Thursday, December 01, 2005
Very interesting, true, and a depressing quote methinks."Were al-Ghazali, Ibn Rushd, Rumi, or even Muhammad Iqbal born in modern day Islamic countries, they invariably would have either been doctors or engineers.
We would have felt that if they studied the religious sciences they were less than competent and would have asked them what the "scope" is in doing so and debated the merits of their chosen path."
Edited quote from an internet article
Not to take anything away from the quote because it does point to a serious problem but if the existing Muslim engineers had actually bothered to apply their 'engineering skills' in facets of life other than just work, it would solve a lot of problems.
The very same engineers that are the most organized and efficient at work are the ones who refuse to form a line in the mosque. But then again, this in itself points to the problem because a profession is understood to be for the sole purpose of earning a living. No more, no less.
God forbid that we actually try to be organized at our homes, mosques, and Islamic work. For generations money was earned, mansions were built, expenses cars were bought, and fancy degrees were acquired; yet, simple manners and courtesy managed to elude our grasp.
Performing triple integrals for 3-dimensional spatial objects is a breeze but trying to read the poetry of Mohammad Iqbal became a waste of time.
The message is not to discourage someone from being an engineer or a doctor but atleast open your minds to the possibility of exporting those abilities to other areas. How many non-profit organizations would benefit from the involvement of professional engineers who are so used to managing billion dollar projects that co-ordinating relief efforts would seem a child's play ? Or how many doctors are willing to donate some time each year to help out people in disaster stricken areas?
We have to graduate from the mentality of what 'is learnt at work, stays at work.'
I've always thought about doing some kind of an 'artsy' degree down the road. Only Allah knows if that will ever happen but the least I could do is try and put the already existing engineering skills to some good use.
[for those unfamiliar with the names mentioned in the quote, those people were great philosophers and poets of their time]
Faraz Ahmed 6:42 p.m.
4 Comments:
There's an interesting story in the Globe and Mail Dec 2nd,2005, about a Belgian girl who converted to Islam and became a suicide bomber. Funny how you don't seem to include those stories in your blog. They do exist you know...
A valid question indeed.
After the comment, I wanted to see how many ‘political’ stories I’ve posted either glorifying or condemning the violence taking place in Iraq, Palestine, etc. So, I went through my archives all the way to July and found none.
Not to say I don’t care about what is happening in the global stage, but I myself have become tired about reading the cycle of violence that goes on routinely and thus figured other people feel the same way too. That is why I don’t post stories about the massacres by Iraqi insurgents nor the killing of civilians by Americans (a video I saw the other day by an Italian TV about that story nearly reduced me to tears but I yet refrained from posting that link because I did not see anyone benefiting from it).
My objective is to usually post stories that I find interesting and other people will not normally see in the mainstream media. Any ‘Islamic’ posts that I make usually deal with either myself or the community. I know many a people who have become depressed thinking too much about the global events and that is why I try to not only focus my blog but also my life on taking care of things that I can change. As Tupac once mentioned that he can’t be held responsible for the actions of every black man, similarly, I can’t explain the actions of every Muslim out there. I can try and explain the actions of my life and I try to do that in an honest manner on the blog.
This doesn’t mean I forget about the international events, but I keep the involvement very limited. Sure, I’ve made fun of Bush and Blair in a couple of posts, but those were more of political satires and should be taken in a light mood.
Plus, if you notice, I don’t focus on just one news source, but have posted stories from BBC, MSNBC, IslamOnline, etc.
I don’t know if I’ve explained myself properly but I usually go to great pains to ensure that I’m not putting out dribble that you can find in your local newspaper.
After the comment, I wanted to see how many ‘political’ stories I’ve posted either glorifying or condemning the violence taking place in Iraq, Palestine, etc. So, I went through my archives all the way to July and found none.
Not to say I don’t care about what is happening in the global stage, but I myself have become tired about reading the cycle of violence that goes on routinely and thus figured other people feel the same way too. That is why I don’t post stories about the massacres by Iraqi insurgents nor the killing of civilians by Americans (a video I saw the other day by an Italian TV about that story nearly reduced me to tears but I yet refrained from posting that link because I did not see anyone benefiting from it).
My objective is to usually post stories that I find interesting and other people will not normally see in the mainstream media. Any ‘Islamic’ posts that I make usually deal with either myself or the community. I know many a people who have become depressed thinking too much about the global events and that is why I try to not only focus my blog but also my life on taking care of things that I can change. As Tupac once mentioned that he can’t be held responsible for the actions of every black man, similarly, I can’t explain the actions of every Muslim out there. I can try and explain the actions of my life and I try to do that in an honest manner on the blog.
This doesn’t mean I forget about the international events, but I keep the involvement very limited. Sure, I’ve made fun of Bush and Blair in a couple of posts, but those were more of political satires and should be taken in a light mood.
Plus, if you notice, I don’t focus on just one news source, but have posted stories from BBC, MSNBC, IslamOnline, etc.
I don’t know if I’ve explained myself properly but I usually go to great pains to ensure that I’m not putting out dribble that you can find in your local newspaper.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Faraz, a Muslim Engineering co-op student in Canada, writing about Islam, academics, literature, and on the rare occasion, politics?
If I weren't me, I'd think you were!
If I weren't me, I'd think you were!