In this mailing: Raymond Ibrahim: "We Did What We Learned: Attacking Christians" Jagdish N. Singh: Palestinians, not Israelis, Need the Gospel of Peace Burak Bekdil: Turkey: Where Ice Cream Can Be More Dangerous than Bombs "We Did What We Learned: Attacking Christians" Muslim Persecution of Christians, August 2015 by Raymond Ibrahim  •  November 5, 2015 at 5:00 am Western "mainstream media" and academia continued to exonerate Islam in deceptive op-eds, such as the Huffington Post's "ISIS Violates The Consensus Of Mainstream Islam By Persecuting Christians," by Qasim Rashid, a recipient of Saudi largesse, by way of Harvard University's Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center. A 12-year-old girl, raped by an Islamic State fighter, was told that "what he was about to do was not a sin" because she "practiced a religion other than Islam." "In school I only learned about Islam. Parts of our teaching were about destroying Christianity. So we did what we learned, by attacking Christians ... Our teachers would tell us every time there was a new church in town and we were told to go and attack the people and destroy the church. So that is what we did." — Tofik, a former Muslim cleric who converted to Christianity. Islamic State jihadists in the midst of destroying the ancient Mar Elian monastery in Syria. Throughout the month of August, the Obama administration and the so-called mainstream media kept insisting that Islam does not promote the persecution of Christians -- all the while ignoring the direct testimonies of those who have undergone it. According to Chaldean Archbishop Bashar Warda, All the statements [by U.S. government and media] have not condemned strongly what damage it [persecution of Christians] is doing. What they are saying is just "This is not the true Islam. This is violating the picture of Islam." The issue for them is the image of Islam, but none of these statements speak about the victims, about what has been done to the victims, they are not even mentioned. And that is one of the questions our people have. [Author's emphasis]. Warda added that persecuted Christians are "being denied visas, while others who have participated [in the violence] or at least were silent, can go." Continue Reading Article  Palestinians, not Israelis, Need the Gospel of Peace by Jagdish N. Singh  •  November 5, 2015 at 4:00 am Palestinian leaders, including the Palestinian Authority, have done a lot to whip up this violence and little to stop it. They may refer to peace and co-existence on some diplomatic occasions, but they preach and practice non-stop hatred and violence against Israel and the Jews. It would have been more helpful if President Mukherjee had stressed his gospel of peace in the Palestinian territories, not Israel. Ever since its creation in 1948, Israel has believed in peaceful co-existence with Palestine. The successive offers of peace from Jerusalem have always supported this policy. In contrast, not only has the Palestinian leadership never believed in peaceful co-existence, but it has constantly indulged in racist incitement, and often violence, to try to eliminate Israel. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, speaking on PA television, September 16, 2015. After a reception at the presidential palace in Israel in Mid-October, India's President, Pranab Mukherjee, said: "We are distressed at the recent violence [in the region]. India condemns all forms of terrorism. We have always advocated a peaceful resolution of all disputes." Later, the President told Israel's Leader of the Opposition, Isaac Herzog, "Violence is not a solution to any crisis. Violence achieves nothing but more violence. We in India believe in a principle of live and let live." What great new ideas! Why, though, did President Mukherjee say so only in Israel? Apparently, he remained completely silent on the issue of terrorism when he visited the Palestinian Authority (PA) a day or two earlier. In Ramallah, he just reasserted India's position that New Delhi remained committed to the Palestinian cause, and supported a peaceful solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Continue Reading Article  Turkey: Where Ice Cream Can Be More Dangerous than Bombs by Burak Bekdil  •  November 5, 2015 at 3:30 am Turkey has detained more people for tweeting against the government than for being members of the Islamic State. — Sezgin Tanrikulu, a Kurd, and a leading opposition member of parliament. "Why did you all go to eat ice cream after prayers?" — Police interrogator in Usak, Turkey. Sometimes one small incident best tells how countries can go insane. The pro-government Islamist psyche in Turkey has no limits in defying logic and humanity. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu's native province, Konya, in central Anatolia, has traditionally been an Islamist stronghold -- before and after Turkey's ruling Islamist party, the Justice and Development Party (AKP), was founded in 2001. In parliamentary elections on June 7, AKP won 65% of the vote in Konya, compared to 40.7% it won on a national scale. Continue Reading Article