THE DECEPTION YEARS PART 1
MEDIA DECEPTION
Abu Huraira (RA) reported: The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said, “Years of treachery will come over people in which liars are believed and the truthful are denied, the deceitful are trusted and the trustworthy are considered traitors, and the al-Ruwaybaḍah will deliver speeches.” It was said, “Who are the al-Ruwaybaḍah?” The Prophet said, “Petty men with authority over the common people.” (Sunan Ibn Mājah 4036)
Go to a search engine and search for keywords such as “what is the truth”,”truth or falsehood”, “what they don’t want you to know”.
We are all manipulated by the media. Do you think that the media is not a part of a bigger political agenda and a means of propaganda where the superpowers of the world, or the large corporations in the world, are not pulling strings to broadcast the agenda and brainwashing on a global level? None of the media is exempt, from social media, to mainstream news, to subtle messages in our education systems, ideas being indoctrinated in the name of art, agendas being disseminated in the name of knowledge. It is the media that influences social and political movements, governs the issues that we are thinking about, and even influencing how we behave, what you consider as correct, and what you consider as acceptable. There is a massive amount of information on this over the internet, if you search for them wisely, and can discern between entries which are real news, hoaxes and conspiracy theories.
In reality, the majority of society are silent hostages of media propaganda, which is bombarded upon them from every direction: they conform like sheep but without realising their own gullibility. Unfortunately, we are living in an era of elaborate and well-planned deception which causes massive confusion and falsehood. This confusion has crept into every aspect of the media and communication, from radio talk shows, education curriculum at schools and universities, and has even infiltrated into our deen. Such systematic deception continues to cause splits and cracks in society, causing rifts even between family members. This systematic deception is designed to erode religion, faith, culture and belief across societies, because once a person no longer has the anchor of faith or religious knowledge or identity, he becomes easy to manipulate.
This is the truth of us today. From top to bottom, in every aspect of life, on any topic, study the spin, hype and propaganda behind it, and it will reveal an ugly truth. Every time you feel that you have attained knowledge, there will be another layer of falsehood behind it, one after another. The main purpose of those in power is to hide the truth and make you believe that their agenda is the truth. Hence, they make us live in an illusion or mirage, to the extent that we have no direction or aim, and can be moulded to act and think the way they want.
Many scholars in Islam, learned people and even in the learned Christians talk about this issue, and if you search hard enough you will find their views.
The mass population of mankind today are living in a state of heedlessness, and mental imprisonment to the point that they are not aware, and do not even want to be aware, of what is actually happening. They no longer seek the truth, but accept bits and pieces of information as news, without any critical analysis or verification. As a whole, we are no longer a people of knowledge or truth anymore. We are satisfied with hearsay which is randomly dispersed to us, and don’t question, investigate or try to find the truth for ourselves.
For example, don’t we wonder why certain unimportant news items get such international widespread media coverage? More often than not, it is to hide or camouflage a more serious event in another part of the world, such as the brutality against the Palestinians, or the ongoing plight in Syria. Don’t you wonder why certain news is never reported on the mainstream media, for example, the wrongful death of one person in Europe will have headlines screaming all over the world, but issues such as random killings of Muslims do not even get a by-line. Massive bombings of innocent civilians by Western country is not labelled as terrorism. A mass shooter who happens to be Cauasion is a “psychologically disturbed lone wolf”, but a criminal who happens to be Muslim is an Islamic extremist.
In fact, look at how history has been written and rewritten, and the “truth” depends on the holder of the pen, not the actual events. On the other hand, there are media blackouts in certain countries where no one is allowed to voice out the truth. They are certain statements that are no longer allowed, for example regarding any negative comment about homosexuality, or even raising questions about historical events. The media has created a smoke and mirrors over the truth.
The lies and dishonesty stretch across all levels, from daily lives to historic events to even the products we buy.
Whereas, it is incumbent on every Muslim person to continue to seek knowledge before we speak or pass information. What we are hearing, saying, and spreading, is an amanah (trust) and we will be accountable to Allah for how we carry out that trust.
