A new SARS-like virus is as mysterious as Allah. The virus is definitely a holy virus, as it appeared in Saudi Arabia, Allah’s own land, the holy land. Allah made His messenger born in the holy land. He also advised everyone to recite the Quran, His own holy book in nothing but Arabic, the holy language.
The scientists now are saying that the virus in the holy land has come from holy bats, holy camels and holy goats.
SARS or severe acute respiratory syndrome first appeared in China in November 2002. It jumped from horseshoe bats to civet cats to humans, ended up spreading to 30 countries, infected 8,098 people and killed 774 people. Then the virus did a cool thing in 2003, almost disappeared.
Not exactly SARS, but a SARS-like virus is now attacking people in Saudi Arabia. The country has taken precautions to prevent spread of the disease to more than two million Muslims who are going to travel to Mecca for Hajj pilgrimage. Will Allah save his worshippers from the deadly virus! I asked. A friend of mine said, ‘No, He would not do that.’
I said, ‘What made you think that He wouldn’t do that?’
The friend smiled and said, ‘If He were able to do that, He would have saved hundreds of pilgrims who died in stampede every year.’
The latest news: the new virus is not that holy. The WHO says, ‘the virus can not be easily transmitted from person to person’.
The pilgrimmage to Mecca certainly seems a great way of spreading communicable diseases of all varieties generally.
Hi, I’m a Muslim n I don’t think it’s funny to make fun of religion (or diseases) by attributing the word ‘holy’ to everything KSA related. I can accept that everyone has different views but its not polite or decent to make fun of sumthing that is important to millions of people all over the world (and this goes for Muslims aswell). Please try not to make inflammatory statements. There r too many lunatics in the world already (and may I point out that it is not religion that makes them this way). We don’t need any more to be created by such statements. Peace 🙂
If you are upset about people making jokes about the religiosity of Saudi Arabia, you may want to avoid the Internet – where people go to take the piss out of religions (TM).
Also, ridicule and mockery works. It really does lessen the grip that bad ideas have on people’s minds if you can show to them how those ideas are ridiculous. If you can get someone to laugh at an idea, you lessen their tendency to fear it, and thus that idea’s power to cause harm is lessened.
Now all religions make absurd claims about reality, Islam included, and many absurd religious claims, when people take them seriously (i.e. if they fail to realise that they are absurd), cause very real harm and suffering in the world. I take your point that someone feel hurt if their religion is subjected to ridicule … but if their religion is not subjected to ridicule, then other people will be hurt by the enforcement of that religion’s taboos and strictures.
So… only when no one in the world is being caused harm because of a religion will the adherents of that religion have the right to complain that no one should mock their religion. No religion that I know of can yet make that claim, and some versions of Islam are about as far from it as you can possibly get.
I would disagree with many (if not all) statements given above but I can agree to disagree.
Fair enough. But I’m curious as to which ones you disagree with and why. I’m pretty sure all of them can be backed up without much difficulty, except perhaps the ‘all religions make absurd claims’, which should be modified to ‘all religions that I have heard of make absurd claims’.
I just want people everywhere to be more tolerant of each other despite having different views and appearances and try to understand and accept that we r all different n it’s ok to b different..
Lets just live n let live in peace without hurting one another on purpose to get a few laughs..
http://m.timesofindia.com/home/opinion/edit-page/Blasphemy-in-Islam-The-Quran-does-not-prescribe-punishment-for-abusing-the-Prophet/articleshow/16631496.cms
http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Citycitybangbang/entry/a-weapon-called-grace
http://mobile.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/frame_game/2012/09/free_speech_vs_hate_speech_why_is_it_legal_to_insult_muslims_but_not_jews_.html
“Lets just live n let live in peace without hurting one another on purpose to get a few laughs..”
[Sorry, the thread is not letting me reply directly, but…]
Huma, did you even read my paragraph above where I explained the importance of using satire and mockery to lessen the grip of dangerous ideas? It’s not about ‘hurting’ people just to get a few laughs … it’s also about defending the right to not have to be subject to the dictates of those who believe absurd things about reality, by pointing out their absurdity. If you think I’m wrong, then I’m open to hearing your explanation as to why.
And also, nobody is being ‘hurt’ by a cartoon. A cartoon cannot behead someone, stone them, throw acid in their face, or even punch them. At worst, you might conceivably get a papercut if you pick up a printed copy of a cartoon. People are taking offence at cartoons (and some such cartoons are indeed calculated to cause offence), but it is important to keep the distinction in mind, because no one has a right to live in a world where no one ever says anything they disagree with or find distasteful. And those who would try to assert such a right are exactly the sort of people whose absurdity-of-belief must be mocked, lest they manage to bully everyone into taking their absurd beliefs seriously.
It is clear that both of us are not understanding each others point of view.. I felt exactly the same as u did after reading ur reply like ‘did this this person even read my reply?’ It’s alright.. I get it.. As long as we disagree in words it’s ok but voilence in the name of religion is just plain wrong n dangerous.. I just wish that Muslims were a bit more sensible n protest peacefully..
BEST ARTICLE EVER WRITTEN!!