Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeWaters
over the issues of discrimination against gays and against those that leave the LDS faith.
http://www.sltrib.com/home/3459506-1...discrimination
BYU very much wants every non-LDS student at BYU to leave their faith for Mormonism. But if it happens the other way around, buh-bye. |
I just finished Michel Houellebecq's "Submission". I've read all of his other novels except his debut and have enjoyed all of them. This one is about the election of a Muslim Brotherhood candidate to the presidency of France; coincidentally the book was released on the day of the Charlie Hebdo massacres. The protagonist is a professor at the Sorbonne (University of Paris), which, as a result of political deal-making, is given to the Muslims to turn into an Islamic university--it winds up looking very much like BYU, but more moderate (for one thing, they bend the rules on alcohol). The professors must convert and sign a kind of honor code agreement, or accept early retirement with full pension.
The prospect of polygamy with the wives inevitably selected from the now all-Muslim student body, and substantially increased pay, is what's interesting to our nihilistic protagonist. Of course Houellebecq's characters are not admirable; but in an ironic way they always make me examine what makes life and its tedium, aggravations, and inevitable horrors and ultimate oblivion worth living. There is also some excellent, highly entertaining satire. There's a lot of hilarious stuff about how religion really is winning and secularism and Western Civilization are "putrefied" and doomed. However, Houellebecq is quite indifferent to novel mechanics and artistry. So don't read him for that.
This book ought to interest Mormons because you see how similar Mormonism is to middle or upper middle class or Saudi-style Islam. The linked article from the New York Times made me think the same thing.
http://nyti.ms/1PNALKH
The LDS Church really ought to consider a merger or a coalition with this element of Islam. There is a lot in common; they are the two distinct religious movements that are most alike. It could be the only hope for the LDS movement.