Alright, I'd like to raise a subject that is rather explosive. Of course, I like to think that a lot of my writing are, but sadly that is not the case. But this one is, I think. So what I'm going to do is put some asterisks down, and you can decide not to read the bits after them if you think you are easily offended. And if you do, please read it all the way. You'd be better of not reading this at all than half-ass it. Alright? Alright.
*******
That's seven asterisks. Strange, I don't think that's enough. Here's more.
**********
That's ten. Ah heck, I'l put them down vertically. More efficient that way. Scroll down if you still want to read.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Here goes. Just one more and I'll start.
*
Islam! And anal sex!
No, just kidding. I don't have much experience about it, so I'll lay off the anal sex part.
Granted, I'm not well-versed about Islam, either. I'm not a Muslim, I was not raised in an Islamic household, I have not read the Quran (I tried, though, but the translation was terribly convoluted for me), nor have I had Islamic education. Most of my friends are Muslim, but I'm still not entirely sure what Islam is all about. All I know is that the word itself means 'surrender' or 'submission,' I think, the way the word samurai actually means 'to serve,' but in relation to God (Allah) instead of man.
So of course I have questions. And opinions. And rants. Mostly rants.
First off, I read that Islam is not a new religion. Some say that Muhammad was not an innovator in that sense, he only brought back the original primordial natural religion of Allah's. They say that there is only one true religion (Islam), and the other religions (the other Abrahamic religions, that is) are all aberrations and distortions from the one true religion which has existed since Adam's time. Really? I mean, let's examine that a bit closer. Let's have a look at the five pillars of Islam that every Muslim is required to live by.
Number one. The syahadat or the Creed. Basically it's about admitting that Allah is the one true God and Muhammad is His prophet. Now, obviously this comes into existence only after Muhammad's establishment as a prophet, right? Imagine if it was revealed before people know of Muhammad's existence. Maybe another Muhammad, a boy from the next village, got really excited and thought "Hey, I'm Allah's prophet!" but got disappointed after people decided that he's not the Muhammad, he's just another Muhammad like a lot of dudes out there now. To me, this is clearly an innovation and not one of the original values of the original religion.
Second. The five daily prayers, or the shalat. I know about the concept of prayers. You try to talk to God, come to Him with your problems, and your gratitude, and He almost never even says "Hi" back straight to your face. I get that. It's not implausible that prayers existed thousands of years ago. Even if it consists of bending over and kneeling while facing in the direction of a certain Cube in a special city in a particular desert. The ancient people were probably way more savvy about navigation and orienteering than common people nowadays. No problem.
Three. Alms-giving, or zakat. This too I have no problem with. Selfless redistribution of wealth probably was the norm in the past, and the emphasis on the obligation to do so was only made important after the rise of capitalism and individualism. Maybe. Whatever. Again, it's not implausible.
Number four. Fasting during the month of Ramadan. I'm curious about whether Abraham and Moses and Jesus fasted during Ramadan. Not least because most Christians and Jews seem to think that they were Jewish and had different names for the months. Maybe they happened to know Ramadan with a different name. I don't know. And I don't know whether they fast during that month. But fasting was nothing new, I think, there's mention of it in the Bible and the Torah.
Five. The pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca. Muslims claim this tradition was established by Abraham, I think? I don't know much about it. It involves walking around the Kaaba, sure. I don't know much else. And I don't know how old the Kaaba is, either. And some accounts say that Abraham lived in Canaan, not Mecca. The point is, I'm not sure what to think about this one. But I'm pretty convinced that this rule was designed for people living around the Arabian peninsula at the time, instead of the people living in, say, England or Philippines or Japan or Greenland. So if it was an old tradition, it kind of makes sense. Maybe it used to be more significant, more like a quest or an adventure with pilgrims living up to their name by virtue of facing risks of death while crossing the desert, whether by thirst or starvation or being eaten by a Krayt Dragon.
Hmm. I'm more confused now than when I started. I had wanted to compare what the various scriptures say about these pillars, but I keep reading about how a lot of Muslims believe that the scriptures before the Quran had been corrupted, creating the aforementioned aberrations, hence the need for a new scripture, which Muslims have kept pure and pristine by using only human memory and word of mouth which are so reliable instead of written words which are easily edited and manipulated. Makes a lot of my thinking moot. Bollocks.
Well, that's all I know about the pillars of Islam. Oh, or maybe it's not really the core issues of Islam? Perhaps these are just the outwardly manifestations of the correct attitude and belief according to Islam? Maybe. I don't know. Fuck.
***
Another thing. Recently I read a lot of articles and pieces of writing and, yes, Tweets (shut up) about how secularism is a great enemy of Islam, how Islam is a complete way of life which is perfect in every way. I've even heard a song, clearly aimed at children, stating that "Islam is a way of life, a complete way."
That sort of thinking apparently made some people think that they are allowed to act like douchebags. "It's not just a religion, it's a way of life that should permeate our every action, our every thought. Not bringing Islam into politics, or indeed any part of our life, is a mistake." Bugger that. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for the integration of the spiritual and the pragmatical sides of life. I love how a lot of kung fu masters are depicted as great spiritual people who kick ass constantly. I like reading de Mello. Yay holism.
What I don't like is the holier-than-thou attitude. Thinking that your way of life is right all the time.
Here's an example. It seems that currently there are groups that want to make this country (Indonesia) an Islamic nation. They justify it by the claim above, about the perfect, holistic nature of Islam. It's stupid. Instead of explaining what they want, what their ideas are about how to run a country, instead of having rational discussions about what are going to be allowed or not if this country becomes Islamic, they went to "Our way is best. It's perfect." Some of them even badmouth other religions. No wonder there is resistance.
I'm not saying that this country is fine in its current state. It's clearly not. But the point is, I'm not sure that the Islamic way is any better. From what I can gather, it is absolutist. It claims to be God's will. It claims that if we only stick to this particular set of rules, everything will be fine and dandy. I seriously doubt that. Sure, Islam might, let me repeat that, MIGHT be perfect. But Muslims aren't. And if we base our society on something that is claimed to be perfect, while having said society run by imperfections, it's just a matter of time before it becomes distorted and corrupted.
***
That's it. Thanks for sticking with me right up until now. I really appreciate it. I'll confess something. Nearly all my opinions on Islam are based on recent knowledge. And I think a lot of said knowledge comes from bad Muslims. But somehow, I believe that there is good in Islam. I think that the distortion and corruption of Islam has already happened. I'm not sure that the people who are talking about it fully understand it. Just like me. It's very probable that I have been wrong all this time. So, here's the thing. I don't want to have negative opinions about something simply because I only hear about it from bad sources. So please, if you have something good to tell me about Islam, I'd be very happy to know about it. Please. Leave a comment. Tweet me. Text me. Call me. Any way you can reach me.
I don't like hating things, and I'm really close to hating Islam. Please don't let me.
Thank you.
No comments:
Post a Comment