Ramadan 2004: our best wishes to the Islamic world
For most Muslims, the first day of Ramadan marks the start of a time dedicated to spiritual matters, to prayer, reflexion, moderation and piety. It is also a time of intimacy and joy as people get together in the evening after fasting.
This year, Ramadan presents a great challenge to the Islamic world. There are first and foremost its horrors: al-Zarqawi's barbaric militancy in the name of Islam, its apparent rejection of the West and its clever use of the media to show "live" decapitations. Then there are the abductions of engineers, drivers, domestic workers, men and women working to feed their families and build their country.
But what about the scandal of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with its corollary of violence? What about the US military presence in Iraq? Yes! What about them compared to Arab Muslim militias ethnically cleansing Sudan's Darfur region of its other Muslims who happen to be helpless and Black? What about the little children of Beslan massacred by Muslim fighters, whose deeds show that some men's downfall can be their religion's downfall.
As the Pope said after September 11, terrorism is an outrage against Man's dignity and God's name.
Ramadan can be a time in which God's rights reassert themselves against terrorism for injustice can never be a reason or excuse for terrorist attacks.
Recently, some voices have come out of the Islamic world condemning this or that violent act, this or that abduction, but too often so much weight is put on the death of a Nepalese as opposed to that of a Chinese, on that of an American instead of that a Frenchman. Such differences stem from ideological short-sightedness, not from any religious wonder about God's creation: Man.
On this Ramadan, we wish Muslims a time to decide for themselves what love for God and mercy for one's fellows mean.
It must also be said that things are changing in the Islamic world. AsiaNews itself has reported on these changes. In Indonesia, people are talking about reinterpreting Sharia Law in light of modern values including those about the role of women. In Afghanistan, people participated en masse in the recent elections (with no one deprecating the presence of Western troops). In Malaysia, Indonesia, Afghanistan fundamentalist parties have been rejected in recent elections. Turkey has amended its penal code to join the European Union.
A missioner living in a Muslim country told us that all this rethinking is taking place in the wake of September 11 and the allies' intervention in Afghanistan. The horrors that have marred life in Iraq in recent months have given this rethinking greater urgency.
In our opinion, the Islamic world can evolve if two conditions are met. First, governments, especially those of the Middle East, must open up to democracy. Personal dictatorships and the suppression of human rights do not help these societies evolve in the right direction. Second, religious freedom must be guaranteed. If people are not allowed to freely express their religious faith in countries like Saudi Arabia then there is a clear risk that the world of Islam will become too self-contained, too intolerant and violent towards itself and the world as a whole.
.png)
28/01/2016 13:13
