Erik Warsaw and Candace Owens discover the Quran

Knowledge conquers ignorance. The founders intended for the United States to be a secular state: including those who most people would consider the "religious right". This was because they knew the effects of governmental interference and entanglement with religion.

Start the New Year right with a Syrian Christian explaining Islam

Yep, the arabic word for god is indeed Allah.

I think it's better that this Christian speaks for himself, but it's something which needs to be heard.

 

How to insult an Arab, from a real Arab

Comedian Amar Zahr to set you straight on a few things. And, yes, the Quaran does mention Jesus and Mary.

Yeah, I would have picked Henry VIII...

There's a joke about the Russian Tsar during the Kievan Rus picking a religion: 

The Tsar calls for representatives of all the world's religions to tell him about their faiths. The Islamic representative tells him that he will go to heaven and have 72 virgins if he dies for the faith.
--"Yeah, go on..." --"You can have as many wives as you want" The Tsar is getting interested. --"but have to give up eating pork." goes on the Islamic rep --"That shouldn't be too much of a problem." 

--"And you'll have to give up drinking alcohol."
--"GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE."

 Anyway...

This does seem probable. 

The attack on Al-Aqsa and Christian sacred sites– A Shame on those who claim to be religious.

As sacred sites face aggression and our identity stands tested, this message is more than just a speech — it’s a wake-up call for those who claim to follow a deity, or to be spiritual, across the globe. When sacred places fall, it is a warning to every believer that the violence is not just flesh and blood, but it is spiritual.

Christians ignore that ancient churches are being destroyed in this conflict. The most sacred sites of the nativity are being threatened. If those who claim to be religious forget what it means to be holy, then it will forget to be holy itself.

And I call myself an atheist. You religious/spiritual types disgust me.

Why the Al-Aqsa Mosque is key to understanding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Actually, it's important to understand what Al-Aqsa is anyway. It an important and historic site in Jerusalem and sacred to all three of the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam). It is a UNESCO world heritage site.

Even more importantly this mosque is under attack, as is Christianity.

My ancestors probably participated in the Crusades, but I feel as strongly about Al-Aqsa as I do about Notre-Dame in Paris. I've been to Notre-Dame, but I have never been to Al-Aqsa. I would probably have stronger feelings about Al-Aqsa if I saw its splendour in person. It is a part of the world's heritage that needs to be preserved.

They say Russia almost became Islamic.

 They say Russia almost became Islamic. The story is that Tsar Jaroslav the Wise during the Kievan Rus wanted to give up paganism. So, he called together representatives from all the world's religions.

The Islamic representative told him he could have all the wives he wanted. Jaroslav said, "Yeah, go on". The Islamic rep said, "But you can't drink alcohol". And Jaroslav was all like "get outta here..."

 

 

Fred Hampton and Racial Harmony

From "The Underhanded History of the US"

I have a lot of respect for Fred Hampton. He was probably one of three leaders who might surprise people as to how inclusive they were since most people don't associate Malcolm X with being inclusive. Malcolm's going on the Hajj changed his perspectives toward race which may have led to his assassination by the Nation of Islam (see Netflix's Who Killed Malcolm X). Likewise, Martin Luther King may have been too far to the left for the establishment.

 But I want to talk about Fred Hampton.  A short bio of Hampton is:

He came to prominence in Chicago as deputy chairman of the national Black Panther Party and chair of the Illinois chapter. As a progressive African American, he founded the anti-racist, anti-classist Rainbow Coalition, a prominent multicultural political organization that initially included the Black Panthers, Young Patriots (which organized poor whites), and the Young Lords (which organized Hispanics), and an alliance among major Chicago street gangs to help them end infighting and work for social change. A Marxist–Leninist,  Hampton considered fascism the greatest threat, saying, "nothing is more important than stopping fascism, because fascism will stop us all.”

He majored in pre-Law and used his knowledge of the law in his community police supervision project. I would like to think he was intelligent enough to not have been as into armed self-defence since that was the ostensible reason for his assassination. My opinion was that he was someone who would have unified diverse groups into a viable resistance. Divide and conquer has long been a tactic of repression and I think he was well aware of that. Or to use his own words:

"We got to face some facts. That the masses are poor, that the masses belong to what you call the lower class, and when I talk about the masses, I'm talking about the white masses, I'm talking about the black masses, and the brown masses, and the yellow masses, too. We've got to face the fact that some people say you fight fire best with fire, but we say you put fire out best with water. We say you don't fight racism with racism. We're gonna fight racism with solidarity. We say you don't fight capitalism with no black capitalism; you fight capitalism with socialism"

J Edgar Hoover, the head of the FBI, Knew that the radical coalitions that Hampton forged in between the Black Panthers, Young Patriots, Young Lords, and other groups in Chicago were a stepping stone to the rise of a revolution that could cause a radical change in the United States. I'm not sure what the exact course of events were that led to the brutal murder of Fred Hampton, but it was planned at high levels. The Chicago police announced the hit squad who killed Hampton had been attacked by the "violent" and "extremely vicious" Panthers and defended themselves accordingly. 

But Hampton didn't shoot back. He had been drugged and was slaughtered in his sleep. This is why I would like to believe he wasn't tooled up and knew that option was not the best choice. I would like to believe that he knew that being non-violent does not mean being submissive, but it also doesn't mean being a fool.  Unfortunately, he let the wrong person into his inner circle.

I'm not sure how much I agree with Judas and the Black Messiah, but the bottom line is that Hampton was someone who understood what the issues were, and still are, in US culture. I imagine him being the first black president. Even sadder is the fact that he was sold out by a Judas and we are left waiting for a second, or first, coming.

Then Bernie Sanders would have seemed conservative if Fred Hampton had been around.

Mentioning Fred Hampton is the best way to celebrate today. Focusing on the issues that effect us all is the best way to remember him. I wish I could have him say it, but the quote above pretty much does the job.

I am hopeful that there is another Fred Hampton out there who will work to unify the races because he really speaks the truth to power. It's hard to believe that such a person doesn't exist in the age of the internet. We need the new black messiah to straighten things out between the races.

But will people listen to that person?

Let's do Malcolm X's birthday instead of MLK!

Malcolm X, who became El Hajj Malik El Shabazz, is a very interesting person to me. He should have told the teacher who said he shouldn't be a lawyer, that he would be the best at whatever Malcolm put his mind to. 

He was.

And he made an impact in the Nation of Islam, enough so that he was probably under more FBI surveillance than MLK ever was. I watched the Netflix series on Malcolm X's assassination and I am even more convinced that his talent was wasted by that event. The FBI feared a charismatic black leader, which is a reason I think that even was allowed to happen. It was also why Fred Hampton met the same fate.

I'm not going to address the FBI and other "Law Enforcement" surveillance of either of these men, but it was extensive. But the threat they both posed as charismatic black leaders is dangerous, but the real threat was that they both were moving toward a rainbow coalition. The fact that oppressed people can be any race, creed, or colour.

Malcolm Little became El Hajj Malik El Shabazz because he made the Hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca. That trip opened his eyes to see that Muslims can be any race. Which was a dangerous event for the Nation of Islam. 

Think if both of these men, Malcolm X and Fred Hampton, had gone on to unify people to work together on the problems of society. They were formidable leaders who would have made Berniemania look like nothing. 

Sadly, both of them were cut down way too early.

Betcha didn't know he was an Arab!

Danny Thomas was an Arab (Lebanese, to be precise) from Detroit.

But how many people know that Casey Kasem was as well? Another Arab from Detroit (at one time, Detroit had the largest population of Arabs in the US).

Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem is known for his being a DJ who presented America's top 40. In addition to his radio shows, Kasem provided the voice of many commercials; had done many voices for Sesame Street; provided the character voice of Peter Cottontail in the Rankin/Bass production of Here Comes Peter Cottontail; was the voice of NBC; helped out with the annual Jerry Lewis telethon; and provided the cartoon voices of Robin in Super Friends, Mark on Battle of the Planets, and a number of characters for the Transformers cartoon series of the 1980s. In 2008, he was the voice of Out of Sight Retro Night which aired on WGN America, but was replaced by rival Rick Dees. After 40 years, Kasem retired from his role of voicing Shaggy in 2009, although he did voice Shaggy's father in the 2010 TV series, Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated.

Like Danny Thomas, Casey was an American icon.

It makes me sick to think that white, right wing assholes get a pass while Arabs are fingered as terrorists.

Especially when you think of the Arabs and Muslims who have contributed to US culture.

What do Ray LaHood, Tony Shalhoub, and Selma Hayek have in common? They’re each Arab American. As are Sen. George Mitchell, Diane Rehm, Doug Flutie, and Frank Zappa. And the CEO of Del Monte Produce, the founder of Farouk Systems hair products, and the inventor of the heart pump.

Arab Americans' accomplishments are as diverse as our community itself. Arab Americans have distinguished themselves in science and medicine, academia and sports, the arts and politics—in every aspect of American life.

I am sorry to hear of Casey's passing.  We really need more people like Casey and Danny these days to fight the hate and ignorance.

See also:  Famous Arab Americans

You have a problem if Barack Obama is a Muslim.

Not a question, but a statement since the Constitution that some people claim to respect and all that says (Article VI):

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.

Repeat that last part just to make it clear to you who don't get that the US is a SECULAR Society (like it or not):

no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.

That means it doesn't matter what religion Barack Obama (or Mitt Romney or anybody else for that matter) happens to be.

You might have missed that bit since that paragraph comes right after:

This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.

And if you don't think the founders would support this: guess again:

"Both House and Ground were vested in Trustees, expressly for the Use of any Preacher of any religious Persuasion who might desire to say something to the People of Philadelphia, the Design [purpose] in building not being to accommodate any particular Sect, but the Inhabitants in general, so that even if the Mufti of Constantinople were to send a Missionary to preach Mahometanism [Islam] to us, he would find a Pulpit at his Service. "

As I said, you have a problem because the Constitution isn't on your side if you are trying to make someone's religion an issue in US politics.  In fact, religion would not intrude in US politics given the US's being a secular state--I only wish more people would be disgusted by this trend.

But, maybe some of you aren't  the strong supporters of the Constitution that you claim to be.

Or, maybe you just need to brush up on what exactly it is that you are supposed to be defending.

The US is a secular nation: understand that fact.

Lying about WMD - the Curveball Admissions and How it Relates to Current Events in the Middle East

I read, see and hear claims that 'liberals' and 'lefties' like to make use of crises for their agendas all the time.  Realistically, right or left or center, tumultuous public events do provide occasions for more dramatic, less incrementally small changes, for the better or for the worse.  This is a lesson of history, and it is not unique to any segment of the political spectrum.  That it is practiced and endorsed by the Right is evidenced by Iraq and 9/11.

Well, it turns out that with this most recent recanting of claims of WMD, along with admissions by former Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld which contradict his previous public denials that Bush was interested in going after Sadam Hussein even before the events of 9/11, and used the terrorist tragedy to promote that agenda over the protests of the military.

What Are They Thinking, What Are They Drinking?

Some things leave me at a relative loss for words.

For those who tease me about writing posts that are too long.......

http://www.aolnews.com/world/article/saudi-clerics-advocate-adult-breast-feeding/19504280?sms_ss=email

I have always found it preferable to focus on the common ground, the similarities, between people who are from different cultures, different religions, different parts of the world.

This.......was one of those instances where the gap was too large to bridge.

The notion that fundamentalists Wahhabist clergy would be arguing over the relative merits of adult men drinking women's breast milk, quibbling over using a glass, versus drinking it directly from a woman's breast, where practice prohibits a man so much as shaking the hand of a woman, boggled my mind.

http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2519587/posts

That this controversy comes at a time when drinking raw, unpasteurized cow's milk has resulted in five illnesses from e. coli here in Minnesota, and the outburst from the believers in the dubious and unproven benefits of raw milk, along with comparisons between raw milk, processed milk, and breast milk adds a certain poignancy.

Truth really IS stranger than fiction.

Palestine - A Perpetual Problem - Part I

"Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey." Exodus 3:16-17

With this passage, the God of Abraham, promises most of what is modern day Israel to the Hebrews. Judaism, Christianity and Islam are all considered Abrahamaic faiths, because all stem from the same basic tradition, and all practice a monotheistic faith revering the same God. This writing, and perhaps several more, will explore the history behind the current conflict in Israel, and show that although the conflict in Israel came to a boiling point in 1948, the conflict is much, much older, and in fact, stems from the time of the diaspora and even before.

Following the exodus from Egypt in approximately 1400 BC, the conquest of the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, etc by the Israelites was not easy. Battles raged for decades until approximately 1020 BC, when the Kingdom of Israel was established under its first king, Saul. The united kingdom lasted approximately 100 years until the death of King Solomon in approximately 930 BC. Under Saul's successor, the kingdom split in two, and the two kingdoms, Israel and Judah, remained at odds throughout most of the next 400 years until the Babylonians conquered Judah in 586 BC. The Persians then conquered the Babylonians in 538 and many of the Israelites who had been deported to Babylon were allowed to return.

In 331 BC Alexander the Great conquered Persia, and with it, the remains of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Upon his death, a succession of rulers came and went until 64 BC when the Roman general Pompey captured Jerusalem, and brought Israel into the Roman empire. Israel was a client kingdom of Rome under Herod the Great. In 66 AD, militant Jews seized power and revolted against Rome. The revolt was ruthlessly crushed, and Jerusalem was captured and destroyed (along with the Temple) in AD 70. Hundreds of thousands of Jews were either killed outright, taken as slaves, or fled to other countries. In 132 AD a second revolt occurred, known as the Bar Kokhba's revolt. This revolt was suppressed as well, and the Roman province of Judea was then consolidated with the province of Syria.

During this period, lasting from approximately 135 AD to the beginning of the Byzantine period in 330 AD, the Romans gradually managed to eradicate Hebrew as a spoken language and through a variety of onerous burdens and eradicate the Jewish presence in and around Jerusalem. Various Jewish tribes remained as nomads in southern Palestine and eventually became a part of the founding of Islam. Northern Jewish tribes existed until well into the Islamic empires. Byzantine emperors, as Christians, lavished funds upon Palestine and funded the building of numerous churches and other important buildings. The Church of the Nativity and the Church of the Ascension were built during the reign of Emperor Constantine. The late Byzantine period of history was one of Palestine's greatest, with the cities of Jerusalem, Caesarea Maratima and Neapolis reaching their greatest glory and producing a number of important Christian scholars. In 683 AD following the siege of Jerusalem, the Caliph Omah Ibn al-Khattab and Patriarch Safforonius signed an agreement which spelled out the rights of non-Muslim occupants of Jerusalem. Christians and Jews were labeled "People of the Book", and although they were generally granted freedom of religion, they also were subject to additional taxes. Thus began almost 1,400 years of Islamic control of Palestine.

The next article in this series will discuss Islamic control of the region, the beginning of the return of Jews to Palestine, and the problems associated with the birth of modern Israel.