Losing her faith

[Juxa]

waa boodhshidh, too much time at her hands to questions faith this or that

 

like many if she had to work to pay off tuition fees and bills maybe waqti eey diinta ku su'aasho meysan hesheen

 

some would say this new sheeko waa dameer dhargay hadalkiisa

[Ibtisam]

Ka nooqo juxa, ka nooqo siidas. What you are saying was qaladka wa weyne!!! Paying bills or tuition or building houses, YOU SHOULD have time to question, re-affair, educate, wonder, ponder and write essays in your mind about WHAT it is you believe, why, how strongly and at what expense, how far would you go for it, where is the cut off point, who would you cut off for it, for how long and why.

[Juxa]

^^ if it was genuine waan ka noqon lahaa

 

but lately waxay noqotay fashionable to say i have doubts about my religion. this is not just for somalis but alot of muslim born youngsters

 

if someone was asking themselves genuine questions, learning, pondering, they wont easily announce on FB diintan shaki iyo doubt ka qabaa

 

they would listen, discuss, question long and hard before coming to such conclusion. they would avoid sensationalising it

 

ifahan yaa gabar ifahan

[NGONGE]

^^ Isn't FB the best place to air your doubts though? Had she told you this face-to-face you'll probably have a fist fight.

 

KK, xawaasha waa loo bahanahay. Wax fahan.

 

By the way poeple, this topic should not be about the girl herself and her background, you should view it as a problem that actually exists (FB or no FB). What should be done?

[N.O.R.F]

^Wholesale changes and integration of malcaama/madrasa/dugsi studies on the weekends.

 

At the moment we all know its done in a haphazard way and kids just memorise quran without anything in the way of understanding.

 

A whole new network of teachers and assitants needs to be set up.

 

It should be taken seriously by the Muslim community. More seriously than normal schooling.

 

1. Dugsi/Malcaamad on weekends should be more than just lectures and Quran recitations.

 

2. Structured course work should be given out on a weekly basis. From basics to intermediate to advanced etc

 

3. Teachers should be better qualified both Islamically, linguistically and culturally (he/she should be aware of the culture the kids are growing up in and have adequate teaching skills to combat any clashes).

 

A good early understanding is the key.

[NGONGE]

^^ But the problem is not taking place at the bottom, my friend. The real problems are all at the top. The rest are merely mimicking their leaders (or being turned off by them).

[N.O.R.F]

^I disagree. If the problem is an individual's confusion by what is being said by mullah surwaal gaabsaday and today's zenophobic media, then it is obvious there existed a lack of understanding in the first place. This is often due to no understanding given at malcaamad stage (if they did attend it anyway).

[NGONGE]

^^ Don't blame it on the media, saaxib. The media is simply a reflection of society. (Any society).

You can send someone to an Islamic school and teach them the faith along with Islamic manners for their whole life but they will still struggle to come to terms with the problems of today. Worse still, when they're presented with a readymade alternative (to opt out); it is no surprise that many choose to take it.

 

Do you not find yourself confused by the messages of Al Shabab and others? Do you not distance yourself from them (because of what you perceive as your Islamic education) yet find yourself rudderless in a sea of questions! Take suicide bombing for instance; is the Kampala incident wrong because innocents were killed but one in Tel Aviv right because they're Zionists? (You'll find that many people agree with such a mad position). Then again, maybe you think they are both right. Or you believe that they are both wrong. But where does it all fit, islamically speaking?

 

On women; the example of the lady in the first post is of one that feels disillusioned with it all. Again, her Islamic education must have clearly told her how things stand with women but she did not reject it back then and is rejecting it now. There is a reason for that. Is it the endless coverage? Is it the reactions of the scholars? Is it the excitable "xaraam" brigade? Is it the way Taliban and Al Shabab view and treat women?

 

The examples and the questions are endless. The conflicting messages aplenty. Yet the proper debates are frowned upon (and the "she needs a Faarax" nonsense is the easy solution to give).

[N.O.R.F]

^Everything you said there makes sense saxib but none of it detracts from there being a lack of a proper Islamic education through infant and secondary school ages. The questions on suicide bombings women’s issues etc can be tackled early on. If one understands why at a young age then he/she will ‘probably’ not be ‘as’ influenced by the xaraam brigade and the media in their adolescent/adult years.

 

All I’m saying is that a properly structured and sincere Islamic education will set him/her in good stead.

 

I doubt this new trend will continue or that there would be as much confusion and disillusionment (relatively) if that happens.

 

What do you propose?

[Prometheus]

Well said, NGONGE. To say that the erosion of her faith is merely a symptom of her lack of islamic instruction is an all-too-convenient (and lazy) solution . It's possible that this Mofakkera knows the niceties of tawhed al olohiya, robobiya, and asma wa elsefat - the so-called essence of monotheism. It's possbile she studied the seerah of the prophet, from the early Meccan days to the pivotal Medinian phase, wherein most of the Shariah became a full-fledged code of conduct. Perhaps she understands Maqased El Shariah and the islamic narrative. What then?

 

Hers is a symptom of an agile and acute mind, in the midst of the pangs of doubt, in the throes of unfettered introspection - a deliciously excruciating ordeal. Every thoughtful religious person goes through a similiar phase. Al-Ghazali, the storied theologian, professed doubts about the most cherished beliefs of his mind. I don't much care whether she becomes a deist, theist, or an atheist. The spark of thought, whatever its truth-value, is what counts most in this instance. It ought to be celebrated, not dampened with fatuous speculation about her social life.

 

As a muslim (this might come as a suprise to the miserable miscreants who would sooner excommunicate me from Islam), I think these kind of questions do not always lead to a denouncment of religon, rather it creates a refined, reformed interpretation of religion that does not clash with our modern sensibilities. And God knows too many interpretations of Islam are at loggerheads with rudimentary ethics and human ideals.

[Abtigiis]

Originally posted by Rhazes:

As a muslim

(this might come as a suprise to the miserable miscreants who would sooner excommunicate me from Islam), I think these kind of questions do not always lead to a denouncment of religon, rather it creates a refined, reformed interpretation of religion that does not clash with our modern sensibilities. And God knows too many interpretations of Islam are at loggerheads with rudimentary ethics and human ideals.

Dear Raamsade,

 

It is all too predictable that after hitting the wall with your blatantly atheist persona and fixation with all things that prove that there is no God, you will reappear as Rhazes, wearing the visage of a muslim brother who is only interested in broadening the horizon of Islamic interpretation.

 

You were more dignified, if boring, in your true colours. No one is going to take you as a Muslim here, despite your attempt to pre-empt doubts about your belief with foresighted mischief of calling people, who are likely to question your stand, as miscerants. Who do you think you are dealing with? kids?

[NGONGE]

^^ Raamsade did not speak Arabic saaxib, this one does. And, I agree with him.

 

Norf, maybe you are right about the education but that will bring us to the educators (which in turn will take us back to the mullahs). Wax fahan.

[Prometheus]

Waar ileen tanoo kale. Hadmuu Abtiga noqday wadaad diinta difaaca? Sowtaynu ku ogayn inuu gacan-togaaleeyo arrimaha sariirta la xidhiidha iyo habka ay dadyow islaameed u galmoodaan. Abtoow, labadeena waxa laga yaabaa inaan anigu dhanka diinta kaaga fiicnahay. Wadaadkii waallaa ee bakhtiyay muxuu yidhi:

 

Nimaan sharaxa diimeed,

 

Sheynaba ka suurayn

 

Hadii aad u sheegtana

 

Shaqfadloo aan gararayn

 

Adiguna aad sheekh tahay,

 

Isaguna sharmuud yahay

 

Oo kula shikaayoon,

 

Illeen waa shiddiyo hoog

[N.O.R.F]

Originally posted by NGONGE:

Norf, maybe you are right about the education but that will bring us to the educators (which in turn will take us back to the mullahs). Wax fahan.

I did say 'wholesale' changes. Wax fahan.

[NGONGE]

Norf,

You say it's about education. You say that if people were taught right from a young age they would not have such conflicts. I replied to you and you agreed with me but still insisted on the education point. So I am asking you, is the fault with the educators then?