The One True Religion: Truth or Fantasy?

One of the most famous doctrines of Islam is that Islam is the one true religion and that all the other monotheistic religions (Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity) which originates from the pure form of Islam that was divinely inspired by God to HIS Prophets and Messengers. Later on most of the ancient religions were corrupted by the followers of that religion hence there was a need to send revivals for each generations. We had Noah, followed by Abraham, Moses, then Jesus and lastly Muhammad. Then the chain of revivals stopped because according to Islam, the teaching has been perfected and preserved so there no longer was a need to keep on sending guidance for the mankind.

My studying of the Islamic sects shows me that all sort of corruptions (strange ideas, bizarre personalities, weird theological practices and rituals) have been incorporated in the Islamic teaching which probably renders the claim of Islam being the one true religion astonishing and slightly inaccurate.

Moving on, I was reading about Prisca Theologia

Prisca theologia is the doctrine within the field of comparative religious studies that asserts that a single, true, theology exists, which threads through all religions, and which was given by God to man in antiquity.

However, this idea has been rejected by the people of Enlightenment.

Another related concept is the Perennial Philosophy

Perennialism, is a perspective within the philosophy of religion which views each of the world’s religious traditions as sharing a single, universal truth on which the foundation of all religious knowledge and doctrine has grown

Followers of the Traditional school claim that a variety of authentic spiritual traditions present in the world today share the same origin and are based on the same metaphysical principles, sometimes called Perennial philosophy. The term philosophia perennis first appears in the Renaissance. It is widely associated with Leibniz who in turn owes it to the 16th century theologian Augustinus Steuchius.

This philosophy also exist in some of the religions of the world


This philosophy (Perennial), that most of the spiritual teaching in world's religions share a single universal truth, sounds amazing and fancy but it may not be the truth.

Critics of this idea point to the fact that many of the world's religious traditions are in blatant conflict with one another. Even setting aside the rather obvious conflicts in matters like the age of the Earth (Christians thought it was younger, and Hindus that it was older, than it actually is), there are major contradictions between religions on matters of ethics and philosophy, which would seem to be the areas in which religions ought to be most consistently accurate, if their ideas have any merit. For instance, Christianity teaches that human nature is sinful and that we must avoid allowing that nature to dominate our actions, lest we commit sinful acts. Taoism, by contrast, embraces nature and encourages people to allow their own natures to influence their behavior. Needless to say, they can't both be right.

* Note: References as quoted and linked in the post itself.

Iranian Influence in Iraq

I personally don't think the Iranians have that much political influence in Iraq but many people think the Iranians are wielding a lot of power in Iraq. They sees their own politicians (Iraqi) visiting Iran and paying respect to their dignitaries and generally being friendly towards their eastern neighbor.

An explanation given by them is that these politicians and their parties (e.g. The Dawa party) were backed/supported by Iran in the past when they were fighting Saddam's regime.

There's much corruption in Iraq. Iraq has also been recognized by many to be a failed state. [1][2]

Over a decade after independence from the Butcher of Baghdad, and after having a government in place (even if imperfect), the same old questions about the rule of clerics in politic is resurfacing albeit from a different angle.

In 2003, prior to the election and the establishment of the post-Saddam government, everyone wanted to know (fearfully I might add) if the clerics in Iraq are going to take over the government? Will the the Iranian Political System/ Wilayah al Faqih (ruling by a Jurist) be exported in


Reference
[1] http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2018571162_iraq01.html
[2] http://thegroundtruth.blogspot.com/2009/07/iraq-ranked-no-6-on-failed-state-list.html

Not all the craziest are Muslim

This has been a crazy week (or maybe month). Some parts of the world seems to be collapsing right in front of our eyes, while in others, life is really going great for many of you.

Now, if you've been reading my blog, you sometimes get the impression that whenever I'm writing a post about current events, I'm focusing too much on negativity, especially about the Muslims. The reason why many of my posts are about Muslim is because my blog is especially geared towards Islam and Muslim; Religion, history, literature, culture, society, current events and possibly everything under the sun. Also, everyone knows that the news about current events is generally about something interesting, exciting and explosive; good news are soo mundane of everyday things that they rarely fall into anything you would consider interesting, exciting, explosive or news-worthy.

Anyway, many Muslims would be pleased that the news cycle for February 2014 is dominated mostly with craziness coming not from that part of the world where most Muslims reside but from places where there are very few Muslims or significant Muslims population to interrupt the progressive and superior non-Muslim culture or society (ha-ha).

The citizen protest in Ukraine has turned very violent and bloody in the recent days. The images that are coming to us are very shocking and horrifying. For those who are not following the news, here's a brief scope. The citizen of that country wishes to move to the European model of governance (possibly adopting everything that Europe stands for). The corrupt Ukrainian leadership, who are mostly puppet of the charismatic Russian dictator (Vladimir Putin), do not want the citizen of their country to abandon the big brother Russia. Of course Ukraine is very important to Russia because it has resources and is strategically located to serve her interest. Sometimes I get the impression that Russia is just a cold-blooded terminator who doesn't care the feeling and the aspiration of her people or others. As long as the Kremlin hierarchy is happy and profiting then the rest of the world can go to hell.

The Venezuelan dictator, Hugo Chavez passed away recently. Shortly afterwards the hypocrisy of his government (which is now controlled mostly by his buddies) is being exposed right in front of our eyes.

Here's a brief news of what's happening:

Since last week, four people have been shot to death in protests, dozens have been wounded and scores have been arrested. A local newspaper said some of the shots fired in one killing appeared to have come from a group that included uniformed security officers and men accompanying them in civilian clothes.

Venezuela became a bitterly divided country during the 14 years of Mr. Chávez’s presidency, which ended with his death in March. He fostered a cult of personality and dominated all aspects of political life, pushing the country, which has the world’s largest oil reserves, toward his vision of socialist revolution.

In a psychological blow to many in the opposition, a stridently antigovernment television station, Globovision, was sold last year to investors believed to be close to the government. Since then, the station has toned down its programming and ceased to be a counterweight to the relentlessly pro-government tone of several government-run television stations.

Last week Mr. Maduro ordered a Colombian news channel, NTN24, removed from cable because of its coverage of the demonstrations.

Now, there has been little live news coverage of the wave of protests, while government television has relentlessly vilified the demonstrators.

“There are very few outlets where the opposition can make itself heard,” said Cedomir Mimia, 27, a lawyer at a recent protest, who said his top concern was “the information blackout.”

Many protesters say they are simply fed up with the country’s bitter divide. “I’m here because I’m tired of the crime, of the shortages, tired of having to stand on line to buy anything,” said María Luchón, 21, at a recent rally. “I’m tired of the politicians of both sides.”

Reference
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/21/world/americas/protests-swell-in-venezuela-as-places-to-rally-disappear.html?_r=0

What’s the most appropriate way for Muslims to celebrate the Valentine day?

Apparently it’s Valentine day today. This day may not be big in some parts of the world, but it is huge here in America. Lots of money and efforts are wasted in celebration of this day, even though it’s not really a recognized holiday or observance. I guess the women expect their men to treat them special on this day with flowers, cards, chocolates, stuff toys, dinners and movies. Of course the men also want to be appreciated; so the girls will also go at length to do special things and appear that they are valuing their relationship. These are all harmless except the harm it causes to your wallet.

Sometimes it appears that Valentine day is big among the folks who are not in a long term committed relationship (like marriage) but not always. People who are brought up in a culture that value the Valentine day celebration will probably continue doing so even after marriage because it has become so ingrained to their lifestyles.

The Valentine day celebration has spread all over the world among people of all culture and religion. I’ve observed that generally the Muslims are either indifferent to this day (like me) or are very vocally against it. A few of the Muslim friends on social network have started a propaganda campaign urging everyone to boycott the Valentine day celebration. They are sending text messages and videos of Mullahs warning folks not to honor, celebrate or joining in the routine activities of the day. I’ve read user comments and found that many of the Muslims that are leaning towards fanaticism (narrow-mindedness) are very vocal in expressing their support for joining in the crusade against what they have describe as an affront to Islamic values.

I’m always amazed at such people. They must live a very uninteresting life to find the energy and dedication to wage a war against something so trivial and mundane and utterly remote from their way of life. I sometimes find it scary that people are buying into this idea that they have a moral right to get upset or angry at how/what others’ choose to do with their life. Even though it’s very obvious that a lot of folks are willingly getting trapped in the peer/social/community pressure to fit in the materialistic lifestyles of spending money to show ‘love’; this is their life and experience. It is not yours. Just like you are falling into your stupidity, a lot of people are also falling into theirs.


Moving on, I was reading this news today about how the fanatic crowds in Pakistan want to control the community – via religion plus intimidation.

In a devout Muslim society where adultery is punishable by death and public displays of love are forbidden, the young are increasingly using Valentine's Day as a form of rebellion – some call it a silent revolution of sorts.

Celebrating on this day is a direct challenge to the rigid Islamic groups that hold sway in the country and who deem such displays as immoral.

"Every year that Feb. 14 is celebrated, it is done so as the Day of Shame," said Abdul Muqeet, president of Punjab University Jamiat-e-Talaba, the student wing of conservative Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami party.


"All over Pakistan, our organization holds protests, marches and distributes literature telling our youth how they are being manipulated toward this un-Islamic and immoral tradition."

According to Muqeet, Valentine's Day has no relevance or place in a Pakistani society, it is only "vulgarity" and a challenge to the sacred system of family as conceived in Islam.

"We cannot allow such acts as they will spoil the present and future generations," he said.

Despite such sentiments, across Pakistan, roadside stalls sell buckets of red roses and teenagers hang red heart balloons from their scooters. Radio jockeys speak of "love in the air" and bakeries bake special delicacies including cupcakes intended "for your special love."

Reference
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/02/13/valentines-day-pakistan/5447387/

Human Conception

I've been reading about the first two verses of Surah Al-Alaq (The Clot) from the Quran.

http://quran.com/96/1 : Recite in the name of your Lord who created
http://quran.com/96/2 : Created man from a clinging substance.

The second verse describe the creation of human from Alaq. Alaq is defined as

The linguistic definition of ′alaq علق (singular 'alaqah علقة) is "leech", "medicinal leech", "coagulated blood", "blood clot", or "the early stage of the embryo".[1] ′Alaq is also a derivative of 'alaqa which means "attached and hanging to something." [2] Professor Abdul Haleem mentions that "′alaq can also mean anything that clings: a clot of blood, a leech, even a lump of mud. All these meanings involve the basic idea of clinging or sticking."[3]

But that's not all. There are other verses that eloborate conception of human in the womb. Look into Surah Al-Mu'mineen

http://quran.com/23/12 : And certainly did We create man from an extract of clay.
http://quran.com/23/13: Then We placed him as a sperm-drop in a firm lodging.
http://quran.com/23/14: Then We made the sperm-drop into a clinging clot, and We made the clot into a lump [of flesh], and We made [from] the lump, bones, and We covered the bones with flesh; then We developed him into another creation. So blessed is Allah , the best of creators.

I think the most striking verse is verse 14 of Surah al-Mu'mineen. The description of the human conception in that verse is no different than what we understand now (the process of human fertilization and pregnancy).

And I think this is a big deal for the simple fact that in most of the human history, right up to 18 and 19 century, we actually didn't really know how the human conception worked (fertilization and the growth of the baby in the mother's womb). That was until we could verify and validate via ultrasound or IVF.

So, the next question would be, if we didn't know how the baby formed, then what did people actually think was happening in the mother's womb for more than 9 months?

Here's one idea of human creation (Preformationism) and it is absolutely wrong!

In the history of biology, preformationism (or preformism) is the idea that organisms develop from miniature versions of themselves. Instead of assembly from parts, preformationists believe that the form of living things exist, in real terms, prior to their development.[1] It suggests that all organisms were created at the same time, and that succeeding generations grow from homunculi, or animalcules, that have existed since the beginning of creation.

A lot of big philosophers and scientists of the old days subscribed to this idea that human were already in their miniature form (mini me) before the birth. The main problem was that the people couldn't even imagine that human could evolve from single cells (one or two part to form a highly complex multi cell organism). Until people were convinced via science, they didn't think it was possible that something as simple as a blood clot can turn into what the Quran defined as the other creation.

Still, the idea that unorganized matter could ultimately self-organize into life challenged the mechanistic framework of Cartesianism, which had become dominant in the Scientific Revolution. Because of technological limitations, there was no available mechanical explanation for epigenesis. [6] It was simpler and more convenient to postulate preformed miniature organisms that expanded in accordance with mechanical laws. So convincing was this explanation that some naturalists claimed to actually see miniature preformed animals (animalcules) in eggs and miniature plants in seeds.[3] In the case of humans, the term homunculus was used.

Here's the link again if you are interested to read more about this.

References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Alaq
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preformationism