Majikthise said:
I feel terrible for that poor child and any children who suffer because of what man percieves as god's desires. I have two small children myself and would never use them in such a manner as this guy intends to. To increase his own imagined status in his fairytale heaven. This kid won't be given any choices.
I understand what you are saying, and I feel the same as you do. There is a thing though, that you have to remember; these people's lives
are not at all like ours.
I'll give you an example of what I am talking about by telling you another story, that might illustrate the point I am trying to make.
About three four years ago, I saw a show on television in which Mother, father and daughter were being interviewed.
Daughter was strapped in to a wheel chair, with supports and braces for every part of her body. She never said a word, while her story was explained.
It seems like (I forget, let's say she was involved in a car crash (whatever)), and went into a coma. She was pronounced "Brain stem dead", and the doctors asked the parents if the life support might be switched off. One parent said "yes" while the other said "No way"; so the life support machine stayed on.
About three years later, her eyes opened, slightly. The doctors were not hopeful, but it was still some sort of sign that there was something there.
One of the doctors was talking to her (as they do), when he noticed that after he had said something like "And how are we today, young lady ?", one of her eyelids flickered. He thought nothing much about it, but noticed over the next few days that it was happening when she was being talked to. The long and short of it was that the girl
was communicating; the only was she could, by opening and closing her eyelids. Once for yes, twice for no.
When she appeared with her parents on the TV show, the interviewer asked her "Do you wish the life support had been switched off ?" to which she responded "No". "Do you really want to live, the way you are ?" "Yes" was the answer.
Well, I thought to myself, why the heck ?.............why would the girl want to live? (I wouldn't in her shoes).
I related the story to a psychotherapist I was seeing at the time, and explained how it was beyond me that this girl could want to go on living.
"It's simple", he said, "She wants to live because her needs are being met"; "Think about it; the only thing that girl can be offered in life is comfort, warmth, and Love........and she is getting all three.
"You" (he pointed to me), "have expectations, needs that are not being met, that you have lost out on when you were wrong; your needs aren't being met, and
that is why you are depressed".
I thought about it, and thought "Heck, he is right"............We are happy when our needs are met, unhappy when they aren't.
Your father, a Muslim, can have nothing better given to him by his sons than their dying for Allah, being martyrs, and Allah, being so wonderfully grateful to the family for having produced wonderful sons, who are ready to die for the cause had given him another son.............another son who would one day make his parents proud of him, by dying for Allah. The greatest need of all, met and given to him by his sons' self sacrifices. No wonder father was proud.
Does that make sense ? The point is, that you have to be inside the mind of the person you are thinking about; by applying your own culture's rules needs and wants, of course, to you it is a dreadful thing - but not to the Muslim Dad.
