It’s not just that, it’s the severity of lifestyle. What’s cool about this type of Islam to people that join is self-denial in pursuit of a “higher goal.” There is definitely a decadence/severity dichotomy in Islam (but people interpret it differently, of course).
Fremen live on a planet that has almost no water, that has enormous mindless animals that will kill them instantly, they are constantly hounded by off-world powers meddling due to “hydraulic empire” stuff. Fremen are a very severe, self-denying culture. There is something to this that appeals to a particular type of person (generally a male person).
Of course I wonder how many folks from the West really understand what they are getting into when they run off to join, and what their “higher goals” really entail.
enormous mindless animals that will kill them instantly
Yeah, except later it turns out that the Fremen ride these animals as steeds and can control them pretty well...
There is something to this that appeals to a particular type of person (generally a male person).
This is a whole classic trope: tough, wild, free people who live in harsh open spaces. Another example is Aiel from The Wheel of Time. I guess some highly romanticised descriptions of American Indians qualify as well.
I wonder how many folks from the West really understand what they are getting into
I have a pretty large prior that they have no fucking clue.
It’s not just that, it’s the severity of lifestyle. What’s cool about this type of Islam to people that join is self-denial in pursuit of a “higher goal.” There is definitely a decadence/severity dichotomy in Islam (but people interpret it differently, of course).
Fremen live on a planet that has almost no water, that has enormous mindless animals that will kill them instantly, they are constantly hounded by off-world powers meddling due to “hydraulic empire” stuff. Fremen are a very severe, self-denying culture. There is something to this that appeals to a particular type of person (generally a male person).
Of course I wonder how many folks from the West really understand what they are getting into when they run off to join, and what their “higher goals” really entail.
Yeah, except later it turns out that the Fremen ride these animals as steeds and can control them pretty well...
This is a whole classic trope: tough, wild, free people who live in harsh open spaces. Another example is Aiel from The Wheel of Time. I guess some highly romanticised descriptions of American Indians qualify as well.
I have a pretty large prior that they have no fucking clue.