"Mohammedanism was a heresy: that is the essential point to grasp before going any further. It began as a heresy, not as a new religion. It was not a pagan contrast with the Church; it was not an alien enemy. It was a perversion of Christian doctrine. Its vitality and endurance soon gave it the appearance of a new religion, but those who were contemporary with its rise saw it for what it was-not a denial, but an adaptation and a misuse, of the Christian thing. It differed from most (not from all) heresies in this, that it did not arise within the bounds of the Christian Church.
The chief heresiarch, Mohammed himself, was not, like most heresiarchs, a man of Catholic birth and doctrine to begin with. He sprang from pagans. But that which he taught was in the main Catholic doctrine, oversimplified. It was the great Catholic world-on the frontiers of which he lived, whose influence was all around him and whose territories he had known by travel-which inspired his convictions. He came of, and mixed with, the degraded idolaters of the Arabian wilderness, the conquest of which had never seemed worth the Romans' while.
He took over very few of those old pagan ideas which might have been native to him from his descent. On the contrary, he preached and insisted upon a whole group of ideas which were peculiar to the Catholic Church and distinguished it from the paganism which it had conquered in the Greek and Roman civilization. Thus the very foundation of his teaching was that prime Catholic doctrine, the unity and omnipotence of God.
The attributes of God he also took over in the main from Catholic doctrine: the personal nature, the all-goodness, the timelessness, the providence of God, His creative power as the origin of all things, and His sustenance of all things by His power alone. The world of good spirits and angels and of evil spirits in rebellion against God was a part of the teaching, with a chief evil spirit, such as Christendom had recognized.
Mohammed preached with insistence that prime Catholic doctrine, on the human side-the immortality of the soul and its responsibility for actions in this life, coupled with the consequent doctrine of punishment and reward after death." ...
Now, why did this new, simple, energetic heresy have its sudden overwhelming success? One answer is that it won battles. It won them at once, as we shall see when we come to the history of the thing. But winning battles could not have made Islam permanent or even strong had there not been a state of affairs awaiting some such message and ready to accept it."
God Discussion reported on August 3, 2011:
A draft law was approved by an Italian parliamentary commission on Tuesday to ban women wearing veils which cover their faces in public. The new law is expected to reach the Italian parliament after summer recess and would make Italy the third European country after France and Belgium to ban the public use of the burqa and niqab veils. The law is expected to elaborate on a previously existing Italian law which prohibits people from concealing their faces in public for security reasons
According to reports, the law was sponsored by Souad Sbai, a member of the conservative Freedom People Party who stated in a phone interview that:
Five years ago, no-one wore the burqa in Italy. Today, there is always more. We have to help women get out of this segregation … to get out of this submission.The vice-president of the Freedom People Party, Barbara Saltamartini also said in a statement that:
Final approval will put an end to the suffering of many women who are often forced to wear the burqa or niqab, which annihilates their dignity and gets in the way of integration.An Islamic group known as the Union of Islamic Communities in Italy has however criticized the law. According to the Italian newspaper ANSA, the spokesman of the organization Roberto Hamza said:
This topic continues to be a sort of criminalization and media dramatization. In Italy, there aren't even 100 women who wear the niqab, and not even one who wears the burqa.Goddiscussion, last week, reported the banning of the burqa and niqab in Belgium. France had, before Belgium, also banned the Islamic veils with the President Sarkozy of Francewidely quoted by the press as having said: "burqas are not welcome in France."
The bans on the use of the burqa in Europe has sparked a debate on the human rights and religious freedom implications, especially after arrests of burqa-clad women who were protesting the ban in France. Some opponents of the ban argue that the ban is motivated by anti-Islamic and racist sentiments. Many other opponents of the ban argue that only very few women actually use the burqa in Europe and that legislating a ban amounts to killing a fly with a sledgehammer. Proponents of the ban however make the widely supported claim that the ban is necessary for security reasons.
The ban on public use of the burqa in Italy, if passed by the Italian parliament, will fine third parties which force women to cover their face in public 30,000 Euros and up to 12 months in jail.
According to a report about 3000 women in Italy wear the burqa.
"All who continue in the battle ahead must accept martyrdom. it does not, My child, necessarily mean death of your body, but it will mean persecution. Stand fast in the faith. Keep the faith in the hearts of those you love. Extend your charity of heart to all of your brother and sisters throughout the world. Pray a constant vigilance of prayer." - Our Lady of the Roses, October 2, 1974
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