by B. R. GOWANI
MAP/Infoplease
Kaleidoscopic vision
The people who suffer from tunnel vision have problems seeing things on either side because their visual capability is limited to the center due to the loss of peripheral vision. However, at least they do see whatever is in front of them, whether it be good, bad, or ugly. The same is not true of religious fundamentalists of any religion. Their problem is much more acute: they have covered their eyes with religious kaleidoscopes.. Their kaleidoscopes contain pieces relating to their religious laws, deities, prophets, their “golden age,” etc. (although every religion has had a golden age, its believers’ present always seems messed up.)
(The kaleidoscopic vision is somewhat similar to GIGO or garbage in, garbage out.)
Coup in Mali
In March this year, Malian President Amadou Toumani Toure was overthrown in a military-led coup. However, the Army’s Army’s weakened position in the north, resulted in a loss of two major cities, Timbuktu and Gao, to the Tuareg rebels of the MNLA (Azawad National Liberation Movement), and Islamist groups known as Ansar Dine and the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO). Later they captured Kidal. All these three cities have international airports.
The MNLA wanted to declare the seized northern area as an independent country. The Islamists, however, had a different idea-they wanted to impose Islamic Sharia law throughout Mali. Their differences led to the ouster of MNLA. The Islamists now control the north.
Currently, two-thirds of Malian territory is under Islamists’ control. It is alleged that they are linked to the AQIM (Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb).
The ensuing crisis has created 155,000 internally displaced people. Approximately 230,000 Malians Malians are believed to have fled to Mauritania, Niger, Algeria, and Burkina Faso.
Islamic laws
As is to be expected once the Islamists take power, the usual laws announced and enforced are: ban on music, men have to grow beard, women have to cover from head to toe, and so on.
In Timbuktu, Ansar Dine’s spokesperson, Sanda Ould Boumama, told IRIN:
“Sharia has to be applied whether the people like it or not, we will enforce it. We are not asking anybody’s opinion. We are not democrats. We are servants of Allah who demands Sharia.”
Destruction has begun
These religious fanatics have no sense of appreciating the beauty of architecture and give no importance to history or even the value of knowledge. For them the Kaba and few other Islamic places are beautiful; their history begins in the seventh century (when Islam was introduced) and ends in the same century; and that all the knowledge of the universe is contained in the Qur’an (Islamic scripture) and hadees (sayings of Prophet Muhammad).
Most of the common people who believe in Supreme Being rely on images, idols, shrines, etc. to offer their prayers and ask for deity blessings. There is nothing wrong in it. However, if these people are to be weaned away from these things, the solution is to educate them in the true sense of the word: open up their critical thinking. This is only possible when serious thinkers hold the reins of power, instead of the religious barbarians.
For them, visiting the Sufi shrines amounts to idolatry. In order to stop people from visiting these shrines, they have destroyed eight of them, and the ancient tombs.
Continued destruction of Mali shrines called ‘war crime’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDqzqEo9tgM&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL5A648D59B69F29BD
The kaleidoscope Islamists develop selective vision, a characteristic of most religious fanatics, and see only selective colors that make their world and form their, often dangerous, viewpoints. These may include certain names of Allah and Muhammad, selective verses of the Quran, often taken completely out of its contextual meaning, their brand of so-called Sharia, Hadees (may or may not be accurate), and other such information. Their vision is consistently restricted to viewing the various aspects of the same kaleidoscopes. Different and colorful images and patterns appear in front of their eyes. This is the extent of their “beautiful and vast” universe.
Sad! Yet, true.
B. R. Gowani can be reached at brgowani@hotmail.com