If we closely analyze the current events in the political arena with the latest uprisings taking place in the Middle East, we will notice quite a few striking resemblances with historical events and incidences which beg us to reflect on these similarities and to extract wisdom from it.
Just recently, the government of Bahrain decided to uproot and destroy the statue of “Pearl” which stands in the Pearl Roundabout, in order to destroy this icon so that protesters abandon this square which has become a symbol of resistance to oppression. Actually, this very act was practiced before in history, in the form of the illustrious incident of chopping down the tree of Bay’at al-Ridwan (the Pledge of Ridwan) took place. It is well-known that when the Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny) was at Hudaibiyyah, his companions gave him their oaths of allegiance under a special tree to fight the Quraysh ’til the end; this incident came to be known as Bay’at al-Ridwan. This took place when the Prophet traveled with 1,400 of his companions aiming to visit the Ka’ba in Mecca for worship. The tree became famous when Allah mentioned it in the Holy Qur’an (48:18) saying: “Verily, Allah is pleased with those believers who gave Bay’ah to you under the Tree”. In the time of the Second Caliph, people were going to this historical tree and praying there to receive the blessings of Prophet Muhammad, which proves the permissibility of sanctifying an object that is associated with the saints of Allah. Upon knowing this, the Second Caliph went there and chopped down the tree of Hudaibiyyah! In this case, the tree was a sign which represented the Prophet and the allegiance given to him which was destroyed. Destroying such symbols as the holy tree or Pearl icon will not prevent the Haqq from being manifested or the people from continuing their resistance!
Just recently, the Saudi government sent military support to attack the protesters in Bahrain, which was yet a second example that demonstrated their true position of deceit and hypocrisy after they had accepted to provide safe haven to the ousted Tunisian ruler. As Sayyid Hasan Nasrallah said in a recent speech, dated 3/19/11: “Here there is strange irony: the Arab League and the Arab peoples, faced with the situation in Libya, did not say a word and did not send any army to defend the people. Yet in Bahrain they sent armies to defend a regime that was not threatened with collapse!” This daring move by the Saudis not only manifested their disloyalty towards their neighboring countries and their readiness to take extreme measures by sending their troops abroad, but it also exposed their animosity towards the oppressed brethren. Surely, their evil step was supported by the US and its allies, but little did the US realize the extent of mass murder that the Saudis were going to commit. Thereafter, the US General Secretary vindicated itself from their acts and condemned it, but it was way too late.
Time and time again, we observe the same phenomenon occurring in which the Shaytan influences and supports its allies to commit evil, and when evil is committed and shame has engulfed the criminals, Shaytan dissociates himself from the evil-doers. Even Yazid, the killer of Imam Hussain (peace be upon him), tried to distance himself from the shame of spilling the blood of the grandson of the Prophet by shifting the blame onto his cronies. But the facts are clear and the actions manifest the true intentions of being.
The position which the Saudis have taken today raises the question: the Saudis and Bahrainis are Muslims, so where is the brotherhood of Islam in this case?
Furthermore, as the degree of aggression increases by the Shimr-like tyrant, Gaddafi, who – without hesitation – has eradicated human lives, even European countries and UN allies have promised to take action to bring this massacre to a halt. As a result of the abandonment of the Arab leaders – or of the majority of them – the door has been opened to foreign intervention in Libya and in every Arab country. They have taken this initiative due to moral responsibility and humanitarian conscience which dictates that when oppression has exceeded all boundaries and reached the state of transgression (Tughyaan), then action must be taken by all those who witness this injustice. That is why Allah ordered Prophet Musa (peace be upon him) to go to the Pharaoh and stand up against his injustice which had become unbearable: “Go to Fir’awn, surely he has exceeded all limits.” (Holy Qur’an, 20:24)
Now compare the response taken by some countries to declare a no-fly zone in Libya and prevent the government army from killing the innocent people there, even if they are from another religion. Now contrast it with the behavior of Saudis who, with all their audacity, intervened to cause more oppression and bloodshed with those of similar religion and culture! They have followed the Shimr-like way of thinking and disregarded the humanitarian aspect and sympathy for the victims abroad, just like Shimr abandoned his human aspect and dressed himself with shame by his atrocious and inhumane treatment of Imam Hussain and his family in Karbala!
The irony is that the Muslim government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabic who has committed this horrifying act is also the guardians of the two holy sanctuaries: the Holy Ka’ba in Mecca and the Prophet’s Masjid in Medina! The Holy Ka’ba is supposed to be a safe haven and refuge for even the nonbeliever. Yet we can observe that this very same country has stepped over its boundaries to kill innocent believers in a distant land, disregarding the honor of the role which they have assumed in serving the pilgrims and safeguarding the holy sanctuaries! One can only imagine how a Bahraini Muslim would feel if he had made the intention to go for Hajj next year and visit the sacred places in mecca and Medina, whose officials and guardians turned out to be the first to attack and kill the people in his country of Bahrain! This is such a self-contradicting and hypocritical situation that it begs everyone to question the legitimacy of the Saudis to assume the great and honorable role of “Guardianship of the Holy Places” in Hijaz. Surely, the least of their punishment in this world would be to fire them from this honorable position!
Reflecting upon the overall events of the region, it is interesting to note this subtle observation that when the Egyptian protesters were voicing their opposition to the government, one of the slogans they chanted was “Hay-haat minna zilla!” (which some translate to mean “disgrace is far from us!”). This rings a bell in our ears and reminds us of the famous vow which Imam Hussain declared before the tragedy of Karbala occurred. These few words which Imam Hussain uttered summarized the goal behind his mission and the policy which future generations ’til the end of time must adopt. Sure enough, almost 1,400 years later, a group of civilians who are not even familiar with the story of Imam Hussain have spontaneously repeated the same slogan! Most definitely, the message of Imam Hussain is universal and teaches a multitude of lessons for all of mankind!
