read a old encyclopedia article about Islam
I picked up an old students' enc. yearbook, which had an article about Islam, so I read it. I was reminded that while Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all worship the same God, the religions have different ideas about Jesus Christ and there lies one of the problems causing hostility.
All 3 religions put men over women.
Sharia law is based on the Koran and Muhammad's life. It is observed in Muslim country's which have religion based governments. Countries like Iraq are Muslim, but don't use Sharia law for every aspect of social and legal life. The unrest in many of the countries is because some factions want the religion-based government, and back to traditional life-styles. Other countries have secular governments and use a westernized legal system. This is a very simplified viewpoint.
As I mull over what I read the other day, I can't help wondering if all of the fundamentalists understand what they are seeking by trying to remove America's separation of church and state? We've hosted students from other countries. Many years ago, we had a student from Costa Rica. She had a conversation with friends whose parents were getting divorced or had been divorced. She said that in Costa Rica, the church is the state. People don't get divorced because it is against the church and therefore not allowed. The Christian fundamentalists in the U.S. are no better than the Muslim fundamentalists in the Islamic countries. And on top of which, the Christians in this country are trying to destroy one of the only countries in the world that has the separation of church and state. If the U.S. loses that separation, we aren't going to be better off, and we'll more likely be way worse off. Even some bastard hybrid created by Christians picking and choosing what they want, mainly by oppressing all non-white male humans, mainly so they are guaranteed sex, because, frankly, most of the religious leaders in this country are not going to get their pick on their personal merits; even a bastard hybrid will sink America.
It is so hard for someone or something to achieve fame. We have people like DaVinci, like Mozart, who live on in human memory and appreciation. There was no mass communication when they lived, and yet they remain household names. We have places, like Camelot, like Atlantis, like Shangra La, which real or not, remain in our memories and dreams. The United States of America is one of those places. It exists in the here and now. If her enemies succeed in tearing her down, the ideals of this country will live on in human memory, and I don't see how humans can't keep honoring the ideals of freedom and equality. A majority of Americans, and a majority of people in the world believe in and support what America stands for. A small minority of megalomaniacs and their pitchfork bearing henchmen want to destroy what they see as an inconvenience to their games of power and dominion. In the end, they have as little to do with Christianity as Mara, the Buddhist devil. However we can, we have to keep defending what America is meant to be: a place of freedom, a place of equality. We must allow our secular legal system to be free of specific religious influence, and steer clear of laws that limit the spirit of America's promise and reality of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.