Saturday, September 02, 2006

Blaim Bush and Blair?

I caught a little CNN the other day as I walked into the front office at work and saw the headline "Islamic Group Blames
Bush and Tony Blair for continued MidEast Unrest."

Initially, I had the same reaction as the other guys in the office of, "Yeah, whatever", but then I thought about it...

These guys aren't Islamic in the first place.  Well, they say they are, but in Islam 101, you learn that everything that happens is THE WILL OF GOD.  There's this whole phrase for it "inshalla" (phoeneticized as I don't have an arabic keyboard, but then, arabic in and of itself is a phoenetic language so I don't think it'll be too big a stretch.)  Anyway, "inshalla" is a phrase which is constantly used in the arab/islamic culture.

For instance, here is a conversation I had in Afghanistan not too long ago.

Which way do we turn?
 - Left... inshalla
No inshalla, is it left?
-  Yes, left... inshalla
Ok, wait, inshalla means if God wills it, right?
- Yes
So it might not be left?
- Yes
So you don't know which way to go?
- No, I know which way.
So which way?
- Left... inshalla

But the inshalla principle goes throughout the culture... if something is to happen, it is only because God, Alla, willed it to be that way.  Nothing can happen which is not in His plan.  So why then do we have these "Islamic" protestors on the news blaming Bush and Blair for the mess over there?

I have my guesses.

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