Signs and Miracles
A whale shark was pulled ashore onto a beach in Gaza on
October 17, amid great cheers. Raed Elwan, one of the fishermen who helped
bring the creature to shore, said “We felt the sea sent us a great blessing, as
people in the camps had nothing to eat”. Whale sharks are only found in
tropical waters and it is speculated it may have entered the Mediterranean from
the Red Sea via the Suez canal.
The Gazan fisherman
saw it as help from Allah, and soon parallels were made with the Expedition of
Fish which took place in another October in 629 AD. The Muslim forces were
suffering from famine, forced to eat leaves to survive, until a whale came
ashore that fed them for several days.
Signs and miracles are a part of all religions, a
reassurance of divine presence. This is especially true of Abrahamic religions
– Judaism, Christianity and Islam: the parting of the Red Sea, Moses striking a
rock to cause 12 springs to gush forth, Jesus multiplying loaves to feed 5000, the
appearance of the spring of Zam Zam as Hajrah ran the length between Safa and
Marwa desperate for water for her baby, to name a few.
Once signs and miracles influenced kings and no decisions
were taken without consulting a spiritual guide. Then came 18th
Century Western rationalism, and spiritual or religious beliefs were to have no
place in matters of the modern state.
At a social level, belief in signs and miracles continued. Modern
miracles may be Edwin Robinson, who regained sight after being struck by lightning
in 1980, or the babies of Mexico’s 1985 earthquake who survived a week under
rubble, or even Zafar Masud whose seat was thrown to safety when a PIA plane
crashed in Karachi in 2020.
People look for signs as reassurance or warnings. Earthquakes
and floods, the appearance of comets, or lunar and solar eclipses are seen as divine
signs. Some have visions of the future such as Shah Waliullah or Baba
Vanga. People interpret dreams, consult
astrologers, seek answers from Istikharas. These are viewed with skepticism by
those who trust the science of things, and religious beliefs are expected to
remain personal and private, with no place in the public realm. Nations where
religion guides state policy are seen as regressive, undemocratic and even a
threat to a civilized world order.
Yet, as the gloves are off in Gaza, the religious motivation
of the conflict is becoming more evident. Israel’s actions in Gaza are now
overtly declared to be the fulfilling of Biblical prophecies, rather than the
fear of a small community struggling to survive after centuries of
persecution.
While the Palestinians, both Muslim and Christian, see the
creation of Israel as an issue of usurping Palestinian land, the Israelis see
it as fulfilling a religious right. That
is the narrative of a Zionist state, a long held desire by exiled Jews, formally
proclaimed by the Austrian journalist, Theodor Herzl, in 1896. After the 1967
Six-Day War, Israel found itself dominant for the first time, now in possession
of territory three times larger, further motivating its expansionist ambitions.
It was seen as a miraculous retelling of
the story of David and Goliath. No surprises here.
What did blindside the world was the stepping into the fray
by Christian Zionism, an unfamiliar term for many. First emerging with the Protestant Puritans
in the 16th century, who incidentally also formed the first
Europeans who migrated to America to avoid persecution in England, it gained
momentum in the 19th Century by American Evangelists, such as
William E Blackstone who in 1891 petitioned the US to return the Holy Land to
the Jewish people. This was partly to
stem the unwanted migration of Jews to USA, but justified by Biblical
prophecies of a sequence of events necessary for the Second Coming of Christ,
when Jews will finally recognize Jesus as the Messiah. Christian Zionism
continues to influence US policies in the Middle East and perhaps explains the
refusal of the US to curb Israel. The
highly influential pastor, Tim Lucas, preaches “America and Israel are doing
the world a favour”.
The Israeli Zionists, for their part, have imported
unblemished red heifers from Texas, to be sacrificed, its ashes mixed with
water to purify the builders of the Third Temple in Jerusalem.
It is very strange territory to be navigating in the 21st
century after over two centuries of being pressured to accept the mantra of
rationality, secularism, democracy, human rights, child protection, equal
opportunity, Geneva conventions and UN charters.
Some believe scriptures are being misused to support
political agendas. Others believe political agendas disguise religious
ambitions. Whatever school of thought
one ascribes to, we are witnessing democracies turn into theocracies.
Durriya Kazi
October 30,
2025
Karachi
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