... not your jihad, though... but the jihad of the Muslims of today...
Hatred... hatred... hatred...
I am really sick of this!
The west is conspiring against us... Israel is killing Palestinians (and Palestinians are throwing flowers at them, though!)... America is killing Iraqis... Russia kills Syrians...
And at the end, and as an answer to all of this, Muslims kill each other, and kill innocent non-Muslims that only care about finishing their working day and going home to their families!
It is not about Islam. It never is.
It is about us, Middle Eastern people, and our feeling of being inferior. And our violent nature as well.
Why ISIS enjoys beheading people?
Because here in the places that have no war, like my country Jordan, for example, if the driver next to us tries to make a slightest maneuver that we do not like, we will just come down of the car and smash their heads with a bat or pull out a gun and shoot them...
Because we hate our governments because they do not do what we like... and we hate each other for not being the same, and because Arabs want to impose their traditions on minorities, and because minorities want the majority to act just like they do...
Because we are greedy, and we want to make as much benefit as we can...
Because we never give excuses to one another, and we never try to understand each other...
And most importantly, because we have concealed the real Islam, and offered our rotten culture to the world as a deformed form of "Islam"... and we used the title "Islam" as a broad title and a front to hide behind it and blackmail the whole world...
Because we failed to understand the fact that politics is merely a game of interests, and that the clever politicians are the ones looking for win-win solutions... so we pushed Islam in the middle, and hidden ourselves behind it... and used the world-wide agreed on international principles (that we do not believe in or respect!) of human rights to deprive the rest of the world from these rights...
For all of that, ISIS provided a great tool to fulfill our grudges...
What is better than killing those whom you do not like for a holy reason? And then go to heaven?
For all of that, ISIS provided a great tool to fulfill our grudges...
What is better than killing those whom you do not like for a holy reason? And then go to heaven?
We screwed up... a big time...
We betrayed Allah... and the prophet -may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him-... and Islam...
We failed...
May Allah be merciful with the rest of the world that we have BIG TIME misguided...
Assalamu Alaikum,
ReplyDeleteYou've summed up mostly what I've been thinking. I just can't deal with this. How are we meant to give Dawah? How will people even think about Islam if it's seen like this? How can WE the Ummah rectify what's been done? Why should I have feel like I need to apologise? Why am I ashamed?
I just really can't any more and Brexit on top...subhanAllah!!
Wallahi it is painful. Soooo painful.
DeletePeople around the world are now scared to travel in planes. Or to move. And if they say a hijabi or a niqabi lady, or a man with a beard and thobe they are scared.
And they have their excuses, my dear. They do.
We screwed up. A big time.
On the other hand, the few Muslims I have met in my life are not like that. If I judged the religion by them only I would say it is one of healers , teachers, poets and workers for social justice. I never met a bad one. I just read about those in the papers. I can't connect them with the ones I've met at all. What does someone like you or Revert Life have in common with them? Nothing.
DeleteKanumommy... thank you for being the justice believer that you are... Thank you not behalf of myself, or myself and Revert Life (whose name is Zara :-) ), but on behalf of humanity, and all those who are putting an effort to make the world a more tolerant place.
DeleteI wish that every one would put an effort to peel off the media images that Islam is wrapped in and look at the real essence of the religion. And I wish that Muslims, before non-Muslims, would learn the reality of this religion and understand that Allah has sent prophet Mohammad with the message of Islam as a "mercy for the worlds"... not a military power to subjugate the world...
Mohammad Assad, previously Leopold Weiss, mentions that the "victory of Islam" in the advanced times will not be a military conquer, but rather a conquer of knowledge... it will be in the shape of the widespread of the principles of Islam...
People will keep their identities, and will keep their different cultural prints, but they will believe in the same... not because they were forced to, but because the wanted to... and those who want to keep their faiths will be welcomed to do, and will live side by side with their similar but Muslim fellows...
Our voices are attenuated. But the voices of the chaotic violent beasts that have wore the cloak of Islam are being magnified. That is so sad, but true.
Well, don't know where to put this...but my daughter and the young Arab fellow got married. :-)
ReplyDeleteOh! great! This means one thing to me: they want to be together, and they are ready to give some concessions for the sake of their love. I wish them all the good luck in the world! God bless them... :-D
DeleteAwww Thanks Kanumommy,
ReplyDeleteI agree I could have never came to Islam if went by what was in the papers or on TV. It's actually knowing Muslims and reading for myself that let me see past the media frenzy.
Congrats to your daughter and her hubby also
I am happy that you, actually , have met Muslims that reflected the true image of Islam.
DeleteGod bless them :-)
And God bless you my dear for continuing on their efforts <3
Thanks! Must admit I've now seen a more amusing side of Islam during this event.
ReplyDeleteHis folks are not bad people at all and I think they are trying, but we are having a culture clash and not only a matriarchal culture vs a patriarchal one. ( Even though his family is somewhat wealthy and I think a bit used to having their way...must have been surprising to them to find out their family line and $$$$ are not important in this tribe. Only our family line. Lol. )
The Arab dad called my husband wanting an Islamic ceremony ( we actually had a tribal ceremony done by Elders at one of our gatherings, which is legal here if at least one of the parties is native...so they are officially married in America).
Well, that wasn't enough for Arab dad. I guess you have to get hitched according to Islamic rules in order for the marriage to be recognized and the child to be considered legitimate in his country....neither of which anybody here cares about. We barely care about what the USA thinks because we are a sovereign people according to treaty right and forced them to accept our marriage customs...so why should we care about what a nation of people we don't know halfway across the planet thinks about them? Lol.
So his dad told my husband that he wanted the two of them to have an Islamic wedding, too. And that he would pay for an Imam to come out and do that...and to sign a paper saying my daughter had converted to Islam! Lol!
. My husband told him that he wished him and his whole family well, but that his son's bride was a practicing traditional native ( read pagan )and wished to remain so...and that his son did not even believe in God....so what was the point? But if he thought he could find an Imam somewhere and pay him enough to come out to the house to conduct such a wedding between an agnostic and a pagan and lie about everyone's religion..., it sure explained a lot of problems in Islam and other major world religions these days. Also Told him that we sure would not lie to the fellow about our religious beliefs if he showed up. Said if he had wanted his son to get married that way he should have kept him home, instead of letting him wander all over the planet and get a baby with a non-Muslim non-Arab.
Then he informed the Arab dad that no way would he put his daughter through that if she didn't want it ( she does not) and that everyone should just keep it honest ,he should just learn to live with the fact that the grandkids from this marriage were probably going to be little illegitimate pagans according to his country... and that they should just love them anyway. Lol.
That was quite a phone call.
So it is not a matter of wanting an Islamic marriage for the sake of the religion itself, it is a matter of saving face :-)
DeleteThey do not care what their son believes or does not believe, they only care what their people will say about their son's marriage and the legitimacy of his child! :-)
I do not think that carrying Islam and one's culture together as a one bundle would be good... Islam is a belief system... if you believe in it you do your best to follow the life style that it implies... if not then you just live your life and stop bringing it to the front...
If your daughter's in-laws cared about their family being devotedly Muslims, then they should have raised them with the understanding that they should not mess around with people they do not -or cannot- intend to marry. If they did not care about their family members being Muslim believers or not, then they should have done it to the end, and leave their children to make their choices based on their beliefs...
Half/half would not do :-)
Wow sounds complicated so I was going to say Muslim men can marry women of scripture so Jews and Christians but Pagans oh gosh these people can't lie and marry your daughter off to their son. They have a slightly warped view of how an Islamic marriage would work which shows the probably aren't concerned with their religion but their culture.
DeleteI hope everything works out for you daughter and family though
Well, it will either work out....or it won't. This fellow does not consider himself a Muslim, so guess he thinks the rules don't apply to him. Unfortunately, his other country does not agree with him. Lol. But that is not MY family's problem.
DeleteThe US does not care what religion anyone is or is not for a civil marriage license. So some of their concerns are practical. I guess they feel he will never be able to bring my daughter or their children to visit them there. But planes fly both ways. It's not my country restricting them.
Mama of Leo, it would be great if some Islamic states would just let folks choose their religion or choose none and release them from all obligations. Then, none of this would be a problem.
DeleteI do think his family is not very devout and likely does the religion as part of the culture, but they also have to be concerned about national rules that they didn't create. I can't imagine having to deal with that. Religions might have their own rules, but you don't have to follow them here if you don't care about your religion. Just go have a civil marriage and the State will accept it.
Well, as a matter of fact, his other country might even kill him with a court order :-) not just refuse his marriage. Alot of scholars -in addition to the majority of Muslims- believe that if a Muslim stops being so should be killed if he was counseled for three days and refused to remain Muslims. While several other scholars believe that this is not true. The Quranic verse is very clear: "There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion. The right course has become clear from the wrong. So whoever disbelieves in Taghut and believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy handhold with no break in it. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing."
DeleteGod judges us, not a religious court.
I understand the family's concerns, but still, I do not see a need to lie about the husband's religion, and the bride's religion, just in order to have an Islamic marriage to convince people back home. They can get a civil marriage, and I am pretty sure no one back home will ask to read the marriage certificate!
Religion is practice based on a specific belief. If the belief is not there then why just complicate people's lives with some restricting practices that are completely unnecessary!
I would insist on an Islamic marriage for myself because I do believe in Allah. But why would I force people who do not believe in Allah in the same way in which I believe in him to do exactly as I do?
Actually, the Embassy IS asking to see the marriage certificate. Lol. To see if he has been married according to " their" rules...and since he is listed as a " Muslim"... You see the issue. Seems he cannot get permission for her to enter the country without clearing that up. I'm like " who cares?" But the other set of grandparents want a visit at their house. Looks like someone(s) is going to be forced to tell some whopper lies for that to happen. Or they could buy a house here. They have the money. That would probably be best if his life is in danger. ( He says it is not...faking it is perfectly acceptable as long as you don't cause trouble. Well, he is good at it as he has faked it all his life. My daughter is another matter...)
Delete" They" meaning his parents could buy a house here. My daughter and her husband are planning to live in the States because he finds his other country " irritating and backwards". This could be its own thread..".when is a Muslim not a Muslim"? Lol...seems complicated.
DeleteWell, if faking it has been working well for him until now it is because he is violating the "law" only inside his own thought :-) as long as it is a matter of belief then no one can detect what is going on inside his head. But if the "practice" would reveal his actual "beliefs" then his life can be in real danger!
DeleteIf they can live their lives in peace in the US, then it is fine. However, if they ever needed to visit the groom's "home" country, thennnn.... ugh! I am not sure how much they can avoid making lies... :-|
I came back for a follow up on the comments
ReplyDeleteand I re-read the post, the first time I read it I was concerned but I didn't quite know what say about your comment about violent Jordanian drivers I've read it again and I'm actually laughing as I type this you can't be serious and people think my people are violent lol.
Then going back to the more serious tone of the post I can't keep up with the politics please please do a post explaining it all. Only if you can obviously xxxx
Well, people here hit each other's cars on purpose if they got very angry :-D and they might even run each others down on purpose as well!!
DeleteWe ARE violent! And I am not talking about my own ethnic people as an exception here, by the way. Even we, ethnic Circassians, are violent by nature. The difference is that our culture has alot of practices to teach people self control. If you have ever seen people doing Circassian dancing you will see what I mean. The very slow rhythm of some dances, and the very high skill are all ways to teach warriors how to control themselves. In addition to very strict rules about how to control one's hunger and never eat until full... etc. The disaster is that after we came to the Middle East, the general atmosphere is encouraging us to unleash that violence deep inside and feel that it is JUSTIFIED!
Middle East politics.......... my heart aches! I will try to write something consistent.
Heard about the military coup in Turkey?
Another painful wound...
SubhanAllah it never crossed my mind. But it does explain the stereotypes, not that one should come to assumptions of a group solely based on that.
DeleteAnd really that sound interesting I love learning about different cultures.
Yes what an earth was that about? So the military wanted to over-through the Priminister because he's rather conservative and is calling for a more Islamic turkey but the majority want a democratic turkey is that right? Or it was really surreal and I don't even live in Turkey...
From what I understand, the military is the upholder of more secular values in Turkey. It's hard for me to decipher what " the majority" in Turkey want from the News here. It is a country popular for visiting for Westerners. Seems to be trying to strike a balance?
DeleteWell... in Turkey, it is a little bit complicated...
DeleteSince the overthrow of the Ottoman empire, and the establishment of the Modern Turkey, it has been established as a secular country. The Turkish army has been historically known as the keeper of secularism in Turkey. Several former Muslim scholars have tried to establish powerful Islamic political parties, but have been forced to step down by military coups (or an introduction of a military coup, not necessarily reaching the stage of an actual coup). Constitutionally, the Turkish army used to be independent of the institution of presidency, a fully independent body that takes orders from no one. The former Islamists that tried to make their way through in that secular setting all (almost!) came from a background similar to that of the Muslim Brotherhood, however, in Turkey, it never got the chance to grow into an organized movement like in the Arab countries, it remained only daawa groups. And their few attempts to establish political parties and enter political life were terminated before they were able to do anything.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan was different. He was a young revolutionary member of the daawa group of the Islamic Brotherhood. He dared to argue and protest, so he was not that much liked among the community of Islamists. He decided to run for the position of mayor of Istanbul, where he succeeded and was able to make achievement that moved Istanbul from being a third world city to a city that easily can compete with any European city and turned to be a world attraction. The Bosphorus for example, was assessed back in the nineties as an ecological disaster, and that the only solution was to be defaced! Look how the bosphorus is now :-)
Success after success, Erdogan established the AKP, the "Justice and Development Party", which is a secular party with an Islamic background. After that, Erdogan made his way along with the part to the parliament, and then he became the prime minister, and then the president! :-)
Although he comes from an Islamic background, he was successful to remain in power for about 13 years now, and that's because of two things: first, he requires every one working with him to be effecient, and he works in the best interest of Turkey. Second, because what is described as "Islamizing" Turkey is no more than balancing the extremist secularism that used to rule Turkey. Like for example: before AKP, hijab (as in headcover, not even trying to discuss Niqab here!) was prohibited in schools and universities. After the AKP, it is allowed. Not enforced, but allowed. So whoever wants to wear it they can, and whoever does not want can still leave it. What used to be expressed in Turkey as Secularism was, in fact, the oppression of religion. Erdogan is setting the records straight: who wants to be a devoted Muslim can be, who does not want cannot be forced to be.
What is the trap that Erdogan is falling in?
He cannot resist his sympathisation towards Middle East and its crisis.
The coup was planned and achieved by a group following the Islaimist Fet-hullah Gulen, who opposes Erdogan in some political views, and who was prevented from controlling Turkish institutions by Erdogan unless he went into the light and formed a political party and got elected, the thing that Gulen refuses completely. He wants to work secretly without having to declare his agenda and have it assessed by people. So that's why he plotted the coup.
See why it is a painful wound?
More to come InshaAllah...
On the other hand there is nothing quite like coming home from surf fishing with your new son-in-law ( and leaving your phones at home so they do not get wet, ),and your husband meets you at the door, worried, phone in hand:
ReplyDelete" Glad you are home! I have been trying to reach you and tell you not to go fishing at your favorite spot. There was a big great white shark spotted there and they are closing the beach!"
Son -in-law and I were all in that water. :-/
Life can get exciting!
Hahaha... you were lucky people! You escaped the white sharks! phew... that was something!
DeleteI guess we did not look enough like fish or seals...I'm glad I don't have to call his mom and tell her her son was shark-snack! But my husband teased him saying that a groom had to bring his bride the teeth of the shark as proof of bravery. You never saw a brown Arab guy turn pale like him! Lucky my husband told him it was a joke. He might have tried!
DeleteLOL... the poor guy :-D
DeleteI guess he loves your little girl ;-)
That was a close one. I couldn't even imagine what that would have been like. Glad you were all fine!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd see it's seriously complicated stuff, so basically the Priminister is allowing people to practice Islam freely and the military don't like that and basically a 'Islamic extremist' group oppose some of his views so also wanted to over through him ....even though the military is secular and they are calling for a more Islamic Turkey... Isn't the Priminister doing that though to an extent?
I'm going to read this to hubby think he'll be interested.
That's Turkey of the cards then for now it's such a beautiful beautiful beautiful country. Praying the find peace in the politics soon.
Well, what Erdogan, who is now the president :-), doing currently is that he allows every one to practice the religion of desire, including Islam. Religious practices are being in the light now, and are not preventing anyone from moving forward in their educational or career lives. Still, he is clearly showing his pro-Islamic views openly, which is very new to a Turkish person of authority, but he is not imposing them on people.
DeleteThe army is secular. That is a fact. But the Islamic group opposing Erdogan, those following Fet-hullah Gulen, have managed to instill their people secretly all around the official bodies in Turkey. So all over, there are people who are secular/neutral in appearance, but deep inside, and in their closed circles, they follow Gulen and adopt his views. During the last military coup, they tried to speak the secular language in calling for an overthrow of the Turkish president in order to protect "Human rights", although this seems to be only a pretext, because in the past, back when Gulen lived in Turkey and was some what in the light, Gulen always criticized Erdogan's peaceful approach to issues like the Kurdish case, and his contact with countries in the Middle East. And now they are trying to borrow the secularist tone of voice when justifying the military coup!
Makes it even more complicated to know that Erdogan was originally a student of Gulen and that he grew up studying in the schools established and sponsored by him :-) But this might need a dedicated post (that I am praying to have the time to write! :-|)
Well that's making a little more sense. I watched live coverage but it was difficult as the media over here even seemed a little taken back. Then I think things got lost in translation. Wow that's scary so people high up in turkey who should be in support of Erdogan are secretly in support of Gulen...may Allah help them
ReplyDeleteSo Gulen is a very much older man if Erdogan was taught in Gulens schools. I know there's more to it but maybe he's a little bitter perhaps? Ah so hes sympathetic towards the Middle East and Gulen is not hmmm ok bits and bobs slowly digesting!!
Looking forward to your post in sha Allah
Well, I just had the biggest online fight with a bunch of people who should know better. They put up a list of things Muslims supposedly believed in such as 100% focused on war, no rights for women, etc. and it was not the usual Islamophobic uber-conservative ultra-American site. It was a " liberal " site that was supposedly dedicated to minority rights, etc, Seems they thought it would be funny to compare " Muslims" and American Religious Right Conservative Republicans. I told them they were misinformed and why and to remove it. They did not, Then I put up a list of female Muslim heads of state to counter their blanket statement on women, . The list stayed up. I am going to report them if it is not down soon. Reasoning is not helping....that is an hour of my life I will not get back. Lol.
ReplyDelete:-(
DeleteThe world is not heading any where good. Unfortunately.
I really do not know what to say.
SubhanAllhah.
ReplyDeleteHave they met any Muslims? See THIS is what's wrong with the world people being able to spread volatile opinions and harmful lies. Bless you for holding your own it is so hard to express ourselves in today's world.
Some times I feel afraid to answer your question. Have they met any Muslims?
DeleteI really hope that these people would meet with the REAL Muslims. Not those who carry their cultural luggage around and present it as Islam.