Yesterday, I just sitting at my desk minding my own business when a client walks in with an ‘Oh-my-God’ look and announces,
“Guess what, GEN 273 just halted”
Now this may not mean much to most people, but for me, it’s the equivalent of someone saying,
“Empire State just collapsed”
Two minutes after I started to panic, he bursts out laughing with a
“Fooled ya, it’s the first of April you know!”
And it also so happens that a lot of muslims keep asking, “why don’t we celebrate April Fool’s Day as well”. Leaving aside the stupidity and sheer incompetence this shows, I’d like to discuss on a bigger aspect; why we always wanna imitiate the west.
Historically, it is an accepted fact that the weak society always follows, or tries to follow the strong society. I’d like to take an example of the Bani Israel. When they were led out of Egypt and saved from the Pharaoh, what was the first thing they did?
Well, they apparently saw a group of people worshipping idols, so they go over to Musa (peace be upon him) and ask,”Why don’t you make for us a god like they have gods?”
Now, this happens after they witness the splitting of the Red Sea and seeing Pharaoh and his men drown with their very eyes. So is this their belief?
I wouldn’t think so. The thing is, the Bani Israel had been oppressed and enslaved for so long, that they had started to suffer from an inferiority complex. And anything someone else did, looked better than what they had.
This is exactly the problem with muslims today. We (I have to admit) are a weak people today. And by that, anything we see the west doing, we try to adapt. Be it April Fool’s Day, or New Years’ or Valentine’s Day, we wanna be a part of it just because we think that the stronger nation is always superior.
Its time someone set that straight.
7 comments:
I don agree with ur point that we[muslims] r weak... the point is human heart is weak irrespective to religion belief... u try to adopt anything happens on mass or anything happens in a country/ community which is large. example... how many people wear ur pants above ur ankle [even i dont]...?? but incase if it becomes a fashion like wat girls r wearing then u will start wearing ur pants above ur ankle... but we as muslims are of shy type... we don start any trend..... when the tym comes u fear of allah and all muslims start wearing ur pants above ankle and someday it will be a fashion and u will see westerners imitating it...
Rahman, I really like the way you express your thoughts and the direction in which your thoughts flow too, but I am really really surprised by this post.
Linking "Fool's day" with religion? Do you really think that someone wishing to observe the day is showing a sign of weakness? Indian society has always been receptive to nice things which it has seen in the outside world .. and this applies to all people, irrespective of their religion ... Muslims, according to my observation are the strongest among all believers and in no way can be branded as weak only cauz they want to be a part of something fun which comes from west.
In the present society, festivals and celebrations have crossed all boundaries ... You go to US, and you can see many non-hindu american citizens celebrating holi & diwali ... you can see them enjoying during musilm post-roza feasting ... and not few, I am talking about hundreds of them ...
Taking interest in festivals/days celebrated other than what our religion has, is actually a sign of healthy frame of mind ... it shouldn't actually make us feel insecure and induce the feeling tht we r weak and falling to the temptation ..
Our opinions certainly differ here, but this is exactly what i feel .. :)
This is an issue that has to be carefully dealt with.
I believe that there is absolutely nothing wrong about "aping" other civilizations, when it is done with enough thought. Your "weakness" theory is quite accurate, but that is not always the case.
A culture has its restrictions, stemming from beliefs, misinterpretations, politics. That is innate to human nature, and hence it is also natural that we tend to like other cultures, and copy them. That does not necessarily imply "weakness".
But yes, you have a point. I believe that believing something without a reason and proper thought is a crime to yourself. :)
Nicely written.
@Sheeru
Actually what I wrote on weakness is not my opinion; this is psychologically provable that any weak society/person imitates someone they consider superior to themselves. I'm afraid that is a fact; difficult as it may seem
@pratosh
Great to hear frm you dude…where you been?; I must say I'm suprised in a pleasant way...but looks like you've stumbled on the wrong link if you were hoping to read on general issues - you find that on Random Thoughts.
Now coming to your point, culture and democratic processes aside, there are certain religious principles that simply cannot be changed to "fit in with the times" and as far as Islam goes, celebration of such festivals includes in that. You are free to disagree with me on this - but I'm afraid that is the honest truth.
This has nothing to do with being broad-minded or being open to cultural adaptations. I believe part of being open involves appreciating restrictions in other religions - for instance of the non-consumance of beef by Brahmins, even if they live in the United States which literally lives on beef burgers and stuff. Such a person asking why they should avoid beef since everyone else eats it would be the example of what I am talking about. That is where standing up for what you believe in comes in.
@alok
Thanks dude.
But like I said on the earlier comment, I believe that part of broadmindedness lies in our respecting the boundaries of a culture or religion.
I’ve read a few good stuff here. Certainly worth bookmarking for revisiting. I surprise how much effort you put to make such a fantastic informative web site. [url=http://profvesti.ru/o-stroitelstve-svoimi-rukami/79-stroitelstvo-basseyna-svoimi-rukami.html]ремонт квартир ключ[/url]
Post a Comment