Showing posts with label Western Culture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Western Culture. Show all posts

Controlling our Narrative

Monday, November 11, 2013

Let us all stop being manipulated. Let us stop our mouths from watering every time the bell rings. Let us stop being knee-jerk consumers of 24-hour news channels, internet crazes, and instant feeds.

Let us begin dictating our own agenda. Let us decide for ourselves what is worthy of our attention. Let us raise the bar in inter- and intra-communal discussions.

For every video showing a Taliban beating some lady, let us refrain from commenting at the behest of wider society. For every news story highlighting the plight of Saudi women and their prohibition from driving, let us turn our backs on outside forces dictating the relevancy of certain issues (and thus the irrelevancy of so many other). For every video of a Saudi beating an expat worker, let us avoid being goaded into an apologetic response merely to appease our host nations. For every nutjob Muslim highlighted for acting like a nutjob, let us stop validating the highlighters by psychoanalyzing the nutjob.

Let us stop digging ourselves deeper into our hole by continuously answering, ‘When did you stop beating your wife?’ Just as we understand the idiocy in replying to that question, we must also understand the madness in responding to every sensationalized whoop and holler highlighted in our newsfeeds.

We need to begin framing our own context and establishing our own position instead of responding to foolish viral videos and cultural phenomena that serve to only further substantiate prejudices and biases. Instead of fostering an enlightened alternative, we are only nourishing the degenerate beasts of shock journalism, snuff entertainment, and socio-cultural rubbernecking.

Must we have an opinion on every shmuck getting her fifteen minutes of fame? Must we demean ourselves with water cooler discussions about the latest video phenom on Youtube?

Or maybe we can choose the high-road and become prophetic, not only in our daily worship, but in our consumption of daily culture. Let us stop shrouding these instances of cultural flatulence in faux discussions of morality and ethics and instead, insist on meaningful conversations rich with substance and import, consistent with our agenda and beliefs.

Monday, November 11, 2013 | Labels: , , , , | 6 Comments  

When Muslims Intermarry

Friday, April 26, 2013

I recently returned from a short two-week trip to the US and one of the more common discussions I had with family and friends was about the future of Muslims in the West. I plan on posting my thoughts in some upcoming posts, so let me start things off with a very real concern: Intermarriage.

As Muslims being to assimilate and integrate, I find myself not so worried about some of the more recurring issues such as hijab or drugs or aqeedah – don’t get me wrong, they aren’t trivial, but they aren’t likely to result in offspring completely leaving the religion. On the other hand, the increasing rate of Muslims marrying outside our religion is just such an issue.

What so many Muslims may see as an acceptable practice from the Shariah point of view (where in fact a man marrying a Christian or Jewish woman is sanctioned, as they are People of the Book), is in my mind a very dangerous practice that will all too often result in future generations essentially leaving Islam.

As if the pressures of modern Western culture are not strenuous enough on a young Muslim, adding to the mix the life-long presence of a non-Muslim mother is, needless to say, very harmful.

And so I found this Washington Post article quite timely as it reinforced my recent concerns.

One interesting discussion I had was with my brother-in-law, who suggested that if I wanted to study the future of Muslims in the West, I ought to look at the Jews when they first arrived to the US. At the time of their arrival, they had a most similar makeup to us Muslims, in that they had relatively high levels of religious observation, a formal law like our Shariah, and restrictions on intermarriage.

And what I found was quite disturbing. When they first arrived in the late 19th century, Jews were intermarrying at a 4% rate. After nearly a century, their intermarriage has skyrocketed to nearly 50%. And this is from a religion in which intermarriage is strictly forbidden!

And as a consequence, as more Muslim men decide to intermarry, Muslim women will be left with little choice but to follow suit. This article from Al-Jazeera documents this inevitable rise in women marrying outside the faith.

Now some of you may be thinking, ‘How does this affect me or my children? They are being raised in a strictly observant household where intermarriage is not an option.’ That may be true, but can the same be said for two or three generations down the line?
 

Friday, April 26, 2013 | Labels: , , , , , | 6 Comments  

The Western Muslim's Burden

Sunday, September 2, 2012

A few days ago, a friend posted the following video about the efforts of the Deputy Mufti of Turkey to improve the women’s prayer areas in Turkish Mosques:



My friend lauded the efforts as a positive development and at first glance it does seem like a commendable initiative. However, after thinking about it, I must disagree.

I won’t critique the overt Western bias in the newscast.  Media in the West has an established agenda when it comes to covering the Muslim world – namely, the attempt to project Western liberal values onto a ‘backwards’ society. So when the news team who produced this short piece presents the female Deputy Mufti as a purveyor of some enlightened way and every other schmuck who questions her as an ignoramus, I’m not surprised.

And without sitting down and talking with the Deputy Mufti herself, I cannot possibly understand her motivations and rationales for leading this drive, so I’m not interested in criticizing her.

My reproach is for all of us Muslims in the West, who may see such a project and, based on our Western values and beliefs, immediately judge it as being a positive development for our misguided brethren in the Muslim world. We feel at ease in imposing our ‘civilized’ interpretations of Islam upon the backwards Muslim societies, like some twisted manifestation of the White Man’s burden - let us call it the Western Muslim's Burden. 

Afghanistan and the issue of female education is another example of the Western Muslim's Burden . We all started salivating when the West rang the bell calling for educating the young girls of Afghanistan.  I recall hearing khutbas and reading articles about the role of education and knowledge in Islam and how the Taliban's efforts against female education were antithetical to Islamic teachings. 

And so without realizing that fundamental societal issues needed to be addressed first, great initiatives were undertook to quickly open girl’s schools. All this effort was misdirected and misspent with increased tension and strife between the US-backed government and the more conservative elements of Afghan society.

Let us not repeat such dog-and-pony shows across the Muslim world.

Look, I’m all for efforts to make North American and European Masjids more women-friendly. For too long, sisters have been huddled into basements, behind barriers, and up on balconies – the same sisters who are actively participating in their work environments, universities, and all other areas of greater society. The dichotomy between these two worlds is so great and contradictory that it is has become unsustainable.

Originally, during the first generation of immigrant Muslims in the West (from the late sixties to the early nineties), Muslim women were coming from societies in which female participation in Masjid affairs, and to an extent in greater society, was very limited. And so, Masjids were built and organized to simply maintain that social structure.

As the first generation of indigenous Muslims grew up and this crop of Western-Muslims began to see the contradiction between the segregated role of women in the Masjid and the more egalitarian role of women in Western society, something had to change. And thus was born the movement to make the Masjids more women-friendly.

This recent movement hasn’t arisen in a vacuum. The social context has defined it. Muslim men and women have become acclimated to a more liberal stance on women’s role in society, thus allowing them to embrace the concept of a Masjid more amenable to women’s participation.

But can the same be said for Turkey?  

One needs to simply peruse the headlines to see that honor-killings and apostasy issues are still taking place in Turkey. Female literacy rates as well as employment rates are low especially when compared to their Western counterparts. Governmental positions held by women, salary gap between men and women, number of women shelters and other key indicators are similarly tilted against women. As much as the Turkish government may try to convince the world that Turkey is ready to join the EU, its people are still grounded in a more Eastern, traditional worldview.

Has the Turkish population internalized Western values, such as women’s rights, before initiating this project for women-friendly Masjids?

Now you may counter that removing the barrier or increasing women’s involvement in Masjid affairs are not exclusively Western values - that they are Prophetic values, as can be readily found in the Seerah of our Beloved Prophet (saw). Fair enough, but the social context of the Prophet’s time allowed for such practices (It could be argued that women in Muslim Arabia 1400 years ago were treated better than in most modern Muslims countries). It must be noted that in cases where the Prophet introduced concepts and ideas counter to prevailing social customs, such as abolishing slavery or prohibiting alcohol, it was done in a gradual manner so as not to upset the delicate balance of society.

So, if our objective is to (re)introduce the Muslim world to liberal values that are native to our tradition, then we must seek to do so in a holistic, foundational manner, avoiding the headline-grabbing, West-appeasing initiatives that will do nothing to change society and may even result in alienating the masses.


Sunday, September 02, 2012 | Labels: , , , , , | 9 Comments  

The Dangers of Harry Potter, Hunger Games, and the like

Monday, May 14, 2012

A while back, MuslimMatters had an interesting article about some beneficial teachings that could be gleaned from the Harry Potter books. Although the author did a commendable job in extracting positive lessons found throughout the series, it was nonetheless quite an unnecessary stretch, especially when there are countless more appropriate, less controversial sources for these same teachings.

To make matters worse, the ensuing comment thread found the proto-typical overly-simplistic Muslim approach of condemning the Harry Potter series as completely Haram based on its ‘glamorization’ of magic.

As for me, I believe both approaches missed the boat on the real dangers found in the Harry Potter series and other books of this genre.

Let me start by saying that it’s not the magic.  I don’t believe for one second that young children will begin dabbling in sorcery or witchcraft upon reading Harry Potter.  I don’t even believe they will think magic to be inconsequential in our deen, as some commenters in the MM article alleged.  Black magic will remain black magic – a completely forbidden act in Islamic teachings – and those who delve into it will do so whether they read Harry Potter or not.

Such fears are akin to a child reading the classic Treasure Island, chock-full of references of sailors getting drunk, and worrying about them wishing to get drunk – or at the least, thinking alcohol to be ‘no big deal’.

Maybe I’m being naïve, but I just don’t see that happening.

Similarly, I’m not afraid of my daughter picking up a bow and arrow and hunting down children in the neighborhood, Hunger Games-style. I think she realizes murder is bad.

The real danger in exposing our children to modern-day popular literature is the more subtle, insidious messages found throughout these books. It’s these messages that affect the subconscious.  It’s these threads that change personalities. 

I’m more troubled by the disrespect Katniss, the Hunger Games protagonist, consistently shows towards her mother.  I’m bothered by the selfish decisions she constantly makes with little regard for others.  It’s the individualistic ‘me-myself-and-I’ attitude that is found throughout the Hunger Games series that worries me.

Look, I understand that modern Western literature is merely going to reflect modern Western values.  In essence, that’s where my grievance stems from. These books are exposing our children to foreign values and morals that are inconsistent with the standards my wife and I are trying to establish in our home.

Too many of us parents are so ecstatic that our children are reading (as opposed to watching TV or surfing the Net) that we aren’t paying attention to the subtle ideals promoted within these books. Many of the books targeting modern-day teenagers contain dominant streams of feminist notions, individualistic thought, and material gluttony while concurrently disparaging religion and tradition and disrespecting elders.

Unfortunately there is great dearth of modern English literature written for the today’s Muslim youth. That’s why I’ve basically relegated myself to sticking to classical texts which maintain a respectable sense of traditional values more in-line with Islamic teachings. Fortunately, my daughter has shown a great deal of interest in these books, but at the same time, she is a product of her times and is constantly tempted by the popularity of Hunger Games, Percy Jackson, and the like.

It’s a fine line we’re treading here and I’m sincerely praying that an Islamically stable home and a pseudo-Islamic environment (living in Saudi) peppered with classical works and good, solid friends will be enough to temper the ill-effects of modern media.

Monday, May 14, 2012 | Labels: , , | 9 Comments  

What He Said...

Thursday, October 27, 2011

As a follow-up to my last post on the struggle of squaring the two circles of our existence (worldly and other-worldly), I would like to point you all to a very similar post by blogger Shardul of Allah titled "Life Revolving Around Work".  He nicely captures my sentiments.

Just not sure how he was able to read my post and then copy it 6 months ago!?  :-)


Thursday, October 27, 2011 | Labels: , , | 3 Comments  

The Prophetic Life vs the Modern Life

Tuesday, October 18, 2011


Recently I’ve been thinking about how completely discordant our modern lives are with the Prophetic model.  The more one tries throughout one’s day to earnestly adhere to the various acts of Sunnah, the more it becomes clear that life in the 21st century is quite inhospitable to the ideal Islamic way of life.

Before I continue, let me be clear here.  The Shariah has incorporated, by way of Allah’s Divine Mercy, mechanisms that tolerate and accommodate, throughout all time and space, the countless extremes found in human life. So I find nothing inherently anti-Islamic about life in the fast-paced Internet age we find ourselves in today.

That being said, when I try to mimic the life of my dear Prophet (saw) in this day and age, the incongruity between the two becomes very clear.  My pace of life simply doesn’t afford me the luxury to dutifully carry out all the voluntary acts of worship.

For example, most Muslims perform their five daily prayers void of the due reverence that the Prophet and his companions displayed.  From performing the Wudu with peace and serenity to attending congregational prayers at the Masjid to praying all the Sunnah/Nafl prayers, it would take at least 30 minutes for each prayer.  Now, who can afford two hours (not including Fajr) out of their busy daily schedule *solely for their prayers*?

Furthermore, what about the various Prophetic litanies, especially after Fajr and Maghrib, which would take an additional hour each day?

Then there is the Sunnah of staying awake from Fajr to Sunrise, reciting Quran/Dhikr, and finishing with the Duha salat.

And let’s not forget waking up for Tahajjud in the last third of the night.

Oh and then there are the Sunnahs of sleeping, such as sleeping immediately after Isha and reciting Surah Mulk and Ayat al-Kursi before sleeping.

I’ve mentioned some of the daily Prophetic acts of worship - acts which, in past generations, even the most casual of Muslims vigilantly maintained.  But beginning with our parent’s generation, I’m convinced that that number has dwindled down to only the select few.

How can one possibly perform all these deeds while equally maintaining a productive role in 21st century society?

How am I supposed to ensure my place in the first row of the masjid for every prayer? How am I supposed to stop whatever I am doing when the adhan is called, repeat after the mu’adhin, and then immediately rush to the masjid?

What of visiting close relatives and the sick, as well as helping the needy?  When do I find time for other Islamic acts such as dawah, gaining knowledge, and teaching others?

In order to loyally observe all the above, I would need to drastically alter the way I live my life. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, would have to take a back seat to my adherence to the Sunnah – family, friends, work, play, rest.

I am coming to believe that the two - the Sunnah way of life and the modern life - are unconditionally irreconcilable.  In order for one to thrive, the other must be sacrificed.

Personally speaking, my only extended moments of adherence to the Sunnah way of life have occurred when I visited Mecca or Madina, where the entire day’s schedule revolved around worshiping Allah (swt).  Only when I have withdrawn myself from the modern life have I been successful in recreating a daily schedule even remotely close to that of the Prophet's.

Obviously, such an indulgence is not available to the vast majority, so we must make (major?) adjustments to our daily lives if we wish to faithfully imitate the life of our beloved Prophet (saw).

I’m not simply referring to incorporating a handful of Sunnah acts into our daily lives.   In order to holistically actualize the Prophetic way of life, we have to adopt his worldview when designing and molding our lives.  This includes our priorities, our pace of life, our modes of entertainment, our sources of sustenance, our relations, and so on.

Where to begin? 

I’m open to suggestions.


Tuesday, October 18, 2011 | Labels: , , , , | 10 Comments  

Disconnected – My Plight as a Cultural Salafi

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

I have no home. In fact, I have been homeless for quite some time now.

I don’t mean a place to sleep or park my car.  For that I have a house.

But I have no home.

My bloodline tells me I’m from Pakistan.
My passport says I’m from America.
My current address informs me I’m in Saudi Arabia.

America is too First World.
Pakistan is too Third World.
KSA is too Not-of-my-World.

And so, I remain overwhelmed with a deep sense of homelessness. You may counter that it doesn’t matter, for we are all strangers in this world and we are all travelers in our journey to the afterlife.  I agree.  But boy do I feel…displaced? Not exactly, for I never felt that I had that *place* to begin with.  Maybe rootless, for I remain without any roots, but I think rootless isn’t even a word. Disconnected is probably best – missing that connection to a rooted home.

I have no land that I can call my own.  I have no affinity towards any one people.  I hold no pride for any one language that I speak.  My dress, while often of the American flavor, is intermixed with Pakistani and Arab – and I feel no attachment to any of them. I equally enjoy a good ‘ol-fashioned burger, Chicken Tikka Masala, Palestinian Maqlooba and Saudi Kabsa.

And so I feel not wedded to any one land or people.

My childhood memories are embarrassingly flooded with the self-gratification of the American 80’s.  I get nostalgic when I hear any song by the Culture Club or the Knight Rider theme song. Pathetic, I know.

I was raised on prathas and pizza, and while I celebrated the Eids, I inescapably felt the seasonal joy of the Christmas season.

I speak fluent English with my wife and kids, passable Urdu with my parents, and broken Arabic with my Lord.

Living in Riyadh for nearly 10 years, I am still considered by most Saudis as my wife’s driver (especially since she sits in the back seat with the little ones).

And so at the end of the day, I feel no sense of cultural *ownership* in America, Pakistan, or Saudi Arabia.

Although I was born and raised in America, I feel spiritually alienated and am convinced that a US-based future is very dangerous for myself and my progeny.

Pakistan may be my ancestral land where my parents currently reside, yet I find it too ‘foreign’ and unwelcoming for my western sensibilities.

And while I appreciate the Islamic ambiance afforded me in Riyadh and dislike the superficiality of it all, I know that in the end, this can never be home.

So where do I go? I have no reliable link to the past of any one heritage and I have yet to find a cultural soil ideal for the seeds of my future.

When I was young, I would brazenly declare that Islam is the only identity and culture we need.  Growing up in America, I was convinced that the unifying powers of Islam mixed with the trans-cultural experience of the US would spring forth a new generation free from the cultural baggage of our forefathers and overseas brethren. I staunchly believed this new generation would be international and free from borders - without need for any one culture.

Nearly thirty years later, I now see the fault in my logic. 

Man needs roots.  Man needs a home. Man needs to be able to look up the ladder of cultural lineage and see a link to his ancestry and then look down and feel a sense of stability for his progeny.  Man needs to know himself, his past and his future.

But if after years of self-evaluation, one sees a medley of traditional mores and a mishmash of social customs and a jumble of cultural affiliations, it will inevitably cause detachment and isolation.

So I’ve come to the conclusion that just as we need a solid spiritual isnad (chain) linking us all the way to the Prophet (saw), we must also maintain our cultural isnad.

Most of us realize that the path of cutting off our religious ancestors and inventing a completely new approach to our deen has been fraught with errors and folly.  Similarly, I realize that cutting off our cultural ancestors and creating a hodge-podge of various traditions and customs will result in an inevitable feeling of suspension, discontinuity, and aloofness.

My isnad has been severed, leaving me without a land or a people; and now, having rejected all the established traditions and cultures that I have ever known, I find myself isolated and without any connections of value, like a cultural salafi, hopelessly clinging to my dubious claim of cultural 'purity'.

Oh, and don’t feel pity for me. Save it for my children.

Their mother is a confused Palestinian-American and their father is an even more confused Pakistani-American and they’re being raised in a most confusing Saudi Arabia, interspersed with yearly jaunts back to America and Pakistan.

Ouch.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011 | Labels: , , , | 19 Comments  

The Evil of Sugar

Friday, May 27, 2011

I wholeheartedly urge all of you to watch this 90-minute presentation called "Sugar: The Bitter Truth". This specialist in childhood obesity from the University of California, Dr. Robert Lustig, gives an extremely convincing argument for looking at sugar as a poison or a toxin.

And if you find that 90-minutes is too long, then read this NY Times article summarizing Lustig's argument. I watched the presentation a few weeks ago and I read the article just yesterday and I actually preferred the article. Easier to keep up with the nuances and details.

And if even the article is too long for you, then allow me to summarize them both:

SUGAR SUCKS!

According to a 1986 FDA-sponsored study on sugar, individuals limiting themselves to 40 pounds of added sugar (the sugar beyond what we get from fruits and vegetables) per year demonstrated no conclusive proof of harm. Forty pounds per year amounts to 200 calories of sugar per day or the equivalent of a can and a half of soda or two cups of apple juice. Unfortunately, in the 80's, it was estimated that the average annual consumption of sugar was around 75 pounds a year!

So even back then, our levels of sugar consumption were potentially problematic according to that conservative study. "By the early 2000s, according to the U.S.D.A., we had increased our consumption to more than 90 pounds per person per year."

So clearly our diet has resulted in an unmaintainable rate of sugar consumption. But getting fat is the least of our worries. Recent studies are showing a strong correlation between sugar and insulin resistance.

"...if the fructose hits the liver in sufficient quantity and with sufficient speed, the liver will convert much of it to fat. This apparently induces a condition known as insulin resistance, which is now considered the fundamental problem in obesity, and the underlying defect in heart disease and in the type of diabetes, type 2, that is common to obese and overweight individuals. It might also be the underlying defect in many cancers."

The way our body metabolizes sugar and high-fructose corn syrup is extremely problematic.

"It very well may be true that sugar and high-fructose corn syrup, because of the unique way in which we metabolize fructose and at the levels we now consume it, cause fat to accumulate in our livers followed by insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome, and so trigger the process that leads to heart disease, diabetes and obesity. They could indeed be toxic, but they take years to do their damage. It doesn’t happen overnight."

That being said, scientists haven't been able to conclusively correlate the increased amounts of sugar and high-fructose corn syrup to heart disease, diabetes, obesity, or some forms of cancer.

Yeah, even cancer.

"Cancer researchers now consider that the problem with insulin resistance is that it leads us to secrete more insulin, and insulin (as well as a related hormone known as insulin-like growth factor) actually promotes tumor growth."

So, eventhough many studies are inconclusive, two of the leading experts on cancer and its potential link to insulin, Craig Thompson and Lewis Cantley have both taken the extreme measure of removing sugar from their diets.

"“I have eliminated refined sugar from my diet and eat as little as I possibly can,” Thompson told me, “because I believe ultimately it’s something I can do to decrease my risk of cancer.” Cantley put it this way: “Sugar scares me.”"

Indeed, sugar scares me as well.

With young children of my own, I am struggling to wean them from the high levels of sugar in their diet. So much of the food and snacks available nowadays is full of sugar. For now I'm focusing on two basic rules in our home: no sugar-infested drinks (replaced with milk and water) and lots of fruits. Simple steps that I suggest everyone else take as well.

Friday, May 27, 2011 | Labels: , | 11 Comments  

Is the Basis of Modern-Day Medicine All Wrong?

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

I have long questioned the role of major pharmaceutical companies in misdirecting and corrupting healthcare. They carry too much power in influencing the type of care many doctors give to their patients.

For example, here in Riyadh, it's all too common for a doctor to prescribe a litany of drugs for any and all ailments. I can't even begin to count the number of times that we took Humza to his pediatrician with allergy-like symptoms and returned with 6 to 7 different medicines.

There is big money to be made in this business of selling drugs.

This documentary from Al-Jazeera sheds some light on the "pervasive fraud, fatal side effects, and huge kick-backs paid to doctors" that plagues Big Pharma.

Also, these articles (here, here, and here) will provide some background on how the unimaginable greed displayed by these multi-billion dollar corporations is placing our lives at risk.

The latest finding is this Newsweek article that questions the foundation of many medical studies, which center around drugs and their supposed benefits.

"A study might ask whether coffee raises the risk of joint pain, or headaches, or gallbladder disease, or hundreds of other ills. “When you do thousands of tests, statistics says you’ll have some false winners,” says Ioannidis. Drug companies make a mint on such dicey statistics. By testing an approved drug for other uses, they get hits by chance, “and doctors use that as the basis to prescribe the drug for this new use. I think that’s wrong.” Even when a claim is disproved, it hangs around like a deadbeat renter you can’t evict. Years after the claim that vitamin E prevents heart disease had been overturned, half the scientific papers mentioning it cast it as true, Ioannidis found in 2007...

Of course, not all conventional health wisdom is wrong. Smoking kills, being morbidly obese or severely underweight makes you more likely to die before your time, processed meat raises the risk of some cancers, and controlling blood pressure reduces the risk of stroke. The upshot for consumers: medical wisdom that has stood the test of time—and large, randomized, controlled trials—is more likely to be right than the latest news flash about a single food or drug."

And finally, here is a nice article on the corporate dollar corrupting medical research.

Yes, let us keep believing that capitalism is but a minor inconvenience in these troubling times. While so many Muslims have convinced themselves that theological teachings, political participation, or spiritual purification are the various roads to true reform, this economic juggernaut of free-market capitalism is getting a free-pass while wreaking unbelievable havoc throughout the world.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011 | Labels: , | 4 Comments  

Solitude and Leadership

Friday, January 14, 2011

A while back I posted on the Joy of Boredom and how it's actually very productive to experience extended moments of 'nothing'.

That's why I found myself so enthralled by this speech given to the incoming class at historic West Point Military Academy. William Deresiewicz speaks about moments of solitude being critical in developing an individual's own thoughts and ideas.

I would only add that in addition to everything the speaker said, imagine the power of solitude when combined with the 'company' of Allah (swt). After all, the concepts of khalwa (solitude) and muraqabah (isolated introspection) resonate throughout the spiritual teachings of our deen.

Indeed it is a sad reflection of our times (and of ourselves, moreso) that so many of us are simply incapable of sitting alone with just our thoughts and Allah (swt). We are constantly in need of external sources of stimulation. We are constantly in search of ways to avoid being alone with ourselves. Solitude is seen as a waste of valuable time. It has been deemed 'inefficient' by the calculus of modern society. But how else can we ever travel down the path of deep reflection and introspection?

And seeing that many of us are parents, the essence of this lecture ought to be passed along to our next generation.

Here's the link:

http://www.theamericanscholar.org/solitude-and-leadership/

And here's a taste of what he says:

"You can just as easily consider this lecture to be about concentration as about solitude. Think about what the word means. It means gathering yourself together into a single point rather than letting yourself be dispersed everywhere into a cloud of electronic and social input. It seems to me that Facebook and Twitter and YouTube—and just so you don’t think this is a generational thing, TV and radio and magazines and even newspapers, too—are all ultimately just an elaborate excuse to run away from yourself. To avoid the difficult and troubling questions that being human throws in your way. Am I doing the right thing with my life? Do I believe the things I was taught as a child? What do the words I live by—words like duty, honor, and country—really mean? Am I happy?"

"Multitasking, in short, is not only not thinking, it impairs your ability to think. Thinking means concentrating on one thing long enough to develop an idea about it. Not learning other people's ideas, or memorizing a body of information, however much those may sometimes be useful. Developing your own ideas. In short, thinking for yourself. You simply cannot do that in bursts of 20 seconds at a time, constantly interrupted by Facebook messages or Twitter tweets, or fiddling with your iPod, or watching something on YouTube."

Friday, January 14, 2011 | Labels: , , , , , | 0 Comments  

Spread of the Western Lifestyle

Sunday, January 9, 2011

So I’m reading this must-read article in the Wall Street Journal, ‘Chinese Mothers are Superior’, about the way Chinese mothers raise their children in a strict, disciplinarian manner with high standards - in stark contrast to the Western method of coddling and appeasing the child’s self-esteem. I must admit that eventhough I’m convinced of the benefits found in the former approach, I’m guilty of practicing the latter. Not sure if my American sensibilities get in the way or if it's my wife’s guilt trips, but for the most part I find myself regularly letting my kids off the hook. I seriously need to commit myself to the more effective Chinese approach but with the most critical element of Islam and spirituality injected into the mix.

Anyways, I somehow end up reading this other WSJ article discussing a parenting revolution taking place in China where the current generation of parents are leaning towards a more liberal approach to raising children. As cited in the article, one of the top-selling books in China, titled ‘A Good Mom Is Better Than a Good Teacher’, “encourages independence and freedom while cautioning parents against overprotecting their children.” This revolutionary parenting advice of nurturing independent thought and questioning authority are cornerstones of Western thought and fly directly in the face of traditional Chinese parenting techniques.

And then I recall seeing a recent news report about countless elderly Chinese parents living a life of isolation and seclusion. And so to curb this negative trend, the Chinese courts have allowed these parents to sue their children for neglect and disregard.

The first thing that springs to my mind, admittedly as an outsider, is the seeming disintegration of basic Chinese values that I have long admired. The Far East was a land where elders were respected and children knew their place. Granted, these values defining the child-parent relationship are essentially ‘Eastern’, found throughout the Muslim world and Africa as well, but China has always been the embodiment of all things East.

Sadly, it is truly indicative of the times we live in, where the tentacles of the Western lifestyle are not sparing any nation or land. China is just the latest in the list of casualties.

Sunday, January 09, 2011 | Labels: , , , , | 11 Comments  

Down with the Cup!

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Must-read article by Reverend Frank Julian Gelli on the World Cup:

"Capitalism-plugged football is the new opium for the people. A counterrevolutionary tool. So David Cameron had the flag flying over Downing Street yesterday when England played the US. The bankers, financiers and public school toffs in power want to keep the opium flowing. By contrast, faith in God is about liberation. About arousing people up from their drugged slumbers. About a bright new dawn. Listen to the Apostle to the Gentiles:

‘It is full time for you to wake out of sleep. For salvation is nearer to us than when we first believed; the night is far gone, the day is at hand.’(Romans 13:11-12). Kick the habit, folks. Kick the Cup, O you new Gentiles. Time to wake up!"

Seems like the good reverend reads my blog:

"And it's this need for a diversion from 'life' that needs to be countered.

One reason for the Islamic prohibition of drugs and alcohol is the suspension of reality that is a consequence of their consumption. As mature, responsible adults, it is our duty (to ourselves, our families, and to our fellow man) to remain cognizant of our actions and our surroundings. By doing so, we are to constantly strive to become closer to the Ultimate Reality (swt).

Instead, we have become preoccupied with ways to distance ourselves from reality, thereby distancing ourselves from *the* Reality (swt)."

Sunday, June 20, 2010 | Labels: , , | 4 Comments  

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