We Humanists

The power of spirituality [both positive and negative]

· K Damodar· 4 min read

Disclaimer – This article presents my views and analysis of two books written by two Jihadists. This is not to endorse the violent Jihadist and/or Islamist views in any way.

Atheists, especially the communist types, reject all spirituality. I think this is a grave mistake as by doing this, they are throwing the proverbial baby with the bathwater. In this short article i will try to explain the “baby” part and the “bathwater” part of the spirituality as best and briefly as I can. I owe a great deal to Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, who in his monumental book, titled, “Buddha or Karl Marx?”, has dealt with this question in an unique way, which made me first consider this issue with seriousness it deserves. I recommend you to read his book.[bk]

But with the rise of Islamism and the consequent jihadist violence all over the world, the issue of spirituality and religion has once again come to the forefront. On one hand the atheists are eager to throw away the spirituality along with the religions as they consider them to be at the very base of all evil. I am of the opinion that traditional organized religions are more or less now not required and should be rejected in the social spheres as humans have made enough progress to build better social/political alternatives but spirituality does play an important role even now, at least at personal level.

I wish to bring your attention to the two books [links at end] – both written by Muslims and both were jihadists. First is the part 1 of the autobiography of a jihadi named Omar Hammami alias Abu Mansoor Al-Amriki – who was a al-Qaeda [al-Shabab] terrorist who was killed in Somalia. Second is the book by Aimen Dean alias Abu Ali, a former al-Qaeda terrorist who later rejected al-qaeda ideology but remains as a spiritual Muslim.[aj] [ad]

The book by Abu Mansoor Al-Amriki, an American of Syrian origin, who joined al-Qaeda, is a very special type of an account of the life and views of a jihadi, who is not just blinded by the ideology but is intelligent enough to articulate his thoughts and write them down properly. He narrates his story and it gives a rare glimpse in the power of spirituality – it’s rare in the sense that his story brings out both the positive and negative aspects of spirituality in stark contrast. It should be noted that al-Shabab claimed to have killed/beheaded Abu Mansoor Al-Amriki over a dispute involving implementation/interpretation of Sharia laws in Somalia.

The other book, by Aimen Dean, is even more interesting and enchanting. His story is another testament to the power of spirituality – the more dominant positive aspects in his story are refreshing and encouraging.[ad]

On a personal side, I remember the feeling when I first reflected on these two books – it was a kind of enlightenment – that spirituality itself can be positive or negative and thus a given spirituality [the condition of being spiritual] can and must be recognized, assessed, analyzed, evaluated and accepted/rejected/modified.

This thought allowed to me take a pause and make an attempt to define the term spirituality.

So here is my attempt to define spirituality – I consider spirituality to be an unwavering faith in given ideals and a consequent commitment to the ideology that emerges out of those ideals that leads the spiritual person to follow a path in life irrespective of any material gain and/or any peer approval.

Spirituality affords the greatest power a person can enjoy/exercise that cannot be bought/sold in conventional materialistic markets – it has to be discovered/founded by the person concerned himself/herself. I cannot overemphasize its power. But this power can create a force that can be positive/negative – and thus can create/destroy, improve/degrade the world.

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