It's taken me a couple of days to respond to the murders in Christchurch, NZ. I had to wait until my thoughts and emotions settled enough for me to be coherent. The attached photos show my daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren. They are Muslim reverts. Not converts, reverts, because in the Muslim faith it is believed that everyone is born Muslim, but some are taught different things in childhood. So when someone comes to the faith later in life, they are not converting, they are reverting to their birthright. Kinda makes me wonder why all Muslims would want to kill everyone else like the media would have us believe. Wouldn't that mean they are killing other Muslims who simply haven't realised they are Muslim?
The murderous bastard who run amok in NZ a few days ago didn't just "kill Muslims". He murdered people...fellow human beings. Sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, people who had other people who love them. I know many of you have stood up for the slain, stood up for their right to worship God/Allah in the way that feels right to them. And that is great. But this happened because we sat quietly on the sidelines for too long. I was one of those sitters. But no more. Because every time someone says "All Muslims must die" they are telling me that a large part of my family, a large part of my heart, should be dead. Every time someone says "All Muslims are terrorists" they are accusing my pacifist daughter of hiding a gun or bomb, ready to kill others. Every time someone says "Muslims are not welcome in Australia, ship them back to where they come from" they are saying that my Australian born daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren have no place on this Earth, because the place they were born in apparently no longer wants them. Today I sit here and think of how sad the families of the slain must be right now, and that makes me think how would I feel if it had been my family members in that mosque...because it easily could have been. And it still could be.
So I will no longer sit quietly on the sidelines. Now I will stand up for the rights of every person on this planet to worship God/Allah/Jehovah/a pantheon of gods or none at all, and to worship (or not) however and whenever they want in safety. If anyone on my friends list thinks that Muslims (or anyone else) should be persecuted or murdered for the way they want to live, then bugger off now. I don't want you on my friend list any more. Better still, go and talk to a Muslim and find out the truth about their beliefs. You might be surprised at how wrong the media has certain "facts".
I know this is a long post, much longer than anything I usually post. But this is important to me. So thank you for reading this far, and may you be safe as you continue your journey on this ball of rock we all call home.
This is dummy text. It is not meant to be read. Accordingly, it is difficult to figure out when to end it. But then, this is dummy text. It is not meant to be read. Period.
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