Friday, March 22, 2013
CHURCH REVEREND LETS MUSLIMS USE CHURCH TO PRAY – At St. John’s Episcopal Church in Aberdeen, the Reverend Isaac Poohalan noticed that an number of Muslims were praying outside their Mosque in the snow. It turned out that the Mosque was full and there simply was not enough room to accommodate all those who wanted to pray and so many of them were forced to pray outside, often in freezing temperatures.
As a Christian and a man of the cloth he felt that the only thing to do was to invite his human brothers in the house of God and allow them to pray – albeit to Allah.
Unfortunately the Reverends actions caused outrage among locals and Christians, many taking to their social network to vilify the Reverend, even one remarking; ‘You are sharing Gods table with Satan.’
Anyone who reads my articles will quickly determine I am no fan of the Church. It is in my view the most evil creation ever devised by man and the bible is nothing more than rhetoric and propaganda for the poor and ignorant masses.
Now you might think this is a little harsh but look carefully at this situation and you will quickly understand why I have no time for the Church, its teachings or the fools that call themselves Christians.
I am no biblical scholar, but that doesn’t mean I do not have an understanding of what the bible teaches. The fundamental principles of the bible are Brotherly Love, Forgiveness and Charity and in my view these principles where upheld by the Revenend Isaac Poohalan.
The Reverend did not look upon these people as outcasts, or satanic, but rather God’s children who simply needed sanctuary and he lived up to the teaching by providing such for these people.
While member of his congregation are calling for his removal and many of them taking to their social networks to admonish his actions all I can say is that this just reinforces by belief that these self styled Christians are nothing more than self-righteous and hypocritical and who have little or no understanding of what the bible preaches.
I will not take sides in differentiation of religion, for me it can all be tarred with the same brush; however what I do find deeply offensive is the fact that those who go about their daily lives in the belief they are superior, due to their religion with its virtues of morality, are nothing less than shallow and selfish individuals.
Is it any wonder why Muslims view Christians with disdain? Is it any wonder why Muslims think that Christians are Godless people?
If we are going to move forward as a society then we need more people live Reverend Isaac who is willing to view all people as God’s children and who will openly and warmly invite them and provide sanctuary when needed.
“I keep seeing these Facebook comments coming up on my email account, but I will not back down. We have developed a relationship with the mosque and we will not be breaking that up.” Reverend Isaac Poohalan
Just stop and think for one moment… the Reverend and the Muslims have, as the Reverend pointed out, developed a relationship; and obviously a cordial one that consists of brotherly love and mutual respect.
If the Reverends actions could be duplicated throughout the United Kingdom then it might just provide a little more understanding and lessen the cultural divide, for we are all flesh and blood, regardless of our beliefs.
‘What governed my human response was the Christian teaching ‘love your neighbour as yourself’ and that was honestly my first thought, ‘I have to help them as a neighbour’. Rev Poobalan
Syed Shah Mustafa Jame Masjid, of the Sheikh Ahmed Megharbi Mosque also commented saying that this is a special relationship and should be spread across the country.
Change has to start somewhere and you never know, it could be this relationship that could provide a better understanding of each other. We often fear what we do not understand or that which we view as alien to our beliefs. What we need to do is put aside our differences, such as has been demonstrated here, and learn from one another so that we have a clear understanding of one another and therefore no fear.
As I have pointed out, I am no Christian, but I’m no Muslim either – in fact I have little faith that there is any such thing as a God and this is so often reinforced due to the shortsighted views of so-called men and women of God.
I am however a humanitarian and believe, and hope, that one day wars and hatred could be set aside if we only learned to understand, and dare I say respect, one another just a little more.
I for one applaud both Rev Poobalan and Syed Shah Mustafa Jame Masjid for their ability to look past misconceptions and racial hatred and develop something that is truly beautiful; and if there is a God, something he or she would be truly delighted with.
