Remembering
James Robison

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The Brew: ‘Moderate’ Muslims in Egypt Close Oldest Monastery on Earth

By John Zmirak Published on May 30, 2025

When people show you who they are, believe them. Don’t necessarily trust what they say, and certainly don’t rely on what other people say about them — especially people with selfish or ideological agendas.

Starting on September 12, 2001, President George W. Bush put in motion the mantra “Islam is a religion of peace,” albeit one “distorted” by a few oddball extremists — which include most of its current religious leaders and virtually all of its historical practice and doctrinal statements. But the Bush family did a lot of oil business with the Saudis and were committed to the neoconservative dogma “Invade the world, invite the world.”

So a “religion of peace” it was, the facts be danged. Muslim immigration to the U.S. surged after 9/11, and the Bush administration quickly purged our military and security services of experts who told the truth about Islamic doctrine and history, such as The Stream’s Tim Furnish.

Egypt’s current government is far from a radical Islamic regime. In fact, it’s comparatively moderate, holding back the most fervent jihadis of the Muslim Brotherhood. The U.S. considers Egypt’s government to be “friendly,” and slathers the place in foreign aid ($1.3 billion so far in 2025). So how does a “moderate,” “friendly” Muslim government treat helpless Christians whose ancestors settled the place millennia before the Arabs conquered it?

The Greek City Times gives us the answer:

Egypt is closing St. Catherine’s Monastery, confiscating its property, and evicting its monks.

According to orthodoxia.info, the oldest functioning Christian monastery in the world, St. Catherine’s Monastery in Sinai, along with all its properties in Egypt, is being transferred to the Egyptian state.

Nearly fifteen centuries after its founding by Byzantine Emperor Justinian, and having survived remarkable historical challenges, the world-renowned and respected St. Catherine’s Monastery is on the verge of being converted into a museum.

Despite promises made by Egyptian President Sisi to Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis, Egypt is confiscating the monastery’s property and effectively evicting the monks, with the aim of transforming the now-vacant buildings into a tourist attraction akin to the Pyramids.

Next week I’ll be touring Istanbul (once Constantinople) on a tour with Eric Metaxas, and visiting Hagia Sophia, which for 1,000 years was the largest Christian church on earth. It was turned into a mosque, then a museum, and then a mosque again. I’ll be praying for the monks of St. Catherine’s there.

Meanwhile, in Great Britain, which is still officially a Christian state, the tsunami of Muslim immigrants has driven the governments to impose new restrictions on native-born Britons whose actions might offend the newcomers. Citizens who criticize immigration policy now find themselves imprisoned, and helpful souls have taken to posting new rules for Britons to follow so they can assimilate to the immigrants’ mores:

But hey, Queers for Palestine, don’t let any of these insights trouble you. The jihadis you’ve allied with will absolutely not throw you off tall buildings (the form of conversion therapy most popular in the Arab world). After all, they practice a Religion of Peace.™

Heretics in Germany Mock the Resurrection

You don’t have to be a Muslim to persecute the Church, though. For the past 20 years, the Catholic bishops of Germany have been doing more to destroy their own church than any migrant ever could. Witness this outrageous, openly blasphemous “performance art” the local church sponsored in a historic Christian cathedral:

The bishops in Germany also promote a long list of heretical “reforms” to Catholic morality and practice, putting them in de facto schism from the church of their ancestors. I won’t be holding my breath that Pope Leo XIV will take action about these bishops, many of whom voted for his election to the papacy.

But a really solid pontiff would know what to do: Suppress their hierarchy, strip them of votes for choosing the next pope, declare Germany a mission territory, and put it under the authority of the faithful bishops of Cameroon — a former German colony. In fact, it would do the remaining Catholics in Western Europe a world of good if the Vatican tried that in their countries. Let the church in France be run by missionaries from Ivory Coast, in Britain by Nigerians, in Belgium by Congolese, and so on. It would be a lesson not just in fidelity but in humility.

To be fair, after public backlash, the people running the cathedral desecrated by the chicken dance did offer an apology:

Christian Democrat German Chancellor Chooses Minister for “Queers”

Want to know what the GOP would be doing without the influence of President Donald Trump? Look at what “conservative” parties like Germany’s Christian Democrats are doing elsewhere. The reliable European Conservative reports:

Germany’s new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has once again disappointed conservative voters — this time by appointing a radical-left activist from the SPD as the government’s new “Queer Commissioner” in a move critics are calling a gift to the woke wing of German politics.

Sophie Koch, 31, replaces Green politician Sven Lehmann in the post, but instead of downsizing the role or scrapping it altogether, Merz has expanded it — creating a new, additional post within his government. The CDU leader who once vowed to bring order to immigration policy and push back against progressive excess has instead handed more power to someone known for insulting his own party and promoting extremist slogans.

From Berlin to the Beltway, human nature is the same. If you want peace, quiet, and for the posh people to like you, it means being willing to sell your soul for pennies on the dollar.

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Pentagon Frame-Up Job Aims to Replace Trump Loyalists with Neocons

We’ve been covering the infighting inside the national security apparatus between hawkish interventionists and America First realists. As I predicted, the Signalgate scandal did indeed turn out to be the fault of former National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, though it was weaponized to try to remove innocent Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard from their posts because of their skepticism about a war with Iran. Now more is emerging about neoconservative militarists’ efforts to purge supporters of Trump’s more cautious approach to foreign intervention. Revolver News reports:

A leak investigation involving Pete Hegseth, top Trump defense aides, and a supposedly “top secret” document about reclaiming the Panama Canal has totally unraveled. The case began with firings, rumors of a traitor in the ranks, and even whispers of an illegal NSA wiretap on a Trump loyalist’s phone. That alone would be enough to trigger a massive scandal, right? But now, even that story appears to have been fake.

The real story is looking more and more like this entire “leak” probe was a political hit job, used to purge Trump loyalists from the Pentagon using shaky, sketchy evidence, personal rivalries, and shady, shadowy maneuvers. And the deeper you go, the worse this thing gets….

Key staff has been removed, so Hegseth is now navigating a Pentagon front office deliberately left in disarray and chaos. A junior aide has stepped up to fill the gap, but the White House refuses to make it official. It’s not chaos of Hegseth’s making. This is the Deep State playing games with national security and trying to sabotage from within.

The Ten Commandments Return to Texas

Earlier this week, the Texas legislature passed SB 10, SB 11, and SB 965 — three bills that require schools to post the Ten Commandments in classrooms and which protect the religious freedom of teachers and students. This brings state law in line with recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions concerning religious freedom in schools, including the landmark case Kennedy v. Bremerton School District. The legislation now goes to Governor Greg Abbott for his signature.

Matt Krause of First Liberty Institute praised the legislature. “Placing the Ten Commandments and national motto on schoolhouse walls is a great way to remind students of the foundations of American and Texas law,” he said. “And bringing state law in line with what the U.S. Supreme Court has said about prayer in schools should make it clear to administrators that student and teacher prayer is completely constitutional. First Liberty was grateful to support these important bills and looks forward to them being signed into law by Governor Abbott.”

Along The Stream…

Don’t miss this powerful testimony by former NFL star and Fatherless No More author Tim Johnson. He joins Life Today hosts James and Betty Robison to share how God filled the emptiness left by the absence of his earthly father — a theme near and dear to James himself.

Alex Chediak offers thoughtful reflections on how the COVID lockdowns and other cultural disasters helped shape (or deform) the work ethic of Gen Z Americans, and how the rest of us should respond.

 
John Zmirak is a senior editor at The Stream and author or coauthor of 14 books, including The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration and The Politically Incorrect Guide to Catholicism. His newest book is No Second Amendment, No First.