思想自由是人们想当然认为自己拥有的东西。没有人会觉得自己的想法不属于自己。然而事实上,绝大多数人的思想都受到更大的社会力量的严重支配,甚至被彻底操控。当今那些高调张扬(又令人厌烦)的“自由思想者”也不例外。

Freedom of thought is something all people assume they have by default. No one thinks his thoughts are not his own. In reality, the vast majority of people’s thoughts are heavily dictated and outright controlled by larger societal forces. Today’s loud and proud (and obnoxious) “free thinkers” are no exception.

这是一个更宽泛的例子。如果我告诉你，伊斯兰教与美国（以及西方）的价值观之间存在明显的冲突，会怎样呢？

But here is a broader example. What if I were to tell you that there are clear conflicts between Islam and American (and Western) values?

我不打算就这一说法再作展开，因为这并不是重点。重点在于，在许多美国穆斯林看来，即使只是认为穆斯林身份与美国人身份之间存在冲突，这种想法也几乎等同于亵渎。

I am not going to elaborate on this claim because that’s not the point. The point is that even the thought that there is a conflict between being Muslim and being American is considered all but blasphemy to many American Muslims.

现在停一下。如果你读完上面的内容后感到恼怒、愤慨、难以置信，或者正在想这句话错在哪里，请停下来问问自己：为什么？这样一个简单的论断，为什么会让你如此不适？它本身并不是亵渎的，也与神学无关。而且，即使只从抽象层面看这个论断，它也很难说有多奇怪，或值得愤怒，哪怕它最终被证明是错的。要理解这一点，不妨问问自己：伊斯兰教是否与越南的价值观相冲突？是否与智利的文化价值观相冲突？你可能并不知道，但这是有可能的，对吧？为什么不可能？那么，为什么人们对美国或西方尤其敏感？

Now pause for a second. If you are reading the above and feel annoyance, anger, incredulity, or you’re just thinking about all the ways that that statement is wrong, stop and ask yourself: Why? Why should this simple claim cause you so much discomfort? It’s not like the claim is actually blasphemous or has anything to do with theology. Also, when you think about the claim in the abstract, it is hardly peculiar or worthy of outrage, even if it turns out to be wrong. To understand this, ask yourself: Does Islam conflict with Vietnamese values? Does Islam conflict with the cultural values of Chile? You probably don’t know, but it is possible, right? Why couldn’t it be? So why the sensitivity with America or the West in particular?

我注意到自己身上的这一点。我发现，当我试图在心里明确提出“伊斯兰与美国价值观可能存在冲突”这一主张时，竟然犹豫了。我感到一丝不安和畏惧，这让我对自己感到不安。这清楚地表明，我的思维在很大程度上受到所处环境的影响，而我自己甚至并未意识到这些影响。

I noticed this in myself. I noticed that I hesitated in even articlating to myself the claim that Islam and American values could potentially ever be in conflict. I felt a tinge of discomfort and trepidation and that bothered me about myself. It was a clear indication of how my thoughts are deeply influenced by my context in ways that I am not even aware of.

我的观点并不是某种相对主义、透视主义、后现代式的废话，诸如“我们都有偏见”之类。认知偏见是可以超越的。我们做法是使自己的思想与内在状态与至高的真理相符合，而这要通过遵循圣行（Sunnah）来实现。

Now my point is not some relativistic, perspectival, postmodern nonsense about how “We are all biased,” etc. It is possible to transcend these cognitive biases. We do this by bringing our thoughts and inner states in conformity with the Higher Truth. And we do that by following the Sunnah.

据传，安拉的使者ﷺ说道：

The Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم is reported to have said,