02.19.08
The Conspiracy Mindset
The Muslim world is known for being a massive proponent of a wide range of conspiracy theories, the most popular of which is that the US or Israel is behind every ill we encounter as part of a Zionist plot against Islam and Muslims. While there is some truth to this theory, the mentality that gravitates towards a conspiracy to explain all local and world events is extremely simplistic and one which distorts our understanding of reality.
The reason for the popularity of conspiracy theories is that they offer a simple explanation to how events fit together towards a particular ends. Why are the Muslims so backwards when they used to be the pioneers in science and learning? Rather than explain this phenomenon by looking at the number of factors that came into play, such as the way Islam was interpreted throughout the ages, the political leadership of the Muslims, the relationship between the Muslim and other cultures and civilizations, etc. the simple explanation offered is that the enemies of Islam have been plotting Islam’s downfall, and all these factors are linked together by strings attached to the fingers of a great conspirator that is controlling the Islamic world.
Therefore, misinterpretations of Islam are not innocent mistakes, but the infiltration of Islamic institutions by the conspirator and his agents. Governments aren’t corrupt institutions, but puppets serving their master conspirator. Cultural influences do not occur by osmosis, and the people’s acceptance of these influences, but a campaign spearheaded by the conspirator and his mass media machine to rid the Muslim world of its culture and identity.
Nothing occurs by accident or beyond the realm of the conspirator. Everything is explained under his umbrella. Most conspiracy theorists don’t find it necessary to explain how this conspirator got his power. It’s sufficient that he is exercising this power. There is no need for factual evidence connecting the conspirator to his supposed crimes, beyond the acceptance of the possibility that the conspirator exists and is controlling world events. It is enough to say that the US is powerful and has the agents to infiltrate any institution it wishes and to pay off any government, politician or journalist it seeks to make use of in its plot against Islam.
The ultimate danger in this mindset is that facts are no longer relevant. What ultimately determines whether things are true or false is who they serve. Who benefits from any statement or event determines who the speaker works for and who was behind the event. A journalist expressing his honest opinion is an agent of the US if he speaks against any group or government the US opposes. The journalist’s reasons are irrelevant as long as they serve US interests. He is part of the conspiracy as long as he is furthering the cause of the enemy.
With this attitude, all opposition to the conspiracy theorists and their understanding of Islam and the Muslims’ well being are agents of the conspirators. There is no validity to any argument as long as it works against the supposed interests of the Muslims. To detract from the conspiracy theory is to distract Muslims from the root cause of their misery and is, therefore, a part of the conspiracy to keep Muslims ignorant of the conspirator and the way he is controlling the Muslim world.
Conspiracy theories tend to be all-encompassing. They are intended to explain everything within their theory. Therefore, Hollywood movies, regardless of their message, aren’t produced for artistic expression, or entertainment or even for profit. They are intended to distract people from politics and to waste people’s time. The whole entertainment industry is reduced to the servant of the conspirators to dumb people down and prevent them from solving the problems they are facing.
The conspiracy mindset has lately been exemplified by the Kuwaiti MP Adnan Abdul Samad, who defended Imad Moughniyeh from the accusation that he was part of a terrorist hijacking of a Kuwaiti airplane, by counter-accusing those who put forward the accusation of working for the interests of the US, the Zionists and the imperialists, and of seeking to divide the nation through baseless accusations. I still don’t know much about Imad Moughniyeh to have an opinion about him, but what’s worrying about Adnan Abdul Samad isn’t the stance that he’s taken towards Mougniyeh, but the way he brushes off all criticism of Mougniyeh and those he praises as part of a conspiracy.
Adnan Abdul Samad is not the first or the last of the conspiracy theorists, but we should be on the look out for those who reduce all phenomena to simplistic theories, and who seek to gun down all opposition by claiming to know the intentions of those who oppose them and looking at the “interests” their opinions serve rather than the facts they present.
Seth said,
March 18, 2008 at 5:18 pm
Haider,
Although I agree that some “conspiracy theorists” are irrational, I would argue that is equally irrational to hold that world events (political, economic, and social) are simply happening by accident. I am reminded of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s words “Nothing happens in politics by accident; if it happens, it was planned that way.” Certainly I am not trying to diminish the complexity of world events, but to knock “conspiracy theories” as trying to be all-encompassing parallels to a knock on the human integration of knowledge. We are predisposed to try to connect common threads in those subjects that we study (history, political science, finance, psychology. economics etc.), and when facts point towards certain conclusions (conspiracy), it becomes exceedingly irrational to dismiss those facts simply out of disdain for the conclusion.
I sympathize with your frustrations, which I believe are directed more towards those who claim to be helpless in the face of conspiracy than those who have studied history and come to the startling conclusion that the world is, in fact, controlled by a few individuals, but to minimize mountains of evidence into “some truth to this theory” is to allow your frustrations to override your reason.
Haider said,
March 18, 2008 at 5:57 pm
Dear Seth, I don’t deny that there are factual conspiracies, some of which we may not feel comfortable accepting because we can’t understand how a government can have the power that it has, or question the intentions of people we revere. We cannot overlook conspiracy theories simply because we do not wish to accept that they are true.
However, my issue with conspiracy theories is that they become the default explanation to everything, and I mean EVERYTHING. For example, I have some ideological and political disagreements with Iran, and I can explain to you what these disagreements are and why I have them. But a conspiracy theorist isn’t prepared to consider my reasons. By simply undermining Iran and its Islamic vision, I am accused of working with the US as part of its conspiracy against Iran and Islam.
Conspiracy theories have no end, and they make us dismiss important factors that exist beyond the authority of the conspirator. I accept that my ideas can be used by others to further their own ends, but a conspiracy theorist would accuse *me* of sharing the same intentions as the conspirator, or at least accusing me of being a sell out.
A “conspiracy theorist” once posted a message on an Islamic forum that we shouldn’t listen to anything in Western media, to which I replied that we cannot dismiss everything coming from the West entirely. He sent me a personal message accusing me of being a non-Muslim, and an enemy of Islam!
You see, it makes more sense to him that everything is directly connected to a conspirator, rather than accept that there are other issues that come into play, which we have to understand.
I would also say that the reason why conspiracies work so well is because our cultures operate on autopilot, and so it’s very easy for political institutions to influence culture, and predict how people would behave, and what needs to be done to steer people in different directions. In other words, *we* are easy pawns in the hand of a conspirator, not because we are being brainwashed, but because we don’t make use of our brains the way we should, and can easily fall into the traps of those in authority.
There’s no use in simply blaming the conspirator, but must change our culture so that we become more educated and have a better understanding of politics, economics, etc, so that we are not manipulated so easily.
Seth said,
March 18, 2008 at 6:35 pm
Like I said, I share your frustrations with those people who declare themselves helpless in the face of a conspiracy, and I agree that some “conspiracy theorists” are irrational. I simply advocate that we should not throw the baby out with the bathwater, as you also seem to advocate in your opinion on Western media. I think we can both agree that we are facing serious problems that have been orchestrated by world leaders (Iran is a wonderful example) and I think that the first step in solving these problems is understanding how they came to be in the first place.
Haider said,
March 19, 2008 at 8:09 am
I agree, but have to stress that it doesn’t have to be up to world leaders to determine the course of our lives. We just have to come out of autopilot mode.
Seth said,
March 22, 2008 at 7:58 pm
In Germany before World War 2 their fiat currency became meaningless. Men had worked their entire lives to accumulate wealth to protect their families, and then they were burning the money to keep warm at night because it was absolutely worthless. Now I want you to imagine New York City were the same thing to happen in America. Manhattan has enough food to last three days. Then people begin to starve. Starve, Haider. Not run out into the country and pick an apple tree. Starve. And if it is winter they will freeze. Millions of people.
America, what many believe to be the richest nation in the world, has an EIGHT TRILLION dollar deficit. Like, what’s the point in even keeping count now? Our citizenry has no true buying power, except for the small percentage who have invested in gold and have it on hand. And all major industries have been centralized into the hands of a miniscule minority, most of whom have influence over the value of our currency and our government’s policies. I am out of auotpilot mode, but this does not change the grave situation my country and the world will face when this system collapses.
Haider said,
March 23, 2008 at 8:28 am
Seth, I wasn’t familiar with the term “fiat currency” before you mentioned it, and don’t know the specifics of how the economy operates. Once I find out, I’ll be posting an article on it where we can discuss the issue further
Thanks for all the info..