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"If Islam is a 'false religion' then so, too, must Christianity and Judaism," said Rev. Chane. (Through Google) |
CAIRO — Inflammatory anti-Islam remarks by televangelist Rod Parsley, the spiritual guide of White House contender Senator John McCain, has drawn rebuke from a host of American intellectuals, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, the The Washington Post reported on Saturday, April 5.
"If Islam is a 'false religion' then so, too, must Christianity and Judaism," Rev. John Bryson Chane, Episcopal bishop of Washington, wrote in "On Faith," an Internet feature sponsored by The Washington Post and Newsweek.
"Pastor Parsley unfortunately demonstrates a level of ignorance that is both dangerous and divisive in understanding the faithful and historic connection between the three great Abrahamic, monotheistic religions of the world, Judaism, Christianity and Islam."
Parsley, the leader of a 12,000-member congregation, has described Islam, the religion of nearly 1.5 billion people worldwide, as a "false religion," asking Christians to wage a "war" to obliterate it.
"The fact is that America was founded, in part, with the intention of seeing this false religion destroyed, and I believe September 11, 2001, was a generational call to arms that we can no longer ignore," he wrote.
McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has once hailed Parsley, an Ohio megachurch pastor, as a spiritual adviser.
A politically influential figure in the battleground state of Ohio, the evangelical minister could play a key role in McCain's effort to win this bellwether state in the general election.
In 2004, Parsley's World Harvest Church was credited with driving Christian fundamentalist voters to the polls for George W. Bush.
Dangerous
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"It is no secret that McCain is theologically misguided on Islam," said imam Abdul Rauf. (through Google)
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Susan Jacoby, a veteran journalist and write, also criticized Parsley 's remarks.
"Of course McCain should disavow Parsley's views," wrote the "On Faith" panelist.
"But there would be no need for the candidates to disavow any minister's views if they had taken a critical look at religion in general, and their own relations with clerics in particular, a long time ago."
Senator Barak Obama was forced to publically disassociate himself from incendiary comments by his ex-pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright.
Obama has been hurt by video clips showing Wright using phrases like "God Damn America" as he railed against the country’s history of racism.
Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, Chairman of the Cordoba Initiative, an independent, non-partisan, interreligious organization, was also critical of Parsley 's anti-Islam remarks.
"The comments are inflammatory and abhorrent and, theologically-speaking, incorrect."
He warned that McCain's association to Parsley will ring loudly throughout the Muslim world.
"Renouncing Parsley’s poorly parsed prejudice, then, is essential and McCain must quickly act to preclude further damage to his campaign."
Abdul Rauf, founder of the American Society for Muslim Advancement (ASMA) and imam of Masjid al-Farah in New York City, warned that the problem is more complicated.
"It is no secret that McCain is theologically misguided on Islam," he stressed, citing McCain’s recent confusion in differentiating Shiite and Sunni groups in Iraq.
"McCain’s near total ignorance on Shiite and Sunni differences is a throwback to US Congress’s ill-informed approach to Islam post-9/11."
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