Morsi mouths ‘Amen’ as Egyptian preacher urges ‘Allah, destroy the Jews’

*Source: The Times Of Israel

Egyptian TV shows president in fervent prayer as cleric delivers anti-Semitic address

 

President Mohammed Morsi at prayer on October 19 at el-Taneim Mosque in Matrouh governorate (photo credit: MEMRI screenshot)

 

 

Egypt’s President Mohammed Morsi participated in prayers over the weekend in which the preacher urged Allah to “destroy the Jews and their supporters.”

In footage of the service from Matrouh governorate’s el-Tenaim Mosque screened on Egyptian state television on Friday, Morsi was shown in fervent prayer as cleric Futouh Abd Al-Nabi Mansour, the local head of religious endowment, declared, “Oh Allah, absolve us of our sins, strengthen us, and grant us victory over the infidels. Oh Allah, destroy the Jews and their supporters. Oh Allah, disperse them, rend them asunder. Oh Allah, demonstrate Your might and greatness upon them. Show us Your omnipotence, oh Lord.”

According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Morsi could be seen mouthing “amen” to these sentiments.

Cleric Futouh Abd Al-Nabi Mansour speaks on Friday. (photo credit: MEMRI screenshot)

The service was also attended by the region’s governor and local officials. The footage was recorded and transcribed by MEMRI (the Middle East Media Research Institute). A similar translation was published by the ADL.

The ADL’s National Director Abraham Foxman complained Sunday that “The drumbeat of anti-Semitism in the ‘new’ Egypt is growing louder and reverberating further under President Morsi and we are increasingly concerned about the continuing expressions of hatred for Jews and Israel in Egyptian society and President Morsi’s silence in the face of most of these public expressions of hate.” Added Foxman, “The United States and other governments with influence on the Egyptian leadership should publicly urge President Morsi to speak out against this disturbing manifestation of hatred toward Jews.”

Earlier this week, the ADL wrote to Morsi urging him to reject statements made by the supreme author­ity of the Mus­lim Broth­er­hood, Mohammed Badie, who called for vio­lence against Jews and Israel.

Morsi was making his first visit Friday to the coastal area in the country’s northwest since winning the presidency this summer. In a speech he delivered after the prayers, Morsi reportedly spoke of the need for Egyptian unity.

While Morsi was visiting Matrouh, demonstrators in Cairo’s Tahrir Square Friday held a peaceful protest demanding the president, a former leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, ensure the country’s constitution, currently being drafted, represent all factions of society.

Morsi has indicated he intends to maintain Egypt’s 1979 peace treaty with Israel, and his new ambassador to Israel presented his credentials to President Shimon Peres last week. The warm tone of the note Morsi sent to Peres in presenting his ambassador, though it accorded with normal diplomatic protocol, has caused a storm of controversy in Egypt. A Muslim Brotherhood leader initially claimed the letter was a “Zionist fabrication,” but Morsi’s office confirmed its authenticity.

Planned Parenthood Group Launches 40-Day “Prayer” Campaign for Abortion Industry

Source: The New American

A Planned Parenthood group in California has launched a pro-abortion “prayer” campaign “in celebration of women and reproductive rights.” The project, entitled “40 Days of Prayer to Keep Abortion Safe and Legal,” is sponsored by Six Rivers Planned Parenthood in Eureka, California, and features 40 different prayers individuals can offer for those involved in the abortion process: the mothers, escorts, abortionists performing the procedure — everyone, it seems, except the babies destroyed by abortion. The effort runs from March 18 through April 27.

The Rev. Rebecca Turner of Faith Aloud, one of the sponsors of the project, explained to Focus on the Family’s Citizen Link that the “prayer” initiative is based on the belief that “abortion is a very private decision that women do often make. One-third of all American women do make this decision at some point in their lives, and we want them to know that God loves them in every situation, and whether they choose abortion or choose to have a child, whatever their decision, that God’s love is always present for them.”

Turner said that those involved “pray for women who are making difficult choices, we pray for pregnant women, we pray for the doctors who work in clinics, we pray for everyone who may be involved” — but not for the pre-babies.

While it is impossible to ignore the obvious similarities, the pro-abortion minister insisted that her group’s prayer campaign was not intended as a challenge to 40 Days for Life, the annual initiative during which pro-life individuals and groups pray for an end to abortion. She did, however claim that the pro-life prayer project was “misguided ... because it completely eliminates the woman. And it is the pregnant woman that we are concerned for.”

She emphasized that “instead of praying for unborn children, you know, we’re praying for those women, and we’re praying that they find within their own faith a strength, and that they don’t make decisions out of shame, that they don’t feel shame that’s imposed upon them by anybody else, whether it be family members or religious authorities or whatever, but instead to look to their own faith for strength and confidence, and to do what’s best for themselves.”

As for the babies killed by abortion, the Rev. Turner said that they are less significant than adults. “I do not, I cannot equate that early embryonic life with your life,” she told the CitizenLink reporter. “I see your life as having more significant value than that life that is in the earliest stages of development, and I don’t think it’s anyone else’s right to make a decision for a woman about when she’s ready to become a mother and when she’s physically capable of carrying a child to term.”

She expressed her view that “God has always given us, not just the right but the responsibility as women, for knowing when is the right time to start a family and to bring a child into the world, and that it’s irresponsible to bring a child into the world when the community is not ready for it.”

Pro-life and Christian groups reacted to news of the pro-abortion “prayer” initiative with predictable indignation. For example, Liberty Counsel, a pro-family legal advocacy group, noted that on day 35 of the pro-abortion campaign, participants are encouraged to pray that “girls everywhere” will have the opportunity to live lives filled with good health, education, recreation, and vocational choices. “Ironically, this prayer excludes girls who are in utero,” noted a Liberty Counsel press release. “It also offensively insinuates that mothers are incapable of becoming educated, enjoying art, being healthy, or holding a job.”

The pro-family group noted that Planned Parenthood’s larger campaign “to dehumanize children based on their age is similar to a tactic once used in Nazi Germany towards the Jews and other non-Arians: first ostracize them from the rest of society, and then annihilate them. Planned Parenthood’s attempts to develop a ‘spiritual’ aspect to the pro-abortion argument can seem comparable to the religious leaders in Germany who supported Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. It was wrong then and it is wrong now.”

Said Liberty Counsel’s founder and chairman, Matthew Staver: “As much as they might not like the comparison, Planned Parenthood today is no different than the eugenics promoted by its founder Margaret Sanger who advocated the elimination of ‘undesirables,’ just like the most famous eugenicist, Adolf Hitler.”

Among the “prayers” the pro-abortion group is offering in its 40-day vigil are:

• “Day 1: Today we pray for women for whom pregnancy is not good news, that they know they have choices.”

• “Day 5: Today we pray for medical students who want to include abortion care in their practice. May they receive good training and find good mentors.”

• “Day 7: Today we pray for the 45 million American women who have had safe, legal abortions. May they stand tall and refuse shame.”

• “Day 11: Today we pray for better access to all forms of birth control.”

• “Day 18: Today we pray for all the staff at abortion clinics around the nation. May they be daily confirmed in the sacred care that they offer women.”

• “Day 34: Today we give thanks for abortion escorts who guide women safely through hostile gauntlets of protestors.”

• “Day 36: Today we pray for the families we’ve chosen. May they know the blessing of choice.”

• “Day 38: Today we pray for a cloud of gentleness to surround every abortion facility. May everyone feel calm and loving.”

• “Day 40: Today we give thanks and celebrate that abortion is still safe and legal.”

By contrast to the pro-abortion prayer campaign, since its inception in 2007 the global 40 Days for Life initiative has documented nearly 6,000 children saved from abortion, the closing of 22 abortion clinics, and 69 abortion providers abandoning the business of killing babies.

Dave Bereit, national director for 40 Days for Life, told LifeSiteNews.com that while it is difficult to ignore the pro-abortion group’s efforts to imitate his organization’s pro-life prayer initiative, “when that imitation is being used to promote the killing of innocent children, we are anything but flattered.”

He added that “Planned Parenthood has stooped to a new low by exploiting pastors and churches to ‘celebrate’ the slaughter of babies made in God’s image and likeness. They certainly wouldn’t be doing this if 40 Days for Life wasn’t having a devastating impact on their abortion business!”

Salem Witches Hold Ritualto Stop Tebow & Broncos from winning

*Source: The Blaze

It’s Friday the 13th — a day that may cause some of the more superstitious among us some angst. But it seems Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow, who by all accounts has had a mixed bag of luck on the football field, may need to pray a little bit harder this weekend.

A group of witches held what FOX News called “a seance” at noon today in Salem, Mass., in an attempt to cast a spell that would lead Tebow and his team to defeat.

Laurie ‘Lorelei’ Stathopoulos and Lori Bruno, two women who are well-known in the “spiritual” community, planned to assemble at Crow Haven Corner, a witch shop in Salem, to rally the sprits in an effort to bring the New England Patriots to victory on Saturday evening.

Rev. Lori Bruno, one of the witches casting a spell against Tebow

“I’m going to raise the energy of the universe and send out all the good mojo,” Lorelei said in an interview with the Boston Herald. “Lori will call in the Angels.”

To summons the spirits, the witches planned to chant, “Tom Brady will see what he needs to see, be where he needs to be and will take the Patriots to another victory.”

Of course, they said that they don’t plan to hex Tebow, as they’re “good witches.” On their altar, they said they’d have a hand-sewn Brady puppet and “mojo bags” containing herbs and stones for each member of the Patriots.

The Blaze called the store to confirm that the actions took place earlier this afternoon. A storekeeper claimed that the witches did, indeed, partake in the anti-Tebow “ritual.”

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady

According to the woman I spoke with on the phone, though, the practice wasn’t a seance, as outlets were reporting (she didn‘t get into the details and the expert witches weren’t available to comment).

“Basically, it was a ritual for positive things to happen for Tom Brady and the New England Patriots,” she said.

Now, an interesting question comes to mind. If, indeed, God has been intervening at moments to help Tebow on the football field, will there be a spiritual battle unfolding come Saturday night? We’ll all have to wait and see.

Obama Admin Opposes Prayer at WWII Memorial.

**Source: FoxNews

Republican lawmakers and conservative activists are expressing outrage after the Obama administration announced its objection to adding President Franklin Roosevelt’s D-Day prayer to the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.

The objection was noted during a congressional hearing on Rep. Bill Johnson’s (R-OH) bill – the “World War II Memorial Prayer Act of 2011.”

“It is unconscionable that the Obama administration would stand in the way of honoring our nation’s distinguished World War II veterans,” Johnson said. “President Roosevelt’s prayer gave solace, comfort and strength to our nation and our brave warriors as we fought against tyranny and oppression.”

Roosevelt asked the nation to join him in prayer as U.S. and allied troops launched the invasion that led to the defeat of Nazi Germany. He asked God to give the allied troops courage and faith, saying, “With thy blessing we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy.”

But Robert Abbey, the director of the Bureau of Land Management, said any plaque or inscription of the prayer would “dilute” the memorial’s central message and therefore “should not be altered.”

“It is not a judgment as to the merit of this new commemoration, simply that altering the Memorial in this way, as proposed in HR 2070, will necessarily dilute this elegant memorial’s central message and its ability to clearly convey that message to move, educate, and inspire its many visitors,” Abbey said in written testimony.

Abbey explained to lawmakers that altering the memorial would be contrary to the Commemorative Works Act — a law that prohibits “encroachment by a new commemoration on a existing one.” It also respects the design of the “completed work of civic art without alteration or addition of new elements.”

Johnson told Fox News that the administration’s objection should “give all Americans a great deal of concern.”

“For there to be objections to demonstrating a faith in God at critical points in our nation’s history – particularly D-Day – boggles my mind,” Johnson said. “I was very surprised they were going to object.”

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council said it’s not all that surprising.

“This is further evidence that the administration has created an environment that is hostile towards American history – but in particular towards Christianity,” Perkins told Fox News. “I hope America wakes up and realizes what this administration is doing to this country and how they want to radically and fundamentally change America.”

“They want to erase every aspect of America’s heritage,” Perkins said of Obama’s administration. “any president, any official in history that has embraced Christianity, is no longer welcome in this administration. That’s the environment they are creating.”

Johnson’s bill, which had bipartisan support, is expected to pass a committee vote and he anticipates the full House will support the legislation.