My thoughts, all serious, on important issues and events. |
LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF RELIGION This is neither a hate mail nor a political one. This is a sad mail, an impromptu one, precipitated by the tragic news of a 21 year old Muslim citizen of France having killed 84 people by driving an explosive laiden truck into a crowd watching celebratory fireworks on the occasion of the French National Day which commemorates the Storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789. A—Issue no. 1: “Is Islam a religion of peace?” The followers of Islam don’t tire of repeating ad nauseum that Islam is a religion of peace. This is so much of hot air / meaningless hype. Which are the other main religions of the world—Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Jainism and Baha’i. May I know which of these six other religions is a religion of violence? As a matter of fact, the only one of the 7 religions named here that is known for violence perpetrated in the name of the religion itself is none other but Islam. Those who say Islam is a religion of peace are needlessly spreading something non-factual in relation to other religions. B—Issue no. 2: Do nations have a right to ban entry of those persons who might be potentially harmful to the country? In general, there should be no discrimination on the basis of religion. However, a country cannot be accused of discrimination if, based upon facts, its parliament / law making authority makes a law to curb the entry of certain religious groups in order to protect itself and its citizens. Even though this might look politically incorrect, the public perception of Muslims as perpetrators of violence is what is responsible for the mass following of Donald Trump as the future President of USA. C—Issue no. 3: Which countries are responsible for promotion of dangerous Islam? Dangerous Islam means the Wahabi or Salafi Islam that is centred in Saudi Arabia. This country, where women cannot get out of the home without a male relative as escort, is the special friend of USA because the latter needs the former’s oil. Thus it is clear that USA, in a way, promotes dangerous Islam. Moreover, it is well known that Pakistan is the epicenter of terrorism in the world today and that it exports terrorism to various other countries. Pakistan itself is a major beneficiary of US aid. “The United States began providing economic assistance along and military aid to Pakistan shortly after the country’s creation in 1947. In total, the United States obligated nearly $67 billion (in constant 2011 dollars) to Pakistan between 1951 and 2011”--- http://www.cgdev.org/page/aid-pakistan-numbers. Thus, on the average, USA has been giving one billion dollars to Pakistan per year. Thus it is clear that USA has been supporting the two major countries responsible for violent Islam. SUMMARY—Violent, extremist Islamic mentality is responsible for much of terrorism in the world today. The two countries supporting and spreading such mentality are Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. USA has always been quite friendly with both of them. Hence, USA can’t escape the blame that it is, to a good extent, responsible for Islamic terrorism. --M C Gupta 15 July 2016 |