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."
Starmer Lacks the Moral Courage to Confront Muslim Misogyny By KHADIJA KHAN
Friday, January 10, 2025
Khadija Khan
Daily Mail : Growing up in a deeply religious household in Pakistan, my sisters and I were used to the daily inequalities that marked domestic life under conservative Islam.
Our
brother, the only boy among four siblings, wore better clothes,
received more generous portions at dinner and was afforded freedoms we
could only dream of.
Not for him the
endless instructions – and punishments – meted out by our strict father
to us sisters. From the moment we could speak, we knew we must act with
decorum, dress modestly and never raise our voices. Transgressions met
with severe consequences. It was made
clear to us that we were not equal to our brother, or indeed to any man.
The role of a good Muslim woman was in the home, raising children and
serving her husband. We were chattels.
None
of us questioned this, because we knew what happened to women who did.
At best, they were disowned by their community, at worst they
disappeared, tortured and murdered by men from their own family to
protect its 'honour'. I knew of many
such cases and it shames me to reflect that so profoundly had I
internalised this culturally engrained misogyny that I did not remotely
ponder whether it was anything but justified.
As for Western women – we were told they were the Devil's work: immoral and promiscuous. If
my father had had his way, his daughters would not even have been
educated, lest they start to think for themselves and become corrupted.
