The Rev. Ishak Pule, chairperson of the Christian Church of Central Sulawesi synod, is praying for an Obama victory "because we feel he can help reduce the widespread stigma and misperception that Muslims in Indonesia are fundamentalists."
Now how can Barack Obama correct any "misperceptions" about Muslims in Indonesia, when "Senator Obama has never been a Muslim, was not raised as a Muslim, and is a committed Christian"? Apparently so, according to the Rev. Pule, for he explained that "conflicts" arose Christians misunderstood Islam, and Muslims misunderstood Christianity, and this led to "Islamophobia" on the part of Christians. (He doesn't say a word, at least according to this report, about any Islamic "phobia" toward Christianity or Christians.) The Rev. Pule thinks that "Obama could help bring Muslims and Christians worldwide to a better and closer mutual understanding."
Ah. Wonderful. I hope he can. But if the Rev. Pule really wants to combat "Islamophobia" and "the widespread stigma and misperception that Muslims in Indonesia are fundamentalists," he shouldn't rely on Barack Obama. He should try to get Muslims to stop doing things like storming Christian schools and injuring 265 students. Or murdering a Christian teacher in front of his family. Or plotting to murder Western tourists.
If Muslims stopped doing things like that, a lot of the "Islamophobia" and "misperceptions" among Indonesian Christians would melt away, Obama or no Obama.
"Barack Obama gets Indonesian religious and political backing," by Maurice Malanes for Ecumenical News International, July 24 (thanks to Liam):
Jakarta (ENI). An Indonesian religious leader has told a visiting World Council of Churches delegation that Christians in his country are praying for the US Democratic Party presidential candidate, Barack Obama."We are praying for Obama because we feel he can help reduce the widespread stigma and misperception that Muslims in Indonesia are fundamentalists," said the Rev. Ishak Pule, chairperson of the Christian Church of Central Sulawesi synod.
Pule was speaking on 19 July as he met members of a WCC group known as a Living Letters team during its visit to communities in the Christian-dominated town of Tentena, an eight-hour drive from the Central Sulawesi provincial capital of Palu.
"We in the synod actually communicate more easily with Muslims than with Christian fundamentalists," added Pule, who also invited three Muslim leaders to meet the Living Letters team at his Tentena office.
Other Indonesian church leaders present at the meeting told Ecumenical News International they saw Obama as "a ray of hope for global unity" in a world where such unity appeared to have been threatened since the terrorist attacks on the United States in September 2001.
Pule and his synod's leadership, along with Muslim leaders in Central Sulawesi, initiated local peace-building and dialogue efforts after a series of attacks and killings erupted in 2000 in the Muslim-dominated district of Poso.
Reports say a brawl back then between two youths, one a Christian and the other a Muslim, triggered violence that resulted in the death of hundreds of followers of both faiths, The conflict also pushed 50 000 refugees from Poso into the Christian-majority town of Tentena.
Pule and Muslim leaders say the situation normalised after the government arrested the leaders of the fighting and reined in a radical group known as Laskar Jihad, who Pule and his Muslim colleagues described as "outsiders" who helped fan the conflict.
Although 210 families remain as refugees in Tentena, the situation is said to be calm, and Christian and Muslim leaders have begun renewing ties between the two faiths by embarking on peace-making projects at the grass roots level.
The synod chairperson explained that conflicts often arose because of a lack of understanding by Christians about Islam, and Muslims about Christianity. This can lead to general Islamophobia on the part of Christians, Pule said, and he believed that someone like Obama could help bring Muslims and Christians worldwide to a better and closer mutual understanding....
Where there's smoke, there's fire. Oprahma keeps denying he ever was a Koranist yet that bunch continues to speak highly of him and express their hopes of a better world with him as president. He may not be one of them but he sure seems to give off sympathetic vibes to them.
And that's a big reason to not vote for this fraud.
The Rev. Ishak Pule, chairperson of the Christian Church of Central Sulawesi synod, is praying for an Obama victory "because we feel he can help reduce the widespread stigma and misperception that Muslims in Indonesia are fundamentalists."
Amazing how dhimmitude will brainwash someone.
"...conflicts often arose because of a lack of understanding by Christians about Islam, and Muslims about Christianity."
As has been stated here often and I hazard to state again, if ONLY we of other faiths, or no faiths, would only 'understand' Islam(and, of course, know our place), all conflict would end between us and we will all(well, at least the umma) live together submissively and peaceably, under the auspices of the 'religion of peace'.
Oh, and btw, how did we end up using the 'religion of peace' phrase anyway?? Islam, as we all know here, translates as 'surrender' or 'submission'. Why are we not using, 'The Religion of Submission' as the catch phrase??
We are all, here in the land of dar al-harb, asked to submit to all sorts of demands by Muslims almost daily. So, I ask, why not 'The Religion of Submission'??
Indonesian Christian leader: "We are praying for Obama because we feel he can help reduce the widespread stigma and misperception that Muslims in Indonesia are fundamentalists"
I doubt it, that would require Muslims to stop spontaneously exploding... which they seem to have grown found of.
More likely, Obama will just wind up looking more foolish. And yes, he can.
"An Indonesian religious leader has told a visiting World Council of Churches delegation that Christians in his country are praying for the US Democratic Party presidential candidate, Barack Obama."
That's WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES folks. These are the lefties that go to Cuba and meet with "religious leaders" who sing the praises of Fidel and Communism in general. The WCC crowd would never meet with a Baptist minister or a traditionalist Catholic priest who had seen their parishioners beaten and bloodied by Muslims. They never decryed the Gulags or the persecutions of Christians behind the Iron Curtain. They are not going to decry the beheading of 3 Christian school girls in Poso in 2005. That is NOT their AGENDA.
Do not think for a moment that because they have "Churches" in their title that they have anything to do with He who is the Good Shepherd. These are the cowardly hirelings who run away when the sheep are attacked -- unless they are leftists, Communist or Muslim sheep. :-)
Dhimmis For Obama--Vote Dhimmocrat!
Under the thumbscrews of darkness, doing the bidding of evil.
Obama may not be a Muslim, but given than he performed the Call to Prayer which included Adnan perfect Arabic in front of well know reporter who then printed it in major newspaper then add to it all his associations with Muslims from Farrahkhan, Wright, Khalidi, Auchi, Rezko and others. Then add in all those speeches where he routinely backhands the U.S. and its people for all sorts of imagined ills and slights against the minorities and Muslims(whom he is trying to make the new persecuted Black).
It all adds up to someone is who very sympathetic to the Islamic world and their demands.
G-d help the U.S. if he is elected.
Obama made a speech to 'minority journalists'.
http://starbulletin.com/2008/07/28/news/story05.html
"I personally would want to see our tragic history, or the tragic elements of our history, acknowledged," the Democratic presidential hopeful said.
"I consistently believe that when it comes to whether it's Native Americans or African-American issues or reparations, the most important thing for the U.S. government to do is not just offer words, but offer deeds."
Deeds? As in money payments?
I wonder if he will pay himself reparations? Or pay them? Since his father wasn't a US citizen, would he be eligable? Or does he mean the 3/4 trillion in additional poverty funding to Africa?
I guess the blood of all the northern soldiers, and the southern soldiers, plus losing everthing, wasn't enough.