Islam teaches tolerance:

"If anyone harms (others), God will harm him, and if anyone shows hostility to others, God will show hostility to him." Sunan of Abu-Dawood, Hadith 1625

"Those who believe (in the Quaran), and those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Christians .... and (all) who believe in God and the last day and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve." The Qur'an 2:62

The above 2 quotes would tell us that the teachings of Islam is not what Imam Yaseen Fernandez was presenting to our Muslim brothers and sisters as they celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr.

This is not the T&T I grew up in. We are seeing more and more 'religious' leaders creating confusion and divide among our people.

The teachings I received tell me that:-
1) If you are a Muslim, be a good Muslim.
2) If you are a Christian, be a good Christian.
3) If you are a Hindu, be a good Hindu.
3) If you are Jewish, be a good Jew.
4) If you belong to any other religion, be true to your faith.
5) Above all serve your God and respect your people, no matter what their religious affiliations.

We are all children of the same God.

The content of this article is very troubling.
Instead of teaching Peace and Love, the message he delivered to his congregation appears to be one of intolerance.

At the end of day, no matter what religion we follow, we worship the same God - by what ever name we assign to our God.

We as a people in T&T are free to worship and free to educate ourselves on the true teachings of our religion, and must not follow blindly.

May you be blessed with the Love of Allah
and be guided by him
in what ever you do.

EID MUBARAK!

Preaching religious intolerance, not unusual coming from an Imam. I will mix with the Israelis

I don't see religious intolerance preach by the Imam at all. I see the Imam stating that his followers should adhere to the tenets of their religion and mixing their faith with the things they consider sinful is wrong.

Christian preach a similar thing by stating that a christian must not be unequally yoked. It does not mean that there should be separation from others. What it does means is a separation from the ideologies and behaviour that they consider harmful in their religious path. They will not go to parties where there is lewd dancing and alcohol is abused, for example.

Whazir what Do you think the Imam is right if he said this or is the reporter misquoting the Imam, If this is a statement from the Imam, I would advise him to rethink this and reissue a statement to the newspaper.

Imam Yaseen Fernandez could have made his point without denigrating other religions. I totally agree that if we follow the tenets of our respective faiths, we will be a better people but telling his followers that all other religions are inferior is not good for the country. There is too much religious intolerance in the world and we do not need that kind of thinking in Trinidad and Tobago. We have always prided ourselves on being a tolerant people and religious divisions have no place in our beautiful country.
All religions teach us to respect our God and others, work hard for what we want and obey the rules. I am an Anglican and my best friend is Muslim. We are friends because we have the same family values.
Imam Fernandez' time would have been better spent talking about our similarities and not what he perceives to be the failures of other religions. The world has seen such failures but we do not blame the entire Muslim faith. By the same token, he should accentuate the positive contributions of other religions.

Religions are taking us down a one way path to mankind’s destruction. Religions is what creates preprogrammed ways of thinking which contributes to separation; bring conflict, wars, destruction, both mentally and physically.

Ryan4Party

The Imam exhibits extreme intolerance in his speech when he pinpoints as a source of "problems" muslims "mixing" with non-muslims. His sentiments, were they to be taken seriously, would entrench his flock further in their exclusivism.

The ludicrous nature of this statement can be identified by most sensible people, however, his flock has been programmed to accept that his word is beyond all criticism. He also forfeits his right to argue against muslim stereotype when he, himself, propagates the muslim stereotypes of being a parochial bloc.

If the Guardian omitted relevant sections of the Imam's sermon, I would like to give him the benefit of the doubt that he was merely attempting to counsel his flock to avoid toxic (or intoxicated)people and not advocating any form of segregation or religious apartheid which would be entirely in contradiction to the purer teachings of the Koran and other holy books, the common laws of humanity and mankind and the aspirations enshrined in our cherished Constitution which is already being sufficiently assailed.

There is no doubt that extremist Islamists indoctrinated in unethical madrasas these days are spouting hatred and division that is totally counterproductive to their very cause of seeking to convert more "fidels" or winning friends and influencing people. They are no different from the medieval warrior and militant practitioners of religion who waged war in the name of their Gods,Prophet, King and faith firm in the belief that their religion must be spread by the sword or that believers must stamp out "infidels" by force of arms and crusades.

Although there is stll religious hatred and bigotry and ongoing religious wars/conflicts/terrorism/intolerance in many corners of the earth, in India, Pakistan, Northern Ireland, the Middle East, including Lebanon, several countries of Africa etc, this sort of practice is anathema to our way of life. There are sufficient other areas of life here where accusations and allegations of discriminatory practices are being levelled. It is not in our interest to start any religious conflict.

Pax vobiscum.

HAPPY

If this report is accurate then the Iman and his followers should be sent to Pakistan or Afghanistan where they can freely spout this sort of thing. These militant Muslims are the terrorists of tomorrow. Theres enough problems on the island without these sort of people stirring up more. They should be preaching peace and harmony not telling people who they can mix with. They will be telling you where you can live next and have some kind of partition. Just like India and Pakistan, Israel and Palestine. These is dangerous people.

May your God be with you.

Trinidad and Tobago is a secular nation that is located in the Anglophone Western World. We are a nation of Christians, Orisha, Spiritual Baptist, Hindu's, Muslims, Sikh's , Bahai, Agnostics and Atheist. That all these disparate beliefs co-exist in a small country is a testement to what is good about our country. Our diversity is a strength not a weakness.

All people have a right to believe whatever they want to believe regarding God. Some have chosen not to believe that there is a God. Some have chosen not to follow a religious path.

If the Imam Fernandez is so concerned with Muslims rejecting those who went against the teachings of Allah then he is preaching the doctrine of intolerance and religious exclusion. I advsie that he leave these shores that are populated with Infidels and head for Pakistan or better yet Waziristan ( located between Afganistan and Pakistan). It seems the good Imam has a monopoly on truth and what is morality and immorality.

I will end by noting something that escapes many. Trinidad and Tobago is the only country in the Western World to have had a Muslim as head of State. That person was His Excellency Noor Mohammed Hassanali a man who was a role model and a tower of integrity.

Ordo Ab Chao

Celebration of Eid-ul-Fitr

Embracing our Similarities and Differences.

Today's article on the Celebration of Eid-ul-Fitr at the La Romain Masjid, and the discourse by Imam Yaseen Fernandez to his congregation, has given us the opportunity to question some of the unacceptable/unwanted teachings coming from 'religious leaders'.

Many of us expressed concerns over the teachings by 'religious authorities' of intolerance and creating division among our peoples. But what impressed me more so was the fact that the majority of bloggers have expressed a desire to live in a country with a multitude of religions and races, respecting and embracing our similarities and our differences. It is quite telling of us as a people.

If only our leaders, especially religious and political leaders can tune in to this message and conduct themselves accordingly, respecting the wishes of the masses, we could have a country we can be very proud to call home and ours.

I have seen too many countries where intolerance exists and is sanctioned by the State. Any one who expresses a desire to move outside the norm, stand the chance of being penalised, live on the fringes, and even sentenced to death for their beliefs.

The teachings of Imam Fernandez, as reported in this article, is too familiar to what we see in many Islamic States where it is prohibited to believe in or practice any other faiths. Many have become outcasts in their birth country. So it was quite easy for us to believe what was reported, because it touches upon a sensitive part of our consciousnes, and our strong desire to live with love and in peace.

We are a bit timid to discuss the subjects of racism and religion, but today, we went out on a limb to express our views openly. The message that's been sent today is that we are all children of the same God and cherish this fact. We even have the confidence to respect and accept those who do not believe there is a God.

Peace and Love