Further to the posts regarding Mani's alcohol problems...
Just how do the religious on here view addictions?
Some time ago Mani left his church because they were going to help street prostitutes (the ones with heroin addictions, not high class call girls who do it for the money) and yet he obviously struggles with his own addictions and appriciates help in the form of AA when its offered.
Theland has a smoking addiction. We all know how much smoking costs nowadays. Presumably he is still accepted in his church but would he be accepted if his addiction was crack cocaine? Where do religious folk draw the line at 'acceptable' addictions and non acceptable?
Keyplus on the other hand doesnt even drink alcohol and I have known many muslims who share his view and yet are addicted to nicotine. What is the difference?
wizard66 Tue 27/05/08 13:57
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Hi Wizard, My view would be to just try to offer support to anyone I knew who had an addiction problem. I dont think any addiction would make someone unwelcome.
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Well it certainly isn't religion.
Addiction is a habit (sometimes an illness) and it can be in many forms, some of them you have mentioned, some of them less damaging but equally take over someone's life.
A lot of modern people of religion offer help, guidance and counselling for addicitons where specialist advice is neither available or desired. Although many I know of will help by putting them in touch with an appropriately trained person or organisation for their specific needs.
I don't think there are any 'acceptable' or 'unacceptable' addictions, since they all affect different people in different ways. Religion is there to help people when they come looking for help. Mary of Bethany was probably the leading example of this.
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I will add a bit more to what Octavius said. Addiction is not only alcohol, nicotine or heroin. Addiction could be fame, wealth, fashion, gambling and many more. Islamic perspective is that anything which takes you away from God and is damaging for the society is bad. If you think you are better than others, or you simply bring unrest in the society because of your habit, then it should be discouraged. As far as help is concerned, there is no reason why we should not help people if they are trying to give up their addiction. Any other kind of help which would encourage them more into those things would only increase the problem. Now you have to decide what you call Help. When I see an addict in the street and they usually ask money saying that he/she is hungry. I know, if given, what they would use money for. So I always offer and if accepted would buy them food instead. No Cash sorry.
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I recall the muslim Chaplin at Cambridge University was on Radio 4's "thought for the day" on Friday.
He was discussing performance enhancing drugs in examinations and mentioned that muslims see alcohol as diminishing your inherant capabilities but caffeine and nicotine as acceptable because they do not (or enance it).
Don't correct that, it's not my opinion but his.
After all it leaves the door open to all sorts of stimulants
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In that case what would be the difference in the performance of someone who has eaten and the one who has been starving for days. Shall we ban food as it would give advantage to one on the other. I am not that Muslim Chaplin but all I would say this question is not only for Muslims then Islam forbids any substance which can damage society. Islamic doors are not closed after just alcohol etc. Otherwise Islam would have been outdated as Heroin was not there at that time. Islamic teachings are about usage and consequences and not the substance.
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Question Author
Have to agree about giving money to street addicts keyplus, also what you say about other addictions although my primary question concerned substances.
I have cause to walk past a local mosque on a regular basis and many muslems stand smoking, I absolutly fail to see how nicotine can be enhancing as the muslem cleric quoted by jake said. If that is the case then lets all take speed to increase our creative abilities.
On the other hand Ive known many christians to look in horror at smoking whilst enjoying alcohol with a meal.
I was also going to say that talking of banning of food is not germaine to this discussion but then realised that some people are addicted to food. And ive seen a lot of overweight people of ALL faiths.
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Are smoking and drinking alcohol whilst people are eating comparable with each other then?
I may be wrong, but I thought jake's cleric was saying that certain addictions to substances enhance or diminish capablities (alcohol, performance, or illegal drugs etc) whilst others (nicotine and caffeine) don't.
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My smoking addiction is now history, thankfully, and i just hope I don't give in to the inevitable temptation to go back on them.
There are no, "acceptable," addictions, but as keyplus said, addictions come in many forms and flavours.
Michael Douglas was treated for an addiction to sex, many so called celebs are addicted to publicity, and of course, substance abuse is the most common of the addictions. But any unacceptable behaviour can become addictive, such as gossip, one upmanship, follower of fashion etc etc. All are unhealthy, and diminish our humanity.
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Theland – Michael Douglas’s addiction is very understandable when you have wife like Catherine Zeta Jones. I do not blame him. lol
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