September 8, 2010

Why Muslims, Why?

This cartoon describes our predicament so perfectly. 
Our inherent disposition with religion pisses me off. Why? Why do we have to include religion in everything? Why can’t we leave religion alone? Why can’t we leave religion to be religion? Why does every argument have to have religion in the middle of its context? Why do people have to comment beneath satirical posts with words like “…if only people were following Islam…” or with words whose blatant meaning is “…we are Muslims so we cannot, and should not poke fun at ourselves.”

Well that’s just plain stupid. I mean why not? Why can’t we laugh at ourselves? Why am I viewed with disdain and hatred when I make fun of a Mullah?

But I answer. We have never been taught the values of question. We have never believed in change. We are still stuck in the 14th century because we have not let ourselves and our religion evolve with the passing times. Consequently we are at a crossroads with the entire world. Right now, and as many of you will probably be saying, why am I not juxtaposing about the West and how it has maligned us? Well this right here is the real problem. Why should I blame the West when this is my moment of introspection? Why should I blame the West when clergymen of my religion have effectively hijacked my religion, and have tried to churn out puppets in the name of maintaining Allah’s sanctity?

When you break free of the invisible shackles that have bound you to the inherent discord prevalent in the Muslim world, you will see how foolish we appear to the people of the world. And yes, those people include Muslims. There was a reason Ijma and Qiyas was practiced; and the reason simply was to streamline Islam’s various laws in order to make them compatible with the continuously evolving world. Nothing stays the same. What made us think Islam would stay the same?

But then, Islam has stayed the same hasn’t it? We, the privileged Diaspora, find it disgusting and inhumane when people are stoned to death; when their hands are cut, and when they are flogged like donkeys in public. But that’s Islam. Islam that froze 1500 years ago because the Muslims thought letting it evolve might endanger their race.

Consider this example. The punishment of rape is death, proved by the saying of the beloved Prophet Muhammad (SAW). But there is only one saying on this whole matter, and the incident narrated is quite a simple one in which the perpetrator accepted his crime. However, there is no mention of a punishment in the Quran for rape. Does that mean we should let all rapists roam free? Oh wait, that’s exactly what we do. Allah and the Prophet introduced us to the idea of collective decision making for precisely this very reason. When threatened with a dilemma, the righteous amongst us ought to sit together and find a solution that is representative of the prevailing times.

We have got to stop making religion an excuse for everything. We’re all ignominious in our relationship with God. It’s almost as if we’re making fun of Him. We call for Shariat, yet we can’t stop lying. We call for quick dispensation of justice under Islamic law, yet we lynch people every other day. When we want revenge, our elders tell us to go and satisfy our carnal desires by raping the offender’s mother, sister, aunt, sister-in-law and anyone that we can get our hands on. BUT let it be known, we the pious Muslims belonging to the Citadel of Islam, call for Islam to be implemented everywhere in full spirit. What a farce. Irony of ironies, we can’t even implement the basic essence of Islam in our own homes.

Now many of you will say that Islam is perfect and it is a complete code of life and therefore, it needs no changing, no amending, and no cosmetic changes. Bullshit. Islam is perfect because it allows people to live in harmony with their surroundings in the time that they are living. Sadly for us, Islam is as much about rigidity as it is about maintaining decorum in a courtroom. But that is wrong.

Every one of us uses Islam for personal benefit. Mullahs from Saudi Arabia call for random women to let men suckle their breasts (would someone tell these crazies the meaning of decency?) while our very own Taliban have made ransom for kidnapping a form of Jihad. 

Islam has been desecrated beyond reprehensible levels. The only question that’s really left to ask is, how long will it take for us to wake up from our reprieve, and start thinking, questioning and finding solutions in order to put Islam back on its glorious path?