In a society which trains its citizens in the art and philosophy of achieving instant self-gratification, of becoming thoroughly submerged in one’s own bubble of pleasure, it becomes dangerously difficult for one to develop a world consciousness and concern for others. The intensity of this struggle is signified by the fact that one has to cultivate his concern for society without the help of society, and consequently, many will often be left aside to froth around in the artificial sands of their own world. Yet, for the most part, that world too is not even their own, and is rather the mass amalgamation of what the rest of the world (as they know it) is – from idolizing celebrities that they wished they were, to chasing after the will-o’-the-wisp of appearing important and popular in the eyes of other people (assisted through mediums such as Facebook), to engaging in intense debates on the most frivolous of issues that have no actual connection to their own life (including sports), their mind and efforts become wholly tied in a struggle and existence that is not theirs.

Although there are profound exceptions to the portrait painted in the first paragraph, it can be said that instant self-gratification is certainly one of the loudest messages sent out by American culture. Indeed, the lingua franca of popular American culture is actually the entertainment industry with all its various manifestations. The stars who dominate the scene are envied in almost all aspects of their lives, and Americans will feel proud to buy their expensive memorabilia.  This is not to say that all Americans have souls made of plastic, as indeed the world does poke holes in their bubbles of life and pleasure – but still, the ubiquity of the concept of (superficial) fun, as manifested in almost all aspects of society, from social networking to buying cars to even finding love, (as promoted by the equally superficial medium of television and visual imagery, which depends more on arousing our base instincts than appealing to rationality) significantly indicates the level of importance Americans attach to the concept of fun, as well as how vulnerable they themselves are to such stimuli.

Tragically, the Muslim community is not immune to such inhibiting cultural influences. The first wave of immigrants, indeed, mostly came to fulfill this very quest, to find the material success that was glamorized for so long in their own home countries. Yet there were a few who actually were passionate for the Ummah (Muslim community), and from their herculean efforts, Islam managed to strengthen as their children were born. Now, as they themselves begin to recede back into old age and return slowly to their Creator, it is their children who are starting to assume responsibility and control the affairs of their communities. Though the older generation still retains a key grip, it should not be long before that too subsides, and leaves the world to their children. Yet for the Ummah to progress forward, these children will also have to move past the thinking that has plagued most of the elder generation, as well as overcome the new challenges presented by American popular culture.

Muslims, in their zeal to “integrate” often become afflicted with the same disorders as other Americans do. Our attitudes towards love are a clear example of our succumbing to the power of fun. Why does love have to be fun? Tying love with fun actually severely handicaps the power of love, as exemplified by our difficulty in loving someone for the sake of Allah. This often extends dangerously towards our level of love towards Allah and His messenger SAWS – how many times do we lose concentration because we are “bored” in prayer? This attitude also extends to our love of the Ummah: one can gauge the seriousness of the issue by simply looking at how deeply Islamic charities nowadays depend on holding concerts for raising funds for humanitarian causes, and how they sadly have big name Muslim celebrities entertain the Muslim crowds, in order to squeeze out money from the pockets of Muslims. This phenomenon, which has several variations (including basketball tournaments for charity), is extremely telling of the “Ummah consciousness” of a people, and their sheer addiction to fun and self-gratification, where they have to indulge themselves first before coming to the aid of the needy in their own Ummah. It does not seem to carry the same spirit of generosity and urgency when the Prophet (SAWS) said, “Guard from the Fire, even by giving half of a date fruit in charity.”

Social networking sites including Facebook and Twitter serve as another example of this phenomenon. The ideas of fun, frivolity, redundancy, and sheer narcissism promoted by these sites completely redefine our attitudes towards our lives. Before Facebook, one could feel perfectly content to have a sum total of dozen or more friends–but now, 12 looks likes a terrifyingly tiny number, and can become a cause for losing self-esteem. Yet if a person has a thousand friends, they will feel like an accomplished person of great importance and relevance, even if they are doing nothing on the grander scale of contributing to humanity or serving God. The “like” feature also ties into the same concept, serving as nothing more than fuel for narcissists on their personal pages. What is the purpose and ultimate consequence in liking the fact a friend went shopping that day? Equally disturbing is the practice of frequently updating profile pictures, of showcasing the same person in different poses and settings – a practice completely unnecessary for facilitating communication, yet needed for the purposes of communicating self-obsession and glory. (Ironically, many scoff at dictators for plastering their nations with pictures of themselves, without realizing that they themselves are guilty of the same practice online.) Also, prior to Facebook, individuals with a less than normal social aptitude would be inevitably forced to learn the dynamics of building personalities and interacting with people at some stage in their life. With Facebook, the person will perhaps never learn, having finally found a venue to voice the sounds of their soul without hesitation. Some also have experienced that using Twitter extensively damages one’s ability to expound upon reflections and thoughts – one will simply send out 140 character messages and feel the urge is gone. In essence, Muslims need to be aware of the inherent orientations of the tools they use, and realize that technology, just like “culture,” is not as neutral as it may sometimes seem to be – and to embrace everything in the zeal to “integrate” may not be in the best interests of the Ummah.

Many will be inclined to think the previous narrative as slightly exaggerated, perhaps more applicable to the youth than the adults. But even the most fundamental concept of American culture, the American Dream, – which concerns all Americans  –  reeks of such individuality. From their early years, Americans are taught that this Dream lies chiefly in attaining affluence and pleasure (with their different manifestations), which in turn mostly hinge on education and assimilation. Thus, the entire effort of their lives, from education to love to business to travel, becomes a part and parcel of living that sacred Dream. Those who do not possess the prerequisites of this Dream are left alone to find refuge in drugs and gangs – but for those who do, the world is clear and straightforward. Sadly, this does not leave much room for building altruistic goals, of nurturing a true “Ummah consciousness” – although one can certainly develop a caring or generous character whilst living the Dream, one cannot experience altruism at its most powerful level, because the Dream inevitably revolves around oneself, and does not make much room for the dreams of others.

It is indeed incredibly unfortunate to see Muslims in America, who arguably possess the highest potential for bringing the most change in the world due to their unique position of both understanding the worldviews of the East and West as well as living in the country with the most power and influence over the world, become muted as their energies drain into the endless spirals of the American Dream. This perhaps can be attributed to both internal and external factors: on the one hand, the ceaseless bombardment from society does its damage, but on the other hand, inside forces including parents and friends also do admirably well in keeping the next generation focused on achieving their American Dream. After having finally broken away from the strong currents of society (and that being an accomplishment on its own), many greatly talented Muslim youth will find their will and zeal to devote their life to the Ummah flatly rebuffed by parents who care more for filling the lives of their children and families with luxury than responding to the dire pleadings of the Ummah worldwide.

Authorities in northern Kelantan state, which is ruled by the Islamic opposition party PAS, said the Islamic currencies would be used in many shops in the state in addition to the national currency, the ringgit.

“We have over 1,000 shops that have signed up to our campaign and agreed to accept the dinar and dirham for the purchase of goods,” state cabinet minister Husam Musa told AFP.

He said signboards have been erected in the main market in the state capital Kota Bharu to show the conversion table between the dinar and ringgit, and participating shops will display stickers to encourage people to use the coins.

“The response has been very positive and all the coins which were worth a total of 2.0 million ringgit (629,000 dollars) have been sold out at the launch today,” said Husam, who is in charge of economic and finance planning.

According to Islamic law, the dinar measures 4.25 grams of gold, while the dirham is 3.0 grams of pure silver.

A golden coin is equivalent to about 582 ringgit (183 dollars) while the silver coin is worth around 13 ringgit but their values fluctuate according to market prices.

Husam said the dinar and dirham currencies can also be used dealings with state government agencies, such as paying “zakat”, or alms for the poor.

There has been a long debate in Malaysia, a Muslim-majority country with large ethnic Chinese and Indian communities, to introduce the coins as legal tender nationally.

Former premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, whose administration promoted a moderate form of Islam that emphasized economic and scientific development, shot down the proposal to use the Islamic currencies.

But his predecessor, Mahathir Mohamad, was an advocate of the dinar system and urged Muslim countries to use it as a trade instrument.

The debate has died down since current Prime Minister Najib Razak came to power last year.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden told Palestinians today that they deserve a “viable” independent state with contiguous territory.

Biden’s comments appeared aimed at reassuring the Palestinians of U.S. support a day after Israel announced plans to build 1,600 new homes in disputed east Jerusalem. The Israeli move has overshadowed Biden’s visit, which is meant to promote U.S.-led peace negotiations that are set to begin in the coming weeks.

At a news conference in Ramallah in the West Bank with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Biden reiterated his condemnation of Israel’s plan and urged both sides to refrain from actions that could “inflame” tensions.

Growing settlements take up more and more of the land the Palestinians want for their state and make partition increasingly difficult. Today, nearly 300,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank and 180,000 in east Jerusalem.

The Palestinians want east Jerusalem, captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast War, as their future capital.

Israel apologized today for disrupting Biden’s visit with its announcement, but made clear it had no intention of reversing the order.

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said the Israeli announcement was “damaging” and posed a “great challenge” to restarting peace talks. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said the new construction would be the main item on the Abbas-Biden agenda.

“I think the Israeli government is making it almost impossible for us, the Americans and the international community, to take a one centimeter step in the direction of reviving the peace process,” Erekat said.

Abbas has said he won’t resume direct negotiations without a settlement freeze, leaving the U.S. no choice but to arrange indirect talks in hopes of ending the impasse.

Is the peace process doomed to fail? Here’s what some commentators say:

Bogged down by complexity:

Blogging for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Carlo Strenger suggests that part of the problem is there are no simple answers for who is right and who is wrong.

“More than anything, all sides want a morally simplistic picture: either Israel is the clear-cut bad guy in the story; a cunning regional superpower with colonial ambitions hidden behind pretexts about Israel’s security; or: Arabs have never accepted Israel, and are doing everything to undermine its existence. The truth, I suspect, is more complicated than the aficionados of moral simplicity would like. We should remember how long it generally takes for states to find their identity. Most European nation states went through major wars, whether civil or against foreign powers, in the process of welding an identity. And none of them turned into modern democracies easily or quickly.”

A reason to tread lightly:

The Atlanta Journal Constitution’s Jay Bookman writes that Israel is playing a dangerous game by insulting both friends and foes.

“It is hard to shake the notion that, having defeated the Palestinians militarily, the conservative Israeli government now feels no need to make peace, and little need to treat its foes and perhaps even its friends with respect. They have come to the place where war is more comfortable and reassuring to them than peace. But the truth is that Israel has solved its security problems only in the short term; its long-term strategic problems remain and in fact grow more difficult and threatening with time.”

A test of fairness:

JTA’s Ami Eden cautions those condemning Israel’s announcement should be watching Palestinian actions with the same critical eye.

“In response to claims that they are picking on Israel by focusing so heavily on settlements, the White House and left-wing Jewish groups often counter by saying that they are equally concerns about areas where the Palestinians need to do better, particularly on ending incitement. Well, it turns out that the Palestinians have their own timing issues: On Thursday, according to Palestinian Media Watch, the Palestinian Authority is planning to go through with plans to name a public square after Dalal Mughrabi, who led a 1978 bus hijacking in which 37 Israelis, including 12 children, were killed. Thursday is the 32nd anniversary of the attack. Biden will still be in town. So it’ll be interesting to see if he weighs in, as he did on the Israeli housing starts.”

Pointless proximity talks:

Blogging for Huffington Post, Oxford University’s Sharmine Narwani labels the indirect negotiations as Theater of the Absurd.

“Palestinians and Israelis are not even going to be at the table together. Mitchell could not even make that happen. This isn’t phase one of a longstanding conflict. These are adversaries who have sat across many tables and struck many agreements over the past 19 years. And so this is where we are in the gruelingly endless Middle East peace process. About a dozen steps back from where we started.”

Insincere efforts:

Writing for The American Spectator, David Gutmann argues that peace talks won’t work because Palestinians don’t really want their own independent state, and their previous actions serve as proof.

“Why won’t they accept the grant of statehood? To repeat, perhaps because they don’t really want their own country? There are, after all, many bounties attached to their current status, perks that would disappear under the condition of statehood. This is the age of the sanctified victim; and any person or group who can claim that title is automatically in a state of grace. Nobody is allowed to “blame the victim,” and so these lucky unfortunates can follow any course, however bloody, so long as they can blame their violence on their victimized condition. Convincing much of the world — including too many Jews — that they were the embodiment of the new Christ, the latest targets of Jewish savagery in the holy land, the Palestinians years ago captured the victim’s high-ground, and have since worked their claim for great profit

At least three Palestinians were killed in an exchange of fire with Israeli troops on the Gaza border early Tuesday, Palestinian sources said.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, infantry soldiers, tanks and a helicopter foiled an attempted attack, repelling Palestinian militants without Israeli casualties.

The militant group Islamic Jihad said its members had been involved in the incident.

News of the incident follows reports in the Israeli media that the air force bombed targets in Gaza overnight, killing a Hamas militant.

Tensions have run high along the Gaza border in recent weeks. Late last month an IDF officer who was killed in fighting on the edge of the enclave.

Gaza’s Hamas rulers have tried to maintain a cease-fire with Israel since the end of the Gaza war in January 2009. However, smaller militant groups sporadically carry out attacks.

Earlier this month, the militant Islamic group indicated it was trying to keep ttacks on Israel in check, following a string of Palestinian rocket assaults on southern Israel and retaliatory Israeli strikes.

Islamic Jihad said that on Sunday, Hamas police detained several of its fighters, along with those from another group, and made them sign pledges that they would not engage in attacks on Israel.

Most of the rocket attacks on Israel had been claimed by groups considered more radical than Hamas. These groups accuse Hamas of going soft on its armed confrontation against Israel.

Last year, Israel carried out a military offensive in Gaza after years of rocket attacks. Since then, Hamas has tried to avoid provoking sweeping Israeli military action and it has not claimed responsibility for any rockets for more than a year.