Christianity Divided: The IRA [Decameron]

A grand opus on the Catholic-Protestant rift in Northern Ireland (UK) which has yielded 'layers' of Christian community dollhouses.

A grand opus to Catholic-Protestant woes in the UK, which is something I've been developing into some kind of large tapestry for at least two years now...so I really hope you like it. Inspired by Patriot Games. God bless, 

----

====

The British are a proud and storied people in world history who've given us Shakespeare, King Arthur of Camelot, and Wimbledon. We go to England today as tourists to marvel at the Crown Jewels and Buckingham Palace. Indeed, the British have much pride and glory. They've also been part of an incredible worldwide colonialism strategy which has backfired in many turns (i.e., America, India, Ireland). Ireland continues to be a major scar, since in Northern Ireland, the Irish Catholic minority endure socioeconomic disparities considered by them to be intolerable under a British Protestant majority settled in for generations as descendants of colonial settlers. This has led to anti-UK terrorism in Northern Ireland (Belfast) and has divided the two largest denominations of the Christian world community --- Protestants and Catholics. The British are a proud and storied people and consider this rift for their Protestant constituency a scar on their otherwise majestic and painted history.

The 'Troubles' in Belfast (Northern Ireland) grew out of the partition of mainland Ireland following independence of Ireland from the British Empire in the early 20th Century under the revolutionary leadership of Irish guerrilla leader Michael Collins and his commanding superior Eamon de Valera. Northern Ireland remained part of the British Empire despite the fact that the southern large portion of Ireland (with capital city Dublin!) became independent and a sovereign nation predominantly inhabited by Irish Catholics. The remaining minority Irish Catholics residing in the northern smaller portion of mainland Ireland, Northern Ireland (with capital city Belfast) remained British and lived under a British Protestant majority which was nevertheless comprised of descendants of early British Protestant colonial settlers. The Irish Catholic minority continuing to reside in Northern Ireland (Belfast) following the independence of mainland Ireland (Dublin) in the early 20th Century wasn't therefore ideal to all Irish Catholics and led to the formation of new factions of the guerrilla-terrorist resistance force known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

Catholicism and Protestantism are the two dominant denominations of the world Christian community. This rift between these two denominations in Belfast (Northern Ireland) created by not only socioeconomic disparity debated by Sinn Fein, the legal/political negotiation 'arm' of the IRA, but also by IRA-led guerrilla-terrorist resistance against British Protestant rule. As British police retaliate in Northern Ireland with great force to control the IRA guerrillas, the division in the world Christian community is pronounced in Belfast, as violence scars the relations between these two denominations of the Christian faith.

Catholics and Protestants both worship Jesus Christ. They both have their churches for prayer and religion. They have unique/special practices but both believe in the body and sanctity of Jesus Christ. Catholics and Protestants today comprise the two dominant denominations of Christianity, and yet, this Catholic-Protestant violent rift in Northern Ireland (Belfast) is overshadowed eerily by the more petroleum-profit politics driven issue of Israel-Palestine in the Middle East. While it's true that Israel is more weighty because of the suffering endured by the Jewish nation (i.e., Nazi Germany), the Catholic-Protestant violence/rift in Northern Ireland remains an unhealed sore on the face of the world Christian community in many ways!

Gerry Adams, leader of Sinn Fein, the legal/political negotiation 'arm' of the IRA which debates with British Parliament for more socioeconomic equity for the Irish Catholic minority still living in Belfast (Northern Ireland) under British rule, considers this rift in the Christian world community an anathema. He worries about new era 'blood-diamond' terrorism-financing from Africa/Europe which inspires/prompts more dangerous rogue/ex-terrorists to use pirate-profits and smuggling to resource independent forms of street violence and anarchy. He wonders what this will mean for the struggling 'standard' factions of the IRA which includes men and women and which seek ways to negotiate normally through Sinn Fein and without blood-diamond pirate-finances from Africa.

Two Algerian-Americans, brothers and professors at the Ivy League in the United States, have decided to forge a new world underground radical group called the Foreign Irish Republican Army (F-IRA). These two brothers, Amlan and Ajay Satan, are known as Storm-Shadow and Snake-Eyes by their allies in Northern Ireland and Europe. Storm-Shadow/Snake-Eyes try to use Irish manufactured consumer goods and Irish cultural distinction to argue for a world financing of the cause to see more Irish Catholic sovereignty and capitalism-advancements for the Irish Catholic minority in Northern Ireland (Belfast) who seek only to 'shop' and 'dine' normally with their British Protestant 'neighbors' in the UK.

Amlan and Ajay are half-Algerian and half-Indian and US citizens. Their family was involved in the Indian independence movement against British rule under revolutionary leader Mahatma Gandhi. Amlan/Ajay find interesting parallels between the Indian struggle for sovereignty and the Irish struggle for more Catholic sovereignty.

AMLAN: The Foreign Irish Republican Army recruits sympathizers who may be Catholic but not necessarily Irish!

AJAY: We're moving through Aer Lingus airlines into UK-Euro areas to destabilize unmoving Protestant police forces.

Amlan (Storm-Shadow) and Ajay (Snake-Eyes) are leaders of the world group known as the Foreign Irish Republican Army (F-IRA). They recruit sympathizers from Europe and around the world to help them coordinate heists of blood-diamond safe-boxes belonging to corrupt Euro-barons using terrorism-financing to complicate Sinn Fein and Parliament negotiations regarding improved Catholic-Protestant relations in Northern Ireland for negative profits. They arm their guerrilla 'agents' with toy water-guns inserted with thin glass tubed containing corrosive HCL homemade acid which are fired upon patrolling British police-military vehicle tires in Belfast (Northern Ireland). Amlan (Storm-Shadow) and Ajay (Snake-Eyes) comprise the 'double-dragon' of this underground world-recruited force to destabilize British resistance to Catholic-Protestant negotiations in Parliament involving Sinn Fein.

STORM-SHADOW (Amlan): The acid-guns fired at British police-army vehicle tires in Belfast are symbols of disruption.
SNAKE-EYES (Ajay): We limit violence and use social distractions to create media dialogue about sociocultural unrest!

AMLAN: We're most concerned about Catholic-Protestant rift neglect in preference for Israel-Palestine discussions.

AJAY: Israel-Palestine woes mustn't overshadow this rift in the world Christian community.

Now, we all know Protestants and Catholics have differed greatly and in many ways for many years. This has been the subject of quite a bit of scholarly/academic research. Indeed, when the two dominant denominations of the Christian faith are so apparently different, they naturally split in various ways concerning method and materials. However, most of this Catholic-Protestant 'split' is simply ideological and historical.

STORM-SHADOW: The Catholic-Protestant rift in Northern Ireland is violent and politically deformed!
SNAKE-EYES: Catholics and Protestants have not shared socioeconomic equity in Belfast.

More and more underground allies, sympathizers, and agents of the F-IRA (Foreign Irish Republican Army) are flown into Europe-UK via Aer Lingus, Ireland's national airline and land in Dublin and are moved into strategic locations in and near and surrounding Belfast (Northern Ireland). The hope is to rally the masses to create sufficient media spotlights on this hideous split between Catholics and Protestants and hence between Catholicism and Protestantism in Western civilization!

UK PRESS RELEASE: Our soldiers are uniformed to address the priority-need to keep control of our Belfast property!

STORM-SHADOW: The beautiful Irish Catholic community in Belfast don't consider themselves Protestant property.

SNAKE-EYES: These beautiful Irish people of Northern Ireland seek firstly simple socioeconomic equity and life-voting!

STORM-SHADOW: The mentality of the British is to consider the ruled citizens symbols of an empire treasure-chest.

SNAKE-EYES: We must avert the attention to the dire condition of inter-religious division which makes Christianity ugly!

As Storm-Shadow (Amlan) and Snake-Eyes (Ajay) urge through guerrilla communications and active participation the need to heal this division between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland, the local press and the UK press hails them as 'Robin Hood' like activists who may be likened to the American 'light-house' magic superheroes Green Lantern Hal Jordan and Green Lantern Kyle Rayner (DC Comics)!

STORM-SHADOW (Amlan): We want to see celebrations of Irish Catholic treasures in Belfast such as Lantern-rings.

SNAKE-EYES (Ajay): We want celebrations of Irish Catholic women wearing emerald Lantern-rings in joys of free-speech!

As more members of the Foreign Irish Republican Army (F-IRA) are recruited worldwide and perform guerrilla heroics like Interpol-relations heists of undesirable terrorism-financing blood-diamonds from Euro/UK bank safe-boxes, Sinn Fein is able to manage more sane negotiations for IRA diplomats in British Parliament on behalf of improved coexistence of Catholics and Protestants in the United Kingdom!

Meanwhile, Amlan Satan who's an excellent Othello board-game player/strategist has negotiated a special Othello media-game with the British PM in front of TV cameras. During this game involving opposite-colored game-pieces placed in places where alternating and parallel grid positions are substituted for opponents' losing positions when chain-trap placements are achieved, Amlan argues to the British PM that Othello reflects the conditions of Northern Ireland itself and the claustrophobia created by socioeconomic disparity between Irish Catholics and British Protestants in Belfast!

AMLAN: You see how the Othello game placements and grid-position traps symbolize Belfast, sir!
BRITISH PM: I fail to understand this deep relationship, good fellow (Storm-Shadow).
AMLAN: Well, British Protestants settled into Northern Ireland as colonial settlers for generations.
BRITISH PM: That's historically correct!
AMLAN: Well, the Irish Catholic minority in that northern 'tip' of Ireland opted to remain in that area!
BRITISH PM: That's also historically correct!
AMLAN: These Irish Catholic minorities seem to believe coexistence may be feasible.
BRITISH PM: Perhaps!
AMLAN: It can be feasible if socioeconomic disparities are addressed in Belfast.
BRITISH PM: How's that?
AMLAN: What if the Irish Catholic minority are given commercial venture ties to Dublin (Ireland)?
BRITISH PM: In what ways?
AMLAN: Well, they may provide some food-company manufacturing service/product for Aer Lingus!
BRITISH PM: Ireland's national airline company?
AMLAN: Correct!
BRITISH PM: And?
AMLAN: If the Irish Catholic minority determine their own consumerism 'pockets' in Belfast, there's less grudge!
BRITISH PM: Won't they still want to profit alongside the British Protestant majority in Belfast as governors?
AMLAN: They can 'feel' more like governors if they have the investment-fortune to 'feel' more like investors!
BRITISH PM: That's somewhat true, good fellow (Storm-Shadow).
AMLAN: Why not then treat this Othello-game as a reflection of potential Catholic-Protestant capitalism coexistence?
BRITISH PM: I do suppose these grid-spacings of bridging commercial by-roads reflects Othello-game creativity.
AMLAN: That's the basic point I think Sinn Fein and Parliament diplomats are making today in our United Kingdom.
BRITISH PM: Then this is an agreed good game.

AMLAN: Let's champion future avenues towards 'shared' spotlights on agreed-upon creative commercial treasures.

Is the future bright for Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland (Belfast)? Will more media attention be drawn to this deformed case of Christian world community division having created forms of violence and disparities? Will the United Kingdom finally feel 'united' in its Christian communities? Will the Irish Catholic minority finally achieve that elusive dream of 'commercial dance' they envisioned so many years ago under Michael Collins and Eamon de Valera? The drama-story is one of timeless magic and wonder, and it shouldn't be forgotten because of enduring/historic Israel-Palestine dogma. That's at least the view of the two idealist brothers Storm-Shadow (Amlan Satan) and Snake-Eyes (Ajay Satan). God bless the UK!

====

"Money is everything" (Ecclesiastes)