{Quick Reflections 42} Corrupted Islam 1

Introduction

Audience:
The audience targeted by this series includes people from all walks of life who are interested in their own well-being as well as that of humanity as a whole. Arrogant people, who take themselves, rather than ideas, too seriously are discouraged from reading further. Looking at the big picture, life in this universe is not about mortal individuals’ egos but about eternal concepts that outlive any single individual’s very short and temporary success. Readers are invited to think, contemplate and share with positive constructive criticism rather than act on well established and taken-for-granted-paradigms. You are encouraged to think outside the box and put on-hold all sacred and firm frames of thought, whatever they are. Give it a shot at another way of thinking and another angle of focus that steps back and tries to put events in their true perspective.

Islam:
Contrary to common belief by non-Muslims and many Muslims, Islam is not a blind set of rituals and do’s and don’ts. The rituals are a constant reminder of the facts of life and ethics that Islam is all about amongst the daily materialistic distractions. Islam is a comprehensive way of life that starts with one while one is still an embryo and accompanies you all the way through to the other life.

It is the way of life chosen by God for His human creatures that suite them most. It is fit for all cultures and all time. Through its correct application one achieves happiness, serenity and success in both the current temporary worldly life and the next permanent one. It focuses equally on the individual and the community. This is not an advertisement for true Islam but I firmly claim it is a fact clear to some people in this age, just like the fact that Earth is not the center of the Universe was clear to Galileo and opposed by all others in his age.

A manufacturer of a complicated electronic device provides you with a manual that guides you to operate the device and make the best out of it. You can still operate the device without the manual but your non-guided operation will be sub-optimal. Moreover in addition to the manual and way of operation called "Islam" provided by the manufacturer "God" for optimal operation of the most sophisticated creature, human beings, He also provides you with an insurance policy for the next and permanent life, or "function after expiration", or “replacement with an eternal substitute”.

Me:
I am a 31 year-old surgeon born in Egypt and raised in different parts of the world amongst tens of different cultures and ideologies. I am proud to have been raised by a wise enough Muslim father who when I was 7 years-old asked me to chose my own religion and belief after researching all other systems of belief. He also advised me to base my decision on logic and sense only and never let any religious or political authority, present or past, influence my decision. He did not believe that being born to a Muslim family makes you a Muslim, or born to a Christian family makes you a Christian and so forth as that defeats the purpose of being provided with a mind that thinks and a will that chooses. He believed that before one can claim s/he belonged to one system of belief or another and start lobbying for it or defending it blindly one has to research different systems first and then reach his/her own conclusion. Also he did not believe in different cults and sects of different religions. He was wise enough to advise me in my search for the truth to trace everything back to its origin and that any addition to the very first original system, whatever system it is, is but mere human corruption that only leads to tinting the picture and dividing people further. Accordingly I was raised to question all dogmas, stereotypes and traditions. After years of observing, reading and researching I came to his same conclusion.

Why:
I am writing this small series now after I reached that conclusion because I believe in neither temporary fixes nor burying my head in the sand. Islam is in deep trouble and so are Muslims, and actually so are non-Muslims, because Islam has been hijacked and continuously corrupted within around 3 decades after Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) death. Corruption is now so deep seated in the belief system, sparing only a few basic facts, that only very few will see what I mean. I do not claim to be a savior or a visionary but rather a humble soul struggling everyday to see the pure original light behind the ground glass that was placed in a false attempt to protect the light.