The fundamental(ist) question
28 Jul '06 06:27(a) I have a basic fundamental question. If there is an Almighty or God of this vast universe, He must be one and THE only one for all creatures, all beings - whether he be muslim or christian or any other. How can He permit (or worse,instigate) one group of his followers to kill other fellow beings in His creation? But it is a fact that in the name of God or Allah , some people do kill others, with a strong conviction (belief) of being rewarded by "their" God for such acts of violence.
(b) Does it not prove that there is , in reality , no God. People are fighting and killing for an illusory concept of God, which is their own creation? It also means that any strong group of brainwashed people, with a larger number of committed followers ready to kill or get killed , can wreak havoc on the rest of the humanity and perpetrate the atrocious dictatorship of the leadership of that group.
(c) And if there is no God then it is perfectly fine for the victor. There is nothing wrong in torturing the victim, if there is no God, for , it is perfectly all right from the point of view of the victor. The fact that this sort of dictatorial and tortuous philosophy has been exponentially successful in the course of history, is a very strong proof of the non-existence of God. Look at history. Islamic empire has seen only one-way irreversible expansion. It works through the grip of the triumphalist philosophy that is Islam. As long as it works (from their point of view) for them no amount of logic or rationalisation on humanitarian considerations is going to convince the leaders of muslim community about the basic need of love and compassion for the entire human race, as the essential ingradient of inter-community relation-ship.
(d) Jesus Christ's love and compassion may appeal to philosophers, not to empire builders. Even today, in day to day life common man can be better subjugated by the mediaval barbaric methods of terror - tactics. Saints can only die for the cause of love and compassion. Saints can never rule. Jesus Christ did die for love and compassion. But Prophet Mohammed did rule an ever expanding empire.
(e) Ruling over peoples is the central idea inherent in the tenets of Islam. Though the concept of a terrorising people in the name of God, has been built around the social customs to tame the rebels, actually it is not God but the dictatorial community leaders who wreak havoc on those who dare to question their authority. Thus islam is more of a successful political philosophy, than a religeon. This rather infallible political philosophy is shrewedly wrapped up in the garb of religion in the form of God's horrifying commands claimed to have been communicated to the "prophet".
(f) Nobody is allowed to question this, not even non-muslims. Recently a minister (obviously muslim) in the government of one of the states of India openly announced a reward of Rs. 510 million ( about $ 11 million) to anyone who can behead the Denmark cartoonist who had made a cartoon of Prophet Mohammad. In a population of 1200 million muslims around the world , there is always the the possibility of some freak zealot finding enough motivation and the chance to execute this sort of command of beheading the poor cartoonist. All in the name of Allah and Jihad.
(g) Rarest of the rare can muster courage to raise any slightaest voice of reason to question the basic tenets of islam. All over the world , in all the countries muslims are expanding, their population is rising faster than other religious groups. As soon as muslims become a majority in any country, they declare the country an Islamic State ruled according to sharia, the islamic law. Even modern educated muslims have to ultimately surrender.
(h) You may win intellectually, but you will not be allowed to build a society based on principles of freedom, secularism and democracy in any country where muslims are in majority. Look at what is happening in Iraq. Don't you think that , in trying to build democracy in Iraq , sooner or later US will have to beat an ignominous retreat from Iraq? Such is the grip of islamic totalitarianism.
(i) Common muslims too are not to be blamed. They are at best helpless victims to a system , which they can't break free out of, no matter how much they wish to. They are the worst victims , for, in the words of Jesus Christ, "they know not what they are doing".
(j) But there is yet some reason to believe that perhaps there may indeed be a God. Else how could there emerge people like Ali Sina and Taslima Nasreen from among the muslims, who have staked their life and risked livelihood for the sake of human values, for the values of love, compassion, freedom, democracy and has raised the sane voice of reason. May God ( if there be any God), give them success and fulfilment .
(k) May the muslims all over the world be liberated from the vice like grip of evil Islam. May the muslims live free and may tyrannical Islam be gone. May a new humanitarian islam , of the true universal values, take the place of the old dictatorial islam. Every religion has some outdated belief-system. Let all religions converge to the common humanitarian values of a modern religion of today.
(l) Some day somebody will have to fill the vacuum. You cannot hope the people to live in vacuum. If you must take away what has lost relevance, what has become stale and counter-productive, then you must also give them some positive alternative, something positive to look forward to in its place. And you must be honest. If you suggest them the alternative of Christianity, you will be immediately discredited as an agent of the expansionist Church. Some real workable alternative, which appeals to the modern mind of the common man, is the need of the hour.
(m) Doing only first half of the job will not work. For the job of trying to liberate the victims, I think, one also has to take up the task of suggesting the positive alternative. Otherwise soon people will revert to their old cocoon of safety- for, there is safety in NOT THINKING; there is safety in NOT analysing and there is safety in treading the beaten path. This latter danger is a real and strong danger. Without an alternative, any critical analysis remains just an empty criticism.
(n) Right now the minds of all thinking people, all over the world, are in turmoil. But I am sure an alternative will surely emerge , if there IS a God.
(b) Does it not prove that there is , in reality , no God. People are fighting and killing for an illusory concept of God, which is their own creation? It also means that any strong group of brainwashed people, with a larger number of committed followers ready to kill or get killed , can wreak havoc on the rest of the humanity and perpetrate the atrocious dictatorship of the leadership of that group.
(c) And if there is no God then it is perfectly fine for the victor. There is nothing wrong in torturing the victim, if there is no God, for , it is perfectly all right from the point of view of the victor. The fact that this sort of dictatorial and tortuous philosophy has been exponentially successful in the course of history, is a very strong proof of the non-existence of God. Look at history. Islamic empire has seen only one-way irreversible expansion. It works through the grip of the triumphalist philosophy that is Islam. As long as it works (from their point of view) for them no amount of logic or rationalisation on humanitarian considerations is going to convince the leaders of muslim community about the basic need of love and compassion for the entire human race, as the essential ingradient of inter-community relation-ship.
(d) Jesus Christ's love and compassion may appeal to philosophers, not to empire builders. Even today, in day to day life common man can be better subjugated by the mediaval barbaric methods of terror - tactics. Saints can only die for the cause of love and compassion. Saints can never rule. Jesus Christ did die for love and compassion. But Prophet Mohammed did rule an ever expanding empire.
(e) Ruling over peoples is the central idea inherent in the tenets of Islam. Though the concept of a terrorising people in the name of God, has been built around the social customs to tame the rebels, actually it is not God but the dictatorial community leaders who wreak havoc on those who dare to question their authority. Thus islam is more of a successful political philosophy, than a religeon. This rather infallible political philosophy is shrewedly wrapped up in the garb of religion in the form of God's horrifying commands claimed to have been communicated to the "prophet".
(f) Nobody is allowed to question this, not even non-muslims. Recently a minister (obviously muslim) in the government of one of the states of India openly announced a reward of Rs. 510 million ( about $ 11 million) to anyone who can behead the Denmark cartoonist who had made a cartoon of Prophet Mohammad. In a population of 1200 million muslims around the world , there is always the the possibility of some freak zealot finding enough motivation and the chance to execute this sort of command of beheading the poor cartoonist. All in the name of Allah and Jihad.
(g) Rarest of the rare can muster courage to raise any slightaest voice of reason to question the basic tenets of islam. All over the world , in all the countries muslims are expanding, their population is rising faster than other religious groups. As soon as muslims become a majority in any country, they declare the country an Islamic State ruled according to sharia, the islamic law. Even modern educated muslims have to ultimately surrender.
(h) You may win intellectually, but you will not be allowed to build a society based on principles of freedom, secularism and democracy in any country where muslims are in majority. Look at what is happening in Iraq. Don't you think that , in trying to build democracy in Iraq , sooner or later US will have to beat an ignominous retreat from Iraq? Such is the grip of islamic totalitarianism.
(i) Common muslims too are not to be blamed. They are at best helpless victims to a system , which they can't break free out of, no matter how much they wish to. They are the worst victims , for, in the words of Jesus Christ, "they know not what they are doing".
(j) But there is yet some reason to believe that perhaps there may indeed be a God. Else how could there emerge people like Ali Sina and Taslima Nasreen from among the muslims, who have staked their life and risked livelihood for the sake of human values, for the values of love, compassion, freedom, democracy and has raised the sane voice of reason. May God ( if there be any God), give them success and fulfilment .
(k) May the muslims all over the world be liberated from the vice like grip of evil Islam. May the muslims live free and may tyrannical Islam be gone. May a new humanitarian islam , of the true universal values, take the place of the old dictatorial islam. Every religion has some outdated belief-system. Let all religions converge to the common humanitarian values of a modern religion of today.
(l) Some day somebody will have to fill the vacuum. You cannot hope the people to live in vacuum. If you must take away what has lost relevance, what has become stale and counter-productive, then you must also give them some positive alternative, something positive to look forward to in its place. And you must be honest. If you suggest them the alternative of Christianity, you will be immediately discredited as an agent of the expansionist Church. Some real workable alternative, which appeals to the modern mind of the common man, is the need of the hour.
(m) Doing only first half of the job will not work. For the job of trying to liberate the victims, I think, one also has to take up the task of suggesting the positive alternative. Otherwise soon people will revert to their old cocoon of safety- for, there is safety in NOT THINKING; there is safety in NOT analysing and there is safety in treading the beaten path. This latter danger is a real and strong danger. Without an alternative, any critical analysis remains just an empty criticism.
(n) Right now the minds of all thinking people, all over the world, are in turmoil. But I am sure an alternative will surely emerge , if there IS a God.
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