Tweet
Religious Intelligence Ltd, UK
Dutch Christian Democrats welcome Muslim texts
Sunday, 5th October 2008. 1:26pm
By: Nick Mackenzie.
The Dutch Christian Democratic Party has unveiled a new book of
spiritual meditations that include both Christian and Islamic
material.
"It is a common CDA tradition to open meetings with a meditation. But
we noticed that branches sometimes found it difficult to find an
appropriate text," as not all CDA members are Christian. "That is why
we put together the collection," says CDA spokesman Jo-Annes de Bat.
The book, called "Reflections for political meetings," is to be
distributed among the CDA regional branches.
It has been compiled by members of the party, including Roman
Catholics, Protestants, Jews and two Muslims: the current MP Ceskun
Coruz and ex-candidate MP Ayhan Tonca.
For his contribution, Tonca has drawn on poetry of the 14th century
Turkish poet Yunus Emre: "Allah praising and extolling, for his
qualities so unique, with godly reflection time after time, shall I
call on you, Lord, O Lord!" is in his contemplation.
The inclusion of Islamic texts in such a book is a notable development
in the Netherlands as there have been increasing episodes of
anti-Muslim feeling. One of the contributors to this book, Ayhan
Tonca, had to withdraw as a candidate when he failed to recognise the
Armenian genocide by Turkey (1915-1917). He also deemed the Danish
Muhammad cartoons as "unacceptable".
"As CDA, the Bible is our guide, and as members, we find each other in
core values such as justice. But one council member derives
inspiration from the Bible and another from the Koran. We wanted to
give this scope to the authors of the meditations," says De Bat.
Tonca does not find the initiative surprising. "It would rather have
been odd if there was no meditation from a Muslim in it. We want to
create a society as the Creator intended. On that point, Muslims and
Christians can find each other within the CDA."
Dutch Christian Democrats welcome Muslim texts
Sunday, 5th October 2008. 1:26pm
By: Nick Mackenzie.
The Dutch Christian Democratic Party has unveiled a new book of
spiritual meditations that include both Christian and Islamic
material.
"It is a common CDA tradition to open meetings with a meditation. But
we noticed that branches sometimes found it difficult to find an
appropriate text," as not all CDA members are Christian. "That is why
we put together the collection," says CDA spokesman Jo-Annes de Bat.
The book, called "Reflections for political meetings," is to be
distributed among the CDA regional branches.
It has been compiled by members of the party, including Roman
Catholics, Protestants, Jews and two Muslims: the current MP Ceskun
Coruz and ex-candidate MP Ayhan Tonca.
For his contribution, Tonca has drawn on poetry of the 14th century
Turkish poet Yunus Emre: "Allah praising and extolling, for his
qualities so unique, with godly reflection time after time, shall I
call on you, Lord, O Lord!" is in his contemplation.
The inclusion of Islamic texts in such a book is a notable development
in the Netherlands as there have been increasing episodes of
anti-Muslim feeling. One of the contributors to this book, Ayhan
Tonca, had to withdraw as a candidate when he failed to recognise the
Armenian genocide by Turkey (1915-1917). He also deemed the Danish
Muhammad cartoons as "unacceptable".
"As CDA, the Bible is our guide, and as members, we find each other in
core values such as justice. But one council member derives
inspiration from the Bible and another from the Koran. We wanted to
give this scope to the authors of the meditations," says De Bat.
Tonca does not find the initiative surprising. "It would rather have
been odd if there was no meditation from a Muslim in it. We want to
create a society as the Creator intended. On that point, Muslims and
Christians can find each other within the CDA."