I see the news story about the Lebanese man condemned to death for sorcery in Saudi Arabia.
Here is my opinion.
1. Despite opinions of secularists the death penalty for sorcery-in and of itself-is not surprising or inappropriate in a theocracy. Republics and other forms of government must remember that theocracies are a reality and should be respected if one is truly "open minded" and "liberated." Thus a theocracy is entitled to put to death those convicted of sorcery.
2. However, I am troubled by the lack of evidence that this Lebanese man entered Saudi Arabia and conducted sorcery. If he did not commit sorcery in the boundaries of Saudi Arabia then he cannot be judged guilty under Saudi Arabian religious law.
3. Further, knowing his identity, when he entered SA to attend Muslim religious observance, SA authorities should have used the opportunity to cordially dialogue to determine if perhaps he was having second thoughts about his sorcerous activities in Lebanon. In other words, this was an evangelizing opportunity, perhaps, of someone seeking to return to mainstream Muslim belief.
4. If he seemed to attempt to enter to cause trouble, he should have been turned back. As the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques SA would have the right to turn away a Muslim who wants to spread heresy or other trouble under the guise of Hajj or religious pilgrimage.
5. Thus without evidence that he came to SA in order to conduct sorcery, and was, perhaps, there to examine his own conscience, I recommend commuting the sentence, deporting him, and forbidding him re-entry unless orthodox Muslim authority approves his future intentions.
Allah is both All Knowing and Merciful.
Showing posts with label Muslims. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Muslims. Show all posts
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Message to all Muslims
While this message will be of interest to everyone, it has been put upon my heart, what is left of it after enduring such sadness and evil of the world, to convey a message to all Muslims. First of all greetings from me personally, recalling my affection for you all, and how much I enjoyed my short sojourn in the Muslim country of Turkey.
The Holy Spirit placed upon my heart this morning, soon after I woke up, that I must explain, with the intention of clarifying, some things with the purpose of urging all Muslims to unity. Nothing I say is contrary to the scriptures of the Bible and the Qur'an and instead, rather, wipes away some of the fog of politics, corruption of faith and impurity that can only be ascribed to the actions of humans, not of the perfect God nor of his scriptures, which remain everlasting and unchanged.
Brothers and sisters, you must not continue to have hardened hearts toward each other based on your respective sects of Islam. In particular I of course indicate the ill will in many places between Shia and Sunni believers. Here is the image that the Holy Spirit gave to me to tell you. In olden days the Spanish had in their currency a coin that had a certain value, but it came with lines drawn upon it so that the coin could be divided by the owner into eighths. Islam is like that coin. The value of any part of it still derives purely from the material of the coin that all the potential pieces share. Thus people may be Shia, but it is a piece from the original coin. And people may be Sunni, but it is a piece from the original coin. Do not allow humans to hold in their hands one piece of the coin and disrespect, demean or war against those who hold in their hands their piece of the same coin. You must let go of previous human based injustices from both sides, and stop ascribing divine reasons for your differences, no matter how profound (or small) those differences are. How can you let go of ascribing divine reasons for your differences? By remembering that the pieces that you hold in your hand still come from the same coin, a spiritually united Islam, that is enfranchised by the same God and the same scriptures.
Why is this so urgent for me to tell you? The Holy Spirit has put it upon my heart that one way you will look past your differences is to realize that each of you holds part of the key that must work together to please God. I'm going to make a large generalization now, and bear with me, because I am putting into words a divine image, and that is difficult to do (and of course excuse typos or mispellings or punctuation lapses, they are not "Freudian slips" or "spiritual messages," ha, but simply my lack of good equipment and a shortage of time). It is essential that Islam puts its house into order, by achieving spiritual unity, because all the parts of Islam will play a vital role in the time, and let me say this right now, it is still far in the future, when the genuine Antichrist arises, and the end of the world draws near, to combat the Antichrist and his works.
Despite what mislead Christians think, the Antichrist, the real one, is still far off. What we are in the midst of, however, is the "first wave" of false prophets that Jesus warned about. The second error that many Christians have is that the Antichrist is "anti-Christian." That is totally wrong, for while the real Antichrist is indeed anti-Christian, he is foremost anti-God. This means he is anti-believers. The Antichrist is called such because he is the anti-salvation. He is the one who will totally oppose God's will and that means that all believers of God are his enemy and the object of his domination and extermination. That's why I must laugh when people speculate about modern people who "might be" the so called "Antichrist." You would know him, oh my goodness, you would know him... you would not have to "wonder."
Thus many Christians are "asleep at the wheel," to use a term that refers to falling asleep while driving a car. They do not recognize that any false prophets of any "faith" are active in laying the unintentional, not intentional groundwork for the actual false prophets of the actual Antichrist. It's like today we have mini-John the Baptists, laying down the crooked ways for the eventual real Antichrist, to use the example of how the real John the Baptist prepared a straight way for the Messiah Jesus Christ. Most of the false prophets of today are from the ancient pagan religions, of the so called "New Age" manufactured "religions," and those Christians who willfully misunderstand the scriptures in order to write themselves a role in divine matters. Today's false prophets do not realize they are preparing the way for the genuine Antichrist, and Satan can only marvel at their stupidity. Today's false prophets strengthen love of the world and their own works and loosen love of God and obedience to him alone. They have achieved their greatest inroads in the formerly Christian nations, but Muslims, be alert, because they work on the young people through the increasing "sophistication" of the world.
So the great myth that many Christians, those on the fringe, and those who are lukewarm in their faith is that 1) the Antichrist is within reach of these times, possible arisen or rising soon, which he is not and 2) that the Antichrist is the enemy of only Christians, while in fact he is the enemy of all the faithful believers in the one true God. Hence the Antichrist is the enemy of the Muslims too and, of course, the Jews.
So the image that was put upon me that is difficult to describe in writing is that the Sunni part of Islam is keeping in preservation the purity of the holy places and the dictates of the faith, from which Islam must continue to draw its strength like water from a well. However, the Shia Imams must be acknowledged and respected because they are like the hands that draw from the well the water of purity of belief in God. This is not to say that each side does not do all of that which I listed above; it is the urging that you not discard or minimize what either side has in their faith repertoire that I am saying. Why is this? Because the Holy Spirit has put it upon my heart to explain to you that the Twelfth Imam will return, as a young boy, when it is genuinely time to oppose the Antichrist. All that you can do now and in future generations to keep your faith pure in its attentiveness to the one true God, which we, the people of Abraham, all share, will assist in confounding the work of the false prophets who at first unintentionally, and eventually intentionally, prepare the way for the Antichrist.
The Twelfth Imam will arise, as a young boy purified in his faith, and oppose, along with the Christians and the Jews and all true believers, the real Antichrist when he arises.
This is what the Holy Spirit put upon my heart to tell you most urgently today.
The Holy Spirit placed upon my heart this morning, soon after I woke up, that I must explain, with the intention of clarifying, some things with the purpose of urging all Muslims to unity. Nothing I say is contrary to the scriptures of the Bible and the Qur'an and instead, rather, wipes away some of the fog of politics, corruption of faith and impurity that can only be ascribed to the actions of humans, not of the perfect God nor of his scriptures, which remain everlasting and unchanged.
Brothers and sisters, you must not continue to have hardened hearts toward each other based on your respective sects of Islam. In particular I of course indicate the ill will in many places between Shia and Sunni believers. Here is the image that the Holy Spirit gave to me to tell you. In olden days the Spanish had in their currency a coin that had a certain value, but it came with lines drawn upon it so that the coin could be divided by the owner into eighths. Islam is like that coin. The value of any part of it still derives purely from the material of the coin that all the potential pieces share. Thus people may be Shia, but it is a piece from the original coin. And people may be Sunni, but it is a piece from the original coin. Do not allow humans to hold in their hands one piece of the coin and disrespect, demean or war against those who hold in their hands their piece of the same coin. You must let go of previous human based injustices from both sides, and stop ascribing divine reasons for your differences, no matter how profound (or small) those differences are. How can you let go of ascribing divine reasons for your differences? By remembering that the pieces that you hold in your hand still come from the same coin, a spiritually united Islam, that is enfranchised by the same God and the same scriptures.
Why is this so urgent for me to tell you? The Holy Spirit has put it upon my heart that one way you will look past your differences is to realize that each of you holds part of the key that must work together to please God. I'm going to make a large generalization now, and bear with me, because I am putting into words a divine image, and that is difficult to do (and of course excuse typos or mispellings or punctuation lapses, they are not "Freudian slips" or "spiritual messages," ha, but simply my lack of good equipment and a shortage of time). It is essential that Islam puts its house into order, by achieving spiritual unity, because all the parts of Islam will play a vital role in the time, and let me say this right now, it is still far in the future, when the genuine Antichrist arises, and the end of the world draws near, to combat the Antichrist and his works.
Despite what mislead Christians think, the Antichrist, the real one, is still far off. What we are in the midst of, however, is the "first wave" of false prophets that Jesus warned about. The second error that many Christians have is that the Antichrist is "anti-Christian." That is totally wrong, for while the real Antichrist is indeed anti-Christian, he is foremost anti-God. This means he is anti-believers. The Antichrist is called such because he is the anti-salvation. He is the one who will totally oppose God's will and that means that all believers of God are his enemy and the object of his domination and extermination. That's why I must laugh when people speculate about modern people who "might be" the so called "Antichrist." You would know him, oh my goodness, you would know him... you would not have to "wonder."
Thus many Christians are "asleep at the wheel," to use a term that refers to falling asleep while driving a car. They do not recognize that any false prophets of any "faith" are active in laying the unintentional, not intentional groundwork for the actual false prophets of the actual Antichrist. It's like today we have mini-John the Baptists, laying down the crooked ways for the eventual real Antichrist, to use the example of how the real John the Baptist prepared a straight way for the Messiah Jesus Christ. Most of the false prophets of today are from the ancient pagan religions, of the so called "New Age" manufactured "religions," and those Christians who willfully misunderstand the scriptures in order to write themselves a role in divine matters. Today's false prophets do not realize they are preparing the way for the genuine Antichrist, and Satan can only marvel at their stupidity. Today's false prophets strengthen love of the world and their own works and loosen love of God and obedience to him alone. They have achieved their greatest inroads in the formerly Christian nations, but Muslims, be alert, because they work on the young people through the increasing "sophistication" of the world.
So the great myth that many Christians, those on the fringe, and those who are lukewarm in their faith is that 1) the Antichrist is within reach of these times, possible arisen or rising soon, which he is not and 2) that the Antichrist is the enemy of only Christians, while in fact he is the enemy of all the faithful believers in the one true God. Hence the Antichrist is the enemy of the Muslims too and, of course, the Jews.
So the image that was put upon me that is difficult to describe in writing is that the Sunni part of Islam is keeping in preservation the purity of the holy places and the dictates of the faith, from which Islam must continue to draw its strength like water from a well. However, the Shia Imams must be acknowledged and respected because they are like the hands that draw from the well the water of purity of belief in God. This is not to say that each side does not do all of that which I listed above; it is the urging that you not discard or minimize what either side has in their faith repertoire that I am saying. Why is this? Because the Holy Spirit has put it upon my heart to explain to you that the Twelfth Imam will return, as a young boy, when it is genuinely time to oppose the Antichrist. All that you can do now and in future generations to keep your faith pure in its attentiveness to the one true God, which we, the people of Abraham, all share, will assist in confounding the work of the false prophets who at first unintentionally, and eventually intentionally, prepare the way for the Antichrist.
The Twelfth Imam will arise, as a young boy purified in his faith, and oppose, along with the Christians and the Jews and all true believers, the real Antichrist when he arises.
This is what the Holy Spirit put upon my heart to tell you most urgently today.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Greetings to my Muslim, and Arabic, friends
I have not stopped thinking about you, and am certainly in solidarity with you in the worship of our one God as you observe the month of Ramadan.
And I am not neglecting my interest in Arabic, even though I am the first to confess that Latin is much easier for me ;-) and obviously I have much more experience with it! However, I do have in my room the Arabic alphabet, which I inscribed myself, and am still working on learning my Alif, Ba, Ta...
And I am not neglecting my interest in Arabic, even though I am the first to confess that Latin is much easier for me ;-) and obviously I have much more experience with it! However, I do have in my room the Arabic alphabet, which I inscribed myself, and am still working on learning my Alif, Ba, Ta...
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Dr Rowan Williams means well, but....
... sometimes he really just is not helpful.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2303162/Christian-doctrine-offensive-to-Muslims%2C-says-Archbishop-of-Canterbury.html
***
Sigh. Two brief points.
1) Christian doctrine is not "offensive" to Muslims. Muslims feel strongly that those problematic areas are contradicted in the Qur'an. So it's not like they find some of Christianity "icky." There is nothing offensive in the sense of repugnant to a Muslim, who actually has high regard for Jesus and believes in his virginal birth through the Holy Spirit, his miraculous ability obtained from God, and his ascension. Muslims interpret the parts of the Qur'an that continually affirm that there is only one God plus wording that to them indicates that Jesus was not actually crucified makes Muslims to be vehement that the Qur'an contracts some of Christian doctrine. That's not "offensive," that is belief in the wording of the Qur'an as they interpret it.
2) Building bridges by starting with the major differences and not building the foundation of commonality, which is huge, and which is what the Pope has suggested doing, would be failure. Um, you have to first establish all the vast body of theology that Muslims and Christians are in total agreement regarding. This will also brush away by using solid scholarship perceived differences that in actuality are verbiage and conceptual misunderstandings. Goodness. This is hardly a helpful contribution, although he means well and is entitled to his opinion in his own church, obviously. But the Pope has the right approach, which the Muslims have agreed to, about the three areas where to first define commonality.
Just to add the obvious example. Before arguing about the Trinity and the nature of Jesus Christ, huge progress will be made once everyone is in agreement that God and Allah mean the same one Divine Lord. "Allah" is the Arabic word for "God." Allah does not designate a different God than God. Muslims were introduced to God the same way Jews and Christians were, through the God of Adam, Abraham and Moses. So "God" and "Allah" both refer to the God who made himself known to Adam, Abraham, Moses, Solomon and David. The Bible and the Qur'an are in total agreement on that. See? Wasn't that easy?
It is through exercises and scholarship like that example that will build the foundational knowledge and understanding and agreement upon which to explore the genuine and perceived differences on firm theological, language and cultural contexts.
I hope this is helpful. I'd really like to see this initiative stay on track and succeed. (Understatement of the century...!)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2303162/Christian-doctrine-offensive-to-Muslims%2C-says-Archbishop-of-Canterbury.html
***
Sigh. Two brief points.
1) Christian doctrine is not "offensive" to Muslims. Muslims feel strongly that those problematic areas are contradicted in the Qur'an. So it's not like they find some of Christianity "icky." There is nothing offensive in the sense of repugnant to a Muslim, who actually has high regard for Jesus and believes in his virginal birth through the Holy Spirit, his miraculous ability obtained from God, and his ascension. Muslims interpret the parts of the Qur'an that continually affirm that there is only one God plus wording that to them indicates that Jesus was not actually crucified makes Muslims to be vehement that the Qur'an contracts some of Christian doctrine. That's not "offensive," that is belief in the wording of the Qur'an as they interpret it.
2) Building bridges by starting with the major differences and not building the foundation of commonality, which is huge, and which is what the Pope has suggested doing, would be failure. Um, you have to first establish all the vast body of theology that Muslims and Christians are in total agreement regarding. This will also brush away by using solid scholarship perceived differences that in actuality are verbiage and conceptual misunderstandings. Goodness. This is hardly a helpful contribution, although he means well and is entitled to his opinion in his own church, obviously. But the Pope has the right approach, which the Muslims have agreed to, about the three areas where to first define commonality.
Just to add the obvious example. Before arguing about the Trinity and the nature of Jesus Christ, huge progress will be made once everyone is in agreement that God and Allah mean the same one Divine Lord. "Allah" is the Arabic word for "God." Allah does not designate a different God than God. Muslims were introduced to God the same way Jews and Christians were, through the God of Adam, Abraham and Moses. So "God" and "Allah" both refer to the God who made himself known to Adam, Abraham, Moses, Solomon and David. The Bible and the Qur'an are in total agreement on that. See? Wasn't that easy?
It is through exercises and scholarship like that example that will build the foundational knowledge and understanding and agreement upon which to explore the genuine and perceived differences on firm theological, language and cultural contexts.
I hope this is helpful. I'd really like to see this initiative stay on track and succeed. (Understatement of the century...!)
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Young Egyptians yearn to marry
Read this fantastic article. How ironic that here in the USA where everyone can afford to marry, but resist doing so, these pious and humble people yearn to marry, yet cannot get the basics in order to afford a marriage. Americans ought to appreciate what they have more. I wish some fresh ideas would occur to people to create jobs and apartments for Egyptian youth so they can marry and have families, as they so yearn to do.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/17/world/middleeast/17youth.html?hp
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/17/world/middleeast/17youth.html?hp
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Muslims, Christians turn to God on West Bank
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L16216118.htm
FEATURE-Ramadan shows more West Bankers turn to God
03 Oct 2007 00:04:27 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Wafa Amr
RAMALLAH, West Bank, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Five years ago restaurants in Ramallah would stay open all day and serve beer throughout Ramadan. This year virtually all removed alcohol from the menu completely and many closed during the fasting hours.
The change highlights what some see as a trend: faced with a sluggish economy, infighting between rival factions and low hopes for peace with Israel and a state of their own, thousands of Palestinians seem to be turning to God.
The evidence is patchy and anecdotal, and for some there is a hint of coercion. But 24-year-old Huda, who declined to give her last name, said her friends could hardly believe it when, as a liberal young Palestinian woman, she decided to observe the fast.
"I'm not a fanatic but I have some religious feelings inside me and I wanted to try fasting this year," she said. "My friends are astonished at this sudden change."
Snip
Khalaf said both Muslim and Christian West Bankers, who make up about 2 percent of Palestinians, were becoming more religious amid tougher living conditions. Crucifixes are worn more widely and church attendance appears up.
"Not only the Muslims are becoming more religious," Khalaf said. "But the Christian minority are also adhering much more strictly to Christianity as a reaction to the more religious environment around them."
Snip
Despite a new U.S.-led drive for peace with Israel, the internal strife and the split between Gaza and the West Bank has for most Palestinians jettisoned hopes for an independent Palestinian state, at least for now.
"In the absence of alternatives, they turn to God for spiritual stability and security," said Mahmoud Habbash, agriculture minister in the West Bank's Fatah-backed government. (Additional reporting by Wael al-Ahmad in Jenin and Atef Saad in Nablus)
FEATURE-Ramadan shows more West Bankers turn to God
03 Oct 2007 00:04:27 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Wafa Amr
RAMALLAH, West Bank, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Five years ago restaurants in Ramallah would stay open all day and serve beer throughout Ramadan. This year virtually all removed alcohol from the menu completely and many closed during the fasting hours.
The change highlights what some see as a trend: faced with a sluggish economy, infighting between rival factions and low hopes for peace with Israel and a state of their own, thousands of Palestinians seem to be turning to God.
The evidence is patchy and anecdotal, and for some there is a hint of coercion. But 24-year-old Huda, who declined to give her last name, said her friends could hardly believe it when, as a liberal young Palestinian woman, she decided to observe the fast.
"I'm not a fanatic but I have some religious feelings inside me and I wanted to try fasting this year," she said. "My friends are astonished at this sudden change."
Snip
Khalaf said both Muslim and Christian West Bankers, who make up about 2 percent of Palestinians, were becoming more religious amid tougher living conditions. Crucifixes are worn more widely and church attendance appears up.
"Not only the Muslims are becoming more religious," Khalaf said. "But the Christian minority are also adhering much more strictly to Christianity as a reaction to the more religious environment around them."
Snip
Despite a new U.S.-led drive for peace with Israel, the internal strife and the split between Gaza and the West Bank has for most Palestinians jettisoned hopes for an independent Palestinian state, at least for now.
"In the absence of alternatives, they turn to God for spiritual stability and security," said Mahmoud Habbash, agriculture minister in the West Bank's Fatah-backed government. (Additional reporting by Wael al-Ahmad in Jenin and Atef Saad in Nablus)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
