A fast against petty meanness, insults

THE EDITOR: “Adab refers to Islamic etiquette and entails good manners, morals, and appropriate actions. The Hans Wehr Dictionary defines Adab as ‘culture, refinement, good breeding, good manners, social graces, decorum, decency... humanity and humaneness.’ Adab is not just a quality – it is also a process, meaning that it is something that can be learnt and established.” 

https://www.hibamagazine. com/the-importance-of-adabin- islam/

One of the truly refreshing, enjoyable, and memorable aspects of TT is its multicultural pluralism. We are in Holy Week, a time when Christians reflect on the passion of Christ and look forward to His resurrection on Easter. Simultaneously, Muslims are in the midst of Ramadan, a period of fasting and reflection commemorating the revelation of the Quran to the Prophet Muhammad, culminating in Eid-al-Fitr. As I write, Hindus are celebrating Holi, an exuberant festival of colours ushering in spring and honouring the divine love of Lord Krishna.

This multi-religious and multi-cultural landscape imbues TT with a unique quality that supports the sharing of these various faith traditions and allows devotees of each faith a particular freedom to be curious about others’ beliefs and to be generous in supporting the observance of each other’s celebrations.

In this spirit of expansiveness, I picked up Seyyed Nasr’s book on mystical traditions in Islam, The Garden of Truth, and learned a new word and a new concept: Adab. Adab reminded me of Iwa-Pele, the indigenous Yoruba belief about how to achieve a good and noble character. Christian ethics, exemplified in the life of Christ, point to inclusiveness and respect for all as well as love and forbearance. All of these concepts embody the notion that ethics and morality can be attained through the conscious practice of decorum and courteous behaviour.

Given the general magnanimity of the majority of TT’s citizens towards faith communities, it remains culturally puzzling the rudeness, disrespect, and taunting surliness in too much of our public discourse. This abrasive and tactless behaviour, seen and replayed in the media, trickles down into bullying and anti-social behaviours in many of our schools and graceless insolence in commercial and public services, not to mention on the roadways.

I am not a native of TT despite my parentage and a residency of over 30 years and so I can only repeat that my true Trini friends tell me it was not always so. They bemoan the degradation in the social fabric but even they are at a loss to fully explain the contradiction between behaviours of tolerance, respect, and generosity in the religious/spiritual realms and the behaviours of coarseness, intolerance, and denigration in the secular/political realms.

In this season of varying liturgical reflections, fasting, and penitence, it might be worth a deeper listening to and practice of our holy books’ prescriptions. But in particular, we might further ponder Adab, which encourages the faithful “To speak: Truth, justice, kindly, politely, fairly, gently, graciously. Don’t speak in vain and speak no lie.”

In keeping with Lent, Ramadan, and Shraavana, maybe we should consider a new secular season: a month-long fast against petty meanness and insults. It just might strengthen our national character and give us another reason to celebrate together.

VICKI-ANN ASSEVERO

via e-mail