by Rupe | Nov 22, 2005 | philosophy-religion
By STEVEN LEE MYERS
Published: November 22, 2005
CHERKESSK, Russia – Security officials here in Karachayevo-Cherkessia, a restive republic on Russia’s mountainous southern border, have a secret list of people who are kept under scrutiny.
Those on it have committed no crimes, but are considered suspect because they are Muslims who practice Islam outside of the state’s sanctioned mosques.
Ovod Golayev is on that list. He lives in Karachayevsk, a city nestled in the foothills of the Caucasus, where he works for a tourism company that organizes skiing and hiking excursions. He wears his hair and beard long. He prays five times a day. He fasts during Ramadan, which is unusual here.
In recent weeks, he said, the police have detained him four times, twice in one day.
Mr. Golayev, 36, said the Islam he observes is opposed to violence, but he warned that the mistreatment of believers was driving men like him to desperation.
“They will pressure me enough,” he said, “and then I will blow somebody’s head off.”
Here in the northern Caucasus, and across all of Russia, Islamic faith is on the rise. So is Islamic militancy, and fear of such militancy, leading to tensions like those felt in Europe, where a flow of immigrants from the Muslim world is straining relations with liberal, secular societies.
And so the government has recreated the Soviet-era system of control over religion with the Muslim Spiritual Department, which oversees the appointment of Islamic leaders.
But the Muslims of Russia are not immigrants and outsiders; they are typically the indigenous people of their regions. “These are Russian citizens, and they have no other motherland,” President Vladimir V. Putin said in August, when he met with King Abdullah of Jordan.
In Russia, the struggle over Islam’s place is not seen as a question of whether to integrate Muslims into society, but whether the country itself can remain whole. The separatist conflict in Chechnya, more than a decade old, has taken on an Islamic hue. And it is spilling beyond Chechnya’s borders in the Caucasus, where Islam has become a rallying force against corruption, brutality and poverty.
On the morning of Oct. 13, scores of men took up arms in Nalchik, the capital of the neighboring republic, Kabardino-Balkariya. They were mostly driven, relatives said, by harassment against men with beards and women with head scarves, and by the closing of six mosques in the city. In two days at least 138 people were killed. In Dagestan and Ingushetia, militants have been blamed for unending bombings and killings.
Followers of a Chechen terrorist leader, Shamil Basayev, have claimed responsibility for the deadliest attacks, including the one in Nalchik, and before that a similar raid in Ingushetia and the school siege in Beslan in September 2004. In Beslan, 331 people were killed, 186 of them children.
All have been part of Mr. Basayev’s declared goal to establish an Islamic caliphate, uniting the northern Caucasus in secession from Russia.
That goal has little popular support in the region’s other predominantly Muslim republics, but discontent is spreading as the government cracks down. Not all involved in the attacks are hardened fighters of Chechnya’s wars. More and more oppose the hard-line stands that the Kremlin takes against anyone who challenges its central authority.
In places like Nalchik and here in Karachayevo-Cherkessia, “official” muftis and imams have themselves been accused of acting to preserve their own status by tolerating the Kremlin’s efforts to repress anyone practicing a “purer” form of Islam.
Larisa Dorogova, a lawyer in Nalchik whose nephew Musa was among those killed in the fighting, said Muslims had appealed to the authorities, both religious and secular, to end the abuse of believers, only to be ignored. “If they had listened to the letters we wrote – from 400 people, from 1,000 – maybe this would not have happened,” she said.
Officials have denounced those who took up arms in Nalchik with the same broad brush they have used to describe Mr. Basayev’s forces. Mr. Putin linked the Nalchik uprising to international terrorists, whom he called “animals in human guise.” But in the Caucasus, where Islamic-inspired violence has killed far more people than terrorists have in Western Europe, the prevailing view is quite different.
“They were all good guys,” Ms. Dorogova said of Nalchik’s fighters.
The paradox of Islam in today’s Russia is that Muslims have never been freer.
Read more….
by Rupe | Oct 15, 2005 | philosophy-religion
Just read an article today from the Washington Post discussing recent threats by Pat Robertson…and you know who he is…right? Apparently his latest threat is to stop the President’s choice for the Supreme Court. This comes on the his latest blunder to take out the president of Venuzuela.
You know, it never ceases to amaze me that there are still people who are tuning in and listening to this bumbling idiot. Then again, if it was not for his so called “Christian Coalition”, then who knows what would have happened back in 2000. I guess then the sayin’- “if you lie with dogs, you’ll rise with fleas” does have some ring of truth to it.
So what are real Christian to do? Well, I say denouce the FOOL! This guy preaches hatred in the guise of Christianity. His a** will be good stew for the devil when he gets to where he is going…and you know where that is. Never have I see one person give such a bad name to the Christian movement as this man…dag he put Jimmy Swaggart and that Baker dude to shame.
If you want to read the article that I am talking about you can check it out here.
Happy reading!
by Rupe | Oct 10, 2005 | philosophy-religion
Okay, probably this should not be here, but since I am not exactly MR FRIGGIN POLITICALLY CORRECT!, who gives a rat’s sac.
Don’t you just hate when people come up to you and ask – “so, what church do you go to my friend…..or are you save by the blood of the Lamb?”. Oftentimes I am caught offguard, as they expect you to, and wring out that stupid-ass grin of embrassment, but I am getting hip to the groove now. My response, now polished and always at the ready, is a qute and reflective one – “Religion is very personal to me I really try not to discuss it with other”. Now, the smart ones will realize that I am simply putting them off and they will pull back; but every now and then, you will get the “Challenger of Evil”…. the “Champion of Souls”…the fronline man/woman for the “Kingdom”…the “Aggressor” for God, and you simply got to be more upfront – “why don’t you just leave me alone…well maybe not so nice. You may have to throw in a few expletives here and there.
Now, don’t get me wrong – I don’t mind a good discourse in the finer points of going to heaven, but most of these high falutin’ (I think that’s close enuff to the word) idiots have no idea what they are talking about, so your conversation usually ends up deadlocked on some inexplicable area that they have no good explanation for… like the substance of “faith”. And most of this nigh illeterates will invariably try to start explaining without even understanding what the discussion is all about. After a few minutes or so, after they realize you are not going to breakout in tears and rebuke the world for its worldliness, they leave discourage, but resolute in their ignorance that there will be a next time.
You must give it to these folks tho. Some of them is so far gone that it is almost laffable to watch them spurt off verse by verse, with no true understanding of what they are talking about. And worse yet, they themselves don’t truly really believe either.
So, if you meet me – don’t ask me to church, as I would probably give you some smart ass answer. I don’t mind discussing religion in the context of life in general. And that includes all religion not just Christianity. Okay euff about religion in this area.
by Rupe | Oct 9, 2005 | philosophy-religion
I think the title might be a good one for one of the books that I will eventually write….so don’t go stealing it. Just kidding, be my guest. Anyway, a few random thought thougths on some of religion, churches, pastors, etc.
On going to Church:
Personally, after a long, tiresome week, the last thing I want to do is go hangout amongst a group of double-faced people, chit-chatting with them in their Sunday-best, exchanging tired grins and fake-ass smiles. Personally, I would rather curl up to my computer, go for a long run or a bike ride, spend the time with my bighead kids or just plain do something meaningless
Now, it is not that I don’t believe church is important, because it does have its place in society (catch the evasive approach – I really hate hearing people use the words ….blah…blah…blah has its place in society”….it sounds so damn pretention and dumb….but I am making a point…just wanted to clear that up), but I think we have to make a distinction between religion and going to church. I think both can be mutually exclusive, which goes against generally accepted dogma – ma moms would probably fall over dead if she see this.
There are several factors in our society (there goes that friggin’ society again….anyway) that puts me off from church and if you are reading this and want to contest them then I will destroy you….just kidding, be my guest. I will put forward 2 factors:
– 1. Most people see church as a place to go to feel good for one day and then they go home and carry on with the same vicious-wicked-ass-crap they did before their visit. Very few meaningful changes in my estimation takes place in many of them. A big factor is the affulence in our society. Folks are looking for prestige not God. If you want to practice religion go to a quiet place and talk to the God, that’s my spin
– 2. This follows from the first. Since churches in our society are, and have always been an instrument of power and prestige, a great number of the folks drawn to them go for the same. Now, one has to draw a distinction between the “old established churches” – you know – the Methodist, Presbyterian, Catholic. Those large ungodly rich churches operate on a similar principle, but slightly different dynamic (I will save that for another topic) than the new modern day “popups” – you know – the “Church of God in Christ’s Holy Spirit” or “The Holy Tabernacle of the Lord Jehovah in Faith Temple” (by the way, what’ s with these weird ass names). How many times have I seen this played out in many churches that I have visited/worshipped at – some 40-50 something insanely pious dude, filching his poorly led congregation out of every red cent they have. They invariably have the best of everything, while their congregants are friggin’ suffering.
okay, I have gone on two long on this, but just wanted to give a bit of perspective on religion….certainly more to come in this area. Comment or share if you want…you don’t have to tho.
I will most likely come back to this again…
by Rupe | Sep 30, 2005 | philosophy-religion
Friend of mine sent me the following post in an email. Pretty interesting:
Charles Schultz Philosophy
The following is the philosophy of Charles Schultz, the creator of the “Peanuts” comic strip. You don’t have to actually answer the questions. Just read the e-mail straight through, and you’ll get the point.
1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America.
4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winner for best actor and actress.
6. Name the last decade’s worth of World Series winners.
How did you do?
The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Acheivements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.
Here’s another quiz. See how you do on this one:
1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.
5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.
Easier?
The lesson: The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care.
