Posted on 04/09/2006 10:35:25 PM PDT by Aussie Dasher
VIENNA, Austria -- European imams have pledged to work harder to prove that Islam is compatible with democracy and that the majority of Muslims living in the West support human rights, free speech and pluralism.
More than 130 prayer leaders from across the continent, in a meeting sponsored by Austria as the current president of the European Union, agreed that Islamic theologians in Europe must do more to establish that their faith does not clash with Western values.
The declaration published yesterday amounted to a catalog of homegrown moderate views that Western politicians have been urging Muslim leaders to draw up as a bulwark against radical Islamic ideologies from the Middle East.
But an attack on an Islamic cemetery being built in Vienna reminded them of the hostility that Muslims meet throughout Europe.
"Muslims in Europe are making history," said Mouddar Khouja, a senior official of the Islamic Community in Austria, which organized the two-day meeting at which several speakers urged "new thinking" to develop a theological basis for Islam in Europe.
He said European imams were issuing fatwas, or religious edicts, dealing with modern challenges, such as condemning terrorism, instead of leaving the field open to radical Middle Eastern preachers who glorify violence on the Internet.
"We have shown how to protect ourselves from fatwas from other countries," he said. "We have fatwas from imams living in Europe, and they speak for themselves."
Imams, who lead Friday prayers in mosques, play an important role in Islam because the faithful often ask their advice on what the religion allows or forbids Muslims to do.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
European imams have pledged to work harder to prove that Islam is compatible with democracy and that the majority of Muslims living in the West support human rights, free speech and pluralism.
"European imams have pledged to work harder to prove that Islam is compatible with democracy and that the majority of Muslims living in the West support human rights, free speech and pluralism."
Whatever. Introduce these "Imams" to the "less moderate" legions over in the mid east, and they will promote a culture of wife-beating, child molesting, oppression of free speech and persecution of Christians.
Muslims continue to prove how untrustworthy they are by pandering to their daily audiences. I don't buy into their lies, nor do I expect anyone with common sense to do so.
I smell smoke.
And where there's smoke...
Boy, they are working hard, aren't they? Islam is NOT compatible with democracy, but they are working overtime to prove it is.
I promise to try harder in preaching that 1+1=3
"European imams have pledged to work harder to prove that Islam is compatible with democracy and that the majority of Muslims living in the West support human rights, free speech and pluralism".
not buying this crap ping
Doesn't pass the smell test, IMO.
I keep seeing threads asking where are those Muslims who condemn terrorism, well here they are.
I haven't heard of a loud condemnation of the riots over the Danish cartoons yet...
Those riots were mainly in Middle Eastern countries.
The protests in Europe that turned violent were condemned by local Muslim leaders, and those youth in London who had placards calling for further terror attacks were condemned by local and national Muslim leaders in Britain
Exactly,
And I just read a LONG article in an ME newspaper that literally sounded like it came from here. Not only was it moderate, but it was pro-democracy and freedom.
I almost posted it here, but then I thought "why bother".
Did your ME newspaper also have a nice story about it being OK for a priest to say Mass in Saudi Arabia? Or, that the reports of beheaded Christian school children in Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, etc., were not true? Or that the Syrians were leaving Lebanon, which was set up to be a Christian country?
Wake up before you're dead.
Please don't be condesending. I read ME articles everyday...I'm immersed in everything from the music, to the people to the art.
I've yet to have anyone be rude to me 'there'. hmmmm....;)
And you just punctuated my 'why bother' point.
Sniff, sniff... Yep, it stinks, just as I thought.
It won't matter how much they try to teach. The West is reality based and doesn't have a lot of time for dreams and fables.
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