 Remarks by the President at National Prayer Breakfast
Washington Hilton; Washington, D.C.As we speak, around the world, we see faith inspiring people to lift up one another -- to feed the hungry and care for the poor, and comfort the afflicted and make peace where there is strife. We see faith driving us to do right. But we also see faith being twisted and distorted, used as a wedge -- or, worse, sometimes used as a weapon. From a school in Pakistan to the streets of Paris, we have seen violence and terror perpetrated by those who profess to stand up for faith, their faith, professed to stand up for Islam, but, in fact, are betraying it. We see ISIL, a brutal, vicious death cult that, in the name of religion, carries out unspeakable acts of barbarism -- terrorizing religious minorities like the Yezidis, subjecting women to rape as a weapon of war, and claiming the mantle of religious authority for such actions. [Truth be told, ISIL is practicing the same brand of fundamental Islam that is practiced in Saudi Arabia by the state-sponsored Whabbists. In fact, it is the mainstream of religion that is perpetrating this acts; whereas the true “radicals” are those trying to reform the religion – regarded as apostates and worse than unbelievers. ISIL is no more a cult than Wahhabism – exported world-wide and funded by the Saudis. While it may be the leaders of these Islamic terrorists groups that are committing atrocities, it is their religious leaders, the Imams, that are putting forth their interpretation of the Qur’an and granting absolution to all who commit barbarous acts. Even worse than absolution, the promise of a reward in the hereafter. Obama’s lie exposed when one asks where are all the Islamic religious leaders standing in their pulpits, speaking in their own language, condemning these barbarians? Nowhere to be found, because in most instances, they agree with the fundamental commands of the Qur’an and want to see another Islamic Caliphate.] We see sectarian war in Syria, the murder of Muslims and Christians in Nigeria, religious war in the Central African Republic, a rising tide of anti-Semitism and hate crimes in Europe, so often perpetrated in the name of religion. [Sectarian war? He is speaking about a religious war that has been happening in Islam for hundreds of years. The fight between the Sunnis and the Shia over which sect is the true branch of Islam. A fight that is characterized by ethnic cleansing and barbarism – totally irrespective of Western culture or values, or the State of Israel. If Israel did not exist, these factions would still be at war and there would be nobody that the Palestinians could blame for the failure of their leadership and the inability to prosper in the region. Lest we forget, the Palestinians were ejected from Jordan and Egypt for subversion and attempts to overthrow the government; moving on to Lebanon where they brought about the conditions for a civil war that turned Lebanon from the Switzerland (or Paris) of the Middle East into crapistan.] So how do we, as people of faith, reconcile these realities -- the profound good, the strength, the tenacity, the compassion and love that can flow from all of our faiths, operating alongside those who seek to hijack religious for their own murderous ends? [There is no moral equivalency between good and evil, there is no way to reconcile the differences between good and evil. You demand evil be reformed or you destroy it before the infection and contagion metastasizes into a cancer that will kill the patient. Again, the Islamic terrorists did not hijack a religion for their own murderous ends; the followed their religion to the letter in order to bring about a religious state that is compliant in all respects with their religion.] Humanity has been grappling with these questions throughout human history. And lest we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ. [If President Obama hasn’t noticed, we are living in the 21st Century and the evils of the Crusades and its barbarism has long past. The same cannot be said of Islam which still dwells in the 6th Century and routinely imposes barbarism: beheading, torture, mutilation, and rape as prescriptive punishments. We are living in the here and now and there is no other religion committing such atrocities on a mass scale as the Muslims in the name of Islam.] In our home country, slavery and Jim Crow all too often was justified in the name of Christ. [Does President Obama have no sense of history? It was the Africans – many of the Muslim faith – that sold their own people into slavery. A practice that continues to this very day. Does Obama even understand that Islam is the basis of slavery; where you are given three choices: death, conversion, or slavery – Dhimmitude.] Michelle and I returned from India -- an incredible, beautiful country, full of magnificent diversity -- but a place where, in past years, religious faiths of all types have, on occasion, been targeted by other peoples of faith, simply due to their heritage and their beliefs -- acts of intolerance that would have shocked Gandhi, the person who helped to liberate that nation. [What President Obama failed to mention was the insurrection by the Muslims who attempted to control India; ending in a bloody civil war that created Pakistan, an Islamic state that is a regional hub for Islamic terrorist activity. The very people who hid and sheltered Osama bin Laden, the most wanted terrorist in the history of the United States. The nation that created the Taliban. And, the nation that wants nothing more than to destroy India. And, Obama conveniently forgot to mention that his next stop was Saudi Arabia, one of the worst Islamic human rights violators in the world.] So this is not unique to one group or one religion. [Perhaps Obama should recognize the danger of moral equivalency, multiculturalism, and political correctness. And acknowledge that no organized religious body other than Islam remains intolerant of other religions and viewpoints and represents an existential threat to others cultures – even to the extent of targeting individual sects within Islam.] There is a tendency in us, a sinful tendency that can pervert and distort our faith. In today’s world, when hate groups have their own Twitter accounts and bigotry can fester in hidden places in cyberspace, it can be even harder to counteract such intolerance. But God compels us to try. And in this mission, I believe there are a few principles that can guide us, particularly those of us who profess to believe. [The Muslims see hate speech as everything that doesn’t promote their faith and agenda – condemning those who speak about their faith or other religions to death if they do not espouse pure Islam. The Muslims riot over cartoons as an insult to Islam – virtually unheard of in any other religion. The Muslims in the United Nation continue to attempt the criminalization of anything or anyone that speaks the truth about Islam and its toxicity toward other viewpoints.] And, first, we should start with some basic humility. I believe that the starting point of faith is some doubt -- not being so full of yourself and so confident that you are right and that God speaks only to us, and doesn’t speak to others, that God only cares about us and doesn’t care about others, that somehow we alone are in possession of the truth. [This is bafflegab … there is but one God, and he may have many names, but he clearly demarcates the difference between good and evil. According to my religious teachings, he does not demand or command us to kill everyone who does not believe or worship as we do. He does not demand or command us to worship in a prescribed and rigorous way. And, he certainly does not condone the killing of innocents in His name because these innocents might have been born outside the “official” faith. God is about: truth, justice, mercy, and compassion; not about spreading one’s religion at the point of the sword. And, lest we forget, the Crusaders were defending their religion from the Islamic world – not trying to expand Christendom. The stated purpose of the First Crusade was to restore Christian access to holy places in and near Jerusalem. The Crusades were a defensive move against the expansion of Islam at the point of a sword.] Our job is not to ask that God respond to our notion of truth -- our job is to be true to Him, His word, and His commandments. And we should assume humbly that we’re confused and don’t always know what we’re doing and we’re staggering and stumbling towards Him, and have some humility in that process. And that means we have to speak up against those who would misuse His name to justify oppression, or violence, or hatred with that fierce certainty. No God condones terror. No grievance justifies the taking of innocent lives, or the oppression of those who are weaker or fewer in number. [Obama’s own words condemn Islam; even though he will not acknowledge that ISIL or other terrorist groups are practicing the Islamic faith.] And so, as people of faith, we are summoned to push back against those who try to distort our religion -- any religion -- for their own nihilistic ends. And here at home and around the world, we will constantly reaffirm that fundamental freedom -- freedom of religion -- the right to practice our faith how we choose, to change our faith if we choose, to practice no faith at all if we choose, and to do so free of persecution and fear and discrimination. [One cannot believe Obama’s self-serving high-flying rhetoric, but must observe his actions. And, his actions around the world condemn his lack of action and his apparent aid and comfort to our enemies; while disparaging and disadvantaging our friends and allies. Here is a man that demands justice for terrorists in the Gaza Strip and West Bank while simultaneously condemning the only democracy with religious freedom in the region, Israel. Here is a man that draws a red line in Syria and does nothing when that line is crossed. Here is a man who has provided weapons to our enemies and refuses to account for his whereabouts and actions during the 9/11 anniversary terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya. Here is a man that has aided and abetted the terrorists – allowing Iraq to be dominated by Iran, to allow Libya to disintegrate into Islamic lawlessness. And, a man that dithers while Iran, an existential threat to Israel and the region, gets closer and closer to producing nuclear weaponry and intercontinental ballistic missiles. His actions belie his words and make him a stone cold hypocrite and liar.] There’s wisdom in our founders writing in those documents that help found this nation the notion of freedom of religion, because they understood the need for humility. They also understood the need to uphold freedom of speech, that there was a connection between freedom of speech and freedom of religion. For to infringe on one right under the pretext of protecting another is a betrayal of both. [Here is a man attempting to circumvent the Constitution of the United States and the rule of law that governs us. Here is a man that wants to infringe the First and Second Amendments to advance his political agenda. He has positioned himself as a Constitutional Scholar, but he not only seems unable to understand and abide by the Constitution’s provisions, but seeks to destroy the very freedoms that document protects. As for being a scholar, there are no scholarly writings or any evidence that Obama has produced any act of legal or Constitutional scholarship.] But part of humility is also recognizing in modern, complicated, diverse societies, the functioning of these rights, the concern for the protection of these rights calls for each of us to exercise civility and restraint and judgment. And if, in fact, we defend the legal right of a person to insult another’s religion, we’re equally obligated to use our free speech to condemn such insults -- (applause) -- and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with religious communities, particularly religious minorities who are the targets of such attacks. Just because you have the right to say something doesn’t mean the rest of us shouldn’t question those who would insult others in the name of free speech. Because we know that our nations are stronger when people of all faiths feel that they are welcome, that they, too, are full and equal members of our countries. [There is no need to exercise restraint and civility when it comes to Islam. Telling the truth about the religion and its practitioners will portray them in a bad light – but that is not hate speech. Likewise, our nation is made weaker, not stronger, when we allow our enemies – who self-segregate and refuse to assimilate – to become a potent political force and use our own laws against us. As long as Islam is the religion of war, barbarism, and conquest, they should be banned from our shores.] So humility I think is needed. And the second thing we need is to uphold the distinction between our faith and our governments. Between church and between state. The United States is one of the most religious countries in the world -- far more religious than most Western developed countries. And one of the reasons is that our founders wisely embraced the separation of church and state. Our government does not sponsor a religion, nor does it pressure anyone to practice a particular faith, or any faith at all. And the result is a culture where people of all backgrounds and beliefs can freely and proudly worship, without fear, or coercion … [By these words, Obama once again points out a fundamental truth. There is no separation of church and state when it comes to Islam as the Qur’an is the governing document and the state is subordinate to religion. Therefore, no Islamic nation can be truly trusted until their religion is reformed and the holy war between the Islamic sects is extinguished, resolved, or is mitigated.] That’s not the case in theocracies that restrict people’s choice of faith. It's not the case in authoritarian governments that elevate an individual leader or a political party above the people, or in some cases, above the concept of God Himself. So the freedom of religion is a value we will continue to protect here at home and stand up for around the world, and is one that we guard vigilantly here in the United States. Humility; a suspicion of government getting between us and our faiths, or trying to dictate our faiths, or elevate one faith over another. And, finally, let’s remember that if there is one law that we can all be most certain of that seems to bind people of all faiths, and people who are still finding their way towards faith but have a sense of ethics and morality in them -- that one law, that Golden Rule that we should treat one another as we wish to be treated. The Torah says “Love thy neighbor as yourself.” In Islam, there is a Hadith that states: "None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.” The Holy Bible tells us to “put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” Put on love. [There can be no moral equivalence when it comes to regarding the Torah, the Bible and the Qur’an as simply religious texts. Both the Torah and the Bible were written by man and subject to commentaries and interpretation. Whereas the Qur’an is the literal word of Allah as dictated to the warlord and Prophet Mohammed. Unable to be changed, modified, and interpretation is extremely limited. Where does the Torah or Bible command the faithful to seek out the apostates and unfaithful and kill them. - Allah is an enemy to unbelievers. - 2:98
- On unbelievers is the curse of Allah. - 2:161
- Fighting is obligatory for you, much as you dislike it. - 2:216
- Those who believe fight in the cause of God, and those who reject faith fight in the cause of evil. - 4:76
- But if they turn renegades, seize them and slay them wherever you find them. - 4:89O believers, take not Jews and Christians as friends; they are friends of each other. Those of you who make them his friends is one of them. God does not guide an unjust people. - 5:54
- As for those who are slain in the cause of Allah, He will not allow their works to perish. He will vouchsafe them guidance and ennoble their state; He will admit them to the Paradise He has made known to them. - 10:4-15
- Allah has cursed the unbelievers and proposed for them a blazing hell. - 33:60
- Unbelievers are enemies of Allah and they will roast in hell. - 41:14
- When you meet the unbelievers, smite their necks, then when you have made wide slaughter among them, tie fast the bonds, then set them free, either by grace or ransom, until the war lays down its burdens. - 47:4
It should also be noted that the Bible’s verses relating to killing are specified in historical context; whereas the Qur’an’s demands are open-ended and never-ending.] Whatever our beliefs, whatever our traditions, we must seek to be instruments of peace, and bringing light where there is darkness, and sowing love where there is hatred. And this is the loving message of His Holiness, Pope Francis. And like so many people around the world, I’ve been touched by his call to relieve suffering, and to show justice and mercy and compassion to the most vulnerable; to walk with The Lord and ask “Who am I to judge?” [How can we seek to be instruments of peace and do nothing about the Boko Haram who has kidnapped, raped, tortured, and killed innocent boys and girls? How can we do nothing about the Taliban who killed innocent school children? And, how can be do nothing about the hundreds of thousands of innocent Africans who have been slaughtered in the name of religion and ethnic cleansing? But most importantly, how can we do nothing about those nations like Saudi Arabia and Iran who are state sponsors of terrorism and proxy wars.] Source: Remarks by the President at National Prayer Breakfast | The White House |
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