J, there was a joke among Jews here in the US in 1964, when Barry Goldwater ran for President: "I always knew that when we had the first Jewish President, he'd be an Episcopalian."

Now, the English can say: "I always knew that when a principled English Christian leader would FINALLY stand up to defend the English heritge against the invading foreign hordes...He'd be a Pakistani!"

I hope the Jews of England are standing up to cheer for this courageous Pakistani Christian...THEY SHOULD!!

 

and they can't brush him off as a racist either ;)

 

Who says they can't??!! They DID!:

"I am not saying this is bigotry but this is the core of where he is coming from," Longley told Reuters,"...

 

well, what else can we expect from al-reuters ;)

 

Unfortunately, Bishop Nazir Ali doesn't have any real knowledge of Islam and doesn't attempt sincere research. His book "Islam - A Christian perspective" only churns out false allegations made by previous orientialists from the crusades onwards. As a muslim I am required to love and respect all the prophets and not to differentiate between them. Anyway Britain was pagan long before it was Christian and there is a lot of pagan influence in many traditions including Christmas.

 

Dr. Sami may be right in his posit that Bishop Nazir Ali doesn't have any "real knowledge" of Islam (even though one of his parents was a Muslim, and as an academic, he studied Islam intensely), but he knows at least enough to know that the tenets of Islam and Christianity are diametrically opposed to each other.

If by "sincere research" Dr. Sami means objective research, perhaps he should be informed that everyone is affected by their presuppositions and world-views, so that any data they uncover and disseminate, passes through the template or cognitive pond, that is their mind, before they formulate an opinion and Dr. Sami is no exception to that rule.

Dr. Sami says: "As a Muslim I am required to love and respect all the prophets and not to differentiate between them." Then why does he, and indeed all Muslims differentiate and claim a higher, holier and more current and relevant status for Mohammed, whom they claim to speak the final word from God?

The Christian Bible makes claims that are totally abhorrent and unacceptable to Islam and its followers. It claims that Jesus died (not swooned)on the cross and rose again and ascended into Heaven to be with His Father, God. It claims that He, and He alone, can be the propitiation for the sins of everyone in the world, past, present and future. It claims further, that without forgiveness of the sins committed by every individual on earth, by God, exclusively through Jesus, all sinners will go to Hell.

Jesus also stated that no one could get access to God, even by prayer, without going through Him. The Christian Bible also claims that Jesus is a third part of a triune God, therefore, concomitantly, He is God also.

These, and many other core tenets of Christianity are totally repugnant to Islam, as well as Judaism and every other religion on earth. They are not politically correct and they are seen to be "non-inclusive" (even though all are welcome to embrace them.

Although I have problems with Bishop Nazir-Ali calling Britain a Christian nation (which it is not), he is right in claiming that the basis ordering and guiding civil society in Britain (at least in the past three centuries, is derived from Christian principles and moral codes.

There is absolutely nothing wrong in him wanting to maintain a Christian identity for Great Britain. The adage when in Rome... is well known. There is absolutely no chance for Christians to have the freedom of worship and an open propagation their religion, in Saudi Arabia, Iran or Sudan, or any other "Muslim country" on earth.

The claims of the three Abrahamic faiths are exclusive and antithetical to each other and can never be melded into each other, no matter the level of effort expended by people from all those faiths to do so. It puzzles me that Dr. Nazir-Ali actually heads a multi-faith initiative. Perhaps he would like to explain his intentions and expectations to the general public.

Finally, of course many of the elements found to be connected to Christmas are of pagan origin, as are the elements connected to Easter, viz Easter eggs etc., but the true Christian believer knows what he is celebrating and remembering at Christmas, even if the date of Jesus' birth may be inaccurate, as does he or she when remembering Jesus' death on the cross at Easter, whether Easter eggs or hot cross buns are exchanged or not. They celebrate the "Lord's Day" on a Sunday, even if the day was hijacked by Pagans and dedicated to the sun god.

Perhaps Dr.Sami also does not really understand what Christianity is about. The crusades, which he deftly dropped into his blog, were not conducted by true Christians, just as he might in all probability claim that the Twin Towers murderers or English subway and bus bombers were not true Muslims, or at that they were best misguided Muslims, as are those who have murdered Christians and other innocents in the Sudan and other places on earth.

The three Abrahamic faiths are religious and ideoligical enemies of each other, but each of their scriptures teach tolerance and mercy to those of opposing faiths, but none of them teach integration or miscegenation.
John Langemann

 

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