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A Shining Tribute To My Jewels Written by Dr Zaki Sherif The Jewels of the Modern Era
Every society has a jewel, a shining star, a golden child, a brave
soldier, a fearless hero, and an unyielding warrior. For Ethiopian
Muslims and for Badr, beyond any measure of sacrifice or tenacity, this
family jewel, the backbone of our culture and our identity as well as
our image is well and alive. This jewel stands out in stark contrast
from the rest of the society. The identity of this jewel will be
revealed later. For now, please read until the end of this article.
This jewel is unassuming and crystal clear. It is invaluable (it is
priceless), intractable (it never yields), indefatigable (it is never
fatigued), and incontrovertible (you cannot argue about its existence).
This jewel is indestructible (it cannot be destroyed), indefensible
(you cannot defend it because it can defend itself), incorruptible (you
cannot bribe it), inextinguishable (you cannot put it out. No fire
extinguisher will help here); inexterminable (now this is a big one. It
simply means it cannot be exterminated. No amount of even
industrial-strength exterminator can wipe it out). After all, it is the
backbone of the society. As long as the society exists, it will stay
with it. Furthermore, this group is indelible (cannot be removed),
ineradicable (cannot be budged), ineffaceable (it is not transient like
a government, rather it is permanent like a headache), immemorial (not
bound by memory), illimitable (not limited by time and space),
incessant (has unstoppable drive), indefinite (not demarcated by time),
intrepid (has no acquaintance with fear) and inspiring to all of us who
call ourselves Muslims.There
are three types of Muslims in the world today: Those who watch things
happen; those who make things happen; and those who wonder what
happened. This family jewel belongs to the middle group. It makes
things happen and gets the dice rolling.
There are
again three types of Muslims in this contemporary world: Those who are
nominal (by name only and having the weakest faith and the weakest link
to the Ummah); those who are concerned (the faint-hearted but a little
discomforted on the couch); and those who are active (the once who are
applauded in the Qu’ran and the Hadith). The jewel group belongs to the
last category. While
we in the West shoot out letters hidden behind white picket fences to
proclaim our dissatisfaction with the status quo in the heartland, this
high caliber jewel marches barefoot without fences to protect it;
without forces to adorn it or any hardware to shield it, and yet it has
more software of the iron-clad version embedded in the core of its
heart than most of us have in the belly of our existence. This group
has credentials to stand on its own two feet. It only needs moral
support. Its attributes are full in the national treasure chest. This
jewel is like the lens of our eye. It refracts light to steer it in the
right direction but acts as a fine control to focus it on the core
principle of its sight. This jewel is like a heartbeat that keeps us
humming, alerting, and reviving us as Muslims. This magnificent
gemstone is the cornerstone of the Muslim society. It is the backbone;
the spinal column, the moral fiber of the Ethiopian Muslims. This gem
is the active brain of our lethargic body that is succumbing to ravages
of the diseases of the heart.
This group does not necessarily choose the paths of lesser resistance
when its core beliefs are challenged but it sprints to the audacity of
the higher ground. This precious stone is the organ of our circulatory
system and the brain of our mental health in Ethiopia. In short, this jewel, which deserves all the credit and all the accolades, is the engine of Badr’s vision and mission in Ethiopia.
This magnificent jewel is the ornament of our identity and sovereignty.
It is like the engine that revs, a smokestack that spews, a light bulb
that glows, and like a ravine that is crossed. This group is the head
not the tail of the action. It has the confidence to say yes and the
audacity to say “I can”. Be reminded that great spirits have always
encountered violet opposition from mediocre minds. But this group
pushes forward nonetheless. *Now, if I may, I will address the jewels directly:
You, my beloved ones, are not asking what your country can do for you;
you are always dismayed by what your country is doing to itself. Unlike
the rest of society, you serve as the monitoring device for our
conscience forcing us to shift our lives from the expected entitlement
to the unpredictable climate of service with radical humility. Your
presence on the Ethiopian stage is not coincidental or incidental but
the Will of Allah. The search for truth is an exhaustive and
never-ending process punctuated by intermediate pauses and stepwise
goals while the search for knowledge is an eternal and self-sustaining
goal. Islam teaches us that Knowledge, Time and Wealth are Trusts from
the Creator. We are all the custodians who bear the responsibility and
face the accountability for the utility on this earth and on the Day of
Reckoning. Now, my dear ones, you don’t have to be the greatest thinker, but think you should.
You, my cherished ones, are in the public eye, so public service is
both your honor and your obligation. It’s an honor, because it provides
an opportunity to serve. It’s an obligation because it forms one of the
pillars of a sound society. Wisdom
and knowledge emanate from Allah. And they go hand in hand. It has been
said that, Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Isn’t it just as
well that Love of Allah is also the beginning of knowledge? Remember, my esteemed ones: It’s true that what you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. But build anyway You may be appreciated for your hard work and sacrifice, or you may never be, but keep working hard anyway You may give the world the best that you have, but no one might care, but give the world the best that you have anyway People may shun your dream and try to derail it. Dream anyway You don’t have to be the most successful student, but plan to succeed anyway The “good” you do today, people will often forget tomorrow, do “good” anyway. *You see, my treasured onces, in the final analysis, *it is really between you and Allah; it was never between you and them anyway
There is a time for everything and everything has its own time.
Flexibility is a companion of life while rigidity is a companion of
death. In the final analysis, experience is what you get when you don’t
get what you want. So, all your struggles are not lost. Hope for the
best but plan for the worst. Be optimistic as it is a self-fulfilling
prophesy. If you think you can change things, you are more willing to
try to change things; and trying always gets you better results that
not trying at all. Remember, if you think you can or you think you
can’t, you are right. Think about this -the biggest regrets are not
about what you did but what you did not. You should have no regrets if
you tried. My dear ones, you tried! That is good enough. We
know they are changing the goalposts when you are shooting for a higher
grade, nonetheless keep aiming high. Culture is what happens when you
stop trying. Hidden in all misfortunes is a viable fortune. Try to
catch some points of inflection. Perhaps then you could find out that
you are turning a new leaf. Stay in school whatever the cost, because
that is your salvation, your winning angle and your ultimate victory.
You may be at the frontline of the universal default implying that the
master switch sets the guillotine in motion. But guillotines come and
go as their operators do. Laziness
was never your option as that would restrict your motion. Your
motherland needs you, your brother seeks you, and your sister reads you
while everyone else bids you. After all, you are the champion of the
household. You are the backbone of the institute of solidarity in the
face of diversity for a society in the trenches starving for unity.
Unlike others, you have no fragmented memory and when you throw down
the gauntlet, your commitment is firm and you are not derided by rain
or shine. You are not deceived by the rosy scenario displayed to the
public. As we, in the Diaspora, are approaching the twilight years of
our career, you the young, the bold and the bright are just gearing up
for the big challenge.
While we Ethiopians living in the West believe that we can truly catch
more flies with honey, you the frontline defenders of the Muslims
remind us that we have to get to the honey first. Needles
to say, you, the sparkler living in a society of the fearful, the
paralyzed, and the downtrodden are staunchly stalwart, gutsy,
courageous, dauntless, chivalrous, heroic, lionhearted when it comes to
defend your rights enshrined in the constitution. In that sense, your
group is truly unfading, uninterruptible, unremitting, unalterable,
unceasing, and unbreakable in its core beliefs. Jesus or Nabi Issa
(SAW) taught that you can always tell a tree by its fruit. The fear of every minority is the majority being in hysteria. The entire Muslim society in Ethiopia is
a symphony – the only truly heroic conductors that have remained on the
stage for time immemorial are the Jewels (reader: be patient, the
Jewels will be revealed soon).
When limitation has overtaken innovation as the modus operandi of
Islam, you the champions of the Ethiopian Muslim identity, have
displayed clarity of vision and sensibility of mission. You focus on
the central features of a problem not the peripheral details. You exude
an aura of dignity that is contagious.
Finally, You, the unrelenting voice, the charismatic champion, the
gemstone, the determined, the effervescent, the vibrant part of the
Ethiopian landscape would now have to be revealed to accept a standing
ovation for your efforts. You are the Crown Jewels and the Shnining Stars of Modern Ethiopia
You are the Ethiopian Muslim Students
We honor you, the quintessential Ethiopian Muslim students, as our
jewels, we cherish you as our vanguards, and we treasure you as our
precious gemstones, our family jewels. You are the cherry blossom of
our day in full bloom and peak bloom. We pay you this small tribute and we do it with humility and inadequacy. This is a shining tribute to the modern heroes and the shining stars of our era. |
