A View on Faith Wednesday, Apr 21 2010

This is my last post, my fellow followers (aka Prof. Whitson)!

Though much glamour is anticipated, death through faith is rather gloomy. I do not talk, this time, of petty nuisances such as terrorists. I talk of an event mentioned in Salman Rushie’s The Satanic Verses. He does not mention that it is this event, but the two events are very similar. In The Parting of the Arabian Sea. A prophet (so they believe) tells her followers that the Arabian Sea shall part for them, allowing them to walk safely through, just as Moses in the Bible. However, it is obvious that the sea did not part for them, and that they drowned. in 1983, thirty-eight Muslim pilgrims walked into the Arabian Sea after a certain revelation from one of their number, and 18 of them died after the sea “failed” to open for them.

Now, the argument arises. Was it worth it? The dead ones died for their faith and died believing in their god. To their no-longer existent souls, they are pleased. However, the families of those who died apparently from either foolishness or stupidness are left alone. Those who drowned, those who selfishly did not think of the consequences of walking into the Arabian Sea without a means of breathing, did not think about the welfare of those that they have left behind on earth. Even though those who died might have been pleased with what they have “accomplished,” no one can argue the fact that such an act hurts those who are left to suffer the deaths of their beloved. Therefore, the argument that “Faith causes pain and suffering” as quoted from a Post-It note left in the archives of Mr. Salman Rushdie stands strong and with little opposition. If you have anything that you wish to say about this (some interesting facts or opinions), then please feel free to reply. I will take your thoughts under consideration as I finish my final project for my English 1102 class.

Thank you all for your attention.

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Change or Die Friday, Apr 16 2010

Metamorphosis, though not the theme assigned to me in English 1102, leads to many questions and deserves a blog. A certain group brought up some certain points that sparked my interest, and I will now write about it.

From Cloud to Montgolfier

A principle theme in The Satanic Verses is the metamorphosis of man into animals. Saladin shapes into a goat-like devil character. This demonstrates to the reader his greed and demonic outer self. However, the novel also stresses that, for survival, one need to change. Gibreel was fortunate to be an angelic character by looks, but his selfish ways lead him to his death. Saladin changes, in fact throughout the entire novel, and his survival is certain.

If one does not change his/her ways in order to adapt to new conditions, then he/she will surely die. For example, If I have lived in the United States my entire life, eating and consuming at my hearts desire, and then moved to the Sahara Desert, I will have to change my natural ways in order to live. There are no Drive-Thrus in this African desert, and one must ration their meals. Water is also in shortage, therefore, one must learn to drink less at each meal, and save it for the next meal.

The band, Metamorphosis, even though the music is dreadful, makes good points about the need for change in life, adaptation, seeking new answers, or else death is upon us.

“Change or die / We’re looking for the answers of our life / Tonight / You’ll never change or die / The answer is for you to do what’s right / Tonight”

The singer stresses tonight in order to tell his audience that they must change as soon as possible, in order to find the answer to their lives, in order to survive. This is so deep, truly profound.

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The Satanic Dreams Wednesday, Apr 7 2010

I am currently reading The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie in my English 1102 class, and for those who have completed this book, congratulations! I am also one of you! It was very different, where every name, place and event had some religious or comic significance. For this blog, I will talk about Gibreel’s dreams.

Gibreel’s first dream takes place in chapter 2 and is about Muhammad, the chief Islamic prophet, whom the narrator calls Mahound, in the city of Jahilia. It refers to Muhammad’s perios of persecution in Mecca and the episode in which several “satanic verses” were alleged to have been told to Muhammad and later expunged from the Qur’an. After several confrontations with the Grandee of Jahilia, his wife, and the poet Baal (Semetic god and one of the seven princes of hell), Mahound flees the city.

The Satanic Verses in Qur’an

Sura an-Najm (Star) 53:19-22

Now tell me about Al-Lat, Al-Uzza, and Manat, The third one, another goddess. What! For you the males and for him the females! That indeed is an unfair division.

أَفَرَأَيْتُمُ اللَّاتَ وَالْعُزَّى وَمَنَاةَ الثَّالِثَةَ الْأُخْرَى أَلَكُمُ الذَّكَرُ وَلَهُ الْأُنثَى تِلْكَ إِذًا قِسْمَةٌ ضِيزَى. سورة النجم – سورة ‏٥٣: ١٩-٢٢‏

http://www.muhammadanism.org/Quran/SatanicVerses.htm

These Satanic Verses condemn women to be a slave to man, basically. Many Muslims deny the existence of such verses, and claim them as an insult of their prophet Muhammad. (     *sigh*     ) Overall, the first dream consists of Mahound and the Satanic Verses, and the condemning of these verses from the Qur’an because of religious blasphemy and such. I say, if Muslims do not like something in their most holy book, why even follow the book. I think I talk of a perfect world, without war or religion to influence wars. This may be what Salman Rushdie talks about, also. This is what I will find out with my research at Emory.

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Terrorism and Faith Friday, Apr 2 2010

Salman Rushdie - The Satanic Verses

Are Muslim (or any) terrorists people? They have bodies, they think, they act. But where is their soul? They kill with the belief that they are pleasing their god(s), their religion. They are holy to the eyes of god for doing His bidding. This is foolish. People need to start thinking for themselves and need to stop following the thoughts and belief of “religious” individuals. No good has ever come from the murder and sacrifice of people–only fear and terror. That is the goal, of course, to create fear in order to get what the terrorists want. Most of the time, terrorists have a motive, that it may be revenge or a need. Either way, even if one claims that it is done for Allah or God, it is VERY selfish; it is murder.

Salman Rushdie begins his novel, The Satanic Verses, with two men, “real men” as he calls them, who jump off a building. What could ever motivate a person to end their life in such a way? Religion, peer pressure, the fear of Hell and the reward of 72 virgins. There lacks a common ground, or even, common sense. Where is their proof that an almighty figure is telling them to end their lives? Did they not have a family? Friends? Do these friends support the opinions of the terrorist individual? So many questions, and the people who could answer them are either dead or in prison for murder, treason, or terrorism.

I am guessing the terrorist are people–people who have nothing left to live for. Therefore, they explode buildings and planes in order to show that they in fact have nothing left. Again, selfish. Why not just live life to the fullest, where everyone is happy, content, and melodious? I understand that this is a very “hippie” view of life, but it really, really works. Try it, and I promise that all of your worries will just… disappear.

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