My leader is a holy man

All the world sees my leader is a holy man. His name is known far and wide. He has done many good things. He has fought for many noble causes. He understands many things I do not. So I trust him. How can he be wrong?

Now he says he wants to cleanse our religion and remove a tradition hundreds of years old. He's very serious about it, so we all have to swear oaths – not just monks and nuns, but everyone. Not only that we won't take part in that tradition again but that we won't “share religious and material amenities of life” with those who refuse to swear.

Did you see what happened to those monks who refused to swear? No wonder they got thrown out. Now they can't even get power and food to where they're staying because companies refuse to give them the material amenities of life. Don't they know my leader is a holy man? How can he be wrong?

And that old woman! She didn't know you get an ID card when you swear the oaths. Did she really think that shops would serve her food and the basic material amenities of life if she couldn't show them that ID card? She certainly found out when the police took her away!

And my own son far away. I spoke to him on the phone last night. He hasn't sworn. He says he won't. How can he be so selfish? He knows I can't let him come home ever again if he doesn't. None of my neighbours would talk to me again. None of the shopkeepers would serve me. He keeps muttering about not have learned the lessons of the 1930s. But why can't he see my leader is a holy man? How can he be wrong?

This is no joke. If you're reading this far away then make no mistake, this is happening right now. First India, Tibet, Mongolia, Bhutan, and then the world – everyone will be cleansed according to my leader's clear vision of purity. Soon it will be on your own doorstep. All the world can see my leader is a holy man. We all trust him. How can he be wrong?

(Written as a continuation of The Rabbit's Tale and Horror.)

Edit: Monday 19th May 2008. Just to clarify a few things arising from correspondence stimulated by this story:

• The situation described does affect me personally.
• However, this holy man is not actually my leader. I have written this story from the point of view of one of his followers.
• Nevertheless, apart from that bit of storyteller's licence, everything else is absolutely true.
• You can choose whether or not you would wish to be in that follower's position. Perhaps you already are.