What is happening in Iran today is a consequence of forty-seven years of imposing an ideology on people and calling it religion to rally the ignorant masses. Those uninformed and often uneducated are easily manipulated and convinced that an ideology and a wrongful interpretation of a religion are based on the word and rule of God. In countries where the population is religious since birth and religion is innate and intuitive, invoking God captures listening souls and closes the way to inquire or ask questions because the people fear blasphemy due to reasoning, questioning, research, or examination of facts. Pragmatism is seen as a refusal of divine rule and power, and secularism is defined as blasphemy and disbelief. A secular person is called an atheist. The best way to convince people, brainwash them, and make them accept the power’s thinking and ideology is to attribute what they say to God and the Prophet. In many of these dictatorships, illiteracy is encouraged, and the country often has a high rate of illiterate people who can’t read or write, and illiterates with degrees.

Aurelius Augustinus was born on the thirteenth of November 354 AD, in a city called Thagaste, in the Roman Numidia (Numidia Cirtensis) in North Africa, then part of the Roman Empire since the conquests of Scipio Aemilianus, who became Scipio Africanus after conquering North Africa and destroying Carthage.

Secularism is mainly known as the separation of government and religion, in simpler terms, the separation of Church and State, based on or justified by Jesus saying:

“Well, then,” Jesus said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.” Mark 12:17

In Matthew 22:21, Jesus’s response to a trick question about taxes: “Then he said to them, ‘Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s'” 

A lot of preachers define it as disbelief or atheism, especially the radical ones. The idea that a nation can be governed by civil laws written by humans and grounded in morals and ethical values is unacceptable to them. Often, morals and ethics align with religion or are based on religious rules, but the power that governs the nation is neither religious nor composed of religious representatives or leaders.  Secularism takes away the political power from the church, the mosque, the synagogue, or any deity. A peaceful coexistence between church and state is not atheism; many believers see secularism as beneficial, as it safeguards human rights, democracy, and personal freedoms, such as freedom of religion.

“And the treasure of your infinite depths would be revealed to your eyes.”

Khalil Jubran, aka Kahlil Gibran, from his work: “Self-knowledge.”

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Believers from the three faiths celebrated the holidays: the new year for all, Christmas for Christians, Hanukkah for Jews, and Muslims preparing for the holy month of fasting and prayer, which will start next month, according to the lunar calendar for lunar year 1447, corresponding to 2026 AD.  The Jewish community will celebrate Tu B’Shevat on the fifteenth day of the month of Shevat, which this year coincides with the months of January/ February.

A revised and updated edition of Islam and the People of the Book

As the three religions have been hijacked and eclipsed by an ideology of hate, to serve political purposes, new knowledge appears to prove that the battle for the truth is far from being over, and the word of the shared God prevails.

This article from Vatican News gives us so much hope for peace and interfaith coexistence.

Against a backdrop of Islamophobia, Europeans are increasingly airbrushing from history their cultural debt to the Muslim world. But this legacy lives on in some of Europe’s most recognizable buildings, from Notre-Dame Cathedral to the Houses of Parliament.
This beautifully illustrated book reveals the Arab and Islamic roots of Europe’s architectural heritage. Diana Darke traces ideas and styles from vibrant Middle Eastern centers like Damascus, Baghdad and Cairo, via Muslim Spain, Venice and Sicily into Europe. She describes how medieval crusaders, pilgrims and merchants encountered Arab Muslim culture on their way to the Holy Land; and explores more recent artistic interaction between Ottoman and Western cultures, including Sir Christopher Wren’s inspirations in the “Saracen” style of Gothic architecture.