THE WAR ON ISLAM ?The other side of the story.
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Fighting The International Tyranny Of 'We the People'
There are no 'Islamic terrorists' in the Middle EastBy Casey Butler
Since September 11th, 2001, "We the People" have had ample opportunity for self-examination. When we look around us, "First world" vs. "Third world", if we are honest with ourselves we must recognize that the democracies comprising Western Civilization have collectively become the next world dictator. This dictator is a tyrant unforgiving in its self-righteousness because it gets its very authority from "We the People". We have, inadvertently, through our own irresponsibility and apathy towards participating in our own government, stepped into the shoes of the oppressor. From those shoes we can see clearly There are no "Islamic terrorists" in the Middle East.
Timothy McVeigh was a terrorist. The IRA were terrorists. Baader-Meinhoff were terrorists.
These were terrorists because they had the right to free speech... They had the right to assemble in protest and to form political parties... They had the right to vote for whom they pleased... They had the right to run for office themselves to work for peaceful change. They were terrorists because they chose violence instead of working for change within the system available to them.
The Fundamentalist Muslims of the Middle East who are fighting us now, on the other hand, have never had such rights. Our American government and the governments that support it, ie. Western Civilization, have never allowed Muslims any method other than violent resistance for addressing grievances.
The most coherent historical analogy to current Western strategies in the Middle East today is the 19th century American belief in the "Manifest Destiny" of the United States, and its impact on Native American tribes. As part of American Manifest Destiny, Native American lands were carved up by force of arms at the request of merchants, farmers, and ranchers. Native American tribes were forced onto tiny "reservations" administered by "Indian Agents". Today this process is viewed by many historians as ethnic cleansing of holocaust proportions.
As European Americans justified their violent conquest of Western North America, the Native American who fought desperately against the American military and the civilian population for his land, people, religion, and, yes, freedom, was labeled a "savage". Rebellious "Indians" were viewed as less-than-human, and not worthy of the rights shared by the rest of mankind. Said American General Philip Sheridan, "The only good Indians I ever saw were dead."
A glance at a world history book tells us that our 20th century Western Civilization carved up Islamic lands into political entities that suited our "strategic" purposes. Since that time, by supporting tyrants, "shahs", kings, and anyone else who would do our bidding, including Saddam Hussein when it was convenient, the West has, by these proxies, purposely oppressed the human rights of Muslims in the Middle East. In fact, in its quest for a "stable" oil supply and new markets, Western Civilization has consistently denied Middle Eastern Muslims the rights and equalities shared by the rest of us in the community of nations.
When a spark of these rights does happen to be ignited, as they were in Lebanon and Palestine, with rudimentary free elections that garnered many Western compliments and promises... As soon as the Muslim people made their will known to be contrary to the will of Western Civilization, they were labeled "terrorists" and immediately crushed and denied these rights once again.
In reality, the Muslims who fight us, including Osama bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda, freedom fighters in the truest sense of the word, comparable to our own founders, who, after all, also oppressed women - even held slaves - until they enlightened themselves.
What the USA and its Western democratic counterparts actually fight today are religiously devout men and women, righteous ten-commandment-keeping people according to our own moral and religious codes - from Osama bin Laden down to the last innocent Palestinian killed simply for living in Gaza.
It is not, in the least, hyperbole to say that the Fundamentalist Muslims fighting us today are sacrificing their lives for their brothers and sisters; they are heroically defending their homelands, their cultures, and their religion, from the corruption, crime, and decadence intrinsic to Western capitalism as we know it.
They are people just like you and I. They are fighting the international tyranny of "We the People" who did not bother to follow what our governments and corporations have done to "third-world" nations in order to turn a profit. Those of us who are supposed to run our government and corporations, but who, in fact, were too lazy to care what government did on behalf of the corporate mentality.
Our Politicians and media personalities can call Fundamentalist Muslims "terrorists" or "Islamic fascists" until their faces turn blue...
But that does not change the fundamental truth that Muslims are defending their homelands, culture, and religion, using strategies already employed and legitimized by Western Civilization itself over Dresden, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Hanoi, and many other "battlefields", where the homes and businesses of innocent civilians were also considered military targets. It does not change the fundamental truth that Muslims do not fear death because, unlike most of "Western Civilization", they don't just mouth he words, but really believe they are rightfully fighting for God and the survival of their culture and religion. It does not change the fact that Western Civilization's continuing worldwide oppression of Muslims will result in the collapse of democracy everywhere, because democracy is a system based on government by the people, not the wealthy elite... A system, in the USA at least, founded on the fundamental truth of the equality of all before God.
History is clear No oppressor who has attempted, by force of arms, to implement ideological change among a populace has ever succeeded. By claiming to believe this war is righteous and winnable, our government and the governments of Western Civilization that support it must ignore history and the very world around us. They must twist history to support their own version of "fighting terror", and constantly invent dangers which must be foisted upon their people in order that they can maintain power. In so doing, they have sold the souls of their peoples to the arms industry, to the creators and armorers of the next holocaust.
Is such a "civilization" of any real value to mankind, a civilization based on force of arms seemingly doomed to repeat the errors of its own history? If we are democracies, surely the solution to war is up to us - the people. Today there is only one way to save our planet from never-ending war and oppression. We must withdraw all Western military and corporate interests from the Middle East. We must encourage democracy there through open, peaceful, positive methods - the types of methods that eventually brought down even the Soviet Union.
The Qur'an, the single authority for all sects of Islam, requires Muslims to accept peace - if a peace is offered that will stop the oppression and the corruption that has obligated Muslims to fight in the first place.
Continuing our present course of war only insures that more Muslims will answer the Qur'an's call for self-defense of the Islamic religion. On the other hand, reversing our course, seeking peace, and positively supporting Middle Eastern Muslim peoples as they seek democracy and self-empowerment through self-determination, will remove all motivation for Muslim resistance.
The West must stop confusing "truth", "liberty", "God", and "democracy" with the brand of secular capitalism that has served it so well. The secular capitalism that drives Western economies is not compatible with the religion of Islam. We in the West must learn to live with this fact, and allow Muslims to develop their own democratic systems and economies. In the West, secular capitalism must re-invent itself under a new paradigm. Unlimited growth, limitless resources, and unrestricted market hegemony are obsolete in today's world. Secular capitalism must evolve or face extinction.
The Muslims who fight us are not criminals. They are not evil. They are not cowards. They are not "fascists".
To bring peace to our globe, all we in the West have to do is stand strong together for what we have always claimed to stand for The ideal that all people are created equal, with God-given rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
We cannot fight our own noble impulses for defending house and home, which, with our eyes open, we can all see reflected in the freedom fighters of Islam today.
We must stop fighting this war, stop endlessly piling war-torn bodies upon the bodies of the nearly 3,000 Americans who perished on September 11th, 2001. We must begin making their deaths meaningful for our planet, we must honor their sacrifice as of the God of Peace, and not of the god of war.
Unlike the Native Americans of the 19th century - many of whom were tribal and warred among themselves, unable to unite to fight their common foe - the Muslims of the Middle East share a powerful commonality The Qur'an and the religion of Islam.
To have peace we must obliterate our own ignorance of the cultures, traditions, scriptures, and religions of our fellow human beings - with whom we share our planet.
United in peace humanity might stand, but divided by war we will certainly fall.
Copyright Casey Butler -- http//firefighter.eyesalve.org/
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Peace
Kill us, too We are also Americans
Radical Muslims not worthy of the religion
By ASLAM ABDULLAH
The leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, Abu Hamza al-Muhajer, recently issued a decree to its supporters Kill at least one American in the next two weeks "using a sniper rifle, explosive or whatever the battle may require."
Well, Abu Hamza al-Muhajer, I am an American too. Count me as the one of those you have asked your supporters to kill.
I am not alone, there are thousands of Muslims with me in Las Vegas, and many more millions in America, who are proud Americans and who are ready to face your challenge. You hide in your caves and behind the faces of civilians in Afghanistan and Iraq. You don't show your faces and you have no guts to face Muslims. You thrive on the misery of thousands of Muslim youth and children who are victims of despotism, poverty and ignorance.
During the past two decades, you have brought nothing but shame and disaster to your religion and your world.
You said you "invite you not to drop your weapons, and don't let your souls or your enemies rest until each one of you kills at least one American within a period that does not exceed 15 days with a sniper's gunshot or incendiary devices or Molotov cocktail or a suicide car bomb -- whatever the battle may require." I invite you to surrender, to seek forgiveness from God almighty for the senseless killing you and your supporters are involved in and repent for everything you have done.
You say that the word of God is the highest. Yes, it is. But you are not worthy of it. You have abandoned God and you have started worshipping your own satanic egos that rejoice at the killing of innocent people. You don't represent Muslims or, for that matter, any decent human being who believes in the sanctity of life. Many among us American Muslims have differences with our administration on domestic and foreign issues, just like many other Americans do. But the plurality of opinions does not mean that we deprive ourselves of the civility that God demands from us. America is our home and will always be our home. Its interests are ours, and its people are ours. When you talk of killing of Americans, you first have to kill 6 million or so Muslims who will stand for every American's right to live and enjoy the life as commanded by God.
By growing a beard, shouting some religious slogans and misquoting and misusing some verses of the divine scriptures, you cannot incite Muslims to do things that are contrary to our religion. Yes, you even fail to understand the basic Islamic principles of life and living. Islam demands peace in all aspects of life, Islam demands respect for life. Islam demands justice.
What you are doing in Iraq, Afghanistan, India or other parts of the world is anti-human and anti-divine. You are an enemy of Islam as much as you are an enemy of America. You must understand that God who entrusted you with life is the same God who spelled his spirit in every human being regardless of his or her religion or ethnicity or nationality or status. You are violating him.
We feel totally disgusted with your action and we condemn you without any reservation. Don't come to our mosques to preach this hatred. Don't visit our Islamic centers to spill the blood of innocents. Don't think that just because we share the same religion, we would show some sympathy to you. You are not of us. You don't belong to the religion whose followers are trying to live a peaceful life for themselves and others serving the divine according to their understanding. In our understanding of faith, you appear as anti-divine and anti-human. We reject you now as we rejected you yesterday.
There is nothing common between you and us.
We stand for life, you want to destroy it.
We accept the divine scheme of diversity in the world and you want to impose conformity.
We respect every human being simply because he or she is a creation of the divine, and you hate people based on their religion and ethnicity.
We support freedom and liberty and justice, and you promote bigotry, murder and strangulation.
You will never be able to find a sympathetic voice amidst us. Our differences with others will never lead us to do things that are fundamentally wrong in our faith, i. e. taking the lives of innocent people and killing others because they are different.
So on Sept. 11, when you will be hiding in your caves, we will be out in the streets paying tribute to those who you killed because you failed to see the beauty of life. We will condemn you once again the same way we have been doing ever since 9/11 because we are Muslim Americans.
Aslam Abdullah is director of the Islamic Soceity of Nevada.
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Peace
From the same author,
Emotional Torture, Untamed Violence and Intellectual Terrorism
By Dr. Aslam Abdullah, February 6, 2006
What was done first by the Danish and later by Norwegian, French, German and many other European newspapers in publishing cartoons depicting Prophet Muhammad is nothing less than emotional torture, verbal violence and intellectual terrorism. In the name of freedom of speech, the most sophisticated professional class of Europe succumbed to the century old hatred against Islam and Muslims. Europeans and Americans are often taught that freedom of speech ends where the sensitivities of people begin. Seemingly, the teachers have forgotten the lesson themselves. Making fun of a religion is an exercise in emotional torture. Showing solidarity with those who promote such kind of torture is untamed violence and hurting innocent people all over the world is intellectual terrorism.
But what is new in this? Many European and American scholars, academics and intellectuals, as well as public officials have remained engaged from the seventh century onwards in anti-Islam, anti-Muslim and anti-Prophet Muhammad campaigns. They have refused to show civility in dealing with issues pertaining to the second largest religious community in the world. After all, it was Martin Luther, the great Christian reformer to whom almost every Christian Protestant group owes its origin, who produced the worst writings against Islam and Prophet Muhammad. Those who are unable to overcome their hatred and ignorance of Islam will not stop promoting this agenda. To expect otherwise from such crusaders would be futile.
However, what was surprising was the silence of Christian and Jewish community and religious leaders on this issue. Through their interfaith dialogue with Muslims they must have realized the sanctity and sacredness Muslims attach to their religious values. They should have been the ones demanding ending of hostilities against Islam and Muslims. Yet only a few spoke after Muslims appealed to their rational mind.
Even more disturbing was the response of Muslims. Boycotting Danish products, burning down the embassies of European countries and threatening Danes working in the Gulf were measures that do not suit a community whose leader is described in the divine scriptures as a mercy to humankind.
Immediately, after the battle of Badr, Omar bin al Khattab, one of the most celebrated companions of Prophet sought the permission of the state to punish Suhail bin Amr, a prisoner of war who had engaged in anti-Prophet Muhammad propaganda in Makkah. Suhail was known for his abusive language and insulting attitude towards the Prophet. Prophet Muhammad, as the ruler of the newly formed Islamic State, strictly prohibited his companions to punish or torture any prisoner of war on account of their past hostilities. He admonished Omar bin al-Khattab for seeking retribution. After all, the Prophet had endured all possible humiliations at the hands of the elites of Makkah and their supporters without asking any of his supporters to silence his opponents.
Islam recognizes dissent to its teachings and appeals to its adherents to deal with it in a civil manner. Islam promotes the idea that a polite response and a decent rebuttal are powerful enough to change the worst enemy into a friend. Islam does not seek revenge on those who indulge in anti-Islam, anti-God, or anti-Prophet abuses.
Furthermore, Islam prohibits the use of pressure and intimidation for changing the hearts of people. Islam believes that coercion is incapable of bringing a change in the attitude of people. Intimidation might make others change their immediate reaction to Islam, but it is ultimately futile because every individual has to make a conscious decision about his or her relations with God and His creation.
The provocation of Danish and other European newspapers was foolish and full with hatred. There is no need for such provocation in a world that is fast becoming cosmopolitan in all its dimensions. Freedom of speech cannot be used as an excuse to hurt or insult others. Moreover, there exists double standards in this matter among most European and American journalists working for big media corporations. None of these advocates of freedom of speech would dare write against the foul practices of multinational or mega-corporations that often provide bread and butter to most working journalists. None of them would dare to expose the dirty trade practices, excessive exploitation and other violation of human rights of people working in such corporations. None of them would even touch the so-called issue of national security, even if the position of the power elite is against national interests.
A case in point is the war in Iraq. Not many European or American journalists working for big corporation-controlled media have questioned the rationale behind going to war in Iraq. None of them have held accountable their leaders for costly mistakes. In fact, their anti-Islamic writings betray their loyalty to the power elites who are keen in promoting a hateful agenda against Muslims.
Muslims ought to be cognizant of these facts. Our response to such insults and humiliation should be based on the divine teachings and the lifestyle of our Prophet. We must not give in to our emotions.
We could have asked the Danish and other newspapers to allow us to introduce our Prophet to their audience the way we see him. We should have engaged the Danes and others in a meaningful dialogue and discussion on the true nature of our faith and the true personality of our Prophet. We should have risen above our emotions to use this moment to educate others about us in a serious manner. It was the responsibility of our religious and intellectual leaders to direct our masses in developing a meaningful response to incidents of hate and racial bigotry. No doubt, each of us feel hurt when we see an offensive depiction of our faith or our Prophet. However, rather than reacting in an emotional manner, we should use the opportunity to demonstrate true Islamic values of patience and persuasion.
We showed our weakness in controlling our emotions when Salman Rushdie insulted our Prophet. We have repeated the same mistake. By now we should have learned about the teachings of our prophet in dealing with such cases. Perhaps we need to go back to study the life of our leader more minutely to develop a better understanding of his character and teachings as well as his mission in the world. After all, we accept him as a mercy to humankind, including Danes, Norwegians, French, Germans, Jews, Christians and every human being that exists or will exist in our universe.
Dr. Aslam Abdullah is edtior-in-Chief of the Muslim Observer and the director of the Islamic Society of Nevada as well as the director of the Muslim Electorates Council of America.