Page 324 - Islam and Far Eastern Religions

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hroughout the course of this book we have looked at many hereti-
cal traditions and superstitions belonging to Far Eastern religions.
We have seen, for example, how Hindu tradition encourages the
burning of women and the burying of female children while they
are still alive. However, Far Eastern religions actually play host to far
wider ranging scenes of savagery. One of these is what happens during
the “Vegetarian Festival” in the Chinese region of Phuket.
The aim of this peculiar festival, which has taken place on a regular ba-
sis every year since the early 19th century, is to pay respects to the sup-
posed Chinese gods. These nonsensical displays of “respect” involve ter-
rible practices that it is difficult even to look at. The reason why the
event is called the “Vegetarian Festival” is that people refrain from eat-
ing meat and consume only fruit and vegetables during the 9 days it
lasts. The Chinese hold the superstitious belief that in this way they can
cleanse their souls and bodies of evil.
Throughout the festival, people misled into thinking that imaginary
“spirits have entered their bodies” pierce their cheeks, tongues or other
parts of their bodies. They then insert knives, sticks, various metal ob-
jects, tree branches or other such objects into these holes. Everyone’s face
is covered in blood. The Chinese public, blindly devoted to their pervert-
ed traditions, watch this savage ritual with great amazement. These peo-
ple wander round the streets, eating what people offer them. According
to this ridiculous Chinese belief, anyone touching these individuals will
be cured of sickness and receive positive energy. These people, in a state
of trance, lose all control of themselves and walk on fire, walk up steps
made out of sharpened knives, pour boiling oil over themselves, and gen-
erally torture themselves for 9 days. They say that they inflict these tor-
tures for the sake of their supposed gods, and that their souls and bodies
are purified by means of them. These people are so devoid of reason and
logic as to claim their souls can be cleansed by plunging skewers into
their cheeks. The fact is, however, that the human soul can only draw
apart from evil and attain a pure conscience through the will bestowed by
fear of Allah, proper moral virtues and profound faith. Superstitious be-
liefs to the contrary, on the other hand, are the natural consequence of the