Do you ever think how fortunate you are to have been born in North America (or Europe, or South America, or most of Asia)? To be sure, some people are more fortunate than others. Regardless, just about all of these people are more fortunate than those born in the Middle East.
The first measure of good luck is education. In the Middle East, most residents have a good chance of growing up “rock stupid” either from an extremely truncated education or one lacking in any sense of enlightenment.
With stupidity firmly in place all sorts of other misfortunes are possible. In a situation somewhat similar to those who “study” the Bible, most Middle East residents are told to study the Koran. Being “rock stupid”, however, makes the case easy for a “learned” one to interpret and explain the Koran’s meanings.
Again not unlike those who study the Bible, the learned ones ask a small tribute for their efforts. A small tribute from a lot of people means more money and makes life much more pleasant for the learned one.
“Learned ones” have come to know that they can be even more effective in attracting “students” and much more secure from another learned one trying to poach a student, by banding together under an umbrella organization name (like Sunni or Shiite).
There is no free lunch. The learned ones’ umbrella organization now must contend with equally large competitive umbrella organization for the hearts and minds of their followers. This leads to the need for a better rationale for following this learned one and not that one.
For rock stupid people, assurance of entrance to the after life by following the learned ones directives is the preferred line. It is only a small step from this ludicrous reasoning to getting the rock stupids to cover their women from head to toe, limit their education, and when asked blow themselves up without every really knowing why.
Indoctrinating the young that other people are the enemy, even if they read the same Koran, is quite simple. All it requires is for the audience to be rock stupid and to repeat the same story with the same incentives time and time again.
This broad general practice and misfortune of birth is not limited to the Middle East. Christianity wrote its own book on brutality and absurdism, and wrote it in various parts of the world. And, Christian extremism closely paralleled the accumulation of wealth by church leaders and supporters, much as in the Middle East today.
When rock stupid Christianity followers wallowed in inhumane excesses, enlightenment based education brought the scale back into balance. There was a time when Muslims were a highly educated people. Great accomplishments in science, mathematics, and literature flowed from their great minds. Today there are many educated Muslims but it is the Muslim masses I am referring to.
Regrettably, those Muslims who have “made it”, and attained a level of education have not found the formula to break the Mullah’s “learned man” head lock on the masses’ thinking. Ironically, with a little less ambition (less of the “I want it all” attitude), these learned man could live in peace as could their followers. They could seclude themselves with other like minded people and not try to spread their philosophies forcefully to others.
Hmmm.
That sounds like a good prescription for bible thumpers here in America too.
Regaining the Center 