Christmas vs. Ashura and Moral Equivalence
BETHLEHEM: Next to Easter, today marks Christendom’s most holy celebration. It is the day when Christians around the world celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the one to whom Christians turn for salvation in this world and the next. It is a by far the most joyous day of the Christian calendar.
Most Christians around the world are oblivious to the stark contrast this particular Christmas offers with Islam. This year Christmas runs headlong into Shiite Islam’s most mournful ceremony, Ashura. The Day of Ashura is observed on the 10th day of Muharram in the Islamic calendar. Muharram is one of the four sacred months of the year in which fighting is prohibited. Apparently this only means a holiday from fighting among Muslims themselves, as it appears it is always open season on Christians:
The deadly Christmas Eve ambush of a Christian bus driver in Iraq Thursday and a bombing earlier this week targeting a 1,200-year-old church are driving Iraq’s few remaining Christians quietly underground in the hours before the holy day begins.
Christmas has bumped into Shiite Islam’s most mournful ceremony this year, forcing Iraqi Christians to shutter their homes and hide the signs of their celebration…
Unidentified gunmen ambushed a Christian man in Mosul on Thursday, shooting him after pulling him from the bus he was driving, police said…
That shooting came on the heels of a deadlier attack Wednesday, when a bomb hidden in sacks of flour exploded outside a historic church in Mosul, killing two people and wounding five.
“Instead of performing Christmas Mass in this church, we will be busy removing rubble and debris,” said Hazim Ragheed, a priest at the Mar Toma Church. Fox News
Butchering innocent Christians seems to be the dessert in a multi-course meal of slaughter between warring factions of Muslims themselves. This fighting is nothing new. In fact Ashura itself commemorates the killing of the Prophet Muhammed’s grandson, Husayn ibn Ali in 680 AD. He was not killed by an infidel, but by one of his Muslim brothers, all done in the name of Islam. This occurred during a battle that forever sealed the split between Shiites and Sunnis. Today Muslims observe this day by fasting, mourning, and self-flagellation. Here we are over 1300 years later and the Shiites and Sunnis are still killing each other, and both are still murdering Christians.
Now here is where Moral Equivalence comes in. There are many who equivocate all religions. Others blame all the ills in the world on religion. Many say it doesn’t make a difference what you believe, as long as you let others believe what they may. Others say there is no universal truth. Even President George W. Bush proclaimed that “Islam is a religion of peace” on a number of occasions.
Our mission here at the NIP is to stand for honesty in public discourse and to expose prevarication of all forms. This mission is based upon the supposition that there is such a thing as truth. If this were not so then what would it matter if a man lied? Who would care? (This may explain the abundance of prevarication we see in today’s world, i.e. a basic lack of belief in the principle of truth.)
This Christmas we celebrate one who lived among us who taught, “by their fruits ye shall know them,” and “if any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself.”
If you apply these teachings you can decide for yourself what fruits are worth gathering. Do you choose the fruits of murder, mayhem, and mutilation that have abounded for thousands of years? Or do you chose the peace and prosperity that prevail when following the teachings of the babe born in Bethlehem? Or do you side with the moral equivalency crowd where everything goes and nothing really matters?
As long as there is freedom, you can be the judge. Were Islam to prevail you would not be so lucky.
We here at the NIP have made our choice. Truth, reason, freedom, and the intrinsic worth of the human soul are central to the meaning of Christmas. This should be our message all year long.
Merry Christmas.
Editors Note: This article was published early AM before Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab took off for Detroit in an attempted bombing attack. Evidently al Qaeda read it and wanted to underscore our point. Visit this trackback from Serr8d’s Cutting Edge for photos of Ashura’s holy celebration.
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Here we have yet another attempt by someone, claiming to speak “the truth”, who seems to be obsessed with pointing out the superiority of Christianity over Islam and by denigrating Islam as an inherently violent religion.
No doubt, the many extremist Muslims are destroying much of what non-Muslims see of the religion. No doubt that much of today’s battles – many of which are more tribal than anything else – increase this as well.
But you’re ignoring how the world is filled with hate – and hate often manifests itself through religion. History shows this – look at the history of the Jews and how they have been slaughtered for years by both Christians and Muslims. Or at least, false Christians and Muslims.
I work and have worked with several reasonably devout Muslims. From Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, the Palestinian West Bank, Morocco, Somalia, Indonesia, Malaysia. None could even begin to relate to al Queda or any form of terrorism.
Just trying to stand for honesty in public discourse on my end.
@Jonathan Trenn Excellent comment, well-stated and with much merit. However, we are still waiting for peace-loving Muslims to stand up and as a group repudiate the violence and bring to an end the slaughter of innocents. It is something worth praying for, no matter to whom you are praying.
Visit this : Trackback from Serr8d’s Cutting Edge for photos of Ashura’s holy celebration. Remember that they’re doing this to themselves in the name of religion.