Friday, June 26, 2015

Ramadan 2015, Day 8 - A Holy Month Interrupted by Terrorism


So what was supposed to be a quiet, lazy Ramadan Friday was interrupted by breaking news report after breaking news report of terrorist attacks in Kuwait, Tunisia, and France.

In Kuwait a suicide bomber blew himself up in a Shi’a mosque during the Friday prayer. To attack a mosque during Friday prayer during Ramadan is pretty shocking and was clearly done in the knowledge that the mosque would be filled to overflowing with people. Attacking a mosque during Ramadan Friday prayer would, in my opinion, be analogous to attacking a church congregation during Christmas Mass. Islam states that it is preferable for Muslim men to do their five prayers a day at a mosque but it is not a requirement. But if there is one prayer a week that everyone shows up at it is the noon prayer on Friday. During Ramadan even moreso.

Isn't Ramadan supposed to be the month of peace and spiritual reflection? The BBC had a commentator on who noted that Islamic extremist groups embrace the example of one of the earliest great battles of Islam, which took place during the month of Ramadan. I wasn't sure which battle he was referring to but a quick Internet search lead me to think it was the Battle of Badr, the first large battle between the Islamic army (led by the Prophet Mohammed) and non-believers from other parts of the Arabic peninsula.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Badr

So sectarian violence appears to be spreading across the region. There were some mosque bombings in Saudi Arabia not too long ago, the Syrian War drags on, ISIL is still fighting in Iraq, and now Yemen has descended into fighting split along religious lines.

As for Qatar I suppose there is a risk of something happening though hopefully the risk will be small. While the vast majority of Qataris are Sunni one must remember that Qataris are only maybe 15% of the population of the country. There are numerous immigrants here from Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Bahrain and other countries with sizable Shi’a populations so there is risk that a Shi’a mosque in Qatar could be targeted (ISIL is a radical Sunni group who I think consider Shi’a Muslims to be something like heretics.)

I asked a Qatari friend of mine if there are any Shi’a mosques in Qatar, and how one could tell? He only knew of one in Qatar and told me there’s no easy way to tell if a mosque is Sunni or Shi’a as they will “look the same”. I take that to mean there’s no difference in architecture, I assume you’ll only know when you get closer. I’m sure there are differences that a Muslim would pick up on immediately.

Hopefully nothing will happen in Qatar. Heck, hopefully nothing more happens anywhere.

1 comment:

Author Prayatna said...

"The world talks about worldly talks as far as they could do. However, it is Imam Mahdi who knows the secrets of Lail-tul-qadr (the night of honor). And without unraveling Lail-tul-qadr, why and how will the Koran be demystified? [Holy Sanandh 20:50]"
(Author’s Note: Keep in mind that Lail-tul-qadr or the night of honor is not exactly an Earthly night. Actually, it is the time period that started right from the advent of Ruh Allah and continued till the completion of the revelation of the words of Marifaat by Imam Mahdi himself and continued on for some more years. And the time period which is Lail-tul-qadr is 120 years.
And the night of honor is said to be better than thousand months because 120 years is greater than 83 years and 4 months!! To be precise, the night of honor is simply the time period between 990 Hijri years and 120 Gregorian years following 990 Hijri year. And it is to be noted that millions of Muslims around the world are still searching for the night of honor out of ignorance of the fact of the arrival of the listed following during the period of those 120 years as: –
1. Rasul Muhammed
2. Isa Ruh Allah
3. Imam Mahdi
4. Israfil angel
5. Jibril angel
6. Satan
7. Mummins (the spirits of Lahut) and
8. Muttaqins (who are referred to as the angelic spirits according to the noble Quran)
There is a belief in the Islamic community that the 27th night of Ramdan is generally Lail-tul-qadr or the night of honor. But it is not so!)
http://sanandhonline.blogspot.com/2013/02/Exact-Power-Of-Quran-According-To-Mahamati-Prannath.html