The Religion Of The Ignorant

Mocking people's physical features, and by referring to their deficiencies or weaknesses sarcastically in terms of enormous praise.

Additionally, disparaging people by means of jokes and barbed comments, or giving them cruel nicknames, belittling people with looks and gestures, imitating them in a manner designed to humiliate them, seeking to put down someone else by means of the style, tone of voice and words one selects, smiling at others in such a way as to draw attention to a flaw in the way they are speaking, and whispering about people so that they cannot hear are all behaviors often displayed in the Religion of the Ignorant.

Other features of Ignorantism are group mockery of a person who makes clumsy mistakes, teasing those known for their innocence or good intentions, looking for something to laugh at in every word uttered, and embarrassing others whom one dislikes or wishes to demean by embracing them in public. The fact is, however, that such behavior is strongly condemned and forbidden in the Qur'an:

You who believe! People should not ridicule others who may be better than themselves; nor should any women ridicule other women who may be better than themselves. And do not find fault with one another or insult each other with derogatory nicknames. How evil it is to have a name for evil conduct after coming to faith! Those people who do not turn from it are wrongdoers. (Surat al-Hujurat, 11)

4- INDIFFERENCE

One fundamental element of the Religion of the Ignorant is the appearance of indifference. In this superstitious religion, indifference is employed to suggest intelligence, ability and personal superiority. It is believed that indifference is the way to give the impression of being someone very special, with a far superior character to anyone else. Indifferent attitudes are therefore prevalent, especially among the young.

Consider the most popular boys or girls in high school. You'll seldom see modest, loving, respectful and sincere behavior in such individuals. Behavioral traits of that kind, the most important features of proper moral values, are regarded as demeaning in Ignorantism. In order to be popular among members of this religion, one should be as arrogant and indifferent as possible. Greeting nobody, but being the one always greeted by others is of the greatest importance in this regard, as is being the person who is shown affection rather than showing it oneself. Such people appear to take no interest in one's surroundings, distancing themselves from anyone who displays a sincere attitude, and are close to only a few favored friends.

A second aspect to indifference manifests itself in the logic of "Don't worry about it," or "That's the way we do things," which in turn pervades the society of the ignorant. Ignorantism regards keeping one's cool in the face of danger as a virtue. That is why so many people among them die, are crippled or fall ill. One example of this indifference is the way that someone will say, "Don't worry about it, we are not afraid of such things" instead of repairing an electrical cord so worn that it represents a fire hazard. Or the way that residents of an apartment block brush aside a possible danger by saying, "Don't worry about it, this is a strong building nothing will happen" when the plumbing needs fixing. Indeed, most people skip going to the doctor for years under the logic that "I'm as strong as an ox, nothing will happen to me," and feel no need to receive any treatment for their illnesses. Due to this indifference in the Religion of the Ignorant, a very high number of people live for years unaware of the tumors or viruses in their bodies, and are already at death's door by the time these are finally diagnosed.

Another danger indifference brings is the possibility of causing harm to others. Some, for example, will leave a 3-year-old child alone at home, with the idea that nothing will happen. Often people return home to find their children seriously injured from playing with the gas or electricity, or killed by eating medicines or falling out a window. Reports of this kind appear every day in the newspapers. However, at this point the indifference of Ignorantism reveals itself. Reading such reports, people fondly believe that such things could never happen to them, and so carry on in just the same way as before.

Indifference is so prevalent in the society of the ignorant that people are always telling one another not to worry, that nothing untoward will happen. Indeed, thanks to that religion's distorted mindset, people are embarrassed to take precautions in the face of any danger, or even to suggest that others do so. For instance, it's very difficult for workers in a plant with no sprinkler system to suggest that the necessary apparatus be brought in, or to request that the elevator be modernized. In all likelihood, others at that plant will treat those making such requests as cowardly. In fact, though, the consequences of indifference resulting from the "show everyone what you are made of" mindset are generally harmful to the individuals involved.