Orthodixie

People concern themselves with Christian upbringing but leave it incomplete. They neglect the most essential and most difficult side of the Christian life, and dwell on what is easiest, the visible and external.

This imperfect or misdirected upbringing produces people who observe with the utmost correctness all the formal and outward rules for devout conduct, but who pay little or no attention to the inward movements of the heart and to true improvement of the inner spiritual life. They are strangers to mortal sins, but they do not heed the play of thoughts in the heart. Accordingly they sometimes pass judgments, give way to boastfulness or pride, sometimes get angry (as if this feeling were justified by the rightness of their cause), are sometimes distracted by beauty and pleasure, sometimes offend others in fits of irritation, are sometimes too lazy to pray, or lose themselves in useless thoughts while at prayer. They are not upset about doing these things, but regard them as without significance. They have been to church, or prayed at home according to the established rule, and carried out their usual business, and so they are quite content and at peace. But they have little concern for what is happening in the heart. In the meantime it may be forging evil, thereby taking away the whole value of their correct and pious life.

The Art of Prayer – An Orthodox Anthology, pp.164-165.

I tried to say something similar to this in my remarks on Sunday. A caveat to the following article: The author seems to use the words Arab and Muslim interchangeably. However, there are many faithful Arab Christians who, needless to say, do not support the actions of their radical Muslim brethren.

By Nonie Darwish

FrontPageMagazine.com September 14, 2004

Several Arabs were among the terrorists who recently murdered over 350 people in a Russian school. I’m not surprised. But how many Arabs in the Middle East even try to connect the dots that link their current radical culture of Islam to these unspeakable deeds around the world? They simply do not see the connection, and unfortunately the world media are not doing their job of informing the Arab world. CNN clearly believes that being “objective” means never blaming Arab culture –and supporting Arab views in its delivery of Mid-East news.

Until age 30, I lived as a Muslim in the Middle East. Horrible news such as that from Russia and other incidents in the Philippines, India, the Sudan or Pakistan was always covered up and twisted to portray Muslim terrorists around the world as victims of terrible discrimination. They were always portrayed as “freedom fighters” in the minority who needed to rise against the majority Christian or non-Muslim populations in their midst. The larger picture in these countries and the reasons behind the turmoil were never explained in any other way. I will never forget the prayers that many gave in support of minority Muslims all over the world who were believed to be the frontier for Jihad in spreading Islam to the “lost” world around them, Dar-el-Harb — the land of war, to be conquered by the sword.

I once had a guest from Egypt in my home. He was the kindest, most wonderful man you will ever meet. While watching Chechnyan rebels on TV, I saw him cry and pray for their success against the Soviet Union. Praying for killing has never seemed holy to me.

The world has been watching Arab terrorism grow with little international outcry for half a century. I saw many men and women in my culture of origin turned into robotic monsters with a wish to destroy life on Earth to get into heaven. Many believed their hatred was against only Israel and its interests and therefore ignored it.

The world and its lazy media continue, like ostriches, to stick their heads in the sand, and even after 9/11, the U.N. and many in the West still find excuses for terrorism. The Arabs’ best friends, the French, even thought they would get special treatment from terrorists by selling out the U.S. and supporting Saddam Hussein. But to the terrorists the French were just temporary friends until the right time came to strike. One enemy at a time.

Where are Muslim demonstrations against terror? All I noticed in the Arab world after 9/11 were celebrations. The very few courageous Arab writers who think and speak independently are often attacked and terrorized for their views, accused of being puppets of the Zionists. Apparently, standing strong against terrorism and for reformations in the Muslim world is viewed as a “Zionist” conspiracy no matter how heinous the murders carried out by militant Islamists.

Since 1967 there have been thousands of Arab terrorist attacks. There has been only one Israeli terrorist attack against Arabs, by a crazy man who was condemned by almost all Israeli citizens, and the Israeli government never tried the Arabs who beat the attacker to death after he surrendered. Yet I hear apologists for terrorism here cite that one incident as justification for the thousands of terrorist attacks against Israel and the U.S. over the years.

Even worse, how many resolutions by the U.N. Commission on Human Rights condemning an Arab country for human rights violations have ever been proposed or passed? The answer is zero. But the number of Human Rights Commission resolutions condemning Israel for human rights violations is 26. Imagine that.

Is there any doubt that the state-sponsored and culturally encouraged terrorism all over the Middle East perpetrated by the Arab states is not a violation of human rights? Could it be that the U.N. is contributing to the problem? When I saw the horror on the faces of the Russian children, I decided to take a stand against the Islamic culture of terror I grew up in and the madness resulting from its teachings. The intense and repetitive teaching of hate produces inhuman robots. Make no mistake about it: My motivation is out of love for the goodness that I know exists in the Muslim world and a fervent desire for this goodness to prevail.

It is time for the world media and the U.N. to take a serious stand against Islamic terrorism. The U.N. should immediately issue a strong resolution condemning Muslim terror, with serious consequences to oil-rich Arab countries that finance terrorism or teach that terrorists are heroes going to heaven. There must be no “ifs,” “ands” or “buts” and no diluted language by the international media. The out-of-control culture in the Middle East needs a wake-up call and a dose of reality.

I cannot defend the cruel teachings and hate speech of my culture of origin, and no other Arab with any integrity should. There is no cause in the world that can justify this insanity. I lived within it and know what will end it. What is needed immediately is a united world stand against the Arabs’ stagnant and barbaric view of the world and of themselves. The world must no longer stand by, confused and equivocal about 9/11 and Islamic terrorism.

Please, America and the good people of the world, save my Arab culture from itself.

Please.

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Ms. Darwish is an American of Arab/Moslem origin and a former editor and translator. Her e-mail is noniedarwish@hotmail.com

Last weekend we have collected US $ 4,678.00 for the victims of the terrorists’ attack in Beslan. US $1,290.00 came from the mail campaign and US $3,388.00 came from the parishioners during Saturday/Sunday services, Sept. 11/12, 2004. We will continue our collection for one more week.

In XC,

Fr. Victor Potapov

Checks can be made out to

” St. John R.O. Church” with the memo: “For Beslan”

and sent to:

St. John R.O. Church,

4001 17th St. NW

Washington, DC 20011 USA

Also, International Orthodox Christian Charities is collecting donations for IOCC’s ongoing relief efforts in the Russian Federation may be sent to IOCC, P.O. Box 630225, Baltimore, MD 21263-0225. Donations may also be made online at www.iocc.org or by calling toll-free 1-877-803-IOCC (4622).