There is nothing unique nor "new" voiced by this muslum man. A true Christian feels the same about his/her beliefs. It matters not where one is, nor with whom, a true Christian is first and foremost a lover of God, believer in Jesus Christ and in ALL aspects of daily life. THOSE facts and attempts to stay concentrated on living as we believe the Bible teaches us to live is FIRST in all things.

Muslums and Christians WORSHIP different Gods. In our civilization we afford everyone the RIGHT to worship or not worship however they decide. We are not obligated to "eliminate" those who believe differently than we. Muslums (in THEIR countries) do NOT afford others a right to worship freely a different belief. Parts of their teachings encourage the elimination of all beliefs except theirs. Being part of their belief system, this will NEVER change! "We" must be eliminated! (A cleansing of the earth).

This is a concept so "foreign" to us that we are constantly trying to "argue" our way around it and "get along". There is no way to get along with those convinced of the necessity to eliminate you. Stop trying.

What is with these articles?

The space around the mosques I've seen in Europe are commercialized like shopping malls. Perhaps this is what he meant by "Islamic Center," but he didn't mention the absolutely gross commercialization around the sacred space.

I thank Professor Mavani for coming to BYU with other experts to share their thoughts on sacred space. It is wonderful to share ideas and even develop a healthy dose of "holy envy" for other faith traditions. Listening to the faith of others helps me to see my own faith clearer and to love my neighbors more.

pat 9:30 a.m. June 6, You need to be corrected, Muslims who follow the Koran don't believe in violence. I have meet Muslims, even had a friend in the military who is a Muslim they believe in peace as the Koran teaches, the ones Ive meet are friendly people. It is the retackles who push their own agenda for their own reason.

to Pat --

You said, "In our civilization we afford everyone the RIGHT to worship or not worship however they decide."

That sounds good, but what that's really saying is "you worship what you want even if it's going total bunk." Christians shouldn't be such softies. I'm not pro-Muslim, but at least the Muslims stand up for what they believe, although they take it a little too far. I'd like to see a more missionary work and less "worship what you want."

There are three kinds of Muslim: Shii'a, Sunni, and Sufi. The majority of Muslims outside of the Middle East are Sufi (and most Sufi are Shii'a). Al qaeda is based on the Sunni sect. The Sunni sect hates the Shiite sect and the Sunni think Shiites are infidels and should be killed; hence the struggle in Iraq between the Shia and the Sunni and the US military trying to keep the groups apart. Most Sunni are Wahhabi, which is the group sponsored by Saudi Arabia and embraced by bin laden and the terrorists from Saudi Arabia in the 9ll attack. So it can be confusing when trying to understand Islam; Sufi is mystical and good; Shii'a is rational and supports secular governments (the Ottoman Caliphant was and Turkey is Shiia as is Iran), the Sunni are irrational and believe they should rule the world. The US President basically sides with the Sunni based on his Egypt talk; Russia sides with the Shii'a; the solution is for the US to support only the Sufi. Blah, blah, blah. :-)

To marguerite--
You are a "Christian"?
Doesnt that mean a "follower of Christ"?

I have never read anywhere that during His lifetime on earth CHRIST did anything outwardly to not be a "softie" and insist that someone who believed something NOT do so.
He taught and we "follow" by recognizing that we cannot insist someone not believe what they believe. We uniquely as a country offer freedom to all to believe what they believe.
As His followers, we are to seek paths to hearts and lives to show (most often) through our own lives, treatment of others AND "missionary work" that OUR Christianity is THE WAY. That is not being softies....... it is being followers of Christ.

To Commerce:

Have you looked around Temple Square lately in Salt Lake City.Commerce,commerce,commerce supported by the church.Nothing wrong with that but we cannot point a comdeming finger at one without pointing four fingers back at us.

Any one who stands up for what they believe are better off than those who have no beliefs.

A few Corrections to the conversation:

1- Muslims do worship the same God as Christians. The word Allah means "God" in Arabic. Arab Christians use the same word when they talk about God.

2-There are only two sects or branches of Islam -- Sunnis and Shi'is. Neither technically considers the other group "infidels", although there is sometimes friction and in some places, unfortunately, violence between them.

3-Sufis, on the other hand, are Islamic mystics. It's about a more transcendental type of worship, and personal relationship with God. Sufis can be either Sunni or Shi'i.

4- It's not true that "Most" Sunnis are Wahhabis. This is a gross exageration. Wahhabism is a particularly conservative form of Islam practiced in Saudi Arabia. Wahhabism is not even really a "group", (at least not in the political sense)-- it is more like a philosophy, or set of teachings, if you will. Although Wahhabis are Sunnis, most Sunnis are NOT Wahhabis. Bin Laden came from Saudi Arabia but he also joined up with the Taliban and radical Deobandi Islam. - more factors in the mix. None of them a majority.

Pat --

I hope you know what a Christian is.

The persecution of the Christian church has taken on a different form than it had 2000 years ago. Rather than being attacked and ridiculed, the church has become (for most people, but not all) so everyday and normal that the fervor and zeal has greatly lessened and in many cases disappeared. Christians are not as active about spreading the Word and standing up for what they believe as once they were. This doesn't apply to all Christians -- there are still a few who are enthusiastic. Other religions flourish because they are diligent in missionary work. The Christian church in America has become rather stagnant.

Christians in America have become so "tolerant" that we are letting others worship idols and quietly doing our own thing. This is what I mean by being a softie. By the way, whenever Jesus was opposed he never said, "well you worship your God and I'll worship mine."

ama-- I can't believe you think that muslims and Christians worship the same god. The muslim god is not in any way like God. If they worshiped God they'd be Christian not muslim.

The God I believe in is a loving Father who gives us His word to guide us back to Him, who allows us to make mistakes, who teaches us to repent, and who gave us His Son to make up the difference between our feeble but sincere efforts and what is required.
Any religion or religious adherent that uses any form of coersion, or the threat of it, to gain adherents is evil and has nothing to do with the God I worship, regardless of what it calls itself. One may disagree with the tenets of a religion, but as long as it sticks to words to persuade others to its beliefs, it may be annoying, but it is probably not inherently evil.