Interfaith Dialogue — FAIL

Here is another case of well-meaning non-Muslim religious people — in this case, Jews and Christians — attempting to “build bridges”, “enter into dialogue”, and “build trust” between Muslims and people of their own faith.

The outcome was predictable. No regular Gates of Vienna reader would be surprised by it. I don’t know whether or not it was a surprise to the Jewish leaders of Amsterdam — I’ll leave that to our Dutch readers to determine.

Here’s the story from NIS News. All bolding, except for the title, was added by me:

Anti-Jewish Slogans During Dialogue Ramble

AMSTERDAM, 11/02/11 – An ‘interreligious dialogue march’ in Amsterdam has been marred by anti-Semitic shouting.

Prominent religious leaders walked from the Nour mosque in Amsterdam West to a church and a synagogue on Wednesday. Which synagogue this would be was not announced beforehand to avoid intimidation by Islamic youths.

Whoops — we’ve already hit a speed bump on the road to mutual understanding. How can leaders build bridges among the religions when interfaith dialogue has to be hidden from the youths of one of the religions involved?

Did anyone think the event needed to be kept secret from Jewish youths? Or Christian youths?

Why didn’t the leaders expect Muslim youths to pick up their guitars and sing “Kumbaya” along with the earnest youngsters from the synagogues and the churches of Amsterdam? What makes all those Muslim lads so different?

We must presume that discrimination, racism, xenophobia, and Islamophobia on the part of Jews and Christians were what made the Muslim kids so hostile. What other reason could there be?

The article continues:

Among the participants were Kursat Bal of the Muslims and Government Contact Body (CMO), Rabbi Raphael Evers and J. Plaisier of the Protestant Church Netherlands (PKN). In fact, they spoke more with the press than with each other.

Along the route, anti-Jewish slogans regularly sounded from the mouths of Islamic youths. Arriving at the synagogue, Kursat Bal excused himself for them. “These youngsters do not know Jews and they do not know their own Islam.

Well, evidently I don’t know Islam, either. The last time I looked at the Koran and hadith, these sacred books told the faithful to hate Jews and Christians. Islamic Scripture insists that the infidel People of the Book are the offspring of apes and pigs, and that Muslims must never take them as friends. The Koran says there is a special place in hell for Jews, who are the worst of the unbelievers because they rejected Mohammed.

Maybe my copy is a misprint. And maybe the youths of Amsterdam are reading the same bum copy of the Koran.

But here’s the punch line:

The solution that Bal suggested was remarkable. “They would not have shouted these things if they had been going to Islamic schools.”

That’s right: Imam Bal believes that the “youths” need more madrassas to keep them from hating Jews.

If only Muslim children in the Netherlands could receive a more intensive Islamic education, their anti-Semitic tendencies would be reduced!

More Koran + more sunna + more sharia = less anti-Semitism.

What a great idea! Why didn’t anyone ever think of it before?

I hope they try it and see how it works out.



Hat tip: C. Cantoni.

6 thoughts on “Interfaith Dialogue — FAIL

  1. “The solution that Bal suggested was remarkable. “They would not have shouted these things if they had been going to Islamic schools.”

    “Remarkable” being a euphamism for bizzare presumably?

  2. Below is recent speech composed by King Abdullah 11 of Jordan and performed by Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad in October 2010 at the United Nations.

    http://acommonword.blip.tv

    As much as some heads of Muslim States and/or assorted Imams involve themselves in inter-dialogue discourse with people of non-Muslim belief systems, in attempts at engendering understanding and harmony between them all, there are far too many hurdles that cannot be overcome other than through the proscribing of Islam in the western world altogether.

    To name just a few there is the Quranic command that refers to the existence of the doctrine of Dar al Islam and Dar al Harb, AND more importantly, how Muslims are compelled to conduct themselves in relation to both.

    The issue of Islam is further exacerbated by the obligatory utilization of the tool of Al Takiyya as laid down in the Qur’an.

    Yet another, is the permitting of sexual abuse including the sodomizing of children and infants, also revealed in the Qur’an.

    http://www.topix.com/forum/religion/islam/T4LF1MA6T7T70C49S

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAhy1oWYCbA

    ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNLSEhrXorw&feature=player_embedded#at=27

  3. @syntec,

    You got that right.

    Islam has no place in the Muslim world at all.

    That said, if someone from a Muslim background wants to take the risk of apostatizing from Islam IN PUBLIC, and will also make and abide by an oath to have no further contact with mosques, madrassahs, imams, ayatollahs, and other persons and institutions involved with the spread of Islam, I’d give that person the benefit of the doubt and let him or her stay.

  4. Oops… I meant to say, Islam has no place in the non-Muslim world at all.

    Freudian slip, perhaps. IMO, Islam has no place anywhere outside of Hell.

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