Blog
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Those who follow their every desire in order to find happiness and pleasure are generally the most miserable of people.
(via abdulbary)
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Spectrum of a Tree(by Dominic Kamp)
This talks to me in ways I have yet to figure out…but I hear it…
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Purpose of Debate
I once heard that the point of a debate should be to arrive at the truth and not to prove you’re right. This is something I fully subscribe to, but also forget often. After reflecting on some of my posts recently, especially in this blog, I believe that I have been blurring these very same lines in my tone and focus. I sometimes try to prove why others are wrong or why I’m more right, when in fact the focus of this blog, as my first post suggested, was to be an articulation of my struggle to come to terms with what I find distasteful around me, and in turn to formulate my own views based on principles that I subscribe to, and not views that may have been indoctrinated into me.
Whether or not I agree with the atheistic views, or even what exception I take to the traditional/ritualistic Muslims should remain a point of reference as to why I choose the views and opinions that I hold, but should not go as far as trying to convince them that they’re wrong. The Qur’an sums it up beautifully in Chapter 17, verse 81:
And say: Truth has come and falsehood has vanished away. Lo! Falsehood is ever bound to vanish.
Some may interpret this to be Muslim arrogance, yet others, if seen objectively, would acknowledge it as confirmation that whichever party is on the true path, this will become self-evident, and therefore there should be no need to shove our views down anyone’s throats.
So I hope that I will remain focused in presenting my views not at the expense of others, but rather relative to others only. Context is important, but it should never be used as an excuse to bash any other religion, philosophy, or personal perspectives. Which reminds me of another pertinent verse from the Qur’an in Chapter 18, verse 10:
Our Lord! Send upon us Your mercy, and show us the solution to our problem in the right way.
Sincerity of intention and resolve in purpose are always extremely difficult to maintain because of the trappings of the ego.
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Regarding your post on Atheism; I was raised Muslim however find it extremely platitudinous and arrogant to claim Atheism is (mainly) an attack on Christianity that extends to Islam, I've read the Qu'ran, Torah and Bible, I am not here to question your faith, however it's extremely hypocritical to claim that we are ignorant of yours. Granted there may be some, however I find your posts logic and rationale extremely contentious and unjust.
Thank you for sharing your views with me. As with any opinion piece, a natural bias is expected based on the subjective experiences of the person offering the opinion, which in this case is me.
My interactions with atheists both online and offline has been one that centred around the Christian doctrines, and where exception was taken on Islam, it was almost entirely based on the mainstream media projections of extremist views that are rarely in harmony with Islamic principles.
My interactions with another atheist last week also reflects a similar ‘ignorance’ of what is contained in the Qur’an versus what is assumed to be in the Qur’an based on what is generally quoted out of context. Actions/behaviours of Muslims are often quoted in their arguments against Islam with very little qualified knowledge of Islam itself.
Having said that, I’m not sure why you found my rationale to be unjust? I can understand and appreciate your views of it being ‘contentious’ and even ‘platitudinous’, but unjust?
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Muslims, Christians, and Atheists. Spot the difference…
I find it strange, if not unfortunate, that people that choose atheism, a great many of which despise religion, do so on the basis of acquiring (sometimes) in-depth knowledge of Christianity mainly, finding the flaws in their logic, tenets and scriptures, and then proclaiming that as the illogical base that substantiates their views on religion in totality.
Muslims, unfortunately in their present form, do very little to dissuade such an approach because we’re just so ritualistic and often illogical in our application of the beauty of Islam based on how our forefathers did it, rather than a conscious effort through understanding the principles of what Islam offers, with the only saving grace being that we have a more logically sound base off which to work.
But when we contaminate Islam with cultural rubbish and use that as a yardstick to measure the worth of other Muslims, boldly proclaiming who is kaafir and who is not, we erode that very same pristine base and expose ourselves to the same debasement and ridicule that the majority of Christians have so rightly earned, thereby playing into the hands of the atheists that can rightfully find so much in our actions to ridicule any true belief in the Oneness of Allah.
We imitate them (Christians) more than we realise. Look at our clerical hierarchies that we’ve created? Our symbolism that we attach to our places of worship? Our rhetoric from the pulpits launching our lectures on the basis of us all being sinners? The list goes on. We quote dogmatically from the books of scholars because we’ve been led to believe that we’re too simple-minded to apply the source in our own lives because the true teachings of Islam contained in the Qur’an and Hadeeth have been reduced to a science to be studied before it can be applied. We define the scholars as superior to the masses and openly refer to the masses as the ‘Awwaam’, which despite the best intentions of the one using that term, is a condescending term steeped in pride and arrogance.
I am not of the scholars, nor am I of the Awwaam. I am a Mu’min before I am a Muslim. This, to me, is the meaning of taqwa (piety/god-consciousness); realising who I am, and what I believe in before I contemplate how I wish to present my beliefs to the world in my appearance or rituals that are to be observed by others, hopefully in conformance with their expectations so that I may be accepted in those circles. Purity of intention is lost when we try to conform to a broader societal expectation. We’re breeding well-intentioned hypocrites by insisting that our children are schooled in the rituals of Islam without ensuring that they understand the principles and substance of the beauty that Islam offers.
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Our use of the phrase ‘The Dark Ages’ to cover the period from 699 to 1000 marks our undue concentration on Western Europe… From India to Spain, the brilliant civilisation of Islam flourished. What was lost to Christendom at this time was not lost to civilisation, but quite the contrary…
—- Bertrand Russel, History of Western Philosophy, 1948This is the kind of context that is usually missing, not only in the western media or other spheres of western influence, but it’s also almost entirely absent in the discussions of Muslims when they’re trying to explain the beauty and benefit that Islam has brought to this world. We’re so busy trying to justify our existence relative to every other religion that we become unconsciously apologetic. Worse still is that in the absence of the above realisation, we lose the very essence that made the Muslims respectable in the first place. When Muslims were sincere in establishing the principles and not just the rituals of Islam in their lives, we flourished in every sphere of science, medicine, physics, philosophy, etc. When we became ritualists focused on individual piety, we lost the plot…and have been searching for it ever since.
