Islam Is Good...the white woman says so.
A lot of Muslims out there believe Karen Armstrong is doing a better job at explaining to the west about Islam than all the Ulamaks in the Muslim world put together. And so they took her in, hang on to her every word as if she's a new prophet speaking on behalf of the Muslims since the Muslims are not capable of speaking for themselves about Islam to anyone especially to the white folks.
Karen Armstrong must have figured long time ago when she decided not to pursue her calling to be a nun, that since the Muslims can't even describe what Islam is all about, she might as well take up the job going around the Muslim countries speaking about Islam to the segment of the society, the segment comprising folks who consider themselves learned, cultured, intellectual and smarter than the average Muslims whose mind is filled with the notion of Jihad, pro-Osama, pro-Al Qaeda, anti-Israel, anti-Bush, anti-Blair, anti-Lina Joy.
Karen Armstrong is pretty smart and she knows what she's doing. To the folks belonging to that segment of the society her books are better than the kitabs written by Ulamak Muktabar, and therefore the folks belonging to this segment of the society rant and rave about the books they've read and you can bet your whole head that these folks have probably never opened Kifayatul Akhiar, Ihya Ulumuddin, BahrulMazi, Al-Azkar, Riadhussolihin, MinhajalAbidin, or learnt anything in a formal class about Soheh Bukhari, or Tafsir. To the folks, these Kitabs are not good enough, not as good as books written by the white folks like Karen Armstrong. If you count the words these folks read, you'll probably end up with a number like:
Karen Armstrong - 70,000 words.
Soheh Bukhari - 20 words
Tafsir - 5 words.
And so these folks arrived at the final analysis that, yup, Islam is good because the white woman says so. As a matter of fact, they further deduced, since all religions want you to do good, it doesn't really matter if you practise Islam, or Christian, or Hindu, or Buddha, or Baha'i, or Judaism, or whatever religion that comes along as time goes by. As a matter of fact, the whole concept about religion is interfaith and so what's the big deal? Yup, religion is good, Karen Armstrong says so. Oh sorry, Islam is good because the white woman says so.
posted by Bergen at
9:55 PM
12 Comments:
Master Bergen:
I kinda agree with you on this one. We love to rave and rant about the things that we are deeply shallow about.
But, one thing that Armstrong said - if we really thought shallowly deep we would realize that God and the holy prophet has said quit a short long while ago yet we successfully fail to do understand, believe and hold to - that I like is:
"RELIGION MAKES SENSES WHEN YOU PRACTICE IT"
A real punch isn the stomoach that statement is for me.
p/s - now I know why i wrote the Seeing Blind poem.
Melord, you are one enlightened man.
I read about that in the paper of how this minister went there and sat next to his ex-boss.... hmm...
Instead of taking care of our ulamaks you chose to listen to her...
I wonder why...
Bergen Said:
"...Islam is good because the white woman says so".
If she did not? What will those parrots say, Sir?
Mr Bergen Sir,
If I may, the only thing that keeps me coming back to your blog is my curiosity.
The curiosity is - how could you write with wit, cynicism and wisdom mixed together so peacefully?
I guess experience is a gift.
Good day Sir
Must we wait for someone else to say Islam is a good religion to believe it? Must the person speaking be white? Why?
Salam Bergen:
Seems that whatever the white men or whitewomen says is the whole truth nothing but the truth. I wonder why.
Miss Armstrong said Islam ig good. Is she a Muslim? If she is one then that justifies her statement. If she is not....I wonder why she isn't one since she said Islam is good.
DIM: The word melord almost got me choked, sir.
Monster Mom: I reckon it's more cool to treat the white folks than to value the knowledge of the Ulama'. I guess it's only natural when you harbor such a hatred for the Ulama' as a way to actually hit at Islam.
En. Bakaq: They'd probably join her multi-level scheme.
Elviza: Awww, you say nice things, ma'am. Thank you.
Raden Galoh: Lack of confidence simply means lack of Iman. This is where the rot is.
Tokasid: Iman tak dapat diwarisi. (Courtesy of Raihan.) Iman isn't about how much you know about Islam, or how much knowledge you have acquired. It's a gift even to those who are illiterate, or have never read a book in their entire life. As to Karen Armstrong, let's hope she will be given the hidayah to become a Muslim.
To everyone who found your way here, thank you for coming. I hope this entry has been a good read in its own naive way of presenting a topic best left to those with a university degree, or a Ph.D But since this is my blog, I reckon it's okay for me to talk about it in my own naive fashion.
Good day,y'all. Stay safe and be nice when you have every reason to be nasty. It helps lower the blood pressure.
Salam Bergen
Her books on Islam are banned but she's still allowed to speak on the subject matter here?
That boggles the mind.
Fauziah Ismail: Someone somewhere knows exactly what's going on. He or she knows where all this is going to go. I gotta the feeling it's the long and twisted way of neutralizing the hostility among the Muslim towards interfaith dialogue. Maybe I am looking at the wrong big picture.
bergen,
that is the unfortunate thing.
but her books on Islam and Muhammad are good scholarly work.
Yes, indeed, we should read books about Islam and Muhammad by credible, well-known authors, Muslim or non-Muslim. By ulamaks and so forth.
But, first, we have to know our religion, we have to study it and strengthen the foundation of our faith..whatever religion it may be.
If we are Muslims, we know the drill. Learning about our religion is a life-long education, For some, a journey.
I read Armstrong, but that was after I have read others.
cheers, mate
I guess it is getting rather difficult to practice Islam nowadays as it was compared to the olden days.
Younger Muslim generations freely (and being proud of it) to question the existence of Allah and dare to raise questions such as it is relevant to have faith in Islam in today's world.
Is that even a question?
It is a religion,not an option. And plus I could hardly recall a time where Islam is out of style or it is an embarrassment.
What is it about Islam that makes it so averse to Muslims, the ones that should be the guardian of the religion?
I guess having to cover up or no kissing in public is easier to be blamed on religion rather than viewing it as having dignity.
Eva's Haven: You are not a lawyer, are you?
Ms Shah: For as long as you've got Iman in your heart, you know very well that Islam is the best, and the rest are just lies.
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