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Do
We Mind Our Language?
By
Khalid Baig
"Every religion has
a distinct moral call and the moral call of Islam is haya." [Hadith Bayhaqi]
Haya is an all-encompassing
Islamic concept that includes modesty, decency, and inhibition against sin.
It is an inner feeling. A state of mind that reflects itself in myriad ways.
Among other things, it shows itself in the language one uses.
How should one communicate
about morally sensitive and delicate subjects? Anyone can be crude, explicit,
and vulgar. But Islam civilizes this aspect of our life also and teaches us
to be refined, subtle, and indirect. As a result, the language of Islamic societies
has been the language of haya. They do not talk about some subjects, (not publicly
at least), not because of ignorance, but because they know. When there is need
to talk about sensitive subjects, they are mentioned in a language that is as
fully clothed as decent men and women should be.
Such haya in the language
is both a consequence of and a contributor to the haya in the society. It is
difficult to nurture haya in actions if it is not cultivated in words also.
The life of haya requires an environment of haya and our ways of communication
are a very important determinant of that environment. Thus, it stands to reason
that the discourse of a people who's distinct moral call is haya would also
reflect that cherished distinction.
Today, three factors have
begun to change this. First, there is blow-back effect from emerging Muslim
presence in Western countries. The languages and the discourse here have had
as much regard for haya as one can find on a hot summer day on a beach in Europe
or the USA. The prevailing forms of expression about delicate issues are as
subtle as a sledgehammer. This is inherent inability of the language in its
current state of development. Moreover, being explicit and crude is considered
a virtue by the "open society." To its convoluted logic inhibitions
are a sickness and having taboos is taboo. The atmosphere is clearly hostile
to haya. Unfortunately, as emerging communities within this landscape Muslims
have had little time for scrutiny; they have borrowed the vocabulary and idiom
without questioning.
Another reason for this
attitude is the "accent complex" of immigrant communities. Immigrants
know that their acceptance in the society depends upon their ability to speak
the language like the natives. This builds pressures for assimilation as far
as language is concerned. When it remains within healthy limits it provides
a positive force for gaining command over the language. But when it exceeds
those limits it becomes a complex: We just don't want to sound different. Period.
That is why many of us avoid benedictions when writing in English, even though
that has been a cherished and extremely valuable Islamic tradition . That is
why we avoid titles of respect in places where we would be routinely using them
if we were conversing in Arabic, or Urdu, or Farsi, etc, etc. And that is why
it does not occur to us to deviate from the prevalent modes of expression even
on intimate subjects.
One can see the results
of this attitude in the most unlikely places: Jumma Khutbas, religious talks
and writings, and religious discussion groups. Normally we do not recognize
these changes because we have become accustomed to them. So one example might
help. In 1947, when British India was partitioned into Pakistan and India, rogues
and fanatics targeted women in addition to men and children. The tragedy was
remembered, but it was always referred to as the 'violation of women' or 'sacrifice
of honor'. In contrast, during the Bosnia tragedy, everyone was using the R-word.
Matter of fact. Mechanical. Indifferent to haya.
This is just a symptom of
a widespread problem. One can routinely find today in the religious Q &
A columns published in Muslim newspapers and magazines, explicit language about
the most intimate matters. In the past, such issues were discussed only privately,
or in specialized text. They were never considered appropriate for mass media.
Second, the emerging communication
technologies, because of the lopsided international power structure, have effectively
put Muslims at the receiving end of the global media. This global media is alien
to the ideas and ideals of haya. It is spreading its haya-hostile language with
impunity. To make matters worse, most Muslim media outlets today act simply
as clipping services for the global media. All they can do is translate and
in doing that they are unwittingly (carelessly?) creating a new haya-neutral
or anti-haya vocabulary even in the languages which hitherto were influenced
by Islamic moral teachings. Thanks to the careless Muslim journalists, the R
word has become a common word in Pakistan also.
The issue of media is, of
course, a much bigger issue. Our subservience here has crippled our ability
not only to know about ourselves but also to think for ourselves. We let the
labels carefully crafted by the global media machine to color our understanding
of the world around us. We let its language, its images, its tone, and its modes
of expression dictate to us what we will focus on and what we will talk about
and how, when we do.
Third, there is a deliberate
effort by big powers to destroy the moral fiber of all societies, especially
the Muslim societies, for strategic reasons. The machinery of this social engineering
project is gigantic and one of its main goals is to corrupt the discourse by
using all means possible. The notorious "sex education" and "family
welfare education" schemes are just one example of this effort. The NGO's
(Which are in fact FGO's or Foreign Government Organizations), the international
"aid agencies", and the UN have been working feverishly to introduce
all the wrongs in the name of "rights". Together they act as one big
Commission For the Elimination of All Forms of Haya And Morality From the World.
Sadly they have discovered that most obscene of ideas and expressions magically
become legitimate, even respectable, when broadcast from their "respectable"
platforms.
Overall, the result has
been alarming. It is robbing our children and youth of their innocence. It is
robbing our societies of their sense of haya and Islamic morality. When a people
forget their distinct moral call, they are a people lost. We should watch our
language before we talk our way into that disaster.
[reproduced with permission
from www.albalagh.net]
Date/Time Last Modified: 6/18/2002 8:04:55 AM
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