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The Forum > Article Comments > Whenever a Muslim writer takes up a pen he tiptoes in a minefield > Comments

Whenever a Muslim writer takes up a pen he tiptoes in a minefield : Comments

By Bashir Goth, published 3/11/2006

If it takes a village to raise a child in Africa, it takes a community to kill a writer or journalist in the Muslim world.

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Dear Bashir Goth, I don't have much to say about your article. Just one word: FANTASTIC! Please continue this way, the world needs people like you!
Posted by KeesB, Friday, 3 November 2006 9:48:38 AM
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Courageous stuff. We have little difficulty seeing that Bashir Goth's society can benefit from dissenters like he, who critique and challange the flaws and weaknesses in his own society, even under grave threats.

Yet look at the scorn reserved for dissenters in our own culture. In the current public debate, anybody who suggests there might be a need to critically evaluate our own actions, attitudes or policies is hastily dismissed as a relativist who blames the West for everything. Yet the strength and dynamism of so much in Western culture arises from centuries of fostering and incorporating the ideas of even our strongest critics - from within. Are we now to cut off the very source of that strength by blocking our ears to the dissenters among us?
Posted by Mercurius, Friday, 3 November 2006 10:29:24 AM
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That's just silly, Mercurius. People in our culture who ‘[suggest] there might be a need to critically evaluate our own actions’ aren’t dismissed as relativists.

They’re dismissed as post-modernists.
Posted by DNB, Friday, 3 November 2006 10:41:36 AM
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Ahh but Mercurious, having been one of the relativists accused of blaming the west for everything...

I'm told we need to take more account of the fact that our society is so free to express these ideas and there is no valid comparison between the west and heinous regimes.

This of course dismisses the fact you pointed out, that our society was built upon critical evaluation, but opponents argue that in the face of such a hostile united enemy we need to adopt similar fortitude, which equates to an insularity from enemy ideals, which brutal as they may be, again, we are not allowed to evaluate in context of western flaws... apparently to do so is to show less than unanimous support for our own peoples.

In other words it's an issue of 'your for us or against us' which always comes to the fore in times of conflict.

This is a great article, I love it. Keep up the good work.
Posted by TurnRightThenLeft, Friday, 3 November 2006 11:28:50 AM
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I wonder if our communities were free from experiencing external prejudicial persecution we would be as self conscience as we are required to be today. I know that if I lived in a vacuum, and my audience did not perceive me as a representative of some group or another, I would feel better about saying what I really think. Most of my community members pressure me to stop saying what I say, not because they do not like it, but because they do not want everyone to think I am speaking on their behalf.
Posted by vivy, Friday, 3 November 2006 1:06:33 PM
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Well if they did not lay the mines in the first place then there would never be a need to tiptoe through the mine fields; But whilst on the subject of Mine fields it would be poignant to note that the Ayatollah Khomeini, had Iranian children as young as eight years, rap them selves up in carpet and roll over the mine fields so as to protect his Army, the carpet was only so their body parts remained within the confines. How many people know that?
You should have chosen a more appropriate title for your compilation, like poor hard done by Moslems are persecuted by Infidels; Although International Demographic fact finding strongly suggests otherwise, it is a mine field Islam created, so please , Watch your step. The power supply for the mine detector is rapidly depleting, just from the political mines our useless idiots have set for us.
Posted by All-, Saturday, 4 November 2006 7:39:05 AM
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Bashir

Thank you for a very courageous article.

Cheers
Kay
Posted by kalweb, Saturday, 4 November 2006 3:52:35 PM
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I think you have had a fair representation of your opinion being posted on this site.

I've never heard of a "Muslim writer" but I have heard of a writer being a Muslim.
Posted by Suebdootwo, Saturday, 4 November 2006 9:14:23 PM
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As I read this article, I could FEEEL those religious chains, and vines wrapping around my soul... I could feel the constriction of the cultural Boaconstricter.. mercilessly squeezing the life out of me.

My response ? simple...

John 10:10 "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

He did not come so that he could destroy enemies with the sword and take 1/5th of the war booty , including human beings.. why ? because he brought no war.. raised no army, carried no sword, yet he won empires......

How ? through sculduggery ? Not at all...by this:

John 10:11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep"

Mercurious. I smiled as I read your 'philosopho-centric' bit about dissenters :) You seemed to regard 'your mob' as the only ones who dissent, and are marginalized, and that their perspectives are the right ones..(something I am indeed doing myself above) but you are right about one thing. The ability to criticize and self scrutinize is crucial for a vibrant living community.

Bashirs minefield began most especially with the rise and ensuing conflict between the Abbasyd and Ummayad families/regimes in the Caliphate. From these 2 families come the Shia and Sunni branches of Islam. Not only are they miles apart in thinking and understanding of true Islam, they are actively and violently so.... following on from the example of Mohammed.. each of them sees the victory over the other by armed struggle as the victory of true and pure Islam.

They BOTH also see encroachment of Western values as an attack on Islam.

Fortunately, there are some liberated individuals such as Bashir who refresh us with his unique perspective, but with all this I just don't understand why he remains a Muslim rather than embracing Christ as Lord and liberating Saviour.

John 8:32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
John 8:36 "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed"

it doesn't get much better than this :)
Posted by BOAZ_David, Sunday, 5 November 2006 7:49:54 AM
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Bashir,

You courageously provide frank and honest insight into the Islamic culture.

Just on a comment of yours: "... Islam had its good days of freedom of speech in the middle ages.... one can only hope for the return of such rationale."

Actually there never was freedom of speech in Islam, and never will be. When there were days of 'freedom of speech', that was merely because the Islamic culture was 'developing' it's form.

It has done so now, and turned into the adult Beast of Intolerance it was always meant to be.

I have written elsewhere:
"I am not aware of another culture that is 'fixed in time' like Islam culture is. Therefore as cultural evolution goes, the tendency of the world is towards Islamic fundamentalism.
Had human civilisation not already advanced significantly prior to the arrival of Islam, then in fact today's world culture is most likely a monolithic one - Islamic culture of the Taliban kind."

A return of such rationale (as 'freedom of speech' in Islam) will never happen.

Like BD, I don't understand how intellectually you can remain a Muslim.
Posted by GZ Tan, Sunday, 5 November 2006 12:44:45 PM
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Bashir

A simple question: why not leave Islam given your grave concerns?
Posted by kalweb, Sunday, 5 November 2006 10:03:35 PM
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Islam religion is now the question that is procupying most of the world. Thaly Boustros , daughter of Carlos Boustros a United Nation head member, was giving a conference in Plais des Congres at New york about the relation between huszballah and israel and she was talking about the Islam. Her definition of terms were very well picked but it was obvious that she was treating the subject from a legal point of view and didnt want to take a part...
so i wonder .. will people keep talking about islam and not doing anything to stop the terrorisim showing from that religion ?
Posted by maryK, Monday, 6 November 2006 12:59:18 AM
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Dear Mary (what a blessed name that is :)
we can actually 'do' something. All of us.

The first thing is NOT to have a knee jerk emotional reaction and suddenly start waving Aussie flags.

The 2nd thing is to become well informed about Radical Islam, and about the foundations of Islam itself and its so called prophet.

Personally, I would then recommend a 3rd thing, but not all readers will share my position, and that is, to reconnect our hearts, minds and wills with our God, through Christ Jesus in fellowship with the rest of His Body. (The/a Church)

This last point, is the one which will give restraint, compassion and strangely enough 'love' toward enemies. This does not mean that those who would enslave us are not to be fought with every ounce of strength we can muster, but it does mean that we accept limits to our efforts and never exceed 'reasonable force'. "Stop...but don't Stomp"
to coin a phrase.

The other factor is the confidence we have in life then. We are not limited to a pessemistic view of philosophical absurdity, no, we have direction, strength and hope which will not dissapoint us.

There is another thing you and I can do. Strengthen your cultural ties with fellow Australians. This might be as simple as picking up a stranded motorist who is walking toward a service station with a petrol tin..(as I did the other day) and then taking the extra time to run him back to his car, and spending some precious moments in social bonding.

References:

"Obsession: The threat of Racical Islam"
http://www.foxnews.com/ find the link to this under 'only on fox' then view the video.
Quote from former member of Hitler Youth member "You cannot understand radical Islam without understanding how Hitler radicalized the youth"

Life/Character of Mohamed
http://www.answering-islam.org/Books/Muir/Life4/chap37.htm
Posted by BOAZ_David, Monday, 6 November 2006 8:35:02 AM
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Dear Bashir

Your commitment to Truth, Compassion and Tolerance are to be admired.
The reality of your experience in Muslim 'abodes of peace' constrast with the dangerous fluency of the young Muslim apologists who use western logic effectively against the west (
see UK article on this site)
An intolerant creed - New Labour’s Islam policy
By Nasser Amin - posted Friday, 3 November 2006 http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=5088

We in the west and austalia do not appreciate that the local garden varieties of muslims differ significantly from their more vigorous cousins and uncles in far off exotic and unknown climes.

we are not even aware of the divisions and conflicts among the various sects and assume that their is one ummah.

in our ignorance of the ugly realities, we pretend that the 'religion' can be equated to our own beliefs and cultures and ignore history and current realities at our peril.

hisrotically Islam gloried in the gory days of conquest where it destroyed older and cultures and enslaved numerous countries till it was defeated by western expansions anger and jealous persists over time and is a convenient channel to target Islamic failings and blame anyone else other tham the Muslim countries themselves for the Muslim malaise.

we try and use platitudinous panaceas which, based on erroneous christian and western philosophical assumptions cannot be applied equally to an ideology whose underlying message can never coexist with infidel views in the 'abode of war'-the unconquered non-muslim lands which are viewed with greed and jealousy, ever since the time of the self proclaimed last prophet.

until we do so, we will have to be confused by the 'moderate'(?) muslims protest in self righteousness against any criticism, however well-based while ignoring the atrocities prevalent in their ancient, tribal fatherlands.

with trepidation.
Posted by Don Juan De Marco, Monday, 6 November 2006 11:20:24 AM
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Excellent article Bashir. I admire your bravery.

(I'm sorry I've got on this thread a little late, have been meaning to post for a couple of days. I hope TRTL is still following the thread.)

Regarding TRTL's comment that the response to Islamic Fundamentalism in our own country has been a similar closing of the ranks, a "with us or against us" approach; I think this is a little simplistic and misses the point of what the conservative side of the culture war is trying to do.

There's nothing wrong with critical evaluation. But what perturbs many policy makers and ordinary Australians, (especially in the context of the current challenge,) is the tendency of Critical Theory to view the failings the West, past and present, as so reprehensible that they destroy the legitimacy of our institutions and our values.

Instead of viewing our past as a series of victories in the quest to spread enfranchisement to all sectors of our community and peoples across the globe, the fact that we could have been so barbaric in the first place is perceived as a fatal blow to our history and our sense of self. Thus, the culture war is not about self-censorship. It is about challenging the Revisionist versions of history which gained hegemony during the 70's, 80's and 90's, in order to re-instill a sense of pride in who we are.
Posted by dozer, Wednesday, 8 November 2006 9:47:21 AM
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Dozer - I've no problem with having pride in who we are. By the same token, I wouldn't like us to try and gloss over the less attractive parts of our history.

The thing is - I think we already do have plenty of pride. Kids sing the national anthems in school just about every day.
We go nuts for our sporting teams.
Yes, this is the most basic level of pride, but it's a common denominator most can share.

There is an oversimplification of both sides of this debate. If you voice concern over these alleged 'culture wars' you're accused of being one of the aforementioned relativists, or one of the 'latte' set.

Fair enough, the conservative side cops their own simplifications. But there is a strong element of the 'us v them' in this debate, and it is applied much too quickly.
Posted by TurnRightThenLeft, Wednesday, 22 November 2006 11:44:48 AM
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