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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 16, 1987)
Monday, February 16,1987/The Battalion/Page 3 State and Local hristian, Muslim faiths explained at A&M forum )nss creased; By Frank Smith Senior Staff Writer K arts / u ristians and ?sgon]i;Muslims were battling each other. >rtstlia| B ut at Texas A&M, representatives faiths sat down together and /jrtiuil.ued their different beliefs. a three-hour forum entitled rom akljius: A Common Link Between JSttheiiMiislims an< ^ Christians,” two guest ^Bakers presented brief overviews Hlslamic and Christian thought and sp ent the remainder of the eve rting ato ning fielding audience questions, e an ffc ature< J speakers were the Rev. j a Mike Graham, director of A&M’s Baj :st Student Union, and Steve lnsll:ll ‘Johnson, director of the Islamic 'guidedrfreaching Center of the Islamic So- camerafly of North America — an organi- drej^ zati’ll based in Plainfield, Ind. An , , A&M professor of philosophy and ' " humanities, Dr. Manuel Davenport, liinoderated the forum, mhlaimiffp he program, sponsored by the u ], Saudi Student Club, drew a crowd of about 150 people. ‘Johnson outlined the simplicity of Islam, emphasizing its teachings that k^Hre is one and only one god — Al- - and that prophets nave been The Biisem throughout history to offer peo ple guidance. ■We don’t know the names of all f ■ messengers,” he said. “We’ve ,, [been given 25 to 28 of them in the Koian, but there may have been hundreds of thousands of them to all the societies through all of time.” ^fhose prophets include Adam, Jesu^ and Mohammed. Muslims / view Mohammed, who lived in the y/ late sixth and early seventh centu- ^ ties, as the final messenger of Allah. In Islamic thought, Jesus is regarded as being equal with the other proph ets, {Muslims hold all the prophets to Lecture tries to clear Western misconceptions about Islam By Robert Morris Staff Writer The West holds misconceptions about Islam and the term “jihad,” and it’s time to dispel the myths; said Steve A. Johnson, director of the Is lamic Teaching Center of the Islamic Society of North America based in Plainfield, Ind., Satur day night. The lecture, titled “Terrorism — Facts & Fic tion,” was sponsored by the Saudi Student Club and was held in the Memorial Student Center. While the lecture was supposed to give both sides of a delicate issue, it seemed more like a one-sided presentation against the United States. Citing three examples of violence against Mus lims in the United States, Johnson said he felt that Muslims are victimized. “I hear in the media that the Islamic religion breeds terrorism, and yet when I see it, it seems like we are the victims of terrorism,” he said. “Terrorism within the United States has not been perpetrated by Muslims,” he said. “In fact, it is the Muslims who have been the victims of ter rorism here. And we never hear about that.” Still, he said that Muslim terrorism is a reality. “I don’t mean to suggest that Muslims have not participated in acts of terrorism, or acts of ag gression,” he said. Trying to explain why terrorist acts sometimes occur, Johnson asked, “What are the conditions that set the stage for terrorist attacks? An act of terrorism is itself an effect of something else and we need to judge the action that led to that. “Former President Carter touched on what leads to terrorism when he observed that terror ists act out of frustration and that the origins of terrorism are the lack of progress in the Middle East.” He said terrorists act against other acts of vio lence. “Terrorism is retaliation against other forms of violence, whether that violence is structural, in terms of the systematic exclusion of human rights, or is a political denial of a group of hu mans their rights,” he said. Johnson called the belief that Islam breeds ter rorism a gross distortion of the truth. Mohammed, viewed as a prophet in the Mus lim faith, placed very strict limitations on the use of force and the reasons for war, he said. The slaying of the Jews worshipping in the synagogue in Istanbul could not be justified un der the Islamic principle of jihad, he said. “Therefore it was no surprise to the Muslims that despite the attempt of the U.S. media to ac cuse Muslims and to indict Islam for that slaying. Middle Eastern leaders unequivocably de nounced the act as outside Islam,” he said. “Jihad, which is one of the most maligned and abused words in the media today, is allowed and even commanded of the Muslim in certain very limited cases,” he said. “It is preeminently ... a struggle for social jus tice,” he said. “Especially when those who are wronged are the poor and the powerless. “Muslims can also wage jihad against unjust aggressors.” He said, “See, they (the Jews in Israel) have driven the Muslims out, they have initiated the aggression. Though killing is bad, persecution is worse than killing. “A state in which people are denied their rights is worse than using force to overcome an unjust system.” Jihad is the means to correct an unjust social system, he said. The word Islam, itself, does mean peace. “Jihad is not the normative statement in Is lam,” Johnson said. “Peace is the normative statement in Islam. “The United States should look at the real tea chings of Islam. I think they would find their real enemy is not Islam. Instead, it is those individuals who have been led away from Islam by coloniali- zation.” be human — fully human — with no divinity mixed in,” Johnson said. Graham outlined the Christian view that Jesus was both fully human and fully divine. He said the Chris tian concept of the trinity is not in consistent with monotheism. “I don’t begin to understand the trinity, but I do know it’s real,” Gra ham said. “I never say ‘they’ are God. We believe in one god, and that there are three manifestations of that god in our lives — God the fa ther; Jesus the intercessor, the per fect sacrifice; and the Holy Spirit, the comforter, the in-dweller that lives within us.” Both speakers responded to a question about whetner they be lieved Christians would see Muslim heaven, and vice versa. Johnson, answering first, said,“The unforgivable sin within Is lam is not blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, it is associating something with Allah — giving attributes of God to something that is not God. We should not try to rob God of his divinity. So ‘Let God be God,’ we say. “And ultimately we will be judged on the basis of that, (and) also upon our deeds and what our intentions were behind those deeds. But. . . we know that Allah is merciful and ulti mately, it’s his mercy and his grace that decides whether we enter into heaven.” Associating divinity with Jesus would be an example of committing the unforgivable sin, Johnson said. He said many of his Christian friends are troubled by the fact that within Islamic thought there is no “100-percent assurance” of salva tion. “We (Muslims) don’t have that no tion,” Johnson said. “But we don’t live in great anxiety about it, either. Because, you see, that’s the mercy of God. “He sent his prophets. He’s given us the way. He’s made us a promise that if you do this, then you really have nothing to fear. So we don’t worry about it.” Graham said he believes a per sonal relationship with Jesus is nec essary if one is to enter into heaven. “My heart is heavy when I answer that question, because I think that anybody that is outside of a relationship with Jesus Christ will never see heaven, according to God’s word,” Graham said. Davenport asked Graham about those who lived and died without ever having heard of Jesus. “I have the concept that God judges people according to the amount of revelation that they ha ve,” Graham said. “I believe in a merciful, loving, forgiving God. I believe that God will not send any one into separation from himself who has not had the privilege of the opportunity to come to know him in Jesus. “I believe in the mercy of God very clearly, as well as the judgment of God.” Johnson and Graham also offered differing viewpoints on the doctrine of “original sin.” Graham said Christians believe that sin entered the world, and that it was necessary for Jesus to be sacri ficed to atone for the sins of the world. “It doesn’t mean that every man is guilty because of the fact that sin en tered the world,” Graham said. “The scriptures teach that ‘all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. . “Most of us are moral and good. But that’s not good enough. Fulfil lment comes through Jesus Christ, who comes to enable us to be victo rious over our thoughts and our minds.” Johnson said Muslims have no doctrine of original sin. “There is no need, within our per spective, for God to send a son to be crucified,” Johnson said. k-UNESCO official: By Amy Couvillon Staff Writer The United Nations can be com pared to a worldwide university or jplhnical school that can enhance the learning capacity of humanity, a former deputy director-general of the United Nations Education, Sci- [ence and Cultural Organization said Friday. JI'Dr. John Fobes, now president of the Economic Development Council, spoke to an audience of about 160 people in Rudder Theater on eco nomic and social development as pari of the four-day Memorial Stu dent Center Student Conference on National Affairs. iMlthough the United Nations has had problems reaching agreement on world issues, Fobes said, it has served an important role by promot ing learning and by gathering infor mation on world issues. “In helping the nations of the world to learn through cooperation about the environment, the control of diseases, the safety of air trans port and the technical aspects of communication,” Fobes said, “the U.N. system must be given much credit.” He emphasized that, although the U.N. system is not perfect and needs reorganization, it still has merit in promoting economic and social de velopment in all nations. Every na tion, including the United States, can be considered a developing na tion, he said. The U.N. peacekeeping function is closely tied to its teaching func tion, he said. Thinking of the world as a united entity, he said, is impor tant. U.N. plays “We must consider the planet as one,” he said, “environmentally, in respect of human rights and in the interest of survival of ourselves and the rest of humanity. .. . The United Nations can and should be used to help in the transition froth mutually assured destruction to ^mutually as sured and sustained new devel opment.” He used the analogy of a “wagon- train scout” to describe the role of the United Nations as an informa tion-gatherer. The United Nations and its programs can “go ahead” of the world like scouts before a pi oneer wagon train, he said, research ing subjects important to world de velopment. “Humanity may be regarded as exploring paths toward a new era,” he said. “Some call it the ‘informa tion society.’ Scouts who can survey educational role the past, the configurations of the landscape and the alternative routes and strategies ahead can he helpful.” Fobes said accomplishments of the United Nations include setting world goals through peacekeeping, civil aviation, agricultural devel opment and the peaceful uses of outer space. He used agricultural development as an example to illustrate how the United Nations works. Some U.N. organizations actually purchase seed, tractors and fertilizer for agricultural programs, Fobes said, while others play an advisory role, doing research and teaching new techniques. He said he would like to see the research and educational role of the United Nations expanded. “The U.N. system has performed an essential service in gathering data and working to preserve the natural and man-made common heritage,” Fobes said. Eighty percent of the work of the United Nations has to do with eco nomic and social development, he said. This development, he said, can be measured in terms of budget, staff or number of projects. “I use the term ‘economic and so cial development’ in its broadest sen se,” he said, “to include banking, trade, agriculture, industry, the nat ural and social sciences, communica tions, transport, education, health and humanitarian activities.” He challenged the conference participants — and all young people — to come forward with innovative ideas for improved structures and processes of international organiza tions, and for coordination among their increasing numbers. State prison may reopen on Tuesday HUNTSVILLE (AP) — The Texas Department of Correc tions, closed last week because of inmate crowding, may be able to reopen Tuesday, prison officials said Sunday. The prison system is closed during the weekend, and it also will be shut down today because of a state holiday, TDC spokes man Charles Brown said. The last count, made at mid night Thursday, totaled 38,519 inmates. That number was 95.36 percent of capacity, or 144 in mates over the legal limit. About 210 inmates were re leased Friday, Brown said. Fri day’s population figures were scheduled to be released today. dever boot ore Oct nics of is ill- rained bat the)' .yean ait 11 mwhatj on hat#' ;1 the Umbo*'' Istoquf jrint sit jeti 1 iun> add# 1 ..i odaW dtit itindd 1 DRyCLEANU.S.A. '■MIH Skaggs Center Jean’s Special Starch or Dry Clean any 4 jeans, pay for 3. Expires 3/31/87 846-2155 is believe w where-j ice who a sons.lxW is and obber)^ I ;the -escued^ >opy Early Late Great copies. 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