Speaking Truth to Power
By Habib
Siddiqui
The people
who are either in power or with wealth and influence like to be followed or
obeyed and usually don’t like detractors challenging their wrong views or
opinions. Speaking truth to power is not easy and requires moral courage and
deep conviction. Thus, it is not difficult to see the rarity of such a trait in
today’s human beings who seem to be motivated more by material gains than what’s
morally right and just.
The
religion of Islam puts great emphasis on upholding truth and justice under all
circumstances, even against one’s loved ones. Let me share below some relevant verses
of the Qur’an:
“O ye who believe! Be ye staunch in justice, witnesses for Allah, even though it be against yourselves or (your) parents or (your) kindred, whether (the case be of) a rich man or a poor man, for Allah is nearer unto both (them ye are). So follow not passion lest ye lapse (from truth) and if ye lapse or fall away, then lo! Allah is ever Informed of what ye do.” – Qur’an (4:135)
“O ye who believe! Be steadfast witnesses for Allah in equity and let not hatred of any people seduce you that ye deal not justly. Deal justly, that is nearer to your duty. Observe your duty to Allah. Lo! Allah is informed of what ye do.” – Qur’an (5:8)
“Confound not truth with falsehood, nor knowingly conceal the truth.” – Qur’an (2:42)
“O ye who believe! Be careful of your duty to Allah and be with the truthful.” – Qur’an (9:119)
“O ye who believe! Guard your duty to Allah and speak words straight to the point (without
any equivocation).” – Qur’an (33:70)
Prophet
Muhammad (S) said, “Speak the truth even when it is bitter.” [Ibn Hibban; Hilyat’ul Awliya Wa Tabaqat’ul
Asfiya: (narrated by) Abu
Dhar Ghifari (RA)]
He
(S) also said, “No man can attain a firm faith, unless he developed
strength of character and that cannot be achieved unless one acquires the habit
of speaking the truth.” [Nahjul Balagha:
Ali (RA)]
He (S) said, “By Allah, you must enjoin good and forbid evil, and hold the hand of aggressors to persuade them to act justly and make them steadfast on truth, failing which Allah will punish you
along with
others
(i.e.,
wrong doers) and you will be cursed like the Bani Israel.” [Abu Dawud and Tirmizi: Abdullah ibn Mas’oud (RA)]
Caliph Umar
(RA) famously said to a congregation of Muslims gathered in a mosque near
Jerusalem, “… And
speak the truth. Do not hesitate to say what you consider to be the truth. Say
what you feel. Let your conscience be your guide. Let your intentions be good,
for verily God is aware of your intentions. In your deeds your intentions
count. Fear God, and fear no one else.” [Source: John Alden Williams,
ed., Themes of Islamic Civilization (Berkeley;
University of California) 1971]
Amir-ul Mu’mineen Ali (RA), the
fourth Caliph, said, “Adhere to the cause of truth and justice wherever you find it.” [Nahjul Balagha]
In Bahr al-Fava’id, a medieval Islamic work of religious
and ethical exhortation, it is
said that ‘Whoever is ashamed to speak the truth is a disgrace to
mankind; and whoever fears to speak the truth is a devil.’
It is not difficult to understand how and why the Qur’anic
commandments and Islamic teachings had emboldened many Muslims throughout the
Islamic history, dating from the time of the first call of pure monotheism to
more contemporary times, to dare to speak the truth.
When Prophet (S) preached pure monotheism amongst the pagan
Arabs of his time, he (S) and his followers (RA) faced much resistance from the
leaders of the community. Islam was a new faith amongst the Arabs of the 7th
century C.E. that challenged the old order - customs, traditions, rules and
regulations, requiring uncompromising belief in an unseen God – Allah. It
challenged the Makkan aristocracy. It required the believer to change his/her
lifestyle so that he/she won't lie, deceive, gamble, intoxicate, kill, murder,
steal, fornicate, commit female infanticide, etc. It required fasting (without
food and water) from dawn to dusk, during the entire month of Ramadan, a task which was very difficult
in unusually hot summer days of Arabia. It required praying five times daily to
remind the believer of his/her servitude to Allah and accountability of his/her
deeds – good and bad, large and small. It demanded paying the poor-due (zakat) and making regular charity (sadaqah), feeding the indigent and
relieving pains and sufferings of fellow creatures – acts that are against
innate human attitude towards wealth and possession. It advocated freeing of
slaves. It demanded fair treatment of all – especially, the women and orphans.
It preached brotherhood and sisterhood of mankind, irrespective of one's
upbringing, color, race, nationality and wealth. It demanded standing out for
truth and justice, even if it was against one's own soul (nafs). It demanded leading a clean life away from sin and vice that
is always mindful of relationship with Allah, fellow creatures and environment,
and his/her own self.
And yet, despite such new set of do's and don'ts, there were
people who embraced Islam – from Bilal the Abyssinian to Shu'aib the Byzantine
to Salman the Persian to Abu Bakr the Quraish, from a 10-year old young boy –
Ali ibn Talib to a 55-year old lady – Khadijah, from a freed slave by the name
of Zaid bin Haritha to a rich merchant by the name of Uthman ibn Affan to a
shepherd by the name of Abdullah ibn Mas'oud (RA). They all dared to speak
truth to power. They were all ready to make the ultimate sacrifice – personal,
family, social, cultural and economic – for their belief in the new faith –
Islam. They were even willing to die to defend their faith in the battlefield
when called for.
Let me share the following
historical facts from the lives of some of the early Companions of Muhammad (S).
Bilal (RA) was the slave of a
rich man in Makkah, Umayya bin Khalaf, who was one of the worst enemies of Islam. Because of Bilal's acceptance of Islam, he was whipped at
night and with the cuts thus received, made to lie on the burning sand with a
heavy stone put on his chest during the day to force him to renounce Islam or to die a lingering
death from the wounds. But Bilal (RA) would not yield.
Similar is the story of
Khabbab ibn Al-Aratt (RA) who
was one of the very early converts to Islam. He was the slave of a woman who was hostile to Islam. She
used to brand Khabbab’s head with a hot iron rod. He was made to put on steel
armor and lie in the sun to sweat and swelter. Very often he was made to lie
flat on burning sand, which caused the flesh on his back to waste away. Yet
this was not enough for his pagan slave-owner. She would have his body dragged
by others over heaps of smoldering charcoal. This would cause his blood and fat
to come out of his back.
Sumayya (RA) and her husband
Yasir (RA) were slaves of a
Makkan idolater who was utterly hostile to Islam. He wanted them to renounce
the faith. When they did not, he tortured them mercilessly. They were tormented
on scorching sands of Makkah. One day, Sumayya (RA) was standing when
Abu Jahl, the worst enemy of Islam, passed that way. He flung all sorts of dirty words at her
and then put his spear through the most private part of her body, causing her
death. She had refused to renounce Islam in the face of terrible torture in her
old age. The blessed lady was the first to meet martyrdom in the cause of
Islam. Yasir (R) died after
prolonged sufferings at the hands of his persecutors.
Abu
Fakeeh, Aflah, a freed slave of Bani Abd Ad-Dar, was another victim of persecution. The
oppressors used to fasten his feet with a rope and drag him in the streets of
Makkah. [See this author’s book - Book of
Devotional Stories –
for many such stories.]
When the pagan Arabs could not sway Muhammad (S) and his
followers into renouncing Islam, they tried to entice him with worldly gains.
Consider, e.g., what 'Utba Ibn Rabi'a had said to Muhammad (S):
"O son of my
brother, if by this affair you intend to acquire riches, honors, and dignity,
we are willing to collect for you a fortune larger than is possessed by any one
of us; we shall make you our chief and will do nothing without you. If you
desire dominion, we shall make you our king..."
When Muhammad (S) could not be swayed, the pagan Arab leaders
persuaded Abi Talib, the Prophet’s (S) uncle to approach him. To this
suggestion the Prophet (S) firmly replied: "O my uncle, if they placed the sun in my right hand and the moon in my
left hand to cause me to renounce my task, verily I would not desist therefrom
until Allah made manifest His cause or I perished in the attempt." [Ibn Kathir]
The Prophet (S) and the nascent community of the Muslims faced
much suffering in the hands of those pagan Arabs in Makkah who left no scheme and mechanism unused to persecute
the nascent community of Muslims. The polytheists compelled them to leave their hearth and home. They seized their properties. They even sent a
two-member delegation team to Abyssinia pleading to the King Negus that he
deport the first group of Muslim refugees that had sought asylum there, back to
Makkah. The
Negus was not pleased with this suggestion and said that he won’t surrender
them to anyone until he himself had called them and questioned them about what
they had been accused.
In the court, the Negus turned to the Muslims and asked, “What
is this religion which you have taken for yourselves and which has served to
cut you off from the religion of your people? You also did not enter my
religion or the religion of any other community.”
Jafar ibn Abi Talib
RA), the cousin of the Prophet (S), then advanced and made a speech that was
moving and eloquent and which is still one of the most compelling descriptions
of Islam, the appeal of the noble Prophet, and the depravity of Meccan society
at the time. He said, “O King, we were a people in a state of ignorance and
immorality, worshipping idols and eating the flesh of dead animals, committing all sorts of
abomination and shameful deeds, breaking the ties of kinship, treating guests
badly, and the strong among us exploited the weak. We remained in this state
until God sent us a Prophet, one of our own people whose lineage, truthfulness,
trustworthiness, and integrity were well-known to us. He called us to worship
God alone and to renounce the stones and the idols which we and our ancestors
used to worship besides God.”
Jafar (RA) continued, “He
(S) commanded us to speak the truth, to honor our promises, to be kind to our
relations, to be helpful to our neighbors; to cease all forbidden acts, to
abstain from bloodshed, to avoid obscenities and false witness; to not
appropriate an orphan’s property nor slander chaste women. He (S) ordered us to
worship God alone and not to associate anything with Him, to uphold prayer, to
give charity and to fast in the month of Ramadan. We believed in him and what
he brought to us from God and we follow him in what he has asked us to do and
we keep away from what he forbade us from doing. Thereupon, O King, our people
attacked us, visited the severest punishment on us to make us renounce our religion
and take us back to the old immorality and the worship of idols. They oppressed
us, made life intolerable for us and obstructed us from observing our religion.
So, we left for your country, choosing you before anyone else, desiring your
protection and hoping to live in Justice and peace in your midst.”
The
Negus was so impressed that he told the leader of the pagan Arab delegate ‘Amr
ibn al-‘As, “Go. For, by God, I will never surrender them to
you.”
When
the Christian king refused to deport the asylum seekers, ‘Amr ibn al-‘As
went to the Negus the following day and said, “O King, these people to whom you
have given refuge and whom you protect say something terrible about Jesus, the
son of Mary. Send for them and ask them what they say about him.” The Negus
summoned the Muslims and Jafar ibn Abi Talib (RA), who was the
Prophet’s cousin, acted as their spokesman once more. The Negus asked, “What do
you say about Jesus, the son of Mary?” Jafar (RA) replied, “Regarding him, we
only say what has been revealed to our Prophet.” “And what is that?” enquired
the Negus. “Our Prophet says that Jesus is the servant of God and His Prophet,
His spirit and His word which He cast into Mary the Virgin.” The Negus
exclaimed, “By God, Jesus the son of Mary was exactly as your Prophet has
described him.” [“Companions of the Prophet” by Abdul Wahid Hamid.]
What
is so important to ponder here is that to avoid trouble and deportation Jafar
(RA) could have lied about the status of Jesus in the presence of the king, his
ministers and bishops who believed in Trinity. But he did not lie but spoke
truth to power under such a trying circumstance. [After the Prophet (S) had
migrated to Madinah, Jafar and those Muslim refugees joined him there.]
After weathering incessant
persecution for 13 years, the Prophet (S) had to migrate to Madinah that
provided him asylum. The pagan
Arabs were relentless and did not give up their effortts to wipe out Islam
there either. They attacked the Muslim community in Madinah that was comprised
of the Muhajirs (the migrants to Madinah) and the Ansars (the helpers of
Madinah that sheltered the refugees) over the next eight years. They killed
many Muslims, including the beloved uncle of the Prophet – Hamza (RA) in ‘Uhud.
Muhammad (S) said, “All the
Prophets are opposed and tortured and I was tortured the most.”
[For details on Prophet Muhammad’s
(S) life, see this author’s book – Muhammad
(S) and the Prescribed Highway to Peace, co-authored with M.
Siddiqur Rahman.]
=====-=====
Truth and justice have always been an anathema to the despots around
the world who resort to torture and oppression to silence their adversaries. They
are not oblivious of the truth but are averse to it being afraid of its impact that
may weaken their control over the people. They like to conceal the truth.
In our time, thus, tens of thousands of those who dared to speak
to power and demand justice have ended up either being killed or rotting in the
prison cells inside the authoritarian regimes like China, Egypt and Saudi
Arabia. Sadly, the record of the so-called liberal democracies of the West is
not better. With a huge nuclear arsenal at their disposal to destroy our planet
several times, some of these governments aspire for world domination by any
means possible. They behave like the Mafia. They are hostile to anyone
challenging or questioning their ‘new world order’.
As I have noted elsewhere,
something that has also been stated by numerous Jewish academics and
conscientious human beings, the government of Israel and its powerful lobbies
(esp. the AIPAC and CUFI) have had a strong grip over American foreign
policy for decades. The latter equate any criticism of the Zionist state as
being anti-Jewish. And this equation is absurd!
The newly
elected Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN) has been a fresh air in the Capitol Hill, raising legitimate questions
about Israel, about America’s foreign policy toward Israel and about the
Israeli lobby in the States. Naturally, she is an eyesore to the powerful
coteries, the neo-imperialists and hatemongers in the USA, esp. the pro-Israeli
‘Amen Corner’ who have been screaming in rage ever since this hijab-clad Muslim-American
woman of Somali background got elected in the U. S. Congress.
Ms. Omar’s comment, “It’s all about the
Benjamins baby,” was viewed as a reference to an anti-Semitic stereotype
and condemned by members of both parties. “A black day for Israel,” tweeted POTUS Donald
Trump.
One congressman said “Questioning
support for the US-Israel relationship is unacceptable.” Another said, “there are many reasons to
support Israel, but there is no reason to oppose Israel.” While still another
said that Democrats and Republicans, alike, are committed to insuring that the
“United States and Israel stand as one.”
Eleven Jewish groups, among them the National
Council for Young Israel and the Endowment for Middle East Truth, sent a
petition on March 4 to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the senior House Democrat, asking
that she “immediately remove” Ms. Omar from the House Foreign Affairs
Committee. A copy of the petition, which was also sent to Democrat Rep. Eliot
Engel, who chairs the committee, was published by
the Washington Free Beacon. Engel, an unabashed supporter of Israel, asked Omar
to apologize.
The congresswoman was also accused of anti-Semitism for a
phrase taken out of context from a town hall discussion in
Washington, D.C. What she actually said was, “I want to talk about the
political influence in this country that says it is okay for people to push for
allegiance to a foreign country. And I want to ask, why is it ok for me to talk
about the influence of the NRA, of fossil fuel industries, or Big Pharma, and
not talk about a powerful lobby … that is influencing policy?”
She also faced accusations for tweets
published on March 3 saying, “I am told every day that I am anti-American if I
am not pro-Israel. I find that to be problematic and I am not alone. I just
happen to be willing to speak up on it and open myself to attacks … I should
not be expected to have allegiance/pledge support to a foreign country in order
to serve my country in Congress or serve on committee. The people of the 5th
elected me to serve their interest.”
What Ms. Omar said
are all correct and true. If such true statements are wrongly labelled as
anti-Semitic then she must be an Islamophobe, too. After all, she has been critical
of Saudi Kingdom, its war crimes in Yemen and its gruesome record of violations
of human rights. In October 2018, she tweeted: “The
Saudi government might have been strategic at covering up the daily atrocities
carried out against minorities, women, activists and even #YemenGenocide, but
the murder of #JamalKashoggi should be the last evil act they are allowed to
commit. #BDSSaudi#murderedjournalist (Posted 9:01 PM – 15 Oct 2018).
Crown prince MBS
and the pro-Saudi/Emirati media fumed,
but we never heard of any complaint here in the USA that Ms. Omar was an
Islamophobe for speaking her mind. Ilhan Omar is not shy of speaking truth to power.
Lately she condemned former president Obama for his less-than-satisfactory
performance. She cited the “caging of kids” at the Mexican border and
the “droning of countries around the world” on Obama’s watch — and argued that
he wasn’t much different from President Trump.
“We can’t be only upset with
Trump,” the freshman firebrand told
Politico Magazine. “His policies are bad, but many of the people who
came before him also had really bad policies. They just were more polished than
he was,” Omar said. “And that’s not what we should be looking for anymore. We
don’t want anybody to get away with murder because they are polished. We want
to recognize the actual policies that are behind the pretty face and the
smile.”
What Ms. Omar said are
unfiltered truth and nothing else whether or not the governments in Saudi
Arabia, Israel and the USA, and their supporters, lobbies and propaganda media
like such statements.
Sometimes the pro-Israeli
columnists have voiced their disappointment with the overwhelming influence of the
Israel-lobby and the Likud leaders in American politics. E.g., on December 13, 2011 Thomas Friedman of the New York
Times wrote in reference to Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to US Congress that the
“ovation was bought and paid for by the Israel Lobby.” As expected, no liberal
called it an “anti-Semitic trope” either literally or in proportion to the
reaction of Ms. Omar’s word choice.
So, why the double-standards with Ms. Omar when she calls
spade a spade? Congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI)
are falsely accused of being anti-Semitic simply because they dare to speak
truth to power, let alone being women, non-White and Muslims. When Omar apologized
for saying that her “intention is never to offend my constituents or Jewish
Americans as a whole” the Republicans, including President Donald Trump, weren’t
satisfied. Such reactions from politicians who bank on racism and bigotry to get
elected is simply mindboggling!
[Note: “White
nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization—how did that language
become offensive?” the Iowa GOP Representative Steve King said to The
New York Times. “Why did I sit in classes teaching me about the merits of
our history and our civilization?”
In an exclusive interview with Breitbart News in
Tel Aviv in January (2019) when Roseann Barr, known for her acerbic and prejudicial
remarks, was asked what she thought of the newly-installed outspoken BDS
(Boycott, Divest and Sanction against Israel) proponents - Tlaib and Omar,
she said, “We have Hamas in
Congress.” She also said BDS has “infected” the Democratic Party.
The House
Minority Leader Kevin
McCarthy tweeted last year saying
“we cannot allow” three Jewish men—George Soros, Tom Steyer and Michael
Bloomberg—to “BUY this election! Get out and vote Republican November 6th.
#MAGA.” Yet, he was not censured for his anti-Semitic remarks then and has not
apologized yet.]
Ms. Omar fired back at the president on Twitter saying, "You have trafficked in hate your
whole life—against Jews, Muslims, indigenous [peoples], immigrants, black
people and more. I learned from people impacted by my words. When will
you?"
Mr. Trump’s reaction to the terrorism in
New Zealand on March 15 that witnessed the murder of 50 Muslims and injury of
another 50 worshippers in two mosques once again shows that he has no intention
to learn. He refuses to distance himself from the most loyal group of his
supporters – the white supremacists – who adore and support him. He has been
cited by the Australian terrorist as an ‘inspiration’ to the white race against
the ‘invader’ Muslims and non-whites. Rather than uniting the country against
hatred and intolerance against the minorities, like some fellow racists within
his party, Mr. Trump remains more mindful of growing his support base amongst the
white supremacists. Thus, we shouldn’t be surprised if we see a repeat of the
Christchurch terrorism somewhere in the near future.
After all, three years ago, Islamophobia along with anti-Semitism, virulent racism,
extreme misogyny and xenophobia is on the rise. Trump praised the “fine people”
among the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) and Nazi sympathizers who marched in
Charlottesville, Virginia in August 2017, chanting, “Jews will not replace us,”
“White lives matter,” and “One people, one nation, end immigration.” One of
those “fine people” used his car as a weapon to kill Heather Heyer and injure
dozens more anti-racist protesters. Just over a year later, another white,
racist killer, angered by the Jewish support for the refugees and immigrants
whom President Trump has falsely branded as rapists and murderers, attacked the
Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, murdering 11 Jewish
worshipers and injuring at least six more.
Thanks to alternate media, most Americans
are more informed these days than ever before about the gross crimes of the US
government – past and present. Many of Ms. Omar’s supporters are American and
Israeli Jews who are tired of Netanyahu’s murderous policy against the
indigenous Palestinians. Veteran Israeli journalist Gideon Levy wrote, “Ilhan
Omar
is not only one of the first two female Muslim members of the House of
Representatives, she may herald a dramatic change in that body. … Neither Hamas
nor a black day, but a glimmer of hope on Capitol Hill. Maybe, for the first
time in history, someone will dare tell the truth to the American people,
absorbing scathing accusations of anti-Semitism, without bowing her head.” He
asked, “When will the world dare to distinguish between legitimate criticism of
an illegitimate reality and anti-Semitism?”
Levy continued, “What, after all, has Omar said? That
pro-Israel activists demand “allegiance
to a foreign country”; that U.S. politicians support Israel because
of money they receive from the pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC, and that “Israel
hypnotized the world.” What is incorrect in these statements? Why is
describing reality considered anti-Semitic?” “Jews have immense power in the
U.S., far beyond the relative size of their community, and the blind support
given by their establishment to Israel raises legitimate questions regarding
dual loyalty. Their power derives from their economic success, their
organizational skills and the political pressure they exert. Omar dared to
speak about this. Just imagine what Israelis and Jews would feel if Muslim
Americans had the same political, economic and cultural power Jews have. Such
power, above all the intoxication with power that has seized hold of the Jewish
establishment, comes with a price. Omar and her colleagues are trying to collect
on it.”
Who can deny the massive power of the Lobby? Mr. Levy writes,
“Due to the Israel lobby, the U.S. does not know the truth about what is
happening here. Congress members, senators and shapers of public opinion who
are flown here ad nauseam see only Israeli victimhood and Palestinian terror,
which apparently emerged out of nowhere. Islamists, Qassam rockets and
incendiary balloons – not a word about occupation, expropriation, refugees and
military tyranny. Questions such as where the money goes and whether it serves
American interests are considered heresy. When talking about Israel one must
not ask questions or raise doubts. This cycle has to be broken as well. It’s
not right and it’s not good for the Jews. Omar is now trying to introduce a new
discourse to Congress and to public opinion. Thanks to her and her colleagues
there is a chance for a change in America. From Israel we send her our wishes
for success.”
Daring to speak
truth to the enormous power of the Israeli lobby inside the USA and many parts
of the western world is seen as a political hari-kari. As a result, since the
days of Paul
Findley no one within the U.S. Congress had the audacity to question
America’s unwavering support for an apartheid state that has been guilty of a
plethora of crimes against the indigenous Palestinian people. The Capitol Hill has
been turned into an ‘Amen Corner’. Predictably, our elected reps like to
conceal the ugly truth about Israel’s monumental crimes in the Occupied
Territories. They are unmindful of the UN Independent Commission of Inquiry report
on the 2018 Gaza protest that faulted Israel over the deadly repression of the
demonstrations in the Gaza strip in 2018. They won’t debate such matters that
affect our moral standing around the globe!
According to
the Commission, there are “reasonable grounds to believe that Israeli security
forces committed serious violations of human rights and international
humanitarian law.” “We call on Israel to conduct meaningful investigations into
these serious violations and to provide timely justice and reparations for
those killed and injured,” said commission Chair Santiago Canto.
The
commission’s findings show that 6,106 Palestinians were injured with live
ammunition and 3,098 by bullet fragmentation, rubber-coated bullets or hits
from tear gas canisters.
“We’re saying that they have intentionally shot children, they’ve intentionally shot people with disabilities, they’ve intentionally shot journalists,” said commission member Sara Hossain.
“We’re saying that they have intentionally shot children, they’ve intentionally shot people with disabilities, they’ve intentionally shot journalists,” said commission member Sara Hossain.
By the way, Ilhan Omar is not
the only one who is falsely accused of being anti-Semitic. Such accusations are
far more likely to be lobbed against people of color, especially Black and Arab
intellectuals, as we've recently seen with Marc Lamont Hill, who was fired by
CNN following complaints about his Palestinian rights speech at the United
Nations. Angela Davis was awarded the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute's
prestigious Fred L. Shuttlesworth Human Rights Award in her hometown, only to
have the award revoked because of her support for Palestinian rights (In
response to massive public pressure, the Institute offered to renew the offer,
but Davis instead chose to participate in a public event that included
solidarity with Palestine). Michelle Alexander, whose extraordinary New York Times column
rooted support for Palestinian rights squarely in the legacy of Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr., faced charges of “sneaky
anti-Semitism.”
As the foregoing discussion shows,
speaking truth to power is and can often be hazardous. The daring few are bound
to face isolation, reprimand, loss of earnings, and may even face death.
Thanks to the leaders like
Trump, Modi, Netanyahu, Xi Jinping, Suu Kyi, MBS and many others, our world is
going through a major crisis where hatred and intolerance against minorities are
becoming the new norms. Conscientious people around the globe have a moral
imperative to throttle such evils by saying and doing things that are morally
right and just, no matter how unsurmountable the pressure is to keep mum and do
nothing.
Intolerance has no place in
our time and space. Let’s be reminded here by the instruction
of Ali (RA) to Malik al-Ashtar, his newly appointed governor to Egypt: “Remember
that the citizens of the state are of two categories. They are either your
brethren in religion or your brethren in kind (i.e., one like you in creation).” [For citation, see
this author’s book: Wisdom
of Mankind: A collection of voices of Muslims from the earliest moments
to the last century.]
May Allah help and guide us all to work
towards a peaceful world without intolerance of any kind.
Comments
Post a Comment