As you may know, the holy month of Muharram is coming, the month in which we commemorate the martyrdom of our beloved Abu-Abdillah, Imam Hussain (as) at the hands of the tyrant Yazid and his forces. This will actually be my first Muharram, inshaallah, since deciding to follow the Shi’a school of thought. I was asked to write my own reflections regarding Muharram and Ashura (the climactic 10th day of Muharram-the day of the actual martyrdom) and its personal significance to me, which coincidentally is something I have been thinking about for a while now and especially lately.
An often repeated quote, attributed to the late Dr. Ali Shariati, is that,”Every day is Ashura, every land is Karbala”. What does this mean? Everywhere we look today it seems all we see is microcosms (or macrocosms) of oppression. So-called Islamic governments oppressing their own people and religious minorities (reference Iran’s persecution of Baha’i and Ahl-e-Haqq or Bahrain’s oppression of Shi’a and the Sunni Muslims who stand with them or provide them any kind of help, Saudi’s harassment of pilgrims, etc.), hoarding riches while their own people starve, and entering in secret deals with imperialist secular governments while playing shadow puppets to weave a misleading web of deceit clothed in religious scare-mongering and emotional manipulation. On the other side, we have the constant struggle with Zionism and the issues of human rights violation Vs. imperialism Vs. “Arab nationalism” and of course, American and European Islamophobia, just to name a few examples.
In order to illustrate my point, I’m going to offer perspectives on a few of these issues in order to ultimately reach the conclusion, which I hope will inshaallah tie them all together. I can already tell some (if not most) of the readers will not like this, and that’s ok. I don’t expect, or even necessarily want, widespread approval for my writing or my views. I just hope to provoke thought.
Let’s start with number one: Islamic governments. Now, I realize I’m no political scientist, nor do I know everything that goes on behind closed doors (then again, who does?), but if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my 24 years on this earth it’s that politics is a dirty game-all politics. You would be insulting my intelligence if you honestly expect me to shut off all logic and critical thinking and just assume that just because a government/leader assigns the title “Islamic” or “Muslim” to himself that he’s absolutely perfect in his rule and devoid of any personal motives or prejudice. Let’s be real here. I think I listed enough examples above, but let’s break it down even further. What about on a solely clerical level; what about the Mullahs in Pakistan caught molesting children while being simultaneously protected by the government and the courts? I’m not trying to throw other Muslims under the bus or (God forbid) backbite anyone, but we have to face these issues or they will destroy us. Let’s ask ourselves some questions: Is this what we picture when we think of Islamic leadership? Is this the example left to us by our Aimah (as)?
Why do we continue to cover up these issues? Why do we continue to turn our eye away from leaders while outside agent-provocateurs turn us against each other? These questions must be asked and critically considered, and that goes for myself as well.
While I’m on this topic, I think I should address a related one. I don’t have an issue with religious scholarship per se, but when we as Muslims (regardless of sect) become so lazy and uneducated in our own deen that we have to appoint “scholars” to derive our law for us we place ourselves at their disposal. Why should we have to accept everything a scholar says without question, even if it goes against our own common sense or knowledge of scripture? What about when these scholars use their verdicts to incite violence and oppression (against other Muslims or otherwise)? Consider this ayah from Qur’an:[Translation of the meaning]“They have taken their rabbis and their monks as lords apart from God..” [9:31]. Now I realize I have very, very, minimal knowledge of Qur’an and I don’t want to speak in matters of learning without knowledge, but how many times have we heard, especially as Shi’a, that we must follow a marja and that “To look at the face of a scholar is worship” [hadith]? I am guilty of this as well, so before I condemn anyone let me condemn myself, but imagine where we would be if we all committed ourselves to that level of learning and did not need a “priest-class” to derive rulings for us?
The next issue, the elephant in the room, is Zionism. I really don’t know how to address this issue delicately. I have been racking my brain for about a week now about this issue, and quite frankly I think my recent ideas will make just about everyone who hears them want to punch me in the face. I do not agree with the state of Israel (Jews having a country if completely devoid of oppression imperialism is another thing, but then we would have to consider every other diaspora community and their repatriation-such as my own Romani Gypsy people for example), and I do support the idea of Palestinians having independence and an end to human-rights violations being carried out against them. I want to make that very clear. However, as could probably be inferred from my above paragraph, I do not believe that at this point it’s 100% black and white anymore. I’m sorry, I’ve tried to see it this way I really have, but when governments and national interests get involved (not to mention the far-reaching tentacles of American imperialism) these things gain momentum and it becomes a very different creature than the righteous oppressed Vs. the oppressor. How is this a battle EXCLUSIVELY for the rights of a people when it has lead us to sit on the brink of a possible world war III (even Russia is somehow involved now)?! How is it possible to step back and assess our actions as Muslims in this conflict when we have warlords and clerics stirring up hatred, guilt, nationalism, sectarianism and other emotionally-loaded hot words? Furthermore, why is the idea of re-assessing our actions as Muslims so taboo? Is it wrong to think that maybe, just maybe, even though we believe we are correct and justified that every one of our actions may not be? Is it wrong to think that maybe we’re doing something wrong and that’s why we have yet to reach any sort of solution, only perpetual war? Why is it that in every story related about the Prophet (s) or the Aimah (a) in battle, which were righteous battles fought according to the law as sent down by God, the war was over and done with and only ended in the exact amount of deaths necessary and did not drag on endlessly, and the prophet and the Imams did not kill innocents or transgress boundaries? Is there something to be learned from this?
What about American and European Islamophobia? It’s a horrible thing, I’ve been the brunt of it myself. In comparison to other lands where people are killed for their religious affiliation, I would have to say I’m actually rather fortunate. People are ignorant, and the media and the government only fan this ignorance and fear, which then gives rise to hatred and prejudice. America and Europe are no different. Now let’s look at our side as Muslims. Again, let me condemn myself first. Why is it that instead of taking the time to teach and show a truly peaceful example in the tradition of our prophet (s) we show our teeth? I know this is not always the case, but yet we still do it a great deal of the time. Why do we not address radicalism and the harsh anti-western rhetoric of some scholars (not gonna name any names, but I’m sure you can think of a few) instead of acting like this is all a myth and no one in our ummah is saying these things and therefore perpetuating this stereotype? Is it not Islamic that we should stop ANY person who is committing injustice, even if that means one of our own?
You see, I’m not writing this blog to come down on Islam or Muslims, I’m writing this blog to prove a point which can best be summed up in the form of a proverb: “When there are no more enemies inside, the enemies outside can’t hurt you”, Or as the hadith attributed to Amir ul Moomineen Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib (a) says,”Mow evil from the heart of another by rooting it out of your own heart”.
If there is any insight I have been given since taking my shahadah a year ago, it’s that everything inside out of me is also outside of me and vice-versa. Microcosms are a very real thing. Therefore, there is a unity, but the ego creates an illusion of duality and separation. When my ego lies to me and my perceptions become “real” insomuch as they affect my view of the world outside of me then I start to live in that filter, and not in reality. This is a daily struggle, and I rarely win.
Now take that same concept and apply to it large groups of people (nations, governments, religions, etc). If we don’t purify our own selves individually we will never operate justly on a collective scale. We will not be able to carry out Allah’s commands enough to operate justly and fairly as an ummah, until we purify ourselves of our nafs we will continue to see this corruption.
This is what Muharram and Ashura means to me: until we learn to conquer the Yazid within ourselves and our communities, we will continue to suffer oppression and to oppress others. Until I learn to conquer the Yazid in my own self, I will continue to suffer oppression and oppress others. We can go and buy black clothes and beat our chests and cry and sing latmiyat and nohas, but what good does it do if we don’t become better for it? Is our Islam becoming nothing more than empty ritual, or will we follow in the Imam’s (a) footsteps and stand up to the evil and tyranny wherever we see it, even if it’s wearing the form of Islam?
Comments, questions, suggestions, rants, etc. are all encouraged.
Confessions of a Cynic 