What Khabib and Ja Rule have in common
The negative emotions that go unnoticed but are making you stay in your comfort zone.
Comedian Dave Chappelle is known for using humour to convey his observations of human behaviour.
In one of his famous bits he recalls watching MTV during the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attack controlled demolition of the Twin Towers in New York City. The host of the show he was watching said they have rapper Ja Rule on the line,
“Let’s see what Ja ‘s thoughts are on this tragic—.”
Dave reacts with a theatrically confused outburst,
“[…] what Ja Rule thinks at a time like this!? I don’t want to dance—I’m scared to death! I want some answers that Ja Rule might not have right now!”
And then he paces around frantically,
“Oh my God… this is terrible… could somebody please…
Find Ja Rule! Get hold of this [guy] so I can make sense of all this!”
And with his voice breaking as he pretends to cry,
“WHERE IS JA!?”
This rings in my ears every time someone mentions a celebrity’s opinion on the genocide.
They’re either over the moon because a celebrity said something against genocide.
Or they’re upset when a celebrity hasn’t said anything at all.
“Where is Ja!?”
My question is: why?
Why should it matter if a celebrity speaks against genocide—an extremely low bar—and why should we care if they didn’t?
Do people think law and policy makers take advice from singers, actors and… MMA fighters?
Yes I’m talking about the recent excitement around a clip of UFC legend and Muslim role model Khabib Nurmagomedov appearing to tell US presidential candidate Donald Trump to “end the war on Gaza”.
Not that it means anything but apparently Trump said he indeed would end the war.
Now, obviously this isn’t about what Khabib did or Trump said.
It’s about our reaction to celebrity news.
No doubt it's a good thing but...
The reaction of so many Muslims makes me wonder what they think influences politics.
It’s the same energy as the "where is Ja!?" bit by Dave Chappelle.
“That’s how you do it.”
Celebrity worship is still celebrity worship even if it's our celebrities.
And there is a very important reason—relevant to readers of Strategic Sunnah— why we need to stay way from this:
Celebrity worship, among other things, promotes the idea that we don't have individual responsibility.
That we can outsource responsibility to famous people. That the job gets done only when a famous person does it.
That the task at hand is hindered because a famous person didn’t say something about it… even if millions of others are.
But it gets worse.
There are people doing a huge amount for Gaza who don’t enjoy the same reach as celebrities.
And there are those who do so much yet get criticised and even excommunicated because the trend is to believe they’re not doing anything.
“That’s how you do it.”
Muslims are using celebrity worship as yet another tool to demean the efforts of people they dislike.
And this does not help us. It only helps the enemy.
It’s all just another small way of giving ourselves the feeling we did something.
One…
More…
Negative…
Emotion…
…Stopping us from working on our individual circles of influence.
On our individual goals.
On our individual role in the Mission.
I’m glad Khabib did what he did because he’s an excellent role model for Muslims.
But he became a role model through years of hard work and “showing up” for his goals and his mission.
I hope this inspires more Muslims to set goals for themselves so they can be a worthy representative of Islam in their respective fields.
We must also stop undermining the efforts of Muslims regardless of how we feel about them. If for no other reason than to save ourselves from staying in our comfort zone and from the veiling it lends to our inaction.
Please share this message with just one other Muslim to encourage them to work on their individual responsibility.
And the best way to gain the mental clarity needed to realise our life’s potential is to do the goal setting exercises here: