We have seen how Muslim Brotherhood affiliated organizations like the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) are using leftist venues to propagate their stealthy Islamism. The liberal Christian church is one of those venues. Islamists use ‘interfaith dialogue’ to advance their victimhood narrative, even using it for da’wah (advocating Islam).

Wajdi Said, co-founder of the Muslim Educational Trust (MET), used an ‘interfaith’ opportunity for just that (preaching Islam) at the 222^nd General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Said brazenly exhorted the crowd to follow Islam during prayer saying, “Allah bless us and bless our families and bless our Lord. Lead us on the straight path — the path of all the prophets: Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad.” It’s clear this ‘interfaith’ encounter was being used by Said to espouse Islam, not to “…create opportunities for mutual dialogue and bridge-building[.]”

Said is the same guy who has stated, “There is no verse in the Quran that condones fighting any peaceful non-Muslim on the sole ground that he or she is a non-Muslim[.]” Seems like Said might have missed a couple of verses from the Quran, such as:

[Remember] when your Lord inspired to the angels, “I am with you, so strengthen those who have believed. I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieved, so strike [them] upon the necks and strike from them every fingertip.” –Quran 8:12

Fight those who do not believe in Allah or in the Last Day and who do not consider unlawful what Allah and His Messenger have made unlawful and who do not adopt the religion of truth from those who were given the Scripture – [fight] until they give the jizyah willingly while they are humbled. –Quran 9:29

O Prophet, fight against the disbelievers and the hypocrites and be harsh upon them. And their refuge is Hell, and wretched is the destination. –Quran 9:73

Of course, Islamists who believe that these types of verses are still valid today would likely argue “peaceful non-Muslim” essentially means individuals submitted to Sharia law, not those who publicly oppose Islamic beliefs and the like. A commitment to living free – including the right to leave Islam if you wish, including a right to preach against it if your conscience calls you to do that – is not compatible with this “peaceful” submission.

So how are Islamists such as those from the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), CAIR, and others able to lobby for their cause at churches including the Presbyterian Church (USA), United Church of Christ, among others? Let’s take a look at the Presbyterian Church (USA). Their membership is slightly under 1.6 million as of May 2016 via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The church “…lost 6 percent of its membership in 2015, and that came after three consecutive years of 5 percent declines[,]” and an alleged internal document expects the church to lose more than 400,000 members from 2015 through 2020. The church has progressively gotten more liberal in its doctrine, such as in 2015 by changing the definition of marriage from between “a man and a woman” to “two people.”

Given that radical Islam is extremely hostile to these liberal opinions, altering theology and doctrine to align with left-wing politics has furthered opened the church to Islamist influences. For instance, in 2014 the church accepted the divestment from Caterpillar Inc., Motorola Solutions, and Hewlett-Packard because they allegedly “…supply Israel with equipment used in the occupation of Palestinian territory.” Besides helping the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement’s (BDS) cause, and supporting a number of other anti-Israel measures, some Presbyterian Church USA congregations are active in promoting the ‘Islamophobia’ narrative Islamists use to try and silence any criticism of Islam. Furthermore, the Clarion Project’s Ryan Mauro highlights some disturbing connections between this denomination and Islamists such as:

…The Presbyterian Church USA is an official interfaith partner of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), a U.S. Muslim Brotherhood entity and unindicted co-conspirator in the largest terrorism financing trial in American history…

…In July 2012, the Presbyterian Church Office of Public Witness blasted Rep. Michele Bachmann and four other members of Congress as essentially being bigoted “Joseph McCarthys.” The legistalors’ offense was requesting a review of the Muslim Brotherhood-linked organizations’ involvement with the U.S. government. The Church passionately defended ISNA, the Muslim Public Affairs Council and Huma Abedin…

Worse yet, Mauro reveals some of the church’s past relations with the terrorist group Hezbollah:

…In 2004, the PCUSA’s [Presbyterian Church USA] Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy sent a delegation of two dozen representatives to Beirut, Lebanon to meet with Hezbollah. The terrorist group had a field day with it, showing the meeting on its Al-Manar propaganda station. The clips included one delegate praising Hezbollah.

“We treasure the precious words of Hezbollah and your expression of goodwill towards the American people,” Elder Ronald Stone of East Liberty Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh said…

…Yet, in 2005, another PCUSA delegation met with Hezbollah in Lebanon. It was sponsored by the PCUSA’s Middle East Task Force…

…The PCUSA spokesman for the trip was Robert Worley, a former professor at a Presbyterian seminary. He was quoted in the Lebanese media regurgitating Hezbollah’s propaganda:

“The Americans hear in the Western media that Hezbollah is a terrorist organization, and they do not hear any other opinion. They know nothing about the party’s concern for the people of the south.”…

Other liberal Christian mainline denominations are either moving in the direction of PCUSA or already have, such as the United Church of Christ, United Methodist Church, Episcopalian Church, among others. The type of social justice activism these churches are giving into are not only leading to their decline in membership rates.  It is also causing them to support jihadist forces that despise both their Christian faith and their left wing political stances.  PCUSA needs to re-evaluate the direction its organization is heading before it’s too late.

Image by (WP:NFCC#4), Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42853200