Selfishness: A collective character flaw

 Introduction

Selfishness may seem to some readers to be an extremely fringe and irrelevant topic, when one considers that a genocide is still taking place in Gaza, the Sudanese civil war which  has gained more attention, and even the obvious propaganda campaign against Nigeria that has emerged in recent weeks, however, our assertion is that all of these are ultimately connected to the prevalence of a selfish mindset.

That mindset essentially says "it's not my problem", or, in the most "generous" of circumstances, promotes the interest of individual nations or blocks of nations alone.   This sort of mentality even filters down to the world of religion! Within this past week, a social experiment was  enacted by TikTok content creator Nikalie Monroe was calling several houses of worship nationwide, asking for Baby formula, in order to test the reply of the places of worship staff. The only positive replies were from a a handful of African-American churches (traditionally poor communities), one Buddhist temple and a mosque. Although I admit to a bit of confusion on this point, it appears the same content creator reached out to other mosques in the Dearborn, Michigan area, all of which gave positive replies to the request for baby formula. 

Our article will give brief reflections on the shades of selfishness that are often ignored. Our primary assertion is that this is a collective character flaw that is largely a by-product of capitalism and nationalism, the prevailing economic and political philosophies. 

How should we define "selfishness"?

A dictionary definition of selfishness  is simply "the quality or condition of being selfish" (Oxford). At the outset, it is important to share that self interest at some levels is appropriate, necessary and quite natural. A person sleeping in a cold room would require a blanket to keep warm and sleep comfortably. Similarly, a hungry man desires food to satiate his hunger.  

Yet, the fulfillment of these needs can go too far. It can go to the direction of inconsideration of others who have the same needs, to the point of actual indifference. Sometimes selfishness manifests itself in manifest greed, search for fame, the abandonment of family, even criminal activities. 

National selfishness

Nationalism, in an extreme form, can easily mutate into a  collective selfishness and sense of superiority. A sentiment that nothing else matters except "us". Nazi Germany certainly had this problem, it is shared by other obscene political ideologies such as Zionism and is present in the MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN (MAGA) mentality, the latter the current powerful trend in American politics.  It is that trend that has empowered individuals (even politicians) to engage in blatant oppression, injustice against others, and even to brag about it online. 

Religious selfishness

A sort of self-righteousness that overwhelms any ethical considerations, especially when dealing with those belonging to other religious groups. Sometimes, this even occurs within the same religious community, where a segment therein are adherents of a slightly different shade of religious understanding. I have found it actually a strange occurrence that online, Christian apologists who were once allies (such as David Wood, Sam Shamoun and the figure known by the nickname Apostate Prophet ) who have turned on each other, with a variety of others, accusing each other of various moral and legal crimes, even to the point of pointing out the marriage problems of each other in the most repugnant fashions.  

Muslims do this as well, and will justify it by asserting  that there are allowances to backbite "the innovator", that their theological opponents are to never be the object of civilized behavior. This stems from a sort of selfishness in which religion has been altered to serve ego, rather than our egos surrendering ourselves to God. Another analogy would be that of a criminal gang, that we treat religious affiliation as if we are in a gang or a sports team.

Selfishness with resources

It is obvious that selfishness with resources is a Hallmark of today's world, at least in the Western environment. The rich relative refuses to give help to the poor one, with little to no sense of guilt or social responsibility. Indeed, as we have often pointed out, this has ironically taken on a religious element, to a certain extent, with the emergence of THE GOSPEL OF PROSPERITY as a doctrine that has taken hold of many American churches. 

Scripture is filled with accounts critical of selfishness with resources, but despite this, we still find that the mentality persists. With that said, we are told by the Qur'an (Q 17:29) that we should neither be wasteful nor tightfisted with our resources, a balance of personal and societal responsibilities is clearly being advocated by the Islamic sources. 

Emotional selfishness

While selfishness is a quality recognizable in all variants of narcissism,  a more subtle form is what we are referring to as emotional selfishness, in which a person either refuses to recognize or simply does not care about the emotional well-being of others, while at the same time expecting others to be considerate of their emotional output, a one-sided sort of relationship ( be it professional, personal, familial or romantic).

These sorts of unbalanced dynamics are particularly common within patriarchal societies, families in which leadership is more structured. Unfortunately, the result of this can lead to all types of abuse and toxic behavior in general. 

From a religious perspective, emotional selfishness should not even exist. The Prophet Muhammad- Sall Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam- has famously stated "None of you have faith until you love for your brother what you love for yourself." He also told his followers to spread the greetings (and environment) of peace and give gifts to each other. He has also been recorded as being deeply critical of not showing affection for children. These ahadeeth, and others of like nature, are useful bullet-points in avoiding selfishness. 

Islam as the source of reminders and guidance

One of the titles of the Qur'an is The Reminder (Adh-dhikr). The Qur'an, as well as the example of the Prophet Muhammad, upon whom be peace, are resources that we can always consult. In fact, we should be consulting, reading, studying and in deep contemplation of these resources, on a regular basis. 

This is because of the simple fact that we are humans, we can overlook or forget important information. We believe that at core humans are good people, and anyone who proclaims that Allah deserves worship and that Muhammad was an authentic Messenger of God with sincerity and honesty has to have more good within them than bad. In other words, reminders such that which this article contains should prove to be useful ( Q 51:55) .

By consistent consultation with the Qur'an, authentic spirituality, we should be in a position where we correct our behavior (and even feelings) in a relatively short amount of time. Islamic ethos should prevail over our emotions, selfishness is something that likewise we need to to overcome, and Islam is the best weapon to utilize for that purpose. 

Thoughts on religious polemics

Introduction

Customers in search of one (or several) items will go to a shopping mall, a marketplace wherein they may end up acquiring various items from different businesses. It is often the case that the different businesses are actually selling the same product and thus the need to compete with each other in order to make sales. 

Although crude and lacking elegance, this example reflects the relationship between self-appointed representatives of religions. It not only involves refutations of opposing doctrinal positions, but it can get very emotional. While most recently an Iraqi Christian  named   Salwan Momika in Sweden had at least two incidents in which the Qur'an was targeted (even outside a Stockholm mosque during Eid services), perhaps not as well-known are the actions of an American Christian figure David Wood, who has made his career by producing video content critical of Islam, who actually ate pages from the Qur'an during a livestream interview with another critic best known by his nickname  Apostate Prophet (or AP). It seems to me that the reason behind such ridiculous actions is that of generating business, more so than any other motivation.

Debate

As an academic exercise, it is fascinating both as a spectator and a participant to engage in a debate. In some settings, students will be made to defend positions they themselves do not agree with. This is useful in the development of communication skills, critical thinking, understanding the topic better, and much more.

However, in a religious context, while it can function in ways as noted above, it often proves to be counterproductive. Parties may lie, make strawman arguments, or deliberately seek to provoke their opponent via personal insults, as a means to "win". It becomes little more than entertainment, each side seeking applause (and money) from their audience (both in person and online). Evidence for this is easily observable in places such as the United Kingdom's famous "Speakers Corner". Most of the participants have YOUTUBE channels, PATREON accounts which solicit donations to "continue the cause". 

Moreover, religious debates are more than about theology, they are about identity and often intersecting with current political conflicts, thus, producing emotional outbursts which actually makes people blind to the argument advanced by the other party.

Dialogue

Discussion is a much better way to go in understanding the religious teachings of others. Dialogue should take place in a calm environment. Laymen interested in a particular topic should attend discussions in which qualified, recognized scholars or authorities have the opportunity to present their arguments and engage in addressing questions. 

Islamic guidelines

Undoubtedly Islam presents itself as the completed picture of God's truth, and views particular doctrines held by other faith traditions as erroneous, nonetheless it has guidelines therein that are realistic and respectful.

Among those teachings is that the acceptance of religion be a conscious choice (Q 2:255, 18:29), that items deemed sacrosanct are not to be ridiculed (Q 6:108), that it be presented in a rational fashion, demonstrating wisdom (Q 16:125).

Religious differences, even within the same religious community, are a part of life, and need not lead to enmity or conflict. They can be passionately discussed, and it is possible to benefit from such a discussion, but if those discussions, or any discussions for that matter, degenerate to a very low point, it is better to withdraw from them (Q 4:140, 25:63 and also see 2:83). Ultimately, it is on Judgement Day that God himself will state the truth on all the issues we disagree about (Q 6:164).