October 2016 Online Issue

Online

Deconstructing Authority October 2016

Editorial Note

In a land far, far away to the “East” there lies a sovereign state called Burma, with a significant number of minority ethnic Rohingya Muslims populating its Rakhine region. For more than half a century this group has been persecuted, sometimes massacred & ethnic cleansing exercised upon them; it seems the international community is satisfied to label their predicament as anything short of genocide. Perhaps it is not unusual for them not to receive proper attention on the international plane, for it is a much politicized arena with many factors conditioning what is to be or not to be discussed. What is more telling, however, is how very unfamiliar most of us as individual are of the Rohingya Muslims’ plight. We don’t know who they are, where they are or what they suffer, and if we have heard of them we rarely speak of them for they are perhaps “uninteresting to us”.

What this highlights is how we, as individuals, are also political: how we think, what we think of and what we wish to disregard is subject to assumptions, biases, and beliefs. Power relations and politics cannot be isolated from the individual and his/er identity. Do we not contemplate their situation because of geography? Too far to the East, an area too isolated from us both physically and in our imaginary? Is it because there are just too many oppressed and persecuted minorities “out there” that we normalize in our minds and our reactions the inhumane?

Is it possibly because some Muslims amongst us in the MENA region feel more closely affiliated with the Syrian crisis, or have a particular bias for Arab Muslims as opposed to non-Arab Muslims? Or is it because it has become so globally convenient to view the Muslim as the dangerous, terrorist Other, to view Islam as the religion of fear, oppression & war? Has this become the global rhetoric suiting nations, that we can no longer conceive Muslims as constituting a minority, or being oppressed? We try to answer these questions in this issue that is not so much about the principles of one religion or another, but of how we as individuals, groups or the state, interact with, interpret, and even use religion. And let this be an appeal to all, to remember the Rohingya, and perhaps and perhaps go a step further than just that.

Aseel

Crew

Copyrights

Editor in chief Aseel

Photography Head Sally El-Fishawy

English Managing Editor Roxanne Vigil

Comic Artist Mahmoud Shaltout

English Associate Managing Editor Farah Elkholy

OC & Logistics Head Mohanad El-Tantawy

English Editors Lauren K. Clark Aya Shaaban Yasmin Helmy Noha ElTawil Hady Nabil Doaa Magdy Bahira Amin Fatimah Badawy Mostafa Sadek

Fundraising Head Arsani Sinout

Disclaimer

Fundraising Head Assistant Ahmed Ismail

AUC Times is a student publication. All opinions expressed in the publication are the writers' own and do not reflect those of the magazine or the AUC administration

Copy Editors Aya Shaaban Sarah Ahmed Amal Idheileh Academic Supervisor Rami Aly

PR & Marketing head Mohamed El-Begirmy PR & Marketing Associate Jaydaa Shaalan Financial Coordinator Dunya ElMagrabi Financial Coordinator Assistant Hussam Ashraf HR Head Nour Beshir

All uncredited photography and/or artwork is either used upon permission or licenced for noncommercial use.

What’s in the Online version ?

Egyptian Minorities: The Rise of the Shi’a, and the Story of the Last-Living Egyptian Jews

Ahmed Naser Fayed

Entering the Gardens of Sufi-Rock: The Performance of Random House

Lauren Clark

The Marriage That Could: The Booming Culture of Chinese Muslims in Cairo, Egypt

Lauren Clark

Religious Censorship in the AUC

Amr Mohamed Helmy

Allah vs. The Muslim Inquisition

Amina Abdel-Halim

From Capitalism With Love

Mariam El Ashmawi

The Scientist, The Economist, The Existentialist

Malak Afifi

The Savvy Diplomacy of Pope Francis

Roxanne Vigil

What it means to be Halal

Merna Ahmed

What Does It Mean To Be Born Into A Religion

Mariam Salem

It’s Gonna’ Be the Women!

Lauren Clark

Can we compare modern day Islamophobia with pre-WW2 Anti-Semitism?

Dalia Abushady

Trapped in the Liberty Land

Yasmin Helmy

Egyptian Minorities: The Rise of the Shia and the Story of the Last-Living Egyptian Jew Maimonides Synagogue, photo captured in 2013 by the CNN

Ahmed Nasser Fayed

The Shia population in Egypt varies between 800,000 and 2 million!

reconcile Shia and Sunni ideologies. Sheikh Mahmood Shaltoot, head of Al-Azhar University in 1959, issued a fatwa recognizing the legitimacy of the Jafari School of Law where most Shias belong.

Authorities say Egyptian Shias currently encounter many challenges living and declaring their conviction freely in a nation that spent a significant part of its history under Shia rule.

In spite of these numbers, Shia remain more likely to suffer severe defamation, and especially recently. On May 18th of this year, Taher al-Hashimy, a Shia cleric, was arrested when State Security raided his apartment in Dokki and confiscated books and other items. Prosecutors accused Hashimy of running a covert organization, printing books about Shia Islam without permission, violating the principles of AlAzhar and breaching intellectual property law. Cases like this are not uncommon. According to a 2014 EIPR report, between the beginning of the 2011 revolution and the end of 2012, Egypt witnessed either civil or judicial proceedings against 10 Shia Muslims (a total of 27 percent of the total Muslims accused) in religious defamation cases. Another six defendants were accused of propagating Shia thought, despite saying they were Sunni Muslims, with 26 Coptic Christians also involved in cases during the same period.

Osama Hammad, professor of Islamic history at Alexandria University, clarified in a previous television interview that Egypt was a Shia country while it was controlled by the Shia Fatimid caliphate, opposing the Sunni Abbasid caliphs in Baghdad in retrospect.

“Many historians are yet undecided about whether or not the general public adopted Shi’ism during the Fatimid rule. Some claim it was only the ruling class that was Shia, but no one can deny the fact that much of what we call Egyptian customs can be traced back indeed to the Fatimid era,” he said.

It is hard to miss the Fatimid legacy that is apparent on the streets of Cairo. Moreover, many of this era’s traditions are still practiced. Shia practices such as celebrating Al-Mawlid Al-Nabawy (the Prophet’s birthday), Ashura (commemoration of Al-Hussein’s death), using lanterns during Ramadan, and even the making of ka7k el3eid “the Eid cookies” is a practice of theirs that remains common among Egyptians today.

However, present-day Egypt regards itself as a Sunni country, with no accurate statistics on the number of Shias in Egypt.

Efforts by Al-Azhar to bridge the gap between the various schools of thought have done little to

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The story doesn’t end there. Among the other minorities that still struggle in Egypt is the Jewish community, especially following their grand exodus after the tripartite attack of 1956. Believe it or not, there are ONLY 12 EGYPTIAN JEWS left, AND THEY reside in DOWNTOWN CAIRO!

Maimonides Synagogue, photo captured in 2013 by the CNN

From biblical slavery, to prosperity, to expulsion in the 1950’s, the Egyptian Jews have survived throughout a vivid and iconic history, unparalleled by

their fate in any other nation.

Jewish intervention in Egypt peaked quite early in history, especially in the centuries succeeding the invasion of Alexander the Great in the fourth century BCE. Combined cultural influences between the Jews and Greeks led to the development of a Hellenistic Judaism, until the Jews later became integrated into Egyptian society and created their own Arab-Jewish culture.

The Egyptian Jews pursued and excelled in fine arts, philosophy and literature that included Hellenistic culture and religious virtues, along with the construction of many synagogues and temples.

From the early twentieth century until the expulsion of the Jews in 1956, thousands had their possessions confiscated and thousands more were arrested. Between November 1956 and September 1957, 21,000 Jews were expelled from Egypt, and by 1960, only 8500 remained. By the end of the Six-Day War in 1967, only 800 Jews were left in Egypt, and in 1980 less than 300 were known to exist in the country which had been home to generations of Jews for over thirty-two centuries.

Magda Haroun, photo captured by unknown in 2014

“We are dying, we are drowning, we are finished,” The Jewish community head, Magda Haroun told the BBC in an interview broadcast on September 18, 2014. Haroun told the BBC that her “first duty is to take care of the human beings,” meaning the remaining Jews and “the old ladies which have no family, are alone.”

It was also made apparent in the interview that Magda didn’t affiliate herself with the so-called state of Israel, or Zionism in general. “When Netanyahu stood before the kosher supermarket that was attacked last year [Charlie Hebdo attacks] and called on French Jews to move to Israel, I thought to myself, ‘what a criminal!’

A French Jew is French first then Jewish; an Egyptian Jew is Egyptian first then Jewish!” she said passionately.

“We might as well establish a country for Muslims and another for Christians and so on,” she added with characteristic Jewish sarcasm. “Israel was established in the 20th century, it didn’t make sense for a country to be founded on racial/religious grounds then and it still doesn’t make sense now,” she objected.

Source: shiarightswatch.org

Magda still carries herself with the same hope and compassion that have sustained her over the years.

“The Holocaust and the events of World War II were heinous, but they don’t justify the misappropriation of Palestinian lands,” she said. “Israel is a reality now, that is why Palestinians and Israelis have to reach an equitable two-state solution based on 1967 borders.”

Easier said than done? Maybe, but what other choice do we have than to cherish the past legacy and carry it into the future as a memory of a people who were once a part of our country?

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Ente ri ng t he Ga rde ns of Suf i-Roc k: T h e P e r fo r m a n c e o f Ra ndom House La ure n K. Cla rk

The sound, rhythm, existence, and grace of this thing called music is a passionate cacophony of soul work; moving the body into a heavenly trance, where the only thing that matters is love. And this delight in sensing an ecstasy of freedom through a collection of notes, timbre, and tonality is a connection to the spiritual; beings grasped by the heaven’s in their recognition in this thing called. . .music!

Photography: Laila Sherif

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So is the tale of Sufi-Rock! From the River of Jordan, they came to be. Bridging two worlds together, the stories of two cultures are told. Rock! Rock n’ Roll! This musical genre of the Black American/ African-American garden! From Sister Rosetta Tharpe, (quoted as being the “Mother of Rock n’ Roll”) Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix, Tina Turner, and others, the story of the Black American garden becomes a popular elixir in the international domain of music. A peculiar garden, indeed! Then, came another mystique! Another landscape, where African spirituality was brought into the existence of Islam.

An understanding that God could be experienced. A secret. . .a great secret.

Lauren K. Clark: When did you all first start off, officially as a band? What year? Do you remember the moment? Do you remember meeting these gentlemen and deciding, this is my core musician group. These are the chosen ones for what I want to do with this.

Qais Raja: Ok. Well, when I came back from the United States in 2012, Ahmed and Seif. They’re like old friends of mine. We all live in the same area.

Ahmed introduced me to Faris. We used to go to University together. And then we jammed one day.

And we found the chemistry-the wanted chemistry.

Then we decided to do the band.

On September 24, 2016 at 8:30pm, the performance of Random House, the ritual of Sufi and the story of magic has come to portray an endearing bond between the so-called “West,” the so-called “Middle East,” and Africa.

Lauren K. Clark: What was that chemistry, if you can describe a little more? I mean if we can go a little deep and dig further. I mean the feeling, the emotion. I mean was it just your passion for this music? Was it where you were at the point of your lives, in your journey? If

That night, cultural stories were portrayed. you could elaborate that a little more.

One Black American/African-American maiden and Egyptian-Arab maidens were there to witness Qais Raja: Well, each musician has a certain performances of their Gardens. Elements of the color. When these colors emerge, either they’ll African maiden were vigilant. be in harmony together, or not. We play together.

Everyone knew how to do his thing in the right time,

Prior into the day, another realm of storytelling right parts. With a best touch. So we found that had come into being. Traditional terminology identify when we came together. . .and just. . .it’s like intuition it as an interview. However, better terms would kind of. So, yeah. After that, we decided. solidify it as an enchantment; a meeting between spiritual representations and beings from 2 of the 3 cultures that were to be performed that night. A meeting with the cultural maiden of Rock n’ Roll was Lauren K. Clark: Was there any particular artist, Big to take place.

Mama Thorton, Jimi Hendrix that made you think, “O.K., I can relate to this because I’m dealing with this Interviewer: I’m first going to ask you the question. . where I’m from? .tell me your story. How did you start off? What was your journey in creating the band, in getting involved Qais Raja: Well, of course in modern American music with the music you play-Sufi Rock. Tell me your journey. history, African-American people, they really made the bass for people like Miles Davis and Ray Charles, Qais Raja: I started playing music when I was pretty and people who created the blues and turned into young. Like in seventh grade. I started writing music Rock. Jimi Hendrix was a master at his time. You can in high school. High school’s pretty hard in Jordan. really feel they pushed the boundaries; especially in You really need to pass tests, so you can go to college. jazz when they got out of the kind of classical music . . So, I used to have my space in writing music. Then forms for writing and musicians. . .And they went out I went to the States. I studied Recording Arts and of the box and created like a new different sound.

Music Production in New Jersey. At a college called I’ve heard Miles Davis didn’t used to call it jazz. He the CCM-County College of Morris. I stayed there used to call it. . .I think the public sound. for 2 years and a half and I came back to Jordan.

When I came back to Jordan, I started the band.

Lauren K. Clark: Could you tell me the other names of your band members, and their instruments, and their particular expertise?

Qais Raja: Feras Arrabi. He’s the lead guitarist. And Ahmad Alhaj. He’s the bass player. AndSeif Abo Hamdan is the drummer.

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Lauren K. Clark: How do you relate with the Sufi mysticism, and its magic, and its spiritual awakening, and all the other good stuff that comes with just that word?

Qais Raja: So, back in the day, I didn’t know what the word Sufi means. I’ve heard about it like from people, but I spend like a lot of time, back in the day, having this kind of silent meditation. I stayed for like approximately two years. I barely like spoke words. When you’re silent, your tongue or mouth is silent. . .And I discovered that my family has a long

history of Sufism; especially, from my mother’s side. So, yeah, it came in, I think naturally.

Lauren K. Clark: What direction is Random House looking to go to?

What is your vision for the future?

What is your vision for how you want to take your music? And where would you like to take your music?

Qais Raja: We hope that Random House can show that the ethnic, Middle Eastern sound can be renewed into a modern sound that can fit into the 21st century.

Lauren K. Clark: Who would you say artistry-wise, does your band look up to? Before you’re about to hit that stage, and you’re trying to get pumped up or when you’re on the road and you’re traveling, what pictures or images of people of other artists have come into your head that gives you the inspiration to do what you want to do. Or have you even thought about that?

Qais Raja: Not really. But as a Sufi myself, I believe that what I’m doing, and what we are doing is part of a path. When you’re on stage, especially in front of a huge crowd, you think “Ok. This is an obstacle.

And you need to endure it at the same time.” You have to comfort yourself so that you can do the best.

The road of possibilities continues to grow for Random House. With their spirituality and aesthetic in play, the house of Random is truly magical. And with their rocks in hand, more are sure to hear about their time in future gardens to come!

Photography: Laila Sherif

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The Marriage That Could: The Booming Culture of Chinese Muslims in Cairo, Egypt Lauren K. Clark

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The world of Chinese culture is a diverse range of color, magic, philosophy, food, and language; surpassing its own connection to time. From Buddhism to Confucianism, Chinese people and their culture have merged nature with their own understanding of human existence. Their knowledge and spiritual traditions have been embraced and practiced in nations of the Western world. Yet, there is another arena of Chinese culture and history. That is the population of Chinese Muslim communities.

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In China, there are two communities of the Muslim Faith: the Hui and the Uyghurs. According to the Book of the Old Tang Dynasty (and other Chinese records), from 651-798 A.D., Arab and Persian traders came to China in pursuit of business relations. Many of the Arab and Persian businessmen traveled from the Xinjiang area, through what is known as the Silk Road; eventually ending in areas as Xi’an and Luoyang.

Many of these merchants lived in the capital, Chang’an and cities along the coast. Eventually, areas such as Yangzhou, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Kaifeng, Luoyang, and Quanzhou became places of settlement for Arab and Persian communities. Intermarriage, while building their own mosques and tombs, resulted in China’s first population of Chinese Muslims. Staying in their own communities, their practices did not interfere with Chinese culture and its economic system. Islam spread heavily during the Yuan and Ming dynasties.

within this context, Islam is not presented as a threat, with the intention of overthrowing the leadership and imposing Islam on the masses.

There are approximately more than 10,000 Chinese people in Cairo. Chinese Muslim communities add to the beautiful coloring of the Cairo cityscapes.

The majority of Chinese Muslims live in Abbasiya or in Nasr City, next to Al-Azhar University. Located in Abbasiya are four, Chinese Muslim restaurants. These restaurants are owned and operated by the Hui, Chinese, Muslim community. The most costly of the four restaurants is located on Fardus Street. There is an Uighur restaurant, located on Moussa Ibn Nasser Street in Nassir City. Hence, the beauty and artistry of Chinese Muslim cuisine and culinary lays awaiting, as one of many cultural beauties in Cairo.

As the strengthening of Egyptian and Chinese relations unfolds, one of the biggest interests lays in how the Hui may serve as a pivotal tool in strengthening the two nations. Though it is true that the majority of Chinese come to Egypt with the intention of business, is it possible that the artistry of the Chinese Hui is one example of how Muslim communities synchronize within non-Muslim countries? The marriage and merging of their religious and cultural traditions, where one validates the other. And how does this mirage serve to contribute to the war against extremism and terrorism? One is likely to view an intriguing dynamic with this particular community, who showcases that acceptance of the Islamic faith does not mean a

Recent speculation on the rights of Chinese rejection of one’s heritage or systems, which validates Muslims in China have come under question. During the (and equates) their own cultural existence. Hui people 1960’s and 1970’s, Chinese Muslims in Ningxia faced serve as an example as to how Islam did not travel as a hardships during the Cultural Revolution under Mao means of conquest, superiority, or hierarchy. This greatly Zedong. Simultaneously, in the Hui region, there are differs from other communities (West and North over 400 mosques. These mosques created over 7,000 African countries) and the historical significance in the imams (or what is known as ahongs for this Chinese spread of Islam (and Christianity)-where traditional, community). Yet, there are Muslim communities, still African spiritual practices were deemed as irrelevant, thriving in China. One group is the Hui community. In “savage,” or animalistic; thereby creating a hierarchy Linxia (located in the province of Gansu), the traditions in which those adopting the Christian or Islamic faiths of Sufism is a vigilant culture. The Hui community is were positioned as more “civilized,” than those who considered to represent half of the Chinese Muslim practiced African, spiritual traditions. Such also brought community. Also, they have been granted freedom to in the racial hierarchy, which is very prevalent in Muslim practice their Islamic faith in China. In addition, their communities-regardless of those Quranic verses often relationship with Arab/Muslim nations has greatly pointed out as a reference for equality in Islam. improved the area’s economy.

The beauty of the Chinese Hiu community, both

Simultaneously, the Uighur, Muslim community their presence in China and Egypt serves to remain as has not received the same treatment as their Hui a peculiar color in this art piece, called Islam. The Hiu counterparts. Much of this stems from the presence community nourishes a beautiful aesthetic between of extremists in this particular community, who want two nations. Truly embodying the meaning of cultural to separate from the Chinese government. Language ambassadorship. It is one pattern, that is weaved into difference is a factor, as well. For example, the Uighurs the fabric of Islam. speak with a Turkic dialect, and continue to write in Arabic. On the contrary the Hui speak Mandarin.

This linguistic paradigm remains highly significant in acceptance of Muslim communities by the nation-state, as knowing Mandarin and Chinese culinary proves that one’s Muslim identity does not jeopardize one’s Chinese heritage and culture. By celebrating Chinese identity, the Hui community reinforces that they are part of China; a unique color of Chinese culture. Therefore,

As to date, there are approximately 23 million Chinese Muslims. One of the beautiful aspects of the Chinese Muslim community has been their role in diplomatic relations with Arab and Islamic nations.

For Egypt the Chinese government provided scholastic sponsorship for Chinese Muslim students to study at Al-Azhar University during the 1930’s. However, such sponsorship came to an end during the Chinese Revolution in 1949, with the takeover of the Communist Party. Currently, Chinese Muslim students studying at Al-Azhar University are without government sponsorship.

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Religious Censorship in the AUC Amr Mohamed Helmy

Being in a religiously conservative country, it’s fair to ask whether some of the negative aspects of the society might influence the degree of free expression in the AUC. Fear of being singled out because of having an opinion that might not be shared by the professor, especially for religious reasons, is not uncommon. Since religious censorship has been overwhelming most of the Egyptian scene, the question becomes to what extent does that reflect on the academic scene in the AUC?

A number of students were chosen at random to be interviewed on the topic in order to investigate the matter and figure out if religious censorship at AUC is real or not. There is nothing in the by-laws or regulations of the university that directly prevents expressing thoughts or opinions based on religion, or any other topic for that matter. In fact, in a liberal arts educational system, critical thinking is encouraged even in religion-related topics. So why is it that some students report several incidents of being treated differently, or academically unfair, due to certain religious notions that they’ve held?

Despite the lack of censorship laws, a few number of students believed that there are some by-laws governing the extent to which a student can talk about religion in the classroom.

Moreover, an overwhelming majority of the students believed that professors rarely oppose or limit the students’ expressions in religionrelated topics. Instead, most students believed that there was a social factor at play.

When asked whether the students were worried about stating their opinion fearing judgement, most of them stated it was being practical rather than fearful. “I didn’t state my opinion because I was afraid, I was being pragmatic,” said one Economics student.

Many admitted that it is the students, rather than instructors, who cause a social barrier that prevents other students from expressing a religious opinion that might be controversial in nature.

According to respondents, a student would regularly be met with criticism from fellow students who might not share the same standpoint. However, an MMJ senior mentioned, “It’s not just criticism, it can be more sometimes.” Some students have been personally attacked or bullied, especially on social media, for certain beliefs they have held and expressed. Nonetheless, this rarely happens in academic settings.

In light of these responses, it’s apparent that the consensus on the AUC campus is that there is no actual religious censorship in the AUC as an institution. Nevertheless, it is undisputed that there are social factors that inhibit the students’ opinions. This results in self-censorship where the students choose to restrict their own thoughts to avoid indirect consequences such as judgment and discrimination.

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Allah vs. The Muslim Inquisition

Amina Abdel-Halim

The ideological shift in Europe could originally be attributed to the misuse of religion by those in power, rather than to religion itself.

Could that same shift occur in the Middle East?

Faced with the threat of torture and excommunication, Galileo caves into the Roman Catholic Inquisition’s demands, and renounces his blasphemous, unorthodox teachings. The Earth may never revolve around the sun. The Church may never allow such heresy.

“Mr Galilei, tonight the Holy Office decided that the doctrine of Copernicus, according to which the sun is motionless and at the centre of the cosmos, while the earth moves and is not at the centre of the cosmos, is foolish, absurd, heretical and contrary to our faith.”

- Life of Galileo, Brecht, scene VII

More than an ode to freedom of expression, Bertolt Brecht’s 1938 play Life of Galileo serves as a reminder of the horrors of obscurantism in the Middle Ages and the tremendous ideological shift that Europe has witnessed over the centuries.

During the Renaissance, religious ideology began to stray from the dogmatic teachings of the former era. Philosophers such as Blaise Pascal and René Descartes attempted to rationalize their religious beliefs and logically argue for the existence of God. Francis Bacon wrote about religion and science, and the complementary, rather than adversary, relationship between them. The wrongdoings of the Church were further denounced during the Age of Enlightenment with Voltaire using his philosophical tale Candide to speak against the atrocities committed by the Inquisition and colonialists in the name of God. The shift reached its critical point during the nineteenth century with the emergence of several ideological movements not only opposing religious institutions, but religious belief as a whole. Nihilist philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche speaks of the metaphorical Death of God who is no longer a

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credible source for the establishment of absolute moral values.

The subplot in Chuck Palahniuk’s novel Fight Club, is charismatic leader Tyler Durden leading blue collar workers to rebel against the oppression of the ruling class by rejecting mass consumption and rising against the tyranny of greedy corporations. If this sounds familiar it is because Tyler’s speeches are filled with communist ideology. A notable point is his refusal to let God act as a relief from the harsh reality of capitalism; “You have to consider the possibility that God does not like you. He never wanted you. In all probability, He hates you.”

Prominent philosopher and co-author of The Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx lived and worked in the 1800s and witnessed the Industrial Revolution, a period of transition from hand production methods to the development of machines and rise of factories.

While the transition is often seen as a successful step towards a global economy, its central characteristics were the horrible living conditions of factory workers.

Child labor was at an all-time high, with factories harboring thousands of Oliver Twists and David Copperfields.

At a time when religion was still well and alive in the hearts of many, Marx wrote against the “opiate of the masses” and “the sigh of the oppressed creature.”

To be religious is to believe that one’s condition is determined by God’s will, and to question God’s will is to blaspheme. Religion, he claimed, is the illusory happiness of the people; a metaphorical substance used to prevent rebellion among the proletariat, indoctrinating them with the belief that their misery was chosen by divine rule.

God may have long ceased to be in the Old Continent, but His agony lives on in other regions of the world.

The story as told in Islamic literature is the following: to prove Job’s loyalty, God allowed Satan to deprive the Prophet of his wealth and children and leave him trembling with sorrow and illness. Despite this terrible affliction, the faithful man never ceased to believe, and still thanked God for his blessings. This tale is one of faith and acceptance, two values widely preached in Middle-Eastern societies.

One example is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, an Islamic theocracy where the Sharia serves as the supposed base for the constitution. Religion and power are intertwined in various aspects of Saudi citizens’ lives; the Saudi King’s full title is Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, rendering the nature of his power much more than just political. Islam is an essential component of national identity and the public practice of any non-muslim religion is punishable by law. The Islamic religious police, or Mutawwa’in, serve to prevent any deviation from Wahhabi tradition, and enforce numerous restrictions such as strict segregation between the sexes, the prohibition of alcohol and the ban on women driving. The country was ranked the sixth lowest on the CIRI’s annual rating of government respect for human rights. Despite short-lived uprisings during the Arab Spring, few concessions were given, and the regime remains in place.

of corruption, ignorance, and discrimination plaguing his country. Initially saddened by the decline of his homeland, the young man is taught by his surrogate family to always thank God for his numerous blessings and accept things as they are. In one character’s words, Egyptians follow “the concept of elhamdulillah.”

The Prophet turned his tearful gaze to the heavens, hoping to be saved by the same blessful hand which allowed his suffering. Job’s illness and the deaths of his children were all in the hands of divine forces, all far beyond his control. Social injustice, poverty and discrimination are the work of man. To blame God for the product of human tyranny and greed is to blaspheme. f.

Religion itself is not to be blamed for the Death of God. It is rather the work of the numerous distortions faith has known at the hand of tyrants. Could those same hands be plotting a murder in the Middle East?

The notion of reda (acceptance) is still barring Egypt’s fragile, unstable route to recovery. To the question of extreme poverty and severe income disparities, the answer is often “God created men unequal” or more accurately, “stratified.”

Classism and poverty, unbeknownst to mankind, are working in favor of some divine ploy, a superior form of justice beyond our comprehension.

The poor man is thus silenced in the name of religion: why strive toward more than what was bestowed upon you? Rizk (wealth) is the gift of God. The poor man is greedy. The poor man should be thankful. The poor man should thank God that he is not starving, dying, or dead.

The romanticization of struggle and poverty bleeds into popular culture. A fairly recent example is Khaled Mariie’s film, Assal Eswed (Black Honey), in which Masry (Ahmed Helmy) returns to Egypt after having spent most of his life abroad, and is shocked to discover the state

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From Capitalism With Love Mariam El Ashmawi

In the last few years, our modernized lifestyle has had an increasing influence on our religious celebrations. It seems that we have traded the old, traditional celebrations of Ramadan and Christmas for our fast-paced, consumer-driven modernity. With this shift, our religious celebrations somehow deviated from their initial teachings of self-control, austerity, and the assisting of others, towards a rush for commercialism and lustful consumerism. And so the question arises: has capitalism hijacked religion?

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From sunrise to sunset Muslims fast during the month of Ramadan, forsaking worldly matters and consigning themselves to a month of constant worship through prayer and reading the Holy Quran.

Nonetheless, the mention of Ramadan nowadays brings forth an image of extravagance; the media heralds bargain deals in market sales, supermarkets overflow with busy shoppers all through the 30 days of fasting, and new malls and hangout spots are erected for a busy night life. The capitalist reality that we’re living in has distorted the spirituality of Ramadan, increasing the need to shop excessively to get all the “supplies” for Iftaar, and has brought forth the capitalist soul to invade the spiritual ritual of breaking the fast. The air during the famous 3ozomat (gatherings) amongst friends and family is filled with a series of questions that show how materialistically driven we’ve become; “How many dishes are you making?”, or ‘Which new Konafa did you try yet?’, and “Where are you planning to travel to this Eid? Sokhna or Sahel?”

that those with enough money to keep up with the skyrocketing prices are the only blessed ones in this month. Alternatively, the lower classes suffer when the prices of the basic necessities inflate, due to the massive consumption created by the upper-middle class shoppers, leaving the lower classes in even more despair than when Ramadan started. It appears to be that in both cases of Ramadan and Christmas, those with enough capital get to rejoice in the luxuries of the feasts and the frenzied material exchanges, while the lower-income masses suffer. Thus accordingly, the spirit of religion in the holidays simply becomes an afterthought.

Ramadan isn’t the only religious celebration that capitalism has hijacked, Christmas isn’t exempted from the increased culture of consumerism. The Christian tale of Jesus’ birth entails a story of humble origins; where Jesus was born in a small barn and continued to live the rest of his life with little to almost no wealth nor worldly acquisitions. He also preached and warned against materialism which, if we fast forward to our time a few thousand years later, we can see has occupied the very fabric of our lives. The capitalist culture had shifted the celebration from the spirituality of the birth of Jesus to a merry-go-round of gift exchanges and mass consumption. The catalyst for this material exchange can be found during the Christmas shopping week, which starts on the next day after Thanksgiving; the infamous Black Friday. This is a day where, we can safely say, capitalism flourishes. Increased competition erupts between stores and brands in advertising their holiday discounts a week before the actual shopping season starts, luring in mass shoppers. A wave of price tags sweeps the minds of those celebrating the holidays, and the essence of celebration is transformed into how expensive and extravagant of a gift you can buy to express your love for those you care about during Christmas.

In order to gain maximum profits, many merchants and shop-owners plan in advance for the religious celebrations’ shopping season due to belief that consumption during those seasons accounts for a large sum of their annual revenue. Furthermore, a quarter of all personal spending by shoppers has been documented to have taken place during Christmas shopping season alone; this clearly shows how a large sector of the economy depends on this extravagant spending. A further claim is that the shopping season lifts employment whereby many merchants and business owners, who previously experienced a stagnant situation with their products, suddenly find an open opportunity to enter the frenzied market and increase their revenue, allowing for economic growth.

However, in reality, markets and businesses are morally and spiritually neutral during the religious celebrations; be it Ramadan or Christmas, their main goal is to produce more in order to meet demand and keep shoppers consuming. The religious celebrations offer something akin to a market opportunity for the merchants, stores, and restaurants to reap profits as consumerism is at its peak during the shopping season.

The demand for more increases, thus boosting prices; which would normally make people second guess their shopping habits, but it seems to only push them even more to get what’s missing from their shopping lists.

But these inefficient purchases are carefully constructed by markets which plan ahead for religious celebrations, bearing in mind that personal spending will take place. Therefore, producing whatever the masses want becomes essential. The boost in market activity during this time frame certainly benefits the economy in reaping revenues and profits.

This surge in prices might not affect the shopping process but it sways a certain lower social class. Take Ramadan for instance; a month for austerity and sensitivity towards the poor. However, it seems

Although it is evident that the spirituality of the religious celebrations has been ruined by capitalism and excessive consumerism, nevertheless, we need to consider how in reality it affects the whole economy.

Could this excessive commercialism actually rejuvenate the economy?

Nonetheless, some economists find that this aimless, feverish spending creates a deadweight loss in the economy or, in other words, a waste. That instead of buying countless merchandise, such as expensive, unwanted christmas gifts, or extra food for iftar, just for the sake of purchasing, one can actually pump this money into the economy in various ways without the inefficiency of purchasing merchandise that wont be utilized.

The spirit of religion in Ramadan and Christmas is barely recognizable anymore. And this hijacking by capitalism will continue so long as we consent to it.

But the dilemma we’re faced with here is whether we really want spirituality to return when the workings of capitalism are so favorable to the consumer and the economy.

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Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx, Soren Kierkegaard

The Scientist, The Economist, The Existentialist:

Reflections of Philosophy on Religion

Malak Afifi

With the concept of religion under scrutiny, it becomes too difficult for one to avert from philosophers’ eternal question: why? In this case, why religion? In order to answer this question as fairly as possible it seems only sensible that we first ask ourselves what is religion? It is fundamentally a set of beliefs or a system of worshipping the ‘divine’ implemented through, or commonly associated with, rituals and ‘sacred’ writings. But does this suffice our purpose? For how can it be that religions have varied just as much as human communities do?

Can it be argued that religion and culture are inseparable? That all religions, as functionalist philosophers like Emile Durkheim suggested, are social constructs? For Durkheim, religion is the most fundamental social institution through which human communities impose their sense of identity, defining themselves and the world around them, as well as being an established constitution by which they discern right from wrong. As such, Durkheim argues that despite the vast diversity of faiths, all religions are bound together by one concept: the two realms, namely ‘the sacred’ and ‘the profane’, between which humans are destined to strive for eminence: ascending to the former while looking down upon the latter. Such concepts are then constantly adapted to each culture, manifesting themselves in each community’s traditions, rituals, day-to-day routines and mutual habits.

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So religion, in a sense, is power - given the effect it has on people. But power to whom and over whom? Assuming, once again, that religion is a founded institution rather than one ordained by the divine, religion can be a state’s power over its people, or as Karl Marx puts it: “religion is the opium of the masses.” For one, according to Marx, religion renders a magnificent distraction from the injustice and turmoils of the dayto-day life through the notions of a luxurious afterlife, especially for those who suffer most in this life. But Marx’s definition is exceptionally broader than that. For him, religion always justifies the economic system by which a nation is governed. As such, during medieval times Catholicism was at its peak and the prevalent economic system then was the feudal system, both constituting a hierarchical form of keeping things in order with the top tier of the former occupied by the pope, followed by the cardinals, and below them the

archbishops...etc., with the same application to the feudal system but in terms of ownership whereby the king is the uppermost authority. Such a pattern was reinforced by the fact that almost simultaneously as the Protestant Reformation was taking place, procapitalistic approaches to the economy were beginning to form, both holding in high regard individualism and independence.

“Religion is the opium of the masses.”

An affirmation of Marx’s stance towards religion can be demonstrated through the Safavid Dynasty that ruled Persia from the 16th to the 18th century. The dynasty, that has commenced only as the “Safavid Brotherhood,” a religious group that preached a Sufi Shi’ite order, has the predominance of Shi’ism in modern Persia (Iran) attributed to it. Upon seizing power, the Safavid rulers converted the whole of Persia to Shi’ism by declaring it the official religion of the state and advocating it through groups of Shi’ite elites who were ultimately under the control of the ‘shah.’ In doing so, they begun the process persecuting anyone who pursued different creeds such as Sunni Muslims, Shi’ites with different views and even Sufists to whom they owed their origins. Economically, a class of wealthy religious aristocrats, who were essentially loyal to the state, was created by the government through grants of land and money. It is thus evident that the Safavids who had primarily set themselves to promote the Shi’ite legacy, had Shi’ism promote and affirm their authority; religion was no more a virtue than it was a label, or a title by which an autocratic empire’s policies were orchestrated. The Safavids, however, have not brought about uncommon expedients. Preceding the Safavids were the Crusaders who, in the name of religion, waged imperialist wars, as well as King Henry VIII of England who, following his breaking away from the Roman Catholic Church, proclaimed himself Head of Church, hence legalizing his divorces and marriages.

It can be argued, nonetheless, that these instances were not evidence of religion being an illusion, or a political invention, but a truth that has been manipulated and reduced to no more than an instrument serving the aims of the authority in power.

“Religion is the most fundamental social institution through which human communities impose their sense of identity”

despite his religiousness, loathed the church and its practices, maintains that following a dogma, practicing its rituals and regurgitating verses from the holy book -in his case, the Bible- doesn’t make one religious, and perhaps didn’t render one a person with a religion in the first place. Religion is purely one’s conscious choice for oneself. In fact, Kierkegaard is famously known for coining the term ‘leap of faith,’ despite the various interpretations of this statement, which is not an uncommon phenomenon with this relatively ‘ambiguous’ philosopher. For the sake of this article, we’ll tackle one common understanding of what he meant. That is, for Kierkegaard, religiousness is a matter of independence, like any other decision, that one makes solely out of their own conviction, which implies one taking full responsibility for making this choice that is not to be attributed to any other entity, namely the church or society. Therefore, according to Kierkegaard, one can only have a religion when one perfectly knows, comprehends, and concurs with this religion and its incorporated values. Morality, thus, is an intellectual course rather than one of yielding to a higher authority, or to societal predilections. In light of what has been said, it shall be virtually impossible for religion to be a political construct used to control people, for, as Kierkegaard believes, passive and submissive followers of religions are no religion’s followers. Does this imply that religion is separable from culture? That the culture can form itself in ways alien to religious doctrines? Based on Kierkegaard’s theses, yes, this is the case. In effect, whereas a community works to cohere all people with certain common characteristics together collectively abiding to an authority, religion and its sacred book is a personal guideline and where our relationship with the highest form of authority, namely God, is a private one.

“Religion is purely one’s conscious choice for oneself”

In essence, and notwithstanding all the different approaches and interpretations to the subject of religion, all philosophers throughout history and across oceans have one common plea: think! Take nothing for granted; for that shall be the quest of all humanity. For there is no one objective true definition, or reflection on ‘religion,’ but one certainty prevails: to have a reflection on such phenomenon to begin with is an inevitable necessity.

Assenting to the latter argument, as well as standing at the other side of the spectrum from Marx, was the Danish philosopher and father of Existentialism “Soren Kierkegaard.” Kierkegaard, who,

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The Savvy Diplomacy of Pope Francis Roxanne Brook Vigil Instagram and Twitter! Yes, Pope Francis is very active on social media. You can refer to him as @Franciscus on Instagram and @Pontifex on Twitter.

S o u r ce : Fl i c k r, E M P p h oto s

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With 3.2 million followers on Instagram, and 9.84 million on Twitter, the world witnesses as the Pope spreads a message that only the Pope has the capacity to project, as he conducts his daily business in Vatican City with each new post.

His Instagram showcases his weekly Sunday speeches given from his humble room in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City, images of his Holiness praying, visiting hospitals of the sick and disabled, showing mercy and praise to citizens from around the world and commemorating the life of recently departed Shimon Peres of Israel. All posts are further captioned in English, Italian, French, Spanish and German so that everyone can feel a connection to Franciscus.

By posting in many languages and having eight Twitter accounts dedicated to specific languages that include: Arabic, French, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, German, English and even Latin, he conducts a form of diplomacy that is inclusive of all people. And to top it off, his social media presence makes the Pope appear more than the Holiest of holies. It shows that he is relatable, human, and a celebrity of rock star status.

Yes! He is that cool.

In an atmosphere of division, fear and destruction, the Pope’s hip celebrity status is one that makes the world a better place because he is able to relate to everyone. He holds authority, and his words matter and affects everyone who listen. He is making a positive influence in the world stage because he, not only catches the attention of world leaders, but they also respect and obey his authority. Through his influence, he has had an impact on the United States’ relations with Cuba, aided the migration of Syrian Refugees to Rome, and warned journalists of their responsibility in the current atmosphere of Islamophobia. These actions have all been presented in a way that brings the world together and reconciles their differences and poignant distrust of one another.

While relations between Cuba and US had been non existent since the time of the Cold War, Pope Francis facilitated discussion between the two countries by writing letters of invitation to both President Obama and President Raul Castro. His approach to include everyone as his friends and to avoid discrimination of a people, helped Cuba and the US release their hostages from Cuba’s holding of Alan Gross, to the US holding of three remaining Cubans belonging to the Patriotic Union of Cuba, Enrique Figuerola Miranda, and 19 year old twin brothers, Diango Vargas Martin and Bianco Vargas Martin. His role as the mediator helped further catalyze the process for both Cuba and the US to reconcile their perceived differences that eventually progressed into an uncanny event, the reopening the the US embassy in Cuba on July 20, 2015 with an official ceremony led by Secretary of State John Kerry.

Fast forward to May 25 2016, amidst the unprecedented influx of Syrian migrants to Europe

and other regions of the world, Pope Francis has taken another initiative to be more inclusive as a human race.

He made headlines after rescuing twelve Syrian refugees from the Greek detention center held in Lesbos; a center to hold incoming migrants to Europe. Instead of watching as the bureaucracy of Greece extended the process of entry, the Pope made the decision to fly the twelve refugees on his private plane from Greece to Rome where they were housed in Rome’s Trastevere.

In his latest headline, he called out journalists as holding a responsibility to its people. “Journalism cannot become a ‘weapon of destruction’ against persons and even entire peoples...neither must it nourish fear in front of changes or phenomena such as migration forced by war or by hunger.” In a global atmosphere where the US elections take a turn for the more absurd and illogical, and France deals with the banning of the burkini on its public beaches, or major shootings and bombings occur in public places around the world, journalists’ role in society becomes ever more important with their ability to influence public discussion and perception. Instead of promoting ideology and fostering division, fear and distrust through sensationalization of the news, Pope Francis has called out journalists to be apart of the narrative that is more inclusive rather than exclusive.

Through his empathy for people of all ethnicities, nations, religions and cultures, the Pope has created a needed power that counters the Islamophobic, xenophobic and racist border control and territorial mentality that most of the world is witnessing through their computer screens, social media accounts, and daily experiences. His social media presence is influential, not only because it shows the Pope as a tech savvy spiritual leader, but because there is so much false information that is scattered over the Internet that is more propagandic in nature resulting in a vicious cycle of more fear, division and hopelessness. The Pope plays a very important role in our world today, he brings back hope to a people who have been traumatized by war within their country. He shows the world that we as humankind have more similarities than we do differences, and that he as a Roman Catholic can see eye to eye with Sheikhs and Rabbis from all over the world.

He makes headlines for his actions, rhetorics and public outings not because he is the Pope and represents the extravagance and wealth of the Catholic Church, but rather because he is radically changing the way we think about each other as nation-states, religions and ethnicity. Through his empathetic nature, he is challenging even the Catholic Church, whose existence has been based on an elaborate lifestyle.

He is mixing both worlds: the extravagant show of power that is representative of the Catholic institution and his own personal humble nature. The result is savvy diplomacy that only Pope Francis himself has the authoritative power to administer, because let’s be honest, who could possibly go against a Pope who walks the walk and talks the talk?

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W h at i t m e a n s to be Halal

:

A Critical Assessment Merna Ahmed

Photography: Sally El Fishawy

Having just celebrated Eid Al-Adha, I’ve been thinking a lot about halal and haram, and I’d like to share some of my thoughts and findings with you.

I’ll mainly be talking about food, since it’s really what Eid Al-Adha is all about nowadays. So, let’s start simple; the definition of “halal” is “Any object or action which is permissible to use or engage in, according to Islamic law. The term covers and designates food and drink as well as matters of daily life.” Thanks, Wikipedia.

But, what I’ve noticed is, sometimes people mix what is halal with what is traditional and, when that’s done, some things are mistaken as haram when they’re really not.

For example: Meat is halal, as in, God has permitted the consumption of meat, but it isn’t mandatory. The consumption of meat isn’t mandatory, yet a lot of people seem to think it is, or at least, they think that not consuming meat is haram. On the other hand, we’ve got vegetarianism and veganism which are practices in which one refrains from consuming meat.

But, first, we have to acknowledge that not all meat is halal. Let’s talk about what makes meat halal.

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Al-Maidah 3: “Forbidden to you (for food) are: dead meat, blood, the flesh of swine, and that on which hath been invoked the name of other than Allah. That which hath been killed by strangling, or by violent blow, or by a headlong fall, or by being gored to death, that which hath been (partly) eaten by a wild animal, unless ye are able to slaughter it (in due form); that which is sacrificed on stone (altars); (forbidden) also is the division (of meat) by raffling with arrows: that is impiety.”

Pretty self explanatory, I’d say, but there are some elaborations that I’d like to talk about, more rules that go into meat being halal.

• The slaughterer must be someone of the book, be it a Muslim, Christian or a Jew. • A prayer of BismIllah must be said upon the animal before its slaughter. BismIllah means “in the name of God,” and it is said by Muslims before most actions to bless those deeds.

• The knife used to slaughter the animal must be sharp.

• The knife can not be sharpened in front of the animal.

• The slaughtering process must be swift.

• The animal’s throat must be cut, and its blood drained.

• If the animal is scared before its slaughter, it must be let go.

• The animal mustn’t smell the blood of others.

Now, from what I’ve personally seen, some of those criteria aren’t always applied. I’ve seen sheep run away from slaughter more times than I could really count - I’m sure we all have - and we’ve all smelled the blood that follows a slaughter before another one. But that’s only on the day of the Eid, and thinking about it makes you wonder what goes on behind the scenes the rest of the year. For example: Are animals really never scared? Do they truly never smell other animal’s blood?

Is the knife even sharp at all? Is all the meat labeled as halal really so?

Another thing I’ve thought about is pork. Why is it haram to eat pork? I researched the question and here’s what I found:

There’s no stated reason in Islam as to why pork is haram, but there are some speculations.Some say it’s because of its medical consequences, as pork might cause blocked arteries and increased cholesterol levels, or that it contains tapeworms, which are detrimental to human health. Some claim it’s because pigs eat anything, so their breeders feed them the worst and cheapest of things. Some say it’s because pigs roll in mud so it’s unsanitary to eat their meat. And some say it’s because they’d be expensive to care for in the Middle East, because they need water and shady woods with seeds, and we don’t have that here. Well, the woods. We don’t have woods.

The Torah gives a reason, though. But it doesn’t exactly explain why either. There it is said that only animals that have cloven hooves and chew their cud are permitted to be eaten, and since pigs don’t chew their cud then you can’t eat them.

In Christianity, things are a bit more complicated.

The Bible says not to eat pork, primarily for hygienic reasons. But that’s only in the Old Testament, and thus some Christians believe they don’t have to follow that dietary law.

But, again, no one has a straight answer. The confusion is so great that some people speculate that it’s just a test from God. Or that He knows more than we do, so we must simply follow Him and we’ll know in heaven.

Thought that was interesting to note.

but it is still edible since it’s impossible to go after every person that sells meat or raises cattle and supervise their methods. But, that uncertainty or, more commonly, a dislike for the mere idea of eating an animal, makes some people decide to stop eating meat.

Those people can be vegetarians or vegans. So, what are the differences between the two?

Vegetarianism is a sort of wider umbrella. You can be vegetarian but eat fish, though then you’d be called a pescetarian. But to be vegetarian, you basically don’t eat meat. Dairy products and eggs are mostly fine though, with some exceptions. Vegans, on the other hand, don’t eat meat, chicken or fish and they also don’t eat eggs to consume any type of dairy product.

Now, personally, I’m pescetarian so, I’m speaking from experience when I tell you that some people think it’s haram to be vegetarian. Some of the rebuttals I’ve gotten when I announced I don’t eat meat are “But that’s haram!” “But you need the protein!” “But it’s so good!” “But we don’t harm animals here, this is an Islamic country!”

See where I got the idea that people mix halal and tradition from? Same reason I started questioning and researching what makes meat halal in the first place.

Oh, and with regards to the protein issue: the only protein found exclusively in meat is vitamin B and there are pills for that. Just wanted to get that out there.

Moving on, I do want to elaborate on some things, though. Did you know that meat wasn’t exactly a necessity back at the prophet’s (PBUH) time? He himself, according to some texts, didn’t eat meat all that much. It was a delicacy that was encouraged to be had in moderation.

That means being vegetarian or vegan can’t be haram, right? Well, wrong. Being vegetarian/vegan can be haram if, and only if, you say/claim or think that eating meat is haram. So, it’s like, if you’re doing it to be humane, because you don’t like meat, because you think animals are treated poorly but you still admit it is halal to eat meat, then you’re good. If you go around saying it’s haram then, nope. That’s what’s haram.

Interesting, right? Personally, I think people should eat more vegetables, regardless.

So, to wrap this up, I still don’t fully understand why pork is haram, but I don’t think we’ll ever have a concrete answer for that. Being vegetarian or vegan is halal as long as it’s just a personal choice/preference.

And meat is halal, but some of our treatments of animals are not and that might affect the meat. You never know what goes on backstage - and let me pose this question - would you like to?

Now, let’s change the subject a bit. We’ve now established that eating meat is halal, although the process by which it is slaughtered is questionable,

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W h at D o e s I t M e a n T o B e Born Into A Religion Mariam Mohamed Salem

Out of all the topics I could’ve chosen for this issue: this is the one I decided to go for. And for this article, I questioned fellow students, professors, even staff members (although they chose not to answer because of strict orders,) and I got to one conclusion.

It always goes back to this question: Do we really follow the religion we are currently following by choice? As in, if we’re born into something- if it’s a given part of our lives ever since day one, does that really mean we are genuinely devoted to it out of our own free will? Or is it merely peer, familial pressure and societal conditioning that made us believe this is our will?

Well, for this I cannot give you a specific answer.

You’ll have to figure it out for yourself. But what I can

Photography:

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Maha Ahmed Said

give you is a set of truths, maybe of opinions to guide you in forming your own answer.

It truly is a hard thing to go against our own parents, our nurture, our society, our country, for the sake of something we may never truly understand at the end of the day. Yet, at least we would get the chance to understand more about our selves, to build ourselves new bricks instead of the ones already built for us by someone else’s hands. See, most of the students I interviewed believed that being born into a religion is almost restricting. That it narrows our horizons. Whether this is true, or not is not the point of this article, so if you were hoping to receive a direct answer you might as well stop reading. Just bear in mind one thing: direct answers are never the answers you should be looking for.

What is about to be presented to you here is a short compilation of some things said by the people I interviewed. Some things that actually left an impact on me:

A: “It broke my grandma’s heart when I left religion, but their attitudes towards women...they just didn’t work for me. I have a big mouth and a big brain, and it just didn’t work for me.”

B: “I wasn’t born into any religion, and it was difficult. I’ve never had the comfort of spirituality and sometimes I’m just envious of people who were born into a religion. They have this sort of comfort, of warmth and certainty and that’s something I’ve never experienced... It sounds so wonderful. But I’m still wandering. I still haven’t figured it out yet.”

C: “I was born into a religion. At eighteen, I had the chance to question, to explore. I did. And I chose to stick with it.”

D: “Thing is, when you’re born into a religion, you grow up thinking that it’s the way of life- that what you’re dictated is what is right. But it should never tie you [down], cause at some point, you’ll have to question and you’ll have to follow your own beliefs, not your parents’.”

E: “Yeah I was born into a specific religion, but my parents were open minded about it. They let me question and explore. Now I’m open to all religions. I go to a mosque on Friday, a church on Saturday and a synagogue the day after. See, I don’t believe God is going to differentiate us according to which religion we follow. If there is a God, He wouldn’t want you to be a good Buddhist, or a good Christian, or a good Muslim. He’ll just want you to be a good person.”

F: “Being born into a religion truly does not allow an individual to be in a neutral position. Then again,

religious neutrality is an unrealistic request. Societies work through a set of guidelines, and religion is a main part of those guidelines. This is how societies work and survive. This is how we maintain our culture.”

G: “I wouldn’t say I was born into a religion. No. I was born following certain traditions and cultures. It’s a tricky thing really: never being able to walk into a church or a mosque and feel like you’re a part of it, but at the same time wanting to be a part of it.”

These are some of the most diverse opinions I received and guess what? Each and every one of them is okay. It’s okay to be born into something and later on decide it just won’t work for you. It’s okay not to be born into anything and to decide you would like to become part of something. It’s also alright to decide to follow the faith you were born into.

But what’s not okay is thinking that what you’re born into is all the world has to offer. What’s not okay is believing that your parents’ views are the right views just because they are your parents. What’s not okay is choosing to follow something just because everyone else around you is following it- so you end up deciding it must be the right thing to do. No. If the world was supposed to work like that then we would’ve all been one creature with one mindset.

So if you still want to know what I concluded out of this article and out of those interviews, well, it’s that nothing that is ever true for one person, is true for another. You are yourself. You were given your own life for a reason, and it’s not to follow other people’s. It’s to create your own. So go out. Create. And question.

Question, and question, and question, till you run out of questions.

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It’s Gonna’ Be the Women!

Black American Church and Black Muslim Women Communities in the Upcoming 2016 Presidential Election.

Lauren K. Clark

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Black Muslim Women.

Courtesy of Sapelo Square

American Black Church.

Courtesy of urbanintellectuals.com

Dark flowers ring through the distance of a past time. Perfumes of memory, lingering from the existence of Black souls. Those beings who sink into a land where the eagle soars higher. Let Freedom Ring! Let Freedom Ring! As the Blackened flowers lay awaiting in Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, and other fields, nature’s softness is picked from a hard totem. As souls of Blackness rest, the temple of their being cries out; splinters permeating the land. Heaven rings true for those seedlings of the strange fruit. The danger of time questions the souls of a nation.

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The November 2016 U.S. Presidential elections rides on giant waves of emotion. It is a pivotal moment where U.S. and world economies are at stake. The murder (and shootings) of unarmed Black American (AA), and recently African, women, men, and children come to the forefront. Possible setbacks in the progression of women’s rights, LGTBQI, and the state of immigration. For the first time in Presidential, campaign history, a representative for one of two major parties (Democrat, Republican), having no prior governmental experience, has the opportunity to become the 45th President of the United States. Entrepreneur Donald Trump is the Republican nominee, while Secretary of State and former First Lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton is the Democrat’s. Critics and political analysts have deemed this as a close election. Trump’s popularity and rhetoric heavily resonates with the White-male, working class; and citizens who observe neglect in sufficient immigration and homeland security policies.

American women are the energy base for the Black church, and continue to be so. There is also the role of Black American/African-American Muslim women and them being the foundation for the Black community.

So where does the role of the Black Church come into question?

As intensity of the elections continue to take precedence, Muslim/Arab-Americans have borrowed a strategy from Black American/African-American communities to increase their voter registration.

Mosque are now becoming a site for voter education.

The whole souls to the polls initiative from Black American churches is a significant method in getting members of the community to vote, by literally bussing them to the voting polls and registering them to vote.

“Much of the anguish in Black churches over the problems of Black men is the signification on black women’s importance, indispensability, and faithfulness.

Even Louis Farrakhan, in his speech at the Million Man March, made it clear that women were indispensable to the life of the mosque; it was not just in the Church that women were holding things together.”

(Townsend Gilkes 2001: 4)

This addresses another group within Black American womanhood, especially since Islam has been placed as a topic of discussion for the media in the upcoming elections. It is noted that Islam among Black American/African-American communities grew during the 1920’s as a result of the Islamic Mission of America,

Media portrayals of Donald Trump presents the Universal Islamic Society, and the Ahmadiyya him as the strong leader, who will “make America Movement. Many of these organizations came from Asia great again.” A slogan resonating well with citizens and Africa. Prior to converting, many Black American/ who feel they lost their country during the Obama Era. African-American Muslims also came from the Black Simultaneously, many seem to overlook the shocking Church. Drs. Jamillah Karim and Dawn Marie-Gibson, comments he has made on foreign policy, immigration, in their text Women of the Nation: Between Black Protest women’s rights, and race relations. and Sunni Islam, articulate how the spread of Islam became rominent in such communities. “Islamic studies

One key community in the swaying of votes is scholar Aminah B. McCloud notes that the Ahmadiyya’s the Black American/African-American community. The most important contribution to the spread of Islam the 2008 election showcased Black American women among African-Americans was the circulation of Islamic voting at higher rates in the 2008 and 2012 presidential literature and English translations of the Qu’ran.” (Karim elections than any other group. Their presence is & Marie-Gibson 2014: 5) However, there is an earlier significant in this upcoming election. Another recent presence of Islam within Black American populations, poll conveyed that Black American/African-American as a percentage of enslaved Africans in the U.S. were women are most concerned with the outcome of the first to celebrate Ramadan (the process in how the upcoming Presidential elections. Much of this is various African communities became Muslim is for connected to the well-being of their families, and the another story). “Social scientists estimate that 15 to 30 safeguarding of their communities. Something which percent, or ‘as many as 600,000 to 1.2 million,’ slaves in has taken precedence, as a result of the shootings antebellum America were Muslim. This also addresses against unarmed Black American women and men. Arab/Islamic slavery and conquest of the African The Black American/African-American community is a continent, prior to the arrival of African people in the pivotal demographic for the Democratic Party.

Americas.

Black American musical and spiritual forms became an important arena in overcoming the brutalities of slavery. Negro spirituals, call songs, work songs, Gospel music, and a plethora of others were spiritual endeavors of patterned coloring for a people called Negro, Coloured, Black American, Black, AfricanAmerican. . .authentically American.

The Black Church became a center for organizing, strategy, and the production of Black American women’s culture and spiritual knowledge.

A support system for economic and educational endeavors, the Black Church was the core foundation during the Abolitionist movement, Jim Crow, racial and gender violence against Black American communities, the Civil Rights Movement, the Poor People’s campaign, the Vietnam War, and others. Black American/African-

28

Black American/African-American women are able to intersect the issues of race, gender, class, color, immigration, Islam, women’s rights, police brutality, and LGBTQI. The shared relationship of Black womanhood, by both Black American/African-American Muslim and Christian women encompasses all major issues of the campaign-a key group in this election!

Can we compare modern day I s l a m o p h o b i a w i t h p r e -W W2 A nt i-S e m it i s m?

Dalia Abushady

Edit: Fatma A . Farrag

Prior to the Second World War, anti-Semitism was widespread not only in Germany and Austria, but also in most of Europe. Due to the lower number of immigrants migrating from the Arab-Islamic world and the even fewer from Africa, Jews were the most prevalent minority group present in Europe (9.5 million Jews were present in Europe in 1933). The Jews faced varying degrees of discrimination and persecution primarily because of their religious title, coming from the legal, social, and media perspective.

Nowadays, however, it is fair to say that the most attacked and victimised religion, at least in the Western world, is Islam. With the outbreak of the “war on terror� after 9/11, the constant upheaval in the Middle Eastern region, the rise of terrorism coming from Islamic countries, and the immigration/refugee crisis in the world, Muslims are increasingly facing more persecution and discrimination in Western countries.

Thus, this article shall compare the legal, social, and

media aspects of what happened to the Jews before and what is happening now towards Muslims.

Politically, modern day Islamophobia is very similar to anti-Semitism prior to WW2 due to multiple politicians having spoken out against Islam, on the basis that Islam promotes violence, and the advocacy

29

of violence against all non-muslims and that therefore they are all perceived as terrorists.

Both religions were associated with an ideology, an agenda behind it: “Islam is not a religion, it’s an ideology, the ideology of a retarded culture.” Geert Wilders, a Dutch politician and member of parliament.

“Bolshevism is the declaration of war by Jewish-led international subhumans against culture itself.” Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi Party Congress 1935

Both religions were referred to as evil and satanic (paradoxical to what a religion is): “Islam is of the devil.” Rev. Terry Jones

“The personification of the devil as a symbol of all evil, assumes the living shape of the Jew.” Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf

Naturally, with the growing number of Muslim immigrants entering Europe, particularly as refugees, right-wing parties have dramatically risen in European countries; including Hungary, Austria, Germany, the UK, and France. Thus, both nazi Germany and rightwing/populist modern day Europe believe in the infiltration and contamination of muslims/jews into European culture.

“We don’t want an Islamization of Europe. We don’t want our Christian- Western culture to perish” Heinz Strache, chairman of the Freedom Party of Austria.

“Behind this mask of religiosity stands a complete plan for world government, world power, world conquest, a Jewish kingdom of this world, and the destruction of Christianity.”- Rev. Gordon Winrod

Aside from political rhetoric, protests have also been taking place all across Europe under the German organisation, PEDIGA, an anti-Islamic movement, advocating for the expulsion of Muslims from Europe.

Additionally, the media was and is a huge factor both back in the pre-WWII era, and our current era.

There are stereotypes that arose in both eras, where Jews were associated with greed and wanting to control the world. Similarly, Muslims being stereotyped as terrorists who hate non-muslims. Both views were propagated through the media. At the same time, the media has been used as a tool for propaganda whether it is for campaigns such as Donald Trump wanting to stop Muslim entry into the U.S. or Nazi Germany creatively demonising the Jews (through movies or posters).

For both Jews and Muslims, they were referred to in movies and by politicians as more than just a religious belief. Jews were considered a race with certain features, and Muslims are almost always associated with Arabs and vice versa. Jews being considered a race is evident in the propaganda Hitler used in Mein Kampf:

“The Jews have always been a people with definite racial characteristics and never a religion.”

And it is evident in Western Media, how terrorists are oftentimes, if not always, Arabs and they say Muslim rhetoric such as “Allahu Akbar” (a Muslim prayer). In Chuck Norris’ movie Hitman, Iranian mobsters are the perpetrators, Arabic culture (belly dancing) is surrounding them and they say terms such as “Allah” when talking. Or in Aladdin’s theme song “Arabian Nights” that includes “its barbaric, but hey it’s home,” within its lyrics, with the city of Agraba looking just like the Taj Mahal (a mausoleum built with Islamic and Quranic inscriptions following the architecture of a mosque). Thus, at least in Hollywood, the Arab “race” and Muslim religion have gone hand-in-hand many times.

One of the famous incidents of media stereotyping, was the Danish cartoons published on newspapers as well as the Charlie Hebdo magazine, offending the Muslim community, referring to Muslims as terrorists and pedophiles.

Likewise, in Germany, the Der Stürmer Newspaper, also famously published caricatures demonizing the Jews.

Source: Calvin College, German Propaganda Archive

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Furthermore, political correctness has been deteriorating within the media where reporters, politicians and celebrities can directly say what they think without being professional enough to avoid attempting to offend others, for example Fox News, being openly anti-Muslim. “All terrorists are Muslim.”

-Brian Kilmeade, host on Fox News Channel.

Last but not least, socially, the rise of Islamophobia parallels anti-semitism that took place a little less than a century ago. Mosques have been burned, bombed, raided and vandalised over the past years, such as the Perth Mosque bombing in Australia or the bombing of Tipton Mosque in Birmingham (where the device that was planted had 100 nails wrapped around it so it can cause maximum carnage). After the Charlie Hebdo shooting in January 2015, there were reports of attacks on mosques and Muslims across the country. According to Russia Today, in just one week after the Charlie Hebdo shootings, there were over 50 attacks on Muslims across France, including 21 reports on shootings and grenade throwing at mosques. Vandalism of mosques included the drawing of Swastika’s on walls.

“These acts against one part of the national community, provoked by little Nazi pretenders who spend their days decorating the walls of our mosques with Nazi slogans, recall a sad past and are reprehensible,” Abdallah Zekri, President of the National Observatory Against Islamophobia

More stories in Europe include the stabbing of Marwa el Sherbini in 2009, a Muslim woman who was stabbed to death 18 times in a German court after he accused her for wearing the hijab. Aside from physical attacks, verbal attacks towards Muslims also occur particularly in Austria, Germany, and France, where, according to The National Observatory Against Islamophobia, 95 out of 128 attacks were threats.

In the United States, with the rise of Presidential Candidate Donald Trump, the war on terror, ISIS threatening the international sphere, there have been multiple attacks against Muslims-American’s. In New York, two Muslim teenagers were assaulted outside of a mosque after the attacker was yelling anti-Islamic slurs to the teens. The case of Shaima Alawadi took place in San Diego where a Muslim mother was beaten to death in her own home with a note saying “Go back to your country, you terrorist.” There have been reports by citizens about “suspicious behaviour” simply for being Muslim such as the case with Ahmed al-Menhali, who got imprisoned after being reported for suspicious behaviour due to him wearing the traditional clothing of the UAE, thus, once again the association of race

(being Arab) with being Muslim has occurred. In June of 2016, New York, a Muslim man was assaulted by three men and hospitalized after leaving a mosque, reports showed that he suffered from at least five broken bones in his face, a concussion and fractured ribs.

Aside from physical attacks, many American Muslims have admitted that life in America as a muslim has been rough: “I am Muslim and my experience and my existence in this whole mess of Islamophobia is valid” says Mikel Aki’lah, a high school student from Brooklyn.

More significant events include Pastor Terry Jones’ call for the burning of the Quran because it promotes terrorism in 2010, and in 2013 once again, he pledged to burn 2,998 Qurans- one for every victim of the 9/11 terrorist attack.

These instances eerily resemble the horrendous attacks on Jews prior to WW2, including the events that happened on the infamous Krystallnacht. Synagogues were burnt, Jewish books and literature were discarded and Jewish shops and homes were broken into and looted. Jews were separated from society and were regarded through the “us” and “them” divide; in other words, they were treated and viewed differently from the rest of society. They weren’t protected by the state, Jewish products were boycotted, anti-Jewish sentiment occurred directly and indirectly. In other words, Antisemitism was not only state-sponsored but it was also coming from society.

Overall, the routes of both Islamophobia and anti-semitism are similar. They both come from prejudice- a stereotype, a preconceived idea about the people, that make them different from the rest of society. With anti-semitism, Jews suffered to a much greater extent as there were direct laws and manifestations allowing for anti-Semitic sentiment to legally take place. However, perhaps the modern day world isn’t far from this. When we look at the Jews, we can say that they suffered more as we could see what happened to them in future, however, with Islamophobia, we still don’t know what is yet to come.

Anti-semitism didn’t just take place overnight and end up as a war, it took centuries of discrimination to lead to what happened in the holocaust. By looking at the anti-Islamic movements taking place now in Europe and the US, it looks like a repetition of the same prejudiced slurs that happened once before, happening again.

You’d think that mankind would’ve learned from its prejudiced mistakes, but then again, when throughout history have we ever learned?

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Trapped in the Libert y Land

:

T h e S tat u s o f U . S . M u s l i m s A m i d s t Violence Everywhere Yasmin Helmy If you type “terrorist” into your Google Search bar and click on “Images,” older images will include a bearded brown man wearing a turban holding an AK-47 (apparently, a terrorist favorites). Contemporary images will include figures in tight black commando uniforms, black masks with a cloth headband with Arabic calligraphy, or a covering of the face with an Arafat scarf (a typical clothing that has become a symbol of resistance), all while strutting in a desert landscape with trucks in the background – still holding the AK-47.

In fashion terms, after the horrific 9/11 Terrorist Attack, “terrorism” was “in,” for – both – media and politics. Want a good story? Talk about terrorism. Want to up your poll numbers? Talk about terrorism. But where, pray tell, does this terrible “terrorism” occur?

Easy – the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

But while there is little to no occurrence in which terrorism is explicitly limited to that region, it is the most common, if not the only, example for terrorist activity, despite that never having been the case in the

32

past; one can make a reasonable argument that the 1914-assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand was a successful terrorist attack organised by Serbs and Bosnians, for example.

While modern Western interest and involvement in MENA dates back to the early beginnings of the Cold War, it was never so overtly or vehemently narrated by media outlets, or states persons until 9/11. Involvement in MENA became a double-edged sword; once you’re in, you’re in for better or for worse – terrorism and all.

MENA is obviously the first victim of U.S. foreign policy in this regard; after announcing the War on Terror, many Western nations followed suit, the effects of which were indiscriminate of the faith of MENA civilians. But it would be simplistic to restrict these effects to MENA, much like restricting terrorism to MENA. American civilians still continue to suffer from these effects as well, particularly Muslim Americans.

The Muslim community in the United States is more than a hundred years old, encompassing countless ethnicities; the first American “Muslim organisation” was established in 1907 in Brooklyn, NY by immigrants from Poland, Lithuania and Russia, named the American Mohammedan Society; in 1929, farmers built the first American mosque in Ross, North Dakota.

In 1934, Elijah Muhammad became the leader of the notorious “The Nation of Islam,” who brought to light figures such as Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali Clay in his wake, and in 1940, establishes the first Muslim temple - Temple No. 4 - in Washington D.C.

The 1990’s are particularly interesting; on June 26th 1991, Imam Siraj Wahhaj became the first Muslim (and Imam) to lead an invocation in the House of Representatives; less than a year later, February 1992, Elijah Muhammad’s son became the first Muslim American to give the invocation at a session of the United States Senate. In August 1999, Osman Siddique became the first Muslim American sworn in as an ambassador to the Republic of Fiji - he was the first American to take the oath of office on the Koran.

On September 1st 2001, the U.S. Postal Office issues the first stamp honouring a Muslim holiday - 10 days before 9/11.

After 9/11, the words “Islam,” and “terrorism,” were used interchangeably, and the parameters of Muslim Americans were redefined, almost permanently.

Anyone who was remotely similar to the faces deemed responsible for 9/11 was immediately labelled as a terrorist who hated the ideals America was built upon.

Muslim Americans became the new Japanese Americans. The Republican Party presidential nominee Donald Trump called for a ban all Muslims from entering the United States - a 2.0 version of the Immigration Act of 1924, so to speak.

Even more so, some shops and businesses have put signs declaring themselves to be “Muslimfree zones,” which brought back not-so-distant bitter memories of racial segregation in the United States. Hate crimes; random (but not so random) security checks; discrimination on airlines; housing discrimination; discrimination in employment, and more – these are some of the countless elements that make the daily lives of all Muslim Americans, since they are continually

scapegoated for attacks made in their name, whether they like it or not.

In 2004, a small terrorist group, dubbed AlQaeda in Iraq, fighting against the U.S. forces in Iraq, pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda (conceived during the Russian invasion of Afghanistan; led by Osama Bin Laden). They shared the common goal of establishing an Islamic State, or a Caliphate.

In 2006, Al-Qaeda in Iraq rebranded itself as Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), and faded after the 2007 surge of American troops in Iraq drove them to Mosul, but reappeared in 2011 in the wake of the Arab Spring. Al-Qaeda denounced ISIS, declaring it too extremist and un-Islamic when ISIS disobeyed orders

by Ayman Al-Zawahri and declared establishing its own Caliphate in an Al-Qaeda-run area in Syria.

ISIS began operating internationally in 2015, the first being the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris, France on January 7th, attacking again in the Stade de France during the same year on November 13th, killing 130 civilians, making it the deadliest attack on French soil since WWII – both attacks were led by French citizens; ISIS had established itself as a force to be reckoned with.

The latest attack was the Orlando nightclub shooting, resulting in the death of nearly 50 people.

Being a Muslim in America became deadly - a testimony of which is the Chapel Hill shooting, where three Muslims were shot dead by their neighbor, “over a parking space.”

The sister of one of the victims, Suzanne Barakat, has since become an active public figure, speaking out against hate, intolerance and profiling Muslims, and was even seen giving a speech at one of the vigils held for the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting.

Hassan Minajh, one of the current cast members of The Daily Show, was invited as a speaker at the RTCA Dinner, and spoke out against - both - terrorism and the mistreatment of Muslim communities in the United States.

United States President, Barack Obama, when releasing a press statement on the Orlando shooting, repeated his refusal of labelling ISIS as a radical Islamist group, and how he has repeatedly called upon Muslims in America and elsewhere to speak out against different forms of violence committed in the name of religion.

In a country built on liberty, freedom and equality, a country that prides itself in the diversity of its citizens, Muslim Americans feel surrounded by pitchforks of fear that continue to wander unchecked by the very institutions responsible for instilling American values. Will Muslim Americans ever know safety?

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‫المصدر‪openwalls.com :‬‬ ‫يحــدث فــي بعــض دول العالــم العربــي حديثــا هــو خيــر دليــل‪.‬‬ ‫والتفســير هــو أن تلــك الحــرب تنــدرج تحــت مســمى حــرب بيــن‬ ‫عقيــدة و فكــر‪ :‬غــرض إحداهــا تغييــر أوضــاع المجتمــع وغــرض‬ ‫اآلخــر حمايــة الهويــة والعقيــدة ممــا يعتقــده «تهديــد»‪ .‬وذلــك‬ ‫الشــعور بالتهديــد وحتميــة الدفــاع مــا هــي إال نتيجــة طبيعيــة‬ ‫عندمــا يمــس بعقيــدة الشــخص بســبب تــورط الهويــة فــي‬ ‫األمــر‪ .‬لذلــك فــإن أي نظــام مبنــي علــى العقيــدة هــو نظــام‬ ‫فاشــل‪ ،‬و بمــا أن الديــن جــزء مــن العقيــدة‪ ،‬فــإن النظــام الدينــي‬ ‫السياســي نظــام فاشــل‪.‬‬ ‫يمكــن للديــن أن ينــدرج تحــت مظلــة الفلســفة‪ ،‬لكــن‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ال يمكــن للفلســفة أن تنــدرج تحــت مظلــة الديــن‪ .‬فمــن يؤمــن‬ ‫بديــن‪ ،‬يؤمــن بإلــه ال يخطــىء‪ ،‬وبكتــاب مقــدس أوحــاه ذلــك‬ ‫اإللــه‪ ،‬و برســول بعــث يتخــذ مــن حياتــه نهجــا‪ ،‬و مــن يختــار‬ ‫دينــا‪ ،‬فهــو مجبــر علــى إختيــاره كامــا بمــا أحــب فيــه أو كــره وال‬ ‫يســتطيع أن يقتطــع منــه‪ .‬أمــا الفلســفة فــا تأتــي مصحوبــة بإلــه‬ ‫وال كتــاب مقــدس وال رســول‪ ،‬ويمكــن أن نقتطــف منــه مــا يتفــق‬ ‫مــع عقيدتنــا‪ ,‬ولنــا كامــل الحريــة فــي تخطــىء صاحــب تلــك‬ ‫الفلســفة‪ .‬بنــاء علــى هــذا‪ ،‬فــإن رجــل الديــن فــي نظــر مــن يتبــع‬ ‫ذلــك الديــن هــو «خــادم لإللــه» و «رجــل ال يخطــىء» حتــى‬ ‫و إن كان ذاك الرجــل مخــادع يتالعــب ويقتطــع مــن المصــدر‪.‬‬ ‫يزيــد علــى هــذا‪ ،‬أن مصــادر الديــن فــي الوصــول إلــى معظــم‬ ‫القــرارات كثيــرة‪ ،‬فالديــن اإلســامي مثــا ال يســتند فقــط إلــى‬ ‫الق ـرآن‪ ،‬بــل يســتند أيضــا إلــى الحديــث والفقــه والتشــريع‪ ،‬وفــي‬ ‫كل مصــدر مــن هــؤالء تتشــعب مصــادر وآراء أخــرى‪ .‬لذلــك ال‬

‫يمكــن أن يســتخرج نظــام منــه ويرضــى بــه الجميــع‪ .‬صحيــح أن‬ ‫النــاس لــن تتفــق علــى شــيء واحــد وأن لــكل نظــام معارضيــن‪،‬‬ ‫لكــن هنــا تكمــن المشــكلة الثالثــة‪ ،‬مــن يعــارض نظامــا وضــع‬ ‫علــى أســاس فكــر «البشــر» ويدعمــه قانــون أو دســتور كتبــه‬ ‫«البشــر» أيضــا‪ ،‬فــإن المعارضــة تكــون معارضــة فكــر لفكــر‪ .‬لكــن‬ ‫مــن يعــارض نظامــا وضــع علــى أســاس كتــاب اتخــذه النــاس‬ ‫عقيــدة ويؤمنــون أنــه معصــوم مــن الخطــأ ويمثلــه رجــال‬ ‫يدعــون تمثيــل هــذا الديــن وبذلــك بالتبعيــة فالنــاس تراهــم‬ ‫هــم أيضــا معصوميــن مــن الخطــأ‪ ،‬فمــا أن يظهــر معارضــون‬ ‫غرضهــم معارضــة فكــرة مــا أو قانــون مــا‪ ،‬ال الديــن فــي حــد‬ ‫ذاتــه‪ ،‬يؤخــذ منهــم ذلــك علــى أنــه انتهــاك لعقيــدة اآلخريــن‪،‬‬ ‫ويتحــول األمــر مــن مجــرد معارضــة وطــرح أفــكار إلــى اســتماتة‬ ‫مــن الطــرف اآلخــر لحمايــة العقيــدة‪ .‬لــكل هــذا‪ ،‬ال يمكــن للديــن‬ ‫أن يصبــح نظامــا سياســيا قائمــا بذاتــه‪.‬‬ ‫الديــن لصاحبــه‪ ،‬وهــو شــعور جميــل لمــن اتبعــه‬ ‫ ‬ ‫بقلبــه وجعلــه عقيــدة لنفســه‪ ،‬وهــو أعظــم مــن أن تختلــط بــه‬ ‫نجاســة السياســة وخــداع بنــي البشــر‪ .‬فــإن كان ال بــد مــن أن‬ ‫نتعايــش فــي عالــم يديــره المــال وتتالعــب بــه السياســة‪ ،‬فلنبعــد‬ ‫مــا ن ـراه «كامــا» عــن مــا ال يمكــن أن يصبــح كذلــك أبــدا‪ .‬أفضــل‬ ‫مــا يمكــن فعلــه‪ ،‬هــو أن نتخــذ مــن الديــن مرجعــا‪ ،‬مثلــه كمثــل‬ ‫علــم النفــس وعلــم اإلجتمــاع والقانــون وغيــره فــي إدارة العالــم‬ ‫وتنظيمــه‪.‬‬

‫‪34‬‬

‫العقيدة بني‬ ‫السياســة و الدين‬

‫محمــد البجريمي‬

‫مــا إن حطــت قــدم اإلنســان األرض‪ ،‬حتــى تواجــدت معــه كلمــة القــوة‪ .‬عاشــوا‬ ‫بمبــدأ «البقــاء لألقــوى»‪ ،‬و علــى مــر األزمــان‪ ،‬ظــل المبــدأ لكــن تغيــر المفهــوم‪ .‬كان‬ ‫صاحــب القــوة قبــا مــن كان يملــك مصــدري المــاء و الطعــام‪ ،‬ثــم تطــور ليصبــح‬ ‫القــوي مــن يملــك عــددا أكبــر مــن األفــراد ليغــزو علــى مــن أحــاط بتلــك المصــادر‪.‬‬ ‫ظــل المفهــوم يتغيــر و يتطــور حســب الزمــان والمــكان حتــى أصبــح فــي عصرنــا‬ ‫هــذا القــوي هــو المهيمــن فكريــا‪ .‬والهيمنــة الفكريــة ال تعنــي بالضــرورة الــذكاء‪ ،‬بــل‬ ‫هــي القــدرة علــى جعــل اآلخريــن يتبعــون أيدولوجيــة مــا‪ .‬لكــن الجديــر باالهتمــام أن‬ ‫رغــم تغيــر المفهــوم‪ ,‬إال أنهــا تميــل فــي اتجــاه «تملــك األفــراد» أو «إقنــاع اآلخريــن»‬ ‫أو «التحكــم فــي الحشــود»‪ ،‬رغــم أن المفهــوم بــدأ بالذاتيــة إال أنــه انحــرف ضمنيــا‬ ‫نحــو اإلجتماعيــة السياســية‪ .‬فمــا أن كثــر عــدد النــاس قديمــا‪ ،‬حتــى بــدأوا يتكتلــوا‬ ‫فــي جماعــات مــن أجــل الحمايــة‪ ،‬و مــا إن زادوا أكثــر حتــى بــدأوا يبحثــون عــن طــرق‬ ‫للتنظيــم و خلــق ســيادة هرميــة‪ .‬ثــم مــا إن نظمــوا أنفســهم وخلقــوا مجتمعهــم‬ ‫حتــى بــدأوا بالبحــث فــي الكــون عــن قــوة عظمــى ليشــرحوا بــه الحيــاة الفانيــة‪،‬‬ ‫و ليرضــوا جهلهــم بالحيــاة بعــد المــوت‪ .‬هنــا أوجــدوا مفهــوم اآللهــة والــذي نشــأ‬ ‫معــه مفهــوم الديــن‪ .‬هــذا و إن دل علــى شــيء‪ ،‬فإنمــا يــدل علــى أن السياســة‬ ‫جــاءت قبــا ثــم تلتهــا الفلســفة‪ .‬مــع نمــو مجتمعنــا وظهــور العلــوم وكثــرة‬ ‫األيديولوجيــات‪ ،‬أصبــح ال بــد مــن ســن قوانيــن وإيجــاد معاييــر لتنظيــم النــاس وخلــق‬ ‫ســيادة هرميــة أكثــر تعقيــدا وتغلغــا‪ .‬ومــن هنــا ظهــرت األنظمــة السياســية بشــتى‬ ‫أنواعهــا‪ ،‬كال منهــا تهــدف إلــى هــدف مــا علنــا وهــدف آخــر ســرا‪ ،‬لكنهــا جميعــا‬ ‫اتفقــت علــى شــيء واحــد‪ :‬أنهــا جميعــا متغيــرة متكســرة وديناميكيــة‪ .‬وال عجــب‬ ‫فــي ذلــك‪ ،‬فــا يخــدم مجتمــع ديناميكــي إال أنظمــة تتغيــر وتتأقلــم مــع تغيــره‪.‬‬

‫اإلنســان كائــن إجتماعــي مفكــر‪ .‬كذلــك هــو كائــن‬ ‫ ‬ ‫قائــم بذاتــه‪ ،‬يتعــدى كونــه مجــرد كائــن بيولوجــي مــن لحــم‬ ‫ودم‪ .‬فذلــك العقــل الــذي ال يتعــدى وزنــه بضــع كيلوجرامــات‬ ‫يســكن بداخلــه أحاســيس وفكــر وعقيــدة‪ .‬أمــا األحاســيس فهــي‬ ‫متغيــرة وتعتمــد علــى عوامــل عــدة‪ ،‬لكــن مــا الفــرق بيــن‬ ‫الفكــر والعقيــدة؟ الفكــر هــو منطــق ي ـراه العقــل ســليما فيخلــق‬ ‫منــه دســتورا يتخــذه مرجعــا عنــد التعامــل مــع المجتمــع‪ ،‬هــو‬ ‫القامــوس الــذي يفســر بــه العقــل المعطيــات التــي يتلقاهــا‬ ‫ممــا يــراه حولــه أو ممــا يســمع ثــم يســتنتج علــى أساســه أن‬ ‫يقبــل بالمعطيــات أو يرفضهــا أو يضيفهــا إلــى الدســتور‪ ،‬ولذلــك‬ ‫فــإن فكــر اإلنســان ديناميكــي يتأقلــم ويتكيــف مــع المجتمــع‪ .‬لكــن‬ ‫كيــف يحتفــظ العقــل بهويتــه ؟ نعــم‪ ،‬إنهــا العقيــدة‪ .‬فالعقيــدة‬ ‫ذاتيــة تخــص الشــخص وحــده فقــط وال تحــاول التأقلــم أو‬ ‫التكيــف‪ ،‬فهــي جــزء كبيــر مــن الهويــة الذاتيــة لإلنســان‪.‬‬ ‫وعلــى عكــس الفكــر‪ ،‬فالعقيــدة ال تتغيــر وال يضــاف إليهــا وال‬ ‫يطــرح منهــا‪ ،‬و بمــا أن العقيــدة راســخة وجذورهــا متخللــة فــي‬ ‫أعمــاق العقــول‪ ،‬فإنهــا متصلــة بقطبــي مشــاعر اإلنســان‪ ،‬وأي‬ ‫شــعور بالتهديــد تجاههــا يــؤدي إلــى رد فعــل للدفــاع عنهــا‬ ‫تحــت أي ظــرف ومهمــا لــزم األمــر‪ .‬فــإذا وضعنــا اإلنســان قائمــا‬ ‫بذاتــه يملــك فكــر و عقيــدة فــي مواجهــة السياســة والديــن‬ ‫كمعطيــات يســتقبلها عقــل ذلــك اإلنســان‪ ،‬لوجدنــا الديــن يتصــل‬ ‫بعقيدتــه والسياســة تتصــل بفكــره وذلــك لســبب بســيط‪ ،‬السياســة‬ ‫علــم متغيــر قائــم علــى البحــث والفكــر أمــا الديــن ففلســفة‬ ‫راســخة تقــوم علــى العقيــدة‪.‬‬

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‫السياســة علــم متغيــر‪ ،‬و كل نظــام سياســي وجــد‬ ‫ ‬ ‫فــي حقبــة مــا ليخــدم أهــداف معينــة‪ .‬مــا إن تنتهــي هــذه‬ ‫األهــداف حتــى يطــاح بذلــك النظــام ويؤتــى بنظــام جديــد‪.‬‬ ‫هــذا يعنــي أن كل األنظمــة السياســية زائلــة‪ .‬و لكــن حتــى‬ ‫فــي «زوالهــا» اتبعــت روتيــن مــا‪ .‬فقــد كانــت دائمــا الطبقــة‬ ‫المقهــورة والمظلومــة فــي نظــام مــا هــي مــن تحــاول تغييــر‬ ‫النظــام لتحســين األوضــاع‪ ،‬ثــم مــا تلبــث أن تتشــبث فــي تلــك‬ ‫القــوة السياســية وتبــدأ فــي قهــر طبقــة جديــدة فــي المجتمــع‬ ‫حتــى تثــور‪ .‬بإختصــار‪ ،‬الطبقــة المظلومــة فــي نظــام مــا تكــون‬ ‫الطبقــة الظالمــة فــي النظــام الــذي يليــه‪ .‬مثــا فــي روســيا‪،‬‬ ‫ظهــر النظــام الرأســمالي بعــد ثــورة العامليــن فــي النظــام‬ ‫اإلقطاعــي علــى أمــل تحســين أحوالهــم الماديــة‪ .‬لكــن مــا‬ ‫إن تمكــن النظــام حتــى بــدأ فــي قهــر طبقــة «العامليــن فــي‬ ‫المصانــع» نتيجــة الثــورة الصناعيــة وهنــا ظهــرت الشــيوعية‬ ‫بهــدف إلغــاء الطبقيــة‪ .‬لكــم أن تتخيلــوا نهايــة النظــام‬ ‫الشــيوعي علــى ذات المنــوال‪ .‬إلــى جانــب أن تلــك األمثلــة‬ ‫تثبــت مــا قلــت ســابقا‪ ،‬فإنهــا أيضــا تثبــت أن كل نظــام جديــد‬ ‫انتصــر علــى النظــام الــذي يحــاول محاربتــه عــن طريــق نشــر‬ ‫أيدولوجيــة وفكــر أفضــل يلقــى استحســان األغلبيــة العظمــى‪.‬‬ ‫هــذا ينــدرج تحــت مســمى حــرب بيــن فكــر وفكــر‪ ،‬والغــرض‬ ‫مــن كل فكــر منهــا هــو تغييــر المجتمــع وتحســينه‪ ،‬ال دخــل‬ ‫بــأي منهــا بالهويــة الذاتيــة ألي شــخص فــي ذاك المجتمــع‪.‬‬ ‫أمــا النظــم السياســية التــي قامــت علــى الديــن‪ ،‬فأغلبهــا لــم‬ ‫يتغيــر إال بعــد معانــاة ومواجهــات‪ ،‬ولــن أذكــر أمثلــة حتــى ال‬ ‫أتطــرق إلــى ديــن دون آخــر‪ ،‬لكــن التاريــخ األوروبــي القديــم ومــا‬

‫عبــر األزمــات‪ .‬هــذه القــدرة علــى التكيــف ميــزة‬ ‫خاصــة لــم تســتطع حتــى اآلن نظــم اقتصاديــة أخــرى‬ ‫الحصــول عليهــا‪ .‬وهــذا يــدل علــى وجــود مســاحة‬ ‫كبيــرة لإلبــداع والحريــة ممــا ال شــك أدى إال تحســن كبيــر فــي‬ ‫حياتنــا المتمثــل فــي التقــدم التكنولوجــي ومــا إال ذلــك‪ .‬لكــن‬ ‫تتمتــع نســبة قليلــة جــدا ً بهــذا التحســن فــي جــودة المعيشــة‪.‬‬ ‫ويبقــى عــدد كبيــر مســتغل مــن تلــك الطبقــة (النخبــة)‪ .‬أي‬ ‫ديــن يشــجع علــى المســاواة ويمحــق االســتغالل‪ .‬لكــن لألســف‬ ‫الواقــع مختلــف تمامــا‪ .‬فــي ‪ 2006‬أصــدرت مؤسســة أمريكيــة‬ ‫د راســة تحدثــت عــن مســتويات عــدم المســاواة الخطيــرة التــي‬ ‫وصلــت إليهــا الواليــات المتحــدة‪ .‬وذكــرت أن راتــب أعلــى ‪20‬‬ ‫مديــر فــي شــركات خاصــة فــي الواليــات المتحــدة يعــادل‬ ‫‪ 22,555‬راتــب الموظــف المتوســط‪ .‬ركــزت الد راســة خاصــ ًة‬ ‫علــي الشــركات القائمــة علــى المضاربــة (‪private equity and‬‬ ‫‪.)hedge fund firms‬‬

‫ مــن بدايــات الدولــة‬ ‫اإلســامية اهتمــت القيــادة‬ ‫نشــرت صحيفــة الجارديــان مقالــة قريبــا ً بعنــوان «‬ ‫باالقتصــاد‪ .‬فالمســلمين ثقافيــا ً ‬ ‫ودينيــا ً يميلــون للتجــارة خاصــة قيمــة الديــن فــي الواليــات المتحــدة يســاوي أكثــر مــن قيمــة‬ ‫المســلمين ذوي األصــول العربيــة‪ .‬شــركتي جوجــل وأبــل مجتمعيــن»‪ .‬تســاوي هــذه القيمــة ‪1.2‬‬ ‫وســاهم االقتصــاد القــوي فــي تقويــة تريليــون دوالر فــي الســنة‪ .‬يتكــون هــذا الرقــم مــن المؤسســات‬ ‫الحكــم وتوســع الديــن‪ .‬وســاهم فيمــا الدينيــة‪ ،‬بمــا فــي ذلــك مرافــق الرعايــة الصحيــة‪ ،‬والمــدارس‪،‬‬ ‫يعــرف بالعصــور الذهبيــة للدولــة اإلســامية والجمعيــات الخيريــة‪ ،‬والشــركات ذات الخلفيــات الدينيــة‪،‬‬ ‫التــي امتــدت عبــر قــرون‪ .‬لــم تكــن هنــاك وأســواق الغــذاء الموافقــة للشــريعة اليهوديــة والحــال‪،‬‬ ‫دولــة تعــادل قــوة الدولــة العباســية وال تفوقهــا والبرامــج االجتماعيــة والخيريــة‪ ،‬والنفقــات العامــة للتجمعــات‪.‬‬ ‫االقتصــادي‪ .‬التجــارة الداخليــة والخارجيــة كانــت أُطلقــت علــي هــذه الظاهــرة لقــب «االقتصــاد الدينــي»‪ .‬ويــدل‬ ‫األســاس فــي التطــور‪ .‬المضاربــة أيضــا ً كانــت طريقــة هــذا المبلــغ الكبيــر علــى تعايــش البعــض مــن القيــم الدينيــة‬ ‫أخــرى الدارة األعمــال‪ .‬أفــكار مشــابهة للتــي تطبــق فــي فــي المجتمــع األمريكــي فــي ظــل االقتصــاد الحــر‪ .‬ظهــور‬ ‫البنــوك اآلن كانــت تطبــق فــي هــذا الوقــت أيضــا ً‪ .‬طــرق إدارة المعامــات اإلســامية البنكيــة وحجــم «االقتصــاد الدينــي» فــي‬ ‫األعمــال كانــت تنظــم مــن خــال قوانيــن لكــن تلــك القوانيــن الواليــات المتحــدة نتيجتــان للتناقــض بيــن بعــض مــن مبــادئ‬ ‫مصدرهــا األساســي العلمــاء المســلمين‪ .‬وجــه االختــاف الديــن واالقتصــاد األساســية‪ ،‬والتغييــر يأتــي مــن التناقــض‪.‬‬ ‫األساســي بيــن تلــك العصــور واآلن هــو مصــدر القانــون‪.‬‬ ‫وعلــى الناحيــة األخــرى مــن العالقــة بيــن الديــن‬ ‫المســلمين لــم يفرقــوا بيــن اإلســام واالقتصــاد‪ .‬االســام كان ‬ ‫الهــدف ومصــدر اإللهــام ومصــدر القوانيــن الوحيــد حتــى فــي واالقتصــاد‪ ،‬أجــرى بعــض االقتصادييــن د راســات عــن تأثيــر الديــن‬ ‫علــى النمــو االقتصــادي‪ .‬ماكــس فيبــر (مــن أشــهر الفالســفة‬ ‫االمــور االقتصاديــة‪.‬‬ ‫وعلمــاء االجتمــاع) ربــط بيــن التقــدم االقتصــادي فــي أوروبــا‬ ‫اآلن قــد أصبحــت هنــاك قــوة اقتصاديــة أخــرى يجــب أن وأخالقيــات العمــل البروتســتانتية‪ .‬مــن وجهــة نظــره تلــك‬ ‫ ‬ ‫تخضــع لهــا هــذه الــدول وهــي الرأســمالية‪ .‬مــن الواضــح للغايــة األخالقيــات تتوافــق مــع الرأســمالية‪ .‬فهمــا االثنيــن يشــجعان‬ ‫تعــارض بعــض مــن مبــادئ الرأســمالية مــع مبــادئ االقتصــاد علــى الثــراء‪ .‬مــن ناحيــة الديــن‪ :‬الرخــاء والثــراء الظاهــر يــدل‬ ‫اإلســامي‪ .‬الرأســمالية فــي قلبهــا تراكــم الثــروات وخلــق قيمــة علــى الرضــا اإللهــي‪ .‬ويمــدح بعــض رجــال األعمــال فــي تركيــا‬ ‫أو ربــح‪ .‬تنظــر لهــذا التراكــم علــى أنــه الهــدف الوحيــد وتعزلــه ألنهــم يســتعينون بالقيــم الدينيــة فــي العمــل‪ .‬وقــد يرجــع‬ ‫عــن أي عوامــل أخــرى‪ .‬أمــا المســلمون فلهــم هــدف أســمى ثراءهــم لعــدة أســباب و لكــن‪ ،‬بنفــس منطــق فيبــر‪ ،‬فمــن‬ ‫وهــو ليــس خلــق الربــح‪ ،‬ولكــن الهــدف مــن النشــاط االقتصــادي يقومــون بربــط الث ـراء بالتديــن فــي تركيــا يطلــق عليهــم لقــب (‬ ‫مركــب ويتكــون مــن عــدة عوامــل منهــا التقــدم بالوطــن ‪ )Islamic Calvinists‬وقــام روبــرت بــارو ورايتشــل مكليــري بأبحــاث‬ ‫والتقــرب إلــى اللــه عبــر العمــل ومســاعدة المحتاجيــن‪ .‬وهــذه عــن الصلــة بيــن الديــن والتقــدم االقتصــادي‪ ،‬اســتنتج فيهــا‬ ‫األهــداف ال تتعــارض بالضــرورة مــع أهــداف الربــح والمصلحــة العلمــاء أن اإليمــان يحفــز النمــو االقتصــادي ألن الفــرد المؤمــن‬ ‫يميــل أكثــر لمبــاديء العمــل الجــاد ولديــه حــس انضبــاط أقــوى‬ ‫الشــخصية ‪.‬‬ ‫مــن الشــخص غيــر المؤمــن‪ .‬تأثيــر فيبــر القــوي فــي طريقــة‬ ‫لكــن هنــاك حــدود للتجــارة أو النشــاط االقتصــادي تفكيــر هــؤالء العلمــاء واضــح للغايــة؛ فيمــا أعتقــد أن فيبــر‬ ‫ ‬ ‫الخــاص‪ .‬تلــك الحــدود تقــوم علــى أســس أخالقيــة أو خيريــة قــام بتبســيط العالقــة بيــن العامليــن (التديــن والرخــاء) بطريقــة‬ ‫بمعنــى أصــح‪ .‬حــدود الهــدف منهــا الخيــر للمجتمــع ككل مبالــغ فيهــا‪ ،‬حيــث يمكــن تفســير حــدوث التقــدم االقتصــادي‬ ‫وليــس للفــرد فــي انعــزال عــن المجتمــع‪ .‬فنجــد تناقضــات بيــن بســبب معرفــة القــراءة والكتابــة الالتــي تتطلبهــا قــراءة الكتــب‬ ‫النظــام االقتصــادي القائــم علــي الفرديــة والتعاليــم االســامية‪ .‬المقدســة‪.‬‬ ‫وكان رد الفعــل ظهــور المعامــات البنكيــة اإلســامية‪ .‬ظهــرت‬ ‫فــي النهايــة يتضــح لنــا أن الديــن واالقتصــاد يؤثــران‬ ‫كبديــل لألنظمــة االقتصاديــة «المســتغلة» وبالفعــل يتــم ‬ ‫تطبيقهــا شــاملة فــي بعــض دول الخليــج والهنــد وإندونيســيا‪ .‬علــى بعضهمــا البعــض بالطبــع‪ .‬العالقــة تبادليــة‪ .‬لكــن تأثيــر‬ ‫تلــك المعامــات تمنــع الفائــدة ألنهــا تعتبــر ربــا والربــا ممنــوع التديــن علــى التقــدم االقتصــادي ليــس واضــح أو غيــر مثبــت‪.‬‬ ‫والمضاربــة بمفهومهــا اآلن وهنــاك أيضــا نظــام خــاص يبحــث علمــاء االجتمــاع عامــ ًة معرفــة الحلــول لمشــاكل‬ ‫للــزكاة فــي اإلسالم‪.‬تشــارك ديانــات أخــرى االســام فــي هــذه البشــرية وتفســير الظواهــر العالميــة ولكــن ســعيهم للحقيقــة‬ ‫المعضلــة‪ ،‬الديانــات التــي ليســت بالضــرورة تقلــل مــن أهميــة قــد يكــون مضلــل أحيانــا ً بســبب قناعاتهــم الشــخصية‪ ،‬خاصــ ًة‬ ‫النشــاط االقتصــادي ولكنهــا تتعــارض مــع مبــدأ الفرديــة المطلقــة االقتصاديــون إيمانهــم بالرأســمالية وبالســوق الحــر‪ .‬إيمــان‬ ‫مشــابه فــي قوتــه إليمــان دينــي‪ .‬أمثلــة كثيــرة لنظريــات ليســت‬ ‫(مبــدأ أساســي فــي النظــام االقتصــادي الســائد)‪.‬‬ ‫مدعومــة ببيانــات أو أبحــاث تبــاع علــي أنهــا حقائــق ثــم تبنــي‬ ‫بالرغــم مــن االنتقــادات الحــادة التــي يتعــرض لهــا هــذا النظــام إال دول مؤسســاتها وقوانينهــا علــي تلــك النظريــات‪.‬‬ ‫أنــه أثبــت قدرتــه علــى مواجهــة المشــككين‪ ،‬واســتطاع المضــي‬

‫‪36‬‬

‫لا‬

‫د‬ ‫ي‬

‫ن‬ ‫و‬

‫ا‬ ‫ال‬

‫ق‬ ‫ت‬

‫ص‬ ‫ن دا‬ ‫و‬ ‫ر‬ ‫ها‬

‫ن‬

‫ع‬

‫رم‬

‫تصوير‪ :‬ياســمين النواوي‬

‫كيــف تتأقلــم الديانات مع النظــام االقتصادي المتغير؟‬ ‫وكيف يتأثــر االقتصاد بالتدين؟‬ ‫ مــن أهــم النظريــات الفلســفية نظريــة هيغــل عــن الحقيقــة والتغييــر‪ .‬الفلســفة تعنــي بفكــرة الخــاف أو التناقــض‪ .‬التناقــض‬ ‫هــو مصــدر جميــع الظواهــر ومصــدر النمــو والتقــدم‪ .‬ليــس مــن شــيء جيــد أو تطــور إال وقــد جــاء نتيجــة ص ـراع‪ .‬ثاني ـا ً ليــس هنــاك‬ ‫مــن شــيء ثابــت ‪ ،‬كل شــئ يتطــور‪ .‬تأثــر ماركس‪،‬الفيلســوف المثيــر للجــدل‪ ،‬بتلــك األفــكار وكتــب عــن الديــن عبارتــه المشــهورة‬ ‫«الديــن أفيــون الشــعوب»‪ .‬قــد يفهــم البعــض أن ماركــس يعبــر عــن رفضــه للديــن ومــن الممكــن أن يكــن هــذا المقصــود مــن‬ ‫تلــك العبــارة‪ .‬ولكــن مــن رأيــي أن األهــم هــو نظــرة ماركــس لتديــن النــاس كانعــكاس للحالــة االجتماعيــة فــي هــذا الوقــت‪ .‬فجمــع‬ ‫المجتمــع والديــن والسياســة واإلقتصــاد‪ .‬ســأحاول فــي هــذا المقالــة أن أوضــح كيــف يتدخــل كل مــن الديــن واالقتصــاد فــي شــؤون‬ ‫اآلخــر‪ .‬العالقــة متبادلــة‪ :‬يوجــد أمثلــة تاريخيــة وأخــرى معاصــرة حيــث تتغيــر النظــم االقتصاديــة باســتمرار ولكننــي ســأركز علــى‬ ‫النظــام الرأســمالي والتفكيــر النيوليبرالــي بمــا إنــه التفكيــر الغالــب فــي العالــم اليــوم ‪.‬‬

‫‪37‬‬

‫ماذا يوجــد ابلعدد اإللكرتوين ؟‬ ‫محمد البجيرمي‬ ‫نورهان عمر‬

‫العقيدة بين الدين و السياســة‬ ‫اقتصاد الدين‬

‫كلمــة رئيس التحرير‬ ‫كان يــا مــا كان‪ ،‬فــي أراض تبعــد مئــات اآلالف شــرقا‪ ،‬تقــع دولــة اســمها بورمــا‪ ،‬ويمثــل عــرق الروهينجيــا المســلم‬ ‫ ‬ ‫المقيــم بمقاطعــة راخيــن إحــدى اقلياتهــا‪ .‬لقــد تعرضــت تلــك المجموعــة العرقيــة إلــى ســبل مختلفــة مــن االضطهــاد‪،‬‬ ‫والظلــم‪ ،‬والتهميــش‪ ،‬وحتــى المذابــح وإن اســتمر المجتمــع الدولــي فــي رفضــه االعتــراف بــأن مــا يتعرضــون لــه قــاب‬ ‫قوســين أو أدنــى مــن حالــة اإلبــادة الجماعيــة‪ .‬وإن كان إغفــال المجتمــع الدولــي لهــم أمـرا متوقعــا نظـرا الختيــارات الــدول‬ ‫المسيســة التــي تتحكــم فيمــا يتــم البحــث فيــه‪ ،‬ومــا يتــم تداولــه ومــا يتــم تغطيتــه‪ ،‬فالحقيقــة األكثــر ترويعــا هــو جهلنــا‬ ‫نحــن األفــراد بهــؤالء القــوم ومــا يعانــون مــن مأســاة‪ ،‬وإذا مــا علــم بعضنــا بهــم وبحالتهــم‪ ،‬قلمــا تطرقنــا إلــى حديــث‬ ‫عنهــم‪.‬‬ ‫مــا يــدل عليــه ذلــك فــي رأيــي‪ ،‬هــو أننــا كبشــر مسيســون‪ ،‬أفــراد فــي طبيعتهــا سياســية‪ ،‬فــكل مــا نتخــذه مــن‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ق ـرارات بالحديــث عــن أو التفكيــر فــي أو حتــى تفــادي النقــاش فــي بعــض المواضيــع‪ ،‬هــو نتيجــة معتقــدات‪ ،‬وانحيــازات‪،‬‬ ‫واهتمامــات مصنعــة (بنائيــة ) اجتماعيــا وذهنيــا‪ ،‬إن لــم تكــن مسيســة فهــي مرتبطــة بهويتنــا التــي هــي وبطبيعــة‬ ‫الحــال‪ ،‬سياســية‪ .‬ال مفــر مــن تلــك الحقيقــة‪ .‬ولذلــك‪ ،‬فلمــاذا ال نتحــدث عــن الروهينجيــا؟ أألننــا وإثــر ســنوات مــن تأثيــر الفكــر‬ ‫اليورســنتريك‪ ،‬أو االستشــراق‪ ،‬قلمــا نعبــأ بــكل مــا يحــدث شــرقا؟ أال يمكــن لمخيالتنــا أن تســتوعب مــا يحــدث بتلــك البلــدان‬ ‫البعيــدة جيوغرافيــا ؟ أم أننــا قــد اكتفينــا بقصــص مجموعــات األقليــة المضطهــدة حتــى اعتدنــا ســماع تلــك االخبــار وافتقرنــا‬ ‫للشــعور باأللــم والرأفــة لمعاناتهــم؟ أألن العــرب منــا يشــعرون بانتمــاء أو قرابــة أكثــر لشــعوب الــدول العربيــة فينكبــوا بالبــكاء‬ ‫علــى المأســاة الســورية فضــا عــن المأســاة فــي بورمــا؟ أم مثــا يعــود الســبب إلــى عــدم تقبلنــا لفكــرة أن يكــون المســلم‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫هــد‪ ،‬الضحيــة وليــس االرهابــي؟ هــل ال تتناســب تلــك الرؤيــة مــع الخطــاب العالمــي‬ ‫هــد وليــس‬ ‫اآلخــر هــو‬ ‫المضط َ‬ ‫المضط ِ‬ ‫المتــداول حاليــا تجــاه اإلســام كديانــة بعينهــا؟ المبتغــى مــن هــذا العــدد ليــس الخــوض فــي أســس بعــض الديانــات‬ ‫والنقــد الالهوتــي لهــا‪ ،‬فــا ندعــي علمــا ال نمتلكــه‪ ،‬ولكننــا نحــاول البحــث عــن أجوبــة لتلــك األســئلة التــي تســعى لفهــم‬ ‫العالقــة بيــن األفــراد أو الجماعــات أو األنظمــة‪ ،‬وفهمهــم وتطبيقهــم واســتخدامهم للديــن‪ .‬ودائمــا‪ ،‬فليكــن هــذا العــدد‬ ‫بمثابــة دعــوى للتســاؤل عــن الروهينجيــا‪ ،‬أو للتذكيــر بهــم‪ ،‬لعلنــا يومــا مــا نفعــل فــي حقهــم مــا هــو أكثــر مــن مجــرد‬ ‫التفكيــر والتذكــر‪.‬‬

‫أسيل‬

‫فريق العمل‬ ‫رئيس التحرير‬ ‫أسيل‬

‫مديــرة التصوير الفوتوغرافي‬ ‫سالي الفيشاوي‬

‫مدير التحرير‬ ‫مراد دبور‬

‫مستشــار هيئة التدريس‬ ‫رامي علي‬

‫مســاعدة مدير التحرير‬ ‫ريم حاتم‬

‫مديرة الموارد البشــرية‬ ‫نور خالد‬

‫المحررين‬ ‫إسراء أبو زيد‬ ‫ياسمين بوقرش‬ ‫مروان خليفة‬ ‫ندى نبيل‬

‫مدير التسويق‬ ‫محمد البجيرمي‬ ‫مســاعدة مدير التسويق‬ ‫جيدا شعالن‬

‫مراجع لغة ومنســق عام‬ ‫مهند الطنطاوي‬

‫رسوم مصورة‬ ‫محمد شلتوت‬

‫المنسق المالي‬ ‫دنيا المغربي‬ ‫مســاعد المنسق المالي‬ ‫حسام أشرف‬

‫حقوق النشر‬

‫جميــع الصــور والرســومات الغيــر مذكــور‬ ‫مصدرهــا إمــا مســتخدمة بتصريــح مــن‬ ‫صاحبهــا أو مرخصــة لالســتخدام الغيــر‬ ‫التجــاري‬

‫تنو يه‬

‫‪ AUC Times‬مجلــة طالبية‪ .‬أي آراء مذكورة‬ ‫فــي المجلة تمثــل الكاتب‪/‬الكاتبة فقط‪ ،‬وال‬ ‫تعكــس آراء فريــق التحرير أو إدارة الجامعة‬ ‫األمريكية بالقاهرة‪.‬‬

‫‪Online‬‬

‫نحو تفكيك الفكر الســلطوي‬ ‫أكتوبر ‪٢٠١٦‬‬