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Javed Bhai
The questions you ask require nothing
short of a doctoral dissertation to answer, but I will briefly try to
explain my position as best as I can, given the time constraints. You are
probably aware that I am in the process of writing my doctoral thesis which
is why I recently stepped down as President of the MCC.
What is rationality, you ask.
Rationality for me would have to include a thinking process that is free of
contradictions, antinomies, anomalies and paradoxes. I alluded to one of
these in my last post where I discussed the paradox of evil arising out of
the notion of a monotheistic god. This would lead into, as you yourself
have pointed out, the response to your next question.
The Quran, and for that matter
other scriptures portray god/God as a benevolent, all- powerful deity, who
is perfect in every way. Perhaps my definition of perfection is also
warranted here. For me, perfection would have to mean "goodness"
in the sense of the absence of all evil.
When we look at our world
however, we see a preponderance of evil and treachery. You attribute this
to human actions, but if human beings have been created by God, then god
must have placed the propensity in man to commit evil. In other words,
god's claim of "absolute power" must also be accompanied by
"absolute responsibility". Can god be absolved of the evil? In my opinion "no". And herein lies the great moral dilemma and contradiction between
the notion of a powerful, perfect and omniscient god and the manifestations
of his work as witnessed by us earthlings. Shouldn't an artist be judged by
his/her work? Therefore, if the world is god's handiwork, I am afraid it is
in shambles and his absolute power warrants that he assume absolute
responsibility for it.
Allow me to address this another way.
I know as a human being I am far from being perfect, but I pride myself in
having compassion for my fellow human beings. If I had even the iota of power that god
claims for himself, I would not sit and wait to fix the wrongs of this
world. So what does that mean?
Is my morality superior to that
of God's? If so, why should I worship him?
In answer to no 3, I believe that
secular humanism is the only answer to the world's current fractious state.
There are far too many divisions--artificial ones if I may add, between man
and man or in feminist parlance: woman and woman, based on religion. I say
this with the full realization that eliminating organized religion may only
marginally improve conditions for our embattled world, but it is
nonetheless a step in the right direction.
This does not mean people cannot
believe what they want. By all means, let them believe in their own truths
as Sohail often says.
My answer to no 4 is that I
believe in a random universe. I do not believe there is a higher purpose to
our existence. The only high purpose would be doing good to our fellow
human beings here on earth. There are over a billion people living in
conditions of extreme poverty and want across the world. Let us alleviate
their suffering and try to create a heaven out of their hell right here.
Regards,
Farzana Hassan
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