Flowers on the Anniversary of the Pager Incident: Performance or Reflection?

A Reflection on Ego, Performance, and the Ummah’s Silence

Today marks the anniversary of the pager incident in Lebanon. The wounded are handing out flowers — a gesture of remembrance, gratitude, and peace. And yet, as I watch, my mind asks: are we still here? Thousands remain displaced in Palestine, yet the world pours flowers and money into symbolic acts, while the real suffering continues, unseen, unanswered.

This is not critique for the sake of critique. This is reflection — a call to recognize where our priorities lie. Those who might feel moved to act or speak, remain silent, fearing to appear harsh or unfeeling. The world sees our hesitation and silence as consent. We care more about preserving feelings than responding to what Allah commands.

And as long as practicing Muslims, especially in Lebanon and Iran, continue grand-scale displays of performative devotion while ignoring tangible suffering, the masses will assume this is enough. The gestures become habit, hollowing the heart and spirit. The true test of faith is in action that alleviates suffering, not in gestures that comfort ego.

Mic-Drop Reflection:
We will keep handing out flowers while Palestine bleeds, we will keep performing devotion while the heart grows numb. Silence, sentiment, and spectacle will never replace justice and action. If our deeds are only for show, then our faith, our community, and our accountability to Allah are all at risk. It is time to choose courage over comfort, sincerity over performance, and the needs of the oppressed over the applause of the many.