warmth

i know that there is still winter in the world. it is a sad truth that it has left the part of the middle east where I reside. It is pretty consistently getting up into the 90s. which is stupidly hot. though I am told it will get into the 120s before i am released from this purgatory. One of the people that I work with has recently converted to islam. I just cant bring myself to take it seriously as a faith as it is practiced here in the kingdom. Dont get me wrong I have loads of respect for people that read and think and decide for themselves, but when many of the core beliefs of the religion are trounced in the name of state and then the state makes rules based on the portions of the religion it can use to keep itself secure it seems disingenuous at best. Let me give a concrete example. The king. now the king is a good guy from what i can tell, he pays for all schooling, he has established a social safety net for people that get fired, he is generally doing goodish things with the money he gets from the sale of the oil. So what is my problem. Well islam states pretty clearly that there are no hereditary roles. That leaders should be chosen in order to ensure the best and brightest. So how can the country that has both Mecca and Medina also have a king? Right through total disregard for the portions that are inconvenient. The guy actually has himself called the keeper of the two holy sites. In every way possible he insinuates himself into a role as a muslim guard but then he breaks a fairly simple rule for to keep power in the family. I can see the logic in the no hereditary business. Consider if you will the idea that the king knew that when he died his children would have to make it on their own and all the wealth that has been gotten would revert to the people. I think that he would be even more likely to use the money and other resources to truly benefit all the people. After all why hoard when it could serve the interest of all now and will certainly not serve the familial interest in the future. But then again this keeper feels that he knows better than the prophet(pbuh). There are loads of other examples. It makes me think people are all the same. So long as I get mine,fuck you.