A lot of us pride ourselves with being close to our roots & our culture. I am one of those myself who hold culture and tradition very dear.
Specially when you have the experience of living in a foreign land, culture becomes all the more dear, in fact it gives you an identity of sorts.
It dawned upon me this weekend though as I was watching the commentary of some Ashura programs…Isn’t that unIslamic to believe so much in “culture” and the “ways of our forefathers”? That’s exactly the reason why the Quraish had opposed the Prophet (saw) and had refused to follow Islam. They wanted to maintain their culture and not give it up to adapt new, obviously more just and enlightened ways.
How do you see this phenomenon prevalent in our society today? Please make your point with real life exampels if you can. Some examples I see are honor killing, extreme purdah of women and barring them from education, racial prejudice, caste pride, nationalism vs. belief in the ummah etc. Locals pride themselves on these customs but they are unIslamic.
I think culture is important as long as it stays within the realm of Islam. Things like honour killing, extreme purdah that bars women from education, racial prejudice, caste pride, etc. are all unIslamic so they shouldn't be part of our culture. Our values such as proper manners, modesty, family values, etc. are things we should be proud of because they are encouraged in Islam. There is no such thing as having no culture. Language plays an important role - if you lose your language, you eventually lose your culture, which means you are adopting another culture.
ok so dont u think actions approved in shariah such as stoning people to death or cutting someone’s hands off are not relevant in our times?? shouldn’t such practices be declared unislamic?? or wud u disagree with me as the Quran is considered final and no revisions are possible?
The Quran is the final word of God so it obviously cannot be changed but interpretations can. I think the only reason some of the shariah laws are harsh is because they are meant to make people think before they do something unlawful. I know that everyone is responsible for their own actions and their actions are between them and Allah, who is the most Merciful, however every society needs laws.
I think the problem with the religious component within our culture is that Islam isn't taught properly so people think it is "backwards" or "extreme" (when in fact, every religion will seem extreme now that secularism is gaining popularity). For example, Islam encourages both men and women to get educated and contribute to society, but sometimes Muslim women have problems getting an education due to cultural restrictions "in the name of Islam". If people actually read the Quran with its meaning, they would realize that women have so many God-given rights, yet they might not know about them.
So the only main flaw I find in our culture is the lack of proper Islamic education because if Islam is learned properly, then both men and women would have all the rights they deserve. If this was accomplished, Pakistan would be one heck of an awesome place to live in, along with all the other cool stuff in our culture (this is not to say that is isn't a good place to live in...heck, I would love to live there!).
I guess its part of ones likes & dislikes & we decide what we want to follow & preserve and where we want to draw a line & call the other person doing it unislamic...unPaki etc.
Tell me guys: how come these days we are celebrating basant so much? Is it part of culture...Pakistani culture...Islamic culture or its Indo-Pak culture? I live in West and you can call me a Confused desi!
Larki: you are right. Muslims need a reform NOT Islam. Its the way we interpret things.
larki, u're right. we should keep the good things in our culture and try to get rid of the bad ones. you're right abt the language bit too, not wholly, but partly, atleast imho :)
and you're right also when you say, if I have inferred correctly from your post, that there is misinterpretation of our religion.
Walking On Water- first of all welcome to GS! :-)
secondly, i don't think there's any doubt abt what's Islamic and what's not.
basant is a community festival. religion is a personal thing. if a human being is not harming someone by celebrating basant and is celebrating in a halal manner personally i don't think it is unIslamic. however, at the societal level, the craze that is overtaking it, causing loss of innocent lives, and also the side revelry that goes on is somewhat objectionable though.
desibanda, everything in the Quran is the final word. its NOT obsolete by any means, naozobillah.
There are many traditions/customs whose origins are lost in antiquity and are acted upon just because the people had seen the fathers and forefathers practicing it. The practices are never questioned or reasoned but acted upon.
Some time ago I found very interesting article on the Net which nearly covers what you are alluding to, read on it’s quite funny.
Tradition and 5 Monkeys
Start with a cage containing five monkeys. In the cage, hang a banana on a string and put a set of stairs under it. Before long, a monkey will go to the stairs and start to climb towards the banana.
As soon as he touches the stairs, spray all of the monkeys with cold water.
After a while, another monkey makes an attempt with the same result - all the monkeys are sprayed with cold water.
Pretty soon, when any monkey tries to climb the stairs, the other monkeys will try to prevent it. Now, turn off the cold water. Remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new one. The new monkey sees the banana and wants to climb the stairs. To his horror, all of the other monkeys attack him. After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs, he will be assaulted.
Next, remove another of the original five monkeys and replace it with a new one. The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked.
The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment with enthusiasm.
Again, replace a third original monkey with a new one. The new one makes it to the stairs and is attacked as well. Two of the four monkeys that beat him have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs, or why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey.
After replacing the fourth and fifth original monkeys, all the monkeys which have been sprayed with cold water have been replaced.
Nevertheless, no monkey ever again approaches the stairs. Why not?
Because that’s the way it’s always been around here. Just following what the ones before had been doing without even reasoning if it is right or not.
desibanda hmmm i'm not familiar with shariah. my knowledge is not so strong unfortunately. but if that is the punishment in the Quran then yes ofcourse it is ok.
^^ well if u insist so much on following the scruples u shudnt be on this forum cos u are interacting with na mehram men (or rather they are talking to a na mehram woman).. its a logical extension to talking to men in person alone .. so u shud first delete your account in GS.
Ibn Sadique bhai thank you for your reply Its nice to see you come here and post. Really, I feel happy whenever I see you post in my thread, like its been honored with a pearl of wisdom Thanks so much Jazakallah.
That story is quite interesting :k:
desibanda when did I say I am the walking talking example of a Mominah? I interact with men on a daily basis at my job as well, so GS is not the only place. Its kind of unavoidable these days, but it really is about the INTENTION one is interacting with.
Yeah it’s okay, what’s your problem with it? If the culprits are foolhardy enough to do the ‘act’ witnessed by at least four people deserve what comes their way.
Every garden it needs to be weeded and pruned to look beautiful. The same applies to the Garden of God [life on Earth]; it too needs the treatment so that other ‘beautiful’ souls can blossom well to create a healthy peaceful society.
Sis Irem, as always your threads are so original and irresistible.
desi banda , dont just pick some harsh punishment out of context and make jokes about it.
take shariah as whole,
shariah defines the islamic state rules too.
A state can only implement islamic laws when its acting according to Islam itself.
e.g,
Cutting a hand of thief cant be implemented.
unless state provides food and housing to every single person of state. how many will steal then?? and if some still do they deserve to get this punishment.
take shariah as complete way of life, dont pick some bits and start bashing it.
now back to the thread.
irem, culture is definitely separate from our faith. we need to get rid of those that doesnt comply with Islam.
there is on harm in following the local customs that are not against islam.
you are right if we still sticking to our old values even they are wrong in the name of culture and most of the cases these are linked to Islam wrongly, this is ignorance and Islam doesnt allow these.
Its nice to see you come here and post. Really, I feel happy whenever I see you post in my thread, like its been honored with a pearl of wisdom 
Thanks so much