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."
Would Muslims like putting themselves in non-Muslim shoes? By Commander S THAYAPARAN (Retired) Royal Malaysian Navy
Thursday, April 04, 2024
Malaysiakini : Your businesses became the targets of “terrorist attacks” and you
were charged in court, and made to apologise numerous times to the
non-Muslim community. Would Muslims respect non-Muslims?
Are non-Muslim religions lesslegitimate?
Imagine if you were banned from using certain words because the primacy of non-Muslim religions demanded that Muslims could not utter such words.
Imagine if non-Muslims were prohibited from attending and participating in the religious rituals of other faiths because it would cause them to deviate from their religion. Would Muslims still respect non-Muslims?
Imagine if Muslims were called immoral for what they wore,
or worse, compelled to dress a certain way because the non-Muslim
minions from the state called for it. Would Muslims still respect
non-Muslims?
Former Pahang mufti Abdul Rahman Osman
Or how about if you were told to convert because it would make things easier? Remember what the Pahang mufti said after his kafir harbi
statements all those years ago - “We are not forcing but I urge
non-Muslims to convert to Islam to be safe in the afterlife and for
unity in Malaysia. There will be no more chaos and we can focus on
development.”
Imagine if the religion of the state was a
non-Muslim religion and a preacher said the same thing the Pahang mufti
did. Would Muslims still respect non-Muslims?
Imagine if
non-Muslims mocked your religion and the authorities would not do
anything about it. For instance, if reporters went undercover in your
religious ceremony and disrespected your religion in the most public
manner.
Remember what the then attorney-general said when undercover
reporters went to a church and then spat out the holy sacrament? He
said: “The actions of the two reporters may have hurt the feelings of
the people but I was satisfied that they did not intend to offend
anyone. It was an act of sheer ignorance.
“Therefore, given the
circumstances at that particular time and in the interest of justice,
peace and harmony, I decided not to press any charges against them.”
If the shoe was on the other foot, would Muslims still respect non-Muslims?
Freedom of worship being chipped away
What
if you were constantly told not to interfere in the affairs of
non-Muslims even though these issues affect us as fellow Malaysians?
Think about it. The Federal Constitution guarantees free speech and
freedom of worship but the reality is those freedoms have been chipped
away for decades.
While on the surface we have those rights,
slowly but surely, the supremacy of the non-Muslim religion of the state
- not as some sort of state religion but as a means of control -
sublimated the intent of the Constitution. Would Muslims still respect
non-Muslims?
Imagine if the gerrymandering and disproportionate
weightage of votes meant that as a Muslim you were disenfranchised from
the political system.
Imagine if your vote was diluted because of
the machinations of the state and what you were left with were political
operatives and a government that did not accurately reflect the will of
the people? Would Muslims still respect non-Muslims?
This is not about respecting each other. It is really about control and power. This is what is happening in Malaysia.
Muslims in Singapore are thriving so we do have an inkling of what it would be like if the shoe was on the other foot.
