Tag Archives: Islam

Muslim prayer room opens in Catholic high school

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The Principal wants to ensure that all our students feel welcome. Fair enough, but will the inclusive, tolerant Principal go for maximum diversity and hold her gay-straight alliance club meetings in the same room? They could share the prayer mats.

From here:

LONDON, ONT. – Mother Teresa Catholic secondary school is turning a second-floor office into an Islamic prayer room — the first high school in the city, private or public, to do so.

Carpet will soon cover the tile flooring, speakers will be installed and prayer mats purchased to provide the school’s Muslim students, estimated at around two dozen, with a quiet and private place to pray.

The idea has been in the works since the end of the last school year after a group of Muslim students lobbied administration to create the space.

“They’re members of our school community. We want to ensure that all our students feel welcome, that they feel that they belong,” said Principal Ana Paula Fernandes.

 

Emmanuel College, University of Toronto offers new degree in Muslim pastoral care

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Emmanuel College is associated with the United Church of Canada. This becomes obvious when you enter the grounds and are greeted by a statue of a crucified woman.

What does an ostensibly Christian Theological College know about Muslim pastoral care? It’s pretty simple: whatever you do, don’t speak about Mohammed. If you are careless about the context of your remarks, fail to say “peace be upon him”, use poor inflexion, bad diction, stutter, giggle at the wrong moment or, Allah forbid, absent-mindedly doodle a Mohammed, the object of you pastoral care may decide to behead you.

Having learned that, you have earned your degree.

From here:

Emmanuel College at the University of Toronto has enlarged its Muslim Studies certificate program to prepare people for pastoral care in social agencies that serve Canada’s growing population of Muslims.

The new two-year program, offered through the Master of Pastoral Studies degree stream, grew out of the United Church of Canada theological college’s three-year certificate program, launched in 2010 to enhance interfaith dialogue between Muslims and Christians.

The new program will train students from various religious communities to specialize in pastoral care and serve as chaplains in facilities with clients of the Islamic faith.

 

Anglican Churches in Iran, Pakistan and Persian Gulf condemn anti-Islam film

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They couldn’t find it in themselves to condemn the death and possible rape and torture of U.S. ambassador, J. Christopher Stevens, though. Funny, that.

From here:

TEHRAN – Members of the Anglican Church in Iran, Pakistan and the Persian Gulf issued a statement on Wednesday condemning production and showing of an anti-Islam film on the internet or on any other media outlets anywhere.
“Christians strongly believe in harmonious existence and understanding among people of all faiths especially among the people of Abrahamic faiths with their roots in believing in one God revealed in their Holy Scriptures,” said the statement a copy of which was sent to IRNA news agency.

It added, “In concordance with our Muslim neighbors in Iran, Pakistan and the Persian Gulf, we demand that international media leaders to develop a code of conduct which will stop hateful anti-religious views to be promoted, provoking the sentiments of millions of people across the globe.”

The statement also demanded that international bodies like the United Nations and the World Council of Church, “to expedite the formation of international laws prohibiting such moves and declaring them illegal and punishable crimes in the future.”

Update: The Episcopal News Service has joined in the chorus of those excoriating the makers of the inane little film while completely ignoring the murder of J. Christopher Stevens.:

Leaders across the Anglican Communion have spoken out about The Innocence of Muslims, a film containing anti-Islam content that has so far triggered protests, violence and death in countries like Libya and Egypt.

Both Anglican and Roman Catholic archbishops in New Zealand have condemned the film, its message and its promotion, alongside the Federation of Islamic Associations president and the city of Wellington’s Regional Jewish Council chairperson, Race Relations commissioner and local bishops.

In the Anglican world of indaba, Hegelian middle ground, compromise, a metaphysic without hell overseen by a mushy-love god who appears to be stoned most of the time, it’s remarkable just how judgemental bishop Pierre Whalon becomes when it suits him:

According to Whalon, those who planned and created the film would have much to answer for when they came before the judgment seat of God.

Conservative Anglican bishops call for limiting free speech

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From here:

Four North African and Middle Eastern Anglican bishops have written to U.N. Secretary Ban Ki-moon urging the adoption of an international declaration against religious defamation.

Bishops Mouneer Anis of Egypt, Michael Lewis of Cyprus and the Gulf and assistant Bishops Bill Musk of North Africa and Grant LeMarquand of the Horn of Africa wrote to the U.N. leader on 15 Sept 2012 following the attacks on the U.S. embassy in Cairo and consulate in Benghazi on 11 Sept.  In the days that followed mobs demonstrated outside American diplomatic posts across the Middle East and attacked U.S., German and British embassies in Tunis and Khartoum, ostensibly in response to a Youtube video that attacked Mohammad.

The bishops wrote that in “view of the current inflamed situation in several countries in response to the production of a film in the USA which evidently intends to offend our Muslim brothers and sisters by insulting the Prophet Mohammed, and in view of the fact that in recent years similar offensive incidents have occurred in some European countries which evoked massive and violent responses worldwide, we hereby suggest that an international declaration be negotiated that outlaws the intentional and deliberate insulting or defamation of persons (such as prophets), symbols, texts and constructs of belief deemed holy by people of faith.”

They said such a declaration would not be a violation of the right of free speech, but would encourage people to be “responsible and self-restraining in expressing or promoting offensive or malicious opinions with regard to the religions of the world.”

I suppose this just goes to show that even theologically conservative Anglican bishops can do strange things when they stray uninvited into politics.
A few points:

First, if the bishops had appealed to fellow Christians to exercise restraint when tempted to mock Islam and its founder because it is a less than effective way of winning Muslims over to Christ, I would have no objection. That’s not what they have done, though: the letter was addressed to the Secretary of the U. N. – not exactly a Christian organisation.

Second, the bishops are clearly making a political point: make insulting Islam and Mohammed illegal. Why? Not because it would put off potential Muslim converts to Christianity, but because of the massive and violent responses worldwide. In other words it’s political appeasement, a willingness to submit to bullies, an act of poltroonery, a grovelling before the barbarian hordes.

Third, the bishops have said nothing that I know of to condemn – let alone call for the banning of – expressions of hatred for Christianity that are routinely displayed in western art – a crucifix immersed in urine, a Virgin Mary covered in dung, and so on – let alone the anti-Christian diatribes that flow with tedious predictability from the likes of Bill Maher. Nor, in the letter, is there any mention of outlawing the anti-Semitism with which Arab nations gleefully indoctrinate themselves and their children.

Fourth, many Islamic nations outlaw Christian proselytising; presumably this is just fine with the bishops since, after all, Christian evangelism offends Muslims.

The complete letter can be found here – until someone decides to outlaw it.

More on that film

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The U.S. has responded to the murder of its diplomat and destruction of its property by hunting down and killing the murderers? By cutting off financial aid to the countries responsible? By treating the well organised invasion of its territory as an act of war and responding accordingly? By withdrawing embassy staff from unstable Middle–Eastern countries – those still living – and cutting off diplomatic relations? Not exactly. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department is interviewing Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, maker of the film that is the latest flimsy excuse for Muslim hatred of the West.

Toronto Hindus are going to screen “Innocence of Muslims” at an undisclosed location amid heavy security. There is currently no estimate of how many viewers will die of boredom.

Muslims in Niger destroyed a statue of the Virgin Mary because they don’t like “Innocence of Muslims”. Western countries are on high alert in preparation for the inevitable violence from rampaging Catholics.

Muslims in London and Sydney are rioting in protest against “Innocence of Muslims”; none of them have actually seen the film, but they are all unemployed, have nothing better to do, and, riot or no riot, will continue to receive their welfare cheques, so why not indulge in a little recreational rioting?

Egypt’s PM, Hisham Qandil, sees it all as a series of “unfortunate events”: as Exodus 20:13 admonishes: “You shall not murder because it would be an unfortunate event”. Qandil goes on to note that it is unacceptable to insult our prophet – peace be upon him and that the West needs to curtail its unfortunate tendency to allow speech free enough to insult our prophet – peace be upon him. The thing is, the true identity of Muslims is that they are peace loving; unless you insult their prophet – peace be upon him – because then they will want to behead you. So we must put a stop to these films so that Muslims can live according to their true identity. For their prophet – who absolutely loved peace in the sparsely occasional moments he wasn’t at war. Peace be upon him.

“Innocence of Muslims” film maker identified

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The film that has become the latest excuse for Islamist mayhem was, according to the FBI, created by Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, a character on probation for “financial crimes” living in California.

Watching the trailer is enough to convince any sane person that the entire film must be execrable tripe. Tripe or not, Islamist reaction to it was predictably demented and, even though he made a dismal job of it, it’s pretty clear that Nakoula intended his creation to inflame those eager to vent their righteous indignation by murdering people.

In the almost civilised West, one of the things we do is allow people to say insulting, aggravating things about anything they like – in public. It’s called free speech. The ludicrous thing about what has happened is that Islamists have been set off, not by the best we have to offer, but by an atrocious piece of drivel so badly executed that it should never have seen the light of day.

This is not so much a clash of civilisations as a clash of barbarities.

The clip is below for those with sufficiently numbed sensibilities.

From here:

Federal authorities have identified a Coptic Christian in southern California who is on probation after his conviction for financial crimes as the key figure behind the anti-Muslim film that ignited mob violence against U.S. embassies across the Mideast, a U.S. law enforcement official told The Associated Press.

The official said Thursday that authorities had concluded that Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, 55, was behind Innocence of Muslims, a film that denigrated Islam and the prophet Muhammad and sparked protests earlier this week in Egypt, Libya and most recently in Yemen. It was not immediately clear whether Nakoula was the target of a criminal investigation or part of the broader investigation into the deaths of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans in Libya during a terrorist attack.

 

Muslims swell the ranks of the Democratic National Convention

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As the article below notes, God was not mentioned at the DNC this year; at the next convention I expect Allah will be invoked instead.

It seems that Muslims may have stayed away from the Republican National Convention because of its anti-Sharia position. The Muslim perception of the Democratic Party must, presumably, be that it is not anti-Sharia; perhaps it is even pro-Sharia.

Welcome to Hope and Change 2012: polygamy; prohibition; criminalisation of homosexuality; dhimmitude; the death penalty for apostates and rape victims – and no bacon sarnies.

From here:

The word “God” may have been absent at the Democratic National Convention, but there were record numbers of Muslim delegates present at the Charlotte, N.C., meeting.

According to a news release from the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the convention hosted more than 100 Muslim delegates from 20 states—up from 43 Muslim and Arab-American delegates at the 2008 convention and 25 four years before.

“The more than doubling of Muslim delegates at this year’s Democratic National Convention is a direct result of their hard work and grassroots organizing within the Democratic Party,” said CAIR’s government affairs coordinator, Robert McCaw. “It is also a sign of the American Muslim community’s growing civic engagement and acceptance in the Democratic Party.”

McCaw noted that only a handful of Muslim delegates attended this year’s Republican National Convention (RNC), during which the RNC adopted an anti-Sharia platform plank targeting the religious practices of Muslims. CAIR has asked the party to reject this policy.

The last goodbye

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Islam harbours some strange ideas: the 72 virgins that await suicide bombers, female genital mutilation, niqabs, child brides, forbidding women’s education, and so on.

A law about to be introduced by Egypt’s Islamist government will provide permission for husbands to copulate with their wives for up to six hours after they die. Lest anyone denounce this as sexist, women will have the same opportunity.

How many husbands – or wives – have been clamouring for this law, one wonders? Has this been a common, but illegal practice, up until now? Why six hours – does it only become necrophilia at 6 hours and one minute?

From here:

Egyptian husbands will soon be legally allowed to have sex with their dead wives – for up to six hours after their death.

The controversial new law is part of a raft of measures being introduced by the Islamist-dominated parliament.

It will also see the minimum age of marriage lowered to 14 and the ridding of women’s rights of getting education and employment.

[….]

The subject of a husband having sex with his dead wife arose in May 2011 when Moroccan cleric Zamzami Abdul Bari said marriage remains valid even after death.

He also said that women have the right to have sex with her dead husband, alarabiya.net reported.

Meanwhile, an Egyptian comedian has been convicted of insulting Islam. He must be an ingenious fellow to have found a way to insult a religion that cheerfully promotes having sex with dead people.

Is there a bra under that niqab?

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From here:

A photo of a Muslim woman wearing full Islamic dress and holding up a bra as she sorts laundry is stirring controversy in Kamloops, B.C., and the Saudi Arabian Embassy is now involved.

The photo, taken by Thompson Rivers University fine arts student Sooraya Graham, features one of Graham’s friends wearing a niqab, a veil covering the face, and an abaya, a full-body cloak.

The picture was a class assignment and was originally displayed with other student photos in mid-March, until some students complained and a staff member tore it down a week later.

[….]

But the Saudi Education Centre in Kamloops, which is funded by the Saudi Arabian government and provides support to Saudi students and their families, is taking issue with the photo.

“The artist didn’t approach the artwork let’s say in a very professional way that can state and can clarify the information and clarify the idea behind the picture,” said centre president Trad Bahabri.

It goes without saying that anything that upsets the Saudi embassy must have something good about it. The photographer wants us to interpret the photograph for ourselves, so here goes: judging by the bemused way the young lady is staring at the bra, it is apparent that she has never seen one before and doesn’t know what to do with it. In the same way a Scotsmen wearing a kilt stares at underpants.