Dearborn Police Bar Christian Group from Public Street Near Mosque

A few hours before Dearborn's Arab Festival began last week, Pastor Terry Jones was preparing to give a speech at City Hall. Police were there in full force to protect Pastor Jones. The police presence might easily give the impression that Dearborn respects the U.S. Constitution. But alas, appearances can be deceiving.

Dearborn Police were protecting Terry Jones for one simple reason: more than a dozen cameras, including many news cameras, were pointing at Terry Jones. Dearborn Police had no concern for protecting First Amendment rights. They were there to protect the reputation of Dearborn.

How do I know? Well, just as Pastor Jones was preparing for his speech, a few peaceful Christian evangelists were preparing to distribute DVDs, pamphlets, and copies of the Gospel to Muslims near the largest mosque in North America. Without a dozen cameras recording, Dearborn Police showed far less concern for the U.S. Constitution.



If you remember, this is the same police department that stopped Christians from peacefully distributing copies of the Gospel outside the Arab Festival last year. (The court later ruled that Dearborn Police had violated our Constitutional rights.)



It's also the same department that arrested four Christians for . . . um . . . er . . . attempting to cause a riot by answering questions.



For more on Dearborn, click here.

Sam Shamoun Responds to 1MoreMuslim

Sam Shamoun tried posting all of this in parts, but some of them were too long and didn't go through. So here is Sam's response to 1MoreMuslim.

1MoreMuslim brought up the fact of the Christian God appearing as a man and likened that to gods appearing as stones, and therefore classifying our beliefs as idolatry.

However, if he is going to be consistent then he will have to condemn Muhammad for claiming that his god appeared as a man to him. Muslim scholar Dr. Wesley Williams mentions a narration deemed to be completely reliable or sahih by authorities such as al-Bukhari where Allah appears as a man:

According to a great number of reports deemed sound (sahih) by the hadith scholars, God came to Muhammad in a vision and Muhammad saw His form. One of the most popular of these narratives is reported on the authority of the Companion of the Prophet, Mu‘adh b. Jabal:

[Mu‘adh] narrates: One morning, the Messenger of God took a long time to come join us for the dawn prayer, until the moment where we were on the point of seeing the sun come up. The Prophet then came out hurriedly. They did the second call to prayer, and the Messenger of God did the prayer, but his prayer was short. When he had pronounced the final salutation, he shouted to us: “Remain in rows as you are!” Then he turned towards us and said: “I am going to tell you what made me lat this morning. I got up last night [to pray]. I did the ablution, I prayed what destiny wished that I pray; then while I was praying, sleepiness took me, and I fell asleep. And there, in front of me, was my Lord, under the most beautiful form (fi ahsani surati). He said [to me]: ‘Oh Muhammad!’–‘[Yes] Lord, here I am!’ He said [to me]: ‘Over what does the Exalted Council dispute?’–‘I do not know, Lord,’ I responded. He posed [to me] again two times the same question. Then I saw Him putting His palm between my shoulder blades, to the point that I felt the coolness of His fingertips (amamilihi) between my nipples, and from that moment everything became evident and known to me,” etc.75

75 Ibn Hanbal, Musnad1, 5:243; Al-Tirmidhi, Jami‘ al-Sahih, apud al-Mubarakpuri, Tuhfa, 9:106ff, #3288; Al-Suyuti, Tafsir al-Durr al-manthur, 7:203. (Williams, God in Islamic Tradition: Transcendent Anthropomorphism, 4.2. The Prophet’s Vision of God: http://www.truthofgodinstitute.com/documents/Truth_of_God_IV-encrypt.pdf)

Williams then lists all of Muhammad’s companions who passed on this tradition and the scholars who accepted it:

This report and its variants is narrated on the authority of 12 Companions: Mu‘adh b. Jabal, Jabir b. Samura,76 Abu Hurayra,77 Anas b. Malik,78 Abu Umama,79 Abu ‘Ubayda b. al-Jarrah,80 ‘Abd al-Rahman b. ‘A’is,81 Thawban, mawla rasuli llah,82 ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Umar,83 Abu Rafi’,84 ‘Abd al-rahman b. Sabit,85 and ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Abbas.86 Hadith scholars Ibn Hanbal, Al-Tirmidhi, Abi Ya‘la al-Mawsili (d. 919), ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Darimi (d. 869), ‘Uthman al-Darimi (d. 895),87 Ibn Abi Asim (d. 900), al-Tabarani (d. 971), Al-Lalika’i (d. 1027), Nur al-Din al-Haythami (d. 1405), Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani (d. 1449), and al-Suyuti (d. 1505) all reported the hadith. Khaldun Ahdab declared, “THE HADITH IS SAHIH. It was reported by a group of Companions, among them: Mu‘adh b. Jabal, Ibn ‘Abbas, ‘Abd al-Rahman b. ‘A’is, Ibn Umar, Abu Hurayra, and Anas, may God be pleased with them.”88 Ibn Mandah, in his Al-Masdar al-Sabiq said also: “This hadith is reported from ten (sic) Companions of the Prophet; and the imams of the countries, from the people of the east to the west, relayed it from them.” Al-Tirmidhi judged it hasan sahih and said: “I asked Muhammad b. Isma‘il (al-Bukhari) about this hadith and he said: HADHA SAHIH (‘This is sound’).”90 Ibn Hanbal judged it sahih91 and Muhammad b. ‘Abd Allah Hakim al-Nisaburi (933-1014) declared the isnad of Ibn ‘A’is sahih in his al-Mustadrak.92 Al-’Awzai93 and Mukhul94 transmitted the report. Ma ‘mar, ‘Abd al-Razzaq, Ayyub al-Sikhtiyani (d. 748), Mu‘awiyah b. Salih (d. 775),95 in short, the muhaddithun or hadith scholars generally accepted the hadith as sound.

Here are all the references mentioned by Williams that cite this hadith of Allah appearing as a man:

76 Al-Suyuti, Tafsir al-Durr al-manthur, 7:203, sura Sad.
77 Al-Lalika’i, Sharh usul 2:520; al-Suyuti, Tafsir al-Durr al-manthur, 7:203.
78 Al-Suyuti, Tafsir al-Durr al-manthur, 7:204.
79 Al-Suyuti, Tafsir al-Durr al-manthur, 7:204; Nur al-Din al-Haythami, Kitab majma‘ al-bahrayn fi zawa’id al-mu‘jamayn (Riyad: Maktabat al-Rushd, 1992), 370; Ibn Abi ‘Asim, Al-Sunna, 1:326, #475.
80 Khatib al-Baghdadi, Ta’rikh Baghdad, 14 vols. (Cairo, 1931), 8:151; Al-Suyuti, Tafsir al-Durr al-manthur, 7:205.
81 Ibn Hanbal, Musnad2, 27:171, #16621; ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Darimi, Sunan al-Darimi, 2 vols. (Cairo: Dar al-Hadith, 2000), 1:660f; Al-Lalika’i, Sharh usul 2:514; Al-Bayhaqi, Al-Asma’ wa al-Sifat, 2:63; Ibn Abi ‘Asim, al-Ahad wa al-mathani (Riyad, 1991), 5:48; al-Haythami, Kitab majma‘, 366.
82 Ibn Abi ‘Asim, Al-Sunna, 1:328, #479; Al-Suyuti, Tafsir al-Durr al-manthur, 7:205; al-Haythami, Kitab majma‘, 367.
83 Al-Haythami, Kitab majma‘, 369, #11743.
84 Al-Tabarani, Al-Mu‘jam al-kabir (Baghdad: al-Dar al- ‘Arabiyah lil-Tiba‘ah, 1978) (hereafter Al-Mu‘jam1), 1:296, #938.
85 Ibn Abi Shaybah, al-Kitab al-musannaf fi al-ahadith wa-al-athar (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiya, 1989), 7:424.
86 Ibn Hanbal, Musnad1, 3:437, #3483; Al-Tirmidhi, Jami‘ al-Sahih, apud al-Mubarakpuri, Tuhfa, 9:101ff, #3286; Abu Ya‘la al-Mawsili, Musnad Abi Ya‘la al-Mawsili, ed. Husayn Salim Asad (Damascus: Dar al-Ma’mun lil-Turath), 4:475, #281.
87 Al-Darimi, Naqd, 2:733ff.
88 Khaldun Ahdab, Zawa’id Tarikh Baghdad ‘ala al-kutub al-sittah (Damascus: Dar al-Qalam, 1996), 6:253.
89 Apud Al-Darimi, Naqd, 2:734.
90 Al-Tirmidhi, Jami‘ al-Sahih, apud al-Mubarakpuri, Tuhfa, 9:106ff, #3288.
91 ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Abi, Al-Kamil fi du‘afa’ al-rijal, 7 vols. (Beirut: Dar al-Fikr, 1984) 6:2344.
92 See Al-Bayhaqi, Al-Asma’ wa al-Sifat, 2:74.
93 Al-Bayhaqi, Al-Asma’ wa al-Sifat, 2:73ff.
94 Al-Baghawi, Tafsir, 4:69; Ibn Abi ‘Asim, Al-Sunna, 1:326.
95 Ibn Abi ‘Asim, Al-Sunna, 1:328, #479; Al-Suyuti, Tafsir al-Durr al-manthur, 7:205. (Ibid.; bold and capital emphasis ours)

And since 1More referred to stones he needs to condemn his own prophet for committing blatant idolatry seeing that Muhammad would kiss and smother a black stone, something which the God of Abraham condemns:

It is Sunnah to perform certain acts in tawaf as given below:

Facing the Black Stone at the start of the tawaf while uttering a takbir (Allahu-Akbar), and a tahlil (La ilaha illahlah), and raising one's hands as they are raised in prayers, and if possible touching it with both hands and kissing it quietly, or placing one's cheek on it. Otherwise, one may touch it with one's hand and kiss the hand, or touch it with something, and then kiss it, or if even that is not possible, one may just point to it with a stick, etc. as is mentioned in some of the ahadith given below.

Ibn 'Umar said: “Allah's Messenger faced the Black Stone, touched it, AND THEN PLACED HIS LIPS ON IT and wept for a long time.” 'Umar also wept for a long time. The Prophet said: 'O 'Umar, this is the place where one should shed tears.” (Reported by Al-Hakim, who considers it a sound hadith with a sound chain of authorities)

It is reported by Ibn 'Abbas that 'Umar BENT DOWN TOWARDS THE BLACK STONE and said: "By Allah! I know that you are A MERE STONE, and if I had not seen my beloved Prophet kissing you and touching you I would have never done so." The Qur'an says: "You have indeed in the Messenger of Allah a beautiful pattern (of conduct)."' (Qur'an 33.32) This was reported by Ahmad and others in slightly different words.

Nafi' said, “I have seen Ibn 'Umar touching the Black Stone with his hand, and then kissing his hand and saying: 'Ever since I saw the Prophet doing this, I have never failed to do that.''' (Reported by Bukhari and Muslim)

Sowayd bin Ghaflah said: "I have seen 'Umar kissing the Black Stone and touching it." He further said: "I know that the Prophet was especially very particular about it.'' (Muslim)

Ibn 'Umar reported that Allah's Messenger used to come to Ka'bah, touch the Black Stone and then say: Bismillahi wallahu akbar (In the name of Allah, Allah is the Greatest.)" (Ahmad)

Muslim has reported on the authority of Abu Tufail that he said: "I have seen the Prophet making tawaf around the Ka'bah and touching it with a stick and then kissing the stick."

Bukhari, Muslim and Abu Daw'ud reported that 'Umar approached the Black Stone and kissed it. Then he said: "I know that you are A MERE STONE that can neither harm nor do any good. If I had not seen the Prophet kissing you, I would have never kissed you."

Al-Khatabi said: "This shows that abiding by the Sunnah of the Prophet is binding, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER OR NOT WE UNDERSTAND ITS REASON OR THE WISDOM BEHIND IT."

Such information devolves obligation on all those whom it reaches, even if they may not fully comprehend its significance. It is known, however, that kissing the Black Stone signifies respect for it, recognition of our obligation toward it, and using it as a means of seeking Allah's blessings. Indeed Allah has preferred some stones over others, as He preferred some countries and cities, days and nights, and months over others. The underlying spirit of all this is unquestioning submission to Allah.

In some ahadith which say that "the Black Stone is Allah's right hand on earth," we do find, however, a plausible rationale and justification for this statement. In other words whosoever touches the Black Stone he pledges allegiance to Allah, as it were, by giving his hand into the hand of Allah, just as some followers do pledge their fealty to their kings and masters, by kissing and shaking hands with them.

Al-Muhallib said: “The hadith of 'Umar refutes the assertions of those who say that ‘The Black Stone is Allah's right hand on earth wherewith He shakes the hands of His slaves.’” God forbid that we should ascribe any physical organs to Allah [sic]. The commandment to kiss the Black Stone is meant to test and to demonstrate palpably as to who obeys and submits. It may be compared with the command to Iblis to bow to Adam.

We have no definite evidence, however, to believe that any of the stones used in building the Ka'bah originally (by Ibrahim and Isma'il), is still in existence today excepting the Black Stone. (Fiqh-Us-Sunnah, Volume 5, Number 74b – ALIM CD-ROM Version)

Muhammad's worship of the black stone is simply a carryover of the paganism of his people who were steeped in stone worship:

Narrated Abu Raja Al-Utaridi:
We used to worship stones, and when we found a better stone than the first one, we would throw the first one and take the latter, but if we could not get a stone then we would collect some earth (i.e. soil) and then bring a sheep and milk that sheep over it, and perform the Tawaf around it. When the month of Rajab came, we used (to stop the military actions), calling this month the iron remover, for we used to remove and throw away the iron parts of every spear and arrow in the month of Rajab. Abu Raja' added: When the Prophet sent with (Allah's) Message, I was a boy working as a shepherd of my family camels. When we heard the news about the appearance of the Prophet, we ran to the fire, i.e. to Musailima al-Kadhdhab. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 5, Book 59, Number 661: http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/engagement/resources/texts/muslim/hadith/bukhari/059.sbt.html#005.059.661)

Now if 1MoreMuslim has a problem with God becoming and appearing as a man, and likens that to golden calf worship, then surely he must condemn Muhammad for thinking that his lord appeared to him as a man. He must further condemn his prophet for smothering a black stone. Even Muhammad's own followers couldn't understand the logic behind kissing an inanimate stone that could neither hurt nor benefit anyone.

However, it gets worse for 1Moremuslim. Muhammad also believed that his god appeared in and as fire:

When Moses said to his people 'I observe a fire, and will bring you news of it, or I will bring you a flaming brand, that haply you shall warm yourselves.' So, when he came to it, he was called: 'Blessed is HE WHO IS IN THE FIRE, and he who is about it. Glory be to God, the Lord of all Being! Moses, behold, it is I, God, the All-mighty, the All-wise. S. 27:7-9

Since 1MoreMuslim's god appeared in and as fire the logical thing for him to do is to start worshiping fire. After all, his prophet did kiss and smooch a black stone which some Muslims took as representing Allah's right hand on earth. Therefore, why not worship fire seeing that it was able to actually contain Allah?

1More also brings up the dead of issue of the Holy Spirit not knowing the day or hour, which only exposes his ignorance, if not his outright distortion, of the Holy Bible. He thinks that the Holy Bible is like the Quran, an incoherent piece of babble.

In the first place, 1more erroneously assumes that the phrase "no one" in Matt. 24:36 and Mark 13:32 is inclusive, that it necessarily includes every single entity with the exception of God the Father. However, if he had simply taken the time to actually read the passage he would see that such is not the case at all.

The fact that Jesus goes on to mention that neither the angels nor the Son know clearly indicates that Christ wasn’t referring to every single entity but to a more restricted group. After all, if the phrase "no one knows" meant everyone then there was no need for Christ to mention the angels and himself since they would have naturally been included already. Thus, Christ’s statement regarding angels and the Son not knowing demonstrates that Jesus was referring to a specific class of individuals, namely human beings, when he said that no one knows. In other words, Jesus was saying that no human being knows the day he would come to bring judgment upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem for rejecting him, neither the angels, not even himself. This explains why the King James Version rendered the Greek in the following manner:

"But of that day and that hour knoweth NO MAN, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father." Mark 13:32

The Holy Bible clearly teaches that the Holy Spirit knows everything that God knows and fully comprehends the very mind of God!

"God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For what person knows a man's thoughts except the spirit of the man which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God EXCEPT THE SPIRIT OF GOD. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might understand the gifts bestowed on us by God." 1 Corinthians 2:10-12

The Holy Scriptures explicitly state that God’s thoughts, his ways, his knowledge are infinite and beyond comprehension:

"O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?’ ‘Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?’ For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory for ever. Amen." Romans 11:33-36

"O LORD, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it." Psalm 139:1-6 ESV

Therefore, in order for the Holy Spirit to know the depths of God he must be omniscient and therefore God!

Hopefully, this will put his desperate tirade against the Holy Spirit to rest. Perhaps now 1moremuslim will be able to focus on answering the objections of Anthony, instead of bringing up all these red herrings which is nothing more than his desperate attempt of avoiding the challenges to his false beliefs.

Now, instead of condemning Muhammad for idolatry, watch and see 1More go out of his way to defend the idolatrous actions of his prophet.

"Inconsistency, thy name is 1moremuslim, a.k.a. 1moreblackstonekisser!"

Contribute to Dearborn Outreach

Donations and pledges over the past couple of weeks totally covered the printing and shipping of 30,000 pamphlets on the Deity of Christ, the reliability of the Gospel, and the truth about Muhammad. We had to get expedited printing on some of them, so costs were a little higher than expected, but we got them. (NOTE: I have PDF files of the pamphlets. If anyone would like to print your own copies for distribution, feel free to email me.) I'm putting up another ChipIn for anyone who wants to contribute to other outreach costs.

Arabfest 2011 Starts Today!

While David's in Dearborn about to engage in evangelism and defending the Gospel, don't forget to be praying for him and the Acts 17 team!

For those of you who might not know, Dearborn's decision to stop people from evangelising with literature on the sidewalks of the festival has been ruled unconstitutional. This year, David intends to distribute thousands of tracts to Muslims explaining the truth of the Gospel and responding to the average arguments posed by Muslims. Before 2009, when Dearborn imposed its restrictions, this had been an effective method of introducing Muslims to Christ.

This year's Arabfest promises to be interesting. Pastor Terry Jones will be at Arabfest; he and his message are sure to attract a lot of attention. Let's pray God will be glorified, and that Acts 17 will be able to successfully minister through this weekend.

Special Announcement: Acts 17 is Branching Into a New Ministry, Creed 2:6

Hello everyone, Nabeel here.

This announcement has been in the works for a couple months now. To give some background, while David and I were ministering together at NYU a few weeks ago, we came to a realization. On account of Dearborn's actions and injustices, much of what Acts 17 is now focused on is combatting the loss of free speech in our nation and the ignorance about Sharia's impact on the West.

David and I both agree that these are extremely important matters that need to be addressed, but we also agree that it doesn't require both of us focusing our efforts on this issue. Our ability to share the Gospel, the primary purpose for the creation of Acts 17, was waning amidst all the attention we were both giving to free speech and Sharia issues. For this reason, we have decided that we need to branch into a new ministry which will be removed from the political discussions while Acts 17 continues on its current trajectory. In this manner, between the two of us, we will be able to focus on our entire mission, not letting one aspect dominate.

Starting with Arabfest 2011 (that's tomorrow!) David will take over sole leadership of Acts 17. I have created a new ministry called Creed 2:6 Ministries. In accordance with the aims of the new ministry, I will not be at Arabfest this year.

I would like to reiterate that David and I both see this as the best strategic course of action for our ministry. There is no division between us, and Creed 2:6 is affiliated with Acts 17. I will continue to blog on AnsweringMuslims.com on occasion, and David and I will continue to minister together as opportunities arise.

Your support has been very important to us over these years, and I would appreciate your support of Creed 2:6 ministries as it gets off the ground. Please visit the website, Creed26.com, and follow our ministry via YouTube, Facebook, Blogger, and Twitter. I look forward to seeing some of you on these sites in the near future! Below are some videos to get you started :-)

Creed 2:6 Mission Statement

Islam 101 -- An Introduction

Investigating the Question "Is Jesus God?" -- An Introduction

Pat Condell: Islamic Cultural Terrorism

Omar Bakri & Shah Jalal Hussain vs. Sam Shamoun & David Wood: "Who Was Muhammad?"

OPENING STATEMENTS


1ST REBUTTALS


2ND REBUTTALS/CROSSFIRE


CONCLUSIONS/Q&A

Live Debate Tonight! Shamoun & Wood vs. Choudary & Muhammad, "Who Was Muhammad?"

Jesus or Muhammad Marathon Monday through Monday

Our "Jesus or Muhammad" marathon begins today and continues through next Monday. Tune in to ABN for the broadcast schedule.

London Police Covering Up Campaign of Threats and Violence Meant to Islamize the UK

Police would be racist, bigoted, and Islamophobic for arresting Muslims who break the law, just as it's racist, bigoted, and Islamophobic for people to post this news. The only tolerant, balanced, and rational thing to do is bow to Islam.

LONDON--Victims say that officers in the borough of Tower Hamlets have ignored or downplayed outbreaks of hate crime, and suppressed evidence implicating Muslims in them, because they fear being accused of racism.

The claims come as four Tower Hamlets Muslims were jailed for at least 19 years for attacking a local white teacher who gave religious studies lessons to Muslim girls.

The Sunday Telegraph has uncovered more than a dozen other cases in Tower Hamlets where both Muslims and non-Muslims have been threatened or beaten for behaviour deemed to breach fundamentalist “Islamic norms.”

One victim, Mohammed Monzur Rahman, said he was left partially blind and with a dislocated shoulder after being attacked by a mob in Cannon Street Road, Shadwell, for smoking during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan last year.

“Two guys stopped me in the street and asked me why I was smoking,” he said. “I just carried on, and before I knew another dozen guys came and jumped me. The next thing I knew, I was waking up in hospital.”

“He reported it to the police and they just said they couldn’t track anyone down and there were no witnesses,” said Ansar Ahmed Ullah, a local anti-extremism campaigner who has advised Mr Rahman. “But there is CCTV in that street and it is lined with shops and people.”

Teachers in several local schools have told The Sunday Telegraph that they feel “under pressure” from local Muslim extremists, who have mounted campaigns through both parents and pupils – and, in one case, through another teacher - to enforce the compulsory wearing of the veil for Muslim girls. “It was totally orchestrated,” said one teacher. “The atmosphere became extremely unpleasant for a while, with constant verbal aggression from both the children and some parents against the head over this issue.”

One teacher at the Bigland Green primary school, Nicholas Kafouris, last year took the council to an employment tribunal, saying he was forced out of his job for complaining that Muslim pupils were engaging in racist and anti-Semitic bullying and saying they supported terrorism. Mr Kafouris lost his case, though the school did admit that insufficient action had been taken against the behaviour of some pupils. The number of assaults on teachers in Tower Hamlets resulting in exclusions has more than doubled from 190 in 2007/8 to 383 in 2008/9, the latest available year, though not all are necessarily race-related.

Tower Hamlets’ gay community has become a particular target of extremists. Homophobic crimes in the borough have risen by 80 per cent since 2007/8, and by 21 per cent over the last year, a period when there was a slight drop in London as a whole. (Source)

Douglas Murray vs. Tariq Ramadan: Of Mosques and Gyms

Twenty Somali Muslims Charged . . . in Minnesota

Charged for what, you wonder? Would you be surprised if I told you that twenty Somali Muslims have been charged in Minnesota for . . . GASP! . . . supporting a terrorist organization? Of course you wouldn't be surprised. No one is surprised. Christians aren't surprised. Jews aren't surprised. Atheists aren't surprised. Even Muslims aren't surprised. We're only surprised when non-Muslims conspire to fund terrorism.

STAR TRIBUNE--An Ohio man who once lived in Eden Prairie was arrested Thursday morning in Columbus, becoming the 20th person of Somali descent charged in Minnesota for allegedly supporting the terror group Al-Shabab.

Ahmed Hussein Mahamud, 26, made his initial appearance Thursday morning in federal court for the Southern District of Ohio. He is on his way to Minnesota to face charges that he provided money and personnel to Al-Shabab, a group defined as a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department.

Al-Shabab is fighting a civil war for control of Somalia. A Minnesota man was killed last week while attempting a suicide bombing on behalf of Al-Shabab. His family believes the man is Farah Mohamed Beledi.

Beledi was one of 19 people who have been indicted in Minnesota for allegedly providing material support to a terrorist organization. Mahamud, who was indicted last week but whose indictment was sealed until his arrest Thursday, becomes the 20th.

The indictments come from a three-year investigation into the recruiting, training and funding of Somalis from the U.S. to return to their homeland to fight. An estimated 20 young men from Minnesota are believed to have returned to Somalia since 2008, sparking what has been considered one of the largest counterterrorism investigations in the U.S. since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Federal officials say eight of the 20 charged have been arrested in the U.S. or overseas. Five of them have pleaded guilty in connection to the case. Three others are awaiting trial here, including Omer Abdi Mohamed and two women from Rochester accused of raising money for Al-Shabab. Omer Mohamed is scheduled to go on trial July 13. He is also accused of raising money to help send others to Somalia to fight.

Six men from Minnesota are believed to have been killed while fighting in Somalia. The investigation in Minnesota began in late 2008 -- when Minneapolis resident Shirwa Ahmed became the first-known American citizen suicide bomber in Somalia. Since then, Somali-born residents of Europe, Canada and elsewhere in the United States have also allegedly lent their support to Al-Shabab as fighters or funders. (Source)

Nepali Women Victimized in Muslim Countries

Who could have guessed that non-Muslim women traveling to Muslim countries for work would be victimized by people who believe that non-Muslims are the "worst of creatures" (Qur'an 98:6)?

Kathmandu (AsiaNews) - Hundreds of Nepalese women who emigrate to Arab countries in search of better jobs and wages, are unaccounted for. According to husbands and relatives they become victims of prostitution and slavery. The migrants who manage to return, show signs of physical exhaustion, injuries, psychological damage and are often infected with AIDS. To resolve this tragic situation, the Government of Nepal wants to block migration to Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan where most cases are registered. In 2010, 242 women emigrated for work and were never heard of again.

Devi Lal Sunar, from the village of Sanoshree (Bardia district), has had no news of his wife Shanti in three years and is concerned about her safety. "Ten years ago - he says - a neighbour convinced my wife to leave for Kuwait, helping her to migrate across India." Devi said that the last contact with his wife Shanti took place about three years ago. On the phone she said that the landlord did not allow her to leave, that he tortured and beat her when she tried to contact the house and did not give her a salary. "I called Kuwait several times - he says - a voice with an Indian accent always answers and refuses to let me speak to my wife." The man claims to have done everything to bring his wife home, and in recent years has sold most of his property and now has no money to feed his two children.

Lila Thapa, a woman of 35, recently returned to her village of Katarn (Bardia), after seven years working as a maid in Kuwait. "Working in Arab countries is very risky and difficult - she says - cases of abuse and exploitation are rife." The woman points out that she had never been sexually abused, however, she claims to have been exploited and poorly paid for all her stay in Kuwait.

According to Maiti Nepal, an association against the trafficking of women, alleged disappearance are still rising. In eight years we have gone from three cases in 2002 to 242 in 2010. The growth is mainly due to increased migration to the Arab countries that attract women aged 25 to 35 years with jobs as nurses, domestic helpers and caregivers. However, many of them are sold as prostitutes in brothels or are employed in private homes as domestic servants-slaves and subjected to constant abuse by employers. (Source)

Inevitable comment from GreekAsianPanda: "But what does the oppression of unbelievers, the sexual abuse of slaves, and the abuse of women have to do with Islam? Just because Islam promotes the oppression of unbelievers (Qur'an 9:29), the sexual abuse of slaves (Qur'an 4:24), and the abuse of women (Qur'an 4:34) doesn't mean that there's any connection between Islam and the behavior of Muslims across the Muslim world."

Geert Wilders: Final Remarks at Anti-Freedom Trial

Speaker's Corner: Women in Islam

UK: Baroness Cox Introduces Anti-Sharia Bill

A call for women's rights? Will the Islamophobia never end?

UNITED KINGDOM--On 7 June 2011 Baroness Cox introduced a new Bill in the House of Lords intended to outlaw the use of Sharia law where it conflicts with English law. In proposing the new Bill she said:

“Equality under the law is a core value of British justice. My Bill seeks to preserve that standard. My Bill seeks to stop parallel legal, or ‘quasi-legal’, systems taking root in our nation. Cases of criminal law and family law are matters reserved for our English courts alone.

“Through these proposals, I want to make it perfectly clear in the law that discrimination against women shall not be allowed within arbitration. I am deeply concerned about the treatment of Muslim women by Sharia Courts. We must do all that we can to make sure they are free from any coercion, intimidation or unfairness. Many women say, ‘we came to this country to escape these practices only to find the situation is worse here’.”

The Bill has arisen over concerns about the discrimination suffered by Muslim women under the Sharia system. The Bill proposes to protect women by stopping discriminatory rulings that are contrary to UK law and ensuring that Sharia law does not appear to have jurisdiction where it does not. (Read more.)

If I had to predict GreekAsianPanda's first comment, I would predict: "But what does Sharia have to do with Islam? I can't believe you're posting this, David."

Lesbian Blogger Amina Abdallah Araf Abducted in Syria

DAMASCUS--A female blogger has been abducted by armed men in the Syrian capital, Damascus, relatives and activists say.

Amina Abdallah Araf was seized on Monday evening, as she was walking in the area of the Abbasid bus station, according to her cousin, Rania O. Ismail.

"Amina was seized by three men in their early 20's. According to the witness [a friend accompanying Abdallah], the men were armed", Ismail wrote on Abdallah's blog, A Gay Girl in Damascus.

"One of the men then put his hand over Amina's mouth and they hustled her into a red Dacia Logan with a window sticker of Basel Assad," she continued, referring to President Bashar al-Assad's brother who died in a car accident in 1994.

Abdallah, openly lesbian, holds dual Syrian and American citizenship.

According to Al Jazeera, Ismail wrote that her cousin's whereabouts were unknown, and that the family was trying to track her down.

"We do not know who took her, so we do not know who to ask to get her back. It is possible that they are forcibly deporting her," she wrote.

"From other family members who have been imprisoned there, we believe that she is likely to be released fairly soon. If they wanted to kill her, they would have done so. That is what we are all praying for."

Since mass protests erupted in Syria in March, Abdallah has been increasingly critical of the the government, writing on Sunday: "They must go, they must go soon. That is all there is to say."

On April 26, she wrote about how her father faced down two security agents who came to arrest her, threatening to rape her and accusing her of being a involved in a Salafist plot.

Mixing regime criticism with humour and poems, Abdallah has been outspoken about the situation for homosexuals and other subjects which are taboo in Arab culture.

Several Facebook pages calling for her release were set up on Monday and activists also launched a campaign on Twitter.

Syrian authorities had been cracking down on journalists and bloggers even before protests began.

A number of bloggers were arrested in February, and 20-year-old Tal al-Mallouhi, a 20-year-old girl, was jailed on charges on spying for a foreign country. (Source)

***UPDATE*** Some are speculating that Amina Abdallah Araf doesn't actually exist. If so, her blog, Wikipedia entry, and background story would be an amazingly detailed hoax, fooling Fox News, CBS News, the Huffington Post, and many other news agencies.

Muslim Lecturer Abdur Raheem Green Declares: "Terrorism Works"

Of course terrorism works. Why else would Allah command Muslims to fight unbelievers, simply for being unbelievers?

Qur’an 9:29—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.

And yet all the world is shocked when a Muslim defends fighting unbelievers.

London, June 7 (ANI): An Islamic preacher told his students that it was difficult to argue with the views of Osama bin Laden and said “terrorism works” during a speech at a university in London.

Abdur Raheem Green, a Muslim convert and former public schoolboy, said that a “permanent state of war exists between the people of Islam and the people who opposed Islam,” while addressing students at University College London (UCL).

He gave the speech to the university’s Islamic society while Umar Farouq Abdulmutallab, the Detroit bomber, was a student there in 2005, the Telegraph reports.

Referring to Osama in his 2005 UCL speech, Green, who claims he is not an extremist, said that it was difficult to argue with his views.

“His rational [sic] is, we are going to keep on killing your women and children until you stop killing our women and children. How do you argue with that?” said Green in his speech.

"The other thing is that it seems that terrorism works. We certainly have precedent,” he added.

The disclosure follows a statement by Theresa May, the Home Secretary, in which she said there had been “complacency” by universities about Islamic extremism.

Qasim Rafiq, a spokesman for the Federation of Student Islamic Societies, invited Green to speak at UCL along with two speakers from the extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir and another who has supported the Taliban.

Since then, Green has been invited to give lectures at London University’s School of Oriental and African Studies, Queen Mary and Bart’s and at UCL.

A spokesman for UCL said the inquiry had been aware of the speech but added that according to the law that cannot operate a ‘no platform’ policy in relation to speakers with controversial, distasteful or even repugnant views. (Source)

So when a Muslim says, "According to Islam, we are in a permanent state of war with those who oppose Islam," it's perfectly acceptable. But when I say, "According to Islam, Muslims are in a permanent state of war with those who oppose Islam," I'm a racist, Islamophobic, hate-mongering bigot.

Muslim "Activist" Salwa Al-Mutairi Calls for Legalized Sex Slavery

When self-control just isn't an option, sex slavery may be the solution (in Islam, that is). After all, we've got to protect people from adultery, and the best way to do that is to let men have sex slaves. This is what passes for "activism" in the Muslim world.

Hmmm. Where would a Muslim woman get the idea that it's okay for men to have sex slaves? Oh, now I remember:

Qur’an 23:1-6—The believers must (eventually) win through—those who humble themselves in their prayers; who avoid vain talk; who are active in deeds of charity; who abstain from sex, except with those joined to them in the marriage bond, or (the captives) whom their right hands possess—for (in their case) they are free from blame.

Qur’an 4:24—Also (forbidden are) women already married, except those (captives and slaves) whom your right hands possess.

But it's racist and Islamophobic to criticize Islam, so we'll all just have to accept Muhammad's teachings as a viable alternative to Western views.

KUWAIT: A female political activist and former parliamentary candidate has recommended the introduction of legislation to legalize the provision of enslaved female concubines for Muslim men in Kuwait in a bid, she says, to protect those men from committing adultery or corruption.

The activist, Salwa Al-Mutairi, suggested apparently seriously in a video broadcast online that she had been informed by some clerics that affluent Muslim men who fear being seduced or tempted into immoral behavior by the beauty of their female servants, or even of those servants 'casting spells' on them, would be better to purchase women from an 'enslaved maid' agency for sexual purposes.

She suggested that special offices could be set up to provide concubines in the same way as domestic staff recruitment agencies currently provide housemaids.

We want our youth to be protected from adultery," said Al-Mutairi, suggesting that these maids could be brought as prisoners of war in war-stricken nations like Chechnya to be sold on later to devout merchants.

This is not religiously forbidden," she added, indicating that Caliph Haroun Al-Rashid (766-809 AD) was married to one woman but possessed 200 concubines. (Source)