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“God Tailored to Fit” – When the Sacred is Recrafted to Serve Power By: Hossam Badrawi

Since the dawn of human awareness of divinity, the question of man’s relationship with God has always been a subject of debate, reflection, and faith.
But in the modern era—where politics and religion have become intertwined, echoing a return to dark ages—God, as perceived by many, is no longer absolute or above human interests. Instead, His image is reshaped “to measure,” molded to serve the agenda of a ruling power, an ideological project, or an expansionist ambition.

It is the god recreated in human minds according to the needs of the moment:
a god of war when needed, a god of peace when negotiations arise, and a god of punishment when domination is sought.
This article attempts to deconstruct that transformation and highlight its dangers—to humanity, and to the very meaning of the sacred itself.


“The Chosen People”: Intellectual Property of the Sacred

The Jews were remarkably adept at formulating the concept of “divine selection” as an exclusive right — that they alone, according to a particular interpretation of scripture, are God’s chosen people.
Over time, this privilege evolved into what resembles a kind of divine patent, granting immunity from accountability and justifying harm to others without guilt.

In this framework, God ceases to be the embodiment of absolute justice and mercy and becomes instead tailored to one group — as if the covenant with heaven were an exclusive contract, signed in their name alone.


The Sacred Lineage: From Shem to a Political Myth

The matter is not limited to texts; it has extended to ancestry — to an ancient forefather, “Shem,” who lived three thousand years ago — now sanctified as a criterion beyond question.
Anyone who dares approach or challenge this narrative faces punishment, as though we are dealing with a new taboo, where myth is protected by the armor of law and politics.

Thus, ancestry itself becomes a modern political instrument — not merely a historical origin or cultural story, but a sacred identity card imposed upon the world as an unquestionable truth.


Religion as a Tool of Power: From East to West

The Jews are not alone in practicing “made-to-order divinity.”
In the United States, we see how evangelical discourse is employed to justify national and international policies—even when they contradict core Christian values of mercy and love.

In the Islamic world, various voices claim ownership of God—presenting Him as the exclusive protector of certain groups, a weapon against opponents, or the guardian of a closed identity that rejects plurality.

And in many developing nations, leaders compete for “a direct line to God,” each appearing as the divine’s shadow on earth.

It is the same phenomenon: God reduced to a political function, shaped to fit, and marketed to the masses as a certified product of legitimacy.


What Do We Lose When We Make a God “to Measure”?

Quite simply, we lose our critical conscience.
When the sacred becomes the property of a ruling authority, the mind stops questioning, and criticism is abolished.

It then becomes easy to exclude or destroy the “other,” who stands outside the “sacred template.”
Worse still, violence becomes sanctified — no longer a sin, but a holy duty rewarded by the man-made god who blesses it.

In this way, we lose the very essence of holiness — as a source of justice, mercy, and human dignity.

Philosophically and ethically, we must restore the idea of God as the absolute, transcending interests, borders, and bloodlines —
a God who cannot be confined to a single nation or tribe,
who cannot be sold in the markets of politics,
a God who holds every human being morally accountable — not only to his clan, but to all humanity.

Only when we remove the sacred from political exploitation can religion return to its true role: guiding conscience, orienting justice, and protecting humankind from human greed.

“God to Measure” is nothing but a political mask worn over a real, infinite God who cannot be measured or monopolized.
Unless we grasp this paradox, we will remain trapped in a cycle of violence and justification — creating gods on demand, molding the sacred to serve power rather than preserve dignity.

God cannot be reduced to lineage, confined to politics, or tailored to fit.
God is absolute — and all humanity is invited to Him, not just one tribe or one nation.


Statements Illustrating “God to Measure”

Benjamin Netanyahu:

  • “The Land of Israel is a divine gift to the people of Israel, and we will never relinquish it.”

  • “We are the chosen people of God, and this land is our eternal homeland.”

  • “The establishment of the State of Israel is not merely a political event, but the fulfillment of a divine promise thousands of years old.”

Donald Trump:

  • “I promised, and I kept my promise: Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.” (Embassy move announcement, 2017)

  • “Jerusalem is not just a city; it is the heart of one of the world’s greatest and oldest religions, and today we fulfill our promise to God and to history.”

  • “God stands with Israel, and the United States will always stand by it.”

Islamist Preachers:

  • “Whoever is not with us is against God, and opposing our group is opposing God’s law.” (A recurring slogan of Islamist political movements)

  • “Sovereignty belongs to God; whoever rejects our project rejects God Himself.” (A common saying among extremist factions)

  • “Jihad is an ongoing duty until the end of time; the entire nation must dedicate its resources to this divine command.”

Evangelical Christian Preachers (U.S.):

  • Pastor John Hagee: “God gave this land to the people of Israel thousands of years ago, and whoever stands against Israel stands against God.”

  • Pastor Pat Robertson: “President Trump was sent by the Lord to save America and bring it back to its Christian path.”

  • A preacher at a rally: “America is a nation under God, and whoever opposes its elected leadership opposes the will of the Lord.”

Jewish Rabbis:

  • Rabbi Ovadia Yosef (spiritual leader of the Shas movement): “Gentiles were created to serve the Jews — this is God’s will.”

  • “Anyone who touches the Land of Israel without right is a warrior against God and must be eradicated.”

These examples reveal that “God to Measure” is not confined to one religion — it is a shared rhetorical mechanism through which the sacred is mobilized to serve political or group interests.


Conclusion

The absolute God — who transcends lineage, agendas, and borders — finds His reflection in societies that uphold human dignity through justice and equality.
Only when the sacred is freed from political manipulation can religion reclaim its role as the compass of conscience and the defender of all humanity — not just of one group or nation.

Dr. Hossam Badrawi

He is a politician, intellect, and prominent physician. He is the former head of the Gynecology Department, Faculty of Medicine Cairo University. He conducted his post graduate studies from 1979 till 1981 in the United States. He was elected as a member of the Egyptian Parliament and chairman of the Education and Scientific Research Committee in the Parliament from 2000 till 2005. As a politician, Dr. Hossam Badrawi was known for his independent stances. His integrity won the consensus of all people from various political trends. During the era of former president Hosni Mubarak he was called The Rationalist in the National Democratic Party NDP because his political calls and demands were consistent to a great extent with calls for political and democratic reform in Egypt. He was against extending the state of emergency and objected to the National Democratic Party's unilateral constitutional amendments during the January 25, 2011 revolution. He played a very important political role when he defended, from the very first beginning of the revolution, the demonstrators' right to call for their demands. He called on the government to listen and respond to their demands. Consequently and due to Dr. Badrawi's popularity, Mubarak appointed him as the NDP Secretary General thus replacing the members of the Bureau of the Commission. During that time, Dr. Badrawi expressed his political opinion to Mubarak that he had to step down. He had to resign from the party after 5 days of his appointment on February 10 when he declared his political disagreement with the political leadership in dealing with the demonstrators who called for handing the power to the Muslim Brotherhood. Therefore, from the very first moment his stance was clear by rejecting a religion-based state which he considered as aiming to limit the Egyptians down to one trend. He considered deposed president Mohamed Morsi's decision to bring back the People's Assembly as a reinforcement of the US-supported dictatorship. He was among the first to denounce the incursion of Morsi's authority over the judicial authority, condemning the Brotherhood militias' blockade of the Supreme Constitutional Court. Dr. Hossam supported the Tamarod movement in its beginning and he declared that toppling the Brotherhood was a must and a pressing risk that had to be taken few months prior to the June 30 revolution and confirmed that the army would support the legitimacy given by the people

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