Who can say what is "true Islam"?

My purpose in these posts is to bring a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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The Catholic News Agency on February 27th reported on the talk given by Professor Saeed Khan, an expert in Islam, at the Cor Unum conference a few days ago and CNA's interview with him - "Is a Catholic concept of mercy at the heart of true Islam?" The report speaks of "true Islam" but I would put the question: who can authoritatively state and demonstrate what is true Islam and what is false Islam?

I find it difficult to understand and accept such interpretations of Islam and to reconcile these statements with the reality. I also believe it is long overdue for us to make necessary distinctions whenever we make such public statements. Otherwise we mislead the faithful and the general population because we all risk feeling guilty about what we think and feel about the condition of Islam in the world, not only today, but throughout history.

As Pope Francis and his predecessors have done, so I also try to do and so engage in dialogue with Muslims. That is something we as Christians and Catholics must do.

It is one thing to dialogue with people who are Muslims in name only, or who practice their faith as they understand it, with emphasis entirely on a spiritual reading of Islam, and quite another to try to dialogue with a Muslim who fervently adheres to the overall movement of the Qur'an and the history of Islam.

For us Christians, it has ever only been splinter groups that were found to be heretics, with the exception of the Arian period when almost all the bishops adhered to Arius. It has been relatively easy in Christendom to make a distinction between the faith and society. St Augustine wrote of it in terms of the "City of God" and the "City of man". None of the abuses and atrocities committed by Christians and their civil and ecclesial institutions in the past two millennia could ever be traced back to or founded on or claimed to be derived or inspired by the New Testament, or even the Old Testament for that matter.

Abuses of power by kings and princes as well as by ecclesiastics could not be founded on even erroneous interpretations of the Sacred Scriptures because in the Bible there are no statements attributed to God anywhere telling the faithful to go out and kill unbelievers.

The contrary however is true of Islam. History clearly demonstrates that its many periods of militaristic conquest and expansion were driven by tenets of the Qur'an and, at the outset, by commands issued by Mohammad himself, which he attributed to Allah.

While the Qur'an does contain some "mild" verses directed toward fervent faith, mercy, and peace, the general movement of the Qur'an, Muslim traditional teachings and documents, and public statements made by Muslim leaders all clearly go in a single direction: the conquest of the world for Allah. We have yet to hear Muslim leaders competently and authoritatively refute the militaristic claims made the those who consider themselves and are generally accepted to be fervent Muslims. We are unlikely ever to witness such refutations because such arguments cannot be convincingly based on the Qur'an nor on Islamic tradition.

As I understand all that I have read, the conferences I've heard, and the most objective reports I've seen, the only authentic dialogue we Christians can have is with Muslims that the world of Islam considers heretics or traitors to Islam.

Muslims sincerely open to Christians, or to Christ and his life and message, may be more than we think, but they live under the domination of those who correctly state the true nature of Islam, which is militant and bent on the conversion of all of humanity and considers the "people of the book" to be following falsified versions of the Scriptures. Those we consider "moderate" Muslims are incapable of refuting the claims of "fervent" Muslims, such as those following the revival initiated by the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, because the overwhelming intent of the Qur'an and all the Islamic documentation and tradition coherently goes in the militant direction.

Moreover, while Christianity left its world of theocracy behind in the Middle Ages, Islam has ever always been a theocratic society, in which there can be no distinction between religion and life, between mosque and city hall, between Islam and society. It is all one and as fervent adherents to the letter and spirit of the Qur'an and Muslim tradition, they are bent on imposing Sharia Law on the whole planet.

If I am in error in any point of my understanding of the situation I hope that someone would be so kind as to point it out to me.

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My purpose in these posts is to help spread the contributions of a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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© 2004-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2004-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC 

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Laudato Si - How do we dialogue with Muslims?

My purpose in these posts is to bring a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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In "Laudato Si" Pope Francis invites all Catholics, Christians, and indeed all of humanity to consider that much of our distress in the world today is caused by human beings valuing many things more than the human person, family, and the common good. Pope Francis calls us to hear anew Jesus' teaching and example in the Gospel and to embrace the Holy Spirit who wants to realign our beliefs, thoughts, priorities, decisions, and behavior in such a way as to be in accord with the will of God for all of humanity and for the common good of all human beings.

Due to the unceasing acts of terrorism in our world today, especially those acts of violence claimed by people who identify themselves as Muslims acting for the glory of Allah and Islam, people not only in the western nations but also people in Muslim nations are increasingly subject to fear. It is not only Christians who are targeted for violence and murder but people of other religions and no religion and even Muslims of other Islamic sects and views.

Against these fears the quintessential Catholic and Christian response is what Saint Francis said and did, that is, a literal and complete trust in God expressed in prayer and loving outreach to even those violent extremists. We believe as Jesus taught that the Good News of abundant life offered by God is for everyone who will listen, hear, and accept it. This is manifestly the attitude and approach of Pope Francis as spelled out in his "Laudato Si", and so it is a very Christian way of looking at the world, at life, at religion and society.

For Muslims the views are radically different and not unlike what our views were in the Middle Ages. During those centuries all of society at all levels was permeated by religion. In that context, as people saw things, the Spanish Inquisition seemed to make perfect sense. It made sense to them not to spare the physical body in the process of trying to convince people to repent of their errors and in this way return to true faith in God and allow Him to save their immortal soul.

The most deadly danger was understood to be those beliefs that were erroneously in contradiction with the divine revelation of God as expressed in Christian faith and morals. They understood that errors in belief gave rise to thoughts, words, and behaviors inconsistent with the Sacred Scriptures or with the teachings of the Church and put one at risk of walking away from God.

In such world views that we could call "medieval" there are no distinctions between religion and government, between the church and society, because it is all one reality. Until today westerners look at Islamic states and expect their leaders to be like those in our own societies where religious and civic leaders are independent of one another. Under Islam religious leaders are in sync with the government which operates according to religious principles to the point that there are no longer any distinctions between "church" and "state". An Islamic state is under Sharia Law and all laws and civil judgements and punishments are in accord with the Qur'an and other Muslim writings and traditions.

Since the 1928 foundation of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt a wave of renewal or revivalism, to use a Christian term, has been sweeping the Muslim world in a very deliberate and unrelenting effort to bring successive generations of Muslims to return to their roots in Islam and the Islamic impulse to bring the whole world into the subjection of Islam, that is, into "submission" to Allah and his prophet Mohammad and to make the whole world governed by Islam.

What Christians point to as the "peaceful" verses in the Qur'an are considered by Islam to be "early" verses before Mohammad was called to become a militant warrior. The "violent" or "later" verses are seen as the final call of Allah to subjugate the world under Islam for Allah. In this widespread view Jews and Christians are the first who must be subjected because they are considered to have lost the original truths revealed by Allah and to have corrupted the "Book" of Scripture. Tim Staples is a Catholic evangelist who made an exhaustive examination of Islam through the lens of the Christian faith in talks available on CD entitled "Islam Exposed - The Crescent in Light of the Cross".

The Muslim societies that aspire to conquer the world for Allah under Islam are not interested in dialogue with the Christian faith which they consider inferior and surpassed and perfected by Islam. The conviction of being superior generally held by Muslims makes authentic dialogue with Christians very unlikely. Nevertheless, dialogue and the willingness to dialogue is intrinsic to the Christian faith as shown in the Gospels witnessing to Jesus' eagerness to dialogue with everyone.

Christians aspire to a world united in peace and love under Christ and in the Holy Trinity; whereas Muslims aspire to a world united in submission to Allah and the principles of Islam. These are fundamentally irreconcilable views. Muslims who show true and authentic understanding, sympathy, and agreement with our Christian view are at times called "moderate" Muslims but in the eyes of the fervent Muslim world they are heretics or traitors and hence considered irrelevant.

This is why our world is in God's hands and all we can do is continue to walk with our Lord Jesus Christ, remain faithful to Him, live our faith and bond of charity with others and the world, proclaim the Good News, accept to endure persecution for the glory of God, and pray for our enemies or those who make themselves our enemies.

I welcome your views, either to agree or disagree, and only ask that you substantiate your claims. 

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My purpose in these posts is to help spread the contributions of a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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© 2004-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2004-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC 

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United in prayer for Muslim people on Earth

My purpose in these posts is to bring a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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As I read Pope Francis’ address to diplomats on the occasion of our Christmas celebration of the Nativity of Jesus and of the Holy Innocents whose deaths helped save Jesus, and his call for the Muslim world to unite in opposing those who falsely perpetrate violence in the name of religions, it occurred to me that what is happening in the Muslim world, in countries where Muslims are in the majority, is similar to what in the past happened in Germany as the National Socialist Party slowly rose to power.

The Nazis, from the first even when they were but a minor and almost insignificant party and they could have easily been snuffed out, they expertly and strategically employed harsh brutality to radiate an aura of irresistible power. With time they became increasingly audacious and dangerous; so that citizens quickly withdrew into silence, hoping that if they remained quiet and unnoticed they might escape becoming victims of that violence.

Well, they were wrong and no one escaped suffering the dire consequences of the Nazis rising to power. It seems to me that something similar is happening now, first in Muslim nations, but also on the world stage. The tactics of these new brutes employing terror to impose their agenda on others are much the same: pound to a pulp anyone who gets in the way, speaks up, or opposes, or simply kill them, and brutally, for maximum effect. Legitimate laws are abused and employed for such dishonest motives as to eliminate business competitors, or neighbors one doesn’t like, or people of another faith, or just on a whim… and those accused often don’t get a chance to get to court because the simple fact of the accusation stirs up the mob into fury and vigilante terrorist acts are perpetrated.

Lest we fall into a “holier than thou” attitude we need to remember that in our own European past, in the Middle Ages there was a practice known as the “hue and cry”. If someone raised the alarm and shouted out “thief” or “murder” or “fire” or some such trouble the people of the village or town would drop everything and come running to the sound. Once a few details were given about the alleged perpetrator, the newly excited mob would go on a rampage and seek out the party accused of the wrongdoing. It was known to happen that once the unfortunate accused was found, depending on how they appeared to the crowd, they were found to “look guilty” and beaten or even killed on the spot. It was too bad if later it was discovered that the truth was not quite as presented.

Such social mechanisms can be exploited as convenient ways to get rid of people you don’t like. In a society of law and order the truth can at some point be established and those guilty of making false accusations taken to justice. However, when a society is a theocracy – not unlike Middle Ages Europe – the power or order and justice can be wielded by those deemed to have religious authority.

In some places on Earth at this time it seems sufficient for a person to claim to speak for a god or his representative for them to enjoy the blind and total following of crowds or mobs of those well disposed to experience the “rush” of carrying out extreme actions for ideological reasons.

Even if this view of things is only partially true, don’t you think, dear reader, that our brothers and sisters, especially Muslims, living in theocratic nations, are in need of our prayerful support before God, that He may give them the light and grace they need to resist the terror tactics of this new breed of ideological power hungry fanatics?

“Father in Heaven, we pray for all those of our brothers and sisters living on Earth in our generations who are subject to fear at the sight of brutal acts carried out against neighbors or under the growing influence of individuals and groups using brutality in the name of religious ideology to eliminate those they want to get rid of, especially those of other faiths. You are the only true God, and all power is Yours, and You have given all power to your divine Son, incarnate in Jesus Christ, Risen from the dead and Judge of the nations. Have mercy, we pray on all those in fear of their lives in the face of brutality: fill them with your light and the strength of your Spirit to oppose the darkness and stand for goodness and truth. Pour out your Spirit once again upon all mankind for the humiliation of all doers of evil and for the raising up of your true children, in the holy Name of Jesus, your Son, our Lord. Amen!”

“O Mary, Our Lady of Good Counsel, Help of Christians, pray for us and for all mankind. Amen.”

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My purpose in these posts is to help spread the contributions of a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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© 2004-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2004-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC 

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Will democracy survive Islam?

My purpose in these posts is to bring a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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There are many people today wondering whether democracy will survive Islam. Check out this report made in June 2012 by CBN News (Christian Broadcasting Network) on the situation of democracy in Belgium. It begs the question why governments don't say or do anything to defend our democratic freedoms, the very freedoms radical Muslims employ to undermine western democracy in their conviction and dedication to win the entire planet Earth for Islam. Others ask why the Roman Catholic Church doesn't take a stronger position, especially Catholics from countries where the majority Muslim society persecutes them.

Muslims are right about one thing, that western society has become decadent, where people are free to resort to all manner of public indecency while at the same time eroding and taking away the freedom of religious belief, practice, and public manifestation of faith, and where even crucifixes are being removed because they are offensive to those who find Christian morality offensive.

The Crucifix depicts a man who is alone, abandoned, condemned, tortured, and dying, and yet whose dying words were "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." The selfless love depicted in Jesus on the Cross is indeed offensive to all those who want full freedom to exploit others, to behave without any regard for morality or respect for others, to trample the rights of others simply because one can, one has the power, influence, resources, and opportunity to do so, and let all those who cannot defend themselves be damned.

Why is God allowing Islam to spread into Western Civilization and undermine it from within? Perhaps it is as it was in the Old Testament or in the Jewish Scriptures when God allowed the Philistines to put Israel to the test because he had turned away from God. It was out of love that God put Israel to the test again and again. Perhaps in a similar way God has allowed Islam to grow and thrive and put the West to the test, to see whether we are willing to cling to our faith in God and obey his will even in the face of opposition, harassment, and persecution.

In the face of it all, can we find even a small part within us that is willing to accept and host the divine grace, the Presence of the divine Persons within us and bring us, like Jesus, to sincerely pray for our persecutors, to truly desire their good, and to ask God to "forgive them, for they know not what they do"? Only in this way can we give glory to God and increase his "reputation" in the world. Otherwise, we will continue to manifest the convictions, motives, and behaviors of Christians as totally depraved....

aborting our young, pursuing and defending unadulterated greed as the only foundation of our societies, continuing to exploit the peoples of the Earth and their nations for our advantage, profit, and "interests"... manipulating others to do our bidding, eliminating all those that oppose us, and basically taking the place of God as though we were gods ourselves, calling the shots and determining the destinies of others....

If we continue on this path, then we are all in for a very rude awakening.... Otherwise, we must do all we can to hold our leaders accountable.... The last time that democratic leaders showed moral courage and conviction was when it was evident that the majority or more of the citizens were themselves people of moral and religious conviction. Since then, we have all "lain down" and allowed only the "dissenters" to hog the microphone, to set the trends, and to intimidate us into submission, afraid to give witness to our own convictions and faith by threatening to brand us as enemies of democratic freedom should we show we believe anything that could be seen to oppose their own choices, convictions, or lifestyles.

We have all but become like the people of 1930's Germany who became afraid to "speak up" against what Hitler and his "brown shirts" were doing to Jews, the handicapped, and all and any who were deemed to be misfits or inconvenient to the "new order".

For a critique of Islam in its contempt for Christianity and Judaism and why majority Muslim societies persecute Christians and Jews, see "Islam Exposed: the Crescent in Light of the Cross" by Catholic Christian evangelist Tim Staples.

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My purpose in these posts is to help spread the contributions of a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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© 2004-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2004-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC 

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Let's pray together now - the Lord wants us to do it.

My purpose in these posts is to bring a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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You may never have seen it or not even know about it, but the Lakeshore General Hospital has an interfaith chapel that was inaugurated this past year 2006. Its benches hold 20 to 30 people and there is an altar. At the back there is a section for praying without shoes made especially for Muslims or for anyone wanting to pray without shoes. 

Next week all over the world Christians will begin observing the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, while in Canada and other countries Christians will observe the week with two weekends bookending January 25, the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. 

The Pastoral Services Team of the Lakeshore General Hospital has just sent out today to dozens of Religious leaders in the West Island and beyond an invitation to offer a prayer and worship service on one of the days from January 18 to 25 inclusive. Councils of churches worldwide have prepared the materials for prayer and worship gathering together Christians of all denominations throughout the week. Non-Christians are also welcome to attend these services, as it is in their interest that Christians become more united; as this will enhance peace among people and nations. 

We've also invited these religious leaders to offer a prayer and worship service on one of the days during the week leading up to the World Day of the Sick on February 11, which would be on any of the days from February 3 to the 11. The purpose of this day - and we thought that a week would allow more people to participate and benefit the hospital population - is to affirm and raise the dignity of those who are sick, to commend those who care for and attend them, and to encourage their family and friends. Read Pope Benedict's message (another version) on the occasion of this 15th World Day of the Sick. 

Naturally, people of all faiths and spiritual values are welcome to participate in these manifestations of solidarity, support, and prayer. As religious leaders respond to this invitation and offer to lead prayer and worship services on particular days and at specific times, we will draw up a calendar and begin to publicize it as soon as we can. You will find it on this blog as soon as it is ready. 

With time we hope to better prepare such weeks and events, but since Fr. Michael Tauro and I are only part-time, we prefer to spend most of our time visiting patients. Exceptionally, I have spent two days setting up an email list of religious leaders and sending out our invitation to them. If you go to this link you will see that full time chaplains who have been at work for some time have prepared wonderful resources (more resources) to enhance our care for the sick and their care givers. 

Feel free to let other people know about these events and to make use of this blog entry to help you pass on this information. "He even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak" (Mark 7: 31-37) is the theme of the 2007 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. An annual event, the Week of Prayer is a significant time during which churches around the world express their longing for and commitment to Christian unity. You will find this and other texts at the World Council of Churches website. 

If it's been a while since you gathered with Christians of other denominations to pray, chat, share or collaborate on a common project, why not talk it up with friends and consider coming together to participate in a little prayer and worship service during one or both of these two weeks, for the benefit of the patients and their families at the hospital, as well as the medical and support staff and administration, not to mention all those who come in for ambulatory care. 

Prayer for others is a powerful instrument for good because it is motivated by love and taps into the very heart of the Blessed Trinity, source of all life and being. Contact your pastor and ask whether they intend to participate or even offer to lead a prayer and worship service and maybe you can offer to help or assist them. Whatever you are able and choose to do, may the blessing of Almighty God fill you and rest upon you and your families, Father, + Son, and Holy Spirit, now and always and forever and ever.

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My purpose in these posts is to help spread the contributions of a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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© 2004-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2004-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC 

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Extreme Islamic zeal on London, England streets vows extermination of western society

My purpose in these posts is to bring a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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CAUTION: There is an email message being circulated with the following headline (in red):

Muslim 'Religion of Peace' Demonstration

These pictures are of Muslims marching through the STREETS OF LONDON during their recent “Religion of Peace Demonstration.” Makes you wonder doesn't it....

This author admits Islamic extreme zeal happens.... the signs seem to show that some would exterminate all who oppose or resist Islam... but before you panic, do a little research.... A Christian response

In the email messages being circulated there follow variations of comments as in the red print above, but no impartial analysis of the photos....

I grant that one cannot imagine having a Christian demonstration against Islam in downtown Baghdad or anywhere in the Middle East – first of all because Christians tend not to show such religious intolerance, but even if nominal Christians do, they tend not to do it in the name of Christ or of the Christian faith. Christian churches have leaders that regulate and attempt to discipline the behaviour of their members. That does not seem to happen, at least that we can observe, in the Muslim world.

Second, we cannot imagine such a demonstration in a Muslim country because the demonstrators would soon be put to death by the local crowd, as occasionally happened in Christian countries of the Middle Ages, in a feudal society, where behavior was on extreme occasions controlled by the crowd when they felt some behaviour was intolerable.

The Muslims in the photos seem to avail themselves of the freedom of western society to trample on that very freedom and threaten, even promise, the wholesale extermination of westerners and their society. Where it exists in truth, such hatred gives one a glimpse of hell.

In actual fact, the photos were of a different demonstration, and the local authorities made some arrests.... Check it out at the links below....

BBC News coverage…. Go to http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/4700482.stm Put it in perspective….  Analysis…. and conclusion: Don’t be so quick to pass on frantic, paranoid email messages… Take the time to research and analyze it first; lest you be manipulated for whatever reason by whomever! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jyllands-Posten_Muhammad_cartoons_controversy

A Christian Response and Reflection

We are Christians. We have come to know, believe in, and love Jesus as the Christ, the Chosen One of God, the One and only Saviour of the world, of humanity, the only-begotten Son of God and Lord of all, Risen from the grave and firstborn of the dead, who at the end of time will stand in judgement of the nations.

Many who espouse Islam – submission to Allah – and claim to be fervent adherents to Islam and practitioners of the Muslim faith in the name of that faith seek a harmony of mind and heart with other human beings and peoples who try to live spiritual and just lives and adhere to the one God and Creator of all by way of the Jewish or Christian faith, the other great world religions, or other spiritual paths. These Muslims truly do as the Qur’an says and honor the “people of the book” and it is possible to dialogue and live in peace with them. These are a more peaceful kind of people, who do not seek headlines nor attempt to impose their will on others or society.

Then there are other Muslims who claim to practice unquestioned following of the Prophet Muhammad and literal observance of the Qur’an who seek to impose Islam on everyone and on the whole world. They claim to have and practice zeal for God as Allah and in the name of his prophet Muhammad, and manifest such hatred and murderous intent and conviction towards all who are perceived by them as resisting or denigrating Islam, even simply by virtue of believing in the God of Israel or in Jesus as Lord and God. In the face of such hatred and homicidal zeal, what are we Christians to do?

It was like this from the time of Nero until Constantine, and it was like that in Japan, Korea, Uganda, and so many other places when the Gospel was first preached and there were early conversions to Jesus.... It is the blood of martyrs that fertilized the Church in every place.... men, women, youth, and even children who received from God the grace of enthusiasm for Jesus and the Gospel at the exact moment that they needed power from God to face their persecutors and give a vibrant, awe-inspiring testimony to Christ.

Our time may come, but if it does, then it will be allowed by God and an opportunity of grace to give our own testimony to Jesus and his Gospel, and put our trust in the Father as Jesus did himself, as He showed his apostles in the Gospel quoted today, September 20th, 2009. As Fr. Michael said in his homily today, for Jesus glory and the Cross are inseparable; more than that, it is from the Cross that glory comes for God, that God's love for us is made fully manifest: God loves his human creatures even when they spit on Him, despise Him, torture Him and put Him to death.

Our Trinitarian God knows very intimately each Muslim who is so erroneously zealous to massacre every human being who in any way resists Islam or criticizes anything about Islam, and He alone knows his own will and plan for them and for us. As Jesus said, God allows the darnel growing among the wheat to go on growing and producing its unwanted fruit until the end, when He will send his holy angels to separate the wheat from the darnel and bring it into his house, while the darnel will be thrown into the fire....

This worldwide situation has in our time a new face, but it has elements that have been there all along from the origins of these cultural and religious traditions, and they may very well be there until the end of time. These are not problems that are ours to solve, but merely to live through them with the best of our faith and ability, and trust in our God and Father and in his Son Jesus Christ.

L’abbé / Fr. Gilles Check out the Madonna House website!

“Were not our hearts burning within us as He talked to us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” Luke 24:32 «Notre cœur n’était-il pas tout brûlant au-dedans de nous, quant Il nous parlait en chemin, quand Il nous ouvrait les Écritures?» Luc 24 :32

Email: fathergilles@gmail.com  Web Site: https://gillessurprenant.blogspot.com

Blog : http://fathergilles.blogspot.com/    Blogue: https://lafractiondupain.blogspot.com

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My purpose in these posts is to help spread the contributions of a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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© 2004-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2004-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC 

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Mr Bush: we treated all native people like the renegades who attacked us and almost wiped them all out. Then, Viet-Nam, Iraq... who's next?

My purpose in these posts is to bring a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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Once again this week, I caught a glimpse of President Bush addressing his nation, and anyone else who would listen in, assuring them of his resolve to continue fighting against terrorism. Suddenly, there was a click inside me, and I caught sight of an eerie parallel between this resolve today to rally against these perceived threats coming from Islamic countries and the resolve of American colonists to resist the "red terror" of the American Aboriginal peoples. If I had the opportunity, I'd suggest to President Bush that he might draw great benefit from considering the real possibility he might be pushing his great nation today into the same narrow and ignorant path taken by his predecessors some 2 or more centuries ago when, from an instinct of self-preservation, they misread the culture and civilization of the native peoples - wrote them off as "savages" - and proceeded towards their systematic extinction. 

Today, our more enlightened scientific community has revealed to us that these peoples not only lived but even prospered here for millennia, understanding in great detail the workings of their environment, and living in such a way as to do the least possible damage to it. They succeeded so well that archeologists find relatively few traces of their passage here over time. Even from a cultural point of view, North American Aboriginal Peoples developed intriguingly successful societies, wherein there was relatively little poverty, and a highly developed moral and ethical code of conduct. 

We came to understand the Native Peoples very late, almost too late, in fact we were too late for some tribes that are all but extinct. Our ignorance continued as long as we had any reason to fear them, denying our complicity in driving them away from their ancestral lands and literally robbing them of sustenance and of life itself. We came and took everything away from them, deluding ourselves that we were doing it for their own good. 

Then, when they tried to defend themselves, we said, "You see, these are violent and dangerous people." and thought ourselves justified in speeding up our "ethnic cleansing" solution. Mr. President, are we not today making the same mistake of misunderstanding the civilization and culture of Islam? 

How many times now have we heard people who know the Islamic nations say that these peoples are experiencing - as entire peoples - desperation at the invasion of our western culture and values into their societies? They experience our socially institutionalized greed and unfettered freedom from moral norms and modesty as depraved, as an intrusion and even as an invasion, which they sense as a great violation. Our way of living violates them, and they don't know how to protect themselves from us. 

It is, at least in part, this desperation that is driving otherwise perfectly rational, intelligent, and educated people of all ages to become suicide bombers. Granted, this is not the kind of solution we ourselves - if we were in their shoes - might come to, but simply because we don't fathom such a strategy does not of itself make it insane. Cultural norms are relatively fluid, and people are sane and normal when they situate themselves squarely within the parameters of their own culture and society. 

I certainly don't condone these violent strategies, but in this reflection, I am simply begging the question: Would it not be both possible and desirable for us to try to better understand Islamic society and culture, and the various ethnic peoples who live and believe Islam, and to enhance our lines of communication with them with the deliberate and openly stated intention of seeking mutual understanding? 

Rallying behind the battlecry of zero tolerance for terrorism may be having the unfortunate side effect of treating entire societies as terrorists simply because we don't understand them, much as we did with the "Red Indians" 2 or 3 centuries ago, only this time, instead of us almost wiping out the native peoples of this land, we might find ourselves stirring up a quarter of humanity against us by pushing Islam as a whole over the edge and driving them to unite in self-defense against our intrusive globalizing, amoral culture and our irrational and monolithic understanding and policies with regards to Islam and Islamic nations.

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My purpose in these posts is to help spread the contributions of a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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© 2004-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2004-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC 

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