Muslims, a source of difficult questions

Over the years, I have asked people I know: "How is it possible that the ongoing humiliations we suffer are accepted in the Arab world and nothing is done?”

Dr. Waseem remarked, "Every significant action requires organized effort; power lies in the organization. This requires a clear objective, effort, time, and money. If the US government has become the most powerful in the world, this is because it has also become the largest and most effective organization in human history."

Dr. Waseem and others have also explained that ‘Tawaakul' (complete reliance on and submission to Allah alone) and endemic laissez-faire could play a role.

Just before the invasion of Iraq in 2003, I helped an Egyptian marketing manager who had lost his job at a Kuwaiti bank secure an appointment at Kuwait Flour Mills & Bakeries. He invited me to lunch at Mughal Mahal, an Indian restaurant. With the situation worsening in Iraq, which borders Kuwait and from where the American invasion started, I was amazed to hear my host saying angrily:

"This is God's will. You see, P. Bush and PM Blair will not stay in power, ‘Subhan Allah’ (Glory be to God). And you don't have to do anything. They will fall on their own. That's the nature of things. This is God's will. God will not allow injustice to prevail!"

As he noticed my skepticism, he added: "The Quran says: they plan, and Allah plans. But Allah is the best of planners."

Hervé visited me once in Ballouneh, Lebanon. I took him to eat ‘Manousheh’ (in Lebanon is a sort of low-priced pizza made of dough, thyme (zaatar), sumac, sesame seeds and olive oil) at a local takeaway, Zaatar Time. The same Egyptian baker has run this place for a long time. He prepared the ‘Manousheh’ fresh from flour dough in front of the customers.

While waiting for our order, I noticed an old newspaper on one of the tables. The headline read, ‘Shocking numbers for traffic accident victims for August. Three hundred forty killed and 5,000 hurt since the beginning of 2018 in Lebanon.’ As I translated to Hervé what I read in Arabic, the Egyptian baker came with our hot ‘Manoushehs’ and voiced his opinion:

"That's terrible! But what can we do? It is God's will."

When I told Hervé what the man had said, he remarked, "Don't they understand the role of science and laws? When speed detectors were installed on the roads in France, the number of accidents fell drastically!" He added:

"La misère de la condition engendre la misère de la pensée” (The misery of the condition begets the misery of the thought).