Monday, September 16, 2013

Neither Nationalism nor Islamism but Humanism



By Aiman Reyaz, New Age Islam
September 14, 2013
Three “isms” in one line would beg the proper explanation of each “ism”. First, what is nationalism? It is the mobilization of a nation, which is a group that identifies itself such as, based on a shared understanding of a common culture, history, land and descent, in pursuit of political goals. These typically include national survival and self-rule.
Islamism, although, refers to the political use of Islam; I would define it as a group identity in which members of the Muslim community are part of one family while others are not; they (non-Muslims) are the outsiders.
And finally humanism is the doctrine which states that people’s duty is to promote human welfare, without any bias against any religion, caste, creed, colour or sex. The most important thing to focus upon is humanity.
Now when these three “isms” have been defined we can proceed further. We have been created (or evolved!) in such a way that we always tend to divide people or things based upon some characteristics. Our brain is hard-wired into focusing at things which are of our importance and ignoring those things which are not relevant to us. It has been evolved in such a way so as to meet emergency situations effectively.
Here comes the importance of groups and identity. We are, at one time, members in a variety of different groups: members of our nation, various professional associations, teaching group, student group, religious group, sex group, financial group etc. As long as these identities do not clash with each other, we do pretty fine. But as soon as there are antithetical demands among various groups then we feel the heat and we don’t know what to do. If pressed immensely, we choose, consciously or unconsciously, that group which is the most important for us and our well being. 

4 comments:

  1. bahut bahut khoob! bahut bahut khoob! aur aise likhtey rahiye ji, aur aise likhtey rahiye ji
    By yoginder sikand -

    ReplyDelete
  2. While humanism, nationalism and religion are all parts of our identity, the best identity is one that is most inclusive or least exclusive. Besides stressing the brotherhood of man, humanism also shows concern for human welfare.
    By Ghulam Mohiyuddin

    ReplyDelete
  3. The first step towards forgiveness is to forget.
    By Hazrat Inayat Khan
    Bowl of Saki, September 12,
    In order to learn forgiveness man must learn tolerance first. And there are people whom man cannot forgive. It is not that he must not forgive, but it is difficult, beyond his power to forgive, and in that case the first thing he can do is to forget. The first step towards forgiveness is to forget.
    from http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/XIII/XIII_14.htm
    They say, 'Forgive and forget', which is very expressive of the process of forgiveness. It is impossible to forgive unless you can forget. What keeps man from forgiving his fellow man is that he holds the fault of another constantly before his view. It is just like sticking a little thorn in one's own heart and keeping it there and suffering the pain. It may also be pictured as putting a drop of poison in one's own heart and retaining it until the whole heart becomes poisoned. Verily, blessed are the innocent, who do not notice anybody's fault, and the greater credit is to the mature souls, who, recognizing a fault, forget it and so forgive. How true are the words of Christ, 'Let those throw a stone who have not sinned.' The limitations of human life make man subject to faults. Some have more faults, some have less, but there is no soul without faults. As Christ says, 'Call me not good.'
    Forgiveness is a stream of love, which washes away all impurities wherever it flows. By keeping this spring of love, which is in the heart of man, running, man is able to forgive, however great the fault of his fellow man may seem. One who cannot forgive closes his heart. The sign of spirituality is that there is nothing you cannot forgive, there is no fault you cannot forget. Do not think that he who has committed a fault yesterday must do the same today, for life is constantly teaching and it is possible in one moment a sinner may turn into a saint.
    from http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/XIII/XIII_20.htm
    ~~~ The first step towards forgiveness is to forget.

    By yoginder sikand

    ReplyDelete
  4. Humanity is superior to the rituals of any religion. However if the ritual following is shown as an arrogant assertion then the fight starts between the majority and minority.

    further any act in any county affects the whole world thanks to global village effect of technology.

    By satwa gunam -

    ReplyDelete