McCain, Parsley, Islamophobia and Politics
The Question: John McCain's spiritual guide, televangelist Rod Parsley, calls Islam a "false religion" that should be "destroyed." Should McCain renounce Parsley? Will Islam be an issue in this year's U.S. presidential election?
Televangelist Rod Parsley represents a tradition of racial, political and religious bigotry that has plagued American -- and other -- societies for centuries. From anti-miscegenation laws, to McCarthyism, to the current wave of intolerance toward Muslims and Islam, xenophobia has always been a devil in our midst, even in times when the beauties of diversity were trumpeted and tolerance, mutual respect and acceptance were being touted as the ideals we should strive for.
It is, of course, small surprise that Islam is the current, most popular target. With race relations in America simmering on the back burner, communism in seeming disarray, the greatest "threat" to the American way has to take on a new face. Militants and terrorists who look to Islam for inspiration (no matter how distorted their interpretations may be) provide ample fodder for the fear factory.
This political and military motive dovetails neatly with the fears of fundamentalist Christian leaders who believe their way is the only way and find the greatest threat from Islam as it is the fastest growing religion in the world. With increasing numbers of Muslims living in Western countries, Islam is no longer something that happens "over there" but a phenomenon that these preachers must cope with in their own backyards.
Further exacerbating the problem is the fact that gory news from the Middle East, and provocative statements from radicals make far more riveting fare for the evening news than quiet reform efforts going on in places like Turkey, or support for the glbt community coming out of Indonesia, or even polls like the recent Gallup Poll of 50,000 Muslims that revealed that 93% of the global Muslim community unequivocally condemns terrorism and an even higher percentage long for the freedoms and democracy American citizens enjoy.
Religious, racial, political, and cultural bigotry are damaging forces. They create hatred, and spur violence, both on an individual and national level. They distort reality. (For instance President Bush's continual spouting of the supposed fact that Muslim radicals hate us for our freedoms, which is pure nonsense.) Worst of all, they reduce the quality of life of both the targets of such hatred and fear, and the person who hates or fears others.
Should the issue of Islamophobia be a part of the presidential election? Definitely! Not just Islamophobia, but xenophobia in all its form and the havoc it has played on our society. From domestic issues in race relations to foreign policy decisions (the most disastrous of our foreign policy since WWII has been driven by one form of xenophobia or another, along with a staunch defense of American corporate greed.)
Barak Obama opened the door for a long hard look at the state of racism in our country and the legacy that centuries of severe racial discrimination has beset us with. If the conversation he has started ends with his speech, then we will be a poorer nation for it. If the conversation he started ends with race, so too we will be a poorer nation. It is time for us to confront the real dangers posed by religious bigotry.
By
Pamela K. Taylor
|
April 8, 2008; 6:31 AM ET
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Posted by: jrbanp durysbw | July 10, 2008 5:17 PM
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Posted by: jrbanp durysbw | July 10, 2008 5:17 PM
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Show just a slight hint of integrity and retract your lie Pamela K Taylor. McCain NEVER called Parsley HIS spiritual guide. He called him A spiritual guide. The words A and HIS have two distinctly different meanings. Since you are a female, I will substitute the word her for his in the following example. A person sees a pound of cocaine on the ground and tells the police that is a pound of cocaine. A person sees a pound of cocaine on the ground and (refering to Ms Taylor) tells the police that is her pound of cocaine. Two sentences with two very different meanings based on the use of a or her.
Once more, the truth (which is not what you posted) is that McCain said A spiritual guide; not HIS spiritual guide. You can not simply overlook facts and create quotes that don't exist to try and make your point.
I-N-T-E-G-R-I-T-Y, learn it.
Posted by: Kevin | May 8, 2008 8:37 PM
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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_%28god%29
Posted by: rafamdergem | April 9, 2008 8:05 AM
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Manuel Barosso, do not come here to support this government. come here to bring an advancement by your own hand!
Posted by: rafamdergem | April 9, 2008 6:27 AM
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bu kadar rezilligi goren sehitler kalkar hukumeti yerle bir ederler be! onurla olduler serefsizlik icin aniliyorlar! lanet olsun boyle hukumete! haram zikkim olsun yedirilen paralar!
Posted by: rafamdergem | April 9, 2008 6:23 AM
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we are children of Churchill, Turkey is a gift from Churchill. a gift in the hearth, under the tree, in the stockings, under the pillows.
Posted by: Liturgy in Turkey | April 9, 2008 6:21 AM
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Williams Bush
i prefer honoured poverty in royal service to indecent richness in slavery with artificial empty worths and knowledge.
we dont want the support of Israel and Russia. they harm while they consider they save. Israel has never had a true faith to be a company in a family.
the high school i was in after primary school was an american monastry, St Joseph Lycee was near by. i want United Nations and Episcopal Church in wherever there is Quran and astronomy.
Posted by: rafamdergem | April 9, 2008 6:18 AM
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Williams Bush
You met Vladimir Putin in NATO meeting. what did You decide on Ionic Broadcasts on the Cable TV and Internet?
and also on Turkish Soviets supported by Russia and Turkish Religious Government that Israel supports?
when shall we be magnetic? in July with CERN? where shall those Ions move to? how shall You and Russia use this abundant flow?
there was a man caressing a green anaconda in his arms. when shall intentful addressing come to an end?
Posted by: rafamdergem | April 9, 2008 6:11 AM
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newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/susan_brooks_thistlethwaite/2008/04/mccains_hate_problem/all_comments.html
Posted by: rafamdergem | April 9, 2008 5:56 AM
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good morning PAmela Taylor, it has been so long since the last time i had passed by.
tonight there was Captain of Tenten
and there was a man in the dentist chair
and the Captain was heling his teeth
there was a spider on the left of his chest
and he said "ah i cant do this any more"
and he took the equipment to his up-right fifth teeth. third from the rear teeth
there is a spider on the left of her chest
she is moving from Italy to Israel in a wedding dress.
with a friend of hers, she is an artist,
daughter of a famous artist, Pippa Bacca
she is not smiling since she last smiled around Gebze Istanbul
the space shuttle of Russia on a Tupolev Plane of Ukrain
has been taken to Speyer Museum in Germany
through the Rehn river, from space to river, Moses
Suflah Joseph, accepted to Oxford at her 13,
is the Beauty and Wisdom of Shakespeare,
Zodiac Boat is Secularism
Iran is an old ancient folk in deep hurts
the earthquakes since 1999 have intenfully organized
dates, hours, local hours, depths, magnitudes.
one of them is related with a date
in the short story of Turkish Republic.
could MAnuel BArosso talk to universities
and government in this case please?
if Iran has been in the World Trade Center Attacks
then it may be publicly evaluated.
but if they are free, then the Tesla Earthquakes must be limited
in stead of limiting peaceful nuclear labority
that Iran shall contribute and participate in.
the absolute zero, 0 Kelvin degrees that is -270 degrees Celcius
is the degree in the planetary space, as far as i know.
it is also the degree in superconductivity.
so planets may be in superconductivity in the orbital system.
Posted by: rafamdergem | April 9, 2008 5:52 AM
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Ms Taylor's comments bring to mind the Apache story of the Brave on the cold mountain and the poisonous snake. Please pick me up and put me in your shirt. I am freezing. But you'll bite me , replied the Brave. Oh no I won't. Take me down the mountain where I won't freeze. Against his better judgment the Brave put the snake in his shirt and started down the mountain.
When sufficiently down the mountain to a more acceptable temperature the snake bit the brave and slithered out of his shirt to the ground. The Brave cried out, "But you promised." To which the snake replied.
"You knew what I was when you picked me up."
Islam in America is the same as the poisonous snake in the Apaches shirt. We know what they are. Only, there are way too many fools in our Government, Clergy and the Media who want to take the snake at its word and have us pick it up.
Islam is here to destroy Christians and Jews thereby destroying America. No number or repetitions of names like Islamophobia, cries of Racist, Xenophobe will back off Americans. We have been bitten too many times.
Posted by: John M. Chinn | April 8, 2008 5:57 PM
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Amen, Sister!!
Posted by: Peacock | April 7, 2008 6:36 PM
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And in summary, apply the Five F rule: "First Find the Flaws, then Fix the Foundations".
And finally there will be religious peace in the world!!!!!
Posted by: Concerned The Christian Now Liberated | April 3, 2008 6:21 PM
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Isnt there any contradiction ?
93% of muslims,even *higher percentage* long for the Freedom and Democracy(that means there is no freedom and democracy in islamic countries),but you can not see any democratical islamic country.
They only long...
Yes,they long for Democracy,but three states of MAlaysia(mostly muslim populated) recently prefer *Shariah*.This is a contradiction.
They long for *Freedom*,but they prefer SS Religious Police.
Democracy is Equality,not *two equals one*
Democracy is Justice,Contemporary Values.
Democracy is Human Rights,not Lina Joy's case.
Freedom is the blowing about your hairs.
Freedom means to be Human.
Posted by: halozcel | April 3, 2008 2:46 PM
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Ibrahim,
One could say the same of Christianity or Catholicism, which caused millions of deaths during the European Inquisition, not to mention the destruction of indigenous peoples in the Americas as well as hundreds of years of enslaving Africans.
Theology - the faith in the basic tenants of one particular religion - no more "incites terrorism" than it does to end it. It merely provides a specific, interpretive world view which some people - often those in power - use or misuse to destroy or control others. It's not unique to Islam, and it's not unique to Christianity, either. It's a sad and somewhat unfortunate result of human behavior and our capacity for bad. The best in any religion is that which encourages us to do good.
Posted by: Ariel | April 3, 2008 9:16 AM
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McCain, Clinton and Obama should simply list the flaws and errors of Christianity and Islam and then move on.
The flaws and errors in Christianity:
1. Jesus was an illiterate Jewish peasant/carpenter/simple preacher man possibly suffering from hallucinations who has been characterized anywhere from the Messiah from Nazareth to a mythical character from mythical Nazareth to a mamzer from Nazareth (Professor Bruce Chilton, in his book Rabbi Jesus). Analyses of Jesus’ 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, Jewish and Pagan sects.
The 30% of the NT that is "authentic Jesus" like everything in life was borrowed/plagiarized and/or improved from those who came before. In Jesus' case, it was the ways and sayings of the Babylonians, Greeks, Persians, Egyptians, Hittites, Canaanites, OT, John the Baptizer and possibly the ways and sayings of traveling Greek Cynics.
earlychristianwritings.com/theories.html
For added "pizzazz", Catholic/Christian theologians divided god the singularity into three persons and invented atonement as an added guilt trip for the "pew people" to go along with this trinity of overseers. By doing so, they made god the padre into god the "filicider".
2. Luther, Calvin, Joe Smith, Henry VIII, Wesley et al, founders of Christian-based religions, also suffered from the belief in/hallucinations of "pretty wingy talking flying fictional thingie" visits and "prophecies" for profits analogous to the myths of Catholicism (resurrections, apparitions, ascensions and immaculate conceptions).
And the first four major flaws and errors of Islam:
1. Belief in "pretty/ugly wingie thingies".
2. Belief that an hallucinating, illiterate Arab did actually talk to the "pretty Gabriel" in the hot "Gabe" cave and therein received the warmongering and anti-female words and resultant laws now listed in the koran.
3. That Sunnis are superior to Shiites in all aspects of life. And Shiites think the same way about Sunnis.
4. That Islam is perfect and the koran inherently condones no sin even though the 24/7, 800 year-old blood feud between Sunnis and Shiites gives significant credence that greed, hate, suicides, assassinations, maiming, and murder are condoned by the koran. Having multiple wives also gives significant credence to the sins of rape, adultery, lust and polygamy. The condoned treatment of these wives gives credence that the koran allows the sins of hatred, anger and greed.
Posted by: Concerned The Christian Now Liberated | April 2, 2008 8:47 PM
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More unwarranted assumptions they don't all look the same. Sorry to disappoint you. I suspect the average Muslim doesn't want much more out of this life than the average Christian however he sufferes under a tremendous handicapp in that for the most part the lunatics are in charge of not just the asylum but the whole country.
Posted by: Garyd | April 2, 2008 8:42 PM
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Assalamu Alaikum
Imam Pamela Taylor,
Thanks for your essay. Sounds familiar everywhere in multicultural societies with ethnic and religious minorities.
Salam and best regards
"J"
Posted by: Jihadist | April 2, 2008 8:19 PM
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*sigh*
They're just gonna keep looking 'All The Same To You,' Gary, if you don't actually ever look or listen.
Speaking of telling other people to do the laundry.
How long does that back-and-forth actually keep you entertained?
Posted by: Paganplace | April 2, 2008 4:36 PM
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Pamela please wash out your own dirty linen first before worrying about someone elses'.
Posted by: garyd | April 2, 2008 3:11 PM
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Pamela:
You say:“Religious, racial, political, and cultural bigotry are damaging forces. They create hatred, and spur violence, both on an individual and national level.”
If you really believe this how do you explain your embracing an ideology that incites Jihad(terrorism) and glorifies those who use violence against the non-Muslims? When you answer this maybe we would understand why a Western woman, who should know better, embraces a theology that denigrates and mistreats women when many other women born into that faith are leaving it mainly because of that reason.
Posted by: Ibrahim Mahfouz | April 2, 2008 1:07 PM
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