THE MINORITY-MAJORITY EQUATION

According to the law of nature laid down in the Quran in the chapter Al-Baqarah (The Heifer), ‘minority’ and ‘majority’ are relative terms. It is not quantity that matters but quality. The translation of the relevant verse is given below:

Many a small group, by God’s permission has prevailed against a large group. God is indeed with the steadfast. (2:249)

That the minority should prevail over the majority is not a mysterious belief. It is merely an accepted sequence of events which is based on the law of nature—attributed in the above verse to divine ‘permission’.

The success of the minority over the majority is not a phenomenon that is played out on a battlefield. In reality, it is the result of a process arising out of life’s inherent challenges and competition. This conforms to a natural law which inevitably sets in motion a process between the two groups, which may continue over several generations. This process works in parallel, on the one hand among the majority and on the other among the minority, and that is what is mainly responsible for bringing about that ultimate miracle of the minority being able to prevail over the majority.

The majority feels, consciously or unconsciously, that it enjoys the favourable conditions that stem from being in an advantageous position as compared to other groups. On the other hand, the minority feels, consciously or unconsciously, that it is on the defensive: it has no option but to work harder than the other group.

It is a double process that activates both the communities, although in different ways. The psyche of contentment in the majority group decreases its creativity and working hard becomes its second priority. In contrast, the minority group develops a kind of defensive psychology. It feels that if it wants to stand up to the majority, it has to work harder than the other group. This feeling of discontent yields a positive result in that it constantly increases the creativity of the minority.

According to this law, referred to in the above Quranic verse, a natural process is always in progress among the different groups of societies, although in opposite ways. It makes the majority less strong while it makes the minority stronger.

This law of nature tells us not to resort to lodging complaints or protests. In a situation where the minority faces discrimination or any other kind of negative behaviour, it must not react. Its leader must tell the community to take it as a challenge rather than as discrimination, and to attribute it to the law of nature rather than to the attitudes and actions of the majority community.

The basic requirement in such a situation is for the minority community to save itself from being a victim of frustration and despair. It should take the situation as being full of opportunities. It should maintain its positivity at any cost. If a minority group has this mentality, it will emerge as a creative force, either in the first generation or in later generations.