The Catholic and The Muslim
I was talking to a Catholic priest and a young Muslim man over lunch. When the waiter came by with a tray, we all helped ourselves, except the Muslim, who was keeping the annual fast prescribed by the Koran.
When lunch was over, and people were leaving, one of the other guests couldn't resist saying: "You see how fanatical these Muslims are! I'm glad to see you Catholics aren't like them."
"But we are," said the priest. "He is trying to serve God just as I am. We merely follow different laws." And he concluded: "Its a shame that people only see the differences that separates them. If you were to look with more love, you would mainly see what we have in common, then half the world's problems will be solved."
- by Paulo Coelho
An excerpt from the book : Like the Flowing River
It must have been so frustrating for you to see the messed up version of your robot car on show with your name linked to it! I can understand how much you have put into it and seing it going wrong due to pure ignorance must have been frustrating. But life goes on and you have the new project coming up which should be very interesting and stimulating for you.
It's been good to get to know you a bit on this 'zany' website and let's make sure to get together sometime.
Good night - and Ramadan Kareem to you and yours :)
Yes alumanr that would be great, I built a small robot car that responds to human voice in 2005 as a project, then I donated it to the scientific community here and they messed it up but I kept quiet because I didn't want to be rude, and to embarrass me further they used my name in a contest with the messed up version of my creation. They thought it would be cool to put qatar flags, bigger tires, and other stuff on the car that messed up the weight of the vehicle. I won't bore you with the details but it no longer ran the way it did when it was plain like how I made it.
No merci I have many dreams, but my biggest dream will remain a dream, and that is to make animals talk. I am a lover of animals and prefer them over humans, because they don't know evil and just are very peaceful creatures if you are nice to them. I have an artificial jungle out of the city and my brother and me go there on weekends to hang out with the animals, believe it or not my friendliest pet is my two lions.
People think I am crazy when I tell them I have pet lions and say scotia they will bite you! But they are very friendly and I make sure they get the best food and feel like they are in Africa. If you go to Doha Zoo animals there look depressed, and it makes me very sad to go there. People also think I am crazy when I say I can read animal feelings but I can, but if they talk it would be better. So if we can communicate with animals by words would be my dream come true. :)
...wat a post! its really nice! AS WE CAN SEE IN GENERAL..RELEGION MAKES US SEPERATE! BUT WERE ALL ONE...THUMPS UP for this nice post!
Scotia, have any of your dreams come true?
It's technology - he would love it :) We should get together sometime and talk about all our different likes and dislikes - or even for a shisha and coffee ;)
That sounds good alumnar, I thought you were a man all this time. I am a regular in Japan, and recently got a blueprint for a special robot we plan to make in doha in december, under the supervision of the honourable Ngushi of Osaka, if your husband like robots he should come, we could always use more expert.
It sure makes sense :)You and my husband would get on very well - he is so into astronomy and science. But he loved the book The Alchemist and he doesn't like fiction at all - give it a try sometime.
No merci I can't remember the titel, but it was kind of like a self help book the style of writing, the whole point was to follow your dreams, then I read 15 pages of another one and didn't like it also.
Alumanr yes my friend, I respect your right to enjoy his books, but I just wanted to show how people can be so different in their tastes. I enjoy astronomy a lot, I know almost everything about the planets, I have a good setup of telescopes in my home, and I told my uncle to make a team of Qataris to be first to go to the moon, he laughed at me and told me to bugger off, he is different to me like I am different to you. I hope this made sense.
Scotia: True, talentless writers achieve so much because of prats who read their crap. But you know when you are talking to somebody who is intelligent and has life experience. I love his books but I also know many people don't. Fantasy world is many times necessary to seek refuge from the evil and selfish world we live in - and it is wonderful for me to dive into a book and forget what is around me for a while. And Paulo Coelho is one of the writers who allows me to 'dissapear' for a while and forget my own thoughts :)
Scotia, which book by Coelho have you read?
Alumnar you lack the capacity to understand my posts my friends, you cannot understand my mind because I am man made for this harsh real world. I am more thrilled to meet a genius like Merton, or even have a conversation with Hawkings, but some guy writing stories about things that never took place? Not really. JK rowling is a famous writer but I wouldn't consider her very intelligent, even you yourself said britney's book would be popular, proof that talentless people can also sell their work like hot cakes.
I meant 'worldwise'...
Logical analysis of what? Modern politics? Is that what he writes about in your opinion? Since when - what did I miss?
You would be surprised (or rather not after reading some of your posts) about the knowledge and education this man has. I met him personally in Dubai and had the privilege of talking to him for 15 minutes. Let me put it this way: he is worldwide and very intelligent, a pleasure to talk to. And he respects his readers - I never felt once he wanted to get rid of me. But please share with us what you read in his highschool reports. I am quite curious... (...)
scotia, "ruffling feathers and rocking the boat' is one of your, I am sure, many fortes. ;)
Totally agree no merci, but I wanted to shake the boat, ruffle a few feathers about how the same story can be understood in a different way. Baking the chicken with nuts, if you know what I mean. So for somebody like me when we read the story it is very hard to enjoy it. This is the wonders of the world and how people all bleed the same red blood but have different brain function.
Thank you.
reality bites :) i prefer a good book anytime
I agree nomerci. He can never be everybodies cup of tea. I have read the Pilgrimage. LOVED it. While I was back home I read that he has a new book coming out in December. Looking forward to it already :)
Scotia, I think he is not that bothered with politics or analysis. At least not how you would understand those subjects.And maths...well, I guess all he really needs to know is how to count the vast amount of money he is making. So, all in all, I would say he is doing rather well.
So each to their own.
He may be a good fiction writer but obviously this man has no grasp of logical analysis or modern politics, if we look at his high school report I am sure he did bad at maths and sciences, but some people enjoy living in a fantasy world, I prefer reality.
alumnar, have you read The Pilgrimage? Love that book. but my fave is and will always be the alchemist.
Oryx, I have to say , I literally adore his books. They have done wonders for me. But, sure , he is not everybody's fare.
Aand stating your opinion should not make anybody dislike you. :) I surely don't.
Excellent story about respect and understanding.
I love Paulo Coelho's books. My favourite one is still the Alchemist. Shame that a lot of passages are 'lost in translation' (I am Portuguese, have read some of his books both in Portuguese and English) and surely his kind of writing is not for every taste just like any other author. But calling this author a prat?? It sure must be easier to read 'Britney Spears Autobiography' for some people, and maybe that's what they should stick to!
Spoil sport ;)
What kind of silly story is this? No the problems of the world won't be solved because we hold hands and sing "kumbaya" by a camp fire out of respect for each others religion, wars are fought for resources, not religion, this isn't the old days! Very few nations fight for religion, this is the truth, I hate to be the one to break it to you.
^i won't hate you. i think he's overrated actually ^_^ peace to his fans.
yeah, he does have a talent for coming up with these nice quotable quotes but there are better storytellers out there.
Oryx .. why would "everyone" hate you for your opinion? although "prat" is a really strong word to describe someone.
I think he is a bit of a prat sometimes -
He has his good moments and then his LSD/alzheimers moments when i have no clue what he is dribbling on about and the point he is trying to make.
But everyone is going to hate me for saying that because he is so popular.
Coelho is amazing.
another Coelho's brilliant passage.. =)
simply_me_yah .. Paulo Coelho is one of my fave authors. His books are really worth reading. I will post some more entries from the same book. :)
flan, you're such no fun when u behave..:)
It's not about who did the better job, it's the result that matters. Many had been redeemed.. this is really a nice post! Thanks for sharing plushed! I had goosebumps after reading this.
good question visper :P
visper i'm behaving tonight :)
Who did the better job?
let's face it, God basically had 2 PR men, Jesus & Muhammad........one just did a better job than the other.
@Stillwaters - Lolz,
Well that is True, we may differ in our beliefs but we can still live in harmony, just respect each religion, =)
that joke was posted just a week ago.
@stillwater, lol
Two Guys were lost in the Sahara desert .
One is David, the other is Michael .
They were dying of hunger and thirst when they suddenly came upon an oasis, with what looked like an emirate with a mosque in the middle .
David said to Michael : "Look, let's pretend we are Muslims, otherwise we'll not get any food or drink. I am going to call myself "Mohammed."
Michael refused to change his name , he said :" My name is Michael, and I will not pretend to be other than but what I am. ...Michael."
The Imam of the mosque received both well and asked about their names. David said : "My name is Mohammed ."
Michael said : "My name is Michael. "
The Imam turned to the helpers of the mosque and said :
"Please bring some food and water for Michael only."
Then he turned to the other and said :
"Salaam-wale-ko-Mohammedbhai , Ramadan Mubarak!"
thumbs UP..
True.