Muslims oppose building Catholic Church in Bahrain

The building of the largest Roman Catholic church in the Gulf was supposed to be a chance for the tiny island kingdom of Bahrain to showcase its traditions of religious tolerance in a conservative Muslim region where churches largely operate under heavy limitations.

Instead, the planned church — intended to be the main center for Catholics in the region — has turned into another point of tension in a country already being pulled apart by sectarian battles between its Sunni and Shiite Muslim communities.

Hardline Sunni clerics have strongly opposed the construction of the church complex, in a rare open challenge of the country's Sunni king. More than 70 clerics signed a petition last week saying it was forbidden to build churches in the Arabian Peninsula, the birthplace of Islam.

One prominent cleric, Sheik Adel Hassan al-Hamad, proclaimed in a sermon during Friday prayers last month, that there was no justification for building further churches in Bahrain, adding, "anyone who believes that a church is a true place of worship is someone who has broken in their faith in God."

Continue reading at abcnews.go.com

« Previous Article

Posting Policy

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, vulgarity, profanity, all caps, or discourteous behavior. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain a courteous and useful public environment where we can engage in reasonable discourse. Read more.

aceituna

Another warning about the Muslims and how they take everything over.
LK

Wow, I cant say that I am surprised, but they sure dont have any qualms about building a mosque on the 9/11 site….seems just a tad hypocritical to me!
- /.murphy
  
  We have religious tolerance in our country; they don't. They're stuck somewhere between the present and medieval times. The good news is that it can't last. There's lots of evidence all over the Middle East that the fabric of their society is fraying. We are entering a period, after the Arab Spring demonstrations, where there is going to be more turmoil as these societies modernize. There will be steps forward, and steps backward. Just sit tight.
  - Esther
    
    "Our country" … do you meant he U. S. of A.? … In our country the U..S. of A., we don't tolerate other religions,. "Tolerate" implies one is better than the other. NO such thing here, like one is better than the other, at least, ideally. (Not that we don't have some who would change that.) The implication is, thus, we do not have "more worthy" compassion as our "friendly" Muslims would have it nor do we have "mere" law as these "friendly" Muslims would have it. We have "more worthy" law. period. The compassion is left for the individual religion to practice it within their own boundaries. The worthy law we have is the U. S. Constitution. Would you agree?
    
    I would not like to be Catholic in Bahrain at any time. Centuries of history does not support that it is "fraying."
mesaman

Is Ok to build mosque in US of A, is vile repudiation of the holy one Achmed, Aqmed, Alfred, whatever Muhamed calls himself, to build on sacred sand of many camels. Is not hypocrite, is islam. We do what we want. Don't like it, I send terrorist.
smogdew

Oh sure, bomb the Twin Tower, kill 3,000 Americans and then plan to build a mosque on THAT sacred ground but nothing for the people of Bahrain because Muslims say so? Since when did anyone give them authority to dominate the Christian/Jewish world? I am so sick of these maggots pushing everyone around and dictating what will and what will not fly. Allah? He doesn't exist except in the minds of brainwashed Islamists who read an evil book supposedly written by the grand master of all jerks – mohammed. He worshiped pagan gods before he decided to invent a monotheistic cult of people who have done nothing for over 1300 years but hate, kill and attempt to dominate the world. I'll put my God up against their allah – ANYTIME.
Anyone believing an Islamist needs to have their head(s) examined. No good will ever come from having them in our country.
- Mike from Colorado
  
  No Smogdew, In the spirit of the Muslim tradition you cut their heads off!!! Seriously, we Christians are in an all out battle with these hateful people yet we continue to stick our heads in the sand in hopes it will all go away someday. If we Christians don't wake up we will all be either dead (which is OK with me because I know where I will be spending eternity) or at their mercy. I say NO DAMN mosque at Ground Zero if we can't build a Catholic Church or any other Christian or Jewish place of worship in Bahrain. We need to stop allowing them in our colleges and universities and stop their migration here. Look what has happened to Great Britain…their planned strategy is to slowly creep into our culture and eventually take it over. Its all based on the percentages and as they grow they turn up the heat. Its like the old story of the frog in the kettle of water and you slowly turn up the heat…
  - smogdew
    
    "We" aren't letting them in the US (realize there are some who have lived here for decades – all Islamists are Muslims but not all Muslims are islamists – and these Muslims are good American citizens; not many but some). Its the Dep't of Immigration and Naturalization services who are rubber stamping their applications – one every six minutes. Good old Obama and his goons. I recall a time when you could not get into the US unless it was that you were a religious or polictical refugee (persecution). Now you can come here just to persecute us. Here, as in Western Europe -you mentioned England – it is the politicians who are SOFT on Islam/Muslims as you well know because ot the Hate Crimes laws – England is just as bad if not worse…a direct result of political correctness. The US gov't has made indiginous Americans 2nd class citizens and if you are white and Christian/Jewish you might as well have a target on your back.
    Church schools/universities should have known better – in their zealous, yet naive beliefs, they allowed Muslim (and gays who are doing as much if not more damage)
    students and hired liberal faculty members and are inundated with demands by both groups (who have formed student unions to recruit more members for their 'organizations'.
    The American people will never wake up – they are too apathetic and still have their hands out and 'it's all bout me attitudes'. If you have noticed comments on web newsletters, there are more from Muslims who at first were 'placating' but they are not in your face – and brazen. I cannot imagine being so brainwashed as to have no free will and think exactly like the next Islamist across the city……they are clones.
    I'm glad to know there are other Americans out there as irate as I – funny think is that I am not afraid except for the children who follow.
    FYI, David Cameron (Prime Minister/England) has banned people wearing crosses/crucifixes in public and of course businesses have followed suit. This will also mean the Star of David eventually – of course Muslims can do as they please. Egad, they are such maggots.
  - Philip from Minnesota
    
    Mike from Colorado, do you realize that not all Muslims wanted the so-called "Ground Zero Mosque" to be built, and that those who wanted the mosque built were Sufi Muslims, who are considered heretics and worse than Christians by Wahabi groups luke Al-Qaeda and the Taliban? Remember, Bahrain despite its large Shia Majority is not just a Sunni country but a major ally of Saudi Arabia, the source of Wahabism. The Shia Muslims, the Sufis, and many educated Sunni Muslims wouldn't care if a Catholic Church was built in Bahrain. 12er Shia and Sufi Muslims are on good terms with the Vatican, anyway. You didn't know that? Now, you do. Although some Sufis are Shia Muslims, most Sufis are either Sunni Muslims who wanted the love and justice preached by the Shia Imams, but followed the Shariah of the Sunni Caliphate. Shariah is the Arabic word for Law, and that can be learned by anyone who takes Comparative Religion 101 in college. I think the reason some anti-Muslim groups in the USA use Shariah Law instead of Shariah or Law is to demonize the Arabic language. That's also why many American Christians forget that Palestinian Arabs are both Muslims and Christians, and both are treated as if they are Muslims just because they are Arabs. As for Great Britain, they allowed too many Wahabis to move to their country. But then, The British Secret Service helped the House of Saud become powerful in Arabia, and they followed the teachings of Shiekh Abdul- Wahab, from whom the Wahabis get their name. The oil happened to be where the Shia Muslims were, and the British-Allied Saudis captured those regions. In World War I, the British promised the Saudis an Arab state in the Holy Land to help the British defeat the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire, so Arab blood was spilled for that purpose. Of course, the British didn't fulfill their promise, but the Saudis are still allies with Britain nonetheless. Did you even know this history?
- Philip from Minnesota
  
  Smogdew – notice what the article really says. Hardline Sunni Muslims are actually Wahabis and they are not really Sunnis. Al-Qaeda and the Taliban are militant Wahabis. The Shia Muslims are NOT forbidding the building of the Christian Church. Besides, the Shia Muslims have no power in Bahrain. During the Arab Spring, the Shia Muslims did not try to overthrow the Government. Instead, they protested for equal rights. The Bahraini government has been marginalizing the majority Shias, not allowing them to have jobs, and paying Sunnis from other countries to move there and get jobs. By the way, if you have a Visa from the USA, you would be allowed to get work there, since Bahrain is on friendly terms with the USA. Finally, educated Sunni Muslim doctors, nurses, and ambulance workers were killed by Bahraini police when they tried to help the wounded. Smogdew, you may be a professing Christian, but I seriously doubt that you have repented of your sins. Calling people maggots violates The Sermon on the Mount and the chapter on charity in First Corinthians. Blaming all Muslims for 911 when it was Al-Qaeda, and when persecuted Shia Muslims come to the USA because they can't live in their own countries anymore because of Wahabism, is bearing false witness against your neighbor. If what you say about hate and dominance by the Sunni Muslim Empires, how is it that Christian empires usually forced their citizens to be the denomination of the government, when Sunni Empires until the rise of Ibn Tamiyyah's version of Islam (father of the Wahabis, you might say) allowed Christian and Jewish citizens? By the way, Muhammad made a treaty with the Christians in Arabia which was broken by the second Caliph Omar Ibn Khattab. But, Omar defeated the Byzantine Empire at Jerusalem and allowed the Jews to once again live in Jerusalem, a priviledge they had until the Crusaders captured Jerusalem? How do you account for that history? When I read a series of responses like this to a news article, I can see the American Christians have their Wahabis, also, and that make me sad!
  - smogdew
    
    Assuming by your reply, you are Muslim (possibly a student of Islam), so I appreciate your edification on the Bahrain situation – our newspapers, as you have seen, lump all Muslims together – when the war in Iran started, it was our first steady information (not knowledge) of Muslims…..our media did not stratify or categorize people in the mid-east other than 'Muslim'. You can discern that just by reading our newspapers/watching TV. I do know that all Islamists are Muslims but not all Muslims are Islamists….so when it comes to which group bombed the twin towers, it was Islamists – And I'm more inclined to believe our problems are with/by/because of Islamists as it is they who adhere to Mohammed, the Qur'an and Allah.
    Those Muslims who have found shelter in the US because of political or religious persecuttion are more than welcome and I hope they find peace and that is what they offer us.
    I will not proffer any comparison (too lengthy) between the Crusades and their origins – which were temporary- of short duration by comparison when you realize Islamists have been plundering, killing, looting, warring since they rode out of what was the then known world over 1300 years ago….. demanding strict adherence to the Qur'an Allah (under the penalty of death) with no freedom to choose.
    As for American Christians – they are not all saints – our religion is not forced upon us with every other Christian judging the character of our souls. That is for God to judge. We sin and repent, if our repentance in insincere, God will know it. And it is not for another Christian to punish us – only God has the right to take a life. For me to call a murdering Muslim or anyone else a maggot is drawing a parallel – not a pleasant one but certainly not a sin and certainly nothing against charity.
    Had I been taught Islam by a Christian, I would make as many wrong assumptions as you do in being taught about Christianity by an Islamist.
    I have noticed by comments made to me by other Muslims/Islamists that you are all educated in Christianity to a greater or lesser degree – whether it's a quick course taught in relation to Islam/history or an elective college course – you can't learn anything about Christianity from an Islamist and I don't care what his credentials are – any more than I could learn about Islam from a Christian clergyman.. At any rate, I have had 12 years (through college) of Christian education — plus what I have learned on my own – and at no time were Mohammed, the Qur'an or Allah mentioned…..which provokes the question why you all have an almost obsession with Christians and Jews????
    When the war in Iraq started, one of the first statements the world heard was that Islamists only goal was to convert all to Islam/Allah or you would kill all Infidels who resisted. And most recently, one of your Imams said the Islamic flag would fly above the White House and above the Vatican.
    As sure as you are of your allah, I am even more sure of my God, the latter will not happen.
    I commend you for 'gently' telling me of my 'folly' – if you think 'maggots' was an unkind word, you would be amazed at the names I have been called by Islamists……I do not deny people their humanity and foibles.
    - Philip from Minnesota
      
      Smogdew, although raised a Roman Catholic, and attending Parochial Schools for 9 of 12 years, I became a born-again Christian and attended an independent fundamentalist Baptist Church where the Scofield Reference Bible was used … later I became what I would call "Bapticostal" Holiness because other Pentecostals said we were "Fundamentalists who speak in tongues". I graduated from their Bible College and became an Elder in a local church. Because I liked reading Church History and the history of Christian Dogmatics, I became interest in Eastern Orthodoxy. However, even though I became catechumen, I couldn't go through with it because I couldn't light a candle and ask a saint to pray for me by looking at the icon, the so-called "Window into Heaven". In the meantime, because I had made friends with Sunni Muslims from Eritrea, I bought a copy of Pickthal Translation of the Quran because, in my efforts to evangelize them, I found that I had learned many things about Muslims and the Quran that are not true. My sources of course were folks like Hal Lindsey and Dave Hunt, and their books are not very scholarly. The Quran was not what I expected. I read Pickthal's 5 page life of Muhammad which served as an introduction, so I learned there was no Islamic State until early Muhammad was accepted in Medina as their leader. Then the Meccan polytheists tried to wipe out the Muslim movement. Look up the Constitution of Medina. Jews were called "brothers", not "Dhimmi's". Muhammad also made a treaty with the Christians in the Arabian penninsula. It would be broken by the 2nd Caliph, Omar Ibn Khattab. The funny thing is, Abu Sufyan, one of the leaders of Polytheist Merchants, finally became a Muslim after the Polytheists broke the treaty they made with the Muslims, and after the death of Muhammad, his clan the Ummayads, who hated Muhammad's appointed successor, ended up with his son Muhawiya as the founder of the very imperialist Ummayad dynasty. Some of the Jews became Muslims, including some Rabbis. The Jewish tribes in Medina however went over to the Polythiest party and helped the Polytheists against the Muslims. Now, according to Sunni Muslim traditions, a Jewish woman poisoned Muhammad and he died six months later. The 12 Shia Muslims books of traditions don't have that one, and have Muhammad dying due to illness. Both sides say that Muhammad's cousin and husband of his daughter,, Ali Ibn Talib, was to be the successor of the Prophet, but the Muslim leaders did not allow it, getting together while Ali and Muhammad's daughter was preparing the body of Muhammad for burial. Party of the reason was tribal jealousy on the part of different parties. Three candidates, all allies, presented themselves to be the successor, and then two dropped out. Abu Bakr became the 1st Caliph. Another candidate, Omar Ibn Khattab, became the 2nd Caliph. The 3rd candidate was not around to be 3rd Caliph, so the Ummayad Uthmann was made 3rd Caliph. Since Ali ibn Talib was not an imperialist, but Abu Bakr and friends were, the early Caliphate was expansive, as were the Byzantine and Sassanid (Persian) Empires. Omar ejected the Christians from the Arabian Penninula. Omar aided Abu Bakr to take away the gift of land Muhammad gave his daughter Fatima, and actually attacked Fatima and made her loose the child she was carrying. Fatima died 3 months after the Prophet. Ali Ibn Talib finally became the 4th Caliph. He was not an imperialist, and he made sure various minority religious communities received charity. Of course, the Ummayads stirred up trouble and foght battles against him. Muhawiya, the son of Abu Sufyan, fought against Ali. Ali agreed to loosing half the kingdom rather than have Muslim fight Muslim as long as his son Hassan, the grandson of the Prophet, could be the successor of Muhawiya. Ali was assassinated by a party that wanted him to fight even if it meant the deaths of many Muslims. Muhawiya then reneged on his agreement by murdering Hassan. When Muhawiya died, his son Yazid, an open drunkard and womanizer, demanded Hussein, the 2nd son of Ali by Fatima, give allegiances or die. Hussein asked to take his family into exile, but Yazid demaded the oath or death. At the battle of Karbala, 3,000 of Yazid's men killed Hussein and 72 male members of his family, plus a commander of Yazid who went over to Hussein's side, and the Christian Family the joined Hussein. Only the 12 year old son of Hussein, named Ali, lived through the event because he was ill and in his mother's tent, forbidden by Hussein to take part in battle. Ali, Hassan, Hussein, and Muhammad are the first 4 Imams of the 12er Shia Muslims. No Imams are on Earth now, but the 12th Imam will return with Jesus Christ. The 12th Imam, according to 12er Shia Muslim classic traditions, will aid persecuted Shia Muslims in Iraq and the Arabian Penninsula. Sorry, 12er Shia Muslims don't expect any kind of Global Jihad … thats Wahabi Eschatology. Traditional Sunnis believe Jesus Christ and the Mahdi will work together, also. The Wahabis believe Al Mahdi will return, but not Jesus Christ. I wonder why. Anyway, the murder of Hussein stopped the decay of Muslim religion under the Ummayads, who cursed the family of the Prophet at every Friday prayer. When the Abbasid's replaced the Ummayads, they stopped cursing the family of the Prophet. This is when the Sunnis begin to appear. They accept both the Prophet's family and the first three Caliphs, but not the Ummayyads. However, Ibn Tamiyyah who the Wahabis consider Sheikh Al-Islam, appeared during the early Turkish Caliphate. He accepted the first three Caliphs, didn't like Ali, and hated his descendants. He was also influenced by the Ummayads. The Wahabis are influencing many young Sunnis, have been since the 1960s. Militant Wahabis blow up Shia and Christian places of Worship and see Shias as worse than Christians. Wahabis don't even modern Christians as the Christians of the Quran, while most Sunnis and all Sufis and Shias consider modern Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians and others as candidates for salvation. Why would I become a 12er Shia Muslim? Because, after the death of Hussein, none of the remaining Shia Imams ever tried to form a Islamic government. Other Shia sects did, but not the 12ers. Iran became a 12er Shia Muslim country in the early 1600s when its Emperor questioned Sunni rulings on what constitutes a legal divorce, since saying "I divorce you!" three times in a fit of anger constitutes a divorce under Sunni juriprudence. I do NOT want an Islamic flag flying over the White House since that could only happen if 75% of Americans willingly became 12er Shia Muslims and then held a Constitutional Congress, since a Muslim, according to 12er Shia law, must fulfill the terms of any contract he makes, which includes a visa or being a born and bred citizen. Yep, I like the US Constitution. I even like the Puritans, and though Cotton Mather was wrong about "Spectral Evidence" in the Salem Witch Trials, he was right about inoculations. 12er Shia Muslims say there will be a wonderful revival of Shia Islam in the West, which will make Muslims from the East look worldly in comparison, and I believe that's because the US Constitution teaches the same things the Family of the Prophet in their interpretation of the Quran. Sorry for the long post, but there was a lot to say. Many Americans lump all Muslim sects together, but then, many Muslims do the same with Christians.. By the way, I believe a Christian has the constitutional right to wear a cross and/or put up a nativity scene at Christmas, or carry a Bible, and all the 12er Shia Muslim and Sunni Muslims I am friends with do, too! God Bless.
      - smogdew
        
        I will print out and re-read your email; it is not something you absorb in one sitting. And I thank you for taking the time to 'hopefullly' educate me. When I realize this is just a rudimentary history of one people, I cannot imagine choosing the life of an ancient, religious historian. You have a serious educational background in religion and are where you feel most comfortable, protected. I have fundamentalist friends who are much harsher on me when I, to them, sin than I would be on them – ergo, one small difference in religion.
        You mentioned lighting a candle before an icon – to many, that enhances and makes it a more religious experience…not a ritual – not necessary. If educated properly, they are praying to a saint in heaven, asking him/her to intercede with God for a particular reason – a blessing, aid an ill friend etc. They cannot even consider the icon more than what it is – a wooden or resin fabrication representing a saint. (You can do the same thing riding on a bus).
        How did you rationalize or able to dismiss Jesus and the Holy Eucharist (the essence of the Catholic religions) after 9 years of education? In all religions, everything is by faith, not friends, popularity. I would never had the courage to explore other religions except when in college (elective) and I'm not so naive not to know the good nuns put a 'spin' on what we heard.
        You have to know most religions/churches are losing members in huge numbers – people becoming more liberal and secular is their undoing. Add this to all else occurring in this country & I am watching the moral decay of America, a nation whose president has brought to its knees.
        Bottom line – to what sect (if that is the correct term) of Islam do you belong and how many verstions of the Qur'an are there? The excerpts I have read are extremely severe –
        Salem Witch trials – by now man has surely devised all possible scenarios of borderline insanity,cruelty and deviant behavior.
        Keep the faith.
      - Philip from Minnesota
        
        Smogdew, sorry for not responding right away. I became a 12er Shia Muslims 13 years ago (I was 39) because as much as I like many Sunni Muslims, there is no ideology, and a Sunni government can be imperialistic. I look at Muslim history from the traditional 12er Shia Muslim perspective because everything I see that went wrong in Muslim history is due to tribal jealousy at the time of Muhammad's death. Of all the Caliphs (successors of Muhammad), I believe only the 4th Caliph, Ali Ibn Talib, the cousin of Muhammad and the husband to Muhammad's daughter Fatima Az-Zahra was a just ruler who interpreted the Arabic Quran the same way that Muhammad did. Of course, the tribe that most wanted to stamp out the early Muslim state was the Ummayads, and when Ali became Caliph, those who wanted power and to rule and Empire, not a just state, fought wars against Ali and ended up gaining control of the Islamic state from Ali. Even non-Muslim scholars who study the history of 12er Shia Muslims agree that beginning with the 4th Imam, the Imams, all lineal descendants of Muhammad, had no interest in ruling the Islamic state and just preached Islam as they believed Muhammad taught it to those who followed their ideology. Despite no interest in holding political power, all except the 12th Imam were murdered by the government. Ismaili Shia Muslims and Zaidi Shia Muslims had political states for a time, and tried to have just governments, but the 12er Shia Muslims did not … until near the end of the 16th Century AD/CE. The Safavid Empire, which ruled what is now Iran, and was actually allied with Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire against the Turks, converted to 12er Shia Islam right about or just after this time. The Safavid Emperor did so because of Sunni rules about divorce. The Emperor had a wife he loved quite a bit, but one day they had a major disagreement and so the Emperor in the heat of anger said to his wife "I divorce you!" three times. Of course, he cooled down and didn't feel that way, but Sunni jurisprudence says that one divorce is verbally declared 3 times, the husband cannot marry the wife again unless she first remarries and then divorces. When the Emperor asked his Vizier how to fix things, the Vizier said there was only way, but it involved consulting with a 12er Shia Shiekh. The Emperor agreed to meet this shiekh. When the Shiekh came to see the Emperor, he carried his shoes under his armpit. The Emperor asked "why are you carrying your shoes"? The Shiekh replied, "When Imam Hanafi, Imam Malik, Imam Shafie, and Imam Hanbali" (the jurists who are credited with starting the 4 Sunni schools of Jurisprudence) came to visit the Prophet, they carried their shoes." "What do you mean?" asked the Emperor. "They were around about 200 years after the Prophet died!" "Thats my point!" declared the 12er Shia Shiekh. "They never talked the the Prophet". Actually, they had to rely on the Sunni traditions. The Shiekh continued, "Our 1st Imam Ali Ibn Talib was raised by the Prophet and learned directly from him. We don't have this tradition in our books". The Emperor was impressed and converted to 12er Shia islam. He propogated the faith throughout the country. The reason the government is hardline now is because of British Imperialism in the 1800s, and British and Soviet Imperialism before World War II. After World War II, Iran was independent and had democratic elections, but in the middle 1950s the CIA staged a coup and installed the Shah as dictator of Iran. The Shah's policies favored Western business interests over those of businessmen who were Iranian citizens. The Shah also tried to secularize the country. the Ayatullah Khomeini opposed the government and was pushed into exile. His son, who was also an Islamic scholar, was killed by the government. Many groups, including peaceful movements, opposed the Shah. Toward the end of his reign, during the 10 days where the murder of the 3rd Imam Hussein son of Ali was murdered with all but one male member of his family, including his infant son by the Ummayyad Caliph Yazid, civilian worshippers were met by soldiers and helicopters who murdered 15,000 civilians. After that, the Shah's days were numbered. Many groups were involved in the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Thus, if the CIA had not staged a coup and toppled the democratically elected government in the 1950s, there would not have been an Islamic revolution 25 years later. And, in 1982 Ariel Sharon took the Israel army over the border into Lebanon during its Catholic vs Sunni Muslim civil war. The Shia Muslims who lived in the South were neutral and poor and had no political power. But, they were dragged into the war by Ariel Sharon. So, Iran reached out to Shia Muslims and that how Hezbollah was formed. It had 3 wings: 1 military, 1 political, and 1 charitable (which built schools and hospitals). The sad thing for me as an American and a 12er Shia Muslim is the bombing of the US Marine barracks. Hezbollah saw the barracks as a military target. So they bombed it. Lots of my fellow Americans were killed. Ronald Reagan, a President I like, withdrew the troops and shelled Beirut. Meanwhile, the CIA, who apparently didn't have much knowledge of 12er Shia Islam, believed that the late Ayatollah Fadlullah had "blessed" the bombing, so it seems they hired thugs from Saudi Arabia (the Saudis and Wahabis hate the Shia Muslims) to take out Ayatollah Fadlullah. The thugs bombed Ayatollah Fadlullah's offices, killing over 100 people, including over 90 women and children. That's because those offices are used only for charity purposes. The big problem is that Hezbollah followed the jurisprudence of Ayatullah Khomeini, not Ayatollah Fadlullah, and an Ayatullah doesn't order a bombing, military leaders do. Ayatullah Fadlullah survived physically unhurt, but saddened over the deaths of so many civilians, since 12er Shia Muslim jurisprudence forbids attacking civilian targets due to Quran commands against it. I said the CIA seem to have attacked him because the CIA denied responsibility for the attack. I don't like the CIA, but I do realize every country of any size has their equivalent, so its best for us to have a spy agency, also.
        
        As for Christ and the Eucharist, I realized in the middle 1990s that I had been raised in a liberal archdiocese because I didn't have a good understanding of Roman Catholic dogma because I learned things then, reading a Catholic Catechism, then I did in Catholic school. I remember that I made my 1st Holy Communion at age 8 without going to confession. I learned about confession from my grandma! I was Confirmed at age 10. My father had quit going to Mass once he "guitar" masses, and I didn't like the Mass changes either (they ruined the Confiteor and really no celebrated the traditional Canon of the Mass. I may not have known what was going on, but I liked hearing the saints names. My mother had taught to strike my breast when the bell rang and words of consecration were said. I didn't know why, but I did it. Looking back, I didn't even have a basic understanding of Sacramental Theology, even though I was made to memorize "A sacrament is an outward sign made by Christ to give us grace". So, I knew we got grace through sacraments, but once the Mass changed, I didn't go anymore, which saddened my mother, bless her soul. Sadly, I wasn't much interested in going to Church until I was 25, and that church didn't believe in Real Presence. I could give you my observations now that the Trinitarian Christian Godhead seems to be influenced by the Hindu Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, while the 2nd person of each Trinity incarnates as God-men (Christ and Krishna). Personally, I believe 100% that Jesus Christ is a pure and infallible Prophet of God and that Krishna probably was a pure and infallible Prophet of God. But, I do not believe they were/are God-men. You are welcome to disagree and you are still a candidate for Salvation according to the 12er Shia understanding of the Quran. The Sunni Muslims, peace be upon them, have their 5 Pillars of Islam. Before 12er Shia Muslims define the practices of Islam (the 10 Branches of Religion), we define the 5 Roots of Religion (Ideology) which are 1) Oneness of God, 2) Justice of God, 3) Prophethood, 4) Guidance (Imamate – Abrahamic religion has 12 tribes of Israel, 12 princes of Ishmael, 12 Apostles of Christ, 12 Imams of Muhammad, and a Perfect God who gives an infallible scripture gives intelligent Prophets and Messengers (i.e. Prophets who bring a scripture) and pure infallible guides who give infallible interpretations of infallible scripture and live pure lives, and finally 5) Last Day – Judgement. We believe the Bible is a fallible scripture because none of the Gospels were written or dictated word for word by Jesus Christ, and we believe the writings of other prophets have become corrupted. I don't believe, for instance, that King David, a Prophet, ever committed adultery and murder. Again, you can reject everything I said … anyway, this post is way too long, God bless you and your family!
agbjr

Islam is the most vile collection of beliefs ever visited upon mankind. To call its followers pagan would be kind … however true it is.
Evermyrtle

They are trying to put America where Bahrian is. They have no intention in allowing JESUS CHRIST in their country. They plan to rule both countries.
bigbadude

Does it at all suprise you? the mooslims come here get into government obmaer suports it.
they come here to destroy our county yet whine about being unfaily treated how would we be treated in their country? second class our dead… if you are charged with blasphomy you are killed ..
do muslims worship Jesus the Christ…
marineh2ominer

I am truly shocked , the peace loving reasonable and intelligent muslims would object to a church of a minor God in their country ? Their is NOTHING more MINOR in a muslim than their particle sized mind . I have cleaned up snail feces that were of a MUCH higher intelligence than ANY muslim I have ever met . I admit , some of them can act like human beings , just don't forget it is an act .
Public_Citizen

Reality:
The leaders of two political factions are using the straw man tactic of attacking a third party to gain political advantage.
The Smoke Screen:
The Mullahs, who are the front men for the religious veneer used to control the ignorant masses, are attacking the Roman Catholic Church, the second oldest organized church in the western world, for planning to build a single church.
What happened to all that peace and tolerance we keep hearing about? Oh, I forgot, that comes right up against the prohibitions, proscriptions, and sanctions of Sharia Law.