Blog Archives
Some of Why Duke Ditched the Muslim Call to Prayer
Duke University announced that the Muslim Call to Prayer would be broadcast every Friday at 1PM. This was being done to promote religious pluralism for the 700 Muslim students on campus.
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Off-campus, however, reaction to this news was swift and condemnatory. The Reverend Franklin Graham took to social media to express disapproval of Duke’s decision.
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The day after the Duke Call To Prayer idea was shared with the world, Duke University backtracked on the decision. Michael Schoenfeld, Duke’s Vice President for Public Affairs and Government Relations, stated:
“Duke remains committed to fostering an inclusive, tolerant and
welcoming campus for all of its students. However, it was clear that what was conceived
as an effort to unify was not having the intended effect.”
It may not have just been Franklin Graham’s moral suasion which won the battle for the bell tower. Franklin Graham’s initial Facebook post suggested that alumni and donors ought to withhold support until the decision was reversed.
After University officials opted against amplifying the adan, Rev. Graham posted his support for Duke’s decision.
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We in the west seem like we are metaphobes who are incapable of appreciating the significance of symbolism or the political impact of Islam. They fail to consider that Islam is a holistic system which incorporates law, governance as well as spirituality.
Radicalized Islamists seek to impose sharia law through cultural jihad. France is grappling with a suspicion the political correctness coupled with Islamic accommodations is creating an Islamicized France. While the majority of North American Muslims seem content to live in a secular society with a pluralistic polity, it is easy to understand why some are chary about allowing accommodations which can be seen as a primus entre pares situation.
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Some of Why Ecumenism Has Gone Awry at Washington National Cathedral
Despite Reverend Franklin Graham’s disappointment which he shared on Twitter about the Muslim led prayer service at Washington National Cathedral, this is not the first time that the sixth largest Cathedral church in the world has ecumenically opened its doors to non-Christian worship.
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Regarding the recent Muslim Prayer Service, the Dean of National Cathedral Gary Hall was unaware or did not care that the Muslim prayer service at Washington National Cathedral was held on the centennial of the last Caliph declaring a holy war on all non-believers.
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| Muslim led Friday Prayers at Washington National Cathedral Nov. 14, 2014 [photo source: AFP] |
The prayer carpets for the around two hundred Muslim faithful gathered for the Jumu’ah (Muslim Prayer Service) were laid diagonally in the transept on the side of the sanctuary to face Mecca without seeing any Christian icons, as Islam forbids prayer in view of sacred symbols which are alien to their faith.
Before the prayers started, a lone protester proclaimed: “Jesus died on that Cross for us. Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior.” before being whisked out of the supposedly Christian church.
It seems that forthrightly proclaiming the faith in the House of God which a Cathedral church represents is unwelcomed at Washington National Cathedral.
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Washington National Cathedral was founded on a charter from Congress but it is an Episcopal Cathedral. While it is wonderful to reach out to people of faith to find commonalities, it seems pusillanimous to not represent the faith at the seat of the Archbishop, who should be shepherding the flock. Moreover, treating Washington National Cathedral like an International House of Prayer seems like it is making it a big venue religious entertainment. Then again the Very Reverend Gary Hall wished about to roller skate or throw paper airplanes down the temporarily empty nave of Washington National Cathedral
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Billy Graham on Character
On October 11th, 2012, GOP Presidential Nominee Governor Mitt Romney (R-MA) visited Billy Graham in his home in western North Carolina.
During the 30 minute meeting with the 94 year old Reverend Graham and his son Franklin Graham, Mr. Romney asked for their prayers while the elder Graham recognized the Governor’s values and high moral convictions. Shortly after the meeting, the Billy Graham Evangelical Association dropped language on its website referring to Mormonism as a cult.
[L] Gov. Mitt Romney meets with [R] Rev. Billy Graham
District of Calamity 