Re: Is this a revolt against modernity?

Submitted by Observer (United States), Oct 24, 2014 at 23:49

I think you might be onto something with regard to Muslims and their reaction to modernity.

What I've noticed, based on what I've seen and heard from people in Muslim countries, is that the outward religiosity of Muslims does not seem to have an overall impact on their behavior towards others or on their overall morality. They perform the rituals and adhere to the moral code of Islam on the surface, but none of that seems to have seeped inside. The corruption that is within is far worse than anything in the Western world. Just recently, I spoke to a friend who moved back to the Middle East after two decades and graduate study in the US, and he's noticed this phenomenon as well.

There seems to be just a blind adherence to tradition, rather than firm conviction. If anything, I say that that much of the religiously-motivated violence and reactionary behavior stems from basic insecurity about religious beliefs rather than anything else. It's the perfect sympton of a society that has failed and is unable to cope with or diagnose the reasons for its failure.

Outwardly religious, but spiritually hollow and morally bankrupt. That's how I would describe the modern Muslim world. The question is now, were Muslims always like this or did modernity really destroy something in their societal fabric, to the point where they no longer even know how to respond or deal with the reality of modernity?

If anything, I think the Muslim world is headed where the West is now: towards increasing secularization and atheism. We'll see this with Egypt, and I think this will also be the case in Turkey. Erdogan and his AKP think that they're raising a new generation of pious youth, but within ten years (perhaps even less), they'll be in for a very rude awakening. What they're really creating is a generation of religious/modern schizophrenics, who worship and love the modern lifestyle, while trying to be "religious". It's not going to work. I've spoken to Turks who come from religious families and hide their atheism/agnosticism. They can't hide it forever. And supposedly, it's a growing underground trend.

I'll go as far as to argue that no traditional religion is really compatible with modernity, but that's a whole other can of worms.

As for ISIS, they're not even a state or a government - they're one big college frat party from Hell, at best. And I don't think they are a revolt against modernity - they're a product of it, which is proven by their worship at the alter of social media and high tech gadgets. Such disgusting hypocrites, may they burn in Hell when they get there.

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