Against Bigotry

People must, as a general rule, always speak out in the face of bigoted intolerance. In your personal life, never give a platform for someone to mouth off with hate–filled, racist, narrow–minded and contemptibly intolerant diatribes, whether or not you know the person or his intended victim.

People must band together to defeat such prejudiced and primitive mindsets through effecting an unwillingness to engage with the person any longer, and denying such a person the personal space to express such despicable shit in their presence. Although people may believe they have an inalienable right to freedom of speech this does not give them the right to violate an innocent bystander with erupting, geysering volcanoes of bullshit. Actively opposing racist bigotry by going cold on one presenting no rationale or reason for their abhorrent and spiteful belching marks the only way to defeat this malaise — as long as the one doing so expresses in no uncertain terms that they do not welcome such behaviour in their presence.

The source matters not: whether a hilariously wild–bearded, doddering, old, vicious, 60–year–old ex–military white man in a dirty suit and grimy trainers spewing forth invidious tirades; black ‘gangstaz’ gibbering about ‘white devilz’; or muslims casting aspersions on kaffirs, murtads and Jews.

To do so, actively and positively, would mean we achieve something positive in this life, for society as a whole and, by extension, for the good of Humanity.

Zoroastrianism & Islam (again)

More on the influence of Zoroastrianism on Islam. I didn’t think that Muhammad had directly encountered Zoroastrianism during his lifetime. Indeed, later rulers had to add Zoroastrians to the accepted list of ‘People of the Book’. I had thought that Muhammad took a central view between 3 prayers of the Jews and 7 prayers he’d encountered from another religious sect (possibly Christians prevalent at that time).

clipped from 64.233.183.104 The Muslim institution of five daily prayers also has a Persian origin. Muhammad himself, at first, instituted only two daily prayers. Then, as recounted in the Koran, a third was added, giving the morning prayer, the evening prayer, and the middle prayer, which corresponded to the Jewish shakarith, minkah, and arbith. But on encountering the religious fervor of the Zoroastrians, Muslims, not wishing to be outdone in devotion, simply adopted their custom; henceforth, Muslims paid homage to their God five times a day, in imitation of the five gahs (prayers) of the Persians.

The Necessity of Rational Thinking

clipped from www.faithfreedom.org Julian Baggini, in “A walk on the dark side?”, wrote: We are not purely rational. It is not just that we are often in the grip of irrational or non–rational forces and desires, it is that our thinking is itself infused with emotion. These feelings shape our thought, often without us realizing it… I am also aware that we do not approach such rational discussions with blank, open minds. We come to them with prejudices, fears and commitments. Some of these are not founded on reason and that confers on them a certain immunity to the power of rational argumentation… This is important because such associations can interfere with clear thinking, leading us to prejudge issues and reject arguments without good grounds.

Zoroastrianism & Islam

This made me sit up and take notice. One of the more hellish Islamic tales that did the rounds while I grew up featured the person having to cross a razor–sharp bridge. Of course, a true mu’min (believer) would cross it safely. The kafir would plunge to their doom into eternal Hell. Now I see it, like quite a few elements, could possibly come from Zoroastrianism.

I must look into this further…

clipped from debatingchristianity.com The chinvat bridge is another Zoroastrian concept that after death the soul crosses a razor sharp bridge that could mean one would fall from... YOu either meet a beautiful maiden or a hag on the bridge depending on your life in this world. The word "Paradise" we use comes froman ancient Persian word meaing walled garden and so even our concept of the after life owe much to Zoroastrianism.

“Happy New Year!” (from a Muharram Murtad)

1st of Muharram 1429 AH — the start of the new year according to the Islamic calendar. Though, of course, due to bickering between parties and inability to resolve sightings of the moon it could take place tomorrow… At any rate, New Year, New Attitude, New Resolution, New Actions. I figured it would prove the perfect time to announce my apostasy from Islam. I went onto my favourite muslim forum (mainly due to some of the posters there), Ummah.com and announced I had turned murtad.

I simply don’t believe. Not only in Islam as a divinely–sanctioned religion, but in divinity altogether. I have read too much, seen too much the manmade origins of each religion, felt no divine presence throughout my life, seen the way nature doesn’t need a conscious guiding hand… I have seen and felt all this too much to give any credence to commonly–held notions of Divinity and Theism.

Some of the members there expressed sadness and shock, others incandescent rage and sneering hostility — and most of the latter came when I pointed out that the founder of Islam, Muhammad, sanctioned the death of apostates from Islam. At that point people acted as though I’d ‘done a Rushdie’ and one of the moderators closed my thread quicksmart. It interests me that the ultimate act of betrayal and evil (I had announced I do not believe in God) met with some shocked reactions, but only when I mentioned Muhammad did the moderator close my thread. Odd, that, don’t you think?

Only one of the members really touched me with her passion, her sincere regret, and her gentle and patient responses to my posts. A pity none of the others acted more like she did.

I don’t regret leaving Islam: I realise that I’d never lived particularly religiously though I’d tried damn hard over the past few years — but not hard enough. I didn’t pray the mandatory Salah prayers 5 times a day. In fact, I used to joke about myself as a ‘2 Salah Man’: ‘Eid–ul–Fitr and ‘Eid–ul–Adha! Needless to say, comments like that have never gone down well. Of course, I did used to preface any act of eating by reciting the basmala, and I catch myself occasionally doing so now, but those acts simply represent phrases and actions I’ve inculcated in myself but wish to abandon now.

A chap on another forum has tasked me with a list of actions I should complete in order to continue moving on in my life, eg. making a pot of chili and eating it, watching the sun rise, and suchlike. None of it far removed from the way I’ve lived my life normally — but I suppose working through the list will provide me with something specific to look forward to and even push me out of my comfort zone (one of the items involves telling an attractive stranger on the street that I think she looks beautiful).

I suppose I feel a loss of group identity in that I’ve grown up in a quite secular but nonetheless Muslim South Asian community, but I shall dig deep inside me and try to transcend that loss by relying on the force of my own beliefs and personal identity.

On with the programme…