Dear Mr. Aziz Ahmad, 

Thanks for your recent post. It is certainly insane that people carrying Islamic banner are trying to tell the earthquake affected people that it’s their misdeeds which have brought down God’s wrath on them. As you have stated quite correctly, those kinds of idiots exist every where. Several years ago similar statements were made by some well known Christian clergy people in the US about 9/11. Also, same was repeated last year by a few M.E Muslim clerics regarding the tsunami.  

It is disturbing to hear that there are some who would prefer to close the soup kitchens during the day time because of Ramadan, notwithstanding the current circumstances. It is the Taliban style concepts which drag Islam down.  

The Quran tells us clearly that the religion is not to be imposed on any one against their will. Its far cry to harm or kill some one in God’s name. But this is where the personal understanding and interpretation comes in and hence the can of worms is opened up. It is not the religion but its followers who need to revise and amend their perception of it. It is certainly a challenge for a society where most people are illiterate and most religious clerics are semi-literate at best. The political instabilities coupled with tethered economy plays additional havoc on life. 

The mass scale preaching of whatever it may be, religious, political or any other ideology eventually works its way into the minds of the millions who are unable to analyze, assess   and think for themselves.  

I often wonder if it is a good thing to allow unlimited freedom of speech and expression in a developing society. When we see what Hollywood produced TV has done to public sensibilities and moralities, one wonders if same question would be valid for developed societies as well? In case it is not the TV, one wonders what has influenced people’s value system about every day life? The first news that I heard today on local radio was about 150 calls made to Toronto police last night about physical attacks whereby kids were being robbed off their Halloween candies. The attacks include at least one knife stabbing incident to steal candies from a teenager. Here is a society where every one has food on the table and running water in the tap. When they get sick, there are hospitals and drugs for them and they don’t have to worry about the bill. But their concept of fun is to hurt or harm others or steel for fun or be aggressive to get what they want whether they need it or not.  

In August 2003, we lost power for a night. That was a night to remember for the police department. It seems life is full of challenge, it exists in one form or the other in all walks of life and all corners of the world. By going from one place to another we simply exchange one set of problems with another. 

You may like to consult your book ‘Aristotle for Dummies’ , if you have a chapter to deal with these situations?

Regards,

Javed I. Chaudry

Nov 1, 05