Dear God,

I have been wanting to send you this letter a very long time ago, but I did not want to trouble you in your busy days trying to make life a lot better for all of us mortals out here.

I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything you have given us since you created us! I have read the story about Adam and Eve and how they could not but sin by eating from the forbidden tree which you must have had a very good reason to plant somewhere next to them! It's us, silly mortals who know not thy wisdom!

Thank you for giving us the need for sex, in every single lusty form of it, and thank you for helping us to test our strength in fighting the need for it!

Thank you for heaven and hell, for should we not have had the promise of heaven and the fear of hell, we would have failed to be your joyful slaves, oh mighty God!

Thank you for sending all those prophets who guided us to the path of righteousness! For without them, we would have forgotten about you and enjoyed each and every second of our short lives!

Thank you for promising us the world if we obey you, for if you haven't we might have sinned by enjoying the world!

Thank you for being so mighty! So mighty that you are closing our eyes so we can follow you, and you know better than us on where we should go!

How can I ever express how thankful I am! I am willing to give everything for you! Take me! Lead my way! I am blind, just like you want me to be! I am mindless, so think for me! I am powerless so hold me! I am afraid, please don't leave me! I am living for no cause, so let thy wisdom be my guide!

Thank you Lord for everything you have given me, but more for what you have taken away from me!

Yours truly,

Stupid Mortal

PS. Write me back sometime! I loved the Bible letter you sent!

There was a black church
In the land of mist and clouds!
Dressed in darkness inside
And so all the surrounds…
A holy cross rose atop,
Dark itself, too, so dull.
Built on an ancient graveyard
Of a hundred million skulls!
Days pass by… years just die…
But still it is this gloomy night!
Silence spread… that of the dead…
A witness to the death of light!

There, an old man prays…
To gods unidentified!
Alive, his flesh decays
Rotting before he died!
Down he kneels again
As far as he can…
Gazes at the dark…
And slowly embarks.
Emptiness…
Nothingness…
So called holiness!

The Islamic Sharia law, states that all mice are evil and calls for their total extermination. This idea by itself is silly but then a cleric comes up with a Fatwa that takes this statement to a higher level of absurdity. Sheikh Mohamed al-Munajid, a renowned religious scholar in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, issued a Fatwa against Mickey Mouse! He stated that all mice are “agents of Satan” and that Mickey Mouse is one of his soldiers. His exact words were: “Mickey Mouse has become an awesome character, even though according to Islamic law, Mickey Mouse should be killed in all cases.”  

This makes me wonder what’s next? A Fatwa for female Disney characters ordering them to wear a Hijab? Also, I wonder if a price will be placed on the head of this devilish mouse. In my opinion, a reward of “3 magical beans” would be the most appropriate compensation, by the sheikh, to anyone who kills this pesky little rodent.

When Martin Luther said “Reason is the enemy of faith” he should’ve added: “…and for the Arab world it’s freedom of expression”. Religions have always been demoting free-speech and in some regions, under a theocratic regime, freedom of speech is barely existent. Islamic governments are the best example of suppressive ruling. When your civil laws and regulations are based on the oppressive “Sharia” law, censorship comes with the package.
The stories you hear every day about cases of limiting freedoms, become absurd when you consider the fact that the mentality behind such limitations is being based on bylaws written thousands of years ago. I would like to mention a number of incidents that happened this week alone.
I will not go, however, into the “Draw Muhammad Day” issue because, personally, I believe this matter was dragged a long way off its originally intended message: advocating free-speech. Anyway, here is a 7-day sample of the censorship and oppression going on in the Muslim world

A Case of Double Restriction

Mohammed Abdel Qader Al-Jassem, a leading journalist from Kuwait was sentenced to 6 months in jail for saying in public that the country’s Prime Minister should resign because he is unable to run the country. Even more, journalists were banned from entering the court room and covering the event during his trial last Monday. It wasn’t enough that a journalist was being charged for having an opinion, other journalists were denied the right to tell the world about his hearing.

TEH Evil Blackberry!

Again in Kuwait, the Ministry of Interior is planning to ban all Blackberry services in the country because “users of BlackBerry sets were taking advantage to spread rumors and call for strikes.” as reported by a local newspaper. The ban is not final yet but a decision will be made in the next couple days.

Back to the Dark Ages?

While in Kuwait the ban on BB services is being considered, in Pakistan it is a done deal; along with 1000 other websites including Facebook, Youtube, Flickr and Twitter. I read a funny story today, related to this issue, about the Pakistani Minister of Interior who was forced to start using Twitter because he could no longer access his personal page on Facebook after the ban. But now even Twitter is no longer accessible so hard luck Mr. Minister; why don’t you try Blogger? Oh I forget, it is blocked as well.

What’s the Point of a SECRET if not to Remain a Secret?

Last Tuesday, a book titled “Belgrave’s Diary”, published in Lebanon, was banned from entering Bahrain and copies already brought in were confiscated by the government. There are two main reasons behind this censorship, as reported by IFEX. First, because it criticized the ruling authority at the time this Diary was written. Second, because it conveys secrets about “distribution of wealth, land appropriation and sectarian discrimination”. That is not so bad, in my opinion. I’m sure they only did it to protect Mr. Belgrave’s privacy; I mean no one appreciates his personal Diary being read by the public, right?

Love the Song, Hate the Singer!

Yesterday, Elton John performed during a free concert in Morocco. The Muslim community was outraged by this gig because of this pop star’s sexual orientation and his public openness about it and could not believe how this event was allowed into their Kingdom and even supported by King Mohammed VI himself. The good thing, though, is that their rage did not turn into violence and the concert went on as planned. In Egypt, however, this same concert was banned from taking place in the country; this time the government expressed clearly its position on homosexuality.

The Finale!!

The oppression of Women has always been the favorite for all religions, but it seems Islamic Fundamentalism loves it the most. Yesterday, I read an article on Arab News, too absurd to be true. In the Indonesian district of Aceh, run by Islamic extremists, who prohibited all shops in the area from selling tight pants/dresses to Muslim women and outlawed the wearing of revealing clothes. They also distributed long skirts to the authorities and ordered them to catch any women whom they believe is wearing “inappropriate” clothing and to compel them to wear one of these skirts. On Thursday, 18 women were caught wearing JEANS while riding on motorbikes, and were ordered to wear the long skirts. One of them was a 40-year-old lady, she claimed that the only reason she wore jeans is because they are more comfortable when riding a bike. She also reported "I am not wearing sexy outfits, but they caught me like a terrorist only because of my jeans,"
Such ridiculous events are not a novelty in the Arab region. I wrote an article, here, on a similar story regarding Emo dress-code in Lebanon.

As long as religious fanaticism is given the authority to rule the people, similar stories will continue on happening. Some people might not see the dangers of such events, but when Sharia law is the only authority in control, oppression against women can, and have become, a brutality in many cases. The graphical poem by Nessrriinn, in the video below, is a very emotional one. I wouldn’t recommend it to the faint-hearted. This breathtaking visual poem depicts the sad reality of some of the men and women living under such barbaric regimes. Watch it till the end..

I stumbled upon three articles today that made me ask myself “is god losing some of his powers?” It is apparent in his own people’s lack of confidence in him and in his superpowers. Take a quick look at the articles in case you are not familiar with the stories: “Guns in Church Bill Dies in La. House” , “Thieves Steal War Memorial – The Cross in the Mojave Desert” and “Swede cartoonist Lars Vilks attacked”.

Let’s start by the first one. I mean come-on you guys, can’t god at least defend his own house? He who created the whole Universe and everything in it, needs YOU to keep a concealed gun inside the church for security purposes? Where is your faith in him now? Or is it that you prefer not to take the risk when it comes to “real” situations?

In the second article you might wonder why doesn’t the church or the Christian community asks god for the identity of the thieves instead of the police? Doesn’t he know everything? Can’t he miraculously make an impression of the name or face of the culprit in the clouds or on a burnt toast? Or is it a busy time for him now with all the nuisances caused by the Pope?

After reading the third article, which of course didn’t come to me as a surprise, I wondered why didn’t the prophet file for a complaint directly to god and asked him to smite Vilks instead of letting his people avenge him?

Both Muslims and Christians believe that one of god’s many magical powers is Omnipotence – well at least this is what they’ve always claimed to believe. Are the people of faith starting to have second thoughts now or has it always been the case?

“I still say a church steeple with a lightning rod on top shows a lack of confidence” – Doug McLeod