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Combating Oppression: A Socio-religious Obligation
Wednesday, 13 April 2011 12:35
By Ebou GayeNowadays, oppression is common in many parts of the world, particularly in Africa, where it is the order of the day. This outrageous, provocative act takes various forms, such as harassment, humiliation, torture, illegal arrest and detention, summary execution, arbitrary dismissal, suppression of dissent and press freedom, hoarding of information of public interest, terrorism, unlawful seizure and destruction of properties, and the like. In a nutshell, any act of victimization, brutalization, infringement or violation of rights can be regarded as oppression.
The questions arise now: Why do human beings, who are endowed with mental faculty to reason and hence can distinguish between right and wrong or moral and immoral, oppress their fellow men despite the fact that none of them wants to be oppressed? Is it that those oppressors are oblivious to the laws or rules of their countries or societies?
Ignorance of laws or rules can be dismissed as the excuse for oppression in many cases, for most oppressors cry foul and seek redress when oppressed. If their acts were wholly and solely based on ignorance, they would not be aware when oppressed. So, ignorance cannot be the only factor. Let us proceed to look for other factors. Oppression may result from a mistake, for no man is perfect or infallible, and to err is human. Thus, one may oppress others inadvertently or accidentally. However, oppression cannot be termed as a mistake if it recurs, for mistakes cannot always be allowed or accepted.
Egomania or egocentricity is one of the factors responsible for oppression. Greed and the desire to defend an interest or fulfil an ambition prompt some people to oppress others. Such egoists are ready to bulldoze anybody they perceive as a hindrance. However, some of them always try to portray themselves as democrats, peace-lovers and patriots, or even saints, which is quite ironical. I caution them to rethink, for the world would not last even a day if everybody behaved like them. I also put it to them that not everybody is a fool as they think, and that he that knows not and knows not that he knows not is a fool.
Some people oppress others to ingratiate themselves with their bosses whom they fear more that they fear God the Almighty. These people behave like zombies or marionettes. They are always ready to do the dirty job of oppression. Even without receiving instructions from their bosses, they can do any nasty thing to defend the interest of their bosses or please them. I advise these oppressors to think about tomorrow and bear in mind that their bosses will not be able to protect themselves in the next world, let alone protecting them or interceding with God to save them from His wrath and eventual punishment in the hereafter. It is very unwise for them to dance to the tune of their mortal bosses whose powers are limited and short-lived or seek their pleasure to the extent of incurring the wrath of God the Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent and Immortal. If they happen to be non-believers, as the case may be, let them ponder on what will happen to them here on earth when their bosses are no longer around or when they quit their dirty jobs. Do they think that their bosses will stay in their positions forever? Have they ever thought about dismissal, retirement or falling out of favour of their bosses after doing the dirty job and becoming notorious? In any case, it is safer and more prudent to treat members of the general public nicely to earn their respect and love than to do a dirty job to please one’s boss and gain notoriety.
Among the factors responsible for oppression is megalomania. Some people, by virtue of their professions, positions or status, feel so haughty or proud and hence despise others whom they term as nonentities and the riffraff of their society, especially when they find themselves in positions which they never dreamt of occupying in life. This is why it is common to hear the foolish rhetorical question ‘Do you know who I am?’ and the scornful threat ‘He will know me. I will teach him a lesson that he will never forget’. These people always want to show off to the extent of oppressing others. They believe that they can behave anyhow and go scot-free. Thus, they metamorphous into sadists who take pleasure in victimizing or brutalizing people as a way of showing their power and importance. These rogues are so intoxicated with arrogance that they would not listen to anybody, and no amount of preaching can move or edify them. They belong to the category of people who the Holy Quran says are deaf, dumb and blind. Members of this group repent only after losing their privileges or after they have started paying the price of their misdeeds, or when they sense danger. Ironically, some of them turn into preachers, making citations from the Holy Scriptures, condemning the very immoral or criminal acts they used to commit without any sense of remorse and championing virtues and values that were totally and conspicuously absent from their vocabulary list while they were enjoying privileges or when they felt secure. To camouflage the situation or earn public sympathy, some resort to befriending former enemies or those they held in contempt and used to victimize or brutalize. I would like to put it to them that repentance is good but repentance in despair is no repentance. This kind of repentance is tantamount to insulting God’s intelligence, to say the least. Repentance is more reasonable and acceptable when it is done voluntarily in good faith, not when one is helpless or desperate and has no option or choice. Put in crude terms, it is more reasonable and acceptable to repent oppressing people when one is in a privileged position or status than when he loses that position or status and becomes despondent and vulnerable, for repentance in the former case is voluntary, whereas it is dictated by circumstances in the latter. Above all, it is advisable to behave like a human being and help people while enjoying certain privileges, or at least treat them with justice and fairness. In so doing, one may save oneself from danger, or earn the sympathy of the general public when in trouble or when misfortune befalls him. If, on the other hand, he misbehaves by oppressing members of the public, people may shout ‘Good riddance!’ or rejoice when he is in trouble or when he loses his privileges. No matter how hard his friends, relatives or close associates try to defend or exculpate him, they will find it extremely difficult or impossible to convince the public or make people believe that he is a good or decent person, and not to talk of convincing God the All-knowing to earn His clemency.
My dear reader, oppression does not pay at all. It can easily backfire, for what goes around comes around, and we reap what we sow. Besides, no one is immune from danger or harm in a society where oppression prevails. Anybody can have his turn at any time in such a society. Additionally, the masses may fall back on violent means of disentangling or extricating themselves when oppression becomes unendurable, which could have deleterious effects on a country as a whole. For these reasons, Allah the Almighty has stated explicitly in the Glorious Quran that He does not like oppressors. Moreover, oppression is synonymous with cruelty or lack of mercy, and Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) cautioned us against wickedness saying that Allah the Almighty would not shower His mercy on those who fail to treat their fellow men with mercy.
Hence, oppression should not be treated with indifference. Earnest, unflinching efforts should be made to combat it. In fact, combatting oppression is a socio-religious obligation. A situation where oppression is prevalent can be likened to jungle life where there are no laws or rules to guide actions. As human beings, we should be sober and wise enough to avoid such a situation. We can achieve this by using the golden rule ‘Do onto others as you would like others to do onto you’ and the Hadith ‘Wish for others what you wish for yourself’ as guiding principles.
On a final note, I would like to remind oppressors that they are mere mortals made of blood, bones and flesh; that all human beings share the seven characteristics of living organisms (feeding, growth, respiration, locomotion, excretion, reproduction, and response to stimuli) regardless of profession, position and status; that man’s power is very much limited and ephemeral; that no condition is permanent; that it is folly to oppress each other like animals; and that all oppressors are bound to perish sooner or later if they fail to repent their acts and kick out their filthy habit, as Allah the Almighty hates them.
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