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Note: This is one Muslim person’s view of the Harry Potter series. I doubt that this person speaks for the entire Muslim population.
IS not Harry Potter indicative of a larger deterioration of the moral fabric in man?
Why does entertainment and fun draw millions of people and why does worship and spirituality lead to boredom?
Do the Harry Potter books not glorify magic and sorcery? Is the evil of sorcery and magic not being sugar-coated?
Why are the non-magical people in the books despised and portrayed as boring and narrow-minded?
Does not Harry and his classmates cast spells, learn to tell the future, communicate with ghosts, study astrology and crystal gazing?
Will you as a Muslim parent allow your child to engage in such actions?
Is it acceptable to fight “evil magic” with “good magic”, as Harry does? Are not both evil?
Don’t the main characters in the story unapologetically lie, steal, bully, break rules and disrespect their elders. Does this not teach children that unruly behaviour is acceptable?
Has not mankind sunk to the lowest ebb when baseless fantasy controls society, considering that the release of every new edition is anxiously awaited by millions of children (and even adults!)?
Can such extreme devotion and fanaticism to a book glorifying the occult be justified?
Are not young minds impressionable? Would it not be a better world if reading material for the young mind promotes morally sound content?
Should we turn a blind eye to the content of the Harry Potter books and allow them to continue controlling our children, our homes and our pockets?
COUNCILLOR SALIM MULLA
look…im a muslim and in our holy book, the quran, it says that there is such a thing as magic, so magic does exist, but it is all bad. and our teacher told us it’s fine to watch and read harry potter as long as you don’t actually believe in the good magic stuff
I am a Muslim scholar and also happen to work with Cllr. Salim Mulla for a regional charity. I have to say I completely disagree with his opinion of Harry Potter. I doubt that he has read the books, nor is he an authority on Islam or, for that matter, on fiction. My dissertation for my first degree was on the theories behind fantasy, which can be found on my website, the exact location of which is:
http://www.trollking.co.uk/modernmyth
J K Rowling has done the genre and books a huge favour by making reading popular again amongst children, young people and adults, and reading is unarguably a great boost to educational attainment. It is also undeniable that Harry Potter deals with the theme of good versus evil, with Harry often taking the moral high-ground even when dealing with his enemies, e.g. in Deathly Hallows, instead of stunning an enemy pursuing him on Broomstick, he instead disarms him.
As for the subject of magic, I doubt if Cllr Mulla or I myself can say authoritatively what is right and what is wrong categorically.
The Harry Potter series has hidden symbols all through it. Only in the end did Rowling tell us that Dumbledore was a homosexual outright, but we will see this in the new Half Blood Prince movie. In the opening scene, Dumbledore goes to the bathroom to leave Harry with Slughorn. When he comes back out, he says he was engrossed in reading the womens magazines.
I don’t judge other people for their behavior, but I do object when this behavior is shoved in front of me against my will. I am not a homosexual and I don’t want to think about what homosexuals do. Now I can’t read any of the books or view the movies without imagining who Dumbledore has had sex with, or who he might be thinking of having it with. It has ruined my enjoyment of Dumbeldore’s otherwise interesting character.
But it gets darker than that. Rowling has symbolically represented the Death Eaters as Muslims. When are brought to Malfoy manor in the Deathly Hallows story, the first thing we see are peacocks high on a fence. Then as we enter the room where Voldemort is, one of the first furnishing discussed is a large mirror on the wall. Mirrors are used throughout the Harry Potter stories with a negative connotation.
Here is something from faithfreedom.org:
“5. How the provision of five prayers was ordained?
From the light of Muhammad, Allah created a peacock and placed it atop a Sajaratul Yaakin tree. Sitting atop this tree, the peacock prayed to Allah for seventy-thousand years using rosary beads. Then Allah constructed a mirror of shame and stationed that mirror in front of the peacock. The peacock was overjoyed witnessing its extraordinary beauty, so much so, that it prostrated to Allah for five times. This example, later, became the tradition of compulsory five prayers among the faithfuls of Muhammad (pbuh).”
This story is not only about Good vs Evil, it is also about Christianity vs Islam. In Islam, snakes in a house that won’t leave are interpreted as devils. This theme, too, is reflected several times in the Harry Potter series.
I have read all seven of the books at least three times, and three of the books I have read six times. I have watched each of the first four movies at least one hundred times each. I can now see numerous symbolic gestures that identify the Death Eaters as Muslims.
I am not a Muslim. I had spent over $200 on the books and movies, thinking I was reading clean entertainment. After hearing about Dumbledore being a homosexual and seeing the religious hatred being replayed in the symbolism, I threw all my books and movies in the trash, where they belong.
Hello all,
i too must agree that there was no need to highlight Dumbledore’s sexuality in the way Rowling did. She could have done this in the books if it was important to the story (Deathly Hallows) and some would say it was in his relationship with his once friend then later enemy.
As for the matter of the Death Eater’s being Muslims, I refer to David Thomson’s reference to peacocks and mirrors, these are not authentic traditions in Islam so have no direct bearing on Islam or Muslims. I did find the comparison of Harry and his friends as ‘terrorists’ interesting, especially the way the media was turned against them. This reflects the experiance of Muslims in the UK. As such it would seem that Harry, despite the connotations of Christianity in the books, is made sympathetic for Muslim readers too. The Death Eaters seem more like Free Masons or Templars to me than any faith group.
i doubt that Nasrullah is a muslim scholar, what kind of a religious scholar will try to ok something for himself so that he wont feel any guilt. And you also speak of homosexuality as the norm. I really doubt that you are one.
O’ ye of little faith. Please read my dissertation first before you get yourself all worked up. I’m not going to debate my qualifications with you. Did you know that the origin of fantasy is the Arabian Nights stories, written by a very famous Muslim scholar? I have no guilty concious, becuase, obviously, i’m a monster. Whatever.
Look, I’m not muslim 9in fact im not even of age) but i think that this is a completely ludicrous view of the “Harry Potter” series in fact it angers me to think that people would believe such things saying Harry Potter is evil is like saying Wiccans and Witches are evil: its just a justification of holdingh someone back from their rightrs as citizens or people: especially the right to fully chose their own path! as for the comment on Dumbledore’s sexuality well i find it immature and unnecessary epecially because i belive in relaeasing such news Madame Rowling was trying to send a message to the people of the world; “Even the greatest people can be different and you have to get used to it!” (You may qoute me as that is my mantra) also i find it extremely immature that someone would dispose of some of the greatest literature of my generation just because they disagreed with the sexual preference of one of the characters and i also find it hard to belive that said offeneder could possibly have seen the movies over 100 times… it is just illogical; only a true fan would do such a thing and obviously he is not of that stature (or else he just outragously homo-phobic)… in short dont hate on others cause they’re different just leave em alone and they’ll leave you alone oh and have a wondefull holiday season!!!!
i am a muslim and as far as i know,reading any form of literature is allowed in islam n then it is for u to decide wat u thuink u shud or shudn’t.bt drawing such comparisons about muslims as portrayed in potter series seems …ridiculous. death eaters…?i hav read the books n enjoyed them thoroughly.
So by that same logic, Superman is evil because kids are going to be influenced to jump off a building. And Bugs Bunny and the Warner Brothers characters are evil because kids are going to be influenced to drop anvils on peoples’ heads. Now that I think of it….any and every cartoon from my childhood is evil…
Kids don’t take these things as seriously as you are taking them now. They read the books, they enjoy them, they are motivated to read, and they grow up and realize it was all in fun. They don’t grow up to practice Wicca. You obviously have not been around very many kids.
The series also DOES promote “sound moral conduct.” Through Harry, Dumbledore, and friends, children learn about bravery, integrity, patience, humility, civil disobedience, and compassion among many other virtues.
Also if you think muggles (non-wizarding folk) are despised and thought of narrow-minded, then you haven’t read the series. In fact, the only wizards who despise muggles are the ones who are portrayed as “evil” in the books. They want to see an end to muggle civilization and want to get rid of anyone who is not of “pure blood”– that is, someone of mixed muggle-wizard blood. The GOOD wizards in the book, on the contrary, try to protect muggles from attack and are of themselves of mixed blood. Even the leading female character in the book was born to muggle parents who are portrayed as loving, supportive parents.
Read the book before you comment.
Actually, I would have thought he was getting off on the women’s magazines, lol. Either way, it’s more of a tip to fans, people who appreciate it, and a bit of a joke.
It’s not “shoved in your face against your will,” you dumb cocksucker, you don’t have to watch the fuckin movie.
Either way, there’s really no place for homophobes in the world anymore. It’s just as bad as racism. Bye *waves* Go home. Go back to the antiquated, obsolete and consequentially-remote era you came from.
Bunch of fuckin’ Bible/Qu’ran-thumping morons. Pray to a non-existent God more, please.
Bitchass niggaz.
Dan, you sound so enlighted and open minded. Not. Can someone at least edit out this neaderthals use of profanity?
I love how you attack me for narrow-mindedness and being unenlightened (with a Neanderthal reference thrown in for good measure), and then follow it up with “not.”
Come on. “Not”? We’re not still in the third grade, unless you’re a very, very gifted child.
Part of the implication of my post (and yes, with its intentional and calculated use of profanity and vulgar expression), was to highlight the parallels between my overtly offensive rhetoric, and the inherently *very* offensive material in posts such as David’s.
His outlook is closed-minded indeed, and not much better than condemning homosexuality by citing Leviticus while ignoring the rest of the (rather silly) things Leviticus prohibits; “rounding the corners of thy beard,” for example. It’s picking and choosing what is personally (and not truly morally) offensive, and asking other people– world-famous authors apparently being no exception– to conform to your own archaic and provincial worldviews, sensibilities and comfort-zone.
Homophobia is as unfair as it is illogical; while I’m neither gay or bisexual, I find it personally very distressing that we still see so much of it from *adults* in the 21st century, a supposedly enlightened era. It’s no better than racism… he would be jumped all over if he complained about race in the same context; such as expressing displeasure or outrage over Fred Weasley going to the Yule Ball with Angelina Johnson, a Black girl.
Rowling has gone out of her way to paint a moral background to the story; her use of Pure Blood/Mudblood is an obvious metaphor for any kind of bigotry, perhaps most specifically racism, but others apply.
Where Mr. Thompson got the idea that the death eaters represent Muslims, I haven’t the faintest idea… why anyone would draw parallels between peacocks and the Muslim faith also escapes me. Peacocks are, at least in Western culture, synonymous with pride. “Proud as a peacock.” And it is a Western perspective we must take when reading Harry Potter, I would have imagined that was obvious. The Malfoys are very proud, so it fits fine. There’s no deeper meaning than that.
By the way.. I do realize English couldn’t be your first language, but before making attacks on my intellect, please check your own grammar and spelling
Dodge more =x
I am a Harry Potter fanatic (I read/write fanfiction, read the books 24/7 etc), but I’m a Muslim as well. And I am proud of being a Muslim, and I love my religion. Therefore, I find it particularly distressing whenever Muslim leaders come out as being overreactive and somewhat ignorant.
I don’t think religion prevents imagination and creativity, considering the Islamic Golden Age in history, where art and science flourished, while Europe dwelt in the Dark Ages. Yes, magic (black magic) is illegal in Islam, just as it is illegal in Judaism and Christianity. But Muslim parents shouldn’t snatch the Harry Potter books out of their kids’ hands, just because of magic. Magic in books=fantasy. Fantasy is enjoyable and imaginative, and not at all a danger. Muslims believe the only kind of magic that exists is black magic, which is used to harm others, and that kind of magic is also in Harry Potter, called “Dark Magic” and potrayed as morally wrong.
Also, I think the whole “Muslims as Death Eaters” is untrue–JKR doesn’t support racism; actually, it seems quite the opposite, considering that Voldemort persecutes people because of what they’re born with, and/or what they believe. Doesn’t that sound familiar? If you want racist fantasy literature, read “The Horse and His Boy” by C. S. Lewis.
Yes, Harry and his friends break rules, but where would the story go without those rules being broken? Honestly, don’t pay excessive attention to the technical stuff; try to read the message in the text, one that has a lot to do with morals, believe it or not.
As for Dumbledore being gay… it could’ve been a publicity stunt, but I could care less. Rowlng stated that she’d always “thought of” Dumbledore as gay, and though Harry Potter is worldwide, it all goes back to one person–the author. The author is basically the creator of the characters, which makes her writing–as public as it is–a private thing simultaneously. Therefore, JKR probably always personally saw HER character Dumbledore as gay, and since so many fans ask her these questions, she’s got to answer them. The reader can also feel very privately towards the characters and the story, and if they just can’t accept Dumbledore is gay, that’s fine as well. I personally think it can go both ways–Dumbledore is gay, he isn’t gay. Dumbledore’s homosexuality wasn’t extremely obvious in the books, and yet it makes a lot of sense now that the story’s been revealed… it depends how *you* interpret it as.
And peacocks represent vanity. Malfoys=vain. Same with great, big mirror. I mean seriously… they’re the MALFOYS. Of course they have a mirror in their house. And I’ve read translations of the Holy Quran and read the entire book itself in Arabic–and yet I have ever come across this peacock/five prayers per day story. Mr. Thomson, you have rights to your own opinion, but I think that you’ve made a huge mistake in interpreting the HP series as racist and giving up on it.
And, really, you can see SO MANY parallels between Harry Potter and our own world…. Cornelius Fudge is the politician afraid to face the facts, Rita Skeeter is the propaganda-spewing journalist, Azkaban is a lot like Guantanamo Bay, and Kingsley Shacklebolt may as well be Obama. I’m sure the latter was unintentional, but it’s a similarity nonetheless.
Oh, yes, and Dan… I have a religion and I think it’s okay to not believe in God, because religion is for some people and it isn’t for others (I have a few friends who are atheist and agnostic) but I find antitheism rather disconcerting. Forget God, okay? How about you work on humanity for a little while? Almost all humans are incapable of respecting each other; yes, all humans, regardless of gender, race and faith (or lack thereof). Yes, I believe in God, and yes, you don’t. Accept it. No reason to criticize us, and I definitely won’t be criticizing you—even if you do criticize my faith. The real challenge humanity faces is the lack of respect which can borders into intolerance. Really, why is hatred so attractive?
Also, I found this very offensive: ” By the way… I do realize English couldn’t be your first language, so before attacking my intellect, please check your own grammar and spelling. ”
English “couldn’t be” Nasrullah Anwar’s first language? I don’t know Mr. Anwar, but guess what? He could be a Western-born Muslim who was taught English from an early age, for all I know. Not only that, but I think you should know that English is taught in Pakistani schools from a young age (and that includes grammar, spelling etc.) because Pakistan used to be part of India, and India used to colonized. So if I were you, I wouldn’t be making judgments on someone’s name, as exotic as it is. You know Ebrahim Patel? He’s Muslim, and he’s a Rhodes Scholar and Oxford graduate. Or perhaps the deceased Benazir Bhutto? She was fluent in multiple languages, English being one of them. (She also went to school at Harvard and Oxford. No lie. Look it up.)
Xona
I mean to say–
“which borders into intolerance”; I was just rephrasing that sentence and forgot to take on the “can.”
I’d just like to say a big hoorah for Xona. I’d also like to add that I majored in English at Buckinghamshire Chilterns University and have a Executive Diploma in Management Studies from Lancaster University. I am myself an author of fantasy fiction (www.trollking.co.uk for more info) and fully support Xona’s comments. There are a few reasons why I didn’t check my ‘grammar and spelling’, 1. I’m working on a really small keyboard (netbook), 2. This is a forum, people don’t even use proper English in forums they normally use abbreviated slang, lol.
My attack wasn’t on Islam at all. It was more on the dogmatic tenets people cling to as with any religion; Christianity in particular, but also Judaism and Islam.
My mention that his native tongue couldn’t be English had nothing to do with his “exotic name,” as that would make little sense. Plenty of people have so-called exotic names but are immersed in English from the cradle to the grave. It was the manner in which he made grammatical and even semantic errors in his writing that were, to me at least, indicative of a non-native, if fluent English speaker.
I have no issues with Islam at face value, the same way I don’t have (too many) issues with Christianity at face-value, merely the various ways people have perverted and adulterated it to suit their own needs.
Condemnation of homosexuality is one such example; when your god hates all the same people you do, you can be certain that you have created Him in your own image.
And explain to me just how Kingsley Shacklebolt could possibly be Obama? First off, even if Rowling had an American mindset (she’s a Brit), Obama only came to prominence in the last couple of years, and really only VERY recently, whereas Shacklebolt cropped up in the HP series when, in 2003?
Furthermore Shacklebolt’s race… isn’t important. Nor, really, is Obama’s, at least in the grand scheme of things. If anything, Hermione Granger’s future ascent into a Ministry position as a muggle-born is more akin to Obama, as both come from historically oppressed backgrounds (although, Obama is half-white). Even that’s a stretch.
When you say that almost all humans are incapable of mutual respect, I feel you may be either projecting your own feelings of mistrust of the human race in general, or simply generalizing very specific instances. Certainly, you do not have a large-scale survey at hand with which to confer. It’s a rather silly claim to make, as it’s not really quantifiable much less verifiable.
Whoa! Dan, this was what I specifically said about Kingsley Shacklebolt and Obama…:
” Azkaban is a lot like Guantanamo Bay, and Kingsley Shacklebolt may as well be Obama. I’m sure the latter was unintentional, but it’s a similarity nonetheless. ”
I specifically stated that I was sure that such a thing was *unintentional*. I made no “claim” whatsoever. This is just ONE of the parrallels I *personally* see between Harry Potter and present-day politics. Not just because Shacklebolt is black, as is Obama (biracial rather, but still half-black), but also because Obama is closing Gitmo and Shacklebolt gets rid of the dementors in Azkaban.
And I guess you could say I “mistrust” the human race, considering how they’re behaving lately. But I do believe that we’re capable of respecting each other’s beliefs. I don’t like religious radicals either, people who tell others how to live their lives–because they have no right whatsoever to tell others what they should be doing, what they should be believing. That’s God’s job. And a major part of Islam is choosing what to believe. Sadly, people are forgetting that, but you can’t condemn all religious people as being eager to shove their religion down your throat, because not all of them are like that.
As for English being Nasrullah Anwar’s first language. . . a lot of American teenagers make grammatical errors much worst than Mr. Anwar’s misspelling of the word “neanderthal.” And English is THEIR first language. You just came off as very snide when you said that English couldn’t “possibly” be his first language, is all. Sorry if I misinterpreted that.
-Xona
Also, just let me clarify this: ” And I guess you could say I “mistrust” the human race, considering how they’re behaving lately. ”
I didn’t mean your words in particular, but the hate and violence humans have been engaging in since, well. . . I can’t say for sure, exactly, but for an excessive amount of time no doubt.
All I can say is that there are far too many people these days looking for conspiracies in everything. I’m a muslim, I’ve read all the HP books and seen all the films, but I never once thought that J.K was secretly making refernces to islam. I agree with Sarah, if someone wants to they can easily look for evil in everything, even the most innocent of things.
Anyway, I just want to say I LOVE the Harry Potter books, pure genius from J.K Rowling.
I’m Muslim,too.)
I think we can read and watch Harry Potter ,but God gave us a brain ,so we have to use it,if u understand what i mean….