Bangladesh blocks Facebook over prophet drawings | Seattle Times Newspaper

Nation & World | Bangladesh blocks Facebook over prophet drawings | Seattle Times Newspaper



For once the governments of Pakistan and Bangladesh did the right thing by blocking Facebook, and forcing it to behave correctly.

That's more than can be said for the spoiled elite who use the ridiculous site: they were inconvenienced, and didn't care a hoot about the offence to Islam. This goes to show that our elite are a decadent lot of pseudo-Americans.

Muslim Political Philosophy

Sunni political philosophy crystallized around 1000 AD. The philosophy can be summarized in one word: nonresistance.

Ibn Hanbal affirmed our duty of absolute obedience to a ruler except under two rare and extraordinary circumstances: apostasy and failure to ensure communal prayer. Indeed, so long as these conditions are met, even a usurper, if successful, must be obeyed. The only criterion, then, is military success.

Al-Ashari denounced 'those who hold it right to rise against the leaders whenever there may be apparent in them a falling away from right...We are against armed rebellion, and civil war."

This was the culmination of an earlier theory of government, which was criticised by the Mutazilites. Al-Jahiz, for one, held that a tyrant may be deposed and criticised the Traditionists as 'innovators of our time...[who] pretend that to speak against bad government is tantamount to civil war, and that to curse tyrants is tantamount to heresy (bida')". Indeed, resistance finally did become tantamount to bida'.

Al-Mawardi and Al-Ghazzali became major proponents of nonresistance.

Today, we have come under western influence and have become rational Mutazilites again. As a Muslim country, we must abandon the seditious philosophy of the west, and reclaim our political heritage.

Plassey Day

Two hundred and fifty three years ago this day, the Muslims of South Asia lost their independence at Plassey.

Mir Zafar Ali Khan, we well know, betrayed the last Nawab. Ever since then, we have had a long line of Mir Zafar's up to the present day.

We've had sixty years of nominal independence (and thirty years here) but on that fateful day we became mental slaves. Shall we ever again think like free human beings? I doubt it very much.

We may do so only if we reclaim our lost Muslim heritage: emancipate ourselves from the white man's spell and the spell of the Indian. Having studied Persian for the last couple of years, I know how strong and great our civilisation is. What is English literature compared to the power of Persian poetry? What is Shakespeare compared to Sheikh Sa'di?

But this is casting pearls before swine.

The Meaning of 'Secular'

It is accepted wisdom that one cannot translate between languages; words have meaning in one language but not in another. This is the case with the word 'secular'. Due to western history, the word has meaning in western civilisation: after all, the Enlightenment was dedicated to removing religion from human affairs. Tolerance was made necessary by the wars of religion. In Bengali, we have created a new word, a neologism, to stand in for the English word. It won't work.

So, what's a secular party then? For the Awami League is described as a 'secular' party. The only meaning that the word can have is 'anti-Islam' or 'anti-Muslim'. And the Awami Leaguers are anti-Islamic, pro-Indian people.