Book of Signs Foundation » Qur’an & Social Issues

OCD & Its Cure in the Light of the Quran

obaloch — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 17:31:53 +0000

Cause of obsessive compulsive disorder

The cause of the condition is unknown. There is growing evidence that OCD represents abnormal functioning of brain circuitry.

What is OCD?

Obsessions occur when people repeatedly get intrusive thoughts or ideas that can be frightening or distressing. i.e. thinking that your mother is going to die, and then worrying that they will because you had this thought.
Compulsions are when people feel compelled to do certain things even when they don’t want to. They may include hand washing, counting, checking, cleaning etc.

People who carry out these rituals are described as having OCD. Generally, the purpose of the ritual is to ward off or protect from the consequences of a potential danger.

Who gets OCD?

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder affects 1 in 50 people, (1 in 100 children) and affects men and women equally. It may appear at any time in a person’s life, but for 50% of sufferers, it begins in childhood or adolescence. Symptoms may come and go, improve or worsen over time. Study’s have found that people with OCD do share certain personality traits, specific life-long tendencies to think and act in particular ways. One study suggests that OCD sufferers may be summed up as fearful, introspective, and depressive.

Sir Aubrey Lewis, a great English psychiatrist, concluded in 1935 that most extreme cases of OCD could be grouped under four general categories: filth, harm, lust, and blasphemy

Filth: fear of dirt and of contamination by germs, poisons, or body secretions
Harm: fear of acting on persistent impulses to harm other people or oneself
Lust: obsessive sexual thoughts
Blasphemy: religious obsessions, etc.

إِنَّمَا يَأۡمُرُكُم بِٱلسُّوٓءِ وَٱلۡفَحۡشَآءِ وَأَن تَقُولُواْ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعۡلَمُون١٦٩
He (Satan) keeping ordering you to harmful (acts & things) , immodest acts, and that you ascribe to God what you do not know. (2:169)

In this verse, the Quran tells us, that Satan keeps ordering us, in the voice of our own thoughts, in an impulsive form, to do evil, immodest acts, and to say superstitious things. So, Satan whispers and keeps the impulsiveness feeling and thoughts going. As Sir Aubrey Lewis categorized these thoughts into haram, filth, immodest acts, and blasphemy. Haram and filth are put into one category in the Quran. Instead of blashphamy, the Quran mentions “ascribe to God what you do not know.” Some of the more recent scientists, just call it superstitious thoughts. Either way it is impulsive thoughts about the unseen world.

The Quran gives a solution to this problem in the verse before. So it reads

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ كُلُواْ مِمَّا فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ حَلَـٰلاً۬ طَيِّبً۬ا وَلَا تَتَّبِعُواْ خُطُوَٲتِ ٱلشَّيۡطَـٰنِ‌ۚ إِنَّهُ ۥ لَكُمۡ عَدُوٌّ۬ مُّبِينٌ (١٦٨) إِنَّمَا يَأۡمُرُكُم بِٱلسُّوٓءِ وَٱلۡفَحۡشَآءِ وَأَن تَقُولُواْ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعۡلَمُونَ (١٦٩)
O people, eat permissible pure things out of what lies in the earth, and do not follow the footsteps of Shaitan (Satan); 83 indeed, he is an open enemy for you. (168) He orders you only to (do) Haram and immodest acts, and that you ascribe to God what you do not know. (169)

The first solution is to eat of Good and pure things of the earth. Second solution is to stop following the ways of Satan. He is an enemy of humans, and wants to make things difficult for them. One way he does this is by putting a human in a state of OCD. As mentioned earlier, fear is a trait common in OCD patients, and the Quran teach in many places fear is tool of the Satan. In one particular place the Quran mentions, “Satan threatens (creates fear) you with poverty and he commands you to immorality. But God promises you His forgiveness and bounty (QURAN, 2:268)

In fact, bulimia and anorexia are often associated with OCD because it normally starts as obsessive thoughts geared toward being thin and good looking? OCD can be a very debilitating disorder. Not only is the person bombarded by troublesome thoughts all of the time, but it can lead to serious behavioral problems such as cutting, eating disorders and the like. For example, kids may become obsessed with thoughts of becoming popular or staying thin. Although it is common for kids to go through generalized thoughts such as these, when the thoughts consume who they are, the issue is a deeper one and should be addressed. So, again with bulimia and anorexia we find a link between OCD and food.

Probably the most overlooked form of therapy for treating obsessive compulsive disorder, and many disorders like it is through whole food diet therapy as mentioned in the Quran. A diet rich in tryptophan, the amino acid precursor to serotonin, is essential to maintaining levels of serotonin. The following foods are rich in this amino acid and should be incorporated into your diet regularly. This list includes: oatmeal, rice bran, eggs, cottage and swiss cheeses, blueberries, bananas, and turkey, roast beef, chicken, whole grains, salmon, tofu, brown rice, baked beans, broccoli, avocado, mackerel, potatoes, nuts and sunflower seeds. It is also advisable that you choose organic, pesticide and hormone free meats and veggies.

Many parents who have used vitamin and other supplements for their children with OCD offer anecdotal reports of improved mood states and reduced symptoms. Among the nutritional supplements they (and some psychiatrists) recommend are B complex, omega 3 fish oil, and calcium/magnesium. The potential use of any vitamin supplements and herbal medicines for your child’s OCD should be discussed with your doctor.

If your child or adolescent is dealing with OCD, there are clear benefits to be gained from cutting down the amount of highly sugared and caffeinated products in his diet. This includes candy, cookies and cakes, sodas, coffee, tea and other “energy boosting” bars or drinks containing high amounts of sugar and caffeine. These products can increase anxiety and nervousness in a child with OCD, ADHD or social anxiety. A balanced diet with all food groups represented is an important element in the home care of a child with OCD. Also important is an adherence to a regular routine for three meals a day.

However, most important foods would be the foods mentioned in the Quran itself, and in the model we see in the Prophets.

Top Irish Catholic cleric calls for church to end celibacy for priests

obaloch — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 16:06:26 +0000

Islam would say the rule of celibacy for priesthood is an unnatural rule. Someone is beginning to see the light. A true religion should have a deep insight to human nature.

Top Irish Catholic cleric calls for church to end celibacy for priests

By Peter Taggart, CNN

Belfast, Northern Ireland (CNN) – A respected former Catholic bishop in Ireland is calling for an end to clerical celibacy in the wake of the sex abuse scandals that have rocked the church worldwide, and says he finds it “heartbreaking” that some prospective priests turn away from the calling because of the celibacy rule.

In his recently published book, “A Troubled See, Memoirs of a Derry Bishop,” Dr. Edward Daly said that allowing clergymen to marry would ease many of the church’s problems.

There needs to be a place in the modern Catholic church for a married priesthood, said Daly, a prominent figure in the Catholic church in Ireland and the most senior Irish cleric to question the Vatican’s celibacy rule.

Daly, 77, reiterated his views in local radio interviews in Northern Ireland Tuesday.

“There will always be a place in the church for a celibate priesthood, but there should also be a place for a married priesthood in the church. I think priests should have the freedom to marry if they wish,” the former bishop said.

“It may create a whole new set of problems but I think it’s something that should be considered.”

The retired bishop said he was worried about the decreasing number of priests and the number of older priests. The issue “needs to be addressed and addressed urgently,” Daly said, adding that he finds it “heartbreaking” that priests were forced to resign or prospective priests were unable to join the priesthood because of the celibacy rule.

Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi told CNN Tuesday: “The position on celibacy is clear.”

Daly said he accepted he might be out of step with current Vatican thinking, but he was “not engaged in a popularity contest.”

His comments are expected to ignite fresh debate within the church as the number of priests continues to fall amid the international controversy over child sex abuse and a number of damning reports on pedophile priests in Ireland.

The retired bishop also addresses the issue of abuse in his book, saying he is “heartbroken and appalled that fellow clergy could engage in such horrible criminal acts against the most vulnerable.” He said he was deeply ashamed and profoundly shocked there were so many instances of child sex abuse by clergy in Ireland and throughout the world.

Daly was Bishop of Derry from 1974 until 1993, during the height of the Northern Ireland conflict. As a priest, he was photographed waving a white handkerchief as he led a group carrying a dying victim of the Bloody Sunday shootings in Derry in 1972.

The picture became an iconic image of “the Troubles” – a term used to describe the 30 years of violence between pro-British and pro-Irish forces in Northern Ireland. Much of his memoir is devoted to that violence, but he called the issue of celibacy “the other conflict.”

Separation of the Sexes, & Modestly laws in Judaism like Islam

obaloch — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 23:28:47 +0000

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish ‘Facebook’ separates the sexes

By Jessica Ravitz, CNN

(CNN) - Showing that modernity might, just might, find its place even in a world predisposed to the most traditional of customs, in walks FaceGlat: an ultra-Orthodox Jewish answer, at least for some, to Facebook.

Among the most conservative of Orthodox Jews, often referred to as Haredi Jews, modesty reigns. Women wear long sleeves and skirts, and they cover their hair after marriage. Men dress as their ancestors did centuries ago. The genders are separated in synagogues, on wedding dance floors and, in certain neighborhoods, on buses.

CNN reported this year on one community newspaper that went so far as to erase women from an iconic news photograph, all in an effort to uphold its values. The paper later apologized, not for its beliefs about modesty and featuring women in photographs but for how the matter was handled.

So social media – which, in the case of Facebook, invite sharing, tagging and gawking at photographs, among other interactions – may not be the most welcoming space for people with this kind of faith.

A 20-something self-taught website builder out of Israel, Yaakov Swisa, seems to be trying to change this.

Ynetnews, an English-language Israeli news site, reported in late July the establishment of FaceGlat, a Swisa-made social network that segregates men and women, blocks immodest advertisements and pictures, and uses a filter to keep language in comments and status updates clean.

“People who are God-fearing and care about their children’s education cannot tolerate the ads and pictures one sees on the regular Facebook,” Ynetnews wrote, quoting Swisa. “I personally know people who have deteriorated spiritually because of all kinds of things they were introduced to there.”

The name FaceGlat is a blending of Facebook with the word glatt, as in “glatt kosher,” the highest level of kosher when it comes to Jewish dietary laws surrounding meat.

FaceGlat, Ynetnews reported Swisa as saying, is “not an alternative for Facebook” but rather “a cleaner option for those who are already there. If it encourages people to open accounts or waste their time instead of studying Torah – it’s a failure. It’s not worth a thing. I promised myself that if that happened I would close it down.”

According to a Le Monde report, posted late last week on Worldcrunch, a still-open FaceGlat has more than 2,000 users and is getting about 100 new accounts per week.

Le Monde said Swisa is administering his fledgling site with “a lot of improvisation.” And even though upon signing up with FaceGlat, members are separated by gender into two distinct networks (click left to join the women, right to join the men), the French newspaper reported that Swisa is looking to purchase software that will automatically find and delete photographs revealing too much skin. Le Monde also said that although his website is available in English and Hebrew, Swisa plans to translate it into Russian and French.

“Orthodox Jews need the Internet, at home and at work alike,” Swisa told Le Monde. “My website allows them to browse freely, while offering maximum security.”

Swisa, who could not be reached Monday for comment, reportedly is a resident of Kfar Chabad in Israel. That village is connected to the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, a Hasidic Jewish branch that represents just one expression of ultra-Orthodox Judaism.

Chabad-Lubavitch is known for its outreach in the secular world and has long used technology “to broadcast Jewish values to a global audience,” said Yaacov Behrman, a spokesman for Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters in Brooklyn, New York.

“Internet, as all media, has both positive and negative aspects,” Behrman said. “The decision of whether to have Internet in the home or not is an individual one. It is imperative for parents to monitor the level of access made available to their children,” and that’s relevant no matter how religious the family is.

But for many others living in the Haredi or ultra-Orthodox world, use of media – including television, films and secular newspapers – is greatly discouraged. Social media, especially, are “like the Wild West,” said Rabbi Avi Shafran, a spokesman for Agudath Israel of America, an advocacy organization for Haredi Jews.

“Internet is fully accepted for work purposes” and can only be used in the home with “strict control,” Shafran said. “Social media is still where the line is drawn.”

He said, “The very medium itself is something we tend to shun because it’s something that’s not easily contained. Once a person’s involved, it tends to take over one’s life. … We prefer people to meet their friends by turning to them and talking to them.”

So whether FaceGlat can gain much of a following in the social media scramble remains questionable. Even Behrman of Chabad-Lubavitch, who emphasized that the new site has no official connection to his movement, isn’t a member.

“Nope,” Behrman said. “I use Facebook.”

Do Only Muslims Have Modestly Laws?

obaloch — Wed, 11 May 2011 22:30:42 +0000

A Brooklyn-based Hasidic newspaper removed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and another woman from the now-iconic photo.

The newspaper Der Tzitung, described by the Jewish Week as “ultra-Orthodox,” has a policy of never printing photos of women in its pages because it thinks they could be sexually suggestive. Thus, Clinton and counterterrorism director Audrey Tomason, who was seen standing at the back of the room, were removed from the picture.

Explaining why they had removed Clinton and Tomason.

“In accord with our religious beliefs, we do not publish photos of women, which in no way relegates them to a lower status,” the statement said in part. “… Because of laws of modesty, we are not allowed to publish pictures of women, and we regret if this gives an impression of disparaging to women, which is certainly never our intention. We apologize if this was seen as offensive.”

They wrote in response to this incident, “The allegations that religious Jews denigrate women or do not respect women in public office, is a malicious slander and libel. The current Secretary of State, the Honorable Hillary R. Clinton, was a Senator representing New York State with great distinction 8 years. She won overwhelming majorities in the Orthodox Jewish communities in her initial campaign in ’00, and when she was re-elected in ’06, because the religious community appreciated her unique capabilities and compassion to all communities. The Jewish religion does not allow for discrimination based on gender, race, etc.

We respect all government officials. We even have special prayers for the welfare of our Government and the government leaders, and there is no mention of gender in such prayers.

All Government employees are sworn into office, promising adherence to the Constitution, and our Constitution attests to our greatness as a nation that is a light beacon to the entire world. The First Amendment to the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion. (See below.) That has precedence even to our cherished freedom of the press! In accord with our religious beliefs, we do not publish photos of women, which in no way relegates them to a lower status. Publishing a newspaper is a big responsibility, and our policies are guided by a Rabbinical Board. Because of laws of modesty, we are not allowed to publish pictures of women, and we regret if this gives an impression of disparaging to women, which is certainly never our intention. We apologize if this was seen as offensive.

We are proud Americans of the Jewish faith, and there is no conflict in that, and we will with the help of the Almighty continue as law-abiding citizens, in this great country of our’s, until the ultimate redemption.”

We Muslims agree with the following Jewish statements about modestly and that it is not intended to hurt anyones feelings at the personal level.

Solving the Retirement Problem

obaloch — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 14:14:27 +0000

The problem of after what will happen after 64 is discussed from an Islamic point of view. The government seems to struggling with the social security problem, here is a small talk on the Islamic solution to this problem

No related posts.

The Shariah & Natural Resouces

obaloch — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 10:49:17 +0000

Islamic Law does not allow humans to do privatization of natural resources. God made natural resources for the sharing of all people.

The Shariah and Corporate America

obaloch — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 23:37:38 +0000

How can we make corporations more responsible for what they do? Well here is a small talk about how the Shariah can contribute to solve this problem.

The Shariah and The Health Care Crisis in America

obaloch — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 20:01:56 +0000

The Shariah, or Islamic Law has a lot to contribute to the crisis, problems and issues we have in America. This is a small talk about how we solve the the health care crisis.

Tough truths about plastic pollution

obaloch — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 11:39:47 +0000

Islam teaching to look at the benefits and harms of any action we do as a society. Certainly, one of the great harms in the modern times has been the making of plastic. There is another video on Mushrooms that gives a very good alternative to plastic, however, because of the harmful effects of plastic it is “disliked” in Islam. Please watch the video also.

Plastic is poisoning our food chain
In the environment, plastic breaks down into smaller and smaller particles that attract toxic chemicals. These particles are ingested by wildlife on land and in the ocean, and contaminate our food chain.

Plastic affects human health
Harmful chemicals leached by plastics are already present in the bloodstream and tissues of almost every one of us, including newborns.

Single Use plastics and Disposable plastics are the main source of plastic pollution
Consumption of single use and disposable plastics has spiraled out of control. They are used for seconds, hours, or days, but their remains will last hundreds of years.

Recycling is not a sustainable solution
Unlike glass and metal, recycling plastic is costly and does not stem the production of virgin plastic product. Most of our plastic waste is landfilled, downcycled or exported to other countries.

The oceanic gyres
Patches of plastic pollution cover millions of square miles of ocean in the North Pacific and in the North Atlantic. Scientists expect to find similar accumulation areas in the remaining oceanic gyres. There is no known way to clean up the plastic pollution in the oceans: the plastic particles are very small and circulate throughout the entire water column. The amount of plastic pollution in the oceans is expanding at a catastrophic rate.

It is “plastic pollution”, not “marine debris”
We believe that the term “marine debris” (used consistently by the plastics industry) is euphemistic, vague, and ineffective. We are here to talk about plastic pollution in the oceans, plastic pollution on land, and plastic pollution in our bodies. Let’s call it what it is.

What’s wrong with what we eat

obaloch — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 11:15:11 +0000

The Quran uses a term for the type of food, “Eat pure food”, repeatedly, to encourage mankind to eat the right foods that is grown organically, but food is mostly pure in its eaten locally and and its pure food when its real food.