"I Will Not Pray For You"
Truly, the young are far too impetuous for their own good.
One might think, living in a closed society, one that will not permit the worship of other religions, one which metes out justice through Sharia arbitration, one in which anything pertaining to Islam, the Holy Koran, the Prophet Mohammed, let alone Allah Himself is held to be holy, and peoples' attitudes and speech must be above reproach in daring to mention them, a sensible soul would exact upon himself some care.
But such are the young so headstrong - and (almost) oblivious to the dangers in store for them when they feel confident enough to challenge their society's received wisdom which shall not be taken in vain, lest one pay the ultimate price in restorative damage - that they are heedless.
Believing, perhaps, that speaking honestly, and from the heart, will be insurance against ill will. Reminders that this attitude does not reflect reality does come as a shock.
Which is why 23-year-old Hamza Kashgari, a Saudi journalist, has fled Saudi Arabia. For he has committed the cardinal, unforgivable sin of blasphemy. Of speaking the blessed name of the Prophet at that most propitious time, the anniversary of his birth, too offhandedly and ever so carelessly provoking anger in the hearts of his fellows.
Not entirely unappeasable, for were the ultimate and deserved discipline to be applied, they would be content. For some peculiar reason, however, Hamza Kashgari finds it inconvenient and unsettling to contemplate that disciplinary measure, for it is so morbidly final. True, it would mean he would never again insult the Prophet, but he is prepared to give that assurance without giving his life.
He did apologize. A simple apology, however, appears insufficient to mollify the rage of Saudi clerics in charge of issuing religious edicts. They insist him to be "an apostate", an "infidel", a horrendous criminal who must pay the price of his, ah ... indiscretionary foolishness. Yes, he fled his country. He flew into Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
What an odd destination, for it too is an Islamic country where the rule of law is Islamic, not secular. And where an Interpol interception request caught up to him, Saudi officials having alerted Interpol to act expeditiously on their behalf. And which Malaysia was pleased to accede to, arresting the sad and sorry Hamza Kashgari.
The thousands of Saudi citizenry, Facebook members who signed the page entitled "The Saudi people demand Hamza Kashgari's execution", will now be exultant. This speaks the measure of a peoples' values who worship Islam. This is the same Islam that instructs its followers that saving one life is as though one saves humanity.
And which is now quite prepared to sacrifice that life, to appease their inhumanity.
One might think, living in a closed society, one that will not permit the worship of other religions, one which metes out justice through Sharia arbitration, one in which anything pertaining to Islam, the Holy Koran, the Prophet Mohammed, let alone Allah Himself is held to be holy, and peoples' attitudes and speech must be above reproach in daring to mention them, a sensible soul would exact upon himself some care.
But such are the young so headstrong - and (almost) oblivious to the dangers in store for them when they feel confident enough to challenge their society's received wisdom which shall not be taken in vain, lest one pay the ultimate price in restorative damage - that they are heedless.
Believing, perhaps, that speaking honestly, and from the heart, will be insurance against ill will. Reminders that this attitude does not reflect reality does come as a shock.
Which is why 23-year-old Hamza Kashgari, a Saudi journalist, has fled Saudi Arabia. For he has committed the cardinal, unforgivable sin of blasphemy. Of speaking the blessed name of the Prophet at that most propitious time, the anniversary of his birth, too offhandedly and ever so carelessly provoking anger in the hearts of his fellows.
"I have loved things about you and I have hated things about you and there is a lot I don't understand about you."Having had the temerity and lack of self-protective vision to use the social networking site Twitter to unburden himself in this manner, Hamza Kashgari will now have ample time to regret his rash behaviour. He already does feel great regret, and would undo what he has done, if he could, but he cannot. For the outrage being expressed by Saudis is white-hot and unappeasable.
"And I will not pray for you."
Not entirely unappeasable, for were the ultimate and deserved discipline to be applied, they would be content. For some peculiar reason, however, Hamza Kashgari finds it inconvenient and unsettling to contemplate that disciplinary measure, for it is so morbidly final. True, it would mean he would never again insult the Prophet, but he is prepared to give that assurance without giving his life.
He did apologize. A simple apology, however, appears insufficient to mollify the rage of Saudi clerics in charge of issuing religious edicts. They insist him to be "an apostate", an "infidel", a horrendous criminal who must pay the price of his, ah ... indiscretionary foolishness. Yes, he fled his country. He flew into Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
What an odd destination, for it too is an Islamic country where the rule of law is Islamic, not secular. And where an Interpol interception request caught up to him, Saudi officials having alerted Interpol to act expeditiously on their behalf. And which Malaysia was pleased to accede to, arresting the sad and sorry Hamza Kashgari.
The thousands of Saudi citizenry, Facebook members who signed the page entitled "The Saudi people demand Hamza Kashgari's execution", will now be exultant. This speaks the measure of a peoples' values who worship Islam. This is the same Islam that instructs its followers that saving one life is as though one saves humanity.
And which is now quite prepared to sacrifice that life, to appease their inhumanity.
Labels: Islamism, Justice, Persecution, Saudi Arabia
posted by Pieface | 6:33 PM
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