When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy
Thursday, August 27th, 2015[ by Charles Cameron — my title is taken from the book of Job — known to Islam as the prophet Ayyub — chapter 38 verse 7 ]
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Let’s begin with Qur’an 22. 40:
I can deeply appreciate a perspective as respectful as this.
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Consequently, I am even more deeply saddened when the Islamic State tears down the crosses atop churches —
than I am when the Chinese do the same exact thing..
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And I’d suggest that the phrase “were it not that Allah checks the people, some by means of others, there would have been demolished monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques” as indicating that those who check / repel / drive back those others who demolish such places of worship, do so in accordance with the divine will..
Here, members of the Islamic State bulldoze a monastery..
Such acts, then, should be checked, prevented, surely, by those who honor the Qur’an.
The question that remains is how best to accomplish this.
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Likewise, there is the phrase about “monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques in which the name of Allah is much mentioned”..
Apparently, the “name of Allah” was “much mentioned” in monasteries and churches at the time of the Prophet, and we may therefore wonder why Malaysian Muslims would wish to ban the use of that name by Christians —
— when as KL Chan pointed out in his recent LapidoMedia post Do Muslims have a monopoly on the word Allah? — even if we ignore the clear evidence of the Qur’an itself,
One of the oldest evidences of Christian use of the word ‘Allah’ can be found in a Bible translation from 1514.
That’s two years after Michaelangelo finished painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling, and three years before Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses to the door of Wittenberg Cathedral.
As Usama Hasan says, it’s a fiasco.
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Sources:
BibleGateway, Job 38.7, Qur’anic Arabic corpus, Qur’an 22.40 Legatum Institute, China arrests Christians Christian Today, Isis militants desecrate Iraqi church Daily Mirror, ISIS Jihadists using a bulldozer Perry, Malaysia Top Court Usama Hasan, #Malaysia #Allah fiasco
