[PAA-Discuss] In support of Islam

[slindahl at rounder-graphics.com]

Today I take heart in several statements and actions of support for
people
of the Islamic faith. They are brought to you by voices of
differing
faiths in an effort to promote religious tolerance and peace in
these days of extremism.

I hope you consider joining me in learning more
about the beauty of the
faith that is Islam. It is remarkably similar to
Christianity and just
like any other faith has its followers and extremists
alike. 

Our nation was founded on the basis of religious freedom of
worship, the country is filled
with those who fled nations seeking freedom
from religious persecution. 

It is when we disregard, rewrite and forget
about our history that we repeat the mistakes and atrocities of our
past.

"Tolerance implies a gratuitous assumption of the inferiority of
other faiths to one's own" 
_Mahatma Gandhi_

"Tolerance implies no lack of
commitment to one's own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or
persecution of others."
_JOHN F. KENNEDY_

The BBC has a wonderful
introduction to Islam - I encourage any / all to read
it.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/

Sincerely,

Sarah

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quran
Burning is a Sacrilegious Slap in the Face of Christ
by Jim Wallis
09-08-2010

http://blog.sojo.net/2010/09/08/quran-burning-is-a-sacrilegious-slap-in-the-face-of-christ/

The
extremes now seem to dictate the political discourse -- extremists
in
caves who invoke their distorted brand of Muslim faith as they
murder
innocent people; and extremists in a Florida church who want to
"send a
message" to a billion Muslims around the world by threatening
to burn
hundreds of copies of the Quran in the name of their distorted
brand of
Christianity.

What Jones doesn't seem to understand is that the message he
is really
sending is a sacrilegious slap in the face of Jesus Christ. If
Jones
and his followers go through with their plans to burn the Quran
they
might as well burn some Bibles too, because they are already
destroying
the teachings of Jesus. Jesus called his followers to be
peacemakers,
and to love not only their neighbors but even their enemies;
instead
Jones and his church have decided to become agents for conflict
and
division. Jones needs someone to tell him that Americans should
not
judge all Muslims by the actions of a small group of terrorists and
I
hope somebody tells Muslims around the world not to judge Christians
or
all of America by the actions of a radical fringe like the Dove
World
Outreach
Center.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE
MASSACHUSETTES BIBLE SOCIETY - THEY BURN ONE, WE GIVE
TWO!
http://www.massbible.org/burn-one-give-two

Should Rev. Jones proceed
with the burning, we understand that he intends
to burn 200 Qur'ans, which
means we would donate 400. That means we would
need a total of 00 if he
goes ahead. We've got a great head start on that
with over 00 collected as
of 9/10.

Should he (wisely) not burn them, we still want to honor the
intentions of
those who donated to this effort. Also, we still want to send
the message
to our Muslim brothers and sisters that, while some Christians
might use
their First Amendment Rights to attack other faiths, there are
plenty of
other Christians who are willing to speak and act with respect
for any
sincerely seeking the truth of God.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JACK
RABBIT'S WARREN - TO MY MUSLIM BROTHERS AND SISTERS AROUND THE
WORLD
Posted by Jack Rabbit in General Discussion
Thu Sep 09th 2010, 04:39
PM

The Rev. Mr. Jones is a vile, hateful man. Few Americans condone what
he
will do Saturday.

There is nothing we can do to stop him. There is
nothing Mr. Crist, the
Governor of Florida, can do to stop him. There is
nothing President Obama
can do to stop him. The American Constitution
guarantees the Rev. Mr.
Jones free speech to say any idiotic, hateful thing
he would like and to express
it as he pleases as long as he violates no
law. It is not against the law
to burn a book. We Americans believe that a
government that could stop
vile men like the Rev. Mr. Jones from burning
the Koran could prevent Muslims
or people of any other faith from
worshiping as they choose.

If you think that this is a dark underbelly of
American freedom, then I
agree with you. So do many Americans. However, we
believe that it is best
for government to keep away from religion, even if
that allows the Rev.
Mr. Jones to insult a billion and half Muslims and,
indeed, all people of good
will anywhere and everywhere.

We, as a people,
have pleaded with the Rev. Mr. Jones not to go through
with this act. We
have presented him with good reasons why he should not
go through with this
act. Unfortunately, he is deaf to reason and common
standards of
civility.

Please be aware that when this ignorant man pours gasoline onto
a pile of
copies of your sacred text and throw a match on it Saturday,
more
Americans of all faiths or no faith at all will be standing with you
than with him.
Let us together raise a cry against this act that will be
heard in Heaven
Itself. To burn anyone's sacred text -- Koran, Bible,
Torah, Upanishads,
the Tao Te Ching or the most sacred Sutras of Buddhism
-- is an act of
sacrilege. Let us together join hands in brotherhood, with
our hearts
linked in a chain so long that is will be seen even beyond
Heaven. Such an
act of human brotherhood is the greatest praising of God we
can do
together.

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