it isn't a war on islam or anything

[M.I.A.]

slightly off topic but if you think islam gets a bad wrap in the media, you should take a look how black people have been typecast.

Living in the West for too long has a strange effect on some people. After a while their sense of Al Wala and Bara starts to get affected.

yes quite.

mankind is nothing but insolence and competition, east or west.

thats what drives the drama.



i suppose you would write off most people that have had there characteristics changed by the world they live in.


in actual fact, it would be far easier to think that way.


and far harder to actually make them change without transgression.

or convince them of your implied superiority.


allah swt raises and lowers as he wills.


so can you really complain?

 

[Mustafa2012]

slightly off topic but if you think islam gets a bad wrap in the media, you should take a look how black people have been typecast.

yes quite.

mankind is nothing but insolence and competition, east or west.

thats what drives the drama.


i suppose you would write off most people that have had there characteristics changed by the world they live in.


in actual fact, it would be far easier to think that way.


and far harder to actually make them change without transgression.

or convince them of your implied superiority.


allah swt raises and lowers as he wills.


so can you really complain?

It's funny how you mentioned African Americans/Africans because I did notice a similarity between what they went through and what Muslims go through. I don't personally like using the word "black" because most of them are not black. They're more of a medium to dark brown complexion but that's another debate.

Muslims are the new "blacks" or the new "Jews". They need someone new to pick on and bully. Unfortunately they can't do it to the african americans nowadays as much as they got away with in the past because they had enough and stood up for themselves. :ia: A time will come when Muslims will do the same.

I don't know what implied superiority you're referring to. Maybe you misunderstood my words.

I was simply trying to say that if you live in the West for too long, you can start to get desensitized towards the plans and plots that the enemies of Islam prepare for us on a daily basis and you lose that feeling where if we're not able to change the evil then at least hate it in our hearts. That according to the hadith is the lowest form of emaan.

However it becomes a problem when people are not just, not fulfilling this lowest part of emaan (of hating it in our hearts) but they cannot even recognize the evil that is blatantly staring at them in the face. This is a sign of desensitization towards the evil around us.

I do not write off most people who have had their characteristics changed by living in the West, however I think that it is a serious problem when people get to a stage when they cannot recognize evil as evil anymore. That is an indication of their level of emaan.

Yes, Allah :arabic2:raises and lowers as he wills but we cannot use that as an excuse to continue ignoring some of the evils around us.

 

[M.I.A.]

your right, i would not say that black guy.

its a touchy subject and one that is easily likely to offend.

if its taken as such.

like most things language is an open invitation to show our true character.

what motivates us.



i was lead to believe that its in our answers to the questions posed by life that we are judged on.


unfortunately i have not spoken much for the last few years.


so im rather likely to judge on questions.



muslims are not the new blacks or jews.

its a personal mindset.

i recently visited a largely white neighborhood and actually felt like i could breath again.


its a strange feeling.

and one that actually makes you think that being good might actually rub off on somebody.

rather than being somebodies breakfast, lunch or dinner.

 

[Mustafa2012]

your right, i would not say that black guy.

its a touchy subject and one that is easily likely to offend.

if its taken as such.

like most things language is an open invitation to show our true character.

what motivates us.



i was lead to believe that its in our answers to the questions posed by life that we are judged on.


unfortunately i have not spoken much for the last few years.


so im rather likely to judge on questions.



muslims are not the new blacks or jews.

its a personal mindset.

i recently visited a largely white neighborhood and actually felt like i could breath again.


its a strange feeling.

and one that actually makes you think that being good might actually rub off on somebody.

rather than being somebodies breakfast, lunch or dinner.

You're entitled to your opinion.

There are exceptions of course. I know that there are many good people out there among non Muslims and I give credit where it's due. But they are in the minority. There are still a large no. of people out there who think that it's ok to speak about Muslims and oppress them in whatever way they like just because they are the majority.

In my personal experience, what Muslims are going through now is very similar to what the African American, people of African/Caribbean descent and even Irish people went through years ago and what some of them still go through to this day. Some of the orthodox Jews also get a lot of stick for their appearance and beliefs.

The African Americans, people of African/Caribbean descent and Irish had to literally fight for the rights through protests and riots until they were given some of the dignity back.

For Muslims, our religion prohibits use from using physical means to get our rights in lands where there is peace (unless of course, we are oppressed physically).

One of the main ways we achieve our goals is through peaceful dialogue and education.

:ia: soon what we have been promised by :Allah: :arabic2: and His final Messenger :arabic5: will be fulfilled. There is no doubt about that. We just need to be patient and do whatever little we are able to until that time comes.

 

[LauraS]

I know that there are many good people out there among non Muslims and I give credit where it's due. But they are in the minority.

Oh thank you!

 

[Mustafa2012]

Oh thank you!

I'm sorry if that offends you but that statement was based on my personal everyday experience of interacting with non Muslims, the kind of statements and coverage I see being made in the media, social media and public forums for discussion. Others might have a different experience. Until I experience things differently this is how I see it.

 

[Independent]

The baddies always seem to have a beard of some kind and mostly always look like they are of Arab descent. They are also often dressed wearing long robes like Muslims do.

it is interesting to look at films through the decades to see how the choice of baddies has changed.

First thing to remember is that many films need a baddy for dramatic purposes, so someone has to get the part. The choice tends to reflect current conflicts. The James Bond series is particularly revealing because it spans the whole period from the 60s to the present day. In the Cold War, the Russians were the generic baddies. But post Glasnost that's not so easy so the selection has changed. It's hardly surprising Muslim terrorists are a popular theme right now - they have the added advantage of not necessarily belonging to a particular country, so no state can be offended.

If you sit down and try to think of it from the movie producer's point of view, finding a suitable baddy is genuinely more complicated these days. Who else do you expect them to choose?

So Muslims have been one of the new categories - but it's not as simple as that. Another major theme is an internal right wing US conspiracy. Particularly interesting is the recent Iron Man 3 (5th highest grossing film of all time) which appeared to have an evil Muslim as the main villain - but he turns out to be a front used to throw suspicion elsewhere by the real villain, a right winger. (Sorry if i ruined the surprise but it's not much of a movie.) The picture is far from as black and white as you suggest.

One interesting Hollywood trend that has persisted for 50 years and more is the use of English actors to play the main villain (even in Iron Man 3 the 'Muslim baddy' was actually English, both dramatically and in actual fact!). The reason for this lies partly in ambiguous attitudes in the US towards the UK, but also especially because an English accent sounds 'foreign' whilst being entirely comprehensible. They don't necessarily play the part of an English character in the drama - for instance, they may play an evil Roman character etc.

As we all know, the UK has been the US's most important ally since WW2, so it's strange that they have depicted English actors so unfavourably. Do I think this is a conspiracy? No I don't. But if English people happened to be all Muslim, you would be including that on your conspiracy list.

 

[Futuwwa]

I'd prefer if we focused on efforts on actual oppression of Muslims that takes place in plain sight, rather than on conspiracies that many of us (me included) are far from convinced even exist.

 

[M.I.A.]

it is interesting to look at films through the decades to see how the choice of baddies has changed.

First thing to remember is that many films need a baddy for dramatic purposes, so someone has to get the part. The choice tends to reflect current conflicts. The James Bond series is particularly revealing because it spans the whole period from the 60s to the present day. In the Cold War, the Russians were the generic baddies. But post Glasnost that's not so easy so the selection has changed. It's hardly surprising Muslim terrorists are a popular theme right now - they have the added advantage of not necessarily belonging to a particular country, so no state can be offended.

If you sit down and try to think of it from the movie producer's point of view, finding a suitable baddy is genuinely more complicated these days. Who else do you expect them to choose?

So Muslims have been one of the new categories - but it's not as simple as that. Another major theme is an internal right wing US conspiracy. Particularly interesting is the recent Iron Man 3 (5th highest grossing film of all time) which appeared to have an evil Muslim as the main villain - but he turns out to be a front used to throw suspicion elsewhere by the real villain, a right winger. (Sorry if i ruined the surprise but it's not much of a movie.) The picture is far from as black and white as you suggest.

One interesting Hollywood trend that has persisted for 50 years and more is the use of English actors to play the main villain (even in Iron Man 3 the 'Muslim baddy' was actually English, both dramatically and in actual fact!). The reason for this lies partly in ambiguous attitudes in the US towards the UK, but also especially because an English accent sounds 'foreign' whilst being entirely comprehensible. They don't necessarily play the part of an English character in the drama - for instance, they may play an evil Roman character etc.

As we all know, the UK has been the US's most important ally since WW2, so it's strange that they have depicted English actors so unfavourably. Do I think this is a conspiracy? No I don't. But if English people happened to be all Muslim, you would be including that on your conspiracy list.

i dont think any of it is a conspiracy.

you take what you have and weave a story out of it.

it needs to be relavent to have appeal.

so you look at social trends and news for inspiration.

media sources you use for inside jokes.

and lastly reference material.


9 times out of ten you can point a finger and say that reminds you of something.

most things that are edited out are simpy to widen the audiance appeal at the loss of accuracy.


thats why its hollywood.

incidentally iron man one had the bad dad villian...plus terrorist mercs.

iron man two was russian.

so its hardly set in stone.

also batman had something very similar in ras al gual.

...suprisingly george cloony batman is always overlooked.

its a joke, you can literally make of it what you will.

but most kids grow up reading comics because they relate to it, its an escape an ideal.

and for some time, it is very easy.


...its hardly the ark of the covenant but you could almost imagine.

thats the joke really.


..its not.


my brother was talking about alexander the great the other day.

im not sure what importance he played within islamic history.

but the hollywood adaptation does not portray him as having had islamic values.



anyway, we are all here to learn about the quran,

islam and how our own opinions of it differ.

 

[Muhammad]

:salamext:

I'd prefer if we focused on efforts on actual oppression of Muslims that takes place in plain sight, rather than on conspiracies that many of us (me included) are far from convinced even exist.

Good point. Let's not waste any more time on this discussion. Thread closed.