Re: Words of Wisdm from Robin Williams
Firstly .. the flaws in your little soliloquay.
Where did I blindly quote verses before? This is about politics more than religion. Machiavellen politics. A nation, a people, can only become strong as another weakens. Spain rose on the decline of myriad American peoples. The emergence of Britain as a superpower was simultaneous with the decline of Spain. The USA rose on the decline of Britain.
Religion is not about freedom, not for Muslims anyway. Our religion is boundaries within which to pass our existence. "This world is a prison for the believer and a paradise for the non-believer". (Sahih Muslim)
The countries you named:
Israel. Rose from nothingness? It rose from war veterans in world war 2, rose on the concrete basis of a diasporea from abroad that supported its growth morally with lobbying, economically with money and investment, politically with ideas, military with manpower. It rose on a foundation of ethnic cleansing. And over the past decades, it has been propped up by a staggering amount of foreign aid by the USA that has financed much of its development.
Japan: Japan is frankly, the model by which the Muslim word can effectively be reformed. But unlike you, I'm not talking about post World War 2. In 1850 Japan was one of the most backwards nations in the world. Uneducated, undeveloped, unworthy. Within 53 years, less than the lifespan of one generation, it had turned itself into a regional power that took on and defeated the largest country int he world in war. And it did this whilst keeping true to the spirit of its own religion and societal values. It did not have to imitate anyone to achieve this.
After World War 2, Japan was rebuilt with huge flows US money to stave off the creation of a new communist puppet. The economic success of which you speak was only possible so fast with massive amounts of US aid... and with that aid came US conditions, strings and values.
And the USA ... well... the absence of so much as free universal healthcare speaks volumes about the kind of country that the USA is.
You tried to speak of the nature of what our jihad should be. Frankly, I have little concern for jihad of any kind at this point.
My sole concern is about overcoming the interference of a foreign nation in the affairs of the Muslim world.
You're correct in that vast strides must be taken in education and economy. They must also be taken in religion to reform our myriad corrupt societies (and I'll freely admit that I'm also a corrupt person in need of reformation). But equally vast strides must be taken to bring change at the geopolitical level.