A rabbi, a preacher, and an imam walk into a bar, sit down at the counter, and order drinks.
Wiping the counter, the bartender looks at them and says, "Gents, I respect the fact that you are all men of God, but I tell you what. I don't think I believe in the Big Guy upstairs."
The rabbi looks at the bartender and says, "I understand. It's tough to keep one's faith in these trying times."
The preacher follows up with, "That's okay, my son. God believes in you."
Then the imam replies: "Off with your head, infidel!"
And I'm the one who is intolerant for not wanting a mosque built two blocks from Ground Zero?
20 comments:
We had one of "those" e-mails going around that was making a point .... that Muslims build mosques at the sites of great victories. Now if that is a true statement (no way to verify the e-mail) how does THAT make you feel about it? Ahem ahem cough cough. Not only did they "win" by imploding the twin towers, they "win" with the NYC planning commission, and that is probably the more difficult victory actually.
I've still got my hands in the air over this issue.
As told by Clint Eastwood:
A rabbi, a preacher, and an imam walk into a bar. The bartender says, "Get the fuck out."
That being said, if you're going to have freedom of religion, it's gotta be for all religions. Even the vile, repugnant ones. With all of the publicity and protesting over the ground zero mosque, I don't think it ever gets more than 1/2 way done before it burns to the ground. Jsut saying
Here's a couple of posters you might like:
http://wizbangblog.com/images/protest_sign_funny-thumb.jpg
http://blogs.philadelphiaweekly.com/style/files/2009/11/sin.jpg
Tell me more why you're irked. I hear Pam regarding victories, but I'm also thinking what Buzz expressed... a tolerance for all religions. It's perplexing. Where can they build? Three blocks away? 10? Wasn't the entire country attacked on that day?
Color me: confuzzled as Troll used to say.
Well, I'll probably have something up tonight regarding this as I'm not very happy with it. I'll get into more detail later, If I'm not to long at happy hour afterall it is 2 fer Tuesdays. No one is stopping the practicing of Islam. There are plenty of places in NYC to "worship", people just don't want an Islamic center in this spot.
Pam: Hmmmm . . . never heard of that one.
Heff: Holding an axe to grind!
Buzz: So you think we should "tolerate" a religion whose very existence advocates—even demands—the regular exercise of violence against non-believers and the total subjugation of those members who don't wholly toe the party line?
Boxer: At the very LEAST, the choice of location is in bad taste.
Milk: I personally don't see the appeal of any organized religion, but Islam is Whack on Crack to the nth degree.
I agree. When I first heard about it I thought it was a joke. That is EXPENSIVE real estate too. As I said, I'm confused. I'm not happy and yet, our freedoms should extend to everyone.
I agree about the tolerance of all religion, don't get me wrong. And the same will apply to these guys -- they better be just as tolerant, eh? I see that they are being offered state land now if they will move their site. My head sees the logic; my heart says no no no, inches turning into miles, etc.
"So you think we should "tolerate" a religion whose very existence advocates—even demands—the regular exercise of violence against non-believers and the total subjugation of those members who don't wholly toe the party line?"
To my knowledge, the Islamic denomination of this mosque doesn't advocate extremism or a Jihad. So they would be protected under the constitution.
Would I prefer them not to build at ground zero? Sure, but like Boxer said, how far away is far enough? Unless they can be linked to terrorist or pose some sort of threat to the neighborhood or national security, they have as much right as Jews, Catholics or followers of Voodoo to worship where they want.
Moi: Don't judge the beliefs or form your impressions of an entire group by the thoughts of its extremists . . . a good policy whether the topic is religion or politics or intercollegiate sports. I wouldn't dismiss the entire worth of college athletics, for example, based on the impressions I have formed living over 30 years in SEC country. (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)
All: I don't care if someone wants to worship rocks, elevators, or Louboutins (ah-hem), and would never impinge their right to enter into a value-for-value exchange with property owners to build their shrines.
And I am fully aware that there are extremist elements in Christianity and Judaism as well and that it is unfair to judge either religion by these minorities.
But let's face it. The majority of the strife we see in the world today is caused by the clash of religious beliefs, Islam being central to the clash.
Because of this, I am beginning to seriously doubt that there IS a denomination of Islam that doesn't advocate extremism or Jihad. It seems to me that violence IS its central tenet and that the only way to keep the faithful faithful is through violence and subjugation. If there is a peaceful denomination, they better get their asses moving to turn this image around.
1)
When the definition of "peace is "the irradication of Christians"
this is a head's up which should never be back burnered.
2)
Non radical( aka peaceful) muslims have had a decade to apply peer pressure, or better yet, seek out and punish, their own who have attacked our Nation and our beliefs. Instead they FINANCE the jihadist agenda.
3)
The proposed mosque location is a territorial statement and a "call to arms" which should not be ignored.
4)
Since respect and decency are not part of the site selection criteria for this mosque, then certainly the responses to this decision were not just expected but planned, to test our commitment to the constitution.
5) I'd live next door to this mosque before I would live next door to an Obama.
TROLL! You are missed.
ah moi, c'mon...let 'em build it, build the most expensive mosque ever. I know the muslims will be very understandin' when a few ex spec ops use it fer implosion practice.
Yes, freedom to worship must be respected--but there is no freedom to worship ANYplace you choose. There is no warrant for this-- There is the matter of PROPRIETY. This is obviously an IN YOUR FACE site selection. That is prima facie evidence of intent to humiliate the victims as well as blare "triumph" to the watching world of islam.
The city of NYC ought to deny zoning on historic grounds. But, oh yeah, wait, Bloomberg is in favor of this? !!
If Islam is religion of peace, here is a grand place to prove it: Let he peaceful majority of its adherents themselves demand a charitable gesture toward the memory of the victims by refusing to fund this mosque unless it is moved to a more suitable location.
Take a page from Pope John Paul II:
when a some Jews objected to the Carmelite convent near the historic site of Auschwitz (Thousands of Catholics died in the death camp in the Holocaust) the Pope nixed the plans of the Carmelites as a specific gesture of understanding toward the feelings of another group for their suffering.
See WSJ article on this point:
http://online.wsj.com/article/NA_WSJ_PUB:SB10001424052748704271804575405330350430368.html
get comfortable with these words:
intolerant
racist
they are the behavior modification terms of our time. to avoid these charges people often abandon:
reason
common sense
instinct
pitiful.
Fishy: They don't just seek to eradicate Christians, but Jews and non-believers. In total: everyone who isn't Muslim.
Aunty: If Islam is religion of peace, here is a grand place to prove it: Let [t]he peaceful majority of its adherents themselves demand a charitable gesture toward the memory of the victims by refusing to fund this mosque unless it is moved to a more suitable location.
That's it exactly. Yes, they have a legal "right" to put this mosque wherever they can pay to put it. But "should" they, is the real question here. Again, to me, it comes down to a matter of taste and respect.
Chickory: Perfectly summed up, grrrrrrl. I'm going to go hang that on my fridge :o)
I say all or nothing and fuck all religion. Let's ban ALL churches, mosques, synagogues and places of worship! That's the only fair thing to do! Religion causes SO MANY problems, doesn't it?
Imagine the outrage from the Jews or Christians if they were told they couldn't build their house of worship....oh yeah, that's right, THEY aren't extreme fundamentalists (pro-lifers bombing abortion clinics and killing doctors come to mind!)
Even the Westboro Baptists, loathesome as they are, are allowed to exist and "worship."
But to be practical, what Buzz said.
PS: Just saw this docco on the History channel on "hillbillies" from the Appalachians and how they are allowed to practice their own form of religion, snake handling, in only one state now (don't remember which one, doh!) Otherwise, they are persecuted! Unfortunately, too many people were dying from snake bites....sigh, where does it end?! Where do religious rights end and practicality and good sense begin?
Seems incongruous...
La Diva: Well, religion does cause most of the world's problems, now doesn't it. Ban them all? Not a bad idea, however, as you say, totally impractical.
No, you're not intolerant. Those who insist that it MUST be built there are intolerant of the views and feelings of the vast majority of Americans. And screw them for that, too.
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