Source: (consider it)
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Thread: The priest in the mosque
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Simon
Editor
# 1
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Posted
Joke submitted by goodric:
A priest, driving in an Islamic country, broke down just outside a mosque at 2 o'clock in the morning. He called at the Imam's house for help and the Imam kindly and hospitably invited him in.
After spending some time on the phone it appeared no one wanted to come out and fix his car. The priest was perturbed, and told the Imam it was important that he should be on his way as he was visiting a believer who was terminally ill in hospital.
"Well," the Imam said, "I can't suggest anything else except that we pray."
The priest agreed and so they both headed into the mosque. Walking in, the priest was amazed to see a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and then to see the Imam kneel down in front of it.
"Hang on," the priest remarked. "Surely you as a Muslim shouldn't be doing that?"
The Imam promptly replied, "What, do you expect me to disturb Muhammad's mother at THIS time in the morning?" [ 05. August 2005, 09:42: Message edited by: Simon ]
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-------------------- Eternal memory
Posts: 3787 | From: London | Registered: Mar 2001
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Adam.
Like as the
# 4991
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Posted
But, Muslims don't pray to Mohammed's mother... do they?
Would be funnier with a Hindu priest, who doesn't want to wake one of his gods.
-------------------- Ave Crux, Spes Unica! Preaching blog
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Marvin the Martian
Interplanetary
# 4360
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Posted
quote: Originally posted by ACOL-ite: But, Muslims don't pray to Mohammed's mother... do they?
Not that I know of. Though that angle in the joke does throw the practice of praying to Christ's mother into stark relief. Is it as ridiculous a concept as praying to Mohammed's mother would be to a muslim?
-------------------- Hail Gallaxhar
Posts: 30100 | From: Adrift on a sea of surreality | Registered: Apr 2003
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KenWritez
Shipmate
# 3238
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Posted
Not bad, but could be better. There's no set-up for the punchline, though, and the cognitive dissonance of a BVM in a mosque breaks the "suspension of disbelief."
-------------------- "The truth is you're the weak. And I'm the tyranny of evil men. But I'm tryin', Ringo. I'm tryin' real hard to be a shepherd." --Quentin Tarantino, Pulp Fiction
My blog: http://oxygenofgrace.blogspot.com
Posts: 11102 | From: Left coast of Wonderland, by the rabbit hole | Registered: Aug 2002
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churchgeek
Have candles, will pray
# 5557
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Posted
quote: Originally posted by KenWritez: Not bad, but could be better. There's no set-up for the punchline, though, and the cognitive dissonance of a BVM in a mosque breaks the "suspension of disbelief."
ditto.
-------------------- I reserve the right to change my mind.
My article on the Virgin of Vladimir
Posts: 7773 | From: Detroit | Registered: Feb 2004
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Papio
Ship's baboon
# 4201
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Posted
quote: Originally posted by ACOL-ite: But, Muslims don't pray to Mohammed's mother... do they?
Would be funnier with a Hindu priest, who doesn't want to wake one of his gods.
(Tangent)
Some Christian missonaries to Hindu's (if you take Hinduism to be a religion, as opposed to shorthand for a variety of religions) were dissapointed to find that a statue of Christ had simply been added to the pantheon...
For some Hindu's, Christ is just another avatar of Brahman..
(Tangent)
-------------------- Infinite Penguins. My "Readit, Swapit" page My "LibraryThing" page
Posts: 12176 | From: a zoo in England. | Registered: Mar 2003
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Joan_of_Quark
Anchoress of St Expedite
# 9887
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Posted
Not to mention that strict Muslims don't have figurative art, there wouldn't be statues of anyone anywhere near a mosque.
This joke doesn't work for me on any level either.
-------------------- "I want to be an artist when I grow up." "Well you can't do both!" further quarkiness
Posts: 1025 | From: The Book Depository | Registered: Jul 2005
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Sir Kevin
Ship's Gaffer
# 3492
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Posted
Knowing Goodric's a priest, I expected this joke to be funnier. I wish I had a muslim friend to check with on this Muhammed's mother business, but my muslim friend died of cancer a few months ago. Who was his mother anyway? Why would even intercession from the BVM be able to convince God (or Allah) to heal an inanimate object?
I find the joke falling a bit flat for these reasons.
-------------------- If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction Dietrich Bonhoeffer Writing is currently my hobby, not yet my profession.
Posts: 30517 | From: White Hart Lane | Registered: Oct 2002
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Midnight Scholar
Shipmate
# 9112
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Posted
Doesn't work for me either, neither funny nor offensive - though I suspect it might be slightly more offensive to Muslims, who (a) do indeed venerate (NOT 'worship') the BVM as the mother of Saint Issa, but who wouldn't under any circumstances have an image of her in a mosque (for reasons already discussed); and (b) who don't AFAIK regard the Prophet's (PBUH) mother in quite the same light.
Muslims generally do accept the Virgin Birth (it's in the Holy Qur'an, Sura 19:19 and other references - in fact Sura 19 is actually called Maryam (Mary) after the BVM) and ascribe a special status to Mother Mary; but there's no similar status ascribed to the Prophet's (PBUH) mother.
Most sources including Wikipedia state that the Prophet (PBUH) was the son of Amina, and lost his mother when he was six years old, having scarcely known her (he is supposed to have been given at an early age into the care of a Bedawin wet-nurse, desert life being supposed to be most healthy for children). His father Abdullah ('Servant of Allah') died before he was born.
Neither his father nor his mother have any special status in Islamic lore.
hth
cheers
mn
-------------------- Men are from Earth. Women are from Earth. Deal with it.
Posts: 129 | From: out there | Registered: Feb 2005
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Goodric
Shipmate
# 8001
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Posted
It apparantly was told to a church leader in an Islamic country by an Imam. That church leader told it to me recently. He seemed to think it was both funny and quite risque.
-------------------- Happy Christmas Everyone You can find me here
Gone to a better place.
Posts: 7160 | From: You all know anyway | Registered: Jul 2004
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rewboss
Shipmate
# 566
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Posted
It was probably a "had-to-be-there" moment. I can imagine the two of them having a rollicking good time and swapping jokes, and laughing themselves silly at this one.
-------------------- The latest from the world of rewboss
Posts: 1334 | From: Lower Franconia, Germany | Registered: Jun 2001
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Goodric
Shipmate
# 8001
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Posted
I have a feeling there is also something of a different culture at work here. Certainly the chap he told me the joke, told me about telling it and "getting away with it" - as though he were fortunate too - in that particular country.
-------------------- Happy Christmas Everyone You can find me here
Gone to a better place.
Posts: 7160 | From: You all know anyway | Registered: Jul 2004
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Julian4
Shipmate
# 9937
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Posted
It does seem to take on a new angle, once you know it was told by an Imam. Before reading Goodric's post, it just seemed too implausible for the reasons everyone else has given: a statue, particularly of Mary, in a mosque; a Muslim praying to Mary; a Muslim praying to Mohammed's mother... Makes me wonder whether the Imam was actually joking, on another level, about the Catholic habit of praying to someone's mother rather than to Someone (but then I think, Muslims don't pray to Mohammed either so perhaps I'm over-analysing)
Posts: 305 | From: Dorset | Registered: Aug 2005
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Goodric
Shipmate
# 8001
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Posted
No Muslims do not pray to Mohammed (or to his mother)and that is, why I think the Imam found it an amusing joke to tell to the Christian leader - particularly in an enviroment which is fairly, let us say, strict. BTW Some nice quiet interfaith dialogue going on there in the midst of a sea of some rather nastier fundamentalism.
I think some jokes are clearly amusing to some people from some cultures and just not amusing to others.
-------------------- Happy Christmas Everyone You can find me here
Gone to a better place.
Posts: 7160 | From: You all know anyway | Registered: Jul 2004
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The Bede's American Successor
Curmudgeon-in-Training
# 5042
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Posted
quote: Originally posted by Goodric: I think some jokes are clearly amusing to some people from some cultures and just not amusing to others.
You have to be willing to accept some cognitive dissonance for many jokes to work.
By the way:
Q. Who is the only female mentioned by name in the Quran?
A. Mary. As in the BVM. Yes, her.
Knowing that Mary is respected enough in Islam to be the only female mentioned by name in the Quran, I still had a chuckle from this joke.
Don't take things so seriously.
-------------------- This was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride of wealth and food in plenty, comfort and ease, and yet she never helped the poor and the wretched.
—Ezekiel 16.49
Posts: 6079 | From: The banks of Possession Sound | Registered: Oct 2003
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