In the Name of Allah?

Recently I received via e-mail something that disturbed me greatly, and made me think of where we are in the world today. I found the story so shocking that I just had to share it with the world.

From the accompanying text, it would appear a little boy of eight years old was caught stealing bread in an Iranian market and sentenced under Sharia Law. Graphic photo's of his sentence being carried out are below. The article does not mention why he stole, but it could have been simply because he was hungry. You will find the images shocking.
This action must rank as one of the most barbaric in modern times, not so much for its outright brutality, but that it is committed against a child of eight in the name of religion. This is the face of Islam most Muslims would rather you not see. 

In every other Faith known to mankind such an act, even under the guise of 'Justice', would not be tolerated. But, this is Sharia Law at work. A child's arm is crushed under the wheels of a car so as to be useless to him for the rest of his life. Yet, most Muslims will tell you Islam is a religion of peace and love!

I realise this article may well offend some Muslims who feel slighted because an 'Infidel' dare to criticize their religion. I am truly sorry for that, and wish to offend no-one, but the facts speak for themselves, and for me, the evidence is irrefutable. As an average person living in the 21st Century, I find it abhorrent that such acts as this can still be committed.

To be fair, Christianity has also gone through its own time of terror and unspeakable acts in the name of God. In the Middle Ages terrible  torture, disfigurement and execution were practiced by the Church in the name of The One True God. The Inquisition has gone down in history as a very dark period in the evolution of man, one that we should all be ashamed of. I make no excuses for this period, but I like to think we have matured and would not allow such things in the 21st century. Mankind has long evolved from the  beast he was, although recent history like that of the Holocaust in WW2 has shown us we have not yet shed the 'beast' which hides within us completely.

It is however distressing to hear (and see) that such bestial practices in the name of religion are still going on today. Have we learned nothing over the last two thousand years? It would seem not.

Iran is not the only devout Muslim nation that practices Sharia law, it is even creeping into places like Britain. If the Muslims had their way, the whole world would be governed by this barbaric practice. This is not to say that harsh penalties should not be meted out to those who transgress the laws of decency, but they should not include women being buried up their their necks and stoned to death for adultery, or public whippings. hangings, and beheadings.

You have to ask yourself who is responsible for these events, and the answer will always be the Muslim Clerics and Mullahs who hold absolute power over the Muslim world, no matter who is 'in government'. They retain their dominant position by ruling with an iron fist and corrupting passages of the Koran to serve their own ends.

We, as infidels, hear all the time that the Koran preaches tolerance, love, and above all peace, just like the Christian Bible, but you do not see this when a Mullah is secretly recorded telling his followers to go out and murder Christians! These evil men, and yes I do call them evil, have corrupted an entire generation into thinking they can best serve Allah by blowing themselves up on aircraft, trains and buses, or in busy market places. Would it not be more suitable for the Mullahs to strap on a bomb and sacrifice themselves for their beliefs? But no, they do not dare, they corrupt innocent young minds to do the dirty work for them.

The thing that amazes me most, is that if someone took the trouble to make an assessment of the total number of dead from terrorist acts over the years, the number of Muslim dead would far surpass the number of non-Muslim dead, including 9/11.  So this leaves the burning question, why are these people so intent on killing their own kind? What is it all for?

The sad fact is, there are millions of peace-loving Muslims in the world who would not dream of doing harm to a fellow human being, but because of the acts of a few radicals, many people treat all Muslims with suspicion. This in turn creates more dissension between Christians and Muslims until it eventually spirals out of control. If we are not careful, we could be heading for a war between faiths.

But what to do about it? How can we stop the spiral of violence between Christians and Muslims? A hard question to answer, but in my opinion, the only way is for decent, devout Muslims to step up to the line and be counted. The entire Muslim world has to make a united stand against the terrorists, and the Islamic clergy responsible for this kind of atrocity and say, "We will not accept this anymore".

We are after all brethren in the eyes of God, and no matter what name we give Him, there is only one God.

May the Peace of God be upon you.

Roy.

How Do We Solve The Arab-Israeli Conflict?

For sixty-one years the Israeli's and Palestinians have been at each others throats, and what has been achieved? The answer is, nothing!

The divisions are now as deep as they were in November 1947 when the United Nations decided to form a partitioned homeland for the Jews in Palestine.

This was not as arbitrary as it may sound. Europe was awash with Jewish refugees from the infamous Nazi concentration camps, and there was a historical precedent for the positioning of a Jewish State in Palestine, namely ancient Judea, the original Jewish lands of biblical times.

Judea had been conquered by the Assyrians, Babylonians, and Byzantines among others, before eventually being made part of the Ottoman empire in 1516, to which it belonged until the 20th Century. Each conqueror tried to remove the Jews from the land and almost succeeded, but a small number always managed to remain around Galilee.

Following the United Nations decree, Israel declared independence on the 14th of May 1948 and the new Jewish state was born. Since then, a continuous conflict has been raging between the Jews, Palestinians, and bordering Arab nations.

Several wars were fought between Israel and its Arab neighbours, and each time Israel came out on top. This led to the formation of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) under Yasser Arrafat in the late sixties-early seventies, which carried out devastating attacks against Jews and Jewish interests world-wide, including the killing of the Israeli Olympic Athletic Team at the 1972 Summer Games.

In 1967 Syria, Jordan and Egypt massed armies on Israel's borders, but were defeated in a pre-emptive strike by Israeli Forces in what is now referred to as the Six-Day War. Israel occupied the Left Bank, the Golan Heights, Gaza, and Sinai peninsular to the Red Sea. There followed another war in November 1973 when they were again attacked. Once more Israel carried the day, despite suffering heavy losses.

Later that same year, the Egyptian President Anwar Sadat became the first leader of an Arab country to recognize Israel's right to exist, and signed a peace accord. He was later assassinated by members of the Egyptian military during a parade.

Since that time, several US Presidents, and many different governments have tried, and failed, to get the two sides to agree on a solution to the problems. But what are the problems?

They are, not necessarily in order of importance, the return of Israel to the pre-1967 war boundary's i.e. return of the West Bank and Gaza to Palestinian control, the Golan heights to Syria and the Sinai to Egypt, removal of all Israeli settlements on Arab land, and the return of East Jerusalem to the Palestinians.

Each of these have been rejected by successive Israeli governments for a variety of reasons.

First lets look at the boundary's. Israel insists on having a buffer zone between it and its Arab neighbours, and, there are a large number of Jewish settlements on Palestinian land. Israel would also lose its vital port on the Red Sea, Elat.

Secondly, the removal of all settlements on Arab land would be very unpopular with the settlers, causing widespread condemnation of any government that tried it.

Thirdly, the returning of East Jerusalem to the Palestinians, who also want it as their capitol, is a very thorny issue, being as it is probably the most important religious site in the world. Judaism, Islam and Christianity all lay claim to the city as one of their most holy sites. On top of this, there are 465,000 Jews living mostly in West Jerusalem, and 232,000 Muslims living for the greater part in East Jerusalem.

The Israeli government insists the city remain united under their control and should be their capitol. Meanwhile, the Palestinians insist Israel retreat to its pre-1967 borders, thereby giving up East Jerusalem. Like two dogs fighting over a single bone.

There are without doubt very tough problems to solve, because Israel sees its security as a number one priority, which is understandable; and the Palestinians want their lands back, which is a reasonable request.

Perhaps the biggest stumbling block to a peace deal is purely the length of time this conflict has been going on. So much mistrust and hatred has built up on both sides over the years, that the two sides may never agree on a solution. Then of course there is Hamas.

The Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, has taken a softer line with the Israeli government, and appears more willing to negotiate than Hamas, who refuse to recognise Israels right to exist.

Hamas is a terrorist organization that still continues to attack Israel at every opportunity, most recently evoking a week long attack by Israeli Forces on Gaza after they attacked southern Israel with rockets. The stand Hamas has taken is also responsible for splitting the Palestinian nation.

In my opinion, both sides have to be prepared to make big sacrifices if peace in the Middle East is to be achieved.

With regard to Israel's safety, I believe the only solution is for the Palestinians to accept a de-militarized zone around Israel until such time as sufficient trust is established. Israel should be allowed an observation post on the Golan Heights to ensure no militarization of the land around the Heights by Syria.

So far as the settlements are concerned, the inhabitants should be given the ultimatum of returning behind Israel's borders with government financial help, or remain where they are under Palestinian control.

Jerusalem should become an open city, perhaps under UN or joint 50/50 Israeli-Palestinian control, so neither side can claim sovereignty. Both sides will need to find somewhere else for their capitol.

For its part, the Palestinian government, along with Hamas, must recognise Israel as a sovereign state and guarantee its borders.

It may seem to some that Israel is making more concessions than the Palestinians, and that may be true, but if they are to live in security with their neighbours I believe this is the only way. At least both nations will be able to flourish and prosper without the continued threat of war.

I further believe that such an agreement will take the wind from the sails of Iran, who has for decades been fermenting hatred and distrust of the Jewish State, plus arming people like Hamas. If the rest of the Muslim world can accept such an agreement, they in their turn should bring the necessary pressure to bear on this rogue state and bring it into line with the rest of humanity.

Here's hoping Allah and God can shake hands on this agreement.

Roy.