Facebook: The Dreamlike World

I am no longer the person I used to be. The technological innovation has changed my life to that of a totally different person. I didn’t have any intention to write this article, but I feel that my fingertips are aching, and I can’t help but scratch them. Worse, I have to touch the keyboard to do so. I am a slave to the computer–more precisely, to the internet. My blind devotion to the internet has started only recently. My misery started the day I moved to a new place. I moved from a very sociable place where I was enjoying close friendly relationships with people of my own blood to a place where everything seemed strange and hostile. Consequently, my connection to the virtual community grows worse.

Although overpopulated, my new town seems stagnant. The days are short and quiet. The nights are deadly long , still and have a serene sky with hardly any stars, such a big difference from before! Around them the dying, pale moon blocks the eye. Having been worried by a bunch of stereotypes and prejudices about this new town and its people, I was not in a good mood, nor ready to enter any new circle of acquaintances. I walked to and from the shops mostly alone, seldom with my wife, and only, then, whenever she got bored of the four corners and the different silly TV series. I hardly find any free time for real people and for practicing my hobbies–although much of it is free, the Internet increasingly consumes more of it. My guitar is kept in a corner, and I rarely touch it. Exercise is absent in my new life, except those few stairs I have to walk twice a day.

I feel attached mentally and physically more to the virtual world than to the real world where I live. You can’t imagine how sad I felt the whole day when I learned that my facebook friend, whom I’ve never met, had lost one of his close relatives. Some people may find this weird, but when your real and virtual existences are so complexly interwoven, it scarcely makes any difference. To be frank, I do care for the ”Likes”, shares, posts and comments as much as I do for shaking hands, kisses on the cheek, hugs and smiles.

Facebook, Twitter, Google etc.., have made me a different person. Whenever I see something beautiful or attractive in the real world, I just wish it had a LIKE button to click, as in Facebook. The other day, my wife and I were invited to dinner at my colleague’s house. When I took a mouthpiece from the Tagine that his wife served us, it tasted so delicious that I unconsciously was looking for the LIKE button to express my satisfaction and gratitude. It is not out of my ignorance to those conventions and friendly expressions we ought to say in such occasions, but icons, symbols and language of the virtual world have overwhelmingly occupied my thought so much lately that this was the most natural response to have risen in me automatically.

I have in my Facebook and Google accounts friends that outnumber the “real” ones that I frequently meet. However, can we consider all those people that we have in our accounts, friends? Why do we accept or send invitations to people we don’t know? Maybe it is because the virtual world has norms totally different to that of the real world. The difficulty is when the two become blurred.

By Larbi Arbaoui
Morocco World News
Taroudant, Morocco, March 20, 2012
http://moroccoworldnews.com/2012/03/facebook-the-dreamlike-world/32069

Gospel of Barnabas: Any added value to Islam?

The discovery of an old manuscript of the Gospel of Barnabas by the Turkish authorities raised the attention of the Vatican and kindled considerable debate all over the world. According to the official statement of the Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism Erturul Günay, the ministry was going to examine the copy, and will announce the results in the near future. Naturally, everybody is impatiently awaiting the display of those results. As Muslims, however, the falsity or truth of the Gospel is unimportant for many reasons.

The so-called Gospel of Barnabas is not recognized by the Christian denominations because it is considered inconsistent with the principles of Christianity. It is contrary to the religious and historical backgrounds of that religion since it teaches that Christ (peace be upon him) foretold the coming of a messenger, Mohammad (peace be upon him), after him, and, in line with Islamic belief, the Gospel treats Jesus as a human being, but not a God.  Therefore, the gospel was thwarted by Christians who believe only in those collected by the four apostles: Matthew, Luke, Mark and John. Some believe that the gospel was written in the fifteenth century by a Catholic monk who had recoiled from Christianity.

With the appearance of the Barnabas gospel, there is much talk in the media on whether the gospel in question is one of the original versions of the sacred book known as the Gospel of Barnabas or not. Regardless of its contents, I do personally look at this gospel as a book with nothing more than archaeological value. As Muslims, we do not need a copy of the gospel no matter where it comes from to tell us that Christ (PBUH) foretold the coming of our prophet Mohamed (Peace be upon Him).  Simply, because our holy Quran reads “And [mention] when Jesus, the son of Mary, said, “O children of Israel, indeed I am the messenger of Allah to you confirming what came before me of the Torah and bringing good tidings of a messenger to come after me, whose name is Ahmad.” (Surat A?-?af: 6). We have in the Quran and the Sunnah enough evidences sufficient to confirm our faith.

More than that, some people are naively counting on some scientific discoveries to prove the righteous beliefs and predictions stated in the holy Quran and the Hadith. Religion, I believe, is a matter of faith which requires belief more than proofs. Once we keep the faith in Islam as a true religion we should take all that is stated in the holy Quran and the sayings of the Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) for granted. It is no use looking for materials outside the Islamic religion to prove its credibility. I am not against scientific truths, but I believe that science is a process of right and wrong whereas the Quran content is absolutely true.

Those who are searching for anything to strengthen their faith are not already comfortable with the evidences and reassurances given by their religion. The essence of every religion is faith; and faith is loyalty to a supreme power that does not primarily rest on logical proof or material evidence.

By Larbi Arbaoui

Morocco World News

Taroudant, March 15, 2012

http://moroccoworldnews.com/2012/03/gospel-of-barnabas-any-added-value-to-islam/31377