A Christian priest reads Quran entire Ramadan, Islamic World News, NewAgeIslam.com

Islamic World News

A Christian priest reads Quran entire Ramadan

Thiruvananthapuram: For 65-year-old priest G.S. Francis, the Holy Quran is as dear as the Holy Bible.

Church of South Indian (CSI) parish vicar Francis has been reading the Quran for an hour everyday during the fasting month of Ramzan for the past two decades.

"The Old Testament and the Quran are almost similar and I do read it every day for an hour during the month of Ramzan. In fact in the course of theology, the holy books of other religions like the Ramayana and Quran are taught," he said.

"I learned theology at a seminary by attending a part-time course. It was in 1989 that I was ordained as a priest. The state government allowed me to don the cassock because I agreed to do the priestly duties as an honorary service," he added.

Francis retired from the state government as deputy development commissioner in rural department a decade back and has been a priest in the church since then. The church is located at Thalassery in Kannur district.

He said during the month of Ramzan he fasts when he has no other duties to perform.

"It has become a practice for me ever since I became a priest to refer to religious books like Quran and Ramayana. This helps me to understand other religions. This reading helps me when I deliver messages in the church. One gets knowledge for preaching when one studies other religions because a comparative study is required and I am happy doing this," Francis said.

http://newageislam.com/a-christian-priest-reads-quran-entire-ramadan/islamic-world-news/d/1739

Israeli peace activist Uri Avnery explains why Islamic Militancy serves the policy objectives of the US establishment, Islam and the West, NewAgeIslam

Islam and the West

Israeli peace activist Uri Avnery explains why Islamic Militancy serves the policy objectives of the US establishment

Molten lead

By Uri Avnery

January 6, 2009

That is the main thing. Then there came the small provocations which were designed to get Hamas to react. After several months, in which hardly any Qassam rockets were launched, an army unit was sent into the Strip “in order to destroy a tunnel that came close to the border fence”. From a purely military point of view, it would have made more sense to lay an ambush on our side of the fence. But the aim was to find a pretext for the termination of the cease-fire, in a way that made it plausible to put the blame on the Palestinians. And indeed, after several such small actions, in which Hamas fighters were killed, Hamas retaliated with a massive launch of rockets, and — lo and behold — the cease-fire was at an end. Everybody blamed Hamas.

What was the aim? Tzipi Livni announced it openly: to liquidate Hamas rule in Gaza. The Qassams served only as a pretext.

Liquidate Hamas rule? That sounds like a chapter out of The March of Folly. After all, it is no secret that it was the Israeli government which set up Hamas to start with. When I once asked a former Shin-Bet chief, Yaakov Peri, about it, he answered enigmatically: “We did not create it, but we did not hinder its creation.”

For years, the occupation authorities favoured the Islamic movement in the occupied territories. All other political activities were rigorously suppressed, but their activities in the mosques were permitted. The calculation was simple and naive: at the time, the PLO was considered the main enemy; Yasser Arafat was the current Satan. The Islamic movement was preaching against the PLO and Arafat, and was therefore viewed as an ally.

http://newageislam.com/israeli-peace-activist-uri-avnery-explains-why-islamic-militancy-serves-the-policy-objectives-of-the-us-establishment--/islam-and-the-west/d/1102

Jihad: Holy or Unholy War? Asks John L. Esposito, Radical Islamism and Jihad, NewAgeIslam.com

Radical Islamism and Jihad

Jihad: Holy or Unholy War? Asks John L. Esposito

John L. Esposito

The importance of jihad is rooted in the Quran’s command to “struggle or exert” (the literal meaning of the word jihad) oneself in the path of God. The Quranic teachings have been of essential significance to Muslim self-understanding, piety, mobilization, expansion and defense. Jihad as struggle pertains to the difficulty and complexity of living a good life: struggling against the evil in oneself – to be virtuous and moral, making a serious effort to do good works and help to reform society. Depending on the circumstances in which one lives, it also can mean fighting injustice and oppression, spreading and defending Islam and creating a just society through preaching, teaching and, if necessary, armed struggle or holy war.

The two broad meanings of jihad, non-violent and violent, are contrasted in a well-known Prophetic tradition. Muslim tradition reports that, when Muhammad returned from battle, he told his followers “We return from the lesser jihad to the greater jihad.” The greater jihad is the more difficult and more important struggle against one’s ego, selfishness, greed, and evil.

Jihad is a concept with multiple meanings, used and abused throughout Islamic history. Although it has always been an important part of the Islamic tradition, in recent years some Muslims have maintained that jihad is a universal religious obligation for all true Muslims to join the jihad to promote a global Islamic revolution.

http://newageislam.com/jihad--holy-or-unholy-war?-asks-john-l.-esposito/radical-islamism-and-jihad/d/1154

Misuse of Sharia: Saudis Face Soaring Blood-Money Sums -- Tribes, Families Are Demanding Millions, Islamic Sharia Laws, NewAgeIslam.com

Misuse of Sharia: Saudis Face Soaring Blood-Money Sums -- Tribes, Families Are Demanding Millions

By Faiza Saleh Ambah

Washington Post Foreign Service

Sunday, July 27, 2008; Page A14

"Some families have become broke from these exaggerated sums being asked for diyah and live in poverty the rest of their lives," said Abdul-Aziz Qassim, an author and journalist who has written about blood money. "The families of some of the victims have turned it into a business."

To deal with the problem, the government recently set up the Reconciliation Committee, which works to lower the diyah requests and find wealthy donors to help the families of death row inmates unable to pay. Using a combination of religious preaching and mediation by influential tribal sheiks and prominent clerics, the committee says it has spared nearly 150 lives since its inception.

"Nothing is more precious to God than the sparing of a neck," said Nasser al-Zahrani, head of the Mecca office of the Reconciliation Committee. "We try to explain to these families with victims that it provides a blessing like no other."

Quoting the Koran, the Muslim holy book, Zahrani said he tells families: "He who takes a life, unless it be for murder or spreading terror in the land -- it would be as if he killed everyone. And he who saves one life, it is as if he has saved all of mankind."

http://newageislam.com/misuse-of-sharia--saudis-face-soaring-blood-money-sums----tribes,-families-are-demanding-millions/islamic-sharia-laws/d/330