Lahore - News, attitudes, actions and prayer

There I was, thinking the Lahore would be big news on the BBC News front page, but sadly not:

Mind you I should be grateful that it makes the smaller items on the bottom right, up there with the FA Cup means something I guess.

But once again it's Brussels that claims the headlines (perspective here being that although Lahore has 70 dead, the 35 who died in Belgium are nearer, and since one of the dead was British, this becomes bigger, more popularist, news!).

Seems that we are getting as parochial with our news as the Americans: They tend to look out to the East from New York and see the twinklng lights of California! Iinternational news is discussing things in the Northwest of the country!). Living, as we do, in this global village of ours we need to report and respond to awfulness in the same way whether it occurs in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Antipodes or theIndian sub-continent or anywhere.

We need to stand in prayer and disgust against wickedness wheresoever it is to be found - our response should be a robust 'No' and 'Never Again' should be the byword for genocide and acts of terror wherever they occur no matter who the target is.

I turned on the radio and found people ringing in to talk about the Muslim involvement in Lahore. Sadly, whilst it is easy to point to the acts of terrorists and to stir up dissent against Muslims, it seems that none of those I heard managed to mention the 'real' involvement of the majority* of Muslims in Lahore. Perhaps you'd like to read it now:

Radicalisation begins with ignorance and is fuelled by intolerance.

Please pray for the victims of the Lahore attrocity and their families and for all inhabitants of that place:

* Here 'majority' means more than the smaller number who committed the attrocity in question.
Simple really - I'm sure there is no further explanation needed.

When Rights Clash - Part the First

I was asked about this and so, as I drink my tea, thought I'd pen some initial thoughts:

The world, like the sea, is full of 'ebb and flow' moments when it come to the minefield that is 'rights' as the history books clearly show.

Black rights - Women's Rights - Animal rights - Gay rights - Welfare Rights - Human rights - Asian rights - Women's Human rights - Civil Liberties - Vegetarian rights - Christian rights and more besides.

In many of them the previously oppressed 'minority groups', having experienced the low tide of life acting against them, sees the tide come in such that we have the ridiculous situation of 'positive discrimination' (here's a clue - if it has the word 'discrimination' in it, positive or negative, it is wrong!) and in some sort of bloodguilt response, society 'makes allowances' or treats them differently such that they oppress those who are assumed to have been the oppressors.

I've been in situations where a vacancy was destined to be filled by someone from a previously oppressed group and I have struggled with this, especially when a less able candidate was chosen because they were ...... (insert category).

I've been in workplace situations where disciplinary action was abandoned due to the offender being a member of a minority group. In fact the group they belonged to suddenly found that rather than be oppressed they were placed in the driving seat and whatever they did was largely ignored because of fear of looking anti whatever they were.

Whenever a group exerts a right that denies, demeans or degrades a member of another group then this is wrong. Whenever a group is showed favouritism or given privileges because of fear of condemnation, or even action, because they were once oppressed, then they do themselves, and their group, no justice.

I meet many who extend the rights of groups into the realm of nation groups and in this etting approve, and applaud, the actions of nations and ethnic groups who have been oppressed who take 'pre-emptive' action and disregard humanitarian and moral codes because of their 'sorely abused' or 'under threat' status.

The Bible calls us to act justly. To show mercy and most of all, to act with humility (that is living as one who sees all as equals) rather than puffing ourselves up and seeking only what we desire regardless of the cost.

So there you are, my thoughts (as requested) - now we need to look at the religious side (which will be another day soon - as another busy week this end of the wire (hallelujah!)

pax

A bit of a hop

Having taken the 'first step' we find ourselves having to 'hop' in that, as was pointed out extremely well (and with some good examples), the society in which we find ourselves leans towards some people being, "More equal than others!"

I was given examples of some groups being afforded more concessions than others through fear of appearing, or worse still being labelled, 'racist' or 'anti-Islamic, had they said 'No' to something. The other side of this coin is that to say 'No' to members of our 'own' society (or to member of the national faith i.e. Christian) would just be being honest and 'normal'.

And so it transpires that when concessions are made to (as a 'for instance') Islamic groups, those who make the concessions are being racist (a situation which in today's society needs to be addressed), those who make the decisions are acting against the natural sense of justice and fair play. The antonym of Xenophobia is, of course, tolerance and this is what freedom of speech and choosing how we live is all about.

Being a member of a faith, gender, orientation or any of people group often leads the members of it to assume that they have some 'god-given' right to be treated differently and this is no the case. The fact that any of us might have a faith, or no faith, does not confer upon us the right to become a 'special case'. The problem is two-fold in that where a religious group is also considered to be 'ethnic' (whether this be because of country of origin or because of the observance practices) we find the ghetto mentality (and reality) becoming established and because of the concentrations of one people groups (ethnic, religious or whatever) we find temples, mosques and the like peppering the area and establishing 'no go zones'.

As a Cockney I have experienced this on a number of occasions and in a number of places, here's just a few:

The Jewish community in Stamford Hill (and the more well off cousins in Hendon and Ilford)

The Bangladeshi community around the Bethnal Green area

Brick Lane, Slough, Southall and the like.

I have been in places where caste wars were to be found, where a Sikh speaker was shot dead over the Punjab issue, where various sects within Islam were often to be found fighting and more besides.

Why, because people didn't want 'them' living next door and so supported the establishment of the very communities they now fear as being ghettos.

People are free to take a pop at what I believe. They are free to put banners denying what I consider to be true and labelling it as cobblers! This is what freedom of speech is about. When Jesus was portrayed in a way that upset many Christians, it was 'art'. When the same thing happened with the religion being Sikh, the theatre pulled the performance immediately because of the (much smaller) demonstration and complaints form 'community' leaders.

I happen across books that proclaim Christ and Christianity to be a load of BS every day. Do the writers have to go into hiding? Do the Christians pronounce death threats? No, of course not. But when other religions do so, we tut and make excuses for them. Why, because we're being racist! "They' don't know any better! "They're' just a bunch of ignorant savages with an ignorant and primitive, uncultured faith.

I have a right to be Christian. Another has a right to be Islamic. Still another has a right to be a humanist, or secularist or whatever they so wish. I have a right to practice my faith, other have a right to practice their lack of it. How we work this out, how we debate, dialogue and challenge the attitudes and belief (or non-belief) of others is part of the journey and the hallmark of a balanced and tolerant society.

The fear shown by some in challenging something because it's 'Islamic' or 'ethnic' or 'Gay' or 'Christian' (well actually there's no fear in challenging Christians, they appear to be an easy target and fair game for all) is actually destroying our nation's balance, culture, tolerance and exhibiting injustice and prejudice.

Prejudice is wrong, whether it is positive or negative. It is wrong!

making decisions through fear of reprisal is wrong, this is capitulation and we have seen too much of it in our nation. Equal values, level playing fields, respect for all and accountability and tolerant, honest challenging, and decision making is the only way this nation will be saved from slipping into the mire.

Oddly, this is the message of the God of the Christians and the Jews.

Pax