Mike L.
By Jonathan Berr, NBC News contributor
A Gulf state-owned bank has rolled out a new MasterCard that not only complies with Islamic laws banning loans with interest but also includes an embedded compass pointing the way to Mecca.
The new card from Al Hillal bank in United Arab Emirates is the latest in a growing array of banking products aimed at the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims that comply with Shariah, or Islamic law.I just find this hysterical.
A MasterCard with a compass that points to Mecca?
Really?
:O)
I do not quite know what to make of this and I do not actually have any problem with the fact that MasterCard has created such a product.
But there is just something so perfect about it, particularly at this political moment, that it just cracks me up.
Good for them!
{A Tip 'O the Kippa to Shirl in Oz.}
Why do you feel such a need for labels. Whenever you label people or positions it limits oneself and negates the possibility of change and growth.
ReplyDeleteI have to say, that is a terrific question.
DeleteLabels, or signs, are what we use to communicate and they do, in fact, both define and limit.
I appreciate the comment, although I wish that you would expand on it.
Mike, it's no laughing matter.
ReplyDeleteAnd it's not good for anyone.
And BTW:
"...Islamic laws banning loans with interest..."
That's untrue. That line in that article is regurgitated Taqiyya.
http://www.shariahfinancewatch.org
Some people thought Adolf Hitler and the Nazis were "funny". Those people were wrong to think that.
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The Organization of Islamic Cooperation and its Role in Enforcing Islamic Law; a brief by Stephen Coughlin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ey-TRpkUiPI
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AMERICA IN CRISIS SECURITY BRIEF: Muslim Brotherhood In The Government by John Guandolo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2ra7wD39dY
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Muslim Brotherhood in America; A ten part course by Center for Security Policy
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF834C7965BEA6BCC&feature=plcp
And
http://muslimbrotherhoodinamerica.com
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A brief explicit exposition of examples of Taqiyya (includes video footage of Islamic clerics in the West lying to Western audiences; and cuts to expositions of, and, therein, refutations of, those lies with the presentation of contemporary official Islamic legal documents):
Responding to muslim deceptions. 1. Honour killings and innocence
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGtXO0MytmI
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The ignorance of Westerners about Islam and the Islamic world (ignorance which is largely willful ignorance -- and which is fueled mostly by anti-Jewish racism and by Jewish Stockholm Syndrome and by, involved with those things, condescending arrogance toward the Islamic world) is astounding... and potentially fatal.
But the thing is, most of what's being done at the highest levels (the highest operational levels) of Western governments toward the Islamic world is not ignorance. It's knowing willful support and collusion. It's avaricious power-hungry racist anti-Jewish aristocrats supporting other avaricious power-hungry racist anti-Jewish aristocrats -- avaricious power-hungry ideologically genocidal racist anti-Jewish aristocrats -- who they think they are using for their own interests.
The naivete of Jewish people is potentially fatal. It has been fatal, repeatedly, throughout the past several thousand years. I hope that Jewish people begin to be mindful.
Dan, it's a credit card with a compass that points to Mecca.
DeleteBFD.
We have far more things to be concerned with then this and, in truth, there is absolutely nothing wrong with a credit card that points to Mecca so that when Muslims pray they know just what direction to point their prayers.
What could be wrong with that?
We cannot demand that Muslims give up Islam. It is simply not going to happen. What we can do, however, is demand that they let go of the Jew hatred intrinsic to their faith and that they stop whipping up hatred to either the Jewish state or to Jews in general.
That we have every right to demand.
And the truth of the matter is that while there are millions of Muslims, particularly in the Middle East, that despise both Israel and the Jews, there are also many millions of Muslims throughout the world, hundreds of millions, who do not bother themselves with either Israel or Jews, period, any more than they do with Lithuanians.
"We have far more things to be concerned with then this"
DeleteYeah, but, it's what this signifies -- the underlying set of things going on that this is a manifestation of.
"there is absolutely nothing wrong with a credit card that points to Mecca so that when Muslims pray they know just what direction to point their prayers."
There would be nothing wrong with that if that were all that this was.
"We cannot demand that Muslims give up Islam. It is simply not going to happen. What we can do, however, is demand that they let go of the Jew hatred intrinsic to their faith and that they stop whipping up hatred to either the Jewish state or to Jews in general.
"That we have every right to demand."
Yes. And it would be good if Muslims would abandon and renounce the effort of Jihad mandated by Islam -- the effort mandated by Islam to establish Islamic law -- Sharia -- as the governmental legal system for the whole world. An effort which is being engaged in currently by the leaders of the Muslim world (the OIC (Islamic states), the Muslim Brotherhood, the regime in Iran, etc.).
"And the truth of the matter is that while there are millions of Muslims, particularly in the Middle East, that despise both Israel and the Jews"
Yes.
"there are also many millions of Muslims throughout the world, hundreds of millions, who do not bother themselves with either Israel or Jews, period, any more than they do with Lithuanians."
I think maybe somewhat yes. But I think not quite yes. But there are many Muslims who don't despise both Israel and the Jewish people and it's good that there are many Muslims who don't despise both Israel and the Jewish people.
But the point is to stop the West's indoctrination of the world with anti-Jewish anti-Israeli lies, and to stop the Islamic supremacist political movement.
And, incidentally, the Islamic supremacist political movement -- at the "grass-roots" level -- is being fueled largely by the West's indoctrination of the world with anti-Jewish anti-Israeli lies.
This is part of why I've said that natural friends of the Jewish people, and, at this time, the potential best allies of the Jewish people, are ex-Muslims who know the general reality of the situation that Israel is in and who, therefore, support Israel, or who don't know the general reality of the situation that Israel is in but who don't hate Israel and who are reasonable and who, therein, are open to learning about the reality of the situation that Israel is in, and also truly "moderate" Muslims (non-Sharia-proponent Muslims (non-orthodox Muslims)) who don't hate Israel and who are reasonable and who are open to learning about the reality of the situation that Israel is in.
And:
Delete"We cannot demand that Muslims give up Islam."
Yes, but we can tell the truth. With compassion.
From apostatesofislam.com:
"Today the humanity is facing a great danger. Islamic fundamentalism is on the rise and the hatred is brewing in the minds of millions of Muslims. This hatred must be contained or there would be disastrous consequences. We believe that the education is the only answer. Muslim intellectuals must realize that Islam is a false doctrine and they must let the rest of Islamic world know the truth. Islam is a religion that thrives on the arrogant assumption that it is the most logical, the most scientific and the most perfect religion. While the fact is that it is the stupidest doctrine — the most backward and absurd belief. Once the truth about Islam becomes common knowledge, it will be weakened and the Islamic fanaticism will lose its fangs. Hundreds of billions of dollars are being expended to combat Islamic terrorism, yet no effort is made to contain the ideology behind this terrorism. It is our belief that Islamic terrorism will not be eliminated unless and until the ideology behind it is exposed and eradicated. This is what we intend to do."
In an interview which I once saw, Somali-born ex-Muslim Ayaan Hirsi Ali, in response to a confrontational question by a Western journalist asking, in effect, how Western non-Muslims should interact with Muslims, said that how to interact with ordinary Muslims is to talk to them -- talk to them with truth and with compassion.
Here Ayaan Hirsi Ali responds to some confrontational questions by some "moderate" ordinary Muslims in the audience of a talk that was given by her:
Ayaan Hirsi Ali responds to moderate Muslims
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssPephYG3p4
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Syrian American ex-Muslim Wafa Sultan on the nature of Islam and on the agenda of the organized Muslim community in the U.S.
Wafa Sultan: Islam Is Incompatible with Western Law
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8n-JYdpxU4
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Iranian American Amil Imani
Islam was not for me - Amil Imani (Free Iran)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4_BfhrIxg8
Ex-Muslim, whistleblower Imani cautions 'infidels': "Stop sharia before it stops you"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXzDAhQPcX0
www.amilimani.com
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Another web site by ex-Muslims
www.faithfreedom.org
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A Muslim cleric responds, in a form rare for Muslim clerics in front of a Western audience, with an accurate answer, to a direct question by Richard Dawkins:
islam penalty for apostasy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XRCYlZ4XOQ
What is the punishment according to Islamic law, for (a Muslim man) leaving Islam?
The punishment, according to Islamic law, for (a Muslim man) leaving Islam is death.
The fact that even this basic fact doesn't clue-in self-proclaimed "Liberal" supposedly "smart" people in the West about the nature of Islam is outrageous and surreal and horrific and is a manifestation of the anti-Jewish-bigotry-caused and Jewish-Stockholm-syndrome-caused conscious and subconscious subtextual belief in the set of perverse huge ubiquitously propagated classical Western (culturally Christian) racist anti-Jewish lies ("The evil powerful Jews are harming the innocent weak victims") that constitute "The Palestinian Narrative" (the core strategic propaganda narrative of the Islamic supremacist movement and of the Western and Soviet/Russian-post-Soviet racist war against Israel) that is causing this insanity among the supposed "intelligensia" in the West.
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Taqiyya - Islamic Deception
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbIrWj6gDDk
A primer on Islamic doctrine:
3 Things You Should Know About Islam ما يجب أن تعرفه عن الإسلام
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHdMlT3E7cg
But, the main point, about Islam, right now is:
DeleteO The Muslim Brotherhood's and the Iranian regime's infiltration into the U.S. government and, especially, now, into the Obama administration.
O The OIC's control of the UNited Nations and it's effort to establish Sharia law as international law
O The Obama administration's infiltration by, and collusion with, the Muslim Brotherhood, and collusion with the OIC
O The Islamic supremacist ideologically apocalyptic nuclear-weapon-developing ideologically genocidal anti-Jewish regime in Iran
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The core issue: the belief, by Westerners, in, and the propagation, by Westerners, of, the set of lies which constitute "The Palestinian Narrative" -- the belief in which, by Westerners, is allowing, and causing, of all this.
The main point of action: Dispel the belief in the set of lies which constitute "The Palestinian Narrative".
A followup to my initial comment:
Delete----
A relatively small glimpse of the huge infiltration by the Muslim Brotherhood into the Obama administration:
Tarek Fatah -- Pakistani Canadian, liberal democrat, "culturally Muslim" truly "moderate" Muslim (non-Sharia-proponent Muslim (non-orthodox Muslim)), on the background of personal aid of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Huma Abedin, and on the American press's responses to inquiries, by some U.S. Senators, about whether, in accordance to U.S. law, her background was checked in order for her to be eligible for the position in the U.S government to which she was appointed by the Obama administration:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmM6uQknAtc
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Former Democratic party pollster Pat Caddell on the American media's handling of the Obama administration's response to the recent Islamic terrorist attacks on U.S. embassies in the Middle East:
Highlights: Pat Caddell Says: Media Have Become an "Enemy of the American people"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBR4g6cBYeA
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A set of investigative interviews with whistle-blower former members of the U.S. governmental intelligence community about the U.S. government's collusion with, and infiltration by, operatives of organizations of the Islamic supremacist political movement (and this report is relatively old (from 2010))
The Islamic Infiltration, Part 1: Inside Our Government, Armed With Our Secrets
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFOnv3xiKPU
The Islamic Infiltration, Part 2: From Influence to Insurrection
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQLIa-p7xNs
Dan,
ReplyDeleteit seems to me that, unlike the dhimmitudenous element within the Jewish left, we are willing to openly criticize political Islam because that movement is targeting the Jews for violence and for genocide.
But, c'mon.
A credit card with a compass that points to Mecca?
You seem to think that this signifies some larger evil, but I am not seeing it.
What it reminds me of is nothing so much as Catholic kitsch. The dashboard Jesus and the like.
It's harmless.
I think it's funny, but I do not believe that it's a signifier of a larger problem. The larger problem is there, but it has nothing to do with MasterCard.