The area around the German city of Münster in North Rhine-Westphalia is experiencing a wave of vandalism directed at shrines and religious statues. These incidents may be totally random. It may be that miscreant “youths” pick out statues and decapitate them for no reason. No one seems to know.
Many thanks to Carpe Diem for the translation, and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling:
Read the related article at Vlad’s place.
Video transcript:
Below is the latest video from the French immigration-critical group Generation Identitaire.
Many thanks to Bear for the translation, and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling:
Transcript:
It is vital to have a version of Geert Wilders’ open letter to Pope Francis in His Holiness’ native language, so we owe a debt of gratitude to Fausta for this Spanish translation.
The translator includes this note about the sources used for the text:
I used original sources for everything that Geert Wilders quoted. For the pope’s words, I used the official Vatican document in Spanish. For the quotes from the Koran, I used this official online translation.
Geert Wilders, líder del PVV (Partij voor de Vrijheid, Partido por la Libertad) holandés, escribió hoy la siguiente carta abierta al Papa Francisco.
Carta Abierta a Su Santidad el Papa Francisco
Su Santidad,
En su reciente Exhortación Apostólica Evangelii Gaudium (párrafos 247-248) usted dirige al mundo a que preste atención a la deuda que los cristianos le tienen a los judíos y a la fe judía. Su exhortación también condena fuertemente las terribles persecuciones que los judíos han sufrido a manos de los cristianos en el pasado.
Sus palabras habrán de inspirar a muchos.
Desgraciadamente, contrastan con el odio expresado el octubre pasado por el líder espiritual del islam suni, Ahmad Al-Tayeb, quien es el Gran Jeque del Instituto Al-Azhar del Cairo.
El Gran Jeque Ahmad Al-Tayeb afirmó el 25 de octubre durante una entrevista televisada en Egipto la importancia del verso coránico 5:82, el cual dice que, de todos los pueblos, los cristianos son los más acercados a los musulmanes, mientras que los judíos son los más enemigos. Este verso ha inspirado siglos de odio islamista hacia los judíos.
Al invocar el odio coránico a los judíos, Al-Tayeb está continuando catorce siglos de enseñanza islámica. Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi, el Gran Jeque de Al-Azhar anterior a Al-Tayeb, hasta escribió un libro titulado Los Hijos de Israel en el Corán y la Sunna, defendiendo el odio a los judíos basándose en las enseñanzas del Corán.
La persecución que sufren los cristianos a manos de los islámicos en Siria, Egipto, Sudán, Nigeria, Pakistán e Indonesia demuestra claramente lo que los cristianos tienen que sobrellevar a manos de los discípulos del Corán. Lo que los ateos y los judíos, a quienes se les consideran los peores enemigos, sufren bajo el islam es todavía peor.
En su Exhortación Apostólica Evangelii Gaudium (párrafos 252-253), Usted afirma que “el verdadero Islam y una adecuada interpretación del Corán se oponen a toda violencia”.
La realidad no confirma esta aseveración.
El Corán está llena de versos belicosos y llenos de desprecio contra los que no sean musulmanes. Su Santidad los podrá encontrar si lee el Corán, pero he de mencionarle unos cuantos;
The United States Air Force Band performed as a flash mob at the National Air and Space Museum on Dec. 3, 2013. Their Christmas season selection began with “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” by J.S. Bach and finished with “Joy to the World”:
One can’t help but wonder whether the top administrators at the Smithsonian were aware of this event before it occurred. Two explicit references to Jesus — the horror! If the video becomes popular enough, we may expect the ACLU to intervene with one of its deep-pockets lawsuits.
Until then, however — Joy!
Hat tip: Forever Infidel.
Below is a Finnish version of Geert Wilders’ open letter to Pope Francis, which was published here on Friday. Many thanks to Kumitonttu for the translation.
Seuraavan avoimen kirjeen paavi Franciscukselle on kirjoittanyt Geert Wilders, Hollannin vapauspuolueen PVV:n puheenjohtaja.
Avoin kirje paavi Franciscukselle.
Teidän pyhyytenne,
äskettäin antamassanne apostolisessa kehotuskirjeessänne Evangelii Gaudiumissa (kappaleet 247-248) korostitte, että kristityt eivät ole velkaa juutalaisille tai heidän heidän uskonnolleen
Tuomitsette samalla historiassa kristittyjen juutalaisiin kohdistamat ankarat vainot.
Sananne innoittavat monia.
Valitettavasti ne ovat jyrkässä ristiriidassa viime lokakuussa johtavan sunni-muslimin, Kairon Al-Azhar instituutin pääimaamin Ahmad Al-Tayebin haastattelun kanssa. Lokakuun 25. päivänä Egyptin televisiossa esitetyssä haastattelussa pääimaami Al-Tayeb vahvisti koraanin säkeen 5:82 olevan edelleen ajankohtainen. Jakeessa todetaan, että kristityt ovat muslimeille läheisimpiä kun taas juutalaiset ovat kiivaimman vihanpidon kohteena. Tämä jae on vuosisatojen ajan innoittanut muslimeita heidän suhtautumisessaan juutalaisiin.
Al-Tayebin viittaus koraanin juutalaisvastaisuuteen on 1.400 vuotta jatkunutta islamilaista opetusta. Hänen edeltäjänsä instituutin pääimaamina, Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi, kirjoitti kirjan “The Children of Israel in the Koran and the Sunna”, jossa hän puolusteli juutalaisvastaisuuttaan koraanin opetuksilla.
Kristittyjen kärsimykset juuri nyt Syyriassa, Irakissa, Egyptissä, Sudanissa, Nigeriassa, Pakistanissa, Indonesiassa ja monissa muissa maissa selvästi osoittaa, minkä osan koraanin seuraajat ovat heille valinneet. Ateistien ja juutalaisten, joiden asema on kristittyjäkin huonompi, voi olettaa kärsivän vieläkin enemmän.
Kehotuskirjeessänne (kappaleet 252-253) toteatte, että “oikea islam ja sen tulkinta ei kannusta minkäänlaiseen väkivaltaan”.
Todellisuus ei vastaa lausuntoanne.
Koraani on riidanhaluinen ja lietsoo vihaa ei-muslimeita kohtaan. Jos teidän pyhyytenne lukee koraania, voitte todeta asian itse, joten viittaan seuraavaksi vain
muutamiin jakeisiin:
Update: Whoo-hoo! 9:30am, and we still have electricity — for the moment…
Winter weather is headed for Schloss Bodissey late tonight. But the above photo is somewhat dishonest: that’s not the sort of climate change we’re expecting.
Before dawn the storm will begin with a little bit of powdered climate change, and then switch to pelletized climate change before changing to solidified climate change. Or snow, sleet, and freezing rain, respectively.
That last one is the most likely candidate to knock out our electric power. In preparation for that possibility I’ve just filled the bathtub, along with eight or so large containers of water. We have a gas stove, so we can continue to prepare hot food and coffee.
But no gas-powered internet, alas. So, if you don’t hear anything from us for a while, you’ll know why.
Armed attackers in Baghdad opened fire today on shops selling alcohol, killing at least nine people. It is thought that the gunmen may have been upset with the shopkeepers for violating Islamic law concerning alcohol.
In other news, the British ambassador to the UN reported that Al Qaeda kidnappers in North Africa and the Middle East collected £50 million (about $80 million) in ransoms over a period of just three years.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Brutally Honest, C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, Jerry Gordon, JP, Kitman, Steen, TV, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.
Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.
In the comments on Geert Wilders’ open letter to Pope Francis, a reader named MH indicated that he was unfamiliar with — or was pretending to be unfamiliar with — the Islamic doctrine of abrogation as it applies to contradictory verses within the Koran.
In a nutshell, any earlier verse of the Koran is considered “abrogated” if a later verse contradicts it. The chronology of the suras of the Koran has been well-established by a consensus of Islamic scholars, so an observant Muslim can be in no doubt as to whether any particular verse of the Koran is binding upon him under Islamic law.
Retired U.S. Army Major Stephen Coughlin is one of the foremost experts on Islamic law in the Western world. Several years ago I had the privilege of helping with the editing of material that Steve was putting together, including the following section on the Koranic basis for the doctrine of abrogation. The text below is reproduced with his permission.
The Doctrine of Abrogation
By Maj. Stephen Coughlin
At the very pinnacle of Islamic law is the Koran, which is the uncreated word of God as revealed through his Prophet.
So what is abrogation?
This is what Imran Ahsan Khan Nyazee has to say about abrogation in Islamic Jurisprudence:[1]
The law was laid down in the period of the Prophet (peace be unto him) gradually and in stages. The aim was to bring a society steeped in immorality to observe the highest standards of morality. This could not be done abruptly. It was done in stages, and doing so necessitated repeal and abrogation of certain laws.
As you can see, Nyazee acknowledges that the Koran contradicts itself. Upon discovering this fact, someone who knows little about Islam might say, “The Koran contradicts itself. Doesn’t this mean it’s broken?” But anyone who takes the time to look into the scholarship will learn that is well understood in Islam that the Koran contradicts itself. This fact is explained, and taken into account. There are methods for dealing with it.
This becomes significant when non-Muslims approach a Muslim cultural expert or “moderate” to ask about certain verses of the Koran that are cited by radicals to justify their violent jihad. The cultural expert or “moderate” will respond with something like this: “You (infidel) must read from the entire body of the Koran to understand the true meaning. Those radicals cherry-pick from the back of the Koran.”
With this reply the cultural expert gives the impression that he does not agree with the radicals, but he never actually says that what they cherry-pick is wrong.
So what is the Koranic basis for the doctrine of abrogation?
It is a Qur’an which We have divided into parts from time to time, in order that thou mightest recite it to men at intervals: We have Revealed it by stages. (Qur’an 17:106)
Concerning this verse, the Qur’an commentator Yusuf Ali says:[2]
Takuan Seiyo has written a response to Geert Wilders after reading the PVV leader’s open letter to Pope Francis.
Memo to Geert Wilders concerning “Open Letter to His Holiness Pope Francis”
Dear Geert,
Bravo! I am a supporter and admirer. I do not “get” at all your White critics and persecutors, except those who are Socialists and pursue a not-so-secret strategy of destroying the West via the Cultural Marxist prescription of, as British Labor has admitted, “rubbing their face in it.”
But you have not gone far enough either in your criticism of this “Liberation Catholic” Pope nor in your own positions relative to Muslim presence in the Netherlands, in Europe and in the West. I will help you with the former; the latter would be redundant as your country is too far gone for you to state the truth openly. You have already been punished enough just for stating the half-truth.
It needs to be said, however, that your going on about Islam, the Koran and all that is like a discourse about the volatility and flammability of paint solvent, without touching on the issues of who has placed this large, open container of it so close to the stove, why, and what needs to be done about that.
The Koran is not the problem, no matter how vile its content. The Koran existed in the same form in 1813, 1913, 1953 etc, yet there was no problem. The problem had ended in the years 1683-1715 through the application of brutal force. There was no problem because there were hardly any Muslims living in the West, and the West was strong, not engaged in the constant mea culpa, self-torture and scraping of old wounds that opportunistic pathogens, the Ummah chief among them, have now so skillfully utilized to their advantage.
The Pope’s statement you address is therefore colossally deluded even beyond the false apprehension of Islam that you have so skillfully skewered. The lines in Evangelii Gaudium about Christian persecutions of the Jews are of central importance here, for Europe’s hara-kiri now is in unacknowledged self-punishment for the mistreatment of Europe’s Jews in the past. But just as the Christian persecutions of Jews were vile madness, and Hitler’s industrial abattoir another, greater madness, so is our self-eviscerating expiation now, reflected in the Pope’s super-ecumenical pabulum.
All this reflects a strange binary syndrome wherein our collective consciousness and history swing like a pendulum always from one extreme pole to the other, never able to contain the amplitude within a homeostatic zone of salutary equilibrium. This is how I described the syndrome in an article for The Brussels Journal in 2007:
“Unlike the Confucians, Daoists or Zenists, we are a cultural species apparently unable to internalize and act on any reality but that which we construe at either of the far ends of the arc of the pendulum. We go from Hitler to our self-inflicted Hitler’s revenge; from vile, racially targeted, industrial-scale mass murder to masochistic, self-erasing impotence; from scientific racism to nonscientific anti-racism; from ein volk to ‘celebrating diversity.’”
Frank admission of early madness is a precondition for recognizing that what we are doing now is the antipole madness. Pope Francis has laudably recognized the former, without evincing any consciousness that he himself is an important agent in the current mirror-image lunacy.
The seppuku-by-thirdworlder-immigration, particularly Muslim immigration, and even more so the deep lying about it, are a prima facie civilizational psychosis, a suicide to atone for a homicide — of Jews. The mysterious Spanish writer Sebastián Vivar Rodríguez expressed this well in his poetic lament “Europa murió en Auschwitz” (reposted here). I did so differently, in an article for The Brussels Journal that discussed the negative impact of immigration on Switzerland:
The conviction of a Royal Marines commando for killing an irregular non-uniformed Taliban guerilla has caused a lot of controversy, both in the UK and abroad. Our English correspondent Seneca III has some choice words to say on the matter.
A Day of Infamy
by Seneca III
I speak now as an ex-Royal Marine and stand prepared to have my comments in this post judged accordingly.
Yesterday, 6th December 2013, Sergeant Alexander Blackman, 39, a Royal Marines Commando who has given fifteen years of dangerous, selfless service, much of it in Iraq and Afghanistan ,was jailed for life and will have to serve at least ten years before being eligible for parole for killing a wounded, non-uniformed Taliban on the battlefield in contravention of the terms of the (First) Geneva Convention, specifically concerning “…the treatment of wounded and sick armed forces in the field”, although the actual Courts Martial charge was one of murder.
As the media are and have been covering the background to and the actual circumstances of this case in substantial detail, and as the comments sections of the on-line media adequately reflect the feelings of the public at large, I do not intend to elaborate on the conviction, its ramifications, comparative sentencing or the definition of ‘armed forces’ here this day — British and allied GoV readers will have to make up their own minds and reflect upon their now and future position on this matter, but would be well advised to contemplate the words of Pastor Niemöller as they do so.
My personal response is simply this: The Judiciary, the Political Establishment that appointed them — and who may or may not have influenced the judgement and sentencing behind closed doors — together with the deconstructionist, Islam enabling chatterati cheering in the background, know all of you this; I WILL NOT FORGET THIS DAY NOR WILL I FORGIVE YOU THIS BETRAYAL — EVER.
Seneca III
Middle England, 07/12/2013
For links to previous essays by Seneca III, see the Seneca III Archives.
Below is a Portuguese version of Geert Wilders’ open letter to Pope Francis, which was published here yesterday. Many thanks to Forever Infidel for the translation.
Carta aberta à Sua Santidade o Papa Francisco
Santíssimo Padre,
Em sua recente exortação Evangelii Gaudium ( Parágrafos 247-248 ) vossa Santidade chama a atenção do mundo para a dívida que o Cristianismo tem para com os Judeus e sua fé. A exortação também contém uma dura condenação às terríveis perseguições que os Judeus sofreram no passado pelos Cristãos.
Suas palavras poderiam inspirar muitos.
Infelizmente, elas estão em nítido contraste com as expressões de ódio que foram ditas em outubro passado pelo líder espiritual do Islamismo Sunita, Ahmad Al-Tayeb, o grande imã do Instituto Al-Azhar, no Cairo.
Durante uma entrevista, que foi ao ar na televisão egípcia em 25 de outubro, o grande imã Ahmad Al-Tayeb reafirmou a relevância do verso 5:82, do Alcorão, que afirma que, de todas os povos, os Cristãos são os mais próximos dos Muçulmanos, enquanto que o Judeus são seus piores inimigos. Este verso tem inspirado séculos de ódio islâmico aos Judeus.
A invocação de Al-Tayeb do corânico ódio aos Judeus está em linha com catorze séculos de ensinamentos islâmicos. Mesmo o predecessor do grande imã Al-Tayeb em Al-Azhar, Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi, escreveu um livro intitulado Os Filhos de Israel no Alcorão e na Sunna, em defesa do ódio aos Judeus com base nos ensinamentos do Alcorão .
O sofrimento atual dos Cristãos devido à perseguição Islâmica na Síria, Iraque, Egito, Sudão, Nigéria, Paquistão, Indonésia e tantos outros países, indica claramente o que os Cristãos têm que suportar dos seguidores do AlCorão. O que os ateus e os Judeus, que são considerados os piores inimigos, têm que suportar do Islamismo é ainda pior.
Em sua exortação Evangelii Gaudium ( parágrafos 252-253 ) Vossa Santidade declara que “o autêntico Islã e a leitura adequada do Alcorão se opõem a todas as formas de violência”.
A realidade não confirma esta declaração.
O Alcorão está cheio de versos belicosos e que incitam o ódio contra os não-muçulmanos. Vossa Santidade será capaz de encontrá-los se ler o Alcorão, mas vou citar apenas alguns:
Below is a Dutch version of Geert Wilders’ open letter to Pope Francis, which was published here yesterday. The translation was originally published at E.J. Bron.
Open brief van Wilders aan paus Franciscus: “We moeten de waarheid zeggen over de islam”
Uwe Heiligheid, in uw jongste leerschrift “Evangelii Gaudium” (alinea´s 247-248) vestigt u de aandacht van de wereld op de verplichting van het christendom tegenover de Joden en hun vertrouwen. Uw apostolische boodschap bevat ook een scherpe veroordeling van de vervolgingen waaronder de Joden in het verleden door de christenen hadden te lijden. Uw woorden zijn woorden, die velen zouden kunnen bemoedigen. Helaas zijn zij in grote tegenspraak met de haattirades die de religieuze leider van de soennitische islam, Ahmad Al-Tayeb, de grootimam van het Al-Azhar-instituut in Cairo, bekend liet maken.
Tijdens een interview, dat op 25 oktober op de Egyptische televisie werd uitgezonden, bracht grootimam Ahmad Al-Tayeb de betekenis van het koranvers 5:82 tot uitdrukking, dat zegt dat van alle mensen de christenen het dichtst bij de moslims staan, terwijl de Joden hun grootste vijanden zijn. Dit vers heeft de eeuwenlange islamitische haat op de Joden gemotiveerd.
De verwijzing van Al-Tayeb naar de uit de koran voortkomende Jodenhaat komt overeen met 14 eeuwen islamitische leer. De voorganger van Al-Tayeb aan het Al-Azhar-instituut, Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi, schreef zelfs een boek met de titel “De kinderen van Israël in de koran en de soenna” om de Jodenhaat in de koranleer te verdedigen.
Het huidige leed van de christenen onder islamitische vervolging in Syrië, in Irak, in Egypte, in Soedan, in Nigeria, in Pakistan, in Indonesië en nog zoveel andere landen toont duidelijk aan wat christenen onder de aanhangers van de islam te verduren hebben. Wat atheïsten en Joden, die als de ergste vijanden beschouwd worden, onder de islam te verduren hebben, is nog erger.
In uw leerschrift stelt u vast dat de “ware islam en het juiste lezen van de koran tegenovergesteld zijn aan iedere vorm van geweld.”
De werkelijkheid bevestigt deze verklaring niet.
De koran staat vol met oorlogszuchtige en van haat vervulde verzen tegen niet-moslims. Uwe Heiligheid zal in staat zijn deze te vinden als hij de koran leest, maar ik wil er graag enkele van citeren:
Al Qaeda fighters targeted the defense ministry in Yemen yesterday, detonating a suicide bomb outside the compound and staging a gun battle at the hospital inside. 52 people were killed and 162 wounded, with seven foreign doctors and nurses among the dead. In response, Germany warned its citizens to leave the country.
In other news, schoolchildren in Shanghai were ordered to stay indoors as the smog enveloping the city reached extremely dangerous levels.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Caroline Glick, Fjordman, Insubria, JP, Kitman, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.
Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.
Michael Stürzenberger is the leader of the Munich branch of the German anti-Shariah party Die Freiheit. Every week he addresses a public gathering in central Munich, talking about Islam and the proposed mega-mosque, against which he has organized a citizens’ petition.
Last Saturday, as he addressed the crowd, certain culturally enriched citizens of Munich attacked him with shoes and fireworks. Mr. Stürzenberger described what happened:
During the rally, a Muslim constantly showed me his middle finger. When I asked him to put it back to where it came from, a cascade of insults were his reaction:
[…]
At the peak of his defamation he took off his right shoe and threw it at me, which is presumably one of the most disrespectful things one can do in Islam. The video of the attack documents how the Muslim volcano begins to bubble when it’s confronted with factual information.
Many thanks to Carpe Diem for translating the video from Munich, and to Vlad Tepes for subtitling it:
For the rest of the PI article about the incident, see the translation at Vlad’s blog.
Video transcript: