Weapons of mass destruction by Iraq was a false narrative used by President George Bush’s (Bush junior), his discredited VP, Dick Chaney and combative Defense Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld to invade Iraq. It was a narrative that even the Secretary of State, Collin Powel fell victim to. Truth has one form while lies take on a thousand shades. Those who are inclined to lie and have vested interest will color lies in a way that appears believable. They may persuade even the ardent advocates of truth since such narratives not only distort the separation between truth and falsehood, but also create doubts in the mind. As if this dual strategy was not enough, the narratives then rapidly shift the attention to a sense of urgency to respond rather than step back to assess where truth lies.
The interaction between Adam/Eve and the Devil is a good example to reflect on. I will use the narrative from the Qur’an rather than the Bible since the description in the Bible shifts the blame on women and creates an untenable ideology around original sin rather than taking lessons from the event. According to the Quranic narrative, God advises Adam/Eve not to eat (not even go near to) a tree. This was to protect Adam/Eve from being exposed to their evils and nakedness – part of their human traits that were until then unknown to them. It was a purposeful and protective instruction, but the underlying reasons were kept secret to test them regarding their free will and devotion to God. The Devil on the other hand took advantage of the naivety and lack of awareness on the part of Adam/Eve to create this false narrative that the tree was a tree of immortal life and eating its fruit will perpetuate their current bliss in heaven. The Devil was not only telling one lie but on top of that added another lie by stating that he is genuinely interested in the wellbeing of Adam/Even as a true friend would be. Here comes the layer of creating doubt about the first falsehood since the second falsehood implies how can a good friend give you bad advice and urges them to act.
Both Adam and Eve fell for it and hence failed to follow God’s instruction. The Devil fell from God’s grace for two reasons – he failed to bow down to Adam as instructed (first mistake) but then instead of showing humility and explaining himself, he belittled Adam/Eve as inferior creation and as such is not worthy of respect from him (second mistake). Adam and Eve however took a different approach to their mistake – they immediately took personal responsibility for their misstep, did not blame the Devil for their failure and showed genuine humility and repentance to God. God forgave, showed them mercy, promised guidance on earth and cautioned them henceforth about the Devil and his capacity to arouse evilness in humankind.
The interplay of human goodness and the Devil continues to cause havoc in our societies as it did over the centuries and millennium of recorded histories. The pride of Pharoah to enslave Israelites, the Crusades, the Spanish inquisition, the Europe colonial enterprise, the holocaust, slavery in American continent, ethnic cleansing of native people in various continents by white settlers, the continued dehumanization of Muslims and Christians in Palestine – are all stark reminders of evil people following the footsteps of the Devil. It reminds us of a verse from the Qur’an – When they are told – do not make mischiefs in the world, they say, but we are peacemakers. They are the real mischief-makers and are oblivious (to their evils).
Contemporary evils have morphed into mainstream normalization of evils in the form of white supremacy, nationalism, vetoing world opinion by a select few, corporate greed, economic inequality, unbridled consumerism, self- aggrandizement, extreme racial and religious prejudice, flaunting rule of law, committing genocide in the name of national security and cultural identity, denial of God and justifying the unjustifiable in the name of religion. The list goes on and calls for urgent display of human goodness and humility from truth seekers and faith seekers!
