One of the most egregiously silly posters on the Guardian’s comically named and rigorously censored 'Comment is Free' site solemnly informs us that Islam is an “overwhelmingly peaceful and gentle religion whose people have been abused by the West for hundreds of years”.
Here is the latest peaceful and gentle story from that land of milk and honey and haven of sweetness and light, Saudi Arabia, with whom, our revered Queen assured us not so long ago, we have "shared values".
As Private Eye would say, “Shome mishtake, shurely?”
5 comments:
Politics and religion have never made good bed-fellows and their off-spring invariably crush all opposition, using the full power of god’s and man’s law and the righteous certitude of those who are certain they have God’s right. This incestuous creation of blind might is representative of all the lowest of human instincts. Religion with power destroys all that is different, all that is individual and results in a homogeneous, fearful society with no creativity, no cross-pollination of ideas and no growth. Stagnation is the necessary result of all theocracies and results in aggressive rebellion from the extremes while the mass in the middle are forced to remain repressed, silent and afraid.
I bet the part-owner/prince has not got the lashing himself. Dual "morals" are rife worldwide.
While we keep using their oil, those people will keep doing what they wish, and no Human Rights or Criminal Tribunal for them.
Rumours have it that part of the financing of Al-Qaeda comes from somewhere in Saudi Arabia.
The West's insatiable need (or greed) for oil motivates it to prop up and subsidise these corrupt and barbaric regimes, and thereby to connive at our own destruction. Much of the billions of 'petrodollars' they take from us return into Europe and USA as funding for Saudi-promoted Wahabbi'ist mosques and 'faith schools' which preach and teach disdainful abhorrence of the local culture and open democratic society.
If there ever was a Trojan Horse...
The alternatives:
We stop buying oil from them.
We invade them and change their regime.
We fund internal revolution.
We buy their oil but limit all other interaction.
I only think the first and last are worth discussing. If the UK stopped buying their oil others would continue and the UK would continue to receive the same petrodollar investment into religious incitement to insurrection. However, the UK wouldn’t need to support the government and could cease to being hypocritical.
We could buy their oil without supporting them in other ways and we could do more to stop religious incitement of hate.
These are obviously very difficult political and ethical issues. What clearly we in the west should not do is what we are doing – openly supporting dictatorial and theocratic governments who suppress their own people and directly or indirectly invest in insurrectionist activity within our countries.
What are your suggestions?
My suggestions? Anticant's Arena is not an Instant Oracle offering solutions to all the world's problems, but I have made a shot at this one in a separate post.
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