Home › 15. The Religious Media: Sins and Mistakes (8) The lust for religiousness

15. The Religious Media: Sins and Mistakes (8) The lust for religiousness

Mon, 2010-10-11 12:13 — nevine

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Year: 
2010
Week: 
26
Article number: 
15
Article pages: 
8
Date of source: 
June 29, 2010
Author: 
Nihrū Tantawī
Reviewer: 
H&#257n&#299 H&#803amd&#299
Article summary: 

This article in a series continues its discussion concerning the use of religion as a way to control the masses. In particular, this article deals with rituals and rules as ways to interpret religion.

Article full text: 
Lust is a force latent in human beings that makes them seek out certain things and feel pleasure in achieving them. The Qur’ān pointed out that people will abandon everything else in pursuit of the fulfillment of their lust, Tantawī says.
 
"Seeking authority, or a position, or money, or anything is not shameful or wrong, but becomes shameful and a major wrong when such a desire becomes a lust that makes a person abandon and sacrifice everything and forfeit his values, principles, and religion …" Tantawī writes.
 
When religion or religiousness becomes lust then that is a major disaster. This is what the religious media are doing these days. They have transformed religion and abiding by it into a passion for which one abandons everything else. What is being called religious commitment these days consists of a group of certain observances and certain commitments to which a person must adhere to become a 'religious person.'
 
These include certain rules governing apparel and appearance, such as men growing their beards and prescribed dress codes for both men and women, Tantawī says. This in addition to "memorizing the Qur’ān or parts of it without making the condition that it be understood and its provisions and rulings absorbed…" he adds.
 
Abandoning life and devoting oneself to such rules and commitments transforms religion into a mere lust for religiosity and is not genuine religiousness.
 
Not only does genuine religion not have such strict specifications as to its outward manifestations, but real commitment to religion means the creation of a human being imbued with genuine values who establishes truth and justice and coexists with others in peace and harmony to the benefit of the world, Tantawī concludes.
Fulltext type: 
Summary
Quality: 
The article contains no obvious errors...
Classification: 
Opinion
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