Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Missionaries focus on Morocco in 2002 |
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| M.F. |
| 12/24/01 at 09:30:51 |
| Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah, I just found out that missionaries and Christians all over the world are going focus their energy on Morocco in the year 2002. There's a program called EDITED they have a website but I don't know if I'm allowed to post it, but you can find it easily if you do a search. They're distributing flyers, videos and I don't know what all to missionaries and anyone who's interested, and they're going to send more and more people here, and they're also encouraging all the churches in the world to pray for Morocco. They already have quite a network here. There are christians who run orphanages and raise the children as christians. The way they work is: if you feed hungry people, they'll follow anything you want them to do. My question is: What can I do about it?? I'd love to sue them all and get them out of this country. It's against the law to prostlitize, but they're so subtle in their means, you can never prove anything. I would at LEAST like to send them a very good argument by email using the ayahs in the Qur'an that speak about Isa and Maryam, but I don't want to just copy and paste them into an email, they already know all that stuff. I'm not very good at approaching this kind of thing with hikma because I get very upset and angry too so I'd like to ask for your help. What can I do? |
| Re: Missionaries focus on Morocco in 2002 |
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| bhaloo |
| 12/24/01 at 09:54:32 |
| slm This section talks about Jesus (as): http://www.plaintruth.org/chapters/chapter01-2-3.htm Actually the whole website is very good and some good information for Muslim/Christian dialogue: http://www.plaintruth.org I've gone ahead and removed the name, because such organizations shouldn't be given any credibility. I used to deal with these types of missionary people (including all the major missionary websites out there) a lot in the past and am aware of what tactics they use. They will not engage anyone with even some knowledge, and those that do, give up after a few weeks. Ibn Taymiyya's Al-Jawab Al-Sahih At the time of Ibn Tayymiya, a Melikite (A past Christian sect, which is closer to Catholicism of today) bishop wrote a 26-page pamphlet with high hopes to convert the Muslims. He imagined that he met a group of Christians who were coming from the Muslim's land, and he asked them some questions, and they answered back. This imaginary dialogue made his 26-page pamphlet. The Muslim scholars who received this pamphlet were disturbed. At that time, the Crusades were beginning, and the Muslims in Syria were well aware of the breeze which preceded the terrors in Andalusia. Basically, these missionary efforts used to take place to divide the Muslims and the Christians living among the Muslims, this way, some kind of disorder will take place, they would take advantage of this division, the crusaders will storm the Muslims in a bloody war. Before Ibn Tayymiya took the confrontation, he was aware of the refutations that the notable scholar, Imaam Abu Al-Waleeb Al-Baaji and Ibn Hazm went through to reply to the Christian attacks in Andalusia. And when the 26-page pamphlet was distributed, besides Ibn Tayymiya, Al-Ghazali wrote his reply: Al-Radd Al-Jameel. And Al-Quraafi wrote his reply: Al-Ajwiba Al-Fakhira (The Unique Replies). But Ibn Tayymiya (as usual), locked himself up, and wrote his reply in a 7 volume book! The book teaches the Muslim, and the neutral reader how to think when studying Christianity. The proofs which are presented might be outdated for the Protestant Christian, simply because Protestantism was not born when Ibn Tayymiya wrote his book. However, the book is certainly a mind booster in its logical arguments compared to its scriptural arguments. For example, when Ibn Tayymiya compares the Quran as a miracle and the miracles of Jesus (Note, the translator does not include any proofs that Ibn Tayymiya discussed about the authenticity of the Islamic sources), he writes, "They say that Prophet Jesus (p) healed the blind. Okay, other honorable prophets healed the blind as well, not only that, but didn't the staff of Moses (p) turn into a snake--with, most probably, two eyes on the top of its head?" And he talks about Jesus being God, and the Son of God, and he says, "How can he be the Creator and the son of Himself? How can he be a messenger from himself? Is it logical to say that 'My father is sitting over there, and He is me?' or 'I was sent my God, who is myself?'" He talks about the fallacy of dividing the attributes from the essence, and he comments on the claim that Jesus is the Word and God Himself: "Their book says [and he quotes] that in the beginning there was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And then, they claim that this word is Jesus. We say that this is illogical. If Prophet Jesus (p) was the Word, then how did this word come to be? Is it logical to think that a word can exist all by itself without someone previously writing it or uttering it?" Unlike the Greek and the Roman logicians, the Muslim thinkers offer the problems they see in Christianity without denying the existence of God. In all their replies to Christianity, their content always portrays Jesus as an honorable prophet, they write about him with love, they respect him, his disciples, his mother, and their followers, without degrading them, but they also present sever and problematic questions to the Christian doctrines which were placed by the Churches of the past and which are embraced by most fanatic Christians of today. This book is over 3,000 pages long and is in 7 volumes. |
| Re: Missionaries focus on Morocco in 2002 |
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| NewJehad |
| 12/24/01 at 17:16:20 |
| Why do the missoneries function in the Muslim world and not here? The answer is : the difference between truth and falsehood is clear. It is imposible to convince any one that the trinity or divinity os jesus is true. even if the one doing the convincing was the most knowledgeable man in the world and the one being preached to was the most ignorent. Islam is clearly true and christianity is clearly false, we dont need scholers to prove this as it it there for all to see. The reason why they go there and not here is they dont convice by argument(so argument will be useless against them), they convice with food and lies. Here the state does its job to look after people, so they cant convince people that the trinity is true by throwing food at them. So they go to places with evil governments which steal the peoples wealth and refuse to do anything to stop them starving. They set up ophanages, cause they know kids are empty books, so they teach our kids their evil ways there in the same way they teach their own. They set up schools that are better then the state ones, so dumb Muslim parents end their kids there to learn maths and English, while they teach them, which the kids except as fact with out thinking as that is what schools are about, at the same time they tell the kids christianity which is some times excepted with out thinking, cause for some it becomes a habit. The ragimes want this, cause its the Muslims who are trying to replace them due to wanting to be ruled by islam, so the ragimes incharage Christian Missionaries. only way to solve this is to remove the evil apostate governments. |
| Re: Missionaries focus on Morocco in 2002 |
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| gift |
| 01/07/02 at 05:37:05 |
| [slm] [quote]I'm not very good at approaching this kind of thing with hikma because I get very upset and angry too[/quote] i know!! i'm studying arabic and law at university and there is a guy in my class who we muslims discovered is only learning arabic to aid him in his missionary work ):( [wlm] |
| Re: Missionaries focus on Morocco in 2002 |
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| M.F. |
| 01/07/02 at 06:01:26 |
[quote] i know!! i'm studying arabic and law at university and there is a guy in my class who we muslims discovered is only learning arabic to aid him in his missionary work ):( [/quote] Assalamu alaikum, It seems to me and I may be completely wrong that the people who study Arabic and Middle eastern studies are either missionaries, or future military/information/intelligence (I mean spy) personnel :( They're SO dedicated and they learn SO fast :( |
| Re: Missionaries focus on Morocco in 2002 |
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| Ayla |
| 01/07/02 at 10:03:58 |
| Mariam - Just to speak up. I am studying Arabic and Middle-Eastern Studies and am neither a Missionary nor have any intention of working for intellegence/defence. Quite the opposite actually. I am bothered by the misunderstanding and assumptions made by those around me. My interest is fueled by respect and no interest to change others. I am interested in the literature and history of the Arab world and study to learn more. Also, missionaries tend to be fanatics in my experiance. A term that rarely means they have the best intentions. For Christians to "spread the word of god and do good works in his name" is essential, but that doesn't necessarily mean the same thing as pushy/preachy/missionarism. I think fanatasism is usually fueled by such an intence belief that it's almost impossible to reason with them. Good luck though - Morocco is a beautiful counrty full of welcoming and fascinating people. I will cherish the time I spent there forever. |
| Re: Missionaries focus on Morocco in 2002 |
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| Rashid |
| 01/07/02 at 16:31:52 |
| [slm] The missionaries go to Morocco and anywhere else in the Muslim world for that matter. Meanwhile, Europeans and Americans are leaving christianity in droves and accepting the kalimah of La Ilaha Illa Allah wa Muhammad Rasulullah. I have recently heard that according to some reports, the number of shahadah after 9-11 has been up to 47,000 people in USA alone. Allah says in the Qur'an that when a people decide to leave Islam, he will give it to another group of people. And this is because Allah does not need anyone. But obviously the missionaries are having success in the Muslim world and this is cause for concern. And it's due to the very same reasons br. New Jehad stated: corrupt tyrants who don't meet the basic needs of their people and don't lead by example. How can a nation function when its leadership are open enemies of Allah and his Messenger? [slm] |
| Re: Missionaries focus on Morocco in 2002 |
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| gift |
| 01/08/02 at 07:47:01 |
| [slm] [quote]It seems to me and I may be completely wrong that the people who study Arabic and Middle eastern studies are either missionaries, or future military/information/intelligence (I mean spy) personnel[/quote] it's interesting u should say this mariam. the uni i go to is the school for oriental and african studies which was originally set up for exactly this purpose. however, another interesting thing is that the majority of my class (like 90%) are muslims :) :) :) [wlm] |
| Re: Missionaries focus on Morocco in 2002 |
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| M.F. |
| 01/08/02 at 09:58:47 |
[quote]Mariam - Just to speak up. I am studying Arabic and Middle-Eastern Studies and am neither a Missionary nor have any intention of working for intellegence/defence. Quite the opposite actually. I am bothered by the misunderstanding and assumptions made by those around me. My interest is fueled by respect and no interest to change others. I am interested in the literature and history of the Arab world and study to learn more. quote] I apologize for over-generalizing. I shouldn't have categorized everyone in the same way. I'm sure there are many people (especially now wallahu a'lam) who are taking middle eastern studies in order to better understand Islam and Muslims. |
| Re: Missionaries focus on Morocco in 2002 |
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| Ayla |
| 01/08/02 at 14:07:21 |
| no worries Mariam - I understand your generalization and totally see where it would come from. I just wanted to say hello and let you know there are some of us with good intentions and genuine interest. |
| Re: Missionaries focus on Morocco in 2002 |
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| Rashid |
| 01/10/02 at 17:04:57 |
| [slm] Continuing with the missionary agenda, please read the following article: Christian Jihad Dayna Curry and Heather Mercer are the two Americans recently released by the Taliban after being held and tried for spreading Christianity in Afghanistan. They are usually referred to in the media by the unassuming title "aid workers", but in fact they're part of a wider network of Christian groups in the US whose primary mission is aggressively to spread the gospel in Islamic countries. These groups are well-organised, highly motivated and not short of cash. In addition to Shelter Now - the group that sent Curry and Mercer to Afghanistan, along with Australians Diana Thomas and Peter Bunch - they include Youth With A Mission, the Southern Baptist Convention, and the 10/40 Window group, who see their principal targets as the countries between ten degrees north and forty degrees south of the equator - what they call "The Resistant Belt", incorporating "billions of spiritually impoverished souls". Since their return to the US, Dayna Curry and Heather Mercer have admitted that they were, in fact, spreading Christianity among their Afghani hosts, and it appears that their efforts were part of a concerted push by American evangelical groups to wage "spiritual warfare" against the unconverted followers of Muhammad - a campaign that has acquired a whole new set of meanings since the attacks of September 11th . Deborah Caldwell is the Senior Religion Producer at Belief.net, and she's been documenting this phenomenon for some time. She calls this military-style campaign a "Christian jihad", and she's talking to David Rutledge about its evangelical holy warriors. Deborah Caldwell: I think these groups are all in touch with each other in some way or another, I think the Internet has absolutely accelerated that. There are discussion groups that they can get on to - I mean, I ran across one website in which one man was basically acting like a broker, to help people smuggle The Jesus Film into Muslim countries, and he had set up some kind of network in which to do that, and he was connected with all of these various Christian groups. So, is there some kind of 'Command Central'? No, but do they all know each other? Absolutely, yes. David Rutledge: And Shelter Now estimate that they've distributed Christian material to some 334 million Muslims. Do you credit that claim? Deborah Caldwell: To be honest with you, the guy I interviewed who gave me that figure was somewhat disappointed that they didn't have more missionaries overseas in Muslims countries, and that they hadn't evangelised more. So I actually think that the figure is probably pretty accurate. When they say "evangelise", the thing to keep in mind is that it's the "carpet-bombing" approach to evangelism. Because they count when they've given out a tract, when they've shared the Jesus story, when they've shown The Jesus Film - and they're relentless about this, so I think it's possible that if they can trek it into somebody's house somewhere out in the middle of nowhere and get a group of villagers to watch it, then they can tally that up as part of their total. David Rutledge: They're also saying that the number of missionaries in Muslims countries has quadrupled since 1990. Deborah Caldwell: Exactly. And that's because of a concerted effort; it actually has a millenarian streak to it, aiming at the year 2000. In 1989, a group of people got together and decided that they were going to try to spread the Good News by the year 2000, and they gave themselves this 10-year window in which to do it. And the Southern Baptist Convention got involved in this - that's the largest Protestant group in the United States, with 15 million members - they completely reconfigured their international mission in service of this goal. But I think that towards the end of the 1990s, it got more intense toward Islam and Muslims, because they began to see them more as a political threat. David Rutledge: I've heard that there are seminary programs in the US devoted to training specifically for ministry to Muslims, is that right? Deborah Caldwell: That's exactly right; there's a seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, that has such a program. And they try to do two things: they are (they say) training evangelical Christians to "understand" their Muslim neighbours, and in the United States, the number of Muslims is estimated as between 3 million and 8 million. It's definitely a growing group of people, and before September 11th, a lot of Americans thought, "oh, this is really interesting, we've got this large group of people and we don't really know that much about them". And I think there was some of that going on with the Southern Baptist Convention, they genuinely did want to try to help equip their ministers to understand Muslims and therefore help their own parishioners to understand them. But part of it was also wanting to figure out ways to evangelise specifically to Muslims. David Rutledge: Well, 2001 has certainly brought its own unique opportunities: a spokesman from one of the evangelical groups - Word of Hope - thinks that the involvement of Muslims with September 11th has "weakened the faith" of many other Muslims, and that this presents a golden opportunity for Christian groups to spread the gospel. Do you think there's a sense among American Muslims that their faith has been weakened or compromised? Deborah Caldwell: To be honest, no. I talk to lots of Muslims as well as Christians, and I don't think their faith is any bit weakened by this; I think in some ways their faith is strengthened. Some of it is just - as it would be for any of us - a sort of sad defensiveness. But a lot of them are trying to delve deeper into their faith, to figure out what it is that's essential, at the core of Islam. Because I think they feel a need to defend it, and so they need to know it as well as they possibly can. They've probably got tons and tons of Christian neighbours who are asking them "what's going on with your faith?" So the discussion boards on our website really don't reflect a loss of faith at all; they reflect Muslims being very "out there" about defending their faith. David Rutledge: Can you tell me about how these Christian groups operate - we know that they're placed in situations where they can not just get jobs in Islamic countries, but where they can make friends and win the trust of local Muslims - and these are known as "tunnelling" techniques. Can you tell me more about them? Deborah Caldwell: They tend to be very secretive about their techniques - and they're right; if these people are found out, then their lives are endangered, just like Dayna Curry and Heather Mercer's were. But some of the things I have heard are that American Christians will get themselves admitted to a university in one of these countries, ostensibly to study something unrelated to religion. Then they will establish relationships with local people, and then maybe invite a couple of people over to their house, and the next thing you know, they're putting the video of The Jesus Film into the VCR, or they're handing over some tracts written in the local language that they just happen to have, or they've got the New Testament in the local language. David Rutledge: Heather Mercer and Dayna Curry have admitted that 20% of the Taliban's charges against them were valid. So what was that 20%, what did they do as evangelising Christians in Afghanistan? Deborah Caldwell: My understanding is that they went to someone's house, and they showed The Jesus Film. And they say that they just happened to be talking about their faith, because that's what people naturally do there, and these people asked them questions about their faith, and asked them about Christianity, and so they just had to answer. And I think they also gave a boy a book about Jesus. David Rutledge: Do you think that Curry and Mercer - or any other people from these organisations - might be a little more uncomfortable now about this kind of approach - not just because of the dangers for proselytising Christians, but because of the danger that it passes on to non-religious aid groups? Is there any soul-searching among evangelical groups about their methods? Deborah Caldwell: I think before they were released by the Taliban: no, I don't think there was any soul-searching about it. But I've heard recently that this is now starting to become a conversation among evangelicals here in the United States. Partly because they're putting local Muslims in danger, partly because they're putting secular aid workers in danger - and partly, they're examining themselves and saying "hey, maybe we really shouldn't be breaking the law". But I think that the impulse to evangelise is so strong among evangelicals - after all, that's what they're all about - that it will be very hard for them not to keep doing that. David Rutledge: Another thing that worries people about this fervent evangelism is that it involves an implicit devaluation of Islam. And of course this was made quite explicit recently by Franklin Graham, who came out and said that Islam was "wicked, violent and not of the same God"* How characteristic of these groups is this sort of contempt for Islam? Deborah Caldwell: I think it's really characteristic; most of these groups are fairly vocal about it. It's in all of their literature, and I notice on the discussion boards on our website, that there are a lot of Christians who have no trouble saying that Islam is evil, or that it incites people to evil. They understand, of course, and will say that American Muslims can be (and in most cases are) completely peace-loving, wonderful people. But that doesn't mean they think the Muslim faith is OK, because they really don't. And they're having trouble with the whole question of pluralism here in the United States, because President Bush has been so open and welcoming to Muslims - and he was like this even before September 11th, he always talked about Muslims in the context of the Abrahamic faiths: Judaeo-Christian and Muslim all together in the same breath. And I know from talking to evangelicals that they're struggling with that. David Rutledge: We have to admit that there's a degree of courage in what they do. But of course since September 11th, the stakes have become a lot higher, and from now on there's going to be a whole new degree of courage required for this kind of evangelism. Do you think it's going to make Christian groups bolder or more cautious about what they're doing? Deborah Caldwell: I think they'll be more cautious in talking about it. But it will probably become even more a badge of honour. I really see Dayna Curry and Heather Mercer as becoming cult celebrities here among evangelicals. I actually think that they're going to become the next Cassie Bernall- you know the girl; the myth goes that she said "yes, I believe in Christ" and was then shot by Dylan Klebold - David Rutledge: This was during the Columbine High School massacre? Deborah Caldwell: Right. And that willingness to stand up for one's belief is held in incredibly high regard among these people. And especially it's because Curry and Mercer are very appealing, and because they survived, that I think they'll become celebrities. David Rutledge: They'll certainly become acknowledged as "veterans in the field", and we've seen a lot of rather worrying war rhetoric coming from people like Luis Bush, founder of the 10/40 Window group, who's said that "if we are to storm the enemy's territory, we must put on the full armour of God and fight with the weapons of spiritual warfare" and so on - you've gone so far as to call it a "Christian jihad". Deborah Caldwell: Exactly. They call this "spiritual warfare", and they consider it biblical and holy. And I think they'll go on doing that; they hold this sort of aggressive Christianity in such high regard. David Rutledge: It's interesting, because we're hearing a lot about the emergence of a radical, so-called "pre-medieval" Islam. And I wonder if this is going to be countered, now, by an equally radical "pre-medieval" Christianity, what you might call a "Roman" Christianity. Like the early Christians, who walked willingly into the lions' jaws and sang hymns as they met their martyrdom. Do you think this kind of thing is going to be revived? Deborah Caldwell: That's a really interesting idea. I think that's really possible. And I'll tell you, I think the places where it's most likely to happen are places like Sudan and Nigeria, places where there are Christians and Muslims together in constant battle with each other. And I mean physical battle, not just getting on Internet message boards and screaming at each other. They're killing each other, and I think it's tragic enough that it's happening there, and I can't imagine it happening here yet, but I do think that the rhetoric is going to be ratcheted up higher and higher, and I think that real martyrdom will be glorified wherever it occurs. [wlm] |
| Re: Missionaries focus on Morocco in 2002 |
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| Tayyaba |
| 01/11/02 at 17:02:03 |
| As-salam-ualakum, I think a good point brought up was that missionaries are successful a lot of times because the governments within those Muslim countries are often severely lacking. In a lot of Muslim countries there is no priority on building a strong infrastructure such as schooling, hospitals, caring for orphans and welfare for the poor (things that a truly Islamic society should focus on). Missionaries can come in under the guise of relief organizations and perform much needed tasks but with the intention of spreading Christianity. An important step would inshahallah be for these "Muslim" governments to focus on building a strong, educated, healthy, stable society that cares for the poor, elderly, sick, inshahallah rather than being bent on keeping "absolute" power. But enough dreaming :) What can we individuals do, well, inshahallah I guess if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. The intifada in the last few decades involved a lot of Palestinian groups forming to bring much needed services such as hospitals, schools, clinics, and so on to the Palestinian people and developed to try and win them freedom too inshahallah. Inshahallah one of the things we can do is contribute our time or money or skills to the positive Muslim relief and education organizations that are trying to develop the Islamic world, inshahallah. |
| Re: Missionaries focus on Morocco in 2002 |
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| Dawn |
| 01/12/02 at 05:22:59 |
| [quote]Why do the missoneries function in the Muslim world and not here? The answer is : the difference between truth and falsehood is clear. It is imposible to convince any one that the trinity or divinity os jesus is true. even if the one doing the convincing was the most knowledgeable man in the world and the one being preached to was the most ignorent. [/quote] I wish it were so simple. However, there are two points here in error. First, there are plenty of missionaries "here" in the so called Western World. Because most evangelical Christians view non-evangelical Christians as non-Christian, they need to send missionaries to convert their "own". And they use the same techniques used elsewhere. Second, they are not converting, for the most part, by convincing anyone about the Trinity or Jesus' Divinity. I might argue they are converting people IN SPITE OF these things. That is, conversion to these groups is marked not primarily by an intellectual decision, but by an experience: namely, the peace, joy, or happiness that comes when one gives one's life to Christ. I was raised in such a background myself, though after much internal struggle I have been able to move away from it. (I was never able to acquire such an "experience", and even if I was, I began to distrust relying solely on such an experience.) Perhaps a bit of background might help explain these people's motives - not excuse them, just explain them. Because of their view that faith in Jesus is the ONLY way to heaven, they feel compelled to spread this "knowledge" with all - on pains of going to hell themselves if they don't. This is due to the belief that if someone WOULD have converted had they shared their Gospel, but they didn't share it for whatever reason, they will be held responsible on judgement day for that person not being in Heaven. By their lights, they have no other option but to evangelize. Sad as this may seem, while they may claim that it is Love which is motivating them, for most it is really Fear, even if they don't recognize it as such. I found this out on my journey out of this type of belief system. And this type of fear is very difficult to overcome (as I can attest to from personal experience). Now, of course, anyone who is currently involved will not see things this way. They will see only that they have the Truth and that others do not and so they must at all costs share this truth. And the sad thing is, their services are often filling a gap left by the Muslim governments of the countries' involved, as is attested to in a number of the above posts. Just some thoughts that can, hopefully, foster understanding and eventually, a more case-appropriate response. Peace, Dawn |
| Re: Missionaries focus on Morocco in 2002 |
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| akbalkhan |
| 01/13/02 at 11:29:18 |
| As Salamu Alayka, M.F., Christian Missionaries are made out to be these maniacally focused, God-fearing, proselytizers, but they are just as rational as any other human being. They are focusing on Morocco because they see it as the best prospect for converting Muslims. I personally do not look at the best way for combating their efforts is to refute them using Christianities' faults, nor to address issues they they like to focus on, but rather to stress the beauty and necessity of al-Islam in life. A lot of times when we want to change something in our lives, we make the error of focusing much of our attention on the problem, likewise, there may be no real way to get rid of these characters, but to draw any more attention to their cause by doing their job of informing others of their presence may work contrary to your intention. Instead up your efforts to get the Muslims you know back to the folds of al-Islam, get them hyped up to make salaat, form study circles, encourage people to gather at the masjid, basically those things we should be doing with or without the Christian missionary non-threat really. Regards, Qamar Akbal Kaan |
| Re: Missionaries focus on Morocco in 2002 |
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| Dawn |
| 01/13/02 at 12:49:56 |
[quote] I personally do not look at the best way for combating their efforts is to refute them using Christianities' faults, nor to address issues they they like to focus on, but rather to stress the beauty and necessity of al-Islam in life. [/quote] I agree entirely. Not only is this the best way to encourage and support people who are currently Muslim, it is also an excellent (if not the best) way to attract non-Muslims to Islam. Moreover, by living the kind of life Islam requires, it demonstrates to these missionary types something that they have probably considered impossible: that it is possible to live a righteous, God/Allah loving and fearing life, full of peace and joy, outside of the confines of Christianity. And it just might (though this is probably a long shot) get them to reconsider or at least rethink their own faith commitment. Dawn |
| Re: Missionaries focus on Morocco in 2002 |
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| Barr |
| 01/15/02 at 07:10:46 |
| Assalamu'alaikum :-) [quote]My question is: What can I do about it?? I'd love to sue them all and get them out of this country. It's against the law to prostlitize, but they're so subtle in their means, you can never prove anything. [/quote] Personally, I feel that there is little that we can do, if we do things alone. If there is a Muslim Organisation or Group that you can report this to, that is able to give a stronger and effective voice to the government and the public on the missionaries. Get mass support, and follow through from there. In support of the many things that has been said here, the final fall of a civilisation, if we are to look, even in our own history, is not something that is internally caused, but rather by an external force. Nevertheless, an external force would only be able to topple it when the society is already cancerous internally. What we need to do, is get to those cancerous cells. Sometimes, as much as I hate it, I think shockers like this is a necessary evil to get us out from the dreamy state that many of us are in. Na'udzubillah. Allahua'lam |
| Re: Missionaries focus on Morocco in 2002 |
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| amatullah |
| 01/26/02 at 16:00:30 |
| Bismillah and salam, I wonder if this article should be in the ummah folder. It is from MER (Middle East Realities) on the views of many fundamentalist Christian's on Islam and the new Crusade against Muslims. Supporters and former supporters of Stockwell Day please take note as fundamentalist Christians are his strongest supporters and make up his main support base. Of course all Christians are not fundamentalist and in fact not all fundamentalists are anti-Muslim. Christian Americans Want Crusade - Was/Is Osama Right? "We will rid the world of the evildoers... This crusade, this war on terrorism, is going to take a while." "Imagine the world of the thirteenth century... armed with nuclear warheads and anthrax." "Children, too malnourished to move, sat shivering and listless, their eyes black holes." MID-EAST REALITIES - www.MiddleEast.Org - Washington - 18 January 2002: George W. Bush let it out of the bag less than a week after 911 when he publicly discussed the new "crusade" upon which America was now finally engaged. They shut him up quickly...in public anyway. And as for all that American help to the Afghani people... The reality is millions are on the verge of starvation and the country can be compared to a "slaughterhouse". It was the Americans during the "cold war" that actually secretly manuevered to get the Soviets to invade Afghanistan in the first place precisely so they could then do what they did; which incidentally is similar to what was done a few years later with Iraq and Kuwait as well (and a few years earlier to Iraq and Iran). The first history episode the former U.S. National Security Adviser, Zbig Brzezinski, has now proudly bragged about; the later which took place with George Bush the First in command they keep trying to keep secret. As for the great benefits from American "humanitarian assistance", someone should ask the Vietnamese, Cambodians, Laotians, and Kurds; or the Sudanese, Rwandans, Iraqis, and, oh yes, the Palestinians whose fate is far far worse today than before the post-Gulf War American-instigated-sponsored "Peace Process". Christer Americans Want Crusade Osama Was Right By James Ridgeway Political strategies for saving Afghanistan may not mean much if civil debate is shelved for a holy war between Christian crusaders and Muslim infidels. In that scenario, just as Osama bin Laden's jihad must be carried to U.S. shores, so American leaders must respond with a crusade to crush the Muslim hordes in Somalia, Yemen, Iraq, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The enemy for Christers is not terrorism, but each and every Muslim infidel—all of them damned to the eternal flames of hell. Believe it or not, the Middle Ages are back. "Worldwide, religious trends have the potential to reshape political assumptions in a way that has not been seen since the rise of modern nationalism," Philip Jenkins, a well-known professor of history and religion at Penn State, wrote in a recent essay. We're led in this by our born-again president. After September 11, Bush began talking about how the tragedy would become a test. "God's signs are not always the ones we look for. His purposes are not always our own," Bush said on September 14. "We ask Almighty God to watch over our nation. We pray that he will comfort and console those who walk in sorrow." Two days later he said, "We will rid the world of the evildoers. . . . This crusade, this war on terrorism, is going to take a while." Some politicians believe Bush is part of a divine plan. "In the evangelical mind, the notion of an omniscient God is central to their theology," Ralph Reed, who once ran the Christian Coalition, told The Washington Post. "He had a knowledge nobody else had: He knew George Bush had the ability to lead in this compelling way." With or without Bush, the spirit of the Crusades is fast replacing the hunt for terrorists. Operation Save America, the militant anti-abortion group formerly known as Operation Rescue, is down and dirty with the Muslims. "Since Muhammad's vision in the early seventh century, millions have been slaughtered by the lie of Islam," said director Flip Benham, in a December 10 statement. "Unfortunately, Christianity in America has become so feminized, so weak and limp-wristed that these lies (abortion, homosexuality, and Islam) have come to prevail in a nation that was established and made great on the manly bedrock of biblical Christianity," Benham continued. Like crusaders of yore, the group stormed down to a mosque in Richardson, Texas, then recorded their adventures online. "We came with a banner saying 'Jesus is the Standard,' with the cross of Christ in front of the American flag. We also brought signs saying 'Jesus is the Way' and 'Jesus is Alive.' " Muslims who greeted them sought to assuage the Christers, arguing that their message contained intolerant words. "One American Muslim lady ripped the sign out of Kristene Odell's hands while screaming at her at the top of her voice. It reminded me of being at the abortion mill—same battle, just a different manifestation." Later, at a dinner with 1000 Muslims, the anti-abortion activists tried to reason with the unbelievers, but concluded, "We were separated eternally by a great chasm of truth. They believe a lie, and they believe it wholeheartedly." So they kept going to the mosque, hoping the Muslims would come to their senses. "We have added a couple more signs—'Islam is a Lie' and 'Muhammad is Dead.' If we love them, we must tell them the truth! Join us!" Professor Jenkins cited the rapid growth of Christianity and Islam in Africa and Latin America, saying these places will soon be the new, uneasy centers of Christendom. Meanwhile, Europe will once again become the center of religious warfare, with guerrilla action in France and Germany. "Imagine the world of the thirteenth century," he wrote, "armed with nuclear warheads and anthrax." As They Lay Dying The 'Slaughterhouse' Camp To read the American papers, you'd think we were a godsend to the people of Afghanistan. Under the December 31 headline "Massive Food Delivery Averts Afghan Famine," The Washington Post reported on shipments of wheat to starving refugees. "There will be no famine in Afghanistan this winter," Catherine Bertini, executive director of the United Nations' World Food Program, told the paper. "There will be deaths, because the country was in a pre-famine condition this summer before the war started. But it will be isolated, and not large-scale." The Guardian of London paints quite a different picture. "Refugees Left in the Cold at 'Slaughterhouse' Camp," read one headline, followed by this subhead: "Afghans perish daily as strained aid network collapses under flood of new arrivals." In and around the camp 30 miles west of Herat, the British paper reported, 350,000 Afghans huddle in the cold. One hundred die each day due to exposure and starvation. Workers say conditions approach those of the great Ethiopian disaster. "We travelled more than 125 miles to this camp," one woman tells the Guardian. "When I arrived I had four children, now I have two. We've had nothing to eat for a week." The situation is a catch-22. New arrivals can't get help until they register with the UN's World Food Program, but they can't register until they get help. The skeletal staff can't begin to process the starving people. Arriving families hunker down outside the camp. Here, amid the piles of human shit, they dig foxholes to shelter them a little from the biting wind and cold. "As I walked through the throng I was continually mistaken for an aid worker," writes the Guardian reporter. "Men thrust papers in my face, asking me to register them for aid, while women pointed to their mouths, miming their hunger. "Children, too malnourished to move, sat shivering and listless, their eyes black holes. Many wore only rags for clothes, some wrapped in plastic in a vain attempt to generate heat. Most were barefoot. . . . 'You are just taking pictures,' one woman at the camp said to me. 'You are not here to help. We can't eat pictures. We are dying.' " The Village Voice, 9 Jan 2002. STARVING AFGHAN VILLAGERS EAT GRASS Many have died of sickness and starvation BBC News Online - Tuesday, 08 January 2002 Tens of thousands of Afghans are facing starvation and surviving only by eating grass, aid officials say. Years of war, drought and Taleban rule have left many dead and even more sick and starving, and aid has not reached many remote areas. Wheat grew on the hills before the drought In the northern mountainous region of Abdullah Gan, a former front line between the Taleban and the Northern Alliance, the situation is desperate. About 10,000 people in that region, and tens of thousands in other frontline areas, are living on little more than grass, according to the International Rescue Committee. "It's true, there's a real crisis there," Ken Burslem, a spokesman for the International Rescue Committee, told BBC News Online. He said the IRC and World Food Programme were taking food to another 10,000 starving people in the mountainous Badghis district, near the western city of Herat. Grass porridge In Bonavash, the most accessible village in the Abdullah Gan region, the only available food is bread made of crushed grass and a bit of barley or grass porridge. Nearly everyone in the village suffers from diarrhoea or a hacking cough, according to the Associated Press, whose reporters visited the village. Urgently needed food has been delayed "We are waiting to die. If food does not come, if the situation does not change, we will eat this... until we die," said Ghalam Raza, a 42-year-old man with a hacking cough, pain in his stomach and bleeding bowels. The villagers say they are better off than those deeper in the mountains, days away by donkey. They do not even have any barley to mix with their grass. Mr Burslem said aid was on the way, with 1,400 metric tonnes of flour being distributed in the Zari district, "but it is only going to the villages that can be reached - which are in walking distance," including Bonavash. Natural obstacles He said there was a problem reaching the villages deeper in the mountains, because of rough weather conditions, so the IRC has asked the Northern Alliance for a helicopter. If they get it, they will be able to airdrop another 2,000 metric tonnes of food, including wheat, beans, fortified biscuits and cooking oil, Mr Burslem said. But the task of distributing food is plagued with logistical problems. One thousand tonnes of flour from the World Food Programme, which took two weeks to deliver by truck to Zari - four and a half hours by donkey from Bonavash - lay in storage and was not distributed, due to a "communication problem," according to Christiane Berthiaume, the WFP spokeswoman in Geneva. The lucky ones have a bit of barley to mix with the grass "There was a misunderstanding," Mr Burslem of the IRC said. "[The WFP] arrived there with the wheat, but they didn't realise the problem was distribution." Ms Berthiaume said that before Christmas, the WFP signed agreements with some 70 non-governmental organisations who would handle the distribution of the aid, including the IRC, but that communication is difficult in Afghanistan. "We have brought in a record amount of 118,000 tonnes of food in December alone," Ms Berthiaume told BBC News Online. "It's well over our target of 50,000 tonnes." Security problems "We have the staff and food to feed six million hungry people in Afghanistan, but we're still faced with security problems," she said. "There are bandits and warlords," she said. "It's not the easiest place to work." She said as far as she knew airdrops were not being considered because of the fighting. Nearly half of the villagers have fled This leaves regions like Abdullah Gan, Baghdis and other remote areas hungry. "We have been working very hard to prevent a widespread famine, and while we are confident that we have managed to do this, there are still isolated pockets where there is little access or communication," Ms Berthiaume said. Nearly half of the villagers of Bonavash, Shiite Muslims who resisted Sunni Taleban control, have fled, and many of the mud and straw houses stand empty. Before the three-year-old drought, the villagers, mostly farmers, grew wheat. Now the hills are parched with cracked mud. |
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