They say curiosity killed the cat. Now while I don’t know if that’s true, I do know one thing for sure. It did kill a good deal of ignorance in my head and gave me seriously torturous headaches along the way, but all of this has been a blessing in disguise.
Truth be told, now, after the dust has settled, I’ve never felt happier or more liberated mentally. There’s a lot I want to say now that this reboot is officially done and complete.
And what better way is there to start the new direction of this blog than to explain the following taken from my, ehm, Bio of Awesomeness.
Traditionalist Muslim, Turned Rationalist Agnostic Free Thinking Sufi. Social Media Consultant to NY Times Best-Selling Authors. Author of Upcoming “Heretical” Book on Islam and New Media. Belief Systems Junkie. Afro-Arab Libertarian Music Freak. Vehemently Anti-Islamist. Loud and Drop Dead Gorgeous. The High Priest of Mischievous “Blasphemy.” Read on and Have Your Brain Spun. You’ve Been Warned!
I believe for old time readers who’ve known me and witnessed my evolution from the start, the above might be puzzling or even outright shocking.
Believe me, I would have never - ever - imagined ending up with my current frame of mind when I wrote my first blog post in April 2006. But the pursuit of one’s passion and ideas for their own sake, it seems, can lead one down unexpected rabbit holes.
It’s hard for me to remember precisely when and which triggers caused what. However, there are three distinct phases I went through that brought me to where I am today. Below, I share them briefly.
Phase 1 - Blogging Darfur (and the Rude Awakening)
As some of you know, what mainly pushed me to start blogging was my disappointment at the absence of any Sudanese bloggers when I stumbled upon this gold mine called blogosphere. Pretty much, all countries in the region around Sudan had their political blog communities, but not Sudan itself. I elaborate a little on that in this interview which I did very recently:
… there were no Sudanese bloggers to be found anywhere at the time, at least not any that I’ve heard of even after so much searching. I thought it was a shame because people needed to hear about Darfur first and foremost, from Sudanese themselves.
I was ticked off by this, but then realized I was being a hypocritical idiot for bitching and whining about this whole ordeal. “Screw it,” I thought to myself. “Just go ahead and be the ‘first’ Sudanese blogger. At least you’ll have first mover advantage, and you can try what’s possible to correct all the misconceptions surrounding the Darfur conflict,” the voice in my head continued.
And so it all began.
From 20 daily visitors, to 35, 100, 400 and eventually a few thousand. I blogged mainly about Sudan and the readership grew, but something else also happened.
I was confronted by some difficult truths I had not known. Many were related to political matters and things like secularism, democracy, US foreign policy and the Jewish people, which I also began blogging more about.
It was a rude awakening.
Phase 2 - The Political Confrontation (and the Convergence)
I began confronting the glaring political flashes that shook my worldview, unaware at the time that I was avoiding much of the religious ones.
Again, slowly but surely, the liberating evolution continued.
At the time, I was also approaching my final year in university, and I had to choose a major, so I picked one related to social media, a choice that was most certainly influenced by my addiction to blogging and the internet.
Moreover, when the time came, I also chose the subject of blogging as a means of knowledge sharing within organizational contexts for my final year project.
Needless to say, both internal and external examiners were so impressed with what I came up with and the empirical evidence which backed it up, that my project was selected as the best in my entire group, and I was handpicked to present my findings at an international conference.
It was a fun good time, because an exciting convergence began happening in my head.
You see, an obstacle I faced during my research was answering the question of how one can manage knowledge in an organization if one can’t even define what knowledge is in the first place.
Moreover, like Peter Drucker said, “if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.”
So, I looked around and found case studies to resolve my challenge along with other stuff, but one thing in particular stood out - epistemology, the philosophy of knowledge. It fell from my the sky right smack on my head at a super relevant time in which I was struggling with finding that ever elusive “Truth.”
Finally, I had a way of assessing the crazy, diverse opinions in the blogosphere in a way that was more objective than anything I’ve ever known. Finally, I had a way of making sense of tiring and circular religious discussions, which was based on a rational intellectually honest framework. Finally, it “all” began converging together.
The discussions I regularly have with my dad, a Professor who teaches sociology. The books I consumed about philosophy, the social construction of knowledge, marketing, social psychology, the democratization of knowledge and publishing powered by the revolution of online new media, democracy, human rights, faith Vs reason, moral relativism.
You name it.
It all started converging together, and it was absolutely orgasmic, but there was still one problem.
Phase 3 - The Religious Confrontation (and the Divergence)
By early 2008, I was quite satisfied with the conclusions I’ve reached in regards to political matters. What remained were the religious questions I had been dismissing for too long but which were now staring me in the face.
I feared them, because facing them with intellectual honesty meant entertaining the possibility that what I was taught growing up could be wrong. Being wrong or right about things like US foreign policy or constitutionalism is not the kind of thing that can have a huge impact on one’s life. But entertaining the idea that one’s religious beliefs could be wrong has huge consequences in virtually all aspects of one’s life, if one does indeed discover one is wrong.
There was no running away.
I had to confront the religious questions, and trust me. It was not easy. In fact, psychologically speaking, it was one of the most difficult periods I’ve ever had to endure in my entire life. Long story short, I now have happily diverged away from the broken, dry, and archaic traditionalist approach to Islam. (I like liberal Muslim theologians better, because they value reason more).
Also by early 2008, I had already decided that I had so much bottled up inside of me, I simply needed to get it out, and so the idea for my book was born.
Time passed by, I got busier and as a result this blog suffered, but I gained a lot in the process. I managed to spend ample time away from excessively and aimlessly swimming throughout the blogosphere and read lots of diversely opinionated books on Islam, philosophy, mysticism and atheism instead. From Al-Ghazali, Ibn Rushd and Reza Aslan to Ibn Warraq, Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens.
It’s been good torturous fun for my head.
And it’s going to be even way more fun once I start revealing to you what I’ve digested and synthesized. Lots of things on the way people, and I look forward to tearing down into pieces certain religious ideas and mounting a serious “heretical” rational challenge to them.
On a related note, I’ve also become deeply fascinated - not to mention extremely disturbed - by what goes on in jihadist forums on the internet. I began visiting them out of a desire to have some relevant research material for my book.
Seriously, some of these forums are disturbing, the kind of disturbing that won’t make you sleep so peacefully at night.
Lastly, in 2008, I also graduated university and ditched lucrative job offers from Fortune 500 companies, to join instead an awesome company that works with some of the biggest best-selling authors in the entire world.
After undergoing the relevant company-sponsored training, I found myself doing social media consulting directly with some of these best-selling authors or their employees and building good relationships with them. Thanks to my experience observing the psychological dynamics in the blogosphere, I picked up the necessary knowledge fast and intuitively, and rose to become a specialist at the field.
And as all of that happened, this blog continued suffering, and didn’t receive the attention it deserved. Heck, I never even bothered implementing for this very online initiative of mine all the knowledge I taught to my clients, which bugged the crap out of me. This will no longer be the case, and that’s why this reboot was necessary.
Drima has a lot on his mind that he wants to speak and expertise he needs to implement here, and he shall begin doing so more frequently.
So, what now?
Well, there it is all above in a nutshell. Blogging literally redefined me and the path I’ve chosen to take in life. From the major I chose in university, to my selected career path, and my evolved worldview, blogging here in this very space has been hugely responsible for that….
… and I have you the readers and fellow bloggers to thank. I would also like to give a special thank you to Esra’a from MideastYouth and Tim from Freedoms Zone for all the technical behind the scenes help.
Server side hosting and programming issues aren’t really my strong points, but I learned a lot of cool techie things during the transition period.
Anyways, stick around to learn more about my upcoming book, and stay tuned for what’s to come: Heresy in all its beautiful progressive glory. 
And please, do always know that whenever you read something which may offend you, that I’m not being offensive on purpose. That is not my intention. Mine is to simply provoke interesting discussions and speak my own “heretical” thoughts. And as I do that, I’m open to learning from yours.
Less fear. Less unexamined faith. More reason.
Have a good day everyone!
Sincerely,
Drima Abu Hamdan Ibn Zandaqa - liberated blogger and agnostic Sufi mystic
SudaneseThinker
SudaneseThinker
{ 59 comments… read them below or add one }
Nice make-over Drima!
“unleashing a Jihad for reason. Planting seeds of doubt.” Haha, Love it!
tres cool!
Thanks guys, but it still needs more work. Time to go to bed now. Should be finished by tomorrow hopefully.
Congratulations, Drima- Well done!
Let me add- it’s about time you hot the big time.
You’ve earned it.
Drima…
Like the new look…looks kind of Persian to me and the Star of David all over the place gives it kind of a Sudanese Zionist feel.
Looks interesting dude…
“Heavy Sarcasm Zone. USA Sucks. Jews Not Welcome. Religion Is Infallible”
Your header; is that suppose to be funny? I did like your blog, but…….hummmmm thats not cool not cool at all.
peace be with you.
Nika, I am sure it’s sarcasm, as he says.
“Reader discretion is advised.”
Many, many of Drima’s readers are Jewish. Many are Israelis.
looks kind of Persian to me
Persian is good!
Drima, love the new layout.
Ibn Zandaqa
The son of a dualist philosophy, of something Persian?
Andrew,
Nice try. It is funny, but I was just about to comment, and found your note as I scrolled down. Zandaqa refers to a not so popular religious sect.
It’s current connotation is closer to heretic if you hear it these days in Arabic. It is personally one of my favorite words.
Alharaka,
Yes, I know. But from what I remember the sect was dualist, Manichaean, and that’s Persian. Dualism comes from Zoroastrianism.
SCA, thanks!
Howie, I’m thinking it’s more of an Aladdin and the Genie kind of feel. And the Stars of David are only in your imagination.
Nika, no worries. It’s typical Drima sarcasm.
Alharaka and Andrew, yes by Zandaqa in this case, I’m referring to heresy, hence Ibn Zandaqa would be son of heresy.
“Moammar Gadhafi elegido como nuevo líder de la Unión Africana”
I just caught this in a Spanish newspaper…Gadafi has been elected the leader of the African Union? Really?
Drima…six pointed stars….sorry dude…Sudanese Zionism…you busted beeeach
I’m very new to your blog, i actually just found about it a few days ago and i must say im already a fan .
Congrats on the makeover, the new layout is waaaay more simple and is easier to navigate through
Although im a bit surprised by the Aladdin inspired graphics, thought would be more…hmm…daring to suit the sarcasm..
LoL Howie.
Bee, welcome, welcome! This place is gonna be so much fun.
Drima,
I like the new look and look forward to the new direction you are taking the blog. Hopefully I will have time to comment on some of your entries, because I know you are going to incite some serious debates. Keep up the good work.
Best,
AK
Dear Drima,
Nice redesign. In appreciation, I unsubscribed to your rss feed,
just so that I could subscribe again.
Sean Murphy
Woohoo! Like the new layout, love the new banner
And on behalf of the Raccoonish nation, I humbly beg you to do something about font resizing! What does everyone have against my eyes?
Free thinker? Really?
Yes, but not in the typical secular humanist sense. However, I do value and would love to see more people enjoying the power of freethought and intellectual curiosity.
Drima…
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7864604.stm
Can you dudes even get two TRIBES to get along?
Great banner, Drima! You used to have an e-mail address on your old blog. Why not here?
Wow!
AK, Sean and Raccoon, thanks for the feedback.
Trust me, finding a competent reliable designer was NOT easy. The guy who made the banner for me as a favor is one of the most sought after designers by top niche marketers. Will let him know you guys like his work.
Howie, thanks for the link. Would love to see Ghadafi living for another 100 years. He’s a funny clown for sure.
Eva, thanks. Email address is added now.
Andrew, is that a good or bad wow?
A shocked and impressed wow.
Not particularly bad… I am waiting how that “agnostic” thing pans out.
I didn’t realise you had changed so much since we first met here. And we still haven’t met in person.
Abu Sa’ar, Roman, I’ll meet you in April. Drima, I hope we’ll meet some day soon. What do you think about Djibouti as a meeting place?
“I didn’t realise you had changed so much since we first met here.”
That’s because I never shared all those things on this blog until today. I just kept blogging for the sake of having updates, but behind all those past mediocre posts, a lot was happening.
And yes, I too hope we can meet face to face soon, but America seems like the most likely destination.
but America seems like the most likely destination.
Me, going to America??? That’s insane! I have never been in the US.
Ok. Just tell me when and where and I’ll fly there. Dublin is really not far from anywhere.
It was/is a pleasure watching you evolve, man. Keep the rights of Raccoons in mind when you become the Benevolent Dictator and Supreme Leader of Africa (keeping ol’ Muammar as the King of Fools, of course), please.
And seriously, you gotta come to Israel. I am sure something can be worked out with passports and such. You’re such a candidate for Jerusalem Syndrome… And I am quite looking forward to corrupting you with drugs
I am sure something can be worked out with passports and such.
I have two passports from the same country for such purposes.
Israel? Hell if Drima ever makes it out there…I might even drag my butt back into the humid, trafficy, loud, obnoxious, overcrowded, Zionist drug crazyed, Raccoon infested sandy, dusty, dot on the map.
AB…you won’t like America…too many fucking Irish.
Drima the blog looks.. You might win Weblog award 2009 knock on wood..
Congratulation on the graduation.. from the university and in the blogsphere..
Sudan/Africa awaits its educated Brethren unless you are already there…
“Unleashing jihad for reason” that is catchy… So now you are Voltaire or should I say Nubian Voltaire (of course u might not be from Nuba)…
All the best…
Drima,
that you have ditched your faith is no surprise to me. I saw it coming because no thinking person of your caliber can remain attached to such nonsense. That you have taken yourself so far is both a surprise and a delight to me. Congrats for your present achievements and best wishes for the future. You’ll go far!
jonah84, thanks for the comments bro. Nubian Voltaire sounds cool.
“Sudan/Africa awaits its educated Brethren unless you are already there… ”
Let’s wait and see what happens after 2011 when the South makes the decision whether to stay or separate. I hope to return sooner than later.
Eva,
“ditched your faith”
Well, it’s more complicated than that. There are things I still value and always will. But generally speaking, when it comes to the traditionalist approach that the majority of Muslims adhere to, then yeah, I’ve pretty much happily ditched it.
More on the way for the sake of elaboration.
Drima,
I’m so happy for you and excited to read what you have planned for us.
Do you think you are going to be able to reform anyone on those jihadist websites or are you going to need some help from us?
*observes the new surroundings while sipping military-grade coffee*
Nice look, mate. Place was due for a change, and a certain further change to your opinions and beliefs was already becoming apparent in comments, if not in the original blog posts… Good to have an update on that as well.
I’ll be looking forward to continuing our years-long debates, certainly.
Well, Drima, you have tagged yourself an agnostic. To my knowledge - and I know because I’m one - agnostics are pretty much uncertain about the existence of God and they refuse religion in general. So I am looking forward to your explanation. Hmm, agnostic sufi mystic… What’s that?
Lynn, reform them? Maybe 1%.
Roman, good to see you around mate, and thanks for the comment.
Eva, a lot to explain here, but briefly put, rationally and empirically you can’t prove or disprove life after death. Hence, from a rational and empirical perspective, I’m pretty much agnostic when it comes to that for example. It’s just a matter of faith. But then again, how much faith you’re going to have, or not have is the issue here.
Also, you say:
“agnostics are pretty much uncertain about the existence of God”
Here’s a little something for you to think about. Before you question and ask whether God exists or not, you need to ask yourself what is God in the first place.
That’s where the complexity arises, because for example, even within Islam itself, God is understood differently by different theologians.
Opinions on free will, predestination, theism, pantheism etc. differ significantly, and those that are traditionalist in nature are weak in my view.
More later. It’s gonna take numerous posts to go into the subject, which is exactly what I’ll be doing in the coming days and weeks.
Been with you since your very first post, and it just keeps getting better. Allah yabarik feek.
“I’m pretty much agnostic when it comes to that for example. It’s just a matter of faith. But then again, how much faith you’re going to have, or not have is the issue here.”
Drima, I begin to doubt about your agnosticism. Faith? What faith? As you said correctly, there is no proof either for or against the existence of God. With that in mind, there can’t be faith. Faith is a blind belief in something. Blind belief and agnosticism are diametrically opposed .
As to what is God, I wouldn’t even attempt to think of it. If such entity exists, it is beyond our understanding. One thing I know: given the size of the universe, it is insanely arrogant to think that God is interested personally in each and everyone of us.
Halalhippie, thanks for sticking around from the start. It’s been good man.
Eva,
“Faith is a blind belief in something.”
Yes, but that’s just one definition. There are different kinds of faith, even the non-religious kind.
Eva, read this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnosticism#Types_of_agnosticism
It’s not strict black and white.
very exciting..
u too have done something very significant for me.. will tell you more about it when i can.. itll answer some of your old questions as well..
Hmmm…
have you finally managed to find more Sudanese Jews, lirun?
+++ Out of Cheese Error +++ Redo from Start +++
(If you don’t know what that refers to, you have to start reading Terry Pratchett, and mighty fast too. I’m sure you’ll enjoy his books).
Congrats on the reboot! Personally, I’m waiting for the book. But looking forward to reading your further musings here as well.
I’m not at all surprised by your transition. In fact, I pretty much saw it coming. But I acknowledge that it takes an awful lot of honesty, not to mention bravery, to take steps that go against your upbringing and to open yourself up to new ideas. You always were “The Sudanese Thinker”. Congratulations on freeing your thoughts
Thanks NC! I appreciate your kind words. Believe me, I’m waiting too for the book to be done and published, and then pull in all my contacts and resources to make it a NY Times best-seller.
Just discovered your blog. So far, I like what I see. Have one question, though:
when you say “ex-traditionalist”; which stream/school of traditionalist thought were you part of?
I was raised Sunni, but didn’t follow a particular school of thought.
You’re right Drima, some of us are speechless at this radical makeover. Looking forward to what you have to say in 2009 and beyond. I’m still pushing hard for dragging President Omar al Bashir before the International Criminal Court in The Hague AND I’ve got more leverage in following through with the new administration in Washington and Dr. Susan E. Rice raising Hell over at the UN. If you thought US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was tough, just wait until you meet her evil sister (Susan).
One important point. You should not exclude anyone from either reading your blog or making reasonable comments to your posts. Exclusion of people based upon their nationality, ethnicity, race, religion, or political views is a bad deal____ but you already know that ’cause you’re a Sudanese Nubian.
BRE, I plan to write an article for PJM about the latest updates on the ICC Bashir decision and Darfur. I agree with you on some things but not others as I will elaborate later. One thing is for sure though, the situation needs renewed attention and a fast resolution.
Regarding exclusion, no worries at all. The newsletter will be made public, but for now, the first people to get included are those who made comments here before.
Thanks for dropping by bro!
I received an e-mail saying to confirm if I’d like to be included in your newsletter, which I would. I’m very busy this evening though so I don’t have time to read through your entire blog/website. I think I found this site when reading another friends’ blog who was working in Sudan. Don’t remember. But, anyhow, I’m American and while I can understand foreigners being irritated with the US sort of invading on others’ territories, I don’t agree with your statement that the US sucks. And, I’m a Jew. So if you really don’t like Jews or US citizens, then please exclude me from your newsletter. On the other hand, if you were just being sarcastic, then I’d love to hear your point of view. I’m applying to medical school and I’d like to travel some more, so I’m thinking of doing international rotations or doctors without borders and so I’d like to hear other peoples’ perspectives as well as opinions about Americans volunteering overseas. But kindness is always appreciated.
Deborah, me adores America with all her flaws, and has nothing against Jews. It’s just good ‘ol sarcasm.
Before you write that piece for PJM (Pajamas Media) have a look at the latest on Darfur over at GVO (Global Voices Online). The post is titled ‘Sudan: Video Declaration on Darfur Genocide by Perpetrators’ and it was put together by the Aegis Trust (UK).
Good to hear that you were just being sarcastic and continue to have a healthy sense of humor but as Deborah has pointed out you may want to consider that exclusion statement in your blog banner. It may scare away readers who could make invaluable contributions to your blog and your worldwide reader audience.
I’m an American Jew myself (honorary, it’s a long story) and I’m a black Jew at that. Don’t tell my Baptist pastor though, he wouldn’t understand.
I am confused, if you didn’t follow a traditional school of thought (the Amman Declaration, for example, recognizes 8 major ones: http://ammanmessage.com/), how were you a traditionalist?
iFaqeer,
in Sudan the popular Sunni school of thought is Maliki, but besides growing up in Sudan, I also grew up in Qatar which follows the Sunni Hanbali school.
So in terms of traditionalism, those are the two I was immersed in mostly, and hence I didn’t follow one particular school of thought.
Hello Drima,
I have just encountered your blog and left a couple of comments on some other posts. i too was briefly led astray by the exclusuion statements above, but then reread the “Heavy sarcasm” statement and figured I’d go with that.
If you ever want to understand the mysteries of some Jewish thinking check out this site: oldjewstellingjokes.com
Careful! A little rudeness there!
Cheers, you have an interesting personal story.
I am as of today officially a fan of your blog.
But do excuse my ignorance and maybe inability to read between the lines, are you a guy or a girl ? - not that I am a sexist (as you intellectuals would put it! :p) but I do try to analyse every piece of information I get, and the source as well. I enjoy studying people, and the human side of this blog, is what keeps me coming - So please entertain my question
At all cases, I completely fell in love with your blog.
Tito
Hey Drima,
I am fascinated by your blog!! Frankly speaking, I did not expect to find a Sudanese, and especially a Muslim for that matter, with such radical ideas and sound reasonings that only the West has been monopolizing. If there is anything I can and have learned from your site, it is that I should start my own blog too. Like you, I am a Sudanese too and a philosophy major.
My question is: how does one go about creating a beautiful blog as the one you have here? I hope to learn more from your posting!!
Shukran!
Panluel
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