islam

“When people see this attitude [of forgiveness] from Christians and the church, they ask themselves, ‘What kind of power is this?’” he said. “But with this witness we must also declare the message of Christ, which we are fulfilling—literally. We may not see the response immediately. But we will in the near future.” The Lord's grace is present and real among the Coptic faithful, as they persevere through the valley of the shadow of death, bearing their heavy cross of mass martyrdom, following Christ to their own Golgotha. Their profound faith — and their forgiveness of their Muslim persecutors — may be planting seeds for a new Orthodox Christian harvest in Egypt. May it be so! Forgiveness: Muslims Moved as Coptic Christians Do the Unimaginable Amid ISIS attacks, faithful response inspires Egyptian society. by Jayson Casper, ChristianityToday, April 20, 2017 Coffins are carried to the funeral of Egyptian Christians killed in Palm Sunday bombings. (Photo: Mohamed El-Shahed/AFP) Twelv...

May 29 is the anniversary of the defeat of Constantinople in 1453 by the Ottoman Muslims. This fine documentary, scripted and hosted by Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov), Abbot of Sretensky Monastery in Moscow, presents a uniquely Russian Orthodox perspective on the history and fall of Byzantium, and the lessons to be drawn from the world's greatest and longest-enduring empire. h/t to Fr Thomas Soroka

"The great doors of Saint Sophia were forced open, and crowds of angry soldiers came in and fell upon the unfortunate worshippers. Pillaging and killing in the holy place went on for hours. Similar was the fate of worshippers in most churches in the city..." by Dionysios Hatzopoulos, Romiosini : In the city everyone realized that the fateful moment had come. In the city, while the bells of the churches rang mournfully, citizens and soldiers joined a long procession behind the holy relics brought out of the churches. Singing hymns, men, women, children, soldiers, civilians, clergy, monks and nuns, knowing that they were going to die shortly, made peace with themselves, with God and with eternity. When the procession ended the Emperor met with his commanders and the notables of the city. In a philosophical speech he told his subjects that the end of their time had come. In essence he told them that Man had to be ready to face death when he had to fight for his faith, for his co...

Taliban Target: Scholars of Islam By MUJIB MASHAL and JAWAD SUKHANYAR New York Times, MAY 28, 2017 TOGH-BAIRDI, Afghanistan — A lone grave, its dirt mound shaded under the drooping branches of a mulberry tree and kept adorned with flowers, has become a daily stop for seminary students and staff members near Togh-Bairdi, in northern Afghanistan. It is the burial site of Mawlawi Shah Agha

"[Pastor Jim] Melnyk said he has personally worshiped Allah with Muslims during interfaith gatherings in Raleigh... " Journalist Leo Hohmann shines a light on the galloping apostasy in mainline Protestant churches, as typified in this story of how good intentions and generous hearts, cut off from the truth and fullness of the apostolic faith, can lead Christians to embrace a false god, false prophet, and false religion. I look at this travesty as a 'teachable moment', and have provided commentary throughout the article. Related : 'Breaking of the Crosses' in North Carolina : Christian leaders welcome conversion of church into mosque Worshipping with Muslims? — "Our ultimate goal and divine mandate is not co-existence with Muslims but their conversion—as it is for all the children of men." —Fr. Lawrence Farley Christian pastor in Bible Belt admits personally worshiping Allah Muslim deity takes over church as leaders claim to honor 'same god' ...

"As each pilgrim came off the bus they were asked to renounce their Christian faith and profess belief in Islam, but all of them—even the children—refused. Each was killed in cold blood with a gunshot to the head or the throat." The classic Muslim way, just like with the 100,000 Holy Martyrs of Tbilisi, Georgia. Update on this report . The Copts continue to faithfully ascend their Golgotha, following the Lord Jesus Christ. Even though we are not in full ecclesial communion with the Coptic Orthodox Church, there have been fruitful talks in recent years , and we are certainly united with them through a  communion of martyrdom , an ecumenism of blood. Just like the Russian New Martyrs of the 20th century under the God-hating Soviet atheists, the Copts today are witnessing to Christ through confessing Him as Lord even unto death. And they and their families further fulfill the Lord's divine commands by forgiving and praying for their persecutors . At every Divine Liturgy, at ...

Who are the new jihadis? Biographies of ‘homegrown’ European terrorists show they are violent nihilists who adopt Islam, rather than religious fundamentalists who turn to violence by Olivier Roy There is something new about the jihadi terrorist violence of the past two decades. Both terrorism and jihad have existed for many years, and forms of “globalised” terror – in which highly symbolic

The Islamic State and other jihad groups claim to follow the Koran and the example of Muhammad. Yet surely Muhammad didn't kill children? Did he? The Islamic State and other Muslim, jihad groups follow Muhammad's example. Yet they kill women and young children, as seen in the Egypt bus attack in which 28 Coptic Christians were killed, and in the Manchester jihad bombing . In both instances children as young as eight years old were among the victims. The Religion of Peace website has a helpful section that debunks Muslim myths about Islam and Muhammad which we are fed after each deadly Muslim jihad attack. Myths of Muhammad , The Religion of Peace : The Myth: Muhammad Would Never Do Harm to a Child "Our Prophet (peace be upon him) was a great man who would never order any measure that might do harm to an innocent child."  The Truth: It is probably fair to say that Muhammad did not approve of killing children intentionally. A verse from the Quran laments the pre-Islami...

"Following Muhammad’s example, terrorists are emboldened to engage in acts of violence against those who reject Islam and in any way inhibit the spread of Islam. While Muslims are purifying themselves from the stain of sin during Ramadan, what better time is there to purge the faith and cleanse the land from all defilement by destroying the infidel?" Muhammad with sword, leading pious Muslims into battle. Why Do Terrorists Strike During Ramadan? by William DiPuccio , May 26, 2017: Ramadan 2017 opened with the bloody massacre of 28 Coptic Christians. Every year hundreds of people die in Ramadan attacks. According to statistics kept by thereligionofpeace.com , 2,988 people were killed in 2015, and 1,850 died in 2016. Strict Muslims pattern their lives after the teaching and example of Muhammad who established a precedent for conducting attacks during the Arab holy months. Technically, Ramadan is not counted among the four holy months of Islam, but it is a solemn and holy obse...

Islamic State jihadis honor Muhammad and their bloodthirsty god by killing peaceful, defenseless Coptic Christians on a holy pilgrimage to a sacred monastery. The death toll is now at 28 and may rise. Soon after the news reports broke, our priest sent out an email to the parish in which he said the following: When "God" is invoked to inspire such violence, then we have entered the realm of blasphemy. That sums up what I have been writing about for almost a decade now, first in my book , and then on this blog, that Allah, Muhammad and Muslims blaspheme the True God through jihad, false theology, legalistic religious demands, female genital mutilation, child marriages, honor killings, sharia restrictions against free speech, death penalty for apostasy and blasphemy, and a whole range of barbaric practices ad infinitum.  When one looks at Islam, it is clear that Allah is not the One True God, but a demonic imposter, that Muhammad is a false prophet, and that Muslims are all — ...

"As much as possible we should preach Christ. But that doesn’t mean we should pretend Islam is what its naive defenders want it to be. The burning flesh and severed limbs of innocents are there in the heart of it... "Islam has a problem, and it has had a problem since its very inception. It is at war against whatever people it comes across. It slaughters in the Philippines. It slaughters in India. It slaughters in Myanmar. It slaughters in Nigeria. It slaughters in the Sudan. It has done these things from the beginning, and it is all right there in the Quran, let alone the hadith." Out of the millions of words posted at Rod Dreher's blog, the below comments from one of his readers, Annie, come with a special weight. She writes as a Western Liberal who flirted with Islam. And she has some challenging things to say to those who believe Islam is a religion of peace, equivalent or even superior to Christianity. She does not explicitly address the 'Same God' belie...

The warning signs were all present, the Muslim jihadi was known to the police, yet they still did nothing, and allowed yet another jihad mass murder to take place.  Woe unto the UK, as they allow their daughters to be raped by the thousands, and their citizens to be sacrificed to Muslims... Aftermath of the suicide bomb which ripped through the foyer of the venue killing parents and children. A quick scan of the news reports following the bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester UK reveals the United Kingdom is sick and dying, and will not survive much longer. Not only Prime Minister Theresa May and the UK government and police forces, but the press and media all exhibit a pathological denial of the truth about Islam, and a political paralysis which allows Muslims to murder English citizens at will rather than do anything whatsoever to effectively prevent it. The attacker learned the Quran by heart. And acted upon it. This is why Islam is defeating Europe and the UK...