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The Summit Trail (10 unread)

July 17, 2010
8:38
Week Off!
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Wooohooo!
July 09, 2010
19:44
INTJ/ENFP
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Read this on the forum:

Female INTJ: “I think the only question that is important, Mr ENFP is: How awesome are female INTJs?”

Male ENFP: “Hmmm… Awesome until they come to the conclusion that you are “irrlevant”… they run hot or cold… Luke warm is not in the vocab.”

This is so true….!
June 21, 2010
7:58
Identity and Indoctrination
» ‎ The Summit Trail

Yet another discourse about this issue. I was watching Revealed on CNN this morning - I couldn’t quite sleep for 2 days in a row now, first night was because I didn’t sleep until 4, today I just woke up at 3ish and felt really awake and now the sun has risen, I don’t really wanna go back to sleep - Anyway, this edition of revealed was about Amir Khan, the British Muslim boxer. It seems strange to me that CNN is really handpicking issues to highlight in their programmes. Last time they were reporting on the Muslim demographics in the British elections. Anyway, it got me thinking again on how to define my identity. Looking back at how far I’ve come from high school to university and now to working life, I see that I’ve progressed in the way I view the world and changed the way I relate to people. Certainly having the experience of Japan had made me more independent as an individual, and eventually coming face to face with my own faith, I’ve come to be a more happy person. Surely, I still get affected by people and such is the nature of men as we live in a social environment. However, I am slightly more clear as to what I want in life.

Being brought up in a “Muslim” household with a devout Muslim grandmother, a reform Muslim father and a Muslim-convert mother in a non-Mulsim country(or city), I have never been able to fully experience and appreciate the other side of me. Prior coming to the UK, I just considered myself a typical-ish Hong Konger because that was all I knew. I left Hong Kong with the mindset that I would learn more about my religion, knowing how UK especially London is a hub for western Islamic learning. However, things did not really turn out to plan. 9/11 happened a couple of years become coming to London. My identity as a Muslim was placed into great strained because Muslim became synonymous with terrorist or extremist and I am by no-means an extremist. In fact, my up-bringing allowed me to grow up with a diverse range of people from a wide range of faith. One of my great friends in college who I sat together on the bus going to school, going to class and so forth was a Jew, and for me he just examplifies the stereotype that Jews are smart, because I tell you, he was bloody smart and a really cool guy. It was the very fact that my life-view was formed in such a diversified group (including a rhode scholar) that I come to appreciate the common threads which makes us all human.

I remember reading on Jac’s blog number 47 of 50 things to do in uni is to either find a religion or to loose it. For me, I think at least on many spiritual levels I have gone through cycles of loosing and gaining faith. I would certainly say I’ve actually lost it completely during those dark years except for maybe a couple of months in the 3rd year prior the summer holidays started when I started having philosophical/religious discourses regularly. In the recent years, being “more” involved in the Muslim community, I find that I hold very different views to a lot of them. Its a constant struggle I face as an individual to find a comfortable space to suspend my world-view in without infringing upon others views and at the same time not be affected by their views. Having said that, its very difficult to do. I am quite easily influenced when I am convinced on a morality level that something is right. I find more and more that I use this blog as a means to put across my thoughts. Do I think being more religious has made me a better person? On some level yes, on some level no. The thing with religion is it could be quite indoctrinating. It doesn’t matter which religion I suppose because I have seen similar traits in devout Christian friends. Just like Pope Urban II used the crusades for his own political ends, I think there are certain movements within the Islamic communities which is manipulating Muslims towards what the news would call ‘extremism’. I think for many young Muslims, ideologies propagated by these movements would appeal to them because it gives them a sense of empowerment in the wider society. I think the fact that Muslims who are brought up in conservative families, and Muslims are by nature conservative people because of their inclination towards religious practices, feels disenchanted in the wider liberal British society. Speaking purely from personal experience having gone to very white clubs such as lifesaving and talking to fell Muslim colleagues and friends, there is something which brings you out of your comfort zone when you sit together with them in a pub sipping away on their beer. Its something I cannot explain further because its purely a feeling. Without feeling totally integrated into the wider British community, some would seek to alter it by condemning their practices. Certainly, some school of Islamic thoughts would empower individuals to become advocate for this change - I know this claim would cause a large outcry in the wider Muslim community as its a taboo subject.

I am not sure if its an Asian/British thing because I have no problem with my European friends. Thinking about it, I have very few white-British friends (who I would call genuine friends) after coming to the UK for 6 years. Huh…Strange. After reading Randy’s blog, I think I understand what he meant when talking about dutch people - not saying that dutch people are bad or anything - but its the fact that I strive in a minority community where I am expected to be different rather than expected to be the same.

The world is changing, things are pushed politically to the right. You can say that it doesn’t concern you, but no matter what small things happen in the society, we are all affected. Looking at second world war when Hitler took over. Looking back, its easy to say what he did was wrong and evil. However, he did manage to mobilise the whole Germany, and pockets of Eruope to push his agenda across. Was it because all the Germans were evil? No. Hitler spoke some truths to people’s heart, and they believed it. It was a classic example of indoctrination. They say the best form of propaganda is the one where you don’t know you are being manipulated. Incidentally, I watched a documentary about US army’s involvement in hollywood blockbusters. If you were to see the heroic side to the American Army, you would be more likely to enscript. It was a way of glorifying war, and commiting your loyalty to the country. I could see that would be the case if I was an American who was taught to love America, and seeing these heroic service men and women out there fighting for freedom, I myself would enscript to the US Navy for the cause in Afghanistan and Iraq. However, how politicians use lies and speech to mobilise a nation is quite amazing.

Alright, enough blabbering for the day. Just in summary, human beings like to belong to a certain group. Individuals or elite in these groups have the ability to manipulate the actions of their members by empowering them. These actions performed by the members would be seen from the outside as being representative on the group. It makes me question…how free are we?
June 16, 2010
22:49
Am I European?
» ‎ The Summit Trail

I had an interesting conversation with Loic the other day regarding the EU. Interesting because it got me thinking, will UK ever become truly European? Perhaps I am the least qualified person to write about European politics, but lately with the economic crisis, the bailing out of Greece and the voting in of a Euro-skeptic government which is ‘in bed with’ Europhiles, this question of European-Imperialism (if I could coin it this way) seems to be a hot topic. I myself nearly benefitted from the the European Union title on my passport as I applied for a job in Brussels in 2008. The easiness to just cross over the channel means that I could be eating Fondu in Paris in a couple of hours without the need of a stamp on my passport. However, I would still need to think about exchange rate. Since the UK never joined the Euro, we have our own fiscal policies, economic regulations etc, which allow the UK to be independent on its own decision when it comes to devaluing the currency to favour exports and growth.

So, my French buddy Loic was trying to persuade me that UK should join the Euro and become a strong player in European politics. Whilst all the continental Eruopean countries embraced this brotherhood, the UK stayed well clear of loosing its say on its own affair. The devolution of power to Brussels was just not appealing. If we were to have a referendum tomorrow on this issue, I think it might be very likely we get out of the EU altogether. Maybe I am too anti-European, but hey, I am Asian. Instead of trying to bring about a balanced view on the pros and cons of joining the Euro, I am just going to defend my case as to why we shouldn’t. From my previous posts you can tell the only reason why I am in the UK now is because of the British Empire. From the Indian subcontinent to Africa to the coastal cities of China, the British held a large part of the world. HSBC is a very good example of the geographical potency of the British Empire. Therefore, unlike its neighbouring countries, the strength of UK lies with its historical allys : the commonwealth. UK has always been strong economically, and if you look at major trading currencies, USD, EUR, GBP and JPY are the default choices. In other words, the European currency with the whole of Europe put together is considered on par with the British Pounds. Forgive me, my European friends who sees the benefit of this European imperialism, I just don’t think its right for the UK to spend its money on other European countries such as Romania, Poland etc because we are right next door. Perhaps its quite a selfish thing to say. I do enjoy the company of my Polish colleagues at work, and I think it might be harder for them to come here to work if it wasn’t so easy (although since they are skilled, it might not be so difficult).

I asked Loic, so would you prefer to be called a European rather than French, and Loic said ‘French’. Which is quite surprising to me since most French people are very proud of their French-ness, more so during this time of the World Cup. This leads me to another point I want to make, which is not purely economical, is the fact that even with this European brotherhood, the dutch still hates the German and the French still refuses to speak in anything but French. Yes, the single currency makes it easier for trade but when push comes to shove, if the Germans have to bail out the Greeks because they use the same currency, most Germans would complain that their hard earn tax money is not spent in Germany but in Greece. The have already bailed out East Germany once when the Berlin Wall came down, most of them feel that they are doing it all over again. I don’t know, I am not a big fan of centralisation of government because at the end it creates more buraucracy, and you loose your identity.

I can see I haven’t made much strong arguments in this post, but do let me know what you think if you care enough about the European unity.
June 15, 2010
16:47
伊斯兰教义
» ‎ The Summit Trail

伊斯兰教基本的信条是“万物非主，唯有真主，穆罕默德是主的使者”这样一段清真言，在穆罕默德传教过程中，这一信条逐渐发展为穆斯林的“六大信仰”。既笃信安拉、天使、使者、经典、后世和前定。　　(1)信安拉。尊信安拉为唯一的主，坚决反对多神和偶像崇拜。在经堂语中，称安拉是“无形象、无方位、无比拟、无匹偶、无所在而又无所不在、不生而又不被生、超然绝对、自在永恒”的创造宇宙万物的唯一主宰。“信主独一”，是伊斯兰教的第一个基本信条。　　(2)信天使。按伊斯兰教讲，“天使”是供安拉驱使的差役。一般穆斯林所熟知的是“四大天使”：哲不勒依来，专为安拉向穆罕默德传递“默示”；米卡伊勒，专司人间衣食供养；阿兹拉伊勒，掌管人的生死；伊斯拉非勒，司风雨，也是宣告世界末日来临的司号者。　　(3)信使者。伊斯兰教认为，“使者”是安拉的钦差，是安拉差遣到人间来“治世安民”的伟大“先知”，中国穆斯林称之为“圣人”。自人祖阿丹以来，安拉曾派了许多“使者”或“先知”向人类传布“正道”，而上承“列使”正统的穆罕默德则是“最后的使者”，或者叫“封印的圣人”。中国穆斯林称其为“至圣”即在他之后再无“使者”，任何人也不能称“使者”。否认或以任何其他方式反对穆罕默德“最后使者”的地位，就不能算是穆斯林。　　(4)信经典。《古兰经》是伊斯兰教的主要经典，伊斯兰教认为《古兰经》是“安拉的语言”，是降自安拉的“真经”，是最完善的一部“天经”，它的内容主要有以下几个方面：一是伊斯兰教的信仰及其制度；二是有关当时社会问题的各项主张；三是《古兰经》本身的一些说法和穆罕默德为传教需要而引述的各种先贤故事和传说；四是关于同多神教、犹太教信徒的辩论和斗争；五是有关穆罕默德私人生活和轶事的记述等。除《古兰经》外还信“圣训”即穆罕默德言行录。　　(5)信后世。伊斯兰教的信条中也有生前和死后的“两世”之说，认为穆斯林有“两世吉庆”，即今世和后世都是吉庆的。今世和后世的吉庆是指以勤奋诚实的劳动创造美好的、幸福的现实生活，对社会做出贡献，穆斯林若行“善功”在后世经过审判，可复活进天堂乐园。伊斯兰教还宣传“今世暂短，后世长久”，要勤于斋拜，否则死后就下“火狱”。　　(6)信前定。即信世间一切事物都由安拉预定和安排的。认为世间一切事物，包括天地万物，人的富贵贫贱，吉凶祸福，生死寿限等，皆由安拉的意志决定，自身无法改变。　　这六大信仰，是伊斯兰教的基础，接受了这六大信条，就是伊斯兰教的信徒。如果不仅承认这六大信条，而且在行动上也完全实行穆罕默德规定的“五功”，那就成为一个完全的穆斯林。
作者：民宗局
10:47
Wavelength
» ‎ The Summit Trail

Lately I can’t seem to detect the right channel. So I am going to switch it off for a while.
June 12, 2010
20:06
Linearity of life
» ‎ The Summit Trail

Perhaps this will be a very strange blogpost, but I am trying to figure something out in my head these few days. Something is frustrating me, and I can’t put my fingers to what it is. We are all placed into this 4-dimensional world: we relate to people, objects, events through the constraints of the 3-dimensional space, and 1-dimensional time. Without these entities, memories would be meaningless, life might become blurry. I often sit and ponder about the amazing fact of my existence. Irregardless of any religious inclination, shouldn’t we puzzle as to why we are in this world? Most people consider me an idealist, some complain I am not practical in the way I think. Perhaps. However, we have a choice between accepting the way in which the world function or live our lives according to how we want to live it. Recently I got a cup which has this Edward Monkton’s print on it:

The quote at the back is: “Beware of the deadly donkey falling slowly from the sky. You can CHOOSE the way you LIVE, my friend but not the way you DIE.” Here we are, living our lives as we do without much seeming purpose. Most people say we are so small - if you look at our universe, the earth is so minute, and we are just 1 of <population of earth> people living amongst the billions and trillions of other orgnaisms who share this planet who coexist in a you give I take relationship. For example, a whale shark eating planktons:

Such a giant animal living on such small creatures. So - what is our purpose? I am not satisfied knowing that there is no reason or explanation for my existence. Therefore, I have decided to be ‘good’. Yet, concepts such as good and bad are such difficult concept to grasp. I was asked a question today on google chat, “Do you think its possible for us to make decisions to do good without God.” -> The question is, what is good? Ok, some would argue that if your action benefits many people, a utilitarianistic ideology, you are doing good. However, then we have to define what is beneficial. Take for example, China, a generation of people are lifted from poverty because of economic reform by the government. That is beneficial right? However, does being lifted from poverty entails goodness? Perhaps on an economical point view, yes. But how have they really benefited in terms of their purpose in life? Surely, in a capitalistic society, our worth as human beings is defined by our monetary value, as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said in the little prince. Ok here is the little prince so you can imagine him speaking to you:

When you tell them that you have made a new friend, they never ask you any questions about essential matters. They never say to you, “What does his voice sound like? What games does he love best? Does he collect butterflies?” Instead, they demand: “How old is he? How many brothers has he? How much does he weigh? How much money does his father make?” Only from these figures do they think they have learned anything about him.

If you were to say to the grown-ups: “I saw a beautiful house made of rosy brick, with geraniums in the windows and doves on the roof,” they would not be able to get any idea of that house at all. You would have to say to them: “I saw a house that cost $20,000.” Then they would exclaim: “Oh, what a pretty house that is!”

When you tell people, “I got a payrise”, people will say, “Oh thats good!” but if you tell people “I lost my job”, people would automatically assume it to be a bad thing. I’m not talking merely other people, even yourself might consider that “bad”or “good” - such labels are very deceptive. It seems to me how good something is depends largely on how the society sees your existence. The thing with human beings is we are social animal. Even if you are INTJ -> the introvert, thinking type who doesn’t want people to disturb you, eventually you have to allow other people into your life. Ultimately, the way they see you affects the way you see yourself, and in turns you judge the world accordingly. Its said in the Quran (2:216) “Fighting has been made obligatory for you, much to your dislike. It is quite possible that something which you don’t like is good for you and that something which you love is bad for you. Allah knows, and you do not.” Don’t adopt a Wilder-ist mentality when reading this quote - fighting can mean an internal struggle -> for instance fighting an addiction of smoking or drinking. Either way, what if you are unable to tell if the thing you love/hate is good or bad?

Back to the title of this blog. The linearity of life. We live life in a rather linear way because that is the way we see it. We are born then we grow slightly, then grow a lot, then grow in places you don’t want to grow, then we get old, then we get older, then we think back to the days when we were still growing. The point I am making is, we are confined by the linearity of time. We can’t decide to live an old age tomorrow with your kids looking after you, or you can’t live the free and carefree life of a bachelor after you are married and at the age of 80. The fact that we don’t know what will happen is so mind-boggling. However, imagine a world where time does not exist, that there was no linearity, and that the reason for doing something is not related to some particular event. This is when the causal effect breaks down, and the way in which define good and bad would become irrelevant. We are dead already. I know I have to be more patient, because we are placed in a linear time scale, and we are placed in a constraint in which our happiness depend on the events which take place in this 4 dimensional space-time. Perhaps if we could free our minds, and accept that our purpose will be fulfilled we might be much happier.
June 11, 2010
17:38
Office Hierarchy
» ‎ The Summit Trail

/* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}
“When top level guys look down, they see only shit;
When bottom level guys look up, they see only assholes…”
15:14
New domain
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You can now access the site with www.kamilshah.net
June 07, 2010
11:56
Random Hedgehog
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Copyright: Edward Monkton

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