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Aug 25 2008

The Trouble With Irshad Manji, et. al.

Posted by: 阿偉 in Religion

Among critics of Islam, there few voices more prominent than the revisionist Irshad Manji, followed by Wafa Sultan, and Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Calling themselves “refuseniks,” Hirsi Ali, Manji and Sultan have been praised in the media for their virulent denunciations of Islam and the Prophet (SAW). They are regarded as “brave women” who are fighting oppression and marching bravely forth toward the so-called democratic-atheistic values of the West. At the same time, each of them has a unique aspect which endears them to the politically correct: Manji is a lesbian feminist; Sultan is allegedly a modern, scientific psychiatrist and secular humanist; Hirsi Ali is an atheist, and a black woman to boot. Those features alone endear them to the media as overaged poster-children who are innocently speaking out for human (and civil) rights.

Furthermore, as the media would have us believe, it is these three women, despite denouncing Islam at every turn, who have now been regarded as the only legitimate voice of “moderate” Islam despite being atheists and secular humanists. Under the pretense of dialogue, they have released books such as Infidel, The Trouble with Islam Today, and The Escaped Prisoner; When God is a Monster. Their true aims here are confrontational from the start. Such books cannot be considered to be scholarly in the context of 1400 years of Islamic philosophical development, when they selectively quote a few out-of-context Hadiths, then skip ahead to the modern age and connect the hadith to the events of the modern world. Furthermore, we should ask why — if Muslims and Christians are deemed unreliable sources for atheism — can an atheist such as Ali who opposes all religion unconditionally truly comment without bias on a faith which centers itself upon tawhid, the Oneness and Uniqueness of Allah?

It is in the West’s criticism of Islam, where the Left-Right paradigm is of no use to us. I believe this is the same reason for some of the West’s hatred of China: in both cases, the “guilty” party refuses to give in to the prevailing ideas and degeneracy of the West. China - save for the indigenous minorities who make up 8% of the population, is far from being multicultural or politically correct in the Western sense, and has a sense of pride in Chinese culture. Islam refuses to succumb to liberalism in its native land the same way Christianity went down in Europe. The anti-Muslim sentiments of the likes of Manji, Sultan, and Ali, even their non-’Muslim’ counterparts such as Oriana Fallaci, Christopher Hitchens, and former Marxist David Horowitz, are not based on any kind of support for Christiandom, the Sacred, or any higher ideal, but based on liberalism and humanism. Furthermore, the Freudo-Marxist values which they wish that Muslims would replace are as foreign to Europeans as they are to the Middle East. All this means that the leftists who criticize Islam are little more than hypocrites. They’ve criticized Islam for being imposing and ‘barracks-like,’ yet have no problem imposing harmful bidah which would have detrimental effects on the Muslim ummah.

Has Allah (SWT) not said: “This day I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favor towards you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion”? Islam does not need reform, for the very purpose of reform is to make something better. Perhaps if these so-called ‘reformers’ knew this, they would not be so opportunisitic and deceitful in denouncing the religion of 1.2 billion people.

There will always be an incontrovertible struggle between the two worlds of becoming and the world of being, between the world of change and stability, and between tradition and modernity. The sworn enemy of modernity has throughout history been the brilliant religious scholars and people who valued Tradition above all else. The cultural struggle lies not in the fact that Islam is cruel, but that the modern world is corrupt. The clash of civilizations is a battle between decadence and order, and today, it is Islam must now step up to the front lines of this struggle, as the vanguard of Traditional ideas.

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Aug 01 2008

Unitarian Church Shooting was not ‘Terrorism’

Posted by: 阿偉 in Current Events, Religion

With the recent attacks on the Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee, liberal fundamentalists have yet again used other people’s personal tradgedies in order to perpetrate their political agendas and launch new attacks on the more traditionalist worldviews of some Americans. Some groups have used this incident to call for stricter gun control, and others have suggested that Jim Adkisson, 58, a former United States veteran, be charged as a terrorist. Such people claim, that since he held a contempt for liberal ideologies, and acted on those impulses, that the crime was out of the ordinary, and thus worthy of being labeled a terrorist attack.

The mislabeling of this event as terrorism is based on on the idea that terrorism consists of simply using violence or intimidation against the government or civilian population in order to make a poltical statement. The act of carrying a gun and shooting people is considered to be violent by American law, and it is clear that he had his own political beliefs. However, this in itself is a very broad definition. For example, “intimidation” could possibly be extended in the future to include mere verbal assault against someone with differing political beliefs. This definition might also be applied to the mobs, who during the Olympic Torch relay in Paris, assaulted the wheelchair-bound athelete in an effort to “intimidate” the world community into cancelling the Olympic Games. Of course, this latter incident is conveniently glossed over by such liberal fundamentalists. By extending the definition to include anything, the liberal fundamentalists are seeking to label any action perpetrated by those they do not agree with as a terrorist action.

This incident neither should be viewed as a instance of religious victimization. Unitarian Universalism is a cult, comparable to the Baha’i cult, which has already been discussed in a previous entry. The specifics of Unitarian Universlalism will be discussed in another entry.

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Jul 24 2008

The Seven Conditions for Shahada

Posted by: 阿偉 in Religion

I have often encountered non-Muslims who have said to me that if one has been fooled into reciting Shahada, or recites it in jest, that he is ‘instantly’ a Muslim, and that his attempt to go back to another faith constitutes irtad (apostasy) for which the penalty is death. This however, is a misconception. Just as in any other religion, if precepts are not taken full-heartedly, they are invalid. In Islam, there are seven conditions which are required for the declaration of Shahada to be considered valid, which are explained here:

1. Al-Ilm, or knowledge. — This is to say that one must understand what is meant by the shahada. The first word of shahada, Ašhadu literally means to testify; and one must therefore understand that they are testifying that there is no God but Allah, and Muhammad (SAW) is his messenger. This can be compared to testifying in a court of law: if you testify before a judge to something that someone else has said without knowing its meaning, just repeating what they said, it cannot be considered as valid evidence.

2. Al-Yaqin, or certainty — When a scholar or scientist begins his study, he continues to refine what he knows until he uncovers facts which can’t be denied. Once we have knowledge, we should perfect this knowledge. Certainty is perfected knowledge which negates doubt, and here it is to be sure of the truth of shahada. The Quran says,إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَرْتَابُوا وَجَاهَدُوابِأَمْوَالِهِمْ وَأَنفُسِهِمْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ أُوْلَئِكَ هُمُالصَّادِقُونَ, which means: “[Know that true] believers are only those who have attained to faith in God and His Apostle and have left all doubt behind, and who strive hard in God’s cause with their possessions and their lives: it is they, they who are true to their word!” (49.15) Abolishing doubt therefore increases faith and belief in Allah.

3. Al-ikhlaas, or sincerity — In today’s society, people constantly want to distinguish themselves from the rest. Some can successfully pursue fame and fortune, but others are not as lucky. Ordinary people might try to stand out from the crowd by the way they dress, the music they listen to, or even the religion they claim they believe in. When I studied Buddhism, I often attended lectures at a monastery. I happened on one occasion to ask another attendee who sat behind me, “Why did you become a Buddhist?”. His reponse: “Because I couldn’t stand Christianity and how strict it was”.

Can we convert to Islam because we want to make some kind of “fashion statement”? No. When we declare faith in Allah (swt), we do it for the sake of Allah (swt). We must not do it because we are running away from our former religions, or solely because we seek a Muslim’s hand in marriage and are attempting to please his or her family, and certainly not for superficial reasons of wanting to be an “individual”. Ikhlass helps us remain true to the purpose of Islaam, submitting to Allah (swt), and not to ourselves, and therefore negates shirk.

4. As-sidq, or truthfulness — Once we know something and are certain of it, we can say it truthfully. This means that when we say the shahada, we say it honestly. Going back to what I said in the beginning of this post, many people in the West assume that taking the shahada in jest makes one a Muslim. This is a direct refutation of that idea. Furthermore, the Quran says: يُخَادِعُونَ اللّهَ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَمَا يَخْدَعُونَ إِلاَّ أَنفُسَهُم وَمَا يَشْعُرُونوَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يَقُولُ آمَنَّا بِاللّهِ وَبِالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ وَمَا هُم بِمُؤْمِنِينَ, which means: “And there are people who say, ‘We do believe in God and the Last Day,’ the while they do not [really]. believe. They would deceive God and those who have attained to faith-the while they deceive none but themselves, and perceive it not.” (2.8-9) Allah (SWT) cannot be fooled: those who claim to be Muslims and have taken the Shahada under false pretenses will be punished on the Last Day.

5. Aq-qabul, or acceptance -– A good scientist accepts the results of his experimentation, even if he previously had different thoughts on the matter. When one recognizes the implication of the Shahada as truth, then he must accept it, else he is an atheist. This also prepares us to accept the full truth of the Noble Qur’an as the inerrant and perfected word of Allah transmitted through his Messenger.

6. Al-inqiyad or compliance –- This is the manifestation of acceptance. We must be prepared upon reciting shahada, to carry out all the obligations of the Qur’an and submit to Allah (swt) as Muslims. This is shown in our daily actions, such as prayer, making hajj, and the like.

You may have heard Protestants say that salvation shall be attained by faith alone. This misconception has also spread somewhat into Islam. However, if we transgress Allah (swt) purposely while knowing this is non-compliance. This is not to say that we will be perfect, either. Everybody makes mistakes, but as long as we repent, we aren’t violating the precept of Shahada, for the Quran says: وَأَنِيبُوا إِلَى رَبِّكُمْ وَأَسْلِمُوا لَهُ مِن قَبْلِ أَن يَأْتِيَكُمُ الْعَذَابُ ثُمَّ لَا تُنصَرُونَ which means “Turn unto Him repentant, and surrender unto Him” (39.54).

7. Al-mahabbah, or love – This means that we are satisfied with the conditions of the shahada,love its implications of making us true Muslims. It means our actions will be guided by the love of Allah and by love of fellow Muslims.

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Jul 21 2008

Pope: “A spiritual desert is spreading”

Posted by: 阿偉 in Current Events, Religion

Yesterday in Australia, Pope Benedict addressed a crowd of 200,000

Between Asgard and the Western Paradise

Traditions, Culture, Spirituality, and more…

Archive for the Religion Category

The Trouble With Irshad Manji, et. al.

Unitarian Church Shooting was not ‘Terrorism’

The Seven Conditions for Shahada

Pope: “A spiritual desert is spreading”