Podcast #12 - Why the Muslim world is not progressing
[Note: The podcast audio file has been temporarily removed.]
As promised, this is the podcast that several of you here have asked for. It’s about why the (Arab) Muslim world is not progressing, focusing primarily on the Muslim reactions received due to our Free Kareem campaign. It gives you a sense of why many young students don’t share their opinions due to fear and why we are so incapable of critical thinking. How can we expect to educate and be educated, if we’re terrorized like this and if most of our opinions are enforced upon?
If we express one religious (or political) doubt and concern, or if we simply think differently, we are accused of being brainwashed (by Zionists, harhar) and, as you saw in the case of Kareem, free speech can actually be punishable. If you express your honest opinions, you are actually risking your own reputation and safety. What do you call this, hmm? It’s such an intellectually sheltered culture that we live in today, we should be ashamed of ourselves. Islam doesn’t support this at all. It praises education and tolerance, and here we are being terrorized by not only our leaders, but by our fellow citizens and societies!
These reactions from the Free Kareem campaign (described briefly in the podcast) provide excellent examples of why we aren’t moving forward, intellectually.
The podcast is short and rather sensitive/controversial. Give it a listen and discuss.
If I sound really pissed off in this one, it’s because I actually am!
[…] Mideast Youth - Thinking AheadArticle: Podcast #12 - Why the Muslim world is not progressingOriginaly Posted On: 2007-05-22 […]
LOL. The sheep thing had me on the floor laughing. Wonderful podcast with a wonderful message.
Keep it up.
So basically this is just a big “Fuck You” to insecure muslims… nice! I applaud you.
Hey, I’ve never listened to a podcast here before, but good job!
Busac, not just the insecure ones… mostly hypocrites who want freedom of speech for themselves… but not to those who simply disagree with them! It’s a really close-minded culture. Do you know why so many athiests are in Saudi and in Iran, because we enforce religion down their throats. People don’t realize that if you allow others to criticize and think for themselves they might actually embrace their religion more and learn about its true face. But if you do that not only the religious and political leaders are going to attack, but your neighbors too. We’re afraid to speak up.
You know what really pisses me off! It’s this species of creatures known as “Shaikh Deeny” (sarcastically translated to Mr Religion)… Its these guys that really force religion on you in such a way that makes you feel like you have no life on earth, like you were brought here ONLY for the sake of worshipping God. All muslims should know that God gave us time for both our religion AND our earthly lives (aldeen wa aldunyaa). And it’s because of teachings of these people that make general attitude so negative in this region. And don’t even get me started on how the Sunni ones and Shi’ite ones say bad stuff about each other… It’s absurd!! GROW UP!!!
They are actually the most perverted, and the last ones to practice what they preach. I can’t believe that even here in Bahrain we have them harassing us constantly. Even in the mosque, a place that should be valued, they turn it into a mockery. The Sunni and Shi’ite tensions in Bahrain continue to grow! It’s unbelievable and incredibly pointless… will these people ever get the fact that we are at the end of the day, the SAME people, sharing the SAME country, the SAME culture, and the SAME religion?! What are they fighting about? It’s so retarded.
I Listen to you’re podcast, and I know that I promised you that i would do one, but I’m too shy to do so!! :’( Anyway, I totally agree with what you said, freedom of speech is not free at all! I love this country but, COME ON! I can’t talk about the Muslim problems because it’s not my right! But I hear a lot of my friends talking about such stuff, and I do feel like they’re FED UP WITH IT!
I just wanted to say that I loved the podcast, it was great and I loved the sounds!!! hahaha
The Qur’aan states:
“Allah does not change the condition of a ppl until they change themselves”
Unfortunately many of the Arabs/Arabized fell for the deen of al-Qawmiyyatul-Arabiyyah/Arab Nationalism, which is direct opposition to Islaam and they are still paying the price for that until this day from their encounters with the Rogue State of ‘Yisroel’.
If you think you can minimize Islaams role in life separating it from the State and legislating against the Sharia, then expect misery and a pale future…
this is what brought the European Kuffaar to usurp our lands and impose tyrants such as Hosny, AbduNaasir, King Abdullaah et al, whilst the Ummah was dividing into states based on racist nationalism (Turkey,Egypt et al), proud of their so called ‘ancestry’(something that not one of us here even had the power to choose!)
Busac, my friend…
Allaah has made uur deen easy thus made ebaadah the only reason that we were created:
“Wa Maa Khlaqatul-Jinna wal-Insa Illa li-ya3badoonee” meaning that Allah only created Mankind to worship and submit to Him.
This means all our actions should be sincere and whatever we do as long as our intention is correct can be worship, your studies are worship if u do so so that you may attain a halal livelihood and spend that many in halaal means etc, or you do sports to keep yourself strong and healthy etc…
But then there are those that claim Islaam and dont pray except for eid lol and keep Ramadhaan and then want to change Islaam to suit their whims and desires..may allah protect us from that level of lowliness..Aameen.
My problem is not with this. I know that far too many would oppose this decision for this to succeed. My main problem is with re-written Sharia laws, that means what’s happening in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Iran, Afghanistan, etc, does NOT comply with Sharia law. Degrading women, torturing civilians, terrorizing citizens, that’s not what Islam is all about! Our religion is strict; but it’s also in many ways loving. Throughout the Koran we read about Allah being merciful and forgiving. So what is happening to our people here is not because of Islam.. most religious leaders here are hypocritical and think they can use Islam as a political tool to mobilize others towards their causes.
This is why we have to be really careful …
Wow, I’ve never encountered such religious hostility in my entire life! What drives people to fight so aggressively in the name of religion??? Surely every human being is entitled to their own opinions, even if they piss people off. I come from a carzy crime-ridden country called South Africa, where the government is utterly corrupt (global trend). but at least nobody there gets tortured for speaking out against the government or religion for that matter. The religious fundamentalists, as far as I’m concerned, are the biggest hypocrites. How can you claim to be following your bible/holy book when you do exactly the opposite?? Its horrendous. How can people in the rest of the world tolerate atrocities against women in arab countries??? Yes, you all do sound like sheep, its very sad. I pray for the day that women can enjoy equal rights in arab/muslim countries. I think we should focus more attention on the inequalities of women there, its really shameful that women are treated like animals. You are all the youth of today, you should all stand and fight together. If enough of you stand up and refuse to be put into little boxes with pathetic labels on, something is bound to shift!
Its time you took your life into your own hands and shaped your own futures.
I am not sure it is true that the Muslim world is not progressing. Parts of it are, others not. I have traveled in Turkey and it is a modern, progressive, relatively prosperous country, particularly in the western parts, and an especially beautiful country.
It also gives the lie to the claim that democracy and Islam are incompatible. Nor is it un-Islamic - the mosques are huge and glorious, and many people attend them. But public authority is in the hands of the state, not the imams. I think there is a connection between Turkey’s success as a society and the exclusion of imams from power.
I think it is also not a coincidence that Turkey is the one Muslim country that does not suffer from the obsession with hostility to Israel.
Yeah, I love how you leave out what Turkey does to its Kurds and how much trouble you get into if you speak against its leaders. Did they bother teaching you that when you went to Turkey?
Did you also know that Turkey blocked YouTube merely because of a video that criticized Ataturk?
Yeah, such a modern country, Turkey! You praise it on the outside but you don’t know it well on the inside. I’ve been to Turkey too; and I’ve spoken to many human rights activists who were abused in this country. Did you also not read the controversy about harassing women and headscarves in Universities? You call the hijab ban “modernization”? Hahahah.
Here is just one recent case out of MANY.
Ever so modern and progressive, huh?
I like the following two comments made above:
So what is happening to our people here is not because of Islam.. most religious leaders here are hypocritical and think they can use Islam as a political tool to mobilize others towards their causes.
But public authority is in the hands of the state, not the imams. I think there is a connection between Turkey’s success as a society and the exclusion of imams from power.
The key to success is the separation of church and state. Combined with the transfer of power via democratic elections (rather than civil war). Unfortunately some countries are going backwards, such as the U.S. whose president is about a big a Bible Puncher as one could be.