Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Jika Surga dan Neraka tak pernah ada

Di kala kesendirian
Di kala kegalauan hati meresahkan
Di kala ancaman menghampiri
Mengingat dan mendekatkan diri pada-MU adalah sungguh menentramkan

Sujudku kepada-MU atas rasa cinta dan terima kasih
untuk nikmat dan kesetiaan yang selalu KAU berikan

Surga atau neraka yang kudapat di dunia lainku kelak
Kuharap KAU selalu ada di dekatku...

-Inspired by lagunya Chrisye+Dhani...:D-

Friday, April 4, 2008

Wilders: Quran is a facist book


Fascism
is an authoritarian ideology (generally tied to a mass movement) that considers the individual subordinate to the interests of the state, party or society as a whole. Fascists seek to forge a type of national unity, usually based on (but not limited to) ethnic, cultural, racial, and/or religious attributes. Various scholars attribute different characteristics to fascism, but the following elements are usually seen as its integral parts: patriotism, nationalism, statism, militarism, totalitarianism, anti-communism, corporatism, populism, collectivism, autocracy and opposition to political and economic liberalism

The term fascismo was coined by the Italian Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini and the Neo-Hegelian philosopher Giovanni Gentile. It is derived from the Italian word fascio, which means "bundle" or "union", and from the Latin word fasces. The fasces, which consisted of a bundle of rods tied around an axe, were an ancient Roman symbol of the authority of the civic magistrates, and the symbolism of the fasces suggested strength through unity: a single rod is easily broken, while the bundle is difficult to break. It is also strongly associated with the fascist militia "fasci italiani di combattimento" ("League of Combat"). Originally, the term "fascism" (fascismo) was used by the political movement that ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943 under the leadership of Benito Mussolini.

Fascism and the Roman Catholic Church
restated the hostility of A controversial topic is the relationship between fascist movements and the Roman Catholic Church. As mentioned above, Pope Leo XIII's 1891 encyclical, Rerum Novarum included doctrines that fascists used or admired. Forty years later, the corporatist tendencies of Rerum Novarum were underscored by Pope Pius XI's May 25, 1931 encyclical Quadragesimo AnnoRerum Novarum to both unbridled competition and class struggle. Defenders of Pope Leo XIII argue the criticism of both socialism and capitalism in these encyclicals was not fascist but rather closer to Christian Democracy or distributism.

In the early 1920s, the Catholic party in Italy (Partito Popolare) was in the process of forming a coalition with the Reform Party that could have stabilized Italian politics and thwarted Mussolini's projected coup. On October 2, 1922, Pope Pius XI circulated a letter ordering clergy not to identify themselves with the Partito Popolare, but to remain neutral, an act that undercut the party and its alliance against Mussolini. Following Mussolini's rise to power, the Vatican's Secretary of State met Il Duce in early 1923 and agreed to dissolve the Partito Popolare, which Mussolini saw as an obstacle to fascist rule. In exchange, the fascists made guarantees regarding Catholic education and institutions. In 1924, following the murder of the leader of the Socialist Party by fascists, the Partito Popolare joined with the Socialist Party in demanding that the King dismiss Mussolini as Prime Minister, and stated their willingness to form a coalition government. Pius XI responded by warning against any coalition between Catholics and socialists. The Vatican ordered all priests to resign from the Partito Popolare and from any positions they held in it. This action led to the party's disintegration in rural areas where it relied on clerical assistance. The Vatican subsequently established Azione Cattolica (Catholic Action) as a non-political lay organization under the direct control of bishops. The Vatican forbid the organization to participate in politics, and thus it was not permitted to oppose the fascist regime. Pius XI ordered all Catholics to join Catholic Action. This order resulted in hundreds of thousands of Catholics withdrawing from the Partito Popolare, and joining the apolitical Catholic Action, which in turn caused the Catholic Party's final collapse. When Mussolini ordered the closure of Catholic Action in May 1931, Pius XI issued an encyclical, Non Abbiamo Bisogno. This document stated the Catholic Church's opposition to the dissolution, and argued that the order "unmasked the pagan intentions of the Fascist state".

Under international pressure, Mussolini decided to compromise, and Catholic Action was saved. For Catholics, the encyclical's disapproval of any system that puts the nation above God or humanity remains doctrine.

elements.Aside from certain ideological similarities, the relationship between the Church and fascist movements in various countries has often been close. An early example is Austria, which developed a quasi-fascist authoritarian Catholic regime some call the "Austro-fascist" Ständestaat between 1934 and 1938. There is little debate over Slovakia, where the fascist dictator was a Catholic monsignor; and the Independent State of Croatia, where the fascist Ustashe identified itself as a Catholic movement. The Iron Guard in Romania identified itself as an Eastern Orthodox movement (with no connection to Roman Catholicism), and had particularly strong leanings toward clerical fascism. (See also Involvement of Croatian Catholic clergy with the Ustaša regime.) In Slovenia collaboration with Nazi Germany was based on Catholic propaganda, which perceived nazis as lesser evil than communists. The reactionary Catholic-influenced ideology of the Action Française also deeply influenced The Vichy regime in France. This group had actually been led by an agnostic and condemned by the Catholic Church in 1926. Many of its members were reactionary Catholics so this condemnation damaged the group, but then in 1938 the condemnation was lifted. Conversely, many Catholic priests were persecuted under the Nazi regime, and many Catholic laypeople and clergy played notable roles in sheltering Jews during the Holocaust. While some historians wrote that the Catholic organization Opus Dei and its founder Josemaría Escrivá supported the fascist regime of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, some recent historians state that Escrivá was staunchly non-political, and the connection between Opus Dei and Franco's fascist regime was a black legend propagated by the Falange and by some clerical sectors. Fascist movements like Rexism in Belgium and the Christian Social Party also combined fascist and conservative populist Roman Catholic.

Fascism and the Protestant churches
Protestantism in Italy and Spain was not as significant as Catholicism and the Protestant minority was persecuted. Mussolini's sub-secretary of Interior, Bufferini-Guidi issued a memo closing all houses of worship of the Italian Pentecostals (as well as those of the Christian sect the Jehovah's Witnesses), and imprisoned their leader. In some instances, people were killed because of their faith. The connection between the German form of Fascism, Nazism, and Protestantism has long been debated, with some saying that the Protestant denominations, especially the German Lutheran Church, was close. According to some scholars, especially Richard Steigman-Gall (The Holy Reich: Protestantism and the Nazi Movement, 1920-1945) the relationship was collaborationist as one of Germany's great historic reformers. In Luther's 1543 book which enthusiastically supported Nazism, and sought to join Church and State. 3,000 of the 17,000 Protestant pastors in Germany were to join the movement. Hitler wished to unite a Protestant church of twenty-eight different federations into one nationalist body. Pastor establishment and most of the suggesting an association of the ideological or operational characteristics of certain movements from the late 20th century on, with . Hitler, in his manifesto, Mein Kampf, listed Martin LutherOn the Jews and Their Lies, Luther advocated the burning of synagogues and schools, the deportation of Jews, and many other measures that resemble the actions later taken by the Nazis. The overwhelming majority of Protestant church leaders in Germany made no comment on the Nazis' growing anti-Jewish activities.

Many Protestants opposed the governments of the Weimar Republic in the 1920s, which they saw as coalitions between the Socialists and the Catholic Centre party. In 1932, many German Protestants joined together to form the German Christian MovementLudwig Müller, the leader of the German Christian Movement, was soon appointed Hitler's adviser on religious affairs. He was elected Reich's Bishop in charge of the German Protestant churches in 1933. Many churches and ministers attempted to purge Christianity of "Jewish influences" and tried to institute the Nazis' Positive Christianity viewpoint on religion. An "Aryan Paragraph" was introduced to the constitution, which stated that no one of non-Aryan background, or married to anyone of non-Aryan background, could serve as either a pastor or church official. Pastors and officials who had married a non-Aryan were to be dismissed. Much of the LutheranReformed churches in Germany had welcomed Hitler's promise to oppose Bolshevism and social instability. The new measures began to raise some opposition to the German Christians from a minority of Protestants who had become increasingly disillusioned with unethical practices of the Nazis and disliked state interference in church affairs. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran pastor and theological liberal, strongly opposed the Nazis. Although some debate his actual involvement in planning the assassination attempt of Hitler, he was found guilty and executed for his alleged part in the conspiracy. A small group of Protestant clergy under Martin Niemöller and Dietrich Bonhoeffer separated from the main churches to form the Confessing Church. The group had limited effect, however, as it was forced to meet secretly and was largely dispersed by the Nazis by 1939 at the latest, and the effect of Protestantism on inhibiting Nazism in Germany was limited at best.

Islamofascism is a controversialneologismIslamistEuropean fascist movements of the early 20th century, neofascist movements, or totalitarianism. Critics of the term argue that associating the religion of Islam with fascism is offensive, inaccurate, and in some cases counterproductive.

Harping on the claimed incongruity between the "Muslim World" and "industrial state fascism," American journalist The term, "Islamofascism" has been criticized by Western scholars and journalists alike. One of the world's leading authorities on Fascism, Walter Laqueur, after reviewing this and related terms, concluded that "Islamic fascism, Islamophobia and antisemitism, each in its way, are imprecise terms we could well do without but it is doubtful whether they can be removed from our political lexicon." Cultural historian Richard Webster has argued that grouping many different political ideologies, terrorist and insurgent groups, governments, and religious sects into one single idea of "Islamofascism" may lead to an oversimplification of the phenomenon of terrorism. In a similar vein the left-wing National Security Network argues that the term dangerously obscures important distinctions and differences between groups of Islamic extremists while alienating moderate voices in the Muslim World because it "creates the perception that the United States is fighting a religious war against Islam."Other critics, such as former National Review columnist Joseph Sobran, and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman argue that it is predominantly a propaganda term used by proponents of the War on Terror. Yet others, such as security expert Daniel Benjamin, political scientist Norman Finkelstein and The American Conservative columnist Daniel Larison, highlight the claim that despite its use as a piece of propaganda the term is inherently meaningless, since as Benjamin notes, "there is no sense in which jihadists embrace fascist ideology as it was developed by Mussolini or anyone else who was associated with the term." Conservative British historian Niall Ferguson points out that this political use of what he calls a "completely misleading concept," is "just a way of making us feel that we're the 'greatest generation' fighting another World War."Eric Margolis claims that ironically the most totalitarian Islamic regimes, "in fact, are America's allies." The public use of the term has also elicited a critical response from various Muslim groups. In the aftermath of the 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot, George Bush described the fight against terrorists as a battle against "Islamic fascists... [who] will use any means to destroy those of us who love freedom". The Council on American-Islamic Relations wrote to him to complain, saying that the use of the term "feeds the perception that the war on terror is actually a war on Islam". Ingrid Mattson of the Islamic Society of North America also complained about this speech, claiming that it added to a misunderstanding of Islam. Mattson did acknowledge, however, that some terrorist groups also misuse "Islamic concepts and terms to justify their violence." The controversy surrounding this neologism is not only confined to the critical commentary of media figures, academics and Muslim groups. In 2007, the conservative writer and activist David Horowitz launched a series of lectures and protests on college campuses under the title of "Islamofascism Awareness Week." At least 40 Universities moved officially to distance themselves from the event Several Muslims and non-Muslims on different college campuses aware of the event came out in opposition to it.The Muslim Student Group at Penn State University, for instance, said it feared "that this Islamophobic program will have hazardous consequences on the Penn State community." At least one campus "Republican" group has also gone on record to distance themselves from the event.

NOTES FROM SAWO MATENG:
Religion is something that requires strong faiths and beliefs that will affect someone in perceiving something, whether Quran is a fascist book or not it depend on how people would interpret it. (reference: Al-Kaafiruun (109):6, Al Quran Nur Karim)

Sources: Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism)

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Adapting climate change is part of the Gaian system?

Many Neopagans actively worship Gaia. Beliefs regarding Gaia vary, ranging from the common Wiccan belief that Gaia is the Earth (or in some cases the spiritual embodiment of the earth, or the Goddess of the Earth), to the broader Neopagan belief that Gaia is the goddess of all creation, a Mother Goddess from which all other gods spring. Gaia is sometimes thought to embody the planets and the Earth, and sometimes thought to embody the entire universe. Worship of Gaia is varied, ranging from prostration to druidic ritual. Unlike Zeus, a roving nomad god of the open sky, Gaia was manifest in enclosed spaces: the house, the courtyard, the womb, the cave. Her sacred animals are the serpent, the lunar bull, the pig, and bees. In her hand the narcotic poppy may be transmuted to a pomegranate.

The mythological name was revived in 1969 by James Lovelock, in Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth; his Gaia hypothesis was supported by Lynn Margulis. The hypothesis proposes that living organisms and inorganic material are part of a dynamic system that shapes the Earth's biosphere, and maintains the Earth as a fit environment for life. In some Gaia theory approaches the Earth itself is viewed as an organism with self-regulatory functions. Further books by Lovelock and others popularized the Gaia Hypothesis, which was widely embraced and passed into common usage as part of the heightened awareness of planetary vulnerability of the 1990s

Gaia Theory is a compelling new way of understanding life on our planet. It argues that we are far more than just the "Third Rock from the Sun," situated precariously between freezing and burning up. The theory asserts that living organisms and their inorganic surroundings have evolved together as a single living system that greatly affects the chemistry and conditions of Earth’s surface. Some scientists believe that this “Gaian system” self-regulates global temperature, atmospheric content, ocean salinity, and other factors in an “automatic” manner. Earth's living system appears to keep conditions on our planet just right for life to persist!

The Gaia hypothesis is an ecological hypothesis that proposes that living and nonliving parts of the earth are a complex interacting system that can be thought of as a single organism. Named after the Greek earth goddess, this hypothesis postulates that all living things have a regulatory effect on the Earth's environment that promotes life overall.

Inspired by the information in: Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_hypothesis)


Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Once upon a time

Once upon a time,

When sucroses in blood are enough to articulate thoughts
When silence brings creation
When inspiration faithfully appears
When mind, body and soul are integrated into one desire

Once upon a time...

I'll write something here..:D