Outrage Pornography

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

We live in a world of outrage pornography, especially among Muslims.  Yesterday, it was Myanmar; the day before, it was Yemen; today, it is Syria; and tomorrow, it will be something else or a repeat of something before.  Or it could be a cause, an event or even something mundane.  None of it is actually about the truth.  People will share “news” that affirm their cognitive biases or strengthen their prejudices.  No one actually looks at the source and cannot differentiate propaganda from gossip, let alone truth from lies.  Often, people will share and comment based only on a headline and do not even read the article or watch the video. 

Outrage is a simple emotion.  It allows people to feel good about themselves, without actually caring enough about the issue to really know.  It allows people to hold on to the illusion that they are good people and anyone with an opposing view is supporting some form of injustice or evil.  It allows people to lie to themselves that they care about people they have never met, far away, without the actual responsibility of doing something.  Because, if any of it is real, people would do what they can about the things that immediately affect those around them here and now. 

In the Muslim community, it is all about some conspiracy by the “West”. or by “fake Muslims”, or any combination of groups.  Victimhood is comforting.  It abrogates our responsibility for our own state of affairs, and allows us to blame others.  And that is why nothing changes.  When nothing is ever our fault, we have no reason to be better.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Du’a of the Blind Man

A Brief Biography of Shaykh Ibrahim ibn ‘Abdullah Niyas al-Kawlakhi (q.s.)

The Benefits of the Verse of 1,000 Dananir