The Same Mistakes

Muhammad said, "The believer is not bitten by the same hole twice." It was a reminder that if we are paying attention, we won't make the same mistakes. We won't go twice to the home of the snake or scorpion. We'll learn from the past.

There's not a whole lot of that going on these days. In fact I am very afraid that we are heading into another war, which will have more disastrous results than the war against Iraq.

The Decider warned that Iranians in Iraq will be killed. The media is now claiming that the recent attack against troops in Karbala was initiated by Iran. The White House wants to fight Iran. So does Israel. And, like Iraq, it looks like it will probably happen.

I also noticed a bit of Islamophobia in the news. At this time of year, according to the lunar calendar, Shi'ite Muslims commemorate the death of Hussein, who was the grandson of Muhammad. This commemoration does include whipping and some degree of self-mutilation as a sign of grief. CNN carried a "wonderful" story about how Shi'ite fathers were cutting their own children, making the tots part of the ritual.

I am not a Shi'ite. I define myself as "simply a Muslim." No ohter designation is necessary. But I am sick and tired of all the crude jokes against Shi'ites. And I wonder about the veracity of this story, which portrays a very extreme practice. I also wonder about the motivation for printing it. Is it made to make Shi'ites look less than human?

We are daily confronted with reports about the civil war between Sunnis and Shi'ites in Iraq. I don't believe all of these reports. And I respect my Shi'ite brothers and sisters as fellow Muslims. We do have some different beliefs and practices, but it's not my job to judge. I will leave that to our Creator.

The White House is determined to make the same mistakes. Except that a war against Iran will have much more disastrous results because Iran is a stronger society. When the U.S. attacked Iraq, that country had suffered from 13 years of economic sanctions. Iran has not been weakened, and of course the Iranians will fight to defend their country. Who wouldn't?

I ask our Creator to deliver us from the evil and stupidity of those who don't learn the first time.