The Islamic Third Solution

by Caoimhin1 | July 16, 2008 at 02:39 am
809 views | 52 Recommendations | 26 comments

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The Third Solution

The Third Solution

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   Islam is the fastest growing religious movement on the planet today.  In spite of the fact that the Muslim nation gets so much bad press, is often directly linked with the word "terrorist" in the headlines, has no international hierarchy, and is the youngest of the world's major religions, what is the attraction that this movement is offering its' converts?

   Monotheism blossomed out of the harsh desert environment between western Asia and the Middle East almost 4,000 years ago.  Something about this idea of only one God rang as true in the hearts of the inhabitants and Abraham, of the Old Testament, is credited with being the first human to commit his beliefs in this way.  Down through the ages this idea caught on with the general public and became a concept that much of the world embraces and adheres to today.  Of all the other options, this idea of only one God, made more sense to a wider assortment of peoples than the idols formed by men.  Not everyone made this transition at once or in the same manner.  Words, ideas, inventions, and people travelled at a much slower rate in those days than they do now; but, travel they did, these ideas followed the trade routes and were welcomed as a sign of hope in these arid lands.  Even now, when we are confronted with new ideas and concepts, it spurs great debates both oral and written, and eventually some sort of consensus or public awareness is born.


   Nearly 300 years after the mission of Jesus, in the year 325 of the Common Era, a council was convened by the Emperor Constantine the First that would once and for all decide which of all these writings and oral traditions would be deemed acceptable to the new Christian movement.  It was the Council of Nicaea that chose what the Christian Bible would become.  The Jewish writings, unchangeable by Constantine's councils, were much older and were included as the Old Testament and the common history of Jews and Christians was forever bound under the one living God of Abraham, Moses, and Isaiah.  This new Book also made it's way along the trade routes of the Middle East, Asia, North Africa, and the Arab Peninsula.


   The city of Mecca was the largest at the time on the Arabian Peninsula and was a crossroads of trade and commerce for Jews, Christians, Arabs, and Africans.  It was here, about 300 years after Nicaea, that the Prophet Mohammed began his mission to bring the estranged descendants of Abraham back to the one living God.  It was from Abraham's sons, Ishmael and Isaac, that the great peoples of Arabia and Judea came.  As if a long lost rememberance was re-kindled in the minds and hearts of the Arabian nation they followed Muhammed back to the God of their ancestors and joined their brothers and sisters in believing in the one true God of Abraham.  Allah, Yahweh, and God are the different names of the same Supreme Being.  The similarities between Christians, Muslims, and Jews far outweigh the differences and in time it will be these similarities that will allow us to co-exist in tolerance, compassion and peace. 


   In the world today diplomacy between different nations and peoples allow us a relatively comfortable existence in the West.  We need to overcome our differences and embrace our sameness with everyone, this can be a successful achievement even though our track record isn't stellar.  All nations and peoples are guilty of abandoning the Faith and committing atrocities.  If you think you can find justification for your actions in the Scriptures, Proverbs, or Surahs of your written tradition then think again.  Instead, check your interpretations with the Ten Commandments of The Book, if there is a contradiction with your version and the Word of God, can you guess who is wrong?


   The threat from Islam does not come from it's religious beliefs it comes from it's economic ones and it is aimed at the rich and powerful.  The socio-economic philosophy of Islam is to redistribute natural resources among all who need it with no regard for private profit, a banking system with no interest payments, and an idea that all basic human needs be cared for.  It is a system that blends the positive aspects of capitalism with a type of communism that includes incentives for the ambitious.  Is it any wonder that this Third Solution is gaining converts faster than any other?

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Uwe Paschen
Uwe Paschen
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 04:32 on July 16th, 2008

Caoimhin1, I like this story. It's good stuff.

Jewdaism, Christianity, Islam is the third evolutions out of Jewish God! Maybe a fourth will emerge still!

0
Caoimhin1

Thanks Pashen for the flag!  These three philosophies have much in common in their histories!  Cheers!

Barry ORegan
Barry ORegan
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 05:05 on July 16th, 2008

Caoimhin1, I like this story. It's good stuff. Now that is what I call great stuff

0
Caoimhin1

Thank you very much Barry!

0
Barry ORegan

Certainly what Moon says is true, radical islam is not predominate, there are way more moderates than whackjobs. We have moderate christan religions as well, and we have our whackjobs too.

PEP
PEP
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 07:02 on July 16th, 2008

Caoimhin1, very good stuff. I think that with the Taliban and the current extremist version of the Muslim religion--the one that seems to be dominant today--the problem now has moved beyond the original religion.

Funny thing about all this--I never understood the Crusade before. Now I do.

0
Caoimhin1

Thank you PEP!  I think the extremists seem dominant only because they are getting all the headlines...

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PEP

And the Crusades were fired by the communications and pot-stirring of the time. Different media, but same things happening.  At least now we have more sources of information than back then.      ;}

0
René

Sorry, Cao, I suggest everybody do their own research on this subject. Just google ISLAM,  or 'Religion of Peace'. See what it is really all about. Don't neglect the sites directly from Islamists. and: "Evaluate the sources, evaluate the sources, evaluate the sources."

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Caoimhin1

Why are you sorry Rene??

0
René

Sorry you bought into it. and sorry I may seem to be dissing you. Too many buy into it, Cao. Do the research and you will see. It is not easy and takes time.

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Caoimhin1

I did do the research Rene and wrote an article.  Is it the content you dissaprove of, or the way the piece was written, or the fact that it poses reaching a peaceful solution as your reason not to give the article a GS flag?

0
René

Don't believe you did enough research to reach the conclusions you did, so, no, I do not think it is a good story. So, sorry about that. You do do a lot of good reporting.

0
Caoimhin1

Rene, I wrote an article (with background material) to explore one reason why Islam is the fastest growing religion today.  The only conclusion that I implied was that it appeals to the downtrodden.  The research is valid.

Thanks for your opinions!  :)

Karen Hatter
Karen Hatter
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 09:53 on July 16th, 2008

Caoimhin1, I like this story. It's good stuff.

0
Caoimhin1

Thanks very much Karen!  :)

Amy Judd
Amy Judd
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 10:39 on July 16th, 2008

Caoimhin1, I like this story. It's good stuff.

An interesting look at the history of Islam - I learned some things here - thanks!

0
Caoimhin1

Thank you very much Amy!

jaydeepmensa
jaydeepmensa
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 10:50 on July 16th, 2008

Caoimhin1, I like this story. It's good stuff.

0
Caoimhin1

Thanks for the GS flag jaydeepmensa!  :)

MsMcReality
MsMcReality
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 11:35 on July 16th, 2008

Caoimhin1, I like this story. It's good stuff. You were saying that the differences are what separate us and naturally they would.  There are some huge differences between Islam, Muslim and Christianity.  This site has some of them on a chart. http://muslim-canada.org/islam_christianity.html But thanks for sharing the word of God. It takes guts to do that!

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Caoimhin1

Thank you MsMcReality!  There are huge differences between these religions.  There are also huge differences among the peoples within each individual religion too.  I hope it doesn't mean that we all can't get along!  :)

Thank you for the link!

Syam AG
Syam AG
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 18:15 on July 16th, 2008

Caoimhin1, I like this story. It's good stuff.

Let me share  about  the interfaith conference in Spain :

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia was kicking off an interfaith conference in Madrid on Wednesday -- an effort to bring Muslims, Christians and Jews closer together amid a world that often puts the three faiths at odds.

Spanish King Juan Carlos was also addressing the gathering -- which the Saudis have billed as a strictly religious affair.

There's to be no mention of hot-button issues like the war in Iraq, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Iranian nuclear ambitions or rising oil prices. . .

The three-day Madrid conference boasts a number of Jewish religious figures, including David Rosen, a prominent Irish- Israeli rabbi whose presence is being hailed as a sign the Saudis are serious about reaching out. ..

Monsignor Nabil Haddad, head of the Melkite Catholic community in Jordan and a participant at the conference, told The Associated Press that any event that allows the world's main faiths to sit down together is worthwhile.

"The conference provides a rare opportunity for strengthening mutual respect between the followers of the three main religions," he said...

Wahhabism -- the strain of Sunni Islam that is practiced in Saudi Arabia -- is considered one of the religion's most conservative. Observers say the conference was being held in Spain partly because it would be politically unpalatable for Abdullah to allow Jewish and Christian leaders on Saudi soil.


0
Caoimhin1

Thank you Syam for all that additional information and the link, Cheers!

Rhonda J Mangus
Rhonda J Mangus
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 18:23 on July 16th, 2008

Caoimhin1, I like this story. It's good stuff.

Maireid Sullivan
Maireid Sullivan
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 03:14 on July 22nd, 2008

Caoimhin1, I like this story. It's good stuff.

That is a really nice conclusion, Cao.

I'm particularly fond of the Sufi version of Islamic practice.

The 13th century Persian poet RUMI enjoyed a huge popular interest in USA during the 1990s! Mainly because my favourite interpretor Coleman Barks, a Professor of poetry at Georgia University, has sold millions of books of his translations of Rumi.

From This Longing

Two Kinds of Intelligence

There are two kinds of intelligence: One acquired,
as a child in school memorizes facts and concepts
from books and from what the teacher says,
collecting information from the traditional sciences
as well as from the new sciences.

With such intelligence you rise in the world.
You get ranked ahead or behind others
in regard to your competence in retaining
information. You stroll with this intelligence
in and out of fields of knowledge, getting always more
marks on your preserving tablets.

There is another kind of tablet, one
already completed and preserved inside you.
A spring overflowing its springbox. A freshness
in the center of the chest. This other intelligence
does not turn yellow or stagnate. It's fluid,
and it doesn't move from outside to inside
through the conduits of plumbing-learning.

This second knowing is a fountainhead
from within you, moving out.

From Feeling the Shoulder of the Lion

You Are the Only Student You Have

You are the only faithful student you have.
All the others leave eventually.

Have you been making yourself shallow
with making other eminent?

Just remember, when you're in union,
you don't have to fear
that you'll be drained.

The command comes to speak,
and you feel the ocean
moving through you.
Then comes, Be silent,
as when the rain stops,
and the trees in the orchard
begin to draw moisture
up into themselves.



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Uwe Paschen
First Flagged at 4:32 AM, Jul 16, 2008 by Uwe Paschen
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