Church program bans Muslim call for prayer

[The Straight Story]

Church program bans Muslim call for prayer

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Leaders of a northern Michigan church are defending their decision to ban a Muslim call to worship that was part of the planned program for a Veterans Day concert by public high school and community college vocal groups.

The call to prayer was part of a performance of “The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace.” A video runs during the singing, showing graphic war scenes followed by people from different faiths drawing together.

At a point in the video where Muslim worshipers are shown, there was silence rather than the call to prayer. The Rev. David Walls, senior pastor of Traverse City’s First Congregational Church, said leaders of his congregation feared causing offense to those at the concert.

“We were concerned that there was potential that some of our active military personnel, military families with sons or daughters in Iraq ... would find it much too hard to handle,” Pastor Walls told the Traverse City Record-Eagle.

“A prayer in Arabic, addressed to Allah, with references to Mohammed for an event that was intended to honor veterans.”

http://www.toledoblade.com/Religion/2012/11/24/Church-program-bans-Muslim-call-for-prayer.html

So NOW they are worried about offending people eh?

[rosesaylavee]

1. So obviously our soldiers who are Muslim

and our allies who are Muslim ... they would have been offended too as of course, it's the faith that's at fault, not terrorists.


















I don't really need to add the 'sarcasm' thingie, do I?

[johnp3907]

14. Please don't.

Grownups don't need the thingie.

[catbyte]

2. I grew up 50 miles north of TC & sadly this does not surprise me at all.

Lots of closed minded folks up there. For every Michael Moore, there are 10 Rush Limbaugh types.

[proud2BlibKansan]

3. Aren't there quite a few Muslims in Michigan?

[elfin]

4. Concentrated in SE Mich. near Detroit

The area the poster describes is far far away from them. NW Michigan is gorgeous, but can be small minded.

[sarcasmo]

5. Winger central up in Traverse City.

[etherealtruth]

6. Sadly, the entire western portion of the state is "winger central"

(only a slight exaggeration).

Incredibly beautiful and incredibly closed minded

[sarcasmo]

8. I live near Grand Rapids and the city is blue.

[etherealtruth]

15. I lived in Grand Haven and Spring Lake

(spent my summers in Petoskey/ Harbor Springs) ... None of these places even approach purple.

I don't doubt the city of GR is blue ... but without SE MI the state would be a scary shade of red

[TeamPooka]

7. we are really good at hate in this country

Hating religions, people and anything we fear or do not know.

[MineralMan]

9. When I was stationed at a very small USAF base in

Samsun, Turkey in the mid-60s, My barracks was situated so my room's window faced a mosque that was just over the fence on the edge of the base. The call to prayer from the minaret of that mosque became my alarm clock each morning. The call to prayer was made by a live human being in the minaret, and I could actually see him through my window. Occasionally, I'd hear a different voice when someone else did the call.

Oddly enough, I was never offended by it, upset by it, or anything of the sort. And I was an atheist then, as I am now. For me, it was a cultural artifact of the place I was living. I grew to appreciate the sound of it.

[hobbit709]

13. were you ditty bop?

[MineralMan]

16. Nope, Russian linguist, a 20331

You?

[hobbit709]

17. Radio Relay 30470

[MineralMan]

18. Did you work at the tropo site?

[NYC Liberal]

10. So there are no Muslim soldiers in the military?

How does that make sense?

[hrmjustin]

11. Here in brooklyn I hear the call to prayer often, and I find it beautiful.

[Dem_4_Life]

19. That is so wonderful they do that.

Which mosque is it there or is there only one? My boyfriend is a muslim originally from Morocco. When he first came here he was going to move to Brooklyn and ended up instead in Ohio. Then a few years later he moved here to Texas. He got his citizenship a few years later and got to vote for Obama in 2004.

The call to prayer is very beautiful and meaningful. Sometimes he will play it on youtube and he has the prayer times app on his phone that will play the call to prayer. He has taught me a lot about the islamic culture and it is a lot more open and loving and peaceful than a christianity.

I am going to tell him about the Brooklyn mosque. He is going to love that.

[dawg]

12. Well, if it was part of a service held in their church, they have that right.

They probably wouldn't let me do my solo acoustic rendition of Stairway to Heaven either.

It would have been a classy move for them to allow it, but there's no requirement for them to be classy is there?