Misunderstood Islam
The peaceful face of Islam is being demonstrated yet again in various parts of this troubled globe.- In Thailand, for example, at least 28 bombs exploded in what appears to be a well co-ordinated attack on parts of southern Thailand struggling against a Muslim insurgency. Three people were killed and over fifty were wounded. The bombings targeted hotels, karaoke bars, power grids and commercial sites in the country's southernmost provinces, the only part of predominantly Buddhist Thailand with Muslim majorities. Two public schools were also torched.
- In Baghdad, Iraq, a double car bombing ripped through a crowded Baghdad market yesterday, killing at least 63 people and wounding more than 130 in a nose-thumbing at the new U.S.-led security operation. "Where is the security plans?" wailed distraught relatives crowded outside the Iraqi capital's Kindi Hospital, as fleets of ambulances and civilian trucks ferried the dead and dying into an overworked emergency room.
- In Russia, a bomb exploded inside a McDonald's restaurant in central St. Petersburg, injuring six people. No doubt the Kremlin will soon point the finger of blame at Chechnyen rebels.
- In Somalia a car explosion killed four people as three others, including a police officer, were gunned down in surging violence in the wake of the toppling of the Islamist movement. Police said the four travelling in the car were all killed when their vehicle exploded in Mogadishu's Tawfiq neighbourhood.
- A train travelling to Pakistan caught fire early today in northern India, killing at least 53 people. An explosive device was discovered near the tracks, according to the general manager of the railway. Fire engulfed two cars of the Samjhauta Express, one of two trains linking India and Pakistan.
- Palestinians and Muslims all over the world have condemned Israeli archaelogical excavations and repair work undertaken at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, Judaism's holiest site, close to the Al Aqsa mosque, claiming the work deliberately endangers the foundations of Islam's third holiest site. The violent protests by Muslim worshippers seen earlier at the site has not yet been repeated.
- Speaking from Gaza, Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas faults the position of Israel and the U.S. in their unwillingness to come to the bargaining table, despite Hamas's implacable opposition to the Jewish state's existence, and its determination to demolish Israel's presence in the Middle East.
In the currently-accepted vision of Islam as interpreted by too many clerics, Islam has become an institutional defence of suspicion, grievance, hatred and revenge. The medieval world view of Islam's place in the world prevails, where a sense of religious superiority over all other religions is a commonplace acceptance. At that time in ancient history co-existence and the concept of equality was never an issue in a Muslim-dominated atmosphere.
We live in a different world, with far different approaches to religion, culture, traditions, and the acceptability of religion as a driving force for good in the greater scheme of enlighted civil life. In various religions God exhorts people to help themselves become better people. To be a better person is to be fully aware of one's place in society, to offer equality, to value inclusiveness and diversity, to accept others as one would also hope to be accepted. God, it is often said, helps those who help themselves.
Or, as the Koran says (Koran 13:11) "God will not change the condition of a people until they change it themselves".
Labels: Religion
posted by Pieface @ Monday, February 19, 2007
<< Home