About two decades ago, while pursuing a subject at Harvard Divinity School for my doctorate, the United States intervened militarily in Somalia. During that time, my professor addressed the class with a poignant query: “I find it very difficult to understand the reactions of these Muslims, particularly the American Muslims. Why do they grieve for the people of Somalia and stand in their defence? They live comfortably here, thriving in good spirits.”
This statement lingered with me for a considerable duration.
The innate sense of justice inherent in every human can wane and, in some cases, vanish entirely. I have realised that those endowed with a strong sense of justice respond to injustice they witness or hear of in various ways.
For example, Muslims believe in ‘The Just’ (al-Adl) as one of Allah’s 99 names align everything in the universe with this attribute of justice. Consequently, when injustice or tyranny occurs, a genuine Muslim or anyone attuned to the emotion of justice feels perturbed.
This sentiment extends to non-Muslims guided by their sense of justice as well. As long as that innate sense of justice remains alive, anyone naturally champions justice and peace.
Regrettably, our world today grapples with myriad of injustice. The strong are always seen as right. This leads to aggression. The weak are treated unfairly and sometimes crushed. The wolf wears sheep’s clothing.
Global politics often pivots around personal or national interests rather than the axis of righteousness and justice. Under such a political ethos, cruelty proliferates instead of justice and peace.
When politics becomes entrenched in personal or national interests, justice inevitably dissipates. Similarly, much of the media reflects the political landscapes, often sacrificing truth; as the saying goes, “The first casualty of war is truth.”
The reality in Gaza becomes obscured. This begs the question: What can we do?
The Qur’an says, “O you who believe! If some transgressor(fasiq) brings you news (that requires taking action), verify it carefully (before you believe and act upon it), lest you harm a people in ignorance and then become regretful for what you have done” (Qur’an 49:6).
A ‘fasiq’ encompasses anyone committing major sins, regardless of faith.
When encountering news, evaluating certain criteria is crucial:
- Firstly, scrutinise the source. Is it known for honesty or deceit?
- Secondly, assess the content for truth or falsehood, distortion, and accuracy.
- Thirdly, consider the context of when this news surfaced. Time can influence the interpretation.
- Fourthly, ponder the intended audience.
- Lastly, discern the underlying motive behind the news.
During the last ten years, I have imposed limitations on my news consumption and observed significant benefits for my emotional well-being. This restraint led to heightened personal, community and academic achievements, particularly in publications.
Not being swayed by distractions bolstered my academic success. Fabricated, inaccurate, or incomplete news aims to manipulate people psychologically. This sometimes causes emaotional instability which impacts negatively spiritual and social life. Gradually, it kills the senses of justice and peace in human nature. Injustice or tyrany is viewed as normal or even necessary.
Islamic scholars equate acceptance of oppression with blasphemy. Just as consent to blasphemy is blasphemy, consent to oppression and tyrany is also blasphemy. No matter who does it.
The Qur’an warns: “And do not incline toward those who do wrong(zulm), or the Fire will touch you…”(11:113).
Just as lying is a sin, engaging with deceitful news—either by listening or viewing—is also deemed sinful. Knowingly or unknowingly an individual can incline towards the opression or tyrany by reading or listening to inaccurate news.
Those who want more information on how this is sinful can look at the interpretations of Qur’anic verses (4:140) and (6:68).
However, if you are in authority or a journalist delving into the news, this may not be considered sinful.
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