Liam Neeson has the voice, bearing, conscience and heart of a holy man, in my opinion. I could easily see him, in another world, being a parish priest, a bishop, or God knows, even the most rough-and-tumble pope ever. Liam was raised as a strict Roman-Catholic, but it’s believed that his faith in the Catholic church has dwindled over the years, and perhaps even faltered completely following the death of his much beloved wife Natasha Richardson. GAH – I just completely lost focus when I went back and re-read Liam’s interview with Esquire last year, when he talked at length about Natasha. Anyway, Liam was recently filming in Istanbul, Turkey, and while he was enjoying the location, he found himself incredibly moved by the daily calls to prayer. And now he’s thinking of converting?
He may have been named after the local priest in his Irish hometown but Liam Neeson could be leaving his Roman Catholic beliefs behind. The 59-year-old actor is said to be considering converting to Islam following a working trip to Istanbul.
According to The Sun, Neeson admitted that Islamic prayer ‘got into his spirit’ while he was filming in Turkey.
‘The call to prayer happens five times a day, and for the first week, it drives you crazy, and then it just gets into your spirit, and it’s the most beautiful, beautiful thing,’ he said.
‘There are 4,000 mosques in the city. Some are just stunning, and it really makes me think about becoming a Muslim.’
Neeson was raised in Northern Ireland as a devout Roman Catholic due to his parents beliefs.
However, the Taken star has recently spoken about his opinion towards religion.
‘I was reared a Catholic, but I think every day we ask ourselves, not consciously, what are we doing on this planet? What’s it all about?’ he said. ‘I’m constantly reading books on God or the absence of God and atheism.’
The actor was criticised in 2010 after claiming The Chronicles Of Narnia lion, Aslan, who he provided the voice for in the film, was not based on Christ as CS Lewis had claimed but in fact all spiritual leaders including Mohammed.
[From The Mail]
I think he’s just talking, you know? He’s not like, “I listened to the prayers and I found Allah!” He’s just interested, as a student of religion, as a citizen of the world. He’s not confined by his Catholic upbringing and he seems to be encouraging the peaceful study of all religions. Or, whatever, he’s now a Muslim. What would the world look like if Liam Neeson converted to Islam?
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Yes! Now I can marry him!
😀
Love Liam….whatever makes him happy.
Ouch, that is a touchy subject. You can’t say anything without insulting Islam or Christianity…
So Liam, how about a turn on The Bachelor for one season, see if you like living like a Pasha, with a Harem of women battling each other for your affection?
Yeah, I went there. Let the crucifying begin!
You, my friend, are an uneducated bigot. I wish you luck in finding happiness in life as it must be dreadful to live in such ignorance of the world.
IT was meant as a JOKE Samara. I was making fun of our American TV, narrow-minded views of Islam, promotion of straight marriage, when our television shows make fun of our holier than though stance on all things religion.
Samara: i guess we wish you a happy life, since you are the one leaving bitter comments after getting ticked off. Accept it, there are all sorts of religions, people who like them and people who don’t. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, capish?
Honestly, it didn’t seem like a joke. Islamophobia is NOT funny at all, it’s a really serious issue. It’s not funny joking about fear and hatred towards people of any religion.
It was obviously a joke and if you didn’t read it that way, perhaps you were just looking for someone to write something that you could possibly take offence to. People need to stop taking themselves and everything else so seriously….honestly, this is a gossip site, what did you expect?
Let’s be honest.
All this simply proves that we are allowed to poke fun, ridicule and disallow anything Christian, but the moment we poke fun at Islam, it becomes War.
Isn’t it time to give all religions same and fair treatment? Including Atheism?
The Koran is as violent as the First Testament. And all those interpretations are absolutely ridiculous, and are in ABSOLUTE corruption with the one universal law: God, or whatever entity you believe in, is LOVE.
Whomever tries to sell you that God is hate, war, murder, xenophobia, misogyny, elitism, or whatever else that is not love, is not only lying, but is committing to biggest sin of all:
Lying in the name of God.
maybe its funny to you because you know your sense of humor and through comments it doesnt come across as funny since I dont “know” you so for me, it came across as rude.
“All this simply proves that we are allowed to poke fun, ridicule and disallow anything Christian, but the moment we poke fun at Islam, it becomes War.”
True.
Watch out Capella…..some of these chicks in here don’t have a funnybone and then you’ll spend the next 4 hours being told what an ignorant bigot you are……Oh look! It’s started already…
GOOD LUCK!
@Newtsgal – Nah! Most people on this Blog are quite decent, and know how to fully read a thread. Not all are looking for a fight with derogatory comments.
Just look at @Mosty’s comment! I think CB has one of the most open-minded communities on the net. And that is solely why I dared to make a joke about The Bachelor, comparing it to a Harem!
I made a joke about “bisexuals are just creedy”
And the next thing I know I had two of them jumping down my throat calling me and uneducated bigot for hours.
I’m just sayin’
Bah, sticking to the subject at hand, here I’m making a funny suggestion to sexy Liam to give the Harem look a try.
I would soooo watch Liam as The Bachelor!
I’m sorry, I’m usually quite laid back with religious jokes and im totally cool with making fun of american media and how it views Islam… but that really wasn’t funny. If anything it was offensive and it’s strange because I’m muslim and I rarely get offended by specific remarks but this carried a special brand of islamophobia with the absence of real sarcasm…
and i’m right because look at your other comment which is just.. I’m sorry but inaccurate in all sense of the word.
What I’m saying is, it’s not funny in a sarcastic way, it’s quite offensive.
That’s not cool man. Pashas and harems were actually a roman practise, so its a bit offensive to associate it with Islam.
All remarks above prove Capella’s point. No remark can be made without somebody feeling offended. That is in my opinion just sad and closes all doors regarding this very relevant discussion
I agree with a lot of the statements here. It’s fine if we have a laugh about Christianity, but the same treatment toward Islam is called “bigotry”. I’ve moved to France and the double standard is worse here, usually because there’s always a fanatic who insists on making death threats over a cartoon or humourous comment.
Side note, if Islam makes Liam happy and brings him peace, then I’m glad and I wish him the best…I just sorry he found his spiritual calling in a country that has committed genocide and adamantly REFUSES to acknowledge it >: (
Reading through the thread, I truly appreciated some people’s knowledge of religion, and articulate comments.
However, I do have a problem when people to make a point about one religion being as bad as the other, post threads about the Crusades.
Let’s get something clear: The Crusades happened HUNDREDS OF YEARS AGO. Centuries ago. Count them. Humanity has evolved, we now stand up to religious abuse, as well as have the power to shut a Catholic Church down for its abuse. Not so with Islam.
Organized Islamic violence is very much happening RIGHT NOW. No matter mankind’s evolution. No matter the information at hand that could enlighten you, and belie everything organized religion tries to shove down your throat.
I have the power to hold a debate with a priest, heck, even the Pope if he has time to see me – or the inclination – and tell him what I think. Look him in the eye, and discuss plainly his Church’s child abuse, pedophilia, as well as misogyny.
You do that as a woman at the Kaaba during Hajj, and see if you don’t get stoned. In 2012 no less.
That is my problem with Islam. I don’t see the evolution and openness. The extreme right is gaining territory. It is as if that ridiculous “evangelical church” from Texas would be ruling the whole United States.
And BTW, not many Muslims had the guts to stand up and denounce Islamic violence, and the few that did, where threatened with their lives, as well as their families’.
Capella’s commment was extremely innocent, and what’s more: truthful. Polygamy/Bigamy or whatever you wish to call it is very much a part of Muslim culture.
There is no denying that there is a huge double standard when it concerns mocking religion. Christianity can take the flack, and expect it to be deemed as humour but Muslims (online or otherwise) tend to be very overreactive to any sort of criticism – intended or otherwise.
I live in Europe, where we see fanatical preachers and terrorists avoid deportation on the basis of their ‘human rights’ – by naive judges who take no concerns of the citizens safety compared to the subjective rights of a 2weirdy-beirdy” with 22 children and 10 wives who would love nothing more than to blow westerners up to smithereens in a tube, bus, plane or mass terrorist attack.
If Islam is so peaceful, why are there so many terrorists and hate-mongerers amongst the devoutly religious of them?
People are more accepting of criticism of Christianity in this country because it is the dominant religion, and members of this religion are attempting to turn their beliefs into law on many fronts (which is ironic, considering how many people freak out about the idea of sharia law spreading). If someone insults Christianity, it’s not like any Christians are going to be in danger. Islamophobia, on the other hand, further marginalizes a minority group and contributes to the hatred of anyone who isn’t Christian in large segments of our society.
This all seems very obvious to me. It’s frankly grating to see Christians with a persecution complex trying to use people taking offense at Islamophobia as evidence that they are being disrespected more than anyone else. This situation is comparing apples and oranges. I don’t see any Muslim senators or representatives in the U.S. trying to ban gay marriage or abortion based on what their religion tells them God wants. In fact, the first Muslim representative happens to be the one elected by my district. He champions women’s rights, gay rights, and progressive ideals.
And for the record, I’m not Muslim. I’m an atheist. From this perspective, maybe it’s clearer than it is to religious people. As an outsider, it is ludicrous to me that some Christians think they’re oppressed. It really shows a lack of ability to empathize. You really don’t know how good you guys have it, or how strongly society reinforces Christian beliefs simply because there are so many more Christians than anyone else.
I can’t buy alcohol on Sundays, I have to vote in a church (I’d love to know if any voting stations are located in mosques), I have to put up with creationism being taught in science classrooms, and mandatory abstinence-only education thanks to Christianity. Am I a bigot for pointing this out? Name one other religion that creates similar constraints on everyone in daily public life in this country, or that gets this sort of preferential treatment.
I think the reason that Capella’s comment got such a strong reaction is because people believe even stranger things about Islam and spout off about them like they’re experts, not realizing how ignorant they sound. It’s easy to assume that Capella actually believed what she was saying and that it wasn’t a joke because people say even crazier things without batting an eye all the time.
Shannon – completely right and I agree 🙂
Lady Luck – If Christians are so peaceful, why are there so many terrorists and hatemongers amongst the devoutly religious of them?
Violence on a massive scale by Christians is not from hundreds and hundreds of years ago. Who do you think have been killing massive numbers of civilians in the Middle East in recent years? US military, overwhelmingly Christian, managed to kill more civilians in Afghanistan in the first two months after 9/11 than all those Saudi hijackers combined. The death toll in Afghanistan and Iraq etc has just gone up from there. Bombing people in their homes, schools, and workplaces is a terrorist act. No way to justify it, period.
Since most of the victims of such Christian violence (much of it in the past decade ordered by a Christian President who believed he was annointed by God) have been Muslim, you can see why people can get a little touchy. Ignorance about Islam and the resulting prejudices fuel actions that kill on a massive scale. Islam is a worldwide religion with considerable diversity and many different flavors. There is no one interpretation of the Koran. It is only the extreme interpretations of a few that make the headlines, because peaceful activities are not newsworthy. Christians have their own extremists also. But they are just as diverse as Muslims.
@shannon
well shannon may be you should try to live in a muslim country. you would not have the right to even buy alcohol as it is banned in the country. you have to go to church on friday as u have to work on sunday. you have to wear long sleeves all the time to avoid indecency. and certainly not being alone with man. it is sinful.
and they dont give a damn whether u r a muslim or christian. how do i know it? i’m a christian live in muslim country. that is how oppressed we are.
ufff! a lengthy debate. but i would love to hop in and add my thoughts. majority of us muslims is not converted on our own. we have inherited this faith, and have given less time into studying the depth of it. i think this to be the reason for our narrowmindedness and intolerance against religious jokes and sarcasm. while those who have converted recently, have studied this religion in depth and have acquired that tolerance and openmindedness that this religion, i believe, truly preaches. and i also believe that these new converts have the spirit of islam in themselves. (i dont expect anyone to agree with me but this is what i think)
I’m a Muslim and didn’t find Capella’s comment Isalmophobic at all. If you do watch The Bachelor you’d get it!
Seriously @Mosty, how can one not see the parallels! Isn’t what happens on The Bachelor absolutely comparable to a Harem’s everyday life? Women battling it out to get one man’s attention! Truly.
in my mind he’ll always be a jedi
Oskar Schindler!!
Well I respect people’s choices to believe whatever they want but I’d be interested to see how marginalized he’d be by the mainstream.
I also think people have a view of Muslim based on the worst in that the Muslim while humourously forgetting all the crazy and violent people that exist in their own.
Very beautifully said!
On a side note, wonder what Schindler’s List’s Spielberg would think of that… Seeing how Jewish people are still persecuted for their faith in the Middle East?
Please don’t conflate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with Islam-Judaism. That’s very narrow. Using your logic, you can talk about how Palestinian citizens of Israel are treated. Like the story of the wonderful doctor who spent his life serving in Israeli hospitals only to see his house shelled and children killed.
I wish Liam the best in his spiritual quest and I wish that others would use this story to realize there are many paths and beliefs. you may take issue with Islam and Muslims (heck many muslims do too!) but realize that so many Muslims have found peace, comfort and tolerance within their faith.
Amen to that Zees!
@zees THANK YOU! I am so tired of people assuming that Jew = Israel.
I’m American and do not support everything my government does in the name of this country (and certainly don’t support the antics or beliefs of the US religious right wing) so why would my being Jewish and a firm believer that every country (Israel included) should have safe borders mean that I support or am in agreement with everything the Israeli government or their religious right? You’ll find that the vast majority of Jews worldwide would say the same; you’ll also find that the vast majority of Muslims would have the same reaction about assumptions about their values and the implication they support tyrannical regimes or religious zealots.
@Capella Jews and Muslims can be friends – even when they disagree over political issues like the mess that is the Middle East. Though I’m sure you didn’t mean to cause offense, you really do Spielberg and Neeson a disservice in assuming that Neeson’s interest/respect for Islam would be a problem.
Sadly, the first thought that went through my head at the thought of Neeson converting to Islam was whether he’d have to have a khitan
wrong thread.
Please do not confuse Israel with Judaism as that is extremely offensive to some Jews. Google Norman Finkelstein (he is the son of Jewish holocaust survivors) and Noam Chomsky (also Jewish). They are harsh critics of Israel and as Jews, they are celebrated as intellectuals and important individuals to the Palestinian cause, they are hailed as heroes in Saudi Arabia so that is strong indication that Judaism is NOT the problem, it is Zionism. Huge, huge difference as I’ve studied extensively Israeli politics and ironically Zionism was founded by atheists and secularists…
I as a Catholic/Protestant with Jewish ancestry, actually know what you meant. I don’t know if the post I tried to make on my tablet made it. It was about religious extremism and my Jewish example was the Haradim (extremely Orthodox Jews) who beat an 8 year old girl, spit on her and called her a slut because THEY think her dress is immodest. The punch line, the little girl is a modern Jew. If the Zionists can’t tolerate their own how can the Palestinians hope to get a piece.
I’m seeing the US version of this in the Republican elections not with the candidates but their followers – some of my friends have strange FB friends and one actually said “Isn’t there one ‘man of God running?” I sarcastically said, “No, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton aren’t running this year.” Revs = men of God – funny haha. I was ignored… Next Evangelical nut pipes in… “Ron Paul, he is a lifelong Protestant.” My Catholic hackles went up. Let me preface this by saying I’m a bad Protestant and an even worse Catholic because I hate the new Pope. And I disagree with Sen Santorum (and Catholicism) on many issues. I am not educated on the topic enough to know if Mormons are Christians or if they are an off shoot like Christians are to Jews. Regardless, Sen. Santorum (Catholic) and Gov. Romney (Mormon) seem to be the most Godly if defined as religious. Sorry no Evangelicals must look at the actual candidate and think about the issues.
Religious extremism makes me mad.
@Zenbitch – do not conflate zionism with the Haredim. The Haredim are religious extremists and a very small minority sect within the ultra-orthodox stream of Judaism. Zionism is the support of Israel’s right to exist with secure borders. In other words Zionism doesn’t equate to a level of orthodoxy (FYI a lot of ultra orthodox are not Zionists).
I completely agree. Everyone seems to blame Islam when a few crazy people do something evil and dreadful and yet with Islam only making up less than 1% of religions in the US, horrible crimes and violence against women still exist. I hope liam finds peace and i dont care where he finds it. losing the love of your life is such a terrible thing
I think the problem that a lot of people have with Islam is that when these “crazy people do something dreadful and evil” is that there are no Muslims speaking up to denounce it. Usually, it seems as if they just turn a blind eye or discount it.
Furthermore, while there still is violence against women in America, it can’t hold a candle to what goes on in countries that are predominately Muslim. I go to school with people whose families relocated to America because they were being persecuted in their own countries and they were Muslim (and are Muslim).
Although the Qur’an speaks of peace, tolerance and equality, with its self-proclaimed right of abrogation, peace, tolerance and equality go out the window. Furthermore, the Qur’an does promote violence against all non-Muslims. The comments of Islamic leaders motivate followers to war against non-Muslims (the obligation of Jihad). Muhammad was also a violent man, killing those who opposed his religion. I realize that not all Muslims conduct themselves in this manner but, without doubt, Islam teaches its followers to be violent (and calls for whatever means are necessary to ensure that the religion of Allah reigns supreme over the entire world).
Moi – violence is present in all religious scripts. Don’t confine it to Islam. In the Bible ”God commanded his chosen people to conquer the Promised Land, he placed city after city ‘under the ban” -which meant that every man, woman and child was to be slaughtered at the point of the sword.” So yeah… violence is everywhere.
Also, I went to an Islamic school for a couple of years and I can most definitely attest that we were not ”taught to be violent against non-Muslims or call for whatever means were necessary to ensure that the religion of Allah reigns supreme over the entire world”. That’s a bullsh*t statement.
@Moi : I am sorry but your understanding about Islam is wrong. Al-Qur’an does not promote violence. Same thing about Muhammad. He does not not attack people just because they are of different faith. Please check the history not only from one source. Al-Qur’an teach that each people has its own freedom in taking religion. Your religion is your your right, my religion is my right. Respect each other freedom is part of Islam’s belief.
As your friend that running away from their Muslim country, I must say that it is not the fault of Islam. You must understand that it is also part of their culture that woman considered as a second class citizen. They combine the culture with their own understanding of Islam which result in an extreme situation.
Also, there are different kind of Muslim. Same thing like Christian. There are Catholics, and there are Christian. Or the Jewish has a group that Orthodox. Each Muslim group has their own understanding in the meaning of Al-Qur’an.
In results, some muslim are very strict, some are radical but mostly are very quiet and peace with respect with each other. Try to go to Indonesia. The muslim are majority there but there are no rule that woman should cover up the whole body. They had a woman as a president. So this should show you that Islam does not promote violence. As for Jihad, it is only allowed as last resort when the enemy REALLY put a lot of people life in danger and you do it only as a self defense. So, no what terrorist did was not consider as a jihad. They would love for that to be jihad but I can guarantee you, they wouldn’t! 😀
@moi – Asli is 100% correct. All 3 Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity & Islam) have religious extremists that are not a true example of what their respective religions are truly about and they all have committed atrocities in the name of their religions.
Muslims do speak out against the bastardization of their religion and terrorism. It gets little coverage and is often drowned out by our own right wing.
@Moi Islam does not promote violence, that may be what American propaganda would like you to believe but it certainly is not the truth. It’s quite a peaceful religion.
And in no part of the Qura’an is it mentioned that you should kill anyone who is of different faith. In fact, in one of the most prominent verses of the Qura’an it says “Lakum Dinakum w Lia Diny” meaning “you have your religion and I have mine”.
@Rhea and Asli. My source is the Qur’an:
“Fight those who neither believe in Allah nor the Last Day, who do not forbid what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden, and do not embrace the religion of the truth, being among those who have been given the Book (Bible and the Torah), until they pay tribute out of hand and have been humiliated.” (Surah 9:29)
“…restrain their hands, take them and kill them wherever you find them.” (Surah 4:91)
“It is He who has sent His Messenger with guidance and the Religion of Truth, so that He raises it above all religions, much as the unbelievers dislike it. Believers! Shall I direct you to a commerce that will save you from a painful punishment? You shall believe in Allah and His Messenger and struggle [jihad] for His way with your possessions and yourselves. That is better for you, if you but knew.” (Surah 61:9-11)
“Jihad literally means an effort or striving. It includes a religious war against unbelievers with the object of converting them to Islam or subduing all opposition (See Koran 9:5; 4:76; 2:214; 8:39). It is the sacred duty of the Muslim nation to ensure that Islam triumphs over all religions. It is considered a general duty of the nation as a whole, not of individuals.”
“Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. Those who are with him are harsh against the unbelievers but merciful to one another.” (Surah 48:29)
Islam definitely teaches violence and Mohammad did attack and kill anyone who opposed his religion. Sorry my post is so long, but I wanted to list the Qur’an references. These references back up what I said earlier and so does history. I understand what you are saying about different types of Islam, but when the extremists act out, there should be more Muslims denouncing their behavior (and that just doesn’t happen, at least not on a large scale).
Okay, I’m done with this now, back to the gossip.
no, i abviously did not mean any harm. Just thought of the middle east, not all Jews and Muslims living in peace outside that area.
Agreed, Ol Cranky.
Moi – The term ”an eye for an eye” was derived from the Old Testament for a reason.
Feel free to read other examples here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bible_and_violence
I’m not saying that Islam is above Christianity, I’m an agnostic/atheist, but this islamophobia is really getting on my nerves.
@Moi okay, let’s get one thing straight, “Jihad” does not mean murder everyone who opposes your faith. It means to struggle for your faith or to be willing to hold on to your faith despite what hardships may be thrown at you and so on.
let’s take a look at the third verse you posted for example. Just cause the word “Jihad” is in it, it doesnt mean that it encourages violence. In fact, the way I see it, that verse does what any other religious verse in ANY religious book would do, proclaim that it is “the one true religion”.
It doesnt even say anything about harming others, it says you will struggle “with your possessions and YOURselves”. In other words, you will struggle and face many hardships for this faith but if it means giving up your worldly possessions and possibly your life in turn for not giving up on ur faith then God will reward you.
Second verse is taken out of context. I actually had to look it up in arabic to understand it clearly. the rest of the verse says that “if they do not stop killing you and refuse to make peace with you then take them and you are right in fighting back.” I’m paraphrasing of course but you get the idea. Clearly it is meant as self defense.
I could find you hundreds of verses that promote making peace with people of different faith if you’d like me to. They’re seriously all over the place.
And I’m pretty sure if you looked in the Bible you’d find things that are a lot worse that this. But I dont view christians as terrorists because these are old books. Wars and crusades were pretty much the way to spread your point of view back then.
I’m far from a religious person but seeing people falsely proclaim that they understand someone else’s religion just annoys the hell out of me.
Ol Cranky, Rhea and Asli, had accidently replied on wrong thread.
Let’s be honest.
All this simply proves that we are allowed to poke fun, ridicule and disallow anything Christian, but the moment we poke fun at Islam, it becomes War.
Isn’t it time to give all religions same and fair treatment? Including Atheism?
The Koran is as violent as the First Testament. And all those interpretations are absolutely ridiculous, and are in ABSOLUTE corruption with the one universal law: God, or whatever entity you believe in, is LOVE.
Whomever tries to sell you that God is hate, war, murder, xenophobia, misogyny, elitism, or whatever else that is not love, is not only lying, but is committing to biggest sin of all:
Lying in the name of God.
And that is my true opinion on all things religion.
Agreed, Ol Cranky, Toastedskin and Rhea. Whenever someones speaks out on the news they choose they most extrem Muslim they can find. That’s like asking Moe from ”da deep south, ya’ll” about the stock market/Wall Street. *Disclaimer: Not everybody from the south resembles ”Moe”.
Moi – The term ”an eye for an eye” was derived from the Old Testament for a reason.
Feel free to read other examples here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bible_and_violence
I’m not saying that Islam is above Christianity, I’m an agnostic/atheist, but this islamophobia is really getting on my nerves.
Capella: It’s not really poking fun when someone claims that every Muslim is a terrorist. It’s ignorant. With that said, I agree with everything you posted.
@Moi
I know tons of Muslims who denounce the violence that is supposedly and wrongly committed in the name of Islam. You probably dont know any Muslims so its easy for you to say “Muslims dont denounce violence.” Also, if people here can say the media is the reason people think Americans are all bigots, then I can say the same “the media is the reason people think Muslims condone violence or that Islam is a violent religion.” Same logic.
Moi, you’re taking those verses from the Quran out of context. They were given in a time when the tribes of Mecca, which included Jews and other non-Muslims, were waging a massive war on the Prophet and his followers in order to break the Prophet’s fast-growing influence. These verses came during specific battles in Islamic history and were instructions to the Prophet and his people on how to wage a war of self-defence with the aggressors. There were also specific instructions to NOT fight non-Muslims if they were not threatening them because of religion. As they say, “a little knowledge is a dangerous thing”.
@Moi : Wow, I came back and there are so many discussion already. 😀
“Islam definitely teaches violence and Mohammad did attack and kill anyone who opposed his religion. Sorry my post is so long, but I wanted to list the Qur’an references. These references back up what I said earlier and so does history. I understand what you are saying about different types of Islam, but when the extremists act out, there should be more Muslims denouncing their behavior (and that just doesn’t happen, at least not on a large scale).”
—-> I am truly sorry but what you are doing just proving my words that you are taking the wrong context out of Al-Qu’ran. This is what I meant when I am saying that there are different understanding in Al-Qur’an that makes people have different opinion in understanding Al-Qur’an. I am a muslim 100% since the day I was born. And I can assure you that from 30 years of learning Al-Qur’an never we learn that killing other people of faith are accepted. We really believe that each people have their own freedom in religion. I have so many non Muslim friends and for the record my husband was buddhist. I am graduated from university,I do not wear burkha or hijab, I am free to have a career 😀 I don’t see my family coming to me with big gun for that. And we do denouncing the terrorist act. In America they didn’t give much coverage for that, but go to any other muslim country that has been attacked by terrorist and you would find muslim denouncing their act in a large scale.
@Capella : I do not mind if someone poke fun about muslim if their intention is pure joke not malice so please do not generalize all muslim as hot tempered. My husband always poke fun at general assumption of muslim that we are terrorist, that when you go to airplane with long beard and white clothes the person next to you will screaming “terrorist!!” and I have never take it personally. 😀
@moi
if you read quranic chapters with reference to the context, you would understand the circumstances in which jihad and persecution of non-muslims was commanded. jihad is not necessary in peace times. and if poeple think Muhammad was a voilent man, that is their opinion, but to clearify the misunderstanding, Muhammad never raised hand against non-muslms who sought peace and vowed to live in harmony with muslims without creating mischief that was not allowed to avoid disorder in society. (read The Conquest of Makkah)
Quick correction for the sake of clarity:
The name of the religion is not “Muslim”, it’s “Islam”. As in: “A Muslim is a follower of Islam.”
Just will make your talking points clearer. 🙂
Just ask Cat Stevens. I rather suspect it would be the end of his career.
Love Liam, since The Mission!
One of the best movies EVER!
AND Best sound track!!! Mr. Morricone is just amazing.
I spent three weeks in Istanbul. The city is gorgeous and has a fantastic, otherworldly vibe. The call to prayer IS startling and moving, partly simply because it is in another language and such a foreign experience for westerners.
I doubt he’s gonna convert, but it would be hilarious if he did, as it would rile up so much backlash.
I lived in east africa for awhile-the call to prayer in places like zanzibar and the tiny island of lamu, are equally enchanting.
obviusly, liam was just talking-i’m sure celebitchy posted the title to get an interesting post out of it….nothing like a little religious fervor to get traffic to the site.
Anyway, I also would take the overnight bus from inland to the coast, 8 hrs, and usually had muslim drivers, who listened to religious chanting music all night. I find all spiritual music, the more esoteric kind, enchanting and comforting-whether it be muslim, jewish, buddhist, hindu [i listen to alot of sanskrit chanting and prayer songs on cd, actually]…
It’s the intention that is put into the music; sincere devotion to something pure and bigger than oneself. it’s not unique to islam.
what’s interesitng is that catholicism used to be much more committed of a practice, until it became unfavorable and old fashioned. i have relatives who still go to mass daily and travel far to hear mass in Latin [was raised catholic in new england]-and people make fun of it. Islam still holds to the more rigid practices and gets praised for it?
To each his own, anyway.
Obviously, Liam was just apprecating the nature of the practice; he is not converting.
If he keeps this up he will loose a great deal many american movie goers, especially in the south, but for me I don’t care what an actor believes in, their job is to ENTERTAIN me, not PREACH to me, he he!
Gosh, let’s hope he doesn’t “loose” any fans over an insightful comment about religion. But then again, it would be fun to loose some morons.
@catk
I don’t mean to be too forward, but will you marry me? I loved that response.
I’m sorry can you please explain how he would be preaching to you if he had converted to Islam prior to Star Wars and yet played Obi Wan Kenobi exactly the same as he did as a RC?
Considering how Anakin is more or less Jesus – the chosen one of the virginial mitichlorians (sp) who control the Force… it would have been interesting to get a non-Christian.
***HATED EPISODES 1,2,3 how could something with Liam and Ewan suck so badly.
I *groaned* outloud at that line. I was in my late 20s the peak of my areligious phase. Love God hate religion.
I’m really secular and I’m always happy to read about people being open minded about different philosophies and religions. Also, I’m sincerely glad he’s not Islamophobic, it’s a huge problem. Whatever he explores, I hope it helps him find some peace (I tear up every time I read that interview about Natasha.) I’ve lost a loved one, and it feels like an eternity of never finding peace without them. So whatever he learns from Islam, I hope it helps him find peace.
Agree
Well said Yasmine
Well said 🙂
fantastic…if it moves him, why not?
He was one of my favorite actors…not anymore.
Because of a statement? Not even an actual declaration, its not like they filmed him taking shahadah, but really just based on the few tiny things he said you suddenly don’t like anymore? Sounds like the kind of fan he doesn’t need anyway.
Why weren’t you allowed to marry a Turkish man? Christians and Jews allowed – probably you belong to another religion?
There are Turkish Christians, just in case you didn’t know
I can’t relate. It had the opposite effect on me.
My advice to anyone visiting a muslim country is to NOT stay at a hotel near a mosque. At the top of the minarets are loud speakers blarring in the middle of the night. I kept getting up and screaming out the window,
“Turn down that damn rap music!!!”
…..Until hotel security explained that it wasn’t wrap music. I love different cultures…especially the quiet ones.
LMAO!!! So hilarious. Others won’t get, but I do appreciate a twisted sense of humor.
Isn’t it time we made fun of ourselves, and stop giving religion so much credit?
funny! thanks for sharing!
Totally! especially when it’s a small mosque with a cra*py soundsystem! this happened w hen i lived in east africa-nothing like static from a recording, in the middle of the night, n ext door to where you are sleeping!
I so would be his sex slave! He and Natasha always seemed so happy together. Why are the happy couples always torn apart by tragedy when fake couples make a mockery of love on the regular?
Liam can do no wrong in my eyes – convert to Islam? go for it Liam if it makes you happy.
Of all the men in hollywood and making movies etc, Liam is the only one that I would take home and keep forever.
He is not handsome in the usual sense (but I think he is) – what he has is a loyal and beautiful heart and soul.
I feel exactly the same way. I’d dump my husband in a heartbeat for him. (Sad but true. LOL)
I laughed so much when I read your post that I spilled my hot chocolate!
Sorry about the hot chocolate.
You know, Sinead O’Connor was tweeting the other day, asking who the ladies thought was Ireland’s sexiest man. When someone suggested Liam, her response was “Had him.:) Enormous.”
I think there’s enough of him for both of us. 😉
Liam is sexy… In a sexual way, not the typical “hot”, but has a mature, grown man sexual appeal, and on top of that, Sinead’s insider information… Yummy!
He is one of my biggest crushes and I respect him more for being open minded enough to consider this.
So now you convert because the mosques are beautiful and you find the calls to prayer touching? That’s not a belief in the faith, that’s being a tourist.
agreed.
That’s not necessarily just being a tourist.
A tourist might like the sound of the call to prayer and love the architecture, but it doesn’t make them consider changing their life in such a drastic way. When someone considers converting, it’s usually because the lifestyle, practices, and theology of the religion speak to them on a deeper level; it might make sense with what they already think about the world, their views of important life events, holidays, and family, as well as the way days, months and years are organized; sometimes people have behavioural problems or mental/emotional problems that are resolved when they come into contact with religions such as islam; it’s more than just appreciating the sights and sounds of a country the way a tourist does.
It seems like it would take a while, maybe a month or more, for someone to know for sure that they actually want to convert, but when someone finds a lifestyle that fits them they can decide within a matter of days or even hours that it’s what they want or need.
He didn’t say anything about lifestyle, practices and theology. He said he the mosques are beautiful and he likes the call to prayer. You wouldn’t expect anybody to convert to Catholicism just because the Vatican is pretty and you like the bells. Sounds to me more like Liam is searching for meaning anywhere rather than a conversion to a particular faith. It also sounds more like he needs to seek help for depression rather than wander through the world’s religions.
You’d have to go to Istanbul to understand what he’s talking about. I’m already a Muslim and when I went there and saw the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia within walking distance from one another, and felt the incredible energy of this most amazing city, I fell in love with it. I can’t convert to Islam already but I certainly wished I were Turkish for a little bit. And who knows what appeals to each one of us spiritually? I feel the same way when I go to a church, a temple, or when I attended a Shabbes service for the first time in my life last summer. The people attending there joked that maybe I’d come back to Judaism after that experience! Take it all in good humor, because it all comes from a good place.
What a lovely comment, especially when today it is considered in Vogue to bash people of any faith.
beautiful comment.
jews, all varieties of christians and muslims all worship the same G-d; G-d the father of Abraham. I think we should remember that before we open our mouths to put down another’s way to connect and communicate and pay homage to their G-d, regardless of what you believe to be true.
Islamists/Muslims worship Mohammed not God.
no Kim, they worship Allah. Mohammed was their prophet.
Contrary to what His Frothiness, Rick Santorum, says, Allah is the G-d of Abraham and his sons Ishmael and Isaac.
So… Who is Allah? Isn’t he God?
I understand that those 3 religions have the same base. What I despise is that after all those religious wars and so many peoplekilled in the dark ages, and the beginning of the Renaissance, nowadays there are extremists like those in Nigeria killing people in their churches.
Awful, and I know that there are muslims that are not like that, but I cannot comprehend how can they find justification for their actions.
What? No. Mohammed was the last prophet. Allah is God.
@Mari – Christians aren’t exactly angels either. Remember the crusades?
http://loveforlife.com.au/content/07/11/21/victims-faith-history-christian-genocide-and-brutality
@Kim wrong hun. totally wrong.
Yeqh, Asli, I mentioned it. That is why its incredible that now those extremists act like that… Is that revenge?
I live in a country invaded several times by the US… We live near them and through history we have many conationals living there, as well as tourists and a lot of exchange, commercial, cultural, etc. Those wars happened in the past, it would be ridicule to hold grudges after centuries past. Imagine that we started vengeance for those things now. Inimaginable.
Whenever I see a post about something related to Christianity and Islam, the Cruzades appear, yes, they happened a long time ago. Is that a justification for Nigeria or other things happening? Absolutely no, not in my view.
The things happening in Nigeria ARE unjustifiable. But what they are doing has nothing, nothing, to do with Islam. Those are individuals thinking and doing things, not in the name of Allah or as a Jihad, but because THEY choose to. Not the entire religion and the people believing it. Allah didn’t come to them in their sleep and tell them to do all those horrible things. They, of their own free will, chose it. That is where most people fail to see the logic.
@Asli – Reading through the thread, I truly appreciate your knowledge of religion, you are quite articulate.
However, I do get impatient when people to make a point about one religion being as bad as the other, post threads about the Crusades.
Let’s get something clear: The Crusades happened HUNDREDS OF YEARS AGO. Centuries ago. Count them. Humanity has evolved, we now stand up to religious abuse, as well as have the power to shut a Catholic Church down for its abuse. Not so with Islam.
Organized Islamic violence is very much happening RIGHT NOW. No matter mankind’s evolution. No matter the information at hand that could enlighten you, and belie everything organized religion tries to shove down your throat.
I have the power to hold a debate with a priest, heck, even the Pope if he has time to see me – or the inclination – and tell him what I think. Look him in the eye, and discuss plainly his Church’s child abuse, pedophilia, as well as misogyny.
You do that as a woman at the Kaaba during Hajj, and see if you don’t get stoned. In 2012 no less.
That is my problem with Islam. I don’t see the evolution and openness. The extreme right is gaining territory. It is as if that ridiculous “evangelical church” from Texas would be ruling the whole United States.
And BTW, no, not many Muslims had the guts to stand up and denounce Islamic violence, and the few that did, where threatened with their lives, as well as their families’.
@Asli – Reading through the thread, I truly appreciate your knowledge of religion, you are quite articulate.
However, I do get impatient when people to make a point about one religion being as bad as the other, post threads about the Crusades.
Let’s get something clear: The Crusades happened HUNDREDS OF YEARS AGO. Centuries ago. Count them. Humanity has evolved, we now stand up to religious abuse, as well as have the power to shut a Catholic Church down for its abuse. Not so with Islam.
Organized Islamic violence is very much happening RIGHT NOW. No matter mankind’s evolution. No matter the information at hand that could enlighten you, and belie everything organized religion tries to shove down your throat.
I have the power to hold a debate with a priest, heck, even the Pope if he has time to see me – or the inclination – and tell him what I think. Look him in the eye, and discuss plainly his Church’s child abuse, pedophilia, as well as misogyny.
You do that as a woman at the Kaaba during Hajj, and see if you don’t get stoned. In 2012 no less.
That is my problem with Islam. I don’t see the evolution and openness. The extreme right is gaining territory. It is as if that ridiculous “evangelical church” from Texas would be ruling the whole United States.
And BTW, no, not many Muslims had the guts to stand up and denounce Islamic violence, and the few that did, where threatened with their lives, as well as their families’.
@Kim Just like Evangelicals worship Jaysus not God.
I am sorry but as Messianic Jew, I respectfully disagree. We do not worship the same God. My God has a son and his name is Jesus Christ. Allah is all together a different story. I understand that Islam is “derived” from Judaism and that’s all well in good, but your god becomes different than mine if we are on accord with the basics.
Jews who aren’t Nazarene’s do worship God, but their refusal to accept Jesus as the Messiah is not the same as Islam which is doing their own thing.
Do you worship Jesus as G-d or G-d (the being you think is his father) as G-d? Last I heard, Christians and Jews worship the G-d of Abraham; Allah is the G-d of Abraham (you may want to read up on Ishmael, who was the son of Abraham, worshipped the G-d of his father and was blessed by that same G-d), ergo it’s the same G-d. This is also the same G-d of Jesus since he worshipped (and, as Christians believe, is the son of) the G-d of Abraham.
Ol’ Cranky,
In most non-denominational Christian, and as far as I know Nazarene places of worship, we recognize the Trinity as God in three persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Jews outside of the Nazarene sect recognize Christianity and Islam as being religions that worship the God of Abraham just in a different way.
Nazarenes and Christians (and I was raised in both church and temple)do not view it this way. We believe that the only way you can worship God and honor the faith properly is through recognizing Christ as your Saviour. Also, there is no other book outside of the Torah and Bible that can be seen as the Word of God. The Talmud and other books are considered important for some (it definitely is in my congregation) but not considered a Holy book, kind of like a guide to understanding the scriptures better. We do not recognize the Qur’an and from my knowledge growing up in our faith we don’t recognize that their god is our God no matter how much it is said it is.
I am wholly familiar with all scriptures regarding Abraham, Issac, and Ishmael.
Orthodox (and by that word I mean all forms of Judaism outside of Messianic Judaism) Jews are obviously different. Of course we know they worship the God of Abraham. Our semantics regard whether Jesus is the Messiah.
Again, I am not speaking for all Messianic Jews or Christians, just my 27 years as one and based on all of the teachings I have learned from and my own personal belief as well. And pastors, rabbi’s and imams either agree or disagree depending on who you talk to.
But I guess in a way people would just argue we worship the same God in a different way. To each their own.
I have to politely disagree with you, I know you identify as a Messianic Jew and this might seem strange but I’m more familiar with Messianic Jews as much as Jews themselves but in the end Judaism, Christianity and Islam, despite their difference in the interpretation in certain events and have different interpretation of believe system, they all are monotheistic, Abrahamic religions.
I think Liam is one of the coolest mofo on the planet…
This article just quantifies that!!!
I’m so glad that people on this thread are being open-minded (well, most are anyways) and don’t condemn all Muslims for something ONE person or a group of people did. I was raised a muslim and it is extremely confusing growing up and thinking you’re evil because of your faith. I would think it was harder living in America and dealing with that. Live and let live. People are all the same. Religion, skin color and sexual orientation doesn’t matter.
Also, love Liam!
I love him. I want him to be happy. I know he’s with another woman now, a few years after Natasha’s death, but maybe he still feels a little…lost.
If this will help him feel “found” so be it.
Gotta say that I’m really impressed by the comments. I was expecting racists remarks and I’ve found only open minded opinions. Kudos to all of you!
I went to a Muslim wedding a few years ago and it was actually quite beautiful. It gave me a lesson in tolerance of other peoples faiths. And it’s the first wedding I ever went to that I didn’t wake up with a hangover the next morning, and yes I did have a good time at the reception.
After reading most of the coments here i realised that americans are real cool ur media does a shitty job presenting u guys to d world. I’m gonna continue educating my friends over here that the ordinary americans who we can’t see on tv don’t hate them 4 being muslims (GOP). P.S Turkey is not being run by terrorists as a US presidential candidate said.
I hope and pray the Turkish people can hold onto the values of Ataturk. What a great man he was.
@Meow I figured the average Muslim was very similar to the average American, a couple of kids, a mortgage to pay. Figuring out what to do with older parents. Whatever the applies to the specific country he or she is from.
The above example is a man I met and thought I had nothing in common with. He was very staid and formal. Indian, I thought. Slowly I got to know him. Canadian-Pakistani (well that explains the uber politeness but eek! Isn’t that MUSLIM?) he had a wife, two teen kids, great guy, family man, dealing with his mom starting to get sick. I’ve met a few Pakistanis since then. Lovely people.
It’s very easy to tell an American that Islam is bad. There is one major Mosque in LA (our second largest city) and it’s not even that cool looking (I love Arab and Persian architecture). In this town most people are Jewish or Catholic and that includes the large Middle Eastern population.
Don’t worry Meow, everyone thought Rick Perry was an idiot for saying that Turkey is run by terrorists. He’s not even running for president anymore, and I think that statement is why. He proved to us that he’s too stupid about other countries to be our leader.
There are some people in America who hate Muslims, but they are close-minded and ignorant and there aren’t very many of them, thankfully. Our country was founded on the principle of religious freedom, and most of us take that very seriously. We also realize that no matter what a person’s culture is, we are all human beings and we’re more alike than we are different. That’s one of the great things about living in a multicultural, multiracial society.
God bless you Meow, for what you say, it means a lot to me, an American living in France…my boyfriend is French of Algerian descent, he is Arab, Muslim, but he does not practice any religion, nor do i. We do not embrace organized religions of any sort, because they seem to be based in fear, and held together by power structures and oppression by any method.I
We are in love, and when you identify with the love in you, then that is what you meet outside of you. There is no need to explain or vindicate our love, it just is. We feel safe in it, within each other. We talk a lot about stereotypes but most of all we take pleasure in breaking down what’s left of them in our minds. I realized that if he and i could have such a meeting of the heart and mind, than why can’t larger groups do so? Peace is so underrated.
If you identify with the fear in you, more strongly than the love, then it makes sense, even feels safe, to adhere to an organized religion. If there is fear in your soul, than you will seek proof for its existence.
Someone asked me if my boyfriend was “French.” I prepared myself for what would follow. I said yes, he is, of Algerian origin (because i am proud of his heritage, as he is of mine – minus the religious aspects)and then she quickly asked “is he nice to you?”
I smiled, and said that he was…more interested in the feeling of joy it gave me than the fact that she we acting out her fear…
I walked away from her, thinking to myself, “this coming from a woman who has purple tatooed eyebrows.” I just had to laugh…but, hey, uh, don’t get me wrong, there’s NOTHING wrong with purple tatooed eyebrows!
Um. Regarding the Aslan C.S. Lewis thing? Yeah. Kinda. If you read the last book – The Last Battle – which was supposed to be a retelling of revalations, on the way to the Kingdom, Aslan and the children, running higher and higher come upon a sleeping soldier wearing the colors of the enemy. He wakes, terrified to see the Lord of what he was taught was the infidel before him. Aslan soothed him and said, essentially (because I am SO not going and digging out my copies for this, but I’m close enough here) “My son, when you did good in his name – it was good in my name. Those who committed evil in MY name are evil. Come, you are my son as well.”
Is in – CS Lewis’s stance was a gentler (and to my mind far more accurate view of faith) truth – Good is good. Evil is evil. God has a thousand faces and names (heck – read JUST the Bible and he’s slipping through so many different business cards worth of names it’s crazy) – it doesn’t matter if you call him God, Allah, or the Great Green Sneed – it’s the actions in your heart and the choices in your soul that will get you judged.
And here is the BIG reason I avoid any and all of my family reunions with the snake-handling-blue-polyester-wearing-hell-and-brimstone uncles. I’ve had enough actual rocks chucked at me for heresy over the years. I avoid them now as much as I can. It’s why I Believe – and stay as far far far away from organized religion as I can. I’ll let God (pick name of choice and feel free to jam it on in there) judge my soul. Mankind and those that set themselves up as the gatekeepers?
Can take a flying leap.
Gaaah! Jenna, I think I love you! That was sooooo what I was thinking. 100% right in my opinion. Good is Good. Evil is evil. No religion will change that. Last 5 sentences were ripped right from my brain! 🙂
You seem to agree with the great reformationist Martin Luther who spent his life studying and trying to find a closness with God. In the end, he said:
“Let God be God”.
Now that I’m old and am slowly looking to come back to religion, Martin Luther is the one who calls to me the most.
The only reason I haven’t made it official is the anti-Catholic Evangelical Fundamentalist Born Again Non-Denominationals. I don’t want them to think they got one.
Jenna, your post is wonderful. Not only is it lovely to see Aslan quoted, it all rings true. I also believe that good is good. I’ve always thought that people who are hateful in the practice of their “religion” (Westboro Baptist Non-Church comes to mind) must be *really* surprised when they get to their afterlife, in whatever form that takes.
Excuse my ignorance but as an urban Catholic/Protestant with a dash of Jew – why do these preachers handle snakes? Is it because of Genesis? Are they Baptists or something else?
In exchange I will tell you why some Spanish and Filipino Catholics whip themselves while reenacting the Passion of the Christ: THEY ARE INSANE! That is the real reason. They claim they want to be closer to Jesus but no. THEY ARE INSANE!
Here’s hoping this works on my husband’s netbook (It’s Jenna from the start of this). The snake handling thing? It comes from the same scary mindset that says if you have real faith you won’t get sick – if you REALLY believe in God and are a good little follower, than you too can handle poisonous snakes with no fear, because by walking right with God, you won’t get hurt. (Same folks who let their kids die from common illnesses because demons and evil deeds are the cause – not germs and simple crappy luck of the draw.) Depending on the shyster in question – I’ve seen folks who work the circuit, like carnies hitting town, only calling it a tent revival instead of a fair who travel with de-venomed snakes. Those are folks who make cash off the desperate. Bad form, but my brain can take that in. The really scary ones are the folks who use the full on gonna kill you when the snake gets cranky type.
Sadly? Those would be my family. I just view myself lucky to have gotten out, and been able to be mostly normal. Ish.
I blame the media for so much of the worlds view that Americans are racists bigots….most educated Americans try to respectful of other cultures beliefs/religious practices. I’m a republican (well not any more) and very few of my rep. friends care less about gays getting married…meaning people should do what they want…they are worried about all the same things my democrat friends worry about. The media and the GOP are destroying the image of Americans. I am so sick of it.
Hopefully forums like these allow other cultures to view Americans in a different light.
Also…Liam is so effing hot…sigh
World would be no worse if Neeson was a muslim. Islam does not equal with terrorists, just like Christianity doesn’t equal only with crusades and inquisition.
agreed
I truly wish him the best and most of all to remain in a happy and peaceful path…
But, living in Europe with lots of Muslims around, I am not really sure what to think about him falling for Islam…
Don’t let a few unpleasant event with some muslim make you generalize all muslim as one category… 🙂
If he wants to be a Muslim, that’s for him to decide. There’s nothing to think about. Islam is as worthy as any other religion he might have considered. Nothing wrong with a man/woman seeking out information instead of relying on what everyone else tells him/her about the subject. 🙂
@Rhea and Asli
As you noticed I remained polite toward Islam, but if you had lived in the places I’ve lived, surrounded by Muslims, I am sure you wouldn’t say the same things.
I am not going to elaborate more.
But remember that in America you’re still lucky not to deal with a massive muslim immigration contrary to Britain, France and Germany, and overall Europe now.
no, here in the US, we have to deal with an awful lot of bad behavior of a lot of Christians and yet, if I heard someone was moved by what s/he experienced in his interactions with Christianity and wanted to convert I wouldn’t assume it was the bad behavior of people that resonated with him. Religion or a belief in G-d (or even a lack thereof) isn’t the problem, people and their bad behavior is the problem.
Well, I live in Europe and I’m ”surrounded by Muslims” and no, there is nothing wrong with them. They are regularly people dealing with life. Not aliens who deserve to be treated like second class citizens. As for France… I’m boycotting them, eventhough I used to be a hardcore frankofile, because they have violated a basic human right, which is to outlaw women wearing burkas. Apparently you will get fined if caught wearing one. Since when are people not allowed to dress how they want to?
I lived in Toronto, Canada’s “multicultural center”, for several years, and I had NOTHING but problems dealing with Muslims. As I’m sure that’s not a broad description for every single one of them, there’s something to be said for the fact that I’ve never had problems dealing with Jews, Catholics, Buddhists, atheists, or really any other religion besides Muslims. I’m your average white chick in jeans, and I was treated like garbage and something to be avoided. Burka-wearing muslims would literally exit the elevator on the wrong floor if I got on. They screamed and ran from my 12 pound puppy. They purposely shut doors in my face, barged in front of me in lines, and spoke in whatever non-English language (when I know they speak English) on purpose and treated me rudely. Me, a neighbour, who did absolutely nothing to deserve this behaviour. Coincidence?
JenJen – That’s their culture/upbringing and has absolutely NOTHING to do with Islam or being a Muslim. People need to realize that culture plays a big part in this. The KKK doesn’t represent every white American or even the majority, do they?
@Asli, I disagree, because they use their religion as an excuse of sorts to behave badly. The KKK is a cult of hate-mongerers, whereas Islamic extremists are on a mission to purge the world of everyone except themselves, following their written religious word and spiritual leader. And everyone just thinks that’s a little bit all right because it’s freedom of religious expression. Bullcrap. Why don’t we just call the KKK a religion and turn a blind eye? If I was religious and my religion was better known for flying planes into buildings and using vehicles as roadside bombs and unabashedly seeking to murder anyone who opposed them, I’d be getting out of that fanclub pretty damn quickly.
I live in London. Im surrounded by muslims. You don’t seem to have a point blah….
Well I live in a neighborhood of Minneapolis, which has the largest population of Somalians outside of Somalia. Most are Muslims. I think they’re fantastic neighbors. I walk around in tiny shorts and tank tops all the time and they wave and say hi.
So perhaps, JenJen, they are avoiding you because you glare at them, not because they disapprove of your attire.
As for getting mad that they ran away from your puppy? You’re apparently ignorant of the fact that dogs are not considered pets in a lot of predominantly Muslim countries, and the only experience with dogs many people from those countries have is with wild packs of dogs, which can be very vicious. It takes them a while to understand that trained dogs here in North America won’t attack them. I have a 10 pound dog myself, and I can always tell how recently someone immigrated by how they act around him. If they run away screaming, I know they just arrived, lol.
How the hell do you know they spoke Arabic on purpose to exclude you? Maybe they just didn’t know enough English yet to convey what they wanted to say. And since they both spoke Arabic, that would have been more efficient.
You seem very intolerant of people who are different from you. A little cultural knowledge goes a long way. You just want to assume the worst about them, but you’re angry with the idea that they would do the same. How can you expect to be treated well if you’re not treating them with respect?
@Shannon, I’m branding you with my TWIT stamp.
“…they are avoiding you because you glare at them, not because they disapprove of your attire.”
WTF does my attire have to do with anything? I mentioned my jeans only to clarify that I’m not a voodoo wacko with crazy hair that might potentially frighten someone, ie. I’m a typical “woman in Canada”. And I “glare” at these people? What?! Seems to me you’re the one making asinine misplaced assumptions.
Also, this is TORONTO, not wherever the crap these people may or may not have come from (and I’d bet anything they have lived in Canada for quite some time, if they weren’t born here), and this apartment building is openly pet-friendly and full of dogs of all shapes and sizes. I don’t much care about their dog-phobias, I have child-phobia with all their germs and snot and grabby hands, and no one lets me scream at their kid. Frankly, anyone with internet access has a perfect ability to educate themselves on the customs of the country in which they reside. Perhaps THEY should be getting themselves a clue or two.
So it’s just fine and fair for them to scare the shit out of my abused rescue dog by screaming at her, but the ninjas of death sweeping along the hall in their cultural black capes isn’t allowed to emit screams from me? Who says I have to be educated and enlightened and these people get a free pass? Get real!
“It takes them a while to understand that trained dogs here in North America won’t attack them.”
Please. Here’s a tip for “immigrants” (but I guarantee these people aren’t new to the country) — crack open a book about your “new” country and educate yourself and make a teeny tiny attempt to fit in.
“How the hell do you know they spoke Arabic on purpose to exclude you? Maybe they just didn’t know enough English yet to convey what they wanted to say.”
Because I’ve HEARD these people speak proper English and stop suddenly and switch to Arabic when white people come around, which is why I complained about their rude use of Arabic on purpose.
“You seem very intolerant of people who are different from you.”
I’m intolerant of jerks of any nationality. And I don’t expect to be “treated well”, I just expect to NOT be treated poorly. If I moved to Pakistan and screamed and ran from people in burkas because “I’m new to your country, don’t be ignorant about my cultural beliefs and traditions”, I’d probably be shot.
All this PC crap about “intolerance” and “ignorance” and blah blah blah is such a cop-out.
I’m sorry but this is such a horrible thing to say. It’s ironic because I never seemed that defensive over Islam. But as a European Muslim I have suffered quite a bit of discrimination (and yes I actually am a European muslim as in my grandmother is German and my grandfather is an arab muslim, and I consider myself a liberal muslim in a sense everyone has the choice to follow their own belief system). I also don’t follow the hijab and so and I believe in secularism, but I have heard such slanderous things about Islam and I have been called some horrible names as well as a result of my faith, and I am sorry but islamophobia is absolutely disgusting. Bear in mind, I have never experienced this outside of Europe strangely, it is very upsetting…
@Blah & Jenjen: I used to lived in Indonesia which majority muslim and now I live in US to following my hubby. And everybody surprised that I am a muslim because I am not fit to the general assumption of muslim. You know, that we carry bomb everywhere and trying to force people to switch religion 😀 Like Asli said, Some muslim has their own culture/upbringing and has absolutely NOTHING to do with Islam or being a Muslim. People need to realize that culture plays a big part in this. I do kind of understand why the burka ladies jump when they saw you with a puppy since we can not have a dog saliva contacted our skin (it’s a long explanation but basically same like we can not drink alcohol and eat pork)but muslim in my origin country do not have a problem petting a dog as long we make sure to wash our hands after. No body in there would jump and slam the door on your face just because you are with a dog 😀
@Jenjen : “Why don’t we just call the KKK a religion and turn a blind eye? If I was religious and my religion was better known for flying planes into buildings and using vehicles as roadside bombs and unabashedly seeking to murder anyone who opposed them, I’d be getting out of that fanclub pretty damn quickly.”—> 😀 This is why I said a lot of people generalize muslim. Sweetie, as KKK known as a cult of extremist Christian, Al-Qaeda also known as a cult of extremist muslim. I would not associate true Christian with KKK as I would not associate a group of people that killing people just because of different faith as a true muslim. Jenjen and Blah, I am sorry that you have some bad experience with a few muslim but I wish you would open your eyes and mind that you should not generalize Islam as a religion of terrorist people. Come to NYC, the true melting pot. You would see that even a burka wearing ladies don’t have a problem walking alongside people with a dog. Spread the peace, people! 😀
He says nothing about converting. He was commenting on religion and his own personal thoughts on it/God.
Much ado about nothing.
I thought that the comments would be very critical of his supposed choice, but they’re not … and that makes me really happy!
It makes me happy too! Thankfully,the vast majority of posters on Celebitchy are very tolerant and open minded. That’s one of the reasons I love coming here. Celebitchy, Kaiser and Bedhead also do a great job of deleting offensive comments/posters. Unfortunately,if you were to read about this on some other sites the commentary would be much less civil. Just read some of the posts on Youtube sometime and you’ll feel like you’ve entered the eighth circle of hell. Half the people on there would already be calling Liam a terrorist f** who is out to destroy America. The homophobes on Youtube just love to call everyone they don’t like a f**. It’s sickening.
While it is interesting that people have commented how surprising it is that there’s tolerance and understanding and a general appreciation for other cultures/religions on this board, it does say a lot that people felt the need to also comment how this changes their views of Americans. Granted, Americans have little control over how local media portrays the U.S. and its people abroad, but really now…
Like @mel: “Hopefully forums like these allow other cultures to view Americans in a different light.” Now why should that be necessary? Americans can be criticized for being closed-minded, ignorant, and of a singular view especially with regard to other cultures and beliefs, yet they’re expected to bend over backwards to prove to people in other countries that that’s not the case? Others can say “I thought all you Americans were bigots; now I see through this messageboard that that’s simply not the case!” and it’s perfectly fine that they allowed whatever media they receive that broadcasts “American life/opinions/people” to form the base for their entire notion of how Americans think and live? For them to stereotype and categorize all Americans as the same, until proven otherwise? They can use media bias as a means of forming an opinion about 300 million+ people, yet Americans are blasted for using media images of other cultures and ways of life to state firmly “them’s be backwards-ass people and we don’t want nothing to do with them”?
And I think @lrm has a good point: “i have relatives who still go to mass daily and travel far to hear mass in Latin [was raised catholic in new england]-and people make fun of it. Islam still holds to the more rigid practices and gets praised for it?”
I just wonder how this would be perceived if Liam’s consideration were the other way around – from Islam to Christianity, or from atheism (or anything else, really) to Christianity. I’ve seen time and again that Christianity and Christians are ripe for bashing in whatever form, but it’s seen as a sincere and to-be-revered move for someone to state how influenced he was by being in an Islamic culture. Religion is religion, people. There are good seeds and bad in every instance, and at this point one would think it wouldn’t be necessary for anyone to plead “don’t let one bad apple skew your opinion of how the whole lot behaves.” Yes, it is cool that people are promoting tolerance and not condemning a person for his own personal choice regarding his beliefs and opinions, but why is this always so one-sided? Why isn’t there equal reverence or appreciation for all religious beliefs?
I understand where you are coming from…I am far from an apologist for being and American…I just think Americans…unfairly…get a raw deal in the press…especially abroad. I just try to keep an open mind to all other religions as I have family members who follow various faiths. Americans kicked ass in two world wars…trust me…my opinion of other cultures is not that high.
I have to be honest, my colleagues outside the US assume I’m Canadian and have a hard time believing me when I tell them I’m American 🙁
The reason a lot of people feel that we (Americans) are close-minded is because if you go to every other American website, whether it be news, gossip, entertainment or whatever, and you read the commentary about or towards Muslims/Islam, its so absurdly hateful and ignorant.
I agree totally that most forums are just so hateful. Americans are just like folks from other cultures…they are a product of the way they are raised…plain and simple. If you are raised with an open mind then your attitude will reflect that..its no different for Muslims…they are brainwashed into hating Americans. On many levels its not the citizens of the countries faults where there is so much Anti-Americanism. But I love my country – am very very proud to be an American and at the end of the day this is where I want to be. Which is why I strongly feel that even though its great to be “open-minded” we – Americans have to be smart – and that means stop putting every other cultures “civil liberties” above what is best for us. I know I am hugely generalizing..but I think most folks get where I am at…we can never ever have a false sense of security again.
@Mel
The sad thing is, most Americans have a very limited perspective on reality. Meaning, we forget history very quickly and we also don’t like to look at the broader global picture. The reality is, not too long ago, most of the places that you say have “anti-American” sentiment didn’t used to have anti-American sentiment. They were pretty pro-America. Something has changed in the recent past that has made people feel this way. I think the long-term solution to our security will have to be more than just military occupation and the PATRIOT act…it will be about admitting to our own faults and also moving away from american exceptionalism. You’ve seen it in the past with other empires and eras where great countries were in power and didn’t take these things into consideration. Just something to consider…
p.s. my comments regarding “anti-Americanism” in the world today applies to both Islamic and non-Islamic countries
Okay – just want to be clear on this. I was raised Muslim and I don’t hate Americans. You could just as easily mention how much the Brits hate Americans. It has nothing to do with it. Anti-Americans are everywhere. They’re not just people of the Islamic faith.
@Asli, Britons don’t hate Americans. I have been to the UK many times and have relatives there. Sometimes we joke around about stuff, but it’s more of a lighthearted rivalry, like what exists between Australia and New Zealand, certainly not hate.
I love everything about this post. I have sat amongst people and listened quietly as they called Christians all kinds of names, mocked Jesus, God, and etc., but the minute someone says anything about Athiests or Islam or Hindu, people get all in a strop. I find it scary because so much prophecy is coming true about believers being persecuted in the final days.
IN OTHER NEWS:
Liam Neeson will be playing Brody’s father in Season II of HOMELAND.
just kidding folks
I won’t touch Neeson possibly converting to Islam (sorry but that would be a bit weird). However my grandmother once studied to be a nun, met and fell in love with my granfather and they married. He died from colon cancer in his 40’s and that made her question her faith. I don’t think it’s strange for him to be in his current predicament.
That said I was raised Catholic, am now an atheist and I can see why he would find beauty in other religions (there are some nice little messages in some of their teachings), but outside of my world religions class I would have never actually joined one. Especially Islam.
If I could go out with any man in Hollywood for dinner and drinks, it would be him. He’s sexy, amazing voice, and he’s a curious intellectual/artist and enjoys a good, strong drink. Dinner would be amazing. It’s fascinating how at his age he is the go-to guy for action flicks. He never had that, really, until Taken took off. Then he gets offered Unknown. Then that wolves movie coming out. He said he was flattered at his age to be considered for those type roles.
Didnt think it was possible but my respect for him just got even higher.
I would STOP watching his movies if he converted to that awful religion!
yuuck
By your statement I can tell that your religion and all its adherents are perfection personified.
I have no words for this statement. Amber Rose – educate yourself.
Cuz YOU not watching his movies are really gonna hurt his wallet SMH.
@amber rose. its comments like yours that make people think Americans are bigoted. just saying…
He can do no wrong in my opinion.
I have to say, I wish all website commentary was this informed and open-minded. This is probably the first time I have read mostly open-minded opinions about Islam in the comments section. Most other places on the web have people saying the WORST, most ignorant bigoted thing. I want to think that Americans (we) are tolerant and open-minded, but it makes you wonder when you read so much hate.
Glad Celebitchy has amazing readers! 🙂
p.s. I’m Muslim and am TOTALLY ok with people poking fun at Islam. But when people say stuff like “Muhammad was a pedophile”, then that’s just bigoted awful ignorance.
Agreed! Also, see this. It’s very insightful.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMEfr_e0rNs&feature=related
It’s very interesting. I love Jesse Ventura! 🙂
I totally agree!
No wonder the prayers of the imams moved him, has the same effect on me whenever I travel there.
On a another note, Istanbul is the most beautiful metropol in the world, the only one that carries thousands of years of history and lies on two continents…. Home to so many empires in the past that left their mark to this day. The atmosphere is magical in that city, it makes you convert to anything! 🙂 I love Liam.
totally agree with you blue!
i don’t think he would have considered this if he were visiting saudi arabia or any other radical or theocratic country. he was visiting Turkey which is a secular country anyway and people aren’t religious freaks. nothing extreme happens. sufi culture is mainly about love, music and becoming one with god. so maybe that’s what got to him.
Secular for the eyes of the people.
What you just said, you do realise, doesn’t necessarily pair up with the fact that there are 4000 mosques in Turkey. What does a religious freak country resemble? And nothing extreme happens in Turkey? Really? Why don’t you say that to people who are imprisoned for freedom of thought and expression.
If Turkey was secular and believed in freedom of religious worship, then why has it shut down Halki seminary?
Then there are checkpoints to get into Kurdish areas.
The view that Turkey is nice, secular and somewhat democratic is a fallacy and it irritates me that an actor, as per usual, opens their mouth at the wrong time.
Turkey is basically threatening France at the moment. They’ve ended diplomatic relations with Israel and they’ve charged Sarah Ferguson with a crime (for depicting the horrid state of orphanages in Turkey in a documentary).
There’s a whole heap of stuff happening that flout the usual view of a nice secular Turkey.
yeah i meant nothing extreme happening in a religious way. you know, no afghanistan stuff going on. anyway and it used to be more secular and the diplomatic relations weren’t always as terrible. the recent right wing government f’ed things up big time. and besides i don’t think the number of mosques is telling of how secular a country is, or isn’t. i’ve been to france and they had chapels and churches around every corner, and they are a secular country. why are you so heated up anyway? what is it that you have against Turkey?
Sarah Ferguson was arrested for bribery and Kurds keep have been killing innocent civillians (Turkish and Kurdish) since the early 1980’s. You’re an idiot who has no idea about what is going on in here. But I guess opinions are like assholes, and even hateful racist assholes such as yourself have them.
In my humble opinion, people usually convert to another religion because they feel a connection to their Creator or Existence as a whole, not for the followers of that religion. Sadly, religion is more represented by its’ followers than the basic principles it teaches. Not all followers of ANY religion are perfect in their faith. Just saying 🙂
good luck to him hopefully this doesn’t allinate him from Natasha’s family who he sems very close to particularly her mother Vanessa who he grew very close to after she passed away. you wouldn’t want to see their sons lose contact with their beloved grandmother would you
Natasha’s family does not appear to have any problems with Islam
If he’s doing lots of reading on atheism, it sounds like he COULD be struggling with either becoming an atheist – which is a vast leap for some who were raised religious, terrifying to contemplate for fear of divine retribution – or taking the plunge into a strongly committed faith.
I wonder what atheist books he’s reading. Hitchens is a good place to start.
Can’t see him becoming a Muslim, he is well known to be a bit of a pisshead so if you are GOOD MUSLIM you don’t drink, could be a struggle for him unless he thought of becoming one when he was pissed !!!
molly,
i know plenty of “good” Muslims who drink, and plenty of “good” Christians who have sex before marriage, and plenty of “good” Hindus who eat meat, and plenty of “good” Jews who don’t keep kosher.
open your mind…people are super complex beings 🙂
Religion is not a buffet from which you pick and choose what rules you want to follow. No, you’re NOT a good Catholic if you have premarital sex. You may be a good person, but you’re a lousy Catholic. If you want to be truly call yourself a Catholic, you follow ALL the rules and you believe that they ALL have a purpose and God wants you to do x, y, and z as a devout follower of that religion.
@JenJen : I think it’s not that simple…you know I think only God can decide if you are TRULY a devout. Because simply if only because you are going to church regularly or pray 5 times a day or following the bible x,y,z but in the inside you are hating other people religion or do not respect the people next to you then I truly think you are not a true devout since it’s only in the surface. You see what I am trying to say? The extremist might pray 5 times a day and can recite Al-Qur’an A to z but they are most certainly not a devout Muslim for they are killing so many innocent people. You are a true devout when you are doing it inside and outside. It’s in your heart and your attitude towards people around you too. I would not called someone a lousy Catholic just because he/she have premarital sex. People are bound to make a mistake. Don’t you think learning from your mistake, being humble and learn a forgiveness also part of being a devout?
Sorry, but yes I would call someone who has premarital sex a lousy Catholic, because Catholicism is a man-made set of rules, and if you break them, you’re not doing a good job of following that religion. If you want to do things that go against that religion, opt out. If you TRULY believe wholly in that religion, then following all the rules isn’t a struggle.
Which is why I call myself “spiritual” and don’t associate with organized religion, because my thoughts and actions are between me and my Creator, not other humans to judge based on whatever list of rules they’ve come up with.
It’s all personal choice. You can believe in God and think that x,y,z are good things to do, but still be a crappy Catholic because you use birth control and eat meat on Fridays. Personally, I think it’s dumb and outdated, but then I’m a lousy Catholic, too.
JenJen- you don’t get to define other people’s religion for them… Really, the world isn’t so absolute.
@Jwoolman : Agree 😀
@JenJen : Well, I do not know about Catholic but my religion taught me that nobody is perfect. People can make a mistake. The rule that comes with it basically only to help us stay in the straight line. But when we stray from that line either by purpose or not, there’s always a chance for redemption if you are truly sorry because forgiveness are also part of the religion. I always think that all the religion basically teaching the same good thing, you know….
@jwoolman, I’M not defining religion, religion defines itself. You obviously didn’t read my post very well. There’s a difference between spirituality (which I don’t “define” for anyone) and religion (which has pre-existing order to follow). Most religions come with rules and regulations, and it’s so common and typical of lazy people to pick and choose what they want to follow and what they don’t.
@rhea, I’m not talking about a one-off mistake of oops, I accidentally broke a rule… that’s what confession, atonement, and forgiveness is for. I’m referring to people who call themselves (for example) Catholic, and then proceed to break all the “rules” that they don’t want to deal with. Do it right or don’t bother. So many people out there do things half-assed and lazily.
@JenJen : I think what me and Jwoolman meant was that you can not simply define someone is lousy or a devout only for what you see in your eyes. Example, if a priest doing all the rules by the bible so he seems like a truly devout but deep down in his mind he feels superior with those around him because he was following all the rule then he’s not a true devout like everyone think.
Also everybody have a different situation so we can not judge them only in black and white. Example how about a young Catholic born teenager that get to be an orphaned at 6 years old with no other family. Because no one guide her and show her which way is good or not then she got involved with drugs and sex at 13, would you still call her a lousy catholic?
Anyway, I respect your opinion regarding that but I would still stand on my opinion. Each people have a different situation and each people would react different under a problem. Nobody is perfect. One day we might broke the rule of our religion. Either it’s consider as a big sin or small sin. Since what we see by eyes is not always the whole story, I leave God to decide if one is a truly devout or not. 😉
wrong thread.
I find it ironic that he found ‘peace’ in a country that is a known genocide denier (1922 fire of Smyrna).
Sometimes I think actors should be quiet about their religious views.
He found ‘peace’ because he able opens his mind and able to look at the beautiful side of the religion and the city. Dont be so narrow, educate yourself in world history, and obviously Islam and Istanbul was not the only one religion or city associate with bad thing as you stated.
Too narrow minded to even accept what other seems more incline doing? ~Lame*
Greeks have invaded the Turkish land of Izmir which you insist on calling Smyrna and also massacred Turks in the Turkish areas of Cyprus. There has never been a genocide whatsoever on any non-muslim groups living in Turkey, but in the early 20th century the two countries agreed on an exchange of citizens so people of Greek decent who chose to go back, did so and likewise Turkish people returned to their homelands. I still have many Greek friends here who have lived here all their lives with their grandparents. I think you need to be quiet about stuff you have never researched, dumb racist piece of shit.
You have to go to Istanbul to understand what Liam is talking about.. considering this article is 100% true.
When I went to Istanbul… It was the most amazing spiritual experience of my life, and I didn’t even have that much time to experience Istanbul… it was everything, the history, the architecture, the spiritualism, the east meets west feeling. It was truly remarkable to be in Istanbul and it was strange because I was never fond of Turkey politically but all those borders melted away when I went to Istanbul.
Istanbul is in my top 3 favourite cities in the world. It is a beautiful place.
Muslims scare the crap out of me.
Every single “devout” Muslim I’ve ever met is so steadfastly intolerant of non-Muslims, it’s terrifying. And these are free people living in Toronto/Canada.
The percentage of extremist Muslims vs. passive/peacable Muslims is SOOOO much higher than any other religion. Where the “eye for an eye” thing has roots in violence, it is merely a balancing of the scales so to speak. Islam TO THIS DAY has a huge number of followers who truly are like Nazis for Allah, and their sole focus is oppressed wives and keeping them constantly pregnant and taking over all other opposing religions. I don’t know of any other religion that literally (and it’s NOT taken out of context, gimme a break) encourages wiping out anyone who doesn’t believe in Islam. Sure, bible-thumpers and JoHo’s knocking on your door are annoying, but I’ve never heard of them blowing up your house because you don’t agree.
Muslim extremists are going to take over, mark my words.
Exactly.
That is a truth some people refuse to see. Blindness is easier than to admit some real facts.
Your steadfast ignorant comment makes you seem intolerant. By the looks of it you must have scared the crap out of them.
Yep, I AM intolerant to those who are intolerant of me. Damn right.
It’s also highly boring hearing people like you throw around the “ignorant” thing when a person like me doesn’t like the way someone else lives. It directly affected me and was a negative daily experience when I had to deal with Muslims. I know of what I speak, and have extensive knowledge of the Islamic tenet and the lifestyle that many Muslims have chosen to adapt.
That’s dislike, not ignorance.
It is amazing how ignorant your statement is (and yes I just saw you snapping at people calling you ignorant) but it is true. I don’t want to throw around my education but I have a double degree in Politics and Middle Eastern Politics, and I want to dissect all your ignorant and misled statement.
The percentage of extermist Muslims vs passive/peaceful Muslims is so much higher than any religion.
First of all, do you have any facts or are you basing this on 9/11? After 9/11, al-Qaeda has attacked Muslim and arab countries more than any western country. There has been bombs in Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, Jordan, Algeria and Pakistan (Pakistan especially experiences a bomb threat almost on a daily basis, and these attacks are done against Muslims themselves, one of the most famous one was on the Islamic university of Islamabad). The Pakistani government (oh yes MUSLIMS) have been cooperating with the US in finding Osama bin Laden as well as dismantling al-Qaeda.
Did you know that Indonesia is the biggest Islamic country in the world as well as maintaining a form of separation between religion and state? No of course not, because that does not fit in with the stereotypical image of a muslim who wants to bomb every non-muslim in the world.
Islam to this day has a huge number of followers who are like Nazis for Allah. Really? Are you actually serious? Have you ever done any academic work concerning Islam? If not, I can totally send you a couple of articles to zap out that ignorant statement.
As for oppressing wives… you do know that there have been many Muslim women presidents and prime minister… and America has had.. how many?
You don’t know any religion that doesn’t encourage wiping out anyone who doesn’t believe in Islam? Do you want me to post a couple of Old-testament verses, as well as some Talmud verses? Oh and, if Islam wanted to wipe out other religions, why on God’s earth would the quran dedicate 4 chapters to the story of Jesus Christ and several others to biblical prophets?
Oh really, you never? Google Lebanese Phalanges. Have fun reading that.
@Leen : Thank you. You have providing the hard proof and facts regarding the TRUE muslim 😀 I wish more people will educate them self more.
I agree with the Esquire interview…it makes me weepy his love for Natasha. I think if Liam kissed you or read you poetry it would change your life!
Greetings from the flip side: I’m a newly ex-Democrat turned independent because I am so turned off by the lack of leadership I see in our current Prime Minister Obama. His title may be President but the job description he is following is Prime Minister. That doesn’t work here. I kept hoping the Tea Party would split the Republicans in half and we would get the old secular Republicans like Eisenhower and even Nixon back. No one I know cares about gay marriage. The economy is dying. Women who would normally vote on abortion (on both sides) aren’t looking at that. Religion has to leave the Republican party to make America less embarrassing again. Whatever happened to the separation of Church and State.
Its amazing how uneducated people are about other peoples religion. Liam Choose to be muslim or maybe if he chose another religion and I bet he wouldn’t get backlash ,but he should study the religion in order to convert not because the Mosque and Azaan is beautiful.
To the other comments that particularly annoyed me,to those who taking a dig at Islam,I understand your comments do not portray your religion or your upbringing. Please Educate yourself. Someone’s actions do not define their
upbringing,culture,religion,that being said religion is Not culture…It is You who define yourself – Just Because your parents disapprove of someone does not mean you disapprove of them.
I am a m
Muslim who was brought up to believe to respect peoples religions,not because my parents are open minded or that Islam teaches us to do so,or because that I have studied comparative religion,but it seems People Forget that everyone is a Human being just like them,no matter what religion,race or nationality…I’ve have never poked fun or sarcastically said anything about other religions,as it is someones faith which hold dear to them,amazingly you would find Islamphobia sweeping through,and I don’t blame them as the way media potrays muslims to be,maybe because of all the wrong doers who use religion to justify their actions..Basically Islam only allows Jihaad if people kick you out of you house or won’t let you practice your religion..That being Said there is four Jihaad in Islam,Well i just did 1 Jihaad, Jihaad bin nafs – Striving to bear patiently the difficulties involved in calling people to Allah and the insults of people, bearing all that for the sake of Allah..
Oh, good gravy. As a professor of religious studies and philosophy of religion, allow me to roll my eyes.
I like Liam Neeson, he’s a great actor, but this news, if true, elicits a big ol’ sigh of exasperation from me.
People who do this–who take a trip, or read a book, or meet someone, or have an “experience”–and then decide to convert to another religion are usually people who are perpetual “seekers” (which is the nice term. I call them religious refugees).
I just get tired of hearing this. Does he know the first thing about Islam? Can he read the Koran (in Arabic, since it’s not really the Koran in translation)? Has he thought about the implications of something like this for his children, and other parts of his life?
Most people who choose to convert in dramatic fashion after some experience are im[puls-based, are not terribly thoughtful about what they are doing, and often lose interest, either when they realize the religion they thought was so amazing actually shows its real face (meaning, religions are institutions with all the ugly politics that entails), or when the glow of their experience wears off.
@Leen you are perfectly allowed to disagree, but it is the truth. Believing in a monotheistic god does mean we all share the same God. We don’t. If we did there would not be such disparity between the Ismalic and Jewish (including Christian) faiths.
And like I said there is some disagreement within in our faiths about that, but I find people on all side (as being from Philly I’ve got plenty of Muslim friends who feel the same way).
Hello, im a muslim from bosnia and i love american gossip 🙂
bad people are bad people, no matter what religion they are ….
at the yugoslavian war, serbs try to eliminate all muslims and cathlics, but i would never say i hate christians ! one group can never represEnt millions of people, never11
i love liam and all of his movies 😀
And i love America,
i hate extremist no matter in which case !!
Agree 😀
Thank you, thank you, thank you Celebitchy ladies for the Liam Neeson post…you can post anything about him anytime please!! I’ve been crushing on him since I was twelve years old. Drool. Oops…sorry. Seriously, I love it when people (not just Liam) are open minded about religion. I was christened a Catholic as a baby but was raised mostly in the Baptist religion since my grandfather was a minister and I even went to a private Christian school for a while. However, as an adult I started to explore other religions and even atheism (much the same as Liam seems to be doing) and I discovered that Buddhism is much more in tune with my personal beliefs and philosophy. I made the decision in 1999 after meeting and spending time with a Buddhist monk to actually seriously practice Buddhism as my religion. I have taught my son that he too can explore all religious faiths and follow whatever he chooses. He currently meditates with me or goes to teachings with me. But he also attends a Christian church with his grandmother. I wish more people would feel comfortable exploring different faiths instead of judging them because it’s not what they were taught. I always keep in mind one of the very first things I learned in the Christian faith and that is that “God” has many names.
There is no difference in the three surviving Godly religion , Islam is the religion of Adam and Ibrahim, Judaism, Christianity and others came to emphasises and soften some aspects of the belief! all we need the three religions cut the politics and go back to the one God, Muslims to go back to the real Islam and respect humanity, Jews to admit reality and stop wanting to be the only chosen ones, and for the Christians to stop panicking and trying to survive on building differences.
here share this link, I found a sensible Jew, still looking for a sensible Christine and a Muslim, it is a start! http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=J-aY5XWKjKM&NR=1 Enjoy! 🙂
not becoz iam a muslim but a great line from a movie ..”he found his inner peace” allah bless u
God bless you Meow, for what you say, it means a lot to me, an American living in France…my boyfriend is French of Algerian descent, he is Arab, Muslim, but he does not practice any religion, nor do i. We do not embrace organized religions of any sort, because they seem to be based in fear, and held together by power structures and oppression by any method.
We are in love, and when you identify with the love in you, then that is what you meet outside of you. There is no need to explain or vindicate our love, it just is. We feel safe in it, within each other. We talk a lot about stereotypes but most of all we take pleasure in breaking down what’s left of them in our minds. I realized that if he and i could have such a meeting of the heart and mind, than why can’t larger groups do so? Peace is so underrated.
If you identify with the fear in you, more strongly than the love, then it makes sense, even feels safe, to adhere to an organized religion. If there is fear in your soul, than you will seek proof for its existence.
Someone recently asked me if my boyfriend was “French.” I prepared myself for what would follow (a little friendly racism over coffee?) I said yes, he is, of Algerian origin (because i am proud of his heritage, as he is of mine – minus the religious aspects)and then she quickly asked “is he nice to you?”
I smiled, and said that he was, the answer was easy…i was much more interested in and struck by the the feeling of joy it gave me than the fact that she we acting out her fear, thinking that she had to warn me of some romantic faux pas…
I walked away from her, thinking to myself, “this coming from a woman who has a few faux pas of her own in the form of purple tatooed eyebrows.” I just had to laugh…
but, hey, uh, don’t get me wrong, there’s NOTHING wrong with purple tatooed eyebrows.
Follow you bliss, right? As long as it doesn’t hurt anyone. Peace for all, no one is free until we ALL ARE.
I don’t know why, but this is really a subject close to my heart. I grew up in the U.S. in the 70’s(one of the lucky ones to have done so;-) and had Muslims as friends, but the difference was that then, i didn’t have this current preconception, so instead, it was my Iranian friend, or my Turkish friend, who treated me like family and shared their love and GREAT FOOD…never once was any form of religion reared its ugly head. Lucky coincidence? The unfortunate islamophobe movement was ushered in by 911. But it has not changed my views on my Muslim friends nor does it alter the fact that i have always been drawn to their music and cuisine – has anyone ever heard “Sketches of Egypt” by Zohar?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CF4npBrf2a8
Such passion and soul. Very chill…Anyway, What If we spent more time finding the things we had in common with our fellow homo sapiens, rather than the many ways we are different, oh what a wonderful world…easier said than done, i know, but you can at least start small…i try to do it in rush hour late for work, or when someone cuts in front of me at Starbucks…i have my moments, i’m just trying to master them, rather than be mastered by them. Sometimes, i’ll admit, it feels like work. But, it’s worth it. If i don’t like war, then i better search out and heal the parts of me that still do. Nothing worse than being a hypocrite. OK, this felt good to get off of my soul, i’m thankful –
This post is awesome, like minds unite and congregate! Let’s evolve already!
Word
Thanks for sharing this. I am so happy to read this. I was having a hard time with those. Islam