A spiritual Ishmaelite

Category: Dialogues with secularists/modernists

  • May God save bioengineering from military industrial complex

    ISHMAEL ABRAHAM·WEDNESDAY, 15 NOVEMBER 2017
    I have always been skeptical of military industrial complex because of the tragedy it has caused to the traditional world in Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan. So, I have explored research areas like BioMEMS as an ethical alternative. But reading this had been painful. Please at least salvage this area from serving the military industrial complex.

  • Quran 6:108: The difference between self-shaming, guilt, insult and blasphemy according to psychology

    ISHMAEL ABRAHAM·SUNDAY, 12 NOVEMBER 2017
    Self-shaming and guilt about trying to hurt God’s honour are good. Because Guy Winch admits that guilt is a relationship protector with God or another human. But God says that even the most faithless should not be insulted in Quran 6:108. As mentioned in 1 Corinthians 10:28 Pulpit Commentary But if any man say unto you. Who is the “any man” is left undefined. Perhaps some “weak” Christian is meant, who happens to be a fellow guest. This is offered in sacrifice unto idols. The true reading is probably, hierothuton, sacred sacrifice, not eidolothuton, idol sacrifice. Perhaps there is a touch of delicate reserve in the word, implying that the remark is made at the table of heathens, who would be insulted by the word eidolothuton, sacrificed to idols.
    Thanks for contriubting to interfaith dialogue
    Submitted by Ishmael on November 11, 2017 – 2:26pm
    I am involved in an interfaith dialogue with a Christian sister from US about the nature of spiritual self-shaming and guilt for displeasing God. Thanks for contributing to our dialogue by adding the nuance.

  • I learnt what Nick Elam means after an American Zionist called me Asshur the Antichrist :)

    ISHMAEL ABRAHAM·SATURDAY, 11 NOVEMBER 2017
    He did not even know that that my biological forefather was the one who killed Nimrod. May God make me a spiritual, intellectual and possibly a physical purifier of Temples of Jerusalem and Baca like the holy Elam of Nehemiah 12.
    Elam is also the name of the place where the Muslim philosophical saint Ghazali was born which is modern day Iran.
    Elam is also included in the name of my tolerant American secularist virtual neighbour Nick Elam.
    When the temple of Baca is purified, the oud pefume is mixed with holy water which is made from agarwood. First-grade agarwood is one of the most expensive natural raw materials in the world, with 2010 prices for superior pure material as high as US$100,000/kg
    The name Nick also has wonderful connotations for me. Nick is shortened form of Saint Nicholas who was born in Turkey and apparently my Nick loves The Young Turks who are involved in US politics. However, there is something even more interesting he was involved in anti-unitarian heresy and Isaac Newton and Muslims would have disagreed with him, but with rise of greek rationalism, unitarianism makes more sense than trinity.
    Santa Claus is thought by some to have evolved from Saint Nicholas too. I hope just like people today disagree with idea of Santa, they may also overcome the trinity of Saint Nicholas.

  • Givaudan and Swiss Arabian: How sunnah of alcohol free perfumes contributes to synthesis of civilizations

    ISHMAEL ABRAHAM·SATURDAY, 11 NOVEMBER 2017
    Today someone brought Swiss Arabian alcohol free perfume in my house. I also learned that even Sola Scriptura scholars like Ibn Uthaymeen do not consider perfumes with alcohol content less than 1/20th part of it, to be forbidden according to divine commandments.
    God is beautiful and loves beauty according to Hadith, so the orthodox community should promote this sunnah to help promote a modernity-compatible super-traditionalism in the 21st century.
    We have a strain of mystic self neglect in the traditional culture which can occur in celibate forms of catholicism, but reviving sunnah has the heavenly reward equivalent to martyrs.

  • Redorbit and fadeeha: When children of clerics fall from grace

    I came here while researching the word fadeeha which can mean scandal and fall from grace and this word has been used for her in the Arabic world. May God guide her to the path of her cleric father. A sacred Islamic text states that those who look lustfully at others will be humiliated/fadeeha by God before they die if they do not repent.

  • A Pakistani modernist ignorant of both Quran and West discusses sexology and humorous poet Anwar Masood

    ISHMAEL ABRAHAM·SATURDAY, 11 NOVEMBER 2017
    Assalamu alaykum. Anwar Masood brought me here due to his preference for a national Pakistani identity compared to his Punjabi identity. I also appreciate him for naming one of his humorous poems after Quran 59:2 about tragedy of East Pakistan. Islamic sexology has been practiced for centuries and even Mother of Believers has described the sacred sexual norms in detail and some narrow minded Shia brothers have criticized that. But even the Prophetic descendants in Shia texts have responded to questions vaguely similar to oral sex and fingering and supposedly allowed that. At least that responds to their biased criticism. Latest research has shown that many of Freud’s theories do not match the scientific evidence. For example oedipus complex never made any sense to me. Before dying Freud wrote about his Prophet Moses peace be upon him but secular Muslims are mostly ignorant about that. Cousin marriage, plural marriage and early marriage are still taboo in West. Darwin married his cousin. Martin Luther called plural marriage biblical and Romeo and Juliet were a case of teenage romance. NYT even published and glorified a Mormon pre-teen lesbian recently but they hate early heterosexual marriage. So, your criticism of Pakistani society is based on your own Scriptural and even western ignorance.

  • Authentic Torah Zionism and how greco-roman pagan culture tries to destroy it

    ISHMAEL ABRAHAM·SATURDAY, 4 NOVEMBER 2017
    Ishmael Abraham Hertzl was anything but orthodox.
    James Lay Zionism predates Hertzl, he may have been responsible for the modern take on it but it’s integral to the Jewish culture and religion.
    Ishmael Abraham We believe in Torah Zionism too which means that God’s laws should prevail in the Holy Land. But heretic Godless Zionists use that desire of believers to advance gay rights and greco-roman paganism of western culture.
    James Lay Nothing wrong with gay rights or the Greco-Roman pagan culture.
    Ishmael Abraham The cultural imperialists think like that. But we are not like Native Americans, we have Quran.
    James Lay Native Americans had less of a hangup about homosexuality than their European western counterparts. In fact homosexuality has more of a stigma in the judeo Christian islamic traditions. The Quran doesn’t mean anything to me, it has the same position as any other holy book.
    Ishmael Abraham But their traditional culture has been completely obliterated. And, we and our future generations will keep resisting it. Prostitution arrived in North America with the early European settlers. According to The Reader’s Companion to American History, there was no Native American counterpart to the purchase of sexual favors (Gilfoyle)

  • Silicon valley and EE vs CE: Dialogue with one of the brightest minds of engineering from my Muslim country

    Me:What is your favorite area in EE?
    Yar my focus shifted a bit towards computer engineering. I mean the overlapping area between EE and CE. So mostly I’m doing some kind of programming.
    VHDL or C++? I think programming is suited to your logical nature of IQ, while I was horrified by programming because my IQ is of spatial nature. I love understanding structures like a cell in biology or structure of semiconductor devices. CE always seems as the most latest and popular thing because masses interact with it more while EE can seem to be a boring traditional discipline beyond the admiration of masses.
    He works for Silicon valley. May God protect him from contributing to murderous military industrial complex and may he serve in partially philanthropic industries like biomedical engineering.
    Do you work on military or biomedical projects? Neither. These days working on home automation kind of projects
    Thanks God, we do not serve the nwo military industrial complex.
    Hahaha. And to respond to your earlier query, I use C, C++, python etc
    I fear python and its brothers like Moses peace be upon him . ( Quran 27:10)

  • Sociology research: Why West celebrated right to drive in Saudi Arabia?

    Sex and cars two of America s and the worlds favorite thing, it should be no surprise that they have ties.It is obvious the tremendous impact the car has had on our lives and the world we live in. Whether you believe it is for better or for worse that the automobile was created it will no doubt continue to have a great impact on travel and an array of other characteristics of our lives. As for sex , well all things aside we need it to reproduce.
    Muhammad Mushrraf Really interesting.
    I remember an old man, in eighties, told me before a month or so, that bicycle was a great source for he corruption of the youth in his village, and when a boy had a bicycle, then it means that he wouldn’t be able to continue his study. Everything which facilitates easy communication and interaction, has the potential to stir such things.
    And, when it comes to cars, then the matter is on gigantic scale, definitely.
    Peter Bell I heard recently from a respected friend that the theology of technology is just beginning to be developed, and is not caught up to the actual changes in technology that we face every day. This is a cutting-edge field of work for the brightest minds and most faithful hearts to engage the ethics and cosmic dynamics of our upcoming technology. We as a society (and as believing people) very much need this.
    Ishmael Abraham Since, I am involved in cutting edge research in technology while being a student of sacred Islamic texts, please pray for me to contribute much to this area of sapio-adroans synthesis before dying, so that God consider us a knight of Christ as well as the Ishmaelite righteous King. Future belongs to the faithful, God willing/In Sha Allah. Martin Seligman admits that believers are far more optimistic about future than the Godless. I read the word technology in a spiritual context here, which may not be precisely relevant here, but shows the passionate desire of believers for a sapio-adorans synthesis.
    http://www.techofheart.co/

  • Existential dysphoria, nihilistic sufism and nihilistic militancy

    Thinking about existential dysphoria made me visit the blog and I liked it. Since I am both a patrilineal and matrilineal descendant of Abraham peace be upon him, my DNA made me explore theistic existentialism via Kierkegaard who wrote Fear and Trembling about my grandfather. I have theistic psychotherapist friends who recommend reading Martin Seligman who has acknowledged that theists tend to be more optimistic than secularists. I think nihilism is a logical consequence of industrial revolution and sexual revolution, but our traditional culture is still successfully resisting both revolutions and therefore nihilism but one can find nihilistic movements in the traditional world. Nihilism literally means annihilation and some sufi saints have talked about annihilation of ego while witnessing the divine ego. However, that is incompatible with our modern existence as well as our own texts. Then, there are militant anarchists who think that it is impossible to resist temptation while being a part of modern culture so they resort to militant anarchism to destroy with nihilistic passion. However, I have embraced a synthesis of radical anti-modern skepticism and self-annihilating sufi compassion.

    https://wewalkamongyou.wordpress.com/2012/02/07/how-existentialism-helped-with-my-dysphoria/