Interreligious Dialogue
Beneficial Catholic-Muslim dialogue requires a firm grasp of history and the other parties’ language. Participants have a duty to truth, not political correctness, as well as a duty of diligence and conscientious care for their own flock.
Moreover, since the discovery of The Muslim Brotherhood’s 1991 Explanatory Memorandum: On the General Strategic Goal for the Group, which details its strategy of penetration of Western organizations for the ultimate goal of establishing a global Islamic state (their words), dialogue necessitates prudence. According to Vatican II’s Nostra Aetate: “The Church, therefore, urges her sons to enter with prudence and charity into discussion and collaboration with members of other religions.”
Analysis of the Explanatory Memorandum led former Pentagon analyst Stephen Coughlin to give this advice: “When conducting [interfaith] outreach with organizations identified as being a party to the ‘strategic goals’ identified in the Memorandum, the gain/loss assessment of associating with them should be undertaken in light of their clearly stated hostile intent…To undertake outreach…without knowledge of their objectives is to run the extreme risk of strategic manipulation….”
The Brotherhood’s goal is “a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and ‘sabotaging’ its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers.” The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt in 1928 by Hasan al-Banna, who coined the term “Industry of Death,” claiming that for a nation that perfects death and knows how to die, Allah gives rewards in both this world and the next.
Interreligious dialogue has been built on the rotting sands of cultural Marxism. In fact, a case could be made that cultural Marxism with its political correctness is the first stage in dhimmitude. The path to shariah in the U.S. is being built on these same sands, using Gramsci as a model, as Lafif Lakhdar, an Islamic scholar, acknowledged:
The Muslim Brotherhood implement the strategy of Gramsci. Gramsci was an Italian philosopher. When he was in prison he believed that the working class could not gain political rule, unless it gained cultural rule. In other words, they should spread their culture among the public, by the means of education and the media everywhere…
Against this background, what is the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)’s Catholic-Muslim outreach?
Back in 1993, the USCCB discussed its commitment to dialogue for “eradicating misunderstanding and for the pursuit of common values,” saying that the bishops and Muslim leaders “reject terrorism-religion link,” thereby prematurely fulfilling the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)’s goal of making “Islamophobia” a criminal offense and limiting the freedom of speech. They advised people to “contact Abdurahman Alamoudi” for further information. Under Hillary Clinton, Alamoudi became an “Islamic Affairs Advisor” and had great influence at the White House, Pentagon, and State Department. He also began the American Muslim Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs Council, vetting Muslim chaplains for service in the U.S. Armed Forces, including al-Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki. A public supporter of the terrorist organizations Hamas and Hizballah, he was convicted in an al-Qaeda assassination plot to kill the Saudi crown prince, and is now in federal prison.
The 2003 Mid-Atlantic Dialogue focused on the war on terror and its impact on Muslims. Co-sponsor of the dialogue was “the Islamic Circle of North America.”(ICNA), cited in the Explanatory Memorandum as one of the “organizations of our friends,” i.e., allies in jihad. Another communiqué from the USCCB said that additional dialogues were “co-planned with the American Muslim Council.” Founded by Alamoudi, the American Muslim Council was at the time “the premier, mainstream Muslim group in Washington.”
In 2006, the USCCB issued “Revelation: Catholic and Muslim Perspectives,” which said:
Through dialogue and improved cooperation, Muslims and Catholics can develop a just and peaceful society in the spirit of the teachings of the Gospel and the Qur’an. Both Jesus and Muhammed loved and cared for all whom they met, especially the poor and oppressed; their teachings and example call for solidarity with the poor, oppressed, homeless, hungry, and needy in today’s world.
No historical sources were given for the USCCB’s statement that “Muhammed loved and cared for all” whom he met. On the contrary, historical sources have documented that Muhammed had a disciplined and specific means of spreading Islam. St. Thomas Aquinas, “the Angelic Doctor,” who was distinguished for his synthesis of faith and reason, Summa Contra Gentiles, noted that Islam was “spread by the sword,” not love or rational argumentation. He concluded: “It is thus clear that those who place any faith in his words believe foolishly.” Is the USCCB attempting to say that the spirits of the Bible and the Qur’an are similar? This is not only against reason, but also distorts Christ’s message and is an attempt at syncretism.
Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed was part of a delegation that greeted Pope Benedict in 2008. He is National Director of the Office for Interfaith & Community Alliances for the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), which was named an “unindicted co-conspirator” in the Holy Land Foundation trial. A naturalized American citizen from Pakistan, he was a board member of the Dar al-Hijrah mosque in Falls Church, Va. Congregants have included Omar Abu Ali (al Qaeda), and Nawaf al-Hazmi and Hani Hanjour, who crashed Flight 77 into the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. The mosque’s phone number was found in the Hamburg apartment of Mohamed Atta.
Syeed admitted: “Our job is to change the Constitution of America.” He didn’t add that shari’ah would take its place, but that is what his audience would understand.
The FBI chart “Muslim Brotherhood in North America. FBI Certified Terrorist Network in Our Schools and Communities” shows both ISNA and ICNA as part of the Muslim Brotherhood network.
Da’wah
A 2014 Midwest Muslim-Catholic Dialogue discussed missionary activity by Muslims and Catholics. Sayyid Syeed presided. The NCCB’s announcement read: “Midwest Muslim-Catholic Dialogue Reflects on…Mission and Da’wah in the United States.”
It is stunning that the NCCB would place the word “mission” in the same line as “da’wah.” The unspoken message is that mission and da’wah have comparable meanings. In the Catholic Church, mission is associated with spreading Christ’s message, in accord with his words: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you…” (Mt. 28:19-20).
Coughlin, a Catholic attorney and expert on Islamic law, as well as part of the Intelligence directorate of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, points out that da’wah should be thought of not as an invitation to Islam, but as “preparation for jihad.” Did the U.S. bishops mean to say that mission and preparation for jihad are equivalent? Coughlin noted that national security personnel have made similar mistakes with language, stemming from a misunderstanding of an Islamic point of law or term of art and engaging in an “erroneous mirror-imaging of what might appear to be a similar concept in Christianity or Judaism.” (Coughlin, Steven, Catastrophic Failure Blindfolding America in the Face of Jihad, (Washington: Center for Security Policy, 2015), p, 128).
A USCCB document, “Understanding Islam for Catholic Educators,” is meant to serve as an “introduction for Catholic educators who are tasked with teaching the rudiments of Islam to secondary school students and parish leaders responsible for general adult religious education programs. Though ‘Christians do not accord Muhammad the same status as the biblical prophets,’ they ‘may regard him as a prophetic figure on such issues as charity and the protection of the poor, widows and orphans.’”
There is no evidence that Muhammad was under the extraordinary influence of God, and many of his sayings are contrary to what Catholics hold to be the word of God. In the face of ISIS atrocities that they justify by invoking the Qur’an and Muhammad’s example, including crucifixions (cf. Qur’an 5:33), saying that Muhammad was a prophetic figure on such issues of charity and protection of the poor, widows and orphans, violates the law of non-contradiction.
The Qur’an states that Jews and Christians should be given the chance to submit to Islamic hegemony and pay a special tax, the jizyah, in return for the freedom to practice their religions. Those words meant this to Christians in Mosul: “Choose one of these: Islam, the sword, al-Jiziya (tax) or till Saturday to flee.”
Strategic deception
Deception—known under the broad term taqiyya, is a fundamental concept in Islam. Dr. Sami Mukaram, the foremost expert on taqiyya, said: “Taqiyya in order to dupe the enemy is permissible….using deceit as a religious and political weapon…they are allowed to lie about the nature of Islam in order to further their political goals, namely world conquest.”
According to Qur’an commentator Ibn Kathir, “believers are allowed to show friendship outwardly, but never inwardly” to disbelievers. Kathir added: “we smile in the face of some people although our hearts curse them.” For example, Muslims believe it is a great sin to acknowledge Christmas (since doing so validates Christianity, a different message than Islam).
What is the truth?
Faced with an abundance of evidence online and in the stark realities from New York to San Bernardino, Fort Hood and Orlando, what is the truth about Islam? The truth is that there is genocide of Christians in the Middle East by Islamic jihadists actiong in accord with Islamic teaching. The truth for faithful Catholics and for the USCCB is that their fellow priest, 85-year-old Fr. Jacques Hamel, was killed in France by Islamic jihadis — for his faith. The truth is that this baby was targeted because he had been baptized. The truth is that Christians have been decapitated because of their faith, not for the color of their skin, sex, or nationality. All, even the babies, were killed for being Christian.
Dialogue cannot exist in a vacuum divorced from evidence, testimony from survivors, and reason. The truth is that we are engaged in a war. The Christians in the Middle East are being attacked by military regimes and jihad terrorist groups. In the U.S., we are fighting spiritual warfare against the shari’ah agenda of the Muslim Brotherhood and the political correctness that covers for that agenda. But make no mistake: the destruction of the Christian faith is for jihadis the ultimate aim of this war:
[Striking terror in the hearts of an enemy] is basically related to the strength or weakness of the human soul. It can be instilled only if the opponent’s Faith is destroyed. Psychological dislocation is temporary; spiritual dislocation is permanent. … To instill terror into the hearts of the enemy, it is essential, in the ultimate analysis, to dislocate his Faith. An invincible Faith is immune to terror. A weak Faith offers inroads to terror. (Malik, S. K., Quranic Concept of War)
Why is the Church in the U.S. selectively silent in the U.S. about the genocide of the Middle East Christians, our newest martyrs? The clergy from the Middle East have asked:
- Father Douglas al Bazi, an Iraqi Catholic parish priest, who has scars from torture during his kidnapping, made a forceful intervention at Rimini on Islam. “There are many people who keep on telling us that ISIS has nothing to do with Mohammedanism. That is a lie and they make that statement with no evidence to support their untruthful utterance. In actual fact, all the evidence without exception – let me repeat that with greater emphasis on one word: ALL the evidence without exception – firmly and beyond doubt proves that ISIS is a perfectly valid expression of Mohammedan beliefs.”
- In 2016, the Syrian Archbishop of Aleppo asked, “Why Are Your Bishops Silent?”: “Because the bishops are like you, raised in political correctness. But Jesus was never politically correct, he was politically just!”
- Cardinal Burke is one of the few who has spoken up.
Mary A. Nicholas is the author of a biography on Bella V. Dodd, and has written for American Thinker, Canada Free Press, and Homiletic and Pastoral Review. She taught for two years in Saudi Arabia, and has a degree in medicine and a master’s degree in theology from the John Paul II Institute. The title Red Pill is taken from Major Steven Coughlin’s famous “Red Pill Briefs.”