The Poor-Man's Guide to Modernity - Independent Media Center

immemorial. It prescribes how to be effective and pragmatic in standing up to barbarians
without ourselves becoming one. It offers the criterion for resolving the existential dilemma
often faced by all peoples of conscience, whether to confront, or to be co-opted. To know what
it is, one still needs to acquire its “ilm”, as with everything else. We no more naturally know it in
our au natural state of ignorance and barbarianism than we are born with our clothes on.
Interestingly, it is also a commonsense wisdom. Acquire Knowledge – 'even if one has to
journey to China', as the Prophet of Islam is reputed to have also stated to his followers in that
Age of Jahiliya (ignorance).
The difficulty of physically journeying to China is of course considerably less today. However,
we continue to suffer another Age of Jahiliya in our modernity today. One that is dominated by
facile views and deception all around. The most pervasive of these facile views among
Muslims today is their own self-deception to avoid taking on the responsibility for rectifying
their own subjugated condition. It is that oft heard self-serving proclamation of the pious and
the scoundrel alike: “Allah chala raha hai”. Meaning, “God is running the world”. Its natural
corollary then easily follows: “let Allah take care of his world while I take care of my camels.”
The devil's apprentices who actually are running the world, from time immemorial, deliberately
cultivate such servile dogmas and facile views among the foolish masses living in their au
natural mental state. To await their favorite savior or messiah; to patiently suffer life for the
future expectation of reward in heaven; to focus on taking care of one's own camels and to
leave the affairs of state to god, president, or king, except to vote every four years as that's
called “democracy” which one must worship; etceteras, while the rulers continue to enjoy their
own unlimited heavens right here on earth.
The devil's apprentices also find an irresistibly natural fertile soil among the Muslims for
imperial plowing and harvesting. Divided into partisan sects from birth, each having not just a
different understanding of the early history of their religion, but also a slightly different
understanding of the religion of Islam itself despite possessing the same Holy Qur'an that they
all share, Muslims rush to draw upon their respective sectarian narrations of history and
doctrinal mumbo jumbo (that's the only way I can fairly describe what pious Muslim scholars
utter from their highest pulpits to indoctrinate their flock), to dignify their pathetic silence to
tyranny. That's the “good Muslim” variety (sic!). The “bad Muslim” of course rush to join “Al
Qaeeda” (sic!). The Muslim ethos, born in servitude, cultivated into co-option, and dreaming of
rewards in heaven, lends naturally to the Hegelian Dialectic of “good Muslim” vs. “bad Muslim”.
The Poor-Man's Guide to Modernity 194 / 334 Zahir Ebrahim