Friday, September 23, 2005

Can you be a Muslim Anarchist?

On Becoming a Muslim Anarchist

This is another of those hyphenated anarchist ponderings like Christian Anarchism, so I added my Gnostic Heretical reply to his site and also to its mirror at an Indonesian Anarchist blog; AnrchiOi.

Read it and see what you think.

And like Christian Anarchism, or the Catholic Workers Movement, isn't being a Muslim Anarchist a contradiction in terms, since anarchism avows No God! No Masters!




The anarchists split from Sheffield Socialist Society (formed in 1886), and unfurled their ‘No God, No Master’ banner for the first time at the Monolith at the top of Fargate on 1st May 1891.The first issue of their paper came out in June 1891, the last in October the same year. In those four months, 8 issues were produced, of which only 3 were found for reproduction in 1991.
‘No Gods, No Masters’: an episode in Sheffield Freethought
Dan J Bye




Why I Do Not Believe In God-Annie Besant (1847-1933)

An undefined “God” might be a limited being on the far side of Sirius, and I have no knowledge which justifies me in denying such an existence; but an infinite God, i.e., a God who is everywhere, who has no limits, and yet who is not I and who is therefore limited by my personality, is a being who is self-contradictory, both limited and not-limited, and such a being cannot exist. No perfect knowledge is needed here. “God is an infinite being” is disproved by one being who is not God. “God is everywhere” is disproved by the finding of one spot where God is not. The universal affirmative is disproved by a single exception.

And for those of you who still don't get it here is a little Zen for ya

After one of the Dharma Teachers was finished with his introductory remarks, he asked those congregated to direct their questions to Zen Master Seung Sahn, Soen Sa Nim. One of the visitors asked if there was a God.

Holding up the Zen stick, Soen Sa said "This is a stick, but it is not a stick. Originally, there is no stick. It is the same with God for originally there is no God. God is only name. The same is true of all things in the universe."

"Then is there no God?"

"The philosopher Descartes said, 'I think therefore I am.' If you do not think, you are not, and so the universe and you are one. This is your substance, the universe's substance, and God's substance. It has no name and no form. You are God, God is you. This is the 'big I,' this is the path, this is the truth. Do you now understand God?"

"Yes, I think that there is no God, and I have no God."

"If you say that you have no God, I will hit you thirty times. If you say that you do, I will still hit you thirty times."

"Why will you hit me? I don't understand. Please explain."

"I do not give acupuncture to a dead cow. Today is Tuesday." replied Soen Sa.