When talking of religion and its side effects, one often encounters the term “moderate”. This word is the ditch attempt of the one who supports religion to prove that not everyone who follows doctrine or believes in a supernatural deity is a mindless fanatic. Though compelling, this is, in my humble opinion, a pathological lie; at least when it comes to Islam.

It was with the idea that there are moderate Muslims that I began a dialogue on ignorance in Muslims and morality in Islam, with a few “moderate” cousins of mine. Before I go on, let me make it clear that during that discussion and as of writing this article, they were unaware of my atheism[1] and so I tried my level best to put the discussion in as “Muslim” a way as possible. I wanted to show them that it is because of the close minded policy of Muslims, encouraged by Islam, to be opposed to any innovation; that the Islamic parts of the world are so pathetically backward. This I tried to put, needless to say, in as polite a way as possible. However, when I heard their responses, I was so aghast that it led me to reconsider the very notion of “moderate Muslims”. The discussion showed me why the Muslims are so closely knit as they are, often not batting an eyelash to get on a plane and crash into a building; a scenario that guarantees death, and one that “well off” Christians or Jews will rarely ever consider.

So what exactly is this common thread that binds them? It is quite obviously hatred. You may want to stop reading this article right now and discard it as just another “Pat Condell” rant about the inherent barbarism of Muslims. But, I assure you it is not. The reason why I write this article is because I want to let people know that even if there is something called “moderate religionist”, it does not apply to Muslims. That is perhaps the reason why their ideology is so dangerous, that it leaves no place for moderation. Even the most benign tenets of Islam are aggressive to say the least.

But, I digress. Let us come back to hatred. Hatred of what? You may be inclined to ask. At the risk of sounding jovial, I will tell you that it is as absurd as a hatred for a particular food, drink, kind of music, dressing style, hair, perfume, technology etc. The list is endless but my limited mental faculties only allow me to list a few. Of course, I will be accused of being harsh on Muslims (pardon the irony) and rightly so, as the correct word for that feeling should be “derision” and not “hatred” per se; but let me tell you, it truly borders on hatred if at all I know what that word means.

You may think that I may be joking and wonder how someone’s taste in food etc., can make them an extremist? After all, it is racism, intolerance, objection to criticism, imperviousness to examination, totalitarianism et al, that are the extremist ideas and they are all associated with fanatical Muslims. Mere derision towards something is a part of the human psyche and by definition, unavoidable. We all have a different taste; but that does not make us extremists! I agree. However, when we have a greater understanding of why we have such tastes and how it is different in Muslims, we will understand what is wrong with it.

Let us begin with our own tastes. Our tastes are based on experience. When we try something and don’t like it, we automatically avoid it in the future. No one tells us what our taste “should be”, based on what “they” like or not. We develop it on our own. I am not denying that it may be influenced by our upbringing, but it is on the whole, independent of others and solely based on personal experiences.

Now the Muslims; they don’t like pork or non-halal meat, because it is forbidden by the Qur’an. They don’t like alcohol, because it is forbidden by the Qur’an. They don’t like naughty music videos, because it is forbidden by the Qur’an (metaphorically). They don’t like their women dressing in tight or revealing dresses, because it is forbidden by the Qur’an (that this is a violation of the basic rights of the woman, is another post altogether). They don’t like women to have short hair, because it is forbidden by the Qur’an. They don’t like perfume with alcohol in it, because it is forbidden by the Qur’an. They called the TV a medium of Satan and loudspeakers his voice, because, you guessed it; it is forbidden by the Qur’an.

Muslim apologetics may try to argue that some of these are forbidden by the Hadith and that the TV and loudspeakers were “wrongly” termed as satanic by deluded clerics who misinterpreted the Qur’an and issued Fatwas. What they don’t get is that they are missing the point! It does not matter where it is or who said it. What matters is that they are accepted and propagated by all Muslims and form the basic idea of an Islamic life. The only reason why the TV and loudspeaker allegation were dropped is, because the TV was too interesting to just avoid totally, while the loudspeaker was a handy technology for congregational prayers. In case of all the others, people who don’t follow these tenets are not being “Muslim” in the true way, as Fatwa friendly clerics are quick to point out, in the case of Sania Mirza[2].

The problem with Islam is that it tries to pervade each and every aspect of an individual’s life. If other religions are bad monarchs, Islam is a tyrannical and repressive dictator, who enjoys it. Islam not only teaches you how to pray, it teaches you how to do EVERYTHING. This ranges from having sex to shaving and from drinking water to ruling a country. Had facebook existed in 670 CE, it would have even laid guidelines on how to “facebook”. I admit that was a bad one. Jokes apart, Islam is according to ALL Muslims, a code for life on Earth. What makes it unusual and deadly is not that it is a “compulsory” code and not a “suggested” code; rather that it is enforced much more vehemently and vigorously. Every religion will try to be “compulsory” if given the chance. Christianity and Islam did get it. However, by the relative prosperity of Christians in spite of their religious dogma, the modern Christians are less likely to accept conforming to such medieval diktats. They did that during the “dark ages” and realized that it is a bad thing indeed and gave it up. With Islam however, it is the opposite.

Muslims have been so filled with hatred through the years and have been brought up on so many conspiracy theories that they “willingly” believe that the world is out to get them, subjugate them and ultimately annihilate them. They have been taught to resist evil influences from “westerners” and to stick to what they are told, unquestioningly. The result of inquiry is often persecution. They are united in hating the world for being against them. When I questioned my cousins why Muslims don’t win Nobel Prizes, they said that it was because the Jewish people had conspired against Muslims and denied them the spotlight! Indeed every other fervent Muslim will respond in similar fashion and for many different questions. They are in denial and will refuse to accept that it is due to their wanton imperviousness to change that they lag behind. What is sad is that it is not the ignorant Muslims who will tell you this; they may not even know what a Nobel Prize is, rather, it is the educated ones! Doctors, Engineers, Researchers and Teachers! For them, the abject poverty and ignorance in a majority of Muslim nations is proof that the world is indeed refusing Muslims the right to prosper.

These are the views of the “moderate” Muslims! When you add to this the US occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq and the refusal of the UN to accept Palestine as a fully fledged state, you get a ripe field of recruits for implementation of evil plans.

I have met thousands of Muslims during my short journey on Earth so far. Indeed, I myself was one, not very long ago. I must admit, that even the most soft-spoken of Muslims have the streak of aggressiveness in them. They are ready to lash out against people who criticize them for their barbaric medieval code of conduct that is so grossly in violation of basic human rights. These soft Muslims will chide their women if they wear tight dresses or show skin. They will cane their children if they are seen drinking.  I have often seen otherwise ‘benign” Muslim parents, beating their children if they use lipstick! This is because it is commonly believed, that pig fat is used to make it!

They are cruel not because they like it, but because Islam prescribes it! The Qur’an explicitly encourages parents to hit their children if they don’t pray or when they don’t listen to their elders[3]. The Hadith demonstrates how to beat one’s wife “righteously”[4]. The Qur’an treats a woman like a sex slave, ordering her to submit to her husband whenever he calls her to bed[5]. It glorifies war in the name of religion[5]. It creates the idea that Islam was, is and will always be under threat and that it is every Muslim’s duty to protect it[6]. It advocates hatred and makes a virtue out of violence. When the recipe itself spells disaster, can we then blame the product? Also, if the mould itself is crooked, can we get a bust without defects?

Lest we forget, it was such silent, benign and moderate Muslims who were “convinced” that they will go into heaven if they crash a building into the WTC and kill thousands of innocent civilians. All of them were educated young men, who were filled with immense hatred for the west, which begins with derision to sundry mundane entities.

This is perhaps why people like Zakir Naik can so easily influence young educated Muslims to hate the “westerners”[7], just because they eat pork! Thus, no matter how civil, subdued or educated a Muslim may be; he is a fanatic, because if he is not, he ceases to be a Muslim. more often than not, he will be a closet extremist.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] I have not told them of it because I fear that I and my immediate family will be ostracized if I reveal it.
[2] http://www.jihadwatch.org/2005/09/fatwa-for-tennis-star-who-wears-short-skirts.html
[3] http://www.cmje.org/religious-texts/hadith/abudawud/002-sat.php#002.0494 and http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/Quran/029-torture.htm
[4] http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/Quran/003-wife-beating.htm
[5] http://hadithaday.org/those-who-deserve-the-curse/extra-hadith-%E2%80%93-when-a-man-calls-his-wife-to-bed/ and
[6] http://muttaqun.com/jihad.html
[7] “The pig is the most shameless animal on the face of the earth. It is the only animal that invites its friends to have sex with its mate. In America, most people consume pork. Many times after dance parties, they have swapping of wives; many say ‘you sleep with my wife and I will sleep with your wife.’ If you eat pigs then you behave like pigs” – Dr.(?) Zakir Naik, Answers to Non-Muslims’ Common Questions about Islam (Islamic Bookstore, Kolkata), p.44.

We were spineless creatures then. So we are, even now
For is it not of the spineless to shrink..
Into shadows, when opposed? Sweat trickling down their brow
Then, to say not, what they think?

But there are men among men, on the other hand..
Striking valiantly at the heart of deceit
And when, for the just cause, they take a stand..
“The men are here!”, say their foes, and beat a hasty retreat

Their eyes are proud and seeing
Their actions, kind and just
Their language has truth and meaning
They are the ones who we ought to trust

These are not lofty words! They do exist, such men..
And they are gathering as we speak..
Enemies of truth and reason, beware then
A world devoid of your treachery is what they seek.

With Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins and James Randi in mind.

Although it was meant to be a celebration, it turned out to be a slugfest when people started using personal attacks to prove their point. It was not my intention to “attack” anyone. It was just an honest take on “faith” as you will see..

It wouldn’t be an understatement if I were to say that faith is perhaps the most abused human attribute. A cousin of trust¹, faith is often used by men controlled by greed for their own benefit. But what exactly is faith? Why do we possess the quality of having faith when it leaves us so vulnerable? Does it have a place in a largely scientific and progressive society that we have created?

Faith is the daughter of belief (Okay I admit, I suck at metaphors) and belief in turn is a choice that we make when presented with a proposition. For example, when presented with the argument that the earth revolves around the sun, I may choose to believe it or not. This is a case of a phenomenon that is supported by irrefutable evidence; I may be compelled to believe it, but I still have that choice. I can believe in the said phenomenon, or I can refuse to acknowledge the evidence and act like a pompous ass. As Stephen Fry once said, “He who does not care for evidence is an ignorant fool who has a brain the size of a peanut when magnified 100 times under a powerful microscope.” Alright, that was totally made up, but it is a scarily accurate description of such a person.

So, what about cases where there isn’t enough evidence or no evidence at all? In such a case, if we choose to believe, then we have what is called “faith”. “Faith in what?” you may ask and that’s a good question. Faith has been hijacked by advocates of religion and God. This has led to a very religious interpretation of this word. As a result, when we hear “faith”, our mind automatically thinks of God and other supernatural phenomena² that are purported by religious scripture to be true. This is the result of being exposed to years of “Have faith in Yahweh” or “Believe in the Virgin birth of Jesus” or “Don’t lose hope, have faith in the miraculous verses of the Glorious Qur’an and read it 3 times a day.” Due to years of conditioning, a lot of us have in fact developed an unshakeable faith in the existence of God and religion and never question it. This makes it simply too convenient for false God men like Sathya Sai Baba³ to take advantage of innocent folk looking for a panacea to their suffering. People have no problem in accepting miracles and ideas for which there is no indisputable evidence. However, when they are told that the use of a condom prevents AIDS⁴, they will question it and refuse to use it just because they feel that an omniscient figment of their imagination will be offended if they boink⁵ their wives wearing latex.

An acquaintance that I made on Facebook states, “Faith = believing in something despite there being no evidence. Believing in anything without evidence = a really bad idea.”  The definition is spot on. The conclusion though not always true, is quite accurate as faith in the wrong entity has often led to dubious results. There is no better example of this than that of faith healers. Contrary to what they call themselves, they have never been able to heal anyone, despite millions having faith in them. Often this has resulted in people clinging on to their faith, only to suffer for want of proper medical care⁶. Also dangerous is our faith in alternate medicine, which is simply a marketing term for gimmicks that have either been proved not to work or have never been proved to work⁷. There have been innumerable cases where people put their faith in charlatans disguised as entrepreneurs, and invested huge amounts only to find out that they had been duped. Incidences of misplaced faith are too many to list here. However, having faith isn’t always a bad idea.

Let’s look at a modern and progressive interpretation of faith. During a television interview, once Morgan Freeman was called a “Man of God” by the interviewer. To this, he replied that he wasn’t one, rather, he was a man of faith. Later, he went on to clarify that this wasn’t the faith in seriously flawed imaginary beings, but faith in science⁸. Isn’t this indeed a well placed and well deserved faith? Faith in the way we understand the world, faith in something that is ever changing; always being improved in some way or the other. This is a world view that encourages the pursuit of excellence and believes in the tremendous potential of man. Yet, it is humble enough to accept that we humans are a mere speck in the fabric of the universe and despite our amazing ability to interpret things, we are liable to make mistakes. When such mistakes are found out, it has been the people associated with science that have stood up and told the world about it and corrected our wrong understanding of the phenomena around us.

Some say that there is no place for faith in science, that science seeks evidence. Of course it does! However, science and faith aren’t incompatible. In fact, whenever a theory is put forth, it is first accepted to a great extent, on faith. But soon, the scientific method⁹ kicks in and everyone starts testing the theory by means of experiments; not with the agenda of disproving it, but to find corroborative evidence. In this process, many theories have perished like the Luminiferous aether theory, made popular by Christiaan Huygens and the plum pudding atomic model put forth by J. J Thomson; only to be replaced by better theories that revolutionized the way we look at the world. However, there have been remarkable cases like Einstein’s theory of General Relativity, which have been proved thanks to the scientific method and the healthy skepticism of the people of science¹⁰. Herein, lies the triumph of humanity.

What if I am not a scientist? What reason would I have to follow such an approach? I’d say – plenty! There are many superstitions and urban legends that perpetrate around the world, causing nothing but grief to the ones who believe in them and also their victims. Horrifying examples include human sacrifices, untouchability, black magic, cannibalism, body piercing etc. A little less horrifying but equally dangerous are faith in Karmic healing, astrology, homeopathy, acupuncture, chi energy, tarot cards and various other instances of untested and unproved alternate medicine¹¹. The only way we can prevent our friends, family and even ourselves from falling prey to such nefarious schemes, is by keeping a rational mind and a skeptical attitude with faith in nothing else but honest science.

That, I can say with immense faith and pride, is the way forward.

Thanks for reading. I would like to thank my friend Sigmoid Curve¹² (alias) for helping me frame a definition for faith and everyone else including my anonymous friend from facebook and Trish Delaney for helping me understand various points of view on faith.

Footnotes/References:

1. Okay I was just testing you here. Promise the next one will be an actual footnote. Keep coming back!
2. A nice Google search will yield various such phenomena. But, I make the job easy for you; visit http://www.blindloop.com/index.php/2010/03/5-weird-religious-phenomenon/  or  http://paranormal.about.com/
3. Read http://saibabaexposed.blogspot.com/ and http://www.saibaba-x.org.uk/ to know more about the kinky ascetic.
4. Condoms are in! – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byTYP36KPFo
5. boink : A word that your parent’s use to describe sex to you, even when you are an adult.
   -Oh my lord, Jennifer! You’re… you’re not BOINKING him, are you?
   -Yes mom, he’s my husband.
   courtesy: urbandictionary.com
6. What’s the harm? – http://whatstheharm.net/faithhealing.html
   A little boring but eye opening – http://skepdic.com/faithhealing.html
   Shocking! – http://goo.gl/skUOy
7. Definition courtesy: Tim Minchin. My whole essay can be summed up by his poem – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhGuXCuDb1U but then he is awesome!
8. I am a bit too blunt here, but Morgan was much more politically correct – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WaEJVj4Zfk
9. A hilarious comparison – http://goo.gl/3X6XN
10. Google the other theories I have mentioned. For the test of Einstein’s theory visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tests_of_general_relativity
11. Richard Dawkins – The enemies of reason. Must watch!
    Part 1 – http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7218293233140975017
    Part 2 – http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4720837385783230047
12. Sigmoid Curve, for the curious: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmoid_curve

Death is very powerful. It is the only thing that makes us aware how foolish we are to think that we are invincible. Death is a reminder when it happens to “others”. It is a gentle reminder when it happens to people we did not know very well. Sometimes, it is a funny reminder, when someone far off dies in a foolish way. We may not laugh at it, but there are deaths that we find ridiculous.

Death is sometimes a relief. When it takes away those whom we detest. Death is a necessity. It is controversial, but unavoidable when we need to preserve our self and when we need to rid the world of “threats” to our existence.

When I wasn’t moved to tears, death was for me, a formality. An inevitable event that everyone has to face. Something that is an integral part of the experience of life, that we can’t escape. In such cases, death is mundane. Sometimes, it is not even worth our tears or worth a second thought.

Above all, death is very subjective. That is why there are so many ways in which we can describe it. It means something different to people in different situations. It does not have a form. It does not even physically exist. When we cease to exist, others call it death. It is very real, yet we can never fully grasp it. We personify it and talk about it. But we never really succeed in describing it absolutely.

No matter what we may think of death, we have all thought that death is cruel. When it happens to people we love, it breaks us. For sometime, we can’t accept it. We want to overthrow it, like oppressed people want to overthrow their monarchs. We want to reverse it. We wish it happened to someone else. We imagine everything possible. However, as time passes by, we get on with our lives. The loss of loved ones create a void in us, but for others, life goes on as usual. The effect of death in such cases seems local. Very limited.

So when is death visible in all its power and splendour? When is it that it strikes a blow so hard that leaves us reeling for all eternity?

It happens at the death of a giant.

Not everyone has the capability to influence millions or maybe billions lives. Not everyone can change the way “humanity” looks at things. But every so often, when a man (or a woman) achieves that feat, he stands out. He stands tall. He towers above everyone else, people have to look up to him. He becomes greater than a mere human. He becomes a giant.

When such a giant falls to death, we all die a little. All the things he could have thought, all his visions, all the ideas that he could have had.. die with him. This leaves a void so big that it can never be filled completely. We are setback so violently that we can never fully recover.

2011 we lost Steve Jobs and Christopher Hitchens. These are people, who if I can’t even begin to describe. Stalwarts and visionaries, they weren’t known for what they did, what they did was known because of them. But, what made me write this post is the death closer home. The death of a fiercely intellectual young giant of 33 years – Ajita Kamal. Here is Ajita in his own words.

“I work with a team of activists to promote Freethought, Science and Reason in India.

Website:
http://nirmukta.com/

Forums:
http://nirmukta.net/

Facebook Group:
http://www.facebook.com/groups/nirmukta

If you are interested in networking on facebook to promote science and reason, I would love to add you to my friends list. The one thing that I ask is an understanding of the distinction between attacking people and attacking ideas. Ideas deserve thorough scrutiny, not respect. Those who are offended when someone else questions or even ridicules an idea that they happen to hold dear (for example, the idea that an invisible magic man lives in the sky ) need to have their priorities re-examined. However, people, with their thoughts, feelings, expectations and capacity for foresight, deserve at least as much respect as they exude. I am as unapologetically anti-religious as I am for human rights and freedom of speech. I believe in adopting a pluralistic strategy towards promoting freethought. We need both the “militant” atheists as well as the humanists. Sometimes building a community of freethinkers and creating social alternatives to mainstream culture can be the most effective and satisfying solution for furthering the freethought movement. Other times, simply laughing at these absurd and patently false ideas is the best way to initiate doubt and self-examination and to provoke believers into questioning these dangerous indoctrinated beliefs. Anger, ridicule, compassion and understanding are all necessary and powerful tools to be harnessed at the appropriate time towards promoting science and reason.

I am also an environmentalist and armchair philosopher, poet and musician, writer and nature lover, science enthusiast and sci-fi geek, rationalist and humanist, progressive and moderate, pragmatist and optimist, skeptic and naturalist and many other things. I’m putting all this down on my profile hoping to not have to deal with some of the avoidable mis-characterizations of my positions. I do not fit into a neat little box, and I prefer to stay that way.

Thanks for reading.”

Needless to say, in the Indian Freethought community, Ajita was a friend, philosopher, guide and much more. I never had the opportunity to meet him or even have an online discussion. However, when news of his death reached me, I felt devastated. The cruelty of death had reached me. It had pervaded me and taken me in its grasp. It was the death of a Giant.

As Ajita’s friends and family grieve over this tragic loss, I would like to offer my deepest condolences to them and quote a few lines, in honour of this brilliant young man, that happen to be one of the favorites of Christopher Hitchens and Roald Dahl:

My candle burns at both the ends;
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends;
It gives a lovely light!

- Edna St. Vincent

I am the pain in life
I am reality
I am the ray of hope
I am imaginary

I am the shadow in darkness
I am the eyes that see
I am the courage that conquers
I am the feet that flee

I run amok in silence
I bloom eternally
I am the macabre fear
I am the life within me

I am the starry night
I am the scarlet tree
I am the kiss of the butterfly
I am the sting of the bee

I am loss, I am failure, I am the end
I am that which will never be
I am victory, I am success, I am the beginning
I am possibility

I am the fabric that makes you
I am the colour in thee
I am your strength and weakness
I am murky sadness and the effervescent glee

I am God
I am with you for eternity
I am you, you are me
I am your imagination set free

I know that I search for meaning…but what that is I know not
I got all that I wanted…..but what I needed…I never got
I had love, I had friends, I had family….but still the meaning of life I sought
One day I want to know it
One day I want to comprehend
One day I want to know the answer
One day I want my quest to end

But I know that though I know a lot
What life means I still know not…

pite pite mar jaana hai
mummy papa ki dant khana hai
par ciggarette ko jaroor jalana hai
aur doston mein dhuan udana hai
har puff ke saath udaenge zindagi
har shot ke saath lutaenge zindagi
yehi to hai mazza zindagi ka
yehi ek jazza zindagi ka………….

phir ek din us dhuen mein ham
dheere dheere ho jayenge kam
mummy ki ankhein hongi nam
lete hue aakhri dam….
kahenge sab se……

kitna kuch karna tha…
abhi to nahi marna tha…
par dhuen mein udayi zindagi..
botal mein sadayi zindagi…
lekin bhagwaan ne nahi badhayi zindagi…