Later this month, many Muslims around the world will celebrate the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed, known as the Mawlid. It will coincide with the Christian celebration of the birth of Jesus. The two faiths propagated by the two radical reformers, are followed by nearly half the world’s population. These two global communities ought to united in a mission to defeat hatred and establish liberation of humanity from physical and spiritual oppression.
For those professing these faiths, these upcoming moments are something to reflect and unite on. Those who observe other faiths should have no doubt that Jesus and Mohammed had an extraordinary effect on their people during their time and that at the core of their radical beliefs was equality, justice and compassion for every soul.
Christians and Muslims in particular should seize the opportunity to express their faith and pride in their reformers and shut out extremists who claim only the garb but not the spirit of either faith.
In the run up to the Mawlid, I try to take inspiration from the Prophet Mohammed. He was born an orphan and raised by a single mother until the age of 6. In a society that put so much importance on lineage, this ought to have left a negative impact on him and hampered his status. Instead, he developed a soft spot for children, the vulnerable and the disadvantaged. Unfortunately, even today single mothers aren’t given the status they deserve.
He married a woman who was older than him, something that raises eyebrows even today.
More importantly, she was his social and economic superior, a phenomenon that is uncommon to this day, when men don’t want to marry women “superior” to them in any way.
He even took pride in having a daughter, again something that is not seen in many parts of the world. The bias against a female child is manifested in like female foeticide, honour killings and looming social problems rising out of a massive shortage of women in countries like India and China.
The Prophet advocated an end to the economic exploitation of the poor and slaves and attacked the economic and political stranglehold of the wealthy elites. He pushed for education across all strata.
But what I find most inspiring about him is how the Quran describes his role as being to help us perfect our moral character. For me, like many others, he’s the motivation to be the best human being.
He encouraged people not to worry about “how things have always been done” or “what other people might think”. What followed was a flourishing civilisation that spread its influence around the globe.
In the same way, Jesus too led by example. He sought to change the oppressive structures of society and build bridges that would allow people to live together based on shared humanity.
It’s outrageous that their legacies are used by extremists and hatemongers as cover for promoting hatred, destruction and death.
This is why in the coming weeks we must try to reclaim their heritage together as people of faith and assert the idea that seems radical once again: that things can and must be better and we will accept nothing less than a shared mission of peace and tolerance.
Shelina Zahra Janmohamed is the author of Love in a Headscarf and blogs at www. spirit21.co.uk
