All Comments (7)

The issue of violence in Islam is of prime importance. Just as important, however, is the issue of the foundation of Islam and for that matter the foundations of all contemporay religions.

Here is a synopsis repeated many times but rarely addressed especially by Muslim commentators. Here is your chance once again. A realistic acceptance of the historical foundations of these religions would go a long way in eliminating the violence in each.

1. Abraham founder/father of three major religions was probably a mythical character. If he was real, he was at best a combination of at least three men. 1.5 million Conservative Jews and their rabbis have relegated Abraham to the myth pile along with most if not all the OT.

2. Jesus, the illiterate Jewish peasant/carpenter possibly suffering from hallucinations, has been characterized anywhere from the Messiah from Nazareth to a mythical character from mythical Nazareth. Analyses of his life by many contemporary NT scholars (e.g. Professors Crossan, Borg and Fredriksen, On Faith panelists)via the NT and related documents have concluded that only about 30% of Jesus' sayings and ways noted in the NT were authentic. The rest being embellishments (e.g. miracles)/hallucinations made/had by the NT authors to impress various Christian sects.

3. Mohammed, an illiterate, hallucinating Arab, also had embellishing/hallucinating scribal biographers who not only added "angels" and flying chariots to the Koran but also a militaristic agenda to support the plundering and looting of the lands of non-believers.
This agenda continues as shown by the conduct of the seven Muslim doctors in the UK, the 9/11 terrorists, the 24/7 Sunni suicide/roadside/market/mosque bombers , the 24/7 Shiite suicide/roadside/market/mosque bombers , the Bali crazies, the Kenya crazies, the Pakistani koranics, the Palestine suicide bombers/rocketeers, the Lebanese nutcases and the Filipino koranics.

4. Luther, Calvin, Smith, Henry VIII, Wesley et al, founders of Christian-based religions, also suffered from the belief in/hallucinations of "pretty wingy thingie" visits and "prophecies" for profits analogous to the myths of Catholicism (resurrections, apparitions, ascensions and immaculate conceptions).

5. Hinduism (from an online Hindu site) - "Hinduism cannot be described as an organized religion. It is not founded by any individual. Hinduism is God centred and therefore one can call Hinduism as founded by God, because the answer to the question ‘Who is behind the eternal principles and who makes them work?’ will have to be ‘Cosmic power, Divine power, God’"
The caste/laborer system and cow worship are problems when saying a fair and rational God founded Hinduism."

6. Buddhism- "Buddhism began in India about 500 years before the birth of Christ. The people living at that time had become disillusioned with certain beliefs of Hinduism including the caste system, which had grown extremely complex. The number of outcasts (those who did not belong to any particular caste) was continuing to grow."

"However, in Buddhism, like so many other religions, fanciful stories arose concerning events in the life of the founder, Siddhartha Gautama (fifth century B.C.):"

Archaeological discoveries have proved, beyond a doubt, his historical character, but apart from the legends we know very little about the circumstances of his life.

http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/BUDDHISM/SIDD.HTM

Bottom line: There are many good ways of living but be aware of the hallucinations/embellishments and myths surrounding the founders of said rules of life.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_Jesus for an analysis of Jesus' life to include his illiteracy.

Determinant of base line cultural behavior in which various members of the society treat each other, and their group interaction, is a result of complex social evolutionary processes. Human nature is basically the same. Man if left to him is, after all, a slave to his instincts. But, if cultivated in a proper way, he can become a social being. Nurturing of such skills, so as a society we can set in motion a culture, which relies on a tradition of instinctive self awareness that preservation and growth of social capital is the responsibility of humans alone.

Historically in some societies, periodic enrichment of social capital has occurred due to valuable contribution of wise and compassionate leaders e.g. Ram, Jesus, Moses, Mohammad, etc... But such events failed to induce the catalyst which could sustain and carry the movement. Today’s world owes heavily to their contributions.

It is critical at this juncture to study this phenomenon and find ways to include as many individuals as possible, by initially disengaging from the notion that somehow progress is not tantamount to disrespect and disinheritance of the past contributors, and secondly, empowering them in the art of self governance.

It's a great achievement for Islamic leaders and scholars as well as Newsweek and the Washington post to present this imperative opportunity for inter cultural and global philosophical dialogue. What's important is that by exchanging our ideas and comments regarding inter religious relations and world events that affect our views of each other as fellow human beings. Since the advent of humanity, We strove to make sense of the world we live in and the lives we've experienced. Worldwide curiosities to learn the true nature of life and our universe is an exceptionally rare virtue upon life on Earth. In other words, we're the only known species on the planet who've pursued to unravel these great mysteries and developed written philosophies based upon our understanding of the world around us.
One such philosophy that lasted throughout the ages of humanity is commonly known as religion and spirituality. Ever since our early belief in the Sky God and the God Mother from ancient Pagan times, we vigorously pursued to unravel the truth about our most profound questions. As any educated person would know that religion and their core beliefs or faith have evolved over time. Paganism, Monotheism and Polytheism have been influenced by humanity as these great philosophies have influenced our perceptions and decisions in life over the ages. Over time humanity has embraced diverse religious faiths and spiritual convictions that continue to influence our behavior in our times and most likely beyond.
What's vital for humanity's progress and even survival is to know the true nature of faith itself. To understand the true origins of faith. But most of all, is to accept the truth for whatever it may be. Each one of us will learn the absolute truth once we die. But until that time comes for anyone of us to depart this world, we really don't know the answer to God's existence nor do we have the absolute truth in regards to the true nature of God. Besides if we did possess the truth, there would've been only one religion on Earth with no diversification of any way, shape of form. There would only be one holy scripture written throughout human history.
Considering one's religious faith to be absolute, while considering others to be false would be ethnocentric at best. While collectively searching to unravel the mysteries on nature, life and the universe through sincere reasoning and serious research would be enlightening at its worst. Most importantly, we must accept the fact is that none of us have conclusive evidence to confirm our core beliefs and there's always an immanent change that our most cherished beliefs could be wrong. With such an open mind, we would be able to overcome any future discovery that would contradict our faith regarding the true nature of life, spirituality and divinity.
Humanity does have the ability to achieve such a social achievement. However, it's solely up to humanity and not any other entity or groups of entities to decide our destinies. Each one of us has a choice to make; either hopelessly engaging into meaningless inter cultural conflicts or combine our scientific and cultural gifts to thrive into an enlightened global civilization that could ultimately expand beyond our solar system. The choice is yours, and the time to make it is now!

I completely agree with Mr. Annan when he says the concept of a "clash of civilizations" is a grave misunderstanding. Rather, the slogan is a political one used to further certain peoples' agendas and policies. The truth of the matter is, Muslims are the same as anyone else. They are people. They have loved ones, they have family ties, they have passions and dreams. Just as Christians and Jews don't see each other as mutually exclusive, neither do Muslims. Islam is extremely understanding and very flexible - it is so sad that this true nature of Islam has not been conveyed to people who do not understand the religion. I think it is up to Muslims to change that, especially Muslims in America. We will see what my generation will do to change that, as well as generations to come.

I completely agree with Mr. Annan when he says the concept of a "clash of civilizations" is a grave misunderstanding. Rather, the slogan is a political one used to further certain peoples' agendas and policies. The truth of the matter is, Muslims are the same as anyone else. They are people. They have loved ones, they have family ties, they have passions and dreams. Just as Christians and Jews don't see each other as mutually exclusive, neither do Muslims. Islam is extremely understanding and very flexible - it is so sad that this true nature of Islam has not been conveyed to people who do not understand the religion. I think it is up to Muslims to change that, especially Muslims in America. We will see what my generation will do to change that, as well as generations to come.

I completely agree with Mr. Annan when he says the concept of a "clash of civilizations" is a grave misunderstanding. Rather, the slogan is a political one used to further certain peoples' agendas and policies. The truth of the matter is, Muslims are the same as anyone else. They are people. They have loved ones, they have family ties, they have passions and dreams. Just as Christians and Jews don't see each other as mutually exclusive, neither do Muslims. Islam is extremely understanding and very flexible - it is so sad that this true nature of Islam has not been conveyed to people who do not understand the religion. I think it is up to Muslims to change that, especially Muslims in America. We will see what my generation will do to change that, as well as generations to come.

I find it inspiring that I discovered this article while I was looking for a project called "Israelis & Palestinians: Bridging the Divide" started by an israeli photographer in 2006 : http://www.israelipalestinianproject.com/