The Imam & The Genie
Imam Ali, arguably the highest Muslim authority in history after the Prophet Mohammed, is well-documented to have addressed his followers thus: ‘You are related to your fellow humans in one of two ways; either through the brotherhood of Islam or the brotherhood of humanity.’
He was addressing the Muslims of his time in a public forum. It is noteworthy that in Arabic, the term ‘brotherhood’ is gender-neutral. Considering this was the eighth century, it is astonishing that not a single voice was raised against him. No one declared him ‘kafir’, apostate, or heretic, and no one shot him in the head with their Ukrainian-made AK-47 while shouting Allah Akbar.
We should be overwhelmed and ask ourselves, ‘If that was the eighth century’s way of thinking, and if the Muslim public of that era reacted with such equanimity to such a bold statement, what has transpired by the twenty-first century?’ Today, we encounter a plethora of colourful fatwas that not only classify the ‘other’ as the enemy by default but also sanction their elimination without moral consequences. The so-called reward in the afterlife for such actions is said to be immediate upon the first gunshot. Should one lose their life in this endeavour, they are deemed a martyr, with the promise of endless indulgence in the company of numerous virgins, lakes of wine, abundant food, and luxurious silk garments, all awaiting their use in paradise.
The stark contrast between the idealised paradise and the harsh reality faced by many young men embroiled in this cycle of violence is crucial to understanding the situation. The book "Ghost Wars" offers insights into how the West poured vast resources into arming the Mujahedeen in Afghanistan during the late seventies and early eighties to combat the communist Soviet Union. When the last Russian soldier retreated, the Westerners quickly packed up and returned home, celebrating their victory over the Iron Curtain, likely with copious amounts of champagne and wine.
However, the weapons left behind were immediately turned against former allies, and those who toasted the victory paid no heed to the ensuing bloodshed. The Afghan blood was deemed inconsequential, as no Afghan citizen would vote in any Western elections. During the nights when Kabul, Jalalabad, Kandahar, and Kunduz were illuminated by rocket-propelled grenades and 120mm guns, funded by American and Saudi money and procured from Ukraine, these events were scarcely mentioned in the news. The aftermath of the Afghan war left no room for good, only evil. Poverty, tears, and blood became commonplace, and a generation of children grew up amidst this turmoil.
Similarly, generations of Palestinians have grown up under the oppressive shadows of Israeli F-16s and the formidable Merkava tanks. Humiliated day and night for over two decades in their own homeland, a simple three-mile journey to work or school starts at three in the morning. Women have given birth at checkpoints, patients have died in ambulances awaiting the mercy of an Israeli sergeant, and snipers have shot children before their parents’ eyes. The world watched, passively and helplessly, sometimes even applauding the perpetrators and blaming the victims. This stands as the greatest moral stain of our times, growing larger and filthier with each passing day. No one has acted to clean or restrain it.
Muslims worldwide have watched helplessly. Whenever they dared to raise their voices, they were met with American bullets, British tear gas, and plastic bullets. Pro-Western regimes forced compliance upon their nations, silencing them. Nations swallowed their pride, fostering anger and resentment towards their oppressors. The young boys who witnessed their fathers’ brutalisation grew up to be teenagers and young men with no prospects and a dark future.
One day, Imam Ali stood amongst them, as he had in the eighth century, and raised his powerful voice: ‘You are related to your fellow humans in one of two ways; either through the brotherhood of Islam or the brotherhood of humanity.’ They responded by throwing rocks, branding him a coward and heretic, drawing their swords, and murdering him mercilessly. Since then, they have continued to kill both ‘the other’ and ‘the brother’. They have cut down trees, burned hermitages, and spared no child, woman, or old man*. The children who grew up in poverty, amidst the wreckage of their parents’ and grandparents’ pasts, now desperately strive to reach the ‘promoted paradise’. Their tormented childhoods have stripped them of rationality, making them susceptible to hate preachers.
Imam Ali was murdered in the peak of their rage. Abu Hamza, Bin Laden, and al-Zarqawi shouted Allah Akbar alongside them. Strangely enough, Anders Breivik stood with them, shouting as loudly. The masses joined in; their swords stained red with the blood of the great Imam.
The genie had been confined for so long, and we erred in releasing it. It took a long time to let it out, and no one knows when we will be able to confine it once more.
* The Prophet Mohammed instructed his troop leaders: ‘Do not cut down a tree or destroy a hermitage, and do not kill a child, a woman, an old man, or a non-combatant.’