Posted on 03/24/2008 10:16:51 AM PDT by NYer
ITALIAN editor and critic of Islamic extremism Magdi Allam, who converted to Catholicism from Islam and was baptised by Pope Benedict XVI, today branded his former faith as intrinsically violent.
"I had to do this (abandon Islam)", Allam wrote in a long letter to the Italian daily Corriere della Sera.
"Beyond ... the phenomenon of extremists and Islamist terrorism at the global level, the root of evil is inherent to a physiologically violent and historically conflictual Islam," wrote the Egyptian-born journalist, who says he has received death threats and is under police protection.
One of seven adults baptised during an Easter vigil yesterday evening, Allam, 55, is an editorial writer and deputy editor at Corriere.
Regarding a combative tone that has made him famous in Italy, Allam wrote: "Over the years my spirit has been freed from the obscurantism of an ideology that legitimises lies and deception, violent death that leads to homicide and suicide, blind submission to tyranny."
He described Catholicism as "an authentic religion of Truth, Life and Freedom".
By baptising Allam in the public ceremony, the Pope "sent an explicit and revolutionary message to a church that until now has been too cautious in the conversion of Muslims ... because of the fear of being unable to protect the converted who are condemned to death for apostasy," Allam said.
"Thousands of people in Italy have converted to Islam and practise their faith serenely," he wrote.
"But there are also thousands of Muslims who have converted to Christianity who are forced to hide their new faith out of fear of being killed by Islamist terrorists."
Allam adopted the Christian name of Cristiano (Christian), not a common name in Italy.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.com.au ...
Allam, who has been outspoken about the conflict in the Middle East, in 2006 organised a demonstration in Rome in support of Christians in the Muslim world.
Magdi Allam, right, Italy's most prominent Muslim commentator, receives holy communion after being baptized by Pope Benedict XVI, at left, during the Easter vigil mass in St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, Saturday, March 22, 2008. In an Easter Mass Sunday celebrated on the steps of St. Peter's Basilica to mark Catholicism's most important day, he praised conversions to Christianity, only hours after he baptized a prominent Muslim. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Catholic Ping
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Both the Pope and Mr. Allam have shown extraordinary courage in a world that trembles at the mention of Islam.
God Bless Magdi Allam.
Linking religions to violence in public can only be done when one’s own religion has a spotless record of peace and love. Of course, the catholic church has an impeccable past of religious tolerance.
The death threats are only proving Magdi Allam is right about the nature of Islam. I once saw a German Neo-Nazi on 60 Minutes say that Islam was the only religion Hitler respected. He respected it because he saw it as an aggressive, warlike religion. He despised the humane, peaceful message of Christianity.
May the merciful Hand of God protect Magdi Allam. It takes a brave man to face down the death threats and attempts on his life that will surely come in the days to follow.
When was the last time the Catholic Church advocated killing nonbelievers?
The past is the past. The RCC has issued numerous apologies for past wrongs and if that’s not enough for you then to hell with you.
> ITALIAN editor and critic of Islamic extremism Magdi Allam, who converted to Catholicism from Islam and was baptised by Pope Benedict XVI, today branded his former faith as intrinsically violent.
My initial reaction to this was “well Duhhh what was your first clue?”
Then I thought about it quite a bit harder and realized the remarkable courage this man has demonstrated, and what a stinging blow it would be for our enemy. He is much more credible and articulate than any of the western turncoats and traitors that have taken up arms on behalf of the Taliban/al Qaeda.
And good on the Pope — another brave man — for allowing this to happen in such a public manner.
May God bless them both.
Oh, grow up. The reality in the modern world is that one religion is orders of magnitude worse than all the others put together on issues with “peace and love”, as you put it, and not recognizing this and attempting your weird moral equivalency argument is childish at best. This isn’t 1200AD any more.
In your face!
On a serious note, this event once again makes me think of Ronald Reagan's greatest speech, "A Time for Choosing":
You and I have the courage to say to our enemies, "There is a price we will not pay." There is a point beyond which they must not advance.
Winston Churchill said that "the destiny of man is not measured by material computation. When great forces are on the move in the world, we learn we are spirits--not animals." And he said, "There is something going on in time and space, and beyond time and space, which, whether we like it or not, spells duty."
We have converts from many faiths, and from total unbelief.
I can't imagine former Protestants, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus condemning their original faith as "intrinsically violent".
But for a former mohammedan to say that just doesn't strike me as odd.
1834
That was the year the Spanish Inquisition was finally disbanded.
I don’t understand why this had to be done in the public eye. What is to gain from that?
Don’t bother with aristotleman, he’s just mad that this brave man went to the fundementalist islamic and Christian’s common enemy, the Roman Catholic Church.
So you are saying that Mr. Allam should hide his faith.
It means “in your face” to Islam and should be an invitation for more Muslims to convert.
“God Bless Magdi Allam.”
He has.
Cliff? Cliff Clavin, is that you?
I enjoyed your comment and concur. While the church has done away with its past abusive ways, it has also done away with many positive theological aspects, particularly reverence for angels and worship of the Divine Mother. Then there is the unfortunate infiltration of leftist clergy in many of central and south American churches, and some in the U.S. Then the fact that many masses have become folk cumbaya sing-a-longs. So quite amamzing that in relation to Islam, the church is a beacon of light.
The courage this man displays is just beyond belief. May God keep him safe.
Thank you all for your insightful comments. Like many of you, I too have pondered this at great length. The Pope is the only one today who has challenged the Muslims to come to the table for a frank discussion. Those meetings will begin shortly. This pope is not a showman and must have carefully weighed the impact of Allam's Baptism on worldwide television.
The real question is how did Magdi Allam arrive at this faith conversion. When asked that by a group of reporters, he replied:
"Undoubtedly the most extraordinary and significant encounter in the decision to convert was that with Pope Benedict XVI,'' Allam said. He said he admired the pope for his skill in laying out the relationship "between faith and reason as the basis of authentic religion and human civilization.''
It should be interesting to see how the conferences with the 142 Muslim clerics progress. If not Pope Benedict XVI, who?
The mention of Islam gives me an itchy trigger finger.
“Linking religions to violence in public can only be done when one’s own religion has a spotless record of peace and love. Of course, the catholic church has an impeccable past of religious tolerance.
What a crock. By your twisted logic someone who has sinned, and has admitted and confessed to those sins, and has sought and received reconciliation (forgiveness), can not ever venture an opinion on those sins, and how they were wrong. Thankfully, God is not closed minded like you are.
Sure, but not currently. Currrently the violence is coming out of Islam, not the Roman Church. We have to deal with the present, not the past.
Besides, during all the time that Christianity had its violent moments, when was Islam ever peaceful?
...and those who support the war should go and fight it?
Don’t believe the lies about the Crusades and the Inquisition; one was defensive, the other much less violent than we have been led to believe.
Wonderful news! May God protect him from his former brethren!
> 1834
>
> That was the year the Spanish Inquisition was finally disbanded.
So roughly one hundred years before the rise of Hitler, or a mere sixty years after the American Revolution.
Not much will have changed in the Islamic world since 1834. The same can’t be said for our Civilization.
> I don’t understand why this had to be done in the public eye. What is to gain from that?
My initial reaction to this was, “Well, duuuhhhhhhh....” Then I thought about it quite a bit harder, and decided that my first reaction was probably correct.
So a bunch of turd-worlders are killing people and this reflects on Roman Catholicism exactly how? Did the Pope issue an Encyclical authorizing this? No, he did not. Did Mexico’s Cardinal issue an Encyclical authorizing this? No, he did not. Did a bunch of communist rebels in Chiapas murder people under the color of religion? Yes, they did.
Mexico isn’t even a Catholic country anymore! The socialist revolution there in the first part of the 20th century devastated Catholicism there, and most folk north of the border have no idea.
“Linking religions to violence in public can only be done when one’s own religion has a spotless record of peace and love. “
Your argument is specious at best. We are all sinners and strive to accept Christ as our savior and can only try to be better in the eyes of God. That is why God has given us a path for forgiveness
The cult of Islam has never strived to be better, just to convert, by any means, as many as possible to a cult of abject moral degradation, murder, and subjugation to the cult hierarchy. Nothing more.
I don’t respond to troll posts.
ya....everybody’s gotta keep their mouth shut, cuz nobody’s perfect.....
Nice Logic..../sarc
Benedict: he sure knows how to pope.
I didn’t see any baptism taking place. I see a man in some kind of helmet or something on the left holding something on the head of a guy bent over a bowl or something.
Nice, baseless assertion. In fact, this is about as logic free as I see from most leftists.
And if he’s referring to the Crusades -
the CRUSADES WERE IN
RESPONSE
TO ISLAMIC ENCROACHMENT AND BARBARISM.
This is EXACTLY the debate tactic used by the left.
Since there is no one without sin,
there can be no standards of behavior by which to judge people’s behavior.
The conference with the 142 muslim clerics will collpase when they don’t get their way.
Leftists attempt this line of "reasoning" on a daily basis.
“When was the last time the Catholic Church advocated killing nonbelievers?”
The Catholic Church has done what it was supposed to: preach the Gospel and make converts.
The Church is an organization of human beings; obviously, some of them have made mistakes at times, and corruption can definitely enter in. But there is nothing violent in the message of Christianity or in the Church’s preaching of this - which, on the contrary, has led to thousands of Christian misssionaries over the ages having laid down their lives to bring the Faith to the world. All of the Apostles with the exception of John died as martyrs, and it has been that way ever since.
By contrast, Islam preaches violence and violence is its normal way of being spread.
The Game, as they say, is afoot.
Amen.
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