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Three Things You Should Know About Islam

Three surprising things you probably didn’t know about Islam and the Quran. This subject may affect you in the near future, so take the chance to inform yourself now – before it does.

Parts of the text have been strongly inspired by the website
• http://www.citizenwarrior.com

Islam is the monotheistic religion articulated by the Qur’an, a text considered by its adherents to be the verbatim word of the one, incomparable God (Allah), and by the Prophet of Islam Muhammad’s teachings and normative example (in Arabic called the Sunnah, demonstrated in collections of Hadith). Islam literally means “submission (to God).” Muslim, the word for an adherent of Islam, is the active participle of the same verb of which Isl?m is the infinitive.

Muslims regard their religion as the completed and universal version of a primordial, monotheistic faith revealed at many times and places before, including, notably, to the prophets Abraham, Moses and Jesus. Islamic tradition holds that previous messages and revelations have been changed and distorted over time. Religious practices include the Five Pillars of Islam, which are five obligatory acts of worship. Islamic law (Arabic:  Šar??ah) touches on virtually every aspect of life and society, encompassing everything from banking and warfare to welfare and the environment.

The majority of Muslims belong to one of two denominations, the Sunni and the Shi’a. Islam is the predominant religion in the Middle East, North Africa, and large parts of Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Sizable communities are also found in China and Russia, and parts of the Caribbean. About 13% of Muslims live in Indonesia, the largest Muslim country, 31% in the Indian Subcontinent, and 20% in Arab countries. Converts and immigrant communities are found in almost every part of the world. With approximately 1.57 billion Muslims comprising about 23% of the world’s population, Islam is the second-largest religion in the world and arguably the fastest growing religion in the world.

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam

I love listening to creationists argue for Intelligent Design. They always give examples of things like the human eye and discuss how elegant and intricate it is, and how it could not have possibly evolved, it must have been designed. I for one, believe that if we were designed, that we have been poorly designed and that a first year engineering student at a second-rate college could easily concoct a better design. A prime example would be our airway… why do we breathe, eat and drink through the same hole in our face? This makes it almost certain that some portion of us will choke to death. Is it too much to ask for a separate hole for breathing and eating? Dolphins have them! In any case, Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, a personal hero of mine, makes a great argument for stupid design here… Enjoy, and please share with your creationist friends…

There comes a time in the life of every parent that they must welcome their newborn child to the world. It never ceases to amaze me the amount of damage that religious parents can unwittingly do to a child in the name of “love” with the teachings from their various “holy books“. There is no such thing as a Christian child, or a Muslim Child or a Buddhist Child, etceteras… there are simply children of Christian, Muslim or Buddhist parents. A child is far too young to comprehend the intricate details of a religion. I strongly feel bombarding a kid with religious mythology at such a young age is a form of child abuse, it is mental abuse. I believe it is better to remain neutral in teachings related to religion and allow the child to make his / her own decisions when they are old enough. I am an Buddhist (which is an Atheistic religion), but my children may choose to be Jews, Christians or Rastafarians… the choice is theirs. And I will support it, so long as it is informed, and well thought out.

Looks like the construction of the Mosque at Ground Zero in New York City was approved recently, despite outcries from the community. Which is a major disappointment. How is it that 10 years after 9/11 the World Trade Center still has not been rebuilt, but we are preparing to build a Mosque there?

Perhaps we should start a movement to get the building declared a historical landmark?

Saudi Girl Gets Down…

Getting Down Saudi Style…

Once again, Pat Condell hits the nail on the head with in his discussion of the ongoing problem of Islam, the supposed “religion of peace”.

Our continued dedication to being “politically correct” has made us turn a blind-eye to that which is happening right in front of us.

It seems almost unthinkable, but Islamist groups are, as we speak, hard at work creating Muslim states-within-states in the U.S. Indeed, this process has been unfolding for a long time across the Western world, through the creation of isolated Muslim enclaves in both rural and urban areas, as well as through the designation of “no-go zones” where governments admit to having little authority over Muslims living there, essentially leaving them to function as autonomous regions. (Read More Here)

But we don’t have to stand-by and just watch as we allow Muslim extremists commit atrocities around the world… We need to demand that “moderate Muslims” begin to actively speak out against the actions of the extremists. We need to write to our legislators and tell them that it is not okay with us that there is a Mosque being built at ground zero in New York! We need to be proactive.

If you think this is all extreme, then you should read about the Saudi Billionaire who boasts about getting Fox News to change their news reports. Or perhaps you should read about the movement to create a Muslim only enclave in the city of Philadelphia. Their movement is real, and must not be ignored or taken lightly.

Read the Book:

Guest Post by Emily Goll 

Sarah Palin has had a busy life since Senator John McCain plucked her out of obscurity during the 2008 election. Fortunately for us, the majority of this has been filmed and preserved as a now essential part of American history that we can relive over and over again on YouTube (thank you?). From interviews to speeches, here are the funniest, most outrageous and totally absurd Sarah Palin moments caught on tape thus far.

1. The Bush Doctrine

In her very first televised interview during the 2008 campaign, Charles Gibson asked Palin if she “agreed with the Bush Doctrine.” Uh oh. With obvious confusion, Sarah first tries to dodge the question and then when asked pointblank how she interprets the Bush Doctrine she responds (with obvious trepidation) that the Bush Doctrine is President Bush’s “world view.” Wrong. This interview was America’s first glimpse of why the governor of Alaska was simply not ready to be President of the United States.

2. Sarah Palin: “What does a VP do?”

In this clip, Sarah famously confesses on CNBC during the 2008 campaign that she has no idea what the vice president does. Yikes. The exact quote reads as follows: “As for that VP talk all the time, I tell ya, I still can’t answer that question until somebody answers for me, what exactly is it that the VP does every day?”

3. Sarah Palin Prank Call

This Quebec comedy duo pranked Sarah during their radio show in 2008. Using nothing but French accents, they managed to convince the governor that she was speaking to France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy. Together, they discussed Nicolas’ beautiful wife, hunting, and promoting a special American advisor named Johnny Hallyday (a French singer). Sarah bought the prank up until they revealed themselves at the very end of the clip. An embarrassed Palin quickly got off the phone.

4. Interview Location Fail

Immediately following Sarah’s pardoning of a turkey on Thanksgiving in Alaska, Sarah proceeded to give an interview right outside of a turkey slaughter house. While discussing her career and “getting her message out,” we are given a clear view of turkey’s being killed directly behind her. Given the circumstances, you can’t help but laugh.

5. Palin: I Read All the News

Even Palin’s own camp admitted that her interview with Katie Couric went horribly, but this clip made headlines everywhere. When asked what newspapers specifically she read to keep informed, Palin responded, “Um…all of them.” Really, Palin? You read all the news? The media had a field day with this response and Palin ended up using it as an example of “gotcha media.” It was, after all, a pretty tricky question.

6. Palin on Foreign Policy

In this clip, Couric questions Sarah on citing Alaska’s proximity to Russia as part of her foreign policy experience. Trying to redeem herself, Palin speaks nonsensically for about a minute on how this affected her duties as governor: “We have trade missions back and forth…it’s from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there…they are right next to our state.” I’m sure Putin was shivering in his boots with Palin on watch!

7. Palin: Okay, I Didn’t Quite Say That

In September 12, 2008, Charles Gibson interviewed Sarah Palin and questioned her on her flip flopping stance on “The Bridge to Nowhere.” Gibson says, “It’s now pretty clearly documented that you were for that bridge before you opposed it.” Oops. This clip shows Sarah Palin trying to back pedal her way out the subject…and failing.

8. Stump the Candidate!

Apparently September 2008 was not a great month for Palin. Here is a clip (courtesy of CNN) showing Sarah trying to answer an audience question at a campaign rally on her foreign policy experience. She tells the audience that she “has that readiness and if you want specifics with specific policy or countries, go ahead and-and you can ask me. You can even play stump the candidate.” Yes! That’s great! We would love to play stump the candidate…but sadly, this is about where John McCain jumped in and took over the answering of questions. Lame.

9. Palin: No Second Guessing Israel’s “Security Efforts”

Here we see Palin’s interesting take on Israel. According to Palin, the United States should never “second guess” Israel, even if they choose to take action against Iran. She sums everything up very succinctly by saying that in a situation where Israel took action against Iran, “It seems obvious to me who the good guys are and who the bad guys are.” I had no idea foreign policy was so black and white!

10. Palin Declares War on Iran

When talking about what she and McCain will do in their first 100 days in office, Palin accidently said, “We’ll get this economy back on the right track and really sure up the strategies we need over in Iraq and Iran to win these wars.”What? We’re at war with Iran? Not Afghanistan? Better get to the nearest bomb shelter, stat!

Emily Goll is the editor of My Dog Ate My Blog and a writer on online courses for Guide to Online Schools.

Help Stop the Stoning of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani…

If you do nothing else. Please take a moment and sign the Petition.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/stop…
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/s…

Contact information for e-mailing the White house.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

And the President of Iran
http://cp.president.ir/en/
Currently there are only 427 signatures on the petition site. I am sure there are other Petitions out there. I think making people aware is the most important thing. That and voicing our condemnation of this sentence. Reason must prevail.

This woman needs to be released if anyone is ever to think reasonably of Islam.

It was 1977 in Miami (Dade County) when former beauty queen and singer Anita Bryant launched her infamous “Save Our Children” campaign to repeal a local anti-discrimination ordinance.

Her successful religious and political crusade against gays and lesbians led to repeal of Dade County’s non-discrimination provisions, and later that same year led to the Florida legislature’s passage of a ban on “homosexual” adoption.

Once her anti-gay campaign went national, Bryant helped set a nasty, narrow, prejudiced tone for the entire anti-equality backlash movement, which widely publicized quotes such as:

“As a mother, I know that homosexuals cannot biologically reproduced children; therefore, they must recruit our children” and “If gays are granted rights, next we’ll have to give rights to prostitutes and to people who sleep with St. Bernards and to nail biters.”

Her efforts were not without backlash as she famously took a pie in the face during a TV interview.

But she was also quite effective.  Her rhetoric and viewpoints are still cited today in political “debates” not only in Florida but nationwide. In fact, the roots of modern political homophobia and the foundations of the campaigns to ban same-sex marriage can all be traced back to Bryant.

And after years of self-imposed seclusion, Anita’s back on the national anti-gay stage – this time helping headline a “Reclaiming America for Christ” rally in Oklahoma with Focus on the Family, the Liberty Council and even former Colonel Oliver North.

Anita’s re-emergence as a icon of bigotry has prompted us to ask you – who would be the best national leader to refute the Anita Bryant types?