The next generation is watching us, their role models, dealing with political crisis. Decrying behavior that may corrupt their morals, we forge ahead, detailing this behavior shamelessly in every public forum, including the Internet, for the whole world to see. We have abandoned our values of compassion, modesty, repentance and forgiveness. Instead, we have turned with hubris to vindictiveness, meanness and character assassination. As a result, we have lost in a short span of time the valuable service of several competent leaders. Many others now hesitate to serve their country in this poisoned and destructive atmosphere.

Such conditions can only undermine the democratic structure in this country. For how could such a structure prosper when it is hostage to the politics of defamation and sexual blackmail? What was a private indiscretion has become through these politics a continuous soap opera, leaving no room for an individual’s privacy, contrition or human dignity. Our children must be truly bewildered by our hypocrisy, hostility and self- destructiveness.

The Qur’an tells us that good words make friends out of old enemies (41:4), that we must say the best of words to each other because Satan sows dissension among us (17:53). A good word, we are told, is like a good tree, firmly rooted in earth with its branches reaching to the heavens, while a bad word is like an uprooted and unstable tree (14:24). The ugly words have been uprooting and destabilizing us. Satan has been sowing dissension among us. We now need the good word to heal our wounds.

We need stability. We therefore ask our leaders to put the good of the nation, especially its children, ahead of their political distaste of others. We ask them to be discrete in discussing moral issues, modest in pointing out the shortcomings of others, compassionate when judging them.

We do not want to become a nation ruled by fear— the fear of public shaming and destruction. We do not want to become a nation which replaces the rule of law with the rule of force. We want to replace our leaders through elections not character assassinations. This point is of the utmost importance, because if we lose our democracy, we will soon lose our freedom.

Perhaps Islamic history is enlightening on this point. The predominantly authoritarian structure of governments in the Muslim world today is in part the result of one major mistake that occurred early in the history of the fledgling Islamic democracy. In the seventh century, the third Muslim caliph was removed from power forcefully by some armed citizens when the leadership could not conclude that his nepotism policies rose to the level of an impeachable offense. His demise was thus also the demise of the rule of law. It led to severe factionalism and polarization, resulting in violent confrontations and the emergence of authoritarianism.

It is always good to learn from history. Our country has a promising future ahead of it. We do not only represent the future of the world through our technological innovations, but also through our intensive attempts at strengthening our pluralistic society. We are the microcosm of this world, ethnically and religiously. We are a nation of positive differences– that is why we are so innovative. We celebrate our differences rather than fracture over them. We believe in the good word and the good deed, in God and in people. We are blessed with a great deal of material and spiritual well-being. Let us not destroy what we have in a moment of hubris. Let us do things right or not do them at all. And may God guide this nation through these turbulent times.

A. Y. H.