Elections: What is it about?

Jeremy Corbyn has the personality of an old tea pot, calm, boring and beige.  I do not think if I am having a house party he will be the first guest to think of. On the other hand, Boris Johnson looks like a great fun, good entertainer and full of anecdotes and quotes that will enlighten any dinner party. We might like someone, but we know they are dull and boring, and really I do not think I want to spend my BBQ party talking about what  Karl  Marx meant by exchange- value and commodity in Capital!

Sadly for many, we will not be voting in next election on the best dinner guests, otherwise the likes of Corbyn or Abbott has no chance. We are also not voting for an autocratic monarch, or a “president for life”, so we have a real choice, we have freedom of choice, and we need to know what is voting about and what is government, then we can make a choice.

This is about more than just an individual, they (media and spin teams) do their best to make it look so, to feel that you are voting for a person, “the person” you like , or believe you do. Which one do I like more? Frankly neither! Who looks more Prime Minister material? My answer is still the same; neither.

 I will not be voting for a person, I am voting for ideas, ideology, party manifesto, plans to deliver these ideas and ideology, not for the way someone eats a ham sandwich.

If I am going away, I would not trust Boris to water my plants. I know he will not remember, he will not care, and I would certainly worry that he would only go to my house with a prostitute. This is the answer I can come up with about trusting the individual, I do not find Jeremy Corbyn entertaining, but I trust him, and I do not have to like someone to trust them. 

People disliked Corbyn when he refused to answer the question about using nuclear weapons to kill millions, they disliked him because he did not fully embrace the remain campaign,  disliked him for many things, but underneath the surface, the man has always been consistent.  As for Boris Jonson, there is no consistency, we really do not know what he thinks of Europe, the NHS, austerity or any of his personal convictions, if he has any.

If you want to make this election about the individual rather than ideology, the question I ask you: do you really trust Boris? Really?

 

 

Ahmad Baker

#VoteLabour #VoteNHS

Vote for your NHS:

First thing first: 19 years in the NHS this month; I deserve a medal ;)

In Nov 2000 I started on East ward, Kent & Canterbury hospital, I loved the place. But I remember vividly the newspaper cut-out hanging in the staff room/ doctors’ office: a Daily Mail article labelling the K&C hospital as a third world hospital. The staff were all upset and demoralised by the concept that they were failing the patients.

Nurses care. That’s not what we do, that’s who we are, we care. And when caring is not satisfactory we feel we are responsible, we feel that we are failing our patients. We know it is the system, funding and politics, but it is not the prime minister who is running between those patients lying on trollies in the corridor, it is us. When things go bad, we feel the pain, the suffering of our patients, the suffering of our colleagues, our suffering. This is how my wonderful friends in K&C hospital felt, they did not need the hate-filled Daily Mail article to tell them patients are suffering, they lived that.

Gradually things have changed. I was a sign of that change, oversees nurses, more staff, more funding, more services, more support. Years passed and what once was the norm: patients in A&E on trollies waiting for beds for days, has since became a taboo.

 2010 brought us David Cameron who said that his priorities can be put in three letters: NHS.

Nine years have passed, the news stories we used to see and hear in 2000 are back on our screens, and for the unlucky ones, in our wards and units, in our lives. The long waits, for appointments, operations, and  A&E visits and admissions, it is all back.

I have been on many nights were  at midnight we had >100 patients in A&E, people lying on the floor, waiting for very long hours. Bad nights, more bad nights and days, and weeks, and you can do nothing, you feel helpless.

This is the dilemma that all NHS face, you want to care, but to do so you need time, resources and support. You do not get these things and you feel that you are failing your patients, those in your care, it becomes personal. All the while those who are high office and responsible of depriving you from time, resources and support are posting how much they care about the NHS, about you and what you do.

I love my job, I am proud of my profession but seeing the misery in our NHS, the future that is being created everyday over the past 9 years, makes me think everyday if I want to remain in this job.

People do not remember, because only those who suffer have the memory, so my advice after 19 years in the NHS:. The Tories do not care about the NHS, never did, never will, and if you do not remember, do not risk it, because you will never forget.

Ahmad Baker

Politics is life

(apology for some of the explicit language used)

I found it strange when people do not vote, or worse when people say “I do not like politics”, “I do not get involved in politics”. I always ask: who controls the air your breathe? Politicians, they set what acceptable pollution levels are, what emissions can be released into the air, what forests (trees give us oxygenJ ) can be cut, expanded or protected. Who controls the water you drink, the food you eat, your mortgage, your wages, your pension, your health and access to health service? It is politicians, and if you do not care about that, then why are you alive!

 

Politics is like an arranged marriage that we all get into without knowing, and we never consent to politicians to fuck us, and they do. Politics is boring, and politicians do their best to make sure it is so. They want you to see it depressing, boring and hard to understand, so you can sign the dotted line without giving it too much thought, because they are happy to do the boring stuff while you can get on with your life, enjoy all the freedoms you have, which they control.

 

 

There is a very good reason why the contract on the App store is six zillion pages long so you do not read it, just sign. This does not mean that Google or Apple will sell your kidneys, but it means you do not fully understand what rights or freedoms you have forfeited. Same with elections, you vote for a candidate, who represents a party, you think you know who you elected, but you have no control or power over what they do in the future. Sounds depressing and most certainly it is, that’s why your interest in politics should not only be restricted to one occasion every 5 years (or thanks to Cameron, May and Jonson every few months). It is an ongoing process, a never finished business, like life, because it affects, no, it controls your life, my life, our lives.

 

The national debt has grown from 1.03 trillion in 2010 to 1.8 trillion in 2019. Your share (and every British citizen) has gone from £16411 in 2010 to  £26599 today. You have incurred 10 thousand pounds in debt (or 50K for a family of five like mine) during the Tory/ coalition government.  Do you feel the benefit of it? Do you feel your life has improved by that sum? If no, then why you allow your debt to increase by that much with no actual benefits? Who benefited if not you, your family or your community? And why are you silent about it? this is an example of many, to prove that no matter how boring you think politics is, its impact on us is massive.

 

Many people say: they are all the same, and to an extent that is right. Illegal wars, tax breaks to banks and billionaires, cosy relationship with the media on one hand and underfunding of our infrastructure, housing and education on the other. But still there is a difference, and if I may be explicit here, but it is like being sodomised or fucked, neither are good, but one is less worse than the other.

 

So, vote, if not because of conviction then out of duty. If not fully in love with the manifesto and the party, then tactically. Speak to your MP, write to them, do everything you can to be a headache to them, a pain in the back, so every time they vote for a legislation that affects you, and most things do, they know that they have to answer to you, they have to justify to you why they voted the way they did, and hopefully then we will have MPs who actually and truly work for us.


Ahmad Baker 24.11.2019

 

مسلسل جن

مسلسل جن

مثل كثير من الأردنيين وجدت نفسي في وسط عاصفة شعواء على مواقع التواصل الاجتماعي وسببها جن! في البداية احتجت لبعض الوقت لأفهم ان جن هو مسلسل أردني من انتاج نتفليكس، وأن سبب غضب الشعب الأردني هو ما اشتمل عليه المسلسل من انحلال خلقي سواء من ألفاظ نابية أو مشاهد ساخنة.
ومثل الكثير من الأردنيين وجدت نفسي اتحدث عنه، ودون ان اشاهده.
التساؤلات التي وجدت نفسي أحاول الاجابة عنها هي في تفسير غضب الشارع الاردني من المسلسل، فلماذا الاردنيون غاضبون؟
هل لأن المسلسل يحتوي ألفاظ نابية؟
هل لأن المسلسل يحتوي مشاهد إيحائية ومثيرة جنسياً؟
طبعاً السؤالان جوابهما لا. فمسلسلات رمضان هذا العام (كمثال)، والأفلام العربية والبرامج الاجنبية، وغالب ما تبثه القنوات العربية (اكثر من ٥٠٠ قناة) يعج بالجنس والاغراء.
إذا مشكلتنا ان المسلسل اردني، انتاج أردني، فيعني "الفسق" و "الفجور" محلي وليس مستورد. طبعاً كلنا يعرف ان ما عُرض في المسلسل موجود في الأردن (عدا عن الجن) هذا جعلني اتسائل: هل الإقرار بوجود هذا الكلام والتصرفات هو المشكلة ام عرضها هو المشكلة؟

أنا متأكد ان كثير من الناس لا يعترفون ان شيء كهذا موجود في بلدنا، وهذا دائما يجعلني استغرب مقدار الانفصام الذي يعيشه المجتمع الأردني.
أذكر أنني زرت مسبح نادي السيارات الملكي في صيف عام ١٩٩١، وكشاب يافع و مسحوق لم يتسنى له يوما التجول خارج حدود الدوار الثالث، شعرت أنني خرجت من المملكة وسقطت في مشهد في فيلم من أفلام هوليوود.
هذا كان في عام ١٩٩١، أدركت حينها ان هناك طبقات من المجتمع الأردني تعيش حياتها بطريقة مختلفة تماماً عن باقي المجتمع.
الآن، وفي كل زيارة لي للأردن ألاحظ ان تلك الطبقة لا زالت تعيش خارج نطاق البلد، ولكني اشاهد الكثير من فئات المجتمع تحاول تقليد هذه الطبقة. فعدد المدارس الخاصة المختلطة، المسابح، الحفلات العامة واستضافة الفنانين، الأندية الليلة بمفاهيمها المختلفة، وأشياء أخرى..

أنا لا ولن أدافع (أو أهاجم) مسلسل جن، فأنا لم أشاهده، لأني بصراحه لا أحب المسلسلات عموماً، ولا الأعمال الفنية العربية.
لكني، مثل الكثير من الطيبين من أهل بلدنا الطيب، اتسائل : هل مسلسل جن هو المشكلة، ام هو عرض للمشكلة؟ وهل سيتم تحويل ملف المسلسل إلى هيئة مكافحة الفساد; عشان نطمن على مستقبله...

ربنا ع الظالم

عند ربنا ما بضيع اشي..
عبارات اسمعها كثيراً ، اعرف معناها ولكن حقيقة ما اسمع هو: لنقبل بالظلم، فليس باليد حيلة.
لو سألت سؤال ، وارجو ان لا أُخرج من الملة ويُقام عليّ الحد: ماذا لو لم يكن هناك يوم قيامة، ماذا سنفعل؟ هل نقبل بالظلم، هل نستسلم؟ لأننا لن نؤجل القصاص، لن نؤخر العدل إلى يوم القيامة...

بعد موت مرسي كل من يعزي به يقول ان ربنا سينصفه، سيقتص له ممن ظلموه وسجنوه وتسببوا لموته. وهذا كلام هدفه تعزية انفسنا وتسليتها كما قال لبيد:
أكذّب النفس اذا حدثتها  فإن صدق النفس يزري بالأمل
ومعلوم ان من سجن مرسي وقتل الشباب في رابعة وسجن الناس واعدم الكثيرين لم يخطر بباله يوما لا حساب ولا عذاب، وها هم يعيشون في القصور ومرسي مات في الانفرادي.
هل اذا انا كافر؟ لا، لكني اكره التسويف والتأجيل ومواساة الفاشل بالأمل.
عند ربنا ما بضيع اشي، نعم، لكن ما بين هذه اللحظة ويوم القيامة مهمتنا ان نبحث عن العدل، ان نقيم العدل، ان ننصر العدل، لا ان نن

تظر..

What is Nursing?

The Guinness World Records refused to grant Jessica Anderson (a Barts Health nurse) the World Record as the fastest London Marathon runner in a nurse’s uniform this April, later and after much campaigning their accepted the record. The reason they initially gave to deny her the record was that she did not meet their criteria of “nurse’s uniform”, which -after reading the criteria- is only a nurse you would see in a period drama or a porn movie.

This is not unique in the perception of nursing and nurses; recently there has been some blogs about scrapping nursing degrees and “bringing back the old nursing”. It is an image that many people like to believe as what nursing is about. The Labour government reintroduced “matrons” as a job in the NHS to meet such perception, and this role has been thriving since.

On a Twitter post few days ago a nurse educator posted a question about what aspects of nursing are essential to the provision  of excellent care; most answers focused on compassion, kindness, empathy, and respect. Which are very important aspects, but are these the most essential? This is not a new problem in nursing, people have always struggled to define nursing, Florence Nightingale wrote in 1859: “The elements of nursing are all but unknown.”

It seems to me that the perception of nursing among the general public and many of healthcare professionals has not changed over the past few decades. This perception does not see nursing as a profession, but rather a job that can be fulfilled by some vocational training. I am sure that most of those people will disagree with this statement, but repeatedly they express views that show they do not fully understand what is nursing now. In my short life as a nurse (nearly 25 years) I have witnessed huge changing in the healthcare service, the health needs of the society and the funding and training of healthcare professions. Along these changes a steady move towards more professionalization of nursing has been happening. However, one of the most issues that nursing has struggled with is how it defines itself as a profession, a definition that is immune to changes in politics and public demands, but rather driven by the needs of the patients as individuals and the purpose of the profession.

In early 2000 I attempted to conduct a qualitative study on the definition of nursing, but due to lack of funding and engaging in other projects I abounded that endeavour.   However, I managed to collect over 100 responses from nursing students and the main themes in those responses were: science, art and empathy. This came from university students, were their passion about their chosen profession was not diluted by the workplace pressures, shortages, various demands and lack of resources.

I feel very strongly about balancing the art of caring with the science of nursing. The example I often use is that holding someone’s hand and giving them the compassionate care they want but failing to act on their sepsis metrics: is bad nursing. Acting on their sepsis metric but ignoring their autonomy and individualism is also bad nursing.

For most of the general public, nursing is attending the patient’s basic needs; until they are in a specialist clinic, a hospital bed, or suffering a long term illness, then they see more to nursing than the historical image.

On the professional side, the image projected about nurses is often subordinate to either the doctors or the senior managers, which contributes to the negative attitude towards nursing from other professions and management. The profession will not be accepted and viewed as a profession  as long as nurses’ leadership is not strong because leadership is the key to professionalization.

Nursing for me is not a career, it is an identity, and it is part of who I am. Unlucky for me this identity is often belittled and disparaged, often unintentionally by people thinking they are showing appreciation and calling for change, a change to the past.

Ahmad Baker, RN, BSc, PGDip, PGCert (i never use and abbreviations after my name, only if I have to : RN, because I am proud of profession as a nurse)

How should I feel about Israel?

I am from a village called Beit Nuba in Palestine.

 

 

Beit Nuba is (was) a village located about 14 miles north west of Jerusalem. It is mentioned that King Richard the lion heart camped in Beit Nuba during his crusade, and so did Saladin, that’s almost a millennium ago. On a sunny June morning, Israeli army showed up on the village, ordered everyone to leave and demolished the entire village, the 1000 years history levelled to the ground, and nearly 2000 people in an instant became refugees.

Everyone I know in my extended family, from both my parents sides is a refugee. Being a refugee means that you are always treated as a second class citizen in every country you reside. It also means that you are in an internal conflict in belonging: to the country you live in and the country you call your homeland, and because of this duality your loyalty is often questioned.

 

 

All we have of Beit Nuba is a punch of keys for houses that no longer there, stories and memories for places that we cannot see, visit or call home. Every Palestinian home has a key for a house they cannot return to, memories of places that they are forbidden from visiting. Every Palestinian home has a child named after a town, named after a right to struggle and resist, named after a hope of return.

 

This is my life and the life of millions of Palestinians like me; belonging to a place that no longer exists on the maps, have no rights to return to my homeland, and the cause, the reason, and the source of this suffering is Israel. So do we, refugees, children of refugees, parents to more refugees, have the right to hate Israel?

 

Despite my family suffering, I find myself in fear of expressing my feelings about Israel, because I might be labelled as antisemitc! I cannot emphasise enough how dangerous  and scary anti-Semitism is, millions of Jews lost their lives because of antisemitc 1930s Europe, and for many centuries before that they have been repeatedly abused and persecuted. I have always rejected any form of racism, and I have a personal interest in doing so as I am a person of colour and a Muslim living in Europe. I have advocated that Muslims should work with other minorities; Jews, LGBTQ+, Black Lives matter and any other minority group to fight racism.

 

The past few weeks I have seen a rise in American and British “whites” defending Israel and accusing anyone criticising its actions as antisemitc. I could easily question their motives and intentions, especially knowing that the most recent antisemitc terrorist attacks were carried out by “White Nationalists” who Trump refers to as “very fine people” and none of those pro-Israel groups are actually calling them out.

 

 

Conflicting Zionism and Israel policies with anti-Semitism is a very dangerous matter. Jews deserve to be protected and should not be subjected to any form of racism, that protection should not give Israel the immunity from criticism. Israel is a state, not a religion, ethnicity or a sexual orientation, many parties compete in elections to rule, with different visions and policies, some of which are plainly racists, some of the actions of this state violates Human Rights convections, like for example demolishing Beit Nuba. Where do I stand on that, if I criticise Israel am I antisemitc? If I dislike or hate Israel because of what it did to my family, am I antisemitc?

 

 

I am one of the lucky ones, I live in the UK, enjoy my rights as a British citizen, and very rarely someone would say to me: go back home! Million other Palestinians aren’t this lucky,  still living in refugees camps, denied many of their basic rights as humans, and of course no right of return.

For all the Palestinians, in or out of refugees camps, under the occupation or in other countries, the cause of their prolonged suffering is the state of Israel! Hating it, is an understatement.

 
I know many people will be uncomfortable with the idea of “hate”, do not expect me to apologise. If people living in refugees camps, restrictions on every aspects of their lives, and have suffered for generation, if such things do not make you uncomfortable but their right to express their feelings makes you cringe, then you have no feelings and for that only: I am sorry.

The right to return

Palestine, not just a dream

When I was a 5 years old boy, I was always worried that my father and his friends will free Palestine! Though it was a wonderful thought but I wanted to be the man who freed Palestine. I remember spending hours imagining how as a victorious man I will enter Jerusalem and deliver my speech declaring: a free Palestine, for all.

I used to imagine myself visiting the old towns and villages, that demolished and erased from maps and reality but remained in people's minds and hearts, in the stories we heard thousands of times : my mother only carried us, a small bag of clothes and a key to a house that no longer exists. Every Palestinian home has a key for a house they cannot return to, memories of places that they are forbidden from visiting. Every Palestinian home has a child named after a town, named after a right to struggle and resist, named after a hope of return.

My dream was not unique, many Palestinian children born in refugees camps around the region had a similar dream, they, like me, grew older and their dream, like mine, is still a dream.

Today, I stand 71 years away from a memory, that many people will say: move on! People who have a homeland, who can live in the town that their parents were born in, work in the city that their great grandparents lived in. To those people, to all people, to my children, and to myself I say: we will return to Palestine, because it is not just a dream..

“You Saved her life”

 (about life and death, and a moment in between)

It is a big statement to hear, felt like a burden but also like a badge of honour, and I should be used to it, as my son said to me: you are a nurse, you always save people’s lives! So it should be just another day! But it is not.

She was standing on the ledge, holding on the metal bars for dear life. Whenever I hear about someone committed suicide I try to imagine a conversation with them just before they did it: why? what about the others? what about the future? is it really that bad? and many more questions where I would listen patiently and hope that I could get them to change their mind. This time it was real, no imagination, and no time for anything but help.

In the dark, the shy light in the distance was enough to show how lonely it was. She was standing on the other side of the wall, holding on it because clearly she did not want to die, or that was what I wanted to believe. I hesitated for a second as I questioned myself if it was real or not, I ran towards her and held on her arms, as tight as I could, questions and ideas bubbling inside my head but all I could say: are you alright? Mixed with tears her answer came back: no, I want to die!

I wanted to say look how beautiful life could be; the new moon in the dark sky, the spring breeze, the smell of coffee in the morning, smile on strangers faces, the many things we live through everyday  but we do not notice. I wanted to say so much about how wonderful life could be, but I knew I would be lying, because I know life is tough, also remembered how awful humans could be to each other, how horrible we are to ourselves and fellow humans, today, everyday, throughout history and everywhere on earth.

She said: I had enough, I have been thinking about this for some time and I just want to die, no one is helping me. While holding her arms I instantly said: I am helping you! I could hear the echo of my words in my head and wondered if I really was helping!

I did help, eventually with the help of many others we saved her, and as people learnt about what happened they said to me: well done, you saved her life.

Did I? I wondered. Did she want her life to be saved? Was that the right thing? Maybe the burden of living is bigger for some than the pain of dying, hopelessness overtakes any drive to live and any fear of death, and maybe they have the right to do so.

After we got her off the wall, I walked away and she was taken with the police to a place of safety. Our paths might never cross again, I would like to believe that I did a heroic thing, and I am proud of it, but inside me, I keep wondering if she did manage to do it again (and succeeded), or if she is grateful for my actions. Because if she was not then I know it was not heroic, it was selfish.

Ahmad Baker

London

07.03.2019

Teaching about LGBT

There has been a lot of pressure, campaigning and activism to stop some schools from teaching Relationships and sex education, primarily in the Muslim community and mainly Birmingham.

Few friends forwarded to me an online petition about the matter and I was surprised by their attitude and ignorance! When I challenged their motives, they would argue that the age is not appropriate! Asking them how old is appropriate and how old were they when they started hearing and learning about sex from other kids? "it is now different" is usually the answer I get. And it is different, porn is very accessible and god knows what kids are watching on their iPads most of the time.


Last Friday I lead the prayer in my local mosque and despite the tragedy that took place in New Zealand I couldn't avoid talking about this issue as well. I asked the congregation if any of them didn't know about same sex relationship and if they rather their children hear and learn about it from the other kids on the road (like we did) or in a more proper and structured way? I also asked people to acknowledge that we are a minority in this society and we witness a lot of prejudice and discrimination, so do we want other minorities to be subjected to the same? do we support freedom for ourselves but deny it to others? Should we not work with other minority groups rather than against them?
I could not understand what the Muslim community in Birmingham (and in the UK) priorities are: four mosques attacked during the last week in Birmingham, 50 Muslims killed in a terrorist attack in New Zealand, and the thing that got people on the street is sex education!

It reminded me of a friend who told me that her parents in law did not eat meat for 15 years because there was no Halal butchers in the area , still they didn't pray (which is one of the five pillars of Islam)!


Ahmad Baker
London
23.03.2019

Ps: Outsiders is more than just "sex education" but even if it was, this is my response. 

Terror on Friday..

New Zealand


I am sad, scared and scarred.

I am sad, when I heard the news I imagined myself being there, among the dead and injured, and I felt sad. In a place of safety, peace and worship, people were killed. Not because of something they did, or did not, but because of how they were perceived, how they are portrayed, and for being different.

And yesterday I was scared, when I attended the Friday prayer, when I walked to my car in the car park, and every moment I thought about the future, I was scared.

Today I woke up pierced with pain, I felt my face and body for the scars of the bullets, and I could feel them on me, felt them many times before in the hatred and vile speeches and headlines that filled our papers, media and Internet.

I do not want to die, or at least not be killed. Not because I love life but because I deserve a chance to life, like everyone else.

People will say do not be defeatist, do let the terrorists win! Save me the rhetoric, they have won, and have been winning all the time, let's accept that to know how to move on.

We allowed this to happen, all of us, and it will happen again. There are 7 billion people on earth, thousands of religions, languages, cultures, ways of life and through out history we have always looked down at some of our fellow humans because they are different, because we are different, because we are right and they are wrong, because we are better. Century or two later and the right became wrong, the better worse, and another group of fellow humans becomes subject to vilification and humiliation and the circle of violence never stops. Maybe now more than any other time we should accept that " humans are one of two, your brothers in faith or equal in humanity".

Life is not beautiful, it is terrible and full of pain and suffering wherever you look. It becomes beautiful when your purpose of being is to help others, I know that sounds like preaching and its boring. So let me try this, don't be an asshole, be nice, do not support, elect, share, watch, read or buy what assholes produce, and be nice, especially to the ones who are "different"..

Ahmad Baker
London 16.03.2019

Agreeing with the far right:

Ahmad Baker

It was troubling to bring myself to the idea of listening to Steve Bannon’s lecture at the Oxford Union. I despise the guy, his harmful and dividing rhetoric, and his dangerous ideology. But one must admit that he is successful, he succeeded in putting Trump in the White House, despite all the odds he united the “deplorables” under common goals and got Trump elected. His thoughts and views are sought out by the far right and right groups in Europe (including the UK, we still part of that continent) and he provides them with advice, strategies and methodology to win elections.

Still I listened to his talk and the Q&A session, and it was not surprising to me that I agree with him, on a lot of stuff. But I mainly agree with Steve Bannon in his diagnosis to the problems we face in our societies, not the treatment, not his way of resolving these problems, or even addressing them.

In this country we have Theresa May, a robot who is supported by major media outlets and rich donors, and most of the British public feel sorry for her, but do not trust her. On the other hand, is Jeremy Corbyn, who has been consumed by internal fights and disruptions that showed what a week leader he is, but still he offers genuine politics that can improve our day to day lives.

Steve Bannon and Trump campaign saw Bernie Saunders as a real opponent who could easily defeated Trump, because like Trump he offers real alternative to the current political status, he was talking about the same problems Trump talked about, but providing different answers, the “deplorables” could trust him because he did not treat them with contempt.

That is what we need in this country, people who are willing to talk about the injustices in our communities, in details, and offer real solutions that do not just blame the immigrants. We need the likes of Corbyn and Saunders who do sympathise with the hardly pressed sections of the society, and willing to take money from the rich and invest it in our present to improve our future.

Extremism is on the rise, the far right is gaining more and more grounds and becoming normalised every day in the UK, because they are able to talk about the problems we face and offer a simple straight answer to most these problems: it is the OTHERs to blame. This simple answer is divisive, harmful, and clearly wrong; however, many people are buying into it because it is an answer, not any answer, it is an answer to their problems that they are living through ever day.

Steve Bannon says in this talk that to win those people, to win elections, you do not need Facebook and the massive media, you need to knock on people’s doors, talk to them, the ones you disagree as well as the one you agree with, sympathise with their concerns and offer them answers to their problems.

He is right and make a start by listening to his talk, do not fall for his white wash of the many things he or Trump said or did, but listen to his passion in addressing a congregation of students who most of them disagree with him, but he was willing to make the effort to reach out to them.

I am always astonished by this say which summarise our state of affairs  “Oh god I seek refuge in you from the laziness of the righteous and the perseverance of the wrong doer” (Omar bin Alkhattab). Yes, those who are right and honest and truthful hardly move, they are the silent majority. On the other hand, the wrongdoers, the liars, the narcissist the xenophobe racist scums are the ones with the loudest voice, taking part in every rally and campaign.

Footnotes on “to kill a mocking bird”

Say something Scout! I found myself shouting inside, but instead, she helped her aunty with serving the cakes and as if nothing has happened. Outraged by the miscarriage of justice and widespread racism, I expected an 8 year old to say or do something,  forgetting that she was a child.

Atticus said after the trial: they have done I t before and did it tonight, and they will do it again, and when they do- it seems only the children weep.  He was right, and instead of doing something, we wait for the children to do the right thing!

It feels strange writing about “to kill a mocking bird”, I heard and read so much about it that I had very high expectations when I picked it up, soon I was disappointed! More than a hundred pages through and  the story is moving in a very steady slow build up. Even the poetic expressions are not that great, only line I copied into my notes was from the first few pages describing the front gate of Raddley’s as “drunken gate”.

Things then suddenly peaked through the trial and the few nights before, I could not put the book down. As the trial concluded and Maycomb returned to it is “normal” live, the book pace returned to what it was before.  But with the benefit of hind insight, you know that underneath this slow unremarkable life there is so much brewing. It reminded me of a scene from 12 years a slave: Solomon was whipped and then was left in pain and misery  on the post while in the same shot you could see the children playing and workers picking the cotton in the fields.

And in Maycomb Alabama things were not the same, an innocent man died unjustly, his peers continued to live the same injustice, and many people realising the injustice and wanting to do something about it. Also in the same place, the people living on the far side of society, who thought they became hero for oppressing the already oppressed, soon realised that they are not wanted in the society,  only used for a purpose, only important once compared to other humans, but otherwise, they belong outside and once they played their role, they should (no choice) retrieve to their dungeons !

As I finished the book, I had an urge to read it again, that slow steady flow of life in Maycomb in the first 100 pages seems to be very relevant to understand life in the south, life in the thirties, and why people do what they do. The prejudice, racism, self-righteousness, ignorance are not the real problems, they are manifestations of much deeper rooted issues in that society and every society, and they are as relevant –if not more relevant as they were then.

I do not know what Harper Lee’s politics are? I don’t know who she thought has the power to change things? Or who’s duty is it to change things? But she managed to use the children to illustrate all sections of society, because children are innocent, not yet morally corrupt, or because they see things in a less complicated way than adults. The bottom line is that children’s passion and honesty should guide us to the truth.

Last month the children in the UK took action on the street about Global Warming, last year after the shooting in Parkland the children in America took the lead in taking actions, and this month as the adults are failing to do anything meaningful  about knife crime, the children might do something about it. Every time we fail in our duty towards our fellow humans, we see the children weep and we do nothing.

Harper Lee succeeded in telling a great story in a great way, and I have enjoyed reading it specially on the many occasions when the children do not do what you want them to do, when the great magnificent things you want to happen, do not happen. One thing in particular I found astonishing the book, is how the most scary evil thing in the story was the most righteous.

There is so much more to say about this very interesting story, but I don’t want to ruin it for you, once you read it, we can talk about it ;)

Ahmad Baker

 

الموقعين عن رب العالمين

عن الحلال والحرام والفتوى..
صنّف ابن القيم رحمه الله كتاب في الفقه وأصوله سمّاه إعلام الموقعين عن رب العالمين. والمقصد واضح: حين تفتي فأنت توقّع بالنيابة عن الله، يعني بلغة العصر المتحدث الرسمي عن ربنا! إدراك هذا المعنى يجعل الكثيرون ينأوون عن نفسهم هذا الثقل، لكن الحقيقة أننا نجد الكثيرين يتسابقون ليتلقبوا بهذا الإسم.
شخصيا ولقبل بضع سنوات، ما كنت لأجرؤ على التعليق على علمائنا، فالعلماء لحومهم مسمومة كما يقال. لكن مع انحطاط المستوى، وما انكشف من الكثير منهم وانهم ليسوا سوى ورقة التين التي يستر بها الحكام عوراتهم، او يمسحوا بها مؤخراتهم، أجد نفسي اصطدم مع الكثير من الفتاوى عقائديا ومعتقديا وفهما وقبولا.
استثارني أحد الأصدقاء حين وضع فتوى للشيخ صالح الفوزان عن تحريم بناء دور العبادة لغير المسلمين في بلاد المسلمين، فسألته عن رأيه هو في الأمر، كونه مثلي يعيش في بلد يسمح لنا بمطلق الحرية بممارسة شعائرنا. الجواب كان انه لا مكان للقناعة الشخصية في مسائل الحلال والحرام، وهو منطق كنت أؤمن به لوقت قريب، فأتيته بقول لنفس العلامة يُحرّم فيه قيادة المرأة للسيارة، وسألته هل تتبع قول العالم، هل هذا في نفس منطق الحلال والحرام ام لا؟

الفوزان وغيره، نصّبوا انفسهم كموقعين عن رب العالمين - من عجيب اللغة العربية ان نصّاب هي صيغة المبالغة ل نَصبَ - واتبع قولهم كثير من البشر. وهؤلاء حرّموا اشياء كثيره حرمت البسطاء من كثير مما منحنا الله، فالتصوير كان حرام حتى ان البعض ليس لديهم سوى صورة الجواز او الهوية، إلى ان بدأت الفضائيات وإذ بهم لا يمانعون ان تنتشر صورهم أينما حلّوا. والتعامل مع الاجنبي حرام إلا اذا كان لمحاربة دولة شقيقة، والخروج على هذا الحاكم حرام جمعا، لكن واجب الخروج على ذاك. نتف الحواجب حرام نصا، ولكن قتل آلاف الأبرياء فهو لمصلحة رب الدولة فلا بأس.

وأذكر هنا نص قرأته للقرضاوي من بحث قدمه في بداية العقد الماضي عن شراء البيوت في الغرب عن طريق البنوك. فذكر الشيخ فتوى قديمة له حرّم فيها هذا الأمر، واستطرد انه بعد ان كبر ورأى كيف ان من أخذ بقوله شقّت عليه الحياة، وان من لم يأخذ بقوله اصبح يعيش في بيت يملكه ويورثه لأولاده من بعده. والقرضاوي غيّر فتواه،لكن من اخذ بها وهو في الثلاثين من عمره، لن تنفعه الفتوى الجديدة حين بلغ الستين وهو لا يزال يسكن بالأجرة.

الكلام في هذا الشأن يطول، وأعلم ان البعض يقول لا تتبع عثرات العلماء، واعلم أيضاً ان البعض يقول عليك نفسك، واعلم ايضا ان البعض يقول من اجتهد واخطا فله أجر، وإلى ما في ذلك من اقوال مشابهة.

انا لن اخذ بأي من هذه الأقوال، فالخطأ له عواقب، بعضها بسيط وغالبها وخيمة. فالخطأ في فتوى التصوير ليس عاقبته كالخطأ في فتوى الاستعانة بالأجنبي في القتال، والخطأ في فتوى علامة الطهارة من الدورة ليس كالخطأ في تحريم قيادة المرأة للسيارة. عثرات العلماء تقتل وتشرّد، فداعش استندت في مرجعياتها إلى فتاوى، وكذلك الحشد الشعبي، من مقتل عثمان بن عفان رضي الله عنه إلى الآن والقتل يحدث بالفتوى، ودون ذلك كثير، ومثله اكثر. ونفسي مرتبطة بملايين البشر الذين يشاركونني هذه الأرض ويأخذون بأقوال هؤلاء، ويتعاملون في حياتهم اليومية كأفراد، كمنظمات، وحتى كدول بفتاوى لعلماء، وكل ذلك يمسني، ويمس كل من أعرف.

الان نحن أمام مفترق مهم، كيف نتعامل مع الفتوى؟ هل هي رأي شخصي لفلان؟ طبعاً لا. هل هي علم له قواعده وضوابطه؟ نعم.
ان اخطأ المهني في ممارسة مهنته عليه تحمل النتائج، وان أعطى الشيخ فتوى فعليه وزرها، في الدنيا والآخرة.

إذا، الفتوى، علم، ولكن كيف نتعامل مع العلوم؟ وهل كل العلوم لها نفس الدرجة من المصداقية والمرجعية؟ معلوم ان غالب العلوم الطبيعية، المبنية على البحوث الميدانية والمخبرية، تتغير فيها الحقائق والمسلمات، فهل يجب علينا التعامل بهذا المنطق مع العلوم الشرعية؟
لا اعرف الجواب... لكن،لن أخذ بقول عالم (فتوى) بالقول عن هذا حرام، وكنت اقف دائما متعجبا من اقوال الإمام أحمد بن حنبل في كثير من مسائله حين يقول عن شيء “لا يعجبني" و عند تلاميذه هو حرام، إلا انه لم يقلها، وعند ابو حنيفة الواجب وهو عند تلاميذه فرض!
يعني، بالمختصر، كلمة حرام وحلال كلمة كبيرة، ان افرط العلماء في استخدامها، فلا تفرط في اتباعهم.

الإشتياق للماضي..

(عن القراءة الخاطئة للتاريخ، والحنين إلى الوهم القابع في ثناياه)

عشت في صغري في قرية في ضواحي دمشق، كانت قطعة من الجنة، بساطة الناس، طيبتهم، وجمال الطبيعة، نهر نسبح فيه، شجر المشمش والجوز يملأ المكان، الثلج في الشتاء، والشمس في الصيف، نعم كانت الجنة. ومما يزيد من نعيم الجنة أننا في عطلة المدارس نحمل حقائبنا ونرتحل إلى بيتنا في عاليه، بالقرب من بيروت. فيلا واسعة تتوسط تلة ليس فيها إلا بيتنا وبيت ابو كميل في اعلى التلة..

صورة من الماضي، جميلة؟ نعم. حقيقية ؟نعم. لكنها ليست الحقيقة ،بل جزء مختار بعناية. فنحن غادرنا سوريا مرغمين، ونحن قد خسرنا بيتنا في لبنان، وخسرنا أشياء اخرى كثيرة..

درسنا في المراحل المدرسية المختلفة الكثير عن أمجاد المشرق، عن الخلافة الراشدة،الدولة الأموية والعباسية، عن الناصر صلاح الدين، وكنا ننظر إلى الواقع المرير الذي نحياه ونشتاق إلى تلك الأمجاد، نسرح في خيالنا وامانينا إلى العصور الذهبية التي عاشها أجدادنا.

كانت أول صدمة لي حين استوعبت ان الشيعة غير الشيوعية (ولم اتعلم ذلك من المدرسة)، وأن المسلمين فرق وطوائف متناحرة، وأن في تاريخنا حروب داخلية مات فيها الكثير من الصحابة والرعيل الأول من بناة الأمجاد التي درسنا عنها! عرفت حينها اننا لم ندرس التاريخ، وإنما درسنا عن فصول مختارة بعناية من التاريخ لتوصيل فكرة أصبحنا كلنا ضحية لها.

قبل بضع سنوات غردت الصحافية ديمة الخطيب:" بصراحة أصبحت أشك في كل كتب التاريخ وكل ما تعلمناه عن الماضي. لأني أرى الحاضر وأرى ما يُكتب عنه من أكاذيب، فما بالك بما كتب عن عصور ولّت؟"
تعلُّم التاريخ ليس سهلا، فكل كتاب هو عبارة عن مختارات جمعها الكاتب لينقل لنا تاريخ تلك الحقبة، بعضها علمي بحت، وغالبها تسوده الشوائب، بقصد أو غير قصد، فدراسة التاريخ ليست تجربة مخبرية عملية، بل سرد لوقائع نقلها رواة وسجلها كتّاب بشر، مثلنا، لهم انحيازاتهم، خوفهم، اطماعهم، ورغباتهم. ربما أكثر جملة قرأتها تُظهر زيف التاريخ هو مقولة وينستون تشرتشل: التاريخ سيكون لطيفا معي، لاني انا من سيكتبه.

من هنا تبدأ العقدة تزداد، فأنت تقف أمام تاريخ يمتد لأربعة عشر قرناً، كل حقبة كتبها المتنصرون، الكثير تم حذفه، تغييره، او اهماله، ومع ذلك هناك كم هائل من القتامة والظلم والاستبداد يملأ هذا التاريخ. وعلى ضفاف الحاضر، هناك أجيال تعيش وتحلم بالامجاد القديمة، وترفض ان تتقبل اي انتقاص او انتقاد لهذه الأمجاد، بل تُخوّن من لا يؤمن معها بهذه الأساطير ولأوهام.

طبعاً من الجحف اغفال ان في الأربعة عشر قرنا كان هناك أوقات عز وحضارة، أوقات علم وأدب، أوقات انتصارات وفتوحات، نعم كل ذلك موجود وأكثر، لكنها أربعة عشر قرناً. لذلك ربما ما علينا فعله عند الحديث عن التاريخ هو الإشارة إلى المرحلة التاريخية، تحديد بدايتها ونهايتها، تعريف ما المقصود أو المراد بالمثال، ثم استخدامه. أما ان نشير إلى الدولة العباسية مثلاً وكيف ان عاصمتها بغداد كانت حاضنة العلم وحاضرة العالم، فهذا سخف، لأنها استمرت لقرون طويلة، أولها لم تكن بغداد موجودة، وجُلّها كانت الدولة متشتتة، تنهاشها الدول الأخرى والخلافة كانت شكلية وسيطرة الخليفة لا تتجاوز قصره (وفي كثير من الأحيان لم يك له سيطرة على قصره).

نعم، نعيش واقع مرير، حكامنا واعلامنا فاجرون وفاشلون،يحكمنا الجهل والتخلف وتقتات علينا الأمم الأخرى ويضحك علينا القاصي والداني. نعم، ولكن هذا ما كنا عليه غالب العصور الفائتة، ولربما ان خُيّرت في أي حقبة زمنية أريد أن أعيش، لربما اخترت زماننا هذا على الرغم مما فيه، ليس لقتامة الماضي وحسب، لكن للأمل في المستقبل (وطبعا عشان عنا وا فاي).