US House canidate from MN set be become first Muslim congressman

[Az]

All three 'began' in the Middle East, which still ain't Western, despite the efforts of secular Jews

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by Az
Converting to religion, generally

Strange sentiments from someone living in a country based on religious fervor.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Given that Congress is losing the voice of McKinney it only makes sense to have the requisite replacement of a hate whitey, antisemite, in bed with Farrakhan congressman.

I also believe the wiki article is mistaken or more to the point incomplete in that Ellison's involvement was a mere 1986-1990 college dabbling. He himself describes himself a member of Nation of Islam for 18 months around the time of the millionman march in 1995. This appears to however conflict with his penning (under the psuedonym number of articles up to circa 1998 wherein he describes himself a member/leader in the same organization. Indeed, Ellison first ran for public office as a self-identified member of the Nation of Islam under the name Keith Ellison-Muhammad in 1998. 1995 to 1998 is a bit longer than 18 months. (probably splitting hairs in that he was actively involved for 18 months and then wasn't for a period of time afterwards, but the point remains).

[molly bloom]

Originally posted by DinoDoc
Strange sentiments from someone living in a country based on religious fervor.

Many of the Zionists in the nineteenth and early twentieth century were secularists.

Indeed, some were Marxists....

[LordShiva]

Originally posted by Az

Originally posted by Datajack Franit
Converting to Islam, in America, in 2006

Converting to religion, generally

Religion, generally

[Az]

Many of the Zionists in the nineteenth and early twentieth century were secularists.

Indeed, some were Marxists....

There are still many of us. not nearly enough, though.....

[Dinner]

The middle east and north africa were western at the time. It was only after the Arab invasion that it became unwestern in culture.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by molly bloom

a pick'n'mix 'Eastern' faith.

All vibrant religious traditions have absorbed things from different religions, and different civilizations. The confrontation of the Abrahamic traditions with the Benares traditions, and Sinic traditions (and of course Sinic religion is itself influenced by both Indic and earlier Chinese traditions) is one of the important factors of the modern age, and the encounter has been ongoing since at least the Transcendentalists. Without commenting on the particular ways New Agey types approach things, at some level "pick'n mix" is almost inevitable, and is a good thing.

Islam, for example, was a blend of Jewish and Christian ideas, traditions native to the Arabian peninsula, and then was influenced by both Persian and Greek civilizations as it conquered. Trying to categorize at as Western or non-Western (other than by geography, as MB does) is misleading, it is its own civ, that had some "Western" influences.

Similarly Jewish civi has been influenced by the "West" from Roman times, to the Middle ages, to modernity, but also has Islamic influences, and many distinctive traditions and outlooks related to neither (and possibly some pre-Islamic Persian influences as well) .


Attempts to purge religions and civilizations of their "foreign" influences practically define fundamentalisms, and tend to be historically inauthentic, IMHO.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Az

Many of the Zionists in the nineteenth and early twentieth century were secularists.

Indeed, some were Marxists....

There are still many of us. not nearly enough, though.....

Ultimately the pragmatism of secular Zionism has made it hard for Marxism.

[Xorbon]

In any case, I think it would be good to see a muslim in congress. I can't believe there hasn't been one before already.

Maybe he can help open people's eyes to the fact that:
Muslim != terrorist/Osama-lover

[MRT144]

Originally posted by Xorbon
In any case, I think it would be good to see a muslim in congress. I can't believe there hasn't been one before already.

Maybe he can help open people's eyes to the fact that:
Muslim != terrorist/Osama-lover

people from MN aren't idiots.

[Xorbon]

I didn't say they were. But there are people all over the country who do believe that Muslim = terrorist (or at least Muslim = terrorist-sympathizer). I was referring to those people, not Minnesotans.

[Datajack Franit]

Excuse me but a converted Muslim tends to be much more radical than a natural born one

[Xorbon]

"tends to be"? Whatever.

But even if that was true, is this guy a radical? That's the only thing that matters. You can't paint everybody in a group with the same brush.

[Sikander]

Amusingly, most Muslims have little to no respect for Nation of Islam types. Many do not consider them Muslims at all. America still awaits its first "real" Muslim congressman.