letters to the Editor
May 30, 2007
Tired of ignorant labelling
Repeated and blatant use of the words "Islamist" and "Islamism" in all forms of international media is making me sick. I decided to find out exactly what they meant. An Islamist is a person who is technically orthodox and a fundamentalist. So anyone who follows the fundamentals or guidelines of Islam is an Islamist. Islamism is the ideology that Islam is not only a religion but also a system that governs legal, economic and social structures. Well, Islam is, indeed, a way of life with guidelines for the way we should live and conduct ourselves. So that makes me an "Islamist" ideologist. Arrest me, now!
From Ms Tahseen Khateeb
Dubai
Posts
12 comments:
You're not going to be arrested. You just don't get visa to go to western countries.
Lol @ anonymous!
I'm tired of all these labels too. They never existed in Arabic but they do today.
The way these terms had been used in the media is really negative, which really upsets me!
Ms Khateeb: Nonono. Use of the term 'Islamist' is a way of differentiating the hyper-religious nutcases from the average Abdullah in the street who does his prayers and trusts in Allah and believes in peace. Or maybe doesn't do his prayers, and wears a suit. 'Islamists' are people who twist the words of the Quran and the Hadith. They are bent on their own violent version of Jihad and that is what the rest of the world gets to think of as a typical Muslim.
On the other hand - if you believe that Islam provides for a viable and workable system of government across the entire Muslim world in the 21st century, (from Morocco to Indonesia) then I beg to differ. Religion and government do not mix well, in my opinion.
It is slightly tricky, but to me religious 'fundamentalists' are the most dangerous kind. They believe they are right and that people who do not agree with them are wrong (And vice versa, of course). And this applies to all religions - there are plenty of dangerously fundamentalist Christians at large in the US (in fact one of them might be the President).
I ask you, previous commenters. How would you describe Osama bin Laden? Good guy, bad guy, lunatic, saviour? I really want to know.
OK. To Gitmo with ya.
Keefieboy,
Dubya is not a very accurate example of a fundamentalist Christian. He is, like many others in countries where religion plays a major role and where democracy is practiced, only using religion to drive his political agenda.
If i want to talk about fundamentalist Christian, my best bet would be Pat Robertson, with special emphasis on the mental.
"best bet would be Pat Robertson, with special emphasis on the mental"
ditto!
There are plenty of evangelical preachers who influence the average Joe & Jane into politicization of theology via callousness and hyper-patriotism of mainstream evangelicalism. I think people like Pat Robertson thinks (even beyond) such ill fated ventures.
To me he comes across pretty mental & as a fundamentalist, beyond repair?
Ms. Khateeb makes the mistake of thinking that these words have singular, definitive meansings. Of course, they don't. Like many other words, they have different meanings to different people.
In the West, they are generally used to refer to violent extremists, or to people who are trying to forcibly convert non-Muslims.
In a perfect world, all individuals would be judged solely by their actions, but in our non-perfect world we need to use labels to sort people and simplify complicated distinctions. Sometimes, the labels are ambiguous, or have different meanings to different people, as is the case here.
Can we instead keep her in a zoo so we can marvel at how evolution is slower with some species?
Keefieboy:
Bin Laden = CIA Boy
When they reached their goals, it was time to finish him off
Dangerous Fundamental Christian?
Do they fly planes into builings?
Do they strap bombs on their kids?
Do they treat women like a goat?
Force them to wear a decor-burka?
Promise Virgins to Village Idiots?
No, they only want a $1,000 "Seed of
Faith" from Our Village Idiots! reb
www.lazyonebenn.blogspot.com
^^ Those are not related to the fundamentals of Islam either. I am a muslim findamentalist and proud to be so
Well said Nick...
Post a Comment
NOTE: By making a post/comment on this blog you agree that you are solely responsible for its content and that you are up to date on the laws of the country you are posting from and that your post/comment abides by them.
To read the rules click here
If you would like to post content on this blog click here