Corriere forum – 16/10/2006

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The Koran

There are two ways to read the Koran:

– Reading and applying the text to the letter without correlating it to the whole script: “cut off the hand of the thief” without considering the Koran’s insistence on Forgiveness!

– The second way is taking the Koran in its entirety! The believer does not seek the truth in the single sentence but in the general context, they do not remain disturbed by individual contradictions.

Despite the existence of verses that contradict the modernist M., they assert that the Koran should be read as a whole Chapter and that the truth is to be found in the evolution of the text and not in the reading of a verse taken in isolation.

The sacred texts are not closed in, but are a source of meditation and reflection:

“If all the plants that exist on earth became a series of pens, and if all the water of the sea, and of other seven seas, became ink, they would not be enough to write the verb of the God, who is powerful and wise” (Koran 31:27).

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4th October 2000

To: Dr. Pagliarini

FROM: G. Eid

OBJECT: Mosque of Lodi

Dear Mimmo,

I don’t know all the details of the issue learned from the newspapers; on the basis of what has been read and knowing the environment of the other party I offer you my brief considerations, to give you a contribution to the understanding of the Italian Islamic reality.

Free land from a public body:

1. On what basis is the mosque free?
2. It will create a precedent.
3. It creates discrimination against other faiths, non-Muslims.
4. Italian citizens do not receive anything free from the state
5. They can erect their place of worship like any other Italian institution with respect to the Regulatory Plan. There is no need for extraordinary rules. In Italy there is this freedom of worship that does not exist for non-Muslims, in countries where Islamic law is in force.
6. They are not poor: the UCOI union receives billions of funds from Arab states, primarily Saudi Arabia, to support its aims. That’s what their newspapers say.
7. To talk about reciprocity does not apply in this case because they are Italian citizens: there is no Islamic counterpart.
8. Islam: there is no univocal Islam but there are various ways of applying Islamic law: the way in which it is implemented in Sudan is not the same as its implementation in Tunis, but the construction of churches in Egypt, for example, is still regulated by an edict of the caliph Omar of the year 636.

(altro…)

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FAX – 10/06 – 2000

To: Dr. Roberta Aluffi

FROM: G. Samir Eid

Copy: Father Giampiero

OBJECT: Milan and Islam

I see your scheduled presence at the conference Milan and Islam at the Stars. In this regard, I take the opportunity to offer you some ideas on the themes of Islam among us.

• Religious faith:

It is praiseworthy that the Islamic centres in Milan can make the religious faith of the faithful grow; on the contrary, it is criticizable when the centre proposes to apply to our society, customs and traditions of foreign origin in the name of Islam. The question then arises: of which Islam? The one practiced in Cairo, Beirut and Tunis, or in Mecca, Karachi or in the desert of the seventh century?

• Human rights:

What rights will be discussed? In my opinion, facing the truth is an undeniable value. It would be useful for everyone, Christians and Muslims, to take the opportunity to ask to define the content of the title, and to highlight what are the substantial differences that exist between Italian law and that of the countries of Islam. It is well known that the Sharia applied in interpersonal relations discriminates in non-Muslims, and in the case of mixed marriages, the Christian woman and her offspring.

In order to prevent such problems in the city of Milan, it is advisable to stipulate bilateral agreements that recognize exclusively as the competent court, the law of the State where the marriage is celebrated.

I remain at your disposal for any clarification and extend my best regards.

Giuseppe Samir Eid

Free web translation from the original in Italian

The published articles intend to provide the tools for a social inclusion of the migratory flow, shed light on human rights and the condition of life of Christians in the Islamic world from which the author come from. Knowledge of the other, of cultural and religious differences are primary ingredients to create peace in the hearts of men everywhere, a prerequisite for a peaceful coexistence and convinced citizenship in the territory.