The people previously known as Muslims
As I walked past a bunch of men clad in Pakistani garb and sporting unshaven beards, I heard one of them say, "these people, they are not Muslims!" It was said in Dhivehi in such a way that I could almost feel the disgust being spat out from his mouth.
A couple of days later I run into an entirely different scene. Inside an ordinary tea joint (sai hotaa) sat four middle aged men, dressed casually, sipping tea or munching short-eats. I sat at the adjacent table; from where I could here they talk.
"These bearded people think they know religion! In reality, they are not even Muslims!" said the loud one. There was one among them who disagreed while the remaining two were somewhat in agreement with the loud one.
Here is a bit of a dilemma for Muslims: without them realizing, Muslims, who are found in large and small groups holding variations on the same beliefs (or different beliefs altogether), are excommunicating each other by takfeer. For instance, group A says group C are not Muslims because of their beliefs. Group B thinks group A is definitely non-Muslim but group C can improve on their beliefs and become real Muslims. Group C thinks all other groups are non-Muslims. No single group can agree on who a real Muslim is.
The differing views on critical religious issues among scholars and clerics in the Muslim world have always been a huge problem. In addition to this, Muslims declare takfeer on others with mesmerizing fluidity of words and lack of rational thought. As a result it is hard to point one's finger and say who is a real Muslim or not.
In the case of extremist views, people who thought they were being true Muslims their entire lives are being excommunicated and in many cases murdered or flogged for their incompatible beliefs.
The search for the real Muslim is, therefore, sort of like the wild goose chase or like looking for the chicken that lays the golden eggs. It is sort of like playing cops and robbers; only in this case, every Muslim is a cop as well as a robber.
So, will the real Muslims please raise their hands? One can almost imagine a general rising of hands then breaking into a bloody fight moments later because of disputes. Could it be that, with the constant declaration of takfeer among Muslims (including the scholars, mullahs, clerics and the ordinary), there really does not exist a single group of people that can be identified as being real Muslims anymore?
Could it be that there really aren't Muslims anymore, but a bunch of people involved in constant bickering, backstabbing and hypocrisy? In a sense, the people who were previously known as Muslims had excommunicated each other out.
sujau | February 13, 2008 8:23 AM | Reply
Naipaul's explanation of Islamic conversion describes this in his book "Beyond Belief". Like he says conversion is a never-ending process for the once infidel culture. Our "religious" youth will always remain Muhammed/Muslim-wannabes.
"Islam is in its origin an Arab religion. Everyone not an Arab who is a Muslim is a convert. Islam is not simply a matter of conscience or private belief. It makes imperial demands. A convert’s world view alters. His holy places are in Arab lands; his sacred language is Arabic. His idea of history alters. He rejects his own; he becomes, whether he likes it or not, a part of the Arab story. The convert has to turn away from everything that is his. The disturbance for societies is immense, and even after a thousand years can remain unresolved; the turning away has to be done again and again. People develop fantasies about who and what they are; and in the Islam of converted countries there is an element of neurosis and nihilism. These countries can be easily set on the boil."
maldiveislambasher | February 13, 2008 9:33 AM | Reply
You have found a real muslim. I am here.
Dhivehi Rsistance | February 13, 2008 9:54 AM | Reply
Sujau,
Books by V.S. Naipaul are banned in Maldives.Islam thrives through fear and censorship among other things. The mullahs who have undergone years of Arab/Islamic education don't want people to realize they are being culturally colonized. Their legitimacy depends on them being 'Islamic Scholars".
Check this out - http://arabiguitar.blogspot.com/2008/01/arabian-dreams.html
Simon,
Its quite stupid - people wasting their time arguing who is a real muslim. When it degenerates into violence as in the case of mullah Afrasheem thats crossing the line into another territory. The motive for that attack, I believe, was a perceived notion of defence of the "real Islam". Those terrorists did not want to allow Afrasheem to preach a "distorted version of Islam".
I agree that looking for the real muslim is a wild goose chase.
The search for Islamic purity is taking and will continue to take a heavy toll on the Maldives.
maldivemuslimbanger | February 13, 2008 9:55 AM | Reply
No No I am the real muslim . and i am here to stay. Simon can u pls remove my first comment. Mistyped.
thadu | February 13, 2008 10:37 AM | Reply
the actual question is, why so many of differing views!?!? why is it that gods word of guidance can be translated in hundreds and thousands of ways, creating bloodshed!
maldiveislambanger | February 13, 2008 11:44 AM | Reply
Here i am . All others u see above trying to depict as me are bogus claiming to be me. The One and Only REAL muslim is here.And i am here to stay.
nass | February 13, 2008 12:04 PM | Reply
Will the real slim shady please stand up? hehe.
I've had people tell me not to listen to particular people or not visit particular sites coz they are not "real Muslims"... and I find that really crazy.
Good article and I agree with you in this case.
M | February 13, 2008 1:03 PM | Reply
nass agreeing with simon? this is truly qiyaamath!
in view of what simon is saying, it seems that each person makes his/her own set of beliefs and call it his/her religion and point fingers at others who may differ in trivial issues as being heretic. with so many branches and sects and mazhabs and whatnots, people have created diversity within one single monolith.
talk talk nothing happening | February 13, 2008 1:10 PM | Reply
isn't diversity a healthy thing?
When lions, tigers and mountain lions are put in the same cage we also get diversity all from the family of cats.
subcorpus | February 13, 2008 9:42 PM | Reply
i dunno who a real muslim is ...
but in the mean time we've got listen to someone ... right ...
we cant just not listen eh nu ... that'd be like ... bad ...
bro ... why you wanna go sai hotaa and evesdrop on others conversations ...? hehe ...
Subcorpus,
Have you ever heard of your brain? That's something people use to think and most of the time when it is used we rarely need to listen to any bullshit.
Dhivehi Resistance | February 13, 2008 10:06 PM | Reply
Thadu,
Have you considered that it may not be gods word?
Or maybe god is incapable of giving the word in a way that everybody gets it the same? - e.g. like gravity
Or god did it on purpose, after all "Allah is khayru al-makireen"
Athena | February 14, 2008 12:51 PM | Reply
why bother?? the so called "muslims" who want to bash each other up can go ahead and do it. Just leave us alone! Islam is not supposed to be about bickering and backbiting. If they can't coexist with their own kind, then obliterate themslevs by own means. I am royally pissed off!
Ali | February 17, 2008 10:53 AM | Reply
Am I bothered? does it matter?
human behaviour | February 22, 2008 2:32 AM | Reply
wonder who will win the lottery
certainly aint gonna be me :D
xkcd | February 23, 2008 6:40 PM | Reply
Who are trying to force-feed their lack of belief on others?..Sure you Simon, and the joke muslimbasher kid here and arabiguitar and other "muslimbasher" guys fit into that group.
Thom | March 10, 2008 4:44 PM | Reply
Brilliant Simon!
Seriously.
newbie | June 8, 2008 12:09 PM | Reply
I think that the real problem here is that people make their own judgements about others. Like for instance if I am to say a particular muslim person is not a muslim, I don't have the capability or the right or the knowledge to make that judgement about a particular person.
The problem is not with the religion, the problem is with the mentality of the people. It is my observation that people harshly critisize others who are different from themselves, harshly judge how righteous a person is.
We wouldn't know the good deeds and bad deeds of a person, it is not limited (i emphasize - not limited to) to how well the person follows the religious obligations, but i believe that being a good human being is also whats rewarded in Islam. For instance being a good mother, helping people, even a simple thing like offering to wash the dishes. THe main thing here is most probably how wholeheartedly or kind-heartedly the person does everything. Whether for personal glory or with the pure intentions.
My point is that deeds will be judged by Allah, for I have faith that good or bad intention of every human can only be judged by Him.
I hope this was helpful and relevent.