http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2013\10\16\story_16-10-2013_pg3_1
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
EDITORIAL : The Hajj sermon
Hajj this year ended on a sad note when the Grand Mufti in his annual sermon at Arafat reminded the 1.6 billion Muslims present about the divisions, chaos and schisms that have destroyed the fabric of Islam, leaving it tattered, frayed and in bad taste. He told them that Islam prohibits killing and aggression, without mentioning the brutality with which Muslim states are not only killing their own people as is happening in the Middle East, but the minorities as well, Pakistan being the macabre leader in that cruelty where we take pride in attacking, maiming and killing not only non-Muslims but Shias, Ahmedis and the Barelvis in the name of Islam. He told Muslims that their enemy is targeting them therefore they should confront it, without conceding that the enemy lives amongst us. Saudi Arabia and Qatar are responsible for fanning sectarianism by pitching Sunnis against Shias in Syria and elsewhere. The weaponry in the hands of the rebels and the resurrection of al Qaeda in Syria are the handiwork of these two governments. The Grand Mufti told his audience that they should safeguard the safety, stability and security of their nations and their resources without describing how his own country has helped destroy Afghanistan and Pakistan by exporting their brand of Wahabi Islam, now shaped into a more horrendous form of Salafi Islam, that gives license to kill any Muslim in the name of Takfir (when a Muslim accuses another Muslim of apostasy). Mufti Abdul Aziz al Sheikh said that there is no salvation for Muslim nations without adhering to the teachings of Islam, without elaborating that there is no compulsion in faith, and that we are responsible for our own deeds. The most we are allowed is to pass on the message of Islam, but it is not for us to force others to follow. The problem with practicing Muslims today is that they treat Islam like an insecure entity that needs care, due attention and a special shelter lest it gets smeared and nullified. The recent example of this attitude is displayed in Malaysia where the government has gone so far as proscribing Christians from using Allah as their God's name. Who has given Muslims the liberty to copyright the name of Allah? It is His name, and He is the God of the universe, as He has said in the scriptures. There is no religion that does not believe in the existence of God. Why are we trying to deny people owning God in all His attributes? Is this how piety in Islam is preserved or managed? In fact being Muslim is no guarantee that we have reached that threshold. Is this what the glory of Islam had been all about, something that we want to revert to and long for? With retrogressive steps such as prohibiting Christians from using the name of Allah or destroying churches and killing Shias or Ahmedis, we cannot attain that goal. Islam's glory lies in its spirit of tolerance, sacrifice, patience, devotion and simplicity. The message of Hajj is an embodiment of all these attributes that Abraham and every prophet that followed him practiced and left behind for the people to cherish and follow. Today more Muslims are being killed by Muslims then by people of any other religion. It is not Islam that Saudi Arabia or Qatar is funding to preserve. It is their kingship that they feared losing in the eddies of the Arab Spring. They fueled sectarianism to keep the infighting amongst Muslims alive before the embers of democracy could reach the fringes of their kingdom.
The Hajj sermon has concealed more than revealed the true face of the Muslim world. Vetted as the sermon is every year by the Saudi government, the actual message that comes across is that we don't practice what we say. Our deeds do not match our words. The guardians of the two Holy Places say one thing and do another. *
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