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Wow, it is a shock to read so many ignorant and vitriolic comments here. People are welcome to disagree, and to be atheist, but there's no need to be ignorant about it. May God help us all. And if you don't believe in God, then at least help yourself by trying not to be so bitter.

Thank you Dr. Jackson for sharing your insight.

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Always a pleasure to read/listen to you Dr. J

Salam alaikum,
I am a British Muslim with Anglo-Caribbean heritage (and in one line Irish-Spanish)and find the response to Dr. Jackson interesting.

It is of course not reflective of the man or Islam but is reflective of contemporary American anxieties. The crudity of the response is what raises an 'eye brow' and even here, in England, such abuse is seldom linked to posts of a professorial kind. The vulgar do not read existential articles about faith.

One hopes the USA is passing through a brief phase. Anyone who has studied Islamic history or attempted to appreciate the beauty of Arabic prose or the untransaltable, even 'Joycean' wonders of the Quran would know it is an honour to have a Western (and African-American) professor of Islamic studies speak about his faith here.
And the fact that the penetrating Ibn Hazm is linked with the Conquistadores may convince some that the gracious professor should have choosen another medium for his valued insights.

----Excuse me?? Is this one of the great Muslims who invaded Spain? And to think you call a 'Crusader'...great!----

Ibn Hazm was a famous religious scholar and philosopher, not a warrior. He lived a few centuries after the Muslim invasion of Spain. Your objection to Dr. Jackson quoting him is akin to rejecting the writings of the Founding Fathers based on the fact that they owned slaves and fought Native Americans.

----It is this kind of obsessive compulsive fanaticism that leads to the type of religious extremism we see in the weak willed individuals causing the strife we see in the world today.

If people were allowed to live without being brow-beaten about how they owe their lives to some here-to-for unseen cosmic deity, the world would indeed be a much more peaceful place.----

Interesting that you mention that, since some of the biggest tyrants and murderers of the past century were atheists (Lenin, Stalin, Mao Tse Dong, and possibly even Hitler). Seems as if 'religious extremists' aren't always the ones doing the brow-beating.

A salaamu alaikum Marc- it is so rare that i see someone call to task the bomabardment of vitriolic and hostile drivel that these muslim panelists posts always degenerate into that it is indeed a breath of fresh air to see someone with a cognizance of decent behavior show up-
actually these are some of the mildest responses i ususally see and ignore-

peace and thank you

And so...ignorance never fails to rear its beautiful head, eh? I'm speaking of the ignorance in reaction to the Dr. Jackson's words. It is amazing the level of hostility that the world holds towards anyone of Muslim/Islamic inclination. Even when someone such as Dr. Jackson [whether you subscribe to his opinions or religious leanings], who has spent the better half of his life dedicated to scholarly pursuits gets basted which acidic and unabashedly malevolent rhetoric [which in my opinion borders on a form of racism], cannot be equally engaged in intelligent discourse. You do a disservice to yourselves and show a tremendous lack of basic human respect. You mask your vitriolic bombast in your own prejudices against Muslim and all that is Islamic in nature. And because popular sentiment gives your full control at the reigns, you sentiments are granted clearance. But even upon meager scrutiny, they reveal themselves to be what they are. Hatred. While I love Dr. Jackson as a man of wisdom and as a personal friend [and he does not need me to fight his battles or defend him - I do so out of Love], I cannot sit tacitly to the side and observe such hostilities and treat them with a jaundice "ma sha' Allah". You are not required to believe in what he believes in. You are not truly required to be civil, although to not do so begs an answer to a question: why? Why are you incapable of engaging the man on the level of his discourse? Is it a lack of intellectual horsepower on your behalf? I must admit, he is quite intelligent and we often fear and berate that which we feel threatened by. But I assure you, only those of small hearts and minds have anything to fear.

So in parting, I implore all of you to take an opportunity to sit back, observe yourselves in the mirror and for an instance, reexamine your intentions. It's not easy - believe me. I must do so on a constant basis - much akin to the forgetfulness I too harbor against my Cosmic Debt. Thank you, Dr. Jackson for putting yourself out here, on the firing line. I know you don't need thanks from me or anyone else but I believe it is uncouth to not express gratitude when it costs so little.

May God keep and preserve you.

OH JESUS PLEEZEEE A PLACE IN PARADISE WITH ALL THOSE VIRGINS WHO THE HELL WANTS THAT, FIND THEM HERE ON EARTH , MALE OR FEMALE AND ENJOY EACH OTHER!! REMEMBER SAFE SEX ONLY!
DONT PRAY FOR IT THERE IS NO ONE LISTENING OUT THERE , IF THERE IS A JESUS/GOD HOW COULD SHE POSSIBLE BE LISTENING TO OVER 6 BILLION PERSONS ON OUR EARTH.
GET A LIFE DONT DEPEND ON ANYONE BUT YOURSELF, FORGET ABOUT ALL THAT JESUS BS ITS A RIPOFF RUN BY HOMOPHOBIC MONEYGRABBING PREACHERS! RELIGION IS THE PROBLEM NOT THE ANSWER JUST LOOK AROUND THE WORLD TODAY FROM PALESTINE TO IRAQ!

HERE ARE SOME WORDS OF IBN HAZM

. In all the actions listed here, anyone who pauses to reflect will see that anxieties inevitably occur, such as problems which arise in the course of the action, the impossibility of performing the impossible, the fleeting nature of any achievements, and the inability to enjoy something because of some difficulty. There are also bad consequences which arise from every success: fear of one’s rival, attacks by the jealous, theft by covetous, loss to an enemy, not to mention criticism, sin and such things. On the other hand, I have found that actions performed with an eye on eternity are free from * every kind of * fault, free from every stain, and a true means of dispelling anxiety. I have found that the man who is striving for eternity may be sorely tested by bad fortune on his way but does not worry; on the contrary, he is glad, because the trial to which he is subjected gives rise to hope, which aids him in his endeavour and sets him the more firmly on the path towards his true desire. I have found that, when he finds his way blocked by an obstacle, he does not worry, because it is not his fault, and he did not choose the actions that he will have to answer for. I have seen such a man be glad, when others have wished evil upon him, and be glad when has undergone some trial, and be glad, always [living] in a permanent state of joy while others are permanently the opposite. You should therefore understand that there is only one objective to strive for, it is to dispel anxiety; and only one path leads to this, and that is the service of the Most High God. Everything else is misguided and absurd.

9. Do not use your energy except for a cause more noble than yourself. Such a cause cannot be found except in * Almighty * God Himself: to preach the truth, to defend womanhood, to repel humiliation which your Creator has not imposed upon you, to help the oppressed. Anyone who uses his energy for the sake of the vanities of the world is like someone who exchanges gemstones for gravel.

10. There is no nobility in anyone who lacks faith.

11. The wise man knows that the only fitting price for his soul is a place in Paradise.

Nice to know Victoria thinks that doing good things for people has anything to do with God or prayer and not just basic human values (which are often destroyed by religion).

For over one year anonymous- i never physically touched money- i selflessly served humanity to the best of my ability and started every day at 5am praying on the beach- the whole day considited of an endless series of prayers- and they were constantly being answered-
you are saying woth your mouth that human goodness will yield the same results i imagine- but it is also a fact that the people who contributed and aided in my efforts- which were tireless sunup to way past sundown- were all repsectful of prayer and had no denigration of its obvious impact in my and others lives-

how very silly of you to try to minimize the importance of something you dont understand-

there are many many days when i would literally be filling the last bowl for the last person- down to a grain of rice the needs were provided-

i am sorry that your exeriences have left you on the outside of the value and power of prayer- but i lived it and live it today- and have seen amazing things through prayer-

i cant begin to tell you how many times ive been told that some small service was an answer to a specific prayer-

last year at this time i worked 10-12 hours a day 6 days a week in a soupkitchen and homeless shelter-(in one of the worst neighborhoods of chicago) countless times i was able to give wool blankets and clothes to many people who well could have frozen to death without them- and i can tell you that many many times i was greeted with tears and peoples declarations that they were praying id be there- (the shelter closed at 7pm- i stayed til 12 as a volunteer just for these people-)

it was prayer that inspired me to do it- no one else thought of it or was even aware it might be a need-

how dare you try and take my real and constant life experience and reduce it to some meaningless
drivel about the goodness of humanity-
its not up to you to tell me why or how i do what i do-

i havent even gotten started yet-
this is a post about prayer and no amount of nay-saying or bitter remarks will change one thing in my life-

prayer not only connects us to our creator- it connects us to each other- when there is an intention to do some good service to one of my sisters or brothers o this plnaet- ALLAH will send me to and to me other like minded prayerful associates to impact good things for those that need-- if youre wondering why youre not meeting these people in your own life- why dont you try praying- here is a testimony to the successful and real active and material responses to prayer-

there is much more on this planet than you are imagining-

i say these things to mitigate any poisons you may be planting in someones mind who reads your words

Jeff,

You stated, "It is this kind of obsessive compulsive fanaticism that leads to the type of religious extremism we see in the weak willed individuals causing the strife we see in the world today."

So you consider most of the immigrants on the Mayflower to be "weak willed"? A boat full of separatist religious wackos achieved more in 6 months than you will in a lifetime.

And let me also add that more than 60% of the food aid delivered by the American Red Cross is from donations contributed by Baptist Christians. What's your percentage?

I just wanted to clarify a misunderstanding. When Dr. Jackson mentions 17 times, he refers to the cycles within prayers. Thus, 17 cycles equals 5 times a day (morning:2, noon:4, afternoon:4, evening:3, night:4). Actually they are all together done less than an hour (45-50 minutes). Morning, evening and night prayers are mostly done before or after work. So, in a practicing Muslim's life, only prayer-breaks at work are during noon (which can be done at lunch break) and afternoon prayers. Each can be done less than 10 minutes. So, actually professional Muslims operate in their work environments without causing any trouble and/or long breaks, and maintain their efficiency as well.

While I disagree with some of the ideas and theology of Islam, ignoring God is far worse. Many people want God to disappear or refuse to realize the power of God. Instead they want a super Santa Claus, not a God that has a plan.

Life is not meant to be easy, without pain or without negative experiences. Life is meant to be lived to the fullest. You cannot live a full life without 'bad' situations. Thus, being religious and praying is not a way to avoid natural events or man-made evils. Instead, prayer is getting close to God.

---Praying 5 times a day didn't seem to help the hundreds of thousands of Asians who were swept away in the recent sunami.-----

And then they needed the GREAT SATAN and it's dollars to come to their aid.

The UK gave an amazing amount...And thankifully we aren't a Muslim nation yet.

Nice to know Victoria thinks that doing good things for people has anything to do with God or prayer and not just basic human values (which are often destroyed by religion).

funny you should say that willem, in 1987 when reagan granted amnesty to the mexican peoples and they poured into LA and built a tent city- i was in venice and over 100 homeless folks got pushed out of LA- i fed them for over a year- and also did volunteer work at the disabled american veterans-in long beacj which has the best and largest spinal cord injury gacilities in america- and hence the largest population of vets in wheelchairs- i worked for the state and took full care of a couple of vets - and all of these things were truly inspired by need and aided by prayer-
i lived at the cadillac hotel which was run by an essene who believed in what i was doing and got all the food from local stores- it was accomplished through working with the community and basically begging- with the help of 2 crazy hare krishnas who admittedly prayed morwe than worked but i couldnt have done itr without them-

not everyone who talks about prayer just talk-
some of us walk our talk-

strange opportunity to bring that up for me- any other circumstance would seem like bragging wouldnt it?
peace

Oy, what a yawner. Bring back the Woody Allen nebish Rabbi.

Thank you.

PRAYING IS FOR THE INSANE.LETS FACE AND ACCEPT IT SHE (GOD/JESUS) JUST DOES NOT EXIST. ITS ALL A SCAM RUN BY MONEYHUNGRY HOMOPHOBIC PREACHERS. GET A LIFE AND BELIEVE IN YOURSELF FORGET ALL THE HOKUS POKUS AND IF YOU WANT TO DO SOME GOOD JUST IN LOS ANGELES WE DO HAVE 55000 HOMELESS PERSONS ON THE STREETS AND MANY OF THEM ARE VETERANS THEY NEED FOOD AND HOUSING NOW PRAYER WONT KEEP THEM FROM HUNGER!

A SALAAMU ALAIKUM BROTHER JACKSON- You have really given me inspiration in your breakdown of Al-Fatiha-
you have beautifully elucidated the balance of gratitude and recognition of the creator juxtaposed against our own responsibility to repay and be cognizant of our own cosmic debts- (clearly something we can aspire to but unlikely we can actually repay- blessedly we have a most forgiving creator)
i am honestly blown away by your interpertation and will save it for my own contemplation.

JAZAKALAKHAIRUM BROTHER

Praying 5 times a day didn't seem to help the hundreds of thousands of Asians who were swept away in the recent sunami.
The funny thing is that the lucky ones who didn't get swept away continue to pray 5 times a day facing Mecca.
It's a funny old world.

So, let me see here.

All good Muslims pray this prayer 17 times a day.

THEN, some of those same good Muslims fold up their prayer rug, walk outside, put on their shoes, grab their gun and their drill and proceed to kill the nearest "OTHER" Muslim and perhaps drill a hole in the back of their head JUST TO REMIND THEM of what they did to some other Muslim cleric sometime in the past.

A truly dark sickness.

I've read the Koran. A truly mysinogynic, anal, bloviated and violent interpretation of some voice in the poor man's head. Much like our own Mormon religion, only much older and much more intent on using violence as control.

Can you see why this woman just doesn't get ANY of the "goodness" of this obviously dysfunctional religion?

Leaves MUCH to interpretation, it seems - and THERE'S the rub.

If I screamed at a tree at least 17 times a day because I felt I owed a debt to it, I would considered insane and committed... but since this person calls this habitual act praying, it is no longer considered a pathological condition and passes as faith.

It is this kind of obsessive compulsive fanaticism that leads to the type of religious extremism we see in the weak willed individuals causing the strife we see in the world today.

If people were allowed to live without being brow-beaten about how they owe their lives to some here-to-for unseen cosmic deity, the world would indeed be a much more peaceful place.

I’ll pray for that day to come.

----American Learning Institute for Muslims----

Contradiction in terms?

----The great Spanish Muslim, Ibn Hazm-------

Excuse me?? Is this one of the great Muslims who invaded Spain?
And to think you call a 'Crusader'...great!

----Beyond this, however, there is a canonical prayer (salah) that I offer at least seventeen times a day--------

Excuse me??
I guess you don't have a proper job like the rest of us then!
And I thought smokers were crafty with their downtime.
I think I'll take up this religion business so I can nearly 20 breaks a day!

Boring.Very boring.

Boring......

Professor Jackson,

The Buddha also spoke of the basic condition of all beings: that life is "unsatisfactory" [dukka], often mistranslated as "suffering."

The Buddha taught how to end this existential unsatisfactoriness or suffering.

This does not require the existence of a God, and particularly not of the Abrahamic sort [i.e., the "Ignorant Demiurge", as the Cathars called Yahweh, the deluded and evil lesser deity who created the earth and thought he was the Ultimate Godhead] promoted by Islam, Judaism and Christianity.

The Buddha also taught compassion for all beings (not just humans). This great virtue has often been absenct in the pronouncements of the three Abrahamic religions.

If you were to become a Buddhist, you could attain all that you seek through your religious rituals in a simpler amd more effective way.

I will meditate for your advancement to the Buddha's path to enlightenment.

Om Mani Padme Hum.