Manifesto for justice and against evil
Manifesto for Justice and against Evil
The audience of this manifesto: Muslims in NZ
The goal of this manifesto: Engage the Muslim community in 1) bringing about justice and 2) reining in injustice and evil in the society
Introduction
We are seeing injustice and human tragedies on a daily basis
but we are doing nothing about them.
For instance, what are we doing
- for the children being abused and killed (1) ?
- against the root causes of the indigenous people being more likely to grow up in state care or in prisons ?
- for the pregnant woman that is living domestic violence,
whose child is being mistreated in foster care,
whose private space is being invaded by woman-looking men,
whose old mother is soon to be thrown to the street (because her aged-care center is closing down)
and whose sick old father is being presured, in a hosptal, to accept to be euthanized ?
We are failing our duty towards the weak, the sick, the poor and the oppressed in the society we live in,
while the Quran urges the believers to bring justice and peace (and even prosperity) to people
to every one of them, regardless of their ethnicity, faith, backgrounds, …etc
Evidence from the Quran
The Quran is full of verses calling the believers to bring reform to society and stand up against injustice.
Quran 4:75 makes it mandatory for the believers to fight and even put themselves in harm's way for the sake of the oppressed.
It is therefore even more compelling for the believers to engage in less demanding endevors, such as financial support, social, cultural and political for the benefit of the weak, the sick, the poor and the oppressed.
Quran 3:110 expects the believers to be the best nation in bringing justice and fighting injustice.
Some of the implications of this verse are
- The believers give a voice to the voiceless or the ignored. And they ought to be the best ones at doing that.
- The believers stand their ground and keep on fighting when every other nation or group has backed off
Quran 2:251 and 22:40 state that stopping corruption comes through the endeavor of people.
Quran 2:251 and 28:77 state that God doesn't like corruption.
This implies that part of the calling of believers in God is
stopping corruption from spreading in His universe.
(to do:
Find more verses.
Mention verses warning against passivity in the face of injustice and corruption)
The vision for Muslims in NZ
If we are convinced we have to take action and get involved in programs and projects
to 1) stop corruption and injustice in our society,
and go even further, and 2) bring justice to it,
we will need a vision to achieve a wide impact with the resources we have.
One of the best vision statements we can come up with would be the verse 21:107 : And We have not sent you except as a mercy to the whole world.
This verse ought to be taken as our vision for different reasons.
Some of which are:
- The verse is about bringing mercy to all creatures
- Any kind of mercy is welcome
- As long as there is one being suffering our work is not done
- It is very high level and strategic: It has wide applications and could be implemented differently in different parts of the country. And therefore, this verse invites the believers to be open-minded and creative in bringing mercy to the weak around them (following the local culture, social, economic or political situation.)
Some actions to take
Here are some of the actions we need to take to kick off work for justice:
- Discuss the content of the present manifesto and improve it
- Publish it among the Muslim community in the country and explain it (educate them in events and in Friday sermons, for instance)
- Build partnerships with NGOs and charities already on the ground
- In collaboration with NGOs and charities, establish a list of all injustices and sufferings in the country and study how to tackle them
Some NGOs and Charities to get in touch with:
- Save the children NZ
- Women’s Refuge
- Voyce
- The Salvation Army
- The City Mission
Footnotes
(1) Examples of cases of children murdered or mistreated:
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