Aiya Iluvatar

Rachel Ray the Terrorist?

OK,

Has America gone off the frickin' deep end? Rachel Ray was in a commercial for Dunkin Doughnuts iced coffee. See image below.

The ad has been yanked following what has been called the "keffiyeh kerfuffle" when right-wing blogger Michelle Malkin claimed that her wardrobe choice made her appear sympathetic to Islamic Jihadists. Huh? Looks like a fringed, paisley scarf to me, and no doubt did to Ray as well when the wardrobe person brought it to her.

And what if it was a keffiyeh? Yes, Khaddafi wears a keffiyeh, and so did Arafat, but so does almost every other arab male. Does wearing a traditional arab headpiece make you a terrorist? Evidently in some people's eyes it does.

It has become fashionable for those in solidarity with the palestinian cause to wear a black and white keffiyeh draped over the shoulders and back, but that does that mean that EVERY black and white scarf now has political connotations? And is everyone in sympathy with the Palestinian cause a terrorist? Evidently so. I would appear to know several Jews who are actually secret Islamic Terrorists....

What scares me the most is to think how this must appear to an American Muslim. If a beloved, white celebrity like Rachel Ray can get castigated for wearing something that looks kind of like a keffiyeh, what does that say about what could happen to someone of arab complexion wearing a Hijab? It points out how xenophobic we still are as a culture and that the message that all Muslims are terrorists is still a pervasive meme in our society.

Fear controls us still.

"Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell." - Matt. 10:28

"All fears other than reverent fear that are offered to us, although they come under the pretense of holiness, yet are not as true" - Julian of Norwich

“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” - Yoda

David+

politics, religion, rachel ray, islam

News Article on the Order of Julian

Waukesha monastery seeks update

Order of Julian of Norwich will ask to expand living quarters

By DARRYL ENRIQUEZ

denriquez@journalsentinel.com

Posted: May 14, 2008

Waukesha - A monastery of monks and nuns with ties to a 14th-century saint will ask the Plan Commission tonight for permission to update and expand its main living quarters on the west side of Waukesha.

The Order of Julian of Norwich is seeking approval of a 3,400-square-foot addition to the monastery at 2812 Summit Ave.

Doug Koehler, a city planner, said plans call for a new wing to connect two existing buildings - the main chapel and the living quarters, converted from an old farmhouse. The wing also will contain four dormitory rooms, he said.

City planning staff will recommend approval of the plans, he said.

Father Gregory Fruehwirth of the order said the wing will provide older members and visitors with accessible facilities for the handicapped, which are lacking in the 1850 farmhouse. The monastery opened in 1990.

"We need space where we can care for them appropriately," Fruehwirth said. "It's really a core value for us to care for older members and to keep them in the community for as long as possible."

Another plan calls for the possible installation of solar panels on the roof of one the buildings, he said, and grants are being sought for the project.

The order was founded in 1985 in Norwich, Conn., and it practices "contemplative and mystical spirituality in the Episcopal Church," according to its Web site.

The monastery takes in short- and medium-term guests for prayer, silence and contemplative meditation. It has six nuns and three monks who follow vows of poverty, chastity, obedience and prayer, the Web site says.

Julian, the patron saint of the order, lived in Norwich, England, in the 14th and early 15th century, spending much of her life as a hermit who lived in a small room attached to a parish church, the site says.

Little is known about her other than that she wrote the book "Revelations of Divine Love," which describes visions about God's unconditional love for humankind.

"In a medieval church which emphasized God's condemning wrath, Julian wrote, 'There is no wrath in God. . . . It is the most impossible thing that can be that God would be angry, for wrath and friendship are two opposites.' "

The order's Web site says, "Just as striking and as relevant to the 21st century is Julian's perception of the feminine element in God."

Although usually associated with the Roman Catholic Church, the monastic life is also a part of the Anglican tradition.

The OJN website is at: http://www.orderofjulian.org

anglican, christianity, episcopal, monastacism, order of julian, religion

Catholic Coke

Way too funny!

christianity, youtube, culture