Looks like the war on terrorism has been translated into “open season on Muslims.” Falwell’s incendiary remarks are skating a little too close to hate speech.
The fundamentalists of all religions hate one another and would love to exterminate one another. However, Karen Armstrong (in The Battle for God, a vital book for these times), points out that one of the main forces driving rabid fundamentalism is fear of extermination. So by directly attacking the fundies (of any kind), you’re only fueling their rage and making them worse.
Meanwhile, liberal people within all religions have been finding ways to dialogue with each other, finding common ground, and sharing a universal vision of peace and understanding between the religions.
So can love and understanding ultimately be stronger than hatred and violence?
Love has never been stronger than hatred and violence in 6000+ years. Why do people of every generation think they are more enlightened than the past ones and are convinced they can bring “peace in our time”?
In the time it takes two people to make one baby, the same two people could kill hundreds or thousands of babies with their bare hands. Advantage: hatred and violence.
I think it’s possible you’ve misapprehended the circumstances in which you may ask for a cite.
If I assert that such-and-so has never happened, there is seldom a reasonable way to provide a citation for the entire period of recorded history.
On a more salubrious note, you can easily refute the assertion by providing a single example that contradicts the assertion. In this instance, I’d say the burden falls to you.
IN other words, don’t confuse the legitimate request for a cite for a catch-all stumper. It is not.
IIRC, Falwell also said that most Muslims were peaceful people. So it sounds more like he was taking issue with the religion and its founding then with its followers. From what I know of it, there sure is alot of nasty fighting in the Qu’ran. Yes, yes, there’s alot of it in the OT too, but doesn’t take away from the fighting in the Qu’ran.
Perhaps an Islamic leader should pick out which OT figures he considers terrorists. Moses was really more of a Che Guevara figure, IMO. Judith makes a pretty good undercover operative, perhaps she could have expanded and formed cells? Maybe when Jesus trashed that marketplace in Last Temptation of Christ, was that terrorism?
Anyway, the number of people who still take Falwell seriously has dwindled in this country, I don’t know who that sentiment speaks for anymore.
It’s amazing that Louis Farrakhan has been villified for years for his (admittedly stupid) “gutter religion” remark about Jews, but evangicals like Falwell, Robertson, and Graham have been making unbelievably bigoted statements for years about any religious view which is contrary to their own. All three of these guys are on record as saying that Jews can’t go to heaven. Robertson constantly demonizes Eastern religions as “demonic” on his little tv show. Falwell…well we all know what he said after 9/11. He also said recently that Islam is an “evil religion.”
Why is it that a Black Muslim draws outrage for bigoted remarks while the same sentiments expressed by smug Christian preachers barely raise an eyebrow. If any prominent Muslim said that Christianity was evil, or a Rabbi said that Christianity was “devil worship” (which Robertson has said about Buddhism) that person would be pillaried in the media. Why is there a difference?
That would be because no one cares about them anymore. The unholy trio there certainly catches flak about their own boneheaded remarks. Personally, however, I have never seen Farrakhan being picked on simply for that one statement. Rather, he’s usually being panned for whatever assinine activity he’s been up to recently.
Well, I don’t necessarily agree with the statment that Love isn’t stronger than hatred, but nevertheless, human beings have shown remarkable resiliance to all sorts of hell. We survive and thrive in the most horrid of environments. In short, we can survive hate and violence. We are built to adapt and go on living.
Given that only a few really follow Falwell & Co., I have been bemused by his constant presence in the media expounding on various issues. If it’s merely a ratings thing, shouldn’t that work against him? I’ll never understand how the media works.
Actually I think it is ignorance more than evil that causes our problems. If people would simply step back and not act so damn convinced that their respective religion is the only correct one it would avert a great deal of our troubles.
And as for the whole hate stronger than love nonsense… put it this way it is a balance of the two that make up human history. We have dropped the sword and lifted the olive branch as often as we have done the other way around. Enemies have become allies and allies enemies.
We don’t always continue old grudges and blood feuds as we realize that sometime you have to live and let live.
The one thing I’ve learned about heistory is that it doesn’t really repeat, it regurgitates.
And Falwell wasn’t pilloried in the media for these statements? Even Christian conservatives denounced Falwell’s statements after 9/11, and many also denounced his characterization of Islam. Farrakhan, on the other hand, seems to have retained his popularity among black Muslims.
Why does Falwell keep appearing in the media? Because once you have achieved any level of celebrity in this country, the press will never let you go. Kato Kaelin could issue a proclaimation about Iraq tomorrow, and it would be on CNN. NO ONE CARES, but hey, he’s an obscure formerly famous person, so his opinion must be important, eh?
