The Harbingers of a New Iraq? One Can Only Hope
I found this intriguing article on Jason Pappas’s blog.
And I quote:
BAGHDAD — After almost five years of war, many young people in Iraq, exhausted by constant firsthand exposure to the violence of religious extremism, say they have grown disillusioned with religious leaders and skeptical of the faith that they preach.
In two months of interviews with 40 young people in five Iraqi cities, a pattern of disenchantment emerged, in which young Iraqis, both poor and middle class, blamed clerics for the violence and the restrictions that have narrowed their lives.
“I hate Islam and all the clerics because they limit our freedom every day and their instruction became heavy over us,” said Sara, a high school student in Basra. “Most of the girls in my high school hate that Islamic people control the authority because they don’t deserve to be rulers.”
Atheer, a 19-year-old from a poor, heavily Shiite neighborhood in southern Baghdad, said: “The religion men are liars. Young people don’t believe them. Guys my age are not interested in religion anymore.”
This is some of the best news I have heard out of Iraq in ages! If there is any one that I want the U.S. government to be spending my tax dollars on, it’s these young religious skeptics. I can only hope that this is a growing trend in Iraq that will completely demolish the influence of the abusive peddlers of authoritarian religiosity.
And if you doubt the thuggisness of these cretins, then you need to read this:
While religious extremists are admired by a number of young people in other parts of the Arab world, Iraq offers a test case of what could happen when extremist theories are applied. Fingers caught in the act of smoking were broken. Long hair was cut and force-fed to its wearer. In that laboratory, disillusionment with Islamic leaders took hold.
If only I could pay to have some of these outraged young individuals helicoptered out of Iraq and brought to a freer place — with their consent; of course. I would love to sit down with them and hear about what’s going on in their heads. And I would really like to deeply connect with them. Somewhere along the line, I’d hope to contribute some intellectual ammunition to their newly burgeoning worldview. The feeling of revulsion against clerical authority can be the first step down the road of liberty towards a world where individuals can truly create lives of their own.
My thoughts and feelings are with you; young Iraqi rebels. I wish you much happiness and prosperity in this world. And I can only hope that you will find it somewhere.
Natasha | Civil Liberties, LeftLibertarian.org, Personal, Religion, War and Peace, Youth Freedom
[...] The Harbingers of a New Iraq? One Can Only HopeBAGHDAD — After almost five years of war, many young people in Iraq, exhausted by constant firsthand exposure to the violence of religious extremism, say they have grown disillusioned with religious leaders and skeptical of the faith … [...]
That is indeed great news! I can’t think of better news I’ve heard from Iraq in these past five years. Maybe there is hope yet? I pray (ha!) that this translates over to a hostility toward governmental authority as well as religious authority.