Guessing the spiritual future

Spirituality has always been subject to trends.  Influenced by everything from geography to technology, the metaphysical inclinations of society can serve as evidence of the unseen processes and forces shaping the direction of human civilization.

Previously, it was possible to discuss and debate the spirituality of the human species in terms of its various societies.  However, we are now entering a new phase of civilization marked by the rise of a global society.

It is true that this global society is, to a great extent, simply a patchwork of individual nations and communities.  However, the same can be said for human consciousness: the mind is made up of all its many individual neurons — and yet it is also somehow, almost ethereally more.

In likewise manner, at some point during the next few centuries a true global society will emerge from its constituent cultures.  So, the question I put to you now is: what do you think will be the initial spirituality of the global society?

Leave a comment below or click here to take a poll.

The Religions of the Future?

A new religious movement (NRM) is a term used to refer to a religious faith or an ethical, spiritual, or philosophical movement of recent origin that is not part of an established denomination, church, or religious body.

Christianity and Islam were NRMs once upon a time.  My question to you, dear reader, is which of today’s NRMs do you think is the religion of the future.  Click here if you want to know what the heck I’m talking about and to take a poll.  }:-)

The Resurrection of Michael Jackson: what if his death is history’s greatest publicity stunt?

This may be my most cynical blog post ever, not to mention the one most likely to inspire a tidal wave of hate mail roaring my way.  Here goes…

What if Michael Jackson isn’t really dead? What if, in fact, his purported demise is an enormous publicity stunt, and he’ll moonwalk out of his open casket on live television in front of billions of viewers?

There, I said it.  I said it!!! *hides behind a rock.

In truth, I believe the closing years of Michael Jackson’s life was a tragedy as immense as his sheer talent.  Each and everyone one of us who devoured all the news stories about “Wacko Jacko” are responsible, in some small way, for the Hell that so clearly became his existence at the end.

Nevertheless, if he’s faking his death, it would be a feat worthy of the gods!

Contest announcement: Russianize this famous American icon

To all graphic artists:

The neweurasia network is launching a new recruitment and advertisement drive.  We need the image of America’s most famous icon, Uncle Sam, to be “Russianized”, “Sovietized”, or “Islamified”.

The winning image will first appear on the new neweurasia website.  It will then appear on pdfs and posters that we will be spreading throughout the online and offline worlds.

Deadline:
- Midnight (GMT) this Sunday!

Prize:
- €50 / ≈$70
- “Uncle Sam image by…” credit on all reproductions

Keep in mind that hundreds of thousands of people will see this image and associate it with both neweurasia and your name.  So use your imagination — but be quick!

Additional rules:
- Please do not include any text in your image.
- Send it to me as a jpg file.

Good luck!

Chris Schwartz
Managing Editor, English
Mobile: +31 6 191 51733
Skype: cschwartz2

An Islamic blogging hub?

Nugroho Khoironi Zahra, in his LinkedIn discussion question, “Should we respond to non-moslem’s campaign for anti-islam forums?” alerts us to a very troubling phenomenon: when searching the Internet for topics on religion, Islam in particular, the great bulk of material is sensationalist and xenophobic.  It seems the anonymity of cyberspace evokes people to the grossest outpourings of ludicrousness. 

So, I’ve just had a crazy idea: while there are many, many voices of believers and friends to Islam in the Islamic blogosphere (what I jokingly call the “Islamosphere” or “Allahosphere“), what seems to be lacking is a kind of central Islamic hub for Islamically-themed blogging, be it liberal, conservative, Sufi, Muwahiddun, Sunni, Shia, believer, friend of the faith, etc.

There already exists the blog aggregator/engine Hadithuna, but it’s not exactly what I have in mind.  Essentially, my proposition is online citizen-journalism as applied to the umma in its entirety. 

Two possible venues that already exist which could possibly serve as springboards: Sifr Nil’s cyberquran and Robert Salaam’s The American Muslim.  The former right now is focused on mystical poetry, but the author has expressed interest to me in expanding his purview; the latter focuses on the American umma, but he has announced interest in expanding, as well.  Or the community could simply start something new from the ground up, servers, website, and all.

What are everyone’s thoughts as to the feasibility and justice of such an endeavor?  Leave a comment or fill out this poll.