An issue that arises out of A Thousand Splendid Suns is the thought of who can we trust? Within the novel, the Afghanis say the U.S. attacked them on September 11, 2001, rather than the other way around. Of course, it was not the Afghan government who attacked us, but Islamic Jihadists living out the commands of their faith which is seen in Quran 8:12, 8:39, 9:14, 9:29, Sahih Muslim 1:33, and many more other places within the Quran. However, with Afghanistan being a primarily, if not entirely, Muslim country, it would make sense if Afghanistan supported the attacks. Therefore, if we were Muslims in Afghanistan at that time, would we believe our government?
I trust the U.S. government for the most part (not entirely due to the fact that President Obama said we could keep our health care if we wanted...that was not the story for my family). Besides that, am I right in trusting the government? For example, the view on middle easterners has drastically changed in my eyes from them being all jihadists, to now a days where President Obama and many others push that it is not every one of them, just the extremists. But again, I ask how can we trust either opinion fully without being there, seeing the people and understanding the people as a whole?
This is where I make a huge push that everyone of us educate ourselves on what is really going on in our world. Sadly, for most people in the Middle East, that is not a reality they can have due to the corrupted media, publishing only what the governing powers allow due to the fact that if they show any support for any infidel, capitalistic country, their lived are on the line. However, us who have been blessed with a country founded on the principles of the people ruling the governing powers, we have that great opportunity to educate ourselves. We have the opportunity to see the whole story. SO DO IT.
Are you startled at the fact that I said that violence is actually apart of Islam and their beliefs? Then check out the Quran yourself and find out, do not just trust me. Do you disagree with me on the idea that sex before marriage, biblically speaking, is actually sin? Read the Bible and see on your own (1 Corinthians 7:1-3).
We as a people need to stop just trusting what people tell us, but we need to seek out answers ourselves.
Good Brad. I hope this text will get you to see that the majority of the people in the Middle East live their lives no different than us in the US... trying to survive, sometimes thrive daily, without a thought of violence. I'm surprised that in reading this novel, you didn't see how far removed the characters were from the events of 911, and their disapproval for those responsible. BUT, I am heartened by your last line :-).
ReplyDeleteSo just for the sake of argument..... Exodus and Deuteronomy (to name two) contain passages of violence similar to that in the Quran... Just as Quran contains verses that teach peace and that religion should be noncompulsory. Both texts need to be read in context to be truly understood I would think, rather than dissected as a list of verses to prove one "side" over the other. :-)