Memo to American Muslims

[valaya]

Prabhus, I've placed this under `Spiritual Discussions` because I believe it speaks to the reality of fundamentalist hypocrisy which is not exclusive to any one religion.

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One of the members of the Reluctant Messenger e-mail newsletter

forwarded this to me.  I feel it is very appropriate food for thought for Muslims and an excellent positive viewpoint in this time of trial.  It is a reminder of the Master's message, it isn't what one believes that is so important.  What is important is what one does!

 

 

A memo to American Muslims By M. A. Muqtedar Khan

 

  It's time for us to search our souls. How can the message of

Muhammad become a source of horror and fear? How can Islam

inspire thousands of youth to dedicate their lives to killing

others? Oct. 18, 2001 In the name of Allah, the most Benevolent and the Most Merciful.

 

May this memo find you in the shade of Islam enjoying the mercy,

the protection and the grace of Allah. I am writing this memo to

you all with the explicit purpose of inviting you to lead the American Muslim community in soul searching, reflection and reassessment. What happened on Sept. 11 in New York and Washington will forever remain a horrible scar on the history of Islam and humanity. No matter how much we condemn it, and point to the

Quran and the Sunnah to argue that Islam forbids the killing of

innocent people, the fact remains that the perpetrators of this

crime against humanity have indicated that their actions are sanctioned by Islamic values.

 

The fact that even now several Muslim scholars and thousands of Muslims defend the accused is indicative that not all Muslims believe that the attacks are

un-Islamic. This is truly sad. Even if it were true that Israel and the U.S. are enemies of the Muslim world, a response that mercilessly murders thousandsof innocent people, including hundreds of Muslims, is absolutely indefensible. If anywhere in your hearts there is any sympathy

or understanding with those who committed this act, I invite you

to ask yourself this question: Would Muhammad sanction such an act?

 

  While encouraging Muslims to struggle against injustice (Al

Quran 4:135), Allah also imposes strict rules of engagement. He

says in unequivocal terms that to kill an innocent being is like

killing entire humanity (Al Quran 5:32). He also encourages Muslims to forgive Jews and Christians if they have committed injustices against us (Al Quran 2:109, 3:159, 5:85).

 

  Muslims, including American Muslims, have been practicing

hypocrisy on a grand scale. They protest against the discriminatory practices of Israel but are silent against the discriminatory practices in Muslim states. In the Persian Gulf

one can see how laws and even salaries are based on ethnic origin. This is racism, but we never hear of Muslims protesting against them at international forums.

 

The Israeli occupation of Palestine is perhaps central to Muslim grievance against the West. While acknowledging that, I must remind you that Israel treats its 1 million Arab citizens with greater respect and dignity than most Arab nations treat

their citizens. Today Palestinian refugees can settle in the

U.S. and become American citizens, but in spite of all the tall

rhetoric of the Arab world and Quranic injunctions (24:22), no

Muslim country except Jordan extends this support to them.   While we loudly and consistently condemn Israel for its ill treatment of Palestinians, we are silent when Muslim regimes abuse the rights of Muslims and slaughter thousands of them.

 

 

Remember Saddam Hussein and his use of chemical weapons against Muslims(Kurds)? Remember the Pakistani army's excesses against

Muslims (Bengalis)? Remember the mujahideen of Afghanistan and

their mutual slaughter? Have we ever condemned them for their excesses? Have we demanded international intervention or retribution against them? Do you know how the Saudis treat their minority Shiis? Have we protested the violation of their rights?

 

But we all are eager to condemn Israel; not because we care for

the rights and lives of the Palestinians; we don't. We condemn

Israel because we hate "them."   Muslims love to live in the U.S. but also love to hate it. Many openly claim that the U.S. is a terrorist state but they continue to live in it. Their decision to live here is testimony that they would rather live here than anywhere else.

 

As an Indian Muslim, I know for sure that nowhere on earth,including India, will I get the same sense of dignity and respect that I have received in the U.S. No Muslim country will treat me as well as the U.S. has. If what happened on Sept. 11 had happened in India, the world's biggest democracy, thousands

of Muslims would have been slaughtered in riots on mere

suspicion and there would be another slaughter after the culprits' identity was confirmed. But in the U.S., bigotry and xenophobia have been kept in check by the media and political leaders. In many places hundreds of Americans have gathered aroundIslamic centers in symbolic gestures of protection and embrace

of American Muslims. In many cities Christian congregations have

started wearing hijab to identify with fellow Muslim women. In

patience and in tolerance ordinary Americans have demonstrated

their extraordinary virtues.

 

  It is time that we acknowledge that the freedoms we enjoy in

the U.S. are more desirable to us than superficial solidarity

with the Muslim world. If you disagree, then prove it by packing

your bags and going to which ever Muslim country you identify

with. If you do not leave and do not acknowledge that you would rather live here than anywhere else, know that you are being hypocritical. It is time that we faced these hypocritical practices and struggled to transcend them. It is time that American Muslim leaders fought to purify their own lot. For over a decade we have watched as Muslims in the name of Islam have committed violence against other Muslims and other peoples. We have always found a way to reconcile the vast distance between Islamic values and Muslim practices by pointing to the injustices committed upon Muslims by others.

 

 The point however is this -- our belief in Islam and commitment to Islamic values is not contingent on the moral conduct of the U.S. or Israel. And as Muslims can we condone

such inhuman and senseless waste of life in the name of Islam? The biggest victims of hate-filled politics as embodied in the actions of several Muslim militia all over the world are Muslims themselves. Hate is the extreme form of intolerance and when individuals and groups succumb to it they can do nothing constructive. Militia like the Taliban have allowed their hate for the West to override their obligation to pursue the welfare

of their people and as a result of their actions not only have thousands of innocent people died in America, but thousands of people will die in the Muslim world.   Already, half a million Afghans have had to leave their homes and their country. It will only get worse as the war escalates.

 

Hamas and Islamic Jihad may kill a few Jews, women and children

included, with their suicide bombs and temporarily satisfy their

lust for Jewish blood, but thousands of Palestinians then pay the price for their actions. The culture of hate and killing is tearing away at the moral fabric of the Muslim society. We are more focused on "the other" and have completely forgotten our duty to Allah. In pursuit of the inferior jihad we have sacrificed the superior jihad. Islamic resurgence, the cherished ideals of which pursued the ultimate goal of a universally just and moral society, has been hijacked by hate and calls for murder and mayhem. If Osama bin Laden were an individual, then we would have no problem. But unfortunately bin Laden has become a phenomenon -- a cancer eating away at the morality of our youth, and undermining the spiritual health of our future.  

 

Today the century-old Islamic revival is in jeopardy because

we have allowed insanity to prevail over our better judgment. Yes, the U.S. has played a hand in the creation of bin Laden and the Taliban, but it is we who have allowed them to grow and gain

such a foothold. It is our duty to police our world. It is our

responsibility to prevent people from abusing Islam.  It is our

job to ensure that Islam is not misrepresented. We should have

made sure that what happened on Sept. 11 should never have happened. It is time the leaders of the American Muslim community woke up and realized that there is more to life than competing with the American Jewish lobby for power over U.S. foreign policy.

 

Islam is not about defeating Jews or conquering Jerusalem. It is

about mercy, about virtue, about sacrifice and about duty. Above

all it is the pursuit of moral perfection. Nothing can be

further away from moral perfection than the wanton slaughter of

thousands of unsuspecting innocent people. I hope that we will now rededicate our lives and our

institutions to the search for harmony, peace and tolerance. Let

us be prepared to suffer injustice rather than commit injustices. After all, it is we who carry the divine burden of Islam and not others. We have to be morally better, more

forgiving, more sacrificing than others, if we wish to convince

the world about the truth of our message. We cannot simply be

equal to others in virtue, we must excel. It is time for soul

searching.  

 

How can the message of Muhammad, who was sent as mercy to mankind, become a source of horror and fear? How can Islam inspire thousands of youth to dedicate their lives to killing

others? We are supposed to invite people to Islam, not murder them. The worst exhibition of Islam happened on our turf. We must take first responsibility to undo the evil it has manifest. This is our mandate, our burden and also our opportunity.

 

  About the writer:  Muqtedar Khan is a political science

professor at Adrian College in Michigan.  He is on the board of

the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy.

 

Forwarded as a service of the Reluctant Messenger Newsletter.

 

The Reluctant Messenger

-------

The world's religions and science are pieces to a puzzle

that need one another to achieve a complete picture.

 

http://www.reluctant-messenger.com/main.htm

 

Feel free to share this with others.

 

[This message has been edited by valaya (edited 10-29-2001).]

[gHari]

Thank you, Valaya. I knew there had to be one with his head screwed on straight.

 

Off-topic, but are Muslims actually Shivaites? In case someone missed this as I did:

 

http://www.vnn.org/editorials/ET0001/ET25-5336.html

[Gauracandra]

You know there was a site posted on these forums called "The Sword of Truth" that had a similar basis. It compared a number of points showing that Islam came from Shaivism. It was interesting. One thing they mention is that Muhammed's uncle (I think) wrote poetry dedicated to Mahadeva which still exists. I have heard from other sources that this is an established fact. But the article really was detailed and went through a lot of points (like the idol in the kabba being a shiva linga, crescent moon in shiva's hair and crescent moon as symbol of islam, that allah is another name for durga in sanskrit etc....).

 

Gauracandra

[jijaji]

Please see my posting of 'Prophet of Terror & the Religion of Peace'

 

 

¸..· ´¨¨)) -:¦:-

¸.·´ .·´¨¨))

((¸¸.·´ ..·´ -:¦:- jijaji

-:¦:- ((¸¸.·´*

 

[This message has been edited by jijaji (edited 10-29-2001).]

[Guest guest]

 

Can we beleive in Moors' peace?

 

Tarik first has invaded Spain in 711 AD, that means only 50 years after prophet’s death. A terrible horde of Moors coming from Arabia, Barberia, Tunis, Persia, Egypt, and countless places from Africa and Asia had entered the decadent Roman Empire and had defeated Rodrigo, the Visigoth king of Spain at that time. This horde was only defeated by Charles Magnum at Poitiers (France), while trying to enter Italy and put a final end to Christianity.

 

Moors were expelled from Spain only in 1492, at the same year of America’s discovery, when Granada finally fall down after the war effort done by Fernando from Aragão, Isabel from Castela, under the sponsor of Manoel from Portugal, and countless crusades including noble people from British Islands, Germany kingdoms, and the whole Europe.

 

Moors’ rule in Spain was of a terror to those who weren’t convert. Most of the Romance population.

Moors in Spain were never convert to Christianity. They were called ‘mouriscos’ and not even Inquisition could convert them. They became robbers and terrorists and use to plunder and murder peaceful and innocent villagers. The ‘final solution’ was only found by Philip III from Spain in 1609, by deporting half million of ‘mouriscos’ back to Africa, almost nine hundred years after their arrival.

 

Can one imagine the fear caused by Vasco da Gama’s letter to Dom Manoel informing the king that at a short distance of land in the Indian Malabar coast like between Calicut and Cochim, one could find more Moors than in the whole African coast between Alexandria and Ceuta?

 

At that time Portugal and Spain were the richer and powerful countries of West, and were only beginning the discovery and trade expeditions around the world. Colonialism was the only solution they could imagine at that time to avoid Moor’s revenge. They would never expect to find Moors all over the world as they had done.

 

 

[jijaji]

The incidents narrated on the thread 'Prophet of Terror & the Religion of Peace' demonstrate the horrific depth of Mohammed's atrocities. Keep in mind that Mohammed is the Model of Good Islamic behaviour and you will realise how Islam advocates genocide in the name of religion.

 

¸..· ´¨¨)) -:¦:-

¸.·´ .·´¨¨))

((¸¸.·´ ..·´ -:¦:- jijaji

-:¦:- ((¸¸.·´*

 

[This message has been edited by jijaji (edited 10-30-2001).]

[valaya]

Originally posted by jijaji:

The incidents narrated on the thread 'Prophet of Terror & the Religion of Peace' demonstrate the horrific depth of Mohammed's atrocities. Keep in mind that Mohammed is the Model of Good Islamic behaviour and you will realise how Islam advocates genocide in the name of religion.

 

¸..· ´¨¨)) -:¦:-

¸.·´ .·´¨¨))

((¸¸.·´ ..·´ -:¦:- jijaji

-:¦:- ((¸¸.·´*

 

[This message has been edited by jijaji (edited 10-30-2001).]

 

I hear you, jijaji prabhu, but I had hoped to discuss the relevance of fundamentalist hypocrisy, especially within our own tradition, to real spiritual vision which recognizes the true unity in all.

 

You mentioned `raganuga` on another thread...I see that as the only solution to religious strife and attempts to establish oneness through any paticular church. Followers of Srila Rupa goswami (Rupanugas) need not be Gaudiya vaisnavas as apparently defined by many followers of Srila AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (Prabhupadnugas). The essence is one. JAI NITAI-GAURANGA! JAI RADHE!!!

 

 

valaya RR

 

 

 

[This message has been edited by valaya (edited 10-30-2001).]