friendlyatheist:

mehreenkasana said here:

There is intense dispute regarding the sect’s beliefs, tangential interpretations of Ahadith and its staunch loyalty for Ali (RA) and animosity for Ayesha (RA). It is very convenient to lambaste another person or group’s rituals. We have Opus Dei and its barbed wire used in order to remember the pain that Christ went through. We have orthodox Jews that believe in daily lashings in order to repent their sins. Therefoe, while studying religion, we all need to remember that we must remain objective and clinical regarding their beliefs. For two basic reasons: 1. We cannot change rituals in motion for centuries. 2. It is unethical of us to attempt altering someone else’s belief. If it isn’t harming you or me, you and I cannot go further and change it no matter how aesthetically unpleasant it seems to us, no matter how horribly it clashes with our values.

What you saw in that picture of a mother using a blunt knife on her son’s forehead is a form of Tazi’yeh which means mourning, lamenting. This is a higher level of maa’tam (mourning) in which the body is open to all sorts of whipping, hitting, slicing and much more. The first level of Tazi’yeh is verbal. i.e. Wailing, crying and, in several cases, beating one’s chest gently. For Sunnis, Wahabis and Barelvi’s, this ritual is downright barbaric and against, what we perceive, Allah’s ahkaam. Sunnis discourage this on basis of what Allah says in the Quran that, paraphrased, a human’s body is Allah’s property and Allah property must not be tainted, maimed or marred. i.e. To take care of it. And that if you are moved by what Hussain (RA) suffered, pray to Allah, cry out to Him but do not harm your body. This is what Sunnis believe.

For Shia’s, maa’tam is holy. It must be done. Kurds do it, Shia’s do it. I have been to Ashura gatherings as a photojournalist and some sights are indeed unnerving but, at the end of the day, I am no one to stop them. That picture was not only very offensive to Shia Muslims to Middle Eastern people too. It attacked their religion in addition to their culture. That is racism and bigotry. Simple.

FA responds:

1) We can and should strive to change rituals and/or traditions that are hurful, nonsensical and when applied to children, abuse. Also those that limit the freedoms and abilities of others. 

2) It is not unethical to attempt to change the beliefs of others. That is why there are such things as debates, universities, political parties and freedom of speech. I will never understand why the religious find censure to be attractive.

3) If a belief should not be challenged just because it does not hurt one personally then whites in the US should not have stood against slavery nor supported Martin Luther King. There would’t have been a reason for men to support women’s suffrage or feminism. Much less for heterosexuals like myself to support gay rights. Such an assumption of inaction unless one is directly affected is assinine and dangerous. Just imagine yourself as being part of the affected group and you will understand. It is what we call empathy. Do yo have it?

If you don’t feel any responsability towards the well being of other human beings that is fine, just don’t falsly accuse those that work for the common good of bigotry and racism. How sad is that social responsability, in the face of an unwarranted respect for religion, dissapears. Some may look the other way but I cannot.

4) Religion is not excempt of criticism. Neither is culture when it does not promote the well being of human beings. Name calling, which what calling other Islamophobes is, does not answer the warranted criticisms. On the contrary it is a poor and weak attempt at censure and repression. Realists like myself will never bow down to such, not now not ever.

In reason:
-FA

People who think ”minding your own business” is always a virtue, and “tolerance” is always completely necessary, piss me off. The far left has taken the word “tolerance” to a completely ridiculous level; tolerate dangerous beliefs, practices, rituals.

FA pretty much said it so I don’t have to go into it, but please people: stop hiding behind your fucking “tolerance” as an excuse to ignore the horrors of the world… and then call people who want to make a difference “unethical.” You’re full of shit, just admit it.