As the missles continue to glide, mortar shells proceed to errupt, bullets still mist and bombs resume to descend upon Gaza, 531 civilizian deaths have been estimated yesterday, January 5th, and this number of confirmed casualties is of course steadily climbing.Our beloved Rasul, Muhammad, salallahu 'alayhi wa salaam, has advised us:
"Whoever among you witnesses an evil, let them change it by hand, if they are unable to do so, then by the tongue, and if unable to do so, then with their heart; and that is the weakest of faith." [Sahih Muslim]
So in tradition of the spirit behind every righteous cause, in defiance of overwhelming odds and in stubborn refusal to be stagnated by cynicism, the movement against social injustice and the holocaustal strike in Gaza and abroad fuels and carries on. May our efforts; prayers, fasts, voices and actions all be received by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that our dear brothers and sisters be granted ease and victory over His enemies and ours. Ya Rabb, Ameen!
One man's view I especially respect in regards to what's dubbed the "Israel-Palestine Conflict" and the Middle East crises (as he's made it his life's mission to specialize) is historian, political scientist, lecturer and author, Norman Finkelstein. A man whose bio, work, interviews and debates (most notably the one with Alan Dershowits on DemocracyNow) one should explore if not already familiar.
Finkelstein is one whose presence is much needed in mainstream Western media when such crises in Gaza take off. However, call me delusioned, but I sense that despiste the extreme media bias that much of the American public perspective is coming to terms with the grim reality corporate media spurns to represent.
Mr. Norman Finkelstein, champion exposer of the Zionist agenda, appeared recently on Press TV in Tehran, Iran to offer his take on the brutal situation in Gaza. He also speaks a little on Bush, some of what we can expect from Obama and his Administration and his thoughts on Hassan Nasrallah that even I had to gasp over. The following contains both appearances and will automatically proceed to the next, in'sha'Allah:
7 comments:
Mashallah, thanks for sharing!
Subhan'Allah! I just... and I mean JUST left you a comment at your blogspot, Sister. Barak'Allah feekum.
Dear Abdul Vakil (AV),
Safiyyah directed me to your blog and said I might like it's interfaith nature. I won't be writing any offensive comments here and wanted to let you know that I like what you are trying to do.
You are right about me in many ways. Where was my early ikhlas? Well, I converted for a number of reasons but before I even converted, I had a history degree from University of Texas-Austin (go Longhorns) that was 3/4 solely in Islamic studies.
And one of the first things I noticed was The People of The Book and the fact that the Prophet said we should make peace with them. Now, I'm not sure where Islam stands on this issue because it would seem to have a few contradictions since you mentioned that we should let them play until the Judgement Day. Surely, Muslims do not believe in The People of the Book in name only?
Peace and greetings, Lisa:
I appreciate you passing by. I have a blog I believe would be of specific interest to you. It's my first one in fact called "Path to Salvation." Look it up and enjoy, God-willing.
That aside. You're exactly right that Muhammad, God's final messenger to mankind, may God's peace and blessings eternally be upon him, taught us to deal kindly and justly with everyone, Muslims and Non. He also explained that our neighbors, everyone 40 houses to our right and 40 houses to our left have rights over us and that neither of us are true believers if we fill our stomaches while one of them starves. Almighty God calls us to employ the same social graces in the Qur'an. So naturally this would be the stance of Islam with regards to this issue.
Islam overflows with mercy and forgiveness, sadly not all Muslims, as there is no society safe from deliquents, are not responsive to their obligations as such. But all of us striving to please our Lord do indeed strive to do so.
As to your comment on leaving the Ahl al-Kitab or People of the Book to play. I'm not entirely clear on what you're refering to, but God-willing my response will lift your concern. We understand as believers in Almighty God, Glorified and Exalted is He, that it is only He who guides. We are merely recipients of everything our Creator provides. So the task of accepting guidance is solely up to the individual, it is neither our responsiblity or right to guide or save anyone. Only The Almighty does that to whomsoever He pleases. It's such thing as individual accountability, the duty of the believer is only to convey the message according to their own capacity, NOT to convert. Remember our Lord says in the Qur'an what means: "no compulsion in religion."
Abdul Vakil (AV),
You comments were incredibly considerate and open-minded. I greatly appreciate the way in which you come at this with actual Islamic introspection to back you up. I truly believe that sisters can learn much from their brothers in Islam about how to properly perform da'wah. A brother such as yourself is exactly what Islam needs to convey a more heartening and satisfying message.
I've always been of the mindset that you must approach the non-believer with what their used to.
Christians like the warm fuzzies and kudos. Coming at them from a standpoint of "your destined for hell-fire" is ineffective. I'm very happy to know that you see this and I'll be heading to your Path of Salvation blog now.
Thank you very much dear brother and please continue to spread this positive message of zero compulsion and harmony. It may rub off on everyone else and prove to be extremely effective.
Abdul Vakiv (AV),
So how do I get to the Path of Salvation blog?
Thank you, Lisa:
If you open my list of blogs, "Path to Salvation", is at the bottom. Here, though, is the direct link:
http://av-julian.blogspot.com/2008/04/path-to-salvation.html
I'd like to add that while it is wrong for anyone besides Almighty God Himself to grant one Paradise or condemn them to Hell, it should be noted that this concept of salvific exclusivity is hardly foreign to any religion. So from the Muslim perspective to openly deny that our Lord and Creator is one and is the only being worthy of worship and to deny that Muhammad, peace be upon him, is His prophet and final messenger is denying Almighty God and His Message altogether.
So by what other means to serve God than the means revealed to and taught by His prophets, peace and blessings be upon them all, do we dare think acceptable in the sight of God Almighty?
But again, you're right, it is wrong and needless to say counterproductive to seal another's eternal fate. Let's establish that Islam is the truth first then there shall they be able to determine the consequences of accepting it or rejecting it. God-willing.
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