The Spiritual Journey of Magdi Allam

The
Spiritual Journey of Magdi Allam
by Robert Spencer

The
highest-profile convert to Roman Catholicism in recent memory, Magdi Cristiano
Allam, has left the Catholic Church.

Allam,
who was baptized in the Vatican by Pope Benedict XVI on Easter day 2008,
explained that what “more than any other factor drove me away from the Church”
was the “legitimization of Islam as the true religion of Allah as the one true
God, Muhammad as a true prophet, the Koran as a sacred text, and of mosques as
places of worship.”

Allam
declared that contrary to all that, he was “convinced” that Islam was an “inherently
violent ideology,” and that he was “even more convinced that Europe will
eventually submit to Islam.”

Perhaps
if the Church he joined in 2008 had been more resolute in standing for the
defense of Judeo-Christian values and civilization, he would not have such a
dark vision of the future. But there’s the rub: the determination to seek
accommodation with Islam at all costs, even as Muslims persecute Christians
with increasing ferocity all over the globe, is near-universal in the Catholic
Church.

Everywhere
Catholic prelates, even at the highest levels, pursue a “dialogue” with Muslim
leaders, whose responses to that dialogue always solely involve not genuine
discussion of matters of concern, but thinly veiled criticism of Christianity
and calls to accept Islam. Those prelates are almost universally punctilious
about avoiding ever saying anything remotely critical or challenging to their
aggressive, expansionist partner in this “dialogue,” although that partner is
convinced of his own superiority and of the inevitability of the removal of all
obstacles to his will.

And
as if to illustrate the reasonableness of Allam’s frustration, Matthew Schmitz
of First
Things, one of the leading Catholic publications in the United States, took
the opportunity of his apostasy not to engage in any introspection about the
Church’s resolutely irenic clinging to the 1960s-era model of “dialogue” even
as it is confronted around the world with an increasingly violent and
supremacist Islam, but to excoriate Allam, a former Muslim, for his
misunderstanding of Islam: “In retrospect, Allam’s disappointment seems
inevitable. If we mistake Islam for a mere ideology of violence, we risk
mistaking Christianity as merely an ideology that allows us to oppose that
violence. Yet Christ did not come to this earth or found his church to oppose
Islam but to propose the gospel. Not to eclipse the moon, but to reveal the
Son.”

Magdi
Allam knows far better than Matthew Schmitz, who has previously written an
apologia for Islamic law, glossing over its elements that mandate the
subjugation of women, the oppression of non-Muslims, and its denial of the
freedom of speech and the freedom of conscience, that Islam is not “a mere
ideology of violence.” But whatever else it is, it is also clearly exactly
that: an ideology of violence (cf. Qur’an 2:190-193; 4:89; 8:39; 8:60; 9:5;
9:29; 47:4, etc.). Schmitz thinks that Allam’s recognition of that fact, and
frustration with the Catholic Church’s general failure to grasp its
implications, disqualifies him as an analyst of the Islamic jihad threat: “Benedict’s
pontificate has come to an end; in time Islam will, too. Neither event should
affect whether or not one affirms Christian truth or chooses to be in communion
with the bishop of Rome. That Allam so grievously fails to understand this
aspect of Christian truth ought to warn us against the judgment of Islam he
shares with many other anti-Islam advocates.”

I
don’t know Magdi Allam personally and don’t know anything beyond his published
statements about why he has left the Catholic Church. I am not going to leave
the Catholic Church over its failure to defend those powerless Christians who
are facing ever more violent persecution from Muslims worldwide, as I am aware
that the Church is made up entirely of imperfect, sinful people. I also know,
with all due respect to those to whom respect is due, that the charism of
infallibility is nowhere taught as inhering in bishops’ or even popes’
prudential judgments about how to deal with the threat of jihad and Islamic
supremacism.

I
share Magdi Allam’s frustration over that failure of the Church to address that
persecution in any meaningful way. I share his outrage over statements like
that of Bishop Robert McManus of Worcester, Massachusetts, who barred me from
speaking at a Catholic conference over concerns that “Mr. Spencer’s talk about
extreme, militant Islamists and the atrocities that they have perpetrated
globally might undercut the positive achievements that we Catholics have
attained in our inter-religious dialogue with devout Muslims.” Why would a talk
about “extreme, militant Islamists and the atrocities that they have
perpetrated globally” undercut dialogue with Muslims who profess to reject
those atrocities and the interpretation of Islam that underlies and justifies
them? If they reject the jihadists’ understanding of Islam, why wouldn’t they
welcome and applaud an honest discussion of that understanding of Islam, which
presumably they oppose as much as I do?

And
that is the problem with all this spurious “dialogue.” Muslim Brotherhood
theorist Sayyid Qutb explained: “The chasm between Islam and Jahiliyyah [the
society of unbelievers] is great, and a bridge is not to be built across it so
that the people on the two sides may mix with each other, but only so that the
people of Jahiliyyah may come over to Islam.” That’s what “interfaith dialogue”
is for Islamic supremacists: a vehicle for proselytizing.

Magdi
Allam is right, and righteous, to be appalled at Catholic leaders’ failure to
understand that, and – despite all their rhetoric about identifying with the
downtrodden — to “speak truth to power” and “give voice to the voiceless” in any
sense beyond rhetoric. I am sorry that he has left the Church, and hope that the
bland complacency and excusing of Islam-inspired atrocities of Catholics like
Matthew Schmitz will soon give way to a recognition that what Magdi Allam sees
so clearly is indeed a real and immense threat, and that his prophetic voice
must be heeded, before all is lost – which could be quite a bit sooner than
anyone thinks.

Robert Spencer is the director of Jihad Watch and author of the
New York Times bestsellers The
Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades) and The
Truth About Muhammad. His latest book, Not Peace But A Sword:
The Great Chasm Between Christianity and Islam, is now available.

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Jacqueline

11 years ago

The Vatican has been trying hard to befriend the Islamic world. I am convinced that this is only a political gimmick

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Isabellathecrusader

11 years ago

It has not always been thus. Throughout history the Catholic Church has made a stand against the spread of Islam and at different times it’s devout followers have checked Islam at the door. Think of Jan Sobieski, King of Poland who defeated the Turks at the Gates of Vienna in 1683 as they were again attempting to invade Europe. For this the Turks called him the Lion of Lechistan and Pope Innocent XI held him as the Saviour of Europe and even extended the feast of the Holy Name of Mary to all of Europe (celebrated on September 12th,) because Sobieski had entrusted his kingdom beforehand to the protection of the Blessed Virgin, Our Lady of Częstochowa. This guy was a devout Catholic and he didn;t sit around and chat with Muslims. He kicked Muslim butt BIG TIME.
There were also Jean Parisot de la Vallete, Grand Master of the Knights of St. John who kicked the Muslims back from whence they came in the Battle of Malta, circa 1565. The Pope St. Pius V wanted to make him a Cardinal, but he demurred. And there was Don Juan of Austria, illegitimate child of Emperor Charles V who at the age of 25 years destroyed the Muslim Fleet in at Lepanto in 1572. Along with these commanders there were numerous Catholic saints who stood up to Islam including St. Francis of Assisi (bet you didn’t know about that one,) who supported the Fifth Crusade and accompanied the Crusaders in order to convert the Muslims to Christianity. He met with Sultan al-Kamil and talked to him about converting. He was no pacifist. St. Raymond de Penafort who along with St. Peter Nolasco and King James of Aragon founded the Order of Our Lady of Ransom for the Redemption of Captives and raised tons of money to get back Christians who had been kidnapped and enslaved by Muslims.
Another great saint who fought the Muslims was St. John Capistran who preached a Crusade after Mohammed II successfully took over Constantinople in 1453 and decided to keep going towards Belgrade. St. John led the left wing of the 70,000 strong Catholic army against 120,000 Muslims. The Catholics won, Mohammed II lost and renounced his desire to take over Europe.
Since the 60’s and the nonsense that came out of Vatican II the Catholic hierarchy has made one blunder after another when it comes to dealing with Muslims and Communists (can’t upset anybody,) and we are all paying for it now. The wishy-washy attitudes and progressive mentality of those who cling to that Council will simply perpetuate this ongoing ineffective “dialoging” with the enemy until enough of us get sick enough to stand up against it or somebody ends up getting destroyed. But make no mistake, there have been plenty of Catholics who have stood up to and fought against Islam and the destructive ideology of Muslims though out the last 1400 years and I as a Catholic have nothing to reproach myself with as I stand against it.

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Mike D

11 years ago

I left the Catholic church back in the early ’70’s because of silly
liberal crap like this. Unfortunately it’s not just the Catholic
church anymore. Now other Christian churches are trying to appease
the Muslims and go all liberal, like supporting same sex marriage.
We need to fight back, against the Muslims and the liberals.

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Al

11 years ago

The bottom line, Mr.Spencer, is that Magdi Allam has the courage of his convictions but you don’t. And that’s the same for every person who remains within that corrupt system.

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Isabellathecrusader

11 years ago

What bullshit, Al. Just because you’ve decided that you will not serve it is ridiculous to think that Robert some how sold out by being the Christian gentleman that he is. It’s a piece of cake to bail when you disagree with something you don’t like; much harder to stay obedient to Our Lord and not give up on the Church. And Robert Spencer’s courage is uncontainable.

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Rodolfo

11 years ago

Magdi Allam should go bathe in a Mikvah and become a Jew!
Jews would understand him so much better than confused, islam-CREATING Catholics.
Look it up, the church CREATED islam, to kill Jews with. It is fact, real history.

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Radegunda

11 years ago

Since you impugn Robert Spencer’s courage, please tell us how you are defending and promoting your own convictions. Surely you must be willingly exposing yourself to much, much more hostility and danger than Mr. Spencer does every day. Right?

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BUTSeriously

11 years ago

Spencer will become a hero only after he declares that Britain’s corruption of the Balfour Mandate and the creation of the White Paper was the substantial cause of the Holocaust. Britain is today the most antisemitic western nation, fostering a 3-state it calls a 2-state and transferring the name Palestinian to Muslims. This makes the Nazis more honest.

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Al

11 years ago

To all those who criticized my comments on Robert Spencer, I agree that he has a lot of courage. But, here’s the thing ; he’s lacking the moral courage needed to face up to what has been revealed by what his religion preaches AND practices. To me that smacks of being in denial which is hypocrisy. Would Spencer JOIN a body that was compromising with Islam ? No, of course not. Why then does he remain in one ? It is because that, to him, is preferable to being consistent. The RC system is no defender or even follower of Jesus Christ. The Vatican II document “Lumen Gentium” ( it can be found via google ) states that the Muslims are part of the plan of salvation. In other words they recognize Islam as a true religion. The RC leadership and clergy are saying amen to a religion which denies that Jesus is the Son of God and even denies that he was crucified, a fact which even the Jews admit happened. With this background is it any wonder that their cardinals and bishops and even their leaders (see link ) will compromise with them, even to the extent of ignoring the persecution and slaughter of Roman Catholics under Islam. The fact is that the RC system is corrupt to the core. They always were and people with integrity will leave it, just as millions of them have done over the child abuse scandal.
“Isabellathecrusader” ? Mmmm. Was she not the one who expelled the Jews from Spain ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMrKet8S1qA

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Al

11 years ago

I need to add that I no way endorse the youtube channel that posted the video in my link. It’s dreadful. It just happened to be the first link I could find with that picture.

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Chip Murray

11 years ago

There is one God…The God of Abraham is my God and your God. The diabolical must take delight in watching the “faithful” split their “faithful” hair! We are at war with ourselves. Instead of praying for the Church of our Lord, we attack it as corrupt…when it is simply at war with itself…just as we are!

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Isabellathecrusader

11 years ago

Oh please, get real Al. Your gripe is with the Catholic Church not Robert, but you attempt to destroy his good name in your bitterness against it. I wonder what that makes you? Hmmm, maybe a former altar boy? Or at present, someone with a bucket of spew where their integrity used to be?

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Al

11 years ago

Isabella, let me assure you that my integrity is intact unlike anyone who remains in such a corrupt organization as you are in. It is you who needs to “get real”. Big time. It’s not too late. I wish you and Robert well.

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Kufar Dawg

11 years ago

“…the church CREATED islam.”? Huh? Bwhahahahahahahaah…

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MaryfromMarin

11 years ago

Yes, there is one God. And “Allah” is not that one God, nor even another name for the one true God.
Muslims do not worship the one true God, as do Christians and Jews. Muslims worship something else entirely.

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Kevin J Kehoe

11 years ago

They are not Blunders ,it is intentional Corruption from the Gays and Marxists embedded in the Church.
Now we have a Jesuit, probably another Marxist.
Eventually we might have to Leave and Join the SPXX society for any Hope.
WE shall see.

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Charlie Griffith

11 years ago

Re:
“….. undercut dialogue with Muslims who profess to reject those atrocities and the interpretation of Islam that underlies and justifies them? If they reject the jihadists’ understanding of Islam, why wouldn’t they welcome and applaud an honest discussion of that understanding of Islam, which presumably they oppose as much as I do?”
This is the clue to massive hypocrisy on the part of these “Muslims”…..How can practicing Muslims reject the jihadists’ understanding of Islam? How can practicing Muslims” pick and choose which verses in their Koran they want to believe”.

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Charlie Griffith

11 years ago

…I forgot to add that we overlook the close parallels of Muslim infiltration and subversion to those of Cold War Soviet Communism, with the actions of these practicing Muslims who are ingratiating themselves at Georgetown University, foe example, in our Nation’s Capital.
Their smiles and large donations towards subsidizing a university “Chair”, etc, seem so very, very saccharine.
There’s not an ecumenical cell [unintended pun] in any practicing Muslims’ body. How can there be? How can they straddle their Koran in such a hypocritical way?
Are these “practicing Muslims” so elastic in their permissions and interpretations of their Koran that anything …..anything…is permissible so long as it advances their barbarisms?
Apparently, yes, they are indeed that elastic. This is the aspect of our now worldwide enemy that we ignore at our peril.

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