With only a 12% Muslim minority, and an 84% Christian majority, Uganda may not seem a hotspot of Islamic activity. Yet, in recent weeks and months, story after story of attacks on Muslim converts to Christianity have emerged, with troubling implications beyond the intrinsic level. Consider the following anecdotes:
Tortured Daughter
A Muslim father, in accordance with Sharia law, imprisoned and starved his teenage daughter, Susan Ithungu, because she converted to Christianity. He had warned her and her brother “not to attend church or listen to the gospel message. He even threatened us with a sharp knife that he was ready to kill us in broad daylight in case we converted to Christianity.” When she refused to recant, “he locked her up in a room of the semi-permanent house for six months without seeing sunlight. The younger brother was warned not to tell anyone that Susan was locked up in a room and was not given any food.” Still young and un-indoctrinated, Susan’s brother smuggled scraps of food to his sister, though “most days she could only feed on mud”; he also dug a hole under the door, pouring water through it, which she was forced to lap “using her tongue.”
When she was finally rescued, she “was bony, very weak, and not able to talk or walk. Her hair had turned yellow, she had long fingernails and sunken eyes, and she looked very slim, less than 20 kilograms [44 pounds],” requiring over a year of hospitalization. In an update, she has “forgiven her father,” and is thankful to all the strangers who have supported her. Meanwhile, “none of my family members has come to see me…. My own people have abandoned me.”
Blinded and Disfigured
Last Christmas Eve saw Muslims throw acid on a church pastor, leaving him with severe burns, blinding one eye and threatening sight in the other. In his own words: “I was attacked by a man who claimed to be a Christian. He called out to me shouting ‘pastor, pastor,’ and as I turned to see who he was, he poured acid which burnt part of my face. As I turned away from the attacker, another man poured the liquid on my back and ran away shouting ‘Allah Akbar’ (god is great).”
The pastor, Umar Mulinde, originally “came from a strict Muslim family and his father was an imam. He was a sheikh (Muslim teacher) before converting to Christianity, a decision that caused a strong reaction in the Muslim community.” The 38-year-old father of six was also a leading figure in a campaign to block the introduction of Sharia courts in Uganda. After being taken to a hospital, where specialists struggled to restore his vision, Umar was relocated to an Israeli medical center for advanced treatment. According to his wife, “The main point of contention between Muslims and Christians in Uganda is that Muslims are yet to embrace the reality of freedom of worship or coexistence, but Muslims always think that any person who doesn’t believe like them is an enemy who deserves to be killed.”
Hunted and Forlorn
After announcing his conversion to Christianity, Hassan Sharif Lubenga, formerly a prominent member of an Islamist organization, suffered the usual consequences: “They [former colleagues] were furious. They then kidnapped me and blindfolded me for three days, coupled with beatings. They demanded I deny Jesus as the Son of God, which I consented to because I feared that they were going to kill me…. The whole family and clan members were out to destroy me.”
As a Muslim, he had had four wives; upon his conversion, one of them tried to poison him. His father committed suicide, leaving a note that read, “I have decided to kill myself because my son became a Christian,” and urging all family members to curse him. Hassan is currently in hiding: “All my family members have deserted me. The Muslims are looking to kill me. I need protection and help.” On the verge of abandoning his new faith, Hassan recently received a call from Umar Mulinde—the aforementioned pastor who had half his face burned off with acid—telling him the church was praying for him, which “deeply heartened” Hassan.
Falsely Accused
Another Muslim convert to Christianity, Hassan Muwanguzi, also experienced the usual treatment. Upon conversion, his “family immediately kicked him out of their home, and enraged Muslims beat him. His wife left him that same year, and he lost his job as a teacher.” Undaunted, he recently opened a Christian school, Grace International Nursery and Primary School, in a predominantly Muslim region. “Incensed by his boldness,” an Islamic teacher filed a false charge that Muwanguzi had “defiled” his daughter, leading to Muwanguzi’s arrest. Imprisoned for a time, the accusation was discovered false and he was eventually released.
While all these apostasy-related cases are intrinsically troubling, they further suggest that Uganda’s 12% Muslim minority is increasingly “radicalizing.” For wherever Muslims persecute apostates—which some “multiculturalists” dismiss as an in-house matter of no concern to non-Muslims—rest assured that all those “out-house” things, such as jihad and subjugation of the infidel, are not far behind, and a matter of time and numbers.
Raymond Ibrahim is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center and an Associate Fellow at the Middle East Forum.
Anyone with the slightest refinement of the senses could not bear to be a Muslim! Thuggish, coarse and lacking in any morality describes the life of the so-called prophet of Islam. Is it any wonder then, that many Muslims want to leave Islam? Not at all!
"...but Muslims always think that any person who doesn’t believe like them is an enemy who deserves to be killed.”
It is as simple as this - they are doing what is forbidden.
We are looking for George Bush down here - there is no Palestinian issue - that if solved would solve this.
Its down to those who do what is forbidden - versus those who don't do it - it is the prism that the Muslim is taught to see the world through.
And everything else that follows is based on this religious divide.
and where is obama and senior military and state dept. officals???
m
While the above anecdotes prove without the shadow of a doubt that Muslim converts to Christianity are indeed under attack, they also prove that sheikh al-Qataani was right when he said:
"For after Islam was the religion of the majority, the great majority of that continent (Africa), the number of Muslims now is no greater than a third of the population."
He was also right when he added:
"On the other hand, the number of Catholics in Africa has increased from one million in 1902 to 329 million 882 thousand (329,882,000) in the year 2000"
And finally, he concluded with these exact words:
"We are living a tragedy sir, by Allah we are living a tragedy, by Allah we are living a tragedy"
Indeed, Islam IS living a tragedy. The Giant IS DYING.
http://crossmuslims.blogspot.com/2010/05/dying-islam-lislam-mourant.html
Busy apologizing for burning the poorly written ravings of a pedophile.
I recently spent a week in Uganda. The Muslims there are very numerous: surely more than 12%! They are apparently increasingly assertive. And then there are the Afro-dhimmis. I read a book by Kazanga Tibenderana, about the "rights" of Muslims in Uganda and how they must be accommodated, even "the right to wage a jihad by the sword" ("a duty on upright and conscientious Muslims" "against legitimate targets" - that is, bad Muslims and you and I, dear reader). I have never read such abject dhimmitude; furthermore, he blames Muslims' "weak" position now on colonialism but gives thanks that at least Idi Amin gave them support. It is quite a shocker, but no doubt well received by those he desires to be his masters.
Ibrahim:
"While all these apostasy-related cases are intrinsically troubling, they further suggest that Uganda’s 12% Muslim minority is increasingly “radicalizing.”
______________________________________
/So, again, we see that almost-mythical "tiny minority"
having the same "non-effect" as if we were to believe no Muslims were responsible, at all, in cases of apostasy.
It's just those darned "Islamists" who got Islam all wrong and want to kill everybody over it that we haven't understood yet. Also, us Multiculturalists must have it all wrong too.
Right?//
Well, this is Uganda where they just passed a law to approve the persecution and murder of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people - thanks to the influence of U.S. fundamentalist Christian missionaries who have brainwashed the Ugandans into believing that homosexuality is a disease and the bearer of the disease must be killed. It's hard to sympathize with new Christian converts in Uganda knowing that they are potential bashers and killers of gay people!
Raymond, these stories are all so very hard to read, especially the "Tortured Daughter" story, oh my. And although I cannot imagine the horror poor young Susan went through; since I've never faced death for my faith in Jesus Christ, I can certainly understand why Susan would not recant her faith in Jesus! I mean once I too became born-again and experienced the deep, abiding, spiritual and whole love from Jesus Christ, then there is no WAY that I could ever recant Jesus for anything, or anyone! And those that are not born-again cannot understand this, but I do. I can definitely see why Susan did not recant her faith ...
And I will be praying for Susan.
The proposed law you cite is opposed by the Catholic church, the Anglican church, and a great many other churches and religious organizations that have far larger memberships in Uganda than the evangelicals. You have to "interpret" (and by that I mean manipulate) Christianity to derive a death penalty or prison sentence for homosexuality.
Islam, on the other hand, requires no manipulation to arrive at a death penalty for gays. It has a very explicit death penalty for homosexuals codeified in sharia law that is carried out routinely wherever islam holds sway. And no major islamic organization ever takes a official position against the practice. That would be in direct and explicit conflict with the religions core teachings and therefore un-islamic.
But you could be right. Some converts from islam to Christianity might buy the manipulation and become gay bashers. And many more would not. This seems to me to be a step up from a religious code that makes killing gays (and Jews, Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, Animists, Pagans, atheists, apostates, those who insult the koran, those who insult mohammed, adulterers, disobedient children, etc.) either permissable or a unavoidable religious duty.
So tell me. Exactly how red is that herring your throwing around?
It appears people in Africa are apostazing from worshipping an extremely unpleasant non-existent god and signing up to worship a pleasant but still non-existent god who is reputed to have son that can walk on water and bring the dead back to life ......unless of course someone has some verifiable evidence for the existence of a god. I am offering a £1,000,000 for the verifiable evidence.
Must go now. I have to wash my nose out. I think Satan slept in it last night.
"If you control 10% of the people, you are in control." This is what the Communists used to claim and it appears to be the tipping point. For this concept to work, that 10% requires organization and a single message. This is an almost universal concept such as being in a shop of 100 containing ten dedicated Organizers; being "represented" is likely to become "an offer that can't be refused".
Sadly, it looks like Uganda is beyond that tipping point and I suspect the numbers are off. 12% Islam? How many more are included by association and intimidation? What are the remaining 4% left after the 84% Christians are counted? This place is starting to look like that Michigan town that now has a minaret and five times daily Call to Prayer.
Why shouldn't the ten percent rule work the **other** direction, on the side of the **good guys**?
It would mean that if just ten percent of the population in the USA, UK, France, India, Australia, and for that matter the overwhelmingly-majority-Christian southern and eastern African countries - like Uganda - were to become thoroughly Islamo-aware, and were to **organise** and act together - like Brigitte Gabriel is attempting in the USA with ACT for America, and like Q Society are working toward in Australia - then...we're in with a chance, to swing this thing **our** way.
Click on this link and see why I'm saying this.
http://pajamasmedia.com/ejectejecteject/2007/05/21/you-are-not-alone-part-1/
Scroll down till you get to the headline 'the remnant'.
Sure, the Bad Guys have their 'Death Eaters' slavishly obeying their Voldemort, Mohammed (as 'incarnate' in Quran-Sira-Hadith and the myriad war-lords, imams, sheikhs, mullahs, ayatollahs, jihad gang bosses and hit-men of the Mohammedan Mob).
But *we* of the free non-Muslim world - right now, making it up as we go along, finding and encouraging each other via the internet but also by many other means, *we're* creating our 'Order of the Phoenix' to challenge them.
To reach and educate and mobilise ten percent of the non-Muslim population of Australia, or Israel, or the USA, or for that matter, Uganda, is entirely doable.
Me, I'm wondering whether Geert Wilders may not already be the point on the end of the 'ten percent' spear in the Netherlands...with *more* than ten percent coming on board day by day. We won't necessarily see the *results* right away. But they will come.