As I find almost always the case, Mshari Al-Zaydi’s column in Asharq Alawsat is worth reading. He notes how there is a tendency among some to find the hand of an angry God in every disaster that befalls mankind. While it’s not exclusive to Muslims, they seem to have raised it to an art form. An art, clearly not a logical science, because logic would imply that when nations succeed they have the blessing of God. Thus, God must be angry at Muslims as he allows other peoples to get rich, avoid calamities, and progress while Islamic nations idle in pools of excuse-making.
Do read the whole piece.
A Disaster is a Disaster!
Mshari Al-ZaidiIn every disaster and tragedy, there are those who suffer and those who benefit. Those who suffer are the ones the disaster affected directly while the beneficiaries are those who capitalize on this disaster and the fear brought about from its occurrence by marketing a specific product to those in fear whether that product is materialistic or moral.
In financial crises, consultants and advisors recommend safe haven investments. When it comes to incurable diseases, which exhaust medical research, there are those who always offer easy solutions by deluding patients into thinking that their condition is curable. This is playing with a patient’s feelings who would eventually say, “I’ve got nothing to lose!”
In any major environmental crisis, such as the dreadful [2004] Tsunami, overwhelming seasonal fires or the global warming phenomenon that is worrying the world, some people try to exploit such an atmosphere, not by claiming to have the ability to put a stop to such catastrophes, as they are not yet that arrogant or audacious, but rather by taking advantage of the collective feeling of fear of the unknown and the fate of humans on this planet and thereby marketing certain ideas and explanations that bolster their intellectual orientation and ideological model. Merchants of crises are present everywhere and at all times.
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December:10:2009 - 11:11
Yes, that analogy is used quite frequently and not only in the Islamic world. But the trouble with this argument is that very often the people in power are the ones who commit the gravest of sins and they escape the effects of such calamities. The people who suffer are the lesser mortals, whose sins are also lesser in nature.
December:10:2009 - 13:14
I have heard Najdis call Jeddah “Las Vegas”.
Anyhow, the news article was well written with good insights.
The best advice is to throw the old ways into the fiery couldron.
December:10:2009 - 13:29
If, as they say, God spanked the town,
For being over frisky,
Why did He burn the churches down,
And save Hotaling’s whiskey?
December:10:2009 - 13:32
Well, apparently the disaster is my fault. My husband came back from the Friday prayer and told me he learned if I covered my hair, stopped going out all the time, and talking to men, it never would have happened.
December:10:2009 - 14:33
Yeah Sandy AND that is when WE (Preferably) or our brothers kick their righteous asses. LOL
LOL @ the whiskey!
December:10:2009 - 18:23
Thanks for ‘fessing up! We’ll start a campaign to get clemency from the King once they get you.
December:10:2009 - 18:34
Excellent article.
Where are the gays when you need to blame a disaster on them–oh I forgot, there aren’t any east of the Mediterranean.
Sandy-well I certainly hope you will save your fellow MEN by covering, being more of a homebody and sticking to your own gender. Such power!
December:10:2009 - 19:27
Here, here!! This challenge should be accepted. I say increase the role of the CPVPV immediately after the flood to bring society back in line. After a few months of that, significantly decrease the role of the CPVPV until another similar flood.
(Note that it was a once in 50-year occurrence)
December:10:2009 - 19:30
What is surprising is we haven’t heard how Israel was involved. There’s been blame all around and the Jews are absent in the discussion. How did they get missed so easily in all this?
/sarc
.
December:10:2009 - 20:39
I guess we can consider that an improvement. Or maybe somebody just forgot…
December:12:2009 - 20:22
John, i liked what you wrote as a precursor to the article better than the article itself.