The 42-day detention without charge Bill was voted down by an overwhelming majority by the House of Lords on Monday, October 13^th.   This was great news and restored some faith in the democratic structures that are not solely based on saving face and votes.  Yet still I felt trapped.

The Bill itself may not have passed- but have these repeated readings of the Bill, repeated debates and repeated discussions had a longer lasting effect than if the Bill had been brought into practice?  Has our subconscious succumbed to a worse outcome?  Are we detaining ourselves without charge by hesitating for 42 minutes, 42 hours or 42 days before we embark on a project, speak on the phone or send an email?  Is the line in the sand shifting and are we seeing the erosion of our freedom to speak and think?

I’m sure you don’t have to search that far to find a Muslim friend or acquaintance who has hesitated before embarking on a project relating to Muslims either in response to their own concerns or those of their parents or peers.  The concern in most cases is based on the fear that engaging politically or sometimes just associating with people who may be perceived to be active is verging on someone’s definition of extremism, somewhere. 

Unfortunately, it seems that somewhere along the timeline of this Bill or the previous anti-terror Bill there has become a resetting of standards.  Muslims are now extreme unless proven otherwise, i.e. unless we come out singing and dancing against extremism- not once or twice, but all the time.  Which leaves us with exactly no time to move beyond this narrative.  Maybe this is what has left me feeling trapped. 

The truth is such a policy does nothing to help ‘community cohesion’, ‘prevent violent extremism’ or address any other buzzword the government has coined.  Equally though, such policy or its consideration will not stop those who sincerely want to improve themselves and the community they live in from striving to do so even in the face of such ineffective scaremongering and scapegoating. So a note to self, stop finding 42 excuses and get on with the work! 

“Those of the believers who sit still, other than those who have a (disabling) hurt, are not on equal with those who strive in the way of Allah with their wealth and lives. Allah has conferred on those who strive with their wealth and lives a rank above the sedentary. Unto each Allah has promised good, but He has bestowed on those who strive a great reward above the sedentary. Degrees of rank from Him, and forgiveness and mercy. Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful.” (Ch 4, 95-96)

“We enjoined the human being to honor his parents. His mother bore him, and the load got heavier and heavier. It takes two years (of intensive care) until weaning. You shall be appreciative of Me, and of your parents. To Me is the ultimate destiny.” (31:14). This is the welcoming verse on the delivery suite of a Jordan hospital.

As part of my medical degree, we get the opportunity to discover medicine in another country. I chose Jordan. The reaction I received from fellow medical students at the teaching hospital I am attending in Jordan was, why here? To start, seeing the verse on the wall filled me with, what I thought was, realistic optimism. Seeing other signs quoting the hadith of our beloved Prophet (PBUH) reminding us that smiling in the face of our fellow brothers and sisters was charity, my optimism began to reach, what I was to very soon find out was ‘unreaslitic’ optimism. 

Jordan’s healthcare system is a mish-mash of publicly and privately funded services. The hospital I am attending is a government funded teaching hospital. Uninsured patients attend, but have to pay private prices. Given this finance structure, it’s a common occurrence that patients who come through Accident and Emergency have to put their emergency off until they’ve settled their payments at the accountant desk- either through their insurance or instant cash payment.

A slight problem when it comes to something like giving birth. It proves quite difficult to control things like labour pains, so generally patients take this into consideration and attend a couple of hours in advance. This is all fine, I hear myself think. It’s the health care structure Jordan has chosen for itself, very similar to other countries like that of the United States of America. What struck me however, was the mannerisms of the medical population.

After the initial introductions to the delivery suite, I expected two things- smiles and respect for the labouring pregnant woman. How inflated my expectations were and how deflated they soon became! It’s really difficult to describe how disappointed I felt- medicine is arguably one of the more compassionate professions in a society but what I saw was a cocktail of an unethical, control-freak attitude. As I write this I feel I am being harsh but it’s only because I feel we have no excuse that I am voicing these concerns. As Muslims, we have the tools, they’re in our hands and in our faces in the verses and hadiths on the hospital walls, yet we still choose to throw the tools aside, turn our hearts away from the pearls of wisdon and use our bare untamed hands and heads.

Why is it that patients don’t have the right to know what is being done to them or what is wrong with them? Why is it that they don’t have the right to be educated about pregnancy? Why is it that when I ask a doctor why this attitude is so rife, they default to accusing the patients of not being educated? Who’s fault is that, the doctors who don’t bother to educate or the patients who are still programmed to accept a paternalistic medical approach?

My initial reaction was anger. Anger at the doctors, for not trying to change attitudes. But then the anger turned towards the patients. Why don’t they object, why doesn’t someone sue a doctor to shake the profession to make them realise that nobody is unaccountable. But then again why does the medical profession have to get sued to realise that? What about Allah (SWT)? Are we not accountable to Him? Doesn’t the very verse on the wall of the delivery suite serve as a potent reminder that we will return to Him?

On a personal note, I rebelled. It was an internalised rebellion- I found it difficult to bring myself to go back to the hospital for a couple of days and to see the same attitudes. It was the wrong reaction- it was a negative reaction. I knew I would be doing myself an injustice and more importantly Islam an injustice if I didn’t change my own attitude. The beautiful positive attitude portrayed in Surah Ya-sin was a great reminder- when Allah (SWT) sent three messengers at one time to guide a group of people but they rejected all three messengers and the message they brought. Yet this did not stop a believer, who was not a messenger or a prophet from trying to change the state of his people “Then there came running, from the farthest part of the City, a man, saying, “O my people! Obey the apostles” (36:20). I have no excuse really, I am definitely not a sole person and the gravity of the current situation is far less taxing. What I clearly forgot however, was that I don’t need to worry about the outcome, I need only worry about my own attitude. I’m worried. I humbly request that you pray that we all act positively in whatever situations we may face.

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MAB Youth has a long history of events in Glasgow and residential events around Scotland.The next project for Glasgow is to set up a Muslim Scouts group, following the successful model implemented in Edinburgh. To make it a success, we need volunteers! Please contact sohaib@mabyouth.com for more details.