THEY Didn't Think It Was a Charade: Christian Refugees Celebrate Christmas

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(h/t Netmilsmom)

These pictures, from a December, 2014 Daily Mail article, were taken at a refugee camp built around the Mazar Mar Eillia Catholic Church in Ankawa, Iraq. It is a suburb of Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, and is thus relatively safe.

A few days ago, Pope Francis declared:

Christmas is approaching: there will be lights, parties, Christmas trees and nativity scenes ... it's all a charade. The world continues to go to war. The world has not chosen a peaceful path.

That was, of course, a bizarre statement from a man who seems increasingly unhinged. There have been wars, persecutions and human suffering from the beginning of recorded history, or if you prefer, since the Fall. And, though Christ hates injustice, He didn't promise to save the world from it, or from suffering or even from war. He did promise to save it from sin.

That is the traditional Christian view. I do not think this hollow, hateful man—this parody of a Christian and yes, of a pope—either believes it or even comprehends it.

2,000 years ago, not that far from Erbil, God was born, lived and died as a man. His resurrection foreshadows what we can hope for.

Most Christians have always celebrated the birth of Christ—sometimes with lights, trees and nativity scenes—not despite the suffering in the world, but in a way, almost because of it. Christ's offer to us is a contrast worth celebrating.

So we celebrate Him and His promise. We don't gnash our teeth and moan that the United World Utopia has not yet been declared. It was never about that.

Francis doesn't understand.

These Christians do.

Activist Nun: "Whoever Says ISIS has No Connection to Islam, He's a Liar"

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Sister Hatune Dogan comforts a young Christian girl after surgery. The girl had been repeatedly raped and her face horrifically slashed by Muslim kidnappers in Iraq

To be honest, I had never heard of Sister Hatune Dogan until an hour ago. But she seems to be fairly well-known. I will make a note to follow her.

She runs the Hatune Foundation. Here is a description in its own words:

Twenty Six Years in the Service for the Poor 

Hatune Foundation is a non-government relief organization sited in Warburg, Germany who operates through chapters or partners in more than 30 countries all over the world. Hatune Foundation is working independently from political and religious institutions. 

The foundations purpose is to help poor, vulnerable and persecuted people around the world.

The always useful Shoebat, has more on Sister Dogan here. And Gates of Vienna has an interview here where she, among other things, discusses the Armenian Genocide.

Perhaps Hollywood can make a movie about her. Is Susan Sarandon still available?

Here is recent short video report from the Christian Broadcasting Network (as cited by PJ Media), featuring an interview Sister Dogan (the actual video follows the transcript):

The Islamic terror group ISIS is leading a trail of destruction across large parts of Syria and Iraq, with a specific target in its crosshairs. Hundreds of thousands of Christians have been displaced from their homes and countries. Others have been murdered or enslaved by the Jihadist armies of ISIS with no end in sight. 

Sister Hatune Dogan has been on the ground and witnessed the devastation of these ancient Christian communities. She's listened to survivors tell how Christian and Yazidi women are being sold into sex slavery:

They choose the most beautiful one even if they have small child. And they sell these girls--these ladies--to each other. They don't sell to another religion, only--Sunni Muslim. They think that there have been twelve-thousand kidnapped at the hand of ISIS--Yazidi alone. What is going on there, what I was hearing, is the highest barbarism on earth in the history until today.

Her foundation helps the poor and persecuted in thirty-five countries, providing them with food, clothing, medicine and shelter. She travels constantly with a special focus on the Muslim world. The rise of ISIS has frequently brought her to Syria and Iraq to help the region's beleaguered Christian minority: 

I'm coming here not for a holiday. I'm coming here to bring a voice to the voiceless--so that the world can hear their voice. They don't have a voice. I am the channel for them--that is my mission.

Sister Dogan is no stranger to Islamic persecution. As a young girl, threats from local Muslims forced her family to leave their home in Turkey. They relocated to Germany where she operates her foundation and sounds the alarm about the gathering Islamic storm. 

The mission of Baghdadi, of ISIS, is to convert the world completely to the Islamic religion and bring them to Dar Al Salaam, as they call it. And Islam is not peace, please. And whoever says ISIS has no connection to Islam or something like this, he's a liar. ISIS is islam, Islam is ISIS. 

She's disappointed with what she calls a week reaction from the West. 

We know that according to the Koran, there is no democracy. Islam and democracy are opposite like black and white. And I hope America will understand--America today has the power that they can stop this disaster on the earth, with other Western countries. 

As for Sister Dogan she says she'll keep calling attention to the plight of followers of Jesus around there world, whether the West wants to hear about it or not.

 

Extended Family of British Labour Politician (Including Two Women and Four Children!) Nabbed at Turkish Border Attempting to Join ISIS

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"Hey, kids, let's all hop in the station wagon and join ISIS!"

What is WRONG with these people?

Okay, just for the sake of argument, let's stipulate that Islam is a "religion of peace" and that the Muslim community while perhaps containing a small percentage of "extremists" (like any religious community, we are told), is fundamentally peaceful.

I don't believe that for a moment, but again, let's stipulate it. The Muslim community is no different than, say, the Christian community or the Jewish community.

Well, in that case, there is a madness sweeping it.

The arrested women above is carrying a one year old in her arms. That's right, a one year old.

What would cause an extended family of three men, two women and four children--either British citizens or permanent residents--to pick up everything and leave their market town in the Midlands to fly 1,000 miles to join up with a ferocious terrorist army in the scrabbly dessert?

What?

One of the men, Waheed Ahmed, was the son of a Rochdale council member, and was studying at university. His father, Wakil Ahmed expressed "shock" and said his son was "a good Muslim." The captured group included the senior Mr. Ahmed's aunt, two male cousins, the wife of one of them and at least two of her children.

"I don’t believe my son was on his way to join Islamic State. I was shocked, worried and extremely upset," said Mr. Ahmed, who recognized his son's photo in the newspaper.

Ah, wayward kids. It could happen to anyone.

A few weeks ago, also in Britain, three teen-age girls--straight-A students, according to some reports--also picked up everything and headed to join ISIS in Syria. Cameras show them walking together through the airport, like they're going on a school trip.

This isn't the Spanish Civil War. It's a reality show on the Disney Channel.

Speaking of the Spanish Civil War, the same Daily Mail article reports that it is now estimated that 2,000 Britons have journeyed to Syria or Iraq to fight with ISIS. That's at or close to the number that joined the Spanish Republicans in 1936-39.

I don't know whether that includes the one year olds.

For more on this story, read today's article in the Daily Mail.

Muslim Terrorist Attacks on Christians: A Global Comparison

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Dogo Nahawa Massacre, Nigeria, 2010: Over 500 Christians--mostly women and children--are hacked to death by Muslim attackers screaming "Allah Akbar!"

The always useful Religion of Peace website has compiled a running list of Muslim terrorist attacks on Christians since 9/11. As of the end of March it lists 1,242 attacks in 51 countries and territories, totaling 9,161 deaths and 12,003 injuries. It's a morbid subject, obviously, but it's also important. I believe the authors try to stick to a consistent and fair methodology. Here are some notes on it:

1. Tens of thousands of 21st century Christians have been martyred for many reasons and by numerous hostile groups--including members of various non-Christian religions and anti-Christian ideologies--but only attacks by Muslims are counted.
2. Only attacks on Christians where they were almost certainly singled out and targeted as Christians are counted. Thus, few of the most well-known Muslim terrorist attacks are counted--since the victims of those attacks were for the most part targeted indiscriminately.
3. The list includes some personal actions--a Muslim father murdering his daughter because she converted to Christianity--religiously motivated attacks by lone or unaffiliated attackers, mob actions, premeditated attacks by recognized terrorist groups and war crimes by quasi-military units.
4. Due to reporting and other considerations it no doubt leaves out many other occurrences, ranging from more personal attacks to quasi-military actions.
5. The list does not include attacks or human rights violations by governments.
6. 87% of the attacks involved at least one fatality and 48% involved at least two fatalities.
7. For the most part, each attack was labeled by country, though there are a few exceptions--attacks in the Muslim areas of the Russian Federation are broken out by territory and there are a few non-national territories included, such as Kosovo and the Palestinian Authority.
8. There are no links on the site's list but each attack is easily verifiable due to the inclusion of a date and a relatively unique description of the event.

We put together a summary of the data, based on recorded casualties, ranking the results by % of total casualties per country, and by % of total casualties by country controlling for population:

Total Casualties by Number and % of Total:

Nigeria 11,377 54%
Egypt 1,601 8%
Iraq 1,541 7%
Pakistan 1,223 6%
Syria 1,220 6%
Indonesia 1,032 5%
Philippines 934 4%
Lebanon 346 2%
Sudan 311 1%
Kenya 305 1%
Bangladesh 251 1%
Central African Republic 226 1%
Somalia 120 1%
Ethiopia 109 1%
Other 568 3%

% of Total Casualties by Country, Controlling for Population:

Lebanon 19%
Nigeria 16%
Syria 12%
Central African Republic 11%
Iraq 11%
Egypt 4%
Philippines 2%
Somalia 2%
Kenya 2%
Sudan 2%
Libya 2%
Pakistan 1%
Israel 1%
Kosovo 1%
Liberia 1%
Indonesia 1%
Palestinian Authority 1%
Macedonia 1%
Saudi Arabia 1%

Tentative Conclusions:

1. Much of this is not a surprise. That Nigeria tops the list, accounting for over half of the total casualties, is not unexpected.
2. However, it might be a surprise that, controlling for population, Lebanon is even more dangerous.
3. Virtually all of the casualties are in the Middle East, Africa and South and South East Asia--areas that to one extent or another are not fully covered by Western media.
4. Population is total population, not total Christian population. Thus, for example, Pakistan is almost certainly a more dangerous place for Christians than the numbers might indicate.
5. All attacks since 9/11 are given equal weight. I suspect that some areas--Syria and Iraq--would appear much more dangerous if only recent results were counted.

The number of Christians killed and injured on this list is horrific, and as a Catholic I have no doubt that many of the dead were and will be recognized as martyrs. But it is notable and perhaps odd that virtually none of the Christians killed were public personalities. For example, I believe the list includes only one bishop and very few well-known priests, ministers or Christian laymen. (One exception might be the Orthodox priest Daniel Sysoev, murdered in 2009, who became locally famous in Russia for evangelizing within the Moscow Muslim community.)

By contrast, there have been numerous well-known non-Christians and atheists murdered, including the Bangladeshi bloggers cited in the previous post, the Charlie Hebdo journalists, and the Dutch anti-Islam figures Pym Fortune and Theo van Gogh. And of course there are a number of others, such as Salmon Rushdie, who have lived for many years under the threat of death.

Why this is the case is a question I hope to answer in another post. It almost certainly reflects well on the bravery of some contemporary atheists. And by the same token probably reflects badly on the current state of organized Christianity and the Catholic Church, especially in Western countries.

If atheists, such as Oyasiqur Rahman are willing to sacrifice their lives to tell the truth about a violent, tyrannical and soul destroying religion, where are, say, the Catholic priests and bishops? And where is the Pope, or is he too busy bragging about riding in a used car?

Holiday in the Caliphate

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Allah Über Alles

After Jello Biafra from an original idea by Brian Renninger

So, you been to school
For a year or two
And you know you've seen it all
On Mommy's tab
Thinkin' you're real fab
Downtown your kind don't crawl

Play ethnicky rap
To parade your snap
On your three grand iMac Pro
Bragging that you feel
How the homeless are so real
And the barrios have soul

It's time to taste what you most fear
Axe Spray will not help you here
Brace yourself, my dear:

It's a holiday in the Caliphate
It's tough, dude, but it's life
It's a holiday in the Caliphate
Don't forget to pack a wife

You're a Cat in the Hat
You scurry like a rat
You want everyone to be like you
Write irony
On your Twitter feed
And post a photo of your new tattoo

Well, you'll be wearing
An orange suit
I hear they're all the rage
Make videos
To say your last hellos
Then you're burned alive in a cage

Now you can go where people submit
Now you can go where they blow up sh*t
What you need, a bit

Is a holiday in the Caliphate
Where women dress in black
A holiday in the Caliphate
Where you'll convert or crack

Islam, Islam, Islam Islam (etc.)

And it's a holiday in the Caliphate
Where to Allah you will kneel
A holiday in the Caliphate
Where the homeless are so real

ISIS Fighters are the New International Brigadistas

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Oh darn. She had such a bright future in England.

From 1936 to 1939, during the Spanish Civil War, 2,000-4,000 Britons went to fight for the Republicans--the anti-Franco forces that eventually lost. The standard narrative is that these were the good guys. George Orwell, Stephen Spender and all that. The standard narrative is wrong.

Read Homage to Catalonia, especially the first section. Orwell, who would become famous for describing a totalitarian Hell in his 1984 a few years later, described a totalitarian Hell in Barcelona. But here he was in favor of it:

Practically every building of any size had been seized by the workers and was draped with red flags or with the red and black flag of the Anarchists; every wall was scrawled with the hammer and sickle and with the initials of the revolutionary parties; almost every church had been gutted and its images burnt. Churches here and there were being systematically demolished by gangs of workmen. Every shop and café had an inscription saying that it had been collectivized; even the bootblacks had been collectivized and their boxes painted red and black. Waiters and shop-walkers looked you in the face and treated you as an equal. Servile and even ceremonial forms of speech had temporarily disappeared. Nobody said 'Señor' or 'Don' or even 'Usted'; everyone called everyone else 'Comrade' and 'Thou', and said 'Salud!' instead of 'Buenos días'. Tipping was forbidden by law since the time of Primo de Rivera; almost my first experience was receiving a lecture from a hotel manager for trying to tip a lift-boy. There were no private motor-cars, they had all been commandeered, and all the trams and taxis and much of the other transport were painted red and black. The revolutionary posters were everywhere, flaming from the walls in clean reds and blues that made the few remaining advertisements look like daubs of mud. Down the Ramblas, the wide central artery of the town where crowds of people streamed constantly to and fro, the loudspeakers were bellowing revolutionary songs all day and far into the night. And it was the aspect of the crowds that was the queerest thing of all. In outward appearance it was a town in which the wealthy classes had practically ceased to exist. Except for a small number of women and foreigners there were no 'well-dressed' people at all. Practically everyone wore rough working-class clothes, or blue overalls, or some variant of the militia uniform. All this was queer and moving. There was much in it that I did not understand, in some ways I did not even like it, but I recognized it immediately as a state of affairs worth fighting for. Also I believed that things were as they appeared, that this was really a workers' State and that the entire bourgeoisie had either fled, been killed, or voluntarily come over to the workers' side; I did not realize that great numbers of well-to-do bourgeois were simply lying low and disguising themselves as proletarians for the time being.

Again, remember, this was written by someone on their side.

Change "workers" to "Muslims", the hammer and sickle to the crescent and star, and you will have something a bit like Raqqa, the capital of the new ISIS "Caliphate":

"Inside the city, the signs of destruction are obvious on some government buildings and homes,"...FSA brigades and civil society activists tried to change street names in Raqqa. Tal Abyad Street, the city's most popular, was renamed after martyr Ali al-Babinsi. However, people keep using the old name. In any case, very few people know its official name in city records, which is al-Qunaytirah Road. Martyr Basel al-Assad Street was turned into Colonel Hussein Harmoush Street and al-Jalaa or "Clock" Roundabout became Freedom Square. "Mr. President Square" is now Martyrs’ Square, but people on both sides call it after the nearby fire station. Civil society activists had also painted some of the city's statues with the colors of the "revolutionary flag." However, ISIS removed the "flag of infidels" and raised its banners everywhere...Alaa Jubran, a resident of Raqqa who was there on a recent visit, told Al-Akhbar, "Street vendors do not occupy the city's sidewalks anymore. ISIS established a popular market in the city center. It was equipped to include the vendors and traveling salesmen, banning them from using the streets." ISIS transferred the busy Friday market next to Raqqa's old wall, a historical site, and moved moved market day to Thursday so it would not distract people from attending Friday prayers in the mosque. It also created a consumer protection office and imposed monthly payments on commercial establishments, in return for sanitation, electricity, water, and phone services. At a later stage, this will be extended to civilians to ensure the continuity of services. Two signs in particular are hanging in shop windows. "Sisters, please do not remove the niqab inside the shop," said one. The other announced that "work stops 10 minutes before prayers." Prayer rooms were established in public venues and streets become almost empty before prayer times, save for ISIS’ patrols...The Islamist Traffic Police is on every street and market, wearing the same uniform, conducting traffic, and issuing tickets. Inside official buildings and facilities, the staff is committed to serving the citizens. Emergency vehicles of the water and electricity departments are rushing to fix problems all the time. On the other hand, the recently created Islamic Services Authority supervises state institutions. The Accounts Bureau monitors the markets, sales operations, applying sharia, and holding violators accountable. The official weekend is now on Thursday and Friday. 

The Spanish Civil War featured the highest proportion of Catholic priests, brothers and nuns murdered or driven into exile of any anti-Catholic eruption in history. And the Republicans didn't just go after the living religious. One of their favorite pastimes was to dig up the bodies of priests and nuns and put them on display in front of Churches. Sometimes they would waltz with the corpses.

See, God has no power over us, we can waltz with corpses.

Charming.

ISIS doesn't dig up corpses (as far as I know). They just smash archeological artifacts.

And kill Christians.

Charming.

One other difference, of course, is that the International Brigadistas fought against God. The ISIS Brigadistas fight to support a false God. What's better? Unfortunately, the results are somewhat similar.

As a number of British news sources have reported, for example, here and here, the number of Britons joining ISIS is on track to match the number joining the Spanish Republicans in the 1930's.

Barcelona, 1936. Raqqa, 2015. It's, you know, so romantic.

Or as someone once said of another totalitarian Hell, "It's tough, kid, but it's life."

"Don't forget to pack a wife."

Why are so many attracted to this sort of thing?