Islam, Muslim / Christian Forum - Welcome All

[edit 10-4-15] Our forum has been made "mobile friendly", through a free software update, so I am setting this topic as non-sticky.[end edit]

To read this forum on a phone, copy and paste the URL into this window at Google and click "go" then "go to page".

After reviewing their site a little more I added a page to the BrotherPete site:
Best viewed at page link.
http://www.petewaldo.com/religious_pluralism.htm

Is the "International Interfaith Council" of God? Let's take a look at this exercise in religious pluralism, as advanced on their website at http://www.iicouncil.org. Page links will be embedded in the text from here on out. Their list of members includes several Christians whom it is hard to imagine have ever visited the website. When we click on the link to the webpage "Three Holy Books" we find listed are "Qur'an" "Torah" "Bible", which is peculiar enough, since the Torah is included in the Christian Bible. Jews and Christians share our Old Testament Scriptures, and understand them to be the inspired Word of God, while Muslims proclaim them to have been "corrupted". When we click on the "Bible" link we find a page that begins like this:

"Opening- True Gospel of Jesus, called Christ, a new prophet sent by God to the world: according to the description of Barnabas his apostle."

Now that certainly looks peculiar to a Scripture-literate Christian, particularly when announced as the "opening" of the "Bible". When we copy and paste the above verse into a search engine we find "The Gospel of Barnabas". The International Interfaith Council "Bible" page was deceptively titled "Bible", rather than "Gospel of Barnabas", an apparent subtly of dissimulation. Of course not only does this Gospel of Barnabas not constitute the "Bible", but there is no Gospel of Barnabas to be found anywhere in the bible, because it is a 16th century obviously Muhammadan, fictional forgery. It is nothing more than an exercise in religious dissimulation, or taqiyyah, that embarrasses anyone that has been foolish enough to tout it prior to actually reading it or learning about it.

So why would the "International Interfaith Council" provide that false gospel rather than link to an actual Bible, such as the most widely recognized and respected King James Version, as presented on many websites such as at Blue Letter Bible? Could it be that folks browsing the website would then have access to truth? If they had chosen the Gospel of Mark to represent the "Bible", rather than the phony gospel of Barnabas, this is how their page might have started:

Opening- Mark 1:1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;

Of course that  would have spoiled the party, because followers of Muhammad suggest that to believe and confess that Jesus is the Son of God, is to commit the most egregious and only unforgivable sin, of "shirk". According to many, even to pray in Jesus' name would constitute a sin worse than, for example, child rape or cold-blooded mass murder since those may be forgiven. This is further explored on that page of this site. Yet the Gospel proclaims:

1John 4:15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.

Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

Thus it would seem that according to Muhammad's followers, each and every Christian throughout a period of nearly 2,000 years has lived, and died, in a state of committing Muhammad's only unforgivable sin. Would Muhammad's seem to be a just God, when raping a little girl or cold-blooded mass-murder may constitute forgivable sins, while praying in Jesus' name is unforgivable?

Yet not only does the website of the International Interfaith Council select a preposterous 16th century, conspicuous demonstrable fraud to represent the "Bible", here is what that abomination teaches in chapter 97:

"Then said the priest: `How shall the Messiah be called, and what sign shall reveal his coming?'

Jesus answered: `The name of the Messiah is admirable, for God himself gave him the name when he had created his soul, and placed it in a celestial splendour. God said: "Wait Mohammed; for thy sake I will to create paradise, the world, and a great multitude of creatures, whereof I make thee a present, insomuch that whoso bless thee shall be blessed, and whoso shall curse thee shall be accursed. When I shall send thee into the world I shall send thee as my messenger of salvation, and thy word shall be true, insomuch that heaven and earth shall fail, but thy faith shall never fail." Mohammed is his blessed name.'

Then the crowd lifted up their voices, saying: `O God, send us thy messenger: O Mohammed, come quickly for the salvation of the world!'"

Pure raw unadulterated blasphemy! Indeed that abomination should be recognized as pure blasphemy even to a follower of Muhammad!

To those who believe themselves to be Christians that are listed in the member page of the "International Interfaith Council" website, which suggests a presumption of support for the abominations advanced therein through association, you desperately need to repent before it is too late. Do you not even understand that the Quran prohibits Muhammad's followers from taking Jews and Christians for friends?

Sura 5:51 ye who believe! take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors: They are but friends and protectors to each other. And he amongst you that turns to them (for friendship) is of them. Verily Allah guideth not a people unjust.

"In other words, any Muslim who becomes a Christian or even befriends a Christian leaves the leadership and control of Allah.
So, all Islamic leaders who come to British and American Church leaders for inter-faith co-operation are either defying the instructions of Allah or they have a hidden agenda." - G.J.O. Moshay "Who is This Allah?"

Thus while engaging in religious dissimulation they put on a facade of friendship, which has always been their way, when setting out to conquer the ignorant and unwary. In other words you've been duped. As much as Christians might wish to, it is impossible to reconcile the Gospel to the exact opposite of it's whole subject. Perhaps a very public retraction of support for the International Interfaith Council is in order for those Christians, as well as an apology to Jesus Christ, and denouncement of and divorce from this abomination.

If Christian members disagree, simply explain before Jesus Christ and your Christian brethren, just how it is you lend your support to an organization that represents the "Bible", as being the Gospel of Barnabas. Please feel free to contact us in the Islam-Christian Forum to explain your position if you believe it to be defensible.

Romans 3:8 And not [rather], (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just.

Would it even be slanderous for someone to report that is what Christian members of the International Interfaith Council are doing, while likely remaining silent in regard to the whole subject of the Gospel, which would be an obvious deal breaker? That verse does, however, describe what we find typical of Islamic religious dissimulation, found throughout the Internet and youtube communities, as exampled by their "Baca" is "Bakkah" nonsense. Has it been so long since Christian members of this council have picked up a bible, that they've forgotten what's at stake? You could stand in judgment this very day.

Matthew 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
 
Islam is the Opposite of Christianity (URL)

Many evangelical Christians consider Jews to be our brethren even though we understand why some of them may not feel the same way, as some may remain blind to the Gospel (verse by verse of Romans 11) through an act of God, to preclude them from sinning against it. Along with Romans 11 the two groups would seem to be suggested here:

1Corinthians 12:3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and [that] no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.

John 14:26 But the Comforter, [which is] the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

Yet Muhammad curses Jews and Christians while commanding his followers to fight against us and subjugate us:

Surah 9.29 Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued. 30 The Jews call 'Uzair a son of Allah, and the Christians call Christ the son of Allah. That is a saying from their mouth; (in this) they but imitate what the unbelievers of old used to say. Allah's curse be on them: how they are deluded away from the Truth!

Worse than all, Muhammad proclaimed the exact opposite of the whole subject of the Gospel.

Surah 4:157 That they said (in boast), "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah";- but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not:-

Here's the whole subject of the Gospel:

Matthew 26:28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

In Jesus' own prophecy:

Matthew 20:17 And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them, 18 Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, 19 And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify [him]: and the third day he shall rise again.

Not a stretch that the prophesied Messiah and His shed blood is the subject of the whole bible:

Leviticus 17:11 For the life of the flesh [is] in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it [is] the blood [that] maketh an atonement for the soul.

As pointed out on the home page Muhammad's proclamation of the exact opposite of the whole subject of the Gospel - that Jesus wasn't crucified and didn't die - is all that a Christian needs to know about Islam. Islam 101, a complete course, in one verse. Additionally, according to the scriptures to deny the Son of God is antichrist.

1 John 2:22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. 23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father:

The spirit of antichrist fills followers with complete resolve to DISbelieve the crucifixion, to DENY  the Son of God, and REJECT  His shed blood. Yet among the International Interfaith Council member list we find Christians may be involved in supporting that exercise in dissimulation.
 
More Taqiyyah or Subterfuge of Dissimulation (URL)

Taqiyyah and the subterfuge of religious dissimilation is advanced in the very opening of the home page of the website through a partial quote followed by a false proclamation:

"The world has been divided into religious groups. However, the order of God is clear: 'Do not divide into groups!'"

Putting that quote into a web search we find it may come from the "Worldwide English" translation. But what does the rest of 1Corinthians 1:10 say?

"My Christian brothers, I beg you all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, agree in what you say. Do not divide into groups. You should all think in the same way and decide to do the same things."

It has absolutely nothing to do with Muhammad's followers, but has to do with Christians "in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ", to avoid making divisions amongst ourselves. Paul was addressing the church in Corinth. He also taught that Christians should all "think in the same way and decide to do the same things", which at a minimum, is to believe in and preach Christ crucified:

1Corinthians 1:23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;

The most obvious reason it has nothing to do with the followers of the false prophet Muhammad is because Muhammad proclaimed the exact opposite of the whole subject of the Gospel.

God manifest Himself in His Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, to reconcile the whole world unto Himself.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

1John 4:14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son [to be] the Saviour of the world. 15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.

Yet if a follower of Muhammad were to make that simple confession he would be committing the most egregious - and only unforgivable sin - according to Muhammad alone.

Indeed the Gospel teaches that Christians are to expect the very opposite of that proclaimed in the opening of the International Interfaith Council website:

Luke 12:51 Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: 52 For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. 53 The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

We find those verses perfectly fulfilled in Muhammad's follower's "honor killing" of family members that begin a life in Jesus Christ and even parents murdering their own children for coming to Christ. Satan's forces have aligned against Christ the Messiah and his followers ever since He was made manifest to the world.

Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
 
The 7th century Islamic Fiction of "Hanaf" or "faith of Abraham" (URL)

Contrary to what is indicated on the website, Christians follow the religion of Jesus Christ through the Gospel, not a fictional religion called "Hanaf" that sprang from the imagination of a 7th century SW Arabian desert dwelling illiterate. The suggestion of "Hanaf" or a "religion of Abraham" comes from Islamic books penned in the 7th to 10th centuries AD without reference to any actual  historical record that preceded the 6th century AD. In fact there is not a shred of historical or archaeological evidence that suggests that Mecca ever existed before the 4th century AD. Abraham did not practice a "religion", but rather had a direct relationship with YHWH Himself, even while manifest in the flesh. Indeed the ten commandments were given to Moses, not Abraham. Let alone that the only promise given to the seed of Ishmael is that they would be numerous and were prophesied to be against all mankind.

Genesis 16:10 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. 11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou [art] with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction. 12 And he will be a wild man; his hand [will be] against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.

Just as we find the self-proclaimed seed of Ishmael are revealed today. Fighting and murdering not only non-Muslims but each other as well. Nor did God ever have a covenant with the seed of Ishmael, but specifically proclaimed His covenant to be with the seed of Isaac.

Romans 9:7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, [are they] all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. 8 That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these [are] not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. 9 For this [is] the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sara shall have a son.

Genesis 17:19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, [and] with his seed after him.

More on the "children of the flesh" and the Arabian pagan rituals Muhammad adopted, adapted and thinly veneered. The seed of Ishmael are specifically not included in God's Abrahamic covenants:

Genesis 21:9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking. 10 Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, [even] with Isaac. 11 And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son. 12 And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.
 
What Did Jesus Teach? (URL)

On the page "What did Jesus teach?", as with all dissimulation, once you establish the goal of the effort it's best to start at the bottom and conclusions reached, before wasting time with the process in getting there. Again, for any self-proclaimed Christians that are a part of this:

Rather than recognize Jesus' words as a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy the author which was unnamed on the website of proclaims:

"If Jesus had indeed been God, the words, "My God, my God," would have been a mockery most extreme. God could not have deemed himself forsaken by himself. The dying Jesus, in that despair, confessed himself either the dupe of some other teaching, a self- deluded enthusiast, or an arch-impostor, who in that bitter cry, with the wide-opening of the flood-gates through which life's stream ran out, confessed aloud that he, at least, was no deity, and deemed himself a God-forsaken man. The garden scene of agony is fitting prelude to this most terrible act. Jesus, who is God, prays to himself; in "agony he prayed most earnestly." [Luke xxii. 44.] He refuses to hear his own prayers, and he, the omnipotent, is forearmed against his coming trial by an angel from heaven, who "strengthened " the great Creator.

Was Jesus the Son of God? Praying, he said, Father, the hour is come, glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee." [Jolan xvii. 2.] And was he glorified? His death and resurrection most strongly disbelieved in the very city where they are alleged to have happened. His doctrines rejected by the only people to whom he preached them. His miracles denied by the only nation amongst whom they are alleged to have been performed; and he himself thus on the cross crying out, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

Nor is it true that the teachings of Jesus are generally received. Jesus taught: "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." How many of those who profess to believe in Jesus would be content to be tested by these signs? Any person claiming that each sign was to be found manifested in her or his case would be regarded as mad. Illustrations of faith-healing occasionally arise, but are not always reliable, nor are such cures limited to those who profess faith in Jesus. The gift of speaking with new tongues has been the claim of a very small sect. Serpent- charming is more practised among Hindus than among Christians.

Peace and love are alleged to be the special characteristics of Christianity. Yet the whole history of Christian nations has been blurred by war and hate. Now and for the past thirty years the most civilized amongst Christian nations have been devoting enorihous sums and huge masses of men to the preparation for war. Torpedoes and explosive shells, one hundred ton guns and melinite, are by Christian rulers accounted better aids than faith in Jesus."

So it should come as no surprise that when we put "God could not have deemed himself forsaken by himself. The dying Jesus, in that despair, confessed himself either the dupe of some other teaching" into a search engine we find this is the blasphemy of Charles Bradlaugh presented on "The Secular Web". From Wikipedia:

"Charles Bradlaugh (26 September 1833 – 30 January 1891) was a political activist and one of the most famous English atheists of the 19th century. He founded the National Secular Society in 1866.[1]"

We Christians that have been in the trenches of Internet forums are well experienced in Islamic dissimulation, and often find that in their desperation to run from the truth of the whole subject of the Gospel, it isn't unusual for Muhammad's followers to turn to atheists and agnostics for quotes in order to advance their blasphemy against the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Nor should we be surprised to find Muslims covertly engaged in the same, while pretending to be friends of Christians, in their efforts to subjugate God's people to the followers of Muhammad alone. Are we to expect that the Christians listed on the member page have been informed regarding the content of the site? May the Good Lord show enough mercy to at least one of the self-described Christians, that are engaged in this blasphemous exercise in dissimulation of the "International Interfaith Council", to give him the strength and resolve to very publically and continually renounce any association with it and its antichrist blasphemy.

2Thessalonians 2:10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Whether an atheist, or a follower of the false prophet Muhammad who reject the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus, they can't expect to understand:

1Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned.

Their goals are obvious. No amount of website change will alter their intent or plan. Nor can the Gospel be reconciled with its exact opposite. Nor will wishful hopes and dreams, change a dangerous cult with a 1400 year history of imperialistic conquest and slaughter of God's people, that is commanded to the followers of the false prophet Muhammad. For those that have deluded themselves into believing they are Christian, that are participating in this sacrilegious abomination, again the risk:

Matthew 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Revelation 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

This page is a result of just the first little bit of time I spent exploring the website of the International Interfaith Council, that I felt the need to rush to upload. There should be more to come.

John 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

A Messianic prophecy regarding His bones not being broken from the Old Testament:

Psalms 34:18 The LORD [is] nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. {unto...: Heb. to the broken of heart} {of a contrite...: Heb. contrite of spirit}   19 Many [are] the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.   20 He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.   21 Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate. {desolate: or, guilty}   22 The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate. {desolate: or, guilty}

Confirmed

John 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. 31 The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and [that] they might be taken away.   32 Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him.   33 But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs:   34 But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.   35 And he that saw [it] bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe.   36 For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken.   37 And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.

They broke the legs of the other two to expedite their death, but when they came to Jesus they saw He was dead and didn't break His, fulfilling the prophecy. Also uncustomary was their piercing of His side, providing a double header of fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy in two consecutive verses.

Zechariah 12:9 And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. 10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for [his] only [son], and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for [his] firstborn.

More on the Passover Lamb and the not breaking of bones:

Exodus 12:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,   2 This month [shall be] unto you the beginning of months: it [shall be] the first month of the year to you.   3 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth [day] of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of [their] fathers, a lamb for an house: {lamb: or, kid}   4 And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take [it] according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb.   5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take [it] out from the sheep, or from the goats: {of...: Heb. son of a year}   6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. {in...: Heb. between the two evenings}   7 And they shall take of the blood, and strike [it] on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.   8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; [and] with bitter [herbs] they shall eat it.   9 Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast [with] fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof.   10 And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire.   11 And thus shall ye eat it; [with] your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it [is] the LORD'S passover.   12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I [am] the LORD. {gods: or, princes}   13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye [are]: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy [you], when I smite the land of Egypt. {to destroy...: Heb. for a destruction}   14 And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.   15 Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.   16 And in the first day [there shall be] an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save [that] which every man must eat, that only may be done of you. {man: Heb. soul}   17 And ye shall observe [the feast of] unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever.   18 In the first [month], on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even.   19 Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land.   20 Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread.   21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover. {lamb: or, kid}   22 And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip [it] in the blood that [is] in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that [is] in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.   23 For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite [you].   24 And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever.   25 And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the LORD will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service.   26 And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service?   27 That ye shall say, It [is] the sacrifice of the LORD'S passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped.   28 And the children of Israel went away, and did as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.   29 And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that [was] in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle. {dungeon: Heb. house of the pit}   30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for [there was] not a house where [there was] not one dead.   31 And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, [and] get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as ye have said.   32 Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also.   33 And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We [be] all dead [men].   34 And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneadingtroughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders. {kneadingtroughs: or, dough}   35 And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment:   36 And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them [such things as they required]. And they spoiled the Egyptians.   37 And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot [that were] men, beside children.   38 And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, [even] very much cattle. {a mixed...: Heb. a great mixture}   39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened; because they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victual.   40 Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, [was] four hundred and thirty years.   41 And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.   42 It [is] a night to be much observed unto the LORD for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this [is] that night of the LORD to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations. {a night...: Heb. a night of observations}   43 And the LORD said unto Moses and Aaron, This [is] the ordinance of the passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof:   44 But every man's servant that is bought for money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof.   45 A foreigner and an hired servant shall not eat thereof.   46 In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth ought of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break a bone thereof.   47 All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. {keep...: Heb. do it}   48 And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof.   49 One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.   50 Thus did all the children of Israel; as the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.   51 And it came to pass the selfsame day, [that] the LORD did bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies.

Numbers 9:9 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,   10 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or [be] in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the passover unto the LORD.   11 The fourteenth day of the second month at even they shall keep it, [and] eat it with unleavened bread and bitter [herbs].   12 They shall leave none of it unto the morning, nor break any bone of it: according to all the ordinances of the passover they shall keep it.   

I was informed through another forum: "For those of you who may be living in the Tidewater area in Virginia, specifically Chesapeake, the Muslims in that area have begun an aggressive outreach by visiting local Sunday Schools. They are handing out "tracts" and sitting in on the studies. They are not disruptive. They are trying to get people to come to their meetings in an attempt to bring us all together. Unfortunately that cannot happen unless they are willing to admit that Jesus died and rose from the dead and no one can come to the Father except through Him.

Please pray that the Christians can turn these visits into constructive opportunities to witness to these lost souls."

What a magnificent opportunity! Unprecedented in this day and age. Not only being able to reciprocate by handing tracts back to the Muslims who passed theirs out, but by having done so Muslims have opened the door to Christians joining them in their mosque, and passing out tracts to the Muslims worshiping there! I urge the Christians in those churches to reciprocate with tracts from "Islam and the Truth.com"
Particularly regarding the whole subject of the Gospel with a little Islam intro:
The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ in Prophecy
http://www.islamandthetruth.com/m30.pdf
Do you Love Jesus?
http://www.islamandthetruth.com/m1a.pdf
And many more:
http://www.islamandthetruth.com/free_tracts.htm

After getting requests from other forum members, he hoped to get his hands on the tracts, but the minister told him he could find the same info on this website related to those doing the infiltrating:
http://www.iicouncil.org/default.aspx?pid=49938&nid=36964

Here we find a group wishing there were an equivalence, between the one true God of the Jews and Christians name YHWH, as revealed through all of His prophets and witnesses, that His people have followed through two covenants for 3500 years.....

.....and a god in the name of a pagan Arabian deity named "Allah", followed by members of a cult through a single 7th century false prophet from the SW Arabian desert, who lived 1200 kilometers from THE Holy Land of the prophets and patriarchs, who proclaimed the EXACT OPPOSITE of the WHOLE SUBJECT of the Gospel. Prostrating themselves five times a day toward the very same black stone idol that the Quraish pagans venerated long before Muhammad continued the tradition. Even traveling to that idol and engaging in thinly veneered pagan Arabian moon, sun, star and jinn devil worship rituals.
http://petewaldo.com/hajj_umrah.htm

Some Christians, this author included, recognize Jews as my brethren and understand that they may not view me as the same, because scripture may indicate that some Jews may remain blind to the Gospel by an act of God, so they can't sin against it. Please review the page at this link on this "spirit of slumber":
http://israelinbibleprophecy.com/spirit_of_slumber.htm

Christians are commanded to love our enemies:

Matthew 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

As Don Richardson reports regarding Jews in "Secrets of the Koran", "By Muhammad's day, 1,500 years had passed since any Hebrew prophet was described in the Old Testament as using a sword in the service of God. Neither Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Micah, Amos, Malachi nor any other later Hebrew prophet is described as using the sword or prescribing its use."

Nor do our Old Testament scriptures command Jews specifically to deny the Son of God and reject His shed blood as articles of their faith in YHWH. Indeed many Jews are brought into relationship with Christ through prophecy of His crucifixion in the Psalms and in Isaiah.
http://www.islamandthetruth.com/psalms_22.htm
http://www.islamandthetruth.com/isaiah_53.htm

Surah 4:157 That they said (in boast), "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah";- but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not:-

Muhammad always the exact opposite, the followers of the false prophet Muhammad are commanded to conquer all kingdoms and subjugate all people, to denying the Son of God and rejecting His saving shed blood:

Bukhari, V1 B2 #24 Narrated Ibn 'Umar: Allah's Apostle said: "I have been ordered (by Allah) to fight against the people until they testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is Allah's Apostle, and offer the prayers perfectly and give the obligatory charity, so if they perform a that, then they save their lives an property from me except for Islamic laws and then their reckoning (accounts) will be done by Allah."

Of course a filthy blasphemy for a Christian to "testify" to.

Surah 9.29 Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued. 30 The Jews call 'Uzair a son of Allah, and the Christians call Christ the son of Allah. That is a saying from their mouth; (in this) they but imitate what the unbelievers of old used to say. Allah's curse be on them: how they are deluded away from the Truth!

This Second Islamic Jihad in the image of the First Islamic Jihad near conquest of the whole known world, before being stopped in Tours France.
http://www.beholdthebeast.com/#jihad

Quran Sura 9.111 Allah hath purchased of the believers their persons and their goods; for theirs (in return) is the garden (of Paradise): they fight in His cause, and slay and are slain: a promise binding on Him in truth, through the Law, the Gospel, and the Qur'an: and who is more faithful to his covenant than Allah. then rejoice in the bargain which ye have concluded: that is the achievement supreme.

A satanic lie regarding the Gospel binding fighting and slaying on anyone, but a "promise" that is "binding" on the followers of the false prophet Muhammad through the Quran.

Muhammad's followers follow Muhammad alone. Far beyond folly it is a blasphemous satanic exercise to attempt to marry an antichrist, Satan inspired false prophet and the only anti-a-specific-religion cult on earth - with Judeo-Christianity. With the very religion of which Muhammad proclaimed the exact opposite of its whole subject. Indeed not a stretch to suggest the whole subject of all the scriptures. The only promise made regarding the seed of Ishmael is that they would be numerous.

Romans 9:7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, [are they] all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. 8 That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these [are] not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. 9 For this [is] the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sara shall have a son.

If there are any that believe themselves to be Christians, included in such a blasphemous abomination (and based on the materials it looks like little more than Islamic subterfuge and taqiyyah since they even mention the fiction of "Hanaf"), they are either ignorant to the Gospel or are hereby put on notice this goes far beyond ecumenism and even beyond religious pluralism. You are trying to marry Satan with the Gospel. Let alone the absurdity that there is not a shred of scriptural, historical, archaeological or geographical evidence that suggests, that Mecca ever even existed before the 4th century AD. This makes Muhammadanism a provable preposterous fraud. Followers of an invention of the 7th century AD that was further embellished in writings that date into the 10th century AD. Islamic - what can only be called "tradition" - that was all created from thin air in the 7th to 10th centuries AD, without reference to any actual historical record that preceded the 6th century AD.
http://www.beholdthebeast.com/#jihad

Dancing around the very thing we are called to preach: 1Cr 1:23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;

Instead of preaching Christ crucified, they are actually applying the term "submission" to the Gospel. When the very name "Islam" means "submission"! Christianity is about a relationship with our Creator. With our Lord and Savior.
Anything in their material about what that relationship is all about, which is through faith in the WHOLE SUBJECT of the Gospel, through faith in the saving grace from the shed blood of the Messiah?

Matthew 26:28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

Any warnings for the false prophet Muhammad's followers?

Hbr 10:29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

No surprise they did not cite from the hundreds of verses that declare the Son of God and His Father. Another Islamic opposite.

1Jo 4:15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.

Any person that had thought himself to be a Christian engaged in this sort of subterfuge, is only helping those sorely deluded folks remain on their path, to what scripture indicates is their destruction.

Jhn 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

And for those that would engage in such as supporting the false prophet:

Rev 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

By ignoring that WHOLE SUBJECT of the Gospel, and pretending the false prophet Muhammad is anything but the EXACT OPPOSITE, they may well be putting themselves on far beyond thin ice:

Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

What kind of Christian could do such a thing? I could use some help in taking their stuff apart in the following posts, so that if anyone happens along here, that has fallen for their deception, we can help them see it is exactly that.
http://www.iicouncil.org/default.aspx?pid=49938&nid=36964

"This is the sharia Muslims in the West never want to tell you about

This is the sharia you are now seeing on billboards all over America, telling people that  sharia is totally compatible with our Constitutional laws. This is the sharia for which CAIR is spending millions of dollars in court battles against U.S. legislators trying to have it banned in their states. This is the sharia CAIR never talks about in court, because this is the sharia that comes later."

WARNING: EXTREMELY GRAPHIC PHOTOS
http://www.barenakedislam.com/2013/01/10/this-is-the-sharia-muslims-in-the-west-never-want-to-tell-you-about/

4 Out of 5 US Ambassadors Killed in Line of Duty Were Slain by Muslims
Posted on December 31, 2012 by creeping
http://frontpagemag.com/2012/dgreenfield/4-out-of-5-us-ambassadors-killed-in-the-line-of-duty-were-slain-by-muslims/

Muslims are working hard to add another to their list.

    Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Penninsula (AQAP) has offered a reward of $160,000 in gold for the death of America’s ambassador to Yemen or any US soldier stationed in the country.

Daniel Greenfield, who has been on a mission lately, writes that 4 Out of 5 US Ambassadors Killed in the Line of Duty Were Slain by Muslims.

    In the last 40 years, five US ambassadors were killed in the line of duty. 4 out of 5 were killed by Muslims.

    Adolph “Spike” Dubs was murdered in Afghanistan in 1979 during an attempted Soviet rescue around the time that the puppet regime had gone to hell.

    Francis E. Meloy Jr was kidnapped and murdered by the Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine in Lebanon.

    Cleo A. Noel Jr was murdered by the Palestinian Arab terrorist group Black September in Sudan at the Saudi Embassy in an attack that has some parallels with Benghazi. And the killers behind the attack were released to Egypt. Most were never seen again.

    Rodger P. Davies was killed in Cyprus during tensions over the Turkish Muslim occupation and settlement of the area during a protest by Greek nationalists angry at President Ford’s collaboration in the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. It has generally been alleged that the gunman who killed Davies was Greek, but no conviction was ever secured and it may be that the real killer was a Turkish military sniper whose goal was to boost US support for the Turkish invasion.

    The fifth was Christopher Stevens. It is telling that four out of five US ambassadors murdered in the last 40 years in the line of duty were killed by Muslims. And the fifth remains an open question.

When I recently expressed how the enemy of the people of the world should be engaged, the person I was having the discussion with, asked me why I didn't take it directly to the military. Sadly I had to explain to her how difficult that would be, because the U.S. had kicked God out of our country, in 1947 through Everson and McCollum in 1948.
http://www.islamchristianforum.com/index.php?topic=1244.0

The result has been made painfully obvious through the military misadventures of the United States ever since. Wars that may even have been conceived with good intentions - like securing freedom and self-determination for those that lived under oppression of totalitarian regimes and were unable to secure it for themselves - in which we wound up being defeated not by those foreign enemies of freedom, by our own Marxist media. Efforts to advance freedom winding up as wars of attrition, loosing distinct purpose and specific goals. From Korea, to the Bay of Pigs, to Vietnam, to the last couple decades of engagement of an enemy, that has been preposterously misidentified, as nothing more than a method of warfare.

As long as the powers that be fail to properly identify the enemy, our boys will continue to be murdered, by the very people we wish we were trying to "help". The U.S. military tearing up their towns, and then spending U.S. taxpayer dollars, to rebuild what we destroyed.
Indeed if securing human rights rather than securing our oil supply had been the central goal, why wouldn't we have been previously engaged in fighting against the Islamic genocide and displacement of millions of innocents in the Sudan?
http://www.beholdthebeast.com/great_tribulation.htm

The simple fact of the matter is, the identity of the enemy of mankind, is Islam. This is so obvious that it should go without saying, since most everywhere we find murder, mayhem and misery around the world today, we find the hand of Islam.
http://www.islamchristianforum.com/index.php?board=51.0
http://www.islamchristianforum.com/index.php?board=54.0
http://www.islamchristianforum.com/index.php?board=72.0

The dar al Salaam VS the dar al Harb as Muhammad's followers put it. The house of peace VS the house of war. If you are a non-Muslim you are in the dar al Harb, and while you may not be at war against Islam, Islam has been at war against you for 1400 years.
http://www.beholdthebeast.com/christian_zionism.htm#hitler_mufti

One quarter of mankind in the world today, who must deny the Son of God, DISbelieve His crucifixion, and reject His shed blood, as articles of their faith in the false prophet Muhammad.
http://www.falseprophetmuhammad.com/

Folks who believe that to confess that Jesus is the Son of God, or even pray in Jesus name, would constitute the most egregious and ONLY unforgivable sin ("shirk"), according to Muhammad. A sin considered to be worse than, for example, the recent mass murder of those schoolchildren. A sin worse than raping a little child.
http://www.islamchristianforum.com/index.php?topic=3344.0
But then their own "prophet" engaged in both.
http://www.petewaldo.com/banu_qurayza_massacre.htm
http://www.islamchristianforum.com/index.php?topic=769.0

In other words, Islam is to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as the negative is to a photograph. The only anti-a-specific-religion cult on earth. Islam is antichrist.
http://www.beholdthebeast.com/antichrist.htm

To any agnostics or atheists in our intelligence services, did you ever stop to wonder what the odds of it being an accident, that about  1/3 of mankind believing Jesus was crucified died and resurrected while another 1/4 of mankind is specifically required to DISbelieve exactly that?

No surprise that the same 1.5 billion people are commanded to conquer all kingdoms of the world, and subjugate all people, to denying the Son of God and rejecting His shed blood.

Bukhari, V1 B2 #24 Narrated Ibn 'Umar: Allah's Apostle said: "I have been ordered (by Allah) to fight against the people until they testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is Allah's Apostle, and offer the prayers perfectly and give the obligatory charity, so if they perform a that, then they save their lives an property from me except for Islamic laws and then their reckoning (accounts) will be done by Allah."

So it should be painfully obvious, who the ultimate arbiters of Islam would be. That is the true followers of Muhammad, that wield a beheading knife in one hand, while being supported by their Quran and hadith in the other. Arguing against the empty words of sorely misguided western Islamic apostates, who have been brainwashed into the foolish notion of Islam being a "religion of peace". Perhaps the #1 ridiculous notion, and certainly the #1 deception, of the entire Christian era.
http://www.islamchristianforum.com/index.php?board=52.0
Islamic western apostates, as well as taqiyyah peddling Islamist liars like those at the Muslim Brotherhood's front organization in the U.S., CAIR.
Few things need to be emphasized more, for our intelligence agencies to fully understand, than the Islamic principle of lying for the sake of Allah.
http://www.islam-watch.org/Warner/Taqiyya-Islamic-Principle-Lying-for-Allah.htm
http://answering-islam.org/Index/T/taqiyya.html

Through scripture we learn exactly what the spiritual battle the world is engaged in is all about, as well as the weapons that God gave us to fight this spiritual battle with:

Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Not only are our boys getting killed by our military's failure to properly identify the enemy, but our military's failure to understand the weapons we are to fight it with. This even as many recruited men and their supporters, fully understood the nature of the battle and sword we are to fight it with, having taken bibles over that were translated into Afghan dialects. So what was the response of our own military to our boys offering bibles as host presents when they were invited into Afghan homes? Exactly what would be expected of a country that kicked God out in 1947.
Our military collected the bibles up and burned them.
http://www.islamchristianforum.com/index.php?topic=1251.msg4836#msg4836
Thus disarming our military, and boys overseas who risk death, for acting as little more than referees between two separate groups of antichrists. In a country and region that is composed virtually entirely of antichrists. The sole exception being the democracy of the Israeli Jewish state that protects the right to freedom and self-determination of Jews, Christians and non-Muslim Arabs - as well as Muslims. Muslims enjoy more freedom in Israel, than they do in any Muslim controlled country on earth.

What we need to do is call our boys home, and mercilessly leaflet the middle east, with tracts of the Gospel of John.
http://www.islamandthetruth.com/gospel_of_john.htm

Or single sheet tracts of Jesus' prophecy of His own crucifixion:
http://www.islamandthetruth.com/m30.pdf

This accompanied by tracts pointing out that Mecca never existed before the 4th century AD, and thus everything they have been taught about the city, is provably nothing more than pure fiction that was all created and put to the pen between the 7th and 10th centuries AD.
http://www.historyofmecca.com/m29.pdf

Perhaps followed by tracts of the First Epistle of John:
http://www.islamandthetruth.com/free_tracts.htm#tract_m15

If you wonder why Muhammad's followers keep killing our troops and want to destroy the Israelis and "drive them into the sea"

Sahih Bukhari B52 #177 Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Apostle said, "the Hour will not be established until you fight with the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say. "O Muslim! there is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him."

"Summarized Sahih Al-Bukhari" page 580

Chapter 2. The best among the people is that believer who strives his utmost in Allah's Cause with both his life and property.

footnotes:

[1] "Al-Jihad (the holy fighting) in Allah's Cause (with full force of number and weaponry) is given the utmost importance in Islam and is one of its pillars (on which it stands). By Jihad Islam is established, Allah's Word is made superior, [His Word being La ilaha ill-Allah (which means: none has the right to be worshipped by Allah] and His Religion (Islam) is propagated. By abandoning Jihad (may Allah protect us from that) Islam is destroyed and the Muslims fall into an inferior position; there honour is lost, their lands are stolen, their rule and authority vanish. Jihad is an obligatory duty in Islam on every Muslim, and he who tries to escape from this duty, or does not in his innermost heart wish to fulfill this duty, dies with one of the qualities of a hypocrite.

[2] Of course, nobody can offer Salat (prayer) and observe Saum (fast) incessantly, and since the Muslim fighter is rewarded as if he was doing subh good impossible deeds, no possible deed equals Jihad in reward.

So to our military,

2 Thessalonians 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first....

a falling away
Strong's: New Testament Greek Definition:
646 apostasia {ap-os-tas-ee'-ah}
feminine of the same as 647; TDNT - 1:513,88; n f
AV - to forsake + 575 1, falling away 1; 2
1) a falling away, defection, apostasy

So the verse is referring to an apostasy that was to come in the future of when that verse was penned. Some date 2Thessalonians at around 52 AD, but dating isn't important, since we all agree it was penned some time after the cross, and folks in here would have to believe dated at least before 70AD.
Now the first century, in particular, is recognized as being the exact opposite of apostasy, but rather characterized by tremendous growth of the ecclesia, well demonstrating that "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the ecclesia".

So what apostasy was Paul referring to that took place between around 50 and 70 AD?

Within the traditional historicist approach to prophecy, through which all Jews and Christians understand Old Testament prophecy was fulfilled, and up until a couple centuries ago the ecclesia understood New Testament prophecy was being fulfilled, apostasy isn't at all difficult to spot in this, what may be Daniel's prophesied "time of the end". Preaching of repentance being replaced by "prosperity theology", and "movements" like the "Toronto Blessing", Todd Bentley's "healing" movement, and perhaps even the presence of Kandalini, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBpw2oQrvMM in the increasingly apostate, ecumenical and pluralistic "church".
All taking place right in the "temple of God".

As we should already all be well aware, there is of course conspicuous apostasy in Europe and elsewhere around the world, in the classical sense of the term. The following examples open with excerpts from Soeren Kern at the Gatestone Institute from his article "Muslims Converting Empty European Churches into Mosques":
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/27...s-into-mosques

"Muslims in Europe are increasingly converting empty Christian churches into mosques.
The proliferation of mosques housed in former churches reflects the rise of Islam as the fastest growing religion in post-Christian Europe."

"As Islam replaces Christianity as the dominant religion in Europe, more and more churches are set to become mosques, which increasingly serve not only as religious institutions but also function as the foundational political building blocks for the establishment of separate, parallel Muslim communities in Europe that are based on Islamic Sharia law."

"In addition to Roman Catholic churches, some Protestant churches have also been converted into mosques in Germany, where the Muslim population has jumped from around 50,000 in the early 1980s to more than 4 million today.
In Germany as a whole, more than 400 Roman Catholic churches and more than 100 Protestant churches have been closed since 2000, according to one estimate. Another 700 Roman Catholic churches are slated to be closed over the next several years."

"Overall, at least 10,000 churches have been closed in Britain since 1960, including 8,000 Methodist churches and 1,700 Anglican churches. Another 4,000 churches are set to be closed by 2020, according to Christian Research, an organization that tracks religious trends in Britain.
By contrast, there are now more than 1,700 official mosques in Britain, many converted from former churches."

Many more insightful articles by Soeren Kern, from the other side of the pond, are available at this link, that even agnostics or atheists - who don't welcome the prospect of their heirs being subjugated to Muhammad's followers under Islamic sharia law, and thus being compelled to prostrate toward the Quraish pagan's black stone idol in Mecca five times a day, any more than any other non-Muslims would - might appreciate. Yet preterists must perhaps believe this apostasy to be just some sort of a freaky accident of history, like the restoration of Jews to Israel.

Radical Islam.org reports: "Crossing the Interfaith Line: Islamists Take Advantage of Naive Christians"
http://www.radicalislam.org/analysis...ive-christians

"The Muslim Public Affairs Council’s choice of location for its 12th Annual Convention on December 15 is telling: The All Saints Episcopal Church of Pasadena, California. The group, founded by Muslim Brotherhood followers, says this is the “next step in its mission by crossing the interfaith line.”
Yet again, the Islamists are taking advantage of naïve Christians with a desire to show off their tolerance.
The All Saints Episcopal Church of Pasadena started an Interfaith Study Group in 2007 with the Pasadena Jewish Temple and the Islamic Center of Southern California (ICSC), from which MPAC originated. The organization was founded as a branch of ICSC in 1986 and then became independent in 1988, though the two remain intertwined.
The ICSC is proud of its interfaith successes. For example, the First United Methodist Church of Santa Monica is allowing the ICSC to hold Friday prayers there every week."

So we find the above partial-preterist/supersessionist institutions have been struck so blind to Islam, perhaps by their relatively greater distaste for Jews, that antichrist Islamic blasphemy filled Imams are preaching within these evermore ecumenical and pluralistic "churches". Followers of the false prophet Muhammad, that believe that the most egregious, and ONLY unforgivable sin is committed if a follower of Muhammad were to confess that Jesus is the Son of God. That would constitute a sin worse than the mass murder of those school children of recent weeks. Followers of the false prophet Muhammad who are compelled to DISbelieve the crucifixion and resurrection of the Messiah, and reject His shed blood, as articles of their faith in Muhammad alone.

From Wikipedia on the Presbyterian Church (not all of which are partial-preterist/anti-Zionist as some are futurist)

"Ronald H. Stone, John Witherspoon Professor of Christian Ethics at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, attracted negative media attention during the tour after being quoted as saying, "We treasure the precious words of Hezbollah and your expression of goodwill toward the American people. Also we praise your initiative for dialogue and mutual understanding. We cherish these statements that bring us closer to you. As an elder of our church, I'd like to say that according to my recent experience, relations and conversations with Islamic leaders are a lot easier than dealings and dialogue with Jewish leaders."[4]

Driven by punitive supersessionism they laud praises on an internationally recognized Islamic terrorist organization while distancing themselves from Israeli Jews. The context suggests they were perhaps as much fooled by Islamic terrorist's taqiyyah and subterfuge, as their revulsion and animus toward Jews perhaps made them unable to face reality conveyed to them by Jewish leaders.

So what apostasy happened in the first century according to preterism?
Didn't in fact the exact opposite of apostasy occur?

The growth of the ecclesia exploded in the first century, particularly since "the blood of martyrs is the seed of the ecclesia".
(The difference between a Christian and Muslim martyr is the Christian martyr says "I will die for what I believe in." while the Muslim so-called "martyr" says "You will die for what I believe in.")

I've been criticized for describing preterism as an inverted pyramid of pile-on presumption that springs from a single passage, verse, and perhaps even word. Yet each time scripture is queried about, from outside of the Olivet Discourse, the folks in this forum section seem to be at a loss. Even worse, contorting and bending scriptures and creating metaphors at their pleasure, in spiritualizing away that which doesn't fit with their understanding of the Olivet Discourse.
Most recently demonstrated by apparent inability to reply with the historically and hermeneutically well supported alternative to Daniel's "beasts" offered in this thread:
http://www.islamchristianforum.com/index.php?topic=3466.0
In the same vein as failure in the thread on "the false prophet".
http://www.islamchristianforum.com/index.php?topic=3477.0
Let alone (RCC Jesuit Luis Alcazar's eschatology as being most likely responsible for) this portion of the modern church being compelled to reject the physical matter of fact return of Jews to Israel, with 6 million Jews ruling Israel today, as not being of the will of the Lord.

So what apostasy do preterists believe Paul was referring to, that would have had to have taken place, within the 20 or so years before 70 AD?

May everyone have a blessed Christmas and happy and prosperous New Year.
May God bless you,
Pete

Best to read on that site:
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3501/spain-innocent-prophet-film

Much more from the author here:
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/author/Soeren+Kern

Spain Threatens to Deport Filmmaker for Anti-Islam Documentary

by Soeren Kern

    The case demonstrates how the fear of Muslim rage is threatening the exercise of free speech in Europe. Firasat said he has received far more threats from the Spanish government than from angry Muslims. "I have been threatened by the authorities [and told] that my refugee status will be revoked; I will be deported back to Pakistan where the death penalty for blasphemy is waiting for me."

The Spanish government has warned a political refugee that he faces deportation for making a documentary critical of Islam.

The move comes after Belgium raised its terror threat level to the second-highest ahead of the release of the film, originally planned for December 14.

The case demonstrates how the fear of Muslim rage is threatening the exercise of free speech in Europe.

The one-hour amateur film, "The Innocent Prophet: The Life of Mohammed from a Different Point of View," by Imran Firasat, was posted on YouTube on December 15 and purports to raise awareness of the dangers of Islam to Western Civilization.
(access the YouTube here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dbeY1lpLyQ )

Firasat, a Pakistani ex-Muslim, obtained political asylum in Spain in 2010 due to death threats against him in both Pakistan and Indonesia for criticizing Islam and for marrying a non-Muslim. (Read his story here, in Spanish.)

His film shows images of the Muslim terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York; on the double-decker buses in London and on the commuter trains in Madrid. The movie features many passages from the Koran threatening violence against non-believers. The movie also promises to answer the question, "Was Mohammed an inspired prophet of God, or was he a madman driven by his own demons, thus producing a religion of violence and tyranny?"

Firasat says the film will be translated from English into Spanish and Hindi, and that he plans to release a version in Arabic. Firasat made the film in cooperation with the American pastor Terry Jones, who burned a Koran in April 2012 to protest the imprisonment of the Iranian Christian pastor, Youcef Nadarkhani.

In an online trailer to promote the video, Firasat is filmed standing in Madrid's Plaza de Colón, with the Spanish flag in the background. He says: "If we find the truth about Mohammed, we can find the truth about Islam. Was Mohammed a prophet sent by Allah or was he a molester of children and a murderer?"

Firasat, who runs the website World without Islam (Mundo sin Islam), says he was inspired by another amateur film, "The Innocence of Muslims," which portrayed Mohammed as a womanizer, a homosexual and a pedophile; when it was released in September, it triggered a wave of anti-US protests and riots across Europe (here and here) and the Middle East in which more than 30 people were killed.

At the time, the Obama Administration falsely alleged that "The Innocence of Muslims" was responsible for the murder of U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three others in Benghazi, Libya.

Firasat told the Belgian newspaper De Morgen that he decided to make the film "when I heard that the U.S. ambassador was slain. I said, 'Okay, you Muslims, use violence, but we will continue to make films. One day one of us will lose.'"

Belgian Interior Minister Joëlle Milquet said on December 7 that the decision by the Coordinating Unit for Threat Analysis (OCAM/OCAD) -- the agency which keeps tabs on the terrorist threat in Belgium -- to take the level of threat up from two to three ("severe"), out of a maximum of four, was "a simple preventative measure."

According to Peter Mertens of the Crisis Center, a government agency linked to the Belgian Interior Ministry, which assists in emergency planning and emergency management, "the trailer can be perceived as Islamophobic. The OCAD has evaluated and decided to increase the threat level to the third of four levels. That is serious. We have now informed all of the police forces of the country and have asked to be extra vigilant."

The Belgian government appears afraid of inciting its burgeoning Muslim population after more than 250 Muslims clashed with police in the heavily Islamized Borgerhout district of Antwerp, the second-largest city in Belgium, when the earlier film, "The Innocence of Muslims," was released in September; approximately 300 people, including 50 in Brussels, were arrested.

Belgian intelligence officials interviewed by the newspaper De Morgen said: "It is unclear how reactions to the new movie will be. That is not easy to predict. But recent history teaches us that the reactions can be violent. We cannot risk that the matter is not closely followed."

Belgium is not the only European country to take preemptive action. The Spanish government, apparently afraid of provoking another terrorist attack similar to the train bombings in Madrid in April 2004, has attempted to silence Firasat by threatening to deport him if he goes ahead and releases the film.

According to the Socialist daily newspaper El País, the Spanish Interior Ministry has initiated a process to review Firasat's refugee status -- although the ministry has not specified the precise legal grounds for his potential deportation. Speculation is rife that Spanish authorities will issue an arrest warrant for Firasat for "offending religious sentiments."

In an interview with the online newspaper International Business Times (IBT), Firasat said he has received far more threats from the Spanish government than from angry Muslims.

Firasat told IBT, "Seven years ago I was granted refugee status in Spain for the reason that I used to criticize Islam. It has been seven years [and] since [then] I have taken the fight against Islam very far. And my right to freedom of expression was always respected by this great country. But now suddenly, for doing the same thing which I have been doing since for the last seven years, I have been threatened by the authorities [and told] that my refugee status will be revoked; I will be deported back to Pakistan where the death penalty for blasphemy is waiting for me, and that I may be detained if I continue with the plans to release the movie."

IBT then asked Firasat, "What made the Spanish authorities 'suddenly threaten' you? What could be the reason?" Firasat responded: "That's a very funny, interesting and surprising question, even for me. Why now? I was granted asylum because of my criticisms of Islam. I have formally asked the Spanish government for the prohibition of Koran in Spain. I have given thousands of interviews to radio and TV channels. I wrote articles in newspapers. But I was never told by anyone that what I am doing is illegal. Now suddenly they try to revoke my refugee status, detain me and prosecute me for offending Muslims' religious sentiments. Why? There may be two reasons: Fear of violence by Muslims abroad and in Spain, and conflicts in diplomatic relations with Islamic countries which are investing in Spain…This is not the Spain I arrived in seven years ago, where there was complete liberty of expression."

Some free speech activists say that Firasat is himself guilty of seeking to restrict free speech. In March 2012, for example, Firasat filed a 10-point petition with the Spanish government asking that the Koran be outlawed in Spain, and in April, the Constitutional Commission of the Spanish Parliament announced that it had accepted the petition and had agreed to study it further.

In an interview with the Spanish business newspaper La Gaceta, Firasat explained why he submitted the petition: "There are hundreds of verses in the Koran that encourage believers to kill, hate, discriminate, exact revenge and torture women. A book that promotes violence should not be circulating in a free and democratic society. In the last 10 years, all terrorist attacks have been promoted by Islamic jihad as contained in the Koran."

Firasat continued: "Over 100 places in the Koran mention the phrases such as 'go to war' or 'kill all the infidels until everyone is submitted to Allah.' And the Koran requires Muslims to continue to fight jihad [war in the cause of Islam] until it has captured the Western world, its freedoms and its religion at any cost."

Firasat concluded: "I formally asked the government of Spain to ban the Koran in Spain. It is a book that cannot exist in our free society. There are millions of Muslims who follow the book, but we cannot allow millions of other people who want to live in peace and in freedom and enjoy human rights to suffer and die. I do not understand why the Spanish penal code, the Spanish constitution and the European constitution prohibit violence of any kind and yet close their eyes when talking about the Koran."

Two days after filing his petition, however, the Spanish National Police (Policía Nacional) called Firasat in for questioning after it emerged that he wanted to burn a Koran at the Plaza del Sol in central Madrid.

According to a five-page police statement dated March 5, agents asked Firasat if he "understood that his actions could hurt the religious sensibilities of those who profess the Muslim faith." He was also asked if he was "conscious that the burning of the Koran could be considered a crime according to Title XXI, Chapter IV, Sections 1 and 2 of the Criminal Code…which refers to crimes against offending religious sentiments."

According to Firasat, the agents who questioned him asked him why he did not leave Spain and burn the Koran in another country. Firasat defended himself by saying he is a Spanish citizen and a legal resident with the same rights as any other.

After reviewing his website with the agents, Firasat said: "I am not hurting the feelings of any Muslim. Rather, I am taking an action that seems necessary against a book which gives the message of jihad: killing, hatred, violence and discrimination, which in no way is compatible with Spanish law."

In a newspaper interview, Firasat summed up his dilemma: "Fighting the injustice of Islam is not so easy. On the one hand there are the Islamists who are seeking to kill me, and on the other side our own police, our own system, which seeks to intimidate me and dissuade me from confronting Islam."

    Soeren Kern is a Senior Fellow at the New York-based Gatestone Institute. He is also Senior Fellow for European Politics at the Madrid-based Grupo de Estudios Estratégicos / Strategic Studies Group. Follow him on Facebook.

Just noticed this article when I did a search for "Roman Catholic churches converted to mosques" for an SDA that mentioned a "temporary" fall of the Roman church according to Ellen White's heresy. Because of course, if the fall wasn't temporary, then their created eschatology is demonstrated conclusively to be what it is.

This may be a more secular source but I found some of the wording interesting. Always best to read the articles on this site on their own websites, and this site page in particular, includes lots of links.
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/2761/converting-churches-into-mosques

"Muslims Converting Empty European Churches into Mosques

by Soeren Kern

Muslims in Europe are increasingly converting empty Christian churches into mosques.

The proliferation of mosques housed in former churches reflects the rise of Islam as the fastest growing religion in post-Christian Europe.

There are now more practicing Muslims than practicing Christians in many parts of Europe, not only in large urban centers, but also in smaller towns and cities across the continent.

As Islam replaces Christianity as the dominant religion in Europe, more and more churches are set to become mosques, which increasingly serve not only as religious institutions but also function as the foundational political building blocks for the establishment of separate, parallel Muslim communities in Europe that are based on Islamic Sharia law.

The latest churches destined to become mosques are located in Germany, where the Roman Catholic Church has announced plans to close up to six churches in Duisburg, an industrial city in northwestern part of the country, due to falling church attendance.

Duisburg, which has a total population of 500,000, is home to around 100,000 mostly Turkish Muslims, making it one of the most Islamized cities in Germany.

Muslims in Duisburg are now clamoring to turn empty churches in the city into mosques, according to the Germany daily newspaper, Der Westen.

All of the churches slated for closing are located in the gritty Hamborn and Marxloh districts in northern Duisburg where Islam has already replaced Christianity as the dominant religion, and where several Catholic churches have already been abandoned in a previous round of church closings.

In Marxloh, all eyes are set on the Church of Saint Peter and Paul, which is the last remaining church in a part of Duisburg that is now almost completely Muslim. The church may be closed as early as the end of January 2012.

Marxloh also happens to be home to the Duisburg Merkez Mosque, the largest mosque in Germany. Completed in 2008 at a cost of more than €7.5 million ($10 million), the Ottoman-style mega-mosque can accommodate more than 1,200 Muslim worshippers at a time.

Merkez now wants to turn the churches in Hamborn and Marxloh into mosques and prayer centers that would serve as extensions of the mega-mosque. According to the chairman of the Merkez Mosque, Mohammed Al, "Regardless of whether it is a church or a mosque, it is a house of God."

In addition to Roman Catholic churches, some Protestant churches have also been converted into mosques in Germany, where the Muslim population has jumped from around 50,000 in the early 1980s to more than 4 million today.

In Germany as a whole, more than 400 Roman Catholic churches and more than 100 Protestant churches have been closed since 2000, according to one estimate. Another 700 Roman Catholic churches are slated to be closed over the next several years.

By contrast, there are now more than 200 mosques (including more than 40 mega-mosques), 2,600 Muslim prayer halls and a countless number unofficial mosques in Germany. Another 128 mosques are currently under construction, according to the Zentralinstitut Islam-Archiv, a Muslim organization based in Germany.

In neighboring France, mosques are being built more often than Roman Catholic churches, and there now are more practicing Muslims in the country than practicing Catholics.

Nearly 150 new mosques are currently under construction in France, home to the biggest Muslim community in Europe.

The total number of mosques in France has already doubled to more than 2,000 during just the past ten years, according to a research report, "Constructing Mosques: The Governance of Islam in France and the Netherlands." The rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris, Dalil Boubakeur, has called for the number of mosques in the country to be doubled again -- to 4,000 -- to meet growing demand.

By contrast, the Roman Catholic Church in France has built only 20 new churches during the past decade, and has formally closed more than 60 churches, many of which are destined to become mosques, according to research conducted by La Croix, a Roman Catholic daily newspaper based in Paris.

Although 64% of the French population (or 41.6 million of France's 65 million inhabitants) identifies itself as Roman Catholic, only 4.5% (or 1.9 million) of those actually are practicing Catholics, according to the French Institute of Public Opinion (or Ifop, as it is usually called).

By way of comparison, 75% (or 4.5 million) of the estimated 6 million mostly ethnic North African and sub-Saharan Muslims in France identify themselves as "believers" and 41% (or 2.5 million) say they are "practicing" Muslims, according to an in-depth research report on Islam in France published by Ifop.

Taken together, the research data provides empirical evidence that Islam is well on its way to overtaking Roman Catholicism as the dominant religion in France.

In Britain, Islam has overtaken Anglicanism as the dominant religion as more people attend mosques than the Church of England. According to one survey, 930,000 Muslims attend a place of worship at least once a week, whereas only 916,000 Anglicans do the same.

Muslim leaders are now claiming that, given such a rise of Islam in Britain, Muslims should receive a share of the privileged status of the Church of England.

Overall, at least 10,000 churches have been closed in Britain since 1960, including 8,000 Methodist churches and 1,700 Anglican churches. Another 4,000 churches are set to be closed by 2020, according to Christian Research, an organization that tracks religious trends in Britain.

By contrast, there are now more than 1,700 official mosques in Britain, many converted from former churches. In addition, there are an estimated 2,000 Muslim prayer halls and unknown thousands of unofficial mosques in garages or warehouses scattered throughout the country.

Islam is set to displace Christianity in Britain even further in the years ahead. The number of Muslims in Britain is forecast to double to 5.5 million, or 8% of the total British population, by 2030, according to the Washington, DC-based Pew Research Center.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, in a December 2011 speech in Oxford on the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, said Britain is a "Christian country and we should not be afraid to say so."

But the official Citizenship Survey published on December 21 found that the number of people who call themselves Christians in England and Wales fell by nearly 10% over the past five years.

    Soeren Kern is Senior Fellow for Transatlantic Relations at the Madrid-based Grupo de Estudios Estratégicos / Strategic Studies Group. Follow him on Facebook.
_________________

The "falling away" or apostasy, perhaps just as prophesied, and right on schedule:

2 Thessalonians 2:3  Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;    4  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

For more on this passage:
http://www.islamchristianforum.com/index.php?topic=415.msg1601#msg1601

Best to read on the website that also includes links at this link:
http://www.radicalislam.org/analysis/crossing-interfaith-line-islamists-take-advantage-naive-christians

The Muslim Public Affairs Council’s choice of location for its 12th Annual Convention on December 15 is telling: The All Saints Episcopal Church of Pasadena, California. The group, founded by Muslim Brotherhood followers, says this is the “next step in its mission by crossing the interfaith line.”

Yet again, the Islamists are taking advantage of naïve Christians with a desire to show off their tolerance.

The All Saints Episcopal Church of Pasadena started an Interfaith Study Group in 2007 with the Pasadena Jewish Temple and the Islamic Center of Southern California (ICSC), from which MPAC originated. The organization was founded as a branch of ICSC in 1986 and then became independent in 1988, though the two remain intertwined.

The ICSC is proud of its interfaith successes. For example, the First United Methodist Church of Santa Monica is allowing the ICSC to hold Friday prayers there every week.

The story of MPAC begins with Hassan and Maher Hathout, the former of whom died in 2009. The brothers became active with the Muslim Brotherhood at an early age, with Hassan Hathout saying that its founder, Hassan al-Banna, is “the person who most influenced my life” and that “centuries might roll over before a similar personality is produced.”

Maher Hathout was arrested in Egypt, where the Muslim Brotherhood was banned, and released in 1968. Three years later, the brothers moved to Buffalo, New York, They then went to California to establish the ICSC in 1978.

Hassan Hathout says they sought to begin the “Islamic Movement” in the U.S., a term the Brotherhood uses to describe its ideology. In 1997, he predicted its success because “America needs Islam. If you look objectively, you will see that this current civilization harbors in its body the seeds of its own destruction.”

The language is very similar to that of a 1991 U.S. Muslim Brotherhood strategy document where it defines its “work in America as a kind of grand jihad in eliminating and destroying Western civilization from within.” Another U.S. Muslim Brotherhood document from 1989 from its Financial Committee refers to a person with the last name of Hathout as someone “in the field.”

Maher Hathout has served as a senior adviser to MPAC since its beginning at the ICSC in 1986 and is still a spokesman for the mosque. The ICSC recommends the work of Sheikh Yousef al-Qaradawi, a senior Brotherhood cleric that supports terrorism, Hamas and preaches a strategy of “gradualism” towards implementing Sharia Law. It also suggests a book on Islamic law called Fiqh-us-Sunnah authored by Brotherhood member Sayyid Saabiq under the guidance of Hassan al-Banna.

In 1998, Maher Hathout defended Hezbollah as “legitimate,” saying they are “fighting to liberate their land.” He also entertains 9/11 conspiracy theories suggesting that the U.S. government is lying about the identities of the hijackers. The current President of MPAC, Salam al-Marayati, likewise said in 1999 that Hezbollah engages in “legitimate resistance.” His immediate response to the 9/11 attacks were to point his finger at Israel.

MPAC’s former Political Director, Mahdi Bray, used to lead the Muslim American Society’s Freedom Foundation. The Muslim American Society is a Brotherhood front. Bray spoke in support of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2007 during a visit to Egypt. In March 2004, he condemned the killing of Hamas founder Ahmed Yassin as “state-sponsored terrorism.” In 2000, Bray stood on stage as Abdurrahman Alamoudi, who later was convicted on terrorism-related charges, publicly praised Hamas and Hezbollah. He joined the crowd in their displays of approval.

MPAC’s Policy and Programming Director, Edina Lekovic, was the editor of a Muslim student magazine in the 1990's called Al-Talib. In July 1999, it told Muslims to defend Osama Bin Laden when he’s called a “terrorist” because he’s a “freedom fighter.”

By that time, Al-Qaeda had already declared war on the U.S. and bombed the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998. Al-Talib management also told readers to reject the “twentieth-century version of Islam in the West,” an Islamist theme. Lekovic’s name also appears on an issue of the magazine from May 1999 alleging that the Holocaust was exaggerated.

In 2003, MPAC stood against the labeling of Hamas, Hezbollah and Palestinian Islamic Jihad as terrorist organizations. In March 2009, demonstrators at an MPAC-sponsored rally chanted in support of Hamas and the elimination of Israel. A policy paper from 2010 titled Building Bridges to Strengthen America treats the Muslim Brotherhood favorably, calling it a “conservative” group that can help the U.S. combat terrorism.

MPAC’s initial reaction to the recent fighting between Israel and Hamas was to accuse Israel of “assassination of Palestinian leaders, destruction of Gazan infrastructure and the gross killings of Palestinian civilians, including women and children.” The statement did not condemn Hamas. Instead, it legitimized the terrorist group by saying Israel is guilty of the “greatest act of violence” and is responsible for the ongoing conflict.

On November 24, MPAC changed its tune a bit in a joint statement with the Abrahamic Faiths Peacemaking Initiative that called on both Israel and Hamas to end their attacks. It said, “There is no excuse for the indiscriminate firing of rockets onto civilians, nor terrorism.”

MPAC explains that the holding of its convention at the All Saints Episcopal Church of Pasadena is a reflection of its focus on winning allies among other faiths. It boasts of establishing partnerships with the National Association of Evangelicals, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the Catholic Archdiocese, the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the Union of Reform Judaism and other faith groups.

MPAC and similar groups like the Islamic Society of North America have created an interfaith bloc willing to defend them against Rep. Michele Bachmann and other opponents.

If MPAC’s convention is like past ones, Islamists will again be given a platform to rally Muslims to their cause, but this time, it won’t be in a mosque or a hotel conference room. It’ll be from a church pulpit.

Editor's Note: The All Saints Church and MPAC announced they will hold a press conference Thursday, Dec. 6, at 9 a.m. at the church (132 N. Euclid Avenue, Pasadena, 91101) to address recent "hateful attacks on the church for hosting a national American Muslim convention."

 

Ryan Mauro is RadicalIslam.org's National Security Analyst and a fellow with the Clarion Fund. He is the founder of WorldThreats.com and is frequently interviewed on Fox News.

10 year old Brazilian singer doing Amazing Grace
http://www.youtube.com/user/strongtower27