24.12.2011

Islam has been given to man precisely to help him live through this last stage of history without losing himself. The final revelation of the prophetic cycle, it offers methods of resisting the present chaos, and of re-establishing order and clarity within the soul – as well as harmony in human relations – and of achieving the higher destiny to which the Creator has called us.
Islam is addressed to man, of whom it has a deep and precise understanding, defining as it does his position in creation before God.
Modern thought, by contrast, has no well-defined and generally accepted anthropology. concerning man it has amassed a vast array of facts, yet the very confusion and variety of these facts betrays an inability to give a coherent definition of the human condition.

In no other civilisation has there been such a complete and systematic ignorance of the reason why we are born, why we are alive, and why we must die.

(Roger Du Pasqueir; Unveiling Islam p. 1)

What would he say about Facebook?

fr. The suspicious revolution: an interview with Talal Asad

NS: Since coming back to the United States, have you noticed a shift in how the West perceives the Muslim world?

TA: Well, I don’t read newspapers regularly—so you might be in a better position to answer that than I.

NS: Really? Why don’t you read newspapers?

TA: It’s not that I have any sound reason for it. I haven’t read newspapers for thirty years because I find that, for some reason, they tend to break up my mind. They write about so many different things, and you’re always going from one thing to another, and then on to another, unrelated to the last. I like to read journals—weeklies. I also watch Amy Goodman on Democracy Now! and some of the news programs on Russia Today. Listening to TV newscasts is less disruptive, strangely. So I’m not sure I can adequately answer your first question as to whether there has been a change in Western depictions of the Muslim world or not.

Sincerity

“The rewards for acts mentioned in the Koran and hadith, according to masters of the way, are bestowed by Allah to manifest His limitless generosity to His servants if and only if these acts are for Him alone; not when reward as such is the reason for performing them. It is not suitable for spiritual works in the path of sincerity to be primarily for self-interest, in this world or the next”

(Sea without Shore p136)

People talk about imitating Christ, and imitate Him in the little trifling formal things, such as washing the feet, saying His prayer, and so on; but if anyone attempts the real imitation of Him, there are no bounds to the outcry with which the presumption of that person is condemned.

~ Florence Nightingale ~

On Extra Judicial Measures

Roper: so now you give the devil the benefit of the law?!

More: Yes. What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the devil?

Roper: I’d cut down every law in England to do that!

More: Oh? And when the last law was down, and the devil turned round on you – where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat?

This country’s planted thick with laws from coast-to-coast … and if you cut them down, you really think you could stand upright in the wings that would blow then?

Bolt, A Man for All Seasons, p66

Is there a link between critical thinking and conspiracy theorizing?

Unlawful Killing is not about a conspiracy before the crash, but a provable conspiracy after the crash. A conspiracy organised not by a single scheming arch-fiend, but collectively by the British establishment – judges, lawyers, politicians, police chiefs, secret services, even newspaper editors – all of whom have been appointed to their positions because they are “a safe pair of hands”. Just as compass needles all point north without being told to, so these people instinctively know what is expected of them when the state’s interests are under threat and they act accordingly, quietly suppressing uncomfortable evidence or undermining the credibility of witnesses whose evidence contradicts the official narrative.

7/4/11

More:

When a man takes an oath, Meg, he’s holding his own self in his own hands – like water. And if he opens his fingers then – he needn’t hope to find himself again.

“a man for all seasons” p140

3/5/11

But society can only have as much idea as we have what we are about, for it has only our brains to think with. And the individual who tries to plot his position by reference to our society finds no fixed points, but only the vaunted absence of them, “freedom” and “opportunity”; freedom for what, opportunity to do what, is nowhere indicated. The only positive he is given is get and spend (“get and spend – if you can” from the Right “get and spend – you deserve it” from the Left) and he did not need society to tell him that. In other words we are thrown back by our society upon ourselves at our lowest, that is at our least satisfactory to ourselves, which of course sends us flying back to society with all the force of rebound.

- preface, a man for all seasons.

Syria week in review 19/42011

Rec’d via email, edited slightly:

“On Friday Douma (a suburb of Damascus) held a demonstration. They walked to Harasta (another suburb) where another demo was ongoing and the two demos merged. They went to Zamalka on outskirts of Damascus (they numbered b/w 50 to 75 thousand) then reached Jobar bridge (the only way to the Abbaseen square in Damascus).

on the bridge there were security forces with their buses blocking the road, the marchers threw stones and the forces fled, leaving 5 of their members behind who got badly beaten by demonstrators.

After they crossed the bridge their main goal was to reach Abbaseen Square.

The last stop before the square was to pass through the tangled neighborhood of Jobar; the people of this area did not help them but rather led them through a maze of alleys until the big demonstration went face to face with 3 thousand security forces 300 meters away from the square.

They shot poison gas at protesters, many fell unconscious when they smelled even a little amount, then security forces took many ppl away to unknown places.

A lot of ppl were wounded and many more were arrested.

ppl who went to those Demos said there is NO turning back what so ever, because now the security forces will go after them until they r all dead or in jail.

So now you have most of southern Syria out of gov’t control: All Dara’a, Sweida and southern Damascus country side (these places are in street warfare with security).

Homs is boiling at the heart of Syria (there have been massacres the last two days and the whole city is on lockdown, protesters are fighting security) and central Latakia and all Banias are out of control, many people are missing.

Next Friday will be something really huge. its expected that Central Damascus and the countryside areas will rise up.”

May Allah protect them. Please remember these ppl in your prayers, they’re truly facing death by protesting.

Repression in Latakia, Damascus 15/4/2011

Rec’d via email, edited slightly:

“Actually what you are getting from the news is much less than what is really happening; my friend who is from Latakia went there last week and his family told him the following;

2 fridays ago (beginning of April) men and women went to demonstrate during day time and walked through most of the city. at sunset, after they came to the main Square (Alshiekh Daher) to stay they put the women in the middle and the men surounded them. the scerity forces asked them to leave, ppl refused so they hit them with water cannons & ppl dispersed into the alleys. After while ppl gathered again and cleaned the place to camp.

security forces did the same only this time when ppl went into the alleys security started to kill them by snipers who were on building roofs. over 100 ppl were killed that day, the killers didn’t allow the ppl to take the dead bodies to prepare them and perform funeral services – they took them directly to the graveyards and threatened the ppl that there can be no funeral prayer and also no consolation (3aza’a).

Regarding Damascus university demonstration: there were also snipers that killed at least 1 male student his family name Saidi (I’m not sure if this is his name).

Also, next day when religion and law colleges started a demo army men fired with machine guns on from their cars and killed at least one woman 18 yrs old, first year in college.

ppl around me are who were deceived start to name things in its true name (criminal regime, murderers) … their awareness is increasing and most of those ppl are now awake and are out of their state of denial and now see the ugly face of these bunch of criminals who are ruling syria.