By John Zwiebel - Other Voices | Friday, October 17, 2014, 12:15 a.m.
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There have been several letters published in The Garden Island suggesting that Islam is different from other religions in that it demands the “faithful” murder those who do not follow Allah. “Allah” is Arabic for “God,” just like “Dios” is
There have been several letters published in The Garden Island suggesting that Islam is different from other religions in that it demands the “faithful” murder those who do not follow Allah. “Allah” is Arabic for “God,” just like “Dios” is Spanish for “God,” and “Gott” is German for “God,” and “Deus” is Latin for “God.”
The 2014 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to 17-year-old Malala Yousafzai, who is Muslim. One should listen to her speech before the United Nations in 2013 and her Nobel Prize acceptance speech. I only wish more Christians would follow the example of Dallas Judge Clay Jenkins and Rev. Welton Gaddy and express the same commitment to peace that they and this young woman have.
When speaking of the man who put a bullet in her head she said:
“Even if there was a gun in my hand and he was standing in front of me, I would not shoot him. This is the compassion I have learned from Mohamed, the prophet of mercy, Jesus Christ and Lord Buddha. This the legacy of change I have inherited from Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and Mohammed Ali Jinnah.”
I clearly recall when I was 11 how John I. and I got into a disagreement over whether or not the world was created in seven days. We went to Reverend H. to adjudicate the question. The expression on Rev H.’s face and the emphasis with which he said, “Seven Days” sears my memory over 50 years later. I walked out of that encounter knowing that Christianity is but one way of knowing the will of God. Nothing since that day has persuaded me to change my mind.
I have a different understanding of God. I don’t expect you to have that same understanding and I welcome you to believe as you wish since I cannot imagine God caring. I find those who insist that they, and only they, know the will of God to be charlatans and false prophets more interested in their own aggrandizement than the truth (Pat Robertson comes to mind). In my opinion, these fanatics are just as dangerous as any member of ISIS.
Muslims are nearly one-fourth of the world’s population. Christians make up about one-third. Picking a fight with the Muslims because they believe in a slightly different interpretation of God than Christians can only lead to Armageddon.
When one considers that most of those who condemn Islam would have happily elected a Mormon, Mit Romney, to the presidency, it is easy to see their hypocrisy.
The Christian God, the Jewish God, the Muslim God and even the Mormon God are all the same being. It seems some only use their religion to justify their need to hate.
