Karen Armstrong Writing on Compassion
Here are two recent writings from Karen Armstrong on compassion and the urgent need for the Charter.
From The Guardian…
The charter will not just be a statement of intent, but will call for practical action: asking preachers, for example, to emphasise the importance of good interfaith relations; calling upon scholars to examine the difficult passages of their scriptures, and asking educators to find ways of presenting compassion to the young as a dynamic, attractive ideal.
Why is this important? Because the religions should be making a major contribution to what must be the chief task of our day: to build a global community where all peoples can live together in mutual respect and where the powerful do not treat other nations as they would not wish to be treated themselves. If we do not achieve this, it is unlikely that we will have a viable world to hand on to the next generation. Any ideology – religious or secular – that breeds hatred and disdain for others is failing the test of our time.
From Newsweek/Washington Post’s On Faith…
Any ideology ~ religious or secular ~ that breeds hatred or disdain will fail the test of our time. The religions should be making a major contribution to this essential task ~ and that is why it is important to sign on to the Charter of Compassion, change the conversation, and make it cool to be compassionate.
We hope that hundreds of thousands of people ~ Jews, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Confucians and atheists all over the world will contribute their insights on line on our multi-lingual website. The world will help to write this Charter to return religion to the spirit of the Golden Rule. Can we make a difference? “Yes We Can!”
Armstrong writes, “Any ideology – religious or secular – that breeds hatred and disdain for others is failing the test of our time.”
Yet Tariq Ramadan is a member of the Charter’s “Council of Sages.” He has said this about his grandfather Hassan al-Banna, the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood:
“I have studied Hassan al-Banna’s ideas with great care and there is nothing in this heritage that I reject. His relation to God, his spirituality, his mysticism, his personality, as well as his critical reflections on law, politics, society and pluralism, testify to me his qualities of heart and mind. . . . His commitment also is a continuing reason for my respect and admiration.” (http://www.city-journal.org/2008/bc0229iw.html)
Al-Banna once said: (http://www.westernresistance.com/blog/archives/003067.html)
“For we want the flag of Islam to fly over those lands again, who were lucky enough, to be ruled by Islam for a time, and hear the call of the muezzin praise God. Then the light of Islam died out and they returned to disbelief. Andalusia, Sicily, the Balkans, Southern Italy and the Greek islands are all Islamic colonies which have to return to Islam’s lap. The Mediterranean and the Red Sea have to become internal seas of Islam, as they used to be.”
The Brotherhood’s theme: “Allah is our objective. The Prophet is our leader. Qur’an is our law. Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope.” (http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/mb.htm)
According to the Hamas charter, al-Banna also once said: “Israel will exist and continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it.” (http://www.mideastweb.org/hamas.htm)
It goes on and on.
How does Ms. Armstrong and TED explain this cognitive dissonance? How can Tariq Ramadan be part of this effort?