Opinion

The Challenge for Change
By Azher Quader
Chicago, IL

Not too long ago, at the annual convention of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), the theme was: “Ramadan, a Time for Change”. Soon thereafter the Democrats and the Republicans showcased their party platforms serenading change as well.

The conventions are now history, the debates are over, the analysis completed. It is time for us to pause and ponder on the rhetoric for change, as we try to separate myth from reality, consider the change they want us to believe in, to the change we need to have, to improve our circumstance and better our condition.

Without question change is needed. When our most prestigious and revered financial institutions are going bankrupt, when over four thousand American lives have been lost in the war on terror and we continue to live in fear, when we spend over a trillion dollars every year on a health care system that has become so expensive that it is a burden on the economic survival of our businesses, when over 47 million of our countrymen have no access to affordable health care and the numbers keep rising, when over 12 million have languished for years in the shadows of a failed immigration policy that refuses to recognize their existence, when Islamophobia spreads its deadly poison to kill a turbaned Sikh in Texas , a bearded cabby in Chicago and threatens the lives of children playing in a mosque in Dayton Ohio, can we doubt if change is needed? The real question is how and whence will come this change.

Some say it has to come from our leaders at the top. Some say that Washington needs to fix itself. Some say that Wall Street needs to mend its ways. Some say the Neocons have to see the light. Yet there is more to this unhappy picture than perhaps meets the eye.

Our leaders mislead and continue to disappoint us. The moorings of vested interests in Washington are deep and strong. Money flows through Wall Street and drowns all voices. Power corrupts everyone and overcomes integrity. Self-interests of individuals trump the interests of the people and leave them robbed of their life savings. Scandals abound. Repeated abuses of power and position, continual betrayal of the trust of the people, unethical and sometimes moral lapses in the behavior of our powerful elite, have sadly created a world of lust and indulgence that for too long has defied change. Will the push for change ever find the muscle to move a system so steeped in compromise, so bankrupt in ethics, so driven by money and greed?

So where are we to find this phenomenal change we are to believe in? Having spent night after night listening to the melodious recitations of our huffaz this past Ramadan, perhaps it would be nice to reflect on the simple message and guidance of the Qur’an where it talks about the challenge for change.

Says the Quran “God does not change the condition of a people unless they first change what is within their souls.” 13:11

Our beloved poet philosopher of the East elaborates:

“Theri khudi men agar inqilaab ho paida

Ajab nahin ke there chaar su badal jaye” - Iqbal

"If within your soul comes a powerful change

It will not be unexpected for your circumstances to change as well."

The record of the Prophet’s life (pbuh) also shows us that the change in the destiny of the once powerless and tormented community came when the price for change was paid, when a message was received, when hearts were transformed with belief , and when the purpose of living was redefined by principles which bore testimony to the rights of human beings and their responsibilities for fellow humans. The transition from a life of indulgence and idolatry to a life of compassion and justice was a journey towards God. It was only when they had this personal transformative experience that real change came within their lives and they were then able to change the society in which they lived.

So it is today. If we want to improve our circumstance and if we want to bring change to Washington or to Wall Street or turn the deadly tide of Islamophobia, that will only happen if we decide to change what lies within us. Neither the eloquence of Obama nor the courage of McCain can make that change happen for us. Our journey for a better tomorrow starts from within us, through a vision that sees the needs of all people, through a commitment to pro-activity and patience which the Qur’an describes as Jihad, through a willingness to seek common ground in networking across racial and religious boundaries and through a recognition of our role as His ambassadors working to establish a just and compassionate society.

It commences through self-awareness, through self-discipline, through our understanding of who we are, our beliefs and our purpose in life. If we do not bother to discover a sense of meaning and purpose in our lives we will forever live for the day, engulfed in the chores that never cease, floating aimlessly like a ship lost at sea.

It is easy enough to announce that we believe in the sanctity of life, in justice, in equality, in security and in peace. It may even be fashionable to say we believe in family values in unconditional love, in fidelity, in shared responsibilities. It may be politically correct to declare we believe in consultative politics, in the voice of the majority, in the rule of law, in loyalty and allegiance. The humbling question remains how often our actions confirm our beliefs.

Our beliefs are not like paintings that can be hung on a wall and be simply admired, but should be an integral part of our being that reflects consistently in our behavior. If we say we believe in democracy but fail to vote, our belief is merely a painting on a wall. If we say we believe in good health but refuse to walk or watch what we eat, that is another pretty painting adorning another hollow wall. If we say we believe in education but cannot encourage our children to do their homework or support them to finish college, our belief is suspect. If we say we believe in serving the underserved and the needy but refuse to leave the comforts of our contended lives, what good is that belief? If we say we believe in integrity but our lives are littered with dichotomies, are we then not mocking our own beliefs? If we say we believe in the worship of the one true God but fail to serve His creation what kind of pious people are we? Bridging the deep divide between belief and behavior may appear unattractive in a world where appearance and expediency seem to rule and receive the rewards. But lives built on lies will sooner or later crumble under the weight of hypocrisy. We can only become agents of change for the world around us by changing what is within us.

For too long too many of us have lived in the shadows of silence and solitude when our faith demands much more. There are many among us who feel satisfied and happy to perfect our faith in quiet, through memorization and meditation. There are many among us who delight in the performance of our rituals that give us our validation for obeying the Divine Will. There are many among us whose acts of worship rarely touch the lives of any one beyond our singular selves. We follow a narrow and a self-centered religiosity. We are defined largely by a self-serving spirituality. We have become the ‘feel good’ Muslims, living the life of comfort, refusing to leave our path of purity and risk getting our faith polluted by the problems of a troubled world.

Then there are those among us who dare to be different, who go beyond the routine and expand the horizons of worship to embrace service to fellow man as their expression of faith. To them the feeding of the hungry, the caring of the sick, the striving for justice, the struggle against violence, the rallying for peace, the redress of grievances, the push for literacy, the fight against drugs are all acts of worship. These are no small ‘pillars’ for them in their journey to God. They are the ‘do good Muslims’, who get their highs by reaching low to serve and who strive hard to make the world a better place.

This then is the challenge for change. From feeling good, to doing good. From believing to behaving. A life of distinction comes from embracing certain worthy goals that reach beyond the demands of our ordinary lives. To be sure we need to respond to the calls of family and work. But it is in the pursuit of a cause that extends beyond the circle of these responsibilities wherein lies the fulfillment of our life’s greater mission and the realization of human happiness. It all begins by having an end in sight, having goals that are worthy and a mission that not only enriches our lives but the lives of others as well. It means to be proactive and not reactive, to be continuously working within our circle of influence and not concern, to be able to prioritize our schedules in ways to work on the important and the relevant. Too often too many of us live within the circles of our comfort zones, satisfied by the accomplishments of a life of mediocrity, never daring to challenge ourselves for a higher prize.

Our future will not change if we continue to tread the beaten path of tradition and cling to our ways of old. What determines our destiny in the future is our capacity to believe, to dream, to look beyond the mountains, to persevere with patience, and to work with discipline. Living in our feel good mode unwilling to respond to the call for doing good may neither earn us the goodwill here, nor the good grades in the hereafter we so passionately desire. We may rejoice in the expectations of a chosen people. But we should realize that a community claiming to be chosen receives that honor by virtue of its living and not by its label.

On the eve of this historic election where so many are singing the praises of change, let us also make a solemn resolve and say a silent prayer for bringing change in our lives.

*Executive Director, Community Builders, Chicago, IL

azherquader@yahoo.com