Enough about Racism, What about Reversion?

Everyone is ranting on about racism, or eradicating racism at the moment. Whether it is rights of a certain race or the polls of which body is more racist than the next, the debate can go on forever.
Whether it is the mainstream media, the sms rumours with the clever twists in names, the bloggers on the internet, Malaysians more or less know the stands or the severity of racism displayed by different individuals in question.

Racism should be something of the past soon. So looking forward, and around the shadows of what really caused racial outbursts in the first place, reversion to Islam and the cultural conflicts it has and can cause is one of the roots of racial tension and distrust.

Reversion is becoming more complicated than before as it represents more than the traditional reversion through marriage. Islam is said to be the fastest growing religion in the world, and this includes regions in the West. But with reversion comes conflicts, and in the case of Malaysia, death of a revert, for instance, has led to the issue of "body-snatching."

The ending is never happy, as a funeral not normally is, but with more of consideration for the deceased revert and his or her family who have to deal with the death as well as the shock of a secret reversion, there will be a far lessor risk of having to line up the "good guys" against the "bad guys" when death arrives.

Who are the Reverts?

Reverts come in all shapes and sizes, colours and hair texture. They are not only Chinese and Indians who marry Malays, as commonly seen in Malaysia.

It may be surprising to know that the first generation of Muslims were reverts, which sets precedence on the level of piety reverts once displayed. These included Umar ibn Khattan, Uthman bin Affan, Khadijah binti Khuwalid, Bilal bin Rab'ah, Zaid bin Harithah and Saffiyah binti Hayy, just to name a handful.

All of them throughout their lifetimes were iconic Muslims and when they were buried, memories of their sacrifices for Islam lives on. They lived lives that were most controversial for their time, condemning common practises such as oppression, corruption, discrimination and interest.

Even today, reverts of all cultures and nationalities play an important role in propelling the Muslim community into new dimensions that cannot be achieved by born Muslims alone. Award winning journalist, Yvonne Ridley, escaped the infamous Taliban rule and shocked the world by donning a full hijab months later. She has since been an outspoken Muslim in the world of media debunking myths of the "oppressed Muslim woman."

Yusuf Islam, nee Cat Stevens, promotes Islamic practices to children as young as infants through his vareity of nasheeds and educational endeavours. In 2002, Italian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Torquato Cardeilli, announced his reversion to Islam despite his Prime Minister's announcement of West supremacy over the Muslim world.

These Muslim reverts have moved mountains with respects to the Islamic world, yet there are many who face adversaties in their own community, and some, even in Muslim communities.

The Problems with Reversion

Isolation is usually a difficult situation for reverts, especially for those who revert to Islam in silence and still live amongst their non-Muslim family.

Maybe through the lack of knowledge of what Islam entails and the misrepresentation of the faith in the mainstream media, there are non-Muslims who are skeptical about the religion, at best, and others who despise it, at worst.

Whatever the prejudice may be, a new revert may find it difficult to communicate his or her new found religious following without causing dischord within the family.

Similarly, practising Islam may also be difficult. A new revert would maybe find it difficult to pray, avoid eating non-halal dishes during meal time, attend inappropriate social functions or fully observing hijab if they are Muslim by secret.

Another problem with reversion though is, ironically, the ease at which reversion takes place. Reversion is complete when one pronounces the Shahadah, which is the testimonial of faith infront of at least two sound Muslims. Automatically, a person emerges as a Muslim, slate wiped clean. The ease of which this reversion takes place can cause difficulty in the cases of death.

In recent years, the issue of "body-snatching" has risen and caused disharmony between races as well as Islamic authorities. The typical case takes place when the deceased is a family member of a majority non-Muslim family. Unbeknown to them, he or she has reverted to Islam and therefore requires to be buried according to Islamic rites.

Unfortunately, due to the lack of evidence and documentation twinned with a gross misunderstanding with the authorities and poor depiction of Islam through the mainstream media, the Islamic authorities have again, have had to bear the blame.

The Role of the Muslim

We can blame the authorities, as it is fair to blame them – not for carrying out the rites of the proper funeral but for not cohesively carrying out their roles as Muslims caring for the new revert. Having said that, the Muslim community as a whole, should shoulder the blame.

Reversion is the bridge of brotherhood in Islam. Befriending a revert is like creating a new networking circle for da'wa and non-da'wa purposes.

Reversion represents new, untainted blood into the system and eagerness to learn about Islamic practises sans the cultural baggage that most born Muslims carry. Thus, a new revert is more likely to learn the more accurate practices of the religion.

A revert has his or her slate wiped clean after pronoucing the Shahadah, meaning he or she is clear of past sins and is allowed to move forward in search of blessing from Allah Ta'ala.

However, with the problems that arise with reversion, all this can be quite difficult especially when "old" Muslims do not play the vital role in nurturing these new brothers and sisters.

The Shahadah is only the first breath a new revert takes in the form of a new Muslim, by favour of two Muslim witnesses. However, it should not be the last favour of born Muslims – to listen to the Shahadah and walk away. That is only the first step.

When Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings upon him) established the presence of the first civilisation in the world, it really rested upon the shoulders of his community for it to succeed.

They could have rebelled like the Quraysh had done in Makkah and ousted the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) and his fellowship out of the city and back into a dark valley or barren desert.

Yet the people of Madinah, the Ansar, welcomed the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) and his followers from Makkah, known as the Muhajireen, with open arms.

The two parties immediately established the first Muslim ummah through strong ties in the community. The Ansar opened their homes to the Muhajireen and shared their food, clothes and livelihood.

Both parties openly took the opportunity to educate each other; the Muhajireen were mainly the less educated and less fotunate people of Makkah. Most importantly, the Ansar gave full protection towards the Muhajireen from their "owners" and leaders from Makkah who had maltreated them for years following their reversions.

Similarly, Islamic authorities in Malaysia and the Muslim community as a whole are responsible to provide full protection to reverts. This does not mean that a Muslim should instigate disharmony with the non-Muslim community of the new revert's family. On the contrary, protection means to gently speak to people surrounding the new revert of his or her reversion, to ease the idea of reversion to the family.

Muslims have to assure followers of other faiths that this new revert's choice was never out of coercion and that he or she will remain the same person or a better person, just by following a new path. The funeral rites also need to be clarified and proper documentation enacted.

A new revert, if accompanied by a Muslim friend may find it easier to break the news to his or her family. Even if he or she does not request for accompaniment, knowing that there is support from other Muslims, is enough for a vote of confidence.

Making such an announcement may never be easy, especially for those who are at the receiving end, but with the right approach, patience and preseverance, it is by Allah's will that family members and the community that surround the revert will come to a better understanding of Islam.

Revering the Revert

Revering a revert is nothing new in Islam. Through the directive of the Qur'an, Allah decrees that reverts are one of the eight recipients of zakat, to allow their "hearts to be reconciled." (Al-Taubah: 60). Receiving zakat symbolises the welcoming into a new community and the mercy of Muslims upon a new brother or sister.

In more severe cases, new Muslims may require funds to find new homes (should there have been disputes in the family home) or to keep afloat before finding a new job (in the case of job displacement due to reversion). There are many benefits of zakat, and the defining the recipients are of utmost importance and this emphasises the significance of reverts in a Muslim society.

The anouncement of the Shahadah also symbolises an innocent baby being born into a community of Muslims. Just like a white-cloth, the new revert has to be nurtured and taken care of by his or her parents - the practising Muslims, who are able to keep the religious intrigue in tact and to help soothe the qualms of the new brother or sister as and when the need arises.

It is unheard of in some Muslim inhabited countries such as Malaysia that the Muslim community of "born" Muslims, who are anchored down by cultural barriers, display complete disregard for new brothers and sisters, labeling them as the "non-pure" Muslims, who are of a different race.

Their lack of understanding of the reversion concept is just another form of disgrace in the Muslim world. This type of behaviour only acts to compound the isolation of new reverts who are unable to fit in with the Muslim world.

In the year 622, Masjids were simple as were the houses. There was no such thing as a radio let alone an iPod. The market place was a physical one, unlike eBay or Lelong, and communication was restricted to one-on-one or the general prayer mass of crowds.

Yet, the Ansar and Muhajireen were able to build a comprehensive society from scratch just by sharing bread and water and learning to read the Qur'an together. Imagine what they could have done if they had a wireless connection of information called the internet. What if blogging, rather than poetry, was in vogue?

All these modern facets Muslims can appreciate today are the simple tools that are required to help clarify misconceptions of the religion and to reach out to reverts who can band the Muslim world with the non-Muslim world together. Becoming a Muslim should not create conflict between societies, rather be the cornerstone of communities that leads to opportunities of mutual understanding and consideration.

by Maria Zain
Harakah Daily