Cristina

Submitted by Abdul Rahman Reijerink (Australia), Jul 18, 2006 at 21:56

Dear Cristina,

please credit me with a bit more integrity than that. You will notice that I did not deny that some Muslims commit terrible sins. Nowhere have I indicated that people who claim to follow Islam are exempt from scrutiny for their crimes. I am glad that you mention Sudan, as anyone that has read enough of my postings will be able to tell you that I have a close personal connection to the people of Sudan.

Many years ago now, back when the issue of kidnapping and brutalising children to turn them into killers was a non-issue, my close friend went to Sudan to report on their situation as a freelance journalist when no-one else would even dare, not the UN or any NGO aid agency. No one, full stop. It was just too dangerous. We supported the SPLA, (who were also involved in using child soldiers by the way) a Christian/animist coaltion in the South, fighting both the government and FSPLA (muslim break away from original Southern coaltion SPLA). The point.... I look at what the people are doing to jusge the merits of their case, not what religion they follow. As an aside, I believe that it as this mission more than any other that he went on that led to him neglecting his health so much that it killed him, so the people of Sudan are frequently in my thoughts.

If you can make the distinction between a true Christian and a bad one, why can you not make the same distinctinction for Muslims? I count amongst my friends a priest and an ex-priest, I was brought up in the best traditions of Christiaity. I love and admire Arch bishop Romero more than most do, may God have mercy on his soul, and I love the people that he loved. I do not hate or judge Christianity as a bad religion. Nor am I ignorant of it. The fact remains that the people who are terrorising the world's poor (through economic warfare etc..) are by and large people who claim to be Christians. As a muslim I hesitate to say they are not Christians just because they sin, because in my religion it is a serious sin to deny that someone is a muslim just beacuse they are open sinners like all of the terrorists and criminals who are my co-religionists.

I don't mean to be rude, but a true Christian according to the doctrines of the major churches does not worship only Jesus. There are three persons in one nature. you are supposed to worship God the father and the spirit as well. A topic I was discussing with my ex-priest riend only two days ago. The Christian understanding of God is not just Jesus as so many devotees seem to think now a days.

So my point again is, that who you happen to be determines to a large extent who you think is a terrorist. This does not minimise in anyway what so ever that muslims kill people and commit other atrocities. A truly advanced person does not just focus on the crimes that are commited against their own group of people or the crimes commited against others by a group that has also attacked your group (ie my enemy's other victim deserves my sympathy, but others do not). Too much focus is on the (genuine) terrorists within the fold of Islam to the detriment of the victims of non-muslim terrorists. That's it Cristina.

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