On Thursday, 13 November 2014, “Lebanese Iman of the Islamic Center of Central New Jersey, Hamad Ahmad Chebli, gave the opening prayer in the House of Representatives. He was invited by Democratic Representative Rush Holt. Holt is a Quaker and among the most liberal members of the House. According to Walid Shoebat (The Right Scoop), Chebli was mentored by a radical Muslim Brotherhood leader, Hassan Khalid, who was a sponsor of Palestinian terrorism against Israel.”
Mr Chebli “praised Allah as, ‘The most gracious, the most merciful’ and then declared ‘Praise be to Allah, the cherisher, the sustainer of the world; the most gracious, the most merciful master of the day of judgment.’ He then went on to declare, ‘Thee do we worship and thine do we seek. Guide us to the safe path.”
So what “safe path” is Allah – the moon god of Muhammad’s Quraysh tribe, who became Allah (the god) of Muhammad and the Qu’ran – to guide “us” into? Is it that as stated by Muhammad (and related in the two most authentic (sahih) collections of Muhammad’s sayings, the hadith, that,
“The Day of Judgment will not come until Muslims fight the Jews, when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say, ‘O Muslim, O servant of God, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.’ Only the Gharkad tree would not do that, because it is one of the trees of the Jews.” (Related by Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim)
Or, as stated in the Qur’an itself,
Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the Religion of Truth, from among the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizyah with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued. (Qur’an 9:29)
What does it say? Fight the “People of the Book” – i.e. Jews and Christians – until they SUBMIT and are SUBDUED by Muslims, and pay the Jizyah – the Islamic tax imposed for the PRIVELEGE of remaining Jewish or Christian, rather than being killed. In other words – it is equivalent to paying mob protection-money so that your new Islamic overlords can “look out for you”. Is this the SAFE PATH that the members of the US House of Representatives were saying, “AMEN,” to?
Or what about the very next day, Friday 14 November 2014, when – rather than the halls of government – the Islamic call to prayer rang out through the Washington National Cathedral (WNC)? The WNC is an “Episcopal cathedral [which] often hosts national events, such as presidential funerals, and has hosted Muslims at various interfaith services in the past." Interestingly, “During the service, Rizwan Jacka of Islamic Society of North America called the cathedral a house of prayer for all people.”
No longer is the cathedral a place for Christians to worship God, it’s a house of prayer for all people – no doubt to pray to whomever they please. But from the sounds of the goings on at WNC, it’s a long time since the God of the Bible was even truly given due reverence at this Episcopalian (US Anglican) church. Sounds more like a “brood of vipers”, a “den of thieves”, a masquerade ball for wolves dressed up as sheep, a house where the devil can soak up the ambience.
The Very Rev. Gary Hall, dean of the cathedral, said one of the thoughts behind the prayer event was that “if we could inspire those of us who are not extremists to find a way to be together ... we could begin to build something that will bless us, bless our children, bless all the people on the earth.”
“We here at the cathedral have embraced a steep challenge: to grow in our identity as a house [of worship] for people,” said Rev. Canon Gina Gilland Campbell, canon precentor for the cathedral. “This prayer marks an historic moment, this prayer symbolizes a grand hope for our community. As we get to know each other ... more bridges are built ... and there’s less room for hate and prejudice to come between us.”
The beginning of the prayer service was interrupted by a female protestor shouting about “Christian principles,” but South African Ambassador to the U.S. His Excellence Ebrahim Rasool said the outburst was only one example of extremism shown in the lead-up to the prayer service — and there’s been many other instances around the world of extremism from both Christians and Muslims.
“Extremism is never the anecdote to extremism,” Mr. Rasool said. “The middle ground is always on the defensive. I think for the first time it has flexed its muscle. This means our message at least is getting through. This bodes well for the power of the middle ground.”
Extremism!!!
And here I was thinking that the Qur’an explicitly says,
And [for] their saying, “Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah .” And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them. And indeed, those who differ over it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, for certain. Rather, Allah raised him to Himself. And ever is Allah Exalted in Might and Wise. (Qur’an 4:157-158)
For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
For it is written,
“I WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE, AND THE CLEVERNESS OF THE CLEVER I WILL SET ASIDE.”
Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. – 1 Cor 1:18-25.
I guess it is one extreme or the other!
The Washington National Cathedral’s Canon Precentor, Rev. Canon Gina Gilland Campbell – who “has [the] responsibility and oversight for all worship in the life of the Cathedral” and its dean, The Very Rev. Gary Hall – who “serves as the National Cathedral’s chief ecclesiastical leader and executive officer, working closely with the bishop of Washington and governing bodies to shape and support ministries to the city of Washington, the nation, and the world” – have education, position, and titles – and they can have them until the cows come home; but the FACT IS neither of them TRULY knows the Word of God, nor the God of the Word. No one says it better than Jesus Himself,
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. – John 14:6
The following message was sent to the Presiding Bishop and Chaplains of the Washington National Episcopal Cathedral, USA:
from Dr. Alan C. Clifford, pastor, Norwich Reformed Church (UK).
Sir,
I am alarmed and surprised at the utter naivete with which you hosted the Muslim prayer service. This is a betrayal of the Christian heritage of the USA.
The recent executions of US and UK journalists are rightly regarded as ‘pure evil’ (UK PM David Cameron).
Yes, indeed. It is also ‘pure Islam’:
‘Allah says...I shall cast terror into the hearts of the infidels. Strike off their heads, maim them in every limb! Thus we punished them because they defied Allah and His apostle [Muhammad]. He that defies Allah and His apostle shall be sternly punished’ (Sura 8: 12, Dawood tr).
This is the Qur’anic proof text for the atrocities of IS.
During his recent visit to Australia, PM Cameron deplored ‘twisting the narrative’ of Islam. But who are the ‘twisters’? Not IS and their ilk. They tell it as it is! No, when they call it ‘the religion of peace’, the so-called ‘moderates’ are giving a ‘twisted’ view, a lying ploy to deceive the unwary.
You should beware of the ‘softly-softly’ and ‘impure’ interpretation of this by so-called ‘moderate’ Muslim scholars and appeasers of Islam in ‘Chrislam’ (an absurd and unholy amalgam of Christianity and Islam). To say Sura 8: 12 is simply a military command during the heat of fighting during the Battle of Badr (AD 624), and that it compares favourably with Old Testament instructions in the days of Samuel (1 Samuel 15) is deceptive scholarship at its worst. Whatever medieval crusaders did, pure Christianity can never be charged with the cruel barbarity of Sura 8: 12. This nasty Sura is fully consistent with the built-in belligerence of hate-driven Islam (see Sura 9: 4, 12, 14, 25, 29-35, 38, 41, 73 and 122). The recently-reported crucifixions in Mosul and elsewhere are justified from the spine-chilling Sura 5: 33.
No, pure Islam is pure evil. David Cameron and his blinkered ‘PC’ élite must realise that the evil is rooted in Islam itself, not just in some ‘extreme’ interpretation of it. If ‘moderate’ Muslims are really at odds with their IS warriors, let them shout their displeasure from the housetops and embrace pure Christianity! So we ask, what atrocity has to occur to wake us all up before the West is burned to ashes by embracing this satanic fire called Islam?
ALAN C CLIFFORD is the pastor of Norwich Reformed Church, which is an associate member of Affinity (formerly British Evangelical Council). Norwich Reformed Church is also linked with the Free Reformed Churches of the Netherlands (liberated).
