Posted on 11/29/2001 10:30:57 AM PST by EclipseVI
Myself included, there are over one billion humans on earth who call God by his Arabic name, Allah. Out of that billion, over seven million of us call America our home. Many of us are born as Americans, study in American institutions and go on to work and pay American dollars to our tax system. Like everyone else, we eventually find our better half, have chubby babies, go to zoos, get season tickets to the Chicago Bulls, go on our childrens' field trips and fix the leak in our roofs. With all the growing pains in the life that we lead as normal Americans, everyday we turn our face to Mecca to pray to what our Christian brothers call God, our Jewish sisters call Yahweh and whom we call Allah.
Islam, Christianity and Judaism have exactly the same origin. We each believe in the monotheistic deity of Abraham, who was the father of all three of these noble religions. Islam's moral and ethical standards are equivalent, if not more stringent, than those of modern day Christianity and Judaism. We, as Muslims, believe in every prophet of both Judaism and Christianity. We believe the world began with Adam and Eve and great prophets, namely Moses, Aaron, Jacob, Joseph and Jesus (peace be upon all of them) were all divinely inspired by God.
We revere Jesus as a great prophet and the messiah of God. He is mentioned by name in the Quran 33 times. We equally revere the Virgin Mary as the mother of the Messiah. She is the only woman mentioned by name in the Quran and she is mentioned 34 times. Anyone who says Muslims don't respect women, read the entire chapter dedicated to Mary (peace be upon her). How many times was our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) mentioned by name in the Quran? Five.
In Islam, a woman receives a monetary dowry from her husband, of which he has no legal claim. A woman is not obligated to change her maiden name. CNN happily broadcasts women being oppressed by the Taliban regime. Islam abhors the oppression of women. The Taliban says women are not allowed to work, yet the Prophet Muhammad's wife, Khadijah, was one of the most successful merchants in all of Arabia. Should we base our belief on a bunch of tribal warlords or the teachings of our Prophet?
In Islam, both men and women have to dress modestly. One aspect of this modest dress for women is the hijab (head covering). This is a religious mandate, but whether a woman decides to wear it or not, is an issue between her and Allah, because as the Quran categorically states, "there is no compulsion in religion." The hijab symbolizes empowerment, not oppression of women. It allows women to be judged on the content of their character, rather than the physical features that we men today objectify onto them. When we see a nun covered from head to toe in her habit, we commend her on her devotion to God. But when we see a Muslim woman wearing hijab, she is oppressed. In how many likenesses of the Virgin Mary, sculptures or paintings, is her hair not covered? Not one. Was she oppressed? Hardly.
Muslim American is not a paradox. As Muslim Americans we currently live in a diaspora having to deal with an attack on our, yes, our, country. We also have a dual anxiety because our way of life, which is not far different from our Christian and Jewish counterparts, is under attack.
I am a law student. I study international human rights. I have been to U2, Sarah Maclachlan, Dido and Outkast concerts. I have been a ball boy for the Chicago Bulls. I have owned a Ford Mustang. I pray for peace and have read Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech ninety-six times. I may be a dreamer, but I promise you, I am not the only one.
I am a Muslim and I am an American. I am proud of both and will compromise neither.
I believe that the Quran is wrong on this point. We don't say that God is one of the three. God is each of the three, and each of the three is God. God is one, and that one is manifested in three ways. God the father, God the son, and God the holy spirit. Perhaps if this were better understood in the 700s, we'd get along better.
To be fair, it took Christians a while to really understand this too.
Plenty are against us, but lets not alienate the one who are for us.
You haven't seen the shish-kebab joint down the street from me. It's covered with so many flags and so much RWB bunting I can barely read the kebab sign anymore ... The owners are from Afghanistan.
AB
im also a christian... (from your FR profile)
Matthew 5:44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you
You don't have to love the religion, just the people.
I went to the web site you had linked on your profile - not really a "Christian" type of band - are you sure you're a Christian? I'm not trying to be offensive, but if I end up offending I can live with that. The Bible tells us "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith." (1 Corinthians 13:5) If you need help figuring out if you are or not, try here to get started.
If you're still not sure, feel free to send reply (or send a private reply, if you prefer) if you have questions. If you determine that you definitely are a Christian, then do this:
... whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. - Philippians 4:8
(That music you like doesn't fit this description)
And love your enemies.
P.S. - I'm assuming at 19 you are out of high school - that doesn't mean you can forget all of the things your English teachers taught you.
They have never (and never will) comprehend how the entire rest of the world cannot see the wisdom and glory of their Divine Purpose, yet they sleep soundly at night, secure in the knowledge that they and they alone know the one true interpretation of the Word of God...
Zealots always do.
I meant to be vague on that point.
What diaspora?
For Jews, diaspora is all lands other than Israel. The term arose from the Biblical description of G-d granting them that land. This use of the word "diaspora" is religious, with well-identifiable foundations.
Armenians, who are also one of the most scattered peoples, use this term to designate inhabitants of lands other than Armenia proper. This use of the word "diaspora" is nationalistic, with well-identifiable national boundaries.
Christians and Buddhists do not have a diaspora because none of their holy books speak of any designated land. So, what is the Islamic diaspora?
All religions have places holy to them. Thus, Muslims have Mecca and Madina. But which land exactly is "Muslim land?" Are Turks in the diaspora too? What about Albanians?
That is where your problem lies. You have heard this all your life that being an American is "being abroad," being "torn away" somehow. You are not more abroad than a Swedish or Italian American --- unless you choose to view yourself as foreigner in America.
What kind of conflicting feelings arise when YOUR country is attacked? What other feelings besides “I am going to get those bastards!” could you possibly have? Why do you think of them as Muslims rather that “bloody bastards?”
I can tell you why: because you have been indoctrinated to accept the double standard, namely, a Muslim has lesser moral obligations to a non-Muslim than to his fellow co-religionist. You know it perfectly well: to take virginity from a non-Muslim woman is not much of a sin (“she is a whore anyway” --- you have heard this many times). To take a life of an infidel is not as big of a crime as to kill another Muslim, etc. As part of this double standard, you feel conflicted to side with a non-Muslim against a Muslim.
And this is the source of anguish for many Muslim Americans. You feel that the rest of the Americans accuse you unfairly; you sometimes you don’t even understand what they want. And these misunderstood criticism you view as anti-Islam prejudice. Indeed, what else?
Here is what else: in the modern Western World, we side with what is right against what is wrong, regardless of the identity of the actors. This is what we mean by saying that we are a nation of “laws not men.” You should know as an American. Even more so as a law student.
To determine whether a deed is right or wrong, we us the Judeo-Christian system of values, which I believe you generally accept as well. Once this is decided, it does not matter whether the person who perpetrated the deed is Christian or not. Thus, a Christian will have no problem siding with a Muslim or a Jew against another Christian who committed a wrong. Similarly, your non-Muslim neighbors expect you to be appalled by and angry with the September attackers. But you cannot be: you cannot side with a Christian against a Muslim. You have been told so since childhood.
But this is precisely what makes your neighbors angry with you because they would have never done so. Had a Christian or a Jew viciously attacked a mosque, your Christian and Jewish neighbors would have no problem whatsoever coming to your defense: the attacker was wrong and his religion is irrelevant. Think about that.
If you need, you will find many examples in the lives of ordinary Americans. As a nation, too, we came to the defense of Muslim Kosovars against Christians. The Russians opposed us at the time: like Arabs, they are taught from childhood to defend another Slav. This mentality will explain to you why the Muslim world is not shocked by a slaughter of 20,000 people by Asad in Syria; Saddam Hussein’s killing of thousands of Kurds by nerve gas; or, murder of schoolchildren in Algeria by the fundamentalists. For as long as the killing is between Muslims it is a question of politics, whereas a killing of a Muslim by an infidel is a moral issue and causes outrage.
With the exception of a few ignorami, Americans have no anti-Islamic feelings. But they were shocked to find their Mohammedan fellow Americans to be "conflicted" about the attacks. Indeed, it is hard to find a clearer wrong then the atrocity of September 11, yet you do not side against it. Observe that even in this post, having quite some time to reflect on the issue, you complain about the treatment you receive from non-Muslim Americans, yet say nothing about the Muslim attackers.
I am afraid you are no longer conflicted. Whereas a conflicted person is searching for the truth, you found it. It lies with the Muslims, regardless of what they have done, currently do, or may do in the future.
In this great country, you a free to think what you want. But the rest of us are also free to view your position as anti-American.
===============
P.S. In case I am wrong and your mind is not entirely closed, I'll add a few words. Every single immigrant and the child of immigrants has gone through the feelings you now have: how much loyalty do I ow to my Irish (Italian, Jewish, Colombian, Jamaican) heritage, and how much of the English traditions should I adopt. In most cases, the immigrants came from less tolerant countries and cultures, from less democratic cultures, from less open cultures.
For centuries, the greatest gift that America gave to those who arrive to her shores has been this: a chance to understand fully that some things absorbed with mother's milk are wrong; that you do not want to pass them to your children. It is in this way that we udnerstand and discard the prejudices with which we grew up in the "old country." As a result of this reflection, you remain a Catholic, Jew or Muslim; you remain Italian or Vietnamese in customs and the second language; but you become an American. And all the feelings of conflict go away.
I wish you success on that yourney.
Leaving aside the falseness of your statements, leaving aside your misrepresentation of Christianity, leaving aside the self-refuting nature of your position —
No, he's not.
And you don't pray to the same God.
Moslems do "do" honesty, don't they?
Notice he is still making apologies, still trying to spread the lie that the Mecca deity of the Arabs has something to do with YHWH, God of Jews and Christians.
Every word of this reeks with insincerity and the demonic and Satanic breath of the Mecca cult.
Not at all. It was a directive from God to destroy every man, woman and child of the children of Amalek, and their houses, grain, cattle, etc. There was to be nothing left; complete and utter devastation.
Saul disobeyed the Lord, speaking through the prophet Samuel, because he allowed the Amalekite king to live, and kept some of the choice cattle (the destruction of everything and everyone else went off without a hitch, though).
And your exegesis of Matthew is only one that I've seen. It has been used in the past, most particularly by the Crusaders, to justify killing unbelievers.
That's the point I'm trying to make: One can use religion to justify anything (and many have throughout history). Those who use religion, be it Islam, Christianity, Hinduism (which has its own war-mongering fanatics these days), or what-have-you, is evil, not matter how pious they may try to appear.
I'm curious why you point out that Islam's theology doesn't hold that God is three persons with one divine nature? Are you saying that Islamic theology proves that Moslems don't worship the same God as Christians and that they are therefore destined for eternal damnation? If so, do the Jews, who also deny trinitarian theology, worship a different God from Christians, and are they therefore also destined for eternal damnation like the Moslems?
Respectfully,
It's funny.
At a time when liberal Christians are disowning Jesus (look at some of the Unitarians), some Muslims are waving him around like their "messiah" (he was only a minor prophet to Islam), and the Mormon church is increasing his importance to them.
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