Slavery and Islam: A topic that should have been settled 1500 years ago, but it did not

There is a tremendous amount of Islamophobia out there.  A lot of it is a result of genuine racism, vicious xenophobia, political posturing and regular good-old mean spirited people. But some of it is also avoidable if some Muslims do not carry on living like extreme idiots in some cases, and like racist bigoted hateful people who just use Islam to cover up for their evil spirits with a facade that tricks simple-minded Muslims as much as it confuses many non-Muslims in a way that make islamophobia more tolerated.

Why did I feel bad telling my friends 'Merry Christmas?

I am not the kind of person that thinks twice before greeting non-Muslims on their Holy day.  Most people I know would greet me on my Islamic religious events.  Verse 4:86 of the Quran commands me that if I am greeted, I should respond with a better greeting, or at last, a similar one.

But this year I hesitated before calling my Egyptian Christian friends to tell them 'Merry Christmas' on January 7, the Egyptian Orthodox Christian Christmas day.

The reason is that for Egyptian Christians, Christmas came in the heels of a bloody New Year's Eve in which a dozen Copts were slaughtered by a suicide bomber in Alexandria, Egypt.  The victims were coming out of one of the Orthodox churches of Alexandria.  Over seventy were injured; nearly all of them Christians.

The suicide bomber's body has not been identified yet, but I hope his soul rots in Hell for what he did.

I pain I felt in my heart was profound, no less than the pain when I hear about the almost 'regularly-scheduled-massacres' that the criminal fundamentalist 'Muslims-in-name only' terrorists have been committing on weekly basis as Muslim worshiper, of a different sect than their own, are coming out of mosques after Muslim Friday Prayers.  Many such explosions also involved churches in Iraq with dozens of deaths among Iraqi Christians.

The value of human life is the same, no matter what faith it belongs to (Quran 5:32).  The pain of the senseless loss exacted in the name of my faith is the same.  I would hesitate before telling a Muslim friend Happy Ramadan, or Happy New Hijri Year if they have just lost a loved one, or if their family has been targeted by hateful criminals, just because they had a different skin color, ethnicity or a different faith. 

For Egyptian Christians it cannot a happy New Year, or a Merry Christmas when they are in the shadow of blood shed and slaughter that any of them could have suffered it they were there – horror inflicted against them all for nothing other than being faithful to the religion of their parents and grandparents.

The pain for the loss of lives on New Years Eve hurts me even more since I was born and raised in Egypt.  I know how Egyptians felt and thought those days when I was much younger, and I see how Egypt is progressively drowning deep in hate and fanaticism that is destroying Egyptian society.

Egyptian Christians are a minority, and hence they are easy targets for those who think that discriminating against Christians is, in some twisted minds, form of piety, forgetting the timeless wisdom of Prophet Muhammad saying during the last few months of his life: "He who hurts one of the people of the covenant [a term used for Christians and Jews living among Muslims], I would be his adversary [on the Day of Judgment]".

"من آذى ذميا فأنا خصمه"

The Prophet peace be upon him also said: "Whomever kills one of the people of the covenant, shall not even get a whiff of Paradise".

Life for Christians in Egypt is far from ideal.  The government systematically discriminates against them most of the time (e.g., in high ranking posts in the military and major ministerial cabinet positions), and conveniently turns a blind eye towards discrimination against them committed by educational institutions (e.g., getting university tenured positions) and occasionally by private individuals,  

And with the same government ruling with iron fist, limiting freedom of expression and harassing opposition - both religious and secular - the tensions among Egyptians are rising higher and higher on daily basis, additionally fuelled by the extreme economic hardship.

And under these circumstances, unfortunately, Christians tend to become the easy target for many Muslims.  But there is more to it than just politics. 

Many Muslim clergy have found it easier to pick on Christians and on Christianity than to confront the government with its injustices.  Confronting authority with their wrong doings and their injustices is Islamically the highest form of Jihad and pious deeds, as Prophet Muhammad said.

"أن من اعظم الجهاد كلمة حق عند سلطان جائر"

But standing up to injustice, as the Prophet has commanded us, usually means bad outcome for those clergy.  It may mean less time in the media, and goes all the way to jail, detention or worse.  So, it is a lot easier to 'express their religious zeal' by picking on a weaker target: minority people of other faith. 

That is obviously a cowardly thing to do, but for the opportunists and demagogue clergy, it is a safer bet.

If anything good may come out of these horrible events, it may be the heightened awareness of the role of the Muslim clergy in the incitement against Christians.  Maybe, just maybe, it becomes a less tolerated practice in the future.

Over the last few days, voices have come out calling for the prosecution of several clergy (namely, Zaghloul Al-Naggar, Muhammad Saleem Al-Aw'wa and Muhammad Emara) for their persistent provocative and hate-filled statements against Christians.  I really hope some serious action will be taken against them.

As academics, they cannot be excused under the pretense of academic freedom. Their statements over the years were aimed at the public more than as a discourse before students of graduate theology classes.  They were expected to know that laity and predominantly illiterate public could not handle what those clergy think of as 'factual statements'.  They know that the public lacks the nuances to see their provocative anti-Christian statements with the appropriate qualifiers and constraints.

Pseudo-intellectual and even blatantly biased statements may be occasionally tolerated in a room full of informed academics and graduate students.  But for angry, oppressed and ill-informed public, such statements are like pouring gasoline on fire.  And, unfortunately, we have seen where that took us.

In the end, I called many of my Coptic friends, congratulated them – awkwardly - on their Christmas, and expressed my sorrow for their loss, which is also MY loss on many levels.

The guilt is not mine but the pain is, and part of the shame too.

Khaled

Repealing 800 Year-Old Fatwa? Why Even Bother?

During the last week of March 2010, a group of senior Muslim clerics gathered in a small town in Turkey to discuss an interesting issue: modernization of some old religious rulings (Fatwas) that do not seem to make sense in modern times.

The major Fatwa in focus this time was an 800 year-old Fatwa, issued by Ibn Taymiyya (1263–1328 AD). That Fatwa is understood by modern-day militants as justifying fighting not only against oppressors and occupiers of Muslim land, but also against other Muslims perceived not to be in line with the militants’ point of view.

The media blurb about the conference was that it called for ‘repealing the fatwa’. In actuality, the call was a lot milder than that. It just called to try to understand the fatwa in their historic context – 800 years ago, when the Muslims world was at a war with the Mongol Empire army (1206-1368). The edict is apparently used by some fundamental militants to justify religiously sanctioned war against others: Muslims and non-Muslims.

While the idea behind the conference is not inherently bad, I think such efforts are useless and are a total waste of time and here are my reasons.

Any idiot that thinks a 13th -century fatwa regulating conduct of war is valid today - in a very different context - will not listen to a conference press release from some modern-day clergies. Ibn Taymiyya is a semi-divine figure for the Wahhabi and Salafi militants, and is also treated as infallible by many traditionalists.

The idea of repealing one of his Fatwas, or even contextualizing it, is almost blasphemous to them. Traditionalists can see God only through the ancient thinkers eyes. Any attempt to change that mounts to creating a novel and erroneous religion for them. This is a result of intellectual cowardice that many modern clergy have, failing to express any tendency to critically appraise old religious conclusions, regardless of how silly they may be. Their logic frequently is: if it survived the test of times, it must be correct.

An example of such intellectual cowardice shows in one of the conference participating ‘scholars’ who was already on the defense stating that the original Fatwa (i.e., Ibn Taymiyya’s opinion) was not wrong, and that the militant interpretation of it was rather a result typographical error that lead to the misunderstanding; and that the conference was not reviewing the fatwa in the light of a differing or opposing opinion to Ibn Taymiyya [God forbids!!], but rather authenticating the initial intent of the fatwa using Ibn Taymiyya’s own work.

The fault is obviously not with Ibn Taymiyya, who was a brilliant jurist and a scholar that factored in the realities of his own world when he made his Fatwas. I do not think he could have imagined that, eight centuries later, someone would consider him so infallible that he is above criticism or review.

The problems we face as Muslims today are not only because of Ibn Taymiya’s edicts. It is because of the stupid glorification and sainthood we cast on anything in our Islamic history and intellectual products once it is old enough.

Early scholars are not great because they are now historic. They excelled because they considered their own realities as much as they considered the context of their predecessors’ work. Until we have the intelligence and intellectual courage to openly critique, oppose and even reverse some of the earlier edicts and conclusions when needed, we will continue to be intellectually subservient to the rest of the world.

Even worse, we frequently are the laughing stock for anyone with some intelligence that looks deep enough in some of our books. Take for example some Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) books that still list counting chest wall ribs as a possible way (albeit a minority opinion) in deciding if a hermaphrodite is a male or female, for inheritance purposes.

Something is wrong with a culture that does not throw in the trash ancient statements like that. We cannot even make the bold decision to stop listing stupid opinions as minority opinion out of respect for earlier scholars? Having been reading about earlier scholars, I am certain they would have been the first to throw away their ridiculous conclusions once they came across facts that proved them wrong. That is why they are scholars. And that is why I admire them despite realizing some of their wrong conclusions.

Here is another example. Some Salafi and Wahabi ‘scholars’ are still writing books denying that planet Earth moves, and contemplating the labeling for a Muslim who says it does: are they kafir or murtad, and what punishment they deserve for believing that planet Earth rotates!!! One of those ‘scholars’ was the Chairman of the Saudi Religious Edict Council Abdel-Aziz Bin Baz (died 1999), another semi-divine figure to many Salafis. A book of interest is still in print labeled ‘Textual and sensory evidence that the Sun moves and the Earth does not’. In case you want to research it further, the title in Arabic is:

“الأدلة النقلية و الحسية على جريان الشمس و سكون الأرض”

How stupid should one be to realize that ‘ancient textual’ and ‘subjective sensory' evidence have no place in science, medicine or astronomy? For those who can understand Arabic, check the web page to laugh at the good luck that makes that man a religious authority for some Muslims.

People like Bin Baz could be knowledgeable in other areas, but they are so detached from the World that their conclusions are not trustworthy in any case where interaction with the real world seems needed.

They feel that their ‘textual knowledge’ of ancient Islamic work should be enough to enable them to make judgment about any and everything ranging from medicine, biology and all the way to physics and astronomy. And seeing how stupid their opinions are on objective physical sciences, one can only imagine the intellectual swamps we get in when they talk about less objective arenas such as politics or social issues.

Do we even realize how many brilliant young Muslim minds we alienate, and eventually lose, by keeping this sort of mental trash as part of the 'religious' culture?

The real goal should not be repealing a Fatwa, but rather collective effort to change the mindset of current Muslim culture.

It will take more courage to face the real issues head on. In a generation or two, we may be able to enlighten some of the ignorant idiots, neutralize some of the militants, but more importantly, we would be able to evolve into people of intellect, the kind of people God is addressing in the Quran all the time.

"Verily, in the creation of the heavens and of the earth, and the succession of night and day: and in the ships that speed through the sea with what is useful to man: and in the waters which God sends down from the sky, giving life thereby to the earth after it had been lifeless, and causing all manner of living creatures to multiply thereon: and in the change of the winds, and the clouds that run their appointed courses between sky and earth: [in all this] there are messages indeed for people who use their reason." (2:164)

Khaled

Links of relevance (some are in Arabic):
"لا يجوز لجماعة مسلمة إعلان الحرب من تلقاء نفسها"
Mardin anti-terror conference sparks debate over fatwas
International Conference on Ibn Taymiyah's "Mardin Fatwa" held in the Turkish City of Mardin | IslamToday - English
ابن باز وكروية الأرض
قضية دوران الارض ما بين التفسير الديني و التفسير العلمي .... نقاش مفتوح - الصفحة 3 - ملتقى المهندسين العرب - أول ملتقى هندسي عربي
تحريم القول بدوران الكرة الارضية

Looking at Fort Hood masscre from an interesting angle

I received an email from a friend with this article from The Wall Street Journal.
It is a very well written article and it is unique as it is looking at the massacre from a the 'personal Islamic perspective' applied to the perpetrator.
I felt it is worth sharing and I hope it will lead to a good online discussion. Please give your input.

Major Hasan and the Quran
Repentance is the only option for the Fort Hood killer.

By SALAM AL-MARAYATI

Maj. Nidal Hasan's lawyer is considering an insanity plea as a strategy for his client. That might be the only legal option available to the man accused of the shooting rampage at Fort Hood. But Nidal Hasan should also consider a religious option: repentance.

He should take responsibility for his horrific act of violence. He should beg for forgiveness from God for murdering 13 people and injuring 31 more. He should apologize to the families of the victims. He should ask for forgiveness from his fellow members of the military, and from the American people, as he betrayed our entire nation—including Muslim-Americans who are paying the price for his shameful and un-Islamic actions.

Maj. Hasan is granted the presumption of innocence in our courts of law, be they civilian or military. His military-appointed lawyer will likely advise him not to confess to anything. Legally, that may be sound advice. But religiously that advice cuts against the grain of the divine value of justice. Maj. Hasan must take responsibility for committing two major sins in Islam—the murder of his fellow citizens and the violation of two oaths he took.

Maj. Hasan took an oath as a member of the U.S. military to defend our country. He also took a Hippocratic oath to protect his patients. The violation of these oaths is a violation of the Quranic principle which states that making a pledge to anyone is tantamount to making a pledge to God. The Quran states: "(Be not like those) who use their oaths as a means of deceiving one another" (16:92).

His now infamous PowerPoint presentation is rife with distortions of the Quran. Entitled "The Koranic Worldview As It Relates to Muslims in the U.S. Military," it provides anything but a Quranic perspective. Maj. Hasan's critical fault in understanding the Quran was his failure to distinguish between two very important categories of verses: those tied to the specific context of seventh-century Arabia, and those that are absolute and permanent.

He ignores the Quranic mandates, for example, to stand for justice even if it is against your own interest, and to avoid transgression in the pursuit of justice. Yet the most troubling part of his presentation are his conclusions. One of them is: "Muslims are moderate (compromising) but God is not." There are two critical flaws in this one sentence.

First, to make any kind of declaration about God being unforgiving violates Islam's central teachings of mercy and compassion. The Quran makes it clear that human beings are meant to embody God's generous spirit. To argue otherwise is to violate God's will and Islam's goal of peacemaking.

Second, being moderate is about upholding religious values while working with other members of society for the greater good. Extremists believe they are compromising their Islamic values when living in the West. This is not true. And Muslim-haters oblige them with the converse, when they argue that the West should not tolerate Muslims. This is not just.

Maj. Hasan's hodgepodge of verses from the Quran and quotes from extremists left out the most important Quranic verse in his section on enjoining peace and forgiveness: "God invites you into the abode of peace" (10:25). Nor did he include the admonition by the Prophet Muhammad never to harm the innocent and never to target noncombatants.

Nidal Hasan doesn't just need legal support; he needs religious consultation that could help him see the enormity of his situation when he faces his Creator. Unfortunately, he may become an icon for violent extremism, leading other young people and civilians to their deaths.

So what should the U.S. government do? Consider allowing Muslim-American religious leaders to meet with Nidal Hasan. Muslim leaders could encourage him to repent. And they could engage Maj. Hasan on his deeply flawed understanding of Islam, explaining that the Quran is an instrument to take people from darkness to light, not the opposite.

Nidal Hasan is reportedly reading letters. I hope he reads this article, for his sake and for the sake of our country.

Mr. Al-Marayati is executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council.

------------------------------

Khaled

Religious leader of the Islamic Foundation of Greater St. Louis speaks on the Fort Hood massacre

Earlier today I was cc'd on an email exchange between several of the Interfaith Partnership (IFP) of St. Louis and Imam Minhajuddin, Imam (i.e., religious leader) of the Islamic Foundation of Greater St. Louis (IFGSL). The email was a reply from Imam Minhaj to an earlier message he received from the IFP and Faith Beyond Walls of St. Louis.

I found his reply to be worth sharing with you and the public, and he kindly granted my request to post his reply on this blog. It will be an excellent addition to the ongoing public discourse American Muslims are having with their non-Muslim fellow citizens about the the sad events that took the lives of 13 innocent victims (and injured over 3 dozen others) nearly on November 5, 2009 in Texas at the hands of Major Nidal Hassan, an American Muslim military psychiatrist currently indicted before military court for first degree murder of 13 victims of that massacre.

The message below is copied verbatim from the Imam's email, and I only trimmed the last section which listed quoted from Sheila Musaji's article listed at the end of the copied section. It referred to quotes of numerous American Muslim organizations about the events.

---------- Beginning of Quote from Imam Minhajuddin message.

Dear Cynthia Holmes, Batya Abramson Goldstein, and all our other interfaith partners,

Thank you so much for your kind and comforting words.

Indeed this is truly a trying time for Muslims in America and all over the world. First of all, our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims of this unspeakable tragedy. The light of their lives was snatched away in a moment of cruelty. We mourn with them and pray for peace and justice for them. May God be with them all.

Secondly, we, American Muslims, are just as horrified as anyone else by this, and all, senseless acts of violence against innocent people. We condemn these actions and pray for the victims of this madman who committed acts of treason against both God and our country. In my capacity as a Mufti and scholar of Islamic Law, I can confidently state that there is absolutely no basis whatsoever in our religion for such an unconscionable act of terror.

Even if the alleged facts may be true : that he was harassed and taunted by fellow soldiers for being Muslim; that being deployed to Iraq was his “worst nightmare”; that he tried very hard to get out of the Army but his requests to end his enlistment were repeatedly turned down; that he argued with other fellow soldiers about the legitimacy of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; nothing whatsoever can justify the murder of innocent unarmed fellow soldiers.

• "Believers, never let the hatred of a people toward you move you to commit injustice" (Quran, Chapter 5, Verse 8),

• "For not equal are the good deed and the evil deed. So repel their evil deeds with that which is best in the sight of God. Then, behold! The one who had enmity for you, and for whom you had enmity, may become a most intimate friend. Yet none shall attain this but those who are patient in suffering. And none shall attain this but one endowed with a magnificent share of goodness. But should there be any insinuation by Satan to instigate you to do otherwise, then seek refuge in God. Indeed, it is He who is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing. (Quran 41:34-36)

• “O ye who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to God, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor: for God can best protect both. Follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest ye swerve, and if ye distort (justice) or decline to do justice, verily God is well-acquainted with all that ye do.” [Quran, 4:35]

No true Muslim could ever commit such a crime against humanity. As Muslims, we are reminded that to take one innocent life in the sight of God is as if one has killed all of mankind.

• "Whosoever kills an innocent human being, it shall be as if he has killed all mankind, and whosoever saves the life of one, it shall be as if he had saved the life of all mankind." (Quran 5:32)

Muslims are also commanded to keep their oaths when given.

• "O you who believe! Fulfill all contracts, treaties and covenants with God and with people." (Quran 5:1)

Thankfully, besides our friends from the interfaith partnership like yourselves, many amongst the political and military leadership of our country also understand this fact and can make the distinction between the teachings of Islam and the actions of a madman. In fact, many of them have expressed sympathy for the plight of Muslim Americans who have to survive this general backlash. Army commander Gen. George Casey has expressed concern over the impact that this act could have on the 2,000 Arab-Americans serving in the armed forces. He understands that not only do these Americans have the right to serve their country, but they can serve it in unique ways through their linguistic and cultural experiences as American Muslims. Criminalizing all for the crime of a deranged individual does our nation (and Muslims) a deep disservice.

However, unfortunately this is precisely what is happening at Ft. Hood and elsewhere in certain cases. Mikey Weinstein, a retired officer and activist for religious freedom in the military, forwards this communication from the wife of an American Muslim serving in the military:

“…I wanted to let you know what life has been like for myself, being an American-Muslim military spouse, over the last few days here at (name of military installation withheld), since the Ft. Hood incident. When I first learned of this, I was sitting in the PX food court with my best friend whose immediate reaction was, “ No offense to you, but Muslims shouldn’t even be allowed in the U.S. Army”. Wow, this was from my best friend here! I have heard this and similar sentiments repeatedly from various “friends”, as well as people insisting it’s really a terror plot.

Since this happening, my Muslim husband, who is deployed to Afghanistan, has been put on duty to build a chapel on his base, as well as being told not to associate with the Afghan nationals that work there. I went shopping at the commissary and had people mumbling under their breath but loud enough to ensure that I could hear, things like, “get out of our country”, “go back to your country”, “ F-ing Muslims”, “G-Damn Muslims,” and several other expletives you can insert there. Now people don’t just stare at you when they see you go by wearing hijab, they glare. Last time I checked, I was born in this country, this is my country, and my husband is serving it and continues to serve it despite the harassment and racism he encounters. He proudly serves despite the fact that our family pays a higher price for it than many others.”
(Quotations taken from theamericanmuslim.org)

I would highly recommend all of you to take some time out to read the following two very eloquently written articles by our own local Muslim journalist and founding editor of the online Journal, "The American Muslim", Sister Sheila Musaji. She has done exhaustive research and her works deserve recognition.

http://www.theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/fort_hood_tragedy_islam_and_america
http://www.theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/muslims_must_condemn_religious_extremists1/0017733

---------- End of Quote from Imam Minhajuddin message.

Please follow the link listed above to read Sheila Musaji excellent articles and for the full text of many American Muslim organizations statements.

Khaled

Saving Somalia is closer once women avoid using Bras!!!

Some fundamentalists are smart. Most are just plain dumb. Their knowledge of religion - whichever religion they exploit to express their anger and desire for power - is mostly spotty, and lack awareness of the breadth and diversity of opinions that all religions developed over time.

Most of the dumb fundamentalists think that they know exactly what God wants even though they do not even have first hand knowledge of their holy book- only the selected passages 'appropriately' translated from original languages, unspoken by most fanatics, and re-iterated ad nauseum and spoon fed to them in sermons and indoctrination classes by their manipulative leaders.

To me it is a blessing that most religious fanatics are stupid enough with no ability to prioritize, to plan strategies or even develop a sense of reality. Can you imagine the horror of facing an enemy with the fanaticism of Somali 'Shabaab' organization with the organizational smarts of AIPAC for example?

Even their smart leaders and scholars are sometimes so detached from reality that their ability to effectively guide their followers toward real world solutions becomes severely impaired.

I recall an interesting story, I heard from a source I totally trust, about a pious and very scholarly elder Muslim clergy whose comment after being informed about the scandal of Clinton and Monica Lewinsky was (and I am slightly paraphrasing): "Poor girl. That would ruin her chances of getting married."

While that may sound funny, it is truly sad because that clergy was the guide of many people to implementing and living their religion in a world that he knows very little about its inner workings.

A less funny story is told in this article by Alaa Al-Aswany, and renowned Egyptian writer, that I read in English on the British Independent website. I invite you to read the article from which I selected some paragraphs to present below:

Somalia is in the grip of famine and chaos but officials there are inspecting bras By: Alaa Al-Aswany

The Shabaab movement in Somalia controls large parts of the south and centre of the country, and because officials in this movement embrace the Wahabi ideology they have imposed their views on Somalis by force and have issued strict decrees banning films, plays, dancing at weddings, football matches and all forms of music, even the ring tones on mobile phones. Some days ago these extremists carried out a strange operation: they arrested a Somali woman and whipped her in public because she was wearing a bra. They announced clearly that wearing these bras was unIslamic because it is a form of fraud and deception.
......

In fact this excessive interest in covering up women's bodies is not confined to the extremists in Somalia. In Sudan the police examine women's clothing with extreme vigilance and arrest any woman who is wearing trousers. They force her to make a public apology for what she has done and then they whip her in public as an example to other women.
.....
Firstly, the extremist view of women is that they are only bodies and instruments for either legitimate pleasure or temptation, as well as factories for producing children. This view strips women of their human nature. Accusing the Somali woman of fraud and deception because she was wearing a bra is the same charge of commercial fraud which the law holds against a merchant who conceals the defects of his goods and make false claims about their qualities in order to sell them at a higher price.
......
The use of women's naked bodies to market commercial products in the West is merely another application of the idea that women are commodities. Anyone who visits the redlight district in Amsterdam can see for himself how wretched prostitutes, completely naked, are lined up behind glass windows so that passers-by can inspect their charms before agreeing on the price. Isn't that a modern-day slave market, where women's bodies are on sale to anyone willing to pay?
.....
Throughout human history, strictness towards women has usually been a way to conceal political abuses and real crimes. Somalia is a wretched country in the grip of famine and chaos but officials there are distracted from that by inspecting bras. The Sudanese regime is implicated in crimes of murder, torture and raping thousands of innocents in Darfur but that does not stop the regime from putting on trial a woman who insisted on wearing trousers. It is women rather than men who always pay the price for despotism, corruption and religious hypocrisy.
.....
What is really saddening is that the Wahabi extremism which is spreading throughout the world with oil money and which gives Muslims a bad image is as far as can be from the real teachings of Islam. Anyone who reads the history of Islam fairly has to be impressed by the high status it accords to women, because from the time of the Prophet Muhammad until the fall of Andalusia, Muslim women mixed with men, were educated, worked and traded, fought and had financial responsibilities separately from their fathers or husbands. They had the right to choose the husband they loved and the right to divorce if they wanted. Western civilisation gave women these rights many centuries after Islam.Finally, let me say that religious extremism is the other face of political despotism. We cannot get rid of the extremism before we end the despotism.Democracy is the solution.

Please read the full article on the Indeopendent website (below).

Links:

Alaa Al-Aswany: When women are sinners in the eyes of extremists
Somalia is in the grip of famine and chaos but officials there are inspecting bras

In the piles of hatred around us, glimpses of tolerance and friendship still show every now and then.

Richard Silverstein is probably one of the last Jews on the planet that should receive hate mail from a Muslim or an Arab. If you do not believe me, check his web site or his contribution to the British Guardian.

Of course he gets a lot of hate mail, but almost exclusively from right wing Jews or ardent pro-Israel fundamentalist Christian. Over the years, he stopped taking it personally. And with his political knowledge and religious background as a practicing Jew he knows how to handle that kind of hate.

Yesterday he got something of a rarit for him - hate mail from someone with an Arab Muslim name. The letter was profane, abusive and full of flawed logic, but above all spewed a tremendous amount of hatred. And rather than post the hateful letter as an example of how bad an Arab and a Muslim can be, he did not publish it but shared it with some of his Muslim friends, even suggesting that it may be form a radical anti-Arab who wanted to smear Arabs and Muslims by using a pseudonym.

Some of his eloquent Muslim friends wrote a beautiful reply to the stupid letter, and only then, Richard Silverstein was able to publish both: the ugly letter, followed by a most beautiful and eloquent reply from Jafar Siddiqqi, Richard's Muslim friend, to the angry hateful person.

Few hours later, I came across an article that puts an Israeli military Rabbi into awful (but well-deserved) light. This hateful 'man-of-God' was inciting Israeli troops to violate their own code of conduct, show disrespect for civilian safety, and was promoting the worst kind of racist violent attitudes toward Gaza Arabs during the last Israeli Massacre. This was an extreme example of Jewish radicalism using scripture and religious authority, encouraging young soldiers to commit unspeakable crimes.

While I know things like that exist, highlighting them carries the inherent risk of inciting equally hateful attitudes towards all Jews, not only those involved in a particular situation. I did not feel comfortable using that extreme example on my blog, and I communicated my feelings to Richard Silverstein. His response was almost instantaneous. He sat down, and wrote a scathingly critical posting about the horrible Rabbi and his hateful message, with the same eloquence and enthusiasm that his Muslim friend used in responding to the hateful Muslim Arab that insulted Silverstein and Jews in General.

I did not mention that as an example of a you-scratch-my-back-I-scratch-yours type of relationship, but rather as an example of friendship and mutual respect between smart, fair-minded and well-informed people of different faiths and political affiliation realizing that what is right is right, and what is wrong is wrong, regardless of who is the perpetrator and who is the victim.

Our Muslim community in St. Louis should remember that lesson very well. I this city, and soon after September 11, 2001 when Muslims and Muslim institutions and buildings were subject to threats by zealous brainless angry mob, Jewish and Christian interfaith partners of the Muslim community in St. Louis came to the Mosque on Weidmann road, to show support, and offer help protecting our mosque.

During the same difficult times, a Christian neighbor and a Jewish colleague of mine offered, independently, to take care of my children after school until the end of workday of myself and my wife's. My children were old enough to stay by themselves at home, but our friends felt that it may give us more peace of mind they took care of them while we were not at home. Our Christian neighbor also asked his son, who went to the same school with my older son, to keep an eye on my son during recess in case other students harass him in the school yard.

What I mentioned above is not just one or two feel-good examples. Behavior like that SHOULD be the norm expected from people who are civilized, honest and have faith of any kind.

Respecting, befriending and protecting people of other faith is not just a practical short-term tactic, it is not even just a long term strategy; it is simply what God mandates.

"As for such [of the unbelievers] as do not fight against you on account of [your] faith, and neither drive you forth from your homelands, God does not forbid you to show them kindness and to behave towards them with full equity: for, verily, God loves those who act equitably." (Chapter 60:8)

God was very clear in the Quran, that even though there would be conflicts with the people of the Book (Christians and Jew), it has to remain clear in the minds of Muslims that generalizing to all Jews and Christians is NOT the what He enjoins since He know that among them would be the righteous that deserve kindness and friendship.

"[But] they are not all alike: among the followers of earlier revelation there are upright people, who recite God's messages throughout the night, and prostrate themselves [before Him]. They believe in God and the Last Day, and enjoin the doing of what is right and forbid the doing of what is wrong, and vie with one another in doing good works: and these are among the righteous." (Chapter 3:113 & 114)

The nut cases on all sides are small in number, but they are loud, obnoxious and hateful to the rest of us no matter what our religion is. We need each other, moderates, from all faiths, or we, moderates, are doomed to extinction, or total submission.

Khaled

Links:

• Israel’s War Against the Palestinians Hurts Jews Too - Richard Silverstein
• IDF Chief Rabbi Teaches Torah to Terrorists, Advises Soldiers to Show Palestinian Civilians ‘No Mercy’ - Richard Silverstein
• IDF rabbinate publication during Gaza war: We will show no mercy on the cruel - Haaretz

You may want to take a look at an earlier post of mine:

• Extremophobia: The hate that may save the world

Hamas and the IDF: When the killed and the killer are partners in crime.

It is only 3 pm central time by now, and the death toll in Gaza is still climbing. The latest reported was that over 220 Palestinians dead, and 700 wounded.

Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) is talking business in Gaza. And like in any business, it takes two to tango. IDF partner in this massacre is without doubt the self-proclaimed defenders of Palestinian cause, the symbol of Islamic resistance, the one and only Hamas movement.

The writing has been on the wall for nearly 3 weeks. The eternally fragile cease fire was holding, but the truce end date was getting closed. The 'mighty' and delusionally self-confident Hamas leaders clearly declared that they are not interested in renewing truce agreement (as per Western, Arab and Palestinian media).

Not only that, but cartoonish and useless Hamas 'rockets' started falling on nearby Israeli towns again. Net Israeli losses: one life, and 7 or 8 injured citizens. But the public relations boon for Israel was priceless. And election times are usually the time when Israeli politicians want to show how tough they are by beating up somebody 9the Palestinians, usually).

Well done and perfect timing, Hamas.

If someone believes in conspiracy theories, they have pretty good material here for a nicely coordinated song and dance between Hamas and Israel - except for the fact that one of the dance partners, Hamas in this case, has just faced the death of 220 of his own people, with 700 more injured.

But it is not all bad for Hamas. The rivers of blood running today in beleaguered Gaza feed into Hamas' need for more support among Palestinians, considering that nothing else is going for them in there.

No services, not food, and no fuel is available for everyday life in Gaza, but Hamas was busy writing a new criminal code in Gaza to implement Shari'a Hudod (i.e., physical penalties for crimes, based on Islamic Law) on people who have nothing to lose (For full disclosure, the news is still sketchy on this proposal, and while it was reported in many Arabic news papers, there is some disagreement and even denials from some Hamas legislators in the West Bank).

Somewhere between Hudod legislation and inciting IDF to kill as many Palestinians as possible, Hamas felt its mission is accomplished. Who would really care about running a place like Gaza when all it takes is pretending to obey God by legislating what you cannot reasonably implement, then die believing you are a martyr?

It is very sad for me to see the shedding of the blood of over two hundred Palestinians. It is more sad and shameful to see that their blood is on the hands of not only Israel, but also Hamas.

Hamas has legitimate grievances: they were democratically elected then deposed of illegally. And their people are besieged and starved. That would make any one angry - very very angry. But if angry reactions lead to the shedding of your own blood, then the wise should not behave out of anger. Hamas leadership obviously does not have the wisdom to behave rationally, nor the know-how to run Gaza or prioritize what to do. They behave as if strategic planning to achieve goals is blasphemous, and as if piety is in reflective and brainless actions that does not achieve goals, but just look superficially brave. And when it comes to public relations, they are a total fiasco.

God has permitted conducting war for those who are oppressed:

"أُذِنَ لِلَّذِينَ يُقَاتَلُونَ بِأَنَّهُمْ ظُلِمُوا وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى نَصْرِهِمْ لَقَدِيرٌ"
"PERMISSION [to fight] is given to those against whom war is being wrongfully waged* and, verily, God has indeed the power to succour them" (Chapter 22:39)

But he also commanded that Muslims prepare properly for such a war, so their would be a fair fighting chance, and a possibility of winning.

"وَأَعِدُّواْ لَهُم مَّا اسْتَطَعْتُم مِّن قُوَّةٍ وَمِن رِّبَاطِ الْخَيْلِ تُرْهِبُونَ بِهِ عَدْوَّ اللّهِ وَعَدُوَّكُمْ"
"Hence, make ready against them whatever force and war mounts' you are able to muster, so that you might deter thereby the enemies of God, who are your enemies as well, ..." (Chapter 8:60)

Also, self-destruction can never be part of any Muslim Agenda if we follow God's instructions:

"وَأَنفِقُواْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ وَلاَ تُلْقُواْ بِأَيْدِيكُمْ إِلَى التَّهْلُكَةِ"
"And spend [freely] in God's cause, and let not your own hands throw you into destruction.." (Chapter 2:195)

Fighting a war you are not prepared to fight, except by angry rhetoric, is criminal.

Palestinian blood today is not on Israel's hands only - it is on Hamas' hands too.

Khaled

Links

• Watch the bloody picture series on the New York Times and on the British Guardian.
• Israel's hammer blow in Gaza - Guardian, UK
  
• Israeli far right gaining ground - Guardian, UK
• Israeli Gaza Strike Kills More Than 200 - New York Times
• ردود فعل دولية خجولة على الاعتداءات الإسرائيلية
• Israel continues Gaza air strike- Al-Jazeera Englis

"Mumbai Massacre: To denounce or not to denounce?"

I cannot even believe this is a question!!!!

If it is legitimate to question whether we should be denouncing the criminal terrorist acts in Mumbai a week ago, then I imagine it is legitimate to question whether man really landed on the Moon, or whether the world is more than 6000 years.

But wait - there are nut cases who question that we landed on the Moon, and some who think the world is only 6000 years old. Still, I cannot understand that someone would actually question the wisdom of denouncing the perpetrators of the Mumbai massacre.

Several American Muslim groups (CAIR and ISNA) were at the forefront of denouncing the horrible events. The local chapter of CAIR in Missouri had its own press release denouncing the cowardly killings as well. All that was good, and the majority of local Muslims supported both the national and local initiatives.

What got me to feel funny was that few Muslims expressed concerns that denouncements were 'premature' and that we 'do not know ALL the facts'.
Some also hinted that agencies like the CIA and FBI have history of planting 'agent provocateurs' to incite deeds like that to discredit unfriendly organizations.

One of the email exchanges went even further to list - for a mysterious reason - all the legitimate grievances that Muslims have all over the world: Palestine, Kashmir, Iraq, etc.

I have only 2 words in response to all that: Totally Irrelevant.

What I and many other Muslims as well as local and national Muslim organizations have denounced - and should always loudly denounce - is the cowardly criminal indiscriminate killing of any innocents in the name of a cause that should be fought on the battlefield, not in downtown hotels, temples, synagogues, mosques or churches.

If killing people based of the passports they carry or the religious attire they wear is not worthy of denouncement, what could be worthy?

If walking into a hotel, picking certain nationals as hostages, followed by torturing and slaughtering them like cows is not evil, then what is?

If the criminals were 'incited' to do those horrible things by 'agent provocateurs' then they are not only murderous criminals, but they are also extremely stupid people on many levels.
If they did not realize that their own religion does not allow those acts, then they are stupid.
If they blindly cooperated with the 'provocateurs' without critically evaluating what the 'agents' were inciting them to do, then they are stupid.
If they were willing to sacrifice their lives without reading their own Holy Book once to see how many of its chapters and verses explicitly denounce what they plan to do, they are stupid.
If they could not imagine the kind of material and moral damage their 'sacrifices' are going to bring on their coreligionist and on the name of their religion, they are stupid.

But for those evil ones to be only stupid is a best case scenario.
I believe that those who participate in such acts are truly evil, disturbed and psychotic - they are the ultimate example of sociopaths and psychopaths. The world is better of without them. It is very sad that they had to take many lives with them on their way out.

No amount of ignorance or stupidity is enough to make you think it is OK to kill random people thousands of miles away from your 'real or imagined' battlefield.
No level of idiocy is enough to make you feel right about asking someone you meet for the first time to show their passport then shoot them because they carry the 'wrong' passport?
Idiocy and stupidity are not be enough. You must be evil to do it.

I also have few words for my fellow Muslims who think it is premature to condemn the terrorist acts.

Denouncing the horrible massacre is not denouncing Islam or Muslims. What happened in Mumbai deserved the same denouncement if it was done by Hindu's or Christians, or any body any where.
I do not need to know who the cowards are, or were, before I denounce them and denounce the atrocities they inflicted. Their deeds tell me all I need to know.

I do not need to know if they had a legitimate motive or a worthy cause. No motive or cause can ever make such an event any less horrendous and evil in the eyes of my religion.

Thinking twice before denouncing such evil, or thinking of possible motives or excuses for such evil-doers is an insult to Islam and is inconsistent with numerous Koranic verses and Prophetic teachings and practices.

Denouncing evil is a way to honor Islam for what it truly teaches and Muslims for who they really are.

If you do not believe me, take a moment and listen to what God is telling you and me in our Muslim Holy Book, the Glorious Koran. Then ask yourself the following question:

Would the religion that teaches its followers this, tolerate not denouncing what happened in Mumbai, no matter who did it, or for what reason?

On protecting your own enemy if they ask for your protection:

"And if any of those who ascribe divinity to aught beside God seeks thy protection, grant him protection [during war], so that he might [be able to] hear the word of God [from thee]; and thereupon convey him to a place where he can feel secure:' this, because they [may be] people who [sin only because they] do not know [the truth]" (Chapter 9:6)

On the treatment of war prisoners:

".. and who give food - however great be their own want of it - unto the needy, and the orphan, and the captive," (Chapter 76:8)

On restricting war to defensive war:

"AND FIGHT in God's cause against those who wage war against you, but do not commit aggression - for, verily, God does not love aggressors." (Chapter 2:190)

On not doubting your enemies intention for peace:

"[Hence,] O you who have attained to faith, when you go forth [to war] in God's cause, use your discernment, and do not - out of a desire for the fleeting gains of this worldly life - say unto anyone who offers you the greeting of peace, 'Thou art not a believer' ..." (Chapter 4:94)

On the sanctity of all human life:

"... if anyone slays a human being unless it be [in punishment] for murder or for spreading corruption on earth-it shall be as though he had slain all mankind; whereas, if anyone saves a life, it shall be as though he had saved the lives of all mankind. ..." (Chapter 5:32)

On the merits of forgiveness:

"... but he who shall forgo [retribution] out of charity will atone thereby for some of his past sins. ...'" (Chapter 5:45)

On punishing aggressors only proportionately, and the virtue of patience and endurance, rather than revenge:

"... If ye punish, then punish with the like of that wherewith ye were afflicted. But if ye endure patiently, verily it is better for the patient." (Chapter 16: 125 & 126)

On the value not only of forgiveness, but also of kindness to those to committed evil against you:

"And not alike are the good and the evil. Repel (evil) with what is best, when lo! he between whom and you was enmity would be as if he were a warm friend." (Chapter 41:34)

And last but far from least, on how injustices committed against us should never lead us to commit injustice:

"O YOU who have attained to faith! Be ever steadfast in your devotion to God, bearing witness to the truth in all equity; and never let hatred of anyone lead you into the sin of deviating from justice. Be just: this is closest to being God-conscious. And remain conscious of God: verily, God is aware of all that you do." (Chapter 5:8)

So, brothers and sister: what do you think God wants you to do? What would your answer be?

Khaled

"From Mumbai to Hebron" and "Jewish Jihadis"- by Richard Silverstein of Tikun Olam

The horror that went on in Mumbai not doubt far exceeds the material horror of what has been going on in the Palestinian West Bank city of Hebron. Despite this, the coverage of the Settlers aggression and 'pogroms' in the Israeli Media is extensive. In the centrist newspaper like Haaretz, the editors and reporters have not been shy calling a spade a spade. they are not wavering of mincing words describing the horror committed by Jewish settlers on innocent Palestinians (for examples see links below).
On this side of the world Richard Silverstein, who publishes the progressive Jewish Website Tikun Olam, is not shy either.
On December 4 and 5 he published two great posts with most provocative titles: Mumbai and Jewish Jihadis and From Mumbai to Hebron, Hate Speaks the Same Language Regardless of Religion.
In those 2 posts he looks for the similarities in the attitudes of fanatics in both Muslim and Jewish worlds. He also puts in perspective the attacks on the Jewish Chabad that was part of the Mumbai Massacre, ending with a murder of a Rabi and his wife.
Take a look at these excerpts, but please read the full articles on his web site. As you may have imagined, he is getting tremendous heat of his opinions form many right wing pro-Israel readers.

From the first article Hate Speaks the Same Language Regardless of Religion:

I tried to carefully calibrate my response to the attack on Chabad House so that I excoriated the terrorists without trashing Islam. Most commenters would have none of it. They placed the blame squarely on Islam. All of Islam. There was no nuance. No fine points. No distinctions. It’s goddamn depressing.

And that is the frustration I feel dealing with religious violence. It carries almost a hypnotic power. If you are an extremist the violence is like an accelerant to a fire or a drug. If you represent the victimized, then such terror cries out for vengeance.

And from the second article Mumbai and Jewish Jihadis :

My Jewish jihadi friends NEED to see the Mumbai attack as based in anti-Semitism because they either wish to, or are prepared to concede a religious holy war between Islam and Judaism in which we will all fight to the death leaving a world in which none of us shall remain standing.
So if you wish to see the Mumbai attack as one that threatens all Jews, be my guest. But you’ve only allowed yourselves to be drawn into the cycle of global Jewish-Muslim jihadi revenge. And that is a dead end literally in which the bodies of the future Gabriel and Rivka Holtzbergs korbanot will pile like kindling up to the heavens.

Silverstein's frustration with fanatics on all sides and from all religions is as deep as mine. Fanatics and extremists are all the same. They see the world form only one perspective; the only legitimate perspective: their perspective. And they see the truth through only one pair of eyes, the only eyes that can see the truth: their own eyes.

The Golden Rule in the Torah says Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Our beloved Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him said Love for your brother what you love of yourself.

To simplify it would be like that: put yourselves for a moment in the other persons place. Make some effort to walk a mile in their shoes. Take a moment and try to see the worlds through your 'enemies' eyes. If you do that, the other may not continue to be a stranger, and the enemy may be no longer an enemy. You may see the humanity in them, and they may see the legitimacy of your grievances.

Fanatics and extremists unfortunately are unable to do that, no matter what their holy scripture tells them. Domination and even exterminations of the others is their only way of doing business. Too bad the rest of us get in the line of fire.

Khaled

Other links to Hebron Events:

• Jews storm Palestinian home in Hebron - Israel News, Ynetnews
• ANALYSIS / No other word than 'pogrom' for settler acts in Hebron - Haaretz

Extremophobia: The hate that may save the world

Just in case anyone thinks that I am picking on Muslim extremists exclusively - in view of many of my previous posts - I want to assure everyone that I am an 'equal-opportunity' extremophobe (just remember that I am the first to coin that term).

Fundamentalists come in all religious (and secular) flavors. They all flavors have several common characteristics

• they have an unyielding belief that they - personally - are absolutely right all the time
  
• they believe 'the others' are always wrong all the time
• they are entitled to better treatment and more secure rights than anybody else, just because they are who they are
  
• they believe that their goals are always so legitimate and pure that any and all means are justified achieving them
• critical thinking for them only mean criticizing members and ideology of the 'other team'
  
• and of course their understanding of their own ideology is the only accepted gold standard for justice, truth and even humanity.

Over the years I have met, known, read about and listen to many extreme fundamentalists: Muslims, Jewish, Christians and secular. They always shared many if not all the characteristics I mentioned before.

When I read about or listen to Jewish extremists like Meier Kahane, Dov Lior or Avigdor Lieberman I am always amazed that I feel I am in the presence of one of their archenemies, the Muslim extremists. When I hear the words of John Hagee, Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell I go through a subconscious 'search and replace' mode - substituting Muslim Jargon for Christian Jargon - and right away the logic and conclusions sound like they could be part of a fundamentalist Muslim cleric anywhere in the world.

It does not take a lot of brains to see how racists, ultra-nationalists. and xenophobes also seem to fall very comfortably with the group that satisfies the above-mentioned criteria.

They, all, seem to have their brains frozen in time at a stage of late childhood and early teenage before the switch for concrete to abstract thinking takes place. Unfortunately, their means and influence on half-brained followers is usually more extensive than what their extremist infantile understanding of the world.

Hating extremists, or more precisely hating their way of thinking and dirty means of achieving their goals, should unite the rest of us. It is a lot easier for us to hate 'the extremists of the others', but we will not rid the world of their influence until with equally hate the extremists of our own kind. They are equally dangerous and moreover, they are more in symbiosis with other extremist that with moderates of their own kind.

Moderates of the world unite - You will lose nothing but your extremists.

Khaled