Islam Is Not To Blame. Raif Is A Muslim

Almost all terrorist atrocities of late are committed by Muslims.  Often under the well-rehearsed cry of Allahu Akbar.

With every attack, support for Israel increases - an inflammatory consequence which adds fuel to the fires of an already volatile situation.

Islamophobia in the West continues to flourish with every evil deed, giving the terrorists exactly what they want. The more alienated and disenfranchised Muslims feel in the West the easier they are to recruit. A perpetual supply of jihadis for all planned future campaigns agains the West, The East, and even more surprisingly, the Middle East is the ultimate aim of the extremists.

Let's not make the mistake of helping terrorism.

Islam has been hijacked by the jihadis and is being used as a tool to legitimise murder, intolerance, racism, slavery and most dangerously, a political ideology drenched in the blood of all those who dare oppose it. Most victims are also Muslims.

And it all started in Saudi Arabia.

Just over a hundred years ago, back in 1902, the Wahhabi Clan of present day royals of Saudi Arabia launched a ferocious attack against the neighbouring 3 tribal regions of what is now Saudi Arabia. Murder, rape and slavery won the day back then, and all the atrocities were committed in the name of Allah and Sharia Law. But of course, religion was not the reason for the greed and lust for power of the Saud Clan.

Those actions of a century ago are almost entirely responsible for spawning all of the present day jihadi ideology. Conquer at all costs and destroy all who stand in the way.

The House of Saud should not be considered a friend and ally of the West, for it is a corrupt dictatorship ruling over an oppressed and unjust society.

The House of Saud finances the building of mosques in western countries, yet refuses to allow the construction of churches in Saudi Arabia for the very few Christians who live there.

Osama Bin Laden was a Saudi.

And the House of Saud continues to promote religious intolerance and to stifle all dissent.

Voices such as that of writer and campaigner for freedom of expression and women's rights, Saudi citizen, Raif Badawi.

Raif was condemned to 10 years in prison and 1000 lashes, to be administered every Friday, 50 at a time, for 20 consecutive weeks.

The first session took place yesterday, in public, and was filmed secretly by a few who risked their own life and liberty in order to tell the world.

I watched the clandestine video and it turned out to be as I had half expected; a quiet, sedate public flogging of lightly administered lashes unlikely to have caused any damage to Raif. The Saudi authorities knew the world would be watching, thanks to a campaign by Amnesty International through social media. Had that not been the case one can assume the flogging would have been a lot more damaging.

Raif wrote in his blog nothing more than light criticism for the way Saudi Arabia is governed. That's all.

Islam is guilty of many injustices, as are all other religions, but it can't be used as a cause to further alienate and persecute Muslims who have chosen to live in Western countries.

Those of you who know me know I never defend religion, in fact the opposite is true, but I always defend justice.

After all, did we blame all Irish for the actions of the IRA some decades ago?  

No, we didn't. Well I certainly didn't. It would have been unfair. Just as it is unfair to blame

/or the vast majority of Muslims who have nothing to do with the atrocities committed in the guise of holy war. 

The present day extremists are driven by greed and delusion, just as Ibn Saud was back in 1902.

Raif is a Muslim. A Muslim I want to help. A Muslim I'd have as a friend. 

Just like the Muslim French policeman executed outside the Charlie Hebdo headquarters whilst on duty, by murderous men who claim to be Muslims.

:(

Autumn Tears

Autumn:

Peaceful. Colourful. Serene. Melancholy

Spending a fair amount of time out in the (partial) wilderness of lakes around Hampshire has made me realise my love for Autumn increases with each passing year.

The earthy smells of freshly sprinkled rain, whose tender drops bounce off my chilled hands and onto discarded leaves, like some lost but cherished memories, scattered forever into the mud.

It's strange how good and bad memories both bring sadness. Sadness for the eternal trauma bad memories inflict on us, and sadness for the good memories we can't re-live and reclaim.

The gentle chill, easily made bearable and comfortable with appropriate clothing, gives the opportunity to observe first hand how nature, in it's cyclical, infinite and well-rehearsed routine, prepares to batten down the hatches for winter.

The hurried feeding of ducks, swans and all kind of fauna, as they prepare for a frugal winter and the scarcity of natural  food, reminds me of shoppers preparing for Christmas.

It is also a time of year when I miss most the loved ones who have gone, forever, from my life.

I don't know why autumn has such a melancholy effect on me, but it does. I guess it is because I feel the aging process of the year, reaching its finality, as a reflection of the relentless march forward of my own life, towards my eventual and personal demise.

And a song is on repeat-play in my head. A beautiful song by Justin Hayward, whose words are etched permanently in my mind.



The summer sun is fading as the year grows old...

Through autumn's gown we used to kick our way. You always loved this time of year
Those fallen leaves lie undisturbed now...because you're not here.

A gentle rain falls softly on my weary eyes, as if to hide a lonely tear...

:(

Autumn Leaves...

...me somber, yet excited in anticipation for Christmas.

The lights, the shopping, the smells, the days off work, the music and socialising makes it my favourite holiday period. The further I move away from all things religious, the more I dread the possible eventual demise of this most precious pagan winter festival.

Jingle bells, Santa Claus caricatures plastered everywhere, mould wine and many other treats to look forward to. 

I love Christmas.

As for the virgin  birth, well...imagine nowadays young Mary coming home and telling her parents she's pregnant but...hasn't had sex!

She wouldn't be visited by three wise men either, but more likely the Social Services. And if she were unlucky enough to have been born into a religious fundamentalist culture in the Middle East (as she was according to myth) she'd get stoned without needing a visit from her pusher..

Had this whole sorry saga actually happened, can you imagine the rumours that would have swept through sleepy Nazareth! The evil whispers and nasty gossip!

"Hey Joseph, I hear your young spouse hath a bun in the oven madeth not with your ingredients"

And "what if the child is born black? What with Mary and thou being 100% Aryan and all..."

But I guess back then Joseph would have consulted with one of the many prophets doing the rounds in the Middle East at the time (and there were dozens) who would have probably encouraged the storage of hair samples of all three of them, in the then modern invention of clay jugs, for future DNA paternity tests.

I feel sorry for Joseph, and not just because we share the same name but because he didn't even get to sample the pleasures of having sex with Mary, yet had to help change nappies, night feeds and all the laborious duties of parenthood.

Today, a similar situation would raise a few eyebrows, yet so many believe that back in the unforgiving and ultra-strict dark ages that's exactly what happened! And Mary escaped unscathed.

Back then society must have been one of two things;

1) Extremely tolerant (no chance)

2) Incredibly gullible (no doubt)

Just like some backward societies across vast swaths of the the present-day world.

At least back in the biblical times people had no access to the Internet and illiteracy was the norm. 

What excuses are there today?

None that spring to mind.

:(

Dialogue Of The Man In The Mirror

"Why the long face, the lost little boy look?"

"Just pensive and retrospective, that's all"

"Unlike you 'Mr Life-is-Wonderful'!"

"Yes I know, but..."

"But what?"

"Recently and out of the blue I came across a short video-clip of her on social media and it has left me...thinking, wondering,, slightly off kilter"

"Ah ah, still delving in the past then, are you?"

"In a way. You see, memories came flooding back watching her. I felt the dull ache of emotion and longing in my chest."

"Understandable but unhealthy if you ask me"

"Yeah. I know. Somehow the passing of time isn't helping me"

"Does she know how you feel? Do you want her to know how you feel?"

"I guess not. The last thing I want is to cause her any discomfort"

"Then you must keep it to yourself. Don't tell her. And don't blog about it"

"Yeah but you know I blog about all that is relevant in my life. And what if she feels the same? That would be a terrible missed opportunity, surely!"

"Well tell her then, but I doubt she'll even listen"

"You see, the way she spoke seemed so...familiar. Familiar not as in routine and mundane but more as in utterly endearing. And from a photo I also noticed a distant look in her eyes. A look tinged with a hint of sadness and uncertainty"

"Maybe that's you wishful-thinking. What are you doing looking at photos of her anyway?"

" Never mind why. Could be wishful thinking. But I wanted to run to her, hug her and reassure her. To touch her and love her as I had done before. To share her pleasure and her pain and wipe away her tears"

"You're in deep shit Mr Positive"

"And not for the first time either. I know I was at times the cause of some of her uncertainty. For that I am eternally sorry. Sorry also for being distracted and blinded by the dazzling flame of adventure and excitement.The adventure of a new beginning that soon turned into the demise of something special. Something that shouldn't have ceased to exist. There was no real reason then, which is the more baffling"

"Leave yesterday in the past. If you live in your emotional past you'll miss out in the present and jeopardise your future"

"I know. It's not a case of regretting anything either. More a case of still loving someone I should no longer love"

"Then stop loving her. I very much doubt she still loves you anyway. Stop wasting your time with the past"

"I've heard that piece of advice before and always thought it to be somewhat shallow and  inadequate. Feelings can't be controlled, manipulated or doctored on a whim. Not by me"

"You and your 'unrequited love' nonsense surfacing again...and again. Same old, same old"

" I want her to know how I feel. I don't want her to think I have ulterior motives brought on by the present spell of self-induced solitude"

"But you know she'll think that's the case, don't you?"

"Yes, but the reason lies deeper than you think.  I've had ample time to re-evaluate my past actions. Time to reflect upon my journey and all the right and wrong turns I took. Time to take stock and accept responsibility. Time alone to ponder "

"You've always been one to bleed wilfully and joyfully. A sucker for punishment, if you ask me"

"Indeed dear friend, indeed. To bleed one needs only to be alive"

"Best let bygones be bygones. All that was yesterday"

"Yes, yesterday. The same yesterday that inflicted wounds that won't heal"

:(

Tomorrow's People

Tomorrow's people will not tolerate injustice and prejudice. Nor will they condone violence.

Tomorrow's people are today's children: the privileged generation who have at their disposal all the tools required to build a dignified and fruitful future for themselves.

Today's parents, more than ever before, are better equipped to provide their children with the  adequate guidance, care and resources necessary to ensure their children's effortless rite of passage into tomorrow.

Today's children have access to almost all of human knowledge, past and present, at the touch of a button, or more precisely, a touch on a smart phone's screen.

Today's children need never go to sleep with unanswered questions repeat-playing in their minds; as I had to. No more "ask your dad when he gets home" or "not sure son, ask mum".

I remember the frustration and sense of helplessness when I couldn't get an instant answer to what I considered an important question.

Sometime later mum bought me an encyclopaedia, followed by the biggest dictionary I had ever seen and an Atlas bulky enough to make my young arms ache after five minutes of bedtime reading.  Mum also paid for my weekly editions of Insight and a number of other scientific magazines.

If only my mum could have told me then to "google" it she would have saved herself time and money.

But that was yesteryear.

For my thirteenth birthday mum bought me a Brother Typewriter. The best present ever.

I typed my poems, song lyrics, extracts from books and magazines and just about every thing else that entered my mind. Within weeks I had to ask mum to buy a replacement ribbon; red and black and very messy to instal.

How I loved that typewriter! A love affair that lasted until three years later when I first set eyes on a word processor.

How I miss mum.

Today's children have it very different. No real effort required to learn and feed their curiosity. Instant answers. Short-lived fads and crazes that disappear overnight and with the dawn of something new.

No three year love affair with a typewriter, or an encyclopaedia.

No, I wouldn't swap it.

I am privileged to have belonged to yesterday's young generation. Just as I am privileged to be here today, to bear witness to the incredible advances in technology and lend a helping hand to tomorrow's people.

:)