pope ahmed

This morning I washed shirts and my khaki trousers, produced worksheets for the final exam in two weeks, and watched the drama in France.  The BBC was right there on a dark drizzly morning trying to get around police to get a scoop, I guess.  And as I readied myself to cross the border the Friday faithful were leaving the mosque.  What was their message today?  I decided to wait until the multitudes filed by.  Upon returning to the grotto the Emiratis at the border were kind and chirpy and I couldn’t help but wonder if they are saying, hey, we're not like them, we're the good Muslims.  Nah, it’s just my imagination.

I went to the Bawadi Mall and in Ace Hardware I found what I knew would be there, wood glue.  I also bought more coffee and then drove to the Hilton for lunch at Pacos, three Amstels and a humungous Angus beef burrito.  Oink.  Then it was a stop into Lulus for the usual and unavailable items in the Buraimi Lulus. 

Sometimes I do learn something from facebook postings.  A former Turkish colleague notes of the brutal history of French colonialism and various commentaries note France’s history of marginalizing its non-white citizens but really, do five million Muslims think violence is justified because they are, or were at some point, treated as second class citizens? 

And today I heard more bobble heads finally say what I have been saying all along.  It’s a war against an interpretation.  So, any more ideas on how to combat the imams who preach hate and death and martyrdom with promises of heaven and lots of virgins?  It is kind of amazing how many disenfranchised youth accept the weird look at Islam but one goes back again to Saudi Arabia.  They are the perpetrators of violent legalism for those with no hope promising instant access to heaven with blonde virgins,  that has to be better than absolutely nothing to look forward to.  

 And Islam isn’t organized like the Catholic church, there is no hierarchy, which in a way opens the door for the new tribe of believers to establish the new neo-Islam.  And there isn’t, I take, a whole lot necessary to reform in their book, simply a few suras that preach hate and murder, and those you can take into historical context, claim Heilgeschite, and the rest can remain as it is, but the new neo Muslims will have a body of believers and they can choose a new leader, not a new Caliph, but in the style of the church, layered order with checks and balances.  An Islamic pope.  Ha, radical, unlikely?  Stop thinking and believe.  Sab kuch malega. 

In many ways the average Muslim is like the average Catholic, they don’t read nor understand their holy books as much as the crazy protestants do but they trust their priest to give them the good news.  For 1500 years the Catholic faithful didn’t even have a Bible to read.  One had to go to a monastery to see the word and who did that?  The Koran, as well, isn’t a kind easy to read book but if a Muslim has a job and an education and is fortunate to have grown up in a respectful home in a respectful country, he isn’t going to flip after once hearing a twisted imam preach death to the infidel and convert to a trail of holy blood.  How many poor marginalized Catholics behaved the way poor marginalized Muslims do today? 

A French journalist says the terrorists are licking up the 24 hour coverage and the media don’t know how to not cover it.  Well it’s certainly easier to watch the BBC than the clownish smug buffoons at CNN.  Anderson Cooper should be ashamed of himself, Jim Bitterman is a bigger idiot than I ever imagined and the clown I just turned off remains anonymous, this trio of news makers turned a horrific event into a reality show with high drama and high ratings.  Well I won’t watch you anymore.

It sure is uncomfortable when I eat too much.  I should take a walk.  Look at that big belly, you should be ashamed of yourself.  Won’t you be embarrassed with that bulbous mass on the beach?  Ya, let’s do some sit ups and hope I don’t wrench my back. 

Once a week I’ve watched one episode of Breaking Bad, season one.  Episode four, Walter blows up a car.  A man diagnosed with cancer becomes fearless when he sees bad people behaving badly and does something about it.  Is it righteous anger?