Fareed Al-Miftah is a refreshingly sensible fellow. But his view has significant opposition among Muslims.
From GulfNews, with thanks to Sr. Soph:
Manama: Bahrain's Islamic Affairs Undersecretary Shaikh Fareed Al Miftah has shrugged off as "nonsensical" calls not to offer festive and New Year greetings...."There is no problem with giving or receiving gifts, either." According to the official, the only condition is that cards should not carry icons or symbols that contradict Islamic principles, such as the cross.
Hundreds of leaflets distributed in front of mosques and chat forums have called upon Muslims not to wish non-Muslims on Christmas or New Year.
It is not just holiday greetings. That also covers every day greetings.
Many, but not all, of the Saudis I work with will return a greeting, but they will not say "Hello." first. Some will be subtle about it, perhaps smiling when they see me, but will not say anything unless I greet them first.
Mooslems are taught not to greet infidels any way, they never offer greetings first and if they did they would be liying to you anyhow!!!!!
This is just another sign of dhimitude.
Of course the greetings mean nothing. They can in fact be given to Infidels in order to win them over, when such is deemed necessary.
Two examples. Azzam Pasha, who as Secretary-General of the Arab League had predicted, in 1948, that the simultaneous attack of five Arab armies on Israel would lead "to such a massacre as the world has never seen since the time of the Mongols," was, two years later, that massacre apparently not having taken place, and the Israelis having beaten back those armies and shattered those hopes, Azzam Pasha knew there was a need to win over the West. And among the things he was perfectly willing to do was to issue Christmas Greetings in 1951.
Similarly, Ayatollah Khomeini, whose insistence on the wonderfulness of fighting and killing Infidels is well known (google "Khomeini"and "Ibn Warraq" and "Jihad Watch" for one blood-curdling quote)), nonetheless, in either 1979 or 1980 (I can't remember which year) sent Christmas greetings. Why? Well, in 1979 he was still consolidating power. And in 1980, by Christmas, Iran was under attack by Iraq. In both cases, a little fake goodwill to the world's Christians was in order.
But neither those Christmas wishes, nor the greetings that may be offered by this or that Muslim, mean anything. The argument is between those who want no compromise, even for tactical reasons (as Hamas in the "Palestinian" business)d and those who do, for tactical reaasons (as Abbas, in the same "Palestinian" business).
That's it.
Hugh,
Those six Muslim guests I am sharing a roof and meals with see every day the Christmas tree in the corner of our dining room, as well as the Nativity creche my kids have made, but they didn't give me any Christmas greetings.
I didn't expect it either. Somehow Christmas makes them nervous.
But I want to make it a point that my home is a Christian home.
As I told you somewhere else I had my Christmas meals with American friends. We baked some items at home, brought them there and had a good Christmas meal without Muslim interference.
I don't think I located the "blood-curdling" quote, though all of Khomeini's pronouncements have that quality to some degree.
Looking for it reminded me of this quote of his:
"If one permits an infidel to continue in his role as a corrupter of the earth, his moral suffering will be all the worse. If one kills the infidel, and this stops him from perpetrating his misdeeds, his death will be a blessing to him."
Cult of death, indeed.
Actually, their greetings in Bahrain mean a lot: There has been a long tradition of Bahrainis visiting families of expatriates on Christmas day to wish them well.
Sadly as time has gone on westerners has taken less effort to recripricate.
This act of greeting means a lot because it shows you regard the other as a human and worthy of respect.
I guess this is why hardliners want to stop the practice: They will find it hard to wage true jihad when the support base does not view other humans as the enemy. Dehumanising them is the first step.
This is quite a sinister report because it suggests there is a strategy to wage jihad adapted to local situations.
I am pleased the leader guy has called the calls non-sensical. Bahrain has problems from Iranian plans to undermine it and unwanted Saudi interference.
Thank you South Park for this:
I heard there is no Christmas,
In the silly Middle East..
No Trees, no Snow, no Santa Claus,
They have Different Religious beliefs..
They Believe in Muhammad,
And not in our Holiday..
And so every December,
I go to the Middle East and say..
Hey there Mr. Muslim, Merry F**kin' Christmas
Put down that book 'The Koran'
and hear some holiday wishes.
Incase you haven't noticed,
It's Jesus's Birthday
So get off your heathen Muslim Ass
And f**kin' celebrate.
LOL, vyaduck.
Well, the muzzies were out in force today to take advantage of the post-Christmas day sales. Naturally, they don't look at anybody when they're shopping, particularly the ones that are wrapped in bed sheets from head to foot. To my fellow infidels' credit, most people seem to look right through them and neither greet them nor acknowledge them. And I live in a blue state! Word must be getting out...
I wanted to do something nice this Christmas (Hannukah, Diwali, Yuletide, Saturnalia, whatever). I had planned to.
I thought it might be nice (esspecially after the recent unaesthetic events in Olde Sydney Towne) for a strange little fellow with a cross around his neck to offer a friendly "Salaam Alekum" to any Mussulfolk he came across.
That was what I planned to do. Put aside what I know about Islam for a spell and act in a spirit of Christian kindness for a spell. Completely off my own bat and of my own accord.
Then the other day I was watching my preferred morning infotainment programme and their guests included a clerical trio, in this case a Vicar, a Rabbi and a Muslim Cleric. The went through their usual paces and ambled through the familiar catchphrases of peace and tolerance before it was left to the representitive of Islam to close.
You know what he "urged" us to do here in Australia?
He urged all non-muslim Australians to greet their Muslim compatriots with the greeting (wait for it . . . ) "Salaam Alekum."
At this point my plans changed. I'm happy to be pleasant and genial but that's not really worth a pinch of sh*t if I'm only doing it because I've been told to.
My plans to be cordial to my fellow citizens did not change. My plans to greet any of them in the tongue of their alleged prophet did. I would have liked to say "Merry Christmas" (which would have directly preceded my salaaming in my earlier plan) but I feared it would be seen as being backhanded (I might as well be saying *gasp* "Shalom").
I will be decent to those around me, regardless of their beliefs. It is my understanding that my culture holds this to be of value. I will not offer trite niceties under coercion. It is my understanding that my culture holds that to be bullsh*t.
Like the song said; Merry F*ckin' Christmas!
And I live in a blue state! Word must be getting out...
Posted by: 3812Michelle [TypeKey Profile Page] at December 26, 2005 04:13 PM
BLue State, can you explain? is like blue states in the U.S.?
The Behrain religious Undersecretary oreders that the Greeting cards should not contain any icon-particularly the Cross. The hatred of the Cross(symbolising hatred of Christ, and Christians) is imbibed in the Koran itself. It says when God comes to earth, His first action will be 'Crushing ,and Breaking of the Crosses" ( Meaning crushing of all Christians).Then He will slaughter all Jews. If any Jew hides behind a stone or tree,the stone and tree will cry out,"here is a Jew hideing behind me- Come and kill him"!!. - So much 'love' Allah has got for Christians and Jews. Their hatred towards the Cross is so intense,they don't even allow the Red Cross symbols on the vans that carry mediceions,and food items. They need all the FREE medicions and foods,but not the cross symbal. More over, as we all know,Red cross has nothing to do with Christianity. They substitute it with a 'cressent' mark,and any vehicle passing through Muslim lands have to change it into a cresent. But they want free medicines,foods etc from the 'Cross"countries!!.Tough Red cross is a universal Organisation,90 percent of funds come from christian countries.
Those who have seen "Dracula" movies, are familier with how the Satan will get so afended,by the very sight of the Cross.!
The kindest act I ever witnessed in Saudi Arabia was one Christmas morining as I was shopping in a market. A Saudi male walked by me and whispered "Merry Christmas." Of course, he looked around to make sure no one else would hear his greetings. I guess he was one of the horrible Muslims who would quickly be branded an infidel by many others.
Islam truly sucks!
Rocky:
So, what is your point!... I have six Muslims living in my house, but they are nice folks. If I might be so inquisitive: What kind of a man that has a wife and children would allow six Muslims to cohabitate with his family with their renowned pedophilic and rapist tendencies.
Are your wife or girlfriend and your children covered up in the hijab as to not inflame their passions? If you have boys, do not feel safe, Muslims regard boys as the fruits of paradise and the most delectable mounts… A married Muslim is not necessarily any safer.
I am not going out of my way to mock you; that is if what you claim is true, but many Muslims are sexual maniacs, the lot of them… Their culture and religion destine them to be as such. You as an infidel, if you are one, have no right to your property or your family. For a Muslim to take them is not only his right, but his solemn duty.
By Islamic law (the pact of Omar), the infidels are forced to host Muslims in their homes for three days, feed them and give them the best part of the house. If a Muslims decided to host themselves in the infidel house, and they got frisky with the infidel host’s family, and the infidel objected, he will be killed and his property and family confiscated. The mentality of Muslims has not changed since the days of Mohammed, and no infidel laws, norms or punishment can make them change their pervert, bloodthirsty, lying, thieving, Bedouin of the desert ways.
have mercy,
Muslims are just people like you and me. When they are nicest is usually when they are the farthest away from their faith and open their minds. Miostly they are not aware they are doing so, but in their schizophrenia they ascribe all good qualities to islam so they tend to think that the friendship they feel towrads us is kind of holy.
I have lived among Muslims for the past 27 years. When you know well a Muslim family, their human qualities and the outcoming friendship overrides the imbecility imposed on them by their religion.
They know my family and I are Christians and they just don't talk about this. It is like a taboo subject. But there are Muslims around us who slander us for being chrsitians and often we have lost friendships owing to such slander.
And yet we have managed to hang on to very good friendships. Still, Islam is such that one of the sons may go to a certain school or fall under the influence of a certain mullah, and suddenly develop hatred towards us. We also may find ourselves in an unknown crowd who may become threatening. It happened to me once when (knowing the language to perfection) i heard somebody close to me saying: "there is the neck of an infidel! Let;s cut it."
Still, we are always in God's hands and we derive blessings from having the courage of living in the "frontlines".
God has been giving us special protection and will keep doing so in the future. You see, we have faith, which is something that other Europeans have lost. Faith gives you strength and courage.
have mercy & Rocky,
The problen isn't with most individual Muslims but with the system of Islam. I like to compare it to Communism or Nazism, ideologies which killed millions. While, most members of the Nazi party did not participate in genocide and most members of the Communist parties were not terroristic revolutionaries, these evil ideologies led directly to the horrors that we all know about.
It is the same with Islam. That is why the further they are away from daily Islamic influence, the more human qualities come out. But... put them into the groupthink of the totalitarian ideology they profess and you see that these qualities vanish into smoke.
For example, unless they are members of a terrorist cell, one or two Muslim families moving into your neighborhood in Europe, North America, India, or Australia will generally cause you no problems. But as soon as their population reaches that critical mass where they can re-inforce the Islamic ideology on each other, then you have a real threat to your security and freedom.
It is the same with any totalitarian ideology. An invididual Nazi or Commie is just a hate-filled nut or economic eccentric, but an organized group of them is a threat to freedom. It is the same with Muslims.
While we should treat each Muslim (and every person) with human dignity, let's never forget the closed and violent system in which they were raised. Muslims do not respect dhimmitude but they do respect (even if they hate) Christians who stand up for what we believe. Salah al-Din came to respect Richard Cour-de-Leon only after he had a large group of Muslim captives beheaded. Muslims may hate him for this cruelty but they also respect him for the same reason.
Rocky, you should be applauded for treating your Muslim guests with the decency you would treat any human person, but don't hide the fact that the decent treatment stems from your Christian morality and culture. I always treat my Muslim students with respect and protect them from abuse. They know I do this because I am a Christian.
It is my prayer that one of them may honestly compare her upbringing in Islam to her experience of living among Christians. Maybe then one of these young Muslims can begin to break free of this closed system.