Religion Information

Muslims Are Losing Ground


Salmon Rushdie may have been the first to flee the wrath of angry Islamic hardliners but now whole nations are on the alert. It is an easy thing to hide one man but nations are another matter. World reaction is followed by world opinion and depending on how much dust has to settle, following close behind is worldwide action. That action has been everything from hunting down major terrorists and dangerous extremists to digging for the root causes for all this anti anything that isn't Muslim.

Immediately after 9-11 President Bush sought to encourage Americans and warn the perpetrators of the attack in New York. We rallied around his comments with ears fully opened and hearts still burning with grief. Almost un-noticed in the melee of words and emotions he also said, that we knew the Muslim religion was a peaceful religion. Do we really know that? Up to that propitious moment in our history we knew pretty close to nothing about the Islamic faith. Since those remarks were made there has been a rush to correct our general lack of knowledge about Islam. So what do we know now?

The first person to cast doubt on the peaceful religion remark was Franklin Graham the son of evangelist Rev Billy Graham. He simply pointed us to the Quran where it can be seen in black and white that the cost of not converting to Islam could be our lives. The first reaction to Graham's divulgement was a little shy of a good old tar and feathering. Since then we have poured over the newly offered enlightenments put forth by authors, preachers, news people and others. Graham has been vindicated, our president has been a good deal less vociferous on the peaceful religion idea, and we have had a non stop crash course on the entire subject via the shock network from, Indonesia, Spain and London.

College freshman still argue that more wars have been fought and more lives have been lost to religion than for any other reason. Only a little more learning and they eventually stop sounding that obviously exaggerated claim. Most of the lives lost in war had to do with territory, politics, fascism and all the other reasons on a long list of which religion is but one. But how many converts are won as a result of religious wars and bigotry? Why can't the Muslims take a hint from this? How many people really wanted to be Catholics during the Papal inquisitions? How many got converted to Christianity because of the crusades? How about a modestly conservative, very few if any, for a fair answer?

About as much time as it takes to get a college degree has passed since 9-11 and Americans have been immersed in both its details and its concomitant effects. We have all figuratively earned our degree in the effects of terrorism. We have had our education bolstered with remedial courses from the subways of Spain to the underground of London. If we have learned nothing else we can at least say with surety that Islam is not a peaceful religion. It assuages us little to be reminded so often that there are extremist Muslims and moderate Muslims, when we know their guide book puts forth a mandate to take the extreme.That information leaves us with only two lousy choices. One is to be ever watchful of the extreme Muslims and the other is to hope the moderate Muslims don't get to serious about the Quran's extremes.

Perhaps a better question is what have Muslims learned? Has the slaughter of unsuspecting, un-armed and un-prepared people added any converts to Islam? Has it caused anyone to rush to join their ranks? The world consensus may be hard to accurately measure but it seems safe to say that not many are taking the bait.

We still live in a world where people don't like being blown up for holding an opposing view or for not being inclined to become adherents to one religion or another. I think that is why we call it civilization. Most people like to come slowly to their conclusions about God. Most folks still prefer spiritual experiences rather than human coercion. Most people would prefer a gentle Jesus to a poisoning Jim Jones. Even the cults have sense enough to feign love to the unsuspecting to lure them into their folds. What nation or what culture has ever been found to eagerly accept a religion that thinks blowing people up is pleasing to God? Why don't Muslims see they are doing more to harm their cause than time and forgiveness may ever be able to repair?

Rev Bresciani is the leader of a non-denominational ministry in the New Orleans area. He has written many articles over the past thirty years in such periodicals as Guideposts and Catholic Digest. He is the author of two books available on Amazon.com, Alibris, Barnes and Noble and many other places. Rev Bresciani wrote, Hook Line and Sinker or What has Your Church Been Teaching You, published by PublishAmerica of Baltimore MD. He also wrote a book about to be released by Xulon Press entitled An American Prophet and His Message, Questions and Answers on the Second Coming of Christ. Rev Bresciani has his own website which is, http://americanprophet.org


MORE RESOURCES:

New York Times

Bishops Were Prepared for Battle Over Birth Control Coverage
New York Times
Seven months earlier, they had started laying the groundwork for a major new campaign to combat what they saw as the growing threat to religious liberty, including the legalization of same-sex marriage. But the birth control mandate, issued on Jan.
Biden says contraceptives fight can be worked outReuters
Catholic TV network sues US over birth control mandatemsnbc.com
Republicans Criticize Obama 'Attack' on Religion at MeetingBusinessWeek
San Francisco Chronicle -U.S. News & World Report
all 3,889 news articles »


Haley Barbour's Unintentional Lesson: Keep Religion and Governance Separate
Huffington Post
pre-determined who was eligible to be pardoned based upon their professing the adoption of his religion. Follow me on a not-so-hypothetical. Suppose that one felon claimed personal salvation, that he had found Jesus, while another made no such ...

and more »


Opposing Views

Evolution Weekend: Protecting Both Religion and Science
Huffington Post
This coming weekend hundreds of religious congregations from all corners of the globe will take steps to re-focus the political discussion about religion. Their goals are actually as simple as they are important. 1. To protect mainstream religion from ...
"Evolution Weekend" Merges Religion & ScienceOpposing Views
Responding to Darwinists Who Get Religion on Evolution Sunday: A Collection of ...Discovery Institute

all 10 news articles »


ABC News

'Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus' Creator Surprised by Critical Response ...
ABC News
"What if I told you Jesus came to abolish religion? … And just because you call some people blind doesn't automatically give you vision? … I mean if religion is so great, why has it started so many wars? Why does it build huge churches, ...
Jesus still a superstar as YouTube video spoofs conservative politicsHULIQ
Jesus versus the GOPSalon

all 7 news articles »


True Religion shares tumble on earnings, outlook
CBS News
True Religion Apparel Inc.'s shares tumbled almost 22 percent in after-hours trading Thursday after the clothing company posted fourth-quarter earnings that fell short of Wall Street expectations and gave a disappointing outlook for 2012.
True Religion 4Q Net Down 8.4%; Shares Slide On Weak ForecastWall Street Journal
True Religion Profit Down, Sees FY12 Below Street; Shares PlungeNASDAQ
True Religion Apparel Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2011 Financial ...MarketWatch (press release)

all 21 news articles »


Mixing Art and Religion for a Loving Reunion
New York Times
Jane Shaw, who became the cathedral's dean last year, share a vision of bringing together art and religion, historically-linked pursuits that are sometimes at odds in modern America. While Grace Cathedral has been very involved with art and artists ...

and more »


Medina Valley ISD settles prayer suit
Houston Chronicle
By Guillermo Contreras Settling a controversial prayer lawsuit, the Medina Valley Independent School District has agreed that its teachers, administrators and other employees will not pray with students, elicit prayer, proselytize or display religious ...

and more »


Actress Roma Downey on religion, faith (2:19)
Washington Post
"Touched by an Angel" star Roma Downey discusses her views on religion and faith with The Washington Post's Sally Quinn. (Feb. 9) (/The Washington Post) Correction: Clarification: SuperFan badge holders consistently post smart, timely comments about ...

and more »


The New Civil Rights Movement

10 reasons religious conservatives love Rick Santorum
Local 10
By Dan Gilgoff, CNN.com Religion Editor (CNN) -- For all the attention paid to the clout of fiscally focused tea party conservatives and of the primacy of jobs in the 2012 election, Rick Santorum's trifecta victories Tuesday night are a good reminder ...
Rick Santorum: President Obama wants to decapitate religion in AmericaExaminer.com
Santorum: Obama War On Religion Leads Religious People To The GuillotineThe New Civil Rights Movement
Santorum: I'm the consistent social conservativeCBS News
ABC News (blog)
all 533 news articles »


Obama Contraceptives Mandate Losing Senate Democrats?
ABC News (blog)
“It's a matter of religious freedom,” Nelson spokesman Dan McLaughlin told ABC News. The senators' statements follow other Democratic senators who voiced concerns this week. Sen. Joe Lieberman, the independent from Connecticut who caucuses with ...

and more »

Google News

home | site map
© 2006