Lessons on power and oppression from Moses 4

God! There is no deity but He! To Him belong the most Beautiful Names. Has the story of Moses reached thee? (Qur'an 20:8-9)

In this blog, I continue with Lesson 4. You can find links to previous lessons below.

Lesson 1
Lesson 2
Lesson 3

According to Islamic teachings, Moses, upon him peace, is a revered prophet and messenger. As I explained in previous blogs, Islam is not a whole new religion that started with Prophet Muhammad, upon him peace and blessings, but the culmination and continuation of previous monotheistic faiths. So Muslims revere many of the same prophets who are revered in the Bible. Moses of the Qur'an is not exactly the same as the Christian or Jewish Moses, and this has been discussed in many interfaith dialogues. However, the aim of the series is not to refute or disagree with other narratives of Moses, but to share lessons from the Islamic narrative on Moses. I ended the previous lesson with Moses, upon him peace, being called to prophethood.

Before I continue with this lesson, it is important to mention that although Moses, upon him peace, was a strong military leader, he did not wage war against the Pharaoh. This story of Moses and the Pharaoh is a unique one that has many, many lessons that call for intensive study and reflection. I only hope to capture a few of them to put on the table as we continue our conversations on Islam and Muslims. In addition, I hope this lesson can be revisited during conversations about power and oppression.

One scholar who I respect, Reza Aslan, noted that people do not hurt the people they know. Thus the solution to Islamophobia is relationships. I agree and disagree, but first I ask: What type of relationships? After all, people do hurt people they know. Most cases of rape are between people who know one another, and domestic violence is one of the leading causes of injury to women in the United States. Oppression cannot be fought by simply having dinner and being kind to your neighbors, who are sometimes also your oppressors. A case in point is the Chapel Hill shootings, where three youths were shot dead execution-style by their neighbor, who apparently knew them and yet still hated them, apparently for their religion. He knew them, yet the father of two of the victims said that he had brought a gun to their house before and threatened them with it. Healthy boundaries within relationships are necessary for coexistence and harmony, and there was not a healthy boundary to protect the three youths from their neighbor.

This lesson can also be found in the story of the Pharaoh, who kills his wife Asiya. According to Islamic teachings, Asiya is a noblewoman, a role model for all women. Yet the Pharaoh believed he was the deity, and that everyone should look up to him. He saw others as objects to exploit and enslave, acted like judge, jury and executioner and used "divide and conquer" strategies to maintain power in the land. There was no one to call him to account for his cruelty or slaughter of others. He acted with no accountability to any rule of law or power.

The oppressed, like the Jews during Moses's time, find they must resist this abusive power to liberate themselves. Oftentimes throughout history, religion has been used to fight wars. Some of these are for liberation, while others are a distortion of religious teachings. I share these lessons because of the chaos that has allowed some Muslims to distort and twist Islamic teachings and promote themselves as "reformers" – harming others in the process. Others have used these reformers to malign Islam and Muslims broadly, even though their actions were repeatedly condemned by many leading voices and organizations.

One cannot trivialize or discount the valid grievances that many Muslims have toward powerful countries today. An article by Nafeez Ahmed called "Unworthy victims," states that Western wars have killed four million Muslims since 1990. Much of this is the result of power unchecked. But there are other powers that are corrupt and unchecked, among them many Arab and Muslim leaders in many, areas in the Middle East, including the rise of ISIS and other Islamic groups using terror to gain power.

It is ludicrous to blame everything on the West, as it is ludicrous to blame everything on Islam. The clash between the West and Islam is really all in our minds: It is a means to avoid looking at the real issues: Who has power, what sort of power, and what is it being used for?

These issues cannot be wished away by getting to know each other. Many influential US columnists travel to Arab and Muslim lands, engage, share meals and discuss issues, yet what type of relationships do they establish with the residents? As a case in point, Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times wants President Obama to be blunt with Turkey on the Armenian genocide. Indeed, Turkey should hold a reckoning about its genocide. Yet in all his articles Kristof refuses to be similarly blunt with his own government, especially his and his colleagues' cheerleading and shutting down of public debate on the Iraq war, a war that contributed to the rise of ISIS. In their usual fare, most just want to blame it all on Islam.

Chris Hedges describes these false friends best in his article on Truthdig, "The Treason of the Intellectuals."

Likewise, in an ALTERNET article by CJ Werleman, "Maher have in common with medieval Christian crusaders," Werleman equates the language and arguments on ISIS, Middle Eastern conflict, and Islamic terrorism, by Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins and Bill Maher, with Christian Crusaders and 21st-century U.S. neo-conservatism. How many conversations, discussions and relationships have they established with Muslims and Arabs? What sorts of relationships are these?

One might convince oneself that they do not believe in God, but when one acts like cheerleaders for war and shuts down the public debate and any and all critical thinking -- these are actions of a Pharaoh.

Moses, upon him peace, went through his tests in order to manifest to us the inner reality of his struggles, helping us to reflect on our inner selves and our inner realities. These were difficult and severe trials, through which he surrendered to God's will, allowing God to be his teacher, and opening himself to the means that God uses to teach him and protect him. The means were many.

The test of the Midian, during which Moses arrived in a foreign land as an immigrant in difficult circumstances, is a particularly beautiful test, and many of us face a similar test when we immigrate to another land and need to establish wholly new relationships. What type of relationships did Moses establish with the residents of Midian? Who is in our heart? Did we run from the Pharaoh physically, yet does he still lurk in our heart and soul? When God places another human being who is weak and unprotected before us, do we fulfill their needs without asking for anything in return, or do we exploit them? Do we justify to ourselves their oppression and persecution because we were persecuted?

When some Muslims and Arabs fled persecution from various Muslim and Arab countries, how did they treat women, minorities, those who are weak and unprotected? When some early European-Americans fled persecution from Europe, what happened to the earlier residents of this land? When Jews fled persecution from Europe to Palestine, what happened to the residents there?

As with Prophet Muhammad, upon him peace and blessings, prayer was prescribed for Moses and his followers.

God does not benefit by our prayers or remembering Him. The prayers benefit us and our hearts, by protecting them from allowing the Pharaoh to enter and the light of faith to increase. Here, I would like to reflect on the following names of God:

Often silenced by the cheerleaders of war and abusive power, the oppressed have a strong desire for a witness to hear their pain and suffering. Malcolm X said that power respects power, and I think healthy power respects everyone. However, abusive power only respects power that will hold it in check. For this reason, when one finds themselves weak, and those in power are abusive, and their leaders are corrupt, one connects to the All-Seeing, the All-Hearing and seeks His guidance on how to respond and protect oneself.

God spoke directly to Moses, and Moses was told the wisdom behind everything that had happened to him, which was in preparation for his mission in life as a prophet and messenger of God. A dialogue begins on signs that Moses was commanded to take to the Pharaoh as proof that he was sent by God.

This was the first sign for the Pharaoh:

The staff that Moses used as a shepherd is turned to a snake to illustrate to Moses that God is not limited to means, and one should use the means while relying on God. Although Moses was very strong on the outside, we see through this dialogue with God his humility, his humanity, and his vulnerability. A healthy person does not see themselves as a deity who can take on the world, but is in touch with his or her weaknesses and vulnerability. It also shows us that when Moses, upon him peace, faced the Pharaoh, he faced him not relying on himself, or the means in his hand (staff), seeing himself as a deity, but on God, commanded by Him and protected by Him to speak to Pharaoh.

A key is the humility of Moses, who did not forget the man he accidentally slew in error.

He said: "O my Lord! I have slain a man among them, and I fear lest they slay me. (Quran 28:33)

Moses, upon him peace, has an inner life that shows he was aware of his weaknesses, a deeply humble person. He argues, Maybe I am not the most qualified person for the job. But God had selected him and was preparing him throughout his life for this mission. He will also protect him.

God directed Moses to go to Pharaoh.

To God belong the most Beautiful Names. Has the story of Moses reached you?