Al-Huda
Foundation, NJ U. S. A
the Message Continues ... 6/102
Newsletter for February 2010
Article 1 - Article 2 - Article 3 - Article 4 - Article 5 - Article 6 - Article 7 - Article 8 - Article 9 - Article 10 - Article 11 - Article 12
Haitian Earthquake Tragedy
-A Message from
Dr. Ingrid
Mattson, President,
ISNA
It has been reported that a
prominent Christian leader, Pat Robertson, has said that Haiti
has been “cursed” by a “pact with the devil.” Fortunately, this
is not the mainstream Christian position and my friend, the
Reverend Paul Raushenbush, has rejected Robertson’s “blaming the
victims” theology. Religious leaders must take a stance against
extremist voices in their community, and I am glad to see Rev.
Raushenbush respond to Robertson’s ridiculous and offensive
suggestions.
As Muslims, we believe that human suffering is not always
explainable or understandable. We do know that innocent people
suffer all the time, from sickness and natural disaster, and
that in such cases, we are required to do two things: First,
pray and remember, as the Qur’an says that “to God we belong and
to Him we return.” Second, we must help those who are suffering.
The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, reported in a Sacred
Hadith that if we want to be close to God, we should visit the
sick and feed the needy. On the Day of Resurrection, Allah
will say, “O son of Adam, I fell ill and you did not visit me.”
The person will say, “O Lord, how could I visit you when You are
the Lord of the worlds?” He will say, “Did you not know that
So-and-so fell ill and you did not visit him? If you had
visited him, you would have found Me with him [the hadith
continues].”
We realize from this hadith that the path to closeness with God
is, after worship, service to humanity. Perhaps the most
needy collectivity of people in the world today are the Haitians
after enduring this terrible earthquake. Helping the
Haitians in this time of need is certainly a sign of religious
sincerity.
It is also important to realize, however, that this is much more
than a “natural” disaster – that this suffering is not just part
of God’s inscrutable plan. As was the case of the devastation
that followed hurricane Katrina, human negligence and oppression
made a challenging natural event into a disaster of hugely
devastating proportions.
We cannot understand this disaster without asking the question,
why is Haiti the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere?
The sad reality is that the people of Haiti have endured almost
constant oppression and injustice since the first arrival of
European colonialists five centuries ago. The indigenous
population was nearly completely exterminated following the
arrival of Christopher Columbus, and then hundreds of thousands
of Africans were enslaved and transported to Haiti, where they
endured possibly the most brutal conditions ever experienced by
humanity. Deep and enduring oppression continued under
French colonialism, and every time Haitians attempted to assert
their independence, they were brutally suppressed. After
finally winning national independence in the nineteenth century,
Haitians did not remain free of foreign interference, and were
occupied by the United States in the early twentieth century.
Imperialism was followed by a series of dictators in the second
half of the twentieth century. Only recently have Haitians been
able to restore democratic rule.
As we know from the experience of people across the Middle East
and Africa, centuries of colonialism and imperialism destroy
cultures, families, and all social and economic structures that
are needed for a functioning society. The people of Haiti
are desperately poor because they have endured centuries of
injustice and oppression. It is because of their poverty
that their homes and buildings were utterly unsuitable to endure
a major earthquake, which scientists have predicted for many
years. It is because of their poverty that the people of Haiti
do not have even the basic infrastructure and equipment they now
need to dig their people out of collapsed buildings and provide
them with urgently needed care.
This Friday, I ask Imams, Khateebs, and other Muslim leaders to
share the message of religious sincerity and compassion with
their communities. We need to discuss the significance of
the collective obligation to help the poor and needy, to ensure
that we go beyond occasional charity to help reform oppressive
social and economic structures. Finally, this is a lesson
in human solidarity. Our community knows very well the
devastation caused to Muslim societies by colonialism and
imperialism, but we do not often recognize that others in the
world have also suffered from the same history. Surely God
will lift up the Muslim community and ease the suffering of our
people if we sincerely and earnestly serve our brothers and
sisters in humanity – the sons and daughters of Adam - who also
cry out for relief.
HOME - NEWSLETTERS - BOOKS - ARTICLES - CONTACT - FEEDBACK
DISCLAIMER:
All material published by Al-Huda.com / And the Message Continues is the sole responsibility of its author's).
The opinions and/or assertions contained therein do not necessarily reflect the editorial views of this site,
nor of Al-Huda and its officers.