#nothing about their lives as part of an interfaith family?????

[mydollsaregay]

Last night, I was thinking about the twins and was able to put my finger on what was still bugging me about them.

Despite it making us feel old, the 90s IS history (hell, yesterday is history!). AG is saying it, but I’m not sure they… mean it?

From the hints of the girls’ stories I’ve seen so far, the only anchoring historical event seems to be y2k. Everything else is nice enough, but certainly not unique to the 90s, and could be given to a goty instead.

Honestly? Y2K is not enough. It’s a little too safe. Yes, it was a big deal to the people who lived through it. However, it was literally just New Years, but cooler (and with a lot of programming work in the background to change years to be stored as four digits). What are the lasting effects that kids can recognize today? Because I see very few that can’t just be chalked up to the passage of time.

There was a lot more to the 90s than fashion, pop culture, and the biggest new years ever, but it kinda seems like those are the only parts AG is interested in portraying. When you put y2k up against some of the other historical events that other American Girls live through, even just the ones from the 20th century, it seems pretty silly. Second wave feminism, the Great Depression, the civil rights movement, and now….. new years but the number changes a bit more than usual!!!!!! Like. Cmon.

Even if they were wedded to portraying y2k, columbine, the effects of which are VERY much felt by kids today, happened that same year. But I kinda doubt AG will have the guts to even discuss it in the girl’s stories, which is really sad (and honestly one of the biggest downsides to more modern historical dolls - the history they’re covering is still too touchy for a lot of parents to be comfortable with).

Also, by pushing the girls to be in the late 90s, I’m betting AG is trying to worm their way out of having the 2000s girl live through 9/11 (i.e. watching it on tv) and the start of the war on terror. Which like. I get WHY (still too touchy for parents) but it’s really frustrating. 9/11 and it’s aftermath is arguably one of the most impactful events in American history, it’s stupid to dance around it. Felicity gets to live through the actual revolution but god forbid a more modern girl actually live through recent historical events.

[brightgnosis]

I'm really sorry if this is the wrong way to ask this but here it goes:

How did you find the Jewish community and know it was for you? And what's been your favorite thing to learn about/during your conversion?

I've always had Jewish friends online on and off growing up- and one of my favorite things to talk about has always been Theology. So it's natural that you get to talking Theology with your friends, especially when you're of different religious backgrounds. And there were a lot of times that they'd explain some Jewish belief to me and I'd have a sort of ⁉️‼️ moment, because the belief was either exactly what I believed, or incredibly close to what I believed.

But y'know, I was Pagan. I didn't know any Jewish people in physicality. I didn't have a Synagogue near me. I didn't have transportation. And "there were so many rules" (which is such a very leftover Culturally Christian mindset in the end). So it never went anywhere, really, save for the occasional article read.

Then I found out thanks to DNA testing that my family lied about pretty much 90% of what they'd ever told me "we were" ethnically, and I got access to a lot more records than I'd ever managed to find access to previously. Established contact with family members I'd never even knew existed, etc. And I found out that we weren't "Native American" like I'd been told, and had been actively chasing information for my entire life ... I was roughly ~3 (4?) generations down from Ukrainian Ashkenazi immigrants who'd left the Pale in the 1890's 🙃 Which was absolutely mindblowing to me, because my family had never once ever mentioned this. Ever. Never. (Though when I finally got the opportunity to confront my Aunt about it, she was all like "oh yeah, they used to talk about their life "In Russia" all the time!" ... Like ???? Thanks ????)

Anyways. That made me finally start looking into Judaism a lot more seriously- at minimum, to find out what it was my Ancestors potentially lived while in Ukraine, and ultimately likely left behind when they immigrated. Especially since I was already kind of in an in-between state where I was trying to figure out where on Earth to go after leaving Irish Reconstructionism because of the toxicity, anyways. And it was like ... The more I read about it, the more my Soul was just singing. I really don't know how else to explain it.

Like, the Gods made me happy, sure. And the faiths I'd been a part of had always allowed me an opportunity to "live by my beliefs". But nothing had really truly resonated so deep in my bones like this did. And the more I learned, the more I just knew, so deep within myself, that it was literally what I'd been looking for the whole time- and why I'd never really completely given up on God after leaving the Church when I was younger, and kept finding weird paths back to It.

Then I found out we actually had a Synagogue here where I lived, and so I started trying to contact them. And in the meantime I found out about Noahidism and started practicing that while studying. And I just ... Kept this faith that HaShem would open the way when it was time. And that did happen; I eventually managed to make contact with my local Synagogue after trying for 2 years, and they bounced me off to a Reform Rabbi- who very kindly bounced me off to a Conservative Rabbi who happened to be in full support of Interfaith marriages ... And here I am! And I literally have no words for how incredibly wonderful this entire journey has been, and how exciting and fulfilling it's been to learn, and to go to events, and to become integrated into Jewish life and my (two!) communities; I adore my Rabbi, and what my Synagogue is doing, and the people I've met.

I love ... Everything that I've learned about. I can't pick a favorite. I truly can't. But I feel most connected to Jewish Ecospirituality, I think; books like 'God in the Wilderness'. The way Maimonides and Breslov speak about Nature. My experiences using the old Sailboat Launch at the Lake, here, as a Mikveh. The concept of Humanity and the Torah as Trees- and the imagery of HaShem as an Orchardist. The entire story of Genesis, the creation of Chava and Adam, and their instillation in (and subsequent exile from) the paradise of Gan Eden. “If you have no Tallit, wrap yourself in the four corners of the Earth and pray”. Tu B'Shvat ... Everything; the entire way that Judaism is so intrinsically and deeply connected to Nature at its very core, and the way you fundamentally cannot separate either HaShem or Humankind from the Earth, is breathtaking and sings to me in the same way that Judaism as a whole sings to me.

I have never felt this way about any religious community I've tried to be a part of in my life. And I think that speaks testament to how right this path has been for me, and how HaShem has honored me with it. This all probably sounds like utterly insane ramblings at this point, though, ha!

[some-jw-things]

For me personally, one of the hardest aspects of leaving a cult was how it fucked up my perception of love.

“Love-bombing” is a recruitment technique. You walk in through that door for the first time, and the entire congregation can’t wait to greet you and befriend you and they’re sometimes actually counting every minute they spend speaking to you so they can log it in their service report. You are offered instant love from a whole new community, for seemingly nothing, just for being there. Not earned, not gradual. Everyone in a Kingdom Hall loves one another

There were brothers and sisters I had never spoken to directly and that I didn’t know the names of. I was told since I was born that I should be willing to give my life and die for any one of them, no exceptions whatsoever. You aren’t allowed to dislike or openly have any issues with anyone in the congregation because of this specifically.

And then on top of this, we’re taught that only Jehovah’s Witnesses have love among themselves. There’s approximately 20 Bible verses they use to back this, they talk about the moral atrocities of every other religion as proof but of course the Society has never had a scandal ever— at least not one we were told about, and with the “don’t read outside sources” doctrine, they can get away with anything. They can get away with painting themselves as the only true, pure, morally upright religion in existence

When I said I was leaving, my dad told me straight up that I would never experience love again in my life. Only Jehovah’s Witnesses has that.

I know it’s easier to explain and more relatable for worldly people when we talk about the sky burning in Armageddon, friends and family falling and dying by our sides, going underground to live in a bunker and hide from the government, facing permanent eternal death— all those things that the Society has promised us, and we can point to and say they’re terrifying. It’s easy. It’s understandable.

The part that’s harder to explain is that I’ve expected my whole life that I’ll die young but the idea of living completely alone and unloved for however much longer I have— that kept me in a lot longer than the other stuff did. It’s a very effective control mechanism, being told that no one will ever genuinely care for you outside of this group

And then there’s the shit that Witnesses do to family relationships

At varying points in time, I have been fully convinced that the only things keeping my mother from leaving my dad were the congregation punishments and financial concerns. It’s a bit like their marriage came straight out of the 1940s: divorce is a sin, would get them disfellowshipped, and my mom doesn’t have the money to live on her own even if she could. My dad doesn’t do any of the housework whatsoever— all of that gets pushed to his wife and children. My mother blames herself for this, because apparently it’s her fault for “spoiling” him when he got badly injured twenty years ago. My dad, being the head of the household, has the final authority on any of our decisions he chooses to involve himself in, despite knowing almost nothing about what’s going on with us at any given time. The disparity of the housework wouldn’t be so bad, but my parents both work full time, not just my dad.

A few years back, my sister and I were in an extended period of anger over this. We weren’t outright trying to convince mom to leave dad (her main defense being that she was getting older and she had made her choice years ago), but it came damn close. My sister asked mom to name three things she loved about dad.

A half hour later, she didn’t have any.

She loves my dad, in the way a Christian wife loves her Christian husband. She couldn’t name any specific way, but she insists she does. She will never leave him.

They love each other. I know this. I don’t understand it.

I was terrified by the idea of marriage since I was eight years old. For Jehovah’s Witnesses, marriage is in no way between equals. I’ve gotten in trouble for implying that men and women could be equal. Marriage under this system means an even bigger loss of autonomy than I already had. The JW idealized loving relationship looks like hell to me

I said earlier that I was going to talk about familial love but I got sidetracked by romance, I’m coming back to it now

Familial love is completely 100% conditional. A JW will receive love if and only if they adhere to a strict set of terms. Upon violation of the terms, all love will be immediately revoked.

When a Jehovah’s Witness leaves the religion, their friends and family are supposed to shun them. No contact whatsoever, through any medium. If the ex-JW is an adult, they’re supposed to be kicked out of the house. If they’re still a minor, they are allowed to continue living there and communication is allowed only as far as it is needed for household functioning

This is love for Jehovah’s Witnesses. It is instant, enduring, boundless, to the extent of being willing to give your life for one another within seconds of finding out someone is a fellow brother or sister.

Until you commit a sin. Sinning makes you unlovable, here.

A girl I grew up with was kicked out, homeless, not even given time to pack a bag, because she fell in love with a worldly boy and interfaith dating is not allowed. This had nothing to do with any sexual sin. The boy just wasn’t a Jehovah’s Witness, and that was enough.

There was a man who left the congregation years back, along with his wife. He contacted his mother a few years later and wanted her to meet his kids. He wanted them to spend at least one day together. She told him very bluntly that she wanted nothing to do with him or his family anymore. She relayed this story in service, and everyone comforted her and told her how strong she was, how proud Jehovah must be.

Romantic love is bound up in rigid rules. You do not sit next to someone of a different gender unless you’re engaged or close to it. You don’t go on dates without a chaperone, you don’t spend even a minute alone without a chaperone. Texting and dating have a blurred line, so that needs to be policed. If you date for over a year, then you’re leading that person on. You’re a spinster or a bachelor by age 25. Divorce is a sin. Divorce will get you disfellowshipped.

There was a woman in my congregation who went to Bethel and met a man there. They knew each other for two weeks before getting engaged. And divorce is a disfellowshipping offense. There were so many older couples in my congregation who had stories like that, who had dated for only a handful of months, and I guess they love each other like my parents love each other

We’re told that disfellowshipping is a loving arrangement. Shunning is an expression of love. It’s spiritual rock bottom: it’s meant to be the wake up call that makes you realize how badly you need God and the Org. It’s meant to be incentive to repent, start following all the rules again, and beg for reinstatement. You want to see your loved ones again, don’t you? And they want to see you. That’s why they’re doing this, see, because they love you and care about you.

In the cult, love is used almost exclusively to hurt people.

[feckin-zicons]

that's why i hate larries, i hate them with all my heart. besides being boring they are hypocrites 🙄

Hey nonnie, sorry its taken me so long to reply but if you’re following me you know I’ve been travelling lately and have been more scatterbrained than usual. Not that I’m ever not scatterbrained, but its been just a little crazier than usual!

Now I wouldn’t go as far to say I hate Larries. After all their delusions can be pretty funny sometimes!

Joking aside, I don’t hate Larries, I love Larries, I’m a Larry, so I really hesitate to tarry the whole group with the same brush. However I do strongly agree with you that there are those who are complete hypocrites. Nothing annoys more more than when Larries ™ treat the other boys, other celebrities, their friends and even family as one more side character to the Larry Show.

In particular when Larries ™ flood comment sections asking or in some cases, ordering people to confirm rumors/the couple being together. The absolute fucking disrespect. Not just because they’re flooding comment sections in videos streams, tweets, what have you, that sometimes have nothing to do with the couple in question, but because its presumptuous and rude as fuck to think they’re owed a coming out- just because they’re fans of the boys.

Stop it. Thats fucking ugly as hell.

While I have no doubt all the boys will one day be out (as referenced by their continued efforts in fighting the closet. I don’t get the sense the boys will just stop at being freed from their contractual obligations). It should and will be on their own terms. Provided they’re not forcibly outed some other way.

Coming out is a deeply personal experience and no one, no one ever, has the right to out someone else. I’ll never not be absolutely furious at the Larries ™ who posted about having ‘receipts’ that would out the boys. Which… tbh weren’t receipts at all but thats a whole other story. I’m also still angry at the reactions after Liams Attitude spread that wouldn’t have been as bad if not for the entitled fandom that peddled ridiculous claims beforehand about Liam confirming Larry to be real.

I mean… What the actual fuck. Setting aside the fandom experience of the time, and boy was it an experience. What right would Liam have confirming Louis and Harry’s relationship? I mean, get some perspective? It doesn’t help that a lot of fandom adults were the ones coming up with, and reblogging those theories and the younger fans ate it up. It would have made more sense for Louis and Harry to do it but idk maybe I’m still out of touch for thinking so. I mean, it felt like every other week someone was talking about Larry coming out. It was such a shit storm oh my god.

Biggest issue I still have with them is that the entitled behaviour hasn’t stopped. For some it seems like, Larry coming out is it for them. Like pack it up, goodbye, shows over, Louis and Harry are gay and in a relationship and everything is rainbows, we get to see cute pictures of them and everyone lives happily ever after.

Yeah, no. Coming out, for anyone, is just the beginning, can’t even begin to imagine what its like for them. They’re still going to need everyones support, and it irritates me that for some fans it seems so fucking conditional.

Time and time again, I’ve seen tweets, and posts, and videos, whatever, going on about Larry coming out and it reads like a fucking wattpad story. Not just that but its always on the assumption by the poster, on the off chance they consider the other 3/5ths of the band and Ziam being a possibility, that Larry will come out first?

What?

I’m sorry but, what?

Everything I’ve seen from the boys tells me they’re all in this together, they support each other and are working through the bullshit as a team. We have all seen the No Judgement music video yes? The merch, posts, double speak etc referencing each other, yes?

I mean, I suppose if you only look at Louis and Harry, like so many do, sure. Only Larry matters, everyone else is a side character in their life.

(Lemme just, scream for a second).

However, that kind of thinking leads them to the wrong conclusions. Like… assuming the SBB/RBB countdown was attributed to nothing, when it counted down to Liam finally being free of Sophia. In the years since, I’ve seen Larries ™ backtrack on claiming the bears had anything to do with the boys, that they weren’t behind it at all, or that they were just trolling the fandom.

You know, despite all the proof otherwise, and some really, really good posts breaking down clues about what the boys were trying to tell us. The moment something might not actually be about Louis and Harry its like all their thinking shuts off. Its frustrating. Really fucking frustrating.

Seriously, fans of the other boys as individulas, not just Ziams, have been talking about the stunts too and how they fit together. Its why we tend to be right, because we’re considering the entire group. They’re still a group. They’re not free until all of them are free.

Just for that Nialls coming out first. Lmao. I’ll call it now. Lets go Niall, whens the baby coming. We all wanna know. Its been years.

Imagine, imagine! Acting like coming out is some race to be won. The fucking audacity.

Go outside and touch fucking grass you absoulte ninny.

I get it, you want to be vindicated, you want to be rewarded for putting your faith in two celebrities being together.

Newsflash you dandelionfluff, its not a race, Louis and Harry coming out isn’t a fucking prize. Thats not what supporting a relationship looks like.

Its worse when someone admits they don’t know much about Ziam or the possibility of Niall being LGBT+, and claim they’re open to it, but then immediately tweet or reblog or sub tweet or tag comment a post or answer an ask from another Larry ™ talking about how Larries ™ are the most marginalized and persecuted group.

???

In what fucking world?

IN WHAT FUCKING WORLD?

If we wanna play that game, boohoo, the media claims Louis and Harry aren’t friends anymore because of crazy shippers. Meanwhile Zayn publicly isn’t friend with anyone and “left” the band… despite the Ziam fandom calling the stunt about either Louis or Zayn “leaving” and getting it down to the exact week (the second article coming out a week before about the Ziam kiss pretty much cemented it for Zayn leaving. Which did a lot to fan the flames of the already rabid fanbase when Ziam got two articles confirming a Ziam kiss over the years and Larry got nada. Like that actually means anything).

Not to mention Larries ™ using the hetties and management tactics against the other parts of the fandom to silence them.

Who cares what the media says anyway!  TPTB, 1DHQ, The Sun, The Mirror, Simon and his minions and their unpaid interns have used the media to split the fandom apart and it worked.

Who the fuck cares if the media calls the 1D stans delusional, you know the truth! The truth it out there and you’ve seen it! The truth is coming! Who gives a damn about what some two bit “journo” who failed out of their creative writing course writes? They get worse by the year. If it wasn’t so pathetic and hilarious I might actually feel embarrassed for them. They can’t even come up with new stories and have just taken to copying old articles, but you’re upset with them??? Give it a rest. Honestly.

The sense of disconnect, entitlement and victimhood of some Larries ™ is absolutely ridiculous.

Oh my god they’re Karens. I’m not trying to be insulting, but thats exactly who they remind me of.

I’m not going to say its a surprise to me that so many in the Ziam fandom are POC, LGBT+, and Neurodivergent and any combination of those, but I am going to say I’ve read a lot of Larry fics that just have Het sex made gay. Those in the Ziam fandom just tend to look at facts in a different way than Larries do due to their life experiences. A interfaith, interracial, relationship where one or both partners fall under the Bi umbrella (not saying Louis or Harry can’t be or aren’t Bi+ but rumors, and the way the fandom markets them, puts them firmly in the gay category) looks very, very different than gay or straight relationship. Both looking from outside and being in one. There’s just different dynamics at play that aren’t often realized or understood by the gays and hets.

Its not a bad thing. All relationships are different. The issue is that theres a lot of biphobia/racism/religious prejudice etc that arises from people being unwilling to understand the inherent differences.

Taking myself for example, I’m bi, like, bi as hell, and I don’t understand how gays and hets only like one gender. I just don’t. Can’t wrap my head around it. If someone asks me to choose one gender over the others to prefer I can’t. Its so stressful. My brain goes into panic mode and it feels like I’m being torn apart. My sense of identity is shaken- its a shit feeling. I just can’t lie to myself like that. If other people feel the same well, its no wonder bi+ have such high rates of depression and suicide. Its not about choosing who to like, there is no choice, I just feel attraction to everyone. Aces, I get. Its similar to being the opposite of what I feel, or not feeling an attraction to someone I’m not interested in. Easy. Gays and hets? I’m completely lost on.

Completely, and I know I’m not the only one who feels that way. But that doesn’t mean I’m not willing to try and understand where they’re coming from. Its alien to me, personally, but I’m not going to shut down the fact, that theres a fuck ton of people who only like one gender or try and make up reasons as to why they’re actually bi+

I digress, none of the boys fall neatly into the gay stereotypes, its just that parts of the Larry fandom have boxed Louis and Harry into certain roles to fit preconceived notions (likely do to them initially fitting in better with the white, sassy, somewhat effeminate twink thats been plastered all over Hollywood as their “LGBT+ representation” for years. Gag), they can understand better, and only look for proof to back up their theories but don’t look at things objectively.

They really need to get out more and make some LGBT+ friends that aren’t on the internet and talk to some gay elders. They need educating that’s not the often sanitized and insulting Hollywood version, that’s all I’m saying.

They made Louis and Harry more palatable for themselves and its… really gross.

I don’t know, I don’t get it.

Some Larries ™ turned the boys into their fandom and fanfiction stereotypes when they’re so much more than that. The Sony leaks should have been enough to dissuade the fandom, and prove that the brand sold to the broader audience is just that- a brand, and yet… Niall only talks about food and golf and Ireland and is only allowed to be straight or ace. If he exists at all its just to be Capt Niall. Liams slow and dumb and depending on the day he’s either Capt Liam or a horrific abusive homophobe. Zayns just The Worst, a unstable drug addict, and the boys hate each other, and they should have kicked him out of the band sooner because he never wanted to be part of them anyway, etc.

It drives me absolutely around the bend some days. They’re real people who don’t owe anyone anything, especially not coming out.

Yes, I think they will. But they’re not obligated to. They can change their minds, I’ll support them regardless of an “official” coming out or not.

Look, a part of me gets it. They wanna be right, they wanna prove the haters wrong, they want to be able to say I called it all along! The vindication will be sweet.

But like, it takes a quick look at someone other than Louis and Harry to realize theres something hinky going on with Liam, Zayn and Niall. Please listen to their fans who have spent just as much time as you have looking into Louis and Harry compiling together evidence.

It might take a weekend to watch the ILYSM and pterodactyl bros videos and a few more hours looking into some Niall blogs, which isn’t much compared to the hours I know they’ve spent looking into Larry. At least then they’ll have enough information to form an opinion on things.

I wonder, for some, what would happen if Larry didn’t come out, or didn’t come out first, or one of the other boys was outed against their will. Because… I don’t know. It seems like some would rather just be proven right at this point.

I get it. We’re tired. Its been eleven long years. But this isn’t a television show were everything can come to a head with a s3 or s4 cliff hanger and fixed in the series finale. Its real life, and they started off as boys trusting industry veterans who never had their best interests at heart.

Iduno. I just want some Larries ™ to take a step out of the echo chamber, realize life isn’t The Larry Show & co. And especially. ESPECIALLY, that every instance were someone, friends, family, co-works, industry peeps etc support the boys they are SUPPORTING THE BOYS, NOT THE FANDOM. They are not “confirming Larry for the fans” they’re doing it to support the couple, not to cater to the fandom. Please stop confusing the two. There’s a huge fucking difference. Learn it.

[jew-flexive]

Hi! Your post about Crowley being one of the most Jewish characters you've ever seen helped me so much to understand my "issues" with some points made in Good Omens and made me realise that those weren't really issues at all - they were just differences between Christian philosophy and Jewish philosophy which I hadn't known about (I'm Christian). Thank you so much for making me aware of it, changing my perspective and making me more open-minded to other points of view. I'm very grateful. (1/2)

That being said, I’d be very interested if you could shed a similar light on the crucifixion scene, especially the fact that it stated it was Crowley who tempted Jesus in the desert. I found this choice peculiar, but then again, I’ve read that in judaism there isn’t such an Ultimate Evil Person that satan is for christians. I’d really love to learn something more about it to gain some perspective, I hope you don’t mind. (2/2)

I do not mind! I love me some interfaith discourse– I’m actually from an intermarried family, so I have some pastors and priests in my family and let me tell you this shit? It’s my favorite thing. I’m so glad that you felt comfortable enough to reach out to me. This is one of the longest posts I’ve ever written, so bear with me.

(A note on my expertise: I am attending the Jewish Theological Seminary, the premier Jewish educational institution in the Western Hemisphere. Of the many courses I have taken since I started here, many have been in conjunction with Union Theological Seminary– a Christian seminary– and Columbia University. I am not going to call myself an expert by any means, but I am studying ancient Judaism and the development of Christianity for my degree and can be trusted enough to have a certain level of authority. Of course, if you see anything that needs correcting, please let me know! I’d love to learn from you.)

One of my biggest pet peeves in the whole world is the word “Judeo-Christian” because the Jewish tradition and the Christian tradition are fundamentally incompatible on a theological, methodological, philosophical, and messianic level. Christianity was founded with a supersessionist approach to the Brit, the Covenant, that Jews share with God– indeed, this mindset is the main reason that Paul’s Christianity had to break from the Jewish-Christianity that flourished in Jerusalem under James after Jesus’ death. Jewish thought is wildly different from Christian thought– we don’t value asceticism, we don’t believe that God can be corporal or Triune, we are a legalist tradition that explicitly says that blind faith is not enough, and, as you say, we have no “Big Bad.” Instead, Jews believe that every person has a Good/Selfless Inclination and an Evil/Selfish Inclination.* Christians believe in individual salvation from sin through receiving Jesus Christ as their God and savior**, while Jews believe in individual and collective participation in an eternal dialogue with God through tradition, rituals, prayers, and ethical actions. We also don’t have any unified afterlife narrative, but what we do believe is that Hell shouldn’t be a permanent punishment and that gentiles as well as Jews can reach whatever form of Heaven exists without having to believe in God. 

So, looking at those differences between our two faith traditions, I completely see how parts of Good Omens, especially the character of Crowley, might be alien to a Christian reader. He fits into a legalist tradition and actively rejects the Christian ideas of salvation and faith. 

So the crucifixion scene. I also found it interesting that it was Crowley that tempted Jesus***– honestly, I thought it was a narrative choice to emphasize the importance of Crowley within the story arc and the Ineffable Plan. But if I imagine there is a greater reason… I would argue that it was Crowley that tried to tempt Jesus away from his path because Crowley knows that Jesus is going to die and it won’t bring about the Messianic Age that Jesus had promised. In GO, we don’t have any sympathy for Satan– he’s wicked and rebelled knowingly, but Crowley we do sympathize with, since he just asked questions. 

If we read Crowley as somebody who sees all the casualties of the Ineffable Plan (i.e. the kids that couldn’t board Noah’s arc) as fundamentally unnecessary, then we can see his attempt to tempt Jesus as his way of trying to save a kind man from what Crowley sees as an abuse of power by God, who isn’t telling Jesus the full story. Jesus doesn’t bring the fabled Messianic Age, at least according to what that meant in ancient Israel. Now, many Christians understand the crucifixion of Jesus through an inaugurated eschatology– Jesus’ first death was the first stage of bringing about the Messianic Age which will be finally realized during the Second Coming, but back in the ancient times? It would have looked like Jesus had died for nothing, especially considering that Christianity initially did not see him as the literal son of God. 

Early Christian literature, most notably the Synoptic Gospels, started out understanding Jesus as a “Chosen One” whose Divine blessing was gifted to him when he reached adulthood not unlike the other great men of the Torah. It’s only with the Gospel of John and other contemporaneous works that we read of Jesus as Divine (“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” etc.) So, in the GO universe, perhaps Crowley tried to move Jesus away from the Ineffable Plan because he knew enough to think that his crucifixion would be meaningless, because Jesus was only understood then as a man.

Look, I could go on and on about Jewish and Christian theology and the way they play off of each other. If you want to hear more from me on the subject, drop me a line. Thank you again for reaching out and for being so open minded! I will say that if you really want to know what Jews think about anything, you’ll need to reach out to several Jews if you want a truly complete picture. Because we are a legalist tradition, many of us hold by different standards and principles as dictated by different schools of thought. For instance, Jesus held more with Beit (House) Shammai in the Sermon on the Mount when he discussed divorce but many of his most famous one-liners are directly attributed to Rabbi Hillel, the teacher of the other major proto-rabbinic power during the Second Temple period. So if you’re super interested in learning more, keep doing what you’re doing! I know that there are so many Jewish blogs on Tumblr that would be happy to answer any of your questions. Thank you again for reaching out! I hope this was helpful.

* Jews believe that the Good/Selfless Inclination and an Evil/Selfish Inclination are both equally necessary for living a good life. If you are too selfish, you are obviously not a good person, but if you are too selfless, then you aren’t able to provide for your family, improve your educational prowess, or take care of yourself. Both paths are unacceptable. 

** Many sects of Christianity also require good works to achieve salvation, most notably the Catholic Church, but the foundation of Christianity is centered around personal salvation via worshipping God and Jesus. 

*** Jews usually understand Jesus as one of the many freelance teachers that were roaming around ancient Israel at this time. Academics see him through a variety of lenses, but one that I find super interesting is the idea of Jesus as a political revolutionary sowing the seeds for the Bar Kokhba revolt. That’s a whole other conversation, but it’s one I’d love to share with anyone reading if they’re interested. 

[lonbergwrites]

CIA Man

This is part of a multi-part review and commentary on the book Notes From A Young Black Chef by Kwame Onwuachi.

…

So 18 weeks have passed quickly... actually, I got the audiobook back from the library much sooner than expected... so let’s get back to it, shall we?

I’ve struggled since last reading and writing about this book with some of the things that I’ve said about the author and chef. I had a lot of harsh words for his brashness and braggadocio from the previous chapters. I turned his life and experience into stories out of a novel. A little part of that is that I’m thinking a lot about novels right now, as I prepare to get back to writing one... but that’s not really it...

I cannot believe how different life is now from when I started writing this series. “Back then” I couldn’t believe how different life was from what it had been earlier this year. I was out of work and a full-time house spouse, taking care of my two young kids day in and day out. And then the events following the death of George Floyd.

I may know the streets where so much ache and hurt and unjustice overflowed in Minneapolis, but I don’t know the lives of those that suffer at the hands of unjust authority. I don’t know that much about the lives of the black community. I’m a member of an interfaith, multi-church, multi-racial organization that works to lift up everybody in my community, and do racial justice and healing. I’m not the most ‘woke’ person I know by any means, but I am really trying.

... but reading Chef Kwame’s description at the end of this chapter - a metaphor for consomme representing his life - it struck me that I was showing my privilege. I had judged him for his “lack of experience” and grouched about having worked with people with that kind of mentality. I hope that didn’t come across as “those kind of people” - I didn’t intend it to have racial overtones, because in fact I was mostly thinking about white kids (because honestly, most of the chefs I’ve known and worked with have been white people - white men in fact). But a little of my unconscious racism showed through.

Chef Kwame talks about how all of his experiences made him the perfect student - cooking with mom, learning in a high stress environment in the Gulf, slinging drugs, then candy, and then catering. He’s not wrong. He’ll admit that he bit off more than he could chew... but he went back for that education to take his life and his profession seriously... and honestly, what high achiever hasn’t bit off more than they could chew? But more than that, how many of those people make good on the bluster and suit up for the task like a professional? Quite few.

I read the last chapters’ reviews that I wrote, and I mention that:

“That’s the hubris that a lot of the people that I went to culinary school (possibly myself included, though I wasn’t too full of myself, I’d like to believe) who hit the wall and learned a lot of humility real fast when getting into a real kitchen.”

Obviously, I was - and often can still be - full of myself. I don’t know if Chef Kwame will ever read this - I know that he’s at least seen the start of these reviews as he’s liked the first few on Twitter, and has retweeted the first installment - but if I was harsh or did harm, I’d like to formally apologize. You are raw and honest, and I hope to read with a more open mind moving forward.

... back to the chapter...

The bit that brought home this chapter to me was the line: “Daytime was for consomme and braising, nighttime was for quesadillas, tacos, and espazotes.” [note here: since I’m reading on audio, I couldn’t look up the word ‘espazotes’. I’m personally not familiar with this term. I speak some Spanish, so I wrote it out phonetically, but I was unsuccessful googling it with various spellings. All I was able to get to was the herb, and I don’t think that’s what he was intending.]

When I was in culinary school, I worked a restaurant gig at night. At first it was Applebee’s. Believe me when I say that I was making nothing as fancy as he was at that indy Mexican restaurant where things were done from scratch. I was grilling steaks, thrown as I was at the highest-ranking station right away because I was in culinary school (the only other culinary student at the place was on the fryer [the lowest station on the brigade], which surprised me because of his tenure - but shouldn’t have because he was one of the few Latino cooks, most of his compatriots being dishwashers and bussers).

Within a few weeks I was quickly shown a new station because I refused to weight steaks to get them done faster, so my ticket times were too high. I later worked ‘mid,’ which was the flat top station that made the quesadillas among other things. That was a rough, sweaty, hurried place. It helped me build my hussle, even though my feelings here hurt because it was a demotion - not in pay, but in prestige.

When I left Applebee’s, I was told that it was a good thing I was going to a different style of restaurant. The Kitchen Manager said I wouldn’t make it as a career cook there because while I did have attention to detail, I didn’t do things the corporate way. I’ll huff and puff and shit on the place because what he did honestly mean was that I took my time and did things right (right not being right to Applebee’s standards), but I couldn’t keep up with the other cooks. He wasn’t wrong. It wasn’t the place for me, and I’d never survive a lifer gig there. But I was fortunate in that I didn’t need to.

After Applebee’s I worked at a small chain of mid-level Italian restaurant in what is now called the fast casual mode. Everything was from scratch (or at least from scratch at the central corporate kitchen that aided in upping the larders for the dozen or so locations in the metro area), and I was using real techniques alongside more (technically) skilled cooks, most of whom were also in various culinary programs. Here I did fit in. Here I was fast enough.

I did ruffle a few feathers on the pizza station. I worked at a Pizza Place all through college. It was the small-chain kind that did some things in a more traditional way. One of those things was tossing the pizza crust. I was really, really good at it, so on our busiest nights on the weekend, I almost always worked the pizza station because not only was I good at it, but I put on a good show in the open kitchen. An assistant manager hated me doing it - it was actually “against the corporate rules” - but the main manager and the kitchen manager loved it, and so did the crowd of families (and especially the kids) who came in every weekend. I think the other cooks saw me as a bit of a show-boater, and they weren’t wrong. But I was good at the pizza station, no one could argue that. I don’t always do things by the book, but fortunately in the right kind of environments (for me), you don’t always have to.

This point in my life the work married the studies. Chef Kwame mentions how be brought uniformity in the guise of mirepoix to his Mexican restaurant (where he was working as sous chef during culinary school - no small feat). He taught the cooks to sear their big chunks of meat before braising. This Italian place was the proper place to use my new skills in a way that Applebee’s certainly wasn’t.

The awe that Chef Kwame shows towards culinary icons, institutions, and restaurants is one I understand. It is one I’ve felt. But the thing that really struck me - especially reading this in the wake of the death of George Floyd and this much-needed tipping-point in American culture - was the section where he’s arrested coming back to school at 2am after closing at the restaurant where he worked nights.

(side note: this man was also running his catering company in NYC on the weekends! How many hours does he have in a day? Mad respect. Mad respect.)

Being pulled over by the cops if you’re black can be a death sentence in the US. He got arrested and booked because he had some outstanding parking tickets. The officer: “seemed like the kind of guy who wanders around with his hands down his pants making sure his dick is still there.” I’ve seen those officers, and it was visceral to me. I viscerally dislike and do not respect people like this. But I can do that safely. It is an eye-opener to hear the lived experiences of our brothers and sisters of other skin tones. We need to do better in America.

All of these “stories” that throw me are the lived experiences of our neighbors. We need to get in tune with what’s going on. We need to listen more. I need to listen more. There is a lot of work to be done. I’m truly looking forward to continuing on this journey with Chef Kwame.

~BPL

[gavrielabrahams]

I wanted to comment on a post about Jewish population numbers without gumming up the post itself.

I'm thinking about my exposure to the three Jewish communities I've been a part of, my hometown, my college town, and where I live now.

Part of the reason our numbers aren't back up to Pre-shoah is because we're still losing lots of members to secularism. Lots of people choose to blame intermarriage, but in my opinion that's horseshit. When Jews marry outside of the tribe, they're faced with the ultimate choice, "do we raise the kids Jewish or not?" People who have a strong connection the Jewish community are going to raise their kids Jewish, with or without a Jewish spouse and those that done will not. Our local Reform congregation has so many "interfaith" families that still SHOW UP for the community (in this case I put interfaith in quotations because they're really not interfaith. They are Jewish families with one parent who doesn't identify as Jewish).

The reality is that we're losing a lot of our numbers simply because we're not doing enough. We need to do more CULTURAL outreach. We need to put more emphasis on community. In college, every holiday had full day celebrations. Think of secular holidays, especially when you were a kid. Halloween wasn't just the three hours you spent trick or treating, it was a build up, it was an all day affair at school, with a costume parade and themed activities.

Why then does my local community have one pizza party during Sukkot and nothing else? Hell, we don't even celebrate Simchat Torah here, can you believe that?!?! Simchat Torah is basically Fall Purim without costumes.

I dunno, I guess what bothers me is that it feels like we're still suffering ethnic cleansing but instead of genocide it's just slow assimilation. The world around us is making it easier for us to just give up, give in, go quietly into the night. I'm not afraid my kids won't choose to stay Jewish, I'm afraid my great-grandkids won't. I'm afraid that after I'm dead the branch I added to our tribe will fizzle out and move on.

[manicpixiedreamjew]

(1/2) i have a q that i feel rly stupid asking, my friend converted awhile back and my extended family is interfaith (as in my immediate family is xtian but on one side everyone is jewish) and i was telling her that for xmas they give us silver and blue xmas ornaments and for chanukah we do like chanukah gingerbread houses as like a thing we all do together and then they come over for easter we go there for passover and rosh hashanah i told her this and she said

(2/2) she said that my family is like borderline appropriating their culture because we do decorate for jewish holidays too sometimes and also like forcibly assimilating them in a way b/c were like mixing holidays the way we are ? and i guess i can see her point of view but i mean? isn’t it fine? since it’s my family wouldn’t they say something if it made them uncomfortable?

Anon, no sane, rational person would accuse you and your family of appropriation or malintent. I don’t know anything about your friend, but it seems like some exposure to interfaith relationships and practices can broaden her world view a bit. Sharing culture and tradition with your Jewish family is not appropriation, nor is your sharing Christian culture and tradition forced assimilation. It actually boggles my mind that someone would jump to that conclusion. 

Culture is meant to be shared. It’s meant to be explored, experienced, and enjoyed, especially with your loved ones. An interfaith family relationship would be impossible if you didn’t attempt to break down those walls in a respectful, loving manner. Judaism is not isolationist. By all means, take part in your family’s Jewishness if it is meaningful to you and brings you joy! The fact of the matter is, you’re experiencing and partaking in Judaism under the guidance of Jews--and that’s 100% encouraged. 

If your Jewish family was uncomfortable with celebrating Christian holidays with you, I’m sure they’d say so. The truth is, people do things out of love, curiosity and respect. I think it’s wonderful that you’re offering this part of yourself to your loved ones, and that they’re also willing to partake in it and learn about it with you. That’s the point. Nothing in life is black and white. Everything is nuanced. You cannot look at these things and immediately jump to conclusions. 

I once overheard my dad, a devout Catholic, tell his friend that he involves himself with Judaism because he knows it’s important to me; and what’s important to me is important to him. 

I take strides to learn about Christianity because it’s important to my dad, and what’s important to him is important to me. I have literally had to step back and rewire my world views. Relationships like this teach you empathy and compassion. 

Is he appropriating Judaism when he celebrates Rosh Hashana with me, or when he goes to synagogue with me? No. He’s willingly and curiously participating in a tradition that I hold extremely close to my heart, and want to share. Is he forcefully assimilating and diluting my culture and religion when he asks if I want to go to Christmas Mass with him? Of course not! I’m in turn willing to learn about and experience something that’s extremely important to him. 

 I know that I’m Jewish and I’m living my life as a Jew. Interfaith relationships and activities do not weaken or threaten my Jewish identity, and I’m going to take some liberty to assume it’s not threatening your family’s Jewish identity either. What your family does is your family’s business, and that’s it. And, I think sharing your traditions is a beautiful thing. 

People don’t live in boxes. 

[zinattango]

Was Omar Ibn Khattab the First Zionist ?

Omar ibn al Khattab : Jewish leader of the Sunnis

The free Mason Infiltrate

Before I bring proofs about Omer being a freemason I will like to enlighten on early history of freemason, most of us don’t know freemasons exists before the Torah .

Early freemasons

Early freemasons were known as kabbalah Jews. The kabbalah is a system rooted in pagan idolatry; that it existed before the Torah, and became widespread within Judaism after the Torah was revealed.

Reference “C. Wilson, The excavation of Jerusalem, Christopher Knight, Robert Lomas, The Hiram Key, p.38”

Kabbalah Jews hidden freemasons

This interesting fact about the Kabbalah, is explained by just as interesting a source. Murat Ozgen, a Turkish Freemason, maintains the following in his book, Masonluk Nedir ve Nasildir? (What is Freemasonry and what is it Like?):

We don’t know clearly where the kabbalah came from or how it developed.

It is the general name for a unique, metaphysically constituted, esoteric and mystical philosophy particularly connected with Jewish religion. It is accepted as Jewish mysticism, but some of the elements it contains show that it was composed much earlier than the Torah.

The French historian, Gougenot des Mousseaux, explains that the Kabbalah is actually much older than Judaism.

Reference “Murat Ozgen Ayfer, Masonluk Nedir ve Nasildir? (What is Freemasonry and What is it Like?), Istanbul 1992, pp.298-299”

ALTHOUGH THE KABBALAH DEVELOPED WITHIN JUDAISM, IT DEPENDS ON SOURCES FROM OUTSIDE

OF IT. THE KABBALAH AROSE OUT OF THE PAGAN BELIEFS OF ANCIENT EGYPT AND MESOPOTAMIA.

The Jewish historian, Theodore Reinach, says that the Kabbalah is “a subtle poison which enters into the veins of Judaism and wholly infests it.

Reference “Gougenot des Mousseaux in Le Juif, La Judaïsme et la Judaïsation des Peuples Chrétiens, 2nd edition, 1886, p. 499 “

Salomon Reinach defines the Kabbalah as “one of the worst aberrations of the human mind.

Reference “Nesta H. Webster, Secret Societies And Subversive Movements, Boswell Publishing Co., Ltd., London, 1924; p.9”

The reason for Reinach’s contention that the Kabbalah is “one of the worst aberrations of the human mind” is that its doctrine is connected in large part with magic. For thousands of years, the Kabbalah has been one of the foundation-stones of every kind of magic ritual. It is believed that rabbis who study the Kabbalah possess great magical power. Also, many non-Jews have been influenced by the Kabbalah, and have tried to practice magic by employing its doctrines. The esoteric tendencies that took hold in Europe during the late middle Ages, especially as practiced by alchemists, have their roots, to a great extent, in the Kabbalah.

The strange thing is, that Judaism is a monotheistic religion, incepted with the revelation of the Torah to Moses (peace be upon him). But, within this religion is a system called the Kabbalah that adopts the basic practices of magic forbidden by the religion. This substantiates what we have presented above, and demonstrates that the Kabbalah is actually an element that has entered Judaism from the outside.

The Jewish historian Fabre d’Olivet says that it came from Ancient Egypt. According to this writer, the roots of the Kabbalah stretch back to Ancient Egypt. The Kabbalah is a tradition learned by some of the leaders of the Israelites in Ancient Egypt, and passed down as a tradition by word of mouth from generation to generation.

Reference : “ Theodore Reinach, Histoire des Israélites, p.221, and Salomon Reinach, Orpheus, p.299.

For this reason, we must look to Ancient Egypt in order to find the basic origins of the Kabbalah-Templars-Freemasonry chain.

THE DARK WORLD OF KABBALAH JEWS

nibras110.blog.com/files/2012/10/kabala.png

The Jewish historian Theodore Reinach describes the Kabbalah as “a subtle poison which enters into the veins of Judaism and wholly infests it.” Solomon Reinach defines the Kabbalah as “one of the worst aberrations of the human mind.” These pictures from modern Kabbalist works reflect the dark world of the Kabbalah.

The ties between Omer Ibn Khattab, and kabbalah Jews.

The word Omer is not Arabic word if we ask any Arabic linguistic scholar about the word OMER he will say this is non-Arabic word! Let’s see where from this word came.

In Leviticus, the third book of the Torah, it says: “You shall count… from the day that you brought the Omer as a wave offering” (23:15). “Omer” is a Hebrew word that means “sheaves of a harvested crop” and in ancient times Jews brought the Omer to the Temple as an offering on the second day of Passover. The Torah tells us to count seven weeks from the bringing of the Omer until the evening of Shavuot, hence the custom of counting the Omer.

There a question came in my mind that where from Omer ibn Khatab’s family named him by this Jewish name? Were they Jews? Had Omer ibn Khatab Jewish back ground?

Who is a Jew?

A Jew is any person whose mother was a Jew.

It is important to note that being a Jew has nothing to do with what you believe or what you do. A person born to non-Jewish parents who has not undergone the formal process of conversion but who believes everything that Orthodox Jews believe and observes every law and custom of Judaism is still a non-Jew, even in the eyes of the most liberal movements of Judaism, and a person born to a Jewish mother who is an atheist and never practices the Jewish religion is still a Jew, even in the eyes of the ultra-Orthodox. In this sense, Judaism is more like a nationality than like other religions, and being Jewish is like a citizenship. See What Is Judaism?

This has been established since the earliest days of Judaism. In the Torah, you will see many references to “the strangers who dwell among you” or “righteous proselytes” or “righteous strangers.” These are various classifications of non-Jews who lived among Jews, adopting some or all of the beliefs and practices of Judaism without going through the formal process of conversion and becoming Jews. Once a person has converted to Judaism, he is not referred to by any special term; he is as much a Jew as anyone born Jewish.

Although all Jewish movements agree on these general principles, there are occasional disputes as to whether a particular individual is a Jew. Most of these disputes fall into one of two categories.

First, traditional Judaism maintains that a person is a Jew if his mother is a Jew, regardless of who his father is. The liberal movements, on the other hand, allow Jewish status to pass through the mother or the father if the child was raised Jewish. Thus, if the child of a Jewish father and a Christian mother is raised Jewish (or even just adopts Jewish identity as an adult, like Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords), the child is a Jew according to the Reform movement (see their position here), but not according to the Orthodox movement. On the other hand, if the child of a Christian father and a Jewish mother is not raised Jewish, the child is a Jew according to the Orthodox movement, but not according to the Reform movement. The matter becomes even more complicated, because the status of that interfaith child’s children also comes into question.

Second, the more traditional movements do not always acknowledge the validity of conversions by the more liberal movements. A more liberal movement might not follow the procedures required by the more traditional movement, thereby invalidating the conversion. For example, Orthodoxy requires acceptance of the yoke of Torah (observance of Jewish law as Orthodoxy understands it), while other movements would not teach the same laws that Orthodoxy does and might not require observance. The Conservative movement requires circumcision and immersion in a mikvah, which is not always required in Reform conversions.

There are several passages in the Torah where it is understood that the child of a Jewish woman and a non-Jewish man is a Jew, and several other passages where it is understood that the child of a non-Jewish woman and a Jewish man is not a Jew.

In Deuteronomy 7:1-5, in expressing the prohibition against intermarriage, G-d says “he [i.e., the non-Jewish male spouse] will cause your child to turn away from Me and they will worship the gods of others.” No such concern is expressed about the child of a non-Jewish female spouse. From this, we infer that the child of a non-Jewish male spouse is Jewish (and can therefore be turned away from Judaism), but the child of a non-Jewish female spouse is not Jewish (and therefore turning away is not an issue).

Leviticus 24:10 speaks of the son of an Israelite woman and an Egyptian man as being “among the community of Israel” (i.e., a Jew).

Who was mother of Omer Ibn Khattab?

Muhammad Bin Saaib Al Kalbi narrates in his book (Al Salabah Fe Ma’rifat Al Sahabah) (3/212)… Nufayl was working for Kalb Bin Luayy Bin Ghalib AlQarshy and he (Kalb) died. His new master was Abdul Muttalib, Sahak a Jewish woman was also working for Abdul Mutalib she was shepherd taking care of his sheep. He separated between them in the pasture and they agreed one day to meet in a rest home. Nufayl desired and loved her. Abdul Muttalib had made her put on pants of leather with a lock on and he kept its key with him to her status of him. When he (Nufayl) chased her she said: nothing from what you are saying is for me and he has made me put this leather and put a lock on it. He said: I can trick him, he took some butter from the sheep’s buttermilk and smeared the leather and what is around it of her body with the butter till slipped down to her thighs. He did effect her and she got pregnant by him with Al Khattab. When she had given birth to him she threw him on some garbage during the night with fear of Abdul Muttalib. A Jewish woman named Jenazah picked up Al Khattab and raised him. When he grew up he used to cut wood and was named ‘Al Hattab’ the wood cutter. So with the letter ‘Ha’ but was distorted in the vocabulary. Sahak was faring him in secrecy, one day he saw her and her bottom was lowered. He didn’t know who she was, he fell on her and she got pregnant by him with Hantamah. When she had given birth to her she threw her in the dumps outside of Makkah. Hisham Bin Magheer Bin Walid picked her up and raised her and she was attributed to him. When she grew up and Al Khattab frequently visited Hisham and he saw Hantamah and liked her. He asked Hisham if he could marry her and Hisham allowed her to marry him. She gave birth to Omer. Al Khattab was Omer’s father because he and Hantamah got married and she gave birth to him. And at the same time his grandfather because he and Sahak got Hantamah. Al khattab and Hantamah are from the same mother Sahak.

And we summarize the lineage of Omer Bin Al Khattab as follows:

Nufayl + Sahak a Jewish woman = Son Al Khattab

Al Khattab + Sahak A Jewish woman = Daughter Hantamah

Al Khattab + Hantamah = Omer ibn Khattab

We see that Hantamah is the mother and sister of Omar Bin Al Khattab i.e. she is the wife and the daughter of Al Khattab.

And Al Khattab is his father because he is Sahak’s lover (i.e. who committed fornication with her) and her son at the same time. I.e. he is Omar’s father and grandfather at the same time. Sahak the jewish woman is his grandmother, mother of his father and the mistress of his father at the same time. Reference : Al Salabah Fe Ma’rifat Al Sahabah (3/212) , Ilzam Al Nawasib. By : Nurullah Zarihi.

We can say Omer Ibn Khattab was born and raised in a Jewish family, according to Jewish tents Omer was a born Jew.

Omar and Jewish Teachings

We can say now according to Jewish tents omer Ibn Khatab was a Jew and his mother named him a Jewish name Omer, and taught him Jewish religious teachings, we can easily find othe evidences that omer ibn Khattab was well verses of Jewish teaching.

We read in Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 194 Narrated byJabir ibn Abdullah

Umar ibn al-Khattab brought to Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) a copy of the Torah and said: Allah’s Messenger, this is a copy of the Torah. He (Allah’s Messenger) kept quiet and he (Umar) began to read it. The (colour) of the face of Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) underwent a change, whereupon AbuBakr said: Would that your mother mourn you, don’t you see the face of Allah’s Messenger? Umar saw the face of Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) and said: I seek refuge with Allah from the wrath of Allah and the wrath of His Messenger. We are well pleased with Allah as Lord, with Islam as religion, and with Muhammad as Prophet. Whereupon Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said: By Him in Whose hand is the life of Muhammad, even if Moses were to appear before you and you were to follow him, leaving me aside, you would certainly stray into error; for if (Moses) were alive (now), and he found my prophetical ministry, he would have definitely followed me. Transmitted by Darimi.

When Omer ibn al Khattab (r) heard that the Prophet had passed away, he was so distraught that he drew his sword and declared: “Some hypocrites are pretending that the Prophet of God-may God’s peace and blessing be upon him—has died. By God I swear that he did not die; that he has gone to join his Lord, just as other Prophets went before. Moses was absent from his people for forty nights and returned to them after they had declared him dead. By God, the Prophet of God will return just as Moses returned. Any man who dares to perpetrate a false rumor such as Muhammed’s death shall have his arms and legs cut off by this hand.”

Omar and people of book

Omar Ibn Khattab’s treaty of peace. It ran as follows: “From the servant of Allah and the Commander of the Faithful, Omer: The inhabitants of Jerusalem are granted security of life and property. Their churches and crosses shall be secure. This treaty applies to all people of the city. Their places of worship shall remain intact. These shall neither be taken over nor pulled down. People shall be quite free to follow their religion. They shall not be put to any trouble…”

Omer Ibn Khattab cut down the tree where Muslims paid oath of allegiance to Prophet of Islam and same Omer Ibn Khattab allows Christians and Jews!

Shaykh Bukhari has said of his work as a member of the Jerusalem Peacemakers: “At least I tried; I am not just waiting for change.” He has been criticized by some Muslims in the Old City of Jerusalem for welcoming non-Muslims to his Sufi zikr or ceremony in remembrance of the Creator, and is accused of being a Baha’i, a Freemason (currently the focus of much paranoia in the Muslim world), and an adherent of a false belief that all religions are one. The latter is a common reproach hurled at Sufis, but Shaykh Bukhari answers serenely, “We are all born with no distinct religion, and it is the decision of the Creator how people will come to religion.” But the shaykh cannot yet make the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca because he does not hold a Jordanian passport. When I interviewed him only Israeli Muslims who could show pre-1948 residence papers were allowed into the Saudi kingdom for hajj.

He speaks fondly of Avraham Elqayam, a controversial scholar at Bar-Ilan University who has written extensively on Sufism and its relationship to Jewish mysticism, and of the Sufi Center of Nazareth, headed by Shaykh Abd al-Salaam Manasra. But these points of Sufi light are by no means isolated in the Land of Israel. I began one morning by praying Fatiha (the opening of Quran) at the tomb of the Prophet Samuel aleyhisalem in Jerusalem, a site visited by Jewish and Muslim faithful alike. There, following the tradition of Kab al-Ahbar, a Jewish convert to Islam, I removed my shoes and socks, walking barefoot, as Kab had done in the presence of the khalifa Omer ibn al-Khattab

Omar and Jewish secretary Ka’b al-Ahbar counts the days of the Caliph Omar

Ka’b Al-Ahbar A man from Yemen named Ka’b Ibn Mati’ Al-Himyari, also nicknamed Abu Ishaq, from the clan of Dhu Ru’ayn (or the clan of Dhu Al-Kila’a) came to Medina during the time of ‘Omer. He was a prominent Rabbi and became known as Ka’b Al-Ahbar. He declared his Islam and resided in Medina during ‘Umar’s reign.

He stayed in Medina until the days of ‘Uthman. This new Muslim was not an imaginary person as the Jew Abdullah Ibn Saba, who is portrayed by legend as being a mysterious person and difficult to prove that he ever existed. Indeed, Ka’b Al-Ahbar was a real person; many companions knew him because he resided in Medina and was looked upon with high prestige by the second and the third Caliphs.

He narrated many stories, claiming that they were from the contents of the Old Testament. Many famous companions, such as Abu Hurayrah, Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar, Abdullah Ibn Amr Ibn Al-As, and Mu’awiyah Ibn Abi Sufyan reported his stories. Ka’b was with ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattab when ‘Umar entered Jerusalem. This rabbi reported many strange tales, the contents of which testify for their own lack of authenticity. One such tale is the following: A companion named Qays Ibn Kharshah Al-Qaysi reported that Ka’b Al-Ahbar said: “Every event that has taken place or will take place, on any foot of the earth, is written in the Tawrat (Old Testament), which Allah revealed to His Prophet Moses. (Ibn Abd al-Barr, Al-Isti’ab, part 3, page 1287)

This rabbi was able to deceive many companions through his trickery.

Ka’b's influence had grown during the days of Omer’s caliphate to such a degree that he was able to say to Omar:

Ka’b : Amir al-Mu’minin, you ought to write your will because you will die in three days.

Omer : How do you know that ?

Ka’b : I found it in the Book of God, the Taurat ( Old Testament ).

Omer : By God do you find Omar Ibn al-Khattab in the Old Testament ?

Ka’b : By God, no. But I found your description in the Old Testament

and your time is coming to an end.

Omer : But I do not feel any pain or sickness

On the following day Ka’b came to Omer and said : Amir al-Mu’minin, one day has passed and you have only two more days.

The following day Ka’b came to him and said : Amir al-Mu’minin, two days have gone and you have only one day and one night remaining.

The following morning Abu Lulu appeared carrying a dagger with two heads and a handle in the middle. He hit Omar six times; one of them hit the Caliph in the navel, killing him.

Reference: Tabari – History of al-Tabari, v4, p191 rinted by Dar al-Maarif – Cairo

It should be mentioned again that the Prophet prohibited taking from the book of the people of the scripture. Ahmad reported that Jabir Ibn Abdullah reported that ‘Umar came to the Prophet with a book which he obtained from some followers of the scripture. He read it in front of the Prophet. The Prophet became furious and said:

“Son of Al-Khattab, by the One in Whose hand is my soul, if Moses were alive, he would have to follow me.”

Al-Bukhari reports that Ibn Abbas said: “How do you ask the people of the scriptures about anything while your book, which was revealed by Allah to His Messenger (Muhammad), is the newest Book? You read it pure without interpolation by any non-Qur’anic words. The Qur’an has informed you that people of the scripture tampered with and changed their book.”

However, Abu Hurayrah and Abdullah Ibn Amr Ibn al-As reported that the Messenger of God said: “Take from the Israelites, and you will not be committing a sin.”

Both Abu Hurayrah and Abdullah were students of Ka’b. It is reported that Abdullah Ibn Amr Al-As acquired two camels loaded with books of people of the scripture and used to give information to Muslims from these books. Ibn Hajar said: “Because of this, many prominent scholars among the students of the companions of the Prophet avoided taking information from Abdullah Ibn Amr Al-As (Fath Al-Bari, part 1, page 167).

Sayyid Muhammad Rashid Rida, in his magazine Al-Manar of Egypt, said about Ka’b (correcting those who stated that Ka’b is very knowledgeable): “Being extremely knowledgeable does not necessarily mean being truthful.” Ka’b's knowledge was attributed to the Old Testament so that it would be accepted. He also reported from other books and attributed these reports to the Old Testament to make them acceptable.

Sayyid Muhammad Rashid Rida added that Ka’b was undoubtedly one of the most intelligent Rabbis before declaring his Islam and very capable of deceiving the Muslims. Sayyid Muhammad Rida also said that Ka’b was one of the Jewish heretics who displayed Islam and worshipped only to make his religious reports and opinions accepted.

His conspiracy became popular and it deceived some of the companions. When some of the companions conveyed Ka’b's reports without attributing them to him, some of their students and people after them took the reports as the words of the Prophet Muhammad. The scholar and journalist Sayyid Rida said “Ka’b was a volcano of fabricated hadiths. I am sure that he was a liar and I have no confidence in his Islam.” (Al-Manar magazine, part 27, page 541)

Sayyid Rashid Rida said about Ka’b Al-Ahbar and Wahb Ibn Munabbih the following:

“These two men were the worst Israelite reporters and the most deceptive to the Muslims. All fairy tales pertaining to Islam, to the creation, the Prophets and their words, faith-testing trials, and the Day of Judgement, have no other source than these two men.”

They were an example of the popular proverb:

“There is in every valley a mark from the fox,”

meaning that these two men left their mark on everything they touched. No one should be frightened by the fact that some of the companions and their students were deceived by the tales these two persons told. No one is immune from the belief in statements of liars. (Sayyid Rida, Al-Manar; part 27, page 783).

This information was recorded by Muhammad Abu Rayyah, AI-Sunnah AI-Muhammadiyyah, and page 174. We ought to mention that Muhammad Ibn Sa’d, in his book Al-Tabaqat, part 5, page 542, mentioned that Wahb Ibn Munabbih said: “I have read 92 books, all of which came from heaven. 72 are in the churches and in the hands of the people, and 20 are only known to a few.” This is what Wahb Ibn Munabbih said. But the Holy Qur’an only mentions five revealed books!

1. The Book of Ibrahim

2. Al- Tawrat (Old Testament)

3. AI-Injil (New Testament

4. Al-Zabur (Psalms of David)

5. The Holy Qur’an

Thus, we have only five Heavenly books. Where did Wahb Ibn Munabbih find the other 87 books? As we come to this point, we find that many companions, many of their students, and many commentators on the Qur’an from the righteous Sunni scholars have taken a great deal of information from Ka’b Al-Ahbar and Wahb Ibn Munabbih.

The Second Caliph, ‘Omar, was one of those who accepted the reports of Ka’b Al-Ahbar!

Omar’s doubt on Islam and Prophet Mohammad peace be upon Him and his progeny

‘Are you not truly the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam)?’ The Prophet said: ‘Yes, indeed.’ I said: ‘Is not our cause just and the cause of the enemy unjust?’ The Prophet said: ‘Yes.’ I said: ‘Then why should we be humble in our religion?’ He (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam) said: “I am Allah’s Messenger (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam) and I do not disobey Him, and He will make me victorious.” I said: ‘Did you not tell us that we would go to the Ka’bah and perform Tawaaf around it?’ He (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam) said: “Yes, but did I tell you that we would visit the Ka’bah this year?’ I said: ‘No.’ He said: “So you will visit it and perform Tawaaf around it.”

Umar further said: “I went to Abu Bakr and said: ‘O Abu Bakr! Is not he truly the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam)?’ He replied: ‘Yes.’ I said: ‘Is not our cause just and the cause of the enemy unjust?’ He said: ‘Yes.’ I said: ‘Then why should we be humble in our religion?’ He said: “O you man! Indeed, he is Allah’s Messenger (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam) and he does not disobey Allah, he is on the right path.” I said: ‘Did he not tell us that we would go to the Ka’bah and perform Tawaaf around it?’ He said: “Yes, but did he tell you that you would visit the Ka’bah this year?’ I said: ‘No.’ He said: “You will go to the Ka’bah and perform Tawaaf around it.” Umar says: “I performed many good deeds as expiation for the improper questions I asked them.’

Reference: www.ahya.org/amm/modules.php?name=Sections&;amp;op=viewarticle&artid=140

Jews and Christians gave Al-Farooq heading to Omar

Mohammad bin sa’ad “Tabqat Al-kubra” juz 3 page 270

Mohammad ibn Sa’as said Ya’qob bin Ibrahim is reporting from his father from Saleh bin Kefaan from Ibn Hisham said its reached to us the people of book are the first who said Al-Farooq to Omar, and Muslims have been following them in this regard. And nothing have been reached to us that the messenger of Allah said like this

Ibn Al-kthair “Asad Alghabah” juz 5 page 57

Said Ibn Shahaab said this has reached to us that the people of book are the first who named Omar as Al-Farooq .

Why they name him Al-Farooq ?

Omer Ibn Khattab and Homosexual tendency

Omer Ibn Khattab had Gay/homosexual tendency which is important for a freemason from early history let’s see here some famous homosexuals, the famous Freemasonic and Biblical builder of Temples was Alexander the Great and he was a famous gay .

Oscar Wilde (Irish dramatist, novelist, and poet)

“Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.”

Brother Wilde was born on October 16, 1854 in Dublin, Ireland. He was Raised a Master Mason at Oxford, England on May 25, 1875 at Apollo University Lodge # 357. Brother Wilde died on November 30, 1900 in Paris, France and is buried at La Pére Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, France, and was famous Gay freemason.

Cecil Rhodes (British colonial statesman and financier)

Brother Rhodes was born on July 5, 1853. He was Raised a Master Mason at Oxford, and was famous gay freemason in England on April 17, 1877 at the Apollo University Lodge # 357. He also joined a Scottish Rite Lodge at Oxford called Prince Rose Croix Lodge No. 30. During the Boer War he prominently served in the defense of Kimberley. Brother Rhodes died at Cape Town on March 26, 1902. In his will he left most of his fortune to the establishment of the Rhodes Scholarships.

J. Edgar Hoover (Director of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – 1924 – 1972)

Brother Hoover was born in 1895. He was Raised a Master Mason and a famous gay at Washington, D.C. on November 9, 1920 at the Federal Lodge No. 1. During his time as a Mason Brother Hoover received numerous honors including being coroneted a Thirty-Third Degree Inspector General Honorary in 1955 and being awarded the Grand Cross of Honour in 1965.

The Omer ibn Khattab, we read as Omer himself reports

Tabqat Ibn Sa’d reporting from Omer Ibn Khattab said: nothing remained of pagan age except I don’t remember with whom I had intercourse of their men and who made intercourse with me of their men.

These things are enough to say Omar Ibn Khattab was a master mason.

By : AjamiPride.

[revlyncox]

Begin Again

Unitarian Universalists can learn from our Jewish neighbors about starting the new year with a fresh perspective. This sermon was delivered to the UU Church of Silver Spring, MD, on September 29, 2019.

Our administrative office is a place of wonder, discovery, and spiritual growth. Really. The other day, our beloved and highly valued congregational Treasurer, Olivia, was opening the mail. She wondered out loud if anyone wanted to respond to our insurance company about their offer for a free wall calendar that includes safety tips for religious communities and contact information for the insurance company. I was so excited! This was just the letter I had been waiting to receive! 

If you’ve been in my office, you’ve seen how marked up last year’s calendar is. Not only do I write on it the dates of special services and congregational events, it’s the first place I look when I’m so immersed in planning ahead that I need to be reminded what day it is today. Olivia very kindly wrote our customer number down for me so that I could go on the website to request our copy of the calendar. It’s supposed to arrive in November. I can’t wait!

There is nothing like spreading out a fresh calendar, full of open spaces, the potential energy of days and weeks and months stretching before you. Anything is possible. There is value in spontaneity, and I admire people who can create things in the moment, but the gifts that the Divine has bestowed upon me work best when I plan ahead. I can adapt a plan when needed -- I’d like to think I can be flexible -- but I prefer to start with at least some goals. Hence, the golden opportunity of a new calendar: an entire year, waiting to be framed with hopes and dreams!

Of course, knowing that not everything goes according to plan, the safety tips and phone numbers for the insurance company are nice to have, too. 

My excitement about turning over a new page in the calendar is just one of the reasons I find it deeply meaningful to celebrate Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year. My interfaith family is delightfully complex in spiritual expression, so I hope it’s not too confusing that I spoke about my personal earth-centered practice last week, and this week I’m telling you that I’ll be out of the office for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. Some of the families in this congregation are interfaith Jewish and UU like mine, but even for those who are not, there is wisdom we can learn from the Jewish New Year that fits in with Unitarian Universalist faith and practice. 

In particular, I want to talk about starting over. For ourselves, that means coming to terms with our mistakes and vulnerabilities, and setting intentions for the kind of people we want to be and the kind of choices we want to make in the coming year. In our relationships together, that might mean making amends or letting go of grudges so that we can start fresh. Turning the page doesn’t mean forgetting the chapters that came before, but it can mean a new perspective and a new direction. In our Soul Matters themes of the month, September is a month of expectation; this week is a good time to begin again, to reset our expectations of ourselves and the year ahead.

A bit of context might help. On the Jewish calendar, Rosh Hashana is the new year holiday. The shofar is blown to wake us up, to bring us into the present moment where we can do the work of turning toward life in the new year. Ten days later, Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement, the last day before the books are closed on the previous year, a last push to take responsibility for our mistakes. I’ll talk about that next week. There is space between them to look back, like when the congregation ends our year of accounting on June 30 but we have a little time before we can give a comprehensive financial report on the year that has just ended. We need that time in between to assess and to make corrections. While Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur are two separate holidays, and it’s a great opportunity to be able to talk about them separately, they are related to each other. 

As Unitarian Universalists, we strive to practice responsibility. Our UU Principles speak of the free and responsible search for truth and meaning. Our behavior should reflect the inherent worth and dignity of all those who are affected by our actions, including ourselves. We know that we are part of an interdependent web of existence, and that our choices have far-reaching consequences on others, and that the choices of others far away have an impact on us. Whether we reflect on this at Rosh Hashana or at another time of year, it makes sense to take regular stock of how we are doing with being in community. It makes sense to lower our defenses long enough to honestly assess the places where we can do better, to repair our relationships where we have done harm, and to set some intentions for living out our values more deeply than we have before. This can include setting intentions that will allow us to have greater access to joy, to community, and to spiritual growth; turning toward life in the new year has hopeful and positive aspects. 

Last week, we talked about your congregational covenant of right relations, including the part that says:

Knowing we will at times fall short of these ideals, we intend to use this covenant as our guide for the behavior we expect of ourselves and others as we live and work in community.

This understanding of human fallibility is built into the High Holidays, and is definitely built into a long-lasting UU covenant. None of us are perfect, yet we are capable of being held responsible. Covenants give us a path for acknowledging harm, making amends, and returning to community. A regular, perhaps annual, practice of beginning again reminds us of the potential for taking responsibility and reconciling in right relationship. 

Beginning again does not mean forgetting everything we have learned up until this point. Rather, it means building on what we’ve learned, yet opening our senses to what there is, truly in this moment, rather than being governed by what we perceived in the past. There is a lot of brokenness in the world, brokenness between people, brokenness in our own hearts. That is true. And it is also true that the world, our relationships, and our hearts are capable of healing. We are alive, and so the potential for change and growth lives within us and between us and beyond us. 

The opportunity to begin again, to fill in the pages of the calendar of the year to come with positive intentions, is powerful. Recognizing our mistakes, our vulnerabilities, and our shortcomings can be scary. We might fear that making mistakes means being a mistake, but that is just not so. Being in a community that engages in introspection together reminds us that we are all human, and we can work on doing better. Coming to terms with our flaws means we have a chance to learn a new way, we don’t have to dwell there, we don’t have to create an identity out of our mistakes. But we do have to learn from them, and make repairs when we can. 

Another advantage to doing this spiritual work in community is that we have opportunities to forgive each other. Sometimes the opportunity to let go is not presented with a perfect apology. Sometimes the opportunity comes when we realize that carrying a grudge is more exhausting than it’s worth. If we open up our hearts, take an assessment of where we are and what our intentions are for the year to come, it might be possible to keep the learning and the wisdom gained from a painful experience while letting go of the resentment. It might not be possible yet. Letting go of grudges is not easy. Nevertheless, entering the new year with fewer or smaller chips on our shoulders might free us up to pursue our positive intentions with more strength than we had before. 

There’s a parable in Jewish circles that originates with the Maggid of Dubno. A Maggid is like a spiritual storyteller, sometimes a rabbi but not necessarily, someone who might be a wise fool or a musician or simply a conveyer of wisdom and cultural knowledge. The Maggid of Dubno, Rabbi Jacob Kranz, told of a fortune that was lost and found between the generations. This version comes by way of Rabbi Daniel Brenner: 

Once there was a wealthy man who wanted to protect his fortune so he hid his wealth in different places in his house. He died before telling his son where he had hidden the money. After the father’s death, the son lived in the home but he had no work and he had little to eat. He grew increasingly desperate and one day was counting out his last few silver coins when one of the coins dropped, and he crawled on the floor to find it. He searched all over but he couldn’t find his coin. In desperation he pulled up the floorboards and found one of the sacks of golden coins his father had hidden. He opened the sack and was amazed at his fortune. He searched all through the house and found more and more sacks of gold but he never found his original, lost silver coin.

Because it’s a parable, there is lots of room for interpretation in the Maggid’s story. One way of interpreting the story is that this world is full of surprising treasures. Another thing to notice about the story is that the silver coin that was lost remained lost. Sometimes we have to let go of something to find the treasures that will lead us in a new direction. It may be the case that letting go, starting over, means losing something we value: an old identity, a sense of urgency that kept us going when we didn’t think we could, a connection with someone who is gone. The grief of losing that is real. And sometimes what we find instead is a better fit for the future. 

Something I notice about this parable is how the low point in the story could have been made easier if the two characters had talked to one another, and had not put it off for another time. If there is an opportunity for healing, take it. If there is an opportunity to be in community, to reflect and be vulnerable with a trusted spiritual companion, take it. If there is an opportunity to learn from the past while being clear about what is needed for the future, take it. The treasures we have are made evident when we engage in right relationship. The gifts we need for the time ahead might involve letting go of something else we thought we needed in the past. 

The start of a new year is a good time to assess who we are and where we are. It’s a good time to notice the ways we have healed over the last year, the ways we have yet to grow, and the repairs that are ready to be made. If you are like me, a little too giddy with the excitement of a new calendar, the start of a new year is a good time to remember what day it is today, to be present to things as they are and to the people around us and the condition of our relationships. 

May the coming year be nourishing with the satisfaction of learning and growing from our mistakes. May the coming year be illuminated with the beacon of our positive intentions. May the coming year be uplifted with the unburdening of resentments that no longer serve us. May the coming year be warm with the connections of our loved ones and spiritual companions, communicating openly about what’s most important. May new beginnings bring a sweet new year. 

So be it. Blessed be. Amen. 

[interfaithconnect]

I’m ironing a shirt to wear on my first visit to my partner’s church when I hear about the shooting at the synagogue I grew up in.

We’re in Lancaster County at Erin’s family’s house, surrounded by plastic Bible quiz trophies adorned with gold crosses and family portraits taken at national parks. My bewildered partner comes to me, face slack, and tells me I need to call my mother.

There is no protocol for this sort of occasion; only what the body knows in its own shock and instinct. Erin shows me their phone, where a Twitter newsfeed tumbles and descends. A man walked into Tree of Life as Saturday morning services began, screaming that all Jews must die as he began to fire garlands of bullets into the backs of congregants, people I’ve known since I was a child. I tell Erin no, because in that moment, I can’t remember any other word. I hear someone wail, and it isn’t until Erin and their mother have their arms around me that I realize it’s me.

It’s then that Erin’s mother begins to pray. Closing her eyes in supplication, her wishes are pure and fierce: protection over me, protection over my loved ones. She says this in Jesus’ name. I hear her child, my partner, an ex-evangelical, join in at the end.

Amen. It’s a word for the end. But as we all open our eyes, before we leave to go back to go to Pittsburgh, towards the wreckage, towards home, I know it’s only the beginning.

Three months before the shooting, Erin and I are driving back from my first encounter with their parents, dazed and content. I expected horror stories, though my partner had never told me any. I expected Erin, a politically progressive genderqueer person from small-town Pennsylvania, to be at constant, diametric odds with their parents and three siblings, a family comprised of choir singers and homeschool education. In my largely liberal urban upbringing, I had little to no contact with the evangelicals who flanked the periphery of my general idea of oppression, bulbous and caricatured.

But this hadn’t been the case. Erin’s father, a former molasses salesman, had been as winsome and charming as his old-timey profession implied; their mother, a breast cancer survivor, shoved grilled vegetables and organic juice at us with the same verve my own Jewish mother would have done. Though the meeting had been brief – a long lunch in Erin’s childhood home, complete with requisite familial questioning and patter, gauging my prospects – it ended with an invitation to both Thanksgiving and, most importantly, Christmas.

It was kind of them, I tell Erin, though their ask had been tentative, as if the very idea of Christmas offended me. I thought of Starbucks cups with illustrations of queer couples holding hands amidst lattes and ice-skating rinks, of purported wars on holidays I have no interest in. I was more than welcome to celebrate Hanukkah in their house too, they had told me; their crestfallen faces seemed genuine when I told them that Hanukkah didn’t coincide with Christmas this year.

“They really liked you,” Erin tells me, taking my hand.

Our car heads ever westward, toward a sunset. I don’t question my partner about what their parents liking me means. One meeting doesn’t erase the difficulty of coalescence. Despite their kindness, it’s hard for me to shake off a deep-seated discomfort that, in many ways, has nothing to do with them. I remember a girl I was friends with in middle school, the daughter of a pastor who threatened me with descriptions of hell, who said that her attempts to convert me came from a place of love, not an inherent hatred of the biggest part of myself. The dozens of faceless people on the subway when I lived in New York, who called me queer and told me to find Jesus; the older boys at the local Catholic school who taught me the word kike, who laughed as they yelled it, as I walked home from the bus stop every day, who didn’t care I was only six years old.

They all taught me one thing: that when others say they’re doing what is best for you, they are lying without knowing it.

In September, I sit in a church at my partner’s sister’s wedding and watch Erin walk down the aisle in a dress the color of mulled winter wine. I’m in the back, unsure of whether sitting with Erin’s family could be considered an impropriety. I field looks from other attendees who don’t quite know how to measure my thatch of curly dark hair, my maroon trousers, my navy tie, my men’s shoes. I pretend not to notice when an attendee sitting next to me moves closer to her friends with two palpable and painful shifts. The pastor at the pulpit tells us all that love is patient and kind before the couple takes their vows. He swells with pride as he recites a blessing; everyone bows their heads in the name of Jesus, including my seatmate.

Later, at the reception, I look for Erin as certain relatives come up to me. An uncle thanks me for being there, his voice quivering with emphasis and portent, but doesn’t elaborate. One of Erin’s cousins, a fellow ex-evangelical, confesses that they used Bible pages for rolling joints in college, not knowing that my overt queerness doesn’t necessarily mean that I don’t believe in G-d. When I tell her that I keep kosher and go to synagogue on Saturdays, she blushes and changes the subject.

After the shooting happens, I will tremble at the thought of stepping inside a synagogue again. The temporary cardboard memorials placed outside of Tree of Life, each one bearing the name of a victim in marker, will come down one by one. Flowers placed by mourners will brown and curl with age, and someone will come to sweep them away. Erin will coach me through panic attacks, will knead the muscle between my shoulders and tell me to breathe. I will weep. Erin will take me in their arms and murmur promises neither of us will remember. One day, says Erin, one day.

We are hurtling towards that moment, but right now, at the wedding, we’re blessed in our unawareness. My partner takes me to the middle of the large room, where tables have been cleared for a dance floor, and we spin each other, laughing. Erin’s mother tells the photographer to take a photo, and afterwards, she kisses us each on the cheek and tells us we’re beautiful. We are a love story, like Erin’s parents once were, as mine once were, and that is enough, for now.

This Hanukkah, Erin and I will have a wreath of pine needles and filigreed tinsel fastened to our door. A nine-branched chanukiah will be placed upon our sill, candle flame quivering with the knowledge of their own brevity and brightness. We will hang a sign where silver, ballooned letters spell out the phrase l’chaim, to life. As we recite the same blessings that my ancestors have intoned for millennia, I will hold my partner’s hand. I will say these words for my life, and for Erin’s, and for the life we never knew would find us.

[queertheology]

Faith Based Activism Starter Kit

When I was 21, a conversation with my parents about health insurance devolved into an argument about my queerness.

I had come out as gay three years earlier and they had a mixed response. They checked a few of the right boxes: they were quick to assure me that I was still their son, they made it clear they would still help me with college, they loved me and wanted me to be happy. But they also had their stumbles: they asked that I go see a Christian counselor, they never asked about my dating life, they were uncomfortable  talking about anything LGBT.

So I waited.

I did what I thought was the “good Christian thing” to do: I was patient and gracious. I tried to not ruffle any feathers (though I did have a few outbursts of frustration). I was “giving them time and space” for their “process.”

And then three years later we were sitting in the kitchen arguing about whether it was OK for gay people to be camp counselors and youth leaders, whether gay relationships were valid, whether anyone even expected gay people to get married in the first place. And I realized, in that moment, that they hadn’t changed. My parents were, for the most part, in the exact same spot they were three years ago when I came out.

All of my grace and patience and gentle reading suggestions and subtle attempts to talk about LGBTQ topics had done nothing. My parents hadn’t changed because, frankly, I hadn’t asked them to. I thought I was being kind, gracious, patient; I thought I was giving them time and space. But what I was really doing was being silent, tacitly approving the status quo.

The night of that argument, when I realized that my parents hadn’t changed because I hadn’t asked them to, I also realized that if the Church and America are to change, someone is going to have to ask them to change also. And not just ask once, meekly. We are going to have to force the issue. In his Letter From A Birmingham Jail, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. explains,

“Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and establish such creative tension that a community that has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue.”

That day, I decided I would be an “angelic troublemaker,” as Bayard Rustin said. I applied for (and was later accepted to) Soulforce’s Equality Ride and spent 2 months studying nonviolence and theology, including in-person training with civil rights leader John Lewis, and then 2 months traveling the country engaged in activism and speaking at schools, churches, and communities around the intersections faith, justice, gender, and sexuality. In the decade since, I’ve dedicated much of my time, passion, and energy to social justice causes. I do this because of my Christian faith, not in spite of it.

I’m sure you’ve had some similar experiences. Parents who need a little more time, a church that’s still discerning their stance, pastors who have a good heart but don’t quite get it. Whether it’s around LGBTQ issues or something else like race, sexism, police brutality, Islamophobia… I bet there’s been someone in your life who is “not quite there yet” (maybe you have been that person).

And perhaps you’ve even wanted to be more active in creating change in your life, family, and community. If you have a similar stirring in your soul to do something, I see you. Here’s a bit of what I’ve learned from my past decade of faith-based LGBTQ activism.

In Romans 12, Paul says,

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God–this is your true and proper worship.”

Putting your body on the line — literally — is a spiritual act of worship.

A faith-based pursuit of justice is found throughout the Bible.

Micah tell us that what God requires is “to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”

Amos tells us that God “hates” and “despises” religious festivals, but instead desires that “justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream.”

On Palm Sunday, Jesus stages a massive nonviolent direct action by riding into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, and later that week even goes so far as to destroy property by turning over tables in the temple.

Imagine what our community, our churches, our world would look like if Christians rolled up our sleeves a little more and worked a little more fervently for the Kingdom of God, on earth as it is in heaven?

How to get started with faith-based activism

Read

Activism doesn’t happen in a vacuum and simply being LGBTQ (or loving someone who is) doesn’t automagically make you an expert (if only!). Take some time to learn about the issues you find yourself in the midst of, issues that you are connected to, issues that you can work in solidarity with. And learn from those who have gone before about the tactics that worked — and those that didn’t. Innovation is important, of course, but so is learning from those who have already been doing the work, when possible.

Here are some book recommendations to get you started:

Jesus & Nonviolence: A Third Way by Walter Wink

Jesus Acted Up by Robert Goss

Why We Can’t Wait by Martin Luther King Jr. (the published version of Letter From A Birmingham Jail)

How Nonviolence Protects The State and The Failure of Nonviolence by Peter Gelderloos

Color of Violence by INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence

The Kingdom of God Is Within You by Leo Tolstoy

When We Rise by Cleve Jones

I got my start as an activist with Soulforce, which is committed nonviolent direct action as a means of sabotaging Christian supremacy. Why nonviolence? Here’s how they put it,

It is effective for the kind of work that we do

It is open and accessible in the sense that it provides tools to everyday activists and “pre-activists”

It contains a call to action

And finally, it offers a path of personal transformation. Our goal is always first and foremost the internal healing, reconciliation, strengthening, and transformation of the individual and community.

This is the nonviolent process that I learned:

Experience the nature of the problem and be with the people most affected

Research the problem and the adversary; understand the facts and the cultural texture of where we are located

Negotiate with the adversary directly on what justice can look like

Use direct action to elicit a re-dedication to moving toward justice when negotiation fails

Use tools of communication and media to bring more people into the conversation to lean into the strength of social accountability to work towards cultural change

Return to negotiation when the adversary is willing; the question is not whether we shall move toward justice but how and how soon

Soulforce has a detailed and accessible guide to nonviolence which I highly recommend.

Stay Current

In order to be effective activists, we have to know what’s going on! Some of these groups and resources are not specifically Christian but are doing work around issues that we think are important for Christians. It can be powerful for Christians to work alongside non-Christians on issues that matter to us.

Black & Pink – supporting LGBTQ prisoners

@prisonculture on Twitter

POWER an interfaith activist organization based in Philadelphia (but who is engaged with issues of national and international significance)

National Immigrant Justice Center

@BreeNewsome is a fierce Black, Christian activist. Follow her on Twitter to stay connected to current events + be blessed by her keen insight

Queer Theology – on our Facebook and Twitter, we regularly share information about issues that are important to LGBTQ Christians and supporters as well as actions you can take to make a difference

Connect Locally

Groups meeting at your local LGBT Center are a great place to start. Look up who is there and get involved in one that resonates with you

Everytown for Gun Safety has actions you can take — digitally and in-person — to make a difference in your community

Soulforce has opportunities to educate yourself and take action digitally and locally.

Trans Day of Action is an annual event organized by Audre Lorde Project in NYC and has local actions in some cities. It’s a great way to offer your body as a living sacrifice by showing up for trans justice

Black Lives Matter has chapters across the country. If there’s one in your town, you can link up!

Practice Activism in Your Daily Life

Activism isn’t only being part of an official organization, it also happens in your personal life.

Speak up when a family member says something homophobic, racist, or otherwise prejudiced

Ask your pastor to use examples of LGBTQ people in their sermons

Start a group at your church — maybe it’s something simple like an LGBTQ fellowship, or more active like an activist group

Ask your church leaders to read our article on how to tell if your church is welcoming for transgender people and go through our Inclusive Church Checklist

You don’t have to be outspoken and in your face to practice activism. Fr. Shay wrote an article on how introverts can get involved with activism in a way that feels safe and sustainable.

Take Care of Yourself

If you want to be an effective activist, helping make the world a better place… then you need to make sure that you’re taking care of yourself too.

We have a bunch of resources on self-care including An LGBTQ Christian Guide to Self-Care

There may be a peer support group you can join at a local nonprofit that centers around your experience (in major cities, healthcare nonprofits often have these, as well as community- and issue-specific groups such as LGBTQ, veterans, immigrants, etc).

You may find therapy to be helpful in taking care of yourself (I know that I do!). If you have insurance, you may be able to see a therapist for relatively cheap. If you don’t, there might be a nonprofit that offers those services to you at no or lost cost. You can also look into virtual counseling with a company such as BetterHelp. We can’t recommend enough that you work with a licensed therapist who does not have a religious agenda. This type of therapist will be much more helpful than a “Christian counselor” through your church or a religious organization.

Get Started

I know there’s a lot here and the last thing I want you to do is get stuck in analysis paralysis. I know that a fear of doing or saying the wrong thing can take keep many of us from ever taking action.

What sort of world would we live in if we were always ruled by fear of failure? You may mess up along the way and that’s human. The key is to graciously admit your mistakes, learn from the experience, and commit to making things right. We’re in this together.

So today, pick one book to read or one organization to connect with. Take one step today, and another tomorrow, and a third next week. Keep on with the work until that day when justice rolls down like a river. Because together, we’re gonna change the world.

We’ve got more resources for Christian activism coming, if you want to make sure you get ‘em all, you can signup here and we’ll send ‘em your way

[humansofhds]

Nougoutna Norbert Litoing, PhD candidate

"The value of a person is inherent by virtue of the fact that the person is created in God’s image and likeness ... whether or not we are considered “productive” by society."

Norbert is a Jesuit priest and a third-year PhD student in the Committee on the Study of Religion. His research involves the comparative study of Muslim and Catholic pilgrimage traditions in West Africa and the relationship between pilgrimage, memory, and identity.

At Home in the World

I am from Cameroon, which is geographically along the Western coast of Africa and politically a part of Central Africa. Cameroon shares a border with Nigeria, Chad, the Central African Republic, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and the Republic of Congo. I am specifically from North East Cameroon along the border with Chad. My parents are from two different ethnic groups, my father is from a group called Masa (different from the well-known Maasai of East Africa), and my mother is from an ethnic group called Tupuri. My father’s village is about seven kilometers from my mother’s, so they didn’t have to travel a long distance to meet each other. I grew up mostly in the south of the country. My father was a soldier, so we moved around where his work took him. For about 14 years I lived on different military bases around the country. We had to adapt to each new place. As one of the consequences of this constant movement, I have very few childhood friends from when I was young. I have, however, learned to be at home wherever I find myself.

When I was 10 years old I expressed the desire to become a Catholic priest to my parents. I asked to join a minor seminary, which is basically a middle and high school for young boys who are thinking of joining the priesthood. I got my A-levels in S1 (math, physics, and chemistry) at the minor seminary, which is the certificate that qualifies you to go to university. Even though I still desired to be a priest, I felt the need to take some time for further reflection before making a firm commitment. I consequently decided to go to university and began to study mathematics. In the meantime, I was in touch with the Jesuits who I had discovered by reading and through a friend from the minor seminary who was already in touch with them.

The Language of Love

During my freshman year, I journeyed with the Jesuits and eventually entered the Jesuit novitiate at the end of the year. Even though there is a Jesuit novitiate in Cameroon, I was sent to the one in Rwanda, in the Great Lakes region of Africa. The novitiate is the first stage of formation for Jesuits. It lasts two years. It is a time of initiation into the Jesuit order. A center-piece of this initiation consists of undertaking the spiritual exercises, a 30-day retreat during which you have the opportunity to read your own life story as a sacred journey, being able to find the traces of God’s presence in your own life and the ways in which God might be calling you to serve people out there.

Apart from the retreat, another memorable experience of my novitiate formation was an internship that I was asked to do in Burundi. I spent six weeks there in a center for mentally and physically handicapped children. It was one of the most important experiences in my life up to now. At the beginning, it was very frustrating. I had a language barrier. I couldn’t speak with the kids. My Kirundi was next to nothing and my Kiswahili was very basic. I was asked to teach them French, and after three weeks I was still trying to teach them the alphabet.

What helped me to overcome my frustration was the realization that I was being called to speak with them using another language: the language of love. Just being there with them, they simply enjoyed being around you. By the end of my stay there it felt like home. As my parting gift, the kids gave me a big piece of paper on which they had drawn a heart. They had colored it and written their names. I kept it because it reminded me of my experience there, which taught me that the value of a human being does not reside in what a person is capable of eventually producing. The value of a person is inherent by virtue of the fact that the person is created in God’s image and likeness. I learned that we have an intrinsic value independent of what we are capable of doing or producing, whether or not we are considered “productive” by society. I remember one kid in particular, her dad was a prominent university professor in Burundi. Sometimes he was frustrated when he realized that he had this prominent brain and all that it produces, but his own child could not even make a full sentence. It was frustrating for him. But to have a child like that was an invitation precisely for him to realize that there is another way of assessing the value of a person. That’s what those children did for me.

Service and Studies

After those two years in Rwanda, I was sent to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where I studied philosophy in what has now become Loyola University Congo. I spent three years there, earning a BA in philosophy. After that I was sent to Senegal for regency, which is a time of pastoral ministry. I lived and worked in a city called Tambacounda, not far from the border between Senegal and Mali. There, I was in charge of Religious Education in our Jesuit parish and Catholic junior high school.

In Tambacounda, we equally run a socio-cultural center that serves children from poor families. I mentored a number of these kids. My first year in Tambacounda was difficult because I was adjusting, but the second year was wonderful, so much so that I actually asked if I could stay there beyond the required two years of regency. I was, however, not allowed to stay, as my Jesuit superior sent me to Hekima College, a Jesuit University in Nairobi, Kenya, to study. I did a master of divinity degree there and was ordained a deacon in February 2012. That same year I was sent to England to do a master in Islamic studies at the University of Birmingham. I was ordained a priest in the Roman/Latin rite of the Catholic Church in June 2013. In December of the same year, I was sent to Senegal to help open a new Jesuit community in Gandigal, a village located approximately 45 miles from Dakar, the capital city of Senegal. Together with another Jesuit, we were tasked with exploring the possibilities of opening a center for interfaith relations there. I spent a year and a half in Gandigal, serving religious communities in Senegal and Gambia. 

I was then sent to Boston College School of Theology and Ministry for a Master’s in Theology (ThM), a one-year program. I then joined the PhD program in the Study of Religion here at Harvard in the fall of 2016 under the subfields of comparative studies and African religions. I hope to work on Muslim and Catholic pilgrimage traditions in West Africa in a comparative perspective, exploring the relationship between pilgrimage, memory, and identity. I am now in the third year of the program. I serve as TF for two classes while I prepare for the general exams, which I intend to take in the spring.

As a Jesuit, when in studies, my pastoral ministry is very limited. A cornerstone of our Jesuit spirituality consists in “finding God in all things.” My studies currently constitute the site of my encounter with God. From time to time, I celebrate Mass and listen to confessions in some of the local parishes as a visiting priest, but my studies constitute my main mission right now.

The Tortoise

I wouldn’t trade the experience of living in many places for anything in the world. It has done something to me; it really gives you a unique perspective on people and life. It forces you out of your comfort zone. And if you go to these places with an open heart, you usually learn a lot from the people you encounter and through the experiences you have.

I tell people that everywhere is home for me. If somebody asks me “have you gone home?” I say, “I am always home.” The symbol of my mother’s ethnic group, and it has become a symbol of my own spiritual life, is the tortoise. It moves around with its home on its back. I tend to be at home wherever I find myself. It is true some places can be more home than others in terms of the experiences you make. But I believe that other people do not have the power to determine whether I am happy or not; I don’t give that power to people. You should have it in your own hands. Don’t give them the power to determine what becomes of your life.

The poem “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley is my favorite. It says, among other things, “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.” It’s the meaning of my name as well—my last name Litoing means “self-made.”

Interview and photos by Anaïs Garvanian

[absynthe--minded]

when I say “I don’t engage in morality-based shipping” this is what I mean

There is a difference between something compromising your morals and something being illegal.

If you think something is immoral, just say you think it’s immoral and be done with it. Don’t try to argue it’s illegal if it’s not, don’t try to argue that it should be illegal and therefore it’s just as wrong to do the thing as if it were illegal now. Just say “I find this immoral for these reasons” and move on with your life. If you have an opinion or a worldview informed by your religious background, great! Religion is important and worth listening to and living your life by, and no one is asking you to compromise your values by saying you think something is moral when that’s not actually the case. You can even say out loud that you wished more people were part of your religion or viewed the world the way you view it, or actively try and get people to see things from your point of view. But be aware there are those who disagree with you even if you’re on the same side ideologically and be prepared to deal with that. Also be aware that different backgrounds and upbringings are going to create different views of morality. This is nothing new - interfaith groups and alliances have been dealing with it for a long time. You don’t have to give ground to be respectful of that, but you should be respectful nonetheless.

There is also a difference between something compromising your morals and something making you uncomfortable.

If something makes you personally uncomfortable because you think it’s dangerous or manipulative or triggering, you’re free to feel that way all you like. You’re free to post on your own blog, in specific tags meant to attract like-minded Tumblr users. You’re even free to post in broad tags meant to categorize your thoughts. You can say whatever you want about the existence of content that discomfits you - you can argue about how it’s harmful, or critique it, or say you don’t think it should exist, or anything you please. But if that’s why you don’t like it, be honest and admit it. There is no shame in just simply Not Liking A Thing. There’s no shame either in really feeling passionate about something and writing a lot of meta and persuasive-essay-style posts about your feelings. How you feel is not somehow less intense or less meaningful or less important just because you can’t craft a social justice warrior position around it.

Don’t assign motive to those who consume or create the content you disagree with.

If you’re concerned about someone and you’re a friend or family member, you’re entitled to ask two questions, those being “Are you okay?” and “You’re aware that this thing you’re really into is not okay in real life, right?” If they answer “yes” both times? They’re good. Back off.

You don’t have to like what someone is doing, or find it moral. You do have to treat them with basic respect and refrain from publicly judging or harassing them.

[hg47]

47 Reasons Why I Fear Islam - (Reason 42)

-42-Moderate Muslims essentially share the exact same ideology as violent Islamists, but prefer different tactics: a long-range strategic destruction of all American values, not a short-range bomb explosion to kill a few of us Infidels today. (Moderate Muslim groups doing outreach in Western societies that pretend to profess nonviolence actually reject American values as un-Islamic; they silently and secretly accept jihad.) ++++------- A quote from Nonie Darwish: A sizable portion of Muslims—some estimate as high as 15 percent—are jihadists and ready to act upon the violent commands.  But here is the frightening part: to many ordinary, moderate Muslims, jihadists “may Allah bless them” are the ones who are doing Allah’s work.  That is how the majority feel, and that is how I once felt.  Take it from me.  I’ve been there. ++++------- A quote from Richard Spencer: Gunter Luling was hounded out of the profession by German universities because he proposed the radical thesis that at least a third of the Qur’an was originally a pre-Islamic, Christian hymnody, and thus had nothing to do with Mohammed. ++++------- tweet ~ 6 out of 10 Muslims worldwide can’t read 2 out of 10 people in “Christendom” cannot read ~ verify at: http://wikiislam.net/wiki/Muslim_Statistics ++++------- A quote from Nonie Darwish: How can a reformation happen when Muslims as a whole do not feel that there is anything wrong with their scriptures that command violence?  It is the West that is dreaming of an Islamic reformation simply because it does not want to face the fact that something must be done about the Muslim threat. ++++------- From The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life report: Global Muslim population hits 1.57 billion. ++++------- http://www.amazon.com/Myth-Islamic-Tolerance-Treats-Non-Muslims/dp/1591022495/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1380476667&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=MYTH+OF+ISLAMIC+TOLERANCE+%28THE%29+edited+by+Robert+Spencer From the reader/reviewer comment by Frank Nicodem: One reviewer even had the lack of understanding to comment on how “tolerant” Islam was, because “look at all the Muslims living in America”. They can dress however they want, go to schools with the American children, work in American businesses, etc. Doesn’t that show how tolerant Muslims are? (No, fool; it shows how tolerant AMERICANS are…) ++++------- CAMILLE PAGLIA: How do we convince the rising and future generations of young Muslims that the West is not the Great Satan that must be destroyed by any means necessary? There is no finite group of “bad guys” (the Bush administration’s juvenile term) who can be identified and obliterated. Many Muslims are cautious or wavering in their sympathies; let us beware of pushing ambivalence into open hostility. ++++------- http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/012/999jpabw.asp?page=2 Key points from this article by OLIVIER GUITTA: 1) The banning of the hijab in France has helped Muslim women. 2) For Islamists it is imperative to veil women.  And they will pay to do it!  Or threaten women to get them to cover up. 3) Some high-profile French Muslim families are paid $2400 a year by hard-core Muslim organizations if their daughters wear the hijab. 4) The Saudis offered to pay Wafa Sultan, the famous psychiatrist, $1,500 every month if she would attend a mosque and cover her head. ++++------- Quote from AMIL IMANI: Islam’s war is not limited to the living. Anything and everything that is non-Islamic is systematically subjected to elimination and destruction. ++++------- Quote from ALAN S. ROSENBAUM: …evidence suggests that although violent jihadists (or Islamic “holy warriors”) may be comparatively few in number, sympathies for their terrorist and genocidal ambitions may lie in far greater numbers. ++++------- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-12149011 Article about the 50,000 person protest AGAINST softening Pakistan’s harsh blasphemy laws (which allow any Muslim to ruin the life of any Christian in Pakistan). ++++------- Quote from Citizen Warrior: “Islam has a system of law, called Sharia, and all Muslims are obligated to continually strive to make their government—wherever they are—follow it.” ++++------- Geert Wilders speaking in a 9/11 Memorial speech: “Its promoter and his wealthy sponsors have never suggested building a center to promote tolerance and interfaith understanding where it is really needed: In Mecca, a town where non-Muslims are not even allowed to enter, let alone build churches, synagogues, temples or community centers…” ++++------- tweet ~ The non-abrogated Medinan verses of the Qur’an contain more than twice the amount of anti-Jewish text which is in Mein Kampf. ~ verify at: http://wikiislam.net/wiki/Muslim_Statistics ++++------- http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/249704/islam-and-west-conrad-black Conrad Black on how the United States is on both sides of the war on terror, less a Player and more an entity which is Played by shifting forces in the Muslim world. ++++------- Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, on Sharia banking: What is important to grasp is that Islam recognizes no authority superior to Sharia law. When trillions of pounds and dollars are locked into them, Sharia banks will not recognize the superior authority of the law of the land. ++++------- A quote from Daniel Greenfield: Moderate Islam is a mirage, a projection by desperate Westerners of their own values and culture onto an entirely different religion and culture…When the Western cultural elite look at Islam, they see what they have to see to avoid falling into crisis mode…they would rather keep most things as they are, even at the cost of the extinction of the nations they preside over, than confront the full scope of the threat surrounding them. Check out Daniel Greenfield’s work at: http://sultanknish.blogspot.com/ ++++------- http://www.eurasiareview.com/201010149071/the-vanishing-christians-of-the-middle-east.html From the article by Vedat Bilgin: The rising tide of Islamization has made it more dangerous than ever to be a non-Muslim in a Muslim country, in ways that range from everyday discrimination to terrorist attacks. But the West is suffused by a narrative which insists that Islam is tolerant and promotes tolerance. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +Go-To-43+ +Go-To-Beginning-Of-47-REASONS-WHY-I-FEAR-ISLAM+