Srael bars wearing a cross at jerusalem's western wall!!

[Daanyeer]

http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=25666

[*jr]

"Shmuel Rabinowitz, the rabbi of the Western Wall, said that while the site is open to all faiths, worshippers are expected not to offend the sensitivities of Jews by displaying symbols of other religions."

That's interesting!

[Grant]

The Western Wall is the most holy of extant Jewish religious sites, so I am not surprised the rabbis wish to see it respected. But there have been exceptions made. The Pope prayed there, with a cross, when he visited. Other Christian clergy, with crosses, have prayed there from behind fences. This particular visit by the Irish clergy was unannounced and it was their choice to move on rather than make an issue of the matter. Even so, they did get an apology from an Israel cabinet minister.

Frankly, I was more surprised by the caption under the photo:

"Jerusalem has been under illegal Israeli occupation since 1967"

[*jr]

"They were asked to remove the crosses, but they refused," he said.

Regardless of the later apology they were not allowed to inter wearing the Cross.


And yes Jerusalem is occupied city.

[Cawar]

Grant

Why do christians (mainly Evangelicals) have an unquestionable support for Jews and Judaisim??

Is it biblical in origin or is it mainly political(ie Zionism)??

[eternauta]

I am curious; do Muslims wear/carry religious symbols? I am asking because I wear/carry no religious symbols.

[Grant]

Cawar,

Nearly all of the Bible is of Jewish origin. For the first three centuries of it's existance, Christianity was a Jewish sub-sect.

The Evangelicals are probably closer to their Bibles than many other Christians, but Mormons also have a very close relationship with the Jews. It's largely scriptural, I think, but there are also Christian groups who claim decscent from Christianized Jewish tribes, those with a so-called Christian or Jewish "identity".

Tam,

Islamic prayer beads. I realize this is borderline, but hersiis. The deeper sort of skull-cap. Burka, hijab, niqaab. Cimamaad. etc. The color green.

The star and crescent were symbols of the Ottomans, and hence of the caliphate, but were not really religious in origin.

This link has "Middle Eastern Symbols", Some of which listed for Islam I believe are not universally recognized or have mixed use:

http://altreligion.about.com/library/gl ... ymbols.htm

[Grant]

For comparison, in Saudi Arabia:

http://dailymusings.spaces.live.com/blo ... !287.entry

http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71431.htm

[Grant]

And then there's this shocker, posted April14,2008. I will believe this when it happens: Religious reciprocity in the Arab world!

http://www.windsofchange.net/archives/c ... arabia.php

[paidmonk]

Non-Muslims are not allowed in Mecca. And since Jerusalem is the largest Jewish holy city, they should ban all non-Jews from the city. I don't see why not. Jerusalem is in majority Israeli/Jewish hands. The cross is banned for today, tomorrow they will ban anyone who recognizes the cross. Their neighbors would be powerless to stop them.

[*jr]

There are thousands of Churches and Synagogues all over the Arab world and Persia. Using Saudi Arabia as an example of freedom of religion in the ME is red herring, a bait-and-switch tactic used by the neocon pundits avoiding the truth and the historic facts of co-existences that existed between Muslims and non-Muslims for centuries.

[Grant]

There are thousands of Churches and Synagogues all over the Arab world and Persia. Using Saudi Arabia as an example of freedom of religion in the ME is red herring, a bait-and-switch tactic used by the neocon pundits avoiding the truth and the historic facts of co-existences that existed between Muslims and non-Muslims for centuries.

Bait and switch? Are Mecca and Medina the center of the Islamic world or not? Great co-existence going on there. Same with the Chaldeans in Iraq. etc, etc. It doesn't take a neocon pundit to recognize that co-existance never was equitable, is less so today than just about ever before in history. Lots of ethnic and religious self-cleansing going on. Iran is down to 25,000 Jews, and counting.

Just think about what actual religious reciprocity and tolerance would involve......

[*jr]

Thank the irresponsible Bush war for the displacement of many Chaldeans in Iraq, and Shia vs Sunni violence because there was total religious tolerance under Saddam. As I recall, Saddam prohibited the use of the traditional appended tribal surname so your name could not reveal whether you were Sunni, Shia, Turkmen or Kurd. At that time Roughly 7% of the population was Christian and enjoyed all the benefits of the Islamic population. The ousted deputy Prime Minister, Tariq Aziz, is a Catholic, and there have always been Kurds in senior political and military positions. With regard to Iran, the 25.000 or so remaining Jews stayed in Iran as a matter of choice others left because Israel's aggressive immigration policies. Frankly, this entire religion intolerance stems from the war on terror under George Bush...the talk of clash of civilization was his doing after 9/11.