Wendy Silver

Hi,
This is from a Muslim girl on another list I am on....
Not all Palestinians are celebrating these unforgivable events!
What we see on the media is what they choose to photograph...and some of
them
may have their own agendas too.
Colin Powell spoke up and told people on ABC News that the Jerusalem office
was receiving many many calls of support from Palestinians. They are upset
too and angered that they are being portrayed through the photos of the
actions of some stupid people.
Yasir Arafat donated blood as a show of support.
Many Palestinians have relatives in America. My husband is Palestinian and
he is horrified and deeply saddened and angered by the terrorist attacks.

The first thing you need to know about Islam is that it is a religion of
peace. In fact the name "Islam" comes from the root word "salaam" which
is
the Arabic word for peace.

Please note that I don't consider the criminals who were involved in these
events to be practicing their religion (whatever religion they may have
claimed to follow) anymore than I consider Protestants in Ireland throwing
rocks at Catholic schoolgirls or Timothy McVeigh to be practicing theirs.
Any person may wear a label just as s/he wears a designer shirt, but that
doesn't necessarily mean anything more than that. Some folks wear labels
for
social reasons, some for whatever other reasons, and for some it is to try
to
easily explain their beliefs. Then there are the shirts or watches that
spout the name brand, but were actually made in a backstreet sweat shop by
people who don't have quality materials. These guys are like that. They
may
resemble a great name brand, but they are actually not the genuine
article....fakes hiding behind the name.

All religions have had and continue to have these kinds of people claiming
to
be "of them." They find this association convenient for their own purposes.
Let's not even talk about the Crusades. We don't want another one of
those!!!!!

Personally, I prefer the Arabic term "mu'min" which simply means
"believer,"
and which is used in the Qur'an. In this case, the condition of the heart
is
the deciding factor, not the label.