Posted on 11/02/2011 5:09:38 AM PDT by SJackson
To what extent was Egypt’s Maspero massacre, wherein the military literally mowed down Christian Copts protesting the ongoing destruction of their churches, a product of anti-Christian sentiment?
A video of Egypt’s grand mufti, Sheikh Ali Gomaa (or Gom’a), which began circulating weeks before the massacre, helps elucidate. While holding that Muslims may coexist with Christians (who, as dhimmis, have rights), Gomaa categorized Christians as kuffar — “infidels” — a word that connotes “enemies,” “evil-doers,” and every bad thing to Muslim ears.
After quoting Quran 5:17, “Infidels are those who declare God is the Christ, [Jesus] son of Mary,” he expounded by saying any association between a human and God (in Arabic, shirk) is the greatest sin: “Whoever thinks the Christ is God, or the Son of God, not symbolically — for we are all sons of God — but attributively, has rejected the faith which God requires for salvation,” thereby becoming an infidel.
Gomaa then offered a hypothetical dialogue between Christians and Muslims to illustrate Islam’s proper position:
Christians: You have the wrong idea about us; we don’t worship the Christ.
Muslims: Okay, fine; we were under the wrong impression — but, by the way: “Infidels are those who declare God is the Christ, son of Mary.”
Christians: But these are philosophical matters that we are unable to explain.
Muslims: Okay, fine; God is one—but, by the way: “Infidels are those who declare God is the Christ, son of Mary.”
As a graduate of and long-time professor at Al Azhar university and grand mufti of Egypt (a position second in authority only to Sheikh Al Azhar), Ali Gomaa represents mainstream Islam’s — not “radical Islam’s” or “Islamism’s” — position concerning the “other,” in this case, Christians. Regardless, many in the West hail him as a “moderate” — such as this U.S. News article titled “Finding the Voices of Moderate Islam“; Lawrence Wright describes him as “a highly promoted champion of moderate Islam”:
He is the kind of cleric the West longs for, because of his assurances that there is no conflict with democratic rule and no need for theocracy. Gomaa has also become an advocate for Muslim women, who he says should have equal standing with men.
How does one reconcile such sunny characterizations with reality? The fact is, whenever top Muslim authorities like Gomaa say something that can be made to conform to Western ideals, Westerners jump on it (while of course ignoring their more “extreme” positions). It is the same with Gomaa’s alma mater, Al Azhar, the “chief center of Islamic and Arabic learning in the world.”
MEMRI, for instance, recently published a report titled “The Sheikh of Al Azhar in an Exceptionally Tolerant Article: Christianity, Judaism Share Basic Tenets of Islam.” Of course, the day after this report appeared, this same sheikh — Islam’s most authoritative voice — insisted that the American ambassador wear a hijab when meeting him: just as Muslim “radicals” compel Christian girls to wear the hijab, “moderate” Al Azhar compels U.S. diplomats.
In short, yes, many religions “share basic tenets,” but they are secondary to the differences, which are more final and define the relationship. Or, to put it in Ali Gomaa’s paradigm: Fine, Christianity and Islam have commonalities — but, by the way: “Infidels are those who declare God is the Christ, son of Mary.”
The fact is, this Quranic verse is as much a cornerstone of Islam’s view of Christianity as the unity of God and Christ is a cornerstone of Christianity, articulated some 1700 years ago in the Nicene Creed. The issue is clear cut for all involved.
Accordingly, how can one fault Gomaa? As grand mufti, he is simply being true to Islam’s teachings. Indeed, his consistency is more commendable than the equivocations of Western ecumencalists who, by falling over themselves to assure Muslims that they all essentially believe in the same things, demonstrate, especially to Muslims, that they believe in nothing.
Incidentally, if Gomaa upholds the plain teachings of the Quran concerning who is an infidel, is it not fair to assume he also upholds the Quran’s teachings on how to confront them, as commanded in Quran 9: 29: “Fight … the People of the Book [Jews and Christians] until they pay the Jizya [tribute] with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.” Of course, prudent Muslims, undoubtedly like Gomaa himself, know that now is not the time to talk openly about such things.
Either way, here is another reminder of how Quranic verses and terms that Western people brush aside as arcane or irrelevant have a tremendous impact on current events — such as Egypt’s Maspero massacre: For the same word Gomaa, the nation’s grand mufti, used to describe Christians is the same word Muslim soldiers used when they opened fire on and ran over Christian Copts; the same word twenty Muslim soldiers used as they tortured a protesting Christian; and the same word Muslims hurled at Christians during the funeral procession for their loved ones slain at Maspero: Infidel.
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Article printed from FrontPage Magazine: http://frontpagemag.com
URL to article: http://frontpagemag.com/2011/11/01/top-muslim-declares-all-christians-%e2%80%98infidels%e2%80%99/
If #occupy took over they would declare the Rich to be infidels. Then they would come for all conservatives.
Nothing surprising about this.
I would suggest that he not set foot in my area of operations, though.
This infidel will NEVER submit to Allah.
I studied islam, which is more of a political movement than a religion, but to the extent that it is a religion, it is a religion that can only succeed by the destruction of all other religions.
Therefore, the only salvation for the rest of humankind, is to do to mooselimbs what they want to do to the rest of the world.
See my tag line.
What a shock!
They have been slaughtering Christians over there for as long as I can remember! I remember one of my Facebook friends(Christian by the way)celebrating the rebellion in Egypt when it first happened. She is a liberal(shocker). She said something along the lines of Alu Akbar our Egyptian brothers and sisters! I remember reading that post and standing there with my jaw scraping the ground. She is not a bad person, but is ignorant as all hell! It just boggles the mind!
If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
..................
Sooo,
Where’s Vlad the Impaler when you need him?
Impale mooselimbs all the way back to mecca.
Sounds like a winner to me.
I worked with an émigré from the “Palestinian Territories.” He came to the US at 15 and was in his late 40’s when I knew him. He was what you’d have to call a “moderate Muslim.” He didn’t pray and, by his own words, had no interest in religion. He was rigidly traditional and married a 13 year old girl when he was 30 “so she could have the maximum number of boys.” We were having lunch one day and discussing Salman Rushdie, who had been condemned by the Ayatollah for “The Satanic Verses.” Nobody knew anything about it so I told them the plot synopsis and that the fatwa was because Rushdie had posited that Mohamed had changed the wording on God’s pronouncements.
Mater-of-factly, between bites, he said, “Well, then, he must die.”
I don’t think for a moment that Fuad would have killed anybody. But he would have been part of the crowd or sheltered the murderer; without doubt.
This is Arab thinking. And, remember, he had been in America longer than he’d been in the Palestinian Territories. He didn’t believe in Democracy or law. He was the law in his crowded multi-family house. There is no possibility that someone with his cultural view would ever form a government based on western concepts. None.
Satan is waxing bolder these days.
The sooner the better!
If Methodists had a special handshake that'd be the one used all the time, and favorite historic figures might also have been Methodists and their examples would be cited, and their words quoted.
It's the same thing in these Moslem areas ~ everybody's a Moslem and they do Moslem things, and think Moslem thoughts.
They rally to their own heroes and standards.
The difference here is that Methodists are NOT wandering about looking for non-Methodists to murder with the full approval of the government authorities and the law.
In Islamic countries, Moslems go about with the thought on their minds of "what non-Moslem can I kill today".
It really makes it difficult to work with these guys.
Islam: an insane murder cult since Mad Mo crawled out of the bat cave and barked at the moon.
Do unto others as they would do unto you-—only do it first.
That is the Golden Rule when dealing with Muslims.
There is no such thing as a Moderate Muslim, only those who are apostate or waiting for their numbers to increase so they can get away with killing Christians.
The Religion of Peace will only achieve peace once all the rest of us are dead. See? They’re ultimately peaceful. Getting there is the bitch.
moozlum credo: I love you. I will kill you and your family. Slash! Boom!
I admire this filthy koranimal for its’ honesty.
His hypothetical discussion is absolutely retarded.
This is your brain on Islam.
We’re in for the battle of our lives.
I found a t-shirt at a gun show that proudly proclaims that I am an Infidel!
Not surprised. The Moslems know that the Christian faith is the real fastest growing faith in the world. Plus the enemy, Satan knows he time is coming to an end. The King of Kings will come back “soon and very soon”.
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