By Ron Hale Mark A. Gabriel became a marked man after converting to Christianity from Islam. His harrowing escape from Egypt still haunts him! Memorizing the Quran by age 12, earning a PhD at the famous Al-Azhar University in Cairo and teaching there, and serving as the imam of a mosque, provides Gabriel a unique perspective in teaching Westerners about Islam. His most famous (or infamous) professor was the blind sheikh, Omar Abdel Rahman. He became the mastermind of the first bomb attack of the World Trade Center in 1993, and sat in a U.S. high-security prison until his recent death on Feb. 18, 2017. Gabriel started questioning his faith while a professor at Al-Azhar University. Islam’s violent side in the Quran and in Islamic history lay heavy on his heart.  After a few questioning statements, he was arrested and tortured by the Egyptian secret police. He eventually fled his country and found it necessary to change his name after being stabbed, shot at, and repeated death threats on his life. However, he does not see Muslims as his enemy. Muslims are the very ones who suffer the most from Islamic radicals or jihadists according to Gabriel. In reading his revised and updated edition of ‘Islam and Terrorism’ … [Read more...]