Thank-you newborn in the faith brother Cristiano for speaking in witness to the truth. God Bless you and your dear ones this Blessed Easter.

Posted by: bigcatgirl13106 at March 23, 2008 7:31 AM

>ITALIAN editor and critic of Islamic extremism Magdi Allam
>the phenomenon of extremists and Islamist terrorism at the global level, the root of evil is inherent to a physiologically violent and historically conflictual Islam,

Time for the Italian courts to arrest Magdi and try him for hate crimes. Or have they forgotten what they tried to do to Oriana Fallaci.

Oh yea. I forgot. If you are a X muslim its OK,
But dont you dare critisize Islam if you are a atheist or christian because you might hurt somebodys feelings.

Time to call out the riot squads.

Posted by: havekoranwilltravel at March 23, 2008 7:39 AM

TRUE religion and belief in the TRUE GOD will win in the end. May this be a signal of TRUTH realized that will spell the end of the death cult. Happy Easter to all at JW and throughout the world. The Son of GOD has risen.

Posted by: TRSTHNTR at March 23, 2008 7:43 AM

This high-profile baptism by the Pope of Magdi Allam, which is visible to millions on Vatican TV is a very significant gesture and a clear message to the Islamic umma, affirming the sacrosanct status of freedom of conscience.It is an elegant gesture far more effective than any Bible thumping or overt criticism of Islamic fascism, which is not really Benedict's style. So blessings upon Benedict and Magdi Allam and may they both live long!

Posted by: johndoe at March 23, 2008 7:52 AM

How wonderful!!

Congratulations, Cristiano Allam! You're our hero!

Posted by: Dumpling at March 23, 2008 8:15 AM

hehe

This pope loves to step on islamo-nazi's toes. :D

Go get 'em, Ben 16 !

Posted by: Crusader at March 23, 2008 8:26 AM

An article posted in August 2007-- a little more on Magdi Allam, and on Italy:

Fitzgerald: Learn from Italy

Rome, 21 August (AKI) - Italy's Foreign Ministry has instructed the country's embassy in Cairo to monitor closely the plight of an Egyptian man, Mohammed Hegazi, who has received death threats following his conversion from Islam to Christianity. -- from this article

This is thanks to a handful of people -- to Oriana Fallaci, and more recently, to the writings and appearances on the RAI of the fearless Magdi Allam. Allam was born and raised in Egypt by parents who called themselves Muslims, were quietly pious, and sent him to Christian schools. Then he left Egypt for Italy, where he received his higher -- in all senses -- education, in and out of university, married an Italian girl, and now is a vice-director, I believe, of the Corriere della Sera. He appears frequently on the RAI (the state-owned television, of which there are three variants, Rai Uno, Rai Due, Rai Tre).

Magdi Allam has written several important books. Two are directly about Islam. The first is "Vincere La Paura" (Conquering Fear), a book which includes a "Lettera aperta a Oriana Fallaci" (in which Allam takes issue with her sweeping dismissal of Islam -- I think he does so wrongly) and a more convincing "Lettera aperta a Tariq Ramadan." Magdi Allam knows Ramadan, and the world from which he comes, perfectly, and dismembers him before your very eyes.

The second, shorter book is "Kamikaze Made in Europe (Riuscira l'Occidente a Sconfiggere i Terroristi Islamici?)" (Will the West Manage to Defeat Islamic Terrorists?).

Most recently, Magdi Allam published "Viva Israele" --"Long Live Israel." This is a paean of well-deserved praise, and expression of affection -- one which comes naturally to the apostates or near-apostates of Islam, for it is they who know best how terribly Israel has been maligned, and they who know best the dangers it has passed through, and the dangers it permanently faces. They know all this far better than any Infidel supporters of Israel possibly could.

All of Magdi Allam's books should be translated, at once, by professionals, into two dozen major languages. If the C.I.A. had its wits about it, it would pay for the publication itself, as during the Cold War it set up publishing houses -- "Editions de la Seine" and so on -- to publish Russian-emigre literature, which was then handed out to Soviet tourists, who would read those books on the spot, or smuggle them back into the Soviet Union. What dimwits are running things now? Or is it that the Saudi agents, willing or unwitting, are preventing even the most modest efforts at a counter-Jihad of spreading simply the intelligent views of those who know Islam best?

And it is also due to others, especially to the Pope, when as Cardinal Ratzinger he exchanged letters with the learned Massimo Pera (a Senator -- in Italy, not quite the same thing as here, being a non-elected post, but still a very influential one). Those exchanges, on the subject of Islam and the West, and the West's inability to recognize the nature of Islam and the danger it poses, permanently, to the institutions, political and legal, and to the very civilization of the West, are set out in a book of a handy size similar to that of Magdi Allam's three books noted above: "Senza Radici." It has been put into English, as part of the translating-the-Pope effort, and is well worth finding and reading.

Italy will be, because of such people, the least likely to succumb among the European states. After all, the Italians are surrounded by two-thirds of the entire production of Western art, and can only with great difficulty avoid appreciating the legacy of the West. They have retained a historic memory of the Ottomans, or the general Islamic threat: "Mamma, li Turchi!" is a phrase that has entered the language as a way to express sudden fear of something -- Muslim raiders, say, on the coast. ("Turks" means not only "Turks" but also all the various Muslims who raided up and down the Italian coasts, pillaging, looting, killing men, seizing women.) And there is another verbal phrase in Italian -- "fare salamalecchi" -- "to perform salaam-aleikums." That means to "bow and scrape" with the emphasis on "oily bowing and scraping" in order to curry favor, a phrase obviously constructed from close observation of the observable behavior of Muslims, and not unlike the oleaginous and wily ways of those who, in the British phrase, "are either at your feet or at your throat."

This historical memory, of course, is not present in these United States. And what we get are ignorant but seemingly hard-headed (in truth, because of their ignorance, they are sentimentalists) "military analysts" at think-tank sinecures, solemnly pontificating about Iraq without a clue as to what Islam is, what its texts, tenets, attitudes, atmospherics are, and what its goals, based on those immutable texts, are. Certainly, being remarkably limited people, they have no conception beyond the military of the means by which those goals can be achieved, and for which Iraq is of passing significance. For Islam has in the past few decades leapfrogged over the Mediterranean, and is now present all over the historic heart of the West, that is, the countries of Western Europe. Those countries need to be awakened. Bringing "freedom" to "ordinary moms and dads" in Iraq and then to the greater Middle East will have no effect, none, even were it to be achieved. (And achievement is, because of Islam, impossible.)

The sentimentalists masquerading as tough-minded realists, whether they are loyalists clinging to the idea of "winning" in Tarbaby Iraq, or "critics of the Administration" who ponderously tell us (think of the comical Cordesman, who keeps telling us we have "ethically and morally" a duty to rescue millions of "Iraqis" -- what utter nonsense) that the war cannot be "won" but never take issue with the Administration's definition of "winning," should be ignored. Stick with Oriana Fallaci. Stick with Magdi Allam. Stick with Massimo Pera and Pope Benedict. Something is going right in Italy -- and that is despite that eurocratic Prodi, who wants to "open a dialogue" with Hamas.

Learn from Italy.

[Posted by Hugh at August 28, 2007]

Posted by: Hugh at March 23, 2008 8:26 AM

Welcome and kudos to this fortunate fellow

(though I queried at the use of the word "physiologically" as metaphor - but such is poetic license)

May he be the vanguard of many former adherents who will find their way.

Posted by: dgene at March 23, 2008 9:00 AM

Good for you Magdi Allam! You have now escaped the tyranny of the mullahs with their countless mind-numbing rules designed to destroy any sane intellect. May you enjoy your new-found freedom in tranquility.

The Islamist spin-doctors will try to reduce the impact of this very public conversion by insulting this brave man. They will claim that he converted out of sheer ignorance. That if only he knew about the TRUE and peaceful Islam, he would not have done so.

All skeptics would like to know more about this elusive “true and peaceful” Islam. What does it look like and where is it? It is not to be found in any of the many Muslim countries of the world. It is not to be found in the Quran and its evil off-shoot the shariah. That is because it simply does not exist except in the imaginations of their deluded apologists.

Posted by: Shafee al-Zindig at March 23, 2008 9:03 AM

I think that Magdi Allam might, were he putting out a new edition of "Vincere la paura," revise his "Lettera aperta a Oriana Fallaci" now that he has come a bit further along in his own grasp of Islam, and may find her remarks about Muslims -- not only Islam -- not quite so incomprehensible, or unjustified, as he once took them to be. On the other hand, it is possible that he will continue to believe that it is the ideology, and not those who accept or, merely by existing and reproducing at a dizzying rate, help to strengthen the power of Islam, a strength that comes merely from numbers, as Muslims multiply far more rapidly in Europe than do non-Muslims, and nothing is done to halt or reverse Muslim immigration, or to halt the benefits (including housing, medical care, and so on) that make Europe so attractive, and the multiplying of Muslim numbers, so easy. Demography is destiny, in this case, and Oriana Fallaci's fury, which she permitted herself to express, in a vivid prose that did not mince words, might five years ago have offended Magdi Allam in a way that, today, he just might see a bit differently.

Allam's style is asciutto, dry, Fallaci's passionate and undry. Both are necessary.
Both are welcome.

Posted by: Hugh at March 23, 2008 9:04 AM

Hugh:

Cannot agree with you more,

- we should underwrite the translation and publication of his books - as we did for some former sovietniks - which would be to our profound advantage;

great idea.

Posted by: dgene at March 23, 2008 9:06 AM

Hugh, you keep tormenting me with all these Magdi Allam books which I cannot find online, except as ISBNs not locatable at Amazon. Where do you buy this man's books?

Posted by: Jauhara Al-Kafirah at March 23, 2008 10:13 AM

Italy and Sicily were invaded by muslims before. Those muslims turned Roman Catholic and blended into the society eventually. That is where the mafia came from. Jizya. If you go to Sicily today you will notice many look middle eastern.

The only reason I would worry about Italy turning muslim is the same reason I worry about other countries turning. They are not having children. All those Italian Stallions are living home with momma. They are not getting married or, thanks to the pill and abortions, not even fathering any children.

What happens when the population gets too small? It gets overrun.

The Catholic church is not helping by taking the most faithful out of the gene pool, either.

Posted by: Borg at March 23, 2008 10:22 AM

"Where do you buy this man's books?"

As far as I know Magdi Allam's books are not yet available in English but I am sure that is being corrected. I have bought the three I own from Italian bookstores. I assume Amazon, or perhaps the Italian version of Amazon, if such exists, would carry Magdi Allam's books.

Posted by: Hugh at March 23, 2008 10:42 AM

I am not Catholic, but I admire this Pope more and more. It is the displacement of tiny rocks that signals the beginning of a large avalanche.

Posted by: tanstaafl at March 23, 2008 11:02 AM

Great. What a message!

Posted by: FreeSpeech at March 23, 2008 11:06 AM

"I had to do this (abandon Islam)", Allam wrote in a long letter to the Italian daily Corriere della Sera.

"Beyond ... the phenomenon of extremists and Islamist terrorism at the global level, the root of evil is inherent to a physiologically violent and historically conflictual Islam," wrote the Egyptian-born journalist, who says he has received death threats and is under police protection.

One of seven adults baptised during an Easter vigil yesterday evening, Allam, 55, is an editorial writer and deputy editor at Corriere.

Regarding a combative tone that has made him famous in Italy, Allam wrote: "Over the years my spirit has been freed from the obscurantism of an ideology that legitimises lies and deception, violent death that leads to homicide and suicide, blind submission to tyranny."
-- from a letter published in "Corriere Della Sera" describing his conversion

This statement by Magdi Allam about Islam that ought to be disccussed in pulpits, religious and otherwise bully, all over the Western world, with every part of Magdi Allam's indictment discussed soberly, with accompanying texts from Qur'an, Hadith, and Sira, held up for inspection and analysis.

Posted by: Hugh at March 23, 2008 11:10 AM

ricerca rapida: Magdi Allam

http://www.bol.it/libri/ricerca

1. Viva Israele. Dall'ideologia della morte alla civiltà della vita: la mia storia
Magdi Allam
Rilegato | 206 pagine | Mondadori | 2007
Spedito normalmente in 1 giorno lavorativo
Prezzo di copertina: Euro 17,00

2. Io amo l'Italia. Ma gli italiani la amano?
Magdi Allam
Tascabile | 310 pagine | Mondadori | 2007
Spedito normalmente in 1 giorno lavorativo
Prezzo di copertina: Euro 8,80-Prezzo BOL: Euro 6,16
Risparmio: Euro 2,64SCONTO 30 % Oscar Mondadori
-30%

3. Io amo l'Italia. Ma gli italiani la amano?
Magdi Allam
Rilegato | 310 pagine | Mondadori | 2006
Spedito normalmente in 3-5 giorni lavorativi
Prezzo di copertina: Euro 17,00

4. Vincere la paura. La mia vita contro il terrorismo islamico e l'incoscienza dell'Occidente
Magdi Allam
Tascabile | 197 pagine | Mondadori | 2006
Spedito normalmente in 1 giorno lavorativo
Prezzo di copertina: Euro 8,40-Prezzo BOL: Euro 5,88
Risparmio: Euro 2,52SCONTO 30 % Oscar Mondadori
-30%

5. Kamikaze made in Europe. Riuscirà l'Occidente a sconfiggere i terroristi islamici?
Magdi Allam
Tascabile | 86 pagine | Mondadori | 2005
Spedito normalmente in 1 giorno lavorativo
Prezzo di copertina: Euro 7,80-Prezzo BOL: Euro 5,46
Risparmio: Euro 2,34SCONTO 30 % Oscar Mondadori
-30%

6. Vincere la paura. La mia vita contro il terrorismo islamico e l'incoscienza dell'Occidente
Magdi Allam
Rilegato | 197 pagine | Mondadori | 2005
Spedito normalmente in 3-5 giorni lavorativi
Prezzo di copertina: Euro 16,50

7. Saddam. Storia segreta di un dittatore
Magdi Allam
Tascabile | 259 pagine | Mondadori | 2004
Spedito normalmente in 3-5 giorni lavorativi
Prezzo di copertina: Euro 8,40-Prezzo BOL: Euro 5,88
Risparmio: Euro 2,52SCONTO 30 % Oscar Mondadori
-30%

8. Diario dall'Islam. Cronache di una nuova guerra
Magdi Allam
Tascabile | 213 pagine | Mondadori | 2002
Spedito normalmente in 1 giorno lavorativo
Prezzo di copertina: Euro 7,40-Prezzo BOL: Euro 5,18
Risparmio: Euro 2,22SCONTO 30 % Oscar Mondadori
-30%

9. Jihad in Italia. Viaggio nell'islam radicale
Magdi Allam
Tascabile | 215 pagine | Mondadori | 2003
Non disponibile
Prezzo di copertina: Euro 8,40-Prezzo BOL: Euro 5,88
Risparmio: Euro 2,52SCONTO 30 % Oscar Mondadori
-30%

10. Bin Laden in Italia. Viaggio nell'islam radicale
Magdi Allam
Rilegato | 215 pagine | Mondadori | 2002
Non disponibile
Prezzo di copertina: Euro 15,00

Posted by: Rothari at March 23, 2008 1:56 PM

SINCE THIS IS EASTER LET'S DISCUSS ISLAM'S THEOLOGICAL VIEWPOINT OF CHRISTIANITY

A Muslim believes in the religion of Jesus but sees mainline Christianity as a religion constructed about Jesus. Our protest is against two excesses: The apotheosis of Jesus and the most frequent missionary tactic directed toward Muslims.

Christians and Muslims who learn something of one another's religion find that a crucial issue is the nature of Jesus. The majority of Christians deify Jesus while Muslims say that he was no more than a prophet of God, a faultless human being. The doctrine of the Trinity avows that three distinct co-equals are God. In particular, Jesus is said to be God the Son, or the Son of God. As the Muslim questions details of this theology, the Christian characteristically forms a common explanation for our differences: He complains that Muslims do not understand the Trinity; that we are actually accusing Christians of Tritheism and other heresies.

So the Muslim seeks clarification of the teaching and asks at every step: "How could that be so?" For example, we insist that the term "Son of God" cannot have a literal interpretation. Sonship and divine nature would be necessary attributes of such an actuality, but these are incompatible. The first describes a recipient of life while the second describes One who received life from no one. These are mutually exclusive requirements then. To be a son is to be less than divine, and to be divine is to be no one's son.
As a discussion proceeds, it is the Christian who will eventually take refuge in the response: "These are things that we cannot understand." His assessment of the Muslim's problem becomes his own confession. The Christian explanation becomes self-defeating so there is a change of tactic.

He complains that the Muslim refuses to accept what cannot be understood. But the modified approach is a diversion. Now the concepts of verification and understanding are confused. To illustrate: Chemical reactions may be verified but the atom is not thereby understood. Facts are catalogued but not always explained. This distinction is the key to our concise reply. It is the Muslim who must redirect the discussion. Our primary issue is more basic than resolving the incongruities of Trinitarian doctrine. Rather than ask how the Trinity can be so, we should ask why it must be so. We ask, "Why must Jesus be divine? By this we meant to ask why a Christian believes so. If the question is asked without reference to the foregoing discussion, a Christian will answer that Jesus must be divine if his death is to be sufficient atonement for the sins of mankind. In the Christian scheme of redemption, it is held that sacrificial death was necessary that men might be saved. Ask why the death of any man would be insufficient and the Christian replies that all men are imperfect. Ask why they are imperfect and we are told that this is an inheritance from our fathers. Jesus had no father. By their own scheme he would have been an unblemished sacrificial victim. Nevertheless, they still require that he be divine to suit the role of redeemer. So we ask, "Did God die?" He quickly replies, "No, only the man Jesus died." Jesus is said to be a God-man and it was the human component that died. But now he has said that the death of a man has atoned for sin. The Infinite is required for this ritual of sacrifice but the Infinite is not actually sacrificed.

Posted by: Ro at March 23, 2008 6:04 PM

Thanks, Ro for the explanation, but I think the simple and eloquent conversion of Magdi and his baptism by the pope speaks volumes more than mere words can convey.

Posted by: Jauhara Al-Kafirah at March 23, 2008 6:09 PM

Jauhara Al-Kafirah, you miss the point completely. So what if the Pope and Magdi follow Christianity, it doesn't mean it is the "true, authentic faith" that he claims it is. I could talk about the eloquent conversion of Cat Stevens, would that convince you that Islam is the truth? Probably Not.

Whether a religion is true or not based on if its foundations make any sense and are reasonable. I doubt you can argue that for the Christian faith which has a faulty foundation when it comes to the concept of God(Trinity) and Salvation(vicarous atonement or the blood sacrifice).

Posted by: Ro at March 23, 2008 6:46 PM

Tsk. You missed my point, Ro. This isn't about whether what you or I believe is provably true or false. It is about his decision to do what he did and when he did it, and the effect it will have on millions of people who watched him. It is wordless eloquence, his simple acceptance of an invitation
to believe. There isn't a debate here, nor is it the place. I am wondering only of the implications of his choices, on him, and the Muslim world. You muck up the moment with verbiage.

Posted by: Jauhara Al-Kafirah at March 23, 2008 7:06 PM

Is Islam a religion or a political entity?

The west is continually told that there is no separation of church and state in Islam.

So, Islam is a political entity.

Posted by: tanstaafl at March 23, 2008 7:07 PM

Tanstaafl, Islam is your one stop shop of all-encompassing, all pervasive, meddlesome, bothersome mother-of-all entities. The only religion that swaddles you from cradle to grave, which means, in Gaza, a life span of 15 years or so.

Posted by: Jauhara Al-Kafirah at March 23, 2008 7:17 PM

Tanstaafl, Islam is your one stop shop of all-encompassing, all pervasive, meddlesome, bothersome mother-of-all entities. The only religion that swaddles you from cradle to grave, which means, in Gaza, a life span of 15 years or so.

Posted by: Jauhara Al-Kafirah at March 23, 2008 7:18 PM

SINCE THIS IS EASTER LET'S DISCUSS ISLAM'S THEOLOGICAL VIEWPOINT OF CHRISTIANITY

Posted by: Ro at March 23, 2008 6:04 PM
---------------------------------------------
That's a pretty arrogant statement, Ro.

Actually, since this is Easter (a Christian holy day), we should discuss Christianity's viewpoint of Islam, or of whatever topic you want.

Christianity's viewpoint of mankind is that we are all sinners, and that means that we will one day stand guilty before God. However, Christianity goes further: Jesus, God the Son, took our due punishment, so that we would have a way of escape from that punishment. Then Christianity says that once you have received this gift, you should tell others, so that they too can have this gift.

Islam (as I understand it) also agrees that we are all sinners. However, muslims are to earn their own salvation, not receive the free gift of salvation. Furthermore, people are forced to become muslims and to stay muslims, because they have a knife in their back, ready to kill them if they leave their religion; totally opposite from Christianity, which tries to persuade people to convert, but never forces them to convert.

The fact that muslims force people to convert proves that their religion is false. If it were true, they wouldn't need to hold a gun to people's heads to force them to become muslims.

Posted by: PersonOfTheBook at March 23, 2008 8:19 PM

Ro,

The Muslim Isa cannot possibly be the historical Jesus of Nazareth. The Qur'an tells us that Maryam, the mother of Isa, is the daughter of Imron--Amram, the father of Moses and Aaron--thus confusing Mary, the mother of Jesus, of the House of David and tribe of Judah, with Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron, of the House of Amram and tribe of Levi.

Bear in mind that this is a momumental distortion of historic facts--these two women, Miriam and her namesake, Mary,LIVED EIGHTEEN CENTURIES APART, ONE FROM THE OTHER! For this irreconciliable error alone, not to mention numerous others, the Qur'an is demonstrably false on the face of it.

Posted by: John C at March 23, 2008 9:19 PM

By baptising Allam in the public ceremony, the Pope "sent an explicit and revolutionary message to a church that until now has been too cautious in the conversion of Muslims ... because of the fear of being unable to protect the converted who are condemned to death for apostasy," Allam said.

From the Agence France-Press report

But this remains a vast and unresolved problem at present, with no clear solution in sight, nor is any attempted in Mr. Allam's statement, so rather than turning this post into a cheering section for the Pope as some commenters are doing here, I think we should all consider this opinion from the Assyrian community and any others like it from Christians - and those sympathetic to them - on the ground in areas where Islam predominates. They're the ones who are going to suffer the violent and viscious backlash of Pope Rage 2 if it comes.

http://www.assyriatimes.com:80/engine/modules/news/article.php?storyid=3312

I'd like to hear from Robert Spencer and others with strong connections to Middle Eastern Christian communities on their response to what Assyriatimes has to say on this before I start cheering and applauding for Benedict over it. I certainly admire the courage of Magdi Allam, and I've often admired Benedict's courage as well, but it's easy to be courageous with someone else's blood and Benedict is, of all the people with a stake in this event, the safest by every measure. His gesture may prove to be not so much courageous as foolhardy and irresponsible.

On the other hand, it's always gratifying to know that there are Muslims like Mr. Allam who have the courage to question and speak out against the ignorance and darkness of Islam, and for that one can only salute him. It proves that there is still hope for the Ummah and billions of suffering captives.

Posted by: templar at March 23, 2008 10:07 PM

Jews and Christians revert back to Islam

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gtb6qWWpRE

If you searching for inner peace, you will love this.

Posted by: janeabraham at March 23, 2008 10:11 PM

janeabraham,

I have found inner through both the good news of the Gospel of Jesus and of the VICTORY found in the CROSS of Christ. No thanks to Islam.

Posted by: bigcatgirl13106 at March 23, 2008 10:47 PM

Another good one.

Everyone will love this

Kindly, please watch this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TJG0qwOuaw

Posted by: janeabraham at March 24, 2008 12:48 AM

All this talk about which is a "true" religion or not...is foolish. Of course Islam is a true religion and so is Christianity and so is Buddhism, etc.

However, the elements of all the major religions can never be determined as "true" or "false" because they are BELIEFS not FACTS. Beliefs can be real, even though the content of those beliefs can not be proven true.

All major religions are "true" as entities, but no religion can claim the exclusive Truthfulness of its BELIEFS (or non-belief for Atheists).

There are so many many ways to criticise and expose Islam for being a dangerous menance but to simply label it a "false" religion is meaningless.

Posted by: Xero G at March 24, 2008 12:52 AM

Xero G:
Just because the content of some kinds of beliefs cannot be proven true or false by mortals, does not mean that the content of those beliefs is neither true nor false.

There is a factual state of affairs in religious matters (for example, either God exists or doesn´t), even though we humans cannot ascertain with absolute certainty what that factual state of affairs is. If there is a God, the reality of God will be closer to one definition of God, or to another definition -- not equally close to any definition that anyone may prefer. Charles Hartshorne held that God exists and is neither omnipotent nor omniscient. Islam, by contrast, pictures God as a near-eastern tyrant of the kind history has seen in the Near East for millennia. Hugh Fitzgerald is an atheist of one sort or another. The Hindu believes in a million gods. Each of these views is at a different proximity to the ultimate reality (whatever that may be). Each exists at a different spot in the hierarchy of accuracy, despite the fact that we cannot as mere finite human beings develop justifiably absolute certainty about where our own particular standpoint belongs in terms of the degree of its accuracy or inaccuracy. That´s one reason for humility, tolerance, and freedom in these things.

If humans are ever granted knowledge of ultimate realities, it will turn out that some of us were more accurate than others of us. Surely the reality must be one way or another, not just anything and everything that anybody and everybody says it is. Unless, that is, you believe in an absolute subjectivism. But I find subjectivism self-contradictory and non-sensical.

Among those who subscribed to a more accurate view (whatever that is), that accuracy will probably mostly have been an accident on their part. They were born into a family with a more accurate tradition of belief or lack of belief, for example. But probably there will be some who are more accurate because they had the depth and discernment, or grace, or whatever combination of cognitive strengths, required to allow them to hone closest to the ultimate truth. So, even though we cannot gain absolute certainty, we should still do our best to apply all our cognitive resources to get closer and closer to the truth about ultimate realities. Perhaps there are an infinite number of degrees of knowledge and ignorance of ultimate realities, but the measure of one´s own degree of knowledge would not be something that could be physically observed by some scientific instrument, obviously. The measure I suppose would be the degree of energy, integrity, responsibility, and intelligence one demonstrates in life. As there would seem to be no limit to the human potential for development by those measures, it follows that however far one develops, there will presumably always be a "farther still" that one can aspire to, and thus humility and some degree of uncertainty will always remain virtues.

Posted by: traeh at March 24, 2008 5:43 AM

Mr. Allam merely traded one set of absurdities for another.

Posted by: Nix Olympus at March 24, 2008 7:27 AM

At least Mr. Allam's new set of absurdities won't inspire him to cut my head off while screaming out orgasmically the name of his new deity.

Posted by: Jauhara Al-Kafirah at March 24, 2008 7:57 AM

janeabraham

Please, in the name of Yeshua of Nazareth, listen to the voice of Magdi Cristiano Allam, who rejoices in his passage from darkness to light, from the death and slavery which is Islam, to the life and freedom which is in Jesus Christ. I quote:

A quasi 56 anni, nel mio piccolo, è un fatto storico, eccezionale e indimenticabile, che segna una svolta radicale e definitiva rispetto al passato.
Il miracolo della Risurrezione di Cristo si è riverberato sulla mia anima liberandola dalle tenebre di una predicazione dove l’odio e l’intolleranza nei confronti del «diverso», condannato acriticamente quale «nemico», primeggiano sull’amore e il rispetto del «prossimo » che è sempre e comunque «persona»; così come la mia mente si è affrancata dall’oscurantismo di un’ideologia che legittima la menzogna e la dissimulazione, la morte violenta che induce all’omicidio e al suicidio, la cieca sottomissione e la tirannia, permettendomi di aderire all’autentica religione della Verità, della Vita e della Libertà. Nella mia prima Pasqua da cristiano io non ho scoperto solo Gesù, ho scoperto per la prima volta il vero e unico Dio, che è il Dio della Fede e Ragione.

(Now, a very rough translation: my apologies for all errors and infelicities, but I think I have got the gist of it)

"At the age of almost 56 years.. it [my baptism] is a historical fact, exceptional and unforgettable, that denotes a radical and final turnaround as regards the past.

"The miracle of Christ’s Resurrection has re-echoed in my soul, freeing it from the dark shadows of a preaching where hatred and intolerance towards ‘the Other’, who is uncritically condemned as ‘Enemy’, override love and respect for one’s ‘neighbour’ ..., just as my spirit has been freed from the obscurantism of an ideology that legitimates lying and deception, the violent death that comes to the murderer and the suicide, blind submission and tyranny, allowing me to join the authentic religion of Truth, Life and Freedom.
"In my first Easter as a Christian I have not only found Jesus, I have found for the first time the true and only God, who is the God both of Faith and of Reason. "

Note that in that final line he unmistakably alludes to Benedict XVI's famous 'Regensburg oration'. Allam has identified himself with the Emperor Paleologus' Muslim interlocutor, in the dialogue from which Benedict quoted in that speech. Careful readers of Paleologus' dialogue have pointed out that at the end the Muslim seems to be inclining toward further investigation of Christianity, perhaps even toward conversion. Allam has taken that next step. He has believed - in Jesus Christ, in the God of the Bible; he has abandoned the dead warlord, Mohammed, whose followers have repeatedly threatened him (Allam) with death even while he still identified himself as a peaceful, moderate Muslim.

And - oh yes, 'janeabraham', perhaps you should also think about the fact that Magdi Cristiano Allam's first love, while he was a young boy in Egypt, was a Jewish girl; and that a very short while ago he wrote a book, Viva Israele, praising the Jewish state of Israel; praising the Jews, most truly and accurately, for their steadfast affirmation of the sanctity of human life.

Posted by: dumbledoresarmy at March 24, 2008 8:47 AM

janeabraham,

Please do not spread stories that cannot be backed up with facts about other people.

Also it would suprise you that Christianity is TRULY the fastest growing faith as seen this most recent past Easter weekend with people coming to faith in Christ and in being baptized.

Posted by: bigcatgirl13106 at March 24, 2008 10:21 AM

Ro

It is far easier to accept Jesus as the Messiah than it is to accept Mohammed as a Prophet. Why would islam's theological viewpoint of Christianity make any more sense than islam's viewpoint on anything else?

Posted by: pismopal at March 24, 2008 10:32 AM

templar,

"I'd like to hear from Robert Spencer and others with strong connections to Middle Eastern Christian communities on their response to what Assyriatimes has to say on this before I start cheering and applauding for Benedict over it. I certainly admire the courage of Magdi Allam, and I've often admired Benedict's courage as well, but it's easy to be courageous with someone else's blood and Benedict is, of all the people with a stake in this event, the safest by every measure. His gesture may prove to be not so much courageous as foolhardy and irresponsible."

All Pope Benedict is doing by baptizing Magdi Allam and even the Middle Eastern Christian communities UNDERSTAND this is that when Jesus before he accended into Heaven, commanded the disciples to baptize people of all the nations writen in Mathew 28:19. This is a direct command of Jesus that has to be obeyed by the Pope himself. Even if there was no baptism of this former Muslim, the Christians in the Middle East would still be suffering because of their faith.

Posted by: bigcatgirl13106 at March 24, 2008 11:13 AM

I'm sorry, Bigcatgirl, but you are quite mistaken about this. If you want to see a detailed response, please read my reply to Lex in this thread:

http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/020425.php#comments

Posted by: templar at March 24, 2008 2:34 PM

P.S. As for what Middle Eastern Christian communities "understand", I think you should at least read the article from Assyriatimes before commenting on that.

Posted by: templar at March 24, 2008 3:38 PM

I'm sorry, Bigcatgirl, but you are quite mistaken about this. If you want to see a detailed response, please read my reply to Lex in this thread:

http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/020425.php#comments

Posted by: templar at March 24, 2008 3:38 PM

P.S. If you want to talk about what Middle Eastern Christian communities "understand" you should at least read the article from Assyriatimes first.

Your comment provides no clear indication that you have done so.

Posted by: templar at March 24, 2008 3:39 PM

P.S. If you want to talk about what Middle Eastern Christian communities "understand" you should at least read the article from Assyriatimes first.

Posted by: templar at March 24, 2008 3:39 PM

Bigcatgirl, and anyone else affected:

My apologies for all the multiple and redundant posting above. There may be been some problem either with my computer, Typekey or the site, but for the longest time nothing was going through, so I kept trying - sometimes reformulating what I had written, thinking it that it was all lost - and then, suddenly, it all appears at once!

I wasn't trying to get on anyone's nerves. Sorry if that's what happened.

Posted by: templar at March 24, 2008 4:18 PM

templar,

You are forgiven. I often get problems like the one have posted about on this thread from time to time. Take care.

Posted by: bigcatgirl13106 at March 25, 2008 10:01 AM