Posted on 04/05/2005 9:15:51 AM PDT by nuconvert
CONDOLENCES
April 02, 2005
ÈÓã Çááå ÇáÑÍãä ÇáÑÍíã
ßá ãä ÚáíåÇ ÝÇä æíÈÞì æÌå ÑÈß Ðæ ÇáÌáÇá æÇáÇßÑÇã . ÕÏÞ Çááå ÇáÚÙíã
With these words of the holy Koran; our holy book, we say farewell on this earth to the great man John Paul II, the Pope of the Catholic church, who has just passed away. Our sincere condolences to all the Catholic people in the world and to all humanity in general.
This Pope was quite an exceptional man, a true lover of humanity; a man who had the courage of conviction and great character to put aside all scruples of quite a strict faith historically and visit mosque and synagogue and extend his hand of peace to all men regardless of race and religion. He was an activist who did not hesitate to speak out on political and social issues of relevance and urgency in his time. His voice was always heard and presence felt everywhere in the world. We the Iraqis have a special sadness and regret on this solemn occasion: that the express wish of his holiness to visit the birth place of the prophet Abraham here in the land of Mesopotamia; the greatest of all pilgrimages was not to be realized. Yet for believers, as you all know; death is not the end, but rather the beginning of eternal life in the hereafter.
On this occasion, I recall some of the verses of one our greatest Iraqi poets, Al Jawahiri, and don’t ask me to translate, hoping that one of our friends might volunteer a respectable translation:
áÛÒ ÇáÍíÇÉ æÍíÑÉ ÇáÇáÈÇÈ Ãä íÓÊÍíá ÇáÝßÑ ãÍÖ ÊÑÇÈ ......................................................................... ÃäÇ ÇÈÛÖ ÇáãæÊ ÇááÆíã æØíÝå ÈÛÖí ØíæÝ ãÎÇÊá äÕÇÈ íåÈ ÇáÑÏì ÔíÎæÎÊí æíÞíÊåÇ ÈßåæáÊí æíÞíÊåÇ ÈÔÈÇÈí ÐÆÈ ÊÑÈÕäí æÝæÞ äíæÈå Ïã ÇÎæÊí æÃÞÇÑÈí æÕÍÇÈí
Inspired by the courage of the late Pope who did not hesitate to walk into our mosque, we should not hesitate as Moslems to pray for the peace of his soul. And as our prophet Mohammed (Õ ) said on the occasion of the death of his son : “Although we are fully resigned to the will of God, yet still the heart grieves and the eye moistens for your departure”
Salaam
# posted by Alaa : 1:10 PM
That's very nice of them.
Classy. Only a great and tolerant evangelist could elicit such respect from other faiths.
"The Mesopotamian" is the name of a Blog written by a resident of Baghdad. For those who haven't had the chance to read it, may I suggest you do so. It is remarkable for a variety of reasons.
Mohammed: Now excuse me while I tighten these uh, straps. Seeya suckas.
If I could point to a problem, it would be the Church's stand - or lack thereof - on this latest incarnation of Islam's millenium-long war against the world. Praying for peace in the face of al Qaeda mass-murder and inviting Saddam's no. 2 henchman on a private tour of the vatican send the wrong message to both the enemies of peace and those shedding blood and treasure to ensure it.
My suspicion: John Paul II was initially focused on the great enemy of his time, the Soviet Union, and then spent the remainder of his Papacy confronting the enemy he could see outside the window: spiritual collapse in the West.
The renewed war of civilizations is the task of a new Pope, and I think that is why so many are pushing for the Nigerian cardinal - he knows the enemy firsthand.
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