In this mailing: Raymond Ibrahim: Court Validates Child Rape: Persecution of Christians, October 2020 Amir Taheri: The Otherness of a Closet Collectivist Court Validates Child Rape: Persecution of Christians, October 2020 by Raymond Ibrahim  •  November 29, 2020 at 5:00 am       One of the men captured confessed that he was "promised a monthly 2000 dollar payment for fighting against 'kafirs' in Artsakh, and an extra 100 dollar for each beheaded "kafir." (Kafir, often translated as "infidel," is Arabic for non-Muslims who fail to submit to Islamic authority, which makes them enemies by default.) — Armen Press, November 1, 2020, Armenia/Azerbaijan/Turkey. "It is not possible to get justice in this part of Somalia where almost everyone is a Muslim. We are being hunted down like wild animals because of putting our faith in Issa [Jesus]." — The father of a 7-year-old boy who was beaten and hospitalized, Morning Star News, October 30, 2020, Somalia. "A sexual act with a minor is felony even if she is willing. The court has validated a rape despite the Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act 2014 that punishes contractors of child marriage with up to three years' imprisonment.... What is the future of minority girls in Pakistan?" — Samson Salamat, the Christian chairman of an interreligious organization, Union of Catholic Asian News, October 28, 2020, Pakistan. "As an Egyptian, I have rights—including the right to see my daughter and sit with her and make sure she is okay. If she wishes to follow another path [Islam], that is her right, but my right is to see her.... She is not some "chicken" I can forget about... As for the video, I am a father and know well how my daughter talks, and she [appeared] terrified... Is it that hard for the Egyptian police to return the girl?" — Coptic Solidarity, October 6, 2020, Egypt. In Pakistan, Ali Azhar, 45, kidnapped, forcibly converted to Islam, and "married" Arzoo Raja, a 13-year-old Christian girl, on October 13. Despite the fact that sexual intercourse with girls under 16 is statutory rape and carries a minimum prison sentence of 10 years, the High Court of Sindh ruled in favor of the kidnapper on October 27. Pictured: The building of the Sindh High Court in Karachi, Pakistan. (Image source: A.Savin/Wikimedia Commons/WikiPhotoSpace) The following are among the abuses that Muslims inflicted on Christians throughout the month of October 2020: Slaughtered Christians and Terrorized Churches France: On October 29, a Muslim man who wielded a knife entered the Notre Dame Cathedral of Nice and, while shouting "Allahu Akbar" ["Allah is greatest"], beheaded a Christian woman and stabbed two others to death. According to one report: Continue Reading Article The Otherness of a Closet Collectivist by Amir Taheri  •  November 29, 2020 at 4:00 am       He also writes that his "very presence in the White House triggered a deep-seated panic." Although he offers no evidence, the pirouette enables him to claim victimhood, something fashionable in recent US history. That in turn, helps him dismiss criticism of his presidency as racism. Obama mocks suggestions by some critics that he may be a closet socialist, as if being socialist were dishonorable. But then, on possibly unguarded moments, he reveals his penchant for collectivism... He speaks of "community rights" while in the Bill of Rights, rights are granted to individual citizens. The oceans that were supposed to recede, haven't. Putin, who was supposed to be contained, is still land-grabbing, while China, now under Xi Jinping, is claiming world leadership. At home, the have-a-lot had even more under Obama while the have-little ended up with less. Even racist attacks and gun violence reached peaks never seen before while Obama made speeches, traveled around the world and mused about his "otherness." (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images) All through his brief political career, Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States, has mused about what he sees as his "otherness". In his latest book, A Promised Land, he claims that people saw him as someone "from everywhere and nowhere, a combination of ill-fitting parts like a platypus or some imaginary beast." However, even if that were true, Obama's "otherness" could be found elsewhere. To start with, he was the first person to win the US presidency after a brief stint in public office as a junior senator. (His successor Donald Trump didn't have even that). Obama was also the first person to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize without having done anything for peace or war. Continue Reading Article