Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id UAA18196 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-bounces@mmu.ac.uk); Fri, 28 Sep 2001 20:30:31 +0100 Message-ID: <000d01c14859$a55e6280$dc06bed4@default> From: "Kenneth Van Oost" <Kenneth.Van.Oost@village.uunet.be> To: <memetics@mmu.ac.uk> References: <2D1C159B783DD211808A006008062D3102A6D044@inchna.stir.ac.uk> Subject: Re: Belief & Behavior Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2001 22:10:03 +0200 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2314.1300 X-MIMEOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2314.1300 Sender: fmb-bounces@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
----- Original Message -----
From: Vincent Campbell <v.p.campbell@stir.ac.uk>
> Just quickly, we must remember that unlike Christianity or, I think,
> Judaism, Islam has no concept of blasphemy. In other words disagreement
> over what the Koran means is actually a central point in Islam, but the
> different divisions sunni, shiite etc. have, in countries like Iran and
the
> Taleban's Afghanistan, disavowed this in favour of their authoritarian
> interpretations of the Koran.
>
> This caused all sorts of problems for British muslims trying to get Salman
> Rushdie's book 'The Satanic Verses' banned in the 1980s on the grounds
that
> it was blasphemous. First, UK blasphemy law only covers christianity, and
> second Islam has no blasphemy, only apostacy (turning on's back on one's
> faith) which is not a crime (otherwise all us atheists would be locked
up!).
Hi Vincent,
Quickly or not, you made a very good point though !
The fact that a weekday Muslim is so strong determined by his religion,
at all levels of his life makes it very difficult anyway ' not- to- attack-
Islam.
That is, Muslims live their lives according to a religious culture_ anything
they do or say is related to this. There is, in a sense, no need for a
concept
as blasphemy_ if anyone attacks something or someone at any level you
attack Islam, it is a very simple but very effective strategy
Blasphemy in the Christian sense of the word, I believe, you have some
' levels '. You can attack god directly, his rules, some rules etc, no !?
I don 't know, never asked myself that question !
The problem is indeed how fractions interpretate Mohammeds writing,
the Verses of the Sword can be explained in many ways. Each fraction
holds thus a specific belief and it is very difficult, and I repeat, not-
to-
attack Islam in this way.
If you say white, you gonna ran into trouble with Z, say black you gonna
get troubles with W etc.
That brings us to the cente problem of Islam, its absolutism.
In a way they think their Islamitic culture is the one which stands out
above all others, their proud turned into arrogance. It goes wrong
when you couple religion onto politics. The fact is that Islam ceased
to look beyond the bounderies of its culture. Islam locked itself up
in its own rigide religious culture. There is no civilitationculture, there
is no householdculture,... depended from religion that is.
All is due to theirs religious fanatisism.
Don 't get me wrong here, there are values in Islam which are honoured
by many Muslims, but cannot be jerked from their religious bias.
If you don 't see that... if you don 't understand this, than you are blind
for what is positive in Islam.
On the other hand, not noticing that will push off the kind half of the
Muslim world. And that is dangerous.
And for what happened to Rushdie, that is now the kind of thing that
the Islamitic world don 't grasp. They don 't know any expression
( cultural/ social or in forms of art) whereby Islam is used as its bias,
there are but, only and than only used in its religious form.
There is no study ' comparising world religions ' ! There can be no films
made about the intimite life of Mohammed.
They don 't have any Nietzsche to say to them that God is dead !!
Regards,
Kenneth
( I am, because we are) Sufi
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