Condemnations All Around

Both Most of my regular readers know that I have some strong feelings concerning religion. One sentiment in particular is the concept of blasphemy. Blasphemy is NEVER directed against God. Blasphemy is always directed against humans and the institutions and doctrines they erect in hollow imitation of their perception of what it means to be godly. Those institutions and doctrines are at best inaccurate, and at worst deliberately calculated to enslave that particular religion's adherents to the clerical class. This is why I draw an emphatic distinction between "religion" and "faith." Faith is individual belief in God or Gods. Religion is collective adherence to a set of images and rituals (i.e., idols) designed according to the precepts defined above. He who claims to know the mind of God is a liar and a slaver. Avoid him at all costs.

With the definitions paragraph now sorted, I move on to the specific message of this post. A U.S. ambassador and three diplomats were killed in Benghazi, Libya, and heated protests broke out both there and in Cairo over an independent film allegedly produced by an Israeli and aimed at insulting the Islamic prophet Muhammad. For those of you who are unaware of Islamic sentiment, this would be as insulting to Muslims as burning Christ in effigy would be here in America. The identity of the filmmaker, however, has not been proven, and some news outlets suspect that the film was produced by an individual or group aiming to inflame tensions between Jews and Muslims.

The true source of the film is immaterial to my argument. The fact remains that tensions were in fact increased, resulting in riots and assassinations. This, to me, represents a failure of the greatest magnitude among Muslims. I am dismayed that someone went to so much trouble to insult you; however, the resulting violence is an expression of animalistic mob mentality which is in no way appropriate for human beings. We are not animals. We are not to subsume our personal ethics to the will of the pack and engage in violence and murder. To me, this is an outrage against God. You have been given minds and the ability to judge right from wrong. To give that over that facility to a mob, or a religious order, or any other human institution, to deviate from God's righteousness, to degrade yourself to the level of wolves on the hunt, is the only form of blasphemy I recognize. The debauchery I am now seeing in the Islamic world over a mere film is shameful and sinful, as is the deceptive and divisive production of said film.

To the rioters, assassins and filmmakers: I am personally ashamed to share the same common heritage with you, to be forced by my faith to admit that you are fellow human beings and residents of Planet Earth, worthy of the same respect and dignity afforded me by God.

I urge everyone, not merely Muslims and Jews but all of humanity, to throw aside the artificial precepts forced upon you by the priesthoods of your religions and engage in honest prayer and communion with God. I want you all to know who God really is, to become individually acquainted with the love He holds for you, and to embrace the personal path He has set before you. Do not approach this task as a Christian, or as a Jew, or as a Muslim, or as a member of any other human religious institution, but as yourself. "Hi, God, it's Annie. I want to know You. Tell me of Your love, and show me what You want for me." Take responsibility for your own life and your own actions and your own relationship with God, and DO NOT let anyone tell you by any means what that relationship should be. This is the only act which can save us all from mutual destruction.