About Daniel Shayesteh

Dr Daniel was born into a Muslim family in Northern Iran. He became a radical Muslim leader and teacher of Islam in the militant Free Islamic Revolutionary Movement, closely supporting Ayatollah Khomeini. However, after falling out of favor with Khomeini’s political group, he escaped to Turkey where there began an amazing journey to faith in Jesus Christ.

Daniel's mission is to help others understand and lovingly respond to those who do not know Christ. He is also deeply concerned for the future of Western societies, their loss of confidence in Judeo-Christian values, and their persistent naivete about the implications of the world-wide Islamic revival.

The Victory of the Birth of Christ

The Bible teaches us that the reason for the birth of Jesus Christ is to destroy the dividing walls of Satan among people and to reveal the image of true peace so that people can truly be reconciled to one another and to God.

What are the dividing walls and where are they? There are many barriers - philosophical, doctrinal, social, political and moral and they are in every part of life. The mastermind behind all these dividing walls is Satan. For this reason, people need someone greater than Satan to destroy his hindrances and demolish the dividing walls and establish peace. People need the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ, whom the Bible describes as “Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace”.

Jesus is the only One who has overcome Satan and established justice victoriously in order to save people. The Bible describes His victory in amazing ways. Those who read the Gospel and discover His victory will put their trust in Him. They will no longer follow a man or even a prophet but Jesus, since victory belongs to Him only and peace and reconciliation cannot be achieved without Him.
Jesus came to this world in order to establish peace in the hearts of people and make them what they were meant to be before the fall - being with God as members of His household. Then, every good thing will be given to them.

We can see how vital it is to teach the Gospel of Jesus nationally and globally. Let us therefore embody the goal of God in manifesting Himself in Jesus Christ and act as His special vessels until all the world, including our nations, hear that they cannot succeed unless they follow Jesus. Jesus was born into this world to save the lost.

True Freedom Makes the World Panic!

All Islamic countries (especially the radical ones), all communist countries and all leftists in western countries become nervous when someone desires to live in real freedom. This real freedom can only be found through looking deeply into life and at differences among beliefs, in order to embrace the best. It is amazing and mind blowing that billions of dollars are spent, thousands of people’s blood is shed and many are made homeless each year around the world in order to block the way for people to have freedom.

It is like a deadly poison to the leaders of Islamic countries, even to the most moderate ones, if you go to their countries and take an opportunity to talk about your non-Islamic belief. If they are moderate and decide to be a bit nice to you, they just deport you. Otherwise, they can keep you in prison for years and accuse you of spying in order to make their inhumane initiatives look remotely legitimate to civilized nations. They can kill you with monstrous hatred too. Pastor Hike Hovsepian in Iran was mysteriously stabbed 26 times, whereas he could have been killed with just one stab. They then left his body in the street to show that Christians’ freedom is a serious threat to their dictatorship. Freedom makes them panic more than anything else.

When it comes to Muslims freely taking advantage of the freedom available to them in non-Islamic countries, they seize it 100%. Otherwise they will be offended and adopt the pose of being victims of discrimination. Not only do they want full freedom for themselves abroad, but a ‘criticism-free’ freedom too. They don’t care that criticism and even self-criticism are inherent components of western freedom. That is why we see that Islamists in non-Islamic countries have continually been trying to silence their critics in order to spread their dictatorial Islam. For example, Saudi Arabia distributes millions of Qurans in non-Islamic countries each year, but a non-Muslim is not allowed to take his personal Bible to that country. The rulers of Saudi Arabia and other Islamic countries are terrified that a Bible may fall into the hands of a Muslim, teach him true freedom and reveal the unjust constraints of a dictatorial leadership style. They know that when freedom comes, dictatorship must go. That’s why the word “freedom” terrifies them.

The central motive of all Islamic terrorist groups in the world is that there are some people in the world who love freedom and may become a challenge to the spread of Islam’s tyrannical leadership in the future. According to the Quran, freedom lovers must be terrified since there is no option given to any man or woman to express their opinion concerning Allah’s and his prophet’s decisions in the Quran. (Sura (Chapter) 33:36; also read Sura (Chapter) 8)

It is interesting to note similarities under Communist regimes.  Communist theory regards the West’s cherished idea of the freedom for individuals to have a right to individual expression, ownership and wealth as anathema. Individual autonomy does not make sense in communist theory since the force of nature runs life randomly. A creative freedom, therefore, is nothing but a blocking enemy or a thesis that necessitates revolution through an anti-thesis. The real reason behind the establishment of the Berlin wall was to stop the flow of western freedom to the East which was in close proximity. Communism had to be protected from freedom. The destruction of freedom is the initiating step of Communism. The advanced Communist community must therefore be perpetually protected against freedom. That’s why everybody in a Communist country is under pressure to spy on others and to report if there is any hint of desire for freedom. If you know but do not report, then you are in trouble.

This is exactly what happens in most Islamic countries, in particular the radical ones like Iran, Saudi Arabia and Sudan.

We also see hostility towards freedom and criticism in the midst of western societies by those who hate to be challenged. They get very nervous especially when you convey to them the words of Jesus Christ who says that it is the knowledge of the truth which sets people free. (John 8:32) They hate the knowledge of the truth since it threatens the underlying, but false, personal securities they have gained from investing in untruth. That’s why they hate freedom and even become vicious when someone speaks about it.

In most cases, the enemies of freedom have demonstrated that it was the threat to their own personal fortune, power or status that was the real cause of their panic and hatred towards freedom and freedom lovers, rather than their beliefs or ideologies.

During the thirteen year period when Muhammad, the prophet of Islam was not famous but a middle class Meccan money earner, he was peaceful. He even attended a church with his wife, just as some of our presidents and prime ministers do before elections. He referred to the Bible, in the hands of his contemporary Christians and Jews, as the light for people. The pinnacle point of his message at that time was “no compulsion in religion.

But that scenario changed after Muhammad moved from Mecca to Medina, became a statesman and made a fortune. It was then that he forbade criticism (Quran 33:36) and outlawed the existence of any other religion and furthermore sanctioned that a pious Muslim had to be known to everyone as a terrorizing person (Quran 9:123). He even replaced some old verses of the Quran, which were barriers to his newly adopted anti-freedom ethics, and replaced them with new ones in order to legitimize his harsh attitudes and thereby safeguard his dictatorial fortune, power and status. So, practically, his beliefs became of secondary importance to him after gaining his fortune.
The history of Islam is full of this kind of shocking and capricious leadership style when leaders changed even the most sacred beliefs of Islam to protect their fortunes or their power. One example is the changing of the prayer direction from Jerusalem to Petra in Jordan by Muhammad, and then after his death the shift from Petra to the present Mecca in Saudi Arabia. It is still the same among Muslim leaders. The Quran in verses 21 and 22 of its chapter 5 says that Israel belongs to Jews forever. In verse 104 of chapter 17 it also says that even scattered Jews will be brought to their promised land. But Muslim leaders do not care about their Quran’s sanction of the rights of Jews over Israel. This is because hostility towards Jews has created fortunes for them and will do the same for their children and grandchildren.

Mao Tse-tung, Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Fidel Castro and their peers in Communist countries were and are the same. They too didn’t/haven’t cared much about the altruism in their Communism which was initially adopted for their nations to prosper. They all displayed very generous motives and intentions at the beginning declaring how they would invest their lives for their nations. That generosity came to an end when they became powerful.

Initially, people trusted their Communist saviours, joined them and opened the door for them to triumph. After, having experienced Communism, people have realized that it had not worked in the way they anticipated. Some decided to try something else, but were viciously killed despite still calling themselves Communists. History has never forgotten the many Communists, as well as others that were slaughtered by Stalin. If the ideology was a priority, they wouldn’t have wanted to kill their Communist peers for their criticisms. Rather, they would have acted as real Communists, gone to the corporate body of Communism, the working class or proletariat, taken a secret ballot and acted accordingly. They didn’t, because the ideology did not matter for them any more as much as their fortune and status did.

The ideology itself was also impractical to these infamous Communist dictators of history. Had they followed their ideology with integrity, their actions would have served the needs of the people rather than being ruthlessly self-serving. As a result, their regimes were based on egotism and were thus hostile to freedom. Their foreign policies were also centered on hostility to freedom, especially the western style of freedom that values time and life. If anyone from their lands took refuge in a western country, they would do everything to get rid of that person, fearing that s/he would reveal the weaknesses of the regimes in their homelands.

Opposition to freedom in western countries is also nothing more than a channel for safeguarding personal agendas and fortunes. That’s why some socialists have become millionaires in the West despite the inconsistency of that with the principles of socialism. They have learned how to make money and live by the motto:“Look like a socialist, live like a capitalist”. It is risky even if their own socialist peers criticize them. Some leftists have sacked their own leftist friends who challenged them ideologically. “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed” is a documentary that reveals how vicious some leftists can be even towards their own leftist peers who dare to challenge them. The very principle of socialism “the end justifies the means” is turned back on its own adherents. Interesting!

So the ideology (socialism, atheism, secularism or others) is not a big deal for these enemies of freedom. However, the fortune they have made is! They use the ideology just for mischievously caricaturing their critics or opponents in order to promote uncertainty in their opposition, and allegiance to themselves, so that they can penetrate and dominate. From there they dominate and their domination must continue with recklessness and without any challenge, hence silencing critics and opposition. In other words, the ideology was used to create a market of fortune for them, a fortune that even friends cannot challenge now.

Unfortunately, the West has become a place of fortune for everybody with every kind of belief. The most hostile belief has also made its nest in the West and now has the opportunity to destroy it. Multiculturalism in the West has opened the door for Socialists, Communists, Islamists and other minorities to reject their obligation to uphold freedom of rights (a core value of the West) in order to follow their own aggressive and unfair agendas. Now, more or less every practice of every group is valid, irrespective of how brutal or abusive it may be, since it is legitimate in that particular group’s culture or belief.

Multiculturalism has given sovereignty to almost every practice in the West. But this has been ridding the West of its own Judeo-Christian values which, in a great many cases, lie at the heart of western freedom. This outcome has produced great passivity among rank and file people so that opportunists can take over and be hostile to freedom lovers. This is what we get now. The arrows of the opponents of freedom are in the ‘western air’ even before we say a word in favor of freedom. Freedom lovers are called haters, fascists or Nazis by the children of multiculturalism and have been even attacked physically by them.

Why would an atheist or socialist or Islamist call a sincere Christian a ‘hater’ since hating is a sin in the Gospel of Jesus Christ?  But hate is legitimate in the beliefs of contemporary secular ideologies? History has demonstrated that attributing bad names to others is a sign of invasion or destruction that is about to happen. Late in his life, Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, called Christians and Jews animals and the worst of beasts in order to pave the way to destroy them. That’s what he did and butchered many like animals. Today, in any Islamic country (but especially in a radical one), if a Muslim is labeled ‘Americanized’, ‘westernized’, it means that his or her life is under a serious threat. This is, more or less, true in Communist countries too.

Multiculturalism has allowed all hostile cultures to penetrate and gain a strong foothold in the West. In Iran, Saudi Arabia or Malaysia you have only one enemy to your freedom – Islam. In communist countries the single enemy to your freedom is Communism. Thanks to multiculturalism, the enemies of freedom are from every corner of the world and have been brought to the West to root out freedom. Now the enemies of freedom are everywhere in the West preparing the way for multicultural hostilities. They are in our educational centers too. Even our youth in schools and universities are learning how to hate those who do not think or believe their way. Educational centers were originally built to be the places of higher understanding, tolerance, exchanging ideas, engagements and creative dialogues, but now are reduced to be the places of intolerance and hatred towards freedom of speech.

How do we handle these invasions and hostilities?

There are two ways for us to deal with the enemies of freedom; either we become worldly, as they are, compromise with their desires and receive their friendship, or, we stay honest to our faith in Christ and pay the price - since there is no benefit in having the world but losing eternal joy. Two thousand years ago, our Master saw our days and told us:

If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, the servant is not greater than his master. If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they have kept My saying, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. (John 15:18-21, MKJV) 

We cannot expect better things from the world since it does not know Jesus and does not have the joy of His freedom. Also, we cannot persuade people with truth if we are of the world and do not speak truthfully. Therefore, we need to rejoice in our freedom in Jesus Christ which is the power for our triumph over hatred and hostility.

Secondly, we need to stand on our heavenly identity and not invest our time and money for hatred or a worldly fortune, as worldly people do. We are fortunate that we are enabled to bear the hatred of the world, while not being like the world by  responding to hatred with hatred.

When Conscience is Suppressed

The last two decades have been an amazing journey for me in my encounter with people from diverse ideological, political, national and ethnic backgrounds. I have identified some key forces that form an obstacle to conscience having a voice in individuals. Lack of understanding or insight is the major obstacle to conscience’s voice, but other hindrances include fear, false pleasure, anger and hatred. Not many are able to realize that awareness is the key to freedom. Without awareness of truth, people violate their consciences and deprive themselves, their families and societies of the fruits of the truth, real peace and comfort. We will experience relief from anything that aims to keep us captive if we educate ourselves concerning what is ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ and if we listen to the voices of our consciences.

Conscience, which the Bible describes as God’s law written in the hearts of all individuals (Romans: 2:14-15), is an amazing agent. It that stands up for truth in our inner beings, but only if it is given a chance. I sometimes hear people say that conscience can be dead in some people. But, conscience can only be silenced if it has no voice at all. Fortunately, it never becomes deaf and its voice never dies. It can surface at any moment when the blocking means disappear and the mind and heart start to function as they were intended. If the conscience was deaf and dead, the Gospel of Jesus Christ would never ask us to address our message of hope to the consciences of people:

But [we] have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. (2 Corinthians 4:2, KJV)

Our continual contact with people in declaring God’s truth is warranted because their consciences are alive and able to hear. Thereby, we hope that one day they will listen to us freely, become courageous enough to remove the limitations on their hearts and minds, allowing their consciences to gain freedom and be vocal for the truth. It is the strong voice of a conscience that breaks through the darkness of ignorance and paves the way for a soul to enthrone the truth in that person’s heart.

The whole concept of the absolute truth would be irrelevant and foolishness to a mind or heart apart from a conscience. But the truth will reveal its full beauty to every soul the moment the conscience is involved in listening, evaluating and decision-making. God has  built conscience into humanity as a witness for Himself so that every person can carry a measuring tool in him/herself  to distinguish truth from falsehood (Romans 2:14-16). A person will not be able to understand the truth and have a proper definition of it without a conscience. Therefore, a willful decision to disassociate conscience is a degradation of one’s mind and heart.

This is what we are face-to-face with in our contemporary societies in the West. Many are representing themselves as beings without a conscience; like a machine which knows no moral imperative and no boundary between truth and falsehood. For them, truth and falsehood are not fixed; everything is regarded as valid. The notion of truth these days is taken to be a part of a fluid, evolutionary and politically correct culture, reinventing itself continually and marching ahead without an absolute identity, anchor point or direction. This changeable and unpredictable post-modern ‘truth’ is not able to define things as they are. Instead, it is a part of a relative culture that promotes fantasy in order to get people involved in establishing and celebrating falsehood. It has become a bridge for opportunists to penetrate and spread ignorance in order to have their way.

Not many are aware that it is this capricious version of truth which has enabled many people to be lazy and unproductive and to establish their own parties with a leadership philosophy that relies on the income of others to finance their laziness. This is what is happening in most western countries where taxes have been progressively soaring higher in order to prop up unproductive leaders and people. The USA, once a productive and good role model in the West, has now become a bad role model where businesses are closing down and leaving, but to which consumers are migrating. The entire non-western world now desires to migrate to the West and benefit from unemployment benefits and other social security allowances without acknowledging that this will inevitably turn into social insecurity by the flood of immigrants. The West, which once prospered via true leadership and a strong positive work ethic will soon suffer the consequences of its relative truth, its situational ethics and its pragmatic relativist leadership.

Real truth cannot be fully workable in a nation unless that nation is deeply connected to God as the absolute source of truth. Godlessness hasn’t been a good choice for the West. Turning one’s back on God is, in the final analysis, turning one’s back on oneself. Many in the West have turned their backs on themselves, suppressed their own consciences and confused themselves with false ideas about almost everything. Godlessness has clouded the minds and hearts of people to such an extent that they do not believe that things surrounding them can be known deeply. Therefore, everything is presented with an underpinning ideological delusion, a postmodernist philosophy which embraces everything that rids people of their capability and capacity to discover the key factors of success for their lives. ‘Success’, in this context, does not make sense when the nation is confused. The West will therefore, in the longer term, ultimately lose the ‘success’ it has created through the years if it does not rescue itself from this contemporary post-modern confusion.

Jesus Christ is the solution for the confused West. The failure of the West must break the heart of every follower of Jesus Christ since great prices were paid for the establishment of truth and freedom in the past. There is a great responsibility on our shoulders as the followers of Jesus Christ to reveal the forgotten truth and rescue the West from the captivity of confusion and ambiguity. The truth can give freedom only to those who are given reasons to free their consciences, their hearts and minds in order to be able to compare, understand and make healthy decisions. How are they able to learn this if Christians are busy with shallow things and not ready to touch minds, hearts and consciences? The Gospel of Jesus Christ is right when it says:

How shall they hear without a preacher? (Romans 10:14c, KJV)

We need to discover every possible and ethical channel for proclaiming the solutions of Christ to our perplexed societies. It is not helpful to speak about problems without  having clear solutions and without  laying the foundation for people to hear and understand constructive remedies for their problems.

The Market of the Antichrist Is Booming

When our country falls into the hands of a leader  who suppresses our rights, beliefs and speech, Christians are supposed to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, stay faithful, stand their ground and not surrender. However, many Christians are not only surrendering but becoming vessels of torture of Christ and the true followers of Christ.

Those historical figures who took brave and sacrificial initiatives and started the Protestant movement were aiming to break the bondage of dictatorial religiosity or theocracy so that ordinary people could read, evaluate and make personal decisions. They encouraged Christians to take personal initiative in order to discover for themselves the reasons for their faith in Christ and why Jesus was the only Way, Truth and Life. This resulted in a new intellectual freedom, the discovery of previously censored treasures of life in Jesus Christ and, ultimately, cultural enrichment. Consequently, in the West, that freedom became a catalyst for producing the best of values for society. As a result, quality of life for the great majority began to improve; the rule of law became more democratic, and creativity, productivity and prosperity became the hallmarks of western societies. It was the qualities of Christ-like living and the Protestant work ethic that caused western societies to flourish.

However, new intellectual movements like Communism and Darwinism emerged and challenged the Christian foundations that had been laid. Both movements embraced relativism and the doctrine of chance. They rejected pre-existent absolutes and challenged the need for any religion, but particularly Christianity, and its foundations on absolute truth. Evolutionary theory that was embraced by Marxist Communism rejected the existence of God as the Creator. Without the need for a god, man was in full control. But the capacity for humans to make decisions in their best interests could not be guaranteed without centralized control.  Social order was about a ‘struggle’ for the equitable distribution of wealth.  Human existence was like a machine for them. With the abolition of religion, freedom vanished in these countries and economies suffered. Though Communist leaders claimed at the beginning to be committed to establishing a better life for their citizens, that was soon abandoned. Freedom of choice was restricted and people were exploited for economic purposes. For those who challenged the new order, persecution or death was the solution.

In contrast to the Communist vision, the free-market economy in the West has been able to produce a society where employees have shares and participate in the distribution of the revenue of companies. They enjoy protection through insurance and health benefits. They can invest in retirement funds and, for a significant majority, own their own homes. Western societies reward creativity, initiative and effort that have been the building blocks of success in businesses and organizations. So the West has progressively and consistently prospered, largely because of underlying Christian beliefs and values. Those values and that prosperity has, in turn, become a blessing to the poor in the world who have experienced aid and relief and healthcare and education, mainly from western governments, businesses, organizations and individuals – many of them Christian. Meanwhile, communist countries have gone backwards on almost every measure.

Many influential relativist leaders in the West also hold the view that there are no absolutes.   Their influence has been so persistent that relativism has now become the dominant mindset in western society.  The most prominent relativists press their ideas on society at every opportunity.  Logic and reason have not consistently been their tools.  Rather, the pragmatism of ‘the ends justifying the means’ has been the instrument by which they have gained the upper hand.  Integrity and transparency have become casualties of misrepresentation and deception.  Even though they may be relatively few in number, they have had significant influence in government, education, entertainment and media.  Incrementally, they have brought about changes in legislation that reflect a significant decline in the Christian influence that once guided law-makers. Whereas Christian beliefs have historically underpinned the legal framework of harmonious, freedom-loving societies for many centuries, there is already evidence mounting that the way of relativism will require a serious loss of freedoms for people with strong religious beliefs, particularly Christians.

This is the situation in the West now. The relativists are now the most powerful group and are fighting tooth and nail to erase the historic bases of values that have proven themselves to be the most enduring and attractive in the whole world. These relativists have proven by their words and actions that they are opposed to Christ – ‘antichrist’.  Increasingly, they are funding their war against traditional Christian beliefs and values with the support of taxes that, ironically, are provided by a population that, according to research data, is nominally 75% Christian. It is worth noting that Christian defenders of freedom have either been silenced, sacked, jailed or even required to undertake psychiatric treatment in hospitals. Tragically, these antichrists have Christian supporters too. But, when appraised against the clear message of the Bible, there is no doubt that these Christians are far from what Christ desires them to be. In effect, their undiscerning role is significant in making the enemies of the Bible much stronger.

Why aren’t these anti-Christian militants satisfied with the multitudes of non-Christian supporters who are fully in their service?  Why do they want to enlist Christians into their campaigns as well? How would the presence of Christians make a difference to their mission?

The Antichrist’s (Satan’s) major enemy is Jesus Christ. For this reason, he loves to attract followers of Jesus Christ who can be easily fooled and used to help erode Christian values. The Antichrist is well aware that an enemy can penetrate an army much more effectively when there are some insiders (traitors) who favor the enemy. No antichrist can be confident against an army (followers of Jesus Christ) who use their consciences to weigh things and distinguish between good and bad, right and wrong, honour and deceit. Conscience can never be sanctioned by the Antichrist since his main weapons are blind obedience, indifference, negligence or the compromise position of political correctness. The followers of Christ are the only group who are called to use their consciences and encourage others to do the same. The Gospel says:

We have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, nor adulterating the Word of God, but by the revelation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. (2Corinthians 4:2)

Pragmatism, not conscience, is top of the list in an antichrist’s code of conduct. This means that any non-Christian or unethical compromise is a legitimate strategy for reaching one’s goal. The relativist antichrist therefore welcomes any Christian who is ready to justify some of the beliefs of the enemy such as same-sex marriage or abortion in order to make them acceptable to entire Christian communities, especially the next generation.  This is the pathway to changing a whole community’s culture. The relativist never tells Christians that his ultimate goal is the destruction of the values of Christ. He rather introduces himself deceptively as a truly democratic and tolerant person.  In this way, he rolls out his plan until the overwhelming majority bow to him. He will not give up his deception and lies, even if one group remains that does not bow to him, because full power and control is his ultimate goal. Every lie and deception he manages to enshrine in legislation in the West gains power for him. We clearly see how his antichristian values are progressing in the West and the result? The gradual but sinister destruction of freedoms – freedoms of expression, of association, of belief, of conscience, of choice in education, of rights of parents, etc.

The major reason that freedoms are being incrementally eroded in the West is because of the dominance of relativists in the affairs of western countries. Their claim of protecting freedom is superficial.  However, it is not central to their agenda. They are the best of deceivers. Even the best leaders in the West get involved in the political correctness these opponents of Jesus perpetrate. For example, they naively support Islamist plans, or even madrasas that teach subversive fundamentalism. In doing so, they foolishly risk the security of their own nations and the rights of their own citizens. At the same time, they preside over the erosion of freedoms for Christians. Why?  Because Christians have not been strong enough in their stand for Christ.  They have been deceived by the rhetoric of the relativists and become unable to discern, let alone defend, their rights.  Christians have been manipulated into allowing Christian values to be shackled. Some have even allowed themselves to become the perpetrators of injustice and persecution of fellow (true) believers in Christ.

The Antichrist is well aware that the torturing of a follower of Jesus Christ by a Christian is more painful than by a non-Christian adversary of Jesus Christ. Jesus has already expressed the depth of such pain to us. He was heartbroken when one of His own followers, Judas Iscariot, cooperated with the politically correct leaders of the day, who called themselves godly, yet tortured Him mercilessly. Jesus said of Judas:

He who eats bread with me has lifted up his heel against me. (John 13:18) 

Judas not only brought about destruction in his own life, but also facilitated emotional and physical pain for Jesus and His disciples. This is a lesson from the Gospel for us - avoid any collaboration with politically correct people who serve the Antichrist. Again Jesus said,

And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many will become cold. (Matthew 24:12) 

His comment here was about the future followers of Christ - including us – and we must be diligently on guard so that we do not become a fulfillment of these prophetic words

Satan knows that the love of truth is the personal characteristic of Jesus Christ. He also knows that if Christians become cold and do not enter a personal life with Jesus Christ to have an intimate relationship with Him, not only will they be unable to follow His values, but they may also be duped into acting in an un-Christ-like and unethical way, thereby making life difficult for the real followers of Jesus. Therefore, those Christians who unthinkingly cooperate with politically correct leaders are open to becoming cold in their love for Christ, thus pleasing the Antichrist.

Recently Ted Cruz, a well-respected conservative American Senator, who is also a Christian, said in his flimsy defense of a Christian lady, "When President Obama resigns, then we can talk about Kim Davis". (Kim Davis is a Christian clerk in the State of Kentucky who refused to issue a marriage license to same-sex couples and was therefore jailed by the judge of the area for not following the federal law.)

Would America be really better if President Obama resigns? It is hard to believe this, since many Christians have aligned themselves, consciously or unconsciously, with the dominant culture that is driven by political correctness and President Obama certainly appears to be a leader who embraces such a norm. In recent months, several Christian presidential nominees, including Ted Cruz, were provocatively asked whether they would attend a gay wedding. One said that he would if the gay person was a member of his family. Another said that it would be a violation of his faith. But Ted Cruz’s excuse was that he had not faced such a circumstance and therefore did not respond. If Christians like Ted Cruz and others showed courage, were not afraid of risking their reputations for Christ and were willing to speak about their faith boldly, people like Obama would need to be far more discerning and respectful given that they are leaders of a country with more than 75% Christians.

Every committed Christian knows the beginning of Romans chapter 12 in the Gospel which says:

I beseech you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, in order to prove by you what is that good and pleasing and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:1-2)  

Christians in leadership must be prepared to apply these strong words to their public lives.

While there is a golden opportunity for many Christians to stand firmly for their position in Christ and speak biblically, they say “it depends.” When it came to abortionists they did not use biblical reasoning to help people understand that a limitless freedom is the cause of disaster. Now, not only abortion is legalized, but mothers can even find ways to sell the parts of their aborted babies. This is the result of indifference, silence or the unwise stand of many Christians. As the seed of indifference, silence or political correctness has the capacity to produce unlimited chaos, ruin a society and create a fortune for antichrists, so a seed of courage has actually more capacity to enlighten that society with the truth. If we do not stand for the truth boldly, the untruth will rule over us.
 
You either need to stay with Jesus and be victorious, OR be a champion of silence, indifference, political correctness and fear, or a double-minded person, thereby making antichrists prosperous. Freedom in the West is based on the suffering and blood of Christians who understood its significance and payed the price. Because of them we have freedom, not because of those whose 'end justifies every kind of means'. We must therefore honor their courage and do the same no matter the cost.

America’s major problem, therefore, is not Obama or others who openly oppose the values of Christ. The problem is the cold love in Christians who do not know how to please God nor to pursue what the renewal of mind and heart means. That’s why many Christians, including church elders and pastors representing almost every denomination, supported the election of Obama, notwithstanding  his open non-Christian stand on same-sex marriage and abortion and his pragmatic support for terrorist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas who have created chaos in Egypt, resulting in the slaughter of many Christians.

The church in America, as in other western countries, is not mature and therefore not ready to pave the way for a godly person to rule over this nation. The only message of many churches is ‘Salvation’ or the ‘Gifts of the Spirit’. Of course salvation of humanity is the central point of Jesus Christ’s mission, but His salvation is not just a spiritual salvation. It is a salvation from the Antichrist’s political, social and moral chaos in this world. In other words, salvation necessitates a truthful and courageous life in this world. If a truthful life for God did not matter in this world, then it would not be necessary for Him to reveal Himself to humanity. He could just save people with a bang without showing Himself to us on earth as the role model of life. Salvation is about the whole of life not just the kingdom of heaven. Satan was forced out of heaven. He must also be cast out of our hearts in every corner of our life on this earth. We must stand for Christ in every circumstance, sacrificially and with reason. The reason that Christ overcame Satan at the cross was meant to deal with his evil influence in every aspect of our lives. That’s why churches need to be the universities of Christ and teach His truth about everything, including leadership, culture, economy, ethics, (all in comparison with other belief systems) so that people may come to understand with reason what to follow and what to reject. If we do not teach our people to understand the best leadership values for our world and we do not prepare righteous leaders for our societies, of course people like Hussein Obama of America or Malcolm Turnbull of Australia will become leaders in our countries and oppose or restrict Christians. If we were mature Christians, America, Australia and the West would be much healthier societies than we are now. Non-Christian leaders are succeeding because we are sliding back in our mission for heaven and becoming self-centered and undiscerning. Secular relativists are targeting our zealous brothers and sisters in Christ because we are cooperating with their agendas at the cost the truth.

Compromising the truth grieves Christ and lets down His followers. Keeping silent toward the presidents and prime ministers who love their jobs more than the laws and rights of their people is as if we were torturing Christ all over again. Jesus Christ did not keep quiet towards the injustice of the leaders of his time. If He had, it would have become a torture to the Father’s heart. He spoke out and taught how an unjust, non-loving and proud leadership would end in destruction. He revealed everything so that His followers would stand behind a humble leader, not behind those who sacrifice humility for personal gain and who reject Him and persecute His followers.

I have been shocked time and again by the number of Christians who have said to my face that president Obama is a follower of Christ. Recently I was in a church where a school teacher approached me and said that he still believed that Obama was a Christian. I reminded him of the simple measuring tool of the Gospel that says a person is known by his fruits. I asked him what about the president’s support for abortion and same sex marriage? His response echoed strangely as if Christianity needed a reformation to tolerate everything.

This man, a teacher, a member of an evangelical church, did not understand that the Bible was given to us not to be changed but to change us so that we would be able to understand what the best role model or standard is. He had no idea that Satan loves Christians to ignore the teaching of their Bible and make up their own ill-considered religion. They have forgotten what happened to the Israelites when ‘they did what was pleasing in their own eyes’.  Satan loves every religion that strips Jesus of His holy identity. Satan is not against religion. Nor is he against churches. Why?  Because a church can go astray and unwittingly fall into his service. Satan is against Jesus and His truthfulness. He knows that Jesus never compromises the truth and further builds His church and kingdom with those who follow in His footsteps and do not compromise. That’s why Satan acts in exactly the opposite way to Jesus and builds his kingdom with those who compromise the truth.

History demonstrates that there is a strong link between Christianity and freedom in the West. It also illustrates very clearly that antichristian movements in countries like Cuba, Russia, China and similar socialist countries have diminished the value of human life and blocked the capacity for human initiative and creativity. The winner in these countries has been the Antichrist, not people. We in the West have also personally experienced how relativist and politically correct leaders, who call themselves civilized and democratic, have blocked the way to truth and allowed some minorities to impose themselves on others. May we Christians wake up and prevent America, Australia and other countries from sliding more and more into inhuman policies, thereby inadvertently prospering the Antichrist because of our foolishness and indifference. It is time to speak louder and bring the walls of the Antichrist down. It is time to pave the way for the coming King, Jesus Christ.

“Word” That Overcomes War

Wouldn’t it be comforting if a word or several words had the power to stop wars and protect or rescue people from the losses and bloodshed of war and from the wounds  that war leaves behind for decades and centuries? I remember the cry of a man over the dead body of his younger brother who was shot dead by a religious guard in Tehran,Iran, because of his opposition to Ayatollah Khomeini. The older brother was crying loudly, humbly looking around and to heaven, expressing his heart-melting words and saying: “Isn’t there anything, anyone to extinguish the fire of hostility?” Almost all the people who were watching him and his powerless family were touched and tears poured from their eyes.

History is full of cries like this. Our contemporary world is also full of this cry because of terrorism and religious, ideological and sectarian wars. These cries have become  so heart-melting since many of the great leaders of our time, who call themselves civilized, also fuel the hostility with their political correctness and thereby add more to the pains of people.

Is there anyone, any word or anything that can change the moral standard of this world and teach peace, real peace, to people, to tyrants, to victims and to those who watch with hardened hearts?

It is amazing that everybody cries for help when crime raises its head. Even the cruelest person cries for forgiveness and reconciliation when he is confronted with hostility and war. There are people in our world who embrace war and bloodshed; there are also people who hate war. Yet  history has demonstrated that people from both groups eventually yearn for something to put an end to  bloodshed and war.

Saddam Hussein was one of those who had a passion for war. He never extended compassion to people – not to his Sunni Arab compatriots nor to his Shia Arabs opponents nor Kurds nor Turks - no matter their sects. He even manifested his smiles through the channel of his cruel dictatorship to the extent that even his smiles evoked fear. He was hoping to bring back the dictatorship of ancient Babylon so that all surrounding nations  would prostrate themselves to him. Even he, who did not know what mercy was, pleaded for mercy after his rule collapsed. I watched his defenses in the Iraqi court as much as I could. I saw him who was very quick to kill his opponents in very vicious ways beseeching compassion. His last minute of crying to the new Iraqi government guards is unforgettable. He was trying to touch the hearts of the guards, who did not have any legal power to release him, begging them that an Arab should not kill another Arab. He was endeavoring to convince them that they were Arabs, he himself was an Arab and they therefore needed to give up killing him. A man who always boasted in his power and arms; never allowed his conscience to be vocal about the rights and lives of others, was himself now begging and hoping that his humble words might persuade the consciences of his adversaries to let him go. Wow!

History is full of such experiences. They teach us that hatred, discrimination and hostility in our lives may devour our enemies at first but then they devour us and our own families too. History also teaches us the effects of kindness, tolerance and self-sacrifice. It reveals to us that nothing is better than loving and respectful words which are able to diminish the impact of intolerance, wars and hostilities. Friendly words are powerful. They soften  the toughness in relationships and create long-lasting friendship. That’s why Jesus is called the Word, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end of words so that anyone who comes to Him will not perish but be saved. He is the Word who became flesh to manifest the God of love in order to demolish the walls of hostility among people and unite them together.

Jesus reveals the difference between peace-loving words and the words that accompany hatred, war and weapons. Peace-loving words penetrate hearts and cause people to find better alternatives for their relationships.  Words of hate, war and weapons close the door on good motives and feelings. Such words shatter hearts; first the hearts of victims but later the hearts of the tyrants themselves who boasted in their power and superiority.

Words cannot describe the noble role of Jesus Christ in relationships. He opens the eyes of even tyrants to see that the immorality of disrespect and hostility in them will destroy them too and that they need to allow Him to renew their minds and hearts in order to become peaceful. See how one of those ex-tyrants speaks about Jesus Christ:

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

The Apostle Paul, once a tyrant, who was thirsting for the blood of Christians, was touched by Jesus and gave over all his rights to Jesus in order to be able to value the lives of others, including the lives of his enemies. He says:

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood …. (Ephesians 6:12)

He was once a hostile man but now confesses that hostility and war against mankind is a service to Satan, the spirit of wickedness, who never values freedom of choice or a peaceful life.  Paul goes further by saying:

But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ .... Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord ... (Philippians 3:7 & 8) 

After encountering Jesus, Paul realized that understanding the heart of Jesus was more excellent than every worldly and religious privilege he had.  For him Jesus is the Word of heaven which reveals the mind of God, penetrates the depths of hearts and minds and lays them open to catch the true purpose of life.

Jesus is the Word of love that has the absolute power to overcome wars against humanity and re-establish peace. Jesus was promised from the beginning of creation to bring about peace between God and people and among nations. It is because of His reconciling power that Jesus says in the Gospel that He has overcome the world; the world that ignores the cries of people and is quick to exercise discrimination, cause war and hostility. His Gospel says:

Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled. (Hebrews 12:14 & 15)

Bad Examples of Pluralism


Pluralism is a view that teaches tolerance in a society where people of diverse cultural, religious and racial backgrounds live together.

True pluralism calls for freedom of belief, speech and equal rights despite various beliefs in a community actually being in conflict with each other. In the meantime, pluralism purports to encourage the search for the best belief. 

The contemporary evolutionary mindset has decreased the value of a creative pluralism because of its strident stand on relativism. On the one hand, it has enabled opportunists to use pluralism as a channel of penetration for destructive ends, and on the other hand, it has pacified many people to believe that all beliefs are the same.

Islamists and those communists who have been very resistant to the exchange of ideas are examples of such opportunists. They reject pluralism ideologically but exploit it in order to get a foothold in society. These groups defend pluralism only when they are in minority.  As minorities, pluralism presents to them an opportunity for penetration to change laws to suit their agendas. For them, it also facilitates a convenient isolating channel that helps them to create ghettoes and divided loyalties for the establishment of a centralized power for ultimate dominance. Many leftists have already established ghettoes in many universities in the West and have limited the freedom of speech and teaching for Christians, despite claiming to be pro- pluralist. In doing so, they reveal the real nature of their beliefs, that is, hostility to pluralism - but only when they achieve power and rule. Islamic groups, such as the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt or the Mullahs in Iran, and Communist groups in Communist countries, in particular North Korea, are prime examples of groups that have become dominant and in fact, have become hostile to pluralism in their societies. 

Islamic countries are also hostile to pluralism. Who can dare to go to any Islamic country and promote his/her non-Islamic belief? One of my ex-Muslim friends, who is a pastor in his so-called moderate Islamic country, also called a friend of America, told me that a couple of policemen knock on the door of his house several times a week, smack and punch him each time without any explanation and then leave. Of course, they announced at the time of their first visit that the smacks and punches were because of his departure from Islam and acceptance of Christianity.

Pluralism is a barrier to Islam and communism, but can be used as a provisional bridge for success since the end justifies the means in both beliefs. They know that the show of a defense of pluralism may encourage ignorance, passivity and complacency in people towards political and ideological trends in their country. If it does, then the ground will be ready for the harsher group to dominate.

The second group is the passive pluralists who only take into account the advantages of a pluralist society and either disregard the significant problems involved with diversity or justify them illogically. They hold the view that all beliefs are much the same. They claim that there is no difference between Islam, Christianity, New Age, etc. Understanding them is therefore unnecessary since all carry the same value.

Democracy in the West is strongly gripped in the claws of a passive pluralist attitude which has enabled aggressive groups like leftists and Islamists to make huge strides at the expense of others. The West will not be able to overcome these crises unless people start to apply a more creative and discerning approach to pluralism, an approach whereby they value freedom of choice, participation, engagement and the exchange of opinions and beliefs that promote healthy decision-making and integration. Simply put, the mere existence of a range of worship places in a city or multiple ideologies on a university campus cannot be regarded as meaningful pluralism unless there is also creative and meaningful interaction between the diverse groups. Our interactions need to be realistic, enabling us to openly discuss the deeper differences among our beliefs and to follow those beliefs that we consider to be the best. A society cannot be called pluralistic simply because all beliefs in it are considered the same. Such a society may be called homogenous and possibly even harmonious. However, under this naïve mindset, harmony in the West has been steadily fading away since multiculturalism emerged as a dominant political doctrine in recent decades. 

Western democracies have never been confronted with the presence of aggressive ghettoes until relatively recent decades. Passive pluralism has not been a solution to the challenges presented by these ghettoes. If anything, it has added to the problems. Consider how many universities, which are expected to teach openness of thought, have become the ghettoes of evolutionary leftists demanding the gagging of Christian perspectives. Since Christianity teaches about God and Creation, they no longer believe that Christians have equal rights to teach about their beliefs and views in the universities. Christian universities are teaching both creationism and evolutionism, but so-called pluralist universities have closed the door for creationists to teach in them. How can universities forget their core classical value that the constructive exchange of ideas and beliefs educates us more in the pursuit of our search for the best? These universities are instead following an isolationist pluralism which can never be a good model for enriching learning and an improved society. Such an approach is for dictators and for sectarian rulers who favor their supporters only and block their ears to others. 

What do we need to do in the face of aggressive and passive pluralism? We have no choice but to become the voice of Jesus Christ and tell everyone: 
You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. (John 8:32)
Truth is not static but dynamic. It reveals itself in the context of the world in order to be known by all in an open comparative process. Since truth is the source of absolute logic, it does not need to be aggressive or isolationist. That is why we, as the followers of Jesus Christ, need to take an analytical stand in our diverse society, proclaiming the importance of comparison and helping people to understand that only one belief among many can be true. Harmony occurs only if we decide to follow the truth.

Deliberate Blindness to the Progress of Islam


It will be the enemies’ best moment for penetration when other countries’ leaders prioritize their own interests or the interests of their parties and sponsors over the interests of their countries. While enemies advance in the pursuit of their evil goals and make enormous progresses, some leaders pronounce their advancement insignificant in order to release themselves of the responsibility of defending their nations against enemies. Not only this, they even go further and prepare the minds of their people to view the threats of enemies through their own indifferent lenses. They mislead their communities with deliberate thoughtlessness and act as if there is no enemy, war or threat.

History has proven that even insignificant and powerless enemies can make their ways into a country and to the higher levels of its political positions and dominate if the country leaders become inconsiderate.
 
Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, started his army with 150 people and in less than 100 years his army stretched itself to India on one side and to the north of Africa and Spain on the other. This was because both the Roman and Persian governments became busy with their own agendas and ignored his threat. While he had a small army, apparently insignificant in the eyes of his contemporary superpowers, he sent a personal letter to Caesar and invited him to follow Islam, otherwise Rome’s safety would be in danger. The Islamic book narrates the contents of the letter as follows:

Narrated by Abdullah bin Abbas: Allah's Apostle wrote to Caesar and invited him to Islam. He sent his letter with Dihya Al-Kalbi whom Allah's Apostle ordered it to be handed over to the Governor of Busra who would forward it to Caesar…

"In the name of Allah, the most Beneficent, the most Merciful (This letter is) from Muhammad, the slave of Allah, and His Apostle, to Heraculius, the Ruler of the Byzantines. Peace be upon the followers of guidance. Now then, I invite you to Islam (i.e. surrender to Allah), embrace Islam and you will be safe; embrace Islam and Allah will bestow on you a double reward. But if you reject this invitation of Islam, you shall be responsible for misguiding the peasants (i.e. your nation). (Bukhari :: Volume 4 :: Book 52 :: Hadith 191 & Bukhari :: Volume 1 Book 1 :: Hadith 6)

Neither the Roman Empire nor the Persian Empire took his threat as serious. Mecca which was a place of refuge for all races and ranks of people before the rise of Muhammad became the most insecure place for people. Muhammad became a threat to all citizens of the Arabian Peninsula. Christians were everywhere and their safety did not raise the interest of the Roman Government anymore. It was after the invasion and capture of Syria (a Roman State) and Iraq (a Persian State) that both Governments woke up, regrettably very late.

In the beginning, Muhammad added the following verse of the Quran in his letter to Caesar in order to convey his seriousness that he was ordained to attack Christians and make them Muslims:

O people of the Scriptures! Come to a word common to you and us and you, that we worship. None but Allah, and that we associate nothing in worship with Him; and that none of us shall take others as Lords besides Allah. Then if they turn away, say: Bear witness that we are they who have surrendered (unto Him). (Sura 3:64)

This is the theological reason of Muhammad for threatening non-Muslims. “The people of the Scriptures” in Islam means Christians and Jews who lived in many parts of the globe in that time, and Zoroastrians who lived in Persia. By giving a reference from the Quran, Muhammad was providing a scriptural reason for violating the safety of the people of Scriptures. He had already proven his eagerness for the expansion of Islam. He slaughtered many Jews and other One-God followers in the Arabian Peninsula, and forced many to join Islam. Romans and Persians should have understood that if a leader was not compassionate to his own people, he would not be considerate towards the rights of his neighboring countries. He would always search for a way to invade. But they missed the point.

This is what Islam reflects in the past 1400 years of its history. Muslims marched and conquered countries one after the other in order to embody the decree of their prophet, Muhammad. ISIS, Taliban and other Islamic terrorist groups are also the flag-bearers of that decree and plan. Islam has always violated the rights of people and nations, and will continue to do so unless countries’ leaders wake up to this threat and start to care for the safety of their own nations and countries.
The wealth and power of the Islamic countries have deeply pacified the non-Islamic country leaders towards the inherent violence of Islam. Now both right and left wing politicians in the West are calling Islam the religion of peace while each and every page of the Quran screams violence and every Islamic country breaches the natural rights of people because of Islam. Calling a terrorist ideology peaceful is nothing but betraying our own nation. The Quran sanctions terrorism in family, in neighborhood and abroad. Isn’t it urgent for presidents, prime-ministers and kings to read the Quran and Islamic judiciary values in order to correct themselves and have a fair foreign policy with the Islamic countries? It is. Such a brave step will also encourage the entire moderate Muslims and the whole non-Islamic world to read the Quran and be aware of the truth about Islam. Islam has caused problems everywhere and we need to discover the real reason behind this. By twisting the truth about Islam many non-Islamic country leaders have, consciously or unconsciously, served the cause of Islam and jeopardized the safety of their own nations. Islam will dominate and destroy if this political problem is not treated openly and courageously.

Who could believe that a little Islamic army would occupy the territories of the giant Persian and Roman Empires? Who can accept that a similar thing can happen today? Those who are not used to taking the threats of their enemies, small or big, seriously are those who cause history to repeat itself.

Why Millions of Young Muslims Have Decided to Follow Jesus


The last decades have become amazing gateways for young Muslims to leave Islam and follow the path of Jesus Christ. It was supposed that the revolutionary and radical Islamic countries such as Iran would draw the attention of many young Muslims and make them radical, but the result was not according to their desires. Iran is the number one country among all Islamic countries for losing millions of its adherents to Christianity. Young Muslims from Saudi Arabia, the motherland of Islam, are also coming to Christ.

Why? There are multiple reasons for this conversion. One significant reason is the technological advancement which opened the door for Muslims to have easy access to information globally. They can hear and read about the life philosophies of Jesus Christ and follow Him.

The Islamic Republic of Iran alone has spent millions of dollars to limit the effects of foreign radios, satellite televisions and other media outlets on Iranians, yet the advancement of technology has failed Iran’s restrictive plans continually. I have been receiving emails from many Islamic countries, including Iran, that Muslims have been watching my journey from Islam to Christ and my teachings on YouTube and via satellite television. People from all ranks of life, professors, clergies, educated and uneducated ones have been coming to Jesus through our satellite television teachings.

The second reason is the courage of ex-Muslim Christians who are now the followers of Christ. The voices of many of these followers of Christ who live in western countries are extraordinarily loud in speaking the truth of Christ to Muslims in their motherlands through every possible means. They have been apologists in using reasons to show why Islamic values are unconstructive in every aspect of life and why Muslims need to follow Jesus Christ.

The third reason is the exposure of Islamic values that were hidden for 1400 years from the sights of rank and file Muslims and of non-Muslims. The only source for Muslims to learn about Islam was Muslim clergies and scholars for centuries. Now they can look at Islam from a non-Islamic perspective, compare its values thoroughly with others and evaluate Islam personally.

Islam’s goal has never been to teach Muslims openness so that they could have logical reasons behind their belief in Islam. Now the information and communication channels have exposed everything in Islam. Many Muslims have now realized that the teachings of the Quran come into conflict with the best values of life.

The fourth reason is the zero tolerance to freedom of speech, religion and equal rights in the Islamic law. Islam is called the last and perfect religion. Many young Muslims have instead discovered that Islam is only perfect in chaining them to ignorance, making them blindly obedient and keeping them from improving. That’s why those young Muslims who yearn to be free, creative and productive leave Islam behind and find their motives in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Master in freeing people from ignorance.

The fifth reason is the failure of Islamic moral doctrine. Muslims are taught by the Quran that they are the best among all nations but the Jews and Christians are the worst. Many young Muslims now see that in reality the so-called worst people are the best. More than 90% of those medicines that are used in Islamic countries are the inventions of Jews. Muslim scholars teach their young to terrorize moderate Muslims and non-Muslims, but Jews teach their young to be creative in order to serve their people and the nations of the world.

Islamic countries do not have any portion in the contemporary inventions and technological advancements. All technological products used in Islamic countries are from the West and other developed non-Islamic countries. Muslim countries do not have anything to sell but oil or agricultural products if they do not have oil reserves. They do not have any chance of invention. Because invention necessitates individual autonomy which causes people to think big, have productive ideas and thereby become creative; whereas the word autonomy is very foreign in the Islamic dictionary and culture. Many young Muslims are now aware that they need to follow the life principles of Jesus Christ if they want to become autonomous and pursue the tenets of an advanced life.

We are so grateful that we, as ex-Muslims, have each had a role in helping Muslims to see the heart and light of Christ and come out of the darkness that is imposed on them. The knowledge of the truth is the only way to set them free.

Is ISIS Islamic?


Is killing Muslims who are not committed to Islam firmly Islamic? Is crucifying and beheading non-Muslims and taking their wives and daughters as slaves Islamic? Can ISIS be called Islamic since it has been killing people and aiming to erase the borders among Islamic countries and make them a united Muslim nation under the black flag of Islam? Is it un-Islamic when ISIS claims the caliphate, the Islamic global government, and calls all non-Islamic nations to join Islam?

What is the ultimate authority in Islam to distinguish how genuine ISIS is in its Islamic claim and proclamations? Is it really the Saudi Arabian leaders or the leaders of any Islamic country that can categorize ISIS as un-Islamic or should it be the Quran? Is it the leaders in America and the West that have the authority to label ISIS as un-Islamic and as a group that has hijacked Islam? Or is it the Quran, the Muslims’ holy book, which is given the absolute authority to define what a true Muslim is and what he is expected to do?

For years, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and some other Arabic country leaders called the members of ISIS the true fighters of Islam and poured out their millions at their feet so that the Islamic jihad could continue. As long as the overriding focus of ISIS was to fight the Shia government of Syria, Iranian and Hezbollah militias in both Syria and Iraq, it was Islamic. It was only in 2014 that ISIS was called non-Islamic by some of these countries. ISIS linked its mission to the Islamic apocalyptic caliphate and called all Muslim nations to give up their full governing rights to ISIS in order to fulfill the eschatological mission of Islam. It was then that Saudi Arabia felt desperate for help from the West and called ISIS non-Islamic. Consequently, some mosques in the West followed Saudi Arabia, the great money master, and raised their banners in opposition to ISIS. The White House and the leaders of other western countries also ranked ISIS as non-Islamic and blamed it for hijacking the so-called peaceful Islam.

It is so sad that the western leaders align their foreign policy with the fluctuating foreign policies of Islamic countries that are shaped by the capricious political philosophy of Islam. As an ex-Muslim and a scholar in Islam, I have found nowhere in Islam that Muslims should be honest in their approaches to non-Muslims even if they are in desperate need.  If the Quran teaches Muslims (Q. 9:23) not even to befriend their own Muslim parents who follow a moderate path, how could Muslims befriend non-Muslims who do not share anything of Islam with them?

Saudi Arabia and others who are afraid of ISIS are not following pure Islam as much as ISIS is. They are perfectly aware that ISIS is following Muhammad’s 7th century AD political philosophy which is reflected in the Quran, especially in Suras 8 and 9. Muhammad never put critics of Islam in prison, as Saudi does. He killed all who did not apologize. No matter how intolerant Saudi Arabia is, it is still affected by some western values through international relationships and through expatriates who work in that country. The prophet of Islam would not tolerate such non-Islamic influence.

Another grave weakness of Saudi Arabia is that its kingdom never matches the leadership style of Muhammad. Muhammad never allowed himself to be a wealthy man as the kings, princes and leaders in Islamic countries are. He was a kind of revolutionary and guerilla leader who always participated in war personally as the chief commander and fought alongside his fellow jihadists. His overriding focus in Islam was to invade and loot others, destroy every non-Islamic value and share everything with his followers, including enslaved women and girls. He never retreated from warring with others. Islamic country leaders never represent the leadership of Muhammad, but ISIS does. That is why ISIS sees itself a better solution for Saudi Arabia and other Islamic countries.

One may ask, if Saudi Arabia is not following pure Islam, why then has it been pouring millions of dollars into the pockets of terrorists throughout the past decades? The answer can be multidimensional. There are powerful Muslim clergies in Saudi Arabia with significant number of followers that even the Saudi kingdom cannot stop from supporting terrorists. A great portion of terrorist monies flow out from these clergies. Secondly, as long as terrorists are not serious threats to Saudi Arabia, Saudi leaders would not mind if they destroy other cultures. Thirdly, Saudi leaders believe that Allah is happy with their system otherwise he would not bless them. As a result, they are happy to export their own kind of Islam, Wahhabism, which means to ruin other cultures and still please Allah. Fourthly, they also need to please many of their people, including those who serve their interests in non-Islamic countries, and to export Islam. Islam cannot be exported unless it is involved with some kinds of terrorism, either physical, cultural, social or political. Saudi must get involved in some kind of terrorism in order to gain support from its people.

What Saudi and other fundamental Islamic countries are doing is only enough to pave the way for the promised eschatological caliph of whom Muhammad spoke. But the Saudi king is not that caliph. He must humble himself to that caliph. The leader of ISIIS saw the qualities of that caliph in himself, announced himself a caliph and expected the Saudi king to know Islam well and accordingly bow down to him.  But the Saudi king is firmly attached to his throne, unlike his prophet, and never showed allegiance to the caliph.

The leader of ISIS, Al Baghdadi, is deep in Islamic study. He knows that the money from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the Emirates and Turkey helps in the advancement of the true Islam but not those countries’ political philosophy which is affected by western politics. ISIS is honest in its call to Muslim nations to follow its model. ISIS is well aware that no Islamic country leader fits the eschatological government of Islam. ISIS knows the Quran well and how the Quran defines a true Muslim.

The Quran in Sura (chapter) 49:14 defines a Muslim as someone who surrenders to Islam without any choice for understanding. In his biography, Muhammad said that he himself was forced and violated by an angel to accept the Quran. He said this so that his followers would know that force in Islam is inherent and they had no choice to question the Quran. Muslims who want to take a softer approach are called infidels. (Sura 4:150-151) But the life in Saudi Arabia does not match the qualities of theses verses strictly.

The Quran also in Sura 9:123 defines a pious Muslim (Al-Muttaqûn) as someone who is harsh in his attitude and ready to kill non-Muslims, even relatives and neighbors. In Sura 4:95 it says that Allah has granted a grade higher to those who personally go to war and kill than to those who sit at home.

The responsibility of every pious Muslim is to punish, shame and terrorize those who reject Islam and Allah. (Suras 8:12, 9:2, 14 and 58:20) These verses teach that killing non-Muslims or infidel Muslims is a remedy to pious Muslims’ souls. That’s why they need to control every part of people’s lives and make sure that everything is solely in accordance with Islam. Even prayer that is expected to be a personal thing is not personal in Islam. If you do not pray, you and your family can be locked in your house and be burned by a pious Muslim. The prophet of Islam said: “I was about to order for collecting firewood and then order someone to pronounce the Adhan (prayer call) for the prayer and then order someone to lead the people in prayer and then I would go from behind and burn the houses of men who did not present themselves for the (compulsory congregational) prayer.”  (Bukhari V9, B89, H330).

What ISIS has been doing is the true reflection of the Quran’s instructions and of Muhammad’s life. ISIS sees its model in Muhammad, not in the king of Saudi or in any other Muslim leader. All evidences in Islam prove that ISIS is following the pure Islam. The western leaders will never be able to help Muslims, especially the young, if they continue blaming ISIS and other terrorist groups with non-Islamic actions and indirectly question the authority of their very sacred book, the Quran. The facts cannot be hidden long; sooner or later they will be obvious.

Islamic country leaders also need to stop hiding Islamic facts. Islam has not left any choice for living in peace with non-Muslims or even with moderate Muslims. They therefore need either to join ISIS, get involved in unceasing wars like their prophet Muhammad, pour out the blood of innocent people and please their Allah or to leave Islam and find a better alternative so that their nations can live in peace at home and with others.

Mid-Eastern Reform Heroes Need West’s Help


In an authoritarian Islamic leadership style there are pressures from every angle to block the door to freedom of rights, speech and religion.  One must be a hero if he/she breaks the silence, speaks out and stands firmly to rescue his nation from religious and cultural intolerance and chauvinism. For this reason, the Reza Shah of Iran (the first king of Pahlavi dynasty), Ataturk of Turkey and Sisi of Egypt deserve to be called heroes, even though unable to stand for every tenet of freedom.

The amazing and distinguishing character in these leaders is their love for their countries and nations. Reza Shah’s and Ataturk’s major desire, as in Sisi, was to see their counties free from tyrannical Muslims whose aim has always been to frame the mind of their people with the seventh century nomadic culture of Muhammad and close every door of creativity to them. Islam, as a political religion, started to finance itself with looting caravan traders, the Jews of Medina and the pagans of Arabia instead of teaching its adherents to work and stand on their own feet.

Reza Shah, who reigned in Iran between 1925 and 1941, was the first Iranian Muslim King in 1400 years of Islamic history in Iran who rescued Iranian women from the slavery of their husbands, led them into education and established them in equal rights with men. He was also the first Muslim king who rejected racism and put the most ancient freedom creed of the great King Cyrus into action, showing reverence to the Jews of Iran by visiting their communities and synagogues. That’s why Ayatollah Khomeini hated him and destroyed even his mausoleum in Tehran after the Revolution of 1979. As a Muslim, Reza Shah was expected to hate and humiliate the Jews according to the instructions of the Quran, but he instead honored them as his fellow citizens and as humankind against the instructions of Islam. Indeed, the severity of Ayatollah Khomeini’s hatred towards the last king of Iran, Mohammad Reza Shah, was because of his acceptance of Israel as a country and friend.

The goal of the Middle Eastern heroes is to open the door for their nations to enter the free world, benefit from good values of others and rescue themselves from premature values. Their lives cannot be productive unless they start to believe in the autonomy of others and of their rights as much as they desire and believe for themselves. Of course, the valiant actions of such heroes have always provoked the most close-minded and vicious committed Muslims to do everything in their power and stop dynamism. That’s why so often these heroes find themselves alone in the battle and see themselves in desperate need of external help. In many cases, it becomes unlikely for them to get even the whole-hearted support of moderate Muslims who are afraid to be ranked infidels according to the Quran and thereby be humiliated. The Quran calls moderate Muslims infidels:

….: and (those who) wish to take a course midway. They are in truth (equally) Unbelievers; and We have prepared for unbelievers a humiliating punishment. (Sura Al-Nisa 4:150-151 Yusuf Ali).
This is where these heroes need external support, the support of those who value freedom and want to see it as an inherent part of every individual, no matter his/her race, color, belief or nationality. Sadly, not only these heroes haven’t received any external support but they have received opposition instead. Reza Shah was disliked by the British Government of the West and the Communist Russian Government of the time, who both forced him to leave his country and die apart from his homeland.

The church-state legacy of the Ataturk of Turkey is now being axed by the present Islamic government of Turkey, a pro-Muslim Brotherhood government who gets unlimited support from President Obama. The Turkish government has become the number one government in jailing many numbers of democracy-loving generals and journalists. President Sisi of Egypt is also face to face with President Obama’s unceasing support for the Muslim Brotherhood which has been the number one sworn enemy to every Muslim reformist, including Sisi.

President Sisi deserves external help more than others. His approach to the traditional Islamic values is different to the approaches of Reza Shah and Ataturk. Both Reza Shah and Ataturk used their power in outlawing some tenets of Islam which were pushing people back. President Sisi instead wants an ideological revolution. He wants a new Islam which is free of discrimination, hatred and hostility, can respect the rights of non-Muslims and Muslims alike; a religion that honors the freedom of choice and allows people to choose whatever belief they like or reject whatever they dislike. Such a belief cannot be established in any Islamic society without the support of freedom lovers in the world.

No government in the West, as far as I am aware of, congratulated Sisi for his extraordinary courageous remarks against radicalism. Western governments ears are very sharp in listening to the terrorist governments of Iran, Palestine and the like whose goal is to radicalize Muslims and to exterminate non-Muslims. But they hardly hear or even want to hear the voices of those who are courageous and want to de-radicalize their societies.

Media in the West also could draw the attention of the Islamic world, especially the young Muslims who are under the threat of employment by ISIS, to Sisi’s golden words but sadly turned its blind eye to his comments. Most of our contemporary media channels have failed to honor the true freedom lovers. They instead honor PLO and Hamas who are the vessels of radicalism and enemies to reformists like Sisi.

Western leaders and people need to learn from President Sisi who is able to see the root of the problem in Iran and in Palestine, which is radical Islam. The world will not be a peaceful place unless its leaders stand behind heroes like Sisi who knows that openness is the key for Muslims to learn and live in peace and harmony with others.

While the majority of western leaders see the solution for the Islamic radicalism in physical war, Sisi believes more in an ideological war that can uproot fanaticism and barbarism among Muslims. He said that it is “illogical” for over a billion Muslims to dominate the world and get rid of the other six billion non-Muslims or limit their rights for living. He pleaded with Muslim clerics to think, evaluate and reform Islam based on understanding and in a way that it can tolerate logic. Only a logical approach to Islam can cause Muslims to think and save themselves from the destructive archaic creeds of 7th century Arabia that are guiding the minds of fundamentalist Muslims. Sisi’s reference to logic means that reformation should start from the root instead of pruning branches. Reza Shah and Ataturk pruned the branches of Islam only, but forgot that the effects of the root on the branches is immense and multiplies the pruned branches. They were very brave and even exposed their own lives to the attacks of radical Muslims, but forgot to think deeply that any positive change ought to start from the root. They needed to encourage their people to open their minds and hearts to the best values in the world, no matter from who or where, even if they contradicted their own beliefs. In other words, people needed to broaden their ways of thinking in order to understand that the fundamental problem in their societies was the close-mindedness of Islam and the lack of freedom.  That’s why both Iran and Turkey fell later into the hands of committed Muslims despite Reza Shah’s and Ataturk’s great investments in the pursuit of their agendas for freedom. They pruned some branches of Islam only, instead of reforming Islam. With pruning the branches of radicalism the fruits of radicalism will even become more than before. We all know that the death of Osama bin Laden, who was just a branch of Islam’s radicalism, did not result in the disappearance of radicalism. Instead, many shoots of radicalism popped up from his death and made the world even more insecure.

It is an obligation for all freedom lovers to stand behind heroes like Sisi who has put his life at risk and has pleaded with Muslim scholars to reform Islam for the sake of peace and harmony in the world. Sisi is not a hero of freedom, but he is a hero in raising his voice boldly for freedom in a society that is instructed by Islam to cut the finger tips and head of anyone who aims to reform Islam. Let us award Sisi with raising our voices in favor of his remarks so that many Muslims in the world follow his foot-steps and offer even more than Sisi to their societies against radicalism.

The Values of Christ Have Proven Excellent, Why Then Multiculturalism


It is amazing that the values of all other beliefs and religions have proven to be a failure in the last decades at the crossroads of pluralism. Many of our politicians are still unsure if they should give up multiculturalism and side with Christian values that have demonstrated top quality in every aspect of life, especially in the economy. One example of the values of Christ is His leadership style.  This is motivated by freedom of choice, individual autonomy and shared values where everybody has access to any information that advances creativity, productivity and life-style. Anytime in history when western country leaders ignored the values of Christ, they became a burden both to their own nations and others. This is also one of those times when the majority of the western leaders are turning their backs on Christian values and exposing their countries to the values that have proven to be a failure.

It is amazing that both aggressive and passive people are given more rights in the western societies than those people who respect the freedom of choice, want to stand on their own feet, be productive and contribute to the well-being of their families and societies. Dictatorship which is the Islamic and socialist leadership style and aloofness which is the eastern religions’ value are both rejected under the leadership of Christ but given more space in the West now.

All countries that have made economic success have been, more or less, following Christian leadership values as part of their organizational cultures. China saw that socialism would not make it any better than North Korea or Cuba, thereby started implementing Christian economic values and boomed economically as a result. Neither Japan followed Shintoism nor India Hinduism nor Turkey, Malaysia and the Emirates Islamism in the pursuit of their economic activities. They are all openly or secretly following the work ethics of Christianity in their work-places though flavored with their native cultures. There is no definition for work in their beliefs in order to have a work ethic. It has proven that the more they open themselves to Christian values the more they become successful. Businesses in these countries have learned from Christianity that if they allow a static pluralism to dominate their workplaces it will create a wall between their workers and reduce productivity. They instead open the door to a dynamic diversity where beliefs, ideas and opinions can cross each in bench-marking so that the best of all values pump up in order to be used for restoring the organizational culture. This dynamic is from Christianity and it is this dynamism that manifested Christian values as exclusively excellent.

Why do many of our politicians not want to pay attention to the greatness of Christian values but still hide themselves in the backyard of multiculturalism? Why do they feel reticent in speaking about the key factors behind the successes in western countries, but instead become vocal about pluralism that has created ethnic ghettos and given their nations nothing but economic downturn and socio-political insecurity?

There are many reasons but the most obvious one is the lack of knowledge. This lack of knowledge has disabled our politicians to objectively examine their environment and stand for the truth. It has stripped them of any courage for the truth and enslaved them to various kinds of negative attitudes, i.e. political correctness, which have blocked their ears from listening to the voices of their consciences.

Lack of knowledge is not only a stumbling block to individual or social improvement but also an enemy that degrades personal characters. It does not allow people to recognize evil, name it publicly and fight with it openly. It rather pushes people to align themselves with the evil ones and paves the way for the success of evil. That’s why many politicians tolerate extremist Muslims for the sake of their votes and even reward them in various ways in order to receive their support. One reason that they call Islam a religion of peace is because there are millions of votes held among Muslims for anyone who loves his/her job more than his/her country and is ready to be a channel for the spread of Islamic tyrannical culture at the cost of all others. Islamists chant the killing verses of the Quran and kill non-Muslims according to the Quran but our politicians continually say that their slaughters have nothing to do with Islam, trying not to offend their extremist Muslim supporters.

It is amazing that hundreds of politicians from various parts of the world gathered with millions in Paris a couple of weeks ago in order to show solidarity with freedom of speech against terrorists, but none condemned Islam that is behind all Islamic terrorism. Even Saudi Arabia took part in this street protest as a gesture of solidarity with freedom of speech, but at home sentenced one of its own citizens, Mr. Raif Badawi, in the same week for 10 years imprisonment with 1000 lashes, 50 lashes per week. This was because Mr. Badawi had expressed his negative views about Islam on his website.

Years ago, people attributed these kinds of attitudes to mafia. Mafias killed people on one hand but joined their funerals and cried with their families and friends on the other hand. This is what now our politicians are allowing the tyrannical Islamic leaders to do in the West. Muslim leaders walk hand-in-hand with our politicians in defense of freedom but on the other hand support terrorists and oppress freedom-lovers openly. Saudi Arabia which is the largest supplier of money to extremist Muslims in the world is welcomed by the western politicians to pour tears over the deaths of those who were slaughtered by the Saudi money.  These open insincerity of our politicians to their nations lead one to wonder how far they aim to go with Islamists and satisfy their evil desires under the banner of multiculturalism.

There is a fact in Islamic political philosophy that all those Iranians, Iraqis, Egyptians, Turks or others who have a bit of knowledge about Islamic history on how their countries were dominated by extremist Muslims, know that, soon or later, a day will come when Islamists will say to their non-Muslim loyal politicians and friends, “it is enough; there is no need for your appeasement anymore since we are in power. Now, it is the time for you to follow Islam or die.” This is what we learned from Islam and tried to live it under the leadership of Ayatollah Khomeini for the spread of Islam.

It is impossible for Islamists to be friends with non-Muslims, especially with Jews and Christians. The Quran instructs them around a dozen times to not become friends with non-Muslims unless it is insincere and for the spread of Islamic values. That’s why the Islamists are using the multiculturalism of the West to embody the instructions of the Quran. They are the enemies of Christian values because these values uncover every inch of their evil schemes. They know that the strength of Christianity equates the death of Islam. For this reason, they love to pacify our fellow citizens and politicians towards Christian values. They need passive and ignorant people in order to express their artificial solidarity through them.

Recently, Muslims students were given permission in Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, United States to call for prayer “Adhan” in the chapel of the university. Everybody in Islamic countries knows that moderate Muslims never show interest in calling for prayer. These Muslims in Duke University are extremists and have been able to cover themselves under the umbrella of multiculturalism in order to pave the way for a big reward. Christian students are extraordinarily limited to practice their beliefs in this university which was established by Methodist and Quaker Christians, but extremist Muslims are given abundant freedom to even impose themselves on others by a loud speaker. Multiculturalism should supposedly allow a place for the expression of each culture, but in reality it favors extremist Islamic culture above others. While Islam has failed in every corner of life in the Middle East, our academic campuses are acting as channels of advancement for this religion of failure. While many young Muslims in Islamic countries are trying to find a way to stay away from the catastrophe of extremist Muslims, our universities are backing extremism. This is what the spirit of multiculturalism does. It starts insincerely introducing everything as inherently good at the beginning so that people do not need to search for the best since everything is good. Then when ignorance dominates and people become indifferent, it paves the way for the most controlling ones to reach power and destroy others.

You see how multiculturalism leads a tolerant society to a place where aggressive people receive veneration and power to stab tolerance from behind?

Isn't it amazing that the western countries have been the most tolerant places in the world because of Christian values, but now most of their leaders and academicians are rejecting the tolerance of Christianity and opening the space wide for tyrannies to crush Christianity under the umbrella of multiculturalism?

The West will not wake up unless Christians reveal the values of Christ for every aspect of life in order to challenge and amaze our politicians and fellow citizens. Christ does not lie when He says that His followers are the salt and light of the world - salt and light for every aspect of life.

Let us, as the followers of Christ, claim the Spirit of Christ on and in us and make 2015 the voice of Christ to the ears of our politicians, universities, people and the world. Let us prove that multiculturalism without the values of Christ leads to segregation and tyranny.