Rudyard Kipling"
“When you're left wounded on Afganistan's plains and
the women come out to cut up what remains, Just roll to your rifle
and blow out your brains,
And go to your God like a soldier”
General Douglas MacArthur"
“We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.”
“It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.” “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.
“The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.”
“May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .” “The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
“Nobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
The Soldier stood and faced God
Which must always come to pass
He hoped his shoes were shining
Just as bright as his brass
"Step forward you Soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?"
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't
Because those of us who carry guns
Can't always be a saint."
I've had to work on Sundays
And at times my talk was tough,
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.
But, I never took a penny
That wasn't mine to keep.
Though I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills got just too steep,
The Soldier squared his shoulders and said
And I never passed a cry for help
Though at times I shook with fear,
And sometimes, God forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around
Except to calm their fears.
If you've a place for me here,
Lord, It needn't be so grand,
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand."
There was silence all around the throne
Where the saints had often trod
As the Soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.
"Step forward now, you Soldier,
You've borne your burden well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."
I played, as Dr Markus Gross has adumbrated, a modest part
in helping launch the Inarah Institute and the attendant Inarah
conferences. I fear some of you may now have an irresistible urge to
rush for the exit, since I remain, in the words of Lady Caroline Lamb
referring to Lord Byron, “mad, bad, and dangerous to know.”
March 15 was designated by the UN as the official day for combating
so-called Islamophobia. Even though Christians are persecuted in North
Korea, Afghanistan, Somalia, Libya, Pakistan, Eritrea, Yemen, Iran,
Nigeria and India, there is no such day for combating Christianophobia.
Indeed, the very word “Christianophobia” does not exist, whereas
“Islamophobia” has entered all the dictionaries of European languages.
According to Vatican News [1] 13 Christians are killed every day because of their faith. I do not
wish to trade figures, figures that should of course be verified, and
are always open to dispute and revision; that is not my major point.
What I wish to question is why the UN should consider it its duty to
protect Islam from criticism, and Muslims from physical violence but not
any other religious group.
We are witnessing an extraordinary moment in the history of Islamic
lands. A historic moment which I tried to record in my latest book, “Leaving the Allah Delusion Behind. Atheism and Freethought in Islam.”
