ISIS renames Christian City which had the word 'Monastery' as part of its name

This is consistent with Islam's historical trend of appropriating or wiping out all traces of the cultures and faiths it conquers. This is also a case study in how U.S. support for the "Free Syrian Army" in 2012 aided the rise of ISIS. 

Pravoslavie — February 9, 2015

(Deir ez-Zor, February 4, 2015)  The Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor which for many centuries was the haven for Christians of north-eastern Syria today has lost its Christian name—now its occupants-islamists call it “Wilayat ul-Hayr”, reports the Calam1 portal.

Thus, islamists, members of “The Islamic State” terrorist organization have decided to abolish the very name of the city which since the 8th century has had the word “deir”, that is, “monastery”, as part of its name that refers to Christianity and the Christian heritage of Syria.

However, the new place name, “Wilayat ul-Hayr” (Arabic: “Wilayat of good”) is intended to remind the residents of the new order of life of religious minorities on the territory occupied by ISIS.

According to the eyewitnesses’ evidence, early in 2012 many residents of Deir ez-Zor rose against the Syrian ruling regime which enabled the “Free Syrian Army” militants to take some positions in the city. But already in 2013-2014, following the consolidation of Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS both politically and militarily some Christians of the city resolved to leave their homes.

Saudi Arabia Is Building A 600-Mile 'Great Wall' To Shield Itself From ISIS

Sign of the Times is rich with Historical Irony: "Those Muslims that Saudi Arabia is trying to keep out are the very same Muslims most nurtured and influenced by a Saudi — or “Wahabbi,” or “Salafi” — worldview."

Living and Dying by the Sword of Jihad

by Raymond Ibrahim, February 19, 2015

In a move reminiscent of “ancient history,” Saudi Arabia is building a 600-mile-long “Great Wall”—a combined fence and ditch—to separate itself from the Islamic State to the north in Iraq:

Plans for the 600-mile wall and ditch Saudi Arabia will build with Iraq in an effort to insulate itself from the chaos engulfing its neighbors. 

Much of the area on the Iraqi side is now controlled by Isil [the Islamic State], which regards the ultimate capture of Saudi Arabia, home to the “Two Holy Mosques” of Mecca and Medina, as a key goal…

The irony here is that those Muslims that Saudi Arabia is trying to keep out are the very same Muslims most nurtured and influenced by a Saudi — or “Wahabbi,” or “Salafi” — worldview.

Put differently, Saudi Arabia is again appreciating how jihad is a volatile instrument of war that can easily backfire on those who support it.  “Holy war” is hardly limited to fighting and subjugating “infidels” — whether the West in general, Israel in particular, or the millions of non-Muslim minorities under Islam — but also justifies fighting “apostates,” that is, Muslims accused of not being Islamic enough.

Muslim Persecution of Christians: A 1,400 Year Saga

Muslim persecution of Christians is as old as Islam.

by Raymond Ibrahim, February 5, 2015

A Coptic church burns in 2011,

just as thousands of Coptic churches

before it were burned over the course

of almost 14 centuries, since Islam

invaded and colonized Egypt.

The one glaring fact concerning the persecution of approximately 100 million Christians around the world today is that the overwhelming majority of it is being committed by Muslims of all races, nationalities, languages, and socio-political circumstances: Muslims from among America’s allies (Saudi Arabia) and from its enemies (Iran); Muslims from economically rich nations (Qatar) and from poor nations (Somalia and Yemen); Muslims from “Islamic republic” nations (Afghanistan) and from “moderate” nations (Malaysia and Indonesia); Muslims from nations rescued by America (Kuwait) and Muslims from nations claiming “grievances” against the U.S. (fill in the blank __).

This fact is underscored in Open Doors’ recent 2015 World Watch List—a report that highlights and ranks the 50 worst nations persecuting Christians.  It finds that “Islamic extremism” is the main source of persecution in 40 of the top 50 countries—that is, 80 percent of the nations where Christians are persecuted are Muslim.  As for the top ten worst countries persecuting Christians, nine of them are Muslim-majority—that is, 90 percent of nations where Christians experience “extreme persecution” are Muslim.

Still, considering that the 2015 World Watch List ranks North Korea—non-Islamic, communist—as the number one worst persecutor of Christians, why belabor the religious identity of Muslims?  Surely Christian persecution is not intrinsic to the Islamic world, but is a product of repressive regimes and other socio-economic factors—as the North Korean example suggests and as many analysts and media maintain?

Here we come to some critically important but blurred distinctions.   While Christians are indeed suffering extreme persecution in North Korea, these fall into the realm of the temporal and aberrant.  Something as simple as overthrowing the North Korean regime would likely end persecution there overnight—just as the fall of Communist Soviet Union saw religious persecution come to a quick close.

In the Islamic world, however, a similar scenario would not alleviate the sufferings of Christians by an iota.  Quite the opposite; where dictators fall (often thanks to U.S. intervention)—Saddam in Iraq, Qaddafi in Libya, and ongoing attempts against Assad in Syria—Christian persecution dramatically rises.  Today Iraq is the third worst nation in the world in which to be Christian, Syria fourth, and Libya 13th.

The Quiet Christian Insurgency in the Middle East

This excellent article describes the creative efforts of Christian converts from Islam, who present Muslims with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and thus counter the global jihad with the Love of the True God, presented with the help of social media and modern publishing tools.

We Orthodox, Copts and Oriental Christian can learn a great deal from such efforts, and be inspired to a new activism of our own.

by Katie Gorka, Breitbart News, February 12, 2014

While the U.S. government continues to search for an information campaign that can effectively weaken ISIS and other radical groups, Christians have been waging a surprisingly successful war of ideas against radical Islam.

The New York Times recently published an article on an initiative by Maj. Gen. Michael K. Nagata, commander of American Special Operations forces in the Middle East, which brought together a group of experts to figure out a strategy for weakening the Islamic State’s appeal. But according to the article, General Nagata expressed a dismay that has become a common theme of the Obama administration: “We have not defeated the idea. We do not even understand the idea.”

The State Department’s counter-terrorism messaging initiative equally fails to inspire confidence. The Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications (CSCC) was created in 2011. With a budget of about $5 million and a team of 50 as of 2014, it works to counter the tweets and Facebook posts of jihadists. It is best known for its campaign, Think Again Turn Away. Its current Facebook page, which has 10,455 likes, features the question, “ISIS: Why is Your ‘Caliph’ Hiding?” It maintains a count of the days since Baghdadi was last seen (220 as of February 9, 2015).

But the campaign has about as much subtlety as the “Just Say No” campaign against drugs. As Jacob Silverman, an author who writes about social media, noted, “State’s messages usually arrive with all the grace of someone’s dad showing up at a college party.”

Islamic State: “Great Reward” for Killing Coptic Christians

How the Islamic State justifies the killing of all Christians anywhere, in the context of collective punishment. 

by Raymond Ibrahim, February 13, 2015

Some of the 21 Coptic Christians executed by the Islamic State in Libya

The following excerpt from the Islamic State captures well the perverse logic that its many members and even more sympathizers operate on.  It recently appeared in an Islamic State report explaining why the jihadis already did... execute 21 Coptic Christian workers abducted in (post-”Arab Spring”) Libya.   The justification begins by positioning the 2010 Islamic raid on the Our Lady of Salvation Church in Iraq — where nearly 60 Christian worshippers were slaughtered (graphic pictures here) — as a response to the absurd allegations (based on Muslim projection) that the Coptic Church of Egypt was forcing — and killing — Muslim women to convert to Christianity.   In short, the Islamic State justifies the killing, not only of Coptic Christians, but all Christians anywhere, in the context of, yet again, “collective punishment.”  The excerpt follows, interspersed with my observations (emphases mine):

Names of the Martyrs and Statement on the Martyrdom of 21 Coptic Christians in Libya

COPTIC ORTHODOX CHURCH of ALEXANDRIA
Diocese of Los Angeles, Southern California and Hawaii

His Grace Bishop Serapion, along with the clergy and laity of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles, offers prayers, condolences, and sympathy to the families of the 21 Coptic martyrs of Libya who received the crown of eternal life on February 13, 2015.

We pray that the Lord may receive their pure souls in the Paradise of Joy and grant them eternal rest in the company of all of the holy saints who have pleased Him.

We encourage our children to share their names rather than continue to post the videos and photos of their martyrdom. Our Holy Church depicts martyrs as victorious in Her sacred iconography. Thus, it is more suitable to remember their names in our prayers as those who were victorious over the world and the evil in the world rather than to focus on the gruesome depiction of their martyrdom.

The Martyrs’ Names

The names of the martyrs are:

Orthodox Bishop: ‘We Palestinian Christians Say Allahu Akbar’

I hesitate to comment much on this story, except to point out that zealous Muslims all over the world routinely scream "Allahu Akbar" when slaughtering their victims. Out of over 25,150 Muslim terrorist attacks since 9/11/01, I think it's safe to estimate that in upwards of 25,148 of them, the Muslim terrorists were screaming "Allahu Akbar" when they were shooting, stabbing or self-detonating. What Christian, Arabic-speaking or not, would want to self-identify with that phrase?

I might also point out that in Malaysia, the Muslim community has been using everything from threats and open persecution of Christians, to the country's legal system, to forbid Arabic-speaking Christians from referring to God as "Allah." Malaysian Muslims would likely be rioting in the streets (or firebombing the church) if a Christian hierarch there made such statements.

Lastly, the situation for Palestinian Christians is considerably more complex and precarious vis a vis Muslims than this interview indicates, as per these reports:

• Christian Arabs beatify their Palestinian nightmare
• Muslim threats and attacks force Christians out of East Jerusalem church
• Treatment of Palestinian Christians “Medieval”
• Jihadists persecuting Palestinian Christians in Gaza
• Palestinian Christians fear their country might become an Islamic state

Orthodox Bishop: ‘We Palestinian Christians Say Allahu Akbar’

The only Palestinian Orthodox Christian bishop in the Holy Land speaking about the suffering of Palestinian Christians, their unity with Muslims in the Palestinian struggle, about Orthodox Christian martyrs, and Ukraine.

Nadezhda Kevorkova — February 3, 2015 — Pravmir.com

Nadezhda Kevorkova is a war correspondent who has covered the events of the Arab Spring, military and religious conflicts around the world, and the anti-globalization movement.

Archbishop Sebastia Theodosios (Atallah Hanna), 49, is the only Orthodox Christian archbishop from Palestine stationed in Jerusalem and the Holy Land, while all other bishops of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem are Greeks. The Israeli authorities had detained him several times, or stopped him at the border, and taken away his passport. Among all Jerusalem clergymen he is the only one who has no privilege of passing through the VIP gate in the airport – because of his nationality. “For the Israeli authorities, I am not a bishop, but rather a Palestinian,” explains his Beatitude. When talking on the phone he says a lot of words you would normally hear from a Muslim: “Alhamdulillah, Insha’Allah, Masha’Allah”. He speaks Arabic, and the Arabic for ‘god’ is Allah, whether you are a Christian or a Muslim.

Your Beatitude, what’s it like being the Palestinian bishop in the Holy Land?

Firstly, I’d like to confirm that I am the only Palestinian bishop in the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. A fellow bishop is serving in the city of Irbid in the north of Jordan; and there are also several Palestinian priests.

I take pride in belonging to this great religious institution that’s over 2,000 years old.

My church has been protecting the Christian presence in the Holy Land and the sacred items related to the life of Christ and Christian Church history.

I am proud of my religion and nationality, I am proud to belong to my fatherland. I am a Palestinian, and I belong to this religious people who are fighting for the sake of their freedom and dignity to implement their dreams and national rights.

I support Palestinians and share their cause and their issues. We the Palestinian Orthodox Christians are not detached from their hardships.

'The Nightmare' — Europa and the Incubus

Europe, Britain and the West are pinned down by Sleep Paralysis beneath the weight of Islam and Muslim Immigration

by Ralph H. Sidway

The Nightmare, by Henry Fuseli (1781); a visual metaphor for the Incubus of Islam sitting astride the paralyzed, sleeping Europa.

Sometimes an image — a metaphor — is much more effective at presenting truth than even the most persuasive argument or laying out of facts.  'The Nightmare' is such an image.

Europeans may still have some dim collective memory of the Muslim conquest of the Iberian peninsula (Spain) in the early 8th century, of Islam’s nearly successful colonization of the rest of Western Europe (Gaul, etc.), of centuries of Muslim raids on Italy, of Muslim piracy and dominance in the Mediterranean Sea, of repeated Muslim attempts to invade Europe through the Balkans, and of the eventual fall of Constantinople in 1453, and of Turkish crimes against the Greeks during the 18th and 19th centuries and the Armenian Genocide in the early 20th.

Then there are the great, providential battles and movements which halted, turned back and expelled the Muslim invaders from the West: Charles Martel (“the Hammer”) and his victory in the Battle of Tours (732), the “Reconquista” of Spain, the valiant self-sacrifice of Tsar-Martyr Lazar and the Serbs at the Battle of Kosovo (1389), and the famous defense of Europe against the Ottoman Muslims at the Gates of Vienna in 1683.

Yet today’s Europe seems completely moribund, ignoring both its own history as well as the history of Islamic expansion. 

It is as if Europa and her Sisters (England, America, Canada, Australia, etc.) suffer from a nightmarish sleep paralysis like helpless maidens of old, the Islamic incubus pinning her down and completely sapping her will and strength to resist. 

The British have all but surrendered already, turning a blind eye to Muslim rape gangs preying on thousands of British girls, trampling on freedom of speech by shutting down criticism of Islam, and advancing Sharia courts and Islamic finance systems. The realm which gave us the Magna Carta is behaving as if she may voluntarily raise the black flag of jihad over Buckingham Palace, a final token act of appeasement as the Islamic crocodile gnaws on England’s extremities.

ISIS Targets Rome, ‘Nation of the Cross’, in Libya Beheading Video

“ISIS is at the door, warns Italy.”

by Ralph H. Sidway

In addition to using their savage beheadings and subsequent videos to try to “hotwire the apocalypse,” as Islam historian and Mahdi specialist Timothy Furnish calls it, in the most recent ISIS video, showing the beheading in Libya of twenty one Coptic Christian men, the narrator proclaimed an ominous goal.

According to a report by Jordan Schachtel of Breitbart News:

The Islamic State’s Al Hayat Media, the group that has published the previous beheading videos in the Middle East, produced the Libya video titled, “A Message Signed With Blood To The Nation Of The Cross.” 

“All praise is due to Allah the strong and mighty,” said an ISIS jihadist dressed in military fatigues in American-accented English. “And may blessings and peace be upon the ones sent by the sword as a mercy to all the worlds,” he added... 

After the ISIS leader finishes speaking, his fellow terrorists then commence the beheading of the 21 Egyptian Christians. “And we will conquer Rome, by Allah’s permission, the promise of our Prophet, peace be upon him,” The militant leader says after his comrades slaughter the Christian hostages.

Dynamic Map of the Crusades vs the Global Jihad

Some of you may have seen this.  It is such a powerful resource that I wanted to post it here.  Share widely.

Raymond Ibrahim offers this introduction:

Speaking of the Crusades (as Obama recently did ), Dr. Bill Warner of the Center for the Study of Political Islam has created a nifty video (below) that maps out the location and amount of jihads throughout the centuries versus the location and amount of crusades throughout the centuries.   The sheer volume and ubiquity of jihads radically dwarfs the much more maligned crusades — placing in context the significance, or need, for the latter, which as discussed here, were “in every way defensive wars.”

For a text list of the battles Bill Warner refers to, see his post The Jihad That Led to the Crusades.