Why I have not posted anything for a while...

No, I have not run out of ideas, neither am I one of those people who say: "busy being busy", I actually believe no matter who much work you have, you can always put some time aside. BUT, check out this link, and you know what I have been doing.
I became the next Chair for Relay for Life, which is the American Canceer Societies biggest fundraiser.
No need to live close by where I am, you can help in the battle against cancer. If you think about it, now in the 21st century, NOONE should die of canceer...So, check out the website for the ACS and help. You can be part of someone's survival.

www.acorn-online.com/.../44729-nina-mohadjer-relay-for-life-chair-goes-where-shes-needed.html

Interview with Siba Shakib

Funny how the Internet changes not only people's lives but also their friends. siba and I both lived in Iran, both lived in Germany, both went to the same school. However, we met in NYC.

it was friend-ship on first sight and both of us were wondering at the end of our first meeting how lucky we were to have met eachother. The fact that each of us gained a new friend.

I was very happy to interview Siba, who is not only a friend, but an author and film-maker for the persianmirror.


1) Tell us a little about your background.
a. Where were you born, when did you leave Iran
b. What is your best memory from Iran?

I am happy that I was born in Iran, in Tehran. Why happy? Because despite the political and social injustices that we were facing in Iran at all times - it has also always been a very interesting place.

Tehran is a huge city with diversity in social matters, in characters, and structure of its people. It is diverse in its architecture, art and even in its nature. The south of the city is already in the desert; in the North we hit the almost 5.000 meter high mountains of the Alborz. They are majestic, beautiful, and rocky with their peaks covered in snow for most of the year.

Unfortunately, Tehran has grown so much in the past 30 years that houses, even skyscrapers are climbing higher and higher up the mountains.

I think having grown up in a city like Tehran makes a person strong and it marks you for a lifetime with patterns and tools of survival.



My strongest memory is a visual of these Mountains, combined with the clean air, the wind the majestic impression of the rocky slopes. When I look at them (or when I am not there, even just imagine them) long enough it is as if I become them, and they become me.


2) While living in Italy, Dubai, and the USA, what kind of stereotypes did you have to face? On the personal as well as the professional level.

Oh Boy! I could write a book to answer this question. In short: people have all kinds of images about women in Iran. And I do not blame them. How should they know? The regime in Iran and the political and social circumstances have never been very inviting. Who wants to go to a country where people are imprisoned as soon as they say what they think. Who wants to have to obey a forced dressing code just to see a country and meet its people.

So, foreigners are not to blame that they do not know and are full of prejudice. I see it as my responsibility to tell our stories – which is the reason why I am writing books and making films.

I feel I have the responsibility to be a representative of my country and I try to be that in a way that people know, Iranian women can be strong, modern, intelligent, and knowledgeable. We too have free spirits and can innovate things and styles and that we too are creative and constructive. And that we – because we have been born and raised in a suppressed situation and had to liberate ourselves from it – often we have an even freer spirit and live then even our European and American friends.



3) What brought you to writing?
a. What did you do before becoming an author?
b. Maybe add some experience from Afghanistan and working as a consultant to the NATO.

Whether with my movies or my books, I have always been a storyteller and I always will continue to be one. Even as a little girl when I could not write yet, I was telling stories, or I would memorize poems and play and perform them for my audience, which in those days was my family and their friends.

The only time when I did something else was when I became a political advisor to the NATO from right when they began their mission in Afghanistan until my influence was not strong enough anymore. Things started to go the wrong direction and they started to be a fighting force instead of a peacekeeping troop – and I stopped working with them. But even when I was with them, I would write. I already had the story for SAMIRA and SAMIR lined out and I wrote it while I was flying from place to place with the soldiers.




4) Tell me more about your new book Eskandar.

ESKANDAR is a dream come true for me. I have always wanted to tell his story but I did not dare. Because it is so close to me and it is so vast and large and so many things are happening. After all we are talking about a period of over 100 years. It is very difficult to tell a story this big filled with so many historical events and political changes and technical and social developments.

But it has always been in me, I was walking through my life telling people bits and parts of it so they know the truth of my home country Iran and its history – of course as I see and interpret it.

And eventually four years ago I gathered all my courage and started writing the story of ESKANDAR, this fantastic man, who carries us through over one hundred years of the history of Iran.



5) Who is your target market for your books?



Target? Hm! I have never seen my readers as targets. But of course I know what you mean. I want everyone – really I mean everyone - to read my books. Just EVERYONE! I believe that when I learned so much by writing the story of ESKANDAR – even on personal level I learned to much from him – people who read it can learn all of that too. And for the reader it is even much easier, because they do not have to invent, do research and compress story and history. It is all there, gathered and told, ready to be consumed.


6) What is the message for your audience?

Read my books! But here is the short version: Freedom. Democracy. Love. Iran. Mountains. Beauty. Women. Men. Equal rights …


7) While talking to you, I felt that you talked about Iran in a very emotional manner. Do you feel Iranian or German?

My heart is definitely Iranian. There is no doubt about that what so ever. My mind and my intellect are influenced by the world and definitely German way of thinking. The Germans are so precise and analytic and smart and liberal – I am learning a lot from them and their culture.


8) How do you feel about the present political situation in Iran?

Freedom and justice will win. Eventually they will. But it is not easy and it is not going to be given to us as a gift. We have to fight for it and as we can see tragically we are paying for it with out blood and our lives.

The new quality of this movement is, instead of one leader everyone is leading and everyone is following the others. That is a very high quality of democracy. The movement is very people-orientated , it is very smart and creative and it is totally international and modern.


9) Can you see any parallels to the Islamic revolution from 1979?

Yes and no. The new movement is more aware, more educated. After all 30 years ago we had only 20 % of illiterate people, now we have 80%. That alone makes a great deal of a difference.

Then again, all political upraises and revolutions have similar patterns. Starting with the French revolution and ending with what we are seeing in Iran right now.

People start to fight for freedom better lives, self determination and democracy. And the establishment, the government cracks down on them, kills them, tries to control them with even harder methods and more brutality - which again leads to people to raise their voice even more, to fight back even stronger.

Because the problems today are similar to those 30 years ago, of course the slogans of the movement today are the same or very similar to the slogans of thirty years ago: Allaho Akbar – god is great! Justice, justice for who killed my sister / brother! No fear, no fear we are all together! In Farsi, the main language spoken in Iran of course the slogans sound very powerful and energetic and they have a fantastic rhythm – almost like chants or songs.

I never understand why the establishment, the governments do not react a bit smarter. If they continue doing what they do, they will not only shed a lot more blood and take so many more innocent lives. But if they would be a little smarter, they would give in and cooperate with the people – after all they need the people. They can not kill 70 million Iranians. Iran is such a rich and vast and wealthy country. There is enough of everything for everyone.

But the “hakemiyat”, the rulers, the regime is not wise enough to see that they could become even richer and more powerful and survive until justice day if only they would share and give a bit more to the people.

10) Is there anything you would like Iranians outside the country do for Iranians inside the country?

The solidarity and the sister-, and brother-hood is fantastic. And I am sure that it will even grow further.

Unlike in the past, we Iranians who do not live in Iran are not just observers anymore. We have become equal participants.

Whether we are in the country or outside, we all have something very important to lose and equally something very important to give and to gain. We need each other and depend on each other in order to create a free and democratic Iran.

Fortunately, there are not many people who are quiet and passive like in the past. That old way of thinking is dying out and this is very good – not only for us, but for the world.

“No fear no fear, we are all together.”


11) Who is the most interesting person you have worked with?

A very nice question. And I have to say that I have been very, very lucky. There must have been an early teacher or influence in my life (who unfortunately I do not know who that could have been) who has taught me that there is something to learn from each and every person, that each and every person has something interesting to offer.

Hence I am learning from the women and men in Iran, from my friends, my family, I have learnt something from the soldiers and Generals I worked with. I learnt from the Afghans I worked with in Afghanistan. I learnt from the rock-, and pop-stars I used to interview for my TV and radio-shows – I learnt important lessons from every single persons in my life. And I believe that if I keep my mind and heart open, it will continue to be like that for as long as I am around.

But to give you a name, Rahela, an afghan friend of mine, an activist for social rights is one of the most interesting and intelligent people I know. And all the main heroes of my films and books – Shirin-Gol, Smaira, Eskandar have had a tremendous influence on me.


12) Any new projects?

So many that I am having a hard time to decide which one I would like to realize next. But I guess it is finally time to make my movie, the adaptation of my second book, SAMIRA and SAMIR.

Peace in the Middle East???Are you joking? "Islam" a movie by Bryan Dali and Gregory Davis

First i had read the reviews for this movie. I saw from 5 stars to 1 star. This was the best indication for me not to judge the movie immediately, but to watch it myself.
The movie starts with the peaceful call for "salat", a peaceful Allahu Akbar, which is very calming.
It ends also with Allahu Akbar, but at that time not said for salat by a moazzin, but by a hateful immam in Iraq of February 2003.
Between these two scenes at the beginning and at the end, the directors switches from the political views, which are described as the diplomatic views, and the commentators, which are supposed to see the real Islam.
Blair, Bush, Clinton, and even Rice are shown, while saying that the Iraq invasion was not a fight against Islam or the arab world, but against the terrorists. Tony Blair even goes as far as saying that he really learned so much from Islam and greets his interviewer from al' Jasira TV in Arabic.
Then Bat ye'Or and Robert Spencer describe their vision of Islam, citing surehs out of concept, and rather going into the hadith. Apparently they forgot that NO religious book gets a 2nd edition, including the Holy Books of Christianity and Judaism. It is up to the human being and their brain to take the rule book and apply it to the modern way of life.
Robert Spence goes as far as saying that those who consider themselves peaceful Muslims, are infidels in the name of Islam.
He and a former PLO verbally attack Islam the same way the muazzin attacks Jews.
In conclusion I would actually recommend this movie to anyone who wants to see WHY we will never have peace in the Middle East. It is because of people like Robert Spence and the Imam at the end of the movie. it is because these people see the differences between religions, instead of concentrating on the similarities. It is because they want to get their 5 minutes of fame and are willing to watch and find reasons for killings of innocent people.
This said, I just say at the very end: Allahu Akbar for ALL human being, regardless of their faith.

Hand in hand for Iran: Shirin Neshat

Through the Chaos in Iran, Iranians around the globe have found each other. unlike the revolution from 30 years ago, where we had to distinguish between the Pro-Shah and the pro-Islamic revolution Iranians, this time, all Iranians want democracy. the one's in Iran do love Iran Zamin, meaning the Iranian Land, and do not want to escape like before. they are ready to fight for their country and want the Iranian s outside not to lead them, but to motivate them and encourage them to continue the battle for freedom. It is no wonder that the green wristbands and T-shirts most Iranians are wearing indicates that we should "Free Iran" and does not ask for a certain form of government.

In one of these gatherings at the Chelsea Museum in NYC, I had the pleasure to meet one of these unique Iranians: Shirin Neshat, the most famous Iranian artist living outside Iran. She is a petite lady, very sweet,and very shy. She was very happy that I introduced myself, since we have avery good friend in common (Siba Shakib, a bestseller author and Filmmaker) and gave me a great compliment as well. While I usually do not like people giving me compliments for my looks, getting one from Shirin Neshat, is a true compliment. :-)
As the picture indicates, she is one of the Iranians who encourages with her unique photography and short-movies the situation of women and men in Iran.
Her short-movie, which was accompanied by the voice of Susan Deyhim, was the perfect description for of women's position Iran. A woman standing and screaming in different volumes, no audience behind her, basically a silent scream. while the man on the other screen was just looking at her, backed up by a room filled with other men, and was silent.
This shows what has been going on in Iran for the past years: women screaming and asking for freedom, no one there to listen while being seen by men, who give them a glaze, questioning their action.
However, regardless of that short- movie, looking at the present political situation, and seeing men and women fighting together for the Iranian democracy, we see them working hand in hand.
Seeing Iranians outside and inside the country working hand in hand shows that maybe that scream is eventually heard. While the men in the Islamic revolution were not as oppressed for their attire and actions as women have been in the past 30 years, the fact that they are fighting hand in hand might indicate that the man who ist just standing there, IS actually hearing her. Maybe it just indicates that men's perception of the scream is different. Maybe they just do scream differently, not being used of showing their feeling and expressing them on the outside.
The picture I chose for this post could be transferred to any situation: men and women, Iranians outside and inside or anything: it shows that hand-in-hand the whole image can be seen and is not lost.

Thank you, Ms. Neshat!

Neda= Voice

Obviously many people are following up with the news coming from Iran. some news, which are recorded or reported from bystanders, since professional journalists are presently unable to work in Iran.
But the news we get here, might only be qualitatively not comparable to the professional ones. the message given is the same. Violence, scream for freedom and liberty.
I do not want to get too much into the politics behind the scene, but only look at women's role in this new "revolution", if I may call it so at this point.
Look at Neda Soltani. She would be the best example. While there are tons of rumors about how old she was and what she was doing at that time on the streets, and whether she was an active member of the demonstration or a bystander.The point is that when one compares the videos to the ones form 30 years ago when the Islamic revolution took place, one can discover a major difference. At that time, even though it is considered a more modern and western time in Iran, women are not actively participating. They had no Islamic clothes on, but were wearing western attires, they could come and go as they pleased. However, they were not actively participating. Forget the couple of videos you might see, whowing hundred women in black tshadors. That is not what I mean. I mean the women from now, dressed in Islamic attire (more or less), full make-up, beautiful young girls, willing to run on the streets of Tehran for freedom. Standing and taking bullets for their country.
Don't tell me that this is part of the whole picture of changing the Islamic republic. I know that they are not against the Islamic Regime or against the religion. It is the aim to reach the level of independence, freedom and equality. shoulder on shoulder women prepared the election campaign and now united with their male counterparts they stand on the streets. They became the voice of Iran. It might be just a coincidence that the most famous of the killed ones was named Neda, in Persian voice.

IRAN

“Human beings are members of a whole, In creation of one essence and soul. If one member is afflicted with pain, Other members uneasy will remain. If you have no sympathy for human pain, The name of human you cannot retain.” - Saadi.

What Saidi had said so many years ago, was never so applicable for the country he came from as in the past couple of days.
Elections. What you can imagine under that word and under the act can fluctuate and be subjective. In foreign Soviet Union it did not exist, in Germany it is free, in the US it is complicated, and well, in Iran? I guess that has to be determined. when a country had a revolution some 30 years ago with the aim to decrease the level of differences between rich and poor, with the aim to make Iran Iran again and get rid of Western Influences... and now history repeats.
I remember the days before the first Persian revolution. I was a child and had no idea what was happening. For us kids it was just exciting to see so many people screaming on the streets, and not having school. Little did we know that the revolution, which we were about to have, the change of government would change people's lives. Including my own. Sure, I belonged to one of the families who had ties outside the country and was able to move out again. But the remaining ones are the ones who had to live through a war, through censored media, through lack of food, lack of freedom.
Now the ones who were my age and stayed in Iran have children, who do not even know any other government except this one.
These "children" are the ones who made a new Iran, not a Monarchy, not a Islamic Republic. It is their country. They should be the ones deciding who should be their leader.
all of this said and understood, for me the question comes up why we do not see any democracy in any of the Middle Eastern countries? I guess it is the culture, people's personality of not being able to loose, of not being able to be the leaders. I don;t want to get into the discussion who should have been the leader now in Iran. I guess from my tone it is obvious whose supporter I am. But generally middle eastern cultures have a temper, which does not let them be well balanced. So what happened to Saidi's words? I guess Iranians all have his books, read them, and leave it as is. Except the new generation. My heart aches when I see the news and see faces full of hope of change. Their hope destroyed through more force. Why? Because in all the political talk the older Iranian generation seems to have forgotten what the aim of humanity should be. Iranians of the older generation who do not support this change should be ashamed, the ones who do not see the inequality should be ashamed. Come on, we were the people of Cyrus the Great, the one who was the first to write down Human Rights! What happened? I guess more people will die, more battles will be fought just to prove humanity.

What makes a MAN ???

Well, the topic says it all, but here again to refresh your memory: what makes a man?
It is not as easy to answer as you might think.
Zorba would have said: what's in his heart and what's in his pants.
In ancient times they would have said, a man is the one to defend his country.
In the cage times it would have been the person to go hunting and bring home the food.
Then for a time a man might have been a man biologically, but would not be considered as such in society if he had not produced a... son.
O.K., I get the different definitions. They all depended on what society wanted at that time and mostly what the expectations were to the male species.
But now, after I have been called a wise-cracking, man-castrating woman, I really want to know: what makes a man?
Is it just his biological equipment? I swear, I have not chopped off anyone, I mean any male body parts-yet. So this won;t make them men.
Is it the money part? The fact that they bring home the financial security? No, this can not be either, since after WW II women were able to work in factories and that's when the underground woman movement started, until women burned their bras at the beginning of the 70s and declared their freedom. The rest is history. We women can basically- in most countries- do whatever our heart desires.
So, just because I am fine opening my own car door or can paint a room and the ceiling without a mans help castrates men? Or is it the fact that I can think on my own, say what I think and don;t let anyone, regardless of gender tell me what to think? Maybe it is the fact that at times I like to be treated like a woman and at times be accepted as a woman. Two completely different things, which men still don't get.
I honestly believe men did not develop with the woman movement. Even though they had more than a handful of decades to get used to it. Come on guys, the fact that we women decide over our bodies, our brains, and our money doe snot mean we don't accept or respect you. So why is it so difficult for you to see the different roles omen have in society? Is it the fact that a woman can be several things at once? Does the fact that I work approximately 11-12 hours a day, come home and prepare dinner, drive my kids to after school activities, watch over their homework, take care of my house, meaning cleaning, doing laundry, shopping and still talk to my children, make me a man castrater? Maybe I am expecting too much from men. Maybe they just did not get used to the multi-multi-tasking women. But on the other side: hey, they were probably too busy thinking about their manhood, and we all know that men can't multitask.

Upside world

Maybe I am getting the Benjamin Button syndrome, maybe I am going through midlife crisis or maybe I am simply seeing things.
You tell me why we live in an upside world and I promise to reward the person who gives me a convincing and reasonable answer.
This is what is bothering me:
I remember when my first daughter was born and I constantly wanted to hold her, touch her and did not even put her in her own room to sleep. As a matter of fact, I would bring her into our own bed, where she cuddled under my arm or simply slept on her fathers’ chest. It was the sweetest sight. Same thing happened with my second daughter. Of course everyone would keep telling me what a great mistake this was, that a child was supposed to sleep in its’ own bed, that I was spoiling my girls waaaay too much blah blah blah. So, I thought, okay, babies are supposed to sleep alone. Leaving their mothers warm body, with her heart beat in their ears and her voice surrounding them for nine months, now they are forced into clothes and are supposed to sleep in a bed far way from their mother. Baby monitors would substitute the mom’s ear. Now don’t get me wrong, I did not want to constantly walk around with my babies and be Mrs. Mom in person.
When the kids become teenagers and want to be left alone, we parents become somehow stalkers. Be honest, if you have children, who are passed that age, you know what I mean. We constantly ask them what was going on at school, check their bags, under their beds, we are supposed to spend time with them. But we don’t get it: they don’t want to spend time with us. Hellloooo, we are the parents. Meaning we have nooo idea! About anything.
Then when people grow up and end up in a relation ship, they sleep mostly likely in one bed again. And here is my issue. I will ask you a question, but you have to promise me to be honest when you are answering. In case you are in a relation-ship and your partner does sleep in the same bed, how many times has it happened that you wished you were alone in the room? Someone might want to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, or get a glass of water. Someone likes the room warm, the other one cool. One of you might need to get up very early in the morning, the other one might be a night person. Every move in your own bed, becomes a torture. You constantly have to worry about waking the other one up. So, here the second part of my question: why? Why do grown-ups, who, yes, we might like all that touchy-feely stuff as well, but mostly we need a good sleep to be able to function the following day in a meeting, or during the commute or etc etc. etc. Now don’t give me the answer that this is just the way it is or it’s like this for sex. I would be very disappointed in your intelligence. If you have smaller kids in the house, you will be too tired for having sexual activities and too worried, locking doors, making sure no one wakes up and all the of the above, so that it will ruin the mood anyways. If you have grown-up kids who are either very independent or don’t live in your house anymore, most of the time, people forgot how it is to be very close, since they are pre-occupied with other things in their life.
Well, having said all of this might make you wonder. Now here is my solution:
I personally think we should have it the other way around. Holding a baby in the arm while it sleeps, and as grow-ups living like the aristocrat families of the last century. One was married, but basically lived separate in the same house in two different bed-rooms. No wonder the divorce rates were much lower at those times. It is not because people could not get a divorce, but probably because they had their own life anyway, even when they had a spouse. So, in my opinion, instead of putting a baby alone in a cold room, a grow-up should move in alone. You will have your spouse and a good night sleep.

Same sex relation-ships

It is terrible enough that people have to defend their sexual orientation. I believe what people do and think in their bedrooms is a very private matter and should stay between the two people involved. Whether a man is making love to a woman or to a man is only their business and should not be discussed publicly. Worse than discussing it is when other’s judge you based on your bedroom actions and interest.
I am straight and have not discovered any interests for my own gender yet. So I am not speaking out of self –interest. However, I do have some gay friends, who are a man or woman’s dream come true. Yes, I know as a woman we always think, well, maybe they have not met the right woman yet. Maybe I can “change” them. Or we think what a waste, I would love him. But ladies, think of it this way: imagine someone like Giselle Bundchen being a lesbian and falling in love with you. Would you change? She is gorgeous, rich and famous, has probably one of the best bodies. But, honestly, I would befriend her, but not want to be with her. Even if I am always bashing men, I admit, I rather have a man in my private rooms.
Now, you might say, it is easy for me to talk this way, because I don’t have a son or daughter who is gay or lesbian. Good point. I have thought how my reaction would be. Sure enough, I am liberal. But I think the first reaction would be: “What did I do wrong?” This is a question a mother always asks when her children do something unexpected. Unexpected- because you expect after giving birth to a son or daughter that they will end up marrying or being with someone from the opposite sex and have children. The latter one is probably one of the biggest reasons we might get the first reaction: we will not have grandchildren from this particular child. (Which is not 100 % true, but that its another story…). But what would I do after the first reaction passed? I guess I would think: “O.K., what now?” I would sit my son or daughter down and ask why they would know, how they found out… again all the mom questions. And eventually I would be fine. Because: What is wrong with it?
Think of another scenario: How would you react if your son or daughter came home one day and claimed to have been sleeping with 5 women or men every night for the past 4 years??? Don’t tell me you would say: Wonderful! That would be the greatest shock for me. At that point I would wonder: What did I do wrong?
Unfortunately, we live in a society, where people forget to think at times. When children (yes, 14 year olds are kids in my eyes) say publicly in Middle School: “Ughhh, so-and-so is gay… how disgusting!”, while they are talking about a grown-up man, while they are already sexually active themselves ever since they were 12. I ask you: why is it okay if a man sleeps around, but not okay if he is faithful to one male partner? Why do we call it sexual freedom for women, if they can have as many partners as possible, but not okay when a woman is faithful to her one female partner? I just don’t get it! We are constantly fighting for freedom of speech, expression and all that stuff. But gays and lesbians still have to fight for their right to be accepted as couples. Come on, it’s time for all of us to accept that a couple does not mean + and- only, that it can be + and + or – and -. As long as they get along, what do we care?

And admit: you don’t raise anyone gay or lesbian, they don’t make themselves gay or lesbians. To all those highly religious people, God made them this way. And if you go to church, mosque or synagogue and pray for all the people in this world, for all the creatures made by God, learn to accept gays or lesbians as well. They are the way they are. Just live with it!

Religion- belief or force of seperation

Sometimes I really wonder about religions. I think I might have said this once before about my own religion, but now I mean it about every single one. I look at the main ones: Judism, Christianity, Islam; about the first ones: Zoroastrians, Judaism, Buddhism; at the spiritual ones: Sufism and Buddhism.
Do not laugh at me: I do not see any difference between any of them. Sure, small ones, something like: pray this time of the day and do not eat this, etc. These are not major differences. These are the ones all the shirts in your closet have: one in blue, one in green, one linen, and the other silk. Nevertheless, they all have one thing in common: they are all shirts, covering most of the upper part of your body. I don’t think you have to separate them in your closet (well, I admit, I hang mine by their colors, this makes it easier to pull them out in the morning…  ) You do not have to watch your shorts in order to avoid a battle ion your closet, one saying it looks nicer pr is better, just because there is a designer label on the back. The other one answering: No, but I have this fashionable color. So, no you tell me: why do human beings, who claim that they are the highest creature on earth, keep on fighting and killing each other just because each group thinks that the way they praise their God is the one and only true way? Huh??? I mean, come on, should religion mot be about doing good, having respect, not betraying, not killing? Should it not be about how to think about your common creature? Regardless of what these people say: I believe that there was the same creature for each one of the groups! Should we not all look at the common de-numerator instead of the small differences? You could not possibly think that even one single person who kills the other one because of a different believe is thinking about their God in that moment. They just think of their own power, proving that they are right and the other one is wrong. Should religion not bring people closer? Unfortunately, it kills, and pulls people apart. What a shame. This is the moment, where I think that human are not the highest creature, but the lowest ones. While we invent one thing after the next, send people to the moon and fly to Mars, while having cell phone, iphones, and flat screens, we are still killing each other in worse ways that in the animal kingdom. If you look at history, starting from the Zoroastrians, who killed the prophet Mani, the Arabs, who killed Zorastrians, the Jewish who kill Moslems, the Hinduism, who think no one outside their cast is pure. What is this? I know it might sound like in a fairytale, but how can you kill someone for the way they worship their God? Is there a rulebook for what is right and wrong? Should that not be a very personal matter? This is the time when I truly belief that religion is not the belief of a person, but the force of to separation, the force to kill.