New Lines of Communication

the New Muslim Generation

2007-05-27T18:32:00.000-07:00

I am wondering about the future of the new Muslim generation, i.e, Muslim children in the western countries, mainly in UK. As I am now teaching Muslim children I do not see much will come out from this generation for Islam in UK and for long term visions of Muslim community in this country. I do not want to be pessimistic, however this is the truth that I have discovered for myself. To be honest with you, I have not seen such bad behaviour, it is really scary to raise your children in the west without mature close attention to them to familiarise them and teach them the Islamic behaviour and ethics.

Here someone may say the Muslim countries are not much better nowadays to raise children, I might agree with this person but they are not as bad as Western countries, people there still have ethical deterrent, and strong Islamic society. The problem with the children I teach is a family problem, whereas the father is working almost 7 days a week, he sees his children at the weekend for a short time and that is all, what about the mother? The mother is either working or busy with housework, as a result, the children lose the most effective protection, the high big walls which are surrounding and protecting the family castle.

The parents think that this weekend school, which is basically one day a week, is all that is needed for children to learn Islamic values. In addition to this, the children come to school with no interest in learning Arabic or other Islamic subject, they just want to play.

To raise a pious generation who, through their good deeds, will bring blessings upon their parents is a difficult task, one that brings unimaginable rewards, in this life and the next.

Orientalism

2007-05-20T11:39:00.000-07:00

Any open-minded person embarking on a study of Islam, especially if using books written in European languages, should be aware of the seemingly inherent distortions that permeate almost all non-Muslim writings on Islam. At least since the Middle Ages, Islam has been much maligned and severely misunderstood in the West. At the turn of the new millennium, it does not seem that much has changed—even though many Muslims would probably agree that while progress has been made in some areas, things have gotten altogether worse in others.

I feel that an elegant summary of the West's ignorance of Islam and the motives of Orientalism are the following words by the Swiss journalist and author, Roger Du Pasquier:

"The West, whether Christian or dechristianised, has never really known Islam. Ever since they watched it appear on the world stage, Christians never ceased to insult and slander it in order to find justification for waging war on it. It has been subjected to grotesque distortions the traces of which still endure in the European mind. Even today there are many Westerners for whom Islam can be reduced to three ideas: fanaticism, fatalism and polygamy. Of course, there does exist a more cultivated public whose ideas about Islam are less deformed; there are still precious few who know that the word islam signifies nothing other than 'submission to God'. One symptom of this ignorance is the fact that in the imagination of most Europeans, Allah refers to the divinity of the Muslims, not the God of the Christians and Jews; they are all surprised to hear, when one takes the trouble to explain things to them, that 'Allah' means 'God', and that even Arab Christians know him by no other name.

Islam has of course been the object of studies by Western orientalists who, over the last two centuries, have published an extensive learned literature on the subject. Nevertheless, however worthy their labours may have been, particularly in the historical and and philological fields, they have contributed little to a better understanding of the Muslim religion in the Christian or post-Christian milieu, simply because they have failed to arouse much interest outside their specialised academic circles.

One is forced also to concede that Orientals studies in the West have not always been inspired by the purest spirit of scholarly impartiality, and it is hard to deny that some Islamicists and Arabists have worked with the clear intention of belittling Islam and its adherents [emphasis added]. This tendency was particularly marked—for obvious reasons—in the heyday of the colonial empires, but it would be an exaggeration to claim that it has vanished without trace.

These are some of the reasons why Islam remains even today so misjudged by the West, where curiously enough, Asiatic faiths such as Buddhism and Hinduism have for more than a century generated far more visible sympathy and interest, even though Islam is so close to Judaism and Christianity, having flowed from the same Abrahamic source. Despite this, however, for several years it has seemed that external conditions, particularly the growing importance of the Arab-Islamic countries in the world's great political and economic affairs, have served to arouse a growing interest of Islam in the West, resulting—for some—in the discovery of new and hitherto unsuspected horizons." (From http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0946621322/muslimanswersA/, by Roger Du Pasquier, pages 5-7.)

Paranoia Part IV

2007-05-13T13:07:00.000-07:00

Creation of Paranoia for Unknown Reasons

As we are unfortunately not aware of all the plans of the people behind the western system and who are responsible for it.

Self feeding Nature of Paranoia Creation

One obvious way creation of paranoia leads to more paranoia is illustrated in the cycle diagram below.

Hostility can also lead to the desire to demonstrate that the object of one's hostility is evil to others so that they will strike at whoever one is hostile to. Another way of look at this is that hostility can be a motive toward creating paranoia. This leads to the vicious cycle shown below.

Funding Paranoia Creation

This is done to develop program to be used as tool for the systems benefit.

Creation of a Power Myth

When you blame everything bad that happens on the Muslims, you need people to believe that the Muslims are powerful enough to be responsible for everything bad that happens.

Self Esteem and Paranoia

A series of studies of patients with persecutory delusions has shown that they protect their self esteem against blame, in such a way as to increase their sense of being persecuted possibly to an extent that they become deluded. By blaming others we protect our self esteem but in the process make them out to be the bad guys and sometimes our persecutors.

Self Esteem and Hate

In the previous section I've been discussing how low self esteem can lead to paranoia which then can lead to hate. It's possible there is a different path from hate to self esteem in which one simply hates others for being better off.

Paranoia Part III

2007-05-06T08:25:00.000-07:00

Follow-up to Creation of Paranoia

Introduction

Paranoia is actually pervasive among "normal" people and among groups of people. In fact paranoia is deliberately created.

Creation of Paranoia by the Media

1- Omission of Information:

The media’s tendency in leaving out information of the story that is important and relevant to understanding the situation.

2 - Choice of Words:

The press chooses words to describe events in order to convince the reader of their point of view.

3- Moral Equivalence:

In any situation in which there is an attack and a counterattack the media can blur responsibility for the violence. In addition the media can quote unreliable unconfirmed sources from one side that accuses the other side. The use of the Double Standard.

4 - Misplacing the Source in the Cycle of Violence:

If one side attacks another side and that side retaliates the original side uses that as a pretext for its own retaliation and a cycle of violence is created. After a while it becomes unclear which side is the instigator and which side is the retaliator. The press when biased confuses the two.

5 - Creation of Paranoia by the Western Media in America:

This is created, used to support, and protect the present system in America.

6 - Impact of Creation of Paranoia by the Media:

Distorts the reality of the situation, to have the system be able to control its people and have them do what they want them to do.

Creation of Paranoia to Justify Aggression and Terrorism

It is a tool they use to justify their aggression that they have and actually legitimize they acts of terrorism that they carry out.

Creation of Paranoia and Delusion to Encourage Violence and Terrorism

Is furthered used as a tool to incite violence and acts of terrorism.

Creation of Paranoia to Hide Motives of Conquest

The notion of creating a perceived foe, which in this case is Islam and the frightening unknown world of spirits and demons, has proven very effective in diverting people's attention away from the real agendas of the Western organizations.

Creation of Paranoia to Avert Catastrophe

This concept is being used to prevent the fall of the prevailing system in the west which would end up in a catastrophe.

Creation of Paranoia to Protect Civil Liberties

An example of this would be CAPPS II (Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening system II) is an airline screening system designed to keep homicidal terrorists off of planes which verifies that a passenger is who he claims to be and checks whether government files list him as a terrorist suspect. In which his rights and civil liberties would be denied.

Creation of Paranoia to Explain Away Contradictory Evidence

This is used to protect the system from contradictory evidence against it that might cause it problems in the future.

Creation of Paranoia to Overcome Opposition

This is done to achieve protection against possible threats from opposition.

Creation of Paranoia to get Revenge

The system holding differences against Islam, thus wanting to get revenge.

Creation of Paranoia To Divert Hostility and Shift Blame

The system will do so to protect itself from being exam by its people which could result in blame being centered to it and possible hostility brought against it and its ways.

Paranoia, Part II

2007-04-30T11:21:00.000-07:00

Creation of Paranoia, Part II

This is the final section of a blog that explores parallels between delusions and paranoia suffered by society. Motives behind the creation of paranoia are discussed. Reaction to rejection of ideology is found to be an important motive for creation of paranoia in society. Other manifestations of social paranoia, such as the creation of false memories, are also discussed.

Creation of Paranoia by the Press

The press creates paranoia toward groups it opposes but generally does so in subtle ways. This is because the press often attempts to appear objective. One of the ways the press can appear objective while putting a spin on facts is by omitting crucial facts. The press also creates paranoia through its choice of words.

Social Delusions

When faced with a delusional paranoid and threatening enemy, countries may develop a complimentary delusion that if they only appease that hostile enemy there will be peace. Historians and news columnists have also used the term "delusion" to describe such beliefs.

Paranoia Part II

2007-04-17T09:49:00.000-07:00

Creation of Paranoia in Society

The same motivations that exist for creation of paranoia among individuals exist for the creation of paranoia among groups. Because individuals identify with groups, they will react to attacks on their group the way they would react to an attack on themselves. One of the causes for individuals creating paranoia is in response to a threat. The same mechanism exists among groups. Let's say our group has in the past exploited another group, and an individual in our group makes a speech and points that out to us. Those of us who identify with our group may find that speech threatening, and we may create the paranoid belief that the person giving that speech has bad intentions. In this way, we can keep our minds comfortably closed to unpleasant facts. A likely uncomfortable consequence of our closed minds is conflict between our group and the other group.

During election campaigns, the left and right wing parties try and create as much paranoia as possible towards their opponents among the general population. This is an example of creating paranoia to defeat competition. One motive to create paranoia is to motivate others to remove obstacles that stand in the way of one's ambitions. Another motivation for creating paranoia that I mentioned before was as a way to protect and restore self-esteem in response to rejection.

Paranoia

2007-04-07T01:43:00.000-07:00

Is it right that everyone of us has fears on different levels? The answer is yes, and the way out of our fears is to face it, choose the biggest and the greatest fear you have and face it, do not run away of it, then you will find the other fears are nothing.

There is an Arab proverb “ Man is an enemy of which what he is in ignorance” , so do not let your fears takeover you, get to know your fears and face it starting from the biggest, do not let your phobia overcome your mind to hide the truth from you and take you away of it.

Islam was a fear to many people and still, however some of them were clever enough to face this fear and get to know it, which led them to the truth and they converted to Islam.

This an introduction for a series titled “Paranoia”. Which will be followed by “Islamophobia”.

Creation of Paranoia

Definition: Paranoia is unjustified beliefs that others are bad or a threat. This article starts from a discussion of everyday creation of paranoia in personal life and applies conclusions from that discussion toward understanding the creation of paranoia in society.

Creation of Paranoia in Everyday Life

In order to understand creation of paranoia in society, it is helpful to review common mechanisms that most people encounter in their personal interactions in their everyday lives. Creation of paranoia is very common. Every time a person is responsible for a problem but blames someone else for it they are creating paranoia toward that other person. Some of the reasons a person might create paranoia are:

1- To protect oneself against a threat as a way to deflect blame, to defend freedom to do what one wants, and to defeat competition.

2 - To protect or restore one's self-esteem in response to criticism and to rejection.

3 - As a justification of immoral behavior-e.g., of hurting someone else for one's own gain, of rebelling against moral restraints, and to eliminate obstacles to one's ambitions and goals; and to manipulate others in working toward one's goals.

Protection Against a Threat:

- As a way to deflect blame

Most parents of more than one child often hear the phrase "He did it" when they discover that one of their children has caused trouble. This is a simple and common example of creating paranoia as a way to deflect blame.

- As a way to defend freedom

Some spouses experience the frustration of unsuccessfully trying to stop their partner from engaging in an unhealthy behavior, such as overeating. Consider the case where a husband wants to convince his wife to eat less. She may rationalize that her husband's effort to control her eating is just a byproduct of the desire to control her. This is an example of creating paranoia in response to a threat against one's freedom.

- As a way to defeat competition

Some of the fouls and ensuing fights that break out at sporting events are probably an example of a result of creation of paranoia by members of one team to the other. Instead of viewing each other as friendly competitors these team members sometimes view members of the other team as enemies to be defeated. One motive to create paranoia towards the opposing team might be to justify fouling the star players of the opposing team in order to win.

- To Protect Self-Esteem

In 1956 Harry Stack Sullivan (7) wrote that "The paranoids feeling of worth is protected by the paranoid transfer of blame to other individuals." Since then psychological studies have been done which implicate defenses of self-esteem as a cause of paranoia in paranoid patients (8,9,10). Such defenses occur in the everyday interactions of normal people as discussed below.

- Defense against criticism

Most people have had the experience in which they have tried to give helpful constructive criticism to another person, only to be met with paranoia and hostility from that person. Why would a person react in such a hostile way to efforts to be helpful? The reason is that criticism may hurt their self-esteem. They may restore that self-esteem by rationalizing that they are not at fault but rather that the criticism was made because of malicious intentions. Relationships and marriages that start with high mutual positive regard often end with mutual negative regard and hostility. A lot of this is a result of creation of paranoia by partners toward each other. The creation of paranoia that I've observed in relationships is often in response to criticism or complaints by one partner toward the other.

- In Response to Rejection

Paranoia toward those who disagree with one's beliefs can be a mechanism for holding on to one's beliefs. If one believes that those who disagree with one's paranoid beliefs about a group are bad, one can explain away the uncomfortable arguments that they are making.

People often develop paranoia to the opposite sex as a result of rejection by them. Two of my male friends have expressed paranoia of women as a result of rejection by women. They would rather rationalize that the women are bad rather than view themselves as unattractive to those women. A woman friend of mine has told me about paranoid men's bashing sessions of female acquaintances of hers.

As a Justification of Immoral Behavior:

- Justification of hurting someone else for one's own gain

When people take something that isn't rightfully theirs from someone else, they often rationalize justification by creating paranoia to the person they take advantage of. For example, an employee who steals cash from a cash register might rationalize the justification that management hasn't given the raises the employee deserves. By creating paranoia towards management, the employee is protecting self-esteem from feelings of guilt.

- Justification of rebellion against moral restraints

When teenagers take drugs despite their parents' orders, they may justify their behavior by creating paranoia toward their parents.

Creation of Paranoia as a byproduct of justification of aggression:

- An aggressor who infringes on the rights of others for personal gain, but who is convinced that the infringements are justified, may develop paranoia towards those who defend themselves or retaliate against intrusions on their rights. The aggressor will experience being a victim of their unjustified aggression. This can result in a cycle of escalating paranoia as shown in Figure 1. (See hyperlink at the end of this article.)

- Creation of Paranoia in order to manipulate others into working toward one's goals

If one doesn't like someone and sees that person as a threat, the motive may exist to slander that person to others in order to motivate others to turn against that person and reduce the threat that the person poses.

Important Point Concerning the Last Plog

2007-03-20T08:12:00.000-07:00

I apologize Alina, I did not mean this is only applies to Muslims, however I should have made this point clear. To believe in something it is very good thing, I believe that you Alina and everyone has a strong belief, but we should search and examine carefully what we believe in. God (Allah) is not only for Muslims, He is for all people of different beliefs, He is One whenever you need Him, pray sincerely to Him you will find Him very close to you, more than you can imagine.

Thank you Alina for raising this point, I can tell that your belief is strong.

The Uncertain World

2007-03-15T05:54:00.000-07:00

Is it right that we live in uncertainty? And nothing is certain around us nowadays? I think the answer is yes, however, as Muslims we have means to eliminate the uncertainty. when you have strong belief that Allah controls everything, nobody can hurt or cause you a harm or good without Allah's will. when you have strong relation with Allah you feel He is always with you, you know it is such a feeling, I cannot find the words to explain it.

when you face a difficulty or something you feel it is more than your capacity, Ask the strong, the One who has created you from nothing for help (this is for sure, after you do your best and do your part). He is very near to you, however, sometimes you are very far from Him.

when you feel as if you are lost, do not know what to do about different things, waiting for things or answers to make a vital decision, you have a way out of this feeling (the uncertainty). It is Al-Istikara prayer, you ask Allah the One who knows the unseen, your future, and the unknown to you to choose the best for you about the issue that confused you. So you took of this burden, you put it away of your shoulder, to the One who knows what you do not, then you release, you have a feeling of contentment instead of uncertainty.

This what I felt when I had the feeling of uncertainty, I wish to share it with you.

Introduction

2007-03-13T17:17:00.000-07:00

In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful.

Every action begins with an intention. My intention for this blog is to share my thoughts on the issues that concern me, be they religious, political, social or intellectual.

Insha Allah, I would like this blog to be a starting point for dialogue conducted in a sincere and respectful manner to achieve a greater understanding of each other.

I am a Muslim born and raised in Bilad Al Sham. I moved to the West to pursue my education. Recently I got married to a convert to Islam and we are now living in the U.K.