With all due respect to the billions of faithful Muslims who practice the “Religion of Peace,” a predictable relationship between violence and the hallowed Friday Prayers seems to be emerging, to such an extent that it can no longer be dismissed as sheer coincidence.
Specifically, throughout Muslim nations in the middle east and North Africa, Friday Prayers have been followed by explosive riots and loss of life, with tyrannical regimes even firing on their own citizenry as punishment for expressing dissent and demanding democratic reforms.
The latest bloody massacre took place in Syria where more than 100 protestors were allegedly slain for resisting the brutal rule of President Bashar al-Assad, whose forces used live ammunition and tear gas against demonstrators nationwide, according to witnesses and activists.
As reported, in part, at the reference:
At least 11 mourners were shot dead on Saturday as Syrians swarmed the streets to bury scores of demonstrators killed in massive protests and two MPs resigned in frustration at the bloodshed.
Activists said the death toll from Friday's nationwide protests could top 100, pending confirmation of a list of names, and expected fresh protests to form after the funerals.
Two independent MPs from the protest hub city of Daraa, Nasser al-Hariri and Khalil al-Rifai, on Saturday told Al-Jazeera television they were quitting parliament in frustration at not being able to protect their constituents.
Friday's deaths signaled no let-up from President Bashar al-Assad, whose forces used live ammunition and tear gas against demonstrators nationwide, witnesses and activists told AFP.
The bloodshed erupted as tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets for "Good Friday" protests to test long sought-after freedoms a day after Assad scrapped decades of draconian emergency rule.
The Syrian Revolution 2011, a driving force behind the protests, marked the tone on Saturday by posting on its main Facebook page a black banner with the word "Mourning" in English and Arabic.
It came as tens of thousands of mourners packed buses and headed for the southern town of Ezreh for the funerals of 18 people killed the previous day, a rights activist said by telephone.”
The obvious question that those of us living in smug comfort here in the U.S. would like answered: What is it about attending Friday Prayers in a Mosque that brings about massive discontent and death?
And more importantly, should Friday Prayers be banned in the interest of domestic tranquility and peace?
And finally, just where in the hell is America's "Humanitarian-in- Chief" as the streets of Damascus are awash in a tsunami of innocent blood?
Reference: http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-world/11-mourners-shot-dead-as-syrians-bury-their-dead-20110423-1drz3.html
