Boy I don’t have enough words to express my outrage on this one. Nothing Islamic belongs along side anything referring to Christmas. The Muslims don’t believe in Jesus Christ as their savior or being born to save them from their sin. What a slap in the face to all the Christians and the founding fathers of this nation.
HOLIDAY BLUES
Islamic star and crescent join town’s Christmas tree, menorah
‘Spirit of inclusion’: ‘Jesus Christ himself would have gathered everyone around him’
Posted: December 14, 2008
2:40 am Eastern
© 2008 WorldNetDaily
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The decision by a New York village to place the Islamic star and crescent alongside the community’s official Christmas tree has a Catholic leader wondering if there are any wise men among the town’s leaders. (I’d have to second that comment)
Supervisors for Armonk, N.Y. voted to display a menorah and a star and crescent at tonight’s Christmas tree lighting ceremony at the town’s gazebo.
“We’ve decided to go in the direction of being all-inclusive,” Supervisor Reese Berman told Associated Press.
The village had added the menorah previously. Last year, town resident Asad Jilani, saying the Christmas season is an appropriate time to celebrate all cultures, asked the board to include Islamic symbols as well.(Well I disagree here again…it is NOT appropriate to include cultures that don’t observe Christmas as the birth of the Savior of the World.)
“I said ‘Oh, there’s a menorah and a Christmas tree and where is my crescent?’” said Jilani.
Berman, who is Jewish, said the town did not have time to adequately address Jilani’s request last year and, to not make Muslims feel they were being specifically excluded, the menorah was removed to a local synagogue.(We have no amendment in the Constitution about not offending anyone…now days Christians are offended daily!)
“The last thing I was suggesting was to move the menorah,” Jilani said. “I wanted this to be for openness, for representing everyone.”
This year, after a committee researched the law and what was being done in other communities, Armonk leaders voted to include the star and crescent, even though the closest Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha does not always fall in December.
“It might have been easier to just do away with the Christmas tree and everything else but it would be too much of an assault on what we’re used to at Christmas,” said Berman.(That’s right do away with our beliefs and tradition in order not to offend some other religion.This is America, we celebrate Christmas as the birth of our Savior….if you don’t like that and are offended…. don’t try and change our beliefs or traditions……..just leave the country if you don’t like it.)
According to the board’s guidelines, any group interested in displaying a privately-funded symbol through the Christmas season must submit a formal application. The board makes no determination as to whether a symbol is secular or religious. The process is open to all religions.
“Arab-Americans and Muslim Americans are Americans and respect other religions,” said Laila Al-Qatami, spokeswoman for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in Washington. “They know that Christmas is a big holiday and they’re glad to be included.”
That’s a sentiment that feels right to Catholic-raised Judy Wesley, director of the Armonk Chamber of Commerce.
“In my opinion there’s nothing wrong with having a spirit of inclusion,” she said. “Jesus Christ himself would have gathered everyone around him.” (I’m sorry but I think Judy Wesley is wrong….Jesus would not have a spirit of inclusion with a false religion that doesn’t look to him for their salvation. He would have invited them to accept him as their savior and turn from their sins.)
Bill Donahue, president of the Catholic League for Civil and Religious Rights, disagrees, saying the town has chosen to display Jewish and Islamic religious symbols while leaving out the Christian religious symbol of the season, a Nativity scene. He does not believe the Christmas tree is a religious symbol.
Further, he says, the inclusive display “shows tremendous sympathy for Jews and Muslims at the expense of the majority Christians.”
Steve Hilton
babybttrfly
Mike