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Date Posted: 03:31:59 06/26/04 Sat
Author: H - 24 May 2004
Subject: Re: Views on Islam ?
In reply to: Wascally Wabbit - 23 May 2004 's message, "Re: Views on Islam ?" on 03:31:17 06/26/04 Sat


The dominant part of Islam views Sufism as a deviation from the teaching of the Koran and I suspect they are correct in this view.

Quite so.

Sufism is not uniformly peaceful either. Some Sufi orders engage in bloody flagellation practices and emotional hystery, forms of self-inflicted violence.

Meanwhile, the "enlightened" Westerners arrogantly talk about how they understand the real essence of the Koran while doubting the knowledge of life long followers and scholars.

Yes, but here in Germany the scholars themselves are the ones who have mainly contributed to the widespread biased view on Islam. These Orientalists - none of them of Arab origin - know Islam mostly from their philological books only and obviously want to make it fit into their pacifistic and politically correct world-view. After 9-11 they have mostly fallen silent.

We have one journalist and writer - a very experienced man who has traveled the Middle East for over fifty years - who invariably describes Islam as a violent, monolithic and undemocratic religion, but without actually looking down on Islam. He just sees things as they are, he has experience and as a result his prognoses usually turn out to be correct (he predicted both the Iraq war as well as the present outcome quite impressively).

Our Orientalists and some young politicians despise him for his 'outdated', unmodern views and accuse him of fanning prejudice and discrimination and call him a racist and reactionary. He isn't and he doesn't care.

Now the interesting fact is that this man is not at all a persona non grata in the Arab world but actually a champion with the Arab intellectuals, with the Mullahs and Ayatollahs from various countries, and that he gets along well with the locals even in remote corners of Afghanistan. It seems they feel that he rather than the 'enlightened' scholars has grasped and respects them for what they are.

These Muslim people have a high sense of identity and of tradition. He knows that, meets them on their own level and hence there is mutual respect.

He gives an example:

If you travel to an Islamic country, introduce yourself as a 'Christian', no matter what you really believe in. If you say you are an atheist, or a practicing yogi, you will not be understood and not be really respected. As a non-Muslim you are a non-Muslim - an unbeliever - and nothing will change that. A Christian will be considered a stranger, i.e. someone who deserves high respect and hospitality as a visitor, but he will never be 'one of us'. But if you say you believe in nothing or that Islam and other religions are actually all one you introduce yourself as disrespectful of their religion and hence will meet suspicion or hostility.

This means that the way Wacally describes Islam will be quite accepted by many non-secular Muslims, because that is the way they like to see themselves.

H

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