January 13, 2015
We need to revisit this blog and question the bloggers who are speaking out as follows:
“As a non-Muslim, I’d like to apologize to Muslims for the non-Muslims demanding that all Muslims should apologize for the attacks in Paris.” My question is – do all Muslims have to follow Sharia law which states: Sharia law is a legal framework to regulate public and private aspects of life based upon specific Islamic teachings. Sharia is a strict system which views non-Muslims as second-class citizens, sanctions inequality between men and women and prescribes cruel and unusual punishments for crimes.
Sharia law goes against the Constitution of the United States. So how can Muslims follow Sharia law and live and accept the Constitution? Therefore, I do not owe anyone an apology to anyone. If all Muslims want Sharia law they need to return to the Middle East where it is practiced because they can’t come in, usurp the advantages of our Constitution, and then expect to follow Sharia law. We must not allow this law in the U.S. as it has been implemented in parts of the European world and now is causing havoc, i.e., Paris!
SEPTEMBER 15, 2014
Group of Christian Leaders Rally Against U.S. Action on ISIS
Attached are two pieces of information that actually swept me off my feet. When I read the fourth paragraph which read:
“The world view of this Christian group (the 53 Christian leaders who wrote this letter to the President are identified at the end) is that Islamic extremism is a response to American imperialism. In other words, its America’s fault and the Islamist terrorists are victims, even if their methods are deplorable.”
All of the Christians (men, women and children) who have been killed by these terrorists throughout the world and who were not Americans and now these Christian leaders are blaming America. How awful!
I am very disappointed in these people. They never mentioned that the Muslims marry their relatives and their children’s IQ is in the retarded range. Is there any way that you can reason with people in this range of mentality? You have to have a mental problem to cut off someone’s head! Have you ever tried to reason with a retarded person?
I guess they forgot about all of the people who had nothing to do with these wars and have been killed since 1968. See my blog entitled, Reflections of Reality dated January 6, 2014. Is this all about money and their own ideology? I think all of this group who wrote this letter to the president should be allowed to go to the ISIS Headquarters and try to negotiate this same argument; and, if they are successful, they will be able to return! If not, we will see their heads on the chopping block! Following is the information.
kommonsentsjane
Some of the organizations have a history of willful blindness to the Islamist ideology and have allied with American Islamists with extremist histories.
By Ryan Mauro
A group of 53 Christian leaders and activists are urging the Obama Administration not to militarily strike the ISIS terrorist group in Iraq and Syria in a published letter. Several of the organizations represented have a history of willful blindness to the Islamist ideology and have allied with American Islamists with extremist histories.
The letter was published by the Catholic Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns. One of the group’s stated objectives is:
“Identifying and eliminating the root causes of violence and conflict with a focus on…U.S. aggression and national security policy (e.g. war on terrorism and war in Iraq and Afghanistan). The nexus of violence and poverty is clear.”
The worldview of this Christian group is that Islamic extremism is a response to American imperialism. In other words, its America’s fault and the Islamist terrorists are victims, even if their methods are deplorable.
This perspective is fundamentally in error and naïve. ISIS calls itself the Islamic State because that’s what it is fighting for. According to its own words, it is fighting for a caliphate
CaliphateGlossary Item
An Islamic State where Sharia is the basis of governance; usually used in reference to past Islamic empires in the Middle East.
and sharia
ShariaGlossary Item
A legal framework to regulate public and private aspects of life based upon specific Islamic teachings. Sharia is a strict system which views non-Muslims as second-class citizens, sanctions inequality between men and women and prescribes cruel and unusual punishments for crimes.
governance (i.e, an Islamic State). There is no logical way to connect opposition to American foreign policy with this agenda.
In a blunt interview with NBC News, an American from North Carolina who tried to join ISIS and was arrested said, “My reason for the support of ISIS is because they’ve proven time and time again to put Islamic law as the priority and the establishment of an Islamic state as the goal,” Don Morgan said.
By characterizing American military action as “aggression” and ISIS as victims, the organization is assuming the worst of American intentions and the best of ISIS’, even going so far as to ignore ISIS’ own words and actions.
The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns views Islamic terrorism as an outburst against inequality and poverty. Studies have repeatedly debunked this. The latest was a Queen Mary University of London study that concluded that there is no connection between Islamic terrorism and poverty, lack of education or unemployment.
This latest letter endorsed by 53 Christian activists claims that, “More bombing will ultimately mean more division, bloodshed, recruitment for extremist organizations, and a continual cycle of violent intervention.” They argue that U.S. military action “will only propitiate more armed intervention in a tit-for-tat escalation without addressing the root causes of the conflict.”
The logic is that military action is always counter-productive. If this logic were followed during World War II, the existence of Nazi Germany would be accepted. The Nazi regime was dismantled because the Allies accurately attributed the conflict to an immoral ideology.
The letter’s policy recommendations have already been mostly tried, yet its authors present it as something new and innovative. This includes humanitarian assistance, engagement of Iraqi leaders, sanctions and replacing U.S. airstrikes with “community-based nonviolent resistance strategies.”
Endorsers of this letter include leaders of the United Methodist Church’s General Board of Church and Society, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the United Church of Christ, the American Friends Service Committee, professors from various universities and clergy from around the country.
While activists like these may argue that they don’t necessarily oppose all uses of force, their worldview inevitably leads to appeasement and inaction in the face of major threats and human rights abuses.
Mark Tooley, President of the Institute on Religion and Democracy, writes that proponents of this trend “often demand maximalist, unattainable standards [for military action] that default towards a functional pacifism.”
In the current instance of ISIS, Tooley compares the letter to “telling a woman being chased down the street by a rapist that instead of seeking an armed police officer she should urge her aspiring assailant to get counseling for his anger issues.”
Yet, the protest by some of the letter’s endorsers is unsurprising given their history of partnering with Islamists. The United Methodist Church’s General Board of Church and Society endorsed a 2012 letter protesting five members of Congress for requesting investigations into the relations between U.S. governmental agencies and Muslim Brotherhood
Muslim BrotherhoodGlossary Item
A worldwide Islamist organization founded in Egypt in 1928 by Hassan al-Banna that seeks to implement Sharia-based governance globally.
entities.
The letter defends the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), a U.S. Muslim Brotherhood entity and unindicted co-conspirator in a terrorism-financing trial, and the Muslim Public Affairs Council, a group founded by Muslim Brotherhood ideologues.
The United Methodist Church is listed on ISNA’s website as an interfaith partner. The church also endorsed a letter protesting the New York Police Department for its intelligence-gathering programs and showing of The Third Jihad
JihadGlossary Item
A holy war waged against non-Muslims on behalf of Islam considered to be a religious duty; also, a personal struggle in devotion to Islam.
, a Clarion Project documentary that exposes the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist extremists.
The Presbyterian Church (USA) participates in the same actions and more. It works with Islamists in producing reports on Muslim-Christian relations and published a book whitewashing radical cleric Imam
ImamGlossary Item
Religious authority figure; usually the leader of a mosque.
Zaid Shakir and the school he founded, Zaytuna College. In July, the Church divested $21 million from Israel. The Iranian regime and former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke celebrate the anti-Israel activism of the Church.
The Presbyterian Church (USA), the United Methodist Kairos Response, United Church of Christ Israel-Palestine Network and others belong to the Interfaith Boycott Coalition, the faith-based wing of the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation. This bloc is defending a woman accused of perpetrating a bombing of civilians in Israel.
Overwhelmingly, the American people reject these Christian activists’ arguments. The latest poll shows that 71% of Americans support airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq and 65% support doing the same in Syria. About 58% support arming Kurds fighting ISIS.
Another poll found 76% in favor of airstrikes on ISIS with only 23% opposed. About 62% favor military aid to forces fighting ISIS. These high numbers come before President Obama’s speech making the case for military intervention.
These Christian activists have adopted the Islamist narrative while ignoring the Islamists’ words about their own intentions. By teaching their supporters that ISIS is the result of American “aggression,” they are promoting inaction that will further the Islamist extremist cause and enable the persecution of fellow Christians.
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Ryan Mauro is ClarionProject.org’s national security analyst, a fellow with Clarion Project and an adjunct professor of homeland security. Mauro is frequently interviewed on Fox News.
Copyright © 2013 Clarion Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
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53 national religious groups, academics, ministers urge alternatives to U.S. military action in Iraq
An emerging ecumenical paradigm called “justpeace” offers a fresh way to view and analyze conflicts. This gives rise to the realization of a broader set of smart, effective nonviolent practices to engage hostile conflicts. See below for a recent example of this approach initiated by the ecumenical Faith Forum for Middle East Policy.
A PDF of this letter is found at the bottom of the page.
August 27, 2014
Dear President Obama:
As religious communities, leaders, and academics, we write to express our deep concern over the recent escalation of U.S. military action in Iraq. While the dire plight of Iraqi civilians should compel the international community to respond in some way, U.S. military action is not the answer. Lethal weapons and airstrikes will not remove the threat to a just peace in Iraq. As difficult as it might be, in the face of this great challenge, we believe that the way to address the crisis is through long-term investments in supporting inclusive governance and diplomacy, nonviolent resistance, sustainable development, and community-level peace and reconciliation processes.
Pope Francis has affirmed that “peacemaking is more courageous than warfare,” and more recently said that “it is licit to stop the unjust aggressor. I underscore the verb ‘stop;’ I don’t say bomb, make war — stop him.” But how, we ask?
In addition to the complex factors spilling over from the civil war in Syria and pressure from other neighbors, decades of U.S. political and military intervention, coupled with inadequate social reconciliation programs, have significantly contributed to the current crisis in Iraq. More bombing will ultimately mean more division, bloodshed, recruitment for extremist organizations, and a continual cycle of violent intervention.
The current state of crisis and the breakdown of state institutions in Libya provide another stark example of the failure of a militarized strategy. Like Libya, the air strikes in Iraq will ultimately fail to build and maintain sustainable peace in the long-term.
We understand and deeply share the desire to protect people, especially civilians. However, even when tactics of violent force yield a short term displacement of the adversary’s violence, such violence toward armed actors is often self-perpetuating, as the retributive violence that flares up in response will only propitiate more armed intervention in a tit-for-tat escalation without addressing the root causes of the conflict. We see this over and over again. It is not “necessary” to continue down this road of self-destruction, as Pope Francis called the hostilities of war the “suicide of humanity.”
There are better, more effective, more healthy and more humanizing ways to protect civilians and to engage this conflict. Using an alternative frame, here are some “just peace” ways the United States and others can not only help save lives in Iraq and the region, but also begin to transform the conflict and break the cycle of violent intervention. To begin, the United States should take the following steps:
- Stop U.S. bombing in Iraq to prevent bloodshed, instability and the accumulation of grievances that contribute to the global justification for the Islamic State’s existence among its supporters.
- Provide robust humanitarian assistance to those who are fleeing the violence. Provide food and much needed supplies in coordination with the United Nations.
- Engage with the UN, all Iraqi political and religious leaders, and others in the international community on diplomatic efforts for a lasting political solution for Iraq. Ensure a significantly more inclusive Iraqi government along with substantive programs of social reconciliation to interrupt the flow and perhaps peel-back some of the persons joining the Islamic State. In the diplomatic strategy, particularly include those with influence on key actors in the Islamic State.
- Work for a political settlement to the crisis in Syria. The conflicts in Iraq and Syria are intricately connected and should be addressed holistically. Return to the Geneva peace process for a negotiated settlement to the civil war in Syria and expand the agenda to include regional peace and stability. Ensure Iran’s full participation in the process.
- Support community-based nonviolent resistance strategies to transform the conflict and meet the deeper need and grievances of all parties. For example, experts have suggested strategies such as parallel institutions, dispersed disruptions, and economic non-cooperation.
- Strengthen financial sanctions against armed actors in the region by working through the UN Security Council. For example, disrupting the Islamic State’s $3 million/day oil revenue from the underground market would go a long way toward blunting violence.
- Bring in and significantly invest in professionally trained unarmed civilian protection organizations to assist and offer some buffer for displaced persons and refugees, both for this conflict in collaboration with Iraqi’s and for future conflicts.
- Call for and uphold an arms embargo on all parties to the conflict. U.S. arms and military assistance to the government forces and ethnic militias in Iraq, in addition to arming Syrian rebel groups, have only fueled the carnage, in part due to weapons intended for one group being taken and used by others. All armed parties have been accused of committing gross violations of human rights. Along with Russia, work with key regional players such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait to take independent initiatives and meaningful steps towards an arms embargo on all parties in the conflict.
- Support Iraqi civil society efforts to build peace, reconciliation, and accountability at the community level. Deep sectarian and ethnic divisions have long been exacerbated by various factors, including the U.S. military intervention in 2003. Sustainable peace will require peacebuilding and reconciliation efforts from the ground up.
With hope, deep-felt prayers, and a splash of courage, we ask you to move us beyond the ways of war and into the frontier of just peace responses to violent conflict.
Sincerely,
Susan T. Henry-Crowe, MDiv.DD
General Secretary, General Board of Church and Society
The United Methodist Church
Rev. Gradye Parsons
Stated Clerk of the General Assembly
Presbyterian Church (USA)
Janet Mock, CSJ
Executive Director
Leadership Conference of Women Religious
Diane Randall
Executive Secretary
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Shan Cretin
General Secretary
American Friends Service Committee
Rev. Julia Brown Karimu
Co-Executive, Global Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and United Church of Christ
Rev. Dr. James Moos
Co-Executive, Global Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and United Church of Christ
Sandy Sorensen
Director, DC office
United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries
Eli McCarthy, PhD
Director of Justice and Peace
Conference of Major Superiors of Men
Patrick Carolan
Executive Director
Franciscan Action Network
Stanley J. Noffsinger, General Secretary
Church of the Brethren
Sr. Patricia Chappell
Executive Director
Pax Christi USA
Marie Dennis
Co-President
Pax Christi International
Gerry G. Lee
Director
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
Scott Wright
Director
Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach
Rev. Michael Neuroth
Policy Advocate for International Issues
United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries
Very Rev. Michael Duggan, MM
U.S. Regional Superior of Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers
Very Rev. Carl Chudy, SX
Provincial Superior of Xaverian Missionaries in U.S.
Very Rev. Domenico Di Raimondo, M.Sp.S.
Provincial Superior of Missionaries of the Holy Spirit
Christ the Priest Province
Provincial Council of the Clerics of St. Viator (Viatorians)
María Teresa Dávila, PhD
Assistant Professor of Christian Ethics
Andover Newton Theological School
Bill Barbieri, PhD
Professor of Religion and Culture and Moral Theology/Ethics
Catholic University
Rev. Dr. Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite
Professor of Theology
Chicago Theological Seminary
Sr. Marianne Farina, CSC
Ethics Professor
Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology
Laurie Johnston, PhD
Assistant Professor of Theology and Religious Studies
Emmanuel College
Rev. Priscilla Eppinger, PhD
Associate Professor of Religion
Graceland University/Community of Christ Seminary
Peter Phan, PhD
Ellacuria Chair of Catholic Social Thought
Georgetown University
Fr. Ray Kemp, S.T.L.
Theology Professor
Georgetown University
Francis X. Clooney, SJ
Parkman Professor of Divinity
Director, The Center for the Study of World Religions
Harvard University
Betty Reardon, PhD
Founding Director Emeritus
International Institute on Peace Education
Maureen O’Connell, PhD
Associate Professor of Theology and Chair of Department of Religion
LaSalle University
Amir Hussain, PhD
Professor of Theological Studies
Loyola Marymount University
Kathleen Maas Weigert, PhD
Carolyn Farrell, BVM Professor of Women and Leadership
Loyola University Chicago
David Cortright, PhD
Director of Policy Studies
Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies
Notre Dame University
Margaret Pfeil, PhD
Assistant Professor of Theology/Ethics
Notre Dame University
John Berkman, PhD
Professor of Moral Theology
Regis College, University of Toronto
Gerald W. Schlabach
Professor of Theology
University of St. Thomas
John Sniegocki, PhD
Associate Professor of Christian Ethics
Director, Peace Studies Minor
Xavier University
Kathryn Getek Soltis, PhD
Director, Center for Peace and Justice Education
Assistant Professor of Christian Ethics
Villanova University
Suzanne C. Toton, EdD
Theology and Religious Studies Department
Villanova University
Rev. Louis Arceneaux, CM
Promoter of Peace and Justice
Western Province, Congregation of the Mission, USA
Fr. Robert Bossie, SCJ
Priests of the Sacred Heart
Chicago, IL
Fr. John A. Coleman, SJ
Saint Ignatius Parish
San Francisco, CA
Fr. John Converset, MCCJ
Director, Office of Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation
North American Province of Comboni Missionaries
Doreen Glynn, CSJ
Justice Coordinator
Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, Albany Province
Bro. Michael Gosch, CSV
Justice, Peace, Integrity of Creation Director
Clerics of St. Viator (Viatorians)
Jude A. Huntz, Director
Office for Peace and Justice
Archdiocese of Chicago
Bro. Brian McLauchlin, SVD
Justice, Peace, Integrity of Creation Promoter
Bro. Frank O’Donnell, SM
Marianist
Brian Reavey
Lay-Marianist
Bro. Jerry Sullivan, SM
Marianist
Rev. Dr. Peter A. Wells
Justice LED Organizer
United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries
Bro. Stan Zubek, SM
Marianist
cc:
- Secretary of State John Kerry
- U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power
- Department of State, Undersecretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Sarah Sewall
- USAID, Assistant Administrator for the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance Nancy Lindborg
- Special Advisor to the Secretary of State for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives Shaun Casey
- Special Assistant to the President for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships Melissa Rogers
Photo of U.S. infantry in Iraq (2004) used courtesy of Creative Commons on Flickr.
kommonsentsjane 
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