~ How to fix our society..?

[Mayana]

Dearest sister, you are pinpointing to the problem and that is what I was referring to; however, how do we fix it? The only solution is the Heavens, no?

We have to have our priorities set.
If our priority is to progress and mature as a society.. we won't even let to let such immature or such disunifying factors hold us back from achieving progress and maturity.

[MeemWawMeemNoon]

Progress towards what?

[Mayana]

Discoooooooooooo


No just kidding lol.. Progress toward a more functioning society, a more mature community, a more successful, more influential and more acknowledged group. =)

[MeemWawMeemNoon]

Under what precept?

[Mayana]

Under an Islamic precept lol Not some ethnocentric nonsense.. nor some sect-nonsense. Just an effort on the way of God, an effort to make life more beneficial for both, Muslims and Non-Muslims. Jihad fi Sabilillah. =)

[MeemWawMeemNoon]

Under whose interpretation, dearest sister?

[Mayana]

Now you yourself are bringing things into this that have no place here, grana wrora.. Just a few posts ago you were arguing that we label one another Kafeers, and now you're putting me in a position to decide which interpretation of Islam is correct. That is unjust of you and I don't even think it is relevant. No matter what 'interpretation' you follow, I think as a Muslim we all have similar interests - or at least we should have similar interests. We should follow those instead of emphasizing the differences between us.

[MeemWawMeemNoon]

Dearest sister,

labeling someone a kafir is one thing, and following an interpretation of Islam is another. Today, the reason why we are divided is because we follow an interpretation convenient to us. This is repeated for the 1.3 Billion Muslim all over the globe.

Hence, whose interpretation would lead us to a good society? If we don't follow "one" interpretation we will be back to square one.

[Mayana]

Time will show which interpretation is the true one..
You know what's square one? Sitting here and discussing what's the right interpretation. =) Has sitting here and discussing this lead to a result the past 14 centuries? Nah.. Will it lead to one in the upcoming 14 centuries? I don't think so.. but then again Alaahu aleem.
What my point is.. all of us Muslims believe that there is no God but Allah and that Mohammad sas is his prophet. Based upon that, we believe in the Qur'an, we believe in the Sunnah etc. This is a HUGE thing we all have in common; this basic Aqeedah, this basic common denominator, this basis. What is different is how we hold our hands when we pray, how often we pray, how we interpret certain Ahadith, how we think about Sigha etc. But I believe that it is not the time to sit here and "solve" these "issues" as one might label them because quiet frankly, I don't think there will be a solution to these small aspects of it anytime soon.

Most importantly, we need to understand that unity does not equal uniformity and maybe, more ironically, uniformity does not equal unity. 1.3 billion Muslims and 77 different interpretations - you're not gonna convince them all to follow one. You're just not. And we don't need to be uniform, just united. If we stand up for being Muslim, if we stand up for our rights and our responsibilities as individuals, as a group, as a community, as a whole.. we WILL be successful insha'Allah. But if we sit here and discuss which interpretation is correct.. well.. we're gonna run in circles and all that's gonna be resulting from it is what you, grana Momina, have been experiecing: "MY interpretation of Islam is RIGHT; yours is WRONG. I am Muslim, you are NOT because you are [insert any school of thought here]. You follow that, what the hell would you even KNOW abut Islam that you sit here and are tryna tell me what's going on?" .. So it's gonna result in nothing at all. We're just gonna run in continuous circles, we'll be in a dynamic equilibrium - we won't go anywhere with this.

No use in that.. this is all part of the redundant and at the same time dangerous talking. We Muslims are good at it; all of us talk the talk.. few of us walk the walk =)

[Toramana]

Mayana, why should I stand up for Islam? What is it, in worldly sense, that I can't achieve without standing up for Islam? You have used the term "ethnocenterism". What do you mean by that? What do you think of Islamo-fascism?

Unity is a sense equal uniformity i.e., all people should think alike.

Is Pan-Islamist unity possible?

[Mayana]

By ethnocentrism, I mean this notion of "tribal nationalism" as Admin Khan has named it. We're so stuck arguing about which one of our tribes is better or which one ethnicity is better than the other.. that we don't see how redundant such discussions are and that we lose track of the "big picture"
Islamo-fascism eeh.. any form of fascism is wrong.

I think Pan-Islamist unity is possible but Pan-Islamist uniformity is not possible. And I disagree that unity is in a sense uniformity.. You don't have to be alike to be united. We as Afghans are diverse; we as Muslims are much more diverse.. our cultures are different, languages are different, our schools of thought are different, our mentalities are different. We can't sit here and try to come up with the ultimate Muslim mentality and then force it down each other's throat because firstly, it is not quite possible and secondly it's not necessary. For example, your best friend.. you don't have to think just like your best friend to be united with him/her.. the both of you don't have to be uniform, just great enough to accept each other with all of the aspects that define both of you. Similarly, we have to be aware of both what we have in common and what makes us different.. Accept the differences and build upon the commonalities to be a strong Ummah.

Now let me elaborate on why you should stand up for Islam ..
There's this saying that goes "Those who stand up for nothing will fall for anything".. Many of us have this pattern of thinking that Islam is a strictly personal matter (which in maany many aspects it is) and this pattern goes so far that it leads them to not care about what happens to the Muslim community as a whole. Let me tell you something, wrora, this world has no need for an apathetic Muslim. If we don't care for one another, who will care for us? If you don't stand up as a Muslim, who will stand up for you? What will you do against racial profiling, against discrimination, against lies spread by the media? They might not affect you now.. even though I doubt they don't.. but if we don't take action now they will affect you and everybody else - not just Muslims - soon. If we don't stand up for Islam, what will we stand up for? And.. isn't it blasphemy to stand up for anything else if we refuse to stand up for Islam?
All in all, I think it can be said that the biggest benefit in this world that a strong Ummah brings is a higher quality of life, not just for you, not just for Muslims - but for everyone. Which is all Islam is here for: To bring benefit to mankind and prevent harm. =)

[MeemWawMeemNoon]

Mayana khore, the only way will have peace among Muslims is under a Khalifah.

[MeemWawMeemNoon]

According to the Quran: Allah.

That is the problem, dearest Jasmine, Muslims want to select him themselves.

[Mayana]

I think my topic has been misunderstood =(

It's been taken out of context to a certain extent and we're talking about hypothetical and very far-fetched situations.. while I am talking about our immediate reality, our everyday life, the present, this very day and this very instance - something we have influence on. Not the ultimate school of thought or a Khaleefa.. I was talking about the more realistic scenarios .. I was hoping to get some people to think about our everyday life and our immediate future.. not hypothetical scenarios .. but then again, Khoday ta'la sha payijhi.

[MeemWawMeemNoon]

Dearest sister, I understood your topic from the get-go.

However, I just trying to lead you to the answer by questioning you.

The answer has been given in the Quran, dearest and beloved sister, there is only one solution that will cure the problem--all others are Tylenol effect.