‘It’s easy putting up walls but what about building bridges?’

Homophobia
Islamophobia

Too many isms create schisms RIGHT?

On getting up this morning heard on the radio re a young ( I dare say disillusioned young man) an alleged ‘Islamist’ shooting and killing 49 people who happened to be homosexual in the US…….during the holy month of Ramadan? ….. In the name of Islam? …. I  don’t THINK so!!!

‘Oh god ….here we go again’  thought I ….Monday morning and my heart sank into my boots …….no ….fell through the floor with the tragedy and insanity of it all ….AGAIN!!!!

BUT we are fortunate enough to have a wonderful local radio station here ….and even MORE fortunate to have a presenter on it who was born and brought up in the area. His Father is Muslim originally from Pakistan and Mother, a local white girl who is now a public transport bus driver in the area and occaisionally guests on the show ….the exchange between Mother and son HILARIOUS to listen to 🙂

So anyway …..thank god for his show this morning ….what comes across is this guys seemingly boundless positive energy 🙂

As I have mentioned ….this area is a diverse mix of folk including a large Muslim population …the MIX being why I AND many others LOVE IT!!!  And YES …sadly 3 of the 4  7/7 bombers were from the neighbourhood where I live and work …..we’ve been through some RIGHT upheavals ….and as I have said before there is ALWAYS a kind of collective holding of the breath when these incidents occur around the globe ….wondering if anything is going to kick off in our community ….but you know what? …..to date it HASN’T!!!  I sincerely believe that the vast majority of folk just get on with their lives ALL as concerned as each other WHATEVER their personal background. YES there are bigots ACROSS the spectrum but by and large people just get on with their lives and each other:)

It was very interesting listening to Nick today whose aim of the show was the title of this post …..he not only held a ‘phone in’ but also had as guest the current leader of the local ‘Council for Mosques’ who was talking about when growing up all the different communities seemed to rub along together, and that HE felt people had started to close off and start to put up stronger barriers following the 9/11 attacks in New York …..and it’s TRUE ….THAT and the subsequent TOTALLY knee jerk war on Iraq were a turning point ……..maybe globally.

I reckon Nick and the current leader of the council for mosques are probably around my age given their reminiscences ….and don’t get me wrong …it was NEVER perfect …BUT it had felt like we were starting to head in the right direction ….then BANG!!!!

I must say there has been MUCH community cohesion work going on behind the scenes …PARTICULARLY since the 7/7 bombings …….today the current leader of the council for mosques ( who is a good guy and has helped preserve and promote a local synagogue …..a previous council leader who burnt Rushdies book was a Twat but we won’t go there …. ALL religions have their arsey leaders ….thank god currently we have a good egg)

ANYWAY where was I ……oh ….yes ….our current local leader pronounced on radio that there was no room in Islam for homophobia and messages of hate ….that Islam IS and should be about promoting peace and love ….HURRAH!!!!:):):):)

That’s what ALL religions promote at their core isn’t it?  What we need to get our heads around is that the rise of the so called ‘Islamists’ is not religious as such …its POLITICAL ….and the current holders of power ……global corporations and governments ( Arab countries included) AND religious leaders need to take a good hard look at THEMSELVES!

Because untill they do ….my feeling is …it ain’t going away ….and it ain’t just the alleged ‘Islamists’ who are pissed off:)   The whole shebang is neither sustaining nor sustainable …..GLOBALLY!!!

So ….that said …here are some positive images ( yep ok courtesy of Google) in homage to the 50 lives lost today (yes I include the kid with the gun)
And to anyone who thinks gay Muslims don’t exist ….oh yes they do …and many obstacles they face ….but love is love RIGHT?

As I have said before …I have deep respect for folk who follow a relgion …ANY religion … I don’t personally ….I do have faith tho ….but AGAIN like I said before …tuning into Om is a DIY job …and no’one is excluded 🙂