Islam & Communism (Short)

If Anyone is interested I will definitely make a longer video about this. But I thought this is a really important message that I want on as many platforms as possible. Please comment below if you would like a longer form video going more in depth into each point I make!

Thank you

[jenblack]

I always interpreted the whole "Religion is the opium of the masses" to be about religious nationalism and how religious organizations, namely the church, were (and to some extent still is) validating the role that working-class people had in society. A lot of this stems from Calvinism and Predestination which was (And technically still is) the guiding belief of the church of England. Now as a Christian and a quaker i 100% believe that the values of Christianity align neatly with the values of Communism.

[lateralyst]

well said. gaddafi had some good takes on this too, he believed that if someone looked deep enough into the texts of their religion, they would become a socialist.

and that's not even mentioning indigenous religions, which have helped preserve communism in those communities for thousands of years.

[liyura]

"Muslims of Russia… all you whose mosques and prayer houses have been destroyed, whose beliefs and customs have been trampled upon by the tsars and oppressors of Russia: your beliefs and practices, your national and cultural institutions are forever free and inviolate. Know that your rights, like those of all the peoples of Russia, are under the mighty protection of the revolution."

—Vladimir Lenin, 'Appeal to All the Muslim Workers of Russia and the East', November 1917

[person-yucu]

This was a very helpful video. I have had a huge struggle with my Buddhist beliefs since I started studying communism and Marxism. The idea that all suffering is caused by clinging and craving (which is the fundamental tenet of Buddhism), has seemed, at first, in huge contradiction to the communist idea that the precarious conditions the working class is not because of the workers own fault, but because of the struggle between the capitalist class and the working class. Some Buddhist teachers individualistically emphasize your own power in letting your day to day obstacles disturb your happiness, while others will emphasize the interdependence of all beings and the need to be mindful and selfless in order to remain connected and serve others fearlessly. I believe the latter perspective is more relevant to communism, because this meditation teaches us that we need to share and have solidarity with the rest of humanity, and to fearlessly organize against fascism and capitalist oppression. So I am searching for a teacher that emphasizes this perspective.

[redlion]

As a fellow Muslim ML, I agree completely. Whether people like it or not, spirituality is an important part of ones life and will continue to be so post revolution should it happen. If you want the people behind your cause, you need to guarantee those of all religious denominations the right to worship. I am a socialist because I want a better world for my brothers and sisters, I am a Muslim because knowing Allah is with us gives me strength. Socialism lends itself well to core beliefs of most religions, not just Islam mind you, and even in an ideal world a spiritual connection is a beautiful thing that only a believer can know and that should be encouraged not discouraged.

[AshleyUpdike]

Can you make some content about Islamic communist movements? That is really interesting intersection. Or a video about capitalism is in conflict with Islamic values?

[MaoistTukhachevsky]

I'm a socialist✪ and a Hinduism🕉 follower too once random people replied me saying that I'm stupid for being a religious Marxist as these things are just totally different
If you don't know there was a famous Hindu philosopher named Swami Vivekanand he also used to call himself a socialist and also a proud Hindu and even though he was the first person in India to call himself a socialist. Nowadays people in India are calling anti-Hindu's as leftists/communists. Also the fact that ancient Indian societies had socialist laws like equal money distribution, no exploitation, equal rights, etc.
Love your videos from India

[ReeMeePlee]

You are so based I am so happy to have found your channel!

[victoralabbq]

I am a communist and recently I have found faith in Catholicism. I just found your channel and I think you are really cool, keep it up for the commies with faith!

[yannickmaunga]

I am a communist and took my shahada a month or so ago.

[RicSpivey]

I am, personally, very much of the mind that if someone's religion or faith gives them comfort and direction that's great! But I deeply feel that anyone who uses their religion as a weapon, a justification for oppression, or violence... The person's actions are entirely out of line and I feel should be unwelcome in many ways. I myself am atheistic and cannot find a purpose in MY life for religion, but I certainly can't fault anyone who uses their faith for furthering positivity or to steel themselves to fight oppression. Your content strikes my ears and eyes as always a voice of reason and thoughtfulness. Thank you so much comrade!

[Libotheos]

Comrade, I am a queer Marxist-Leninist, and I am feel I am being pulled to Islam. I have been reading the Qur'an and have found it so beautiful. Do you have any resources you could direct me to for someone in my position? Btw, I love you channel and being able to see more into life inside the USSR. So jealous of your library!

[holierthanmao]

I am very attracted to buddhism, and personally prefer it over other religions including my parents (brahminist hinduism).
But then I do agree at what people believe personally is nobody's business and thus respect your religious beliefs as long as they do not manifest into inhumane causes.

[qkranarchist]

I am deeply grateful for your channel and other fellow radicals of faith. I am a non-Christian Quaker and we live/think/act our principles of simplicity, peace, integrity, community, & equality. Faith was wrapped into structures for control and power. Power targeted the dissidents violently to stomp out free thinkers. For anti-faith radicals to hate fellow faith radicals is ignorant of history. There is no group of people above corruption by power hungry people. Workers are just as propagandized as people of faith, academics, farmers, healthcare workers. Radicals don't hate all workers, right? Don't hate all healthcare workers, right? Open the mind! Learn about liberation theology. Be a community. "Nothing for me, everything for us."

[anija]

IM SO GLAD I FOUND YOU
I konverted to islam four years ago. A year ago I came to the swiss Organisation part of International Marxist Tendency. I really learned alot trough reading and discussing Marx, Lenin, Trozky and Alan Woods. Thus most of my comarads are atheists and most of my muslim sisters are afraid of Marx, I stored so much kongnitive dissonance. I live Islam everyday and know its importanh and islamic to learn, ask, wonder, study, make this dunya a better place…I learned about materialism and dialectic philosophy. I saw it as a tool further given by Allah but no matter where we have it from, it is the right tool to understand History and change the world for a better. The more I realize our place in history the more I see how important it is to organize for socialism during our lifetime and therefore a better system for next generations in this dunya. I found you at the right time my dear. Thank you now I can show my swiss comarads why they should let go of the hate against Islam and maybe a huge part of the Palastine-Protestors will find their way into the Organization!

[Watashiwadeus]

Meh. Religious communists can say things like "oh, but my version of X is actually pretty close to communism, " or "if you think about it, this religion was close to communism from the start, it just was misinterpreted", but I always be strictly against religion having any influence on educational and legal system. I always will be strictly against religious institutions having large influence in society (modern Russian Orthodox church makes me sad that this shit wasn't just eradicated and replaced with a bunch of local Orthodox councils). But an overwhelming majority of the world's population being religious is just a fact of life and we have to keep it in mind.

[atlroxmysox]

i really feel like people misinterpret the whole “opium of the masses” bit. like it means that capitalism crushes your spirit and takes everything from you, your health, your money, your dignity, that people hang onto religion as something that makes the suffering bearable. also, isn’t a secular state a good thing? like people can have their religions but they can’t impose them on others via the state? not to say communist states have never done anything bad, but the idea isn’t bad.
EDIT: i had never considered how islam and communism are stigmatized in a similar way! thanks that’s interesting.

[hallow]

As a Christian Communist it’s painful at times to see both fellow Christians and some comrades act as if we are fundamentally oppressed

[afromarxistbodyguard]

Love this. I can only assume Western imperialist anti-communism has people making the obvious mistake that Marx meant religion in absolute, when he was targetting the *colonizer's* concepts and structures of religion, not the always decentralized and local (i.e. community-based) interpretations of faith practices. Islam has, through Saudi Arabia and some Gulf state subsidiaries like Qatar, been undergoing a modern transformation into a colonial tool to serve capitalist interests, if not imperialist in the case of Saudi Arabia specifically; Samir Amin has an interview with Newsclick regarding how these proxies used the Muslim Brotherhood to suppress the popular movement in Egypt during the so-called Arab Spring. Marx himself was quite aware of French colonial influence in Algeria, where he went to try and clear up his health issues (see: Marcello Musto's The Last Journey of Marx) and was livid at the disrespect shown towards Muslim burial practices in particular, and was fairly good-willed with his views on Muslim practices he witnessed there. It should also suffice to say that whether Shi'a or Sunni, praying 3-5 times a day is the most basic antagonism towards the capitalist demand for ever-increasing "efficiency" in profit-making - most workplace discussions I've been part of in so-called Canada amongst management re: opposition to Muslim prayer spaces were more to do with the extra expense of creating dedicated prayer rooms, as is the same case of capitalist fury re: having to spend more to build gender-neutral bathrooms. Lastly, the French labelled Pan-Africanism as the 2nd greatest threat to French capitalist interests in the world in 2017, the 1st being Islam...

[canchem]

Progressive elements can be equally derived from religious texts as reactionary elements. It is in this contradiction that the purpose of using religion to built any sort of materialist understanding of the world falls short. I agree in the early stages of building socialism, religious groups will be essential. But like the withering of the state, religion too will also start to wither away as the collective consciousness of workers becomes the reflection of the material world around them - already seen in the younger generation of the western world.