your clicks on distracting ads.

I do hope at some point to offer some ebooks of my writings for sale here. We'll see what happens when the time comes.

True Christianity itself is being criminalized. We are heading into a period of intense persecution even in the West, and a time for Christians to retreat to the catacombs.

Google is now disapproving ads containing the keyword “jihadwatch”

by Robert Spencer, Jihad Watch, September 17, 2017:

I heard from two writers Saturday who told me that Google had banned their book ads because they contained the keyword “jihadwatch.” Note that both writers say that their ads had not been active for years.

I’ve written a great deal lately about how the Left is using Charlottesville as its Reichstag Fire moment to crush all dissent, and this is yet another manifestation of that effort. They’re doing everything they can to deny all access to the means of communication to those whose opinions they hate. It’s a frankly authoritarian agenda.

On Saturday morning, I received this email from Mark Durie, the author of The Third Choice and many other excellent books about Islam, Sharia, and jihad. Durie subsequently wrote me: “It seems that even googling ‘jihadwatch’ is deemed an act of hatred.”

Ontario 'Human Rights Commission' fines Landlord $12,000 for not removing his shoes when showing Muslim tenant's apartment

Canada is now blatantly implementing Sharia law, trying to force a Christian man to pay jizya to his former Muslim tenants. Canada is in essence behaving like a conquered, dhimmi state, extracting jizya from its citizens to appease its Islamic masters, who rank highest in the Canadian Human Rights Hierarchy.

Two reports below, the first from Michele Mandel at the Toronto Sun (which documents the facts of the case), the second from Faith Goldy at Rebel Media. Read all the way to the end for a link to find out how you can help John Alabi's legal fees to fight this form of stealth jihad.

It appears the case may have turned on a remark Alabi allegedly made on Facebook. The Canadian Thought Crime Human Rights Commission submits to Sharia Law and Islam.


REPORT #1:

Brampton landlord feels 'powerless' after being labelled religion-based human rights violator

by Michele Mandel, Toronto Sun, May 3, 2017:

John Alabi, ruled a 'human rights violator by a Canadian Human Rights   Sharia Court.

This poor man came to Canada from Nigeria 22 years ago in hopes of building a better life for his family.

After almost a quarter century of being a law-abiding, hard-working member of society, he never imagined his adopted country would label him a human rights violator and order him to pay $12,000 in compensation to his Muslim tenants.

“I was humiliated, I was made to feel I have no rights, I was made to feel that I’m not wanted in society,” says John Alabi, 52. “I feel powerless. They rented my place for only two months. Two months! It’s just not fair,”

The small landlord came forward to explain his position after the Sun told his shocking story last week: The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario found he failed to accommodate the religious needs of Walid Madkour and Heba Ismail by not giving them more than the legal 24-hour notice before showing the apartment and by failing to remove his shoes when he entered the bedroom they used to pray.

Now the travel agent is on the hook for money he doesn’t have to pay tenants who were in his home for only two months. And he doesn’t feel he did anything wrong.

For 15 years Alabi rented the in-law suite in his home to help pay his mortgage. A tenant’s religion wasn’t important to him.

“I go beyond all that. I just see everybody as human beings like me. That’s why I took them in,” he says. “We got along. And then all of a sudden I’m a racist?”

After they gave notice in February 2015, Alabi says he bent over backwards to accommodate the Egyptian-born couple in booking acceptable times to show their apartment to prospective new tenants. At first, Madkour tried to argue that the landlord couldn’t show the unit when his wife was home. Alabi explained that with 24 hours notice, the law gave him the authority to enter even if she was there.

They called the police, claiming that his shovelling snow outside their apartment was harassment. The officers confirmed that Alabi was legally allowed to show their unit when they were there. That’s when they suddenly raised the religion issue, he says, and told him he couldn’t enter during their prayer times. He agreed.

That still wasn’t enough, Alabi says.

Canada on verge of passing alarming anti-‘Islamophobia’ motion

Passage of M-103 in the House of Commons on February 16 "would in effect set Canada on the path to imposing a form of Islamic Sharia blasphemy law on all of Canada."


by Steve Jalsevac, February 9, 2017 (LifeSiteNews)

There is an alrming [sic] government development in favor of Islam north of the U.S. border.

Canadian PM Trudeau participating in Islamic ritual that included Islamic initiation prayers. It is not certain if he actually said the initiation prayers, but he was praying during the initiation prayers in a Surrey, British Columbia mosque

A motion that threatens to later lead to a crushing of some core freedoms of all Canadians, resulting in an Islamist-favoring state next to the U.S., appears poised to overwhelmingly pass the House of Commons. This is happening at a time when the country's prime minister, Justin Trudeau, a firm internationalist, is far more amenable to Islam than any prime minister in the nation's history.

Parliamentary Motion M-103 is designed to advance the goal of adding to Canada’s hate crimes laws the undefined crime of “Islamophobia,” which would protect all Muslims and Islam itself from any criticism related to that religion and its Shariah law. The motion has been proposed by Islamic Member of Parliament Iqra Khalid.

All parties so far have indicated they will unanimously vote for M-103. Its passage in the House of Commons on February 16 would in effect set Canada on the path to imposing a form of Islamic Sharia blasphemy law on all of Canada.

Banner typical of many such signs displayed during numerous hate-filled Islamist demonstrations in Europe where the concentration of Islamist immigrants is greater than in North America - so far.

The federal House of Commons motion would likely lead to extraordinary, historically unprecedented special protections for the tenets of one religion in Canada, Islam, a religion radically different from and, with some exceptions, generally very hostile to Christianity and all other religions as directed by later verses in the Koran.

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 Problem With Islam Is Aggressive Scripture, Not Aggressive 'Traditionalism'

Islamic culture and traditional societies, and Muslim behavior, are based on the Islamic scriptures, which are anything but "moderate."

By Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review Online, January 16, 2016:

The Koran — Beautiful script, eh? But is it the passage which commands Muslims to "Strike them over the necks, and smite over all their fingers and toes" (Sura 8:12).

On the Corner this week, the eminent Jim Talent touted (with some reservations) an essay about "moderate Islam" by Cheryl Bernard. A Rand Institute researcher, she is also a novelist, a defender of war-ravaged cultures, and the wife of Zalmay Khalilzad, the former U.S. ambassador to post-Taliban (or is it pre-Taliban?) Afghanistan. 

With due respect to Dr. Bernard, who does much heroic work, I believe the essay highlights what is wrong with Western academic analysis of Islam.

The problem comes into focus in the very title of Senator Talent's post, "Aggressive Traditionalism." That is the attribute of Islamic societies that Dr. Bernard blames for the frustration of her high hopes for "moderate Islam." In truth, however, the challenge Islam poses for moderation is not its tradition; it is Islamic doctrine -- the scriptural support for traditional sharia and Islamic supremacist ideology.

I give Bernard credit. She is the unusual strategist who is willing to admit failure -- in this instance, of the strategy of promoting "moderate Islam" as the antidote to "radical Islam." 

William Kilpatrick: Medina—The First Muslim Refugee Resettlement Program

This is a well-reasoned warning concerning the Muslim migrant crisis. As others have noted, the Good Samaritan helped the man who was waylaid by thieves, but he didn't welcome him into his home. 

"Whether or not a particular group of refugees has been infiltrated by ISIS, there remains the fact that many refugees subscribe to the same general worldview held by members of the Islamic State. After all, they’ve been steeped in the same cultural-religious milieu that produced the terrorists."

Medina—The First Muslim Refugee Resettlement Program
by William Kilpatrick, Crisis Magazine, December 1, 2015

With all the talk about the Syrian refugees, one point is often overlooked. Much of the debate focuses on the question of whether or not the refugees can be reliably vetted. If they can be certified as one hundred percent terrorist-free, then, presumably, the resettlement can safely proceed.

But even if every terrorist could be excluded from the ranks of the refugees, a problem would remain. Many analysts are concerned that the resettlement program might facilitate the growth of terrorist-tolerant communities in America. By “terrorist-tolerant” I don’t mean that its members are thinking every minute about what they can do to support jihad, but rather that they have come to take for granted things that aren’t assumed in other societies.

Terror, for instance. Nonie Darwish, a former Muslim who grew up in Egypt, puts it this way:

One of the reasons that the so-called moderate Muslims have become irrelevant … is that over the centuries they have become tolerant of Islamic terrorism and considered it as part of normal life.

“Life under Sharia itself is a life under terror,” observes Darwish. And that daily low-level terrorism accustoms Muslims to view it as something “like a natural disaster or part of life that must be tolerated.”

So, although a Syrian refugee may have no personal taste for terror, he can be surprisingly tolerant of it. A 2007 public opinion poll of Syrians revealed that 75 percent of those polled supported financial aid for Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, and “Iraqi fighters” (at that time, mostly al-Qaeda). Need it be mentioned that all these groups are designated as terrorist organizations by the U.S. government? A more recent poll of 1,365 Syrians found that one out of five considered ISIS to be a positive influence on the country. And living in the West doesn’t seem to change these attitudes. A 2014 opinion poll showed that 27 percent of the French population in the 18-24-year-old demographic supported ISIS. Assuming a random sample, and assuming that the majority of pro-ISIS respondents were Muslim, that would mean that the vast majority of young French Muslims support ISIS.

That kind of supportive environment is a factor that’s often overlooked in the debate over Syrian refugees. As defenders of the resettlement program like to point out, terrorists can get into the U.S. by other means than by mingling with refugees. But once here, they need a network to support them and give them cover. And the network itself can only function if the larger community is willing to look the other way.

Europe is now dotted with such networks—in the Paris suburbs, in the Brussels borough of Molenbeek, in the Neukölln district of Berlin, and in numerous other places. There is evidence that similar networks already exist in nascent form in the U.S. Beyond the question of whether terrorists will mix in with refugees lies a larger question about the refugee resettlement program. Will it contribute to a strengthening of our society, or will it lead instead to the strengthening and expansion of terror-supportive networks?

Mainstream Islam and why ISIS has such strong support in the Muslim World

In one paragraph and a survey conducted by Al-Jazeera, Tim Furnish shatters the myth that ISIS is "not Islamic," or is somehow "radical" or "extremist":

Every time you repost something using the terms "radical" or "extremist" Islam, you are perpetuating the false narrative that jihad and support for violent shari`ah are fringe in Islam—when in point of fact they are quite mainstream. Here's some data from my latest public lecture:

51% of U.S. Muslims want Sharia; 60% of young Muslims more loyal to Islam than to U.S.

"Islamic luminaries say the American Muslim community would rather live under a theocracy. 'Every Muslim who is honest would say, I would like to see America become a Muslim country', says Imam Zaid Shakir, co-founder of Zaytuna College in Berkeley, Calif."

Meanwhile, An Islamic Fifth Column Builds Inside America

by Paul Sperry, IBD (via Jihad Watch), October 1, 2015

In berating GOP presidential hopeful Ben Carson for suggesting a loyalty test for Muslims seeking high office, CNN host Jake Tapper maintained that he doesn’t know a single observant Muslim-American who wants to Islamize America.

“I just don’t know any Muslim-Americans — and I know plenty — who feel that way, even if they are observant Muslims,” he scowled.

Tapper doesn’t get out much. If he did, chances are he’d run into some of the 51% of Muslims living in the U.S. who just this June told Polling Co. they preferred having “the choice of being governed according to Shariah,” or Islamic law. Or the 60% of Muslim-Americans under 30 who told Pew Research they’re more loyal to Islam than America.

Maybe they’re all heretics, so let’s see what the enlightened Muslims think.

If Tapper did a little independent research he’d quickly find that America’s most respected Islamic leaders and scholars also want theocracy, not democracy, and even advocate trading the Constitution for the Quran.

These aren’t fringe players. These are the top officials representing the Muslim establishment in America today.

Hopefully none of them ever runs for president, because here’s what he’d have to say about the U.S. system of government:

Christian Churches Demolished in Indonesia to Appease Mob of Enraged Muslims

Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim country, and ranks in the Top 50 worst countries for persecution of Christians on Open Doors' 2015 World Watch List. Based on the below, it might move into the top 20 in next year's ranking.

See also: 

• Christian Community in Indonesia Asking For Prayers After Muslim Extremists Torch Churches, Leaving One Dead
• Indonesia: Muslims expel thousands of Christians from a Christian Scout Camp because it is Ramadan
• Indonesia: Muslims screaming “Allahu akbar” attack Roman Catholic Church during Sunday Mass
• Indonesia Destroying Churches as Islamist Influence Grows

Christian Churches Demolished in Indonesia to Appease Mob of Enraged Muslims

The Christian Post, via Pravoslavie — October 20, 2015

Authorities in the Aceh province of Indonesia began tearing down a number of Christian churches on Monday at the demand of hardline Muslims, as religious tensions have risen in the province in recent weeks.

According to Reuters, government workers in the Aceh Singkil district used axes and sledgehammers to dismantle several small Christian churches after many hardline Muslims in the area demanded that at least 10 Christian churches be demolished.

BBC reports that over 200 police officers and military personnel protected government workers as they destroyed the church buildings on the grounds that the structures lacked the proper building permits.

ISIS barbarity: How 100,000 Christians fled Mosul in ONE NIGHT

A PRIEST who was captured and tortured by Islamist terrorists has today lifted the lid on Islamic State's (ISIS) horrific persecution of Christians.

by Nick Gutteridge, Express, via Pravmir — October 21, 2015

Fr. Douglas Bazi, modern-day confessor for Jesus Christ

Father Douglas Bazi revealed how 100,000 Christians fled the Iraqi city of Mosul in one night after the jihadi fanatics embarked on a “genocidal” campaign of ethnic cleansing.

Giving a shocking insight into life under ISIS rule, the clergyman told Express.co.uk how the Christian population of Iraq has been decimated from a high of two million in 2003 to just 180,000 today.

He also revealed how jihadi fighters summarily torture and kill the families of those who speak out against them and regularly use girl sex slaves to pay for basic services including medical care.

Mosul’s entire population was given a 24-hour ultimatum to either convert to ISIS’s radical brand of Islam or face beheading when the terror group captured the city in June last year.

Ancient Christian Tahira Church (The Immaculate) in Mosul

As a result 100,000 penniless Christians fled in just one night, leaving behind their homes and possessions to be looted by jihadi fighters.

Those who stayed behind had to pay a Jizya – an Islamist tax levied on non-believers – amounting to an astronomical £5,200, which is more than the yearly salary of the average Iraqi. Those who could not afford the levy were executed.

Father Bazi said: “Before 2003 we were two million Christians in Iraq. Now we are maybe 180,000.

“At least 1,800 Christians have been killed since 2003 in Iraq. That’s why the people are afraid.

“Overnight 100,000 people escaped from Mosul and escaped from ISIS. When they arrived and took over Mosul they told the people we have three conditions according to Sharia.

“Number one was convert.

“The second was to pay Jizya (Islamic taxes) and they asked for each person to pay 4,000 to 8,000 US dollars.

“Third, they said you have to leave or you will be beheaded.”

He revealed how 5,000 Christian families have fled Iraq in the last year alone, and said the few who survived under ISIS rule in Mosul told shocking tales of the depravity of their overlords.

In one case he recalled how a jihadi fighter forced a dentist to accept a girl sex slave as payment for his medical treatment.

Differing Views from Catholic Clergy on the Threat from Jihad and Shariah

Pope Francis' recent visit to the United States has prompted much commentary. It is impossible for me to cover it all, but this particular report, which includes links to three additional articles (below the break), was forwarded to me and gives clear insights into the problems with statements by Pope Francis.

See also: William Kilpatrick: 'Humility and Hubris'

Differing Views from Catholic Clergy on the Threat from Jihad and Shariah

By Christopher W. Holton, Terror Trends Bulletin — September 27, 2015 (Thanks to Plamen)

Pope Francis at the 9/11 Memorial, Ground Zero, NYC (Telegraph UK)

With the visit of Pope Francis to the United States, some attention has been paid to his views on Jihad in general and the September 11 attacks in particular.

On a visit to the September 11 memorial at Ground Zero, the pope made a statement that we find offensive and born of ignorance.

From USA Today:

In a remark some relatives of 9/11 victims may disagree with, the pope attributed “the wrongful and senseless loss of innocent lives” at Ground Zero to “the inability to find solutions which respect the common good.”

To what solutions could Pope Francis possibly be referring?

What “solutions which respect the common good” would have convinced Osama Bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Mohammed Atta that violent Jihad was wrong?

Al Qaeda and all Jihadist groups have as their goal the imposition of Shariah through violent Jihad. We can only assume that the pope is unaware of this. We must also assume that he is unaware that mainstream Islamic doctrine also calls for the imposition of Shariah worldwide.

Which Catholics and other Christians should be sacrificed to live under Shariah for the “common good?”

This was not the first time Pope Francis made statements that demonstrate an ignorance of Islamic doctrine.

Poll of U.S. Muslims Reveals Ominous Levels Of Support For Shariah, Jihad

"Nearly one-fifth of Muslim respondents said that the use of violence in the United States is justified in order to make shariah the law of the land in this country... Roughly 300,000 Muslims living in the United States believe that shariah is 'Allah’s law that Muslims must follow and impose worldwide by Jihad'.”

Center for Security Policy, June 23, 2015

According to a new nationwide online survey (Below) of 600 Muslims living in the United States, significant minorities embrace supremacist notions that could pose a threat to America’s security and its constitutional form of government.

The numbers of potential jihadists among the majority of Muslims who appear not to be sympathetic to such notions raise a number of public policy choices that warrant careful consideration and urgent debate, including: the necessity for enhanced surveillance of Muslim communities; refugee resettlement, asylum and other immigration programs that are swelling their numbers and density; and the viability of so-called “countering violent extremism” initiatives that are supposed to stymie radicalization within those communities.

Overall, the survey, which was conducted by The Polling Company for the Center for Security Policy (CSP), suggests that a substantial number of Muslims living in the United States see the country very differently than does the population overall.  The sentiments of the latter were sampled in late May in another CSP-commissioned Polling Company nationwide survey.

According to the just-released survey of Muslims, a majority (51%) agreed that “Muslims in America should have the choice of being governed according to shariah.”  When that question was put to the broader U.S. population, the overwhelming majority held that shariah should not displace the U.S. Constitution (86% to 2%).

More than half (51%) of U.S. Muslims polled also believe either that they should have the choice of American or shariah courts, or that they should have their own tribunals to apply shariah. Only 39% of those polled said that Muslims in the U.S. should be subject to American courts.

Must Read Book: HOUSE OF WAR: ISLAM’S JIHAD AGAINST THE WORLD, by Gregory Davis

This is a timely publication which provides a penetrating examination of Islam, its religious and political dimensions, and the "clear and present danger" to Christians and Western Civilization which arises from its ideology. It is a relatively slim volume (208 pages), yet is densely packed and rock-ribbed, and makes for a great introduction or handy reference on the threat of Islam.

What is perhaps most amazing is that, although this work was first published several years ago in hardcover, and therefore lacks any specific reference to ISIS (the Islamic State Caliphate) or certain other jihad terrorist groups which formed more recently, it is shockingly contemporary, as jihad ideology itself is essentially unchanged from the days of its founder, Muhammad. As one reads 'House of War', one experiences a steady flash of light bulbs turning on, of "Aha! moments", as the true goals and motivations of Muslim extremists are detailed from the supremacist sacred texts of Islam.

The author, Gregory Davis, is an Orthodox Christian, and a dear friend and encourager to me. The original edition of this book, and his documentary film, Islam: What the West Needs to Know, were two of my early sources which spurred me on to write Facing Islam and launch this blog. I cannot commend Greg's work highly enough.

Order two copies and share one with that interested soul looking to understand Islam. Publisher's description and link to order below.

Pakistan: Christian Flood Victims Forced to Renounce Jesus Christ, Become Slaves to Muslims or Die

Sharia applied to disaster relief for Christians in the Muslim country of Pakistan: 

"More than 60 Christian families in the western Pakistani region of Kasur lost their homes and all worldly possessions when the deluge hit this summer... left to starve if they don't convert to Islam or become modern-day slaves in order to receive help from Muslims or the government..."

by Samuel Smith, Christian Post, via Pravoslavie, August 26, 2015

As torrential flooding spanned across various regions of Pakistan this summer and washed away thousands of homes, Christians in Kasur have received very little humanitarian aid and have been left to starve if they don't convert to Islam or become modern-day slaves in order to receive help from Muslims or the government.

Wilson Chowdhry, the president of the British Pakistani Christian Association, told The Christian Post that there are more than 60 Christian families in the western Pakistani region of Kasur that have lost their homes and all worldly possessions when the deluge hit this summer and washed their mud homes and everything inside them away.

While Muslims in the region have benefited from temporary shelter, clean water and food provided by Pakistani government agencies and Muslim charities, Christians have largely been without those bare necessities and medication needed to fight illnesses that can occur after flooding.

Chowdhry explained that some Muslim charities are giving Christians the option to convert to Islam and renounce Jesus if they want to receive help.

"We are are aware that this community has previously been offered aid from Muslim charities if they convert but they never accept conversion. They hold strong to their faith. They believe God will be their provider," Chowdhry explained. "These families have literally been struggling without food. Churches have opened up their doors but can't provide them much aid because the churches themselves in the region are struggling. We are talking about a very rural part of Pakistan."

Chowdhry added that as desperation started to get the best of the Christian population in Kasur, many Kasur Christians ended up signing bonded labor contracts in order to receive aid from Muslim landlords before BPCA arrived in the region.