www.byzcath.org Forums News & Events Church News Opus Dei apologizes for Mohammed Cartoon

I just came across this and I thought it would be of some interest.

Opus Dei apologizes [cwnews.com]

In IC XC,
Father Anthony+

Bless, Father!

As I understand it, there is a depiction of Mohammed being in hell right on one of the walls of St Sophia's Cathedral in Istanbul!

Has anyone apologised for that yet?

Alex

Alex,

If it is there, I would find it strange that it would have survived over four hundred years of being there, as it was being used as a mosque for that long.

In IC XC,
Father Anthony+

So basically, Opus Dei has sold out due to threat of Islamic violence, and bad public opinion. They won't be "liked" if they dare to disrespect a thief, murderer, and child rapist. How much longer are we going to allow these people to blackmail us?

When will the Mohammedans apologize for their 1300 year-long persecution, subjugation, and murder of Christians?

Can we say "double standard"?

God bless,

Karen

Karen,

It seems a bit unfair to me to paint pictures of anyone being in Hell, except the Fallen Angels and their Leader.

Now, I assume there are countless souls in Hell, probably the vast majority of the human population (who knows?), but which ones? Which people?

We can never know what graces were given to a person at his moment of death, or whether or not he had a metonoia or some conversion experience right before his death.

We don't know Muhammad, on his deathbed, didn't realize the error of his ways and beg God's forgiveness.

My point is, we can never state with certainty WHO is in Hell and WHO is in Heaven, other than canonized saints.

Is Hitler in Hell? Probably. Is John Paul II in Heaven? Probably. But we don't know either of those things for sure at the moment, so it seems rather uncharitable to portray someone as being in Hell.

Let God judge those specific people's spiritual eternity, and let us simply judge their acts here on Earth and learn what we can from them.

Logos Teen

Hi Logos Teen,

You're right. No matter how horrible a person someone was in life, to say that that person is in hell is wrong. I totally agree with you.

What I was grousing about was how the Muslims demand respect for their religion while they can disrespect others. They can desecrate the Bible and Christian churches, but if we dare say anything unflattering about Mohammed (even if it's true), they rise up together, Borg-like, as the "Nation of Islam" and react with violence. Violence committed in the name of Islam, I've noticed, is never condemned by the Muslim world.

God bless,

Karen

But Karen, as John Paul II taught us, we don't look to others to repent of their sins before we repent of ours. It is commendable for Opus Dei to apologize for a cartoon which is offensive to Muslims, whether Muslims are repentent for their own sins or not.

And many Muslims certainly have condemned the violence of the jihadists; where have you been?
And what is this "Muslim world" of which you speak? Islam is pretty diverse; if you haven't been paying attention there is a veritable religious war going on in Iraq between the two major factions...
And: well said, Garrett [Logos Teen]!
-Daniel

Hi Daniel,

Christ is risen!

The problem is that Opus Dei "repented" only because they fear violent retaliation from Muslims, and because they fear unpopularity with religious relativists. Basically, they didn't repent so much as they sold out. They talk about "respecting Islam", but Islam is a false and diabolical religion-- we *shouldn't* respect it. Muslim people, yes, the religios/political system of Islam, no.

As for Muslims condemning the violence of the "jihadists", this isn't exactly true. When 9/11 happened, many Muslim leaders expressed regret-- they did NOT actually condemn the acts as evil and as going against the Muslim religion. The Muslim world (which constitutes all lands that have been conquered by Mohammed and his followers since the 7th century-- Dar Al Islam, the "House of Islam" ) was indeed silent; oh, except for the Pakistanis who I saw celebrating in the streets. And the Muslim world has reponded the same way to every other atrocity committed in Islam's name. But heaven forbid we insult Mohammed or desecrate the Q'uran.

Islam is a religious and political system that is inherently hostile towards the non-Muslim world-- called Dar Al Harb (the "House of War"). And *all* Muslims are "jihadists"-- jihad is at the very heart of Islam, and it won't end until the whole world is under its yoke-- or until the Lord returns.

And yes, I've been "paying attention" to the war in Iraq, as well as to the official teachings of Islam. Most Muslims are Sunnis, but some are Shiite. However they might fight among themselves, they will stand shoulder to shoulder against non-Muslims.

I think a lot of folks are starting to wake up and realize that Islam is NOT the peaceful religion we're so often told it is.

God bless,

Karen

FYI...here's a book I'm picking up tonight.

Eurabia [amazon.com]

Looks like an interesting read for my trip to Europe this weekend - um, er, I mean, EURABIA!

Gordo

Gordo

have a wonderful trip

And enjoy the Community in Dublin - I'm told they are most welcoming

Thank you! I'm looking forward to the visit - and celebrating Pascha twice this year!

Gordo

Dear MizByz you said:

"Islam is a religious and political system that is inherently hostile towards the non-Muslim world-- called Dar Al Harb (the "House of War"). And *all* Muslims are "jihadists"-- jihad is at the very heart of Islam, and it won't end until the whole world is under its yoke-- or until the Lord returns."

I say:

You are right you know. Islam believes that all must be under it's control. Yet that being said, I was just reading about Justinian. Now he was the Roman emperor shortly before Mohammed came on the scene, and the laws he promulgated for Christianity were very similar to the Islamic one's.

He did not give any rights to those that were not orthodox Christians. Basically the pagans and heretics. Only the Jews were allowed to congregate and worship, but they were not allowed to build any new synogogues. It made me realize that maybe some of the policies of the Muslims might have been taken from Christianity.

Of course being a heresy, the Muslims would have twisted those laws in some way. As one theologian said, the world progressed from a belief in many gods, to one god, and then to Christianity. The Muslim faith though is not a progression, but a back slide.

What is more troublesome about the Muslims, is not that they perceive everyone outside of Islam as being their enemy, but rather that they have no regard for their own people. They are willing to have them die in order for Islam to progress.

Of course we could say that Christians have also fought religious wars, but yet there has always been within people a concern for their own. Yet Islam doesn't seem to have that concern. Whatever suffering one of their own goes through is perceived as being their 'fate'. They must suffer it for the expansion of that religious political entity called Islam. Because of that, it seems that everyplace that borders on Islam is bloody.

Zenovia

Dear Zenovia,

Christ is risen!

Wow, you make some really insightful points. To be fair, freedom of religion was a pretty foreign concept to all peoples in the 7th century.

The other thing re Islamic laws discriminating against non-Muslims is that within Islam, dhimmitude is actually prescribed by the religion itself. Non-Muslims living in Muslim countries have three choices: conversion to Islam, heavy taxation and persecution, or death. It's no wonder so many Christians and Jews convert to Islam... they're almost forced to do so to have a tolerable life.

One of my best friends has been to Egypt several times, and for awhile dated and was engaged to a Coptic Christian Egyptian man she met there. He said that the Egyptian government will give aid to Muslims, but if a Copt tries to apply for aid, he is shooed away with, "Let your pope [Shanouda III] take care of you."

The same is true re violence. Religous moral relativists are constantly saying, "Well Christians have committed atrocities in God's name too." What these people are overlooking is the fact that Christians who committ these acts of violence are acting in direct opposition to their Faith's teachings, whereas Muslims are just following theirs.

And you're right... they seem to have very low regard for human life, even Muslim lives. Perhaps it stems from their view of Allah as a taskmaster who doesn't have much regard for human life either.

God bless,

Karen

What a wonderful man the editor must be to have apologised for this matter. He is so in line with the Pope and Patriarchs who made their views known after the Danish cartoon debacle.

ICXC
NIKA

Just a few thoughts:

Regarding the comment about all Muslims being jihadists, it is good to bear in mind what jihad actually means within the Muslim religion.

These thoughts and definitions are drawn from Islam: Beliefs and Teachings by Ghulam Sarwar.

Essentially jihad is the dedication and use of a Muslims energies and resources to establish the Islamic system of life. Jihad is an Arabic word which means "to try one's utmost". First and foremost, the concept of jihad applies to the interior life of the devout Muslim. He or she strives to control all evil desires and intentions, while establishing the right and removing evil. This interior focus becomes the basis for any effort external to the individual. It demands the use of all material and mental resources, including possibly giving up one's life for the cause of Islam. The ultimate aim of jihad is the pleasure of Allah.

How does one attain the "pleasure" of Allah within Islam? through the observance of the "Five Pillars":

1. Shahadah - Declaration of Faith ("There is no god but Allah")
2. Salah - The Five Compulsory Daily Prayers (done at different times of the day)
3. Zakah - Almsgiving to the Poor and Needy/Islamic Welfare
4. Hajj - Pilgrimage to Makkah
5. Sawm - Fasting during Ramadan

Jihad is the end result of the fulfillment of the four regular basic duties (the pilgrimage being done sometimes only once in a lifetime).

On the surface (and even deep down) these basic precepts could easily be applied to Christian teachings. Is not a Christian called to conform his or her life to the will of God? Doesn't such a calling entail some form of interior struggle, even spiritual warfare?

So how does the concept of jihad become associated with the war and with acts of terrorism?

I believe that the reasons are threefold:

1. It is the duty of a faithful Muslim to carry out Allah's commands and to urge others to do the same - to 'command the right and forbid the evil" is how it is quoted in the Koran. Once a group of Muslims form and grow within a non-Muslim community, they are duty bound to "command...and forbid" according to the words of their "prophet".

2. They are also bound to see in Mohhammed the exemplar of jihad. All one has to do is read the Koran and see how that turned out for non-Muslims (mixed results).

3. Within Islam as a religious system, there exist numerous little "time bombs" (pardon the pun) that seem to go off causing even the most devout and righteous of Muslims to consider acts that would be regarded by the world as monstrous. It does not take much to move to a radicalized interpretation of Islam, since the seeds are there within the texts themselves. I believe that you see this especially in the cases of individual Muslims who had lived wild and irreligious lives, then experienced a religious conversion and began to take their "faith" seriously. A young Saudi by the name of Osama bin Laden had just such an experience.

One branch of Islam worth reading about from an Eastern Christian perspective is Sufism. Of the various branches of Islam, Sufism appears less prone to the violent manifestations we witness from Sunnis, Shiites and - of course - the Mujahideen. Here is a link to a fabulous book which explores certain points of convergence between the two faiths. Paths to the Heart [amazon.com] Here are some interesting interesting articles on Sufism. Articles on Sufism [arches.uga.edu]

God - Holy and Triune - bless!

Gordo