When God is on your side ...

[Guest guest]

When God is on your side ...

ROD LIDDLE

The Spectator

Sunday, November 13, 2005

CREDIT: SHANNON STAPLETON, REUTERS

 

 

Zealots from all regions are quick to spin the latest disaster on a

sign of God's displeasure

 

 

An improvised grave marks the body of a New Orleans woman who died

in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

 

So far, at least, we are none the wiser about why God sent an

earthquake to kill so many people in Kashmir, Pakistan and

Afghanistan. We can only hope that sooner or later his purpose will

be made evident, so that we all might learn. Why would he torture

his people so?

 

The mullahs have been remarkably silent. The earthquake struck

during the onset of Ramadan in two of the world's most devoutly

Muslim countries. It is almost unbelievable that not a single

bearded cleric from this most certain and steadfast of religions has

offered some sort of explanation for the appalling loss of life and

destruction of property. Is it not a judgment upon the Western-

imposed infidel, General Pervez Musharraf? Or perhaps he wishes for

the restoration of the Taliban government in Kabul?

 

It is odd that no Islamic scholar, holed up in some dusty

godforsaken madrasa, has not advanced these arguments on Allah's

behalf. Previous so-called natural disasters, wheresoever they might

have occurred, have provoked an immediate and righteous response

from the imams. We recall the words of the fine Palestinian cleric

Yusuf Abu Sneina, addressing his congregation the morning after

Hurricane Katrina had laid waste to New Orleans and a goodly

proportion of the U.S. Gulf state sea coast: " Oh, Muslims! The

greatness of the U.S.A. has fallen in the face of the storm. Was the

U.S.A. able to stop Allah's power and limit his will? " Yusuf was

asking a rhetorical question here, of course. The answer, which we

all knew, was: No, the U.S. was unable to resist Allah's will.

 

Even within the belly of the warmongering infidel whore, the cry was

raised. That Muslim battle-axe, Louis Farrakhan, clambered aboard

the television bandwagon to suggest the hurricane was nothing less

than a judgment of Allah. That'll be Allah the magnanimous, Allah

the munificent, then.

 

You will recall, too, that certain Muslim clerics rejoiced in the

tsunami that obliterated parts of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and

Somalia last Christmas (to use an inapt and possibly offensive

term). This was Allah's judgment upon Muslim countries that have

allowed their hallowed soil to somehow become the playground of

decadent infidel cockroaches, many averred. For those infidel

cockroaches among us who have had the misfortune to travel to Banda

Aceh - which bore the brunt of the tsunami's havoc - these

deliberations came as a surprise and a shock: not a drink nor still

less a shag to be found within 800 kilometres. But no matter:

perhaps Allah should not be expected to be geographically precise.

Maybe he meant to hit Singapore, or Hong Kong.

 

The leader of Sri Lanka's Muslims, Mohammed Faizeen, studied the

satellite pictures of the tsunami's devastating impact upon the

Indian Ocean. " Listen, " he commanded, peering very closely at a

map, " the satellite pictures of the waves as they receded clearly

spells out the name Allah. He sent it as punishment! " He was one

among a very great many to see it, thus.

 

Of course, Muslims do not have the monopoly on breathtakingly stupid

and cruel, if politically expedient, divine explanations for natural

disasters, although they might constitute a majority among those

predisposed to such delusions. But, by way of example, first out of

the blocks after Hurricane Katrina were the Orthodox Jews; a senior

rabbi in Philadelphia annoyed the population at large by suggesting

the floods were an expression of God's displeasure at U.S. foreign

policy toward Israel. He took his cue from the staggeringly idiotic

Israeli rabbi Ovadia Yosef, who announced, " This is vengeance for

the U.S.A. urging Israel to relinquish Gaza. "

 

 

My favourites, though, are the fundamentalist Christians: the

trailer-trash Baptists, the evangelicals, the famous religious

right. The director of the inexplicably powerful religious pressure

group, Repent America - a certain Michael Marcavage - thrust himself

in front of the microphones as the floodwaters swilled around the

painfully sanitized tourist bars of Bourbon St. " This act of God

destroyed a wicked city! God is in control of the weather. Some

125,000 homosexuals were going to be celebrating sin in the streets.

This is what happened, " he said. So, jubilant queers brought the

floods upon New Orleans.

 

The son of the millionaire evangelist Billy Graham seemed to agree.

Commenting on the disaster in Louisiana, Franklin Graham

remarked, " This happens when we have taken God out of our schools

and out of our society. " No, Frankie: it's what happens when the

levees aren't high enough and the whole place is several metres

below sea level.

 

In response to the tsunami disaster, a Texan evangelical movement

focused entirely on the deaths of a large number of Swedish

holidaymakers. " Praise God for 5,000 dead Swedes, " they screamed

with delight - and you can check out their views on the quite

magnificent website GodhatesSweden.com. God hates Sweden,

apparently, because they're all licentious northern European scum

who tolerate homosexuality and other deviations.

 

There is secular cant as well, of course. We have heard little from

the BBC about the ineptitude of the Pakistani authorities in dealing

with the tragedy that has befallen their people. Four days after the

earthquake struck and there were still vast areas bereft of aid,

hundreds of thousands of people desperately in need of water, food

and medical supplies. Where were the authorities? Where was the

army? Is the looting in Islamabad an expression of a society torn

apart by its own internal contradictions, by endemic racism and

poverty? Why did General Pervez Musharraf not react with much

greater haste; is this not indicative of an ineffectual government,

a government which has lost the support of its people?

 

The haste with which BBC reporters flung the ordure at President

George W. Bush in the wake of Katrina is scarcely a less emotional

and even spiritual impulse than that which drove the mullahs to

blame the tsunami, or Katrina, on the war in Iraq or on our penchant

for freedom of speech, assembly, sexual partner, etc., etc. We might

laugh at the stupidity of Franklin Graham and that moron from Sri

Lanka or, indeed, Sheik Abu Hamza al-Masri, who announced the

destruction of the U.S. space shuttle Columbia and the deaths of the

seven astronauts within was the work of God. Hamza, Graham, the

wacko Jews and the moderators of GodhatesSweden.com are, of course,

imbeciles. But the impulse when disaster strikes is to reach for

someone tangible to blame, rather than putting it down to a

calamitous shifting of tectonic plates or an unfortunate weather

pattern.

 

Even stripped of the befogging and deluding strictures of religion,

it seems we still have our demons primed and ready for such a

purpose, no matter how enlightened and secular we believe ourselves

to be. George W. Bush because he is an infidel or George W. Bush

because he is very right-wing: either will do.

 

 

When God is on your side ...

http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/news/editorial/story.h

tml?id=782596f3-dbc7-4096-b0c5-1a8cbdbf6cf8

The Gazette (Montreal) 2005

[Guest guest]

Dear All,

 

This comes from ignorance of people who think " their " regigion is

the only religion that God takes care of and woe be it to those who

do not abide by their religion.

 

Chapter 4, 5-9 from the Bhagavad Gita:

Arjuna, both you and I have both passed many births. I remember them

all, but you do not. I am the Lord of all beings, without birth or

death, yet still I appear in this world in my original divine form.

Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religion and a rise of

meterialsim - at that time I desend myself. To protect the good, to

subdue those who do harm, and to reestablish the principles of

religion, I appear in every age. One who understands the nature of

my divine birth and actions is not reborn after leaving this body,

but comes to me, Arjuna.

 

In my humble opinion it is not about religion and who is right or

who is wrong but the principles of religion. All religions teach

principles that are good. But then we are ignorant when we think our

particular religion is the religion that God sides with. If we all

could look at the principles of the religion and understand these

and live by the principles without taking sides, would we not be so

much better off?

 

Love,

 

Chuck

 

, " jagbir singh "

<adishakti_org> wrote:

>

>

> When God is on your side ...

> ROD LIDDLE

> The Spectator

> Sunday, November 13, 2005

> CREDIT: SHANNON STAPLETON, REUTERS

>

>

> Zealots from all regions are quick to spin the latest disaster on

a

> sign of God's displeasure

>

>

> An improvised grave marks the body of a New Orleans woman who died

> in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

>

> So far, at least, we are none the wiser about why God sent an

> earthquake to kill so many people in Kashmir, Pakistan and

> Afghanistan. We can only hope that sooner or later his purpose

will

> be made evident, so that we all might learn. Why would he torture

> his people so?

>

> The mullahs have been remarkably silent. The earthquake struck

> during the onset of Ramadan in two of the world's most devoutly

> Muslim countries. It is almost unbelievable that not a single

> bearded cleric from this most certain and steadfast of religions

has

> offered some sort of explanation for the appalling loss of life

and

> destruction of property. Is it not a judgment upon the Western-

> imposed infidel, General Pervez Musharraf? Or perhaps he wishes

for

> the restoration of the Taliban government in Kabul?

>

> It is odd that no Islamic scholar, holed up in some dusty

> godforsaken madrasa, has not advanced these arguments on Allah's

> behalf. Previous so-called natural disasters, wheresoever they

might

> have occurred, have provoked an immediate and righteous response

> from the imams. We recall the words of the fine Palestinian cleric

> Yusuf Abu Sneina, addressing his congregation the morning after

> Hurricane Katrina had laid waste to New Orleans and a goodly

> proportion of the U.S. Gulf state sea coast: " Oh, Muslims! The

> greatness of the U.S.A. has fallen in the face of the storm. Was

the

> U.S.A. able to stop Allah's power and limit his will? " Yusuf was

> asking a rhetorical question here, of course. The answer, which we

> all knew, was: No, the U.S. was unable to resist Allah's will.

>

> Even within the belly of the warmongering infidel whore, the cry

was

> raised. That Muslim battle-axe, Louis Farrakhan, clambered aboard

> the television bandwagon to suggest the hurricane was nothing less

> than a judgment of Allah. That'll be Allah the magnanimous, Allah

> the munificent, then.

>

> You will recall, too, that certain Muslim clerics rejoiced in the

> tsunami that obliterated parts of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and

> Somalia last Christmas (to use an inapt and possibly offensive

> term). This was Allah's judgment upon Muslim countries that have

> allowed their hallowed soil to somehow become the playground of

> decadent infidel cockroaches, many averred. For those infidel

> cockroaches among us who have had the misfortune to travel to

Banda

> Aceh - which bore the brunt of the tsunami's havoc - these

> deliberations came as a surprise and a shock: not a drink nor

still

> less a shag to be found within 800 kilometres. But no matter:

> perhaps Allah should not be expected to be geographically precise.

> Maybe he meant to hit Singapore, or Hong Kong.

>

> The leader of Sri Lanka's Muslims, Mohammed Faizeen, studied the

> satellite pictures of the tsunami's devastating impact upon the

> Indian Ocean. " Listen, " he commanded, peering very closely at a

> map, " the satellite pictures of the waves as they receded clearly

> spells out the name Allah. He sent it as punishment! " He was one

> among a very great many to see it, thus.

>

> Of course, Muslims do not have the monopoly on breathtakingly

stupid

> and cruel, if politically expedient, divine explanations for

natural

> disasters, although they might constitute a majority among those

> predisposed to such delusions. But, by way of example, first out

of

> the blocks after Hurricane Katrina were the Orthodox Jews; a

senior

> rabbi in Philadelphia annoyed the population at large by

suggesting

> the floods were an expression of God's displeasure at U.S. foreign

> policy toward Israel. He took his cue from the staggeringly

idiotic

> Israeli rabbi Ovadia Yosef, who announced, " This is vengeance for

> the U.S.A. urging Israel to relinquish Gaza. "

>

>

> My favourites, though, are the fundamentalist Christians: the

> trailer-trash Baptists, the evangelicals, the famous religious

> right. The director of the inexplicably powerful religious

pressure

> group, Repent America - a certain Michael Marcavage - thrust

himself

> in front of the microphones as the floodwaters swilled around the

> painfully sanitized tourist bars of Bourbon St. " This act of God

> destroyed a wicked city! God is in control of the weather. Some

> 125,000 homosexuals were going to be celebrating sin in the

streets.

> This is what happened, " he said. So, jubilant queers brought the

> floods upon New Orleans.

>

> The son of the millionaire evangelist Billy Graham seemed to

agree.

> Commenting on the disaster in Louisiana, Franklin Graham

> remarked, " This happens when we have taken God out of our schools

> and out of our society. " No, Frankie: it's what happens when the

> levees aren't high enough and the whole place is several metres

> below sea level.

>

> In response to the tsunami disaster, a Texan evangelical movement

> focused entirely on the deaths of a large number of Swedish

> holidaymakers. " Praise God for 5,000 dead Swedes, " they screamed

> with delight - and you can check out their views on the quite

> magnificent website GodhatesSweden.com. God hates Sweden,

> apparently, because they're all licentious northern European scum

> who tolerate homosexuality and other deviations.

>

> There is secular cant as well, of course. We have heard little

from

> the BBC about the ineptitude of the Pakistani authorities in

dealing

> with the tragedy that has befallen their people. Four days after

the

> earthquake struck and there were still vast areas bereft of aid,

> hundreds of thousands of people desperately in need of water, food

> and medical supplies. Where were the authorities? Where was the

> army? Is the looting in Islamabad an expression of a society torn

> apart by its own internal contradictions, by endemic racism and

> poverty? Why did General Pervez Musharraf not react with much

> greater haste; is this not indicative of an ineffectual

government,

> a government which has lost the support of its people?

>

> The haste with which BBC reporters flung the ordure at President

> George W. Bush in the wake of Katrina is scarcely a less emotional

> and even spiritual impulse than that which drove the mullahs to

> blame the tsunami, or Katrina, on the war in Iraq or on our

penchant

> for freedom of speech, assembly, sexual partner, etc., etc. We

might

> laugh at the stupidity of Franklin Graham and that moron from Sri

> Lanka or, indeed, Sheik Abu Hamza al-Masri, who announced the

> destruction of the U.S. space shuttle Columbia and the deaths of

the

> seven astronauts within was the work of God. Hamza, Graham, the

> wacko Jews and the moderators of GodhatesSweden.com are, of

course,

> imbeciles. But the impulse when disaster strikes is to reach for

> someone tangible to blame, rather than putting it down to a

> calamitous shifting of tectonic plates or an unfortunate weather

> pattern.

>

> Even stripped of the befogging and deluding strictures of

religion,

> it seems we still have our demons primed and ready for such a

> purpose, no matter how enlightened and secular we believe

ourselves

> to be. George W. Bush because he is an infidel or George W. Bush

> because he is very right-wing: either will do.

>

>

> When God is on your side ...

>

http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/news/editorial/story.h

> tml?id=782596f3-dbc7-4096-b0c5-1a8cbdbf6cf8

> The Gazette (Montreal) 2005

>