Southern Baptist head: Christians should be involved in politics
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/southern.baptist.head.christians.should.be.involved.in.politics/17555.htm
The president of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination dismissed the idea that politics was too “dirty” for Christians and instead urged believers to be involved in the political process.
Dr Frank Page, president of the 16 million-member Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), discussed politics and American society during an interview with Donald E Wildmon, the founder and chairman of the American Family Association, in a video made available online Tuesday.
Wildmon recalled growing up being taught that politics was “dirty” and that, as a Christian, he should stay out of it. The prominent pro-family leader then asked Page what he thought about Christian engagement in the political sphere.
“I believe Christians should be involved in the [political] process – not only because of our spiritual obligation but because as active participants in a democracy we are required to be participants,” Page responded without hesitation. “You cannot complain and you cannot whine about things if you’re not part of the process.”
He also recalled how Christians are called to be the “salt and light” in the world, and that through political involvement believers can make an impact on the culture for Christ.
In particular, Page urged Christians to vote this November for the next US president whether their favourite candidate is on the ballot or not.
"Unfortunately, you've got a lot of foggy notions out there that electing the right person is going to change everything," Page observed, according to OneNewsNow, the website of the American Family News Network (AFN). "The reality is we're in a system of checks and balances, and not one person can do everything."
He warned against the thinking of not voting in the presidential election because of problems perceived in the three major presidential contenders.
“There is no perfect candidate; you must vote – and particularly this fall," Page urged. "Whoever the next president is going to be is most likely going to appoint at least two Supreme Court justices."
In addition to politics, Wildmon also asked Page if he felt society has changed the definition of God from the biblical definition that “God is love” (I John 4:8) to “love is God”.
The SBC president agreed with Wildmon that society has increasingly reduced God to an emotion or feeling instead of as a reality – a trend that he called “dangerous” and “inaccurate”.
“[I]t is also an attempt to make everything palatable, everything acceptable and just say we got to be loving towards everyone. So I see that as part of an overall strategy that says we can’t be judgmental about anything," Page noted.
The love of God can be compared to the love of a father who, because he loves his child, will discipline the child, Page pointed out.
“God’s love is manifested in many ways,” Page explained. “Our world may define it as they want to define it as tolerance, accept everything, love everybody regardless – and we should love everybody regardless – but it doesn’t mean we can’t say ‘thus saith the Lord',” he argued.
The SBC president was at the AFA headquarters in Mississippi on March 18 for the interview. Other topics he spoke about were the sanctity of life, traditional marriage, and homeschooling.
Polls: Democrats Love McCain
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/Polls_Democrats_McCain/2008/03/26/83310.html
Recent polls, including Rasmussen and Gallup, are suggesting that many Democrats would vote for John McCain in next November's election — if he is running against the candidate they do not support for the Democratic nomination.
According to Rasmussen, both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have begun to "melt down" in the crucible of an increasingly "nasty primary fight." McCain leads Hillary by seven and Obama by nine.
According to Gallup, more than a quarter of Hillary supporters currently say they would vote for McCain if Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee.
Says the Gallup Website, these predictions are based on an analysis of Democratic voters' responses to separate voting questions in March 7-22 Gallup Poll Daily election tracking.
Almost all Democratic voters who say they support Obama for their party's nomination also say they would vote for him in a general election matchup against McCain. But only 59 percent of Democratic voters who support Clinton say they would vote for Obama against McCain — while 28 percent say they would vote for McCain.
Furthermore, says Gallup, almost all of those who support Clinton for the Democratic nomination say they would vote for her against McCain. Seventy-two percent of those who support Obama for the party's nomination would vote for Clinton against McCain, while 19 percent would desert and vote for the Republican.
The polls also suggest that the Democratic nomination battle could have a negative impact for the Democratic Party in next November's election. A not insignificant percentage of both Obama and Clinton supporters currently say they would vote for McCain if he ends up running against the candidate they do not support, according to Gallup.
What's more, 11 percent of Republicans said they would vote for the Democratic candidate or a third-party candidate next fall if McCain does not choose a vice president who is considerably more conservative than he is. (And another 9 percent said they just wouldn't vote.)
According to the Gallup data, these results suggest that it may be normal for some voters to claim early on in the process — perhaps out of frustration — that they will desert their party — if certain things do not happen to their liking. However, it may be equally likely that they fall back into line by the time of the general election.
When almost 3 out of 10 Clinton supporters say they would vote for McCain over Obama, it suggests, says the Gallup summary, that divisions are running deep within the Democratic Party.
If the fight for the party's nomination were to continue until the Denver convention in late August, the Democratic Party could suffer some damage as it tries to regroup for the November general election, concludes the Gallup summary.
Poll: Voters Split Over Obama Speech
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/obama_race_poll/2008/03/26/83305.html
WASHINGTON -- Barack Obama's speech on race has left the public divided on whether he has sufficiently put the issue behind him, a poll shows.
Even so, The Wall Street Journal-NBC News survey released Wednesday showed that Obama's remarks and the attention paid to comments by his longtime pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, so far have had little effect on his race with Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Videos of Wright sermons include one in which he shouts "God damn America" for its treatment of minorities. He also has said the U.S. government invented AIDS to destroy "people of color" and has suggested U.S. policies were to blame for the 9/11 attacks.
In a speech last week, Obama rejected Wright's divisive comments but stood by him otherwise and said it is time for the country to address its racial schism.
By 55 percent to 32 percent, more who had seen or heard about Obama's speech said they were satisfied with his explanation of his association with Wright than said they were dissatisfied.
Yet people familiar with Obama's remarks were about evenly split between those who said they felt reassured about his feelings on race, and those who said they still had doubts. Slightly more said Obama has said enough about race than said he needs to address it further.
In all instances, whites were more dubious than blacks about whether Obama had handled the issue successfully. Democrats were far more supportive than Republicans, while independents were likelier to be divided.
Blacks have solidly supported Obama in the Democratic presidential contest, while whites have tilted toward Clinton.
About seven in 10 said they had seen Obama's speech or heard about it.
The poll said Obama and Clinton are each supported by 45 percent of registered Democratic voters. That is little different from a Journal-NBC survey in early March when Clinton had 47 percent, Obama 43 percent.
In a CBS News poll last week, most voters deemed Obama's speech a success.
The Journal-NBC poll was conducted March 24-25 and included telephone interviews with 700 registered voters, with an oversampling of 177 black voters. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3.7 percentage points for all registered voters, 4.3 points for white voters and 7.4 points for black voters.
Obama Pastor Cancels Events, Safety Fears
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/345857.aspx
Barack Obama's former pastor is canceling speeches after a backlash over his controversial sermons.
The Rev. Jeremiah Wright cited security concerns in calling off appearances this week in Texas and Florida.
"The safety of the institution to which he has been invited; the safety of his family, which has been placed in harm's way; and for his own safety," the Rev. Marcus Cosby told the Houston Chronicle. Cosby is pastor at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church in Houston.
Wright also canceled his appearance Tuesday in Florida at a Tampa-area church. Church officials said they had asked Wright to cancel his scheduled three-day appearance because of security questions.
Clinton Weighs in on Controversy.
Until now, Sen. Hillary Clinton has avoided commenting on the Rev. Wright controversy.
Today, she said she would have left the church if her minister talked about America the way Obama's pastor has.
"We have a choice when it comes to the pastors and the churches we attend. I was asked what I would do if he were my pastor and I said I think the choice would be clear," Clinton said.
In his speech last week, Obama condemned Rev. Wright's remarks, but said he would not disown his longtime friend and spiritual mentor.
Has the Value Voter Lost His Voice?
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/345959.aspx
The personal faith of the presidential candidates has been a hot topic in this year's race for the White House.
Some argue that the religious right has lost its political clout. But is the voice of the values voter dead?
Bishop Harry Jackson, pastor and radio show host, and Family Research Council's Tony Perkins say the religious right is very much alive.
They [say] that it's maturing and expanding, and is in a better position than ever to influence public policy in America.
Perkins and Jackson have recently co-authored a book, called Personal Faith; Public Policy. The book explores what Christians must do to come together on core issues.
Bush Invites Abbas to White House
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/346569.aspx
WASHINGTON - President Bush has invited Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas to the White House in an effort to give a kick to Mideast peace talks, the White House said Thursday.
The plan, which envisions talks around the beginning of May, was revealed to reporters on Air Force One by National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe, who was accompanying Bush on a flight to Dayton, Ohio.
"Details are still being worked out," said Johndroe, who added that the talks would be part of a continuing effort "to work with the Palestinians and the Israelis as well as other countries in the region in realizing a Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with Israel."
Vice President Dick Cheney returned from the region this week. And Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice leaves on Friday for the region, and Bush is ticketed to go to the Mideast in May. Johndroe, however, said that Bush's invitation was not spurred by Cheney's visit. "This is not the result of one specific meeting," the spokesman said, "but just part of the continuing process that the president has committed to."
Bush, who has said he believes a peace agreement can be struck before he leaves office next January, called Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak Thursday morning to express regret over a recent naval shooting incident in Egypt and promised to investigate, Johndroe told reporters.
"President Bush expressed his deep regret and sympathies for the incident in the Suez Canal and said the United States will fully investigate this," Johndroe said.
Israel Gives PA Forces Armored Vehicles
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/346306.aspx
TEL AVIV, Israel - Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak announced a transfer of armored vehicles and "equipment" to Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces Wednesday.
The announcement came a few days before the weekend arrival of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, expected in the region Saturday.
Barak briefed the press on the latest Israeli efforts to bolster the PA government before hosting PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in his Tel Aviv home.
"The list of steps we intend to take to make life easier for the Palestinians, without relinquishing our overriding security responsibility, is important in moving the negotiations forward and maintaining a positive atmosphere," Barak told the media.
A recent Palestinian poll showed Hamas slightly ahead of Fatah as the people's choice to head the government.
Earlier Wednesday, Army Radio announced that Israel is giving Kalashnikov rifles, ammunition, rubber bullets and night vision equipment to Palestinian police forces.
Netanyahu: 'It is foolish'
Israel's opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu claims that transferring arms to the Palestinians is "foolish."
Speaking at a conference sponsored by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Netanyahu said, "The idea that we'll give guns, armored vehicles and ammunition to the Palestinian Authority as it exists today -- and that these weapons will even protect us -- is not only mistaken, it is foolish."
"These weapons will be turned against IDF soldiers far sooner than we think. This is exactly what happened in the Gaza Strip," he said.
When Hamas gunmen defeated Fatah forces in the Gaza Strip last June, they confiscated quantities of U.S.- and Israeli-supplied rifles, ammunition and other military equipment.
"The idea to hand our security over to the Palestinian Authority has failed in the past in Gaza, and it will fail in Judea and Samaria [the West Bank]," Netanyahu said.
"The weaponry that is currently in Hamas' hands came in part from our caches. We need to prevent a similar thing from happening in Judea and Samaria," he said.
Meanwhile, an Israeli official said Wednesday the PA shouldn't discount Israel's gestures.
"These overtures are extremely significant," he said. "One must take into account they are being done while rockets are still being fired on innocent civilians in the south," he said.
Olmert Hints at Talks with Syria
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/346305.aspx
JERUSALEM, Israel - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert spoke Wednesday of re-opening talks with Syria.
"I [have] said indeed that I'm prepared to make peace with Syria," Olmert told foreign journalists in Jerusalem. "I hope that the Syrians are prepared to make peace with Israel, and I hope that the circumstances will allow us to sit together," he said, adding that it didn't "mean when we sit together, you have to see us."
According to Alon Liel, former director-general of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, who would like to see open negotiations with Israel in place of third-party mediation by Turkey's Ahmet Davutoglu, foreign policy advisor to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erogan.
Since May 2007, Olmert has made statements off and on about opening talks with Syrian President Basher Assad.
When he returned a visit to the States in July 2007, Olmert put the issue on a back burner, primarily because the U.S. wasn't interested in opening dialogue with Syria and Syria wasn't interested in talking without U.S. involvement.
During last week's visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Olmert again brought the issue up as a means of drawing Syria away from Iran, a plan the Mossad (Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations) believes will fail.
While Israel has predicated talks on an end to Syrian support for terror organizations, such as Hezbollah and Hamas, and its close ties with Iran, Olmert thinks the prospect of negotiations might convince Syria to renounce its state sponsorship of terrorism.
And though Olmert alludes to secret talks, the Syrians want open negotiations with the United States involved.
Meanwhile, the Russians plan to include Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights on the agenda of its June Middle East peace conference.
Churches Ordered to Cease Activity in Algeria
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07009.shtml
On March 9, police ordered two Algerian churches to cease activity, according to a March 17 report from Compass Direct. Police notified Pastor Salah Chalah to close his 1200 member Full-Gospel Church in Tizi Ouzou, 100 kilometers east of the capital Algiers. Similarly, security officials issued notice to a second pastor, Mustapha Krireche, to close down his church in Tizi Ouzou's Nouvelle Ville district.
The written closure notice demanded that the churches conform to articles of a law governing non-Muslim worship but did not make clear how the churches had violated it. Passed two years ago, the law forbids attempts to convert Muslims to other religions and bans the production of media intended to "shake the faith of a Muslim." According to Compass Direct, as all Algerian Christians are converts from Islam, the new law could be interpreted to make nearly all churches in the country illegal. The Algerian government has ordered 10 churches closed since November.
Pray that the leaders and members of these churches will find peace and comfort in Christ as they face opposition for His Name. Ask God to provide wisdom and guidance to the leaders of the churches to find ways to nurture their congregations, and equip them to share the message of Christ with the lost (Hebrews 10:23-25).
Go to www.persecution.net/country/algeria.htm to learn more about the increasing pressure being put on Christians in Algeria.
Advocacy Group Calls for Protest Following Raid on Christian Bookstore in Cairo
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07006.shtml
North Americans are urged to contact Egyptian consulates to express concern about a police raid on a Christian bookstore in Cairo, Egypt, said Jan Fletcher, executive director of Advocates For The Persecuted.
Egyptian police arrested Shenouda Armia Bakhait midday Saturday, March 15, confiscating books, compact discs, and issues of a newspaper read by Christians in Egypt. He was released Sunday night after posting bail in the amount of 500 EGP.
According to sources in Egypt, Egyptian authorities have said a summons will be issued for Shenouda Armia Bakhait to appear in court. It is not clear what, if any, formal accusations have been made.
David Joseph, president of Advocates For The Persecuted, said, "At 12 noon, Cairo time, General Tarik Barakat, Lt. Assem Al Sherief, and eight undercover policemen stormed into the Nile Christian Book Shop. They spent two hours searching everything in the bookstore. Mr. Shenouda was interrogated for more than five hours by Mohamed Abou al Fetouh, a prosecutor, and Mohammed Issa, president of the court."
Joseph is president of the Egyptian Christian Youth Union, which runs the Nile Christian Book Shop. The Church of God in Egypt owns the bookstore. Joseph founded the Egyptian Christian Youth Union in 1982. A U.S. citizen, he now resides in El Cajon, California.
Fletcher said the arrest came one day after Mohammed Hegazy came into the bookstore, apparently to buy books.
Hegazy is the first Egyptian Muslim convert to petition Egypt's Administrative Court to change his religious affiliation on his national identity card. A hearing over his petition sparked a melee in an Egyptian courtroom in January. Judge Muhammad Husseini denied Hegazy's request in January, ruling that it was against Islamic law for a Muslim to leave Islam.
The Nile Christian Book Shop opened in 2006 in a location that first housed a bookstore in 1890.
"We posted a suggested letter we'd like to see sent to Egyptian consulates on our website at www.advocatesforthepersecuted.org," said Fletcher. "Sending this letter is an important step Americans and Canadians can take to present a clear message to Egypt's government that the sizable population of Christians in Egypt, estimated to comprise 8 to 10 percent of the population, should have the right to distribute and obtain Christian literature.
Advocates For The Persecuted is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization that advocates for religious minorities in the Middle East, with offices in Spokane, Wash., and El Cajon, Calif.
Judge Roy Moore and Foundation for Moral Law Argue Pennsylvania 'Hate Crimes' Law Violates State Constitution in Brief Filed Today with Pennsylvania Supreme Court
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07005.shtml
Former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore and attorneys with the Foundation for Moral Law, representing several Pennsylvania Christians, argued in a brief filed today in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that the state legislature violated the state constitution in 2002 when it added "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" to the state's "hate crimes" law--under the title "ethnic intimidation." (Read the legal brief here.)
Judge Roy Moore said about this important case:
"There is a dangerous trend surfacing in other countries and here in America where governments are trying to make it illegal to speak out against homosexuality, even when such an immoral lifestyle is publicly paraded in the streets. In their rush to be Pennsylvania's thought police, the legislature broke their own state's constitutional rules. God alone has the ability to see, and the right to judge, the hearts and minds of men."
When Michael Marcavage, Mark Diener, Randall and Linda Beckman, Susan Startzell, Arlene Elshinnawy, and Nancy Major were arrested and charged with the crime of "ethnic intimidation" (18 Pa. C.S. § 2710) for evangelizing at a Philadelphia homosexual parade in 2004, they brought this case, Marcavage v. Rendell, arguing that legislative procedures used to pass the "hate crimes" amendment (Act No. 2002- 143, HB 1493) violated several provisions of the Pennsylvania Constitution. The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania agreed and struck down the law.
The Pennsylvania Governor and legislators appealed and filed their briefs on February 11, 2008.
Together with Pennsylvania attorney Aaron D. Martin, the Foundation argued to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that the legislature's altering of an "agricultural crop destruction" bill into an amendment to the "ethnic intimidation" law--making crimes motivated by "sexual orientation," "gender identity" and other classes subject to greater punishment--violated Article III, Section 1 of the Pennsylvania Constitution: "No law shall be passed except by bill, and no bill shall be so altered or amended, on its passage through either House, as to change its original purpose."
The Foundation also argued that hiding such a controversial amendment under the guise of "ethnic intimidation" was deceptive to both lawmakers and the public alike. While the original ethnic intimidation law enhanced penalties for crimes committed because of "race, color, religion, or national origin," characteristics that a reasonable person would consider "ethnic," the legislature's addition of "sexual orientation," "gender identity" and other classes were improperly and deceitfully bundled in the "ethnic intimidation" law.
The Foundation called on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to affirm the lower court's decision that the "ethnic intimidation" amendment was unconstitutional and should be struck down.
The Foundation for Moral Law is a non-profit, religious liberties organization located in Montgomery, Alabama, dedicated to restoring the knowledge of God in law and government through litigation and education relating to moral issues and religious liberty.
Trendy hotel swaps bedside Bibles for 'spiritual menu'
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/trendy.hotel.swaps.bedside.bibles.for.spiritual.menu/17556.htm
A hotel in Nashville will be the first known in the US to remove the standard Holy Bible from its rooms and replace it with a “spiritual menu” that includes other religious books such as the Koran and books on Scientology, a Tennessee newspaper reported Tuesday.
Hotel Preston, a boutique owned by Oregon-based Provenance Hotels, will require guests to call room service to order their religious book of choice, according to The Tennessean.
The religious book list includes the Book of Mormon, the Koran, the Torah, the Tao Te Ching, The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism, Bhagavad Gita (a Hindu text), books on Scientology, as well as the King James and New American Bible versions.
The hotel says its goal is to accommodate travellers who are not Christian and those interested in other faiths
“Our guests come from different places and they definitely come from different cultures, backgrounds, ethnicities, so we want everyone to feel welcomed and comfortable,” said Dina Nishioka, public relations director for Hotel Preston, according to The Tennessean.
Brian Ruf, president of the Travel and Tourism Research Association, said the concept of a spiritual menu is so new that the international organisation has not conducted research on it yet.
Yet offering a spiritual menu means breaking the long held tradition of a Gideons Bible in the nightstand of every American hotel room.
Gideons International, founded in 1899, has distributed millions of Bibles in hotels. In 1898, two Christian businessmen met by chance in a hotel and held a Bible study together. A year later they along with a third man founded Gideons to help meet the religious needs of the travelling public.
Now in the twenty-first century, Bibles are increasingly missing from hotel rooms and are replaced by other comforts such as an iPod docking station, a flat-screen TV, a selection of underground music, a complimentary goldfish, or in some an 'intimacy' kit.
In the trendy New York City Soho Grand Hotel, for example, Bibles have never been offered in guest rooms. According to Newsweek, the Sofitel hotel brand recently removed Bibles from guest rooms after clients questioned why other religious texts were not available.
“The absence of Gideons Bibles from an increasing number of hotel rooms tells us something about the secularisation, sexualisation, and extreme sensitivities of our age,” Dr R Albert Mohler Jr, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, commented in his blog on hotels removing Bibles and adding other amenities.
“The fact is that many persons have come to faith in Jesus Christ by reading a Bible supplied to their hotel room by the Gideons,” Mohler said. “Many others have turned to the Bible when in crisis. Some have even decided against suicide when they read from the Gideon’s Bible.
“Are they now to look for salvation and solace from an iPod docking station or a goldfish?” the prominent theologian questioned.
Since 2001, the number of luxury hotels with religious materials in rooms has dropped by 18 per cent, according to the American Hotel and Lodging Association.
Mohler called the development a reminder of the “tremendous cultural” and “moral change” taking place in society.
In 2004, Hotel Preston underwent a makeover from a traditional Radisson hotel to a trendy boutique hotel that offers complimentary pet fish, rubber duckies, lava lamps and a pillow menu.
The hotel also recently held a provocative live art display which hired young women to take turns wearing pink lingerie and live in a glass mock hotel room in the corner of the hotel’s cocktail lounge.
The spiritual menu will be launched in the next three to four weeks.
Jihad USA: Confronting the Threat of Homegrown Terror
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,342248,00.html
Law enforcement officials and security experts are warning against the threat of homegrown terrorism as several cases involving alleged American jihadists enter the courts.
"The public is getting complacent," New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly tells FOX News. Kelly, who was the police commissioner during the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993, has developed a task force of counterterrorism officers trained to spot jihadists.
Although there has not been a major terrorist strike in the U.S. since Sept. 11, 2001, Kelley says the country cannot let down its guard.
"We can't afford to be complacent in law enforcement, and I don't think we are," Kelly says in the new FOX News documentary, "Jihad, USA," which will air at 9 p.m. ET on March 29.
Several terror-related cases now in the courts highlight this need for continued vigilance, experts say.
— In Florida, the retrial of six of the "Liberty City Seven" is coming to a close. The group members, who allegedly plotted to destroy the Sears Tower in Chicago and swore allegiance to Al Qaeda on a secret FBI surveillance tape, were arrested in June 2006. Their first trial ended in a not-guilty verdict for one defendant and a mistrial for the other six.
— In Washington state, the murder trial has begun for Pakistani-American Naveed Haq, who is accused of opening fire in Seattle's Jewish Federation Building in July 2006, killing one woman and wounding five others. Haq allegedly said he was mad at the Jews and how they are running the country.
Two other cases are to enter court next month.
— In Michigan, a preliminary hearing is scheduled for Houssein Zorkot, a Lebanese-born medical student at Wayne State University in Detroit who posted on his Web site in September 2007 that he was launching a personal jihad. He was arrested that same day in a nearby park, wearing camouflage paint and holding a loaded AK-47.
— In South Carolina a trial is set for Youssef Megahed and Ahmed Mohamed, two University of South Florida students who officials say had pipe bombs in their car when they were caught speeding near the Goose Creek weapons base.
Terror experts say these and other cases since Sept. 11 illustrate an emerging threat from homegrown terrorists, people who have been radicalized by extreme Muslim doctrine within the U.S.
"Al Qaeda is depending today upon the spontaneous emergence of these jihadist cells that are not tethered to the leadership of Al Qaeda by either telephone or e-mail," terror investigator and author Steve Emerson told FOX News.
But others say the threat of homegrown Islamic terrorism is overstated.
In "none of these cases brought in the United States did the government ever produce any evidence suggesting that someone had prepared a bomb," says Jim Wedick, a former FBI agent. "Someone's actual ability to do harm needs to be taken into the equation."
Wedick consulted with the defense on the Liberty City Seven case.
"The solution is not to treat the whole Muslim community as a suspect community," says Hussam Ayloush, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "This is not about ignoring a threat, but this ... should not be about exaggerating any threat in a way that promotes certain political agendas."
Kelly says the threat is real and the only way to combat it is through prevention.
"Just imagine if the 19 hijackers on Sept. 11 were arrested on Sept. 10," he says. "How would that have been characterized?"
U.S. Based Revolution Muslim Website Spreading Messages of Hate
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,341811,00.html
NEW YORK, N.Y. — On any given day, log on to RevolutionMuslim.com and a host of startling images appear:
— The Statue of Liberty, with an ax blade cutting through her side;
— Video mocking the beheading of American journalist Daniel Pearl, entitled "Daniel Pearl I am Happy Your Dead :) ";
— Video of a puppet show lampooning U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq;
— The latest speech from Sheikh Abdullah Faisal, an extremist Muslim cleric convicted in the UK and later deported for soliciting the murder of non-Muslims.
Even more surprising is that RevolutionMuslim.com isn't being maintained in some remote safe house in Pakistan. Instead, Yousef al-Khattab, the Web site creator, runs it from his home in the New York City Borough of Queens.
And, because al-Khattab enjoys the First Amendment right to freedom of speech, all the authorities can do is watch.
Formerly known as Joseph Cohen, al-Khattab is an American-born Jew who converted to Islam after attending an Orthodox Rabbinical school, which he later described as a “racist cult.”
The 39-year-old New York taxi driver launched RevolutionMuslim.com with the mission of “preserving Islamic culture,” “calling people to the oneness of God” and asking them to “support the beloved Sheik Abdullah Faisal, who’s preaching the religion of Islam and serving as a spiritual guide.”
In 2003 Faisal was convicted in the U.K. for spreading messages of racial hatred and urging his followers to kill Jews, Hindus and Westerners. In sermon recordings played at his trial, Faisal called on young, impressionable Muslims to use chemical weapons to “exterminate unbelievers” and “cut the throat of the Kaffars [nonbelievers] with [a] machete.”
Authorities believe Faisal’s sermons have influenced 2005 London transport bomber Germaine Lindsay and "shoe bomber" Richard Reid, who attended mosques where Faisal preached.
At times, al-Khattab's postings are farcical, such as a picture of him holding the book "Nuclear Jihad" with a wry smile on his face. Other messages call for radical Muslim rule worldwide.
Al-Khattab claims the Sept. 11 terror attacks were an “inside job,” and he blames U.S. foreign policy for spawning the terrorism that carried out the attacks.
He calls Daniel Pearl, who was kidnapped and beheaded in 2002 by Islamic extremists in Pakistan, “a convicted spy.”
“I could care less about Daniel Pearl,” al-Khattab said in an interview with FOXNews.com. “I’m happy to see that he’s gone.”
Click here to view RevolutionMuslim.com.
The content changes constantly. One reason is that the fast flow of information allows messages to spread through cyberspace quickly. Another, terrorism analysts say, is to make it difficult for law enforcement to monitor the site.
Despite his radical anti-Western views, al-Khattab says he does not support terrorism of any kind.
Yet, RevolutionMuslim.com claims to be the official site of “North American representatives” for Sheikh Faisal, and it appears dedicated to spreading his radical doctrine.
He says Faisal “never said to kill innocent people” and was unjustly imprisoned. He says the real terror organizations are the U.S. Army, the CIA, and the FBI — and the National Coast Guard, “to a lesser extent.”
According to RevolutionMuslim, Faisal — who was deported to his native Jamaica in 2007 — is now receiving donations solicited on the site, including money for a new laptop and DVD burner to spread his message.
It's not illegal to post these messages or collect money for Faisal, but it would be if Faisal were designated a terrorist by the U.S. government. He currently is not listed on any government terror list; a Department of Justice spokesman could not confirm or deny if Faisal is being investigated for any terror related activity.
RevolutionMuslim may look amateurish when compared with other extremist Web sites, but it is no less of a threat, says Mia Bloom, political science professor at the University of Georgia’s School of Public and International Affairs.
“It may lead people who become radicalized by it to turn to other, more dangerous Web sites,” such as those run by terrorist organizations, she said.
Bloom characterized al-Khattab’s message as “narrow” and “misinformed” and said he is attempting to “proselytize or radicalize people who share some of these same ideas.”
“[He] has obviously been duped or is duping others because that’s not what Islam preaches,” she said.
On his site al-Khattab appears to condemn the very democracy that guarantees him the freedom to express himself — a freedom he cites in a disclaimer on his homepage:
“We hereby declare and make absolute public declaration that revolutionmuslim.com operates under the first amendment right to freedom of religion and expression and that in no way, shape, or form do we call for war against the U.S. government or adhere to the enemies of the United States elsewhere.”
Under the law FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said it is difficult to bring criminal charges against the operators of Web sites like RevolutionMuslim.com unless specific threats are made against an individual or individuals.
Kolko while not speaking directly about RevolutionMuslim said radical sites like these are not often prosecuted.
"It's usually a First Amendment right if they don't cross the threshold of making any threats," said Kolko. "There's nothing we should or could do."
“Until the rhetoric reaches the point in which it’s no longer protected speech under the first amendment, it’s hard to stop it,” said security expert, Harvey Kushner.
Court: Celebrity Inmate Mumia Deserves New Sentencing Hearing
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,342153,00.html
PHILADELPHIA — A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld Mumia Abu-Jamal's conviction for murdering a Philadelphia police officer in 1981 but refused to reinstate his death sentence.
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Abu-Jamal's conviction should stand, but agreed with a lower court that he should get a new sentencing hearing because of flawed jury instructions.
If prosecutors don't want to give him a new death penalty hearing, Abu-Jamal would be sentenced automatically to life in prison.
The former Black Panther had appealed his conviction, arguing that racism by the judge and prosecutors corrupted his 1982 conviction at the hands of a mostly white jury. Prosecutors, meanwhile, had appealed a federal judge's 2001 decision to grant Abu-Jamal a new sentencing hearing because of the allegedly flawed jury instructions.
A Philadelphia jury convicted Abu-Jamal of killing Officer Daniel Faulkner, 25, after the patrolman pulled over Abu-Jamal's brother in an overnight traffic stop.
Since his trial, Abu-Jamal's name has become a rallying cry for activists of many stripes to take to the streets in both the United States and Europe.
Hundreds of people protested outside the federal building in Philadelphia in May and an overflow crowd — including legal scholars, students, lawyers, the policeman's widow and Abu-Jamal's brother — filled the courtroom when the appeals court heard arguments about the case.
The officer's widow, Maureen Faulkner, has kept her husband's memory alive over the years, and recently co-wrote a book about the case. The book, "Murdered by Mumia: A Life Sentence of Loss, Pain and Injustice," written with radio talk-show host Michael Smerconish, came out in December.
Few expect the fervor that permeates the case on both sides to die down, even with the appeal court's decision.
"Regardless of the decision, if anything it will heat up the outcry from people in the public," Mumia's lawyer, Robert R. Bryan of San Francisco, said in March. "I think the support from people not only here, but all across Europe will escalate."
Messages left for Bryan on Monday were not immediately returned.
In May, the 3rd Circuit heard extended arguments in the case that focused on several constitutional issues, including whether prosecutors improperly eliminated black jurors. The slain officer, Daniel Faulkner, was white.
Ten whites and two blacks served on the jury. Prosecutors struck 10 blacks and five whites from the pool, while accepting four blacks and 20 whites, according to Bryan, who argued that prosecutors of the day fostered "a culture of discrimination."
However, there is no record to suggest the makeup of the approximately 150-person jury pool, a gap lamented by the appellate judges.
Prosecutor Hugh J. Burns Jr. argued in court that Abu-Jamal was raising issues on appeal that he had not raised during a lengthy 1995 review of the case.
Nonetheless, Burns recently said he was satisfied with the 3rd Circuit arguments.
"I thought we were able to cover everything that we needed to," he said.
Prosecutors say Faulkner managed to shoot Abu-Jamal, who was still at the scene when they arrived. They consider the evidence against him overwhelming.
The flaw in the jury instructions related to whether jurors understood how to weigh mitigating circumstances that might keep Abu-Jamal off death row. Under the law, jurors did not have to unanimously agree on a mitigating circumstance.
"The jury instructions and the verdict form created a reasonable likelihood that the jury believed it was precluded from finding a mitigating circumstance that had not been unanimously agreed upon," the appeals court wrote.
Ex-Muslim on the Run for Conversion
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/326585.aspx
From the Gaza strip to neighboring Egypt, his father is promising to kill him for becoming a believer.
Now he's on the run with his wife and little baby.
Mohammed Hijazi's father always taught him to hate Christians. And yet Mohammed's Christian neighbors in his home town in Egypt always treated him with love and kindness.
The more he learned about Islam, the more he began to feel distant from the "god" of Islam.
That was the beginning of a quest to find out more about Jesus Christ.
About three years ago, he found a loving father in the God of the Bible.
He wanted to publicly profess his conversion on his Egyptian national ID card that, among other things, lists a person's religion. He approached a lawyer to see if he could help him.
Somehow Hijazi's story was leaked to the press and unleashed a fire storm of controversy that seems to have swept every major Arabic-speaking television station.
Adding fuel to the fire, Mohammed's friends began appearing on different TV talk shows to damage his character, even going so far as to call him "disturbed."
A few months ago, Mohammed's highly publicized case went to court and the judge denied him the ability to change his religion from Islam to Christianity.
If Mohammed should attempt to go against the court, he could face three to 10 years in prison and a hefty fine.
Mohammed and his then pregnant wife Christina began running from the law. Just over a month ago, she gave birth to baby Miriam in hiding.
They've all sworn to kill her because she married a non-Muslim against the family's wishes.
"I love my parents so much," said Christina. "I want them to know that I am praying that the Lord will open their hearts and minds. That He would show them the way and that they would get the same blessings that I am getting."
Mohammed's family is just as angry. In a recent interview to the local papers, Mohammed's father said, "I am going to try to talk to my son and convince him to return to Islam. If he refuses, I am going to kill him with my own hands."
Shortly later, Mohammed released this response:
"I would like to send a message to my dad. I saw what you said in the newspapers. You say you want to kill me; to shed my blood in public. But I love you so much because you are my dad and because Jesus taught me to love....I accepted Jesus Christ willingly and nobody forced me....I forgive you. No matter what decision you make. No matter what you do. To my dad and mom, I say Jesus Christ died to save me."
An Islamic council issued a Muslim edict called a "fatwa" back in 1978 that still stands today.
It condemns Mohammed and Christina to death for becoming believers.
Where does that leave their little daughter Miriam?
"I don't think that God is asking you to make your granddaughter an orphan by killing her dad," said Mohammed.
But under the same fatwa, Miriam will be killed anyway at the age of 10 if she does not choose Islam.
Treasury Secretary Paulson Heading to Beijing Next Week on Heels of Tibet Crackdown
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,342168,00.html
WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson will go to China next week, becoming the highest-ranking administration official to visit the country since Beijing's harsh crackdown in Tibet.
The Treasury Department said Thursday that Paulson will meet with Chinese leaders and follow up on an agreement the two countries reached last year on environmental cooperation.
Treasury's announcement came a day after the White House said that President Bush had sharply confronted China's President Hu Jintao during a telephone call about the violence in Tibet. The White House said that Bush had stressed the need for restraint and the necessity for the Chinese to consult with representatives of the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet.
China has defended its use of force against anti-Chinese protesters in Tibet, describing demonstrations that broke out in the capital city of Lhasa on March 14 as riots and violent crimes.
The demonstrations have been the most sustained uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet in almost two decades and have put a spotlight on China's human rights record at a time when it was hoping for a smooth run-up to this summer's Olympic games in Beijing.
The Treasury announcement said Paulson would be in Beijing on April 2 and 3 for meetings with Chinese leaders and also for a speech at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. That speech will focus on an agreement on the environment that the two countries reached during high-level economic talks last December.
At that time, the two countries agreed to cooperate over a 10-year period in efforts to address various environmental issues, including climate change, energy security and promoting the sustainable use of natural resources.
The environmental cooperation agreement came at the third round of talks known as the strategic economic dialogue, which were launched in 2006 in an effort to ease economic tensions between the two nations as the U.S. trade deficit with China soared.
American manufacturers contend that China has artificially devalued its currency by as much as 40 percent against the dollar as a way of making Chinese products cheaper for U.S. consumers, while making American products more expensive in China.
Survival Tale of an 'Embryo' Called Noah
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/346490.aspx
The fate of 400,000 embryos, frozen in labs around the country, is up for grabs. The government is spending millions to encourage their adoption, concerned that many will not survive.
Getting the message out to the public is a complicated task - from defining embryos to explaining their plight. But a little boy named Noah from New Orleans may be the best publicity of all.
How His Life Began
Noah recently celebrated his first birthday. And for his family there's much to celebrate.
Noah began his life as an embryo, frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored in a canister at the Fertility Institute in New Orleans. After Hurricane Katrina, doctors at the clinic realized a lack of air-conditioning jeopardized Noah's little life and 1,400 other embryos in storage there. The heat could easily thaw them.
The doctors arranged a rescue operation that was primitive at best but effective. Louisiana State Police and Illinois Conservation Police provided flat-bottomed boats and escorted the canisters filled with tiny lives through flooded waters to safety.
Noah's mother, Rebekah Markham, remembers, "It wasn't until about 3 weeks after the storm that I called the fertility institute and asked about the embryos and they told me about the rescue and said that everything is fine."
The rescued embryo that would become Noah was implanted in his mother's womb in May 2006. On January 16, 2007, Noah Benton Markham was born to his grateful parents, Rebekah and Glen Markham.
Do Embryos Have Rights?
As quality of life debates move from fetuses to embryos, Noah's story has captured the hearts of Americans across the country and made its point: What rights will we grant to embryos?
At issue is embryonic stem cell research and what we will allow to be done to embryos in the name of science and helping others.
Also, decisions must be made about what to do with the thousands of embryos routinely made during in-vitro fertilization which remain in storage.
Doctors often fertilize many more eggs than are needed to save couples the time and money from having to go through the process again.
Call it a Baby
Rod Stoddart oversees Nightlight Christian Services in California which began the country's first embryo adoption program. Stoddart's passion for the job is clear.
"An embryo," he says, "is not an egg, not sperm, it's a baby. It's a baby at its very earliest stage of development but it's a baby and destroying it is the same as abortion."
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is spending millions in grants to Nightlight and other agencies, hoping to educate Americans about the existence of frozen embryos available for adoption.
The Condom as a 'Statement'
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07008.shtml
FRONT ROYAL, Virginia -- Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) is hailing the release of its new condom line, which it claims makes both a "fashion statement" and a "lifestyle statement." PPFA says the condom is "stylish" and a 'must-have' fashion accessory." The condom package itself is even described as "chic."
"On the heels of a Centers for Disease Control report stating that some three millions teenage girls in the United States has a sexually transmitted disease, Planned Parenthood is rolling out its new line of condoms," said Douglas R. Scott, Jr., president of Life Decisions International (LDI). "But rather than its usual promotion of so-called 'safer sex,' the pro- abortion group is using basic Madison Avenue techniques to encourage sales."
According to Planned Parenthood, its Proper Attire line was designed to "encourage women to feel more comfortable about carrying and buying condoms." PPFA President Cecile Richards explained: "Social taboos make some women embarrassed to buy and carry condoms. That's why Proper Attire was created. With its fashionable wrapping, women will now have the option to choose the right 'attire' for that special occasion. Responsible decisions about sex are everybody's personal fashion statement."
Available in four "fashionable styles," Proper Attire condoms are sold at boutique shops, exclusive hotels, Planned Parenthood centers, and online. The suggested retail price of a three-pack is $6.00, with proceeds supporting PPFA.
The queen of double entendre, especially when sex is involved, PPFA's slogan for the Proper Attire condom is "Required for Entry." Read together the phrase is, "Proper Attire: Required for Entry." PPFA's website address and toll-free phone number are imprinted on each condom.
"Once again, Planned Parenthood is demonstrating the outrageousness of its philosophy and world view," Scott said. "They see absolutely nothing wrong with what they are doing or they manner in which they are doing it."
"When we decided to create a new condom line, we knew that we wanted to make it cool for women to carry condoms," said Rachel Molloy, formerly of rapidly pro-abortion Marie Stopes International and now brand director for Proper Attire. "Every element of the brand has been inspired by the world of fashion, from the Proper Attire brand name, and the chic packaging created by designers, to the fig leaf logo showcasing clothing in its most primitive form."
"Old stereotypes about who should buy condoms are so last season!" reads advertising for the new condom line. "Proper Attire condoms are the 'must- have' accessory this season and were designed with sexually active, stylish women in mind." A variation of the statement is also used. "With Proper Attire as the new 'must-have' of the season, insist on a dress code. Proper Attire...it is required for entry."
"This kind of marketing ploy should surprise no one," Scott said. "Planned Parenthood has always been about destroying traditional ways of thinking and behaving--primarily for its own gain."
In 2005, Consumer Reports evaluated 23 kinds of latex condoms. In the study, PPFA's lollipop-flavored condom ranked fourteenth. Its assorted colors condoms placed twenty-second. And the abortion- committing behemoth's honeydew-flavored condoms ranked dead last. Given its history of failure in this area, PPFA was sure to provide a statement regarding safety and effectiveness: "Reliable and effective, Proper Attire condoms are not only FDA-tested, but undergo rigorous quality assurance testing by the manufacturer as well as by independent laboratories." But this is essentially the same "promise" Planned Parenthood made about the condoms tested by Consumer Reports.
"This is Planned Parenthood's most recent attempt at setting young people up for a fall," Scott said. "Planned Parenthood's customers will either become 'fashionable' or they will die trying."
'Hannah Montana' star: I do everything for Jesus
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/hannah.montana.star.i.do.everything.for.jesus/17561.htm
“Hannah Montana” star Miley Cyrus and her best friend Mandy Jiroux recently declared their love for Jesus, saying everything they do is for him.
In their Easter instalment of "The Miley and Mandy Show" on YouTube, 20-year-old Jiroux, who performs as a back-up dancer for the popular teen star, reads a question from a fan who asked if the girls were Christian.
The squeaky-clean duo emphatically respond, "Yes!"
"Yes! We love Jesus!" says Cyrus, 15, as she nods her head in agreement. "Happy Easter, by the way. He died for our sins. That's how awesome he is.
"Jesus rocks! That's why we do what we do," the Hannah Montana star adds. "She (Mandy) dances for Jesus. I sing, dance and act for Jesus! ... Now that I think about it, I do everything for Jesus. We make the YouTube videos for Jesus. We’re all about it."
Her comments should come as no surprise to fans who have been following her career.
Cyrus, who plays a high school teen with an alter-identity as a pop singer on the hit Disney Channel show, has been very vocal about her faith.
She recently credited her family and faith for keeping her grounded in an interview with TV presenter Barbara Walters that aired for the Oscars.
“Some people don’t have a family to fall back on, like I have, and that’s when something greater than even that comes in – and that’s faith and that’s what I have for me,” Cyrus told Walters, according to ABC News. “That’s what keeps me strong.”
In an appearance on Oprah last year, Cyrus had also mentioned church as the source of her strength.
When asked to name her favourite Bible verse, she referred to Ephesians 6:10-11, stating "Finally, my brother, come close to the Lord for if you put on the full armour of God you can stand against the wiles of a devil."
Her most recent movie release, "The Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour", has grossed over $63 million. Cyrus' next project will be "The Hannah Montana Movie”, slated for a May 2009 debut.
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