Did you get a chance to watch the ABC doco ‘Jihad Sheilas’??

I was at my parents’ homestead last night, on account of a fear of getting marooned out on my farm and not being able to get out for the weekend farmers markets…well, that was the reasoning, till I remembered I hadn’t seen them for two months…

Its odd as we mature, I seem so complacent about spending time with my folks… I suppose, though, I have been spending months at a time not seeing them since I was ten and sent off to boarding school.

Anyways, we sat down with the doco in the background after hearing about the show on radio…

My jaw was dropped the entire hour.

It’s not PC, but I seriously loathe religious extremism. I do not see where it does the world much good.

My eyes only saw the murder, the torture, the hate, the vilification, the separation from family…all due to this fanaticism. I had a hard time understanding the Australian born women’s legitimisation for their stance on certain issues, such as that the murder of the Bali bombing victims was less concerning than the deaths of Muslims who choose to hide and assist mass murdering terrorists…because the victims of Bali were partaking in “child pornography and drug taking”…yet the fugitive assistants are following their religion. I really was dumbfounded.

In the end, the comment that I heard on the radio which sparked my interest to watch the show…”Am I hot in this Hijab? Well, it’s a lot hotter in Hell”… summed it all up I suppose, the brainwashing of religion which suggests actions taken now are legitimised by rewards or punishment in the next life… What about this life???? That’s my question.

The problem with Islam and, to a degree, strains of Christian denominations, is the suggestion that inflicting hate, persecution and murder on others who are unable to share your beliefs leads to the inflictor to having a great after-life…

I prefer to think that those happy kids who believe in Father Christmas, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny are onto a much less damaging and much more fruitful line of belief… Well, at least no-one is getting blown up, persecuted, stoned, vilified, ostracised, shot, bashed, maimed or starved.

Sure there is an upside to religion, but if we have to have it, I just wish the adherents would go down the inner path to salvation, rather then spewing the downsides onto the rest of humanity.