About Drima

Heresy 2.0, Unleashed

In April 2006, I published my very first post on this blog. Little did I know at the time that I will be sitting here at my desk today on this rainy day writing the heretical words you’re about to read.

I believe in the superiority of reason over revelation. *gasp*

I believe that faith can be understood in different ways and comes in various categories, some good, others bad. But ultimately, I believe in the need for unleashing a jihad for reason and freedom, against the tyranny of secular dictatorship, religious dogmatism, and delusional Islamist utopia.

A jihad that is comfortably heretical and unrestrained by the archaic limiting man-made framework of traditional Islam.

One aimed at the unapologetic and merciless destruction of blind fearful unexamined faith through planting seeds of doubt in the minds of those who dogmatically hold it and revere it.

And one that’s facilitated and is now possible more easily than ever thanks to Web 2.0 and the new media revolution we’re enjoying today.

Hence, the blog you’re now viewing authored by yours truly, Drima Abu Hamdan Ibn Zandaqa, and the phrase he coined - Heresy 2.0.

And yes, you can just call me Drima.

Besides my stated mission above, I also write about Sudan and occasionally other topics to give interested people from around the world the opportunity to learn from the perspective of a 22 year old, born at the convergence of the White and Blue Nile – the city of Khartoum.

In addition to experiencing Sudan at the peak of its Islamist oppression during the 90’s, I spent my childhood in Qatar as well. Currently I live in Southeast Asia.

I don’t take myself too seriously so you may expect some occasional silliness proudly on display. 

Why “The Sudanese Thinker”?

After discovering the blogosphere and becoming deeply fascinated by its highly raw and humanizing nature, I went through a period of profound mental change. The lies were exposed and the bitter truths revealed. My world view was turned upside down. Trust me. It was not fun.

I basically had to rethink all aspects of what I believed to be the “truth” and so… in April 2006, “The Sudanese Thinker” was born. The “depropagandization” process painstakingly took its destined year-long course. Ridiculous conspiracy theories were discarded. Much was unlearned and relearned, and as a result new opinions formed independently. Long story short, the experience of blogging literally redefined me. You can read the whole story here.

Thank goodness for the miracle that is the internet. There’s nothing better than free and unrestricted flow of information. Oh yeah baby!

As for the name “Drima”, I pretty much am a dreamer. The sky is the limit.

Stances

While I generally dislike adopting labels and putting myself in boxes, politically I consider myself a liberal. Of course this is not to be confused with what liberal means today in an American context because in it I’d regard myself as a classical liberal or a centrist libertarian.

Democracy: I believe in human rights and a liberal democracy for all. I also believe that a liberal Islam is compatible with democracy (at least certainly in ijtihadi theory even if not widely in practice yet).

The principle of Shura is an integral aspect of Islam which if implemented properly can form the basis of a representative democracy – one which must not have a religious council at its very top with the power to strike down legislation they oppose.

In other words, secularism is the way forward, something which too many Muslims oppose thanks to their misconception of what secularism entails in the first place.

Islam: As you can probably tell, I’m no fan of traditional Islam, which the majority of Muslims adhere to. The Islam of liberal Muslim theologians and democracy-supporting scholars like the wise Bahraini Dhiyaa Al-Musawi and the Sudanese Abdullahi An-Naim is one I appreciate though.

Sudan: I love my country and believe in its huge potential. I also realize that in many ways it’s a complete disaster. I support the Southerners’ struggle to attain their rights and was saddened by John Garang’s death. As for the Darfur catastrophe, it’s not as simple as most people think. The conflict isn’t a case of Good Vs Bad, but rather Bad Vs Worse – “bad” being the Darfurian rebel groups and “worse” - far worse - being the Sudanese government.

Africa: I’m an “Afro-optimist”. There is more to Africa than famine, civil war, disease, poverty and corruption. All these sadly do exist but there are other good aspects which hardly get any attention. A class of fast-rising enterprising Africans are making a huge positive difference and I predict we’ll witness some countries succeeding significantly in the coming two decades.

China: While I admire the rich heritage of the Chinese people, I must say I am not fond of the Chinese regime. Its increasing involvement in Africa makes me suspicious. Sure, investment is great, but the “no strings attached” manner in which China is conducting affairs is something that heavily bothers me.

China is no democracy. It’s a country with no real freedom and a place where human rights are not well respected. It is communist and against religious freedom. That does not sit well with me.

Globalization: I like and support globalization but I am not necessarily supportive of the way it has been managed so far, especially by the IMF, World Bank and WTO.

America and her foreign policy: Like I said, I’m not comfortable with boxes and labels, and while I oppose various aspects of US foreign policy, I generally consider myself pro-US.

I’m a fan of America, her ingenuity and her constitution. I have family and many friends there. Better still, I’ve had the pleasure of visiting America and traveling to many of her great cities - Chicago, Portland (Maine), L.A., Denver, Las Vegas, D.C. and New York City. Is America screwed up in many ways? Oh, you bet it is. But Muslims there (and in other Western countries) surely do have more rights than Muslims anywhere in the Arab world. That can’t be denied.

The US-led war against terrorism: I fully support it in principle but partially in implementation. The elimination of al-Qaeda is something I am proudly and staunchly in favor of. Many people tend to forget that it is we Muslims who are the number one victims of this heinous cancer and sickening brutality.

I supported the war in Afghanistan and still do as I believe it to be necessary. As for the war in Iraq, I was passionately against it, but later on, given the new complex reality I began opposing a haste withdrawal, and even appreciating some of the good things the war resulted in.

Truth be told, Iraq is now a flourishing democracy, a fact we need to be honest about. It’s a democracy that is deeply flawed, but nonetheless better than the theocratic tyranny next door in Iran, or the authoritarian Wahhabi Kingdom on the other side of the Gulf.

Still though, the execution of the overall War on Terror and the ironic use of undemocratic means  – “enhanced” interrogation techniques, Guantanamo Bay, CIA-led outsourcing of torture to the very countries the United States criticizes for human rights abuses – during the Bush-era were issues I was harshly critical of.

Israel and the Jewish people: Too many Muslims and Arabs get paranoid, very emotional or both whenever the topic of Israel comes up. They are anything but sensible. Trust me, I know. I used to be one.

Jews don’t have horns and tails. Throughout history, they’ve faced persecution to a miserable extent. The notion that Israelis are inherently evil is absurd and if they are, then many of our own governments aren’t any better.

This is not an exoneration obviously because Israel is most definitely not an angel and I am not trying to paint it as such. Historically, I believe it’s at fault. It continues to expand its illegal settlements and too often inflicts collective punishment on the Palestinian people.

We however obsess about it and direct a huge amount of irrational hatred towards it thanks to our corrupt leaders. They have successfully manipulated us into believing that the evil Jews are responsible for our internal ills when in fact it’s our own dictatorial regimes which clearly are.

I support peace through a two-states solution and hence by default recognize Israel’s right to exist.

An Inevitable Closing

I obviously seek to voice my opinions using this powerful medium of communication. We are lucky to be living in an age of people-powered new media, in which I can freely express my heretical views.

Epithets – literary eggs and tomatoes – will be thrown by the usual suspects (both Muslim and non-Muslim) like they always had been before. They are to be ignored for there is no use in giving attention to those deserving of none.

Let those of us interested in fruitful discussions talk and engage, and while we’re at it, we might actually learn a thing or two. It surely can’t be that bad.