I find it apalling that Christians, goodly people, have taken a womans gift to children and turned it into something grossly different than what it is. Harry Potter is no more an introduction to the occult than J.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings or L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. I haven't heard a single Christian speak out against Gandalf the White Wizard or Glinda the Good Witch that are both highlighted in the two literary masterpieces.
Did it not occur to you that the rate of child illeteracy dropped when Harry Potter became popular? Does it not matter that children have taken an interest in reading and learning moral behavior, noble acts and bravery from the Harry Potter series? No, all that matters to you is that your faith believes it to be wrong. The nonsense about the church thinking it's wrong shouldn't even be brought up because the church has been wrong in the past! It's stance during the holocaust is indeed a good example.
I would be astonished if anyone that speaks out against Harry Potter has actually taken the time to read the books. It is not above the Christian right to judge before gaining knowledge, that's been proven a thousand times. Logic and reason seem to apply very little to the zealots of the world.
If you would take the time to read and understand the message within the books you might realize that it doesn't center on the fact that Harry, or any other character, has magical abilities. It centers around choices, deciding whether to fight for good or evil. I believe that's the same decision we make on a daily basis and the fact that we don't posses wands doesn't impede our decisions, nor does it make Harry's any easier. "With great power come's great responsibility," I believe Spiderman taught us all that and it stands true in these books. The book presents tolerance (Something very few Christians seem to understand) so if you'd like to attack it on those grounds, it'd be more justified than attacking it on a misjudged belief that it's an introduction to the occult.
It is not for you to judge my friends. I admire J.K. Rowling and take great pride in the fact that I'm a Harry Potter fan. If you judge her, keep in mind the good that she's done for the world through her writing.