Quote:
Ahmad Abas wrote:
Keith,
What I meant was, I agree with what you said earlier. The fact is, bowing is meaningless without the spirit behind it. I subscribe to the need for mixed gender training. When I said shallow, I meant disallowing someone to practice in the dojo because they won't bow.
Marc,
Well I've no idea what Osensei would have said about those things you pointed out about Islam. Mainly because its apparent that you're intent on focusing on negativity without context. Similarly, I won't be able to think what Osensei would have said about the Jews killing unarmed activists on aid boats, manhandling old men, women and child, sexually abusing children in prison and the other stuff going about right now... I see both points as being nothing relevant to the religion of Islam or Judaism and I don't think Osensei would see its relevance to his spiritual pursuit either way.
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Ahmad:
Let me make myself VERY CLEAR to you.
1) Killing people in the name of ANY religion is WRONG!!!
2) Israeli soldiers were attacked with weapons- I suppose the person who stabbed the soldier in the gut was unarmed? The situation in that region is simply unacceptable to me. Jews and Muslims should be able to live in peace, UNCONDITIONALLY! I am sure that Hamas as well as some ultra-orthodox Jewish groups would agree with me
!
3) Would you prefer to spend time in an Israeli prison or one in say, Yemen? Wasn't that movie "Midnight Express" about what happened in a prison in Turkey? Regardless of where it occurs, abuse of any kind is morally wrong!
I was in no way focusing on negativity without context. There is plenty of context involved. Many religious practices run counter to a larger sense of morality. O'Sensei talked about world peace. I am sure that you could guess what O'Sensei would say about the Crusades, throwing acid in the face of female students attending school, or a Jewish settler burning the land of a Muslim inhabitant. Please spare me your convenient "not knowing" what O'Sensei might say about repugnant, cruel and immoral practices. When a person speaks of world peace, having lived through a world war in which vast destruction of places and people throughout the world, I would think that they would be above making exceptions to that belief for a particular group of people.
Once again, I will emphasize that the poster clearly pointed out that training took place in a "wonderful" dojo! If people did not want to train there because of the rules that the teachers put in place to create and "wonderful" dojo, then so be it. They can cry wolf to whom ever they like, it still does not point out discrimination, simply a deep, dedication to create a wonderful training environment.
Marc Abrams