Recently, Christian Bible translators considered changes that
would make Christian scriptures more palatable to Muslim audiences.
Instead of "in the name of the Father," they put forth the phrase "in
the name of Allah." "Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and the Holy Spirit" was reformulated as "Cleanse them in the name
of Allah, his Messiah, and his Holy Spirit." In addition, Isa a prophet
of Allah in the Koran who is superseded by Mohammed, has been equated
with Jesus in the Christian Bible. Of course, many Christians view this
as blasphemy.
The push for biblical changes came in large part from Christian
leaders of the "Insider Movement" who endeavor to reach Muslim
communities by encouraging Muslims to embrace Christianity by
"worshipping Jesus or Isa in the mosque." This is an accommodation to
enable Muslims to follow Jesus, yet not explicitly express Christian
faith. The "Insider Movement" has been gaining steam for the past decade
and advances the idea of the blending of faith rather than complete
conversion to Christianity.
It remains to be seen if these modifications or conscious
accommodations to Islam, created by proselytizing Christians, threaten
the integrity of Christian beliefs. However, a more significant threat
to Christianity has existed for years in the form of ongoing, aggressive
interfaith activities spearheaded by Muslims who use this religious
context to shield their ulterior motive: spreading the supremacy of
Islam.
This deceptive undertaking is part of the phased plan for "civilizational jihad" put forth by the Muslim Brotherhood in "
An Explanatory Memorandum on the General Strategic Goal for the Group in North America."
Muslims have been encouraged to form coalitions under the guise of
cooperation in order to "absorb" Western culture. They have been
encouraged to "take from people the best they have" and "understand the
benefit of agreement, cooperation, and alliance." This effort has
translated into establishing so-called "interfaith" groups and
ostensibly fostering "interfaith" activities. The problem has been that
all cooperation and accommodations are one-way, favoring Muslims and
Islam.
One recent example is the interfaith coalition, "Shoulder-to-Shoulder," based in Washington, D.C. Coalition members include the
Islamic Society of North American (ISNA), the
Arab American Institute (AAI),
the Universal Muslim Association of America (UMAA), and 25 national Christian and Jewish religious groups.
Yet, the Islamic groups have long been engaged in anti-Western
activities. ISNA, an umbrella organization for Muslim Brotherhood fronts
in America, was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land
Foundation Hamas funding trial. The Arab American Institute, an
organization dedicated to increasing the influence of Arab-American
Muslims, has endeavored to limit the surveillance activity of law
enforcement. UMMA's stated mission is to advance the social, economic,
and political affairs of the Muslim community in America and to dispel
misinformation about Islam and Muslims. The organization has
lobbied the
U.S. government and provided guidelines for the removal of obstacles to
zakat or "charitable giving," contributions to the funding of jihad
required of all Muslims and Muslim businesses and mandated by shariah.
UMMA has diligently worked to curtail U.S. law enforcement and
intelligence procedures that obstruct zakat.
The
Shoulder-to-Shoulder interfaith
coalition, whose motto is "Standing with American Muslims, upholding
American values," was founded to address alleged bias against Muslims.
This is particularly ironic given ISNA's history of anti-Semitism and
promotion of and financial support for terrorism. Christian, Jewish, and
Muslim religious leaders who are members of the coalition venture into
the community to speak out on "anti-Muslim bigotry," work with Congress
to fight "anti-Muslim" sentiment, and seek media coverage for their work
against alleged "Islamophobia." With the rampant persecution and murder
of Christians and Jews in predominately Muslim countries, it is telling
that no attempt is made by the coalition members to combat hatred of
Jews and anti-Christian attitudes expressed by Muslim clerics and
government officials in Muslim countries. Comments from Muslim officials
in Islamic countries that "Islam is at war with the West" draw no
criticism or even attention from Islamic members of these supposed
"interfaith" coalitions.
Thus, paradoxically, while Muslims continue to burn churches and attack Christians in the Middle East and North Africa,
Shoulder-to-Shoulder offers
strategies to fight controversies such as building a mosque at Ground
Zero. The group rails against threats to burn the Koran and fights
legislation that seeks to preserve the Constitution and prevent the
implementation of shariah in America. Despite the group's routine
portrayals of Islam and Muslims as universal victims, most of the
religious violence in the world is actually carried out by Muslims who
are doctrinally obligated to attack nonbelievers.
Shoulder-to-Shoulder has developed a multitude of
self-serving programs,
including the Christian-Muslim Consultative Group to promote
"interfaith" and "social justice" issues; the New Evangelical
Partnership Film Festival to "fight" Islamophobia; and Prepare New York,
which was first developed to "promote healing and reconciliation" in
anticipation of the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and is now devoted to
"shifting the discussion" from "fear and mistrust" engendered by the
Ground Zero Mosque project to "one that celebrates New York's
extraordinary diversity of religious freedom and expression." The group
has also targeted specific populations with its programs, such as
Daughters of Abraham, to bring Christian, Jewish, and Muslim women
"together;" Odyssey Networks for youth to explore their personal
experience with "anti-Muslim bias;" and The Safe National Collaborative
to "bridge the gap" between law enforcement and American Muslim
communities.
In December 2011, the Shoulder-to-Shoulder coalition, as part of the "
Homegrown Terrorism: The Threat to Military Communities in the United States"
hearings, addressed Congress, stating that their mutual goals were to
"promote tolerance" and "put an end to anti-Muslim sentiment." The group
publicly objected to the links between the American Muslim community
and radicalization and the "wrongful" connection of the "faithful
observance of Islam with suspect behavior." They ignored Islamic
doctrines that actually support such links and kept silent about attacks
by Muslims against soldiers in the U.S. military that prove the
connection.
This past April, Shoulder-to-Shoulder coalition members wrote a
letter to
New York City's Mayor Bloomberg calling for an end to the NYPD's
surveillance of Muslim communities, an operation that has kept New York
safe and thwarted more than 50 attacks since 9/11. The letter was signed
by the coalition's Christian, Jewish, and Muslim clergy and began with
the subterfuge of "This is not a Muslim issue; This is an American
issue," implying that targeting Muslims was "un-American" and not based
on reasonable suspicions.
In February 2012, Shoulder-to-Shoulder joined with CAIR, ISNA, and other Muslim Brotherhood organizations to
demand changes to counterterrorism training materials used
by the FBI that they deemed critical of Islam and Muslims. As a result,
700 documents and 300 presentations were expunged from the Bureau's
training programs and training personnel were reassigned, fired, or
re-educated.
While Islam is portrayed as a peaceful and tolerant religion, this is
hardly the case. The Muslim Brotherhood has stated its mission in
America as a "kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying Western
civilization from within and 'sabotaging' its miserable house by their
hands so that Allah's religion (Islam) is made victorious over all other
religions."
Furthermore, all devout Muslims are scripturally mandated to submit
to Allah's will and fight non-believers until they are subdued. So, our
misplaced efforts to engage or accommodate Islam, appease Muslims
through biblical and religious modifications, or join in apocryphal
interfaith efforts, do not result in peace or harmony with them. In
fact, it serves Islamic purposes, tightening the noose around our necks
and hastening the demise of Western civilization.
Janet
Levy, MBA, MSW, is an activist, world traveler, and freelance
journalist who has contributed to American Thinker, Pajamas Media, Full
Disclosure Network, FrontPage Magazine, Family Security Matters and
other publications. She blogs at www.womenagainstshariah.com
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