Saturday, August 14, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
My definition of enlightenment
Being "enlightened" doesn't have to mean disapproving the existence of god. It's to know that you have a conscious choice in what to believe and how to believe it best.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Random musings
I have a habit of "jotting down" random quotes/thoughts/ideas into my phone. Looking for pen and a piece of paper isn't the most convenient thing to do at times. Some of my more recent random musings;
- I don't believe in the concept of "religion". I am a muslim and I believe in god and the teachings of Islam. But I don't believe in "religion". I don't believe in structured organizations led by "middle men"/religious authorities/clergy telling people what to believe or how to think. Matters pertaining to faith is meant to be personal. It' supposed to be a direct commune between yourself and god. It's not something for someone else to interfere or meddle with. They ended up as "organized religion" because a bunch of people back in the day decided they wanted political and financial leverage through the means of being middle men; to "help negotiate" your spiritual transactions between yourself and god. You can see how such individuals are able to segregate communities and use their influence for personal gain. I believe in being muslim by choice, not by force. It beats the purpose altogether if you're forced to believe something you don't want to believe. Just because they are convinced certain things are black and white, it doesn't mean you have to take them as gospel. They have no right to condemn people for having a slight difference in opinion. They're just humans like you. They have just as much tendency to make mistakes as you would. They themselves will be judged by god anyway. And we've reached my main point; only god can judge us in the end.
- We like to think ourselves as the solution. Unfortunately more often than not we end up being the problem.
- I have simple philosophies with life;
1)To each his own.
2)If you can afford it, then use your own money. Loans/financial aid are for people who NEED it. People who can't afford to do so with their own money. Making your life slightly more convenient at the expense of those who are genuinely less fortunate is just inconsiderate.
3)You're either the problem starter, the victim or the solution. The victim too can choose to either be a solution or remain shackled by the problem.
- I don't believe in the concept of "religion". I am a muslim and I believe in god and the teachings of Islam. But I don't believe in "religion". I don't believe in structured organizations led by "middle men"/religious authorities/clergy telling people what to believe or how to think. Matters pertaining to faith is meant to be personal. It' supposed to be a direct commune between yourself and god. It's not something for someone else to interfere or meddle with. They ended up as "organized religion" because a bunch of people back in the day decided they wanted political and financial leverage through the means of being middle men; to "help negotiate" your spiritual transactions between yourself and god. You can see how such individuals are able to segregate communities and use their influence for personal gain. I believe in being muslim by choice, not by force. It beats the purpose altogether if you're forced to believe something you don't want to believe. Just because they are convinced certain things are black and white, it doesn't mean you have to take them as gospel. They have no right to condemn people for having a slight difference in opinion. They're just humans like you. They have just as much tendency to make mistakes as you would. They themselves will be judged by god anyway. And we've reached my main point; only god can judge us in the end.
- We like to think ourselves as the solution. Unfortunately more often than not we end up being the problem.
- I have simple philosophies with life;
1)To each his own.
2)If you can afford it, then use your own money. Loans/financial aid are for people who NEED it. People who can't afford to do so with their own money. Making your life slightly more convenient at the expense of those who are genuinely less fortunate is just inconsiderate.
3)You're either the problem starter, the victim or the solution. The victim too can choose to either be a solution or remain shackled by the problem.
What a way to start Ramadhan...
This is the first article that I came across just right after sahur on the Time website; Anti-Mosque ads to be placed on New York city buses.
I mean seriously? Lobbying for people to "leave their faith". First of all that sentence just sounds weird; "to leave one's faith". How do you leave faith? It's not a country club membership. It's something you have inside you. You have "faith" because you believe in whatever it is that you believe. At the end of the day, one's faith is a personal choice.
Btw, I have a bone to pick with some westerners and their "stop Islamization of (insert name of country)" thing. So let me get this straight; you guys came to our side of the world to "Christianize"(to the Christians, I did not mean to offend...just stating what the white man did back in the day...they're whole superiority complex) us, not just for a few decades but for frickin centuries and we're supposed to be okay with that. And you'll find out that most of us are in fact okay with that. It's water under the bridge yea? But when Muslims migrate to your place just to seek a decent living or even to seek refuge it's an epidemic now? People should stop being so divided just because they have a different perception on faith. Look, it's your own damn choice if you choose to be a Muslim or a Christian or a Jew or a Buddhist or a Hindu or even an atheist. People aren't as gullible as you think to be "brainwashed" into converting to whatever it is you want them to convert to. Every individual has enough brain power to at least think that much for themselves. So just stop it with all the Islamization, Christianization, Judaismization, Buddhismization, Hinduzation or what ever -ization you can think of. It simply doesn't work that way. If people start adapting foreign cultures into their lives, it's because they choose to. Maybe it just works for them. There's no subliminal psychological mind games involved. It's all in your head.
To be fair though, the muslim community there could have chosen a more suitable location for building a mosque. I mean, it's ground zero; it's the site where terrorists who had the audacity to label themselves as muslims did very unIslamic things by hijacking a couple of planes then crashing them into the WTC almost a decade ago. So it makes sense if something like that were to hit a nerve with the locals. It will definitely save everyone grief if they just moved the mosque elsewhere.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Ku Li - We Were Once Malaysians
This is beautiful. Do read if you have the time.
Haha, thanks to Ms Jo for sharing it with us via FB.
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