By Shanza Ali
A lot has been said about workers’ rights in Bangladesh over the last 3 months following the collapse of Rana Plaza factory in April. Angry and outraged voices have been raised, lengthy defences have been given, and some agreements and laws have even been hesitantly signed…
But what has been the Muslim response to this crisis?
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Before I continue, I feel it is appropriate to clarify what I mean by crisis. Because when I say crisis, I’m not referring to the death of the 1,127 workers, or the hundreds that were trapped under the rubble for days. Nor am I talking about the other hundreds that were hospitalized as a result of psychological trauma, or about any other such tragedy in which the lives of factory workers have been claimed over the years. Rather, I’m talking about the disillusionment of a nation, that was told, “You are the best of peoples ever raised for mankind…” because “…you enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong, and you believe in Allah” [al-A’raf (7) : 157].
A nation that was told they would be distinguished from the hypocrites because of this trait that made them awliyaa’, the helpers, supporters, friends, and protectors of one another [at-Taubah (9): 67]. And even from amongst this great Ummah, I’m talking about a section of people given material comfort and opportunity by Allah; I’m talking about the Muslims in the West, I’m talking about us.
Last night was one of the special nights I made it to taraweeh prayer at the mosque and the Imam chose to open with Surah Al-Ma’un: “Have you seen the one who denies the Recompense? For that is the one who drives away the orphan, and does not encourage the feeding of the poor. So woe to those who pray [but] who are heedless of their prayer – Those who make show [of their deeds] and withhold [simple] assistance.”
When the Imam had finished reciting, my eyes had filled with tears. They flowed down my cheeks and soaked the hijab under my chin. The phonetic beauty of the Qur’an is more than enough to reduce you to tears, but on this occasion this wasn’t the only reason I reacted this way. I had read the translation of this Surah before… but never had it instilled such a sense of shame in me as it did today. As I wiped away the tears with the sleeves of my cardigan my thoughts were taken back to the quick trip to Westfield Shopping Centre I’d made earlier that day to get a new cardigan – the one I was wearing now. I ended up spending a whole hour shopping, and bought much more than I had set out to. There were great sales on and I felt I didn’t have enough clothes for the summer as well as for the fast approaching autumn.
In this moment standing for taraweeh, I suddenly remembered an article I’d read a few days ago about the hundreds of factory workers in Bangladesh that had been taken to hospital for “psychological hysteria” from fear of returning to work after the Rana Plaza collapse. I was shaken by the story, just the thought of being in their shoes, having to go back to work every day not knowing which factory might collapse next or catch fire, it could be yours, it could be the one your sister works in. I’d bookmarked the page, thinking I’ll return to it – sign the petition, and find out more about how to help. But of course, I forgot. And even worse, I ended up shopping at those same shops just a few days later.
The Arabic word that corresponds to “human being” is “insan.” This word takes its root from the word “nisyan,” which literally means “forgetfulness”. The obsession of keeping up with the fad of disposable fast fashion, along with the influx of affordable pieces, is enough to keep us distracted from thinking about how our clothes have been made. We are so disconnected from the effects of our actions that the morality of our purchases no longer matter; profit-centred corporations can exploit human life for monetary gain – no questions asked.
Surah Al-Ma’un reminded me and reminds all of us that worship is not just about your Salah or fasting, and Ramadan is not just about attending taraweeh and reciting the Qur’an – it’s about living it! It’s about internalising the message, taking hold of your soul and shaking it to wake it up!
The first step towards changing an unjust and oppressive status quo is always to internally condemn it with sincerity. Then we must seek to abandon it and look for an alternative. There are many such alternatives out there, and if any group should be leading the way on this, it should be the Muslims! We should also be weary of Shaitan’s subtle tricks; he will try to convince us that there is nothing we can actually do about it, so that we succumb to a notion of feeling helpless. But always remembering the words of the Prophet (pbuh), “If one of you sees something evil, he should change it with his hand. If he cannot, he should speak out against it, and if he cannot do even that he should at least detest it in his heart, this being the weakest form of faith” (Muslim).
So what are the practical steps that we can take to support ethical fashion? Our natural reaction is to want to boycott these exploitative brands but this is not the way because it is the ordinary Bangladeshi workers who will lose out. Companies can easily pack up and set up in another country with a ready supply of cheap labour, but millions of people in Bangladesh, especially women, rely on this industry for their livelihoods. Instead, we should put pressure on companies sourcing in Bangladesh to ensure safe working conditions. Over 80 companies have already signed up to the landmark legally binding ‘Bangladesh Fire & Safety Agreement” but several big names have refused to do so. UK-based Muslim campaigning group MADE in Europe is running a petition calling on Gap and Walmart-Asda to sign up immediately.
- We can also make small changes to our own consumer habits by supporting ethical brands that put the workers at the heart of what they do.
- Buying second-hand clothes or organising clothes swaps with our friends and family.
- Getting creative by upcycling and reinventing items we’ve already got or making our own clothes using ethically-sourced material.
For more ideas and inspiration about becoming an ethical shopper, check out MADE in Europe’s ethical fashion campaign here.
Allah tells us in the Qur’an: “O children of Adam, we have provided you with garments to cover your bodies, as well as for luxury. But the best garment is the garment of righteousness.” Oh Muslims, will we continue to wear and showcase clothes of exploitation? Will we succumb to our desire for worldly approval and forget about the blood and tears that flow every day in sweatshops around the world? Will we ignore our responsibilities unto one another, and pray but remain heedless of our prayers? Or will we wake up this Ramadan?
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Mahmud
August 2, 2013 at 9:43 PM
Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh
JazzakAllahu khair. This is good. Enjoining on what is right and forbidding what is wrong has a pretty wide scope. I usually look at it from a dawah perspective but establishing justice and making sure people get the wages they should is also included. I didn’t about it from this perspective before.
“The Arabic word that corresponds to “human being” is “insan.” This word takes its root from the word “nisyan,” which literally means “forgetfulness”.”
That’s what I thought however according to this brother, that’s not the strongest take based on morphological reasoning. However, perhaps the root of another word for man “bashar” which is discussed in this video is relevant to this article…..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IubrvFpxHzg
Mahmud
August 2, 2013 at 9:48 PM
I didn’t intend for the video to be displayed that way….I thought it only displays like that if you paste the embed link?
Saeed Khan
August 3, 2013 at 7:54 AM
A Very Important Subject Trivialised
I started reading this article and steadily became engrossed in it. It made me stop, think and question. Then the author wrote, “So what are the practical steps that we can take to support ethical fashion?” and I think to myself how superficial this course of action is. If this is where the Muslim mindset is then we are in greater trouble than we perceive.
This article quoted the hadith, “If one of you sees something evil, he should change it with his hand. If he cannot, he should speak out against it, and if he cannot do even that he should at least detest it in his heart, this being the weakest form of faith” (Muslim).
The source of the problem is not our shopping habits, or even the corporations who exploit cheap labour in the Muslim world but the leaders of the Muslim world who allow it. The leaders of the Muslim world implement failed economic policies which emanate from their own minds. As a result we have a myriad of problems all of which can be solved by implementing the deen of Allah which He (SWT) gave to us, not to adorn our bookshelves, but to be implemented. Therefore the goal should be the removal of corrupt governments who are committing kufr buah (flagrant and open kufr) and we require sincere, knowledgeable scholars to perform ijtihad to rectify this problem.
Ali
August 3, 2013 at 12:16 PM
The source of the problem can never be simplified to one cause or group of actors, the world we find is more complex than that. Muslim leadership is at fault, yes, but so are the producers AND the consumers. The removal of corrupt leadership and the struggle against corruption itself should be a constant goal for us.. but examining our own complicity in these crimes as well as our silence is also important. the verse “Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves” comes to mind.
But of course, solutions to such problems can be varied, depending on our understanding of the issues, our own capabilities and context. As long as we are striving to alleviate the problem in whatever way we can.. that is what matters.
Saeed Khan
August 5, 2013 at 7:22 AM
“The source of the problem can never be simplified to one cause or group of actors, the world we find is more complex than that. Muslim leadership is at fault, yes, but so are the producers AND the consumers. The removal of corrupt leadership and the struggle against corruption itself should be a constant goal for us.. but examining our own complicity in these crimes as well as our silence is also important. the verse “Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves” comes to mind.
But of course, solutions to such problems can be varied, depending on our understanding of the issues, our own capabilities and context. As long as we are striving to alleviate the problem in whatever way we can.. that is what matters.”
Jazakallah Khairan for your comment. I agree with you that to find the root cause can be difficult and that is why we must leave the ijtihad to those qualified to do so. I would disagree with your conclusion that “As long as we are striving to alleviate the problem in whatever way we can.. that is what matters”. This is similar to a boat full of people not acting in unison but rowing in every direction. The ‘end justifies the means’ or to quote Malcolm X ‘By any means necessary’ is not an Islamic position on the contrary this approach causes division and actually harms the Muslims. The last one hundred years is a proof that this approach simply does not work.
gunal
August 7, 2013 at 1:09 PM
Yes Ali and Saeed, in my opinion, this problem (in Bangladesh) was a result of one thing only. Its corrupt people!
During the big earthquake in Turkey many of the buildings collapsed and those people killed were due to wrong cheap materials being used in buildings that collapsed on them. We put our trust and in many cases our lives in to those people who are supposedly be professionals in what they do.
Not just a political government. When you are employing and making people work for you, those who work for you are, somewhat, governed by you. So you have certain responsibilities over them. If you are ignoring your responsibilities then you are not doing the only job you have. The job God bestowed upon you to govern those people. Look after them.
I loved your quote Ali: “Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves” I never thought about it in this context. (Although it sounds common sense.) We need to be careful. Even as a mother/father or as a wife/husband we all have certain responsibilities. We should not take them lightly. And the material gains should never take more importance than fulfilling those responsibilities to the letter.
So, for Allah to change our conditions we need people to change individually what is in them. Unless we can do that I don’t think Allah will change our condition. As the article says the companies will take their business somewhere else. The conditions will be moved somewhere else. I will do my best not to shop. I don’t like shopping anyway. For me it will be a good excuse to wear my old clothes.
Saeed Khan
August 11, 2013 at 4:46 AM
Gunal. The verse “Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves” is informative and does not provide us with a method or a course of action. Many Muslims misinterpret this verse and apply it to individuals. Read this article for more information. http://islamicsystem.blogspot.co.uk/2006/10/tafseer-of-surah-ar-raad-ayah-11.html
gunal
August 12, 2013 at 5:56 PM
Thank you Saeed. Yes, I guess you need to spell things out to most people (including me). Because, even if this verse is translated as talking about the individuals changing what is in themselves (in order to change conditions, even, only, around them), it should be clear to all that individuals make up the society. If every individual had the fear of Allah and therefore tried to change what is in themselves for the benefit of his/her society, we wouldn’t have been having this discussion.
greentea
August 3, 2013 at 9:18 AM
Thanks for sharing ethical brand website. Quite interesting. I’ve bookmarked it for later read.
nj
August 5, 2013 at 7:57 AM
Amazing article – I think the practical steps are great way to get started.
recyclebayt
August 7, 2013 at 2:24 AM
Thought provoking. Our ethics as Muslims should extend beyond clothing too- avoiding companies like Monsanto that are directly responsible for farmer deaths.
sam
October 26, 2013 at 8:51 PM
we have to organize and use our economis wealth for our own interests……1.6 billion muslims with huge economic wealth should boycott western companies who dont help stop the syrian civil war..or support palestinian statehood….can you imagine if 1.6 billion people stop buying coke for one month