Memorable words from the poem by Emma Lazarus, immortalized on the Statue of Liberty.

Words that have special meaning for Armenian immigrant George Magar Mardikian, who first gazed upon Liberty on his birthday.

George escaped the then-worst genocide in history, only to be surpassed by the Nazi extermination of the Jews in WWII. This was the extermination of the Armenian Christians by the Muslim government of Turkey in the final throes of the Caliphate-led Ottoman Empire. Estimates of the slaughter surpass the million mark.

George nearly starved to death in a Turkish prison camp after his father was killed. He later fled to America where he first experienced what it means to breathe free. His story is the epitome of the countless immigrants who have come here to build a better life – and to offer their special giftedness to their adopted country.

George recently became a naturalized citizen of the United States after a lifetime of faithful service to our country, a highlight of which was earning a Presidential Medal of Freedom for his service during WWII.

Following George’s swearing in, he uttered these poignant and inspiring words that each of us should heed: ”You who have been born in America, I wish I could make you understand what it is like not to be an American – not to have been an American all your life-and then suddenly with the words of a man in flowing robes [the judge who issued the oath of citizenship] to be one, for that moment and forever after. One moment you belong with your fathers to a million dead yesterdays – the next you belong with America to a million unborn tomorrows. [emphasis mine]”

Read more about the human tragedy of the Armenian genocide in the first-person account of Grigoris Balakian. His newly-released book is entitled Armenian Golgotha.

The above information about George Mardikian comes from a World Magazine article.

Blessings,
Liam

Previous blog entries you may find interesting:

The New Dark Ages: A Long Eurabian Night
Hand-Wringing Diplomacy: Mideast Peace is an Impossible Goal
Islam: What the West Needs to Know
A Woman’s Place in Islam
Islamic Law Requires Breast Feeding of Male Co-workers
What is the Qur’an? Archaeological Find Invalidates Islam’s Holy Book
Madrassah Schools: Why They Pose a Threat to Western Civilization
Violence in the Bible: 1st Response to a Muslim
Validity of Scripture: 2nd Response Presents The Bible as Superior to the Qur’an
The Historic Alliance of Christianity and Science
DNA and the Flood: The Biblical Account is Written in Our Genetic Code
Jihad.com: Islamofascists Are Recruiting Via the Internet
A Brief History of Islam
Submission: The Movie That Led a Muslim to Assassinate Theo Van Gogh
Honoring America’s Fallen Warriors
Profile of A Reluctant Hero: Why Christians Should Defend Themselves
The Enlightenment of Atheism

The Y Factor rewrite has come to fruition and will be available on July 7th. I want to thank all of you who have prayed for me in this effort. You have been a great source of encouragement.

The marketing efforts have already begun. The Y Factor has been featured in full color ads in the following:

Christian Retailing, the authoritative marketing magazine in Christian publishing included this ad in a recent issue:

Strang Communications’ Spring Catalog included this listing:

The July, 2009 issue of Charisma magazine includes two items. This ad appears on page 48:

In the same issue, Charisma’s “Buzz” section includes a new fiction section:

Joel Richardson’s best-selling book is scheduled for re-release next week!

I have researched much about Islam in the past few years and thought I had a grasp on what inspires and energizes Muslims who think so differently from Evangelical Christians.

My purpose has been to infuse into my own writing an admonition to fellow Christians to not shirk their responsibility to reach out to Muslims. I am convinced our reluctance is due to cultural and philisophical differences that are intimidating.

I have chosen fiction as the vehicle to accomplish my goal. Admittedly, it was an easy choice to cast jihadists as my antagonists. My early research was thus focused on reinforcing pat anti-Muslim notions cemented in the American psyche on 9-11.

I constructed an underlying theme, strictly to enhance the sinister nature of jihadists. I thought it would be an interesting twist to have the AntiChrist come from the eastern end of the Roman empire, not the western end as most eschatologists assume. It made more sense to me for a variety of reasons, the least of which is that the bureaucracy to be set up by the AntiChrist will include a religious arm. Islam fits that bill perfectly.

I did not intend to support this notion with theological precision, but wanted to rely on creative license to convey a compelling story.

I had became a follower of Jesus the year before the bestselling book, “The Late Great Planet Earth” was released. Like many fervent believers, I devoured the book and many like it over the years, from authors ranging from John Walvoord and Tim LaHaye to Jack Van Impe and Pat Robertson.

Because I would be presenting a concept so at odds with their teaching, I did examine the scriptures thoroughly to assure myself that I would not pervert any clear doctrine in the process.

Then I stumbled upon Joel Richardson’s book and was amazed that someone had laid out a justification for what I had assumed was creative license. I read Joel’s book and was amazed at my own shallow grasp of the issues. His research was scholarly, his logic compelling and his delivery impeccable.

Joel’s book surprised and admonished me in a way that I had not expected. His humble compassion for Muslims was clearly laid out in the closing chapters. His comments helped temper my tendency to polarize Muslims in a political fashion and admonished me to see them instead through spiritual eyes.

I began correspondence with Joel many months ago, which culminated in having him come to my area recently to lead our inagural conference noted in an earlier post on this site. Joel stayed in my home during the conference, which gave me an incredible opportunity to plumb the depths of his knowledge and spiritual maturity.

I can state with great confidence that Joel has a grasp on the subtleties of Islam and the Muslim mindset. This is also attested to by prominent Muslims. I recommend that you review his website for a recent interview held in Istanbul with Adnan Oktar, a highly-respected Muslim writer and opinion leader.

I am overjoyed that Joel’s book is being re-released next week as a hard-cover edition entitled The Islamic Antichrist: The Shocking Truth about the Real Nature of the Beast. Joel gratefully acknowledges the assistance of a professional editor for this release, which should satisfy the few detractors that have been too distracted with typesetting errors to appreciate quality research.

I give this book my highest endorsement. It can be purchased at Amazon.com

Liam Roberts

Previous blog entries you may find interesting:

The New Dark Ages: A Long Eurabian Night
Hand-Wringing Diplomacy: Mideast Peace is an Impossible Goal
Islam: What the West Needs to Know
A Woman’s Place in Islam
Islamic Law Requires Breast Feeding of Male Co-workers
What is the Qur’an? Archaeological Find Invalidates Islam’s Holy Book
Madrassah Schools: Why They Pose a Threat to Western Civilization
Violence in the Bible: 1st Response to a Muslim
Validity of Scripture: 2nd Response Presents The Bible as Superior to the Qur’an
The Historic Alliance of Christianity and Science
DNA and the Flood: The Biblical Account is Written in Our Genetic Code
Jihad.com: Islamofascists Are Recruiting Via the Internet
A Brief History of Islam
Submission: The Movie That Led a Muslim to Assassinate Theo Van Gogh
Honoring America’s Fallen Warriors
Profile of A Reluctant Hero: Why Christians Should Defend Themselves
The Enlightenment of Atheism

In previous posts, I have written extensively about the rising tide of Islam, particularly in The New Dark Ages: A Long Eurabian Night Since writing this blog in January, 2008, a couple of resources have become available that communicate the threat succinctly:

· The short movie Fitna was produced by Geert Wilders, a member of Parliament in the Netherlands.
· The documentary The Demographic Winter was produced.
· The following call to action is compelling (if you are receiving this via email subscription, visit the blog to view the short video):

I predicated in a previous blog that the Netherlands would be the first European democratic government to fall to the rising tide of Islam within ten years – with the rest of Europe soon following. An indicator of the threat is that Muhammad has been the most popular baby name in Amsterdam for years. It will be instructive to the rest of Europe to view how the famously-decadent Amsterdamians fare under Sharia law.

Other blog entries you may find interesting:

Piracy on the High Seas: The US Navy Returns to its Roots
The New Dark Ages: A Long Eurabian Night
Hand-Wringing Diplomacy: Mideast Peace is an Impossible Goal
Islam: What the West Needs to Know
A Woman’s Place in Islam
Islamic Law Requires Breast Feeding of Male Co-workers
What is the Qur’an? Archaeological Find Invalidates Islam’s Holy Book
Love Your Enemies and Pray For Those Who Persecute You
Madrassah Schools: Why They Pose a Threat to Western Civilization
Violence in the Bible: 1st Response to a Muslim
Validity of Scripture: 2nd Response Presents The Bible as Superior to the Qur’an
The Historic Alliance of Christianity and Science
DNA and the Flood: The Biblical Account is Written in Our Genetic Code
Jihad.com: Islamofascists Are Recruiting Via the Internet
A Brief History of Islam
Submission: The Movie That Led a Muslim to Assassinate Theo Van Gogh
Honoring America’s Fallen Warriors
Profile of A Reluctant Hero: Why Christians Should Defend Themselves
The Enlightenment of Atheism

We can rejoice that Easter Sunday closes with a satisfactory resolution to the most recent piracy incident as the Navy SEALs demonstrated the most effective method of dealing with lawlessness.

The resurgence of Muslim piracy by the Somalis has an historical precedent. Robert Davis, author of Christian Slaves, Muslim Masters reminds us that from the dawn of our country, the United States has demonstrated that firm resolve and overwhelming force is the only way to confront evil. The story began during the era of the first English settlements in the new world:

In the first half of the 1600s, Barbary corsairs – pirates from the Barbary Coast of North Africa, authorised [sic] by their governments to attack the shipping of Christian countries – ranged all around Britain’s shores. In their lanteen-rigged xebecs (a type of ship) and oared galleys, they grabbed ships and sailors, and sold the sailors into slavery. Admiralty records show that during this time the corsairs plundered British shipping pretty much at will, taking no fewer than 466 vessels between 1609 and 1616, and 27 more vessels from near Plymouth in 1625.”

As the descendent of thirteen Mayflower passengers, I have a newfound respect for the danger they faced in their historic odyssey. I encourage you to read the above linked article for a sobering account of the wretched fate of those enslaved between the years 1530 and 1780.

So the above is not dismissed as an attempt to unduly Christianize the historical record, refer to the prominent atheist Christopher Hitchens, who, in his book, Thomas Jefferson: Author of America, affirms professor Davis’ calculation that as many as 1,250,000 Europeans had been enslaved by the Barbary Muslims (also known as Ottoman Corsairs), who had operated out of Libya, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco since the time of the Crusades. In addition to terrorizing ships at sea, they ruthlessly raided European coastal areas to capture Christian slaves. Hitchens offers an example (as does Davis) of a particularly devastating raid in which, “…practically every inhabitant of the Irish village of Baltimore was carried off in 1631.”

Captured seamen and coastal citizens alike were sold at auction with the cry of the Muslim slave auctioneer advertising, “Christians are cheap today!”

This is not to ignore or justify the shameful slave trade carried on by powerful business interests in the predominantly white Western nations. But I would offer that they were motivated by profits and acted inhumanely in violation of the tenants of their Christian milieu. In fact, William Wilberforce, a Christian politician was the most effective voice to defiantly oppose them, single-handedly ending their insidious stranglehold on commerce in the British Empire.

From the earliest days of independence, merchant vessels sailing under the flag of the United States were equally victimized by Muslim piracy. While Thomas Jefferson and John Adams served as ministers to France and England, respectively, they accosted the ambassador of Tripoli who unabashedly demanded an enormous tribute in exchange for ceasing hostilities. Jefferson demanded that he give an accounting for attacking American merchantmen in the Mediterranean. In his report to Congress, Jefferson wrote:

The Ambassador answered us that [the justification] was founded on the Laws of the Prophet, that it was written in their Koran, that all nations who should not have answered their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found and to make slaves of all they could take as Prisoners, and that every Musselman [Muslim] who should be slain in Battle was sure to go to Paradise.”

Note: The Qur’anic verses endorsing the ambassador’s position are provided at the end of this article.

It is well known that Jefferson owned a copy of the Qur’an (which was recently the focus of the swearing-in of congressman Keith Ellison). Given Jefferson’s above memoir about his encounter with the ambassador, one has to wonder about his purpose in procuring a copy of their holy book.

Jefferson’s opinion was that the administration should refuse to pay tribute and begin preparation for an assault on the Barbary Coast, noting that, “Justice and Honor favor this course.”

John Adams – as he often did – disagreed with Jefferson, and advocated that the U.S. pay the ransom being demanded by the Ambassador and not engage the enemy. “We ought not to fight them at all unless we determine to fight them forever.” Prophetic words.

During the centuries of marauding Muslim piracy, most European nations had paid tribute. Even America capitulated under both Washington and Adams because we lacked a navy that could protect our interests.

In 1790, then-Secretary of State Jefferson drafted a message to Congress, “Proposal to Use Force Against the Barbary States.”

In a message to Congress in 1793, President Washington spoke of the Muslim threat: “If we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to repel it; if we desire to secure peace… it must be known that we are at all times ready for war.” The U.S. Navy was created the next year with the express purpose of preparing for our first war – ironically against Muslim terrorists and the rogue states that sponsored them.

By the time Thomas Jefferson came into office, the U.S. had already paid out $2 million in protection money – 1/5 of the annual federal income.

For twenty years, Jefferson had resolved that we should engage in military action against the barbarians (Hitchens notes the “handy euphony with “Barbary”), and now was in a position to do something about it. Three months after taking office, while Congress was in recess, he dispatched our Navy and newly-formed Marine Corps with the mission objective: “subdue, seize and make prizes of all vessels, goods and effects belonging to the Dey of Tripoli” and take whatever measures “the state of war will justify.” Interestingly, he waited until the ships had sailed beyond reach before he condescended to notify the Congress.

In one of the most stunning military exploits in history, the U.S. Marines marched five hundred miles across the Libyan desert and destroyed the Barbary threat in a combined assault with the Navy against the port of Tripoli, giving birth to the famous lyric in the Marine Corps Hymn, “…to the shores of Tripoli.” Marines still wear the Mameluke sword – reminiscent of a Muslim scimitar.

Eventually, America resorted to appeasement and paid $60,000 ransom for captured seamen in the peace treaty that ended the First Barbary War. Within a few short years, we learned the bitter lesson that appeasement can never contain evil – a lesson that is often shrouded in the annals of history and must be re-taught with terrible consequences.

Had Jefferson consulted his copy of the Qur’an, he would have discovered a thousand year-old precept: Allah endorses treacherously breaking of treaties when dealing with infidels; the only purpose of a treaty is to distract the enemy while re-arming for a perfidious assault. As a character in The Y Factor notes, “When it comes to Muslim jihadists, the meek will surely not inherit the earth. Turning the other cheek only makes it easier for them to behead you.”

Bolstered by Qur’anic justification for jihad, the Barbary pirates soon resumed their attacks on our merchant fleet, which ultimately led to the Second Barbary War.

Two hundred and five years after their first naval victory against Muslim piracy, the United States Navy wrote another chapter today. May they continue to deliver decisive blows.

Sources:

Christian Slaves, Muslim Masters by Robert Davis
To the Shores of Tipoli: The Birth of the U.S. Navy and Marines by A.B.C. Whipple
America, The Last Best Hope, by William J. Bennett
Thomas Jefferson: Author of America, by Christopher Hitchens
U.S.[has] Been Fighting Islamic Fundamentalism Since Colonial Era by Bryan Fischer
First Barbary War, Wikipedia

The following Qur’an references are found at the University of Southern California website.

The Qur’an instructs Muslims to:
Kill the disbelievers wherever they find them (2:191),
Murder them and treat them harshly (9:123),
Slay them (9:5),
Fight with them (8:65),
Strive against them with great endeavor (25:52),
Be stern with them because they belong to hell (66:9)
Strike off their heads; then after making a “wide slaughter among them, carefully tie up the remaining captives” for ransom (47:4),
Form treaties with infidels only when Islam is in a weakened state; to buy time to re-arm for ultimate conquest (9:1).

End Note

Supporters of Islam often argue that these verses are insignificant and are offset by numerous passages that promote peace. This is disingenuous, for they know the verses promoting peace were overruled specifically by Muhammad. Abdication is a revered Muslim doctrine that gives Allah the prerogative to directly contradict previous divine revelation – even revelations that purportedly came from him. To Muslims, Allah cannot be subjected to the rules of logic, hence the Islamic propensity for circular logic.

Other blog entries you may find interesting:

The New Dark Ages: A Long Eurabian Night
Hand-Wringing Diplomacy: Mideast Peace is an Impossible Goal
Islam: What the West Needs to Know
A Woman’s Place in Islam
Islamic Law Requires Breast Feeding of Male Co-workers
What is the Qur’an? Archaeological Find Invalidates Islam’s Holy Book
Love Your Enemies and Pray For Those Who Persecute You
Madrassah Schools: Why They Pose a Threat to Western Civilization
Violence in the Bible: 1st Response to a Muslim
Validity of Scripture: 2nd Response Presents The Bible as Superior to the Qur’an
The Historic Alliance of Christianity and Science
DNA and the Flood: The Biblical Account is Written in Our Genetic Code
Jihad.com: Islamofascists Are Recruiting Via the Internet
A Brief History of Islam
Submission: The Movie That Led a Muslim to Assassinate Theo Van Gogh
Honoring America’s Fallen Warriors
Profile of A Reluctant Hero: Why Christians Should Defend Themselves
The Enlightenment of Atheism

I have entered into a publishing contract with Strang Communications.

The previous publisher’s model is what is called “Print On Demand.” They underwrote all costs for The Y Factor, but did not promote it with any marketing effort and limited their business to Internet sales. This type of publishing works best for authors who have the ability to self-promote, which requires a significant time investment. The most recent success story with this type of publishing is The Shack. In my case, I could not devote the necessary marketing time for a variety of reasons.

In contrast, Strang is a traditional publisher. They will print many copies and distribute the book nationally. More importantly, they will begin promoting it for the summer reading season.

Strang’s fiction division has an upper limit on the number of pages in their books, which means I will need to trim about 15,000 words from the current 135,000. This provides an opportunity that I have been wanting to explore. Much of the feedback I’ve received is that the technical and scientific segments of The Y Factor could be compressed. A comment I’ve often heard is that readers struggled through the first 75 pages, and then became interested in the book’s action. Marketing experts agree that you have to capture a reader’s attention by this time or many of them will never finish.

In this regard, Strang is underwriting the cost of a line editor who is providing expert direction. Ironically, we have trimmed most of the section that was the impetus for writing the novel in the first place.

Here’s why: I never imagined that I would write more than one book, so I tended to contrive scenes in The Y Factor in which I used my characters as mouthpieces for my worldview – sort of a Liam Roberts’ Manifesto. For the book to appeal to the mass market, it needed to be less heavy-handed.

I also have introduced a new character and written another out. Dr. Austin, the college professor who argued against the myth of macroevolution, is gone. This is an admittedly difficult topic to distill down to a few pages tucked into an adventure novel. Besides, there are more eloquent authors who posses the appropriate credentials to argue the topic more effectively. To bridge the gaps introduced by the re-write, I have introduced Hamdi Tantawi, an Egyptian Muslim who receives his BS in biology and goes to work for The National Geographic Society’s Genographic project. This is ultimately the reason for Alana and Eric to join the staff upon their graduation. Hamdi is a good friend to my protagonists and provides balance in my first book, which otherwise might be seen as Muslim-bashing.

But wait – there’s more! Months ago, I submitted my partially-completed manuscript for the sequel: The X Syndrome to Strang Communications. I also included provided synopses for two additional sequels The Genesis Paradox and Dawn of the Prophet.

The end result is the contract with Strang is actually for two-books. They would like the final manuscript for The X Syndrome submitted by August and will publish it by year-end.

Strang has also suggested a series title: The DNA Conspiracies. I liked the concept, but have suggested instead.

Here’s the tentative cover design. I’ll change the format of the blog to match the cover once the final design is approved.

In Him,
Liam Roberts