LESSONS FOR ALL

Injustice

Not so long ago I was having a conversation with Rah and the topic of student activism and well general activism amongst our muslim population came up. I remember discussing things like protest and sit ins at campus in support of the Palestinian cause and even protests to the American and Israeli embassy and the double standards that exists amongst many protesters.

I have never taken part in any protest for any cause ever. No i’m not a cold hearted bastard and no I don’t think i’m better than anyone else I just feel that there is general hypocrisy amongst a majority of people who go out and protest. Let me explain. I don’t have a major problem with those who go out and carry on like hooligans in the streets to make their point but I do have a problem with those within a crowd who incite violence and damage property. I don’t have a major problem with those people who will dress up all holy for the march or prayer or whatever and then barely a couple of hours later those same girls are prancing around half naked like 2 bit tramps and the boys are standing behind walls smoking joints. It’s not right what happens but it is not for me to judge. What I do have a major issue with is the fact that people have very selective causes and march and protest when it suits them and not when an injustice is being carried out.

I use the Palestinian and Israeli conflict as an example in this post because it’s an issue that is very close to all our hearts. All our hearts bleed when we see the injustices being carried out against the Palestinians, and the muslim people in our community do all they can to help these people. Yes we march and protest and that is how some people choose to show solidarity with the victims of injustice but my question is this WHERE ARE THOSE SAME PEOPLE WHEN INJUSTICES ARE BEING CARRIED OUT AGAINST THE VERY SAME PALESTINIAN PEOPLE BY THEIR OWN LEADERS?

When we show solidarity we show solidarity with a nation not with a political party or leadership. So when that nation has injustices committed against it even though it may be by it’s own leaders then we need to show solidarity with them once again and protest and march and show our support. But it doesn’t happen does it? Of course not, because this is where the hypocrisy comes into play. When the Palestinians were being battered into the ground by the Israelis people ventured into the streets and shouted and screamed and cried so that the world might take notice and good on you if it made you feel like you were helping and i’m sure in a way you did help but where are you now when the Palestinians leaders themselves have delayed a vote at the U.N on the Goldstone report which outlines the criminal acts of the Israelis during that war. Is this not an injustice against the Palestinian people? Sure we don’t know how this vote might have gone but it could have led to condemnation of Israel and maybe a slight easing on the burdens of the Palestinian people but with my limited knowledge to me it seems like this vote was delayed by Palestinian leaders due to infighting and non agreement between themselves.

This is a clear injustice against the people of Palestine by their own leaders and those people of Palestine have called for the resignation of the prime minister with immediate effect. I can see why, because they feel let down and discarded. If it was America letting down the Palestinian people those protesters and protest organisers would be mobilising but because the “letting down” is being done by a Palestinian we take no notice of it and even if we do we put it to the back of our minds. The next time you go out shouting in the street and saying we stand with the people of Palestine think properly before uttering these words because do you really. If you did then i’m sure you will be protesting against this as well.

GUYS SERIOUSLY NOW!!!!!!

Ok so i’ve been put on "suicide"(more is this dude going mad) watch after yesterdays post and yes thank you guys for caring enough but just so I can clear up a few things here.

I made a decision that has implications.... good or bad is yet to be revealed. I was angry and upset that I actually had to make that decision but like I said it had to be made. My life is not spiralling out of control or anything like that it’s quite the opposite in that it’s taking shape which is a great thing. I feel positive about it but that doesn’t mean that the nagging feeling in the pit of your stomach or the pain of regret just disappears. I think it’s more profound at a moment like this. It is all about accepting that the future truly lies within your own grasp and if things do not work out a certain way it doesn’t mean that life is not still a blessing.

I have tried explaining myself countless times this morning to concerned friends and have failed to come up with the right words because as much as I was angry I am positive and as much as they want to understand so do I but right now I don’t understand and I am not meant to understand so that doesn’t bother me at all. Me not understanding ensures that I continue searching and eventually my search will uncover what I am meant to find.

Decision

I woke up this morning feeling like i’ve never felt in my life before.... like never ever ever not even when I had my heart ripped out did I feel this way. I made the biggest decision of my life a couple of nights ago. It was a decision long in the making but I still had to make it and I did.

I don’t know if I should have made it though. It sounds spineless but sometimes there is comfort in uncertainty just like there is clarity in certainty. There is always that “maybe” that is open so there is no finality to a situation. The situation at hand is not final by any means now but it will be very soon. One way or the other. Either way I hope it leads to a lifetime of happiness. That is all one wants. That is all I want. Life throws us enough curve balls and i’ve dealt with all of them pretty well. This is by far the most difficult i’ve faced. I am prepared for the worst and hoping for the best. It’s all in the big mans hands. He is the best of planners and he knows I haven’t always agreed with his plans. I cursed him and questioned my faith in him but I always turned back to him taking comfort knowing he is there looking on, keeping a protective hand over me.

I know I won’t feel this way forever.
Just long enough for me to learn the lesson and appreciate what I am suppose to.

EID WITH A DIFFERENCE

It’s been a long long time since I spent Eid in Durban with my dads side of the family. The last time I was there for Eid was probably about 10 years ago. I’m the type of person who doesn’t like leaving his comfort zone especially when it comes to days like Eid coz back home I know my routine and I pretty much know how the day is going to go. There is a certain comfort that comes with that. The thought of spending the night before Eid at a hotel and then praying in a different place and having to do things that differ from the norm for me was not very appealing but I decided to suck it up and go and I don’t regret it for a second.

There was something very spiritual for me this Eid. Something I can’t quite explain but something i’m glad I got to experience. Eid morning started way earlier than normal around 03h30. After getting ready we dropped my mum off at my sisters place and went for Fajr salaat to the Grey street mosque. It is still the way I remembered it. I actually did grade 1 at the school attached to the mosque(don’t even know if it still exist). The salaat was performed by my brother in laws brother and it was the first time I had performed Fajr salaat behind a Shafi imaam and their Fajr salaat differs a little from ours but I quite enjoyed the dua part in the salaat itself. We took a walk back to my sister place and just had a light snack. Eid salaat starts much earlier there than it does here so we made our way back to the mosque at 06h15.

The Eid salaat was conducted by Hafez Mohammed Saad Kazi and part of the post salaat programme conducted by my brother in law Hafez Mohammed Raashid Kazi. As I mentioned before the whole experience was different and very new to me and was very moving. While leaving the mosque you are accosted by a huge swarm of beggars. It’s pretty intimidating to be honest especially since i’m not used to seeing such levels of in your face poverty. I mean who do you give money to and who do you leave out. There are tons of children and woman asking, it’s impossible to pick and choose just like it’s impossible to give something to each and every one of them.

After breakfast it was back to the beachfront for lunch at my grans place. I got to meet first cousins of mine that I didn’t know existed to be honest, which was cool. I should make a point of keeping in contact. After lunch it was back to the hotel for the customary Eid afternoon nap(I still think it’s one of the best sleeps you have the whole year) and then back to my grans for dinner. The night ended off pretty late with everyone catching up with each other and it was a good change to have spent Eid with all of them. There was something very different and nice about this Eid but I also think I got a spiritual awakening this Eid which I hope to carry with me.

NHI

Let me start off by stating that I wholeheartedly agree that out national health system is in a pathetic state and that something needs to be done to sort it out. But is a NHI (National Health Insurance) the answer? It cant be because it is unsustainable. We currently number about 5 million taxpayers in this country and the NHI needs to cater for 48 million people. The numbers just don’t add up and never will. There is talk that we will be taxed an extra 15% in order to fund the NHI. I don’t know about you guys but I definitely cant afford that.

The implications for our economy are severe as well. The funding for social grants and housing will be lessened in order to raise enough funds for the NHI. Now I don’t know about you but i’m sure that most people would rather have a roof over their head and food on their table before healthcare (in a perfect world we wouldn’t need to choose). The current government has pissed away tons of money due to incompetence. The NHI I am afraid is going to be another plan to line the pockets of greedy unscrupulous people all in the name of helping the poor. There was even talk in the press that the money raised for the NHI will not be put through the same checks and balances by the AG as other public funds. Now these things could all just be rumours but government has done very little to explain to us citizens how they plan to make this work yet there are plan afoot to start with the NHI by next year April.

Government are arguing that the NHI system works perfectly in places like England. It works but it is very far from a perfect system in those countries. The main difference between them and us is the amount of people who will contribute to the system and the fact that government makes it seem like our poverty is equivalent to their wealth. There are flawed statements coming out of government corridors and I fear that this system if implemented will lead to an even greater worsening of the healthcare system as well as making cynics of the few believers left in this country.

I don’t see a reason why I should pay an extra 15% in tax just so that I end up suffering and waiting longer to be treated at a hospital. I don’t see why I should foot the bill for people who refuse to believe that unprotected sex leads to HIV. This country has flaws that need to be dealt with, healthcare being one of them but the plans in front of us should make us take note of a general lack of foresight from our leaders and a sense of entitlement that they are breeding for the masses. Plans like this will lead to there being only the very rich and the very poor in this country. We the middle class will cease to exist.

IBN BATTUTA

I watched a fascinating programme on National Geographic this weekend that delved and followed in the footsteps of a Moroccan traveller named Ibn Battuta. I had never heard of this man before but from the stories he penned about his travels it seems that he was more of an explorer than Marco Polo. He journeyed for nearly 30 years and covered nearly the whole Islamic World.

He often experienced hardship and toil but also fell in with royalty and was favoured by rulers and sultans. He travelled with cavalry guards numbering thousands and amassed wealth only for it to be lost or given to the poor when he decided to purify himself spiritually by living in a cave with a renowned Islamic scholar.

He enjoyed the company of woman and was married several times and also had a number of concubines. Through his narrations and stories we get a better idea of how Islam spread from Arabia till China and the different ways Islam is celebrated by tribes and peoples who are still living in these areas and what role certain nationalities played in ensuring the survival of Islam.

Here’s the Wikipedia link if any of you want to read up on him or keep an eye out on National Geographic on DSTV I am sure they will replay the programmes.