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Pope silent about captive Italian woman’s possibly forced conversion to Islam

Jun 4, 2020 8:00 am By Robert Spencer

Silvia Romano was a captive for 18 months. She emerged a convert to Islam. Coercion? Stockholm Syndrome? It’s possible. But the Pope, who has frequently condemned Christian proselytizing, is silent. See my comments in this article below.

“Leave them; they are blind guides. And if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” (Matthew 15:14)

“Pope Silent on Captive Italian’s Proselytism,” by Jules Gomes, ChurchMilitant.com, May 29, 2020:

ROME (ChurchMilitant.com) – Pope Francis remains tight-lipped on the capture and conversion of an Italian aid worker to Islam despite his repeated rebukes against proselytism, even as a public outcry has erupted in Italy against the victim’s “forced” conversion.

Silvia Romano, now 24, and a baptized Catholic, was serving as a volunteer in an orphanage in a village in Kenya when gunmen from Somalia’s al-Shabaab Islamic terrorist organization abducted her in Nov. 2018 and held her captive for 18 months.

The aid worker, who was freed and returned to Rome on May 10 wearing a green Muslim jilbab, sparked outrage after news broke of her conversion to Islam during her captivity.

Romano assumed the name “Aisha” — one of Muhammad’s wives, who, according to a hadith (Sahih Bukhari volume 5, book 58, number 234) was 6 years old when she was betrothed to Muhammad, himself in his 50s, and nine when the marriage was consummated.

“Any Christian or Westerner falling into the hands of al-Shabaab is likely to be executed — unless they convert to Islam,” Dr. Martin Parsons, independent consultant on persecution, told Church Militant.

“According to the main Sharia texts of classical Islam, when someone is forced to convert to Islam it is still a legitimate conversion, and if the person subsequently returns to Christianity they are subject to the death penalty for apostasy,” Parsons, an Islamic scholar, explained.

Lamenting Rome’s silence on Romano’s proselytism, Parsons, a former aid worker to Afghanistan and Pakistan said: “There is a major problem of abduction and forced conversion of Christian women in parts of the Islamic world, particularly Egypt, Pakistan and Nigeria. Apart from the Nigerian Chibok schoolgirls, the appalling treatment experienced by these women has been almost entirely ignored by the western secular media.”

Romano’s conversion has fueled debate against forced conversion in many Muslim countries and the humanitarian worker has been deluged with hate mail even though she claims: “I converted to Islam. It was my free choice. I was treated well and I was not forced to marry [a Muslim].”

According to Italian media, “The fundamental point of the interrogation” by Italian intelligence, “is the chapter on conversion to Islam.”

“It happened mid-captivity, when I asked to be able to read the Koran and I was satisfied,” Romano insists, calling her conversion “spontaneous and not forced.”

“They [the Muslim captors] explained their reasons and their culture to me. I also learned a little Arabic. My conversion process was slow and spontaneous,” she claims.

But intelligence sources quoted by Il Fatto Quotidiano reveal that the conversion was because of “the psychological condition in which she found herself during the kidnapping.”

“Romano’s conversion could be a classic case of the Stockholm Syndrome,” Parsons told Church Militant. People in “traumatic subordinate relationships” develop “false emotional bonds or paradoxical gratitude to their aggressor,” and Stockholm Syndrome has been used to explain the rise of conversion to Islam after 9/11, he said, citing the The SAGE Encyclopedia of War: Social Science Perspectives.

Speaking to Church Militant, world-renowned Islamic academic Robert Spencer explained that Pope Francis refuses to address Romano’s conversion because this might endanger Muslim-Christian dialogue.

On the other hand, Pope Francis has sternly reprimanded Catholics for proselytism, lambasting it as “solemn nonsense,” “the strongest poison” and “a sinful attitude.” Addressing fellow-Jesuits, the Holy Father stated: “Proselytizing is convincing, but it is all about membership and takes your freedom away.”

“Although there are many stories of the abduction and forced conversion of Christian women in Egypt, Pakistan and elsewhere, the Vatican has never taken any notice of this phenomenon, as to do so might endanger its efforts at ‘dialogue’ with Muslims,” Spencer noted, asking: “But what good is such ‘dialogue’ if its only effect is to intimidate Christians into keeping silent about the persecution of their brethren?”

“Back in 2013, I was invited to speak at a Catholic conference in Worcester, Massachusetts. But the then-bishop of Worcester, Robert McManus, noted that I would be speaking about Muslim persecution of Christians and canceled my appearance, explaining that to discuss such matters might harm Muslim-Christian ‘dialogue,'” Spencer said.

The author of the bestselling The History of Jihad: From Muhammad to ISIS blasted the Vatican for its silence on the proselytism of Christians in Islamic nations:

It is likely that Pope Francis and his cohorts do not recognize any anomaly in this. Their commitment to “dialogue” is paramount, and that is why they frown on Christians preaching the gospel to Muslims. Their commitment to this “dialogue” is also why they are silent about the forced conversion of Christians by Muslims. Their passion for a friendly relationship with Muslims has led them to adopt willingly the silent and subservient status that the Koran and Islamic law prescribe for Christians under Islamic rule.

“If Ms. Romano’s conversion was coerced, she will have no one to defend her or to investigate the actual circumstances of the case, because Catholic leaders would consider that to do so would be ‘Islamophobic,'” Spencer lamented.

“Pope Francis’ silence on this likely stems from the same motive. Yet if this dialogue cannot and has not saved one Christian from persecution, what good is it?” he asked.

Many Italians are also furious with liberal Catholic clerics for sidestepping the issue of Romano’s conversion….

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Filed Under: Catholic Church, converts to Islam, dhimmitude, Italy Tagged With: Pope Francis, Silvia Romano


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Comments

  1. Frank Anderson says

    Jun 4, 2020 at 8:27 am

    I have many treasured friends who have helped me in major ways through hard and miserable times, who are Catholics, including my half-brother. There are many things in my life that I cannot understand. This collaborating Pope and all who accept his betrayal of Christianity to islam are beyond my comprehension.

    I am not a Catholic, and for that matter cannot honestly call myself a Christian because of my heretical view of Jesus. But I have the highest respect for all my Christian friends without regard to my personal conclusions. How long must this suffering and betrayal continue? The world deserves better.

    • Rarely says

      Jun 4, 2020 at 10:52 am

      Peace obtained by collaboration is merely surrender.

      • Frank Anderson says

        Jun 4, 2020 at 10:54 am

        I doubt that either of us, or that many reading here, approve of collaboration. There is a reason for treason to be considered as revolting and disgusting as it is.

        • Rarely says

          Jun 4, 2020 at 4:54 pm

          Agreed. It’s a bit discouraging when we count on our leadership to act in our best interests and they melt at the challenge leaving a void. That void often fills itself with very radical elements and what was once somewhat manageable becomes very troublesome.

        • gravenimage says

          Jun 4, 2020 at 10:39 pm

          Agreed, Rarely and Frank.

        • Rufolino says

          Jun 5, 2020 at 6:30 am

          In 1940 there were many in Britain who wanted a peaceful solution with the Nazis, which Hitler wanted to offer.

          It took all Churchill’s powers of leadership to explain that such a peace treaty meant in reality subservience to Germany.

          The same thing pertains today between the Roman Catholic Church and Islam.

          In this case the Church is trying to buy “fraternal relations”, an illusory crystal palace built on a framework of falsehoods provided by Islam.

          It is turning into subservience.

        • Frank Anderson says

          Jun 5, 2020 at 7:02 am

          I have spent well over 50 years studying that history and agree with your analysis.

          “Those who cannot remember the lessons of the past are condemned to repeat them.” Jorge Santayana, The Life of Reason (1905)

        • Rarely says

          Jun 5, 2020 at 10:11 am

          Frank.
          Does civilization ever learn from the past? It might but it doesn’t look like it.

        • Frank Anderson says

          Jun 5, 2020 at 10:31 pm

          Rarely, the best hope we have in this age of deliberate ignorance and darkness is the Catholic teaching that it is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness. If we cannot light every candle and wake everybody to the evil conspiracy of islam right now, we can do it for a few, Those are our candles until we and they can light more.

        • gravenimage says

          Jun 5, 2020 at 8:58 pm

          True, Rufolino.

        • gravenimage says

          Jun 5, 2020 at 10:53 pm

          Frank, this wonderful saying was coined by W. L. Watkinson in his sermon “The Invincible Strategy” from 1907. I believe he was a Methodist minister.

        • Frank Anderson says

          Jun 5, 2020 at 11:05 pm

          GI and Kevin, I never question your research. I identify this as a Catholic teaching because when I was VERY young, my father brought home our first television in the really early 1950’s when there was only one station in town. At 8 am every Sunday morning there was a Catholic program that started with that quote. Understanding my sincerely held view after much prayer and thought that we are all children of God and our parents, I do not “fit” with being a Christian of any denomination. I believe we are all in every sense the brothers and sisters of the man who lived as Jesus. I think Jesus would be quite satisfied with that view, and that God would have no problem forgiving the error, if it is.

        • gravenimage says

          Jun 5, 2020 at 11:16 pm

          Hi, Frank. You can question my research any time you want–I have, quite rightly–never considered myself omniscient! 🙂

          As for W. L. Watkinson, here are just a couple of links:

          https://www.yourdictionary.com/better-to-light-a-single-candle-than-to-curse-the-darkness

          https://www.preaching.com/articles/past-masters/w-l-watkinson-the-touch-of-reality/

          I’m glad that Catholic program shared this quote with their watchers–it is a *wonderful* saying, and I have cited it many times myself. It seems very apt for our times. By the way, I know some people have thought this was a Jewish saying.

          Ultimately, I think it well describes Judeo-Christian values.

          As you well note–and I know you have mentioned this before–is that the wonderful thing about candles is that we can light many more with no diminution of our own light.

        • Keys says

          Jun 5, 2020 at 11:58 pm

          Frank Anderson,
          The TV program you refer to on Sunday morning at 8:00 was probably “The Christophers Program”, a Catholic series that began In 1952 with the quote “It is better to light one candle … “.

          You can do a DuckDuckGo search and find all the episodes and dates. Some 30 minute episodes are on YouTube,

          On their website, Christophers.org, they claim the quote you reference is an old Chinese proverb, which is also their motto.

          This episode is about the French painter, Paul Cezanne. Maybe you’ll remember the show’s “Intro” with the proverb.

          https://youtu.be/qOv4q8DKE2Q
          or
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOv4q8DKE2Q

          Another adapted Chinese Proverb:
          “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.“
          — Lao Tzu

        • Frank Anderson says

          Jun 6, 2020 at 1:16 am

          Keys and GI, it was the Christophers. I was TWO years old. The second station came on the air a year later. Imagine making such a deep impression on a 2 year old boy who wanted to watch cartoons, but knew how to turn on and tune the set? The origin is a fair question to assign credit. The powerful meaning in so many ways is amazing, much like the lesson from the Jewish candle blessing at the start of services. My Daddy had flaws; but he did well by me. He died before my 9th birthday and before his 53rd, He is still missed in big terms. Life goes on. More candles need lighting.

        • Lavéritétriomphera says

          Jun 6, 2020 at 6:55 am

          Bonjour Frank,

          “I believe we are all in every sense the brothers and sisters of the man who lived as Jesus” That is catholic teaching.
          Catholics are taught that ordinary people, villains and heroes are all God’s children. Jesus is the elder Son before the Lord.
          So far as I know the pope did not publicly put into question the words of Saint Thomas of Aquinas on law tyranny and resistance:
          http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1015-87582010000100009, and Islam is a system based on tyranny.
          And as I have already said, inform yourselves – in the plural – because the pope Francis do not disagree with the Opus Dei. We can see the agenda of the Holy Father is full.
          We must think carefully before accusing all men across the board of having the wrong intentions.
          You probably do not know that some veiled women who live like pious Muslims, are actually convert to Christianity. The pope cannot ignore that apostates from the islamic ideology cannot witness to their beliefs for their own safety.
          You can count on my friendship
          À bientôt

        • Frank Anderson says

          Jun 6, 2020 at 8:18 am

          Kevin, you can certainly count on my friendship on any imaginable circumstance.

          My 20 plus years of intense connection with the Jewish community and teaching raises my question about any Jewish person wanting other people to worship him along with God. I cannot comprehend how a Jewish man would want to be held above his family, all of us. In 3700 years of Jewish history and teaching, none of the greats, the heroes, the icons, the prophets, ever aspired to be more than the rest of us as humans.

          I follow the Jewish man Jesus the way I understand him. I think he would be quite satisfied. My Rabbi of my former community, now retired and departed, and I agreed many times that Jesus was probably the first well-known Reform Jew, anticipating the Reform movement by about 1800 years. Remember when he met the vile tax collector Matthew? All he said was “Come, Follow me.” No qualifying questions were asked.

          Always peace and best wishes to you.

        • Lavéritétriomphera says

          Jun 6, 2020 at 6:58 am

          http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1015-87582010000100009

        • Lavéritétriomphera says

          Jun 6, 2020 at 1:19 pm

          Bonsoir Frank,

          Our understanding of Jesus comes from the Fathers of the Church who were Romans or Greeks with a strong philosophical Graeco-Roman luggage, and they selected the gospels.

          That is how romans perceived the universe:
          The “manager” Jupiter = Deus Pater (god father) supported by a hierarchy of gods and goddesses in charge of a sector of the creation. Therefore the ordinary roman was a citizen of the universe (empire) and he was individually and collectively accountable to a god (celestial official) with assignment and responsible to his respective board. Keep in mind the gods including Jupiter (the celestial emperor) could intervene directly in the human affairs.
          We must not forget the demi-gods who were sons of a god and a mortal, they were given supernatural abilities.

          The Catholic and apostolic Church is a Roman creation.
          So Catholics must not be angry if they are asked to pay hommage to superior spirits that governs the worlds (in plural). They (including the pope) believe in divine interventions. In principle Catholics must owe obedience to the Vicar of Christ but if the pope goes mad, I think he must be removed from office.

          As far I am concerned I think that if it is not possible for a reason or another to ignore the gods, we must keep in mind that even if we do not believe in them, the spiritual laws, like the physical laws, apply to all people in all communities. Religions including Judaism, Christianity, Islam … are all man-made. Everyone is equal before the source of all Creation wether the cult movements like it or not.
          Peace and best wishes from Toulouse France
          Amitiés

        • Frank Anderson says

          Jun 6, 2020 at 2:06 pm

          Kevin, I don’t remember if I have told you the story that convinced me there is probably an unproveable presence. As short and to the point as I can make it for all reading here, I was provoked at age 15 in my junior year of military school to question all religion. For 7 years I fought tooth and nail asking direct, blunt, harsh questions, because I just did not buy what others did almost automatically. The only person who did not panic and go ballistic when I was asking those questions was my uncle and father by choice #2 in sequence, but equal in rank. (I always describe my fathers by choice that way to make sure it is understood they are equal in rank, just as the next Medal of Honor is not less an honor than the first.)

          Grump lived with that nickname from the time my official father by choice died for the next 20 years, just months short of my graduation from law school. Much like a fat person might be called skinny. He would just smile at my questions with a sincere glow on his face and say, “Those are the most important questions you will ever ask. When you find your answers they will be the right ones for you.”

          After graduating college and working several months in a really difficult place I wanted to try auditing a course at a local college. The registrar asked me if I had a church home. I said that I had not found a preacher who seemed like he had read at least one book in addition to the Bible. She said, “If you ever take a notion come to the First Baptist Church of Greenwood South Carolina.” About 2 months later I took such a notion to go.

          Totally unknown to any other person in this world I went. The sermon was on the parable of the 2 sons in Matthew. That is the only time in MY life that parable has been the subject of a sermon that I did not write. I swore the preacher made it up. But he did not. I cannot explain the sermon any other way than I was supposed to be there that day to hear it and tell me that I was not alone.

          From another Airbus city in the US. I always wish you well. Frank

        • Lavéritétriomphera says

          Jun 7, 2020 at 7:59 am

          Bonjour Frank,

          “Those are the most important questions you will ever ask. When you find your answers they will be the right ones for you.”
          I agree with that.

          “I cannot explain the sermon any other way than I was supposed to be there that day to hear it and tell me that I was not alone.“
          I was raise in a solid Catholic faith and I believe in the supernatural, but above all I take note of the difficulty to choose the way that is the better-then the best, to differentiate between right and wrong as explained in the parable of the 2 sons in Matthew.
          I also take note that you have been informed to carefully choose your preacher. As we all know some of them don’t spread the good word. They are all the more fearsome on the fact they grant themselves a power over vulnerable persons.
          The true preacher is the one who does not try to enrich himself at the expense of other people, and above all, he doesn’t seek fame and honors, he renounces power over others.

          Do you live in Alabama?
          A quick view of Toulouse https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKsAxd9E1Kk.
          Toulouse or Tolosa was founded by the Gaulish tribe called Volques Testosa into the 3th BC. After Tolosa became a Roman colony and the Roman temple probably dedicated to Apollo was converted into a church in the 5th century. This church called La Daurade and dedicated to the black Madonna still exists.
          Peace upon you and USA
          Amitiés

        • Frank Anderson says

          Jun 7, 2020 at 7:22 pm

          Kevin, I do not want to publish my exact location. I will say that I notice A321’s flying in my area. While the A320 seems stubby and ugly, the 321 is a well-proportioned airplane that is pleasing to my eye.
          Always best wishes to you. Frank

        • gravenimage says

          Jun 7, 2020 at 8:18 pm

          Frank, when I was fifteen I had a friend ask me to go with her to Catholic study group, which her parents insisted she attend. She thought having a friend there would make it less dull. A lot of the other students were also pretty bored and paid little attention.

          Although I was not Catholic myself, i went with her. I made a general pill of myself by questioning everything I could think of, given my spotty understanding of scripture and history.

          The Priest was actually a really nice guy, and though he debated with me he never “pulled rank” or humiliated me on my arguments, although he easily could have done so. I wound up learning a great deal.

          At the end of the semester I told him I had really enjoyed the group and said I hoped I had not been too much of a pain in the neck. He said on the contrary, that I probably made other kids in the group think, and kept him on his toes. Just very gracious.

        • Frank Anderson says

          Jun 8, 2020 at 1:42 am

          GI, there is a special place in heaven for intellectually honest people. We are given minds as all other things, including life itself, in trust for the Person who gave it. We are expected to be good stewards of the property that does not belong to us in using it well. Consider the Parable of the Talents. Can you imagine how disappointed I am when I was banished for telling the truth?

          Also, regarding this story remember the teaching that all rules bend as necessary for the preservation of life. From Maimonides collection and ranking of 613 Mitzvot as number 1 on his list. Based on the command, “Let there be life!” A lot of what we know about the death camps comes from Jewish survivors.

        • Lavéritétriomphera says

          Jun 8, 2020 at 11:41 am

          Bonjour Frank,
          
          I am please you appreciate the airbus 321 even if the covid 19 blocked airbus plan for the new jet plant https://www.euractiv.com/section/aerospace/news/coronavirus-blocks-airbus-plans-for-new-jet-plant/.

          France has a surface equivalent to Texas. However I could live in the suburbs of Toulouse or in Carcassonne which is located approximately a hour’s drive from Toulouse, but I will never publish my complete address and my name.

          Sorry I hit the wrong video, I just wished to post a short video showing airbus and I wanted to know in which state you live now, because I heard American states are very different from each other as is the case in Europe.
          I have heard California or Texas wished to leave the US more than once, and that some southern states of the federation want to adopt Spanish as the official language. So USA is divided in sections from the geographical location and the component of the population exactly like in Europe and elsewhere. Therefore contrary to my earlier belief, it seems the political problems of US are not so different from the UE’s political difficulties.
          However we must take account the fact that if the surface area of USA including Alaska is virtually equivalent to that of Europe including European Russia, Europe is not a nation in the generally accepted sens of that word. In addition Europe has the double population of USA and different linguistic identities.

          Therefore only tolerance and acceptance of the other, in the two ways, can help us provided we take effective measure to control the demographic growth and fight with determination the pernicious ideologies. I am thinking in particular of the Baal’s cult.

          Returning to the specifics of what we’ve been talking about, I believe the pope is aware of the situation in the world, he is the supreme pontiff, and he does not want bloodbaths but he must accept there are varying political opinions within the Catholic Church.
          Best wishes, bon courage
          Amitiés

          @gravenimage,

          Salut,
          The pope must not ignore that the central tragedy of Christianity is its division, and that the memory of the religious wars is still raw. Therefore the Protestants are welcome in the Catholic community.
          J’apprécie ton optimisme
          À bientôt

        • Frank Anderson says

          Jun 8, 2020 at 12:54 pm

          Kevin, beautiful 321’s are built about 10 miles south of where I live. Hopefully the second assembly line will go forward soon. I had never seen in all my life a spider graph until one was published comparing the Airbus proposal for tanker aircraft with the Boeing. Every category, of about 27, indicated the Airbus was better. Some decisions do not depend on facts. To better and happier days. Frank

    • Lavéritétriomphera says

      Jun 5, 2020 at 12:40 pm

      Bonsoir Franck,

      I do not understand why you call yourself a heretic because you have a personal view of Jesus?
      You must not trust the appearances. The pope thinks probably that if he responses severely to the situation, the radical Muslims would take revenge on Eastern Christians. The cure could be worse than the disease.
      I’d like to point out the pope does not contradict the Opus Dei that does not hide its intention to convert the whole world to Catholicism!
      I believe the pope knows the spirit of the knights Templar has not dead.
      Peace upon you and USA
      Amitiés

  2. Tuvia Fogel says

    Jun 4, 2020 at 8:31 am

    Bergoglio’s war on the capitalist West is becoming more brazen every week. He is for more migration from Africa and the Middle East – to destroy the capitalist West; he signs agreements with Xi Jinping despite Chinese Christians being persecuted – to destroy the capitalist West; he lauds Islam and never says a word about its massacring of Christians around the world – to destroy the capitalist West; he lectures against any form of ‘profit’ – to destroy the capitalist West; he attacks ‘populism’ nd ‘sovereignty’ – to destroy the capitalist West. For 150 years, every Pope excommunicated communists, but now we have a pure Marxist-Leninist from Che Guevara’s country heading the Catholic Church. A communist in St Peter’s may not be as immediately dangerous as a Muslim in the White House was, but it is certainly a sign of the apocalyptic times we live in.

  3. FYI says

    Jun 4, 2020 at 8:43 am

    So sylvia romano converted to a murderously perverse religious cult that CURSES Christians for believing in Jesus Christ{koran 9:30} violates both of the Chief commandments of God and calls christians and Jews “the WORST of created beings”, a religion that teaches women are HALF the value of men{koran 2:282}missed the Golden Rule has a Doctrine of hate{al walaa wl barra} and a religious Apartheid system that pits muslims against non-muslims.

    Send her to a muslim country.
    She should feel more at home.

    She calls herself after Aisha:

    “Aisha said to muhammed:”you have made us equal to the dogs and asses”
    SAHIH MUSLIM 4:1039

    Romano is either a moron or an intrinsically evil soul.She has actually PROVED by her conversion to islam,the religion of antichrist,that she is unworthy of being a Christian anyway{see 2 Thessalonians 2 v 10-12}
    If you convert to that which is antiChrist{=islam}you cannot expect salvation anyway.
    In fact allah does not even permit Final Penitence {koran 4:18}so muslims cannot be certain allah will spare them{ even if they repent!}

    She even learned a little Arabic:Jahesh is a word she might need to know ..as it applies to her.

    I have no sympathy for converts to islam especially if female:you will reap what you sow and your misogynistic Arab god “allah” won’t save you.
    You made that choice,you chose that path,you must suffer the consequences.

    As for pope francis the judas jesuit pontifex remaining silent,I don’t think the “pope of the Ear” listens anyway to the plight of catholics:he is far too busy pandering to islam,supporting globalist policies and quietly undermining and demolishing what remains of catholicism{which a small minority of catholics are surely aware of but not the majority}This seems to be the age of the judas priests.

    • Rarely says

      Jun 4, 2020 at 10:53 am

      It’s impossible to judge her fairly unless you’ve been in her shoes.

      • FYI says

        Jun 4, 2020 at 11:01 am

        “I converted to islam It was my FREE choice” she said.

        Had she been forced against her will, then that would have been different.She would not have been free to make the choice.

        But she CHOSE to convert:you seem to have missed that salient fact…she put herself in those ‘shoes’.

        • Rarely says

          Jun 4, 2020 at 11:22 am

          What do you expect her to say?
          It doesn’t matter anyway because neither of us have been in those shoes so neither of us is in a position to judge.
          God didn’t go on vacation and leave either of us in charge.

        • FYI says

          Jun 4, 2020 at 11:48 am

          What is it with you and shoes Mr Rarely?
          Maybe you should go and be her Defense Attorney as she might need one some day.
          I have a nice shiny pair of lawyers “shoes” you can borrow…

          OBITER DICTUM:presumably you were never a Judge in any case because as you admit you are not ‘ in a position to judge’ a capability such a legal position requires.

        • Rarely says

          Jun 4, 2020 at 2:48 pm

          LOL.
          FYI. This gal is a victim any way you cut it. It is impossible to make moral judgements vis-a-vie her conversion without having been in her shoes. If she commits a crime she can properly be judged and, if convicted, punished. Last I heard conversion to a different religion is not such a crime. You are simply making moral judgements so I repeat: Did God go on vacation and put you in charge?

      • FYI says

        Jun 4, 2020 at 3:04 pm

        LOL indeed

        And here Mr Rarely is talking about ..SHOES again..!!

        Why would God be on vacation?

        Who appointed YOU supreme court Judge mr Rarely?

        I NEVER said conversion to another religion was a crime.
        Why should anyone be punished for something that is not a crime?

        Are you sure you are familiar with Legal Process and concepts M’lud?

        You keep putting your foot in it..

        LOL indeed…I can LMAO too if you like Mr Shoes…

        And you repeat “Did God go on vacation and put you in charge?”
        Wow!I never said I was God and ironically enough YOU seem to put yourself in the position of being the Judge of what constitutes a ‘moral judgement”

      • Rufolino says

        Jun 5, 2020 at 6:42 am

        If that is true, was there any point in Robert Spencer posting the above artical ?

    • gravenimage says

      Jun 4, 2020 at 10:49 pm

      FYI wrote:

      Romano is either a moron or an intrinsically evil soul.
      ……………..

      Sylvia Romano was kidnapped by the brutal Al Shebaab in 2018. She was probably raped and brutalized. They murdered twenty-one people in the attack.

      I generally have little sympathy for those who convert to Islam, but I very much doubt that she would ever have been released if she had not gone through the motions. I am willing to cut her some slack.

      And I think Rarely is right in this case–have *you* been kidnapped and raped by murderous Jihad terrorists? I *hope not*, and I wish this had not happened to Ms. Romano–but I am not going to condemn her for daring to survive.

      As noted, this *may* have been Stockholm Syndrome–but far more likely it was the only way she was going to come out of this alive.

      • FYI says

        Jun 5, 2020 at 12:34 pm

        @Gravenimage

        Actually i fully agree with you and I did not really mean to sound so harsh .It was more annoyance at the folly of her conversion to that cult and what I know it to be for its misogyny and treating women like garbage.

        But then who come along but the virtue-signalling voice of the One on High,the lawyer,to tell us what he thinks constitutes the “moral high ground”:Mr Rarely the Lawyer

        Lawyers and Morality?
        Stop it!

        Mr Rarely ,however,being a member of a dishonest profession that makes its living by sophistry and outright lies has no concept of “the moral high ground” and he make FALSE statements as is the norm in his ‘profession’

        Lawyers think their lying sophistry constitutes logical reason:it doesn’t

        Mr Rarely made a number of false statements,typical of his legal sophistry

        1] I NEVER said it was a crime to convert to islam.

        2]my moral code always has been that I am never better than a prostitute
        so I would never intentionally put myself in the position of being God.

        3]Lawyers like Mr Rarely,in their hypocrisy,are the very LAST people to be lecturing us on “moral judgements” when Mr Rarely’s profession has no concept of morality or decency whatsoever:Mr Rarely and his kind are nothing but paid professional liars.

        Give me an honest prostitute ANY day over a virtue-signalling hypocrite of a Lawyer like Mr Rarely lecturing us on “the moral high ground”

        And a lawyer talking about God and Morality:I’m sorry but that really cracks me up

        Mr Rarely makes his living by sophistry and bearing false witness{albeit legally sanctioned}:I’m sure”God was on vacation” many times in Mr Rarely’s legal career…

        • gravenimage says

          Jun 5, 2020 at 9:11 pm

          FYI, I have had my issues with Rarely at times, because his view of Jihad terror often seems far too mild to me.

          But–with all respect–I have to say I largely agree with him in this case, at least with the information we have on Ms. Romano so far.

          And on the thread where Rarely was talking about “the moral high ground”, he was actually critical of the Ayatollah Khamenei for *not* having the moral high ground (although, again, I personally thought his words a bit mild under the circumstances).

          Here’s the post in question:

          Rarely says

          Jun 3, 2020 at 10:57 am

          It’s impossible for him to take the moral high ground. He doesn’t care what the rest of the world thinks because he’s talking to a select audience who are easy to outrage and are without functional IQs.

          https://www.jihadwatch.org/2020/06/ayatollah-khamenei-outraged-at-american-racism-part-1#comment-2242932

          As for the legal profession, it is a mixed bag, as you know. There are other lawyers who comment here, such as Wellington and Frank Anderson, who are highly principled people. I would–personally–not condemn someone simply for being a lawyer–although you may feel differently.

          Despite our disagreement here, I always value your contributions.

  4. eur says

    Jun 4, 2020 at 8:48 am

    Stockholm syndrome maximum level. In fact, the pressure exerted by Muslims in society goes down that path, leaving no other option but to convert to Islam.

  5. Vyx says

    Jun 4, 2020 at 9:14 am

    This woman is 24 years old. She has her whole life in front of her. It is easy for us to say “renounce islam” but if she does so, she will be killed. Unfortunately, she does not have a government or a church that will protect her. I have also read that in muslim countries, many muslim women have bibles that they cherish and wish to covert, but they cannot without facing death. It is easy for us to judge her, but none of us have faced her circumstances.

    As for Francis, as a Catholic I am angered and embarrassed by him.

    • Rarely says

      Jun 4, 2020 at 10:47 am

      Your source that shows “many muslim women” in muslim having bibles and wishing to convert please.

  6. Charlie in NY says

    Jun 4, 2020 at 10:55 am

    There is nothing new here. Who recalls US reporter Steven Centanni and his assistant Olaf Wiig held hostage in Gaza. A news article reported “Both of the men were forced to convert to Islam at gunpoint, Centanni said.” I wonder how his “reversion” has held up over the years. If these forced conversions had been initially met with wall-to-wall condemnation – especially by Muslim religious leaders but at least by all Western leaders – perhaps the tactic would have been discredited. But so long as the West meekly allows for the taking of hostages without consequences (see Iran, for instance), this will continue.

    • gravenimage says

      Jun 4, 2020 at 10:58 pm

      Yes, I was going to mention this case, Charlie.

      Here’s what Steven Centanni said while they were kidnapped:

      “Islam is not just meant for some people; it is the true religion for all people at all times.”

      After being freed, Centanni stated “We were forced to convert to Islam at gunpoint, and don’t get me wrong here, I have the highest respect for Islam, and learned a lot of very good things about it, but it was something we felt we had to do, because they had the guns, and we didn’t know what the hell was going on.”

      Despite the sickening whitewash of Islam, it is clear that this was a forced conversion.

      Neither Centanni nor Wiig to my knowledge have mentioned still being Muslim, nor has there been any indication that they ever practiced Islam.

  7. dan says

    Jun 4, 2020 at 11:28 am

    There are people that will pretend to agree with their kidnapers to stay alive . . . . we’ll have to wait and see if the truth will ever come out ?

  8. mortimer says

    Jun 4, 2020 at 11:43 am

    Islamic Stockholm Syndrome.

    Meanwhile, the pope keeps his blinkers firmly locked in place so that no information about jihad can reach him and challenge his delusional, whitewashed, fantasy version of Islam.

    To fail to speak out in favor of the oppressed is worse than any crime.

  9. Hank Mansfield says

    Jun 4, 2020 at 12:01 pm

    Isn’t the punishment for leaving Islam death?
    Before handing over hostages a conversion takes place, either forced or after months of isolation and deprivation, and the implied threat of being murdered is never forgotten by the hostage.
    Nice conundrum .

  10. OTTER says

    Jun 4, 2020 at 2:51 pm

    And I would like to warn JW readers again about the perils of credulous white women converting to Islam.
    This brings a totally different dimension to Muslim problem. Their children will be all Muslims and with their higher birthdate…

    It is also not unlikely that she converted willingly because Islam gives us some kind of structure which women value subconsciously according to my analysis/hypothesis. They find it comforting and like to have limits.

    Feminism and a perverted notion of the idea of equality has totally destroyed this in the West.

    So on the one side, you have newly minted female white Muslim converts and the other side you have white women full of liberal guilt and without any direction from society.

    All western white women are exhorted with is endless notions of ‘empowerment’ and celebrating how wonderful it is to be ‘equal’ to men should they choose to be as promiscuous as men. No wonder white women at popping depression pills in unprecedented numbers. (I’m forgetting the rising suicide rates amongst white men also)

    This is very powerful Trojan horse for the infiltration of Islam in the west.

    Jordan Peterson also has views on women’s desire to be dominated and the link to Islam.

    • gravenimage says

      Jun 4, 2020 at 11:18 pm

      Oh, good lord–this article is not about “credulous white women”–this is about conversion at gun point.

      Then, Romano has not married a Muslim as OTTER implies.

      And the idea that Romano *enjoyed* being kidnapped and likely raped because she found these limits “comforting” is just baseless–were this true, why would she have wanted to return home at all–why not just stay in Somalia with the Jihadists?

      OTTER has claimed many times before that white men need to “control” white women, and that Muslims controlling women–ie, mutilating, beating, forcing them into marriage, and stoning them to death–somehow gives Muslims an edge over those who actually recognize equal rights.

      He has made bizarre claims in the past that Western women not being controlled by men is responsible for some Western men’s low testosterone levels–while linking to articles that note that this is largely due to obesity and lack of exercise, not men not controlling women.

      As for Jordan Peterson, he has claimed that all women have an “unconscious wish for brutal male domination”. It seems that what he really wants is to be able to brutally dominate women himself–and it seems, sadly, that OTTER agrees with him.

      Then. Peterson was also invited to speak at the Reviving the Islamic Spirit Conference in Toronto, the largest Muslim convention in the Western world–though he did not in the end wind up speaking there. In any case, positing him as some sort of model of anti-Islamic values seems damned iffy at best.

  11. CogitoErgoSum says

    Jun 4, 2020 at 3:11 pm

    The Apostle Peter himself denied knowing Jesus – not once but three times in order to save himself. Later, after the Resurrection, Jesus asked Peter, not once but three times, if Peter loved Him. Peter answered yes all three times and added, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Christ knows whether this woman loves Him or not. That is all that needs to be said.

    • Rufolino says

      Jun 5, 2020 at 6:53 am

      Cogito, don’t know if your final conclusion is correct or not, but it is certainly correct that our love for Jesus and the One True God is at the centre of Christianity.
      In the sense that this love needs to be expressed by every aspect of our being. It’s what we were made for.

  12. Jewish Crusader says

    Jun 4, 2020 at 5:00 pm

    This Pope is a fraud,he needs to go….

  13. gravenimage says

    Jun 4, 2020 at 10:35 pm

    Pope silent about captive Italian woman’s possibly forced conversion to Islam
    ……………..

    Well, this is just horrifying. Of course this conversion was coerced at best.

  14. Joseph ELLUL says

    Jun 5, 2020 at 6:14 am

    In my opinion this unfortunate girl can end up being a human bomb just to release herself from the Islamic bondage.

    • gravenimage says

      Jun 5, 2020 at 9:13 pm

      I hope she just quietly stops practicing Islam once she is out of the spotlight.

  15. No Muzzies Here says

    Jun 5, 2020 at 7:16 am

    It was obviously a forced conversion. Her choice was convert or die. This pope sees nothing wrong with that, as we have seen that he thinks that the Bible and the Quran are equivalent.

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