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6- The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday July 22, 2006 Commentary The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-3824, ext. 224 Circulation: 845-9742 The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate.The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Guest Columnist IAN OLIVER Publisher NEIL OLIVER Associate Publisher TERI CASAS Business Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager KELLY MONTAGUE Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ROD JERRED Managing Editor WEBSITE oakvillebeaver.com Metroland Printing, Publishing & Distributing Ltd., includes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser, Alliston Herald/Courier, Arthur Enterprise News, Barrie Advance, Caledon Enterprise, Brampton Guardian, Burlington Post, Burlington Shopping News, City Parent, Collingwood/Wasaga Connection, East York Mirror, Erin Advocate/Country Routes, Etobicoke Guardian, Flamborough Review, Georgetown Independent/Acton Free Press, Harriston Review, Huronia Business Times, Lindsay This Week, Markham Economist & Sun, Midland/Penetanguishine Mirror, Milton Canadian Champion, Milton Shopping News, Mississauga Business Times, Mississauga News, Napanee Guide, Newmarket/Aurora Era-Banner, Northumberland News, North York Mirror, Oakville Beaver, Oakville Shopping News, Oldtimers Hockey News, Orillia Today, Oshawa/Whitby/Clarington Port Perry This Week, Owen Sound Tribune, Palmerston Observer, Peterborough This Week, Picton County Guide, Richmond Hill/Thornhill/Vaughan Liberal, Scarborough Mirror, Stouffville/Uxbridge Tribune, Forever Young, City of York Guardian Similarities in three Abrahamic faiths A. Q. Mufti Co-chair of Interfaith Council of Halton Dear Brothers and Sisters in faith, May peace be with you all. Christianity and Islam are not the same, the major difference being the concept of Trinity in many Christian believers and the concept of One God in Islam. Having said that, one would be surprised to see how much, not only two faiths (Christianity and Islam) have in common, but also Judaism offers notable similarities, as their roots are from the same source. Allah is the name of God in Arabic and is consistently used by most Arab Christians as well. There are books written on the topic of similarities in the three Abrahamic faiths Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, which are three Semitic religions. Some of us may be surprised to know that the Ten Commandments are mentioned in Qura'an. Qura'an defends the character of Mary and confirms the miraculous birth of Jesus. Muslims pay mandatory 2.5 per cent of their savings annually as the Christians and Jews do with different percentages. Muslims offer obligatory prayers five times a day as most Jewish people do three times a day and Christians at least once a week. Prophet and Messenger Mohammed (PBUH) said, "You are not a believer unless you like for others what you like for yourself," which is resonated in Christian and Jewish faiths also in almost similar words. In short, there are more similarities among us, rather than differences. It's only our own shortcomings that we do not spend enough time to learn about these hidden treasures. Considering the space constraints I am quoting an article written by Archbishop Francesco Gioia, president of the Pilgrimages to the See of Peter, in Rome titled Islam Sees Mary as a Model for All Believers Mentioned 34 Times in the Koran. "Mary occupies an outstanding place in Islam," he said. "She is the only woman whose name the Koran mentions -- up to 34 times." Mary is particularly fascinating to Muslims. "She is the model of all believers because of her absolute faith and perfect 'submission' to the will of God," he added. "Vatican Council II took note of the benevolent attitude of the Muslims toward Mary, and in the declaration 'Nostra Aetate (www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vatii_decl_19651028_nostra-aetate_en.html) one reads: 'They honor Mary, the virginal mother (of Jesus), and at times invoke her with devotion," the archbishop observed. Muslim faithful's affection and devotion for Mary is reflected in the pilgrimages they undertake to Marian shrines, especially Fatima, and in the fact that many Muslim women are called Mary, he added. To read the complete article, please visit http://zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=36348. A. Q. Mufti RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: ATHENA Awards United Way of Oakville TV AUCTION Trying to pick a flick that entertains but does not offend F urther to Jerry Seinfeld's marvelous maxim that there is "no such thing as fun for the whole family," I aptly add that when it comes to movies, there is no such thing as a flick being fun (and appropriate) for the whole family. I found this out last week. The hard way. We were vacationing up in cottage country, our abode inundated by youth of assorted ages -- our kids and their friends, ages 20, 16 and 10; various nieces and nephews and the cottageneighbors' brood (North Carolinians, no less) that we'd inexplicably inherited, ages ranging from 10 to 13. In other words, a veritable cornucopia of kids, a smorgasbord of smurfs! One night as we crowded into the family room, someone suggested we forego games and cards and reading in favor of a good movie. It sounded like such a simple, grand idea, until we tried to pick a flick. Our 10-year-old daughter is easily spooked: the first night her cousins arrived at the cottage, one of them regaled her with a ghost story that had her "freakin' out," and subsequently sleeping that night in a sleeping bag on the floor in our room. So, when the 1980 Stanley Kubrick horror classic The Shining was put forth as an option, my wife and I were quick to use our omnipotent parental power of veto. No way! Absolutely, no way! Our 16-year-old, Scott, all dude-attitude and selective-idiocy, then suggested we all watch one of his abhorrently inappropriate favorites, Reservoir Dogs. You know, Quentin Tarantino's crime-drama-thriller that got R-ratings in numerous countries, and was banned in others on account of its gutter language and gratuitous blood-letting. His selection had my wife immediateAndy Juniper ly nixing the very notion, and quoting Dr. Evil: "I'm thinking no, Scott!" In fact, my wife's response was so quick and vehement, I had to believe she was having a flashback. Our family, you see, has a thing for quirky, off-beat, oft-times dark and wry movies. We loved Lost in Translation, Garden State, Rushmore, Broken Flowers, The Royal Tenenbaums, et al. Which is why last winter my wife found herself in a movie theater with our two sons watching the incredibly quirky The Squid and the Whale. When they returned from the theater, the boys were bubbling praise. And my wife? Not so much. "Disgusting!" she practically cried. "Vile! Putrid!" But, I countered, this film has won a dozen prestigious awards. "Oh," my wife said, "I'm not saying it's a bad movie, it's just a terrible, yechy movie to see with your kids!" A few months later I saw it for myself and discovered exactly what she meant. The language. The sex. Yechy, to the max! Anyway, after a few ugly rounds of flick-fighting in the cottage, we finally settled on a Reese Witherspoon movie that the older kids, while not thrilled, were not totally against and that the younger kids believed they could live with, although they'd really set their sights and hearts on something altogether more inappropriate. So, we watched Legally Blonde. Innocuous. Insipid. Safe. That is, until one embarrassing and incongruous, gratuitous and stupid sexual reference that had the three 10-year-olds in the room awkwardly giggling, and that had my wife and I exchanging glances that said, in no uncertain terms: there really is no such thing as a movie that's appropriate for the whole family. Andy Juniper can be visited at his Web site, www.strangledeggs.com, or contacted at ajuniper@strangledeggs.com.