Soul-searching in the wake of Orlando attack

Jihad Hashim Brown, a non-resident senior fellow with the Tabah Foundation in Abu Dhabi, reflects on another tragedy in America

Australians hold candles during a vigil in Sydney on June 13, 2016, in solidarity with Orlando after a gunman opened fire in a nightclub killing over 50 people. William West / AFP

Our community has tolerated reckless speech and amateurish interpretations of Islam for too long now. The fact – in Islamic teachings – is that all people have fundamental human rights secured in the Quran. Our neighbours share the self same civil rights one to another. Nothing in the teachings of Islam warrants an exception. This is confirmed by Islamic law with certainty. If it is ever thought that an individual has fallen at odds with the teachings of their creator, the one who created them is their judge, not anyone else.

Furthermore, the privacy of citizens is off limits, by writ of the successors of the Prophet Mohammed. People are individuals in the eyes of sacred law, not “groups” and the case of an individual is uncertain without due diligence in a formal court of law. And among the universal precepts of sacred law “matters that are certain are not dismissed by matters that are uncertain”.

No person carries responsibility for the sins of another, according to the Quran. Harm and abuse are always unjustified. No perceived “sin” ever amounts to the severity of murder. Islam and its scholarship have always placed great stock in the rule of law. Vigilantism is murder, and is strictly forbidden in Islamic law. The teachings of Prophet Mohammed are never served by violating the teachings of Prophet Mohammed.

Here, in this tragic incident in Orlando that has perforated our lives and the lives of our neighbours – with ugliness, intolerance and cruelty – is a case of confirmed murder as a “response” to a perceived “wrong”. It is never Islamic, it is never “jihad”. “Islamic terrorism” is a contradiction in terms. It is criminal activity. There is nothing Islamic about crime and crime is to be shut down, prosecuted and redressed in Islamic teaching. Always and only by legal professionals appointed by sovereign authorities.

When the balance of sacred law is abused – and misapplication by fools is an abuse – discord and chaos will follow. This can never be a good thing. Not for Muslims, not for people awaiting the compassion of the Prophet Mohammed.

Here we are in the throes of Ramadan. Have we lost our way? Ramadan is a month, the beginning of which is compassion, the middle of which is forgiveness, and its consummation is freedom from the fire. Allah make us and our loved ones and our neighbours – whom the Prophet implored us to love as well – among those who are freed this month from all the darkness and danger we might fear for ourselves.

It is the job of those who have been enabled and empowered to address Muslim congregations to keep people on message. As a community we’ve got to stop being so “idealistic” about the application of our teachings to the environment we live in. Failing to do this makes “Islam” irrelevant to everyone, everywhere and everything. Particularly irrelevant to an emerging generation of young Muslims in this country not burdened by inferiority complexes, “political emasculation” and hate.

But alas, as reported in a prophetic tradition “When the trust (amanah) is lost, expect the moment of judgment. How will the amanah be lost, O Messenger of Allah? When the affairs of community are given over to those unqualified, await the moment of judgment”. Allah protect us and the ones we love and our neighbours at the moment of judgment.

When will we collectively decide that it’s time to be more responsible with the pulpits? When will we collectively realise that theology and jurisprudence are a very potent force that should only be handled by trained professionals.

The narrative of Islam is not a recreational sport or weekend karaoke entertainment. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Narrow-minded stubborn intolerance and bigotry will only cause unhappy outcomes for all. Among them, emboldening and justifying reactionary and short-sighted liberal reinterpretations of Islam itself. In turn, sentimental and ungrounded liberalism will only give more traction and legitimacy to extremism. Rather, all human souls are sacred first. All souls have civil rights first; full stop.

It is easy to go to extremes at either end of the spectrum. But to build and adhere to wisdom and judiciousness – the trust we’ve been entrusted with – is heavy lifting. Choosing extremes is for the lazy and disingenuous; and it never ends well for the extremist.

When you sing to a choir, the choir never benefits, never learns, never grows. Do not underestimate the resilience, resolve, and solidarity of the American people, my people.

Perhaps the Prophet Mohammed was right when he said: “The best of you in the time of ignorance will be the best of you in Islam.” Ignorance only needs enlightenment. But in the valley of the blind, who is it that will bring enlightenment? Enlightenment is an event – an event that can only gain traction where there is trust.

Jihad H Brown is a non-resident senior fellow with the Tabah Foundation, Abu Dhabi