Page 101 - The Debased Culture of Superficiality

Harun Yahya - Adnan Oktar 99

common pleasure in gossiping. However, as stated earlier,
Allah tells us in the Qur’an that gossiping is a disgusting
activity.
. . . Avoid most suspicion. Indeed some suspicion is a
crime. And do not spy and do not backbite one another.
Would any of you like to eat his brother’s dead flesh? No,
you would hate it. And have fear of Allah . . . (Surat al-
Hujurat: 12)
Because these kinds of friends have the same way of
thinking, they also share a common superficial culture. Even
in a crowded environment, these people will recognize one
another and seek one another out. Although their lifestyles
may not be the same, when they spend time together, they
are more comfortable than they would be with someone else.
But this ease does not arise from intimacy, love, respect or
trust; it is a freedom that results from living the same super-
ficiality and understanding the same language. When these
same people see another with a higher morality, they know
that such an individual could not live in their debased cul-
ture. For this reason, they always choose as their closest
friends those who share the same morality.
When they cannot act freely in the presence of others with
a high standard of morality, they sit back in silence. Because
they cannot display the shallow behavior of their debased
culture, they withdraw mentally and physically. They carry
on hesitant and artificial conversations and appear very
hard-pressed not to reveal themselves as they really are.
Instead of being altruistic toward their friends, they are
actually selfish, proud and arrogant. Such a person always