On Muslim prayer day in DC on 9/25/2009

I got this e-mail message from a concerned friend of mine. Part 1 is the e-mail, part 2 is my reflection/response to it.

First part.

The original message:

"This is for real - please take the time to look at this website. Is it 'Quod licet Jovi, non licet bovi'? Do we have selected privileges or selected groups for privileges? Hmmmm. Reminds me Orville: "All animals are equal. But some are more equal than others."
www.islamoncapitolhill.com

Subject: What happened to Day of Prayer?
NO PRAYER DAY EXCEPT FOR THE MUSLIMS!
Thought this might stir some interesting thought:

In June 2009, Presidential candidate Barack Obama declares the USA no longer a Christian nation.

In 1952 President Truman established one day a year as a National Day of Prayer.

In 1988. President Reagan designated the first Thursday in May of each year as the National Day of Prayer.

This year, however, President Obama, decided to cancel the ceremony at the White House not wanting to offend anyone.

On September 25, 2009 from 4am until 7pm, a National Day of Prayer for the Muslim religion will be held on Capitol Hill, beside the White House. As a Christian, it makes me really wonder where the REAL direction of this country is headed.

Whether you didn't vote for the man or you did, as Christians I would surely hope that this would stir your spirit. They are expecting over 50,000 muslims that day
in DC. However, if you want to pray to God in public you can't because, well, it may offend someone.. Me personally, I'll continue to pray & worship God wherever & whenever.

The website (yes folks, there is a very informative website) is:
www.islamoncapitolhill.com
Pay particular attention to the very bottom of this page:

"OUR TIME HAS COME"
Could it be that the REAL agenda of the President is becoming plainer? The evidence is there. It's your decision.

2 Chronicles 7:14 says "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. becomes more important each day.

Perhaps all the things going on now in this country and around the world could be solved if we would heed this scripture. Question is: will our government allow us?

If you feel that this is an important issue, please feel free to make your friends and family aware. If not, delete it. Either way, or no matter what you think of my beliefs, God loves you and I do too!


Second part.

My reflection on, and response to the above irate, mass-distributed message:

For all what I know about the US Constitution, the country is not allowed to have a preferred religion. The wisdom of the Founding Fathers to include this principle in the "birth certificate" of the infant state, attracted people of all faith and all talent to come here without fear of persecution. These people eventually laid the foundation for the enormous success of the country we enjoy today. What follows is that President Obama could not have possibly declared that that the US is not a Christian Nation since it was never meant to be one.

I am not a constitutional lawyer and doubt that I have to be one to see that President Truman's and Reagan's Government designated prayer days somehow did not fit into the spirit and possibly the Words of the Constitution.

Now, about the Muslim prayer day.
1. It is a one time event that is supposed to demonstrate that the US is not an enemy of Islam. Beside being a generous and noble gesture, I believe that this event is both a politically and militarily important and timely statement, given the billion+ Muslims around the World who have been alienated and radicalized more than ever before during the Bush years. As I see, it is by far the most effective National Security measure in the US in years.
2. Jesus, the One I know, preached piece, tolerance and forgiveness. He wanted to convince people to join Him with patience, wise words and the example of His actions, not by force or bigotry. So, allowing a day when the Muslims can pray in Washington, is a very Christian act as well as politically a shrewd move.
3. I am reasonable sure that this is a one time event, motivated by a very specific reason, due to very specific circumstances. I personally would not like to see future Government sanctioned regular Muslim Prayer Days in the US any more than a Christian, Jewish, Hindi, Zoroastrian, etc. prayer day.

I continue to pray whenever and wherever I wish and do not fear that the Government will interfere with my desire to do so as long I don't expect and don't coerce other people around me to do the same. I continue to say Merry Christmas at Christmas time to people who I think share my belief, but do not expect the Nativity Scene in front of the City Hall. I also say Happy Easter, Hanukkah, Ramadan when it feels right.

C'mon people, be a little tolerant! Be a little Christian! Be a little American!

Laszlo Hopp

My outrage: Operation Baghdad Pups

I have never blogged before. Today (2/24/08), I felt that this had to be the day. This "uplifting" story on my Charter home page (courtesy of CNN) filled my heart with warmth. Operation Baghdad Pups (http://baghdadpups.com/) has been saving abandoned puppies from the streets of this bewildered city. Many of the pups even make it back to the US, finding "citizenship" and a new, cozy home..., unlike the over 2 million displaced Iraqis we never hear about, or the 30,000 (as per the official number claimed by G.W. Bush; aren't I a patriotic American?) who found their final home prematurely in the warm Iraqi sand.

Are we completely going out of our mind? Have we lost the last residue of true compassion, humanity, mercy and good judgment? Or the Iraqis really don't deserve even as much of our compassion as their street dogs? To answer these questions, see the link to the news blip:http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0208/496042_video.html?ref=newsstory
Posted by Laszlo at 3:41 PM 0 comments Links to this post April 2008

Jimmy Carter: Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid

This was my e-mail message to the author in response to the heavy criticism he received for his book:Thank you Jimmy Carter!
When a Society is heavily biased, impartial and balanced speech sounds prejudiced. If peace is indeed a goal of the USA in this volatile World, where major destruction can be carried out with ease on any side of the front lines, voices of measure, wisdom and good intention are needed. This is the voice that I heard from Jimmy Carter's book about Palestine.
Posted by Laszlo at 6:22 PM 0 comments Links to this post

On religious extremism

Response to George Weigel's essay on jihadism in Newsweek 2/4/2008;
This message was submitted to Newsweek as a "Letters to the Editor" in response to a recent article by the above contributor. It was not published.

To the Editor:I hope that, in the long tradition of good sense of balance, Newsweek will not object to publishing my reflection on Mr. Weigel's article published in the February 4 issue of the Magazine.

George Weigel calls for war against jihadism but what he fails to notice is that war should be waged against the ideology of religious extremism and not just jihadism alone. Whether or not we like it, we are surrounded by religious extremisms. The general who claims that "my God is bigger than theirs", the president who follows messages from Heaven to bring freedom and democracy on the top of smart bombs, embody provocative, intolerant and dangerous religious extremism. Settlers who claim that land was given to them by their God and no atrocities can be deplorable enough to fulfill the Divine purpose, Evangelical Christian bigotry that supports this ungodly effort, also fall into this category. They all deserve the same treatment as the jihadists are called to receive by Mr. Weigel.

Mr. Weigel enlists multiple "fronts" necessary for the war against jihadism: military, intelligence, economic, energy and home land security fronts. Conspicuously though, from this list the "front of politics" is missing. I propose that a honest political dialog should be started with all these religious extreme forces of today's social realities.

With full condemnation of the jihadist terror, I am certain that once meaningful political efforts started, the wind would quickly die out from the sail of jihadist militancy. As a first step, from such dialog we would learn that the jihadists essentially object to foreigners usurping their sacred land: be it the Soviet Union spreading communism in Afghanistan, or the Americans quenching their immense thirst for oil in Saudi Arabia or Iraq.
Respectfully:
Laszlo Hopp

Posted by Laszlo at 4:36 PM

Labels: jihadism, religious extremism