Islamophobia Watch

Christians are being urged to stand up against what a visiting author says is a Muslim push to take over the world. Pastor Stuart Robinson, Australian author of the book Mosques and Miracles, has drawn about 200 people to a conference in Greenlane this weekend aimed at revealing what he says are the true dangers of Islam.

Meanwhile, rebel British left-wing MP George Galloway is expected to attract about 450 people to a rival meeting in Freemans Bay tonight to condemn Mr Robinson's "islamophobia".

Mr Robinson's two-day Mosques and Miracles conference has been organised by missionary groups Open Doors, Middle East Christian Outreach, Asian Outreach and Interserve, with support from the Vision Network of evangelical churches. He said most Westerners did not understand that Islam taught that peace would prevail in the world only when the Muslim religion predominated.

He said Muslim theology "teaches that war has to be prosecuted against the infidel until the day of judgment when Jesus Christ returns". Unlike Christianity, which offered salvation simply through faith, he said Islam taught that the only sure way to paradise was to die as a martyr for the faith. "That becomes an enormous recruitment device for a lot of the suicide bombing that we see," he said.

But Mr Galloway, a Catholic who has backed the Palestinian cause for 32 years, said New Zealand's 45,000-strong Muslim community was moderate and law-abiding and had never carried out any terrorist acts. "Have you seen any signs of New Zealand's Muslims launching a jihad [holy war]?" he asked. "Of course you haven't. These people [Mr Robinson's followers] are trying to place fear and hatred in the hearts of ordinary New Zealand people against peaceful neighbours."

New Zealand Herald, 28 July 2007

The controversial Christian conference on the "threat" of Islam has lost its Christchurch venue after sponsors expressed unease at the tone of the seminars. The move has drawn scorn from some Christians who see it as kowtowing to political correctness and "Muslim outrage".

The Mosques and Miracles conference was to be held at Spreydon Baptist church, but negative publicity surrounding the event had caused church management to reconsider. In March, Muslim leaders condemned Mosques and Miracles as "a conference of bigots" after the organiser, Murray Dillner, said Islam made a society "implode" and had a mind-set to "take over the world".

Spreydon Baptist senior pastor Murray Robertson said sponsor pressure had triggered the decision. "A number of the people who support our community work said they weren't comfortable with the position. Part of their brief is to not support groups that are intolerant. We had no control over the content of the conference and we felt we were taking a whole bunch of hits for something we had nothing to do with. Spreydon Baptist Church wishes to make it quite clear that we are not anti-Muslim in our attitudes."

A Christchurch minister, who declined to be named, said he felt the church leaders who made the decision had "wimped out". "Since when have Christians getting together in Christchurch to discuss world issues of religion and society been dictated to by Muslim outrage? I think it's very sad and a bit sinister."

The Press, 17 May 2007

See also coverage at Dhimmi Watch