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"You should call people what they call themselves by Muslim"

Reader comment on item: Moshe Sharon Explains Middle Eastern Realities
in response to reader comment: you should call people what they call themselves

Submitted by Ed Melik, Esq. (United States), Oct 29, 2009 at 22:52

Right. What do you call those who believe that at all cost Israel? Jews or ??? Jews are always respectably called Jews regardless of which country they are living in. But the use of different names of God is not only a practice in Islam but also in Judaism, for example: The most important and most often written name of God in Judaism is the Tetragrammaton, the four-letter name of God, AKA יהוה, or YHWH. "Tetragrammaton" derives from the Greek prefix tetra- ("four") and gramma ("letter", "grapheme"). The Tetragrammaton appears 6,828 times (see 'Counts' in the Yahweh article) in the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia edition of the Hebrew Masoretic text. This name is first mentioned in the Book of Genesis (2.4) and in English language bibles is traditionally translated as "The LORD".Islam but in Judaism too.

(The epithet, "The Eternal One," may increasingly be found instead, particularly in Progressive Jewish communities seeking to use gender-neutral language[1]). Because Judaism forbids pronouncing the name outside the Temple in Jerusalem, the correct pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton may have been lost, as the original Hebrew texts only included consonants. Some scholars conjecture that it was pronounced "Yahweh", but some suggest that it never had a pronunciation (which is extremely unlikely given that it is found as an element in numerous Hebrew names). The Hebrew letters are named Yod-Heh-Vav-Heh: יהוה. In English it is written as YHWH, YHVH, or JHVH depending on the transliteration convention that is used. The Tetragrammaton was written in contrasting Paleo-Hebrew characters in some of the oldest surviving square Aramaic Hebrew texts, and it is speculated that it was, even at that period, read as Adonai ("My Lord") or Elohim when encountered.[2]

In appearance, YHWH is an archaic third person singular imperfect of the verb "to be", meaning, therefore, "He is". This explanation agrees with the meaning of the name given in Exodus 3:14, where God is represented as speaking, and hence as using the first person — "I am". It stems from the Hebrew conception of monotheism that God exists by himself for himself, and is the uncreated Creator who is independent of any concept, force, or entity; therefore "I am that I am".

The idea of 'life' has been traditionally connected with the name YHWH from medieval times. Its owner is presented as a living God, as contrasted with the lifeless gods of the 'heathen' polytheists: God is presented as the source and author of life (compare 1 Kings 18; Isaiah 41:26–29, 44:6–20; Jeremiah 10:10, 14; Genesis 2:7; and so forth).

So there are so many different interpretations in all religions used at different times. Muslims/Mohammeadans/Islamists, the Christians and the Jews have lived and intermarried for centuries up until the time when the Western culture was thrust upon a traditionally eastern people (Jews, Christians,Muslims, and all other religions). The conflict is not among the Jews and the Muslims but the East and the West. As Rudyard Kipling has said "East is East and West is West and two shall never meet". So this is the cultural dispute more than anything else. Look, no matter how different two or three people think differently or are far apart in their belief system, eventually, all will come to an end which neither one of us have any control over. So let's hope and pray for the good of all people regardless of their names, beleif system or what they practice. Each one of them are righteously correct in practicing what they believe.

Submitting....

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Reader comments (30) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
really good article [16 words]luisJun 1, 2009 10:52156510
Jews have control over Jerusalem and some arabs in Israel. [220 words]Phil GreendMay 31, 2007 21:0695598
a little flaw [26 words]dudeJan 6, 2011 15:4895598
What about Madrid and Mumbai [122 words]Yuval Brandstetter MDNov 1, 2006 17:3965027
1Questions for Dr. Pipes [186 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
InfidelOct 7, 2006 22:5659262
1Are you an Islamophobe? [86 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Mohamed B.Oct 5, 2006 14:3759033
Disappointing sentimentalism from Dr. Pipes [158 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Tushar SaxenaOct 2, 2006 02:1858557
The end of Islam [95 words]SosthenesOct 1, 2006 21:5658535
The end of Islam [3267 words]Ed MelikOct 7, 2006 02:5958535
The Word of the LORD will overtake Islam. [173 words]SostheneseOct 7, 2006 18:2358535
The Word of the LORD will overtake Islam. [919 words]Ed MelikOct 8, 2006 03:3558535
A Hot East Wind blows on Ishmael [39 words]SosthenesOct 8, 2006 22:1858535
Improper Comparisons ... [125 words]PRATHIBHJun 11, 2007 17:4258535
you should call people what they call themselves [63 words]MuslimOct 25, 2009 11:0758535
"You should call people what they call themselves by Muslim" [579 words]Ed Melik, Esq.Oct 29, 2009 22:5258535
With all due respect... [127 words]EileenSep 30, 2006 12:2958341
My concerns [133 words]Allen GinsburghSep 29, 2006 20:2858257
Islam and Moslems will never change [64 words]f.shakkiSep 29, 2006 19:4258247
An answer you don't want to hear [166 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Dan Schwartz (Cherry Hill, NJ)Sep 29, 2006 18:5558238
Does this mark yet a further erosion of the boundary between [48 words]J.S.Sep 25, 2006 16:2457497
what's past.. [192 words]donvanSep 25, 2006 15:3357489
Moshe Sharon is very selective in his description of the 3 monotheistic religions [87 words]ThrobbinSep 25, 2006 12:2757470
another comment to Throbbin [65 words]EileenSep 30, 2006 12:3557470
I Respectfully Disagree [392 words]Right of Center FilipinoSep 25, 2006 04:1857407
It is only a question of time [89 words]VijaySep 25, 2006 04:1857406
There is a Big Difference [105 words]Greg MackSep 29, 2006 22:4257406
Moderate Islam is an illusion [852 words]f.shakkiOct 1, 2006 14:3257406
Why do we have to acept Islam as a religion? [112 words]Joseph AdamsSep 24, 2006 23:2657376
Answer to a question [91 words]ArunSep 24, 2006 13:2057320
Your comment is totally wrong [228 words]f.shakkiSep 30, 2006 03:1957320

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Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".

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