bestcurrentnews 2014 Ramadan Prayer

The “Whys” Behind the Practice of FGM

2014 Ramadan Prayer Day 6Sometimes when Westerners read about a practice like FGM (female genital mutilation), we have difficulty understanding why anyone would allow their daughter to go through such a horrendous procedure. It is easy as Westerners to simply read the statistics, condemn the practice, and pass laws to prevent and criminalize those who may practice it. Passing laws, however, does not change hearts, attitudes, or cultures.

FGM is practiced for a number of reasons. Some cultures have wrongly taught that the clitoris will continue to grow and therefore it needs to be removed. Others have been taught the external genitalia are unclean and can cause the death of an infant during delivery. Many Muslims believe that the failure to perform FGM on their daughters will bring shame to the family. Surveys in Middle Eastern nations have shown that FGM is considered to be both a traditional and religious practice. These attitudes and practices follow immigrants to their new nations, along with their “shame/honor” mindset if the immigrant happens to be Muslim.

Increasingly those that have undergone FGM within Islamic cultures are stopping the practice, and there are brave Muslim women that are speaking out against FGM despite the fact that female sexuality is rarely spoken of in Muslim cultures. However, prayer and awareness is still needed because there is often great pressure from Islamic families to continue with the tradition so the family will not experience “shame.”

There are some Islamic clerics that condone and encourage FGM. Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a leader within the Muslim Brotherhood said, “…the most moderate opinion and the most likely one to be correct is in favor of practicing circumcision in the moderate Islamic way indicated in some of the Prophet’s hadiths even though such hadiths are not confirmed to be authentic. …The [Islamic] hadith indicates that circumcision is better for a woman’s health and it enhances her conjugal relation with her husband. … I personally support this under the current circumstances in the modern world. But whoever chooses not to do it is not considered to have committed a sin for it is mainly meant to dignify women as held by scholars.”FGM Flyer

Other Muslim groups have declared FGM is un-Islamic. It is very significant that the male Muslim Council of Britain, the most prominent Muslim organization in the nation closely linked with the Muslim Brotherhood, has chosen to disagree with al-Qaradawi. The group has promised to distribute leaflets to 500 mosques and community centers across the UK in an effort to end FGM. The leaflet says that one of the basic principles of Islam is that followers should not harm themselves or others, and continues by saying that FGM is bringing Islam “into disrepute.”

Prayer Points:

Praise God that organizations such as the Muslim Council of Britain have condemned the practice of female genital mutilation and are moving to see this procedure ended. Pray that they will stand firm against the practice and not bow to pressure from other members of the Muslim Brotherhood or similar organizations that may still condone it.

Ask God to move on hearts, softening them to His love and truth, and giving them understanding and a new mind-set that the practice of FGM brings trauma and pain in the lives of their women and girls.

Pray for the parents of young girls that may be under tremendous pressure from their families and communities who are encouraging them to circumcise their daughters. Pray they will not give into the community pressure – and receive God’s revelation that the “honorable” thing will be to reject female circumcision.

The practice of FGM is a perfect example of why it is so important for western Christians to be the “relevant majorities” in their nations – speaking out against harmful cultural and religious practices such as FGM. Pray that Christians in the West will take their place before the Lord in society and become the “relevant majority” and make a godly difference in society.

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 Ramadan Prayer

Ramadan Prayer Day 12 – Business: Hypocrisy Brings a Double Standard

The recent controversy surrounding Chick-fil-A has drawn attention to a growing inequality and double standard in the treatment of Christianity and Islam by some leaders in our nation.

The fast food chain based in Atlanta, Georgia has been under attack from gay and lesbian groups because of its support of traditional marriage – marriage defined as being between a man and a woman. Earlier this month, The Biblical Recorder, the news journal for NC Baptists, published an interview with Dan Cathy, president and chief operating officer of Chick-fil-A about the chain and its commitment to operating on biblical principles. In the interview when asked about the company’s support of the traditional family, Cathy replied, “We are very much supportive of the family – the biblical definition of the family unit.”

This interview began a new series of attacks against the company by gay and lesbian groups. In addition the restaurant chain met with harsh criticism from the mayors of two major cities.

Boston mayor Thomas Menino wrote a letter to Dan Cathy expressing his support of same sex marriage and urging the company to “back out of your plans to locate to Boston…There is no place for discrimination on Boston’s Freedom Trail and no place for your company alongside it.” A copy of the letter can be viewed on The City of Boston’s Facebook page.

When asked in a television interview if he would tell the Catholic Church or the Boy Scouts that they are not welcome because of their stance on gay marriage, the mayor replied, “They are not funding an organization who are anti-gay…. It’s a different story.”

The Mayor of Boston, however, does have a history of funding an organization that is anti-gay with taxpayer money. It seems Mayor Menino sold city property valued at $2 million to the Islamic Society of Boston for $175,000 to build their mosque. This particular mosque has a history of being tied with extremists including Yusuf al Qaradawi who according to Reuters called for the murder of homosexuals.

Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel also criticized Chick-Fil-A saying, “If you’re going to be part of the Chicago community, you should reflect Chicago values.” Interestingly, Mayor Emanuel welcomed help for the Chicago community from Louis Farrakhan, Nation of Islam leader without questioning Farrakhan’s values.

For the last two Mondays, a group of men known as the Fruit of Islam were led by Farrakhan to form a human wall of protection in violence plagued Chicago neighborhoods. In addition, Mayor Emanuel backed an Alderman’s call to block the construction of a Chick-fil-A in Chicago, but the city recently allowed the Nation of Islam to reopen the Salaam Restaurant that “springs from the mission of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.”

Although the Nation of Islam teachings do not completely align with traditional Islamic teachings, Farrakhan has often expressed his views regarding homosexuality.  He has said, “God don’t like men coming to men with lust in their hearts like you should go to a female.  If you think that the kingdom of God is going to be filled up with that kind of degenerate crap, you’re out of your d— mind.”

Traditional Islamic teachings are a quite a bit harsher. The Reliance of the Traveller says, “The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:

(1) “Kill the one who sodomizes and the one who lets it be done to him.”

(2) “May Allah curse him who does what Lot’s people did.”

(3) “Lesbianism by women is adultery between them.”

The hypocrisy of those who criticize a Christian for a view that they may not agree with yet all the while advancing the agenda of Islam in their cities either reveals an ignorance of the teachings of Islam which is unlikely in both the cases presented above or a willful blind eye to truth.

PRAY FOR BUSINESS:

  • Pray that businesses like Chick-fil-A will continue to have the right to stand up for biblical principles without government imposed economic reprisals.
  • Pray that the gay and lesbian community will realize that true Christians do not hate them or demand their execution, they simply do not agree with their lifestyle.
  • Pray for Muslims to see the differences between their harsh god that requires submission without question and the God of the Christians full of mercy and grace.