Depp: 'I Can't Stay In Riot-Ravaged France' - Comments and Message Board

He's fleeing at the first sign of trouble.I imagine he won't be the last, and this is bad for the rest of the world. The people that will soon be fleeing France and other parts of Europe are the very same people who created the problems now facing Europe. They will flee to other countries, but I don't believe they will change their beliefs. This will have the effect of concentrating the cause of the problem in countries that currently don't have a problem.

Posted 17 years 2 months ago by dfctomm

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Well I think JD should move to Oxford a very sophisticated place to live! With his no1 fan here!!

Posted 17 years 5 months ago by dianedepp

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hey good news 2 girls who live in bath uk so johnny depp is moving 2 the uk

Posted 17 years 7 months ago by Tabbzie

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HAHA!! Depp's latest film is breaking box-office records! Up your, haters!!Can ya FEEL that? HUH? HUH? Can ya FEEEEEL that???

Posted 17 years 7 months ago by Satch

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Simple as simple can be those voices of milk and honey...... until the bug spittle.This is one irate Vegetarian unexpectant of archaic ingredients.You big Wonka!Could those over attentive fans upon the everyday excitement of celebrity also be over attentive upon .......bug spittle.'...You will only get my worms'.Visit http://uk.geocities.com/[email protected] for further details.

Posted 17 years 10 months ago by richenoughyet

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My goodness, I have just logged onto this site and I am appalled at the depth of racism and unpleasantness out there. I can only hope that the people writing the grim ideas in their heads stay where they are and never achieve a position whereby people actually listen to anything they say. What a sad, sad world. (Bolanchild - not you).

Posted 17 years 10 months ago by byrnie

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hi does johnny ever read these comments if ee does then can he send me somthing back pleaasse move 2 the uk i think ur sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo fit n cute i av seen all ur films please reply at [email protected] pllllllllllleeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaasssssssssssseeeeeee

Posted 18 years 2 months ago by deppsfit!

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Hey Johnny, America made you rich, gave you fame, opened the doors of opportunity to you and then you snub your nose at America. Talk about ingratitude!!!!Don't you know by now that nothing is perfect......not even YOU! hahahaha....not even FRANCE! No tears for you from me.

Posted 18 years 2 months ago by USA Proud

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Dear Johnny,Who, besides yourself of course, gives a s**t where you live??!!John C. BoyerPhoenix, AZ(Phoenix is a place I don't think would suit your tender sensibilities) P.S. Phoenix, AZ is in the United States.

Posted 18 years 3 months ago by boyermentor

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Come back to Toronto Canada Johnny, we may be cold 6 months a year, but Canadians have a warm spot in their hearts for you. There are no riots or bleeding heart Bush fans here! If a man chooses to move his family to a place to show his children part of their culture and for his own ethical reasons, that does not make him an idiot actor, it makes him a great Dad. We should all be so proud to have a Dad that puts us before anything else. This has become a confusing world, and as a parent, all we can do is follow our insticts, right or wrong. All the best to parents everywhere.....jojo

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by jojo

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LOL - JD's official claim was that he moved to France because Bush is president - he was the only Hollywood idiot who actually followed through on his vow to leave the country.Now it turns out that he's getting a first hand taste of what Bush is fighting in the ME and he's running scared - poor baby.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by Cigarskunk

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Hey, bayta, how do you defend this intolerance and brutality displayed by Muslims? Get your victims straight. There are no Americans or Europeans strapping on suicide belts and blowing up innocent Muslims. Or murdering film directors whose ideas differ from us.http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/printpage/0,5942,17308340,00.htmlBut, we put up with daily the intolerance of Islam.Johnny Depp is a poster child for dumb self-loathing leftist twits. Typically, when Dutch film director van Gogh was savagely murdered not a word of condemnation from the hypocrites in Hollywood. Johnny's trite utterances are shallow. Scratch the surface and there is nothing there. Just a vacuous idiot with a pretty face. You don't need a ton of IQ to act.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by onecent

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to all of you who ignorantly defame and insult muslim people in gross generalizations, wake up. learn global history. look beyond your narrow-mindedness, cacooned by uncle sam propaganda. the misinterpretation of islam and the people who practice it has long been a custom in many regions of the world, both in the east and the west, because it was, and still is, seen as being foreign, and therefore to be feared. muslims themselves are equally at fault for the perverted perceptions in the media, events like the riots in france don't help. but that doesn't mean that it's the religion or the faith that is the root cause of political instabilities around the world. anyone from any place can practice a religion, but in the end, a person is still a person living in a particular environment. some people use religion as a superficial scapegoat to justify and explain or excuse their political or social agendas. but, it all comes down to the imbalance between the rich and the poor, the haves and the have nots. the essential message of every world religion is the same, that is, the importance of basic humanistic values. shame on those of you who are too ignorant to see that your prejudicial comments only make for greater animosities and perpetuate divisions.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by bayta

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cemoiMuslims "dominating" us? In what sphere, pray tell? It sure isn't intellectual or science or political advancement?Muslims have nothing to offer the educated, the democratic or the artistic. They have nothing to offer women but servitude. Harvard versus a donkey dung filled madrass is a no brainer. Islam lacks tolerance for anything different, hence jihad as an intrument of intolerance. Breeding for the sake of breeding isn't a virtue.Your smugness is amusing against reality. The best outcome for Islam is a game reserve walled off from the 21st century.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by onecent

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It's been interesting reading all the comments in here. It's too bad for JD that he can't even fart sideways without it being reported as if it were relevent to world peace. I don't agree with all of his views and opinions but, the bottom line is .... he's an actor and just that (yeah, yeah, yeah, I know he 's a musician, too but, he's famous for the acting). When and if he ever decides to run for a political position (LOL); I'll worry what his political views are and where he stands. But, for now I'll hold him accountable for making the most of the charaters he plays on the screen.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by alabreda1

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I don't hate america--I don't love it, either!Not hating America, knowing all of its history of agression and exploitation of others (it was founded on that principla--any native americans on this site???!!) not hating it is just me being kind and forgiving. OK.And NO, I do NOT live in America! However, I have visited america and been to many states and have seen it alllll--good and bad.You keep changing the subject (well, actually it was about J Depp:) But, if you guys don't like immigrants, just shut the damn border locked. PERIOD! Why do you keep allowing immigrants?! Let me see, perhaps you...NEED them?! Hmmmm!!! Your so called baby boomers will not be able to sun-bathe on the back of their 200 foot yacht, if not for those despised immigrants! So, if you want them, you take the whole F'n package! They want to have things their way--or do you just want them to fund your social security and pension systems ?! I'm not talking about the parasite immigrants who come to claim wellfare. Even those, you should not allow them in in the first place!!So, you were saying that the discussion involved some bashing of islam because the rioters were muslims, and you expected me to accept it that way; your way?! Well, first if all, the rioters revolted because of injustice of the system--ask your black bus driver for more details!Secondly, you want to say what you please and expect me to be quiet :) HaHahaa!!You guys DO need to get to GRIP with the fact that muslims are dominating and outnumbering you. Now, this doesn't mean that they are coming after you, (although they will if you don't behave:) it just means that more and more learned and informed and enlightened people are finding the truth. You may stay in darkness, but don't get mad at others' choice.You keep saying about science, medicine, ... whatever...I say, go back and read my posts and UNDERSTAND what you read. The foundation of everything that you are claiming today comes from that region that you are pillaging today. You rubbed India, Egypt (Tonnes, upon TONNES upon TONNES of gold from Egyptian national bank--DOCUMENTED) Iraq, Africa, ... you name it and now claim to send them some crumbs for aid.Wake up. If you did not like what you read, you shouldn't have started it in the first place! The retarded diascussion (your favorite kind) was about Deppe--not muslims!! People ritoed in france due to oppression and indignified standard of living--not because they were muslims! The truth is, you targeted them because you wanted them to take off their veil and to catwalk in skimpy shorts like your women do, but they refused--why should that get you mad?!The funny thing is that I'm not even religious at all--I just got sickened of this idiotic propaganda! Peace, folks, and please, change the subject because (in american slang) I AIN'T replying to NOBODY NOMORE :)

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by cemoiHaHahaa

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Hey!to Maxlib:Great idea!!!KathyMK, you go girl!!European who loves America:the name "Depp" is really spelled "Deppe" and is an old Irish name. It is real and not a stage name. His ancestors may have come over on the coffin ships and settled in Kentucky, as many Irish did. Several million moved from Ireland during the potato famine.And to CemoiHaHahaa: Whoa, you need to get a grip. You are obviously harboring an awful lot of anger towards Americans. I certainly hope it is not the land in which you are residing at the moment. Muslims are NOT all treated as you say, but I do have a problem with some things that the "people" do as a guest in a foreign country. For instance, in Detroit, they have demanded that the "call to Allah" be broadcast over a loudspeaker so everyone in the town could hear.(for the muslims I guess) but even the nonmuslims had to listen and many, being Christian, which is what our country was founded on, were being offended. This was at the extreme disagreement by the Americans of this town.But that didn't matter to them. Detroit was not founded on this "call" and they really should not be demanding this as a guest of this American country. In Canada, which has the traditional Royal Canadian Mounted Police uniform that is strictly a Canadian symbol, almost like the flag, was challenged by a muslim who wanted to be a Mounted Police but would not wear the hat, and demanded that he wear his turban. Excuse me, he is a guest in that country and it has its own traditions he needed to respect. If he didn't like the uniform, do something else for a living, but NO, he had to make Canada change for him. That's wrong! This is happening over and over again. Muslims are making the traditions or way of life in their "adopted" country change to their liking. I guess it is such a disregard for the new country and their lack of respect for others that really upset people. I have traveled extensively over the years and never in my life would I expect a host country to change its way for my homeland way of life. I should go home if that's what I wanted. All of this bantering on this site is suppose to be about Johnny Depp's displeasure to the riots. Understandably it has turned to "religious" bantering due to the fact that it was mainly the Muslims and Africans that were doing the burning. It is too bad that you didn't like what was said, but that's the freedom here isn't it?I have gotten a kick out of the differing opinions that Johnny's statement has caused. I think it is wonderful to speak ones mind...his included...but I feel that when he basically flipped America the bird, people were affected by that, especially since Depp is 1/2 Cherokee. I have a hard time with that since I am Irish and love my roots! It is hard for me to understand that it was so easy for him to turn his back, except when it meant making money. I hope he finds his Utopia...has he seen the UP of Michigan?

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by irishmeow

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Oh, and a thousdand years late to the party - medicine, science, space exploration, literature, democracy - counts for nothing.So what more useless multi-culti garbage did you swallow whole, my self-loathing friend?Apologists for ignorance are a dime a dozen.Tolerance of intolerance isn't tolerance, my friend. It's stupidity.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by onecent

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Your ignorance of the Catholic Church is profound:http://pajamasmedia.com/newsml/html/2005/11/18/6436304_Vatican_astronom.shtmlIn the modern era it has never subscribed to psuedoscience.Nice try at degrading Catholics though. Got any theories on the Islamic 72 virgin reward, polygamy or jihad? Now there's a religion I would think you could sink your little sharp scowling teeth into. Just can't do it, can you? PC brain-washed with eyes wide shut?

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by onecent

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Thanks for the posts on the Koran. From a historical perspective, it was the muslims who preserved and expanded scientific and mathematical knowledge while Europe descended into the "dark ages". Our numbering system is arabic for instance. Unfortunately Chritianity has never shaken off the superstitions and ignorance that molded it as a religion during the period prior to the Age of the Enlightenment. The Catholic Church for instance just recently admitted that maybe Galileo was right when he said the earth revolved around the sun. [I expect to be blasted by the religious right and their belief in the bible as absolute truth and the world is only 6,000 or so years old and the end times are upon us. GRIN :o)))))]

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by shadowdog

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Hey Onecent. You want me to check my FACTS at a BLOG!!!!! Excuse me if I prefer to get my facts in the real world where rumor and innuendo are not accepted as gospel truth.Now let's look at facts. Johnny Depp met Vanessa (a french model and actress) while he was filming The Ninth Gate in Europe. She became pregnant and he was, at that time, filming most of his films in England or Europe so he bought a house in Southern France.He still owns his house in Los Angeles and lives there when he is filming in the western hemisphere.He HAS expressed concerns about raising children in the US because he says everytime he is in the US and he turns on the news in LA all he sees is drive-by shootings and kids bringing guns to school and shooting the teachers and students (which is fact).He DID say that he didn't agree with invading Iraq and found Congress passing a resolution to change french toast and french fries to freedom toast and freedom fries to be rediculous (I agree). He also DID say the the US was a young culture compared to Europe (which it is). He DID compare the US to a young puppy that is rambunctous and has sharp teeth and can hurt you. He also apologized if people were upset by the remark since he didn't intend his remark to mean he hated his country.He continues to life in France when he shoots overseas. Libertine, Finding Neverland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the Corpse Bride were all filmed in the UK. He continues to life in Los Angeles WITH his family when filming over here (as he currently is with POTC 2 and 3) At the present time both of his children are enrolled in school here in Los Angeles.He stated that the violence in France has upset him and he doesn't see how the country will totally ever recover. He has not ever said in any interview that he "Can't stay in riot-ravaged France"Now those are the FACTS. You can believe whatever rants, innuendo and invented nonsense you wish. In terms of the history of the human race, none of this amounts to a hill of beans. So chill out.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by shadowdog

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u people should seriously stop judging peple based on where they come from... itz like saying "wow! that person is from... so and so! he's like everyone else who lives there and hes going to murder us all" would u REALLY think that if you saw someone on the street? and.. would u like it if someone said "that person's American so they must obviousy be one of those people who goes around shooting everyone" or some other thing that a little amount of Americans do... coz yea i dont know much bout America.. no one likes their country to be stereotyped... so y streotype other countries? just because a few peple do something doesnt mean everyone there is like that.... and u also shoyuldnt judge people (Johnny Depp) on one mistake.... coz itz just... stupid... EVERYONE makes mistakes... n dont say u havent coz u most likely have... u wouldnt like it if people didnt forgive u because you accidently punched them in the face and then 3 years later still hated u for it.. would u?

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by SpeakOutloud16

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The Koran is nothing but a cheap imitation of Christianity which itself is a cheap imitation of Judaism.The Jewish book (The Bible) is the original. Its so obvious that the Christians and Islamists copied the whole Biblical thing to expropriate what was an exclusive covenenant to themselves.That's fine. I respect all religions. But, the Christians and now the Islamo-bastards have some nerve over the centuries trying to slay the Jews.If it wasn't for the Jews there wouldn't be those later, copy-cat religions. Just ask Jesus (a Jewish rabbi whose name has been expropriated to form a new religion that he knew nothing about)Jesus would roll in his grave if he knew what was being done to his people in the name of "christianity or Islam"How hypocritical is this world?

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by European who lo...

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Mr Nobody, I came to this site from msn, following a headline about Depp Moving .... blah blah...like I cared much. I was just surfing, sort of aimlessly. I was reading a bit here and a bit there. I followed another link about "comments on Depps ..." whatever...I read through a bit, and lo and behold, here it was, some Islam-bashing filth. I do have a LOT of problems with today's muslims. Mainly, because a lot of them have become hypocrites. Many claim to be muslims yet are distant from it. However, when I see ignorants bashing Islam, well, ignorantly, I spring into action!So, basically, if you have read the comments preceding mine, you would find that some scums have started it. I was only correcting their knowledge--or the lack of thereof!I wasn't spreading Islam or whatever. I just ran into some junk on a junk site and thought of helping out.Thanks, Nobody!

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by cemoiHaHahaa

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I have just read many of the earlier comments and I am saddened at all the country and religion bashing on this site.I can't believe what I am seeing.There are good people in all countries and all religions and that includes Muslims.It's the fanatics that are causing all the trouble.When a young kid blows himself up so his family will get$26.00,you began to realize it's more than just religion driving some of the suicide bombers.We pay more for a tank of gas.These poor kids are getting paid peanuts (to us) to do this,and they are killing themselves to help their familys survive.(You notice the higher ups are not blowing up "their children".)It's complicated.Until poverty is wiped out this will continue.Poverty is the real enemy!End poverty,we end 90 % of the problem.We were duped into thinking Sadam had weapons of mass destruction and he led us to believe the same.Whether some of you believe it or not,a lot of Americans went to war,not for the oil but because we thought that another genocide was happening and we went through that in WW2 and wanted to stop it this time.A lot of us went over to Iraq to try and help what we thought were people that were being crushed and needed help.I live below the poverty level here in the U.S. I traveled when I was young,and let me tell you,America is the best country in the world due to the fact that we take better care of our poor.We would be considered very wealthy in many countries.That being said,we can still do a lot better.We need to wipe out poverty every where,not just in America.By the way,The Aussies,Canada,New Zealand,and the British Isles are on our side folks.They've always had our backs and we've had theirs so QUIT FIGHTING.The quickest way to defeat a common cause is to devide the United.I LOVE YOU!!! OK!!!Our country was made great because it IS populated by so many different cultures and ethnic groups.We need everybody working together to build a better one.It sickens me when I see someone treated badly because they are different.I embrace new experiences and I have found that 99% of us,no matter who, or what we are, want the same thing;enough food to eat,a roof over our heads security for our familes,and a better life for our children.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by Basaxl

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continuation:CreationWe have already come across some of the contradictions between scripture andscience regarding the creation of the universe. When dealing with that topic,I stressed the perfect agreement between modern knowledge and verses in theQur’an, and pointed out that the Biblical narration contained statements thatwere scientifically unacceptable. This is hardly surprising if we are awarethat the narration of the creation contained in the Bible was the work ofpriests living in the sixth century BC, hence the term ‘sacerdotal’ (priestly ) narration is officially used to refer to it. The narration seems tohave been conceived as the theme of a sermon designed to exhort people toobserve the Sabbath. The narration was constructed with a definite end inview, and as Father de Vaux (a former head of the Biblical School ofJerusalem) has noted, this end was essentially legalist in character.The Bible also contains a much shorter and older narration of Creation, the so-called ‘Yahvist’ version, which approaches the subject from a completelydifferent angle. They are both taken from Genesis, the first book of thePentateuch or Torah. Moses is supposed to have been its author, but the textwe have today has undergone many changes.The sacerdotal narration of Genesis is famous for its whimsical genealogies,that go back to Adam, and which nobody takes very seriously. Nevertheless,such Gospel authors as Matthew and Luke have reproduced them, more or lessword-for-word, in their genealogies of Jesus. Matthew goes back as far asAbraham, and Luke to Adam. These writings are scientifically unacceptable,because they set a date for the age of the world and the time humans appearedon Earth, which most definitely contradicts what modern science has firmlyestablished. The Qur’an, on the other hand, is completely free of dates ofthis kind.Earlier on, we noted how perfectly the Qur’an agrees with modern ideas on theformation of the Universe. On the other hand, the Biblical narration ofprimordial waters is hardly, nor is the creation of light on the first daybefore the creation of the stars which produce this light; the existence of anevening and a morning before the creation of the earth; the creation of theearth on the third day before that of the sun on the fourth; the appearance ofbeasts of the earth on the sixth day after the appearance of the birds of theair on the fifth day, although the former came first. All these statements arethe result of beliefs prevalent at the time this text was written and do nothave any other meaning.Age of the EarthAs for the Biblical genealogies which form the basis of the Jewish calendarand assert that today the world is 5738 years old, these are hardly admissibleeither. Our solar system may well be four and a quarter billion years old, andthe appearance of human beings on earth, as we know him today, may beestimated in tens of thousands of years, if not more. It is absolutelyessential, therefore, to note that the Qur’an does not contain any suchindications as to the age of the world, and that these are specific to theBiblical text.The FloodThere is a second highly significant subject of comparison between the Bibleand the Qur’an; descriptions of the deluge. In actual fact, the Biblicalnarration is a fusion of two descriptions in which events are relateddifferently. The Bible speaks of a universal flood and places it roughly 300years before Abraham.According to what we know of Abraham, this would imply a universal cataclysmaround the twenty-first or twenty-second century BC This story would beuntenable, in view of presently available historical data. How can we acceptthe idea that, in the twenty-first or twenty-second century BC, allcivilization was wiped off the face of the earth by a universal cataclysm,when we know that this period corresponds, for example, to the one precedingthe Middle Kingdom in Egypt, at roughly the date of the first Intermediaryperiod before the eleventh dynasty? It is historically unacceptable tomaintain that, at this time, humanity was totally wiped out. None of thepreceding statements is acceptable according to modern knowledge. From thispoint of view, we can measure the enormous gap separating the Bible from theQur’an.In contrast to the Bible, the narration contained in the Qur’an deals with acataclysm that is limited to Noah’s people. They were punished for their sins,as were other ungodly peoples. The Qur’an does not fix the cataclysm in time.There are absolutely no historical or archaeological objections to thenarration in the Qur’an.The PharaohA third point of comparison, which is extremely significant, is the story ofMoses, and especially the Exodus from Egypt of the Hebrews. Here I can onlygive a highly compressed account of a study on this subject that appears in mybook. I have noted the points where the Biblical and Qur’anic narrations agreeand disagree, and I have found points where the two texts complement eachother in a very useful way.Among the many hypotheses, concerning the historical time-frame occupied bythe Exodus in the history of the pharaohs, I have concluded that the mostlikely is the theory which makes Merneptah, Ramesses II’s successor, thepharaoh of the Exodus. The comparison of the data contained in the Scriptureswith archeological evidence strongly supports this hypothesis. I am pleased tobe able to say that the Biblical narration contributes weighty evidenceleading us to situate Moses in the history of the pharaohs. Moses was probablyborn during the reign of Ramesses II. Biblical data. are therefore ofconsiderable historical value in the story of Moses. A medical study of themummy of Merneptah has yielded further useful information on the possiblecauses of this pharaoh’s death. The fact that we possess the mummy of thispharaoh is one of paramount importance. The Bible records that pharaoh wasengulfed in the sea, but does not give any details as to what subsequentlybecame of his corpse. The Qur’an, in chapter Yoonus, notes that the body ofthe pharaoh would be saved from the waters:“Today I will save your dead body so that you may be a sign for those who comeafter you.” Qur’an, 10:92A medical examination of this mummy, has, shown that the body could not havestayed in the water for long, because it does not show signs of deteriorationdue to prolonged submersion. Here again, the comparison between the narrationin the Qur’an and the data provided by modern knowledge does not give rise tothe slightest objection from a scientific point of view.Such points of agreement are characteristic of the Qur’anic revelation. But,are we throwing the Judeo-Christian revelation into discredit and depriving itof all its intrinsic value by stressing the faults as seen from a scientificpoint of view? I think not because the criticism is not aimed at the text as awhole, but only at certain passages. There are parts of the Bible which havean undoubted historical value. I have shown that in my book, The Bible, TheQur’an and Science, where I discuss passages which enable us to locate Mosesin time.The main causes which brought about such differences as arise from thecomparison between the Holy Scriptures and modern knowledge is known to modernscholars. The Old Testament constitutes a collection of literary worksproduced in the course of roughly nine centuries and which has undergone manyalterations. The part played by men in the actual composition of the texts ofthe Bible is quite considerable.The Qur’anic revelation, on the other hand, has a history which is radicallydifferent. As we have already seen, from the moment it was first commtohumans, it was learnt by heart and written down during Muhammad’s ownlifetime. It is thanks to this fact that the Qur’an does not pose any problemof authenticity.A totally objective examination of the Qur’an, in the light of modernknowledge, leads us to recognize the agreement between the two, as has alreadybeen noted on repeated occasions throughout this presentation.It makes us deem it quite unthinkable for a man of Muhammad’s time to havebeen the author of such statements, on account of the state of knowledge inhis day. Such considerations are part of what gives the Qur’anic revelationits unique place among religious and non-religious texts, and forces theimpartial scientist to admit his inability to provide an explanation basedsolely upon materialistic reasoning.Such facts as I have had the pleasure of exposing to you here, appear torepresent a genuine challenge to human explanation leaving only onealternative: the Qur’an is undoubtedly a revelation from God.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by cemoiHaHahaa

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continuation:EMBRYOLOGYThere are a multitude of statements in the Qur’an on the subject of humanreproduction which constitute a challenge to the embryologist seeking a humanexplanation for them. It was only after the birth of the basic sciences whichcontributed to our knowledge of biology and the invention of the microscope,that humans were able to understand the depth of those Qur’anic statements. Itwas impossible for a human being living in the early seventh century to haveaccurately expressed such ideas. There is nothing to indicate that people inthe Middle-East and Arabia knew anything more about this subject than peopleliving in Europe or anywhere else. Today, there are many Muslims, possessing athorough knowledge of the Qur’an and natural sciences, who have recognized theamazing similarity between the verses of the Qur’an dealing with reproductionand modern scientific knowledge.I shall always remember the comment of an eighteen-year-old Muslim, brought upin Saudi Arabia, commenting on a reference to human reproduction as describedin the Qur’an. He pointed to the Qur’an and said, “This book provides us withall the essential information on the subject. When I was at school, myteachers used the Qur’an to explain how children were born. Your books on sex-education are a bit late on the scene!”If I were to spend as long on all the details of reproduction contained in theQur’an, as the subject merits, this pamphlet would become a book. The detailedlinguistic and scientific explanations I have given in The Bible, The Qur’anand Science are sufficient for the person who does not speak Arabic nor knowmuch about embryology to be able to understand the meaning of such verses inthe light of modern science in more depth.It is especially in the field of embryology that a comparison between thebeliefs present at the time of the Qur’an’s revelation and modern scientificdata, leaves us amazed at the degree of agreement between the Qur’an’sstatements and modern scientific knowledge. Not to mention the total absenceof any reference in the Qur’an to the mistaken ideas that were prevalentaround the world at the time.FertilizationLet us now isolate, from all these verses, precise ideas concerning thecomplexity of the semen and the fact that an infinitely small quantity isrequired to ensure fertilization. In chapter al-Insaan the Qur’an states:“Verily, I created humankind from a small quantity of mingled fluids.” Qur’an,76:2The Arabic word nutfah has been translated as "small quantity”. It comes fromthe verb meaning ‘to dribble, to trickle’ and is used to describe what remainsin the bottom of a bucket which has been emptied. The verse correctly impliesthat fertilization is performed by only a very small volume of liquid.On the other hand, mingled fluids ( amshaaj ) has been understood by earlycommentators to refer to the mixture of male and female discharges. Modernauthors have corrected this view and note that the sperm is made up of variouscomponents.When the Qur’an talks of a fertilizing fluid composed of different components,it also informs us that human progeny will be formed from something extractedfrom this liquid. This is the meaning of the following verse in chapter as-Sajdah:“Then He made [ man’s ] offspring from the essence of a despised fluid.”Qur’an, 32:8The Arabic word translated by the term ‘essence’ is sulaalah whichmeans ‘something extracted, the best part of a thing’. In whatever way it istranslated, it refers to part of a whole. Under normal conditions, only onesingle cell, spermatozoon, out of over 50 million ejaculated by a man duringsexual intercourse will actually penetrate the ovule.ImplantationOnce the egg has been fertilized in the fallopian tube, it descends to lodgeitself inside the uterus. This process is called the ‘implantation of theegg’. Implantation is a result of the development of villosities, which, likeroots in the soil, draw nourishment from the wall of the uterus and make theegg literally cling to the womb. The process of implantation is appropriatelydescribed in several verses by the word ‘alaq, which is also the title of thechapter in which one of the verses appears:“God fashioned humans from a clinging entity.” Qur’an, 96:2I do not think there is any reasonable translation of the word ‘alaq otherthan to use it in its original sense. It is a mistake to speak of a ‘bloodclot’ here, which is the term Professor Hamidullah uses in his translation. Itis a derivative meaning which is not as appropriate in this context.EmbryoThe evolution of the embryo inside the maternal uterus is only brieflydescribed, but the description is accurate, because the simple words referringto it correspond exactly to fundamental stages in its growth. This is what weread in a verse from the chapter al-Mu’minoon:“I fashioned the clinging entity into a chewed lump of flesh and I fashionedthe chewed flesh into bones and I clothed the bones with intact flesh.”Qur’an, 23:14The term ‘chewed flesh’ (mudghah) corresponds exactly to the appearance of theembryo at a certain stage in its development.It is known that the bones develop inside this mass and that they are thencovered with muscle. This is the meaning of the term ‘intact flesh’ (lahm).The embryo passes through a stage where some parts are in proportion andothers out of proportion with what is later to become the individual. This isthe obvious meaning of a verse in the chapter al-Hajj, which reads as follows:“I fashioned (humans) a clinging entity, then into a lump of flesh inproportion and out of proportion.” Qur’an, 22:5.Next, we have a reference to the appearance of the senses and internal organsin the chapter as-Sajdah:“... and (God) gave you ears, eyes and hearts.” Qur’an, 32:9Nothing here contradicts today’s data and, furthermore, none of the mistakenideas of the time have crept into the Qur’an. Throughout the Middle Ages therewere a variety of beliefs about human development based on myths andspeculations which continued for several centuries after the period. The mostfundamental stage in the history of embryology came in 1651 with Harvey’sstatement that “all life initially comes from an egg”. At that time, whenscience had benefited greatly from the invention of the microscope, peoplewere still arguing about the respective roles of the egg and spermatozoon.Buffon, the great naturalist, was one of those in favor of the eggtheory.Bonnet, on the other hand, supported the theory of ‘the ovaries ofEve’, which stated that Eve, the mother of the human race, was-supposed tohave had inside her the seeds of all human beings packed together one insidethe other.BIBLE, QUR’AN AND SCIENCEWe have now come to the last subject I would like to present in this shortpamphlet: it is thecomparison between modern knowledge and passages in the Qur’an that are alsoreferred to in the Bible....*******To be continued in the next posting...

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continuation:EMBRYOLOGYThere are a multitude of statements in the Qur’an on the subject of humanreproduction which constitute a challenge to the embryologist seeking a humanexplanation for them. It was only after the birth of the basic sciences whichcontributed to our knowledge of biology and the invention of the microscope,that humans were able to understand the depth of those Qur’anic statements. Itwas impossible for a human being living in the early seventh century to haveaccurately expressed such ideas. There is nothing to indicate that people inthe Middle-East and Arabia knew anything more about this subject than peopleliving in Europe or anywhere else. Today, there are many Muslims, possessing athorough knowledge of the Qur’an and natural sciences, who have recognized theamazing similarity between the verses of the Qur’an dealing with reproductionand modern scientific knowledge.I shall always remember the comment of an eighteen-year-old Muslim, brought upin Saudi Arabia, commenting on a reference to human reproduction as describedin the Qur’an. He pointed to the Qur’an and said, “This book provides us withall the essential information on the subject. When I was at school, myteachers used the Qur’an to explain how children were born. Your books on sex-education are a bit late on the scene!”If I were to spend as long on all the details of reproduction contained in theQur’an, as the subject merits, this pamphlet would become a book. The detailedlinguistic and scientific explanations I have given in The Bible, The Qur’anand Science are sufficient for the person who does not speak Arabic nor knowmuch about embryology to be able to understand the meaning of such verses inthe light of modern science in more depth.It is especially in the field of embryology that a comparison between thebeliefs present at the time of the Qur’an’s revelation and modern scientificdata, leaves us amazed at the degree of agreement between the Qur’an’sstatements and modern scientific knowledge. Not to mention the total absenceof any reference in the Qur’an to the mistaken ideas that were prevalentaround the world at the time.FertilizationLet us now isolate, from all these verses, precise ideas concerning thecomplexity of the semen and the fact that an infinitely small quantity isrequired to ensure fertilization. In chapter al-Insaan the Qur’an states:“Verily, I created humankind from a small quantity of mingled fluids.” Qur’an,76:2The Arabic word nutfah has been translated as "small quantity”. It comes fromthe verb meaning ‘to dribble, to trickle’ and is used to describe what remainsin the bottom of a bucket which has been emptied. The verse correctly impliesthat fertilization is performed by only a very small volume of liquid.On the other hand, mingled fluids ( amshaaj ) has been understood by earlycommentators to refer to the mixture of male and female discharges. Modernauthors have corrected this view and note that the sperm is made up of variouscomponents.When the Qur’an talks of a fertilizing fluid composed of different components,it also informs us that human progeny will be formed from something extractedfrom this liquid. This is the meaning of the following verse in chapter as-Sajdah:“Then He made [ man’s ] offspring from the essence of a despised fluid.”Qur’an, 32:8The Arabic word translated by the term ‘essence’ is sulaalah whichmeans ‘something extracted, the best part of a thing’. In whatever way it istranslated, it refers to part of a whole. Under normal conditions, only onesingle cell, spermatozoon, out of over 50 million ejaculated by a man duringsexual intercourse will actually penetrate the ovule.ImplantationOnce the egg has been fertilized in the fallopian tube, it descends to lodgeitself inside the uterus. This process is called the ‘implantation of theegg’. Implantation is a result of the development of villosities, which, likeroots in the soil, draw nourishment from the wall of the uterus and make theegg literally cling to the womb. The process of implantation is appropriatelydescribed in several verses by the word ‘alaq, which is also the title of thechapter in which one of the verses appears:“God fashioned humans from a clinging entity.” Qur’an, 96:2I do not think there is any reasonable translation of the word ‘alaq otherthan to use it in its original sense. It is a mistake to speak of a ‘bloodclot’ here, which is the term Professor Hamidullah uses in his translation. Itis a derivative meaning which is not as appropriate in this context.EmbryoThe evolution of the embryo inside the maternal uterus is only brieflydescribed, but the description is accurate, because the simple words referringto it correspond exactly to fundamental stages in its growth. This is what weread in a verse from the chapter al-Mu’minoon:“I fashioned the clinging entity into a chewed lump of flesh and I fashionedthe chewed flesh into bones and I clothed the bones with intact flesh.”Qur’an, 23:14The term ‘chewed flesh’ (mudghah) corresponds exactly to the appearance of theembryo at a certain stage in its development.It is known that the bones develop inside this mass and that they are thencovered with muscle. This is the meaning of the term ‘intact flesh’ (lahm).The embryo passes through a stage where some parts are in proportion andothers out of proportion with what is later to become the individual. This isthe obvious meaning of a verse in the chapter al-Hajj, which reads as follows:“I fashioned (humans) a clinging entity, then into a lump of flesh inproportion and out of proportion.” Qur’an, 22:5.Next, we have a reference to the appearance of the senses and internal organsin the chapter as-Sajdah:“... and (God) gave you ears, eyes and hearts.” Qur’an, 32:9Nothing here contradicts today’s data and, furthermore, none of the mistakenideas of the time have crept into the Qur’an. Throughout the Middle Ages therewere a variety of beliefs about human development based on myths andspeculations which continued for several centuries after the period. The mostfundamental stage in the history of embryology came in 1651 with Harvey’sstatement that “all life initially comes from an egg”. At that time, whenscience had benefited greatly from the invention of the microscope, peoplewere still arguing about the respective roles of the egg and spermatozoon.Buffon, the great naturalist, was one of those in favor of the eggtheory.Bonnet, on the other hand, supported the theory of ‘the ovaries ofEve’, which stated that Eve, the mother of the human race, was-supposed tohave had inside her the seeds of all human beings packed together one insidethe other.BIBLE, QUR’AN AND SCIENCEWe have now come to the last subject I would like to present in this shortpamphlet: it is thecomparison between modern knowledge and passages in the Qur’an that are alsoreferred to in the Bible.CreationWe have already come across some of the contradictions between scripture andscience regarding the creation of the universe. When dealing with that topic,I stressed the perfect agreement between modern knowledge and verses in theQur’an, and pointed out that the Biblical narration contained statements thatwere scientifically unacceptable. This is hardly surprising if we are awarethat the narration of the creation contained in the Bible was the work ofpriests living in the sixth century BC, hence the term ‘sacerdotal’ (priestly ) narration is officially used to refer to it. The narration seems tohave been conceived as the theme of a sermon designed to exhort people toobserve the Sabbath. The narration was constructed with a definite end inview, and as Father de Vaux (a former head of the Biblical School ofJerusalem) has noted, this end was essentially legalist in character.The Bible also contains a much shorter and older narration of Creation, the so-called ‘Yahvist’ version, which approaches the subject from a completelydifferent angle. They are both taken from Genesis, the first book of thePentateuch or Torah. Moses is supposed to have been its author, but the textwe have today has undergone many changes.The sacerdotal narration of Genesis is famous for its whimsical genealogies,that go back to Adam, and which nobody takes very seriously. Nevertheless,such Gospel authors as Matthew and Luke have reproduced them, more or lessword-for-word, in their genealogies of Jesus. Matthew goes back as far asAbraham, and Luke to Adam. These writings are scientifically unacceptable,because they set a date for the age of the world and the time humans appearedon Earth, which most definitely contradicts what modern science has firmlyestablished. The Qur’an, on the other hand, is completely free of dates ofthis kind.Earlier on, we noted how perfectly the Qur’an agrees with modern ideas on theformation of the Universe. On the other hand, the Biblical narration ofprimordial waters is hardly, nor is the creation of light on the first daybefore the creation of the stars which produce this light; the existence of anevening and a morning before the creation of the earth; the creation of theearth on the third day before that of the sun on the fourth; the appearance ofbeasts of the earth on the sixth day after the appearance of the birds of theair on the fifth day, although the former came first. All these statements arethe result of beliefs prevalent at the time this text was written and do nothave any other meaning.Age of the EarthAs for the Biblical genealogies which form the basis of the Jewish calendarand assert that today the world is 5738 years old, these are hardly admissibleeither. Our solar system may well be four and a quarter billion years old, andthe appearance of human beings on earth, as we know him today, may beestimated in tens of thousands of years, if not more. It is absolutelyessential, therefore, to note that the Qur’an does not contain any suchindications as to the age of the world, and that these are specific to theBiblical text.The FloodThere is a second highly significant subject of comparison between the Bibleand the Qur’an; descriptions of the deluge. In actual fact, the Biblicalnarration is a fusion of two descriptions in which events are relateddifferently. The Bible speaks of a universal flood and places it roughly 300years before Abraham.According to what we know of Abraham, this would imply a universal cataclysmaround the twenty-first or twenty-second century BC This story would beuntenable, in view of presently available historical data. How can we acceptthe idea that, in the twenty-first or twenty-second century BC, allcivilization was wiped off the face of the earth by a universal cataclysm,when we know that this period corresponds, for example, to the one precedingthe Middle Kingdom in Egypt, at roughly the date of the first Intermediaryperiod before the eleventh dynasty? It is historically unacceptable tomaintain that, at this time, humanity was totally wiped out. None of thepreceding statements is acceptable according to modern knowledge. From thispoint of view, we can measure the enormous gap separating the Bible from theQur’an.In contrast to the Bible, the narration contained in the Qur’an deals with acataclysm that is limited to Noah’s people. They were punished for their sins,as were other ungodly peoples. The Qur’an does not fix the cataclysm in time.There are absolutely no historical or archaeological objections to thenarration in the Qur’an.The PharaohA third point of comparison, which is extremely significant, is the story ofMoses, and especially the Exodus from Egypt of the Hebrews. Here I can onlygive a highly compressed account of a study on this subject that appears in mybook. I have noted the points where the Biblical and Qur’anic narrations agreeand disagree, and I have found points where the two texts complement eachother in a very useful way.Among the many hypotheses, concerning the historical time-frame occupied bythe Exodus in the history of the pharaohs, I have concluded that the mostlikely is the theory which makes Merneptah, Ramesses II’s successor, thepharaoh of the Exodus. The comparison of the data contained in the Scriptureswith archeological evidence strongly supports this hypothesis. I am pleased tobe able to say that the Biblical narration contributes weighty evidenceleading us to situate Moses in the history of the pharaohs. Moses was probablyborn during the reign of Ramesses II. Biblical data. are therefore ofconsiderable historical value in the story of Moses. A medical study of themummy of Merneptah has yielded further useful information on the possiblecauses of this pharaoh’s death. The fact that we possess the mummy of thispharaoh is one of paramount importance. The Bible records that pharaoh wasengulfed in the sea, but does not give any details as to what subsequentlybecame of his corpse. The Qur’an, in chapter Yoonus, notes that the body ofthe pharaoh would be saved from the waters:“Today I will save your dead body so that you may be a sign for those who comeafter you.” Qur’an, 10:92A medical examination of this mummy, has, shown that the body could not havestayed in the water for long, because it does not show signs of deteriorationdue to prolonged submersion. Here again, the comparison between the narrationin the Qur’an and the data provided by modern knowledge does not give rise tothe slightest objection from a scientific point of view.Such points of agreement are characteristic of the Qur’anic revelation. But,are we throwing the Judeo-Christian revelation into discredit and depriving itof all its intrinsic value by stressing the faults as seen from a scientificpoint of view? I think not because the criticism is not aimed at the text as awhole, but only at certain passages. There are parts of the Bible which havean undoubted historical value. I have shown that in my book, The Bible, TheQur’an and Science, where I discuss passages which enable us to locate Mosesin time.The main causes which brought about such differences as arise from thecomparison between the Holy Scriptures and modern knowledge is known to modernscholars. The Old Testament constitutes a collection of literary worksproduced in the course of roughly nine centuries and which has undergone manyalterations. The part played by men in the actual composition of the texts ofthe Bible is quite considerable.The Qur’anic revelation, on the other hand, has a history which is radicallydifferent. As we have already seen, from the moment it was first commtohumans, it was learnt by heart and written down during Muhammad’s ownlifetime. It is thanks to this fact that the Qur’an does not pose any problemof authenticity.A totally objective examination of the Qur’an, in the light of modernknowledge, leads us to recognize the agreement between the two, as has alreadybeen noted on repeated occasions throughout this presentation.It makes us deem it quite unthinkable for a man of Muhammad’s time to havebeen the author of such statements, on account of the state of knowledge inhis day. Such considerations are part of what gives the Qur’anic revelationits unique place among religious and non-religious texts, and forces theimpartial scientist to admit his inability to provide an explanation basedsolely upon materialistic reasoning.Such facts as I have had the pleasure of exposing to you here, appear torepresent a genuine challenge to human explanation leaving only onealternative: the Qur’an is undoubtedly a revelation from God.

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continuation:ASTRONOMYWhenever I describe to Westerners the details the Qur’an contains on certainpoints of astronomy, it is common for someone to reply that there is nothingunusual in this since the Arabs made important discoveries in the field ofastronomy long before the Europeans. But, this is a mistaken idea resultingfrom an ignorance of history. In the first place, science developed in theArab World at a considerable time after the Qur’anic revelation had occurred.Secondly, the scientific knowledge prevalent at the highpoint of Islamiccivilization would have made it impossible for any human being to have writtenstatements on the heavens comparable to those in the Qur’an. The material onthis subject is so vast that I can only provide a brief outline of it here.The Sun and Moon.Whereas the Bible talks of the sun and the moon as two lights differing onlyin size, the Qur’an distinguishes between them by the use of different terms:light (noor) for the moon, and lamp (siraaj) for the sun."Did you see how Allah created seven heavens, one above the other, and made inthem the moon a light and the sun a lamp?" Qur’an, 78:12-13The moon is an inert body which reflects light, whereas the sun is a celestialbody in a state of permanent combustion producing both light and heat.Stars and PlanetsThe word ‘star’ (najm) in the Qur’an ( 86:3 ) is accompanied by the adjectivethaaqib which indicates that it burns and consumes itself as it piercesthrough the shadows of the night. It was much later discovered that stars areheavenly bodies producing their own light like the sun.In the Qur’an, a different word, kawkab, is used to refer to the planets whichare celestial bodies that reflect light and do not produce their own lightlike the sun.“We have adorned the lowest heaven with ornaments, the planets.” Qur’an, 37:6OrbitsToday, the laws governing the celestial systems are well known. Galaxies arebalanced by the position of stars and planets in well-defined orbits, as wellas the interplay of gravitational forces produced by their masses and thespeed of their movements. But is this not what the Qur’an describes in termswhich have only become comprehensible in modern times. In chapter al-Ambiyaawe find:“(God is) the one who created the night, the day, the sun and the moon. Eachone is traveling in an orbit with its own motion.” Qur’an,21:33The Arabic word which expresses this movement is the verb yasbahoon whichimplies the idea of motion produced by a moving body, whether it is themovement of one’s legs running on the ground, or the action of swimming inwater. In the case of a celestial body, one is forced to translate it,according to its original meaning, as ‘to travel with its own motion.’In my book, The Bible, The Qur'an and Science, I have given the precisescientific data corresponding to the motion of celestial bodies. They are wellknown for the moon, but less widely known for the sun.The Day and NightThe Qur’anic description of the sequence of day and night would, in itself, berather commonplace were it not for the fact that it is expressed in terms thatare today highly appropriate. The Qur’an uses the verb kawwara in chapter az-Zumar to describe the way the night ‘winds’ or ‘coils’ itself around the dayand the day around the night.“He coils the night upon the day and the day upon the night.” Qur’an, 39:5The original meaning of the verb kis to coil a turban around the head. This isa totally valid comparison; yet at the time the Qur’an was revealed, theastronomical data necessary to make this comparison were unknown. It is notuntil man landed on the moon and observed the earth spinning on its axis, thatthe dark half of the globe appeared to wind itself around the light and thelight half appeared to wind itself around the dark.The Solar ApexThe notion of a settled place for the sun is vividly described in chapter YaaSeen of the Qur’an:"The sun runs its coarse to a settled place That is the decree of theAlmighty, the All Knowing.” Qur’an, 36:38“Settled place” is the translation of the word mustaqarr which indicates anexact appointed place and time. Modern astronomy confirms that the solarsystem is indeed moving in space at a rate of 12 miles per second towards apoint situated in the constellation of Hercules ( alpha lyrae ) whose exactlocation has been precisely calculated. Astronomers have even give it a name,the solar apex.Expansion of the UniverseChapter ath-Thaariyaat of the Qur’an also seems to allude to one of the mostimposing discoveries of modern science, the expansion of the Universe.“I built the heaven with power and it is I, who am expanding it.” Qur’an,51:47The expansion of the universe was first suggested by the general theory ofrelativity and is supported by the calculations of astrophysics. The regularmovement of the galactic light towards the red section of the spectrum isexplained by the distancing of one galaxy from another. Thus, the size of theuniverse appears to be progressively increasing.Conquest of SpaceAmong the achievements of modern science is the “conquest” of space which hasresulted in mans journey to the moon. The prediction of this event surelysprings to mind when we read the chapter ar-Rahmaan in the Qur’an:“O assembly of Jinns and men, if you can penetrate the regions of the heavensand the earth, then penetrate them! You will not penetrate them except withauthority (power).”Qur’an,55:33Authority to travel in space can only come from the Creator of the laws whichgovern movement and space. The whole of this Qur’anic chapter inviteshumankind to recognize God’s beneficence.GEOLOGYLet us now return to earth to discover some of the many amazing statementscontained in Qur’anic reflections about our own planet. They deal, not onlywith the physical phenomena observed here on earth, but also with detailsconcerning the living organisms that inhabit it.As in the case of everything we have discussed so far, we shall see that theQur’an also expresses concepts in the field of geology that were way ahead ofthose current at the time of its revelation.At this point, we must ask ourselves the following question: How could anuneducated man in the middle of the desert accurately tackle so many and suchvaried subjects at a time when mythology and superstition reigned supreme? Howcould he so skillfully avoid every belief that was proven to be totallyinaccurate many centuries later?Water CycleThe verses dealing with the earthly systems are a case in point. I have quoteda large number of them in my book, The Bible, The Qur’an and Science, and havepaid special attention to those that deal with the water cycle in nature. Thisis a topic which is well known today. Consequently, the verses in the Qur’anthat refer to the water cycle seem to express ideas that are now totally self-evident. But if we consider the ideas prevalent at that time, they appear tobe based more on myth and philosophical speculation than on observed fact,even though useful practical knowledge on soil irrigation was current at thatperiod.Let us examine, for example, the following verse in chapter az-Zumar:“Have you not seen that Allah sent rain down from the sky and caused it topenetrate the ground and come forth as springs, then He caused crops ofdifferent colors to grow...” Qur’an,39:21Such notions seem quite natural to us today, but we should not forget that,not so long ago, they were not prevalent. It was not until the sixteenthcentury, with Bernard Palissy, that we gained the first coherent descriptionof the water cycle. Prior to this, people believed that the waters of theoceans, under the effect of winds, were thrust towards the interior of thecontinents. They then returned to the oceans via the great abyss, which, sincePlato’s time was called the Tartarus .In the seventeenth century, greatthinkers such as Descartes still believed in this myth. Even in the nineteenthcentury there were still those who believed in Aristotle’s theory that waterwas condensed in cool mountain caverns and formed underground lakes that fedsprings. Today, we know that it is the infiltration of rain water into theground that is responsible for this. If one compares the facts of modernhydrology with the data found in numerous verses of the Qur’an on thissubject, one cannot fail to notice the remarkable degree of agreement betweenthe two.MountainsIn geology, modern science has recently discovered the phenomenon of foldingwhich formed the mountain ranges. The earth’s crust is like a solid shell,while the deeper layers are hot and fluid, and thus inhospitable to any formof life. It has also been discovered that the stability of mountains is linkedto the phenomenon of folding. The process of mountain formation by foldingdrove the earth’s crust down into the lower layers and provided foundationsfor the mountains.Let us now compare modern ideas with one verse among many in the Qur’an thatdeals with this subject. It is taken from chapter an-Naba’:“Have We not made the earth an expanse and the mountains stakes?”Qur’an, 78:6-7Stakes ( awtaad ), which are driven into the ground like those used to anchora tent, are the deep foundations of geological folds.Here, as in the case of all the other topics presented, the objective observercannot fail to notice the absence of any contradiction to modern knowledge.BIOLOGYMore than anything else, I was struck by statements in the Qur’an dealing withliving things, both in the animal and vegetable kingdoms, especially withregard to reproduction. We should really devote much more time to thissubject, but, due to the limited scope of this presentation, I can only give afew examples.I must once again stress the fact that it is only in modern times thatscientific progress has made the hidden meaning of some Qur’anic versescomprehensible to us. Numerous translations and commentaries on the Qur’anhave been made by learned men who had no access to modern scientificknowledge. It is for this reason that scientists find some of theirinterpretations unacceptable.There are also other verses whose obvious meanings are easily understood, butwhich concealscientific meanings which are startling, to say the least. This is the case ofa verse in chapter al-Ambiyaa, a part of which has already been quoted:“Do the unbelievers not realize that the heavens and the earth were joinedtogether,then I clove them asunder and I made every living thing out of water. Willthey still not believe?” Qur’an, 21:30This is a dramatic affirmation of the modern idea that the origin of life isaquatic.BotanyProgress in botany at the time of Muhammad (S) was not advanced enough in anycountry for scientists to know that plants have both male and female parts.Nevertheless, we may read the following in the chapter Taa Haa:“(God is the One who) sent down rain from the sky and with it brought forth avariety of plants in pairs.” Qur’an, 20:53Today we know that fruit comes from plants that have sexual characteristicseven when they come from unfertilized flowers, like bananas. In the chapter ar-Ra‘d we read the following:“... and of all fruits (God) placed (on the earth) two pairs.” Qur’an, 13:3PhysiologyIn the field of physiology, there is one verse which appears extremelysignificant to me. One thousand years before the discovery of the bloodcirculatory system, and roughly thirteen centuries before it was determinedthat the internal organs were nourished by the process of digestive , a versein the Qur’an described the source of the constituents of milk, in conformitywith scientific facts.To understand this verse, it must first be known that chemical reactions occurbetween food and enzymes in the mouth, the stomach and the intestinesreleasing nutrients in molecular form which are then absorbed into thecirculatory system through countless microscopic projections of the intestinalwall called villi. Blood in the circulatory system then transports thenutrients to all the organs of the body, among which are the milk-producingmammary glands.This biological process must be basically understood, if we are to understanda verse in the Qur’an which has for many centuries given rise to commentariesthat were totally incomprehensible.Today it is not difficult to see why! This verse is taken from the chapter an-Nahl:“Verily, in cattle there is a lesson for you. I give you drink from theirinsides, coming from a conjunction between the digested contents ( of theintestines ) and the blood, milk pure and pleasant for those who drink it.”Qur’an, 16:66The constituents of milk are secreted by the mammary glands which arenourished by the product of food digestion brought to them by the bloodstream.The initial event which sets the whole process in motion is the conjunction ofthe contents of the intestine and blood at the level of the intestinal wallitself.This very precise concept is the result of the discoveries made in thechemistry and physiology of the digestive system over one thousand years afterthe time of Prophet Muhammad (S)....********To be continued in the next posting

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continuation:AUTHENTICITY OF QUR’ANBefore getting to the essence of the subject, there is a very important pointwhich must be considered: the authenticity of the Qur’anic text.It is known that the text of the Qur’an was both recited from memory, duringthe time it was revealed, by the Prophet and the believers who surrounded him,and written down by designated scribes among his followers. This processlasted for roughly twenty-three years during which many unofficial copies weremade. An official copy was made within one year after the Prophet’s death atthe instruction of Caliph Abu Bakr.Here we must note a highly important point. The present text of the Qur’anbenefited in its original preparation from the advantage of having itsauthenticity cross-checked by the text recited from memory as well as theunofficial written texts. The memorized text was of paramount importance at atime when not everyone could read and write, but everybody could memorize.Moreover, the need for a written record was included in the text of the Qur’anitself. The first five verses of chapter al-‘Alaq, which happen to constitutethe first revelation made to the Prophet (S), express this quite clearly:“Read: In the name of your Lord who created. Who created man from a clingingentity. Read! Your Lord is the most Noble, Who taught by the pen. Who taughtman what he did not know.” Qur’an, 96:1-5These are surely words in “praise of the pen as a means of human knowledge”,to use Professor Hamidullah’s expression.Then came the Caliphate of ‘Uthman (which lasted from the twelfth to thetwenty-fourth year following Muhammad’s death). Within the first two years ofCaliph ‘Uthman’s rule, seven official copies were reproduced from the officialtext and distributed throughout a large area of the world which had alreadycome under Islamic rule. All unofficial copies existing at that time weredestroyed and all future copies were made from the official seven copies.In my book, The Bible, the Qur’an and Science, I have quoted passages from theQur’an which came from the period prior to the Hijrah (the Prophet’semigration from Makkah to Madeenah in the year 622) and which allude to thewriting of the Qur’an before the Prophet’s departure from Makkah.There were, moreover, many witnesses to the immediate transcription of theQur’anic revelation.Professor Jacques Berque has told me of the great importance he attaches to itin comparison with the long gap separating the writing down of the Judeo-Christian revelation from the facts and events which it relates. Let us notforget that today we also have a number of manuscripts of the first writtenversions of the Qur’an which were from a time period very close to the time ofrevelation.I shall also mention another fact of great importance. We shall examinestatements in the Qur’an which today appear to merely record scientific truth,but of which men in former times were only able to grasp the apparent meaning.In some cases, these statements were totally incomprehensible. It isimpossible to imagine that, if there were any alterations to the texts, theseobscure passages scattered throughout the text of the Qur’an, were all able toescape human manipulation. The slightest alteration to the text would haveautomatically destroyed the remarkable coherence which is characteristic tothem. Change in any text would have prevented us from establishing their totalconformity with modern knowledge. The presence of these statements spreadthroughout the Qur’an looks (to the impartial observer ) like an obvioushallmark of its authenticity.The Qur’an is a revelation made known to humans in the course of twenty-threeyears. It spanned two periods of almost equal length on either side of theHijrah. In view of this, it was natural for reflections having a scientificaspect to be scattered throughout the Book. In a study, such as the one wehave made, we had to regroup the verses according to subject matter,collecting them chapter by chapter.How should they be classified? I could not find any indications in the Qur’ansuggesting any particular classification, so I decided present them accordingto my own personal one.It would seem to me, that the first subject to deal with is Creation. Here itis possible to compare the verses referring to this topic with the generalideas prevalent today on the formation of the Universe. Next, I divided upverses under the following general headings: Astronomy, the Earth, the Animaland Vegetable Kingdoms, Humans, and Human Reproduction in particular.Furthermore, I thought it useful to make a comparison between Qur’anic andBiblical narrations on the same topics from the point of view of modernknowledge. This has been done in the cases of Creation, the Flood and theExodus. The reason that these topics were chosen is that knowledge acquiredtoday can be used in the interpretation of the texts.CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE>From an examination of creation as described in the Qur’an, an extremelyimportant general concept emerges: The Qur’anic narration is quite differentfrom the Biblical narration. This idea contradicts the parallels which areoften wrongly drawn by Western authors to emphasize the resemblance betweenthe two texts. To stress only the similarities, while silently ignoring theobvious dissimilarities, is to distort reality. There is, perhaps, a reasonfor this.When talking about creation, there is a strong tendency in the West to claimthat Muhammad copied the general outlines mentioned in the Qur’an from theBible. Certainly it is possible to compare the six days of creation asdescribed in the Bible, plus an extra day for rest on God’s Sabbath, with thisverse from chapter al-A‘raaf.“Your Lord is God who created the heavens and the earth in six days.” Qur’an,7:54However, it must be pointed out that modern commentators stress theinterpretation of the Arabic word ayyaam, (one translation of whichis ‘days’), as meaning ‘long periods’ or ‘ages’ rather than periods of twenty-four hours.What appears to be of fundamental importance to me is that, in contrast to thenarration contained in the Bible, the Qur’an does not lay down a sequence forcreation of the earth and heavens. It refers both to the heavens before theearth and the earth before the heavens, when it talks of creation in general,as in this verse of chapter Taa Haa:“(God) who created the earth and heavens above." Qur’an, 20:4In fact, the notion derived from the Qur’an is one of a parallelism in thecelestial and terrestrial evolutions. There are also basic pieces ofinformation concerning the existence of an initial gaseous mass ( dukhaan )which are unique to the Qur’an. As well as descriptions of the elements which,although at first were fused together ( ratq ), they subsequently becameseparated (fatq). These ideas are expressed in chapters Fussilat and al-Anbiyaa:“God then rose turning towards the heaven when it was smoke” Qur’an, 41:11“Do the disbelievers not see that the heavens and the earth were joinedtogether, then I split them apart?” Qur’an, 21:30According to modern science, the separation process resulted in the formationof multiple worlds, a concept which appears dozens of times in the Qur’an. Forexample, look at the first chapter of the Qur’an, al-Faatihah “Praise be toGod, the Lord of the Worlds.” Qur’an, 1:1 ). These Qur’anic references are a11in perfect agreement with modern ideas on the existence of primary nebula(galactic dust), followed by the separation of the elements which resulted inthe formation of galaxies and then stars from which the planets were born.Reference is also made in the Qur’an to an intermediary creation between theheavens and the earth, as seen in chapter al-Furqaan:“God is the one who created the heavens, the earth and what is betweenthem...” Qur’an, 25:59It would seem that this intermediary creation corresponds to the moderndiscovery of bridges of matter which are present outside organizedastronomical systems.This brief survey of Qur’anic references to creation clearly shows us howmodern scientific data and statements in the Qur’an consistently agree on alarge number of points. In contrast, the successive phases of creationmentioned in the Biblical text are totally unacceptable. For example, inGenesis 1:9-19 the creation of the earth (on the 3rd day) is placed beforethat of the heavens (on the 4th day). It is a well known fact that our planetcame from its own star, the sun. In such circumstances, how could anyone claimthat Muhammad, the supposed author of the Qur’an, drew his inspiration fromthe Bible. Such a claim would mean that, of his own accord, he corrected theBiblical text to arrive at the correct concept concerning the formation of theUniverse. Yet the correct concept was reached by scientists many centuriesafter his death....********To be continued in the next posting

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by cemoiHaHahaa

cemoiHaHahaa's picture

And here is what one of your scientists has to say about Islam:Author : Dr. Maurice BucailleINTRODUCTIONOn the 9th of November, 1976, an unusual lecture was given at the FrenchAcademy of Medicine. Its title was “Physiological and Embryological data inthe Qur’an”. I presented the study based on the existence of certainstatements concerning physiology and reproduction in the Qur’an. My reason forpresenting this lecture was because it is impossible to explain how a textproduced in the seventh century could have contained ideas that have only beendiscovered in modern times.For the first time, I spoke to members of a learned medical society onsubjects whose basic concepts they all knew well, but I could, just as easily,have pointed out statements of a scientific nature contained in the Qur’an andother subjects to specialists from other disciplines. Astronomers, zoologists,geologists and specialists in the history of the earth would all have beenstruck, just as forcibly as medical doctors, by the presence in the Qur’an ofhighly accurate reflections on natural phenomena. These reflections areparticularly astonishing when we consider the history of science, and can onlylead us to the conclusion that they are a challenge to human explanation.There is no human work in existence that contains statements as far beyond thelevel of knowledge of its time as the Qur’an. Scientific opinions comparableto those in the Qur’an are the result of modern knowledge. In the commentariesto translations of the Qur’an that have appeared in European languages, I haveonly been able to find scattered and vague references to them. Nor docommentators writing in Arabic provide a complete study of the aspects of theQur’an that deal with scientific matters. This is why the idea of acomprehensive study of the problem appealed to me.In addition to this, a comparative study of similar data contained in theBible (Old Testament and Gospels) seemed desirable. Thus, a research projectwas developed from the comparison of certain passages in the Holy Scripturesof each monotheistic religion with modern scientific knowledge. The projectresulted in the publication of a book entitled, The Bible, the Qur'an andScience. The first French edition appeared in May 1976. English and Arabiceditions have since been published.RELIGION AND SCIENCEThere is, perhaps, no better illustration of the close links between Islam andscience than the Prophet Muhammad’s often-quoted statements:“Seeking knowledge is compulsory on every Muslim.”“wisdom is the lost property of the believer.”“whoever follows a path seeking knowledge, Allah will make his path toparadise easy.”These statements and many others are veritable invitations to humanity toenrich their knowledge from all sources. It comes as no surprise, therefore,to learn that in Islam religion and science have always been considered astwin sisters and that today, at a time when science has taken such greatstrides, they still continue to be associated. Nor is it a surprise to learnthat certain scientific data are used for the better understanding of theQur’anic text. What is more, in a century where, for many people, scientifictruth has dealt a deathblow to religious belief, it is precisely thediscoveries of science that, in an objective examination of the Islamicscripture, have highlighted the supernatural nature of revelation and theauthenticity of the religion which it taught.When all is said and done, scientific knowledge seems, in spite of what manypeople may say or think, to be highly conducive to reflection on the existenceof God. Once we begin to ask ourselves, in an unbiased or unprejudiced way,about the metaphysical lessons to be derived from some of today’s knowledge,(for example our evolving knowledge of the smallest components of matter orthe questions surrounding the origin of life within inanimate matter), weindeed discover many reasons for thinking about God. When we think about theremarkable organization presiding over the birth and maintenance of life, itbecomes clear that the likelihood of it being the result of chance lessensquite considerably.As our knowledge of science in the various fields expands, certain conceptsmust seem increasingly unacceptable. For example, the idea enthusiasticallyexpressed by the recent French winner of the Nobel prize for medicine, thatliving matter was self-created from simple chemical elements due to chancecircumstances. Then from this point it is claimed that living organismsevolved, leading to the remarkably complex being called man. To me, it wouldseem that the scientific advancements made in understandithe fantasticcomplexity of higher beings provides stronger arguments in favor of theopposite theory: that the existence of an extraordinarily methodicalorganization presiding over the remarkable arrangement of the phenomena oflife necessitates the existence of a Creator.In many parts of the Book, the Qur’an, encourages this kind of generalreflection but also contains infinitely more precise data which are directlyrelated to facts discovered by modern science. It is precisely this data whichexercise a magnetic attraction for today’s scientists.The Qur’an And ScienceFor many centuries, humankind was unable to study certain data contained inthe verses of the Qur’an because they did not possess sufficient scientificmeans. It is only today that numerous verses of the Qur’an dealing withnatural phenomena have become comprehensible. A reading of old commentaries onthe Qur’an, however knowledgeable their authors may have been in their day,bears solemn witness to a total inability to grasp the depth of meaning insuch verses. I could even go so far as to say that, in the 20th century, withits compartmentalization of ever-increasing knowledge, it is still not easyfor the average scientist to understand everything he reads in the Qur’an onsuch subjects, without having recourse to specialized research. This meansthat to understand all such verses of the Qur’an, one is nowadays required tohave an absolutely encyclopedic knowledge embracing many scientificdisciplines.I should like to stress, that I use the word science to mean knowledge whichhas been soundly established. It does not include the theories which, for atime, help to explain a phenomenon or a series of phenomena, only to beabandoned later on in favor of other explanations. These newer explanationshave become more plausible thanks to scientific progress. I only intend todeal with comparisons between statements in the Qur’an and scientificknowledge which are not likely to be subject to further discussion. Wherever Iintroduce scientific facts which are not yet 100% established, I will make itquite clear.There are also some very rare examples of statements in the Qur’an which havenot, as yet, been confirmed by modern science. I shall refer to these bypointing out that all the evidence available today leads scientists to regardthem as being highly probable. An example of this is the statement in theQur’an that life has an aquatic origin ( “And I created every living thing outof water” Qur’an, 21:30 ).These scientific considerations should not, however, make us forget that theQur’an remains a religious book par excellence and that it cannot be expectedto have a scientific purpose per se. In the Qur’an, whenever humans areinvited to reflect upon the wonders of creation and the numerous naturalphenomena, they can easily see that the obvious intention is to stress DivineOmnipotence. The fact that, in these reflections, we can find allusions todata connected with scientific knowledge is surely another of God’s giftswhose value must shine out in an age where scientifically based atheism seeksto gain control of society at the expense of the belief in God. But the Qur’andoes not need unusual characteristics like this to make its supernaturalnature felt. Scientific statements such as these are only one specific aspectof the Islamic revelation which the Bible does not share.Throughout my research I have constantly tried to remain totally objective. Ibelieve I have succeeded in approaching the study of the Qur’an with the sameobjectivity that a doctor has when opening a file on a patient. In otherwords, only by carefully analyzing all the symptoms can one arrive at anaccurate diagnosis. I must admit that it was certainly not faith in Islam thatfirst guided my steps, but simply a desire to search for the truth. This ishow I see it today. It was mainly the facts which, by the time I had finishedmy study, led me to see the Qur’an as the divinely-revealed text it really is....********To be continued in the next posting

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by cemoiHaHahaa

cemoiHaHahaa's picture

And here is what one of your scientists has to say about Islam:Author : Dr. Maurice BucailleINTRODUCTIONOn the 9th of November, 1976, an unusual lecture was given at the FrenchAcademy of Medicine. Its title was “Physiological and Embryological data inthe Qur’an”. I presented the study based on the existence of certainstatements concerning physiology and reproduction in the Qur’an. My reason forpresenting this lecture was because it is impossible to explain how a textproduced in the seventh century could have contained ideas that have only beendiscovered in modern times.For the first time, I spoke to members of a learned medical society onsubjects whose basic concepts they all knew well, but I could, just as easily,have pointed out statements of a scientific nature contained in the Qur’an andother subjects to specialists from other disciplines. Astronomers, zoologists,geologists and specialists in the history of the earth would all have beenstruck, just as forcibly as medical doctors, by the presence in the Qur’an ofhighly accurate reflections on natural phenomena. These reflections areparticularly astonishing when we consider the history of science, and can onlylead us to the conclusion that they are a challenge to human explanation.There is no human work in existence that contains statements as far beyond thelevel of knowledge of its time as the Qur’an. Scientific opinions comparableto those in the Qur’an are the result of modern knowledge. In the commentariesto translations of the Qur’an that have appeared in European languages, I haveonly been able to find scattered and vague references to them. Nor docommentators writing in Arabic provide a complete study of the aspects of theQur’an that deal with scientific matters. This is why the idea of acomprehensive study of the problem appealed to me.In addition to this, a comparative study of similar data contained in theBible (Old Testament and Gospels) seemed desirable. Thus, a research projectwas developed from the comparison of certain passages in the Holy Scripturesof each monotheistic religion with modern scientific knowledge. The projectresulted in the publication of a book entitled, The Bible, the Qur'an andScience. The first French edition appeared in May 1976. English and Arabiceditions have since been published.RELIGION AND SCIENCEThere is, perhaps, no better illustration of the close links between Islam andscience than the Prophet Muhammad’s often-quoted statements:“Seeking knowledge is compulsory on every Muslim.”“wisdom is the lost property of the believer.”“whoever follows a path seeking knowledge, Allah will make his path toparadise easy.”These statements and many others are veritable invitations to humanity toenrich their knowledge from all sources. It comes as no surprise, therefore,to learn that in Islam religion and science have always been considered astwin sisters and that today, at a time when science has taken such greatstrides, they still continue to be associated. Nor is it a surprise to learnthat certain scientific data are used for the better understanding of theQur’anic text. What is more, in a century where, for many people, scientifictruth has dealt a deathblow to religious belief, it is precisely thediscoveries of science that, in an objective examination of the Islamicscripture, have highlighted the supernatural nature of revelation and theauthenticity of the religion which it taught.When all is said and done, scientific knowledge seems, in spite of what manypeople may say or think, to be highly conducive to reflection on the existenceof God. Once we begin to ask ourselves, in an unbiased or unprejudiced way,about the metaphysical lessons to be derived from some of today’s knowledge,(for example our evolving knowledge of the smallest components of matter orthe questions surrounding the origin of life within inanimate matter), weindeed discover many reasons for thinking about God. When we think about theremarkable organization presiding over the birth and maintenance of life, itbecomes clear that the likelihood of it being the result of chance lessensquite considerably.As our knowledge of science in the various fields expands, certain conceptsmust seem increasingly unacceptable. For example, the idea enthusiasticallyexpressed by the recent French winner of the Nobel prize for medicine, thatliving matter was self-created from simple chemical elements due to chancecircumstances. Then from this point it is claimed that living organismsevolved, leading to the remarkably complex being called man. To me, it wouldseem that the scientific advancements made in understandithe fantasticcomplexity of higher beings provides stronger arguments in favor of theopposite theory: that the existence of an extraordinarily methodicalorganization presiding over the remarkable arrangement of the phenomena oflife necessitates the existence of a Creator.In many parts of the Book, the Qur’an, encourages this kind of generalreflection but also contains infinitely more precise data which are directlyrelated to facts discovered by modern science. It is precisely this data whichexercise a magnetic attraction for today’s scientists.The Qur’an And ScienceFor many centuries, humankind was unable to study certain data contained inthe verses of the Qur’an because they did not possess sufficient scientificmeans. It is only today that numerous verses of the Qur’an dealing withnatural phenomena have become comprehensible. A reading of old commentaries onthe Qur’an, however knowledgeable their authors may have been in their day,bears solemn witness to a total inability to grasp the depth of meaning insuch verses. I could even go so far as to say that, in the 20th century, withits compartmentalization of ever-increasing knowledge, it is still not easyfor the average scientist to understand everything he reads in the Qur’an onsuch subjects, without having recourse to specialized research. This meansthat to understand all such verses of the Qur’an, one is nowadays required tohave an absolutely encyclopedic knowledge embracing many scientificdisciplines.I should like to stress, that I use the word science to mean knowledge whichhas been soundly established. It does not include the theories which, for atime, help to explain a phenomenon or a series of phenomena, only to beabandoned later on in favor of other explanations. These newer explanationshave become more plausible thanks to scientific progress. I only intend todeal with comparisons between statements in the Qur’an and scientificknowledge which are not likely to be subject to further discussion. Wherever Iintroduce scientific facts which are not yet 100% established, I will make itquite clear.There are also some very rare examples of statements in the Qur’an which havenot, as yet, been confirmed by modern science. I shall refer to these bypointing out that all the evidence available today leads scientists to regardthem as being highly probable. An example of this is the statement in theQur’an that life has an aquatic origin ( “And I created every living thing outof water” Qur’an, 21:30 ).These scientific considerations should not, however, make us forget that theQur’an remains a religious book par excellence and that it cannot be expectedto have a scientific purpose per se. In the Qur’an, whenever humans areinvited to reflect upon the wonders of creation and the numerous naturalphenomena, they can easily see that the obvious intention is to stress DivineOmnipotence. The fact that, in these reflections, we can find allusions todata connected with scientific knowledge is surely another of God’s giftswhose value must shine out in an age where scientifically based atheism seeksto gain control of society at the expense of the belief in God. But the Qur’andoes not need unusual characteristics like this to make its supernaturalnature felt. Scientific statements such as these are only one specific aspectof the Islamic revelation which the Bible does not share.Throughout my research I have constantly tried to remain totally objective. Ibelieve I have succeeded in approaching the study of the Qur’an with the sameobjectivity that a doctor has when opening a file on a patient. In otherwords, only by carefully analyzing all the symptoms can one arrive at anaccurate diagnosis. I must admit that it was certainly not faith in Islam thatfirst guided my steps, but simply a desire to search for the truth. This ishow I see it today. It was mainly the facts which, by the time I had finishedmy study, led me to see the Qur’an as the divinely-revealed text it really is.AUTHENTICITY OF QUR’ANBefore getting to the essence of the subject, there is a very important pointwhich must be considered: the authenticity of the Qur’anic text.It is known that the text of the Qur’an was both recited from memory, duringthe time it was revealed, by the Prophet and the believers who surrounded him,and written down by designated scribes among his followers. This processlasted for roughly twenty-three years during which many unofficial copies weremade. An official copy was made within one year after the Prophet’s death atthe instruction of Caliph Abu Bakr.Here we must note a highly important point. The present text of the Qur’anbenefited in its original preparation from the advantage of having itsauthenticity cross-checked by the text recited from memory as well as theunofficial written texts. The memorized text was of paramount importance at atime when not everyone could read and write, but everybody could memorize.Moreover, the need for a written record was included in the text of the Qur’anitself. The first five verses of chapter al-‘Alaq, which happen to constitutethe first revelation made to the Prophet (S), express this quite clearly:“Read: In the name of your Lord who created. Who created man from a clingingentity. Read! Your Lord is the most Noble, Who taught by the pen. Who taughtman what he did not know.” Qur’an, 96:1-5These are surely words in “praise of the pen as a means of human knowledge”,to use Professor Hamidullah’s expression.Then came the Caliphate of ‘Uthman (which lasted from the twelfth to thetwenty-fourth year following Muhammad’s death). Within the first two years ofCaliph ‘Uthman’s rule, seven official copies were reproduced from the officialtext and distributed throughout a large area of the world which had alreadycome under Islamic rule. All unofficial copies existing at that time weredestroyed and all future copies were made from the official seven copies.In my book, The Bible, the Qur’an and Science, I have quoted passages from theQur’an which came from the period prior to the Hijrah (the Prophet’semigration from Makkah to Madeenah in the year 622) and which allude to thewriting of the Qur’an before the Prophet’s departure from Makkah.There were, moreover, many witnesses to the immediate transcription of theQur’anic revelation.Professor Jacques Berque has told me of the great importance he attaches to itin comparison with the long gap separating the writing down of the Judeo-Christian revelation from the facts and events which it relates. Let us notforget that today we also have a number of manuscripts of the first writtenversions of the Qur’an which were from a time period very close to the time ofrevelation.I shall also mention another fact of great importance. We shall examinestatements in the Qur’an which today appear to merely record scientific truth,but of which men in former times were only able to grasp the apparent meaning.In some cases, these statements were totally incomprehensible. It isimpossible to imagine that, if there were any alterations to the texts, theseobscure passages scattered throughout the text of the Qur’an, were all able toescape human manipulation. The slightest alteration to the text would haveautomatically destroyed the remarkable coherence which is characteristic tothem. Change in any text would have prevented us from establishing their totalconformity with modern knowledge. The presence of these statements spreadthroughout the Qur’an looks (to the impartial observer ) like an obvioushallmark of its authenticity.The Qur’an is a revelation made known to humans in the course of twenty-threeyears. It spanned two periods of almost equal length on either side of theHijrah. In view of this, it was natural for reflections having a scientificaspect to be scattered throughout the Book. In a study, such as the one wehave made, we had to regroup the verses according to subject matter,collecting them chapter by chapter.How should they be classified? I could not find any indications in the Qur’ansuggesting any particular classification, so I decided present them accordingto my own personal one.It would seem to me, that the first subject to deal with is Creation. Here itis possible to compare the verses referring to this topic with the generalideas prevalent today on the formation of the Universe. Next, I divided upverses under the following general headings: Astronomy, the Earth, the Animaland Vegetable Kingdoms, Humans, and Human Reproduction in particular.Furthermore, I thought it useful to make a comparison between Qur’anic andBiblical narrations on the same topics from the point of view of modernknowledge. This has been done in the cases of Creation, the Flood and theExodus. The reason that these topics were chosen is that knowledge acquiredtoday can be used in the interpretation of the texts.CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE>From an examination of creation as described in the Qur’an, an extremelyimportant general concept emerges: The Qur’anic narration is quite differentfrom the Biblical narration. This idea contradicts the parallels which areoften wrongly drawn by Western authors to emphasize the resemblance betweenthe two texts. To stress only the similarities, while silently ignoring theobvious dissimilarities, is to distort reality. There is, perhaps, a reasonfor this.When talking about creation, there is a strong tendency in the West to claimthat Muhammad copied the general outlines mentioned in the Qur’an from theBible. Certainly it is possible to compare the six days of creation asdescribed in the Bible, plus an extra day for rest on God’s Sabbath, with thisverse from chapter al-A‘raaf.“Your Lord is God who created the heavens and the earth in six days.” Qur’an,7:54However, it must be pointed out that modern commentators stress theinterpretation of the Arabic word ayyaam, (one translation of whichis ‘days’), as meaning ‘long periods’ or ‘ages’ rather than periods of twenty-four hours.What appears to be of fundamental importance to me is that, in contrast to thenarration contained in the Bible, the Qur’an does not lay down a sequence forcreation of the earth and heavens. It refers both to the heavens before theearth and the earth before the heavens, when it talks of creation in general,as in this verse of chapter Taa Haa:“(God) who created the earth and heavens above." Qur’an, 20:4In fact, the notion derived from the Qur’an is one of a parallelism in thecelestial and terrestrial evolutions. There are also basic pieces ofinformation concerning the existence of an initial gaseous mass ( dukhaan )which are unique to the Qur’an. As well as descriptions of the elements which,although at first were fused together ( ratq ), they subsequently becameseparated (fatq). These ideas are expressed in chapters Fussilat and al-Anbiyaa:“God then rose turning towards the heaven when it was smoke” Qur’an, 41:11“Do the disbelievers not see that the heavens and the earth were joinedtogether, then I split them apart?” Qur’an, 21:30According to modern science, the separation process resulted in the formationof multiple worlds, a concept which appears dozens of times in the Qur’an. Forexample, look at the first chapter of the Qur’an, al-Faatihah “Praise be toGod, the Lord of the Worlds.” Qur’an, 1:1 ). These Qur’anic references are a11in perfect agreement with modern ideas on the existence of primary nebula(galactic dust), followed by the separation of the elements which resulted inthe formation of galaxies and then stars from which the planets were born.Reference is also made in the Qur’an to an intermediary creation between theheavens and the earth, as seen in chapter al-Furqaan:“God is the one who created the heavens, the earth and what is betweenthem...” Qur’an, 25:59It would seem that this intermediary creation corresponds to the moderndiscovery of bridges of matter which are present outside organizedastronomical systems.This brief survey of Qur’anic references to creation clearly shows us howmodern scientific data and statements in the Qur’an consistently agree on alarge number of points. In contrast, the successive phases of creationmentioned in the Biblical text are totally unacceptable. For example, inGenesis 1:9-19 the creation of the earth (on the 3rd day) is placed beforethat of the heavens (on the 4th day). It is a well known fact that our planetcame from its own star, the sun. In such circumstances, how could anyone claimthat Muhammad, the supposed author of the Qur’an, drew his inspiration fromthe Bible. Such a claim would mean that, of his own accord, he corrected theBiblical text to arrive at the correct concept concerning the formation of theUniverse. Yet the correct concept was reached by scientists many centuriesafter his death....********To be continued in the next posting

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by cemoiHaHahaa

cemoiHaHahaa's picture

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by cemoiHaHahaa

cemoiHaHahaa's picture

Who said a thousand years?!? Read some history, pal:)You guys pillaged the middle east in this century and still going. You ravaged India. You stole Egyptian wealth a couple of decades ago, you have been trying everything to hinder any glimpse of Islamic rise, many muslim scientists and scolars have been assassinated...how will a society be able to cope and endure so many and so savage strikes...the result is a weakened economy and what it comes with of weakend social system and everything else that is the result of decades of agressions and pillaging of local resources. No islamic acclaimed scolars? Hey, el-baz comes to mind: www.bu.edu/remotesensing/Faculty/El-Baz/FEBbio.htmlnobelprize.org/chemistry/laureates/1999/index.htmlyou do the rest of research--keep in mind that Noble prize is a european controlled award and WON'T be easily given to you if you were a muslim ;-) Unless of course you are a muslim-basher muslim and write a dirty peace about islam, then they will take it and call it a jewel of literature and will hold you in the highest of regards and will award you the prize:)Some grassroot schollars:http://www.ummah.net/history/scholars/ What I meant to emphasize that the muslims, upon whom you ignorantly look condescendingly, have ruled and prospered and enlightened the world for centuries. Isn't that enough a proof that that Islam is intrinsincly an enlightening and empowering faith?! The current state of deterioration is by and large due to the many and frequent agressions and due to being targeted by those who desire to see Islam being counted among the dead religions. Well, to their frustration, I hear that Islam is now spreading at a rate higher than ever; even more surprising to you is that "backward" religion is being embraced by more western scholars and scientists ... and even celebrities (like I cared:) What attracted learned people and scientists to Islam? Shouldn't they be the most opponents of that "backward" religion:) Look at your women and how their fat ugly bodies are being stuffed into those skin-tight pants--as if we wanna see that :) are they not aware of how they look? All your TV shows are about this little new bra or that plumpy bust or that shaved vagina or...huh, take a look at the perversion and betiality in your decaying society!! You guys are for real, when you say that those perverted people are going for a "noble" cause to help other nations gain liberty?! Aren't you aware that the whole world is aware that you were just after beefing your bank accounts? They go to campuses to recruit needy studs who will just sell anything for money and to look kool in that uniform...Kill for that end? NO PROBLEM!!!By the way, you clean people, do you wash your asses after relieving yourselves?!! It's so disgusting that you guys walk around with brown underware:) The CEO of such and such and his underware is...ha ha ha ... do you actually have the desire to intercourse with your women when their asses are so smelly and brownies:) ? I mean, your culture is just fine with toilet paper in the bathroom...do you really come out of the bathroom with a clean ass by just "wiping" it?? doesn't wiping it only spread the brownies?! hahaha...a hint for you, you need to have some bidets (some little pipe in the toilet to blow water into your ass to clean it) :)Your comment about Allah hurt me so much :):) Guy, what you say about God, the creator of the universe, is between you and him. He is big and strong enough (I hope) to fend for himself. I don't think that he ever needed me little mortal to worry about his well-being :) So, it's you and HE to settle accounts, and let's see who might win! :)For your info (your little info, if I might add) Allah is God, the creator of this universe and everything within and without. He is NOT someone's son NOR is he anyone's daddy! Why would he need a son, when he owns the entire universe?! And about the 42 virgins--they are 72, for your info :) ;-) But, seriously, things like that are not to be taken literally. The afterlife is not a physical life. It is beyond our imagination. God knows our limitations and only is telling us of some comparable happiness. However, since, this is the kind of happiness that we humans understand, God is telling us a tiny bit of heaven in a figurative and metamorphic manner. Your theories about God don't fit in with current science--Islam does. The big bang came from a little tiny grain-size thingie. Well, that's what all science is leading to nowadays. Well, God said that He tells things to be and they become. Astronomists say that the universe is expanding---gues what...It IS in the Quran!!! If I get going here, I won't have time to list it all, so I will stop, and those who seek enlightenment will have to do their own research.Here are some leads:http://www.harunyahya.com

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by cemoiHaHahaa

cemoiHaHahaa's picture

Johnny went to France because they don't care who you are,they are rude to everybody:>All kidding aside,you may be a big star in most countries but you are largely ignored in France if you are below titled personage.Johnny wanted a quiet place to raise his children.Even though Johnny knows that marriage is not made by a stupid piece of paper,he has asked Vanessa many times.SHE is the one that keeps saying no.He stated this on Oprah.He said he'd marry her in a heartbeat if he could get her to say yes.Many times actors are misquoted,and statements are used out of context in order to sell rag mags or papers.This happened to Johnny on the "puppy quote".Don't believe everything you read.Johnny is the consummate actor.He is one of the most respected actors around and most people jump to work with him.He is a loyal friend with a rep for being generous.I love and respect him myself.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by Basaxl

Basaxl's picture

I'm an American. I like allies. The French are trade and NATO allies, but we have some basic differences with them. There is no need to bash free speaking nations. We can disagree and debate, but soccer hooliganism, (or Philly/Buffalo football fan style behavior) just doesn't make any sense. We have many other fine allies around the world...and we have some differences with all of them. Don't trash allies. debate them. As for Depp, I liked Chocolate, but the lead was better than he was. He isn't a bad actor, just wrong in his politics. Dissent keeps our government alert. Let him practice his freedom of speech in Cuba for a few years...and then let him live next door to me. He would love America as much as I do after seeing the fruit-fly-in-a-bottle test they have going there. (The first lie from the Leftists is that they are Liberal at all. Individual rights = prosperity)

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by sammy4231

sammy4231's picture

Dead wrong, Shadowdog:http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/09/03/101048.phpTry again with some facts.Depp left America because we were too dumb for him.And you are an apologist for him, why?

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by onecent

onecent's picture

Where do you people get your information. Johnny Depp has never left the US. He has a house here in Los Angeles. His children have been going to school in Los Angeles for the past year. He has been commuting back and forth from the Bahamas to Los Angeles shooting two Pirates movies. Yes he has a house in France that he lives in when he is not in the US. He never said he hated and wanted to leave the US. AND he never said he was planning on leaving France. SHEESE people get a life.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by shadowdog

shadowdog's picture

to cemoiHaHahaa Get a grip. The Neandertals had their day in the sun too.1000 year ago accomplishnments count for nothing. A culture that has never had a Nobel prize, a patten/copywrite worth claiming, done nothing in medicine or science for 1000 years, or added a single thing to literature but the Koran is pathetic.Arabs live mostly in squalor and ignorance and their level of political/cultural achievement is zero.Face it, they are a failed culture by all modern metrics. 1000 year ago accomplishments don't count. So what. The world moved on.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by onecent

onecent's picture

Matilda, regardless of your praise of Howard, I know lots of folks in OZ would like to see Howard in the bottom of a Dunney with a nest of fire snakes.Oh by the way. if you want to talk about killing machines, maybe you should take a look at Saddams torture chambers and killing fields. Even hitler would have been impressed. By the way, both Hitler and Stalin were sadarses heros. Every horror movie made in hollywood combined would be insignificant in comparison to the bestiality and terror of saddam and his pups. As for France being tolerant, thats a lie. They simply have refused to believe anyone is different. They really made lots of friends by banning head scarves for muslim girls in school. To think that RACISM on the continent is not rampant is to be living in cloud cuckoo land.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by Ninety twa

Ninety twa's picture

Brent Paris? No, just parts of it. Nice to see Le Monde getting some of their own back.Bitter? Never, its just that one gets a bit tired of the smug comments about "unsophicated Americans."Time for Chirac to clean up his own back yard.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by Ninety twa

Ninety twa's picture

To European who loves AmreicaI think you will find that John Tururro has nothing but good to say about Johnny Depps acting ability.If he is anything less than a good actor why has he been around for over 20 years now?

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by O.M.G

O.M.G's picture

clown. poor little clown. what a clown.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by pabama

pabama's picture

To KathyMKWhy should I have aknowledged your soildiers, sailors ect? What has it got to do with Johnny CONSIDERING leaving France? like most of the other American posts for some reason you are all coming across as snivelling bitter idiots!BTW Johnny does not have a wife (who is uninformed now?)

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by O.M.G

O.M.G's picture

how about his stupid name? johnny depp. you just know that some clever hollywood weasel found thought depp sounded hep.i have always found the name "depp" so contrived, so over-the-top, false 1950's macho bulls**t.johnny "depp" conjures up the muscled white t-shirt guy with the shirt sleeve rolled up with a pack of Marlboro's in it. What exploitation of mindless teenage girl fantasies of yesteryear.but, it did work. and that is the truly sad part. johnny "depp" is a packaged, made-for-tv icon - of nothingness. that is why most of us who don't lust after him - find his acting wanting, and certainly not worthy of the praise that the homo's like Rex Reed's offspring continually heap on him."Depp" is just not that good, and his supposed break-out role, "Pirates of the Carribean" only appealed to vapid, county girls who who have never watched C-span or read a Russian novel. Uggggh.Want a good actor? Try John Turturro. Only Jake Gylenhall or whatever his mispelled name is, is as bad as johnny "depp"

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by European who lo...

European who loves America's picture

To O.M.GToo bad you couldn't acknowledge our [VOLUNTEER]Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen/Women, Marines who protect your right to drool over Johnny Depp. And by the way, America is spelled with a Capital A.Depp is an actor not an elected leader or historian. He was born in a country, which guaranteed his right to pursue any career he chose.He made millions here, then moved to the most cowardly country in Europe. The one the US saved from the "HUN" during both world wars. So Johnny boy can bad-mouth us all he wants, for that's what shallow, uninformed weasels do best. But I hope he does it with his wife's kin, from the country he chose to leave his homeland for. You might consider sending your idol a flag, a great big white one. For he's nothing more than a self-serving spineless twit. And one of the worst actors of anytime!

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by KathyMK

KathyMK's picture

cemoiHAHAhaa...I would love to see muslim women parading around like sluts, what with their tawny skin and big brown eyes.Gotta catch 'em young, though; they get allah-awful ugly after just a few years...;-)

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by gibbs303

gibbs303's picture

To the guy above who is crying about muslim bashing: I don't know where to begin on how idiotic you sound. Please supply one link where the american media has included any muslim "bashing" in it. You sound just like when black people like to blame everything on the white man. You should not be the one speaking about who has done what to who. Its not like Muslim people haven't done their fair share of atrocities. Please point to somewhere that says how Americans do not tolerate the muslim religion besides some extremist web site, which is where you more than likely get all your news. Turn your women into whores? How stupid are you? Its about HUMAN RIGHTS, retard. It is 100% fine if your women want to be covering 100% of their body out in public IF they want to. It is 100% ok if your women do not WANT to be offered an education. It is just fine if your women want to be treated like garbage. However, the facts show that they do not wish to be treated the way you poor excuse for men want to treat them. In afghanistan, Women are getting educations and jobs. Not because we are making them. Because they WANT to. They now have the freedom to do that. Face the facts. Your an idiot and your Allah is not real. You will not get you 40 virgins, you will not pass go. Oh yea, I heard Allah is gay and likes men.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by drkd11

drkd11's picture

Johnny Depp was always talking about how much better France was than the United States. Now, he is complaining about the rioting Muslims in France. That's funny stuff! He should stay in France and become a Muslim. He should not be allowed to return to the United States. His only interesting film was Edward Scissorhands, and it was not really that great.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by laffingjonny

laffingjonny's picture

Oh My God.... I can not believe most of these posts. I really am speechless as how misinformed so many are about johnny depp and his choices he has made. He is one of the most talented actors of his generation, he certainly did not say this to get attention for his latest movie as someone suggested, he is a family guy who cares about his kiddies and partner and whos to blame him for wanting to keep them safe? As to all you americans who have said dont come back, stay away, traitor etc, he HAS said sorry for what he said and that he will always love his country, as always things get blown out of proportion and words got put into his mouth. i think a lot of you can not believe he chose to leave the grand ol' US of A to live in 'frogland' I however dont blame him for wanting to leave, for a start he had no life as he was constantly hounded by the press , any relationship he had was constantly in the glare of press and photographers so he made a decision a lot of other hollywood 'stars' are too scared to make as they feel they wont be considered for roles if they are not there going to parties and premieres, and leave for another country. the choice to move to France was obvious as thats where vanessa is from and there he is much more free to live his life as 'normally' as possible which can only be a good thing for his relationship and his kids.So all I can say is lay off Johnny, this was not meant to be a discussion about politics and whoose county is the best, all countries have good and bad points.PS. johnny had nothing to do with the death of River Pheonix, he did not die in the club toilets as someone said but outside on the sidewalk.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by O.M.G

O.M.G's picture

Guys, it's amazing how this whole thing turned into a muslim-bashing tirade.I guess you need someone to shove your tongues back into your rotten mouths:)well, here I am!Your countries invaded, ravaged, pillaged other nations for centuries. Take a look at India and how they siphoned its resources for hundreds of years! Take a look at Egypt and how the british "royalty" stole (yes, STOLE) egyptian gold from the Egyptian National Bank in the twnties! They STOLE tonnes upon tonnes upon tonnes of egyptian gold that is now worth hundreds of billions of dollors! Do some research on the subject (you will need a brain!)They stole the gold to feed their agressor army forces around the planet and to feed their population and parasite "royalty!" Haha...They stole all of the resources of india...you guys are everywhere there is gold, oil, diamond...you are THEIVES!! :) Look at you in africa! Why is it that you only exist wherever there is some good stuff in africa? South africa!!You people skinned the poor Native Americans, when they said no to your greed!!Muslims spread civility, education, knowledge and human values, when the muslim empire dominated the world for centuries. Spain, under islamic rule, was the BEACON of civilization and knowledge in your then filthy dark continent!Say what? You are in Iraq to spread "freedom" "democracy!" Ha ha ha ha...well, you know damn well that we have known your evil intentions all the while! Yeah right, you are going to teach the cradle of civilization that TAUGHT the world how to read and write and how to have a LAW and science and everything else that you know today! Your books always mention the greeks as the source of your knowledge. You are just too shy to mention that the greeks learned from the ancient egyptians, babylonians and indians...!!!!Your "GIs" are in Iraq because they want to get those perks that come with signing up for the army...merceneries, if you well...most of whom come from ever-impoverished segments of the feeble american fabric (rug, i should say!) Most of them come from the south (hmm, did someone say louisiana:) they are just creeps and have no dignity and will kill for money--hit men...and fat women:)Guys, what is it that you hate about muslims not "adapting" to your values? Will you feel happier with muslim women walking around as a walking sex object like your sluts?! :)If you don't like immigrants, then just don't let them in. PERIOD! Why do you keep accepting immigrants?!?!? Did someone say, because your kind is dying and that you need someone to pay for the pension and retirement plans and social crumbling security systems?!Guys, your kind is diminishing...like it or not, muslims are outnumbering you:) Take it with a grain of salt ...or just...peacefrom a hut in impoverished india.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by cemoiHaHahaa

cemoiHaHahaa's picture

In response to Bushvoter, Kudos, you have solid grasp of reality, and apparently history too.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by KathyMK

KathyMK's picture

Ummmmm, fellas...I think the post by 'theidel' was meant to be sarcasm.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by gibbs303

gibbs303's picture

we dont want johnny depp back! keep him over there! as a strong critic of pres bush and america, he moved to a country that instead of trying to do something about a terrible muslim dictator and terrorist, they decided to appease the muslim population in there country and not take out saddam. kind of like not going after hilter from the get-go. and you see what happens. the muslims still dont like the french. but i geuss europe will never learn its lesson and nor will people like johnny depp.the way to deal with a problem its to go after it before it becomes to big. now johnny depp deal with it. so life is easier over there johnny huh? well at least i can sleep at night knowing my house wont be burned by terrorist. sleep well. and dont come back! oh and to the french who hate our president so much dont ask us for help again!

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by bushvoter

bushvoter's picture

and the world is flat

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by thc55

thc55's picture

Wow, theidel seems quite angry. If what he says is true then I guess Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and the Loch ness Monster are all fake. I never knew that Iraq was a peace loving country until we decided to invade. Amazing how all those people were raped/beaten/shot/hung/buried alive and gassed by such a peace loving country that waged an 8 year war over who had more camels. I do think Iraq was justified in invading Kuwait when Kuwait reneged on its billion dollar protection payment and slant drilled into Iraq's peace loving oilfields.Simply amazing theidel, simply amazing.I guess now I can sleep at night knowing that this was all a lie.Oh, and about the US learning about how to deal with Muslims....you don't give insolent children candy when they misbehave. You spank them so that your problem will not one day be someone else's. It's your right to be an idiot theidel, just do the world a favor and shy away from breeding ok?

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by EL_Tigre

EL_Tigre's picture

Pathetic. No rest for this smarmy lame little weasel.Maybe moving to crime free Saudi Arabia will be next for him.Ooops. The old lady would have to wear a burqua. Too bad. Hollywood IQ's aren't much higher than movie set temperatures.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by onecent

onecent's picture

theidel,Keep drinking the Kool-Aid.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by truthnotfantasy

truthnotfantasy's picture

Look, those poor Muslims in France just need jobs and they obviously understand arms. Since the French clearly understand that poverty is the root of violence, why not make those poor impoverished boys part of France's security force? I heard no outcry from the French when Palistinian leader Abbas announced that he was considering assimulating the murderous elements of Hamas into its security force!!!

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by Iowegean

Iowegean's picture

anyone for Johnny Depp is a pussy as well.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by bodyisalive

bodyisalive's picture

Johnny Depp is the biggest pussy on the planet. He just follows what ever is comfortable. No back bone and no real conviction about anything. What a puss!

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by bodyisalive

bodyisalive's picture

I was riding a bicycle on 72nd and Fifth Avenue when I was visiting New York City two Summers ago on vacation.I was sitting at the corner waiting for the light to change, and there was tiny Johnny Depp sitting in his Mercedes at the redlight.He looked embarrassed that I spotted him so easily in his garish car - and I stared him down, because I knowwhat a little leftist wimp and traitor to all noble causes that he really is.The average American G.I. who puts his life on the lineor even stays home in the National Guard to rescueflood victims, is 50 times the man that Johnny Depp will ever be. Only the worst, mindless teenage trash girls worship at the alter of this Euro/American bastard.Most guys I know - despise him as a traitor and wimp.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by European who lo...

European who loves America's picture

Let us forgive and forget... isn't that the Christian way?It begins with a sincere apology from Johnny about how he didn't mean to slander the USofA and how he will do all in his power to defend its constitution.Johnny can then use his French learned talents to then passionately french kiss my rectum and the rectums of all other god fearing US taxpayers... and then we might consider forgiving this scuzzy French scum.The Aussies are great... let's not let one bad apple ruin the whole barrel.Vatican Citythe pope... until i am replacedHisHolynessDPope

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by HeadGiver_78539

HeadGiver_78539's picture

Well, well, well, OpenEyes. It appears you couldn't resist the invitation extended by my concluding sentence. Your supposition about my views on the Iraq War is generally correct, or at least as correct as a hackneyed and increasingly irrelevant recipe for political debate will allow.It's true. I don't support my country's preemptive war on Iraq. I don't believe that silencing my dissent benefits my country or its soldiers. I certainly don't agree that my desire to end the improvident adventure as promptly as prudence allowence casts legitimate doubt on my love of country. The war was a bad idea from the start, and I said as much from the start. An orderly withdrawal of troops on an undisclosed schedule is the best course.To the extent the business about France accepting bribes to vote against the US at the UN is true (I don't know), would you take the position that in the absence of those bribes that the French would have just hopped on board? Yeah, just like the rest of our former European allies (Brits excepted) -- or were they too bought off from participating in this necessary and highly principled adventure in regime change and nation building? I suppose Iraq had enough oil vouchers for all of them? In any event, the United States hardly comes to the table with clean hands -- conditioning foreign aid and sweetheart military arms deals to needy micro-states on joining the coalition of the dwindled (or at least signing a paper that says you've joined). My country has been turned into an international pariah through an improvident and misguided war. And this after having garnered so much world support in the wake of 9/11 and in the legitimate campaign (unresolved) in Afghanistan. I don't have to turn Iraq into another Vietnam, in many material respects, it already is (it's about 1966, I'd say). Iran is the Soviet Union for the South and Syria is the Soviet Union for the Sunni triangle. The country is in civil war, and the U.S. is in the middle of it with no way out and with little in the way true national interest in staying. Where are the flowers, man? Where are those self-sustaining Iraqi oil revenues? Where did those reconstruction dollars fly? Hell, we don't even get the joy of the bailing out the French on this one (that must really annoy YOU, huh?). "France is an enemy of the United States, those who support her.....well...we alraedy know what most of you are." Who's we? Real 'mercans? "You dream of a UN ruling America, you Dream of no US Military because in your hearts...you know those soldiers are bad, there evil. I Added this part to reach your hearts, like I said, you know what you are, you are friends of France!" Well this is kind of far afield from my comments, wouldn't you say? Any American who doesn't support the Iraq War is a pacifist and an internationalist? You haven't reached MY heart, pal. You have,however, demonstrated a tendency to use contractions improperly. Au revoir,Tweedlecujo

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by tweedlecujo

tweedlecujo's picture

mr. depp,shut up and act...no one cares about your politics, especially your conservate America hating politicsshut up and act

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by yesman

yesman's picture

Apparently American Dollars are good enough for this ex-pat - Bad actor - Bad person

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by JewishThunder

JewishThunder's picture

I am a proud member of the much misaligned Neo-Con conspiracy. That being said alot of the stuff said about Johnny Depp is childish.The man has a right as does avery man woman and child on this earth to speak there mind. He is a brilliant actor and a fine human being, I would welcome him back to America with open arms if that is his wish.No matter his politics.On Australia thank you guys for your stand fastness with America and our joined concerns against terrorism. But one guy said he did two tours in PG1 in 1991. How in the heck is that possible, the build up to the war was only 8 months and the war its self was far shorter. A tour is 18 months or 12 months. Ya must have been an air force guy who thought his 3 month deployment was a tour.Anyways have fun.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by Lizzaro

Lizzaro's picture

Sleep is the cousin of death.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by WidowMaker

WidowMaker's picture

I just happened on this site. What is wrong with a man wanting to live a peaceful life? Why don't you people GET a life? Hatred in the form of opinion is just plain ugly. As for calling Depp a "freak" and not normal, there is one thing that most interesting people are - they are not normal.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by KY__WMN

KY__WMN's picture

Johnny-come-lately should be his name. He obviously has no loyalty to any country. That's what I would call an opportunist.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by iveywhite

iveywhite's picture

I send kudos to: whocares,worddust,alsmiths,DocTom4,MyPitboss,RobertinDallas,Servesyouright,albany,Blue Bird,Good_ky_man,GLADALLOVER,Thorosity,JackieBoy(your statement needed to include "and bad for the US"RonWeasley,momboman,RURC, Hey Kayne, FreedomFighter,homophobic Cowboy, virgin spring,chappy, noozguy,slippery pete,HEYTHERE,(brilliant!). All of you people...AMEN!A note for Ziggy: The view expressed was a bit idealistic. These muslims don't come to make a better life, they come to take over the country and make it theirs. When a person leaves the country of ones birth, and move to a new country with its own history, traditions, and way of life, the newcomer should embrace the new countries way of life or move on to one more like them. But these people don't!! They want their "adopted" country to change to accommodate them!!! I THINK NOT!! They need to accept the way of life or go back to their own country and change what they don't like!And Matilda:Oh boy! I've been to Australia! Believe me, it's not so great when the only real habitational land is on the outer edge and the huge interior is a "hell" desert! You have the majority of the most dangerous creatures in all the world in Australia...safe? No.In response to Mel, Nicole,Russell, Heath, and Elle not being put down by Aussie? They have not defamed their home country as Depp did when he called us "a broken toy" or "a dumb puppy with big teeth." If anyone of these Australian actors had badmouthed and put down the country of their birth, I think you'd be singing a different tune!

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by irishmeow

irishmeow's picture

I heard that some native Parisians held a protest to the violence. Only about 20 showed up. Their method of protest? They waved white flags!So typical of the cowardly socialists. Now they reap what they sow.When the Germans invaded France, they were met with "dinner reservations for 80,000?"

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by big baby

big baby's picture

Ahh poor Jonny. He thought America was so evil he couldn't take it. He is able though to live on American money.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by tmazgal

tmazgal's picture

Why do you keep running away????Stay and fix the problemHe should use his influence to speak to the young misguided tots.Or is he one of the entitled rich hollywood stars who give an opinion,and then stick thier heads in the ground

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by findingparidise

findingparidise's picture

Matilda,What is typical of so many liberals is that they believe what they read in the headlines and never move on to the body of the text, never mind questioning anything. Do some research and you too will come up with ths same 'conspiracy theory.' You will find that River Phoenix was before his death one of the hottest young actors in Hollywood and Depp was not. That is a fact. Also research Depp's history with drugs and you will find that he was doing drugs at age 12 and later was a drug dealer (by his own admission) in high school which he dropped out of. You'll also find that Depp was in a band and in clubs at 16 so he knew drugs and club scenes. You'll find that River was an environmentalist who bought acres of land in Costa Rica to protect the rain forest and he was a vegetarian - careful of what he put into his body. You'll also find that River died of drugs that went into his nose not with a needle like you said. This happened in a bathroom where the only witnesses were three drug dealers, friends of Depp's. Who may have held River while they pushed cocaine and heroin in his nose. We will never know what really happened. You can find a quote where River said he thought drugs were bad, but he did try drinking once as a teenager and he was glad he knew what that was all about and he would never do drugs or alcohol again. You can also find a quote from Depp which says if his kids ever want to do drugs, all they have to do is ask him and he will give them the good stuff, he doesn't want them buying the crap off the street. This is all from documented interviews that if you are diligent you can Google. Please don't take my word for it but do your own research - don't take someone else’s word either.Do some research on Anthony Fox and law suits and you'll find that Depp may be liable for fraud and that Fox is not only owed monies taken from the Business illegally by Depp but that Fox is also owed money for punitive damages. But wait, Depp moves to France and Fox disappears leaving behind his businesses and his 16-year-old daughter and house and is now presumed dead. Depp when asked later about the lawsuit against him said he knew nothing about it and nothing about where Fox might be. Wow, in business with someone and knows nothing about it. A business on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood where all the young stars go and Depp knows nothing about it except that if Fox is dead then there is no charge of Fraud.Okay, I may be a wanker, probably am, but, I mean, if this were anywhere else in the world, like I don't know Australia maybe, don't you think someone would be asking Depp a few more questions. Like 'Why were three of your friends alone in the bathroom with River when he died?' and 'Where is your partner who you owe a lot of money to, but now that he is gone, the business is all yours?'Oh, and if you don't think that America is 'Star Struck' and that we let our stars get away with murder, research O. J. and Robert Blake.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by Val Kanoe

Val Kanoe's picture

Can we all collectively say GROW UP! to dear Johnny? Remind me to not ask Johnny to defend me or my country "when Johnny comes marching home again"...It never ceases to surprise me at the juvenile mind set of the celebs on both sides of the pond

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by lolly

lolly's picture

Oh brother! Johnny, you are how old??? You haven't figured it out yet that you will never get away from unrest? Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot, you didn't finish school!! Any high school graduate would know that the world's history from the beginning of time has been about unrest! So France is going through it now. Well, so what, as long as they don't come crawling to the US for support. I wondered how long it would take before the muslims decided to retaliate on France for not getting there own way...Johnny you will never find what you are looking for in this world. It has to come from within. Your own country has LOADS of places to hide...or maybe the country of your fathers heritage..Ireland? What about Quebec? Vanessa should feel right at home. Johnny it's time to grow up a little!

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by irishmeow

irishmeow's picture

Who cares where Johnny Depp lives? He can afford to live anywhere. What about those poor French folks who cannot afford to relocate????

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by Fan of the USA

Fan of the USA's picture

I would do itif I was in his shoes.LA has violents and paparrizes everywhere he goes and OORAY for Matilda for what you said.Johnny didn't have nothing to do with River overdose he did to himself before he went to The Viper Room.I would get away too after someone died the club.So Johnny do what ever you think is best for you and your family.Johnny Depp fan forever

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by kathy

kathy's picture

Maybe Depp should try Cuba or Venezuela. They love bashers of the USA who also make much of their income from the USA.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by Say It Like It Is

Say It Like It Is's picture

How typical of the lib mindset. How dare the world intrude into their little world.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by Carla Cotte

Carla Cotte's picture

Say Nigga!!! Do what u do! Don't be a punk & run from France too!

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by gt0520

gt0520's picture

Please Don't leave Depp....Stay in France...Just look at your pic!!!...You look so much like Eurotrash allready you'd be out of place in the U.S.A. or for that matter, anywhere else in the civilized world...

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by MBS

MBS's picture

Good ridance! Maybe he'll find some room in a tent in Somalia. I'll bet he'll be the only one in the tent who uses a cigarette holder, or a condom for that matter!

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by ragu4u

ragu4u's picture

Come on back to the USA. I lived in Europe and travseled extensively while living there and had a great time. Went to France several times. There's no comparison anywhere though to the freedom,opportunity and quality of living here in the US though. I think if everyone had a chance to travel abroad and see how much more expensive it is to live,how much less the overall quality of living is and the utter lack of opporunity...there would be so much less racial desent and overall civil problems. Certainly there are other wonderful countries out there in the world, but I knew I would only want to raise my children in the US. As they get older I want to expose them to the rest of the world, but not just to spoil them and take them to all the cool touristy places. I want to educate them about how fortunate they are to live in America and for them to grow up giving to other countries, charities in the world who aren't as fortunate as we are. America's biggest problem is ignorancy and taking the opportunities and quality of life we have for granted.I've always respected you as an actor and the fact that you moved rather than just living here and complaining about how much you dislike America(compared to so many other ignorant celebrities). This country is afterall where you started your career, became famous and ridiculously wealthy. What about commending your own country and the wonderful things about it, rather than the bad ones for a change? That would be so refreshing to come out of an actor's mouth.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by Mom of 3

Mom of 3's picture

Johhny,If it's safety you're after, why do you consider only the meccas of liberalism? Why not try a red state in "fly-over country". I live in Missouri and haven't locked my door in years - not even when I'm gone.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by BobKat

BobKat's picture

Depp sucks..He walked away from America and blasted us in Europe..He deserves whatever happens.The really sad part is when the S--- hits the fan in France, they will call "ol GW and we will go help them clean up their mess..

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by Hart

Hart's picture

Interesting. Whenever left-wingers trash conservatives for any opinion they express, it is considered intelligent "dialogue". Whenever it is a conservative responding to the comments of a left-winger, it is considered red-neck trash talk. What hypocrites.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by alsmiths

alsmiths's picture

Waiting...just up and leave!I don't think the reference to "intelligent Americans" would apply to YOU!

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by ddschur

ddschur's picture

Basically reading through this thread makes me want to up and leave America. At least the rioters in France has a point. Most the post on this thread are just complete red neck rants. I thought it was the President's job to make America look bad to the rest of the world....but apparently he has a lot of help.Australia up for some intelligent Americans??

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by Waiting

Waiting's picture

So you need to leave France because IT is too violent? Sorry, Johnny. Living in your fantasy land which is far removed from the real world and a real life has doomed you to a lifetime search of "Finding Neverland"! Good luck with that!

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by alsmiths

alsmiths's picture

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!You know... living in France might not be a bad idea. Two points:One - You may be able to kill a whole lotta muslims in the coming months.Two - If the USA comes over YOU WILL get to kill a whole lotta muslims.And a BONUS!Just think of all the money the US will pump into France AGAIN after we fix it. Just like WWII only better!!

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by GIJoe33

GIJoe33's picture

Johnny,You don't want to come back here to the good old USA. We're much too unsophisticated and homophobic. Nothing but a bunch of right-wing, gun-toting, hillbilly nutjobs. You stay their in France with the progressives. You'd be much safer if you can get the rest of the liberal Hollywood crowd to move over there with you.The only problem with France, Belgium, Germany, and the like is that you haven't really listened to your Muslim brothers. You need to help determine why they hate you. I'm sure poverty has everything to do with it so you give a huge chunk of your earnings to Muslim charity and I'm sure you'll become fast friends. Just ask Sean Penn.And we'll stay here and watch Europe burn. Italy, Poland and Britain, I'll volunteer to help defend. Everyone else better get used to covering the women, memorizing the Quaran, and kissing a doormat with your butt up in the air five times a day.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by Goodbye Natalie

Goodbye Natalie's picture

Hey Johnny,Move to Sicily.More peaceful,and wouldn't have to worry about any rioting by any outside groups.La Cosa Nostra takes care of business!Food and wine...the best!

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by Vinny Palermo

Vinny Palermo's picture

The problems in France are the direct result of Socialist policies. When the government is rich and strong, only the priveledged few get the rewards and it is all based on connections and who you know, not capabilities and what you can do. The only fix is to free the French market. They're very smart. Free them and they'll succeed.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by journyx.com

journyx.com's picture

Now what's the problem, Johnnie? You left the USA because you consider it to be a violent and racist country run by conservatives and you didn't want your children to grow up in that atmosphere. So you moved to France, where the people are so much more civilized, peace-loving and sophisticated. Wrong again! Maybe now you'll realize that much of the leftist agit-prop about the USA is erroneous and slanderous. Know this, John: The European welfare state by its very nature tears at the fabric of a progressive society; it breeds high unemployment, which breeds discontent, which breeds violence. John, you're a terrific actor, but you must learn the difference between idealism and stupidity.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by Conrail

Conrail's picture

Come back and help elect your commie democrap friends and then you can watch Muslims burn cars and schools in the USA.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by worddust

worddust's picture

Depp and all the cowardly frenchmen are going to have to leave France. It is going to be a Muslim country. If you thing Americans are mean and intolerate Johnny, try living in a Muslim country. Don't lose your head over it. Ha ha ha.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by Wahhh

Wahhh's picture

Maybe he should just move to Wyoming and be done with it. No safer place to be and no more beautiful place to be. Just ask an antelope. We have more of them than people.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by wyomingwiseman

wyomingwiseman's picture

I don't get him. I think he's a terrific actor. But, running from the violence. Most people might move across town. This guy moves from continent to continent. Given his philosophy, shall we all move to...hmmm...let's see...umm.....boy, I give up.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by Jaxman

Jaxman's picture

Why is it wrong to leave an area of violence? True the world in general is becoming more violent. And it will continue to do so. Depp is in the limelight therefore what he says is berated and scrutinized heavily by the public. If it were me, I'd do the same.Q

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by Q

Q's picture

Who cares what Johnny Depp thinks? He's only an actor... maybe his current view are only a self-serving act designed make himself relevant again after such drivel as Cahrlie and the Chocolate factory or Pirates.Stop paying attention to actors and sports "stars"... start respecting teachers, policemen, firemen and normal everyday people who work hard to make the world work.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by WhoCares

WhoCares's picture

Don't come back to the USA, you arrogant, misinformed piece of s**t.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by GOP

GOP's picture

True friinds do tell you when your wrong. True friends DO NOT Accept bribes and oil vouchers as incentives to vote against you in UN Hearings. Support the French for whatever reason you want. Continue to pray that Iraq becomes another Vietnam while out of the other side of your mouth you say you support our troops but not their mission. France is an enemy of the United States, those who support her.....well...we alraedy know what most of you are. You dream of a UN ruling America, you Dream of no US Military because in your hearts...you know those soldiers are bad, there evil. I Added this part to reach your hearts, like I said, you know what you are, you are friends of France!

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by Openeyes

Openeyes's picture

Johnny Depp is a fine actor. He is not the first American actor, author, or artist to have moved to France for personal, political, artistic, cultural, or social reasons. There have been many (of all political stripes). France has always had a lot to offer as a nation and as a culture. At a time, the French were more inclined to embrace francophiles than the United States was to embrace lovers of U.S. culture from other nations. During my trips to France in the 1970s and 1980s, I saw the creeping accumulation of North African immigrants and wondered how France would deal with an en masse migration, which was obviously inspired by economic factors, rather than inspired by love of their cultural values and culture. The result is that the French now fear that France as they understand it is slipping from them, and they are both less tolerant and less embracing. The result is that second generation French from North Africa feel alienated (both for good and bad reasons). I would suspect that there is something more disturbing to Johnn Depp than burning cars and generalized short-term violence. I hope the French come to a resolution of their problems as America came to a resolution of its problems in the 1960s. Americans are a nation of immigrants, and, on balance, we've learned to handle it well (our illegal immigration is another matter). France is only adjusting to this experience.I think if Johnny Depp hangs on, he will continue to find in France what he sought, but it will be matured from the experience of dealing with other cultures and races. In a sense, Johnny Depp is just staying at his friend's house for awhile. Haven't you ever wanted to do that? We all know that "the grass is always greener," but it shouldn't keep us from visiting our neighbors.Oh, yes, and to all the people who made the hateful posts on this e-mail thread, enliven yourself with this fact: France is a true friend of America. Only true friends tell you when you are wrong.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by tweedlecujo

tweedlecujo's picture

hmmm...i wonder what the nightly average of "torched cars" is in the united states? i dont know the answer to that, but after reading this article, i did a search for "rioting france" on yahoo. this is the first couple sentences from the article entitled "rioting eases, all clear announced" dated 11-18-05.The national police service said there was a "return to a normal situation everywhere in France" overnight, with just 98 vehicles torched across the country.That figure was within the average nightly range seen before the worst civil unrest that France has seen in nearly four decades broke out on October 27.depp wanted to live in a country where on any given night,with no civil unrest, 98 vehicles are torched. i suppose he just doesnt like SO MANY of them burning.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by mesndblues

mesndblues's picture

I moved from Ohio to Queensland Australia 12 years ago. I did so because I wanted a better place to raise my family and I got it. Remember this there is no utopia each place has its problems and so do we here in Queensland. It is just our problems are so much smaller and simpler than back in Ohio. Queensland is 7 times the size of Texas making it bigger than most other countries. Australia is the size of the 48 states of the USA and has the population of LA. Half of our poplulation lives in the greater Sydney area which leaves the rest of the country for the rest of us. These distances create thier own problems but it is so much better than getting shot at which did happen back in Ohio. Thank god they always missed. Finally I had enough I checked and no where did it say I had to live in a s**t of a place so I moved (big job doing that). Now I have a summer much like I had in Ohio and a winter of warm days (65-72f) and cool evenings. Lots of friends and barby's and a great social interaction with all my friends and neighbors. Something I never had in Ohio. Most people are here by chance I am here by choice and by choice I stayed.Dont ever think I abandoned my country (USA). I served my tours and lived although slightly scarred. I dont own any body anything. My country abandoned me so I voted with my feet.Easy Go

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by Easy Go

Easy Go's picture

I love Australia I think that the.....darn a funnel web spider just bit me I have 20 minitues to live...getting dizzy.....ohhhhh

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by Frenchy

Frenchy's picture

John boy needs to move to a country with no Muslims then. Maybe Iceland.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by NanaBana

NanaBana's picture

ok... also i havta say.... Johnny HAS apologised for what he said about the US and that it was blown out of proportion... and he has the right to try and protect his children from violence and such...

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by SpeakOutloud16

SpeakOutloud16's picture

Mathilda,You don't know beans about what you speak. The small majority of deliquents who are setting fires and causing damage are of North African descent who have been over-assisted and have no role models from their own cultural background. Yes, there is job discrimination still in France, but also, many young Magrebin youths are not encouraged to continue school and thus do not have qualifications to even try to get jobs.No, the French who love their country, who you call"a bunch of froggy wankers who want to destroy there own beautiful country" are not doing the destruction, but the wake up call to defend their culture against the nihilistic ideology of some immigrants should be heeded!

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by loeil

loeil's picture

The problem with you Australian buggers is obvious after one look at your low-sloping foreheads. Yep, everyone knows that you're essentially a genetic cesspool populated by the criminally insane of England (or at least the criminally insane that did not ultimately become the Windsors).So keep your barely-hominid perspective to yourself. If Australians are really so brave, then why did YOUR troops in Iraq deploy only to the safest areas? As usual, this country does the heavy lifting for ungrateful bastards such as you. Didn't you learn anything from Bali, shrimp-on-the-barbi brain?

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by WankingMatilda

WankingMatilda's picture

Although Australia is NOT the greatest country on the Earth (everyone knows the U.S. is, in fact you should kiss our Yankee ass every time you log on to the Yankee-created Internet, with your Yankee designed processor running your Yankee-created operating system) I do give the Aussies a lot of credit for electing John Howard, who became as important a supporter of the war as Blair was, and then the best part was, you validated his support by re-electing him!!!Australia does rule, doesn't it?

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by Aussies Rule

Aussies Rule's picture

Matilda....what are you smoking out there in the Outback? Australia the greatest country on earth? roflmao Yes, I can just hear all of the oppressed people in the world talking about how they wish they can get enough money together to build a better life in SYDNEY!!! lolDon't get me wrong, I'm sure Australia is a very nice place to raise sheep, but THE U.S. is, and always will be, THE greatest country in the world. Besides, I can't take seriously a country that has less people in it than my home state of New York.As to what it is about Americans that make people want to blow themselves up, maybe you should be asking yourself that question:Australia police say Muslim cleric led attack plot CANBERRA (Reuters) - An Australian Muslim cleric who said Osama bin Laden was a "great man" has been named by police as the spiritual leader of a group of 16 men charged on Tuesday with planning a terrorist attack in Australia. Abdul Nacer Benbrika, also known as Abu Bakr, has long been monitored by Australian authorities and grabbed headlines in August after he praised bin Laden, blamed for the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.He is a self-styled leader of a fundamentalist Islamic group of young followers in the suburbs of Australia's second-biggest city, Melbourne. Some of these followers, local radio reported, attended militant training camps in Asia."Osama Bin Laden, he is a great man," Benbrika, 45, told Australian Broadcasting Corp. (ABC) radio in August.Following police raids in Sydney and Melbourne on Tuesday, Benbrika was charged with directing the activities of a terrorist organization and remanded in custody until January.So, what is it about you Aussie's that make people want to blow themselves up? Hmmmmmm?

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by momboman

momboman's picture

i would really like Johnny to come to Australia to live... mainly because Australia is extremely peaceful... sure.. theres a few violent people but ur not going to find anywhere in the world where there isnt ANY violence

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by SpeakOutloud16

SpeakOutloud16's picture

Reality has a way of wrecking your fantasy life.Johnny, it's kind of like finding out the sexy voice on the other end of the phone is 500 lb. sweathog.And you've been spanking your monkey like she's a starlet.Stay there and call the up the democrats to come over and straighten out the situation. They have an answer to everything........

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by slipperypete

slipperypete's picture

Depp is a dope who's been duped. Another H-wood halfwit bites the dust. The Kerry morons one short year ago wanted us to follow the "international community", which is now headed into the toilet.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by virgin spring

virgin spring's picture

Gee. Looky what wants to come crawling back!The same guy who called America a `fascist country' and said he no longer felt comfortable here? The same guy who's beentrashing America overseas for years? Him? NOW he wants back in?(BTW,THAT's why this creep left America...not because of `violence in L.A.)Stay in Frogland, Johnny. The country is improved by your absence.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by Freedom Fighter

Freedom Fighter's picture

Move to North Korea, sweetheart. Plenty of peace and quiet there. Oh yeah.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by El Matamoros

El Matamoros's picture

Mr. Depp has now discovered that America is the only country that has true integration and opportunity for all citizens not matter their race, sex, etc. Europe mocks our country but lives off our sweat and blood. It is unfortuante this terrible tragedy is what had to happen to awaken Mr. Depp of Europe's elitest tendencies that excludes -- not includes -- immigrants.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by bullypulpit2002

bullypulpit2002's picture

I neutered my cat. Now he's French. Do we really need Depp?

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by noozguy

noozguy's picture

Depp is not an American.Let him die in France

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by chappy

chappy's picture

Gee, Johnny. Where will you go. Can't live in France anymore, and it's just a matter of time until the police in California figure out you had something to do with the overdosing of River Phoniex or until they figure out your are behind the disappearance of your business partner in the Viper Room, Anthony Fox, who is now presumed murdered. Interesting that Anthony Fox was partners with you in the Viper Room and the Viper Room was where River was supposed to have overdosed himself. Interesting that Anthony is out of the way, did he know too much and was he going to spill the beans? And interesting that River is out of the way letting you have all the choice roles that you know you would never have got if River were still around. Where do you run to now Johnny?

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by Val Kanoe

Val Kanoe's picture

Amen! So, After all is said and done, the good "ol U.S. isn't so bad. Well Johnny Boy, I think you should stay in France and protect your interests.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by Chardonnay

Chardonnay's picture

Maybe Mr. Depp will appreciate the US more now or just realize that stuff happens everywhere. It doesn't really matter where you live. I hope he comes back to live. He is a great actor.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by kitty

kitty's picture

Ziggy, You are, (in the words of my children) a silly man. Europe, especially France, has a history of similar social unrest. There were no cars to burn in the Revolution but pleanty of heads to cut off. The United States on the other hand, has no such history. Our protests, our violent (not so in comparison) social changes, even our treatment of the underpriveleged should be seen as the model for the world. Our poor are the richested and most secure in the world. Your words cannot change that fact. I suggest you travel abroad and look close. I grew up a "poor" American and know from werence I speak. Having visited other modern and third world countries I am secure in my knowledge that this is "the place". Only Johnny is sillier than you. jerry

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by JERIZONA

JERIZONA's picture

OK Johnny come back. There are lots of places here in the good ol US to live. By the way, France; I have a pack of matches I would like to donate to the cause. This is what you get when you are a pacifist. Remove the delinquents and it will stop.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by RURC

RURC's picture

Don't bother coming back Depp. You're a traitor. You're not welcome back here in America. Can you imagine anyone so stupid as to leave the greatest country in the world so he can move to a sewer like FRANCE!!!??? OMG!! What do you expect from an actor, though. Without a doubt, most celebrities are as dumb as a doorknob.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by momboman

momboman's picture

Well, well, well. Maybe the US doesn't have things too bad after all. Yes there are many problems in France, mostly stemming from a unsupportable socialist-welfare economy that can't grow at a rate great enough to employ the immigrants. Also, lets not forget the wonderful French ethic of toleration…

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by xaphon

xaphon's picture

When I read the paper about riot-ravaged France I oh no not France.Left LA cause violent and now the riot is in France. Where ever you live take careof yourself &family.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by kathy

kathy's picture

You poor poor neo-cons. Your movement is so hollow,you're so brainwashed,that we get the same response one would have gotten 10 years ago. Where is the momentum in your movement,guys? A western nation has problems,and the response from right-wingism is to smile with glee. Like I've said: your ilk only thrives on chaos and fomenting an armegeddon ethos. The nation and world are weary of your soul-lessness. Can't you see? You're imploding. :)

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by Kouros

Kouros's picture

France has been a tolerant society for years. Keep in mind that the reason the riots are taking place have less to do with religion and more to do with socio economic class. Those who are rioting are poor, and are frustrated that the system hasn't offered any solutions out of their mess. Those who have come to France did so to make life better for themselves, as do all who leave oppressive countries and head for democracies. Riots in other democracies usually stem from similar issues. As for Mr Depp, he has every right to consider the safety of his family. But does he really want to return to the USA, where the level of bigotry, intolerance, right wing fundamentalism and Faciscm nearly matches that of some dictatorships we so effectively put out of business half a century ago? (See: Most of the previous postings...)Johnny, you may best be served by staying where you are and helping France overcome its current crisis. Bon Chance!

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by Ziggy

Ziggy's picture

Johnny! Why not form a protest against the violence in France. It will be great! You can invite all of your history ignorant Hollywood friends and George Soros, Michael Moore, Cindy Shehan, John Kerry and maybe even Ted Kennedy. And if things don't go well, you can always get John Edwards to sue the Islamofacist group that messed up your protest and hold them accountable. That is, if you still have your heads attached.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by Thorosity

Thorosity's picture

Socialism == lower birth rates == shrinking economy==importing muslims==the death of "french culture"==police brutality==riots==johnny depp comes home?

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by bokumo

bokumo's picture

Good Depp....thats exactly what you deserve. You and your liberal nutcase buddies should ALL have to experience it.Stay there and suffer in it.No regards to you.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by DocTony

DocTony's picture

Enjoy your "flaming" crepe suzette, you self-absorbed nobody. Stay away from the USA, you aren't welcome here now.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by Serves You Right

Serves You Right's picture

dumb ass!!!

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by robert in dallas

robert in dallas's picture

He sure had awful things to say about the US when he first made the move to France. Enjoy the muslims! You deserve it!

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by MyPitboss

MyPitboss's picture

I'm betting he is glad he bought that island!!

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by Waiting

Waiting's picture

Nice sarcasm...He's still living in France because his girlfrriend and mother of his two children is French actress/singer Vanessa Paradis. Like most French citizens, Depp is simply shocked that the violence was not properly stopped by the government. France has now the largest Muslim and African population in Europe and their youth have owned the streets for years now. This will keep getting worse has they have a birthrate 2-3 times of the national average and the French economy has no jobs waiting for them.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by Grenouille

Grenouille's picture

LA was too violent, so the next best thing was france? Normal people were laughing at him from a mile away. You're welcome back, of course, because Americans are tolerant of ignorance.

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by jeffreyg

jeffreyg's picture

WELL, WELL, WELL..HES FINALLY GETTING TO SEE WHAT THE OTHER SIDE OF THINGS ARE ABOUT. YOU KNOW THAT THINGS DONT STAY THE SAME. BUT IF I HAD TO, I WOULD HAVE LEFT TOO. SOME PLACE BETTER THAN HERE. I MEAN, THE USA IS ALRIGHT AND ALL IN ITS PLACE, BUT, HEY COME ON, STOP PLAYING. THINGS DONT STAY THE SAME FOREVER, I SURE HATE IT.....

Posted 18 years 4 months ago by depp 3

depp 3's picture

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Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Movie Review

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Movie Review

Subtitled Salazar's Revenge in the UK, this fifth film in the long-running series never quite...

Pirates Of The Caribbean 5: Dead Men Tell No Tales (Salazar's Revenge) Featurette and Trailer

Pirates Of The Caribbean 5: Dead Men Tell No Tales (Salazar's Revenge) Featurette and Trailer

It seems Captain Jack Sparrow has been sailing the seas as a pirate for many,...

Pirates of the Caribbean 5: Dead Men Tell No Tales Trailer

Pirates of the Caribbean 5: Dead Men Tell No Tales Trailer

Forget Davy Jones' Locker and the Fountain of Youth, Captain Jack Sparrow is on an...

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Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Movie Review

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Movie Review

It's been five years since the last Harry Potter movie, and J.K. Rowling has been...

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Trailer

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Trailer

Jack Sparrow finds himself in constant trouble with the law; not only is his name...

Alice Through the Looking Glass Movie Review

Alice Through the Looking Glass Movie Review

This much more light-hearted sequel reinvigorates the franchise after Disney's quirky but murky 2010 reboot...

Alice in Wonderland: Through the Looking Glass Trailer

Alice in Wonderland: Through the Looking Glass Trailer

As Alice is once again taken into the magical and mysterious world that she's somehow...

Black Mass Movie Review

Black Mass Movie Review

For a biopic of a real-life person, this feels like an oddly standard mob thriller....

Alice Through The Looking Glass - Teaser Trailer

Alice Through The Looking Glass - Teaser Trailer

Alice once again returns to Wonderland and meets a lot of familiar faces. This time...

Edward Scissorhands - Clips Trailer

Edward Scissorhands - Clips Trailer

Edward Scissorhands is no ordinary boy, as his name may tell. Created by a genius...

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