What Islam Means to Me (A Poem)

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Responding to a current event, I am posting a poem I wrote shortly after the assassination of Shahbaz Bhatti, which occurred on March 2, 2011 in Pakistan. From 2008 until his death, Bhatti, a Christian and the only non-Muslim in the parliament, was the Minister of Minorities Affairs. He struggled to ease the burdens of the "oppressed, downtrodden and the marginalized," struggling "for human equality, social justice and the uplift and empowerment of religious minorities' communities" in Pakistan. He strove to repeal Pakistan's blasphemy law, which includes the sentence of capital punishment for those who "blaspheme" the Prophet's honor. For this reason he was assassinated, a murder in cold blood which received widespread support throughout the country.

Bhatti wasn't the only major figure assassinated for opposition to the blasphemy law. The governor of Punjab, Salmaan Taseer, was gunned down by his own bodyguard in January, 2011; the public cheered.

A few months before Bhatti  was killed, Asia Bibi, a Punjabi Christian, was accused of blasphemy--just what she said is uncertain--and sentenced to death. (Bhatti defended her; this is why he was murdered.) She remained in solitary confinement until last month, when the Pakistani Supreme Court righted a grievous wrong and pardoned her.

Here is a photo of the reaction many Pakistanis had:

Many demand that she be hanged. Having received numerous death threats, several of those who publicly defended her have already fled the country.

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Pakistani extremists remind me of the current deterioration of social comity in the United Sates since the election of Donald Trump. First, while the more benign cries of "Lock her up!" may be considered to originate, as it were, just several steps beyond the mouth of the Inferno, while "Hang her!" is a cry heard, as it were again, in the belly of Hell, the former is located on a path which leads directly to the latter. It certainly can happen here if that path is followed farther. There is no doubt in my mind that Trump's bigotry and the recent acts of deplorable violence in the United States are connected. The Bhatti assassination demonstrates where hate leads if it remains unchecked. It is a warning that must be heeded. 

Second, I am reminded that America is not Pakistan. One of the glories of our country is the Second Amendment to the Constitution, which protects freedom of speech. The amendment is threatened, but still very much remains a bulwark of the Republic. Our diversity is also a blessing. Sometimes I think that the partition of the Indian subcontinent was similar to the gerrymandering that plagues American democracy. Muslims went to Pakistan, Hindus remained in India; they no longer had to talk to each other and get along, just as a representative in an American gerrymandered district needn't bother to address the concerns of those on the other side of the political divide in order to get elected. This is especially applicable to Pakistan, since India has a large Muslim minority.

Third, and most important here, I consider the Pakistani fanatics to be in opposition to the true spirit of Islam. As I stated in a previous essay, judging religions should not be a popularity contest; one should judge religions at their best. In literature, for instance, Shakespeare should come first to mind rather than poetasters. Islam has produced great and wise thinkers over the ages, and has inspired millions to lead better lives, including those alive today. I recall the recent aid offered by American Muslims to victims of the horrible Tree of Life synagogue massacre; these Muslims, in their words, wished to conquer evil with good.  

Furthermore, the tolerance and loving kindness characteristic of the Sufi branch of Islam is an inspiration  for us all. (In the spirit of Sufism, I compose the following sentence: If a Hindu abuses a Muslim in any way, he is no Hindu; if a Muslim abuses a Hindu in any way, he is no Muslim; true Muslims and true Hindus are guided by love, wisdom and tolerance. This principle applies to all faiths and to those without any specific faith as well). 

Granted there is more extremism in Islam today than, say, in Christianity; I think this is largely due, however, to the miserable politics in many Islamic countries, which has produced a large number of underemployed, undereducated, and relatively poor young, angry men--a toxic combination. Another factor is that secularism is much more prevalent in Western countries--in most of them, at least! I

n general, people who are unhappy tend to hate, no matter the religion; people who are happy tend to practice loving kindness, no matter the religion. It's as simple and complex as that. 

Human beings can become better through the practice of Islam, there is no doubt about that. 

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Words! Words! Words! Time, at last! for a poem.

What Islam Means To Me

In memoriam: S.B., assassinated by extremists

Shahbaz Bhatti worked very quietly.

He knew that to be a non-Muslim in modern Pakistan

is like being black in Georgia in 1921--

Worse than that, being a Christian cabinet minister

made him vulnerable as an “uppity” judge

during Reconstruction. He had had one of five seats

reserved for minorities--Getting paid for tolerance

in this world (he knew it) almost never lasts.

His crime against non-humanity was fighting to repeal

the blasphemy law--Truth is, if we all had 

to die for harrowing the sacred, everyone,

including grandmas in Kansas, wouldn’t survive.

Zia-ul-Haq modified the heinous 1970s law

by making it worse for the usual reason,

to cover up blasphemous failures of power--

This cannot last forever. Decency tells me

people like you, Shahbaz Bhatti, will increase--

(Despite fear for us, half in heaven's image, the other

half in hell's ferocious, self-righteous beast’s)

Peace