[B5JMS] Is JMS a bit Muslim?

[b5jms at mail.fsl.cs.sunysb.edu]

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From: "KAMAL" <maks1000 at lycos.com>
Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2005 20:08:24 +0000 (UTC)
Lines: 35

In Islamic theology, it is believed that when a person dies, angels visit
them and ask them three questions.  The first question is, "Who are you?".
I was reminded of this when I watched 'Sleeping in light'.  It was the first
question asked to Sheridan when he was about to leave this existence.

Islam is strongly linked with the Arabic language.  JMS took the Arabic
word, Minbar and used it to name a race of noble, pious and virtuous beings.

The root word of Islam is SLM. It means peace, a muSLiM is someone who is at
peace with his existence and his Lord, or someone trying to achieve that.
The root word also has links to the word meaning surrender.  Therefore, a
Muslim surrenders to the will of Allah. In Babylon 5, I heard the phrase,
"Sometimes peace is another word for surrender." Coincidence?

Therefore, the question is, has JMS been studying Islamic Theology?
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Extras:

Recently, I have noticed some talk radio hosts and a few web sites accusing
Muhammad the Prophet of Islam of being a murderous tyrant.  It reminded me
of 'The deconstruction of falling stars', where Sheridan's character was
being changed in order to suit the propagandists.  If only there was a
Garibaldi who could expose the radio hosts' and web authors' true
motivations.

In the new Battlestar Galactica, has anyone noticed that the Cylons have
developed a form of true monotheistic religion, whereas the colonials have
gods and worship the lords of kobal.  Monotheist=Cylon=bad.
Islam=Monotheism=?  Is it subliminal?

www.zaytuna.org





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From: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)
Date: Sun, 30 Jan 2005 00:44:20 +0000 (UTC)
Lines: 59

>Therefore, the question is, has JMS been studying Islamic Theology?

I have made it a point to read the holy books and as much as possible of the
supporting texts of pretty much every major religion on the planet.  

Consequently, I've read nearly all of the Koran (though not all of it, I must
confess), the Bible end to end (twice, which given Deuteronomy and Numbers is
saying something), all of the Bhagavad-Gita, a truckload of books on Zen (which
is in some ways closest to my way of thinking), the Egyptian Book of the Dead,
the Dead Sea Scrolls, sections of the Talmud and the Apocrypha, several books
on tribal African, Native American and Aborigine beliefs, some but not all of
the Hindu vedas (mainly samhita and upanishat).

I've also read truckloads of Greek and Roman mythology (which may go a ways
toward explaining the names of so many of the ships in B5) and Greek and Roman
philosophy, which is a very different thing, with the former oriented toward
figuring out the whims of the gods, and the latter about figuring out how the
world works.  I have always enjoyed Socrates, Aristotle, and Plato, but I will
confess to having a soft spot for Zeno, because he was *such* a pain in the
ass.  (I actually managed to plow through the Enneads by Plotinus, which is a
bit dry, but interesting reading.)  And I would commend The Meditations of
Marcus Aurelius to just about anyone.

Philosophically, I've always been a bit of a mutt, frankly, in part because I'm
one of those people who can see five sides to any two-sided argument.  And
after a while, you begin to realize that most of these books are about dietary
habits, social conduct, burial practices, whose truth can beat up somebody
else's truth, hierarchical constructs, who gives orders to whom, why, and what
penalty is attached to disobedience.

So I've always tried to extract from all of them those elements that seemed
honest to me.  What matters to me is simplicity of truth, humility, practical
wisdom and a sense of humor, which is why there's a lot I like in Zen, there's
so much humor in it, even a laughing buddha.

I don't, however, subscribe to any of them wholecloth.

So no, I'm not a Muslim.  I go the Mahatma Gandhi route...I am none of those
things, and all of those things.

> JMS took the Arabic
>word, Minbar and used it to name a race of noble, pious and virtuous beings.

It's the word for a pulpit in a mosque, which I've noted elsewhere before.

It is not, however, an endorsement of any one group.  It just seemed
appropriate, as with naming the Earth Alliance ships after classical
mythological figures.

 jms

(jmsatb5 at aol.com)
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