tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47720199156647223932024-03-12T16:11:25.315-07:00Depends...Sindbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383370896981421222noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4772019915664722393.post-18243526553709001072013-11-09T15:26:00.001-08:002013-11-09T15:36:49.889-08:00Išeinu (Leaving)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: #fffff3; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Išeinu, palieku tave, nepyk,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fffff3; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Išeinu, palieku tave, atleisk.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fffff3; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Nes nežinojau, kad tu nežinai, kas tai sniegas,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fffff3; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Nežinai, kas tai lietus,</span></div>
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</span><span style="background-color: #fffff3; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"></span>
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<span style="background-color: #fffff3; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Nes nežinojau, kad tu nežinai, kas tai pievos,</span></div>
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Nežinai, kas tai bičių medus.</div>
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<span style="background-color: #fffff3; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Norėjau atnešti Tau</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fffff3; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Iš pievų, iš pievų laukinių bičių medaus.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fffff3; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Bet nežinojau, kad tu nežinai, kas tai sniegas,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fffff3; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Nežinai, kas tai lietus,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fffff3; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Bet nežinojau, kad tu nežinai, kas tai pievos,</span></div>
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Nežinai, kas tai bičių medus.</div>
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<span style="background-color: #fffff3; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Gal kada nors suprasi tu, ką norėjau tau pasakyt tada,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fffff3; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Gal kada nors suprasi tu, kad be pievų nebus medaus.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fffff3; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Ir gal tada</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fffff3; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Vėl sugrįšiu aš,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fffff3; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Už lango vėl lis lietus,</span></div>
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Ir gal tada vėl bitės neš</div>
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Auksinį medų mums.</div>
</span>Sindbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383370896981421222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4772019915664722393.post-12174525510962206272013-10-30T07:18:00.002-07:002013-11-06T04:16:12.708-08:00James Burgess (Sufi) - 7 Words Personal Development System - 11 Reasons "7 Words Personal Development System" is Most Likely a Sham<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><b>Eleven Reasons "7 Words" is Most Likely a Sham</b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: blue;">James Burgess claims
to be <span style="background: white;">a Professional Astrologer,
Sufi teacher, Spiritual Leader, Spiritual healer, business owner and etc. and
etc. I understand that he offers “psychotherapy” and “relationship counseling”
sessions along with many other abilities he claims to have without having any
valid endorsements or qualifications for them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white;">By
this James Burgess actively putting in danger anyone who trusts his claims for abilities
he doesn’t have (eg. psychotherapy)</span> </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;">Many blogs have been written on James
Burgess and inconsistencies in his ideas and actions. For example </span><a href="http://sandbadbehzad.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/james-burgess-sufi-you-want-to-know.html"><span style="color: red;">You
want to know this about him</span></a><span style="color: blue;"> and </span><a href="http://sandbadbehzad.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/james-burgesssufi-7words-sceptisem-why.html"><span style="color: red;">7Words
a Cover to a Quackery Practice</span></a><span style="color: blue;"> but as these are more analytical and their
scope is beyond the interest of a public audience I am going to represent you with 11 Reasons about James Burgess and "7 Words Personal Development", hoping that you reach the
same conclusion as I reached about this by reading below facts:</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><b>1)</b> James Burgess and his partner (a person called Richard Grey) work under cover of a company called 7 Words:</span><span style="color: red;"> <a href="http://www.7words.co.uk/"><span style="color: red;">http://www.7words.co.uk/</span></a></span><span style="color: blue;"> they call it a “Management Consultancy firm” and at the same time they offer a so called “Personal Development System” and provide "Psychotherapy Counselling" So they seem to be both a "healthcare institute" (they even claim their courses are now being accreditated by NHSs of UK and Lithuanian lol I will come back to this later on) also at the same time they claim they provide advise on management issues in corporate world! fantastic!</span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: blue;"><b>2)</b> They claim that in this company they provide/sell management consultancy, decision-making methods, personality improvement courses, self realization courses, and also even though it doesn't appear on the menu but I am aware they also offer "spiritual healing" a</span><span style="color: blue;">nd "spiritual counselling", "spiritual guidance" and etc. which are some sort of quackery in the field of psychotherapy.</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="color: blue;">As well as in UK they are active in Eastern Europe specially in Lithuania and they already have an established setting there. Of course they don't mention on their website that their services also include "spiritual healing" and other types of quackery because obviously that would make them the laughing stock of the world and make it obvious what type of "company" they are. So those services are offered off the menu.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: blue;"><b>3) </b>When it comes to their Psychotherapy and Personal Development programs they push members to take “personality tests” and/or ”do confessions” and/or ”ask for advise in regards of their private affairs from the guru(James Burgess)”. This is very suspicious. Because cultist organizations do the same thing in order to learn their followers secrets, weaknesses and concerns in order to be able to better manipulate them to their own advantage. Why they do the same in the "7 Words"? </span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: blue;"><b>4)</b> The reason James Burgess thinks he is able/allowed to practice psychotherapy is by giving a new and unique definition to Astrology! </span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: blue;">James Burgess in this video </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BAZKNbDyFQ"><span style="color: red;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BAZKNbDyFQ</span></a><span style="color: blue;"> at 3:00 defines Astrology as: </span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: blue;">JB: Astrologers study the breadth and the depth of human psychology in a very specific way;</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">JB: And you can't understand it with a rational mind</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">JB: it is a bit like Chinese ideograms</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">JB: you have to right brain and ....</span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: blue;">Real definition of Astrology in freeonlinedictionary: </span><span style="color: red;"><a href="http://www.thefreedictionary.com/astrology"><span style="color: red;">http://www.thefreedictionary.com/astrology</span></a> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: blue;">The reason James Burgess tries to change the definition of Astrology is because he has been an astrologer for many decades and he just can’t suddenly say he no longer is an astrologer and he was wrong most of his life for being an Astrologer. Also he can't just claims that he is a psychotherapist as it is in fact a hard and long process in order to become a psychotherapist and James Burgess never done any psychotherapeutic training as a matter of fact.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: blue;">So James Burgess trick in order to solve these two problems simultaneously is by changing the definition of "Astrology" as he mentions in this video! By this he first justifies himself for having been an Astrologer for most of his life (such a waste of life) and also by this definition he claims that he is legitimately able to practice psychotherapy.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: blue;">Psychotherapy</span><span style="color: blue;"> is the most dangerous aspect of James Burgess activities. He is not qualified as a psychologist and apart from the direct harm he can cause to individual by impostering as a psychotherapist he also doesn't have any real commitment to confidentiality of the information he gets from his followers.</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="color: blue;">Also as </span><span style="color: blue;"> members of this so called "7 Words Personal Development System" are categorized and ranked as <b>Associate</b>, <b>Certified Practitioner</b> and <b>Graduate</b> under </span><span style="color: blue;">authoritative l</span><span style="color: blue;">eadership of James Burgess (as a <b>Guide</b>) he can potentially use the information he gains in his psychotherapy sessions in order to mentally and emotionally manipulate the members to his own advantage. This is very very dangerous.</span></blockquote>
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<b style="color: blue;">5) </b><span style="color: blue;">James Burgess claims their therapies under "7 Words Personal Development System" are being accredited by UK and Lithuania’s National Health Services (</span><a href="http://www.7words.co.uk/other-applications/"><span style="color: red;">http://www.7words.co.uk/other-applications/</span></a><span style="color: blue;"> please role down the page) I have contacted NHS in UK and they confirmed they provide no form of accreditation to any organization in UK and/or abroad and that "7 Words Personal Development" is no exception of this rule.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: blue;">Since James Burgess has shown a great tendency of online evasion and is continually changing their websites in response to the points I raise in my blogs I also add a screenshot of this claim here (this way they can't just remove this claim from their website tomorrow lol ) :</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivkq-hZidrQnQeOaBLeIv2Fxu0Im39kF0NJOptDlBTYHeDSzAkuBnIk_1XVAlc6Ma0jSLr1gXgEdHWS8dEBnFHJlf1NgMO75k3m9xdzyglFPIkKNiVL1gVOZbaML5_XvoiHIsXusof4QKA/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: blue;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivkq-hZidrQnQeOaBLeIv2Fxu0Im39kF0NJOptDlBTYHeDSzAkuBnIk_1XVAlc6Ma0jSLr1gXgEdHWS8dEBnFHJlf1NgMO75k3m9xdzyglFPIkKNiVL1gVOZbaML5_XvoiHIsXusof4QKA/s1600/1.jpg" height="256" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: blue;">7 Words claim of Accreditation by UK and Lithuanian National Health Systems</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;">(30-Oct-2013)</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;">I am sure UK and Lithuanian National Health Services and Education System have no interest to see pseudo-sciences (such as Nero Linguistic Programming) or other type of quackeries in shape of "Spiritual Healing" to become a legitimate method of health care in their respective countries. Therefore this can be only considered as a shameless lie. A prove that James Burgess is also a lier..</span></blockquote>
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<b style="color: blue;">6)</b><span style="color: blue;"> James Burgess claims to be “enlightened” as a Sufi teacher and therefore claims some sort of “prophecy” and he expects his students to trust him unconditionally. Also he excludes himself from having to explain his ideas and actions to his students and "public" when he sets the scene in this video: </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVXgY62E6SU"><span style="color: red;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVXgY62E6SU</span></a><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><b>A.</b> at 5:40 James Burgess says: <i>“Sufi teacher is enlightened and the students suppose to trust that!” </i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: blue;">So as he is a Sufi Teacher by this he tells his students that they have to trust his authoritative leadership, he does see himself as being entitled to his students trust, due to the prophecy he claims. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: blue;"><b>B.</b> at 5:22 James Burgess says: <i>“And yet Sufism just tells you the way it is, it doesn't explain and defend its arguments at all!” </i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: blue;">So by this he implies that as a Sufi teacher he just knows what he says and he doesn't need to justify and explain his arguments. In a way he demands total obedience from his students and places himself at the top of the pyramid as a <b>Guide</b> to rule over the<b> </b></span><b style="color: blue;">Associate</b><span style="color: blue;">, </span><b style="color: blue;">Certified Practitioner</b><span style="color: blue;"> and </span><b style="color: blue;">Graduate </b><span style="color: blue;">members in</span><b style="color: blue;"> "7 Words Personal Development Group"</b><b style="color: blue;"> </b><span style="color: blue;">by this.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: blue;"><b>7)</b> I requested to meet James Burgess and talk with him in regards of his ideas, and put many questions to him in regards of things he says through email. He refused to meet me, and also never answered to my questions and criticism of his ideas. He instead offered to pray for me to find my “faith” as from his point of view only people who have “faith” in him are capable to understand him (I have all the emails trails) </span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: blue;">He is a man who is actively refusing to take responsibility of his actions and ideas. This is very dangerous to have this type of people roaming around our streets influencing our world and our loved ones with their ideas and actions which they take no responsibility for.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: blue;"><b>8)</b> James Burgess claims the 7Words is derived from NLP (Nero Linguistic Programming – which is scientifically discredited as a pseudo-science) and Sufism.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: blue;">James Burgess defines Sufism in his own terms– similar to astrology example I showed above – The only aspect of Sufism which is used by James Burgess in "7 Words Development System" is where he justifies the “Master/Follower” relationship he is setting up in his group in order to give himself authority over his followers. Other than that every other thing that James Burgess defines and say under his definition of Sufism is totally different and irrelevant to what "real" Sufism is. He is again selling his own hallucinations and superstitions by trying to redefine a dictionary word in his own terms.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: blue;">Due to its pseudo-scientific and superstitious nature "7 Words Personal Development System" is a dangerous setting, specially in the hands of a man who as I showed above is quiet comfortable with lying as well.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: blue;"> James Burgess by taing advantage of this "7 Words Personal Development" venture is actively exposing his followers to pseudo scientific (NLP) practices/exercises and his own superstitions (that he sells as Sufism). This is dangerous as he is causing more harm than good to those who trust him with their psychological issues and allow this man to practice psychotherapy on them.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: blue;">For example at least in one occasion he suggested to an abused wife who was treated violently by her husband to try to mellow the husband down by healing her solar plexus by consulting a "Spiritual Healer" in this video : </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/%C2%A0http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raOSHGfvphg" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raOSHGfvphg</span></a><span style="color: blue;"> at 18:45 </span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: blue;">As you can see this approach to consultancy and psychotherapy keeps individuals in risky situations while the used method of solving the issue fails to provide a viable chance of solving the problem (in this case healing the solar plexus) as there is no rational/scientific/common sense reason on why healing a wife’s solar plexus can cause an abusive and violent husband to stop being that way (feel free to try)</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="color: blue;">These types of remedies that James Burgess offers are New Age quackery. They are just a false hope he is giving to his followers in order to gather and keep them around his 7 Words (his victims basically) in order to milk them by charging them for seminar fees and camp fees and etc. and by this he is semi-actively prolongs his followers psychological/emotional suffering because as I showed previously in the case of the distressed wife example, healing a solar plexus by a spiritual healer is in no way a viable solution for calming a violent husband down, or as a matter of fact to solve any other type of psychological problems.</span></blockquote>
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<b style="color: blue;">9)</b><span style="color: red;"> <a href="http://www.7words.co.uk/criteria-membership/"><span style="color: red;">http://www.7words.co.uk/criteria-membership/</span></a> </span><span style="color: blue;">Even though this information is being concealed on "7 Words Personal Development System" official membership page, Members need to pay in order to receive courses and to become certified practitioners.</span><span style="color: blue;"> </span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSuxw6b46_0LerMTbvJoGZetJn2lxM0WX-LS9vPfs9TpDd83caMZYGNSEGz1KmdJkKRuFsQpbP1JIpZfuSpllTIc-7EzeWcdN6X8aqT1RAPTHgbFkB0sSkpjyt6_UFpJ9MUcb0aPHoQmYt/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: blue;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSuxw6b46_0LerMTbvJoGZetJn2lxM0WX-LS9vPfs9TpDd83caMZYGNSEGz1KmdJkKRuFsQpbP1JIpZfuSpllTIc-7EzeWcdN6X8aqT1RAPTHgbFkB0sSkpjyt6_UFpJ9MUcb0aPHoQmYt/s1600/2.jpg" height="250" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: blue;">Membership Requirements (30-Oct-2013)</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;">Once the members made the initial payment they also have to re-affiliate themselves to the group (in order to show their loyalty) by going on to a pilgrimage every year to a camp near Bristol </span><span style="color: red;"><a href="http://www.unicorncamps.com/"><span style="color: red;">http://www.unicorncamps.com</span></a> </span><span style="color: blue;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: blue;">This Camp requires members to make further payments for camp fees and etc. (more than 200 GBP per week for every person for up to 3 weeks) So James Burgess is making sure his followers are "milked" very well during their affiliation to "7 Words Personal Development System" (at least once a year after their initial payment to become members) and he seem to be making a good living out of this venture.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: blue;">So if there is any misunderstanding that James Burgess is doing this as he is such a Spiritual and nice person and wants to please God or to serve the mankind or to benefit the public. Please don't be simple; he is so obviously after your money. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: blue;">I am the one who is serving the public and mankind now by exposing James Burgess's devious intentions and plans. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: blue;"><b>10) </b>James Burgess introduces himself with contradictory ideological affiliations in different circumstances. For example when I initially emailed him while he didn’t know I got to know him through his activities in Lithuania, he told me that Sufism is a riddle which has lost its appeal for him, also he said that he is very disillusioned with New Age teaching. This was while I had already seen his videos on YouTube (uploaded one month prior to my correspondence) where he was introducing himself as an enlightened Sufi Teacher (Guru) while offering New Age remedies to a distressed wife. I came up with this table in regards of his circumstantial ideological identity:</span></blockquote>
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<br /></div>
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<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="border: solid black 1.0pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 99.1pt;" valign="top" width="132"></td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 154.05pt;" valign="top" width="205"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #38761d; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sufism</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 115.85pt;" valign="top" width="154"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #38761d; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">New Age</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 65.6pt; mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; height: 65.6pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 99.1pt;" valign="top" width="132"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #38761d; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In
response to Unknown UK based Ex-Muslim</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #38761d; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">10-Sep-2013</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 65.6pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 154.05pt;" valign="top" width="205"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: red;">A riddle which has lost its
appeal for him</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 65.6pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 115.85pt;" valign="top" width="154"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Disillusioned about New Age</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 99.1pt;" valign="top" width="132"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #38761d; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In
video taken in Lithuania </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #38761d; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">30-Jul-2013</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 154.05pt;" valign="top" width="205"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">claims to be an "enlightened" Sufi
teacher who has to be trusted and followed by his students</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 115.85pt;" valign="top" width="154"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Offers New Age remedies to an Abused Wife</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: blue;">Details of this correspondance to be found: </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<a href="http://sandbadbehzad.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/james-burgesssufi-7words-sceptisem-why.html"><span style="color: red;">http://sandbadbehzad.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/james-burgesssufi-7words-sceptisem-why.html</span></a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: blue;">Under: James Burgess Double Identity </span></blockquote>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: blue;"><b>11)</b> Once I started to question James Burgess about his affiliations with Sufism he evaded my questions by shutting down his website and removing most of the info he was representing about himself there in terms of his Sufi activities. Zikr, DUP (Dances of Universal Peace) etc. why he had to do this if he really is convicted to what he claims to be. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: blue;">Details of his online evasion to be found here : </span><a href="http://sandbadbehzad.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/james-burgess-sufi-you-want-to-know.html"><span style="color: red;">http://sandbadbehzad.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/james-burgess-sufi-you-want-to-know.html</span></a></blockquote>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: blue;">There are more analytical information on James
Burgess and his activities in Lithuania and UK which you are more than welcome
to read (</span><a href="http://sandbadbehzad.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/james-burgesssufi-7words-sceptisem-why.html"><span style="color: red;">7Words
a Cover to a Quackery Practice</span></a><span style="color: blue;"> and </span></span><a href="http://sandbadbehzad.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/james-burgess-sufi-you-want-to-know.html" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red;">You
want to know this about him</span></a><span style="color: blue;">). I do believe this man’s activities are
harmful and are causing damage to the society in UK and especially in Lithuania
where he seem to have a higher success as he uses his English-ness in order to
appease the local population.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue;">I do encourage freedom of thought and religion, however I do sincerely believe there should be a mechanism that should limit or stop the extent this types of sham businesses and groups can take their activities by abusing this types of freedoms.</span></div>
</div>
Sindbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383370896981421222noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4772019915664722393.post-36320210291153033282013-10-02T11:12:00.003-07:002013-10-21T06:50:17.792-07:00James Burgess (Sufi) - 7Words a Cover to a Quackery Practice?<div class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/raOSHGfvphg" width="480"></iframe><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: blue;">This is a good example which shows the </span><a href="http://7words.co.uk/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">"7 Words Personal Development System"</span></a><span style="color: blue;"> is "very likely" not as straightforward and honest as James Burgess likes to make it sound.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The topic discussed in the video by James Burgess is about a wife who is married to a man who is violent and abusive. In this example James Burgess explains that the husband keeps coming back home while he is drunk on </span>Saturday<span style="font-family: inherit;"> nights and treats the wife violently. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">James Burgess claims that the wife had come to him and complained to James Burgess that her husband's </span>irresponsible<span style="font-family: inherit;"> behaviour is causing bad feelings in her "Solar Plexus" (you can see</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> the wife is already persuaded to believes in Chukras)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">for those who don't know what "Solar Plexus" is, it is some sort of </span>Buddhist (not Sufi)<span style="font-family: inherit;"> concept:</span></span></span><br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celiac_plexus"><span style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: inherit;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celiac_plexus</span></a><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">James Burgess then goes on in this video and after explaining different options he thinks the abused wife has in order to resolve her problem with her husband in the context of 7Words system reaches the climax of this video where he says:</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue; font-family: inherit;">at 18:45 </span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">JB: Or you could go to a healer,</span><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">JB: cause you got a problem in your "solar plexus"</span><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">JB: and you know what? if you heal this he is gonna stop getting drunk</span><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">JB: {smile} {moving hands} maybe</span></span></blockquote>
<div>
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I missed this bit out the first time I watched this video. So the 7words looked as a consistent system of </span>decision<span style="font-family: inherit;"> making (not </span>genius<span style="font-family: inherit;"> but common sense) however on the second run of this video I mentioned this particular part where James Burgess is suggesting to use a </span>spiritual<span style="font-family: inherit;"> healer in order to resolve the abused wife's problem with her husband (more info on this in my </span>correspondence<span style="font-family: inherit;"> with James Burgess further down this article)</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This irrationality is present in most James Burgess's videos. It is pretty much the essence of who he is. In this specific example he says if p</span></span><span style="color: blue;">ainful Solar Plexus of the</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;"> abused wife gets treated by a healer, then her husband stops being violent towards her - he totally takes his "cause" and "effect" </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">wrong and in reverse - The wife is the victim here, she is the subject of violence, the pain in her Solar Plexus is caused by her husband's bad behaviour not vice versa. How treatment of the pain in her stomach (Solar Plexus) by a healer can stop the violence and bad treatment towards her?</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I couldn't believe what I was hearing initially so I specifically questioned James Burgess about this part of the video by sending him an email and he responded:</span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white;">Mystics have long referred to the subtle energy centre located near the Celiac Plexus as the Solar Plexus.</span><span style="background-color: white;">By healing imbalances in subtle energies in oneself, we project into the world a more harmonious atmosphere. The violent drunken husband is only one half of a social problem, his wife is the other half. If she finds peace within herself, then she will be beyond the reach of his violence.</span><span style="background-color: white;">The mystic believes that everything that occurs is the responsibility of the observer. We attract to ourselves the proof of our imperfections. There should never be blame because we are all simply the cause of whatever happens to us.</span></blockquote>
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Despite the fact that these types of irrational concepts and believes are the main theme of what James Burgess represents but one can not fail to mention in this video how he is doing his best in order to present 7words as a rational and logical method of decision making</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">. </span></span><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">He is very obviously refraining from mentioning the "</span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">spiritual</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">" and "</span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">superstitious</span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">" bits of 7Words as much as he can and only on a few </span>occasions<span style="font-family: inherit;"> he subtly mentions them. In a way it seems the 7Words irrational loopholes such as this </span>spiritual<span style="font-family: inherit;"> healer involvement are kept hidden while it is being presenting for the first time to potential customer/</span>recruits<span style="font-family: inherit;">. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">He seem to be aware that </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">he may lose his audience right away </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">if he reveals the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">superstitious theme of </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">7Words to them from the early </span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">beginning</span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">. So quiet cleverly it seems that he is exposing individuals to 7Words by using a step by step process. Initially by giving them a mostly rational image, and once they are </span>convinced<span style="font-family: inherit;"> that they want to give a go to what it seems to be mostly a rational/logical idea to them, then he slowly slowly introduce and expose them to all the </span>spiritual<span style="font-family: inherit;"> healing and </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">superstitious aspects </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">of 7Words. So in a step by step and gradual process people can be put through the 7Words superstitious loopholes and in a gradual way lose their top level view of the whole thing.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">And James Burgess does this quiet </span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">successfully, e</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">ven I as a critic when I initially watched this video missed the subtle mentions he make to real nature of 7Words and so was </span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">misleaded</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;"> by his presentation which as I described previously he keeps mostly in a way to show 7words as a rational and logical method.</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">However unlike many I didn't stop there and I watched this video a second time and watched it more carefully this time. And so on the second run I mentioned all the </span>spiritual<span style="font-family: inherit;"> and </span>superstitious<span style="font-family: inherit;"> things that he was </span>subtly<span style="font-family: inherit;"> mentioning. Also I only start to see the contradictions in his ideas (as result of his </span>circumstantial<span style="font-family: inherit;"> point of views) when I start to see his videos for the second time. </span></span><span style="color: blue;">He calls these contradictions "freedom of </span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">interpretation" which is a contradiction in its own way as per below.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><br /></span>
<b style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">James Burgess and "Freedom of Interpretation"</b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">How can 7Words still be called A Personal Development "</span><b style="color: blue;">System"</b><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"> while James Burgess applies freedom of interpretation to it? To me its just a trick which makes him able to tweak the rules and add and drop from them in order to adapt them to different circumstances he gets in when he is playing his "guide" or "teacher" or "consultant" role.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">A system is defined by the free online dictionary as:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;">1.</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;"> a group or combination of interrelated, interdependent, or interacting elements forming a collective entity; a methodical or coordinated assemblage of parts, facts, concepts, etc.</span><a href="http://www.thefreedictionary.com/system">http://www.thefreedictionary.com/system</a></blockquote>
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So as you can see "Freedom of Interpretation" is </span>against<span style="font-family: inherit;"> the fundamentals of having a system on the first place. In a way when you develop a system what you do is that you replace the "Freedom of I</span>nterpretation"<span style="font-family: inherit;"> with a set of pre-defined rules and conditions in order to achieve something which you can't </span>achieve<span style="font-family: inherit;"> while you use "Freedom of Interpretation". So 7Words can't be called a system when someone is allowed to freely interpret it.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><br /></span>
<b style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Why Am I Writing This</b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">James Burgess usually says very </span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">many </span>irrational<span style="font-family: inherit;"> and shall we say "not so clever" things, but I have to confess the </span>spiritual<span style="font-family: inherit;"> healing of the abused wife has been the most amusing and the highlight of his "wisdom" </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">so far</span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue; font-family: inherit;">. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span style="color: blue;">So when I was convinced and was left with no doubts about the</span><span style="color: blue;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">superstitious</span><span style="color: blue;"> and potentially harmful aspects of 7Words (specially after my </span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">correspondence</span><span style="color: blue;"> with James Burgess) I started to clearly identify cases that could be put at risk by</span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> James Burgess as a result of his ideas and actions under 7Words </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">(eg. in case of the abused wife's example, as you can see, he is encouraging her to stay exposed to repeated violence while she is wasting her time with a false hope that a healer by manipulating her "Solar Plexus" </span>can fix the violent and abusive husband for her<span style="font-family: inherit;">) so I decided to write this series of blog posts about James Burgess in order to expose the flaws in his ideas to do my share in protecting those who might be drawn to him for whatever reason.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">I need to mention that before I decide to write these blogs I raised many questions with James Burgess trough email and even requested to personally meet him. But as he refused to meet me and/or even provided an answer to my questions and </span>criticism through email (he just ignored my questions and said that he will pray for me to find my "faith" - typical mullah - lol)<span style="font-family: inherit;"> so I was left with no other option but to </span>publicize<span style="font-family: inherit;"> some of my findings and understanding of his ideas and describe how I think following this man if not harmful by its own is just a waste of time and money (Yes! Of course! He will charge you for his </span>spiritual<span style="font-family: inherit;"> services)</span></span><br />
<b style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></b>
<b style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">James Burgess and 7Words</b><br />
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue;">Based on the reasons I represent in this and other blog posts I have </span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">written</span><span style="color: blue;"> on the subject, </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">I am now convinced </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: blue;"> that the so called </span><span style="color: red;">"<a href="http://www.7words.co.uk/"><span style="color: red;">7 Words Personal Development System</span></a>"</span><span style="color: blue;"> is </span></span><span style="color: blue;">intentionally</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;"> designed to have some serious </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue; font-family: inherit;">irrational</span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> "loopholes" in it.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">James Burgess </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">under cover of a "Personal Development Teacher" or a "Guru" or a "Guide"</span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">can then potentially exploit these loopholes in order to </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">create a "legitimate looking" ground for him and other so called "S</span>piritual<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Healers" around him to practice and offer their quackery in shape of "</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue; font-family: inherit;">Spiritual</span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Healing", "</span>Spiritual<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Teaching" and "</span>Spiritual<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Guidance" (such as in abused wife's case and her Solar Plexus), </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">7Words</span></span><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;"> also allows them to </span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">justify</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;"> their quackery based on a "scripture" in shape of a booklet which is written by James Burgess himself.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><a href="http://www.lulu.com/shop/james-burgess/practical-guide-to-the-7-words-system/paperback/product-20300186.html;jsessionid=40C2681420677094D229D06549ADB41A"><span style="color: red;">http://www.lulu.com/shop/james-burgess/practical-guide-to-the-7-words-system/paperback/product-20300186.html;jsessionid=40C2681420677094D229D06549ADB41A</span></a></div>
<span style="color: red;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008IGLAKW"><span style="color: red;">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008IGLAKW</span></a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Most dangerous part of 7Words system is the aspect which </span>allows<span style="font-family: inherit;"> James Burgess to give a go to </span>psychotherapy (when he "counsels" people) and this is particularly dangerous since it can cause serious mental and emotional harm to those who take his counselling serious as James Burgess has no relevant qualifications to practice psychotherapy and as a matter of fact to practice any type of counselling<span style="font-family: inherit;">. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As I understood James Burgess actively introduces himself as a "</span>counsellor"<span style="font-family: inherit;"> or a "teacher" or a "psychotherapist" and/or a "guide", this means he actively learns the details of his followers personal lives and learns about their worries and by gaining this knowledge he is putting himself in a position which makes him able to mentally and </span>emotionally<span style="font-family: inherit;"> manipulate them (</span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;">coercive </span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;">persuasion</span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">) to his advantage if he wants. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In my opinion James Burgess has to prove that coercive persuasion of his followers is not his intention before he can be allowed to roam around and actively try to effect unaware individuals lives with his so called </span>spiritual<span style="font-family: inherit;"> teachings/guidance/healing/</span>counselling<span style="font-family: inherit;">/etc.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It is particularly worrying as James Burgess offers "a way of life" (7Words) which has to be accepted by his followers as a result of their "faith" and "trust" in him and not based on its merits. At the same time he refuses to </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue; font-family: inherit;">answer to questions and </span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">criticism of his ideas and</span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> actions (as he refused to answer mine</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">), while at the same time he is actively learning about his "followers" personal lives and issues in order to so called "guide" and "help" them by using intensive courses of meditation, </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">spiritual</span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> healing, DUP (Dances of Universal Peace), Zikr (Sufi stuff) and other new age remedies which if not </span>harmful<span style="font-family: inherit;"> by themselves are at best distracting an individual from the real source of </span>problems in his/her<span style="font-family: inherit;"> life and can only prolong their </span>suffering.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> And all this happens while James Burgess expects his followers </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">to maintain an </span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue; font-family: inherit;">unconditional "trust" and "faith" in him. </span><br />
<b style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></b>
<b style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">James Burgess the Enlightened</b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue; font-family: inherit;">James Burgess says that his students are supposed to trust him as a default condition (without him having to gain their trust first):</span><br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">At<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; cursor: pointer; padding: 0in;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVXgY62E6SU" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">5:40</a> </span></span>of this video : <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVXgY62E6SU">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVXgY62E6SU</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 12.75pt;">JB: Sufi teacher is enlightened and the students suppose to trust that!</span></blockquote>
<span style="color: blue;">Also James Burgess excludes himself from having to explain or justify his ideas and actions to others and public when in another part of the same video he says:</span><br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVXgY62E6SU" style="text-decoration: none;">05:22</a> </span></span>of this video : <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVXgY62E6SU">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVXgY62E6SU</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 12.75pt;">JB: And yet </span><span style="line-height: 17px;">Sufism</span><span style="line-height: 12.75pt;"> just tells you the way it is, it doesn't explain and defend its arguments at all!</span></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">By relating these two claims, one can mention that James Burgess is firstly claiming "enlightenment" and some sort of "prophecy" and secondly he is implying that he doesn't need to justify his actions and ideas because he claims that in Sufism the "enlightened" few (which he consider himself to be one of them) are excluded from the rule of having to justify their actions and ideas!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What is happening here in my opinion is that by mentioning these in this video</span></span><span style="color: blue;"> the James Burgess </span><span style="color: blue;">is implying that as a Sufi teacher (that he claims to be) he has the right to be unconditionally "trusted" and "followed" by his students!!! So by setting his own </span><span style="color: blue;">rules, the</span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> James Burgess is </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">authoritatively</span><span style="color: blue;"> placing himself at the top of the pyramid (he has to be trusted and doesn't have to explain his arguments) and by this he is allowing himself to monitor and in a way to</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;"> control </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">his followers lives just as you would expect from a man who looks and sounds like him. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">If this is happening, to me it </span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">is an unacceptable situation which is caused by outrageous actions and claims of this man.</span></span><br />
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<b style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">James Burgess the Double Identity</b><br />
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<span style="color: blue;">When I initially started to correspond with him, James Burgess wasn't aware that I got to know him through his activities in Lithuania where he apparently plays more his Sufi, New Age teacher role. I think he thought I was an independent prospect who contacts him from within UK. So it seems that he mistakenly showed me his UK market face when he replied to my question in regards of his affiliation with Sufism. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue;">As I had already seen his website and videos where he introduced himself as a Sufi Teacher and expressed his interest in Alchemical Sufism (whatever that is) I was totally surprised when in regards of Sufism he answered me:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
... It is a riddle that has lost its appeal to me. I do what I do, and people call me what they like.</blockquote>
<span style="color: blue;">Also in regards of New Age teachings and methods (such as healing someone’s Solar Plexus in order to repair a violent husband) in the same email he told me:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
... and have become very disillusioned with most alternative teachers, and the New Age generally, and.... </blockquote>
<span style="color: blue;">The video in this blog is submitted to YouTube on (30 July 2013) and my correspondence with James Burgess took place on (10 September 2013). I first saw the video and then made my correspondence with James Burgess. So when I saw how he was trying to disassociate himself from Sufism and New Age in his reply to me as I had already seen him introducing himself as a Sufi Teacher and offering New Age remedies I was immediately nearly sure that I was dealing with a dishonest person with an uncertain agenda. As per below: </span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br /></span>
<b style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The James Burgess (10 September 2013)</span></b><br />
<b style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></b>
<span style="color: blue;">Says the Sufism is a riddle that lost its appeal for him and also says that he has become very disillusioned with New Age...</span><br />
<b style="color: blue;"><br /></b>
<b style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The James Burgess (30 July 2013)</span></b><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue;">Offers spiritual healing as a remedy for an abused and mistreated wife (healing Solar Plexus – a New Age method) and claims to be an enlightened Sufi teacher and demands his students to trust him unconditionally because Sufism is all about total obedience and no argument is supposed to be explained or defended by the master!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue;">So in effect the same person who is James Burgess is a “Sufi” and a “Not Sufi” and a “New Age teacher” and a “not New Age teacher” he is even a "New Age disillusioned" all within just more than a month period...</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;">no comments really...</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br /></span><span style="color: blue;">In this section </span><span style="color: blue;">I showed contradictions are also present in James Burgess identity/personality as well as his ideas! I am sure this can’t be considered “freedom of interpretation” any longer. We are either dealing with someone who is not honest and introduces himself in different ways depending on circumstances he gets himself in at any given point of time or a person who is suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder.</span><br />
<b style="color: blue;"><br /></b><b style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">James Burgess "Circumstantial Identity" Based on Location:</span></b><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue;">In United Kingdom => a “</span><u style="color: blue;">Not Sufi</u><span style="color: blue;">” and a “</span><u style="color: blue;">Not New Age teacher</u><span style="color: blue;">” even a "</span><u style="color: blue;">New Age disillusioned</u><span style="color: blue;">"</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">In Lithuania => a “<u>Sufi Teacher</u>” and a “<u>New Age teacher</u>” even offering "<u>New Age remedies</u>"</span><br />
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<b style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">James Burgess Personality Table (based on time and location):</span></b><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>Sufism</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">New Age</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">In response to Unknown UK based Ex-Muslim<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">10-Sep-2013</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="background-color: white;">A riddle which has lost its appeal for him</span><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: red; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Disillusioned about New Age</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">In video taken in Lithuania<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">30-Jul-2013</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>claims to be an "enlightened" Sufi teacher who has to be trusted and followed by his students<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Offers New Age remedies to an Abused Wife</b></span></div>
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<b style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></b>
<b style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">James Burgess Online Evasion</b><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;">For a breakdown of James Burgess evasive methods/actions in cyber space </span></div>
<span style="color: blue;">(with screenshots and timelines) I </span><span style="color: blue;">highly recommend you to read the section titled as </span><span style="color: blue;">"</span><span style="color: blue;"><b>James Burgess On-line Evasion in Response to my Questions</b></span><span style="color: blue;">" </span><span style="color: blue;">in this article: </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: red;"><a href="http://sandbadbehzad.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/james-burgess-sufi-you-want-to-know.html" style="background-color: white;">http://sandbadbehzad.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/james-burgess-sufi-you-want-to-know.html</a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
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<b style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">James Burgess A "Disaster Waiting to Happen"</b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">To me James Burgess ideas and actions are a </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">recipe</span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> for disaster waiting to happen. History has seen many men like him who this way or another claimed "enlightenment" and some sort of special "</span>spiritual<span style="font-family: inherit;"> knowledge". </span></span></div>
</div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Almost without an exception those who make claims of "special </span>spiritual<span style="font-family: inherit;"> knowledge" also claim that they gained it through years of travelling and meeting gurus and teachers all across the world. The trendy places to gain </span>acclaimed<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span>spiritual<span style="font-family: inherit;"> knowledge are mostly in </span>Far East<span style="font-family: inherit;"> or Subcontinent or </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">Middle East,</span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> (James Burgess is a Turkey and India type). And most of them don't get too </span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;">specific about the details of their journey and if they mention a teacher name it is usually someone who is already dead. So no possibility of checking references and check their claim merits (James Burgess's dead person is Hazrat Innayat Khan and M</span></span><span style="color: blue;">urshid Samuel Lewis</span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">All through the history men who looked like James Burgess and made similar </span>claims<span style="font-family: inherit;"> as James Burgess and </span>behaved<span style="font-family: inherit;"> in a similar manner to James Burgess ripped off and inflicted pain and suffering to those who trusted them and allowed them into their lives and took their teachings seriously. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span style="color: blue;">Now the question is, shall we remain indifferent while it seems the history is repeating itself in front of our eyes? No, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I believe any sensible person who cares for fellow human beings </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">has</span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> to step forward and help to expose James Burgess (and men like him) by pointing out the </span>inconsistencies<span style="font-family: inherit;"> in his ideas and </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">his outrageous actions and claims</span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue; font-family: inherit;">. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">want to see "revealed" the real person and real intentions </span></span><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">behind that mask of pretence who is James Burgess. This will help to protect those who can be potentially misleaded and misguided by James Burgess superstitious and potentially dangerous ideas (that waistcoat and that beard and all the prophet like huffing and puffing are indications of this pretence) </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Looking at James Burgess and having learned about what he preaches now, I can see "many unknown intentions" hidden behind layers of hypocrisy, </span></span><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">I urge you to attend your moral duty in his regards by exposing him.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<b style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">James Burgess and Vulnerable Individuals</b><br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Under circumstances that I explained above I can see that the individuals who trust James Burgess and seek their salvation in his 7Words and in his counsell</span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">ing and healing techniques are possibly in grave danger.</span><span style="color: blue;"> This is specially because the "trust" that James Burgess requires from them as the basic requirement of joining his group, is not the type of "trust" that James Burgess expects himself to have to gain from them, but a type of "trust" that he considers himself to be entitled to, as he </span><span style="color: blue;">narcissistically </span><span style="color: blue;">claims to be "</span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">enlightened</span><span style="color: blue;">"</span><span style="color: blue;">.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This </span>situation<span style="font-family: inherit;"> is specially worrying since </span>vulnerable<span style="font-family: inherit;"> individuals who are </span></span><span style="color: blue;">genuinely </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">in need of help and protection and love and companionship are those who are most prone to fall into the type of circle/group that James Burgess creates around his 7Words idea. As I mentioned previously James Burgess has no relevant qualification as a </span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">psychotherapist</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;"> (the only qualification he seem to have is as an accountant) so </span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">wanted-ly</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;"> or unwanted-ly he is doing more harm than good.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And clever and educated, young and old can be similarly put in danger by James Burgess and men like him depending on those </span>individuals<span style="font-family: inherit;"> relative circumstances. Quiet </span>surprisingly<span style="font-family: inherit;"> intelligent and caring individuals with a flexible brain, are those who are most prone to this type of </span>arrangement<span style="font-family: inherit;"> that James Burgess is setting around his 7words. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Intelligent individuals are more likely to seek for "7Words" type of alternatives</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> if they are unhappy and unsatisfied with t</span>heir circumstances or when they are having emotional difficulties at a given moment of time. And it has always been the norm for </span><span style="color: blue;">a type</span><span style="color: blue;">, </span><span style="color: blue;">who looks like and behaves in a similar manner as James Burgess (eg. claims of enlightenment and special spiritual knowledge) to prey on - intelligent, caring and unhappy type - </span><span style="color: blue;">by hiding their real "predatory" intentions behind a pretence of sincerity and kindness playing the role of a "teacher", "guide", "guru", "consultant", "spiritual healer", etc. and etc. </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;">All of us, if we are in a particularly difficult period of our life, experiencing lonely and emotionally hard times, can become</span><span style="color: blue;"> equally prone to a technique called "love bombing". That's why we should be extra careful with men who look/sound/behave like James Burgess and don't allow them to effect or override our good judgement. </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Because if anything can lead us through our hard times, and provide us with our happiness, its our own good judgement. We mustn't allow them to manipulate it. We mustn't allow them to persuade us to have a reverse perception of reality. We mustn't allow them to reverse our understanding of "cause" and "effect" (as James Burgess do in his abused wife example). </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Because those men have no interest in solving our problems. </span><span style="color: blue;">They have no interest to see us happy. In fact what they are interested in is to maintain the problem. They want to keep us vulnerable. Because the vulnerability is exactly what make us dependent on them. Because our emotional problems and issues are what they can cash on. Solving our problems and issues is exactly what they won't do, even if they can...</span><br />
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<b style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">James Burgess and </b><b style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Real Psychotherapy Practice:</b><br />
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<span style="color: blue;">There is a big difference between:</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;">1) A professional and academically trained psychotherapist who has spent years of her/his life in academia, has made the commitment and gone through a lengthy </span><span style="color: blue;">process of education and learned the best practice known to mankind in terms of how to deal with specific mental and emotional problems,</span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: blue;">2) And some</span><span style="color: blue;">one who just claims that he has the ability to resolve mental/emotional issues by using some sort of super ability he claims to have. I</span><span style="color: blue;">n fact he has no way of proving his claims as he never sat for a test, he never done a dissertation, he never completed psychotherapeutic training. He never made no commitment to this but he now just want to make money out of his baseless claims to these abilities.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: blue;">He just can mislead someone, hurt someone by a wrong advise and there is nothing that makes him responsible for it in professional terms. Nothing is bounding him or making him responsible for what he does and says in a consultant capacity (both morally and professionally). He can cause harm to people and then just walk off and ignore what happened and he is not liable to anything in regards of the damage he had caused. If you email him after, in response </span><span style="color: blue;">he is likely to offer to pray for you to find your "faith" (as James Burgess did to me) but that is as much as you can expect from a man in second category.</span></blockquote>
<span style="color: blue;">That is why a trained academic psychotherapist can help and should be trusted and consulted for help, but someone like James Burgess mustn't.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">I am not sure but James Burgess might even be in breach of law by actively marketing his "behavioural" and "relationship" </span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">counselling to public as he is not qualified for this</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">.</span><br />
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<b style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Conclusion</b><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">Due to the factors mentioned above and; </span><br />
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<br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">1) James Burgess's </span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">insistence</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;"> on getting Astrology involved into his 7Words,</span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">2) By observing James Burgess's evasive methods when he is questioned about his point of views (to me and others)</span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">3) Very importantly by </span>considering<span style="font-family: inherit;"> the fact that the first requirement of joining his group is by having un</span>questionable<span style="font-family: inherit;"> "faith" and "trust" in him! </span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">4) The several attempts I saw from James Burgess in his videos when he </span><span style="color: blue;">tries</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;"> to </span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">redefine</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;"> well known terms and ideas such as "Sufism" or "</span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">Astrology"</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;"> in a way that the new definition serves his agenda better (read my blog post on James Burgess and astrology) </span><br />
<a href="http://sandbadbehzad.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/james-burgess-sufi-7words-scepticism_5513.html">http://sandbadbehzad.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/james-burgess-sufi-7words-scepticism_5513.html</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">5) And based on the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">correspondence</span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> I had with James Burgess in this regards (some part of it covered below) where he chose to ignore my questions and </span>criticism<span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It now looks as if "7Words" is more of a cover to a quackery practice ran by James Burgess. </span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It looks as he has developed a </span>mechanism<span style="font-family: inherit;"> under this "7Words" which puts him in a position to </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">rip off vulnerable individuals from their money by charging them for </span></span><span style="color: blue;">Spiritual</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;"> Healing seminars (such as the video attached to this blog) and by taking them to healing and dancing camps (Unicorn Camp: </span><a href="http://www.unicorncamps.com/">http://www.unicorncamps.com/</a><span style="color: blue;"> which costs up to 200 quids) all for a false promise that he gives them. intentionally or unintentionally.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">Researching him for a while it looks as James Burgess "7Words" </span><span style="color: blue;">business</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;"> has many more layers to it than it comes to eye initially.</span><br />
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<h2>
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Appendix: </span>Correspondence<span style="font-family: inherit;"> with James Burgess</span></b></span></span></h2>
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Now g</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">oing ba</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue; font-family: inherit;">ck to the example of abused wife as I mentioned I asked James Burgess about this example and requested clarification as I didn't find going to "healer" the right or logical course of action for an abused wife. I also asked what he means about a healer and if he considers himself as one. James Burgess replied:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">A healer is a person who has discovered how to put themselves into a certain state of consciousness that allows and directs the flow of subtle energy. The healer's intention can assist the process, however their ability to trust and allow shows a higher degree of skill. Those who do this frequently and with awareness can meaningfully be called a healer, although I believe that we all have this potential, and to some extent have all shown this - even by offering a blessing on greeting someone. "May peace be with you".<br />Mystics have long referred to the subtle energy centre located near the Celiac Plexus as the Solar Plexus.<br />By healing imbalances in subtle energies in oneself, we project into the world a more harmonious atmosphere. The violent drunken husband is only one half of a social problem, his wife is the other half. If she finds peace within herself, then she will be beyond the reach of his violence.<br />The mystic believes that everything that occurs is the responsibility of the observer. We attract to ourselves the proof of our imperfections. There should never be blame because we are all simply the cause of whatever happens to us.<br />This idea is completely impossible for most people to accept, indeed even to consider philosophically, and certainly never to try it out as a life path.</span></blockquote>
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue; font-family: inherit;">At which point as I wasn't obviously convinced that to heal the "Solar Plexus" of an abused wife can make any changes or difference in the state of an abusive and violent husband I put some more questions to him:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">In the context of our example of a mistreated wife, you are saying her pain is not due to a cause (her husband's behaviour), but due to something which is drawn to her which is due to her personal fears, so by that you are saying that if the husband is being violent and drunk it is her fault (regardless of what type of person the husband is).So you basically blaming the wife for how her husband is treating her because she is scared to be treated badly!! And you see the mitigation of her pain by going to a "healer" in order for the healer to change something in her stomach (Solar Plexus) in order for that change to balance out the "universe" so that the abusive husband stop being abusive (regardless of what type of person this husband is). I am sorry to say, but this is pure superstition, and a big flaw in your 7words system. This is just against any rational and algorithmic method of thinking and decision making.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let me explain.</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">First of all according to this mystic believe (everything that occurs is the responsibility of the observer. We attract to ourselves the proof of our imperfections) everyone who ever suffered in this world has drawn the suffering to themselves because of their own fears and feelings. So according to this mystic believe all the victims of genocides in the history, victims of the infamous Jewish holocaust, all the woman and children who were mascaraed during so many wars in history, all the people who were killed or displaced due to natural disasters were victims of themselves. they caused their own bad fate, because they were afraid of having that fate. this doesn't make sense to me and is absolutely wrong way of seeing things. I am sure so many people who suffered in this world, suffered without any fault of their own. This mystic believe don't work. there are just so many exceptions to this rule which shows that it doesn't work.</span> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Also going back to our wife example, lets divide all the wives in the world to two category. First, the wives who are mistreated by their husbands and second the wives who aren't mistreated by their husbands. I am sure both category of wives mentioned here are similarly afraid and worried of being abused or mistreated by their husbands. So again, why some wives never get mistreated by their husband and some does if this mystic believe is true.</span> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">that's all for the mystic believe. its wrong. the two examples above perfectly disproves it for me.</span></span> </blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Now I want to say, that I agree that we draw our circumstances to us. But we do that by our own actions and thoughts in an active process not through something outside and beyond our control and in the way of effecting the universe's balance which is susceptible to a healer's manipulation. When we fear a condition we tend to make decisions that actually lead us to that condition. And this is a common human reaction. When we fear something, we often focus on it so much that somehow with the decisions that we make and our actions we draw ourself to that circumstances. But as I said it is through our actions, not through some sort of energy and effecting the universe's balance and strange and obscure things through our stomachs.</span> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">So going back to the example of mistreated wife, I agree that the wife must not blame anyone, because it is her fault for being in that marriage on the first place. she perhaps didn't make the right choice and perhaps the practicality of that marriage is where she has to focus her attention. she in no way in need of a healer but a lawyer. because as I showed the healer option is superstition and hypothetically wrong.</span></span> </blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Apart from the self-defeating nature of this mystic believe, there are several issues that can arise by adopting this idea when counselling/giving advise to individuals:</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">1) It is confusing the "cause" and "effect". The Solar Plexus of the wife is painful because of the bad behaviour of the husband, not vice versa. Its not the wife's fault if she is being mistreated (its very very likely to be the husband's fault)</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">2) by giving this promise to an individual that she can change her husband by going to a "healer" (to balance the universe in her favour by manipulating her solar plexus) she is encouraged to remain in an abusive relationship, because she is given a false hope, so she is possibly put in a position to suffer repeatedly while she is wasting her time with a healer trying to balance the universe through her stomach.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">3) In severe cases she can potentially get exposed to danger when the healer is presented as a viable option to resolve her problem with a husband. The universe is not going to change in her favour throguh her Solar Plexus. I know it won't. I disproved this mystic believe already. So while she is waiting and trying the healing she is at risk. what if the husband gets too violent eventually while she is wasting her time with a mystic belive? This idea of going to the healer only delays/prevents the decision making process to begin. </span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4) I understand that healing is to sympathise with people and stronger the mutual trust is, the bigger the effect in removing the pain. but in our example the pain is the consequence, it is there for a reason, it is a sensory information we have evolved to feel in order to try to change our circumstances when the circumstances are not in our favour. By attacking the symptom which is the pain caused by the circumstances as a result of healing process the suffering person is only being distracted from her real problem.</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">James Burgess never </span>answered<span style="font-family: inherit;"> to any of the 4 concerns I raised with him above. He ignored my emails and question from this point onward.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Also later on when I realized he is not the type to take responsibility of his ideas and actions and is not the type which accept </span>criticism<span style="font-family: inherit;"> and tries to answer questions and is authoritarian about his ideas I tried to attract his attention to the fact that people may get misguided by him and his so called guidance(which he actively puts himself in this position to act as a healer and teacher and guide and etc.) and so I tried to encourage him to answer to my questions and to consider them. Here my email to James Burgess:</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
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<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">I think we have a reverse understanding of mysticism in a Sufi context. Because the mysticism I know and was in touch with while I was growing up in Iran is all for gaining "faith" through "reason". It defines "faith" as an state that people reach through the process of "reasoning". Which in my opinion is some sort of common sense. </span> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">So both in a Sufi/Mystic context and a common sense context, I find it difficult to put "faith" above "reason". Because as I said there should have been a "reason" for someone to have gained his/her "faith" on the first place. (in his/her heart! the right organ as per your beliefs I believe!) I say that because we are not born with the concept of God. We learn about the concept of god while we are growing up. So this way or another in some point in our lives we "reason" and learn about the concept of God. </span> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">So "faith" is a consequence of "reason". And "faith" is not beyond and above "reason". I think the hypothesis of putting "faith" above "reason" is wrong. Faith is a dynamic process, its a work in progress, since it is the outcome of "reason" so one's "faith" changes when the "reasons" which shape it change. Another cause and effect!</span> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">So in this context I find you very unkind for calling me faithless. Because I do have faith, but the "reasons" which are creating my faith are "now" different from yours (they weren't must different previously). And I am ready to change my "faith"as long as I can be convinced to do so. As I did many times before.</span> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Also I need to point out that atheism is not a believe. Atheism is in fact "lack of a believe". its simply when you don't believe in the concept of a creator. And according to your point if god exists and if he is all-knowing and he is the one who created this world why he made it such a miserable place? Does he take pleasure to see us suffer? does he enjoy to see what is going on in Syria for example? why he doesn't intervene? or is he just a useless god? which you think we should have "faith" in regardless of his failures?</span> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">And you are not wrong! I wasn't looking for your "faith" when I reached you. I was looking for your knowledge and your reasons which develop your "faith" for you. This is because l put my "faith" in "knowledge", and that means that my "faith" dynamically changes based on the "knowledge" I have at any given moment of time. I can see our difference to be exactly at this point. You don't follow the same approach. You seem to have a static, as per scripture "faith". And you select your knowledge in order to justify your predefined "faith". One should do the reverse in my humble opinion. </span> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also I recognize and respect your "faith" no matter how different to mine it is. You are entitled to your opinion and to your faith. However when you are out with your opinion and seeking opportunities in order to teach it to others, when you are actively seeking to influence others with it, and at the same time you also offer counselling/healing and etc. on the basis of your faith, then you have to be ready to accept criticism in a public space, you need to be ready to convince and to get convinced. That is how it works. You are saying you neither want to convince nor be convinced. But you are actively working on the "convincing" part by your teachings - which is your undisputed right to do so - however what is lacking here is your willingness to hear criticism and to get convinced by it as well. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Because I can tell you that right now, right here, I am ready to be convinced by you. I reached you for your knowledge, the knowledge which could in turn shape my dynamic "faith" through the process of "reasoning" as I explained. However it seems to me that you are not ready to offer me your reasons, as well as you are not ready to see your ideas and your faith to be criticised and changed in the same way as mine do.</span> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">I find this rather disappointing because we are all prone to mistakes and misconceptions as human beings. I am, and you are. so it is important that we are open to consider the criticism and to change our "faith" when need be, because we are responsible for this faith as we are influencing our lives with it, we are influencing the world around us with it and we are influencing other people around us with it. </span> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">This responsibility is doubled when we put ourselves in the position of a teacher. When we provide counselling, when we provide advise to people about crucial issues of their lives, then it is more important for us to be able to offer a higher level of "truth" (the truth is unlimited and is not absolute, we will never know the truth, we just can learn as much of it as we can) but the way it seems to me you are not open to re-evaluate and reconsider your point of views. you are not open to evolve your "faith". You want to keep it static, while you are actively influencing people lives with it. have you ever asked yourself; what if your teachings are not 100% correct? and what if someone is being misguided by them?</span> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My disappointment is furthered because based on your last response, I feel you are placing your opinion above normal criticism, and you are hesitant to put your ideas through the essential course of debate in order to justify them in a constructive way. You expect me to accept them as they are. to have no input of myself. I wasn't looking for your prayers, I was looking for answers to the flaws that I thought I found in the decision making techniques you are offering as remedy to people. You refused to consider and answer.</span></blockquote>
<span style="color: blue;">And as I expected James Burgess never answered my questions.</span></div>
Sindbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383370896981421222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4772019915664722393.post-2603693528988240162013-10-02T07:12:00.003-07:002013-10-18T07:41:41.374-07:00James Burgess (Sufi) - You Want to Know This About Him<div class="MsoNormal">
The James Burgess claims to be a professional astrologer,
Sufi teacher, Spiritual leader, Spiritual healer, business owner and etc. and
etc. I understand that he offers psychotherapy and relationship counselling sessions
along with many other things he do and claims to be able to do. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He seem to be the one who endorses himself for having all above abilities. He says he has travelled a lot, met a lot of people, trained a lot, yet still he doesn't bring on a single name that his references can be checked with. </div>
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<br /></div>
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What attracts my attention is a decision making
system (7Words) which he claims to have come up with. The 7Words on the surface seem to be consistent and common sense, but I found it to be flawed in its fundamentals when he mixes simple and common sense logic of decision making with the spiritual things he also advocates (chukra, universal energy, etc. and astrology)<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.7words.co.uk/">http://www.7words.co.uk</a></div>
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<br /></div>
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This become clear to me through a
correspondence I had with him and through analysing some of his videos which
are available on YouTube.</div>
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<br />
First thing to mention about my correspondence with him was that he only continued
to correspond with me as long as he thought I was a potential customer of his
7Words system and as soon as I began to put questions and criticism of his
ideas to him and requested answers he stopped communicating with me altogether.
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In his last response to
me he said that I need to have “faith” in order to understand his point of
views and since I don’t have “faith” I am unable to understand and he can’t
therefore help me. So instead of answering my questions he offered to pray for
me to find my “faith”. And that was the last time he replied to any of my
emails and correspondence. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Also the highlight of my correspondence with him was when I
pointed out to him the inconsistency I saw in the way he introduces himself. He
often in his videos and his website describes himself as a Sufi, however when I
began my correspondence with him - while he still didn’t know how I got to know
him – in regards of Sufism he told me: </div>
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<b><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“It is a
riddle that has lost its appeal to me. I do what I do, and people call me what
they like”<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So I replied to him and asked if people call him a Sufi, it
is because you have a whole website describing yourself as one, and is because you
keep acting as one! And I requested that
he clarifies if he considers himself a Sufi or not a Sufi finally. The reason I
raised this question was that I found the way he introduces himself to be very “circumstantial”
and “inconsistent” so wanted to know who he really think he is and what are his
convictions. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>James Burgess On-line Evasion in Response to my Questions</b></span></div>
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He never replied to my question in regards of his affiliation to Sufism and never tried to clear that up. But what
happened later on was that I realized he closed down his website that he
was introducing himself as a Sufi in there and removed all of his Sufi teaching
and contents from there (Sufism, Zikr, DUP, Alchimical Sufism, etc.). He also removed the access to Russian and Lithuanian versions of his website with a note that he is going to Ireland.</div>
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<a href="http://www.jamesburgess.com/">www.jamesburgess.com</a>
</div>
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<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0JDLyFhlS5EPoK_XlJMgWfRa0U66o9G0MtviBppnVErYaINAFf9q42mFoxyaRbq9I07NKZnF6t26rQrGnKbNlXlL9JQJmYlRBLjN4UgPcj5aFcLGcNXU5XTzRJPRPV7ybPEBmH5XM_DEi/s1600/before+ques.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0JDLyFhlS5EPoK_XlJMgWfRa0U66o9G0MtviBppnVErYaINAFf9q42mFoxyaRbq9I07NKZnF6t26rQrGnKbNlXlL9JQJmYlRBLjN4UgPcj5aFcLGcNXU5XTzRJPRPV7ybPEBmH5XM_DEi/s1600/before+ques.JPG" height="200" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
James Burgess Website before I asked him questions (click to enlarge)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(18-Aug-2013)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfJ3kxsQgI5XivmO4EiprmAAQXFm_Yg-gbZBHMZ1hoPwOrG_blnJb1MaGnvc9IZ-DyR93I3TUEGc2S3PosZq7GMyXE1UEs77-tCifYyUdaGV7uGJJ_tgzYUJkrE_IoEU5HUUbDhZnlNgBG/s1600/after+question.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfJ3kxsQgI5XivmO4EiprmAAQXFm_Yg-gbZBHMZ1hoPwOrG_blnJb1MaGnvc9IZ-DyR93I3TUEGc2S3PosZq7GMyXE1UEs77-tCifYyUdaGV7uGJJ_tgzYUJkrE_IoEU5HUUbDhZnlNgBG/s1600/after+question.JPG" height="200" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
James Burgess Website after I asked him questions<br />
you can see all the Sufi stuff are removed (click to enlarge)<br />
(26-Sep-2013)</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcRNhjuU8S6s3kIUBZcW9ztUPFHH8cpmAnlFPrcUeammDb-w9LDwxF2EVHyNWAADicU4IexeOBdDtjn8lzlhjPGx1c1WxLthQJA2viuAK8dcKVGca3EoCZf9ve60AtGhw7oOPtvWtR4IVg/s1600/3jb.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcRNhjuU8S6s3kIUBZcW9ztUPFHH8cpmAnlFPrcUeammDb-w9LDwxF2EVHyNWAADicU4IexeOBdDtjn8lzlhjPGx1c1WxLthQJA2viuAK8dcKVGca3EoCZf9ve60AtGhw7oOPtvWtR4IVg/s1600/3jb.JPG" height="200" width="320" /></a></div>
James Burgess Website after he left to Ireland<br />
you can see all the mentions to Sufi topics and etc.<br />
are now permanently removed (click to enlarge)<br />
(15-Oct-2013)<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
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The disablement of his website which was most likely in
reaction to my question about his affiliation with Sufism made the situation more
suspicious after all. Why he had to do this in response to my questions if
he was comfortable with what he represented on his website for years about himself? Why he had to remove them if he sincerely believed those information about Sufism and Zikr and Dup where the truth? Or if he doubted their validity and value why he put them on his website on the first place?<br />
<br />
Also another suspicious thing about James Burgess on-line reaction to my questions was in regards of the events he was claiming to have arranged for year 2013/2014 in UK on his website as per bellow screenshots:<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBX8FNJbgnePRwpmP6RI29nDZG_0bH0rP-xkHb7mDSI4e5UjuPfJfWt3NRBdjmTf_hLAz5LpexCGRWMk7C2NaPTndflGDDVE9Pp1Mzq2yziHgKU71FCF_QQJgDV215E8YHt94T6qLx2iMI/s1600/eventlist+before.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBX8FNJbgnePRwpmP6RI29nDZG_0bH0rP-xkHb7mDSI4e5UjuPfJfWt3NRBdjmTf_hLAz5LpexCGRWMk7C2NaPTndflGDDVE9Pp1Mzq2yziHgKU71FCF_QQJgDV215E8YHt94T6qLx2iMI/s1600/eventlist+before.JPG" height="200" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
James Burgess 7Words events before I questioned him</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Number of UK events on the event list = <span style="color: red;"><span style="background-color: yellow;">20</span> </span>(doesn't fit on one screenshot)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(18-Aug-2013)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEich3BtPJuizV1NZmqr_HReNypqhN12lDS8rInMgGu6BuZPRM9vZH9VQPggtos4GfziAQITv5y77BLA8uonsFUiiIH8CT3kw04X17Munl7-xPgEHg5r_yPVXcd8FwliDc46ipEZcvxv_CsD/s1600/eventlist+after.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEich3BtPJuizV1NZmqr_HReNypqhN12lDS8rInMgGu6BuZPRM9vZH9VQPggtos4GfziAQITv5y77BLA8uonsFUiiIH8CT3kw04X17Munl7-xPgEHg5r_yPVXcd8FwliDc46ipEZcvxv_CsD/s1600/eventlist+after.JPG" height="200" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
James Burgess 7Words event after my questions and his on-line evasion</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Number of UK events on the list = <span style="background-color: yellow; color: red;">3 </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(15-Oct-2013)</div>
<br /></div>
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So as you can see he removed most of the events that he was claiming to have had arranged for 2013/2014 from his website as a part of his on-line evasion from my questions. I developed two more suspensions as a result of his particular reaction towards his events list!<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
1) Can it be that most of the events he had on his event list prior to my questions were in fact fake events? Just put there in the list to give a sense of being busy and popular to unaware individuals who were drawn to his website? And now fearing the publicity I was going to give him he chose to remove them?</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
2) He Particularly removed the part which he was mentioning:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
leading to Certified Practitioner status<br />
James Burgess and Richard Grey</blockquote>
What is illegal or controversial about this part that he also decided to remove it from his website? If he is happy and legitimate with issuing Certifications why he doesn't want these to be seen on his website any longer? </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<br /></blockquote>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">James Burgess To be Exposed</span></b><br />
Even though James Burgess stopped replying to my emails in that point but I didn't stop and
continued sending more and more questions to him to give him a chance to
clarify what I found contradictory and paradoxical in his ideas. However as he refused to
answer my question and in a way just ignored them I am going to publish some of my findings about him and my analysis of
his ideas for any other person who may become interested in future.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">List of Blog Posts about James Burgess:</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: blue;">Why 7Words fails and has to be avoided - in context of an example of an abused wife </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: blue;">(7Words a Cover to a Quackery Practice)</span></b><br />
<a href="http://sandbadbehzad.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/james-burgesssufi-7words-sceptisem-why.html" style="background-color: yellow;">http://sandbadbehzad.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/james-burgesssufi-7words-sceptisem-why.html</a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue;">7Words and its "Basics" and "Fundamentals":</span></b></div>
<a href="http://sandbadbehzad.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/james-burgess-sufi-7words-scepticism.html" style="background-color: yellow;">http://sandbadbehzad.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/james-burgess-sufi-7words-scepticism.html</a><br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: blue;">7Words and "Astrology":</span></b><br />
<a href="http://sandbadbehzad.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/james-burgess-sufi-7words-scepticism_5513.html" style="background-color: yellow;">http://sandbadbehzad.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/james-burgess-sufi-7words-scepticism_5513.html</a><br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: blue;">7Words and "demand for specifc questions" and "wrong body language" :</span></b><br />
<a href="http://sandbadbehzad.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/james-burgess-sufi-7words-scepticism_2.html" style="background-color: yellow;">http://sandbadbehzad.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/james-burgess-sufi-7words-scepticism_2.html</a><br />
<br />
I am hereafter closing my case on James Burgess.Sindbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383370896981421222noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4772019915664722393.post-71140212463595796762013-10-02T07:01:00.001-07:002013-10-18T12:52:05.917-07:00James Burgess (Sufi) - 7Words Scepticism - 7Words and Asterology<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/6BAZKNbDyFQ" width="480"></iframe><br />
<br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">3:00<br />JB: Astrologers study the breadth and the depth of human psychology in a very specific way</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 12.75pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">JB: And you can't understand it with a rational mind</span></div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 12.75pt;">JB: it is a bit like </span><span style="line-height: 17px;">chines</span><span style="line-height: 12.75pt;"> </span><span style="line-height: 17px;">ideograms</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 12.75pt;">JB: you have to right brain and ....</span><br /><br /><span style="line-height: 12.75pt;">No! astrologers don't do that! <br /><br />He is </span><span style="line-height: 17px;">deliberately</span><span style="line-height: 12.75pt;"> trying to </span><span style="line-height: 17px;">redefine</span><span style="line-height: 12.75pt;"> a word with a dictionary definition, in this case "</span><span style="line-height: 17px;">Astrology". T</span><span style="line-height: 12.75pt;">he very good question asked by that lady pointed out the the paradox that exist in </span><span style="line-height: 17px;">James</span><span style="line-height: 12.75pt;"> Burgess's ideas when it comes to a rational "decision making" and a subject such as "astrology" also advocated by him. <br /><br />How can you make a rational decision while you are getting </span><span style="line-height: 17px;">Astrology involved?</span><span style="line-height: 12.75pt;"> This question exposed him. So he is trying to </span><span style="line-height: 17px;">redefine</span><span style="line-height: 12.75pt;"> the meaning of Astrology to save himself from that situation. As always circumstantial point of views by James Burgess often in contrast to other things he said just a while back.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 12.75pt;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 12.75pt;">Astrology as defined by free dictionary:</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 12.75pt;"><br /></span></span>
The study of the positions and aspects of celestial bodies in the belief that they have an influence on the course of natural earthly occurrences and human affairs.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://www.thefreedictionary.com/astrology"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">http://www.thefreedictionary.com/astrology</span></a><br />
<div style="line-height: 12.75pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 12.75pt;">Anything said in order to define (</span><span style="line-height: 17px;">redefine</span><span style="line-height: 12.75pt;"> better say) astrology in different way is James Burgess's point of view (</span><span style="line-height: 17px;">hallucination</span><span style="line-height: 12.75pt;">) and without a value more than that.</span></span><br />
<div style="line-height: 12.75pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 12.75pt;">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BAZKNbDyFQ" style="line-height: 12.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">6:07</span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">JB: that's how I think astrology works!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12.75pt; margin: 4.5pt 0in; overflow: hidden;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">JB: and I am not popular amongst colleague astrologist in England<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12.75pt; margin: 4.5pt 0in; overflow: hidden;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">JB: this is controversial<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12.75pt; margin: 4.5pt 0in; overflow: hidden;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">JB: but for god sake astrologers aren't rich<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12.75pt; margin: 4.5pt 0in; overflow: hidden;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">JB: therefore they can't predict the future!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12.75pt; margin: 4.5pt 0in; overflow: hidden;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">what is this! why anyone has to care?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; margin: 4.5pt 0in; overflow: hidden;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 12.75pt;">to me it seems that he is crediting himself for being "controversial" and "unique" as if in England he has a large </span><span style="line-height: 17px;">audience and</span><span style="line-height: 12.75pt;"> anyone cares what he says ... <br /><br />looks like pretence! absolute pretence!<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<div style="background: white; line-height: 12.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BAZKNbDyFQ"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #2793e6; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">7:45</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">JB: what's the difference in highest in me and the gods<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12.75pt; margin: 4.5pt 0in; overflow: hidden;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">JB: if I am communicating with the gods they can only communicate through highest in me<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12.75pt; margin: 4.5pt 0in; overflow: hidden;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">JB: there is no difference<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12.75pt; margin: 4.5pt 0in; overflow: hidden;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">to me he is just playing with words! absolute playing with words! if anyone understands what he means by these 3 sentences please email me! <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">---</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 12.75pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BAZKNbDyFQ"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #2793e6; padding: 0in; text-decoration: none;">7:10</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 12.75pt; margin: 4.5pt 0in; overflow: hidden;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">JB: I can see you are very self expressive<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 12.75pt; margin: 4.5pt 0in; overflow: hidden;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">JB: Like to get involve in thing<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 12.75pt; margin: 4.5pt 0in; overflow: hidden;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">JB : you have a noble character<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 12.75pt; margin: 4.5pt 0in; overflow: hidden;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Typical! James Burgess is "bribing" the out spoken girl by complimenting her in order to silence her! Because her insistence was more and more exposing his limited knowledge and contradictory point of views. so he tries to make her to like him by complimenting her in order for her to stop asking exposing and dangerous questions.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #333333;">You need to have grown up in Iran to be familiar with this technique usually adopted by religious teachers ...</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BAZKNbDyFQ"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #2793e6; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">8:27</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">JB: but did you like these keywords?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333;">JB: optimism </span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 12.75pt;"><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; line-height: 12.75pt;">JB: nobility</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">JB: self expression<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">JB: involvement<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">JB: is that you<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">JB: got ya!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">JB: next question<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I don't need to comment on this. Any "street clever" kid understands what is going on here. He continues to bribe the girl who asked the critical question here. Because all James Burgess did during this video was avoiding to answer her question and he is making a final escape by a "massive bribing" ! lol<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">no wonder he doesn't want to debate, he knows these techniques won't work on everyone!</span></div>
Sindbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383370896981421222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4772019915664722393.post-30332476124047005922013-10-02T06:57:00.000-07:002013-10-18T12:51:30.322-07:00James Burgess (Sufi) - 7Words Scepticism - 7Words Basics and Fundamentals (video 1/3)<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/AVXgY62E6SU" width="480"></iframe><br />
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 12.75pt;">When it comes to "Nero Linguistic Programming" in order to describe how un-serious and un-credible it is, I would like to attract the attention of whomever reading this to a "cat" (yes as pet "cat") who was </span><span style="line-height: 17px;">registered</span><span style="line-height: 12.75pt;"> by its owner in "British Board of Neuro Linguistic Programming (BBNLP)" as a hypnotherapist.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8303126.stm"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8303126.stm</span></a><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; line-height: 12.75pt;">This is important because t</span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 12.75pt;">he two basis of 7words as he says are based on:</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">1) NLP (Nero-Linguistic-Programming) which as per example of </span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 12.75pt;">hypnotherapist cat </span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 12.75pt;">is an unserious subject and it is scientifically discredited as a pseudo-science</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">2) Sufism; he seem to have his very own definition of Sufism (amongst many other dictionary words he tries to redefine to his own terms). I feel this word is only used for "coolness" purposes by him to give the 7words system the punch. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 12.75pt;">There are hundreds if not thousand different schools of Sufism out there, each have a different often contradictory </span><span style="line-height: 17px;">philosophy</span><span style="line-height: 12.75pt;"> - so to use the word Sufism as a general term is wrong on the first place.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am not sure how practical it is to try to redefine a well know word such as "Sufism" in this case and to use it to express something else ...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #2793e6; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVXgY62E6SU">10:35</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">JB : When light is vibrating very slowly we have physical matter!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">JB : thats obvious life is physical<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333;">Not quiet sure what he means when he just suddenly mentions this without any background? what does he mean by light vibration? How does it effect human mind? Why and when it vibrates slowly? who slow vibration of light effects human mind? who see or proved that it does and the effect of slow or fast vibration of light on physical matter? what causes light to vibrate fast-ly then? </span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 12.75pt;">speed of light is equal to 299 792 458 m / s</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #2793e6; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVXgY62E6SU">9:54</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">JB: 7 plains of consciousness are expressed by different "vibration of light"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">JB: this is not crazy mysticism<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">JB: leading edge physicists also talk in this terms<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">JB: and some psychologist have recognized these to<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Looks as if he is trying to legitimize "crazy mysticism" as he says by involving some unnamed and perhaps imaginary scientists who he claims also confirm this! why can't he mention the names of the scientist who talk in the same terms then if they exisit?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hard to accept scientists agree with what he says in terms of "light vibrations" effecting human mind. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333;">James Burgess doesn't really explain what the "Light Vibrations" are on the first place!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">at<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVXgY62E6SU" style="cursor: pointer;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #2793e6; padding: 0in; text-decoration: none;">5:40</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">JB: Sufi teacher is enlightened and the students suppose to trust that!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And what a humble opinion James Burgess has about himself! In normal circumstances if someone implies that he is "enlightened" and everyone else need to trust him on the basis of the "enlightenment" he claims to have, he could be diagnosed with narcissism! this guy seem to be getting away with it for some reason! i am supprised why no one amongst the audience break into laughter. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333;">Maybe the audience are c</span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 12.75pt;">oercively persuaded to believe him perhaps?</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #2793e6; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVXgY62E6SU">05:22</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">JB: And yet sufism just tells you the way it is, it doesn't explain and defend its arguments at all!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So is it an advantage of Sufism that without bringing a reason dfines a way of life as he claims? Then why should anyone risk to follow someone who narcissistically claims that he is enlightened and worthy to be followed?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 12.75pt;">on what bases this trust has to develop? just because he says he is </span><span style="line-height: 17px;">enlightened and he wears a beard and a waistcoat</span><span style="line-height: 12.75pt;">? </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">seem to be a middle-ages way of accepting and following an ideology! based on the charisma of the person who advocate and propagate it, not its contents and what it says...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #2793e6; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVXgY62E6SU">11:40</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The analogy of separating heart and mind is another unscientific thing he says<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">love, think, awareness and all we are is in the brain - major part of the brain is its subconscious, and IMHO in ancient times as they didn't know it exist, they associated its functions to other body parts such as heart. IMHO They even made up a body part and called it "soul" and associated subconscious functions to it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 12.75pt;">Heart is made of muscles it doesn't have any functionality in terms of feeling love, etc.</span></span>Sindbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383370896981421222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4772019915664722393.post-37237396522475762442013-10-02T06:38:00.003-07:002013-10-18T12:50:43.986-07:00James Burgess (Sufi) - 7Words Scepticism - General Question - Body Language (video 3/3)<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/I7Mf4HGxk2Q" width="480"></iframe><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7Mf4HGxk2Q"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #3d85c6; padding: 0in; text-decoration: none;">1:40</span></a><span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">JB: I am saying I am not gonna deal with a general question .... <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 12.75pt;">specific question! how more specific a question can be!? she </span><span style="line-height: 17px;">asks</span><span style="line-height: 12.75pt;"> for an example of when goodbye is more about getting involved! And it is quiet possible to provide a general answer without taking this into discussing people's husbands and jobs! for example he could answer:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 12.75pt;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 12.75pt;">"when you say goodbye to a habit of procrastination then you are saying hello to a more concentrating - state of mind - which means you are now more involved with things which have higher priority in your life"</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 12.75pt;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 12.75pt;">And its not only this </span><span style="line-height: 17px;">occasion</span><span style="line-height: 12.75pt;"> I am talking about a whole trend of refusing to answer to questions which address the fundamentals of his ideas. I think he tries to keep everything as "</span><span style="line-height: 17px;">circumstantial"</span><span style="line-height: 12.75pt;"> as possible in order to have a get away if things got too </span><span style="line-height: 17px;">controversial</span><span style="line-height: 12.75pt;">.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />Is it all just a show!?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #3d85c6; padding: 0in; text-decoration: none;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7Mf4HGxk2Q">01:1</a>0</span><span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; line-height: 12.75pt;">looks more of a flirting body language to me, than of someone's who is giving professional relationship counselling...</span>Sindbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383370896981421222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4772019915664722393.post-210378269685480122013-09-08T06:01:00.001-07:002013-09-08T06:01:30.702-07:00Russell Brand interview with Alex Jones on Syria<a href="http://www.endalldisease.com/russell-brand-blasts-syrian-war-information-mindblowing-interview/">http://www.endalldisease.com/russell-brand-blasts-syrian-war-information-mindblowing-interview/</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /><br />1) the Russell Brand guy keeps saying none sense which is impossible to follow, just talk without any substance! no one will understand a word he says because there is nothing to understand</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">2) Alex Jones guy keeps acknowledging the speaker</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> by saying that it was amazing, he was fascinated with it, intelligent guy the Russell person is, how outside the box he is, he is indeed the Thomas Jefferson himself! hooray! what a great man is on the phone!<br /><br />then the outcome of 1 & 2 is some sort of social pressure on unaware listener to just pretend that they understand and that they also agree with the guest speaker (Russel Brand)<br /><br />this is simply abusing human herd instinct! an unaware listener doesn't understand what is being said, but understands the repeated acknowledgements the speaker(Russell Brand) receives from the presenter(Alex Jones). So this creates the pressure for the unaware listener to join the herd and agree with whatever is being said!<br /><br />Also an unaware listener doesn't want to look stupid by confessing that he actually didn't understand a word (no one will understand a word because there is nothing to understand) this is a technique effectively used by priests/mullahs for thousands of years in order to gather simple minded individuals under a faith/religion flag<br /><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">Alex Jones has a reputation for being a nutter any ways: </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=r2w2TRxSLxw#t=12" style="background-color: transparent;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=r2w2TRxSLxw#t=12</a></span>Sindbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383370896981421222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4772019915664722393.post-41141974363825867682013-08-07T15:43:00.000-07:002013-09-30T03:58:47.211-07:00Smiley Mullah Policy and David Cameron et al.<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">by: Sandbad</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">David Cameron has congratulated Rouhani as Iranian new president and hoped that Rouhani’s election can be an opportunity for an improvement in Iran and Britain’s relationship.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/07/david-cameron-iran-hassan-rouhani</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And its not only Cameron who seem to be so optimistic about Iran these days. The same atmosphere of optimism is present amongst many Iranians in social media. But when it comes to regressive regime of Iran in my opinion there is little to be happy about despite all the noise Rouhani’s presidency made in media. Because in an unlikely event that Rouhani remains loyal to all his so called campaign promises there are some serious issues he never mentioned he has any plans to resolve. Some are listed below:</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1)</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Horrendous human rights situation under Islamic regime. The suppression of human rights and women rights activists, workers and trade union activists by means of prosecution are common place under Iran's Islamic regime. Rouhani did not mention any of these in his campaign.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>2)</b> Laws and treatments such as; death penalty for homosexuals, stoning for adulterers, lashing for drinking alcohol, mandatory Islamic dress code, discriminatory laws against women and religious minorities and etc. which are part of official civil and penal code of the country and are enforced by a feared religious police and judiciary system are going to remain the same with Rouhani. He did not mention any plans to resolve these issues.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>3) </b>It is no secret that the regime in Iran is holding its grip on power by keeping a tight control over media and by leaving no space for any opposition or protest without risking a high price such as imprisonment and torture. Rouhani made no direct and clear promise to improve the situation so I expect it remains the same with him as president.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Interestingly Rouhani and Cameron both chose to remain silent about some of the serious issues which are mentioned above. Rouhani in his elections campaign and Cameron in his letter congratulating him after he so called won.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Optimism</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I think the optimism expressed by many including Cameron on Iranian regime's change of political direction as a result of election (or selection) of Rouhani is premature and misplaced and can only be a result of cherry picking the facts and ignoring the whole spectrum of Iranian political scene. Because:</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1)</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> First and foremost in Iranian political structure the Supreme Leader maintains the ultimate power and the president is just a “yes man” to him. To hope that Rouhani as president is going to change anything against Supreme Leader's wish is a hope in vain. Supreme Leader is in the position of supervising the president in Iranian political structure and has the power to dismiss him if he wishes so.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>2)</b> People who think Rouhani’s presidency is a big change in Iranian political scene because he replaced Ahmadinejad have to remember that A.N. was no exception of the rule and the Supreme Leader was also giving him directions and could change Ahmadinejad’s policies if he disagreed with them during his 8 years term as president. So if the supreme leader made no intervention during Ahmadinejad’s presidency it can only be assumed that A.N. was merely following Supreme Leader’s directions and as Supreme Leader was happy with what A.N. was doing there was no need for Supreme leader to intervene. Hence the Supreme Leader is the one to be blamed for the state of affairs in Iran not A.N. and not anyone else.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>3)</b> In fact as evidence for what mentioned in 2 the Supreme Leader gave his affirmation to Ahmadinejad’s policies especially on his nuclear and social policies on number of occasions and called them a return to revolution’s original values.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">By 1, 2 and 3 this is obvious the circumstances under Ahmadinejad (in terms of foreign policy, nuclear policy, economy, etc.) were what was (and perhaps is) seen as ideal by the regime and the Supreme Leader and in my opinion it is only the pressure resulting from economical sanctions which is forcing the regime to give up on its ideals (pursued during A.N.) and to put on a smiley face again and give raise to this Rouhani phenomenon.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4)</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> My suspicion is empowered as it is not the first time the Iranian regime is following this Smiley Mullah Policy. I can recall in 1997 when the regime was facing total international diplomatic boycott in the aftermath of Mykonos restaurant scandal the same Smiley Mullah Policy came to it's rescue when Khatami was installed under the title of a reformists as president.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/9704/10/germany.iran/ </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammad_Khatami</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>5)</b> That solved the regime’s problem at that point (1997) as international community took Khatami as a real reformist and that optimism in international scene alleviated the international boycott which was in place on Iran at the time as international community wanted to give a chance to what they saw as a possibility of reform from within to Iranian regime so all foreign representatives which had left Iran previously in protest of Iran regime’s role in Mykonos assassinations returned to Tehran when Khatami become president. That gave the regime a breathing space to recover itself in the years that followed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>6)</b> In Khatami’s eight years term (1997 -2005) he proved that he was no reformist. He failed or didn't want to deliver on most of his promises and by the end of his eight years term as the country’s oil revenue had increased significantly (due to increase in crude oil price in world’s markets) the regime gained an unprecedented opportunity to follow up on its lets say expansionist ideas which it left on pause in 1997 when it was forced to give raise to Khatami as a false reformer due to international pressure it faced at the time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thanks to extra cash which was flowing in as a result of increased oil revenues towards the end of Khatami presidency term the regime officially declared the reform period was over and under Ahmadinejad it began the period of return to real revolution values (as it was named by supreme leader himself) This return went on until it took the country to complete political and economical bankruptcy by 2013 due to economical sanctions it caused.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So in my opinion it is only under heavy economical sanctions and on the verge of collapse that the regime is initiating the second round of Smiley Mullah Policy using Rouhani to save itself again. And I can predict Rouhani’s term isn't going to be anything but just another eight years of empty promises as it was with his predecessor's Khatami (1997 -2005 ) and on the basis of what I explained in this article I think to lay too much hope on Rouhani is simplistic if not completely stupid.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To me it seems the regime is trying the Smiley Mullah Policy again in order to alleviate the pressure it is currently under as a result of international sanctions just as it did in 1997 with Khatami. Once this goal is achieved and the sanctions were lifted it will return to its ideal Ahmadinijad-ism soon enough.</span></div>
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Sindbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383370896981421222noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4772019915664722393.post-13027006634645694222013-08-02T18:43:00.002-07:002013-08-02T19:04:52.252-07:00بحث با یک شخص ناسیونالیست ترک<div class="UFICommentContent" data-reactid=".r[3d4y2].[1][4][1]{comment516154101789154_516802185057679}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0]" style="background-color: #edeff4; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">
<span data-reactid=".r[rvce].[1][4][1]{comment516154101789154_516802185057679}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2].[0].[0]">آقا صادق! همونطور که قبلا گفتم پهلوی فرزند زمانه خودش بود! و ایران یک کشور بسیار متفرق از لحاظ قومی در اون زمانه! به شکلی که اصلا یک حکومت به سبک مدرن رو در خودش نمی تونست جا بده برای اینکه هر کدام از این قومیتها که بهشون اشاره کردم در اون زمونه ساز خودشونو می زدند. کاری که پهلوی کرداین بود که تعریف شهروندی به معنای مدرنش رو در ایران بوجود آورد. یعنی کاری کرد که آدمها قبل از اینکه خودشون رو اعضای یک قوم و یا قبیله بدونند خودشون رو شهروندهای کشور ایران بدونند.</span><br />
<span data-reactid=".r[rvce].[1][4][1]{comment516154101789154_516802185057679}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2].[0].[2]">در راستای رسیدن به این هدف شکی نیست که بسیاری از اقدامات این خاندان با تعریفهای مدرن حقوق بشر ناسازگار بود. ولی شما توجه کنید که پهلوی همونطور که من بارها گفتم فرزندان زمانه خودشون بودند. شما نمی تونید از رضاشاهی که در دوره ای که تمام دنیا تحت تسلط دیکتاتورها بود (رضاشاه هم دوره هیتلر و موسیلینی و فرانکو و غیره هست) توقع داشته باشید که یک باره خود به خود اون هم توی یک کشور عقب افتاده ای مثل اون زمان ایران یک آدم دمکرات از آب در بیاد که!</span><br />
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<span data-reactid=".r[rvce].[1][4][1]{comment516154101789154_516802185057679}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2].[0].[5]">این توقع بیجایی هست دوست من! آدمها رو باید در زمینه تاریخی که بودند در موردشون قضاوت کرد. که اگر ما بخواهیم منصف باشیم رضاشاه و پهلوی برای این سرزمین خیلی کارهای مفید انجام داد. و سیاستهای اسیمیله کردن هم اگر به قول شما در پیش گرفت این رسم اون روزگار بود! این کار توی کشورهای دیگر هم انجام شده بود! </span><br />
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<span data-reactid=".r[rvce].[1][4][1]{comment516154101789154_516802185057679}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2].[0].[8]">مثلا کردها هم در ترکیه تحت فشار قرار داشتند تا همین چند سال پیش و به آنها ترک کوهی می گفتند ولی اتفاقی که د رترکیه افتاد این بود که اونها پیشرفت کردند و دست از وارد کردن این فشارها بالاخره برداشتند. مثلا تا همین اواخر کردها اجازه برگزاری مراسم نوروز رو در ترکیه نداشتند و به تازگی این اجازه به آنها داده شده</span><br />
<span data-reactid=".r[rvce].[1][4][1]{comment516154101789154_516802185057679}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2].[0].[10]">در مورد ترکهای قبرس یک تحقیقی بکن ببین که چقدر از اوضاع فعلیشون ناراضی هستند الان شما اطمینان داشته باشید که از نظر فرهنگی آذری ها و ترک زبان های ایران به فارسهای ایرانی بیشتر شبیه هستند تا ترکهای ترکیه! ایران خانه شماست دوست من! تیشه به ریشه این خانه نزنید</span><br />
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<span data-reactid=".r[rvce].[1][4][1]{comment516154101789154_516802185057679}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2].[0].[13]">بعد هم شما صحبت هویت می کنید. هویت همه ما اینه که ما همه اول انسان هستیم. نژاد و فرهنگ و زبان و ملیت همه چیزهای نسبی هست. مطلق نیستد! به قول شما در طی فرایند آسیمیله شدن این فاکتورها می تونه عوض بشه! همونطور که آذریها در یک زمانی آسیمیله شدند و زبان مادریشون که گویشی از زبان فارسی بود رو کم کم فراموش کردند و رفته رفته ترک زبان شدند. سو تفاهم نشه من مخالف این هستم که کسی آسیمیله بشه ولی به نظر من مهمتر از اینکه من و شما با هم به چه زبانی با هم صحبت می کنیم این هست که به هم چی میگیم! </span><br />
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<span data-reactid=".r[rvce].[1][4][1]{comment516154101789154_516802185057679}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2].[0].[16]">ولی خوب اگر بخواهیم در مورد مسایل عملی زبان صحبت بکنیم و در زمینه کشور ایران من همونطور که قبلا گفتم موافق ترویج زبان ترکی در ایران هستم. به نظر من اهمیت زبان ترکی در ایران کمتر از زبان فارسی نیست!</span><br />
<span data-reactid=".r[rvce].[1][4][1]{comment516154101789154_516802185057679}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2].[0].[18]">.ولی در عین حال فکر می کنم این کار اصلا به صلاح و عاقلانه نیست که زبان فارسی از حالت رسمی و زبان اداری کشور خارج بشه! اول اینکه زبان فارسی همونقدر که به فارسها تعلق داره به مردم آذربایجان و کل ترک زبانان ایران هم متعلق هست (شما برو مقبره الشعرای تبریز رو یک نگاه بنداز چند تا شاعر فارس زبان اونجا دفن شده؟)</span><br />
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<span data-reactid=".r[rvce].[1][4][1]{comment516154101789154_516802185057679}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2].[0].[21]">دوما اینکه من انتظارات برخی از دوستان رو که در اینجا حتی حاضر به گفتگو کردن به زبان فارسی نیستند رو بی معنی و خنده دار می بینم! اگر چیزی رو که این دوستان به دنبالش هستند عملی بشه – یعنی هر قومیتی توی ایران به طور متعصبانه فقط زبون خودش رو بخواد یاد بگیره و ازش استفاده کنه بعد از 30 سال وقتی یک تهرانی به تبریز می ره اونجا باید انگلیسی بلد باشه که بتونه با مردم تبریز ارتباط برقرار کنه! که اگر این اتفاق بیافته همون شاعرای مقبره اشعرای تبریزکه گفتم توی گور خودشون خواهند لرزید!</span><br />
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<span data-reactid=".r[rvce].[1][4][1]{comment516154101789154_516802185057679}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2].[0].[24]">پس بی جهت به فارسی نتازید. فارسی زبانی باستانی و با ادبیاتی غنی هست. زبان شما هم هست و به بلد بودنش می ارزد.</span><br />
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<span data-reactid=".r[rvce].[1][4][1]{comment516154101789154_516802185057679}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2].[0].[27]">خلاصه اینکه آقا کار ما رو به دوران قومگرایی و قبل از پهلوی برنگردونید و گرنه ایران از افغانستان بدتر میشه! اجازه بدهید به عنوان شهروندهای این کشور مدرن و قرن بیست و یکمی این مشکلاتی که هست رو با هم حل کنیم و الکی با ایده های ناسیونالیستی و سکرتارین قومگرایی راه نندازید! از قدیم گفتن یک دست صدا نداره! اجازه بدید که با هم باشیم! انقلاب مشروطه یادتان هست؟</span></div>
Sindbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383370896981421222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4772019915664722393.post-59029944738942581442013-06-09T15:28:00.001-07:002013-09-30T03:57:59.060-07:00Islamophobia is Wrong Word to Use<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">By: Sandbad</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">As a basic
requirement in a society which advocates freedom of thought and speech, Islam
like any other ideology or religion should be kept susceptible to criticism and must
not be exempted from it. In reality
however by using this term in many occasions genuine criticism of Islam is
dismissed as some sort of </span>racist abuse and showing concern about Islamism is often taken as an exaggerated, biased and phobic reaction.<br />
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Same negative weight this term has gained itself
in public opinion is holding many back from publicly expressing their opinion
about Islam as they fear to be accused of <b>Islamophobia</b>.<br />
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But not all the criticism directed at Islam is biased and made under a racist agenda. So should we continue using this word in the same capacity as it is currently used? I think we should not.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;"><b>The word Islamophobia:</b></span><br />
<b><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></b>
<b><span lang="EN-US">Islamophobia</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> is a
compound word created by combining ‘Islam’ and ‘phobia’. The word</span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"> ‘phobia’
is derived from Greek<span class="apple-converted-space"> word “</span><b><i>phobos”</i></b><span class="apple-converted-space"> which means </span>fear. In clinical psychology ‘phobia’ is used in
combination with other words in order to create names for different types of anxiety
disorder (eg. Arachno<b>phobia </b>– fear of spiders)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Merriam-Webster dictionary defines ‘phobia’ as: <i>“</i></span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">an exaggerated usually
inexplicable and illogical fear of a particular object, class of objects, or
situation”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">According to this definition one expects the term </span><b><span lang="EN-US">Islamophobia</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">to specifically
refer to an anxiety disorder where a sufferer has a disproportionate fear,
dislike or aversion from the ideology and religion of Islam however the usage
of </span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">this term</span><i><span lang="EN-US"> </span></i><span lang="EN-US">is often extended to</span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
refer to a racist type of hatred and/or aversion from Muslim individuals and
groups</span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Oxford dictionary defines ‘Islamophobia’ as</span><span lang="EN-US"> <i>“</i></span><i><span lang="EN-US">a hatred or fear of
Islam or <b>Muslims</b>, especially as a political force.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">In my opinion
there are two major reasons usage of word <b>Islamophobia</b> has to be
avoided:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Firstly this word is created by ignoring the complicated
dynamic which gives shape to Islamic world by generalizing the word “Islam” in
a simplistic manner. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Secondly by using the term “phobia” it is implying that any
fear from Islam is illogical and </span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">disproportionate. And by this it transfers a prejudiced and subliminal
message that like any other anxiety disorder the fear of Islam is also just a
phobia which worth no further investigation or discussion but treatment as an
illness.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<h1>
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white;"><span style="font-size: large;">What the term Islamophobia is
generalizing:<o:p></o:p></span></span></h1>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span lang="EN-US">Ethnic diversity of Muslim Word:</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> Muslim world in itself is very ethnically diverse. This is to a
level that in terms of culture and ethnicity often two distinct Muslim groups have
little in common. For example an Uzbek
Muslim is world apart from a Sub Saharan Muslim in terms of ethnicity,
tradition, customs, language and etc.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This means as Islam is a religion followed
by many ethnic groups in a vast geographical area it just doesn't make sense
to use the term <b>Islamophobia</b> in order to refer to a type of racism. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US">Distinctiveness of Islamic schools of
thought:</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> Letting apart the ethnic diversity of Muslim
world, the Islam in itself is a very general term which may refer to any of several
Islamic schools of thought commonly practised. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Followers of each Muslim school of thought have
their own distinct believes sometimes in total contrast and despise of another
group. For example in Salafi school of thought followers of Shiism are
considered to be heretics and are punishable for their heresy as seen adequate
in Islamic penal code.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">So even in ideological terms the word ‘Islam’
alone is not indicative enough to refer to a specific and defined set of beliefs. In my opinion
any generalization to this level has to be avoided as a matter of principle.</span></div>
<h1>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Phobia?</span></span></h1>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But is fear of Islam can be considered a
phobia? For example is it really disproportionate and exaggerated to fear to be
subjected to Sharia Law?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">What if an apostate is aware that in Sharia
Law apostates are punishable by death? What if a nine year old girl is at risk
of being sold into marrying a man older than her grandfather? What if a wife is
repeatedly beaten by her husband and she knows that her husband is only using
his legitimate Islamic right in order to beat her up? What if the same wife is
also aware that her husband is allowed to marry several other women while he is
still married to her? What if a woman has to wear Hijab in 42 degrees hot
summer day of Tehran? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">What about discrimination against women in
inheritance and divorce laws? What about homosexual and members of religious
minorities? What about members of an unrecognised religious minority? (Baha’i
faith in Iran) What about punishments like stoning for adultery? Flogging for
drinking alcohol or body mutilation for thieves? What if ‘infidel’ people of a neighbouring
territory fear their Muslim neighbours to come jihad-ing on them?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Is fear involved in any of above cases a phobic fear as term <b>Islamophobia</b> implies? Are these affected individuals in need of
psychotherapy to be relived from their disproportionate and phobic fear of
Islam? Or is it just common sense for them to fear Islam and Islamic law?</span></div>
<h1>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Muslim Point of View</span></span></h1>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">To my experience when it comes to
controversial Islamic rules (some mentioned above) Muslims disregard of their ethnicity/race
and school of thought are divided in two major groups: </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>First group </b>follows Quran and Hadith line
by line and apply Islamic law and Islamic penal code as they were commonly and
historically applied. They are ‘fundamentalists’ and have little or no concern about
reaction of outside world in response to applying rules which according to modern
convention of human rights are considered brutal and inhumane.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In some Islamic countries where political
system is heavily influenced or completely controlled by fundamentalists (such as Iran and
Saudi Arabia) citizens are regularly sentenced to flogging, stoning and body
mutilation and despite all international pressure these countries resist to change
their official penal code which is taken directly from Sharia Law. This is
because in fundamentalist point of view Islamic law and moral code is something
which cannot be disputed or changed even if it is genuinely immoral and in
violation of modern standards.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The <b>second group</b> of Muslims are self proclaimed
‘progressive’ bunch who tend to believe controversial and brutal Islamic law and penal code are enforced only by fundamentalists of the first group as a
result of first group’s misinterpretation of otherwise moral and advanced
Islamic law. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The progressives in second group are often
apologetic about the fundamentalists’ behaviour and they often take their own
interpretation of Islamic law as the correct version. An interpretation which in many occasions is
unlike anything historically practised by any Muslims.<br /> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Members of second group are also likely to believe
that the actions of first group has wrongly given a negative and scary image to
Islam in public opinion and that Islam is in fact a kind and tolerant religion unlike what the fundamentalist has shown it to be.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This clash between progressives and fundamentalists is an old trend. But it is still unheard of that a progressive cleric officially rejects
the brutalities historically practised by Muslims as wrong doings
of early Muslims or prophet or Imams and replace them by more modern and moderate rules.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">At the same time the progressive Muslim clerics chose
to be vague about controversial parts of Islamic law and Islamic penal code if
they are forced to talk about this subject and they apologetically try to
justify them. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I leave the reader with this question:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Is it a phobia to be scared of a religion
that its self proclaimed progressive movement is being intentionally vague and dishonest about its controversies instead of actively trying to clear them up?</span></div>
Sindbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383370896981421222noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4772019915664722393.post-18861450502891406282013-06-03T17:41:00.000-07:002013-09-30T03:57:35.808-07:00A Quick Look at Occupy Gezi movement from an Iranian Perspective<div class="MsoNormal">
By: Sandbad<br />
<br />
I went to <b><span style="background: white; color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Manchester
Solidarity with Occupy Gezi</span></b> demonstration on 3rd of June. Main reason to go was to speak to supporters of
this movement first hand in order to find out what their demands are as recent
incidents in Turkey has given rise to many debates in Iranian diaspora.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPoMKHSxLbI38OssxfEAr4xoAkdKWqKvY66g4IzTi8FIg4MAL9Oss0JhS8Hl27o5Vho3Bi2x59UeEZTcemg04iku0LsvzmcUqXjqOgtoYdoj1bwK83bjJVPmZJjSQR_MelsYrvN_cJR8UA/s1600/occupy+gezi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPoMKHSxLbI38OssxfEAr4xoAkdKWqKvY66g4IzTi8FIg4MAL9Oss0JhS8Hl27o5Vho3Bi2x59UeEZTcemg04iku0LsvzmcUqXjqOgtoYdoj1bwK83bjJVPmZJjSQR_MelsYrvN_cJR8UA/s320/occupy+gezi.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some Iranians saw this as a populist and revolutionary movement
with an uncertain goal which is in total ignorance of <span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #333333;">economical
</span></span>achievements of <span style="background: white; color: #333333;">Erdoğan<span class="apple-converted-space"> government. </span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #333333;">In online debates on several occasions </span></span><b><span style="background: white; color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Occupy Gezi</span></b> <span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #333333;">was
compared to Iranian revolution of 1979 which only made the situation worse in Iran both
in political and economical terms by handing the country over to unprogressive and Islamist elements of society.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #333333;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #333333;">Speaking to some Turkish friends who were at the solidarity event
in Manchester this doesn't seem to be the case for Turkey.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #333333;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #333333;">What I realized today was that even though there was some
degree of uncertainty about the ideal outcome of this uprising but </span></span><b><span style="background: white; color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Occupy Gezi </span></b><span style="background: white; color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">movement was</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #333333;"> in no
way after change of political regime in Turkey. Most of protesters were
carrying Ataturk pictures and this was an indication that their demands however
not quiet clear but was not beyond the current constitution and political structure in
Turkey.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #333333;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #333333;">Those who I spoke with were more concerned about </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">out of proportion reaction of </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333;">Turkish
police against peaceful protests in Gezi Park in Istanbul and as I was told this was not the first time in recent times that the
police had reacted to peaceful protests in such a manner.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #333333;">Also there was a strong worry amongst protesters that the
Islamist ruling party of </span></span><span style="background: white; color: #333333;">Erdoğan<span class="apple-converted-space"> is following a crawling policy
by gradually taking control of entire political structure by
installing its loyal friends in important and critical positions. There was an
affirmation that </span>Erdoğan<span class="apple-converted-space"> hasn't yet been in breach of any laws in doing so however the protesters were worried that he
was at a stage that he could attempt breaching the law in pursue of this goals.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #333333;">Some of the protesters were fearful that </span></span><span style="background: white; color: #333333;">Erdoğan<span class="apple-converted-space"> is gradually Islamizing the way of life in
Turkey and they were pointing to recent limitations set on sale of alcohol and the day after birth control pills and abortion.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #333333;">Also they were concerns that </span></span><span style="background: white; color: #333333;">Erdoğan’s<span class="apple-converted-space"> actions will facilitate involvement
of religion in politics of the country.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #333333;">There also was a strong believe that </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Erdoğan</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="color: #333333;"> is abusing power by licencing people near him to develop </span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #333333;">Gezi Park to a shopping mall. Also number of demonstrators were suspicious that Erdoğan<span class="apple-converted-space"> has</span> personal interest in that project </span></span><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #333333;"><span class="apple-converted-space">and that's why he insists o</span><span class="apple-converted-space">n Gezi Park's development to continue despite the demonstrations..</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #333333;">Some of the </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">protesters</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> </span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #333333;">believed that
Turkish media were ordered not to cover the recent
demonstrations also some believed internet speed in Turkey have been intentionally lowered in order to make it harder for protesters to get in touch with the outside world.</span></span><br />
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #333333;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_XcU4mkA1Klh1-Jx2vRp51Elq1V4FFrMKSxwADNMf_qCLL_xH6zysINJbBmPSDinrQjrivboUTcTPIZJvIm5cjehjT2rjdtaKS7UD2EODVobNl2XJGvay__Oct3Rks7PWE1Cj1ywl0_MN/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_XcU4mkA1Klh1-Jx2vRp51Elq1V4FFrMKSxwADNMf_qCLL_xH6zysINJbBmPSDinrQjrivboUTcTPIZJvIm5cjehjT2rjdtaKS7UD2EODVobNl2XJGvay__Oct3Rks7PWE1Cj1ywl0_MN/s320/1.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background: white; color: #333333;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #333333;">After spending an evening with Turkish protesters in Manchester my impression is the demonstrations are justified and necessary. I don’t think there is a demand
to change the political regime in Turkey and I think if there is any intention on
</span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333;">Erdoğan</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #333333;"> side to Islamise Turkey and to take
over the whole political system before the next elections this demonstrations
can possibly discourage him from such endeavor. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #333333;">In addition these
demonstrations will show the Islamists within Turkey that the secular demands are strong and there will be fierce resistance against their possible charge to political power.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #333333;">So I am personally supportive of the demonstrations. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #333333;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #333333;">The Manchester demonstration I have attended today went peacefully. The slogans were against fascism, against acts of dictatorship
protesters believed was committed by </span></span><span style="background: white; color: #333333;">Erdoğan<span class="apple-converted-space"> and chants for him to resign. There was a dose of
nationalism involved as well but not to a level that I feel I was amongst a group of rightists.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #333333;">Also a quick compare of situation in Turkey with Iran, I
think </span></span><span style="background: white; color: #333333;">Erdoğan<span class="apple-converted-space"> reaction is nowhere near as brutal as an Iranian
possible reaction to a similar uprising in Iran could be. We remember what happened in summer 2009 in Iran so I won’t
go into much detail. As an example in Turkey if </span>Erdoğan<span class="apple-converted-space"> reduces the internet speed (shall this be the case as I was told) in Iran internet and mobile networks go
completely offline whenever there is slightest of political unrest. <br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #333333;">Also even though it has been a massive and national wide protest and I have to agree the police reaction were out of proportion on occasions the cost on human life was minimal (and mainly by accident) when compare this with hundreds of Iranians who were killed during 2009 unrest (many of whom were fired at with intention to kill) I have to agree that </span></span><span style="background: white; color: #333333;">Erdoğan's<span class="apple-converted-space"> evil is in no way comparable with his Iranian counterparts.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Sindbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383370896981421222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4772019915664722393.post-26910812419054648092013-04-18T05:41:00.002-07:002016-02-22T06:34:13.385-08:00Historical Correctness (Arab or Persian)<br />
Written to John McHugo and raised below questions about his article on BBC website titled as:<br />
<h1 class="story-header" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #505050; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -1px; line-height: 34px; margin: 3px -160px 13px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; width: 623px;">
<span style="font-size: small;">"Coffee and qahwa: How a drink for Arab mystics went global<span style="background-color: transparent;">"</span></span></h1>
<div>
<span style="background-color: transparent;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
Link to Article : h<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22190802">ttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22190802</a></div>
Link to Contact form : <a href="http://www.johnmchugo.com/contact/?contact-form-id=51&contact-form-sent=205&_wpnonce=a860bc5de6#contact-form-51">http://www.johnmchugo.com/contact/?contact-form-id=51&contact-form-sent=205&_wpnonce=a860bc5de6#contact-form-51</a><br />
<br />
As per below:<br />
=======================================================================<br />
<br />
Hello Sir,<br />
<br />
I came across your very well written article here about coffee:<br />
<br />
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22190802<br />
<br />
Very good work indeed! However I mentioned a few points that in my knowledge had entered your article in error. Obviously I am not a historian but I guess it worth for these to be double checked and if you can clarify:<br />
<br />
1) The Article mentions alcohol was first distilled in the Arab world in c800AD by Jabir Ibn Hayyan from Kufa in Iraq, and the word "alcohol" derives from the Arabic "al kuhul"...<br />
<br />
To my understanding Alchohol was first distilled by al-Razi from the city of Ray. And shall this be the case al-Razi was incidentally a Persian.<br />
You are correct with the name of Alcohol. As Arabic was Lingua franca of Islamic world, so al-Razi used it within that capacity.<br />
<br />
2) Also there is no prove Al-Kharazmi and Jabir Ibn Hayyan were from Arabic background. Equally there is no prove they were from Persian background neither. The reason we don’t know is it didn’t matter at their time so no one mentioned it! And it doesn’t really matter now.<br />
<br />
But for correctness sake they were most likely to have been Persians. Because Hayyan was born in Tus in Khorasan (moved to Kufa in Iraq later on in his life) and Al-Kharazmi as name indicates was from Kharazm. So chances are bigger for them to have been Persians.<br />
<br />
3) I am not sure who invented the 3 course meal concept. Not really that important but perhaps it worth checking if this was also done the same way in Sassanid or Byzantium courts prior to Muslim Empire emergence before we conclude this as an Arabic tradition.<br />
<br />
I have a feeling this tradition could be adopted custom from Persian Sassanid or less likely the Byzantine court.<br />
<br />
4) The word Cheque is said to be from Persian origin. From Middle Persian word ‘chek’ used for the same purpose. This word is said to have become popular during Aachamenid Empire (like 1000 years before Islam) and was borrowed by several languages including Arabic and European languages equally.<br />
<br />
It had become “Cheque” in European Languages and “saqq” in Arabic.<br />
<br />
Thanks for your attention and clarification.<br />
<br />
Regards,<br />
<br />
<div>
<br />
==============================================================<br />
John McHugo's Reply:<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Thank you for your interesting and informative email and for the nice things you say about my article on coffee.</span><br />
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You may be interested that in my book I refer to the sciences of the Middle East in the period from approx 750AD onwards as "Arabic", rather than "Arab". This is to acknowledge that many people wrote scientific treatises in Arabic but were not necessarily "Arabs" in an ethnic sense. As you know, it is sometimes hard to tell whether someone at that time was using Arabic as his native language. The great Razi to whom you refer wrote his treatises in Arabic, I believe. </div>
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<br /></div>
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With regard to the word "cheque", I think you will find that the word came into European languages from the Arabic "saqq". The forms of "s" (the Arabic letter known as sad and "q" (the Arabic letter qaf) are sounds that do not occur in Indo-European languages, which suggests to me that it is probably a native Arabic word. It also fits naturally into the three radical letter pattern of Arabic philology.</div>
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Kind regards</div>
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<span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc;">John</span> <span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc;">McHugo</span> </div>
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</div>
Sindbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383370896981421222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4772019915664722393.post-72386372278820292182013-04-14T12:34:00.003-07:002013-10-03T04:47:27.876-07:00The Encounter<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><i>By: Sandbad</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">On last grade of high school back in Iran, when I was still considering
myself a “Progressive Muslim” I was discussing with some of my devout Shia
Muslim friends (some of them active members of Basij) about a controversial Shia
Islam ceremony where Shia Muslims celebrate Omar’s (second caliph) death. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">I
argued with them maybe caliph Omar (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umar">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umar</a>)
wasn’t as bad as we Shia people like to think because according to the book
which I recently read about Mohammad's life (</span><span dir="RTL" lang="FA" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">محمد
پیامبری که از نو باید شناخت</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span dir="LTR"></span>) once Omar who
was a dominate and known figure in Mecca at the time converted to Islam this was
such a significant event in social terms and such a breakthrough for the new
religion of Islam that the pagan non-Muslims which were conspiring to get rid
of Muhammad by killing him at the time had to phase out that option because
they were afraid of Omar’s reaction. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">So
I was telling a bunch of Shia Muslims who were indoctrinated to hate Omar (due
to his disputed role in killing Prophet’s daughter from Shia perspective) that
Omar by converting to Islam saved Islam from annihilation on its early stages because
otherwise the Muhammad enemies would have killed him before he had a chance to
propagate his religion.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">My
friends reaction was one of doubt and uncertainty and so they referred me to our
religious studies teacher for him as a Shia Muslim clergyman to answer my
doubts and questions. And so we went to
visit him outside school hours in a ceremony organized by </span><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">some of my
classmates in a </span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">friend’s house in commemoration of some Shia Imam’s Martyrdom (</span><span dir="RTL" lang="FA" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">هیات</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span dir="LTR"></span>) <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">We attended from beginning and finally after all chest beating and
mourning and crying was over in front of everyone (mostly other kids from our school) I </span><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">got the
chance to </span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">ask
our clergyman teacher what I thought about Omar and why I thought the way I did. So I argued that if Omar hadn't converted to Islam at that very early stage of
Islam the prophet’s enemies probably would have killed him and no Islam would ever
come to exist that we now argue about the Sunni or Shia of it.</span><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">In
response by totally ignoring the historical context I was giving him he carried on with
emphasizing on why Ali (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali</a>)
was a more important figure in history of Islam by mentioning some of the great
things he had achieved in service of Islam.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">I already knew what he was saying about Ali
and obviously the importance of Ali wasn't a reason to convince me why Omar wasn't important “enough” to be appreciated or at least not hated by Shiites. So I acknowledged
what he said about the significance of Ali but I also asked that maybe Omar doesn't deserve the hatred we are meant to give him as Shia Muslims because of his
role in saving Prophet Mohammed’s life in early days of Islam. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">I
could read from the clergyman’s face that he already had enough. He tried to
stay calm and he attempted again to convince me by emphasizing on Ali’s
importance (totally ignoring my question was concerning Omar’s role) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">This
time he made a totally irrelevant example about when Mohammed paid to
compensate Abu Bakr (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Bakr">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Bakr</a>)
when he helped him to flee Mecca (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hijra_(Islam)">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hijra_(Islam)</a>
) while he didn't pay Ali at all even though during the same escape Ali also helped him (by sleeping in his bed made the besiegers think Mohammad was still at
home and bought time for him to escape) he argued this was because Ali was
meant to be a part of Islam so therefore Prophet didn't have to pay him while
Abu Bakr wasn't meant to be a part of Islam so the Prophet had to pay him off
for his help!!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">To this I first acknowledged that Ali was meant to be successor of Prophet and part of Islam as he was saying but in addition argued that Ali was Mohammad’s
cousin and still very young and Mohammad was </span><span style="background-color: white;">also</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">like a father to him but Abu
Bakr was a mature man who had family and a few wives to feed. Maybe that was
why Abu Bakr was paid and Ali wasn’t?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">This
was the last straw. He looked back at me completely frustrated and angry and shouted that: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">“Omar
has taken the ‘Light’ from us. Don’t you understand?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">From
the ‘Light’ I knew he means prophet’s daughter Fatima which Shia believe was
unjustly killed by caliph Omar. He then continued
by urging the attendants to say ‘Salavat’ multiple times (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_be_upon_him_(Islam)">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_be_upon_him_(Islam)</a>)
while I was so daunted by the possible consequences of the mess I stupidly put
myself in that I blended in with the ‘Salavat’ frenzy and shouted ‘Salavats’ as
loud as everyone else. And I made sure my angry clergyman teacher saw me while I was responding to his call for ‘Salavat’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">When ‘Salavat’ session was over, deep down I was still not convinced with
insignificance of Caliph Omar in Islamic history and that I needed to hate him
as a historical figure from a Shia perspective.
But fearing the clergyman’s worst reaction if I continued questioning I
pretended that I was convinced with his “has taken the light” argument and walked out as soon
as I could without offending anyone. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">This
encounter didn't make me to leave Islam. It didn't even make me to
stop calling myself a Shia Muslim. At the time I didn't even know enough about fallacies to understand the teacher was avoiding my question about Caliph Omar by emphasizing Ali’s role all the time. <o:p></o:p></span><span style="background-color: white;">But I could feel there was something wrong.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">That night when I was walking back home I explained it to myself that the clergyman was a backwardly Muslim and I was a progressive one so t</span><span style="background-color: white;">hat was why he couldn't understand all the progressive things I had to say! And in my thoughts I blamed him and people like him for putting others off from "Progressive Islam"</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">The progression which in my opinion now will inevitably ends in Atheism ...</span></div>
Sindbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383370896981421222noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4772019915664722393.post-654226870021262832013-03-29T11:52:00.001-07:002013-09-30T03:56:50.729-07:00Ice Lettuce<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">By: Sandbad Ex Muslim</i><br />
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US">It was after work, just end of another
pointless day in Wigan. As usual on my way back I went to town center to shop
for some groceries to prepare dinner. At that time of day Wigan town center offers two types of shopping. First is a massive Morrisons super
market selling all different sort of things and second a local
market with many small shops in it. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I walked past the Morrisons and made my
way into local market and went straight to where a green grocery ran by a group of bearded and mustache-less men is located right opposite a chip shop which sells
fried half chickens. Didn't feel like chicken that day as it was what I had for
last several days so went straight to greengrocers to buy some salad veggies.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Asked for prices, cucumber was 70p each, ice lettuce 69p each and tomato 1.70 per kilo. Couldn't help not saying something to the greengrocer with his distinctive bearded and mustache-less appearance so I joked:</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">You planning to bankrupt Morrisons or what?
You are selling ice lettuce much cheaper! </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">He asked in response:</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">How much is ice lettuce in Morrisons? </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“One pound” I said and while I was picking the tomatoes and putting them inside a plastic bag I said:</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">You would expect Morrisons to sell ice
lettuce much cheaper! Isn't it? If you as a small shop can sell them 69p each and
still make a profit we can assume Morrisons should be able to sell them even cheaper as it owns an established chain of supply and a massive economy of scale.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Then </span>I passed the bag full of tomatoes to greengrocer to weigh and looked at him unsure
of his reaction to the comment I just made. I was more
expecting him to remain silent and say nothing in response but he looked back at me and to my surprise threw
his shoulders up and while he was holding the bag full of tomatoes in his left hand he raised his right hand in the air as if he was giving a speech to a whole crowd and with a
feeling of relief and enthusiasm said:</div>
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<span lang="EN-US"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“Yahood*”! They are “Yahood*”!!!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I couldn't hold myself from laughing after seeing his reaction and hearing his response. So while I was laughing I tried to sound disappointed and unsure and I told him:</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">You are stereotyping man! Its not right! I know Jewish people who
are not greedy like that.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">He looked back at me with all his doubts clear on his face. Then he turned around and got busy with weighing and preparing my bags leaving me to stand there by myself. I didn't say no more, only my hand reached and touched my face just to remind me that I hadn't shaved for a whole week and that </span>I massively look and sound middle-eastern at the same time.</div>
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<br /></div>
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After a while he turned back and handed over my bags. I paid the money and when he was giving back my change, in order to thank me for shopping from his shop he said:</div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Thank you “brother”! </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And I walked away with my ice lettuce, c</span>ucumber and tomatoes thinking
of the new friend I just made.</div>
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<br /></div>
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*Yahood = Jewish</div>
Sindbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383370896981421222noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4772019915664722393.post-30816660431171717842013-03-19T15:29:00.000-07:002013-09-30T03:56:29.650-07:00Righteousness in Islam and BNP<br />
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<br /></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<i>By: Sandbad Ex Muslim<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>Member of CEMB, Founder and Organizer of Northern Ex-Muslim meet up group<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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I was reading through Alistair Barbour’s 'anti-nationailst' Weblog <a href="http://alistairbarbour.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/propaganda-instead-of-policys.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">here</a> where I came across this leaflet <a href="http://www.bnp.org.uk/sites/default/files/ybnp_keepsafe.pdf" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">http://www.bnp.org.uk/sites/default/files/ybnp_keepsafe.pdf</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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Apparently published to warn younger BNP members from falling victim to child groomers!</div>
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Being an ex-Muslim this really attracted my attention due to its heavy use of race and appearance (stereotypic Islamic appearance in this case) as a factor to identify child groomers.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
Being from Iran and having lived a majority of my life under an Islamic theocracy which follows the same populist approach in its propaganda against the west (heavy use of stereotypic images and indirect brainwashing) and as an atheist and ex-Muslim; seeing this leaflet I found myself stuck between two extremes of which neither I can relate to.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anti-US_Tehran.jpg" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anti-US_Tehran.jpg</a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/herwigphoto/2325197354/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">http://www.flickr.com/photos/herwigphoto/2325197354/</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">(Examples of Iranian stereotypic images and Propaganda)</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I have rejected Islam 'and religion in general' and 'as an atheist' I obviously can’t join the extreme Islamic side of the dispute since non-questioning believe in Islam and its official political perspective is the basic requirement of joining the Islamic league. </div>
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On the other hand I can’t become a white British person neither in order to join the BNP side so looking at this leaflet and being from Islamic “race” but no longer a Muslim I feel as being stuck in no man’s land with bullets flying over my head fired from one side by Islamic extremists and on the other side by BNP.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
This leaflet is supposed to be a guideline to keep the youth from falling victim to child groomers but in my perspective it fails to do so for several reasons.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Firstly; its emphasis is mostly on the foreign roots of some child grooming cases that have happened in the recent past here in the UK, rather than the more obvious and universal signs of child grooming. </div>
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It is racially based to a level that if the offending paedophile “to be” will be a person from white British background this leaflet almost entirely fails to provide any hint or protection to a potential victim. So in my view by referring to a few well known cases of Muslim child grooming cases the subject of child grooming is being used as a tool to publish racially motivated propaganda by BNP.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Second; this leaflet has a very simplistic approach to a whole complicated social problem. It depicts a certain group of people as the cause of the problem and totally ignores underlying issues behind it. Just as Nazi regime blamed Jews; Iranian Islamic theocracy blames America and Israel, now BNP is indiscriminately blaming brown and bearded Muslims for being the people who are solely responsible for child grooming in order to build up support around the BNP’s racist agenda. </div>
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As if resolution of this problem is a natural consequence of getting rid of all brown and bearded Muslims.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Going back to the subject of Muslim child grooming gangs, during my schooling years in Iran I was introduced to Islam’s “Islamo-centric” point of view which commonly causes Muslims to accept they are superior to everyone else as a result of being Muslims. To me this introduction happened during what I now call a systematic government sponsored brainwashing as a part of normal schooling program in Iran – I later on rejected these ideas and the superficial feeling of superiority which came with it, but I can imagine these men committed and then justified their outrageous acts of child abuse as a result of a similar “Islamo- centric” mind-set.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I think the false feeling of superiority that they had over their victims on ideological and maybe a lesser extend racial bases made them able to commit these acts and then to justify their behaviour for their own consciences. I think as Muslims they saw themselves as legitimately having the “right” to act the way they did towards their victims and saw their victims as deserving no better treatment. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So in conclusion with their racist point of view, “them and us” point of view, the Muslim child grooming gangs depicted in BNP’s leaflet saw the white victims of theirs as worthless subjects for their sick sexual fantasies who didn’t deserve any better treatment, and so they justified themselves on racial/ideological grounds for inflicting the suffering and abuse they caused to their victims.<o:p></o:p></div>
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While in retaliation with their racist point of view, “them and us” point of view, the BNP is distracting people attention from the real extent of child grooming/human trafficking/child abuse and the real issues behind it concentrating on few incidents of child grooming committed by Muslims to present a simplistic racist propaganda against brown skinned and bearded Muslims.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So this is more like a clash of two racist/extremist ideas to me. On both sides they are unrealistic, ignorant and have simplistic approach to issues. Both sides are hollow and I don’t expect them to do anything for the good of the mankind.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And I leave the reader with a question. Perhaps the most popular case of child abuse/grooming during last and this year was the one from Jimmy Saville – if his victims had known about this leaflet – and followed it line by line – how could this protect them from a paedophile predator who was going to receive a knighthood later on in his life? </div>
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Or perhaps Saville’s case isn’t too bad from a BNP perspective because Saville was a white British person? <o:p></o:p></div>
Sindbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383370896981421222noreply@blogger.com2