Thread by @imanwired

The Islamic ethos isn't a cancel culture, it's a redemption culture. We sin, repent, rectify, and God gives us another chance.

A redemption culture gives us renewal and the opportunity to be better than we were before. But on a social level, it's not a free pass. (Thread)

A redemption culture gives wrongdoers the promise of social restoration, and even elevation, but only after putting the work in.

It requires having remorse and redressing any wrongs. We need Allah to forgive us *and* those we've harmed to forgive us, to be able to move on.

That step can't be skipped. The gravity of our sin may compound further in neglecting that step, regardless of any worldly gains we may receive thereafter, which might fool us into thinking we've put that mistake behind us, when we haven't. We're just digging our hole deeper.

Cancel culture is vicious; if taken to its full trajectory, it's aim is to tear everyone down so there is no future or hope. We're trapped in our past mistakes, and the ones we would have looked to for guidance and inspiration to dig ourselves out are gone, torn down as well.

However, a lip-service culture that mandates hollow forgiveness but not reparation, that seeks to restore wrongdoers to their social standing without addressing their harm is just as vicious, and only gives license for further wrongdoing and lack of recourse for the wronged.

The end point of both cultures is arguably the same. A world where morality, character and merit no longer matter. A free for all, where only power survives.

A redemption culture, on the other hand, prioritizes both the rights of the Creator and the rights of the creation, and offers opportunities of hope and success for both the wrongdoer and the wronged, seeking a balance of justice and mercy, in this world and the next. /