Orthodoxy of Religions versus Commonality of Religions
Prince Albert - Thursday - September 21, 2006 - by: Mario deSantis
"Love your neighbour as yourself" - Jesus of Nazareth
"What you do not want others to do to you, do not do to others." - Confucius
"What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man." - Hillel
"Do unto others as you would have them do unto to you." - Jesus of Nazareth
"Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you" - Muhammad
In my last article about Bush and learning [1] I referred to how pleased former Vice President Al Gore was in realizing that dialogue is “a process by which meaning comes through.” Therefore, it is consequential that our social conversations must be meaningful so that we can understand and respect each other. President Bush has been quoted as saying that God told him to wage a war against Iraq [2], and a few days ago President Bush has stated that he senses a "Third Awakening" of religious devotion in the United States that has coincided with the nation's struggle with international terrorists, a war that he depicted as "a confrontation between good and evil [3].” Last week, in his speech at the University of Regensburg, Pope Benedict XVI quoted criticism of Islam and the Prophet Mohammad by 14th century Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus, who wrote that everything Mohammad brought was evil and inhuman, "such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached [4]." Such allusion of Islam as a violent religion has caused turmoil in many countries around the world and some Christian churches have been put on fire as well. This reminds me of the published Danish cartoons which depicted Muhammad as a terrorist and which caused riots, deaths, and protests all over the world [5]. Now, when we realise that number one criminal of the world bin Laden and his lieutenants always praise and thank God (Allah) in their taped speeches and conversations [6] I can understand how we can all get brainwashed in thinking and believing that Islam is indeed a violent religion. We have been saying for a long time that the war on terror doesn't exist yet in the minds of demagogues such as president Bush and his neo-uber-alles friends. And, Doctor James Zogby is right in saying that “bashing Islam and preying on the public’s fears is demagoguery at its worst [7].” It doesn't make sense to invoke any religion to offend, or to wage wars against other people, in fact, all of the most important religions follow the ethics of reciprocity, or the so-called Golden Rule [8] “treat others as you would like to be treated." It makes sense that we dialogue in our common sense language because it make sense to convey 'meanings' rather than demagoguery. Linguist George Lakoff has stated that the way we use our language matters, and that we need to change this language of war used by war profiteers, religious zealots, sold out politicians and Free Market marketeers.
	Mario deSantis
References:
1. . ..	deSantis, Mario “Bush's Government: An Unlearning and Disabled Organization”; September 16, 2006, Ensign http://ensign.ftlcomm.com/desantisArticles/2006_934/desantis935/disabled.html
2. ..	Ha'aretz, “'Road map is a life saver for us,' PM Abbas tells Hamas”; June 25, 2003 http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=3240
3. .	Baker, Peter “Bush Tells Group He Sees a 'Third Awakening'”; (pdf) September 13, 2006, Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/12/AR2006091201594.html
4. .	Wikipedia, “Pope Benedict XVI Islam controversy”; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Benedict_XVI_Islam_controversy
5. .	Wikipedia, “Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy”; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jyllands-Posten_Muhammad_cartoons_controversy#Publication_of_the_cartoons
6. .	BBC News, “Text: 'Bin-Laden tape'”; January 19, 2006 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4628932.stm
7. .	Zogby, James J. “Islam Is Not The Problem”; September 18, 2006 TomPaine.com http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/09/18/islam_is_not_the_problem.php
8. .	Wikipedia, “Ethic of reciprocity”; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethic_of_reciprocity
Return to Ensign   This page is a story posted on Ensign and/or Saskatchewan News, both of which are daily web sites offering a variety of material from scenic images, political commentary, information and news. These publications are the work of Faster Than Light Communications . If you would like to comment on this story or you wish to contact the editor of these sites please send us email.   Editor : Timothy W. Shire Faster Than Light Communication Box 1776, Tisdale, Saskatchewan, Canada, S0E 1T0 306 873 2004