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From: Sami Aldeeb <Sami.Aldeeb@...>

Subject: Thought on the End of this Century
Date: Sat, 10 Jul 1999 21:13:11 +0200

The End of the 20th Century: regrets and wishes

What surprises me the most at the end of this century is that people
continue
to believe in "holy books" and in "Revelations" to the detriment of
mankind.
These beliefs have led people to take religious fantasy to extremes
these
days. They have divided people into gurus and proverbial lambs to the
slaughter. They have pushed people into placing their religious
convictions
and intolerances above common sense.

One result for example is that each year at least 15 million children
are
sexually mutilated (circumcised, infibulated, etc.) as a sign of their
religious belonging, like so many branded cattle.

Meanwhile marriage, which ought to be governed by the law of love, can't
escape the tentacles of religious belief. Certain religious groups allow
their sons to marry women of other religious communities, but forbid
their
daughters to marry outside of their religion. They take, but they don't
give,
ignoring the basic priniciple of reciprocity.

Even at death man cannot escape the curse of discrimination. Certain
religious groups refuse to bury their fallen comrades next to their
brothers
who do not share the same religious convictions, and accuse those who
oppose
such discrimination of racism.

And one could go on giving other such examples, from the most trivial to
the
most horrific.

In order that mankind might be saved from religious insanity, I wish
that the
"holy books" would be stripped of their holy status, and that in their
place
human kind itself would be considered sacred, as we all recognize the
basic
human right to physical integrity (a norm lacking in the Universal
Declaration
of Human Rights), and the right to equality in love and in death.

Even if we lack the ability to influence politics, let's try at least to
think about the human race.

Sami Aldeeb, doctor of law
Staff Legal Advisor for Arab and Islamic Law
Swiss Institute of Comparative Law
Dorigny
1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
e-mail: Sami.Aldeeb@...
tel.: 021/6924911
fax: 021/6924949 (office)
efax: 001 603/947-6855
http://www-isdc.unil.ch/

author of
- To Mutilate in the Name of Jehovah or Allah
http://www.fgmnetwork.org/samialdeeb
and
- Les Musulmans face aux droits de l'homme:
Religion & droit & politique, Etude et documents
Verlag Dr. Dieter Winkler
P.O.Box 102665
D-44726 Bochum (Germany), 1994
610 pages. 17x24 cm. Soft cover. Price 149 Sfr.
e-mail of the editor: Winkler-Verlag.Bochum@...

Read also: http://www.fathermag.com/circ/mail/aldeeb.html
You may find some of my articles on circumcision and other topics on
http://members.xoom.com/nonviolence/sami/articles/0en-index.html


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