7 minute read
Social Media, Cancel Culture and Mob Rule
a moment, breathe and recall what God advises and warns us about in Quran and ask ourselves where we are going with all this?
Most of us know of the irreligious aspects of the Western/ non-Muslim holidays. Yet knowing the inappropriate background no longer seems to deter us. So, let’s raise a few other objections as to why it might not be in our best interests to support and spend our hard-earned cash for these festivities.
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Every Halloween, 600 million lbs. of candy is sold in the U.S., making up the overall 10% of the country’s annual candy sales — and the treats generate nearly $2 billion in sales each year (Stacy Liberatore, “The Bitter Truth About Halloween Candy,” www.dailymail.co.uk, Oct. 28, 2021). These treats have negative impacts on the environment and human rights. Sugar, cocoa and palm oil, popular ingredients used in many candies, are from crops mostly grown in the Amazon, where forests are converted into farmland through a process of slash and burn agriculture. Not only are we destroying forests, but the process also releases greenhouse gases. Child and trafficked labor in many countries work these farms. These are same ingredients sold for Easter and Valentine’s Day treats as well. Shouldn’t this give us pause? (Jade McClain, “Are Our Treats Too Tricky?” https://www.nyu.edu, Oct 27, 2021).
The 16th annual Autumn at the Dallas Arboretum Festival for example, once again displayed 90,000 pumpkins, gourds and squash hailing from the state’s pumpkin capital, Floydada (https://www. dallasarboretum.org/). How many hundreds of thousands of farms grow fir trees purely for the Christmas season? They are planted, watered and tended only to be chopped down, decorated and then discarded; some are mulched, and others end up in landfills. Some reports say that $3000 Christmas trees were sold in Saudi Arabia; while it was officially refuted, photos of public décor show abundant Christmas cheer. Muslims might well consider these things before joining in the festivities, for God dislikes waste (6:141).
In his book “Green Deen” (https://g.co/kgs/kSo3gZ), Ibrahim Abdul-Matin relates that Muslims are told to act as a khalif (caretaker) of His creation (2:230 and 33:72). The connections between Islamic teachings and environmentalism are long standing and deep. AbdulMatin draws on research, scripture and interviews with American Muslims to trace Islam’s preoccupation with humanity’s collective role as Earth’s steward. Even our Prophet (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) declared that “Earth is a mosque” (“Sahih al-Bukhari” 438, Book 8, Hadith 87). We must begin to treat our planet as such. We can appreciate the gifts and contributions that Islam and Muslims have brought to environmentalism and continue this movement started by our predecessors.
These are other strong incentives to curtail our rush to celebrate those holidays that are not our own. We do not participate in the wastage that God dislikes, and we can find better uses for the halal salaries we strive earnestly to earn, spend and share as charity. Consider that the number of people who seek counseling and the need of medication increases as episodes of depression and the numbers of suicides spike following what is constantly advertised as a time of joy, peace and goodwill. Pouring our hard-earned cash into capitalism and consumerism of Western interest-fueled banks, institutions and industries ultimately supports those who dealt the death blow to our ummah and continues to fuel separation and division between us today. So just what are we missing if we don’t participate? ih
It is time to accept that social media can also be anti-social, and people must act on it
BY SALMAN SIDDIQUI
Imagine you just got home from work. Work was so busy that you ended up working through lunch. All you ate today was a granola bar and some almonds. Your supervisor went off on you today. If he had given you a chance to explain, you could’ve let him know that he was yelling about something you had already taken care of and that wasn’t your fault in the first place.
You open the fridge and realize you haven’t had time to get groceries in a while. You grab your phone to order food. As you complete your order, you see that the estimated delivery time is two hours. Not only that, but they’ve added $5.00 for delivery plus a $4.50 service charge, and of course a tip too. You grab your keys and head out to one of the few halal restaurants in your area. You phoned ahead so that your food would be ready. When you get there, you realize they lost your order. Now you have to wait for them to make it.
As you wait, you begin to lose your patience. You pull out your phone and start to scroll through your twitter feed. You’re still waiting. You send a tweet, “Why do restaurants even take your order if they never learned to listen in elementary school?” You put your phone away.
Later that night, you check your phone. You see quite a few Twitter notifications. Dozens are already angry about your post. They comment, “Do you know how difficult the restaurant business is?” “Service workers have to put up with a lot. What’s the matter with you?” and “Everyone makes mistakes. Sorry you had to wait an extra 10 minutes.”
That’s where the internet war starts. Scores or maybe hundreds start yelling at each other. They would not behave like this in person, but once online they start forgetting their manners. It’s so easy to do this from behind a screen.
It’s not as though the values are absent. We see Islamic reminders. We’ve become proficient in giving eloquent speeches and writing beautifully worded social media posts. Everyone agrees with the concept, but how much do we apply it? When you see someone say something insensitive online, do you respond respectfully or go on the offensive? We should never shed our adab (manners) simply because we’re interacting online. People are arguing over matters of fiqh, news stories, opinions and even basic daily events. It’s rarely a healthy discussion, and too often it turns into a series of personal insults.
Abdullah bin Amr narrated: “The Prophet (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) never used derogatory language, neither a fahish (indecency) nor a mutafahish (exaggeration). He used to say, ‘The best among you are those who have the best manners and character’” (“Sahih al-Bukhari,” 3559).
Consider the following example of some comments on a recent post (identifying information blanked to protect privacy):
As you can see, the comments are neither constructive nor polite. They stimulate argument and hurt feelings. People will even resort to personal attacks.
When interacting online, we should remember our manners. For example, we can be aware of how much communication is lost through the internet. We often don’t know the relevant context, the people themselves, and where they’re coming from or the tone. How we interpret it can affect our own state of mind. As Muslims, though, we should strive to be the best of people (3:110).
Ibn Abi Mulaykah reported: Umar ibn al-Khattab said, “It is not allowed for a Muslim who hears a word from his brother to assume evil of him if he can find something good about it” (“Al-Tamhid,” 18/20).
If you have a following on social media, try to use it to promote good manners. Use your influence in a positive way by behaving with good manners. If someone offends you, stay silent. If you see something bad, say something good. Try not to call people out, for exposing their mistakes publicly often creates even more problems. Try to be understanding of the fact that there is a human being behind the post. Promote the idea of expressing your opinion in a non-confrontational manner. Social media influencers are called so because they actually do have a lot of influence.
Ibn Mas‘ud reported: The Prophet said, “Shall I not tell you of one forbidden for Hellfire or Hellfire is forbidden for him? It is everyone [who is] accessible, polite and easygoing” (“Sunan al-Tirmidhi,” 2488).
Online communication is a big part of modern life. You may communicate online on an ongoing basis with people you’ve never met in real life. This can happen socially or professionally. People make long-term friends and enemies online. They meet and even get married online through social media or apps. Mutual understanding is more important now than ever. Muslims have a responsibility to be leaders in good conduct online as well as in person. ih
