Unless the English-speaking peoples step up, they'll lose the great struggle against radical, totalitarian Islam.
By Andrew Roberts
London
The English-speaking peoples of the world need to unite around their common heritage of values. And they need to sacrifice their naiveté about the true nature of war – and the losses that inevitably go with it. Otherwise, they will lose a titanic struggle with radical, totalitarian Islam.
The reason they are under such vicious attack – my home city of London came within minutes of losing up to 1,000 innocent people in an attempted nightclub bombing two weeks ago – is that they represent all that is most loathsome and terrifying for radical Islam.
Countries in which English is the primary language are culturally, politically, and militarily different from the rest of "the West." They have never fallen prey to fascism or communism, nor were they (except for the Channel Islands) invaded.
They stand for modernity, religious and sexual toleration, capitalism, diversity, women's rights, representative institutions – in a word, the future. This world cannot coexist with strict, public implementation of Islamic sharia law, let alone an all-powerful caliphate.
Those who still view this struggle as a mere police action against uncoordinated criminal elements, rather than as an existential war for the survival of their way of life, are blinding themselves to reality.
Sending signs of surrender
But recent news suggests the blindness is growing. Antiwar sentiment in America is swelling. As key Republicans desert the president, senators are pushing amendments to force the withdrawal of US troops. All this before US Gen. David Petraeus reports on the surge.
Are the English-speaking peoples really about to quit before Islamic totalitarianism has been defeated in Iraq? Are they seriously contemplating handing the terrorists the biggest victory since the Marines' withdrawal from Beirut? It was that surrender in 1984 that emboldened Osama bin Laden to believe that his organization could defeat a superpower. Surrender in Iraq would prove him right.
As a Briton, I cannot help thinking that if the Americans of 1776 had been so quick to quit a long, drawn-out, difficult ideological struggle, America might still be ruled by my country today.
The new British prime minister, Gordon Brown, has dropped the phrases "war on terror" and "Muslim" or "Islamic" terrorism from the government's discussion of what Britons are fighting. Car bombs are going off – we just need to find non-threatening ways to describe them.
In Iraq and Afghanistan, meanwhile, English-speaking forces ignore such pusillanimity and get on with the vital job of fighting those who would turn the Middle East into a maelstrom of jihadist anarchy and terror.
We know that Al Qaeda cannot be appeased, because if they could, the French would have appeased them by now. Al Qaeda is utterly remorseless, even setting bombs (detected by authorities in time) on the Madrid-to-Seville railway line in April 2004, after Spain decided to withdraw its troops from Iraq.
Fortunately, however, the English have been here before. Thrice. Their history provides a number of apposite lessons about how to defeat this latest fascist threat.
Since 1900, the English-speaking peoples have been subjected to four great assaults: first from Prussian militarism, then by Axis aggression, then from Soviet communism. The present assault from totalitarian Islamic terrorism is simply our generation's equivalent of our forefathers' successful struggles against the three earlier fascist threats. But in this fourth and latest contest, victory is not yet in sight.
In researching my book, "A History of the English-Speaking Peoples Since 1900" – a coda to Winston Churchill's classic – I visited the papers of 200 individuals in 30 archives on three continents. While there, I could not help concluding that this struggle against Islamofascism is the fourth world war. And I was repeatedly struck by how often common themes from the four struggles emerged.
Today's struggle needs to be fought in radically different ways from the last three, of course, but ideologically it is nearly identical. Look at the common factors.
Just as on 9/11, the English-speaking peoples have regularly been worsted in the opening stages of a conflict, often through surprise attack. As Paul Wolfowitz put it at a commencement in June 2001: "Surprise happens so often that it's surprising that we're surprised by it." more...
From Nigeria to Indonesia, Christians are under siege in virtually every single country in the Muslim world, the victims of countless acts of discrimination, depredation, brutality, and murder that are so widespread and systematic that it can rightfully be called the new Holocaust. This time, however, the perpetrators of this Holocaust aren't wearing swastikas, but kufi skull caps and hijabs.
Some of the oldest Christian communities in the world are subject to relentless attack and teeter on the brink of extinction at the hands of the "Religion of Peace": Palestinian Christians in Gaza and the West Bank; Assyrian, Syriac and Chaldean Christians in Iraq; Coptic Christians in Egypt; Evangelical and Orthodox Christians in Eastern Ethiopia and Eritrea; Armenian Orthodox Christians in Turkey; and Maronite Christians in Lebanon.
Several of these communities date back to the beginning decades of Christianity and all have weathered wave after wave of Islamic persecution for centuries and more, but in the very near future some will simply cease to exist. In our lifetime, the only trace of their past existence will be in footnotes in history books (and probably only Western history books at that).
Meanwhile, we in the West hear much from radical Islam's apologists how the US is engaged in a war against Islam citing of our military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq. We are lectured on the inviolability of the Muslim ummah and justifications of defensive jihad.
But an extensive search this past weekend of the websites of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the Islamic Society of North America, the Islamic Circle of North America, the Muslim American Society, the Muslim Student Association, the Fiqh Council of North America, and the Muslim Public Affairs Committee - the most visible institutional representatives of Islam in America - found not a single mention or reference of the religious persecution of Christians by their Islamic co-religionists, thereby making them tacit co-conspirators in the Final Solution to the Christian problem in the Muslim world.
The global war on Christianity by Islam is so massive in size and scope that it is virtually impossible to describe without trivializing it. Inspired by Muslim Brotherhood ideology and fueled by billions of Wahhabi petrodollars, the religious cleansing of Christians from the Muslim world is continuing at a break-neck pace, as the following recent examples demonstrate.
Iraq: In the current issue of the American Spectator, Doug Bandow observes that centuries of dhimmitude have left Christians in the war-torn country without any means of self-defense. Washington policymakers have refused to lend assistance for fear of showing partiality, despite the murder of hundreds of Iraqi Christians, the kidnapping and torture of Christian clerics, the repeated bombings of Christian churches, the torching of Christian businesses, and the flight of close to half of the entire Iraqi Christian population since April 2003. Those who remain have been subject to the imposition of shari'a by the Shi'ite Mahdi Army and Sunni militias (al-Qaeda doesn't bother with such niceties, preferring to murder them immediately instead), including the recent published threat in Mosul of killing one member of every Christian family in that city for Christian women not wearing the hijab and continuing to attend school. (Be sure to remember that the next time an Islamist apologist claims that the hijab is a symbol of women's liberation.) more...
As the bombers return to Britain, Hassan Butt, who was once a member of radical group Al-Muhajiroun, raising funds for extremists and calling for attacks on British citizens, explains why he was wrong
When I was still a member of what is probably best termed the British Jihadi Network, a series of semi-autonomous British Muslim terrorist groups linked by a single ideology, I remember how we used to laugh in celebration whenever people on TV proclaimed that the sole cause for Islamic acts of terror like 9/11, the Madrid bombings and 7/7 was Western foreign policy.
By blaming the government for our actions, those who pushed the 'Blair's bombs' line did our propaganda work for us. More important, they also helped to draw away any critical examination from the real engine of our violence: Islamic theology.
Friday's attempt to cause mass destruction in London with strategically placed car bombs is so reminiscent of other recent British Islamic extremist plots that it is likely to have been carried out by my former peers.
And as with previous terror attacks, people are again articulating the line that violence carried out by Muslims is all to do with foreign policy. For example, yesterday on Radio 4's Today programme, the mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, said: 'What all our intelligence shows about the opinions of disaffected young Muslims is the main driving force is not Afghanistan, it is mainly Iraq.'
He then refused to acknowledge the role of Islamist ideology in terrorism and said that the Muslim Brotherhood and those who give a religious mandate to suicide bombings in Palestine were genuinely representative of Islam.
I left the BJN in February 2006, but if I were still fighting for their cause, I'd be laughing once again. Mohammad Sidique Khan, the leader of the 7 July bombings, and I were both part of the BJN - I met him on two occasions - and though many British extremists are angered by the deaths of fellow Muslim across the world, what drove me and many of my peers to plot acts of extreme terror within Britain, our own homeland and abroad, was a sense that we were fighting for the creation of a revolutionary state that would eventually bring Islamic justice to the world.
How did this continuing violence come to be the means of promoting this (flawed) utopian goal? How do Islamic radicals justify such terror in the name of their religion? There isn't enough room to outline everything here, but the foundation of extremist reasoning rests upon a dualistic model of the world. Many Muslims may or may not agree with secularism but at the moment, formal Islamic theology, unlike Christian theology, does not allow for the separation of state and religion. There is no 'rendering unto Caesar' in Islamic theology because state and religion are considered to be one and the same. The centuries-old reasoning of Islamic jurists also extends to the world stage where the rules of interaction between Dar ul-Islam (the Land of Islam) and Dar ul-Kufr (the Land of Unbelief) have been set down to cover almost every matter of trade, peace and war. more...
It has happened again. On the heels of global Muslim rage against Pope Benedict XVI – which led to riots and three killings of Christians – a teacher in France has gone into hiding after receiving death threats. His offense? He published a column in the French newspaper Le Figaro in which he characterized the Muslim prophet Muhammad as “a merciless war chief, plunderer, slaughterer of Jews and a polygamist.”
Redeker said that one of the threats he received stated: “You will never feel secure on this earth. One billion, three hundred thousand Muslims are ready to kill you.” As the death threats poured in, everyone abandoned Redeker. The teacher himself noted that France’s education ministry “has not even contacted me, has not deigned to get in touch to see if I need any help.” The senior editor of Le Figaro, Pierre Rousselin, declared on Al-Jazeera that he had been mistaken to publish Redeker’s article, and hastened to assure the Islamic world that the article did not reflect the opinion of the paper.
It was unclear what exactly those who are threatening Redeker are upset about. Were they contending that he had lied about Muhammad? If so, they must contend with the fact that many Muslims around the world seem to agree, unapologetically, that Muhammad was “a merciless war chief, plunderer, slaughterer of Jews and a polygamist.” As I explain in my forthcoming book The Truth About Muhammad, mujahedin throughout the world see the Prophet of Islam as the personification of the qualities they are trying to embody. They have provided abundant evidence of this in recent years:
· Merciless war chief: On September 5, 2003, Sheikh Ibrahim Mudeiris invoked one of Muhammad’s battles, an expedition against the Byzantine empire known as the Battle of Tabouk, when speaking of the Iraq war in a sermon broadcast by the Palestinian Authority: “If we go back in the time tunnel 1400 years, we will find that history repeats itself…. Byzantium represents America in the west…. America will collapse, as Byzantium collapsed in the west….The Prophet [Muhammad] could, by means of unbroken ranks, conquer Byzantium, the greatest power compared to today’s America -- and this without a single martyr falling from among the Muslims….The Prophet could, by means of the unity of the Muslim ranks and its awakening, defeat the America of that time….America is our No. 1 enemy, and we see it as our No. 1 enemy as long as we learn from the lessons of the Battle of Tabouk [which took place in October 630 AD]: ‘Make ready for them whatever you can of armed strength and of mounted pickets’ [Koran 8:60]. We are prepared and ready, but victory is from Allah….”[i] more...
DALLAS, September 29 (UPI) — A global coalition of evangelical Christians is urging prayer for Muslims during their holy month of Ramadan.
But the idea has met some resistance from Muslims — and even some Christians, Associated Baptist Press reported Friday.
Ramadan, which this year began Sunday, is a significant time for Muslims. They spend the month fasting, praying and doing good deeds.
The Christian prayer effort is the 15th annual "30-Days of Prayer for the Muslim World," which lasts for the duration of Ramadan. During the holiday, Christian churches and groups fast, pray and learn about "Muslim peoples of the world," both as a form of solidarity and as an outreach tool.
According to the project's website, people participate so Muslims "may at least have an opportunity to consider God's grace revealed in Jesus Christ, and that we may live peaceably and respectfully side by side." Major contributors to the project include Youth With a Mission, Frontiers, Evangelical Alliances of Europe, Transformations Africa and major churches worldwide. more...
Because They Hate By Jamie Glazov FrontPagemag.com; September 25, 2006
Frontpage Interview’s guest today is Brigitte Gabriel, a journalist and news producer who started her career as an anchor for World News, an evening Arabic news broadcast throughout the Middle East, for which she reported on critical events in the Middle East.
As a terrorism expert and the founder of the non-profit organization AmericanCongressforTruth.com, Brigitte travels widely and speaks regularly on topics related to the Middle East. She is the author of the new book Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America.
FP: Brigitte Gabriel, welcome back to Frontpage Interview.
Gabriel: Thank you Jamie. It is always a pleasure working with you.
FP: So what inspired this new book?
Gabriel: Radical Islam’s modern war of world domination has been picking up momentum with its universal colophony of Allahu Akbar accompanying each act of terror and destruction.
Today, radical Islam’s war rages in varying degrees of intensity throughout the world, not just against Christians and Jews in the west, but also against Hindus, Buddhists, Copts, indeed all non-Muslim infidels, Their degree of zealotry even has them attacking other denominations within Islam itself. Islamic radicals are instigating and perpetuating terrorist campaigns, insurgencies, civil wars, minority suppression, ethnic cleansing and/or genocide in Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Chad, Chechnya, Dagestan, Denmark, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Gambia, Great Britain, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kashmir, Kenya, Kosovo, Lebanon, Macedonia, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Netherlands, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, territories administered by the Palestinian Authority, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Somalia, Spain, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, The United States of America, Yemen, and Zanzibar. The rest of the world is held hostage to fear.
This book is part my personal story and my observations. It is written in the hope that Americans and the west will recognize this eminent threat to their way of life and make the correct philosophical, legal, governmental policy and militarily decisions to protect themselves and our civilization before it is too late. more...
Larry Elder via Yahoo! News Tue, 26 Sep 2006 4:39 AM PDT
Pope Benedict XVI, during a speech in Germany, at a university where he used to teach, quoted a 14th-century Byzantine Christian emperor: "He said, I quote, 'Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.' . . . Violence is incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul. 'God,' the emperor says, 'is not pleased by blood -- and not acting reasonably is contrary to God's nature. Faith is born of the soul, not the body. Whoever would lead someone to faith needs the ability to speak well and to reason properly, without violence and threats.'" And, the pontiff even condemned violent jihad, or "holy war."
Note that the pope, in a very lengthy speech critical of the growing secularization of the West, devoted only three paragraphs to the subject of jihad. Moreover, the pope repeatedly said that those words were not his own. And later, the Vatican said the pope intended only to spark dialogue, and that the emperor's words in no way reflected the thoughts of the pope himself.
How did some adherents to the religion of peace react?
Angry riots, death threats, burning of the pope in effigy, and demands for an apology.
Somali Muslims shot an Italian nun who worked in a Somali hospital. They shot her four times in the back as she left the hospital, and as she lay dying on the ground, she muttered in Italian to her killers, "I forgive, I forgive." more...
To the disciples Jesus entrusts the task of spreading the Gospel throughout the world, spurring them to abandon their narrow vision limited to Israel.
By Pope John Paul II
The Gospel for Sunday, May 5, 2005 The Ascension of the Lord John: 17:1-11a
After considering the total salvation accomplished by Christ the Redeemer, we would now like to reflect on its progressive realization in human history. In a certain sense, it is precisely this problem that the disciples ask Jesus about before the Ascension: "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1:6).
Put this way, the question shows how they are still influenced by the prospect of a hope that conceives of God's kingdom as an event closely linked to Israel's destiny as a nation. During the 40 days between the Resurrection and the Ascension, Jesus had 7spoken to them of "the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:3). But only after the great outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost will they be able to grasp its profound aspects. In the meantime, Jesus corrects their impatience spurred by their desire for a kingdom still too political and earthly, by inviting them to trust in God's mysterious designs: "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by, his own authority" (Acts 1:7). more...
Sending a bible to a persecuted Christian in a restricted nation, where there is no access to bibles and each copy is precious, is a true godsend.
Today, even as you read this, persecuted Christians are quietly gathering names and addresses. These addresses are from their local communities, places of work, universities and even government offices. Names and addresses are being collected from China to Colombia, and from Cuba to the Middle East and are being submitted to The Voice of the Martyrs to be included in one of the most unique Bible distribution programs of our generation – Bibles Unbound.
Now with the Bibles Unbound program, you can get involved right from your own home.
Each month members of Bibles Unbound receive New Testaments, postage, pre-addressed labels and envelops to mail into restricted nations. Members are also able to track their activity online.
This is an incredible opportunity to partner with today’s persecuted church in sharing the gospel in today’s highly restricted nations.
Want to Learn More?
Simply fill out the fields below and The Voice of the Martyrs will send you complete information on how you can become a member of Bibles Unbound and begin mailing Bibles from your own home. There is no obligation for the free information pack. If you decide to join, a monthly contribution is required to cover the cost of the Bibles, postage and packing material. more...
WASHINGTON – The warning from an al-Qaida field commander in Afghanistan calling for Muslims to leave the U.S. – particularly Washington and New York – in anticipation of a major terror attack to rival Sept. 11, should be taken seriously says the Pakistani journalist who interviewed Abu Dawood.
Hamid Mir, a reporter who has covered al-Qaida and met with Osama bin Laden, told radio talk-show host Glenn Beck yesterday that he, too, had make the mistake of underestimating the terror network in the past.
He said he interviewed bin Laden prior to Sept. 11, 2001, and heard warnings about an attack on the U.S., but discounted them.
Mir took bin Laden more seriously after the bombings of the embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, shortly after his first of three meetings with bin Laden – the last coming after 9/11.
"I would not underestimate these people," he said.
Mir also explained that his own independent research and knowledge of al-Qaida verifies the authenticity of some of the claims made by Dawood in their meeting in Afghanistan.
Dawood said the impending attack, which could involved nuclear or radiological weapons, is being coordinated by Adnan el-Shukrijumah and suggests it may involve some form of warhead smuggled across the Mexican border.
"Our brothers are ready to attack inside America," Dawood told Mir. "We will breach their security again. There is no timeframe for our attack inside America; we can do it any time."
As WND has previously reported, el-Shukrijumah is a trained nuclear technician and accomplished pilot who has been singled out by bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri to serve as the field commander for the next terrorist attack on U.S. soil. more...
Could the key to conversion for Muslims be Our Lady, especially "Our Lady of Fatima"?
Hat tip to Spirit Daily for the following articles.
Could God lead Muslims to Jesus through his mother, Blessed Mary, Ever-Virgin, especially under her title of "Our Lady of Fatima"?
As Bishop Sheen has said in this thought-provoking article, "I believe that the Blessed Virgin chose to be known as "Our Lady of Fatima" as a pledge and a sign of hope to the Moslem people, and as an assurance that they, who show her so much respect, will one day accept her Divine Son, too."
Moslemism is the only great post-Christian religion of the world. Because it had its origin in the seventh century under Mohammed, it was possible to unite within it some elements of Christianity and of Judaism.
Moslemism takes the doctrine of the unity of God, His Majesty and His Creative Power, and uses it as a basis for the repudiation of Christ, the Son of God. Misunderstanding the notion of the Trinity, Mohammed made Christ a prophet only.
The Catholic Church throughout Northern Africa was virtually destroyed by Moslem power and at the present time (circa 1950), the Moslems are beginning to rise again. If Moslemism is a heresy, as Hilaire Belloc believes it to be, it is the only heresy that has never declined, either in numbers, or in the devotion of its followers.
The missionary effort of the Church toward this group has been, at least on the surface, a failure, for the Moslems are so far almost unconvertible. The reason is that for a follower of Mohammed to become a Christian is much like a Christian becoming a Jew. The Moslems believe that they have the final and definitive revelation of God to the world and that Christ was only a prophet announcing Mohammed, the last of God's real prophets.
Today (1950), the hatred of the Moslem countries against the West is becoming hatred against Christianity itself. Although the statesmen have not yet taken it into account, there is still grave danger that the temporal power of Islam may return and, with it, the menace that it may shake off a West which has ceased to be Christian, and affirm itself as a great anti-Christian world Power.
It is our firm belief that the fears some entertain concerning the Moslems are not to be realized, but that Moslemism, instead, will eventually be converted to Christianity, and in a way that even some of our missionaries never suspect.
It is our belief that this will happen not through the direct teaching of Christianity, but through a summoning of the Moslems to a veneration of the Mother of God.
This is the line of argument:
The Koran, which is the bible of the Moslems, has many passages concerning the Blessed Virgin. First, the Koran believes in her Immaculate Conception and in her Virgin Birth. The third chapter of the Koran places the history of Mary's family in a genealogy that goes back through Abraham, Noah, and Adam. When one compares the Koran's description of the birth of Mary with the apocryphal Gospel of the birth of Mary, one is tempted to believe that Mohammed very much depended upon the latter.
Both books describe the old age and the definite sterility of Anne, the mother of Mary. When, however, Anne conceives, the mother of Mary is made to say in the Koran: "O Lord, I vow and I consecrate to you what is already within me. Accept it from me." When Mary is born, her mother, Anne, says: "And I consecrate her with all of her posterity under thy protection, O Lord, against Satan!" more...
And could our Lord, within His providential will, have provided a way to peace between Muslims and "infidels" through Our Lady as well?
OUR LADY AND ISLAM: HEAVEN’S PEACE PLAN Fr Ladis J. Cizik, Blue Army National Executive Director --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Islam
Islam is an Arabic word that can be defined as "to make peace." Islam is the religion founded by Mohammed, which considers the Koran as its holy book. In addition, Islam accepts the New Testament of the Christians and the Old Testament of the Jews as Divinely inspired works. Followers of Islam are known as Muslims (also: Moors, Turks, and Moslems) and, just as Jews and Christians, believe in only one God. Yet, over the centuries, Muslims have engaged in tremendous wars with Christians and Jews. It would seem that there is little hope for peace. However, Heaven's Peace Plan, involving Our Lady, is evidenced at Fatima, Portugal as well as other places around the world. more...
Exclusive to Canada Free Press and Northeast Intelligence
By Paul L. Williams & David Dastych
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Urgent news from Abu Dawood, one of the newly appointed commanders of the al Qaeda forces in Afghanistan:
Final preparations have been made for the American Hiroshima, a major attack on the U. S.
The search for Adnan El Shukrijumah
Muslims living in the United States should leave the country without further warning.
The attack will be commandeered by Adnan el Shukrijumah ("Jaffer Tayyer" or "Jafer the Pilot"), a naturalized American citizen, who was raised in Brooklyn and educated in southern Florida.
The al Qaeda operatives who will launch this attack are awaiting final orders. They remain in place in cities throughout the country. Many are masquerading as Christians and have adopted Christian names. more...
The new al-Qaida field commander in Afghanistan is calling for Muslims to leave the U.S. – particularly Washington and New York – in anticipation of a major terror attack to rival Sept. 11, according to an interview by a Pakistani journalist.
Abu Dawood told Hamid Mir, a reporter who has covered al-Qaida and met with Osama bin Laden, the attack is being coordinated by Adnan el-Shukrijumah and suggests it may involve some form of weapon of mass destruction smuggled across the Mexican border.
Our brothers are ready to attack inside America. We will breach their security again, he is quoted as saying. There is no timeframe for our attack inside America; we can do it any time.
As WND has previously reported, el-Shukrijumah is a trained nuclear technician and accomplished pilot who has been singled out by bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri to serve as the field commander for the next terrorist attack on U.S. soil. more...
And, if interested, the same article as it was originally posted on WorldNetDaily.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Some Muslim scholars, such as Mirza Ghulam Ahmed, have interpreted the concept of a Holy War, or Jihad, as a personal striving for righteousness. Nonetheless, the incident of violent Islamic Jihads throughout history, especially against Christians, is cause for deep concern. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Islam, along with Judaism and Christianity, is one of the three great Semitic religions. The fact that they share certain roots, especially in the Old Testament, gives them a certain affinity with each other. Every one of the 99 attributes of God mentioned in the Koran is also mentioned in the Bible. In both books, God's mercy is cited 10 times more often than his judgment. The Koran refers to Mary 34 times and is the only woman it names. Mohammed, Islam's founder and prophet, originally directed his followers to face Jerusalem when they prayed.
The commonality Islam shares with the other two Semitic religions is also borne out in what is called its "Five Pillars": 1) Declaration of Belief; 2) Prayer; 3) Fasting; 4) Almsgiving; 5) Pilgrimage to Mecca. These fundamental requirements of Islam also point to its simplicity and its appeal. more...
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has said he wants to "wipe Israel off the map," is scheduled to arrive in New York City Monday for a three-day visit during which he will participate in the United Nations' 61st General Assembly. On Tuesday he will seek to give a speech to the international body, of which Iran is a member.
Iran, which has a long history of human rights abuses, is currently in violation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1696, which requires that Iran halt its uranium enrichment activities. Iran is the world's largest state sponsor of terror, financing terrorist groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad at a rate of about $200 million annually. It also has recruited more than 40,000 youths to carry out suicide operations around the world. Ahmadinejad has boasted that divine powers gave him the presidency so that he could provoke a "clash of civilizations" in which the Muslim world, led by Iran, would defeat the West, led by the United States, in a slow, prolonged contest. more...
The 9/11 conspiracy theorists (or "truthers") were out in force at Ground Zero on the 5th anniversary (see photos here, here and here). We touched on this issue in our Sept. 8th cartoon but decided to devote a cartoon to it, as well as compile more links (there are new links below plus the links from the previous post).
The National Institute of Standards and Technology issued a detailed report on their investigation of the collapse of the World Trade Center. The Web site not only has the report but photos and video of various fire experiments and computer simulations.
Democracy Now TV featured a debate between the authors of Debunking 9/11 Myths and the most prominent 9/11 conspiracy theorists, makers of the film "Loose Change." Hot Air posted the video (see final update with four videos).
Screw Loose Change by Mark Iradian is an excellent site dedicated to debunking the "Loose Change" film frame by frame. more...
Last Thursday, Former Israeli Prime Minister delivered a compelling lecture at a dinner for American Friends of Likud. Rick Richman has a great review of Netanyahu's remarks.In an age of moral relativism it is important for people to hear Netanyahu's words of clarity and understand that the current fight against radical Islamism is an existential one.
AGI Online News for Arab Countries Special service by AGI on behalf of the Italian Prime Minister's office
(AGI) - Ratisbon, Sept. 12 - Benedetto XVI once again condemned every form of religious fundamentalism by citing the Koran that says: "no oppression of faith." It is one of the sure things of the initial period in which Muhammad himself was still without power and was threatened," reminded the Pope in his speech this afternoon in the aula magna of the University of Ratisbon in Germany. Ratzinger also cited other "dispositions, developed subsequently and established in the Koran, about the Holy War", but he focused his attention precisely on the contradiction that exists between this statement and the norm, even if attributed to Muhammad, "of spreading the faith that he preached by the sword." An opportunity for this analysis of the two different concepts of Islam was given to the Pope by a historic page, the talk that "the intellectual Byzantine emperor Manuele II Paleologo, perhaps during the winter in 1391 near Ankara, had with an intellectual Persian on Christianity and Islam and on the truth of both." The Pontiff states clearly while citing Theodore Khoury, the author that reconstructed that conversation, "Violence is against with the will of God and the nature of the spirit. God does not give in to blood; to not act according to reason is against the will of God. Faith is fruit of the spirit, not of the body. Thus whoever wants to bring someone to faith needs the capacity to speak well and to reason correctly, not violence and threats." From that conversation, the theologian Pope also described the end: "to convince a rational spirit it is not necessary to use your fist, nor firearms, nor any other means to threaten a person with death. According to Ratzinger, "the decisive statement in this argument against conversion through violence is: to not act according to reason is against the will of God." Pope explained, "For the Muslim doctrine, God is absolutely supernatural, thus his will is not tied to any of our categories, even that of rationality." Thus we can discern from the Pontiff's argument that this is the element that causes the most problems in the dialogue with Islam, because for this theological vision, "God is not even tied by his own words and nothing would obligate him to reveal the truth to us. If it were his will, man would also have to practice adulation," the pope concluded. (AGI) - 121857 SET 06 COPYRIGHTS 2002-2006 AGI S.p.A.
Night Two of ABC dramatization, "The Path to 9/11," can now be watched online
Night Two of ABC's 2-night dramatization, "The Path to 9/11," based in part on the findings of the 9/11 Commission can now be watched online. Night Two, although, I believe, not as good as Night One, was still worth watching:
ABC dramatization, "The Path to 9/11," can be watched online
Night One of ABC's 2-night dramatization, "The Path to 9/11," based in part on the findings of the 9/11 Commission can now be watched online. Night One was absolutely excellent:
By Robert Spencer FrontPageMagazine.com September 6, 2006
In American al-Qaeda operative Adam Gadahn’s convert-to-Islam-or-die message to America released last Saturday, he extends a special invitation to the President, as well as to Daniel Pipes, Michael Scheuer, Steve Emerson – and me:
If the Zionist crusader missionaries of hate and counter-Islam consultants like Daniel Pipes, Robert Spencer, Michael Scheuer, Steven Emerson, and yes, even the crusader-in-chief George W. Bush were to abandon their unbelief and repent and enter into the light of Islam and turn their swords against the enemies of God, it would be accepted of them and they would be our brothers in Islam. And we send a special invitation to all of you fighting Bush’s crusader pipe dream in Afghanistan, Iraq, and wherever else W. has sent you to die.
Gadahn also praises Western leftist sycophants and apologists for the global jihad, and invites them to become Muslims as well:
Why not surrender to the truth? Escape from the unbelieving army and join the winning side. As for those who have expressed their respect and admiration for Islam, and acknowledged that it is the truth and demonstrated the support and sympathy for the Muslims and their causes like George Galloway, Robert Fisk, and countless others, I say to them, isn’t it time you stopped sitting on the fence and came over to the side of truth?...Abandon unbelief and accept the truth.
It is important to note that Gadahn’s “invitation” to Islam is coupled with a threat of violence: “To Americans and the rest of Christendom we say, either repent (your) misguided ways and enter into the light of truth or keep your poison to yourself and suffer the consequences in this world and the next….” In this, Gadahn is following the example of the Muslim prophet Muhammad, who told his followers:
“When you meet your enemies who are polytheists, invite them to three courses of action…Invite them to (accept) Islam; if they respond to you, accept it from them and desist from fighting against them…If they refuse to accept Islam, demand from them the Jizya [the tax on non-Muslims specified in Qur’an 9:29]. If they agree to pay, accept it from them and hold off your hands. If they refuse to pay the tax, seek Allah’s help and fight them” (Sahih Muslim 4294).
Melbourne, Sep. 01, 2006 (CNA) - Muslims living in the West must speak out in defense of Christians’ rights to religious freedom in Islamic countries so that “sacred principle of hospitality” can be attained, said Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor yesterday.
The archbishop of Westminster was invited to speak at the opening of the Australian Catholic University's new Asia-Pacific Centre of Inter-religious Dialogue.
According to a report published in The Age, the cardinal said it is essential that Muslims can worship freely in Melbourne and Sydney, and that Christians can worship freely in Riyadh or Kabul, he said. It is crucial for Christians and Muslims to maintain this “vital principle of sacred hospitality,” he added.
The central reason for interfaith co-operation is to uphold religious freedom, said the cardinal.
"Where Christians are being denied their rights or are subject to sharia law, that is not a matter on which Muslims in Britain or in Australia should remain silent. Where religious rights of minorities are disrespected in the name of Islam, the face of Islam is tarnished elsewhere in the world," he was quoted as saying.
Fox News journalists Centanni and Wiig forced to convert to Islam at gunpoint
Witnessing modern day forced conversions to Islam is historically reminiscent of the 7th century when warriors committed to Jihad swept across the Arabian peninsula forcing conversion to Islam at the point of a sword.
In each video Centanni and Wiig are obviously under duress as each recites the Shehada, "There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the prophet of Allah" (Shehada means "to bear witness.") .
Fox News journalists Steve Centanni and his accompanying cameraman Olaf Wiig were released on Sunday, August 27, 2006, following almost two weeks of captivity. While both men appeared to be in good physical health, the prognosis for their psychological state, and future journalistic contributions, is less sanguine. As depicted in this disturbing video, Centanni and Wiig were forced to convert to Islam, and recite an anti-Western diatribe, complemented by treacly Islamic apologetics.
During the brief press conference held almost immediately after their release, both men preferred to focus on the plight of the kind and benevolent denizens of Gaza. Momentarily acknowledging the coercive nature of their conversion, Centanni admitted off camera, We were forced to convert to Islam at gunpoint. But he felt compelled to add this bizarre disclaimer, Don't get me wrong here. I have the highest respect for Islam, and I learned a lot of good things about it, before concluding candidly …it was something we felt we had to do because they had the guns, and we didn't know what the hell was going on. Centanni expressed his primary concern to the reporters gathered at the Gaza City Beach Hotel press conference as follows: I hope that this never scares a single journalist away from coming to Gaza to cover the story because the Palestinian people are very beautiful and kind-hearted...The world needs to know more about them. Don't be discouraged. Wiig reiterated these sentiments: My biggest concern really is that as a result of what happened to us foreign journalists will be discouraged from coming to tell the story and that would be a great tragedy for the people of Palestine…You guys need us on the streets, and you need people to be aware of the story. And Wiig’s wife thanked unnamed Palestinian women from Gaza for their solidarity. more...
The recent terror case of a "gentle" third-grade teacher from the D.C. suburbs shows the danger is at once closer and harder to ID than you think. The enemy is hiding not in the shadows, but in plain sight, and may even wear a smile.
Hundreds of Muslims last week flocked to a federal courtroom to show their support for the affable and soft-spoken Ali Asad Chandia of Maryland as he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for supporting terrorists. Friends say anti-Muslim prosecutors railroaded a "law-abiding" and "peaceful" brother.
"He is a dedicated teacher," said one. "A great family man," said another.
Another told the judge Chandia's so gentle he wouldn't hurt a tree branch in his yard. "I said to Ali that I may need to cut the branch (but) he asked that I not hurt the tree," the friend, a landscaper, said in a letter. "I was touched by Ali's insistence that the tree not be harmed in any way."
But prosecutors tell a different story.
They showed evidence that Chandia, 29, trained at a jihad camp in Lahore, Pakistan, run by the terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, an al-Qaida subcontractor that also trained some of the London bombers. He helped Lashkar ship 50,000 paintball pellets, unmanned aerial vehicles, night-vision gear and wireless video cameras from the U.S. to Pakistan for paramilitary training. He even chauffeured a Lashkar lieutenant around Washington on trips the officer made here after 9-11. more...
By Laura Blumenfeld The Washington Post Updated: 3:10 a.m. ET Aug 27, 2006
TEL AVIV - Israel's top military commander sat on the edge of his bed, talking on the phone, rubbing his forehead. The bedroom door was closed, muffling the Saturday clink and giggle of his children at lunch. His chief of operations was on the gray, secure phone, the line that rang louder and sharper and made his heart beat fast.
The report came from the war room: The bomb was falling.
Lt. Gen. Moshe Yaalon stared at the tiles on his floor, working out two plans: 1) If they die. 2) If they don't. The bomb -- the one he'd been arguing over and deliberating all day -- was plunging 10,000 feet from an Israeli F-16 toward a Palestinian house in the Gaza Strip, where guests sat, eating rice and boiled chicken. Yaalon was hoping, he recalled in an interview, that it would be their last lunch. With targeted killings, it was rarely that simple. more...
Contact: Pastor George Saieg, Arabic Christian Perspective, 866-533-6659, 714-448-3820
Anaheim, Calif., Aug. 26 /Christian Newswire/ -- Arabic Christian Perspective will hold a 4-day conference in Anaheim, California, Sept. 1-4, on Islam and sharing the Gospel with Muslims.
Facts about Islam--According to the Qur’an
Women’s rights:
Islam teaches that men are superior to women. Surah 2:228. In court witness: The witness of two women equals the witness of one man. Surah 2:282. Islam considers the wife a possession. Surah 3:14. In inheritance: A woman’s share is half that of a man. Surah 4:11. Islam teaches that a wife is subject to punishment by her husband. As a punishment, beating a wife or abstaining from sexual relations with her is allowed. Surah 4:34.
Human Rights:
Islam compels its adherents to force others to accept Islam. Muslims must fight until all their opponents submit to Islam. Surah 2:193; 9:5; 9:29; 47:4. Islam condemns non-Muslims. Surah 2:212. Islam instructs Muslims not to befriend Jews or Christians. Surah 5:54. Islam teaches that any person who accepts Islam, then later turns away from it will be subject to death. Surah 9:12; 4:89. more...
Islam -- Religion of Peace? Responding to breaking news of the thwarted attacks against a dozen commercial flights from Great Britain to the United States earlier this month, President Bush did the unthinkable: He described the would-be killers in accurate terms.
On that Thursday, 10 August, in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the President opened his remarks to the gathered crowd with these soon-to-be famous words: “The recent arrests that our fellow citizens are now learning about are a stark reminder that this nation is at war with Islamic fascists who will use any means to destroy those of us who love freedom, to hurt our nation.” Key words: “Islamic fascists.”
Nearly five years since September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush has finally dropped his politically correct gloves and called the enemy of the West by the descriptor it deserves. This enemy is exclusively Muslim, and it has a modus operandi and worldview consistent with other forms of fascism. more...
How sad that the theology of jihad-driven Islam demands martyrdom: not a martyrdom of the spirit leading to self-denial, love of others, and holiness, but a physical martyrdom leading to the death of others. So many of the young are led into self-annihilation and the murder of innocents by this horribly misguided worldview.
On July 15, MSNBC's Connected program discussed the July 7th London attacks. One of the guests was Pierre Rehov, a French filmmaker who has filmed six documentaries on the intifada by going undercover in the Palestinian areas.
Pierre's upcoming film, Suicide Killers, is based on interviews that he conducted with the families of suicide bombers and would-be bombers in an attempt to find out why they do it. Pierre agreed to a request for a Q&A interview here about his work on the new film.
Q - What inspired you to produce Suicide Killers, your seventhfilm?
A - I started working with victims of suicide attacks to make a film on PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) when I became fascinatedwith the personalities of those who had committed those crimes, as they were described again and again by their victims. Especially the fact that suicide bombers are all smiling one second before they blow themselves up. more...
Iran drew concern worldwide for refusing to respond in a timely fashion to the West’s offer of an incentives package in exchange for Tehran’s abandonment of its nuclear program. Iranian officials brushed aside the June 29 deadline set by the West and said Iran would respond on August 22. Some, including Farid Ghadry of the Reform Party of Syria (as I reported several weeks ago) and Islamic scholar Bernard Lewis, suggested that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the mullahs in Iran’s inner circle may have chosen that date in order to establish a connection with the Islamic prophet Muhammad’s fabled Night Journey, during which Allah is said to have miraculously illuminated the night sky over Jerusalem to facilitate the prophet’s journey from Mecca to Jerusalem, and thence to Paradise. Would Iran’s answer to the West’s tribute package be to illuminate the night sky over Jerusalem again, this time with a nuclear device?
Obviously not – at least not on August 22 itself. That was a cue for some of the loudest advocates of Western appeasement and surrender to the global jihadists to condemn right-wing hysteria, despite the fact that no one who reported on this possibility had ever stated with any certainty that anything in particular would happen on August 22. Brian Whitaker, a columnist for The Guardian who once suggested that Gandhi would admire jihad, sneered: “The purpose of all this scaremongering is obviously to build up fears about an Iranian nuclear attack. The main obstacle to promoting such fears is that Iran does not possess any nuclear weapons but Lewis seems determined not to let that stand in the way and apparently believes that Iran already has a fully-prepared arsenal.” In dismissing these speculations as “scaremongering,” however, Whitaker and others neglect to consider one possibility: that they were correct. more...
Patrick Goodenough, CNSNews.com Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2006
WASHINGTON -- Aug. 22 could usher in an apocalyptic period in the Middle East thanks to some belligerent action on the part of the Iranian regime. Or maybe not.
The Internet is running hot with speculation about what Tuesday may bring, ranging from a new refusal by Iran to shut down its controversial uranium-enrichment activities to an attack - even a nuclear attack - against Israel.
The frenzy was prompted by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's announcement, more than a month ago, that his government would deliver its response on Aug. 22 to an international carrot-and-stick proposal aimed at defusing the standoff over its nuclear activities.
The date was chosen by Tehran and had no obvious relevance in international diplomacy. The only formal deadline the international community is currently awaiting with regard to Iran is Aug. 31 -- the date set by the U.N. Security Council for Iran to suspend uranium enrichment or face the possibility of sanctions. more...
DEBKAfile DEBKAfile Special Report August 20, 2006, 1:22 AM (GMT+02:00)
Washington is keeping a sharp weather eye out for Tuesday, August 22, which this year corresponds in the Islamic calendar to the date on which many Sunni Muslims commemorate the night flight of the prophet Muhammad on his winged horse Buraq to “the farthest mosque”, which is traditionally identified with Jerusalem.
According to the Muslim legend, on that day, a divine white light spread over Jerusalem and the whole world.
DEBKAfile’s intelligence sources report that information rated “highly credible” has reached US undercover agencies of a secret report presented to Iran’s supreme ruler Ali Khamenei by Abdollah Shabhazi, one of the heads of the Supreme National Security Council. He claims to expose a mega-terror plot against Jerusalem scheduled for August 22, which aims at killing large numbers of Jews, Arabs and Christians.
This atrocity will reportedly arm the United States and Israel with the pretext for hitting Iran’s nuclear installations, as well its capital, Tehran, and other big cities.
Shabhazi says the US and Israel need to launch a military campaign to restore the deterrent strength they lost in the Lebanon war.
The massive attack will reportedly focus on the Old City of Jerusalem and its eastern suburbs. The Iranian report claims that the plotters, who are not identified, are eager to recreate the divine white light whish spread over Jerusalem in the year 632. It does not rule out the use of non-conventional weapon. more...
By Chuck Colson Christian Post Guest Columnist Thu, Aug. 17 2006 05:51 AM ET
Since the start of the Danish cartoon controversy earlier this year, Vatican officials have expressed sympathy with Islamic outrage over the depictions of Muhammad. This sympathy comes from knowing what it's like to have your beliefs treated with disrespect and even contempt. Yet in much of the Islamic world, that sympathy isn't a two-way street.
That's why the Vatican issued a statement "urging Islamic countries to reciprocate by showing more tolerance toward their Christian minorities." As Angelo Soldano, the Vatican's Secretary of State put it: "If we tell our people they have no right to offend, we have to tell the others they have no right to destroy us . . . "
Destroy is not too strong a word. The anger originally directed at Denmark is increasingly being directed at Christians. In Turkey, a priest was murdered in an attack that the Turkish media has connected to the cartoon controversy. In Pakistan, protesting mobs have ransacked churches and beaten Christians. In Beirut, which, unlike Pakistan, has a large Christian population, a Christian neighborhood was attacked by a Muslim mob. more...
An LGF reader who worked for Associated Press TV News sent me the following article explaining how APTN works, and suggesting a reason why their coverage of the Middle East is so overwhelmingly biased against Israel:
How Much Does It Cost to Buy Global TV News?
The vast majority of the TV news pictures you see are produced by two TV news companies. Presented here is a case for how a large amount of money has been used to inject a clear bias into the heart of the global TV news gathering system. That this happens is not at question, whether it is by accident or design is harder to tell. more...
C-SPAN aired the unedited, hour-long interview tonight. I’d planned to clip the choicer quotes, but who wants to sit through five minutes of this Nazi slackjaw pandering to American liberals with platitudes about social justice? The time would be better spent watching outtakes of he and Wallace acting like an old married couple. Which is exactly what I gave you — plus twenty seconds or so of “Mahdi” wondering why Wallace isn’t in the tank for Hezbollah the way nearly every journalist in the Arab world is.
Mike Wallace's ingratiating and toadying interview with Iranian President Ahmadinejad was a public disgrace.
By Chad Groening AgapePress August 17, 2006
(AgapePress) -- A conservative media watchdog organization says while the recently televised interview of Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad by CBS's Mike Wallace was not as embarrassing as Dan Rather's 2003 talk with Saddam Hussein, it was clear Wallace was kissing up to the Iranian strongman.
The Media Research Center's Rich Noyes admits that the veteran 60 Minutes host did ask Ahmadinejad a few tough questions about Hezbollah's violence, his Holocaust denial, and his statements about wanting to wipe Israel off the map. And Noyes says Wallace actually upset Ahmadinejad when the newsman responded to the Iranian president's claim that Israel was using American-made weapons to kill Lebanese civilians.
"Wallace tried to interrupt him and talk about the Iranian-manufactured and supplied weapons that Hezbollah was using to kill Israeli civilians -- sort of put the shoe on the other foot -- and it made Ahmadinejad fairly angry," the media analyst recalls. "He asked Wallace at one point whether he was a journalist or a Zionist." more...
I’ve read about the alliance between Adolf Hitler and Muslim Arab leaders in World War II, and seen still photographs, but this is the first time I’ve seen actual video of Hitler meeting with the Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Muhammed Amin al-Husseini—Yasser Arafat’s alleged uncle. From a German TV documentary, with English subtitles. (Hat tip: Justify This, who also created the Azzam Tamimi “shrieking jihad” video.) more...
The conflict between Hezbollah terrorists and Israel is quickly escalating to an all-out war. And as we well know from experience, when terrorists are allowed to thrive in any nation, we are ALL THREATENED. Any attack on Israel is an attack on freedom — and freedom attacked anywhere is freedom attacked everywhere. This is why we must form a united front and stand in support of Israel and their fight for freedom ... NOW. Please read the form carefully and declare your membership with the ACLJ by signing the proclamation below.
Proclamation for Solidarity
President George W. Bush The Israeli Consulate
We proclaim to President George W. Bush and the people of Israel that we support FREEDOM AT ALL COSTS! Just as President Bush proclaimed, "There will never be peace so long as there is terror." If freedom is attacked in any country or nation ... it is attacked in every country and nation. That is particularly true in Israel — we cannot sit idly by and watch terror reign in the Middle East.
True freedom and peace can only arise after the terrorist infrastructure has been eliminated. more...
LOS ANGELES, March 10 — Three weeks ago, Dr. Wafa Sultan was a largely unknown Syrian-American psychiatrist living outside Los Angeles, nursing a deep anger and despair about her fellow Muslims.
Today, thanks to an unusually blunt and provocative interview on Al Jazeera television on Feb. 21, she is an international sensation, hailed as a fresh voice of reason by some, and by others as a heretic and infidel who deserves to die. more...
There seems to be a difference between John Broder of the New York Times and Lebanese-American journalist Brigitte Gabriel as to the facts of Dr. Sultan's origins, as Ms. Gabriel expresses on her web site American Congress for Truth:
Well-known Lebanese psychologist, Dr. Wafa Sultan, gave Muslim viewers a lecture with explosive statements that deserve worldwide distribution. She's a Lebanese Christian lady who has been driven out along with her family from Muslim ravaged Lebanon like me, Dr. Walid Phares and most of the so called Arabs who make up most of the Middle Eastern people living in America today. We Christian Lebanese are Phoenicians who are not Arabs but simply speak the Arabic language after the Arab Muslim invaders conquered our area and the Arabic Language became our official language.
We hope to see thinking Muslim Arabs come forward and speak like that. Until you see MUSLIMS verbalize her words and mine don't be deceived into a false sense of hope.
Regardless of Dr. Sultan's ethnic background and religion, she has courageously spoken out against the Islamic jihadist terror campaign against unbelievers. The facts of her origin are immaterial compared to the power and truth of her words. As we know from the Gospel, truth can cut through the deepest darkness.
All around the world Muslim violence against non-Muslims has intimidated many into silence. Many more must actively speak out against Muslim violence. We cannot allow our silence to continue. We are in a crusade for the truth.
As Hebrews 4:12 (RSV) reminds us, we must use the sword of the Spirit, the truth of the Gospel, to fight against the material sword of Islam,
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
God bless you, Dr. Sultan, for speaking out so courageously:
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come (John 16:13 RSV).
