Muslims also revere Jesus (PBUH - Peace Be Upon Him, they say, whenever they mention His Holy Name - the same thing they say when the mention the name of the Prophet, Mohammed {PBUH}). In Islam, Jesus is revered as a prophet, and Muslims believe that he was born of the virgin Mary, was crucified, suffered and was buried, and on the 3rd day was raised from the dead and ascended into heaven where he is seated at the Right Hand Of God the Father almight where he shall come again to judge both the quick and the dead.
Muslims believe all that, although, it is not part of their creed.
Muslims believe that one God created us all, (and all the WORLDS, which is more illuminating to me than the King James Version-creator of heaven and earth- because all the WORLDS allows for life forms in other galaxies, on other planets - and it is amazing to me how well the scientific exactness of Arabic holds up 1400 years later, and how well it translates).
To be a Muslim, and accepted wholly into that faith community (ummah) and stand shoulder to shoulder with brother and sister Muslims all over the world one must do merely two things, these are to profess, first that:
There is no God but God (belief in a Supreme God)
"I attest and declare that there is no God but God" says the convert who makes this declaration in front of the assembled congregation.
"And I further attest and declare that Mohammed (PBUH - peace be upon him) is his prophet."
BOOM !! That's it, you're in. And when I made my declarations (first in Arabic, the language of the God of the Arabs, and then in English - and the Muslim Children learn the Koran in both Arabic and English) my eyes swelled with tears of a joy that come only with the peace of God which surpasseth all understanding; a state of Grace which I have felt before, and since, and is always a blessing - an intersection of the human with the divine; a conscience event - an awareness of at least many things, both visible and invisible.
My reasons for converting to Islam were these:
I was shocked, depressed, and horrified beyond all words by the invasions and occupations of foreign lands ordered by our President(s). Viet Nam ought to have been enough.
Two books I read - A History of Islam, written by Karen Armstrong, a former nun, presents a very favorable view of Mohammed who, as a leader, conquered half the known world, and conquered cities, and shed no blood in so-doing. Furthermore, he allowed the conquered peoples to practice any religious forms they so desired, practice their own form of government, and demanded only that they pay 2% a year in tribute (taxes) in return for which they would be protected by the armies of Mohammed, the warriors for Islam. And trade and learning prospered during Mohammed's time, and for 100's of years therefater.
The second book, The Alphabet Versus the Goddess was written by Leonard Schlain, a Jewish nuerosurgeon, and it too it highly praises Mohammed and what his original small band of followers accomplished in a mere 22 years. Schlain takes a unique point of view in that he interprets the Koranic description of the visions that first came to Mohammed, from the Angel Gabriel, in that Schlain uses an alternative translation of the Arabic word for "Speak" which is "Write."
Schlain's thesis is that every time in human history when there has been a shift in empahsis from iconic writing (left-brained and female dominant values) to alphabet writing (right-brained and male dominant) there are techtonic shifts in society.
And where, Schlain, did alphabet writing first come from? He suggests we look to the Bible, when Moses went up into the mountains and returned with the commandments, written up tablets. And this, suggests Schlain, was why the Egyptians so feared the Hebrews (they did not become Jews until they established their oral tradition - transcribing it into words and implementing it into practice) because the Hebrews had alphabet writing and thus could pass on learning and knowledge from generation unto generation, thereby growing and advancing at exponential rates, rather than to have to forever be recreating the wheel.
So ... the exodus of the JEws from Egypt indeed marked a tectonic shift in the balance of "world" power, for, after wandering for 40 years in the desert, while their children's children could grow strong and be lean mean fighting machine and eventually conquer the lands of Israel, rather than possess a slave mentality, so, we see that shift vividly in Isreal in the middle East, and, also with Islam, again, in the middle East.
Then Guttenburg's printing press allows the Bible to be printed in every day languages of all peoples, and this ushers in the Renaissance.
Hitler uses RADIO - (very iconic - appeals to reptile's brain) to stir the German people to mass murder and crimes against humanity. It was a new communications medium. Had the German people but read Hitler's speeches, they would have laughed his ass out of Berlin ... they were full of fiery emotional words that only hit hot buttons in the lizard brain, and had no connection to reality; words such as:
the homeland
the fatherland
the Arrayan Nation
(manifest destiny)
(the white man's burden)
Our generation is the first TV generation. So, what did we do? Only STOPPED A WAR IN VIETNAM!
And now, the computer, facebook generation? What will they do?
I truly believe this -- I believe our children, and our children's children will use this internet communication tool, this return to the written word, which balances with pictures iconic and alphabet in the brain - I believe this will be a tool for social change, for social justice, for helping the widow and the orphan, the immigrant, the prisoner, the captive, the hungry, the homeless, the least of these, my bretheren.
It's all so exciting - there's so much out there, and a GREAT idea can spread like wildfire - faster than the spread of the plague; faster than the spread of the AIDS virus.
And of such spreadings are revolutions truly made.
Thanks for asking your questions, Donna. It gives me a chance to put down my own thoughts into a congealed organized process, AND .. it also lets me blog em @
MarkGanzersInsanityBlog.Blogspot.Com
God Bless you and your family.
BTW - how are your brothers and sisters doing? If I remember correctly, there were five of you. Joey, I think was driving that night up your road when I was walking to King Bashes, the other direction, and that idiot from Barrington Hills rammed into them as Joey signaled to pull over. The Barrington Hills Idjiot, of course, had his two dogs in the front seat with him, licking his face, and who knows what else, so that the IDIOT, did I mention - this dud was an IDIOT - not payi8ng attention noticed neither that Joey signaled, slowed down, and had started to pull over .. and then had the unmitigated GALL to try and blame him.
TOUGH LUCK ASS HOLE - you got a witness and you got the blinking signal on the bumper you knocked off.
Do you remember the day we were being chased in your Dodge by Patrick, and then Peter Donahue cut his ass off and "saved" us?
Pedro and I have become very good friends. We share a lot of stuff in common - golf, golf-addicted fathers, spirituality, love of learning, an openness to the unorthodox. It has been one of my greatest gifts, the getting to know of Peter Donahue.
Thanks again for asking.
I'm always delighted to answer, if I have something useful to say.
With Love to You and All You Love,
Mark
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