2015-2016 Religion

From the unpublished material January 4, 2017

Since the attack on the World-trade Centre in New York the relations between Muslims and other believers in the West became sour and the actions of fundamentalist groups with the silence of the main Islamic denominations made that clashes were unavoidable. Having some calling on the name of the prophet Muhammad to justify their killing made it once again difficult, after the 2014 Islamic State (IS) battles and the 2015 January attack on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, to keep the population to believe Muslim was not a religion willing to kill all those who believed something different than they.

Many people wondered how God and the prophet Muhammad would react to the attrocities fulfilled in their name on the world.

Islam strictly forbids causing harm to innocent women, children, and other people and is against the burning or wilfully damaging the Holy Scriptures. But since a few years we have seen several terrorist groups raping young people, killing innocents, even bombing mosques and bringing fire to the Quran, for which they would murder others when they would do such a thing.

According certain Islamic groups the orders of Islamic shari’ah jurisprudence for such individuals, organizations, and countries which like the United States have the intention to promote a life against the will of the creator, are clear and all the scholars of the Muslim brotherhood are unanimous on them. It are the voices of those who say that the hearts of the people of Muslim countries are beating with the call of jihad, which are frightening more and more the Western citizens.

Those who thought Al-Qaeda would have been silenced after the death of Osama Bin Laden were very wrong.When he lived he had already given indication the Jihad was not all in his hands.

I have already said that I am not involved in the 11 September attacks in the United States. As a Muslim, I try my best to avoid telling a lie. I had no knowledge of these attacks, nor do I consider the killing of innocent women, children, and other humans as an appreciable act. Islam strictly forbids causing harm to innocent women, children, and other people. {Interview with Osama Bin Laden in Osama bin Laden Myth [2 of 2]}

Bin Laden did not have anything against the American system, not against its people, whereas in the September attacks, the common American people have been killed.

The Islamic leader at the time said:

According to my information, the death toll is much higher than what the US government has stated. But the Bush administration does not want the panic to spread. The United States should try to trace the perpetrators of these attacks within itself; the people who are a part of the US system, but are dissenting against it. Or those who are working for some other system; persons who want to make the present century as a century of conflict between Islam and Christianity so that their own civilization, nation, country, or ideology could survive. They can be any one, from Russia to Israel and from India to Serbia.

After those attacks we have seen many other groups using the name of the prophet as well as the name of Islam to bring terror to others. But as we could see in the Paris terrorism of January 2015 those criminals did not have much in common with real faithful Muslims. Also the many jihad fighters from the West seemed to be more youngsters who did not find their way in the Western system of life.

Jihad is the sixth undeclared element of Islam. The first five being the basic holy words of Islam, prayers, fast, pilgrimage to Mecca, and giving alms Every anti-Islamic person is afraid of it. Al-Qa’ida wants to keep this element alive and active and make it part of the daily life of the Muslims. It wants to give it the status of worship. We are not against any Islamic country nor we consider a war against an Islamic country as jihad.

said Bin Laden.  {Osama bin Laden Myth [2 of 2]}

Whenever incidents occurred in the past in western countries, the faithful Pakistanis were attacked and this time it was not different when the Pakistanis saw how was reacted in the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo publications and attacks. Christians, who are already living under constant fear for their lives, became even more vulnerable.

An anti-Charlie Hebdo demonstration in Pakistan (CNS)

Begin February hundreds of Muslim students, armed with iron bars and sticks, have ransacked a Christian school in northern Pakistan in protest at blasphemous cartoons published by Charlie Hebdo.
300 Muslim students stormed the Christian boys’ school in the city of Bannu, in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in northern Pakistan, demanding its closure and injuring four students. The protesting students entered the Panel High School after jumping its outer walls and forcing open the gates.

The school has been closed for two days and the headmaster has decided to take additional security measures.

Nasir Saeed, Christian director of the NGO, Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement, said:

“It is very sad that Islamic radicals attack Pakistani Christians because of Charlie Hebdo. Christians condemn the blasphemous cartoons. It is a shame that even after 67 years since the birth of Pakistan, Christians have not yet been considered Pakistani citizens, but are seen as ‘Western allies’.

It is the politicians’ duty to create a cultural environment and a society in which Christians and religious minorities feel safe.

Riots of Malda in January 2016 by some were seen as a ‘dress rehearsal’ for the Islamists. The Bengal communal clashes got us to see how biblical prophesy has become a reality today, one religion fighting against an other religion, and as such one community to demolish for example a Shiva temple at Dhulagarh, about 28 kilometers west of Kolkata, in Howrah district.

Riots started when Muslims brought out a procession complete with loudspeakers blaring Hindi film music on 13 December to celebrate Eid-e-Milad (the birthday of Prophet Mohammed), which actually fell on 12 December and was a public holiday. On 13 December, Hindus at Dhulagarh village, like in the rest of the country, were observing Margashirsha Purnima.

In Bengal many may dream of the partition of North East Region (8 states) and the creation of a new Islamic State ‘Sonar Bangal’ comprising of West Bengal and Bangladesh in India’s East. This is Mamata Banerjee’s desire and the aspiration of the Bengali Muslims in Bangladesh and their allies in West Bengal. But not only in this Hindu place we find Muslims demanding a change and to put away all the pagan temples. In the East 2016 showed several places where Hindu temples, houses and shops were looted and then set ablaze. {Islamists in Bengal TMC are attacking Hindus on regular basis, why Mamata silent now?}

Highlighting the huge deplorable situation in law and order situations and communal attacks on Hindus by Jihadi groups in various parts of West Bengal, the state unit of BJP has observed “Save Democracy Day” on Dec 21, through out the State. A huge numbers of BJP supporters and victim Hindus came to the streets to make the day observation successful.  {Islamists in Bengal TMC are attacking Hindus on regular basis, why Mamata silent now?}

The 2016 spring report by the Pew Research Center has shown that Jewish Israelis are deeply divided societally, religiously and politically. The last few years we could already see how the non-religious Jews made life more difficult for people of an other faith than Judaism. the Extreme right wing very conservative religious Jews made life even more difficult for all those living in the region of the state of Israel.

Israeli Jews in general are about as uncomfortable for their children to marry a Muslim as secular Jews are for their child to marry a haredi person and vice versa.

There also can be found a centrist movement, Conservative/Masorti Judaism which strives to reconcile ancient ideas with modern understandings. Utilizing this approach, twenty years ago, a group of Temple Emunah members, led by Barbara Palant, began to consider how they could become a more welcoming community — one that embraces interfaith families while still adhering to their time-honoured traditions.

Following the Rabbinical Assembly’s practice, Temple Emunah has adopted the phrase “K’rovei Yisrael” to refer to those individuals who are part of our community and part of a Jewish home, though they are not personally Jewish. The term literally means “those who are close to [the people of] Israel.” K’rovei comes from the word “karov,” meaning “close;” krovim means “relatives.” K’rovei Yisrael are distinct from non-Jewish friends and extended family members who might visit our community or our congregation for a Bar Mitzvah or for some other reason.

K’rovei Yisrael are also different from non-Jewish relatives of Temple Emunah members who choose not to be involved in our synagogue community.

{-Rabbi David Lerner Welcoming K’rovei Yisrael at Temple Emunah Today TempleEmunah.org – Attached and Yet Unattached}

Like in any community also by the Jews you may find liberal social and religious tastes which can be very different. In these times getting closer to the end-times in several religious groups is seen that we are coming closer to the time that people have to unite and show their love for God to others plus have to connect with other lovers of God throughout the world. This means one has to have an eye for other religious groups or denominations and has come to see those who want to come out the false teachings of human dogma’s.

Many Israeli Jews question if Messianic Gentiles and K’rovei Yisrael may have mixed or non-Jewish “family members” to take part in synagogue activities. Many Jews think out of respect for their traditions, K’rovei Yisrael should not participate in rituals with the Torah. Though many Messianic Jews in Israel desire to stay or to become an integral part of normative (Orthodox) Jewish synagogue life this should only be possible when they truly worship the Only One True God of Israel, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Jeshua (Jesus) and his disciples.  They should understand when they worship a three-headed god or want to keep to the Trinity, they can not be part of true Christians nor of true Jews.

It is that worshipping of false gods which still made several lovers of God being divided how to look at the attitude of those who call themselves Christian. Many of those calling themselves Christian also took a very unchristian attitude, because they as not true followers of the son of God, want only to see Jesus to be worshipped as God and detest all people who do not want to accept their god. Often they with the atheists found now reason enough to go against all those who love God and as such many more Jews, non-trinitarian Christians and Muslims got under fire and where bullied or even attacked.

For the above Pew poll Messianic Judaism isn’t mentioned as a Jewish population group in the article from which we can see that Jews tend to stay socially within their own particular population and rarely have friends or marry outside their groups.

Secular Israelis comprise the largest sector, totalling 40% of Israel’s total, population, traditional Israelis are 23%, religious-Zionists 10%, and haredim were 8%, while 14% of the population is Muslim, 2% Christian, and 2% Druze. In total, the Israeli population is 81% Jewish, 19% non-Jewish.

According to the study, 95% of Haredi Jews and 93% of secular Jews have a spouse from the same subgroup, while 85% of religious-Zionist Jews have religious-Zionist spouse.

Traditional Israelis were the only sector to have a somewhat higher rate of intermarriage with other Jewish groups, with approximately 33% of traditional Israelis marrying a religious-Zionist or secular Jew, and 64% of this group marrying within their sector. {Pew poll: 48 percent of Israeli Jews support transfer or expulsion of Arab Israelis” The Jerusalem Post – If You Think Being a Messianic Gentile Is Tough, Try Being a Messianic Jew}

A Idaho Messianic Gentile at his blog Morning meditations wonders as an over age 60 strength trainer how a disciple of Jesus can look through a “Jewish lens” and get a better perspective on life and the God Who made us all. He probably understands very well the whole world shall have to come to understand the need to see some commonality in ourselves as people of the world.

We’ll never be a united nation as long as any one group expects everyone else to submit to them. We’re supposed to recognize the differences between each other and accept that diversity. {Peace With Our Neighbors}

He reacts

Messianic Judaism isn’t mentioned as a Jewish population group in the article, but I did wonder about that 2% Christian group. Of course, there are normative, non-Jewish Christians in Israel, but, from any other Jewish groups’ perspective, would Jews who are known to be “Messianic” be considered Christian?

My guess is “yes,” and if so, I’m sure that causes dismay among those Messianic Jews to no end.

To consider Messianic Jews as part of the Jewish population or Jewish nation I do find we have to have a closer look at what sort of Messianic Jews it are, because in that group are two totally different groups, one who like any other Jew believes in only One True God, the God of Israel, and one section which adheres the Trinity like several so called Christians worship a threeheaded god. That last group should never considered  a Jewish I think because they do not want to take on the core matter of the Judaic faith, the believe in Only One True God.

To show the relationship of monotheist thinkers at the end of 2016 two new websites where launched. On November 30 first there started a website presented by a troublesome inquirer putting forwards several questions and answers around faith. WithQuestiontime – Vragenuurtje our world is looked at from a Muslim and Christian perspective. Immanuel Verbondskind – עמנואל קאָווענאַנט קינד on the other hand looks from a Jewish and Christian perspective at our world. Both sites want to show how man goes on his quest to the origin of this world and the reason for us being here. Both sites also originated from the necessity to show how much shalam or peace has to be carried in our  hearts and how man should come to understand that we all are created in the image of God and as such are all part of God His creation and should respect each other as such.

Both websites want to make it clear how mankind has to work on itself and has to find the Way to God. Both also want to show how there is one way provided by the Almighty Creator of this earth for people coming back into a good relationship with their Creator. They also both want to show how we get to get rid of false teachings and how real lovers of God can not permit themselves to get defiled by false human doctrines, wrong and umbilical teachings and by activities or festivities connected to false gods. They both want to show how man has the free choice but must make the proper choice to come into a good relationship with the One and Only One True God, the God of Israel, the God of Abraham, Jacob, Isaac, Jesus and his disciples.

They also want to look at the different religions there exist in this world where more and more people go far away from God and have taken money and greed as their most high value. 2015 and 2016 clearly showed how a prophesy from God has come to reality in this world where we can see more natural disasters, but also find family disasters with more divorces and difficulties between children and parents, but also by having children not only going against the wishes of their parents but going against the society, fighting it and even willing to become a martyr for a community which fanaticices with a religion and gushes with the name or title of Allah. Lots of youngsters from the West found their way to Daesh or ISIS to give their life for a cause which they probably do not know very well.

At the same time many politicians found in this battle between religions a good opportunity to show the world that it would be better off without religion and the presidential candidate Donald Trump made sure bad news of the different religious groups was sent into the newsmedia. Trump also knew very well that social media were an ideal tool to smear the Jews and get them in such bad light enough people would again react against that race and those religious people. The rising popularity of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS) placed many American Jews on the defensive as Israel was described in harsh terms, and the debate over what separates anti-Zionism from anti-Semitism was brought to the fore. Many media outlets picked up on the anti-Semitic undertones Donald Trump sent out into the world.

Following the party conventions in the United States, dozens of organizations supportive of the Black Lives Matter movement released a policy platform under the Movement for Black Lives umbrella — the first of its kind. Among its comprehensive recommendations concerning criminal justice, economic justice and education, the platform included a section in its “Invest-Divest” plank that called to end federal aid to Israel, which it called “an apartheid state.” 2015 and 2016 showed how the secular Jews continued to take a hateful attitude to the non-Jews. They tried to justify them building a wall like Donald Trump wants to build a wall to get the Mexicans and terrorists out of the country, they as Israelites providing in their protection against intafada and jihadist terrorists. At a certain moment the presidential candidate with a big mouth outing he wanted to get all the Jews going to Israel, “where they belong” (dixit Trump) justifying the advances on the global war on terror and for that reason asking for an alliance with Israel. Trump not minding to help to take part in the genocide taking place against the Palestinian people. 

Military aid to Israel is for Trump the ideal way to have the economy thriving again in America. This way Trump gave notice how he wants to continue to divert much needed funding from domestic education and social programs and not minding to make U.S. citizens complicit in the abuses committed by the Israeli government. Several prominent Jewish organizations issued condemnations, while grassroots anti-occupation groups such as IfNotNow, comprised largely of young Jews, called on establishment organizations to stay firm in their historical support of racial justice. Other groups expressed support for Black Lives Matter broadly but dismay at the usage of the terms “genocide” and “apartheid.

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Additional reading

1. Osama bin Laden Myth [2 of 2]
2. Stronger than anything that wants to destroy
3. Economic crisis danger for the rise of political extremism
4. Being Charlie 1
5. Being Charlie 2
6. Being Charlie 3
7. Being Charlie 4
8. Being Charlie 5
9. Four students were reportedly injured in the attack
10. Immanuel looking at Jewish and Christian visions
11. A Place for Questions
12. A popular television programme and a new website
13. New platform for questions and answers
14. Coming together in dark days
15. First blog post by Immanuel
16. A beginning by the 2016 Chanukah celebrations
17. Not missing your appointment in 2017
18. Reflections on Existence and Teaching
19. Best to read and study the Bible
20. Tolerance Ends When There Is No Tolerance Shown Towards Us
21. Islamophobia Must be Fought and Defeated
22. God Isn’t a Republican
23. American Christianity no longer resembles its Founder
24. A Progressive Call to Arms
25. Added commentary to the posting A Progressive Call to Arms
26. Human tragedy need to be addressed at source
27. The American clouds of Anti-Semitism
28. Jews the next scapegoat for Donald Trump
29. An American Embassy to the Eternal Capital of the Jewish people, Jerusalem
30. Putin’s Handy use of the Russian Orthodox Church
31. Russian Orthodox Church demonstrating its presence

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Further reading

1. Love over Hate, Modernism over Stone Age, Civilization over Barbarism
2. Religious Controversy
3. The Islamic Issue
4. International Policing Protocol: Don’t Link Terror Attacks to Islam or ISIS
5. Sharia Jihad – Holy War against the World
6. Gen. Flynn: Terrorists Aren’t Yelling ‘Jesus Christ’ While Waging Attacks
7. Absolving Sin: The Motivation for Jihad
8. Minneapolis mayor worries that terrorist attack in her city might fuel “Islamophobia”
9. Hacked Memos: George Soros Network Hyped ‘Islamophobia’ After Muslim Terror Attacks
10. Jews may leave EU if Islamic terrorism, “anti-Semitism” not halted, top rabbi warns MEPs
11. Pope Francis to Muslim Leaders: “No more violence in the name of God!”
12. “To kill in the name of God is satanic,” Pope Francis says at Mass offered for Fr. Jacques Hamel
13. Graffiti defaces San Antonio church with “No to wall” and “Islam or Die” – San Antonio Express-News
14. ‘Mohammedans Continue Bringing Chaos and Terror To France’
15. Pakistan : As You Sow, So Shall Ya Reap!
16. Dhulagarh Riots, West Bengal
17. Attached and Yet Unattached
18. If You Think Being a Messianic Gentile Is Tough, Try Being a Messianic Jew
19. Dear Islamist Terrorist planning to kill the Infidels …
20. ‘More Mohammedan Atrocities: Nigeria’
21. The cross is not a sword- it is the key that open the human heart. ©Gavin Ashenden.
22. Tim Kaine’s knee-jerk reaction to Islamic terrorism
23. First U.S. City With Muslim Majority Starts To Implement Sharia Law…
24. France – Islam : What do the poll numbers tell us?
25. Egypt’s Christians Condemn Amendments to Church Construction Law
26. China deals with Muslims by executing them all