JANET LEVY: IS ISLAM TRULY STANDING SHOULDER TOP SHOULDER WITH OTHER RELIGIONS?
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/is-islam-truly-standing-shoulder-to-shoulder-with-other-religions
Recently, Christian Bible translators considered changes that would make Christian scriptures more palatable to Muslim audiences. Instead of “in the name of the Father,” they put forth the phrase “in the name of Allah.” “Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit” was reformulated as “Cleanse them in the name of Allah, his Messiah, and his Holy Spirit.” In addition, Isa a prophet of Allah in the Koran who is superseded by Mohammed, has been equated with Jesus in the Christian Bible. Of course, many Christians view this as blasphemy.
The push for biblical changes came in large part from Christian leaders of the “Insider Movement” who endeavor to reach Muslim communities by encouraging Muslims to embrace Christianity by “worshipping Jesus or Isa in the mosque.” This is an accommodation to enable Muslims to follow Jesus, yet not explicitly express Christian faith. The “Insider Movement” has been gaining steam for the past decade and advances the idea of the blending of faith rather than complete conversion to Christianity.
It remains to be seen if these modifications or conscious accommodations to Islam, created by proselytizing Christians, threaten the integrity of Christian beliefs. However, a more significant threat to Christianity has existed for years in the form of ongoing, aggressive interfaith activities spearheaded by Muslims who use this religious context to shield their ulterior motive: spreading the supremacy of Islam.
This deceptive undertaking is part of the phased plan for “civilizational jihad” put forth by the Muslim Brotherhood in “An Explanatory Memorandum on the General Strategic Goal for the Group in North America.” Muslims have been encouraged to form coalitions under the guise of cooperation in order to “absorb” Western culture. They have been encouraged to “take from people the best they have” and “understand the benefit of agreement, cooperation, and alliance.” This effort has translated into establishing so-called “interfaith” groups and ostensibly fostering “interfaith” activities. The problem has been that all cooperation and accommodations are one-way, favoring Muslims and Islam.
One recent example is the interfaith coalition, “Shoulder-to-Shoulder,” based in Washington, D.C. Coalition members include the Islamic Society of North American (ISNA), the Arab American Institute (AAI), the Universal Muslim Association of America (UMAA), and 25 national Christian and Jewish religious groups.
Yet, the Islamic groups have long been engaged in anti-Western activities. ISNA, an umbrella organization for Muslim Brotherhood fronts in America, was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation Hamas funding trial. The Arab American Institute, an organization dedicated to increasing the influence of Arab-American Muslims, has endeavored to limit the surveillance activity of law enforcement. UMMA’s stated mission is to advance the social, economic, and political affairs of the Muslim community in America and to dispel misinformation about Islam and Muslims. The organization has lobbied the U.S. government and provided guidelines for the removal of obstacles to zakat or “charitable giving,” contributions to the funding of jihad required of all Muslims and Muslim businesses and mandated by shariah. UMMA has diligently worked to curtail U.S. law enforcement and intelligence procedures that obstruct zakat.
The Shoulder-to-Shoulder interfaith coalition, whose motto is “Standing with American Muslims, upholding American values,” was founded to address alleged bias against Muslims. This is particularly ironic given ISNA’s history of anti-Semitism and promotion of and financial support for terrorism. Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religious leaders who are members of the coalition venture into the community to speak out on “anti-Muslim bigotry,” work with Congress to fight “anti-Muslim” sentiment, and seek media coverage for their work against alleged “Islamophobia.” With the rampant persecution and murder of Christians and Jews in predominately Muslim countries, it is telling that no attempt is made by the coalition members to combat hatred of Jews and anti-Christian attitudes expressed by Muslim clerics and government officials in Muslim countries. Comments from Muslim officials in Islamic countries that “Islam is at war with the West” draw no criticism or even attention from Islamic members of these supposed “interfaith” coalitions.
Thus, paradoxically, while Muslims continue to burn churches and attack Christians in the Middle East and North Africa, Shoulder-to-Shoulder offers strategies to fight controversies such as building a mosque at Ground Zero. The group rails against threats to burn the Koran and fights legislation that seeks to preserve the Constitution and prevent the implementation of shariah in America. Despite the group’s routine portrayals of Islam and Muslims as universal victims, most of the religious violence in the world is actually carried out by Muslims who are doctrinally obligated to attack nonbelievers.
Shoulder-to-Shoulder has developed a multitude of self-serving programs, including the Christian-Muslim Consultative Group to promote “interfaith” and “social justice” issues; the New Evangelical Partnership Film Festival to “fight” Islamophobia; and Prepare New York, which was first developed to “promote healing and reconciliation” in anticipation of the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and is now devoted to “shifting the discussion” from “fear and mistrust” engendered by the Ground Zero Mosque project to “one that celebrates New York’s extraordinary diversity of religious freedom and expression.” The group has also targeted specific populations with its programs, such as Daughters of Abraham, to bring Christian, Jewish, and Muslim women “together;” Odyssey Networks for youth to explore their personal experience with “anti-Muslim bias;” and The Safe National Collaborative to “bridge the gap” between law enforcement and American Muslim communities.
In December 2011, the Shoulder-to-Shoulder coalition, as part of the “Homegrown Terrorism: The Threat to Military Communities in the United States” hearings, addressed Congress, stating that their mutual goals were to “promote tolerance” and “put an end to anti-Muslim sentiment.” The group publicly objected to the links between the American Muslim community and radicalization and the “wrongful” connection of the “faithful observance of Islam with suspect behavior.” They ignored Islamic doctrines that actually support such links and kept silent about attacks by Muslims against soldiers in the U.S. military that prove the connection.
This past April, Shoulder-to-Shoulder coalition members wrote a letter to New York City’s Mayor Bloomberg calling for an end to the NYPD’s surveillance of Muslim communities, an operation that has kept New York safe and thwarted more than 50 attacks since 9/11. The letter was signed by the coalition’s Christian, Jewish, and Muslim clergy and began with the subterfuge of “This is not a Muslim issue; This is an American issue,” implying that targeting Muslims was “un-American” and not based on reasonable suspicions.
In February 2012, Shoulder-to-Shoulder joined with CAIR, ISNA, and other Muslim Brotherhood organizations to demand changes to counterterrorism training materials used by the FBI that they deemed critical of Islam and Muslims. As a result, 700 documents and 300 presentations were expunged from the Bureau’s training programs and training personnel were reassigned, fired, or re-educated.
While Islam is portrayed as a peaceful and tolerant religion, this is hardly the case. The Muslim Brotherhood has stated its mission in America as a “kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying Western civilization from within and ‘sabotaging’ its miserable house by their hands so that Allah’s religion (Islam) is made victorious over all other religions.”
Furthermore, all devout Muslims are scripturally mandated to submit to Allah’s will and fight non-believers until they are subdued. So, our misplaced efforts to engage or accommodate Islam, appease Muslims through biblical and religious modifications, or join in apocryphal interfaith efforts, do not result in peace or harmony with them. In fact, it serves Islamic purposes, tightening the noose around our necks and hastening the demise of Western civilization.
Janet Levy, MBA, MSW, is an activist, world traveler, and freelance journalist who has contributed to American Thinker, Pajamas Media, Full Disclosure Network, FrontPage Magazine, Family Security Matters and other publications. She blogs at www.womenagainstshariah.com
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