MAHDISM AND HUMANS RIGHTS
“Oh you men! Surely we have created you of a male and female, and you tribes and families so that you may know each other; surely the most honourable of you with Allah is the one among you most careful (of his duty); surely Allah is Knowing.” (Holy Quran, 49:13)
The issue of human rights is one of the most fundamental human issues and also one of the most sensitive and controversial. During the recent decades, this problem was more political than either ethical or legal. Although the influence of political motives, rivalries, and considerations have made difficult the correct formulation of this problem, but this should not prevent thinkers and genuine humanists from probing into this problem and ultimately obtaining a solution.
Perhaps, when we examine the causes of many social changes and political upheavals, we will find the marks of its presence and its principal ideals. During the last decades this emphasis reached its climax in the West. With the formation of the ONU after the Second World War and the subsequent drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a concrete model came into existence as a result of this emphasis that can serve as a criterion and basis of our judgement and analysis of the ideals voiced in the regard during the last two hundred years and especially in the last few decades.
The real worth of human being is hidden in his intellectual dimension and specialized nature and his source of perceptions, motives, and exalted tendencies take him towards perfection and make him distinguishable from other (materialistic) creatures.
Various viewpoints, ideologies and materialistic schools of thought which have attempted evaluation of human rights have gone away from the reality and Nature. As the universal Human Rights Declaration of the United Nations was finalized under the influence of the Superpowers and world oppressive forces, beside positive points, it also contains serious lacunae and shortcomings.
Since the materialistic schools of thought have drawn the intellectual human personality towards corruption, and contrary to their claims for defending the justice and human rights without giving any consideration to great intellectual dimension of humanity and by trampling upon the respect of humanity have disregarded true human rights, it’s an urgent need to appreciate the importance of human values to highlight these facts and the excesses rendered by these materialistic schools on the humanity and emphasize that these schools, by disregarding the nature and intellectual dimension of man, have no right to even talk about the human rights.
As the exploitative forces, with the continuing pursuance of their plots for taking away and harming the rights of peoples and endangering the prelude and freedom of human beings and for achievements of their illegitimate gains and their transgressive desires, have been utilizing the services of world human rights organizations including so-called champions of human rights, and it’s necessary to denounces all such criminal activities and declares its support for all the oppressed people who are struggling for their independence and defence against transgression and exploitations and calls upon all the human forces under oppression to unite for getting back their lost legitimate rights and rise up face-to-face against so-called sanctioned exploitative and unjust regulation such as “veto power”.
We Muslims, of course, know it very well that if the Western world and the Western civilization have paid attention to this matter in the recent centuries, Islam has dealt with it from all the various aspects many centuries back. The idea of human rights as a fundamental principle can be seen to underlie throughout Islamic teaching.
That the verses of the Quran and the traditions handed down from the Prophet (S.A) and the Imams of his household (A.S), each one of them emphasizes the fundamental rights of man –something which has caught the attention of men in recent years- is known to Muslims, and there is no need for the scholars to be reminded about this fact. However, I would say, that today it is a big responsibility on the shoulders of the Islamic society to make this reality known to the world, and not to allow those essential teachings of Islam to be lost in the storm of political clamour and ballyhoo.
There are some questions which can be raised in this regard, and to answer them is one of my principal aims:
The first question is whether the efforts made during the last two centuries at least, and especially during the decades since the Second Word War, in the name of human rights have been successful in their purpose or not. The addresses, the assemblies and the sessions held in the United Nations, and the claims made regarding human rights –have they succeeded in bringing men closer to their genuine rights, or to at least the mayor section of the deprived humanity? The answer to this question is not so difficult, for an observation of the present world conditions is enough to prove that these attempts have not been successful till now. A glance at the conditions of the underdeveloped societies of the world, who form the mayor part of the human population, is sufficient to reveal the fact that not only the major part of humanity could not achieve their true rights during the last fifty years, but the methods of encroaching upon the rights of the deprived nations have become more sophisticated and complex and more difficult of remedy. We cannot accept the claims made by those who claim to be champions of human rights, while the bitter realities of the African and Asian nations and the hungry millions of the human race and before our eyes, and watch the constant spectacle of violation of the rights of several nations. Those who have been outspoken in advocating human rights during these lat forty years, have themselves grabbed the most fundamental of human rights from the people of the Third-Word countries. It is with their connivance that certain governments and regimes that deny men their most primary rights have managed to survive. The dictator of today’s world and also the despots of the last fifty years in Asia, Africa and Latin America –none of them could have established and preserved their dictatorships on their own without reliance upon the big powers. These big powers are exactly those who ha e coined most of the slogans concerning human rights; it is they who have brought into being the UNO, and even today the UN is at their service.
The economic poverty, hunger and loss of life in several countries of the world are of course the result of intervention, repression, usurpation on the part of the big powers. Who has caused Africa, the land of plenteous resources to see this day?. Who has kept the people of Bangladesh and India for years and years under exploitation, and, despite their natural resources and great potentialities, has brought them to the point that today we hear people die of hunger in those countries? Who has plundered the wealth and resources of the Third-World countries, and has brought about
hunger, poverty and misfortune for these nations, procuring sophisticated technologies and immense wealth for themselves?
I don’t of course reject the UN, I believe that this organization ought to exist, and it must be reformed. What I mean to say is that after all that effort, after all that clamour and the hopes that were attached to this organization, all of you can see how inadequate and ineffectual this organization has remained in securing human rights in the world today. Hence, the answer to the first question has become clear. We can see that the efforts made for procuring human rights and the claims made in the name of human rights through the lat several centuries and especially during the last few decades did not bear any fruit; they have failed to secure human rights.
The second question is whether, basically, these efforts had any sincerity? This question is of course historical in nature and may not have much practical value. Hence, I do not intend to discuss it at length. It suffices mention here that, these effort were not sincere. It is true that among the exponents of human right, but the arena was dominated by politicians. Look around and see as to who are those who plead the case of human rights. Some of the ex presidents of USA projected themselves as the defender of human rights during their election campaign, and won the elections on account of it. But then, we have seen that they stood by the cruellest, the most barbarious and tyrannical of rulers, and the most adamant opponents of human rights. They supported from Shah to the tyrants of occupied Palestine, and what to say about the criminal madness put into Irak. Even now, those who pled the case of human rights, the statesmen and politicians who vociferously voice their support for human rights in conferences and international forums are not more sincere than their former counterparts. So, the answer to the second question is also clear: No! We do not believe that the efforts made by the politicians and the most vocal advocates of human rights were sincere at all.
The third question, which is the most basic of them all, is, hat was the reason for the failure of these attempts? This is the point to which more attention should be paid, and I shall discuss it briefly here.
Those who have created the UN and have drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and those who most vehemently and vociferously plead for it today, regrettably the majority of them are statesmen and politicians who believe in the system of dominance and have accepted it. You can see that unfortunately the governments of the same countries which are subject to domination do not have the moral courage and guts to resist and oppose the domination of the big powers and fight them, while in our view it is quite possible. We believe that if the poor countries, the countries that have been under domination and in spite of their resources have been forced to fulfil the unjust demands made by the big powers –had they whished to stand against them, they could do so. No miracle is needed; it is sufficient that the governments should rely upon their own people. Unfortunately, the weakness of will to resist, and more than weakness the treachery on the part of heads of some states in some cases, did not allow them to rise against the system of dominance. This system of dominance prevails over the world economy, culture, international relations and international rights.
Today, the problem of atom bomb and the use of nuclear weapons is n issue all over the world. The superpowers themselves raise it because they are afraid of each other. They wrangle over it and each tries to dupe the other by limiting the nuclear arsenals of its rival while equipping itself with more and more. But, have the smaller countries ever thought of opposing the makers of nuclear bombs, by declaring the unless these bombs are destroyed and defused and unless peace of mind is restores to humanity, which is exposed to the nuclear danger every moment, they shall not have any relations with them, not any trade nor any cooperation in any matter?. No. If you suggest this idea to them, they will say that it is an advanced technology, they possess it; they can, and so must produce such weapons.
Lastly, the fourth question: What is the remedy? In our view, the answer is return to Islam, and recourse to the Divine revelation. This is prescription equally valid for Muslims as well as for non-Muslims. For this, the Islamic societies do not have to wait for anything. Return to Islam, revival of the Quran and of Islamic mode of thinking in society, recourse to Islamic sources in legal matters –these are the things and that will enable us to understand the meaning of human rights and help us to identify those rights and guide us in our struggle to secure them.
The Quran says:
“Take by force that which We have given you”. (2:63).
God Almighty has granted these rights to mankind, and they should secure these rights by force. These are not the words of an idealist who writes about Islamic issues and Islamic ideals from the corner of a theological seminary but the historical facts shows it now and will show it a tomorrow.
The Islamic teachings are generally based on negation of all types of discrimination such of as of colour, race, and other materialistic distinctions, and piety is the only criterion for superiority of human being through which he moves towards perfection; and that the human freedom does not accept anything other than what is within the limits of worshipping Allah and negation of all types of submissions to devils and imaginary gods and abstinence
The world community has experimented with different philosophies and ideologies to strengthen the common vision that would guarantee harmony and justice among peoples of different races and creeds. Nationalism, communism, socialism, capitalism, and so on have alternatively divided the nations, united them partially under one or another –ism, brought them to the brink of destructive nuclear warfare, and forced them to work with each other under international organizations like the United Nations. The human search for harmony and peace with justice remain the most precious prize for the global community. At the same time, the lingering memory of two World Wars with their disastrous outcomes have provided a grim reminder of how far humanity seems to be from that lofty ideal of peace on earth.
The Qur’an presents a revolutionary program of creating an ethical order that will reflect the divine will on earth through God’s righteous servants who have submitted themselves to God’s will, the Muslims. The Prophet has also informed us that the uniquely qualified person to lead humanity to become united under One God by abandoning all forms of idolatry and concentrating on the divine purposes for humanity will be the promised Mahdi, a descendant of his.
Imam ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib (P.) has conveyed the essence of al-Qa’im’s role in the future of humanity. He says:
“When our Qa’im rises hostility and resentment will be eliminated from the hearts of the people, and general security will be established all over the world”.
International Problems of the Minorities
What policy is to be adopted by a religion which claims to have a universal mission and by an ummah which considers itself commissioned to carry out a role in the world, and by these two ultimate heirs of the earth and human generation, in attaining this ultimate goal in the question of relationships with the followers of other creeds?
The question of the relationships of the Islamic lands with non-Muslims nations and groups is one of the most important political problems of Islam in its civil and international dimensions to be investigated carefully with reference to the Islamic text and jurisprudence.
The oppression and transgression against the human rights are not confined to aliens alone, as the matter of protecting the rights of racial and religious groups, who are in a minority, even though they may be the citizens of their resident country, is in itself and unsolved international problem, for the solutions of which nothing had been done until de Second World War beyond the recommendations of the international conferences and the unguaranteed regulations of the League of Nations
And why do the Islamic Courts have and option?
To find a definite answer to question as to why the Islamic courts are free in accepting the appeal of the minorities or referring them to their own courts, we mast resort the other verses of the Qur’an.
Verse Nª 43 of suratul Ma’idah gives us the following answer:
“And how do they make you a judge while they have the Torah wherein is Allah’s judgement? Yet turn back after that and they are not believers”.
Thus the Qur’an expresses surprise at the Jews for appealing to the Prophet for justice, whereas they have the Torah, their religious book, in hand, and can see the verdict of Allah in it concerning their differences; but since these verdicts do not correspond with their desires, they come to the Prophet for justice though they have no faith in revelation and his divine Book and his prophethood. What kind of an appeal is this?.
The View of the Shiite Jurisprudents
The Shiite jurisprudents admit no difference between the religions of the litigant groups in their disputes. Whether they follow the same creed or a different one, they are considered equal before the Islamic courts, and in both cases the court can abstain from hearing them.
In spite of having the right of appeal to the Islamic courts, the religious minorities also enjoy the right of freedom in the manner of pleading, that is to say, they can abstain from taking their case to the Muslim courts and submit it to their own judicial and religious authorities. Thus we may say that Islam has preserved the right of judicial independence for its allies.
Regarding relation among nations, the world of today considers international arbitration as a peaceful means of removing differences between governments. Article 38 of the first Hague agreement of 1907 declares:
“International arbitration means the settlement of disputes between governments through arbitrators chosen by them, who judge on the basis of respect for legal principles”.
Thus a person or persons selected for this purpose act as impartial judges between the two hostile parties, and both sides must, with good will, carry out the issued verdict.
Such an arbitration has been envisaged in the law of Islam and is actually practised in some disputes between Muslims and non-Muslim groups. Examples of this is seen in the arbitration of Sa’d ibn Ma’adh who was chosen by both the Prophet and Jews of Banu-Qurayzah. Likewise the arbitrations, agreed upon in the battle of Siffin.
Woman from the Viewpoint of Mahdism Doctrine
The Islamic faith and its viewpoint in regard to woman’s human rights are considered as a big and glorious revolution of the world. Islam with the presentation of this ideology immediately discarded all those humiliating beliefs and false views of the pagan period and instead introduced a new model of social relationship of woman to the world.
There are so many instances in the holy Quran which show that the Paradise en blessings of this world and the world Hereafter created for men are also meant for women. Contrary to others views, not only woman is not the germ of sin and defiled by nature, it can become the specimen and symbol of chastity, piety and service to Allah like the women who have been mentioned in the holy Quran with respect and sanctity such as Mariam (Mary) and the mother of Musa (Moses).
According to Ayatollah Shaheed Motahhari in his beautiful book “Women Rights in Islam”, has discussed this matter at great length and says: “No man, except the holy Prophet (S.A) and Ali (A.S.) can reach the position of Hazrat Zahra (A.S.). The distinction that Islam makes between man and woman is in respect of move from the Truth (Allah) towards the world”. As far as the return from Allah towards man and the acceptance of the responsibilities of prophethood is concerned, man has been considered as most appropriate”.
Having had a look at Islamic ideology regarding man, and specially the views about woman, it would be appropriate to have a glance, item-wise, on the women’s rights within the Islamic rights system.. Women’s rights in Islam may be divided in two parts; firstly, general rights, that is to say the rights she has in common with man and there is no distinction between man and woman in regard to those rights; and secondly special rights, which are peculiar to women and these can be considered as a woman’s privilege on man.
And how to revive woman’s human rights all over the world? Of course with all the clear rules which Islam has provided regarding women’s rights and specifically defined the obligations of both men an women, it is regretted that woman has still not achieved her real and appropriate position in Islamic societies an she is still deprived of many a rights.
The way leading to the restitution of woman’s human rights lies in the improvement of the conditions and factors which have caused instability for her. It is said that guidance can be projected when misguidance is prevalent everywhere.
Requiem for Racism
Last century, racist theories gave birth to two extreme political ideologies, Facism an Nazism, which ignited the flames of the Second World War and claimed as mane as 32 million lives. For example, Adolf Hitler believed that fair-haired Nordic or German peoples were far superior to what he called non-Aryans, and he set out to decimate other fellow Europeans despite the sharing of a common historical process and common religion –Christianity. His opponents, the Allied Powers, pursued a bit broader policy of racism. They pretended to accommodate other races and cultures of the world for economic and political gains, but in practice have stuck to what they think is the absolute superiority of the Anglo-Saxon race.
But the most dangerous racist ideology that the world has ever seen is without doubt Zionism. Its aim was not just the usurpation of the Arab land of Palestine to serve as a state for European Jews, but the gradual control of the world’s political and economic levers, by exploiting the Gentiles (non-Jews) and then eliminating them from all corridors of power.
“It is for this reason that we must undermine faith, eradicate from the minds of the Gentiles the very principles of God and Soul and replace these concepts by… material desires”.
4th Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
Islam was and is the solution for preservation of human rights
It is clear that Islam had presented a comprehensive solution on this crucial subject of human rights 1400 years ago, which is equally valid today and should remain valid till the Last Day of the humanity.
In every part of the world there are oppressors and tyrants who rule over the helpless downtrodden people. These oppressors hold everything under their control and have used their power to terrorize ordinary people. With this in mind, how shall the Mahdi take the command into his hands and succeed in overthrowing these tyrants?.
Actually the triumph of the Mahdi is the triumph of the downtrodden people of the world over their oppressors.
The traditions provide the guidelines for the Shi’a to consider in acknowledging valid and invalid religious movements led by on or another leader. They also serve as a reminder to them that the time for the appearance of the Mahdi had not arrived yet. Under the circumstances that existed for the Shi’a community living as a minority under those most unfavourable circumstances that were prevalent under the caliphate, it was expedient for them not to join the bandwagon of anyone who invited them to rise against tyranny. In fact, under those conditions patience is a virtue.
Let me take this opportunity to thank you all. May God hasten deliverance through the appearance of the Supreme Remnant of God, the twelfth Imam, and may He make us all the servants of Islam and the helpers of the Imam.
Wassalamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh!
And peace be upon you, and God’s mercy and His blessing!
ELIZABETH –LEYLA- YOUNES
San Miguel de TUCUMAN
ARGENTINA-
