Sunday, February 26, 2006
They're Fighting Over What?
Well the cartoon thing is hopefully drawing to close but I'm sure it'll resurrect itself again. So as they kill themselves over pencil drawings of the prophet, Iraq seems primed to degenerate into Civil War. The hardest part for me and I think others is understanding what the heck they're killing each other about this time? One day it's death to the west, the next it's death to each other. We can't keep track without a scorecard.
So apparently the Shia and Sunni sects of the Muslim faith don't always agree with one another. I won't try and pretend I totally understand why but here's what I could find. The split between the two groups dates back to almost the beginning of Islam. The Shias' believe that the calphate or leader of the Muslims should be a direct descendent of the prophet Muhammad while the Sunnis' believe that person should be elected from a group of people cabable of the job. So the Shia have not recognized the authority of any elected muslim leaders but instead follow Iman's they believe have been appointed by Muhammad since the last known descendent disappeared 11 centuries ago (heck, I 'm not even sure anyone can agree on how to spell his name from my searches). So the Imans and religous leaders of each group work the crowds up to kill each other more or less as they are the rightly divined leaders as per the Koran.
This was not always the case however. The disputed claim to the caliphate started almost upon Muhammad's death. The prophet's cousin Ali was the 4th leader of Islam but was deposed by a rival faction. Ali's son Hussein tried to reclaim the leadership but was defeated. The last bloodline Shia Iman is said to have disappeared into a cave 11 centuries ago. The Shia faithful keep a saddled horse ready every morning in anticipation for the return of the rightful heir. It is said he will reconcile Islam and bring peace and justice to all. I've heard that somewhere before? Waiting for the son of someone to return and bring about peace on earth? Oh yeah, now I remember.
Well the cartoon thing is hopefully drawing to close but I'm sure it'll resurrect itself again. So as they kill themselves over pencil drawings of the prophet, Iraq seems primed to degenerate into Civil War. The hardest part for me and I think others is understanding what the heck they're killing each other about this time? One day it's death to the west, the next it's death to each other. We can't keep track without a scorecard.
So apparently the Shia and Sunni sects of the Muslim faith don't always agree with one another. I won't try and pretend I totally understand why but here's what I could find. The split between the two groups dates back to almost the beginning of Islam. The Shias' believe that the calphate or leader of the Muslims should be a direct descendent of the prophet Muhammad while the Sunnis' believe that person should be elected from a group of people cabable of the job. So the Shia have not recognized the authority of any elected muslim leaders but instead follow Iman's they believe have been appointed by Muhammad since the last known descendent disappeared 11 centuries ago (heck, I 'm not even sure anyone can agree on how to spell his name from my searches). So the Imans and religous leaders of each group work the crowds up to kill each other more or less as they are the rightly divined leaders as per the Koran.
This was not always the case however. The disputed claim to the caliphate started almost upon Muhammad's death. The prophet's cousin Ali was the 4th leader of Islam but was deposed by a rival faction. Ali's son Hussein tried to reclaim the leadership but was defeated. The last bloodline Shia Iman is said to have disappeared into a cave 11 centuries ago. The Shia faithful keep a saddled horse ready every morning in anticipation for the return of the rightful heir. It is said he will reconcile Islam and bring peace and justice to all. I've heard that somewhere before? Waiting for the son of someone to return and bring about peace on earth? Oh yeah, now I remember.
Sunday, February 05, 2006
Prophet Cartoons Incite Riots
The polarization of Western vs. Muslim culture came to task again recently when a few European newspapers republished cartoons from a Danish newspaper depicting the Muslim prophet Muhammad. Perhaps ironically the cartoons were actually published last year. A quick search doesn't turn up to much and I'm not sure if that's because of the noise of the news of it or because of the fear of backlash at this point. One cartoon apparently shows the prophet telling his people to stop sending suicide bombers 'cause heaven in running out of virgins while another depicts him with a bomb for a turban.
There's been lots, well tons, of commentary on whether this was a good idea or not and whether this represents racism or a hate crime of some sort. I think this was inevitable and it will go a long way on supporting integration of the two cultures. Orrrrr, it's another example where oil and water just can't mix and violence is inevitable. So far it's a bit of both but the violence makes better press so that's 99% of what we read and see. A small group of muslims have supported the newspapers right to publish. I personally find the whole thing ludicrous but disturbing.
The polarization of Western vs. Muslim culture came to task again recently when a few European newspapers republished cartoons from a Danish newspaper depicting the Muslim prophet Muhammad. Perhaps ironically the cartoons were actually published last year. A quick search doesn't turn up to much and I'm not sure if that's because of the noise of the news of it or because of the fear of backlash at this point. One cartoon apparently shows the prophet telling his people to stop sending suicide bombers 'cause heaven in running out of virgins while another depicts him with a bomb for a turban.
There's been lots, well tons, of commentary on whether this was a good idea or not and whether this represents racism or a hate crime of some sort. I think this was inevitable and it will go a long way on supporting integration of the two cultures. Orrrrr, it's another example where oil and water just can't mix and violence is inevitable. So far it's a bit of both but the violence makes better press so that's 99% of what we read and see. A small group of muslims have supported the newspapers right to publish. I personally find the whole thing ludicrous but disturbing.
