@Daneshmand @Syed.Ali.Haider
for some reason Reza Aslan's name keeps popping up in the mind.
hurd him recently
he says beliefs themselves are not an issue much its only when some of the extreme views are put into action
example Saudi beliefs and Daesh beliefs of Islam are the same. its only that Daesh has put them into action.
he further says, religion is not God.. but a path to God. and faith is something very personal.
back on topic, does blaming neighbours and west solve the problem? (symptoms that are hurting us all?). no they don't.
what are the causes? the the puritan crusade by some people within the country and (the bigger brotherhood). my way or the highway.
Reza Aslan is a good scholar. He has done alot to preserve what little honor and good image Muslims are left with, in the world. Unfortunately it is the beliefs themselves that are the issue here, not the extent of action on them. The belief that causes and rather even bullies a fifteen year old to self mutilate himself is not right even it has caused harm to no other but its own believer.
Some of the greatest Ulemas of Islam gathered in Al-Azhar university and after long deliberations could not find what was wrong with Isis. Since everything Isis does is according to the letter of Islam. We of course get shocked by its doings because we have become so accustomed to see the world through lofty Western ideals.
Muslim lands are in dark ages. Their renaissance, (even if we can call and hope for such) has not yet arrived. The ignorance is deep and multi-layered. Such simplistic notions such as if we do this or that or if we implement certain kind of dictatorship or that ideology in governance, will not bring light to these lands. Not at all. History has to take its course. The MAXIMUM thing we can do and can be done with extreme effort is to suspend or at least mute the Takfir component of Islam. Some way has to be found for Islam to respect humanity and the sanctity of human life. I repeat again, this is the MAXIMUM, you can do in this century, with extreme efforts.
And even if you succeed in that, the misery in Muslim lands will not end. Muslims will continue to suffer regardless. Tell me this, which is claiming more number of lives in Pakistan, Takfiri terrorism or tuberculosis? Takfiri terrorism or falciparum malaria? In 21st century you are losing more people to diseases that have long been eradicated in West and most of the east. Did you know that no Muslim nation can manufacture anti-TB medicines? As a TB afflicted country how much TB research is being done in Pakistan? And these are just examples of a Muslim country that has a solid science and technology base, armed with nuclear weapons. In many other Muslim lands, situation is even worse. Let's not kid ourselves.
Even before puritan crusades, Muslims were a bunch of ignorant suffering at their own hands. In fact, if you want to know the truth, well, then the truth is, Muslims have always been happy living under corrupt rulers as long as those rulers accepted the right of these people to remain "religious" but ignorant. You take the fake romanticism out of Islamic history and all you will see is filth. From Ummayad Caliphate to Ottoman Caliphate.
But all this, does not mean the history will pause. Certainly not. The history has to move on. After all resources are limited on planet earth. There will always be fight over them. Wars will be fought. War masters will emerge. Puppets will be brought in. Savages will be employed. Those of sane and strategic thinking will try to claim their share in this, not for their own sake. But for the sake of their future generations. The current ignorant generations are hopeless and their utility if properly utilized will just be to carve out a physical future for their future generations to come. Maybe in next centuries, Islam will also give birth to enlightenment like Christianity gave.
My advice? just make sure your country see the light of the day when and if enlightenment happens, and that you have have left some resources behind for those generations that are to follow you. It won't be easy. You will have to fight the war today. Just like in dark ages wars were fought which still affect the history of Europeans today. For instance, Iran can not allow itself or its allies to be dominated and even destroyed by Takfiris. Iran will have to continue to defend its own culture, history, geography and unity.
Even if Iran is not the epitome of enlightenment today, this does not mean Iran should not secure itself against the American concocted strategic plans to turn every God damn people out there to puppets in American employment. Iran's "evil" empire must survive not for people today. But for people yet not born. Otherwise when and if they are born, they won't be called Iranians. They will be something else, slaves, takfiris, who knows.
The stakes are too great. Any nation that does not want its fate to be decided by master lord, has to take matters into its very own hands. It will have to act bravely and independently. For its own sake. Chinese are doing just that. Russians have been doing it since centuries ago.
