Marie Fatime of Damascus is a Church near the capital city founded by a Franco-Roman Crusader expeditionary force during the Twelfth Century. The force consisted of younger sons of noble families. Composed mostly young men of, shall we say, artistic temperament, they were not spiritually inclined to wage war against the Muslims. Faced, however, with the alarming possibility of having to deface such an exquisite culture, and being rejected by the Crusade commanders in their bid to entertain the troops, they decided to go native. Their leader, son of the Seigneur de ____, found an obliging Nestorian Bishop who ordained him almost immediately. By coincidence, the bishop's friend, a Fatimid imam, was visiting from Egypt. He was so impressed by the young man's firmness of purpose that he proclaimed him imam.
Hence, the Church of Marie Fatime of Damascus was built, and served a needy (and, necessarilly, confused) local populace until the Ottomann conquest. The Ottomanns, far from destroying the Church, instead defrocked the priests, but left them with their status as imams. The newly-created mosque holds services to this day.
The above: Nonsense, or to the point? There is too much talk of a war between civilizations.
One purpose of this blog is to re-mystify religion through clarity. "Religion" is a set of approaches to mystery. The fact that the three Western Religions have a different name for the Supreme Being (YHWH, God, Allah) is immaterial (this idea was stolen from Joseph Campbell). The fact that the Eastern Religions have a different cosmology from the West.is immaterial.
Read, if you wish, and comment. Let the games begin!
Hence, the Church of Marie Fatime of Damascus was built, and served a needy (and, necessarilly, confused) local populace until the Ottomann conquest. The Ottomanns, far from destroying the Church, instead defrocked the priests, but left them with their status as imams. The newly-created mosque holds services to this day.
The above: Nonsense, or to the point? There is too much talk of a war between civilizations.
One purpose of this blog is to re-mystify religion through clarity. "Religion" is a set of approaches to mystery. The fact that the three Western Religions have a different name for the Supreme Being (YHWH, God, Allah) is immaterial (this idea was stolen from Joseph Campbell). The fact that the Eastern Religions have a different cosmology from the West.is immaterial.
Read, if you wish, and comment. Let the games begin!
Image credit: "Byzantine Church near Alepppo," Duncan Mackenzie, 1911
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