ON FREEDOM

The French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau asserted that the condition of freedom was inherent to humanity, an inevitable facet of the possession of a soul and sapience, with the implication that all social interactions subsequent to birth imply a loss of freedom, voluntarily or involuntarily. Strong winds are blowing all over the Arabian deserts and lands […]

The French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau asserted that the condition of freedom was inherent to humanity, an inevitable facet of the possession of a soul and sapience, with the implication that all social interactions subsequent to birth imply a loss of freedom, voluntarily or involuntarily.

Strong winds are blowing all over the Arabian deserts and lands of the Arabs. The winds are not only blowing, they are billowing. And they are sweeping aside many leaders in front of them, or leaving bare and naked any one they leave in their wake. People have shaken off their fear of their governments, and the Good Lord has thrown fear into the hearts of the leaders.

Fear, says Wikipedia, is a distressing emotion induced by a perceived threat. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger. In short, fear is the ability to recognize danger and flee from it or confront it, also known as the ‘Fight’ or ‘Flight’ response. Some psychologists have suggested that fear belongs to a small set of basic or innate emotions. This set also includes such emotions as joy, sadness, and anger. Fear should be distinguished from the related emotional state of anxiety, which typically occurs without any external threat.

On the other hand, the antithesis of Freedom is Oppression. It is the negative outcome experienced by people targeted by the cruel exercise of power in a society or social group. The term itself derives from the idea of being “weighted down.” The term oppression is primarily used to describe how a certain group is being “kept down” by unjust use of force or authority, or societal norms. When this is institutionalized formally or informally in a society, it is referred to as “systematic oppression”.

In exhorting Man to fight Oppression, Allah asks rhetorically in the Qur’an:

What reason could you have for not fighting in the Way of Allah – for those men, women and children who are oppressed and say, ‘Our Lord, take us out of this city whose inhabitants are wrongdoers! Give us a protector from You! Give us a helper from You!’? (Qur’an Nisa 4:75)

For Christians, Liberation Theology is a Catholic school of theology that focuses on Jesus Christ as not only the Redeemer but also the Liberator of the Oppressed. It emphasizes the Christian mission to bring justice to the poor and oppressed, particularly through political activism. This was practicalised in many Latin American countries where Oppression was rife during the last century.

Elsewhere in the Qur’an, Luqman the Wise exhorts his son:

Turn not thy cheek in scorn toward folk, nor walk with pertness in the land. Lo! Allah loveth not each braggart boaster. (Qur’an Luqman 31:18)

It can be admitted that the greatest wind blowing in the Arab lands today is the one that has already swept away Tunisia’s Ben Ali and Egypt’s Mubarak, and threatening to sweep away Gaddafi of Libya (who has spent, in four-year democratic terms, ten terms plus half a term). The same wind is also threatening the 200-year old Bahraini Ruling Family, which is a minority clique ruling a majority against their will.

Gaddafi is clearly confused. As he has always been. It will be apt here to remember what a UK Islamic organisation, Hizb ut Tahrir, once wrote to the Colonel after meeting him more than thirty years ago, on 9 September 1978: “O Colonel…we know that every human being has the capacity – when his mistake becomes apparent to him and the issue becomes clear before him – to rectify himself. So do not let your false sense of honour overtake you. You should rather restore your sincerity and abandon the role that has been drawn out for you to follow, due to its seriousness and danger. This is because persistence in ruling by what Allah has not revealed is transgression…”

But by far, the greatest wind of change blowing today in Arabia is that the influence of America as a superpower that has been lording it over the lords of the Arab people, is speedily on the wane. This rolling back of American influence is momentous and poignant.

Another milestone is the outdated use of the so-called ‘Islamic’ threat used famously and so ineffectively by Mubarak (“The Muslim Brotherhood will take over if I leave suddenly”) and Gaddafi’s “It is Osama Ben Laden instigating this revolt.” Use the bogey or don’t, Islam is now poised to play a leading role in the future of these countries. Already, in fact, the ‘Islamic’ Party of Hamas rules Gaza and Palestine; and the other ‘Islamic’ Party, Hezbollah, has just formed the government in Lebanon. Democracy is becoming an anathema to America.

We masses are all like the elephant in the following story narrated by another writer who was surprised that such a mighty animal could be kept down so easily:

“As I was passing the elephants, I suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not. I saw a trainer nearby and asked why these beautiful, magnificent animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away.

“’Well,’ he said, ‘when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.’”

“I was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn’t, they were stuck right where they were. Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something, simply because we failed at it once before?”

In philosophy, we read Richard Lovelace’s poem which echoes the experience of Oppression:

Stone walls do not a prison make/Nor iron bars a cage/Minds innocent and quiet take/That for an hermitage

Another writer, Edwin Spina, (at www.ideamarketers.com) says “Probably the most debilitating emotion that humans must confront is that of fear. Fear confuses. Fear paralyzes. Fear prevents you from thinking clearly, accessing your spiritual gifts and being who you truly are.” The time has come. The Arab elephant has broken its chains, the small rope tying it down. Whither the big black Elephant? To Eagle!