Believers’ Quandary

By

Abdullah Musa

kigongabas@yahoo.com

There is a tendency on the part of those who write to assume that what they think is really what occupies the minds of others; what they believe is what others ought to believe; and the circumstances that shaped their lives are same as those of others. Without doubt, it is possible to have some elements of truth if you assume something on behalf of others, and it is also possible to err.

We are confronted with so many problems, many of which stem from our belief systems. We should right from the onset understand that belief systems do not necessarily refer to the systems of worship practiced by different segments of humanity. Although that aspect is also relevant to our discussion, the more encompassing definition would be kept in mind.

There was a story in Hausa vernacular which may give us a glimpse of how belief systems affect behavior. It is possible that the story is not real life, but the mentality expressed could really be found in real life in the setting within which the story was situated. The story was about three tailors who made it there practice to steal the shroud of fresh corpses, to turn it into free working capital for their tailoring business. In this particular episode, they went to a grave; and it was the practice of that society to cover the dug grave with a large stone bolder. Unknown to them, some thieves had gone there earlier in search of a diamond ring, for the corpse was of a wealthy person. There was a disagreement between the earlier group, and the person who entered the grave refused to hand out the ring he took from the dead man’s hands saying he did not see it, and as a consequence, they capped the grave with him inside as a punishment for ‘treachery’. The new team did not know of this.

When they lifted the boulder, they asked their leader to enter, and he lowered his leg inside, only to be welcomed by an iron grip; he froze! His companions did not see the act due to darkness, and they urged him to enter. In a voice full of fear, he told them: ai ya kama ni!, meaning, he has caught me! At this the companions bolted, while he was screaming for help, and appealing for release.

The one inside held on to the leg firmly till he was sure the others had gone and he released the culprit; you don’t have to be told that he ran for dear life, for his belief system had prepared him to believe that it was the dead man who had held and released him. The first culprit came out fully repentant with a vow never to rob graves again; we were not told whether the one whose leg was held came to the same decision or not.

Now in this particular story, another set of thieves with a different mind set, would have acted differently. If it were in our time, they could have gone with torch lights, and would have beamed it to see how the corpse could grasp a leg. There is warmth associated with living tissue, and coldness associated with death; and other similar associations. But because the belief in ghosts as capable of acting, that created the necessary fear to expel all rational thoughts.

It will be illuminating to our discourse to come back to belief systems that are related to worship, and that in one way or the other also influence the believers’ behavior; and also most puzzling, why in many instances they don’t. The religions that easily come to my mind are Islam, Christianity, and the far eastern religion- Buddhism, Shintaosm, and Hinduism.

I was born into Islam. Unlike those who helped the Prophet of Islam to make the religion triumph, I was born into the belief system, and my upbringing ensured that I grew up to respect and accept its teachings; while with reading and other associations, I came to understand the why of most of its practices. I believe many of the adherents of other religions had the same exposure and training with respects to what they believe.

As a Muslim, I know how highly Muslims think of their religion. We believe in the hierarchy of revealed religions, and ours is the last and the final in that line. We have read and we accept our Prophet’s impeccable character, and we believe we should model our conduct according to his, observing the fundamentals, for we live in different times and environment from the one in which he lived. If he had run a government in our times, he could not be corrupt, because he lived by the doctrine which he preached. Today, countries such as Britain and United States of America are censoring us for corrupt behaviors while there are millions of Muslims within Nigeria, and they have been found to be corrupt in areas where they held sway as governors and local government Chairmen. Corruption is punishable in nations of infidels such as Britain, but many do get away with it in Muslim states. Why?

Western Europe, United States and so on, are countries where most of the people who run he affairs of those nations bear Christian names, or even go to the Church to worship. However, they have established a system where prostitution is legal, where the known values that dictate sexual relations are turned upside down and where drugs and alcoholism reign supreme. But of certainty Jesus was not recorded to have practiced such in his life time. But the problem I have is lack of knowledge of Christianity: it is quite possible that Jesus should only be loved, or worshipped by his followers but not emulated by his followers. Could Jesus have sponsored the war against Iraq, turn a blind eye against all the killings and other destructions all in the name of achieving the objectives of his country, and that objective seems to be only greed?

Japan is a technologically advanced country. It is part of G8, and has the second largest economy in the world after that of the US. But while US is a haven for all kinds crimes, with school children killing each other, Japan is definitely safer than Nigeria, (a land of staunch Muslims and staunch Christians) and safer than Italy where the Vatican is supposed to lead the Italians towards good conduct. I forgot; they are forced to share authority with the Mafia!

Saudi Arabia on the other hand is the cradle of Islam. It house Islam’s two holiest Mosques, and it is run according to Shariah. Crime rate is low, but if you are black you cannot help but feel the open racist tendency irrespective of the fact you share the same faith, and may have no blemish in that regard. Britain may seem more accommodating to Muslims. (Pre-George Bush’s war on terror)

In Nigeria we live in squalor. We cannot keep our habitats tidy; we cannot supply electricity even though we need it; we cannot supply drinking water even though it is a necessity; and above all we refuse to copy most sublime values of our Prophets. (Muhammad and Jesus)

So if you are religious, do you not feel you are in quandary when you are not in symmetry with your belief system? With Muslims’ feeling of superiority, yet Japan excels in areas where we are supposed to do better: management of society for instance. Luckily for the Japanese they have no scapegoats to hide behind them, they thus had to strive to excel. But as for us Nigerian Muslims, we are lucky to have read about the machinations of the Jews in the Qur’an against all Muslims; as such they are responsible for our stagnation, and our lack of creativity. But why is it that they have been unable to cap the efforts and the religion of the Japanese? Oho!

If you value violence-free society; orderliness; planning; creativity; and the likes; who would you respond to when he calls you to his way of life: (we brag that Islam is a complete way of life) the Japanese or the Nigerian Muslim? That is what I mean by the believers’ quandary!