bestcurrentnews 2016 Ramadan Prayer

The Root of Modern Day Islamic Terrorism: Part 2

2016 Ramadan GraphicIn the late 1980s, two new leaders became prominent in radical Islam: Osama bin Laden from Saudi Arabia and Ayman al-Zawahiri from Egypt. Both of these men followed the ideology of a teacher named, Abdullah Azzam. The Investigative Project on Terrorism describes Azzam:

Azzam is more responsible than any Arab figure in modern history for galvanizing the Muslim masses to wage an international holy war against all infidels and non-believers until the enemies of Islam were defeated… Azzam helped bring about the mobilization of the Muslim Brotherhood movement more than any other leader. Today, the military wing of Hamas in the West Bank is called the Abdellah Azzam Brigades.

Al-Qaeda, which is Arabic for “the Base” was founded in 1988 by Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden and Abdullah Azzam recruited and trained thousands of “holy warriors” from more than fifty countries to fight in Afghanistan. Following the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, al-Qaeda began to attack western interests around the world.

Al-Zawahiri took over the leadership of Egyptian Islamic Jihad in 1993. In 1998, the group joined with five other radical groups including al-Qaeda to form the World Islamic Front for Jihad against Jews and Crusaders. One of the first joint acts of terror was the bombings of U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

When bin Laden was killed in May 2011, Ayman al-Zawahiri became the leader of al Qaeda – and still is. He has spent his life in “jihad” and is responsible for many terrorist attacks. He criticized the Brotherhood in his book “The Bitter Harvest”, condemning them for “taking advantage of the Muslim youths’ fervor by … steer[ing] their onetime passionate, Islamic zeal for jihad to conferences and elections.”

ISIS, a Sunni jihadi terrorist group had close links with al-Qaeda until February of 2014. The split between the groups came after al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was unable to stop fighting between ISIS and another rebel group, Jabhat al-Nusra. ISIS is known for its strict interpretation of Islamic (sharia) law and brutal violence including beheadings, rapes, and floggings.

Modern day terrorism started with Hassan al-Banna’s desire to see the Caliphate restored and continue today through groups like Al-Qaeda and ISIS. The techniques for domination may differ from the Muslim Brotherhood, but the goal is ultimately the same.

Prayer Point:

Non-Islamic nations have very little understanding of the basic teachings of radical Islam and the seriousness of their message. Pray that our leaders will receive teaching about the radical side of political Islam and respond with God’s wisdom and insight to deal with the challenge and protect the innocent.

bestcurrentnews 2016 Ramadan Prayer

The Jayvee Team Strikes Again

2016 Ramadan GraphicDuring the 2012 U.S. Presidential campaign, President Obama announced at a campaign rally in Wisconsin, “Al-Qaeda has been ‘decimated.’” A little over a year later, after ISIS had captured Fallujah, a reporter from The New Yorker pointed out that the flag of Al-Qaeda was flying over the Iraqi city. Obama responded, “The analogy we use around here sometimes, and I think is accurate, is if a jayvee team puts on Lakers uniforms that doesn’t make them Kobe Bryant…I think there is a distinction between the capacity and reach of a bin Laden and a network that is actively planning major terrorist plots against the homeland versus jihadists who are engaged in various local power struggles and disputes, often sectarian.”

Following the Orlando terror attack in June, President Obama’s administration was criticized for a failure to use the term “radical Islam.” The President said, “What exactly would using this label accomplish? What exactly would it change? Would it make ISIS less committed to trying to kill Americans? Would it bring in more allies? Is there a military strategy that is served by this? The answer is none of the above. Calling a threat by a different name does not make it go away. This is a political distraction.”

An editorial in the New York Post explains why it is important to use the term radical Islamic terror rather than simply terror: “…using the word “terror” without a limiting and defining adjective is like a doctor calling a disease ‘cancer’ without making note of the affected area of the body — because if he doesn’t know where the cancer is and what form it takes, he cannot attack it effectively and seek to extirpate it.”

Part of the problem is that Western leaders fail to acknowledge the ideology behind the terror attacks. In 2014 the United Arab Emirates issued a list of 83 Islamists groups, which it classified as “terrorist organizations.” The U.S. Secretary of State lists 60 groups designated “foreign terrorist organizations” with the majority (approximately 48) Islamist groups.

Yesterday, at least 41 people were killed and 239 injured when suicide bombers attacked Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport in Turkey. As of now Turkish authorities believe ISIS is behind the attack. Today is the 24th day of the 30 days of Ramadan. So far there have been 175 Islamic terror attacks with 122 people killed according to The Religion of Peace website tracks which Islamic attacks around the world. This number does not include the attacks from yesterday.

Muslims believe the rewards for fasting during Ramadan are multiplied. In addition to fasting, “according to Islamic practice, sacrifice during Ramadan can be considered more valuable than that made at other times, so a call to martyrdom during the month may hold a special allure to some,” said a report by the US State Department led Overseas Security Advisory Council. Affirming the report, in an audio message released by the Islamic State, ISIS followers are urged to commit terror attacks during the month of Ramadan.

“Ramadan, the month of conquest and jihad. Get prepared, be ready … to make it a month of calamity everywhere for the non-believers” (ISIS audio message).

Prayer Point:

Pray world leaders will recognize that in order to defeat Islamic terrorism, they must be willing to name and recognize the ideology behind the attacks and that God will reveal the motives behind any organization hiding their true intentions.

bestcurrentnews 2014 Ramadan Prayer

Western Jihadists

2014 Ramadan Prayer Day - 23It is not a new phenomenon for Muslims in the West to travel to areas around the world to engage in jihad, however with the ongoing war in Syria and the recent announcement of the formation of a new caliphate by the terror group known as ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), the practice is becoming more prevalent.

Gatestone Institute reports that there are now at “least twice as many young British Muslims who have gone to Syria to fight alongside ISIS and other such groups than there are fighting for Queen and country here in the British armed forces.”

A California man was arrested on July 2 before he could board a flight to Turkey where he eventually planned to go to Syria to fight with ISIS. The young man, Adam Dandach, also known as Fadi Fadi Dandach, graduated from an American high school only two years ago. He told investigators, “he would assist ISIS with anything that ISIS asked him to do, and that he believed the killing of U.S. soldiers are justified killings.” When his mother learned that he planned to travel to the Middle East, she hid his passport. He was arrested for lying on an application for a replacement passport. He claims he was more disappointed that he did not get to go to Syria to join the jihad than he was that he was arrested.

New Zealander, Mark John Taylor, burnt his New Zealand passport and claims to have already been involved in fighting for the rebels in Syria. His Facebook page displays his burnt New Zealand passport and declares that he is on a “one-way trip,” declaring his intentions to die as a soldier of Mark Taylor - New Zealand JihadistAllah.

As of December 2013, the International Center for the Study of Radicalization and Political Violence (ICSR) estimated that up to 11,000 fighters from 74 nations had gone to Syria to fight. Over one quarter of these fighters are from Western countries, mostly from Britain, France, Germany, Sweden and Belgium. Although not as numerous, Australians, Canadians, and U.S. citizens have also joined the fighting.

Those joining with the jihadis are not limited to young men. Sabina Selimovic, 15, and Samra Kesinovic, 16 disappeared from their homes in Austria in April. At first it was believed that the young girls had also gone to fight in the conflict in Syria. However, it was later discovered the girls were not in Syria, but most likely in Turkey. School friends confirmed the girls had become radicalized after attending a local mosque in Vienna. Police believe that whoever helped them leave the country is manipulating their social media accounts to “turn them into pin-up girls for the call to join the civil war.”

Perhaps they were the inspiration for British twin girls, aged 16 that left their Manchester homes to travel to Syria to become jihadi brides. The girls, Salma and Zahra Halane, were among the top twenty students at their school. It is believed they may have followed their older brother who joined ISIS. The family, originally from Somalia have said they are “absolutely devastated.” It is believed the two girls and their older brother may have been radicalized over Internet forums.

Earlier this month, around 100 Muslim leaders from different Islamic theological backgrounds launched an appeal to young would-be British jihadists: “Don’t’ travel to fight in Syria and Iraq.” This call came as claims emerged that as many as three Al Qaeda instructors tutored by a master bomb-maker are believed to have gone to Syria to teach British and other Western jihadists how to make “stealth bombs.”

Frank Gaffney from the Center for Security Policy said, “What they learn there are the skill sets to bring the violence to us.”

Prayer Points:

Pray that radical terrorist teachings in mosques and through the Internet will be discovered and stopped by the authorities and appropriate leaders.

For Muslim families with children who are leaning toward becoming radicalized, ask God to intervene and give the parents His wisdom and strength in dealing with their particular situation in their family – stopping the flow of these young people into a life of jihad.

In many Western nations, the Muslim population is rapidly increasing yet they are not integrating into the Western society. Pray that Western Christians will not be fearful or allow the threat of terrorism to keep them from reaching out to Muslims in their nation and in their local community. Pray they will realize that Muslims are not the enemy, they are treasured by God and are His prize. Ask God to stir their hearts and reveal His unconditional love for them.

bestcurrentnews 2014 Ramadan Prayer

A New Caliphate?

2014 Ramadan Prayer Day 3Much attention has been focused in recent weeks on the nation of Iraq. News commentators have debated the West’s role in Iraq while much of the nation has fallen under the control a former al-Qaeda ally, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

ISIS announced on Sunday they were changing their name to The Islamic State, declaring that they have restored the Islamic caliphate. A caliphate is an Islamic state led by a supreme religious and political leader called a caliph. President Ataturk of Turkey abolished the last caliphate, the Ottoman Empire, in 1924. ISIS leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been declared as the Caliph or leader of the new state. The group has called on al-Qaeda and other militant Sunni groups to pledge their allegiance to this newly formed caliphate.

ISIS, a Sunni jihadi terrorist group had close links with al-Qaeda until February. The split between the groups came after al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was unable to stop fighting between ISIS and another rebel group, Jabhat al-Nusra. Fighting between the two rebel groups in Syria killed 7,000 people including 650 civilians caught in the crossfire. ISIS is known for its strict interpretation of Islamic (sharia) law and brutal violence including beheadings and floggings.

Much of the group’s violence has been directed against Shia Muslims. On June 12, 2014 ISIS claimed they executed 1,700 “Shi’a members of the army” in Iraq although those reports have not been substantiated. The UN reports that more than 1,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the fighting between ISIS and Iraqi forces.

The group has seized over one third of Iraq, and supporters of ISIS have been distributing propaganda indicating the next ISIS Control June 2014targets of their aggression are Jordan and Saudi Arabia. After taking over Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, ISIS put up posters which read, “We call upon the people of this county to bring their unmarried girls so they can fulfill their duty in sex jihad for their warrior brothers in the city and anyone who will not appear will feel the full force of the sharia [Islamic law] upon him.” Reports indicate that ISIS fighters have been going door to door in Mosul, killing men and raping women found in the houses. A UN spokesman said he had received information that four women who had been raped committed suicide following the brutal attacks.

As many as 500,000 residents of Mosul fled the city as ISIS took over, yet according to The Telegraph tens of thousands of these residents have decided to return preferring to live under the rule of the Sunni terror group to the Shia dominated Iraqi army. The same pattern occurred in Syria where the population of cities overtaken by ISIS initially welcomed the jihadis, but then regretted the strict Islamic society ISIS created. The regulations imposed in Raqqa, a Syrian city under ISIS control, banned smoking, drinking alcohol, and tattoos, and demanded that women be covered in public although women are discouraged from leaving the house at all. The punishment for breaking any of these rules is public flogging. Stealing can result in limbs being chopped off, and committing adultery is punished by death by stoning.

ISIS has been quite successful in utilizing social media to quickly spread its propaganda. From memes (internet picture) mocking United States First Lady Michelle Obama to using popular Twitter hashtags like those related to the World Cup, the terrorist group is making a strong push to reach westerners with their message. Terrorism expert, Charles Lister says the group’s efforts has allowed them to become somewhat of a “’celebrity’ actor within the international jihadist community” with foreign supporters from around the world expressing their support and allegiance to ISIS. The group’s announced goal is to gain one billion supporters for their Islamic State.

The Clarion Project reports British authorities estimate more than 500 young radicalized Muslims have traveled from Britain to Syria to join the conflict. Estimates are that as many as two thirds of those may have returned to live in Britain, because they travel through Turkey, a common vacation destination. Two of the British born jihadis, Reyaad Khan and Nasser Muthana have appeared in an ISIS recruitment video aimed at British Muslims. Nasser’s father, Ahmed Muthana, originally from Yemen, described how he felt when he saw the video of his son, “I was shaking and in tears. …My wife fainted and has not recovered from what she saw. …I feel sick and devastated that my son is caught up in this. He was brought up to love and respect my country which is Britain.”

Many Muslims living in the West would echo the sentiment of this father. The western nation where they now live is their country. However, radical terrorist groups are aggressively seeking recruits in the West like Ahmed Muthana’s son. Nations of the world need the wisdom of God to know how to respond to the situations in nations such as Syria and Iraq. Our leaders need to hear from the God of heaven.

Prayer Points:

Pray for wisdom for the leadership of nations around the world. Pray that each world leader will be surrounded with godly counsel and truth in order to make difficult decisions regarding the uprisings in the Middle East.

Pray for the people of Iraq and Syria – those who have fled these nations and for those that have remained. Pray for the protection of families, and an end to the brutal violence.

Pray for those who have been victims of the violence – the women that have been raped and the children that have witnessed horrendous atrocities.

Pray that Muslims – both Shia and Sunni will see that the root of the violence is from the violent teachings of the Qur’an and the traditions and biography of Muhammad himself. Pray that they will see that there is a God who desires to bring His peace to their lives and their nations.

Ask the Lord for social media to become a source of spreading the gospel to the world rather than an instrument of jihadists. Pray that social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and others can quickly identify the jihadi propaganda and stop it. Pray that groups like ISIS will no longer be able to “hack hashtags” and spread their message.

ISIS and other terror groups target disenfranchised or disillusioned young Muslim men in the West. Pray that Muslims will see the root of their disillusionment comes from allegiance to a false god. Ask Jesus to appear to them in dreams and visions and lead godly young men across their paths to share the truth of the gospel.

 

bestcurrentnews Ramadan Prayer

Ramadan 2013 – Day 28 – Al Qaeda “Inspiring” Terror

2013 Ramadan PrayerThe U.S. State Department announced that nineteen embassies will remained closed this week because of a “specific” and “serious” terrorist threat from an al-Qaeda affiliate.

Al-Qaeda, which is Arabic for “the Base” was founded in the late 1980s by Osama bin Laden. It grew out of a clearinghouse for the international Muslim brigade, called the Services Office that opposed the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Bin Laden and Palestinian religious scholar Abdullah Azzam recruited and trained thousands of “holy warriors” from more than fifty countries to fight in Afghanistan. After the 1988 Soviet pledge to withdraw troops from the nation, bin Laden created al-Qaeda.

Al-Qaeda does not have a single, central headquarters. The U.S. government reports the organization has a worldwide presence consisting of at least several thousand members and associates from as many as 100 nations. Al-Qaeda cells have been found in the United Kingdom, the United States, Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Albania, Uganda and other nations.

Al-Qaeda is also affiliated with other “like-minded” terrorist organizations located in nations such as Egypt, Libya, Uzbekistan, Algeria, Kashmir, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Southeast Asia, along with Al-Qaeda groups in the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq and the Islamic Maghreb. Intelligence experts also believe al-Qaeda cooperates on logistics and training with Hezbollah, a radical, Shiite, Iran-based terrorist group. Al-Qaeda training camps have been located in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Kenya and Sudan.

Terror attacks linked to Al-Qaeda include:

  • August 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania (killed 301 and injured 5,000)
  • October 2000 attack on the USS Cole (killed 17 and injured 39)
  • September 11, 2001 attacks in NY, DC and Pennsylvania (killed 2,996 and injured over 6,000)
  • April 2002 bombing in Tunisia (killed 19 and injured 22)
  • October 2002 attack on French tanker, MV Limburg near Yemen (killed 1 and injured 4)
  • October 2002 attack on U.S. military personnel in Kuwait (killed 1)
  • October 2002 nightclub bombing in Bali, Indonesia that (killed 202 and injured 209)
  • November 2002 hotel bombing in Mombasa, Kenya (killed 15 and injured 40)
  • May 2003 bombing of compound in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (killed 36 and injured 160)
  • May 2003 bombings in Casablanca, Morocco (killed 41 and injured 101)
  • August 2003 bombing of the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia (killed 17 and injured 137)
  • November 2003 truck bombing of a Riyadh housing complex (killed 17 and injured 122)
  • November 2003 bombings of two Turkish synagogues (killed 23 and injured 200)
  • November 2003 Istanbul bombings of the British Consulate and HSBC Bank (killed 27 and 455 injured)
  • March 2004 bomb attacks on Madrid commuter trains (killed 191 and injured 2050)
  • July 2005 bombing in London (killed 56 and injured approximately 700)
  • February 2006 attack on Abqaiq petroleum processing facility in Saudi Arabia (4 killed)
  • December 2009 attempted bombing of a Detroit-bound Northwest Airlines flight

The al-Qaeda affiliate in the Arabian Peninsula reportedly is the group that publishes Inspire Magazine, an online English magazine used to spread al-Qaeda’s message and methods. The first issue appeared in July of 2010, and the latest issue released in May 2013 claims it was the inspiration for the Boston Marathon bombing.

In a 2012 issue of Inspire, Australia was named as a prime target for terrorism. The magazine contained instructions to build an “ember bomb” saying it was the best way to start destructive fires and detailed the best times of the year to begin fires in different parts of Australia.

Prior to the Boston Marathon bombings the “Lone Mujahid Pocketbook” was released online that said its contents were collected from Inspire Magazine Issues 1-10. Included in this publication were instructions on how to torch parked vehicles, cause road accidents, start forest fires, destroy buildings, and make bombs including using iron pipes, pressure cookers, fire extinguishers and empty propane canisters.

The Washington Post reported Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (Boston Marathon bombing) told investigators that he and his brother learned to make pressure cooker bombs from the online magazine. He also claims he was inspired by online sermons of Anwar al-Awlaki, editor of the magazine until he was killed in a U.S. drone strike in 2011. The latest issue of the magazine also has an article about the beheading of British soldier, Lee Rigby calling the act “the dear price” of Western oppression, and a small article about the Oklahoma tornadoes calling them “divine wrath.”

In one of the most recent cases of an “al-Qaeda inspired” plot, two people were arrested in Canada for attempting to detonate three pressure-cooker bombs at a Canada Day event on July 1. Authorities do not believe they had any personal ties to al-Qaeda, however with the easy availability of Inspire Magazine, potential Jihadis are easily inspired and equipped by the organization through a virtual relationship.

Prayer Points:

Al-Qaeda and its affiliates have been directly responsible for nearly 4,000 deaths since 1998, however many attempts by terrorists have been stopped. Thank God for his protection over our nations. Pray that He will continue to expose the terrorist and their threats before they are able to carry through with their plans.

Pray for law enforcement around the world – that they will not grow weary in their quest to stop attacks, that they will be supported in their efforts and be properly trained to understand the ideology behind groups such as al-Qaeda.

Pray that Christians will remain ever vigilant in prayer even after seasons such as Ramadan and the Night of Power are over so that even if the authorities do not announce a “specific” and “serious” threat, the intercessors will be aware and ready to intercede.

Ask God to reach the hearts of the terrorists with His love and conviction and give them a desire for a different way of life through Christ.

bestcurrentnews Ramadan Prayer

Ramadan 2013 – Day 27 – Closing Western Embassies – Are We Willingly Becoming Dhimmis?

2013 Ramadan PrayerToday U.S. embassies and consulates in the Middle East are closed as a precautionary measure against a potential terrorist attack by al Qaeda.  General Martin Dempsey of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said the “intent is to attack Western, not just U.S. interests,” and in response the British, German, Dutch and French embassies in Yemen are also closed due to the threat.

Rep. Peter King, chairman of the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence described the threat as “very specific as to when and it’s also very specific as to the fact that it is going to happen so we have to be on alert everywhere.”

In addition a travel alert was issued by the U.S. State Department on Friday stating that al-Qaeda and its affiliated organizations continue to plan terrorist attacks in the Middle East and North Africa between now and the end of August and that travelers should be cautious and register their travel plans.

Although it is certainly a priority of Western governments and in this case, the United States government to want to insure those working in our embassies in the Middle East are safe, closing embassies is a clear example of great nations bowing their knees to Islamic dhimmitude and appeasement. Perhaps most tragic is that this dhimmi state is not being forced upon these governments because Islam has conquered them, these governments are willingly allowing a small group of Islamists to control them.

This is happening for a number of reasons. Western governmental leaders have been unwilling to identify a system that has made quite clear from its inception its intentions to destroy all other civilizations. Western academics have been unwilling to study the actual doctrine and history of Islam. Western media has continually failed to investigate and report truthfully practices, doctrines and discrimination that is part of Islam’s DNA. And to the detriment of all Western society, much of the Western Church has failed to comprehend the nature of Islam, and too often it is perceived as simply being another religion. Statistically four out of five Americans believe Muslims and Christians worship the same god.

Islam, however knows the West very well, and has developed specific strategies for its conquest. As Westerners, and specifically as Christians we know Islam’s advancement must be stopped. The enemy is not the Muslim people – God loves them and Christ died for them, just the same as He did for Christians. They are caught in a system. The enemy is not just al-Qaeda, or Hamas, or Hezbollah – they also are made up of people for whom Christ died.  The enemy is a political system that seeks to dominate and destroy.

Prayer Points:

Ask God to expose and stop any plans of al Qaeda or any other terrorist organization against embassies and other facilities around the world.

Pray that members of these terrorist organizations will have a supernatural encounter with Jesus Christ through dreams and visions.

Intercede for Western leaders, teachers, reporters, pastors and others to be quickened by God and given a desire to learn the truth about Islamic political doctrine, Islamic texts and history.

Pray that Western Christians will begin to seek God to know His plans and strategies for exposing Islam – yet still maintaining a heart of love to reach the people caught in its grasp.

bestcurrentnews Ramadan Prayer

Ramadan 2013 – Day 22 – The Root of Modern Sunni Islamic Terrorism

2013 Ramadan PrayerModern Sunni Islamic terrorism can be traced back to the ideas and theories of two primary Islamist leaders, Hasan al-Banna, the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood and Sayyid Qutb commonly referred to as “the father of modern [Islamic] fundamentalism”.

The Muslim Brotherhood, founded in 1928, is one of the most influential Islamist organizations in the modern world. The Brotherhood has provided the ideological background for almost all modern Sunni Islamic terrorist groups including Hamas, al Qaeda and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

The Investigative Project on Terrorism says the Muslim Brotherhood has “grown exponentially, from only 800 members in 1936, to over 2 million in 1948, to its current position as a pervasive international Sunni Islamist movement, with covert and overt branches in over 70 countries.”

The Brotherhood’s goal is to first restore the historical Islamic Caliphate and then expand the Caliphate’s authority to the entire world through both violent and non-violent means. Founder Hassan Al-Banna said, “It is the nature of Islam to dominate, not to be dominated, to impose its law on all nations and to extend its power to the entire planet.” This ideology is reflected in the creed of the Muslim Brotherhood, “God is our purpose, the Prophet our leader, the Qur’an our constitution, jihad our way and dying for Allah our supreme objective.” Al-Banna was shot by an assassin in 1949.

In addition to Hasan al-Banna, the works of Sayyid Qutb impacted the philosophy of the Muslim Brotherhood. Today Qutb may actually be more influential than al-Banna among Islamic radicals. His books can easily be found in bookstores in the West. Qutb’s book, Milestones has influenced Islamic extremists such as al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, current leader of al-Qaeda.

The premise of Milestones was that the world had degraded into a state of ignorance like the world prior to Muhammad’s existence. Qutb believed apostate rulers and the establishment of Islamic states through jihad was the only way to solve this state of ignorance. According to Qutb, since Arab secular leaders such as Egyptian President Nasser did not follow the sharia, he felt the Egyptian government should be resisted. After a Muslim Brotherhood member attempted to assassinate President Nasser in 1954, the organization was outlawed and dissolved by Nasser. He burned down its headquarters and arrested approximately 15,000 of its members and executed some of them, including Qutb.

The ideology behind the Muslim Brotherhood continues to drive the organization. Whether through overt or covert means – the infiltration into western governments, universities and political organizations continues to put freedom and safety at risk around the world.

Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader said, “What remains is to conquer Rome. This means Islam will come back to Europe for the third time, after it was expelled from it twice…Conquest through Da’wa [proselytizing], that is what we hope for. We will conquer Europe, we will conquer America! Not through sword but through Da’wa.”

Prayer Points:

Most Muslims desire to live in peace. Pray they will overcome their fears and rise up against organizations such as the Muslim Brotherhood, al Qaeda, Hamas and others that are militant.

The Muslim Brotherhood members in western nations present themselves as peace loving and just another group – and yet their website and documents that have been exposed present a different picture. Ask God to expose the truth in our nations about the Muslim Brotherhood and cause leaders to understand their intent.

Pray that Christians will not fear Islam or Islamic terrorism. Pray they will boldly expose the evil in the system, while proclaiming the message of the gospel of the Kingdom of God to those caught in its grip.

bestcurrentnews ReCap

ReCap April 2013

ReCap LogoWelcome to the April edition of Best Current News’ ReCap series – brief summaries of selected articles chosen to keep you informed of threats to traditional Judeo-Christian values and western culture by Islamists. In each synopsis there are links provided to the original sources to provide you with more information. Simply click on the underlined portion of each entry in order to access the source information.

United States:  The U.S Army officially declined to award Purple Heart medals to the victims the shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas that occurred in November of 2009. The medal is presented to members of the military who are “wounded or killed in any action against an enemy of the United States.” The Army said awarding the medal would “set the stage for a formal declaration that Major Hasan is a terrorist.” Thus far the U.S. government has classified the attack at Fort Hood as “workplace violence” rather than a terrorist attack.

United States: The Associated Press, reacting to pressure from the Council on American Islamic Relations  (CAIR) revised the term “Islamist” in their stylebook after CAIR complained the term had a negative connotation. The AP now instructs their stylebook subscribers that the term should not be used as “a synonym for Islamic fighters, militants, extremists or radicals.”

United States: The Arab American News reports the Dearborn (Michigan) public schools accommodate Muslim student led prayer in all the schools in the district. The Council for American-Islamic Relations is also meeting with other school districts to obtain similar accommodations.

United States: Fox News reports a U.S. Army training instructor included Evangelical Christianity and Catholicism as examples of religious extremism along with organizations such as Al Qaeda, and Hamas during a training brief. Also listed, as a form of religious extremism was the term “Islamophobia.” An Army spokesman said the matter was closed after the instructor removed the slide from the presentation and apologized.

United States: A second defendant in the June 2011 plot to attack a military installation in Seattle, Washington was sentenced to 17 years in prison after pleading guilty. Walli Mujahidh planned to use grenades and machine guns to attack the Military Entrance Processing Center.

United States: In two separate cases – one in New York and the other in Ohio, Muslim workers are suing their employers for denying workplace accommodations for their religious practices. U.S. employers are increasingly forced to allow Muslim workers time during the work day for prescribed times of prayer and time off on Fridays for weekly Muslim services.

United States: Sharif El-Gamal, the developer of the controversial Park51 also known as the “Ground Zero” mosque property purchased a five-story adjacent building to the sight. With this purchase he now controls three properties within the city block.

United States: Three Americans were killed and 264 were injured when two pressure cooker bombs exploded at the Boston Marathon on April 15. Chechen brothers, Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev were identified as the bombers. After pictures were released of the suspects, they allegedly killed a MIT police officer, stole a car and initiated an exchange of gunfire with police injuring 16 police officers. Tamerlan was killed during the exchange. Dzhokhar escaped but was later apprehended by police. The brothers reportedly were motivated by extremist Islamist beliefs and learned how to make the bombs through consulting al Qaeda’s online magazine, Inspire.

United States: A Pennsylvania mother rescued her son who had been abducted by his father and was living in Egypt.  Kalliope (Kalli) Atteya traveled with her son and ex-husband, Mohamed to visit Mohamed’s aging mother in July of 2011. While there, her ex-husband abandoned Kalli on the side of the road and abducted their son. After numerous attempts to appeal to the Egyptian authorities for help, she sought the help of a private company. When the company failed to find her son, she hired a local guide who helped her find her son, and she personally rescued him, grabbing him as he stepped off a school bus in Alexandria, Egypt.  Atteya’s son is one of many American children abducted by a parent and taken to a foreign country. In 2011, there were more than 1,300 similar cases according to the U.S. State Department.

United States: The National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Library Association developed a program called the Muslim Journeys Bookshelf which is a collection of 25 books, 4 DVDs and programming resources that have been given to 843 humanities councils, public, academic and community college libraries to use in presenting Islamic programs across the United States.

United States: The National Review reported there were at least 7,518 illegal aliens apprehended in 2011 from four nations that the U.S. government calls “state sponsors of terrorism” and ten additional “countries of interest.” The fourteen nations include Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Yemen, Nigeria, Iraq and Cuba.

Canada: Chiheb Eseghaier and Raed Jaser suspected Al Qaeda terrorists were arrested for plotting to derail a New York to Toronto passenger train. According to Superintendent Doug Best of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police this was the first known Al Qaeda planned attack in Canada. CBC News reported that Canada had tried to deport Raed Jaser in 2004.

Canada: A Toronto single father was banned from watching his nine-year-old daughter’s swim class because of “religious reasons.”  The class listed on the city’s website did not indicate that males could not observe the lessons held at a public pool.  After the blinds to the viewing area were closed to him, the staff informed the father the policy was because of Muslim women. Female only swim programs began 20 years ago based on “accommodating cultural and religious practices and requirements.” Currently nine Toronto pools have female only swim programs.

Afghanistan: As Operation Enduring Freedom continues in Afghanistan 17 coalition military fatalities were reported in the month of April. This brings the total fatalities since the operation began in 2001 to 3,291 with the majority of the coalition fatalities (2,207) being U.S. soldiers.

Austria:  The Turkish Muslim community claims they successfully forced Lego, a Danish toy manufacturer to withdraw its production of a Star Wars toy set, Jabba’s Palace.” The toy based is off the 1983 film Return of the Jedi. Jabba the Hutt is a hookah-smoking villain who lives in a domed building that Muslims claimed resembled Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia mosque. Initially Lego denied the request to stop production of the toy, but after a meeting between Muslim leaders and Lego executives the company announced it would end production from 2014 onwards. According to the company, “’Jabba’s Palace’ was planned from the beginning to be in the assortment only until the end of 2013.”

Britain: A Christian worker, fired from Heathrow airport after five Muslim colleagues complained she was anti-Islamic won the right to appeal her unfair dismissal case. Nohad Halawi says she lost her job after expressing her concerns about intimidation that she received from Muslim workers at the airport. She lost her tribunal case in 2011, because it was ruled her job was part time and commissioned-based freelance rather than a staff employee.

Britain:  BBC Panorama released a program called “Secrets of Britain’s Sharia Councils.” The 29-minute program takes a look at sharia councils across Britain and how the rulings of these councils can oftentimes be in opposition to British laws. Among some of surprising findings are that Muslim women are obtaining Islamic marriages rather than civil marriages in Britain that are not recognized under British law. This means when it comes to divorce the women are not entitled to rights that a married couple under British civil law would possess.  It also means a Muslim man can take more than one wife since he is not married under British law.

Australia:  Qantas Airlines will no longer serve pork or meals prepared with alcohol because it is forbidden in Islam on flights to and from Europe because of its partnership with Middle Eastern airline Emirates. Because of the partnership, flights from Australia to Europe fly via Dubai instead of Singapore. Several other airlines also observe the Islamic ban including Virgin Australia who serves halal accredited meals on its flights to and from Abu Dhabi Halal simply means permitted and indicates the meat served has been prepared according to Islamic law.

Egypt: Violence continued against Egypt’s Coptic Christians as gangs of Muslims attacked St. Mark Cathedral during a funeral service for six slain Christians – including one intentionally set on fire. Two additional Christians were killed and hundreds forced to hide in the back of the Cathedral until the violence subsided. Raymond Ibrahim of FrontPage Magazine described the significance of the attack: “…this jihadi attack on St Mark Cathedral is no different for Copts than a jihadi attack on the Vatican would be for Catholics. Or, to maintain the analogy, but from the other side, it would be no different than a ‘crusader’ attack on the Grand Mosque of Mecca for Muslims.”

bestcurrentnews Ramadan Prayer

Ramadan Prayer Day 16: Government – “Sterilizing the Threat”

Following the 9/11 attacks on our nation, President Bush addressed a joint session of Congress on September 20, 2001 and said,  “Our ‘war on terror’ begins with al-Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated.”

In order to defeat an enemy, we must be able define our enemy. In the days since 9/11, our nation has been involved in a war most Americans were not aware we were even fighting. It is a war we are currently losing – a war of information.

The 9/11 Commission was a bi-partisan group that investigated the 9/11 terrorism attacks on our nation. This Commission “interviewed over 1,200 people in 10 countries and reviewed over two and a half million pages of documents, including some closely guarded classified national security documents.”  A final report of the Commission’s findings was released on July 22, 2004.

The language used to describe the attacks on our nation in the 9/11 Commission report reflected the research of the Commission. Here are some examples of the words used and the number of times they appeared in the report: Enemy (39), Jihad (126), Muslim (145), Islam (322), Muslim Brotherhood (5), Religious (65), al Qaeda (36), and Violent Extremism (3).

The Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) along with other Muslim groups attacked the report.  MPAC said, “Terminology is important in defining our goals as well as removing roadblocks into hearts and minds. The 9/11 Commission identifies Islamist terrorism as the threat. The Muslim Public Affairs Council recommends that the US government find other terminology.”

This began a sterilization of the language our government uses regarding terror that continues today.

For example, in 2008, the FBI Counter-terrorism Analytical Lexicon was published. The document’s stated purpose is “to help standardize the terms used in FBI analytical products dealing with counterterrorism.” In this document, the words enemy, jihad, Muslim, Islam, Muslim Brotherhood, and al Qaeda are no longer used. Violent extremism is used 29 times and religious only 3 times. Our enemy, terrorist organizations such as al-Qaeda have been quite clear regarding their motivation. Removing language that is part of that motivation simply makes it more difficult to defeat them.

Major Nidal Hasan, a US Army officer shot and killed 13 people and injured 32 at the Soldiers Readiness Processing Center at Fort Hood, Texas on November 5, 2009. He shouted “Allahu Akbar” (Allah is Great) as he shot the unarmed soldiers and civilians. Hasan had met Anwar al-Awlaki, now deceased al-Qaeda leader and exchanged e-mails with him prior to the attack. After the attack, a Senate report described it as “the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil since September 11, 2001,” and said Hasan had become an adherent of “violent Islamist extremism.”

In 2010 the Department of Defense released, Protecting the Force: Lessons from Fort Hood  a review of the Fort Hood incident. In this report the word “religious” is used 59 times, but there is no mention of enemy, Muslim, Islam, or jihad. Although Major Hasan was in contact with al-Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood, neither one of these organizations are mentioned in the report. Even more incredibly, Major Hasan, the single shooter in the Ft. Hood incident is never mentioned in the Fort Hood report. In addition, the Department of Defense labeled the incident “workplace violence.”

PRAYER FOR GOVERNMENT

  • If an enemy cannot be identified, it cannot be defeated. Pray that our government will stop being politically correct and use language to define the enemies against our nation honestly, thoroughly and accurately.
  • Pray for leaders within our government to stand up and stop allowing outside interest groups to control the language of security documents that are further weakening our country.
  • Pray that any group that has a voice within the government of the United States will first give allegiance to our government over any foreign ties.
  • Pray that Muslims and Muslim organizations who desire to live in peace and who support the U.S. Constitution will rise up, take a stand and make their voices heard.