{"id":128333,"date":"2019-03-26T15:46:37","date_gmt":"2019-03-26T15:46:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/?p=128333"},"modified":"2019-03-26T15:46:38","modified_gmt":"2019-03-26T15:46:38","slug":"confrontations-between-good-and-evil-are-here-to-stay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/?p=128333","title":{"rendered":"Confrontations Between Good and Evil are Here to Stay"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Spahic Omer<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the New Zealand tragedy, much has been said and written about\nIslamophobia, hate, racism, extremism, etc. The causes, objectives and modi\noperandi of the unfortunate phenomena have been dealt with extensively and with\ndifferent degrees of success by a great many religious leaders, politicians,\neducators and social activists alike, with New Zealand and its prime minister\nleading the way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The discourses transcended the boundaries of race, nationality, religion\nand culture, resulting in myriads of voices coming out together and in unison\ncondemning all manifestations of hate, bigotry, extremism and terrorism, and\ntheir protagonists, while at the same time emphatically preaching and\npropagating their antitheses: love, tolerance, peace and dialogue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, several questions still must be asked, such as: now what in the\nwake of such an outpouring of emotions and rhetoric, and what is the next step?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will the world go back to its old ways until something similar, or\nworse, happens and we then do the same thing again, making thereby in the eyes\nof Islamophobes and other hate and terror-mongers a mockery of ourselves and\nthe ways we deal with some of the most perilous issues?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or will the world do something genuinely meaningful and enduringly effective,\nfacing head-on and trying to contain the contagious menaces which, it is no\nexaggeration to say, have brought the whole world to a historic crossroads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The importance of pragmatism <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whatever the case, long-term comprehensive strategies and policies should overtake impulsive rhetoric, which is normally coupled with short-term actions and programmes and aims but to paper over recurring tragic incidents and their devastating consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the same vein, initiatives at all levels ought to be proactive rather\nthan reactive, and action to be rational rather than purely emotional. Needless\nto say that before there could be a way, there must be a will and inclusive designs\nand procedures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The above questions are legitimately compelling, begging for\nsatisfactory answers at once in theory and practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is so because although life is intrinsically positive and good,\nman, who possesses propensities for both good and evil, never fails to\ncontaminate and stain it. The Holy Quran reveals that \u0153corruption has appeared throughout\nthe land and sea by reason of what the hands of people have earned\u00a6\u009d (al-Rum,\n41).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Terrestrial existence with man at its helm is a theatre of good and evil\nand their various manifestations as well as effects. Its dynamic unfolding,\nfurthermore, denotes a stage for permanent confrontations between the forces of\nthe two poles, one relentlessly trying to outdo and subdue the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, one should not be disheartened and fall into despair, for\nthat is exactly what life was meant to be. The Creator perceived it that way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This fleeting life is a place of temptations and trials. It is a means\nfor attaining the Almightys love and good pleasure, and to move on to another\nmuch better life in the Hereafter where things and experiences will be\ncompletely different and perfect beyond our imagination. Similarities between\nthe two lives are only in names.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Attempting to imagine and live this earthly life differently is as much\nfutile and meaningless as distressful and counterproductive. In passing, we\nshould perceive and live life only according to the will and plan of the\nCreator and Sustainer of life, not according to our shallow understandings and\nvested interests in relation to it and its infinite vicissitudes. That connotes\nthe core of the Islamic monotheistic worldview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being utopian and dreaming of a perfect and evil-free life in this world\nis utterly impractical and merely a form of philosophical\nescapism. Indeed, there is nothing wrong with dreaming, but yes, there is\nmuch wrong with being just a passive idealist and perennial dreamer. That is by\nno means an Islamic way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a small digression, when Plato wrote \u0153The Republic\u009d, al-Farabi \u0153al-Madinah\nal-Fadilah<\/em> (The Virtuous City)\u009d, Thomas More \u0153Utopia\u009d, Francis Bacon \u0153The\nNew Atlantis\u009d – and many others – they did so principally as a form of\nintellectual self-gratification. At most, the books served as a motivational\nfactor for trying to envision and create a better future for humankind as much\nas possible. Such undertakings were never meant to signify provision of\nspecific and viable blueprints for a universal socio-political and cultural\nawakening and development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hence, one of the most appealing and commendable aspects of Islam, as a\nway of life, was always its pragmatism. It treats man with all his assets and\nshortcomings just the way he is, and life with all its ups and downs just the\nway it is and should be lived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, man is not asked to be excessively acquiescent and passive,\nand to love and forgive everyone unconditionally – including criminals and\nbitter enemies. Something like that is impossible, and everybody knows that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rather, man – who cannot become an angel, nor infallible, and who, conversely,\nis not to be let live at a low ebb and become a devil either – is bidden to\nlove and forgive as much as he can, which is assured as the best course of\naction. But if he cannot – which sometimes is perfectly human \u201c heavenly justice,\non whose principles the heavens and earth have been created and exist, is to be\nallowed to take its course, and where no wrongness or excesses of any kind and\ndegree should be perpetrated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is why even Prophet Muhammads Madinah, the porotype and most\nexemplary socio-political context and urban environment in Islam, was a place\nnever fully devoid of elements of mischief and depravity, regardless of their\nsize and intensity and by whom they were committed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, for the sake of comparison, Christianity, with most of\nits theological and moral precepts, is too impractical and unreal that it fails\nto appeal to most people who seek to integrate it into all spheres of life and\nharmonize it with the challenges that such an undertaking entails. Perhaps,\nJesus crying out to God, while dying on a cross, saying:\n\u0153Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani<\/em>?\u009d that is, \u0153My God, my God, why have you\nforsaken (abandoned) me?\u009d (Matthew, 27:46), symbolizes this gap between\nthe fundamental teachings of Christianity and the affairs, along with the\ntroubles, of everyday life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rhetoric versus<\/em> action<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It goes without saying that the world should be better equipped to deal\nwith evil and evildoers. Evil and evil people are here to stay. Thus, the\nforces of goodness and goodwill should always be on full alert and not allow the\nvillains to outmaneuver and outstrip them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The question should not be as much about evil and its presence as about\nhow it is confronted and managed. The question, furthermore, should be if the\nworld is ready to face and contain the inevitable intellectually and in real\nlife. Is it willing to do so?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While rhetoric and positive emotional outpourings are, to some extent, good\nand can be useful as far as they go, global signs and trends, nevertheless, are\nnot very encouraging for long-term visions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is obvious that at the intellectual level, Islamophobes, hate and\nterror-mongers with their ideological proclivities and agendas are yet to be\nfully distinguished, let alone the prospect of fully comprehending and coming\nto terms with them. The world still dwells on the plane of sheer concepts and\ndefinitions in that particular regard. That is a weak spot targeted as a\ntypical technique by skeptics and the proponents of general uncertainty and turmoil.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Knowledge is the foundation of fruitful actions. Correct and well-founded knowledge spontaneously leads to what\nis right, as well. This ethical intellectualism is encapsulated in the words of\nSocrates: \u0153If only one knows what is good, one will also do good. Nobody is\nvoluntarily doing evil.\u009d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our practical reality is a fusion of the results of some peoples eternal penchant for a utopian thought and its shamming bravado, together with the results of numerous inherent human weaknesses that translate themselves into the realm of incompetent policies and programmes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is a damning assessment but the world is not yet ready for what is\ngradually befalling and eating into it. The bad guys are better cognizant of\ntheir strengths, working tirelessly on improving them, than the good guys of\ntheir limitations and weaknesses, taking them lightly and viewing the situation\nwith unfounded positivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that is the crux of the problem, yet its root cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Far-right politics<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What happened in New Zealand – as tragic and disturbing as it was – was\njust an effect. The bloodthirsty criminal, too, was a product of the philosophy\nand school of far-right politics and their unobstructed existence and\noperation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an illustration, \u0153far-right\npolitical parties and groups have sprung up in Australia consistently over the\nyears. Three such parties that have been around for a few years and have gained\nseats in parliament are the One Nation\nParty<\/a>, Family First<\/a>\nand Fred Niles Christian\nDemocratic Party<\/a> and its predecessors. Nile has been a NSW state MP\nsince 1981. The Australian League of Rights<\/a>\n– which is more of an interest group than a party – was established in 1946.\nThe Citizens Electoral Council<\/a>\nwas founded in Australia in 1988. But there are a growing number of far-right\nparties and movements that have only sprung up in Australia in recent times\u00a6\u009d (http:\/\/theconversation.com\/explainer-australias-tangled-web-of-far-right-political-parties-45619).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It does not make any sense, therefore, to worry about and condemn the\neffects, while ignoring and absolving the causes and sources that beget them.\nNor does it seem right that the New Zealand criminal is widely vilified and\nkept in jail, while those ideas, individuals, institutions and political\nparties with their manifestos which had inspired and created the monster are\noverlooked, or just superficially censured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Certainly, for instance, the far-right\nAustralian senator,<\/em> Fraser Anning, who is proudly anti-Islam and anti-Muslim and who\nblamed rather Muslims and Muslim immigration for the New Zealand massacre, is\nto be blamed as much as the murderer himself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The senator is a microcosm of a phenomenon and school of thought, and\nhow unhindered the tangled web of far-right political parties and movements functions.\nHe also demonstrates the agonizing limitations of governments and generally the\npeople of goodwill, and how vague and disjointed their efforts are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the New Zealand murderer was a product, Fraser Anning, and such as like him in various capacities, personify\nentire processes and their production and supply lines. They, it stands to\nreason, are more dangerous and more blameworthy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the murderer attacked with bullets, the ideological fathers of\nfar-right politics across the globe attack mercilessly with vicious ideas and\nstatements. The latter is far more hazardous and devastative. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the murderer is in jail and is bound to spend the rest of his\nmiserable life therein, the ideological fathers are free to continue with their\ncrusades through the legitimate means and channels of politics, media,\neducation and social development. They freely form political parties, contest\nelections, create institutions and live their daily lives normally, taking full\nadvantage of the inherent downsides of the systems of prevalent liberal\ndemocracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strangely enough, worldwide petition campaigns have been created and run\nin order to request that Fraser Anning be \u0153pushed to\nresign from his position as Senator, and if appropriate, be investigated by law\nenforcement agencies for supporting right wing terrorism\u009d. However, its all\nproving in vain. Nothing concrete has emerged from the Australian or any other\ngovernment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But\nwhen the same senator on account of his inflammatory views and statements was\negged by a teenager, after which he struck the boy, Australias prime minister\nwas quick to say that the senator should be charged for his wrongdoing. The prime minister told reporters:\n\u0153The full force of the law should be applied to Sen. Anning.\u009d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One\nwonders why, as well, \u0153the full force of the law\u009d cannot be applied to the\nsenator for being an \u0153ideological terrorist\u009d or an \u0153ideological motivator of\nterrorism\u009d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Surely, as long as those sentiments, ideas and their proprietors are on\nthe loose and roaming freely, there will be enduring fear and cyclical\nviolence. As long as there are causes, there will be outcomes. Dealing only\nwith the outcomes essentially solves nothing, whereas addressing the causes\ngives hope and reasons for optimism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The role of the media<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, as the true face of society, several aspects of especially the Western\nworlds media also seem to be at a loss as to how exactly to report about the\nNew Zealand tragedy, and about other unfortunate episodes that take place\nelsewhere and are identical in nature and purpose. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The media are torn between the obvious criminality of events, on the one hand, and their innate inclination to the dialectic of \u0153us versus<\/em> them\u009d and a feeling that the integration and multiculturalism drives are proving a failed experiment, on the other. There is a feeling that an outright criticism may well turn into a form of self-criticism, may undermine \u0153our values and identity\u009d in favour of \u0153theirs\u009d, and most worryingly, may put \u0153them\u009d in a more favourable position and thus may start \u201c God forbids – giving \u0153them\u009d the edge over \u0153us\u009d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manipulating and abusing the labels of terrorism and terrorists, partly\ndue to the widespread ignorance and partly due to yet more widespread hidden\nagendas, add significantly to the problem. Hence, proper knowledge and ultimate\ntruths are habitually least wanted. Tragically, they sometimes may even correspond\nto an offence and illegality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be that as it may, the role of the media in either improving or\nworsening the situation will always be critical. As Malcolm X once said: \u0153The medias the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to\nmake the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and thats power.\nBecause they control the minds of the masses.\u009d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the notions of honesty, fairness and objectivity have long since become abandoned and forgotten in many circles, its perhaps time to start pursuing what China calls a New World Media Order. Likewise, dramatic changes in world social, political and ethical thought, and in balances of power in international relations, are badly needed, so that in the orbit of perpetual confrontations between good and evil the balance is substantially tipped in favour of the former.   ***<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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