Synopsis: When Yasir breaks Thorne’s Jesus statue, he tries to replace it before he’s discovered. But the replacement Jesus is not quite what he expects and Thorne tries to use Yasir’s mistake to turn the town against the Muslims. And when Rayyan criticizes Baber’s parenting, he sends Layla to live with her. Forced to deal with a difficult teenager, Rayyan realizes parenting is harder than it looks.
Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3:
Videos courtesy of Mydien
What did you think of this episode? How does it compare to the previous episode? Are there any topics from the episode that you want to discuss?
Little Experiences ... 
Even with a black Priest most Catholics would still find a “black Jesus” pretty offensive. Catholics are pretty set in their ways and I believe it would cause quite a commotion within the Parish.
Historically of course Jesus was neither white nor black but instead probably brown.
Yeah, the parish would be upset. Unless the parish is mostly black but given this is Mercy even if the church is not in Mercy but somewhere near there the likelihood is that it wouldn’t be a mostly black church.
They would accept a black priest. After all they wouldn’t want to seem racist and judge someone solely on the basis of their skin color.
But then he puts a black Jesus in the church? It would make people think, perhaps we were wrong not judging him on the basis of his skin color. What is he trying to change the church into? Is he going to turn it into some radical parish? Is he some type of Rev Wright?
Is he going to start having us dance in the aisles and shout Amen all the time? Sorry that’s not the Catholic way.
It wouldn’t be so much that Jesus is Black, but what the intention behind having a Black Jesus would be for the Priest. There would be concern about the Priest’s ideology.
Historically portrayals of Jesus has been Him as being white. Indeed that is probably inaccurate but that’s the tradition and Catholics are big on tradition.
An “historically accurate” Jesus (one portraying Him as Brown) would take a lot getting used to and like I said Catholics are big on tradition. But perhaps a parish could get used to it. But one portraying Him as Black is as historically inaccurate as those that portray Him as White but there’s not the tradition of portraying Him as Black so it would be correctly seen as the priest trying to make some political statement which would be unwelcome in most parishes.
As a Catholic I wouldn’t have a problem with a Black Jesus if I was visiting Africa but otherwise, yeah I would have a problem. I would be wondering what kind of radical political statement the Priest was trying to make.
Catholics are big on tradition and there’s a long cultural history of portraying Jesus as white. Now a brown Jesus would be hard to get used to but at least I could think well that’s probably historically accurate. But a Black Jesus? Unless it was in a predominantly black community, I could not see it as anything other than a radical political statement and yeah it would make me seek out a less radical Catholic church.
Now a Black Priest I wouldn’t have any problem with him being Black. I would have a problem with any radical political priest regardless of colour.
Colour isn’t important when it comes to Priests but upholding a certain degree of tradition is. After all, we are Catholics. We don’t get out of our seats and dance and scream out Amen, Hallelujah! That’s not how we roll.
Best line of this show – “What would a church be without Jesus?”
“Unitarian!”
Hilarious!!!
I was sceptical about the introduction of Thorne, but this episode was fantastic — the best in a long while, I think. I wonder how long Layla will stay with Rayaan?!
It was insulting to Christianity.
But the CBC knows it can get away with it because who has ever heard of the Pope issuing a Fatwa. At least not in the last few centuries.
Too bad Christianity is too weak these days to fight back.
This audio program kind of talks about this. It’s the second subject he talks about on his radio show.
[audio src="http://a1135.g.akamai.net/f/1135/18227/1h/cchannel.download.akamai.com/18227/podcast/DESMOINES-IA/WHO-AM/deace%20doesnt%20understand%20110609.mp3" /]
Kinda like how V had a Jesus smashed in its first episode a few weeks ago, or 2012? 3 Jesuses smashed in one week on TV! The Horror!
Source: http://www.cbc.ca/littlemosque/blog/2009/11/broken_statues.html
But isn’t that exactly my point. I can go into many other cases of “Jesus Bashing” and not only statues. South Park for example. The University of Oregon Student newspaper “Gay drawings”and I can even go as far back as Maplethorpe’s crucifix in urine photo.
But still too wrongs don’t equal a right or in this cause many many wrongs doesn’t give people a pass.
I am glad that the show thought very carefully before breaking the Jesus statue, but at the end they did decide to break it. And while it was wrong for V to do what they did and for 2012 to do what they did (which I have mentioned here several times) how does them doing wrong give Little Mosque on the Prairie a green light to do wrong as well.
“V” is an American show.
2012 is an American movie.
SO, why is a Canadian justifying his actions by using American morality.
I thought Little Mosque on the Prairie was supposed to be DIFFERENT than the rest of the stuff out there. I though it was supposed to promote tolerance towards all religion.
Instead they justify their actions by saying “well others do it as well”.
A very lame excuse indeed.
I have watched “V” and I do sense an anti-religion theme in it.
Here is something I read at the CBC’s own blog regarding this subject.
Source:
http://www.cbc.ca/littlemosque/blog/2009/11/broken_statues.html
Dear Producers of “Little Mosque on the Prairie”;
Greetings. I saw the episode in which you “smashed a Jesus.” You can be sure that some viewers were offended by this plot line and perhaps personally discouraged. The only question is why they did not write to you. I don’t know, but here are a few guesses.
Perhaps the offended viewers were–as you put it–startled. Your program is one of the few in the western world which is associated with Islam. Its creator is a Muslim. During the past few years Canadians have come to know that Muslims have a sensitivity about the depiction of religious figures. What then is the viewer to make of a “Little Mosque” episode in which the opposite is displayed?
In 2006 when the Danish cartoons controversy first broke, the standard line in news reports was that Muslims were strictly against images of not only the messenger of Islam, but of all prophets. So what can it mean to not only portray an image, but to smash it? Could it be that some viewers were truly dumbstruck?
Secondly, if offended viewers complained on your site, what kind of hearing could they hope to gain? You write that you made the decision to “smash a Jesus” with “a great deal of care and conversation.” Had you not already considered possible objections, but found them not worthwhile?
Thirdly, since “Little Mosque” is a comedy, those who are offended are at a disadvantage from the start. Many onlookers who have no particular interest in religion might say, “Can’t you take a joke?” The offended are made to look like spoil-sports–in fact like the real offenders. Few Canadians will now take a chance on this.
However, giving offense to religious feelings does not appear to be an equal-opportunity activity in Canada, especially at the CBC. In February 2006 CBC News posted a letter by Editor in Chief Tony Burman, titled, “Cartoons and religion: Why CBC News drew the line.” Burman first stated that “Islam forbids depictions not only of their Prophet but of all Deities, whether of the Christian or Jewish faiths. To do otherwise is to mock and ridicule the faith.”
Burman then defended the CBC’s decision not to publish the Danish cartoons: “This was intended, without embarrassment, as an act of respect not only for Islam but for all religions. Why should we insult and upset an important part of our audience for absolutely no public value?”
People who revere Jesus as divine Lord, Messiah and Saviour make up a substantial part of the CBC audience. Does the CBC show a comparable respect for the feelings of these viewers? Does the smashing of Jesus on “Little Mosque” communicate this concern?
[There is another aspect to this discussion which the CBC has evidently not taken into account. Muslims do not officially claim that Muhammad was divine. By contrast, Christians have consistently claimed the deity of Jesus since the beginning of their faith, and it is a central teaching of their scriptures.]
With public discourse skewed in this way, is it any wonder that offended viewers would decline to post a comment on the “Little Mosque” blog?
But there is one other possibility for the lack of response. It appears in the extensive and very interesting discussion under Tony Burman’s 2006 letter. A woman in Vernon, B.C. posted the following comment.
“The Messiah allowed people to spit on Him, beat Him, and hang Him on a wooden cross. His words from the cross were, ‘Father forgive them for they know not what they do.’ He said we are to love our enemies….Love is more powerful than violence.”
“We must not allow anyone to limit freedom of speech or the press with threats of violence.”
From offended viewers such as this you have nothing to fear!
Thanks for a creative and humorous series,
Gordon Nickel, PhD (Islamic Studies)
Vancouver
Posted by: Gordon Nickel | November 20, 2009 01:38 PM
Is Mulsim Mafia Infiltrating U.S.?
The answer to that question is yes according to a former military investigator who served his country in the Middle East.
[audio src="http://a1135.g.akamai.net/f/1135/18227/1h/cchannel.download.akamai.com/18227/podcast/DESMOINES-IA/WHO-AM/david%20gaubatz.mp3" /]
I was shocked when I saw the Christian symbol destroyed like that. And then the talk about Jesus bobble heads and how Thorne was using Jesus’s finger.
I thought this show was supposed to be about tolerance between religions but it seems to have turned into a weekly Christian bashing fest.
The CBC would never disrespect Islam the way it disrespects Christianity!
A plaster Jesus? Really? Thicken your skin a bit, you’ll live longer.
Actually the CBC has disrespected Islam. But that’s not the point right now.
I am Muslim and I was also dissapointed with this episode. Jesus is very very important to Christians and he is also one of the most prominent prophets in Islam. It was very disrespectful when Yasir kept repeating, “I killed Jesus”– especially because in the Muslim faith, we do not believe Jesus was killed at all.
Even Laylaa, who is Muslim, calls the hijab a plastic bag. This episode was insulting to both Christians and Muslims alike.
I hope this is just an exception to the rest of the season…
Peace to all
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/religion/6717563.html
The U.S. government on Thursday moved to seize more than $500 million in assets from a New York-based foundation accused of being a front for the Iranian government, including a building that houses the Islamic Education Center of Houston.
The news provoked confusion and anger among Houston’s Shia Muslims, many of whom worship at the center’s mosque or send their children to an Islamic school that occupies the same large white building
Oh for goodness’ sake. AS A CHRISTIAN, there was nothing “insulting to Christianity” about this show. It wasn’t Jesus, it was a statue. You people do know the difference between statues and real people, don’t you?
Or should I say, you single Islamophobic person with multiple sock puppets.
Bronwen, I couldn’t have put it better myself.
The true Islamophobes are those who are afraid to insult Muslims.
The CBC is afraid to insult Muslims. That’s why they gave them their own show.
And this episode was offensive to Christians.
Wrong times three.
People don’t say Islamophobic things, not because they’re “afraid” to insult Muslims but because it is wrong to say Islamophobic things at all. Muslims don’t scare me at all. Islamophobes do.
The CBC ran this show because it was a good concept, not out of any fear of insulting Muslims.
And this episode did not offend lil lifelong Christian me ONE IOTA.
Do you enjoy showing your ass in public? Is that why you continually do so?
Don’t feed the troll guys. =]
This troll doesn’t need feeding Nahida.
True. =(
the way the idea of jesus was portrayed in this show was offensive to Christianity but also to islam. a prophet of god should not be the center of a few stupid jokes and laughs
Again, it wasn’t Jesus who was the butt of the jokes here. It was the breaking of a statue and the fear that the person who was believed to own the statue would then bring retribution; only to find out that that person didn’t own the statue at all, but someone else did.
Humour 101. You fail.
It’s not Jesus! It’s a statue that’s supposed to be depicting Jesus. Is the statue itself holy? Do you worship idols? Why does it even exist if everyone is going be so offended that it breaks? What if there’s a fire?
It’s not only the breaking of the statue but the jokes made about Jesus.
One should respect anything dealing with Jesus. When one doesn’t it shows a general disrespect for Christianity.
But since the Pope doesn’t issue Fatwas I guess it’s okay to insult Christianity.
Nahida I have to agree with Cindy about the whole Thorne with the finger of Jesus thing.
Didn’t you find that the least bit offensive being that for you he was at least a prophet?
That whole show was an insult to Christianity. Making jokes about Jesus isn’t cool but because it doesn’t automatically result in a death warrant I guess the CBC is okay with insulting Christianity.
Let’s see if they ever make Mohammad (pbuh) jokes. I highly doubt it. Or even an episode where a Koran is accidentally destroyed by Thorne.
People may think I am anti-Muslim but that can’t be further than the truth. I am against a certain segment of the Muslim population but at the same time perhaps Islam can be the salvation of America.
There is no doubt a Culture war going on in our society and when Muslims realize what side they should be on then it would really help to have committed spiritual people fighting the denigration of Western society.
I really respect the commitment of Muslims to their religion. And I don’t say that out of fear for my personal safety. It comes from my heart.
Btw, Layla made me roll my eyes so many times in this episode. Talking to a guy is one thing. Bringing him into the house when he’s the type to throw an enormous party “when no one is home” is another.
I have to admit, for me it was a welcome twist that there was some genuine “teenage rebellion” going on there — it makes Baber even more believable as a character that he’s not just a complete reactionary getting uptight about nothing.
Bronwen define “Islamophobic”. That is such a made up Politically Correct term.
People don’t insult Muslims because they are “afraid of them”. They insult Muslims because they don’t like them.
Islamophobe means one with an irrational fear and hatred of Muslims. For an illustration, look in a mirror.
“Politically correct,” when used by one such as you, means “I do not want to examine my privilege.”
After what happened at Ft Hood I don’t see such a fear being “irrational”.
Or I would call it not “fear” but legitimate concern.
Just like when I cross a busy street you can’t say I have a “fear” but I have a recognization of the danger that is being presented and I am concerned to take appropriate steps to limit the danger.
Muslims don’t scare me at all. Islamophobes do.
Fifteen people died a few weeks back by a guy shouting “Allahu Akbar”.
Now I don’t blame ALL Muslims for that but one has to admit that there are problems within the Muslim community.
Political Correctness killed those people as much as Islam did. Political Correctness has made us stupid by preventing us from seeing what is right in our faces.
Yeah, well, a few months ago a doctor who had devoted his life to women’s health was shot dead in his house of worship by a Christian extremist. I don’t wanna blame ALL Christians for that, but yanno, obviously there are problems in the Christian community. What with that and the Catholics and Protestants and their issues in Northern Ireland, my God, Christianity is a complete shambles!
For definition of “political correctness,” please see above.
It’s not Jesus! It’s a statue that’s supposed to be depicting Jesus. Is the statue itself holy?
Nahida, Muslims are ones to talk.
No they don’t make statues and in fact promote violence against anyone who would dare to do that.
BUT, look at how you treat your Korans. Oh, Oh better not get any fingerprints on it. I guess you think that Allah must physically be in the pages of them. You treat the paper and ink itself as holy.
False cognate. Nice try though.
What might be equivalent in Christianity to the Qur’an in Islam is, possibly, a relic of a saint. Or something believed to be a piece of the one true cross. I can guarantee you that neither will be disrespected in an episode of Little Mosque on the Prairie.
What might be considered equivalent, in Islam, to a statue of Jesus, would be a piece of furniture in their mosque. A carpet, perhaps, or a barrier. And guess what?! Omigod, BOTH have been mocked on this show. The barrier, in the episode by the same name, started out life as boarding in an ice rink, prompting the jibe from Rayaan, “Kinda hard to contribute when we’re in the penalty box.” As for the carpets, when Thorne was asked to take his shoes off to enter the mosque, he joked, “Yeah, you want to protect your investment, there must be what? $10 worth of carpets here?”
Oh, and as long as we’re talking about things that are offensive to Muslims, let’s check just about every thing Thorne has said, shall we? “Death squads”? Al Quaida “taking its share”? Or how about Fred, saying that, like pirates, Muslims have “insatiable blood lust”?
You are so blinded by your own privilege that you scream blue bloody murder about jokes about Christianity, which, in a non-Muslim themed show, would pass you straight by; yet don’t even notice the million and offensive and malignant remarks stated daily about Muslims throughout the West, even when a show like this reminds you of them.
You make me sick.
Win.
What if there’s a fire?
Then either some brave parishioner would risk his or her life to save the statue.
OR
Perhaps the statue would miraculously survive the fire and it would be seen as divine intervention. Then people would come from miles away to pray at the foot of the statue and ask for prayers of healing.
To whoever has Cindy as a sock puppet: good joke!
Nahida, here is a good idea for an upcoming episode.
Thorne is on the phone talking. He needs to write something down and he absentmindedly writes it on the nearest thing to him which unfortunately happens to be Amaar’s Koran.
The rest of the show contains all kinds of jokes about the Koran. Hilarity ensues.
False cognate. Statues of Jesus are not revered in Christianity the way the holy Qur’an is in Islam.
You lose. Again.
Nothing Christian is revered in Western Society anymore.
The reason Islamic things are so revered is out of fear.
They are the true Islamphobes.
Just like that director in the movie 2012 who destroys all kinds of Christian sites but not Mecca (although he said he would like to) out of fear of becoming the next Salman Rushdie.
Perhaps people would revere Christianity more if the Pope started issuing Fatwas. It seems to work for Islam.
How about an episode where Thorne walks around the Mosque WITH HIS SHOES ON!
Now that would be an interesting episode wouldn’t it!
It would be a level of disrespect for religion unprecedented in the show so far. Neither Christianity nor Islam has been or ever would be disrespected like that in LMOTP.
You are an idiot. I’m done here.
Thanks for saving me the time Bronwen.
Oh, Oh better not get any fingerprints on it. I guess you think that Allah must physically be in the pages of them. You treat the paper and ink itself as holy.
Better not get any fingerprints on it? I’m going straight to Hell….
US Soldiers at Gitmo have to wear gloves if they have to touch a prisoner’s Koran.
First of all, it was one person, not Islam who committed the crime. I don’t think anyone should have anything against Muslims. Christians have done things in the past- does everyone have a grudge against them? No. Why? Because this is a Christian ruled nation. Again, you have nothing to be against.
Secondly, the Quran is equivalent to the Bible in Christianity. Nothing different, just a different manual. Think of it this way:
A camera comes with a manual. You need the manual to learn how to use the camera- in order to use it the right way and not to break it or misuse it. Once you know how to use the camera, you don’t need the manual anymore. But you can sometimes look back into it if you need help or guidance.
The camera is the religion, the manual is the holy book. There are different types of cameras. Sony, Polaroid, and Olympus. Let’s say Sony is Islam. if one Sony camera breaks or does something wrong, that doesn’t mean that Sony is a bad brand, it’s the fault of the person who broke it. The problem is that Sony is only known for the camera that broke. Nobody puts a good review for Sony, so people only know what is bad. In truth, it’s not bad at all, it was that one camera, not the brand.
Same goes for Christianity and all the other religions of the world.
My point is, If one person does something wrong, it’s not the fault of the entire religion.
I hope this was of help.
The person did it IN THE NAME OF ISLAM.
“Allahu Akbar”
Christians who commit crimes don’t usually do it in the name of Christianity. Even in Northern Ireland the issue is usually one of nationalism.
And I don’t blame all Muslims for the act. I blame a certain segment of the Muslim community. And this Nidal Malik Hasan was associating with people from that segment of the Muslim community.
Not only that he was making anti-American statements.
Say that there were a guy in the Military talking about the Oklahoma Bombings in a favourable light, talking about how McVey was right in what he did. And he was meeting with a white supremacist leader.
Do you think if the FBI knew that the guy would still be in the Military?
But, no, because of political correctness, they didn’t remove Hasan even though the red flags were everywhere. No one who knew of him were surprised that he acted the way he did.
You think I only blame the American Muslim community. Well, there’s a segment of the American public that I blame as much if not much than the segment of the Muslim community in America (only a segment not the whole American Muslim community). And that is the political correct liberals in America (mostly white) who are responsible for tying our hands and making us be stupid.
“Arab” looking people in Texas at flight schools learning how to fly but not real concerned about the landing part – BIG Red Flag and shouldn’t have just been ignored by the FBI.
Muslim Guy in the army making anti-American statements – duh, get him the hell out of the military.
Common sense goes out of the window when political correctness blinds people to the obvious. And literally thousands have died as a result.
Both 9-11 and the Ft Hood shootings could have easily been prevented by a sane society not crippled by the disease of political correctness.
She was talking about the statue dude.
In Oklahoma City a few days ago a devout Catholic doctor with a history of psychiactric problems decided that the devil was in his 9-yo son and he stabbed him to death. Gee, doesn’t that doctor sound just like the Fort Hood shooter? So don’t think you have some great logic here. There are plenty of mentally ill people in the world who adopt a “religious” stance as they go down into insanity.
I’d also like to add that the manuals are different for every brand. A Sony camera will not work with an Olypus manual, and vice versa. They are different. But sometimes the cameras are similar or even the same in some ways. Perhaps the buttons are placed in the same place or they have similar features. Of course the brands will be against each other, trying to get more buyers than the other, but if you think about it, we’re not all so different and the world would be a better place if all the cameras could cooperate. 🙂
lol thats one crazy metaphor…
anyway i do agree that this is atually one of the best episodes ina long while..
i love layla…i hope she’s in a few more episodes 🙂
So glad that Rev. Thorne has had the tables turned on him!
It’s like if law enforcement was supposed to investigate organized crime BUT were not allowed to investigate anyone from the Italian-American community or go anywhere where the Italian-Americans hung out.
Now not all Italian-Americans are part of crime families, but there is a segment of the Italian-American community that is.
Just like there is a segment of the Islamic community in America who’s sympathies are with the terrorist and who give them aid and comfort and sometimes even commit acts of terror on their behalf.
She was talking about the statue dude.
ok nvm idunno if she was. But regardless, the guy was obviously crazy, and certainly crazy enough to not know what Islam was really teaching him. The fact that you would credit what he said before he did what he did just shows you take the ramblings of a mad idiot seriously. Which also says something about YOU… but I’ll let you figure that out.
But he got encouragement from the Islamic Community in America. Namely from that radical Imam.
Now I know not all the Muslims in America are like that but indeed there’s a segment out there that IS like that. You need to recognize that and fight it because it does tend to give you all a bad name.
Hmm, Steve. Who is the “Islamic Community in America”? You capitalized that too, as if its an organization? You obviously don’t know anything about Muslim Americans because if you did you would know that, capitals or none, there is essentially no such thing. If you mean to imply that there is a significant segment of the population who did or would encourage such an act, again, you are blatantly speculating rather than acting on evidence and knowledge. It has been widely reported that that guy was a loner and did not have relationships with, well, anyone. And the “radical imam” is in Yemen, not the US, and during the time he was in the US he did not publically express any radical views.
You also speak about our alleged responsibility to “fight it” as if we even know who these people are. If you read the histories of these people you see that they do not tell anyone what they are planning. They exist entirely in their own sphere, they are secretive, loners, not even very religious people (recall that, like the Ft. Hood shooter, the 9/11 hijackers frequented strip clubs and displayed poor understandings of basic Islamic teachings). Just because they showed up in a mosque, prayed and left doesn’t mean that anyone really knew them. So again you are displaying extreme ignorance about the issues here. There is no community acceptance of people like this because they are quite simply not a part of our communitieS (note that is plural there– for a reason.)
In the few cases where FBI “agent provocateurs” have showed up in mosques in the US openly advocating violence, the congregations have turned them in.
After it’s established that he’s insane from all his glorified views of suicide bombers it shouldn’t matter if he did it “IN THE NAME OF ISLAM.” As if he even knows…
and
“Christians who commit crimes don’t usually do it in the name of Christianity.”
Hell yeah they do.
Not anymore.
Are you still hung up on the Crusades?
“not anymore”
bwahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
Seriously? You really believe that?
Recent abortion doctor killing ring a bell? How about the doctor in Oklahoma City (see above) who killed his own kid? How about the white supremacist who gunned down some people at the Holocaust museum (yes, he used Christianity as his ‘justification’). Branch Davidians?
Also,
The person did it IN THE NAME OF ISLAM.
“Allahu Akbar”
No he didn’t. He did it in the name of God.
He used the Islamic battle cry.
“battle cry”?
Crap, Steve, you’re a moron! That’s not a “battle cry” it’s a common prayer!
“But still too wrongs don’t equal a right ”
I meant two wrongs of course.
http://www.cbc.ca/littlemosque/blog/2009/11/broken_statues.html
Yeah, Christianity is being attacked big time out there but at the same time the true Islamphobes out there are afraid to attack Islam.
Perhaps if the Pope issued Fatwas there would be fewer broken Jesus statues on TV and on movies.
Recent abortion doctor killing ring a bell? How about the doctor in Oklahoma City (see above) who killed his own kid? How about the white supremacist who gunned down some people at the Holocaust museum (yes, he used Christianity as his ‘justification’). Branch Davidians?
Not to mention the very recent (and probably still current) witch hunts in Africa…
He used the Islamic battle cry.
Thanks m for clearing up that it isn’t a battle cry, along with everything else. I’d like to add it isn’t completely *Islamic* either. Arab Christians and Jews use it. In those regions it’s used slowly, to express grief when something goes wrong.
It is a battle cry and it is what practically every Islamic terrorist says before shooting up a place or blowing himself up.
M said,
There is no community acceptance of people like this because they are quite simply not a part of our communitieS (note that is plural there– for a reason.)
I assume the plural is due to you saying that their is no one Muslim community but there are many diverse ones.
So, isn’t it fair for me to hate one Muslim community without hating all Muslim communities or the Islamic Religion itself.
It is most likely you are not part of the type of Islamic communities in the West that hates the West and wants to bring it down, but this communities do exist and they are a threat to all of us.
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4§ion=0&article=128685&d=21&m=11&y=2009
One of those testifying was Gen. Jack Keane, former Army Vice Chief of Staff, who was a commander at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina in 1996, when a pair of racially motivated murders rocked the base and prompted a full review of the Army’s anti-extremist policies.
An investigation found that skinheads and neo-Nazis had infiltrated the ranks. In the end, Keane recalled, 21 soldiers were kicked out of the service. New regulations now specifically address racially motivated behavior, he said. “We will find that our policies will need revision again, to account for specific behaviors and attitudes expressed by Islamic extremists,” he said.
“This is not about Muslims and their religion… nor is it about the 10,000 Muslims in the military who are, quite frankly, not seen as Muslims but as soldiers, sailors and airmen,” Keane said, but then added: “This is fundamentally about jihadist extremism, which is at odds with the values of America.”
—-
This is a good start but of course too late for the 15 people who lost their lives in an act that could have easily been prevented.
These communities do exist and they are a threat to all of us.
Especially to other Muslims because these communities tarnish all Muslims.
At least one Muslim Community in America, in New York no less knew that 9-11 was going to happen.
That is unless you think it’s just a coincidence that a boy pointed out his school window at the Twin Towers and told the teacher that next week it wouldn’t be there (a week before the attack).
That’s not saying all Muslim Communities knew but at least the Muslim community that boy was part of did.
He was an immigrant no less.
He disappeared back from where he came from shortly after the attacks.
We can blame political correctness and our lax immigration laws for 9-11. After all several of the hijackers had expired VISAS
The problem isn’t really with Muslims but with Muslim immigrants.
Yeah, we like to talk about how America is an immigrant nation and how immigrants built America and all of that. We don’t like to talk so much about the problems they bring.
Sure we gain strength from the cultures they bring with them, at least we did when America was still a melting pot, but any culture isn’t perfect and while immigrants brought good things with them they also brought negative things as well.
Part of Italian culture was unfortunately “the Black Hand” later known as the Mafia. Now not all Italians were part of that and Italians as a whole have contributed to America, but a great number of Italian immigrants were part of the Mafia culture and that harmed America throughout the 20th century.
Now not all Muslim immigrants are part of the culture of jihadist extremism, but indeed many come to America with their own agendas, their own baggage as it were. And the problem with these Immigrants like the Italians of the early 20th century is that they tend to live in insular communities so it is hard for law enforcement to get a handle on what they are about.
In many ways the situation with Muslim immigrants does mirror that of the problems we had in the early 20th century with the Italians.
One of the things I would like to see is Layla convert to Christianity.
Not because I see Christianity as a better religion but because one of the criticisms of Muslims is if someone does convert from Islam that person is killed.
It would be neat to see Layla do that but not be killed by Barber.
Perhaps they could have another episode where she converts back.
There’s one major difference between the Italian Immigrants and a segment of the Muslim ones.
The Mafia didn’t want to destroy America.
Now I am not saying that overall the Mafia was good for America. It wasn’t. It corrupted our system. Innocent people often died when they would make war among themselves, and of course they killed a President.
But ironically they were patriotic Americans when it came to foreign threats.
It was the mafia who kept NAZI spies/saboteurs away from our harbors.
But of course these jihadists come with the goal of destroying America.
For the Mafia it was “just business”. Again, not trying to praise them but comparing the two the Mafia at was semi patriotic perhaps because they knew for them destroying America is “bad for business”.
We still have organized crime today. For all we know they might have stopped several terrorist attacks using their own resources for destroying America is still “bad for business” for them.
Not all Muslims in North America are the “Little Mosque” type. There are bad Muslims out there who we need to be concerned about.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/nov/22/islamic-center-in-maryland-keeps-ties-to-iran/
A Potomac, Md., Islamic center maintains links to Iran despite its claims that it is independent of a foundation that is being sued by the U.S. government on charges of funneling money to the Islamic republic.
Ali Mohammadi, the current manager of the Islamic Education Center (IEC) of Maryland, told The Washington Times that the center’s only relationship to the Alavi Foundation is that of tenant to landlord. He quoted a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office as saying that forfeiture proceedings initiated earlier this month against the foundation – which also owns property in New York and other states – would not affect tenants of the foundation.
However, Mr. Mohammadi has served as the opening speaker for meetings between the Iranian-American community and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when he comes to the U.N. General Assembly each September.
An Iranian-American who asked to be identified only by his first name, Ahmad, said the center is generally perceived as being sympathetic to the Islamic regime. He noted that Iran’s interest section, which is in a small office in upper Georgetown, held a party at the Potomac center celebrating the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution
I’m going to be a pastor soon, and I thought this episode was fantastic. I’ve even used it in youth group to discuss differing images of Jesus, and it resulted in a really deep and lively conversation. Amaar was exactly right when he said that some people think that Jesus may have been Black, or that to some people, Jesus _is_ Black… well, he _was_ Palestinian (that’s where Nazareth is located), which means he most certainly was brown, and most certainly was Jewish. He was not historically blond-haired and blue-eyed as so many Anglo-centric artists have portrayed him, and so it is a departure from truth that these portrayals have been put forth – but a departure from truth that white people used to identify with Jesus (which is not wrong). Artists throughout ‘tradition’ have portrayed him in their own likeness – what about portrayals of Jesus in India, where St. Thomas was said to have begun one of the oldest churches? Surely Jesus would not have been portrayed as white there. Christianity did not begin in Europe.
And several theologians, by the way, have argued on theological grounds that while Jesus was historically Semitic, in his resurrection he is an incarnation that is fluid between races. Why would a Black person (or an Asian person, or a native American person) worship a Jesus who looks to them like an oppressor?
And besides all of this, it was a plaster statue that was *accidentally* smashed (it was not vandalism). Statues are not holy. This is not an affront to God.
I found the open discussion of racism wonderful – especially Sarah’s slip about white being ‘normal.’ In the US, we can’t discuss racism without saying that line, “I am not a racist” – and then we clam up and can’t discuss anymore. But all of us grow up with prejudices, whatever they are (not all prejudices are racial) – the key is identifying them and dealing with them so that they do not rule us or our interactions with other fellow human beings.
Thank goodness for LMOTP!
You are going to be a pastor?
And people wonder why Christianity is on the decline.
I doubt you will really be preaching Christianity. Too many churches aren’t these days.
Elizabeth, do you even believe in the Resurrection as something that actually happened?
And besides all of this, it was a plaster statue that was *accidentally* smashed (it was not vandalism).
You know this is a television show and that Yasir is a character played by an actor, right?
Of course you do but it is important to make a distinction.
While in the fictional show the statue was smashed by accident, the people who write and produce the show in real life purposely put in the script that the statue would be broken. That’s real life and it was INTENTIONAL, not accidental. And then the rest of the show they go about mocking Jesus (pbuh), who is for the Muslims at least a respected prophet and of course for the Christians their Lord and Savior.
This was indeed the most offensive show they ever made and they expected outrage from it. The guy who helps make the show that the CBC has a blog for said he was surprised that he didn’t receive a negative response about the episode (guess he didn’t read this blog because the negative responses came immediately). But the question must be asked, if they knew (or thought they knew) that such an episode would produce outrage why did they make such an episode?