Government authorities and institutions attempt to influence society through any means at their disposal, whether through coercion or the media, education or popular culture. This is often met with an anti-establishment reaction from the general population.
Lately, there has been a trend on college campuses and among activist groups in the United States that can be described as anti-authoritarian. College students now often look askance at educators and university administrations and question what they see as an unfair exercise of power and authority. They are increasingly skeptical of any type of didactic teaching.
In society at large, influencing others from a position of authority and expertise has also become much more difficult than ever. The anti-vaccine movement is an example of this resistance to experience; It is largely based on distrust of traditional institutions and knowledge structures.
Many people in the United States are also moving away from organized religion and are now more agnostic and even atheist than ever. Many do not like the idea of having an arbiter in their lives, even through established institutions and “norms.”
In the context of agnosticism, it is difficult to believe that religion can have any influence on a large group of people. Religion or faith in the Invisible is considered by many to be an impotent and archaic artifact; is discarded in favor of material success and progress. Moral anarchy and liberalism are what many people celebrate.
But what if religion could encourage a billion people to give up their most basic human needs, like food and water, around the clock for an entire month?
What if belief in the Unseen could motivate a billion people to worship Him religiously for an entire month as if that were the only thing on their minds, especially at night?
What if faith could influence a billion people and inspire them to feed the hungry after fasting all day?
What if religious convictions could cause a community to become more altruistic and donate welfare and charity for a month?
What if the practice of faith could inspire a billion people to forgive the mistakes of others?
What if a noble civilization of more than a billion people could dispel the myth that human beings cannot live without violence, looting, theft and murder?
What if organized religion could advocate for unity among a billion people to the point that they all take action in unison and find no reason to fight over differences?
Yes. And yes indeed!
Muslims reading this will know that they are the beneficiaries and witnesses of this great phenomenon during the month of Ramadan. They unite in the worship of their Creator. Everyone seeks forgiveness and blessings from Allah.
The month of Ramadan is a time when the Holy Quran is revealed as a guide for all. If others could observe this spectacle in the Muslim community, they would certainly see in worship a guide toward communal unity.
Muslims involved in political and social activism should appreciate this wonder and use it as a platform to build more trust with each other, more cooperation, more respect, more optimism and a better mutual perspective. Ramadan provides a framework for Muslims that is based on the idea of voluntary change, without the force of the state and institutions.
If a Muslim can renounce the most basic human needs and maintain that abstinence without coercion, then engaging in activism in the service of justice is a minor effort in comparison.
Islam does not preach anti-authoritarian anarchism; rather it encourages the believer to recognize his own potential within a broader cosmological framework of self-discipline and understanding of ultimate divine sovereignty. Ramadan shows that true power extends not from the long arm of temporal governmental authority, but from the voluntary acquiescence of the individual to Allah's ultimate dominion over Creation.
Muslims who observe Ramadan must extend their unity and trust in the Divine to all other months of the year. Ramadan is a month of life. It is alive and gives life to an otherwise “sleepy” community. The Quran is a living book. He is alive and Muslims should see him as giving life.
Governmental power and institutional authority over others now have competition. But this is not any form of human competition. He is a competitor who demonstrates every year that religion and faith in Royal Power are still very much alive, despite the claims and disdain of his opponents.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Al Jazeera.
