Mani (Mainstream): Hi, Modi, Radi. Good news today.
Modi (Moderate): I can hardly wait. Al Qaeda surrendered?
Mani: Be serious and be cheerful. Believer recruiting is up in Europe. Many Europeans have become Believers.
Radi: That is good news. We will be the majority before long. Then we will have a whole, new continent of our own.
Modi: I would not celebrate just yet. People are leaving the religion also.
Radi: How can that be; they know the penalty for that is death.
Modi: Some courts do not see it that way. Of course, too many still do, to their shame. I bet recruitment would not be up very much if the recruiting clerics “came clean” about what happens if they changed their minds later on.
Radi: By then they will know how beautiful the religion is.
Modi: You will never learn, Radi, the people make a religion wholesome and beautiful. It can also happen that rotten people can take an otherwise decent religion and make it rotten and corrupt.
Mani: Yes, that is what is written about Judaism and Christianity.
Modi: Judaism and Christianity never really matched the evil things that were written about them in our scriptures; however, aside from that, both have evolved over the years and have become quite humanitarian. This thing of ours could use some fresh air and a new perspective.
Radi: Modi, you say one more thing about reform and you and I will fight.
Mani: I am sure that Modi didn’t mean it. Tell him, Modi.
Modi: Radi, you and Mani and I are good friends. We are Believers but we still see things differently. We do many things together, including praying to Allah. We all love Allah, but I, for one, do not fear Him. I see Allah as a kindly forgiving God; others see Him as a warlike, vindictive God that gives no slack to anyone and willfully creates life so He can eventually destroy it and gain some satisfaction from inflicting eternal punishment, deserved or not.
Mani: Modi, you must fear Allah. He will exact revenge!
Radi: You will burn in the fires forever.
Modi: See what I mean? Look, the common belief is that whenever a human being is created, the person’s life is already planned out, including when he will die and how he will spend eternity. Allah, it is said, knows all and causes all things to happen.
Mani: I understand that.
Modi: In the course of the fighting between the Believers and the Meccans, the Believers were exhorted to do their best because they would die at the scheduled time no matter what they were doing, so it would be much better for them if they were killed in battle. Besides, they were told, dying in the way of Allah created an escape from the preordained schedule. Remember, Believers had no way of knowing if they were destined for the fires or not, regardless of the lives they led.
Mani: I never quite understood that part of it.
Modi: Everything was preordained, including going to the fires or to Paradise. Things people did were also planned in advance, including poverty, success, failure, etc. People just had no way of knowing where they would end up and they had no control over the outcome.
Mani: So, in order to break out of that cycle, martyrdom became a guarantee of Paradise. It was the only guarantee of Paradise.
Modi: Exactly. The radical leadership is still exhorting us in the same way, except that many of us do not believe that anymore. They are now forced to use kids—our future—as martyrs to achieve a tactical or PR advantage. Shameful!
Radi: I do not know why you make sense; however, there is no way I can believe you.
Modi: I understand that, Radi. Much of your “known” world would crumble into dust if suddenly you felt you agreed with me.
Mani: I understand what you are saying, Modi, but I too am distanced by your logic. Why do our scriptures disagree with you? I simply must rely on the scriptures.
Modi: Perfectly understandable. However, if you look at the history of our scriptures, it would be logical for you to question some of the meanings, especially in light of the different world we live in.
Radi: NO. The Qur’an was created by Allah Himself and not one world can be changed forever! Anyone even thinking about what you said should be killed outright!
Modi: You said, “Anyone even thinking about it should be killed outright.”
Radi: Yes. I stand by that statement and am willing to back it up. To even so much as touch that document in your home, you must do your ablutions and ensure that you are clean in mind and body.
Mani: I agree with Radi about touching and opening the Qur’an. I am just not sure about anything else. I can tell you that I am not going to do or say anything that will bring the wrath of the radicals down upon my family or me.
Modi: That is part of the problem, Mani. The Moderates and the Mainstreams would at least look at the problem and debate it, if the Radicals allowed it!
Mani: Too many people have been killed swimming upstream against that tide.
Modi: So, you would rather live under strict guidance of the Radicals than break out and think for yourselves. You do not want to be the good people who make this a beautiful religion. You do not want to play a great supporting role in the course of human events; you would be satisfied to be in line with Satan.
Mani: Satan! Don’t pull that on me, Modi. We Mainstreams are not evil. We love our religion and we believe our scriptures.
somewhere along the line to require a new analysis of their meanings. You know what is written and it is bloody. Because of it, our entire history is bloody. It has to be time to stop and take another look at everything. Allah could not possibly mean that the Believers must kill everyone else.
Modi (Moderate): I can hardly wait. Al Qaeda surrendered?
Mani: Be serious and be cheerful. Believer recruiting is up in Europe. Many Europeans have become Believers.
Radi: That is good news. We will be the majority before long. Then we will have a whole, new continent of our own.
Modi: I would not celebrate just yet. People are leaving the religion also.
Radi: How can that be; they know the penalty for that is death.
Modi: Some courts do not see it that way. Of course, too many still do, to their shame. I bet recruitment would not be up very much if the recruiting clerics “came clean” about what happens if they changed their minds later on.
Radi: By then they will know how beautiful the religion is.
Modi: You will never learn, Radi, the people make a religion wholesome and beautiful. It can also happen that rotten people can take an otherwise decent religion and make it rotten and corrupt.
Mani: Yes, that is what is written about Judaism and Christianity.
Modi: Judaism and Christianity never really matched the evil things that were written about them in our scriptures; however, aside from that, both have evolved over the years and have become quite humanitarian. This thing of ours could use some fresh air and a new perspective.
Radi: Modi, you say one more thing about reform and you and I will fight.
Mani: I am sure that Modi didn’t mean it. Tell him, Modi.
Modi: Radi, you and Mani and I are good friends. We are Believers but we still see things differently. We do many things together, including praying to Allah. We all love Allah, but I, for one, do not fear Him. I see Allah as a kindly forgiving God; others see Him as a warlike, vindictive God that gives no slack to anyone and willfully creates life so He can eventually destroy it and gain some satisfaction from inflicting eternal punishment, deserved or not.
Mani: Modi, you must fear Allah. He will exact revenge!
Radi: You will burn in the fires forever.
Modi: See what I mean? Look, the common belief is that whenever a human being is created, the person’s life is already planned out, including when he will die and how he will spend eternity. Allah, it is said, knows all and causes all things to happen.
Mani: I understand that.
Modi: In the course of the fighting between the Believers and the Meccans, the Believers were exhorted to do their best because they would die at the scheduled time no matter what they were doing, so it would be much better for them if they were killed in battle. Besides, they were told, dying in the way of Allah created an escape from the preordained schedule. Remember, Believers had no way of knowing if they were destined for the fires or not, regardless of the lives they led.
Mani: I never quite understood that part of it.
Modi: Everything was preordained, including going to the fires or to Paradise. Things people did were also planned in advance, including poverty, success, failure, etc. People just had no way of knowing where they would end up and they had no control over the outcome.
Mani: So, in order to break out of that cycle, martyrdom became a guarantee of Paradise. It was the only guarantee of Paradise.
Modi: Exactly. The radical leadership is still exhorting us in the same way, except that many of us do not believe that anymore. They are now forced to use kids—our future—as martyrs to achieve a tactical or PR advantage. Shameful!
Radi: I do not know why you make sense; however, there is no way I can believe you.
Modi: I understand that, Radi. Much of your “known” world would crumble into dust if suddenly you felt you agreed with me.
Mani: I understand what you are saying, Modi, but I too am distanced by your logic. Why do our scriptures disagree with you? I simply must rely on the scriptures.
Modi: Perfectly understandable. However, if you look at the history of our scriptures, it would be logical for you to question some of the meanings, especially in light of the different world we live in.
Radi: NO. The Qur’an was created by Allah Himself and not one world can be changed forever! Anyone even thinking about what you said should be killed outright!
Modi: You said, “Anyone even thinking about it should be killed outright.”
Radi: Yes. I stand by that statement and am willing to back it up. To even so much as touch that document in your home, you must do your ablutions and ensure that you are clean in mind and body.
Mani: I agree with Radi about touching and opening the Qur’an. I am just not sure about anything else. I can tell you that I am not going to do or say anything that will bring the wrath of the radicals down upon my family or me.
Modi: That is part of the problem, Mani. The Moderates and the Mainstreams would at least look at the problem and debate it, if the Radicals allowed it!
Mani: Too many people have been killed swimming upstream against that tide.
Modi: So, you would rather live under strict guidance of the Radicals than break out and think for yourselves. You do not want to be the good people who make this a beautiful religion. You do not want to play a great supporting role in the course of human events; you would be satisfied to be in line with Satan.
Mani: Satan! Don’t pull that on me, Modi. We Mainstreams are not evil. We love our religion and we believe our scriptures.
somewhere along the line to require a new analysis of their meanings. You know what is written and it is bloody. Because of it, our entire history is bloody. It has to be time to stop and take another look at everything. Allah could not possibly mean that the Believers must kill everyone else.
Modi: But you will not even give any consideration to the idea that something may have happened
Radi: Yes, He can and does. He owns the entire planet; everything is His.
Modi: I got the idea, Radi. If Allah already owns everything and has seen fit to populate each country the way He has, what makes you think he wants you to kill everyone, undo everything that He has done, and follow the dictates of the imams? Are you trying to undo a mistake that Allah made? Do you think He might have screwed up somehow?
[Mani and Radi look toward the sky for expected thunderbolts.]
Mani: This conversation is ended, Modi. It is time for noon prayers anyway. Coming, Radi.
Radi: Yep. Is it my turn for lunch?
HJS
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