http://www.metnews.com/articles/2005/lolo032105.htm

(Met News) - Violence against ethnic Chinese in Indonesia, particularly against women and Christians, is sufficiently pervasive to require that a Chinese Christian woman be found eligible for asylum, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled yesterday. Overturning a ruling by a divided panel of the Board of Immigration Appeals, the court ruled that Marjorie Kinda Lolong?s petition for review be granted. Senior Judge Betty B. Fletcher, writing for the Ninth Circuit, noted that elements within the Indonesian military have been linked to the violence, even though the country?s president and other leaders have called for tolerance. ?Evidence of the government?s willingness to control the perpetrators of ethnic and religious violence in Indonesia fails to rebut the overwhelming evidence of the government?s inability to control those forces,? Fletcher wrote. Indonesia, with a history of violent political change, remains unstable, despite strides towards democracy, an expert said. Continued instability makes further attacks on Chinese likely, Tiwon said, adding that Chinese Christians are particularly at risk as a militant Islamic movement grows.  ?Even during periods of relative calm, ethnic Chinese and Christian girls and women face a very high risk of being subjected to racial and sexual harassment and abuse, and ethnically and religiously motivated attacks against women continue to occur,? the judge wrote. [Lolong v. Gonzales, (03-72384)]

http://www.metnews.com/articles/2005/lolo032105.htm

http://www.washingtontimes.com/metro/20050422-094945-5884r.htm

Visit our Web site at www.uscirf.gov

http://www.christiantoday.com/news/sasia/208.htm

Great hope for a greater dignity to be given to the low Indian society of Dalits has risen after an historic meeting of Christian ministry and Indian civil rights leaders. Last week, Samuel Thomas, representative of 'Hopegivers International', met with the national convenor of the Global Council of Indian Christians, Sajan George, to discuss the possibilities of establishing a Karnataka Dalit Centre in Bangalore, and a Christian Institute of Medical Sciences in Mozoram.

With great help from Sajan George, many Hindu believing Dalits have opened up towards Christianity and millions more can be brought to Christ.

http://www.christiantoday.com/news/sasia/208.htm

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/121/42.0.html

To read the full story, click here: http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050613/NEWS03/106130110

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,160362,00.html

(Fox News.com) - Religious visas allow foreign nationals in religious occupations to enter the United States and work for nonprofit religious organizations. Generally, the majority of religious visas have gone to Christian ministers. For the past five years, however, scores of Muslim clerics from countries such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Pakistan have been let in on religious visas. Once here, many make provocative comments.

"The reality is that radical Islamic clerics, and even terrorists, have used religious visas to come to the United States," Islamic terrorism expert Steven Emerson told FOX News. "It represents a clear and present danger to our security." Upon arriving on a religious visa in California, Imam Wagdy Ghoneim preached support for suicide bombings. In Cleveland, Fawaz Damra praised the murder of Jews. In Tampa, Fla., Islamic studies professor Mazen Al Najjar raised money for terrorists. "If 259 Pakistani imams are coming into this country," said Stephen Schwartz, executive director of the Center for Islamic Pluralism, "I would say that the probability is very high that the majority of them are financed by the Islamic extremist movement." [Go To Full Story]

(AgapePress) - A religious liberty advocate is worried because the influence of Christians in some parts of the Middle East is on the decline. According to William Murray of the Washington, DC-based Religious Freedom Coalition, this fact makes for a difficult situation for born-again believers and subjects their children to especially bad conditions.

Murray, who currently serves as chairman of the Religious Freedom Coalition (RFC), has been involved in the fight for international religious liberty and conservative values for more than 20 years. During the early 1980s he served as director of Freedom's Friends, a group which reached out to the victims of communism worldwide and for many years has operated evangelistic tours to the Soviet Union for Christians.

Prior to the fall of the Soviet Union, Murray foresaw and warned others of a coming "great Islamic Jihad against the secular West." Since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on U.S. targets, he has increasingly focused efforts on the Middle East and has traveled to Israel and the West Bank on numerous occasions. From his office in Washington, where he continues to work for the rights of Christians in America and persecuted Christians around the world, Murray guides the RFC in assisting Palestinian Christian families and supporting Christian schools in the West Bank.

Recently, the RFC chairman has expressed concern over the fact that the power and presence of Christians in the Middle East is waning. His organization has noted that Christians are fleeing oppression in Bethlehem and the rest of the West Bank in ever-increasing numbers, while those that remain behind under the hostile regime face intimidation, religious repression, and the ongoing threat of violence.

Murray feels the city of Bethlehem is a perfect example of the Church's diminishing influence in the region. "The birthplace of Jesus Christ is fast becoming a Christian theme park operated by Muslim businessmen," he says. "Once 85 percent populated by Christians, Bethlehem is now less than 20 percent. There are only 30,000 Christians left in all of Palestinian-controlled areas."

According to the RFC spokesman, the children of poor Christian families in the area are the ones suffering the most. "The Christian children are being forced to go to schools where they're forced to learn Koranic verses and memorize things that are intolerable to Christians and things which are also anti-Semitic and anti-American," he says.

Murray says the Religious Freedom Coalition is currently trying to put together some scholarships for the children of believing poor families in Palestine so the kids can leave the Islamic schools and attend the few Christian schools left in the area.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Scotus-Ten-Commandments.html?hp&ex=1119931200&en=b1dc0f49600b86df&ei=5094&partner=homepage

(AP) - The Supreme Court, struggling with a vexing social issue, held Monday it was constitutionally permissible to display the Ten Commandments on the grounds of the Texas capitol but that it was a violation of separation of church and state to place them in Kentucky courthouses.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Scotus-Ten-Commandments.html?hp&ex=1119931200&en=b1dc0f49600b86df&ei=5094&partner=homepage

http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050710/NEWS05/107100025/-1/CITIZEN

(Fosters.com) - These are uncertain, even frightening times for many at the Marturia Presbyterian Church. Church officials say 110 religious asylum-seeking men in the congregation of 210 face being deported to Indonesia as early as six months from now.  It may come later for others depending on when judges rule on their appeals. If the men are forced to go, their families will have to go with them, parishioners said Saturday.  Church parishioners gathered Saturday at the Church of the Redeemer. They said they fear being sent back to Indonesia, where Christians are a tiny minority and face religious persecution from the country's Muslim majority. Islamic extremism also is a threat, they added. [Go To Full Story]

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/009/18.52.html

(Christianity Today) - In the Longworth House office building on Capitol Hill, on an unusually warm April afternoon, Nina Shea is moving to the drumbeat of a southern Sudanese Shilluk tribal dance. The typically reserved, influential director of the Center for Religious Freedom (CRF) at Freedom House is with a broad coalition of clergy, congressional representatives, human-rights activists, and Sudanese war survivors. They are celebrating the January signing of Sudan's comprehensive North-South peace agreement. Shea and the coalition she helped assemble have been pushing for agreement for more than a decade. The 22-year genocidal jihad waged by the ruling National Islamic Front against Sudan's predominantly Christian and animist South has ended. But Shea and others say they will not rest until peace is restored to Darfur, where a second genocide rages on.  Drawing attention to religious persecution around the globe is something Shea has learned to do well. ?[Go To Full Story]

CFI can be reached on the web. http://www.christianfreedom.org

Christianity Today

For more than five years, Xiaodong Li and about half a dozen friends gathered weekly in their hometown of Ningbo, China, to study the Bible and sing hymns. Then one Sunday morning in April 1995, in the middle of one of the services inside Li's apartment, three cops stormed in, handcuffed Li, and escorted him to the local police station.

The officers grabbed his hair and kicked his legs, forcing him to kneel. They hit and shocked him with an electronic black baton until he confessed two hours later to organizing an underground church. Later, they locked him inside a windowless, humid cell with six other inmates until his friend and uncle bailed him out five days later. After his release, police forced him to clean public toilets 40 hours a week without pay. He lost his job as a hotel spokesman.

Li, 22 at the time, likely faced two years in prison. A court hearing was set for later that year. Li began plotting an escape. He applied for a visa. Unaware of Li's looming trial, a government agency issued him a passport. And on November 4, 1995, Li left the country.

Two months later, a Carnival Cruise Lines ship docked in Miami. Li, a food server on board, walked off and never returned. He moved to Houston, hoping to go back to his homeland when China's government eased religious restrictions. Instead, conditions worsened. His friend was imprisoned for participating in their underground church. And police interrogated Li's family, who still live in China, after receiving Bibles, religious magazines, and newspapers that Li had sent them.

In 1999, Li applied for asylum on the grounds that the Chinese government had persecuted him for his religious beliefs. He missed the application deadline, but an immigration judge agreed with his arguments, granting him a status that allowed him to remain in the United States until conditions in China improved.

But in 2003, the Board of Immigration Appeals reversed the judge's decision. It ruled that Li was punished for violating laws on unregistered churches that it said China has a legitimate right to enforce. Li, the board concluded, feared legal action or prosecution, not persecution.

In August, a three-judge panel of the federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the board's ruling. The decision has alarmed refugee and religious-freedom advocates. They say the ruling, unless overturned, will make it much more difficult for future asylum-seekers to prove religious persecution.

The appeals court decision "sends a chilling message that the United States is beginning to turn its back on people fleeing religious persecution," said Dori Dinsmore, the former advocacy director for World Relief, an international organization that assists refugees?[Go To Full Story]

By Alyssa A. Lappen
FrontPageMagazine.com

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=19406

It is only fitting that Andrew G. Bostom's massive collection, The Legacy of Jihad: Islamic Holy War and the Fate of Non-Muslims, appears in time for the fourth anniversary September 11, 2001, for no other collection since then has so well explained the theology and philosophy behind those Islamic attacks on America.

The leaders of the free world have taken pains since late 2001 to explain that Islam is a religion of peace. But in this far-ranging, 759-page collection of Muslim and non-Muslim eyewitness accounts, scholarly Muslim theological treatises and superb historical surveys, it appears that Islam has actually practiced a grisly jihad campaign against non-Muslims from its earliest days, in the hope of satisfying the Prophet Mohammed's end goal: forcing the ?one true faith? upon the entire world.

The somber tone of this monumental work -- graced in its midsection by a chronological summary of the first 500 years of Muslim conquests, including color-coded maps and Islamic art -- is set by the cover, a 19^th century-Islamic painting entitled ?The Prophet, Ali and the Companions at the massacre of the prisoners of the Jewish tribe of Beni Kuraizah.? As its name suggests, the art depicts the slaughter of 600 to 900 Jewish men, who were led on Mohammed's orders to the market of Medina, where they were beheaded and their corpses buried in trenches dug for that purpose. Their wives and children were then enslaved.

After viewing these accounts, histories and art works, it is hard to continue to believe that radical Islamists are in fact all that radical. Rather, in the most logical way, this collection shows that September 11 was not an aberration, but that Islam at its core seems a faith bent upon the conquest and subjugation of non-Muslims.

Bostom opens with a 124-page survey of jihad conquests and the imposition of dhimmitude -- the sociopolitical subjugation of indigenous non-Muslim peoples vanquished by jihad campaigns. The essay is the book's longest section and serves as an excellent guidepost for readers to determine which parts might most interest them.

Beginning in the time of Mohammed himself, Bostom refers readers to the early 20^th century work of the late Columbia University professor Arthur Jeffrey, who belittled as ?the sheerest sophistry? attempts in some modern circles ?to explain away all the Prophet's warlike expeditions as defensive wars or to interpret the doctrine of Jihad as merely a bloodless striving in missionary zeal for the spread of Islam.... The early Arabic sources quite plainly and frankly describe the expeditions as military expeditions, and it would never have occurred to anyone at that day to interpret them as anything else....?

As Ibn Warraq notes in the forward, Dr. Bostom is the first scholar to have had translated from Arabic into English the works of al-Bayadawi, al-Suyuti, al-Zamakhshari and al-Tabari, as well as works by Sufi master al-Ghazali, Shiites al-Hilli and al-Amili. He also includes representatives from the four schools of Sunni jurisprudence: Averroes and Ibn Khaldun (Maliki), Ibn Taymiya and Ibn Qudama (Hanbali), Shaybani (Hanafi), and al-Mawardi (Shaafi).

Warraq wonders, ?Why did it take a non-specialist such as Dr. Bostom, a scholar from another discipline -- clinical epidemiology and randomized clinical trials in medicine -- to discover and have translated for the first time this primary and secondary source material??

Ibn Warraq continues: As Bernard Lewis points out in his important essay, ?Pro-Islamic Jews,? ?The golden age of equal rights [in Spain] was a myth.... The myth was invented by Jews in nineteenth century Europe as a reproach to Christians.? There are those, he says, who contend that while Dr. Bostom may be right to expose history hitherto simply denied, this was not the right historical moment to express it. But, as Isaiah Berlin once wrote, an ideologue is someone prepared to suppress what he suspects to be true. This disposition to suppress the truth has engendered much evil.

ICC Currently has an immediate job opening for a COO (Chief of Operations) for our headquarters in the Washington DC (Silver Spring) area.

ICC is searching for a Chief of Operations (COO) to manage it?s headquarters staff in the Washington DC area.  The COO manages
our office staff, operations (administrative, accounting), US & overseas projects,
coordinates and leads our regional volunteers/representatives
and provides oversight on our overseas projects.

We are looking for a person that is detailed, good with people, and has
previous management experience. Please do not contact the office but please do go to  http://www.persecution.org/suffering/jobopenings.php to learn more.

Mainstream Media Ignores Epidemic Persecution
I Newswire

Christian Post

Michelle Vu
michelle@christianpost.com

An Islamic extremist group in West Java, Indonesia is using threats of violence to force church closures, according a recent report on religious persecution released by a Virginia-based Christian human rights organization.

AGAP (Aliansi Gerakan Ant Pemurtadan), which translates to the Anti-Apostasy Alliance Movement in English, is a radical Islamic group in Indonesia that reportedly has been threatening church leaders regardless of denominations with violence if they refuse to close their church.

AGAP (Aliansi Gerakan Ant Pemurtadan), which translates to the Anti-Apostasy Alliance Movement in English, is a radical Islamic group in Indonesia that reportedly has been threatening church leaders regardless of denominations with violence if they refuse to close their church.

?AGAP came through the doors,?. ?These were not our neighbors, they were from the outside. More than 50 of them came into the church, wearing masks and carrying swords and backpacks of stones. I was so afraid.?

According to CFI?s recently released Fact-Finding Report on Religious Persecution in West Java, Indonesia, AGAP?s mission is to close all the ?wild churches? that they think do not comply to Joint Ministerial Decree No 1/1969.

The controversial decree, which was issued in 1969, requires that official religions comply with statutes declared by the Ministry of Religious Affairs in their registration and activities, including regulations on building houses of worship. Christian persecution watchdogs note, however, that although many churches attempt to register and comply to the regulations, they are often times refused permission to build churches or conduct services.

According to CFI?s report, which was released on Oct.3, AGAP has had the support of the local government in its mission to close churches.

?Local government officials invited me to a meeting following the church closure, but when we came to the meeting the local officials were not there,? Christian Siswanto of St. Anthony Chapel told CFI. ?Instead, members of AGAP were there. We have to sign another letter saying we have to stop all worship activities. We were under a lot of pressure to sign the letter.?

Formaningrum, one of the founders of Gereja Kristen Pasundan Church in a suburb of Bandung also reported on the local government?s involvement in the church closure.
.
?The local government invited members of the church for a meeting,? said Formaningrum. ?But when we came to the meeting we were asked to close the worship activities. They (AGAP) wanted us to sign a letter to shut the church down, even the Sunday school.?

Formaningrum, 66, said that they have applied five times for a permit to build the church but never received permission. The Protestant church, which began in 1988 with a handful of people, grew to more than 200 by the time it closed. The church has been closed since July 27, 2005.

?The big question for me is, ?Who gave AGAP permission to close my church??? said Father Iwan of St. Anthony Chapel whose church was closed. ?The police do nothing to stop them; did nothing to stop. No action. This is happening to many churches in West Java, both Catholic and Protestant.?

Church leader John Simon Timorason said that at least 35 churches in Bandung and neighboring regions have been closed by Islamic mobs in the past 12 months alone, according to CFI?s report.

?If we build a gambling arena, a drug house, amusement place, it makes sense we should be afraid, but it doesn?t make sense to close a place of worship,? said Formaningrum.

?Please urge the Indonesian government to change the law so that we can have the right to worship. We should have a right to build our church, to worship. Freedom of worship should be a fundamental human right,? pleaded Siswanto.

Department of State

Secretary Condoleezza Rice

Washington, DC

November 8, 2005

(2:23 p.m. EST)

SECRETARY RICE: Good afternoon. Hi there, how are you? Today, I have transmitted to Congress the 7th Annual Report on International Religious Freedom. Religious freedom is a constitutional right for Americans. It is also a universal human right, enshrined time and again in international law and declarations.

Our goal is to promote the fundamental right of religious freedom as a part of what President Bush calls "our agenda for a freer world, where people can live and worship and raise their children as they choose."

Preparation of this report, which will be available on the State Department's website, is an intensive, year-long effort led by Ambassador John Hanford and involving a wide cross-section of our Department, including our Office of International Religious Freedom, our regional bureaus and our many embassies abroad.

Production of the report is greatly assisted by the dedication and close collaboration of nongovernmental organizations and individuals around the world who are committed to documenting the status of religious freedom, often at risk to their own lives and their liberty.

The 2005 report covers 197 countries and territories. In some countries, we find that governments have modified laws and policies, improved enforcement or taken other concrete steps to increase and demonstrate respect for religious freedom. In far too many countries, however, governments still fail to safeguard religious freedom. Across the globe, people are still persecuted or killed for practicing their religion or even for just being believers.

This year, we have re-designated eight "Countries of Particular Concern" -- Burma, China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Eritrea, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Vietnam. These are countries where governments have engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom over the past year. We are committed to seeking improvements in each of these countries, improvements like those we have actually seen in Vietnam, which have been further advanced by agreement on religious freedom that our governments signed just this last May.

If Vietnam's record of improvement continues, it would enable us to eventually remove Vietnam from our list of "Countries of Particular Concern." Through this report, through our bilateral relationships and through our ongoing discussions with communities of faith around the world, America will defend the rights of people everywhere to believe and worship according to their own conscience. As President Bush has said, "Freedom of religion is the first freedom of the human soul. We must stand for that freedom in our country. We must speak for that freedom in the world."? [Go To Full Story]

The Christian Post - As part of the world's largest prayer movement for the persecuted church, church leaders and Christians worldwide joined by the hour Sunday in prayer calls and messages for the annual International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church.

With over 200 million people suffering for their faith in over 60 countries, hundreds of thousands of churches and individuals are focusing on the persecuted believers in Africa, Islamic regions, North Korea, China, Southeast Asia and other countries this year from Nov. 13-20.

Since 9:00 a.m. Sunday, Greater Calling ? a non-profit Christian teleconferencing ministry that hosts global prayer calls ? hosted a 12-hour teleconferencing prayer service where people across the globe shared their concerns and gave prayers in a unified global effort. Each hour, Greater Calling focused on certain countries where the persecution of Christians is severe. Church leaders from Africa also participated by praying in their native tongue during the conference calls.

Mission Network News ? the mission news service based in Michigan ? also promoted the prayer initiative through its third annual radio broadcast Sunday, airing on more than 350 radio stations in five countries. The broadcast, hosted by MNN's Executive Director Greg Yoder and Producer Ruth Bliss, is featuring a message from Open Doors founder Brother Andrew and prayers from believers from the Middle East, Ukraine, Sudan, and India.

A seven-day Open Doors prayer campaign for North Korea will also be running during IDOP week as the communist country remains as a severe violator of religious freedom. The recently released International Religious Freedom Report re-designated North Korea as a "Country of Particular Concern" with no improvement in the promotion of religious freedom. Ten-minute prayer slots for the campaign are slowly being filled to cover North Korea with prayer 24 hours a day throughout the week.

For more information on IDOP, visit: www.idop.org

AgapePress - An organization dedicated to aiding the persecuted Church says it is interesting that the U.S. government is applying a double standard in dealing with countries tagged by the U.S. State Department for their religious persecution.

The State Department recently released its annual list of nations designated "Countries of Particular Concern" under the International Religious Freedom Act. Nations included on the list are those that have engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of its people's religious liberty.

Todd Nettleton is Director of Media Services for Voice of the Martyrs (VOM), a ministry to persecuted Christians worldwide. He notes that the U.S. government is coming down hard on countries that have little economic value to America -- nations such as the State of Eritrea, where he says government officials closed down the unregistered Christian churches in 2002. The U.S. leveled sanctions against this small, desperately poor country in September.

Since May 2002, Eritrea's government only officially recognizes the Muslim, Catholic, Orthodox, and Evangelical Lutheran churches. The government's church registration system compels religious groups to submit personal information in order to obtain permission to hold worship. Members of unregistered religious groups are not allowed to worship freely.

But while Eritrea has been "persecuting Christians now for three or four years," Nettleton asserts, "on the other side of the coin you have Saudi Arabia and you have China, who have been doing it for generations, and there's no sanctions on them. They're still in the discussion stage where [U.S. officials] talk to them and try to get them to be nice."

So, the VOM media liaison points out, even though Saudi Arabia and the People's Republic of China have been "of particular concern" far longer than Eritrea, with those major U.S. trade partners it is business as usual. "The reality is, money talks," he says, "and these nations like China are exporting goods to America every day, and a nation like Saudi Arabia provides us with the bulk of our oil."

Even though those nations continue to make the State Department's annual list of the world's most severe religious freedom violators year after year, Nettleton feels the U.S. is unwilling to risk its economic interests over religious freedom issues. "Our government is very hesitant to put sanctions on one of these countries that we do business with on a daily basis," he asserts.

Meanwhile, the VOM spokesman observes, it is interesting that the U.S. has not hesitated to level sanctions against Eritrea, a northeast African country bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast. Of all the countries that could be sanctioned for religious liberty violations, he notes, Eritrea is "probably the country that has the least economic value to America, to our government."

Eritrea, with a population of 4,561,599 and an economy based mostly on subsistence agriculture -- with 80 percent of the population involved in farming or herding -- has a gross domestic product (GDP) of 4,250. According to International Monetary Fund GDP rankings for individual countries, while China is seventh and Saudi Arabia is 24th in the world, the State of Eritrea ranks 163rd.

It is apparent, Nettleton contends, that the U.S. government is hesitant to take economic measures against countries that provide either a massive supply of consumer goods or a major portion of America's oil supply. Of course, he acknowledges, it is difficult to say just how effective sanctions would be on a nation such as China or Saudi Arabia should the U.S. decide to play hardball.

With all the political correctness surrounding the season this year, the blanket term "Happy Holidays" is beginning to look like the only safe greeting. We can only speculate how much longer it will be until the concept of holidays are foregone entirely and replaced by a winter fete known as "The Nonpartisan December Celebration."

For those of you who may be confused conceptually about the origin and nature of some of this season's festivities, PostStar.com and PostStar.net has compiled the following glossary of winter holidays as a reference guide for you and yours.

Holiday: In order to properly explain why the month of December is chock full of them, let's first examine the word itself.

The term "holiday" derives from the fusing of the words "holy" and "day" and comes from the Old English (or Olde English, if you prefer) "halig dæg." Traditionally, holidays were only celebrated as religious or cultural observances. In modern North American culture, the declaration of a holiday has been revised to include any day of historical, political, or mass social interest. (In other words, any day the post office is closed).

Christmas: A Christian holiday celebrated on Dec. 25 to mark the accepted date of birth of the religion's central figure, Jesus Christ. (BONUS FACT: Christ is not actually a name but a title that comes from the Greek word for "anointed"). According to Christian belief, Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem on the west bank of what is now a Palestinian city. His parents, Mary and Joseph, had traveled there to register for the Roman Census.

Secularly, Christmas is celebrated as the holiday when -- folklore dictates -- Father Christmas (a.k.a. Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas, Kris Kringle, Sinterklaas) bestows gifts on well-behaved children. Santa's origin is a bit muddy; several variations exist citing varied European nations and even Turkey. The evolution of Santa lore has been adapted to include a sleigh and eight flying reindeer as a means of transportation.

(ANOTHER BONUS FACT: The term Xmas is not merely an abbreviation invented to save press ink. Xmas derives from Greek wherein the Greek "X" means "chi" and is generally accepted as a reference to Christ).

Chanukkah (or Hanukkah, as adopted by The Associated Press): The Jewish "Festival of Lights." Chanukkah is celebrated on the 25th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev, which generally falls between late November and early December. According to the legend behind the holiday, in 165 B.C. Hellenist Syrians ransacked a Jewish Temple and desecrated all the blessed lamp oil -- save one flask. The flask of oil was only enough to light the lamp for a single day but miraculously lasted 8 days, long enough for more oil to be prepared and blessed.

Modern Jews commemorate Chanukkah with the lighting of a Menorah, a nine-candle candelabra, with one candle to represent each day of the holiday. The middle candle is used to light the others and is referred to as a "Shamash" from the Hebrew for "caretaker" or "aide."

Jews traditionally exchange gifts on Chanukkah in celebration of what they consider one of Judiaism's greatest miracles.

Kwanzaa: An African American and Pan-African holiday celebrated between December 26 and the first of January. Kwanzaa originates from the Swahili "matunda ya kwanza," or "first fruits." It is said to coincide with the African harvest. Dr. Maulana Karenga of Los Angeles is credited for founding the holiday in 1994.

Kwanzaa is celebrated to honor the seven Nguzo Saba, or "Principles of Blackness," and commemorated through Afro-centric art, food, celebration, and the lighting of red and green candles.

Winter Solstice: The time in the earth's orbit where the northern hemisphere is farthest away from the sun, therefore presenting the least daylight in a single 24-hour period. In the northern hemisphere this occurs between December 21 and 22, wherein the opposite is true for the southern hemisphere, making it the summer solstice for nations below the equator.

The Germanic festival of Yule is held during the winter solstice. Yule is a Pagan holiday that represents the passing of the Holly King, who is symbolic of the losing of sunlight, and the coming of the Oak King, who symbolizes the coming year. The Oak King is said to be the son of the Holly King.

We at PostStar.net hope that clears up some of the confusion and wish you a Merr ... Happ ... Festiv ...., aw heck, have a nice December.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org

http://www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org/

http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/holidays/hanukkah/

. . . .

⁵In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, and they lived blamelessly according to all of the commandments and regulations of the Lord. ⁷They had no children because Elizabeth was barren and because both of them were getting on in years.

⁸When Zechariah was serving with his division of priests in God?s presence, ⁹he was chosen by lot to go into the Sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense, according to the custom of the priests. ¹⁰And the entire congregation of people was praying outside at the time when the incense was burned.

¹¹An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the incense altar. ¹²When Zechariah saw him, he was shaken, and fear overwhelmed him. ¹³But the angel said to him, ?Stop being afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to name him John. ¹⁴You will have joy and gladness, and many people will rejoice at his birth. ¹⁵For he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He will never drink wine or any strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. ¹⁶He will bring many of Israel?s descendants back to the Lord their God. ¹⁷He is the one who will go before the Lord with the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, and to prepare the people to be ready for the Lord.?

¹⁸Then Zechariah said to the angel, ?How can I know this is so? For I am an old man, and my wife is getting on in years.? ¹⁹The angel answered him, ?I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. ²⁰But because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at the proper time, you will become silent and unable to speak until the day this happens.?

²¹Meanwhile, the people kept waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed in the Sanctuary so long. ²²But when he did come out, he was unable to speak to them. Then they realized that he had seen a vision in the Sanctuary. He kept motioning to them but remained unable to speak. ²³When the days of his service were over, he went home.

²⁴After this, his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and remained in seclusion for five months. She said, ²⁵?This is what the Lord did for me when he looked favorably on me and took away my public disgrace.?

The Birth of Jesus Is Foretold

²⁶Now in the sixth month of her pregnancy, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, ²⁷to a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin?s name was Mary. ²⁸The angel came to her and said, ?Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you!? ²⁹She was startled by his statement and tried to figure out what his greeting meant. ³⁰Then the angel told her, ?Stop being afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹Listen! You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus. ³²He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his forefather David. ³³He will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end.?

³⁴Mary asked the angel, ?How can this be, since I have not had relations with a man?? ³⁵The angel answered her, ?The Holy Spirit will come over you, and the power of the Most High will cover you. Therefore, the child will be holy and will be called the Son of God. ³⁶And listen! Elizabeth, your relative, has herself conceived a son in her old age. This is the sixth month for the woman who was said to be barren. ³⁷For nothing is impossible for God.? ³⁸Then Mary said, ?Truly I am the Lord?s servant. Let everything you have said happen to me.? Then the angel left her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

³⁹At this time Mary set out hurriedly for a Judean city in the hill country. ⁴⁰She went into Zechariah?s home and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹When Elizabeth heard Mary?s greeting, the baby jumped in her womb. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit ⁴²and exclaimed with a loud cry, ?How blessed are you among women, and how blessed is the fruit of your womb! ⁴³Why should this happen to me, to have the mother of my Lord visit me! ⁴⁴For as soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. ⁴⁵How blessed is this woman for believing that what was spoken to her by the Lord would be fulfilled!?

Mary?s Song of Praise

⁴⁶Then Mary said,

    ?My soul praises the greatness of the Lord!

⁴⁷    My spirit exults in God, my Savior,

⁴⁸    for he has looked favorably on his humble servant.

    From now on, all generations will call me blessed,

⁴⁹    because the Almighty has done great things for me.

    His name is holy.

⁵⁰    His mercy lasts from generation to generation

    for those who fear him.

⁵¹    He displayed his mighty power with his arm.

    He scattered people who were proud in mind and heart.

⁵²    He pulled powerful rulers from their thrones

    and lifted up humble people.

⁵³    He filled hungry people with good things

    and sent rich people away with nothing.

⁵⁴    He helped his servant Israel,

    remembering to be merciful,

⁵⁵    according to the promise he made to our ancestors?

    to Abraham and his descendants forever.?

⁵⁶Now Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back home.

The Birth of John the Baptist

⁵⁷When the time came for Elizabeth to have her child, she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.

⁵⁹On the eighth day they went to circumcise the child. They were going to name him Zechariah after his father, ⁶⁰but his mother said, ?Absolutely not! He must be named John.? ⁶¹Their friends said to her, ?None of your relatives has that name.? ⁶²So they motioned to the baby?s father to see what he wanted to name him. ⁶³He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, ?His name is John.? And everyone was amazed.

⁶⁴Suddenly, Zechariah?s mouth was opened, his tongue was set free, and he began to speak and to praise God. ⁶⁵Fear came over all their neighbors, and throughout the hill country of Judea all these things were being discussed. ⁶⁶All who heard about it debated in their minds what had happened and said, ?What will this child become?? For it was obvious that the hand of the Lord was with him.

The Prophecy of Zechariah

⁶⁷Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:

⁶⁸    ?Blessed be the Lord God of Israel!

    He has taken care of his people and has set them free.

⁶⁹    He has raised up a horn of salvation for us

    from the family of his servant David,

⁷⁰    just as he promised long ago through

    the mouth of his holy prophets

⁷¹    that he would save us from our enemies

    and from the grip of all who hate us.

⁷²    He has shown mercy to our ancestors

    and remembered his holy covenant,

⁷³    the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham.

    He granted us ⁷⁴deliverance from our enemies?grip

    so that we could serve him without fear

⁷⁵    and be holy and righteous before him all of our days.

⁷⁶    And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High.

    For you will go ahead of the Lord to prepare his ways

⁷⁷    and to give his people the knowledge of salvation

    through the forgiveness of their sins.

⁷⁸    Because of the tender mercy of our God,

    a new day has dawned on us,

⁷⁹    to shine on those who sit in darkness and in death?s shadow,

    and to guide our feet into the way of peace.?

⁸⁰Now the child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit. He lived in the wilderness until the day he appeared in Israel.

Luke 2

The Birth of Jesus
(Matthew 1:18-25)

¹Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be registered. ²This was the first registration taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. ³So all the people went to their hometowns to be registered.

⁴Joseph, too, went up from the city of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was a descendant of the household and family of David. ⁵He went there to be registered with Mary, who had been promised to him in marriage and was pregnant.

⁶While they were there, the time came for her to have her baby, ⁷and she gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was not any room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds Visit Jesus

⁸In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, watching their flock during the night. ⁹An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰Then the angel said to them, ?Stop being afraid! Listen! I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people. ¹¹Today your Savior, Christ the Lord, was born in the city of David. ¹²And this will be a sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.?

¹³Suddenly a multitude of the Heavenly Army appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ¹⁴?Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth to people who enjoy his favor!?

¹⁵When the angels had left them and gone back to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ?Let?s go to Bethlehem and see what has taken place that the Lord has told us about.? ¹⁶So they went quickly and found Mary and Joseph with the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷When they saw this, they repeated what they had been told about this child. ¹⁸All who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them, ¹⁹but Mary continued to treasure in her heart all these things and to ponder them. ²⁰Then the shepherds returned to their flock, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them.

Cullman Times

With so much political correctness in the world today, local truck driver turned evangelist Roland Belew says there is no way to express the joy he feels when he drive?s past the nativity scenes on display at the Cullman City Hall, Depot Park and Cullman County Courthouse.

Belew, 68, and his wife Jean, with the help of family friend Raymond Clark and local donations of lumber and materials from McGriff Transportation and Littrell Brothers Lumber Company, received permission from city and county officials to erect the nativity scenes at private, not public expense.

The purpose of the displays, Belew says, is to remind people of the reason for the season and why it is essential that Christians take a stand to keep Christ in Christmas.

?I want the nativities to represent to a lost and dying world just what Jesus Christ means to me, my wife and Christians throughout the world,? Belew said. ?I want the people to see that we can still stand against persecution and take a stand for Christ.?

Belew says what he has done others can do because it is not against the law.

?No one?s civil liberties have been violated. Yes, if the city and county had displayed the nativity scenes on their own they would have had to included a secular element ? two reindeer,? Belew said. ?But they didn?t do it ? a citizen did.?

Belew feels, as many others do, that Americans are losing what the founding fathers gave us ? the ability to live and worship as we choose.

?There is too much political correctness in the world. It sickens me to see ?Merry Christmas? being replaced with ?Happy Holidays? and ?Seasons Greetings,?? Belew said. ?Just three or four years ago we began riding through town and it just didn?t feel like Christmas. As we began to ask ourselves why that was we began to realize that there is another spirit in the world.?

Belew said the transition didn?t happen all at once, but rather gradually, a little bit at a time over a number of years.

?You?d ride through town and see ?Merry Christmas? in nearly every store window and the next year there would be a few less and the next year a few less and this year you really have to look hard to find a reference to Christmas,? Belew said. ?You used to see decorations at City Hall and around the Courthouse and then fewer and fewer. It?s sad.

?You receive mail-outs that say holiday gifts and reference holiday trees instead of Christmas trees. The ACLU and anti-Christian activists take a little here and a little there and the rest of us suddenly look around us and there is nothing left,? Belew said. ?Their ultimate goal is to take Christ out of Christmas, but true Christians know the truth ? there is no Christmas without Christ, only commercialism.?

He?s heard all the arguments. He understands that no one knows for certain when Christ was born, but he says he also knows that doesn?t matter.

?What matters is that Christ was born. I don?t know if it was on Dec. 25 or July 25, but what I do know is that my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was born,? Belew said. ?I have no problem with Santa, gifts and a Christmas tree being a part of Christmas. That can be Christmas too, but the commercialism in the world today is not the Christmas I grew up knowing and loving.?

It didn?t take long for the community to notice the Belews? handiwork.

?We began to receive comments immediately. One lady told us they drove by as we were putting up the display at Depot Park and her 4-year-old was blessed by it. And while we were building the manger at City Hall a lady stopped and said ?Praise God y?all are doing this,?? Belew said. ?A local attorney, who walked by as we were working, commented that he was going to go home and bring his son by to see the nativity that night.?

A truck driver for more than 40 years, Belew is semi-retired, driving local routes occasionally for McGriff Trucking in Cullman.

When he?s not on the highway, Roland dedicates a majority of his time to his truckers ministry in Good Hope.

Belew said his sermons are passionate and hard ?because these are hard men and women.?

?I preach Heaven is sweet and Hell is hot and both are everlasting and you?re going to one of them one day,? Belew said. ?I tell other preachers that their congregations want to take them out for chicken after Sunday service, while mine just wants to take me out.?

The work has been hard and the blessings many, Belew said, adding that few things have brought him the pleasure that his truckers? ministry has.

?God took a hard-headed truck driver, washed him in the blood, called him to preach and put him down there and I wouldn?t trade places with the pastor of the largest church in America,? Belew said. ?I encourage folks to get back to the old ways ? they weren?t all bad. And get back to the true meaning of Christmas.?

Christian Post
Jason Davis

The number of California universities in conflict with Christian organizations or clubs increased by one this week in a case where a campus group is being denied recognition because it denies membership to homosexuals.

Ryan Sorba, 23, a senior at California State University San Bernardino is accusing the school of discrimination because it will not allow the proposed Christian Student Association to become an official campus group – a status that confers additional benefits to clubs. Although the group allows anyone to attend its meetings, only heterosexuals can become members.

"This is about whether or not the First Amendment is allowed to exist at Cal State San Bernardino and whether or not Christians are allowed to exist," Sorba told the Associated Press Monday.

University official say state law requires them to bar such groups from forming.

"We are not permitted to charter them under Title V," said Christian Hansen of the office of Student Affairs, referring to a state education code.

Sorba has not sued the university, however the Washington-based Traditional Values Coalition says it will lobby the state legislature to effect change and will also place pressure on University to change.

"This is political correctness gone amok," said Sheldon. There is no way we are going to let this thing pass

Similar cases are playing themselves out at other southern California schools.

At the end of last month, four Christian clubs filed a civil rights lawsuit alleging that the current rules discriminate against them for requiring either leaders or members to profess faith in Jesus Christ.

https://www.aclj.org/Petition/Default.aspx?SC=3112&AC=1&Zip=*Zip

Deconstructing the base
Renew America
Andrew Longman
January 3, 2006

*ICC Note - the bolding of parts of this article was done by ICC.  That font notation is not part of the author's original work.  God bless!


Constitutional order has foundations as does the law itself. To listen to our public officials these days you would assume that they think there is no foundation to law, that law itself is the beginning and the end of all things. 

The entire system is predicated on people doing what is right, by and large. It is built on moral assumptions of heart. Today, dull minded and arrogant people are attacking the meta-legal foundation by assaulting the moral integrity of our people. We will relate both breaches and examples of those who understand how to successfully reverse this idiocy.

The stand out examples of breach are the chaplain leadership of the US Navy and the federal judge who has ordered the Indiana legislature not to pray in the Name of Jesus.

Bureaucrats, in the effort to promote wastoid visions of irrational egalitarianism, think that forbidding the Godhead and seat of moral identity from public life is a good way to promote comity, philedelphian utopia. The head Navy chaplain explains that it's against "pluralism" to pray in Jesus' Name. The federal Judge emits similar banalities.

But you do not promote the harmony of a people by forbidding them from making statements of ultimate moral commonality in public. You do not under gird the meta-legal reality of shared moral identity by forbidding reference to that moral identity. You do not promote the domestic tranquility by assaulting all that has been held dear during the centuries long construction of the greatest nation on earth. And besides all that, you don't do well to make God needlessly mad at you.

There is no law, there is no constitution without Jesus. Whether or not the secularists who seek to dominate the public and redirect worship from God to the State believe this or not, ninety percent of the American public knows this whether they articulate it to reporters or not. Law without morality is the gun and the jack boot of the secret police. Institutionalists who seek to destroy any meta-law, who seek to assault the free spirit of our people by attacking their God, who wish to eliminate from public life all consequence of the Name of Jesus ensure that they are destroying the nation. They think that after they have deconstructed faith in the hearts of men and dismantled public religious life that they will somehow then be rulers themselves. But if they ever succeed, they will preside only over radioactive ashes.

We must stop them. Brian Bosma, Indiana House Speaker, needs to look on the excellent example of chaplain Klingenschmitt who has recognized that it is better to starve one's self to death than to be forbid to pray in Jesus' Name as a man charged with the Spiritual Life of his men. They want to force him to be a chaplain of a god of Pluralism but Klingenschmitt wisely insists that his Christian conscience is not open to being remanufactured by the State. He does not agree that the State is allowed to be the new godhead. He does not agree that Facts about God are arbitrarily to be co-opted by whatever ruling oligarchy. He refuses for one moment, even for one, to allow the State to dictate the content of his prayers or the public confession of his men. He is deeply, absolutely, thunderously, right.

Klingenschmitt and his like will carry the nation. This secular order which assaults the very rule of law by undermining the law's necessary assumptions will destroy itself. The only question is whether or not we shall be attached to it when it plunges, flaming, into the abyss.

Speaker Bosma of the Indiana House has a wonderful, beautiful, opportunity to be an instrument of salvation for this nation and its constitutional order. He can and should openly defy the judge, who has absolutely no power at all ever to change prayer content, and tell that judge that if he doesn't like it he can go to hell. It is totally insufficient, evil, and wrong to abide by this wicked judge's ruling for even a fraction of a second. If one does that, one agrees that the judicial system has power to regulate prayer and one has absolutely totally failed as a guardian of the constitution.

The Nazis explained at the Nuremberg trials that higher authorities had instructed them their crimes against humanity were enshrined law and they plead that they were just following lawful, legal orders. We hung them. We hung them because there are some things which transcend law and form the basis of it. Klingenschmitt understands this, he is a true son of the Republic. Does Bosma?

Andrew Longman is a Christian by confession and an applied scientist by trade. He holds a BS in Applied Physics and an MS in Physics from Purdue. He has taught Physics at the university level and works as a contracting instrumentation scientist developing experimental and applied apparatus for nuclear, chemical, structural, and other types of research. 
 Andrew Longman

Daily Times (01/04/06) - A group of Pakistani-American women has set up an organisation to reconstruct the churches destroyed by an angry mob in the town of Sangla on November 12 last year.

The organisers ? Nasim Khan, Rubina Bari and Shabana Syed ? of the Sangla Hill Rebuilding Coalition are coordinating the effort with local interfaith groups and Presbyterian churches to raise funds to rebuild the places of worship destroyed in the Punjab town.

Khan, from the local suburb of Herndon, says that the effort seeks to ?demonstrate to the world that Muslims of Pakistani origin, whether in Pakistan or abroad, stand together in tolerance and respect for all people. The Pakistan government must take the necessary steps to ensure that all Pakistanis regardless of religious affiliation are protected, and those who seek to threaten that freedom of religion are prosecuted accordingly. The people of Pakistan must stand together to ensure the rights of all Pakistanis ? Muslim or Christians, Hindu or Sikh, rich or poor, man or woman?.

The effort gets underway with a fundraising dinner at an Islamic centre in Herndon on January 21. Food for the dinner at $100-a-plate is being donated by a local American businessman. Northern Virginia Christian leaders see the effort as a show of solidarity between Muslims and Christians. The organisers in a letter circulated to supporters reminded them that the violent mob in Sangla had destroyed a Salvation Army church and facility, a Presbyterian church erected in 1902, a 68-year-old girls? school where 90 percents of the students were Muslim, and a home for priests and nuns.

The mob forced almost all Christian families to flee their homes for safety. The preliminary inquiry into the incident revealed that it began over a money-related dispute between two gamblers, a Muslim and a Christian. The Muslim accused the Christian of burning the Holy Quran.

Khan said: ?As American Muslims of Pakistani origin, we cannot simply stand by as the level of violence towards non-Muslim Pakistanis continues to rise. We cannot remain silent about the desecration of places of worship, no matter what their creed; nor can we remain silent over the complete failure of local Pakistani authorities to protect religious minorities against senseless persecution. We must take a stand on this issue, which has caused the already-tense relations between Muslims and people of other faiths to worsen globally while also dividing Pakistanis along religious lines. We must take a stand against religious discrimination in all its forms by helping rebuild at least one of the three churches destroyed, so that we may demonstrate to the world that Pakistani Muslims, whether at home or abroad, stand together in tolerance and respect for all people.

It's "persecution lite" compared to what our brothers and sisters around the world go through but it is still persecution. Do you ever wonder why so many people hate Christians. One reason is the constant stream of Christian bashing out of Hollywood.



NBC Could Mock More Than Episcopalians
WebCommentary
James Atticus Bowden

The NBC TV program ?The Book of Daniel? is a comedy about Episcopalians. The writer, Jack Kenny, is a practicing homosexual who describes himself as being "in Catholic recovery." He is interested in Buddhist teachings about reincarnation. He says this about Jesus as Lord, "I don't necessarily know that all the myth surrounding him (Jesus) is true."

The main character is an Episcopalian priest who is addicted to pain pills. There is the usual mix of alcoholism, drug dealing, homosexuality, embezzlement, adultery, promiscuous sex, and organized crime we all associate with Episcopalian churches. And, of course, the Savior of the World and God-in-man, Jesus, is just a wimpy guy riding shotgun and giving insipid advice. Pretty funny show, huh?

I wonder if NBC meant to mock Christianity and Christians? If so, they couldn?t be so clueless as to choose the Episcopalians as their vehicle. The Episcopalian church is splitting into its apostate, Sissy Christian majority and Bible-believing, stalwart minority over worshipping homosexuality. Soon there will be more Moslems in America than the ever-diminishing Episcopalians. Besides, there are much better alternatives to mix satirical comedy and religion. What could ever prevent NBC from having laugh riots with other religions? Consider the possibilities NBC rejected.

Messing With Mohammed. The imam at a Wahabbi mosque in Northern Virginia wonders how to best fight jihad in America. The valedictorian of his son?s Muslim high school is convicted of planning terrorist acts, so who will be his son?s roommate next year at infidel college? His oldest daughter wants to be the first suicide bomber in America but can?t decide whether to go with a colorful hijab for the Metro surveillance cameras or the full bodied burka now that she has gained weight. His five other kids are giving him a hard time about female circumcision and refuse to promise to do an honor killing of any sister who has sex or is raped. His wife keeps nagging him to get Sharia as law in the U.S. so he can get 3 more wives to help with the housework. Meanwhile, the Prophet Mohammed keeps showing up and bugging him to go on line to pick out the next 7 year old girl to marry like his last wife. Mohammed gives him dumb advice like, ?Do what I did to the Jewish Qurayza tribe in 627 AD and cut their heads off. All of them. It?s simple.?

Happy Hindu Days. The priest at a temple outside San Francisco has an elephant god statue that keeps leaking milk. The crushing crowds have ruined the new carpet with spilt milk. Grandpa is insisting that the priest take him and Grandma back to India before he dies of cancer. The rub is that Grandpa insists that Grandma commit suttee and jump on his funeral pyre. The imperialist, Christian Brits outlawed suttee, forcing their values down Hindu throats. Time to make it right for multiculturalism. His wife is upset that the local 7-11 manager keeps commenting that her caste spot is way cool gothic make up. But, the big crisis is that their next door neighbors are untouchable Dalits. The priest?s family is Brahmin. The Dalit dad won the lottery and now has the audacity to live in the same gated community. The priest is torn between hoping the 100 million Dalits convert to Christianity, as they are considering, so they won?t make his neighborhood unclean and worrying about who will replace them on the permanent bottom rung of society based on birth.

Buddhist Friends. A monk in Colorado is desperate because his monastery is being overrun by particularly stupid, wannabe converts. The Hollywood actors compete with the formerly Jewish New Yorkers over everything. But, they bring so much money to the monastery, what is he to do? These simpletons wallowing in their spirituality, not religion, give the kind of cash that makes the Buddhist nuns, who were sworn to poverty, donations to Al Gore look like chump change. Back in Communist China his parents had an illegal second child, his brother, who can?t find a wife now that so many girl babies were killed at birth. The monk is wondering how much it will cost to smuggle his brother and parents in the U.S. But, he is worried how it will look since the whole village has converted to Evangelical Christianity in an underground church.

Human Secular Sex in the Suburbs. A co-habitating couple who worship the God with a small ?g? called ?Self? leave the city and move to generic suburb. They live vapid, empty lives trying to fill the God-sized hole in the human heart with materialism, promiscuous sex without marriage, self-medication, and liberal political correctness. Wait, that?s already on. It?s most TV.

Real Christian Wingnuts. A reality show about Assembly of God, Southern Baptist and Roman Catholic families that live next to each other outside Atlanta. They pray for one another. The Baptist and Catholic fathers get back from relief work after Hurricane Katrina to find the Pentecostal father?s church brothers have built a wheelchair ramp for the Catholic family?s invalid grandmother. All the parents are collecting names for petitions to the school board to stop the cultural cleansing of Christmas. The kids play sports together and go to each others? youth groups if there is really a fun event. The Catholic parents are considering joining the home Bible study the Baptists have on Thursday. The Pentecostals already go to their own.

Wouldn?t these alternatives make better entertainment? NBC couldn?t possibly have an agenda to just mock Episcopalians. Or Christians. Could they?

James Atticus Bowden

Religious Freedom Day, 2006

The right to religious freedom is a foundation of America. On Religious Freedom Day, our Nation celebrates the passage of the 1786 Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom and the protection of religious freedom in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Our Founding Fathers knew the importance of freedom of religion to a stable democracy, and our Constitution protects individuals' rights to worship as they choose. We reject religious discrimination in every form, and we continue our efforts to oppose prejudice and to counter any infringements on religious freedom.

Today, we are also working to advance freedom of religion abroad. The Department of State's Office of International Religious Freedom plays an important role in these efforts, advocating for religious freedom and actively working against religious persecution around the world. In recent years, we have seen important progress, including in Vietnam, Laos, India, Georgia, and the United Arab Emirates, and with the release of many individuals in countries throughout the world who had been imprisoned because of their faith. By helping to secure the religious freedom of people in other countries, we promote the spread of liberty and human dignity.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 16, 2006, as Religious Freedom Day. I call on all Americans to reflect on the great blessing of religious liberty, endeavor to preserve this freedom for future generations, and commemorate this day with appropriate events and activities in their schools, places of worship, neighborhoods, and homes.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirtieth.

GEORGE W. BUSH

A Grotesque Protection Racket
Wahabi's export global fanaticism?
Larry Stirling
One Republic

It didn't take long for me to get an answer to the question I posed in a recent column concerning whether it is possible to be both a Muslim and an American citizen.

According to "Document 44" published and distributed by the Saudi Arabian embassy: "It is forbidden to be a Muslim and to become a citizen of a country governed by infidels." (That's us!)

I read a report entitled "Saudi Publications on Hate Ideology Invade American Mosques."

There are of course millions of Muslims. And each practices his or her religion in the best way they can given their circumstances and understanding.

And most live in "Muslim countries," so dealing with "infidels" is just not an issue on a day-to-day basis.

Muslims, as most people, simply want to get through the day safely with enough income to support their families.

However there is one sect of the Muslims that is entirely different. They are called the "Wahabi's" and they are native to Saudi Arabia.

The Wahabi's are homicidally adamant that their duty is to follow the letter of the Koran and spread, and impose by force if necessary, their faith and earthly government around the world including right here in San Diego through the Masjid Abu Bakr Mosque.

Their jingoistic worldview would be of little interest to us except for one very important fact. And that fact is that the Saudi Arabian government past and present sponsors them.

And we Americans are totally ambiguous about the Saudi government because of one three-letter word: oil.

The Saudi government is not a democracy. The Saudi family is in power as a result of a conquest of the oil-bearing vicinities in 1924.

The discovery of massive petroleum deposits there put them in the driver's seat in regards to the world's economy.

Constrict the oil supply and lifeblood of the world's wealth would congeal. Little would move; trade would slow; roads would deteriorate; and people would freeze in their homes.

The Saudi's are calling a lot of the shots in the world.

Up until about 30 years ago, according to the report, the Saudi's were an affable group sending many of their family to visit, learn, and even live (and party) in the United States.

But then the pesky Wahabi's started pushing them around.

Since the chubby guys in robes were so comfortable with their money and harems, they were not prepared to duke it out with a bunch of fanatics.

So they made a "Faustian bargain," if there ever was one.

The Saudi family agreed to both finance and diplomatically support the Wahabi's in the worldwide exportation of their fanatical beliefs on the sole condition that the Wahabi's support the Saudi family at home.

It was the normally soft-spoken former Secretary of State George Shultz who called this arrangement "a grotesque protection racket." And so it is.

Nothing has changed since 9-11. And it is not by accident that 15 of the 19 murderers in New York were Saudi citizens.

With their massive Saudi-government support, the Wahabi's are reported to have built and presently finance 90 percent of the mosques in the United States.

They finance most of the children's Muslim schools in the United States. The Wahabi's finance most, if not all, of the Muslim clerical training in the United States.

Since they are the only clerical schools, they are the source of Muslim chaplains for our military and our prisons. Most Americans know little about the Muslim religion. We are uncomfortable judging others. Plus most of the hate material circulated by the Wahabi's is in Arabic, which few of us speak.

If you are an atheistic American, they have it in for you. If you are a Christian American, you are an infidel. If you are a Jewish American, they reserve special venom for you. And if you are a non-Wahabi Muslim, you are also in trouble.

The constitution is not a suicide pact.

Come on Mr. Attorney General, shut these guys down! -one-

Christian Post (01/20/06) - Human Rights Watch released a report on Wednesday that contains information on the development of human rights in 68 countries based on events through November 2005.

The 532-page World Report 2006 was conducted by the New York-based human rights group through the contribution of most of its more than 150 staff members.

In the introduction, HRW Executive Director Kenneth Roth noted that ?torture and inhumane treatment are forbidden unconditionally, whether in time of peace or war, whether at the local police station or in the face of a major security threat.?

?Yet in 2005, evidence emerged showing that several of the world?s leading powers now consider torture, in various guises, a serious policy option,? he said.

The following are a few points presented in the 2006 report:

Burma

Burmese forces continue to attack and destroy villages uprooting the people and displacing hundreds of thousands of people. Brutal and protracted fighting between the military government and various ethnic groups seeking autonomy and freedom has been consistent and ongoing.

China

The one-party state does not hold national elections, has no independent judiciary, leads the world in executions, aggressively censors the Internet, bans independent trade unions, and represses minorities such as Tibetans, Uighurs, and Mongolians.

There have also been many reports of police raids, arrest, and torture of unregistered house church members.

Cuba

The country represses nearly all forms of political dissent and the government continues to enforce political conformity using criminal prosecutions, long-and short-term detentions, mob harassment, police warnings, surveillance, hours arrests, travel restrictions, and politically-motivated dismissals from employment. The end result is that Cubans are systematically denied basic rights to free expression, association, assembly, privacy, movement, and due process of law.

Eritrea

The Eritrean government?s tyranny became more ruthless in 2005, according to HRW. The government has arrested thousands of citizens for expressing dissenting views, practicing an ?unregistered? religion, and on suspicion of not fully supporting government policies, among other reasons. Prisoners are often held in secret prisons, including underground cells, cargo containers, and overcrowded prisons. There are also many reports of psychological and physical abuse.

Religious persecution include closing all religious institutions in May 2002 except for those affiliated with the Eritrean Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Eritrean Evangelical (Lutheran) churches and Sunni Muslim mosques. Unregistered religions have been suffering from persecution including arrest, beatings, and torture.

Iran

Respect for basic human rights in Iran, especially freedom of expression and opinion, deteriorated considerably in 2005. The government routinely uses torture and ill-treatment in detention, including prolonged solitary confinement. Paramilitary groups violently attack peaceful protesters, and intelligence services run illegal secret prisons and interrogation centers? [Go To Full Story]

To read the full story, click here: Religious Persecution Intensifying

If you were facing trial for your faith, would there be enough evidence to convict you? It's something to think about.

Suffering, persecution, martyrdom. Those words are repulsive and unpleasant. But religious persecution seems to be increasing, and several leaders predict it will greatly intensify this year.

Paul, who cited many of his sufferings in II Corinthians 11:23-27, wrote: ?Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.? - II Timothy 3:12.

Religious persecution appears in many forms - from tauntings, jeerings, harassment, social shunning and job discrimination, to actual danger, injury and even death.

?A new survey shows the majority of Americans think religion is under attack and losing influence in American life. According to American Attitudes toward Religion in the Public Square, 64 percent of 800 adults polled agreed that religion is under attack in the U.S., and 80 percent of those who identify themselves as evangelical Christians agreed. The poll also found 53 percent of respondents believe religion is ?losing influence' in American life while 35 percent said it is ?increasing influence.' Among those who think religion is losing influence, 60 percent are evangelical Christians, while 33 percent of that same group said religion is increasing in influence.? - Religion Today/CNSNews.com via MissionNet

Religious persecution has been a universal problem as evidenced by the early church, which thrived amid persecution, according to the book of Acts.

?James Draper, president of the Southern Baptist's LifeWay Christian Resources, says believers attending Chinese house churches are praying that American Christians might experience the kind of persecution they have seen in China so that it would ignite a similar revival in America.

?Draper, a prominent leader in the rapidly expanding Chinese house church movement, was asked how American Christians could pray for house churches in China. ?Stop praying for persecution in China to end,' he said. ?For it's through persecution that the church has grown...' He said the ?sleeping Christianity' in North America needs a wake-up call.? - Assist News Service via MissionNet.

One example of persecution is that of Navy Chaplain Gordon Klingenschmitt, who is facing termination of a stellar 14-year career for praying ?in the name of Jesus.? His commanding officer told a Navy board that Klingenschmitt ?overemphasizes his own faith system, and he was talking about my sermons and prayers, and specifically cited the Chaplain School director who told him I was an immature chaplain because I pray in Jesus' name.?

To read the full story, click here: Religious Persecution Intensifying

To read the full story, click here: CNSNews.com

A federal appeals court in New York ruled it's okay for New York City Public Schools to ban the display of Christian nativity scenes during the Christmas season, even though displays of the Jewish menorah and Islamic star and crescent are permitted during Hanukkah and Ramadan.

A conservative group that sued the school system over its policy said Christians should be outraged by the ruling.

The Thomas More Law Center challenged the ban on nativity scenes in December 2002, on behalf of Andrea Skoros and her two children, who complained that New York City's policy was violating their right to free exercise of religion.

The city defended its policy by arguing that the menorah and the star and crescent were permissible symbols because they were "secular," whereas the nativity scene had to be excluded because it was "purely religious."

In February 2004, a federal judge in New York agreed that Christian Nativity scenes do not belong in public school classrooms and he dismissed the lawsuit.

Skoros appealed, and on Thursday, a higher court ruled against her as well.

Christian Post (02/07/06) - Less than a week after a string of fires struck five Baptist churches in Alabama, four more churches were damaged or destroyed by fires, a state official said Tuesday.

The four new fires, which reportedly occurred overnight, were about 10 to 20 miles from each other, near the Mississippi line. Ragan Ingram, a spokesman for the state insurance agency that oversees fire investigations, said it was too soon to say if there was any link between the sets of blazes but told The Associated Press, "Obviously we're going to investigate these as suspected arsons."

According to reports, all nine Alabama churches struck since last Thursday were Baptist ? the dominant faith in the area ? and all were in sparsely populated areas off rural roads. The FBI is looking into whether fires are a civil rights violation under laws covering attacks on religious property.

"With these new church burnings, the faith community calls upon the Bush Administration and the Department of Justice to use every resource possible to apprehend those behind the fires,? stated the Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense Coalition, after receiving news of the latest fires. The Christian Defense Coalition and the National Clergy Council were in Alabama this past weekend to tour the burned churches and help establish a national fund for their rebuilding.

?It must be stressed that when a church building is burned, it is more than just an attack on a building. It is an attack up the core values that church represents and an attack upon religion itself,? Mahoney said in a statement released Tuesday. ?Americans must all work together to ensure places of worship are honored and protected regardless of the faith tradition they embrace."

According to Ingram, the most recent fires damaged Dancy First Baptist Church near Aliceville and Spring Valley Baptist Church near Emelle and destroyed Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church near Boligee and Gallilee Baptist in Panola.

Last Thursday and Friday, three churches ? Rehobeth Baptist Church in Randolph, Ashby Baptist Church in Brierfield and Pleasant Sabine Baptist Church in Centreville ? were burned to the ground, while two churches ? Antioch Baptist Church in Centreville and Old Union Baptist near Randolph ? were damaged by fire.

Of the five, four are affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), which said it would provide financial help and bring mobile chapels while the churches rebuild. SBC officials also said they would provide monetary help to the fifth church, Pleasant Sabine, which is not a member of the association but was also destroyed.

The affiliations of the most recent fire-struck churches have not yet been confirmed.

Agents investigating the five Bibb County fires said Tuesday that they were looking for a dark-colored sport-utility vehicle in connection with the blazes.

Members of Old Union Baptist Church in Brierfield told AP in interviews that they saw a dark Nissan Pathfinder near the building as they arrived to put out a fire shortly after 4 a.m. Friday.

Alabama Gov. Bob Riley said the state is offering a $5,000 reward in the investigation, and another $5,000 reward was posted by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on Saturday.

Investigators believe all five Bibb County fires were linked, Ingram reported. He said they are pursuing several leads but "the leads haven't led us to a specific suspect or a motive."

To read the full article, click here: It's Hard to Be Like Jesus

In my visits to churches overseas, one difference from North American Christians stands out sharply: their view of hardship and suffering. We who live in an age of unprecedented comfort seem obsessed with the problem of pain. Skeptics mention it as a major roadblock to faith, and believers struggle to come to terms with it. Prayer meetings in the U.S. often focus on illnesses and requests for healing. Not so elsewhere.

I asked a man who visits unregistered house churches in China whether Christians there pray for a change in harsh government policies. After thinking for a moment, he replied that not once had he heard a Chinese Christian pray for relief.

"They assume they'll face opposition," he said. "They can't imagine anything else." He then gave some examples. One pastor had served a term of 27 years at hard labor for holding unauthorized church meetings. When he emerged from prison and returned to church, he thanked the congregation for praying. Assigned a dangerous prison job, he had managed to couple together 1 million railroad cars without an injury. "God answered your prayers for my safety!" he proudly announced. Another imprisoned pastor heard that his wife was going blind. Desperate to rejoin her, he informed the warden that he was renouncing his faith. He was released, but soon felt so guilty that he turned himself in again to the police. He spent the next 30 years in prison.

I found the same pattern in Myanmar (formerly Burma), a dictatorship with brutal policies against religious activities. The person who invited me to the country informed me, "When you speak to pastors, you should remember that probably all of them have spent time in jail because of their faith."

"Then should I talk about one of my book topics like Where Is God When It Hurts? Or Disappointment with God?" I asked.

"Oh, no, that's not really a concern here," he said. "We assume we'll be persecuted for faith. We want you to speak on grace. We need help getting along with each other."

Legacy of suffering

In preparation for my Myanmar trip, I read several biographies of Adoniram Judson (1788 - 1850), one of the first missionaries from the United States and the one who first brought the Christian faith to Burma. Hardship stalked his life. When war broke out with England, the Burmese arrested Judson because, light-skinned and English-speaking, he looked and talked like the enemy. (Actually, the U.S. was still recovering from its own wars against England.)

Judson was force-marched barefoot for eight miles to prison, where each night the guards passed a bamboo pole between his heavily shackled legs and hoisted the lower part of his body high off the ground. Blood rushed to his head, preventing sleep and causing fierce cramps in his shoulders and back. Clouds of mosquitoes feasted on the raw flesh of his feet and legs. Treatment like this went on for almost two years, and Judson managed to endure only because his devoted wife brought him food each day and pled with the guards for better treatment.

A few months after his release, Judson's wife, weakened by smallpox, died of fever, and shortly after that their baby daughter also died. Judson nearly had a breakdown. He would kneel by his wife's grave for hours each day, regardless of weather. He built a one-room hut in the jungle, morosely dug his own grave in case it might prove necessary, and worked in solitude on a translation of the Bible in the Burmese language. Only a handful of Burmese had shown any interest in the Christian message. Yet he stayed on, 34 years in all, and because of his faithfulness more than 1 million Burmese Christians today trace their spiritual roots to Adoniram Judson. The dictionary he compiled, now nearly 200 years old, remains the official dictionary of Myanmar.

I have read enough such stories and interviewed enough saintly people so as to become impervious to any hint of a prosperity gospel that guarantees health and wealth. "If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me," said Jesus, who could never be accused of false advertising. "All men will hate you because of Me," He told His disciples. But the trials would be worth enduring, for "he who stands firm to the end will be saved ?. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul."

To continue reading, click here: It's Hard to Be Like Jesus

(Christian Post) WASHINGTON - The U.N. General Assembly voted ''overwhelmingly'' on a resolution to set up a new Human Rights Council to replace the ''much-criticized'' Human Rights Commission on Wednesday.

After months of intensive negotiations, the new Human Rights Council was adopted by a vote of 170 in favor and 4 against, with the United States, Israel, the Marshall Islands and Palau opposed to the new Council and Venezuela, Iran and Belarus abstaining to vote.

The U.N. Secretary-General had suggested the council in a report to the General Assembly one year ago and said it would give the United Nations ?a much needed chance to make a new beginning in its work for human rights around the world.?

General Assembly President Jan Eliasson highlighted several features that would make the Council a ?significant improvement? including the Council?s higher status as a subsidiary body of the General Assembly; its increased number of meetings throughout the year; equitable geographical representation; and the voting rights associated with membership.

The new Council will have 47 members and the first elections are scheduled for May 9 with the first session taking place on June 19.

Washington, D.C. based International Christian Concern, an interdenominational human rights organization, on Thursday said the new U.N. Human Rights Council was not what Christians were looking for but may be the best that the ?flawed? U.N. can come up with.

?The vote is basically a compromise,? ICC President Jeff King told The Christian Post. ?It is not - as far as the Christian world is concerned - what we are looking for. It is more the best that they can come up with because the U.N. is such a flawed body.

?Basically,? he said, ?the old body was full of abusers that had insinuated themselves onto the committee and were protecting themselves from criticism. So the U.N. is aware of them and they wanted to come up with a new human rights council that would deal with this.?

King acknowledged improvements made by the new council such as more frequent meetings throughout the year and a smaller council body, but noted that the council was still too large. He also expressed disappointment that a proposal to require 2/3 of the countries in the general assembly to support a country?s admission to the council was dropped and is not part of the new agreement.

King concluded, ?The U.S. opposed the new council not because it is terrible but because it looks like it will be more of the same. It will be abused and the system will be open to manipulation, etc.?

?So it is not what we are looking for but lets cross our fingers. My suspicion is it will be pretty weak.?

Michelle Vu
michelle@christianpost.com

Like most of his fellow critics, the Times A.O. Scott gives a ho-hum thumbs down to "The DaVinci Code" (in which a mortal Jesus is at the center of an elaborate fraud, with the Catholic Church as a murderous conspiracy) but doesn?t see anything to get offended by:

"In any case Mr. Howard and Mr. Goldsman handle the supposedly provocative material in Mr. Brown's book with kid gloves, settling on an utterly safe set of conclusions about faith and its history, presented with the usual dull sententiousness. So I certainly can't support any calls for boycotting or protesting this busy, trivial, inoffensive film. Which is not to say I'm recommending you go see it."

Contrast Scott?s "so what?" attitude toward "The DaVinci Code" with his treatment of Mel Gibson?s "Passion of the Christ." Back in 2004, Scott excoriated "Passion" for its Biblically accurate scenes of violence: "The Passion of the Christ is so relentlessly focused on the savagery of Jesus' final hours that this film seems to arise less from love than from wrath, and to succeed more in assaulting the spirit than in uplifting it."

And of course the Times found the Mohammad cartoons so offensive the paper wouldn't even print them for fear of offending Muslim sensibilities. Apparently, Christian sensibilities don't merit quite the same level of concern.

 
Look who's teaching Johnny about Islam
Saudi-funded Islamic activists have final say in shaping public-school lessons on religions
WorldNetDaily

Posted: May 3, 2004
By Paul Sperry

WASHINGTON -- A top textbook consultant shaping classroom education on Islam in American public schools recently worked for a school funded and controlled by the Saudi government, which propagates a rigidly anti-Western strain of Islam, a WorldNetDaily investigation reveals.

The consultant, Susan L. Douglass, has also praised Pakistan's madrassa schools as "proud symbols of learning," even after the U.S. government blamed them for fueling the rise of the Taliban and al-Qaida.

Douglass, routinely described as a "scholar" or "historian," has edited manuscripts of world history textbooks used by middle and high school students across the country. She's also advised state education boards on curriculum standards dealing with world religion, and has helped train thousands of public school teachers on Islamic instruction.

In effect, she is responsible for teaching millions of American children about Islam, experts say, while operating in relative obscurity.

WorldNetDaily has learned that up until last year Douglass taught social studies at the Islamic Saudi Academy in Alexandria, Va., which teaches Wahhabism through textbooks that condemn Jews and Christians as infidels and enemies of Islam. Her husband, Usama Amer, still teaches at the grades 2-12 school, a spokeswoman there confirmed. Both are practicing Muslims.

The Saudi government funds the school, which has a sister campus in Fairfax, Va.

"It is a school that is under the auspices of the Saudi Embassy," said Ali al-Ahmed, executive director of the Washington-based Saudi Institute, a leading Saudi opposition group. "So the minister of education appoints the principal of the school, and the teachers are paid by the Saudi government."

He says many of the academy's textbooks he has reviewed contain passages promoting hatred of non-Muslims. For example, the eleventh-grade text says one sign of the Day of Judgment will be when Muslims fight and kill Jews, who will hide behind trees that say: "Oh Muslim, oh servant of God, here is a Jew hiding behind me. Come here and kill him."

Al-Ahmed, a Shiite Muslim born in predominantly Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia, says the school's religious curriculum was written by Sheik Saleh al-Fawzan, a senior member of the Saudi religious council, who he said has "encouraged war against unbelievers." Al-Fawzan has authored textbooks used in Saudi schools.

A report released last year by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom found that the Saudi Ministry of Education publishes texts presenting Islam as "the only true religion" and denouncing all other religions as "invalid" and "misguided."

"Christians and Jews repeatedly are labeled as infidels and enemies of Islam who should not be befriended or emulated, and are referred to in eighth-grade textbooks as 'apes and pigs,'" the report said. In addition, it found that "some Saudi government-funded textbooks used in North American Islamic schools have been found to encourage incitement to violence again non-Muslims."

Critics complain that Douglass, who taught at the Saudi academy for at least a decade, has convinced American textbook publishers and educators to gloss over the violent aspects of Islam to make the faith more appealing to non-Muslim children. The units on Islam reviewed by WND appear to give a glowing and largely uncritical view of the faith.

Asked about it, Douglass referred questions to the Council on Islamic Education, which did not respond. CIE's website lists her in its staff directory as a "principal researcher and writer."

CIE is a Los Angeles-based Muslim activist group run by Shabbir Mansuri, who has been quoted in the local press saying he's waging a "bloodless" revolution to fight what he calls anti-Muslim bias in public schools and promote Islam in a positive light in American classrooms. Mansuri, who consults with Saudi education ministers at his center, claimed in a 2002 op-ed piece that Islam has been on American soil "since before this nation was founded."

Also, he spoke at a 2001 Islamic conference with several Muslim extremists, including an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, according to a speakers schedule for the event obtained by WND.

The three major U.S. publishers of world history texts ? Houghton Mifflin, McGraw Hill and Prentice Hall ? have all let Mansuri and Douglass review their books. In fact, Houghton Mifflin's seventh-grade text, "Across the Centuries," was republished according to CIE's suggestions.

In the past, most K-12 texts devoted no more than a few pages to Islam. But thanks to CIE's efforts since 1990 ? including lobbying state education boards ? grade-school text units on Islam have flourished. "Across the Centuries," for one, spends more than 30 pages on Islam and includes colorful prose and graphics.

But it offers a sanitized version of Islam, critics say.

For instance, the text softens the meaning of "jihad" ? a concept interpreted in Abdullah Yusuf Ali's "The Meaning of the Holy Quran" to mean "waging war," or "fighting in Allah's cause" ? with dying while fighting in the cause being the highest form of jihad.

Holy war is not part of the definition found in the "Across the Centuries" textbook, however.

"An Islamic term that is often misunderstood is jihad," the text says on page 64. "The term means 'to struggle,' to do one's best to resist temptation and overcome evil."

One of CIE's teachers guides lists quitting smoking as an example of jihad.

"It's a sugar-coated definition," said Edward White, associate counsel for the Thomas More Law Center, an Ann Arbor, Mich.-based public-interest law firm which has fought what it sees as Islamic indoctrination in U.S. public education.

Even scholar John L. Esposito, considered by critics to be one of Islam's leading apologists, has written that "jihad means the struggle to spread and to defend Islam" ? through "warfare" if necessary.

Houghton Mifflin's high school world history textbook, "Patterns of Interaction," used in Texas and other states, reportedly leaves jihad out altogether.

White argues Houghton Mifflin has published an unrealistic picture of Islam, and has been manipulated by CIE, which clearly has a pro-Muslim bias.

The Boston-based publisher denies it. A spokesman called the assertion "unfounded."

However, its editorial director for school social studies told a Muslim website in 1999 that it's also allowed CIE to critique its coverage of Christian history, and to add its view of what the Crusades were like for the Muslims.

The article, posted on Sound Vision.com, a marketer of Muslim educational products, quotes Houghton Mifflin editor Abigail Jungreis as saying, "We've had a really good relationship with them (CIE) over the years. Their reviewers are knowledgeable."

Jungreis singles out Douglass for praise in the article.

Douglass has argued for more in-depth coverage of Islam in classrooms, while at the same time advising that Christian principles, including historic facts such as Christ's crucifixion, are clearly qualified with attributions such as "Christians believe."

Houghton Mifflin is not the only major publisher influenced by CIE. Prentice Hall also collaborates with the group. And its "Connections to Today," which is the most widely used world history book in the country, instructs students that jihad is an "inner struggle to achieve spiritual peace," according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Also, CIE has helped write supplemental teachers materials that engage children in entertaining Muslim role-playing activities in the class. Parents say they make the study of Christianity and other religions seem dull by comparison.

A CIE-edited teachers aid used in California schools became the subject of a federal First Amendment case last year, as WorldNetDaily reported. The Thomas More Law Center sued a San Francisco-area school district on behalf of parents of seventh-graders who were required to "become Muslims" for two weeks as part of their world history unit on Islam.

However, U.S. District Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton, a Clinton appointee, dismissed the lawsuit against the Byron Union School District, arguing the Muslim unit does not promote religion, and therefore does not violate the First Amendment's cl