http://www.antesdelfin.com/noticias.html
Un clérigo musulman de Irán ha solicitado que tres Evangelistas americanos, Franklin Graham, Pat Robertson, and Jerry Falwell sean asesinados en nombre del Islám Octubre 18, 2002
Un clérigo musulman de Irán ha solicitado que tres Evangelistas americanos, Franklin Graham, Pat Robertson, and Jerry Falwell sean asesinados en nombre del Islám. En un sermón en la mesquita de Tabriz el viernes pasado, el clérigo musulman Ayatollah Mohsen Mujtahed Shabestari solicitó la muerte de los tres más prominentes predicadores cristianos en Estados Unidos, por "sus críticas contra el Islám"
Los medios de prensa está a la espera de que la prensa occidental, especialmente CNN, quien frecuentemente muestra agravio cuando estos Cristianos critican la violencia característica del Islám, muestre su posición de condena contra las inflamatorias declaraciones de este líder musulman. Ver artículo fuente (en Inglés)
http://www.mcjonline.com/news/02a/20021015a.shtml
Cleric Demands Death
For Christian Leaders
( ANS) -- An Iranian Muslim cleric has called for three American preachers (Franklin Graham, Pat Robertson, and Jerry Falwell) to be killed, for statements which the men have made against Islam.
In a sermon in a mosque in Tabriz last Friday Iranian cleric Ayatollah Mohsen Mujtahed Shabestari called for the death of three prominent American Christian leaders who have recently criticized Islam, said The Institute for the Study of Islam and Christianity (ISIC), which is the educational arm of The Barnabas Fund.
"In our opinion, to kill these three is necessary," the Iranian Farsi daily 'Abrar' reports Shabestari as saying.
Shabestari is the personal representative of Iranian cleric Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the country's Azerbaijan province.
The call was issued in response to an interview given by Southern Baptist Minister Rev Jerry Falwell on CBS television last week in which he described the Islamic prophet Muhammad as "a violent man, a man of war" and a "terrorist." Falwell has since apologized.
Shabestari was also calling for the deaths of Franklin Graham, who last November went on record describing Islam as "a very evil and wicked religion" and Pat Robertson who in February described Islam as a religion which seeks to "dominate and then, if need be destroy."
The most recent remarks by Falwell outraged Shiite religious leaders, in particular in Iran and Lebanon. Hossein Chariatmadari the editor of the conservative daily "Kayhan" is also reported to have called for Falwell's death stating, "in agreement with Islam, it is imperative to kill."
Other Islamic leaders expressed outrage and called for action but are not demanding Falwell's death. Some, including Lebanon's Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, specifically warned Muslims against resorting to "physical violence" to settle the matter. Most have been mollified by Falwell's apology.
While no official fatwa calling for the deaths of the three Christian leaders has been issued by Iran's Islamic clergy, the comments that have been made are already being compared with the 1989 fatwa that was issued against the British author Salman Rushdie.
At that time human rights activists and defenders of free speech rallied around Rushdie defending his right to write fiction and express opinions, however offensive, without having to face a death sentence as a result.
Last week Falwell and other conservative American Christians faced fierce condemnation from interfaith leaders in Washington and the British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw who described Falwell's remarks as "outrageous and insulting."
"It remains to be seen whether they will be prepared to go on record condemning the demands for Falwell's murder with equal vehemence," the ISIC said in a statement received by ASSIST News Service (ANS).
"Ever since the horrific events of September 11, 2001 every effort has been made by Western leaders to distance terrorism from mainstream Islam in an understandable and commendable effort to avoid a disastrous clash of civilizations. Christian leaders who have stepped out of line and drawn attention to the theological justification of violence which does exist within historical Islam have been roundly condemned by politicians, the media, Muslims and other Christians alike," the statement said.
"The comments made by several right-wing American Christian leaders concerning Muhammad and Islam could certainly be described as unwise, stereotypical, and even unnecessarily aggressive or dangerous. However, to describe them as 'fundamentalists' and Christian extremists as equivalent to the Taliban or Al Qaeda (which is increasingly being done), is grossly disproportionate and a morally repulsive exaggeration.
"Whilst they may be deeply critical of Islam, which may cause offence to some, they are not involved in violence against Muslims, neither are they calling for it. In fact they affirm that Christians should treat Muslims with compassion and love, and like most people they believe that the vast majority of Muslims are peace loving and not involved in any sort of terrorist activity. It is ironic that an Islamic cleric should seek to defend the peaceful image of Islam from someone who describes Muhammad as 'violent' by calling for their death."
Other statements by religious leaders, which are equally offensive, are emerging from the Islamic world, said ISIC. "A speaker in the Al-Salaam mosque in Al-Unayzah, Saudi Arabia, recently described Christianity as a 'distorted and deformed religion' announcing 'Today we will talk about one of the distorted religions, about a faith that deviates from the path of righteousness about Christianity, this false faith, and about the people whom Allah described in his book as deviating from the path of righteousness. We will examine their faith, we will review their history, full of hate, abomination, and wars against Islam and the Muslims,'" ISIC said.
He described an eternal conflict between Muslims on the one hand and Jews and Christians on the other which "will end when Jesus the son of Mary, peace be upon him, arrives to break the cross [a Christian symbol] and wipe it off the face of the earth."
In the Grand Mosque in Sanaa, Yemen, a speaker is reported to have prayed "O God, destroy the Jews and their supporters and the Christians and their supporters and followers. O God, destroy the ground under their feet, instil fear in their hearts, and freeze the blood in their veins," ISIC reported.
ISIC comments: "Such statements are extremely provocative and offensive towards Christians, yet they do not attract the same kind of public condemnation as the statements from Jerry Falwell or Franklin Graham. Neither has any Christian leader called for the death of those who made them.
"The statements of America's evangelicals have been deeply criticized in the name of tolerance, and in a free and democratic Western society it is only right and proper that their comments should be exposed to vigorous debate and criticism.
"Voltaire's classical, and oft quoted, formulation of tolerance states 'I may disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.' However, today in the increasingly post-Christian and pluralistic West there is no longer any distinction in the public mind between the fierce criticism of a person's views or beliefs and a statement of aggression towards the individual themselves," the ISIC statement said.
"In the wake of September 11, religion, and in particular Islam, is increasingly being placed beyond the realm of critical debate. By labelling anyone who criticises Islam in any way as 'extremist,' 'fundamentalist' or 'Islamophobic' any genuine debate about Islam is being stifled. It is worthy of note that in most cases the individuals making such outrageous comments have been roundly condemned but the points they raise have not been addressed, engaged with or argued against. Now is the time for those who claim to love freedom of speech and religious liberty to defend Falwell and his colleagues, however offensive their comments may be, and not to remain silent in the face of extremist intimidation," said ISIC.
"Will the world community remain silent while these backward, self-righteous, 'holier-than-thou' Islamist mullahs dictate to the world what people must believe and say?" asks Freedom Quest International, based in Alberta, Canada.
In a statement from the organization, "Freedom Quest International condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the issuing of all fatwas and calls for death for people who express personal convictions and opinions. These include the fatwas against Salmon Rushdie, the three men cited above, as well as Kola Boof (the woman who was condemned to be beheaded recently by the Islamic court in the UK at the request of a Sudanese diplomat and Sudanese spiritual leader Hassan Turabi). If these so-called Muslim clerics want people to see Islam as a religion of peace, this lunacy of death fatwas must stop.
"Sudanese and Iranian so-called clerics have no right to impose their beliefs on anyone else. Unless these actions are opposed immediately -- and in the strongest possible way -- religious and political freedom everywhere will be seriously placed at risk. They can not be allowed to continue," the statement said.
It added: "Freedom Quest calls on Muslim leaders everywhere to publicly condemn these fatwas and incitings to kill. We call on all people of goodwill who value religious freedom and freedom of thought, to call your member of Congress or Parliament and insist that our governments condemn these acts of lawlessness and barbarity in the strongest possible terms."
© 2002 Assist News Service
© 2002 Maranatha Christian News Service
(Post date: October 15, 2002)
Un clérigo musulman de Irán ha solicitado que tres Evangelistas americanos, Franklin Graham, Pat Robertson, and Jerry Falwell sean asesinados en nombre del Islám Octubre 18, 2002
Un clérigo musulman de Irán ha solicitado que tres Evangelistas americanos, Franklin Graham, Pat Robertson, and Jerry Falwell sean asesinados en nombre del Islám. En un sermón en la mesquita de Tabriz el viernes pasado, el clérigo musulman Ayatollah Mohsen Mujtahed Shabestari solicitó la muerte de los tres más prominentes predicadores cristianos en Estados Unidos, por "sus críticas contra el Islám"
Los medios de prensa está a la espera de que la prensa occidental, especialmente CNN, quien frecuentemente muestra agravio cuando estos Cristianos critican la violencia característica del Islám, muestre su posición de condena contra las inflamatorias declaraciones de este líder musulman. Ver artículo fuente (en Inglés)
http://www.mcjonline.com/news/02a/20021015a.shtml
Cleric Demands Death
For Christian Leaders
( ANS) -- An Iranian Muslim cleric has called for three American preachers (Franklin Graham, Pat Robertson, and Jerry Falwell) to be killed, for statements which the men have made against Islam.
In a sermon in a mosque in Tabriz last Friday Iranian cleric Ayatollah Mohsen Mujtahed Shabestari called for the death of three prominent American Christian leaders who have recently criticized Islam, said The Institute for the Study of Islam and Christianity (ISIC), which is the educational arm of The Barnabas Fund.
"In our opinion, to kill these three is necessary," the Iranian Farsi daily 'Abrar' reports Shabestari as saying.
Shabestari is the personal representative of Iranian cleric Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the country's Azerbaijan province.
The call was issued in response to an interview given by Southern Baptist Minister Rev Jerry Falwell on CBS television last week in which he described the Islamic prophet Muhammad as "a violent man, a man of war" and a "terrorist." Falwell has since apologized.
Shabestari was also calling for the deaths of Franklin Graham, who last November went on record describing Islam as "a very evil and wicked religion" and Pat Robertson who in February described Islam as a religion which seeks to "dominate and then, if need be destroy."
The most recent remarks by Falwell outraged Shiite religious leaders, in particular in Iran and Lebanon. Hossein Chariatmadari the editor of the conservative daily "Kayhan" is also reported to have called for Falwell's death stating, "in agreement with Islam, it is imperative to kill."
Other Islamic leaders expressed outrage and called for action but are not demanding Falwell's death. Some, including Lebanon's Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, specifically warned Muslims against resorting to "physical violence" to settle the matter. Most have been mollified by Falwell's apology.
While no official fatwa calling for the deaths of the three Christian leaders has been issued by Iran's Islamic clergy, the comments that have been made are already being compared with the 1989 fatwa that was issued against the British author Salman Rushdie.
At that time human rights activists and defenders of free speech rallied around Rushdie defending his right to write fiction and express opinions, however offensive, without having to face a death sentence as a result.
Last week Falwell and other conservative American Christians faced fierce condemnation from interfaith leaders in Washington and the British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw who described Falwell's remarks as "outrageous and insulting."
"It remains to be seen whether they will be prepared to go on record condemning the demands for Falwell's murder with equal vehemence," the ISIC said in a statement received by ASSIST News Service (ANS).
"Ever since the horrific events of September 11, 2001 every effort has been made by Western leaders to distance terrorism from mainstream Islam in an understandable and commendable effort to avoid a disastrous clash of civilizations. Christian leaders who have stepped out of line and drawn attention to the theological justification of violence which does exist within historical Islam have been roundly condemned by politicians, the media, Muslims and other Christians alike," the statement said.
"The comments made by several right-wing American Christian leaders concerning Muhammad and Islam could certainly be described as unwise, stereotypical, and even unnecessarily aggressive or dangerous. However, to describe them as 'fundamentalists' and Christian extremists as equivalent to the Taliban or Al Qaeda (which is increasingly being done), is grossly disproportionate and a morally repulsive exaggeration.
"Whilst they may be deeply critical of Islam, which may cause offence to some, they are not involved in violence against Muslims, neither are they calling for it. In fact they affirm that Christians should treat Muslims with compassion and love, and like most people they believe that the vast majority of Muslims are peace loving and not involved in any sort of terrorist activity. It is ironic that an Islamic cleric should seek to defend the peaceful image of Islam from someone who describes Muhammad as 'violent' by calling for their death."
Other statements by religious leaders, which are equally offensive, are emerging from the Islamic world, said ISIC. "A speaker in the Al-Salaam mosque in Al-Unayzah, Saudi Arabia, recently described Christianity as a 'distorted and deformed religion' announcing 'Today we will talk about one of the distorted religions, about a faith that deviates from the path of righteousness about Christianity, this false faith, and about the people whom Allah described in his book as deviating from the path of righteousness. We will examine their faith, we will review their history, full of hate, abomination, and wars against Islam and the Muslims,'" ISIC said.
He described an eternal conflict between Muslims on the one hand and Jews and Christians on the other which "will end when Jesus the son of Mary, peace be upon him, arrives to break the cross [a Christian symbol] and wipe it off the face of the earth."
In the Grand Mosque in Sanaa, Yemen, a speaker is reported to have prayed "O God, destroy the Jews and their supporters and the Christians and their supporters and followers. O God, destroy the ground under their feet, instil fear in their hearts, and freeze the blood in their veins," ISIC reported.
ISIC comments: "Such statements are extremely provocative and offensive towards Christians, yet they do not attract the same kind of public condemnation as the statements from Jerry Falwell or Franklin Graham. Neither has any Christian leader called for the death of those who made them.
"The statements of America's evangelicals have been deeply criticized in the name of tolerance, and in a free and democratic Western society it is only right and proper that their comments should be exposed to vigorous debate and criticism.
"Voltaire's classical, and oft quoted, formulation of tolerance states 'I may disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.' However, today in the increasingly post-Christian and pluralistic West there is no longer any distinction in the public mind between the fierce criticism of a person's views or beliefs and a statement of aggression towards the individual themselves," the ISIC statement said.
"In the wake of September 11, religion, and in particular Islam, is increasingly being placed beyond the realm of critical debate. By labelling anyone who criticises Islam in any way as 'extremist,' 'fundamentalist' or 'Islamophobic' any genuine debate about Islam is being stifled. It is worthy of note that in most cases the individuals making such outrageous comments have been roundly condemned but the points they raise have not been addressed, engaged with or argued against. Now is the time for those who claim to love freedom of speech and religious liberty to defend Falwell and his colleagues, however offensive their comments may be, and not to remain silent in the face of extremist intimidation," said ISIC.
"Will the world community remain silent while these backward, self-righteous, 'holier-than-thou' Islamist mullahs dictate to the world what people must believe and say?" asks Freedom Quest International, based in Alberta, Canada.
In a statement from the organization, "Freedom Quest International condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the issuing of all fatwas and calls for death for people who express personal convictions and opinions. These include the fatwas against Salmon Rushdie, the three men cited above, as well as Kola Boof (the woman who was condemned to be beheaded recently by the Islamic court in the UK at the request of a Sudanese diplomat and Sudanese spiritual leader Hassan Turabi). If these so-called Muslim clerics want people to see Islam as a religion of peace, this lunacy of death fatwas must stop.
"Sudanese and Iranian so-called clerics have no right to impose their beliefs on anyone else. Unless these actions are opposed immediately -- and in the strongest possible way -- religious and political freedom everywhere will be seriously placed at risk. They can not be allowed to continue," the statement said.
It added: "Freedom Quest calls on Muslim leaders everywhere to publicly condemn these fatwas and incitings to kill. We call on all people of goodwill who value religious freedom and freedom of thought, to call your member of Congress or Parliament and insist that our governments condemn these acts of lawlessness and barbarity in the strongest possible terms."
© 2002 Assist News Service
© 2002 Maranatha Christian News Service
(Post date: October 15, 2002)
