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DevilC
Location: Washington, District of Corruption Gender: Male Total Likes: 202 likes
I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their views.
| | | | So much for the "peaceful" religion of Islam. < on 9/15/2006 3:44 PM >
| | | Add "slam is a religion of peace" to the list of inaccuracies uttered by Mr Bush. First the muhammed cartoons. . . . now this. This constant uproar and civil unrest proves the pontiff's talking points to be true. "Muslim fury grows at Pope's speech" The furore over comments made by Pope Benedict about the Islamic concept of Holy War continues to grow. Today British Muslims joined in, fiercely criticising his remarks. The pontiff was accused of falling into "the trap of bigots and racists" with the comments he made on a visit to Germany. Last night Vatican officials were scrambling to defend the comments, saying the Pope had never intended to offend Muslims. During a speech, he quoted a 14th century Byzantine emperor who said the prophet Mohammed had brought "things only evil and inhuman". But Britain's Ramadhan Foundation, a youth organisation based in Rochdale, reacted angrily to the comments, comparing the Pope unfavourably to his predecessor John Paul II. In a statement it said: "If the Pope wanted to attack Islam and Prophet Muhammad teachings he could have been brave enough to say it personally without quoting a 14th century Byzantine Christian emperor. "The late Pope John Paul II spent over 25 years to build bridges and links with the Muslim community. He showed the world that its perception of Islam was false and that we are peace-loving people. "The Ramadhan Foundation is disappointed that the current Pope has not followed the example of his predecessor; it is essential in today's world that we link together and encourage a wider understanding of our different faiths, celebrating our religious differences is essential in a ever expanding world." Muhammad Umar, chairman of the foundation, said: "This attack on Islam and Prophet Muhammad by Pope Benedict is recognition that he has fallen into the trap of the bigots and racists when it comes to judging Islam on the actions of a small number of extreme elements." The Pope's speech quoted from a book recounting a conversation between 14th century Byzantine Christian Emperor Manuel Paleologos II and an educated Persian on the truths of Christianity and Islam. "The emperor comes to speak about the issue of jihad, holy war," the Pope said. "He said, I quote, 'Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached'." Benedict described the phrases on Islam as "brusque", while neither explicitly agreeing with nor repudiating them. Pakistan's parliament condemned the "derogatory" remarks today and demanded an apology. The country's foreign ministry said they were "regrettable" and claimed they would encourage violence. Vatican spokesman the Rev Federico Lombardi issued a statement defending the speech after Pope Benedict returned to Rome. "It certainly wasn't the intention of the Pope to carry out a deep examination of jihad (holy war) and on Muslim thought on it, much less to offend the sensibility of Muslim believers," he said. He insisted that the pontiff wanted to "cultivate an attitude of respect and dialogue toward the other religions and cultures, obviously also toward Islam". But Turkey's top Islamic cleric Ali Bardakoglu asked Benedict to apologise and made a string of accusations against Christianity, raising tensions ahead of a planned papal visit to the country in November. He said he was deeply offended by the remarks and called them "extraordinarily worrying, saddening and unfortunate". The 57-nation Organisation of the Islamic Conference, based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, said it regretted "the Pope's quote and for the other falsifications". Militant Islamic websites also attacked the Pope. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Find this story at http://www.dailyma...38&in_page_id=1811©2006 Associated New Media
| Science flies you to the Moon. Religion flies you into tall buildings. |
| Asher Archive Pikachu
Gender: Female Total Likes: 0 likes
| | | | Re: So much for the "peaceful" religion of Islam. < Reply # 12 on 11/8/2006 7:55 PM >
| | | Posted by journeylady I could say here that that's a metaphorical sword, or that Jesus came to bring a sword to the earth but love to his people. But instead I'm just going to say that above all Jesus preached love.
| One could say that it is metaphorical, but if that were to mean anything they'd have to examine the metaphor in terms of the culture. Metaphors, after all, go far beyond simple literary devices. Our plain ol' conceptual systems are metaphorical in nature, and concepts play a large role in what and how we perceive and act. What I'm getting at is that they can be rather distinctive to a culture. That said, you could argue the same for any other faith or any other violence in any text. Saying that it could be metaphorical doesn't answer what it is a metaphor for, it doesn't justify the notion that Christianity is peaceful, or more peaceful, than any other religion. It isn't. People are willing to admit to the large atrocities -- the Crusades or various Inquisitions -- but forget about the countless individuals like Anne Askew who suffered horrible and unjust fates at the hands of Christians in the name of their religion. Or how about something modern: Rwanda, look it up, its just as fucking horrible. Maybe every reference to anything violent in the Bible and every other Holy book is metaphorical. Or maybe, as most scholars believe, it's loosely based on historical events. There are many great passages that refute the notions in the ones that you've posted, you can find them on Google, if you're interested. This whole "my God is better than your God" stuff is really very painfully outdated, and the bigotry that is accepted because of these religious conflicts makes me ill.
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| Asher Archive Pikachu
Gender: Female Total Likes: 0 likes
| | | | Re: So much for the "peaceful" religion of Islam. < Reply # 14 on 11/8/2006 8:20 PM >
| | | Posted by journeylady If you look back at what I was originally posting you'd see I'm not saying that Christians haven't done the things you've said. big or little. Us sinful Christians have done some horrible things. I know it and I'm ashamed of it. I wouldn't say we've done any better or worse than any other category of people out there.
| I realize that you did not say that Christian's have not committed countless acts of violence, what I am addressing is the broader notions in this thread. Saying that "Islam" isn't a peaceful religion implies that that others are, and they're not. However, the otherness of Islams in a Christian nation allows people to stereotype, make sweeping generalizations, and ignore facts. This is not new, by any means, but it is certainly unacceptable. aside: Thanks for telling me I can find passages on Google but I'm sure I can use one of my Bibles or my concordance, or my catechism or my bible study guides.
| Perhaps you've misread what I said: I was suggesting that if you had any inclination to view that particular religious text from a different, perhaps non-Christian, perspective, then you may wish to search for some new material. Google can help you find some great links to sites that address these issues. Unless, of course, your Bibles and such are going to list the contradictions for you, and more importantly, not give you only the Christian interpretation of these.
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| journeylady
Location: Kitchener Gender: Female Total Likes: 0 likes
| | | Re: So much for the "peaceful" religion of Islam. < Reply # 15 on 11/8/2006 8:32 PM >
| | | Posted by Asher Archive I realize that you did not say that Christian's have not committed countless acts of violence, what I am addressing is the broader notions in this thread. Saying that "Islam" isn't a peaceful religion implies that that others are, and they're not. However, the otherness of Islams in a Christian nation allows people to stereotype, make sweeping generalizations, and ignore facts. This is not new, by any means, but it is certainly unacceptable.
| Ah yes well with that I have to agree with you. I don't think that Islam as a religion is any more violent than Christianity or any other. Perhaps you've misread what I said: I was suggesting that if you had any inclination to view that particular religious text from a different, perhaps non-Christian, perspective, then you may wish to search for some new material. Google can help you find some great links to sites that address these issues. Unless, of course, your Bibles and such are going to list the contradictions for you, and more importantly, not give you only the Christian interpretation of these.
| And yes I did misread that. Sorry. I don't know why I'd want to look at my bible as something other than Christian. It seems to me that looking at it as 'loosely based on historical events' or from another perspective other than Christian for me would be similar to you looking at a science textbook as an interesting fiction story that has bases in real science. or perhaps that's a bad analogy. Either way, I do appreciate the suggestion.
| It's a tragedy. It's exactly like a greek tragedy. We should only be Greeks. |
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