Until someone sent me some links to his blog, I had no clue who Hussein Wario was. But he's obviously been following us. He's on the "condemn Acts 17 for getting arrested for having a peaceful dialogue" bandwagon. I can't figure out whether it's (1) his unparalleled hatred for James White, or (2) a desire to get into the good graces of Muslims that fuels his rage against us. But whatever his reasons, his articles are interesting pieces of propaganda.
Here's Hussein's latest article:
"My Free Speech Trumps the Gospel"
And here are his previous articles on us (notice that he spends so much time attacking fellow Christians, he rarely manages to address Islam):
"Ergun Caner, Dearborn Arrests and James White"
"Dr. James White's Damage to Christian Outreach to Muslims"
"The Glorified Deceit"
"Dearborn Christian Missionaries Arrests: The Missing Footage"
I don't think I could ever buy Hussein's book, given his constant misrepresentation. Let's look at a few examples.
Dr. Nabeel Qureish stated clearly in an interview before the arrests that Acts 17 would defy the rules of the festival. He said, “We would not follow their exact rules.”
First, that interview took place after the arrests. Second, that's not even what Nabeel said. Haecceitas posted Nabeel's actual words:
“Now I’m not saying all Christians who were there were being persecuted, but I’m saying we who are vocal in our presentation of Christianity are being persecuted when we are there unless we follow their exact rules, which we don’t have to do.”
Nabeel was referring to things like security (who have no legal authority--they're not even police) telling us we can't record, when both city law and festival rules permit us to record. (We have them on tape trying to convince us that we're not allowed to record, as if we hadn't checked out the rules ahead of time!) We're not going to follow rules they're making up on the spot just to annoy us. But this is beside the point. If one were to read Hussein's version of events, one would walk away thinking that Nabeel publicly announced ahead of time that he was going to defy festival rules. And this is just nonsense. We bent over backwards to make sure we didn't violate any festival rules. But this doesn't matter to Hussein.
Hussein isn't done, however. Nabeel wasn't the only one who publicly announced his diabolical plans ahead of time:
Mr. David Wood was overheard before the arrest saying that he planned to defy the rules because getting arrested would get more of an outcry or response.
This is just pathetic! First, they said we were harassing a volunteer. Video footage refuted that claim. Then they said we were screaming at the crowd. Video footage refuted that. Then they said I was deliberately blocking an entrance. Video footage refuted that. Then they said we were ordered to leave, and that we refused. Video footage refuted that. Then they said half a dozen or so other things. And video footage refuted all of it.
Obviously, people are getting reluctant to say we did anything at the festival, since any false claim will be refuted by indisputable video footage. What's the next step? Some anonymous person, off camera, overheard me say that I was going to defy the rules! Let me guess--the mayor? Well, I certainly did a poor job defying the rules! Silly me, I obeyed all of them! And I still got arrested!
Let's look at another claim:
We know now that these Christians were not arrested for sharing the Gospel or distributing Bibles and tracts as they have publicly said.
Where did we "publicly" say we were arrested for distributing Bibles? We reported exactly what happened. Four of us were taken into custody on Sunday for passing out Bibles. This was two days after our arrest. When did we say otherwise? It seems that facts and accuracy don't mean much to Mr. Wario.
Then there's this:
Two things are clear. First, they didn’t follow the rules of the festival. Second, they have given conflicting statements, which show they were not preaching or distributing materials.
Actually, neither of these things is clear. I challenge Hussein to tell us which festival rule we knowingly violated. The only rule anyone can accuse us of violating is the rule against distributing materials outside of the festival. And we only broke this rule because we didn't know about it. When police informed us (after taking us into custody), we obeyed the rule. But that's not the picture one would get from reading Hussein's blog. One would think that we were flagrantly running around breaking the rules (as we supposedly announced we would do!). And where are the conflicting statements? And how can Mr. Wario say that we weren't preaching, when we have video footage of Nabeel preaching?
This one is especially hilarious:
Acts 17 claimed handing out Bibles and evangelizing was prohibited, but we know it was occurring. Pastor Haytham Abi-Haydar’s church was handing out Bibles and evangelistic materials, literature Acts 17 said they could not hand out in this video here.
According to Hussein, we were lying when we said we weren't allowed to distribute copies of the Gospel of John! But wait! Do we or do we not have video footage of police stopping us from handing out copies of the Gospel of John? Is he really going to deny the video footage? But now Hussein has contradicted himself. He's saying, on the one hand, that we were violating the rules. But the only rule we violated (because we didn't know it was a rule) was handing out materials outside of the festival. But Hussein just claimed that this wasn't against the rules! So what rule did we violate, then?
Ah well, there are plenty more deceptions in Hussein's articles, but this should give you an idea of how we're being attacked. Hussein even calls on other Christians to join him in attacking us:
We should remain steadfast in rebuking them and asking them to work with the hard-working Christians reaching out in Dearborn.
Here's a translation of his words:
We should remain steadfast in inventing things and misrepresenting the facts in an effort to discredit Acts 17, and we should continue demanding that they submit to Christian leaders (such as Haytham Abi Hayder) who lie about their fellow Christians.
Yes, Hussein wants everyone to join the hard-working Christians in Dearborn. While there are some excellent Christian brothers and sisters in Dearborn, I'm assuming Hussein is referring to the Christians who, like him, sit around attacking their fellow Christians. It seems the rest of us will have to remain steadfast getting the truth out. Christians like Hussein apparently think that deception and misrepresentation are tools in a Christian's toolbox. Sad.
(Note: If you're expecting an apology from Hussein after drawing attention to his distortions, think again.)
***UPDATE*** In the comments section, there's an unrelated dispute between Nabeel and me as to whether Wario was Mario's nemesis. Nabeel is under the delusion that Bowser was Mario's true nemesis. I rest my case with this commercial:
And if this picture doesn't prove my case, nothing will:
17 comments:
Wario will be in my prayers tonight.
I believe the root of the problem to be Mr. Wario's extreme devotion to Ergun Caner. When Dr. White brought attention to Ergun Caner's sin, Mr. Wario became enraged. When Dr. White mentioned your situation, you were guilty by association.
Untill i read in the Bible where Paul was attacked by fellow Christians, or Peter attacked by Paul or Barnabas attacked by John or John attacked by Matthew or Matthew attacked by Luke or Luke attacked by Titus or Titus attacked by Philemon....Then i'll will not be attacking my Christian brothers and sisters!
I follow the examples of the people in the Bible and above all Yeshua H'amshia. Not the so called Christians of today who are nothing but morally deprived and profess to know Christ but by their actions they deny Him.
Please don't associate yourself with Christ if u r not willing to obey His command....Thank you! Keep up the good work Acts 17!!!!
David:
I have had to come to the conclusion that Mr. Wario is beyond reason. I have tried, twice, on the Dividing Line, to reason with the man. Everyone can listen to the attempt. But I have failed. He has chosen to be my enemy, as you have seen. It is sad, but in time, the truth will come out as to why. In the meantime, I just try to ignore as much of the "noise" as possible and stay on task. :-)
james
Irrelevant: just typed "Wario" into google image search to see what he looks like. I should have known, not specific enough, but I had a great laugh :-) Anyhow, let us pray our Lord's guidance over brother Wario (and brother Haytham, and Josh McDowell, etc. etc.)
Yes, Nabeel... I'm sure you'd receive a very... 'different'... result with that search. Haha.
May the Lord convict Wario with the Holy Spirit and guide him into the truth that he may walk righteously and without fear of the light.
And may God continue to bless you guys in Acts 17 as you fight for your rights against those who opposed you and oppressed them.
I don't need to do the search. Everyone knows that "Wario" was Mario's nemesis.
Simple and to the point...I think these Christians who defend Muslims fear that they could be killed for speaking out against the evils of Islam. More simply put they are not ready to DIE for Christ so they live for SIN.
McDowell attacks acts 17 so he can sell more books next year. Yet Josh McDowell has an org. Who's name is campus "CRUSADE" ever wonder why he chose such a name? From what I heard Mr.McDowell's org can get very pushy when they are on a college campus so he has no room to talk. As I remember the CRUSADE'S were not a good thing for Christian's so makes me wonder why Joshy chose such a name.
Uhh, David... everyone knows that Bowser was Mario's nemesis. The first time I can recall the appearance of wario was in mario kart, and he wasn't even mario's specific nemesis at that point.
Can you provide evidence for your claim?
Is the video footage up yet somewhere of the conversation with the "Christian" volunteer who got angry after he saw you guys interviewing the man who was stopped for handing out tracts? I'm talking about the "Christian" who said he would "mess with" Acts 17 and then went and made a false report to police that you guys were "harassing" him. I know that footage was going to go up with an interview with Nabeel as part of it, but I haven't run across it yet. Looking forward to seeing that one knocked out of the ballpark.
@Brian,
Let's not turn this into a "trash any Christians against us" campaign. Josh McDowell is a man of God, who has contributed much to the cause of Christ.
Let's work toward healing, not more division.
Nabeel,
If I can come to David's defense, Wario was the antagonist in "Super Mario Land 2." He took over Mario's kingdom and renamed it Wario Land...the nerve.
It can be argued that Wario was Mario's nemesis. However, a definition of nemesis, given by the Merriam Webster dictionary, is "a formidable and usually victorious rival or opponent." If we are judging the veracity of David's claim based upon this understanding, then his case can be made...as long as he admits he was horrible at the game. =P
I'm deeply concerned by Wario's lack of Christian love in this campaign of attack against Acts 17. Although he is speaking untruths, he may not be deliberately lying merely blinded by his misplaced rage. Like Nabeel and David, I will be praying for him.
Also concerning is the observation that Wario's devotion to Caner resulted in hatred for Dr. White because he pointed out Caner's sin, and that subsequently Acts 17 is guilty by association. This is the problem when we allow our affections and admiration for someone to become idolatrous.
If Wario's first allegiance really is to the Lord, rather than to Caner, then when such overwhelming evidence of sin is presented regarding Caner, he should seek to restore his brother in Christ with loving admonitions and thoughtful rebuke NOT rush in with a cover-up and attack. Wario should hate sin not those who shed light upon it in order that the sin may be eradicated.
Brothers and sisters in Christ should not be enemies but rather comrades in a battle against the dark forces of this world such as hatred and deceit. If a Christian finds himself in alliance with the darkness to fight against his own brethren in the Lord, then he should search his spirit to determine what idolatrous devotion is surpassing the devotion which rightly belongs to God alone.
Hi Lydia,
We've got the video footage, and it's going to be quite embarrassing for the Dearborn Police Department. However, we're waiting for a crucial piece of information about Roger Williams before we post the video. Someone contacted us and said that Roger may have a criminal history of intimidation and harassment. We're waiting on confirmation.
Wario attacks David and Nabeel but he supports Ergun Caner? Woooow.
It would certainly fit with your experience if R.W. turned out to have such a history and would be worth reporting if it can be verified by publicly available sources.
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