USAGE OF TV AND THE PRINCIPLES AND GUIDELINES OF PROPAGATING DEEN - PART ONE

The fitnah of Dajjal isn't a futuristic catastrophic clash with a gigantic prehistoric monster sporting a huge eye smack dab in the middle of his forehead who will suddenly emerge 'towards the end of time', as we would like to believe, or perhaps should I say, as we are led to believe. In fact this is how complete the deception of this fitnah is, which earns Dajjal the title of "Grand Master, Artist and Architect of Deceit and Treachery," that while this debilitating and paralyzing fitnah continues to persistently and viciously eat away at the very core of human existence and vicegerency on earth, in our minds we have relegated this greatest test of all times to a mirage of the future, something we can't see even if we craned our necks to look. We eagerly buy into this idea due to it's immense appeal and suitability - the fact that it further enhances and enforces the hollow complacency and indifference that has blanketed the Muslim Ummah today, that we can continue to enjoy the pleasures this worldly life has to offer without our peace and comfort being disrupted in any way. This is a grave mistake we have made, a deadly one which could prove fatal to our Iman, that is if we don't decide fast enough to awaken from our slumber and smell the poisonous coffee of deception that is brewing all around us, even in our very own homes. The stark reality of the matter is that the fitnah of Dajjal isn't merely 'an event that will happen much later and we probably won't see it in our lifetimes so why worry and lose sleep over it,' but it is a trial that is deeply rooted in the past, and in full bloom in the present. It is a fitnah which we are facing at this very moment, a fitnah which is surrounding us from all sides, a fitnah which is affecting and shaping each and every one of our lives, a fitnah from which are busting forth upon us stormy, unrelenting oceans of pitch black darkness, in which we are swimming in, are immersed in, and which threaten to totally engulf us, overwhelm us, and suppress us into spiritual oblivion and extinction. A vivid picture of this era which we are going through, painted by our beloved Nabi sallallahu alaihi wasallam in a famous hadeeth, comes to mind, "Soon there will appear such fitan (trials and tribulations) which will be like pieces of a pitch dark night, in which a Muslim man in the morning will be a kaafir in the evening, and a Muslim man in the evening will be a kaafir in the morning, having sold his Deen for a paltry sum of this Dunya."

A highly significant thread, and perhaps one of the most important, in this web of deceit that is being continually woven around us is the invention of the television. Indeed, it was with the introduction of the TV into literally every home that Dajjal and his henchmen and minions gained and solidified once and for all complete control over the lives of Muslims physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially, finally forcing that chosen group of humans into complete subservience, which would normally and historically only bow down to The Creator - Allah SWT. This 'all seeing one eye' invaded the privacy of honourable homes, brought in and welcomed eagerly by the Muslims themselves, and given center stage in the sitting room. It exercised it's magnetic pull on every member of the household - young and old, and turned the home which was once an exemplary model of honour, morality, respect, dignity, and humility into a sordid, despicable, and gut wrenching display of violence, murder, foul and filthy language, music, idol worshiping, illicit relationships and immorality, explicit sex and sexual acts, drug addiction, alcoholism, disrespect, and much more.

As if all this wasn't enough, the TV turned into Dajjal's most effective weapon of psychological warfare. In fact, it was specifically designed to brainwash viewers with subliminal messages that enter deep into the subconscious and shape a person's thinking, views, and beliefs, thus chaining the unsuspecting victim into total mental and ideological slavery. This concept of mind control through TV is very informatively explained in an interesting article I recently came across, which I am including here for the benefit of my esteemed readers -

  

Many people may not realize that when they turn on the television in their home, what they see as a constant flow of images is actually flickering. Although we do not see this consciously, the repetitive pattern of flickering images creates a state that is similar to hypnosis in the television viewer.

Studies by researcher Herbert Krugman have shown that within 30 seconds of television viewing, brain waves switch from predominantly beta waves, indicating alert and conscious attention, to predominantly alpha waves, indicating an unfocused, receptive lack of attention.

The brain's left hemisphere, which processes information logically and analytically, tunes out while the person is watching TV, while the right hemisphere of the brain, which processes information emotionally and non-critically, is allowed to function without hindrance. Due to this phenomenon, television transmits information, which is not actively thought about at the time of exposure, much like hypnosis. When viewing television, we do not consciously rationalize the information resonating within our unconscious depths at the time of transmission and the viewer becomes more open and suggestible.

Because of the passive, hypnosis-like viewing of television as well as its predominance in the homes of nearly all Americans, the television is one of the most powerful tools used today. As of 2009, six companies controlled all of the major media outlets in the United States. That is a very small number of people controlling all of the information that streams into millions of homes across America each day through their television sets. In recent years, a number of investigations and exposes have revealed that these giants’ silence independent voices and investigations, discourage journalism that interferes with the agendas of special interests, and eliminate diversity in the information they provide. Because of the control that these companies have over the information that most Americans receive on a daily basis, these criticisms and revelations are never known by most of the American public.

These media giants work hand and glove with the federal government as well as many multinational corporations to disseminate carefully planned messages. Through the television and other forms of media, they tell you what to think about, what to worry about, what to smile about, and what to be scared of. They have sold the public on the idea of the newscaster being an extension of the family, a trusted figure who encourages the acceptance of the information being presented as true and accurate. In 2008, the pentagon spent more than $2 billion compensating major media outlets for disseminating public relations messages. These messages are delivered to the television viewer as news produced by the television station, not as paid and produced by the pentagon. In the same year, pharmaceutical companies paid television outlets more than $4 billion for advertising, which included Video News Releases (VNR), specially tailored pieces that appear within the nightly news disguised as researched and reported by the local stations.

And yet while all this has been happening behind the scenes, the American public has been duped into staking all their trust in select major media outlets as they express brand loyalty in television stations, newspapers, and magazines. Many people have been tricked into believing that the mainstream media reports only objective news while any information delivered from outside the mainstream is to always be questioned. Somehow the public has bought into the idea that the TV wouldn't lie to them. Many people will not pay any regard to information that is not covered by the major media; if they did not hear about it on the nightly news then they simply don't care. This is the mindset that the major media moguls want us to have, as we are willfully ignorant and obedient to their every direction. Our unanalytical and loyal viewership is in their best interest.

Major media news networks continually bombard us with the possibility of an endless amount of scenarios, which produce fear and then shape our reactions to real situations. This is predictive programming; it gets us familiar with an idea so that when it happens we expect it and do not react and question.

Although most people refer to television programming as the shows that are aired on television, it can also refer to the programming of the people that occurs on a daily basis. Most people believe they are just simply being entertained, but they never realize that their way of life is being shaped for them and their thoughts are actually being given to them. They are being familiarized with ideas, concepts, and fear so they won't question certain interventions in the future.

TV gives us what messages must be imprinted in our minds, gives us what button to push in what sequence, and if it's done the right way with the right production and the right propaganda then the public will react and do exactly as they've been programmed to do.

When one continually controls the information, one controls the people absorbing the information. The manufactured and controlled information on TV can be referred to as the signal and that constant signal is what shapes and guides the masses to their conclusions. In order to take back our minds, we must first learn to "Unplug the Signal."

By turning off your TV you will realize the world that you're living in is suddenly very unfamiliar to you. You will see that news of no importance is constantly debated and analyzed, and as you listen to the conversations of people around you, you realize they're talking robots just repeating what they've heard on the news. This is exactly what Zbigniew Brzezinski talked about in his book "Between Two Ages". He said, "Shortly, the public will be unable to reason or think for themselves. They'll only be able to parrot the information they've been given on the previous night's news."

It is for these very clear reasons (besides of course, the fact that a TV displays animate pictures, which are haraam in Shariat) that our Akaabireen - our great Ulama - have unequivocally declared the TV to be outright haraam, with absolutely no exceptions, and have spent more than half a century in trying to warn the Ummah in every way possible of the dangers that lurk in this seemingly harmless entertainment box.

With this article (Part 1) serving as an important introduction that is crucial for us to understand, we will inshallah continue in Part 2 with the main purpose and objective of our writing this.