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CONTENTS Theme..........................................................................................................................04 Editor’s Address........................................................................................................05 Fast Fashion................................................................................................................06 Beyond Left and Right...........................................................................................08 Navigating COVID Alternatives............................................................................10 Mass Incarceration in the United States and its Effects on the Environment..............................................................................................................12 Pull-Out Poster..........................................................................................................14 Reawakening Our Spirituality................................................................................16 The Cliff........................................................................................................................19 From Islamabad to Toronto..................................................................................20 Finding Myself in Cuba.........................................................................................22 Broken Compasses..................................................................................................24
THE TEAM Editor-in-Chief Hikmat Jamal Associate Editor Shafiq Qaadri Head Content Editor Maarya Zafar Vice President Communications Farwa Mumtaz
Writers Asia Majeed Enas Ali Fiza Ruhani Fizzah Mansour Hania Iqbal Samar Moghal Soundous Louardiane Usama Ansar Editors Aaliyah Mulla Talha Anwar
Graphic Design Farwa Mumtaz Jubair Aziz Raneem Alozzi Salwa Iqbal Sarah Dadabhoy Cover Design Maarya Zafar DISCLAIMER: the ideas and opinions expressed in this issue do not necessarily reflect those of the TMV staff or those of the Muslim Students’ Association at the University of Toronto.
Please start by changing the page numbers below then delete this box. NOVEMBER 2020 | THE MUSLIM VOICE | 3
FLUX /flʌks/ Noun 1. The act of flowing; a continuous moving on or passing by, as of a flowing stream. 2. A state of ongoing change. “You cannot step into the same river twice.” - Heraclitus
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EDITOR’S ADDRESS
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بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
ot a second goes by without motion. The tiny speck we call earth is restlessly hurtling through space at all times. Perhaps the phrase “not a second goes by without motion” is a simple tautology; it is true because a “second” or “moment” already entails a sense of motion. Just as our conceptions of space and time entail motion, so does everything else we do. We are constantly dealing with change and reacting to the world around us; we are in a constant state of flux. 2020 has been an interesting year, to say the least. I am a little weary of calling an arbitrary measure of 365 days a “bad” year but it has been odd. We have dealt with a global pandemic that should well and truly humble us - a tiny virus we cannot even see with our naked eye brought the world’s strongest economies to their heels. It has forced us to rethink how we live our lives and reimagine what it means to connect to people and the world around us. As we deal with the pandemic and a host of other social and political issues, we are always working in the background of climate change. It is against this backdrop of destruction and doomsday-like visions of the future - the perennial threat of irreparable change - that we make personal and collective decisions. Responding to climate change necessarily entails changing the current course of actions. The theme for this issue is A World in Flux. The work in this issue is responding to questions of change and uncertainty with respects to the pandemic. It addresses the ways in which we can begin to better understand and prevent an environmental crisis. Finally, this issue deals with the important question of finding a metaphysical anchor that can keep us grounded and adept at attacks on our souls for it is easy to let that go in a world hell-bent on constant stimulation. When I first applied for the role of Editor-in-Chief, I was warned of the levels of commitment and work it would entail from everyone involved. Perhaps my earlier statement that we are in a constant state of flux is not entirely true because that will probably never change. I hope that this humble result of the work the entire team of writers, editors, designers, artists, and the support structures each one of us has to keep us motivated, is worthy of The Muslim Voice Magazine’s legacy. It is an honour to be a part of something rewarding and I hope everyone in the team who has had to hear my artistically illiterate takes on design-related topics still thinks it was worth it. With love,
Hikmat Jamal Editor-in-Chief
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FAST FASHION Fizzah Mansoor
E
ight years ago, Rana Plaza—an eight-story building in Bangladesh’s capital city of Dhaka that housed several factories producing clothing for several clothing brands—came crashing down, killing approximately 1,130 people and injuring thousands more. Criticism was aimed primarily at the building’s local managers, who failed to keep it up to date with international security standards, and, more harshly, at the fast fashion industry. Fast fashion brands produce pieces to get the newest style on the market as soon as possible, thereby shortening the length of a fashion “season”. They emphasize optimizing certain aspects of the supply chain for the trends to be designed and manufactured quickly and inexpensively while allowing customers to buy current clothing styles at a lower price. Profit driven and enormously popular, fast fashion has seen one of the most unique social and technological advancements of the past fifty years. However, these advances come at a serious humanitarian cost- since multi-billion dollar companies are willing to outsource labor to countries like Bangladesh (where daily wages are as low as 1 USD per day and workers lack the power to unionize). In addition, due to an exponential increase in demand for new and cheap clothing, the fast fashion industry generates an enormous amount of waste, contributing nearly 10 percent of global carbon emissions and nearly 20 percent of global wastewater.
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At the same time, fast fashion is hailed as a great equalizer; runway trends and the latest innovations are now available in budget prices at online stores like FashionNova, which create cheap knockoffs of the latest designer trends within days of their appearance on runways. Since its advent and popularization, fast fashion has allowed the lower classes access to luxury that they were deprived of for much of history: the aesthetic and appearance of wealth. Much like other heavily priced-
down, low quality goods (like the similarly named fast-food), a lot of the people buying fast fashion do so because it’s cheap, and it looks good, even if it doesn’t last long. People own more, buy more, and throw away more articles of clothing than ever before- influencer ‘shopping hauls’ are an internet staple, and Amazon Prime has made it easier than ever before to buy clothes conveniently and inexpensively. Since cheaper clothing has become a norm, there is also a reflexive rejection of ‘organic’, ‘ecoconscious’, ‘slow’ fashion- it is viewed as a vestige of class and wealth, that systemically denies most people the pleasures of fashion based on its unattainability.
“People own more, buy more, and throw away more...” The youth-conscious marketing of fast fashion brands mean they are usually the first big businesses to advocate for socially progressive causes; from giving working class designers a relatively inexpensive platform on which to showcase their vision, to the increasing visibility of different body types and ethnicities in their catalogues. In 2015, H&M featured its first hijabi model in their “Close the Loop” campaign, which aimed to encourage donation of used clothing to, hypothetically, decrease clothing waste, and encourage sustainability. While it was certainly a marker of increased Muslim representation in mainstream media, it is difficult to ignore that the advances made for positive Muslim visibility are by the same companies that exploit Muslim laborers in the third world; H&M was one of Rana Plaza’s biggest clients, and did not pay any reparations to family members of the deceased laborers.
However, it is important that we look past the shiny veneer of the industry. The tragedy of Rana Plaza proved that the humanitarian and environmental cost of fast fashion is much greater than the very relative cultural change it has brought about, both with respect to its role in uplifting the self-image of the working class and in its socially progressive marketing strategies. Muslims have a social and religious responsibility to their communities and to the natural world; it is crucial that we engage with the idea of dismantling the systems of oppression that continue to degrade the environment, exploit the labor of our people, and refuse to accept responsibility for loss of lives in our homes. This is difficult work; it involves consciously breaking out of these cycles of exploitation by actively purchasing more mindfully and cutting back on markers of material wealth for the sake of the cause. It requires an overhaul of consumerist mindsets, and a rejection of excessive wealth at the cost of the natural world. Radical change cannot be sustainably achieved through short-sighted revolution- bringing an end to fast fashion is slow work, but ultimately necessary for the future of our communities and our species.
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r a s n A a m By Usa
@micbblom via unsplash Source // @MobilusInMobili via Flickr
Source // @HevnanPinera via Flickr
Source// @koshuuu via unsplash
Source//@artbyhybridviaunsplash 8 | THE MUSLIM VOICE | NOVEMBER 2020
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ave you felt anxious, overwhelmed, disturbed, or perhaps simply at unease with all that is going on around the world? Does it distress you that the segmentation of society into the “left” and the “right” has left little room for people who might be socially “conservative” yet fiscally “liberal”? Have you thought about the implications the labels “conservative” or “liberal” bring with them? Have you found yourself wondering what allyship means in the age of “cancel culture?” Have you struggled to answer the question of whether endorsing a group implies we are lending support to everything else that group stands for as well? I certainly have. These are questions many of us who partake in, or want to partake in, activism face everyday. Admittedly, these are hard questions which I have no intention of answering here. What I do intend is to draw parallels between the life of the Prophet ( )ﷺand the present day in order to help us better understand the Islamic ethic of activism so that we can rephrase these questions in ways that would make seeking their answers easier.
“Have you felt anxious, overwhelmed, disturbed, or perhaps simply at unease with all that is going on around the world?” In pre-Islamic Arabia, Yemeni merchants were virtually excluded from the Makkan marketplace. Once, a Yemeni merchant, Zabid, sold some goods to a notable from the tribe of Sahm, a household from amongst the Quraish. The person, not expecting Zabid to command any support from among the Quraish, refused to pay for the goods. Zabid protested, and to everyone’s surprise, a group of elders from within the Quraish rose to his aid. They did not just settle Zabid’s case, they went further, formalizing this alliance and deciding that regardless of whose rights were violated they would stand with the oppressed until justice was administered. This pact became known as the “The Pact of the Virtuous” . The Prophet ( )ﷺwould later say, in the days of Prophethood, that were he called to be part of the pact even today, he would have signed on. There are many lessons to be taken from this incident, but the one I would like to emphasize, and one I think is of relevance to Muslim activists, is how it shows Islam’s conviction
towards a universal set of principles. When the rights of people are being violated and their dignity compromised, regardless of whether we know them or not,
“Labels are irrelevant; foremost is our duty towards the establishment of justice as Allah has enjoined upon us and that should be our primary motivation.” regardless of their ethnicity or social standing, it is our duty to stand by them. Of primary importance to our activism should be Islam’s stance on the issue. What this incident shows is that the fact that our opinion aligns with the “left” or the “right” or whether we come across as “progressive” or “regressive” by supporting or opposing an issue should be of at best marginal importance. Labels are irrelevant; foremost is our duty towards the establishment of justice as Allah has enjoined upon us and that should be our primary motivation. Despite the fact that many of the positions Muslims generally take on inequality, injustice, poverty, immigration, the welfare state, taxation and a host of other issues align with the “left”, we must understand that there are fundamental differences between the two groups. Neither does Islam agree with all the positions the left takes nor do Islamic standards on morality change based on the whims of the majority. Ours is a much more consistent, much less subjective framework of thinking because it is grounded in scripture so we should, in our activism, avoid confining ourselves to labels. Islam stands distinct from the left-right divide. Similarly, looming large for Muslim activists, is the question of allyship. Who should we ally with? What should be the basis of our alliance? Does an alliance imply validation? I think here as well, we can draw upon an incident from the Seerah. Upon returning from Ta’if, the Prophet ()ﷺ felt his life was in danger. This, remember, was after the year of grief when the tribal protection provided to Muslims by Abu Talib had been lifted due to his sad demise. An emboldened Quraish was now openly threatening the lives of Muslims. In these dire circumstances, stranded outside Makkah, who did the Prophet ( )ﷺcall upon for help? Mut’im bin Adi, a non-Muslim cheftian.
Muhammad ()ﷺthen proceeded to enter Makkah under the protection of Mut’im. The protection meant that the risks to his ()ﷺ life were subdued for the time being. It did not, however, mean that the Prophet ()ﷺ toned down the intensity of his message. This incident has a host of relevant lessons for us today. Yes, it demonstrates the permissibility of alliances with individuals we disagree with but more importantly, it sheds some light on what the scope of such an alliance should be. This alliance didn’t mean that the Prophet ( )ﷺvalidated Mut’im and his beliefs, nor did it mean that he “moderated” his message to appease Mut’im. It was an alliance grounded in principle predicated on the mutual respect that existed between these two individuals. That is how I believe Muslims should approach allyship. Alliances are often necessary, but our affiliation with certain groups on particular issues must not mean that we end up toning down our opinion on issues that group would not condone. Our relationship with God, His Prophet ()ﷺ, and His scripture, should take precedence over everything else in our activism Once again, to return to where I began, I am not claiming that the propositions I have made are religious opinions. I am certainly not qualified to make any such claims, but I feel the two incidents and the ensuing commentary, the basis of which I borrow from Imam Dawud Walid’s “Towards Sacred Activism” and Safi-urRahman Mubarakpuri’s magnificent book on the Seerah, “The Sealed Nectar,” can help us narrow down the questions I ask at the beginning of the article. At its core I believe that instead of asking ourselves all those questions and engaging in a discrete search of answers, a good starting point might be to ask yourself only one question—“what are my obligations towards the people of the world, and where are my red lines?” Where, one might ask, does one start the search for answers. Might I suggest, in the exegesis of 3:110: “You are now the best people brought forth for (the guidance and reform of) mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah.”
“You are now the best people brought forth for (the guidance and reform of) mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah” NOVEMBER 2020 | THE MUSLIM VOICE | 9
NAVIGATING COVID ALTERNATIVES BY HANIA IQBAL
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mid the uncertainty of the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), it can be easy to disregard the internal stress we are experiencing. Whether it is online schooling, working from home, or restrictions on outdoor events, social interactions have been severely hampered. In the 21st century, COVID-19 has officially transitioned humans, both physically and psychologically, to exercise long-term isolation. Madame Noire Magazine points out that the repercussions of COVID-19 have been felt so strongly that children in particular are “tensed and have to go on a masked adventure” for the sake of adjusting to the new normal. The pandemic’s rejection of socialization, especially open-air, has confined our minds and bodies within the parameters of the home. The confinement has been a suppression of movement in both the physical and psychological context. Whilst Madame Noire Magazine explores the effect of the pandemic on children, its lessons apply across the spectrum. People of all ages are seeking some sort of movement on this bitter-sweet canvas of life.
It is a will to move, both physically and mentally. To feel alive. It was not until we were hit by the pandemic that we began recognizing and appreciating the blessing of physical movement in space. With homes doubling as places of work, the historical demarcation between the home as a place of recreation and the troubles of the outside world no longer persists. This has not been aided by gyms, cafes, and other non-essential settings closed, it has further added to the chaotic atmosphere. Despite all this, the physically empty locations have been taken over by digital media platforms. Streaming services and “virtual” activism have experienced new life in light of COVID-19. Digital creators, including YouTubers, pop-culture icons, TikTok stars, and even film celebrities, have acknowledged the given power of “quarantine time.” Quarantining individuals, as a result, are exhibiting their talents in whichever whichever way they see fit. However, despite digital media servers teeming with activity and interactions between performers and viewers, there has been a failure to address real mental health concerns.
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My initial reaction to spending time indoors for months was no other than exhaustion. With mass amount of time spent at home, I did not know where and how to utilize it in a way where it could be rather beneficial for my mental well-being. It was not until I reflected back on the things I always looked forward to doing that the opportunity of the pandemic really became clear. For example, prepandemic, I had always had a desire to read more. If I did not take a moment to acknowledge the things I always put off “until I have time,” I would not have been able to spend my time actually doing these things now that I am swamped with too much time! With this realization I learned that instead of circling around things we can do after the pandemic, we can realistically focus on doing the things we always envisioned to do, prior to the pandemic. In doing so we can invest our energy into things we thought we would never get to accomplish. As some readers will relate, I began relying on social media as my resource for joy. It was not until I constantly heard news updates on thousands of lives lost in the duration of the virus that I became mindful of my blessings. I became mindful of my blessings.
This time teaches the purity of gratitude and that we must come to terms with the new normal. Movement may be absent but we can begin to train our brain how to function in a healthy manner. Part of this involves engaging in authentic human relations. This can be in the forms of engaging in virtual community buildings, virtual game servers, or even emphasizing “collaboration,” where ideas and conversions are exchanged. In my theatre course, we hold bi-weekly “virtual cocktail parties” as a way for everyone to minimize the tension they carry. Members of the course turn on their cameras and microphones and we all indulge our drinks. On that day, everyone avoids the discussions of news, issues, and even course material that takes away the “vibe” of the party. Simple yet planned online events, either with colleges, classmates, or family overseas can help reduce the risk of feeling overwhelmed by the chaos. The pandemic allows us to prioritize our liveliness in whichever shape it may arrive in. For me, “virtual cocktail parties” and safe online jewelry shopping splurges act as therapeutic features, filling the “empty” physical space component I was missing. While engaging vastly on social media during the pandemic, it is important to realize that it is a tool towards many ends. Like all tools, we must learn to operate the jungle of social media. Mixed results have shown individuals either embodying connectivity with friends and families or drowning in unhealthy addictive relationships with social media. There is a range of literature on the effects of frequent social media, things like overthinking, passing judgement, and negative feelings towards oneself are common. As a result, it can be challenging to navigate and filter the type of information and communities we interact with.
paying close attention to the news alerts circulating on a variety of platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. I recently partnered up with the Onions Don’t Cure Covid organization as an ambassador and worked on a project highlighting the phenomenon of mass misinformation which social media has played a role in. Not only must we evaluate the ethical stakes of information and its authenticity by asking when and how it might have been published, we must also practise releasing stress that the whirlpool of digital media imposes on viewers. This article has highlighted the tools available to us as we shift almost exclusively to the digital world. The tools available to us can be used for both good, such as community building, or be harmful, for when we let social media dominate our lives.
The most appropriate recipe to cope with the ongoing stresses of the pandemic involves establishing a balance between work and play. Begin rewarding yourself with the smallest accomplishments. Take a break, even if it is not the time, but you know it will help otherwise. But most importantly, value the people and resources available to you. References Denise, J. (2020, October 06). COVID-19 Has Made Traveling With Small Children Even More Stressful, Here’s How To Help Your Tot Navigate Our New Normal. Retrieved October 13, 2020, from https://madamenoire.com/1191576/covid-19-toddlertravel/
In light of COVID-19, it is highly suggested that we begin
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Mass Incarceration in the United States and its Effects on the Environment
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By Enas Ali
ith the United States holding 25 per cent of the world’s prisoners and just five per cent of its population, mass incarceration has become an issue reaching epidemic proportions. This is not only due to the large number of people that are being affected daily—whether they themselves are incarcerated or are dealing with the pain and trauma of having a loved one who is—but also because of the environmental effects that mass incarceration has produced. At its current rate, the system of mass incarceration is not environmentally sustainable. In the United States, there are currently over 2 million people who are incarcerated and being held in 1 of nearly 7000 prison facilities throughout the country—this includes publicly funded federal, state, local, and private detention centers. As the number of people being incarcerated rapidly rises each year, there are not enough facilities to hold all of them, and overcrowding in prisons has very quickly become a big issue. As a result, new facilities need to be built in order to contain the United States’ insatiable desire to imprison masses of its population. This means that more land has to be destroyed to make room for new prisons, directly harming, and often completely destroying, the local ecosystems.
“The environment is yet another argument in favour of overturning the current system of incarceration that the United States has pursued.” The Prison Ecology Project is one group that has been concerned with the negative impacts of mass incarceration on the environment and how it affects the health of those who live near detention centres. A major case they took on was against the building of a new federal prison in Kentucky. One section of the complaint claims that building the prison would clear over 100 acres of forestry and three acres of wetlands, effectively destroying entire populations living within these ecosystems, including the habitats of already endangered species in the Appalachian mountain region of the state. Along with the environmental destruction that comes with building prisons, the facilities themselves also produce a lot of waste and pollution. According to a report produced by Prison Legal News, dozens of prisons across 17 states were guilty of sewage and sanitation violations. In addition to that, the Environmental 12 | THE MUSLIM VOICE | NOVEMBER 2020
Protection Agency has reported that federal and state agencies have brought approximately 1,373 informal actions and 157 formal actions against regulated prisons and jails under the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Clean Air Act between 2012 and 2017. It is evident that prison facilities are constantly violating environmental regulations by dumping their waste in the nearby bodies of water (including rivers, creeks, and lakes), endangering wildlife and the health of those who rely on these bodies for their drinking water. As we are having more discussions on climate change and environmental consciousness, it is necessary to include the effects of mass incarceration in these conversations. With more prisons being built, this means more land being destroyed and— with the way prison facilities produce and dispose of their toxic waste—more water being contaminated. Thus, the environment is yet another argument in favour of overturning the current system of incarceration that the United States has pursued. Mass incarceration has direct negative consequences on the American ecosystems and with the growing prison population and increase in prison facilities, these impacts are not going to decrease without both prison reform and stricter enforcement of environmental regulations. Alongside the community and individual effects, the conversation needs to make room for environmental causes as well.
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Whoever sees the Cosmos and does not contemplate Him in it or by it or before it or after it is in need of light. - Ibn Ata'Allah
REAWAKENING OUR SPIRITUALITY AN
ISLAMIC
RESPONSE
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MODERNITY FIZA RUHANI
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“God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives: who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we have to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we ourselves not become gods simply to appear worthy of it?” -Friedrich Nietzsche Thus Spoke Zarathustra
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ietzsche’s claim that “God is dead” has often been understood as a celebratory remark. Hailed by naturalists as the beginning of a glorious secular age, it is a phrase of triumph. In an alternative context, however, the passage refers to the fact that because the Modern Project (roughly understood as beginning with the Renaissance and “The Age of Reason”) has dislodged God as the anchor of everything we do, from our economies to our governments to our social interactions, humanity is now left without a core to stabilize itself. This “freedom” is what has caused man to enter a state of flux where he does not know himself or his creator. Instead, he concerns himself with conquering the world around him. The Modern Project, which gave rise to modernity, is an imbalanced quest of seeking renewal. The word “modern” comes from the Latin adjective modernus, derived from the adverb modo meaning “presently, just now.” The modern world constantly incites us towards a very specific lifestyle. A lifestyle of consumption and greed supported by messages from the world of images, the world of media and advertising agencies. Advertisement comes from latin advertere meaning turning towards. We are literally compelled to turn away from our own selves and pay attention to the world of illusion around us. Messages in the modern world are ceaseless, unrelenting but also illusory. They are a call from the modern world to break from tradition and constantly reinvent and repackage the self. The focus is on modifying external appearances and buying plastic-wrapped environmentally destructive items. This is a very dangerous game, both for the self and the Earth which supports us. Philosophical modernity assumes that human beings are merely a higher form of animal life resulting from a long evolutionary process. However, the problem is that modernity flatlines the entire depth of our spirituality and spiritual potential. Instead of learning to transcend our limited rational ability and open ourselves up to the potential of quantum consciousness, modernity operates in a mechanical Newtonian worldview. This has an immediate and long-lasting impact on the subjective and existential experience of the social conditions modernity produces through culture, institutions, and politics. Modernism not only relegates our spirituality to the private sphere but also takes away our ability to understand said spirituality. When we pay attention to the world around us, we are paying a very hefty price. Our ability to understand our own selves is completely undermined and we neglect our spiritual life. We begin to accumulate spiritual toxins such as greed, lust, gluttony and also envy, jealousy, anger and pride. The symptoms are anxiety, fear, and hate. Some of us try to seek a cure from the modern world itself which was the source and cause of our dis-ease in the first place. The problem is, we don’t understand that we have spiritual needs and nourishment. Spirituality is a primordial reality and it has existed in every single civilization in our collective human history. It was a reality without a name practiced within local
Indigenous cultures and ancient civilizations that developed sophisticated ritual practices. The purpose was to understand the self in itself and in relation to others, find meaning in suffering, prolong human life, and transcend limited human perceptions to arrive at universal truths. It was not about creating systems of knowledge but rather accumulating wisdom and using spiritual techniques and rituals to further this end. Communities that lived in close harmony with nature had an especially intimate understanding of themselves and the world around them. Spirituality played an important role within every human civilization until the early modern period. The subject of spirituality concerns the self. Our inner world is vast and incredibly complex. There are several parts that make up this self. For our purposes, we will focus on the nafs which can be characterized as the ego, psyche, or even breath. It gravitates towards immediate human concerns of survival but if left unchecked can pull us towards powerful destructive tendencies. This is the force that spiritual masters of old attempted to conquer. The nafs is simultaneously both weak and strong. When a glimmer from the other world, like special glimpses from the sacred holy realm or breezes from God appear, the inner self awakens. Then, we are able to use the power of the self to cultivate wholeness and prosperity that benefits humanity. It is in direct contrast with the modern program of cultivating power wholly for oneself. The Modern Project keeps the self tangled in a web of lies until we lose sight of moral and universal virtues. When we master the nafs and our lower tendencies, we are able to put everything into perspective. We are able to interpret ourselves and others through a clearer lens. Then, we are able to push through and push back at these present illusions because they are just that, illusory and weak. It is only by pushing back that one sees what one is truly made up of. It is important to realize that the awakening of the inner self is not just “repackaged and reconstituted ego,” as Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad puts it. Modernity’s constant suggestions to change oneself are just that, suggestions. They have no basis in reality and arise as the result of modernity’s fixation on the self. Even our quest for artificial intelligence and biological engineering comes from this self-obsession. Simultaneously, our present state of flux and anxiety is a result of not doing enough internal work. We are so focused on the external world through a desire to conquer the external world that we let our desires run wild. As Nietzsche points out, “what sacred games shall we have to invent?” We’ve shifted our focus from conquering spiritual peaks to gracelessly befuddling the physical world. Whilst it may seem to be a mundane metaphor, common phrases like “sport is my religion” stem from this desire to invent new sacred games. The result is a collapse of our inner psychic structure— we have created a monster inside ourselves and invited a messy, twisted internal life not dissimilar to Dorian Gray, the hedonistic character of Oscar Wilde. When we wake up, we see the disfigured monster for what it truly is. We have strayed far from our original purity, our original disposition,
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natural constitution, and innate nature. As a result, we have lost ourselves. In our quest to conquer the world we have forgotten to conquer our own selves. One of the effects has been a colonization of ourselves by both external forces and internal forces. Internal forces such as our hawa, describing desires and caprices which we have fashioned into gods, and shahwa, an animalistic appetite, have completely subdued and weakened us collectively. Psychology and psychoanalysis has attempted to understand the psychic landscape with limited success. These disciplines are still too entrenched in logical positivist denials of anything that cannot be measured and validated through experimentation. The closest they have come is an acknowledgment of man’s consciousness. That is too little too late. It is not enough to even begin to comprehend the complexities of the inner world of man. Through our desire to break from tradition we have strayed from our original state of well-being. Modernity is characterized by a certain dynamism that has found its way into our economy, governance, social relationships, and education, not to mention its destructive effect on spirituality. Modernity comprises certain attitudes, socio-cultural norms, and practices that are characterized by a rejection of the past. It is closely associated with the development of capitalism, individualism, hyperconsumerism, and a devotion to technological progress. The hulking and cranking machinery of modernity is in its last breaths before its inevitable and unceremonious death. Modernity has brought with it disillusionment, the environmental crisis, debilitating social inequality, and a deep spiritual crisis. Man has been brought to his knees, utterly humbled by his own creation. In a spiritual sense, this is a ripe moment, full of possibilities and openings. It has the possibility of becoming a moment of selfaccounting and self-reflection. If done right, we can redeem ourselves. However, there is a long way to go. There are very real dangers haunting our collective being such as our wounded ego and damaged pride, and our everpresent and engulfing human social and environmental crises. Like the climber taking on Everest, one miscalculation and we can fall off the very steep cliff of existence into chaos and nonexistence. As a result, there is a very urgent need to return to our roots and our traditions. To start with our most vulnerable, our old and young. They remain our responsibility and our future potential. We must firmly take hold of our ancestral wisdom and collectively move forward. In all spiritual communities, a spiritual hierarchy has always been preserved. Special guides and teachers preserved spiritual wisdom and would teach their communities spiritual and social governance. It is imperative we seek out spiritual teachers and learn from them the ways of taming the self. The spiritual milieu has been transformed but we can use this to our advantage. We cannot be divided along sectarian lines but rather we need to be unified in our spiritual quest. As our spiritual teacher, Mawlana Rumi (may God sanctify his soul) shares, How many paths are there to God? There are as many paths to God as there are souls on the Earth. As long as we flee from the self and strive towards the universal Source, we will surely find our way. 18 | THE MUSLIM VOICE | NOVEMBER 2020
H A D W A
VERTere
The Cliff Samar Moghal
Countless clouds litter the skies above Heaven so close yet my grasp remains shut Here I stand with open arms and plead That the moments adorned are the moments I keep That I can cherish and comfort those who surround me That in folly and foe I may forgive and continue free The ground might quake and swallow me whole But these errors remain steadfast like mountains so bold A tiny pace is all it will take To crash into nothingness and fall to disgrace A gentle shuffle may cause you to plummet So take care in your strides upon this steep summit
photo credit// Ivan Cajina on Unsplash NOVEMBER 2020 | THE MUSLIM VOICE | 19
From Islamabad to Toronto Reflections on Nature and Hiking ASIA MAJEED
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hen I moved to Toronto from Pakistan, I sought a feeling of rest and calmness I had previously. In my efforts to find this, I went to the very thing that made Pakistan feel like home. And so began my journey to explore the city of Toronto. Toronto is jam-packed with things to do and places that could become my future favourites. Thus, armed with new friends and eager eyes,
I decided to explore the various neighbourhoods in Toronto in search of that familiar feeling of home I have always liked nature because unlike walks in the city, which have many routes and shortcuts of undefined lengths, natural trails are colour-coded and measured for you with ranges of difficulty. I remember as a child my family would plan hikes on weekends in order to to be active and spend time together. For example, Margalla Hills, in the capital Islamabad, contains some of the most breathtaking natural landscapes in the country. I remember our very first hike, a trail called “trail-2,” which led up to a rooftop hill garden of sorts called Daman-e-Koh. Trail-2 is the shortest among all the six officially recognized trails. As I grew up, trail-2 and another trail, the more famous and scenic trail-3, were essential to who I was. It’s because of these experiences that even today, hiking is my favourite way to spend my free time. At the surface level, being outdoors and all that it offers, its sun and the fresh breeze, is a welcome relief from stircraziness. Now, perhaps more than ever.
PHOTO // By Obaid747 - CC BY-SA 3.0 Muzammil.abbas94 - CC BY-SA 4.0 Mamaev Andrei - CC BY-SA 3.0 20 | THE MUSLIM VOICE | NOVEMBER 2020
In Toronto, I have so far been to the Nassagaweya Canyon Trail, Bruce Trail, Dundas Peak Trail, Scarborough Bluffs Trail, and High park. Not that I am even remotely finished - I’m looking forward to seeing more, doing more, and learning more over the coming years. I even plan on going further north from Toronto where you can be more fully engulfed in the wildlife and see natural phenomena like waterfalls. However, time spent outdoors is more than just exercise and family-time. I believe we need a remedy to heal our inner state of discord and nothing beats nature in this regard. Although mowing a lawn or gardening can keep us outside, longer-distance hikes in forests fully immerse us in the outside world. According to research, 90 minutes of walking in nature lowers negative thoughts and unsettling ruminations in our brain. Our constant multitasking of work and school makes it easy to feel overwhelmed and thus our mental peace needs to be restored. Furthermore, being in nature also improves problem solving skills for me personally as whenever I find it challenging to find a solution to any problem, or how best to overcome an obstacle, I find answers by brooding on it outdoors. Perhaps most importantly, there is a role for the outdoors when one feels lost in life.
Nature helps me realize I am just a tiny part of this vast universe
A reduced sense of selfimportance relative to something larger and more powerful What better way to feel in awe than to explore even a fraction of the world? It seems as if the world is at our fingertips as technology has made indoor living easy by providing hours of entertainment and by offering answers to almost any question. How to bake a cake? Google it. Where is the world’s largest volcano? Google it. When is the next bus arriving? You get the idea. The key, however, is to not lose sight of what is outside even if it seems that everything we need is in our hands already. Most of us, being university students, deal with stress and even larger topics like depression and anxiety are a reality.
With the role that nature can play in our mental well-being, it is more important than ever to not lose touch with God’s wondrous world
The sky is full of uncountable stars, mountains are touching clouds and the complexity and diversity of trees are all things that remind us how wondrous the created world is. This sense of feeling more in tune, or in place with the universe, is captured by assistant professor of psychology and social behavior at UC Irvine Paul Piff, who explains how a sense of awe leads to
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In the summer of 2020, I decided to go on my first solo backpacking trip to Cuba. Being my first time doing this, I was nervous about the 10 day trip. How would I make friends? Would it get lonely? What if I got kidnapped? I put all my concerns aside and saw this as a rite of passage and a glimpse of the vagabonding future I always desired to have. It started with packing lightly. One bag, one tripod and the will to explore. Spoiler Alert: I overpacked
The first thing I noticed when I arrived in Cuba was how beautifully blue the sky was and the constant scent of the ocean water – something you don’t get in Toronto.
Finding
in C
A Photo Essay I spent the first few days exploring Havana, Cuba. I was fascinated by how busy the city was with beautiful vintage cars and landmarks commemorating the country’s history on every corner.
Before I moved onto the next city, I wanted to visit one of the only mosques in Cuba which is located in Havana. I walked around the city and managed to find the Mosque just in time for maghrib prayer. Just like my mosque at home, people were relaxed and chatting amongst each other, waiting for the prayer to start. Although we spoke different languages, the people at the mosque welcomed me and even lent me a thobe as I was wearing shorts. 22 | THE MUSLIM VOICE | NOVEMBER 2020
My next stop was Vinales valley, which was one of my favorite parts of the trip. There were rolling hills as far as the eyes could see. I found a lot of appreciation for the simple lifestyle people here lived. There were tobacco farmers harvesting their crops, people giving horseback rides, and kids running around. I felt at peace. I stayed the night at the top of the valley, in a small cabin with an elderly couple. The love they showed me could be compared to the love I receive from my own grandparents. Their simple lifestyle and pure kindness really inspired me to have a positive outlook for the rest of the trip. I also experienced not only a night filled with stars but woke up to one of the most beautiful sunrises I have ever seen.
My self
uba
by Mahad Aamir My last stop was to Trinidad, Cuba. A city filled with colour, art and a rich, historic colonial environment.
The 10 days I spent in Cuba truly changed my life. It made me realize that although there are borders, cultures, religions, and skin tones separating us, we’re all children of God and that one commonality is what brings us together. When I think back to it, what I remember most are the friends that I made on the trip. I managed to not get lonely, made life-long friends, and definitely did not get kidnapped so thank you Cuba, for reigniting my love for travel. NOVEMBER 2020 | THE MUSLIM VOICE | 23
Broken Compasses BY SOUNDOUS LOUARDIANE
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T
he crisp autumn air filled my lungs as I took a deep breath. My grandmother had promised that it would have a wonderful revivifying effect, but to me, it just felt like a cold slap in the face. We had just arrived at the little woods near my house, which laid on our path to the river. My mom had forced me to join my grandmother and little sister’s nature excursion, claiming that “it would be good for me.” Personally, I think that she just wanted me out of the house for a while to do a thorough cleaning of my “messy teenage habitat,” as she likes to call it. So instead of being in my cozy and heated room, I was out here, trying to avoid the bird poo that littered the ground, while keeping my wind-blown scarf out of my face. “Aisha, slow down a little bit,” my grandmother called out to my overactive and overly-excited sister, who was running too far ahead. “My dear old body can’t keep up with your quick legs!” “I’m sure you can keep up, Mammy! Sana’s the one with the old lady body!” replied my sister while running back towards us. I scowled at her and she smiled back innocently before asking, “Which way is the river? There are four different paths.” “Let me just check Google Maps and I’ll tell you in a second,” I said whipping out my phone. The only good thing about this little nature walk was that I still had service, thanks to the wonderful cell towers surrounding the woods. At least I wasn’t completely cut away from civilization. The app slowly opened and began trying to pinpoint our position. Come on, come on, load! Why are you taking so lon– “Hurry up slowpoke!” my sister yelled, interrupting my impatient thoughts. “Mammy knows the way!” I looked up to find her and my grandmother already a few meters away from where I was standing. How did they get there so fast? They were heading towards the path on the right. I looked back at my screen where the app was still loading, sighed, then followed them on the trail that led deeper into the woods. There was no way my cute ankle-boots were going to survive this outing. We reached the glade near the river after a ten-minute trek through the trees. My grandmother had pointed out a bunch of different plants and birds along the way and this had captivated my sister’s attention. A small miracle, considering that she has the attention span of a one-year-old… I wondered how my grandmother knew all those things, especially since she didn’t even live in Canada and was only here for a visit.
phone out and started snapping pictures for my Instagram. Mammy sighed again and said “You know, my Sana, about twenty years ago when I came while your mother was pregnant with you, this river was almost crystal clear. Now it’s all murky... I wish you could’ve seen it.” With that, she walked away towards my sister, who was amusing herself by collecting miscellaneous items, like acorns, leaves, and twigs. To her delight, Mammy started helping her. Satisfied that I didn’t have to entertain that tiny bundle of energy, I sat on a large rock and started going through my pictures to pick the best one to post. After a while, my little sister and grandmother made their way back to me. I had been scrolling through social media, and Aisha interrupted this very important business by demanding that I look at everything she collected. My mom was going to freak out if she brought all of this natural paraphernalia home. While listening to Aisha’s palpitating tales about how she found every single item, I looked over to my grandmother to see what treasures she brought back, and couldn’t believe my eyes. “Mammy! Is that trash? Why would you pick up trash?” I asked in disgust. “It’s because removing harmful things from the road is an act of charity,” my sister jumped in, happy to know the answer. “Right, Mammy?” “You are quite right, my Aisha,” confirmed my grandmother over her shoulder as she walked towards the garbage bin. “After all, whoever does an atom’s weight of good will be judged on it, and whoever does an atom’s weight of bad will be judged on it.” Whenever my grandmother starts quoting the Qur’an, you know she has won. I mean, it’s not like you can argue with the words of God. Aisha finished her nature exposition and I went back to my phone. “Hey!” Aisha cried suddenly. “What’s wrong with the birds?” Surely enough, the birds were going crazy. They were flying every which way, landing, taking off again, and sometimes almost colliding into each other. They looked drunk. Could birds get drunk?
At the sight of the river, my sister ran ahead to greet all the geese, ducks, and seagulls that were around, as if they were long lost family members. Ha! I always knew she was adopted.
“That is so weird,” I said. “It’s like they don’t know how to fly anymore. As if their inner directional compass is broken.” We all stayed silent for a few seconds, staring at the birds as they continued their peculiar movements.
Next to me, Mammy sighed. “Isn’t this beautiful? MashAllah! SubhanAllah!” She was right. The view was breathtaking. The river glistened and reflected the bright colors of the fall foliage which surrounded it. The various shades of green, red, orange, and yellow looked like something out of a painting. I got my
“My dear girls,” started my grandmother, “the world is full of broken compasses. Because of this, many of Allah’s creatures become lost and confused. A loss of direction often causes a loss of purpose, which can only lead to a path of evil. This path holds dreadful consequences for those who take it, as well as for those NOVEMBER 2020 | THE MUSLIM VOICE | 25
who don’t, unfortunately. Even Google Maps won’t be able to help you if you embark on that path,” she finished with a smile. I laughed. Smooth, Mammy, real smooth. “But you know my girls, lost things can always be found. Broken things can always be mended. The possibility of recovery exists as a mercy from our Lord. That is the beauty of life’s essence. Just like this river, it is a continuous flowing stream that offers countless opportunities for renewal. It is only by developing an awareness of this ever-present chance at redemption, that God’s creatures will be able to realign their compasses and find their way.” There was a beat of silence, followed by my little sister saying, “Mammy… What are you talking about? I’m so lost…”
The End
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