Is this Islamic joke disrespectful of Islam and Allah or not and why?

Question

Nasruddin was determined to be decisive and efficient. One day he told his wife he would plow his largest field on the far side of the river and be back for a big dinner. She urged him to say, "If Allah is willing."

He told her whether Allah was willing or not, that was his plan. The frightened wife looked up to Allah and asked forgiveness.

Nasruddin loaded his wooden plow, hitched up the oxen to the wagon, climbed on his donkey, and set off.

But within the short span of a day the river flooded from a cloudburst and washed his donkey downstream, and one of the oxen broke a leg in the mud, leaving Nasruddin to hitch himself in its place to plow the field.

Having finished only half the field, at the sunset he set out for home exhausted and soaking wet. The river was still high so he had to wait until long past dark to cross over.

After midnight a very wet but much wiser Nasruddin knocked at his door. Who is there Asked his wife.

I think it is me, Nasruddin, he replied, if Allah is willing!

http://www.islamcan.com/cgi-bin/increaseiman/htmlfiles/static/113159680730468.shtml

Let me make this perfectly clear. This is a joke told by Muslims for Muslims. It is not a Western joke about Muslims.

skonch01: That is precisely why I am asking the question because as noted above it is a joke told BY Muslims.

I think what is going on here illustrates the utter mass confusion we Westerners have about Islamic humor and about Muslims and humor.

Let me repeat: this is NOT my joke, it is NOT even a Western joke about Muslims. It is a Muslim joke told BY MuslimsTO Muslims.

If you bothered to check the source I gave above you would see that I got this joke FROM an Islamic website.

http://www.islamcan.com/
http://www.islamcan.com/cgi-bin/increaseiman/htmlfiles/static/113159680730468.shtml

yourbreak...: It would be wise to check your facts before you call someone a dumbass.

saraahlan...: Thank you for your comment. I'm guessing you are Muslim. Do you find it interesting that you are one of the few people answering this question that did not find the joke disrespectful to Islam? And that's one of the points I'm making here....that we Westerners don't always know what is and what isn't disrespectful to Islam. Now how do we solve that problem?

I just noticed also and find interesting that although I asked that the answer include a statement about WHY the answerer thought the joke disrespectful or not, not a single person who thought it disrespectful was able to give any reason why. It's all just knee-jerk reaction.

Answer 1

Thanks for the story! I was introduced to Mulla Nasruddin by Iranian friends (so all you paranoid types predicting a Muslim backlash can relax now). Nasruddin is sort of a "wise fool" used to tell stories that teach a lesson -- as this one taught about not trying to do things without checking to see if it is God's will. I love them and have a small book of them, but my favorite is one that someone told me:

Mulla Nasruddin was sitting under an almond tree near a pumpkin field. He wondered, "Why did God make such a little vine to support a pumpkin and such a big tree to support an almond? Why not have the big tree support the big pumpkins?"

Just then, an almond fell on his head.....


(think the lesson is obvious..)

Answer 2

Actually it is a funny joke. And it is not disrespectful of anything. Its just a play on words. Its not disrespectful since it is making a point that after the guy looses all his stuff he falls back in line and starts being a good Muslim and saying "If Allah is willing". The phrase is common in Muslim culture as we believe everything happens with God's permissioon.

A joke becomes abusive when you start to show hate and intolerance towards Islamic values and the Quran and stuff.

Answer 3

As the web-page points out, Muslims and Christians will find this joke funny for different reasons. I don't think that it is disrespectful of Christians, but based on how many Christians would interpret it, our interpretation might be offensive to Muslims. The web-page comment was correct in that most Christians would find it funny because it seems to highlight the common Muslim misunderstanding of what Christians mean by the phrase "Son of God" -- the rickshaw puller sounds like an uneducated hick to a westerner. It also highlights the Christian perspective that Muslims seem to be always trying to compete with, or "one-up" Christians.

Answer 4

I am a muslim and it is not disrespectful but funny. I already heard it beore though it was a bet different and we use it not as a joke but as an example for the importance to identify that the future is not in our hands but in Allah's hands. Any joke that is not insulting Islam, Allah, Mohammed (SAAW) or Quran will be tolerated by most moslems. Thank you for asking, you do not sound as Islam hater like most people in the religion category, they post non-subjective questions and they really seem that they do not wait to read the answers. peace.

Answer 5

I didn't find the joke disrespectful at all. Although the setting is very simple and agrarian, it's not quite a 'hillbilly' joke. And it does demonstrate the wisdom of deferring to the will of God, which a good Muslim (or a good Christain) would consider a good thing to do.

Hoping the best for you...

Answer 6

I don't think it is necessarily funny. Its one of thoses corney jokes that some people will find funny!! You actually have to be Muslim to truly understand it! Its not at all disrespectful!!!

Answer 7

Some muslims tell this joke or laugh at this? They need to get out more or hear more west or American jokes.

Shalom

Answer 8

I am a muslim this loke this joke is Gay but i have seen some worse ones

Answer 9

i dare you to go to an islamic country and say that joke of yours...... you'll be dead by the beginning of that joke....

its pretty obvious that the joke is disrespectful to islam and allah.

you are a dumbass

Answer 10

I'd be very careful about who I told it to. They're not known for their sense of humor regarding things religious.