For years, as the US and the so called coalition of the willing carried out mass murders of Muslim people and destruction of the Muslim lands, Muslims have waited for our turn to engage and to fight back. Unfortunately the Muslim leadership lacked faith in God and became impressed by the show of might demonstrated in the invasions and killings and the war crimes that have taken place over the past ten years, and so they never called Muslims to the fight and gave no hope of Muslim survival, or the survival of Islam. Instead they attempted to accelerate immigration to the West and assimilation, thinking wrongly that the solution to the war on terrorism crime was to be for it, rather than against it. Rather than to address the issues that plague the lives of Muslims in the Muslim world, they struggled for more accommodating immigration laws in the West, so they could encourage escape, to the glorious west, where they thought we would all be free.
Along with their repeated condemnations of terrorism, which in fact gave the wrong impression that there was something unique about Islam as a religion that engendered terrorism, they almost daily handed down verbal chastisement of Muslims who would not shut up and accept defeat gracefully. Such Muslims were called extremists and radicals and even worse, conspiracy theorists and terrorists. They were isolated, laughed at, and shut out of the inner Muslim circles where our government was lining the pockets of our intellectuals with cash, a reward their help with secularizing the mosques, and demonizing jihad.
Ten years into the illegal war and it has become clear that the war on terrorism has been lost. Not to Muslims, but to time. Ten years of mass murder and destruction in the Muslim world has only led to moral and financial bankruptcy in the West, while its effects on Muslims has been quite different than what was hoped for and imagined. We are not broken and we are not defeated. We are not frightened and we are not angry. In this ten years God has kept His promise to the Believers, and even though He has taken millions of martyr witnesses from among our ranks, he has blessed us with satisfaction and a taste for jihad. We are no longer interested in immigration and assimilation. We have seen the under belly of the so called great democracies of the West and we see that not only are they soft, they are full of corruption, hypocrisy, demonism and immoral disease. As Satan drove the forces of the arrogant West to more and worse crimes against humanity, God opened the eyes of the believers and asked us to choose. We choose the jihad.
We are freeing our own countries through revolutions, and still Satan will not leave us alone. The Arab puppet governments are also killing the Muslim people, while they attempt in every way to stall our revolutions and to criminalize the revolutionaries, and stay in power. God will take martyrs from among us in great numbers, yet we will have the victory. Allah has called us to beautiful patience, and so we must persist in our revolutions against all odds. Ramadan is the time for completion of the revolutions. They will spread, become more violent and then we will be granted the final victory and the black flags will fly over Jerusalem and throughout the Muslim lands. And our people, our tired, weary and battered and humiliated, heart broken and tired but victorious people, will return home, and together, insha Allah, we will build and create the Muslim world of our dreams.
For now, Satan has organized and prepared his forces for the great battle. We must do the same. As strange as it sounds, considering all of the military equipment, advanced military technology and money that we don’t have, we expect the victory because Allah said in the Qur’an, “Indeed we have granted you (Muhammad) a manifest victory.” Ten years of mass murder and death has immunized us against the pain of watching as our children’s bodies are mutilated, as our women are raped, our men tortured and sodomized, and our parents humiliated and killed. We can only win, because you took our fear.
This Ramadan will not be a time for peace. It will be a time for war. Our enemy is desperate for victory. They cannot walk away from the battlefields where they lost their souls and treasure without one last desperate attempt to finally eliminate Islam, and to kill off the remnant of its adherents, and the descendants of prophets. They are under the spells of Kabbalists, false prophecies and delusion that will drive them to their destruction.
Let the Muslims rejoice in the bargain that we have made. God has purchased our lives and properties and in return He has given us two glorious possibilities, victory or martyrdom, and one certainty; eternal life in paradise. If they incline towards peace, we will also incline towards peace, but if they are firm for war, we will destroy them.
Showing posts with label jihad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jihad. Show all posts
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Saturday, March 13, 2010
NAMAW endorses Ghaddfi speech calling for boycott of Switzerland and invigoration of Muslim spirit of jihad
With the Name of God, who is Most Gracious and Most Merciful
When former US President George W. Bush first referred to the US war on terrorism as a crusade, many international pundits and diplomats were appalled. None could believe that the former president had characterized the US effort to apprehend and to punish those who were responsible for the September 11th 2001 attacks on the United States, in that way.
The international Muslim leadership and organizations were also shocked, and appalled by his choice of a word depicting what was being presented as a war against the use of political violence, as a crusade, or a Christian religious war against Islam.
It was not until years later, after the illegal invasion and destruction of Iraq, a Muslim country that had no relationship to 9/11, and subsequent invasions of other Muslim countries not involved, nor suspected of involvement in 9/11, that Muslims and others began to realize that the former President’s characterization of the so called war on terrorism was indeed accurate.
Credible and substantiated reports that Qur’ans were being flushed down toilets and destroyed and that mosque were being targeted and blown up, were the first clues that the war on terrorism was not really a war against political violence. Also, reports that Muslims were being subjected to mass round ups, kidnappings, secret detainments, massacres and torture were also clues that the war on terrorism is much more than merely an attempt to identify and to apprehend suspected terrorists. The US military was distributing Bibles and Bible tracts in Afghanistan and Iraq, and a wave of Christian missionaries either followed, or accompanied the US military into Iraq and other Muslim countries where they carried out efforts to convert Muslims to Christianity in exchange for food, medical assistance, housing, etc. This, after most Muslim charities had been either shut down or operations limited due to false claims that their charitable works and contributions were being used to fund terrorism.
To date this crusade has engulfed more than 5 predominately Muslim countries in violence and destruction, resulting from attacks by either US military forces, or their proxies. More than 1,366,000 people, all innocent civilians, have been murdered in Iraq, while previously, more than 500,000 innocent Iraqi children had been literally starved to death as the US and the UN imposed a devastating economic sanctions regime on Iraq in a failed attempt at regime change.
It is not sufficient for us to mention these things without also mentioning that prior to the 9/11 attacks, the United States and the world were already being prepared for this type of an assault on Islam, and Muslims. Pro-Israeli polemicists and propagandists had begun, years prior to the 2001 attacks on the US, a campaign that was clearly aimed at demonizing Islam and Muslims and perpetuating the false idea that all Muslims are either terrorists or potential terrorists. People such as Steven Emerson, Daniel Pipes, Rita Katz, Judith Miller and other Zionists, played a primary role in creating an environment of suspicion and fear of Muslims, suggesting in their writings and lectures that Muslims hate the West due to the teachings of Islam and the Qur’an, and could not be trusted, and that we should be denied Constitutional rights and subjected to unique and novel types of persecutions.
Whereas it was not so clear in the past that this campaign was perhaps intended to foment fear and hatred of Muslims, and aimed at dehumanizing Muslims in preparation for what subsequently did become an all out war against Islam and Muslims, it is clear now that this was indeed the purpose and intent of their campaign. While these people worked to poison public opinion in the US and Europe in respect to Islam and Muslims, their operatives inside the US government and military did the most harm, plotting and unleashing after 9/11, a crusade that has not only devastated the Muslim and Arab world, but that also caused the US to abandon our own laws, traditions and values, which caused us to lose credibility and prestige in the eyes of most of the world.
On March 2, 2010, in commemoration of the birthday of our beloved prophet Muhammad (sa), the President of Libya and Commander of the World Islamic People’s Leadership, Muamar Ghaddafi, gave an historic speech, wherein he spoke the truth concerning these issues, and the obligation for Muslims throughout the world to unite in opposition to this crusade, and to condemn all unjust and illegal violence such as terrorism and also the renegade organizations that have sought to undermine Islam and Muslims through an attempted usurpation of Islamic authority, and distortion of Islam. President Ghaddafi specifically mentions Al Qaeda, and says that it is up to the international Muslim ummat to teach the world the difference between the honorable jihad of Muslims, and the illegal and criminal violence of organizations such as Al Qaeda. He said, “We should be clear that terrorism, which is a hallmark of Al Qaeda, led by Ayman al Zawahiri and his gang of criminal murderers, is not jihad. Unfortunately we have young people who have been deceived and who believe that this type of crime is jihad. We must make it clear to them that the unjust killing of Muslims is not jihad and violation of the Islamic laws is not jihad.”
He appealed to the Muslim youth saying, “To kill innocent women and children and to kill Muslims because of sectarianism is kufr (unbelief), and this is not jihad.”
President Ghaddafi went on to say, “Kidnapping, beheading, drug trafficking, banditry and robbery, smuggling of illegal goods, intimidation of the Muslim people who feel unsafe even in their own countries…this is terrorism, let us be clear. The Muslim people must be against such crimes, and turn against the gangs like Al Qaeda, who mock Islam with their illegal actions.”
In another part of this same speech, President Ghaddafi also condemned the crusade against Islam and Muslims and called the Muslim ummat to defend itself against this crusade by embracing and reinvigorating the Islamic obligation, and spirit of jihad, which is the righteous struggle against all evil, oppression and injustice. He specifically called for a Muslim boycott of Switzerland, based upon the fact that Switzerland has repeatedly allowed the ugly cartooning and defaming caricatures of the prophet Muhammad (sa), along with defamation of Islam. Switzerland also banned Muslims from building mosques with minarets. He explained this as a jihad to deny Switzerland money, and not to act violently, which is what Al Qaeda desires.
It is our opinion that President Ghaddafi sincerely wants to teach our youth and the world, that the desire for justice is the right of every human being, and to act to attain that justice is also a right and it is a right enjoyed by the Muslim and not only the non-Muslim. The Islamic obligation for jihad, is not merely a call to an armed confrontation, it is a call to act and struggle for justice in every reasonable way that we can.
In keeping with this theme, President Ghaddafi made it clear that the struggle of the Palestinian people to be free from the illegal Israeli occupation of their land, and to end the illegal economic embargo and other crimes against humanity and war crimes that are daily perpetrated against them, is the righteous jihad of Islam. He said, “There is a big difference, like the difference between heaven and earth, between terrorism and the jihad of the Palestinian people.”
President Ghaddafi also called upon Muslims throughout the world to end their attempts to separate themselves from the larger countries in which they live, and to instead adopt a cooperative approach, working with the governments to improve understanding of Islam, while demonstrating that Muslims are honorable people who live by the Qur’an. He suggested that Muslims struggle to become leaders in their countries and communities, and to struggle to change things from within, rather than to separate and form small and powerless countries that will be dependent upon the larger more powerful countries for security and other essentials.
It is our opinion that President Ghaddafi’s speech represents a first step towards reclaiming Muslim dignity and reasserting the Muslim right to justice and our Islamic duty to embark upon the jihad as a means of self defense and also as a method by which to attain justice and security for the Muslim lands and people. We agree with President Ghaddafi’s statement that an attempt has been made to equate jihad with terrorism, and that this was done with the intent to prevent Muslims from acting in our own defense and to force our surrender to the crusade, and our abandonment of Islam.
In consideration of the points mentioned, it is with great pleasure that the National Association of Muslim American Women (NAMAW) announces our endorsement of President Ghaddafi’s speech and we join our voice with his voice, calling the Muslim ummat to unity, an end to sectarianism, and re-invigoration of the true spirit of jihad. We join President Ghaddafi in the call for opposition to Al Qaeda and other violent gangs. We endorse his call to boycott Switzerland, and international support for the righteous struggle and resistance of the Palestinian people in their quest for freedom, and the right to return to their homeland. We also support and endorse his recommendation to forge alliances with the honest people within our governments, in an effort to alleviate the present oppression and persecution being suffered by Muslims throughout the world at the hands of certain special interests within these governments. We also support his call for greater Muslim integration, and activism on the community level, and more Muslim leadership in politics.
We believe that the recommendations and explanations provided by President Ghaddafi in his speech represent a refreshing change by a Muslim leader of his stature, who rather than to repeatedly chastise Muslims for crimes we have not committed, recognizes the Muslim rights, and call for a re-invigoration of the spirit of jihad, and true Islam. We pray that God will continue to guide and to protect him, and appeal to Muslims everywhere to reflect upon, and to adhere to his wise advice, and counsel.
(signed) Anisa Abd el Fattah, Chairwoman
National Association of Muslim American Women (NAMAW)
When former US President George W. Bush first referred to the US war on terrorism as a crusade, many international pundits and diplomats were appalled. None could believe that the former president had characterized the US effort to apprehend and to punish those who were responsible for the September 11th 2001 attacks on the United States, in that way.
The international Muslim leadership and organizations were also shocked, and appalled by his choice of a word depicting what was being presented as a war against the use of political violence, as a crusade, or a Christian religious war against Islam.
It was not until years later, after the illegal invasion and destruction of Iraq, a Muslim country that had no relationship to 9/11, and subsequent invasions of other Muslim countries not involved, nor suspected of involvement in 9/11, that Muslims and others began to realize that the former President’s characterization of the so called war on terrorism was indeed accurate.
Credible and substantiated reports that Qur’ans were being flushed down toilets and destroyed and that mosque were being targeted and blown up, were the first clues that the war on terrorism was not really a war against political violence. Also, reports that Muslims were being subjected to mass round ups, kidnappings, secret detainments, massacres and torture were also clues that the war on terrorism is much more than merely an attempt to identify and to apprehend suspected terrorists. The US military was distributing Bibles and Bible tracts in Afghanistan and Iraq, and a wave of Christian missionaries either followed, or accompanied the US military into Iraq and other Muslim countries where they carried out efforts to convert Muslims to Christianity in exchange for food, medical assistance, housing, etc. This, after most Muslim charities had been either shut down or operations limited due to false claims that their charitable works and contributions were being used to fund terrorism.
To date this crusade has engulfed more than 5 predominately Muslim countries in violence and destruction, resulting from attacks by either US military forces, or their proxies. More than 1,366,000 people, all innocent civilians, have been murdered in Iraq, while previously, more than 500,000 innocent Iraqi children had been literally starved to death as the US and the UN imposed a devastating economic sanctions regime on Iraq in a failed attempt at regime change.
It is not sufficient for us to mention these things without also mentioning that prior to the 9/11 attacks, the United States and the world were already being prepared for this type of an assault on Islam, and Muslims. Pro-Israeli polemicists and propagandists had begun, years prior to the 2001 attacks on the US, a campaign that was clearly aimed at demonizing Islam and Muslims and perpetuating the false idea that all Muslims are either terrorists or potential terrorists. People such as Steven Emerson, Daniel Pipes, Rita Katz, Judith Miller and other Zionists, played a primary role in creating an environment of suspicion and fear of Muslims, suggesting in their writings and lectures that Muslims hate the West due to the teachings of Islam and the Qur’an, and could not be trusted, and that we should be denied Constitutional rights and subjected to unique and novel types of persecutions.
Whereas it was not so clear in the past that this campaign was perhaps intended to foment fear and hatred of Muslims, and aimed at dehumanizing Muslims in preparation for what subsequently did become an all out war against Islam and Muslims, it is clear now that this was indeed the purpose and intent of their campaign. While these people worked to poison public opinion in the US and Europe in respect to Islam and Muslims, their operatives inside the US government and military did the most harm, plotting and unleashing after 9/11, a crusade that has not only devastated the Muslim and Arab world, but that also caused the US to abandon our own laws, traditions and values, which caused us to lose credibility and prestige in the eyes of most of the world.
On March 2, 2010, in commemoration of the birthday of our beloved prophet Muhammad (sa), the President of Libya and Commander of the World Islamic People’s Leadership, Muamar Ghaddafi, gave an historic speech, wherein he spoke the truth concerning these issues, and the obligation for Muslims throughout the world to unite in opposition to this crusade, and to condemn all unjust and illegal violence such as terrorism and also the renegade organizations that have sought to undermine Islam and Muslims through an attempted usurpation of Islamic authority, and distortion of Islam. President Ghaddafi specifically mentions Al Qaeda, and says that it is up to the international Muslim ummat to teach the world the difference between the honorable jihad of Muslims, and the illegal and criminal violence of organizations such as Al Qaeda. He said, “We should be clear that terrorism, which is a hallmark of Al Qaeda, led by Ayman al Zawahiri and his gang of criminal murderers, is not jihad. Unfortunately we have young people who have been deceived and who believe that this type of crime is jihad. We must make it clear to them that the unjust killing of Muslims is not jihad and violation of the Islamic laws is not jihad.”
He appealed to the Muslim youth saying, “To kill innocent women and children and to kill Muslims because of sectarianism is kufr (unbelief), and this is not jihad.”
President Ghaddafi went on to say, “Kidnapping, beheading, drug trafficking, banditry and robbery, smuggling of illegal goods, intimidation of the Muslim people who feel unsafe even in their own countries…this is terrorism, let us be clear. The Muslim people must be against such crimes, and turn against the gangs like Al Qaeda, who mock Islam with their illegal actions.”
In another part of this same speech, President Ghaddafi also condemned the crusade against Islam and Muslims and called the Muslim ummat to defend itself against this crusade by embracing and reinvigorating the Islamic obligation, and spirit of jihad, which is the righteous struggle against all evil, oppression and injustice. He specifically called for a Muslim boycott of Switzerland, based upon the fact that Switzerland has repeatedly allowed the ugly cartooning and defaming caricatures of the prophet Muhammad (sa), along with defamation of Islam. Switzerland also banned Muslims from building mosques with minarets. He explained this as a jihad to deny Switzerland money, and not to act violently, which is what Al Qaeda desires.
It is our opinion that President Ghaddafi sincerely wants to teach our youth and the world, that the desire for justice is the right of every human being, and to act to attain that justice is also a right and it is a right enjoyed by the Muslim and not only the non-Muslim. The Islamic obligation for jihad, is not merely a call to an armed confrontation, it is a call to act and struggle for justice in every reasonable way that we can.
In keeping with this theme, President Ghaddafi made it clear that the struggle of the Palestinian people to be free from the illegal Israeli occupation of their land, and to end the illegal economic embargo and other crimes against humanity and war crimes that are daily perpetrated against them, is the righteous jihad of Islam. He said, “There is a big difference, like the difference between heaven and earth, between terrorism and the jihad of the Palestinian people.”
President Ghaddafi also called upon Muslims throughout the world to end their attempts to separate themselves from the larger countries in which they live, and to instead adopt a cooperative approach, working with the governments to improve understanding of Islam, while demonstrating that Muslims are honorable people who live by the Qur’an. He suggested that Muslims struggle to become leaders in their countries and communities, and to struggle to change things from within, rather than to separate and form small and powerless countries that will be dependent upon the larger more powerful countries for security and other essentials.
It is our opinion that President Ghaddafi’s speech represents a first step towards reclaiming Muslim dignity and reasserting the Muslim right to justice and our Islamic duty to embark upon the jihad as a means of self defense and also as a method by which to attain justice and security for the Muslim lands and people. We agree with President Ghaddafi’s statement that an attempt has been made to equate jihad with terrorism, and that this was done with the intent to prevent Muslims from acting in our own defense and to force our surrender to the crusade, and our abandonment of Islam.
In consideration of the points mentioned, it is with great pleasure that the National Association of Muslim American Women (NAMAW) announces our endorsement of President Ghaddafi’s speech and we join our voice with his voice, calling the Muslim ummat to unity, an end to sectarianism, and re-invigoration of the true spirit of jihad. We join President Ghaddafi in the call for opposition to Al Qaeda and other violent gangs. We endorse his call to boycott Switzerland, and international support for the righteous struggle and resistance of the Palestinian people in their quest for freedom, and the right to return to their homeland. We also support and endorse his recommendation to forge alliances with the honest people within our governments, in an effort to alleviate the present oppression and persecution being suffered by Muslims throughout the world at the hands of certain special interests within these governments. We also support his call for greater Muslim integration, and activism on the community level, and more Muslim leadership in politics.
We believe that the recommendations and explanations provided by President Ghaddafi in his speech represent a refreshing change by a Muslim leader of his stature, who rather than to repeatedly chastise Muslims for crimes we have not committed, recognizes the Muslim rights, and call for a re-invigoration of the spirit of jihad, and true Islam. We pray that God will continue to guide and to protect him, and appeal to Muslims everywhere to reflect upon, and to adhere to his wise advice, and counsel.
(signed) Anisa Abd el Fattah, Chairwoman
National Association of Muslim American Women (NAMAW)
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
The Last Days
By Anisa Abd el Fattah
While watching TV several nights ago I came across a program that talked about the Christian idea of Armageddon. The narrator went over Biblical scriptures, seeking to create an image or an impression of what the last days before God’s final judgment of humanity will be like. Anyone who has read the Book of Revelations in the Bible, or listened to the apocalyptic preachers of the fundamentalist Church, believes that the last days will be filled with many overwhelming events, such as the rapture, the mass destruction of many people, catastrophes, plagues, famines and the like. In their end time scenario God begins punishing and destroying the wicked, and rapturing the righteous even before the actual Day of Judgment takes place.
As I watched this program, I thought about a verse of the Qur’an that says,”Those who really believe in a Day of Judgment hold it in awe.” To me, that means that if people really believe that what they read in the Biblical Book of Revelations is true, there would not be the wars, oppression, genocides, tyranny and other crimes against humanity taking place so boldly in our societies, and against so little opposition. Surely, those who feel that they are eligible for rapture would be busy opposing the forces of darkness, confident of victory, while the forces of darkness would be trying to get as much evil done as possible in the supposedly short amount of time they have left, hoping somehow to defeat the righteous, and God, with the supposed power of satan. Looking out at the world, it appears that only the wicked are believers in the last days. Their quite obvious confidence and sense of urgency in their quest for primacy might be the proof of that.
Perhaps the point of the documentary wasn’t really to convince us that the last days are upon us, or that we should prepare to be judged. It seems more likely that the point of the documentary was to feed the fire of self righteousness that is fueled by the supremacist thinking of the so called self declared “saved” and “righteous” who have obviously already judged themselves and declared themselves ready for rapture, and the rest of us bound for hell. This is true Christian charity according to the fundamentalists; that they have saved themselves and left others, in fact a majority, behind.
The Qur’an on the other hand gives us another view of the last days, and makes it clear to us that it is not the literal last days of all existence, but it is the last days of the system that God put in place to serve us in our journey from Him and, and our return to Him. For the sake of mental imagery we refer to it as a cycle of life much like a circle that has a point of departure, sojourn and return to its origin. In this scenario, the last days are not days of destruction and chaos. They are the final tests of those who say they have chosen God’s path, and an opportunity for us to join the heavenly forces as they usher in the transition of this system from one of test of trial in hardship, to a period of test and trial in ease and prosperity. The period of ease and prosperity is known by some as the 1000 year millennium.
In Islam we believe that there are many days of judgment. We are judged each night according to actions during the day, and we are judged each minute by the actions performed a minute ago. We are judged at the time of death, and then again at the time of resurrection. So in Islam there is no single last day for humanity in which we are to give up hope for salvation, but rather there are last days, pregnant with hope and opportunities for good and righteous acts, up and until we stand before God and our Imams and prophets seek to intercede for us, so that we might be spared complete separation from God, which is an unbearable thought for those who understand how intimately our happiness, well being and connection to God are associated.
There are many Muslims who believe that we are at the beginning of this period of transition or transformation from the system of test and trial through adversity and suffering, to the period of test and trial in peace and prosperity. Such belief also includes belief that these last days will perhaps present the most difficult trials for the true believers who will be challenged to stand with heavenly forces in the final battles against the wicked that will end their period of supposed supremacism and usher in the days of the righteous, who will begin working to establish the kingdom of God on earth, as it is in heaven.
For some, that means that the last days are the final tests of faith in times of cruelty and human suffering, wars, famines, plagues and horrendous crimes against humanity. Unlike those in some other religions who believe this is the time for gloating at the eagerly anticipated fall of the wicked and rapture of the righteous, Muslims believe that the last days are a final opportunity to choose to stand with the forces of God, or those of satan in a series of final trials aimed at sorting out those who have attained knowledge and understood the meaning of the cycle and the importance of intimacy with our Creator, as opposed to those who have not, and so will be idle, and cowed with fear, and serving wickedness in their silence and apathy.
So this judgment is by the standards of clear and common criteria for all of humanity. The last days represent a final choice in this era of trial through sacrifice, hardship and struggle, to either stand in opposition to the wickedness of these times, or to stand still, and be judged as one who failed to believe that the promises of God are true. God said,”The righteous will inherit this earth.” These last days before us are perhaps a period of sorting out, and a time to determine who are the true believers in God, those sitting back arrogantly waiting to be saved, while the entire world is suffering from the mischief of satan and his forces, or those who will spare nothing to save humanity from the temporary hell of this life, hoping for an eternity of happiness in the next? The last days are the times to choose, and to act.
May Allah grant us the knowledge and wisdom required for these difficult times. May God purify our hearts and remove all idols, and false worship from us. May He give us the courage to remain steadfast in the face of hardships, trials and death, and grant us the manifest (already promised) victory. Amen.
While watching TV several nights ago I came across a program that talked about the Christian idea of Armageddon. The narrator went over Biblical scriptures, seeking to create an image or an impression of what the last days before God’s final judgment of humanity will be like. Anyone who has read the Book of Revelations in the Bible, or listened to the apocalyptic preachers of the fundamentalist Church, believes that the last days will be filled with many overwhelming events, such as the rapture, the mass destruction of many people, catastrophes, plagues, famines and the like. In their end time scenario God begins punishing and destroying the wicked, and rapturing the righteous even before the actual Day of Judgment takes place.
As I watched this program, I thought about a verse of the Qur’an that says,”Those who really believe in a Day of Judgment hold it in awe.” To me, that means that if people really believe that what they read in the Biblical Book of Revelations is true, there would not be the wars, oppression, genocides, tyranny and other crimes against humanity taking place so boldly in our societies, and against so little opposition. Surely, those who feel that they are eligible for rapture would be busy opposing the forces of darkness, confident of victory, while the forces of darkness would be trying to get as much evil done as possible in the supposedly short amount of time they have left, hoping somehow to defeat the righteous, and God, with the supposed power of satan. Looking out at the world, it appears that only the wicked are believers in the last days. Their quite obvious confidence and sense of urgency in their quest for primacy might be the proof of that.
Perhaps the point of the documentary wasn’t really to convince us that the last days are upon us, or that we should prepare to be judged. It seems more likely that the point of the documentary was to feed the fire of self righteousness that is fueled by the supremacist thinking of the so called self declared “saved” and “righteous” who have obviously already judged themselves and declared themselves ready for rapture, and the rest of us bound for hell. This is true Christian charity according to the fundamentalists; that they have saved themselves and left others, in fact a majority, behind.
The Qur’an on the other hand gives us another view of the last days, and makes it clear to us that it is not the literal last days of all existence, but it is the last days of the system that God put in place to serve us in our journey from Him and, and our return to Him. For the sake of mental imagery we refer to it as a cycle of life much like a circle that has a point of departure, sojourn and return to its origin. In this scenario, the last days are not days of destruction and chaos. They are the final tests of those who say they have chosen God’s path, and an opportunity for us to join the heavenly forces as they usher in the transition of this system from one of test of trial in hardship, to a period of test and trial in ease and prosperity. The period of ease and prosperity is known by some as the 1000 year millennium.
In Islam we believe that there are many days of judgment. We are judged each night according to actions during the day, and we are judged each minute by the actions performed a minute ago. We are judged at the time of death, and then again at the time of resurrection. So in Islam there is no single last day for humanity in which we are to give up hope for salvation, but rather there are last days, pregnant with hope and opportunities for good and righteous acts, up and until we stand before God and our Imams and prophets seek to intercede for us, so that we might be spared complete separation from God, which is an unbearable thought for those who understand how intimately our happiness, well being and connection to God are associated.
There are many Muslims who believe that we are at the beginning of this period of transition or transformation from the system of test and trial through adversity and suffering, to the period of test and trial in peace and prosperity. Such belief also includes belief that these last days will perhaps present the most difficult trials for the true believers who will be challenged to stand with heavenly forces in the final battles against the wicked that will end their period of supposed supremacism and usher in the days of the righteous, who will begin working to establish the kingdom of God on earth, as it is in heaven.
For some, that means that the last days are the final tests of faith in times of cruelty and human suffering, wars, famines, plagues and horrendous crimes against humanity. Unlike those in some other religions who believe this is the time for gloating at the eagerly anticipated fall of the wicked and rapture of the righteous, Muslims believe that the last days are a final opportunity to choose to stand with the forces of God, or those of satan in a series of final trials aimed at sorting out those who have attained knowledge and understood the meaning of the cycle and the importance of intimacy with our Creator, as opposed to those who have not, and so will be idle, and cowed with fear, and serving wickedness in their silence and apathy.
So this judgment is by the standards of clear and common criteria for all of humanity. The last days represent a final choice in this era of trial through sacrifice, hardship and struggle, to either stand in opposition to the wickedness of these times, or to stand still, and be judged as one who failed to believe that the promises of God are true. God said,”The righteous will inherit this earth.” These last days before us are perhaps a period of sorting out, and a time to determine who are the true believers in God, those sitting back arrogantly waiting to be saved, while the entire world is suffering from the mischief of satan and his forces, or those who will spare nothing to save humanity from the temporary hell of this life, hoping for an eternity of happiness in the next? The last days are the times to choose, and to act.
May Allah grant us the knowledge and wisdom required for these difficult times. May God purify our hearts and remove all idols, and false worship from us. May He give us the courage to remain steadfast in the face of hardships, trials and death, and grant us the manifest (already promised) victory. Amen.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
The state of the Muslim Ummah (Community)
With the Name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
The State of the Muslim Ummah (Community)
As we look around at the world today, it is almost impossible to escape the feeling that something is tremendously wrong, and out of balance. Never before in our life times have things seemed more chaotic, while at the same time seeming to be orchestrated, shaped and imposed by a power or influence that is extremely dark and negative. Who ever imagined that one day the United States of America would be embroiled in wars whose aims are not to safe guard freedom, nor to address gross injustices or to defend itself from an imminent threat? Who among us would have ever dreamed that the United States of America would one day come to represent an oppressive, and occupying power that has set itself on a collision course with more than 1.5 billion people based upon what they believe. Who among us would ever have believed that the United States of America, a country founded by monotheists seeking a place where they could worship God freely and without fear of government persecution, would one day invade countries and kill people simply because they believe that there is only One God, and that Muhammad ibn Abdullah of Mecca is the last of His prophets, and that a Book called the Qur’an, that was revealed to that illiterate and humble man living in a desert over 1400 years ago, is God’s last Divinely revealed message to mankind. Who would ever believe that the United States of America would become the worldly power used to forcefully impose a New Secular World Order upon God’s earth, the aim of which is to reorder God’s creation, to abolish His laws, and to establish new man made laws whose purpose is to bring mankind into submission to the darkest inclinations of the human soul, which are greed for wealth, violence and lust for kingdom, dominion, and immortality.
A country whose Constitution once guaranteed the rights of all men to
believe in God freely and to express that belief freely openly, has become a country that goes to war and kills people because of what they believe about God, and his message to mankind. What is even more starling and unbelievable is that many Arab and Muslim governments have aligned themselves with these Secularists, and irreligious fanatics in their attempt to reorder the human society and to recreate it according to their laws and desires. They even help to kill and to starve Muslims and our children, looking for power, favors and protection from the godless.
A country whose Constitution was once the gold standard for social contracts that recognized and sought to protect the God given and inalienable rights of all human beings, among which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, is now a country that spends days and weeks and months and years publicly debating whether or not torture works, and whether or not we should adopt and endorse the use of torture, even though it is against our laws, and traditions and is clearly not only illegal, but also immoral. Imagine that one of our country’s faith leaders would submit to that debate, the idea that we are not to contemplate what Jesus would do in a ticking bomb situation, but rather what Jesus would expect us to do and how far he would expect us to go to save innocent lives by torturing people to get information from them. This is the thinking and logic of one of the leaders of a religious organizations that professes the belief that Jesus Christ gave his life on a cross where he was tortured, because he would not forsaken his belief in One God, and in the message that he taught, which was revealed to him by that God. According to this imposters belief, Jesus Christ was tortured an died upon a cross for what he believed, yet he would expect his followers to torture to save lives. This failed logic also ignores the simple truth that you cannot know if someone has information about a ticking bomb unless you already have that same information. Even a lie detector test will fail in a situation where a person is being tortured. The truth is that they are sadist and they enjoy hurting others, especially Muslims.
The logic of that man is not the logic of Jesus, it is the the logic of the Pharisees, who felt that Jesus deserved to be scourged and killed because he refused to submit to their authority, and because he would not compromise his message to the Hebrew people, calling them to repentance for the false worship of men they had adopted after entering a covenant with God to worship him only, and to preserve the Book and the laws that had been revealed to the prophet Moses. Jesus gave hope to those of other tribes saying that God would send them a prophet, and described the prophet Muhammad (sa) who did receive a Divinely revealed and universal message for all of mankind.
This Secular World Order that is advancing like a storm, rumbling across the landscape of God’s earth has a history, and it goes back to the beginning, back to the story of creation where a disobedient entity that felt it had the right and power to challenge God for dominion over God’s creation said to God in rebellion, that he would not bow down to man, but rather should rule mankind because he was created of fire, and man from dust. These are metaphors representing the power to destroy over the power to procreate. It represents the power of fear used to subjugate mankind, in competition with the power of love as an incentive for life and the loyal worship of our Creator. Fire cannot create or give life, it cannot nourish or advance life, and it can only frighten and destroy unless it is controlled by a benevolent spirit that is of greater power. Thus, we have the quintessential battle between good and evil, acted out for us as the battle between Satan, the rebellious entity and Adam, the worldly father of mankind, created of love and dust, life giving and sustaining substances that are more powerful than fear of destruction, and lusts for kingdom and immortality in a darkened soul. So the objective of the rebellious entity is to prevent illumination, because the light shows mankind the pathway to God, our sustainer and source of real power.
Most of us who are familiar with religious texts and ways of thinking, look out at the world and see the fulfillment of prophecies, and those of us who seemingly recognize the times we are living in as the proverbial Last Days, will also realize, or rather remember that such days do not portend the end of the worlds, but rather they portend the coming of a day that the Qur’an says will be a Day that no one can put back, meaning it is Day that is unavoidable, the date for its arrival being fixed and will not be changed.
It is the arrival of this day that those who love God and who trust in Him await with fear, and it is a Day that the wicked and rebellious soul does not recognize, believe in, or fear, and it is this lack of belief or concern for the destination of their souls after death that will be the cause for their punishment and destruction. God told the prophet Muhammad in the Qur’an to remind the wicked of this Day, so they might learn to fear God. It is a day when every soul will be called to account for its violations of Gods laws and sins, and it is a Day where the righteous souls who have born the hardship of struggle towards God in a world wrought with evil, will find its relief, and its salvation.
The Qur’an says the angels will greet the righteous and say this is the promise of God fulfilled, so enter the garden with happiness in security. The righteous will return to the Garden from whence our father Adam was expelled as punishment for his disobedience. God’s promise to illuminate the path for those who desire to worship Him, will be fulfilled and the righteous will inherit the kingdom that Adam was temporarily denied. The Qur’an says those who enter the garden will be dressed in garments of green silk and brocade, and they will wear jewels, and sit upon thrones. The Qur’an says they will be fed the purest of foods and they will drink the most satisfying drinks while enjoying the companionship of the best and most beautiful of God’s creation. By contrast the wicked will be covered with burning tar that will cover their faces and bodies and they will burn until they are completely destroyed only to be reconstituted to be burned and destroyed over and over again. The Qur’an says they will drink a drink of the draining of wounds like puss.
The Muslim Ummah or community of Muslims exists in the world today as a sanctuary for those who believe, and who have the desire to return to the garden and to receive their inheritance and to live in peace in proximity to their Creator. I use the word sanctuary to suggest that within the company of Muslims it is accepted to believe in God, and to worship Him and to love Him, and to serve Him, unlike in the world without God. This ummah, which is not defined by geography or race, or color, but only by belief stretches across God’s earth. There is not a place on earth where there are not Muslims. We can imagine that this is due to the fact that we are carriers of something that no other people possess, and that is the truth, and the last message. What is that message? It is that mankind must repent and return from false worship of idols back to the worship of the One True God, or on the Day of Judgment the rebellious soul will be condemned to hell. It is the knowledge of God, His laws and His way that is the barrier to the complete dominion of God’s earth by the wicked and this is why they are at war with Islam. It is because darkness and light cannot co-exist. God said in the Qur’an that He hurled the truth and knocked the brains out of falsehood and that when truth arrives falsehood perishes because it is the nature of falsehood to perish. Falsehood is an illusion, like the power of Pharaoh, sorcery and illusion, while God’s power is real, perfect and complete, and it will not only destroy the Pharaohs of this world, it will destroy their sorcery and illusions, thereby freeing the human being from enslavement to falsehood and fear.
It is this message, this hope, this salvation that has made Islam the leading system of faith and life in the world. It is this power, this hope and opportunity that has caused Islam to be the fastest growing religion in the world. It is this brotherhood that is providing the comfort and the protection of the believers and it is this brotherhood that is organized to oppose and to defeat the forces of evil that seek to destroy belief in the One True God, and His laws, and to wipe out those who worship Him and Him alone.
The Hajj is a reflection of the state of the Ummat. When we see that it is well organized and orderly, and that the people are there in great numbers, it is the fulfillment of God’s promise to the prophet Muhammad (sa) where he said “Call them to the pilgrimage and they will come…” This is referring to the believing people. The Qur’an says they will come by any way possible, and will be lean on account of the distance and hardship of the journey. This doesn’t only that they are physically under nourished, but rather that they are a people who have traveled from a state of ignorance to truth and they have shed all of the excesses of life that impair the journey, or return to God, such as lusts and greed for anything except God.
The Hajj is the physical and spiritual manifestation of Ummah since it is where we gather in this world as we will, Insha Allah in heaven. We are all the same in dress, all the same in appearance, different only in name and experience and desire and need. We all come to Hajj for repentance, we all come to Hajj seeking nearness to God, seeking brotherhood, seeking peace, seeking forgiveness of sin, and also seeking guidance and restoration of our power. The rituals of Hajj are purifying because this ummah should be pure. We should not be committing sin and violation of God’s laws knowingly and purposefully. We should not be aiding others to carry out sin and to obscure the truth or to destroy and persecute the innocent. We should not be aiding the wicked to destroy God’s laws, or to abolish His order and replace it with a secular world order. We are a sanctuary and our presence should be saving and sustaining the believing people, and God’s earth.
In the Qur’an God cautioned the prophet Muhammad to be careful of the leadership of this Ummat. He told the prophet Muhammad to be careful about who is given authority in the mosques. He commanded the prophet Muhammad to replace the wicked, whose prayers are not answered and whose worship in the mosque is equal to whistling and clapping of hands, with the pure and pious who will strive and fight in the way of God, and not merely give water and creature comforts to pilgrims, and those who attend the mosques. The mosque is the center of Muslim ummat, and it must be kept clean, and it must be pure and it can only be led, and cared for by the righteous servants of God who have achieved proximity to God because God said about these people that he would hear their prayers and make their efforts successful, while he said about the hypocrites and the sinful unrepentant soul that it will be ineffective and all of its efforts would fail.
This ummat is in a perpetual state of Hajj, even when we are not in Mecca we are convening the lesser Hajj every Friday Jummah in the mosques. It is the time for repentance of sins, fellowship and guidance. It is the time for discussion of community affairs and settling disputes and distributing charity and visiting the sick and those who have been imprisoned.
The world is at war with Islam, but we are at peace. They are lying and hiding behind words that only fool people who have no God. The Qur’an says that those who God guides no one can mislead them, and those who God empower, no one can defeat them. The state of this Ummat is strong, yet it can be stronger. In spite of the loss of life and destruction of property, and the continuous attempts at our destruction, the believing people continue the journey, inviting every human being to take sanctuary with us, because God did create this Ummat as a sanctuary for mankind. As they kill millions of Muslims, the numbers of Muslims grow by millions. God says in the Qur’an about those who return to God in such circumstances, that even if they had been at home peacefully sleeping their beds and the time to transcend this life had come, they would have left us. It is only the circumstances of the illusion of their deaths that concern us, because these circumstances were allowed to challenge us and to test our abhorrence for injustice and sin, and mistreatment of the poor and weak. We will not exact justice because it appears that they died. We will exact justice because they were killed unjustly.
The prophet Muhammad (sa) taught us that no one should ever fear treachery from us, or theft from us, or violence and rudeness or offense from us. God told us in the Qur’an to even help the wicked and our enemies towards righteousness and cautioned us not to cause evil by provocation, incitement and misguidance.
It is very sad that Satan has sunk his stinger deep into the heart of the United States and other supposedly great powers and caused them to be used to attempt to wipe out Islam by killing its adherents and destroying their countries while attempting to confiscate our wealth and resources. They will never succeed, but worse and sadder is the fact that the innocent blood spilled has a price and the soul an owner who will demand His right and payment. Who will be able to pay?
We must remove our love and hearts from this world. We must enjoy the blessings of this life and the next, but not in sin. The material things should never mean more to us than salvation and nearness to God and eternal home in paradise. We must remember who we are as an ummat, and our purpose and we must be about this business of ours.
Make the word of God, which is the truth, available to all of mankind by every means except compulsion. Purify the mosques and establish the daily prayers. Attend the Jummah and use this day for all of its special attributes. No longer tolerate that any except the pure and righteous believers have authority over our mosques and our affairs. We must be guided by love, and desire for all of mankind to be spared hardship. We do this with charity, kind speech, personal and communal cleanliness, orderliness and minding our own business. The single should marry, and the married should procreate. Those burdened by vices and sins and addictions should never despair of God’s mercy and we should not cast them out for Satan to devour. Let them be part of the fellowship so long as they do not advertise or openly and promiscuously advocate sin and rebellion. In all of this let us remember that God said in the Qur;an that He has created a sanctuary for mankind so that mankind will be safe from being picked off and snatched away by Satan and the desires. We, this Ummat is that Sanctuary.
Allah bestows peace and blessings on the prophet Muhammad, his family and companions. Allah forgives this Ummat and guides us and blesses us. Oh Master, give us the wisdom and strength to bear the challenges with which you test and purify us and give us the grace to lead and protect the righteous. Make your Ummat a sanctuary for the sick, the poor, the frightened and the weak, and those who are seeking to know you and to worship you and you alone. Bless us with kind hearts and do not curse us to be cold hearted and violent. Make us exemplary to the world and a testament to your power and glory. Temper our anger and lusts for kingdom and immortality and make us accepting of your authority, your Decree, and your law. Make us successful, and give us refuge from the torment of the grave and from the hellfire. Ameen.
The State of the Muslim Ummat (Community)
With the Name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
As we look around at the world today, it is almost impossible to escape the feeling that something is tremendously wrong, and out of balance. Never before in our life times have things seemed more chaotic, while at the same time seeming to be orchestrated, shaped and imposed by a power or influence that is extremely dark and negative. Who ever imagined that one day the United States of America would be embroiled in wars whose aims are not to safe guard freedom, nor to address gross injustices or to defend itself from an imminent threat? Who among us would have ever dreamed that the United States of America would one day come to represent an oppressive, and occupying power that has set itself on a collision course with more than 1.5 billion people based upon what they believe. Who among us would ever have believed that the United States of America, a country founded by monotheists seeking a place where they could worship God freely and without fear of government persecution, would one day invade countries and kill people simply because they believe that there is only One God, and that Muhammad ibn Abdullah of Mecca is the last of His prophets, and that a Book called the Qur’an, that was revealed to that illiterate and humble man living in a desert over 1400 years ago, is God’s last Divinely revealed message to mankind. Who would ever believe that the United States of America would become the worldly power used to forcefully impose a New Secular World Order upon God’s earth, the aim of which is to reorder God’s creation, to abolish His laws, and to establish new manmade laws whose purpose is to bring mankind into submission to the darkest inclinations of the human soul, which are greed for wealth, violence and lust for kingdom, dominion, and immortality.
A country whose Constitution once guaranteed the rights of all men to
believe in God freely and to express that belief freely openly, has become a country that goes to war and kills people because of what they believe about God, and his message to mankind. What is even more starling and unbelievable is that many Arab and Muslim governments have aligned themselves with these Secularists, and irreligious fanatics in their attempt to reorder the human society and to recreate it according to their laws and desires. They even help to kill and to starve Muslims and our children, looking for power, favors and protection from the godless.
A country whose Constitution was once the gold standard for social contracts that recognized and sought to protect the God given and inalienable rights of all human beings, among which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, is now a country that spends days and weeks and months and years publicly debating whether or not torture works, and whether or not we should adopt and endorse the use of torture, even though it is against our laws, and traditions and is clearly not only illegal, but also immoral. Imagine that one of our country’s faith leaders would submit to that debate, the idea that we are not to contemplate what Jesus would do in a ticking bomb situation, but rather what Jesus would expect us to do and how far he would expect us to go to save innocent lives by torturing people to get information from them. This is the thinking and logic of one of the leaders of a religious organizations that professes the belief that Jesus Christ gave his life on a cross where he was tortured, because he would not forsaken his belief in One God, and in the message that he taught, which was revealed to him by that God. According to this imposters belief, Jesus Christ was tortured an died upon a cross for what he believed, yet he would expect his followers to torture to save lives. This failed logic also ignores the simple truth that you cannot know if someone has information about a ticking bomb unless you already have that same information. Even a lie detector test will fail in a situation where a person is being tortured. The truth is that they are sadist and they enjoy hurting others, especially Muslims.
The logic of that man is not the logic of Jesus, it is the the logic of the Pharisees, who felt that Jesus deserved to be scourged and killed because he refused to submit to their authority, and because he would not compromise his message to the Hebrew people, calling them to repentance for the false worship of men they had adopted after entering a covenant with God to worship him only, and to preserve the Book and the laws that had been revealed to the prophet Moses. Jesus gave hope to those of other tribes saying that God would send them a prophet, and described the prophet Muhammad (sa) who did receive a Divinely revealed and universal message for all of mankind.
This Secular World Order that is advancing like a storm, rumbling across the landscape of God’s earth has a history, and it goes back to the beginning, back to the story of creation where a disobedient entity that felt it had the right and power to challenge God for dominion over God’s creation said to God in rebellion, that he would not bow down to man, but rather should rule mankind because he was created of fire, and man from dust. These are metaphors representing the power to destroy over the power to procreate. It represents the power of fear used to subjugate mankind, in competition with the power of love as an incentive for life and the loyal worship of our Creator. Fire cannot create or give life, it cannot nourish or advance life, and it can only frighten and destroy unless it is controlled by a benevolent spirit that is of greater power. Thus, we have the quintessential battle between good and evil, acted out for us as the battle between Satan, the rebellious entity and Adam, the worldly father of mankind, created of love and dust, life giving and sustaining substances that are more powerful than fear of destruction, and lusts for kingdom and immortality in a darkened soul. So the objective of the rebellious entity is to prevent illumination, because the light shows mankind the pathway to God, our sustainer and source of real power.
Most of us who are familiar with religious texts and ways of thinking, look out at the world and see the fulfillment of prophecies, and those of us who seemingly recognize the times we are living in as the proverbial Last Days, will also realize, or rather remember that such days do not portend the end of the worlds, but rather they portend the coming of a day that the Qur’an says will be a Day that no one can put back, meaning it is Day that is unavoidable, the date for its arrival being fixed and will not be changed.
It is the arrival of this day that those who love God and who trust in Him await with fear, and it is a Day that the wicked and rebellious soul does not recognize, believe in, or fear, and it is this lack of belief or concern for the destination of their souls after death that will be the cause for their punishment and destruction. God told the prophet Muhammad in the Qur’an to remind the wicked of this Day, so they might learn to fear God. It is a day when every soul will be called to account for its violations of Gods laws and sins, and it is a Day where the righteous souls who have born the hardship of struggle towards God in a world wrought with evil, will find its relief, and its salvation.
The Qur’an says the angels will greet the righteous and say this is the promise of God fulfilled, so enter the garden with happiness in security. The righteous will return to the Garden from whence our father Adam was expelled as punishment for his disobedience. God’s promise to illuminate the path for those who desire to worship Him, will be fulfilled and the righteous will inherit the kingdom that Adam was temporarily denied. The Qur’an says those who enter the garden will be dressed in garments of green silk and brocade, and they will wear jewels, and sit upon thrones. The Qur’an says they will be fed the purest of foods and they will drink the most satisfying drinks while enjoying the companionship of the best and most beautiful of God’s creation. By contrast the wicked will be covered with burning tar that will cover their faces and bodies and they will burn until they are completely destroyed only to be reconstituted to be burned and destroyed over and over again. The Qur’an says they will drink a drink of the draining of wounds like puss.
The Muslim Ummah or community of Muslims exists in the world today as a sanctuary for those who believe, and who have the desire to return to the garden and to receive their inheritance and to live in peace in proximity to their Creator. I use the word sanctuary to suggest that within the company of Muslims it is accepted to believe in God, and to worship Him and to love Him, and to serve Him, unlike in the world without God. This ummah, which is not defined by geography or race, or color, but only by belief stretches across God’s earth. There is not a place on earth where there are not Muslims. We can imagine that this is due to the fact that we are carriers of something that no other people possess, and that is the truth, and the last message. What is that message? It is that mankind must repent and return from false worship of idols back to the worship of the One True God, or on the Day of Judgment the rebellious soul will be condemned to hell. It is the knowledge of God, His laws and His way that is the barrier to the complete dominion of God’s earth by the wicked and this is why they are at war with Islam. It is because darkness and light cannot co-exist. God said in the Qur’an that He hurled the truth and knocked the brains out of falsehood and that when truth arrives falsehood perishes because it is the nature of falsehood to perish. Falsehood is an illusion, like the power of Pharaoh, sorcery and illusion, while God’s power is real, perfect and complete, and it will not only destroy the Pharaohs of this world, it will destroy their sorcery and illusions, thereby freeing the human being from enslavement to falsehood and fear.
It is this message, this hope, this salvation that has made Islam the leading system of faith and life in the world. It is this power, this hope and opportunity that has caused Islam to be the fastest growing religion in the world. It is this brotherhood that is providing the comfort and the protection of the believers and it is this brotherhood that is organized to oppose and to defeat the forces of evil that seek to destroy belief in the One True God, and His laws, and to wipe out those who worship Him and Him alone.
The Hajj is a reflection of the state of the Ummat. When we see that it is well organized and orderly, and that the people are there in great numbers, it is the fulfillment of God’s promise to the prophet Muhammad (sa) where he said “Call them to the pilgrimage and they will come…” This is referring to the believing people. The Qur’an says they will come by any way possible, and will be lean on account of the distance and hardship of the journey. This doesn’t only that they are physically under nourished, but rather that they are a people who have traveled from a state of ignorance to truth and they have shed all of the excesses of life that impair the journey, or return to God, such as lusts and greed for anything except God.
The Hajj is the physical and spiritual manifestation of Ummah since it is where we gather in this world as we will, Insha Allah in heaven. We are all the same in dress, all the same in appearance, different only in name and experience and desire and need. We all come to Hajj for repentance, we all come to Hajj seeking nearness to God, seeking brotherhood, seeking peace, seeking forgiveness of sin, and also seeking guidance and restoration of our power. The rituals of Hajj are purifying because this ummah should be pure. We should not be committing sin and violation of God’s laws knowingly and purposefully. We should not be aiding others to carry out sin and to obscure the truth or to destroy and persecute the innocent. We should not be aiding the wicked to destroy God’s laws, or to abolish His order and replace it with a secular world order. We are a sanctuary and our presence should be saving and sustaining the believing people, and God’s earth.
In the Qur’an God cautioned the prophet Muhammad to be careful of the leadership of this Ummat. He told the prophet Muhammad to be careful about who is given authority in the mosques. He commanded the prophet Muhammad to replace the wicked, whose prayers are not answered and whose worship in the mosque is equal to whistling and clapping of hands, with the pure and pious who will strive and fight in the way of God, and not merely give water and creature comforts to pilgrims, and those who attend the mosques. The mosque is the center of Muslim ummat, and it must be kept clean, and it must be pure and it can only be led, and cared for by the righteous servants of God who have achieved proximity to God because God said about these people that he would hear their prayers and make their efforts successful, while he said about the hypocrites and the sinful unrepentant soul that it will be ineffective and all of its efforts would fail.
This ummat is in a perpetual state of Hajj, even when we are not in Mecca we are convening the lesser Hajj every Friday Jummah in the mosques. It is the time for repentance of sins, fellowship and guidance. It is the time for discussion of community affairs and settling disputes and distributing charity and visiting the sick and those who have been imprisoned.
The world is at war with Islam, but we are at peace. They are lying and hiding behind words that only fool people who have no God. The Qur’an says that those who God guides no one can mislead them, and those who God empower, no one can defeat them. The state of this Ummat is strong, yet it can be stronger. In spite of the loss of life and destruction of property, and the continuous attempts at our destruction, the believing people continue the journey, inviting every human being to take sanctuary with us, because God did create this Ummat as a sanctuary for mankind. As they kill millions of Muslims, the numbers of Muslims grow by millions. God says in the Qur’an about those who return to God in such circumstances, that even if they had been at home peacefully sleeping their beds and the time to transcend this life had come, they would have left us. It is only the circumstances of the illusion of their deaths that concern us, because these circumstances were allowed to challenge us and to test our abhorrence for injustice and sin, and mistreatment of the poor and weak. We will not exact justice because it appears that they died. We will exact justice because they were killed unjustly.
The prophet Muhammad (sa) taught us that no one should ever fear treachery from us, or theft from us, or violence and rudeness or offense from us. God told us in the Qur’an to even help the wicked and our enemies towards righteousness and cautioned us not to cause evil by provocation, incitement and misguidance.
It is very sad that Satan has sunk his stinger deep into the heart of the United States and other supposedly great powers and caused them to be used to attempt to wipe out Islam by killing its adherents and destroying their countries while attempting to confiscate our wealth and resources. They will never succeed, but worse and sadder is the fact that the innocent blood spilled has a price and the soul an owner who will demand His right and payment. Who will be able to pay?
We must remove our love and hearts from this world. We must enjoy the blessings of this life and the next, but not in sin. The material things should never mean more to us than salvation and nearness to God and eternal home in paradise. We must remember who we are as an ummat, and our purpose and we must be about this business of ours.
Make the word of God, which is the truth, available to all of mankind by every means except compulsion. Purify the mosques and establish the daily prayers. Attend the Jummah and use this day for all of its special attributes. No longer tolerate that any except the pure and righteous believers have authority over our mosques and our affairs. We must be guided by love, and desire for all of mankind to be spared hardship. We do this with charity, kind speech, personal and communal cleanliness, orderliness and minding our own business. The single should marry, and the married should procreate. Those burdened by vices and sins and addictions should never despair of God’s mercy and we should not cast them out for Satan to devour. Let them be part of the fellowship so long as they do not advertise or openly and promiscuously advocate sin and rebellion. In all of this let us remember that God said in the Qur;an that He has created a sanctuary for mankind so that mankind will be safe from being picked off and snatched away by Satan and the desires. We, this Ummat is that Sanctuary.
Allah bestows peace and blessings on the prophet Muhammad, his family and companions. Allah forgives this Ummat and guides us and blesses us. Oh Master, give us the wisdom and strength to bear the challenges with which you test and purify us and give us the grace to lead and protect the righteous. Make your Ummat a sanctuary for the sick, the poor, the frightened and the weak, and those who are seeking to know you and to worship you and you alone. Bless us with kind hearts and do not curse us to be cold hearted and violent. Make us exemplary to the world and a testament to your power and glory. Temper our anger and lusts for kingdom and immortality and make us accepting of your authority, your Decree, and your law. Make us successful, and give us refuge from the torment of the grave and from the hellfire. Ameen.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
NAMAW congratulates Obama; calls for end to war on terrorism
Dear President Barack Obama,
The National Association of Muslim American Women (NAMAW) congratulates you on your inauguration as the United State's 44th President.
With heartfelt sincerity we wish you a successful presidency, and we look forward to working with you and the members of your cabinet in a joint effort to get our country, and the world on the path to peace and prosperity.
In our opinion the first step towards that end must be ending the US/Israel war on terrorism.
The US/Israel war on terrorism that began following the tragic attack on our country September 11, 2001 has been a misdirected war to kill people who have been tagged Islamic "radicals" and "extremists." It is a war that is aimed at killing and depriving Muslims and Arabs of human and legal rights.
The US/Israel so called war on terrorism, is a war that is based upon anti-Muslim, anti-Arab and also anti-Islamic propaganda that began to saturate the world media even before 9/11, almost as if an environment of hatred against Muslims and Arabs and Islam was being created purposefully to yield the ugly backlash inflicted upon Muslim and Arab people following 9/11. This backlash includes the war on terrorism.
There is enough proof now, showing that the 9/11 attacks were not carried out by Muslims. There is also enough proof that the religion of Islam does not condone terror, nor does it compel its adherents to act violently, or to carry out acts of terrorism and political violence. There is also widespread belief that whoever did carry out the attacks on 9/11 used Muslims, Arabs and Islam as scapegoats with the hope of dragging the US into what would become an endless and perpetual war whose real aim is to create what the former Bush administration called a New Middle East. A Middle East whose natural resources are controlled by the US and Israel, and whose people are subjugated to Israel, and its indiscriminate violence.
The US/Israeli war on terrorism is an act of collective punishment that has taken the lives of millions of innocent Muslim and Arab people, including 650,000 innocent Iraqi children who were starved to death and who died from curable diseases as a result of an inhumane economic embargo placed upon Iraq by the US, that mimics almost exactly the criminal and inhumane economic embargo that Israel has imposed for 18 months upon the Gaza Strip in Palestine.
The recent Israeli assault on Gaza that has resulted in more than 1000 deaths, mostly women and children, and the almost complete destruction of Gaza's infrastructure is also reminiscent of the US invasion of Iraq, and the destruction that has been wrought upon Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia. Ironically none of these countries had anything to do with 9/11, and neither did Palestine.
It is time for the US/Israeli so called war on terrorism to end and for the US and the Muslim and Arab people of the world to begin a new relationship, one that as you stated in your inaugural speech, is based upon mutual respect.
We hope that you will make ending the war on terrorism one of your administration's first priorities along with initiating a US/Muslim dialogue that is aimed at resolving the differences, real and imagined that have led to the present state of regrettable and tragic affairs.
Again we congratulate you on your inauguration, and we pray that it is the beginning of a new era of peace and prosperity for the United States and the entire world.
With Best Regards,
Anisa Abd el Fattah, Chairwoman
NAMAW
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