Quote:
Originally Posted by jamesdmanley
its a shame there isnt more of that out there. on single denunciation isnt going to make much of a statement though. it would be nice to see it en mass and more than just once by an isolated group. and the whole "fearing for my safety" argument doesnt really hold any water in my opinion.
|
Well, keep in mind, it's about as difficult as getting all of the Christians in the world to make one pronouncement en masse. It isn't like the Muslims have a central figure who dictates all. It's a lot more like all the different denominations of Christianity ... who would be the person to command that the position be made clear??
And, I think that the central mosque in the sixth largest city in the US is not exactly an isolated group. However, the big problem --as I see it anyway -- is that there is this silent majority in almost every group. We just want to live and let live ... but we keep our mouths shut on most topics because we'd rather not get hammered down. I mean ... it's not that I fear for my life, but I gave up arguing with the religious right a loooong time ago. It was like arguing with a rock .... a big ol' unthinking rock.
I have a sneaking feeling that my moderate (and some liberal) Muslim friends are in much the same position.
You know ... when the Taliban blew up those beautiful statues of Buddha in Afganistan a few years ago, my heart just broke. Not because it was a statue of Buddha ... we don't perceive Buddha as embodied in a piece of rock, and it's impossible to dishonor Buddha just by blowing up a piece of rock, that's just laughable. But, what made me sad was that the Taliban was trying to erase a part of the history of the Afgan people ... those statues were a valuable piece of the history of art in Afganistan. It's like blowing up the pyramids (because they were built for god-kings and are therefore un-Islamic). Where would be the sense in that??
I was sitting with a friend/client who happened to be Muslim, at the time all this Taliban desecration was going on .... and we started going through a list of all the beautiful pieces of art and architecture that the Muslims or the Christians could probably justify destroying in the name of "religion."
Stonehenge .... the Temple of Rameses .... the Alcazar in Granada ... the Pyramids ... the Acropolis ... the Colosseum ... hey ... pick a landmark and blow it up folks ... it's not "Muslim" ... it's not "Christian."
Oh .... spare me. Honestly, there are times I could happily bitch slap some of these people. Of course, they'd likely blow me up ... but still.