The Inshallahs

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The Insha’llahs

By: Bobby Burner

I wonder why so many people in the Middle East continue living under social and political conditions, which most people would not choose to accept as living condition. My curiosity for the subject has grown through the years.    

My concern to be more concrete is why the Iraqis continued living under the Saddam Hussein’s tyranny for such a long time; and why the Saudi Arabians continue accepting the Saudi family as their bosses, and how come the Iranians haven’t got rid of the mullahs for a long time ago. 

I am fully aware of the complexity of the question I raise. Therefore, I would like to underline that I cannot possibly give a complete and satisfactory answer to the above-mentioned question. For that the issue is too complex and the human brain too little! Yet I believe it should be allowed to play with some thoughts. It should be allowed to ask and it should be allowed think. Or not? 

I recall very well the day I very politely asked my religion teacher, after he had spend an hour or two on reasoning for God’s existence, how I could believe in a god that I can’t see with my eyes. The teacher came towards me looking very angry and shocked. He sent me to the Principal’s office after slapping me hard on my face. Later I was expelled because of as they called it “kind of blasphemy.” Well, as I was under 18 and this was one of the “good” schools in Iran my father was blamed for not bringing me up in the Right way. 

How dare I could question God the Almighty’s existence, was what the teacher and the principal could not understand. Why I asked such a question from my religion teacher was what my parents did not understand. Why no one did answer my question was what I did not understand! 

Today 15-20 years after this incident I still wonder why it should not be allowed to ask such a simple question and why in fact people are not encouraged to ask. Moreover, why each time does someone question the authority of the authorities s/he is accused of for example blasphemy and sentenced to death or jailed? 

Yet, to be executed for one’s thoughts and beliefs is nothing new. Not long, time ago, in the name of God we punished the man who publicly announced that the planet Earth was not the center of the universe and not flat at all. 

Lately the political situation for the opposition groups and the ordinary people in Zimbabwe has become intolerable. Robert Mugabe is apparently one of those who do not like someone questioning his authority. In addition, he can be brutal. 

However, his brutality has not stopped the opposition and people from demonstrating and activities against the government. The people have not stopped thinking and questioning the authority of the authorities though they are killed and their houses burned down. In fact there has been many protest demonstrations in Zimbabwe so far this year. 

There were not many antigovernment demonstrations in the Middle East. There were some few protest demonstrations in Iran in the summer. Many hoped that this was a start of long lasting protest against the mullahs and their establishment. Nevertheless, the whole thing was over in a few days; hopefully for a short time. People chose rather the path of not questioning.   

For an observer and an outsider like me it does not cost many calories to say, “Go ahead, protest and die!” However, I still believe it should be allowed to think why the Zimbabweans do carry on protesting despite the very high costs and why the Iranians gave up. The only apparent different between Iran and Zimbabwe is religion. 

As curious, as I am I have talked to many people, especially Iranians in exile about their thoughts on this issue. Based on my unofficial and unscientific research and discussions with friends and family I have come to conclusion that it is useful to group the explanations in two rough categories. One type is what I would call the “sorrow” category and the other I choose to call the “Insha’llah” category. Both labels have their roots deep in the Iranian over 800 years old Shi’a Muslim mentality. 

Members of the sorrow category are people who explain the Iranians’ lack of motivation for questioning the authority of the authorities by saying things like “there is nothing we can do”, “the mullahs will kill you if you say something”, “I have children to take care of”, ”how can you expect people protesting when they have no food or jobs” and so on. They give up and resign. 

The sorrow group continuously grieves and mourns over their loss, whether it is lost country or dead leader (not seldom a Shahid/Martyr). They develop several ceremonies and rituals to express their sorrow. Grieving is overwhelming and fills ones entire life. Members of sorrow group stay faithful to the chosen passive path. Iranians for instance continue faithfully grieving over the lost Pahlavi kingdom/dynasty; and there are even today, nearly 25 years after the Islamic Revolution, written songs, and poetry about the lost country and kingdom. 

Members of the Insha’llah category are those who blame the whole thing on foreign powers and expect a foreign/external power (God, Americans, Russians, British, Imam Mehdi, or someone else) to intervene when the all-knowing power finds it convenient and appropriate. 

It is very tempting to argue for the similarities between the Insha’llah group and the casts in India. Both groups tend to believe in a sort of fate. The Insha’llahs would explain their life situation by saying something like “it’s our fate” or “it’s God’s will” almost same as an untouchable in the Indian cast system. The only difference would be the word “God.” The Indian might have instead used the word Bhagwan. 

The sorrow group cannot possibly explain why the Zimbabweans do continue their protests whereas the Iranians gave up. Neither do the Insha’llah group. Yet the latter has not given up. They count the days and wait for the intervener whoever it might be.  

The sorrow group is more or less exclusively related to the Shi’a mourning mentality whereas the Insha’llah group can be found among both Sunnis and Shi’as. This makes the Insha’llahs the main category and the very majority of the people in the Middle East. One should not underestimate the power of the sorrow group, but there is no doubt that the Insha’llahs are the key players in the Middle East. 

The Insha’llahs have to live with on the one hand the intervener’s will and on the other hand their desire of self-determination and independency. On the one hand, they wish to take control over Iraq, on the other; they expect the Americans to do it for them. On the one hand, they ask the Americans to throw the mullahs out of Iran, yet on the other, they do not want the Americans to do it.

In many ways the Insha’llahs are the key players in the Middle East. As the key player, the Insha’llahs should be aware of their key role; furthermore, they should take responsibility for their role. The main question which remains is how an Insha’llah follower can take responsibility for its actions when the actions are understood as the results of fate or/and God’s will. 

The political situation and living conditions for millions of Middle Easterners will insha’llah get better as people start asking questions; like the Zimbabweans.