Ustadh Nouman Ali Khans khutbah on #CharlieHebdo: goo.gl/bp4we1 He made four points: 1. Criminals are criminals, even if Muslim. We cannot deflect blame unto others, by saying ‘they did this’ or ‘they also do that’. These are “separate matters”. 2. The shooting was not justified in any way. Period. 3. We have right to be offended. We should stand for Islam and the Prophet (saw) and speak out against it but through intellectual and civil ways. 4. Main question is: why are we being insulted? It’s because of our own actions. We have morals, no civility, no decency, we’re disorganised, we can’t organise in a parking lot, we’re corrupt...etc. We are away from Islam. People look at us and see a bunch crazies. What do you expect them to think? As to the first point, there’s a difference between deflecting blame and understanding/highlighting causes. Yes, a criminal is a criminal, but this recognition does not help us in any way to understand the crime or prevent its re-occurrence. Further, when a crime is the reaction to a provocation, they are not separate matters. And when the crime is one action in a wider ideological and political struggle, being exploited by the oppressor, pointing this out is very very relevant and important. Isolating the crime from this context is extremely naïve. Indeed, this is what we see in the Qur’an. When Quraysh, after all their oppression, tried to exploit the actions of some companions who killed in a sacred month, the response was not, “Yes, it’s wrong. Period.” The response was, “Yes, it’s wrong to fight in the sacred month, but what you (Quraysh) do is far far worse.” When Firawn, after all his oppression, tried to exploit Musa’s (as) killing of a Copt by portraying it as a betrayal of favour, his (as) response was not just to admit that he made a mistake. It was to accept that he did it *and* to point out that the reality of Firawn’s ‘favour’: that he had enslaved Musa’s (as) people and severely oppressed them. Was that the favour he speaks of?! This is the Qur’anic paradigm of dealing with oppression and actions that arise in its context. As to the second point, it is true, but what is the need for the hyperbole and emphasis? Who from the Ummah is justifying it? How many scholars or activists of any repute have we seen justify the act? My tally is zero! So who’s justifying it? Some randoms on FB? Does that deserve our focus? Or are we placing focus on what the media and corridors of power are placing it? As to the third point, it is a good one. May Allah facilitate us to the best styles and means in fulfilling it. As to the fourth point, it is simplistic, silly and even offensive. It is also plainly wrong. No one flogs a dead horse. The Ummah is not being targeted because she is away from Islam. She is being targeted precisely because she is returning to her Islam. We expect the kuffar to highlight negative aspects and ignore all the good. But it’s disappointing when Muslims do it themselves. Nay, the blessed ummah has immense khayr in her, which grows by the day. Allah is trying her and she is putting forth great sacrifices. Glad tidings to her, for a brighter tomorrow in this world, and an even brighter one in the hereafter. Allah guide us all to proper understanding and conduct.
Posted on: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 20:23:11 +0000
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