What Would Voters Do?

Every four years, like clock-work, the great joke that is the US presidential election returns to remind us just how ridiculous we’ve become as a people.  Despite the process decaying into a type of reality show, my curiosity gets the better of me and compels me keep up with the daily dose of bickering we are served by the candidates.  Recently, as I was flipping through different news networks which were covering the election, a thought occurred to me - whoever wins the election this year will be inaugurated while pledging an oath on a bible, which is quite odd for a secular country isn’t it?  It is undeniable that the core of US identity is built around Christianity.  Consider, for example, the fact that Christmas is a national holiday or that the Post Office closes on Sundays.  There’s also the little factoid that every single president ever has been Christian.  Don’t get me wrong – it’s not necessarily a bad thing that the USA is culturally Christian.  But I’ve always wondered, what would happen if Jesus ran for President?  What would voters do?

It’s a silly question right?  No matter what your belief is concerning Jesus, it would seem obvious that his campaign would be a resounding success.  The overwhelming majority would undoubtedly be drawn towards his message of peace and mutual cooperation.  But the more I thought about it, the more apparent it became that Jesus wouldn’t stand a chance in any Presidential election that takes place in the USA.  Don’t believe me?  Let’s consider how the major US political parties - the Democrats and Republicans - would react to a Jesus 2012 campaign.

Democrats

The Democrats would initially be drawn to Jesus.  Much like the Obama of 2004 and Joaquin Castro of this year, his young (only 33!), magnetic charisma, coupled with his eloquence, would attract many potential voters.  However, some of his key campaign messages would raise serious red-flags with Democrats.  Given the... genealogy of Jesus, it would be safe to assume that he would be a staunch creationist and could even go as far as deny evolution all together.  He would also want to strengthen the ties that bind Church and State, which would make many of the left-leaning Democrats quite uncomfortable.  

There are a couple of topics for which we don't fully know where Jesus would stand.  For instance, what would Jesus have to say about abortion?  Also, there would be the very serious question about his stance concerning gay marriage.  Given Obama’s declared support for it, it stands to reason that this will be echoed by more and more Democratic politicians in the coming years.  However, it is not overtly clear whether or not Jesus would share the same sentiment.

Republicans

Republicans would take serious issues with Jesus’ platform.  Jesus was known to heal the blind and lepers, which screams of free healthcare.  Remember the Canaanite woman who proclaimed her faith?  Despite the fact that she was from a different ethnic background to the Jews, she was included into the fold of Jesus‘ teachings.  Would this not then translate to a more open immigration policy?  Also, given the fact that Jesus would possess a metaphysical relationship with nature, he would, in all likelihood, have a strong environmental agenda.

The heritage of Jesus would pose a challenge to him as well.  The fact of the matter is that no Jewish person has ever been President of the United States.  In addition to this, Jesus was born in what is now the Palestinian city of Bethlehem.  How do you think he would feel about the illegal wall that Israel is building around his hometown?  Do we really think that Jesus would condone or support policies that would destroy the people who live in his native land?  Last but not least, there is that minor detail of his birth, which has been the subject of many debates for the last 2000 years.  In 2008, the so-called ‘Birthers’ created an up-roar when they claimed that Obama was not born in the USA.  They would certainly have a field day attacking Jesus for his claim that he is the miraculous child of a virgin.

Countless millions of Americans worship Jesus Christ.  They look to his teachings and examples for inspiration and guidance.  Yet, ironically, these very characteristics are the reasons that Jesus would never win an election in the United States.  His views on the world and our place in it would create a strong backlash from the ruling class, much as they did 2000 years ago.  Funny how some things never change, right?  I can just imagine him now, standing at a podium during a televised debate.  Obama and Romney would be placed on either side of him as they both attack his policies.  The people watching these debates would firmly nod their heads in agreement as Republicans and Democrats alike seek to weaken Jesus’ arguments.  Jesus would have no choice but to look out with his piercing eyes at a world that has rejected him, yet again, and turn his other cheek.

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وجه القمر

This is my second stab at Arabic poetry, inspired by the style of Nizar Qabbani - let me know what you think

وجه القمر

وجهك نور الليالي

والحب الذي يشعّ منه

عالمٌ خيالي

لو ليس عندي منك إلا الجبين

لقبلته من الآن

إلى آخر السنين

أجد في عيونك ما فقد من حياتي

وأكتشف فيها سبب كينونتي

فأعيش قروناً على تمنّياتي

البحر يموج من قوة ابتسامك ويخجل الشفقُ

ويرتجف قلبي أكثر

ويعتريه القلقُ

فلا نوم لي ... لا نوم لي

حتى أكون لك

وتكوني لي

The Face of the Moon

Your face is the light of my night

And the love that issues from it

Is like an imaginary world

If I had nothing from you except for your forehead

I would kiss it from now

Till the end of my years

I find in your eyes what is missing from my life

And I discover the reason for my existence

And so I live for centuries with my hopes

The ocean rises from the power of your smile and belittles the twilight

But my heart does tremble more

While growing in its awe of you

So there can be no sleep for me

Until I am yours

And you are mine

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Thursday Night Celebration

Sometimes, at the end of the week (especially a long one), my favorite thing to do is smoke a cigar. I always saw it as a celebration of getting through another week.

N.B. to those who live outside of the UAE, our work week here is Sunday-Thursday.

Thursday Night Celebration

The sharp blade slices the end of the cigar like a vengeful guillotine in 18th century France – Sunday.

A scorching flame bakes the tobacco and ignites the tip, producing the sweet smell of vicotry – Monday.

Like the tide slowly swallowing the coast, a stubborn fire eats the cigar bit by bit producing a pillar of ash in its wake – Tuesday.

The thickest white smoke belly-dances off of the tip of the cigar… a haunting that is almost terrifying in its beauty – Wednesday.

The spices of the Caribbean prick your lips and you notice that the cigar fits just perfectly in your fingers – Thursday.

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Here is a poem that I wrote just the other night... please let me know what you think about it :)

P.S. I apologize if the translation is not 100%.


مكانتي

كنت حزيناً
و كانت حياتي ذبلانة
لإنه ليس لدي
بأي قلبٍ مكانة

لكن لدي مكانة
في هذه الحياة
لإني امنت بربي
مكانتي في الله


My Distinction

I was full of sorrow
And my life was wilting away
Because I do not have
Distinction within anyone's heart

But I do have a distinction
Within this life
Because I have believed in my Lord
My distinction is within God Tweet

Just one question - How do you know?

I’m gonna say something weird. Something you’ve probably never heard anyone else say… you ready? Science requires just as much faith as religion. Don’t believe me? I had this debate the other day with a friend of mine (yes, I have friends). He is a proud ‘skeptic’, which just means that he doesn’t believe in God. That’s fine with me, but what bothered me were his reasons for not believing in God. He told me that it makes more sense to believe in science because there are many experiments that can verify theories. Science presents facts only, not beliefs. Science can be proven and demonstrated… where is the proof of God?

While I agree that there can never be a proof of God, I find it odd that people often pit science and religion against each other when all along, they both require the same thing – faith. What if I told you that my religion states that there are 11 dimension of reality? Sounds ridiculous, right? It’s hard to believe something that absurd. Well what if I told you that that was a bona fide theory of quantum mechanics? Is it easier to believe now? Or what if I said to you that when I flip a light switch, invisible beings dash across the room and dance in the light bulb? What if I called those beings ‘electrons’?

Before I continue, I am not trying to disprove science. I do not believe or buy into this false dichotomy where either the holy book or the science book is correct. I am someone who has no trouble believing in both God and evolution. This is not some “science is evil” trip. But I feel like we overlook an obvious question in our lives – ‘how do I know what I know?’ For example, I know that electrons exist. There is nothing in this world that can possibly make me doubt that they exist. But how do I know that? Yes there have been experiments to show that they exist, but I personally have never performed any of these experiments. So how do I know it? Why should I believe in something that I can never see or touch? The answer, when you cut through all of the BS, is that I know it because someone told me to believe it. Once upon a time, I sat in a science class and I decided to believe whatever the teacher told me. It’s as simple as that. On another occasion, the teacher stood in front of a group of people and, with a thick book in one hand, told us of the greatness of a man who had long since died. This man, my teacher explained, was a man who while sitting under a tree, discovered a great and all pervading force that binds us all. He was able to look at light and understand it, control it. He wasn’t some prophet or messenger, he was Isaac Newton. So now I wonder, really what’s the difference between him and Buddha? Why is it easier to believe in some invisible force, like gravity, but all other forces are off limits?

There are millions of things we take for granted on a daily basis; things that we just assume to be true. And hell, that’s a good thing. I assume that when I talk to a person, that person has a brain, for instance. We have to do this in order to function. Can you imagine what life would be like if we had to prove everything to ourselves every time? Proof is never a condition for belief; it’s the spice on top. We just believe because it helps us to navigate and function in our world. A common response that I hear to this is “well, why don’t you believe that magic fairies live in your garden? If you have no reason to reject magical fairies, why not believe in them?” The answer is that just because I cannot disprove something, it doesn’t mean that I must accept it as true. At the same time, if someone truly believed in magical fairies, then how is that anymore absurd than believing in electrons or protons?

It sounds ironic that science requires faith, and there is a reason why it does. The history behind the notion “religion vs. science” is not obscure – the Catholic Church, which dominated Europe for centuries, began to feel threatened by new scientists who could also explain how the world worked. The Church, in an effort to maintain its hegemony on Europe, waged a war against scientists... and the rest is history. People forget that some of the greatest scientists ever also believed in God (Ibn Sina, Mendel, and Einstein pop into mind). They were able to practice their religion while working in science. To them, and to many like me, there is no distinction. Science and Religion are not inherently incompatible with each other. They are treated as such by those who still buy into the idea that we must choose between one or the other. I can’t prove God, but I don’t need to in order to believe in Him… just like I don’t need to prove electrons (or super string theory or the big bang or...) Tweet