March/April 2002 Vol.5, No. 3 Contents America's Growing Isolation by Melvin Rhodes Restoration: A Dangerous World by Darris McNeely Debate Over Islam Continues: Is It a Religion of Peace? by Cecil E. Maranville The Last Battle for the British Empire by John Ross Schroeder Generations in Crisis by Doug Johnson Disastrous Weather By Graemme Marshall In Brief...World News Review by Ken Martin and Jim Tuck This Is the Way... Forgiving the Unforgivable by Robin Webber March/April '02 WNP Main Debate About Islam Continues: Is It a Religion of Peace? Muslim officials have declared their peaceful intentions through messages at their annual hajj. U.S. President Bush and British Prime Minister Blair have publicly praised Islam as a religion of peace. Others challenge that assertion, as the debate goes on. by Cecil E. Maranville Muslims' annual pilgrimage to Mecca, which ended Feb. 24, provided Saudi Arabia with an opportunity to distance Islam from the black deeds of Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda Islamic militants. King Fahd sought to strike the desired tone in his address to the pilgrims: "The Muslim in this universe has a positive role to play in endeavors to fulfill it. The objective of this role is to work for the good of mankind and protect the means of life and achieve stability" ("Defending Islam Was the Theme of Hajj" by Hamca Hendawi, AP, Feb. 24, 2002). The pilgrimage is required of each able-bodied Muslim male at least once in his life; estimates indicate over 2 million visited Saudi Arabia in 2002's hajj. The world focused upon the words of a sermon given there by Sheik Abdul-Aziz bin Al al-Sheik, Saudi Arabia's top cleric. "How can terrorism fit in a religion that gives peace precedence over war?" asked the sheik. He continued, "How could terrorism fit in a faith that calls for the respective agreements, the offering of pacts?" Hendawi described the collective messages as a mix of defensiveness and defiance, noting that the Saudi kingdom feels it is under a cloud of suspicion for a presumed guilt-by-association role in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. (Of the 19 airline hijackers, 15 were from Saudi Arabia, as is bin Laden himself.) Read the full article at www.wnponline.org/wnp/wnp0203/debateislam.htm Related Information on UCG Sites: Table of Contents that includes "Debate About Islam Continues: Is It a Religion of Peace?" Other Articles by Cecil Maranville Islamic religion: _The Biblical Origins of the Arab Peoples _Thousand-Year-Old Lessons From the Crusades for Today _Infidel _The Coming of Islam _Religion of War or Peace? _Behind the Headlines ... America vs. Iraq or America vs. the World? _Jerusalem's Temple Mount: Center of Conflict Today _What's Behind Today's Worldwide Wave of Terrorism? _Questions and Answers - Oct/Dec 2005 _Questions and Answers - Jan/Mar 2003 Islam and other religions: _Making Sense of a Fragmenting World _World News Review June 2004 _Europe in Crisis -- Is This the End of the European Union? _Godly Solution to World Conflict _French Riots Highlight Growing Clash of Civilizations _Cartoon Controversy: Is a Clash of Civilizations Inevitable? _"Islamic Imperialism" - The Commonality in Many of Today's Conflicts _Jefferson Studies Koran to Fight War on Muslim Terrorists _Anger Mounts Following 1991 Gulf War _Not Enemies Forever _When Will Peace Come to the Middle East? _What Lies Ahead for America? _Appeasement in the Face of Danger: Deadly Parallels _What Will It Mean for the West if Radical Islam Triumphs? _World News and Trends - May/June 2008 _When Will the West Wake Up? Antisemitism: _Hitler's Pope: The Roman Church and the Third Reich _What's on the Front Page of Your Mind? _The Rising Specter of Anti-Semitism _A Coming Time of Martyrdom _A Stunning Memorial _Hatred Rising _A Page on the World: Secrets of the Kingdom _The Next Holocaust _Why the Jews? The Reason for Antisemitism _Facing the Pain and Suffering _Who Killed Jesus? _The Corruption of Apostolic Christianity _Rediscovering Christianity: Scholars Have Second Thoughts _Who Killed Jesus Christ? _An Overview of Conditions Around the World - Nov/Dec 2002 _World News and Trends - Jul/Aug 2003 _The New (Anti-Semitic) World Order _World News and Trends - Jan/Feb 2004 _World News and Trends - Mar/Apr 2005 _A Coming Divine Deliverance for Israel _World News and Trends - March/April 2007 _Anti-Semitism Now Directed Against Israel as a Nation _World News & Trends March/April 2009 Search Our Site Key Subjects Index General Topics Index Biblical References Index Good News Magazine Index Booklets and All Literature Index Home Page of this site