Posted on 10/03/2010 9:12:54 AM PDT by kristinn
ABC News' Christiane Amanpour has done a great service today with her panel discussion on whether America should fear Islam.
Thanks to guests Franklin Graham, Robert Spencer and Peter Gadiel refusing to submit to Allah and political correctness, and the brashness of Anjem Choudary, Americans watching broadcast television have learned more about Islam in the hour long show than many have in the nine years since 9/11.
Franklin Graham was unapologetic in his stance on Islam, however he differentiated between Islam the religion and Muslim people. Gary Bauer and Ayaan Hirsi Ali also deserve credit for speaking truth to Islam on the broadcast.
AMANPOUR: I would like to go to Reza Aslan, who is joining us from Amsterdam, and who is a scholar on these matters. Reza, you have heard just right now several points raised. One is that Muslims in this country are trying to bring Sharia law. Is there a shred of evidence for that?
REZA ASLAN, WRITER, "THE DAILY BEAST"/author: No, not a single shred whatsoever. I think somebody needs to remind Franklin Graham that we don't judge our values in the United States by comparing them to what the Saudis do. This is a common refrain that you hear from a lot of anti-Muslim activists in the United States, including Robert Spencer, that, well, if, in Saudi Arabia, you can't have a church, then, therefore, in the United States, you shouldn't be allowed to have mosques. This is an appalling and laughable argument.
GRAHAM: You know we can have an argument -- but I'm not here to argue. As a Christian, I believe that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life and that no man comes to the father in heaven except through him. I don't believe in Islam. I don't believe a word of it. I do respect their right to -- to believe whatever they want to believe. My opinions are not based on hearsay. My opinions are based on 50 years of working in Middle Eastern countries. I'm 58. I was -- eight years old when I made my first trip to Egypt. And I've been to Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan, Somalia. I've worked in these countries. But I disagree, Christiane, with -- with the Sharia law, because they do stone women. They do imprison -- I -- I've worked in the Sudan, where they've burned over a thousand churches -- a thousand.
... GRAHAM: When we talk about -- there are millions of Muslims in this world that are wonderful people, who don't beat their wives, who don't practice honor killings--
AMANPOUR: Why do you call it a wicked religion, an evil religion?
GRAHAM: I think to -- to take your daughter, because you think that -- and the religion gives you the authority -- Sharia gives you the authority for honor killing. And we saw the young girl in Ohio just a few--
....
KHAN: Well, this -- this particular center will create a counter-momentum against extremism, because it will amplify the voices of moderate Muslims, which have gotten drowned out over the years by the extremists, because the extremists did not only hijack the planes, they hijacked an entire religion.
AMANPOUR: Let me just say stop you there for a second, because this side is obviously the side that says one shouldn't fear and that there are moderates and the whole religion should not be painted with the same brush. I want to, though, now go to Anjem Choudary in London. You have said that you think there should be Islamic domination. Why shouldn't people be afraid of that?
CHOUDARY: Well -- well, let me just say that Islam has a solution for all of the problems that mankind faces. If you want to live at peace with Muslims, we are quite willing to live at peace with you. But let us remember that history did not begin on 9/11. Before 9/11, the Americans -- the American government bombed Sudan and Afghanistan. They were supporting the pirate state of Israel. So 9/11 was a reaction. You know, I think that we need to get away from the stereotyping. And this idea that you have moderate Muslims and you have radical Muslims, you know, it's complete nonsense. A Muslim is the one who submits to the command of the creator. If he submits, he is a practicing Muslim. If he is not, then he should be practicing.
DAISY KHAN: I have to disagree with him, because Islam is a religion of pluralism that embraces all religions and it also embraces different interpretations. This is why we have so many schools of thought. What Anjem is talking about is an exclusivist view of Islam, which is my way or the highway. And my interpretation is the only interpretation--
CHOUDARY: It's very easy for people to justify the fact that they're not practicing. I mean, this lady in your studio, she should be covering with the hijab. She's obviously not practicing --
(CROSSTALK)
CHOUDARY: There are many people who are justifying -- there are many people who are justifying the inability to practice the Sharia, to say, "Well, I have a different form of religion." You know, people want to claim that they're vegetarians and they're eating big beef burgers. You can not be a non-practicing vegetarian. Therefore, similarly, if you're a Muslim, you submit to the Sharia.
FRANKLIN GRAHAM: He's telling the truth.
AMANPOUR: You see, Reverend Graham says you're telling the truth. So, do you agree with Reverend Graham and our panelists on this side that Americans should fear Islam?
CHOUDARY: we do believe, as Muslims, the East and the West will one day be governed by the Sharia. Indeed, we believe that one day, the flag of Islam will fly over the White House. Indeed, there's even an oration of the Prophet where he said, "The day of judgment will not come until a group of my oma... -- "
DONNA MARSH O'CONNOR: Can I just -- ?
CHOUDARY: "Conquer the White House."
...
AMANPOUR But is it a question now of, basically, tarring or conflating, confusing everyone, 1.57 billion Muslims around the world, with that minority group who would do harm and who would cause violence?
GADIEL: I do not say that Islam is evil. I say there is a lot of evil connected with it. That is a problem for Muslims themselves. They have to cure the problem. We're supposed to believe Ms. Khan here, that she can cure the problems of Islam at the fringes. The problem goes to the core, and that is the countries -- you cannot ignore Saudi Arabia and Iran, and the other countries that, undoubtedly do oppress people of a different religion --
AMANPOUR: But we're talking about -- we're talking about America here.
GADIEL: We're talking about right now a very small number of people in this country. And what we are afraid of, is that as the number grows, the violence will grow, as we have seen in Holland, and as we see in Germany, and as we see in England. Do we have a reason to be afraid of Muslims right now? No, the number's not very great. But your mosques, moderate, wherever they are, have been infiltrated and have a history of being infiltrated by radicals. And you can't deny it. And you may, for all I know, not be a moderate you pretend to be, because you may be engaging in takia and be engaging in lying for the purpose of furthering your religion.
(LAUGHTER)
...
ASLAN: Well, it comes from the - an organization, a neo - not - what the E.U. refers to as the neo-Nazi organization called Stop Islamization of Europe. And that kind of institutionalized Islamophobia is precisely what your organization, Stop Islamization of America, is importing into the United States. And honestly, you're on the wrong side of history. And very soon, in a couple of decades, you will be sweeped and your ideas will be sweeped into the garbage bin of history, along with the anti-Semites of the 20th century and the anti-Catholics of the 19th century.
(APPLAUSE)
SPENCER: Here again, Reza Aslan is displacing responsibility and trying to act as if this is something that I am doing that is illegitimate, or something that I have created. When actually, you look at the writings of 20th century -- muslim brotherhood theorists like and people like Madudi in Pakistan, the founder of Jamaat-e-Islami -- he says, "Non Muslims have absolutely no right to wield the reins of power in any part of God's earth. And, if they do, it is the believer's responsibility to dislodge them from that power by any means possible."
Christian Amanpour gave everybody room to talk. The Muslims on the panel tried but failed to dispel the truths spoken by those opposed to Islam spreading in America.
If Amanpour was hoping for a kumbaya moment, she didn't get one.
Bronx Trial Shows how Prisons Breed Terrorists
The trial of the four suspects accused of plotting to bomb synagogues in the Bronx and shoot down aircraft with missiles continues in New York this week. Already the defense has decided that its strategy will be to focus on the government’s use of a confidential informant. Defense attorneys claim that the defendants were enticed to commit the acts of terrorism.
349_largeTo be sure, a close examination of all the facts in this case is necessary to understand exactly what happened, whether it was entrapment or a predisposed willingness on the part of the four defendants to commit such a heinous act in the name of Allah.
The proverbial elephant in the room is the prison connection. All four of the defendants, James Cromitie, Onta Williams, David Williams, and Laguerre Payen, were former inmates. Even more importantly, all three imams at the Mosque in Newburgh, which the defendants attended after being released from prison, had a connection with the prison system.
This is where a lot of terrorists that attack America will come from and our country is doing nothing to prevent it. Many prisons don’t serve pork now because there are so many muslims there. We keep bending over for muslims at our peril.
I wonder ifthere is a “King James version” of the koran?
F- those dirty night-shirt wearing cretins.
Your post was excellent. Clear and reasoned. And if you don't mind, I am going to be using the the first line of the above quote from your post one great big bunch. Well written.
Crimeny sakes, one sides bias by Islamic Amwaypurr. Conned, wonder how many islamic folks as per Christians and others were in the audience, sounds one sides and yet, and yet, islam reared its ugly head and spoke some truth; nasty brutal truth.
just like there are large percentages of every religion that are 'in name only'...except most of the others dont rountinely saw off heads...
Thank you for your appreciation. Feel free to use as you see fit.
“But is the Muslim host of the aformentioned Christian ministry a terrorist just by definition of his religion? No.”
I think you haven’t recovered quite enough. You are letting your PC get the better of you. You miss a big point. With Muslims, any Muslim who may live next door to you, because of how their religion teaches, such as lying to “infidels” (that’s us), he/she may be a good person or could just as equally be a terrorist.
I don’t want to live amongst people whom I have to guess as to whether their intentions are good or evil. You could I suppose say this about anyone, but I trust my fellow Americans of just about any other major religion much much more than I do an outsider group of Muslims who refuse in general to assimilate, who owe their allegiance to their war-based religion before any State, and who cannot be trusted to be speaking the truth to me; I have to guess about their intentions.
We have a fifth column living in this country, whose intentions are as likely malevolent to our way of life as not. Their Sharia law is despicable, their attitude toward women repulsive, and their propensities towards Jihad a clear and present danger. You tell me who the good guy Muslims are as versus the bad guys. Can you?
No, nobody can tell the difference. But how about a quote from one of their leaders he does differentiate clearly.... "We Love Death....The U.S. loves life....That is the big difference between us." (osama bin ladin)
Europe thought they too could do the “Christian” thing with Moslems... but they did not do so until after they themselves left the Christian faith and standards and strove to become socialists in their thinking.
If this nation continues to turn it's back on the Christian faith it was founded on....it will no longer have the discernment to tell the difference between good and evil. Which is why we see that which was once not tolerated now not only tolerated but encouraged. When it comes to Islam there is no middle ground when it comes to them assimilating...they never will.
What was the Air Force ONe flyover of NYC, if not to let the Muslims inside feel their “dominance” over the WH and the US?
Satan IS the father of lies.
Blatantly obvious that ABC has no problems with Islam taking over the White House....none whatsoever....nada...nope.... =.=
> Do they know what happens to people like them in Muslim
> countries where Sharia law is in effect?
The cognoscenti among them know.
The monied and elite leftists are using the MoHamHeads as useful idiots, as one of the engines being employed to bring Western Civilization crashing down.
Once that happens, the left elites can build their totalitarian statist utopia, where the elites will be able to live large while the proletariat wallow in squalid slavery.
The MoHamHeads, once they cease being useful, will be relegated to the same fate. If they resist, they will be exterminated.
In Revelation, the Anti-Christ Beast uses the Whore religion to unify the world. Then the Anti-Christ turns on her and destroys her.
Could this be the Leftist/MoHamHead paradigm?
Is this a dry run, or do we see the “real thing” emerging before our eyes?
Time will tell ...
Islam is what it is...trying to make it acceptable is an affront to our country and it’s people.
They have a lot in coomon with queers and homos in that regard.
Liberals are blind zombie self serving sheep and as such they see nothing but their own agenda and ideology even if that agenda and ideology are self destructive and suicidal.
Christians send missionaries all across the world to build churches. We help people with food and water and education first. We don’t murder people and then build churches.
Many people don’t realize we have already been invaded.
Will congress critters fund the war when we are bankrupt, and will God bless America when she is morally bankrupt? First things first. Graham did say Jesus is the Way, but did not say that America has lost her way. I see a problem with that, especially from God’s point of view. He will not treat us any better than Israel.
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