Nigeria Content Online

“Do men think that
on their [mere] saying, ‘We have attained to faith’, they will be left
to themselves, and will not be put to a test? Yea, indeed, We did test
those who lived before them; and so, [too, shall be tested the people
now living: and] most certainly will God mark out those who prove
themselves true, and most certainly will He mark out those who are
lying” [Quran 29:2-3]

In Muslim rebuttals
to the usual charges of violence and intolerance, it is not uncommon to
find references to the Golden Age of Islam when the faith was a
civilizing catalyst that brought modernity, peace and prosperity to
many communities in near and far-flung corners of the globe. There
might be references to how the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), entering the
city of his birth a victorious conqueror after long years of
persecution from Makkan society, issued a general amnesty and refused
to exact revenge from even some of the worst of those who had tormented
him.

Stories might be
told of how Muslim communities in North Africa and elsewhere provided
refuge and comfort to Jewish and other non-Muslim peoples fleeing
persecution and the Inquisition by Catholic Spain.

Nearer and nearer
our time though, as the fortunes of Islam and Muslims waned, so
apparently did our compassion – the examples of communal compassion and
exemplary displays of mercy and compassion seem to become more
sporadic, less common, and so, that much more fantastic in their
rarity. To be sure there is no dearth of individuals who happen to be
Muslims who are doing great work – as civil rights activists who
protect the vulnerable of every shade and stripe; as volunteers who
give their time and talent that others may benefit; as passionate
defenders of justice even against their own communities – these good
people exist everywhere and yet it seems to me that the more Muslims
find themselves on the losing end of just about every metric that
defines a successful community, the less tolerant and less forgiving we
as a people become.

In a way it is
perfectly understandable, this siege mentality of ours and our less
than perfect display of high moral rectitude. We’ve got a gigantic
boulder, not a mere chip, on our shoulders. Our belief system is being
threatened, our people demonized and the symbols which we hold dear are
being mocked, banned or burned all over the place. Sometimes it’s easy
to feel that we “just can’t get a break” so perhaps the rage born out
of impotent frustration is natural, as is the desire to lash out; to be
more concerned about the ends than the means we take to get there and
to let mercy and compassion slide way down the list of considerations
in our modus operandi.

Being good is easy when you’re winning

“… And what could
make thee conceive what it is, that steep uphill road? [It is] the
freeing of one’s neck [from the burden of sin], or the feeding, upon a
day of [one’s own] hunger of an orphan near of kin, or of a needy
[stranger] lying in the dust –” [Quran 90:12-16]

It is all too easy
to be good Muslims when things are going are way; to be magnanimous in
victory, le-nient and tolerant when we are at the top of the world. The
real, true measure of our eeman though, is how tolerant or
compassionate or just we are, especially when we’re on the losing team.

This is our duty as
Muslims, part of journey along the “steep uphill road” that we must all
trod as Believers. It’s not supposed to be easy. The Quran likens it to
feeding a needy soul – whether known or a stranger – at a time of one’s
own hunger. Allah makes it clear that the battle to be good, to do
right, to be merciful is not a factor of how “great” things are going
for us. These values are not to be displayed at our convenience or on a
whim, at a time or place of our choosing.

Our defining moments as Muslims become not how we act in victory,
but how well we allow ourselves to be guided by Islamic ethical ideals
when things don’t go the way we hope, expect or want them to.