First female Muslim member of Pennsylvania House offended by GOP member's prayer before swearing-in

[dzheremi]

The first female Muslim member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives said Tuesday she was offended by a colleague's decision to open a voting session with a prayer a day earlier that "at the name of Jesus every knee will bow." Democratic Rep. Movita Johnson-Harrell of Philadelphia said she felt the remarks by Rep. Stephanie Borowicz shortly before Johnson-Harrell took the oath of office on Monday used her religion against her.

"I thought that for the most part, the entire invocation was offensive," Johnson-Harrell told reporters, noting that her own religion respects Jesus. "But to use Jesus as a weapon is not OK."

Borowicz, a Republican and associate pastor's wife who was elected to represent a rural central Pennsylvania district in November, also thanked President Trump during the Monday invocation for standing behind Israel. Johnson-Harrell said she respects everyone's right to praise the president, but "we cannot weaponize what's going on with Israel and Palestine."

Read the full story here at CBS News

 

[anna ~ grace]

Christian faith being shown by Christians in prayer is offensive and needs to be silenced? Belief in Christ as God is a "weapon"? Wow.

 

[Lost4words]

World gone mad. Sorry but, muslims are trying to control everything! Very sad indeed.

 

[devin553344]

Truly disturbing news.

 

[Yarddog]

World gone mad. Sorry but, muslims are trying to control everything! Very sad indeed.

How do you think MS. Borowicz would have reacted if MS Harrell would have used an Islamic prayer stating all would submit to the teaching of Muhammad to open a session? Most likely the same.

 

[dzheremi]

Christian faith being shown by Christians in prayer is offensive and needs to be silenced? Belief in Christ as God is a "weapon"? Wow.

I can't peer into others' minds, of course, but I believe the "weaponization" being claimed is in the context of the GOP member choosing exactly that passage to pray before the swearing in of the first Muslim representative. I have a hard time imagining that this wasn't at least slightly intentional (and if it really wasn't, that's kind of hilarious), but as you probably know by now I would also say that Muslim prayers insofar as they include the Islamic Jesus character 'Isa and/or invoke Christians are far worse, and more intentionally so (Quran 9:29-9:30 come to mind here), which makes the claim to offense on the part of the Muslim and especially on the part of the 'Christians' ring incredibly hollow. Also, y'know...the same story confirms that a Muslim prayer was also offered before the swearing in, so it's not like the representative didn't get her Allah shout-outs in and just had to sit there and listen to a bunch of distinctively Christian Jesus stuff. But I guess these days you can't let that fact get in the way of your chance to be offended and play the victim at your own swearing in hearing for your government representative job. You know...the one you got by being voted for by people of all faiths (and none, surely) because they feel like you can do your job properly no matter what religion you are, so that shouldn't factor into the equation. Almost like we're a secular republic where people can be/still are religious, even if that means sometimes your feelings will be hurt.

At this point I'm tempted to join the atheists and say how's about we just get rid of pre-swearing in prayers altogether and replace them with completely secular virtue signalling so that we don't have to hear any more supposedly Christian government lackeys like everyone in the story but Mrs. Borowicz talk about how scandalized they are by the basics of Christianity (like it being correct and everything else being wrong, and everyone having to come to grips with that eventually). I'd rather atheistic secularism than this...whatever this is where the 'good' thing to do is to feed the Muslim and PC offendedness machine.

But that's just one offensive person's opinion, I suppose.

 

[dzheremi]

How do you think MS. Horowitz would have reacted if MS Harrell would have used an Islamic prayer stating all would submit to the teaching of Muhammad to open a session? Most likely the same.

Again, according to the story a Muslim prayer was offered from the house dais during the ceremony, and it is seriously arguable that all Muslim prayers are about that, in a manner similar to how a Christian would probably say that all distinctively Christian prayers are about how Jesus is God and should be submitted to. (Plus if you've ever sat down and actually read the Qur'an it's really, really hard -- basically impossible -- not to come away with that message about Muhammad, seeing as how it starts from page one with condemnation of Christians and Jews for our beliefs and basically never lets up but to praise Christians and condemn Jews both for things they didn't ever do -- namely for accepting Muhammad and his religion as being from God and for believing that Ezra is the son of God, respectively)

So...that already happened. Now what?

 

[Yarddog]

Again, according to the story a Muslim prayer was offered from the house dais during the ceremony, and it is seriously arguable that all Muslim prayers are about that, in a manner similar to how a Christian would probably say that all distinctively Christian prayers are about how Jesus is God and should be submitted to. (Plus if you've ever sat down and actually read the Qur'an it's really, really hard -- basically impossible -- not to come away with that message about Muhammad, seeing as how it starts from page one with condemnation of Christians and Jews for our beliefs and basically never lets up but to praise Christians and condemn Jews both for things they didn't ever do -- namely for accepting Muhammad and his religion as being from God and for believing that Ezra is the son of God, respectively)

So...that already happened. Now what?

That didn't answer what I asked.

 

[The Faceless]

The Islamist goal and agenda is right out in the open.

 

[timothyu]

Equal time? What does Bernie Sanders do?

 

[FireDragon76]

I can't peer into others' minds, of course, but I believe the "weaponization" being claimed is in the context of the GOP member choosing exactly that passage to pray before the swearing in of the first Muslim representative. I have a hard time imagining that this wasn't at least slightly intentional

Of course it is. There is no need for Christians to be so transparently combative and insensitive towards others of different religions. This isn't the way of Jesus at all. This is just grandstanding.

People should stop politicizing religion. I think I've said that before on WWMC, though, as you are aware.

 

[JosephZ]

Again, according to the story a Muslim prayer was offered from the house dais during the ceremony, and it is seriously arguable that all Muslim prayers are about that, in a manner similar to how a Christian would probably say that all distinctively Christian prayers are about how Jesus is God and should be submitted to.

The prayer given by the Muslim representative of the Pennsylvania General Assembly was the al Fatiha. Below are the words to that prayer:

In the name of God, the infinitely Compassionate and Merciful.
Praise be to God, Lord of all the worlds.
The Compassionate, the Merciful. Ruler on the Day of Reckoning.
You alone do we worship, and You alone do we ask for help.
Guide us on the straight path,
the path of those who have received your grace;
not the path of those who have brought down wrath, nor of those who wander astray.
Amen.

(Plus if you've ever sat down and actually read the Qur'an it's really, really hard -- basically impossible -- not to come away with that message about Muhammad, seeing as how it starts from page one with condemnation of Christians and Jews for our beliefs and basically never lets up but to praise Christians and condemn Jews both for things they didn't ever do

The al Fatiha quoted above is page one of the Qur'an.

 

[anna ~ grace]

The prayer given by the Muslim representative of the Pennsylvania General Assembly was the al Fatiha. Below are the words to that prayer:

In the name of God, the infinitely Compassionate and Merciful.
Praise be to God, Lord of all the worlds.
The Compassionate, the Merciful. Ruler on the Day of Reckoning.
You alone do we worship, and You alone do we ask for help.
Guide us on the straight path,
the path of those who have received your grace;
not the path of those who have brought down wrath, nor of those who wander astray.
Amen.


The al Fatiha quoted above is page one of the Qur'an.

Good point. "Not the path of those who have brought down your wrath" is a reference to Jews, and "nor of those who have gone astray" is a reference to Christians, and their belief in a Triune God, and Christ's deity. So, if you know the context, pretty exclusive.

 

[redleghunter]

Read the full story here at CBS News

Issue ear plugs for those who don't want to hear the prayers. Problem solved.

 

[redleghunter]

How do you think MS. Borowicz would have reacted if MS Harrell would have used an Islamic prayer stating all would submit to the teaching of Muhammad to open a session? Most likely the same.

Well that would be pure blasphemy as it is well known Muhammad is a false prophet.

As a Christian it is ok to now and then defend your own faith.

 

[Shiloh Raven]

Of course it is. There is no need for Christians to be so transparently combative and insensitive towards others of different religions. This isn't the way of Jesus at all. This is just grandstanding.

People should stop politicizing religion. I think I've said that before on WWMC, though, as you are aware.

I agree. It seems Borowicz was grandstanding and weaponizing her Christian faith because of her political remark about Israel and Palestine. She reminded me of the Pharisee in Luke 18:11. I think she should have been stopped immediately and called out for her petty political potshot. America is not a Christian nation or much worse, a Christian theocracy. Christianity shouldn't be the only religion to be shown respect in this country. I agree with Democratic Rep. Movita Johnson-Harrell in this article excerpt: Prayer should not be among the things that Republicans and Democrats fight about, she said. "It was directly a political statement, and I think we need to be very, very clear that everybody in this House matters, whether they're Christian, Muslim or Jew, and that we cannot use these issues to tear each other down," Johnson-Harrell said. "And not only that, it was made during my swearing-in."

 

[FenderTL5]

"...when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites
are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and
in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men.
Verily I say unto you, They have their reward."

Maybe we could dispense with "show prayers" altogether?

 

[FireDragon76]

Good point. "Not the path of those who have brought down your wrath" is a reference to Jews, and "nor of those who have gone astray" is a reference to Christians, and their belief in a Triune God, and Christ's deity. So, if you know the context, pretty exclusive.

The Al-Fatihah is simply a repitition of the Jewish theme of the Two Ways, which Jesus also echoes in his own prayer, "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil". There is no need to read something sinister into the prayer. The reptition is simply a poetic chiasm, similar to what is found in the Bible.

 

[Shiloh Raven]

How do you think MS. Borowicz would have reacted if MS Harrell would have used an Islamic prayer stating all would submit to the teaching of Muhammad to open a session? Most likely the same.

I'm sure she would have thrown a huge indignant fit because she's a conservative Christian. I imagine she would have gone on a rampage about how Muslims are trying to take over America and something about America being a Christian nation and founded on Christian principles, blah... blah... blah...

 

[Yarddog]

Well that would be pure blasphemy as it is well known Muhammad is a false prophet.

As a Christian it is ok to now and then defend your own faith.

Are you admitting that MS Borowicz would have acted the same? If so, then MS Harrell did nothing more than most conservative Christians would have done.