Then I got to the one little line about H.R. 635, recognizing Ramadan. Here is the text, from religioustolerance.org
"Recognizing the commencement of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting and spiritual renewal, and commending Muslims in the United States and throughout the world for their faith.
Whereas since the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, threats and incidents of violence have been directed at law-abiding, patriotic Americans of African, Arab, and South Asian descent, particularly members of the Islamic faith;
Whereas, on September 14, 2001, the House of Representatives passed a concurrent resolution condemning bigotry and violence against Arab-Americans, American Muslims, and Americans from South Asia in the wake of the terrorist attacks;
Whereas it is estimated that there are approximately 1,500,000,000 Muslims worldwide;
Whereas Ramadan is the holy month of fasting and spiritual renewal for Muslims worldwide, and is the 9th month of the Muslim calendar year; and
Whereas the observance of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan commences at dusk on September 13, 2007, and continues for one lunar month:
Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That--
(1) during this time of conflict, in order to demonstrate solidarity with and support for members of the community of Islam in the United States and throughout the world, the House of Representatives recognizes the Islamic faith as one of the great religions of the world; and
(2) in observance of and out of respect for the commencement of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting and spiritual renewal, the House of Representatives acknowledges the onset of Ramadan and expresses its deepest respect to Muslims in the United States and throughout the world on this significant occasion."
Now I'm a little conflicted. Again, separation of church and state! To me that means, no state actions for or against a specific religion - even something as benign as "recognizing" it. And yet, with all the negativity against Islam today, I like to see the government making such a gesture towards the Muslim community.
If I'm going to allow that H.R. 635 is not such a bad thing, then I don't see a consistency in completely condemning H.R. 847. So I think instead, we should all campaign for similar resolutions regarding Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Sikhism, Jainism, Shinto and the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. And that list is by no means exhaustive, so recognizing all world religions will keep the House busy for a while... Oh wait - did we expect them to actually govern??
One other little quote regarding this issue: "Congress regularly passes resolutions commemorating holidays such as Christmas, Kwanzaa and Hanukkah. But the Oct. 2 vote marks the first time Congress has passed a resolution recognizing Ramadan, which ends Oct. 12 this year." (Pew Forum, quoted by religioustolerance.org) So maybe Congress has made more progress on my list than I thought. I'm still waiting for the resolution recognizing the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
Fortune cookie of the day:The Tao that can be described is not the everlasting Tao.
(Well, I was on the subject of religion, and I found that one in my collection)
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