"It's Time for Man to Become God for His Fellow Humans"
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
2 November
2023
"No god will ever come to save the
beleaguered mankind because he doesn't exist. Eventually, humans will have to
save their fellow humans from death and destruction."
Sir Bertrand Russell on Holocaust
His
abovementioned statement assumes much greater relevance in the ongoing
bloodshed and destruction in West Asia
Israel-Hamas war: A Palestinian man carries an injured a girl following
an Israeli strike, in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 14, 2023
(AFP)
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But what
are humans doing? It's a moral punishment for a handful of sane people to see
this happen. World's most powerful people and nations are just watching and
even justifying it. Humans deserve the worst of punishments. It may visit us as
a species, and the wet will burn along with the dry as the maxim goes. Silence
of the 'capable' aggravates the issue. Yesterday, Jabalia Refugee Camp was
bombed by Israel. A few days ago, a hospital was razed to the ground, killing
scores of innocent people, most of them being children. Flush out terrorists,
kill them if that serves the purpose, but spare the innocent citizens whichever
country they may belong to.
This
ongoing war in West Asia has made one thing very clear that the world is
divided into two halves: Islamic world comprising all Muslim countries and the
rest of the world.
At the same
time, such horrendous events also make humans think as to are we safe? The
situation is like, Aaj Agar Tum Zinda Ho, Kal Ke Liye Mala Japna. Things
have become so precarious. We're constantly on the precipice. There's no
gainsaying the fact that humans have failed to save their fellow humans. So
many wars in the past, Holocaust, The Partition, genocides and pogroms across
the 'civilized' world have proven that humans are the worst enemies of humans.
But what about your god? Sahir Ludhianavi wrote after the Partition, "Mera
Ilhaad Toh Khair Ek Laanat Tha, So Hai Ab Tak/ Magar Iss Aalam-E-Vahshat Mein
Iimanon Pe Kya Guzri?" (I've always been proud of my atheism/ But what
happened to those believers in these times of fanatic frenzy?).
Can a
'just' god or Allah be so damn indifferent to the plight and predicament of
innocent humans? When children are disembowelled and dismembered, when eyes of
an infant are gouged out, what does that so-called omnipotent creator do, 'who
sees with equal eyes as god of all, a hero perish or a sparrow fall,' to quote
Alexander Pope? Has that supreme power ever come to save mankind in distress?
Didn't the innocent people, who're dying every moment, believe in some power
whether it was Allah, Moses, Jesus or the god of Judaism?
We all need
to be less devout if we cannot become complete non-believers. It's time to
question, who has come to help out humans in a foxhole? Mankind's all divine
agencies have let humans down.
Be rational
and more compassionate. Help those who're in trouble. A day before his
assassination in Memphis on April 4, 1968, Dr Martin Luther King Jr said,
" It's time for man to become god for his fellow humans." Was
Reverend Dr King getting disillusioned with the god he believed in so deeply
throughout his life? Isn't it a matter of speculation and interpretation? But
the point is, he didn't lose his faith in humanity and that's still a glimmer
of hope!
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A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in
comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed
articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including
Persian.
URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/time-man-god-fellow-humans/d/131029
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