1425 Moons
Ago!
By Shakeel Syed
Culver City, CA
We date ourselves from the night Prophet Muhammad
(peace and blessings be upon him) began his journey
from Makkah to Madinah, one thousand four hundred
and twenty four years ago. This journey is a history
in itself and in it is a message for mankind of
historical proportions.
Incumbent it is upon humankind to pursue the establishment
of Justice and Peace, he said.
Physical migration and perseverance is an important
milestone on the road to establish Justice and
Peace. Intellectual migration from the subjugated
minds to an awakened spirit is even more important.
Prophet Muhammad was commanded and led to continue
the struggle of establishing Justice and Peace
after an intense preparatory phase in Makkah.
The message of One God is timeless and universal
started by Prophet Adam and continued by Abraham,
Jesus and Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon
all of them). Need of the day is to renew the
same call, made 1424 years ago.
The human society deserves to marvel at its scientific
achievements but cannot afford to act like an
ostrich in its utter failures! Moral degradation,
selective justice, purposeless life, meaningless
pursuits are coveted principles of the modern
society. The world today shamelessly refuses to
understand the very concept of justice. And by
the “world today,” we essentially
mean the whole system of political, economic and
cultural relationships, grown out of the two hundred
years of Western domination of the planet.
Within this global system, the poor South (which
is the home of the vast majority of the world’s
Muslims) had to “pay” the rich North
billions in interest alone on the generous debts
of the International Monetary Fund and its likes.
It is estimated that more than a million children
die across the ‘Developing World’
(a.k.a. Third World) each year because of debt
interest payments. It should also be noted that
the 20% of the world’s people who live in
the richest countries had 40 times the income
of the poorest 20%? And by mid 90s, 90 times as
much income.” What is even more distressing,
“the world’s 100 richest people have
a combined wealth of over US$2 trillion, equal
to the annual income of the poorest 47% of the
world’s people (2.5 billion). The three
richest people have assets that exceed the combined
GDP of the 48 least developed countries.”
These statistics are just the tip of the iceberg
— and only the economic iceberg at that!
When the data of other structures is examined,
it is even more dumbfounding — from resource
control and technology information to everything
in between. It is shocking that such severe iniquities
have been allowed to persist for so long. The
world is crying out for conscientious people to
step up and stop the exploitation of the weak
and the inequitable distribution of wealth, and
the wide chasm that divides the North and the
South.
Good Muslims, many people say, should concentrate
on perfecting their piety and practices, without
getting their hands grubby trying to interfere
in power or political matters. This is a modern
Muslim version of the traditional Christian separation
of church and State. In fact, many Muslim governments
are heavily investing in human resources who are
not only trained to believe in such passive thinking
but also made to advocate this mantra to others.
In the migration of Prophet Muhammad, we learn
of an amazing blend in the pursuit of establishing
Peace and Justice without depriving any one or
creating any disparities. Followers of his mission
must examine the much too flexible approaches
and compromising attitudes being adapted today.
The timeless and universal call of One God must
continue to be made but not by compromises. Migration
of minds and thinking is the need of the day.
In fact, intellectual revolution is an essential
pre-requisite before any change in the sociopolitical
order of a society. Some Muslims still carry the
intellectual baggage of the colonial era. This
has prevented them from understanding the issues
clearly to bring about meaningful change in their
respective societies.
And there is no better place to start than at
the bottom of the pit. After all, there is only
one way to go: Up. And the life of the Last Prophet
offers the only and the best example to follow
in plotting the way out.
The world is up for grabs – the people of
Justice and Truth should step up, else they will
continue to be trampled upon.
(Shakeel Syed lives in Culver City, CA, and writes
on socio-political issues. He can be reached at
shakeel@islamicity.com)
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