OSASMA THE GUN part two--Jihadi Joe vs. McWorld

What we think of the Islamicists and what they think of us--why can't we both be right? Democracy vs. the Will of Allah

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Spinrad
• democracy
• Osama
• bin
• Laden
• Islam
• Allah
• Mohammed
• declaration
• independence

[phaedress]

I like your take on this.

May I ask you, please, why you refer to God as "Allah" instead of using the language you are speaking in?

Calling Islam's god "Allah" leads to the misaprehension that it is a different deity we are speaking of.

Like saying in France they pray to some strange god they call "Dieu".

Allah is not a name. It is simply (as you certainly know) the arabic word for god.

[normanspinrad]

Well, I don't know how it actually parses in Arabic, but there's a familiar line from the Koran that's always translated "there is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is his Prophet." Point being, "god" is a generic term. Apollo, Zeus, and Loki are also "gods." Seems to me you do need two words.

[phaedress]

You're quoting the pledge whereby a muslim surrenders to god. It is literally "there is no god but god", it is an affirmation of monotheism.

I totally understand how you, as an author, need two words, but you are thus subverting the doctorine as the Muslims themselves understand it and thereby contributing to the false cultural divides.

(Which obscure the real ones I beleive you intend to deal with in your book.)

[normanspinrad]

Ok, I admit I don't read Arabic, so I don't know the original, but that translation doesn't make too much sense. "There are no gods but God," might but you never see that. Monotheism like Christianity or Judaism sure, but the trouble with all 3 religions is the implication "my god is the real one and yours doesn't even exist." This may not be politically correct, but that's the way it's played out historically.

[Nina998]

@WonkyDoodle I am sorry, the last sentence was directed to anyone who just points the finger of blame at Islam/quran/Muhammad without researching what they're talking about....it just happened to be the ending of my comment. I didn't mean to attack you...

[WonkyDoodle]

@Nina998 "try harder next time if u want dialogue" - Is that directed at me?

[Nina998]

@WonkyDoodle What I don't understand is why people attack Muslims for wanting the word of God to be the law. Have they studied or even look it up to see if the word of God is good for Muslims, if it's better than the "Western Democracy"...What Allah has prescribed for all human beings in the Quran is better than any man's plan for what's good for humanity. people just refuse to study it and only point out the misunderstood verses in the quran...try harder next time if u want dialogue

[Nina998]

@normanspinrad May I reply regarding your comment about the trouble with all 3 religions, the my God is better than your God...In Islam, we believe that the God of Jews is the same as the God of Christians is the same as the God of Muslims, he's one so....we don't say mine is better than yours because we believe he's always been the same from the very beginning of creation...

[davidshaz20000]

America is the Source of all sorrow and Evil in the world over 100 percent

[phaedress]

I had a feeling that is what you were getting at. It's the same god.

Just as the Christians acknowledge the Torah, so the Muslims affirm the stories of the Bible. The 'god of Abraham' is also the god of Jesus and Muhhamad.

I've never understood why this is divisive rather than unifying between the three peoples, but then I am not a middle-eastern man. Perhaps you have to live in a tribal culture.