Muslims claim that Islam is growing, this is due to the fact that they are allowed to marry up to for four wives and breed incessantly. Significant portions of the Islamic world are poor and more often than not poor people are more likely to have more kids than affluent ones.
However, there is another dimension to Islam's growth in numbers relating to conversion. The overwhelming majority of the people that convert to Islam are; the confused, the runaways, the people in prison, the uneducated, etc. Islam preys on the vulnerable and offers a false sense of hope and belonging. While a Muslim intellectual is likely to question Islam and possibly eventually apostate, the oppose is true of those with limited formal education. If Bill Gates and Steve Jobs (and others like them) convert to Islam in substantial numbers, then Islam deserves a second thought.
Also, a disproportionate number of converts leave Islam within two to four years of their initial conversion. Accordingly, one would be hard pressed to find a Muslim convert from a decade or decades ago.
It's okay to believe in things when you're a child (like Santa Clause). However, as an adult, it only brings about laughter at the foolishness of a seemingly "grown" person engaging in such superstitions as a big man living above the clouds who brings rain and other goodies to us because he loves us.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
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Ciyaalka,
ReplyDeleteI am an American college student who has been studying Somali piracy since before the "outbreak" in 2008. Your country fascinates me, especially the negative perception the rest of the world has against it. I believe this to be one of the most unfair perceptions ever perpetuated... your country has gone through too much strife to be faulted. I found your website through Youtube - where I was struck by how profound your comments were.
I, too, am a Dawkins fan. And John Frusciante is one of my favorite guitarists ever...(I'm a big Chili Peppers fan.)
I would be honored to speak with you further. Please send me an email at tysonbottenus@gmail.com if you would like to talk more.
Hello,
ReplyDeleteThanks for contacting me. Glad to have another Dawkins and RHCP fan. I'll keep in touch. Much obliged.
Ciyaalka
About runaways, confused and the lot who convert to Islam. Unfortunatley, quite a few stay there for decades. To me Islam is written evidence to the Arab psyche/soul. A great majority of Arabs I know or know of (mainly Christian/agnostic funnily enough) are a manipulative, scheming, paranoid, self-righteous bunch who think they are the best in the world.Before someone bites my head off, I'm not saying ALL Arabs are like that it's just that I found those traits more commonly amongst Arabs than other ethnic groups. I believe every religion, is a product of the culture/nature of the people who started it. Religion cannot change the psyche of a nation/people, only reinforce it or slightly alter it. This is evident in the fact that as you said Somalis are quite a liberal bunch in practice of their faith albeit being adherents of Islam from its beginning and also in the fact that it took Europe 1,900 years to change their ways and follow the good bits of Jesus' commands. As you said about Islam praying on the vunerable for its gain I noticed that same behavioural pattern in almost all the non-Muslim Arabs I know therefore pointing to Islam being the evidence of the pre-Islamic Arab psyche. Basically, from my experience Arabs are a merchantile people. For them everything is a business deal (even Moe and Khadija started out as business people), even religion, even God. So, if they can use God to gain money or power from people who believe them, they will. For example comparing the Arab and non-Arab Musllims (regardless of whether practicing or not) I know, I noticed that the former are much more calculating, materialistic and selfish in their friendships and relationships. They also express their emotions less and are far more shrewd, using hospitality as a formality and a means to obtain trust and liking rather than hospitality for its own sake I found amongst Somalis, for example.
ReplyDeleteIn conclusion, I doubt the absence of the Qu'ran would change the Arab psyche, only wouldn't reinforce it. I believe they'd still be a manipualtive, cold, calculating, merciless people they were from their pagan times only in a different way. It would be harder for them with no justification of higher deity but I bet they would still find a way to screw the non-Arabs in their lives over. Just as an observation, 99% of people from the list of Apostates on some web page were NON-ARAB, born-Muslims and the Arabs were mainly North-African as opposed to Middle-Eastern.
Thank you for reading. Comment anyhow you like and ignore if you like. Just writing from experience.
PS Love your devotion to get rid of all superstitions.
I appreciate your insight immensely.
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