I realized Im deeply entrenched in Christian country in this short time Ive been in Texas...Ive been here before but never really paid attention because I was here visiting and didnt need to worry about the long run...the future so to speak. However...recently two things brought it to my attention just how Christian it is here...and its got me bent out of shape a bit.
Now I generally dont bother myself too much with what Christians think about Islam...most of the arguing I do concerning Islam is with other Muslims on whose thoughts I dont always agree with. I figure I had enough to keep me busy just trying to figure out a way for all Muslims to basically see eye to eye and agree on things that really concern us as Muslims...then to worry what Christians may or may not be getting up to for or against us. I guess that was an easy thing to do...ignore Christians...while I was living in a predominately Muslim country. Now that the tides have turned and Im surrounded by Christians...the not so important issue has suddenly come right up into my face...and Im bent out of shape as I said.
Yesterday my daughter came home from school with two little booklets...like little stories in cartoon form. One was is basically about how all Muslims are going to burn in the fire because they follow an insane prophet that worshipped the moon and turned everyone away from Jesus Christ Our Lord and Savoir. The story showed how a typically irate mullah dude was praying and a Christian man and his son were observing him...the Christian man pointed out that the Muslim man was worshipping a false god and would expect Hell as his reward. The mullah guy over heard this comment and screamed the typical words of Jihad and "I will kill you...Islam is peaceful" etc at the poor Christian and his son. The Christian was calm and patient and went on to show the mullah the error of his ways and to relate the "true" story of Prophet Mohammed (sex fiend, insane, prone to extreme violence etc) to the unknowing and blindly lead mullah. Mullah guy was quickly convinced of the error of his ways and denounced Islam and slandered Prophet Mohammed and accepted Jesus as his savoir...and the world was right again. Another soul saved by the loving Christian heart.
The other story was about how all Muslims are terrorist wannabes and Christians particularly and the world in general need to see the coming disaster that is described as Muslims taking over the free world and forcing all of humanity to become either Muslims by force or slaves to Muslims. It described how Muslims that followed the doctrines of violence and blew up shit and killed people were in fact the "real Muslims" and those Muslims that lead peaceful lives were considered non practicing Muslims...or weak Muslims. It basically described Muslims in America similar to cockroaches...if you dont get rid of them when you first see them...it will be impossible later on...and you will be over run with them.
I asked my daughter who gave them to her and did that person know she was a Muslim...she said a girl at school and..yes..pretty much everyone knew she was a Muslim...so she assumed the girl did too. But she also noted that she didnt really see anyone else with those two booklets...but didnt really look for them either...hmmm.
Also, last night I went to her school for teacher parent meetings and got to look around the school as well. While in the library I made it a point to check out the religous section. I was not really surprised to note that from the 15 or so books on Islam...12 of them were what I would consider in the same vein as the cartoon books. 4 of them were about Jihad. Of the 3 that might be considered middle of the road or more accurate in describing Islam etc...2 were from Karen Armstrong and one was from an author whose name I cant remember but know about him.
So here is my question to any would be Christians lurking on my blog...WTF! I realize freedom of speech and all that...but seriously...WTF! Where is the loving Christian heart that wants all children of God to go to heaven...where is brotherly/sisterly love that is the foundation of Christian spirit? Sounds like a bunch of shit when I read such slanderous made up BS like that. And handing it out to kids...how sweet of you to get that hate going at such a tender age.
But then I sit back and think about all the shit Ive read from Muslims going on about Christians in much the same light...all though I must declare I have never read or heard of a Muslim saying even a single bad word against Prophet Jesus...so Muslims are one jump ahead Christians in one small way...but what it all boils down to basically is...we hate you cause you dont believe like us...and you hate us cause we dont believe like you...and we raise our kids pretty much along those lines as well.
So this tells me one thing with absolute certainty..humanity isnt advancing one step further in the "cant we all just get along" race as long as we are so hell bent on making the "other" into monsters and hell dwellers. Just what God was going for when He started this whole "I will create humans to worship me"...the only things human beings seem to really worship is the idea that they and they alone have the right answer...therefore everyone else is... by default...wrong.
Im starting to view religion along the same lines as I do guns. A gun is just an object...a thing...it only becomes dangerous in the hands of something that can pull the trigger. Therefore...religions are in and of themselves harmless...but in the hands of trigger happy "religous folk" they are down right dangerous.
Welcome to Texas...as long as your Christian...does that about sum it up?
28 comments:
Coolred - having such contradictory books around is atrocious. I think I would not only talk to authorities at the school but notify an organization such as CAIR or something. Your post is quite an eye opener here.
http://www.cair.com/
http://www.cair.com/FileACase/tabid/62/Default.aspx
The second link is to file a complaint on something which is contradictory or infringers on muslims rights.
I think this is how people feel who are not religious and they're around any religious group. WTF?!! IT's pretty frustrating all around.
Well you're pretty much living on the buckle of the bible belt.Most fundamentalists are fairly anti-intellectual.That way they can villify others without ever having to see the errors and wholesale lies in their own theology.
If your up for it I'd use it as an opportunity to at least educate the administration about Islam and a huge chance to dispel a lot of lies and misconceptions about Islam.The biggest being,that it's One God,the same God,for Christians ,Muslims and Jews.
With all you've been through I'm sorry your daughter had to experience such foolish ignorance.We're not all like that.
HAPPY EID! Coolred!
The difference between the Bahrain and US is that people in the US, atleast those that I have encountered have no respect for your right to practice whatever faith you wish. Sure they have a right, but you don't. I have also noticed that discussions about religion soon turns into argument and slander. Again the element of respect is missing. People who are out to save you, beat the heck out of your convinctions, trash anything you hold dear and think nothing of it.
I was told that I worship false gods, the moon, that gerga'oon is halloween, that Muslims are terrorists (but that I am different), that I should be grateful at the opportunity to be saved.
Prepare yourself and your children for such experiences. Discuss your faith and convictions with them, what you as a family believe in and why. That will enable them to hold their own and not resort to hurling slander when ppl spew hate on them.
Peace to you.
I should say that not all Americans are like that. However, the ones that are the most religious are usually so disrespectful of other faiths, not just Islam but also against other Christian denominations.
Not all Americans are like that...because some Americans (as do others around the world)don't believe in any of it and couldn't care less one wya or the other. To be religious and have faith in your own faith inherently is judgemental, since you're judging your "faith" to be right, and those who don't as wrong. Whether you're in the person's face about it or not, it's understood.
Coolred, I'm curious, were you born Muslim (I'm assuming not, but I hate to assume :) ), or did you convert? Did you convert because you met/marriend a Muslim man (I'm making another assumption here, based on just a few of your posts)or did you convert beforehand? If so, had you not met this man, would you have converted to Islam? Thanks!
I totally feel your pain. There is nothing worse than an 11 year old being made to feel that she is going to hell and that it is all her mother's fault for not raising her in the religion of the person warning her of hell.
Those people ruined (and continue to ruin) my daughter's life and I can never forgive them for that. So yeah, I understand your resentment at people butting in on your family's business and it isn't just the bible belt you need to worry about. The whole world is full of ignorants that want to 'save' you and there is nothing you can do about it.
Coolred you should get out of Texas fast. Come north where we are more tolerant. Your children will always have trouble in the bible belt. The lies those people spread are just ignorant but they make me mad anyway. I will agree with you though that I've seen it come from both sides, the bashing, the insulting, the "my god is better than your god" 4th grade mentality crap. Its disgusting. I personally am agnostic, and think that organised religion is a crock, mostly due to this kind of thing.
Bravo!! :) Happy Eid :)
carol...working on it now
terri...i agree with u totally.
gardens...how far is far enough to get away from such hatred? Is there any such place free of it in the world today?
queen,...couldnt agree more...people need to mind their own business...religous folk seem to think everybodys business is their business
anon....the my god is better than your god is whats going to send us all to hell far as im concerned....sigh.
happy eid for everyone
You realize that there is nothing that you can do(if you find there is let me know because I have some people I want to sue) because whatever you suggest would infringe on someone else's personal liberty or freedom of expression. I myself would love to see uniforms and NO religious symbols or discussions in schools but look at what happened when France took that stance. The world was up in arms! The only complaint you would have would be if the teacher or other school employee gave out the material.
I feel so bad for your daughter, having to have this stuff handed to her. I would be tempted to call that little girl's parents and tell them nicely that you have all the literature you need about Christianity, thank you very much. This girl didn't come up with the idea to give your daughter pamphlets on her own.
It's interesting to listen to kids and hear their parents' words and phrases come out of their mouths.
My daughter's friend, in the car the other day, said people don't know enough about the Civil War. "You know, some of the slaves weren't treated all that bad!" she said. I about wrecked the car.
Ah, life in the American South!
And unless you cover your hair and wear long caftans, everyone here (in the US) will think you are a Christian, too, and they will say all manner of unpleasant things about Muslims.
Even if you seek out so-called non-denominational, or unitarian- universalist groups, you'll find that they are all Christian based.
Yeah, come north! Winter is kind of bad, but at least you'll escape the Bible belt.
coolred - please let me know what outcome you receive.
all the best - Carol
I typed something this morning, but I didn't save it and for some reason it never went through. Let's see if I can recall what I said earlier.
Coolred, I am a Christian from the South though I've never been to (or near) Texas. :-) I want to apologize for the offensive booklet that your child received at school. *cringe!* While I'd like to believe the intent was good, the method was horrible! You are right to expect love and compassion from those who say they follow Jesus' teachings. Sadly, we all realize not all "Christians" actually obey their Lord's commandments, and, in fact, they give true (Jesus-type)Christianity a bad name. I am so sorry for this happening to you. I wish instead these Christians would show love and friendship and meet your family's needs. (I know your mom especially has some now).
When I first read your post 2 days ago, I was a bit hurt at the rant and some of the comments. However, the more I reflected on everything, God taught me some great lessons. I appreciate Him using you to teach me these things.
I pray you won't judge all of us who follow Jesus by the actions of a few (or even many.) :-/
This wasn't exactly what I wrote this morning, but it'll do.
Hope you are having a great weekend!
Coolred, I like this post. I understand it. Have always understood the hate we feel for 'others'.
One reason why Muslims will not say a single bad word about Jesus is because Muslims accept him as a prophet and so respect him whereas Christians and Jews don't accept Muhammed as a godly man let alone a prophet and so don't respect him. However, you should hear some of the things Muslims say about Hindu gods!
Queen...I figure the least I can do is instruct my daughter how to "politely" respond to anyone that decides her soul needs saving by fair means or foul.
Housewife...I agree...our children are a product of what we teach them and how we raise them...so there are no excuses for so called "bad" children.
Marahm...check out my earlier posts about blizzards...I love winter...Im seriously considering that option.
Susanne...I would never dare to judge Christianity by its followers...just as I ask Christians to not judge Islam by its followers...religions are harmless...its the followers of them that we have to fear.
Suroor...I agree.
AA- CoolRed,
"the only things human beings seem to really worship is the idea that they and they alone have the right answer"
Awesome statement! That so sums up the state of believers all over. Arrogance of certainty...so ugly!
BTW, what grade is your daughter in? What kind of school would allow other children to pass out this type of material? Did you complain to the school administration?
Coolred I've been thinking about this post and it's really been bugging me on so many levels.This is america for pete's sake!Religious freedom is a right and your daughter's right to that was violated!If it was my child I guess I'd be the mother from hell.I'd call the ACLU or whoever,starting with the principal on down and at least have a major apology if not somebodys job.Hope it'll get better.
It is interesting as your sentiments would be shared by many who would call themselves "Christian" here in America. I think the thing people don't like about religion is that some of them tend to be exclusive. Even Islam says those who do not follow it's teachings do not gain the love of allah.
I am a Christian, and I do believe Jesus is the Son of God, as He said He was. He did say very exclusive things, like, "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man comes to The Father except through Me." These things are true, but to tell your little girl the things you described in such a hateful manner is quite another story. God tells us to speak the truth in love. I disagree with your religious views, and your gun illustration. Religion is not dangerous if in the hands of one who could pull the trigger, for religion is not neutral. Christ told the religious leaders of his day that they were going around swaying men to their views and making them a two-fold child of hell.
All religions can't be right. If we want to know the way to God, then we must see what He has told us. He tells us we are all sinners and under His wrath. He tells us that He has come in the Person of Jesus Christ, taken the sins of men upon Himself and paid the penalty due those sins. He commands us to repent of our sin, and believe on Jesus Christ as being our sin bearer. All who are trusting in the finished work of Christ will have life eternal. This is what God's Word says.
Now you have a right, especially in America, to disagree with this. Although "Always in the kitchen" was right on we have religious freedom, she completely missunderstands the meaning of that freedom. It doesn't mean you can believe whatever you want and no one is supposed to tell you your wrong. If she were right then she denies the party she doesn't like their religious freedom. See the self-defeating logic here? To say "You are wrong for telling me I am wrong." is to break your own rule. If I can't tell you you're wrong, then you can't tell me I'm wrong for telling you you're wrong. =)
In our post-modern culture, this is the "pop" mentality. The idea that absolute truth can't be known.
To get back to the booklets. Although Islam is a false religion , as it is nothing more than works to gain favor with God, I do not coldly say you will burn in hell BECAUSE you are Muslim. All those who are not trusting in the death of Jesus Christ as payment for their sins are under God's wrath. Whether that be Muslim, Mormon, Atheist, etc.
The claims of Jesus Christ are intensely exclusive. But should we express that in a hateful way? ABSOLUTELY NOT!
Wow. Interesting post. I lived in Texas. Beaumont, near Houston. There are those crazies out there who are zealots and rude and closeminded. Sorry your poor daughter had to have those given to her. I personally belong to a religion that is often looked at in much the same way you are describing...and I am Christian! It has been so interesting living here in Oman. You were right about your analogy that it is really up the person and not the thing (religious beliefs) that define how things are. Don't be too hard on the "christians" though...some of us aren't half bad :) Sorry you are catching the bad side.
It is interesting though that they have ANY religious books in school as that is basically against the law. Is it a public school? I worked as a music teacher in texas and the state/religious seperation is usually pretty intense. I bet you could have those books replaced or removed if you really wanted... surely they would not allow christian hate material...
Overall, I found the part of Texas I lived in to be relatively tolerant of other religions...but I KNOW some parts are not.
Wow. Interesting post. I lived in Texas. Beaumont, near Houston. There are those crazies out there who are zealots and rude and closeminded. Sorry your poor daughter had to have those given to her. I personally belong to a religion that is often looked at in much the same way you are describing...and I am Christian! It has been so interesting living here in Oman. You were right about your analogy that it is really up the person and not the thing (religious beliefs) that define how things are. Don't be too hard on the "christians" though...some of us aren't half bad :) Sorry you are catching the bad side.
It is interesting though that they have ANY religious books in school as that is basically against the law. Is it a public school? I worked as a music teacher in texas and the state/religious seperation is usually pretty intense. I bet you could have those books replaced or removed if you really wanted... surely they would not allow christian hate material...
Overall, I found the part of Texas I lived in to be relatively tolerant of other religions...but I KNOW some parts are not.
Freedom of religion=freedom from harassment.This is a child attending a publicaly funded institution.We are not discussing an adult who was involved in some type of religious debate.
Hey,
I belive that the biggest weapon being used against humanity is religion. I am an exmuslim and now just a humanist who doesnt believe in religions anymore.
When I was akid, I lived in a muslim dominant country and my tutor was a christian lady. Everytime she would leave my home after tutoring, my aunt would clean and pray on every surface she touched and every utensil she used. Noone was allowed to use the same cup or glass that she used as she was christian and NOT clean. On the other hand, the tutor used to teach me less about Math and more about christianity.
Its insane how people cannot see beyond religion, race and color. We humans are a vicious species.. to everyone else and our own kind.
Oh, coolred what a creepy story!
I'm always freaked out when stuff like this happens! I hope it stays at this, and nothing else happens.
Your poor daughter! I hope you'll be able to keep talking about what happens at school. Somebody in authority (and with an unbiased stance) should be made aware of this extremely inappropriate behaviour on the part of the schoolmate/parents.
All this ''We are better than you, you will all burn in hell'' is really pissing me off about all organised religions.
But then these people are again the quitessential witch hunters, it's just coïncidence the happened to be born in Texas where they became Creepy Christians. If they had been born in the middle east they'd be mad muslims...
I think you should seriously reconsider moving to a more tolerant area...
What about The Netherlands? lot's of mosques and halal butchers here.... :D
Aafke
Will seriously consider moving to a more tolerant area as soon as I sort out some business back on the island...back into a new sort of intolerance. Im wondering if the moon is available for habitation...and how long would it be free of intolerance once we started moving there...sigh?
You can always come to me, some religious bigots are t be found everywhere, but the cimate here makes for stunted bigot growing conditions ;)
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