Saudi King calls for opening up to other faiths

[machangezi]

MAKKAH, June 4: A gathering of Muslim scholars from around the globe got under way here on Wednesday, with call from King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia to counter the challenges of rigidity, ignorance, narrow-mindedness to make the world accommodate and pay heed to the kind message of Islam without reservations, enmity and antagonism.

This is a good news. Muslim leaders need to do more and tell the bigots that Islam ain't all about enmity.

[BobbyTits]

This is a good news. Muslim leaders need to do more and tell the bigots that Islam ain't all about enmity.

Linky Saudi King calls for opening up to other faiths -DAWN - Top Stories; June 05, 2008

You need to wake up and realize what scum the Saudi's are.

[November Rain]

^ Did you actually read the link, or are you just blindly mouthing off, as usual, Bobby?

Nice concept, macha. It would be nice to think it would be acted on. I'm not wildly optimistic, but the longest journey begins with a single step. So, who knows?

[Larn]

BobbyTits knows what he’s talking about. This propaganda gets published by the Saudi press all the time. Nothing ever comes of it.

[November Rain]

Propoganda gets published by every form of the press in every country to a lesser or greater degree. Can you name any news agency with no political bias whatsoever? Off the top of my head I can't.

BobbyTits has a dislike of Muslims in general & macha in particular from the posts I've read, which I certainly don't count as 'knowing what he's talking about'. I would call it either bias or bigotry.

[Larn]

Just put my comments down to 20 years working in that nation. Talk to the natives and you’ll soon see those press releases are just to appease other nations.

[BobbyTits]

Propoganda gets published by every form of the press in every country to a lesser or greater degree. Can you name any news agency with no political bias whatsoever? Off the top of my head I can't.

BobbyTits has a dislike of Muslims in general & macha in particular from the posts I've read, which I certainly don't count as 'knowing what he's talking about'. I would call it either bias or bigotry.

Saudi is a country that confiscates crucifixes from people entering it.

It is a shithole extremist regime full of sand niggers who would be absolutely nothing if they did not have their oil wealth.


The story is propaganda drivel.

[November Rain]

BobbyTits has a dislike of Muslims in general & macha in particular from the posts I've read, which I certainly don't count as 'knowing what he's talking about'. I would call it either bias or bigotry.

It is a shithole extremist regime full of sand niggers

Oh, well, you've proved me wrong on that point, haven't you Bobby? Nice to see such moderate views and language.

[BobbyTits]

BobbyTits has a dislike of Muslims in general & macha in particular from the posts I've read, which I certainly don't count as 'knowing what he's talking about'. I would call it either bias or bigotry.

It is a shithole extremist regime full of sand niggers

Oh, well, you've proved me wrong on that point, haven't you Bobby? Nice to see such moderate views and language.

Go there and be forced to wear a rag on your head and be denied something really basic like the right to drive a car.

Report back please.

[artist]

Christmas cards and christmas songs were banned in the camp I was in by the religious police.A exit visa was required to leave the country but Saudi could travel freely to Bahrain each weekend to go on the piss. An archealogical site was discovered with remnants bof a churh on it. The site was immediately bulldozed and covered in concrete. Saudis are the worlds most hypocritical race.

[Whiteshiva]

I agree with Bobby Tits, 100%.

What that why you edited the OP?

[sabang]

Saudis are the worlds most hypocritical race

Saudi's ain't a race. But I must admit, knowing several people that have worked in the ME a long time and who are not bigoted, that the Saud's and the Kuwaiti's are generally considered the arseholes of the region, mainly because they themselves are intensely bigoted.

Incidentally, Saud is a family name.

[lom]

I agree with Bobby Tits, 100%.

What that why you edited the OP?

I expect Milkman to give an explanation of why he removed the link in the OP.
I can see no reason for that kind of moderating.

[Mr Earl]

^agreed
Milky has lost the plot.
On one hand he's calling Israelis "baby eaters" and on the other he's giving greens to BobbyTits for making astute observations regarding Royal Saudi fukwits.
Milky how do "you" like your babies? Steamed, boiled or bbq?

[DrB0b]

Milkman why did you edit the OP?

[Texpat]

Milk is deeply confused and troubled.

He's famous for his half-cocked moderating and tantrums. TD's finest.

[barbaro]

I agree with Bobby Tits, 100%.

What that why you edited the OP?

I expect Milkman to give an explanation of why he removed the link in the OP.
I can see no reason for that kind of moderating.

I made a very dumb mistake.

I wanted to quote Macha's post and post a response.

I accidentally hit the "edit" button. They are right next to each other.

I then hit the "back" button to go back and let Macha's original post be the way it was, but I apparently deleted the link somehow.

I'm sending a PM to Macha ASAP to explain.

Sorry about this folks. I made a dumb mistake. It was an error.

I'll be very careful not to do this again, and all question about this are fair. I just now realized that I his link is missing.

Apologies to Macha and all board members.

[kingwilly]

What about post number 8?

[barbaro]

What about post number 8?

I will edit this post if you want. It's off-topic.

[kingwilly]

To answer Macha, it's a great idea, only a very very small step in what will be an enormous process, I do hope it works.

However, at risk of sounding like I am agreeing with some of the other idiot comments on this thread, I do suspect that it may be more propaganda than real dialogue.

Just this last week in jakarta we had a religious peaceful parade be attacked by a bunch of religious thugs who have been tolerated by the police in the past...

[November Rain]

What about post number 8?

I will edit this post if you want. It's off-topic

Why? Why is it off-topic? BobbyTits calls an entire race (or perhaps religion) 'sand niggers' and a nation a 'shithole', but me pointing his racism & bigotry out is off-topic?

I'd like an explanation from either or both of you, as to why in amongst all this nastiness I'm the one whose post is being singled out, please.

[lom]

Post #8 was Milkmans, yours was #9.
He did not edit his, he removed it completely. Yours became #8..

[November Rain]

Oh, OK. Thanks for that. Sorry, all.

[Larn]

As this seems to be an emotional subject to some people I’ll try to go easy.


KW I assume you’re a convert as you’ve married a Muslim. Did you know if you ever wanted to renounce Islam in Saudi you will be executed? I’ve seen it happen to a Saudi from the southern area who renounced Islam.


To quote today’s arabnews.


“We are working on opening communication and channels of dialogue with followers of divine messages and Eastern ideologies with a view to realizing the message of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him),” said MWL Secretary-General Dr. Abdullah Al-Turki.


You’ll note they’re only exploring ways to open communication with other faiths. My reading of the article is they are exploring ways to convert people. No mention has been made of opening up Saudi for other faiths to openly practice their religion.


As it stands at the moment Islam is the only recognized religion in the country. Christianity and Judaism are accepted but not permitted to be openly practiced. Other “Idol worship” religions are not tolerated.


There’s only 1 building in Saudi near Taif recognized as a previous church but now a mosque. Access by Christians is limited. No churches or other faith religious buildings are allowed. Another Christian area near Jizan is sealed off and Christian visitors to that area are actively discouraged. Areas on the spice route where the queen of Sheba is reported to have camped on her journey are sealed also.


Ancient sandstone art in the central regions is covered in religious graffiti. Efforts have been made by individuals to destroy it.


A Filipino was executed a number of years ago for practicing Christianity and more recently another was sentenced to death but later deported after international protests at his sentence.


The wearing of crucifixes is more than frowned upon and I’ve lost count of the number of people I’ve personally known who’ve had them ripped from around their neck. This also applies to the importation of anything considered to be a religious object. Even those Thai dancer dolls you see in the tourist markets in Bangkok are considered Idols and destroyed by customs.


There are still people being executed for witchcraft. The last was 2 months ago. Another mentally challenged woman has been sentenced to death for witchcraft this year and each month there are news reports of more people being arrested by the religious authorities for practicing witchcraft.


Mutawa moral police roam the streets at prayer times with canes hitting people and forcing them to attend the mosque. They also stop and question young married couples accusing them of inappropriate behavior. Let’s not forget the treatment single men get if they spend too much time at a shopping centre.


Maybe I’m misinterpreting the message of tolerance.

[Sakeopete]

No offense to believers but really in this day in age I don't understand why people believe in stuff like gods. Religion served its purpose in controlling the masses when science and technology were in there infancy but why do people still believe this nonsense now? I could understand the people who's government blocks media from the rest of the world but what about people who don't have those restrictions?

[Instead of having the good sense to hand out contraceptives..] They (religious elite) express a preference for 'natural' methods of population limitation, and a natural method is exactly what they are going to get. It is called starvation.

"A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death."
--Albert Einstein

"We must question the story logic of having an all-knowing all-powerful God, who creates faulty Humans, and then blames them for his own mistakes."
--Gene Roddenberry

"When I became convinced that the universe is natural, that all the ghosts and gods are myths, there entered into my brain, into my soul, into every drop of my blood the sense, the feeling, the joy of freedom. The walls of my prison crumbled and fell. The dungeon was flooded with light and all the bolts and bars and manacles became dust. I was no longer a servant, a serf, or a slave. There was for me no master in all the wide world, not even in infinite space. I was free--free to think, to express my thoughts--free to live my own ideal, free to live for myself and those I loved, free to use all my faculties, all my senses, free to spread imagination's wings, free to investigate, to guess and dream and hope, free to judge and determine for myself . . . I was free! I stood erect and fearlessly, joyously faced all worlds."
--Robert G. Ingersoll

"I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours."
--Stephen Roberts

"Atheism is a religion like not collecting stamps is a hobby."

"We must respect the other fellow's religion, but only in the sense and to the extent that we respect his theory that his wife is beautiful and his children are smart."
--Henry Mencken

"The only difference between a church and a cult is real estate."
--Frank Zappa

"Atheism is not a philosophy; it is not even a view of the world; it is simply an admission of the obvious. In fact, 'atheist' is a term that should not ever exist. No one ever needs to identify himself as a 'non astrologer' or a 'non-alchemist'. We do not have words for people who doubt that Elvis is still alive or that aliens traversed the galaxy only to molest ranchers and their cattle. Atheism is nothing more than the noises reasonable people make in the presence of unjustified religious beliefs. An atheist is simply a person who believes that the 260 million Americans (87 percent of the population) claiming to 'never doubt the existence of God' should be obliged to present evidence for his existence-and, indeed, for his BENEVOLENCE, given the relentless destruction of innocent human beings we witness in the world each day."
--Sam Harris, "Letter to a Christian Nation"