http://www.arabtimesonline.com/arabtimes/opinion/view.asp?msgID=1370 Posted on 12/23/2006
ISLAMIC CONFUSION Dr Samar Rashdan Al-Roomi Posted 23/12/2006 Posted on 12/23/2006 10:43:59 AM Posted on 12/23/2006 10:43:59 AM I RECENTLY overheard two Kuwaitis discussing the Islamic world's state of affairs over Turkish coffee and shisha. 'You know it's really sad,' began Ahmad. 'If you take a look around the world, humanity is living under sorry circumstances.' 'What do you mean?' asked Muhameed. 'Just look at the Muslims outside of the Arab world. They simply don't have a clue. I think that the only good Muslims we have today are Arabs,' Ahmad concluded. 'Yes,' agreed his friend. 'You're absolutely right. Thank God for us Arabs. Without us what would have become of this great faith?' 'But even among us Arabs,' reasoned Ahmad, 'there are so many who are just so un-Islamic. They have been seduced by Western ideology and have become so-called 'modernists.'' 'That's true,' agreed Muhameed. 'It's really terrible how taken they are with things that are so alien to our religion. In fact, if you really look closely, many of the Arabs have also strayed from the true path. This has become a real problem.' 'I couldn't agree with you more,' replied Ahmed. 'It's actually no longer fair to say that it is the Arabs who are the true Muslims. All things considered, Kuwait is more conservative than other Gulf States, for example, the United Arab Emirates or Bahrain.' 'Absolutely!' exclaimed Muhameed. 'Thank God for us Kuwaitis! But you know what?' he asked pensively. 'What?' replied Ahmed. 'Look at what's going on in the country with the way that some women dress. I even saw one women who wore her skirt above her knees...and she was Kuwaiti too.' 'You're joking surely?' retorted Muhammad astonished. 'That's the problem,' Muhameed said. 'Kuwaitis on average are just too liberal. All mixed with external influences. It's not right at all.' 'I guess then, all things considered, true Islam really only belongs in our neigborhood. At least here we are practicing our faith properly,' Ahmed said with finality. 'But hang on a minute. What about the satellite television antennas on various houses and some of the men in the community with short beards, said Muhameed? 'You know what?' piped up Ahmed. 'You are absolutely right Muhameed. I guess we are the only true Muslims that exist.' 'Well,' sighed Muhameed. 'Frankly speaking, I don't always see you in the mosque for Fajr ya Ahmad. So I guess the only true Muslim in the world must be me.' For some reason, many of us behave like Ahmed and Muhameed firmly believe that we have been bestowed with the divine right to judge people according to their piety. It always amazes me how people use religion to suit their own convenience and more especially as a weapon to criticize others. All religions have the inherent noble objective of achieving the betterment of not only the individual per se but also the society he belongs to. Thus, I wonder why is it that Islam (a faith that fundamentally preaches tolerance and respect) is constantly used by its ill-informed practitioners as a means to do just the opposite. It really sickens and depresses me to watch impotently as people with very little knowledge and understanding of the essence of this great egalitarian religion and an evident lack of compassion toward others take it upon themselves to masquerade as self-appointed vigilantes using their outward appearance as a pretext to damn everybody else. It seems that the length of ones beard is the ultimate qualification of closeness to God. Long beard equates to great proximity whereas the opposite indicates great distance. I find the whole concept appalling...it is so far removed from our belief and spirituality that it is actually quite shocking. Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
