open Democracy News Analysis - europe & islam - Comments

aspacia on "The jihadist style-journey: Germany’s election and after "

aspacia — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 23:27:51 +0000

Just look at the 9/11 hijackers who donned the same apparel.

Spepee on "The end of postmodernism: the “new atheists” and democracy"

Spepee — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 03:08:06 +0000

Religion this noble blue ball is our most inspiring source of information that has ever existed. Not only does it inspire joy and enlightenment in the hearts of the many that hear, it has excelled through centuries of criticism and attempts by communist to smother it completely out.
Ignorance through atheism and a crafty guessing game by immoral individuals are no excuses for what is inevitable.
1Co 2:14 - [In Context|Read Chapter|Original Greek]
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

1Co 3:6 - [In Context|Read Chapter|Original Greek]
I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.

1Co 3:19 - [In Context|Read Chapter|Original Greek]
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.

1Co 4:5 - [In Context|Read Chapter|Original Greek]
Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.

Simon Icke on "The end of postmodernism: the “new atheists” and democracy"

Simon Icke — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 11:38:40 +0000

This is the most powerful and passionate sermon I have ever read or ever heard.

In Great Britain today, we are facing very difficult times ahead with a breakdown in our society; financially, morally and spiritually and there are many people who have worries and concerns about the future. I believe it would help people throughout the UK to read and hear this sermon about the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords; Jesus Christ. Perhaps if you are a church leader you could arrange for it to be read out to your congregation by someone who has the gift of speaking with passion and believes with all their heart, the words of this sermon.. I hope this sermon will be read and heard for generations to come. Every time I read it or hear it, I just feel the love and power of the Jesus Christ coming through by the power of his Holy Spirit. If you agree with my thoughts why not pass on this email to your friends. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever; this message will never be dated.
“That’s My King”

The late Dr. S. M. Lockeridge, a pastor from San Diego, California
said these words in a sermon in Detroit in 1976:

My King was born King. The Bible says He’s a Seven Way King. He’s the King of the Jews – that’s an Ethnic King. He’s the King of Israel – that’s a National King. He’s the King of righteousness. He’s the King of the ages. He’s the King of Heaven. He’s the King of glory. He’s the King of kings and He is the Lord of lords. Now that’s my King.

Well, I wonder if you know Him. Do you know Him? Don’t try to mislead me. Do you know my King? David said the Heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork. My King is the only one of whom there are no means of measure that can define His limitless love. No far seeing telescope can bring into visibility the coastline of the shore of His supplies. No barriers can hinder Him from pouring out His blessing.

He’s enduringly strong. He’s entirely sincere. He’s eternally steadfast. He’s immortally graceful. He’s imperially powerful. He’s impartially merciful. That’s my King. He’s God’s Son. He’s the sinner’s saviour. He’s the centrepiece of civilization. He stands alone in Himself. He’s honest. He’s unique. He’s unparalleled. He’s unprecedented. He’s supreme. He’s pre-eminent. He’s the grandest idea in literature. He’s the highest personality in philosophy. He’s the supreme problem in higher criticism. He’s the fundamental doctrine of historic theology. He’s the carnal necessity of spiritual religion. That’s my King.

He’s the miracle of the age. He’s the superlative of everything good that you choose to call Him. He’s the only one able to supply all our needs simultaneously. He supplies strength for the weak. He’s available for the tempted and the tried. He sympathizes and He saves. He’s the Almighty God who guides and keeps all his people. He heals the sick. He cleanses the lepers. He forgives sinners. He discharged debtors. He delivers the captives. He defends the feeble. He blesses the young. He serves the unfortunate. He regards the aged. He rewards the diligent and He beautifies the meek. That’s my King.

Do you know Him? Well, my King is a King of knowledge. He’s the wellspring of wisdom. He’s the doorway of deliverance. He’s the pathway of peace. He’s the roadway of righteousness. He’s the highway of holiness. He’s the gateway of glory. He’s the master of the mighty. He’s the captain of the conquerors. He’s the head of the heroes. He’s the leader of the legislatures. He’s the overseer of the overcomers. He’s the governor of governors. He’s the prince of princes. He’s the King of kings and He’s the Lord of lords. That’s my King.

His office is manifold. His promise is sure. His light is matchless. His goodness is limitless. His mercy is everlasting. His love never changes. His Word is enough. His grace is sufficient. His reign is righteous. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. I wish I could describe Him to you . . . but He’s indescribable. That’s my King. He’s incomprehensible, He’s invincible, and He is irresistible.

I’m coming to tell you this, that the heavens of heavens can’t contain Him, let alone some man explain Him. You can’t get Him out of your mind. You can’t get Him off of your hands. You can’t outlive Him and you can’t live without Him. The Pharisees couldn’t stand Him, but they found out they couldn’t stop Him. Pilate couldn’t find any fault in Him. The witnesses couldn’t get their testimonies to agree about Him. Herod couldn’t kill Him. Death couldn’t handle Him and the grave couldn’t hold Him. That’s my King.

He always has been and He always will be. I’m talking about the fact that He had no predecessor and He’ll have no successor. There’s nobody before Him and there’ll be nobody after Him. You can’t impeach Him and He’s not going to resign. That’s my King! That’s my King!

Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory. Well, all the power belongs to my King. We’re around here talking about black power and white power and green power, but in the end all that matters is God’s power. Thine is the power. Yeah. And the glory. We try to get prestige and honor and glory for ourselves, but the glory is all His. Yes. Thine is the Kingdom and the power and glory, forever and ever and ever and ever. How long is that? Forever and ever and ever and ever. . . And when you get through with all of the ever’s, then . . .Amen!

Dr Shadrach Meshach Lockeridge born 13 March 1913 died 04 April 2000.

A brief profile of the man:

Ministry: In 1942 he accepted his first pastorate at fourth ward Baptist Church in Ennis Texas. In August 1952 he was named pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in San Diego where he served until retiring in 1993. During Dr Lockeridge’s tenure at Calvary Baptist, a predominantly African-American congregation, his ministry touched the lives of more than 100,000 people. He preached at crusades, revivals, Christian rallies and evangelistic conferences around the world. Dr Lockerridge was active in the civil rights movement, under his leadership Calvary Baptist hosted several of its leaders, including Dr Martin Luther King and Jesse Jackson. He served as guest lecturer at numerous schools, universities and Christian faculties including the Billy Graham School of Evangelism. His best known message is a six and half minute description of Jesus Christ, known as: “That’s my King”.

Robin Richardson on "Islam, Europe, and history: across the frontiers"

Robin Richardson — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 19:35:25 +0000

An excellent article and I look forward very much to reading the text of the full lecture. I hope to find there some discussion of the causes of, and of the factors contributing to, the phenomena variously known as 'anti-Muslim racism', 'Islamophobia', 'intolerance and discrimination against Muslims', and 'anti-Muslimism'. Without a rigorous analysis of these phenomena, Martin Rose's admirable proposals, and the proposals more generally of the British Council's Shared Europe project, may be difficult or impossible to achieve.

Rosemary Bechler on "Islam, Europe, and history: across the frontiers"

Rosemary Bechler — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 09:23:07 +0000

In his account of the way in which scholars are beginning to open up the richness and complexity of ‘Islamo-Christian civilisation’, Kanishk accuses the author of repeating the ‘simplistic, a-historical missteps’ that he is criticising and in doing so reproducing the ‘petty power relations’ and ‘silly divisions of modern geopolitics.’ openDemocracy rightly prides itself on writing that shows nuance and differentiation, but I think on this occasion my colleague is not seeing the wood for the trees.

One reason why I was so glad to publish an excerpt from Martin Rose’s address – the background to an important new ‘ Our Shared Europe’ project - is because it is a rare example of an occasion on which a committed cultural relations practitioner takes on some of the sillier and indeed more dangerous aspects of the ‘proxy politics’ that govern our lives. Moreover it gives a special platform to those historians who are doing the same important and nuanced work. This kind of expertise is so urgently needed in political debate and is so often absent, with disastrous results that are not at all ‘petty’ in their effects.

I’m sorry that we were only able to publish a short excerpt, and I cannot recommend the whole lecture, available on the AMSS website as above, more highly. Leading up to our excerpt, the opening sections of the lecture are devoted to tracing the process over the last 20 years whereby history, described by Martin Rose in a quote from historians Paul Glennie and Nigel Thrift as ‘an ungainly mixture of times – unfolding at different speeds in different places – which intersect and interact in all manner of ways’, has become dominated by and miserably reduced to a binary opposition of ‘Them and Us’ which Rose refers to throughout the essay as the ‘evil twins’ of popular historiographical explanatory frameworks. Rose’s recognition that history can be controlled and manipulated to become, quoting Margaret Macmillan, a ‘pool... often sulphurous, which lies under the present, silently shaping our institutions, our ways of thought, our likes and dislikes’ is an integral part of what seems to have prompted his work in this area.

We should have added a footnote to his phrase, ‘the "evil twins" - the two malign narratives that coil round each other like a double helix’ in the above excerpt to make it quite clear what ‘intellectually barren and politically lethal’ opposing accounts it was that the author had in his sights in this address. I’d like to remedy that now, by supplying a few sentences from the first mention in the lecture of these two opposing ‘geopolitical fables’:

“ The first is the story of the clash of civilisations, the inevitable confrontation of Western and Muslim worlds, of social, political and intellectual failure in the East expressed as aggression against the West, the custodian of a modernity which ‘Islam’ at once craves and resents. This narrative paints Islam as a monolith, 1.9 billion people thinking and acting as one… It takes the highly partisan analysis of recent scholar-commentators who seem all too often to have political axes to grind, and grafts onto it a ludicrously generalized understanding of the small but very bloody terrorist campaigns of recent years… By this account, Muslims undermine the West through their propensity to violence, their ‘primitive’ understanding of women’s rights, opposition to freedom of speech and so on. It is the stuff of John Buchan’s Greenmantle.

The other story – the other evil twin – supposes that the West is a monolith, driven by fear and hatred of Islam; that its military actions in Muslim countries are crusades, studiously shaped by a malice towards Islam rooted in centuries of conflict and in religious hatred (fanned perhaps by the modern hatred of atheism for faith). This story jumbles together every piece of evidence, every event and every atrocity ( from a ferile range of possibilities) that can be critically adduced to suggest that there is a concerted global campaign against Islam itself…”

The author’s contention regarding this double helix of misrepresentation is that, ‘whether these two histories will fertilize, or continue to antagonize, one another is one of the great questions of our time.’ I hope this will encourage Kanishk (and other readers) to visit the text as a whole and acknowledge the importance of this endeavour. After all, however ‘petty’ or ‘silly’ - these two narratives have had an impact on history, like belief in the Deity itself, that, regardless of their relationship to truth, touches on all our lives.

Jairo Mejia on "Rowan Williams: sharia furore, Anglican future"

Jairo Mejia — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 00:19:16 +0000

You might be one for whom religious beliefs are not just irrelevant, but baseless. You might be right: myths and a religious fantasy have influenced human minds with larger strength than reality, and the “God” of main line traditions simply does not exist. Most people don’t dare to confront their religious beliefs, opt for the status quo, or become marginalized.

Bishop John Shelby Spong says that “Christianity Reformed From its Roots – A Life Centered in God” “rightly points out that those who seek to defend Christianity’s past are also killing Christianity’s future.” I accepted the challenge of finding the One who may be recognized even by Gnostics and atheists: the Existence! Eminent philosophers and thinkers might give you an idea if this book might be an insightful reading for you (links below). You may look also at excerpts at Amazon.com.

Jairo Mejia, M. Psych., Santa Clara University
Retired Episcopal Priest
Carmel Valley, California

http://www.mbay.net/~jmejia/Grudzen.htm
http://www.mbay.net/~jmejia/Churcher.htm

Not logged in on "Rowan Williams: sharia furore, Anglican future"

Not logged in — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 09:43:39 +0000

To god of reason (God of Hate is more like it). Everything you said about Sharia is rebuked by the Quran. Try reading about Islam from respectable sources not from hate-filled sources. You may also check evilbible.com to find out that your accusations are more likely true of Christianity.

Not logged in on "Secularism confronts Islam"

Not logged in — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 06:40:10 +0000

to the follower of "godofreason" (God of Hate!). Everything you said shows your ignorance and hatred. The Quran rebukes everything you said and even those verses that you quoted were misinterpreted. There are no" virgins" for males in Paradise because in Paradise people will be genderless, no males or females. Those beautiful eyed women and men will be only servants for all the people of Paradise.

Hasmonean on "Islam, Europe, and history: across the frontiers"

Hasmonean — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:35:11 +0000

You could argue that civilization has always been rooted in the Middle East, and Europe has always been occupied by barbarians. The history of Europe has been a history of absorbing influences from civilization.

The first influence the civilized world exerted on them was through the Roman legions, and that made them into fighting machines. Eventually they sacked Rome, North Africa, and Greece. Old hatreds die hard.

The next influence the civilized world exerted on them was Christianity, and a century after the Norse barbarians christianized they went on a crusade, during which they raped and pillaged Jerusalem and Byzantium alike.

The next influence on them was Arab culture, chiefly through the influence of Spain and trade with the Middle East, and as soon as they absorbed it they tried to find a sea route to India.... This time, there was little rape, perhaps due to the influence of Christianity.

The next influence on them was that of the Turks, who had invented gunpowder and cannons. They put the guns on ships, ran all over the world and conquered a few countries on the other side of the Turks.

Next came modern science and industry, and Europeans used it to create a culture of exploiting every single natural resource the earth has to offer...with ruinous consequences for the whole planet.

You could say that Europe is simply the only group of barbarians which has ever adopted civilization.
Just like North Korea is the only tyranny with nuclear weapons. Their nukes do not make them a superpower. Similarly, civilization in the hands of barbarians does not make them civilized.

Africa is an example of how people can combine the barbarian lifestyle with civilized values. Europe is a civilized lifestyle with barbarian values....

Kanishk Tharoor on "Islam, Europe, and history: across the frontiers"

Kanishk Tharoor — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 18:15:32 +0000

A few unrelated notes:

- In the 18th century a Hindu student in the north of Bengal, for instance, read Plato and Aristotle, and was taught to think of them as "Persian" thinkers. That may seem outlandish, but how different is it from a Norwegian in Bergen reading Plato and Aristotle and thinking of them as part of a "Western" tradition? These are, in many respects, equal claims of tradition and "ownership".

- Jack Goody's Theft of History is essential reading, even for those who are inclined to disagree with it.

- I do have a bit of problem with Martin's assertion here:

It is true that this claim would be hard to maintain if it was made simply in the name of farmers from Mirpur settled in Bradford, or from Sylhet settled in Brick Lane. But it isn't: it is made by Muslims, speaking as Muslims, as small shareholders in the great civilisational and religious enterprise of Islam. As Muslims, Mirpuris and Sylhetis, Moroccans and Anatolians can all hold their heads higher. They are, after all, distant heirs of what Claudio Lange described like this: "in the 11th century, Islamic civilisation, together with the Byzantine, Chinese and Indian civilisations, established the First World of the time, while Western Europe embodied the Third."

It goes without saying that "Islam" cannot be hermetically be sealed off from Europe, and that Islam (and further back: the cultures of the Levant and Mesopotamia, the socio-political organisation of steppe nomads, the mathematics of India, etc.) all made "Europe" whatever it is today. But I find this passage deeply troubling. I have heard Islamists in Europe and elsewhere spout the same kind of rhetoric, evoking a Golden Age now lost (or more insidiously shattered by others), and recalling a moment when "Islam" stood in a position of power over the "West". Why should we trade in petty power relations? Why should we revel in the silly divisions of modern geopolitics (First/Thirld World), projecting them crudely on to the past? In doing so, we remain beholden to the understanding of history we're trying to reform.

Furthermore, the pan-Islamist argument precisely wants to level these distinctions between Mirpuris and Sylhetis, and see the vast landscape of Muslims in Europe as simply Muslims, stripped of their other associations. This is a real problem within the piece. Is European identity an intellectual, high-cultural commodity? Must "Europeanness", as Martin construes it, really spring from the shared contribution to some mythical "European mind" (what on earth is that?)?

One of the great injustices of the European project is its presumptuousness. If the hill-people of the Carpathians, the nomadic Sami, the descendants of Cossacks, etc. are all without question "European", why can't Mirpuris and Sylhetis be "European" as well qua Mirpuris and Sylhetis (and not simply as Muslims)? After all, much of modern Europe (inextricable, one presumes, from this fanciful "European mind") was built on the subjugation and labour of Mirpuris and Sylhetis. Does that give them no stake? Do they need a Sylheti Voltaire to be European (then please have a serious read of 19th century Bengali thought)? If we are to believe Martin, they can only find refuge in a European identity through appealing to the "Golden Age" of Islam. That seems to me a travesty of space and time, and deeply disrespectful to the innate complexity of history. Martin's piece in its own way is very much "proxy politics."

The truth, I'd hazard, is that an intellectual understanding European identity will always be aspirational and incomplete. It would be a desperate shame if, in trying to incorporate Islam into this murky notion of Europeanness (a worthy endeavour, I agree), we make the same simplistic, a-historical missteps that are legion in the making of bristling, triumphant "civilisational" identities.

Jonathan boettcher on "Islam, Europe, and history: across the frontiers"

Jonathan boettcher — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 02:03:59 +0000

The traditional stories told by Europe of its own past and its encounters with the Islamic world are driven by a form of proxy politics that denies the reality of cross-fertilisation. But scholars are discovering new currents that open this intimate relationship to fresh interpretation, says Martin Rose.

Haseeb on "Islam(s) and politics: post-traumatic states in Algeria"

Haseeb — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:15:11 +0000

An excellent detail about islam and politics.

We cannot continue are politics until and unless we adopt the method of islam.

And as we adopt it there will me peace in the country.

Simon Icke on "The end of postmodernism: the “new atheists” and democracy"

Simon Icke — Tue, 05 May 2009 10:33:34 +0000

Jesus Christ is Alive! I used to be an atheist but realised I had no real purpose in life and nothing that the world offered could fill that spiritual vacuum I felt inside. One day realising that everything the world offered was empty and only of fleeting interest. I humbled myself and repented and invited Jesus into my life. At the moment I said the believer’s prayer I knew that Jesus was alive as I experienced the power and love of his Holy Spirit. That was in 1979 nothing since then has convinced me otherwise than that was the best decision I ever made in my life to become a born again Christian and know the love, joy and power of God's Holy Spirit. I found a living faith that I didn't deserve. It was by God's Grace alone that saved a wretch like me.

I pray than one day when you stop following the fools Dawkins, Graylind & co that you to will find Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Saviour. I am certain that Jesus Christ is alive. I have witnessed many instances where I have seen God's power at work including the miraculous healing of my brother Danny when he was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour and given only weeks to live. That also was in 1979. My brother was miraculously healed by the power of prayer. He is still alive and well 30 years later. The bottom line is that I have lived a life without God and found it to be empty. But I have had the humility to believe in Jesus Christ as the messiah, the saviour of the world and found it to be true. Every time I pray I feel his presence and his amazing love. All the money and power in this world cannot compare than having a personal faith in Jesus Christ.

I hope one day that all you who persecute and ridicule Christians will one day have a Saul experience and be touched by the power of the Holy Spirit on your own road to Damascus (see the book of Acts) and realise how wrong you have been and start to follow Jesus rather than the false empty wisdom of today's aggressive, arrogant atheist and who are laughing all the way to the bank as the many fools are eager to buy their books. When people stop believing in God they don't believe in nothing they believe in anything and anyone. 50 years from now Dawkins will be forgotten. 2000 years have past, since Jesus walked this earth his ministry only lasted three years, he lived a humble life and made no money from his followers, he did no wrong or hurt anyone one but the atheist and the religious people shouted crucify as they were frightened by his message that challenged everything they believed and valued. He was a threat to their cosy world. 2000 years later he is still a threat that's why we now have Christianphobia in the UK today which is lead by several regular Guardian writers and some of the atheistic fools on Cif ( Comment is Free the Guardian discussion blog) can't get enough of the new trendy atheistic thoughts nor their Christian bashing. Dawkins and Grayling and others are the new aggressive bullies on the block, they have no tolerance, no humility, no love and they write with unbelievable arrogance. Humility is a quality that you won't find in any of their writing. They have convinced themselves there is no God yet they make their living hating God, especially the Christian God. Maybe deep down they are frightened that they are totally wrong and that Jesus is the way , the truth and the life.

The one thing we are all sure of is death, even for world leaders, the rich and famous kings or fools. Everything they own will mean nothing, neither will fame in this world be worth anything. They will leave this life as they entered it, NAKED. When that day comes they will be judged by God like everyone else. They won't be feeling so smug when God says to them sorry I don't know you. I cannot find your name in the book of life. Eternal life promised to all believers of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. I pray that one day you will find Him before you die. It wasn't just Saul who had a Damascus Road experience but more recently the great writer and professor C S Lewis. Who wrote he must of been one of the most reluctant converts to Christianity. He went from being an atheist to becoming a born again Christian. Which led to his great books , like the Screwtape letters, the Narnia series, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe etc. and so many more. All of his writing was enriched by his new found faith in Jesus Christ. It was his faith that inspired him to write with such wisdom that people in their millions and of all ages still enjoy today. I doubt the same will be said for Richard Dawkins even a few years after his death.

Seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened, ask and you will be answered. And by God's grace you will be saved.

One last thought, I cannot see the wind but I know its power, I don't know where it comes from or where it goes. But I am absolutely certain it is there. Just as I remain as certain that Jesus Christ is who he claimed to be. I feel His love and power and know he is with me every day.

We need to stand and be counted as Christians and answer the new trendy atheism that is sweeping the UK and led by the likes of Richard Dawkins and AC Grayling and many others. There is nothing more powerful than your personal testimony and focusing on Jesus Christ and the need to become a Christian to be saved. I recommend a book I have just read titled The Wild Gospel by Alison. Morgan, an Anglican minister living in the UK. It has inspired me and given me the clarity to stand up for my faith as above, in the face of the Christianphobia , and aggressive atheism we are now experiencing in the UK.. I recommend you buy this book and share it with other Christians it is an inspirational book for these times.

Be bold, be strong Christian brothers and sisters and be soldiers of the cross. We have the victory in Jesus Christ’s resurrection power. Go into the world and tell people the good news of the Gospel. The Holy Spirit will give you the wisdom and words that you need.

L.W. on "Anatolian Muslimhood: humanising capitalism? "

L.W. — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 21:37:29 +0000

That movement is a Trojan horse. Accept Turkey in the Eu and you will turn Europe into a fundamentally correct province of a revived Ottoman - Persian Empire financially profiting with a democratic economic stimulus while successfully taking away clothing , free speech and equality of the sexes. lol

Dennis Nottebaum on "Is Rasmussen the right man?"

Dennis Nottebaum — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 07:08:46 +0000

Thanks, this has been changed.