The Truth Beneath the Ashes 

The Truth Beneath the Ashes

By: John Kazerooni

Long ago, a man rose with an ambition powerful enough to reshape the world around him. He sought influence, loyalty, and the authority to guide the fate of others. To secure this power, he claimed that his voice was not his own but God’s. And many believed him, for people often trust what appears touched by the divine.

Anyone who questioned him was removed without trial. Disagreement became not a human right but a spiritual offense. And offenses, in his system, were extinguished quickly—like sparks smothered before they could grow.

In war, he taught his followers that conquered cities and their people belonged to the victors. Women and girls suffered most, threatened with violence unless they surrendered without question. Crimes we easily recognize today—rape, killing, stealing, deception—were used openly as instruments of conquest.

His followers infiltrated rival groups under false identities, earning trust only to destroy them from within. What remained afterward was a vast trail of ruin—a history burned down into ashes.

But what troubles me most is not what happened then. It is what we do with those ashes now.

Many modern intellectuals—educated, thoughtful, morally aware—attempt to justify his actions. They condemn violence and injustice today, yet excuse the same deeds when committed long ago by someone they admire. They say, “It was the custom of the time. Everyone acted this way.”

But such explanations raise deeper questions:

If he truly spoke for God, why did he follow the harm of his era instead of challenging it?

Shouldn’t a divine message rise above the cruelty of its time?

Wouldn’t God know better?

And what about us?

Don’t our intellectuals cover uncomfortable truths beneath the ashes of history?

Don’t they protect inherited stories even when those stories conflict with moral reality?

Don’t they smooth over contradictions so beliefs remain untouched?

Why do we allow tradition to overshadow truth?

Why do we defend what we know is wrong?

Why do we accept ancient violence simply because centuries have passed?

Why do we fear honest examination more than the errors it reveals?

Perhaps because those ashes are tied not just to history, but to identity, belonging, and faith. To disturb them feels like disturbing the core of who we are. So we keep them untouched, pretending that the truth beneath them no longer matters.

Yet no society matures by hiding its origins. Wisdom begins when we lift the ashes—not to accuse blindly, but to understand honestly.

A responsible society should be able to say: 

“These actions were wrong, even then.”

“We recognize the harm, and we refuse to justify it.”

“We value truth more than comfort.”

For the ashes of the past do not disappear simply because we look away. They remain beneath our stories, beneath our traditions, beneath the beliefs we defend.

So we must ask:

Will we continue to let truth remain buried beneath the ashes, protected by silence and fear, or will we uncover what lies below and allow honesty to guide us forward?

Only when we face the truth beneath the ashes can we finally rise beyond them.

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