Sidestepping

This following statement might be politically incorrect to say, but I feel like saying it anyway - the recent unrest in the Middle East has reaffirmed my choice to have Hinduism be my vehicle for peace of mind and spiritual perfection. I don't know if that's offensive to say, coming from myself, a white male American citizen who so desperately wants to be Hindu, but at the very least I hope it's understandable to my readers. If I may explain why I feel this way...

I admit, I am no expert on Islam, or any of the Abrahamic faiths for that matter (not even Christianity). But the us-versus-them rhetoric that seems to permeate the dialogue between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam these days really turns me off from all of the above. I don't want to be involved in this sort of conflict. Even if one side is clearly the greater oppressor than the other, taking a direct stand for either side is liable to tear my soul apart, because it will feel like either way I am betraying a part of humanity.

A lot of European Christian art of course depicts Jesus as a white male. And while I remember there being a law in Islam that says the prophet Muhammad (or any prophet for that matter) cannot be portrayed visually, a lot of emphasis is placed on Muhammad being an Arab (as far as I know). So much emphasis is placed on the so-called "race" of these figures that one can't help but infer that these faiths are favoring God being a certain skin color.

This goes into one of the biggest reasons I have gravitated towards Hinduism and its plurality of Gods. Okay, so maybe most of the Gods in Hinduism are depicted with Indian features (again, as far as I can tell). But you'd be forgetting that there are plenty of Gods in Hinduism that have features that can't really be said to favor any human - Lord Shiva is often depicted with his skin being blue, Lord Ganesha has the head of an elephant, and Lord Hanuman has attributes of a monkey, including a tail! You know what that says to me? It says that God can be anyone! Black, white, brown, candy-striped, or maybe not even human. Just because I'm white doesn't mean God in Hinduism would favor or disfavor me, because God can be anything.

Maybe the above is a bit of an oversimplified explanation, and maybe a simplistic way of looking at things...but I don't intend to offend anyone with this post. I'm just expressing how - and why - I feel in light of recent events. If I say anything offensive, please say so, that I may work to correct myself. Just keep in mind I'm entitled to my opinion.