Islam vs Christianity

A lot is being said about Muslims and the Islamic faith, particularly where Islam has been abused as a pretext for committing atrocities. I have read the Qu'ran, the Muslim's holy script, and although it was only a cursory glance (which took me a year), I will just tell you what I took out of that reading.

Islam is the younger brother of Christianity, as much as Christianity is the younger brother of Judaism. They share common forefathers, such as Abraham. Quite specifically, the rulings of Islam are quoted as being excluding those of other faiths, such as Christians and Jews. In other words, Muslims respect those faiths.

In the Qu'ran, God expresses exasperation over the hard-headedness of mankind, saying that He gave Man the Torah, but Man ignored that. God then gave Man the Gospel, but Man ignored it. So then, God gave Man the Qu'ran - and Man IGNORED THAT AS WELL!

In both faiths, there are factions, who are battling each other over interpretation of the scripts. However, in Islam, the Prophet has been given the one and only interpretation by God. In Christianity, there is room for interpretation. And don't we know it.

In other words, I don't know why on earth Muslims and Christians are fighting each other.

Aren't we all brothers? 

I actually do know why people fight. It's over power.
It's shameful that religion is being dragged in as justification for the most heinous of crimes.

Wednesday 9 December - Donald Trump

Donald Trump hopes to be nominated candidate for the Republican Party in the US presidential elections in November 2016. He has opened his mouth very wide, stating that all Muslims should be banned from entering the USA until the politicians have worked out what the hell is going on.

I have no time for sweeping statements like that, and on face value it is objectionable, coarse, undiplomatic and unbecoming of any statesman. However, let's cut away the fluff, smoke and fireworks and see what has prompted Trump to trump so loudly - trump used here as synonym for flatulence, by the way.

Several terrorist attacks have been carried out, with justification to the Islamic faith. I name but a few: the attacks on the New York World Trade Center in 1993 and 2001 (to name the worst), the mass shooting in San Bernardino last week and the attacks in Paris in January and November this year - and so many more.

What we should do about Donald Trump's exhortation is take the warning seriously. The warning that the current atrocities being carried out by "Islamic State" should NOT be used against Muslims as a group. That's what IS wants us to do. We, in America, Europe and beyond, should engage with the Muslim community in our midst, to ensure that they are an integral and integrated part of our community, respected and valued. To make sure that those who are disaffected with the society in which they live do NOT fall for the lure of IS, which preaches hatred under the thin disguise of religion. Listen to those who have genuine complaints about the way they get treated, and get them back on board.

What we should NOT do about Donald Trump is to take his exhortations seriously. I don't think it helps the debate to strip him of honorary degrees (like Robert Gordon University has done today), as it just entrenches his views and turns him into a martyr.

People like him are warning signals that there is a problem in society, which is not being addressed. Starve him of the oxygen of support, by addressing the problem, and he will be silenced. Donald Trump has his place in society, making and investing money. He should stay the hell out of politics.

Sunday 6 December

A scattering of terrorist incidents, small in scale but troubling. The one in California, where two lone wolves went on a killing spree, is bewildering. There is some suggestion that they 'self-radicalised', without being connected to a known terrorist group. In history, religion has often been the focal point for radicalisation, and in this day and age it is Islam. It is my opinion that interference by foreign powers in the Middle East has fomented the current state of affairs. The reason for such interference is strategic, going by the name of crude oil. Oil is the lifeblood of a modern economy, and no nation can do without it, or (more to the point) its derived products. What would have happened if the Middle East had been nothing but the sand pit it is on the surface? Well, we shall never know. But I'm afraid when you sow wind, as we Europeans and Americans have done for more than a century, you will one day reap the storm. I am horrified at the current state of affairs. It will only get worse, not better, through a bombing campaign that the United Kingdom joined last week. It appears to have become a rallying point for people with an axe to grind against 'The West', or even their own countries. Should we bomb ISIS? Only if it is backed up with a ground offensive to remove them. Who will do the ground-offensiving? Only local forces. Are there any? Well, the Iraqi army is a paper tiger, and we have decided that we don't like Syria's leader Assad. Of course we don't, he has driven half his population from their homes and a large percentage of them out of his own country. Although I cannot understand the Middle East, I know one thing. You NEVER gain anything there through violence.

Wednesday 2 December

I don't want to write about Syria again, it is filling the news media and social media ad nauseam. Weather? Well, it is quite interesting, fluctuating between mild and chilly and between calm and stormy. It's early December and winter is making its presence felt. The battle with autumn will reach fever pitch on Friday, when severe gales to storm force winds, bringing sustained winds of 45 to 55 mph (70 to 90 km/h) to our islands. Ferries could well be cancelled, electricity supplies interrupted and all the other hazards that a good blow brings. I expect a full supermarket on Friday morning, just before the highest windspeeds occur. It is 7pm as I type this, and darkness has long since fallen. The sunset was colourful, which is always nice and uplifting. But our nights are long and dark, and it won't be daylight until about 8.15 tomorrow morning.

Tuesday 1 December

Back in 1985, I wrote an essay on AIDS, HIV and the treatments available at the time. It was around that time that the disease Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome had come into prominence, some 25 years after it first emerged in humans in Uganda. Apparently, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (which gives rise to the complex of symptoms that is called AIDS) came from monkeys, and thanks to human interference jumped the species barrier. Another species of animal that gets a comparable disease is cats, where it is called FIV, feline immunodeficiency virus. HIV attacks the immune system, leaving the body open to all sorts of infections. These are not normally a problem in healthy people, but cause serious illness in someone with HIV infection. HIV is transmitted through body fluids. Blood transfusions were initially a source of infection. HIV's main transmission route is sexual intercourse. In the 80s, the disease first manifested itself amongst homosexual men, but very soon found its way into the heterosexual community. After a public awareness campaign, the usage of condoms and the practicing of safe sex increased markedly, but a recent news item warned that AIDS is in the ascendancy again in the young, teenagers and young adults. The safe sex message has not gotten through to them - yet. AIDS is not curable, although drugs have been developed which slow the progression of the disease by slowing the multiplication of HIV. Research into a cure continues, as does research into a possible vaccine.

NaBloPoMo - day #30

Today is the last day of a couple of things.

November.

National Novel Writing Month - done 14 instalments, adding up to 1800 words, not 1800 words each
 
Movember - yep, I'm a hairy harry and will have collected £67.

Hurricane seasons in the Northern Atlantic, Eastern and Central Pacific basins. 

In the context of this blog, it is of course also the final day of National Blog Posting Month, and the final entry under that initiative on this blog for this year. It has proved surprisingly easy to write about something each day, and I have enjoyed it. My post counter will click to 3,435 when this post is published, one more than I anticipated.

When I first started blogging as part of the AOL Journals community (known as J-land), I would post up to a dozen entries each day. This was very much interactive, and many other bloggers would be reading my posts, as much as I'd read theirs. When AOL shut down its blogging service, most went over to this forum, Blogger, but many have abandoned their blogs now. Facebook has taken the place of J-land.

I shall continue intermittent blog posting here on Atlantic Lines.

This is NaBloPoMo signing off for 2015.

NaBloPoMo - day #29

Winter is making itself known in these parts, with hail, snow and thunderstorms. Thunderstorms usually occur in the islands in winter, as hailstones moving up and down in the atmosphere gather up static electricity, which discharges as lightning. Summer storms, which are due to the build up of heat and humidity, are rare here. Late November is a normal time of year for the first flurries of snow, and today's low temperatures are nothing out of the ordinary either. On the Scottish mainland, the snow has been more of an issue; severe gales over England and Wales compounding the weather problems there, although no snow there. Today's weather is part of a huge weather system, which stretches all the way southwest across the Atlantic. The Caribbean island of Curacao has suffered severe thunderstorms, which have led to flooding - all part of the same frontal zone. The hurricane season in both the Atlantic and Eastern and Central Pacific basins is drawing to a quiet close, as of tomorrow.

NaBloPoMo - day #28

Had a simple meal tonight, consisting of broth, lamb, potatoes and vegetables. A typical island meal in by-gone days. An equally typical meal would consist of salt herring, potatoes and milk. I have also had salt mackerel, instead of herring. Mackerel fishing is easy, you just hang a line with hooks in the sea, and within moments, you'll have as many mackerel as you have hooks. However, you have to salt them quickly. In days gone by, salmon was regarded as the poor man's fish - in contrast to today's perception. If you had to eat salmon it meant you were too poor to afford a boat to go out to sea. Porridge is another stand by - many have it with salt, but I prefer it with sugar or syrup. Stornoway Black Pudding? Too rich for my liking.

NaBloPoMo - day #27

So now the Turks and the Russians are eye-balling each other over Syria. Personally, I think the Turks went way over the top by downing that Russian jet. On the other hand, the Russians have been taunting the Turks from the moment they arrived on the scene over Syria, with one incursion of Turkish airspace after another. Meanwhile, the Islamic State terrorists are laughing up their sleeves. Wouldn't it be a lovely coup, if the two big men of the East, Russia and Turkey, came to real blows over this? However, this is all but a distraction from the real issue. You don't defeat ISIS with aerial bombardment. Boots on the grounds are required, and it will have to be regional forces, not the blunderbusses from America or Europe. We are in danger of a repeat of the events in the wake of 9/11, when a knee-jerk response from the USA, however understandable, led to the invasion of Iraq. In my mind, that was the action which indirectly led to the establishment of the ISIS group. Saddam Hussein was a horrible despot - but he had at least the sagacity to get rid of his weapons of mass destruction, turning them into weapons of mass delusion. In 2003, he was hamstrung and virtually unable to move. It would have been better if he had been left in place. However, Saddam Hussein was strung up in December 2006, and nobody bemoans his death. What took his place was an ineffectual government, riddled with religious strife, which allowed ISIS, upon its establishment a few years ago, to quickly take over swathes of its territory. Syria was and is being ruled by another despot, Assad, whom we wanted to bomb out in 2012. And look who is now regarded as a useful despot? The same Mr Assad. Back in the 1980s, Saddam Hussein was regarded as a useful despot, a buffer against the screaming lunacy of Iran's islamic revolution. When his usefulness expired, he was discarded. Assad is useful against ISIS. If and when they are eradicated from the face of this earth, he will be discarded as well. Let's hope we manage this without stumbling into a confrontation between Russia and other powers in the region if not the world at large.

NaBloPoMo - Thanksgiving (day #26)

Today is Thanksgiving in the island, a religious occasion, not necessarily anything to do with the consumption of turkeys. Some 10 years ago, shops would still close at lunchtime to allow people to observe the occasion. Schools now close on the Friday and following Monday for the holiday. This is one of four times in the year when the island communions are on; remember that Lewis, Harris and North Uist are staunchly presbyterian. I'm faintly disgusted with the overt references to Black Friday, that have surfaced in commercial Britain, which has been borrowed from the USA. In the States, Thanksgiving is connected with the arrival of the Pilgrim Fathers in America. In the Hebrides, it is purely religious.

NaBloPoMo - day #25

Television is a relative late-comer to the Outer Hebrides. In the 1960s, two enterprising gents set up a television relay in the town of Stornoway, with a receiver on a hill overlooking the town. Signals from a transmitter on the mainland were then fed round town by cable, to whoever was prepared for them. In certain weather conditions, it was possible to get TV reception without this relay, but islanders beyond the town had to wait until 1972, when the transmitter tower at Eitsal, outside the village of Achmore, was taken into service. Eitsal is a hill rising to 700 feet above sealevel, and with the tower rising another 700 feet, its top stands 1400 feet high. The transmitter serves an area of the Scottish mainland, still more than 45 miles away, as well as most of Lewis, Harris and parts of the southern isles. The transmitter was converted to digital television when the national switch-over from analogue to digital occurred in 2010. Those who are out of 'sight' of Eitsal tend to use satellite receivers, from e.g. Sky, for their TV needs. Freeview, the digital TV service in the UK, offers a good range of channels for nothing - Sky subscriptions can become very expensive very quickly.

NaBloPoMo - day #24

Politics is a fickle game. Back in 2012, there was a move for the Royal Air Force to become involved in a bombing campaign in Syria. The object was to oust dictator Assad from power. He was such a horrible man, using chemical weapons and barrel bombs against his own people, just because they did not agree with his politics. How things change. Here we are in November 2015, and there is a bombing campaign going on against a terrorist organisation that calls itself Islamic State, and all of a sudden Mr Assad is the good guy that is supposed to help us suppress IS. Isn't it weird though that the one constant in this whole game has been a certain chap by the name of Vladimir Putin, who, at last check, was president of Russia. He opposed the bombing of Assad in 2012, and is now bombing everybody opposed to Assad - including IS. For international consumption, he stresses the bombing of IS, and certainly for internal consumption as well, after a Russian airliner was brought down by IS-affiliated terrorists in the Sinai, Egypt. We can expect the RAF to become involved in the bombing campaign, and this should be seen as being in support of Assad. Nobody, apart from Syria's army and the Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, are in position to take on IS on the ground. And on the ground is where they will be beaten in the end. Meanwhile, where is that coward who shed his suicide vest in Paris, rather than using it to blow himself up on November 13th? Anybody, in Brussels particularly?

NaBloPoMo - day #23

The word dreich came in handy to describe today. Grey, drizzly, windy when appropriate. The last days of November, when daylight hours are at a premium, frequently become like that. On really dark days, the streetlights may come on during the day. It is the reverse of late May, when the light never seems to fade. I don't actually mind this time of year (too much). I watched the ferry go out first thing this morning, at 7 o'clock, in darkness, and daylight didn't put in an appearance until nearly 8. The weather did brighten up later in the afternoon, but by that time it was 4 o'clock - and time for the sun to go down. Many people don't venture out too much, other than to do their Christmas shopping. Yes, I'm generalising here. We have a free newspaper here, called Events, which lists everything that's going on in Lewis and Harris. And you'd be surprised!

NaBloPoMo - day #22

Stornoway on a Sunday is a quiet wee place. Our town, population 9,000, falls quiet on the Day of the Sabbath. Those so inclined go to church, at 11 am and at 6 pm. Those without transport and not able to walk the distance are taken to church by minibus, driven by volunteers. Otherwise, the public bus service does not operate at all. Until 2006, there was no ferry in Lewis or Harris; it was in that year that the Leverburgh to Berneray ferry commenced Sunday sailings. The Stornoway to Ullapool ferry began Sunday operations in 2009, with Tarbert to Skye commencing a few years ago. When you go for a walk around town on a Sunday, the streets will be deserted. The shopping precinct, which stretches along Cromwell Street and out to Bayhead, as well as along Point Street, Francis Street and North and South Beach, are shuttered and empty. Fishing boats sometimes do put to sea, or come in, but otherwise it's utter calm. Even the supermarkets are closed; the only shop open is a filling station which has a wee shop on the premises. In summer, tourists can be seen wandering the streets, looking for a restaurant or a pub to open. Restaurants open from late afternoon; pubs also open in the afternoon. The sports centre is closed, leading to acid comments that you can get drunk on the Sabbath, but not do anything healthy. Is anything likely to change? In the 11 years I've been here, there have been subtle changes, and more will come. Are shops likely to open on Sundays in the near future? I don't hope so. Not out of religious fervour, but just to have one day where everything is quiet. The ferry leaving port at 2.30pm, and returning at 9pm, does not bother anybody.

NaBloPoMo - day #21

First snow of winter 2015/16 fell in the night, and we woke up to a dusting of the white stuff on roads, pavements and hillsides. It was cold, just on freezing, and it took the sun a little while to lift the mercury off zero. Snow is a pain if you have to travel by road or rail, but when it is freshly fallen, it is just beautiful. So calm. The calmness of winter, having settled down from the raucousness of autumn. Oh, autumn is not done with us yet, it'll be back in the new week with more gales and rain. But this first taste of winter was nice. I like the way the seasons change. I'd be bored with sunshine and warmth every day of the year.

NaBloPoMo - day #20

November is two-thirds done and has finally remembered that it stands at the gates of winter. A quick gale blew up after dark, but the day was perishing cold: only a few degrees above freezing. The ferry was tied up all afternoon, because the northerly winds whip up quite a swell. It was the old Isle of Lewis; the new ferry, Loch Seaforth, is heading north from an extended refit at Birkenhead. Every passenger ship has to undergo an annual overhaul, to ensure it is still in a fit state to carry fare-paying passengers. In a fit state to run a ship was most certainly not the first mate of the bulk carrier Lysblink Seaways, back in February. He was EIGHT times over the Scottish legal blood alcohol limit, and he was so blootered that he ignored all warning sirens, hooters and noises from his navigational equipment. The Lysblink Seaways disputed passage with the Ardnamurchan peninsula at 12 knots, and lost. She is an insurance write-off, and has been scrapped.

NaBloPoMo - day #19

I'm casting my eyes back eleven years, when I had newly arrived in Lewis. I was based in a backwater of the island, some 22 miles south of Stornoway (by road) and it would take me a busride of 45 minutes to get into town. On the way back, there would not be a connection, so I would have to walk back 5 miles along the road. Not that was much traffic, fortunately. At one time, I was offered a lift by a young mum with a baby on the backseat. She had her chariot stoked up to 80F to keep the bairn warm. On another occasion, I had had a glass of coke in the local watering hole, and was offered a lift up the road by some of the patrons. They had definitely had something stronger than coke, and were flinging the beercans out the window as they blasted down the road at 60 mph - on a road where 40 mph was the top-end of advisable. The area was unremarkable, but I enjoyed exploring its many lochs, moors and hillocks. I left after three months, and was happy to do so. Next stop: Stornoway.

NaBloPoMo - day #18

The fall-out of the November 13th attacks in Paris continues to reverberate. This morning, police in northern Paris staged a pitched battle with some people with alleged links to the culprits of the slaughter of Friday night. One of them blew themselves up, raising fears of further suicide belt bombings in Paris. And not just in Paris, this could come anywhere. A very scary scenario. Let us not forget though what actually allowed an organisation like Daesh, Islamic State, ISIS or ISIL or whatever you wish to call it, to flourish. How about Western involvement in the Middle East? Did it start with the invasion of Iraq? Our involvement with Iraq over the past three decades has been positively schizophrenic. Supporting Saddam against Iran, whom we don't like, them fighting Saddam when the poor sod doesn't get it that we won't back him on every madcap scheme he thinks up. We bombed the crap out of him when he invaded Kuwait in 1990 / 91. So we strung up Saddam, and what were we left with - a power vacuum. Filled by people with an axe to grind agains the USA, and there is an awful lot of them down the Middle East. How about the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, and the displacement of the resident population of the area that was called Palestine? No, not even that started it all, although it didn't help. The British protectorate of Palestine in 1903? Well, getting close, but it was but a milestone. The Crusades. Ever thought about those? The Pope was up to his neck in political trouble, so what do you in a situation like that? You create a diversion, and when you appeal to people's religious zeal, you can go far. Hey, where did we see that again? Some 900 years later, under the banner of a different religion, but same thing. Not saying that it was down to the Crusades, but it is a starting point. It all gets a bit vague before then.

One general point about the current situation. I'm pleased that even Putin's Russia is seeing the light on this issue. It is deeply saddening though that it had to come at the cost of 224 innocent tourists on board a flight from Sharm el-Sheikh to Petersburg a few weeks ago.  My thoughts and prayers remain with the family and friends of all victims of terrorism.

NaBloPoMo - day #17

We started with some sunshine this morning, but cloud soon took over. It is the time of year where cloudy weather can prompt the streetlights to come on, and you may need the lights on in the house during daylight hours. It is the time of year that separates the hardy from the not-so-hardy in these islands, and it is the great litmus test of endurance. Could you endure days of 6-7 hours of daylight? Incessant strong winds, hail being flung against your window day and night, having to tie down your bin lest it flies down the street? Ferries cancelled, empty shops as a result? Even planes are cancelled in strong winds. If you are able to put up with three or four months of that (November through to February), then you are made of Outer Hebrides stuff.

NaBloPoMo - day #16

Second half of November, and the facial hair is growing nicely for Movember. Anyone caring to sponsor me is welcome to do so on http://mobro.co/12661501. My November story, ostensibly for NaNoWriMo is coming along in fits and starts; I cannot manage 1,800 words a day, it'll be a miracle if I manage 1,800 words a week. Nonetheless, feel free to check out its progress on Writings from Castle Town. I am managing, thus far, a post a day on Atlantic Lines.

Today is a windy day, with galeforce winds, stormforce in the Southern Isles and occasional heavy showers. The airport closed for flights at 6pm, to indicate the severity of the conditions. The gale blows from the west, which is at right angles to the runway (which runs north to south). On January 2nd this year, a plane was blown off the runway in a freak gust of wind. Ferries to, from and within the Western Isles are all cancelled today. This will be the last strong wind event for a while; temperatures will now fall through the week, until we get snow this weekend. Never a dull moment here.