Once again,the American politicians and journalists and even, may I say, intellectuals have it wrong! The intervention of foreign powers in U.S. politics is NOT the real problem.It is miniscule in impact compared to the real problem!The real problem in American democracy is the intervention of American corporations and monied lobbying groups of various sorts –not only in electoral politics but in all instances of government actions.That is what is deviating the government from truly serving the people! That is why our food is full of carcinogens as are our construction materials,that is why our air is polluted and the medical system is gouging the people and the workplace is becoming more and more stressful and dangerous(C.F. recent reports of injuries at Amazon-just one case amongst many.) Russia and Ukraine have nothing to do with that at all!
Now ,perhaps, at the time of the founders,foreign intervention(i.e. The British monarchy trying to get a foothold back in America) was the problem.Although even there one could argue,correctly I believe,that it was foreign intervention,specifically that of the French and the Germans,that allowed the American Revolution to succeed( I believe Macron proudly pointed that out to Trump lol)! Salaams,Ibrahim
All posts by jebrahim2@gmail.com
An Alternative Enquiry
(credit given to the Byzantine Emperor interviewing Abu Suyan lol)
High Priest,Rabbi or Imam;” Is this man (Trump) known to have had good character before his presidency
Congressional representative: Not at all.He was elected despite his bad character-well-known to the public.
High Priest,Rabbi or Imam: Was this man known to be a man of his word who could be trusted?
C.R. Not at all. He made many promises to many people including his business associates and friends and wives that he never honored
HPRI.Was this man known to have felt bad and apologized when people were hurt by his behaviour?
C.R. Not at all.He seems to be oblivious to other peoples’ pain.
HPRI If this man proposed a business deal to a relative of yours,would you feel obliged to warn them about his past behaviour.
C.R. I definitely would
Consensus of the panel of spiritual authorities -after consulting with each other for five minutes: Then this man is not suitable to be your leader and we would encourage you to remove him from office as quickly as possible and also as a preventive measure to seriously revise your entire electoral process.
Gavel down,Judgment rendered
The Democrat Illusion Incarnated
House Judiciary Committee impeachment hearings.
Fascinating! You can see all the elements of “The Democratic Illusions”( I am tempted to call them “delusions” at this point but will abstain for fear of being accused of “horribilizing” lol).Four academics in front of us elaborating on the constitutional elements of the case It’s the
Brain Trust!- indicating what our society values most- brain power! Harvard,Standford,Yale – the whole ‘meguila’ as they say in the vernacular lol.I can’t help wondering how this would be if instead we respected spiritual wisdom and had instead a high- ranking Sufi sheikh,Orthodox Priest Hasidic Rabbi and Buddhist teacher( Dalai Lama? Golstein/ Kornfield) on the podium.I dont think it would take them long to arrive at a consensus lol
An hour or two at most!
Another “Democratic Illusion” Bites the Dust
Aha! Another “Democratic Illusion”-that if you generate conflict by your words or behaviour you are doing the wrong thing! Wrong lol! Consider this..Jesus,Mohammed saws and Moses all generated considerable conflict in their communities by asserting Truth.Truth trumps superficial,hypocritical peace.Sorry folks-there’s no easy way.The promoters of falsehood and distraction are persistent and hard-working.We have to be as well.
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biblegateway.com
“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn “‘a man against…
The Supremely Foolish Court
The Supremely Foolish Court(yes,that’s the same court that stated that billionaires could spend as much money as they wanted on election campaigns because spending money is part of their constitutional right to Free Speech! I’m not joking!)meets today to consider gun control laws which are already insane in the U.S. but could potentially get even more insane.If you look carefully at the process you will understand why they are “Supremely Foolish”. They start with a set of principles designed at another period of time for another set of problems.Then they elaborate and extrapolate from those principles via their admittedly outstanding cognitive functions(the inheritors of Aristotle no doubt lol) .And from that you are supposed to arrive at Truth! The entire epistemology is wrong! But very few people,especially politicians,lawyers and journalists,can see it.We need men and women of wisdom and vision not Professor Nimbus,hypercerbral types if we ever want to have a just society.You can’t do that simply through brain power!
Global Warming h-m-m
I don’t believe in consensus scientists.They are mostly sheep-like followers.I believe in geniuses-people of vision and insight like Copernicus and Einstein and Freud.Remember that at the time of Copernicus the consensus was that the world was flat and at the time of Einstein the world was static and Newtonian and at the time of Freud all psychological problems were neurological!
So as I watch the November freezes and snowstorms across the U.S. and Canada,I say to myself “H-m-m global warming caused by human activity.Maybe not?!” Yes,I know the trope about”It’s climate not weather”. A distinction without a difference as climate is simply accumulated weather.Get enough weather changes and you have climate change.So if you are interested in the geniuses in this area ,try looking up two Scandinavians-Henrik Svensmark from Denmark and Nils-Axel Morner from Sweden.(You can also dismiss most of their critics as you would dismiss the Pharisees criticizing Jesus and the Quraish doing likewise with Mohammed saws.)
At the risk of oversimplifying their position ,these two scientists believe that it’s mostly about the sun effects on weather and not about carbon imprint.
My only question here is why Allah,who is behind all these events,may be relenting on the final destruction of the planet? What good is man doing that could engender Mercy from our Creator?! Beats me.Then again the difference between God and the consensus scientists is that I trust and submit to His wisdom whereas I am seriously skeptical of theirs!
“On the Eve of Destruction”
The psychoanalysts taught us that in order to communicate a Truth ,you first had to interpret the defense mechanism.So what is the primary defense mechanism of our society? Not listening! (Watch the Congressional hearings if you don’t believe me!).Where does this come from?-a whole set of social conditionnings including the emphasis on Rationnality and the ubiquitous marketing that we have learnt “to turn a deaf ear” ! Is there a solution?I don’t see one! If you tell them they are not listening or not hearing,they just get offended! Maybe prayer?! Or maybe we are truly on The Eve of Destruction” and this,too, is part of the Divine Plan!
Distress
From the wisdom of the Sufis: “And the renowned Master Ibn ’Ata’illah says in his Hikam: ‘May the pain of trial be lightened for you by your knowledge that it is He, be He exalted, who is trying you.’ There is no doubt that, for men(and women) of God, their best moment is the moment of distress, for this is what fosters their growth. He also says in his Hikam: ‘The best of your moments is that in which you are aware of your distress and thrown back upon your own helplessness….’ ”
There is no doubt that for men(and women) of God the best moment is the moment of distress. When there is no recourse to yourself. When we find ourselves helpless, that is the best moment, if you understand. It may be in distress you will find benefits that you have been unable to find either in prayer or in fasting.”
Why It is Important to Watch the Impeachment Hearings!
Asalamu aleykum or Bonjour/Hi (now illegal in Quebec lol).This may sound very odd for a spiritual teacher to state but”I think it is important to watch the Impeachment hearings” and here is why. As people who know my overall thinking are aware I promote a bio-psycho-socio-spiritual understanding of our human existence.In recent years the socio (read sociological) dimension has become more and more salient in my overall understanding. This is because each of us,whether we know it or not, are deeply conditioned in our thinking and behaviour by the societies that we grew up in and are now living in.And nothing i know of can give you a better understanding of contemporary Epistemology ,M.O. (modus operandi) and assumptions about how to get to Truth than these senate hearings.Sitting on a high-level government committee might be equivalent but few of us have that opportunity.So this is a live television demonstration of The Sociology of Leadership in our current societies!Yes, it is boring,tedious,obsessional and often irrelevant but that is the way it works! At the end of this article I will provide an example of an alternative approach from another epoch-the exchange between the Byzantine emperor and Abu Sufyan about the reality of our Prophet saws,so that you can see that there are other options that are arguably better and certainly more efficient for getting to the Truth.
Epistemology;the science of knowledge-how you get to the Truth.You will notice that the contemporary idea of getting to the Truth of a matter is via an adversarial process.So there are two sides-in this case the Democrats and the Republicans.They each choose the smartest,most eloquent spokesman able to ask the most pointed questions and the game begins.The art of the game is to get the witness,whoever that may be, to say what you want them to say that will most advantage your particular point of view.You will notice the cleverness,the slyness,the manipulations in that direction in every question and statement by the lawyers and the politicians.You should also notice that stating ‘the truth .the whole truth and nothing but the Truth” is a total sham an d a coverup.If such were the case there would be no need for lawyers or politicians.So the notion of ‘The Truth,the whole Truth and nothing but the Truth” is just as much a sham as “Due Process of the Law” and “Equal Justice before the Law’ and”Equality of Opportunity”(see my writings on the Democratic Illusions‘)
After you hear the statements,the questioning and the cross-examinations,you are now supposed to understand what really went on! Really?! If you are not completely confused by now,it is because you have already taken sides or you have an extraordinary capacity for discernment -something very rare -at least in contemporary society.
Obsessionality and Hypercerebrality.Another characteristic of societal leadership is its obsessionality and its attempt to figure everything out rationally.The appetite for details and cognitive elaboration of those details seems to be infinite.On and on.The same questions posed over and over again in slightly different ways.Everyone(almost lol) is smart and alert.Everyone is determined to cross the t’s and dot the i’s and yet things get cloudier and cloudier if you are listening carefully.Actually ,one should be able to arrive at a conclusion after an hour or two of testimony-max.But ‘no’ that doesn’t satisfy the modern decision-making protocol .If we did it that way we would be accused of being”impulsive” or “impatient’ or worst of all”unscientific”(horror of horrors!)
Boredom: By hour two ,if you are normal and these people are not!, you should be bored out of your mind! Not these people.They can go on and on and worst of all think that is necessary.They are doing their “due diligence” no?
An interesting personal anecdote.While I was in medical school, I went with my friend Alan,to see a play by one of the authors of the Theatre of the Absurd(The Existentialists)- I believe it was by Harold Pinter.The play went on and on…By the time we were 11/2 hours into the performance the theatre was 2/3 empty but me and Alan were still sitting there dutifully!i looked at him and said:”medical school is making us insane,Alan! This is unbearable.Let’s get out of here” And we did.So I know well how we can train ourselves to endure boredom.Luckily I never became a politician or lawyer.
This may sound amusing but irrelevant.But it is not! These same people,the lawyers and politicians,our leaders!,are actively involved in a deep-seated training process of becoming insensitive! How well does that bode for their future empathy and leadership capacities?.Not well I would argue.And btw,the same is true often with doctors! They desensitize themselves to the point of deafnesss and blindness!
An Alternative Approach-We can call it Leadership,Listening and intelligence. Cesar examines Abu Sufyan.
Read this and tell me what is more efficient-a clever,sincere-hearted individual like Cesar questioning a relevant person ,Abu Sufyan or a committee,of clever,befuddled at least partially compromised individuals holding an “objective” enquiry?!
How Heraclius examined the Prophet
When God had relieved him of the Persian armies, Caesar walked from Emesa [in central Syria] to Jerusalem, out of gratitude to God for having inured him to trial. So when the letter of the Prophet reached him, Caesar read it and said, “Look for someone from his people around here, so that I may ask about this Messenger of God.”
Now, it happened that Abu Sufyan was then in Syria with some men from the Quraish tribe who had come on business during the truce that then existed between the Prophet and the disbelievers of the Quraish.
Abu Sufyan later said, “The emissary of Caesar found us in a part of Syria, and he took me and my companions to Jerusalem. There we were brought to Caesar, who was sitting at his royal court, his crown on his head, around him the grandees of Byzantium.”
Now, Caesar said to his interpreter, “Ask them who among them is closest in kinship to this man who claims to be a prophet.”
Abu Sufyan [who was not a Muslim at the time] responded that he was nearest of them in kinship.
Caesar asked, “And what is the relationship between you and him?”
Abu Sufyan said, “He is a son of my paternal uncle.” Then Caesar said, “Bring him closer,” and had Abu Sufyan’s companions placed behind him, at his shoulders. Then he told his interpreter, “Tell his companions that I am going to question him about this man who claims to be a prophet; so if he tells a lie, immediately repudiate it as a lie.”
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Later Abu Sufyan admitted that he would have lied when asked about the Prophet, if not for the fact that he would have been shamed to have others spreading reports that he was a liar. So he told the truth.
Now, Caesar asked through his interpreter, “How is the lineage of this man among you?”
Abu Sufyan replied, “He is of noble descent among us.” Caesar asked, “And has any one of your people previously said what he has said?”
Abu Sufyan said, “No.”
Caesar asked, “Had you found him a liar before he said what he has now said?”
Abu Sufyan said, “No.”
Caesar asked, “Was any among his ancestors a king?”
Abu Sufyan replied, “No.”
Caesar asked, “And do the highborn people listen to him, or the powerless among them?”
Abu Sufyan answered, “Rather the powerless.”
Caesar asked, “And are they increasing or decreasing?”
Abu Sufyan replied, “Increasing.”
Caesar asked, “And does anyone turn away discontent with his religion after having gone into it?”
Abu Sufyan said, “No.”
Caesar asked, “Is he treacherous?”
Abu Sufyan replied, “No, but we are in a truce with him now, and we fear he may betray us.” Later on, Abu Sufyan admitted that this was the closest he was able to come to putting in a bad word against Muhammad.
Abu Sufyan said, “Yes.”
Caesar asked, “And how did your wars turn out?”
Abu Sufyan said, “Our contests have had alternating results; sometimes he wins over us, and other times we win over him.”
Caesar asked, “What does he enjoin upon you?”
Abu Sufyan replied, “He enjoins us to worship God alone, not associating anything with the sole divinity. And he enjoins us not to worship the fetishes of our ancestors. He also enjoins us to pray, to give charity, and to be chaste; and to fulfill promises and discharge trusts.”
When Abu Sufyan had said this, Caesar told his interpreter to say to him, “I asked you about his lineage among you, and you stated that he is of a sound lineage. And so were all prophets called forth from sound lineages of their people.
“Then I asked if anyone had said what he said before him, and you stated that none had. I would have said, if someone had said this before, that he was a man following something that had been said before him.
“And I asked you if you had found him a liar before he had said what he has said, and you stated that you had not. So I knew he would not lie about God if he did not lie about humans.
“And I asked you if any of his ancestors was a king, and you stated that none had been. I would have said, if any of his ancestors had been a king, that he was seeking the kingdom of his ancestors.
“And I asked you if the highborn people followed him, or the powerless ones; and you stated that it is the powerless. And they are the followers of the Messengers.
“And I asked you if they were increasing or decreasing, and you stated that they were increasing. And so it is with Faith, until it is complete.
“And I asked you if anyone turns away disaffected with his religion after having gone into it, and you stated that none did; and so it is with Faith, with which no one is displeased when its cheerfulness mixes into hearts.
“And I asked you if he acts treacherously, and you stated that he does not. And so it is with all Messengers; they do not act treacherously.
“And I asked you if you fight with each other, and you stated that you did, and that your fortunes in war alternated, now in his favor, now in yours. And so are all Messengers tried, and final victory will be his.
“And I asked you what he enjoins upon you, and you stated that he enjoins you to worship God, and not to associate anything with God, and not to worship the fetishes of your ancestors. And he enjoins you to pray, to give charity, to be chaste, to keep promises, and to fulfill trusts. And this is the description of a prophet.
“I knew he would appear, but I did not know he would be from among you. If what you have said is true, he will soon rule the ground beneath these two feet of mine. If I could expect to reach him, I would take it upon myself to go and meet him; and if I were with him, I would wash his feet.”
Then Caesar called for the letter of the Prophet, and it was read aloud. In it was this:
| In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. From Muhammad, slave and messenger of God, to Heraclius, ruler of Byzantium. Peace upon all who follow Guidance.Now then, I call you with the call to submission to God. Surrender to God, and you will be safe. Surrender to God, and God will give you a double reward. If you turn away, then the misdeeds of the peasants will be your fault.And, people of the Book, come to a Word common to both of us, that we worship only God and do not associate anything with God, and that none of us takes any for lords but God. And if they turn away, then say, “Witness that we have surrendered to God.” |
Now, when Heraclius Caesar finished his speech, a cry arose from the grandees of Byzantium around him. So great was their uproar that Abu Sufyan did not understand what they said; but he and his companions were ejected. When the men of the Quraish had left the court of the Byzantine emperor and were alone, Abu Sufyan said to them, “The affair of Muhammad has grown powerful; even the king of the pale people fears him!”
Later, Abu Sufyan related, “I lay low, by God, certain that the affair of Muhammad would emerge triumphant, until God brought my heart into Islam in spite of my aversion to it.”
Excerpted from “The Wisdom of the Prophet” by Thomas Cleary.
PS So even the Byzantine Emperor had to deal with his own political opposition.But not before determining definitively the truth of the matter!
The Catholic dilemma around divorce
Whenever one comes up against a religious edict that is unique to one tradition and not present in most of the others, or then again something that defies common sense,one has one has to begin questioning what has happened.The answer is almost always the same-a misinterpretation of the original scriptures.This applies to the absolute prohibition of divorce in Catholicism as well as the Buddhist denial of the individual soul,the Jewish ‘payees'(the absurd looking curled sideburns on Hassidic Jews) and the burqa in Islam.)All are aberrations of scriptural interpretation(the science known as hermeneutics or exegesis).
So for the current question ,the relevant text is the following:
Matthew 19:3-9 New International Version (NIV)
3 Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”
4 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’[a] 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’[b]? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
7 “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”
8 Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”
From this text,it is not hard to understand the Catholic position.However, several factors must be considered before jumping to such black and white decisions as do the Catholics here.
Firstly ,this statement was made to the Pharisees-an undisciplined and unruly lot ,it would appear.The context is vital here,as is the context in various citations of the Quran .In fact, in Islam ,there is an entire science called “Asbab al Nuzul” (literally the reasons for the descent-of revelation)dedicated to this question .Contextualization is often vital to properly understanding scripture!
Here,it sounds like the Pharisees are either looking for a “free ride” to divorce their wives whenever they want.Or then again ,they may be trying to trap Jesus in a position which he will have trouble defending in another context-a tactic familiar in contemporary politics-particularly with journalists l.ol So this statement of Jesus may be specific to the Pharisees and their evil intentions.
Let me elaborate here, albeit it in a hypothetical manner.Imagine this scenario .Instead of one of those cynical,provocative Pharisees let us imagine one of Jesus’ sincere followers coming to ask for a consultation.He says the following:’My master and Lord Jesus.25 years ago I got married.We were very attracted to each other early on but over the years we have grown to dislike each other in a very ugly way.I have consulted the Rabbis,I have had our families trying to intervene and I have prayed intensely for this to change but to no avail.It has gotten to the point where I have dreams of eliminating her by any means possible.I would,of course,never do that but the feelings are like that.Would you give me and her permission for a divorce?” Can anyone imagine jesus saying “Didn’t I tell you already that man cannot separate what God has united?Are you not listening to my teachings?!”.A priest or pastor or Imam might say such a thing but Jesus,never! Compassion is the basis of his teaching.I think we really need to take that into account!
There is another way of framing this discussion.If one takes into account the Islamic understanding that Allah is the “muqallib al qulub”(the controller of human hearts) then when a man turns against his wife or vice-versa when a woman’s heart turns against her husband (in a stable ,permanent manner rather than a reactive,frivolous one)this is now an act of God! So it is no longer an act of man causing the separation,but rather an act of God! Thus divorce becomes a practical option-one that is recognized in every other tradition besides Catholicism.
Notice here,that we are not trying to make light of divorce.It is a painful,hurtful and disruptive event on many levels including the effect on any children involved.Almost no one starts out a marriage with the intention of arriving there.However,sometimes,it is the best of a series of bad options.The fact that Jesus mentions the hard-heartedness of the people of Moses echoes clearly the modern era where hard-heartedness has become the norm.So the example of Moses granting divorce to one of the Children of Israel is all the more relevant.
There is one more important point I would like to raise here.I believe that, despite what I have said above,if someone follows the Catholic principle of not divorcing or the Jewish dress code or the Islamic one even though it is based on scriptural misinterpretation,they will nevertheless be rewarded for their intention of piety.Such is the nature of our paradoxical relationship to the Absolute.May God help us all to acquire His pleasure in all our actions!