Truth in Tradition

I'll be diverting away from my book review posts today to write about something that's been on my mind for a few weeks. It is quite personal and I wondered whether there was any point in putting it on the big, scary place called the Internet at all. However I thought that it's something that doesn't only affect me, though I may be one of the few people aware of it and bothered by it. 

The sentimental side of this post is that I came to the realisation that I was and have been properly naive throughout my studies and especially higher education (sixth form and university). The reason being is that I've always understood that when writers or artists were trying to decipher the meaning of life or answer questions on the nature of the world, the miracles of nature or even death, truth, justice and goodness, I've always felt that they have been seeking God and, more specifically, Islam in that it would answer and resolve their conflicts and dilemmas on the nature of the soul or what makes humans distinct from animals and whether other beings besides the ones we see exist and more. Of course I have a bias but for many other believers I can presume they too would feel that people are searching for God and whatever religion they follow (be it Christianity, Hinduism or Judaism). These religions share a core that answers some of the most complex (or even regular) mysteries that modern thinkers struggle with. And so I've listened to lectures on so many art theories and art movements where they attempt to explain life and I always find myself thinking "ooh, they're so close- there's some truth in this but they've missed the mark" or "it's incomplete".

And yet with my latest essay submission (at Masters level) I was granted quite the reality check. My tutor flat out told me that since we're post-enlightenment (pfft), we no longer "need" God and the Transcendent. And so now I'm faced with this strong, secular worldview that only wants to discuss God and religion in order to criticise and undermine them. Consequently, I've come to the realisation that while all these artists (like all humans) need and seek God, their theories are intentionally constructed in a fashion to exclude Him. They're rejecting God and are trying to fathom the world without Him. By doing so they're not only fostering their own egos but also spreading false, delusional ideas to thousands if not millions of people and causing discord in people's minds. I know secular folk like to think they're all open-minded and all but they're imposing this on everyone and not allowing a parallel narrative to exist, like I thought democracies loved and glorified. Without trying to sound like I'm blaming one person for this, as it is a process that has taken centuries to bring to this state, Descartes is a name that keeps coming up and so what he said, did and represented has and continues to create confusion and doubt in the minds of so many people across the world.

My present concern is that Muslims are being slowly influenced by these ideas as they are everywhere, covert and overt, and are identifying a little too much with the mainstream, modern mentality. Nouman Ali Khan even mentioned in one of his lectures that a problem he faces increasingly is that some Muslims are trying to use scientific rationalism (or scientific empiricism) as an approach to understanding the religion and it is not only insufficient but can lead to coming to some extremely distorted and incorrect conclusions (just like the contemporary "thinkers"). I'm at a point now where I'm not only wary of popular fiction and modern/ contemporary/ mainstream literature but now even of the so-called classics that I used to enjoy and find fascinating because I found them more beautifully crafted and written. That's not to say that nothing written post 14th or 16th century isn't worth reading, but I think I'll have to be increasingly critical and/or selective.

I guess I wanted to voice my concern about an anti-tradition and anti-religion narrative that we're well aware of in terms of its most vulgar and apparent levels in some media outlets and political affairs, but that it also exists in the institutions that are praised for their intellectual contribution (though they reject the intellect for pure reason). Let's hope that there's love, peace and tolerance in our hearts and communities that can overcome this hurdle.