Bloodthirsty Liberals

C

Cypress

Will work for Scooby snacks
The Quakers are a big reason I'm not embarrassed of the religious left, like wingnuts tend to be embarrassed of the religious right.

My Quaker lady friend actually met Ahmadinejad and other Iranian officials. I was talking her about it. That was cool. What a great lady. They're trying to build bridges, and mutual understanding. Trying to engage in a constructive way. Trying to promote peace and mutual interests. Gawd, couldn't they be praying for a Hurricane to hit sinful New Orleans, or something nominally christofacsist like that??

That's God damned admirable of those quakers. I've gone to some anti-war protests here, and the Quakers are always out there in force. Whether its human rights, torture, or social and economic justice those damn Quakers are always in the mix. Way into the mix.

And with flat-earth, creationist theocrat Sarah Palin running for office, the Quakers in contrast seem like a bunch of overeducated, over enlightened, herbal tea sipping hippies. High fives all around.

But, look for Cheney to bomb Iran anyway. Especially if McCain is down by 10 points in late October.



Quakers, Iran leader to meet

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Keepers of Protestantism’s pacifist traditions will showcase just how far they’ve come from their humble roots in Europe’s persecuted peasantry when they share an intimate dinner Thursday in New York with a world leader.

It’s not just any world leader, however, but Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who’s been labeled an international pariah for his nuclear ambitions, denial of the Holocaust, saber-rattling toward Israel and alleged support of terrorism.

But for Quakers and Mennonites who’ll be at the table, breaking bread with this controversial man means drawing deeply on the same spiritual roots that sustained their embattled ancestors long ago.

“Jesus ate with lepers and with tax collectors, and in the United States right now, Iran would be in that category,” says Arli Klassen, executive director of the Mennonite Central Committee, an outreach arm for Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches in the United States and Canada.

The New York gathering, an Iftar dinner to commemorate the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, will mark the fourth time since 2006 that Ahmadinejad has met with American religious leaders. Each time, Klassen says, it’s been at Ahmadinejad’s request.

Mennonites and members of the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker outreach group, have attended each meeting. This year other Quakers, plus representatives from the World Council of Churches and the New York-based group Religions for Peace, will take part along with their invited guests
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Dear Friends,

This past Thursday, September 25, 2008, the American Friends Service Committee co-sponsored an event that received international attention -- an iftar dinner with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Iftar marks the end of each day’s fasting during Ramadan.

With this fourth in a series of high-level bridge-building and reconciliation efforts, AFSC and its co-sponsors -- the Mennonite Central Committee, Quaker United Nations Office, Religions for Peace, and World Council of Churches in consultation with the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations -- hope to build and continue dialogue with the Iranian people and their president.

Each meeting has made me hopeful for what could happen if the U.S. participated in a diplomacy without preconditions with the Iranian government. This fourth dialogue has allowed us to build a deeper relationship with the Iranians, where we can explore issues between our countries in a more complex way.

Because we’ve seen the value of these exchanges, we are planning several in the near future. If visas are approved, we plan to host a delegation of Iranian religious leaders and academics to the U.S. this winter and organize a delegation of U.S. women religious leaders to Iran next year.

As a Quaker organization, we have a history and legacy of promoting dialogue and understanding between nations. True dialogue is the best way to respond to differences and conflict. Over the past years of catastrophic loss in Iraq, we’ve seen the calamity caused when violence replaces talks and when opinions become hardened.

Please continue to hold us in the light as we endeavor to build bridges of understanding.

In peace,


Mary Ellen McNish

American Friends Service Committee
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I have a profound respect for the Quakers. Those folks walk the walk. And do it without fanfare.

I wonder if Ahmadinejad knew he was being compared to lepers and tax collectors.
 
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