Eurasian Magpie

Turning hatred into love

The Eurasian Magpie is perhaps the most commonly hated bird in Europe. I always thought Magpies (or ‘eksters’ as I knew them in Dutch) were stunningly beautiful. A couple of them would regularly visit our neighbors’ trees, which meant I could observe them well from the couch of our living room. I guess that counts as ‘birding’, though I never would have called it that at the time.

Many people dislike the Magpie because it is known as a nest robber: it feeds on young birds who are still in the nest. Eating babies - not great for your image. Whenever Magpies start to frequent your garden, you know this will likely impact the amount of other birds that call it their home. Then, the lovely songs of the Robins, Blue Tits, and Sparrows slowly go silent, as you are left with just the Magpie’s loud chattering calls. In many European countries, the Magpie was historically seen as a bad omen and linked to superstition. The famous nursery rhyme about Magpies, One for Sorrow, illustrates some of these popular superstitions, including the belief that the Magpie was associated with the devil himself.

Like so many other stories we tell, this story of the Magpie is a bit dramatic and unnuanced. Magpies are close relatives of Crows and Ravens and are very intelligent, even known to recognize their own reflection in a mirror. This means they have a well-developed sense of self-awareness that only a few animals have, such as dolphins and humans. The presence of Magpies in our gardens does not scare off smaller birds or threaten their survival as a species. In fact, in the Netherlands, it is the Magpie whose numbers have halved since the 1980s. Like so many other animals, Magpies are both hunter and prey, as they are frequently killed by Hawks, Owls, and us. After months of nest building, some Magpies are left homeless after their nests are stolen by Kestrels, Crows, and Owls. Yes, they eat some young birds, but only infrequently and sustainably. Their main diet consists of insects, spiders, and worms. Many barn animals consider Magpies their friends and happily carry them on their backs whilst they eat the parasites on their bodies. Magpies also help keep our shared habitat clean by eating carrion and leftovers of our food.

But still, the Magpie has many enemies who hate the bird simply for it being the way it is and playing the part it was assigned in the play of creation. Not all of us get to play glamorous and noble parts in this life. When the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, first started receiving revelations, his part was anything but glamorous. Claiming to have received a message from God, challenging traditions, and preaching radical equality - not great for your image. He was labeled as a madman and a danger to society, and the early Muslims were violently oppressed and persecuted. There were attempts to murder Muhammad, and several early Muslims were killed. The situation became so dire that Muslims were forced to leave their hometown, the city of Mecca, and seek refuge in the distant city of Yathrib, which became known as Medina. Their part had become that of the exiled refugee. Hatred had driven them out of their houses, away from their roots, and far from the loving embrace of the holy city they called home.

In hatred, we tried to ban Magpies from our cities. We tried to exile Magpies and Pigeons and all other birds that paint our buildings with their droppings. To do so, we installed anti-bird spikes on roofs, windowsills, and statues, in an attempt to make the birds as uncomfortable as possible. In an attempt to get them to seek refuge elsewhere.

In Surah Fussilat, ‘Explained in Detail’, the forty-first chapter of the Qur’an, we are taught: “Good and evil are not equal. Repel evil with that which is good, and you will see that he, between whom and you there was enmity, shall become as if he were a bosom friend” (Qur’an 41:34). I used to struggle with this verse because I knew so many examples in which it wasn’t true. If a person in an abusive relationship treats their abuser with goodness and kindness, it is unlikely that the abuser will respond with that same goodness and become a dear friend. The same story may be true for a bully, an oppressive ruler, or any other type of enemy. It was only after I accepted my own doubts about this verse and took them seriously, that I discovered another layer of meaning. I then saw that our friends are a blessing, but in some ways, our enemies are an even greater blessing, because they give us something that our friends never could. The challenges our enemies present us with give us the opportunity to be patient, have mercy, and be just. Patience is meaningless when it is easy, and justice cannot be known without injustice any more than light can be seen without darkness. So in a way, when we respond to their evil with goodness, our enemies become perhaps even dearer to us than our friends. Not in the sense that we invite them over for dinner, but in the sense that they give us an opportunity to bring light where it shines the brightest: in the midst of darkness.

The Magpie is a brilliant teacher in this regard. Faced with the challenge of being hated and unwanted, it took our hatred and turned it into love. In a couple of European cities, Magpie nests have been discovered that were made out of anti-bird pins. The Magpie took our hatred and built a loving home out of it. The Magpie took our violence and turned it into protection. The Magpie took our darkness and turned it into light.

“Eurasian Magpie nest constructed with anti-bird spikes, seen in a sugar maple tree in Antwerp, Belgium.” (Source: Audubon - Photo: Auke-Florian Hiemstra)

Similarly, when the Prophet Muhammad and his followers returned to Mecca after seven years of exile in Medina, and they were faced with those who had oppressed them and killed their loved ones, they chose to answer hatred with love. They entered Mecca without violent retributions for all those who had been killed. Muhammad embraced those who had killed his loved ones, forgave them, and welcomed them into a new shared society. He, too, took hatred and built a loving home out of it.

Easier said than done, isn’t it? Perhaps an enemy or challenge of hatred from your own life comes to mind. With regret, I can say that I have not always lived up to this loving ideal. And I dare assume that I am not the only one whose garment is embroidered with that flaw. But just imagine that from now on, we were to live up to that ethical standard. How beautiful the world would be. How beautiful the world can be when we decide to face its hatred with love. When we realize that Muhammad was only a man and the Magpie is only a bird, and if they can do it, so can we.