other|matters

As usual, some new news story is racing through the electronic gossip vines and that news is being spun to further denigrate Islam and Muslims.  Naturally, the self-appointed Terrorism Experts (who are nothing more than charlatans dressed in the garment of upright citizenry), and all those racist bigots claiming to be patriots, will jump on this story.

But, the model remains in place.  A material phenomenon is being mistakenly identified (or intentionally misidentified) as a religious phenomenon. 

This time, the alleged group is allegedly known as “Boko Haram,” which allegedly means “Western Education is forbidden.”  On a side note, the name reminds me quite a bit about what many Muslims have done with their Islam:  buku (or beaucoup) haram, meaning that they’ve made everything forbidden.

And, allegedly, these Boko Haram people are going around destroying everything.  In the name of Islam, allegedly.

And, again, this problem is being identified as yet another illustration of Islam’s savagery, compelling more enlightened savagery (mostly verbal — i.e. gossip — though some physical: expansion of war) to stop it.  And, again the core problem is overlooked.

Very rarely, if ever, does ideology or religion — on its own — compel a previously unorganized mass of people to organize on a mass scale act, especially violently, especially against their own people, for a long time.  The original Taliban (in Afghanistan) launched as a response to lawlessness across the country.  The current Taliban (in Afghanistan) — many of whom are the same people — is a resistance movement against American occupation, justified or not. They are not significantly different than the “Mujahideen” who fought the Soviet occupation, except that the question now is:  who is supporting them financially?  But, the point here is that Islam was a factor in the response, but not the starting point.  If there was no Soviet occupation, there would have been no Mujahideen.  Or, if the Afghans were Buddhists, then the resistance fighters would have been Buddhists, not Muslims.  And, of course, as historians, we know that so much of history is cause-effect, where the effect becomes the cause for the next effect.  But, the causes are repeatedly material.  The effects are repeatedly material.  Ideology — often packaged as a religion, and often packaged as a political or economic ideology — is a fan to the flame.

The core pr0blem is joblessness and its consequential hopelessness. Call it “lack of income.”  Call it “lack of opportunity.”  It’s the same material problem, again and again and again in so many parts of the world.  Masses might often tolerate occupation, when everyone has food on the table.

The joblessness has little to do with the presence of Islam, and many Muslim Utopians would like to assert that it is the result of the absence of Islam.  Regardless of the cause of the joblessness in Nigeria — and in so many other parts of the world — the problem is this material problem of joblessness.

Now that the problem is present, it is here that three things entire the picture:  the caller, the slogans and the ultra-simplistic, utopian, blame-based ideology.  That caller is capitalizing on the hopelessness.  In so many of these conflicts, the caller is calling to some slogan-based outlook on Islam, blaming “the West” for their material problems.  Now, it is irrelevant whether there is any truth behind this outlook, that the West is the cause of the problem.  The fact is that someone — in this utopian ideology — must be blamed, and that someone must be removed.  The result is simple:  chaos.

Note, that it is irrelevant that the people are Muslims.  The simplistic utopian ideology can be anything.  Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Paganism, Nationalism, Capitalism, Communism, Socialism.  It can be anything.  The problem is the same problem:  material.  In many cases in today’s world, it is joblessness, followed by hopelessness, followed by simplistic utopian ideology.

And, if that is not enough, remember that “Taliban” is not an Arabic word.  It is not Nigerian either.  “Taliban” is not the Arabic word meaning “two students.”  Rather, “Taliban” is the Farsi word meaning, “students.”  If the people who chose the title were going to use authentic Arabic, then the word would be “Tullaab.”

And Allah knows best.

I used to be of the opinion that a liberal education was the key to growth and self-awareness.  But I have not only gone through a full liberal education, I have also taught liberal education.  And, I was wrong.  I have noticed that there are many people whose horizons expand greatly because of the experience of a liberal education.  But, for every person I have met who has thus grown in this manner, I have met another person whose views — through liberal education — have only reified.  If s/he was a racist bigot before experiencing the liberal education, so too will s/he be a racist bigot after, with the difference being that s/he can now quote some dead thinkers to support the point.

I am still startled, repeatedly, by the great degree of bigotry we find in highly educated people, especially graduates of intensive, prestigious liberal education programs.  I am still startled, repeatedly, by the degree of naivete we find among these people, watching them consume the cheap stereotypes against a particular culture.

So, my point is that a liberal education is hit or miss.  Education does not free a person.  Education gives a person a set of tools through which to navigate the environment.  Those tools each have their own limits. The more tools you have, with which to navigate your world, the more options you have with which to understand.

But, the benefit or weakness of liberal education may not be where we think it is.  It may not be in the books and ideas.  Of far more benefit, in my experience, is suhba (companionship).  You are the company you keep, which means that you become the company you keep.  For you to receive benefit from such schooling, you must be in the company of such people who will — by virtue of their own personalities — expand your horizons.  Those people must be people whose views differ than your own.

The first result will be that you will see the humanity of that person.  Then, beyond that, you will hopefully benefit extensively from that person’s outlook, and s/he from yours.

Now, if you combine that outlook with most any educational system, then the benefits will be immense.

To do the same with a set of books, however, you must make the author of the text your companion.  You must immerse yourself in the author’s works.  Read many of them, or all of them if you can.

If you read samples, quickly, you will most likely reify your opinions, because you will usually notice what you already believe.  Still, there are those moments where your mind will expand.

But, the true benefit is suhba.  With your teacher, classmate, and the author.

And Allah knows best.

I do not quite understand the way we have been honoring our history.  We are so quick to honor the greatnesses of the Ottomans, the greatnesses of Andalusia, the greatnesses of the Mughals, the greatnesses even of the Seljuks and Mamluks.  But, when Muslims today speak of an Islamic politics or a political Islam, we shun them.  I do not understand that.  I do not see the consistency this selective practice.  Without the political, imperial aspect of the Ottomans, the Muslims in Spain, the Mughals and others, we would not have had their civilizational wonders. 

Indeed, it is understandable that when we appreciate a friend, we overlook the faults in favor of the merits.  And, indeed, in some cases, we even see the faults as merits.  So, it is understandable, by way of human nature, that we would selectively appreciate these civilizational empires.

And, indeed, my favorite spot on the planet — aside from anything in Mecca, Medina, or Chicago — is that spot in Istanbul where we find the Aya Sofia on one side of the street, and — one of the most astoundingly beautiful buidlings on the planet — the Sultan Ahmet (Blue) Mosque on the other side of the street.  Indeed, the reddish tiles of the Badshahi Mosque is exquisite.  Even the Dome of the Rock and al-Masjid al-Aqsa are feasts for the eyes and hearts.  But, these works are commissioned works:  commissioned not by merchants, but by kings, emperors and sultans.

Or, we can look at the scholarly legacies sponsored by the leaders of these empires, tracing all the way back at least to the Abbassids, if not the Umayyads.  Again, often sponsored by the patronage of kings, emperors, and sultans.

Indeed, there were numerous waqfs (endowments) that ran independently of (and sometimes in opposition to0 any sort of state sponsorship).  And, these waqfs for responsible for the patronage of many, many great accomplishments in Muslim history.

And, indeed, when we speak of the mixture of religion and politics, we are indeed speaking of a cautious, intoxicating mixture.  Religion is not the cause of so much bloodshed in the world, and religion often acts as a limiter for the violence.  But, for the crafty, devious, ambitious person, religion is the most potent tool to inspire conquest and destruction.  As a weapon, religion is more potent, devastating than the worst pieces of military equipment, for religion can be misused to rob people not only of their worldly lives, but their afterlives.

So, it does follow that many would not speak about, or would speak against an Islamic politics or against a political Islam.  Nevertheless, if we are to celebrate such great Muslim empires, we too must speak of their brutalities.  We too must speak of their gross violations of Islam, sometimes orchestrated in the name of Islam.

But, as religion resurfaces on the world stage, sometimes overtaking secularization, and sometimes acting as its costume, we are watching Islam return to world stage.  It is not going to go away.  We — Muslims — must define it, mold it, direct it and embrace it.   Anyone who knows a bit about the history of the world knows that whether or not we seize control of our own Islam, the imperialists will create their own version of Islam, that will be just as selective as our approach to these empires.

So, if the Prophet -p- himself offered you his sword, would you take it?  And, would you use it?  Or, would you put it in a museum?

And Allah knows best.

We hurry in doing good before we might get hit with the three corruptions.  These three corruptions — wealth, body, and time — are not intrinsically evil.  They are not even intrinsically defeating.  But, they are intrinsically challenging because we might define our selves according to them, in response to them, or despite them.  We cannot overlook them, yet we cannot immerse ourselves in them.  Simply, we have to hurry in serving the Divine.  Period.The corruptions of wealth are those corruptions which come from lack of wealth — poverty — or those which come from sufficient or excess wealth: prosperity.  In the case of poverty, we might lose our motivation to serve the Divine.  In the case of prosperity, we might really grow corrupt by way of hubris, or by way of forgetting our frailty and dependence.

The corruptions of the body are disease and senility.  With disease we might become disabled.  With senility, we might become unable to function, and not realize it.

The corruptions of time are sudden death and the chaos of the last days (i.e. the era of al-Dajjal).  With death, of course, our books are closed, save for those works whose benefit continues after our expiration.  With the chaos of the last days, we speak of a chaos so fierce that many will wish that they were indeed hit with sudden death or senility.

These corrupti0ns, when studied deeper reveal those simple truths of life.  The corruptions from poverty and prosperity are corruptions that challenge our dependence on the Divine.  The corruptions of the body are those corruptions that challenge our ability to act in service to the Divine.  The corruptions of Time are the Deadlines.  Dependence on Him.  Service to Him.  And, Deadlines.

If you lack the first — dependence on Him — you will be weak in the next.  If you are weak in your actions, the deadline will hit you before you realize it.

Attitude.  Action.  Deadline.

The corruption comes from Wealth, Body, and Time.  The cure is Attitude, Action, and Deadline.

The point here is that we hurry in doing good.  So, do something, NOW.  Now!

And Allah knows best.

We know that the clock is ticking.  We know that whether we sit or act, whether we do nothing or do something, the clock is ticking.  We know that as time races forward, seemingly faster and faster, we are losing out, unless we make the best usage of our time.  And we know that that best usage of our time is to believe, to do right, to call others to truth, to call others to perseverance.

And, we know that at some point, the clock will stop ticking.  Twice.  It will stop ticking when it is time for us to die, and it will stop ticking when it is time for the world to die.  And, though we might discover signs indicating the nearing of our own deaths, and though we might discover signs indicating the nearing of the world’s death, we do not know when that time will come, except that it will come.

Thus, we hurry to serve God.  Do you have that urgency?  Do you have that urgency knowing not only is time racing forward with or without you, it is racing toward its deadline?

We don’t talk about it.  We speak about poverty and prosperity in our society.  We speak about sickness in our society.  But, we speak of time as something as assumed as the sun; that eventually the sun will collapse, or explode, or change, though that will long after any of us would care.  Such is the way we speak of time, until it is gone.

I went through this period where I really felt that my death might take place in the next day.  I was sitting in a restaurant with a number of young people, chatting about life, with my mind on the fact that because of sickness, my death would take place in the next day.

At that point, when you are facing what you believe is your death, you might find yourself losing all sense of power.  I still had hope.  I still had fear.  But, I lost power.  The only thing left was to hope for forgiveness, and maybe perform a few tiny works of service.

But, that was wrong.  I lost that sense of power because I had resigned myself to the situation, convincing myself that there was nothing left that I could do.  That is dead wrong.  It is not my responsibility to give up my life, for it will at some point be taken from me.  It is my responsibility to serve, and to keep increasing in my service.

And such is the case with time.  My concern is the knowledge that there is a deadline that might come upon me suddenly.  But that knowledge is reminder.  That knowledge is a reminder not only that time is racing forward, not only that time is racing forward, not only is time racing toward its deadline, but that the world on this side of the deadline is largely temporary and fleeting, and the world on that side of the deadline — the world beyond time — is essentially permanent.  And, thus, we hurry to do good, in preparation of that world beyond time.

And Allah knows best.