The Common Psychology and Forms of Behavior in Ignorantism (4/6)

9- The Psychology of Age in Ignorantism

The Religion of the Ignorant stipulates a form of behavior for every age group. This is not written down or described anywhere, but people who live in the world are aware of this, and practice it in all its details. For example, they believe that when they approach 50 or 60, their lifestyles, manner of speech, clothes, tone of voice and style must all change in accord with Ignorantism.

The main principle of this change is pessimism, founded on withdrawal from the blessings of this world. People reaching that age generally start to complain about life. Asked how they are, such people will give negative replies along the lines of "As well as can be expected, under the circumstances" or "Trying to recover my health." They entertain the superstitious belief that they have no right to take any pleasure from life and from now on, they should distance themselves from its blessings.

According to the Religion of the Ignorant, the menopause in women and the andropause in men is a time when behavior needs to be totally overhauled. A great many people of that age abandon everything of beauty. They cease taking care of their bodies. They attach little importance to their appearance and pay scant attention to cleanliness. They begin wearing dark-colored clothes, generally preferring brown, grey and black—a kind of mourning for their lost youth. They imagine that there is no need for bright colors like red, orange, yellow, green or pink. Yet this is a most meaningless rule. People can use the colors created by Allah and benefit from this blessing at all ages.

At this age, some people's behavior and style undergo a total change. Even though they have no physical infirmities, they believe that they have to be slow-moving and lifeless. Their reactions become dull, and they begin talking very slowly, one word at a time. They spend a long time describing something that could be clarified quickly, and regard this as another requirement of old age.

People who were full of life in their youth suddenly, and of their own free will, lose all hope, joy and vivacity. For example, they experience no excitement in the face of a beautiful view, an attractive person, a pretty song or a demonstration of good behavior. On the contrary, they often grow sad at such moments.

According to the false rules of Ignorantism, people must start waiting for death after reaching such an age. That is why nearly all who have reached their 60s are just waiting to die. Production comes to a standstill, out of their prevailing belief that nothing remains to be done. Death is certainly close at hand at that age, and that fact should not be forgotten. However, those who live by the religion of ignorantism do not prepare for death by striving to attain moral perfection, having a deep fear and love of Allah. On the contrary, theirs is a vain life spent in pretending to ignore the Hereafter. They unwisely wait for death, merely "killing time" until it comes.

Someone who produced ideas in his youth now ceases to use that ability. Another who was once very clever and able now begins to pretend to understand nothing, to hear with difficulty, to think slowly and be good for nothing, just because he has reached a certain age. Most people spend the final 20 years of their lives looking out the window, or watching soaps on television, totally divorced from the beauties of this world. This damage stems from the fact that accustoming themselves to not using their talents leads to a gradual slowing down of the mental faculties and early senility. The loss suffered by a person who adopts this kind of behavior and lifestyle will surely be much greater in the Hereafter.

The correct course of action is for a person to work both physically and mentally and to perform good deeds in this world for the sake of the Hereafter, to the extent that their capacities permit, as long as they have no serious illness. In one verse Allah commands: "So when you have finished, work on" (Surat al-Inshirah, 7). No doubt that this command of Allah's applies to people of all ages.

10- Discrimination in Ignorantism

One of the most important features of Ignorantism is how it values people. This satanic religion divides people into two major groups—rich and poor. A different perspective and thus a different form of behavior is applied to each. The difference in attitudes towards rich and poor is just about the same all over the world, in terms of gestures, tone of voice and even glances. An American adopts this behavior required by the Religion of the Ignorant, as does a Frenchman, and a Russian.

This difference in behavior may be summarized as follows:

1-Ignorant people generally adopt a delicate, softer tone of voice towards those who are wealthier and of higher status than themselves, and speak as courteously as possible. When dealing with someone poorer, however, their tone of voice grows more natural, whatever the person's real voice sounds like. Their speech becomes harsher and cruder, with no need for courtesy felt. The subject is dealt with as briefly as possible. One example can be heard in the tone of voice when speaking to one's boss and those used in addressing the cleaning lady. Since there is a probability of securing some kind of advantage from the boss, his employees will speak in a gentle, respectful tone, to make it clear that they respect him. Since they have no expectations from the cleaning lady, they employ a style that shows no respect at all.

2- When a wealthy person arrives, people's movements are quick and careful. Everyone is at great pains to ensure that everything is as that person would wish, to fulfill his every desire, and make sure that nothing untoward happens. When a poor person arrives, nobody generally bothers at all. Everyone behaves calmly, slowly and disinterestedly. When a wealthy person enters, everyone stands up, dusts himself off and pays attention to how he sits back down. Nobody stands for poor people, however, nor even glances in their direction, and nobody alters the position they're sitting in.

3- Unlike poor people, the wealthy are generally addressed in very polite, formal language. A rich person entering a shop will be asked "How may I be of service?" in a very respectful manner, however a poor person will be addressed in a humiliating tone and will be asked "What do you want?"

4- Wealthy people are paid the most careful respect. Even if quite young, they will still be treated with the respect normally due someone much older. People even give their seats up to very young individuals, and kiss their hands if they are in a country where such a custom applies. However, even if a poor person is quite elderly, he will still be treated like a child, and be addressed with expressions more appropriate to children, such as "And how are we today?", "you tell me now, what do you want?"

The way this discrimination is reflected in people's behavior can be clearly observed even when entering shops. As soon as wealthy regular customers enter a boutique, all the staff will head towards them. They'll be greeted with smiles, and be asked what they'd like. Whatever they ask for will quickly be placed before them. More will be brought out for inspection before the first have even been examined. The staff will have permanent smiles on their faces. If the customer has children in tow, compliments will be rained down upon them.

Assume that poor customers enter the same shop. If it is apparent from their clothes and general appearance that they have little money, no one in the shop will show much interest in them. Nobody will even approach them unless they ask a question of one of the staff. If they ask to see anything, it will be brought out very slowly and reluctantly. The staff will generally not produce anything else for that customer's inspection. In addition, the sales assistants will wear bored, irritated expressions, since the staff will want those customers to leave as quickly as possible. They will deliberately glance outside when fulfilling that customer's wishes or else chat with someone else in the shop. If the customers have children in tow, they will irritably ask them to keep an eye on them.

This example is most instructive in revealing the attitude of Ignorantism, because this logic and behavior can also be seen in bank cashiers, waiters, tailors, and grocers. Wherever you go in the world, you can see similar behavior in people who live far removed from proper religious moral values.

In the Religion of the Ignorant, for someone to be shown respect and interest, that person must possess obvious material means. The greater that person's fortune, the greater the admiration felt for them by members of Ignorantism. When you go to a restaurant, for instance, you see that wealthy customers are the subject of great interest and concern. Indeed, if they are best-known celebrities, it's unlikely that their money will be accepted at all. Their very presence in the restaurant is regarded as an honor, and they are not asked to pay their bill. Yet if a poor person hasn't have enough money, there will be a huge scene. He will be shouted at, humiliated and thrown out. In other words, no money at all will be requested from the wealthy, but the poor must pay down to the very last penny.

Wealth is the sole difference between these two people, meaning that respect and interest are not shown to individuals, but rather to their wealth. This is one of the ugly aspects of the Religion of the Ignorant.

In Islam, people are evaluated solely according to their moral values. A person who is poor but possesses decent moral values is many times superior to a wealthy person who defies the commandments of Allah. For that reason, there is definitely no discrimination between people in Islam. Proper moral values count, not wealth, status or power. In one verse Allah reveals:

11- The Criteria for Choosing Friends in Ignorantism

In Islam, the sole criterion for choosing friends is their moral values. In the Religion of the Ignorant, the yardstick is very different.

Every culture has a number of rules peculiar to itself. For example, someone from a pseudo-intellectual milieu will be careful that the friends he selects are compatible. He will first look at external appearances and prefer to establish friendship with someone who dresses scruffily, wears a neckerchief around his neck, thick boots on his feet, pays little attention to cleanliness, and has a goatee and odd accessories, rather than someone clean and tidy who dresses classically in well-ironed clothes. That is because in Ignorantism, external appearance generally reflects a particular culture. This erroneous view of life cares little for moral values or other people, and thinks that nobody has any responsibilities toward anybody else.

There are also circles that consider only the financial circumstances of the person before them. In the Religion of the Ignorant, the price of the clothes a person wears must first be analyzed to establish whether he is worth talking to, taking ideas from and establishing friendships with. The make of a person's jacket, shoes, bag, perfume, wristwatch, shirt and even socks are all of the greatest importance. Next, it's important to establish whether they have a car, if it's parked anywhere visible, and if so, the particular model.

These are preconditions for taking the first step. In the second step, information needs to be obtained about the individual's family, such as their father's profession, where they studied, their mother's acquaintances, the hairdresser they frequent, where they vacation, which district they live in—all are necessary in deciding whether to establish a permanent friendship. If the person before them passes all these tests, then that individual's moral values, character, beliefs or world view, no matter what they may be, are of no importance: He or she enters the category of potential friend.

Some people possess all these qualities, but are totally without any form of culture. Not well-rounded, coarse, they have the most repellent moral values. They mock those around them and protect their own interests above all else. They have no idea how to mend relations with people, apologize, or even admit their mistakes. In situations that conflict with their own interests, they find it easy to lie and take no interest in others' problems. They put up with no difficulties for the sake of others' comfort, health or happiness, and are ignorant of self-sacrifice. Yet you see a huge number of admirers around such people. In fact the only reason for the interest shown in them, even though everyone sees their character and moral defects, are the warped criteria prevailing in Ignorantism.

Therefore, in the society of the ignorant, you seldom see groups of friends from different classes with very different material means. The rich establish friendships with other wealthy people, the moderately well-off with other moderately well-off, the cultured with the cultured, and the poor with others like themselves.

According to the morality of the Qur'an, there is one measure for friendship; the person's sincerity, moral perfection and his fear and love of Allah. For believers, possessions, the quality schools one attends, one's profession or luxurious villa are of no meaning or importance. That is because the friendship of believers is directed to the real abode of the Hereafter, where material values have no importance at all. The origin of the love of a believer for another believer is Allah's manifestation in that person, an exuberant love for Allah and a profound fear of Him.