Life On Planet Zog

Here's an intellectual exercise for you. Imagine that you are an inhabitant of the planet Zog, five million light-years from the planet Earth.

Your civilisation has developed to the point where you have peace amongst all your citizens. There are no Jews, there are no Christians, there are no Hindus, Sikhs, Baha'is, or other religious denominations.

Everyone on planet Zog adheres to secular principles of equality, brotherhood and liberty. Freedom of speech and expression are taken for granted. Anyone can criticise anyone else for their views and opinions, and the only retribution is that you will be judged by your peers for for views and opinions.

If you want to believe that the moon is made of green cheese then so be it. Everyone else will laugh at you, of course, but they will uphold the right for your views to be expressed.

But wait!

An electronic transmission of a document has been received by the Inter-Galactic Department of How To Monumentally Screw Things Up With The Minimum Of Effort. It is entitled Koran.doc - and on examination purports to be a guide to the Universal Explanation Of Everything and What To Do Under Every Conceivable Set of Circumstances.

Hmm, so, let's see ... my wife has started acting a little uppity ... no problem, Koran 4:34 implies that I can beat the shit out of her, or at least kick her out of the bedroom until she sees the error of her ways. Koran 2:223 implies that she is my sexual slave and I can have sex with her anywhere and any time I feel like it, whether she wants to or not.

Hey, this is starting to sound good! But my neighbours disagree with my new-found rules on morality. No problem, Koran 5:51 tells me not to take them as my friends, as they are but friends to one another. OK, so maybe I should ignore them? No, I should prepare for them every ambush, smite their necks and their fingertips, and see them brought low (Koran 9:5). Hmm. This is starting to turn into an "Us and Them" scenario, methinks.

So in next to no time our civilisation of brotherly love has degenerated into two opposing sides, one side supports freedom of speech, freedom of expression, equality of everyone before the law, and the concept that everyone is of equal worth as human beings. The other side supports the concept that women are worth less than men, believers are worth more than non-believers, and that believers have the right to kill or enslave non-believers or otherwise discriminate against them.

And I wonder why the inhabitants of Planet Zog seem to have a problem with Koran.doc, which presents itself as the ultimate revelation from God that cannot be questioned or in any way criticised, analysed or rationally and logically de-constructed.

Maybe it is the word of God.

Or maybe it's just bollocks.

Either way, in my view such a document should be questioned, criticised, analysed and rationally and logically de-constructed.

And if that document were questioned, criticised, analysed and rationally and logically de-constructed, then the whole concept would disappear in a puff of smoke.

Which is why, of course, such questioning, criticism, analysis and rational and logical de-construction of Islam is so opposed by Muslims here on Earth.

Anybody out there care to comment?

Catdstrangler101