While in NYC I took this photograph of me at the John Lennon memorial. I was in town on business but stayed to attend the rally against the “Ground Zero Mosque”. I was even going to speak at the rally at one point. I've been fairly obsessed with the subject much to the suffering of my Facebook friends who have to put up with my rants. As I spew my disgust for Islam and seem to be fanning the fires of hate, my profile picture of me sitting in a lotus position on John's memorial seems to paint a contradictory picture. It's really not a contradiction and is a perfect symbol of where I'm at.
At the time I took the photo, I predicted those who would say that the image is contrary to my stance and “What would John think?” would be thrown at me and I wondered that myself. I know John would take the liberal position because I know that most “cool people” are liberally minded. I know this all too well as most of my friends are artists and musicians and thusly, liberals. We try not to talk too much about politics so they don't hate me too much. They don't realize that while liberally scented, I definitely list to the right. It's a fact that is better left unknown. I instinctively cringe at stances that seem overly conservative, yet find myself agreeing with many of them. I know that this is not perceived well in my circles but I can't keep quiet about it, not about this. And it's not just this mosque that has me so bothered, it's the unwillingness of the left to see beyond the obvious. It is the knee jerk silencing of the opposition with words like “Racist and xenophobe” which have lost their meaning being bantered around so carelessly. I feel that there is a definite effort to cater to Islam that is coming from our politicians. They know better but try to convince the populace that this is a matter of religious freedom. I wonder why they are doing this. Why did we spend years of my childhood vilifying communism only to lay down for Sharia? What are THEY getting out of this? And why are the left so blindly following along? Seems there's still an open spigot of free flowing Kool-aid at a hosted bar.
I am absolutely certain that if Hitler were alive today, he would have no problem doing it all over again. All that is required is that Hitler be brown and the Nazi party needs to come from countries that liberals see as being oppressed (never mind that they have oppressed themselves with their backward ways, it has to be our fault because everything is) I know that the left would pave the way for them to succeed in all of their goals. They would say that those who oppose their vision of Supremacy are bigots and racists without seeing the vision of ultimate bigotry and racism that they are enforcing. How do I know this? I know this because I'm watching it happen.
How do I convince my liberal friends? Could I convince John?
What would John think? The answer is fairly clear to me – he would NOT approve. He would not like the fact that I was here to protest the mosque. In fact he would likely say, “Git your bloody bigoted arse off me fancy Imagine mosaic! It's not meant for the likes of you!” At that point I would have no choice but to sit him down and educate him.
John: Come on, it's about religious freedom; are you going to deny them that? Give peace a chance!
Me: No, John it's really not, that's only half the story if that. This isn't just about a religion. Islam is far more than a religion, it's more of a theocracy. It is a political system that demands world domination where it will replace the legal systems of any country that it takes over.
John: But it is a religion of Peace.
Me: Where did you hear that? George Dubya? Most of the human population agrees that the man has the intellect of a potted plant but they all take his word for this? This is a guy who walked hand in hand with a Saudi Prince like they were school girls in love. He kissed the guy. The goal was to keep his promises to his oil friends that bought him his job but it is America who took it up the ass. Our dependance on foreign oil is part of what made the policies in the middle East that many say justify Islam's anger toward us. But that is not the reason why they hate us.
John: America has done plenty to justify the wrath of these countries particularly since we back Israel but find ways to profit off of both sides of that conflict. Notice I say “we” I only got my green card, I could have applied for citizenship in 1981 but some asshole shot me dead. We've done terrible things over there and it looks to me like we're still meddling.
Me: I know John, I can't justify what we've done in the past and I really know very little about what we're doing now. But I feel confident in saying that it has little to do with this issue - the basic conflict between Islam and the West. This has been going on since 1786 when Jefferson bought his copy of the Qu'ran in order to try to figure out a way to deal with the Muslim pirates who were attacking our ships for no other reason than that we didn't believe in their religion.
John Didn't some senator use that copy of the Qu'ran to be sworn into office?
Me: Yes, and it was considered to be a bridge building act of symbolism and Nancy Pelosi tried to say that Jefferson had gotten it to understand the ideology. She failed to say that in his knowledge and understanding of the Qu'ran, he realized that thee was no way to reason with these people. They would only respond to acts of war. And so we attacked. This is where the Marine's song comes from,“From the Halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Tripoli we will -
John: Dammit Susan! Please don't sing!
Me: I'm sorry. My point is that he had concluded that they had only one gripe against us, we didn't believe in their prophet. He also concluded that the only language they could understand was battle because war is so prevalent in their scriptures.
John: But the word Islam means “peace”.
Me: Wrong again. Islam means “submission”. Once the entire world submits to the rule of Islam there will be peace; but until that day, the Qu'ran makes it very clear that war must be waged. This war is called Jihad and it is the personal duty of every individual Muslim to wage Jihad. While many Muslims claim that their jihad is just a personal struggle within their own psyche to truly to be the best person they can be – and that's great! Others take this literally to mean that they must wage war. They strap bombs to themselves and even their children to attack the enemy. The enemy is anyone who does not accept the prophet's words as truth. They get bonus points for killing Jews. Their prophet hated Jews so they must too. It really doesn't matter much what Israel actually does or doesn't do to them, their religion commands them to hate Jews. All who don't accept Islam are called Infidels. To die waging war is an honor. Even if it is not a case of war but just spilling the blood of one non believer, spilling the blood of any infidel (even a baby) is rewarded with instant access to a heavenly paradise.
Oddly enough this paradise contains all amounts of bodily pleasure, food, wine, sex, beautiful clothing...
John: Why would those things be important or desirable once one no longer had a body? What good is sex or food if you have no physical self?
Me: It would seem that this would be frustrating. It sounds frustrating as ….well as frustrating as ..Hell! But now I'm digressing with my own theories. There is of course the famous promise that awaits all martyrs entering paradise: of 72 virgins.
John: Oh that's all wrong! I've seen it, it's just a big box of raisins All these guys crying and cursing over a box of raisins, now I know why they are so upset.. they are quite tasty but nothing to die for.
Me: Well promising young boys a brothel in the afterlife not only gets them to kill themselves but they are also willing to put up with far more in this Earthly life. It's a pretty clever way to keep the people in line when they are poor and starving and the government builds palaces for the leaders but gives nothing to the people. They are told that the more they suffer in this life, the more they will be rewarded in the next. These are not bad people. They truly believe that their suffering will end in glory.
John: Very clever! What are the women promised?
Me: It's not clear what they get in the afterlife. But it's very clear that they get a pretty crappy Earthly life, they are considered less than men in every way.
John: Yoko says 'Women is the nigger of the world” We wrote a song about it.
Me: Yes John, I saw you guus perform it on the Dick Cavett Show. In Islam woman is the insect of the world! She has almost no rights. Under Sharia law, a woman's entire body is considered a sexual organ so it must be kept covered. If a woman reveals any part of her body, it is an invitation to rape. Assuming that a man should have control over these urges is not a part of Sharia. Rape happens as though it were an involuntary act on the part of the man with the woman bearing all blame for having seduced him. Rapes occur but since a woman is required to produce four male witnesses to prove it, it is rarely punished.
John: No punishment at all?
Me: Not for the man, the woman gets punished.
John: What choo talkin bout?
Me: Great Gary Coleman impression!
John: Yeah, we've been hanging out lately. Nice guy, still obsessed with trains.
Me: Trains rock. Anyway, the woman gets charged with adultery. She may even get the death penalty and be killed by stoning. If she gets pregnant an honor killing might be in order. It is up to her father and brothers what to do with her. The mother has no control over this. The women have little say and in fact a woman can't even leave the house without a man that she is related to accompanying her.
John: What a terrible life for women. Very misogynistic society.
Me: Under Sharia, a man can have several wives.
John: Sounds like Sharia grants a far better life for men than women.
Me: Well there's a catch, it's only if the man is a Muslim. Non believers are treated almost as badly as women. Sharia Law is based on Islamic supremacy. Like Hitler believed in a superior race, Islam believes that Muslims are superior and should be treated accordingly. When Islam takes over, non Muslims have three choices: convert, live in subjugation or die. If you are a non believer you will have to pay a tax. Your word will be worth half that of a Muslim in any court of law so don't bother trying to make a case against anyone who wrongs you. If you are so stubborn that you refuse to convert to Islam you may practice your religion as long as it is “of the book” meaning Christianity or Judaism, others will not be allowed. Under Sharia you may still practice but no new churches or temples can be built nor can any existing ones be repaired. So if an old church should fall on the people inside, it will be considered Allah's will to get rid of the non believers.
John: So Islamic countries do not allow churches or temples to be built but they are allowed to build Mosques here?
Me: Yes, we have religious freedom. To them this is foolish because their religion is the only one that should be allowed. To them, Islam is the final and irrefutable word of God.
John: So the Qu'ran is taken literally?
Me: Yes and criticizing or even questioning it is a crime pushable by death.
John: Well that's one way of settling any arguments. But there are many Christians who believe in the Bible literally too?
Me: Yes, but does anyone really take them seriously? Western religion just isn't practiced in the way that Islam is and hasn't been for centuries. We've allowed for Science and reason to step in and temper our religious fervor. And Christianity was revised hence the NEW Testament.
John: But there are plenty of terrible things being done in other religions. Look at the Catholic priests molesting children.
Me: I fail to see how evil done in one religion justifies evil done in another. It's all sick and wrong. But for the sake of argument, let's look at those pedophile priests. A priest is acting on his own weakness and character defect. He is going against his religion. The priest does not have holy scriptures telling him that it's fine to do so and even instructing him on how.
John: Like Muslims do? Awe come on, you have to be kidding.
Me: No joke! Granted, most do not engage in such acts but if they want to, they will find that it is all fine an dandy according to Sharia law. A girl can be married right after birth but sexual intercourse must not take place until she reaches the ripe old age of 8 or 9. In fact there is even a special word: Mufa'Khathat which is the practice of “thighing” a child as young as an infant. Thighing is to place one's cock between the thighs of a child, girl or boy. Sodomy is OK too for girls and boys. While homosexuality is punishable by death in Islam, it's perfectly fine as long as it is NOT between two consenting adults.
John: That's bloody sick! Is there no thought of what is being done to the child?
Me: Sure there is, it is written that if during the act of sodomy one does permanent damage to the child, they must provide for them for the rest of their life, so the prophet said.
John: Their prophet approved of this?
We: Of course! He married a six year old when he was in his fifties!
John: What kind of a man was he?
Me: He was a warmongering, sadistic, murdering, epileptic pedophile of a man. This is a man who slaughtered a woman while she was breast feeding. This is a man who killed a woman's father, husband and brothers then forced her to marry him all in one day. This is a man who declared adoption illegal just so that he could have sex with the wife of his adopted son. This is the guy that is held as the perfect man that all should strive to be like!
John: If Islam is so violent and horrible as all this,why are there so many peaceful Muslims? Most of the ones I've met seem like right nice people, really good people. I can't believe they would believe in any of this stuff.
Me: Many people are here to flee from the religious oppression of their country. They see signs of Sharia coming here but they really can't speak out againt their religion, there are inumerable consequences for them if they do. Many don't even know about this stuff. Just like there are many Christians who don't really practice their faith, there are plenty of Muslims who are simply born into the traditions and don't even know what the Qu'ran says. They are taught to memorize their scriptures in Arabic so many Muslims have no idea what they say. It is important that they pray out loud so that their God, Allah , who was a Moon God, can hear them. It's not important that they know what they are saying. Look at all the Christians who are only Christian on Christmas. One of the better things about America is that we don't really believe in our religions. The drummer from the Police said that on “Politically Incorrect” I thought it was brilliant.
John: I wanted to be on that show. But some asshole shot me DEAD!
Me: I know, I'm sorry. The problem here is that if anyone decides to become more devout, they will become more violent because that is what the scriptures tell them to do: to commit Jihad. This can lead to terrorism. Jihad is taught in mosques, it may be limited to a personal struggle or it may be teaching warfare. Since non muslims are not allowed inside, we really don't know about the militant mosques until somebody accidentally detonates one of the bombs it's hiding and blows their cover, so to speak.
John: But there are extremists in every religion that can be terrorists. Look at Timothy McVeigh.
Me: Oh John! Don't make me hurt you! WHY do people bring him up?
John: Because he was a terrorist!
Me: Bullshit John! He was ONE man! He was not acting on behalf of ANY religion and he certainly didn't have a theocracy and entire countries backing him up in his plans. The people who commit terrorism for Islam are not crazy wackos who have misinterpreted their religion, they are acting according to scripture. That's the part nobody wants to believe! Geert Wilders made a short film illustrating this and for it, he is under attack, not just by Islamists but by his own country for hate speech. He was only telling the truth.
John: You fancy him don't you?
Me: Shut up John, that's not the point. It's about truth! All I want is the truth! Just give me some truth! Right John? There are forces that seek to make the truth illegal! The UN is working on a blasphemy law that would make the criticism of any religion illegal.
John: So much for freedom of speech. Back to the point, in order to prevent more violence you want to stop all mosques, right?
Me: No, just this one. Thee are over 100 mosques in New York City. We just have a problem with this one.
John: Why?
Me: Because it is going to be fifteen stories tall. Tall enough and close enough to tower over where 3000 people were murdered in the name of Islam.
John: Yes, I remember that day. Very busy day in Heaven. But what if the people building this mosque really mean it as an apology?
Me: Well the Imam and his wife who are the heads of the Cordoba Initiative which is backing this mosque have sort of said that.
John: Well little miss Hatemonger, you would rather hang on to these ancient visions of bigotry than believe him? Shame on you, this is why I didn't want you sitting on me fancy Imagine mosaic thing! Off with you now!
Me: No! I don't believe him John! Muslims have a habit of building mosques on the places that they have conquered. In fact this one was named House of Cordoba which is symbolic of how they built a mosque over a church that they conquered in Cordoba Spain.
John: Yes but it was reconquered and Christians took it back and haven't they changed the name of this mosque to Park 51?
Me: Of course they changed the name, too many people were hip to the Cordoba thing. They also changed what the web site used to say in their mission statement. It used to say that their goal was to create a "tipping point in Muslim-West relations within the next decade, bringing back the atmosphere of interfaith tolerance and respect that we have longed for since Muslims, Christians and Jews lived together in harmony and prosperity eight hundred years ago."
John: You memorized that?
Me: Yeppers
John: You're crazy.
Me: No doubt. Anyway, this time of peace and harmony that they speak of was hardly peaceful or harmonious for non Muslims. Christians and Jews lived in subjugation. You know the Nazis got the idea for putting the yellow stars to mark Jews from Islam. Hitler got a lot of inspiration from Islam and had the Mufti and Muslim troops helping him. He was quite inspired by the Armenian genocide (which Turkey still refuses to acknowledge) and took it's example as proof that he could get away with what he was doing.
This subjugation is called Dhimitude non Muslims living in subjugation as second class citizens. This domination and control, is the harmony and prosperity that they have “longed for”. This is what the Cordoba Initiative is all about!
John: But the Imam has said it is not meant to be anything but a tribute. Do you think he's lying?
Me: I KNOW he's lying!
John: How?
Me: His lips are moving!
John: That's not fair, are you saying that Muslims are liars?
Me: Not exactly but they believe they have God's permission to lie. It's called Taquiyya. This is the sacred right of all Muslims to lie to non believers without any shame for being untruthful. If it advances Islam and gains the trust of the infidel, it is perfectly fine to create any falsehood. The prophet Mohammed said “Kiss your enemy's hand until you can cut it off”.
John: So you don't believe it's a cultural center?
Me: How many floors do you need for a swimming pool? Part of what will be housed in this building is the Imam's pet project: The Sharia Index Project. The SIP is dedicated to monitoring the Sharia compliance of all countries in the world while guiding the spread of Sharia law and the global domination of Islam. This is a first step in the advancement of Sharia in America. This will be in the “cultural center” I have copies of the job applications to prove it will be located here.
John: I can see why you oppose having this mosque built.
Me: No we don't oppose it being built.
John: But this is more than just a mosque, this will be a headquarters for the spread of Sharia not to mention being a symbol of Islamic victory over the West.
Me: Good job John! Of course we should oppose it, but we can't because it would make a mockery of the freedoms that we stand for. We have to extend freedom even to those who wish to destroy it. It is the high road. Besides, our government would never back us up.
John: Really what do your leaders think? How about the mayor of New York?
Me: HA! He was so quick to approve it! Way too quick! And you should have seen him scramble to keep anyone from investigating where the money for this mosque might be coming from. People are concerned that terrorist camps like Hamas might be funding it and the Imam will not admit that Hamas is a terrorist organization.
John: Sounds suspicious
Me: Damn right! Turns out Mayor Bloomingidiot -
John: You mean Bloomberg?
Me: Whatever, he has a Sharia Finance company in Dubai. He's kissing major Muslim ass to make that work and Obama is talking to him about becoming treasurer. Obama has also appointed Sharia finance experts.
John: I'm not familiar with Obama.
I take out my lap top John gets side tracked with how fabulous technology is today. This takes a while as he wants to see EVERYTHNG on You tube, but I eventually show him our president.
John: Wow, a black president! Well done!
Me: Yes! Isn't that wonderful? Finally a black president! Too bad he sucks.
John: So you are not saying the mosque can't be built?
Me: No, we can't; it would be wrong. We're only asking that they choose a different location; one that is further away from Ground Zero.
John: That seems a reasonable request. It's not like you're getting uppity about something stupid ...like say, cartoons. It would really be a nice gesture of peace and harmony if they would relocate.
Me: Indeed.
John: It also seems that by refusing to, they are creating a lot of trouble. Aren't they aware of the trouble they are creating?
Me: Yes but they switched it around. They say it's we who are creating the trouble, that we are racist bigots.
John: But there are 100 mosques in New York that have been running fine without incident and crimes against Muslims are the lowest of any group. How can they accuse you of being bigots?
Me: Easy, and they have the agreement of our leaders. 70% of Americans are against this and our LEADERS are telling us all that we are bigots for feeling that way. That's just weird when leaders go against the majority of the people, it's just not like how America is supposed to be. I know there are illusions but to be so blatent about letting us know that they don't give a shit what we think, it's scary.
John: OK let me get this straight, The Islamists want to rule the world with a set of barbaric laws that discriminate against non Muslims, treat women like dirt, abuse children, call for the death of homosexuals and YOU are the ones being called BIGOTS?
Me: Yep.
John: THE WORLD”S GONE TO BLOODY HELL SINCE I LEFT IT! LET'S GO CHANGE IT NOW!!
And with that he would take my hand and we'd grab a cab and go to the rally together and he would set everyone straight. With John's help now America is now be 100% against the location of this mosque and the Imam and his goonies are so humiliated that they run away to Dubai to live with Bloomberg who narrowly escapes being tarred and feathered. Afterward, John and I would have a beer or five. We'd invite Geert Wilders to join us. Jimmy Page would soon join us too. OK he has nothing to do with this but it's my fantasy and I might as well go all the way. We might even write an anti Sharia song together and make millions of dollars.
OR
He just might say “I TOLD YOU to get your bloody bigoted arse off me fancy Imagine mosaic! It's not meant for the likes of you!”
Then I'd tell him to go fuck himself
...but I'd still love him.
