UK Muslims launch report and campaign on anti-Muslim discrimination

By M. Sajjad Tharoo

Religious discrimination against Muslims in the UK has been on the rise for many years now, but as yet there is no legislation covering it. Furthermore, the media has been very harsh against Muslims, portraying them as fundamentalists and terrorists, and it appears this has been very effective in swaying public opinion.

Recently, however, Muslims who number more than 2 million in the UK have been pushing the government to change the law so that all members of minority communities are protected. Until now, only Jews and Sikhs from the ethnic minorities are protected by the Race Relations Act 1976, and discriminating against them, such as preventing a Sikh boy from wearing a turban to school or anti-Semitic behaviour against Jews is a criminal offence for which you can prosecuted.

In 1997, the Runnymede Trust published their report entitled Islamophobia: A Challenge for Us All in which they concluded that an amendment in the law was necessary to prohibit religious hatred, this being a recommendation in line with the UN's International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Yet this high-profile report only went to confirm what Muslims in the UK have known for so long, that they are being discriminated against by the present judicial system, and little has been done since.

However, on February 16, the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), a non-governmental organisation established in 1997 and based in the UK, published a report entitled Anti-Muslim Discrimination and Hostility in the United Kingdom, 2000 in which they outlined their findings of discrimination against Muslims. For nearly three years, they have been dealing with cases of discrimination and ,in 1998, decided to send out a questionnaire to the Muslim community to survey the extent of the problem.

The report finds Muslims in the UK are facing problems in many areas of their social interactions such as education, employment and the media. In education, Muslim students have been excluded from participating in classes because their political ideas may be different to others, and more importantly cases have been reported in which Muslim women are forbidden to wear hijab and men refused to keep beards, all for no apparent reason. Verbal and violent abuses against Muslims by fellow students are also common.

Many Muslims have suffered in the workplace; either being rejected at interviews because of their religious dress, or being dismissed for expressing a certain religious identity. Muslim employees have also been harassed for praying during approved work breaks, and have suffered psychological and verbal abuse by others.

The IHRC report also suggests that the amount of extremist material inciting hatred against Muslims appears to be increasing, in addition to the incorrect portrayal of Muslims in the media. This was clearly evident during the Oklahoma bombing in 1995 when Muslims were blamed for the bombings, but in the end it turned out that white supremacists were responsible for the deaths of many innocent civilians.

What is so startling in the report are the statistics, which in many cases speak for themselves. In 2000, 45 percemt of those surveyed said that they or a member of their immediate family had experienced discrimination for being a Muslim. When this figure was then separated by gender, 51 percent of females reported discrimination compared to only 36 percent for males. This indicates that gender is a significant factor in experiencing discrimination, and that it is the Muslim women and girls who are suffering most.

The report details how the Race Relations Act 1976 was supposed to protect minorities, but made the 'mistake' of assuming that minorities had to be racial. While the current law in the UK protects two religious minorities on the grounds that they can be defined as a race, Muslims are left to suffer xenophobic harassment and abuse without legal recourse. This problem has escalated to such an extent now that extremist groups are deliberately targeting Muslims in the knowledge that little can be done to prosecute them.

To this day, lawyers use the concept of indirect discrimination when defending Muslim clients; this in effect means that if the litigant is Pakistani, Bengali or Arab, then there is a high probability that the action will be discriminatory on racial and not religious grounds. Thus, the report highlights, if a xenophobe wishes to attack somebody, his safest bet would be to pick on a Muslim rather than a Sikh, and abuse his victim as a Muslim rather than a 'Paki'.

Although the report, and in particular its statistics, may paint a bleak picture of the reality of life for Muslims in the UK, constant pressure from Muslim communities has opened the door towards a change in legislation. From October 2, 2000, the situation is set to improve marginally areas of law where Muslims are as yet unprotected. On this date, the Human Rights Act 1998 comes into force, allowing Muslims to rely on Article 14 of the European Convention of Human Rights, which will protect against religious discrimination.

This will therefore prevent schools from excluding Muslim students who wish to wear hijab or keep beards, since these would be contrary to two articles of the act. Article 9 gives everyone freedom to practise any religion of their choice, and Article 2 Protocol 1, gives each individual the right to an education. Although the introduction of this act will be an important and positive step for Muslims in the UK, the legislation will not be far-reaching enough, and employers will still be able to continue with their policies of not employing Muslims if they so wished.

Such a law will thus not solve crucial flaws in the UK law, but only expose the hypocrisy which exists today. It is, therefore, now up to the Muslims in the UK to exert pressure on the British government for a change in law or else face more years of discrimination and abuse.

Muslimedia: March 1-15, 2000

 
 
Australian Govt Launches AntiMuslim Campaign  
 
    Vol.60/No.4           January 29, 1996 

BY DOUG COOPER

SYDNEY, Australia - The leak in early December of a secret Immigration Department cable sent to all Australian government missions overseas has caused an angry reaction. The pretexts for Canberra are the terrorist bombings of Jewish and Israeli targets in London; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Panama City, Panama in 1994; and the fact that the Olympic Games in the year 2000 will be held here. Using these events as justifications the Australian government has chimed in with other imperialist powers and launched its own anti-Arab, anti-Muslim scare campaign.

The Immigration Department cable calls for closer scrutiny of all Arabs applying for short-term visas. It singles out applicants born in, or with links to, 20 villages in southern Lebanon, as well as four Shiite Muslim groups in Sydney.

The cable notes, "The Lebanese community in Bexley, Rockdale and Arncliffe areas of Sydney may have Hezbollah affiliations as may persons associated with the Al Zahra Association, the Al Ghadir Association, the Rissalah Association and the Arncliffe Mosque. All applicants who meet the Hezbollah profile are to be interviewed to assess bona fides." No indication of just what the government's "Hezbollah profile" consists of was made public.

Hezbollah is a radical Lebanese political group advocating an "Islamic republic" that opposes the periodic military strikes and ongoing occupation of part of southern Lebanon by the Israeli regime.

Of the 250,000 people of Lebanese origin here, some 70 percent live in Sydney. Less than 40 percent are Muslims.

Angela Chan, chairwoman of the New South Wales Ethnic Communities Council, labeled the cable discriminatory. "It is like claiming all Italians are members of the Mafia or all Chinese are members of the triads," she said.

Ayad Abbas, vice president of the Al-Zahra Muslim Association, strongly condemned the accusations as did association secretary Ahmed Mokachar. "We are one of the most peaceful ethnic communities in Australia and we pride ourselves on the fact we have been building bridges between all Islamic communities," said Mokachar.

"We have nothing to do with Hezbollah here; we are a religious group," said an association spokesman.

Kamalle Tabousy, of the Lebanese Muslims Association, told the Sydney Morning Herald, "There have been no examples of terrorist activities in the Muslim communities in Australia and we find it disappointing that there is a suggestion of that now."

A young Lebanese worker at the Capral Aluminium mill reports that the Arabic-language press prominently covered the story and noted that a lawsuit is likely to be filed against the government.

In a related development, the government announced proposed "official secrets" legislation that will strengthen its ability to censor the news, as well as a new voluntary self-censorship code that would reinforce the law.

The December 13 Sydney Morning Herald reports that a summary of the proposed amendments to the Criminal Code issued by the Attorney General's Department shows that they would "prohibit disclosure and publication of information relating to operations, sources and methods of the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO), ASIS (Australian Secret Intelligence Service) and the Defence Signals Directorate (DSD) .... The new laws would also prohibit the disclosure of information about the operations and capability of the Australian Defence Force which damaged its ability to perform its tasks...."

According to the Herald, "It would also be an offence for public servants to reveal `information relating to international relations' that could endanger Australia's interests overseas or endanger the safety or lives of Australians" abroad.

Government employees who leaked "official secrets" would be subject to a maximum of two years in jail and a $A12,000 fine ($A 1 = $US 0.74). Individuals who received and published such material would also be liable for a $A12,000 fine and media corporations a $Al million fine.

The `D-notice' press censorship
Some top media executives declined to attend a December 13 meeting in Canberra with Defense Minister Robert Ray to discuss a new system of voluntary censorship, known as D- notices.

The D-notice system, originally established in the 1950s, has been largely ignored in recent years. For example, recent revelations by the Herald of a massive U.S.- Australian bugging operation of the Chinese embassy in Canberra deeply embarrassed the government.

Under the proposed system, editors would contact a senior Defense Department official when they believed what they intended to publish could be damaging.

A December 14 editorial in the Herald noted that the proposed law and resurrection of D-notices "would give the Government wide pre-emptive powers to prevent publication even though the claimed justification of preserving the `national interest' might be spurious." The editorial stated "that the courts will often give more weight to a government's assertions of the need to protect the national interest than [they] will to a newspaper's arguments in favour of the free flow of information."

Tony Katsigiannis, the president of the Free Speech Committee, a national civil liberties organization, condemned the government's moves. "The media should not agree to any code of voluntary censorship, nor should they accept legislation which will muzzle them," he said.

Meanwhile, a mutual security treaty between Canberra and the military dictatorship in Indonesia - the first of its kind for Jakarta and the product of 18 months of top-secret negotiations - was announced by Prime Minister Paul Keating, December 14. The treaty was immediately condemned in Australia by supporters of democratic rights in Indonesia as well as opponents of Jakarta's 20-year occupation of East Timor.

Isn’t it ironic that Israel’s capital means ‘city of peace’? Since Israel was reconstituted as a nation she has been plagued by bitter disputes. We are saddened by the escalation of bloodletting which has recently erupted again. This is a matter of urgency seeing that this conflict could have a polarizing effect on Christians and Muslims around the world. Therefore God-fearers ought to pray for the "peace of Jerusalem" as scripture says in Psalm 122.

The prospect for peace seems bleak considering many failed peace efforts and continued bitter fighting. Many Palestinians remember that they weren’t consulted when the UN partitioned Palestine in 1947. They struggle to come to terms with what seems to them an illegitimate act by the UN when it recognized the state of Israel. It is true that Israelis have committed many injustices which have fueled the conflict but so also have the Arabs. The deepening dispute with spiralling rage and vengeance causes many to lose hope that there will ever be a just settlement with lasting peace. As hopeless as it seems from a human viewpoint there are reasons to be encouraged and to believe Almighty God can do the impossible.

It will be helpful to begin by briefly reviewing some key events that have happened since the rebirth of the nation Israel. No sooner did the United Nations recognize Israel in 1948 then the Arabs launched "a war of elimination and massive massacre" against the Jews -- in the words of Azzam Pasha, then secretary general of the Arab League. Israel lost relatively little territory in this war. Then 19 years later the Arab League planned another full scale attack against Israel but again Israel survived virtually unscathed. Indeed, she acquired considerable new territory. The UN called on Israel to return all this new land but Israel has only given back a portion of it.

Since 1967 numerous attempts have been made to negotiate a peace settlement, one of the more notable ones being the Oslo peace accord (1994). This agreement was meant to mark a milestone in Arab attitudes to Jews, whereby they would recognize Israel’s right to be a nation. Arafat agreed to have the Covenant of the PLO and the Charter of the Palestinian National Authority amended to enshrine Israel’s right of existence. However, Arab hatred against the Jews proved too intense and the promised amendments never materialized.

Muslim radicals are becoming increasingly frustrated at Arafat’s failure to deliver their promised land. Indeed, they seem to be setting the agenda as the recent ‘Jerusalem intifada’ drags on and intensifies, like reporter Farhana Ismail discovered when she visited the West Bank recently. She concluded that "activists are ignoring Arafat’s orders" and radicals are "pressuring the PLO leader to take a tougher stance." Judging from what seems to be a "disintegration of Arafat’s regime" and the resurgent intifada the prognosis for peace is very poor.

Peace negotiations had reached a critical stage before President Clinton left office, focusing on the resettlement of Palestinian refugees and the status of Jerusalem, especially the Al Aqsa mosque and Dome of the Rock which are on or near the place where the Jewish temple once stood. Middle East researcher, Dr. Randall Price, describes the Temple Mount as "the most volatile acreage on earth."

He notes that when the Israelis captured the Al Aqsa mosque in 1967 they recognized it "held a unique religious status for Muslims and would invite only war if Jews asserted their rights there." Since then 5 riots have been triggered by alleged Jewish or Christian incursions on or near the Temple Mount. The latest riots sparked by Ariel Sharon’s visit to the Mount late September 2000 have left a death toll of 500.

Radical Palestinian groups, (as well as the PLO) are determined to gain "control over Jerusalem and total control over the Al Aqsa Mosque". However, Ariel Sharon is adamant that Israel will not relinquish sovereignty of the Temple Mount, saying, "Jerusalem is the indivisible capital of Israel - with the Temple Mount at its centre - for all eternity."

Since Israel has sovereignty of the Temple Mount - the holiest site of the Jews - you might think they would have the privilege of praying on this 40 acre plot of ground - somewhere, perhaps under controlled circumstances on a Jewish holy day. However, Jerusalem’s leading sheikh objected fiercely to any such suggestion, saying, "We will not stand idly by ... not over our dead bodies."

The rivalry aroused by having two holy places on the same ground is understandable, and to some extent, unavoidable but what is baffling is to see such animosity between two ‘half brothers’ who both claim strong ties with Abraham as a patriarch and spiritual model.

Another undercurrent that explains why the peace process has failed, is the Islamic belief that has circulated widely among Palestinians stating that Muslims will destroy the Jews in the last days. Authoritative Hadith writings quote Muhammad as saying, "The Last Hour would not come til the Muslims fight against the Jews and the Muslims kill them until the Jews hide themselves, and the stones and trees would speak up saying, ... There is a Jew hiding behind me, come and kill him." (Muslim, Book 40, #6985)

The prospect for peace is bleak. Something very unusual must happen if this deadlock is to be broken. For this we must turn to God. Whether we are Jews, Christians or Muslims our common belief is that God will send the Messiah as peace-maker in the last days. According to Muslim belief Al Masih will usher in an era of peace. The Bible describes the Messiah as the ‘Prince of Peace’. In the Old Testament we read that "He will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares." (Zechariah 9:10; Isaiah 2:4) Could there be some common ground here? Certainly exploring the idea of Messiah and his role in the peace process is worth pursuing.

It is agreed by Jews, Muslims and Christians that the Messiah is the only realistic hope for peace, but, "How will he bring peace?" There is more than one aspect to answering this question but one thing is clear: God's peacemaker will exercise awesome power, restraining and judging evil with an iron sceptre. It is written "he will rule with an iron sceptre ... He will judge between the nations and ... beat their swords into plowshares." (Psalm 2:9; Isaiah 2:4) Let us take a closer look at what kind of ruler and king the Messiah will be.

The portrait of the Messiah coming in the end times to reign and powerfully execute justice is not unique to the Bible. Islam teaches that the Messiah will defeat antichrist - an evil figure with super-human powers. According to the hadith the Messiah will rule justly with awesome power and institute a period of peace which will "fill the earth". Peace will even pervade the animal kingdom so that "the wolf will live with the lamb".¹

The Qur’anic account of Jesus birth contains another clue confirming the kingly role he will have, "Behold, the angels said: O Mary God giveth thee glad tidings of a Word from him: his name will be Christ Jesus" (Surah 3.45).

Muslims know that Mary’s baby received a name from God himself, as revealed through the angel. Unfortunately the Qur’an does not spell out the significance of the name Messiah but commentator Yusuf Ali acknowledges it means ‘to anoint’. He explains in a footnote that it derives from the Old Testament practice of anointing "kings and priests to symbolize consecration to their office."

The Jewish prophets foretold the Messiah would be king (Isaiah 9:6,7; Zechariah 9:9,10; Jeremiah 23:5). Wise men from the east, who were probably Gentiles, came at the time of Jesus’ birth to pay homage to him as new born king (Matthew 2). When Jesus reached manhood he affirmed his own royalty when he said to Pilate, "You are right in saying I am a King." (John 18:37)

The earlier prophets described Messiah as the Servant of the Lord (Isaiah 49 & 52). It is no wonder, then, that Christ’s royalty was hidden by the humble way he served those who were downtrodden and needy. However, when he returns to earth in the future, as he prophesied, no one will doubt his kingly power. He foretold that "when the Son of Man comes in his glory ... he will sit on his throne ... All the nations will be gathered before him ... Then the King will say..." (Matt. 25:31)

As we can clearly see, Muslims, Christians and Jews believe that in the end times the Messiah will come to rule as a mighty king. Imagine, all of us claiming that we honour the Messiah - but not everyone will be acceptable to him. At that time it will become clear who the Messiah really is. If it turns out that the Messiah is Jesus (as Muslims and Christians believe) the Jews will be deeply disgraced and humiliated. On the other hand, if Muslims are correct - that Jesus is only another prophet - then the Christians will be ashamed and judged wrong for having believed in him as they have. By the same token, if the Bible is true, then the Muslims will be proved wrong because they strongly denied Jesus’ supernatural origin and character.

The scriptures, which Christians and Jews alike believe, and which the Qur'an also acknowledges as God’s Word, states, "the prophet said, ‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a king who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.’" (Jeremiah 23:5)

These words of Jeremiah reflect the original promise of God through Samuel to King David, "I will raise up your offspring to succeed you ... and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father and he will be my son." (2 Samuel 7:12-14) Notice how God has a ‘father-son’ relationship with David’s offspring.

This relationship is a spiritual one, similar to the description in the Qur’an where Satan has human ‘progeny’. We read in Surah 18.50 "Iblis broke the command of his Lord. Will ye then take him and his progeny as protectors ..." Yusuf Ali explains in a footnote, "Satan’s progeny: we need not take the epithet literally." (compare the Injil - John 8:44 where Jesus speaks of certain people as being children of the devil).

Like the word ‘progeny’ in Surah 18, Jesus used the term ‘son’ in a nonliteral sense when he urged his followers to "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven." Believers should act like their Father because "he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? ... do not even pagans do that?" (Matthew 5:44-47)

It is clear that Jesus used the term ‘son’ in a non-literal sense. From these scriptures we can see that Muslims and Christians should have no problem with God being a spiritual Father to humans. The problem comes when Jesus is claimed to be a unique prophet sharing a special place of honour with God - above everyone else. The Muslim scripture affirms the Messiah’s virgin birth and says he is ‘among those closest to God’ but it does not go so far as to recognize the total uniqueness of Jesus.

Let’s consider whether Jesus really is unique. Jesus taught his followers in Matthew 5 to imitate their Father God by being good to those who are not good to us. No one, however, is perfectly righteous and good, no one, that is, except the Messiah. Jesus asked the Jews, "Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?" (John 8:46) As much as they tried to find fault and trip him in his words they couldn’t prove him wrong in any way. Indeed the Qur’an itself leaves no room to even hint that Jesus Christ was a sinner, although it candidly admits the sins of other prophets. Jesus is unique, therefore, because he is the only human to live a morally perfect life.² In this respect Jesus was perfectly like his Father.

Jesus stands above all other humans not just because of his impeccable character but also because he will rule as king over "all nations" and judge them, even as we read earlier in Matthew 25. Has anyone else made such a claim?

Neither was Jesus alone in predicting he would exercise worldwide dominion. The prophet Micah foretold this, saying, "But you Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times." Then Micah describes Messiah’s global reign, saying, "He will stand ... in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God ... for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And he will be their peace." (Micah 5:2,4,5)

When the prophet speaks of the Messiah having ‘ancient origins’ we should not assume he had a specific starting point. The Hebrew word for ‘origins’ simply means ‘goings out’. Jesus clarified the meaning of this puzzling phrase when he said, "I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father." We see a further clue to this unique attribute of Jesus when he prayed to God, "Father glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began." (John 16:28 17:5) Did anyone else make such a claim - implying that he existed before the world began?

This prophecy of Micah reminds us of the peace that Messiah will bring. We recall that one of his names is, ‘Prince of Peace’. However, peace is not just a matter of how we relate to one another as humans. We also need peace on another dimension, i.e. with God. This raises the question, "Could the Messiah have a peace-making role between man and God?"

The Bible recounts two instances where Jesus met individuals who were notorious sinners, one was a man and the other a woman. Both of them experienced peace with God through Christ’s influence. These stories are worth reading in their entirety, but for now will you please pay special attention to his concluding words to the woman, "Your sins are forgiven ... your faith has saved you, go in peace." (Luke 7:48-50) To the man he said, "Today, salvation has come to this house ... for the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." (Luke 19:10)

Can we doubt that in this situation reconciliation with God was in view? The onlookers in Luke 7 responded to Christ’s remarkable words, saying to themselves, "Who is this, who even forgives sins?" In Luke 19, the Jewish leaders reacted in a similar way, saying, "who can forgive sins but God alone?" The Qur’an also affirms this saying, "who can forgive sins, except God?" (Surah 3.135)

Earlier we considered the Messiah’s claim to have a unique link with God by virtue of his sinlessness. Now we see another astonishing credential. Jesus exercised the Divine prerogative of forgiving people’s sins. Doing this, Jesus showed another similarity between himself and God - in keeping with the proverb, "like father like son". Jesus placed great importance on the fact that he did what his Father did.

This is evident in an encounter with the Jewish leaders. Jesus said, "I and the Father are one." Upon hearing this the Jews wanted to stone him because, they said, "You, a mere man, claim to be God". Jesus answered them, "Why do you accuse me of blasphemy, because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does." (John 10:29-37)

When Jesus forgave people their sin he reflected one of God’s traits. This attribute of saving people from sin clearly belongs only to God, as it is written, "I, even I, am the Lord and apart from me there is no saviour... I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake..." (Isaiah 42:24,25; 43:11,25) Ponder whether any other man claimed to have the authority to forgive people’s sins.

God alone is Saviour, but we know that he planned to save the world through his Servant the Messiah, as the scripture says, "I will also make you a light for the Gentiles that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth." (Isaiah 49:6) This prophecy was fulfilled in Jesus but notice especially how it ‘fits’ with the story of Christ’s birth, in particular, the name given to him.

If you have never pondered the name Jesus (Isa), as revealed by the angel of God you don’t know what insights await you. It is hard to imagine, first of all, how this special name could be chosen randomly, as in a lottery draw. Undoubtedly, God chose it wisely in keeping with the mission he foreknew the Messiah would accomplish.

I would encourage you to explore the significance of this unusual name Jesus but be careful to interpret it in the light of prophecy. If you search this meaning carefully you will understand that the destiny of God’s Servant was to bring "salvation to the ends of the earth." Furthermore, I trust that as you ponder the meaning of Jesus’ name, you will notice Jesus’ clear statement of why he came - "to save the world." (John 12:47) Christ’s uniqueness is once again underscored. No one else ever claimed "to save the world" did they?

Jerusalem is being shaken by human conflict but a day is coming when Jerusalem will be shaken by a great earthquake. "Therefore, the Lord says, ‘In my zeal and fiery wrath I declare that at that time there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel ... every creature and all people on the face of the earth will tremble at my presence." (Ezekiel 38:19,20)

We might ask, "What provokes God’s wrath?" Is it moral decline, for example, Israel has legalized homosexual marriages and abortion? Could God be angry at the way the Jews have been mistreating the Palestinians and other gentiles living in Israel? Or, is there something else that angers the Lord - perhaps in the world at large? If we look carefully at these prophecies we will see that God’s wrath will be unleashed not only against Israel but also the world (see Zechariah 12 & 13).

The earthquake Ezekiel spoke about is described in more detail, by the prophet Zechariah, where he tells how all the nations will be gathered to fight against Jerusalem, "Then the Lord will fight against those nations ... the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west ... with half the mountain moving north and half moving south." (Zechariah 14:3-5, cf. Revelation 16:18)

This prophecy has not gone unnoticed by geologist, Dr. Amos Nur, a Stanford University professor, who has studied earthquakes in Palestine. Nur notes that the direction of the predicted earthquake follows the natural fault line, "The most remarkable thing about this quotation from Zechariah is the clear description of a strike slip fault in which the part to the east moved to the north and the part to the west ... moved to the south. This is exactly the kind of motion that we know happens on the Dead Sea transform during earthquakes" (Amos Nur & Chris MacAskill, The Walls Came Tumbling Down - Earthquakes in the Holy Land, Stanford, CA: ESI Productions, 1991).

Neither should this prophecy go unnoticed by us. God has left this fault line as a sign to remind us of the truthfulness of his word. Although there will be a massive multinational attack against Jerusalem in the last days, God will come to her rescue and "make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. ... never again will it be destroyed. Jerusalem will be secure." (Zechariah 12:3; 14:11)

God assures us he will rescue the remnant of his people but we should remember that this deliverance will come on a large scale only when the Israelites repent of their sin and trust in God's Messiah, as the scripture says, "They will look on me, the one they have pierced and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a first born son. On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be great..." (Zechariah 12:10,11)

It is amazing that in Israel, today, there are already about 6,000 Jews who believe in Jesus as their Messiah. Doubtless this is a foretaste of Zechariah’s prediction. In the coming days we can expect many more Jews will repent at their longstanding rejection of the predicted Messiah-Savior.

In the meantime we expect that many Israelites will continue to reject the Messiah and consequently be disciplined by God. Scripture warns that Israel will experience "a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then ... How awful that day will be! None will be like it. It will be a time of trouble for Jacob but he will be saved out of it. ... I will not completely destroy you. I will discipline you but only with justice; I will not let you go entirely unpunished." (Jeremiah 30:7-11) We can be certain that any unfairness the Israelis have shown toward the Palestinians will be set right by Al Masihu Isa, the long awaited Messiah.

Assalamu `Alaykum!

Hate Advocate

By Kenneth Adelman, from http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,46610,00.html February 27, 2002



NEW YORK — Can it be true? That Islamic schools in the United States teach hatred towards American Christians and Jews?

The Washington Post on Monday revealed that one such school outside Washington, D.C., uses textbooks teaching 11th graders that "the Day of Judgment can't come until Jesus Christ returns to Earth, breaks the cross and converts everyone to Islam, and until Muslims start attacking Jews."

Other accredited Islamic schools in America have world maps on classroom walls that exclude Israel. Some such schools promote class discussions that portray Usama bin Laden as "simply the victim of … prejudice" against all Muslims in America.

These astonishing facts were broken by Post reporters Valerie Strauss and Emily Wax in their front-page piece, too tepidly entitled, "Where Two Worlds Collide: Muslim Schools Face Tension of Islamic, U.S. Views."

But their reporting was anything but tepid.

Americans generally assume Islamic hate teaching resided "out there" — in Cairo or Riyadh. And yet it's right here — in the elite Islamic Saudi Academy just outside Washington, D.C. "At stake," the two ace reporters say, "is how the next generation of Muslims coming of age in the United States will participate in the country they live in."

As with all educational institutions, the stakes are high. But the prospects here are low.

I don't know precisely what new immigrant schools taught when waves of Catholics or Jews first flocked to America. But I suspect they adopted and spread the basic American values — tolerance, freedom and patriotism.

Surely not the hatred propagated in many Islamic studies classes. At the Al-Qalam All-Girls School in Springfield, Va., seventh graders learn that Usama bin Laden may be not a villain but a victim of Americans' biased views toward great Islamic leaders. Hence "some students question the government's claim that bin Laden is responsible for the terrorist attacks — disputing that videotapes actually show him taking credit."

The Post reporters questioned "Fawzy, a 19-year-old who will graduate from George Mason University in 2003, [who] … wonders whether the United States just needed someone to blame and picked a Muslim. 'A lot of the students can't make up their minds if [Usama] is a good guy or a bad guy,' Fawzy said. 'The thing is, we don't have any real proof either way. I think a lot of people feel this way.'"

Classrooms of the Washington Islamic Academy, which teaches kindergarten through fourth grade, feature world maps without Israel. "Upstairs in Al-Qalam girls school, the word is blackened out with marker, with 'Palestine' written in its place."

When the reporters asked about this, academy officials "defended the maps, pointing out that some of the students are refugees from Palestine and want their heritage represented."

These school officials attempt to delegitimize Israel. I would delegitimize them — removing them from any role in shaping the beliefs and instilling knowledge in young Americans.

With the massive immigration of Muslims over recent decades — primarily because of the wretchedness of most native Islamic states — these parochial schools are increasing. Throughout America now are 200 to 600 Islamic day schools, teaching at least 30,000 full-time students and thousands more on weekends. The Washington Islamic Academy, outside the nation's capital, teaches some 1,300 kids, including children of Arabic-speaking diplomats.

It may rank among the worst of these academies, as it is funded by Saudi money. Its high school textbook, in the reporters' words, "says one sign of the Day of Judgment will be that Muslims will fight and kill Jews, who will hide behind trees that say: 'Oh Muslim, Oh servant of God, here is a Jew hiding behind me. Come here and kill him.'"

According to Strauss and Wax, "Several students of different ages, all of whom asked not to be identified, said that in Islamic studies, they are taught that it is better to shun and even to dislike Christians, Jews and Shiite Muslims.

"Some teachers 'focus more on hatred,' said one teenager … 'They teach students that whatever is kuffar [non-Muslim], it is okay for you' to hurt or steal from that person."

What can be done about this outrage?

First, reveal it, for which Valerie Strauss and Emily Wax and the Post deserve a Pulitzer Prize. Other reporters and top media outlets should follow in their steps.

Second, stop the accreditation of these hate schools. This, too, the reporters investigated when contacting an official at an accrediting agency of the Islamic Academy. His response was typical bureaucratese: the Secondary and Middle School Commission of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools "does not delve into curriculum extensively but … would be 'concerned' about such material being taught."

Well, he can stop being "concerned" and start de-accrediting the place.

Third, stop the Saudi funding. After Sept. 11, we were shocked to realize that "our friends, the Saudis" gave us Usama bin Laden, 15 of the 19 terrorists of Sept. 11 and more than 100 of the 150-plus terrorist leaders now confined in Guantanamo Bay cells. They also fund the Islamic schools spreading hate around the world towards Christians, Jews, America, freedom, and our sacred values.

Now we learn that Islamic hatred is being spread here at home, molding young American minds in what is shaping up as a real fourth column.

Mike Duffy praises Linda Ellerbee's latest Nickelodeon special, "Keeping Faith: Muslim Kids in America" which is due to air tonight on the network.

Hey Mike -- what "plight" have Muslims in America really been subjected to, after all? Let's see...

"It is easier to fear what you don't know. And most of us don't know much about Muslims or the Islamic faith," Ellerbee says.

Aside from an incredibly violent radical sect that wants Islam to dominate the planet, and has millions of sympathetic followers?

One Muslim schoolgirl recounts having heard taunts of "Go back to your own country!" in the months following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. "This is my country. I was born here," explains the young girl. "I'm Arab-American."

If this is one of the worst incidents in the U.S. following 9/11, then Ellerbee ought to demonstrate just how damn grateful -- and proud -- Americans ought to be.

Query: Will this special highlight how myriad Muslim schools across the globe teach hatred of Jews and Christians? Will it highlight how Muslim children of Nickelodeon's viewing age are taught to blow themselves up in the name of their god?

Don't count on it.

Posted by Dave Huber at March 28, 2004 05:54 AM
Categories: General , Knight Ridder

Comments

Dave:

I certainly doubt that the incident described was one of the worst expressions of anti-semitic (= anti-arab) hate that followed in the aftermath of 9/11, for which you are so proud of achieving.

Why don't you give more evidence of what it is you think that Muslim children are being taught? What are you teaching your children, that millions (out a of billion or more) of rotten apples spoil the whole bushel, especially when they are all not red?

For an exercise, consider an emotional rant like yours with the words 'Muslim' and 'Arab' replaced with 'Jew,' or 'Jewish', and 'Islam' and 'Islamic' with 'Zionism' and 'Zionist.'

You may then just be one step closer to understanding how liberal online media really are in your country.

Posted by: anon on March 28, 2004 10:22 AM

I'd like to take this opportunity to let you know that a "liberal bias" in the media does not exist. You'll notice that now a days, you hear alot in the mainstream media about what a fuck up Dubya is, but that's not due to a liberal bias. It's due to the fact that Dubya's a fuck up. He is responsible for the deaths on 9/11, he is responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent Iraqis, and he's responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American soldiers who should have never left home. For this he should be convicted of war crimes, and given the same sentence as Saddam. Mainstream media is forced to cover these stories because people like Al Franken and Michael Moore have brought these facts to the attention of the populace. Bush will go down in history as the worst president of all time, and he will be compared to Hitler for the rest of time. Clinton was an AWESOME president. Now tell me, why is it that when Clinton gets his socks rocked, all you right-wing nutters pee themselves, but ENRON is virtually ignored? Actual deviant activity with proof that it happened, and he feels no consequence. That's because of people like you, who are going to hell.

Posted by: Tobias on March 28, 2004 01:18 PM

anon: For an exercise, compare the levels of anti-Arabism/Islamicism in the immediate post-9/11 period here in the US to the levels of anti-Semitism in Europe currently. And this anti-Semitism in Europe is due to...? Millions of Jews across the globe expressing a desire to turn the planet into one big Jewish theocracy? Jewish-belief terrorism against Christian and Islamic targets? How many "rotten apples" does it take? What percentage? What percentage actively speak out and act to prevent the actions of these "rooten apples?"

You don't recall the [one of the few] "60 Minutes" episode(s) that actually was non-PC and showed how Muslim schools here in the *US* taught anti-US and anti-Jewish hatred? Are you actually feigning ignorance that Saudi schools do not teach this, too? The Palestinians? In Syria? In Iran?

I could do mere Googles all day and fill this entire webpage w/examples to back up my statements. But for mere starters, see here: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,46610,00.html
and here:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=28085
and here:
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2003/10/14/saudi_schools_teach_hatred_of_the_west/

I personally have no ill will towards Muslims collectively. Indeed, I only do against those who express hatred towards me, and merely for what I am -- an American Christian. Unfortunately, that is one HELL of a lot of Muslims. But that shouldn't be the basis of discussion on this site anyhow -- it *should* be whether there is a balanced discussion in the media of Islamic terrorism. Nickelodeon's goal is admirable, ultimately, but it is *not* realistic. And it is denial if the West does not realize that there *is* a war against radical Islam.

Posted by: Dave Huber on March 28, 2004 02:05 PM

Tobias: Don't forget your lithium, pal.

Posted by: Dave Huber on March 28, 2004 02:06 PM

Well it's only the Hambali, Salafi, branches of the Deobandi Sufi sub sects, the precepts of
Ibn Wahhab, Tammiya et al; along with Mohammed's
own myriad accusations against the Jews; notably
of Yathrib; and the Thamoudean Christians other than that, there's nothing wrong.

Posted by: narciso on March 28, 2004 06:06 PM

There is a website out there for people who have left the Islamic faith, but I can't remember it's name.

Maybe anon should spend some time there. Begin a dialog.

Posted by: Sandy P. on March 28, 2004 08:03 PM

I love when supporters of Michael Moore and Al Franken insist that the media has no bias... Rather, they insist, the media calls it just like it is...

They just prove the point for you...

Posted by: Zach on March 28, 2004 09:18 PM

I liked what John Leo said about American Muslims. He said, in the guise of a CAIR-like organization, that there had been 100,000 hate crimes against American Muslims since 9/11. One shooting, two bricks through shop windows, and 999,997 limp handshakes and insincere hellos.

If these jihadis had pulled shit like 9/11 in India, the Ganges wouldn't hold all the Muslim blood that would have been shed in reprisal.

Posted by: The Sanity Inspector on March 29, 2004 07:26 AM

hate begets hate begets hate...

Who will stop first?

Posted by: Bastage on March 29, 2004 10:21 AM

Bastage;

The side that gets wiped out first. Do you want to be on that side?

Posted by: Annoying Old Guy on March 29, 2004 11:12 AM

Please dont ridicule Tobias.

He sees it like it is.

Buy him a one way ticket to any of the oppressed lands we defiled.

Let him tell those people the truth.

They will welcome him.

Posted by: Ted on March 29, 2004 03:12 PM

I saw the show, it is disgraceful. Linda Ellerbe takes the anti American position of saying in effect the war on terrorism has no relation whatever to islam.

Nothing is farther from fact, islam in any form is an attack upon all freedoms, installs a blatantly unfair and murderous cult on its victims in the true Jim Jones sense, but takes the cult concept up orders of magnitude beyond drinking kool aid, they teach children to murder innocent civilians, the *men* of any islamic army uses women and children as shields, or murders their own to claim the enemy did it;

Linda Ellerbe may worship Walter Cronkite and his leftist socialist agenda for America, she and Nickelodeon, mtv and Viacom are guilty of indoctrinating children to support terrorist causes, while Ellerbe didnt publicly say on the show that children should become homicide bombers here in the USA, did say islamic goals are pure and indirectly said what islam does in that respect is what YOU should do also, so research it and register so your family can get paid as you become a homicide bomber against the evil empire the USA.

Ellerbe and the show also implied Christianity is the bigoted religion that makes it hard for these poor muslim kids.

It wasnt a show about understanding, it was to indoctrinate children to pursue terrorist causes here in the USA because its difficult for al Queda to setup shop now, and they are losing, so Nickelodeon is doing their part to help terrorism by airing a show so biased towards radical islam, that the Arab ADL's Hussein Ibbish probably put down his bag of diet cookies to wipe away tears of joy.

Posted by: Bradley T on April 5, 2004 11:55 AM

Bastage wrote:

"hate begets hate begets hate...

"Who will stop first?"

Annoying Old Guy wrote:

"The side that gets wiped out first. Do you want to be on that side?"

AOG, I suggest you don't bother trying to persuade "Bastage" of anything. S/he can neither formulate nor digest cogent real-world arguments, so
s/he resorts to clichés that could have been lifted straight out of Peter, Paul & Mary lyrics.

This is what we call the "let's hold hands and sing 'Kumbaya'" contingent.

Posted by: Reginleif the Valkyrie on April 6, 2004 09:02 AM

News Releases

Thursday, April 15, 2004

Muslims Launch 'Hate Hurts America' Radio Campaign
Islamic civil rights group says anti-Muslim rhetoric harms America

A prominent national Islamic civil rights and
advocacy group today announced a new campaign designed to counter
anti-Muslim hate on radio talk shows.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said the campaign, called
"Hate Hurts America," is based on the premise that the increasing attacks
on Islam by conservative talk show hosts nationwide is not only offensive
to Muslims and other people of conscience, but also harms the United States
by creating a downward spiral of interfaith mistrust and hostility.

"We believe that hate-filled rhetoric not only leads to attacks on and
discrimination against American Muslims, but also harms our nation by
fostering a climate of intolerance and bigotry," said CAIR Communications
Coordinator Rabiah Ahmed.

As part of the "Hate Hurts America" effort, Muslims will be given
step-by-step instructions on how to monitor local and syndicated radio
programs, report anti-Muslim hate, file FCC complaints, and contact
advertisers to register their concerns. (See guidelines below.)

Ahmed said CAIR will also issue periodic alerts through its e-mail and fax
lists to inform Muslims and others about which radio advertisers they need
to contact.

CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil liberties group, is headquartered in
Washington, D.C., and has 26 regional offices and chapters nationwide and
in Canada.

Peace is the Basic Spirit in Islam

by Giasuddin Ahmed*

(February 1996, As-Salamu `Alaykum)

Purpose of Islam

The purpose of Islam is to save humankind from the anguish of this world and the world to come. Therefore the Prophet's mission was to establish justice and peace on earth and to offer guidance for salvation in the Hereafter. For all of this his method was nonviolence, because he was created rahmatan lil-`alamin as a Mercy to the Worlds.

His love for humankind historically proves the truth of his way. At the beginning of his prophethood he went to Taif to call the people towards Allah, and people threw stones at him mercilessly and hurt him severely. The angels came to him and sought his order to punish the people of Taif, but the Mercy to the Worlds refused them, and prayed to Allah for the good of those who hurt him.

Mankind is one single nation

The Prophet taught the people to love Allah and to love human beings. He taught them to love even their oppressors. It is known from the hadith that the Prophet used to pray for the good of his Ummah with tears, every day after each of the five obligatory prayers. Even at the time of his death the Prophet wept for his Ummah. And according to Islam all human beings from his time to the last day of the world are the Ummah of Hadrat Muhammad.^{salli Allahu `alayhi wa sallam} The Qur'an declares (2:213): "Mankind is one single nation." The Holy Prophet's life was a symbol of love and nonviolence. He was the first among all to protect others' rights.
 

The example of the companions

The Sahabah (Companions of the Prophet) learned this divine spirit from the life of the Prophet, and this spirit was not merely a sentiment to them. Rather it was so active that the Sahabah, under the holy guidance of the Prophet, established a historically unprecedented society of justice and peace. The Sahabah followed the teachings of the Prophet in every aspect of their lives. Therefore the lives of the Sahabah are demonstrations, in different spheres, of real Islamic ways. For the Sahabah, nonviolence was the predominant quality of character, as it was ordered by Allah.^{subhanahu wa ta`ala} To safeguard others' rights was for them a sacred duty.

The honorable Companions of the Holy Prophet have given us a classic lesson on nonviolence in their attitudes toward the pagan Arabians. It is known to all that the people of Arabia inflicted sufferings upon the first generation who embraced Islam. At the beginning of Hadrat Muhammad's^{salli Allahu `alayhi wa sallam} prophethood, his life and that of his adherents was threatened. They were mocked, assaulted, insulted, and beaten mercilessly. Some Muslims were put into chains and cast into prison. Some were boycotted and shut out of trade, business, and social intercourse. They could not even buy the food they needed. They could not perform their religious duties. The persecution was even further intensified against the believing slaves, women, and children after the Hijrah.
 

Migration to Abyssinia

Instead of fighting against their persecutors, the Prophet encouraged them to emigrate to some other place. This is an unprecedented example of tolerance. Abyssinia at that time was ruled by a Christian king famous for his mercy and equity. The Muslims emigrated to Abyssinia. The Quraysh became more furious. A delegation of the Quraysh went to the Abyssinian king and complained against the Muslims.

The king summoned the Muslims to his court. He asked them to submit whatever defense they could to the charges brought against them. Hadrat Ja`farradiya Allahu `anhu rose and addressed the king. In this address the basic concept of human rights and active nonviolence is manifested. He said:

"O King, we were an ignorant people. We neither knew Allah nor His prophets. We worshipped stones. We used to eat carrion and commit all sorts of undesirable and disgraceful acts. We did not make good our obligations to our relatives. The strong among us would thrive at the expense of the weak. At last, Allah raised a prophet for our reformation. His noble descent, upright conduct, integrity of purpose, and pure life are only too well-known among us. He called upon us to worship Allah and exhorted us to give up idolatry and stone worship. He enjoined upon us right conduct and forbade us from indecency. He taught us to tell the truth, to make good our trust, to have regard for our neighbors. From him we learned to observe regular prayer, to pay the poor-rate, to conduct ourselves well, to shun everything foul, and to avoid bloodshed. He forbade adultery, lewdness, telling of lies, misappropriating orphans' heritage, bringing false accusations against others and all other indecent things of that sort. He taught us the Qur'an, the wonderful Book of Allah. So we believed in him, followed him, and acted up to his teachings. Thereupon those people began to persecute us and to subject us to tortures thinking that we might abjure our faith and revert to idolatry. When, however, their cruelties exceeded all bounds, we took shelter in your country by the permission of our Prophet."

The king said, "Let us hear something of the Qur'an." Ja`farradiya Allahu `anhu recited a few verses from the beginning of Surah Maryam, which touched the hearts of the king and the priestly class so much that tears flowed down their cheeks and soaked their beards. The king remarked, "By Allah, these words and the words revealed to Moses ^{`alayhi as-salam} are the rays of the same light!"

The next day the Quraysh tried to excite the king by telling him that those heretics denounced Jesus^{`alayhi as-salam</sup> and did not believe in his divinity. The Muslims were then again summoned to the court. When the king inquired about their beliefs concerning Jesus,<sup>`alayhi as-salam} Ja`far said:

"We believe in what Allah has revealed about him to our Prophet: that he was a servant and prophet of Allah, and His Word, which He conveyed to the virgin and innocent Maryam."

King Negus said: "Jesus himself did not say anything beyond that." Then the king said to the Muslims, "Go and live in peace."

In spite of all the above experiences, the Holy Prophet and his Companions did not take revenge against the oppressors after Mecca was won without bloodshed. Peace is the rule in Islam.

There is another historical achievement of peacemaking in the Prophet's life that is very significant, and is worth quoting.

A permanent peace

After his arrival at Medina, the Prophet gave a charter that granted security of life, property, and religion to both Muslims and non-Muslims. He was the first and foremost person who brought a permanent peace between all the conflicting religions of the world. He made no social discrimination in extending his patronage and bore no ill-will to the former prophets. He asked the people to put faith in all the great religious personalities of the world. He brought unity among the various warring tribes of Arabia.

It was he who first attempted to build up a nation by reconciling the followers of rival creeds. It was he who thought of establishing an empire upon the goodwill and cooperation of all sections of people, irrespective of caste and creed. He united the heterogeneous elements in one homogeneous whole, and formed a code of law that governed all the tribes without any distinction of class and parentage.

The above stories point out our great tradition that obliges us towards making serious efforts to CREATE PEACE and towards practicing our religious duties to SUSTAIN PEACE.

Islam teaches Muslims to uphold and spread peace in this world and to proclaim that peacemaking is a natural aspiration and the supreme object of human life. We are also urged to extend the scope of this teaching to others to the best of our capabilities. Such teachings (besides those described earlier) give utmost importance to social harmony. The Prophet ^{salli Allahu `alayhi wa sallam} said, "Anyone who is not kindly disposed toward younger people and does not honor his elders does not belong to my community." In its wider sense for the cause of social harmony, irrespective of religion, language, and race, the Prophet said, "God never shows mercy to a person who does not show mercy to others." The Qur'an says, "Help one another in righteousness and piety, but do not help one another in sin and rancor (5.2)." The Prophet said, "The Muslim is a person who does no harm to anyone close to him, either with his hand or with his tongue."

AN APPRAISAL OF THE
PRESENT ISLAMIC PEACE PRACTICE

The Sahabah practiced the teachings of the Prophet faithfully. They kept the spirit of promotion of human rights, active nonviolence, justice, and peace. But their spirit did not last long. For a long, long time now, our people have not been practicing the basic lessons of Islam as they did. Today the Muslims in different parts of the world are living far from these ideals. Neither do we know the teachings well, nor do we practice them in our lives. The result is that we are not growing in the ways of the divine Path. For want of proper Islamic knowledge and appropriate practice we are becoming selfish. We don't help others, and we have become hard-hearted. Therefore, in spite of many national and global efforts, we are unsuccessful in establishing peace in many places. Because we are not following Islam, we cannot see the good that we would like to see.

And truly, very truly, because of our deeds, people misunderstand Islam. May Allah bless us: we speak of Islam; we write books on Islam; but practically, we do not follow Islam. Thus we cannot represent the teachings of Islam that can truly bring peace

Even as I speak thus, I wish to acknowledge that I, myself, am not living these things fully. But indeed I pray and strive and do my best. My life is not a perfect example and yet I dare propose that we can do many things to improve the situation.

SOME PERSONAL REFLECTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

 

Following is an attempt to summarize my recommendations based on our experience in working with different groups to be able to put Islamic principles into operation.

1. PROMOTE THE BASIC FOUNDATIONAL QUALITIES FOR PEACEMAKING, namely:
 

a. Faith (there is no god but One God)
b. Holy knowledge and remembrance of the Creator
c. Prayer (obligatory and optional)
d. Realization of the will of the Almighty, complete obedience to Him; commitment to pleasing Him and serving His purposes.
e. Sublime character
f. Love and fraternity
g, Endeavor to help others build their character.
 

2. ENCOURAGE FAMILY MEETINGS. They will help promote better understanding among family members. One should not think this action insignificant. Rather it is such an indispensable step for building individuals that it needs no further explanation. This practice will make peace at home. Family members will surely come to understand each other better. This is the basic peace effort.
 

3. ORGANIZE THE GOOD PEOPLE OF THE SOCIETY. Inspire them to learn and practice religion, to speak against injustice, to act nonviolently, and to see peace near at hand.
 

4. GO TO THE POOR. Live with them. Work at the grassroots. Know the problems of the poor, help them to build their basic life, encourage them, and make them realize what power is hidden within them. Teach them to be self-reliant, not dependent on external aid. The Prophet started with illiterate desert people, one by one, and the result is known to all.

5. ADVOCATE KINDNESS TO OTHERS AND THE APPROACH OF LOVE. Cultivate a culture of love, for this is a very powerful seed of peace.

6. Teach people religion and they will learn humanity. HELP THEM SEE RELIGION IN PRACTICE THROUGH YOUR DEEDS and the grassroots will speak and act for peace. The awakening of the grassroots will move the intellectuals and the rich of a society.

****************

The Prophet did all this. He taught people to make peace from the family, to the society, to the vast earth.

Finally I want to say that working for peace is embodied within our twofold duty: duty towards Allah and duty towards human beings.

There is peace to be found in our duty towards the Almighty because it gives us inner calm and strength, and provides us with a wholesome hierarchy of values. A good hierarchy of values leads to harmony. Knowledge of the Supreme, and obedience to Him, is a driving force that makes people free and united with each other. It both gives them their own identity and makes them universal.

There is peace to be found in our duty towards human beings, because human persons are the most beloved creation of the Creator. We have to know our neighbors, to know what is in the hearts of ordinary people, and we have to serve them. This requires unselfishness, sacrifice. We have to approach, with patience, people who are deprived of what belongs to their dignity. It is also true that duty towards others is duty towards the Creator and this same duty extends to the whole world, to all beings between the skies and the earth.

Islam encourages a conviction that creates peace. Conviction is a prerequisite for reaching peace. This conviction is a peaceful force, an inner strength, and an uncompromising knowledge of what is true and what is false. This conviction is more than any human or scientific knowledge. If we could only practice Islam with such a conviction, we could create a silent but powerful revolution of hearts, and thus wipe out all sorts of violence from this world and truly establish peace.

I am aware that many, many people already know what I have said about the teachings of Islam regarding making peace. What we need now is a strong determination to move ahead and to put into practice what we know.

Preachers of Hate

By Jamie Glazov
FrontPageMagazine.com | November 13, 2003

Kenneth Timmerman is an investigative reporter and author who has spent twenty years reporting on Europe and the Middle East. His latest book, Preachers of Hate: Islam and the War on America , raises serious questions about Saudi government funding of terror and Saudi funding of radical Wahhabi preachers and schools that are training new generations of Muslims to hate Jews and hate America.

Interlocutor: Mr. Timmerman, thank you for taking time out to visit us today.

Timmerman: Thank you for inviting me.

I: What moved you to write this book? Was it personal?

Timmerman: Yes. As a reporter working in the Middle East, I had become accustomed to "hate America" and "hate Israel" speeches. I came to accept the view of my editors in the "mainstream" publications and television networks I worked for that these were not important, that they were "not a story." Ten years ago, I learned that they are THE story in covering the Middle East. And it’s a story we in the news media have consistently covered up or failed to report.

My own eyes opened in 1994, when I made a reporting swing through Syria, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories to meet with "radical" Islamic leaders. I recount the circumstances of that trip in the introduction to Preachers of Hate. This was the first time that I asked a variety of Muslim leaders the taboo question whether they believed in a Jewish "world conspiracy" (they did). I would suggest that Peter Jennings instruct ABC News reporters to ask that question of the Muslim "street," and not to suppress their answers on air.

I: I must say, Mr. Timmerman, that I was especially intrigued with your depiction of the conspiracy theories that permeate the Arab world. In many of my own personal discussions with Arab friends and acquaintances, I have always been struck by one rigid mindset that I consistently run into: almost every time, I am informed of how either the Americans or the Israelis "set up" 9/11 and how Saddam and bin Laden are now living in the States, since they are American agents.

Preachers of Hate sheds light on this phenomenon. You illustrate how throughout the Arab world people are actually convinced that "the Jews" were responsible for 9/11. You also demonstrate how deeply ingrained is the belief in a Jewish World Conspiracy, as embodied in the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

Tell us, what creates this pathological state of mind? In today’s world of instant news, jet air travel and global communication, how can anyone still believe in such ludicrous fabrications? There is, obviously, some kind of deep psychological need to believe in this fantasy, despite reality. What spawns this need? What does it soothe in the believer?

Timmerman: The single event that made the scales drop from my eyes was meeting a young Palestinian in November 1994 in an unheated garage in Gaza who spoke to me of his hatred of Jews. He was surrounded by older men, including a prayer leader, who fed him Koranic verses he used to illustrate what I thought was a drug-induced tirade against Jews as "blood-suckers" and "murderers." Six days after we met, he strapped explosives around his waist and drove a bicycle into an Israeli army outpost in Gaza, killing three soldiers and himself.

Over the years, as I began to study how young men such as this one could be transformed into Islam’s guided missiles, I realized there was a whole support system behind them. It involved the schools, which Arafat hijacked after coming to Gaza in 199. It involved the mosques, where state-appointed prayer leaders preached that Jews were the "sons of monkeys and pigs." It involved the newspapers, radios, and state-owned television, which regularly exhorted young people to murder. When you add it all up, as I try to do in Preachers of Hate, it amounts to a devastating and successful effort at mind control that has polluted an entire generation of Palestinian youth.

I: The Saudis were just recently the victims of al Qaeda terrorism. Yet, as you point out, the Saudis also spawned al Qaeda. What is going on here?

Timmerman: The Saudis express surprise that they are under attack. And yet, just as Arafat has done in the Palestinian Authority, they are responsible for spawning a culture of race-hatred, bigotry and violence that is now reaching back to consume them. Saudi school books teach young Saudis that there is a "malicious Crusader-Jewish alliance striving to eliminate Islam from all the continents." They teach their children that "the West in particular is the source of the past and present misfortunes of the Muslim world, beginning with the Crusades." Saudi government-appointed clerics exhort young Saudis to murder Jews and Christians.

The Saudis appear to have woken up to the fact that their regime has become a target of terrorist attack. But there will always be more terrorists until the Saudis change the basic teachers of their schools and mosques, which continue to breed hate in new generations of children.

I: Why do you think that anti-Semitism is the new call of the Left? Why has the Left become so enchanted with the Palestinians? Is it because leftists need to fill a void now that communism is gone?

Timmerman: The Left fell in love with the Palestinians following Israel’s stunning victory in the 1967 war, when Israel went from being a nation of victims to becoming a warrior state capable of defending itself. It’s ironic that militant Islam and the Left have joined forces against Israel and the West. In every case where Islamists have seized power (Iran, Afghanistan, Sudan), their first victims were religious minorities and their secular political opponents. I would like to see Noam Chomsky condemned to live in Gaza or Tehran without an exit visa or access to international human rights groups to defend him.

I: You quote an interview that an Arafat relative and former top Palestinian official, Faisel Husseini, gave shortly before his death, in which he claimed that the Oslo peace accord was in reality a "trojan horse" destined to weaken Israel. The whole peace process was obviously a tragic joke – at the expense of Israeli lives. What possible legitimacy can there be left in the U.S. pressing Israel to make concessions in favor of "peace"?

Timmerman: Israelis will continue to believe in the possibility of peace with Arafat, just as many divorcees place hope before experience, but I don’t believe the United States should be encouraging Israel into a suicide pact. Why has the so-called "mainstream" press failed to report on the Faisal Husseini statements? Why does ABC News fail to broadcast similar comments from Arafat and from Arafat’s associates? Why won’t they allow Americans to hear what Hamas leaders such as Abdelaziz Rantissi tell reporters every day in Gaza, namely, that there is "no room in Palestine for Jews and Arabs." There is no difference between Arafat and Hamas on this. In their eyes, Israel must be destroyed. The Arabs want to replay the 1948 war, and it’s about time our leaders in Washington realized this.

I: Are Jews and Americans really the only true allies in this War on Terror?

Timmerman: No. A new Iraqi state, reborn with help from the United States, which guarantees the freedom of all Iraqis in some form of representative democracy, is the single best hope for changing the chemistry of the region. Representative democracy in Iraq can combat the virus of hate and spawn a new generation of Arabs and Muslims who are free of this deadly disease.

I: It is absolutely terrifying that al Qaeda, or some other fanatic Islamist terror organization, will soon get its hands on weapons of mass destruction. Surely this is only a matter of time, whether 2 years or 6 years or whatever. These people are not very concerned about self-preservation, so they are not interested in the particularities of mutually assured destruction. What possible hope can there be for the West and Israel in these circumstances?

Timmerman: As Colin Powell said during the 1991 Gulf War when asked about U.S. strategy toward the Iraqi army: We have to cut them off, and kill them. You are right that there can be no complacency. This is a global war, and it will be fought on many fronts, including many arenas that are far from the public view. We need active intelligence, and we need allies Most of all, we need to convince countries such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan to stop breeding new generations of young men to believe they will go to Allah’s paradise by murdering us.

I: When I see how the Left dominates our culture and how anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism run rampant throughout the world, I get very pessimistic. Is there any hope that the good guys, and the forces of freedom, will emerge victorious in this present crisis and war? What must we do to prevail?

Timmerman: As Winston Churchill said famously after a parliamentary defeat, we must never, ever, ever, ever, ever give up. Never! It starts around the kitchen table with deprogramming our own children from the politically-correct babble of the government schools. If the enemies of freedom had their way, we all would be fleeing to Wyoming.

I: Thank you Mr. Timmerman, it was an honor to speak with you.

 

Timmerman: Likewise.

Sowing seeds of hatred

By LARRY COHLER-ESSES
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Sunday, March 30th, 2003

Textbooks widely used in New York's Islamic schools contain passages that are blatantly anti-Semitic, condemning Jews as a people, repeating old canards about the Jews wanting to kill Christ and faking their Holy Scriptures to mock God.

The Islamic texts teach that "the Jews" killed their own prophets and betrayed the Prophet Muhammed through their inherent deceitfulness.

The books, obtained during a three-month Daily News investigation that included visits to private Muslim schools, are rife with inaccuracies, sweeping condemnations of Jews and Christians, and triumphalist declarations of Islam's supremacy. In Long Island City, Queens, for example, fifth- and sixth-graders at the Ideal Islamic School on 12th St. learn that Allah has revealed that "the Jews killed their own prophets and disobeyed Allah."

At the Muslim Center Elementary School on Geranium Ave. in Flushing, Queens, a textbook for grades 6 through 8 teaches that Jews "subscribe to a belief in racial superiority. … Their religion even teaches them to call down curses upon the worship places of non-Jews whenever they pass by them! They arrogantly refer to anyone who is not Jewish as 'gentiles,' equating them with sin."

The book "What Islam Is All About" states that, "The Christians also worship statues."

"Many" Jews and Christians, the book says, "lead such decadent and immoral lives that lying, alcohol, nudity, pornography, racism, foul language, premarital sex, homosexuality and everything else are accepted in their society, churches and synagogues."

Yet a third book, in use at the Ideal school, describes the hostile relations between Jews and the Prophet Muhammed in Medina in the 7th century.

"The reasons for Jewish hostility lies in their general characteristics," the book says. Numerous Koranic citations follow with negative references to Jews — for example, "You will ever find them deceitful, except for a few of them."

The textbooks in question are widely cited by Islamic educators as among the most popular in use. They come from two publishing companies specializing in Islamic studies textbooks that, together, appear to dominate this niche market in New York and elsewhere across the U.S.

"These books are dangerous because they continue to demonize Jews, to dehumanize them," said Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League. At a time when the war in Iraq is inflaming anti-Western Islamic passions, he said, "They build a rationale for hatred that, in the end, can lead to the Holocaust."

And Eugene Fisher, associate director for interreligious affairs for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, commented, "Give me a break. We don't worship statues. That's teaching their children misunderstandings about Christianity that will lead them to grow up thinking all that stuff in the Koran about idolaters refers to us, their neighbors."

Fisher, who has been in charge of purging anti-Semitism from Catholic curriculums for years, said, "Where they get into trouble is not where they say we don't buy Jewish and Christian beliefs, but the ad hominem attacks against Jews and Christians."

Law prof demurs

Khaled Abou El-Fadl, a prominent professor of Islamic Law at UCLA, questioned the books' claims even on Islamic grounds.

"This type of rhetoric, unfortunately, is all too common," he said. "The crux is, am I disagreeing with ideas or thoughts, or am I finding a fundamental, nearly genetic, ethnic, racist flaw in others? The Koran itself says there are among the Jews those who do good, and they have no reason to fear.

"That is a far cry from saying Jews, as Jews, or Christians, as Christians, are somehow genetically coded to lie, to be corrupt. In fact, the historical experience of Islam challenges all these superstitions."

One of the publishers, a Chicago-based firm called the IQRA International Educational Foundation Inc. — IQRA means "recite" or "proclaim" in Arabic — got financial support until recently from a Saudi Arabian foundation.

IQRA's founder and director, Dr. Abidullah al-Ansari Ghazi, who wrote the books in question, acknowledged that they needed to be changed.

"What you're pointing out, I agree, these passages need to be revised," he said.

"I wrote these passages 10, 20 years ago," said Ghazi. "And, to tell you the truth, I based it on the classical sources, which are much harsher than what I wrote here."

Ghazi promised to revise parts of the text that condemn Jews as a people.

But the other publisher, Yahiya Emerick, who heads the Islamic Foundation of North America, a Queens-based nonprofit curriculum development project, stood by the language in his books, which are printed and distributed by International Books and Tapes Supply, or IBTS.

"Islam, like any belief system, believes its program is better than others. I don't feel embarrassed to say that," he said. His books, Emerick stressed, "are directed to kids in a Muslim educational environment. They must learn and appreciate there are differences between what they have and what other religions teach. It's telling kids that we have our own tradition." He denied the books were inflammatory.

The 3,000 to 4,000 children now attending New York's 15 private Islamic schools are a small but growing part of the city's Muslim student population of about 85,000. Many are from Bangladesh, India or Pakistan as well as the Middle East.

Many of their schools regularly outperform the public schools on state achievement tests. At al-Noor in Brooklyn, the largest Muslim school in the country with 650 students, more than 90 percent of high schoolers go on to college.

A hard row since 9/11

Since 9/11 Muslim students and teachers have had to endure the daily tension of hostility and discrimination on the streets. Families with uncertain immigrant status have been forced to flee the city.

There are no reliable breakdowns on how many local schools use the six books reviewed by The News. But Emerick has sold more than 40,000 copies of "What Islam Is All About."

About 10 percent of these sales are in New York.

"In Muslim terms, that makes it a best seller," he said.

Emerick said his books were in "at least half" the city's Muslim private schools.

Dr. Nidel Abasi, principal of Al-Noor, confirmed the purchase of the book, but said it was not used as part of the school's regular curriculum.

Shamshad Husain, IQRA's managing director, said his company has sold 3,000 copies of "Our Prophet," a book for elementary school students, 1,800 copies of "Mercy to Mankind," which is aimed at fifth- and sixth-graders and 900 copies of "Messenger of Allah," targeting students age 12 to 14. He had no breakdowns for New York City distribution.

All three books contain accounts of Prophet Muhammed's relations with Jews in 7th century Medina that appear to condemn or negatively characterize the conduct of Jews as a people.

Dr. Kurshid Khan, principal of the Ideal school, praised IQRA for its Islamic curriculum development, but stressed that his staff repeatedly warns students that "we can't generalize" about people's behavior because of their religion.

"When they hear on TV that a Muslim committed a terrorist act, we say, look, it's a special group. They're terrorists. That's the main focus. ... to inculcate in youth as they grow up a balanced mind."

As for the books' depictions of Jews, said Khan, "I've oriented my teachers that we must be very careful. We don't want them to make generalizations. Of course, I'm not in class all the time. But I keep bringing it up to the teachers."

Muslim class teaches bitter,
anti-Semitic lesson

At Ideal Islamic School's new quarters in Long Island City, Queens, teacher Safia Sarkin's sixth-grade class was busy studying relations between the first Muslim community and local Jewish tribes in 7th century Medina.

Sarkin, a convert to Islam from an Orthodox Jewish family in New Jersey, had the children take turns reading Chapter 9 of IQRA's "Mercy to Mankind," titled "Relations With the Jews Worsen."

The text cited numerous failings and offenses by "the Jews," a repeated formulation that blurred the distinction between Medina's Jewish tribes and, say, the Jews of present-day Israel.

"The Muslims wanted to live in peace with the Jews, but the Jews did not like the Muslims," recited Sarkin, who was wearing a long-sleeved gray robe and a tan hijab, or head covering. "They did not believe in Muhammed. They thought only a Jew could be a prophet."

The majority of Sarkin's 10 students, most of them girls, listened intently. The makeshift classroom was in a converted warehouse, with flimsy partitions separating the sixth-graders from a group of noisy kindergartners. In the back, a couple of boys' minds seemed to wander.

"The Jews did not want to listen to any preaching from an Arab prophet," Sarkin continued. "Allah had revealed to Muhammed that the Jews had changed their Book, the Torah, killed their own prophets and disobeyed Allah. And the Jews did not want the Arabs to know about these shameful things."

"The Jews" in the passage had lived centuries before the Jews of Medina, but Sarkin didn't miss a beat.

After citing other offenses by "the Jews," she read, "Because of all this, the Muslims had to fight the Jews as well as other enemies of Islam." But after winning the ensuing battles, the book noted: "Allah had now given the Muslims power over the Jews and Muhammed made a treaty with them."

The chapter concluded: "Muslims must live in peace with all those who are willing to live in peace with them."

Sarkin drove the point home emphatically. "Islam means peace," she stressed, praising Muhammed's treaty with the vanquished Jews. When a boy in the back of the classroom began to protest, Sarkin interrupted him to emphasize again the importance of peace in Islam.

Larry Cohler-Esses

Texts' outrageous claims to confuse impressionable minds

On Jewish superiority:

"Jews subscribe to a belief in racial superiority. … Their religion even teaches them to call down curses upon the worship places of non-Jews whenever they pass by them! They arrogantly refer to anyone who is not Jewish as 'gentiles,' equating them with sin."

"What Islam Is All About," IBTS, pg. 188; target readers: Grades 3-6.

On Jewish deceit:

"Allah revealed to Muhammed that the Jews had changed their Book, the Torah, killed their own prophets and disobeyed Allah. And the Jews did not want the Arabs to know about these shameful things."

"Mercy to Mankind," IQRA, pg. 23; target readers: Grades 5-6

On Jews wanting to kill Jesus:

"After telling the governor lies about Jesus and making him think that Prophet Jesus was starting a rebellion against Rome, the Jews were finally able to get an order for his execution. The Koran states that the Jews did not kill Jesus nor did they crucify him. Allah states, however, that the Jews thought they did it."

"What Islam Is All About," IBTS, pg. 231; target readers: Grades 6-8

On Christian and Jewish decadence:

"Many lead such decadent and immoral lives that lying, alcohol, nudity, pornography, racism, foul language, premarital sex, homosexuality and everything else are accepted in their society, churches and synagogues."

"What Islam is About," IBTS, pg. 188; target readers: Grades 3-6

On Jewish hostility to Islam:

"The reasons for Jewish hostility toward the Muslims of 7th century Medina lies in their general characteristics described in the Koran." Example: "You will find the most implacable of men in their enmity to the faithful are the Jews and the pagans."

"The Messenger of Allah," IQRA, pg. 34; target readers: Grades 6-9

Sowing the Seeds of Hate

The New York Daily News carried out a special investigation of the textbooks used in New York’s Islamic schools—and discovered a snakepit of blatant anti-Semitism, Muslim supremacy, and hatred of Christians and infidels: Sowing the seeds of hatred. This is a very scary article; it demonstrates beyond any doubt that even with extra scrutiny after 9/11, Islamic schools in the United States continue to indoctrinate Muslim children in the ideology of hatred and jihad. Is it any wonder that sites like the vile Clear Guidance exist?

The Islamic texts teach that "the Jews" killed their own prophets and betrayed the Prophet Muhammed through their inherent deceitfulness.

The books, obtained during a three-month Daily News investigation that included visits to private Muslim schools, are rife with inaccuracies, sweeping condemnations of Jews and Christians, and triumphalist declarations of Islam's supremacy. In Long Island City, Queens, for example, fifth- and sixth-graders at the Ideal Islamic School on 12th St. learn that Allah has revealed that "the Jews killed their own prophets and disobeyed Allah."

At the Muslim Center Elementary School on Geranium Ave. in Flushing, Queens, a textbook for grades 6 through 8 teaches that Jews "subscribe to a belief in racial superiority. ... Their religion even teaches them to call down curses upon the worship places of non-Jews whenever they pass by them! They arrogantly refer to anyone who is not Jewish as 'gentiles,' equating them with sin."

The book "What Islam Is All About" states that, "The Christians also worship statues."

"Many" Jews and Christians, the book says, "lead such decadent and immoral lives that lying, alcohol, nudity, pornography, racism, foul language, premarital sex, homosexuality and everything else are accepted in their society, churches and synagogues."

Yet a third book, in use at the Ideal school, describes the hostile relations between Jews and the Prophet Muhammed in Medina in the 7th century.

"The reasons for Jewish hostility lies in their general characteristics," the book says. Numerous Koranic citations follow with negative references to Jews — for example, "You will ever find them deceitful, except for a few of them."

The textbooks in question are widely cited by Islamic educators as among the most popular in use. They come from two publishing companies specializing in Islamic studies textbooks that, together, appear to dominate this niche market in New York and elsewhere across the U.S.

Read the whole thing; it’s incredibly detailed and very disturbing indeed.

UPDATE: A section of this article is about Yahiya Emerick, the author of many of the hate manuals:

Yahiya Emerick, who heads the Islamic Foundation of North America, a Queens-based nonprofit curriculum development project, stood by the language in his books, which are printed and distributed by International Books and Tapes Supply, or IBTS.

"Islam, like any belief system, believes its program is better than others. I don't feel embarrassed to say that," he said. His books, Emerick stressed, "are directed to kids in a Muslim educational environment. They must learn and appreciate there are differences between what they have and what other religions teach. It's telling kids that we have our own tradition." He denied the books were inflammatory.

LGF reader Susan points out an article by Emerick that is widely available on the internet at Muslim dawa sites; the title speaks for itself: How to Make America an Islamic Nation.

I was born and raised here. This is my land. I'll raise my children here, insha-Allah and probably be buried here as well. I knew that by accepting Islam I was declaring that America needed to do so too. America, my home, would naturally become an Islamic country one day. There is no other way to think if you are a truly conscientious believer in Allah.

In past columns I have raised complaints or alarm bells at the state of some segment of the Muslim community. Now I'm going to offer three suggestions for how we can turn the situation around and become the dominant social and cultural force in a country that needs Islam more than another pop-star, beer-brand or psychic network.

posted by Charles at 9:44 AM PST | rss
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The Islamic Response

by Rabia Harris*

(October 1998, As-Salamu `Alaykum)

"My problem," he said, "is that we can never find an Islamic response. I can find a Christian response to the death penalty, or to nuclear weapons, or a Jewish response but where is the Islamic response?"

Mubarak Awad is a Christian Arab pacifist political organizer of impeccable credentials; he was escorted out of Israel in chains in 1988. His Washington-based organization, Nonviolence International, had hosted the all-day panel at American University, entitled "Nonviolence in Islam," to which the MPF had been invited. And he would find it really helpful if the Muslims would somehow officially declare themselves to be nice guys.

It's true that we regularly insist that "Islam is the solution" to every human ill, that Islam is the Religion of Peace, and that we as a community are far more sinned against than sinning. But when it comes to concrete matters, there is frequently a deafening silence from the Muslim quarter. Part of this can be blamed on selective and biased media coverage - but not all of it. Why do we rarely seem to get out there on the issues, take the obvious humane and rational positions, and make sure that we are heard?

It's a problem, all right, for someone like Awad who is trying to put together a multi-faith-based front against social injustice - a front dedicated to pursuing a particular technique claimed to be universal - when a very major player refuses to play. (Or at least, apparently refuses to play.) But it's a problem for us Muslims too: a problem not only for our public image, but for our confidence in our ability to act.

"You are classifying a strength as a weakness," I objected, attempting desperately to defend the team. "Islam has no pope; it has no single built-in ideology; there is no party line. As for the sort of positions you can't seem to find out there, that's why we founded the MPF." (Would he have expected Pat Robertson and the American Friends Service Committee to agree upon a common Christian response?, I wondered.) "We can speak for Islam; any Muslim can speak for Islam. Why not?"

The idea is a little radical, I'll grant you that.

"Well, some of them have read and studied more than others...." Prof. Mahmoud Ayoub noted drily. (Dr. Ayoub is a distinguished Muslim scholar teaching at Temple University.) "And Islam does have a response to nuclear weapons. Islam says, "Do not mutilate either a dead or a living body." And then he quoted the famous instruction given by Hadrat Abu Bakr as-Siddiq,^{radiya Allahu `anhu} who wrote to his generals:

Stop, O people, that I may give you ten rules for your guidance in the battlefield. Do not commit treachery or deviate from the right path. You must not mutilate dead or living bodies. Neither kill a child, nor a woman, nor an aged man. Bring no harm to the trees, nor burn them with fire, especially those which are fruitful. Slay not any of the enemy's flock, save for your food. You are likely to pass by people who have devoted their lives to monastic services: leave them alone. ¹

 

It seems a straightforward enough syllogism: Muslims may not mutilate a dead or a living body; the Bomb mutilates dead and living bodies; therefore, Muslims may not make use of the Bomb. How one is to proceed from this deduction to a proposal that nobody should make use of the Bomb remains, however, obscure. And Dr. Ayoub declined to say anything at all about the death penalty. The Qur'an, of course, may be quoted to permit it.

It is a noble statement, that seventh-century order which Dr. Ayoub cited. It is always good to hear, and was particularly good to bring to the attention of those who might never have come across it. But "Islam" didn't say it: Hadrat Abu Bakr said it. Certain later scholars have chosen to base a general argument upon it.

If Hadrat Abu Bakr had not issued such an explicit order - or if it had not survived - would the moral argument against indiscriminate destruction therefore cease to be Islamic?

The Shi`ah do not accept the authority of Hadrat Abu Bakr. Suppose for a moment that no parallel Shi`i reference exists. Are the Shi`ah therefore excused from abhorring the Bomb? Would the Bomb somehow become less monstrous, more Islamic, by passing into Shi`i intellectual territory? Or would Shi`is en masse, for want of a traditional text, turn morally un-Islamic, become mutilating monsters?

Some Muslims do fear that lack of familiar validation means immediate moral ruin; the unauthorized is unequivocally wrong. If morality comes to us only from outside, if Islam is something we are obliged blindly to accept because Those Who Know tell us we must, then it is entirely possible that only by obeying all the "right" authorities can anybody be sufficiently Islamic. If that is true, then those who cite other authorities and hold other opinions are dangerous corrupters; social welfare requires that they be neutralized. Let's leave conflict with other communities out of it: the continuing intra-Muslim carnage in Pakistan and elsewhere is enough to show that this sort of terrified vision remains a dismally popular one.

But can an Islam that is so easily threatened really be the religion whose preservation has been guaranteed by God? Can something so fragile that the tiniest question rocks it actually be "the rope of Allah² the most trustworthy handhold, that never breaks?³ Doesn't it bear more resemblance to the "spider's house" of obstinate wishful thinking, which confuses one's own ingrained preferences with the truth?

We've come across such preferences before, and been warned about them. "Shall we then feed those whom, if Allah had so willed, He would have fed (Himself)?'"⁴ protested the simultaneously complacent and socially very nervous Meccans. The Qur'an has relayed to us their tactic for self-justification. "When they do aught that is shameful, they say, "We found our fathers doing so," and, ‘Allah commanded us thus." Say: 'Allah never commands what is shameful!'⁵ Yes, they too pointed to religious tradition, and cited the name of Allah, in order to glorify their own self-interest and inertia. And they too could not tolerate an alternative view.

But "the weakest of all houses," the ayat tells us, "is the spider's house."⁶

In our last issue, Suroosh Irfani wrote about the powerlessness (first brought into public discourse by Edward Said as "Arab powerlessness") that seems so fatally to afflict the Muslims. Disasters strike us: nobody acts. Why? Perhaps because flimsiness comes naturally with living in spider's houses. Or perhaps merely because we are content that Islam should be what somebody else has said.

For quite awhile, we've believed it was safer that way. But our current circumstances argue, with devastating eloquence, that such is no longer the case. What, after all, are we protecting with our infinite reservations, our endless waiting for an unfindable imprimatur? If our situation now represents social and spiritual safety, with what worse difficulties could danger possibly present us?

What makes something Islamic? We become Muslims through believing in the unity of God; through adopting as our ideal the Holy Prophet Muhammad ^{salla Allahu `alayhi wa sallam}; through following his example; and through showing a deep reverence for the revelation that came to us through him. We learn our Islam from the Qur'an, from the hadith, from the great personalities of the tradition with whom we enter into spiritual conversation, from our immediate teachers, our communities, our homes. But Islam does not come from any of these: it comes only from Allah. And Islam does not reside in any of these: it resides in the human heart.

 

For the faithful are those who, when Allah is mentioned, feel a tremor in their hearts; and when they hear His signs rehearsed, find their faith strengthened, and put their trust in their Lord; who establish regular prayers and spend (freely) out of the gifts We have given them for sustenance. Such, in truth, are the faithful. They have grades of dignity with their Lord, and forgiveness, and generous sustenance.⁷

Islam is the religion of fitrah, of the primordial human nature. That primordial nature is not some distant grand metaphysical conception, but the concrete, everyday core of you and me, the routine heritage of every single human being. It cannot be alienated from us. We can only get confused about it. Texts and teachers have been sent to us, by the generosity of Allah, to help us get unconfusedand then to help keep us that way. Our best text, the Qur'an, tells us that we have been sent to this place to serve as the khalifahs of Allah. We must establish regular prayer, formally linking ourselves to the Creator of the Universe, and then spend freely of the gifts that have been given us "whatever gifts we have" to take care of the job before us. Whatever that job might be.

Perhaps our best Islamic consciousness begins on the day that we recognize that fact.

For it is a fact. We are khalifahs now. Not tomorrow, not when we get mystically enlightened, not when everybody agrees with us or when we get back our land. Not when we have more guns and make more rules. We are khalifahs now. We are fully responsible. Islam is how we behave with that weight on our backs.
 

We indeed offered the trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, but they refused to bear it, being afraid thereof; while the human being bore it, who is unjust and ignorant.⁸

Being unjust and ignorant, we need checks and balances to keep us from losing the path and our perspective, and support to help us from being crushed like the mountains by the impossibility of it all. How good it is to have the Qur'an, the Messenger, the sunnah, the wealth of stories of those who came before us! How good it is to be able to correct, admonish, or reassure ourselves! How good it is not to be alone!

But neither Qur'an, nor hadith, nor illustrious ancestors can accomplish anything here without us. And by themselves, they cannot make our behavior Islamic. Only our taqwa, our care for our responsibility, can do that. Mechanically following the right set of directions is not enough.

Neither the flesh nor the blood [of your ritual sacrifice] ever reaches unto Allah. It is your taqwa that reaches unto Him.⁹

The divine message serves as a witness either for or against our taqwa. It is a witness we may consult with here, if we are wise. Whether we do or not, it will surely testify about us later. We know we are human beings. We have been warned.

Because we are human beings, because we are in possession of fitrah, we know that the Bomb is wrong. That is the Islamic response. But if we challenge our own certainty (and it is one of the branches of sincerity constantly to challenge one's own certainty), we can check with the witness. And for every moral reaction that genuinely comes from fitrah, we will eventually find corroboration.

It really doesn't matter so much that Hadrat Abu Bakr said that indiscriminate destruction is wrong. Of course we are grateful he did...and the fact that he did is one of the indicators of the profound moral integrity, the "grade of dignity with his Lord," for which he is so widely revered. But someone would have said it. Someone in the Shi`i tradition is sure to have said it. Someone everywhere will have said it. It comes from fitrah; it belongs to the human race.

What matters is that we say it. And it matters more that we act upon it. In that way only do we become, not just passive consumers of stories, but working contributors to the Islamic tradition.

Or we could stick with powerlessness. At least, until the Qiyamah, when there might be some embarrassing questions.

Notes

Sahih Muslim.

Surah Al- `Imran, 103.

Surah Baqarah, 256.

Surah Ya Sin, 47.

Surah A`raf, 28.

Surah `Ankabut, 41.

Surah Anfal, 2-4.

Surah Ahzab, 72.

Surah Hajj, 37.

*Rabia Terri Harris is coordinator of the Muslim Peace Fellowship.

THE PEACEMAKER
By Umm Mahmood

Inspite of the hostility and the existence of stereotype  towards the Muslims , the reasons for the rapid spread of Islam is due to the simplicity of its doctrine and the peaceful way how Muslims worship Allah. Islam is not a religion of " terror " nor  of " hate " but an  ideology of peace and all embracing way of life. One of the beautiful  names of Allah is As-Salam ( Allah is the Peace ).
 
Abdullah heard the Prophet (peace be upon him) say: O people! Spread the Salam (greetings), feed (the poor and needy), behave kindly to your blood relations, offer prayer when others are asleep, and (thus) enter Paradise in peace. [Transmitted by Tirmidhi, Narrated by Abu Yusuf
Abdullah ibn Salam , Al Tirmidhi Hadith # 849 ]

 " And when anyone greets you in a respectful manner, greet him with a better salutation than his or at least return the same."[4:84 ]

As-Salaamu Alaykum Waramatullah Wabarakatuh . Peace and Blessings of Allah be on you.

Did you greet your husband or wife with the " Salaams " today? Have we been training  and informing our children the importance of salutation? Shall we accept a " hi " in place of " Assalaamu Alaikum " ? For some of us, this may seem a minor issue. Are we forgetting , that this was the
tradition of Prophet Muhammad (saaw ) ? We have to realize that practice makes if not perfect , at least better and a practice that we shall carry on for the rest of our life.  One other issue that seem to be so obvious in these days, I  noticed that even giving the salams, some of us are so stingy to do so. For some  trivial reasons , Muslims felt that some are not deserving of any sort of greetings at all.

Prophet Muhammad ( saaw ) was asked to convey Salam ( peace ) of Allah to the Believers.

" When those who have believed Our Revelations come to you , say to them, Salaam ( Peace be upon you ): Your Lord has prescribed for Himself (the rule of ) mercy and compassion. " [ 6:54 ]

Prophet Muhammad (saaw) was a peaceful person and never was inclined to war except when forced by the enemies. Allah (swt) said :

" O Prophet , if the enemies incline to peace, you should also incline to peace and put your trust in Allah. Indeed, He is All-Hearing, All-Knowing. If they intend to deceive you, ALLAH IS SUFFICIENT FOR YOU. It is He Who strengthened you with His Help , and by means of the Believers." [ 8: 61-62 ]

" If the enemies surrender and seek refuge , you should not fight against them, " Therefore if they leave you alone and desist from fighting against you and make overtures for peace to you in that case Allah has left you no cause for aggression against them. " [9:9 ]

 " Likewise if any from the enemies camp come to you for refuge, you should not kill them but offer them peace. " If any of the unbelievers asked you for protection , give him protection until he hears the word of Allah ; then convey him to a place of safety ; this should be done because this people do not know the Truth . " [ 9:6 ]

" And make not Allah's (name) an excuse in your oaths against doing good or acting rightly or making peace between persons; for Allah is one who heareth and knoweth all things." [ 2 :224 ]

What has war brought this life but painful memories of hatred and blood bath that has been passed on from generations to generations. It seems to me the more bodies each party bags,  the arrogant one claim victory with no sense of remorse that another human being is killed whether one is Muslim or not. And the winner is........ ? When everyone is at war, there is no victory except we had just made Shaytan the hero. Can't you see, we are not animals but human beings with compassion.

When Muslims fight ( whether verbally or physically ) another Muslim ,do we just sit back and watch or should we say something? Why do we fight? Perhaps we lied about another Muslim ; ghiba ( slander ) ;  idletalk ; jealousy ; gossip ; all but which is cause by misuse of our tongue. Even among close friends for years fight. Unfortunately, instead  of putting out the fire, some of us help build the fire.

 "And if two groups of Believers fall to fighting then, make peace between them"(49.9)

Narrated Abu Huraira;Allah's Apostle(SAAW)said,"There is sadaqa to be given for every joint of the human body,and for every day the sun rises there is a reward of a sadaqa (i.e. charitable gift) for the one who establishes peace among people."

How about when families fight?

Husbands and wife? with In-laws ? with our children? among siblings? Families comes in all shapes and sizes and the most intense of all human interactions.We can enumerate the lists of atrocity but when conflict arise, usually a person's only tool is a hammer and sees every problem as a nail. A couple with marital difficulties who visit a lawyer ends up in the path of divorce. Arguing with our in-laws only leaves them heartbroken because we have disrespected them. Screaming and yelling at our children will only bring misleading signals that their parents do not love them anymore. Perhaps the jealousy among the siblings is the result of our unfair judgement of each of them.

Narrated Um Khulthum bint Uqba: That she heard Allah's Apostle (SAAW) saying; "He who makes peace between the people by inventing good information or saying good things, is not a liar."

In view of all of these, when we work at reconciliation between people in conflict, we are also working to bring them closer to Allah. We are the Muslims.  Together, we are the PEACEMAKER.

When You Are the Peacebuilder

When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers.

—Uganda

When You Are the Peacebuilder

The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

—Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

When You Are the Peacebuilder

It is the action, not the fruit of the action, that is important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there will be any fruit. But that doesn’t mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.

—Mahatma Gandhi.

 

When You Are the Peacebuilder

Much silence has a mighty noise.

—Tanzania

When You Are the Peacebuilder

A camel does not tease another camel about his hump.

—Egypt

When You Are the Peacebuilder

He who denies the sound of the living will hear the sound of the dead.

—Kenya

When You Are the Peacebuilder

When a woman is hungry, she says, "Roast something for the children to eat."

—Congo

When You Are the Peacebuilder

To make preparations does not spoil the trip.

—Guinea

When You Are the Peacebuilder

If the drumbeat changes, the dancer must adapt.

—Burkina Faso

 

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