Indeed, We have made whatever is on the earth an adornment for it, that We may test them (to see) which of them is most beautiful in their acts (ahsanu AAamalan). And indeed We will turn whatever is on it, into a barren plain (Qur’an 18:7-8)
The Prophet, peace be upon him and his Family said: “Blessed is he whom Allah finds weeping because of his sins, trembling in awe of Allah; weeping over the sins about which no one knows except himself.” (attributed in Al-Amali, ch. 8, #2)
by Farid Esack, Islamabad, Pakistan
Ah the great jetsetter visits the Third World and becomes even more illustrious as he pisses on his own people.
At the end of the day, you have to decide whether you want to be a Christopher Hitchens/Irshad Manji lone ranger who just wants to be a contrarian for contrarian?s sake, or whether you want to have some purpose, some accountability to real people in real movements that you say you support.
As?ad, my brother, we who for many reasons, have ?made it to? and ?made it in? the world of power need to reflect a bit more on the supposed backwardness of the ?Third World.? People here die of undereating because some of us who have made it to the ?First World? die of overeating. There is a connection here. Let us not piss on people who pay the price for our comforts and for our ?development.? They are our people.
My advice to you is to be conscious of Allah and steadfast in your religion. Do not yearn for the world, and do not be seduced by it. Do not resent anything you have missed in it. Proclaim the truth; work for the next world. Oppose the oppressor and support the oppressed. (Imam Ali’s (AS) last will to his sons Imam Hasan (AS) and Imam Hussain (AS))
The other man (detested by Allah) is he who has picked up ignorance. He moves among the ignorant, is senseless, in the thick of mischief, and is blind towards peace. Those resembling such a man have named him scholar, but he is not so. He goes out early morning to collect things whose deficiency is better than plenty, until he has quenched his thirst from polluted water, and acquired meaningless things. (Imam Ali, sermon #18, Nahj-ul-Balagah)
malangbaba writes:
How do we define being “civically involved”? Is it building relationships with a hostile and racist government?
Most certainly our community(s) need to be invovled, but how we understand and position ourselves in relation to the power structure should be a fundamental starting point.
Do we seek to be a part of a corrupt power structure?
Or is our obligation to position and align ourselves with other communities and groups who recognize the system are inherently flawed?
The problem is also not limited to being an active collaborator or sellout. History books are replete with people who become complicit because of naivete, or being spineless and unwilling to openly confront injustice and corrupt systems. And while the duped ones are running around trying to figure out what happened, the government can use these press clips, articles, and nice fancy pictures to try to legitimize their actions. “Us, racist? NO! See we have been actively engaged in dialogue with Muslims and community leaders/youth. Here let me show you some pictures from our last event.”
Imperialism and Resistance