Jan 31, 2013

The dogmatic mind :: Tariq Ramadan

There are religious and spiritual thinkers who are so acutely aware of the danger of becoming inquisitorial and totalitarian that they have always striven to emphasize the values of diversity and of listening to others, who have firmly rejected the need for coercion and respected the multiplicity of religions, paths and points of view. At the opposite extreme, we have seen rationalist, skeptical, agnostic or atheist thinkers claiming to be open-minded and then coming around to the view that the very idea of their own open-mindedness gives their status and their values a natural superiority. The cult of Reason had its moments of terrors, too. Because they confuse self-doubt with open-mindedness towards others, some rationalists and skeptics succumbed to the same temptations of exclusivism, not in terms of the universal in itself, but in terms of the one path that leads to it. That is the paradox of those who believe that there is only one way to have an open mind.

The common feature of the various attitudes that gradually lead to monopolization of the path to the universal has less to do with the object of the quest than with the disposition of the intellect that goes on it. Points of view are determined by states of mind: all these attitudes have succumbed to the dogmatic temptation that colonizes the intellect. In that sense, the dogmatic mind is not necessarily a religious or a believer’s mind, and it is quite capable of influencing very rational intellects. The characteristic feature of the dogmatic mind is its tendency to see things from one exclusive angle, and to think in terms of absolutes: the dogmatic mind thinks that it is God and passes judgement from on high and in the name of eternity, just as it thinks that it is the absolute viewpoint and the only center of what is seen and what there is to see. Exclusivity is its territory and its property, and the universal is its ideal: its truth alone is true, its reasons alone are rational, and only its doubts are certified.

The dogmatic mind displays, moreover, one further characteristic. It would be a mistake to think that it accepts the existence of only one point of view: the dogmatic mind is a binary mind. Whilst it states that its truth is the only truth – at the same time – that anything that does not partake of that truth is, at best, absolutely ‘other’ and, at worst, culpably mistaken. This simplistic state of mind can sometimes be astonishingly sophisticated; it is, to say the least, disturbing to observe. We are seeing the global birth of a binary mind that is increasingly devoid of complex ideas and nuances, easily convinced of the truths it is told again and again, colonized by perceptions and impressions that are as intellectually vague as the way it judges others is cut and dried and final.

  • collected and abridged from: The Quest for Meaning: Developing a philosophy of Pluralism by Tariq Ramadan

Jan 24, 2013

what is mawlid? by shaikh hamza yusuf


what is mawlid? by shaikh hamza yusuf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2x14RQLgB9s

Jan 19, 2013

My Plan For Reading To Learn

I didn't have idea life can be so beautiful when the computer is down! all praises due to Allah who has made a way for me as if i am 7 years back. :p

I have loads of books on the table which will take several months even if study them without any break. as per my knowledge gained from seminars, books and youtube vids on "how to read books"  it is the high time to prioritize what to read. i have collected a red pen to continue my conversation with the author.

what i have learned about HOW TO READ, there shouldn't be any pleasure reading. reading is a serious thing. the best way to gain the best from any book is to think the reading as a conversation. when any doubt is there, we need to write them on the pages.

to make reading attractive, I have made a place b eside my bed to keep books while study. a new diary (with fragrance in it) to take notes and gel-ink pen.

as I love to make plans again and again with new enthusiasm, this is my latest plan in the light of HOW TO READ BOOKS for one of the greatest enjoyment on earth with greatest responsibility -- Learning for the sake of Allah. may Allah help us to learn more and to work on them.