Re: A Call for Reassessment
- From: "Peo Sjoblom" <peo.sjoblom@xxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2008 07:43:49 -0700
This is an Excel forum/newsgroup not a nutcase religious discussion group.
--
Regards,
Peo Sjoblom
"BREEZEISGONE" <BREEZEISGONE@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:9B8417A4-0D56-45C1-A8F6-509F25944B96@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
First of all I would like to address your so called injustices against
Islam,
the Quaran
and the Prophet. When a 1st grade teacher in an Islamic country lets
CHILDREN elect a name for a teddy bear and they pick the name Muhamed (not
her) she is taken to the worst prison in country and sentenced to DEATH by
the SHARI'A courts.
Next, a silly cartoon gets the whole world of Islam in a state of frenzy.
Peole are
murdered, cars burned, ect............
Now your so called peacfull Jihad is nothing more than using the laws of
the west
to advance your cause of speading your (peacefull) religion/geopolitical
system inside of our countries. You see,Allah is not the God of Abraham,
Isac
and Jachob.
Nor is your Jesus the same Jesus as the Jesus that we worship. I happen to
know that your Qua'an along with the Hadith teaches that anyone who
believes
that Alla has a son is blaspheming unto death. That is, death at the hands
of
knukleheads like you. The closer you follow the Quaran, the more radical
you
MUST become!!!!
It also teaches forced conversion to Islam and conquest until the WHOLE
WORLD IS UNDER ISLAMIC RULE. Prove me wrong. If you can show me anywhere
in
you scriptures that will discredit what I say, then I will retract
everything
I have written.
I do not want to argue, I just will not sit back and listen lies any
longer. I am sick and tired of being polically correct. It's just an
excuse
to sit back and not face the truth so as not to offend anyone!!!! I say
enough!!!!!! If you think your lies are goig to fly in America, think
again
Buddy! I see you in our gas stations and you say " see ya buddy". But when
we
are not around you say "death to America and Isreal". Am I getting close?!
The truth will set you free. Our Jesus did die on a Cross. He did rise
from
death on the 3rd day. He did this the free all mankind from thier sin and
provide a way into the kingdom of God. You do not have to be a Martyr.
Forgive my spelling.
"af_1999@xxxxxxxxxxx" wrote:
A Call for Reassessment
A Letter Addressed to Intellectual and Opinion Leaders in the 'West'
From the Conference on
Glorification of the Sanctities of Islam
Held in Kuwait city, Kuwait, January 22-24, 2007
- Preamble
In the name of Allah, the Unique One, who is no God but He, and no one
deserves to be worshiped but He, the Lord of the prophets: Abraham,
Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad, the seal of all prophets, (Peace be upon
all of them).
This letter was drafted by a group of Muslim scholars and
intellectuals who recently gathered to discuss development in the
relationship with the 'West', and the best and most logical manner to
deal with the acceleration of infringements on the sanctities of Islam
and Muslims by individuals, and by governmental, religious, and media
organizations in the 'West'.
We, the signatories to this letter, address western thinkers,
intellectuals, and decision makers as well as the leaders of grass-
root movements and religious institutions. To all of them we state the
following regarding this current phenomenon:
When an entire nation faces repeated and accelerated aggressions
directed towards what is respected and holy to its people by groups
from other nations, reactions will emerge and questions will be raised
as to the rationale behind these transgressions, and the environment
which created the milieu for these continued attacks. Nonetheless, it
is for the benefit of all humanity that these transgressions and
attacks come to an end.
No other community on the face of the earth today suffers from
occupation, injustice and transgression from certain western forces
more than Muslim world. No other peoples or nations are currently
mocked, ridiculed, and hence suffered because of the western attacks
on their religion and their holy symbols as much as the Muslim world.
This phenomenon has reached an unacceptable level of infringement and
injustice considering that these actions are directed at a worldwide
culture and exceptional civilization with an immense history and
against a divine religion representing more than a quarter of the
world population. For this reason, we believe it is important to draw
attention to our position concerning this phenomenon to allow for
mistakes to be addressed and path to be rectified.
- Present Relationship
We realize that the western perspective regarding Islam was not
initially positive for several reasons, the most important of which is
that Europeans did not deal directly with Islamic culture which led to
a continuing sense of unease and apprehension. Disunited Europeans
eventually attempted to create a Christian front against Islam. Islam
became the exterior enemy capable of unifying a Europe which was until
then no more than scattered groups killing one another.
There is no doubt that generalizations may lead to misjudgments. In
this regard, we are aware of how Europe and America have attempted
over past centuries to rid themselves of the western civilization's
deficiencies in dealing with the concept of 'Others'. However,
incidents during the past few years have totally shattered these
attempts.
In this letter, when we address the 'West', we mean western society in
general. We are not only addressing the forces antagonistic to Islam,
but also those who are fair, and we realize that the 'West' is
diverse.
- Examples of Aggressions
We draw the attention of the intellectuals and opinion leaders of the
'West' to the gravity of the increasing and accelerating attacks. It
is unconceivable and unacceptable to witness - in less than three
years - a series of attacks on what is sacred to us beginning with an
assault on our Lord's holy book (the Noble Quran) by the authoring,
publication and distribution of a parody of the Quran in which the
beliefs, legislations, ethics, and history of our religion are
ridiculed. This was followed by a prejudiced and malicious campaign
against the person of our Prophet (peace be upon him) describing him
with the most repulsive attributes and picturing him with the most
mocking and ridiculing caricatures.
The source of these attacks emerged from a Danish newspaper spreading
to several European countries where certain news outlets supported and
others encouraged the spread of these caricatures. The situation grew
even worse when the Roman Catholic Pope described Islam, the Quran,
and the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) in a prepared public
speech with attributes that are unjust, to say the least.
Muslims worldwide are also closely following the repeated assaults on
the noble Quran at the hands of American soldiers in detention centers
of Abu Ghraib in Iraq and Guantanamo in Cuba where the degradation of
human beings was coupled with the humiliations of the Quran.
It continues to surprise Muslims worldwide to follow the news about
infringements of personal freedoms of Muslim citizens and residents in
the largest capitals of western countries. Let us also not forget the
repeated attacks on mosques in occupied Iraq and Afghanistan sometimes
through direct destruction, or by other means such as forced entry
into mosques under the pretext of rooting out and killing militants,
which, in turn, leads to the killing of innocent people inside these
mosques.
There is also an air of superiority transpiring from the sayings of
many leaders and politicians, the writings of some thinkers, and also
in diverse media productions such as movies, series and novels that
made it a habit of stigmatizing Islam with defects, violence and
terrorism.
We are perplexed by the continued lack of public outcry from the
majority of intellectual and opinion leaders against these repeated
acts of aggression which occur in your countries in the 'West'. It
leads us to question which side you belong to: the side of freedom for
all, protecting human rights of others, and supporting the global
ethic of respect, or the side of repression and curbing other people's
desires to preserve their own identities? We indeed ask: Are you
siding with the insolence and mockery of the prophets in the name of
the freedom of expression, or siding with freedom against the
phenomenon of repression and suppression?
- The Attack on the Prophet of Islam (Peace be upon him)
Although some civilizations have engaged in wars against Muslims in
the past, most have not retained the hatred heritage toward the
Prophet of Islam when compared with the small countries of Europe and
their churches at the same time. Furthermore, Christian animosity
toward Islam and the Prophet of Islam outside of western Europe were
never transformed into what has been observed in western Europe; an
historical abhorrence which was celebrated and emphasized during
religious occasions and was portrayed on the walls and ceilings of
cathedrals and houses of worship. It is a phenomenon worth studying
and it is more important to limit its negative impact.
We question the reasons behind the endeavors of certain people in the
'West' to destroy the reputation of historical and contemporary role
models. For those who live with no role models, we believe they will
have no future; and a nation with no sense of history is like a
building with no foundation.
Is this, perhaps, the fundamental raison d'etre for the focused attack
on our Prophet? Do certain movements in the 'West' - calling for
materialism and decadence - want human beings in general, and Muslims
in particular, to abandon their desire to follow the steps of
enlightened historical role models?
We are convinced that attacks such as these recent ones on the best
role models in our tradition are nothing but a clarion call in a chain
of events attempting to eradicate the historical value of these
exemplars.
We remain confident that the Muslim world will never waver when it
comes to defending the Prophet of Islam and all other Prophets. This
is a dividing line which we will never allow it to be crossed on the
false pretext of free expression of opinions or views. Furthermore,
the Muslim world can not be forced to accept all the outcomes of
freedom of expression in the 'West' just as the 'West' does not want
to accept some of the outcomes of other human freedoms in the 'East'.
We call upon western intellectuals to take a strong stance in dealing
with these attacks. We expect they will be more concerned with
protecting the accomplishments of the western civilization rather than
protecting the 'rights' claimed by some in the 'West' to scorn others
and ridicule Prophets.
- The Aggression on Al-Aqsa Mosque (The Mosque of all the Prophets)
We consider the occupation and repeated attacks on Al-Aqsa mosque to
be yet another example of aggressive behavior on what is considered
sacred and holy to Muslims everywhere. These transgressions are
happening with the support or silence of most western governments and
the approval of some western religious movements as well.
It is worth noting that the Veto right of United States of America is
rarely used in the United Nations for any purpose but to defend
repeated Zionist attacks on occupied Palestinian land and to protect
Jewish domination on Al-Aqsa mosque, which Muslims worldwide will
never forfeit.
We reiterate our inquiries to the intellectual and opinion leaders:
What is your position regarding these transgressions on what is sacred
to Muslims in Palestine, and regarding injustices incurred by the
Palestinian people who are deprived of their most basic rights.
We observe the blatant contradiction of the 'West' when it calls upon
Muslims to adopt western forms of democracy while the same western
governments agonize over what kind of free elections and what form of
government Palestinians can be free to choose.
The silence of western intellectuals and thinkers about these
transgressions on what is sacred to Muslims in Palestine is
humiliating; it is a stain on the foreheads of those who champion
freedom and democracy in the 'West'.
We call upon you to remove this stain by joining forces with many
impartial intellectuals worldwide who are actively defending the
rights of peoples and nations to liberate their occupied lands, to
recover their holy sites, to fight for their rights to freely choose
their representatives and those who would manage their political and
social affairs, to retain their human dignity and their ability to
resist humiliation and occupation, and to stand against injustice
using all legitimate means.
- Mocking the Islamic Veil
Personal freedom is central to western democracies. It can be seen in
western contemporary social life and also in intellectual literature.
It should then be one of the fundamental rights of women in a
democracy to have the personal freedom to choose their own clothes as
far as they are not contradicting any general moral or social value.
The Muslim world is astonished to watch the increased attacks and
mockery of the veil of Muslim women in the 'West'. These attacks
directly contradict democratic principles which are currently being
promoted in the Muslim world. The world's women-rights groups have not
taken any concerted steps to defend the rights of Muslim Women. We
cannot help but wonder how the right of nudity is accepted and
defended while the right of decency is attacked and questioned?
One of the basic human rights in the 'West' is the right for one's
identity to be preserved and even protected and not attacked. How can
the 'West' allow attacks on its own Muslim citizens for exercising the
right to wear what suit them? Furthermore, we ask: what happened to
the religious, social, and intellectual heritage of the western world?
Modest western women would -and still do- wear decent clothing which
closely resemble the Islamic dress code as in the cases of nuns and
countryside women?
If the 'West' has abandoned this legacy of decency, does it mean the
rest of the world must follow suit? We reject the 'war on decency' in
today's world. We also do not accept the notion that this is the
price to be paid for modernity and prosperity. Could the attacks on
the veil of Muslim women result from the fact that, in itself, it
represents just another symbol of decency?
The laws and regulations that were passed recently by several European
countries to limit the rights of women to wear the veil appear to be a
clear negation of their civil liberties. We wonder: is this happening
because of a continued sense of animosity toward Islam by some, or
because of the anti-decency position of some liberal supporters, or is
it simply to please supporters of social and moral decadence? These
are questions directed at western thinkers and intellectuals by the
Muslim world. Our expectation is that they must stand firm against
double standards in western intellectual norms which this phenomenon
points to.
- Confrontation of Ideas
Islam has been stained with numerous accusations in the last few years
by a group of thinkers and religious and political personalities in
the 'West'. The accusations range from allegations that Islam has
spread by the sword, that 'Reason' has no place in the Islamic
intellect, that Islam is a religion of terrorism and backwardness, and
other false accusations.
This letter does not aim at providing a detailed refutation of each of
these allegations. We, nevertheless, highlight the fact that they
contradict rational discussions and also breach basic research
principles accepted worldwide. It seems, however, that these
allegations correspond well with the policy of 'War of Ideas' which
some American influential institutions are calling for in order to
alter Islam.
We recognize that Islam has propagated through Jihad for the cause of
Allah and it also has spread by other peaceful means. In fact, all
civilizations have acquired and used force to preserve and defend
their accomplishments and values. Moreover, we draw your attention to
the fact that the concept of 'Just War' was accepted by the European
Church and the secular movements in order to preserve the interests of
the western civilization. Why then deny the same philosophical
position when it comes to Islam?
Any person studying world history would realize that millions of
people in many countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines
as well as some Asian and African nations have accepted Islam even
though they were never invaded or attacked by any Muslim military
force.
Another question: Why does Islam continue to grow worldwide nowadays
and more particularly in the 'West' with no use of any military force
to propagate it? It is happening, we believe, because of Islam's
inherited influence and its harmony with the best of human nature.
As for the fundamental place of Reason in Islamic civilization in
comparison with other civilizations, we must begin by stressing that
historians unanimously agree that western history is full of incidents
which either disregard the role of reason or idolize it; thus in fact,
moving from one extreme to the opposite.
On the other hand, the Muslim world has been known for its moderation
in the use of reason to properly serve humanity. We ask: why do
certain religious leaders in the 'West' try to attack the role of
reason in Islam? Is it to conceal deficiencies they encounter within
their own faith, or to align forces with the secular movement in its
confrontation with Islam?
We call upon Church leaders to reexamine their own beliefs beginning
with the concept of divinity. Upon rigorous introspection and
.
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- RE: A Call for Reassessment
- From: BREEZEISGONE
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