Hiding A Medal In A Mosque

[prose]

[quote name='puellapaschalis' post='1498212' date='Apr 12 2008, 05:34 PM']How would you feel if you came across a tiny copy of the Qu'ran hidden in your church? Or a set of Muslim prayer beads? What if it were tucked behind a statue of Our Lady? Or somewhere on the Sanctuary?[/quote]

I would put them in the lost and found and assume someone visiting our church had forgotten them.

If it was tucked behind a statue or in the sanctuary, I would do the same thing I would do with Jack Chick tracts. I would throw them in the garbage.

I don't think there is anything wrong with putting sacramentals in these places. I wouldn't do it, but then I rarely give out or distribute sacramentals to Catholics even. (Maybe I should do that more). I think that if the INTENT is good, that there are many, many miracles associated with conversions and sacramentals, so that it would be okay.

[Deb]

[quote name='zwergel88' post='1498145' date='Apr 12 2008, 05:17 PM']With the sole exception of Saudi Arabia, I thought that people from the Middle East were pretty much free to practice any faith they want and read whatever they want. The Middle East is the birth-place of Christianity after all so I think people living their pretty much know the basics; this is certainly true with anyone from the Middle East that I have ever known.[/quote]

No, they may say they have religious freedom but those are only words. Here is info on some countries from the International Religioius Freedom Report. The U.S. was not happy with it. (Note, CPC's are countries of particular concern.)

"[i]Saudi Arabia.[/i] "Freedom of religion does not exist in Saudi Arabia," successive reports have declared. Nevertheless, the kingdom was only designated a CPC in 2004 (King Abdullah states that Saudi Arabia should be likened to the Vatican where only one religion is allowed) HA!

[i]Iran.[/i] The State Department report is damning: "Members of religious minorities -- including Sunni Muslims, Bahais, Jews, and Christians -- reported imprisonment, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination based on their religious beliefs."

[i]Sudan. [/i]But the government came to power in 1989 calling for the Islamization of society and continues to discriminate against non-Muslims and, as in the fighting in Darfur, against Muslims from tribes and groups not affiliated with the ruling party.

[i]Egypt, Israel, Palestine, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.[/i] The 2005 report's executive summary mentions Egypt, Israel, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. Some improvement is reported in Egypt, but "there continued to be abuses and restrictions." Christians were discriminated against in the public sector and Bahais were denied civil documents. In Israel, the report says, "some non-Jews, primarily Arab Muslims and Christians, continued to experience discrimination in the areas of education, housing, and employment." But "Palestinian violence" is criticized for preventing "some Israelis from reaching Jewish holy sites in the occupied territories." Turkey is reported for "some deterioration in contrast to previous positive trends." The report disapprovingly notes Turkey's "broad ban on wearing Muslim religious dress in government facilities." The United Arab Emirates, whose government was criticized three years ago for giving a platform to Holocaust deniers, wins plaudits for taking "steps that demonstrated respect for religious freedom."

There is not a lot of ability to obtain and read a bible unless you do it clandestinely.

[Cure of Ars]

Sounds kind of passive aggressive to me. I know I wouldn't want other religions hiding things in my church.

[Custos Morum]

[quote name='Cathoholic Anonymous' post='1497504' date='Apr 12 2008, 01:40 AM']To evangelise Muslims it is necessary for us to undergo a change in perception ourselves. For example, compare the apostle Paul's first reaction to the crucifixion with that of the average Muslim. Paul found the whole thought horrifying and repulsive. Muslims find the whole thought horrifying and repulsive. We who venerate the cross sometimes forget what a stumbling-block it really is - what a sign of contradiction to the world. [i]The foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom...[/i] We can't appreciate this verse unless we really know how the crucifixion looks. Not a sanitised religious symbol, but a thing 'to make men screen their faces'. Muslims have the beginning of this appreciation, and I envy them for it - great faith and understanding can grow from it. I pray to St Paul to intercede for them.[/quote] great post. Im reading St Thomas Aquinas`apologetics to the Saracens, which has a very good response to the common preoccupation Muslims have with the whole `He begets not`. But I find dialogue very difficult in practice. People get heated up quickly. I only got invited to mosque because they wanted me to convert but realised I had the same intentions for them.

I wouldn`t hide a medal in a mosque because whoever finds it may well chuck it in the bin and desecrate it. It`s best to be blatant and talk to people. more time I just pray for them. Peace