Addi,
fwiw: I think all religions teach tolerance and goodness. If they didn't, they would not have commanded any following. I guess my problems is not as much with the teachings of Islam as they are with the followers of Islam.
I see violence on TV everyday. But am i moved to commit acts of violence against mankind ? No. Neither are the majority of viewers. Thats coz God has given me enough common sense and maturity to tell right from wrong. And in case I was'nt capable of making that distinction, the local law and order enforcement agencies would make it known to me that acts of aggression are a crime. And if I continue to do so, they would have no qualms about locking me up for my own good and for the benefit of society. And that is how it should be in the cilvilised world.
However, my 3 year old, when he sees the guns totting heros and villains on the TV, is incited to grab a spoon, point it at me and go "Phishum Phishum", so I have to 'punish' him for that and then be careful what I let him view. My 12 year old watches Jennifer Lopez and sings her songs, but she isn't incited to impersonate her in real life. So it is safe to say that somewhere between the ages of 3 and 12, the kids develop a sense of balance. They develop the ability to differentiate right from wrong.
The point I am trying to make is it does not matter what Islam says. It could well be the greatest book in the world or be as mundane as a songbook of Britney Spear lyrics. If millions of adult Moslems are incited into killing thousands without any guilt or remore, if they want to kill more and more and more, esp in this age and time when the world all over is moving towards creation of more equal societies and amalgamation of cultures and religions, one has to wonder if, like my son, they are too immature to be exposed to that particular religion and those particular texts...? And whether the text are really to blame at all ?
And when the religious police, and the political police <clerics and political leaders> do nothing to check their crimes, or even denounce them, it tells me a lot about what kind of people they are and how they have interpreted those texts and what the kind of place they want to leave behind for their kids.
Oh yes, some of those so called leaders have spoken against OBL when US twisted their arm and reproached them....they spoke so they and their countries wouldn't suffer the fate of Afghanistan and Iraq, they spoke out of fear, not conviction. If anyone argues that they did, please, please....where is that much needed fatwa calling for OBLs death for twisting Islam and being a threat to the peaceful Islam....? Or was Salman Rushdie the only lucky dood to have that privilege ? Where is their military support to capture Bin Ladin ? Turkish forces have pledged real support, and Aga Khan is the only leader who has denounced them, but the rest of the Islamic world calls them infidels anyway....so they're not true representation of Moslem people and their beliefs - are they ?
Out of billions of Moslems, less than a dozen ordinary people have come forward with a serious condemnation. Most of them have been Academicians, and you know how academicians are taken in the real world. None of them is a leader who can command a following. How I wish Gibran was alive today.
My friend Mr Amein says - education is a magic wand and will remove all evils from the Islamic world. What kind of education ? Is he trying to make a point that no Moslem in the world is educated enough right now to see the light, to see that the attacks are inhuman ? And besides, who or what is preventing their education ? Not me. Not my country. Not my neighboring countries. They choose to fritter away that enormous wealth by sponsoring criminals and waging silly jihads, funding wars instead of putting it to good use. Amein says the corrupt rulers are to be blamed. Well, why doesn't anyone do anything about it ? Why don't Moslems in US unite against those corrupt leaders ? Moslems probably consider education a bookish knowledge, and not as something to be used to broaden their horizons. It's only supposed to get them jobs, and a livelihood.
He also finds excuses for violence by saying that the kids are brought up in an environment and learn the mistakes of their fathers. Now this may be true, but why does the entire civilised world have to pay for that 'family problem' ? And what is the remedy ? Should we take away the kids forcibly and bring them up as good citizens ? Or is someone from THEIR world going to do something about it ? What have the Moslems/Arabs, even the moderate ones, done to ensure that these kids do not repeat the mistakes of their fathers ? Of all the millionaire Moslems, has even ONE opened a school which teaches non violence and regards all religions at par ?
Amein, words come easy...especially when one has a lifetime membership of SI and is hiding behind an online facade. Its the actions which speak more about the intentions. I wish you wouldn't find excuses for your fellowmen, I wish you were more proactive in condemning them.
Amein also informed me that racial profiling was an irritant and a violation of his civil liberties. I responded, but forgot to add that a vacation to any Moslem country may hep put things in perspective......we can then understand the the true meaning of civil liberties and rights of citizens in a day. All said and done, I'm of the belief that people who live in glasshouses should neverthrow stones at others, but it is just these people who make the most noise. Personally, although it is not my mess, I don't mind being searched and profiled at all....its all a part of being an immigrant and wishing the best for everyone, very especially for your gracious hosts...
I have a lot of Moslem friends, a LOT, but till date I have never come across a singe Moslem who was sensitive about MY religious beliefs. It's always "Molsems this, Moslems that, Moslems the other". When pounded by tales about goodness of Islam and rottenness of all other religions, day after day, night after night, the only thing I can say is - if you are so defensive about your religion, if you have to defend it all the time, if you can't just let the actions of people who follow it speak for themselves...well then there must be definitely something wrong with it, coz a good thing has legs to stand on its own. It doesn't need to be defended all the time. No other religion needs to be defended as much as Isam does. And please, please don't tell me that its because all the 'bad infidels' of this world are out to 'get' Islam ! Nothing could be far from truth. Religion is something most of educated people don't even THINK about 99% of the time, until someone shoves theirs in our face.
Things happened in the past. Wars were faught. Injustices were heaped. People were suppressed, killed, burnt. The whole world was in an anarchy. To hold my successive generations responsible for the acts of my great great great great grandfathers is just too ridiculous. And to hold onto those feelings of hatred, to constanty continue to feel and act like a victim, to keep behaving like a martyr, is a lot of baggage to carry. The jealousy, hatred and rage prevents people from functioning normally, prevents them from being well adjusted pieces of society, prevents them from contributing to the society, from loving and being loved. It makes their lives hell. And emotional blackmail only works for a while. After a while the whole world gets too tired of the melodrama and attention seeking tactics. And we can see examples of that in the Moslem world today....
And no, I am not a rascist. Just a normal human being tired of being kicked around in the name of religion... |
