Who said I was a pseudo agnostic. You have no idea what I believe.
I apologize if you didn't like the choice of words. And you've let me have some idea of what you believe, right? What would you call this belief:
"How's this for an explanation: We are all works in progress. The creator gave us being and awareness and then let us go off on our own. An environment is provided for us in which to become aware and develop our minds and perceptions. Creation is highly complex and difficult to understand or comprehend. It takes a long time for a being to reach the point where ohe can appreciate their own existance or the concept of God. The first step towards enlightenment is admitting you don't know."
Man's history is filled with Wars for all types of reasons, mostly power and control over and area and it's people. Nearly every countries borders were defined by a war. One would have to conclude that this is human nature, to take from others by force.
I agree. EVERY country with people of EVERY kind of belief system have gotten into Wars with neighboring countries.
No reason to place the spotlight on Islam, Judaism, Christianity, or even Rastafarianism as the culprits of violence and bigotry much as you put the spotlight on Islam with this sentence:
"but it is a FACT that everywhere a muslim country borders a non-muslim country there is or has been violence."
That's a moral view I suscribe to. I think you should work for what you get, whether you do it by speculating in markets or doing engageing in any business. I would say that nearly all wars these days are induced by the money powers desire to exploit, including the conflict with Iraq and Iran they do this to make a profit in a manner I think is immoral.
Once again, I agree that their is a huge difference, in morality terms, on how one goes about the acquisition of money (a necessary part of society). And I wish you differentiated this same kind of difference between a couple dozen of scattered, deluded, power-hungry mullahs and the rest of the approximately 1.2 billion Muslims world-wide with respect to the observation of their similar faith, Islam. You wrote:
"You might say that they're not acting in harmony with the tenents of Islam, but the mullahs there would dissagree with you."
They may, but there is sure a lot more Muslims out there like
me instead of like
them no matter what CNN or Fox News will have you believe.
So the Great Mosque in Istanbul, isn't really a Church built by Constantine?
The building with you which you are referring is the Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) in Istanbul (not Constantinople). B) Originally was the 2nd church (1st had been destroyed in the 4th century) built by Constantius II (son of Constantine) in 532 and was burned down. Justinian I rebuilt it and rededicated it in 537. Between 1204-1261 it was converted to a Roman Catholic Cathedral during the Latin occupation. It was then converted into a Mosque by Mehmed II in 1453 after the Turks gained control of Constantinople.
So Yes, Rick this is one of the very few example across the folds of history where the Islamic conquerors converted a Church into a Mosque. Why would they do it in this instance when they had forgone this action in countless others. Well, the Hagia Sofia is considered one of the truly great architectural marvels in human history as a fine example of Byzantine Engineering and Artistry. It influenced architecture around the world (especially amongst Islamic communities) and was greatly revered. Want to know something else? Islamic President of Turkey, Kemal Ataturk,
secularized the Hagia Sofia in 1935 and it is now known as the Ayasofya Museum. So I guess you can't even use this example anymore.
That was their MO. But the point is, the tribes were already divided. The British simply took advantage of their distrust of each other. If they were really unified muslims, would they have become greedy and betrayed their brothers? They didn't consolitate them into highly unorganized segments, they backed the biggest tribe in the area and used them to conquer the others. It's a lot easier to control a country using their own people, than to bring in a lot of your own troops.
Whichever way they took advantage of the situation, its a lot more accurate to say that the British were only looking out for #1, not the well-being of the indigenous peoples of the Middle East which is what you made it sound like when you wrote:
"During the first World War, when the Ottomans aligned themselves with the Germans, the British aided the arab tribes in freeing themselves from the domination of the Turks. Perhaps you remember Lawrence of Arabia?"
Who's fault is it the oil wealth in the gulf isn't being distributed equitably? The US doesn't tell them how to run their economies or structure their societies. Those are muslim royals deciding how to distribute the largess.
You recommended Lawrence of Arabia to me, I'll recommend a movie myself. If you think Western powers don't dictate to countries exactly how to run their economies, I suggest you watch "Syriana".
You are correct about how the societies are structured. Power-hungry individuals gain everything from keeping the majority of people down and those are exactly the type of individuals the West wants in power (as long as they're pro-West of course). Arabic people rising up and wanting to truly share in the freedom and pursuit of happiness afforded other societies (such as what Algeria tried to do in 1961 and what Iran did in 1936 and 1979), well..now, that's when the hammer has to come down because we have to keep the Power-hungry, selfish, murdering, Pro-western dictator in power by any means necessary!! Hosni Mubarak in Egypt has disappeared more people than Saddam Hussein could EVERY DREAM OF!! Hosni Mubarak is Pro-American and Pro-European, and coincidentally heavily supported and still in power.
They have a cute little muslim girl explaining why she hates the Jews.
If your whole life was poverty, hunger, desperation, homelessness, destitution, and despair exactly what kind of feelings would you harbor for the people down the road driving BMWs and living in high-rises...
...you know what Rick, I have a suggestion for you. Why don't you take a drive to South Dakota, Shannon County. Go into the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation southeast of the Badlands and talk to a cute little Native American girl and see if you can figure out what kind of feeling she harbors for White Man.
A bit of an overreaction over a cartoon wouldn't you say?
Not unless you realize that the depiction of a religious figure (ANY religious figure), in any form of media, by anyone, Muslim or not, is considered a mortal sin within Islam. That is why there are no statues, movies, TV programs, theatre productions, much less harmful cartoon caricatures of any religious figures within Islamic communities, period! But we can't expect sensitivity on this extremely important issue from Westerners, after all they've been so kind to these Arabs in so many other avenues. :rolleyes:
I never said they were the only ones! I say all of the world's power structures are guilty of violence in some form, and make use of bigorty in manipulating the populations. Religion has been and continues to be a vehicle for this, and that is inherently hypocritycal, since they advocate killing in God's name. Religion is supposed to be about supporting people and helping them to follow what is right. It shouldn't be about killing God's other children.
Religion isn't the cause and it isn't the source, its the excuse. In eras past, Religion was the direct cause, nowadays its the excuse you give to get something you want. A Jew on the border of the West Bank says they hate someone to gain land, money, power, security, and oh by the way, they're Muslim. A Muslim says they hate someone for the same reasons, land, money, power, security, and oh by the way, they're Jewish. Religion is the excuse, Rick. The excuse used by small-minded and often-times desperate people to control and manipulate the FEW feeble souls who carry out their nefarious bidding. It is by no means the majority of believers and by no means the tenants of any religion: be it Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, or any other Religion.
