Muslims, the so-called menial jobs and the colonial era (II)
In this second instalment of the above captioned article, the meat industry is discussed in addition to other jobs termed as menial.
The diversity of human talents makes the interdependency of men on men indispensable in society. This should be so for the fact that each man in society falls short of supplying all his needs. Let me explain what I mean by this general statement: If all men in society were to be rich then who would serve the other. But for the fact that some men have greater aptitudes for wealth acquisition more than others, those in the low-income group who have less aptitude need to serve the high-income group to earn a living. The reverse also is that the high-income group becomes dependent on the services of the low income group.
Similarly, in the academic field, students with higher aptitudes for academic work become the medical doctors, scientists and engineers. Those with talents for technical work become nurses and technicians. Here as well, you realise that the nurse supplements the medical doctors work with her services, while technicians also supplement scientists and engineers with their services; thereby making the former dependent on the latter for the efficient execution of their responsibilities.
In modern societies where Governments have taken over the responsibility of employing workers, the result is paying the widest spectrum of workers with varying expertise knowledge to work for them. For the fact that governments alone cannot discharge all the national responsibilities. Says Allah in the Quran: ”And Allah has favoured some of you above others in worldly gifts’’ (Quran 16:72).
In short the above is the Islamic concept of labour which I have simplified for the benefits of my noble readers.
The next most important thing after prayers, when a man wakes up from bed, is to eat breakfast with his family. Of course, this presupposes cleaning the teeth and washing the body which must be performed before eating. In the evening, man, the head of the family, must ensure that the evening meal is ready for the family. If the man fails to provide the necessary finances for the preparation of the food for a period of about a month, be rest assured the home will break up. Thus underscoring the fact that livelihood is almost as important as our very lives. Without it, security of individuals, families and the nation at large becomes endangered.
Little wonder Christ in the gospel says: “Give us this day our daily bread.” Then he follows it up with: “And forgive us our trespasses…” For the fact that it is only after satisfying the body requirement of food and energy when we can move about to do good deeds and commit evil deeds as well. Thus forgiveness of sins comes only after daily bread, thereby underscoring its importance in the physical, moral and spiritual realms of life.
As pointed out in the introduction, a significant portion of the discussion will be devoted to the meat industry since meat supplies us with proteins that serve as the building blocks of our bodies. Without it the body will not be able to grow. This important industry in Ghana is dominated by the Fulanis, Muslims and Northerners for the fact that cows, sheep and goats thrive best in the Savannah region where they have access to ample supply of grass and other grazing materials.
They are then exported in their hundreds of thousands to the south for slaughtering in abattoirs called Mayankas where the public go for their meat supply. The secret behind Muslim dominance in the meat industry is that the teachings of Islam is unique in the promulgation of does and don’ts on how to slaughter and process the meat of animals to make it wholesome for consumption. For example butchers must always use sharp knives. This is after they have offered prayers to the Almighty God thanking Him for permitting us to use fellow animals as food. A sharp knife quickens the process of death through the copious flow of blood. In the same vein only sharp and pointed implements like arrows, spears and bullets from guns must be used in hunting games. Use of clubs is forbidden for the fact that they can only maim games and prolong their agonies before death. Hunting dogs must be well-trained, while prayers must be offered on them before their release for hunting. The slaughtered domestic animal or game is then skinned or roasted alive. Butchers have an expert method of removing the skin without much toil. The use of burnt tyres is forbidden by Health Authorities because of their release of large amounts of carbon dioxide to cause environmental pollution. The current state of the art is to use gas. A burning device, locally manufactured, is connected to a gas cylinder by plastic tubes. When opened the gas flows from the cylinder to the device. The gas is then lit with a burning match stick to produce a flame.
The meat is then washed with the entrails and cut into pieces, using cutlasses. They are then sold to customers. Hausa men then use them to make khebabs served with spices which they sell to the public. Food vendors, on the other hand, buy them and use them to prepare popular Ghanaian dishes like rice, rice balls, fufu and tuo nzaafi. Dawadawa, now exportable, is a multivitamin spice used in soups and stews to increase their vitamin contents. Similarly, shea butter, also exportable, is prepared by Northern women from shea nuts. After removing the shells, the nuts are roasted in earthenware pans, followed by grinding. They are then ground in locally manufactured grinding machines. The paste is then boiled in water to separate the oil from the aqueous part. The oil then hardens to become fat. They are used in creams as moisturizers.
Recently, our hard working and innovative Hausas have created another job that is currently considered as menial but which in the nearest future may not be so considered. And that is the clipping of finger and toe nails using a pair of heavy scissors. They charge minimal fee to keep the fingers and toes clean.
Clipping of nails is among the following teachings of Islam as part of personal hygiene to keep the body healthy: First is circumcision. Second is removal of hair from the pubic region. Third is the removal of hair from the armpit. Fourth is the clipping of moustache and fifth is the clipping of finger and toe nails.
Menial Jobs
A careful examination of jobs formerly regarded as menial reveals that in the beginning, people regarded them so, but with time and changes it is these same menial jobs that have become major jobs. A typical example is the selling of fuels in the isolated places in the countryside by the Malians using the hand to pump fuels into cars. It is now one of the most lucrative jobs for the aristocrats. Another example is galamsey that began in the past as a menial job for the rural people.
The problem they faced in the initial stages was how to grind large quantities of gold samples into fine powder. They used locally manufactured small-sized pestles and mortars to grind them mechanically. In the face of large samples of gold, they could only grind small quantities in a day. After studying the system, the Chinese introduced the Chang Fa, which is a medium-sized grinding machine powered by a motor that uses petrol or gas oil. Before the day ends, large quantities of the bags containing the gold samples have been grinded. They are then washed with water pumped from nearby streams to extract the gold to account for the high yield of gold output in galamsey since the Chang Fa’s introduction.
A little ingenuity and innovations in the industry have lifted it from the level of menial job to becoming a serious means of livelihood for all the three strata of society. We find ourselves in the present state of increasing unemployment, particularly for our youths for the fact that we could not industrialise after independence. Now is the time to engage our engineers, scientists, technicians and technocrats in innovative ventures to come out with solutions to our problems. This is the bull whose horns Mahama’s Government is holding in order to tame it.
Conclusion
Menial jobs can be made serious jobs and a serious means of livelihood through the introduction of innovative science and technology.
BY KHALID KOFI AHMAD
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