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by Denis MacEoin
• June 19, 2016 at 5:00 am
- The
57-member-state Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) have been
working hard for years to render Islam the only religion, political
system and ideology in the world that may not be questioned with
impunity. They have tried -- and are in many respects succeeding -- to
ring-fence Islam as a creed beyond criticism, while reserving for
themselves the right to condemn Christians, Jews, Hindus, democrats, liberals,
women and gays in often vile, even violent language. Should anyone say
anything that seems to them disrespectful of their faith, he or she
will at once be declared an "Islamophobe."
- Like almost every
world leader, Obama declares, with gross inaccuracy, that "Islam
is a religion of peace". It is politically expedient to deny the
very real connection to jihad violence in the Qur'an, the Traditions (ahadith),
shari'a law, and the entire course of Islamic history. They do this
partly for political reasons, but probably more out of fear of
offending Muslims. We know only too well how angry many Muslims can
become at even the lightest offence.
- "If PEN as a
free speech organization can't defend and celebrate people who have
been murdered for drawing pictures, then frankly the organization is
not worth the name. ... I hope nobody ever comes after them." –
Salman Rushdie, on the PEN members who objected to giving its award to
Charlie Hebdo, after 12 of its staff were murdered by
jihadists.
- The OIC succeeded
in winning a UN Human Rights Council resolution that makes
"defamation of religion" a crime. But the OIC knows full
well that only Muslims are likely to use Western laws to deny free
speech about their own faith. Last year, the US Congress introduced
House Resolution 569, also purportedly intended to combat hate speech.
It contains an oddity: it singles out Muslims for protection three
times. It does not mention any other faith community.
Iran's then Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini put a cash
bounty on the head of British novelist Salman Rushdie 27 years ago, because
he deemed Rushdie's novel, The Satanic Verses, to be offensive. In
February 2016, a group of Iranian media outlets added $600,000 to the cash
reward.
One of the greatest achievements of the Enlightenment in Europe and
the United States is the principle of free speech and reasoned criticism.
Democracy is underpinned by it. Our courts and parliaments are built on it.
Without it, scholars, journalists, and advocates would be trapped, as their
ancestors had been, in a verbal prison. It is enshrined in the First
Amendment to the US Constitution, in the words
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the
freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to
assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."
by Susan Warner
• June 19, 2016 at 4:30 am
- Chapter one of
this story began when Father Gabriel Naddaf, a Greek Orthodox priest
in Nazareth, started to speak up for the idea that it was time for
Christians to embrace their homeland, Israel, and their Jewish roots.
- "Christian
Arabs are hostages." — Father Gabriel Naddaf.
- "We have a
joint fate in this land [Israel], because whatever happens to the Jews
here will happen to us." — Father Gabriel Naddaf.
- "On what
authority does President Abbas claim that Jesus was a Palestinian? The
Bible says that He was born in the Jewish city of Bethlehem to Jewish
parents from the city of Nazareth and was circumcised on the 8th day
as a Jew and presented to the Jewish Temple by His parents according
to the Mosaic law." — Father Gabriel Naddaf.
- Father Naddaf has
been providing leadership to unite Christians and Jews; a rapidly
increasing number of Christians see him as offering them the
opportunity to envision and build a tremendous future.
The large billboard in the center of Nazareth warning
Christians against slandering Allah, photographed January 2014.
When Father Gabriel Naddaf, a Greek Orthodox priest in Nazareth,
Israel, launched his campaign to convince Israeli Christians to enlist in
the Israel Defense Force (IDF), he unwittingly ignited a firestorm between
opposing forces within and around Israel's Christian and Muslim
communities.
His decision, born of his love and respect for his native land --
combined with his acknowledgement of Judaism and Israel as the cradle of
Christianity -- perhaps has set the stage for a long overdue reunification
in Israel between contemporary Christians and Jews.
In the short term, Father Naddaf's decision has polarized the
Christian community, a large part of which has aligned itself with the
Arab-Palestinian narrative -- a narrative engineered by forces behind Yasser
Arafat in the 1960s -- and designed to obliterate Israel as a Jewish
nation.
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