The Word on 4?

When I was asked by an old friend if I wanted to go on a Palestinian march a while back, I accepted the offer, as much as anything else, because I thought that a couple of hours in her company would be a nice way to spend an afternoon. And so it proved, but I have to admit to feeling very out of place. "We are all Hezbollah now". Well, no actually. I have always felt that nationalism and religion are twin evils, responsible for much that is wrong in the world. When they combine, as history shows they frequently do, repression is never far away.
However, a dislike for religion has never stopped me taking an interest in it. Being a committed atheist also relieves me of having to make value judgements of one religion over another. It's a matter of regret to me that people are followers of medieval superstition. What particular brand is neither here nor there. So I certainly can't claim to been overburdened with an open mind when I sat down to watch Channel 4's The Qur'an on Monday night. There is ,of course a fascinating tale to tell here. Dessert nomads inspired by the words of a prophet, go forth to conquer vast swathes of the known world and within a couple of hundred years rule over what was, for it's time, a tolerant and progressive empire. The part that the Qur'an had to play in this huge achievement cannot be denied. The trouble with the Qur'an however, is that as with all sacred texts, it is open to interpretation. It can mean all things to all men (and women). Only those who have had direct coms with God know the truth. Trouble with God is, he tends only to speak to those afflicted with mental illness or a lust for power, or both.