Cordoba House Imam makes (truly) radical speech in Mid East

[kpete]

Speaking last night in Bahrain to a multi faith audience at the Majlis of the Chairman of the Gulf for Council Foreign Relations, Feisal Abdul Rauf made the following statements.

He told religious leaders in Bahrain that the most important conflicts in the world were between the children of Abraham, whether the Israeli/Palestinian conflict or the US/Iran conflict and the challenge for them was how they could play a role in bringing peace.

"We are Christians, Jews and Muslims, but one of our faults is instead of worshipping God, we worship our religion and use that to cause division between us,"

He further went on to say

"The sense of brotherhood and unity that the prophets had for each other as servants of the true God is the primary lesson we should all learn.

"The demand is on us (Muslims) to feel a special brotherhood with the Christian and Jewish faiths and certainly our own.

"We shouldn't see differences, but see the differences that unite us and are part of one theme.

And he concluded with

"It's time we also saw that if we followed the laws of Moses, Jesus and Mohammed they were not opposed to each other."

http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=285458

more:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/8/25/895985/-Cordoba-House-Imam-makes-%28truly%29-radical-speech-in-Mid-East

[ejpoeta]

1. he's going to get it just for comparing his religion to christianity.

those christians don't like nobody comparing themselves to them. *smirk*

[burnsei sensei]

10. "Those Christians" are the least of his worries.

Muslims believe in a unitary God.
Christians believe in a Blessed Trinity.
To Muslims, Christian beliefs are nonsensical, and Christians are going to burn in hell for actually worshipping three gods.
This in spite of the fact that most Christians would tell you that they don't worship three gods.
There is also another difference-- Christians believe that human beings were made in the image of God.
As above, so below.
Muslims hold no such belief.
To them, Jesus was not the son of God because <b>God could never have a son.</b>
Christian tradition is nothing better than paganism in Muslim eyes.
Christian scripture is the only redeeming thing in Christianity as far as they are concerned.

[aquart]

2. Why, those are Baha'i teachings as well!

How they doing, btw?

[blogslut]

9. Would you rather that these three religions

...continue on an adversarial path?

[Unruly]

3. Good Statement, however . . .

. . . the record on religious tolerance in Middle East Muslim countries is abysmal.

"The demand is on us (Muslims) to feel a special brotherhood with the Christian and Jewish faiths and certainly our own."

Very interesting that this is said now. Where has the "special brotherhood" feeling been for that last, say 100 years? Are we feeling love yet?

[JerseygirlCT]

5. That "special brotherhood" has been about equally missing from the

relationships on all sides. Which only allows those opposed to understanding and moderation to out-shout and overpower the moderates in each of the three faiths.

[Unruly]

12. So,

that means that there has or hasn't been religious tolerance in Middle East Muslim countries? Can the Muslim leaders take responsibility for their own behavior toward other religions in their own countries?

[JerseygirlCT]

15. There has been both religious tolerance and intolerance in the Middle East.

And that comes from Muslims, Jews and Christians.

Unfortunately, the people who take responsibility for these things are often the ones for whom tolerance is important. So the least tolerant are often those who feel no need to address that.

That also goes for members of all three faiths - in the Middle East and in the west.

(BTW, there really aren't any "Muslim leaders" who speak for all Muslims. It's not a monolithic religion, with one central authority.)

[Unruly]

18. He is asking for others

to be tolerant of Muslims. At the same time he has to call for religious tolerance in Muslim countries. It's a two way street.

[JerseygirlCT]

19. Why?

Is he responsible for the various cultures that make up worldwide Islam? (You do realize it's anything but a monolithic faith, and that the country with the largest concentration of Muslims isn't in the ME, right?)

He IS calling for religious tolerance - for all, by all. If you can't see that, you're simply not looking.

[Unruly]

21. Really?

I missed that part where he said there has been serious injustice done to Christians & Jews in Muslim countries and the leaders of Muslim countries are wrong to have tolerated it.

If you want other people to clean-up their back yard, perhaps you should look at your own first.

[Dorian Gray]

25. He's calling

for everyone to be tolerant of each other, and if Christians, Jews and Muslims all follow the precepts of their faith, it should come naturally. Don't know why that is so contentious an issue or problematic for you.

Hopefully people will listen to him, though knowing human nature... not gonna happen.

[sinkingfeeling]

6. So, it's only the Muslims who should have that 'special brotherhood'? Have you seen no

'wrongs' or 'ill-will' from Christians or Jews toward Muslims in the last 100 years?

[Unruly]

11. Nope,

didn't say that. It's the imam who made the statement that there is a "special brotherhood" between Muslims, Christians & Jews. That doesn't mean others haven't behaved badly also. Can he take responsibility for what has happened in Middle East Muslim countries at the same time he is asking for tolerance on the part of others?

[sinkingfeeling]

13. He's responsible for what happens in the Middle East? How does that work?

Are all Catholics responsible for Northern Ireland?

[Unruly]

14. Nope,

didn't say that either. When calling for religious tolerance he would have more credibility if he acknowledged the behavior of his coreligionists toward those with whom he claims a "special brotherhood".

[JerseygirlCT]

16. I think perhaps you ought to read what he said again

That's just what he is saying.

Or is calling for religious tolerance a bad way to foster that tolerance? Is there some other way he's supposed to magically change the behavior of all the world's Muslims?

[Unruly]

17. Religious tolerance

is what we need, no question. He needs to be forthcoming about the religious intolerance in Muslim countries at the same time he as calling for others to be tolerant of Muslims. It's a two-way street.

[ShamelessHussy]

20. You reveal your M$M promoted ignorance with that comment.

He (and others) has been saying this for years, but the media only focus on the extremist.

[Warren Stupidity]

23. Interesting time frame

That period would include the 'special brotherhood' shown by western christian nations towards their jewish people that including the overt slaughter of 6 million of them, the conquest and colonization of much of the former ottoman empire by European christian nations and other special acts of brotherhood.

Jewish communities thrived in many areas of the muslim world until the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The record on tolerance within Islamic societies is actually better than within Christian societies going back to the fall of Rome and the rise of Islam.

[no_hypocrisy]

4. Damned Humanist!

:sarcasm:

[Angry Dragon]

7. Perhaps this is the most important quote

"We are Christians, Jews and Muslims, but one of our faults is instead of worshipping God, we worship our religion and use that to cause division between us,"

[Enthusiast]

22. It is the most important quote.

A great quote.

[mike r]

8. Murdoch should publish this as an addendum to Rauf's book

that was published by Murdoch.

[Scurrilous]

24. K & R

:thumbsup: