[crusty old prospector]

At almost 56 years of age, in my own small way this is an historic event, exceptional and unforgettable, marking a radical and definitive break with the past. The miracle of the Resurrection of Christ has resounded through my soul, freeing it from the darkness of the preaching in which hatred and intolerance toward those who are "different," uncritically condemned as the "enemy," prevail over love and respect for one's "neighbor," who is always and in any case a "person"; just as my mind has been liberated from the obscurantism of an ideology that legitimizes deception and dissimulation, the violent death that induces murder and suicide, blind submission and tyranny, permitting me to adhere to the authentic religion of Truth, Life, and Freedom. In my first Easter as a Christian, I discovered not only Jesus, but I discovered for the first time the one true God, who is the God of Faith and Reason.

Something the Muslims will never understand.

[NYer]

Ciao!! Good to see you in the forum again!!

I posted this story to the News/Activism forum yesterday. It is an excellent clarification of how Magdi Allam arrived at his conversion. As we know, the Holy Father speaks through his actions :-) It should be interesting to see how all of this plays out over the next few months when he meets with the Muslim scholars.

Auguri et Buona Pasqua!

[knighthawk]

Islam-list

If people want on or off this list, please let me know.

[Cicero]

Thanks for the ping. I had read about this earlier, but it is very much worth reading this account by Allam himself.

It confirms what I noted before, that Pope Benedict must have decided that this issue needed to be confronted openly, even though it may risk the lives of Christians who have the ill fortune to live in Muslim countries.

But how much longer can the whole world continue to live like Dhimmis, for fear of offending these Muslim fanatics? The true state of affairs must be confronted, and better sooner than later.

As the Pope has indicated, dialogue is impossible unless both sides recognize the importance of truth, reason, and freedom as God-given gifts to men. Unfortunately, it is not clear that the Allah of Islam leaves any room for reason or for human freedom, as some commentators on Islam have been pointing out for some time. Allah is irrational and capricious, and demands nothing less than total submission. Freedom is a gift bequeathed to the West by Christianity.

[VOA]

The Wall Street Journal had a good article about the conversion
(Friday March 28; page A8).

Anybody thinking that Islam can “play well with others” should read
that article. It makes it pretty clear that the view of Islam is
that they can kill anyone that goes apostate...and how dare they be
admitted to Christian fellowship.

[RightWhale]

So many threads on this, apparently more threads than there are converts.