Rudyard Kipling"
“When 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 soldier”
General Douglas MacArthur"
“We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.”
“It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.” “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.
“The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.”
“May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .” “The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
“Nobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
“It 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."
Twisted minds brewing up Oktoberfest issue with religion - R Nadeswaran
Monday, August 01, 2022
Malaysiakini : According to Nasrudin, a cleric, Oktoberfest has “offended the
sensitivities” of Muslims by its brazen promotion, which he said is akin
to the promotion of prostitution to the public. It was twisted logic
but he got his two minutes of fame.
In 2018, PAS president Abdul
Hadi Awang criticised the government for not prohibiting Oktoberfest
celebrations, saying the Bavarian festival was against Muslim culture.
While
claiming non-Muslims are free to celebrate any events that are not
against their religious principles, he said such events must be
reconciled with Muslim sensitivities and respect for Islam.
PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang
Last
week, the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious
Affairs) Idris Ahmad told Parliament: “Although non-Muslims are not
prohibited from drinking alcohol, the government is of the opinion that
allowing this festival to happen and making it open to the public should
not happen as it will cause social problems, as alcohol is seen to
affect the harmony, order and safety of the community.”
Aside from compromising the community’s safety, Idris said that the
effects of alcohol may lead to situations like domestic violence, road
accidents, poverty, fighting, health problems, and even affect work
performance.
‘Sensitivity’ and ‘respect’
The
keywords that these men use are “sensitive” and “respect” for Muslims.
Now, does it mean that having a pint at my favourite watering hole is
disrespectful to Muslims? How?
What is so sensitive about private
citizens indulging in something that the government deems legal and
continues to collect billions in revenue from?
What “harmony,
order and safety of the community” is Idris talking about? Idris may
feign ignorance but Oktoberfest has never been held in a place owned by
the government. Usually, it is held in clubs, bars and commercial
buildings.
Having already put his foot in the mouth on the Bon
Odori festival last month and admonished by the sultan of Selangor,
Idris seems to be at it again.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Idris Ahmad
Sultan
Sharafuddin Idris Shah suggested that Idris attend the festival for the
latter to know the difference between religion and culture. His
Highness also urged people to not simply label something negatively
without in-depth research.
“They have to also be fair when making public statements that involve communal harmony,” he said.
Daily,
thousands of Malaysians throng restaurants, bars and hotels for their
tipple without issues and then go home to their families without
bothering anyone. How does Idris come to such conclusions? Twisted logic
again.
It may of interest to PAS and their clerics that the
Taybeh Brewery, in the West Bank village of the same name holds an
annual Oktoberfest.
The only time it was not held was in 2014 just after so many lives were lost in clashes with the Israelis.
“The blood in Gaza still did not dry, so we felt we needed better times to celebrate,” USA Today newspaper quoted master brewer Nadim Khoury, who runs the family-owned business, as saying.
Like
the Bon Odori, everyone knows that Oktoberfest is not an orgy of beer
drinking but an occasion related to agriculture. It started in 1811 when
the Bavarian Agricultural Association decided to hold the festival as
an opportunity to showcase farming achievements.
Having
made four trips to Munich for Oktoberfest and numerous others locally,
hundreds (thousands in the case of Munich) of people – from grandfathers
and aunties to college students and corporate figures – attend to have
some clean fun and be merry without being a hindrance to anyone.
Previously,
I had written: “They came dressed in all kinds of apparel – T-shirts
and shorts to shirts and tailored suits – but the heat forced many to
abandon smart dressing to being comfortable
“Yes, the beer flowed –
easily a few thousand litres judging by the enthusiastic crowd who
danced and cheered to music with beer steins in their hands.
“There was hardly anyone with an empty glass. There was nothing unruly – no pushing and shoving; no drunken behaviour and no maksiat activities which would have corrupted the morals of Malaysians as one tiny fraction of the community had falsely claimed.”
Besides,
there have been no women taking off their clothes and attempting to
make people laugh with some utterances that were supposedly jokes.
The
question is: How long is this annual drum-beating going to take place
in the name of religion? How long more can “sensitive” and “respect” be
used by PAS and their supporters to impose their set of religious values
on others?
Don’t citizens of this country have a right to gather
in a place, enjoy their snifters without someone making an issue out of
it?
His Highness suggested Idris visit the Bon Odori festival to
see for himself and in the same breath, why don’t he pop in at the
Oktoberfest celebrations? Or for that matter, a pub or a hotel?
Of course, he will get his air bandung or limauais to
suit his sense of taste and his religious beliefs and diktats. Or will
calling it “Pesta Bulan Sepuluh” (10th-month festival) cool the heads of
those twisted minds?
