A naive pagan

Submitted by Amin Riaz (United Kingdom), Feb 13, 2006 at 12:53

After september 11 - United states of America retaliated in Afghanistan. A war which cost human life [innocent as well as guilty]. Why did it do that? and which of these religious leaders that Pagan mentioned EVER gave COULD provide adequate response to something like 9/11.

Buddha? .... umm nope... .... Buddha never ever went deep enough or to the complexities that Prophet Muhammad ever did. What do you think the Buddha will do if 4 people came to kill his family?

Jesus? ... umm not likely - He apparently lived till about 30. A Jew. Followed rules of Judaism. He never married. Had no children. Was betrayed ... and allegedly died on cross. The Bible depicting Christ came more then a 100 years later. What response would Jesus give to 9/11. A man who was never a husband nor a father.....

... If Christiasn were so great why alll the WAR in the name of christendom - just read european history of middle ages. ANY POINT OF VIEW WILL DO. All agree that christianity was violent. Crusaders? persecution of Jews? slavery and racism against Black people?

I have great vision of the pope [in a cartoon of course] with three boys on his lap? Jeez the church is rife with paedophile priests... .... confused and sexually frustrated. Chirst like. He never had sex either right?

Mahatma Ghandi? ...absolutely not ... He dealt with one issue only .... non violence - Ghandi would have dis-agreed with american response (more than likely). In modern politics he would be a leftie?

- If his followers were so great even within his lifetime when India was split in two... hinus were half the side that contributed a massive massacre of the innocent [muslims to played their part of course .... but Muslims are already the only violent ones right?] Why did the Hindus butchered so many innocent?

I won't deal with the rest but I hope I have made my point. All cultures and nations have violent history. Not just Islam or Muslims. But consider this ....

... The man who first took Islam to India was Moinuddin Chishti Sanjeri from Iran (Sanjer) he settled in Ajmer and literally converted thousands to Islam. His tomb today is one of the most known sights in whole of India. Find me a shred of violence in him and his teaching. The chishtia sufis became an ultimate symbol of peace and harmony. Thousands of sikhs jain and hindus visit his tomb a year... of his disciple Baba Farid Gange- Shakar is revered in Sikhism and by the Hindus. Find me a religious leader that is revered the same way by another religion. That is just one group of Sufi's there are 3 other major schools. Like Qadria , Naqshabndia, Surhwardia and many smaller one. These were the people who converted people Islam. What violence? Do you really think the Kings (Moghuls and others), people like Aurangzeb who murdered his own brothers and prisoned his own father could ever convert a single person. Of course not.

... The People whot Islam to Russia and China were the Naqsbandia. Of all the Naqshbandia find me ONE SHEIKH THAT EVER PREACHED VIOLENCE.

If I started giving out lists of great sheikhs and leaders of Islam who were the reason that Islam spread ... it will take many books. I m not going to deny that the SWORD and the kings did not play its part. Of course it did.

Take the expamle of British Empire - thats when christianty went to Sub-Continent of India. After 300 years of rule and 450 years of presence in India, here are the results. Currently there are 20 million Christians versus 450 million Muslims. Why? Islam and Sufis were a lot better. And find me on incident ever recorded in indian history... ... where mass conversions ever took place

[an example like that of Spain when Muslims and Jews were forced to convert to christianty or die? - perhaps]

Picking random events in current history give a slanted view like that of Pagan. He chooses to pick out and choose history to conform to his/her view.

Of course a streak of extermism always has been present in Islam. Not always physically violent. But this was extremism in theology first and formost. All extremist trace thier intellectual heritage to a man named Ibn Taymiyah. It is good point to start....

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