Demspotis
Posts: 61
Joined: 3/11/2005 Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: LadyEllen Of course, that still leaves Sikhs, but then theyre more or less a mix of Muslim and Hindu, so they must be twice as evil deranged child abusing terrorist damned foreigners. E Just for the record, Sikhs are not "a mix of Muslim and Hindu", although widely seen that way. Even some Sikhs say that, because it's an easier explanation. Sikhism is actually thoroughly in the Indian tradition, and was born when it's founder Guru Nanak rejected both identities, in favor of the human identity and the search for love of God. As such he preached to both religious communities, and to whomever else was around, and he therefore preached in terms that would be understandable to his audiences. That's the main reason why there is the appearance of a Muslim influence on Sikhism. Also, when the Sikh scripture was compiled, in addition to songs of the Gurus of the Sikhs, they included songs by various Hindu and Muslim saints, those whose messages were harmonious with the message of the Gurus. The Muslim saints in question were of course only the most moderate and liberal of them, since the extremists (direct predecessors and ancestors of today's Taliban) often killed Sikhs. And that in turn is why Sikhs developed a militant side, becoming what we in the West would call an order of religious knighthood: in order to defend against the proto-terrorists. As for the original post... the ritual seems a bit risky, but the fact is that Muslims aren't any likely to hurt their own babies than anyone else is. It's a good luck rite, not some sort of sacrifice. Kids get more hurt playing team sports like baseball, soccer, rugby or cricket, and no calls that child abuse. ~Demspotis
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