Month: May 2019

Wahhabism Versus Sufism and Ahmadias

Why is Islam in AfPak degrading with anarchy and radicalism, while Malaysia, Indonesia, and South East are evolving into civilized societies despite practicing Islam?

Not sure, but if one can speculate, economic regression and lack of education play a prominent role in keeping those anarchists (and their mullahs) at busy with the religious cause. Opportunities and education, conversely, will keep these elements in control.

Another cause, which has long been usurped, in AfPak including Kashmir, that their land is in trouble. Those from the middle east suffer from crusader syndrome (just created this word, so don’t say you knew it), which the followers from distant southeast Asia don’t align with.

Also, the shades of Wahhabism gradually fade and dilute, as you reach distant land. Only if Sufism or Ahmadias start taking over will we see a recession in radical Islam.

No one can deny having met absolutely superhuman beings from Islam. So, if Islam were to be bad, all these folks would too. The problem is not with Islam, the problem is with the brand of Islam. Islam has several flavors, and it is deeply subject to interpretation. The educated and elite know how to interpret Islam, the uneducated, deprived of economic opportunities and without a milieu to question or reflect, never get to know the real Islam. Added to that, economic regression, war and a constant barrage of the threat to their religion/region create a cauldron for a radical brand. More so, the Wahhabism school is a firebrand, whereas the Sufism and Ahmadis are more open and relatively evolved.

Generally, in any society, irrespective of religion, the sane are polite and modest in interaction, whereas, those who are less mature are aggressive and to some extent, go unscathed. This phenomenon also exists amongst the practitioners of Islam. Those educated and elite, take a nonaggressive modest humble approach and those irrational and uneducated take aggressive approaches. Consequently, the sane voice is diluted and the aggressive one heard.

Islam is good, those interpreting Islam (aggressive Mullah’s) are responsible for its defamation. That also means practitioners of any religion define its class and interpretations. No religion is barred from this, including Hindu radicals and fanatics.

Our Obsolete ‘Fairy Model’

The “Fairy Model”, is embedded as a class effort. Islam has humane cause and healthy tenets, however, the clerics and the religious guardians have become too strong, authoritarian and harsh to let any intellectual individual let it evolve. Islam is not an exception, followers of any faith, not just Islam but Hindus, Christian and Jews etc., all have to reconcile to the concept of change and get rid of the obsolete ideas and evolve. Today, we need religious change more than any technology. The chasm is widening everyday. Evolving religious ideologies to match the changing world alone will solve the problem created by this chasm.

“You would be in Jannat (heaven)” with those multiple fairies. Those are the promises made to several of the Jihadist on multiple occasions, umpteen number of time.

Utter nonsense for four obvious reasons –

  1. This presumes carnal life extends to Jannat. In true spiritual sense, if Jannat has to exist, will it be with those material trapping? Great food, sex, pleasure? Utter nonsense taught to gullible and innocents who cannot think through.
  2. That Jannat is also the place where Lord enjoys carnal moments. Wow! So those who prophesies also awaits the moments to indulge in material pleasure? Surprising that the spiritual leaders are ever bonded and never rise and evolve (those interested may read Maslow’s hierarchy of needs).
  3. The perpetrators forget that the victim, after their death, too enjoys similar benefits in Jannat.
  4. Islam has no place for ladies in Jannat, except serve these youngster, who have just achieved martyrdom. Well, that is against ‘equal opportunities’? A review of history shows countless women having led countries, religion and ideologies. It is a great insult to womanhood when their participation is not extolled.

My request to those prophesying terrorism, please change or update your model, it truly sounds dumb because everyone gets the same treatment – The Lord, The Victim and the Perpetrator. It is little old fashioned and outdated. Unlike old fashioned communism, during these times, everyone would like to be treated differently, not the same.

The concern is not about dedicating for religion or its ideologies, it is about having sane ideas and devoting for those. Finally, every religion has artifacts, and I consider this as one of those artifacts. However, truly speaking, enticing young gullible youngsters with a ‘Fairy Model’, sounds really outdated and obsolete.

Every religion is bound with emotions and artifacts but deep inside, there is a rationale and a message for humanity, often in the context when those tenets were laid. However, over a period, those who are expected to safeguard those tenets, either ends up evolving it or denigrating and exploiting it. Evolution generally is forwarded by singular efforts, whereas devolution or exploitation is generally a class effort. An outside-in view will always provide a rationale and reasoning and remove those emotional epithets.

In this case, the “Fairy Model”, is embedded as a class effort. Islam has a humane cause and healthy tenets, however, the clerics and the religious guardians have become too authoritarian and harsh to let any individual let its ideology evolve. Followers of any faith, not just Islam, but Hindus, Christian and Jews etc., all have to reconcile to the concept of change and get rid of the obsolete ideas.

Assimilating change is challenging, especially within the realms of religion. Change is challenging because it is difficult to understand the change since we are moribund to the status quo, and then to assimilate and drive that change within the context of the religion and finally, to contextualize it to make it relevant. Changing the Fairy Model is not just important but an existential reality for not just one religion but pretty much all religion or ideologies.

Kashmir attack: Tracing the path that led to Pulwama

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-47302467