I think Great Babylon would be a better description. Babylon at least conveys the idea of being a place of sensuality, luxury and corruption.
Shodan
I don’t understand your question because I don’t know very well what you mean with the word “accuser” here.
Grey,
In Islam luxury is not necessarely looked at as something negative = You can’t compare the meaning of this with how it is perceived in Christianity (where poverty is almost glorified as to be the best situation in life if you want to enter heaven). You don’t need ot be poor to be a good Muslim; you do need to share of your wealth with the less fortunate.
The same is to a certain extend the case with sensuality.
There is nothing negative at all about the fact that both men and woman can be sensual and enjoy their sexual relationship (which is also in contrast with certain Christian views).
The problem is the export of the US/Western values and ideas about these issues, because those are in blatant opposition with the modesty and moderation Islam prescribes and with the Islamic rules about man/woman relationships.
This particular issue is of course only part of the problem but a very useful tool for those with the goal to indoctrinate people with the idea that the US is the incarnation of Evil.
Salaam. A
Sort of like the prosecuting attorney in a court trial.
For instance, in the book of Job in the Christian Old Testament, Satan is the one who accuses Job (the hero of the story) of being righteous only because God has never tested him. Same sort of usage in Psalm 109, and Zechariah 3. This last passage is particularly interesting, because “Joshua” is a variant of Jesus’ name in Hebrew (Yeshua).
The same usage occurs in Revelation 12:10 My knowledge of Arabic is almost non-existent, and I wondered if the term Satan in Arabic or Farsi is anything like it is in Hebrew.
Regards,
Shodan
PS - the site I linked to has an Arabic translation option, if that helps.
Well I wasn’t really aiming for an Arabic equivalent, I was trying to fit the perception.
to a Christian equivalent. Babylon and the Whore of Babylon seem to be a better fit the than Satan.
Though to be fair, I’m not really an expert on either set of mythical symbols.
Babylon the Whore is maybe more metaphorically accurate, but what can a radical muslim really do about that? Even the Taliban and Osama would have to think ‘Kill the whore’ is not that great a rallying cry. ‘Death to America, Death to the Great Satan’, ah that is more ambitious.
Do you say that in jest, right?
FYI the rest of the world is not compossed of eight year-olds.
Most people in this world want one thing, live in peace, live and let live, if for some reason they see (or are led to see) that their lifestyle is threatened then there are reactions; that can vary from grumbling to flying airliners into buildings.
The important thing to do, if the goal is live in harmony (or at least not live at the verge of a civilizations clash) is to understand how our actions reflect on other people, so your :rolleyes: disregarding this line of questioning suggest taht either you don´t recognize there´s a problem or you don´t care about solving it.