Bishopnose - religion

P(h)ew! What a survey!

noreply@blogspirit.com (Bishopnose) — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 22:45:00 +0800

A report, Muslims shift from violence, in the International Herald Tribune today says that a survey by the Pew Global Attitudes Project conducted before the 7 July London bombings has found that Muslims in the Middle East and Asia see less justification now for violence against civilians than they did two years ago. The poll was conducted in 17 countries, among 17,000 people, including 6 predominantly Muslim countries, excluding Malaysia, between late April and early June. The IHT says "it offers an unusually broad look at Muslim attitudes, and at Western attitudes on a range of Muslim issues." The six predominantly Muslim countries which took part in the survey are Indonesia, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan and Turkey which together have a combined Muslim population of about 516 million, less than a third of the 1.7 billion Muslim people worldwide, while the 11 countries with minority Muslim population which participated in the poll are Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Spain and the United States.

Question: Can 17,000 people (0.001%) speak for 1.7 billion Muslims in the world? Can the sampling of 5,228 (0.0004%) in the 6 Muslim countries in the poll speak for 1.2 billion Muslims in the Middle East and Asia? There are 46 predominantly Muslim countries in the world.

Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and Turkey in the Middle East together account for about 110 million Muslims while Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country, and Pakistan in Asia make up about 406 million Muslims.

The good lives after them

noreply@blogspirit.com (Bishopnose) — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 18:55:00 +0800

It seems that Shakespeare might be wrong to say that "the evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones." Everyone seems to have good things to say about the suicide bombers in England. Here's another "eulogy" from a report, "Trail From London to Leeds Yields Portraits of 3 Bombers", in today's Washington Post:

As parents dropped off their children at the Hillside Primary School in Leeds on Thursday, they had nothing but good things to say about a teaching assistant, Mohammed Sidique Khan, one of the suspected bombers. They called the 30-year-old instructor kind, bright and popular, especially with the special-needs students he was trained to help.

"He was brilliant with the children. He went on trips with the kids, and my little girl went with him on a trip to London," Sharon Stevens, whose 11-year-old daughter attends the school, told reporters.

"I just can't believe that somebody like Mr. Khan could be involved in something like this," said another mother, shaking their head.

Man from No. 10 isn't Bambi, of course!

noreply@blogspirit.com (Bishopnose) — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 17:34:18 +0800

Good gracious, he isn't Tony Blair. The Guardian today reports that the Picaddilly line bomber from number 10 ... Northern Road was a figure of contrasts. Well, sounds like Bambi anyway. It says of Lindsey Germail in the intro of the story "Loving father, bad neighbour, Picaddilly line bomber": Neighbours would see him hurrying to and from his red Fiat Brava, carrying his baby in doting fashion. Sometimes they would be forced to berate him as he blared Arabic music from his house and his car, often in the early hours.

Here's a quote from The Guardian's story:

"These people might think they are good Muslims, but they are not. I was born and bred here. They just make life harder for the rest of us." -- Aman Azram, 23, an insurance clerk.

"They seemed so religious"

noreply@blogspirit.com (Bishopnose) — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 09:50:00 +0800

The Star proudly proclaims on its front page today:

Here are excerpts from The Star report, "Malaysians: Bombers lived among us?" quoting Malaysian Azmi Shafeei who lives a few doors away from London teenage suicide bomber Hasib Mir Hussain in Leeds:

"It is shocking that my wife and I have been staying in the same neighbourhood as these people for the last two years.

But all our neighbours seemed to be very nice and friendly. We go to the mosque and pray together, especially during Ramadan," he said yesterday in a telephone interview from his house in Leeds, about 350km north of London.

"I used to see some of them going to the mosque every day. They seemed so religious," said Azim (sic) who is from Kelaantan (sic).

Note: Emphasis is mine.

London suicide bomber was "a really nice boy"

noreply@blogspirit.com (Bishopnose) — Thu, 14 Jul 2005 01:35:00 +0800

I'm overcome by sadness after reading today's story Hasib Hussain: The boy who grew up to bomb the No 30 bus in The Independent newspaper. I won't say anything more except that my heart bleeds for all those who died in the terror attack; particularly for Hasib Hussain. With apologies to The Independent, I've lifted a part of its story here which says much:

A man who said he was Hasib Hussain's uncle said yesterday his nephew was not "the type'' to be a bomber. "He was a nice lad. He was really nice," he said. "He wasn't the type of guy to do it. He wouldn't do it. I wish in my heart he was still alive."

A series of setbacks in Hussain's life may be behind a sudden change from a British Asian who dressed in Western clothes to a religious teenager who wore Islamic garb and only stopped to say salaam to fellow Muslims.

School created the first setback. After attending Ingram Primary, he moved up to Matthew Murray secondary- now the Holbeck campus of South Leeds College - in September 1998, where he was entered for a number of GCSEs. But he was withdrawn by teachers from his GCSEs and left on 20 July 2003 with a GNVQ in business studies.

He had always found an escape in football. But, about two years ago, the Hornets' pitch was closed down. At about the same time, Hussain seemed to disappear into another world, according to associates.

"He was really into cricket and football. We would get together every weekend, then they closed the pitch down. I never saw him much after that until six to eight weeks ago," said a friend.

It seems he thought he had found Islam. He grew a beard and began dressing in traditional Muslim clothes. When he was last spotted by the friend he had shaved off his beard. Al-Qa'ida analysts have claimed that may be a sign of a radicalised Muslim's intention to become a terrorist. The friend said: "I asked him why he had shaved off the beard. He said it was a long story and that he did not like one mosque saying one thing and another mosque saying that was the wrong way. When he heard so many arguments he thought, 'Forget it. I will go my own way'."

It seems that he found no answers from the devoutly Islamic household where he grew up. He was close to Imran, according to locals. Imran, believed to be 24, works as an administrator in Leeds, and he has a young daughter.

But, according to some, Hussain's parents despaired of him for a time when, in the words of another friend, he went "off the rails" as an adolescent and they made desperate attempts to instil discipline into him. His father, Mahmood, a devout Muslim, is in bad health and has been unable to hold down a regular job....

Although Hussain's parents did not know it, his fatal association with the three men who joined him last Thursday may have dated back to those formative years at Ingram Primary School.

Note: Emphasis is mine.

Logically, of course

noreply@blogspirit.com (Bishopnose) — Mon, 11 Jul 2005 12:15:00 +0800

I shan't dispute the islamic logic in social segregation of thesexes. But I'd like to congratulate Captain Hanadi Hindi for soon becoming the first Saudi woman pilot "to fly a plane withthe private fleet of Prince Al-Walid" of the oil-rich kingdom of Saudi Arabia. To overcome her religious sanction against Muslim womenmixing with men who are not their relatives, Hindi will have her father sittingnext to her in the cockpit as her chaperone for 10 years, I suppose, since theprince has given her a 10-year-contract. The New Straits Times which carriesthe story today quoted Hindi as saying that her father will accompany her onall her trips "so that no one will say that I am traveling without a malerelative." (I wonder whether her father is a pilot.) Unless of course, shedecides to marry ..... er, the prince? After all, he's allowed four wives. Butfalling in love under the watchful eyes of a father..... hmmm ... , anyway,here’s the story from the New Straits Times:

First Saudi woman pilot to fly as driving debate rages on

While the debate over whether Saudi women should be allowedto drive rages on, Captain Hanadi Hindi will soon become thefirst woman to fly a plane with the private fleet of a prince. Prince Al-Walidbin Talal's decision to make Hindi part of his private crew has drawn criticismfrom some conservative Muslim scholars, who object to any easing of constraintsthat bar Saudi women from mixing with men other than relatives or travelingwithout the authorization of a male guardian.

But Hindi said the billionaire entrepreneur's Kingdom Holding Company had alsohired her father, Zakariya Hindi, as a legal consultant.

He will accompany her on all her trips "so that no one will say that I amtraveling without a male relative."

Hindi said she is heading to London in about three weeks for a three-monthtraining course before she takes up her job as a pilot for PrinceAl-Walid.

Kingdom Holding hired Hindi even before she clinched her Commercial Pilot'sLicence and an Instrument Rating (CPL and IR) from the Mideast Aviation Academyin Jordan last month.

The company, which runs a worldwide business empire, had offered Hindi ascholarship to carry her through her last year at the Jordanian academy, andPrince Al-Walid took out doublespread advertisements in the press tocongratulate her on taking her CPL.

"I thank God that Prince Al-Walid has given me the opportunity to serve mycountry and serve his highness, bearing in mind that he is a member of theroyal family," Hindi said.

Hindi said that before the prince offered her a 10-year contract, she fearedshe might not find a job in Saudi Arabia.

Her apprehensions were well-grounded, given that women in the Muslim countryare still excluded from many professions that would appear less controversialthan piloting a plane and are the only women in the world banned from driving acar.

The appointed Shura (consultative) Council in May shelved the suggestion ofMohammad Al Zalfa, who cited a host of economic reasons to end the ban, such asthe fact that the prohibition has led to the presence of around a millionforeign drivers who cost the country 12 billion riyals (3.2 billion dollars) ayear.

Advocates of an end to the ban also cite the prohibitive cost of hiring driversfor families of limited means.

They also defend their case on social grounds to counter the religious-basedarguments of opponents, pointing out that by having to rely on drivers, Saudiwomen end up spending much time alone with male strangers.

Hindi said she was "not against" allowing women to drive because some womeneither cannot afford to employ drivers, which forces them to rely on publictransport, or have no able-bodied men in their families to take themaround.

It would be good if women could get behind the wheel "with certainrestrictions," such as granting that right only to women of middle age or more,she said.

But despite having blazed a trail by becoming the first Saudi woman pilot,Hindi diplomatically shifted the issue away from ideological grounds.

Being a pioneer "is a very big responsibility... I hope I will be a goodexample for Saudi women," she said.

Mr Nice Guy

noreply@blogspirit.com (Bishopnose) — Sat, 09 Jul 2005 00:00:00 +0800

I learnt early in life that if I wanted to keep my friends and stay outof trouble, I'd be wise to avoid any discussion of two taboo subjects: Politicsand religion. Why? I asked. Well, because there are just so many bigots on bothsides of the fence, so said my teacher. And, God bless his soul, he was right.So for a long time, I avoided these two topics like the proverbial plague; thatis, until Minishorts was ~~idiotic~~wise enough to review a ~~scum(najis)~~ gem ofa ~~trash~~ book written by no less a religious bigot nomatter how nice Minishorts finds him to be in "reallife". Real life? That means he has a fake life. And only Minishorts, I guess,can tell them apart through her "personal experience" and "scarce email" exchangewith him. Unwise, I say, because Minishorts knew the risks she was taking:"the subjectmatter can be quite heavy as it might be offensive to many", "... (theauthor) failing in being objective and tolerant in his book" and "... theoverzealous religious-self within this student of comparative religion hasovercome his trying efforts to be tolerant." And so, I feel I must addmy ~~penn'orth~~ sen-worth of my ~~rumblings~~thoughts to Minishorts' review of nothing short of religious bigotry whichhas ruffled some feathers. I know the bigot is gleefullycongratulating himself for being such a very nice person and for his smallsuccess in notoriety.

I've a natural aversion to nice guys because too many of them invariablyhave a split personality and live a double life of good and evil; like DrJekyll and Mr Hyde. The FBI has this tosay of an organized serial killer: 'He is usually socially adequate andhas friends and lovers, often even a spouse and children. They are the typewho, when captured, are most likely to be described by acquaintances as"a really nice guy" who "wouldn't hurt afly".' The late Dr. Harold Frederick Shipman was England's - andperhaps the world's - most prolific serial killer. He was Dr Death as wellas Mr Nice Guy. The International Herald Tribune reported on 14 May 2001that, "When Dr. Shipman was first arrested in 1998, the community was outragedat a perceived miscarriage of justice. By the time of his conviction last year(2000) in the murders of 15 people, the disbelief had all but vanished.Only then did the true scope of the crimes begin to emerge." On 13 Septemberlast year, the IHT wrote of Dr Shipman in an article entitled Re-evaluating a traditional trust: You, your physician and Britain's 'Dr.Death': "Fred, as he liked to be called, practiced medicine for more than30 years. Until a few years before his untimely death, Fred was very popularamong his patients. They loved his endearing bedside manner and his willingnessto visit patients at home. Some even called him the best doctor in theregion."

In Seattle, Clem Gregurek, a neighbour of Gary Leon Ridgway, theUSA's worse serial killer known as the Green River Killer, who wassentenced to life imprisonment in 2003 for killing 48 prostitutes, said this ofhim: "He's a nice guy, I didn't notice anything weird."

Then, most recently, The New York Times reported on 21 June of a"Nice Guy" school teacher in China who raped 26 schoolgirls between the ages of10 and 14. The newspaper also said that in December 2003, a "Nice Guy"teacher in rural Shaanxi Province was executed for raping 58 girls in 15 years.It added that last October a teenage girl in rural central China tried tocommit suicide after a "Nice Guy" teacher forced her to watch him rape hercousin. And the list of all these "Nice Guy" criminals goes on and on. What doyou think every con-man, criminal and terrorist has written over his face? "MrNice Guy", naturally. And so does every political and religious bigot. Nowonder Jesus Christ rebuked the man who called him "good". "Why do you call megood?" Jesus answered. "No one is good - except God alone." Mark 10:18 (NewInternational Version of the Holy Bible).

Minishorts says her very nice friend touches on "the treatment of thefeminine gender in this religion (Buddhism?)" in his book but doesn'tgive any details of his comments which I've no reason to believe thatthey are praises. Well, women are my favourite subject. Honest. I don'tknow how the Buddhists treat their women. But I would like an educated andintelligent Muslim woman to tell me how her man treats her. Howdoes she feel about her religion which allows her husband to marryfour wives. How does she feel about sharing her husband with threewomen. And, of course, it seems logical to ask why Islamdoesn't accord a woman equal rights to have four husbands. How does aMuslim man feel if the table is turned against him: when he has to share hiswife with three men.