EGYPT - Controversy on the Joint Declaration of Pope Francis and Pope Tawadros.

EGYPT - Controversy on the Joint Declaration of Pope Francis and Pope Tawadros. (FIDES).

Cairo (Agenzia Fides) - The Joint Declaration signed on Friday 28 April in Cairo by Pope Francis and Catholic Orthodox Patriarch Tawadros is causing various kinds of reactions within the Orthodox Coptic Church.

In paragraph n. 11 of the text signed last Friday, on the occasion of the visit of the Bishop of Rome to Egypt, the Pope and the Patriarch stated that they: 

"will seek sincerely not to repeat the baptism that has been administered in either of our Churches for any person who wishes to join the other, in obedience to the Holy Scriptures and the faith of the three Ecumenical Councils assembled in Nicaea, Constantinople and Ephesus". 

This passage, signed by Pope Tawadros on behalf of the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Coptic Church, expresses the concrete intention of overcoming the practice of so-called "re-baptism", still administered today by some Christian communities to new faithful coming from other ecclesial confessions.

After the release of the Declaration, blogs and social media began criticising Pope Tawadros, accused by some Coptic exponents of wanting to subdue the Orthodox Coptic Church to the Catholic Church.

Already on Saturday, the Coptic Information Center issued a statement to clarify that the Declaration signed by Pope Francis and Pope Tawadros does not contain a formal agreement on the question of re-baptisms, and is to be interpreted in continuity with the path of theological dialogue that began between the Orthodox Coptic Church and the Catholic Church with the visit that Patriarch Shenuda III made in Rome in 1973 to meet Pope Paul VI.

"All Egyptians, whether Christian or Muslim, were happy and surprised at the visit of Pope Francis to Egypt", reports to Agenzia Fides Anba Boutros Fahim Awad Hanna, Coptic Catholic Bishop of Minya.

"For this reason", adds Anba Boulos, "in the ecclesiastical controversies that are mounting on social media, I see that the devil is trying to ruin the positive atmosphere the Pope left in the Country.

The Declaration is clear and represents an important step towards the future. Pope Tawadros signed it with the consent of the Holy Synod of his Church. Criticism was predictable. Now it is important to move on together, in the path indicated by Pope Francis and Pope Tawadros". (GV) (Agenzia Fides 2/5/2017)

Agenzia Fides - Palazzo “de Propaganda Fide” - 00120 - Città del Vaticano Tel. +39-06-69880115 - Fax +39-06-69880107

The contents of the site are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Iran: Three Christians sentenced to 80 lashes by Sharia court for drinking communion wine.

Iran: Three Christians sentenced to 80 lashes by Sharia court for drinking communion wine. (Express).

Yaser Mosibzadeh, Saheb Fadayee and Mohammed Reza Omidi will be flogged in public after being arrested at a house church gathering in Rasht, Iran, earlier this year.

The trio spent weeks in prison before finally being released on bail, but will now be subjected to the cruel and degrading punishment after being found guilty by Islamist judges. 

Security agents also raided the home of their pastor Yousef Nadarkhani and his wife Fatemeh Pasandideh and arrested them at the same time, but they were not detained.

Iranian authorities later charged converts Mosibzadeh, Fadayee and Omidi for consuming alcohol during a communion service.

It is not illegal for Christians to drink alcohol in Iran but under Islamic law, Muslims are forbidden from drinking and it is illegal for Muslims to convert. 

The trio’s conversion from Islam to Christianity is not recognized by Iranian authorities who subscribe to Sharia law.

An Iranian court sentenced the trio to 80 lashes each as punishment for their actions.

Many people faint after eight strokes due to the severe pain of the barbaric corporal punishment, which was commonplace in the Middle Ages.

The group, alongside Nadarkhani, are also due to be sentenced for “action against national security” at a later date at the Revolutionary Court in Rasht.

Lawyers for the Christians are planning to appeal the flogging punishment, according to Middle East Concern.

Christian charity Release International is calling for the Iranian authorities to allow its citizens to choose their own faith and to acquit the group. 

Release Chief Executive Paul Robinson said: “Why should Christians be lashed for taking communion?

“Why is Iran refusing to allow its own citizens that most basic of all freedoms, the freedom to choose their own faith?

“These men have chosen to call themselves Christians. The state should respect that.”

Christian charity Release International is calling for the Iranian authorities to allow its citizens to choose their own faith and to acquit the group.

Release Chief Executive Paul Robinson said: “Why should Christians be lashed for taking communion?

“Why is Iran refusing to allow its own citizens that most basic of all freedoms, the freedom to choose their own faith?  “These men have chosen to call themselves Christians. The state should respect that.”

Related French: 

http://www.christianophobie.fr/breves/iran-trois-chretiens-condamnes-a-80-coups-de-fouet

http://www.christianophobie.fr/breves/iran-le-pasteur-nadarkhani-libere-mais#.WDBS6H1rX2Y

Hmmm........Outrage by EU politicians.......? Crickets.

Egypt's al-Azhar 'Moderate' Grand Imam: "apostasy punishment should be death".

Egypt's al-Azhar 'Moderate' Grand Imam: "apostasy punishment should be death". (Australian)

About six weeks ago, in a televised address during Ramadan, the leading Muslim cleric in Egypt, Ahmed al-Tayeb, grand imam of al-Azhar University in Cairo, who is hailed as one of the leading “moderate” teachers in the Islamic world, denounced apostasy from Islam as “grand treason”.

He stated categorically: “Those learned in Islam and the imams of the four schools of jurisprudence consider apostasy a crime and agree that the apostate must either renounce his apostasy or else be killed.”

This prominent cleric has been a critic of Islamic State, of Salafist radicals and of the Muslim Brotherhood. He was appointed by former dictator Hosni Mubarak as grand mufti of Egypt and has been welcomed by Pope Francis to the Vatican.

Yet here he is backing condign penalties for apostasy from his religion. Pew Centre surveys across the Muslim world show that many Muslims do not support such penalties, although most Muslims in Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Malaysia do so.

In (Sunni) Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Somalia, as well as (Shia) Iran, death for apostasy is official state policy and has been defiantly defended against UN principles of the universal human right to freedom of religion. Hmmmm.....there is no Islam 'Light', Islam is Islam. Read the full story here.

Palestinian poet gets death sentence for ‘apostasy’ in Saudi Arabia.

Palestinian poet gets death sentence for ‘apostasy’ in Saudi Arabia. (RT).

A Palestinian poet has been sentenced to death by a Saudi Arabian court for allegedly abandoning his Muslim faith, Human Rights Watch reports. The death sentence comes after an initial 2014 verdict that sentenced the poet to four years in prison and 800 lashes.

Poet Ashraf Fayadh was detained in Abha, southwest Saudi Arabia, in 2013 due to allegations by a prosecution witness, who claimed he heard Fayadh cursing God, the Prophet Mohammed and Saudi Arabia. Also, the prosecution alleged offenses based on a book of poems Fayadh had written several years prior to that.

The poet’s friends, however, believe he was being punished for posting a video showing Saudi Arabia’s religious police (mutaween) lashing a man in public.

“They accused me [of] atheism and spreading some destructive thoughts into society,” Fayadh told The Guardian. The book, “Instructions Within,” published in 2008, was “just about me being [a] Palestinian refugee … about cultural and philosophical issues. But the religious extremists explained it as destructive ideas against God.”

Human Rights Watch’s Middle East researcher Adam Coogle, who says he has seen the trial documents, confirmed Friday that the death sentence handed down to Fayadh, a Palestinian national, was on charges of “apostasy.”

“I have read the trial documents from the lower court verdict in 2014 and another one from 17 November. It is very clear he has been sentenced to death for apostasy,” Reuters cited Coogle as saying.

According to the court documents, Fayadh denied the blasphemy accusations, saying he is a faithful Muslim.

“I am repentant to God most high and am innocent of what appeared in my book mentioned in this case,” he said.

The justice system of Saudi Arabia is not only based on Islamic Sharia law, but is also under great influence from the Wahhabi school of Sunni Islam, an ultra-conservative interpretation of Sharia that does not hesitate to designate the death penalty for apostasy and blasphemy. Hmmmm.....The kind of countries we don't need on the UN Human rights council.

'Moderate Islam Myth' 101 - Muslim family are driven from their home... after they converted to Christianity.

'Moderate Islam Myth' 101 - Muslim family are driven from their home... after they converted to Christianity. (DM).

An Asian family who converted to Christianity claim they are being driven out of their home for the second time by Muslim persecutors.

Nissar Hussain, his wife Kubra and their six children said they have suffered an appalling ordeal at the hands of neighbours who regard them as blasphemers.

They claim they are effectively prisoners in their own home after being attacked in the street, having their car windscreens repeatedly smashed and eggs thrown at their windows.

Mr Hussain, 49, has even given up his career as a nurse due to the effect on his health.

Police have been called numerous times to deal with the trouble but are said to be reluctant to treat the problem as a religious hate crime.

Only one successful prosecution has been made, and Mr Hussain said he feels so let down by police he has lodged a complaint with the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

He also criticised the Anglican Church for failing to provide any meaningful support.

Now the family are likely to move from their home city of Bradford to a 'white English' area to escape the hate campaign.

'Our lives have been sabotaged and this shouldn't happen in the United Kingdom,' said Mr Hussain.

'We live in a free democratic society and what they are doing to us is abhorrent.'

The Daily Mail first reported the family's ordeal in 2005 when they accused Muslims of a campaign of ethnic cleansing against them.

A year later they moved to a different part of Bradford to start again.

Neighbours welcomed them into the community and all was well until Mr Hussain took part in a Channel 4 Dispatches TV documentary about the mistreatment of Muslim converts, which was screened in 2008.

They were recognised by a large Muslim family of seven brothers and four sisters living on the same street and were immediately ostracised.

The younger children from both families attended the local Church of England primary school, where a majority of pupils were Muslims of Pakistani heritage, but car sharing trips were soon stopped by the other family.

Mr Hussain said 'word was spread around the playground' about them being Christian converts and their youngest daughter was bullied.

Youngest daughter Leena, now 14, was told by her friends 'our parents say we mustn't mix with you because you are a convert.' Mr Hussain said: 'She was heartbroken and made to feel like a second class citizen.'

Mr Hussain said his wife, 45, and children Issar, 23, Anniesa, 21, Sarah, 19, Miriam, 17, Leena and Isaaq, seven, have faced harassment and abuse on almost a daily basis.

The family were denounced as 'apostates' – a term used for those who renounce a religion for another – which in some hardline Islamic countries is punishable with death.

Flashpoints include an incident in March this year when Mr Hussain ended up grappling with a man who 'threatened and confronted' his wife.

Police were called and Mr Hussain was arrested and spent 12 hours in police cells before being released without charge.

Over the last year, Mr Hussain has had his car windscreen smashed six times at a cost of £5,000. His eldest son, a final year medical student, has also had his windscreen smashed.

Although their faith remains strong, Mr and Mrs Hussain no longer attend church. 'We have given up on the Church of England, they have done nothing for us,' said Mr Hussain.

A meeting, arranged by a friend, with a local imam – who 'listened and promised to help' – also led to nothing, said Mr Hussain. Hmmm.....'Moderate' Islam, many talk about it, but rarely seen. Read and see the full story here.

Interpol And Swedish Authorities Help Saudi Arabia Hunt Down Woman Who Converted From Islam To Christianity

Interpol And Swedish Authorities Help Saudi Arabia Hunt Down Woman Who Converted From Islam To Christianity.HT: InfidelBloggers.From Continental News: Since late July Saudi media have been buzzing with reports that a 28-year-old Saudi woman has embraced Christianity and fled the country, staying initially in a church in Lebanon before moving on to Sweden.
According to the Saudi Gazette, the woman, Maryam, appeared on an Arabic TV channel saying she was tired of performing prayers and fasting during Ramadan — rituals that never brought her any benefit.

She also criticised Saudi Arabia’s Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. She claimed to have been converted through a dream and said that though she was raised to hate Judaism and Christianity she has come to love those religions since finding peace in Christianity. 

 The woman’s father said his daughter was working in an insurance company in Al-Khobar (in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province) when her boss, a Lebanese Christian man, influenced her and ultimately encouraged her to leave Islam. According to Saudi investigators, a second man, a Saudi national, helped the woman obtain false documents and leave the country. The woman’s family have pressed charges against the two men because apostasy (leaving Islam) is an Islamic capital offence and a Saudi woman is not allowed to get a passport without the permission of her male guardian.
The men will face court on Saturday 15 September. Prosecuting lawyer, Humood Al-Khaldi, said that whilst the penalty in Islam of death for apostasy is clear, ‘the roles played by the two men, the Saudi and Lebanese, in making the girl become Christian should be taken into consideration’. He said ‘the court should make sure first that the girl was coerced into converting to Christianity and fleeing the country’. According to Gulf News, ‘Most Saudis reacting to the Khobar woman saga . . . have been calling for stringent action against the Lebanese and Saudi nationals for their alleged roles in the case, claiming that they were “well aware of the consequences of their act”.’ [...] On 2 September the Saudi Gazette reported that ‘Interpol is co-ordinating with the Saudi Embassy in Stockholm and Swedish authorities to return the girl to her homeland before her “kidnappers” move her to another country.’ The embassy reportedly has started a search for the woman, with the aid of Swedish authorities.Read the full story here.

Video - Mohamed Morsi during Egyptian Presidential Elections Campaign: Conversion of Religion Is Allowed If Not Done in Public.

Mohamed Morsi during Egyptian Presidential Elections Campaign: Conversion of Religion Is Allowed If Not Done in Public

Following are excerpts from a program featuring then Egyptian presidential candidate Mohamed Morsi, which aired on Al-Nahar TV and was posted on the Internet on May 19, 2012. Audience member: What is your position regarding religious conversion – from Christianity to Islam or vice versa? This is the first part of my question. Secondly, what is your view on freedom of worship? We know that Article 47 of the 1971 constitution provided for absolute freedom of belief and freedom of worship. Are you in favor of allowing complete freedom of worship? Thirdly, with regard to the right to build places of worship – you've said in the past that it would be done in accordance with the law. Obviously, everything must be done in accordance with the law. If you were presented with a legislative bill that denies Christians the same right as Muslims to build places of worship, would you approve it, or would you send it back to parliament? Moderator: Thank you very much. Be brief, as we are running out of time. Mohamed Morsi: With regard to the first question, about religious conversion, the well-founded principle in Islamic law is that there is no coercion in religion. This means that one must not be forced to believe in a particular religion. It is between me and my Lord. It is between the Egyptian citizen and his Lord. If he wants to change his belief, he is completely free to do so. There is a common misconception with regard to apostates and their punishment by death. This needs to be clarified. As long as the apostate keeps it to himself, rather than proclaiming it in public, thus becoming a danger to society, he should not be punished in accordance with the Islamic punishment for apostasy. However, someone who proclaims his apostasy in public, and calls for others to follow suit, is a danger to society, according to its norms, beliefs, laws, and constitution. If somebody acts in a corrupt and erroneous way in his own home, nobody has the religious or legal right to knock on his door, and ask what he is doing. But once his home turns into a den of iniquity, which threatens society, the law and the shari'a intervene. That's with regard to freedom of belief. With regard to the building of places of worship, your know that our brothers the Copts have the complete right to worship in their own way, according to their creed, and to build their places of worship in accordance with the law. The president no longer has the right to intervene with regard to the construction of some church. You surely know the Church opposed the unified law on places of worship.Source: Memri.

Female Saudi convert to Christianity leaves Lebanon to Turkey

Female Saudi convert to Christianity leaves Lebanon to Turkey.(AA).A 28-year-old woman believed to be a Saudi citizen, who made headlines escaping to Lebanon after converting to Christianity, has now left for Turkey, UAE daily Gulf news reported on Monday. “The Lebanese government has informed the Saudi embassy in Beirut that the girl has left the country for Turkey,” Awadh Aseeri, the Saudi ambassador, said. “The Lebanese authorities said that they were not sure whether the woman would settle in Turkey or would move on to another country,” the Saudi daily Al Sharq. She had allegedly been living in Beirut with assistance from a Saudi national and a Lebanese national. Her case became known, when her father filed a lawsuit against the two men for what he claimed was their role in influencing her and in helping her leave Saudi Arabia without his knowledge.According to Gulfnews, the Saudi envoy said the family had tried to convince the woman to return home amid assurances that she would be safe. Aseer added that were was no evidence indicating that she had converted to Christianity. Reports that she had been living in a church in Beirut were quickly dismissed by local Christian groups. Mariam appeared in video on youtube religious channel called jesussetmefreet talking about how god showed her that Christianity is the right religion in her dreams. She says” I have asked god to show me the truth in my dreams and within a week god showed me that Jesus is his son , if you are uncertain about your religion, if you feel lost, ask god to guide you and he will”
The above video shows Mariam talking to guy who was also Muslim and converted to Christianity. The video is in Arabic with no English subtitles.If Mariam brought back by the Saudi government, she will be charged for apostasy, and she will be given 3 chances to return to Islam, if she didn’t she will face death plenty, in other term ” beheading”.Saudi Arabia adheres to a strict interpretation of Sharia law where committing "Ridda" (the religious term for when Muslims denounce Islam or convert to other religions) can be subjected to the death penalty.Hmmmm....A pity the Obama Admin report on 'religious freedom' missed this.Read the full story here.

Russia, Krymsk - Muslim Crosses Over to Christianity After Deadly Flood.

Russia, Krymsk - Muslim Crosses Over to Christianity After Deadly Flood.(RN).Krymsk - The deadly flashflood that killed 152 in southern Russia this month prompted a local adherent of Islam to change religion, an Orthodox Christian priest told RIA Novosti. The Krasnodar region resident was visiting the city of Krymsk, which bore the brunt of the disaster, when the flood hit on July 7, Archpriest Sergei Karpets said. The man, whose name was withheld, was not in the disaster zone, but was impressed by the “Christian unity” of people involved in the cleanup, Karpets said on late Tuesday. The Muslim requested to be baptized, but will have to wait until the cleanup is ended because the priests will first have to educate him in the basics of the faith he is seeking to accept, Karpets said. He gave no timeframe for the baptism. Apostasy is punishable by death in Islamic Shariah law. Hmmmm.....The lord works in 'mysterious ways'?Read the full story here.

Video - Ex-Muslims Testify on Islamic Intolerance in America... Denounce Islam, CAIR Council.

Video - Islam was not for me – Amil Imani (Free Iran).

Video - Islam was not for me – Amil Imani (Free Iran).(TCJR).Iranians are leaving Islam behind. If any country is ready to leave Islam, it is Iran. Good luck to all Iranians fighting for freedom.Amil Imani is an Iranian-American writer, poet, satirist, novelist, essayist, literary translator, public speaker and political analyst who has been writing and speaking out about the danger of radical Islam both in America and internationally. He has become a formidable voice in the United States against the danger of global jihad and Islamization of America. Imani is the author of the riveting book Obama Meets Ahmadinejad and a new book “OPERATION PERSIAN GULF".By Amil Imani.

Turkish Muslims slam blasphemous article on Yahoo News.

Turkish Muslims slam blasphemous article on Yahoo News.(TZ).An article on popular news website Yahoo News on Monday has drawn widespread criticism from Turkish theologians for its blasphemous content and manipulation of fundamental Islamic principles. The controversial article, written by Donald Pennington, refers to Islam in its headline as “dangerous” and “outdated” and suggests that it should be rejected by all.
Referring to the conviction of a Kuwaiti man, Hamad al-Naqi, to a 10-year jail sentence for insulting the Prophet Muhammad, it describes Islam as a threat to the freedom of expression. The article also claims that Islamic law calls for the death of anyone choosing to leave Islam. Professor Hamdi Döndüren, a theologian, said the allegations in Pennington’s article are groundless and based on ignorance about fundamental Islamic principles.
Regarding the allegation that Islamic law calls for the death of anyone leaving Islam, Döndüren explained that this generalization has been made without taking into account the background of one incident. He said that during the era of Prophet Muhammad only one man was killed because he converted from Islam to another religion several times in an attempt to create public unrest in the Islamic community. At that time the punishment for inciting public unrest was the death penalty. 
Döndüren also warned that the publication of such articles that insult Islam and the Prophet Muhammad foment Islamophobia in the West. Pennington’s article also referred to the protests in the Islamic world in response to a Danish cartoonist’s publication of images of the Prophet Muhammad in 2005. He claimed that the controversy showed that “any religion with such vehement hatred for free expression must be kept in check.” Professor Ömer Faruk Harman, another theologian, said he supports freedom of expression, but this does not mean that people are free to insult the values of another person. “One can enjoy freedom of expression as long as they do not violate the freedom of others. For instance, a Muslim cannot use insulting statements about Jesus Christ,” Harman said. He also rejected the claim in the controversial article about the killing of those leaving Islam and said such a practice would be in conflict with the freedom of conscience in Islam. According to Harman, the reason for frequent attempts among Western writers to present their own misinterpretation of Islam is because Islam has since its birth been seen as a threat to the spread of Christianity.Read the full story here.

Update - More on the Slaughtered Convert to Christianity.

Update - More on the Slaughtered Convert to Christianity.(MEF).By Raymond Ibrahim.

Jihad Watch.

I just received an email from the editor of a large website, who posted my story from yesterday about the slaughtered apostate. He writes:

The story generated a huge number of commentaries from readers, some of them originating from Muslim Countries. They harshly dispute and deny the veracity of the facts you mention in your paper. Some argue that this abomination did not take place in Tunisia—and I do believe so—but somewhere in Iraq, that the young man is not a Christian but a Shiite, that he was not slaughtered for apostasy but for being a spy of the Americans, and so on… It's true that the facts are not properly documented : we don't know even the date of this event, the place, the name of this unfortunate young man… Do you have any additional details and data to help answering ? Many thanks for your kind and urgent attention.

I responded with a quick list of facts, which I repost here, enlarged and augmented, for anyone else interested:

• Fact 1: The Egyptian TV host, who recently aired this video—which went viral on the Arabic blogosphere on Sunday, when I wrote my report—said this occurred in Tunisia. Yes, others have subsequently said that this was in Iraq, others in Syria; but, from what people have sent me, the only "evidence" is the same video—but with a title that indicates Iraq or Syria. Personally, I am inclined to believe a formal Arabic current events program devoted to the topic than an anonymous Internet posting with no further details. Either way, the issue is less which country, and more why the man was slaughtered. Read on.
• Fact 2: The Muslim narrator who speaks while the man is being slaughtered specifically names and continually condemns "apostasy"—the crime of leaving Islam—and even calls the executed man an apostate, i.e., the man is being slaughtered for apostasy, a capital offence in Islam. If the world is not surprised that the actual "government" of a Muslim nation, Iran, is preparing to execute a man simply for converting to Christianity, are we supposed to be surprised when roaming bands of jihadis take it upon themselves to execute apostates to Christianity in their midst?
• Fact 3: The Muslim narrator specifically names and condemns al-mushrikin, and calls the executed man a mushrik—i.e., a "polytheist"; in fact, he calls him a mushrik murtadd, an "apostate to polytheism": this is the standard appellation for Christians, who are regularly called polytheists for "associating" Jesus with God. Yes, there are other religions deemed polytheistic in Islam, such as Hinduism, but one rarely if ever hears of Muslims in the Middle East converting to, and dying for, Hinduism, whereas conversion to Christianity—with all the attendant consequences—is a regular occurrence. Moreover, the overwhelming majority of apostasy cases, from one end of the Muslim world to the other, cases of attacks, imprisonments, etc., deal with Muslim converts to Christianity (see my monthly Muslim Persecution of Christians reports for an idea).
• Fact 4: My contacts in the Middle East, many well-connected with the doings of the region, regularly see and hear of such things, and are confident that he was beheaded for converting to Christianity. The reader is free to hold their opinions as biased or subjective; but if so, why hold the protests of Muslim apologists, equally biased and subjective, as more authoritative, especially in light of history, doctrine, and ongoing current events, which support the former opinion?
• Fact 5: Muslim apologists always deny anything and everything that makes Islam look bad and will, naturally, try to put the best spin on this video—turning the victim into the aggressor, portraying him as a "traitor," a "spy," etc.—just like the Iranian regime, after unequivocally stating that Pastor Nadarkhani is to be executed for converting to Christianity, began backtracking by saying he is to be executed for being a "Zionist spy," an "extortionist," etc.

At day's end—and here is the most indisputable fact all apologists and detractors need contend with—we are left with a man having his head sliced off while his murderers scream Islamic slogans and accuse him of apostasy.

Raymond Ibrahim is a Shilliman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center and an Associate Fellow at the Middle East Forum.

receive the latest by email: subscribe to the free mef mailing listThis text may be reposted or forwarded so long as it is presented as an integral whole with complete information provided about its author, date, place of publication, and original URL.

Extremely Graphic Video: Muslims Slaughter "Apostate" in Tunisia.

Extremely Graphic Video: Muslims Slaughter "Apostate" in Tunisia.(GI).Liberal talk show host Tawfiq Okasha recently appeared on "Egypt Today," airing a video of Muslims slicing off a young man's head off for the crime of apostasy -- in this instance, the crime of converting to Christianity and refusing to renounce it. The video—be warned, it is immensely graphic—can be seen here (the actual execution appears from minute 1:13-4:00). For those who prefer not to view it, a summary follows:
A young man appears held down by masked men. His head is pulled back, with a knife to his throat. He does not struggle and appears resigned to his fate. Speaking in Arabic, the background speaker, or "narrator," chants a number of Muslim prayers and supplications, mostly condemning Christianity, which, because of the Trinity, is referred to as a polytheistic faith: "Let Allah be avenged on the polytheist apostate";
"Allah empower your religion, make it victorious against the polytheists"; "Allah, defeat the infidels at the hands of the Muslims," and "There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger."
Then, to cries of "Allahu Akbar!"— Allah is greater!"—the masked man holding the knife to the apostate's throat begins to slice away, severing the head completely after approximately one minute of graphic knife-carving, as the victim drowns in blood. Finally, the severed head is held aloft to more Islamic slogans of victory.
Visibly distraught, Tawfiq Okasha, the host, asks: "Is this Islam? Does Islam call for this? How is Islam related to this matter?...These are the images that are disseminated throughout the electronic media in Europe and America…. Can you imagine?" Then, in reference to Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood and Salafis, whose political influence has grown tremendously, he asks, "How are such people supposed to govern?"
Finally, a word on the "prayers" or supplications to Allah made by the Muslim executioners in the video: these are standard and formulaic. In other words, these are not just masked, anonymous butchers who pray to Allah as they engage in acts of cutting throats and holding up heads, these are top-ranking Muslim leaders, who appear regularly on TV, who invoke such hate-filled prayers.
 "Is this Islam?" You decide.Read the full story here.

Raymond Ibrahim is an Associate Fellow at the Middle East Forum and a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center.

Salafi Leader: No Freedom in Islam; Apostates Must be Persecuted

Salafi Leader: No Freedom in Islam; Apostates Must be Persecuted.(MEF).By Raymond Ibrahim.Jihad Watch.

Last month, Sheikh Yassir al-Burhami, a prominent figure in Egypt's Salafi movement—who also hates Christian Copts, hates Mother's Day, and is an advocate of taqiyya—appeared on the Egyptian show Al Hayat Al Youm ("Life Today"), giving his views on the presidential candidates. At one point, the host asked Burhami which of the policies of Abu al-Futuh—the "liberal" Islamist candidate who lost out to the more "conservative" Muslim Brotherhood candidate—he especially rejected.
Burhami started vaguely, saying "There were some things we were concerned about," adding that they met and discussed these matters with Abu al-Futuh, and how the latter had clarified his position, finally agreeing that he might need to revise his opinion.
Then Burhami made clear what the issue at hand was: Apostasy—if Muslims have the right to leave Islam and convert to other religions. In the words of Burhami:

Is it the right of the Muslim to convert to Christianity or another religion? Of course this is not a right; this is a matter that Sharia has clearly addressed, according to the agreed upon hadiths. It is impermissible, for any reason, for a Muslim to leave the community. Of course, you cannot coerce any infidel to enter into Islam [Koran 2:256]—except for the apostate. It is impossible to let the apostate remain in [a state of] apostasy, deeming it a form of "freedom."

For the record, the "agreed upon hadiths" that Burhami indicated, are, in fact, unequivocal in regards to the crime of apostasy. The most canonical and oft cited among them simply has Muhammad saying: "Whoever leaves his religion, kill him."

receive the latest by email: subscribe to the free mef mailing listThis text may be reposted or forwarded so long as it is presented as an integral whole with complete information provided about its author, date, place of publication, and original URL.

The Salman Rushdie of music? Iran calls for killing of ‘apostate’ rap artist.

The Salman Rushdie of music? Iran calls for killing of ‘apostate’ rap artist.(AA).Ayatollah Safi Golpayegani, a Shi’ite cleric based in the holy Iranian city of Qom, has issued a death sentence against rap artist Shahin Najafi for apostasy, the Persian-language Al Arabiya website reported on Wednesday. The sentence was issued after Najafi released a controversial song called “Naqi.” The song sparked a furor among protesters who believe it to be offensive to Imam Naqi, the tenth Imam in Shi’ite Islam. News website Asr Iran, which is closely tied to the regime in Tehran, launched an online campaign calling for the hanging of Najafi. The website stated that the aim of the campaign was to have Najafi condemned for apostasy, a crime that carries the death penalty in Iran. The campaign organizers have called on all Shi’ites and Muslims in general to find and kill Najafi and “send him to hell,” according to the website. Najafi, 31, was an underground artist during his time in Iran, and was banned by the authorities from performing in the country. He moved to Germany in recent years where he joined a group called “Tapesh 2012” which performs politically-motivated songs in Persian.Read the full story here.