Stop Glorifying Mothers, She Says
24 December 2022 ago, a leading Dutch media, NRC, uploaded an article asking us to stop glorifying mothers.
On December 24, 2022, the opinion category on a Dutch media site, NRC, published a short article entitled “Stop met het verheerlijken van moeders” which in English means “Stop glorifying mothers”. The article was written by Rosanne Hertzberger, whom the NRC considers to be a scientist who writes weekly about the touch between science and day-to-day life.
Understanding the Article and the Author
Based on my reasoning with the help of the DeepL Translate browser extension for translation needs, “Stop met het verheerlijken van moeders” was originally concerned with the ‘excessive worship’ of the Moroccan national team players towards their respective mothers, before then continuing to discuss the poor percentage of employed status practiced by Moroccan women and the liability that can occur from excessive mother worship.
Hertzberger regards such ‘hyperbole’ as glorification, which, according to the Cambridge Dictionary, is the act of depicting something for visualization as better or more important than it really is. In essence, glorification means an exaggeration.
Quoting from The Next Speaker, Rosanne Hertzberger born in 1984 is a microbiologist, columnist or regular article writer at NRC Handelsblad, and author of the book “Ode aan de E-nummers” which seeks to show how technology makes food safer, more sustainable, and healthier.
In addition to her activities as a writer and columnist, Hertzberger frequently appears in the laboratory to research the metabolism of bacteria in the human body. Hertzberger is a supporter of open science and citizen science. She likes to discuss the role of science, technology, and innovation in daily life.
“Rosanne Hertzberger is known for her clear statements and persistence. Her performances guarantee energy in the room and interesting conversations with the audience. She is also regularly asked as moderator.”
In her weekly allotment to what is said to be a good Dutch newspaper, NRC Handelsblad, Hertzberger talks about a wide variety of subjects that often provoke discussion. That means it has become her customary life to write art that presents debate.
The Fact
We created this article in response to Hertzberger’s statement regarding the celebration of the Moroccan national team during the world football competition at the end of 2022. First of all, it needs to be understood that all 25 Moroccan players adhere to Islam, as explained by Aisha Dianty in an article entitled “Ini Agama Pemain Maroko, Ada Yassine Bounou, Hakim Ziyech, hingga Achraf Hakimi” or in English means “This is the Religion of Moroccan Players, There Are Yassine Bounou, Hakim Ziyech, and Achraf Hakimi”.
Even if there are errors in the data, at least it can be seen that most of the Moroccan national team players are Muslim, because this concerns information researched by the United States (US) government in mid-2021, that of the 36.4 million Moroccan residents, more than 99 percent is Muslim.
Ending the four-year world ball competition event in December 2022, we come to understand that Morocco has two distinctive celebrations during the competition. It consists of the celebration of prostration of gratefulness and celebration with beloved family, which, as we have already understood, are generally with the mother.
After the win over Spain in the round of 16, the players and coaching team made a prostration of gratefulness in front of their fans’ stands. The same attitude was also carried out when winning the match against Portugal in the round of eight.
As soon as every match was over, Achraf Hakimi Mouh or better known as Achraf Hakimi as the Moroccan star always looked for his mother who was in the stand. Both then hugged each other and kissed each other’s cheeks. Actions related to family were also taken by the coach and several other players, where for example Yassine Bounou took his son to the field after the match against Portugal.
Next, let’s understand the first distinctive celebration of the Moroccan national team, namely prostration or sujud. Sujud is a highly respected attitude in Islam because sujud forms the status of a Muslim as a servant of his God. This attitude shows humility, surrender, and the devotion of a servant to the God he worships. There are three types of sujud in Islam which consist:
- Sujud of Salat
Sujud is a part of the regular worship of Muslims, which is salat. If during salat sujud is not performed, then the salat is null. - Sujud of Gratefulness
This is the type of sujud performed by Achraf and his colleagues as a form of celebration. This sujud can be done at any time and does not have any conditions, although some religious experts require cleanliness and pointing to the right pinpoint during the sujud of gratefulness. - Sujud Sahwi
This is a form of negligent sujud, in which a person praying is obliged to sujud twice if he forgets something during his salah.
After comprehending sujud, the next is about the position of mothers in Islam, in which the Moroccan national team’s respect for their respective mothers was ‘blamed’ by Hertzberger, as previously explained.
Islam is a religion that places women in a high position. The number one figure of Muslims, Prophet Muhammad SAW, repeatedly advised children to respect and be devoted to both parents, especially the mother. Even, the figure who is also known as Rasulullah mentioned the word “mother” three times in one of his utterances. This explanation can be used as proof that the right of filial piety to mothers is greater than to fathers.
“Someone came to Rasulullah SAW and said, ‘Rasulullah, to whom should I be devoted first?’ Rasulullah SAW replied, ‘Your mother!’ Then the words were repeated, ‘Then who else?’ Rasulullah SAW replied, ‘Your mother!’ He asked again, ‘Then who else?’ Rasulullah replied, ‘Your mother.” The person once again asked, ‘Then who else?’ Rasulullah replied, ‘Then your father.’” Explain Abdurrahman bin Shakhr Al-Azdi (Abu Hurairah RA), a figure who is a friend of Rasulullah and has privileges over the knowledge he holds.
An expert on the Al Quran (the main holy book of Islam) from Andalusia, Spain, born in 1214 named Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad bin Ahmad bin Abu Bakr Al-Ansari al-Qurthubi, better known as Imam Al-Qurthubi or Qurtubi, says that the sentence above is an indication that the love and affection for the mother must be three times bigger than for the father. According to Qurtubi, the guide exists because a mother has to go through many difficulties while caring for her child.
“Difficulties during pregnancy, when giving birth, and when breastfeeding and caring for her children. This is only experienced by the mother, not the father,” explained Qurtubi whose opinion has been translated.
“Indeed Allah willed you three times to do good to your mother, indeed Allah willed you to do good to your father, indeed Allah willed you to do good to the closest relatives then the other closest ones,” Rasulullah SAW said.
Conclusion
From the complete explanation above regarding the position of mothers, we can understand that the religion adhered to by all the Moroccan national team players in no way prohibits the ‘excessive worship’ of their respective mothers. We can easily conclude that Islam demands Muslims to respect and filial their mothers three times more than respect and filial their fathers.
Besides that, if we refer to Achraf Hakimi’s family, it can be seen that the father was not at all bothered by his son’s treatment of his beloved mother. Apparently, Hassan Hakimi did not go with his wife to Qatar to relish the world soccer performance in which his son participated. We found a moment when Morocco was playing and Hassan enjoyed the competition from Madrid, Spain, which can be checked by clicking on this link.
Bibliography
- NRC - “Stop met het verheerlijken van moeders”
- Cambridge Dictionary - “glorification”
- The Next Speaker - “Rosanne Hertzberger”
- KBBI Online - “kolumnis”
- BanyumasTerkini.com - “Ini Agama Pemain Maroko, Ada Yassine Bounou, Hakim Ziyech, hingga Achraf Hakimi”
- Bola.net - “2 Selebrasi Khas Timnas Maroko di Piala Dunia 2022: Sujud Syukur dan Peluk Cium untuk Ibu”
- Wolipop - “4 Macam Sujud yang Perlu Diketahui Muslimah”
- detikHikmah - “Tentang Hadits Kedudukan Ibu dalam Islam, Disebut hingga 3 Kali”
- Republika Online - “5 Fakta Terkait dengan Abu Hurairah RA, Sahabat Nabi SAW”
- U.S. Department of State - “2021 Report on International Religious Freedom: Morocco”
- Kompas.com - “Imam Al-Qurthubi, Ahli Tafsir Terkenal dari Andalusia”
