Rudyard Kipling"
āWhen you're left wounded on Afganistan's plains and
the women come out to cut up what remains, Just roll to your rifle
and blow out your brains,
And go to your God like a soldierā
General Douglas MacArthur"
āWe are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.ā
āIt is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.ā āOld soldiers never die; they just fade away.
āThe soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.ā
āMay God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .ā āThe object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
āNobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
āIt is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
The Soldier stood and faced God
Which must always come to pass
He hoped his shoes were shining
Just as bright as his brass
"Step forward you Soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?"
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't
Because those of us who carry guns
Can't always be a saint."
I've had to work on Sundays
And at times my talk was tough,
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.
But, I never took a penny
That wasn't mine to keep.
Though I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills got just too steep,
The Soldier squared his shoulders and said
And I never passed a cry for help
Though at times I shook with fear,
And sometimes, God forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around
Except to calm their fears.
If you've a place for me here,
Lord, It needn't be so grand,
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand."
There was silence all around the throne
Where the saints had often trod
As the Soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.
"Step forward now, you Soldier,
You've borne your burden well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."
New York to New Delhi: The art of hijacking public property for prayer By Ashlyn Davis
Thursday, June 02, 2022
Times Square Ramadan
Robert Spencer : In 2021, a group of Muslim children decided to offer their Friday
prayers right across one of the busiest roads of the Hazaribagh-Chatra
area in the state of Jharkhand, India, bringing the heavy evening
traffic to a standstill. A netizen uploaded a
picture of this demonstration on the Internet, which instantly went
viral, sparking massive controversy. The local police arrested those who
shared the picture on social media, instead of acting strongly against
the adults under whose tutelage the spectacle was put on by the
children.
There was a months-long altercation between Muslims and Hindus over
prayers in public places of Gurgaon. The Hindu side demanded that the
hijacking of car parks, market areas, and government-owned land for
prayers must be stopped. Residents of the city assert that parks are
created for their children to play and elderly parents to take a stroll.
Understandably, Friday evening is the most relaxed time for most urban
families, and they may want to spend some of it at the park. But a
public park meant for social enjoyment becoming a religious center for a
congregation of a particular faith trying to project their command and
show off the changing face of Indian demography does not sit well with
the locals. Many see this as a show of the Muslimsā growing power and
influence in a town or city. Though it didnāt spiral into a violent
riot, the controversy damaged the āharmonyā between the two groups.
Itās not unusual to find hundreds of Muslims praying on railway
tracks or platforms. A dead railway track, a government property,
automatically qualifies as a prayer site these days. After witnessing
this and noticing this pattern for decades, the silent majority decided
not to stay silenced anymore. They have voiced their concern and, in
some cases, vehemently opposed the practice of transforming public
assets into Islamic properties.
Recently, Hindu activists in Bangalore staged
a protest against the unlawful conversion of the public spaces inside
the Krantiveera Sangoli Rayanna railway station into a mosque. They
alleged that the mosque was set up by converting a portersā restroom
that members of all communities used before being turned into
Masjid-e-Noorani 10 years ago. Reportedly, non-Muslims are now banned
from visiting this particular room. To support their claims, activists
have also released videos from this mosque on social media.
Illegal mazars mushrooming on railway platforms has become a familiar
sight in various parts of the country. Only if a citizen anyone sums up
the courage to report such encroachment in the name of faith and prayer
is a police notice sent to take down illegal constrictions; otherwise,
they are allowed to thrive. The authorities seldom take cognizance of
such structures, and turn a blind eye to them.
Religious leaders often complain that mosques are crammed with more
devotees than they can contain, and complain that their demands for more
land/mosques are being overlooked. But how many mosques would be enough
to accommodate the prayers of an ever-expanding population? As per the
latest studies, there are over 700,000 mosques in India. The country is
home to an estimated 204 million Muslims. That translates to 1 mosque
for every 291 Muslims. And yet many Muslims are determined to pray in
parks and streets on Friday evening, and this remains a bone of
contention between the two dominant communities in India.
We conclude this discussion with the opinion of a Quora user, and we quote:
āItās not about prayer, itās about display of the imperialist
tendencies and the political nature of Islam. The goal is to block roads
and cause inconvenience, while calling anyone who opposes it,
communal.ā
