Chromacolour acrylic on MDF board. 110x120cm. Completed 24th July 2010.
This painting was created because I feel I need to make a statement about this hideous idea of killing in the name of God. As an atheist I find the very idea that humans will take a religious idea and then use it to create violence absolutely abhorrent. Suicide bombing is a recently new atrocity, and much of it (but by no means all) is perpetrated by people of the Islamic faith. Having read the Koran I find that it is a discriminatory, intolerant, sometimes violent and often contradictory piece of writing. I chose this particular quote because it is just the sort of thing that would have been taught to this young man.
I believe in non-violence and freedom of speech (amongst many beliefs) and what I have done is take this image from rotten.com and add the Koranic text. I neither perpetrated this foolish act nor wrote the Koran, so if any Muslim’s find themselves offended then so be it. It wasn’t created with the intent of insulting any person at all. It was however created with the intention of saying the following – Stop this disgusting violence in the name of God.
When I first came across this image there was some text explaining the story behind the image. The photo was taken in Iraq by the soldier who shot him. The suicide bomber was walking up to a roadside checkpoint shouting “Allah akbhar” (god is great) and despite being given several warnings he continued. The result is as you can see. I spent 215 hours painting this and I thought a lot about the human who’s name I didn’t know, who’s ‘portrait’ I was now painting. And I genuinely feel sorry for him because he has made a stupid, (and very morally wrong) decision at the point he has decided to put on that bomb vest. He’ll never achieve his martyrdom, and he’ll make little impact on the occupancy of the American armed forces and worst of all in the name of God he actually thought he was doing God’s will. I do not support the war in Iraq (or any war) in any way, shape or form. I understand that he wanted the American’s out but suicide bombing isn’t the answer.
“I do not support the war in Iraq (or any war) in any way, shape or form.”
Really? What about the war to free the slaves? How about the war to defeat the Nazis?
“The majority of pacifists either belong to obscure religious sects or are simply humanitarians who object to taking life and prefer not to follow their thoughts beyond that point. But there is a minority of intellectual pacifists, whose real though unacknowledged motive appears to be hatred of western democracy and admiration for totalitarianism. Pacifist propaganda usually boils down to saying that one side is as bad as the other, but if one looks closely at the writing of the younger intellectual pacifists, one finds that they do not by any means express impartial disapproval but are directed almost entirely against Britain and the United States.”
“PACIFIST. Those who “abjure” violence can only do so because others are committing violence on their behalf.”
Both quotes from George Orwell.
Yes – I do not agree with the civil war or the second world war. My view is mankind should resort to non-violent actions like civil disobediance, protest and direct action. War is just too vile. It is however acceptable to defend yourself or family and community from violence if there are no other opportunities that one can take. That said I would be amongst the first to physically fight if someone threatened my personal safety or those that I loved. This suicide bombing is not self defence but wilfull agression.