Fitna

Out of curiosity, I watched the Fitna movie. And as a Muslim, I found it disgusting. It's the same old nonsense anti-Islamic propaganda. And it's nothing new. Islamophobia has existed almost for the entire life of Islam.

It began with brutal persecution of early believers by infidels in Mecca. Islam was a threat to their revenues from pilgrims who visited Kaaba to pay their tribute to the idols (and also to do some shopping on the side of their pilgrim). Furthermore, the egalitarian ideology of Islam, declaring all people (regardless of skin color, gender, tribe, wealth and social class) to be worthy only by their obedience to God, was enough reason for slaveholding tribalistic mysogenic infidels to fear the spread of this new religion.

During the Dark Ages, when Islamic world was the cradle of civilization and knowledge (well, if we ignore some dark pages when Shia Muslims were persecuted), Islamophobia manifested as the Crusades and horrible crimes in the name of Jesus and Christianity. The threat of the Islamic empire to European kingdoms who ruled people by keeping them in abysmal ignorance was something that necessitated immediate action. And those kings and monarches (in an unholy alliance with the Holy See) managed to fool their subjects that the Holy Land should be liberated from the yoke of infidel Muslims. Ironically, the accusation that Islam was the religion of sword, proved to suit better the promoters of Christianity over that period and the centuries that followed the Crusades.

And following that line and using a similar rhetoric in our modern times, it shows up as the media hype and anti-Islamic propaganda. At a lower level, such propaganda inspire like-minded idiots to discriminate against Muslims (have a look at this experiment video or this real video) or worse, commit hate-crimes against anybody who just looks like Muslims (even if they're not). And at a higher level, they prepare the western world mindset for new forms of Crusades against Islamic world. Fitna is the latest example of such garbage. And its name, Fitna, suits the content and intent.

The producer, Geert Wilders claims that he's concerned about extremist Islam. But looking at his movie, it appears that his problem is with Islam and Muslims in general. At one point, he gives alarming statistics about the rising population of Muslims in the Netherlands since 1909 (54) to 2004 (944,000). The population of the Netherlands is about 16 million. Then, he proceeds to declare the number of Muslims in Europe in 2007 as 54,000,000. And he makes no distinction about what percentage of these alarming numbers constitute extremists. He's just concerned about the numbers.

At another point, he juxtaposes images of mosques with the caption "Greetings from the Netherlands". Apparently, he's not happy about seeing mosques in general, regardless of the nature of the message preached in there. And this reminds me of the Minaret controversy in Switzerland (one of the most progressive democratic countries), where some bigots lobbied (and apparently, are still lobbying) for a constitutional amendment preventing construction of mosques with minarets. These democratic freedom-loving people are not happy about seeing their land being conquered by minarets.

The rest of the movie consists of recitations of some verses from Quran, followed by carnage scenes created by terrorists. So, you want to believe that Quran is the textbook for terrorism. At the end, he suggests Muslims to tear out those pages from Quran.

Well, those verses are taken out of context, both by Muslim extermeists and also by their bigot peers in the non-Muslim world. Such verses tell Musims what to do with enemies of Islam who actively and aggressively engage Muslims in war, not just anybody who simply is not a Muslim. And even when warmongers opt for peace, Quran advises Muslims to treat them peacefully. Anybody could pick and choose verses out of holy books and come up with conclusions they want. Have a look at this video-clip or this one just as examples to see how similar verses exist in the Bible. Should Christians tear out those pages from the Bible? Probably not.

And following those verses literally has not been a hypothetical situation or occasional occurrence. The Crusaders did follow those instructions very faithfully (much beyond the surface of the words) during the Crusades while they conquered Muslim territories. And even in our modern times, there are modern Crusaders who do the same thing, although not as wide-spread as the Dark Ages.

However, when wars are waged against Islamic countries and civilian Muslims are mass-murdered as collateral damage (God knows how much I hate this phrase), the result is the same. It just inflames new cycles of violence with popele in the Muslim world finding enough fuel to avenge their civilian casualty by killing some civilians on the other side. And then, anti-Muslims defend against violence and terrorism with killing even more civilian Muslims. And the vicious cycle goes on and on and on.

Thinking about anti-Islamic garbage, I remembered Salman Rushdie and our Department of English Language and Literature widely promoting him for their undergraduate conference on Identity in Language and Literature. For several weeks, you could see his picture in their Call for Papers (and the extension thereof) all over the University Hall floors, stairways and corridors.

Having read the Satanic Verses, I don't find any merit in the book apart from insulting the beliefs of over one billion Muslims and fueling the Clash of Civilizations. The book is a cheap effort in Magic Realism (not even distantly comparable to works of Marquez, the master of this genre). In the Satanic Verses, the author who has experienced humiliation as an immigrant Indian Muslim in the British society has let it out in his book through 2 fictional characters (one of them makes you think of our Prophet). What you read in the book is mostly comprised of fantasies based on historical lies. I've seen lots of these cheap works targeting religious beliefs.

Even when the controversy over the Danish cartoons broke out, it was not the first (or the only) of its kind. I've seen a comic book which is entirely comprised of cartoons of our Prophet (and in this case, the author/creator was an ex-Muslim Arab making fun of everything in Islam). And those pictures were much more abhorrible than the ones published by Danish newspapers.

And regrettably, I have to admit that some of the nonsense in this comic book (or similar anti-Islamic stuff in general) are originated in some unauthentic, yet widely recognized Islamic texts. For example, the central theme in Salman Rushdie's book (Satan leading the Prophet recite some bogus verses recognizing idols besides God) was not completely a product of his ingenuity; it has been present in some unauthentic Islamic texts read over and over for centuries. And ironically, those Muslims believing in those Islamic texts, never scratched their head that such lies in their texts contradict Quran. Well, until Salman Rushdie brought it up and embellished it by some other lies (again, present in those unauthentic Islamic texts).

Lots of such works are published around the world and nobody knows or even cares about them, except for some intellectually-challenged people who base their information and knowledge of history and religion on such sources.

What enrages the Muslim world is the publicity and support that such works and their creators receive by the western governments under the pretext of artistic creation and freedom of expression. As a recent example, Salman Rushdie was awarded knighthood last year for services to literature. It appears that certain instances of free speech immediately lead to prosecution and jail while insulting religious beliefs receives a blind eye or worse, support and praise. And when Muslims observe double standards on freedom of expression, even those not subscribing to conspiracy theories, come to believe there's a modern Crusade going on.

Why does God allow suffering?

It appears that several years of engineering and technology have spoiled me and made me incorrigible. And even converting to sociology has not had much effect (at least in the short term). A few weeks ago, when I mentioned in a job interview (on campus) that I still feel nostalgic when I see powerplants, the interviewer was astounded and told me that it was first time in her life seeing somebody feeling nostalgic(!?) about powerplants.

OK, I admit it: although I'm an old-fashioned guy and conservative in my personal life (worship included) and although I do not have a very high opinion about Rock music in worship, I'm drawn to all high-tech things. So, despite standing by all my criticism toward CedarCreek, in my previous posts here, here and here, I must admit that I enjoy the quality of their job (except for a technical dishonesty mentioned in my previous post). And now that their Toledo branch has opened, it's very easy for me to get there with my bike.

I'm not sure if all this sounds like explanation or justification, but when I attended their Easter service last week and found about their upcoming series, I had some incentive beyond just being in a high-tech place. They are going to address some of the frequently asked questions posed by atheists (and anti-Christians) and some of these questions are not problematic just for Christians. In an age that rationality and secularism try to push God and religion back from society, such questions are mind-boggling to all believers.

As a Muslim, I've thought and read a lot about such questions. Not only in Islamic sources, but also in Christian literature and I find the answers given to such questions more or less similar in both religions (I'd like to learn about the position of other religions). So, when I decided to attend the series in CedarCreek (and I 'm not sure if I can stand to my word, given my busy time), I was not looking for answers for myself.

It all comes back to my early confession: it was a justification to enjoy their high-tech service. And again, as I'm not a Christian, I can be objective about such worship styles and just observe (and put my comments as a sociologist). But still, hearing the explanation of these conservative guys to their modern audience would be an interesting observation to me. Back to the point.

We are all familiar with this question: if God is so loving and so merciful, why does He allow so much suffering in human life?

After the gathering songs, they began with the account of a young couple who had lost their baby to brain tumors after just seven months. Yes, only seven months. You didn't need to see the pictures of the cute lovely baby or the couple to ask yourself WHY.

Pastor Powell made it clear that he couldn't give a definite answer. So, we could put a question mark in the answer box in our worksheet. Then, he continued with his understanding from the Bible.

1. God causes everything to work together for the good (Romans 8:28). And His ways are far beyond anything we could imagine (Isaiah 55:8).

2. Reveal His love. He is the source of every mercy and the God who comforts us (2 Corinthians 1:3). The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and rescues those who are crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18).

3. Change our priorities. Live for Him and make the Kingdom of God our primary concern (Matthew 6:25&33). God can use sorrow in our lives to help us turn away from sin and seek salvation (2 Corinthians 7:10).

4. Prepare us to help others. Love your neighbors as yourself (Luke 10:27). He comforts us in our troubles so that we can comfort others (2 Corinthians 1:4).

5. Strengthen our faith. When we run into problems and trials, they help us learn to endure. And endurance develops strength of character in us. And character strengthens our confident expectation of salvation. And this expectation will not disappoint us (Romans 5:3-5).

And these are recurrent themes in Quran. God has made it clear that He puts us to trial in different ways to determine who is patient (2:155). And for line 3, I could think of 18:46 or 34:37. And a lot of other verses in that line.

And thinking of my Bible studies at Grace Lutheran, while studying the story of Job (who is also mentioned in Quran as an exemplar of patience), I could think of another lesson. By putting His most beloved servants to such trials, He also puts conceited people to trial. When such things happen, such people (as if sure of their ultimate guaranteed salvation) begin to taunt or chide the afflicted person, assuming this is a punishment from God and they're on the safe side.

And still, I'm asking why?

Spring, at last!

Spring is here, at last. According to my definition, of course. Spring could be defined in different ways.

It could be loosely defined according to the calendar: March 21st (or March 20th in leap years) would be the beginning of spring.

More technically speaking, it begins at the vernal equinox where the length of day and night is equal and that marks the beginning of spring. So, when Earth reaches that exact position in its yearlong travel around the Sun, it denotes spring. And in Iran (and neighboring countries influenced by Persian culture), that's the exact moment to celebrate the spring and the New Year.

In less technical terms, it's a time when earth undergoes rebirth after death, sleep or hibernation (whatever way you prefer to look at it). Days become sunnier (which is not quite the case in northern locations like Ohio), trees blossom, the earth lushes. And all sort of poetic definitions in that line.

But I have my own definition of spring. And without that, spring is meaningless to me. And that's what happened last night. The birds resumed their nightly conference after a long recess. And when I heard their heated conversation, I realized what I actually missed over my gloomy wintry nights of last months.

Over my trips to Nicosia, I spent my entire days, from early morning to late night, surveying the city on foot. And I have very good memories from the places I visited. But the most vivid memory that I have from my time there, is waking up in the morning by the sound of mourning doves. Ironically, as my hotel was not too far away from the so-called Green Line, it reminded me that I was in a divided city. And it also reminded me of all the sad memories of war and displacements that ensue any war, anywhere; especially, given my visits to both sides of the line, watching dilapidated buildings that were once full of life and happiness. But still, mourning doves refresh all the good memories I had over my days and nights in the beautiful city. And whenever I think of my deepest memories from Nicosia, I think of mourning doves. It's a bitter-sweet remembrance.

And whenever I wanna think of my late grandfather's home, I remember his geese and the different ways they talked depending on their mood and whom they addressed. Nevertheless, my mornings there began with geese. And whenever, I hear geese flying over my head here, I immediately think of my grandfather and all the good memories I had at his house over my summer visits (although the geese here don't speak in Persian).

And while in Tehran, whenever I got mad of the noise of my wild-partying neighbors late night, I biked to Taleghani metropark (one of my most favorite places to hang out in the crowded megacity). And there, I could relax listening to the joyful noise of the birds' orchestra (which sounded much better than the noise my neighbors made). To me, Taleghani metropark was equivalent to listening to birds nocturnes or serenades with frogs and crickets sharing their cadenza and counterpoint from time to time.

By the same token, my nights at Toledo were meaningful when the birds' conference was in session. Although I have to complain they sometimes begin their conference too early in the morning, I'm still happy hearing them. And there's more; seagulls have reappeared in the parking lot across from the Rocket Hall. They don't treat each other in a very friendly way, but still, it's fun to watch them shout "Mine, Mine" (I love that line from Finding Nemo). And although we began this New Year with five inches of snow (and it's snowing heavily right now), for me, spring has officially begun.

Easter 2008

I wish I had remained faithful to my research plan of studying traditional worship at liberal churches; or at least, visited the churches that I already knew. I can say I ruined my Easter over unmerited curiosity about 2 churches that I really didn't feel like visiting instead of my favorite churches. Well, I leaned things the hard way.

The first church had put bulk mail in my mailbox (and that of other tenants of our apartment complex). I never feel positively about companies that advertise with unsolicited mail. However, there was something in their reddish postcard that aroused my curiosity: "Escape religion, come to Jesus". I assumed they must be one of those seeker churches without any specific ideology that try to lure undecided customers into their shop by any means (contemporary worship being one, among others). And bulk mailing from a church in Maumee to students in a cheap apartment complex, couple of miles north (that probably don't care much about being saved) sounded like an indication of their despair to that end. I was wrong.

When I entered their big campus, I realized my first mistake. These guys were not desperate for customers. The look of their campus and their welcome team indicated that they already had their affluent customer base. Proceeding further and reaching their building, I realized my second mistake (which was bigger); these people were not without ideology. There was an Israeli flag beside the American flag in front of the building. This was a Christian Zionist church.

Over my visits to synagogues, it didn't surprise me seeing Israeli flags in front of the building (or inside the synagogue, at the corner of the altar not far from the bimah). And that could be understandable for them. But what about these Christian Right people? They question the patriotism of Catholics and Muslims for being religiously allegiant to somewhere outside the US (Vatican and Mecca respectively). Aren't they willing to apply the same criteria to themselves?

I had second thoughts about entering the church. I had already read Christian Zionist literature and was familiar with their school of thought. I had also watched some of their programs on Christian TV channels. So, I knew how their worship would feel. However, seeing things in person would be different. Furthermore, I had come all the way down to Maumee in this cold morning. So, I trusted in God and ventured in.

The service was what you would typically see with televangelists or in megachurches. Some Rock music, a fiery sermon punctuated with amen and hallelujah and then more Rock music and some altar call at the end. Looking around, I could see the kind of faces that I had seen on Christian TV channels. You cannot realize how uncomfortable I was looking around; especially, with their Secret Service looking welcome team (I'm very uncomfortable about people in suits having their head shaved). I kinda felt myself in a hornet nest. When I had gone to a conservative synagogue last summer (with real Israeli people in there engaging me in debates), I felt much more comfortable than here.

At the beginning, they showed a video-clip juxtaposing scenes of nailing of Jesus (from the Passion of Christ) with things they regarded as evil (or probably worse). Examples: McCain or Obama declaring victories in primaries, Huckabee giving speech, several references to dictators like Saddam or Bin Laden (sic). They also didn't forget about the alleged threat of nuclear Iran. Fortunately, nobody asked me about my nationality (a question I'm asked in most churches and I receive a welcoming reaction when I answer).

When it came to their pastor to give his sermon (unlike most staff, he had not worn a tie), he made several references to dictators like Saddam or Bin Laden (sic). Last time I checked, I think Bin Laden was living in a cave, not ruling a country. But seriously, where were these people and their so-called Christian principles when the US govt supported/propped up dictators in Latin America, Middle East and elsewhere. It was not long time ago that CIA showered Bin Laden and his Mujahedin in Afghanistan with money and modern weapons. Did these Christian moralists raise their voice even to a whisper when Saddam was removed from the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism in 1982 to be deluged with generous gifts of arms and raw material and technology to build his arsenal of WMD? Where were their Christian principles when Saddam mass-murdered Kurds with chemicals he had received from the US companies?

I know. Lesser of two evils. It appears that by following that rationale, America continuously nurtures the bigger of two evils into a fully functional one. And then continues with the cycle of misconstrued judgment of who is the new lesser of two evils. And the cycle goes on and on. And there are always evils out there (real or fictitious).

At one point the pastor was not true to their ideological principles and spoke anti-semitic about a prominent Jew: Client 9. He talked about how Governor Spitzer sinned and ruined himself and his 20 years of planning (sic) to run for President, because he had everything but was empty inside. Although he didn't elaborate, it was clear what he meant by emptiness; anybody who does not believe in their Jesus, exactly the way they define belief and exactly the way they define Jesus is doomed. And that's not limited to non-Christians (especially Muslims); their damnation would include even Christians who don't buy their exclusive version of radical Jesus (sic). Their Jesus has infinite love, but his infinite love will reach only the ones approved by these people.

I left the church immediately after the service and didn't bother to stay for a building tour and their free organic coffee and their free cookies and muffins. This visit ruined my Easter morning already. The second half of my morning was not much better though.

For my second church visit, I proceeded to a corporate church. Unlike CedarCreek that somehow acts like a church (although with a strong blend of business), this one was a corporate and there was nothing in there to make me feel like attending a church. They'd caught my attention last year when their senior pastor had been arrested for driving under the influence. So, I could realize what kind of spirituality I would find in such a church. But still, I thought visiting the church once would be worth learning about these kind of churches.

When I entered the building, their second Easter service was over and people were already moving out. All the hallways of the corporate building were crowded with people and kids. People (a lot of them black) looked affluent and I could see a lot of security personnel in an around campus. And the welcome team members reminded me of valets at very upscale hotels or clubs. I already felt I was in the wrong place. But my sociological curiosities made me stay.

As I had about half an hour to pass till the beginning of the third service, I asked the visitor center for a guided tour (that is a common practice in corporate churches, even in the first church that I'd visited in the morning). But to these people, my request sounded odd. They passed me from one staff to another and eventually one of them told me why I wanted to visit their building and why I asked such and such questions. In my questions, I was simply and clearly making comparisons between here and CedarCreek. Please, is it a church or a high-security military compound?

This must have been enough indication that I was wasting my time in the wrong place. But I don't know why I even filled their visitor card (what I didn't do at the first church). And I was given a big mug filled with candies, plus a few CDs. I used the opportunity to make my backpack wide open to put the mug in it (and giving them a chance to see what's inside). However, I was beginning to feel growing suspicion about this bearded visitor. As I'd stubbornly decided to stay the course, I didn't make any complaint when I entered the auditorium and the welcome team members (movie-theater conductors) passed me from one to another and assigned me a seat in a place I didn't like.

The service began with some Rock music (kinda black style) and then proceeded to a drama about Jesus, his life and his crucifixion. And it was accompanied by Rock music. It was kinda post-modern drama. Then the sermon was given by an assistant pastor (I was curious to see the senior pastor; that was the main reason I'd come here). It was one of the emotional sermons you would hear in seeker churches. And people had to give their applause whenever deemed necessary.

Probably, I'm somehow biased by the suspicion-rich welcome before (and during) the service, but as the sermon went on and then was followed by the altar call, I kinda felt things were going superficial. I had difficulty feeling Jesus here. In some of my previous church visits, I had clearly felt his eminent and immanent presence. In those churches, I could easily connect with Jesus whose infinite pouring love engulfs anybody who loves him, regardless of the appearance (and BTW, Jesus' appearance was more like me, not the people in this church). But here, I was waiting for the service to finish to be able to go out and reconnect with Jesus. Maybe my Jesus (or the Jesus in other churches) is different than the Jesus they sell here.

When the service concluded and I rose to leave the auditorium, one of the plain-cloth security guys approached me and asked me if I was Muslim and trying to appear friendly, kindly warned me that there were concerns and suspicions about me. This came at no surprise; I had already felt some odd looks toward the end of the service.

And just think of a no-brainer like this, as an example of the questions I was asked by this security guy: (after discovering that I didn't have a car) how did you come all the way from X Street (my home address) here? I think there's a thing called "bus" and people who don't have a car can ride it and get where they want (although the bus system in Toledo is terrible).

But please, why should a security concern fill the visitor card, with all details of his contact info (including UT Email address), asking for information for his academic research? Once upon a time, there was something called common-sense. But with overarching post-911 mania, such antiquities have gone to a long recess. Although, I had decided to continue my campus visit after the service and probably have a talk with the pastors, I gave up.

Today, I made some observations and got some first-hand experience with corporate churches. But still, I regret ruining my Easter with these two churches. I could've visited my churches where I love people and I'm loved back. Or revisiting my newly discovered Episcopal churches to get a better understanding of their worship style. Alas. Sometimes you have to learn things the hard way.

Easter Vigil at St Andrew's Episcopal Church

Continuing with my evaluation of worship styles at liberal churches, I attended St Andrew's Episcopal Church for Easter Vigil. And in the same way that I'm exposed to rapid switches from mild sunny days to windy snowstorms in Toledo, I had a similar experience with my church shopping tonight.

Before rushing to St Andrew's for my second Easter Vigil, I'd witnessed a very contemporary worship at a conservative (pretending modern and liberal) church. My Easter Vigil at CedarCreek was nothing near solemn. It was a complete Rock concert. And I knew that a few minutes later, I would probably experience a rapid climate change at St Andrew's. And I was right.

Still, what I saw here at St. Andrew's surpassed my expectations. This was one of the most traditional services I had ever experienced in Toledo. Their worship was even more traditional than Grace Lutheran (which is a traditional, moderately conservative church BTW). The complexity and variety of the rituals that I witnessed over this 1.5 hour long service was so much that I failed to even grasp everything let alone write about it. I can compare it only with the Greek Orthodox churches that I had visited in Cyprus.

The brief explanation here is far too brief to explain what was going on. Even what I observed last year at a Catholic Church (although a collegiate one) didn't match what I saw here. There was much incense burning (and I was surprised to see that in America in a non-Orthodox church), ministers bowing repeatedly at each other at different stages, all sort of prayers and hymnals, a lot of Bible reading, moving various sacred objects from one place to another. If it were not for the use of tiny flashlights (instead of candles) to read the texts at the darkened altar, or a Crucifix where Jesus' hands were spread out (instead of being nailed to the cross), I could have assumed myself observing rituals in a historical monastery centuries ago.

Fortunately, their prayer bulletin was very informative, explaining things and giving references to the prayer books for further explanation and details (and this reminded me of Grace Lutheran). By the end of the service, I'd turned my pew into a library desk, spreading all the stuff and was trying (inefficiently though) to catch up with the vast variety of rituals and intricacies of the liturgy.

Near the end of the service, it came to Asperges and people were sprinkled with holy water. I was thinking of the news story I had read a few hours ago about the Pope baptizing a famous (or infamous?) Muslim convert in a widely publicized show. Then, I thought whether I would be an apostate by receiving sprinkles of water of baptism. And then, I thought that probably it would make me eligible to receive Communion (although Asperges is not technically the same as baptism and still I couldn't take Communion as a Muslim). Thinking about these things, made me smile. And when the pastor reached me at the last row and saw my smiling face, he treated me with an extra dose of holy water (3 splashes focused just on me).

After the service, I was invited to the reception downstairs. Yay, cookies. Sometimes, I might look shy about mingling with strangers, but when I do, I quickly count myself an insider and behave very intimately (think of my Agios Dometios experience in Nicosia at the beginning of this post). While I was examining the yummies on the table and trying to make my hard decision, a small boy (maybe 3 or 4 years old) asked me to help him with spreading cheese over his crackers. While I was helping my tiny little brother, I noticed the smiling gaze of church members. I enjoy such moments indeed.

Shopping for God at CedarCreek - Toledo Campus

I had made a pledge to spend my limited time over this Holy Week to visit only liberal churches to see how traditional they are in their worship style. However, I could not resist the temptation to visit the newly opened branch of CedarCreek Church at Toledo. I had quite some incentives.

As an engineer turned sociologist, I'm always interested in studying the influence of technology and modernity in everything (religion included). I was already familiar with how technology works in this corporate-style church from my visits to their main campus last year, explained here. However, there's one more level of technology involved in their satellite campuses.

They have a "hope and dream to start an additional location each year through 2010". And they are supposed to have the same service over their five weekend services in all locations. Each campus has its own music band and live music, but what they sing is exactly the same as others. And an important part of this standardized service is broadcasting the message (sermon) from their main campus. You got it, wireless communication and live digital broadcasting. And the engineer inside me kicked real hard.

I've been a member of a cyberchurch for a couple of years. And I'm also familiar with televangelism. And as an electrical engineer spending most of my professional life with Information Systems, I'm no stranger to videoconferencing. However, experiencing modern technology (by way of online live sermons) in person in a church (outside cyberworld) is different. And this reminds me of my last post on CedarCreek where I had written about technophobic people lamenting about the adverse impact of technology on communal celebrations in Christianity.

Furthermore, the location of this new branch was very suggestive. Unlike the main campus at Perrysburg, located in a big compound of its own, this one is located in Deveaux Village Shopping Center. Yes, a shopping center. So, you can shop for food, toys, apparel ... and you can also shop for God. All together at a convenient place.

For those of you, who are not familiar with the location, Deveaux Village was a dead shopping mall. I had passed by the place once last summer and I felt like passing by a desolate town in old Western movies. And with CedarCreek opening a branch here, it's supposed to help revitalize the area and bring business to the neighborhood. Read more here and here.

So basically, God (and His religion) could be beneficial not only to the realm of spirituality, but also to the material world and business (and who knows, maybe vice versa). Whatever I try to distance myself from the cynicism of the authors in Consuming Religion, Selling God, or Shopping for God (or like-minded anti-modernity philosophers), I feel there's some element of truth in their arguments.

I was also keen to see how this McDonaldization of religion works in a real church (pun intended). When you visit fast food chains or department stores, it's not merely about the standardized procedures, coined McDonaldization; different locations have identical (or very similar) appearance and layout. Over my short Midwest tour last semester, I visited Meijer and Wal-Mart stores in Indiana and Illinois. I didn't have difficulty finding the items I was looking for; I was already familiar with their stores in Toledo. And if you look at the satellite images of Kroger stores, you can easily recognize them from nearby businesses. Here, the church looked like all other shops in the mall. I had to read the signs to locate my shop.

I had written in my first post on CedarCreek about the importance of volunteers in such corporate churches. And this could be verified by looking at their Toledo campus blog. Last July, they decided to build their new branch in Deveaux Village. And now it's finished (and as an engineer, I have to say well-done). Entering the church (which was the last shop in the shopping center), I was greeted by a welcome team member that I had met over Martin Luther King Day celebration at the Savage Hall this January. He was quick to propose me (a conservative Muslim) to help them as a volunteer for their Bible study group. I mentioned about my heavy courseload (15 credits) and the offer was immediately cancelled (sic).

Unlike the main campus, there wasn't any guided tour available. However, the inner layout of the church was more or less like Perrysburg location. Numerous welcome team members, information desk, several flyers and brochures, free coffee and pop, a childcare facility, a coffee shop (where you can purchase cookies and other yummies), and of course a bookstore (with luxurious books).

And just like the main campus, I was annoyed seeing police officers in and around the church. When you go to a church you want to feel some spirituality and peace. And seeing armed police officers is hardly conducive to that. But maybe that's an undesirable necessity. There are people who don't respect places of worship (mosques, churches, synagogues, or temples). There are those who may assault such places out of stupidity and bigotry. Or there are those who may rob for money or something. And this may be the reason for strong security at a rich place like this. Still, seeing security or police officers in a place of worship is annoying to me.

And there's just one point I have to complain, technically speaking. Trying to appear high-tech, they start a countdown, five minutes before the service begins. This reminds you of space shuttle launches and gives you the sense that you're going to participate in something that high-tech. It also lets you know how much time you have and make you leave the coffee-shop for auditorium. That's not bad.

Then, you see a flash intro on the screen(s) showing the synchronization of the three campuses on a satellite link. This will add more excitement about being present in a real-time event. As part of this synchronization procedure, you see a satellite view locating the campuses one by one and zooming in on each, followed by (purported) system messages reporting the status of synchronization for each campus. Looks good, eh?

There's a little problem here. You see the same sequence for the Whitehouse campus. However, there's no service there on Saturday (at least, not for now). As an electrical engineer (specialized in control systems), I found myself a little bit cheated by watching a bogus show of synchronization while there was actually none taking place.

The service consisted of (more or less) the same elements that I had written about last year. And the quality of the rock concert (worship) was almost as good as the original one in the main campus (the same dancing lights, mist and stuff). There was excellent mix of songs with the scenes projected on the screen. Watch this video clip to get an idea about their mix of Miracle Maker with the Passion of Christ. And their performance was great.

I'm an old-fashioned guy and expect church services over Easter Vigil to be solemn and somber, but these extremely loud rock songs worked very well with the scenes. Although I'm not a Rock type person and although (as a Muslim) I don't believe in the crucifixion of Jesus, if the objective of this service were some contemplation over what happened to him, their performance might have served the purpose. Conservative anti-contemporary Christians may disagree. Is it about sensation and emotion? or is it more about deep thoughts and worship over this night? I admit that as a conservative Shia Muslim, I have similar issues about Ashura ceremonies. Read here for more.

Then, came the live broadcast message. Pastor Lee (senior pastor at the main campus and one of the founders of CedarCreek), explained how Jesus has saved us from God's judgment (sic). And he told us about the ABC of friendship with God: Admitting our sins, repenting and asking for God's forgiveness; Believing that Jesus was crucified for the forgiveness of our sins and was resurrected from the dead; and Committing ourselves to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Although he believed that we should not be judgmental, he was skeptical (he emphasized, skeptical not judgmental) about televangelists. Please, what should make me think differently about a church whose website domain ends with .tv and adopts similar practices and strategies for customer retention (and somehow similar conservative messages) as all megachurches and televangelists?

Good Friday at Trinity Episcopal Church

Another point for Pastor Brown's theory (theology vs worship-style as mentioned here and here).

Over my downtown visits last semester (for my dental works), I had passed by Trinity Episcopal Church. Looking at their bulletin board and flyers at their entrance, it was crystal-clear that these people are liberal, all-inclusive (there was one flyer mocking anti-gay demonstrators). Looking at their worship and values pages, makes it clear how they think about their mission and vision. To get a better understanding of worship at this liberal, gay-friendly church, I decided to visit them for Good Friday evening service.

Hope Lutheran Church is a moderate to liberal church with very lively services. Yet, what I observed there last year over their Good Friday evening service, as briefly described at the end of this post, was very solemn (and understandably so). But what I observed here at Trinity was so sober that made Hope's somber service look like entertainment in comparison. And this in a church that describes their music like this.

When I entered the church, there was near-total darkness. Apart from the local light for the choir to see their scores, all light in the sanctuary came from the candles at each station leading to the altar. And when each step concluded, its light would be put to death. The chorals were very simple, yet magnificent (though sounding mostly English, kinda majectic, not American).

And the prayers after some stations were very deep and thoughtful. And at times apologetic; for example, praying for the forgiveness of those who have persecuted others in the name of Jesus. And these all-inclusive gay-friendly people did not even forget George and (his) Supreme Court in their prayers. Well, underdstandable. After all, he was born Episcopal before turning Methodist and eventually declaring himself a born-again.

What was interesting to me was the symbolism (and their explanations in the bulletin). And the symbols were not just there for people to watch; it was an interacting service. For example, at the station 4 (scourging of Jesus), there was a big crown of thorns. After the recitations, it was moved around and people would lay hands on it. Or at station 8 (death of Jesus), there was a bowl containing vinegar and upon completion of the recitation, a minister carried it around and everybody would smell it in remembrance of the last moments of Jesus (and that vinegar-soaked sponge).

Well, this solemn Good Friday evening service may not be a good criterion to evaluate Pastor Brown's theory. I have to visit here again for a normal service to get a better understanding of their worship style, to enjoy the architecture in daylight and to have an interview with their female rector.

St. Michael's in the Hills Episcopal Church

My first experience with an Anglican church was in Cyprus while I was there for my visa interview. Given special circumstances surrounding my visit to Nicosia, as briefly explained at the beginning of this previous post, this was more than a normal church visit out of sociological curiosity; it meant spiritually and personally to me. And it left me with a good memory.

When I came to the US, I procrastinated visiting Episcopal churches (American brand of Anglicanism). And I wondered why. Maybe deep down, I didn't feel quite well about the early history of Anglican Church, identified with Henry VIII (although the history of the Church of England goes back beyond him). And after ordination of Gene Robinson, an openly proud homosexual, (who later turned out to be alcoholic also), I had something more contemporary (and less historical) to be unhappy about. Seriously, what should I think about a person who divorces his wife over his fidelity to a different kind of love?

Surely, Anglicanism and Anglican Church as a whole should not be associated with the ordination of such an exemplary person as the leader of the faithful. His ordination in 2003 stirred a lot of controversy within Anglican Communion. Heated debates over homosexuality (and also ordination of women) continue to divide the Church body or at best contribute to Anglican realignment. Interestingly enough, some conservative parishes and dioceses in America have preferred to align themselves with bishops in Africa.

Anyway, planning about Easter and Good Friday this year, I decided to attend liberal churches to see how they worship over this Holy Week and how they are different from more traditional churches. I was thinking about my E-discussion with the pastor of Hampton Park Christian Church and his theory of theology vs worship-style mentioned in this previous post. Attending liberal churches (especially over these most traditional days) could be a good opportunity to have first hand observations and to verify his theory.

Then, I remembered my Good Friday last year. In the ecumenical service at Washington Church, a pastor from St. Michael's in the Hills Episcopal Church gave the homily and I liked him and his sermon. I made a mental note to visit his church some day. And over my bike trips along the University/Parks Trail, I had noticed a church with a big cross in its yard (usually, you see such big crosses in Southern states). And I found out that here was his church. The location of the church at Ottawa Hills (which is an affluent neighborhood) would suggest that the church would be a liberal one. Noticing that both the pastor and his wife were listed as the Clergy was a further confirmation for my assumption.

Researching the church schedule, I saw Agape Supper and Eucharist for their Maundy Thursday. This was an indication that I would observe a ritual-rich service. Concerned that my busy schedule at school during Good Friday could stop me from attending any church, I chose to seize the opportunity. And I'm glad I did.

I assumed that I would attend a service, concluding with Eucharist (in remembrance of the Last Supper). My assumption was not accurate. When I entered the church, instead of the pews facing the altar (as in a regular service), I found myself in a Last Supper setting. And that was the service. I sat myself near the base of the U-shaped table. And the pastoral couple did not wait till the end of the service to come over and greet me; each of them came along shortly after I sat (and I was still panting after biking at a high speed to make it to the church in time). And people on my sides (most of the poeple were middle-aged and above), did their best to make me feel at home.

Although the setting was casual (and the pastors had not worn their robes), the service was more or less sober as you would expect on such a night. And it was rich in rituals and very traditional in liturgy (one point for the above mentioned theory). Interestingly enough, the supper was not served after the service. It was part of the service which concluded by the Eucharist. So, you would find yourself at the Last Supper in a very true sense; especially, with the pastors sitting at the base of the U-shaped table (well, Jesus was not married while serving his disciples the last supper). The service concluded by Stripping of the Altar (in silence). And that included removing the American flag which is present in most church altars.

The most interesting part of it all was the foot-washing that was done in the middle of the service (right after the homily which was about this ritual). I had not seen this in any church in person (just in movies). So, you can imagine how fascinated I was about choosing this church for Maundy Thursday. The pastors washed the feet of some congregants (and were served in turn). People who felt shy or uncomfortable about foot-washing, could suffice to washing each others' hands.

To grasp the most out of what was going on, I broke the rule of participant observation and stood aside. I was repeatedly offered to receive the service. But I preferred to move around freely and observe as much as possible. In retrospect, I realize that my behavior must have appeared very awkward (I did the same non-participant observation over the Eucharist). Probably, that's why I received some unfriendly looks by some members (which were mostly elderly).

After the service, I completed my awkward behavior by engaging the pastors with all sort of odd and blunt questions about their church and other Episcopal churches in Toledo. And I must admit that they were very patient with addressing my inquiries. Some quick facts:

They don't use much contemporary music (a little Light-Pop maybe, but no Rock at all); they have a very traditional Sunday worship (early morning) attended mostly by the elderly and another more relaxed (but still traditional) service attended by others; they welcome anybody with any sexual orientation (she emphasized that they don't follow a "don't ask/don't tell" policy); they would baptize homosexuals (yet, she declined to answer what would they do if somebody asks for a gay marriage); they have a mix of conservative and liberal members and they don't have problems with that.

What I got in about half an hour of conversation was worth visiting several Episcopal churches (although I'll still have to attend more churches to observe things for myself). All in all, I can say my first experience with an Episcopal church was very pleasant and informative.

Nowruz, Tradition & Technology

It's the second time that I begin the New Year thousands of miles away from my family, friends and Iran. Last Nowruz, I was in a lecture at the moment of New Year inception. There's this old saying: whatever you do at that moment, you'll be doing that for the rest of the year.

This year, I was not in a class at that moment (I'll still have 2 classes on Nowruz). So, I chose to begin my New Year watching Imam Reza's shrine here (best viewed on Internet Explorer). I would had preferred to be there in person. But still, virtual presence is better than nothing. And as I used to sit with my parents for Nowruz all my life in Iran, I called them at that moment. Again, virtual presence.

And again, this reminds me of technophobic people who lament the incursion of technology on good old traditions and communal celebrations. If people are already detached from their roots or if their connections to their origins are so loose, why blame technology? Such people have identity problems and to them, technology is just an ersatz (among others) to feel the void.

As a hard-core engineer, I firmly believe that technology is our servant not the other way around. When people let the technology master them, or worse, let it define their identity and lifestyle, they are to be blamed. They are so weak and devoid that they could be rushed away by anything, not just technology. And then, failing to acknowledge the real culprit, themselves, they point their fingers at us engineers.

As an electrical engineer who has dealt with cutting edge technology over his career, it makes me sick when I see people who feel worthy (or unworthy) by the technical gadget they think they own. But actually, who owns whom? Isn't the property that possesses the owner? And when servants take control of their master, does it really matter what is the degree of technology involved? And when things determine the identity and worthiness of persons, is it really a new phenomenon, occurring just in our modern time? Or has it been an issue all over the history of human being?

At the forefront of technophobic assaults is the Internet (and computers in general). Digital technology is blamed for all sort of personality, social and psychological problems. It disconnects, alienates and disenchants people from their roots. Maybe, maybe not. It all depends on whether you ever have roots and how strongly you are connected to them.

I've spent over 20 years with all sort of computers and computer systems, personally and professionally. Still, I regard computers (or anything high-tech) as my servant. When I joined Orkut, apart from being a tool in my sociological research on social networking, it served to reconnect me with my old friends. Searching Orkut, I could find my best friend at Iran-Swiss school and we met each other after 24 years. I could get updates on class-mates at Alavi High School and my buddies from college.

As an Iranian student bounded by a single-entry visa, I'm cast away from my family, friends and places that I love. Over religious occasions, I used to visit religious places (most notably Imam Reza). Every year, I spent Nowruz with my family (even after they migrated to Mashhad). Now, this single-entry visa has deprived me of all that (and BTW, such limitations on free human movements are set by people who belong to Paleozoic era, if they can ever recognize that). Yet, my roots and traditions are so important to me that modern digital technology serves to maintain my connections to where I belong not to supplant them.

Anyway, having begun my New Year with Imam Reza (although by way of digital pulses of the cyberworld), I ask God to keep me in His straight path over my long journey in my academic endeavor. Especially, now that Nowruz 1387 is blessed by the birth anniversary of our Prophet.

Client 9

In Islamic teachings we're advised to always trust in God and never get conceited about our merits (or what we perceive as such). Sometimes the switch from virtuous to wicked is shorter than what we might imagine. Hafez (my favorite poet and fellow-citizen) has put it so well in one of his famous poems. A rough translation reads:

Relying on piety and lore in the path (of God) is heresy
The rover, even if possessing 100 virtues, should trust (in God)

It always boggles my mind when I hear of people who go into great length to make themselves a fame and then turn it into infamy in the stupidest way. And now, Eliot Spitzer has followed suit.

Not long ago, he had made himself a reputation as the Sheriff of Wall Street for his all-out war on corruption as a district attorney and later on as the New York State Attorney General. He won New York State gubernatorial election in 2006 in a landslide with a promise of ethical government and economy. There were even speculations that he might run for President some day. Now, Mr. Clean has found a new nickname: Client 9.

Whenever things like this occur, media close in like happy vultures, talk show hosts acquire a repository of jokes for several nights and people who make money out of anything find a new source of profit. Just after the news broke out, Client 9 T-shirts were available in various designs for amazing prices. Have a look here and here. Cyberculture didn't lag behind. All catchy domains like client9.com or client-9.com were immediately registered and now could be bought by interested buyers for a good fee. Read more here.

And of course, psychologists and analysts have a good thought fodder to chew on for a while. They come up with all sorts of theories (proven and unproven) to explain why high-profile politicians (who know they are under scrutiny by their political enemies) commit such stupid blunders.

As a conservative Muslim, my analysis is not so complicated: when you promote sinful behavior, the Devil will kindly appreciate your service by giving you the the opportunity to practice sin (one way or another). In his 2006 election campaign, Mr. Clean promised to legalize gay marriage. He was true to his word and proposed a bill for that matter after he was elected (the bill cleared the State Assembly but died in the State Senate). If the f***ing steamroller (as he once referred to himself) had not ruined his chance to run for Presidency, these stuff would had made great campaign items. Especially, the bib and the dog T-shirt are very impressive.

But seriously, what makes bright people (at least when it comes to intellectual assets) make mistakes that even a person with a medium IQ wouldn't do? Even if they don't care about God's surveillance, aren't they concerned that people might be on the watch? So many years after Monica-gate, I still wonder why an intelligent lawyer should do such a stupid thing while he was already under fire by Ken Starr for the Whitewater investigation (among others). He must have known that his political enemies would use anything to make their case. Yet he did what he shouldn't had done (and even worse, he left behind some incriminating evidence for his hunters). And his explanation years later in his autobiography makes even less sense.

And now another smart lawyer uses telephone (remember, we're living in post-911 era and Dubya's War of Terror) to procure himself this kind of professional service. And although he didn't deposit money directly to pay for the Imperial job, transferring large sums of money to a questionable third-party company (that handled the financial matters for the prostitution ring) would raise red flags to federal investigators in places like New York, where money-laundering is a common problem. Read more here.

What I hate the most about these scandals, is the public announcement and apology by the culprit, with the poor wife standing on the side. She has already suffered from the infidelity. Why should she undergo the extra humiliation in public with all eyes on her while the announcement is being made?

All political and psychological analyses aside, I wonder how did he manage to escape his security detail around 9 pm while on an official trip in a place like Washington DC. To me, this is the interesting part of the whole story.