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The following is taken from Jamal Jivanjee’s FaceBook wall on which he posted an open letter to the church in Ohio, rebuking it for apathy and disinterest in the plight of Rifqa Bary. Well worth the read.

To the church of central Ohio,

I have been a part of the church in central Ohio since I became a Christian at the age of 18. I am thankful for the many people whom have enriched my life, and whom I have served with in this church over the years. I have since moved away from the central Ohio area, but because of my history in Columbus, the church here holds a special place in my heart. Because of this, I must tell you that what I am about to say does not come easy for me. I am compelled to say what I am about to say out of a heart of love for the church in central Ohio however. Since the rally for Rifqa here in Columbus, I have spent the last few days here in the city processing things, and praying. I have debated whether or not I should share these things with you, but I cannot keep silent about this any longer. I must share these things out of a personal sense of obedience. You can take this message to heart, or you can discard it. The choice is yours, but I must share this. I humbly but strongly ask you to read this letter in its entirety.

I can honestly say that in my entire 34 years of life, I cannot remember a time in which I was angrier than I am right now. In my 34 years of life, I have never experienced the type of strong nausea that I feel right now in the depths of my soul. I have never felt anguish like I have felt these last few days. In my 34 years of life, I can honestly say I have never been more broken for a group of people than I am right now. I began to wonder if I should be feeling like this, and if there was something wrong with me. A good and wise friend of mine shared something with me that greatly helped me however. She said that I don’t have to apologize for being angry, because God gets angry and he created us with this emotion. There is such a thing as righteous anger, and somebody in the body of Christ needs to feel the emotions that God feels. I believe these emotions are His, and not mine. So, what is the cause of my anger, nausea, anguish, and brokenness?

The institutional church in central Ohio!

It is absolutely heartbreaking to see just how spiritually dead or comatose that the institutional central Ohio church has become. I am absolutely ashamed to have come from you. I know that is harsh, but the facts speak for themselves. What facts am I talking about? Let me give you just one.

Cowardice

The institutional church in central Ohio has demonstrated its cowardice through its silence regarding Rifqa Bary’s struggle. Don’t get me wrong, there have been several precious and courageous people from central Ohio who have prayed and / or emailed, called authorities, or have spoken out in some way about Rifqa’s situation. Please know that this letter does not apply to you. This letter is addressed to the institutional church as a whole that has been utterly silent or ignorant of Rifqa Bary’s situation. There are literally almost 1000 local church communities in the greater Columbus metro area alone that represent tens of thousands of people. To my knowledge there are only 2 local church communities that have done ANYTHING to stand with Rifqa Bary!

WHAT AN ABOMINATION!

by Cinnamon Stillwell
American Thinker
November 15, 2009

Reposted from the Middle East Forum

In the wake of the horrific attack at the Fort Hood military base in Texas earlier this month, and the mounting evidence that the shooter, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, was motivated by Islamist beliefs, the media has turned to Middle East studies “experts” for enlightenment. Instead, what the media, and, by extension, the American public, has received is the moral relativism and obfuscation that too often meets any effort to address Islamism or jihadism in an intellectually honest manner.

Writing for the Washington Post’s “On Faith” blog, John Esposito, professor and founding director of the Saudi-funded Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University, extends his long tradition of issuing apologias for radical Islam by conflating Hasan’s actions with “extremists” of all religions. In the process, he professes ignorance as to why there might be suspicion directed towards Islam in the wake of 9/11, the worst Islamic terrorist attack in U.S. history:

Why this common tendency and double standard towards Islam and Muslims post-9/11? We judge the religion and majority of mainstream Muslims by the acts of an individual or an aberrant minority of extremists. Yet, when Jewish fundamentalists kill a prime minister or innocent Palestinians or Christian extremists blow up abortion clinics or assassinate their physicians, somehow the media is capable of sticking to all the facts and distinguishing between the use and abuse of a religion.

Having written this post while news of Hasan’s fanatical leanings and possible terrorist connections was still developing, Esposito warns against a “rush to judgment” that might, as he puts it, “negatively impact the American public’s perception of Islam.” Heaven forbid Americans start to suspect that Islam itself contains the seeds for Islamism. Contrary to popular belief, this awareness need not implicate all Muslims. Rather, it asks the faithful to address Islamist violence and aggression by implementing theological and cultural reform.

Esposito continues the moral equivalency and non sequiturs in a later “On Faith” post:

In a recent post on WorldNetDaily, author David Kupelian asked a very pointed and timely question: What is behind Americans politically correct love of Islam? The opinion piece is very well written and deserves to be reposted, so here is a portion. Follow the link at the bottom to read the entire article.

WHAT’S BEHIND AMERICA’S POLITICALLY CORRECT LOVE OF ISLAM

The second they heard about the Fort Hood massacre, millions of thinking Americans wondered in their gut: “Oh God, is this another crazy Muslim terrorist carrying out a one-man jihad, as has happened so many times before?”

Then, when the alleged perpetrator’s name and religion were made public (Nidal Malik Hasan, a lifelong Muslim) along with eyewitness reports he had shouted the obligatory pre-terror-attack proclamation, “Allahu akbar” (”Allah is greatest”) before commencing his orgy of slaughter, their suspicions were confirmed: This was surely a major attack on the American homeland by a Muslim terrorist.

Further evidence quickly rolled in: Hasan had reportedly refused to fight fellow Muslims, called the war on terror a “war on Islam,” told a co-worker Muslims had a right to rise up and attack Americans, and reportedly had posted online his astoundingly twisted belief that an Islamic suicide bomber was morally equivalent to a soldier throwing himself on a grenade to save the lives of his comrades.

In other words, although the Army had many warnings Hasan was a certifiable, America-hating, jihadist “ticking time bomb” waiting to go off, it did nothing to avert last week’s terror attack. Why?

And why, after the truth about Hasan became undeniable following his mass slaughter, does the government, as well as its mouthpiece the establishment press, agonize in their usual pathetic manner over what could possibly have motivated the Army psychiatrist to coldly, methodically murder 13 and wound 38 others?

• Shortly after the attack, right on schedule, the FBI announced it wasn’t terror-related.
• Time magazine moronically blamed posttraumatic stress disorder – even though Hasan has never been deployed in a war zone.
• The shooter’s relatives insisted he had been the victim of religious harassment because of his faith, which must have made him snap.
• According to the Washington Post, the problem was that Hasan was lonely. That’s right, the newspaper’s report, titled “The lonely life of alleged Fort Hood shooter,” was subtitled: “‘He was mistreated. He didn’t have nobody. He was all alone,’ says neighbor.”
• Meanwhile, President Obama warned Americans against “jumping to conclusions” about what might have motivated the shooter.

Why, after a Muslim commits a terrorist act, do authorities always announce almost instantaneously – before they could possibly know – that the attack was not terror-related?

Why do the news media always torture themselves and their readers with the most wildly improbable explanations in their attempts to avoid the obvious truth?

Read the rest of the article here.