Much like the Catholic Church in the dark ages, the Quran is written in a language that is not readable by the mass of the adherents to Islam, so they are dependent on their Imam, and Ayatollah's, and those seem to be self appointed. Yes SAM, Pearls thrown before the swine, you still can't answer, can you. Now the Catholic Church was much the same before the reformation, and it took the Reformation to Change the Catholic Church, that began in 1517, though its roots lie further back in time. It began with Martin Luther and may be considered to have ended with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. So were is Islams Peace?
I lived about 1 hour from Dearborn MI. It's certainly not 50% Muslim but there are a lot of Muslims there. Almost all are very Americanized and very patriotic. Many supported the wars and many still do. Something to think about, Michael
Apparently Dearborn's population is 30% [approx 30,000] Arab American in 2000 [Wikipedia: Dearborn, MI]. It doesn't state religious demographics. I would imagine the Muslim population is a higher percentage than this as it includes African Americans, South Asians, Southeast Asians, Africans, Turks, etc. Does anyone have a source for that? As far as my belief, I believe Islam is the only religion that erases the race problem from mankind. This is the reason why I'm Muslim. I don't really care if anyone disagrees with me, I didn't ask anyone's approval for believing as I do.
And I have no problem denouncing those Priest, (of the Catholic Church, who commit these act), for doing so. Now, Do you denounce those of Islam who commit the sexual molestation of children. Or are you going to continue the use of Loaded to avoid looking at Islam and it's record on the same subject? SAM Loaded Question/Statement AVOIDANCE Alert! The Catholic church is busy poking the bums of ten year olds. That their piece of peace.
Now why didn't you bring this up to SAM when she posted all of these off subject and loaded questions and statement?
Typical Moslem: "pwnd" origins is in the word, "owned", as in a sense of dominance or superiority (akin to a master being superior to the slave),
If anyone has anything to say about Muslims in America, then please post something. Otherwise start your own thread.
We've recently watched something of a political shift in the USA, and I'm interested in a progress report on whether this is influencing our relations: Is there any perceptible change in general acceptance of Muslims in the USA (from the perspective of Muslims here)? Not so much among friends (where bias and ignorance are frequently overcome) and not in the most public venues (where bias and ignorance are overlooked). I'm mostly interested in the personal-acquaintances aspect. I expect that those of you who come and go from the USA might have the keenest sense of it- Is there any perceptible change in the trend of our general respect for Islam and Muslims in the USA?
I'm most interested here in the impressions that Muslims have (begging your pardon if you have accepted Islam, CC). In any case, thanks for reminding me that it isn't obvious or important for most mere acquaintances, whether one is meeting a Muslim or not. Still, I'm interested to know if there is any change in perceptible vibe in the USA from the perspective of Muslims.
Just mentioning. Because I saw a kid performing at a Christmas event out here, his parents standing right off stage in full Muslim garb as they announced "Kaddish r'Amen", no one thought it was strange. I found it somewhat strange that only the Jews noticed a Muslim was playing Christmas music for Christians.
That's good, a Muslim kid accepted in some Christmas cheer. In the Mideast, many Muslims used to give my (Christian) family Christmas greetings. But only the Jews noticed a Muslim was participating? I'm curious how it seemed uniquely evident for them.
Most Christians don't know semitic languages...they couldn't recognize the word "Kaddish" or "r'Amen". Even I am confused about the last name. I don't know the prefix 'r' (I assume it's translated "To be faithful") and I am almost sure his name couldn't be "Rah-men" which means "Evil from" or "From Seeing"...dependent on the spelling.
I know I'd be an unreliable USAmerican to gauge perceptions by- I really don't know what a Muslim "looks" like- some hijab (especially Asian) doesn't strike me as distinctly Muslim, unless it's particular clothes I've seen in the Mideast. When I see hijab where I live now, they're usually Amish, and doubtfully Muslim. But you never know :bugeye: Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Again this refines my question to Muslims- knowing that it isn't by appearance that Muslims mostly announce their belief (and knowing most Muslims don't casually broadcast their religion) I'm still interested in how Muslims perceive themselves being perceived in the USA lately.
It just occurred to me how I may have gotten accustomed to, or even weirdly presumptive of "stealth" Muslims: When I grew up in Beirut, most people were careful not to broadcast their religious orientation while moving around the city (during the war). Stealth Muslims. They could be anywhere :bugeye: Maybe I should just put on an ubaya (got one in our closet!) and walk around town- do my own research. Surely that's no more wicked than the women I knew in Saudi, who would dress up like Saudi men, in order to drive into town. An ARAMCO gate guard once critiqued a friend's disguise: "Blease, take off your ear-rings, Mrs E--". Stealth Mommas in ghutras and thobes Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!