Stephen Greenblatt Quotes

While not in the Koran, this attributed statement is the basis for the ban on non-Muslims going on a Hajj and going to the most holy Muslim places—Mecca, Mina, Muzdalifa, and Arafat as well as the anti-religious hostility to all religions but Islam which is present in some Muslim countries.

Locke wrote the Charter of South Carolina in which any 7 people could assemble and form a church including:

Kennedy had never been at the left wiing of the Democratic Party. His father, Joseph Kennedy, was known to all Irish Catholic politicans and disliked by most. He had supported big finance and business and was no great friend of labor. He was fired by FDR for publicly supporting Hitler before WWII and urging non support of England. He badmouthed FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt--Democratic icons. President Truman had to be stopped by a Secret Service agent from throwing the elder Kennedy out the window of a Boston hotel. He was a nasty man who threw his money around. But Senator Kennedy himself had never said a word criticizing Joeseph McCarthy or comdemning McCarthism and his other exceses leaving the criticism to other Democrats and even Republicans. (His silence was at the advice of his father.) Ribicoff a strong liberal knew Kennedy well and felt that Kennedy would not be constrained by his father's views, and that Kennedy was a true liberal at heart and would demonstrate that if elected President.

He is a Greek Orthodox Christian, and he correctly observes that the Islamic world was considerably more tolerant than the Christian until the 18th century when Islam had become less tolerant in the Middle East while the Christians were modernizing and going through a cultural and intellectual enlightenment and societal modernization while the Muslims, became less tolerant than they were in earlier years leading to the modern situation.

France, like the other European nations had suffered through the bloodbaths and civil and other wars including the Protestant Reformation, the Holocaust and others. They. like the Untied States chose a separation of church and state—a secular government to combat the inner and intrareligious bloodbaths that have historically killed millions.

In one of the historical ironies of the 12th century, a Christian sect preferred the rule of the Muslims than their Christian brethren—on the grounds of religious tolerance. It illustrates the changes that take place over time. By the 21st century, it was the Christians who were thought of as tolerant and the Muslims as the opposite.

The Ottoman Empire was a word Superpower for over 1,000 years, longer than any other in history, One of its great strengths was its pluralism and ability to not only absorb and assimilate people from other nations, cultures and religions, but also to utilize those people in key positions and contributions to their society. Christians and Jews rose to the highest positions under the Sultans. They became Governor’s of Provinces, manages of departments and even Grand Vizier to the Sultan himself. Jewish and Christian physicians, attorneys, traders were all valued in the Empire even though the had a second class status relative to Muslims. The opportunity was always there to convert to Islam and many did, but many did not and thrived, The Ottomans saw Christian Europe, not only in continuous religious conflict, but individual nations were never able to use the talents of the religious minority, the way that the Ottomans did, and later the United States did. Not only did the Ottomans allow immigrants from all over the world to become part of the Empire Government or Economy, but they actually send agents throughout the empire to find the best and the brightest of young men—regardless of religion or nationality—and bring them to the Sultan’s court for education, training and service. IT should be noted however, that the motivation was in no way moral or a desire for fairness. It was totally pragmatic. Exceptional manpower was not to be wasted.

Hadadi are the Ultra Orthodox Jews of Israel and Rauchberger. At the time the Reform Jewish Movement, the most popular branch of Judiasm in America, was not regognized in Israel where only Orthoxox Jewry is officially recognized by the Conservative government. In this case, the Israeli Jewish Refom Movement had taken the Jeruselem to Court for violating the Israeil Constitution. 9 of the public libraries in Jeruselem were segregated by gender in different hours. That meant that a mother could not take her son to one of these public school libraries and teach him to select books or particiapate in library activities or services. The Haradi did not believe in separation of church and state and in this telling quotation, the Rabbo insists that the people will do as their rabbis instruct regardless of the laws or the Constitution.