Jay Leno and other Hollywood inhabitants made the news just a few weeks ago because they were protesting on Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills against the owner of some posh hotels in the area. The Beverly Hills Hotel and the Bel-Air Hotel are both owned by an investment group controlled by the Sultan of Brunei, a small Muslim nation on the coast of Borneo. As a Muslim, the Sultan (Hossanal Bolkiah) wants Shari’a law to be enforced in Brunei.
Bolkiah, according to Wikipedia, is worth “$20 billion and lives in a 1,800 room palace,” which covers 2,152,782 square feet. It sounds as though he has more than his fair share of this world’s goods, but he is not content with these. He wants to use Shari’a law to govern in Brunei. That system of punishment includes flogging, the severing of limbs, and stoning to death for certain crimes, such as getting an abortion, committing adultery, or engaging in homosexual acts.
All of those who consistently defend homosexuality are therefore outraged, and they are boycotting the Sultan’s hotels, which is, of course, their right to do. They would not have that right in Brunei. Leno is quoted as saying, “It’s not a political issue. This is not something that’s debatable…. It’s people being stoned to death.” Indeed it is. And even though abortion, adultery, and homosexuality violate God’s holy law, He has not authorized any religious system today to exercise capital punishment for these actions.
While Christians might be in complete agreement with the protest and in sympathy with the boycott, the fact is that we have known the dangers of Shari’a law for a long time but have not heard much from Hollywood until now. For example, when a 9-year-old girl died on her wedding night from abuse, where was the outrage of the feminists and the stars then? This occurred in Yemen last September (2013), although this country received the news much later.
According to Wikipedia, Yemen is 99% Muslim and is governed by Shari’a law. Under this system girls can be given in marriage at the age of nine, which here would describe a girl in the third or fourth grade. Did the Hollywood crowd not know about this practice, or are they more concerned about homosexuals than innocent girls? Where was the protest?
How long has this practice among Muslims been go-ing on? Well, the fact is that Muhammad himself originated the concept. According to Robert Payne’s, The History of Islam (New York, NY; Barnes and Noble, 1959):
There were perhaps other reasons for Muhammad’s gentleness and benevolence at this time, among them his approaching marriage to Ayesha, the nine-year-old daughter of Abu Bakr, to whom he had been betrothed for some time (31).
Muhammad had been betrothed to Ayesha from the age of 6, though he was more than four decades older than she was. What Muhammad termed marriage the rest of us would call child molestation. One wonders how he could convince his followers that such a thing was acceptable. More to the point is: “How can such an atrocity still persist at the current time?” Apparently, Shari’a law has never left the Dark Ages. So, this despicable practice has been part of the Muslim religion for almost 1,400 years, but who has protested it? Has the United Nations had a discussion about it? But if a homosexual is stoned….
The Orlando Sentinel published a one-paragraph blurb about a Sudan Court sentencing a 27-year-old woman for converting to Christianity (A4), but that was not the whole story. Sudan is 97% Muslim, and this was a court that believes in the Shari’a law that sentenced her. Actually, she did not convert to Christianity; she was raised a Christian.
Muslim Injustice
First of all, the woman is eight months pregnant, but this fact is irrelevant to Muslim fanatics. Second, she has a 20-month old son who has been imprisoned with her. Third, she has never claimed to be a Muslim. According to a CNN story, the woman’s father was a Muslim, and he had married a Christian woman (her mother). The father left when she was age 6, and her mother raised her as a Christian. She has never considered herself as a Muslim, but the Court does because her father was one. Therefore, they have told her she must recant her Christianity or be put to death. This is Shari’a law.
Furthermore, since she (whom the court considers Muslim) married a Christian man, she is considered to be living in adultery. What?! Yes, according to the same story:
The court also convicted her of adultery and sentenced her to 100 lashes because her marriage to a Christian man is considered void under Sharia law.
Shari’a law and those who support it have no conscience, no shame, and no compassion. They are as devoid of common decency as they are sanity. Only someone steeped in the irrational could possibly render such unfathomable and grotesque decisions.
But wait. What would be wrong if she actually had been a Muslim and converted to Christianity? Do the Muslims in this country belong to the same religion as these folks do? Would they like to see Shari’a law here? Are they the same people who plead for tolerance (at least until they are in the majority)? Yet in many Muslim nations, it is against the law for Christians to meet for worship or to speak to anyone about Jesus. Furthermore, at least in Sudan, you can be put to death for becoming a Christian. Do any of the intellectual giants in Hollywood understand these things at all? If they do, where are the protests? Christians can be executed for just being a Christian, but no one gets excited unless a homosexual is threatened? Hello!
These Muslim nations ought to be ostracized by all civilized countries of the world until they change. If they want to practice injustice, intolerance, bigotry, and barbarism, let them do it without the approval of the rest of society. Yes, every nation has problems, and the United States has a number of them, but it is time for us and the rest of the world to say:
“We’re drawing a line here from which we will not back down! You cannot marry girls who are nine years old. You cannot execute women who have abortions, or those who commit adultery, or are homosexuals–even though they are violating God’s laws. And you cannot execute Christians, Hindus, or any other religious adherent that is different from you. These actions do not constitute acceptable behavior.”
It is time for our leaders and the media to exercise their influence in this way instead of constantly defending the Muslim religion as they have been doing. They have not wanted to use the term, terrorist. They have been looking at spades and telling us, “You know, they could be clubs.” Nothing good is ever accomplished through spineless, gutless rationalization. It is time to take positive action in order that all people may have the protection that law is supposed to afford its citizens. The purpose of law should be to protect innocent people—not destroy them.
Christians Are Becoming Endangered
The one group, it has been correctly observed, that one can safely target is Christians. People are offended by the name the Washington Redskins even though nothing has ever been intended as derogatory about the name. Does anyone seriously think the owners and the players are saying something bad about themselves? When most of us think of Indians, we think of brave warriors who fought for what they believed in—and who were mistreated by our government. Several teams have names that allude to Indians, but none of them has been meant as an insult. A school in Fargo recently forbade kids to do the song YMCA because the Village People had an Indian as part of their group.
The point is that it seems someone is offended by almost anything that is said or done. Schools have been warned not to sing religious Christmas songs for fear of upsetting some atheists. Praying has been banned at certain secular events. But in the midst of a super-sensitive society, no one worries about offending Christians. Do those in Hollywood say, “Maybe we should not take the names of God and Christ in vain because it might offend Christians”? Hah! When they engage in slutty behavior and parade nude (or nearly so) in front of the camera, do they fear that Christians might be disgusted and refuse to view their films? (Actually, Clearplay is a great option.)
No. Nobody worries if Christians are offended. Why is that? Let these same luminaries take Allah’s name in vain. They probably know better than to do that. But who is going to defend Christianity in Muslim nations? Who is going to protest followers of Jesus being put to death even though they have committed no crime? No doubt, we can all expect protests concerning the woman sentenced to death in Sudan. Everyone—from our state department to retired Tonight Show hosts—should be enthusiastic in getting this message out onto the world stage. Won’t they do so?
Yes, that probably is idealistic, but every country that has a growing Muslim population (especially Europe) better be taking a serious look at what Shari’a law is because in a few years, when Muslims have the majority, they may find themselves in a trend they cannot reverse. They should be studying the nations that are predominantly Muslim now to see how they deal with others. As for Christians, we need to be more evangelistic than ever—while we have the freedom.
Boko Haram
Yes, Boko Haram has been in the news during the month of May because they kidnapped 300 girls and declared their intention to use them as sex slaves. It would be difficult not to respond to their “in your face” tactics. But how many Americans are aware of their previous terrorist attacks? According to one news account:
Sunday, September 29 – Potiskum, NIGERIA Members of the Islamic radical group Boko Haram shot 50 college students and burned the school as the students slept in their dorms. Al-though the victims included both Christians and Muslim students, the name of the assassins, Boko Haram, means “Western education is forbidden.”
Notice that this occurred in September of last year. Why did this action not qualify Boko Haram as a terrorrist organization back then? Saturday evening, May 17, 2014, this topic was covered on Hannity. The host had several guests with knowledge of these matters on the program. One was Zainab Khan, a women’s rights activist. Her comments were: “Boco Haram is fueled by the same ideology…that supports…the misogynistic belief system…that supports the Taliban, where they shot Malala Yousafzai for wanting to obtain an education.” (The guests’ comments were not scripted; the ellipses only eliminate extraneous words.) Khan added that Boco Haram bases making sexual slaves of girls upon the Qur’an.
As Hannity introduced matters pertaining to Shari’a (also spelled Sharia) law, he commented on the Sultan Bolkiah—the one being protested in Hollywood. In addition to the exorbitant palace that he has, he and his family also have a fleet of cars and planes. They engage in continuous partying, and he has harems that include under-age girls.
Life for Women under Islam
Nonie Darwish grew up under Shari’a law in Egypt. She is currently the founder and president of Arabs for Israel. She commented on her former life.
We were told by Islam, “Islam honors women,” but at the same time they show them how to beat women…. The contradictions that we lived under—for instance, if you’re not covered and you walk in the street without a man, you can be groped, you can be sexually harassed. And it happens in the streets in Cairo all the time…. If a woman shows any part of her hands, her face, her neck, it means you’re asking for it…. If a rape happens, you provoked it. It’s not the man’s fault; it’s your fault. That’s why nobody reports rape there.
If a woman is assaulted or even killed, it will not be reported by the Egyptian media.
Dr. Phyllis Chesler (psychotherapist, author, and columnist) said that women in Muslim countries do not have a choice of what to wear.
…women have to be face-veiled…what I call a sensory deprivation isolation chamber, an ambulatory body bag is what women are wearing, back to the seventh century, and we as Americans, as Westerners, should take a stand against it.
“Honor” Killings
Most Americans have heard of these, but a definition is provided of an “honor” killing by Wikipedia:
An honor killing is the homicide of a member of a family or social group by other members, due to the perpetrators’ belief that the victim has brought shame or dishonor upon the family or community, usually for reasons such as refusing to enter an arranged marriage, being in a relationship that is disapproved by their relatives, having sex outside marriage, becoming the victim of rape, dressing in ways which are deemed inappropriate, or engaging in homosexual relations.
Later, they added to the above offenses a family member who becomes a Christian. In fact, the pregnant woman married to a Christian who has been condemned to death by the Sudanese Court was turned in by her own brother! Probably no one cared until he brought her situation to the attention of the authorities. There is no honor in facilitating a woman’s destruction because she was raped, refused an arranged marriage, or became a Christian. Paul described such individuals as being “without natural affection” (Rom. 1:31). Notice the list continues with implacable and unmerciful—two more attributes that describe them.
Not all “honor” killings occur in Africa and Asia. Dr. Chesler advised that they are happening in America, Canada and all over Europe. For this reason, other nations should be taking a stand against Shari’a law NOW! Muslim nations must quit living in the 7th century and begin protecting women rather than persecuting them. Some nations may not feel like putting any pressure on Muslim nations, but all should learn by what is happening in Europe. Many of those nations may, within a generation, become Muslim countries, and religious freedoms could disappear.
Hannity’s show closed with comments from K. T. Mc-Farland, a national security commentator and public media figure. Commenting on Boco Haram, she said:
Get ready and hang on because this is not the end of this. There is a war of radical Islam against Christianity. You’re seeing it in Nigeria…Western Africa…Eastern Africa. It’s happening in Afghanistan as Americans leave there…. And when the Syrian war winds down, all of those European Passport-holding jihadists are going to Europe and the United States.