Treading the Beaten Path

Treading the Beaten Path

Freedom and the Disconnect

The late Aliya Izetbegovic related a conversation he had with Dr. Sali Berisha who was the first democratically elected president of Albania. Albania had joined the other Eastern nations of Europe riding the winds of change which brought down the old communist regimes. With the demise of the paranoid isolationist and iron fisted dictator Enver Hoxha, freedom did not fully provide the aspired results of change. Berisha described it as treading a beaten path and he himself is accused of being complicit. A quarter-century after Hoxha’s death and two decades after the fall of communism, Albania is still struggling to complete its democratic transition. It is this debilitating road to transformation that makes the common people wonder aloud whether things were not better during those authoritarian days.

Anwar Ibrahim cautioned this phenomenon which he described as a disconnect. Political ideals and postulations may not become realities on the ground leading to such disconnect.  It does not reflect the hopes and wishes of the people. Therefore there is the need for serious discourse in upholding principles expounding knowledge and illuminating liberating education. There has to be a juxtaposition of values and ideas. There is disillusionment with capitalism, the immorality with the complicity of the rich with elite politicians. Markets that only measure growth without justice cannot be accepted anymore.  It is how freedom and justice can be translated into caring and socially conscious market economies which remain true to acknowledging the people’s suffering, that is prerequisite.  Change in this aspect means that it cannot be regarded as business as usual anymore.

Freedom and Empowerment

Egypt’s first freely elected president Dr Morsi faces a huge task in translating liberation which carried a heavy price in lives and sacrifices into meaningful deliverables. The old paranoiac facade of the regime may have collapsed but its corrupt remnants are engaged in strong and powerful rearguard action. What prevents and stands in the way of a coup or an army takeover is the people’s resistance and great resolve to protect their newfound freedom. The people have had enough of dictatorship.

Egypt’s new leaders as well as others in the aftermath of the Arab Spring or the People’s Revolution have to remain resolute on freedom, liberation, enlightenment and to bring the people to empower themselves, to recover the people’s self esteem, to set them free from holding themselves in contempt anymore. Never to be fooled again by the cunning ways of the old regime and its benefactors. In the past and in recent history many great revolutions were hijacked by scoundrels and impostors posing as agents of change coming from the same regime as had happened in the miserably corrupt Central Asian countries.

In order to sustain the rise of people’s power and capacity to carry on meaningful transformation, Dr Siddiq Fadil offers the story of Prophet Musa and the model of Dhul Qarnayn.

The Children of Israel long under the enslaving spell of Pharoah, manifests the loss of human dignity, low self respect, loss of nerve and no fighting spirit until they accept as perfectly natural the state of slavery generation after generation sheepishly. This adverse condition comes from corruption of faith causing amnesia, forgetfulness, then turns man into being arrogant, tyrannical, brutal and a transgressor unleashed. Man puts his selfish desire as his devotion. From self corruption (fasad al nufus) it extends into social corruption (fasad al mujtama). Relationships between people are broken; a loss of mutual respect, brotherhood, altruism, togetherness and cooperation. On the other hand, mutual hatred, self interest and eternal enmity become the norm. Those derailed from the limits of humanity, some becoming like demigods while others are weak slaves to be exploited and manipulated.

So it was for Prophet Musa a.s. in facing the intransigence of the Children of Israel. For 40 years they were made to wander in diaspora in the desert trying to survive harsh conditions.  Hearts and minds should not be self destructed by stagnation and self contempt (al fikr al mumit) or that of hopelessly possessed slave ('abdan mamlukan).  The fighting spirit is part of a nation’s character. It does not develop in an instant especially after much rot and decay over generations. Devoid of profound awareness, thoughtfulness and absence of a fighting spirit, communities quickly degenerate being afflicted by corruption of the self (fasad al nufus) to become cowards (al jubn) infected with the excessive love of the material world and the fear of death (al wahn). We can never imagine the situation of a generation of Muslims who are forced to accept Islam devoid of the dimension of jihad.

Dhul Qarnayn showed transformational leadership in changing the way of a nation which was beset by the threat of terror from Yajuj Majuj.  Dhul Qarnayn was a towering global leader exemplary in governance. In one of his adventures, he encountered an ignorant, lazy and weak nation facing imminent danger. The people offered to pay him tributes as reward but Dhul Qarnayn refused to exploit the meek and the weak. He did not ask for his services to the nation to be recompensed. In empowering them, he engaged them to participate in the defence project. By doing so, it was an educative-sharing process which raises their own potential to perform. Together they built an engineering solution, resolving their inherent weaknesses and countering their external threat.

Freedom and the Moral High Ground

There was an online debate between two friends concerning Somalia. One advocated peace between the warring parties, to come to terms with each other, to act on the urgent need to save people suffering severe malnutrition and to hold off a grave humanitarian disaster. The other simply towed the hard Shabab line to fight to victory or death no matter how much the population suffers. In his banter, he ridiculed and belittled the Rice for the Needy Campaign undertaken by the local Islamic movement as if it was not worth it. The problem here is a huge contrast between killing and saving lives. Shabab’s struggle seems to be about taking lives but the local agenda here is to save lives. It is so distant and surreal. In order to follow the footsteps of the Prophet s.a.w., then it is not only about dying in the path of Allah s.w.t. but also to lead a life living the path of Allah s.w.t. – al mawtu fi sabilillah and al hayatu fi sabilillah. There is a major concern that if unchecked the radical young may be hijacked by extremism in the aftermath of freedom.

The scholars are influential in winning the hearts and minds of the masses, as well being important opinion makers even as symbols in the corridors of power and authority. Many have been principled and outspoken, some of them have been mute while there those who seem to be working towards maintaining the old corrupt regime’s status quo. There are those who pronounce rulings and support for dictatorship, tyranny and blind loyalty based on their religious understanding. They seem to choose to abdicate the truth. Professor Yusuf al Qaradawi has come out strongly against this deviation of perceiving fiqh – religious comprehension - and he has assailed such compromising opinions. He made clear Muslims can never be associated with evil, immorality and injustice. Islam can never side with tyranny and the oppressor. Again, following the footsteps of the Prophet clearly shows that there can be no loyalty or trust due to wrongdoers and the corrupt. Dr Wan Salim Mohd Noor has backed this position in the context of democracy by referring to the freedom and ability to choose a moral and just leadership instead of the immoral and the unjust, a choice which is only natural and definitely Islamic.

In what is supposed to be the exemplary cultural Muslim ethos of peace and justice, there are internal challenges and threats leading to such divergence in understanding and positions. In order to bridge the disconnect, Muslims have to retake the high moral ground where their centre, the principles and their ethics rise and thrive nobly above the clamour of error and confusion.

Freedom and Democracy

Some observers and skeptics seem eager to portray Islam in a bad light, to ignore or to dismiss its role in the emergence of freedom and the fledgling democracy. The term post Islamism has again coined up to intellectualize the discourse in such a manner which is highly debatable.

Professor Tariq Ramadan stresses that it would be a mistake to overlook or downplay the impact that Islam has as a source of political inspiration and mobilization in Muslim countries. The question therein is not if Islam is present in politics. Rather it is how Islam is interpreted and positioned to match challenging times.

We need not only celebrate democratic principles but look for a new model – where duties and rights of citizens matter, for economic and strategic reasons, models for societies in politics and in freedom. Without economic parameters, of stability and economic independence, there is no democracy. Without economic autonomy, there is no freedom. It is democracy under control and this is a disconnect.

This means there is no dignity in decision making and policies. It adds complexities to social justice because without freedom of opportunity, there is no social justice which is an economic reality. We have democratic principles but are not consistent in the daily realities and experiences of the people.

Dr Ramadan suggested several critical democratic principles be implemented. Education is of prime importance because ignorance and illiteracy are not possible for a thriving democracy. More is needed in education, to generate dignified citizens and not only to produce efficient workers for there has to be know how as well as dignity. Nations impoverished by war, poverty, neglect and ethnic repression fail miserably in meeting even the basic educational needs. Whilst the richer countries which fail to raise their educational standards remain mediocre at best being merely poor carbon copies of the advanced nations.

Concerning the cultural dimension, the globalization of culture rather presumptuously assumes the universalization of Western, more precisely American social order and value-systems. It considers history has ended and there are no more ideological evolutions. Other civilizations or cultures which are seen supposedly to be in the way of homogeneity are rashly predicted to be headed towards clashing with Western and US dominance. Islam is regarded as the unwitting adversary against a higher world order.

To subscribe to this narrow cultural hegemony would be to betray humanity which can be seen from the loss and crisis of values, immorality, the demeaning and degrading of the status of common man. There is no democracy without cultural independence. To have intellectual independence is to resist such global culture. It should not be seen only as protective culture because having a defensive culture is opposite to that of having a free mind.

Freedom of speech and freedom of expression based on principles and ethics shall provide check and balances to the well being of the state. They represent avenues for people to pose views and opinions freely with responsibility. They would keep tyranny and corruption at bay. Freedom should not infringe on the rights or others or to force the adoption of deviation from human norms, family values and the quality of life. Stifling freedom would curb creativity and exploration.

More are for changing the present economy because markets do not have intrinsic morality. It is the men in governance who preserve the good in society. Finance has become detached from public interests. Instead, banks and the like pursue self interests resulting in regulatory capture whereby banking and regulators interests are aligned at the public’s expense.

A just economy is not a rehash of the old neo-lib model but faith and value based, favouring common man, committed to equitability and distribution – a fair share of the nation’s cake and with the goal of achieving sufficiency and free from fear of insecurity. What is desired is not liberalization but equity and balance – tawazun – of the markets, government regulators and the people.

  

Endnote

These are only some of the strands of challenges and sprouts of ideas brought by newly acquired freedom and change. The path of the old regime has been so trodden on and so damaging that those reformers who follow risk being dragged by blights in the remnants of the past.

Leaders need to be steadfast, attain higher competence and remain credible, and the people need to maintain their strong faith and transform themselves to sustain support for the movement for change and attain the goals of the revolution. Human transformation is achievable but remains an enormous task.

Trends and internal forces of radicalism tend to cloud and agitate the situation. Pliant regime scholars send out contrary messages to the masses adding to the seemingly endless confusion. Foreign forces lay in the background deep in intrigue and menacing. There is no room for complacency.

To embark upon democracy means to be able articulate the rightful and meaningful positioning of Islam. Democracy should ensure justice and a life of quality for all.

A new and just economy should safeguard equity, manage scarcity and achieve freedom from fear of want.

Those activists and fighters for freedom in their fight in sustaining achievements may also result in another disconnect. Freedom activists and leaders can become problematic agitators if they neglect the spiritual dimension which is a potential ruinous deficiency. It comes back to a balance of things – reforming themselves internally and enjoining others externally - and a commitment to persistence and self actualization.

(This article appears in the September 2012 issue of PENCERDASAN published by WADAH Pencerdasan Umat)