That religion is the opium of the masses is in no doubt. Why do religions insist on holy sites in a world that they tell us was created by their deities. I mean, if i build my house, every corner is important, otherwise i would not build it. This silly mentality of holly sites has created unnecessary conflicts, tensions and hatred especially in the middle east resulting in death and suffering of these cults followers.
The latest that comes to mind is the Jerusalem Al Aqsa mosque/Western wall conflict between muslims and jews. Al Aqsa is the third holiest site in Islam while the western wall is the holiest site in Judaism. The two are located on the same place in a greater area called the temple mount. The muslims have a right to a greater part of the compound including access to the mosque while the jews have the right to pray against the outer western wall with no access to the mosque according to a 1967 agreement. Recently however extremist jews have started demanding that their government allows them access to the mosque compound as well. Ofcourse the muslims are against it. Israel generally has control of the occupied east Jerusalem since the 1967 Arab Israeli war so they basically enforce the agreement. Conflicts are common between the two arch enemies.
My point is, what is the significance of a religious site for religions that preach that their Gods are omnipresent and far reaching. Just like the Islam pilgrimage, a poor jew in South africa who will not afford the travel to this holy wall, does it mean his prayers in SA are condemned. Similarly, a poor muslim in Kenya who cannot afford to go to Mecca to the Kaaba or to the Al Aqsa mosque, is his prayers and life condemned? The holiness of a site is a nonsensical doctrine in the mind preached to mortals to tow the line of religions. It has no significance whatsoever since access relies only on one thing; Man made money. It is your financial status that will determine how ‘holy’ you are by being able to access these ‘holy’ sites. My question is if a rogue terrorist nuclear bombed these ‘holy’ sites and they became condemned as radioactive sites, would their followers continue to troop there to ‘pray’. I think this holy sites business is just a nonsensical religious show offs that only create more conflicts and hatred in a world already full of these negative aspects. I would rather wapiganie shamba kiiu mwiri style but not give us these ‘holy’ sites bullshit. If i had the means i would flatten these conflict sites and turn them to a dam, wacha watu waogelee wakitaka.
This second sentence is like asking me why i go to church to pray; ati why dont i do it in my house.? @Dunya am sure u’ve read mathew 18;20
[SIZE=5]““For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.””… @Dunya am sure you go to church with your whole familia just like many families do on sunday; dad,mum nd em kids. If God is already in your midst; the three/four of you; why dont you stay at home and pray instead of going to church? what spiritual/psychological fulfillment do u wanna achieve if u do it together in church where there are other believers like you? hii ndio kitu unaniliza kwa hii post yako.[/SIZE]
See, its not very important to know which is which in this discussion since the two are at a distance of what, less than 500 metres and within the same larger complex which is contentious. In fact the whole of Jerusalem is contentious because of its religious significance for these religions
That is exactly my point and i dont go to church as i am not religious. My mind is free
…the holy sites serve as a unifying point. If one is away or far from this place, one would feel unified to know that there are people with whom you consider a single place as “home”. Its like somewhere you go to refresh/replenish your strength, not necessarily that your prayers will be answered only if you are at that particular place…
Thats a total lie. Even the muslim world is heavily divided as it is today. Also they dare not provoke into a real war the one country that can wipe them out i.e Israel
There’s no other place that’s more visited than the mosque in Makkah,100 million people pass through its doors each year. You’ve never been there, but ill tell you how overwhelming it felt to see myself as a common man standing and praying next to kings,princes and billionaires, standing right there donning the same piece of cloth like 2 million pilgrims like me, makes you realise we are not that different after all… Visiting such a holy place reminds you of that, it increases my love for my fellow muslim. Though I agree with you that the Muslim world is divided at the moment, destruction of one of the three holy sites would be the single unifying factor that would bring together Muslims world wide, more than a billion angry Muslims. The Zionists have always wanted to destroy Aqsa, they control Jerusalam so they can do it any moment they want, but ask yourself why are they holding back? They fear the repercusion of that action. I for one I would be ready to loose my life protecting those 3 mosques.
They want to build the third temple there, the first one was destroyed by King Nebuchadnezer(sp) in 587AD and the second one by the Christian crusaders in 70AD when they banished the Jews from Jerusalam. The Islamic caliphate under Umar ibn Khattab liberated Jerusalam in 637AD and gave it back to the Jews.