I have
tried to steer away from the mind-numbingly dull subject of religion
of late in this blog, but the cave men had a day out again today.
The
news of the attack in London today was so sad, for everyone
concerned, even the cavemen that perpetrated the act! There has to be
a point, when you have a belief system, when you must question it. I
think when you find yourself driving down a pavement at speed and
mowing down screaming school children as they try to flee, that has to be
the time.
I am
running a project here in my local town of Huddersfield at the
moment. The guys who call into the project are from all walks of
life and of all different abilities, which is why I love working
there. We have a group of young Iranian guys attending at the moment
and they don't speak any English, but they are still wonderful
company. We all laugh as we try to communicate through the great god
of misinformation, Google! There are guys who call in just to help
and pass on skills, whereas others just want a place to be safe and
enjoy some company, all are welcome.
One of
the guys who comes down, Ali, is a devout Muslim, I mean devout. But
having said this, I don't recognise his version of Islam from the one
that the cavemen want us to see. He is a gentle, witty, charming man
whose company I really enjoy. He knows my views on religion and it
makes no difference to him at all, “ You are a son of God, and my
friend” he always says. There's no malice, no silly clothing, no
preaching, just warm friendship. So what kind of Islam were the
cavemen studying, where was the love and tolerance that Ali insists
is the basis of Islam? The problem is, as usual, politics.
Most of
the Islamic world abolished slavery decades before we did here in the
west. Egypt was one of the most secular countries in the world until
the nineteen twenties. Most Islamic nations welcomed discussion about
faith and belief and were happy to talk to other religions. I'm
afraid that the puppet masters are always looking for something to
unite people in hate behind. Whether it be race, religion or
nationalism! Once you are united under their banner they can manipulate
and twist facts until people are blinded by hate. The whole of the
Islamic world was decimated by the rise of this kind of politics.
Forward-thinking countries that were developing well became third
world backwaters, just like Pol Pot did with Cambodia. The cavemen
that have done the heinous acts today would be happier if we all
lived in caves praising a sky full of empty promises!
The
same techniques have been used in the Christian world. Just look at
America and its bizarre Bible belt. Also we have Northern Ireland, where neighbours killed each other because of a juvenile belief
system. Again the troubles in Northern Ireland were also political, but it
was easier to have sectarianism to control the people. Some of the
bombers of the seventies and eighties must have been able to see the
scene of their targets when the set the bombs off, so they too knew
there were children about! By the way; killing anyone, man, woman or
child is wrong, its just that. I cannot understand a person that could
harm a child for whatever reason.
So when
we criticise a religion for spawning such imbeciles, as I certainly
will be doing, we also must stop and think about people like my
friend Ali and the countless other Muslims that live and worship like
him. Who believe that all humans are brothers. Also all the hate-mongers mustn't think of all Christians as war merchants I know lots
of people that are working hard to find homes for Syrian refugees. I
know lots of Christians like my father, who donated a large part of
their wages to help people in the developing world (whatever that
means) to have a better life.
Remember,
what God wants, God gets, and even if your God doesn't want it, he will
still get it! The hate preachers will see to that!
