From beginning of Islam 2

Historians say that pre-Islamic Arabs worshipped the moon-god by bowing in prayer toward Mecca several times a day. They would also make a pilgrimage to Mecca, run around the Kabah seven times and throw stones at the devil. And they fasted for one month, which began with the appearance of the crescent moon and ended when the crescent moon reappeared. These same rites form the core of Islam today. Muslims bow in prayer toward Mecca they make a pilgrimage to Mecca and run around the Kabah seven times and they still throw stones at the devil. They also observe the fast of Ramadan, which begins and ends with the crescent moon. Moreover, the ancient symbol of the pagan moon-god, the crescent moon, is the official symbol of Islam it appears on the flags of Muslim countries, as well as on the tops of mosques and minarets everywhere. For no Muslim can fulfill the requirements of the Quran. According to the teaching of the Quran no Muslim can enter into paradise! Religious minorities have not “flourished” under Islam. In fact, they have dwindled to mere shadows after centuries of persecution and discrimination. Some were converted from their native religion by brute force, others under the agonizing strain of dhimmitude. What Muslims call “tolerance,” others correctly identify as institutionalized discrimination. The consignment of Jews and Christians to dhimmis under Islamic rule means that they are not allowed the same religious rights and freedoms as Muslims. They cannot share their faith, for example, or build houses of worship without permission. Historically, dhimmis have often had to wear distinguishing clothing or cut their hair in a particular manner that indicates their position of inferiority and humiliation. They do not share the same legal rights as Muslims, and must even pay a poll tax (the jizya). They are to be killed or have their children taken from them if they cannot satisfy thetaxcollector’s requirements. For hundreds of years, the Christian population in occupied Europe had their sons taken away and forcibly converted into Muslim warriors (known as Jannisaries) by the Ottoman Turks. It is under this burden of discrimination and third-class status that so many religious minorities converted to Islam over the centuries. Those who didn’t often faced economic and social hardships that persist to this day and are appalling by Western standards of true religious tolerance and pluralism. For those who are not “the People of the Book,” such as Hindus and atheists, there is very little tolerance to be found once Islam establishes political superiority. The Quran tells Muslims to “fight in the way of Allah” until “religion is only for Allah.” The conquered populations face death if they do not establish regular prayer and charity in the Islamic tradition (ie. the pillars of Islam). Tamerlane and other Muslim warriors slaughtered tens of millions of Hindus and Buddhists, and displaced or forcibly converted millions more over the last thousand years. Islamists in Somalia behead Christians.In Iran,they are jailed.One of the great ironies of Islam is that non-Muslims are to be treated according to the very standards by which Muslims themselves would claim the right to violent self defense were the shoe on the other foot. Islam is its own justification. Most Muslims therefore feel no need to explain the ingrained arrogance and double standard. There are about 500 verses in the Quran that speak of Allah’s hatred for non-Muslims and the punishment that he has prepared for their unbelief. There is also a tiny handful that say otherwise, but these are mostly earlier verses that many scholars consider to be abrogated by the later, more violent ones. As for Sura 109, any true Quran scholar will point out that the purpose of the verse was to distinguish Islam from the gods of the Quraysh (one of which was named "Allah") rather than to advocate religious tolerance for non-Muslims. At the time that he narrated this very early verse, Muhammad did not have any power, and thus no choice but to be "tolerant" of others. By contrast, there was no true tolerance shown when he returned to Mecca with power many years later and demanded the eviction or death of anyone who would not convert to Islam. In fact, he physically destroyed the cherished idols of the people to whom he had previously addressed in Sura 109. If tolerance simply means discouraging the mass slaughter of those of a different faith, then today's Islam generally meets this standard more often than not. But, if tolerance means allowing people of other faiths the same religious liberties that Muslims enjoy, then Islam is fundamentally the most intolerant religion under the sun.

America's Dangerous Slide

When the United States ceases being an empire, like Rome ceased being an empire, she will no longer carry the world's load. Isn't that what a superpower does, carry the world's load? Few Americans would argue, following the 9/11 attacks, that some kind of retaliation wasn't in order. Who was behind those murderous attacks? Saudi Arabia, Pakistan? I think What Americans are tired of, is occupation, nation building, "winning hearts and minds," implanting democracy, etc. A great world empire must look out for her interests. Does a great world empire have moral obligations, when dictators use or threaten to use weapons of mass destruction such as chemical, biological or nuclear weapons? What should be our response? Do you think it conceivable given Iran's apocalyptic and murderous ideology, given their state sponsorship of terror world-wide, given their threats to annihilate Israel and the United States, is it possible that Iran might make good on her threats one day should they possess many dozens, perhaps hundreds of nuclear devices? What should we do? Sit by and wait for that eventuality? Why are the Republicans even talking about Syria? Iran is the controlling force behind Syria. What will American prestige mean when we get into another war that may be difficult to get out of? Obama's purpose for drawing the U.S. into a war with Syria is to distract attention from Iran's nuclear program and prevent an Israeli strike on Iran not to mention to continue to weaken the U.S. military. McCain should be pressuring Obama to support Israel not carrying water for the Muslim Brotherhood. Isolationists have to look at the big picture. Syria is only a side show to the main event Iran. It was an eye opener to learn of Iran's sinister use of Hezbollah to subvert and subjugate Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Bahrain and Iraq to form the Shia Crescent and all to distract the U.S. while they perfect the Imam Hussein Atomic Bomb. When Iran has their nuke, they will hold the World hostage by threatening the Arabian Gulf countries, which pump 60% of the Worlds oil. The U.S. Britain and France have been on the wrong side throughout this conflict in supporting a ragbag of extremist groups, whom the news media like to call 'the rebels', against the government of Syria, the so-called 'régime'. For the first time in a long life, in this particular situation i find myself on the side of Russia in backing the government of Syria. It was to Syria that Catholics and other persecuted Christian groups of that region had fled in recent times to find a haven. The indigenous Christians of Syria, too, enjoyed a safety to live their Christian life. When one hears Obama, Biden, and Kerry in the U.S. with Cameron and Hague in Britain, deplore the spectacle of more than 100,000 deaths and 2.5 million displaced caused by this conflict, one has to wonder to what extent they, themselves, might have exacerbated the situation there by their long and surreptitious and now open supply of weapons, and other assistance, to those extremist groups who hate everything the West stands for, including democracy. It is quite possible that we would now have a state of peace in that ancient and historically important land without this support of Western governments to those groups.

Why We Should Not Attack Syria

The Syrian mountain town of Maaloula is almost all Christian. They all speak the oldest form of Hebrew there, Aramaic. It is the same language that Jesus spoke on the cross, when He said, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which means, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" It was the Syria leader Bashar Assad, who set up and funded a school to save and teach the Aramaic language, about 9 years ago in this town of Maaloula. Those are the true facts that cannot be changed. Notice that today at sundown, September 4th, is the beginning of the Jewish New Year. The Syrian "rebels" (a.k.a. al Qaeda) ran a false flag operation, gassing fellow Syrians and blaming it on Assad.The UN has said there is not enough evidence to say Assad did it. The Muslim Brotherhood has taken claim that it was mishandling of weaponry that caused the killing (reported by AP, BBC, and Russia) Assad has point blank said he didn't do it. I know you can't trust that but here's the thing. Why would you kill your own people in the enemy territory? Why not just kill you enemy in the enemy territory? Why would you kill your own with the whole world watching knowing what the response would be. Obama, in turn, takes that staged provocation by the rebels to declare that Assad crossed Obama's red line, and tells the Republicans to do his heavy lifting by rounding up the necessary votes for Obama to send military to depose Assad. Anyone know about the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution from august 7 1964? Senator Ernest Gruening objected to "sending our American boys into combat in a war in which we have no business, which is not our war, into which we have been misguidedly drawn, which is steadily being escalated". A traitorous lie by LBI still have not seen any evidence that Assad's forces fired chemical weapons at civilians. Sarin is easy to make. The "rebels" could have either made it themselves or stolen it from a weapons storage site somewhere where the Syrian army soldiers defected. Assad had nothing to gain from gassing civilians, but his opposition has a lot to gain from framing him. So we're all hot and bothered over chemical use in this conflict. Why is it we hear nothing from Christian president regarding Muslims attacking Christians and their churches in these areas? Why hasn't he said or done a thing about the attacks on people of his supposed "Christian" faith? Or are we to believe he has a greater interest in the victims only of Muslim faith? If we review the number of instances where he supported and backed Muslims rather than Christians we would find a great imbalance in the protection of people of his supposed "Christian" faith.The very idea of supporting "the rebels" in this Syria tragedy is well beyond ludicrous - how about "suicidal" relative to we "infidels" who value westerncivilization. Supporting the Assad side is almost as bad they want to focus on those pesky Jewish "infidels" Watch what happens, now that Obama and other countries have funded the muslim terrorists to wipe out Christians. Bush was forced to try sanctions first. Why doesn't that apply now? Why would we help the enemy? Who are the good guys? This is all smoke and mirrors. Who was giving missles to whom in Benghazi? Where are they now? Wote no on Syria intervention. We aren't home from Iraq, or Afgahnistan yet. Why on earth would we attack another country that is no threat to us? Let their neighbors deal with this. Turkey, Lebannon, Saudi Arabia. Why we should not attack Syria? This seems to be the moral dilemma confronting the prime minister of Britain and the president of the US as they gaze righteously upon the carnage in Syria. The immediate cause of their pious wrath was the use of lethal gas ("chemical weapons")to kill over a thousand people in Damascus, the Syrian capital. The 1925 Geneva Protocol outlaws chemical warfare. You may blow people to pieces with bombs but not gas them. Syria is racked in civil war between her horrible dictator Bashar al-Assad and horrible rebels, backed by al-Qaeda. The war is bloody and complicated. It is thought that Assad or one of hishenchmen was responsible for the gas but this is not certain. Russia, sensibly, wants good evidence before any action is taken. Both Cameron and Obama seemed bent on immediate action.What did they want to do? Bomb Syrian chemical facilities and perhaps release lethal gases? (to teach you not to use gas, we're going to gas your people). Or bomb a non-gas weapons facility? (to teach you not to use gas, we're going to bomb a facility that doesn't make gas). How many innocent people did they want to slaughter to demonstrate their moral superiority? In the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, the USA provided Saddam Hussein with chemical weapons to gas Iranians. In 2003, the USA invaded Iraq, overthrew Saddam, and turned Iraq into a chaotic mess. This year the US did nothing when the army overthrew the democratically-elected government in Egypt and killed hundreds of people. Obama didn't even recognise the coup as a coup. Now Obama wants to pose as a moral guardian? Even allowing for the rampant hypocrisy and lack of logic, what right has the US, over 6000km away, to interfere in Syrian affairs? (Russia is 500km away). The British Parliament's refusal to back Cameron's silly warmongering was a triumph for democracy and good sense. The fact that Obama seems to have backed off because of this gives me hope, for now (I remain cynical).

Americans administrations and the Middle East

It's time that Christians realize that we tongues-talking Holy Ghost charismatics are not all right wingers. We come in all political persuasions. God bless America. The Church, which is His Body, includes Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Socialists, Independents, Liberals, Conservatives, etc. etc. etc. Jesus is still the Head of His many-membered Body. I'm not a conservative or a liberal or a moderate. I'm a tongues-talking Holy Ghost preacher of the Full Gospel. God loves them all just the same, and calls every politically minded religionite to the cross and to His prayer tower. Sadly, the "anti-God" Klan isn't in Washington alone. It's in the so-called Christian community. We tongues-talking, Holy Ghost filled charismatics will stand against them all, in the Name of Jesus, by by the Blood of the Lamb. We pray for the President of the United State of America, and pray the Blessing of Almighty God upon him and his gracious family. We haven't seen an example of such a solid family in the White House for many years. They are living out what we have called Family Values. God bless them, and God bless the United States of America. It's wonderful to have a Brother in Christ in the White House. It is amazing that the focus is on Obama and negates any facts pertaining to prior Presidential Administration's and their role in providing aid to Egypt. As recently as 2006, Bush was providing 2 billion $ annually to Egypt. Since 1979, USA was 1.3 billion $ annually to Eqypt. Mr. French does a poor disservice to those who are unable to filter through the concept that this is not solely an Obama issue. It is a Bush issue, a Clinton issue, another Bush issue, a Reagan issue, and a Carter issue.In total, various administrations have provided 50 billion $! To elucidate the truth for people who are unwilling to fact check and will believe anything that is presented without the underlying whole issue exposed, is not a difficult task when we are willing to lay aside presuppositions. Furthermore, if we stick to the main argument of this article which focuses on Obama's role in ending the current aid to Egypt, you have to understand that this issue is bound within US lav which is a creative mess to navigate. But, let's start with the facts to state that Obama has not done anything is not true. On July 24, Obama decided to suspend the delivery of four F-16 fighters to Egypt and on August 15 he canceled a regular military exercise with the Egyptian army. Under U.S. law, economic aid that goes to non-governmental groups as well as to government programs that promote free and fair elections, health, the environment, democracy, rule of law, and good governance are exempt from US AID cut off's. The legal entanglement and the sole reason that aid has not been completely cut off is because it cannot be determined that the events surrounding Mursi's ouster are suspect until proven to be true and within the scope of US LAW. Nevermind the fact that all of this pertains to the 1979 Camp David peace treaty with Israel. Admittedly, the fact that Christians are being systematically persecuted is horrific. However, I do not see anyone decrying the fact that this happens all over the world and blaming Obama for the fact that we intrinsically and economically support it by proxy. So yeah go ahead, blindly cut it off if you want no influence in what happens in the Middle East. Go ahead and create a hostile environment with a nation that has helped us to protect Israel for the last 50 years. Go ahead and blame Obama for everything because you don't know history! This is not a simple issue that caters to a simple national response.

Schmutzli

Every country has its traditions and rituals and one of the more quirky and oddly satisfying of the Swiss Christmas season is Schmutzli.

2 Schmutzli are seen here on either side of SamiChlaus

Just like Venom to Spiderman, Dr. Moriarty to Sherlock Holmes and Magneto to Dr. Xavier, Schmutzli is a more sinister counter point to the good that Santa represents.

The answer to how this tradition came about is once again representative of another classic battle between Christianity and paganism. Originally it was a pagan ritual called Perchten which involved good spirits driving out the bad old spirits. With Samichlaus taking the Christian "good" role Schmutzli some how managed to evolve into the dark figure.

Samichlaus is not Santa Claus however and the celebration of "St Nicolas Day"is on the 6th of December, while both Christmas and St Nicolas Day both have the same origins they take on different forms, with the latter having much more in common with its original tradition of paganism than its commercialised American brother.

What is personally appealing about this tradition is the fact that it actually give children something to fear at Christmas. No longer is the classic taunt "Santas' watching" applicable, the phrase "Schmutzli is watching" has far more fear behind it, and only rightly so, the black faced nemesis is associated with stealing children, carries a broom of sticks with which to hit misbehaving children and is even called  Père Fouettard or Father 'Whip' in the French speaking part of Switzerland.

Local teenagers have even been known to dress up as groups of Schmutzli's and go around implementing their own style of vigilante Christmas justice on younger children.

All Christmas songs now have a new tune

You better watch out
You better not cry
Better not pout
I'm telling you why
Schmutzli is coming to town

He’s got a stick, And he'll whip you twice;
It doesn't matter if you're naughty or nice
Schmutzli is coming to town

He'll steal when you’re sleeping, He'll whip you when you’re awake
He knows if you’ve been bad or good, So run for goodness sake!
O! You better watch out! You better not cry
Better not pout, I’m telling you why
Schmutzli is coming to town

Sounds like excellent incentive for good behaviour from children to me and hey its a lot less scary than the German equivalent "Krampus" who looks like the very incarnation of Satan himself.

From beginning of Islam

After Muhammad died, the people who lived with him and knew his religion best immediately fell into war with each other. Fatima, Muhammad's favorite daughter, survived the early years among the unbelievers at Mecca safe and sound, yet died of stress from the persecution of fellow Muslims only six months after her father died. She even miscarried Muhammad's grandchild after having her ribs broken by the man who became the second caliph. Fatima's husband Ali, who was the second convert to Islam and was raised like a son to Muhammad, fought a civil war against an army raised by Aisha, Muhammad's favorite wife - and one whom he had said was a "perfect woman." 10,000 Muslims were killed in a single battle waged less than 25 years after Muhammad's death. Three of the first four Muslim rulers (caliphs) were murdered. All of them were among Muhammad's closest companions. The third caliph was killed by allies of the son of the first (who was murdered by the fifth caliph a few years later, then wrapped in the skin of a dead donkey and burned). The fourth caliph (Ali) was stabbed to death after a bitter dispute with the fifth. The fifth caliph went on to poison one of Muhammad's two favorite grandsons. The other grandson was later beheaded by the sixth caliph. The infighting and power struggles between Muhammad's family members, closest companions and their children only intensified with time. Within 50 short years of Muhammad's death, even the Kaaba, which had stood for centuries under pagan religion, lay in ruins from internal Muslim war. And that's just the fate of those within the house of Islam! From the beginning, Islam conquered and bullied its way into control of the Middle and Near East. To be sure, the Roman Empire and their successors in the eastern Mediterranean, the Byzantines, were equally capable of foisting their brand of "Christianity" upon then pagan peoples or even other Christians with different beliefs, but Islam has kept it up into the modern era. Its monopolistic view of human religious belief has resulted in a mass cultural genocide and a most pesty tendency toward one sided fanaticism. It is not a healthy legacy. The early split between Shia and Sunni is a simmering Gog and Magog which lurks behind many of the tensions in the Middle East. While i will defer to Muslims as to their sincerity of belief, i do wonder whether Mohammed did not envision the power of a religious ideology as a way of dealing with the encroachments of Byzantine Christianity all around the Mediterranean. Only by uniting Arabs and other local peoples under the banner of a single new religion could they form a group strong enough to take on the this last vestige of the Roman Empire which had ruled the area to varying degrees since before the birth of Jesus some seven hundred years before. Add that to the fact that the Roman Empire was dead and the Byzantine Empire, in fact, was corrupt, ageing and vulnerable, Arab growth grew quickly throughout former Byzantine lands and into Europe proper. Building one of their greatest Holy Sites upon the temple walls of the city most sacred to Jews and Christians created a lasting sore point if, also, an intended reminder that Islam is the equal, if not greater, than either Judaism or Christianity - a crown jewel of military and religious triumph. The Ottomans did the same with the world renowned Byzantine Christian Basilica, Hagia Sophia, when they turned it into an imperial mosque.

Islamic Spring 2

Coptic is the Pharoes’ name for “Egyptian,“ a little appreciated echo of the fact that all of Egypt was once a Coptic, Christian nation. For seven centuries Egypt was a Christian nation, until the Arab Islamic invasion in the seventh century. When President Obama came to Cairo in 2009 for his first major speech on foreign affairs, he thought his charisma would be enough, as he attempted to appease the Islamists with his talk of America being their friend, all the while ignoring the plight of the Christians of the Middle East, who have been the bridge between the West and Arab cultures since the 17th century. It was Coptic and Arab Christians who acted as translators of the greatest works of arts, literature, civilization, theater, and cinema, just as did Jews living in the Arab world. They made huge strides in bringing modern ideas, including democratic ideas, to the Islamic dominated world, but just as the Jews before them, Christians are now facing eviction from the Arab world, and this is not only a loss for the West but mostly for Arab Muslims. It is also a crime against humanity. Scores of Christians are being consumed in the conflagration that is taking place in Egypt and Syria. In Egypt some Coptic Christians have been burned beyond recognition defending sixty some churches that have been burned to the ground, even as Ambassador Patterson continues her attempts at a reconciliation between the the Muslim Brotherhood conducting this devastation and the Egyptians who revolted against the Brotherhood’s rule. Once again the American administration attempts to ally itself against those fighting for a secular Arab world, with the odd philosophy in place that thinks we can appease the radical Muslims into actually liking us, all the while ignoring the fact that most Muslims living in these countries have had enough of radical Islam, and would prefer a secular state. Egypt’s fourteen million Christians, the original descendants of the pharaohs, are once again being singled out, while the American administration has aligned itself with their persecutors. Over the past fourteen centuries, Muslims invaders of Egypt have forcibly converted most of the population, except for those stubborn Coptic Christians who stood up to the persecution and threats, only to have America side with the militant Islamic Brotherhood. This madness that has taken over the mind of the present American administration is beyond comprehension, but is also indicative of the long history of our failure to understand the Arab mind. Meanwhile, our Christian brothers and sisters throughout Egypt and the Middle East, are paying the price of America’s greed for oil, power, and control. This philosophy of conquest has become our dominant foreign policy, while we ignore the long term consequences on the lives of fourteen million Coptic Christians.