User talk:Jamal Saddozai

Hi Jamal, I saw your additions to the Baphomet article. It provoked a few responses in me.

Firstly, I think you've misunderstood exactly who is trying to connect Mohammad with an idol worshipped by the Knights Templar. Peter Partner is not claiming that the Templars worshipped such an idol, or that they connected it with Mohammad. He's not even saying they ever used the name Baphomet for anything! He is saying that the charges brought against them involved the worship of an idol called Baphomet. Most of the charges laid against them, of idolatry, devil worship and so on were probably invented charges. These trumped-up charges were calculated to make them look as bad as possible, so their wealth and power could be taken from them by their accusers. In the eyes of Europeans at the time, Islam was the enemy, a heretical religion against whom they were engaged in a bitter holy war. To say that the Templars were secretly worshipping Mohammad was an obvious lie to vilify them, and because most Europeans were woefully ignorant about Islam, few people realised how ludicrous the charges really were. So it is not Peter Partner who you should be directing your anger at, it is King Philip of 14th century France.

Secondly, your claim that Baphomet is linked with idolatry and freemasonry and devil worship is suffering from the same ignorance as all those 14th century Europeans. You seem to be accepting the charges brought by Philip as though they are all true. In fact, most likely Baphomet was just a name invented by Philip and his cronies. Also, by lumping idolatry, freemasonry and devil worship together in one sentence you seem to be implying that they are all part and parcel of the same thing, which would be highly insulting to Freemasons. As I understand it Islam is a gentle religion, not known for gracelessly insulting other people's spirituality. The European concepts of Chivalry, for instance, including honour, honesty and gentleness, were modelled on great Muslim warriors such as Saladin.

Thirdly, I'm not sure why you mention the Antichrist, but I have an uneasy feeling you're trying to liken Peter Partner to the antichrist. If so, then you are guilty of prejudice: pre-judice, or judging in advance, without bothering to properly evaluate the facts. This is exactly the kind of uncritical judgement and thoughtlessly directed hatred that people generally link with religious fanaticism. You should be more careful to understand what you're arguing about before throwing around curses like that, lest you bring your religion into disrepute.

Thank-you for your consideration. Fuzzypeg★ 22:39, 9 April 2008 (UTC)