Minutes of the January 16, 2010 meeting
of the Tampa Chapter SAR
President Bell called the
meeting to order at
Members present: Jack Bolen,
Marty Miller, Allen,
Welcome guests:
Wives:
June Bolen, Jeanne Lloyd, Judy Copeland, and Lissette
Young,
Other
guests: Catherine Szydlowski and son Thomas; Doug
Brown and wife Emily (Doug’s application is pending at National)
The President introduced the
guests.
The minutes of the December
meeting were approved.
At the request of the
Treasurer, who was delayed in arriving at the meeting, Vice President Yarnell
asked the membership to approved Marty Miller as the auditor of the chapter
accounts in preparation for turning the books over to the new Treasurer Chuck
Copeland. The motion passed.
Luke Lloyd reported that the
chapter currently has two applications pending at national.
President Bell announced a
genealogical workshop that will be conducted at the
With regard to the color
guard, Alan is looking into a Massing of the Colors Ceremony on March 7th
in which our group might participate.
The chapter received a
recorded message from the president general on CD that we had hoped to play for
the membership. Unfortunately, the sound produced by the computer was not loud
enough and it was agreed to make another attempt next month.
The meeting recessed for
lunch.
The Secretary / Treasurer
arrived during lunch and thus was able to offer his
reports. He reported a balance of $2808.46 and petty cash $33.26. There was
nothing of crucial importance to report from the state Board of Management
meeting from which he had just returned.
The Treasurer asked the
membership to approve Chuck Copeland, Treasurer, Luke Lloyd, President, and
Kevin Yarnell, Secretary as new signers on the chapter checking account.
Terrell Sessums moved, seconded by Cy
Gamber that these men be authorized to be signers on
the chapter checking account. The motion passed
President Bell called on
Jack Bolen who inducted the new officers. Following the induction, Jack took a
moment of personal privilege to acknowledge Luke’s efforts as chapter Registrar
over the past four years. Many of the current members were approved on his
watch. The members joined Jack in his sentiments.
Luke Lloyd assumed the Presidency
and chaired the meeting from this point on and proceeded into his presentation,
“Islamic Doctrines and Consequences”. He provided some personal background on
his military experience in the
Secretary’s Note: This is another
time when my notes will likely not be adequate to convey the excellent talk
provided by Compatriot Lloyd. I offer them primarily as a reminder for those in
attendance but hope they may provide some sense of the presentation to those
not present.
The speaker first observed
that Islam is more than just a religion. Instead it is a religion, a fully
developed political system, and a culture. Each of these areas was discussed in
turn.
Next Luke discussed the
sources required to understand Islam: While most people might think the Koran
is the authoritative source it is actually one of three necessary texts. The
others are the Sira which contains a biography of
Mohammad and the Hadith which details the traditions
of Mohammad. Each book is both religious and political and directs humanity to
do as Mohammed did.
With this background
President Lloyd examined reasons that make Islam so hard for westerners to
comprehend. First, an explanation of the term “dualistic Faith” was provided.
Specifically, it was noted that the religion is not based solely on Allah but
rather requires both Mohammed and Allah. Seventeen percent of the total number of pages in the 3 books mentioned above are about
Allah and 83% are about Mohammad. This dualism also plays out in areas such as
believers vs. non-believers and women vs. men.
Additionally, Westerner’s
have trouble with the ethics of Islam. We have a unitary ethics as illustrated
by the golden role. Islam does not have the golden role. Duality is present
here. There is one set of ethics for Muslims and another for non-Muslims.
Further, in Islam two things can contradict each other and be true at the same
time. This is not how western logic works and makes an understanding of Islam
very difficult for westerners. One can’t simply pick up a Koran and learn the
religion. What will appear to a Westerner as contradictory statements are not
held to be so by Islam. Since we have trouble
understanding Islam we have relied on Muslims to tell us of their faith and
they have told us what we want to hear. This leads us into believing that Islam
is harmless and peaceful.
Luke spent some time
detailing the consequences of Islamic dualist beliefs especially as it relates
to Jihad and terrorism. He concluded by pointing out that a thorough
understanding of Islam by our leaders is essential as they determine US policy
towards Islamic countries. Equally important, individual citizens too should
seek a better knowledge of Islam and move beyond our simplistic view that Islam
is just another religion.
A time of questions followed
allowing Luke to clarify and expand on key points.
Ed Neugaard
won the 50/50 drawing. The treasury was enriched by $9.50.
The President led the
recessional, Jack Bolen gave the benediction, and the meeting adjourned at
Respectfully submitted,
Kevin Yarnell
Chapter Secretary