Philosophy of Life · Uncategorized

Controversy…Just so you know.

jacquelineobyikocha

Yesterday, I published a post on Ramadan Kareem and to my surprise, I received a couple of comments asking me why I should be celebrating Islam?

In the past 1450 years since Muhammad, over 180,000 people have been killed in the name of Islam per year. Thats 250 million people killed to advance Islam. How can you celebrate Islam?

Sometimes, I am totally befuddled by the whole religious brouhaha. I can’t lay claims to being the best Christian out there and as a matter of fact, I don’t believe in practising religion for those who wish to know.

This is my response to this comment below:

I’m doubtful if there’s any teaching of Christ that requires me as a Christian to segregate myself from others due to their religious beliefs. I’m no better than any other misguided person out there and I think the biggest problem that the World has is that the sons of men have turned the word of God into a weapon for judgement and battery of each other. I don’t celebrate Islam because I am not Muslim, I however, recognise the fact that I live in the Middle East where most of my neighbours are Muslims and they are decent folks whom I respect, irrespective of their choice of belief. I am not interested in practising religion but my question to myself would always be ‘what would Jesus do?’ We preach love.

I believe in practising what the teachings of Jesus Christ tells me in my Bible and his greatest teaching is LOVE and to be at peace with all men. God is Almighty in Himself and he doesn’t need me to wage wars for him. He is All-sufficient. My part of the deal is to tarry with him, to walk in his ways, to be a vessel of honour and to lead others to Christ through gentle ministration.

Sometimes, I think that we lose sight of the important things while dwelling on things that leave questions to be asked.

I’m sorry that I have to throw light on this issue, but sometimes, we just have to speak.

My sincere thoughts.

Jacqueline.

Published by jacquelineobyikocha

A wordsmith with a vivid imagination, an eager mind and a burning desire to carve out tales. As I journey with my muse to that land of all possibilities and self discovery, I hope my personal evolution will serve as a beacon of inspiration for anyone who chooses to stop by.

51 thoughts on “Controversy…Just so you know.”

  1. “Sometimes, I think that we lose sight of the important things while dwelling on things that leave questions to be asked.”

    This is a great post, Jacq! Thank you for throwing light on this issue and speaking your mind. I completely agree with your words. It saddens me that this has all become a battle between religions; a fight on which belief is better than the other. This reminds me so much of a quote from Mitch Albom’s book, Have a Little Faith, which says– “Most religions warn against war, yet more wars have been fought over religion than perhaps anything else”. I believe in the end, it all boils down to building our own relationship with God, regardless the religion, and respecting one another.

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  3. I’m so sorry that happened. And good for you Jacqui for speaking up! One of the reasons I like blogging about life in the UAE (like my recent Ramadan post) is that I want the world to see how perfectly normal life is in a Muslim country. We have our freedoms and our rules, just like anywhere else in the world. Posts like yours open people’s eyes and lift any misconceptions that they may have. Thank you Jacqui for playing a part in spreading awareness 🙂

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  4. Dear Jackie, I admire your response, you spoke like one who lives a life that’s actually centred on Christ’s teachings.

    Indeed, what would Jesus do? We preach love, we preach forgiveness, we preach leaving judgement for God.

    We respect each other irrespective of our differences, because regardless of our faith we are all children of God.

    PS: You don’t have to be sorry about standing up for your own values.

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      1. Nedoux,
        Clearly Jesus did not tell us to not practice discernment because verse 15 of Matthew 7 (the same passage you mentioned where Jesus says do not judge), Jesus tells us to use discernment.
        15“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.”
        Islam is a ravenous wolf in sheep’s clothing, deceiving even it’s most loving and devout followers. Only the Quran and Islam attack another religion in it’s religious writing to and daily prayers, mentioning Jews and Christians and our “Book”. One of the most important prayers in Islam?
        “God is not a father and He has no Son.” You are defending the most intolerant of religions in the world, no, THE most intolerant religion in the world.

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    2. When pointing a finger at your neighbour, be mindful that three of your own fingers are pointing back at you.

      You speak of intolerance yet you contradict yourself with your own intolerance. It’s almost laughable.

      Defending? Hardly. I’ve only suggested that judgement is best left for God.

      Indeed, I am a Christian and I will be wary of false prophets especially the ones within my own religion who plant seeds of discord, using the gospel to cloak their own propaganda.

      God is love. It’s as simple as that. 🙂

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      1. Yes God is love. He is also just. It is because of His love that He paid for our sins to satisfy His justice through the cross.
        He did not simply forgive arbitrarily, that would leave a debt unpaid. He paid our debt himself as Christ incarnate.

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  6. This is a wonderful response Jacqueline. The creator of all of us, love all of us. The sun shines upon us all and the rain falls upon us all irrespective of how we show love for the Creator.

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    1. Precisely Bernadette. I sometimes get tired with Religion and how men choose to practice it. It’s never a discussion that I’m interested in getting into. Who am I to point fingers at another when I haven’t worked out my own salvation?

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  7. i live in a Muslim country and have friends from many races and beliefs, there’s no one “good” religion i can name from the people that “profess” to practice it, the loveliest people i know are those that show love in all they do. glad you stood up for humanity coming together than tearing ourselves further apart from each other.

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    1. Your comments are a welcome relief. I’ve been around people from different walks of life with different beliefs and tenets, from some, I’ve learnt valuable life lessons in being good neighbours and a decent human. Who am I to judge or condemn anyone? Should I, based on the wrong actions of a certain number of people make a blanket supposition that all the others are bad?

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      1. so true and straight to the point Jacqueline, i could not have said it any better or clearer. my family have been privilege to such wonderful relationships as you mention, help coming without want of reward or favour just because we are neighbours and respected each other. i really respect you for standing up for something you believe in!

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  8. It is sad that some people tend to generalize an entire religion due to the actions of a few. I’m sure every religion has something it boasts about and something that it is not “right” according to others. Islamophobia seems to be a growing problem these days.
    Having grown up in Dubai, I know how beautiful Ramadan period is, we used to enjoy the shorter school days, the evening iftars, and share the excitement of our muslim friends. I’m not Muslim, but a practicing Hindu yet I have never been ill treated in Dubai on account of my faith and I spent 20 years of my life there!!
    Thank you for posting about this, Jacque. 🙂

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    1. It really pains me to see what the World is becoming due to the ugly actions of others. We seem to be forgetting the beauty of life and love around us and facing issues that are just not edifying. I can understand certain misgivings about another persons religion, but I fail to understand the phobia and intolerance that pervades our society nowadays.

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  10. My husband comes from a Muslim family, so my Father-in-law is a Muslim and he’s one of the kindest and most tolerant people I know – a perfect gentleman.
    I do not, as a matter of personal creed, put a blanket of assumptions on an entire group of people simply because of their religious affinity.
    We all are products of God’s grace and mercy! I am a lover of Jesus and will show love to as many people as I am required to show it to.
    Well Done for this Jacqueline.

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    1. Thank you, sis. I really think that mankind is good in creating problems for itself. We are all one and should see each other as well as treat each other as such. See your father-in-law for instance, if he was the dividing type you probably won’t have peace in your home but their acceptance and love shows their tolerance.

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  11. Great post. All religions teach love and acceptance. Wishing good things to people of other religions does not disrepect or discredit our own religious beliefs. I too wish all people of faith (no matter what that faith may be) peace, love, and religious fulfillment. Peace, love, and light my friend. I hope people who questioned you discover true enlightment.

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  12. Wow Jacqueline, your response is so admirable and thanks for throwing some light on this. I mean seriously do people like this exist in such a wonderful community like WP? When will everyone realise that Allah, Jesus, Ram, Buddha and all the other Gods are all one. It’s love and humanity which matters. Not what method or which religion you follow. Proud of you Jacqui, the way you handled this ❤️

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      1. True indeed Jacqueline. I always believe in the saying ” lets be the change we want to see”. But in this case even if we be the change there are many others who oppose us. But thanks to people like you who still stay strong, I believe with time and effort we can change the stance for the better 🙂

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  13. We live in society which means we live in a diverse world. I’m not the perfect Christian by far, just an always struggling one it seems. And my stomach turns when Christians are attacked just like any other group out there because were all imperfect and that doesn’t mean we all feel the same about all things. Yes, the squeaky wheel is heard the loudest in todays world. That is why God may choose His ‘still, small voice’. I don’t think you’ve done anything wrong here nor does it need a defense. We respect the freedom of religion or don’t. Mentioning another religions celebration is not taking someone’s legal rights away period.

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  15. Turning man-made beliefs into religions and then fighting for the title of best-religion that is what humans have come to. The essence of it lies in life and love and that is wht we should focus on. Amazing post 🙂

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  16. Then there’s the whole problem of everyone who’s been killed in Jesus’ name. That always makes me angry cause it’s not my fault, I wasn’t there!

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  17. Jacqueline, I am sorry this had to happen to you. Your blog has alway been and will always be so kind and lovely and you are the most supportive of bloggers. This is ignorance speaking. People do not understand when human kindness reaches out to all. We are a world of cliques – social, religious, political, familial. .. there is safety being with those who think the same way as everyone in their group. That is the nature of insecurity and fear. I, too, am one who does not subscribe to the idea of one true religion, although I was brought up in a religion that preached it was the only true way to God. As a result of being a thinking person, I choose to be a good person, not because a religion tells me I will be rewarded in the end, but because being good and keeping the heart open to all is its own reward; its own heaven. I know you are a kindred spirit and there are many others who feel as we do. So, please know you are right in making us aware of the ignorance in the world and keep showing us the way to overcome it. Love, Clare

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  18. Such is the narrowmindedness of some people. You are only respecting another religion and they should be respecting your views too. All you did was wishing Muslims a Ramadhan Kareem. Nothing wrong there. Speaks more of them than you, really. 😊

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  19. Yes !
    I generally don’t mention religion on my blog or in my comments on others , but Jacqueline on this one of yours I must say that I am all in agreement with what you wrote , so a big yes on this one 🙂
    Now (or a bit later … since I’m a Turtle 😉 I’ll go and calmly read previous comments (didn’t want to have them influence my words here – as I am quite a sponge ) and then read your original post 🙂
    Wishing you well
    Turtle Hugs

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I love it when you decorate my heart with your words..