The leader of the world’s Anglicans on Thursday welcomed a letter from Islamic scholars and leaders urging Christians and Muslims to develop their common ground of belief in one God.
The letter carried 138 signatures, including those of Muslim leaders from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Europe and the United States.
“The theological basis of the letter and its call to ‘vie with each other only in righteousness and good works; to respect each other, be fair, just and kind to another and live in sincere peace, harmony and mutual good will,’ are indicative of the kind of relationship for which we yearn in all parts of the world, and especially where Christians and Muslims live together,” Archbishop Rowan Williams said.
Well, that’s probably the [i]second[/i] document he’s received recently that doesn’t really mean what it appears to mean. The ‘unity’ of God for Muslims (wahid or tawhid, probably) refers to an absolute oneness of person, rather than the oneness of substance or essence.
[i]Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, even if they are People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya[/i] [a tribute or tax permitting the non-Muslim to continue in his beliefs] [i]with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.[/i] Sura 9:29
Oh, and by the way, it’s a crime to proselytise. Yeah, we can have world harmony alright, provided we agree to be [i]dimam[/i].
Unless the signers are known to be moderate theologians and leaders, they probably assign a very different meaning to their words than we would normally think they mean.
Would one of those Muslim good works of righteousness be today’s hacking of the Living Church’s web site which was going to an Islamic page but now is down altogether? Just asking.
Why wasn’t this leadership coaltion around to condemn terrorism?
#3 You have said it in a nutshell!!!
“It is particularly important in underlining the need for respect towards minorities in contexts where either Islam or Christianity is the majority presence.”
Does this mean they’ll be opening churches for the hundreds of thousands of Christians in the ‘Kingdom’ of Saudi Arabia?
Will they stop confiscating Bibles and crosses?
/crickets
& maybe they can discuss this from the perfect word of Allah, Qu’ran 9.30:
The Jews say Ezra is the son of God; and the Christians say that the Messiah is the son of God; that is what they say with their mouths, imitating the sayings of those who misbelieved before.–God fight them! how they lie 1!
They take their doctors and their monks for lords 2 rather than God, and the Messiah the son of Mary; but they are bidden to worship but one God, there is no god but He; celebrated be His praise, from what they join with Him!
What with all the love from #’s 1-6, how can there be no peace? Great job following the teachings of “the Messiah the son of Mary.”
As Episcopalians, we have learned all to well that words on a piece of paper mean one thing, actions another. Muslims need to learn to demonstrate their intentions.
Thanks, Brian. Here’s a valuable first step from Muslim scholars who represent the whole spectrum of Islamic thought addressed to the whole Christian community. The heart of the message is the two commandments to love God and love neighbor that both Christianity and Islam share. May God, why cannot Christians take this seriously and began to practice it. We Christians can add Jesus’ commandment to love our enemies. If you think Muslims are your enemies, THEN LOVE THEM. It is so disheartening to see Christians react with such contempt.
# 7: I quote the Qur’an and you take Offense at that. what does that say about *you and your attitudes?
#9: “The heart of the message is the two commandments to love God and love neighbor that both Christianity and Islam share.”
You don’t know much about Islam. Loving God and neighbor is NOT part of Islam. I think you got that idea from somewhere else. If you want to take Muslim concerns seriously, I suggest you find out how they treat Christians in Arabia, Pakistan, Iran etc.
Sorry guys, but the Muslims cannot talk themselves out of something they’ve [i]behaved[/i] themselves into for the last 1300 years or so. For all the wanton violence of Christians over the centuries, it has been over 300 years since we tried to convert anyone by force or intimidation. Time for a quick tour. Let’s start in the Phillipines.
Phillippines: Muslims attack Catholics
Indonesia: Muslims attack Hindus
Thailand: Muslims attack Buddhists
India: Muslims attack Hindus and Sikhs
Iran: Muslims attack Baha’is
Israel: Muslims attack Jews
Ethiopia: Muslims attack Copts
Sudan: Muslims attack Anglicans and animists
Chad: Muslims attack Catholics
Cameroun: Muslims attack Catholics
Nigeria: Muslims attack Anglicans
Spain: Muslims attack Catholics
France: Muslims attack Jews
Bosnia: Muslims attack Orthodox
Russia: Muslims attack Orthodox
Chechnya: Muslims attack Orthodox
China: Muslims attack Atheists
… which brings us back to the Phillippines.
Oh, but it’s all about the Palestinians, and if we got out of Iraq they wouldn’t hate us.
By their fruit shall you know them. No, I don’t trust them. And, No, I don’t feel the slightest bit guilty about that.
I suppose you’d also tell the repeatedly abused woman that she just needs to love and understand her husband more. Especially when he promises to be nicer. You know, the Christian thing to do, and all that.
I know that I am going off topic from the letter and article… but..
#11 Bart et al, no one is asking you to *trust*, *understand” or *be nicer* *them*, however Jesus does ask to love our enemies. First: I suggest that, at a personal level, between an indivudual follow of Jesus (something that I believe we are professing to be) and an Muslim, that Jesus calls us to a fairly high standard of love and respect. This is much more difficult than trusting and being nice — this causes us to get our hands dirty.
Second: on a group or societal level, “they” are not as homogeneous group as “we” would like to believe. I also say “there, but the grace of God, go I.” For many do not have the societal freedems that we enjoy. Either because oppressive Muslim governments exploit Islam as a tool for power. Or because of oppressive secular governments arefraid that any religious activity (Christianity or fundamental Islam will disturb the existing status quo. But the most important reasons that I believe that we (as followers of Jesus) should extend *them* love and grace is because the vast majority of Muslims have not had a single encounter with a follower of Jesus, let alone the chance the experience His truth and love.
Don’t forget Romans 10:14-15 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
Steve
For all the wanton violence of Christians over the centuries, it has been over 300 years since we tried to convert anyone by force or intimidation.
OK, so we admit that we have had roughly 1700 years of force. So let’s extend the same courtesy to Islam. Islam was founded in 622. So they have until 2322 to stop conversion by force and become as forward thinking as you. That’s still 315 years.
Another way to look at it is they are as old as we were in the 14th century. What were Christians doing then?
13: “Another way to look at it is they are as old as we were in the 14th century. What were Christians doing then?”
In the East they were striving to hold off the invading Turks who were destroying Christian Anatolia and had already ravaged the Balkans. In the West, they were slowly driving the Muslims back out of Spain, which they aggressively invaded in 711.
next question?
Loving your neighbor is a totally different thing than not trusting your neighbor. You can love the muslims as persons and still be realistic about their own teachings which make it okay to kill infidels.
The muslims came out recently and condemned the killing of innocents. It’s too bad that they don’t think of Jews and Christians or anyone who doesn’t believe in Islam as “innocents.”