Faith
I know my fellow conservatives- many of them- have a huge problem with Islam in general. But I love images of devotion, religiosity and piety in general. Even being the non-religious person that I am. Personally, I see beauty in the top photo. I know that may horrify some of my readers.
Tough.
Shiites pray during Friday prayers in Kadhimiyah, in northern Baghdad. Iraqis, bitterly divided along sectarian lines and reeling from a brutal insurgency, await US report that could signal exit by American troops Ali Yussef, AFP/Getty Images
Ultra-Orthodox Jews pray at the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site in Jerusalem's Old city. The two-day festival of Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the Jewish new year and begins at sunset.
Pilgrims light candles and pray during mass at Krastova Gora in the Rhodope mountain region of Bulgaria.Petar Petrov - AP
An Israeli soldier stands near Palestinian worshipers waiting to cross the checkpoint near Bethlehem to pray at the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Hundreds of Palestinians thronged two major West Bank checkpoints, trying to reach the Islamic shrine on the first Friday of Ramadan, despite tight Israeli restrictions.
Kevin Freyer - AP
(Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times
An officer of the Palestinian national security force reads the Quran in a mosque, on the second day of Ramadan, in teh West Bank town of Jenin. Mohammed Ballas, AP
Tough.
Shiites pray during Friday prayers in Kadhimiyah, in northern Baghdad. Iraqis, bitterly divided along sectarian lines and reeling from a brutal insurgency, await US report that could signal exit by American troops Ali Yussef, AFP/Getty Images
Ultra-Orthodox Jews pray at the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site in Jerusalem's Old city. The two-day festival of Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the Jewish new year and begins at sunset.
Jewish worshippers pray during Rosh Hashanah at the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site, in Jerusalem's Old City, September 12, 2007. Before the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year which starts at sundown Wednesday, observant Jews say special prayers early in the morning asking forgiveness for the sins committed in the year passed.
REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
Pilgrims light candles and pray during mass at Krastova Gora in the Rhodope mountain region of Bulgaria.Petar Petrov - AP
An Israeli soldier stands near Palestinian worshipers waiting to cross the checkpoint near Bethlehem to pray at the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Hundreds of Palestinians thronged two major West Bank checkpoints, trying to reach the Islamic shrine on the first Friday of Ramadan, despite tight Israeli restrictions.Kevin Freyer - AP
(Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times
An officer of the Palestinian national security force reads the Quran in a mosque, on the second day of Ramadan, in teh West Bank town of Jenin. Mohammed Ballas, AP
posted by The WordSmith from Nantucket at 9/14/2007 12:38:00 AM
12 Comments:
I'm with you, Wordsmith. Well said.
When my husband was in Iraq he saw some really beautiful mosques, from the outside, of course!
Great photos. What's with all the buzzards flying around in the top one?
Skul
I don't think the TOP photo strikes fear in conservatives, I think it elicits skepticism and anger from Conservatives, the peaceful picture would be great if they didn't get up and strap on a bomb vest.
For me, I see hypocrisy of the religion of peace, I see a bunch of guys that believe more in death than life, I see a group of people devoted more to their religion than humanity, I see at least 7 future terrorists, and one or two possible Immams that will make terrorists out of others...
I would have less of a hatred of the Muslim clan if they would pitch in and help control their so-called fringe element.
The other pictures are far less offensive for some reason....
I haven't got a problem with Muslims or Jews praying.
Though I did wonder about the birds too.
Though I know it's necessary in both cases, I was more struck by those who had to bring weaponry to the worship. I'd like to believe that one's spiritual life could offer a short respite from the need, but unfortunately, that isn't the case in too many places.
Personally, I see beauty in the top photo. I know that may horrify some of my readers.
Since Wordsmith apparently has the ability to see beauty in the worship of evil, I'm sure he'll also be able to see the beauty of this photograph as well.
anon (2nd one),
Thanks for the religious bigotry.
It's thanks to cretins such as yourself that give credence to the claims of civil rights abuse or persecution and prejudice by Muslims in this country. And it does nothing to advance the war on Islamic terror by attacking the whole of the faith.
the peaceful picture would be great if they didn't get up and strap on a bomb vest.
bushwack, what makes you assume that these Shiites are homicide bombers?
Anonymous (Skul),
Those look like pigeons.
WordSmith,
As a religious Christian, I don't find the photos offensive. Devotion has its beauty.
What I had trouble with (as a conservative who is paranoid about media bias) was the caption for the first photo. The second sentence ("Iraqis, bitterly divided along sectarian lines and reeling from a brutal insurgency, await US report that could signal exit by American troops") makes it sound like these Shiites are praying for the exit of American troops. The author can't know what all those men are praying for. It smacks of agenda-driven journalism. Annoying.
skyepuppy,
That might be; but sometimes I think we've become so jaded by MSM, that we find it where it's not present.
I dunno...my own take was just that the captioner saw Shiites in prayer, and the need for peace, by whatever means.
Petraeus' reporting to Congress is a historic event; one that will set its mark and influence on the shape and course of history.
It's thanks to cretins such as yourself that give credence to the claims of civil rights abuse or persecution and prejudice by Muslims in this country.
There is no substance to this claim. I am merely pointing out that the people in the first picture are worshipping evil. If Wordsmith should consider Mohammad's alter ego (which is what's being worshipped here, after all) to be benign, that says more about Wordsmith than me.
And it does nothing to advance the war on Islamic terror by attacking the whole of the faith.
Apparently, Wordsmith does not realize (or want to realize) that the whole faith is in fact evil, and if we were to wage a war on Islamic terror (which we in fact are not), then we should attack the whole of the faith.
sami abdallah/Abdullah Shaikh/anonymous,
We've already hashed this out. Attacking the whole religion of Islam says more about you than about Islam. And you do more harm than good by attacking it. Should we just declare war on the whole entire faith? Should we bomb Mecca and Medina?
Should we just declare war on the whole entire faith? Should we bomb Mecca and Medina?
No, what we should do is to halt all Muslim immigration and gradually deport Muslims who already live in our societies. The reason we should do this is not because Muslims may be bad human beings, but because we realize that Muslims belong to a religion that is fundamentally incompatible with, and indeed hostile and dangerous to, our Western societies.
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