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According to reports 2 more died on Sunday in Afghanistan during the continuing protests over the Quran burning in Florida. This brings the total count of deaths to at least 22 along with hundreds of injuries.

The most popular prevailing slogans for the protesters were:

“Long live the Taliban” and “Death to America”

Meanwhile the mobs continued to be out of control in some cities smashing businesses, burning autos and tires plus vandalizing schools for girls (which the Taliban opposes).

There were also widespread protests in Pakistan over the weekend but no violence or deaths have been attributed to the Muslim mobs responding to the Quran burning in that country.

Both US President Barack Obama and UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon condemned the violence but also referred to the burning of the Quran in Florida as an act of:

“Extreme intolerance and bigotry.”

Pastor Terry Jones responded to critics of the Quran burning by saying that the whole religion of Islam should be held accountable for the violence:

“Islam is not a religion of peace. Muslim dominated countries can no longer be allowed to spread their hate against Christians and minorities.

“They must alter the laws that govern their countries to allow for individual freedoms and rights, such as the right to worship, free speech, and to move freely without fear of being attacked or killed.”

Response: We agree with the President, the unfortunate Quran burning was an act of  “extreme intolerance and bigotry.” Plus it never should have happened.  However, the act is not a valid or moral excuse for all of the violence or killing.

Pastor Jones had been warned that violence would be the results and probably many folks would die if he chose to carry through with his threat to burn a Quran. Therefore the largest weight of moral responsibility for the deaths really should be his.

Islam in the Middle East is what it is. The fact that many Muslims are intolerant of other religions and many countries in the Middle East do not allow freedom of religion for Christians and others is a problem which will only be exacerbated by the actions of pastor Jones and his ‘church’.

Meanwhile, all of the goodwill that has been fostered over the last few years by allied troops freeing the Afghani people from the extreme rule of the Taliban seems to now have been wasted with thousands now seemingly supporting the Taliban and proclaiming ‘down with America’. This turn of events can also be blamed squarely upon Pastor Jones.             *Top

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AFGHANISTAN: An Afghan physiotherapist will be executed soon for converting to Christianity. A judge recently told him that he would be hanged within days unless he converted back to Islam.

Said Musa, 45, has been held in a prison in Kabul for the last 8 months where he claims that he has been tortured and abused even sexually by inmates and guards.

Nevertheless Said remains resolute and refuses to reconvert to Islam. He says that he is more than willing to die for his faith:

‘My body is theirs to do what they want with.

‘Only God can decide if my spirit goes to hell.’

Musa’s case has been legally problematic from the beginning since no defense lawyers will take his case due to on-going threats made by radical Muslims.

Mr. Musa has worked for the Red Cross for 15 years helping to treat fellow amputees. He lost his left leg in a landmine explosion in the 1990s.

Response: This really is crazy. Most Americans really do not understand how backward and radical Afghanistan really is when it comes to Islamic law. Meanwhile American and Western soldiers continue to die for a corrupt government that will never become any kind of democracy and a people who don’t really want it.

According to the Afghan constitution there is suppose to be freedom of religion in that country but also according to the same constitution Islamic Sharia Law supersedes and overrides any of the other laws in the country rendering ‘freedom of religion’ as really a very sad joke.

While we have soldiers in the country propping up this corrupt regime the least we could expect and demand is for the constitutional rights we helped them to pen to be honored in some way. At the very least Mr. Musa should be allowed to leave the country.

In the mean time we should be praying for this Christian brother and issuing complaints to our Congressional representatives.            *Top             

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(Afghan Emblem via Wikipedia)

An Afghan Christian, Said Musa, was arrested and has been in jail for months for converting to Christianity from Islam.

Afghan officials announced on Sunday that his case would be tried this week sometime. Musa could be facing a  potential death penalty for becoming a Christian.

The Afghan Constitution supposedly supports freedom of religion. However, since it doesn’t specifically mention conversion from one religion to another Afghan officials said that they will rely upon Sharia law in trying this case. According to Islamic law any Muslim converting to another religion is subject to the death penalty.

This will be the second such case to come up in Afghanistan within the last 5 years. In the last case the Christian was sentenced to death but allowed to leave the country and immigrate to Italy after the case was publicized in the Western press and protests followed from nearly every Western government.

Response: This is one of those situations that call into question why we have tens of thousands of soldiers in that country supporting a government that continues to discriminate against minority religions.

Last week the U.S. State Department in its annual International Religious Freedom Report indicated that “respect for religious freedom” had actually decreased in Afghanistan during the last year, “particularly toward Christian groups and individuals.”

You would think that we would have at least some influence in that country for the better but that doesn’t seem to be the case. It will be interesting to follow what happens to Mr. Musa. In the meantime we should remember him in our prayers. Christians are not treated all that well in Afghan jails.               *Top of the Blog

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The top US General in Afghanistan says that the planned burning of Qurans by a Florida church on September 11 could damage the war effort there and put the lives of American troops in danger.

Gen. David Petraeus said in an interview that the Taliban would exploit the demonstration for propaganda purposes and drum up anger toward the U.S. and make it harder for American and allied troops to carry out their mission of protecting Afghan civilians:

"It could endanger troops and it could endanger the overall effort. It is precisely the kind of action the Taliban uses and could cause significant problems. Not just here, but everywhere in the world we are engaged with the Islamic community."

Already there have been protests in Kabul and in Indonesia. This is probably just the beginning. Military officials fear that the demonstrations will spread to other Afghan cities and could get a lot worse if the Florida event is broadcast or ends up in an Internet video.

Pastor Terry Jones, of the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida, says they will go ahead with their plan anyway:

"We understand the General’s concerns. We are sure that his concerns are legitimate."

"We must send a clear message to the radical element of Islam. We will no longer be controlled and dominated by their fears and threats."

Response: The response of this pastor and Florida church is the height of stupidity, ignorance, and irresponsibility. Yes we have freedom in this country to do stupid things like burn Qurans and offend Muslims if we want to but to put lives in danger on purpose is unforgiveable.

The pastor is supposed to be a Bible believing fundamentalist Christian yet provides no theological or Biblical reason, purpose, or underpinnings for his actions. In fact I believe that what he is proposing to do is actually contrary to the teaching of Jesus.

We now live in a media connected world where actions in Florida can be viewed by folks living in the caves of Afghanistan, in the sands of Saudi Arabia, and in the jungles of Indonesia.

Unfortunately the context of the event will be completely misunderstood and the point that the pastor is trying to make will be entirely lost and used by the very radicals he opposes to further there own agenda. Fact is, the pastor and his church are going to end up actually helping the Taliban and al Qaeda.

Folks in the Middle East and in Indonesia will blame the burning event on the US government and on Christians in general. I not only fear that our military will suffer because of this but look for Christian churches, missionaries, and relief workers to also pay a price for this offensive stupidity.

Muslims around the world do not understand the U.S. Constitution and our freedom of religion in this country. Such an event would not be allowed in their country and they will not understand or accept the fact that President Barack Obama can’t just simply issue a decree to stop Pastor Jones and his ‘church’. It will be viewed as a deliberate act by Americans and by Christians.

Therefore the burning will be blamed on America in general and on Christians in particular.              *Top of the Blog

Related Posts?:

1. -Dearborn, Michigan: Quran-burning Pastor Denied Permit and Will be Subject to Arrest
2. -UPDATE: At Least 22 Killed So Far in Quran Burning Protests

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More on the Medical team that was slaughtered by the Taliban. It appears that the assailants used info gleaned from the group’s Facebook page to track them to the Nuristan area.

From the NY Post:

Intelligence sources told The Sunday Times it appears the Taliban tracked the medical team for days. Other intelligence sources said the group’s Facebook page may have alerted the Taliban to the trekkers’ intentions before they had reached Nuristan.

"It appears the doctors were followed across the mountain passes between Nuristan and Badakhshan by the Taliban. The information we have suggests that this was a targeted killing," an Afghan security service agent told the paper.

Read the chilling account of their killing in the article. The only one spared was the Muslim driver.

Response: Most Christian organizations have websites and Facebook support pages. This points out the potential danger for giving out too much information.

At the church I attend many times info. is personally handed out to prayer warriors who sign up to support missionaries in prayer. Since our church sometimes sends folks to dangerous areas where they might be opposed by the government or radical religious groups the assignment page always includes a warning at the top in Red:

-CONFIDENTIAL- DO NOT SHARE ANY OF THIS INFORMATION ON BLOGS, WEBSITES, OR SOCIAL NETWORKS

The threats are real and in this case the medical team apparently gave out a rough itinerary on their support page. The fact is everyone is on the Internet even folks living in the caves of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

I once had a pastor friend who was sent by his church on a mission to a major Muslim country in Asia. Before he left he tried to erase all traces of himself on the Internet. A difficult task since he had a popular blog for a number of years.

He sent me an email requesting that his name be wiped off of my blog. He had left more than 20 comment over the years plus I had linked a number of his articles. It took me a couple of hours to trace it all down. I believe that he is still over there and I remember him in prayer occasionally.

The Internet has brought the World so much closer to us all than any of us ever expected and along with it have come new dangers and threats. A couple of times I have received veiled personal threats after I wrote something about Islam. Both times from folks in Pakistan. I used to laugh them off but no more.            *Top of the Blog

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A team of Christian medical volunteers including 6 American doctors providing care to poor villagers in remote northeast Afghanistan were lined up, stripped, and shot to death by the Taliban.

Later the Taliban bragged about doing this evil deed.

Here’s an account from the Christian Science Monitor:

The execution-style killings of 10 people working for a Christian medical team in a remote region of northern Afghanistan fit into Taliban insurgents’ stated shift in tactics: Target Western civilians, especially Christians, as “foreign invaders.”

The Taliban took credit for one of the deadliest attacks yet on aid workers in Afghanistan, saying the Christian charity workers were proselytizing to poor villagers – a charge that the International Assistance Mission, which dispatched the team, denies.

The bodies of six Americans, a Briton, a German, and two Afghan interpreters were discovered Friday in a forested part of Badakhshan Province in remote northern Afghanistan – until now considered a relatively peaceful region known mostly to adventure travelers. The only person in the party not killed was a local translator who offered proof he was a Muslim by quoting the Koran, according to the Associated Press.

The attack represents the largest single toll of American civilian deaths in Afghanistan since December, when a suicide bomber killed seven members of a CIA team. It also points to the operational viability of Taliban insurgents’ stated intent to target foreign aid workers as combatants.

Read some of the background material on these doctors and their dedication to provide medical care for poor Afghanis. The team was not proselytizing but just there to help people. 

Response: The Taliban continue to show their real colors. They are obviously not even concerned about their own people. In this case their understanding of ‘jihad’ included killing every single person that wasn’t a Muslim. What can one call these folks that would really do justice to who they really are?

This news will only result in less folks actually going to Afghanistan to help out in areas that have no medical care at all. Doctors and medical workers would be crazy to go there now.

If we ever forget again what the war there is all about all we have to do is remember this story. No one should have to live under monsters like this including the Afghan people.

Unfortunately we have been there far too long and the only thing Afghanis like less than the Taliban are ‘foreign invaders’. The Taliban insurgents are now increasingly successful in casting Westerners including those from relief agencies as ‘Christian Crusaders’.            *Top of the Blog

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Several thousand Turkish officers are serving as instructors to the Afghan Army and police training leaders as part of a NATO stabilization plan in Afghanistan.

Response: A few years ago I would have considered this to be a great idea. The Turkish officers are Muslim but for years have supported a secular West-leaning government in their own country. They should be a good moderate example for the up and coming Afghan leaders.

However, lately Turkey is morphing into a more radical Islamic republic with closer ties to Iran and Syria. In the event of a major conflict in the Middle East it is no longer clear where their allegiances might be. For years they have been Israel’s only Middle Eastern ally but now every thing is rapidly changing.

Turkey is still part of NATO and involved with the battle against the Taliban in Afghanistan at least in training the Afghanis. If Turkey becomes a more radical Islamist country in the future we could regret giving them the opportunity to forge close ties and relationships with the new Afghan officers.

In the future, a scenario might come along where our military is actually facing the Turks and the Afghans on a battlefield or more than likely our friends the Israelis will be facing them instead. We could be supplying and training our own future enemies. Not really much of a stretch- it has certainly has happened before.          *Top of the Blog

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