“…to yearn for ignorance is to embrace the wishful thinking of a child.”
-Greg Iles, from Natchez Burning
In his recent article in Canada’s National Post, Tom Blackwell reveals that the “tobacco industry has been waging a sort of religious war for decades, recruiting Islamic scholars and crafting theological arguments to counter a feared Muslim opposition to smoking…” He refers to a co-authored Canadian study wherein “evidence suggests the companies are still trying to influence Muslim religious currents…” The study reveals also that as early as the 1970s the tobacco industry recognized that “Islam posed a threat to expansion” in such regions as “Muslim Bangladesh, Iran, Turkey and Pakistan.”
Most notable in this article is the fact that Islamic scholars can be recruited to counter a “feared Muslim opposition to smoking.” This confirms to me the stark reality that Islamic scholars can be recruited to counter just about anything not in their interests, which would include anything or anyone deemed a hindrance to the furtherance of Islam’s obtrusive culture into the Western world. Here we have Islamic scholars being recruited by the tobacco industry to publicly condone smoking by opposing other Islamic scholars who might condemn smoking by linking their prohibitions to verses in the Quran. If left to the whims of its many and varied scholars, Islam is not as static as we make it out to be.
The article mentions also that “A tobacco lobbyist told Philip Morris in 1985 to portray anti-smoking Muslims as fundamentalists, and suggests their strict reading of Sharia law would lead to other curbs on modern living.” Three cheers for the fact that “anti-smoking Muslims” (all of them wise, in my opinion) are labelled “fundamentalists”. How does it feel? I recently read an article whose author referred to Holocaust deniers as “right-wing activists”. How can Holocaust deniers be anything but liars? How can denying an undeniable fact of history be deemed a left-wing or right-wing tendency? The remarkable and telling truth here is the fact that when it’s in the interests of big business or big government or media bias against Zionist Jews and the State of Israel, those—even Muslims who wisely condemn cigarette smoking—who oppose such interests are aspersed as fringe elements in exactly the same manner as those who warn against an Islamic preponderance in the Western world are stigmatized with appellations such as “neo-cons” and “Islamophobic”.
Julius Caesar said that “Men willingly believe what they wish.” Western democracies have become a world where the masses, in the words of Greg Iles, “yearn for ignorance” and a place where we “embrace the wishful thinking of a child.” We are up against scholars and pseudo-pluralists and political animals who, in accordance with Islam’s imperial designs, are by now emboldened to besmirch our good traditions in order to justify their replacement with all those vile and hateful cultures that, to date, have made democratic freedoms unwelcomed in Muslim lands.
And we pretend this isn’t happening. We embrace the wishful thinking that Islam’s age-old customs of violence and Jew-hatred will somehow fade from our Western existence. We yearn for the ignorance that will keep such a frightening future as that promised by the jihadists at bay. Our media bandage our sorrows and numb our apprehensions with imprudent sophistry so very similar to Chamberlain’s famously foolish claim in 1938 of “peace in our time”; as though the religion of Islam of today is not the quintessential example of its religious and political imperialism of yesterday.
We should be listening to sage advice such as given by a consultant to tobacco companies doing business in Muslim lands way back in 1987: “Once the religious aspect is conveyed to the public—it will be very difficult to reverse the situation.”
Mark Spahn (West Seneca, NY) says
Thank you, Michael Devolin, for another vocabulary-expanding essay (e.g., “to asperse someone” = to slander someone).
I understand that the Gates of Ijtihad slammed shut centuries ago, before Columbus discovered tobacco in the New World. But Allah knew all about tobacco before Muhammad even know this plant existed, so why didn’t Allah give Muhammad a warning about this noxious weed? And what about another noxious weed, hashish? Islamic history includes the Assassins (etymology: the Arabic “hashshashin”, hashish users), “a secret terrorist sect of Muslims of the 11th-13th cent., who killed their political enemies as a religious duty, allegedly while under the influence of hashish”. Is there some anti-hashish passage in the Quran or Bukhari? And where are American Muslims in Colorado and other states on the issue of legalized marijuana? For example, has Dr. Imad Enchassi of the Islamic Society of Great Oklahoma City (who has, but won’t publish, a certificate of “Apostolic Succession” going back all the way to the Prophet) issued a fatwa on the issue of whether a Muslim may smoke tobacco, hashish, or marijuana? What do American imams preach about this in their weekly khutbahs? Inquiring minds want to know.
-- says
Does anyone know where to get the most information on the concept of supersessionism (Islam’s taking Christian and Jewish persons/patriarchs/shrines/artifacts/etc. and rewriting history with them as its own)?
I read a Jerusalem Post article by Caroline Glick about it many years ago, but can’t locate it on the web now.
Thanks for any suggestions.
gravenimage says
I’m afraid I couldn’t find it either—sounds like a good article, though.
Dazzle says
Could this be it?
By CAROLINE B. GLICK 11/02/2010 00:12
Our World: The Age of Dissimulation
In the JP
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Our-World-The-Age-of-Dissimulation
swampbubbles says
Yes — thanks!
gravenimage says
Excellent sleuthing, Dazzle—thanks.
cs says
carolineglick.com , she is on facebook as well.
Try to contact her directly, I believe she would point it out to you. Dr. Mordechai Kedar has several talks on the same subject.
And just to make sure, Muslims are not related to Avraham or Ishmael, otherwise the Quraish and the other Arab tribes would be monotheistic and would follow some sort of kashrut, they did not do any of such, they actually buried their daughters alive, so they made up this claim as well.
TheCountess says
Maybe these?
http://www.meforum.org/3419/turkey-islamic-supremacy
http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2652&context=etd
TheCountess says
Maybe these?
http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2652&context=etd
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=is+islam+using+supersession+mainframe
Mirren10 says
A very good, and interesting article.
As far as the smoking thing goes, though, this is just one of the things in which religious dogmatism falls foul of something that human beings really, really, really, wanna do.
For example; The Gambia. The Gambia is about 95% muslim. Now, I am very familiar with the Gambia; I have relations and friends who live there, I have spent holidays there; and not just in the tourist resorts, but also in the areas tourists don’t normally go.
Without exception, cigarette smoking is **rife**. **Everyone**, or nearly everyone, smokes. If there is any Islamic fatwa against it, I can tell you now, no Gambian pays the slightest attention to it. In the tourist resorts, it is absolutely common to be accosted by ‘bumsters’ who want cigarettes; in the rural areas, exactly the same.
So, does one conclude from this, that Gambians are ‘bad muslims’ ? No. Just that, when a **very** strong addiction is in play, the addiction trumps the fatwa.
gravenimage says
Of course, the fatwa trumps smoking in the Islamic State, Mirren, where the pious thugs simply butcher smokers:
“Islamic State beheading people for smoking cigarettes”
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2015/02/islamic-state-beheading-people-for-smoking-cigarettes
Mirren10 says
“…to yearn for ignorance is to embrace the wishful thinking of a child.”
-Greg Iles, from Natchez Burning”
Oh, and may I just say, I **adore** Greg Iles, a brilliant author. In fact, I am totally addicted to American thriller writers. Fabulous stuff.
Joseph says
@ Mirren10
Is he really THAT good? By your comment I will have go to the library this week and check out his books. I am old fashioned, I like to read from an actual book, not a tablet or computer screen.
What is his best piece of work in your opinion? I will start there.
Any other books I would appreciate also. Having a little trouble sleeping lately.
duh_swami says
Sharia law would lead to other curbs on modern living.”
Modern living, tobacco industry style is live hard, smoke a lot, get a catastrophic disease and die…Stealth population control. It’s not a good idea to kill your customers but the tobacco companies have plenty of them…They are called addicts…
mortimer says
“…as though the religion of Islam of today is not the quintessential example of its religious and political imperialism of yesterday.”
Why should Muslims ‘reform’ Islam…it works as well today as it did 1400 years ago? Infiltrate, immigrate, obfuscate, intimidate, agitate, exacerbate, indoctrinate, incarcerate, exterminate.
Aussie Infidel says
Good one Mortimer. Two more rhyming verbs:
“ingratiate.” There have been some examples of this here lately – of Muslims ingratiating themselves with the police at mosque ‘open days’. All part of the ‘innocent victim syndrome’.
“exaggerate.” They overemphasize their own importance in the development of Western nations – eg Muslim cameleers were vital to the development of the Australian outback; Muslims have contributed greatly to the intellectual life of the nation; Muslims were the world leaders in science during the so-called ‘Golden Age’ of Islam. Muslims would even try to convince us that they developed the entire modern world – without all that kuffar haram stuff, of course.
On the broader question of smoking – it is an extremely destructive habit – just like Islam. Both are psychologically and physically addictive. Both are deliberately inflicted on unsuspecting (or naive) people. And both should be proscribed as criminal activities (at least manufacturing and selling any tobacco product).
gravenimage says
To Yearn for Ignorance
………………………
This beautifully describes the West re Islam—so many of us wish that we could—so to speak—put that genie back in the bottle, and not have to acknowledge the mushrooming threat of Islam.
Many still manage this through denial—but that denial is increasingly desperate.
swampbubbles says
here is a good article on it (islamic supersessionism):
http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/newmandala/2015/02/04/on-supersessionism-abrahamic-faiths-in-history/
Mark Spahn (West Seneca, NY) says
A concept similar to supersessionism (superseding) is the literary concept of “retconning”, for “retroactive continuity”; see
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=retcon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retroactive_continuity
For example, the character who in the original account was a God-become-man to save mankind, in the sequel narration takes on a different role, that of a prophet of Islam and precursor of Muhammad.
Wellington says
To hell with smoking possibly being haram. This is small potatoes. I would far prefer if procreation was. Yeah, imagine Muzzies eventually going the way of the Shakers. A beautiful sentiment, no?
JamesonRocks says
Excellent, Wellington! A great idea…
Mirren10 says
”Yeah, imagine Muzzies eventually going the way of the Shakers.”
🙂
If only …
JamesonRocks says
Smoke-up, moozies. The more the better. A good place to start is two packs a day!
profitsbeard says
We should airdrop thousands of cartons into all active Jihadi zones.
Laced with polonium 210 for that extra cooling effect.
(Room temperature, specifically.)
Joseph says
So those would be Menthol cigarettes then. What flavor enhancer would you put in the regulars?
Not everyone likes menthol. You must be considerate and please them all.
voegelinian says
Prevalence of Tobacco Use
“The Middle East is considered more tolerant of smoking than other world regions. In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), tobacco use is common.*
“In 2010, 9.5% of the adult population in the UAE smoked.
“A significant majority of smokers are men. Smoking is particularly prevalent among young people.
“Approximately 25% of surveyed students reported having tried tobacco before the age 10.”
Common Forms of Tobacco Use
“In the UAE, smoking using a waterpipe — aka shisha or hookah — is common. According to a 2005 study of tobacco use patterns of university students in the UAE, 9.4% smoked cigarettes and 5.6% smoked a waterpipe.
“Although women comprised only 8.9% of cigarette smokers, they represented 26.2% of waterpipe smokers…”
https://www.businessgrouphealth.org/pub/f31543b8-2354-d714-513d-61273bfedc61
“…Jordan’s tobacco epidemic is particularly alarming. Although only 8% of Jordanian women currently smoke tobacco products, more than half (51%) of Jordanian men smoke these products (WHO, Country Profile). Men smoke approximately twenty-three cigarettes per day, compared with twelve per day among women.
…
“The Global Youth Tobacco Survey found that 34.3% of Jordanian youths had tried smoking and that 26.1% had smoked their first cigarette before they were 10 years old (Warren et al., 2000). This shows that one’s initiation is occurring at an early age and that the exposure time is far longer.
…
“This epidemic is equally alarming in neighboring countries. For example, the rate of smoking in Egypt among adult men is 43.6% and 4.8% among adult women; the mean starting age is fifteen years (WHO, Country Profile). In Lebanon, 52.6% of the adult population smokes, 35% of whom are believed to be women; in Morocco, 30% of men and 10% of women smoke; and in Iran, 24.8% of men and 4.7% of women smoke..”
http://www.ispu.org/Getpolicy/34/1846/Publications.aspx
voegelinian says
I.e., apropos of my comment above, I think the author of this article, Michael Devolin, is making a couple of leaps:
This confirms to me the stark reality that Islamic scholars can be recruited to counter just about anything not in their interests, which would include anything or anyone deemed a hindrance to the furtherance of Islam’s obtrusive culture into the Western world. Here we have Islamic scholars being recruited by the tobacco industry to publicly condone smoking by opposing other Islamic scholars who might condemn smoking by linking their prohibitions to verses in the Quran. If left to the whims of its many and varied scholars, Islam is not as static as we make it out to be.
First of all, Devolin doesn’t supply evidence that the efforts of these tobacco companies were successful; and the prevalence of tobacco use in the Muslim world would have to be proven to be due to this external influence, rather than just a prevalent aspect of the wonderfully diverse tapestry of Islamic culture.
Sam says
This is mental sicknesss to avoid the subject of real Islam. We are living in a mentally sick world. God save us please!