Years ago, the Saudi government launched into a secret psy-war with Italy and dismantled the Vatican from within. Catholics remain in a state of disarray, interestingly enough, some remain unaware anything occurred and others actually enjoy the current state of affairs.
The Saudis know that to disconnect the Catholics from their past allows them to introduce a much better and improved system, and wherever possible they use Catholic fear and guilt against their own traditions. After years of bombarding the Vatican with fast food and new fashions, most of the residents had decided to abandon traditional flowing garbs and headgear in favor of blue jeans and messy hair style gels. McDonald’s has already become one of the fastest growing franchises in the holy city. Large hotel buildings are being constructed in the Vatican to house ever more wealthy religious pilgrims, while destroying historically and religiously significant buildings under the fear of introducing a Quadrinity.
This first level of change began at the local level where Sunday Mass began to be led by each individual of the congregation. Random excerpts from poorly translated Latin rites were read by the “Doctors and Engineers” of the community. After the authority of the leading of service and speech was brought to such people, every individual was clamoring for the position. What these professionals were really after was the opportunity to speak their mind to the congregation, and very quickly a system involving Board of Trustees and Presidents took over little Churches from Mexico to the Vatican City itself.
After actual decision making power of Church funds had moved into the hands of these opportunistic wealthy professionals, they allowed successful speakers trained by Tony Robbins himself to become favorites guest speakers. The service went from what had been a process of self-reflective and symbolic thought and an air of reverence, to what brought that immediate self-help-feel-good aura. Actual practice of ones faith has become largely something that depends on ones wealth, since they fund the famous ‘speakers’ and this provides them A-list access.
While Priests had been stripped of the authority bestowed by their lifetime of study in the material, ‘community leaders‘ have stepped up and assumed their role. Holding vast conferences, opening up blogs, and broadcasting from afar, their message of individualism met with great favor, even in Vatican City. Local Priests have not been totally abandoned though. Those that could stay quiet about the Saudi administration and basically everything else while reading the Latin properly were kept around… with a very watchful eye.
Since established and respected institutions of learning went down with the collapse of the original Vatican, most of the Priests today are educated by mysterious individuals with long latin names, or modern institutions controlled largely by the Saudis. In fact, most famous Catholic Priests are actually now Saudi Converts to the Catholic faith, at least, the only ones who get much airtime. Otherwise, they are Priests who have studied the minority work of an excommunicated and imprisoned 7th Century “Saudi-reformist-Catholic” torchbearer, which has parallels to the modern reform. Occasionally they don the outward appearance of their past, but this is largely in private and only when they are feeling the Saudi eye is watching them less. Much ado is currently about integration and there is a new scholarly excitement about what the deepest meanings are of “Saudi Catholicsm“, part of which seems to involve integrating Saudi body image issues with Catholicism.
The final stage of the psy-war was the elimination of the function of the Pope. Of course, when you have a military to command and government administration of a land-locked country to run, this is difficult to do completely. Yet, amazingly, the Saudi’s were so successful in this regard that the function of the Pope has all but been forgotten. Ultimately, it is the Catholics who voted on elimination of the Popes office. Interestingly enough, the same system of voting has been chosen by confused rogue Catholics who have banded together to reestablish the Papacy. The Saudis have cunningly even allowed a seperate violent group of Catholics to run a variety of botched or useless missions in order to draw even more people towards their reform which has now begun to represent stability and peace.
Such Catholics are grasping at straws, since it is clear the Saudis won’t let the Pontificate come back. It has become international law that anyone who mentions the last Pope or the expresses hope for the return of the Pontificate is considered an extremist. A few key military strikes and arrests end any hope of such an endeavor. The Saudi controlled mass media are well aware of the talking points on this issue and control the masses opinions on this issue clearly. Catholics have done well without a Pope for some time and the Saudis think they don’t need one any longer.
In its place, modern Catholics have learned only about the first four Popes and don’t really know the names of any of the others. The rest are explained away as basically evil opportunists (much like the actual character of the professionals spoken about earlier).
What used to be known as a ‘papal edict’ are now handed out by the community run local church administration, after a subtle and widely understood process of head-nodding from the Saudi government. This allows Catholics to have five different and competing Christmas’s and four Easters, which each community argues about every year. Catholics now even argue with each other over the permissibility of rosary’s. These are useful distractions from the fact that Saudi sends unmanned drones to blow up random Catholic villages every day. That’s alright though, because Catholics can now buy designer Catholic clothes and modern Catholic art.
In all of this, the nuns and monks have been swept aside, a reminder of a devotion to a faith which, in terms of a practical reality, does not exist anymore. Due to community edicts, they are not allowed to visit Churches anymore to perform their ceremonies and remind people of the way it used to be. The spiritual orders that they belonged to, through the reformed and institutionalized education system, have been understood to be raw innovation, while what has occurred since the Saudi infiltration leading to a unrecognizable form of the faith, has actually been understood as ‘returning to the righteous Catholic predecessors’.
The traditional report (hadith) of Abu Hazim al-Araj (R)…
One day, while I was at the seashore, one of the Companions of Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) came up to me and said: “O Abu Hazim, do you know how to perform the ritual prayer?”
“How could I not know how to perform the ritual prayer”, said I, “since I am thoroughly familiar with its strictly obligatory elements, as well as with the customary observances [ma 'stanna] established by Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace)?”
….
“He said: ‘With what do you mark the opening of the ritual prayer’
“I said: ‘With the affirmation of Allah’s Supreme Greatness [bi't'takblr].’
“He said: ‘And what [element of the prayer] is its manifest proof [burhan]?”
“I said: ‘Its Qur’anic recitation [qira'a].’
“He said: ‘And what is its jewel, its very essence [jawhar]?’
“1 said: ‘Its glorification [of the Lord] [tasbih].’
“He said: ‘And what is its animation [ihya]
“I said: ‘Its humble submission [khushu ].’
“He said: ‘And what is its humble submission [khushu']?’
“I said: ‘Fixing one’s gaze on the spot where the act of prostration [sujud] is to be performed.’
‘He said: ‘And what is its solemn dignity [waqar]
“I said: ‘Its state of calm tranquility [sukun].’
“He said: ‘And what is its consecration [tahrim]?’
“I said: ‘The [initial] declaration of Allah’s Supreme Greatness takbir].’
“He said: ‘And what is its deconsecration [tahlil].’
“I said: ‘The [concluding] salutation [taslim].’
“He said: ‘And what is its emblem [shi ar]?
“I said: ‘The glorification [of the Lord] [tasbih] when its performance has been duly completed.’
“He said: ‘And what is the key to all of that, O Abu Hazim?’
“I said: ‘The ritual ablution [wudu].’
“He said: ‘And what is the key to the ritual ablution [miftah al-wudu]?”
“I said: The invocation of Allah’s Name [tasmiya (Bismillah)].
“He said: ‘And what is the key to the invocation of Allah’s Name [miftah at-tasmiya]‘!’
“I said: The intention [niyya].’
“He said: ‘And what is the key to the intention [miftah an-niyyaj]?
“I said: ‘Certitude [yaqin].’
“He said: ‘And what is the key to certitude [miftah al-yaqin]?.’
“I said: ‘Absolute trust [in the Lord] [tawakkul].’
“He said: ‘And what is the key to absolute trust [miftah at-tawakkul]”
“I said: ‘Fear [khawf]”
“He said: ‘And what is the key to fear [miftah al-khawf]?
“I said: ‘Hope [raja'].’
“He said: ‘And what is the key to hope [miftah ar-raja]?
“I said: ‘Patience [sabr].’
“He said: ‘And what is the key to patience [miftah as-sabr]?’
“I said: ‘Contentment [rida].’
“He said: ‘And what is the key to contentment [miftah ar-rida]‘!’
“I said: ‘Worshipful obedience [ta'a]
“He said: ‘And what is the key to worshipful obedience [miftah at-ta'a]?”
“I said: ‘Acknowledgment [of truth and reality] [i'tiraf]‘
“He said: ‘And what is the key to acknowledgment [of truth and reality] [miftah al-i'tiraf]?
“I said: ‘Acknowledgment of the Divine Oneness and Lordship [at-i'tiraf bi'l-wahdaniyya wa r-rububiyya]‘
“He said: ‘And by what means did you become acquainted with all of that?’
“I said: Through knowledge [ilm].’
“He said: ‘And by what means did you acquire knowledge [ilm]?
“I said: Through the process of learning [ta allum].’
“He said: ‘And by what means did you pursue the process of le [ta allum].’
“I said: Through intelligence [aql]
“He said: “And by what means did you acquire intelligence [aql]?”
“I said: There are two kinds of intelligence. For the making of one kind of intelligence, Allah is solely responsible, to the exclusion of His creatures. The other kind of intelligence is one that human beings can develop, through the discipline of training and education. When the two kinds are combined together as a team, each of them assists and supports the other.”
“He said: ‘And by what means did you accomplish all of that?”
I said: “Through the enabling grace of Allah. May Allah enable us, and you, to succeed in achieving that which is worthy of love and approval’
Excerpted from Al Ghunya li Talibi Tariq al-Haqq Vol 4
“O people, by Allâh I have visited kings. I went to Caesar, Chosroes and the Negus, but by Allâh I never saw a king whose companions venerated him as much as the companions of Muhammad venerated Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allâh be upon him). By Allâh, whenever he spat it never fell on the ground, it fell into into the hand of one his companions, then they wiped their faces and skins with it. If he instructed them to do something, they would hasten to do as he commanded. When he did wudû’, they would almost fight over his water. When he spoke they would lower their voices in his presence; and they did not stare at him out of respect for him.” ( al-Bukhârî, 3/178, no. 2731, 2732; al-Fath, 5/388).
Muhammad ibn `Umar said: “(Imam) Malik’s circle was a circle of dignity and courtesy. He was a man of majestic countenance and nobility. There was no part for self-display, vain talk, or loud speech in his circle. His reader would read for all, and no-one looked into his own book, nor asked questions, out of awe before Malik and out of respect for him.”
Is it possible to take the typical second, third, fourth generation Muslim and shoehorn them into the circles described above? What would be their experience?
More than likely it would be filled with boredom, confusion, and criticism all stemming from how very different this circle is than any other gathering they have participated in earlier in the day.
Sitting cross legged is already difficult enough for us, much less being surrounded by air which is infused with odd things such as ‘awe’, ‘nobility’, ‘dignity’, ‘respect’. We don’t know how to handle or envision such words in literature, and we certainly are unprepared to be faced with the practical reality of them.
Which movie prepares us for this environment? Which show? Which video game?
None.
In this void, awkwardness fills us and most peoples chests are pressed with an instinctive reaction to remove ourselves from the heat of uncomfortably.
Surrounded by people that are genuinely devoted to another individual on the basis of their superior knowledge and religious practice is disturbing in a culture which raises us towards complete self-reliance and the total equality of all men in all aspects.
Add a dash of some form of group expression of faith that we are unfamiliar with, and the field is ripe for the ego to rebel.
There are just so many ‘outs’.
The convenient (yet arbitrary) distinction between religious life and the life dedicated to this world, especially when it is intertwined with the buzzword of ‘innovation’ gives us the most convenient of explanations to categorize our reaction.
*I don’t like it, because it feels weird.*
Self knowledge tempers this.
When one realizes the weakness of ones own faith, prayer, worship, it makes it more difficult to come to grandiose conclusions condemning people who dedicate themselves to the same. Humility dictates to us that we aren’t good judges, much less good prosecutors of others.
It is only when one confronts their own bias, in which one finds the reflection of sworn self-esteem and pavlovian pride, that one get past this haze which limits spiritual awakening.
The arbitrary categorization of ‘innovation’ when applied to worldly life vs religion, contains within it the supposition that life is separate from religion. A conclusion which has far hitting impacts.
In this model, watching TV feels quite alright, at least if you try to avoid some ‘bad scenes’. And watching 25 pictures per second on a wall mounted LCD screen is for some reason, so much harder to complain about than having a picture of a holy man who reminds us of prophecy, faith, improvement.
Under this mentality we think: Rock groups haraam? Let us have Islamic pop stars. Let’s have Muslim comedians. Muslim fiction writers. Muslim movie studios. Muslim news channels. All the while, we don’t exclude ourselves to the ‘Muslim’ version of these institutions of mimicry. So they do not help in creating a Islamic culture in the West, what they do is create a bridge of acceptance.
To watch a ‘Muslim pop star’, you still have to enter a concert hall. And to see a ‘Muslim film’ you still have to sit on a couch. There is still a stage for the ‘Muslim comedian’.
These issues reflect the implicit approval by the Muslim community of dramatic shifts away from the cultures which underwent a millenia of Islamization. Instead, we’ve accepted the inclination towards that which has challenged those cultures at every turn.
Islam was so much more than a filter of existing cultures, it brought something new. And these accomplishments are written in sand swept stone of Mughal architecture to the grand prayer halls of the Ottomans, to the poetry of Mevlana Rumi (ks) and the ironic statements on humanity from Nasruddin Hoja (ks).
This system has put the final wall up between knowledge and practice. It’s done this by actually turning Islam away from traditional values and a culture in which people of dramatic faith and unique characteristics were raised and nurtured.
Modern institutions catering to Muslims have been continuing the century old transition from Muslim culture and values to Western ones, all under the name of preaching Islam. And its not always so obtuse and obvious as the recent Azhari ban on niqaab. Pay-as-you-go ‘Islamic classes’ have cloaked an entirely foreign idea of Western style instruction in the mantle of religiosity.
And when examining this issue of cultural adoption, what we have chosen is not hamburgers over curry. We have settled for abandoning circles of dignity.
Recent attacks by France’s President Nikolas Sarkozy have brought new attention to traditional Muslim dress. Sarkozy is quoted as saying, to Parliament:
The burqa is not a religious sign, it’s a sign of subservience, a sign of debasement — I want to say it solemnly,” he said. “It will not be welcome on the territory of the French Republic.
This is after they have already banned the Hijab in the public sphere, such as schools and government offices:
“The protesters condemned last week’s announcement by the mayor of Nogent-sur-Marne, a Paris suburb, that he would refuse to marry any woman arriving for a civil wedding in a headscarf.”
As usual, the atheistic secular humanists are not satisfied with such statements, for on the face of it, they could be easily be taken as bigoted. So now they reach towards ‘science’ to justify oppressive words and practices. And haven’t we all have agreed that ‘science’ is impartial?
What all this means is if you’re a typical woman from the Middle East, one of the worst things to do, in terms of health, is to don a burka every time you step foot outside.
It is true Vitamin D deficiency is found in many countries around the globe, north and south.
The Middle East, however, has been noted in a number of scientific studies over the years as a particularly problematic area in this regard. Many of these same studies have singled out the garments worn by many women there, like the burka and niqab, as significant factors in reducing exposure to sunlight.
Schneidereit doesn’t hide his bias, stating that “That said, let me be clear that I agree with the thrust of what Sarkozy stated”.
At the same time he believes that since it’s scientifically “unhealthy”, there is no need to engage with the “political, cultural or religious aspects” of this debate. In other words, why actually talk about this? Why seek to understand the burka, what it represents and how complex of an issue this really is? It’s unhealthy!
The article is missing a whole lot of science and is instead filled with a whole lot of uncited opinions. One actual scientific study conducted on Arab women in Michigan came to interesting conclusions directly about the veil and the relationship to Vitamin D:
“RESULTS: Eighty-seven women participated. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were uniformly low“
In other words, unveiled Arab women are also deeply deficient in Vitamin D. While the currently advertised ‘optimum level’ is 35–55 ng/mL, the breakdown of the women with the highest levels was as follows:
Unveiled – Combination Supplemented and Unsupplemented:
8.5 ng/mL [5.75-13.5 ng/mL])
Veiled & Taking Vitamin Supplements:
7 ng/mL [4-11.5 ng/mL]
Veiled, Unsupplemented:
4 ng/mL [2-6.8 ng/mL]
Note the range, some veiled, unsupplemented women actually had higher levels of Vitamin D than the some completely unveiled women.
Unveiled Arab women seem to already have a natural ‘deficiency’ according to the standards outlined by the medical community today. The unveiled women were only getting 25% of the daily recommended value, the unveiled women with supplements 20%, and the unveiled women without supplements – 11%.
When there is a gap of 75% deviation from recommended values even in the unveiled women, this indicates other issues such as genetics, diet, and environment have a bigger influence on the ‘problem’ than simply blaming the veil.
In fact, the study states that its variable considerations (which primarily focused on the veil and supplements) were insufficient to explain the Vitamin D deficiency:
Our participants had exceedingly low concentrations of
25-hydroxyvitamin D (<10 ng/mL), with the concentrations
decreasing as the groups progressed from unveiled
to veiled with supplements and to veiled without supplements.
Clearly, our variables are insufficient to explain
the entire deficit in 25-hydroxyvitamin D.
Armed with actual facts, we now take a look at the motivations behind articles such as Schneidereit’s. To base an opinion about the extermination of cultural or religious expression based on narrow-minded and selective ‘science’ is reminiscent of eugenics. Eugenics is defined:
“”the study of, or belief in, the possibility of improving the qualities of the human species or a human population by such means as discouraging reproduction by persons having genetic defects or presumed to have inheritable undesirable traits (negative eugenics) or encouraging reproduction by persons presumed to have inheritable desirable traits (positive eugenics).”
-http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/eugenics
By considering the burka as proven ‘scientifically’ inferior, Schneidereit believes enough justification is present to ignore the deep context surrounding this mode of dress and simply close the book on the burka forever. This is not far from those who considered Jews worthy of extermination based on slipshod science which justified their opinions about the quality of their race. We’ve entered the era of mainstream cultural eugenics.
Not only has Schneidereit ignored actual studies which demonstrate the minimal aspect to the veil, but by ignoring social context he has left aside important facts.
Why is it not relevant that veiled women do not wear veils in their comfort and privacy of their own homes and gardens? When determining an overall position on the veil, why is it not scientific to consider that incidence of skin cancer is dramatically lower in the sun-blazing Middle East and its relationship to the veil?
Moreover, why is it socially acceptable to promote near nudity in tanning and sunbathing as a valid cultural expression when its only debatable benefit is cosmetic and results in dramatic rise in incidence of skin cancer?
Gai Eaton addresses this problem of non-specialists deriving social policy based on inaccurate scientific notions:
What matters, from this point of view, is not the pure form of a particular theory but the form in which it has been popularized, processed through the educational machine and assimilated by the masses. Religious (or metaphysical) ideas, when they penetrate whole populations within a traditional environment, may adopt simplified and what might be described as “picturesque” forms without thereby sacrificing either integrity or effectiveness, but secular and scientific notions soon become slipshod and inaccurate when they are popularized.
-Gai Eaton, “Knowledge and its Counterfeits”
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