I don't know the Islamic tradition of prayer, but prayer has often been a radical activity in the Christian tradition. It has often been the case that The Authorities (who often clothe themselves in a veneer of Christianity) encourage believers to just "go pray." But then the praying becomes subversive: believers don't just pray for their own well being, but pray as Jesus did, for the Kingdom of God to come. The Authorities, being smart fellows, recognize that the Kingdom the believers are praying for is something very different - and frequently opposed to - their own kingdom.
Sunbhaan Allah, this is amazing. This is a great injustice and oppression. Surely they must be violating some kind of basic human rights or freedom of religious expression.
How comes the act of prayer is allowed in any other religion but when it comes to muslims it becomes a "Radical" activity?
These people are just afraid of people finding out the truth from real muslims as opposed to the lies that are spread in the media so that is why they are trying to surpress religous expression. Besides it is not consistent with their greedy capitalistic goals.
Anonymous said: "These people are just afraid of people finding out the truth from real muslims as opposed to the lies that are spread in the media so that is why they are trying to surpress religous expression."
I've never been to France, and make no claim to know much about the French, but my guess is that they're not so much afraid of "learning the trust from real Muslims" as much as they are just afraid.
Most people are lazy. If they've been told something is bad/dangerous, or have an initial disposition to believe such, plain old stubbornness (cultural conservatism) will keep them from actually investigating for themselves. In that context all it takes to respond negatively towrd those who are different is simple fear. It's not a laudable motivation, and not a motivation that bodes well for society in the long run, but it is understandable.
I don't know how eefective the strategy would be in France, but if Muslims found a society afraid of them (and their religious expressions) here in the US, the best strategy might be to find ways to reduce the fear to absurdity. Show them how absurdly ridiculous it is to fear Muslims and their expressions of devotions.
Of course, I'm assuming here that it's not considered a virtue in Islam to be feared. There ARE plenty of cultures in the world (including some ideologies here in the US) that think it's a good thing to be feared.
Thanks for your kind viewpoint. It is much appreciated and something that we indeed need to work on. It is definitely not a virtue for Muslims to be feared in a way that alienates them from society. Muslims should be seen as friendly approachable, helpful, humble. (This is how it should be, Not every muslim might be like this. Obviously this is something they need to work on.)
Another thing that dawned upon me was their considering the place of prayer as "Radical".
The act of praying is one of the most humblest things ever. It is between a human and his creator. It is an show of humbleness for the human to his creator. A act of gratitude and a request to guide him to a way of life that is pleasing to His Creator. There is nothing remotely radical about it.
If people have a problem with people who offer prayers then it shows that not only are these people arrogant themselves but that they have some kind of evil within themselves in that they want to stop others from maintaining that link between their Creator.
Another reason why this secularist attitude is on the increase nowadays is because when people start to find out about their Creator and follow the way He commanded them to follow which is from His Perfect wisdom, people would start to realise that the only way to happiness is by worshipping Him in this short life so that they may be successful in the next life which is eternal and a place where a person will be granted all his hearts desires. And this is one of the reasons why muslims worship Allah, because this is what He has promised them. After they realise their purpose they don't become a slave to money or people but they return to being a slave of their Creator which is a honourable status for the human.
The following is an account of Raba'i bin 'Amer a muslim leader, on one of of his missions to the commander-in- chief of the Persian army, Rustum.
Rustum asked, "For what purpose have you come?"
Raba'i answered, "Allah has sent us."
Rustum asked, "Why?"
Raba'i answered, "To bring anyone who wishes to hear, from servitude to men into the service of Allah alone, from the narrowness of this world into the vastness of this world and the Hereafter, from the tyranny of religions into the justice of Islam."
This is what these capitalists are afraid of. Once people start finding out the truth they will slowly start stop all vices which are harmful to society and themselves. That means a big loss in revenue to industries of tobacco, alcohol, pornography, interest, drugs etc. This money will go into trillions. This is what the capitalists are afraid of. This is why they are against religion and more specificall Islam because Islam is against all of this and muslims will not bow down to these evil people. They only bow down to Allah.
If all this money was chanelled into positive causes, society would be much better of and wealthier.
Anonymous says: "Muslims should be seen as friendly approachable, helpful, humble."
I don't know lots of Muslims, but this is true of the ones I have known. In fact, when I moved to my current location, I was indebted to some Muslim friends who took time off to help us load our truck.
"Once people start finding out the truth they will slowly start stop all vices which are harmful to society and themselves. That means a big loss in revenue to industries of tobacco, alcohol, pornography, interest, drugs etc. This money will go into trillions. This is what the capitalists are afraid of."
As an American Christian I find it deeply disappointing, insulting, and sad that when so many people around the world think of America (and of Christians since we make the [mostly false] claim to be a Christian nation) the images that come to mind are from our rapacious economic practices ("Here, let me make some money off of you"), our infatuation with pornography, and our radical individualism.
I sometimes fear that some have, either consciously or unconsciously, sought to co-opt Christians to think of Muslims as The Enemy by using the 9/11 attack. My read of Jesus and the best of th Christian tradition (which I judge "best" by seeing how it fits with Jesus) is that while some might set themselves as enemies toward followers of Jesus, the follower of Jesus is to live as if he/she has no enemies. Terribly naive, I know, given the amount of sin and danger in the world. But God calls us to obedience/faithfulness, not "realistic" living.
5 comments:
I don't know the Islamic tradition of prayer, but prayer has often been a radical activity in the Christian tradition. It has often been the case that The Authorities (who often clothe themselves in a veneer of Christianity) encourage believers to just "go pray." But then the praying becomes subversive: believers don't just pray for their own well being, but pray as Jesus did, for the Kingdom of God to come. The Authorities, being smart fellows, recognize that the Kingdom the believers are praying for is something very different - and frequently opposed to - their own kingdom.
Assalamu alaykum,
Sunbhaan Allah, this is amazing. This is a great injustice and oppression. Surely they must be violating some kind of basic human rights or freedom of religious expression.
How comes the act of prayer is allowed in any other religion but when it comes to muslims it becomes a "Radical" activity?
These people are just afraid of people finding out the truth from real muslims as opposed to the lies that are spread in the media so that is why they are trying to surpress religous expression. Besides it is not consistent with their greedy capitalistic goals.
Anonymous said:
"These people are just afraid of people finding out the truth from real muslims as opposed to the lies that are spread in the media so that is why they are trying to surpress religous expression."
I've never been to France, and make no claim to know much about the French, but my guess is that they're not so much afraid of "learning the trust from real Muslims" as much as they are just afraid.
Most people are lazy. If they've been told something is bad/dangerous, or have an initial disposition to believe such, plain old stubbornness (cultural conservatism) will keep them from actually investigating for themselves. In that context all it takes to respond negatively towrd those who are different is simple fear. It's not a laudable motivation, and not a motivation that bodes well for society in the long run, but it is understandable.
I don't know how eefective the strategy would be in France, but if Muslims found a society afraid of them (and their religious expressions) here in the US, the best strategy might be to find ways to reduce the fear to absurdity. Show them how absurdly ridiculous it is to fear Muslims and their expressions of devotions.
Of course, I'm assuming here that it's not considered a virtue in Islam to be feared. There ARE plenty of cultures in the world (including some ideologies here in the US) that think it's a good thing to be feared.
Dear Richard,
Thanks for your kind viewpoint. It is much appreciated and something that we indeed need to work on. It is definitely not a virtue for Muslims to be feared in a way that alienates them from society. Muslims should be seen as friendly approachable, helpful, humble. (This is how it should be, Not every muslim might be like this. Obviously this is something they need to work on.)
Another thing that dawned upon me was their considering the place of prayer as "Radical".
The act of praying is one of the most humblest things ever. It is between a human and his creator. It is an show of humbleness for the human to his creator. A act of gratitude and a request to guide him to a way of life that is pleasing to His Creator. There is nothing remotely radical about it.
If people have a problem with people who offer prayers then it shows that not only are these people arrogant themselves but that they have some kind of evil within themselves in that they want to stop others from maintaining that link between their Creator.
Another reason why this secularist attitude is on the increase nowadays is because when people start to find out about their Creator and follow the way He commanded them to follow which is from His Perfect wisdom, people would start to realise that the only way to happiness is by worshipping Him in this short life so that they may be successful in the next life which is eternal and a place where a person will be granted all his hearts desires. And this is one of the reasons why muslims worship Allah, because this is what He has promised them.
After they realise their purpose they don't become a slave to money or people but they return to being a slave of their Creator which is a honourable status for the human.
The following is an account of Raba'i bin 'Amer a muslim leader, on one of of his missions to the commander-in- chief of the Persian army, Rustum.
Rustum asked, "For what purpose have you come?"
Raba'i answered, "Allah has sent us."
Rustum asked, "Why?"
Raba'i answered, "To bring anyone who wishes to hear, from servitude to men into the service of Allah alone, from the narrowness of this world into the vastness of this world and the Hereafter, from the tyranny of religions into the justice of Islam."
This is what these capitalists are afraid of. Once people start finding out the truth they will slowly start stop all vices which are harmful to society and themselves. That means a big loss in revenue to industries of tobacco, alcohol, pornography, interest, drugs etc. This money will go into trillions. This is what the capitalists are afraid of. This is why they are against religion and more specificall Islam because Islam is against all of this and muslims will not bow down to these evil people. They only bow down to Allah.
If all this money was chanelled into positive causes, society would be much better of and wealthier.
Anonymous says:
"Muslims should be seen as friendly approachable, helpful, humble."
I don't know lots of Muslims, but this is true of the ones I have known. In fact, when I moved to my current location, I was indebted to some Muslim friends who took time off to help us load our truck.
"Once people start finding out the truth they will slowly start stop all vices which are harmful to society and themselves. That means a big loss in revenue to industries of tobacco, alcohol, pornography, interest, drugs etc. This money will go into trillions. This is what the capitalists are afraid of."
As an American Christian I find it deeply disappointing, insulting, and sad that when so many people around the world think of America (and of Christians since we make the [mostly false] claim to be a Christian nation) the images that come to mind are from our rapacious economic practices ("Here, let me make some money off of you"), our infatuation with pornography, and our radical individualism.
I sometimes fear that some have, either consciously or unconsciously, sought to co-opt Christians to think of Muslims as The Enemy by using the 9/11 attack. My read of Jesus and the best of th Christian tradition (which I judge "best" by seeing how it fits with Jesus) is that while some might set themselves as enemies toward followers of Jesus, the follower of Jesus is to live as if he/she has no enemies. Terribly naive, I know, given the amount of sin and danger in the world. But God calls us to obedience/faithfulness, not "realistic" living.
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