harbans wrote:I also don't see why you still think that I am "equating" geography with the spread of Islamic ideology. I have expressed what I believe are the very real geographical factors that have influenced the spread of Islam and why they are relevant in our region today. I am surprised that after all the explanations from many posters, you apparently cannot tell the difference between these two ideas.
Rudradev Ji, on one note if at all you wanted to find fault with a reading of your post, you should have with Devesh's conclusion from your writing..and i quote again:
basically the ideology is not suitable for fertile lands, which is what RD says.
That should have raised your hackles if at all...but you choose to defend that assertion. No the ideology is unsuited at all times to any geography.
Harbans ji, one simple question: what exactly do you mean by "unsuitable?"
I use it in the sense that an evolutionary biologist may use it to describe selection pressures. As for example, "tropical waters are
unsuitable for the breeding habits of the Atlantic Salmon." Of course, this is from the point of view of the object being studied, i.e. the Salmon.
In this case the object being studied is the Islamic Kabila. And yes, as Devesh-ji says, it is less suited to fertile lands.
A fertile land has more resource centers, trade routes and market centers than a Kabila can monopolize, simply by acting as a mobile armed camp. If the Kabila wants to monopolize these things in a fertile land, it must invest to some extent in the factors of production there. The process of investment makes a Kabila settle down and become weak. Therefore, fertile lands are relatively unsuitable to an Islamic Kabila just as inhospitable lands are very suitable to an Islamic Kabila.
This is the sense in which Devesh ji (and Rajesh A-ji, Carl ji, Johnee G-ji, Ramana ji and everyone else who has responded to my post) understand my meaning of the word "unsuitable".
You alone, in this discussion, appear to be using the word "unsuitable" to mean something completely different. So what do you mean by "unsuitable"? Do you mean immoral, adharmic, inhumane etc.? If that is what you mean then you haven't understood what I am saying, and you are simply getting stuck on semantic hurdles. Repeating that
That ideology i repeat is unsuitable to any geographical location.
only underscores your fundamental confusion on this point.
So stop misleading folks.

I consider the membership of BRF my intellectual peers if not betters; they are not dimwits who can be "misled" by something I post on an internet forum. Certainly they have the capacity to understand and critique it for themselves.
Geographical factors have only impeded the spread of Islam, not curtailed it. It may have had some impact in the past, but it is meaningless and plain rubbish to keep repeating that today that it helped in the past.. we see how ruthlessly our culture has been eradicated in Pak/ BD.
It has
not been eradicated. Bengali culture is alive and well. Punjabi and Sindhi culture are alive and well. They have been displaced from the lands of present-day BD/Pak for the time being. That is all. They survive and thrive, and the time will come when they can reoccupy those lands.
And there is no comparison between the present state of Bengali/Punjabi cultures vs. the plight of pre-Islamic Byzantine, Egyptian, Persian or Mesopotamian cultures... which amply proves the relevance of geography.
You seem to be using "Soft" to mean "tolerant towards the infidel." That is a completely different usage of the word, and has nothing whatsoever to do with my theory. In no way are the Kabila of TSPA/ISI, or their Tanzeem apparatus, "tolerant towards the infidel"
Rudradev Ji.. What exactly do you mean it had nothing to with what theory. You only mentioned this:
The LANDS of West Punjab, Sindh and Eastern Bengal are currently dominated by Muslims: but as I have explained, the geographic nature of these lands means that any Muslim domination of them swims AGAINST the tide of history. A Muslim power that takes hold of these lands will, of historical necessity, become a soft Kabila.
Once again Harbans-ji, you are asking "Who is Sita?"
Here is what is meant by a SOFT Kabila, in the sense that I use it.
SOFT Kabila equals a settled Kabila that is no longer mobile, ruthless and maneuverable because it has become too "settled". It is too heavily invested in the territory under its control. This makes it inefficient, corrupt, and vulnerable to attacks by other strong and mobile Kabilas.
SOFT Kabila does NOT equal a Kabila that is "tolerant" or "kind" towards kaffirs. In fact, many SOFT Kabilas become
especially harsh in their persecution of infidels as an overcompensation for missing the traits of a strong Kabila. This is exactly what has happened in TSP.
That is as simple as I can make it.
Lets be clear on this..
1. Doctrinal spread has little to do with geography.
If doctrinal spread has "little to do with geography", why were there no Christians in America before 1492?
That is as ridiculous an assertion as I have ever heard. What is "Doctrine"? It is the codification of principles in an ideological belief system. An ideological belief system is an essential characteristic of a society. And EVERY society to ever exist on earth has been influenced, at the most profound level, by the geography and climate of the land it inhabits.
If you want to argue this point, you will have to debunk every system of social sciences in existence, because they all recognize (as a fundamental precept) the influence of geography and climate on the evolution of human behaviour and belief systems.
2. Protection of some cultures escaping alien doctrine may have a little protection and time because of geography.
What else would geography give them, except resources and time? Is it a Magic Bullet? Is the land itself going to open up and swallow the invader? Is the sea going to part for the refugees, and then drown the pursuers? Of course it is time and resources... everything else is fantasy from Hollywood blockbusters or the Bible. But the consequences of geography affording time and resources determine the life and death of civilizations.
2. Adharmic doctrines have no basis anywhere, whatever the geography may be.
It is utterly useless to argue that something has "no basis" when it has an existence. Islam exists. What are you going to do about it? Saying it has "no basis" is not going to get Pakistan or BD back for you. Studying the weaknesses of the Kabila system in those countries is at least a beginning.
Fact: Kabila system prospers, endures and successfully extinguishes pre-Islamic cultures in certain geographies. Fact: Kabila system becomes weakened by investment and "settling", and it is also less able to extinguish pre-Islamic cultures, in certain other geographies. Islamic ideology does not need to have a "basis" for either of these things to happen. They have already happened.
The basis of strength in our country, our Dharma lies in our belief on these 3 above.
This unique definition of Dharma as lying in these three beliefs must be specified in some shruti which I have never encountered.
Your post weakens that fundamentally.
Sir, maybe your Dharma can be "weakened fundamentally" by a discussion on an internet forum. My Dharma is stronger than that. The Dharma of hundreds of posters on BRF, and of 800 million Indians, is far stronger than that. It is not a paranoid doctrine that relies on stifling the spirit of inquiry and censoring the thoughts of its adherents, in order to be "strong."
We already have people quoting you, saying that some doctrines are valid in some geographic locales.
Please point out to me where I said anything about any doctrine being "valid". I have said that certain geographic locales are conducive to the prosperity of particular doctrines, being that their expansion is based on the Kabila model. I have further said that other types of geographic locales are less conducive for those doctrines.
Where does the question of "validity" arise? If anyone has quoted me as saying that Islam becomes morally "valid" in certain geographies then they are misquoting me. Devesh-ji has not said anything like that, and neither have I.
Pakjab is the last example of a soft Kabila one can give..
That is because you still don't understand what is meant by a "soft" Kabila.