So the USA is straffing the fields of the poppy farmers or doling out Viagra to tribal chiefs or bombing cilvilans. A very strange strategy/
On Jul 24, 4:59 pm, "SeeMaat;" <[email protected]> wrote: > "And thank you .. " Vamadevananda > > "terrorists in their respective societies " > true > The problem is that attempts to eliminate the terrorists .. Complaint > people have of vulnerable civilians > > SeeMaa > On 24 يوليو, 22:18, Vamadevananda <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > Thank you, Seemaa ! > > > All that is missing is people's jihad against the Talibans and the > > terrorists in their respective societies, quite as every other society > > is attempting to battle, contain or win over their astrays. > > > On Jul 24, 11:01 pm, "SeeMaat;" <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > Who knows the thing .. of course not the same as heard by the > > > falsehoods with which people in fact do not know the truth ..! > > > > people should know > > > > 1. Allah is God. The great majority of the non-Muslims I meet believe > > > that Allah is a kind of personal name for some kind of small-"g" god, > > > perhaps like Jupiter or Vulcan (gods of the Roman pantheon). I've even > > > heard people refer contemptuously to the God of Islam as a "desert > > > god," as if Judaism and Christianity originated in Yankee Stadium or > > > something. The fact is that Allah is simply a compound word made from > > > the Arabic words al (the) and lah, (god): the God. Monotheism -- the > > > belief in a single, supreme, divine creator -- is the central and most > > > important aspect of Islam. (And it's pronounced uh-LAH, not "Al, uh?") > > > Even most English translations of the Qur'an I've seen do not > > > translate the word. I believe it is really problematic and misleading > > > not to translate such a key word for which there is an exact English > > > *****alent. > > > > Along these lines, I've taken several Muslims to task for using the > > > Arabic term for God when they're speaking in English: all it does it > > > serve to confuse those for whom it's never been made clear that Allah > > > is the same God worshipped by Jews and Christians. Muslims may differ > > > on various points with Jews and Christians, but this is not one of > > > them. You'd never know, though, from the way these groups act with > > > each other much of the time, that they each hold dear the same belief > > > in the God of Abraham, Moses, and of Jesus (for Christians and > > > Muslims) and, for Muslims, of Muhammad. (Muslims accept all the > > > prophets prior to Muhammad, including Jesus. More on Jesus shortly.) > > > > 2. The biggest sin is Islam is shirk: "associating partners with God." > > > Shirk may be generally defined as polytheism, but also includes such > > > things as the Christian concept of a triune God, or the worshipping of > > > anything other than God, whether it's a human being, any natural/human > > > creation or phenomenon. This tends to create quite a theological abyss > > > between Muslims and polytheists, but also with Christians and certain > > > other religious groups. > > > > You can imagine from this that expressions such as "Holy Mother of > > > God!" give most observant Muslims the theological willies. > > > > 3. Muslims don't believe that Jesus was the son of God. As mentioned > > > in #1, Muslims accept Jesus (in Arabic, "Isa") as a prophet, and an > > > extremely important one at that. Following from #2, however, they do > > > not accept the Christian belief that Jesus was the son of God > > > (literally or ****phorically), although they do believe he is the son > > > of Mary (in Arabic, "Maryam"). They further believe that at the time > > > of the Crucifixion, another man was substituted for Jesus and made to > > > look like him. Jesus was then raised up, "body and soul" by God into > > > heaven. > > > > This is probably the most significant point of difference between > > > Christians and Muslims. Some Christian theologians and clergy believe > > > that Christians err by placing too much emphasis on Jesus and > > > elevating him to God's level, but that's an argument for another time > > > and place. > > > > 4. Muslims don't worship the Prophet Muhammad. This naturally follows > > > from #2, but, I suspect because of the extreme emphasis on Jesus in > > > much of Christian practice, many assume that Islam parallels this with > > > Muhammad and Muslims. While the Prophet is considered by Muslims to > > > have been the human being with the best character, he is still > > > regarded as a human being, albeit an exceptional one. And while he is > > > regarded as the final prophet of God, he is not the only one. He does > > > not have divine status, although Muslims hold him in the highest > > > regard and are expected and encouraged to try to emulate his habits > > > and characteristics, those being of the highest quality. > > > > Muslims were for years incorrectly referred to as Mohammedans (spelled > > > variously). This has generally become archaic, but you still see it > > > now and then. It's actually profoundly offensive, since it implies > > > shirk. (And while we're on it, it's Muslim, not Moslem, and Qur'an or > > > Quran, not Koran.) > > > > 5. Translations of the Qur'an are not the Qur'an. It's well-known that > > > something is always lost in translation. For those English speakers > > > who don't ever expect to read the Bible in Hebrew, Aramaic, and > > > whatever other languages in which its component ****s originally > > > appeared, it seems to be accepted that translations of the Bible are > > > all more or less equally valid, although one may have a preferred > > > translation. But only the Qur'an in its original Arabic is considered > > > to be the Qur'an; translations are treated with great respect but are > > > simply not equally valid. Muslims believe that the Qur'an was revealed > > > to Muhammad (who was completely illiterate) by God through the angel > > > Jibril (Gabriel). Muhammad memorized the passages as they were > > > revealed and recited them and shared them with his family and > > > followers. Pre-Islamic Arab culture was predominantly oral, and others > > > ultimately learned and memorized the entire Qur'an; it was not > > > completely written down until after the Prophet's death. > > > > There have been many, many translations over the 1400-odd years since > > > it was first written down; plenty of them are bad -- a few of them > > > deliberately so in order to discredit Islam. Many poor translations > > > offer little more than the bias and ignorance of the translator. But > > > it's imperative to remember that any translation is at best an > > > approximation, and it can be very dangerous to make sweeping judgments > > > based on translated verses, especially in isolation. > > > > 6. Not all Muslims are Arabs; not all Arabs are Muslims. There seems > > > to be widespread confusion about this. I suppose that, on some level, > > > it's understandable: the Qur'an was revealed to an Arab speaker in > > > Arabia, and two of Islam's holiest sites (the Holy Mosque in Makkah > > > and the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah) are in what is now Saudi Arabia. > > > But Arab people live in many countries, not just Saudi Arabia, and > > > subscribe to many different religions, not just Islam: Christianity, > > > Judaism, and Druze among them. The most populous Muslim country in the > > > world is not even an Arab country: it's Indonesia. Only about twelve > > > percent of the world's Muslims are Arabs. Muslims are nationals of > > > many countries, from India to Sweden to Australia. Anyone who wants to > > > can convert to Islam, and it's actually only a minority of Muslims who > > > are also of Arab heritage. Also, not all Arab customs are Muslim. All > > > Muslims do not speak Arabic, although prayers are to be said in > > > Arabic, and Muslims are encouraged to learn to read Arabic so that > > > they can understand the Qur'an. And while I would really, really like > > > to believe this doesn't even need to be said, recent events have > > > proved me wrong: not everyone with brown skin or wearing a turban is a > > > Muslim or an Arab. > > > > 7. Culture is not religion. So much of the oppression and misogyny > > > (female illiteracy, "honor" killing, female genital mutilation, forced > > > marriages, physical abuse, etc.) we hear about in quasi- and pseudo- > > > Islamic countries such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Iran stems from > > > patriarchal cultural customs and baggage and not from Islam, although > > > it's always "justified" sixty ways to Sunday with supposed religious > > > dictates and self-serving interpretations of ******ure. > > > > If any of these countries actually thoroughly implemented Islam as > > > intended and honored the spirit as well as the letter of the "law," > > > women, for example, would not only have far more rights and freedoms > > > than they currently do in any of these countries, but the behavior of > > > men and the actions of governments would have to change so radically > > > that you would probably not recognize these countries at all. Islamic > > > concepts and requirements are that different from how these countries > > > currently operate. > > > > 8. Islam is not a monolith. It is a large, widespread, rich, and > > > complex religion, with an extremely intricate and sometimes enigmatic > > > ******ure, and an estimated 1.2 billion followers worldwide. There is > > > overwhelming diversity within the Islamic world, beginning with the > > > major Islamic subgroups: Sunni Muslims (accounting for around 85-90% > > > of Muslims), Shi'ite Muslims, Sufis, Ismailis, and other small > > > splinter groups. Within these groups there are schools of legal > > > thought; there are four major ones within Sunni Islam alone. Muslims > > > might be born into the religion or convert to it, and this contributes > > > to the diversity within its adherents. It's absolutely essential not > > > to see any one Muslim, genuine or otherwise, as representative of all > > > Muslims. > > > > The very diversity of Muslims worldwide is one reason the annual > > > pilgrimage (hajj) to Makkah, the birthplace of Islam, is so > > > compelling: every year for over fourteen hundred years, millions of > > > Muslims > > ... > > read more »- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Minds-Eye?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
