Nothing is more fun than listening to the US government try to deflect our attention away from the Saudis towards Iran as if Iran were the source of all that is scary.  Not that the Saudis are the source of all that is scary, but dagnabit if they don't give it all they got!  Those wacky Saudis.  Watch this exquistely painful interview with the head of a British Muslim school that uses books saying that all other religions are worthless, etc….  

Last night out and about town with the girls, I ran in a Christian pastor out to save souls. He was, of course, concerned for us. I replied for myself, "Oh thanks, I'm saved. It's cool."

He smiled thinking I might also be washed in the blood, as it were. My friend corrected him, "Oh no! She's a Muslim."

The Pastor's face became still. He then confronted me with what must surely be the most devastating challenges to Islam ever heard by a highly educated woman with no patience for missionaries. He told me about the 6 camels a Muslim he knew had to pay to marry his wife. He told me this person had to convert for the marriage and was made to denounce Jesus. Sadly, he said, the man denounced Jesus only to marry "the maid."  "Terrorism" was his next devastating point of attack.

I have to admit, I have always thought that the opening lines of the "The Lord's Prayer" often repeated by a lot of Christians (or is just a Catholic thing?) have a very elegant sound to them—especially when chanted gently and in unison by a bunch of people—kinda like the "Ameen" one hears at the end of the Fatiha in congregations with enough Malikis in it (who tend to say it out loud, unlike most Urdu speakers, who usually follow the Hanafi school of Islamic practise):

Holy Father, who art in heaven
Thy kingdom come
Thy will be done
On Earth
As it is in heaven…

So, don't ask me how, but I stumbled on this a littel while ago and have been meaning to post it here; it's a page with the The Lord's Prayer in Urdu, together with a translation of "Ave Maria", the Catholic prayer to Bibi Maryam, The Virgin Mary, the formulation of the Trinity, and a couple of other things:

http://www.christusrex.org/www1/pater/JPN-urdu.html

Here's the prayer itself:

I have never actually heard it being chanted in Urdu. I wonder if it sounds anywhere near as sonorous; Urdu is a rather mellifluous language generally, so maybe it does…maybe some of the folks who were pillorying me on a list I am on for (they thought) being averse to any mention of Christianity and Pakistan in the same breath can help with that…

Technorati tags applicable to this post: Urdu – Christianity – [Pakistan] – India

In the Los Angeles community, there lives a retired cardiologist from Egypt who has been praised for his efforts in promoting inter-faith dialogue in the City of Angels. However, he made the mistake of being critical about Israel in the open.

A local government agency wants to honor him with their top humanitarian award, but some local Jewish groups have cried fowl and made a huge stink about his selection. Despite his good public record, his criticism of Israel has been labeled anti-Semiticism.