Mauritius: Freedom from Slavery

Every year, Mauritius observes a national holiday on February 1^st. For, this day marks a defining moment in the collective memory of the Mauritian people's struggle for dignity and human rights. Almost two centuries ago, it was on this day in 1835 that the abominable practice of Slavery was formally abolished in the Island State, liberating a mass of humanity from the clutches of an oppressive social order. 

The story of how Mauritius- once a virtually uninhabited Island off the southeast coast of Africa, became home to close to 1.5 million people today; professing various faiths- including Hinduism, Christianity, Islam- and speaking different languages, including Creole, French, English, Tamil, Urdu, Hindi and Bhojpuri and Chinese- is a fascinating chapter in the making of the modern world. There is little doubt that the modern identity of Mauritius as ‘a rainbow nation’ is a tribute to the cultural confluences it inherited from its complex past. 

Originally discovered by the Arabs in the 9^th century; successively colonized by the different European powers from the 17th century- the Deutch, the French and the British- in the last four centuries; modern Mauritius is, in many ways, shaped by this Island nation's encounter with the different phases of global capitalism and the trajectories of the European imperial forays into Africa and Asia, including the strategic control of the Indian Ocean region for safeguarding their vital, commercial interests. The detachment of a part of the Mauritian territory- the Chagos Archipelago and offering the same on a virtual, perpetual lease to the United States by the last colonial power- Britain- before the granting of national independence to Mauritius in 1968, continue to remind all of us in the global South about the long shadows of imperial hubris that permanently scar the psyche of nations and peoples. (For a review of the continuing Mauritius-UK dispute over the Chagos Archipelago, click here).

Even as the colonial masters sought to subjugate the nations they conquered through military means, they found it politically convenient to stake the moral high ground of good governance, rule of law and human rights in the shaping of national policies. Hence, the colonial, administrative practices in the Indian Ocean region, including in relation to questions of slavery and ‘rule of law’ in the conquered territories vis-a vis the subjugated peoples, can be seen as a partial concession to the tectonic shifts in the global thinking around questions of human dignity and basic rights. The abolition of slavery in the British colonies and the introduction of the system of ‘contract labour’ with a semblance of rights and privileges for the migrant working class can only be seen against this backdrop.

Inner Peace in A Troubled World

The State of Man in Our Times

The world is developing at breakneck speed. It is constantly modernizing, becoming smaller and less life-size, becoming closer to people like a round table where the whole world can reunite and communicate and share their ideas and lives. But with the race for power and wealth, the rich are getting richer. The poor are getting poorer. And the world continues to exist until the One Creator decides otherwise.

Rich or poor, everyone tries to live in their own way. But how many of us ponder over what health, recreation, food, and tranquillity cost to the inhabitants of a country? But above all, how much of their precious time do they devote in remembrance of the Creator through prayer. The rich have almost no problem in living their lives quietly. The poor, on the other hand, have to work harder to try to make ends meet. This class of population of any country will always remain in poverty with its multiple problems - famine, sickness, housing, unemployment.

However, people, whatever their situation, live. They try to live. Maybe some people want death because they are crushed by poverty and misery. But life or death does not depend on us. It is the exclusive prerogative of Allah Ta’ala.

But then why so much worries, so many misfortunes? ... Does Allah Ta’ala, the Unique Creator, Who knows and controls everything, not love us? Does He not appreciate our way of life, our way of doing things? Not really, according to a Hadith of our beloved prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh). It is rather that we humans, especially those of the Ummah forget too quickly our obligations to the Creator. So everything turns upside down. When the situation changes, life becomes destabilized. Stress, anxiety, anger, worry, doubt take place.

A World of Dizzying Inequality 

So why the vast majority of the world’s population lives in poverty and a very small percentage, being extremely rich controls everything in this temporal world? Some who feel that they are so powerful because of their fortune, think they are half-gods. But let it be clear. Rich or poor we always live in the same fear, the same anguish, the same anxiety.

We live today in the 21^st century, a time of confusion where materialism (i.e. people with materialistic minds) prevails everywhere, including within the Ummah. Material comfort is only useful to us here on earth. What have we prepared for the afterlife? Are we preparing enough for it? Here on earth, it is total confusion leading to wounded hearts, broken with the weakened soul.

We only have to follow the medical news - to get information about the world of medicines (pharmaceutical drugs). Scientists only produce drugs of all kinds to combat stress - the disease of the modern world, to combat anxiety, anger, nervousness, etc. The medications prescribed which are used in high doses sometimes have side effects. The situation gets complicated. Whether he is rich or poor, whether he gets treatment at the private clinic or the public hospital, the patient does not find the desired happiness or if he gets it, it is very precarious. He then turn to diabolical, satanic treatments that only worsen the situation, while there is only an effective remedy, very effective indeed, freely offered but neglected, forgotten, cast aside: a CALL TO ALLAH TA’ALA.

Turn to Your Creator

Yes, turn to HIM, The Saviour, The Healer, The Protector, The Merciful. He offers all the remedies. Without fees. Without an appointment. He only asks us one thing: to think of HIM at all times. He is here to listen to us. All we sick people have to do is to have unreserved faith and piety. Believe in Him, in His remedies, in His miracles. Are we ready for this?

On the 'Super Blue Blood Moon' 2018

'Super Blue Blood Moon', an extraordinary lunar event, dazzled millions of sky-watchers around the world on the night of Wednesday, 31 January 2018. Extracted below are the special remarks on this Heavenly Sign by Muhyi-ud-Din Al Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Saheb (atba) of Mauritius: 

A Rare Heavenly Sign

"The world has witnessed an extraordinary celestial sign Wednesday, 31 January 2018. This sign is a Super Blue Blood Moon. What exactly is this super blue blood moon? It is the conjunction of three lunar peculiarities. 

To give a simplified explanation of this phenomenon (or rather divine sign), it is when the natural satellite is at the same time relatively close to the Earth (which gives us a Super Moon), it is also the 2^nd full Moon in a month (a Blue Moon) and there is at the same time an eclipse of the moon (a Blood Moon). So it's a super-moon combined with a blue moon and with an eclipse of the moon that was total in some parts of the world and that we call, a blood moon. 

All three phenomena were visible only in certain parts of the earth, in this case in America (after 152 years) and in the countries of Asia and Australia and so on. But for the countries of Europe, like France etc., this phenomenon, this celestial sign was not visible (but was visible in 1982). But here in Mauritius after 152 years, we witnessed this, but only with a partial eclipse of the moon that lasted only a few minutes. (Inset: Seagulls and the blue moon in Portobello, Edinburgh, taken by Matthew Corney, (c) BBC).

Heavenly Signs in the Later Days

This phenomenon/ sign became subject of conversations, with everyone speculating on its meaning. There are those who say that it is an indicator of the approach of the end of the world and that the Saviour will appear soon. But the truth is that we are living the days of the end of the world and the Saviour that everyone is waiting for is already among you. When you see such divine heavenly signs, these are signs in support of the coming of a Messenger of Allah.