Reuel Marc Gerecht Quotes
You don’t get to have Thomas Jefferson unless you first have Martin Luther and that brought great turmoil.
Martin Luther not only reformed Christianity but was a catalyst for many religious Christian alternatives thereby ending monolithic worldwide Christian religious doctrine and control. He argues that Islam must have a similar reform process.
Reuel Marc Gerecht, Resident Fellow, American Enterprise Institute, Describing the Middle East, Speech, The Nixon Center, October 25, 2004
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1st Baron Macaulay
5th Earl of Montrose. The public reaction to a new prayer book issued by the King and created by the King’s religious appointees. Although Protestant in nature, it was created without the early Scottish Protestant tradition of consultation with many levels of clergy and society. It was seen as authoritarian and much like the Catholic mass which was proscribed by Rome. The National Covenant was a document of protest. It was first drafted by Alexander Henderson and Johnston of Wariston, and signed by others, but Montrose was the first signer and the acknowledged leader of the Covenanters.
At the time there was an issue of religious freedom that is in public discourse: It emanated from the Obama Care law which required employers to provide health insurance that does not discriminate against women by refusing to disallow coverage for birth control (pills, diaphragms, etc.) This legislation covered the employees of general institutions run by religions such as schools, hospitals, and retirement communities. Roman Catholics and other religions which viewed birth control as a sin were put in a position where they had to pay for something that they regarded as sinful. So the church did not have complete religious freedom. However, if these institutions would deny to their employees a basic right that the law says belongs to all institutions. If an exception would be made for birth control what about blood transfusions. The Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that autologous blood transfusions are contrary to the world of God. So what if institutions they run decided to not cover these transfusions in their insurance policies? Or a Jewish University or a Muslim cultural center decided not to cover medical procedures in hospitals that serve pork? There have been many examples where one religion’s freedom has been curtailed slightly when they conflict with individual rights or other rights. Plural marriage for Mormons and Muslims are against the law. Christian Scientists have been forced to provide medical care for some members even though their religion prohibits it. There is no solution that will not curtail someone’s rights under some circumstances.
“Coligny” was Gaspard de Coligny, 1519–1572, the Huguenot fonder. “William the Silent” was William of Orange the main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish, and Cromwell was the leader of the English revolution. All three were major figures in advancing the concept of individual freedom of the ordinary man and all three were profoundly influences by John Calvin.
This quotation illustrated the extreme polarization between the current fundamentalist Muslims, and the Muslim modernists and the West. Kamal Ataturk, the great leader and stateman who is the father of modern Turkey, is castigated by the author for leading the new Turkish parliament to depose the Caliph – the civil and religious autocrat, one of whom reigned from after the death of Muhammad till his abolishment in 1924. Most of the rest of the world credits Ataturk with being one of the great leaders of all time—one who led a democratic revolution which transformed Turkey into the only Muslim secular democracy, requiring pubic secular European type education for all children, giving women the right to vote (before the U. S. even), adopting a European alphabet and dress, and outlook on life—creating most remarkably a total cultural revolution with virtually no loss of life. No revolutionary leader, before or since has led so extensive a political and cultural revolution, and it was a bloodless revolution. Turkey, into the 21st century, was by far the most powerful, industrialized, scientific and modern nation of Muslims in the world and others were far behind. Yet many Islamic theologian still castigate Atatork for his great achievements as being against the will of God.
government appointed officials and bureaucrats Savonarola was a very hated ruler, opposed to any kind of a Parliament or assembly. And the penalty for advocating for a Parliament was severe. The Signoria were the various government appointees and clerks. They were influential in Florence and hence they were silenced by the mot draconian methods. There was a movement throughout Italy for parliaments and less arbitrary government. Savonarola was particularly strict in his rooting out sin and cruel in his punishments and hence very unpopular. He was also under the delusion that God himself had called on him to preach his strict version of morality. Some of the Nobles reached the Pope with many of Savonarola’s extreme statements and Savonarola was excommunicated and burned as a heretic. His executioner gloated that he was burning Savonarola before the powerful priest could burn him as he had done so many others.
Of all the Western Colonial Powers, Spain was the worst. They took the most from their possessions and contributed the least. Worst, they killed off almost all the indigenous people.
In 17th century England the Puritans were major opponents of the Celebration of Christmas which at the time had been celebrated mostly by Roman Catholics.
Reuel Marc Gerecht is an American writer and political analyst focused on the Middle East. He is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, focusing primarily on the Middle East, Islamic militancy, counterterrorism, and intelligence. He is a former director of the Project for the New American Century's Middle East Initiative and a former resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Earlier in his career Gerecht was a case officer at the CIA, primarily working on Middle Eastern targets.
