The Jewels of the Modern Era: A Shining Tribute

The Jewels of the Modern Era: A Shining Tribute
Sunday, 31 May 2009 21:20
Dr Zaki Sherif

Every society has a jewel, a shining star, a golden child, a brave soldier, a fearless hero, and an unyielding warrior. For Ethiopian Muslims and for Badr, beyond any measure of sacrifice or tenacity, this family jewel, the backbone of our culture and our identity as well as our image is well and alive. This jewel stands out in stark contrast from the rest of the society. The identity of this jewel will be revealed later. For now, please read until the end of this article.


This jewel is unassuming and crystal clear. It is invaluable (it is priceless), intractable (it never yields), indefatigable (it is never fatigued), and incontrovertible (you cannot argue about its existence). This jewel is indestructible (it cannot be destroyed), indefensible (you cannot defend it because it can defend itself), incorruptible (you cannot bribe it), inextinguishable (you cannot put it out. No fire extinguisher will help here); inexterminable (now this is a big one. It simply means it cannot be exterminated. No amount of even industrial-strength exterminator can wipe it out). After all, it is the backbone of the society. As long as the society exists, it will stay with it. Furthermore, this group is indelible (cannot be removed), ineradicable (cannot be budged), ineffaceable (it is not transient like a government, rather it is permanent like a headache), immemorial (not bound by memory), illimitable (not limited by time and space), incessant (has unstoppable drive), indefinite (not demarcated by time), intrepid (has no acquaintance with fear) and inspiring to all of us who call ourselves Muslims.There are three types of Muslims in the world today: Those who watch things happen; those who make things happen; and those who wonder what happened. This family jewel belongs to the middle group. It makes things happen and gets the dice rolling.

There are again three types of Muslims in this contemporary world: Those who are nominal (by name only and having the weakest faith and the weakest link to the Ummah); those who are concerned (the faint-hearted but a little discomforted on the couch); and those who are active (the once who are applauded in the Qu’ran and the Hadith). The jewel group belongs to the last category. While we in the West shoot out letters hidden behind white picket fences to proclaim our dissatisfaction with the status quo in the heartland, this high caliber jewel marches barefoot without fences to protect it; without forces to adorn it or any hardware to shield it, and yet it has more software of the iron-clad version embedded in the core of its heart than most of us have in the belly of our existence. This group has credentials to stand on its own two feet. It only needs moral support. Its attributes are full in the national treasure chest. This jewel is like the lens of our eye. It refracts light to steer it in the right direction but acts as a fine control to focus it on the core principle of its sight. This jewel is like a heartbeat that keeps us humming, alerting, and reviving us as Muslims. This magnificent gemstone is the cornerstone of the Muslim society. It is the backbone; the spinal column, the moral fiber of the Ethiopian Muslims. This gem is the active brain of our lethargic body that is succumbing to ravages of the diseases of the heart.

This group does not necessarily choose the paths of lesser resistance when its core beliefs are challenged but it sprints to the audacity of the higher ground. This precious stone is the organ of our circulatory system and the brain of our mental health in Ethiopia. In short, this jewel, which deserves all the credit and all the accolades, is the engine of Badr’s vision and mission in Ethiopia. This magnificent jewel is the ornament of our identity and sovereignty. It is like the engine that revs, a smokestack that spews, a light bulb that glows, and like a ravine that is crossed. This group is the head not the tail of the action. It has the confidence to say yes and the audacity to say “I can”. Be reminded that great spirits have always encountered violet opposition from mediocre minds. But this group pushes forward nonetheless.

*Now, if I may, I will address the jewels directly:

You, my beloved ones, are not asking what your country can do for you; you are always dismayed by what your country is doing to itself. Unlike the rest of society, you serve as the monitoring device for our conscience forcing us to shift our lives from the expected entitlement to the unpredictable climate of service with radical humility. Your presence on the Ethiopian stage is not coincidental or incidental but the Will of Allah. The search for truth is an exhaustive and never-ending process punctuated by intermediate pauses and stepwise goals while the search for knowledge is an eternal and self-sustaining goal. Islam teaches us that Knowledge, Time and Wealth are Trusts from the Creator. We are all the custodians who bear the responsibility and face the accountability for the utility on this earth and on the Day of Reckoning.

Now, my dear ones, you don’t have to be the greatest thinker, but think you should.

You, my cherished ones, are in the public eye, so public service is both your honor and your obligation. It’s an honor, because it provides an opportunity to serve. It’s an obligation because it forms one of the pillars of a sound society. Wisdom and knowledge emanate from Allah. And they go hand in hand. It has been said that, Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Isn’t it just as well that Love of Allah is also the beginning of knowledge?

Remember, my esteemed ones:

It’s true that what you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. But build anyway

You may be appreciated for your hard work and sacrifice, or you may never be, but keep working hard anyway

You may give the world the best that you have, but no one might care, but give the world the best that you have anyway

People may shun your dream and try to derail it. Dream anyway

You don’t have to be the most successful student, but plan to succeed anyway

The “good” you do today, people will often forget tomorrow, do “good” anyway.

*You see, my treasured onces, in the final analysis,

*it is really between you and Allah; it was never between you and them anyway

There is a time for everything and everything has its own time. Flexibility is a companion of life while rigidity is a companion of death. In the final analysis, experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want. So, all your struggles are not lost. Hope for the best but plan for the worst. Be optimistic as it is a self-fulfilling prophesy. If you think you can change things, you are more willing to try to change things; and trying always gets you better results that not trying at all. Remember, if you think you can or you think you can’t, you are right. Think about this -the biggest regrets are not about what you did but what you did not. You should have no regrets if you tried.

My dear ones, you tried! That is good enough. We know they are changing the goalposts when you are shooting for a higher grade, nonetheless keep aiming high. Culture is what happens when you stop trying. Hidden in all misfortunes is a viable fortune. Try to catch some points of inflection. Perhaps then you could find out that you are turning a new leaf. Stay in school whatever the cost, because that is your salvation, your winning angle and your ultimate victory.

You may be at the frontline of the universal default implying that the master switch sets the guillotine in motion. But guillotines come and go as their operators do. Laziness was never your option as that would restrict your motion. Your motherland needs you, your brother seeks you, and your sister reads you while everyone else bids you. After all, you are the champion of the household. You are the backbone of the institute of solidarity in the face of diversity for a society in the trenches starving for unity.

Unlike others, you have no fragmented memory and when you throw down the gauntlet, your commitment is firm and you are not derided by rain or shine. You are not deceived by the rosy scenario displayed to the public. As we, in the Diaspora, are approaching the twilight years of our career, you the young, the bold and the bright are just gearing up for the big challenge.

While we Ethiopians living in the West believe that we can truly catch more flies with honey, you the frontline defenders of the Muslims remind us that we have to get to the honey first. Needles to say, you, the sparkler living in a society of the fearful, the paralyzed, and the downtrodden are staunchly stalwart, gutsy, courageous, dauntless, chivalrous, heroic, lionhearted when it comes to defend your rights enshrined in the constitution. In that sense, your group is truly unfading, uninterruptible, unremitting, unalterable, unceasing, and unbreakable in its core beliefs. Jesus or Nabi Issa (SAW) taught that you can always tell a tree by its fruit. The fear of every minority is the majority being in hysteria. The entire Muslim society in Ethiopia is a symphony – the only truly heroic conductors that have remained on the stage for time immemorial are the Jewels (reader: be patient, the Jewels will be revealed soon).

When limitation has overtaken innovation as the modus operandi of Islam, you the champions of the Ethiopian Muslim identity, have displayed clarity of vision and sensibility of mission. You focus on the central features of a problem not the peripheral details. You exude an aura of dignity that is contagious.

Finally, You, the unrelenting voice, the charismatic champion, the gemstone, the determined, the effervescent, the vibrant part of the Ethiopian landscape would now have to be revealed to accept a standing ovation for your efforts.

You are the Crown Jewels and the Shnining Stars of Modern Ethiopia
You are the Ethiopian Muslim Students

We honor you, the quintessential Ethiopian Muslim students, as our jewels, we cherish you as our vanguards, and we treasure you as our precious gemstones, our family jewels. You are the cherry blossom of our day in full bloom and peak bloom.

We pay you this small tribute and we do it with humility and inadequacy.

This is a shining tribute to the modern heroes and the shining stars of our era.