Islamic Eid Festival (19 September 2010) (New Braunfels, Rule: live, office, parking)

[RodLu]

Originally Posted by JuneOf48

This thread is filled with good ol' south Texas hospitality!

Seriously, I hope you all reply to ALL threads that involve a topic/event in which you have no interest. Just write: "I have no interest in this." It'll make for a great city-data forum.

I hope that the event is a great success and well attended. I'll try to make it, if I can, and I'm sure that many others will, too. San Antonio is a much friendlier and more accepting place than some of the CD posters make it out to be.

Yeah, it definitely does sound very interesting. I am surely curious about it, but I honestly don't know if I will be able to make it {but at least these days I *am* indeed finally getting around to striking more and more big things off of my Bucket List, fo' sho'! }. If I can then I will, after all, The pleasingly-varied Texas Folklife Festival certainly rocked my boots off this last time around, yah.......

[Lee W.]

It's helpful to me! I really want to attend this, although downtown isn't the most convenient place to have it! If I only attended events connected to my own ethnic group, my world would just get smaller and smaller. And I DO wish I knew more about the food planned for that!

[bresilhac]

Originally Posted by mamatotex97

this may come across as politically incorrect but I honestly have no desire to learn about any religion other than my own.

I do not care what relgion/belief anyone practices in this country...I really don't.

The fact that we can have the event speaks volumes about how we do practice freedom of religion in America. I'd like to see a Christian festival in some other countries and see how well it goes over.

That's a very narrow and close-minded attitude to have about another culture. If I thought so narrowly I wouldn't be advertising the fact. I hope the event is successful and helps to introduce more of the Islamic culture to people around here. Believe it or not Muslims are apart of America too.

[TexasRedneck]

Excuse me, but with all due respect some of us have lost family and friends both here and abroad in the fight against the fringe groups of this religion. While I'm the first to acknowledge and point out to others that they are NOT the "mainstream" of the religion, I can also remember the dearth of calls of the "mainstream" Islamic groups here and abroad to stop the senseless slaughter of others over their different religious beliefs.
I hadn't brought it up, simply because I didn't want to appear overly negative - but if you are going to challenge my "Texas hospitality", I'll bring out the rest of my reasons. I realize in recent history that others have killed in the name of other religions/beliefs, but never to the level of wholesale slaughter that has taken place in the past 9 years - and in instances where "ties" to specific organized religions were claimed, I don't recall one that didn't publicly disavow the actions of the criminal.
Islam isn't a "culture" - it's a religious way of life. I've studied it, and honestly feel that the vast majority of them are very decent folks that simply have some different faith values than I. That's their right - and I'll defend it as strongly as I would any "Christian" group. Just don't jump down my throat with a righteous attitude because I have what I feel is a very good reason not to be anxious to mingle with them at this point.
I have a number of friends of the Islamic faith, and we've discussed a lot of this in depth, and I try hard to be understanding - but there's a limit. Sorry if that offends you - but as it is your right to join them and discuss it, it's my right NOT to join them - and say so.

[Merovee]

Originally Posted by ashbeeigh

Anything with free food is helpful in San Antonio. But, that's my opinion of course.

omg I don't think the food is going to be free, but yes, the food is what I am also thinking about!

[Dreadlockd]

Some of us have lost friends and family members to Christian fringe groups as well...the KKK. Conceived right here in America. Hell at least after slavery, we shared the SAME religion.

Associating the WHOLE of Christianity with a rogue religious based hate group of terrorist like the KKK is really short minded.

Christianity IS celebrated in LOTS of other countries OUTSIDE of the US. Christianity has been exported through missionary work and colonization. The idea that we (America) are the only Christians in this world is preposterous. Some of you guys like to perpetuate this "us vs. them" mentality. You have Christian brethren abroad, just as Jews, Muslims, Toaist have brethren abroad, etc.

[TexasRedneck]

ummm...I certainly hope that you didn't get that from MY comments, Dread. Because if you did, please go back and read it again!

And actually, Christianity was imported into this country....

[Dreadlockd]

I read your statement, and I understood it. Why bring up people of a religious group being killed by a rogue group of religious based terrorist? If you know its wrong to make generalizations why use that as justification, that is the part I don't understand. I understand where you are coming from, I just don't get why you prefaced your post with the jazz about religious based terror groups.

Well of course Christianity has been imported, but as this is a Christian nation as of NOW and for several hundred years...it has definitely been EXPORTED.

[Merovee]

Originally Posted by JuneOf48

San Antonio is a much friendlier and more accepting place than some of the CD posters make it out to be.

I would not worry about that. The Muslims who are putting together this festival are from San Antonio and know exactly how friendly we are. They are us.

If this was a Jewish festival I would want to go too and I am wondering if their foods are any similar or not to those from Islamic countries, there are quite a few Islamic counties, and more than a few should be represented at this festival, so lots and lots of cuisine I hope.

I have been to the San Antonio Highland Games which celebrated Celtic culture and our Asian Festival to celebrate the Chinese New Year so this is nothing different.

For those who want to single out Muslims and claim they cannot or are not Americans, meh, as a country we are moving past that...

What San Antonio is missing though more than anything is a huge Secular Humanist festival.

I am a Christian myself.

[RodLu]

Originally Posted by Merovee

What San Antonio is missing though more than anything is a huge Secular Humanist festival.