DIFFERENT SIDE OF THE MOSQUE

I was raised in the Southern Baptist Church. From my earliest memories our family attended church every Sunday morning and evening. We also attended on Wednesday evenings for prayer meeting. For the most part members of the church got along with each other. On occasion however, one group would take exception to something or someone and there would be a split. That split would show up in the seating of the congregation. The opposing sides would choose one side or the other of the church. Eventually one side would disappear and start their own church. I am convinced that is one of the main reasons there are so many churches in the south.

Sometimes, though, there were gatherings of different denominations, such as Baptists and Methodists. There were even Catholics and Lutherans. We would get together for “fellowship.” Our differences were settled by three legged sack races or volleyball games. There were even cooking contests to see who baked the best pie or the best cake. Usually a good time was had by all. Different denominations of Christianity gathering in fellowship. It was all very civilized.

How different from what happens in the Middle East. There appears to be one dominant religion, Islam, with at least two denominations or factions, Sunni and Shiite. Imagine how much better off this whole world would be if they could settle their differences with a three legged sack race. It is pretty clear that these aren’t like Catholics and Lutherans. These people have to kill each other if they are sitting  on different sides of the Mosque and this has been going on for thousands of years.

And so enter the civilized world into this snake pit of opposing ideas. In our wisdom we figure to bring these decades of war to an end by just introducing democratic ideals. Free speech. Free choice. No dress codes. Freedom of or from religion. Free elections. In fact all of the freedoms we civilized people enjoy. They should embrace it all, right? Sorry. They would much prefer to kill each other and anybody else who gets in the way. Women are owned property in the same way as livestock with  a value just a bit lower than a goat. Their wives are not partners, they are slaves. Slaves who are publicly whipped and beaten for any real or imagined disobedience. These are not people for whom freedom is appealing.

They live in tribes in much the same way as did Native Americans at the time of America’s discovery. Everyone who thinks differently are automatically enemies who must be destroyed. I am confident that most of these people don’t even know why they hate whom they hate. Religion is used as an excuse for their barbarism. Clearly these are not people who could ever understand individual freedom and responsibility. They murder because they always have. They will continue to kill because that’s all they know or care to know.

I have been told that not all adherents of Islam are this barbaric. I am told that the radicals only amount to a small percentage of the faith. That is probably true but even at that, the larger majority must share the blame for the minority who make them all look so bad.

This is a reality. Eventually we, the free world, are going to have to kill off individuals who cannot or will not co-exist with civilization whether they be Sunni or Shiite. We will do this to preserve our way of life.

Here is another reality. Our enemies don’t fear us. They really have had no reason to. That must and will change dramatically. That change will come with a change in leadership. That change will come in 2016.

Ron Scarbro