Sharia Law Comes to Dearborn, Michigan?

[Sofiyya 1,687]

Christ Church, Melaka, Maylasia

Cathedral of St. Mary the Virgin, KL, Malaysia

A Greek Orthodox Church in Hama, Syria

Coptic Church Khartoum, Sudan

Monastery of Saidnaya, Syria

The Greek Catholic Basilica of St. Paul, north of Beirut

Our Lady of Lebanon Shrine and Basilica in Harissa, Lebanon

[Sofiyya 1,687]

St. Anthony of Padua Cathedral, Istanbul. Turkey

Amman, Jordan

Chaar Raphael Synaagogue - Tangier, Morocco

Benarrosh Synagogue | CASABLANCA, Morocco

Rabbi Shalom Zaoui Synagogue, Rabat, Morocco

Many Jews were saved from the Catholic Spanish Inquisition by fleeing to Muslim Morocco.

Chaar-Hachamaim Synagogue. Cairo, Egypt

Ben Ezra Synagogue. Cairo, Egypt

Sfax, Tunisia

2000 year old Jabar Synagogue, Syria

I hope these pictures have provided some enjoyment and relief from the lie that there is no religious diversity in the Muslim world. I have hundreds more I could post, but I'm going o stop here for now.

[ready4ONE 5,400]

The PI is sure happy to host to the Religion of Peace and it's emissaries Abu Sayyaf!

A man, identified by the Philippine government as one of their soldiers, is filmed speaking to his captors (top) before being beheaded (bottom) in these undated video images released on Tuesday. The Philippines government released the video showing the execution of soldiers by Abu Sayyaf rebels sometime in 2001. The release of the video comes as the USA continues to build a military presence in the southern Philippines, hoping to help the government rout Muslim Fundamentalists. — Reuters

4 escape, 200 still captive

Lamitan, (Philippines), June 2

Up to 200 persons were trapped as Philippine military helicopters fired rockets and troops kept up a barrage of gunfire on a hospital and a church taken over by Muslim rebels in the south today, officials said. But at least four Filipinos kidnapped by the guerrillas last Sunday from an island resort managed to escape in the confusion.

Filipino hostages run towards the government troops after escaping from their Muslim Abu Sayyaf rebel captors in Lamitan town in the southern Philippines June 2, 2001. — Reuters photo

Two U.S. soldiers were killed Tuesday in a roadside bomb believed planted by al-Qaida-linked militants, U.S. officials said. They were the first American troops to die in an attack in the Philippines in seven years.

A Filipino marine also was killed and two others were wounded in the blast on Jolo island, a poor, predominantly Muslim region where the Americans have been providing combat training and weapons to Filipino troops battling the Abu Sayyaf militants. The Philippine military suspects the group was behind the attack.

A senior Filipino commander said he did not think the assault would shake the Americans' resolve to fight Muslim extremists in the country...

2009

[Sofiyya 1,687]

[Sofiyya 1,687]

[ready4ONE 5,400]

[Sofiyya 1,687]

[Golden Gate 530]

Morocco is widely considered to among the more moderate Muslim nations and has history of religious tolerance not to be confused with a right to freedom of religion. Plenty of restrictions depending on your faith.

Hot off the presses. . . but not big news in the States.

"A congressional committee is holding a hearing today on religious freedom in Morocco, which expelled nearly 100 Christian foreigners in March. Morocco is investigating an American school that parents have accused of spreading Christianity."

http://www.csmonitor...ligious-freedom

Huh! Who said I was confusing the two? All I was giving was an example I found of a study. But it appears you have a need to insult people, based on your response of the photographs. I am sorry I ever responded to your post. I won't make that mistake again.

Edited June 25, 2010 by Golden Gate

[alienlovechild 75]

No bigotry? Have you read this board when the subject of Islam or Muslims is posted? Have you read this thread?

Not tough, alc, but, with all due respect, incoherent. I just wanted to post the pictures of churches and synogogues in Muslim countries before telling you that.

You ask to contrast the Constitutional protection of religious freedom with the "traditional policy" of religious tolerance in predominantly Muslim nations. I scratched my head because there is no traditional policy governing all Muslim nations. What is the norm in the nation with the world's largest Muslim population, Indonesia, is not the norm in Saudi Arabia, for example. The same is true between Morocco and Egypt, etc.. That's why I didn't understand the question, and I still don't. Sorry.

The first bit was akin to sarcasm about how stupid it would be to put photos of churches and temples or mosques, hoping it to answer the question. Buildings alone don't mean religious beliefs are protected or the number of believers who worship there. Plenty of empty cathedrals in Europe, state controlled official churches in China. . . look up the Potemkin village for the classic example.

I know there is some variance between Muslim countries and their track reocord on religious tolerance. You couldn't do a simple compare and contrast between countries yet claim some special personal knowledge of the region? If you can't understand a simple question asked multiple times try doing more than scratching your head. I don't know if you're a college professor or just have an advanced degree in something completely unrelated to this subject but wow, talk about a dead end.

BTW, as I've said before I have been to Indonesia, Malaysia and to Muslim areas in India so and I know they don't represent the entire Islamic worldview but I'm not getting much information from you despite your greater knowledge of the region(s). I do plan of going to some countries in the MENA region in the future so at least cut me a little slack for trying to understand that part of the world.

Edited June 25, 2010 by alienlovechild

[alienlovechild 75]

Huh! Who said I was confusing the two? All I was giving was an example I found of a study. But it appears you have a need to insult people, based on your response of the photographs. I am sorry I ever responded to your post. I won't make that mistake again.

What insults?

I was thought I was pretty restrained given the topic and asked about the Muslim view of religious tolerance and got photos that told me nothing new what I already knew as I never claimed there are no non-Muslim religious structures in the region.

Frankly, I know you read little to nothing of your source and quoted nothing but I don't expect much on this subject and I'm never surprised by it either.

[Sofiyya 1,687]

The first bit was akin sarcasm about how stupid it would be to put photos of churches and temples or mosques, hoping it to answer the question. Buildings alone don't mean religious beliefs are protected or the number of believers who worship there. Plenty of empty cathedrals in Europe, state controlled official churches in China. . . look up the Potemkin village for the classic example.

I know there is some variance between Muslim countries and their track reocord on religious tolerance. You couldn't do a simple compare and contrast between countries yet claim some special personal knowledge of the region? If you can't understand a simple question asked multiple times try doing more than scratching your head. I don't know if you're a college professor or just have an advanced degree in something completely unrelated to this subject but wow, talk about a dead end.

BTW, as I've said before I have been to Indonesia, Malaysia and to Muslim areas in India so and I know they don't represent the entire Islamic worldview but I'm not getting much information from you despite your greater knowledge of the region(s). I do plan of going to some countries in the MENA region in the future so at least cut me a little slack for trying to understand that part of the world.

Just as you believe that photos of buildings prove nothing, I believe your question is incoherent. It's certainly not a simple question. It involves more than 20 countries with differing histories and complex norms re interfaith relationships, as well as a U.S. Constitutional amendment with its own history and evolution. Think about it. This is not a travelogue question. I'm educated enough to recognize that.

Now, while posting the pictures may be stupid to you, perhaps I read these threads with a certain prespective that we probably don't share. There is a repeated complaint that Muslim countries are intolerant of other faiths, homogeneous in belief and unified in their intent to convert all to Islam while threatening to kill anyone who leaves the fold.

This is a view of Islam that concerns me. People who embrace it reflect the message of terrorism and division rather than that of the great majority of Muslims who don't spend their days planning murder and mayhem because the former is more accessible than the latter. They are not willing to take the time to find the truth. So, simple minds require simple, easy to digest messages, and that is what I concentrate on posting to reach them.

So, if you really want a dialogue about your question, this is not the best place to ask it. I'm open to a discussion about those contrasts and comparisons, but not here.

[DukeOfYork 28]

Sofiyya,

"A congressional committee is holding a hearing today on religious freedom in Morocco, which expelled nearly 100 Christian foreigners in March. Morocco is investigating an American school that parents have accused of spreading Christianity."

I met one of those missionary couples. They were here in the US on furlough when in February they got the news that they were expelled from Morocco. There was no warning and they were told if they came back to get their stuff, sell their house, empty their bank accounts, etc, they would be arrested.

I don't know how you can deny that it is forbidden in many Islamic countries for Christians to proselytize and for Muslims to convert. Egyptian Coptic Christians are allowed to worship in Egypt (hence the photos you put up) and other indigenous Christians in other Islamic countries are allowed to worship, but Muslims are born Muslim, so for them to convert is considered apostasy in many of those countries (think Saudi Arabia). People fear conversion all the time.

This was a highly publicized case four years ago. Because of the attention it drew, this person was not executed. But it nearly happened.

I am quoting from this link:

Fasaad fi al-ardh

The second crime for which capital punishment can be applied is a bit more open to interpretation. "Spreading mischief in the land" can mean many different things, but is generally interpreted to mean those crimes that affect the community as a whole, and destabilize the society. Crimes that have fallen under this description have included:

* Treason / Apostacy[sic] (when one leaves the faith and joins the enemy in fighting against the Muslim community)

* Terrorism

* Land, sea, or air piracy

* Rape

* Adultery

* Homosexual behavior

Here is a good Wikipedia article on apostasy in Islam. It seems there is some debate on the subject, but it's clear that many Muslims believe that it is a valid punishment for apostasy.

I know there are moderate Muslims who don't personally believe that apostasy deserves the death penalty. I know many of them here in my community. I've been to their mosques, had meals with them and even took Arabic with a teacher from Morocco. So in no way do I disparage Muslims simply for being Muslims.

I simply am pointing out a double standard that operates in Muslim countries vs. Western countries. It's ok for a Coptic Christian to convert to Islam in Egypt, but not the other way around. Yet Muslims come to the West and take advantage of the same laws granting freedom of speech and religion their respective countries don't have in order to seek converts. No Moroccan will be kicked out of the United States for having discussions with a Christian who later converts to Islam. Yet Morocco this year has already expelled 100 Christian missionaries/aid workers for suspecting them of doing the same thing.

Edited June 25, 2010 by DukeOfYork

[Sofiyya 1,687]

An honest contrast of religious tolerance between the US and Muslim countries will have to include the fact that Muslims are under tremendous scrutiny in this country. That we are targeted for conversion to Christianity because Islam is considered to be an evil faith, and we are watched by government opperatives in our mosques. That what most non-Muslim Americans seem to know about Islam is that it teaches us to not like them and want to kill them.

Muslims are not considered to be Americans; we are villified in the media as outsiders, women haters and terrorists. In NYC, there is a campaign to prevent a masjid and cultural center from being built because that is somehow "insensitive" to non-Muslims who deny the fact that innocent Muslims died on 9/11 at ground zero. Objections to cultural dress, depictions of Muslim women in hijab as oppressed and backward. The same could be said about Catholic nuns in hijab.

It is ok to insult us and lie about us. We are guilty before proven innocent, and many Muslims who have been accused publically have had their cases quietly thrown out. There is a false smugness about how secure and safe it is to be Muslim in the US, but that is an illusion. Only a certain kind of Muslim is safe here, and that is one who doesn't practice Islam.

PS - Try "googling" positive stories about Muslims that aren't from Muslim websites. You will find mroe hate than tolerance in the English speaking media by far.

Edited June 25, 2010 by Sofiyya

[Sofiyya 1,687]

Media Coverage of Muslims Bombs

A Pew poll on Muslims in America painted a positive picture. So why was the coverage so negative?

WEB-EXCLUSIVE COMMENTARY

By Lorraine Ali

Newsweek

updated 6:57 p.m. MT, Thurs., May 24, 2007

May 24, 2007 - According to a Pew Research Center poll released earlier this week, Muslim-Americans are “largely assimilated, happy with their lives, and moderate with respect to many of the issues that have divided Muslims and Westerners around the world.” The poll showed the majority surveyed have close non-Muslim friends, believe in a strong American work ethic and feel there is little conflict between being a devout Muslim and living in a modern society. Overall, an encouraging picture, right?

Not according to a cavalcade of major media outlets. On Tuesday and Wednesday, coverage of the poll was downright foreboding. “Supporting Terror?” read the CNN crawl at the bottom of the screen as John Roberts interviewed a group of young moderate Muslims about the poll. On CBS News online, the headline incorrectly stated that 26% OF YOUNG U.S. MUSLIMS OK BOMBS. And in USA Today, more misinformation and scare tactics: POLL: 1 IN 4 YOUNGER U.S. MUSLIMS SUPPORT SUICIDE BOMBINGS.

The fear-inducing reports were based on the responses to a couple of questions in the Pew survey: is suicide bombing justified? The outcome: “Very few Muslim Americans—just 1%—say that suicide bombings against civilian targets are often justified to defend Islam; an additional 7% say suicide bombings are sometimes justified in these circumstances,” according to the Pew poll. As for U.S. Muslims under 30, Pew reported that 15 percent believe suicide bombings can be often or sometimes justified. The numbers were tucked inside a 108-page report that also found a large majority of U.S. Muslims rejected the idea of violence against civilians, had very unfavorable views of Al Qaeda and were concerned about the rise of Muslim extremism in the United States.

So why, amid all the other encouraging data, would such a large number of media outlets mine the poll for evidence that Muslims—even the ones next door—are dangerous? Hussein Ibish, executive director of the Foundation for Arab American Leadership, says the answer is as disturbing as it is predictable. “It suggests there is an appetite for negativity about U.S. Muslims in the American media,” he says. “There’s two templates post-9/11 for coverage about American Muslims. One is they are scary—be very afraid. The other template is the sorry, poor pathetic victims of hate crimes. It’s villain or victim—a ridiculous set of choices—and coverage of this poll has fallen into the villain category. It’s irrational, because if you read the poll, it is actually quite positive.”

Yasmin Hamidi, 26, was one of the three young Muslim-Americans interviewed on CNN last Tuesday. “I didn’t see the graphics on the screen until I watched it online,” she says. “I thought, ‘Are you kidding me?’ It was so irresponsible that they put “Supporting Terror?” on the bottom while we’re speaking. Two Columbia Ph.D. students and someone who works full time at an interreligious-understanding NGO—I mean, come on! It’s not surprising, but it’s still upsetting to see.”

Since the 9/11 attacks, U.S. Muslims like Hamidi have become accustomed to gritting their teeth while watching pundits on cable news or reading the paper. The 2001 attacks, the war in Iraq and the babblings of warped political figures like Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have come to stand for Islam and its followers in the most negative terms. For many Americans, coverage of these issues is the only exposure to the Muslim world they get. Yet surely the media has a responsibility to present the whole picture—the good and the bad—rather than just the titillating, scary bits that help drive higher ratings.

Still, despite the fact that U.S. Muslims are far more assimilated than those in Europe, many large media outlets never let us forget that American Muslims are still a potentially dangerous group. The Pew poll is simply our latest reminder. “There’s absolutely no basis in the poll for concluding it’s a radicalized community,” says Ibish. “I can almost guarantee that the overwhelming majority who were asked the suicide-bombing question were thinking about Palestine—not Iraq or America. They’re not willing to say it’s never OK because they think Palestinians have no other options. They’re wrong, but that’s what they think. It’s exactly the same kind of statistic you’d get if you asked young Israelis about torture, demolition of villages, assassinations—they’d say yes because they know the Israelis have done it but loathe to say it’s wrong. I’m sure, knowing the Muslim community, that if you resolved the occupation in Palestine, that number would go very close to zero.”

Some media outlets also focused on the unusually high percentage of American Muslims (28 percent) who still don’t believe that the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks were Arabs—a result that I, too, find baffling. Still, the overall coverage of the Pew poll was way out of whack. It’s no wonder that when the pollsters asked U.S. Muslims how they felt about American news coverage of their faith and its followers, 57 percent said they felt is was unfair. It’s unlikely that number will make headlines anytime soon.

[sandinista! 1,816]

St. Fransiskus Church - North Sumatra, Indonesia

this is one the coolest looking churches i have ever seen. i've always loved the architecture of st basil's in moscow, more than any other i'd ever seen, but i may have a new favorite now. thanks for showing it!