Herald Sun, Port Melbourne (Victoria), March 23, 2008
ITALIAN editor and critic of Islamic extremism Magdi Allam, who converted to Catholicism from Islam and was baptised by Pope Benedict XVI, today branded his former faith as intrinsically violent.
“I had to do this (abandon Islam)”, Allam wrote in a long letter to the Italian daily Corriere della Sera.
“Beyond . . . the phenomenon of extremists and Islamist terrorism at the global level, the root of evil is inherent to a physiologically violent and historically conflictual Islam,” wrote the Egyptian-born journalist, who says he has received death threats and is under police protection.
One of seven adults baptised during an Easter vigil yesterday evening, Allam, 55, is an editorial writer and deputy editor at Corriere.
Regarding a combative tone that has made him famous in Italy, Allam wrote: “Over the years my spirit has been freed from the obscurantism of an ideology that legitimises lies and deception, violent death that leads to homicide and suicide, blind submission to tyranny.”
He described Catholicism as “an authentic religion of Truth, Life and Freedom”.
By baptising Allam in the public ceremony, the Pope “sent an explicit and revolutionary message to a church that until now has been too cautious in the conversion of Muslims . . . because of the fear of being unable to protect the converted who are condemned to death for apostasy,” Allam said.
“Thousands of people in Italy have converted to Islam and practise their faith serenely,” he wrote.
“But there are also thousands of Muslims who have converted to Christianity who are forced to hide their new faith out of fear of being killed by Islamist terrorists.”
Allam adopted the Christian name of Cristiano (Christian), not a common name in Italy.
Allam, who has been outspoken about the conflict in the Middle East, in 2006 organised a demonstration in Rome in support of Christians in the Muslim world.
Original article
(Posted on March 26, 2008)
Comments
I commend this man for converting to the only true religion of Christianity. I hope and pray that Protestants convert to Catholicism. My dad was a Protestant until he met my mom and “was saved” when he converted to Catholicism. He didn’t “know the truth” until his conversion. He is a devoted Christian now.
Posted by Howard in Las Vegas at 6:30 PM on March 26
Islam was born in violence and violence is the very core of its basis. Anyone who disagrees is ignorant of the history and truth of Islam. As a starting point may I suggest the book WHY I AM NOT A MUSLIM.
Posted by at 7:08 PM on March 26
It never fails. Another society suffers thanks to the importation of cheap, uncivilized labor.
Posted by at 8:22 PM on March 26
Good for him!!! I ask God to bless him…and pray more muslims will convert to Christianity….this is one man who woke up and told it like it is….now he might have to hide out…muslims do kill people who convert you know….they are maniacs!!
Posted by lydia at 9:09 PM on March 26
As Homer Simpson would say:
“Islam is the Religion of Pea… Hey, wait a minute!”
Posted by at 10:01 PM on March 26
I know about the threats, when I left Islam I was followed, had people knocking at my door in the middle of the night and my car urinated on, and that is just a start.
Posted by Spartan24 at 10:17 PM on March 26
Unfortunately, he is just a drop in the ocean—-for now. Miracles do happen; please Lord Jesus enact our prayers to you.
Posted by Michigan patriot at 11:34 PM on March 26
Alright, how do I say this diplomatically? Let’s just say that Catholics weren’t exactly the most peaceful people on Earth for most of their history either. As the power of the Catholic Church grew weaker so did they grow less cruel. In fact, the same could be said about most religions (my own included). I wonder if Mr. Allam even knows about the inquisition.
Posted by jewamongyou at 2:25 AM on March 27
Any country that admits the members of the “religion of peace” is asking for trouble.
Posted by at 6:21 AM on March 27
Of course Islam is intrinsically violent.
The founder and creator of Islam, the false, self-appointed ‘prophet’ Muhammad, was a intrinsically violent person.
The violence that is Islam is not the result of a so-called great religion being ‘hijacked by extremists’.
It’s the result of its core beliefs being faithfully carried out according to the pattern set by Muhammad from the very beginning.
Posted by Linky Drake at 6:43 AM on March 27
First of all, it is not a religion.
Second, it is a violent ideology that cloaks itself in the trappings of a religion and thus gets all the special privileges that are given to true religions.
Third, all this is obvious.
Fourth, anyone who espouses this ideology is incompatible with civilization and should be sent back to a country where they practice it.
Posted by at 6:52 AM on March 27
>>>Converts to Christianity in Europe get death threats.
No big deal — just like that Mormon “blood covenant” or whatever they call it. We’ve had some murders of lapsed Mormons in our state in years past.
Seriously, Muslims and non-Muslims WILL NEVER, CAN NEVER live in peace together. The cultures, the mentality being simply at diametric opposites! As manifested on a lesser scale by rapes of White Swedish women by Muslims deeming them to be common whores — FOR NOT DRESSING ACCORDING TO MUSLIM DICTATES!
Posted by Fed Up at 8:55 AM on March 27
He knows what he is talking about. It is intrinsically violent. That means that there is no way to make it non-violent. There is no moderate version.
Posted by at 1:11 PM on March 27
Perhaps the fact the NY Times refers to it as the religion of peace, is all we need to know.
Posted by at 3:55 PM on March 27
Regarding Jewamongyou’s comment.
It is true that the catholic church has a quite violent history but most acts carried out by catholics in the medievel period were done out of ignorance and on many occasions without the approval(and even condemnation)of the church. The inquisitions fatalities is actually greatly exagerrated and perhaps at the time was necessary to keep the moors out of Spain. However catholics have suffered terrible persecution as well (in Ireland, Soviet Union, China for example). I have always liked the quote “Anti-catholicism is to the far-left what anti-semitism is to the far-right”.
Posted by Dr AF at 9:28 PM on March 27
Why an aticle on religion! Race, culture and religion are three seperate things! The Japanese are mainly Shinto and Buddhist with a sizable Christian minority, however they are all of the SAME race and culture (culture is the language we speak, food we eat, values we uphold) hence the Japanese are one nation. The God (or gods) we worship or don’t worship are not relevant. An Irishman, Nigerian and Phillipino may all be catholic by religion but the other two things still make them intrinsically different.
Posted by AD at 5:58 AM on March 28
