Iranian General on the ‘Arab Spring’: Whether You Like It Or Not, Egypt and Other Nations Are Becoming ‘New Irans’

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu – “Egypt is becoming the new Iran, ‘whether you accept it or not,’ says a general in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

As the radical Islamic Muslim Brotherhood movement waits for an expected victory in the long and drawn-out legislative electins in Egypt, Iran is looking forward to Egypt being its next cog in the Islamic Empire that it hopes for and wants to head.

‘A number of major (new) Irans have been born in the region today. Egypt is a (new) Iran, whether you (the US-led West) accept it or not,’ reported the Iranian semi-official Fars News Agency, quoting Guards commander Major General Qassem Soleimani.

Speaking to a reported crowd of 50,000 Basij forces, he addressed the United States and added, ‘Know that today Libya, Yemen and Bahrain are also (new) Irans. [These] great nations will stand together against the threat’ of western powers, he said.

He also expressed his wish to die if enemies try to assassinate him, a suggestion posed by conservative experts testifying in the U.S. Congress. ‘To those who think threats will spread fear amongst us, I will say this: that I ask God to grant me martyrdom at the hands of the enemy,’ Soleimani said.” Read more.

Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood Takes Lead in Vote Count While An Even MORE Radical Islamist Party Takes Second Place – “The Muslim Brotherhood’s party appeared to be leading Egypt’s elections on Wednesday after 90 percent of the votes in a number of cities and provinces were counted, according to Al Jazeera. Egypt’s Al Nour party, considered a radical Islamic party, appeared to be in second place behind the Muslim Brotherhood, and the centrist party is only in third place… The results show that the Muslim Brotherhood have become the strongest political force in the country since the fall of Hosni Mubarak…” Read more.

‘Arab Spring’ Contagion Strikes Morocco: Islamist ‘Justice’ Party Wins Vote in Election – “Morocco’s moderate Islamist PJD party won the most seats in the country’s parliamentary election, final results showed Sunday, in the latest sign of a resurgence of faith-based movements since the Arab Spring uprisings. The victory for Morocco’s Justice and Development Party came a month after Tunisia handed power to a previously-banned party of moderate Islamists. Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood is also expected to do well in an election starting Monday.” Read more.

Flashback: Libya Heading Towards the Dominant Political Force in the Country: Islamism – “Amid all the debate as to what lies in store for Libya, it is becoming increasingly apparent that Islamism will be the dominant political force in the country. Indeed, this trend should already have been clear in the treatment of David Gerbi, a Libyan Jew residing in Italy who returned to his ancestral homeland in the summer to fight alongside the rebels against Gaddafi. Yet when he tried to rebuild and reopen the abandoned and desolate synagogue in Tripoli, he faced death threats, intimidation and protests, such that he was eventually deported.” Read more.

Flashback: ‘A New Cycle of Civilization’: Tunisia’s Islamists Hail Arrival of the ‘Sixth Caliphate’ – “The Islamist politician likely to become Tunisia’s first democratically elected prime minister has alarmed liberals and secularists by claiming the arrival of the ‘sixth caliphate’, a controversial term for a Muslim empire. Hamadi Jebeli, secretary-general of Ennahda, the moderate Islamist party which romped to victory in last month’s elections, told a rally in the city of Sousse: ‘My brothers, you are at a historic moment in a new cycle of civilisation, God willing. We are in sixth caliphate…” Read more.

Iran: The West Fears Our Brand of Islam and the ‘Islamic Awakening of the Regional Nations’

The ‘Islamic awakening of the regional nations’ sounds awfully familiar. I wonder what he’s referring to? …

By David Lev – “The reason the U.S. and other Western countries seek to punish Iran is not directly connected to its nuclear program, top Iranian clerics say; it’s because they fear the rise of Islam, and are doing their utmost to fight it. Nevertheless, they will fail; Islam will emerge victorious.

Speaking at a press conference Wednesday, Iranian Parliament speaker Ali Larijani said that the charges by the U.S. that Iran was involved in terrorism, and allegations about its human rights record, were just a smokescreen for its fear of Islam. ‘The reason for their fear will be found in another place, which is the Islamic awakening of the regional people. It should be known that the West is upset because of the Islamic awakening of the regional nations,’ Larijani said.

Larijani pointed to the catalog of uprisings in the Islamic world in recent months, including the revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen, all of which overthrew dictators associated with the West. In each of those countries – as well as in Morocco – Islamists have, or are expected, to take key roles in leadership. Meanwhile, in countries that have not yet experienced revolutions, Larijani said – including Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia – leaders were taking a heavy hand against groups seeking a greater role in running their countries. Leading the groups in those countries as well, said Larijani, were Islamists.” Read more.

Should the West be worried?  Yes, and for good reason …

Flashback: Iran: The Mahdi will bring final victory for Islam and will reign over the whole world – “The Iranian government has produced a bone-chilling documentary that claims that Ayatollah Khamenei, President Ahmadinejad, and Hassan Nasrallah are talked about in Islamic prophecy as leaders who will wage war to bring about the arrival of the Hidden Imam​, which the film says is ‘very close’ to happening… The purpose of the film is to make the case that Iran is prophetically destined to lead the war against Islam’s enemies, which is as a prelude to the appearance of the Hidden Imam, also called the Mahdi, who brings the final victory for Islam and reigns over the whole world…” Read more.

Flashback: Iran’s Link to Al-Qaeda: The 9-11 Commission’s Evidence – “The following are excerpts from the 9/11 Commission Report, an unclassified version of which was released to the public on July 22, 2004. The commission interviewed more than 1,000 people in ten countries and conducted an unprecedented review of U.S. intelligence. Among its findings, excerpted below, was evidence of a significant and continuing relationship between al-Qaeda and the Islamic Republic of Iran.” Read more.

Flashback: Why Iran’s Top Leaders Believe That the End of Days Has Come – “… Iranian leaders may, in fact, have a motive to accelerate direct attacks on the U.S.: Shia Islamic eschatology, or ‘End Times’ theology. Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are convinced that the End of Days has come. They believe the Shia messiah known as the ‘Twelfth Imam’ or the ‘Mahdi’ will appear soon to establish a global Islamic kingdom known as the caliphate. What’s more, they believe the way to hasten the coming of the Twelfth Imam is to annihilate Israel …” Read more.

Flashback: Islamic Militants Calling Themselves ‘The Unknown Soldiers of The Hidden Imam’ Threaten to Hunt Down and Execute Christians Who Flee Iran – “Islamic militants with suspected ties to Iranian security forces have been terrorizing evangelical Christians with threats to ‘repent’ or die, it was reported Sunday. Christian Solidarity Worldwide has reported that 11 Iranian Christians who fled Iran in the wake of a government campaign against Christianity have received threats via email to ‘repent’ or face extrajudicial execution, from a group identifying itself as the ‘The Unknown Soldiers of The Hidden Imam.’ … although the recipients have left Iran, they have not escaped the ‘acute eyes of the unknown soldiers.’” Read more.

Flashback: Iran is Determined to Eradicate the ‘Infectious Tumor’ of Israel, ‘Will Never Withdraw’ From This Policy – “Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that Iran was determined to eradicate Israel, ISNA news agency reported Thursday. ‘Iran believes that whoever is for humanity should also be for eradicating the Zionist regime (Israel) as symbol of suppression and discrimination,’ Ahmadinejad said in an interview with a Lebanese television network, carried by ISNA. ‘Iran follows this issue (the eradication of Israel) with determination and decisiveness and will never ever withdraw from this standpoint and policy…” Read more.

Flashback: Iran: Ahmadinejad Threatens to Send the United States and Israel ‘To The Morgue’ – “Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has threatened to destroy the United States and Israel if put on the defensive. ‘Resistance will continue until Iran sends its enemies to the morgue,’ he said on his website, making a reference to the US and Israel who he said are ‘on the verge of collapse and gasping for their last breathes.’” Read more.

Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood Takes Lead in Vote Count While An Even MORE Radical Islamist Party Takes Second Place

The beginning of Egypt’s fall is well under way. I expected the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood to take the lead in Egypt, but an even more radical Islamic group in second?  That I did not consider.  This sort of voter sentiment does not bode well for Israel, nor for Egypt’s Christian minority …

By Anshel Pfeffer and Avi Issacharoff – “The Muslim Brotherhood’s party appeared to be leading Egypt’s elections on Wednesday after 90 percent of the votes in a number of cities and provinces were counted, according to Al Jazeera.

Egypt’s Al Nour party, considered a radical Islamic party, appeared to be in second place behind the Muslim Brotherhood, and the centrist party is only in third place, according to Al Jazeera.

The results show that the Muslim Brotherhood have become the strongest political force in the country since the fall of Hosni Mubarak, although it is still too early to announce whether they will enjoy the solid victory that has been expected, or whether they will see even greater success at the polls, as there are still votes to be counted, and this is only the first stage of Egypt’s three-part elections.

The figures released by the judges responsible for the ballot boxes reveal that the Muslim Brotherhood have a clear majority among voters in Egypt’s capital Cairo, in Luxor, Port Said, and in the area of the Suez Canal.

The elections for 498 seats in the lower house of the Egyptian parliament, will be voted on in three stages, each lasting two days, with the final stage taking place in January.

The first stage of elections saw high voter turnout and finished with relative calm on Tuesday, when many people came out to vote for the first time in their lives.

Nadin Halled, a volunteer for one of the candidates near a voting booth in Cairo’s Zamalek Quarter told Haaretz: ‘50% of the early voters had come the day before. I guess those who have showed up think the army will determine the elections results anyway or just prefer to enjoy their day off.'” Source – Haaretz.

Iran Developing Advanced Low-Flying Cruise Missile That Could Potentially Carry a Non-Conventional Warhead

By YAAKOV KATZ – “Iran is developing an advanced low-flying cruise missile that could potentially carry a non-conventional warhead, Arieh Herzog, director of the Defense Ministry’s Homa Missile Defense Agency, said on Wednesday.

Herzog, who will step down from his post in the beginning of the year, spoke at the annual International Aerospace Conference in Jerusalem.

Earlier this month, close to 20 Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps officers, including the architect of Iran’s long-range ballistic missile program, were killed in a mysterious explosion at a missile base near the city of Bid Kaneh. The officers were reportedly working on the development of a new missile when the explosion took place.

‘The Iranians are developing a capability that within several years, they will have cruise missiles that can fly at low altitudes and carry non-conventional warheads,’ Herzog said.

Herzog said that Israel’s missile defense capabilities were drawn from the Iranian’s development of missiles.

Israel currently has three Iron Dome counter rocket defense batteries deployed throughout the country in additional to two Arrow batteries to defend against long-range ballistic missiles.” Read more.

Eye Witnesses Claim ‘Unusual’ Movement of Israeli Missiles

By Aaron Klein – “JERUSALEM — Multiple eyewitnesses reported seeing Israeli military trucks in recent days transport and station large missiles at the periphery of Jerusalem and in locations inside the West Bank.

The descriptions of the projectiles are consistent with the Jewish state’s mid-to-long range Jericho ballistic missiles.

The missile movement, if confirmed, would be considered unusual.

One of the eyewitnesses was a member of the Palestinian Authority security services. He claimed to me that a large missile was stationed five days ago near Neve Yaacov, a Jewish neighborhood in northeast Jerusalem. That neighborhood is adjacent to several Palestinian-inhabited towns.

Four other eyewitnesses, Israeli and Palestinian, reported seeing similar sights during the past week – large missiles being transported by the Israeli military at the periphery of Jerusalem and in the West Bank.

Reached for comment, the spokesperson’s unit of the Israel Defense Forces could not confirm the information, referring me instead to Israel’s national police.

Mickey Rosenfeld, the national police spokesperson here, told me today he has no information on any such movements.

Apparently, I’m not the only reporter to receive such reports.

Rosenfeld said another foreign correspondent contacted him earlier today for comment on the same matter.

The PA security member, speaking on condition of anonymity, speculated the missiles were related to a possible

Whooping Cough Making a Comeback, Outbreaks Reported in Australia and the US

“Victoria is in the grip of a whooping cough epidemic.

Doctors have reported an alarming surge in the number of people being infected.

Figures from the Victorian Department of Health show the number of Victorian’s diagnosed with whooping cough is steadily on the rise.

In 2008, 1375 people contracted the condition.

In 2009, nearly 4000 were diagnosed.

So far this year almost 8000 have been infected.

The figures also show the young are the most vulnerable, with babies making up 45.2 per cent of all hospitalisation.

‘When you have whooping cough in that many number of people, babies are very vulnerable to catching the infection,’ said one Victorian doctor.” Source – Sky News.

‘Whooping cough vaccine wears off’ – “A WHOOPING cough outbreak on the North Coast has led to a renewed call for vaccinations from health authorities. The director of public health for the northern NSW and Mid North Coast local health districts, Paul Corben, said a 50% rise in reported cases between Tweed Heads and Port Macquarie this year has concerned health workers. ‘We do sometimes see periodic surges on the number of cases as the protection you get from either having the vaccination or the disease wears off over time,’ he said.” Read more.

Whooping Cough Outbreak Spreads On Long Island; More Than 200 Cases Reported – “An alarming rise in a potentially fatal bacterial infection known as whooping cough has prompted a warning from the Suffolk County Health Department. It’s a tell-tale sign winter is coming — children and their colds. But what’s going around this year is a potentially fatal bacterial cough known as pertussis or whooping cough, reports CBS 2’s Emily Smith. It’s a chronic cough, almost a barking sound, that can last more than three months, and it is spread easily through droplets… ‘That’s kind of scary. I wonder what’s going on, why this outbreak started. What’s going on?’ one resident asked.” Read more.

Montana: Whooping cough outbreak emphasizes need for vaccinations – “While there are no confirmed cases of whooping cough in Pondera County, an outbreak of pertussis in Gallatin County has health officials encouraging Montanans to be up-to-date with vaccinations. There are 127 confirmed cases, year-to-date, reported in Montana with Gallatin having 41. The last 24 cases there came in the last two weeks and is a public health threat that could spread beyond Gallatin. Cynthia Grubb, RN, CLC of the Pondera County Health Department (PCHD) tells the I-O, ‘We have a DTaP vaccine for pertussis which is the one people need to take. DTaP covers three diseases in one shot, diphtheria and pertussis. ‘All children cover two months of age, parent, family members and caregivers of infants, should be vaccinated against pertussis,’ she says.” Read more.

Outlook Negative: S&P Downgrades Dozens of Global Banks, U.S. Stock Futures Decline

By Dunstan Prial – “Standard & Poor’s on Tuesday cut its credit ratings for many of the world’s largest banks, including Citigroup (NYSE: C), Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC).

The move follows S&P’s shift, announced earlier this month, in the methods it uses for rating the banks.

Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America Corp. each had their long-term credit rating downgraded a single notch to A- from A. Similar cuts were applied to JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS).

Dozens of other banks were also affected by S&P’s new criteria and many of the downgrades stemmed from the affected banks’ exposure to the European debt crisis. S&P cited weaker confidence in governments’ ability to bail out struggling banks.

The new criteria for rating banks comes in the wake of criticism leveled at all three major rating firms – Moody’s and Fitch’s are the other two — that they rubber stamped their highest ratings on investment products loaded with subprime mortgages in the years leading up to the financial crisis.” Read more.

U.S. Stock Futures Decline After S&P Cuts Banks’ Credit Ratings – “U.S. stock futures fell, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will end a two-day rally, after S&P cut credit ratings for lenders including Bank of America Corp., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc… ‘Banks are in a difficult position,’ Matt McCormick, a money manager at Cincinnati-based Bahl & Gaynor Inc., which oversees $4.1 billion, said in a telephone interview. ‘There are so many unknowns for the industry, including Europe. The reward is not worth the risk right now.'” Read more.

U.S. Outlook Cut to Negative by Fitch After Committee Fails – “The U.S. lost its last stable outlook from the three biggest credit-ranking companies after Fitch Ratings lowered the nation to negative following a congressional committee’s failure to agree on deficit cuts. Fitch’s outlook on the U.S., which it still assigns its top AAA grade, reflects ‘declining confidence that timely fiscal measures necessary to place U.S. public finances on a sustainable path will be forthcoming,’ making the probability of a downgrade greater than 50 percent over two years, the company said yesterday in a statement.” Read more.

America Gives Butterball the Bird Over Halal Turkey Cover-Up

When enough people make a stink, it’s gonna hit the fan …

Click to Read

By Robert Spencer – “During Thanksgiving week, Americans were treated to a notable example of the effort by Muslims to assert Islamic law and practices over their American counterparts, when it was revealed that Butterball, the most popular supplier of Thanksgiving turkeys in the nation, was certifying all its turkeys halal—that is, slaughtered according to Islamic ritual requirements. And as in most cases where American businesses kowtow to Islamic supremacist demands, instead of owning up to what it was doing, under pressure Butterball obfuscated, denied, equivocated, and did its best to cover its tracks. This is how the stealth jihad advances.

It all began when my colleague Pamela Geller published an article on American Thinker titled ‘Happy Halal Thanksgiving,’ in which she quoted a Butterball representative stating that not just some, but all whole Butterball turkeys were certified halal. Butterball was not offering consumers a choice. All were halal.

After Geller’s article appeared, however, Butterball began to be inundated with inquiries and complaints. Many were told that it was indeed true: All Butterball whole turkeys were halal. However, as the complaints continued to pour in, Butterball shifted its tactics, and the great halal turkey cover-up began. A Butterball representative told ‘The Rachel Maddow Show’ that the whole controversy was based on false pretenses, and that its turkeys, at least for domestic consumption, were not certified halal after all. The inconvenient section of the Butterball website saying that their turkeys were indeed certified halal was hastily scrubbed not only from the main page but from the Google cache—a tricky procedure and a sure indication of a guilty conscience.

Butterball had every reason to be red-faced. While the mainstream media, with its characteristic leftist indulgence of all things Islamic supremacist, ridiculed Geller and portrayed the controversy as motivated by ‘anti-Muslim hate’ or a hysterical fear of ‘jihad turkeys,’ the substance of the controversy was actually not over the fact that Butterball offered halal turkeys, but that it

‘Homeland’ Beats ‘All-American Muslim’

Looks like the time may soon be coming for Taqqiya’s Leftist Companions to issue its own Fatwa against its ‘All-American Muslim’ …

By Daniel Greenfield – “Several weeks ago All-American Muslim debuted on TLC to a storm of publicity and high ratings, but the publicity has vanished and the ratings are dribbling away. The series had premiered to a 1.7 rating, but last Sunday’s episode had dropped to a 1.1 rating. The television ratings for this week aren’t in yet, but the news for TLC and the producers of All-American Muslim isn’t likely to be any better.

All-American Muslim had originally finished ahead of the terrorism drama Homeland which airs in the same timeslot, but last week Homeland finished ahead of it, and not because its ratings had improved. Homeland had lost viewers, but All-American Muslim had lost even more viewers making it by far the lowest rated show on TLC Sunday nights. Worse still its 18-49 demographic had been cut in half, which put it way at the bottom of the ratings pile and that made it a bad bargain for the advertisers who stuck it out with the controversial series only to be rewarded with a Halal turkey.

Despite being fictional Homeland is in some ways a truer depiction of the All-American Muslim and of the captive American audiences who yearn to identify with Muslims, much like Nicholas Brody, the enigmatic figure at the heart of Homeland whose loss of context and identity have seduced him to the other side. All-American Muslim gives Americans the Muslims that they would like to live next door to, but Homeland shows them the Muslims that they fear living next door to. Homeland confronts this ambiguity, but All-American Muslim pretends that it doesn’t exist.” Read more.

Flashback: New TLC ‘All-American Muslim’ Series Attempts to Show All Muslims as ‘Ordinary Patriotic’ Americans, Features Terror-Supporting Imam on First Episode – “The brand new TV show featured on Cable TV channel TLC tries to depict Muslims as ‘ordinary patriotic’ Americans but fails to deliver in its very first episode by featuring a radical Shia Imam Husham Al- Husainy. In the first episode the Imam is featured marrying a male convert to Islam to a secular Muslim women. The Imam was exposed on the Sean Hannity Show back in February 2007. I remember listening to the actual interview live in which it was obvious the Imam supports Hezbollah a terror entity listed by the State Department. The Imam hates the the USA and Israel. You can hear in the interview what a nut job the Imam is and his gymnastics and crazy attacks in order to avoid answering simple questions.” Listen here.

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood ‘Trying to Rig Poll with Gifts’ to Secure Election Victory

If their prophet Mohammed ‘prophesied‘ recent events surrounding the ‘Arab Spring’ as the rise of Islam, then it must be Allah’s will that those who wish to implement Allah’s Sharia Law win Egypt’s resulting first election.  Unless, of course, Allah decided to change his mind yet again. If it’s Allah’s will that it is the time for Islam to rise, then why would the Muslim Brotherhood feel the need to cheat in order to secure a victory at the polls?  And if Allah has indeed changed his mind, then why are they going against the will of Allah? …

“The Muslim Brotherhood was today accused of attempting to rig Egypt’s election by handing out gifts and food at polling stations in a desperate attempt to win power.

Witnesses told the Evening Standard that the Islamist party, which is expected to secure a large share of the votes, had a strong presence both inside and outside polling stations.

Onlookers claimed some Brotherhood groups were allowed to set up tables with laptop computers in order to show ‘people how to vote’.

Voting laws passed after the fall of Hosni Mubarak’s regime in February outlaw bribes or campaigning inside or near polling stations.

Bel Trew, a film-maker working in Tahrir Square, said: ‘We have seen people offering gifts to people outside polling stations. This is against the law and would certainly not be allowed in other democratic countries.’

Today voting continued with turnout again reported to be high. Student Mariam, who would not give her full name for fear of reprisals said: ‘I wanted to boycott the elections, as the parliament will have no power and because of what happened in Tahrir, but if we don’t vote the Muslim Brotherhood will win the majority.’

But there is growing support for the Muslim Brotherhood with many claiming the party is the best option to bring order to Egypt.

‘The Freedom and Justice Party (Muslim Brotherhood) are the most organised party right now,’ said Hossam, 39, an insurance broker who went to a Catholic school in Cairo.

‘They have a religious view but they are the only ones who have a good plan for the country.‘” Read more.

Really? So a good plan for Egypt is to break the peace treaty with Israel, kill all Jews, and judge Christians according to the intolerant and barbaric injustices of Sharia jurisprudence?  

Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood Holds Venomous Anti-Israel Rally, Vows to ‘One Day Kill All Jews’ – “A Muslim Brotherhood rally in Cairo’s most prominent mosque Friday turned into a venomous anti-Israel protest, with attendants vowing to ‘one day kill all Jews.’ Some 5,000 people joined the rally, called to promote the ‘battle against Jerusalem’s Judaization.’ The event coincided with the anniversary of the United Nations’ partition plan in 1947, which called for the establishment of a Jewish state.” Read more.

Muslim Brotherhood Set to Take Egypt’s Parliament and Impose Sharia Law – “As Egypt prepares its upcoming Nov. 28 elections to build a new government, the rising power of the Muslim Brotherhood may pose great dangers to the Christians living there. The Middle East Media Research Institute revealed in a report that the Brotherhood first said that they will not force radical Islam on the country, but the group is now focused on winning the elections and it plans to impose Sharia law. These fears come after 25 Coptic Christians were killed last month during clashes with police and with state television inciting Muslims to rise against Christians… Christians will also be forced to follow the law, which includes ‘being judged according to the Muslim principles of justice and equality.'” Read more.

Indonesia: Hundreds of Hard-Line Muslims Rally to Denounce the ‘Arrogance’ of Local Church Congregation for Continuing to Exist

How dare they, members of Yahweh’s Ekklesia resisting the demands of Allah’s Ummah! …

By Vento Saudale – “Hundreds of hard-line Muslims rallied outside the Bogor City Hall on Sunday to decry the ‘arrogance’ of a beleaguered church in the city that remains shuttered by authorities despite a Supreme Court order to open it.

The protesters, from Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia and the Indonesian Muslim Communication Forum (Forkami), said they wanted to show that all Muslims were united in opposition to the presence of the GKI Yasmin Church in the city.

‘We’re here to refute the arrogance of the church, which continues to insist on setting up in the Taman Yasmin [housing complex],’ said Achmad Imam, the Forkami head in Bogor.

The Bogor administration issued a building permit for the church in 2006, but it revoked it two years later, alleging the church had falsified the signatures required to obtain it.

The Supreme Court ruled in December 2010 that the closure was unlawful and ordered its reopening, but the city administration continues to ignore the ruling. Mayor Diani Budiarto has used several excuses to keep the church closed, most recently saying there should not be a Christian church on a street with an Islamic name.

Church members have been forced to hold services on the sidewalk.” Read more.

Joel Richardson Finishes New Book Subtitled, ‘The Scriptural Case for an Islamic Antichrist’

Judging from Joel’s previous work, this is sure to be another recommended reading.  It will be available as early as the Spring of 2012.  In the meantime, I am currently reading a book called “Islam – The Cloak of Antichrist” by Jack Smith, which I also recommend for any student of Biblical eschatology …

Joel Richardson: “I just wanted to drop a note to my readers and regular visitors to let everyone know that my new book is finally complete. While we’ll keep the title a secret for now, the subtitle is ‘The Scriptural Case for an Islamic Antichrist.’ The purpose of this book is to examine only the most pertinent texts that relate to the eschatological debate between the Roman Antichrist theory and the Islamic Antichrist theory.

The purpose of this book is not to merely debate what many some may feel is irrelevant end-time trivia. Many may ask why it even matters if the Antichrist will emerge from Europe or the Middle-East, whether he will be a Humanist or a Muslim. The fact of the matter is that the practical and applicational implications of the many subjects discussed in this forthcoming book are absolutely profound. If in fact Islam is the religion of the Antichrist, the implications of this are earth shattering. As much of the Church today, including large segments of the missions movement, increasingly embraces an approach to outreach toward Muslims that flirts with syncretism and outright heresy (I am referring to what has become known as ‘The Insider Movement’), it is imperative that followers of Jesus determine exactly where they stand concerning the origins and nature of Islam. As we strive to love Muslims, must we also love Islam? Or is it possible to passionately care for Muslims, while hating Islam? Is Islam a faith system that can create a genuine relationship with God, or is it purely a soul-destroying ideology? Can one be both a Muslim and a follower of Jesus as many evangelical missiologists claim? Are the Allah of the Qur’an and the God of the Bible one and the same? And what about Israel and the Jewish people? As a fierce anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism spreads from the Muslim world into the Christian Church, what do the prophets say about these things? Where is a disciple of Jesus seeking to love both Muslims and Jews to stand on these matters? What about the ‘Arab-Spring’? Does the Bible inform us say as to where this sudden and drastic change in the Muslim world is heading?