other|matters

War is a Bitter Reality 5 January 2009

Ours is a society full of denial.  We like to tell ourselves that we are a peaceful people, but — taken as a whole — no population on the planet has as much blood on its hands within its borders as we do.  And, not population has as much blood of others on its hands as we do.  That is the bitter reality of our existence as Americans.  While we think that we are free and civilized, we have put millions into their graves and even more into hospitals.  Anyone in this nation — including myself — is a sailor on the world’s most exploitative battleship.

But, we Muslims find ourselves constantly apologizing over Islam and Muslims, telling people that “Islam means peace,” and “Jihad means struggle.”  These points are not incorrect, but they do not tell the entire story.  As we know, Islam covers everything.  The Qur’an covers everything.  It addresses the ideals of human existence, as well as the bitter realities of human existence.  And, one of the bitter realities of human existence is human conflict.  Thus, we have law.  Law places focus on keeping order.

But, one of the bitter realities of human conflict, is war.  While Islam is not a religion of war, it is a religion that places limits on war, which means that it is a religion that regards war as a bitter reality.  At times, war is even prescribed.

Thus, for Muslims, we face multiple bitter realities.  The first bitter reality is that we have to face the bitter realities of life.  We should not give up the lofty ideals we aspire to, but to understand how lofty they are, we must also face the bitter realities of life.  Likewise, we must face the bitter reality that war is a bitter reality of life.  And, likewise, we must face the bitter reality that war might even be prescribed for us.

And Allah knows best.