The Islamic Identity versus The American Identity

1
The Islamic IdentityversusThe American Identity

• Can they coexist?

2
Technology Vs Civilization

• Civilization is different than technology
• Examples of the Pharoes and Add
• Al-Shuraa (Quran 26128-131)
• 128 "Do you build a landmark on every high
  place to amuse yourselves?
• 129 "And do ye get for yourselves fine
  buildings in the hope of living therein
  (forever)?
• 130 "And when ye exert your strong hand, do ye
  do it like men of absolute power?
• 131 "Now fear Allah, and obey me.

3
Technology of Death andCentury of Mega Death
War Human Cost
World Wars I and II 70 M
Paraguay-Bolivia War of 1928-35, the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39, the Italian invasion of Ethiopia in 1936, the India-Pakistan partition of 1947 and the subsequent two wars, the Korean war of 1950-53, the Nigerian civil war of 1967, the Vietnam War of 1961-74, and the Iraq-Iran war of 1980-87 Total of 6 Ms Paraguay-Bolivia War of 1928-35, the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39, the Italian invasion of Ethiopia in 1936, the India-Pakistan partition of 1947 and the subsequent two wars, the Korean war of 1950-53, the Nigerian civil war of 1967, the Vietnam War of 1961-74, and the Iraq-Iran war of 1980-87 Total of 6 Ms
Hitler Adventures 6 M Jews 2 M Poles 6 M Soviet 3 M Europeans Total 17 M
Communism Lenin 8 M, Stalin 25 M Spreading Communism in China 29 M, Spreading Communism in Europe 3 M Total 60 M
4
The Giant of Global Inequality

• Distribution of wealth in the globe is highly
  uneven. Economic growth is also highly unevenly
  distributed, it favors the richer portion of man
  kind and making the gap wider
• The situation is getting worse as the population
  of the world grows much more in poor states. The
  population of the world is expected to be near
  8.5 billions by the year 2025. Of that total, as
  many as 6.5 billions are expected to be living in
  the poorer states of mankind.
• Even worse, approximately two-thirds of these
  will be concentrated in the urban slums of the
  less developed world, making them highly
  susceptible to radical political mobilization.
• The portion of the populations of the rich
  countries who are over the age of 65 is
  increasing much more rapidly than the
  corresponding age bracket in the poorer
  countries, while their number under the age of
  fifteen is shrinking more rapidly.
• Negative demographic trends are reinforced by
  negative economic trends. According to the United
  Nations Human Development Report for 1992, in the
  1960s the richer countries were thirty times
  wealthier than the poorer ones, but by the 1990s
  the gap had widened to the point that the income
  of the richer countries had become 150 times
  higher.

5
Criterion 1 Source of Legislation

• No society without a law
• Laws are either divine or man made
• If the society is divided into higher people who
  write laws and lower people that follow these
  laws, then this society is not Islamic
• If the guidance and Moral values of Allah is the
  source of laws and legislations, then this
  society is a civilized society. This includes
  written laws enforced by the governing body or
  unwritten laws enforced by the social pressure of
  the society itself
• Allah is the only one that can write a fair law
• Man made laws are customized to serve Somebody
• A message from Rebi Ibn Amer

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Criterion 2 Highest Value

• If the highest value in the society that
  determines what is right and what is wrong, what
  is acceptable and what is not acceptable, and
  what is legal and what is illegal, is idealism
  then this society is civilized. But if this value
  is materialism, then this society is not
  civilized
• Basis of decision Materialism versus Idealism
• Basis of Islamic economy and Islamic politics

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Criterion 3 Building Unit of the Society

• If the building unit of the society is a healthy
  family made of a loving and caring father and a
  loving and caring mother who are married, as well
  as the legitimate children, then this society is
  Islamic
• But if the population of the society is based on
  illegitimate children, families of single
  fathers, single mothers, two fathers or two
  mothers, then this society is not civilized
• 1/3 of children from outside of marriage
• 60 of people who date go to bed in the first
  date
• Which is more honorable, build a human being or
  build a materialistic object

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Criteria 4 Basis of Unity

• If the values that unit members of the society
  are common moral values, and common ideology and
  views of life that is based on heavenly guidance,
  then this society is Islamic
• But if this society is united over materialism
  and common materialistic interests, such as the
  rich comfortable fulfilling life that we live and
  want our children to continue living, then this
  society is not civilized
• The earthly basis of unity, such as race, color
  or materialism does not produce a civilized
  societies

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Criteria 5 Basis of Moral Values

• Motivated by Love of Allah, Strong desire to go
  to Jannah, Strong fear of his punishment
• Motivated by materialistic benifits
• Eat my God that I built with my own hand when I
  get hungry

10
Islamic Identity

• Constant identity well defined by Quran and
  Sunnah
• Does not change with time and place
• How can we apply 1400 years-old laws in todays
  life even though it changes
• Identity of a person who is driven by three
  spiritual motivations the love of Allah, the
  strong desire to go to Jannah and the fear of
  Allahs punishment
• Surat Almomenoon
• This is the Islamic identity that was established
  by Prophet Mohamed PBUH and practiced by him and
  his followers. The closer are Muslims to this
  identity the closer they are to Islam and the
  further are Muslims from this identity the
  further they are from Islam

11
American Identity

• It is something variable that changes with time
  and place due to various reasons
• Is it dissenting Anglo-Protestantism Only?
• What is the American Creed? Race, ethnicity,
  culture, and ideology (This is what Gunnar Myrdal
  called the "American Creed")
• White Anglo-Saxon Christian land lord, no
  Christian, no white
• Immigration of Hispanic, Chinese, Muslims, etc
• Today no more than than 8.9 of US citizens are
  actually of English-Protestant ancestry
• Changes with struggle

12
Struggle of Identities

• The struggle of Prophet Mohamed SAW with the
  Arabian Pagan identity
• The struggle between the Roman pagan identity and
  the Christian monotheistic id
• Malcom X and his struggle
• Example of Pollution