If you follow news, two events in the last few weeks might have caught your attention. One is from US, another from Iraq. I quote from the news sources:


 
Cruelties that defy belief

A shocking undercover investigation by The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) reveals widespread mistreatment and rampant animal cruelty of "downed" dairy cows at a Southern California slaughter plant.

Video evidence obtained by an HSUS investigator shows slaughter plant workers displaying complete disregard for the pain and misery they inflicted as they repeatedly attempted to force "downed" animals onto their feet and into the human food chain. In the video, workers are seen kicking cows, ramming them with the blades of a forklift, jabbing them in the eyes, applying painful electrical shocks and even torturing them with a hose and water in attempts to force sick or injured animals to walk to slaughter.

References  HSUS | CBS news (video, contains graphic content of cruelty)

Mentally ill women

The first blast brought news Baghdad had heard before: A bomber had hit a popular pet market that had suffered through such attacks in the past. Then came news of a bomb at a bird market in Baghdad. Iraqi officials said the bombs were carried by two mentally disabled women who were possibly used as unwitting bombers. "Somebody" strapped a pair of mentally retarded women with explosives and blew them up by remote control killing close to 100 people.

Local officials believe mobile phones were used to remotely-detonate the bombs attached to the two mentally disabled women.

I don't get how media after getting confirmation that these two women were mentally ill, and were strapped bomb by others potential benefactor, kept posting it as suicide bombing. No wonder terrorism is sometime called error-ism, we got serious problem with bunch of terminologies here.
 
References Taipei Times | Los Angeles Times
 
Are we becoming more and more cruel?

When I read and heard in news those two incidents I was thinking two examples from west and east of this planet equally speak about human cruelty in our modern day; one applied to animal, another to human being.

Across the globe, the way we raise animals in the poultry industry is so unethical, so cruel - its not just a separate incident back here in southern California. The very phenomena of imbalanced consumerism and glorified greed is giving rise to all sorts of cruel treatment for the cause of more and more consumption.

It is really recommended to reduce animal meat consumption and whenever possible to consume jewish kosher and / or muslim halal meat which are produced under strict guideline which respect animal rights and decent handling of the process. Also be mindful that mass animal raising and handling, by its very nature is going to create cruelty and unethical treatment of these poor animals and consequently will affect human health via what we intake.

Its worth noting here the wisdom of sufi master, Bawa's explanation and recommendation on vegetarianism: Read here.

Religious

Back to the Iraq bombing issue, the bombing using two mentally ill women in Iraq was something which is beyond words really. How can people kill innocent civilians of own land by blowing themselves up claiming it as religious or patriotic, no matter what sort of religious or otherwise sick motivations are used.

The uncovering of the fact that these two women were mentally ill (because the local people knew them as crazy ladies, else I am sure they would be portrayed as some-Qaeda members etc.) deepens the suspicion that other so called suicide bombers might well be under some sort of brain damaged / brain controlled mechanism.

Sacred Oneness

What really concerns me is where and what is civilization then? In this great achievements of twenty first century are we, collectively human race becoming more and more cruel to ourselves and to life in general? Who is gonna whisper to the ears of human race to remind that every life is sacred beyond imagination? That every life is unbelievably part of this sacred Oneness?!

"For that cause the Divine Oneness decreed for the Children of Israel that whosoever killeth a human being for other than manslaughter or corruption in the earth, it shall be as if he had killed all mankind, and whoso saveth the life of one, it shall be as if he had saved the life of all mankind". - Quran, the Final Testament 5:32

 

It is the Divine Who did create you from a Single Essence ..."
- Quran 7:189

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*Sadiq Alam is opgegroeid in Bangladesh. Hij studeert momenteel in de Verenigde Staten en schrijft op zijn blog over mystiek, vergelijkende religie en integrale spiritualiteit. 
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