Humanity and Dignity
Humanity and Dignity
My creative response is related to Aminata Sow Fall’s “The Beggars’ Strike” and focuses on the recurring notions surrounding the terms “humanity” and “dignity” and their interrelation, as well as their connection to the vital Islamic theme of social justice.
The book frequently touches on the questions “What is humanity?” and “Can a person lose their humanity?” which are connected to the beggars and the way they’re treated. Herein lies the rather unsettling suggestion that due to their social status, some people higher up the social hierarchy rob the beggars of their humanity through the way they treat them. This is epitomized in a quote from p. 11:
Who wouldn’t run, if he’d ever felt the sting of those whips? I take to my heels, I do, as soon as I catch sight of the fuzz. They lay about them like madmen; when they get worked up like that, they seem to forget that we’re human beings.
Furthermore, it is repeatedly stated by the character named Keba Dabo that the beggars “lower their dignity” by begging, although he affirms that they are indeed human beings. Dignity seems, however, closely related to the notion of humanity throughout the text and therefore one must ask to what degree dignity functions as an attribute of humanity.
The many questions concerning humanity and dignity are ultimately resolved by the text’s underlying moral lesson, a reminder of social justice as the sine qua non of Islam. One can only be a true Muslim if one actively engages in larger society and empathizes and connects to one’s fellow human beings. This is brought across especially well through the character of Mour, who fails in his aspirations to become Vice President as a result of his egocentricity and forgetfulness of other human beings and their very humanity.
My photograph expresses this line of thought: In the background, the papers with the words “dignity” and “humanity” denote the questions raised about these notions. Since they are questions, a question mark follows each term. The multitude of each term represents the different ideas held by different characters. The answer, found in the Islamic notion of social justice as explained above, is denoted by the exclamation (and affirmation) of humanity and dignity of each human being as expressed through the “beggar” sitting in the foreground. The paper stating “Humanity Dignity!” claims both notions for each individual human being (emphasized through the exclamation mark).
