Finally, Someone in the Senate Makes Sense of the Struggle with ISIS!

Another "must see" video?  Yup, trust me, this is worth every seventeen minutes of your time.  Although he is among the youngest in the Senate, Ben Sasse is the adult in the Senate chamber.

Watch this!

ISIS --Who They Are and What They Want

Here's a link to a very informative essay in The Atlantic on ISIS/ISIL, which details their agenda, their ideology, and their eschatology, which drives much of the movement and its leaders.

What ISIS Really Wants

ISIS and Islamic Eschatology

As politicians throughout the West debate what to do about the rapidly increasing threat of ISIS, I wonder how much we in the West actually understand about the intellectual underpinnings of the movement.  Here are several articles I found helpful in sorting some of this out.

First, ISIS is driven by Islamic eschatology--an especially virulent apocalyptic eschatology.  As one writer points out . . .

Many Shi'ites from Lebanon, Iraq and Iran are drawn to the war because they believe it paves the way for the return of Imam Mahdi - a descendent of the Prophet who vanished 1,000 years ago and who will re-emerge at a time of war to establish global Islamic rule before the end of the world.

According to Shi'ite tradition, an early sign of his return came with the 1979 Iranian revolution, which set up an Islamic state to provide fighters for an army led by the Mahdi to wage war in Syria after sweeping through the Middle East.

"This Islamic Revolution, based on the narratives that we have received from the prophet and imams, is the prelude to the appearance of the Mahdi," Iranian cleric and parliamentarian Ruhollah Hosseinian said last year.

The entire article can be found here:  The Role of Islamic Eschatology in ISIS

A second factor driving the movement is a new and dangerous combination of eschatological, political, and terrorist ideologies, making the movement difficult to assess even by the jihadists themselves. (Apocalyptic, Political, or Just Plain Terrorists?)

So what is Isis essentially – violent millenarian cult, totalitarian state, terrorist network or criminal cartel? The answer is that it is none of these and all of them. Far from being a reversion to anything in the past, Isis is something new – a modern version of barbarism that has emerged in states that have been shattered by western intervention. But its influence is unlikely to be confined to Syria and Iraq.

Finally, the jihadist movement in Iraq/Syria is beginning to fracture and a "civil war within a civil war" seems to breaking out among jihadists.  (A Civil War Within a Civil War?)

Islamic militants who poured into the embattled nation to help the Free Syrian Army in its bid to topple dictator Bashar Assad are now fighting Assad, the rebels and each other in a barbaric free-for-all. At the center is the split between Al Qaeda’s regional affiliate, Jabhat al-Nusra, and the newly emerged Islamic State, which are fighting each other on the battlefield and in the war for recruits to the cause of Islamic terrorism. 

“The two groups are now in an open war for supremacy of the global jihadist movement,” according to Middle East scholar Aaron Zelin in a research paper published by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a U.S.-based think tank.

Throw in the jihadist-led insurgency in neighboring Iraq, which has become intertwined in the insurrection in Syria, and the shifting alliances are becoming for many even harder to understand.

Did You Stop Beating Your Wife?

Yes, I know this is a trick question (along the lines of "can God make a rock so big he can't lift it?"). 

But in this case, this is no joke.  According to a popular young Saudi cleric, who is well-known for giving marital advice, young men should learn how to "properly" beat their wives.  Apparently, there is a right way and a wrong way. (click here: FOXNews.com - Saudi Marriage 'Expert' Advises Men in 'Right Way' to Beat Their Wives - International News | News o)

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"Admonish them – once, twice, three times, four times, ten times," he advised. "If this doesn't help, refuse to share their beds."

And if that doesn't work?

"Beat them," one of his three young advisees responded.

"That's right," Al-'Arifi said.

He goes on to calmly explain to the young men that hitting their future wives in the face is a no-no.

"Beating in the face is forbidden, even when it comes to animals," he explained. "Even if you want your camel or donkey to start walking, you are not allowed to beat it in the face. If this is true for animals, it is all the more true when it comes to humans. So beatings should be light and not in the face."

His final words of wisdom?

"Woman, it has gone too far. I can't bear it anymore," he tells the men to tell their wives. "If he beats her, the beatings must be light and must not make her face ugly.

"He must beat her where it will not leave marks. He should not beat her on the hand... He should beat her in some places where it will not cause any damage. He should not beat her like he would beat an animal or a child -- slapping them right and left.

"Unfortunately, many husbands beat their wives only when they get mad, and when they start beating, it as if they are punching a wall – they beat with their hands, right and left, and sometimes use their feet. Brother, it is a human being you are beating. This is forbidden. He must not do this."

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This is shocking, but comes as no surprise.  What dumbfounds me, however, is the desire expressed by so many multi-culturalists about eliminating the supposed patriarchalism of Christianity from the public square all the while touting the supposed glories (and wisdom) of Islam.

The quotes above particularly struck me (pun intended), since during our Wednesday night Bible study I was going through Ephesians 5 and Paul's exhortation to the church, "husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church."  Funny, Paul doesn't mention "beatings" or abuse when he talks about the roles of husbands.  No, he speaks about loving our wives as we love our own bodies. 
 

The Islamic Joel Osteen?

 
Have you seen this guy before?  His name is Amr Khaled and apparently he's quite the rage (I use that term a bit guardedly in this context!) throughout the Middle East.  He's very, very popular on YouTube and he made Time Magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world (62nd).

Called the Islamic Joel Osteen or the Islamic Dr. Phil, Gene Veith made reference to him (Click here: Cranach -- The blog of Gene Edward Veith), and to an article about him in the Washington Post (Click here: Islam's Up-to-Date Televangelist - washingtonpost.com).

In a recent interview for the Egyptian Al Ahram (Click here: Al-Ahram Weekly | Profile | Amr Khaled: A preacher's puzzle) are the following comments about his growing influence throughout the Middle East.  Khaled is also seeking to convert Christians and is, apparently, quite successful at it.  Why?  Because he self-consciously imitates American Televangelists.

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"He believes he was put on earth for a purpose: to lead young people -- Muslims and Christians -- to this noble goal. Trained as an accountant, and from an upper middle class background, Khaled has emerged as a major 21st-century global phenomenon. He seems to be speaking of himself when he says, "I believe that every 100 years the world's thoughts change. And extraordinary people appear who carry new ideas to humanity."

There is no doubt about his power to influence, especially the young. Thousands, maybe millions of young girls donned the veil after hearing his lectures. Young men rapidly dropped their partying, drug-taking lifestyles, grew beards and became active at their local mosques . . .

It's clear that Khaled's mission is just beginning. His web site -- amrkhaled.net -- is among the most popular 1,000 in the world, ranking among global heavyweight media influences like The Washington Post, Al-Jazeera and the Drudge Report. But for all his talk of mass constituencies and millions of followers, Khaled still balks at being explicitly referred to as a political activist. "Participating in the political process is not shameful, forbidden, or something to shy away from," he says. "But when you have a goal you want to achieve, or a message you are trying to deliver, it's not about political participation for the sake of it... It's more about political participation as a tool" to achieve what you need.

That pragmatism may have been in play when Khaled and his TV producer friend first came up with the idea of consciously imitating the style of US Christian televangelism. The successful formula was like nothing the Arab world had ever seen, and it caught on like wildfire. Young people, especially impressed by the slick sets, soft lighting and friendly tone, said Khaled was the first to inspire them into understanding Islam's gentler side.

His sermons, however, with their clear and vivid warnings of the hell-fire that awaits unbelievers, appear to be just another form of fear mongering -- even though he is critical of what he calls "a religious discourse that merely says everything is haram and wrong". While constantly using scare tactics, the difference is in the seemingly friendly way he does so: by smiling, for instance, as he asks, "When you meet God on Judgment Day, will you be ready?"

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This raises several questions in my mind.  "How long will this Islamic Joel Osteen continue to be such a phenom?"  "Is this a passing fad, a new trend, or something which Al-Qaeda types will seek to quash?" 

How long will the "Allah loves you and has a wonderful plan for your afterlife which you cannot know until you die" bit continue to play throughout the Middle East?

Lets hope that Khaled actually manages to do to Islam what Joel Osteen has attempted to do to the gospel--neuter it.  That would be quite an achievement!

Let's Just Call the God of the Bible `Allah'

Bishop Martinus "Tiny" Muskens--a retiring Dutch bishop having either a senior moment or revealing his universalism--is proposing that people of all faiths simply refer to God as "Allah."  While many of Muskens' fellow Catholics are appalled (no surprise), the people at CAIR are thrilled (no surprise either).

According to a recent news article (Click here: FOXNews.com - Roman Catholic Bishop Wants Everyone to Call God 'Allah' - International News | News of the World |):

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"A proposal by a Roman Catholic bishop in the Netherlands that people of all faiths refer to God as `Allah' is not sitting well with the Catholic community.  Tiny Muskens, an outgoing bishop who is retiring in a few weeks from the southern diocese of Breda, said God doesn't care what he is called.

`Allah is a very beautiful word for God. Shouldn't we all say that from now on we will name God Allah? ... What does God care what we call him? It is our problem,' Muskens told Dutch television.

`I'm sure his intentions are good but his theology needs a little fine-tuning,' said Father Jonathan Morris, a Roman Catholic priest based in Rome. Morris, a news analyst for FOX News Channel, also called the idea impractical.  `Words and names mean things,' Morris said. `Referring to God as Allah means something.'"

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Foolish me.  I thought that a bishop’s theology was supposedly above the need for such fine tuning.  Meanwhile, CAIR's response (below) is predictable.

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"Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Washington, D.C.-based Islamic civil liberties and advocacy group, backs the idea as a way to help interfaith understanding.

`It reinforces the fact that Muslims, Christians and Jews all worship the same God,' Hooper told FOXNews.com. `I don't think the name is as important as the belief in God and following God's moral principles. I think that's true for all faiths.'  Christians who are Arabic speakers speak of Allah when they speak of God, Hooper added. `There's not a theological leap to make on the part of Christians,' Hooper said. 

The Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago supports the idea.  `I think it will open up doors,' said Janaan Hashim, a spokeswoman for the group representing more than 400,000 Muslim Americans in the Chicago area. `Language is a man-made limitation. I think what God cares about is how we fulfill our purpose in life.'

The nation’s largest Catholic civil rights group says Catholics won't get behind the proposal.  `Bishop Martinus `Tiny' Muskens can pray to `Allah' all he wants, but only addlepated Catholics will follow his lead,' Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, said in a statement. `It is not a good sign when members of the Catholic hierarchy indulge in a fawning exchange with Muslims, or those of any other religion.'

Muskens spent eight years in Indonesia, where he said priests used the word `Allah' during Mass.  Muskens also has drawn attention for other ideas such as encouraging the hungry to steal bread and offering condoms to combat HIV and AIDS."

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As for the reason why the God of the Bible cannot be addressed by the name "Allah," check out my sermon on article eight of the Belgic Confession  (Click here: http://kimriddlebarger.squarespace.com/a-commentary-on-the-belgic-con/8%20edited%20they%20are%20all%20three%20one%). 

Even through the Arabic word for God is "Allah," Christians worship the Triune God who is supremely revealed in the person of Jesus Christ.  We do not worship the generic "god" of the world's religions, nor the false God of Islam, known as "Allah."

You'd think a bishop would know better . . .

Jihad Trumps Hippocratic Oath

What ideology would lead a prominent neurologist (sworn to a life of healing and care of the suffering) to become the ring-leader in a plot in the UK to pack two large Mercedes with gasoline, propane and nails with the goal of killing and maiming hundreds in downtown London? 

It is not Christianity . . .

It is not even frustration in dealing with insurance companies or HMOs, or even the UK's socialist bureaucracy which regulates health care.

Surprise, surprise, it is Islam, the religion of "peace."

Click here: 'Terror ringleader' is brilliant NHS doctor | the Daily Mail

Alms for the Poor? Or Funding for the Jihad?

One of the Five Pillars of Islam is Zakat, which is the giving of 2.5% of one's wealth to support various Islamic causes, such as helping the poor, releasing people from debt, or for the propagation of Islam.

A recent report from Judicial Watch, indicates that a great deal of the money given to Islamic charities in the United States, actually makes its way to various groups funding and supporting terrorism (Click here: Judicial Watch).

"According to the report’s introduction:  `While the U.S. government finally has taken action against some of the groups identified by Judicial Watch, others are still functioning.  The federal government is aware of their presence and the danger they pose to our national security.  The question is:  Why are they still in operation?'  (Following the attacks of 9/11, Judicial Watch filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service against non-profit organizations, `reportedly being used as money laundering front organizations for radical Islamic terrorists.')  Among the highlights from the Muslim front organization report:

• The Islamic Society of North America enforces Wahhabi [extreme Islamism] theology in the country’s 1,200 official recognized mosques and has allegedly helped turn the federal prison system into a fertile recruiting ground for al Qaeda.  In 2005, the organization received a White House invitation to send a representative to participate in the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Representatives’ White House Leadership Conference.

• According to Hamza Yusuf, a board member of the Council for American Islamic Relations, `[America] is facing a terrible fate, and the reason for that is because the country stands condemned.'  Yet, the Department of Homeland Security recently published an online press release from the organization expressing its approval of the Transportation and Safety Administration’s `sensitivity training' program about Islamic traditions.

• The North American Islamic Trust, which operates out of Illinois, owns between 50 and 80 percent of North American mosques.  Authorities say the organization is used as a funnel for Saudi and other gulf money to spread an anti-American brand of Islamic fundamentalism in American mosques from southern California to South Carolina.

• In 2005, the Islamic Council for North America, based in New York, was under investigation for its connection to a violent Pakistani terrorist group with al Qaeda links.

`This report carefully documents connections between so-called Muslim charities in the U.S. and the terrorists who murder innocents,' said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.  `The federal government should no longer coddle terrorist front groups in the name of political correctness.  Any organization that funds terror should be shut down immediately.'”

To read the Judical Watch report,Click here:  http://www.judicialwatch.org/archive/2007/SR_muslimorg.pdf

I'm glad someone keeps watch on this kind of stuff! 

The Achillies Heel of Islam?

Two recent news stories illustrate Islam's public relations problem (exposing its dark side) as it spreads into the West.

In the first report (Click here: The Sun Online - News: Judge gives the OK to wife hit), "The terrified partner, a 26-year-old mum of two, filed for a quickie divorce after her husband hit her and even threatened to kill her. But the judge in Frankfurt, Germany, rejected her application — quoting a Koran verse which some have controversially interpreted to mean a man can beat his wife if she acts in an `unchaste' fashion. A divorce court judge ruled a man was right to beat and abuse his wife — because the Muslim holy book allowed it." 

Can you imagine what will happen if Sharia law is ever tolerated in the West?  And where is the outcry from the supposed champions of women's rights--the political left?  Many on the left actually believe that Falwell, Dobson and the Christian right are the true enemies of women.  The left's silence about Islam is deafening . . .

In the second news story, (Click here: Woman re-interprets Koran with feminist view | US News | Reuters.com) "A new English-language interpretation of the Muslim Holy book the Koran challenges the use of words that feminists say have been used to justify the abuse of Islamic women.  The new version, translated by an Iranian-American, will be published in April and comes after Muslim feminists from around the world gathered in New York last November and vowed to create the first women's council to interpret the Koran and make the religion more friendly toward women.  In the new book, Dr. Laleh Bakhtiar, a former lecturer on Islam at the University of Chicago, challenges the translation of the Arab word `idrib,' traditionally translated as `beat,' which feminists say has been used to justify abuse of women.  Why choose to interpret the word as 'to beat' when it can also mean 'to go away'," she writes in the introduction to the new book. The passage is generally translated: `And as for those women whose ill will you have reason to fear, admonish them; then leave them alone in bed; then beat them; and if thereupon they pay you heed, do not seek to harm them. Behold, God is indeed most high, great!'  Instead, Bakhtiar suggests `Husbands at that point should submit to God, let God handle it -- go away from them and let God work His Will instead of a human being inflicting pain and suffering on another human being in the Name of God.'"

If only feminist theologians do to Islam and the Koran what they've done to the Bible and mainline Protestantism, ironically they'll set Islamic expansion back decades!

Of course, the preaching of the cross is the best means to oppose Islam, but news reports like this along with the rise of feminist scholarship in their midst certainly cannot help the Islamic cause. 

Any thoughts?

Islamic Hip-Hop?

According to the Times Online (UK), Islamic hip-hop artists are taking the call for the Caliphate (Islamic empire) and the Ummah (Islamic state) to the streets (Click here: Islamic hip-hop artists are accused of indoctrinating young against the West - Britain - Times Online).

"HIP-HOP and rap artists are teaching young Muslims the ideology of radical Islamism through songs about the war in Iraq, the oppression of Muslims and the creation of an Islamic state governed by Sharia, or religious law.  Intelligence agencies have identified music as a `tool for indoctrination'. The phenomenon began with an American group called Soldiers of Allah. The group has since disbanded but its music and lyrics remain popular on the internet. Other groups in Britain, France and the US have been identified as giving cause for concern. Many use the derogatory term `kufur' to describe non-Muslims.

Madeleine Gruen, an American intelligence analyst, highlighted the lyrics of a British group called Blakstone as a possible gateway to extremist politics. Ms Gruen has studied how music, internet forums, boardgames and fashion have been used to radicalise youths. She said: `The music is very persuasive because it is giving young people ideas, and those ideas are what might motivate someone to become a jihadi. The material is all in English. It’s spreading a radical message to domestic populations that don’t speak Arabic or Urdu.'

Ms Gruen said that Blakstone’s lyrics echoed the views of Hizb ut-Tahrir (HuT), the Islamist political movement. Blakstone operates from an industrial estate in Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey. The group could not be contacted yesterday. In an interview last year, its founder, Ahmed Ashley Welbeck said that the music was `about the underdog' and offered `a middle way' between Muslim tradition and street culture.

Last night, a spokesman for HuT said that it had no formal links with Blakstone or any other rap groups. He said: `Our message is out there, it is very widespread and it is hardly surprising that groups might pick up on it. HuT is a more traditional political movement. We use conferences, websites and leaflets, but rap music is not one of our things. There is a lot of anger out there, especially about the Iraq war. Our challenge is to channel that frustration and anger into political activism."

Here are some of the lyrics . . .

"Yesterday I was dreaming I dreamt of The State we made, a place with purpose and meaning. I saw my people they were smiling not grieving, I saw our kids they were safe they were breathing . . . And no more talk of war and of bombs to drop, under Allah’s Shade and Shield and fearing not. No more bleeding due scheming dogs on thrones, whom plot with foes to spread woes, the stench of rot. And that’s how it’s supposed to be. I look around and all I see today is poverty and misery from systems ruling over me with blasphemy. Their tool, kufur rule it’s a catastrophe"

From Close 2 Me, by Blakstone

"No Khalifah [Islamic state] Where are we heading? Without Islam we’re stressing, implement Allah’s blessing, that’s what I am addressing. Apart from this kufur scheme. Bring Islam back to the scene. Let’s unite the Ummah [Muslim nation], following only the Koran and the Sunnah. Even if all the kufirs got together, they still couldn’t stop this Ummah. We love Islam More than we love life."

From Bring Back Islam, by Soldiers of Allah

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This is yet another wake-up call.  It won't be long before this is an issue in every American city.  Let us pray for confidence in the gospel and boldness in proclaiming it.  The cross always trumps the crescent! 

Update on Thursday, November 16, 2006 at 11:50AM by Kim Riddlebarger

Not to be left out on this potentially great means of outreach, the Episcopal Church has just published a "hip-hop prayer book" (h.t. Gene Veith).  It includes the following version of the Lord's Prayer (Click here: Welcome to Church Publishing)

Psalm 23 as adapted by Ryan Kearse

The Lord is all that, I need for nothing.
He allows me to chill.
He keeps me from being heated
and allows me to breathe easy.
He guides my life so that
I can represent and give
shouts out in his Name.
And even though I walk through
the Hood of death,
I don't back down
for you have my back.
The fact that you have me covered
allows me to chill.
He provides me with back-up
in front of my player-haters
and I know that I am a baller
and life will be phat.
I fall back in the Lord's crib
for the rest of my life.