Kerstin Odendahl

“Trust in God as a Power for Change”

The uprising in the Arab world in the mirror of the Bach cantata “In all my deeds”.

Departure
the day before yesterday i returned from a two-week stay in abu dhabi. i was there as a visiting professor. in my hand luggage i had, among other things, the text of the bach cantata “in allen meinen Taten” (in all my deeds). i found the reading fitting: a poem written by paul fleming before setting off on a journey of several years to persia accompanied me on a journey to the persian gulf.
Paul Fleming was an important German baroque poet. Born in 1609 in Hartenstein, Saxony, he studied philosophy and medicine in Leipzig, while devoting himself to poetry. In 1633, through the intercession of a friend, he became part of a legation of Duke Friedrich III of Holstein-Gottorp to Persia. The journey lasted a total of six years. Paul Fleming’s poem, which was to become a well-known travel song, was apparently written before his departure. Bach later included most of the verses in his cantata.

From journey to life’s journey
The cantata begins as a song of confidence before setting off into the unknown:

“In all my deeds
I leave it to the Most High to advise me,
who can and has all things, (…)”

It testifies to the feeling of being protected:

“Nothing can happen to me
but what he has provided,
and what is blessed to me, (…)”.

And it reflects the deepest trust in God:

“I trust in his graces,
which protects me from all harm,
from all evil.”

After a few stanzas, however, the travel song turns into an examination of man’s “journey through life”. It is about strokes of fate:

“If then he has decreed it,
I will go undaunted
to my doom!”

And it is about death:

“To him I have surrendered
To die and to live
as soon as he shall give me leave.”

At the end, however, there is again – as at the beginning of the journey or life journey – trust in God, the Almighty:

“(…) let it be as it may,
Your Father on high
knows counsel in all things.”

Doubts
Shortly before I started my journey, the people of many Arab states had begun to rise up against the oppressive regime. People were demanding the resignation of corrupt and dictatorial rulers, demanding life chances, justice, the preservation and promotion of their rights, especially those to dignity, equality, freedom of expression and political participation. My lecture in Abu Dhabi was on human rights (of all things!).
I explained to my students that human rights are no longer a purely national issue. They were an international task and obligation. Under current international law, essential human rights bind all states and their governments. Around us, however, numerous Arab rulers responded to the demands of their people with repression, even massive armed violence. Libyan dictator Ghadhafi massacred his own people.

“I trust in his grace,
who protects me from all harm,
from all evil.”

I explained to my students that the guarantee of human rights under international law today was linked to international sanctions and enforcement mechanisms. These could be enforced by peaceful means, but in extreme situations also by military means. The latter is the task of the United Nations Security Council. The Security Council, however, hesitated in the case of Libya. Its members disagreed on whether the international community should intervene or not. Instead of enforcing human rights, the most powerful institution under international law simply looked on.

“Nothing can happen to me
but what he has provided,
and what is blessed to me, (…)”

Towards the end of my stay, the uprising in Bahrain intensified. On my last day of lectures, the Bahraini king called in Saudi troops as well as Emirati police forces and declared a state of emergency. The aim was to use force to quell the demonstrators’ demands for democracy and equality, at the cost of more civilian deaths.

“If he has decreed it,
“then I will be undaunted,
to my doom!”

As a lawyer of international law, I was in despair. What is international law good for, what are international human rights guarantees good for, if they are trampled underfoot? What use are treaties and rules if the enforcement mechanisms are weak? And what legitimacy can the only truly powerful body, the United Nations Security Council, claim if it is blocked due to political considerations? And finally: What am I actually doing in Abu Dhabi? My students consisted to a not inconsiderable extent of members of the powerful families from the Gulf region. Did they actually understand what I was trying to convey to them? That as rulers they have a duty to treat people with dignity, to grant them equality and opportunities in life?

“(…) I take it as he gives it,
what he pleases of me,
that I have also chosen.”

Did Paul Fleming have any idea at all of the cruelties, of the blows of fate in life? In view of the realities, the brutality of man, how can one accept everything as God-given, trust in God, when we see that in large parts we have not heaven but hell on earth? Were people in the 17th century so godly that they let everything happen to them?
If so, the Bach cantata would be completely outdated today.

Hope and courage
However, the reality of Paul Fleming’s life stands in the way of such an interpretation. He wrote the travel song in the midst of the turmoil of the Thirty Years’ War, probably the greatest man-made catastrophe. The war and its effects also left their mark on him. And setting off with a legation to Persia was then a journey with far greater dangers than we can imagine today. Perhaps Paul Fleming was simply a brave man?
The insurgents in the Arab world are mostly young men and women fighting for a dignified life and for better government. They are prepared to die for their rights. They often invoke Allah, who gives them the strength to rise up. i don’t think the demonstrators know the 1981 “Universal Islamic Declaration of Human Rights” or the 1990 “Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam”. These two religious – not international law – documents declare that the granting of human rights is part of Islam. i quote the first paragraph of the “Universal Islamic Declaration of Human Rights”: “Islam gave mankind an ideal code of human rights fourteen centuries ago. These human rights aim to grant honour and dignity to humanity and to abolish exploitation, oppression and injustice.” In Islam, God created human rights. Accordingly, the protesters draw their strength, probably without knowing it, from the right source. So they do:

“(…) and whatever comes to my hand,
his word comforts me.”

As Ghadhafi’s use of force grew in scale, the Arab League denied him any legitimacy and called on the Security Council, on behalf of the Arab world, to establish a no-fly zone over Libya so that at least the bombing of the population would stop. Last night, the Security Council adopted this no-fly zone.
In doing so, it even went beyond the original demand and authorised states to protect Libya’s population from the air by military means if necessary. The first states, including the Arab state of Qatar, have declared their willingness to participate in the measures. This afternoon, Libya announced an immediate ceasefire. Although the situation remains unclear and the Libyan despot’s dodges are not to be trusted: the protection mechanisms under international law have – finally – started to work. So it is:

“Nothing is it late and early
for all my trouble
my worries are in vain.”

Among my students were also young people from Bahrain. On the last day of the lecture, immediately after a state of emergency was declared in Bahrain and massive action was taken against the demonstrators, we discussed – of all things – the “Arab Charter on Human Rights”, an international treaty from 2004. According to Articles 24 and 30, every citizen has, among other things, the right to engage in political activity, the right to vote or be elected, the right to equal access to public office, and freedom of expression and assembly. Spontaneously, a student from Bahrain exclaimed, “But we didn’t sign that!” I replied, “Yes, we did. Please look at the list of States Parties. Bahrain signed the Charter in 2005 and ratified it in 2006.” “I wasn’t serious,” was the laughing but somewhat pained and uncertain reply. “In international law, everything is serious,” I countered. “The state that signs and ratifies a treaty is bound by it. A signature is valid. Bahrain is committed to upholding those human rights.” The silence that followed probably lasted only a few seconds; by the feel of it, however, it stretched on for minutes. At the end of the lecture, the students thanked me, some effusively, for the ten-day lecture – including my Bahraini student. So maybe my efforts were not in vain after all?

“In all my deeds
I let the Most High advise me,
who can and has all things (…)” 

Paul Fleming was not a naïve man resigned to fate, but a courageous man who took his strength to set out from faith and trust in God. He understood human existence as a journey to be lived. The experiences during my journey to the Arab world showed me that we still think this way today. We sometimes despair, we don’t understand, all is not well for a long time. Nevertheless, trust in God can give us the strength, the freedom to live – in all religions that believe in God.

Arrival
On the flight back to Europe, I switched on the in-flight music programme. I admit that in my free time I listen not only to Bach cantatas, but also frequently and with pleasure to pop music. While “zapping” (as they say nowadays), I came across the song “Universum” by the German pop group “ich & ich” from their album “Gute Reise”, which I had not heard before. i was overwhelmed. It was as if I was listening to the Bach cantata, only with a different melody and different lyrics:

“You can fly to the mountains
through Mongolia
dive into the deepest depths
feel free!
The universe expands.

You can climb the peaks
swim to all the islands.
In your heart I am there anyway,
because I am always your home.

You can fly to the stars,
past Orion,
dive in the Mariana Trench,
Feel free!
The universe is expanding.

You can climb Mount Everest
Swim all the way to Iceland.
In your heart I’m there anyway,
because I’m always your home.
– I am always your home’.”

God is not always understandable to us. But he gives us the power – the power to live and the power to change. We are free.

Literature
– Jörg-Ulrich Fechner, Paul Fleming, in: Harald Steinhagen/Benno von Wiese (eds.), Deutsche Dichter des 17. Jahrhunderts. Their Lives and Works, Erich Schmidt Verlag, Berlin 1984, pp. 365-384.
– Rudolf Alexander Schröder, Paul Fleming. Ein Blick auf sein Leben und seine Werke, in: Vorstand der Bremer Wissenschaftlichen Gesellschaft (ed.), Abhandlungen und Vorträge, Jahrgang 5 (1931), Gustav Winter’s Buchhandlung Franz Quelle Nachf. Bremen, pp. 154-200.
– Hans-Joachim Schulze, The Bach Cantatas. Introduction to all of Johann Sebastian Bach’s cantatas, Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Leipzig 2006, pp. 565-568
– Press reports from the period 1 to 18 March 2011

This text has been translated with DeepL (www.deepl.com).