Black Church News in Virginia
The Ink of the Scholar: Muslims Complacent in Spreading Misunderstandings – Part 2
By Imam Vernon M. Fareed
It was the learned scholar Imam W. Deen Mohammed (may God have Mercy on him and grant him Paradise) from whom I first heard the words, I have observed that people generally tend to mirror the weather (in their environment). Since hearing that statement I have given a great deal of attention to it, and I have concluded that there is a lot of validity to this. No one has to tell us how unpredictable the weather is these days; it can be seventy degrees one day, snowing the next and only the Creator knows what it will be like on the following day. There used to be a time when people’s behavior and events were a lot more consistent and predictable! When winter arrived you knew (by the weather) it was winter; and if you forgot the cold air would remind you.
In the past young people would generally show respect for elders and for women in particular. If you really give thought to the science of forecasting weather you will recall that meteorologists in the past did not have use of current scientific technologies, and yet they predicted the weather with just as much accuracy as they do today. If we ask “what accounts for this” one thing is for sure, the weather was more consistent and consequently more predictable. Man has polluted the air, water and the overall environment, and one big consequence of his destructible ways is the bizarre weather that we are experiencing!
Earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes and other extreme weather occurrences are more frequent than ever before and they are happening in some areas where they never would have been imagined. If we contrast the weather with what is taking place in the political arena, we witness some very bizarre things. Political historians and pundits are baffled with what they are now seeing in this run for the office of U.S. President. The vote of the American people can no longer be taken for granted, and this includes that of the African-American. There is a trend towards people being more independent in their thinking with regards to political parties and candidates, and it’s one that I believe is going to continue. Just as it has become more and more challenging to predict the weather, it has become so with regards to people’s thinking and behavior.
When we look at business and the economy we see strange trends emerging that breaks the traditional molds. Some businesses that were expected to be around forever are falling by the wayside and some that weren’t expected to have a ghost of a chance have skyrocketed! The business manuals and courses that have been used in colleges and universities have had to be dramatically overhauled to keep pace with the changing trends in society. The unpredictability of business trends have made this a necessity!
Turning towards religion and taking a look at what is going on with the choices of faith that people are making, we have to acknowledge that it’s unpredictable! Many are not embracing the faith of their parents, while some others are claiming no faith at all. This is the new reality in the world today.
The social life of the people has gotten to be so strange until it’s safe to say that many no longer emulate the behavior of a human person, rather it’s more akin to animal behavior. While no one claims to have ever been able to predict how any individual would act or react, we used to be capable of predicting the general behavior of the masses. This too has become a thing of the past!
The wind may be blowing in a certain direction one minute and within the twinkling of the eye it will turn and go in another direction. This is a sign of the thinking and behavior of people today; it goes in one direction this minute and turns another way the next minute. To say the least, many matters in life are unpredictable just like the weather!
