We enter June, the sixth month of the year, and what a year it’s been so far… When celebrating Christmas only six months ago, who could have thought what kind of a year this would turn out to be? Three months into 2020, we all went into lockdown to slow the spread of a new virus, but COVID-19 is only one of many challenges we face this year. Though it’s been a factor in aggravated tensions between Western countries and China, that is another situation that’s been developing for a while, changing geopolitical relations are another challenge of 2020.
Over the past two weeks another troubling situation has been developing in the United States, as people seek justice for George Floyd, and many other Black people unjustly killed by police. A legitimate protest movement developed to seek justice, but is being hijacked by extremists and agent provocateurs who have their own agendas. Moreover, we are facing the warmest year on record with climate change getting out of control, and sure I'm only just scratching the surface with the issues that I've very briefly mentioned here…
We live in testing times, and it is such times that invite us to reflect on what it's all about, what are we doing here? What are we seeking to achieve in our lives as individuals, and what are we seeking to achieve collectively as nations and as a Human Family? There has never been a better time to consider these questions, and serious consideration we should give to them.
Our drive and success come from our intentions and inspirations – without these, there is nothing to push us forward. Not only that, but what are we pushing towards? Will we one day look back and be proud of our achievements, or look back and wish we had done something differently, to help bring about a better world for our children? Though a Muslim myself, these reflections aren’t peculiar to people only of my own faith, they are universal; points that people of all faiths and none would benefit from giving some thought.
Periodically, every hundred years or so, human societies tend to experience significant change, depending on how we respond to the challenges that face us at these crucial points in time, depends on whether these changes will be progressive or regressive. We all have a part to play in which of these it will be. Though the challenges we face may be massive, on a global scale, or involving powerful people, organisations, or institutions, such that we may feel intimidated by their scale or the parties involved, do not think that we are powerless.
All it takes to light a dark room is a small candle. One small candle can cast a light amidst a darkness that is vastly larger than it, and that candle can be used to light other candles. Just as a dark room invites us to light a candle, challenging times invite us to be a living candle. Will we take up that invitation?
Paul Salahuddin Armstrong - Muslim Chaplain (University of Birmingham)