Tag: society

Islam, Power and Change: My Reading of a Pattern History Repeats


Over the last few years, I have been noticing a pattern that feels bigger than daily news headlines. It is not just about Saudi Arabia allowing concerts, or the UAE opening casinos, or Europe suddenly becoming more vocal against Islam. When I step back and look at history, it feels like something deeper is happening.

This is not about Islam collapsing.
It looks more like Islam is changing its role in society, the way other major religions have done before.

A pattern I see repeating in history

Whenever a religion becomes dominant for a long time, history shows a clear pattern.

First, the religion grows with confidence. It gives people law, identity, morality and order. Early Islam did this extremely well, just like early Christianity.

Then the religion merges with power. It becomes part of the state, law, education and daily life. Clerics gain authority, rules become strict, and belief is no longer only personal.

After that comes overreach. Religion starts controlling too much — what people wear, how they live, how the economy works, what pleasures are allowed. At this stage, religion slowly shifts from being a strength to being a limitation, especially for rulers and elites.

Finally comes the most important moment: the elites start stepping away from religious control.

This is the stage I believe Islam has entered now.

Why Saudi Arabia matters the most

Saudi Arabia is not just another Muslim country. It controls Mecca and Medina, which gives it symbolic authority over the entire Muslim world.

When Saudi Arabia weakens religious police, reduces clerical power, and focuses on tourism, entertainment and investment, it sends a very clear message:

Islam will no longer run the state directly.

This reminds me strongly of what happened in Europe when kings reduced the political power of the Church. Christianity did not disappear after that, but it stopped controlling public life.

That shift changed Christianity forever.

The UAE shows the future direction

The UAE is showing an even clearer model.

Islam exists there, but mostly as:

  • personal belief
  • culture
  • identity

The state itself is focused on business, money, global talent and stability. Religion is not enforced, it is managed.

This creates two very different reactions among Muslims:

  • One group quietly adapts and practices religion in private
  • Another group becomes more rigid and aggressive because it feels religion is losing space

History shows this kind of split always happens during transition periods.

About Islamophobia in Europe

I don’t see rising Islamophobia as the main cause of Islam’s problems. I see it as a reaction.

Societies become tolerant when they feel secure, and hostile when they feel insecure. Europe today is facing economic stress, migration pressure and identity confusion. In such times, societies harden.

This has happened many times before:

  • Jews in Christian Europe
  • Catholics in Protestant countries
  • Buddhists during unstable Chinese dynasties

Islamophobia is not shaping Islam’s future. It is responding to a changing balance between religion, identity and power.

What I think will actually change

Religions don’t disappear. They transform.

What I believe Islam is slowly losing:

  • Control over law and state
  • Clerical authority over daily life
  • Moral policing by governments

What I believe will remain strong:

  • Personal faith
  • Rituals and traditions
  • Cultural and ethical identity
  • Family and community practices

Islam will not stay one single shape. Like Christianity, it will fragment into many forms — cultural Muslims, spiritual Muslims, political Islamists, secular Muslims and quiet traditional believers.

This fragmentation feels uncomfortable and even dangerous in the short term. But history suggests it usually leads to long-term balance.

So, is Islam falling?

I don’t think so.

I think Islam is moving out of its imperial phase, where it controlled power and law, and entering a post-hegemonic phase, where belief becomes more personal and less enforced.

Christianity went through this after the Renaissance. It lost power, but it survived.

What Islam may lose is dominance.
What it may gain is sincerity.

History shows that religions survive not by force, but by adapting to a changing world. Islam now seems to be standing at that exact turning point.

And history, as always, has seen this story before.

When You’re Judged Only by Results: The Unwritten Rule of Our Times


I was that kid who never copied in exams. Even when I knew I’d fail and get caned by teachers, scolded by parents, and laughed at by friends, I stood my ground. I believed honesty would eventually get me somewhere.

But life outside those dusty classroom benches? Oh, it plays by a very different rulebook.

Out here, no one cares how many nights you stayed up studying or how honestly you wrote every word. They don’t applaud your discipline or your quiet sacrifices. They only ask one thing: Did you pass? The world doesn’t celebrate effort — it only worships results. The process is forgotten; only the scoreboard shines.

I saw people who copied, cheated, and manipulated — and they didn’t just pass; they got medals, got applause, and even got the spotlight. And me? I was left clapping for them from the sidelines, still holding on to my moral certificate like it was a VIP pass to success.

Truth is, history remembers the winners, not how the game was played. We remember who won the trophy, not who played fair. In business too, people are judged by how big their bank balance is, not by the sleepless nights or the fair deals they kept refusing.

Somewhere along the way, I realized: society doesn’t run on sincerity certificates. It runs on headlines. And as long as you don’t get caught, no one questions your methods. It’s a harsh truth, but it’s the truth nonetheless.

But in today’s world, everything is fair in love, war, and the race for success. Marksheets don’t show how many nights you cried, balance sheets don’t list your sacrifices, and award speeches never thank the honest failures. Merits are judged only by results — the headlines, the trophies, the follower counts. It’s a jungle out there, and no one asks if you hunted fair — they only admire the kill.

In a world obsessed with results, playing it straight is not just rare — it’s almost rebellious.

Faking Life


Yesterday I was getting repeated calls from my Mom & Dad… I’m missed picking their calls… It was something & they have never done like this before…

Then I reverted back to their call at late night… My dad picked the call in the very first ring & he started shouting at me for up loading photos of me drinking toddy…

He said he didn’t like me posting such pictures… He said for the position I’m holding I must not do such things…

Immediately several questions flashed my mind;

  • Why should I fake my Life & live a masked life…
  • If wine tasting is a festival culture; why can’t I enjoy tasting toddy

Since I didn’t want to let down my father I immediately agreed to delete the pictures…

But really I feel frustrated for bowing down to emotional pressure which arises out of societal pressure #sucks….