INTRODUCTION
After
the last Gulf War had pretty much ended, I thought, well well, now we might have
a little peace on the earth. By peace I was mainly referring to the
fundamentalist, militant Muslim movements.
But then around the middle of May, year 2003, I heard news of another suicide
bombing of a U.S. Employees residence compound. This bombing took place in the
capitol city of Saudi Arabia. Besides there was every indication to believe that
this attack was also linked to the fundamentalist, militant Muslim group known
as Al-Quida.
That morning I happened to be in Lexington, Kentucky, and I
happened to catch two of the following headlines on the same day in a
local newspaper: " SAUDIS IGNORED U.S. SECURITY REQUEST,
AMBASSADOR says; BY JOHN J. LUMPKIN OF ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON - Saudi
Officials did not respond to American requests for extra security at residential
compounds in Riyadh in the face of warnings of imminent Al-Quida terrorism, the
U.S. ambassador said yesterday. Whether extra guards would have stopped the
assaults Monday on the three compounds is unclear, but Ambassador Robert Jordan
suggested the Saudis had not done enough to fight terrorism. "We contacted the
Saudi government, in fact on several occasions to request that added security be
provided to all western residential compounds and government installations in
the kingdom,” Jordan said on CBS 's, The Early Show.
"But they did not, as of the time of this tragic event, provide the additional
security we requested...”
The Saudi foreign minister Prince Saud said,” There was news coming from
everywhere that they were planning a major attack." Several U.S. officials said
that even if security had been improved at the compounds, it is unlikely the
attacks could have been stopped, given the number of attackers with automatic
weapons... Suspicion that AL-Quida carried out these attacks grew yesterday as a
six-member FBI team made its way to Riyadh to assist in the investigation.
Saudi officials linked the attacks to an alleged Al-Quida cell they have been
hunting for in recent weeks. They said 15 Saudis took part in the strikes, nine
of whom appear to have perished as suicide bombers." And now here is an excerpt
from the second headline of the of the same newspaper on the same day."
OTHER VOICES -- TERROR IN SAUDI ARABIA
GUEST EDITORIALS DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT HERALD - LEADER VIEWS
The deadly suicide bombings in Saudi Arabia serve as a reminder- if anyone
needed it -that the threat of terrorism out of the Middle East is still very
much with us. The attacks, which seem to have killed at least 20 people were
aimed at several compounds that house westerners working in the Saudi capitol of
Riyadh.
Within the walls of the compounds, non-Muslims are able to replicate something
akin to lifestyles, they had back home... But the enclaves have always affronted
Islamic fundamentalists, and for terrorists, the compounds serve as a handy
symbol of the modern western culture they despise...
Many in the western world will always view the tragedy of 9/11 as being about
America, but to the people who carried it out, the terrorism attack was as much
about Saudi Arabia.
The United States is a supporting player in the terrorists’ own internal
political drama, which centers on a fundamentalist religion, a grandiose vision
of their own role in the world affairs and an anger at the Saudi government's
alliance with non-Muslim western nations... (New York Times).
I think it was pretty much to do with this kind of news items dotting all over
the country in the papers and TV, that caused ordinary people like me to stop
and think, "What is going on?" And the second news item basically sums it up by
saying,"...which centers on a fundamentalist religion and a grandiose vision of
their own role in the world affairs."
So it is this false grandiose vision, which is the main culprit, here.
MY PERSONAL RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE
I was born in the Punjab Province of India. I was only about 1 1/2 years old
when my whole family had to migrate to the newly formed Islamic State of
Pakistan. I think this partition of India was one of the most shocking events
that took place in India as a society. And the sad part is that the whole
concept of this partition was based on religion. So as a result of this
religious division of the country a large population of Muslims had to just pick
up what they could of their belongings and move to a different part of the
country (Of course the same thing was true with the Hindu population as well).
This really was a very bloody partition; the opposing party, in many instances,
massacred a whole trainload of poor people.
My whole family had embraced Islam as its religion and most likely had
converted to Islam from some form of Hinduism about a century ago.
So to make the whole story short, I was raised as a little Muslim boy and said
my 5 times of daily prayers.
I got my basic education in Pakistan in Civil Engineering. Then I migrated to
U.S.A. in 1969 and went to University of Utah and got my Master of Science
degree. Currently I have residence in Salt Lake City where I maintain my license
as a Structural Engineer, to make a living. However I always had interest in
different religions. So I went to different churches in Salt Lake City including
the Mormon church, a few of the Christian churches and the Bahai's.
|
Amazon.com |
|
Why I Am Not
a Muslim,
by Ibn Warraq
Raised in the Muslim faith, Warraq came to reject religion and
now spends his time lecturing and writing. He recently authored a piece "Islam,
The Middle East and Fascism" which critiques the Islamic holy book, the Qur'an.
|
The Quest for the Historical Muhammad
by
Ibn Warraq
Publishers Weekly, March 6, 2000
"... Warraq has provided a highly readable critical survey of the literature of this quest..."
|
Now first church I joined in USA was Jehovah’s witness, which I joined after I
had been in USA for about 4 years, after which I married a Jehovah’s witness
girl. But soon I discovered that this was a very non-progressive church to the
point of not accepting blood transfusions or letting their kids opt for formal
college education.
So while going door to door I was challenged by a Mormon missionary who said,”
The Lord shall let you know if the Mormon Church is true or not and all I need
to do is ask for it". So I did. I got baptized as a Mormon and prayed for it but
I never had any indication from the Lord one way or the other. So I just became
an inactive member. Now I believe the best religion for any adult is probably
the one they are raised with as a boy or girl.
So I still enjoy saying my daily prayers.
CHOICE OF RELIGION FOR ALL OF US
The best religion one can have is generally the one that a person is raised in
as a little boy or a girl. One of the main reasons for us to have a religion is
to derive comfort, hope and love for one another. For any religion, the
following characteristics are necessary for it to help people in general.
1. AUTHORITY, so people would take it as serious enough like
at least on the level of a strict government. I guess that is why lot of the
Judeo-Christian churches (Including the Mormons and the Muslims) offers a
measure of punishment after death, for every sin committed in this life.
2. RITUALS; they are but little actions people enjoy repeating on regular basis
for a collective expression.
3. BIG QUESTIONS; Usually every religion has to invent some answer to questions
like "Where do we come from ? Why are we here? And where do we go from here?
4. GRACE; It is basically the strong belief that reality is on our side. This I
think helps people in times of crisis to know that are on the right and helps
them stay calm.
5. Mystery; this is like a little shade in any real photo. It means that nothing
in life is finite.
Now in an average persons 's lifetime, all the contents of
his/her life are made up of:
1. Statements made
2. Actions or non-Actions
3. Giving or taking of favors and charities
4. Good or bad manners
5. Faith
6. Love or Hatred of people and/or god.
7. Preaching 8.meditations
9. Concepts
10. Prayers
11. Hope or lack of hope
12. Sex
13. Procreation
Now everything we ever do, most likely falls under one of the
above categories. Next we are just dealing with a modeling problem. So now let
us introduce an importance multiplier with each of the above 13 variables. Then
we can do a regression analysis and possibly come up with an equation that can
equate sum of all of the above multipliers to one optimum value for each
individual. This individual optimum value can then be broken down into more or
less idealized values which is nothing more than a new set of multipliers that
one can use for his/her daily mix of things to follow. This daily mix is really
the word I prefer to use is nothing more than a weighted combination of above
variables that one can mix for one to do on a daily basis i.e. to do one
activity after another. Anyhow, this is the most rewarding way for one to keep
busy to accomplish anything, keep healthy and just be full of life, hope and
love. This I think is an idea to tailor your own religion, especially if you are
not too happy with your present one; like you shall see it soon that I am not.
PRELUDE TO BUILDING A BRIDGE
The need for such a bridge between the East and the West cannot be
overemphasised.The need for such a bridge simply intensified with each episode
like the first Gulf war,the war in Bosnia Area, the war in Afghanistan and then
the war in Iraq. So this hypothetical bridge between the East and the West will
not only be great for people and information to flow across rather it will also
help eliminate the long standing violence between the various religious
groups,all over the globe. Recall now the name of this little booklet,"The
Bridge between the East and the West."
So one may raise a question here, well the bridge over what? Now symbolically
the brige is made up of a goodwill understanding between the East and the West.
Let us say that the bridge is over a large river and again, symbolically, let us
liken this river to a prophet and the prophet in this case happens to be
Muhammad of Arabia.
So I guess now we can see a little more clearly as to what was separating the
East from the West.
However it is not Muhammad who had any idea that he was to become such a river
as to be the dividing force between the East and the West. So the big question
right now is how to undo this force.
PSYCHOSIS OF MUHAMMAD
Muhammad’s Psychosis, based on the medical literature, a copy of which is
attached herewith did include the manifestations of both Delusion and
Hallucinations. Muhammad also suffered from O.C.D. (Obsessive Compulsive
Disorder). So I am sure about the following facts about Muhammad.
1.That he heard voices that in reality did not exist.
2.That he saw angels that did not exist.
3.That he suffered from O.C.D., mainly to do with washing (As evidenced by Most
Muslims in washing themselves five times a day (It does not matter whether they
need it or not.)
In support of these findings I am writing a separate booklet for my Muslim
brothers and sisters that can assist them in this transition. Here and now my
advice to them is not to take Muhammad seriously when he acknowledged himself by
saying, arising from his trance, inside this cave where he lay alone, terrified
he rushed home to his first wife Khadija and said to her, "Either I am becoming
a Prophet or a madman."
CONCLUDING REMARKS
I suspect the case for Muhammad to be very similar to that of Moses (Of the
Jews) and Joseph Smith (Of the Mormons). I guess statistics also plays a role in
it, that such a person is born on this Earth approximately once in every
thousand years. Obviously it is not just the person alone, rather a whole bunch
of other events also work out to be present there in the scheme of things to
make a whole combination to open the locks to a false prophethood.
However,
please note in all three cases of a madman, posing as a prophet of god, the
following:
1. All three men were known not to lie about anything. They
were very honest, in all their dealings with their fellowmen.
2. The state of religious affairs was in a state of chaos in the immediate
societies that each man was born in.
3. It seems anyway that each man was to fall into a very similar trap of
starting a new religion, and the symptoms of Psychosis only enhanced them taking
it for real and run with the idea of becoming god’s prophet rather than a man
needing medical attention.
Of course with these three major religions out the window,
that leaves us with Christianity and Buddhism. Now the leaders of these two,
namely Jesus Christ and Buddha, they both seem to have pretty good mental status
as far as any Psychosis is concerned. So I guess now we know our options for a
religion as far as our future generations are concerned.
This booklet is particularly aimed at present day Muslims for them to wake up to
the realities about Muhammad and not support the AL-Quida type terrorist
organizations because with these suicide bombers all they are doing is killing
themselves along with other innocent people.
So please let me just say this at the end to all of my Muslim Brothers and
sisters, "DO NOT BE FOOLISH TO WASTE HUMAN LIFE. THE CAUSE IS NOT WORTH IT. This
I am saying to all parties involved in this big mess."
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