Voice clamorous
Life is harsh in the desert. It's a constant struggle against the elements: the sun's relentless bake, the night's biting cold, periodic sandstorms, and the constant search for scarce food and water. To survive, one must become as harsh as the terrain itself. In the special case of human desertdwellers, individual traits are not all that's informed by the desert. It creates its own culture. And religion.
&nbs;&nbs;&nbs;Who would create such a harsh and brutal world but just such a harsh and brutal (the religionists in question euphemistically call these traits Just) god? So it went with the hebrews, with Yahweh smiting more often than he blessed. They, though, eventually became civilized- building cities, trading with their (admittedly unclean) goyish neighbors. Notably, this process was greatly accelerated by their captivity by the worldly old persians. Compare Isaiah with Elijah- the god of the earlier prophet slaughtered his rivals, and that of the later merely subjugated them to his people (in promise, anyway). Then, of course, they were eventually diasporized across eurasia, and, being always in the minority in their new nations, developed rather a softer interpretation of God's will.
&nbs;&nbs;&nbs;Hundreds of years later came Mohammed, with a similarly dry sense of divinity. Early Islamic history is as vicious or more as the early jews'. And again, we have a harsh desert people, nomads. Again, we have a harsh desert god with ONE goddamned way of doing anything. His way or the highway to hell. Although the Koran contains mixed injunctions on dealing with other 'people of the book,' their treatment in the early days was generally on the worse side of better. And but at the peak of Muslim civilization, during Europe's dark ages, the more urbane realms of Islamdom treated its religious minorities better than Christiandom treated its own jews. With city life, with trade with diverse peoples, intellectual intercourse bred ideas that could flourish and soften in ways impossible for desert wanderers.
&nbs;&nbs;&nbs;With the senescence of islamdom, and the rise of the secular west, much of the progress made in islamic philosophy was lost. Again, in Arabia and mountainy old Afghanistan, the old tribal ways and short brutal nastiness of life have always precluded liberalization. Hence we have movements the like of Wahhabism, which is essentially anglo puritanism without the funny hats, but with turbans and burqhas. I've actually done cheated the afghans there; Rumi, for instance, with his divine love poetry was one of them. The sufis always stain the tablecloth. Anyway, sufism, with its focus on one's own relationship with the divine, has always pissed off fundamentalists, who are more concerned that everyone else is doing exactly what they should according to Abu Shaikh Whomever's interpretation. I read recently about Taliban having shut down some sufi's tomb, where young people would gather at night and sing. No fun allowed. 'tsays so right in the koran.
&nbs;&nbs;&nbs;So again, the One True Pathers are fucking up shit for everyone else both inside and out- of islam. It's not just freedom that they hate.
&nbs;&nbs;&nbs;Actually, barring most of the physical attacks and open suppression of women, this all seems somehow familiar. A semi-civilized race of desert people, obsessed with the law of justice over compassion, hold the One True key of interpretation of the holy words. They seek to destroy their rivals, the impostors who purport to have a key as well, and to assure that everyone follows The One True Rulebook.
&nbs;&nbs;&nbs;Ah, Texas Christians. If you could only focus on all you have in common with the terrorists. A similar alliance worked wonders in Afghanistan, helping Taliban against the commies. Obviously, supporting secular dictators doesn't work; look at the tattered remnants of the Shah of Iran, and of Mr. Hussein. Maybe a dialogue would help them see the light. Unless the terrorists are converted to Republicanism, the terrorists have already won.
&nbs;&nbs;&nbs;Who would create such a harsh and brutal world but just such a harsh and brutal (the religionists in question euphemistically call these traits Just) god? So it went with the hebrews, with Yahweh smiting more often than he blessed. They, though, eventually became civilized- building cities, trading with their (admittedly unclean) goyish neighbors. Notably, this process was greatly accelerated by their captivity by the worldly old persians. Compare Isaiah with Elijah- the god of the earlier prophet slaughtered his rivals, and that of the later merely subjugated them to his people (in promise, anyway). Then, of course, they were eventually diasporized across eurasia, and, being always in the minority in their new nations, developed rather a softer interpretation of God's will.
&nbs;&nbs;&nbs;Hundreds of years later came Mohammed, with a similarly dry sense of divinity. Early Islamic history is as vicious or more as the early jews'. And again, we have a harsh desert people, nomads. Again, we have a harsh desert god with ONE goddamned way of doing anything. His way or the highway to hell. Although the Koran contains mixed injunctions on dealing with other 'people of the book,' their treatment in the early days was generally on the worse side of better. And but at the peak of Muslim civilization, during Europe's dark ages, the more urbane realms of Islamdom treated its religious minorities better than Christiandom treated its own jews. With city life, with trade with diverse peoples, intellectual intercourse bred ideas that could flourish and soften in ways impossible for desert wanderers.
&nbs;&nbs;&nbs;With the senescence of islamdom, and the rise of the secular west, much of the progress made in islamic philosophy was lost. Again, in Arabia and mountainy old Afghanistan, the old tribal ways and short brutal nastiness of life have always precluded liberalization. Hence we have movements the like of Wahhabism, which is essentially anglo puritanism without the funny hats, but with turbans and burqhas. I've actually done cheated the afghans there; Rumi, for instance, with his divine love poetry was one of them. The sufis always stain the tablecloth. Anyway, sufism, with its focus on one's own relationship with the divine, has always pissed off fundamentalists, who are more concerned that everyone else is doing exactly what they should according to Abu Shaikh Whomever's interpretation. I read recently about Taliban having shut down some sufi's tomb, where young people would gather at night and sing. No fun allowed. 'tsays so right in the koran.
&nbs;&nbs;&nbs;So again, the One True Pathers are fucking up shit for everyone else both inside and out- of islam. It's not just freedom that they hate.
&nbs;&nbs;&nbs;Actually, barring most of the physical attacks and open suppression of women, this all seems somehow familiar. A semi-civilized race of desert people, obsessed with the law of justice over compassion, hold the One True key of interpretation of the holy words. They seek to destroy their rivals, the impostors who purport to have a key as well, and to assure that everyone follows The One True Rulebook.
&nbs;&nbs;&nbs;Ah, Texas Christians. If you could only focus on all you have in common with the terrorists. A similar alliance worked wonders in Afghanistan, helping Taliban against the commies. Obviously, supporting secular dictators doesn't work; look at the tattered remnants of the Shah of Iran, and of Mr. Hussein. Maybe a dialogue would help them see the light. Unless the terrorists are converted to Republicanism, the terrorists have already won.
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