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Malaysia State 'Cancels' Xmas As Muslims Fast
IOL ^ | 11-18-2002

Posted on 11/18/2002 3:13:25 PM PST by blam

Malaysia state 'cancels' Xmas as Muslims fast

November 18 2002 at 12:42PM

Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia's southernmost state of Johor has ordered its shopping malls to remove all Christmas decorations to give priority to the Muslim celebration of Eid-ul-Fitr next month, a newspaper reported on Monday.

State tourism chairperson Chua Soi Lek slammed shopping mall proprietors for adopting "Western cultures" and said they were overly enthusiastic about Christmas promotions.

"The Johor government is disappointed with a group of shopping complex proprietors who are influenced by Western cultures and neglect the promotion of Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations," Chua told the Star newspaper.

He instructed all malls to remove Christmas banners and posters and start "enhancing the Eid-ul-Fitr mood", said the report.

Eid-ul-Fitr will be celebrated to herald the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which started on November 6.

Muslims make up 60 percent of Malaysia's population of 23 million people. - Sapa-DPA


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: cancels; fast; malaysia; muslims; xmas
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To: vrwc1
Sola Scriptura.
41 posted on 11/19/2002 11:50:34 AM PST by muawiyah
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To: vrwc1
Time to change their minds. On the other hand, the Palestinian suicide bomber corps is using folks this country would treat for depression (unless, of course, they were unlucky enough to live in Oregon.)
42 posted on 11/19/2002 11:51:39 AM PST by muawiyah
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To: muawiyah
Sola Scriptura.

Nice try, but you still haven't answered the question. :o) As you mentioned before, we seem to hold to different interpretations. So, I'm still waiting for an unequivocal answer!

43 posted on 11/19/2002 11:58:13 AM PST by vrwc1
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To: muawiyah
That's an entire population of minds that need to be changed. Unfortunately, the way the suicide bombers get that way is through the systemic indoctrination of hatred towards Jews that is endemic to Palestinian society, from the schools to the newspapers to the government. We can't change their minds, that must start from within themselves.
44 posted on 11/19/2002 12:01:15 PM PST by vrwc1
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To: muawiyah
using a Buddhist filter Christianity, Judaism and Islam are pretty much the same thing except with a different order of worship and a different selection of stories and verses.

You need a new Buddhist filter. Any Buddhist with half a brain would prefer to live in a Christian society than a Mohammedan society.

45 posted on 11/19/2002 12:16:52 PM PST by Aquinasfan
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To: blam
Makes sense to me. No better way to prepare for Ramadam than by Eid-il-Fart.
46 posted on 11/19/2002 12:39:33 PM PST by ZULU
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To: blam
Coming soon to Europe - when the Muslim fanatacists start demanding sharia governments in Belgium, France, UK and the Netherlands.

It would be interesting to do a study on what happens to countries with a greater than 25% Muslim population.

In nearly every case, I would bet, any country with a signficant minority Muslim population has been forced into sharia.

47 posted on 11/19/2002 12:43:32 PM PST by fogarty
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To: vrwc1
The Syrian Orthodox Church has its liturgy in Arabic like the Copts use Coptic, and the Catholics used to use Latin.
The Arabic word for God is "Allah".
48 posted on 11/19/2002 12:45:05 PM PST by ZULU
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To: ZULU
That may be true Zulu, but the Muslim god Allah is definitely not the Christian God Yaweh (Jehovah)...

Allah, the God of Islam...

The Kabah is the most sacred place in all of Islam. The Muslim believes the Kabah was first built by Abraham, and then became a place of extensive idolatry. During that time, Allah supposedly was forgotten, and Muhammed had to reveal him to a people ignorant of his name. If Allah's name was unknown to pagan Arabs until Muhammad revealed it, then we must explain why the name of Muhammad's father was "Abd-Allah". Then there was Muhammad's uncle. His name was "Obied-Allah". The truth is, Allah was one of the many religions pursued at the Kabah. "Amidst the profusion of idols in the West Arabian pantheon, one stands out as the chief god of the Meccans. The cult of the deity termed simply, the god (Allah < al-ilah) was known throughout southern Syria and northern Arabia, and was obviously of central importance in Mecca, where the building called the Ka'ba was indisputably his house." (F.E. Peters, Muhammad and the Origins of Islam, (State Univ. of N.Y. Press, 1994), p107).

The cult of Allah was a well developed religion in Muhammad's day. The Arabs believe that Allah had three daughters (goddesses). In pre-Islamic Arabia, Allah was the Moon god, and was married to the Sun goddess. Together, they had three daughters, Al-Lat, Al-Uzza, and Manat. In proof that there was knowledge of Allah and his daughters before Muhammad came along is this passage:

"Now ask them their opinion: Is it that thy Lord has (only) daughters, and they have sons? - Or that We created the angels female, and they are witnesses (thereto)?" Sura 37:149f

Muhammad argued that the Meccans were not to worship the three daughters of Allah, that they were only angels. But why would he argue such a thing if the Meccans did not know about Allah or his daughters?

These three daughters proved to be a source of salvation for Muhammad in a time of trouble. Great has been the dispute over the satanic verses of Sura 53. Muslim scholars have had to admit their presence from the evidence of Hadith, and then explain them away. The tradition tells us that on an occasion when Muhammad was under threat from his own tribe, be produced Sura 53. In that Sura, the three daughters of Allah are mentioned. Originally, it is claimed that Muhammad said, "These are high-flying cranes; verily their intercession is to be hoped for." Later, verses 21-23 were substituted. Muslim scholars tell us that Satan induced Muhammad to utter these verses. Whether it was Satan, or not; the modern Islamic scholar must admit that Allah was the "high god" of Mecca before Muhammad came along, and that Allah had three daughters being worshipped in that city! The modern Islamic scholar must also concede that Muhammad could be decieved by Satan, and then tell us how we know that the remainder of the Quran was not the work of demons.

49 posted on 11/19/2002 1:01:37 PM PST by vrwc1
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To: vrwc1
Well, I think they think they worship the same God we do, but regardless, I definitely KNOW their perspective of Him is grossly distorted.
50 posted on 11/19/2002 1:36:30 PM PST by ZULU
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To: ZULU
It is so "grossly distorted" that I don't see how you can possibly say it's the same God!
51 posted on 11/19/2002 2:00:24 PM PST by vrwc1
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To: muawiyah
Getting too hot in here? Or did you have business to attend to?

I'm still looking forward to your answer...

52 posted on 11/19/2002 4:20:37 PM PST by vrwc1
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To: vrwc1
"By faith alone" - I would gather we share the same standard. God is in charge of grace, of course. On the other hand, I really don't agree that God is unmindful of works. Not that you are going to go to Heaven as a result of works, but at the Final Judgment, which is the ONLY time the decision on your eternal existence is made, having performed evil works, or none at all, will certainly weigh against you.

Still, God is merciful, and He may do things that astonish or confound mere human beings.

It may be observed that Catholics (all kinds) and Hindus are of the belief that "saints" may be taken up into Heaven before the Day of Judgment. It remains for Protestants and Moslems to wait for that time. The questions regarding the applicability of the Final Judgment to the question of salvation may be a greater divide in the world's religious beliefs than any other. Fortunately, at the moment, none of us are killing any of us over that one.

53 posted on 11/19/2002 7:50:52 PM PST by muawiyah
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To: vrwc1
We can change their minds. I propose implementation of our own Bill of Rights in Palestine and Israel as a good start.

Be interesting to see what happens when the people have a right to be free to challenge the state.

54 posted on 11/19/2002 7:54:52 PM PST by muawiyah
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To: Aquinasfan
Whether any Buddhist would prefer any particular non-Buddhist-dominated society to another is not a real question.

The objective is to eliminate the world of desire - not to satisfy desires.

You knew that, right?!

Good grief, you folks are going to make me go back to sleep under that vine leaf and see if satori in real time is actually possible, or if it's just an eternity on the mandala, and I am trapped in an illusion.

55 posted on 11/19/2002 7:59:52 PM PST by muawiyah
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To: fogarty
Demands for Sharia have already started in countries that categorize being impolite as a crime. UK, France, the Low Countries, Canada - all of them have decided that speaking critically of Islam is actionable in court.

Didn't even take 25%!

56 posted on 11/19/2002 8:02:12 PM PST by muawiyah
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To: vrwc1
True enough all of God's prophets had to keep their eye on the ball lest they be misled by Satan. Whether Mohammad was a true prophet or not, I don't see why he should have been immune from the problem.

Now, let's consider the story of Jonah...... There are, of course, others.

Given the history of the way the written Koran was assembled long after Mohammad's death, we have only the word of the folks who put it together that the elements in it are correctly attributed.

One can imagine a "In Search of the True Koran" type of documentary, but, alas, such a topic would get you killed by the Islamists running around these days.

57 posted on 11/19/2002 8:08:49 PM PST by muawiyah
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To: muawiyah
Whether any Buddhist would prefer any particular non-Buddhist-dominated society to another is not a real question.

Personally, I think they're as interested in their personal security as much as the next guy. That's why I suspect that they'd prefer to live in a "Christian" country than in a Mohammedan country.

58 posted on 11/20/2002 3:15:39 AM PST by Aquinasfan
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