In an inexplicable move, some religious organizations will host a dinner reception on September 25 for one of the world's most renowned terrorist supporters, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He has been asked to speak on the topic, "Has Not One God Created Us? The Significance of Religious Contributions to Peace." I stand with the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom in strongly condemning this move by the American Friends Service Committee, the Mennonite Central Committee, the World Council of Churches, and the Episcopal Church.
Ahmadinejad is a man who has repeatedly called for the annihilation of the Jewish state of
Ahmadinejad has also warned that "[a]nybody who recognizes
Just recently, the Iranian Parliament voted in favor of a bill permitting the death penalty for "apostasy," i.e., voluntarily changing one's religious faith.
Under this law, "Christians, Baha'is, and even some Muslims would be vulnerable to arbitrary arrest and imprisonment. . . . [T]wo Christians from Muslim backgrounds who are currently in prison for apostasy--Mahmoud Mohammad Matin-Azad and Arash Ahmad-Ali Basirat--could be given the death sentence."
This law was enacted despite the fact that
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom recently sent a letter of protest to those who invited Ahmadinejad to speak which stated:
[W]e are convinced that this invitation and this platform will be counterproductive. President Ahmadinejad has manipulated such dialogues repeatedly into a platform for spreading hatred. He hosted some of the world's most notorious deniers of the Holocaust, racists and anti-Semites at a 2006 conference questioning the well-established facts of the Holocaust and calling for the destruction of a member-state of the United Nations. The only accomplishment of such an invitation would be to burnish the Iranian leader's legitimacy and cleanse his reputation as a purveyor of hate.
. . . [T]he invitation to President Ahmadinejad comes amid a rapidly accelerating deterioration of religious freedom and other human rights in Iran, including prolonged detention, torture, and executions often based on the religion of the accused.
. . . More than 20 Baha'is currently are in prison in
. . . Four women leaders of the One Million Signatures campaign, which is dedicated to ending discrimination against women in the application of Islamic law in
. . . Reformists and journalists are regularly tried under current press laws and the Penal Code on charges of "insulting Islam," criticizing the Islamic Republic, and publishing materials that deviate from Islamic standards.
. . . Inviting this leader undermines the legitimacy and seriousness of the "dialogue" termed "the significance of religious contributions to peace." Just today, the State Department issued its annual International Religious Freedom Report, which underlines the long history of human rights violations in
At a time when so many Jews and Christians around the world face persecution for their faith, including those in Iran, this "celebration" with a man who leads the charge against religious freedom is outrageous, unacceptable and should not be tolerated. I am opposed to this meeting and certainly would implore these religious leaders to demand that this new apostasy law be rescinded if they insist on a meeting with Ahmadinejad. Appeasement did not work in the lead up to World War II and appeasing Ahmadinejad will not work here either.
Barry, will you stand with me in condemning this event?
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A Good Day to You!
I just have a comment as regards to the meeting of the churches with the Iranian spokesman.
In Scripture,the Book of Esther--- "for such a time as this".
In history, the so called Christian church were involved in the destruction of many Jewish people. We know about the Crusades. Today, we have the opportunity to face the evil before us and ask that they heed the desire of The God of Abraham,Issac and Jacob. Naturally, I dont expect that this leader would consider this as he thinks he is doing this will.
And we who believe ask our Lord to have mercy on Israel and protect her and show His Face to her that she may know that He Is.
The battle is The Lords. We fight not against flesh and blood but principalities and powers in high places.
In Chronicles--"If My people who are called by My Name....". We can win this on our knees my friend!
The laws of men are not the laws of God.
It is my hearts desire to see Our Lord, Ha Adon Yashua Ha Mashiach Melek Olam take His place in Yerushalyim and straighten out what we have perverted.
Prophecy is bitter sweet. And our Lord tells us flat out what must be done to cure our problems.
Only He is worthy to rule and reign.
Blessed is He who comes in The Name of The Lord. Blessed is His Kingdom which will remain forever and ever.
Because I love Him First,
Sharon
After reading the article I would say, the Christian groups that put this dinner together are on to something. You, who wrote the article, are no better in condemning this action than the Pharisees were in condemning Jesus for his actions which did not fit the likings of the religious leaders of his day. That is why our (my) Christian Faith (not religious faith) is so radical, risky and contemptible from people like you.
What do the churches and religious leaders meeting with the Iranian president have to say for themselves about their contact with him? I'd like to hear that side of the issue.
The Jewish King Shlomo writes, "honor is not fitting for a fool [rascal]." He also says, "If you give honor to a fool, you arm him thereby, as if you're putting a stone in his sling[-shot]." Thus, a meeting with a killer Cultist may encourage him to continue in his own track (Ecclesiastes 8:11).
_ _ What commonality does Light have with Darkness (-Paul, 2nd Corinthians 6:14)? How can two people walk together if they are not in agreement (-Amos)? If a Thought-Bomb breaks the mind-control, then oneself might have an opportunity to gain influence in a Cultic mind.
_ _ One could, like a crazy fox, beg and grovel, beseeching to know whether a non-Muslim may chant, in the respectful manner of a Muezzin calling from a Minaret, the hard-to-understand, not-morally-related dogmas that are attributed to the Prophet in Moslem Scripture. King Abdullah II imprisoned people who sought to publish the life of Muhammad as told in Scripture.
_ _ If a devout Muslim invites you to a Ramadan event, do not smile, but with profound gravity, observe the fluxuations and confusion on his or her face. For oneself cannot fully delight in, nor be heartily devoted to, what the mind does not accept or somewhat understand.
Confer the Proboards.com account of the Cal. St. Univ., Northridge:
http://dailysundial.proboards30.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=33
I am appalled that religious groups would ask Ahmadinejad to speak on the topic of "Has Not One God Created Us? The Significance of Religious Contributions to Peace". If anyone is anti-religious, it is Ahmadinejad himself. How religious and peaceful is it to desire to annihilate the Jewish state of Israel? If anything, he is a promoter of war and torture, and a persecutor of any faith other than Islam since he prescribes the death penalty to all who convert to a faith other than Islam and has ordered a death sentence for many Christians and other members of religious groups. As Dr. Jay stated and as the US Commission on International Religious Freedom recognizes, this man and the country of Iran is one of the worst violators of human rights. The only vote Mr. Ahmadinejad gets from me is to speak on the topic of "The Significance of Anti-Islamic hatred and violence to the creation of conflict and unjustifiable torture and death in the world".
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