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Prince & religion Since my earliest recollection Prince talked and sung about God. In his time he talked about Christian beliefs, eventually becoming JW, but rather interestingly started talking general spiritually in recent times - 3rd eye stuff ( my understanding is that JW faith does not allow study of other beliefs). Does anybody on the org follow other faiths other than of a Christian basis? (if you follow anything at all). I just read an article on P's brief words regarding Islam ( link below), a faith I have been reading up on recently. https://www.theguardian.c...ntries-fun As equality grows, violence declines. | |
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Man, that Islamic article got him so much heat like he was embracing the oppression of women. I think when he said there was a dark side to everything after mentioning that everything is going to make someone unhappy--that was him basically stating that everything has a good and bad side to it. An Islamic state has order, borders, routine, ritual, spirituality and predictability which can be welcoming to people without those things in their life.. The dark side of that state is the oppression and suplication of women and the violence that is directed towards those who reject that way of life. He was embracing what he liked about Islamic countries not necessarily agreeing with every aspect.
The thing about Prince interviews is that his interviews should have been recorded and fully documented. It is like he kept forgetting that soundbites and cherry picking are common practices in interviews.
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Right, it's time for me to step up - I'll be talking from the Shiite Bektashi perspective.
In the UAE, hardly any women wear burkas. Burkas are mostly worn in Afghanistan and they cover the whole body, including eyes. What you can see in the UAE are niqabs (they cover everything apart from eyes). However, they are not legally imposed - lots of women over there wear pretty much whatever they want unless it's only underwear in public spaces.
Some Muslims are more pious than others and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Some Muslims cover because they believe it will bring them rewards in the afterlife because this is what God ordains us to do. This extends to other areas of life - they may abstain from music, premarital sex, meals during Ramadan daytime and so on. It may appear strict to others, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, but it's a personal choice.
I see nothing wrong with that interview apart from the fact the interviewer should have double-checked the facts.
PS: Oppression of women is horrific and it does exist among Muslims, it can't be denied - but, honestly, gender oppression exists across religions as well as agnosticism and atheism and there are lots of Muslim feminists that fight it. full lips, freckles, and upturned nose | |
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excellent points about the complexity and nuances of gender politics (from Islamic country to Islamic country) versus religious convictions in those countries.. Probably Prince was referring to niqabs but was unaware of their official names. Like I said, one can find good and bad in almost anything.
[Edited 12/19/16 12:40pm] [Edited 12/19/16 12:41pm] | |
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Apparently, Prince believed in the Hindu belief in Chakras or he claimed to.
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Bilal shares a story about getting into a debate over the Bible vs. the Koran. He was trying to get Prince to see how (in his opinion) Christianity and Islam were similar. Someone pulled him away and said there are two things you don't do around Prince: swear and discuss religion. http://www.okayplayer.com...rince.html Paisley Park is in your heart
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For the entirity of his career, Prince was all over the place with regard to his beliefs.
Didnt matter to me. I was and always will be about his music. (Insert something clever here) | |
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Yes thats definite, good n bad in everything - country, religion, organisation. My understanding of the original Quran text is that women should be treated as equal, but like all religions, words are open to interpretation. It would be great to hear from any Prince fans who are "non Christian religious" and what led you to Prince. As equality grows, violence declines. | |
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But Prince himself implied they were similar in one of his songs "Same Page Different Book". Either Bilial changed Prince's mind or he misinterpreted Prince's argument (or never got a chance to really discuss it with him). (From the lyrics, only one God--no matter the name-I interpreted that to imply that it could be Jehovah, God, or Allah). the fighting reference and war stuff could be fighting in Islamic countries. I read this song as saying that people shouldn't fight over religious differences and just live good lives of good deeds and service and let God sort it out later.
Same page Breathe. Let it breathe.
[Edited 12/19/16 13:24pm] | |
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Exactly. Prince's beliefs were not engraved in stone or anything. He was willing to change his mind. He had more questions than answers probably. He believed in music, God and sex and probably in that order. The rest of the details changed and altered.
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My reasons were not exactly tied to religion. I loved his music and lyrics - he was a great feminist and a vegetarian and that's what I admired about him. And he was also very good looking. Androgynous men with dark hair and beards are my weakness. full lips, freckles, and upturned nose | |
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I get that he seemed to regret his wild youth, telling people they didn't have to make the same mistakes he made, but wishing the restrictions of conservative Islam, compulsory religion and burqa's on people was just too much from a man who paraded around in his underwear and insisted his female band members did the same when they were uncomfortable with it.
"Be glad that you are free, free to change your mind
Free to go 'most anywhere, anytime so long as you wear a burqa and a male member of your family escorts you" isn't the level of freedom I wish for. .
Most Islamic countries don't insist on just one religion. Most muslim women don't wear a burqa. However, for a British woman visiting even liberal Islamic countries it does feel oppressive. When part of a family group with my husband and children, the people couldn't be nicer. But, I'm used to being independent. The behaviour of the men to lone women is not something I would want to live with on a daily basis. Being stuck at home and unable to go anywhere until my husband arrives home from work (as is the situation with a British muslim woman I know whose husband took a job in Saudi) doesn't appeal either. I also don't want my life dictated by anyone else's interpretation of some old, contradictory texts.
I can only think he had become very unhappy and disillusioned with certain aspects of his life and the choices he made to start thinking that people would be happier having no choice. | |
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I don't recall him ever "wishing" anything specific on anyone. I think he was talking about laws and authority in a general sense and his need to give into authority rather than be a "loving tyrant" who was supposedly against authoritians but acted like one himself.
I have absolutely no wish to live in a country with compulsory religion or theocracy and consider myself a feminist with liberal leanings. And in this interview, Prince did reveal that his mentality was that of someone living within a bubble looking out into the world. His life was probably busy and seemed chaotic (within that show business bubble) so when he saw order and people functioning outside, he envied them while not fully seeing how chaotic lives outside that bubble truely are. Prince was a curious man who liked to read but really needed to get out more..LOL>
However, in his defense, Prince was talking about a peace HE got being there but that doesn't mean he couldn't necessarily see the flip side of the coin. Saying there is a 'dark side to everything" (I presume) is not saying that people's opposition to oppression is a dark side...but that the oppression itself is the dark side because it is not so voluntary. In other words, the interviewer reminded him that not everyone was at peace with the lack of choice. To which, he acknowledged that there was good and bad in everything. I think he probably had mixed feelings about structure and traditions because they give you a blueprint to follow when it comes to life choices but (as the interviewer reminded him), they are not necessarily fair to everyone. Talking in broad philosophical terms doesn't necessarily mean he believed in extreme female oppression. He could have been more sensitive about the subject, but I imagine even oppressed women in Burqas are so used to it, they have found ways to function and persevere within that structure to some extent. From a distance, Prince was probably seeing Islamic women getting by on their daily way with little drama (but wasn't seeing how complicated their internal and personal lives might have been.) However, I really don't think Prince would want an Islamic state here. After all, he is a JW (and his religion would not be allowed in an Islamic state. hell, even his more subtle sexual lyrics would not be allowed) ..so his statements shouldn't be taken so literally when it comes to Burqas et cetera.
[Edited 12/19/16 14:20pm] [Edited 12/19/16 14:26pm] [Edited 12/19/16 14:38pm] [Edited 12/19/16 14:44pm] | |
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purplerabbithole said: Exactly. Prince's beliefs were not engraved in stone or anything. He was willing to change his mind. He had more questions than answers probably. He believed in music, God and sex and probably in that order. The rest of the details changed and altered.
Hmm...I'd probably flip God and music. In that 1999 interview with Larry King he said his insperation comes from God and in 2004 he told BET that music was a gift from God. Paisley Park is in your heart
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I picked music first because there is a notion that Prince may have been a musical savant. If music was consuming him constantly, almost like a burden, then he may have attributed his obsession with music to God. Kind of like which came first--the chicken or the egg. Without his all-consuming passion for music that he was unable to explain or understand except by giving credit for it to God, would he have been as spiritual?
Plus, he never gave up music to become a cleric. So, I am still going to put music first.
[Edited 12/19/16 17:33pm] | |
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Welcome to "the org", Mumio…they can have you, but I'll have your love in the end | |
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I see no need to think devisively in terms of he favoured ONE religion over another...
YEP...Prince LOVED GOD ,Questioned GOD, Searched for GOD and Gave Credit to GOD.....
There is ONLY ONE GOD
I started this thread a while back
http://prince.org/msg/7/434106
and here is a really Cool article about Princes Spirituality according to a Pastor...
http://www.al.com/opinion...rince.html
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Here is a rather Beautiful article written by Minister Louis Farrakhan
https://www.noi.org/prince-tribute/
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sunset3121 said: I get that he seemed to regret his wild youth, telling people they didn't have to make the same mistakes he made, but wishing the restrictions of conservative Islam, compulsory religion and burqa's on people was just too much from a man who paraded around in his underwear and insisted his female band members did the same when they were uncomfortable with it.
"Be glad that you are free, free to change your mind Free to go 'most anywhere, anytime so long as you wear a burqa and a male member of your family escorts you" isn't the level of freedom I wish for. . Most Islamic countries don't insist on just one religion. Most muslim women don't wear a burqa. However, for a British woman visiting even liberal Islamic countries it does feel oppressive. When part of a family group with my husband and children, the people couldn't be nicer. But, I'm used to being independent. The behaviour of the men to lone women is not something I would want to live with on a daily basis. Being stuck at home and unable to go anywhere until my husband arrives home from work (as is the situation with a British muslim woman I know whose husband took a job in Saudi) doesn't appeal either. I also don't want my life dictated by anyone else's interpretation of some old, contradictory texts. I can only think he had become very unhappy and disillusioned with certain aspects of his life and the choices he made to start thinking that people would be happier having no choice. Interesting points. Personally I think too much choice becomes confusing. Yet no choice is a dangerous for all. A middle ground maybe best. As equality grows, violence declines. | |
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Prince has always held a spiritual view, throughout his involvement with religion. In Uptown he sings, "It's all about being there, Everybody's going Uptown, That's where I want to be, Uptown, Set your mind free." In Party Up, "It's all about what's in your mind." It was as though in his first few albums, he was experimenting slightly with putting out a message of freeing your mind, being present, but once he got Controversy, it became more and more prominent. In the title song, he sang, "Some people want to die, so they can be free, I said life is just a game, we're all just the same, do you wanna play?" then goes into the Lord's prayer, before the chant, "People call me rude, I wish we were all nude, I wish there was no black and white, I wish there were no rules." In Eastern teachings, dualities are taught to be non-existent (black and white); and if you remember, before man's fall in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were nude and there were no rules. It could be said that before the fall, man was not aware of dualities, but once they ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge, suddenly they were aware of the differences between them. The song Sexuality is full meaning. 3121 (2006), Planet Earth (2007), Lotus Flower (2009) - Lotus Flower is actually a very spiritual symbol. Prince never moved away from his spiritual beliefs, however, he adopted the JW religion in the early 2000s because it gave him a sense of community with people that studied the Bible as much as he did, which he respected, and because it gave structure, but he never lost those deeper spiritual beliefs. It wasn't just in his lyrics, but in the things he would say during interviews through the years, too. I remember reading one interview (or watching one, can't remember now), but he said that when he would pull out the Bible, or start talking about God, people would stop calling. He needed a community to talk about it, someone that would not run away when he pulled out the Bible. Edited to add: Even in The Rainbow Children, Prince sang about the Akashic Record. The Akashic Record is mystical knowledge that's encoded in the aether or astral plane, that anyone can access if they are open. (Open mind, free your mind, see the sun (light) day or night, astral traveling hottie, etc and so forth - terms Prince has used throughout his career). [Edited 12/19/16 22:32pm]
[Edited 12/19/16 22:35pm] | |
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Nice catch about the Akashic Record. I just looked it up. Apparently, its mysticism that has a connection to Buddhism.
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[Edited 12/19/16 23:32pm] | |
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purplerabbithole said: I picked music first because there is a notion that Prince may have been a musical savant. If music was consuming him constantly, almost like a burden, then he may have attributed his obsession with music to God. Kind of like which came first--the chicken or the egg. Without his all-consuming passion for music that he was unable to explain or understand except by giving credit for it to God, would he have been as spiritual?
Plus, he never gave up music to become a cleric. So, I am still going to put music first.
[Edited 12/19/16 17:33pm] I get what you mean. Let's say their co #1s then. Paisley Park is in your heart
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I can agree with this too...
Music was what ran through his blood...Its what drove him and at some point he realised that he was actually a conduit.
At that point he would have had a deeply spiritual experince , realising that the MUSIC was not coming from him, Rather Music came through him.....
THis would have naturally made him look for the source and thus he connected with God.
No , if he had claimed that HE was making the music he would have been overtaken by EGO...
Instead though he may have battled with ego many times, in the end we saw a very Humble man,
because he gave all credit to GOD rather than taking it for himself..
Music was how God talked to Prince... | |
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Lovejunky, I'm confused by your response. What did you mean when you said this? I had agreed with Rogifan's point, but I don't see anything devisive about the point itself?
[Edited 12/20/16 7:58am] Welcome to "the org", Mumio…they can have you, but I'll have your love in the end | |
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Sorry Mumio..I had worded this really badly....
I mean that confining people to one secular religious denomination can be devisive.
WHen people have GOD at the centre, irresspective of whether they are Muslims, JW,s or NEW AGE Spiritualists there is harmony and unity....
Its not the NAME of the religion that defines ones Status as a Religious Person,
Its in their actions and behaviour...
I was actually respondind to something I read on another thread before I wrote here... so YES..I totally get that I confused you..I was confused myself for a second...lol | |
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Welcome to "the org", Mumio…they can have you, but I'll have your love in the end | |
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Anyone know anything more about this book and if it will ever be released? http://www.apurpledayindecember.com Paisley Park is in your heart
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Yes Mumio..thats what I was trying to say..but you nailed it where as I think I "Waffled" | |
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