i was listening to NRP on the drive in this morning when John Hendren Iraq Still Manages to Shock. Hendren mentioned that in Iraq, Islamic Sharia Law is leading to the murder of Shepard’s who don't put diapers on their goats. Apparently, the goats are blamed for causing sexual tension in the local repressed population. Can you imagine a diaper on a goat? What are they thinking? Henren goes on to describe how local Imams have authored instructions for how to arrange vegetables so that they will not be seen as sexually suggestive. The penalty for failing to diaper your goat or arrange your vegetables properly is death. It is religion gone mad. Listen for yourself here.
Religious fundamentalism causes this kind of excessive response to otherwise normal behavior. It is not restricted to Islam; witness the lynching, book burnings, and abortion clinic bombing of our past. Fundamentalism breeds extreme behavior and must be confronted when and where it happens. The next time a religious based hate crime happens, like the synagogue shooting in Washington, outrage must be real and action swift.
We are failing in Iraq – when people die because their goats don’t wear a diaper, American style open tolerance for diversity is not catching on. Our efforts should at least try to teach this, anything else leads to civil war and anarchy.
Technorati Tags: Iraq, fundamentalism, religion, NPR
