Pervez is at it again! Hoodbhoy, like all Westernized modernists, recycles the same few talking points ad nauseam.
1. Islam is backwards. Western secularism is the answer!
2. Islamic education makes people dumb. Western secular education makes people smart!
3. Islamic institutions are associated with terrorism. Western secular institutions are associated with prosperity and progress!
That pretty much summarizes everything Hoodbhoy has ever written in his life.
Such simplistic points might have impressed Western-intoxicated dullards 50 years ago. But it is embarrassing for him to keep trotting out the same lines in this day and age, now that most people are acutely aware of the empty promises of Western "enlightenment."
How ironic that Pervez sings the praises of "critical thinking," yet he is unable to think critically about whether "parroting" the liberal secularism of the West will yield prosperity and happiness for Pakistan or any Muslim country.
For those of us living in the enlightened secular West, we can only chuckle at the child-like naivete of anyone who thinks the West is a utopia all should aspire to.
Turn to any news channel to see American cities literally burning to the ground as protests rage. Watch the violent divisions ripping the country apart. All these violent protesters enjoyed a liberal secular education without the influence of the scary molvi boogey monster of Hoodbhoy's imagination.
The average American is thousands of dollars in debt, lives pay check to check, slogging endless hours at a job he hates, the only thing he looks forward to is the weekend, where he will probably sit in front of his laptop and watch Netflix or order some junk he doesn't need from Amazon. He is living the "perfect" life of obedient, senseless consumerism his secular education has so perfectly prepared him for!
Think of the caricatures of the depressed consumerist alone in his apartment with no family, no faith, no future. Believe it or not, that caricature is the reality for the majority.
And those who do get married, they fare no better. What kind of love can you have for someone you know has been loved and dumped by a dozen (two dozen?) others before you? This is the living nightmare produced by Western secular values. Marriage is seen as such a dead end that most are now opting to avoid it entirely. Many children grow up completely cut off from at least one parent. Many have no clue who their fathers even are! Forget about extended family and the comfort, joy, and support that comes with it.
Liberal secularism not only destroys the akhira with its militant atheism. It also destroys every human aspect of what makes life of the dunya beautiful -- committed love, a happy and devoted family, the sense of purpose that comes with serving one's Creator. These are luxuries most Westerners no longer even know about, let alone enjoy.
But liberal secularism at least brings prosperity and that counts for something, right? No, even this is not true. Many countries have accepted the devil's offer of sacrificing religion and traditional values for the promise of material progress. But Iblis, of course, is a liar.
What amazing progress does a secular country like Romania enjoy? What booming riches does a secular country like Mexico enjoy? What economic advancement does a secular country like Liberia enjoy?
If religion is regressive and secularization and secular education are the path to economic progress, why is it that so many 100% secularized countries have languished for decades at the bottom of the development list?
In reality, the secularization of these countries only serves the Western imperial masters who suck these countries dry, usurping their resources and cheap labor in exchange for advancement that never comes.
It is the oldest trick in the book.
But it is a trick that is made more effective when the Western-educated elites of those countries peddle propaganda to the masses, trying to convince the people -- on behalf of their Western masters -- to abandon their religion, abandon their traditional values, abandon deen.
Elites like Hoodbhoy have tried playing this trick on the Muslims for long enough. But no one is falling for it anymore.
It is time for these old propagandists to retire.
"Whoever makes himself blind against the mention/remembrance [dhikr] of al-RaHmān, We assign for him a devil who accompanies him all the time. And they (the devils) prevent such people from the (right) way, while they deem themselves to be on the right path. Until when such a person will come to Us, he will say (to the devil), “If only there were the distance of East and West between me and you, because you were the worst companion!" And (it will be said to such people,) “Since you were wrongdoers, it will never benefit you today that you are sharing the punishment with each other.” [Quran 43:36-39]
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