AlQalam

Celebrating Eid at a time of global turmoil

By Zubeida Jaffer*

There are moments in our lives when we pause to celebrate. We give thanks for the many blessings that we enjoy. Eid is such a moment. It is a day of expressing our joy at having successfully completed a month of self-reflection. 

Often we bemoan our fate, focussing on all the difficult problems we have and forget to give thanks for our blessings. 

It is particularly difficult to celebrate when we consider all the challenges that face us. In our country, more than half of our population lives under conditions of poverty. We have to cope with an epidemic of extreme violence against women and children. The cost of living spirals each month.

In the world, there is a tension that forces a divide between different religions, pitting neighbour against neighbour. It is a dangerous time for our children to be growing up. 

They will not be able to shy away from being Muslim. Their identity is in the spotlight. 

While unpleasant, uncomfortable and unfair in a certain sense, this spotlight is perhaps an opportunity for self-examination. The easy response is to blame others as the Americans are doing. The Muslim world has been just as guilty of a knee-jerk reaction – it is THEY who are bad. WE are the victims and THEY are the enemies.

We are familiar with our criticisms of Western society – the aggressive imperialist behaviour, the super-exploitation, the dominance of multi-nationals that control the lives of billions in the world. 

But what about the unacceptable practices of so many Islamic countries – practices which careful study will show to be completely un-Quranic. Random killings of citizens were never condoned by the Prophet Muhammed(SAW). The intolerance towards women we see in countries such as Pakistan and Nigeria take us back to the Middle Ages. While it is completely unacceptable for the United States to attack Iraq, we cannot allow this to close our eyes to the fact that Saddam Hussein has committed atrocities against thousands of Kurds and invaded Kuwait a few years ago setting off the Gulf War. His hands are not clean. He is not a man of principle that we can be proud of. It is not good enough for us to say that he is no different from the military fanatics in the United States.  Perhaps this is so but surely Muslims should expect better from other Muslims. Instead we tend to excuse excesses that are in complete contradiction to tenets of any religion.

Right-wing fanaticism is not something peculiar to Islam. It is a phenomena to be found in all religions. The difficulty is that we need to ask the courageous questions about why we are seeing the rise of such tendencies within Islam. We need to understand why and then begin to consider if there is anything that we can do to reverse this intolerance. 

Ramadan particularly teaches us the lesson that each of us in the end is in direct relation to God. Only God knows whether we have fasted or not. It is a very strongly personal exercise even though ritually it has communal dimensions. It is up to each one of us to consider if it is acceptable to beat your partner, to kill a neighbour, to prevent the girl-child from reaching her full potential. But it is up to all of us to collectively develop to the point where we demand tolerant and kind behaviour from each other.

While these challenges lie ahead, Eid is a day of celebration. It is a day when we need to pause and give thanks. Despite all the difficulties, there is much to be thankful for. We have broken our country from the bonds of authoritarian racism. No laws prohibit us from enjoying the beauty of our land. We have been given access to the airwaves allowing unprecedented communication between Muslims in communities across the country. Our children are free to express their religious affiliation at schools. Islam enjoys the same status as other religions in South Africa despite the fact that Muslims constitute only two percent of the population. Muslim women are progressing in leaps and bounds as they enjoy access to job opportunities within the state and private sectors. 

In the world, there is a move towards combining religious practice with modernity that can only be healthy for the future. In Iran, 4,000 women have recently registered to take lessons in riding motorbikes. Students gather regularly and are vociferous as free expression is increasingly guaranteed. In Bahrain, eight women were candidates in the elections for the first time. The signs are there that times are changing.

Self-reflection, self-criticism and tolerant action are demanded to safely navigate our future. For today, we pause to give thanks and spread joy to strengthen us for these enormous challenges.

ends 

*Zubeida Jaffer is an award-winning independent journalist living in Cape Town.