A Jihad on Stupidity

I try to keep an ear to the ground when it comes to news about religion from around the world, but this story slipped by under my radar. Thankfully a fellow blogger, Psychodiva, posted about it and I feel compelled to do the same. The story is from last week's edition of the UK's Sunday Times and will make your head explode. Read it online here.

The gist of the article is that a group of Muslim medical school students are refusing to attend lectures, learn material, or answer exam questions that they feel is offensive to their religious beliefs. For instance, a group of students have refused to learn about alcohol related illnesses or sexually transmitted diseases since their religion does not allow drinking or promiscuity(or free thought, or tolerance but I digress). Some have even refused to examine female patients. Perhaps these pent-a-worshiping nutcases should have made a better choice of career. (like homeopathy or chiropractic care) Seriously, they are trying to enter a profession whose charge it is to heal and comfort those in need. Do they honestly believe that helping a "sinner" is being an accomplice after the fact? Not very tolerant or compassionate or helpful for that matter.

Do obese patients not get any care because of their sins of gluttony? What about diabetics(type 2) or people with coronary artery disease- much of their morbidity is self-induced not to mention smokers who develop lung cancer. Physicians should not be judgmental, in fact exactly the opposite is true. Without a trusting and honest relationship with a patient a physician will not be able to effectively treat someone. I am finishing my second year of medical school and I can't imagine trying to omit any of the things we have learned about. Trust me, there are things I wish I didn't have to know- but in the end the more I know the better service I can be to my patients.

I spent 6 years as a paramedic and another 4 as an ER nurse and believe me, I would have preferred that all of my patients to be of the clean, sober, appreciative, non self-destructive, non-combative, non-odorous and especially continent variety. Alas, this was not the reality. While I didn't agree with many of the choices my patients had made, my job was not to judge them or turn a blind pious eye- my job was to help. If you are already refusing to help a certain population of patients, then you have NO BUSINESS BEING A PHYSICIAN. Pray to Allah for a new career path! I hope the British Medical Association tells these students to go get fucked and never allows them to become doctors.

The article also reports that Sainsbury's, a large supermarket chain in th UK, has allowed its Muslim check out clerks to refuse to ring up purchases that contain alcohol, requiring another employee to drop what they are doing and take the place of the Muslim clerk. When will this political correctness insanity stop?

It's simple, if you want to believe in fairy tales and chose live your life based on some ridiculous scribblings in an old book, well, fine for you. But you can't expect, nor do you deserve, special accommodations be made just because your personal brand of delusion is a religious one!