Kila ma6goog opened Pandoras Box
‘ello!
Chapter 5 in my last post was about “عاشوراء” and “الحسينيات” (very basic English translation of HUSAINIYA: A place where Shiite Muslims relive, yearly, the tragedy of The Prophet's grandson, in a period of 10 days). Fearing that that subject would start a debate between the extremist readers, I chose not to write it. But since my colleague here opened that can of worms, I think it’s the only right thing to do.
Before anything else, I’d like to state the following:
Many friends advised me not to write this post, saying that a Shiite writing about his faith in a negative way will not look good. There are people practicing other Faiths of Islam that can’t wait to use this as an opportunity to attack Shiites.
There will always be ignorant fools that can’t think of anything else better than attack others so they can hide their insecurities. I am writing this post as a gesture of good will. If I am brave enough to admit (of course, in my own opinion. Many Shiites think I’m nuts and denounce me as a Shiite for that matter) that there are things I can live without regarding Shiites and there are things I believe need improvement, I am sure some practitioners of other Faiths and Religions will be brave enough to admit shortcomings from their side as well.
Like Martin Luther the King, I HAVE A DREAM! And that dream is that we all wise up a bit and reach a common ground of sense and sensibility, of reason and wisdom, and only then can we fulfill our roles as human beings.
Without further a due, let the wake up call begin…
Remember Braveheart (the movie, you’ve all seen it, if not, shame on you!). Now, try to remember the last 10 minutes of the movie, the sad part, the crescendo, the climax of the story. The part where most of you cried (there’s no shame in it, I cried too), or at least ended up with eyes all misty. Now imagine that part retold over and over and over and at different places. And as if that’s not enough, the events of that 10 minutes are reshaped, added upon, dramatized even more, and is made into 10 hours of sorrow, sorrow, sorrow… You’d start hearing some crazy baloney!! Every year the story is retold a new and improved version comes out. Why? So the crowd can have a reason to cry.
I wonder if those people listening, between themselves, know that these are just stories, or do they really place the credibility of the “story teller” before their intellect and IQ?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure the basic plot of the story is built upon real events that occurred some 1300+ years ago, but come on! Being gullible is one thing, and believing everything you hear is another.
Refer to a part about The Criers in one of my earlier posts. It is the same thing here, some people start crying before the story teller starts. And if the story teller deviates from the norm, and actually gives a lecture that is for once, interesting and educational, people would request that he is changed, “he doesn’t make us cry” would be their reason.
When I complained about the criers, someone replied that it was ok to cry, actually it is preferred, because the Prophet (S) cried when he was foretold of what will happen to his grandson.
Now of course, me being me, I questioned that statement, and the first thought that came to my mind was “according to whom?” And the answer would be, “According to them” those whose power and authority depends on us believing in everything they say. Now I’m not a scientific person per se but as far as my modest knowledge of validation goes, I know that you cannot validate some piece of information from the same source. Too complicated? Ok, here is a simplified example…
“Who says that this is true?”
“The Book says”,
“Who interpreted the book?”
“We did”,
“That is great! And pray tell what did the interpretation say?”
“That we are right”,
“Can I cross-reference it with other sources?”
“No!”
“Why not?”
“Because The Book says you cannot”.
Genius… Pure genius…
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Isn’t it obvious people? Why are there only a few that see what is happening as what it really is. A well mastered art of keeping power and authority, a beautifully laid out plan to make sure power doesn’t slip away from their hands? (I feel like Dan Brown, only he writes best sellers).
I’m going to propose a theory. We are conditioned, since birth, to believe that the Quran needs further explanation, that the need for people to spoon-feed us what the Quran means is necessary, in fact, it is the only way.
I think, actually I believe, that God didn’t run out of ink, or words, when God decided the contents of the Quran. Maybe some parts are meant to be open, flexible, a gray area, because they are.
There is no need for a succession of power. There is no need for the continuity of separation between masters and slaves… shepherds and sheep… brain washers and brain washed.
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Role Play Time
Imagine you’re someone with a great lot of power, people listen to you, to what you say, they come to you for advice. Your authority (of course, your authority is blessed by God) is sometimes greater than any law. Feels great doesn’t it? Now just imagine some jerk comes and proposes a theory on a blog site that your authority is not needed, it might be there for the occasional guidance, but it is not “a must” when it comes to everyone’s daily lives. That idea, if it became an epidemic and spread around, would diminish your authority and grip on people’s minds, and of course more importantly, people’s money… Moohh-neeeyyyy. “Show me the money!”
How would that make you feel?
But you’re not dumb, you can foresee things like that occurring between time to time, the occasional uprising. So you implement safe guard measures. You start weeding out any possible brain activities that do not super impose you as an authority.
And as any smart person (or group of people) would do, your solution would play out on all levels possible.
Become a “source”, and then attack the credibility of all other sources.
Condition people to become followers and have you as their only source.
Eliminate their thought processes by mindless stories that not only do not challenge their intellect, but rather subdues it. Stories that they have to be ignorant fools to believe, but how can they not believe? Their faith would be in question if they don’t believe. And of course, just as “You” figured, Faith wins over Intellect.
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I once asked the reason why we have to use “them” as sources, and was answered that just as in medicine, if you’re sick you’d go to the doctor, and if you need answers regarding your Faith, you go to “them”.
Well now-a-days it’s normal to go ask more than one doctor about your condition, and if that doesn’t suit you, you can seek out unconventional medical advise, like herbal medicine and such.
O’ and now it is commonly believed that it is all psychologically interrelated. Meaning even your health is partly affected by the way your psyche works… which translated into the statement that sometimes even doctors don’t hold the key to your problems, only you do.
Since “they” brought up the medical comparison issue, isn’t it logical that you hold the key to your spiritual issues as well?
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A brain is a sad thing to waste…
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PS. If you think this post lacks humor, remember the Indonesian woman who kicked my ass in Hajj… Aahhh… good times… good times…
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