Radical Islam

The Church’s Islam Problem

After a series of terror attacks in France, including one that left three people dead at a Catholic Church in Nice, Vatican Cardinal Robert Sarah said that the West must wake up to the threat of Islamism. “Islamism,” His Eminence said, “is a monstrous fanaticism which must be fought with force and determination.” But you … Read more

Antifa and the Muslim Brotherhood: Birds of a Feather

“There are decades where nothing happens, and there are weeks where decades happen.” So wrote Vladimir Lenin. The Communist Revolution which he engineered did seem to pack many decades of change into a relatively short time. The old tsarist order was quickly overthrown, and, almost overnight, Russia was transformed from a Christian country to an … Read more

The Scourge of Radical Islam, From Corpus Christi to Nigeria

On May 21, our American homeland survived another terrorist attack when the Syrian-born Adam Alsahli shot a sailor who was guarding the gate at a U.S. Naval base in Corpus Christi, Texas. Investigators found the now deceased Alsahli’s social media accounts containing voluminous Islamic religious posts. The translation of his Twitter profile statement, which is … Read more

Erdoğan’s Ottoman Fantasies

British journalist Robert Fisk once stated, “The story of the Armenian genocide is one of almost unrelieved horror at the hands of Turkish soldiers and policemen who enthusiastically carried out their government’s orders to exterminate a race of Christian people in the Middle East.” The extermination of one and a half million Armenian Christians during … Read more

We Live in an Age of Martyrs

I have an elderly clerical friend who describes himself as a “martyr to his stomach.” Now, there are many reasons why one might become a martyr, but to bear witness to the needs of the colon seems fairly low on the list. He also goes to the pub and orders his beer in half-pint glasses, … Read more

Beware of Muslims Bearing Pamphlets

“True Islam is a religion that wholly rejects all forms of terrorism.” So says an online pamphlet put out by the True Islam Campaign. The pamphlet lists ten other truths about “true Islam,” including “True Islam believes in the equality, education, and empowerment of women,” “True Islam encompasses the universal declaration of human rights,” and … Read more

French Politicians Deny Reality in Wake of Nice Terror

In war, the inability or refusal to recognize the enemy’s intentions and capabilities has disastrous consequences. America experienced this on December 7, 1941. But as 9/11 and subsequent events have demonstrated, it is a lesson soon forgotten and often reviewed in sorrow and bitterness. Sadly, there is little reason to think that the leaders of … Read more

A River in Egypt: Denying the Undeniable

Mark Twain would have understood the protest of Yogi Berra: “Most of the things I said I didn’t say.” To Twain, with no evidence, is attributed: “Denial is not just a river in Egypt.” The source of the quotation is debated as is the source of the Nile, but the meaning is as valid as … Read more

Blasphemy Laws of Pakistan: Symbols of Islamic Fanaticism

Mumtaz Qadri, a former elite commando and murderer of Punjab governor Salman Taseer, was convicted and finally hanged on March 1, 2016 in Pakistan. Qadri killed Governor Taseer on January 4, 2011 over his opposition to Pakistan’s blasphemy laws. Pakistan is among 15 Islamic countries across the globe where blasphemy laws are enforced. In all … Read more

Are Terrorists Motivated by Religion?

Shortly before murdering an Israeli policewoman, Ahmad Zakarneh sent a text message to his parents: Mother, I’m going to heaven. If you see me sizzling in my old blood, rejoice. Don’t say, ‘He died’ and be saddened, for I’m living by candlelight, under the Lord’s throne of honor. Forgive me, father. I yearned for a … Read more

Solidarity with Islam?

After the San Bernardino massacre, The Angelus, the Los Angeles archdiocesan newspaper, carried an article calling for “greater solidarity with Islam.” The piece by Fr. Ronald Rolheiser is a particularly egregious example of the kind of nonsense about Islam that passes for wisdom in some ecclesiastical circles. He starts off by observing that “this is … Read more

Will the Church Get Hit by the Backlash Against Islam?

In the wake of numerous Islamist terrorist attacks, a reaction against religion is now discernible in many quarters of society. After 9/11, the sales of books by prominent atheists such as Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens skyrocketed. The gradual slide into secularism that had been underway for decades prior to 9/11 accelerated after that event. … Read more

The Vast Majority Myth

We often hear it said that the vast majority of Muslims are peaceful and reject violence. That proposition is worth examining because if it’s not true there is cause to worry. Of course, you should be worried already. Even if only a small percentage of the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims are prepared to use violence, … Read more

Medina—The First Muslim Refugee Resettlement Program

With all the talk about the Syrian refugees, one point is often overlooked. Much of the debate focuses on the question of whether or not the refugees can be reliably vetted. If they can be certified as one hundred percent terrorist-free, then, presumably, the resettlement can safely proceed. But even if every terrorist could be … Read more

Clock and Bull Story

You’ve no doubt heard about the “clock boy”—the 14-year-old Muslim student who brought a self-made clock to school to show to his teachers and was then detained by police on the suspicion that the clock might be a bomb. The media pounced on the story as a classic case of Islamophobia, the president complimented Ahmed … Read more

Efforts to Silence Clergy Continue Apace

Christians in the U.S. worry that the day may be coming when they will no longer be able to freely speak their minds about their faith. But that day has already arrived in Canada, Europe, and the U.K. In 2008, a Canadian Human Rights panel imposed a $5,000 fine on the Reverend Stephen Boisson for … Read more

Multiculturalism and the Rise of Domestic Terrorism

In a speech launching a five-year plan to combat homegrown terrorism, UK Prime Minister David Cameron said that “Many people born in Britain have little attachment to the country and that makes them vulnerable to radicalization.” It’s not as though Muslims who live in Britain don’t eat fish and chips or root for their local … Read more

Faith-Based Negotiations with Faith-Based Fanatics

When Church leaders comment on international events they show a remarkable propensity for explaining those events in more or less the same way that secular liberals do. The flip side of this penchant is a tendency to ignore what their own theological training might tell them about important issues. Take the recent Vatican endorsement of … Read more

It’s Time for an Encyclical on Christian Persecution

No-one would describe the New York Times as especially sympathetic to orthodox Christianity. The Grey Lady’s established aversion to anything but all-but-completely secularized versions of the Christian faith didn’t, however, stop it from recently publishing a widely-read article underscoring the on-going brutal persecution of Christians in the Middle East. If the Times is perturbed about … Read more

The Pity of Christ

Christ cannot be psychoanalyzed because he is perfect.  It would be like seeking flaws in pure crystal or long shadows at high noon. That is why he may seem from our fallen state in a singularly ill-contrived world as both severe and merciful, ethereal and common, rebellious and routine, rustic and royal, solitary and brotherly, young and ageless.  His … Read more

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