All hail Egypt, Umm al-Dunya, aka “Mother of the World” and civilization. The stuff coming out of Egypt these days never ceases to amaze. For me, it is not so much a reflection of Egyptian society per se, but an indicator of the health of the contemporary Muslim community. It is symbolic of the larger Muslim world’s shortcomings and of the religious establishment’s inability to reproduce the serious, thoughtful scholarship of yore, enlightened guidance that could assist Muslims in navigating their world. Across the Arab and Muslim world, state co-opted Imams and religious institutions work hand in hand with dictatorships to keep the people weak, distracted and compliant.Case in point- here is an example of an oft-mentioned conundrum of how to reconcile Muslim values with the modern world. But is that really the problem? As a friend said to me, divorce etiquette and technology are not the real issues here. “He could have texted her or sent her a messenger on a donkey. The principle -of how men in the Muslim world treat women- remains the same.” <>
“An Egyptian woman whose husband sent her a divorce declaration by text message is to take the case to court to find out if the separation is legally valid. After missing a call from her husband on her mobile phone, Iqbal Abul Nasr said she received a text message from him saying
“I divorce you because you didn’t answer”.
ojcomputer said
Yea.
I gave up on the Muslim “scholars” when they suggested that the prophet’s urine was holy and that a grown man can be alone with a woman if she breastfeeds them.
The sheer stupidity, ineptitude, and downright laughable state of Islam leaves me speechless.
But then again, what they say only has significance if people follow it. I hope that people have the common sense and at least an ounce of religious knowledge to defend against the obvious misinterpretation and butchering of such a noble religion.
thefossil said
OJ,
I object to the phrase “laughable state of Islam”. This implies that Islam can have any state other than absolute and correct.
I think what you mean is the laughable state os the muslim world. The two are not the same. A big reason muslims have such problems is because they don’t have proper respect for the words and language they use. Everything is sensationalized , and folks seem to be mostly ok using imprecise language.
thefossil said
As for any woman who chooses to breast feed a man, i object to her being around men. I mean….we all need to maintain the appropriate level of cultural prudishness. This kind of behavior is just unacceptable. Shame on women for openly breast feeding big babies. Poor men….easy prey for aggressive women.
ojcomputer said
I stand behind my statement.
Islam, as it is interpreted right now by these “scholarly” Muslims, is in a laughable state.
I’m not playing semantics. If you want to say “Well if it isn’t perfect, then it isn’t Islam,” that’s your choice.
The problem with Muslims isn’t because they don’t have proper respect for hte words and language they use, it’s that Muslim are idiots. Idiots for coming up with stupid fatwas, and idiots for following stupid fatwas.
thefossil said
Its not a matter of choice for one to say that if its not perfect then its not Islam. I refer you to the Prophet’s last khutba.
Plus, you just echoed my point. You said “Islam, as it is interpreted right now”. This can only be a function of those interpreting, hence the muslims.
In the end, it really is just the muslims (those that issue fatwas and those who chose to follow). If it wasn’t, there would simply be no point in following Islam.
ojcomputer said
glad we agree.
If only what we agreed upon was good thing…
Mohammad said
Its only Sunni Arabs who are the morons…
aa1283 said
could you please elaborate mohammad?
Mohammad said
What do you mean? I said it like it is… Sunni Arabs have a tendency of issuing gay, and retarded fatawa. Historically, Sunni Arab “scholars” have made ridiculous claims.. but can you blame them? For example, in Sunni “Sahih” hadith it says that Muslims can pray behind an openly homosexual person (even though the act is punishable to death) and some of the top Sunni Muslim “scholars” were in fact gay (like Ibn Taymeeyah)… I am sorry, but the truth hurts.
-Moe
ojcomputer said
You suggest that somehow the blame of stupid fatwas are limited to Sunni Muslims? This is an incredibly naive statement.
Muslims, both Sunni AND Shia are to blame for the disintegration of the religion. To point fingers and which specific sect is to blame is ludicrous and only serves to prove how far we’ve come from the teachings of the Prophet
aa1283 said
It was the notorious Shia fatwa regarding Rushdie which first introduced the term “fatwa” to the West, making a great first impression. You know, the one where Muslims are told to murder a secular intellectual living in the West for doing what it is that secular intellectuals often do, i.e. criticize organized religion? But that’s besides the point. Stop bringing the same old tired, obstructive garbage to the table. I don’t see the Shia world faring any better than the Sunni one. Try to understand that both are under attack and struggling with the same demons. Both Shia and Sunni pray for a better world for their children. But it is precisely that sort of useless, two-dimensional mentality that will no doubt continue to inspire our blog.
illeagle said
I love how as Muslims we quick to kill and fight each other. Quick to judge, generalize, and divide.
But if anyone from outside the Muslim world does the same then we all band together. Its ok to kill and fight each other as long as no one from the outside does it right?
The truth hurts? The real truth here is that you are more interested in continuing the Sunni/Shia divide then seeing this as a problem across the Muslim world.
halalmeat said
Fatwas are, by legal definition, non-binding, but like anything uttered or written, they usually influence the lives of others. The size of that sphere of influence is usually proportional to the reputation and knowledge of the one issuing it. Many fatwas by less than knowledgeable sheikhs are ignored all the time. But because of the net and all the media coverage these fatwas somehow make it to the spotlight and we get hung up on them. Just ignore it!
Fortunately for us, while Mohammad (and I don’t mean to point fingers… but I will anyway) continues to use the internet as a means to increase his sphere of hate and bigotry and spread his own version of “gay and retarded” fatwas, I am positive that we can see it for what it is and choose to ignore it as well.
Abbas said
Salaams,
Amel, you are over simplifying the fatwa against Salman Rushdie. First of all, it was not just the bashing of the Prophet (a) that initiated the fatwa… it was actually Rushdie’s apostasy, because when someone leaves Islam and then tries to tarnish its image, according to Islamic law it is punishable by death.
The Shi’a world is faring much better than the Sunni world. The doors of ijteehad were closed for the Sunni world by the Abbasid caliphate, but it was never closed for the Shi’a world, and as a result there are currently qualified mujtahids in the Shia world, that consistently debate and discuss modern day issues like cloning, smoking, etc. So in ways new issues are dealt with in a much better way.
Nevertheless, we are all Muslim and we need to strive together, but I had to give my two cents. :)