Here is more from The Holy See:
MESSAGE FOR THE END OF RAMADANPope Benedict also met with a top official of the World Jewish Congress yesterday and lashed out at the Iranian regime on their hate speech against Jews:
‘Id al-Fitr 1428 H. / 2007 a.d.
Christians and Muslims:
called to promote a culture of peace
In the troubled times we are passing through, religious believers have, as servants of the Almighty, a duty above all to work in favour of peace, by showing respect for the convictions of individuals and communities everywhere through freedom of religious practice. Religious freedom, which must not be reduced to mere freedom of worship, is one of the essential aspects of freedom of conscience, which is the right of every individual and a cornerstone of human rights. It takes into account the requirement that a culture of peace and solidarity between men can be built in which everybody can be firmly engaged in the construction of an increasingly fraternal society, doing everything one can to reject, denounce and refuse every recourse to violence which can never be motivated by religion, since it wounds the very image of God in man. We know that violence, especially terrorism which strikes blindly and claims countless innocent victims, is incapable of resolving conflicts and leads only to a deadly chain of destructive hatred, to the detriment of mankind and of societies...
In this spirit, the pursuit and intensification of dialogue between Christians and Muslims must be considered important, in both educational and cultural dimensions. Thus all forces can be mobilised in the service of mankind and humanity so that the younger generations do not become cultural or religious blocs opposed to one another, but genuine brothers and sisters in humanity. Dialogue is the tool which can help us to escape from the endless spiral of conflict and multiple tensions which mark our societies, so that all peoples can live in serenity and peace and with mutual respect and harmony among their component groups.
Dear Muslim Friends, once again I give you my warmest greetings on the occasion of your festival and I ask the God of Peace and Mercy to give you all, good health, serenity and prosperity.
The pope ‘recognised the question of Iran as an issue of big concern for him,’ Stern said, adding that Benedict pledged ‘to find how the message can be made, through education, to avoid the hatred of the Iranian leadership towards the Jews and Israel.'
‘He expressed his concern over the rise in anti-Semitism. The Holy Father said he was very aware of it (and wants to) find a way to make it less prominent through education,’ Stern said.
The pontiff said ‘cooperation between the Jewish people and the Church is a matter that is close to his heart,’ Stern said, describing the meeting as ‘interesting and cordial.’
Unfortunately, as we pray for the souls of those jihadists practicing the "religion of peace," they will read the Pope's words as "blah, blah, blah, kill me, I'm an infidel.
ReplyDeleteI love this Pope.
ReplyDeleteAs for "jihadists", I offer a correction. Terrorism in the name of Islam is NOT Jihad, it is Hirabah. Hirabah technically means rebellion and terrorism, which is considered heresy within Islam. Acts of hirabah are capital crimes in Islam. It contains the principle of Jihad but carries out acts of “persuasion” to meet its objective.
Knowing the difference between the two is not only appreciated by moderate Muslims, but it is what won Anbar Province. You'll hear Democrats say U.S. troops had nothing to do with it and that Iraqis just got sick and tired of al-Qaeda. That's partially true, but last fall the 1st Armored Division waged counterinsurgency in Anbar Province before GEN Petraeus was the MNF-I commander.
Essentially, chaplains, who imams and sheiks see as equals because they are educated clergy, welcomed meetings with chaplains and their representative (the ch. assistant). They began forging relationships, clergy (chaplains) to clergy (sheiks and imams) and this relationship coupled with troops living among the people and leaving the super FOBs (Forward Operating Bases or huge military compounds where they retreated since 2004 allowing the enemy to plant IEDs and terrorize the population) is what helped win the salvation of Anbar Province.
The main distinction that contributed to the success of Anbar was religious understanding. Our understanding that in Islam there is no separation of church and state and that so-called Muslims who are suicide bombers and terrorists are not really Muslim at all, but apostates and heretics of the faith.
This understanding and our use of the terms (jihad and hirabah) helped alienate terrorists like al-Qaeda from the Muslim population and marginalize their efforts. In doing so, we showed consideration for the Muslim religion, no matter what our personal opinions may be on the religion itself, and persuade good Muslims to support the effort against apostates like Osama bin Laden.
Calling terrorism “jihad” may be more en vogue than referring to it as "hirabah", but we risk legitimizing the likes of Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri and Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah in the Islamic world if we refer to their terror as jihad. It’s murder, terrorism, apostacy, heresy and hirabah. This is how the war on terror can be won; Muslims want to stop the assault on their religion as much as the rest of us do.
Killing innocent civilians in the name of Allah is not Jihad and Muslims know it… they’re simply waiting for us to understand this as well.
My husband is active duty and an OIF vet. We have a friend serving with MNF-I in Iraq. He's MAJ Guidry, a Muslim. He e-mailed me not long ago and said this:
I had the privilege of meeting and talking with an Iraqi SF (Security Force) LTC (Lieutenant Colonel) who operates in Anbar Province. I asked him specifically what his thoughts are about engaging religious leaders (Imams) here in theater. He was very receptive and excited about such an endeavor. Here are a few things that he shared with me:
- Imams are VERY influential leaders in the community and MUST be engaged.
- Imams welcome the opportunity to talk with American “imams” (meaning chaplains) as brothers.
…..The most eye-opening thing he said was that many Imams are intimidated constantly by ‘bad guys’. If they openly preach in support of CF they are killed. If they preach neutral sermons they are threatened and asked why they do not encourage support for the insurgency, and they are threatened with death if they do not show public support of insurgent groups. The bad guys do this because THEY ARE AFRAID of the influence and power of the Imams and faithful, devout congregations.
Since 2001, we've been complaining that moderate Muslims have been silent about terrorism. In the past year several years movements within Islam have surfaced such as No Terror and This is not Us as moderate Muslims strive to condemn terrorism and apostacy. The Pope has said as much as well. It comes down to this: do we want to win the war by understanding and defeating our enemy and collaborating with Muslims who reject terrorism or do we want to have a "carpet bomb Muslims" attitude and paint the moderates into a corner of choosing between us and terrorists?
We really need to capitalize on this understanding.
Thank you Amy.
ReplyDeleteThat is invaluable information- very informative.
Yes, indeed, amy, and thanks for the semantics lesson. Given the over-arching concepts of Islamic "peace" (i.e. dhimmitude or death to infidels), death to Israel and the U.S., women's rights issues, CAIR's nonsense, and the global Caliphate, I remain highly skeptical when confronted by the phrase "moderate muslim." I live near the "home" of the Portland Six, and well remember the local imams' charges of "racism" and religious bigotry during the demonstrations. There have never been any apologies from ANY so-called "moderate" muslims, and I have yet heard no muslim claim to be anything but "moderate." I work with muslims. All I hear them say is that this country stinks, the Israeli's must be exterminated, and that OBL will show us all when he triumphs. From the videos of ahmadinejerk, the dancing in the muslim streets, the rockets from Lebanon and Gaza, the threats from hamas, hezbollah, al aqsa martyrs' brigade, fatah, and the continued brutal attacks by muslims on non-muslims around the world, I fear that any "moderates" are vastly outnumbered by those practicing hirabah. It strikes me that the self-described non-hirabahists are like a small church in a small town condemning the rest of Christianity as apostate. At any rate, my family sends you and yours our thanks for your family's service, and our prayers for the continued safety of your friends.
ReplyDelete"‘He expressed his concern over the rise in anti-Semitism. The Holy Father said he was very aware of it (and wants to) find a way to make it less prominent through education,’ Stern said."
ReplyDeleteOh, really? Considering the egregious dominance of leftists in the educational systems of the world, that would be truly remarkable. And "less prominent" is kinda weasel-wordy, at best.
But I guess he was afraid of the outraged squawking that would have followed anything even slightly stronger. After all, anti-anti-Semitism is Islamophobic, no?
Gateway, thanks.
ReplyDeleteBear, the Muslims we see dancing in the streets, etc., violently protesting are like the single car bomb that goes off on a particular day in Iraq to the neglect of the 100's of good stories ignored by the media. It is the sensational, not the good, that receives the attention. It's just the nature of the beast.
I'm not an apologist for Islam. I am a Roman Catholic and an Army wife. My husband and I have raised about $20,000 for Iraqi Christians, many of whom are our friends and we are in close contact with. I will say, though, if you take a look at the Jewish Torah you'll find some extremely distrubing passages similar to what is in the Koran. Context, context, context.
That said, my husband and many of our Army friends, including GEN Petraeus (who is not a personal friend just so we're clear)have grown very fond of the good people in Iraq. Theologically we may not agree with them, but we have to agree on the premise that all are entitled to freedom by God. Since all will not be converted to one single religion the best we can hope for is tolerance and respect among the faiths.
That said, I have grave theological issues with Islam but that is beside the point. To win the war on terror is my hope just as we helped win Anbar by enabling Muslims to choose good over evil even in their own fold by understanding and appreciating their religion and how it can contribute to the victory. For Iraqi Muslims to want to have any part of American initiatives is a minor miracle in and of itself considering how we failed Iraqis over the past decade in previous adminstrations.
In terms of Iranian Muslims, they are more open minded than many other Islamic countries and we can also capitalize on their situation by validating and respecting their religion no matter how we feel about it theologically. The consequences of not doing so are catestrophic.
Outstanding, Amy!
ReplyDelete