There is no doubt, from its scriptures, doctrines, and 1,400-year history, that Islam is a political system as well as a religion. It is understandable that the archdiocese would release this clarification in light of the denunciations of the archbishop by Muslim groups in Greece. They don’t want any violence from Muslims who believe that perceived insults to their faith should be requited with violent attacks, after the pattern of the prophet of Islam himself. But that in itself proves the archbishop’s point.
An update on this story. “Archdiocese of Athens: The Archbishop referred to the extremists of Islam,” Orthodox Times, January 17, 2021:
The Press Office of the Holy Archdiocese of Athens issued the following announcement:
“In his recent television interview about our Church’s contribution to the Revolution of 1821, Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece referred to Islam, meaning nothing more than the distortion of the Muslim religion itself by a handful of extreme fundamentalists, who wreak death and destruction all over the world.
These are exactly the people the Archbishop was referring to, that is, people who instrumentalize Islam and turn it into a deadly weapon against all those who have a different view from that of “unbelievers,” even that of believers.
Both the Archbishop and all the Metropolitans of the Church of Greece respect in practice all the known religions and treat all the faithful with Christian love and solidarity without discrimination, through all their actions and initiatives, especially in the social and charitable field.
Furthermore, the example of the peaceful and harmonious coexistence of Christians and Muslims in Thrace bears ample witness to this.”
Michael Copeland says
Exactly. We know that:
“Islam is a message of peace and living with your neighbor in harmony.”
because that is what Tony Blair said.
https://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/headlines/blair-islam/
There are 1.6 billion muslims, apparently. That Tiny Minority of Extremists will only be 1% or so. So that leaves 16 million violent extremists to go round.
What is the fuss about?
mortimer says
Exactly. We know that: 1) Islam means ‘submission’ 2) no one is as submitted as a slave 3) thus Islam is a euphemism for ‘slavery’.
Donovan Nuera says
Remember, Islam is too big to fail. (Just ask Ben Affleck…)
Lion heart says
Donovan : seems like Ben Affleck all of a sudden became a theologian in Islam more then Muslim scholars themselves ??
Donovan Nuera says
But those 16,000,000 “extremists” (not to mention the 30% of the ‘ummah’ consider themselves “conservative” (i.e. 480,000,000)) are EQUAL to the roughly 16 (sixteen!!!) remaining family members and relatives and neighbors of the late (and ex-communicated) Fred Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church!!! Those Westboroites are the Most-Evil-Things-Ever!
gravenimage says
And over half of Muslims even in the US want to impose brutal Shari’ah law on us.
owensgate says
Of all the Nations on Earth, Greece should understand what it means to be under the rule of islam. They had 400 years of it. What’s wrong with Greeks now, that they think some kind of accommodation can be made with islam. Perhaps they should ask their brethren existing (I can’t say “living”) in Constantinopoli today? Islamic Turks treat them like something sticking to a shoe sole on a hot day.
mortimer says
Archbishop Ieronymos erred by PRAISING the political involvement of his church, while CONDEMNING the political involvement of the mosque.
The archbishop’s condemnation was inconsistent.
At the same time, it is correct to observe that the mosque and state are considered one entity in Islam, while most modern Christians will agree that there is a separation between the church and state in the modern world.
Many Muslims today also realize that there needs to be more of separation between the mosque and the state in Muslim-majority countries for the sake of the welfare and prosperity of the country.
Supremacist countries cannot promote the best people on merit, due to systemic prejudice caused by supremacism.
born saturday says
the archbishop is balancing between having to feed hundreds of thousants of muslim immigrants and keeping a stance that will not provoke an ugly climate against the church from the comunists who ran government 2014-2019 who criminalise any person or organisation that critisises islam, and between the need of a more dynamic revolutionary church that it was in 1821 and for the celebration of 200 years since the beggining of the revolution against the ottomaniac empire…. indeed in greece we have up to now endless passionate lust for islam from a large part of the population that stigmatises anyone who speaks of revolution against islam and the celebration itself has been haunted by the corona virus crisis, economic crisis and crisis with turkey… whether some people like it or not there will be a revolutionary climate this year, and many of us will be reading the history of being liberated from islam as well as the inhumane character of islam that respects only the barbarocity is reflects…..the archbishop must become a symbol of this revolution just like the church was back then….. we speak our own language today only because of the church that preserved our language customs and ethnic origins during the ottomaniac occupation…..
mortimer says
Dear B.S., I strongly disagree. You are inconsistent. You clearly want YOUR CHURCH to act as a POLITICAL PARTY, but you feel that the MOSQUE MUST NOT act as a POLITICAL PARTY! You have a double standard!
The church’s true role in a society is not to be POLITICAL PARTY, as you seem to believe, but to teach people to achieve spiritual enlightenment.
Historically, in the past, YOUR CHURCH IMITATED THE POLITICAL TURKISH MOSQUE and DID ACT as a POLITICAL PARTY. This isn’t the way we think today … unless you think like a Muslim fundamentalist.
Today, modern people espouse a separation between church and state.
born saturday says
who are you mate choudari?!?!?!?
mortimer says
Your lack of self-awareness is typical of New Dawn types. I met plenty like you.
Walter Sieruk says
In the sentence that this Archbishop used about “a handful of extreme fundamentalist.” A better more accurate use of the words “extreme” and “fundamentalist” ,disregarding the part of that article ,would be “a handful of devote and dedicated Muslims following jihad instruction found in the Qu ‘ran .
So concerning the words such as “extreme ” It needs to be known that he word “extreme” and likewise ,the terms “Radical Muslim” and “Islamic extremist” are actually a misuse of terms. “Moderate Muslim” are actually Western term and not that well known in the Islamic Middle East. This is because what In the Islamic mindset in the Muslim Middle East as well as in Indonesia and other Muslim controlled countries what the non-Muslims of the Western nations view as “radical and “extremist” the Muslims of those places in the world see as “Normal” and even Devout and committed to the Cause of Islam”.
Furthermore, those “Moderate Muslims” are those of the Islamic worldview and non-devout and non –committed Muslims. The violent jihadists even see them as “hypocrites.” Therefore, this explains the jihadist chant of those jihad-minded Muslims in different Islamic terror organizations. When they chant out loud “Death to infidels and hypocrites.” Meaning Death to people who and not Muslims and people who are non- jihadist Muslims.
Concerning the last part of this above essay, the violent spirit of that vicious jihadist chant “Death to infidels and hypocrites.” The later word of the chant “hypocrites” in the jihad –minded Muslim worldview is further explain in the book titled JIHADIST PSYCHOPATH by Jamie Glazov , for on page 42 the reader is informed that “Islam mandates that devout and real Muslims must punish , and in some circumstances kill, those Muslims whom they regard as neither legitimate nor properly devout.”
gravenimage says
Athens archbishop’s criticism of Islam referred to ‘distortion’ of it by a ‘handful of extreme fundamentalists’
……………..
Just claptrap–the Archbishop is quite correct.
OVV says
In the meantime, Ohio Orthodox Priest Mark Hodges has been suspended by his Orthodox Church Archbishop for three months, and he could be defrocked for attending the “Stop the Steal” Rally on Jan 6. He was not involved in any of the Capitol shenanigans.
Looks like Robert will have to leave another church because of the liberal silliness of many of its leaders that also includes some wrongheaded support of Islam, and this includes Patriarch Bartholomew (aka the Green Patriarch for his wacko positions on the environment) who in 2019 sent the following message to Islam:
“I would like to offer most sincere congratulations and best wishes of myself and the Christian Orthodox community to Muslims for the incipient holy month of Ramadan,” Bartholomew said.
Holy month of Ramadan? Nonsense. What a wimp, and just as bad as Pope Francis in their liberal silliness and blindness toward Islam.
Specific advice for Robert and his membership in the Orthodox Church:
“Leave them; they are blind guides. And if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” (Matthew 15:14)