Saturday, November 14, 2009
Essay Two... Ugh...
I think I made a point of my distaste for Victorian writers in a previous post. This week I had to write an essay over the Victorian period and I feel like I've never written a worse essay in all of my life. I just can't find anything interesting or thought-provoking about the Victorians; everything they write is so dimwitted that I begin to wonder if they were sprucing up their wine with lead as the Romans did. Their poetry is as bland as bad prose and their prose is as lengthy as epic poetry but without saying as much. Ugh.... I hate the Victorians.
Monday, November 9, 2009
What a crazy world this is.
So while I was reading about the rampage committed at Fort Hood I've come across something that is so strange to me that I haven't any way of truly describing it.
It's been referenced in the news that the shooter Nidal Malik Hasan contacted and was praised for his actions by Imam Anwar al-Awlaki. I tried to read the actual blog post by the Imam, but the site won't load due to its timing out, but I did discover a strange book by this Imam entitled "44 Ways to Support Jihad". While I was reading it I was struck first of all by how stupid all of this sounds with regard to violence, but I remember once a dear friend of mine and also another professor each telling me in different circumstances that the Qu'ran frequently asserts that one of the greatest things a follower of Allah can do for the cause of Islam is to become deeply educated in all modes of knowledge and to spread that knowledge as well as the knowledge of the Qu'ran. Here's another pretty interesting fact: the Qu'ran was written by Muhammed's older wife and has numerous feminist references throughout such as the assertion that women should be greatly educated and very well respected. I think I've gotten off track.
Anyway, I've looked through the Qu'ran and have only seen two references to Jihad and neither of them include specifically any sense of violence other than that of a mental struggle. Furthermore, as I understand it, Jihad is separated into two divisions: little Jihad and big Jihad. I may have these backwards, but as far as I can recall, big Jihad refers specifically to taming your own mind and the intellectual struggles one has with the acquisition of new knowledge. Ultimately, this should somehow relate to the follower of Islam's understanding of Muhammed. As far as I can tell, the only reference to struggle is purely poetic and is as I've said a metaphor for that profound sense of unease we all experience as we begin to drink from the endless cup of knowledge. Little Jihad refers to helping others cope with that internal struggle or by somehow instilling that internal struggle in them and then helping them understand it.
With this in mind, I just can't understand how people like Imam Anwar al-Alawki could so easily pervert something that seems to me so beautiful. Islam was supposed to be a step forward from the negative aspects of Christianity and Judaism (which ironically also originated from perverse interpretations) yet it has consistently been brought down by those who neglect to see that most of all it is a book whose message is one of a sort of unfortunate love for all mankind.
I just don't understand why Imam Anwar al-Alawki thinks the way that he does about the treatment of our fellow man. I agree that the treatment of Nidal Malik Hasan by his peers was absolutely atrocious, but to me the only action befitting Islam by one so mistreated as Nidal Malik Hasan would be to grow stronger in his faith by this treatment and use that strength to educate those around him about the good notes of Islam and perhaps the similarities between his religion and that of those who ridiculed him. Violence does nothing but harm the message that was recorded by Muhammed's wife, Khadija. I deeply wish that this Imam could open his heart, eyes, and mind to this message since he obviously has the ability to talk to people, but until then I don't know what to think of this poor frightened man but to pity him for his lack of insight.
I do not prescribe to any religion, but I do believe there is beauty in all of them and I wish that more people could see it too.
It's been referenced in the news that the shooter Nidal Malik Hasan contacted and was praised for his actions by Imam Anwar al-Awlaki. I tried to read the actual blog post by the Imam, but the site won't load due to its timing out, but I did discover a strange book by this Imam entitled "44 Ways to Support Jihad". While I was reading it I was struck first of all by how stupid all of this sounds with regard to violence, but I remember once a dear friend of mine and also another professor each telling me in different circumstances that the Qu'ran frequently asserts that one of the greatest things a follower of Allah can do for the cause of Islam is to become deeply educated in all modes of knowledge and to spread that knowledge as well as the knowledge of the Qu'ran. Here's another pretty interesting fact: the Qu'ran was written by Muhammed's older wife and has numerous feminist references throughout such as the assertion that women should be greatly educated and very well respected. I think I've gotten off track.
Anyway, I've looked through the Qu'ran and have only seen two references to Jihad and neither of them include specifically any sense of violence other than that of a mental struggle. Furthermore, as I understand it, Jihad is separated into two divisions: little Jihad and big Jihad. I may have these backwards, but as far as I can recall, big Jihad refers specifically to taming your own mind and the intellectual struggles one has with the acquisition of new knowledge. Ultimately, this should somehow relate to the follower of Islam's understanding of Muhammed. As far as I can tell, the only reference to struggle is purely poetic and is as I've said a metaphor for that profound sense of unease we all experience as we begin to drink from the endless cup of knowledge. Little Jihad refers to helping others cope with that internal struggle or by somehow instilling that internal struggle in them and then helping them understand it.
With this in mind, I just can't understand how people like Imam Anwar al-Alawki could so easily pervert something that seems to me so beautiful. Islam was supposed to be a step forward from the negative aspects of Christianity and Judaism (which ironically also originated from perverse interpretations) yet it has consistently been brought down by those who neglect to see that most of all it is a book whose message is one of a sort of unfortunate love for all mankind.
I just don't understand why Imam Anwar al-Alawki thinks the way that he does about the treatment of our fellow man. I agree that the treatment of Nidal Malik Hasan by his peers was absolutely atrocious, but to me the only action befitting Islam by one so mistreated as Nidal Malik Hasan would be to grow stronger in his faith by this treatment and use that strength to educate those around him about the good notes of Islam and perhaps the similarities between his religion and that of those who ridiculed him. Violence does nothing but harm the message that was recorded by Muhammed's wife, Khadija. I deeply wish that this Imam could open his heart, eyes, and mind to this message since he obviously has the ability to talk to people, but until then I don't know what to think of this poor frightened man but to pity him for his lack of insight.
I do not prescribe to any religion, but I do believe there is beauty in all of them and I wish that more people could see it too.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Victorians...
Ugh... Victorian poetry is absolutely dreadful! Actually, the more that I read poetry in English, the more I am forced to admit that English is a truly disgusting language and is totally unfit for the production of beautiful poetry. There is just no way to soften the rhythm or the sounds of the English language in order to make poetry appealing in any of the traditional senses; the only way that poetry can halfway be decent in English is if it relies mostly upon language's natural ability to produce mental images. Rhymes and rhythms in English mostly get in the way of what little is left in the language to make poetry beautiful, so they should just be left entirely out. This alone should be enough reason for the education system to place greater emphasis on the learning of a second language.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
