Editorial in the Pakistan Observer. If the English language media (which targets a small urban educated elite runs this tripe, the Urdu press must be rabid. HURRICANE Rita is on rampage in border areas of Texas and Louisiana as well as the already Katrina battered city of New Orleans. Texas capital of Housten turned a haunted place as millions of its residents abandoned the city to escape Rita’s fury. Hurricane Rita has hit New Orleans as it was still battling Katrina’s devastation. Its streets are under three to five feet of water with flood water gushing out of the lake.
The mighty United States is helplessly watching devastation of its cities and towns by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita despite all its military and economic strength and scientific and technological advancement. Its citizens are on the move to escape Nature’s fury. There is hardly any difference in their haplessness and that of those who had to flee from US bombs, missiles and rockets elsewhere in the world. The American people are apparently facing divine retribution for the follies of their leaders. Mother Nature is, perhaps, in action ultimately and the situation has an unambiguous message that man howsoever powerful is weaker than Nature. He cannot withstand Nature’s fury and retribution. The devastation caused by Hurricanes, Tsunamis, earthquakes etc, constitute clear manifestation on this count.
The Holy Qur’an reveals destruction and extermination of nations through such natural disasters that had ignored Almighty Allah’s commandments. It’s time for the American people to bow before God and seek His forgiveness and protection from the divine retribution. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita are obviously a warning to the effect that man should not arrogate himself against Nature’s mercy and fury. If US can impose death and destruction on other innocent people through its bombs, rockets and missiles, its own people can also face turmoil through natural disasters. The US leadership ought to pause and ponder over the situation, shun its arrogance and retract from the path of aggression, coercion and intimidation against other peoples. It has to invoke the blessings of the mightiest of the mighty to escape Nature’s fury and to save its people from death and destruction currently being faced by them through Hurricanes. We, however, express our sympathy for the victims of the natural disaster.
| I'm not a theologian, but since we get hurricanes every year, is there some schedule where we should pause and ponder, shun our arrogance, and all that? Every March, maybe, when spring comes? And how does Katrina and Rita compare with the tsunami last year that wiped out thousands in Indonesia? Or a good, healthy, earthquake in Bam? How's our corpse count in comparison? Doesn't that mean God likes us more? Maybe he's only sending us a warning because He's thinking we haven't killed enough Muslims. |