Adil Najam, Asma Mirza, Darwaish and Owais Mughal
From all of us at ATP we congratulate those who performed Hajj this year as well as our heart felt greetings for Eid-ul-Azha.
The Hajj is an amazing and powerful symbol of equality and unity in a world distraught with frictions and factions. It is not just a symbol of ‘Muslim brotherhood’ but of human oneness. It is not simply a connection - in its rituals and its meanings - amongst the Abrahamic faiths; it is also a spiritually moving and visually powerful symbol of the unity of all humankind.
On this day, even as one reads comments on blogs such as this, reads the newspaper, or simply tunes into television news, one finds conversations that highlight differences: between countries, between religions, between rich and poor, East and West, ‘gooras’ and ‘kaalas’, between shias and sunnis, between ethnicities, between sects, between races, between political parties, between ‘liberals’ and ‘mullahs’, between ‘us’ and ‘them’.
It seems that everywhere and always we are not just divided but we take pride in our divisions. Our language, our vocabulary, our thought processes are geared to highlight our differences with others. We take a perverse pride in these differences, whether we consider ourselves to be ’superior’ to others or we believe ourselves to be victims of differentiation.
Today we pray for the realization of a world of just one humility. For universal humanity and fraternity. For peace and goodwill for all and everywhere.
Hajj mubarak and a happy Eid to all of our readers.
More information from the same source: Read this:
http://www.theonion.com/content/news/supreme_court _overturns_bush_v
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“It is not simply a connection - in its rituals and its meanings - amongst the Abrahamic faiths; it is also a spiritually moving and visually powerful symbol of the unity of all humankind.”
Even though one comment said, correctly, that it is tough to perhaps directly relate it to “all humankind”; the message of Hajj and the ritual is indeed thought provoking. What is painful is the realization that we the Muslims seem to be practicing exactly the opposite by declaring people Kafirs, or worthy of death whenever there is the smallest of excuses that differentiates others from us. How much effort do we really put into trying to understand the religious beliefs held by other humans (other sects or non-Muslims)? Someone might argue that this happens in all religions… true; but then, we are no better, right! Could it be that the Hajj, amongst other things, is supposed to teach us the baby steps towards tolerance? Are we trapped in going through the motions involved in Hajj as a ritual rather than understanding the real message of tolerance and equality?
Eid Mubarak to you all. May God bless us with a better understanding of the on-goings in this world.
HAPPY EID TO all PEOPLE