Last week, while our eyes were turned away, 700 people were killed in Syria over a 48 hour period. But amidst 160,000 dead, such horrific figures no longer mean anything. We have lost our humanity.
The world is too emotionally terrifying today, too draining and too frightening. Politicians, militants and social commentators alike want to divide us into groups, into us and them, to turn us on each other, to score points, to take sides, to have compassion for some and hatred for others.
Today the news is of the demise of Christianity in Iraq, as if the heritage and lives of Muslims wiped out at the same time and by the same aggressors do not count. To the author, it is us and them. While in Gaza, as vast weaponries rain down on civilians, the same commentators speak of Muslim populations, apparently set on the destruction of Israel. Never are the Christians of Gaza mentioned. Never, when Hanan Ashrawi so eloquently speaks for the suffering of her people, are we reminded of her faith.
For on the ground it is not us and them, but everyone all in it together. The powerful and well-armed clash, and all around ordinary people who have always lived side by side, scatter and scarper in an unholy terror. When will this madness end? Only when those of us, different though our faith may be, rally to each other’s aid and stand out for truth and justice, whether for friend or foe.
As the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “On the Day of Judgment I will be the advocate for the Jew or Christian whose right was violated.” As the Proverb goes: “If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.”
Every time there is an enquiry into how abusers were able to get away with their abuse for so long and why those who were abused were ignored, the state proudly proclaims: “Never again will we blame the victims for the crimes perpetuated against them.”
And yet here we are, witnessing the lives of innocents being torn apart, and once more our politicians are blaming the victims for the actions of their attackers, justifying the inexcusable without the faintest shred of compassion.
It is amazing to see that the powerful have no hearts.
‘Israel has no civilians,’ says a friend: ‘all Israelis are soldiers, waiting to be called up.’
What, not even a 10 year old girl on her way to school or an old man in a care home?
To me, this sounds more like the sunnah of the Irgun gang than the noble deen I follow, which emphasises the impermissiblity of attacking women and children not engaged in direct combat (even if soldiers), where off-duty soldiers are treated as civilians and where collateral damage is considered unlawful (to my knowledge, only the Shafi’i school allows for the possibility of collateral damage, though even then only under specific conditions). Life is sacred.
The notion that all residents are legitimate targets may be the principle the Israeli government and their allies are following in deliberately targeting homes and hospitals, which are clearly non-military targets. But that is not our way.
‘You will surely follow the path trodden by those before you,’ said our blessed Prophet, peace be upon him, ‘step-by-step and inch-by-inch, so much so that if they went down into a lizard hole, you would follow them.’
Our turning away from the rules of war defined by Sacred Law is most certainly a catastrophic lizard hole to charge down, that will only result in more innocents suffering, everywhere.
Where are the wise ones who can advise us, in light of the strict codes of warfare and rules of engagement defined by Sacred Law, how the transgressed should fight back against tyrannical occupiers backed by the richest nations, who use the most sophisticated weapons on earth to destroy homes, kill and maim, and seize yet more land?
Our Sacred Law says be just, even with the enemy. Where are the wise ones who can tell us what this means, and who can set us back on track?
“Serve God and associate nothing with Him; and do good: to parents, kinsfolk, orphans, those in need, neighbours who are near, neighbours who are strangers, the companion by your side, the traveler, and what your right hands possess: For God does not love not the arrogant, the boastful.” — Qur’an 4:36
“Those who are merciful will be shown mercy by the Merciful. Be merciful to those on the earth and the One above the heavens will have mercy upon you. The womb is derived from the Merciful, so whoever keeps relations with his family then God will keep relations with him, and whoever abandons his family then God will abandon him.”
— Tradition of the Prophet, peace be upon him.
The past few weeks have revealed the astounding wisdom of the traditional teachings of faith — that salutary advice found in pearls like the Letter of James of the Christian corpus and in the traditions of the Prophet of Islam alike.
Advice like ‘do not act on your anger’: that the strong man is not the one who fights hard, but he who restrains himself in anger. Advice like ‘control your tongue’: consider what a vast amount of timber can be set alight by the tiniest spark.
Alas, politicians are heedless of the timeless wisdom of sages down the ages, and so the world burns. Here is an instructive insight into what happens when rhetoric and rage take hold of a nation:
J J Goldberg: How politics and lies triggered an unintended war
The Beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount were not esoteric counsel, but a practical prescription for the ailments of life in the world. Likewise, the teachings of our Prophet, peace be upon him, were not idealistic notions divorced from reality. We were not taught to purify our hearts only for times of peace and plenty, but for all times. Yes, in times of war, a soldier must be brave, fearless and strong, but he must also be just, merciful and true.
May God give us the wisdom to restrain ourselves in anger, to humbly serve the poor and oppressed, to do what is just, to speak the truth, be compassionate and to live a life that enables us to draw closer to Him.
With false piety, the rich and powerful trample on the poor and weak, and proclaim it a victory for civilisation.
The wise man builds his house upon rock. Jesus cured lepers; he didn’t assist them to die.
An oft-repeated phrase during our short-lived English khutbahs was, “May Allah give us the tawfiq to know Islam,” and every time I heard it I wished he had said, “May Allah give us the tawfiq to know Him.” The emphasis is always on the transport, never on the destination.
We Brits are so impartial, moderate, unbiased and true. And that’s the difference between us and the yanks. We keep up this pretence, believing it to be true.
The poor young visionary — once champion of social justice, investing heavily in health, social welfare and the minimum wage — drank from the poison chalice. From a brave new dawn, when things could only get better, to babbling fool, driven to madness by his own deceit. Never thirst for power, for it will consume you.
The Guardian: Israel pounds Gaza Strip with air and naval strikes
The Times: Israel hovers on brink of Gaza invasion
BBC: Israel under renewed Hamas attack
The Independent: The agony of a nation: Germany thump Brazil 7 – 1 to shatter hosts’ World Cup dreams
The Telegraph: Germany destroy Brazil to leave World Cup hosts in shock
Daily Mail: Bloodshot hollow eyes, emaciated arms and rambling on the phone: Haunting video of Angelina Jolie the heroin addict
I don’t understand the contemporary concern that charities have become businesses.
I expect an international relief organisation to have governance in place to comply with legal and statutory requirements. I expect it to have a board of trustees and directors, and specialist staff. I expect it to have HR, finance and IT responsibilities, to have to manage its facilities. I would be worried if it didn’t.
I also expect it to pay its workers on the ground, to put diesel in their vehicles, to arrange flights, visas and security. I expect it to recruit doctors, nurses, engineers and educationalists who have the necessary skills to make a difference on the ground. I expect it to make strategic decisions as to which type of tent to buy and which type of wheat; I expect it to invest in research to ensure the solutions they put in place are the right ones. And yes, I expect it to have an army of volunteers too.
Not every charity has to be run like a global corporation, but to be effective, all charities have to run like a business to some degree. The alternative is running yourself into the ground.
I once worked with a national helpline charity, which worked on a completely voluntary basis. All staff and trustees were volunteers. Income came solely from a small band of concerned donors, and was spent solely on rent for the office and telephone bills. Nothing was spent on stationery or on marketing the charity, except for a small website.
Unsurprisingly, although the need of the community remained for a helpline of this kind, the charity eventually wound up, because it could no longer sustain itself. Had it been run more like a business, making key investments to carry it forward, I am almost certain it would have survived and thrived.
Charity in itself is an investment:
“those who spend their wealth in Allah’s cause are like grains of corn which produce seven ears, each bearing a hundred grains” — Quran 2:261
It will be the believer’s shade on the Day of Resurrection, and so I have not issue donating to charities which are transparent and accountable in the way my money is spent. If only 90% of my donation is spent on relief and development and what is left is used to support delivery and future fundraising, so be it. I trust that God will reward me and them for our combined efforts.
