There are non so blind as those who will not see

Subject: There are non so blind as those who will not see

 

You can't always be right and yet, you can't always be wrong except, in the case of Religion, you are only right or wrong. Religion has bequeathed to the world much. Not only a chance at social cohesion through the teachings of ethical morality, the right and wrong way to behave but also in the magnificence of buildings built centuries ago as man's recognition of the Almighty. Using relatively simple techniques but creating majestic space by drawing on the knowledge gained of the geometric strength of solid columns  and arches and built with a labour force of dedicated craftsmen who, day in day day out, month in month out, years of work, sometimes a whole lifetimes endeavor to create the masterpieces left behind for us to still marvel at.. 
Pilgrimage, to these holy places be it to Mecca for the Muslim  or Palatine and the holy land for the Jew or Christian is a visit  bound to bring home the focus of emotional and religious belief. The piety of religious observance depicts people who have managed to subverted their own sense of of the importance of self, for a belief in something greater.
This mornings horror story from Christchurch where a place of religious worship was the scene of a massacre of innocent worshipers by a right wing fanatic, who had apparently absorbed sufficient anti Muslim rhetoric for him to decided that he would take matters into his own hands.
The improbability of religious conviction has meant that only 'belief' stands the test of time. We are no nearer to surety or answers than when Abraham descended with the word from God.  The imposition of Christianity through the preaching of Jesus Christ or the dreams of the Prophet Muhammad which inspired the Muslim interpretation of god's wishes are all, except for the believer, purely superstition. 

Symbolism is hypnotic, it's the outward manifestation of an internal conviction. The sepulcher, the well worn journey through narrow crowded streets, soaked in religious history, the buildings, the domes all play a part in our reverence for  the Torah, the Bible or the Koranic story and yet today we are confronted by the frenzy of a belief which is as much political as religious.  A statement, not of love and assimilation but of hatred brought on by their reading of history and a fear which sort it's gestation in the Crusades 1000 years ago. 
The rise of Islamic hegemony reached its epoch in 1453 with the defeat of the Byzantine Eastern Orthodox Church. This rise of the Ottomans and the spread the Islamic faith throughout Eastern  Europe, thrusting aside Christianity, (even for a short period in Spain, a stronghold of the Catholic faith) sent European nations into a tail spin.
Every persons truth is personal and the resurgence of the Islamic faith across the world is not a thing which is viewed as purely theological. Culture and law go hand in hand. Dress codes which define the people who worship a specific religion from Orthodox Jews to the exclusive dress worn by Muslim women all send a signal that they are different and we are out of step. The obsession with regimented worship, sets the Muslim apart from today's relaxed  Christian approach, especially in a world where worship in general is questioned.. 
The rise of ISIS and their medieval barbaric practices. The insane bloodletting between Sunni and the Shai. The appalling outrages in a host of Islamic countries which make the Christchurch massacre seem insignificant. Is it any wonder that integration is extremely difficult.
The list of duplicity, our turning a blind eye to practices in 'other' communities which we  repudiate in our own community creates enormous tension for some people. The Christian who has genuine disapproval of the ever expanding 'social contrivance'  to  see  every deviation as a special norm and which these days collectively fly under the universal banner of love. 

It is not to acknowledge that people have their own interpretation of rights which allow them to develop their own special brand of normality but that when practicing Christians show their disapproval they are branded as modern day heretics.. Their traditions are swept aside and in some cases the law has stepped  in but when traditions based on culture and religious observance from societies very different from our own we practice an amazing metamorphosis. We take on a root and branch change in our acceptance of what we used to acknowledge as right, for the subordination to the generally prescribed view. All for the so called 'common good' and the importance of social harmony. 
Female genital mutilation has only just seen its first prosecution. Forced marriages along with the violence meted out to the ones who try to kick the system. Stoning to death for blasphemy. Massively unequal rights accorded the male in marriage. The whole might of patriarchal subservience operating in some societies which, when transferred to our own shores should be at lest questioned if not outlawed but for fear of disrupting the fragile social construct, is ignored.
Is it any wonder that some who see this replacement of the norms based on Christianity subverted for ones based on the Koran, that they inevitably see their whole raison d'etre dismantled  and go mad.