On Hate

Godot:

...thanks for sharing this journal like observations...

...events in current and recently past history have often forced me to dwell on this subject...and in fact currently am writing a poem on this...will share it with you guys later...

...hatred is an inborn emotion...how we tackle it individually makes us stand tall or low...in our own eyes...(that is the most important criteria: how others view is secondary)...

...it is impossible to conquer hatred...once i wrote that i hate hatred and am bothered by this hatred of hatred and my inability to conquer it...

...interesting subject, more later....

rgds,

t

Good one G. However, it was more of a personal expression than an analysis.

Personally, I think there are three catagories of hate

1. Healthy Hate:

It is a natural reaction towards a menacing situation or a threatening person. I think it has more to do with adrenaline level in our blood, when our body gets ready for a swift response; but as soon as the threatening situation subsides the adrenaline level comes down and we go back to normal state.

2. Unhealthy Hate:

It arises from despair; when menace and threat lingers on for long period of time and you feel utter helplessness being unable to do something about it. An example is that of Palestinians who in their utter desperation tie bombs to themselves and blow themselves up among Israelis. The 21 hijakers who crashed their planes into the buildings were also in utter desperation. In this case, the whole blame goes to the threat and menace which caused such desperation. This kind of hate is unhealthy because it is self-destructive also. The punjabi proverb explains it perfectly ``na khaidaN gay na khaidan diaN gay, khutti wich mutraN gay``.

3. Planned Hate

Goebles invented it-Americans perfected it-and Indians put it in practice. Today, American government and media are at the forefront of anti-Muslim bigotry and institutionalization of hate against Muslims in general and Arabs in particular. The whole top-down chain of command in American government and media use double speak to create a certain mindset among its own people. THe idea is to prevent people from start questioning their own government and its own policies i.e. the policies of oppression, aggression, neocolonialism, extortion, and blatent disregard for human rights and dignity all around the globe. The public in West is conditioned to think that `since they hate us, it is ok to steal their wealth, its kosher to oppress them, and their murder is justified`.

Indians use the same techniques. For the past 3 years, since Kargil, Indian government, media, and intellectuals have worked diligently towards institutionalization of anti-Muslim bigotry and hate towards Paksitan and Islam. The idea was to convince the Americans and the West that Indian tunes are in sync with theirs and they are on the same side. The aftermath of 9/11 came as a big disappointment for Indians because their 3 years of relentless work went down the drain. When for three years you condition the mind of a nation with hate, the hate has to come out some way. The explosive genocide of Muslims in Gujrat and a passive one of that in Kashmir was a given. How else would have Indian government justified its policies to its sanner people-how else but by smearing the truth with hate.

Godot,
One can only find agreement in your new found wisdom. But believe me as you have so eloquently expressed, sometimes it is very difficult to control this thing called hate. Best of luck!

Ras

Godot

Understanding why we hate is the answer to how to stop we it. What is hate? is it fear of other, oneself? or both?

WOW. Excellent article. If we are capable of hate, we are also capable of introspection. I am glad that something as insignificant as a verba insult could make you think in such a profound manner.

Good luck mate.

heart of a muslim

by Jamal Rahman

The death of thousands of innocent people on September 11 is soul wrenching. I ask myself, as we all do, how a loving Creator could allow this horrific event to occur? The answer is wrapped in mystery. As the Quran says, “We have shown you the dust but concealed the wind.”

The perpetrators of the devastating attack, all of them Islamic extremists, claim to be martyrs. The real martyrs, of course, are the innocent people whose lives were tragically snuffed out.

How do I, as a Muslim, honor them? I honor the dead by honoring the truth.

Islam is a religion of peace. Force is permitted only in self-defense. The Quran says that if anyone takes one innocent life, it is as if “he killed all of mankind.” It advises a Muslim to “show forgiveness, enjoin kindness and stay away from the ignorant.” Repeatedly, the Quran tell us not to “sow corruption on earth” and to “stand firmly for justice, as witnesses to God even as against yourself or your parents or your kin, and whether it be against rich or poor.”

But if Islam espouses peace and moderation, how do we explain the growth of radicalism bent on violence?

Again, there are no easy answers. Like other religions, Islam has its share of zealots who clamor for attention. The mystic Rumi cautioned us about them, describing them as “All fireworks and no light, all husk and no kernel.”

What makes these times volatile is the vast pool of poor, illiterate Muslims around the world who lead lives of despair and defeat. Not only do they suffer at the hands of their own governments, they feel authentic anger and anguish at the policies of the United States: its blind support of Israel, its devastation of the lives of generations of Iraqi Muslims, and its practice of preaching democracy while propping up a corrupt, feudal monarchy in Saudi Arabia. Islamic radicals easily find supporters among the disaffected. In the hands of angry men with untamed egos, religious verses misinterpreted and taken out of context become weapons of destruction. Perpetrators of murder become “martyrs.” Acts of violence become “Jihad.” And suicide becomes a passageway to the sensual pleasures of heaven.

The truth of Islam is quite different. A martyr is one who witnesses the truth and gives his life for it. The greater meaning of Jihad is about battling and taming the imperious fragments of one’s ego; the lesser Jihad is about defending one’s religion when it is attacked. Suicide is expressly forbidden in Islam. The vivid imagery of paradise is metaphorical, meant to incline the heart of the believer to engage in “deeds which are pleasing in the eyes of the Lord.”

At a recent retreat, I was touched by a story of an African American peace activist. As a child of seven, he slapped a white child who called him “nigger.” At home his father congratulated him, but his mother tenderly chided him, saying, “What good did that do?” Later she said, “Son, there has to be a better way.” Her words resonated deeply in the child’s soul. Today, an adult, he dedicates his life to finding a better way.

We owe it to the brave, innocent people who have been sacrificed all over the world to find a better way.

Inner work or outer work?

In Islam, finding a better way is not about rushing out to change governments and institutions. Our actions must be rooted in higher consciousness. Otherwise, we are like the sincere, action-oriented monkey my beloved parents told me about. With great zeal, the monkey plucked fish out of ponds to save them from a watery grave.

Does this mean we should work only on ourselves? No. Work equally in the visible and invisible world, advise Islamic mystics. Participate fully in the bazaar of life—buying, selling marrying, raising children, and doing “abiding good deeds.” But complement this outer work daily with an inner practice that nurtures and nourishes the soul—prayers, silence, music, nature, play. Everything in the visible world, reveals the Quran, has its roots in the invisible world. Water those roots regularly.

Can we do this work in both realms with compassion for ourselves? The inner meaning of the most repeated verse in the Quran (Allah is Infinitely Compassionate, Merciful and Beneficent) is that God wants us to be compassionate with ourselves. Little do we know who we are, where we come from, or where weare going. Have mercy on yourself, the Quran teaches, for you are precious in God’s eyes. Compassion for yourself allows our divine identity to step forward; compassionate towards yourself you are able to hold compassion for the whole world.

One way to do our spiritual work is to cultivate the art of listening. The ultimate listening is, of course, hearing the inner voice of the soul in us. But we must listen to other voices as well. We begin by making an effort to truly listen to others: family, friends, colleagues at work, voices in the community we disagree with.

A Christian minister I know well practices compassionate listening with renewed enthusiasm these days. He listens not only to family and friends but also to voices he previously ignored, and he is excited about a startling realization: “Maybe the anguish I feel now is what others have been feeling for a long time.” My friend is not talking about Islamic extremists. He is talking of Native Americans, African Americans, and Chicanos. He admits that there’s nothing novel about this insight except that, for the first time, he feels it in his guts. As a result, he makes an important distinction when he talks about the Islamic terrorists—their actions are evil, but their beings are not.

The 15th-century Sufi mystic Kabir offers similar advice: “Do what is right but never leave the person out of your heart.” Protect yourself. Don’t allow yourself to be abused. Do what is right. But if you’re angry, know that you are fighting the antagonism, not the antagonist. This knowledge alone, Kabir insists, has the power to shift heaven and earth.

If this is so, can we extend this hearing to Osama bin Laden? After all, he is using grievances that we are reluctant to hear to recruit thousands of Muslims.We don’t have to agree with Osama bin Laden or condone his actions. But if we care to listen, we might hear the cry of authentic pain and despair that many Muslims feel because of US policies.

Another aspect of compassionate listening was one of Gandhi’s central messages: “It is a sacred duty of every individual to have an appreciative understanding of other religions.” We are asked to remain rooted in our own tradition but to ennoble and enrich something in us by being open to the beauty of other traditions. A Christian bishop calls this “grounded openness;” a Rabbi calls this process “developing our inner faith;” a Muslim scholar says that interfaith appreciation is about completion, not conversion.

If there’s one lesson driven home by the September 11 events, it is that we are all truly interconnected. This is not a new lesson. What is new is that we are experiencing this interwovenness in our hearts. Victim and victimizer, liberal and fundamentalist, rich and poor, empowered and disempowered, distant and near—all are unimaginably connected. The gentle Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh expressed this eloquently in a poem:

I am the twelve year old girl

refugee on a small boat

who throws herself into the ocean

after having been raped by a sea pirate

and I am the pirate,

my heart not yet capable of seeing and loving.

Please call me by my true name

so I can wake up

and the door of my heart

could be left open,

the door of compassion.

Empowering women

Integral to this insight of interconnection is the realization that we need to double and redouble our efforts to empower women. Extremists of every stripe are mostly men. (Note that the practice of veiling women’s faces has its roots not in the Quran but in male dominated cultures.) Desperately and urgently we need to balance male ego-driven fanaticism with the gentler, kinder, spirit-filled voices and energies of women. The sharp edges of male extremism require smoothing and healing.

Once a group of self-absorbed men boasted to Rabia, a beloved female saint: “The crown of prophethood has been placed on men’s heads. The belt of nobility has been fastened around men’s waists. No woman has ever been a prophet.” Rabia politely but firmly replied, “But egoism and self worship and ‘I am your Lord, the most high’ have never sprung from a woman’s breast. All these things have been the specialty of men.”

In the 7th-century age of jahilya (savagery), Prophet Muhammad revolutionized the rights of women. For the first time women were given the rights of inheritance, property ownership, and divorce. Sexual relations were permitted only within the locus of marriage. Today, 14 centuries later, Muslim men must recognize that women in Islamic societies are still treated like second-class citizens. Sporadic progress has been made here and there, but in the spirit of the Quran and the Prophet’s example, we have to work especially hard to give women their rightful voice and place in society. This is the best antidote to extremism of every kind.

Love

The Quran asks, “Do you love your Creator? Then, love your fellow beings first.” The people who died September 11 came from all major faiths of the world. Certainly they would want us to double and redouble our efforts to engage in what spiritual leaders call “a dialogue of the head, heart, and hands” between religions. This is to be conducted at all levels—governmental, institutional, and particularly at the community and personal level. Dialogue of the head between religions is about focusing on commonalities and considering the differences as facts that distinguish them. The next step of dialogue is about personal bonding and experiencing practices of other religions. Dialogue of hands, which usually grows out of the above two, is about participating in collaborative projects, often sharing the struggle for peace, justice, and earth care.

September 11 is not just about Islamic extremists who must be found and destroyed. It is far more important than that. It is a tragedy that has become a turning point—an amazing opportunity for awareness, compassion, community, and the end of politics-as-usual. On that grim day we were catapulted, against our will, across a new threshold of consciousness. Now we must make a bold leap forward, adopting new ways of thinking and being, or risk falling back into old, lethal patterns.

I am confident we shall make the leap, led by courageous, creative, and compassionate individuals and communities in America. This is still a place where there is, relatively speaking, freedom of expression and freedom of worship. People here carry a lighter cultural baggage than elsewhere. There is naiveté and apathy here, but also freshness of spirit.

Enormous was the tragedy of September 11, but enormous are the opportunities. Enormous is my faith, believing in the Infinite Compassion, Mercy and

Beneficence of God.

Jamal Rahman, an author and teacher, is a Sufi minister at Interfaith Community Church in Seattle, Washington.

Prophet’s Love and

Tolerance for Mankind

Dr. Farida Khanam

The Prophet Muhammad is introduced in the Qur’an in these words:

And We have not sent you forth but as a mercy to mankind (21:107).

This shows that his distinctive quality was that he was a blessing incarnate in word and deed.

According to a tradition recorded in the Sahih of Imam Muslim, when his opponents greatly increased their persecution, his Companions asked him to curse them. At this the Prophet replied, ``I have not been sent to lay a curse upon men but to be a blessing to them.`` His opponents continued to treat him and his Companions with injustice and cruelty, but he always prayed for them.

Once he was so badly stoned by his enemies that the blood began to spurt from all over his body. This happened when he went to Ta’if, where the Hijaz aristocracy used to while away their summer days. When he attempted to call them to Islam, instead of listening to his words of wisdom, they set the street urchins upon him, who kept chasing him till nightfall. Even at that point, when he was utterly exhausted and bleeding from head to foot, all he said was: ``O my Lord, guide my people along the true path as they are ignorant of the truth.``

His heart was filled with intense love for all human kind irrespective of caste, creed, or color. Once he advised his companions to regard all people as their brothers and sisters. He added: ``You are all Adam’s offspring and Adam was born of clay.``

All this tells us what kind of awareness he wanted to bring about in man. His mission was to bring people abreast of the reality that all men and women, although inhabiting different regions of the world, and seemingly different from one another as regards their color, language, dress, culture, etc., were each other’s blood brothers. Hence a proper relationship will be established between all human beings only if they regard one another as sisters and brothers. Only then will proper feelings of love and respect prevail throughout the world.

According to a hadith (sayings of the Prophet), the Prophet once said, ``A true believer is one with whom others feel secure. One who returns love for hatred.`` The Prophet made it clear that one who would only return love for love was on a lower ethical plane. We should never think it is only if people treat us well, that we should treat them well. We should rather be accustomed to being good to those who are not good to us and to not wronging those who harm us.

The Prophet once borrowed some money from a Jew. After a few days the Jew came to demand payment of his debt. The Prophet told him that at that moment he had nothing to pay him with. The Jew said that he won’t let him go until he had paid him back. And so the Jew stayed there, from morning till night, holding the Prophet captive. At that time the Prophet was the established ruler of Medina and could have easily taken action against him. His Companions naturally wanted to rebuke the man and chase him away. But the Prophet forbade this, saying, ``The Lord has forbidden us to wrong anyone.`` The Jew continued to hold the Prophet captive until the following morning. But with the first light of dawn, the Jew was moved by the Prophet’s tolerance, and he thereupon embraced Islam. In spite of being a rich man, he had detained the Prophet the day before on account of a few pence. But now the Prophet’s noble conduct had had such an impact on him that he was willing to give all his wealth to the Prophet, saying, ``Spend it as you please.``

According to another hadith, the Prophet once said: ``By God, he is not a believer, by God, he is not a believer; by God, he is not a believer, with whom his neighbors are not secure.`` This hadith shows how much he loved and cared for all human beings. One of the lessons he taught was that we should live among others like flowers, and not like thorns, without giving trouble to anybody.

In another hadith the Prophet said: ``If a believer is not able to benefit others, he must at least do them no harm.`` This shows that to the Prophet the man who becomes useful to others leads his life on a higher plane. But if he fails to do so, he should at least create no trouble for his fellow men. For a man to be a really good servant of God, he must live in this world as a no-problem person. There is no third option.

The Prophet’s own example is testified to by Anas ibn Malik who served the Prophet for ten years. He says that the Prophet never ever rebuked him. ``When I did something, he never questioned my manner of doing it; and when I did not do something, he never questioned my failure to do it. He was the most good-natured of all men.`` Such conduct gained him the respect even of his enemies and his followers stood by him through all kinds of hardship and misfortune. He applied the principles on which his own life was based in equal measure to those who followed his path and to those who had harmed or discountenanced him.I

In the present world, everyone’s thinking, tastes, aptitude, likes and dislikes can never exactly coincide. For many reasons, differences do arise in this world. But then, what is the permanent solution to the problem? The solution lies in tolerance, called i‘raz in Arabic. The Prophet’s entire life served as a perfect example of this principle. According to his wife, ‘A’isha, ``He was a personification of the Qur’an.``

That is to say, the Prophet molded his own life in accordance with the ideal pattern of life which he presented to others in the form of the Qur’an. He never beat a servant, or a woman, or anyone else. He did, of course, fight for what was right. Yet, when he had to choose between two alternatives, he would take the easier course, provided it involved no sin.’ No one was more careful to avoid sin than he. He never sought revenge—on his own behalf—for any wrong done to him personally. Only if God’s commandments had been broken would he mete out retribution for the sake of God. It was such conduct which gained the Prophet universal respect.

In the early Meccan period when the antagonists far exceeded the Prophet’s companions in number, it often happened that when the Prophet would stand to pray, his detractors would come near him and whistle and clap in order to disturb him, but the Prophet did not even once show his anger at such acts. He always opted for the policy of tolerance and avoidance of confrontation.

When the Prophet migrated to Medina he built the first mosque known as Masjid al-Nabi (Mosque of the Prophet), considered to be the second most sacred mosque in Islam.

One day the Prophet was sitting in the mosque along with his companions. A Bedouin entered the mosque and started urinating. The Companions rushed to catch him and give him a good beating. But the Prophet did not allow them to do so. After the Bedouin had urinated, he asked his companions to bring a bucket of water and wash the place. Afterwards the Prophet called the man and with gentleness and affection explained to him that this was a place of worship and that it should be kept clean.

When the opposition became very strong the Prophet left Mecca for Medina. But his antagonists did not leave him in peace. They began to attack Medina. In this way a state of war prevailed between the Muslims and non-Muslims.

Since the Prophet avoided war at all costs, he strove to bring about a peace agreement between him and the Meccans. After great efforts on his part, the non-Muslims agreed to the finalizing of a 10-year peace treaty, which was drafted and signed at the al-Hudaybiyyah.

While the al-Hudaybiyyah treaty was being drafted, the Meccans indulged in a number of extremely provocative acts. For instance, the agreement mentioned the Prophet’s name as ‘Muhammad the Messenger of God.’ They insisted that the phrase ‘the messenger of God’ should be taken out, and be replaced simply by ‘Muhammad, son of Abdullah’. The Prophet accepted their unreasonable condition and deleted the appellation with his own hands. Similarly, they made the condition that if they could lay their hands on any Muslim they would make him a hostage, but if the Muslims succeeded in detaining any non-Muslim, they would have to set him free. The Prophet even relented on this point. For the restoration of peace in the region, the Prophet accepted a number of such unjustifiable clauses as were added by the enemy. In this way he set the example of peace and tolerance being linked with one another. If we desire peace, we must tolerate many unpleasant things from others. There is no other way to establish peace in society.

Once the Prophet was seated at some place in Medina, along with his companions. During this time a funeral (procession) passed by. On seeing this the Prophet stood up. Seeing the Prophet stand, up, one of his Companion remarked that the funeral was that of a Jew, that is, a non-Muslim. The Prophet replied, ‘Was he not a human being?’

This incident illustrates how an atmosphere of mutual love and compassion can be brought about in the world only when we consciously rise above all insidious demarcation of caste, color and creed. Just as the Prophet did, we too must look at all men as human beings who deserve to be respected at all events.

There`s a thin line between love and hate Godot.

Most of the humans are brothers in arms when it comes to feelings of hate and love. Irrespective of our religion, caste, creed, sexuality we all find common ground to love or hate. Its only when this love or hate goes out of control, that problems start growing like weeds. Don`t mean to patronise you, but try reading Kahlil Gibran`s ``The Prophet`` to help yourself. when human emotions are dealt without the label of any religion, it lends a new perspective to divinity altogther.

Adios

boy, you really made an arse out of yourself writing this piece of total, unadulterated bakwaas.

hate me :)

Good one Godot...

It may be a good idea to focus your energies on more productive ventures. I have to remind myself of this regularly. I think that the emotions we read about in the news nowadays have penetrated our psyches so much that they influence our communication- depending on how much you let politics affect your daily

relationships..

If anything, the sadness that one feels when seeing the state of a world infused by hate should anything but remind us of healing the hate and melancholy in our own lives.

nafratoan main gharay, nochain apnee hee laash,

jhoot pay jo palay, aaj hain voh udaas. -Junoon (from song Talaash)

Re: the article

Godot,

A bold attempt at self-analysis. It is always a painful thing to dissect one`s emotions and find reasons for hate. The first thing is to recognse that hatred exists and that it is wrong to hate. You certainly have gone beyond that to tease out the problem.

Why do people hate? Why does RSS hate muslims or Taliban hate modernity? The answer has much to do with indoctrination of gullible masses with a narrow-minded view of the world. It is a world where other forms of self-expression have no role to play. RSS wants muslims to be ``hindu-like`` failing to appreciate the fact that muslims in India have their own unique culture. RSS also believes its way of thinking is right, again a precursor to hate. Why did Nazis hate jews? Indoctrination came first, hate later. Once hatred is institutionalised (as with Nazis and RSS), violence is even justified as being the right thing to do.

No one is born with hate. Temporal is so wrong when he says hate is an inborn trait. No one is born to hate. You do not find small children from different communities or religions hating and killing each other. People learn to hate. That is why there is hope. What is learned can be unlearned.

Urstruely says India`s hate is a planned hate. That is rubbish. India is a multi-ethnic culture. The pogrom in Gujarat has awakened the people as to the menace of hindu fundamentalism. If indoctrination in one state can do so much harm, imagine what could happen if the whole country were to be indoctrinated by RSS cadres. But this will never happen as BJP does not rule more than a few states. If one were to believe Kuldip Nayyar, its days are numbered.

All in all a good and bold attempt.

Sridhar

Well I glad you have sorted it out yourself. Personally I was quite surprised at those posts from you after having read your wonderful translation of the Mushtaq Ahmed Yusufi story on Chowk. We all do something stupid but it takes courage to admit it (even on an anonymous message board), so best of luck to you on keeping the monster in check.

Godot,

Interesting piece. I actually heard two psychs (one Palestinian, the other Israeli) discuss how the concept of hate is manifested in state sponsored and retailiatory (i.e. suicide bombers) terrorism. Interestingly enough, both docs pointed to the similarities that these two groups share in terms of being disenfranchised; I believe the Palestinian doc. said it was ``mirror like``. They also observed that neither side (altho I`m not trying to dichotomize the players)wanted to be perceived as weak and powerless-that was worse than anything.

Hate on Chowk? Comes from intolerance. We could do a fascinating study on where and from whom the most comes from. Certainly not Lajwanti...whoever`s bothering you can`t be half as clever as you are. Chalk it up to jealousy.

Hate is a less virulent form of love. It ties one person to another. But it is less likely than love to end up hurting both.

Love is a disease. Hate, merely self-indulgence.