I have been linked with Education for sometimes now I have noticed several things regarding the attitudes in education as well as general attitudes in life. I would like to share some of my thoughts on that with you all.
The muslim countries of the world are at the bottom of the list when it comes to education and development. Many people have tried to blame the west for the backward muslim attitude. However, this problem is not an external problem, but an internal one. There are other countries in the world which are poorer than most muslim countries but when it comes to education they are far far ahead of all muslim nations. India is one example. They were also under colonial rule like Pakistan and are among one of the poorest countries in the world. However, their education system is better than any muslim country in the world. They produce more world class scientists and researchers than all the muslims countries combined together. You go to any major university in the world, you are bound to find Indian Professors in the faculty.
What is their secret? This question had been on my mind several years ago and I did some research on that. I noticed several differences in ATTITUDE and no major differences in content of what was being taught at their universities compared to Muslim Universities.
The main difference was that Indian education system encourages QUESTIONING old Masters, whereas, the Muslim countries' education system DISCOURAGES asking NEW questions and it encourages FOLLOWING what people in the past did. This attitude is not limited to universities but is also prevalent in other social things, including religion.
Questioning oneself and others is the FIRST and the MOST IMPORTANT aspect of intellectual and spiritual growth. The growth of a person/nation depends on how much are they ready for self-criticism. This aspect has been totally missing from the muslim attitude of late. In fact, the muslims get upset and angry at the very suggestion of self-criticism. They are happy to blame THOSE OTHERS for their own short comings.
The problem is not new. It started a long long time ago with the death of the prophet's grandson, Hussain. His life and death has been buried under the mythological stories created by shias and sunnis. No, his death was not some pre-determined miracle. And No, he was not after the throne. His struggle was against intellectual slavery. He knew that the monarchy system is death for free thinkers and hence a slow spiritual death for the muslims. Since the ONLY people who prosper under a MONARCHY are people who have not the mind to think freely and who do not question authority, with time all the free thinkers are either in exile or dead. The invitation to open thinking was strong enough in the Quraan that the defeat of Imam Hussain (the biggest defeat Islam has ever faced in terms of its long lasting effects), did not immediately show its consequences. However, now after about 1500 years it is quite clear that the muslim intellect is behind the rest of the world; the free-thinkers are very very few. Only those people are visible who follow authority and do not question (both at an academic level as well as a spiritual level).
We look at history, and learn from it. It has always been very important to be able to look at previous ideas and question them. If those ideas/theories were TRUE than questioning them would not change anything as the Truth can stand any questions. Galileo came up with the truth because he QUESTIONED the ideas of authority. Newton was such a great scientist. But Einstein QUESTIONED Newton's ideas and came up with new ideas, which if not entirely true, are definitely closer to the truth than Newton's ideas were. All the Prophets Questioned Authority. The Quraan is full of these examples. here is an example of Prophet Ibrahim (pbuh)
"When the night covered him over, He saw a star: He said: 'This is my Lord.' But when it set, He said: 'I love not those that set.'When he saw the moon rising in splendor, he said: 'This is my Lord.' But when the moon set, he said: 'unless my Lord guide me, I shall surely be among those who go astray. 'When he saw the sun rising in splendor, he said: 'This is my Lord; this is the greatest (of all).' But when the sun set, he said: 'O my people! I am indeed free from your (guilt) of giving partners to Allah. For me, I have set my face, firmly and truly, towards Him Who created the heavens and the earth, and never shall I give partners to Allah.'"(Quraan 6:76-79)
This example of Prophet Ibrahim (pbuh) is very important as it sheds light on several things.
1. He was willing to consider the belief of the "ulemas" of his nation. Shows his open minded questioning.
2. He ONLY sought Allah's Guidance.
3. Since what his people believed was not the Truth, it could not stand his questioning, and thus he was able to, with the Guidance of Allah, arrive at the Truth.
What do muslims believe in? Is it the truth? If it is the truth, then it should be able to stand any test and any question. If they have any fear from any questions, then that means that they are not standing by the truth and it is time for them to re-examine their belief. Since the Quraan is the Truth, Allah has openly INVITED ALL human beings to ponder/think/question its content. In addition to that Allah has strongly discouraged blind following of authority.
"We have send It down as an Arabic Quraan in order that you may learn to use your Aqal (brains)." (Quraan 12:2).
Here one of the purposes of the Quraanic revelations is stated, i.e. so that human beings can learn how to use the gift of Allah called "Aqal".
"Do they not ponder on the Quraan? Had it been from any other than Allah, they would certainly have found therein much discrepancy." (Quraan 4:82).
Here again invitation is made to ponder and question the Quraan. Allah is inviting people to look at this Book and ask your questions. You will not find ANY discrepancy in this Book as it is the Truth and it is also NOT afraid of being questioned.
"And We have indeed made the Quraan easy to understand and remember: Then is there any that will receive admonition?" (Quraan 54:17, 22, 32, 40).
Again notice that the Quraan is not asking people to follow blindly, but the invitation is being made to use UNDERSTANDING...Aqal.
"And they shall say: O our Lord! surely we obeyed our leaders and our great men, so they led us astray from the path;" (Quraan 33:67)
Here is the state of people who WITHOUT questioning followed other HUMANS.
"Or do you think that most of them do hear or use their reasoning? They are nothing but as cattle; nay, they are straying farther off from the path." (Quraan 25:44)
And here is what Allah says about people who instead of questioning and using their reason follow authority.
Unfortunately this aspect of questioning and testing the truth is almost extinct in the muslim world. Even when muslims debate about religion, they quote "authority" more often than the Quraan. You will hear, "Shaykh A said this", and "Hadeeth Y says that". You will seldom hear "The Quraan says this and let us think about it and humble ourselves to that.".
quote:Well in order to improve the situation in the Muslims countries, we should not blame the religion for all the mishaps that happen, such as rape, murder, etc. We know that this is not true. Islam has had many positive impact on the world today.
Dear Nasima Khatun,
Here is my response to your message.
I agree with you that it would be unfair to blame all the mishaps of the society on religion. There are many crimes that happen due to the human's own wickedness that is often caused by wrong education. Criminals fill the prisons of all countries whether Muslim or not. If a man is abusive to his wife it is not necessarily because of his religion. It could be because of his upbringing in an abusive family. But what if this abusive behavior is not the exception but the norm? In that case one could conclude that in such places many families are abusive and therefore the abuse becomes part of the culture. If few people beat their wives, that is abusive but if most people do it, it is 'normal' and a cultural thing.
We notice that the abuse in Islamic countries towards the women is far more than the abuse of women in the West. One example of that is honor killing. In many Islamic countries honor killing is not a bad thing at all. In fact the killers regain their honor by killing a female member of their own family. Often these victims have done nothing wrong. They have been raped forcefully and now they have to be killed by their own brothers or fathers. In Jordan a brother killed his own sister after another brother had raped her. The killer got one-year jail and was extremely proud of his crime. Sometimes the husband just kills his wife and then accuses her of infidelity to get a lenient treatment.
The question is why abuse towards women in certain cultures is a norm while in other cultures it is an exception? We could ask this question about other 'cultural' traits. For example all Islamic countries are antidemocratic to the extent that they are Islamic. Is there any relationship between Islam and lack of democracy?
What is culture? Culture can be defined as the general characteristic of a community. The community is made of the individuals. Individuals have values and act according to those values. Those vales are often given to them at their childhood in their families. Values drive from beliefs. If my beliefs subconsciously make me a misogynist, it is very probable that I will end up as a woman hater and abuser.
What values Islam give to its followers? Quran is very clear that Men are a degree superior to women and that they are their protectors. This undoubtedly conveys the idea that women are incapable to take care of themselves and they are dependent on men. This false image of women is further emphasized when the laws of the Sharia do not recognize women as intelligent enough to witness is a court. The reason given is that if one of them forgets, the other one can remind her. Is there any scientific study that demonstrates women are more forgetful than men? Absolutely not! All these stereotypes convey only one message to the subconscious of the man who believes those teachings are from God. The message is that women are inferior, that they are deficient in intelligent, that they are crooked like a rib that cannot be strengthened. What are the consequences of such conditioning? The consequence is that women should not be trusted. That they are naturally inclined to be wicked, and that they must be punished and even scourged (beaten). An unequivocal example of such conditioning can be witnessed from the writings of Mr. Sulayman Yahya who in his last message to me wrote;
"Maybe a liberal freethinker like you would enjoy watching his wife screwing (which is transgressing) with another freethinking man. Perhaps a free thinking wife has the right to do so"
This gentleman is incapable to accept the facts that women have equal rights. He equated emancipation of women with adultery. This is disturbing and shameful yet as a Muslim he is incapable to elevate himself beyond that. No wonder these Muslims kill the women and deal with them so harshly for little offences like when a woman exposes her hair or her arm. He sees that as tantamount to adultery.
Therefore there can be no denial that religion has an important effect on our culture, that it shapes our individual as well as our collective behavior. Therefore we must blame the religion for most of negative trait of a society. If violence against women, abuse of human rights and dictatorship are part of the teachings of a religion and the majority of the individuals who are subjected to those teachings behave in such manner then it is those teachings that are to be blamed and nothing else.
In your own message to me you mentioned that when in Bangladesh your Islamic teachers did not allow you to ask religious questions. They did not allow you to ask questions because Muslims are very sensitive towards criticism. You can ask as many questions as you like but your reaction to the response must be 'yes I agree', 'yes now I understand' to all of them. If you ever insist or God forbid disagree with a statement given as the answer, you will be dealt with not so pleasantly. This is not a personal characteristic of a Mullah but a general characteristic of all the Muslims, Mullah or not. In such culture where freedom of thinking and questioning does not exist, dictatorships thrive. Dictatorships exist in the family where clearly Muhammad puts women under the tutelage of men. Dictatorship exists in the community where a Mullah can decide the life and death of another person without the need of any trial or defense. And dictatorship exists in the system of government. As Westerners distanced themselves from religion and learned about equality, they also learned about democracy. It is unthinkable that a dictator can rise in USA, Canada, UK or Australia and be accepted. This cannot happen even in Germany anymore. But in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and virtually all Islamic countries dictatorships are the norm. If a democratic government comes to power, it will be soon overthrown by another dictatorship or it will become a dictatorship. People, who have been suppressed by a pernicious culture like that of Islam, accept dictators. This is unthinkable in the West. Therefore whether you admit it or not most of the mishaps in our world happen thanks to Islam.
quote:From Ali sina's mail, there seems so much hate for the Muslims on his behalf. I feel that his hatred, although based on the concepts of Islam, is also based on the fact the he is a shia and from Iran. Your article about the sunni's prohibiting idol worship clearly shows your personal discontent with the majority Sunni Muslims.
There is not a single verse in all my writings that contain hate against Muslims. My whole purpose of writing is to save my Muslim brothers and sisters from the claws of Islam. My writings are my messages of love to Muslims. I challenge you to find one sentense were I have spoken against Muslims with hate. I consider Islam as a disease and Muslims as the victims. My aim is to save Muslims from Islam. I hate Islam very much. I hate Islam for the same reasons that I hate Nazism or any ideology of hate. Sunni and Shia are not relevant to me. They are both doctrines of misguidance. There is no difference between the two. My article about the images of Muhammad criticizing Sunnis simply points out to the absurdity of Islam where some of its followers consider blasphemy what its other followers regard as the expression of devotion.
quote:This is why in countries like Bangladesh, more harm will be done than good, by forming an organisation whose sole purpose is to implement freedom of speech.
I am afraid you are completely wrong. Freedom of speech never does harms anyone. It is absurd to think that I will do you a favor if I gag you and suffocate your voice. This is a very strange logic. Do you think that you are better now in UK where you can say what you want, read what you want and think what you want or when you were in BD where you were not even allowed to ask certain questions? If you think you prefer this freedom then why is it that you prescribe its suppression for your Bangali compatriot women? Isn't that hypocrisy to come to UK and enjoy from all the freedoms that this country offers and insist that your sisters back home remain under the oppression of men, and keep upholding a religion that suppresses their rights and freedoms?
quote:The term 'freedom of speech' is very vague. What is the purpose of freedom of speech? Just to show that I am right and u r wrong?
The term freedom of speech is not vague at all. Why in the world it is vague to you I cannot understand. The purpose of freedom of speech is to allow everyone to express their views without being persecuted or lose their lives over it. In fact the freedom of speech is to avoid that evil that you are referring to, that where this freedom does not exist takes roots. When a group assumes to have the absolute truth, it abolishes the freedom of speech because it assumes that there is nothing that anyone else could teach them. It is because they feel threatened by opposition and want to eliminate it. Where every one is free to express his views, different ideas collide and from this collision the spark of the truth is kindred.
quote: About 5 yrs ago I saw an interview of Taslima Nasrin on TV. She was proclaiming her fight for the justice for the women in bangladesh. But did Salman Rushid have the same objective when he insulted the Muslims with his book? There is a fine line between freedom of expression, and libel and slander. The latter is disproved of by the so-called 'freethinkers', and the former is promoted. As far as I was concerned Salman Rushdi was in breach of libel and slander of the prophet and the Muslims. His book was not a critique or an analysis of Islam; that would have been freedom of expression. His book was an expression of erotic fantasy. If he wanted to prove that Muhammad was sleaze he could have put some kind of constructive arguments. But his book was just an entertainment.
Salman Rushie's book was a fiction. He is a novelist. Taslima Nasrin is a social critique. They have different specialties. I personally love to write a novel but I am not talented for that. The style of the writing of a person is his or her own business. The point is that anyone must be free to write whatever he wishes. Compose any style of music, paint in any color, form or theme. This is freedom. You are also free not to buy his books, music or paintings if you dislike them. But you cannot prohibit another person to express himself the way he or she wishes or suppress his message nor deprive me from listening to the message that I like. If you allow yourself such prerogative, then I should do the same. And you know what? I firmly believe that Quran has a bad influence on people and I would like to ban it. Tell me please why you allow yourself to ban the book of Salman Rushdie and think I should not have the same right to ban Quran? Of course you may say that I am in minority, but not in the West. Here many people from Christians to atheists believe that Quran is a bad book and technically we have enough force to demand the ban of Quran. This of course sounds very much absurd and ridiculous. Well you are right it is. But so is the demand of the Muslims to ban the books of Rushdie, Duran or any other writer. The Golden Rule dictates that you do to others what you expect others do to you. If you don't like to be censored personally, you should not censor others. Period.
quote:Freedom of expression violates the concept of tolerance. If what I say does more good than harm then I will certainly say it. If what I say Causes more harm than good then I will stay Quiet, and that's TOLERANCE for me.
This is the most absurd statement you could every say. What you describe could be defined as tact or political correctness but has nothing to do with tolerance. You are putting the carriage before the horse. The tolerance comes from the listener not from the one who wishes to express herself freely. If what you say is hurtful to me, it is up to me to be tolerant and let you say what you say without chopping off your head. If you have to keep silent because you fear angering me, and that may cause me to act erratically, you can choose to remain silent because a) you don't want to lose your life and b)you don't want me to go nuts. That is not tolerance. That is fear in the first case and tact in the second. But as long as I keep suppressing your opinions by behaving violently you will not be able to talk. It is me who is intolerant towards you. I am the one who is taking away your right to tell your side of he story. What is your side of the story is not important. Whether it is a logical argument against me or simply a satire ridiculing my tantrums is not important.
Muslims have acted like hooligans throughout the history. They have silenced anyone who has said anything against that book they call the book of miracles. How in the world anyone can learn the truth if as soon as someone tells the truth his head is demanded? Is this rational? If Quran has any truth in it, it should withstand the criticism of its opponents and if it hasn't then why should anyone follow it?
posted
UT, its saturday, take a day off, go out for a walk, smell flowers, wonder at the beauty of trees, get off the internet for a day!
-------------------- If you don't learn from your mistakes, there's no sense making them. Posts: 15090 | From: http://www.egyptalk.com/forum/ | Registered: Jul 2004
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quote:Originally posted by *Dalia*: I would add -- do some exercise, talk to real life people, smoke a joint, read a good book, listen to some meditation tapes.
I'm off now to do some grocery shopping and prepare a birthday party. Salam.
i agree Posts: 9443 | From: USA...... | Registered: Jun 2006
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posted
Hey Micky, what are you doing in this section?
But while you're here ... can't you give me an idea for a simple desert that goes well with mezze and oriental food? I was intending to make aşure but just decided it's too much work. Posts: 2803 | Registered: Feb 2007
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quote:Originally posted by *Dalia*: Hey Micky, what are you doing in this section?
But while you're here ... can't you give me an idea for a simple desert that goes well with mezze and oriental food? I was intending to make aşure but just decided it's too much work.
oriental food can be very filling so i would suggest something lite like just a fruit platter with cheeses or coconut ice cream or like a figs with honey drizzled on top
Posts: 9443 | From: USA...... | Registered: Jun 2006
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posted
All the food will be vegetarian, so it won't be that filling ... I do use quite a bit of oil and tahina though.
Coconut ice cream is a great idea! Why didn't I think of that? Thanks.
I'm going to make a curry-coconut-cream soup too, btw. Doesn't really fit in with the other stuff, but who cares.
Posts: 2803 | Registered: Feb 2007
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posted
Great. I will get back to you when I'm going to make it. Probably next week ... for now I'm busy with the other stuff.
Posts: 2803 | Registered: Feb 2007
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or like a figs with honey drizzled on top
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