TED Community » Mostafa Gaafar

More About Me

I'm passionate about

Petroleum engineering, tech, web, computer science, entrepreneurship, ideas, creativity & synergy.

An idea worth spreading

I do believe the most underrated idea in our time is one's right to follow his passion. The current education model is based only on market needs and not what the learner yearns to become. Education should shape the market not the other way around. I also believe soon enough this education system will fall and an new model will take over that thrives on passion, creativity and entrepreneurship.

Talk to me about

Music, books, tech, politics .. almost everything.

Comments

• TEDCred score: +2120.20 TEDCred reflects your contribution to the TED community.

• +2

  A comment on Conversation: If you could have done any other career what would it have been?

  Jan 13 2012: I think a more pivotal question is: Would you still do it even if you don't get paid?
  That's what really assesses your true incentive.

• A comment on Talk: A robot that flies like a bird

  Jul 22 2011: Maybe soon enough man will be able to fly with one of these on his back
• +2

  A reply on Talk: Lesley Hazleton: On reading the Koran

  Jan 17 2011: @Richard. Yes the Koran and Hadith do state the punishment for many acts, but they also are full of verses about God's forgiveness, so nobody can say someone is destined to an eternity in hell.
  
  I'm not only saying that burning the Koran should be a crime, but insulting others beliefs invariantly and I think every believer would agree with that. The punishment for such a crime should never be death or anything violent, but a more civilized punishment of a fine or so.
  
  Every religion believes in justice after death, yet punishment is life is essential to preserve order and peace in the world.
  
  And please let's keep this conversation civil since you cannot claim to know whats in my "heart of hearts" and have no right to judge my faith.
• +2

  A reply on Talk: Lesley Hazleton: On reading the Koran

  Jan 16 2011: @Richard. You are right such extremists do not regard themselves extreme at all. Which directs attention to your excellent question of whom to ask about Islam. The Azhar hold the authority of issuing fatwa in the Islamic world and its also the oldest and largest Islamic University in the world. If you are interested in learning you can always find a close mosque in your city. Also this page is quite useful
  http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/
  
  About burning the Koran, I consider it a direct insult to all muslims and an act of discrimination that ought to be punished by law and you may disagree, but ,in my opinion, freedom of speech and expression does not justify discriminating against others.
  
  No one can claim to know how God judges or punishes sinners, but we trust he's just and merciful. It's inconceivable to stop punishing crimes relying on God's punishment. We might as well not punish a murderer and leave it to God by the same logic.
• +5

  A reply on Talk: Lesley Hazleton: On reading the Koran

  Jan 16 2011: @Zdenek Smith. You are completely free to criticize Islam as much as you want. Actually, you'll find plenty of criticism in this very thread. Asking and thinking about religion is encouraged, but offending others and insulting what they hold most sacred won't accomplish anything but mutual hatred.
  
  When you or Richard bring out questions and criticism about Islam you'll receive answers and explanations and you're absolutely free to accept or reject them, but when a man plans to burn the Koran, or any other sacred book or symbol, in public this can't be called criticism. It is blind prejudice and hatred that no cause can justify and should be prohibited by law much like racism.
• +2

  A reply on Talk: Lesley Hazleton: On reading the Koran

  Jan 16 2011: Unfortunately, yes the numbers are significant. My point is that these numbers do not represent true Islam and they should not the stereotype. This people are as misled as terrorists who blow up civilians thinking they're serving Allah, or crusaders who committed horrible wars in the name of God, or young American soldiers who die along with Iraqi civilians everyday in the name of war on terrorsim.
• +1

  A reply on Talk: Lesley Hazleton: On reading the Koran

  Jan 16 2011: Winston, please refer first to this article.
  
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_Golden_Age
  
  Muslims did not conquer these countries, they were already conquered by persians and romans. As you said, muslims let the locals govern their own countries as part of the Islamic Caliphate. These countries prospered like they never have before. It wasn't until the Mongol invasion and the fall of the caliphate that they began to decline.
  
  Actually most of the scientists of that era were polymath scholars who contributed to religion as much as science, which would not be unless they were dedicated muslims. When Islam ruled these countries no one was forced into Islam and there were no pogroms. Muslims never did destroy a church, which is evident by thousands of churches here in Egypt, they respected others' beliefs.
  
  Please Winston, read the article I posted and consider the possibility that you may have been misinformed about Islam.
• +2

  A reply on Talk: Lesley Hazleton: On reading the Koran

  Jan 15 2011: This is exactly one of the cases I mentioned earlier, Richard. It says that the Egyptian law, which is mainly derived from Islamic rules as an Islamic country, does not oppose or punish this conversion, but only a few radicals threaten the life of those who convert. Were they a majority, the man and his daughter would be already killed.
  
  I read about a similar case when a christian woman converted to Islam and had to flee her house as her own family tried to force her back into Christianity. Both Islam and Christianity allow conversion, yet there exist less tolerant minds on both sides.
  
  I assure you that most muslims are moderate, but the problem is that one single terrorist bomb is louder than a thousand peaceful muslims.
• +1

  A reply on Talk: Lesley Hazleton: On reading the Koran

  Jan 15 2011: Richard just aroused some common misconceptions about Islam in what seemed to me as an honest attempt to further understand Islam. We'd be defending Islam in a much better manner by correcting him instead of attacking him.
  
  People in the west are deeply misinformed about Islam so we need to be more patient and tolerant with their inquiries.
• +2

  A reply on Talk: Lesley Hazleton: On reading the Koran

  Jan 15 2011: Winston, I do not live in a western country, I live in Egypt. Also, praying 5 times a day takes about 20 minutes total. leaving plenty of time for whatever activities you like.
  
  Arab countries are not what they look like in Hollywood movies, we do not live in tents we live in houses and apartment. We do not ride camels we have every make of cars you can think of from Fiat to Porsche, actually I've never seen a camel except at the pyramids for tourists to ride. You'll be surprised if you look up Cairo on Wikipedia.
  
  Muslims believe the purpose of their creation is worshipping God (hereafter) and building the universe (life). This very balance between life and the afterlife is what made the early islamic civilization what it was in its golden age when enlightened muslims laid the foundation of all modern science from medicine to mathematics. And the lack of this balance is the reason why this civilization is falling behind today.