'Islam is a Garbage Religion' —@lexiconical (Day 22)
We live in unexemplary times, maddened by fear, murderous ignorance and mistrust of one another. I look at the lengthening shadow of violence and intolerance spreading across the Middle East, Europe, and, now, the Divided States of America and wonder why the moral crises we're all experiencing do not awaken us to the world’s collective suffering and our interconnectedness—instead of continuing to point the finger outside, and blame others for all our ills...
For those, such as Lexiconical on Steemit, who insist on vilifying Others I invite you to read my entirely unthreatening experience: Coming to America: My Story As A Lucky Immigrant, Poet And Muslim
Furthermore, to be painfully clear, hate speech is not without its cost. It is a proven fact that hate crimes against Muslims are on the rise--from bullying in the classroom, to racial slurs, as well as more serious offenses, such as mosque burnings and bodily-harm. Which is to say violence begins in the mind, finds its way to our lips, and soon enough, translates into action against (oftentimes, dehumanized) others.
I did not think that I, a recovering existentialist, would find myself one day slipping through the back door of a much-maligned, widely misunderstood religion: Islam. Yet, led by an abiding longing, I crawled like a refugee to Sufism (its mystical branch) for succor and inspiration. To paraphrase Rumi, I let myself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what I love, and it did not lead me astray.
I did not imagine that in doing so, I would have thrust upon me the role of apologist for an entire faith and unwitting activist for 1/4th of the world! But, as an immigrant, Muslim and writer living in Trump’s alarming America, as well as a citizen of our increasingly polarized world, I find that I must begin by stating the obvious (every chance I get): Terrorism has no religion and most victims of terrorism are moderate Muslims, around 1 billion bewildered souls.
I hope, in my capacity as artist and person, to serve as a type of witness, and make of my art a sort of peace offering, addressing our shared humanity. It is my wish, in some small way, to try and alleviate the mounting fear and loathing, directed at those of different backgrounds/faith traditions. One way of doing so is to attempt and communicate through my meditations (such as these) the great peace and beauty I have, personally, found in Sufism, and Islam.
“Ah, to be one of them! One of the poets whose song helps close the wound rather than open it!” — Juan Ramón Jiménez
Which is not to say that, as a Muslim community, I believe we are entirely off the hook either. I agree that we are in need of some serious housekeeping, to declare to ourselves and the world in no uncertain terms, Not In Our Name. To distance ourselves further from the blasphemous-murders-who-would-sabotage-faith, we need to embody the peace, love, forgiveness and sacrifice we find in the spirituality that sustains us, and extend it to those who do not know any better.
For those who wish to deepen their understanding of the faith and its mystical dimension, here is a link to a fine book that I might be reviewing shortly, by a respected scholar of Islam: Radical Love Teachings from the Islamic Mystical Tradition
With so much institutionalized Islamophobia, it can seem overwhelming, at times, to think straight and keep our hearts open... Strange, how one hate enables another—how they are like unconscious allies, darkly united in blocking out the Light. Below, is a small poem of mine that, in the formulation of Emily Dickinson, seeks to: Tell the truth slant.
I
The watering holes are contaminated
animals stagger, wounded and wounding
strangling fierce and bewildered keening—
there is word of a stranger in the village
Spreading like lengthening shadows
spilling into once safe, sunlit spaces
splotchy-blotchy, blemishing news
as expected as a natural disaster
All is wet with fear of the unknown
sky and earth quake and thunder
before the hard truth of a reality:
Hate has found its way to Steemit.
II
Is there enough poetry to address this?
How to reason with a mind made, a heart sealed?
I could begin by quoting Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
The ink from a scholar is worth more than the blood of a martyr.
The most excellent Jihad is that for the conquest of self.
Kindness is a mark of faith, and whoever is not kind has no faith.
Poem © Yahia Lababidi
This is my entry for Day 22 of @d-pend's The 100 Day Poetry Challenge. If you're looking to develop your skills (as a writer or Steemian) and discover a sense of community, please, consider joining Steemit School on Discord
The Saudi govt. are the ones funding the extremist brand of Islam (Wahhabism) across the middle east.
Many Westerners don't differentiate between Wahhabism and other brands of Islam - they just lump them all together, which is a big mistake.
Thank you, brother, for making the distinction. Where others see "religion" I see "politics". And, because we are all connected, oppression and violence abroad, result in oppression and violence, at home.
I deeply admire your steadfast insistence on speaking from the heart, even in the face of heartlessness, Yahia.
In every culture, there are those of us who love life, and want it to be good. Not only for ourselves, and for our loved ones, but for all people. I'd like to think that most of us fall into this category.
Also, in every culture, there are those of us whose hearts, for whatever reason, are closed to others, to the world around us, to ourselves. Of course this has nothing to do with race, ethnicity, religion, or any of the other categories we human beings have tended, foolishly, to place so much emphasis on. But when a person's heart is closed, they often seem to want to look for someone or something else to blame, something to distract them from their own heartlessness.
It must be a frightening thing I think, not to be able to feel.
Thank you, brother, for your Big Heart & recognizing that the fault is in us, not faith.
Wishing you more Love, Beauty & Light to guide your way, dear artist✨🙏🏼♥️🕊💫
What a beautiful response
Bless your big heart, @beanz. I was moved by your principled and passionate response to Lex's post, and invite others here to visit it.
When we are silent in the face of hate, we are accomplices, and permit it to spread. Thank you, for daring to care and speak up
_/|\_Also, if your/others are interested, here's a short Q&A about what faith means to me:) Peace, all ways, Yahia
<3
Wonderful post. This might interest you. A kids album I made to counteract Islamaphobia and foster philosophical comradeship.
https://steemit.com/dsound/@benleemusic/songs-about-islam-for-the-whole-family
You're a cool guy, @benleemusic, and I'm really pleased to meet you. Compassion and interfaith dialogue mean a great deal to me, and I'm happy to see we face the same direction (the mystical heart) as fellow admirers of philosophy, spirituality and poetry.
_/|\_Thank you, for your humanity and I hope we might be able to collaborate on something, one day. Please, reach me on discord, if you're so inclined. (It would be my pleasure to share my poetry/aphorisms with you).Let's connect. Looking forward to it.
Cool, sent you a line or 2 via Discord :)
You took the high road. And this is the best response you could give. Keep spreading the love, bro.
Hey, thanks, for checking this out. Love is the only Way... Sending much in your direction ✨🙇🏻♂️♥️🕊💫
The greatest leader of the world The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said,
Islam is a religion of Peace, no religion in the world promotes "Terrorism". Because terrorism has no religion at all. It is a production of evil politics just to rule over the weak through terror.
Islam says "Even a smile is charity" then how could the Muslims kill the fellow humans? impossible. This is just a propaganda to defame the Muslims or any other religions of the world. I repeat religion has no religion, money and terror are their core values.
May the supreme power of the universe The God bless us with the power of Unity, Brotherhood and Love Aamen!
MashaAllah, Ameen.
Powerful essay and crucial advice to which people of all faiths need to adhere. Great poem. I was especially moved by these words: “Strange, how one hate enables another—how they are like unconscious allies, darkly united in blocking out the Light.”
I was raised Catholic, but very loosely. I was always drawn to the teachings of goodness but when confronted by, and rebuking immediately, the idea that God would send most of the world to eternal hell for not being Christians my mother assured me that everyone was on their way to heaven, they were just different roads. I scoured all religions for their truths, and found that all of the pieces made sense as part of the whole . And it seemed obvious to that just like everything else we have learned here on Earth, the differences were just like differences in languages and scientific discoveries: the pieces were translated by peoples of different language and environmental context etc. But the single most 'shocking' thing I came across was a couple of years ago, i somehow started reading a book called 'No God but God' by Reza Aslan and in it he said the Mohammad very clearly said that he was speaking of the same God and teaching the same principles that Abraham and Jesus had. I had always known it, but to see how clearly it was stated was mind blowing. How are people STILL fighting, when it is not only obvious but stated by the teachers themselves? Every time a reformation comes, because the messages get warped or commandeered purposefully for political reasons, all spiritual teachers come back to very similar simple premises, and yet we are STILL killing each other in their names. People can recite and reiterate huge passages and prayers, follow strict behavioral guidelines, which are really just the fingers pointing to the moon, and yet they just do not hear what they are saying or really grasp it.
That's it, all of the pieces made sense as part of the whole
As George Bernard Shaw put it: 'There is only one religion, though there are a hundred versions of it.'
Even though I was raised 'culturally' Muslim, I never viewed differences in religion (or the lack thereof) as something to separate us: my best friend was, and remains, an atheist, my wife a practicing Catholic and friends I admire are Jewish, Buddhist, and everything, in between.
Yes, Reza Aslan is a good point of entry to better understanding our similarities (as a Christian who converted to Islam) as well as wonderful scholars of religion, such as Karen Armstrong, Hamza Yusuf, and many others that I'm happy to share if someone is interested.
Thank you, for sharing your experience, and for your trust
_/|\_Thank you Yahia for a well-written and beautifully composed response.
Gladly many amongst us are capable of showing the tolerance of Islam and Muslims to such bad words and hatred speech, which unfortunately leads nowhere but to worsening the state of the world we live in.
Thanks again my friend!
Again, I'm grateful to you, @mcfarhat and @arabsteem for alerting me this unfortunate hit piece:
https://steemit.com/life/@lexiconical/uk-murder-27-in-2017-govt-determined-to-ruin-what-s-left-by-embracing-islam
Yes, I hope through tolerance, we might show ourselves other than how the bigots hope to paint us...
That's too kind of you. Extremist groups support one another, because they are what keeps the other side going. They both target the moderates. Nothing like hate to fuel hate, which fuels hate.
And far too often, hate is its own goal. That is to say, of the haters. Hate is not a living thing. It's humans who are responsible. That's why I am very much against calling people who do things you find inhumane "inhuman" or "monstrous," because that way lies, "That's not us. We'd have never done so."
I liked that one.
It's my belief that hate has another goal and is also the goal of more than just hate. Hate is the goal of the manipulator. People need to be manipulated to hate, and the goal of that hate is permission to destroy. The same people who manipulate us to hate are taking power over these countries and destroying the innocent lives of many. But what do they matter if we can be convinced to see them as the enemy.
That's an interesting take, but I disagree, but perhaps not fully.
I think most people want the manipulation to be there, because then they have a "permission" to hate - "it wasn't me, it was the manipulator!" But people should take ownership of their decisions.
I actually think it goes even further than that. Most people want to be manipulated, in one way or another. Some people want to be manipulated by the hate-mongers, and some want to be judged by the love-mongers.
So what you judge people by is not whether they are manipulated or not, but what it is they choose to be manipulated by.
As for hate's goal? It's to make you feel closer to others, ironically. Some just find it easiest to feel closer to others by painting those they are unlike.
Thank you, for your understanding, Guy. But, I’m not being kind, it’s more a matter of pity. I do view hate as a form of soul corruption — Gibran said it’s a dead thing, which of you would be a tomb?
And, even at their very worst, I tend not to think of people as bad, or evil... but weak or sick.
They do not know better & would behave otherwise if they did. But, even the most apparently educated, cultured, or ‘spiritually’ refined do not examine their souls closely enough for what is ugly...
I say this because I believe that if we truly abide by the laws of Beauty -in thought, word and deed- we would not permit ourselves what is unbecoming 🙏🏼
I don't think of people as "evil," unless you think of evil as just on the spectrum of "bad," rather than the "inhuman/devilish" thing many paint it as, for the reasons said above.
Is it a weakness? I guess if you look at it as spiritual malaise, and one gives in to it, then probably yes. Though I think as someone with a long history of depression, that "weak" is a bad word as we do not always have a choice when sickness comes upon us. But "sick" is a good word, for the paradigm you hold.
And that begets the question, "If you knew it is evil, would you still do it?" And only psycopaths would answer yes. So now we get to the question of the source of knowledge and truth here. That whether it is a matter of disagreement, or of lack of knowledge.
The spiritual path, especially the deist side of it, is very clear on it.
I do not belong to that path. And yet I still hold you can tell what is "morally wrong." Always something to think of.
As for the "laws of beauty," that way lies many an atrocity, in those who think despicable things beautiful, or that an end-goal of beauty is worth despicable acts to reach it. Hm.
Hmm... If you agree that truth is beauty & vice versa, then it’s pretty clear what I’m saying & irrespective of your belief system, also what is morally right. 🙏🏼
compact greetings from Aceh, I am very salute of the poem that you Utarakan, really amazing you are very great in living the ark of life in response to the problem