Historical Background and Approach

This volume contributes to the growing literature on global (in)justice and (in)equality, seeking in its own unique way to highlight that we are on a dangerous path when we ignore the plight of those who are the weakest, most oppressed and disenfranchised among us; and that we risk even more when we are complicit in the intransigent and profound injustices they experience. As Blunt (2020) powerfully argued, while those for whom this volume is dedicated will possibly not be its readers, it is those in positions of power and affluence who need to be reminded and, if appropriate, held responsible for their actions and the subsequent consequences. The obvious moral grounds for fighting against injustice are not always enough to make a difference. Sometimes, only the fear of personal consequences can compel those in power to action. Blunt puts it thus: ‘Complicity exposes one to risks. The slave-owning plantation class in the United States knew this. In the years leading up to the Civil War, the fear of being murdered in one’s bed by the next Nat Turner was a palpable concern’.

By way of a parable, the Prophet Muhammad also described this dynamic. The likeness of the one who does not stand for justice is as a group of people who have boarded a ship. The privileged among them take the upper deck while the poor occupy the lower deck. After a while at sea, those from the lower deck go to the upper deck, requesting water and a chance to breathe fresh air. Those of the upper deck become irritated by both their request and their presence. Therefore, they compel them back to the lower deck without their needs fulfilled. But in their desperation, the people of the lower deck begin to bore holes into the bottom of the ship’s hull, seeking water. As the hull begins to fill with water, the people at the upper deck scream out, ‘What have you done?’, to which those at the lower deck reply, ‘We did not want to disturb you but at the same time we are dying of thirst!’ (Hadith 2540)

In both the case of the slave-owning plantation class and the case of the privileged passengers of the upper deck, there was no insulation from their complicity in injustice.