Source / Courtesy: National Post
Scott Maniquet Jan 25, 2012 – 4:31 PM ET
Chief Editor’s comment: We extend a cordial invitation to Liam Neeson to visit the Muslim Times and also our new site: Islam for the West, linked in here. We believe that we have a lot of useful information for all Christians, agnostics and atheists.
Irish actor Liam Neeson says he is thinking about trading in his Catholic beliefs for Islam.
Neeson was recently in Istanbul filming the sequel to Taken and the religious feeling of the city made an impression, he told London’s The Sun.
“The call to prayer happens five times a day and for the first week it drives you crazy, and then it just gets into your spirit and it’s the most beautiful, beautiful thing.
“There are 4,000 mosques in the city. Some are just stunning and it really makes me think about becoming a Muslim.”
Neeson, who was raised a Catholic in Ballymena, Northern Ireland and was named after a local priest, said he is often probing his religious beliefs.
“I was reared a Catholic but I think every day we ask ourselves, not consciously, what are we doing on this planet? What’s it all about?
“I’m constantly reading books on God or the absence of God and atheism.” Read more
Let’s invite him to THE MUSLIM TIMES!!!!
Thank you brother Rafiq for extending the invitation and perhaps he will also find some useful information in our new site: Islam for West linked in here.
Would be nice if muslims also were allowed to change their religion and becoming christs instead of being killed due to apostasy laws. A strong religion does not need violence and threats to keep its members together…. Jesus never killed a person or had a fight.
Giovanni Z. we agree with you and we believe that genuine understanding of Islam does not prescribe any punishment for apostasy, as it is against freedom or religion and even against rationality.
This is exactly why we are inviting Liam Neeson to Ahmadiyya Muslim Community rather than joining Sunni or Shiite Islam!
Zia H. Shah, its good that obviously Ahmadiyya muslims are more enlightened than the rest of muslims and are also using their natural god-given reasoning instead of following man made rules (killing apostates)to secure power over people. Obviously you dont follow Hadiths in which Mohammed said that those who leave their religion should be killed which unfortunately in many muslim countrys is the reason for the killing of converts to other religions. Do you neglect those Hadith or dont see them as words of Mohammed?
Hadith were collected decades after the Prophet, just like how the books of the New Testament were collected decades after Jesus. This opens the possibility of mistakes in both.
If we interpret the Hadith and harmonize them in light of the Holy Quran, the literal and preserved word of God, the dilemma is solved. I am linking two books about apostacy here:
http://www.alislam.org/library/books/mna/index.html
http://www.alislam.org/books/apostacy/index.html
Thank you for your links and your answers. Without having had time to read everything it seems that there are really arguments that postpone the penalty for any form of apostates to the afterlife when ignoring the Hadith. This was something new for me having spoken up to now only to Shia and Sunni muslims.
Well, that the Koran is the literal and preserved word of God/Allah I highly doubt for many reasons but as long as people dont act, think and feel only according to one book (Bible, Koran, etc..) and always let their conscience and knowledge play a role, thats ok for me. I mean, people would be more tolerant and closer to God if they would not always blindly do what they think to be the words of God resulting e.g in the persecution of Ahmadiyyas and Christians in muslim countries.
Thank you for your candid response. Please take your criticism about the Quran to one of the posts about Quran in our site: Islam for West. I will answer it there:
http://islamforwest.org/category/quran/
Thanks
Here, let me quote from National Post about our Irish actor, Neeson, who is makiing some waves in the Christendom:
Neeson, who voiced the lion Aslan in the Chronicles of Narnia movies based on the books by Christian author C.S. Lewis, is not new to religious controversy.
Although Lewis himself stated that Aslan represents Christ, in 2010 Neeson said, “Aslan symbolizes a Christlike figure, but he also symbolizes for me Mohammed, Buddha and all the great spiritual leaders and prophets over the centuries.”
Neeson’s wife, actress Natasha Richardson, was killed in a skiing accident at Quebec’s Mont. Tremblant Resort in 2009.
Great actor. Good for him, if he is serious he will be a fortunate man.
I have read several good stuff here. Certainly price bookmarking for revisiting. I surprise how so much attempt you place to create this sort of wonderful informative website.
It’s just a gossip who wants to embrace the religion of lies, misogyny, polygamy, killing apostates,… , getting married to the wife of his adopted son, being the first astronaut to go to heaven on a mule (sure it’s taken from Greek mythology)
God challenges Abu Lahab in his superstitious Qur’an
what the heck are you thinking Liam
I think you are far beyond converting to Islam
Is there a specific cult !?
sunna , shia , sufi, mu’utazala, asha’era, ahmadia, quranion,and etc
which one is the right !!!??
Dear Liam Neeson
You could choose to worry about allegations against Islam or genuine problems with Christian theology.
Please visit our site, Islam for the West.
I was an ex-muslim I almost know everything about it
religion of hatred
don’t tell me about Christianity and Judaism
same superstitions
Islam is a religion of peace and love but some individuals can be hateful.
The Holy Quran mentions scores of times that Allah loves those, who are of service to others.
Dear Liam, does not matter what your present religion/belief is or for that matter past religion was. Your life, your choice. Just like my life, my choice. We(members of Ahmadiyya Muslim community) believe in all prophets, saints. We further believe in sensible behavior towards everyone, and in fact tend to take that extra step when it comes to drawing borderline between dogma and religion. I do not deny that there are many hateful muslims, just like there are many hateful people of other faiths, or lets say hateful non believers of any faith. Should hate be the way we recognise each other? Or lets say a religion in particular?
I will need your help in strengthening the cause of humanity somewhere in the world, and will appreciate if you could help me on this.
A Muslim condemns persecution of hindus in Bangladeshhttp://www.change.org/petitions/a-muslim-condemns-persecution-of-hindus-in-bangladesh
We believe in promoting thinking based on facts instead of promoting dogmas.
Here is one for you, if you give us a fair trial
Jesus in Indiahttp://www.alislam.org/library/books/jesus-in-india/intro.html
Wish you nothing but good. Have a pleasant day.
You guys are amazing, if whole muslims were like then there’d no problems in the world.
But alas it seems that you don’t know anything about your religion and your holy book which stir up hatred killing apostates and infidels, murdering them, raping their wives, you should read all the killing verses very well and carefully,besides the utterances of muhammad and aisha in sahih al bukhari and muslim, and see how gross and disgusting they are.
I know a lot about islam but for me relgions, nationalism , color, ethnicity, and etc implant hatred and loathing the others
they are almost the same
I despise all of them
pray, fast and do whatever you want in your home
but don’t ever try to impose it on anyone
and thnx
Dear Liam,I agree with you that religion is a matter of personal choice and it should remain a private affair instead of a political one. If you will explore our website, you will get to know of it. For your ease, i am posting one article for you.
Separation of Mosque-Church and State http://www.themuslimtimes.org/2012/03/law-and-religion/alislam-egazette-publishes-its-landmark-volume-separation-of-mosque-church-and-state%e2%80%8f
Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmed(a.s.)’s words on the cause of human diversity and universal brotherhood.
“A religion which does not inculcate universal compassion is no religion at all. Similarly, a human being without the faculty of compassion is no human at all. Our God has never discriminated between one people and another. This is illustrated by the fact that all the potentials and capabilities which have been granted to the Aryans have also been granted to the races inhabiting Arabia, Persia, Syria, China, Japan, Europe and America. The earth created by God provides a common floor for all people alike, and His sun and moon and many stars are a source of radiance and provide many other benefits to all alike. Likewise, all peoples benefit from the elements created by Him, such as air, water, fire and earth, and similarly from other products created by Him like grain, fruit, and healing agents, etc. These attributes of God teach us the lesson that we, too, should behave magnanimously and kindly towards our fellow human beings and should not be petty of heart and illiberal.”Source:A message of peacehttp://www.alislam.org/library/books/Message-of-Peace.pdf
We the believer in the Promised Masih(a.s.) are spread across continents, race, language, nationalities. Spiritual fraternity out of this bond is far more stronger than human/social differences.
Have a pleasant day!