A Memo to American Muslims ("EXCELLENT READ")

Islam for Today ^ | Unknown | Dr. M. A. Muqtedar Khan

[FairOpinion]

It is time that we acknowledge that the freedoms we enjoy in the US are more desirable to us than superficial solidarity with the Muslim World. If you disagree, then prove it by packing your bags and going to whichever Muslim country you identify with." In the wake of September 11, Dr. M. A. Muqtedar Khan calls for soul searching, reflection and reassessment among US Muslims.

In the name of Allah, the most Benevolent and the Most Merciful. May this memo find you in the shade of Islam enjoying the mercy, the protection and the grace of Allah.

I am writing this memo to you all with the explicit purpose of inviting you to lead the American Muslim community in soul searching, reflection and reassessment.

What happened on September 11th in New York and Washington DC will forever remain a horrible scar on the history of Islam and humanity. No matter how much we condemn it, and point to the Quran and the Sunnah to argue that Islam forbids the killing of innocent people, the fact remains that the perpetrators of this crime against humanity have indicated that their actions are sanctioned by Islamic values.

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

Even if it were true that Israel and the US are enemies of the Muslim World, wonder what is preventing them from unleashing their nuclear arsenal against Muslims, a response that mercilessly murders thousands of innocent people, including hundreds of Muslims is absolutely indefensible. If anywhere in your hearts there is any sympathy or understanding with those who committed this act, I invite you to ask yourself this question, would Muhammad (pbuh) sanction such an act?

While encouraging Muslims to struggle against injustice (Al Quran 4:135), Allah also imposes strict rules of engagement. He says in unequivocal terms that to kill an innocent being is like killing entire humanity (Al Quran 5:32). He also encourages Muslims to forgive Jews and Christians if they have committed injustices against us (Al Quran 2:109, 3:159, 5:85).

Muslims, including American Muslims have been practicing hypocrisy on a grand scale. They protest against the discriminatory practices of Israel but are silent against the discriminatory practices in Muslim states. In the Gulf one can see how laws and even salaries are based on ethnic origin. This is racism, but we never hear of Muslims protesting against them at International fora.

The Israeli occupation of Palestine is perhaps central to Muslim grievance against the West. While acknowledging that, I must remind you that Israel treats its one million Arab citizens with greater respect and dignity than most Arab nations treat their citizens. Today Palestinian refugees can settle and become citizens of the United States but in spite of all the tall rhetoric of the Arab world and Quranic injunctions (24:22) no Muslim country except Jordan extends this support to them.

While we loudly and consistently condemn Israel for its ill treatment of Palestinians we are silent when Muslim regimes abuse the rights of Muslims and slaughter thousands of them. Remember Saddam and his use of chemical weapons against Muslims (Kurds)?. Remember Pakistani army’s excesses against Muslims (Bengalis)?. Remember the Mujahideen of Afghanistan and their mutual slaughter? Have we ever condemned them for their excesses? Have we demanded international intervention or retribution against them? Do you know how the Saudis treat their minority Shias? Have we protested the violation of their rights? But we all are eager to condemn Israel; not because we care for rights and lives of the Palestinians, we don’t. We condemn Israel because we hate “them".

Muslims love to live in the US but also love to hate it. Many openly claim that the US is a terrorist state but they continue to live in it. Their decision to live here is testimony that they would rather live here than anywhere else. As an Indian Muslim, I know for sure that nowhere on earth, including India, will I get the same sense of dignity and respect that I have received in the US. No Muslim country will treat me as well as the US has. If what happened on September 11th had happened in India, the biggest democracy, thousands of Muslims would have been slaughtered in riots on mere suspicion and there would be another slaughter after confirmation. But in the US, bigotry and xenophobia has been kept in check by media and leaders. In many places hundreds of Americans have gathered around Islamic centers in symbolic gestures of protection and embrace of American Muslims. In many cities Christian congregations have started wearing hijab to identify with fellow Muslim women. In patience and in tolerance ordinary Americans have demonstrated their extraordinary virtues.

It is time that we acknowledge that the freedoms we enjoy in the US are more desirable to us than superficial solidarity with the Muslim World. If you disagree than prove it by packing your bags and going to whichever Muslim country you identify with. If you do not leave and do not acknowledge that you would rather live here than anywhere else, know that you are being hypocritical.

It is time that we faced these hypocritical practices and struggled to transcend them. It is time that American Muslim leaders fought to purify their own lot.

For over a decade we have watched as Muslims in the name of Islam have committed violence against other Muslims and other peoples. We have always found a way to reconcile the vast distance between Islamic values and Muslim practices by pointing out to the injustices committed upon Muslims by others. The point however is this – our belief in Islam and commitment to Islamic values is not contingent on the moral conduct of the US or Israel. And as Muslims can we condone such inhuman and senseless waste of life in the name of Islam?

The biggest victims of hate filled politics as embodied in the actions of several Muslim militias all over the world are Muslims themselves. Hate is the extreme form of intolerance and when individuals and groups succumb to it they can do nothing constructive. Militias like the Taliban have allowed their hate for the West to override their obligation to pursue the welfare of their people and as a result of their actions not only have thousands of innocent people died in America, but thousands of people will die in the Muslim World.

Already, half a million Afghans have had to leave their homes and their country. The war has not yet begun. It will only get worst. Hamas and Islamic Jihad may kill a few Jews, women and children included, with their suicide bombs and temporarily satisfy their lust for Jewish blood, but thousands of Palestinians then pay the price for their actions.

The culture of hate and killing is tearing away at the moral fabric of the Muslim society. We are more focused on “the other” and have completely forgotten our duty to Allah. In pursuit of the inferior jihad we have sacrificed the superior jihad.

Islamic resurgence, the cherished ideals of which pursued the ultimate goal of a universally just and moral society has been hijacked by hate and call for murder and mayhem. If Bin Laden were an individual then we would have no problem. But unfortunately Bin Laden has become a phenomenon -- a cancer eating away at the morality of our youth, and undermining the spiritual health of our future.

Today the century old Islamic revival is in jeopardy because we have allowed insanity to prevail over our better judgment. Yes, the US has played a hand in the creation of Bin Laden and the Taliban, but it is we who have allowed them to grow and gain such a foothold. It is our duty to police our world. It is our responsibility to prevent people from abusing Islam. It is our job to ensure that Islam is not misrepresented. We should have made sure that what happened on Sept. 11th should never have happened.

It is time the leaders of the American Muslim community woke up and realized that there is more to life than competing with the American Jewish lobby for power over US foreign policy. Islam is not about defeating Jews or conquering Jerusalem. It is about mercy, about virtue, about sacrifice and about duty. Above all it is the pursuit of moral perfection. Nothing can be further away from moral perfection than the wanton slaughter of thousands of unsuspecting innocent people.

I hope that we will now rededicate our lives and our institutions to the search for harmony, peace and tolerance. Let us be prepared to suffer injustice rather than commit injustices. After all it is we who carry the divine burden of Islam and not others. We have to be morally better, more forgiving, more sacrificing than others, if we wish to convince the world about the truth of our message. We cannot even be equal to others in virtue, we must excel.

It is time for soul searching. How can the message of Muhammad (pbuh) who was sent as mercy to mankind become a source of horror and fear? How can Islam inspire thousands of youth to dedicate their lives to killing others? We are supposed to invite people to Islam not murder them.

The worst exhibition of Islam happened on our turf. We must take first responsibility to undo the evil it has manifest. This is our mandate, our burden and also our opportunity.

---------

Muqtedar Khan, Ph.D. Director of International Studies, Adrian College, MI Association of Muslim Social Scientists Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy.

[Luis Gonzalez]

"On Sept 11 muslims around the world cheered, also here in America, Dearborn, MI was one such site."

Show me.

[Luis Gonzalez]

So dennis, Jew hating is limited to Muslims?

[EUPHORIC]

You really think it was? Evacuation from LA message?

No... I was being a smarta$$... Please consider the relationship between the word "evacuation" and the flushing sound reference.. ;)

[Luis Gonzalez]

"Abortion" is an Issue Entirely Separate from the Perpetuation of Humanity."

Doc, I can't get the logic of that statement.

[Luis Gonzalez]

"We nearly wiped their rear ends off the face of the earth. Then we rebuilt them, gave them a constitution. Taught them how to have elections. Rebuilt the country and forgave them."

We fought three distinct countries, an easily identifiable enemy, in a conventional war.

The war lasted 6 years, and 50 million people died.

What will be the outcome of a war fought against a billion people, living in every country in the world?

[Luis Gonzalez]

The one thing that must be pointed out about Mr. Pipes, is that he limits his commentary to Middle eastern countries, and thus, he is talking about 10 to 15 percent of Muslims who live in the Middle East; he limits his commentary to known Fundamentalist regimes and terrorist groups that exist in that area.

What he fails to mention is that as many as 80% of Muslims are not Arabs, and they do not live in the area he is discussing in this article.

So, his 10-15% potential fundamentalist terrorists should be calculated based solely on the 20% of Muslims living in the Middle East.

[Mr. Mojo]

"It is time that we acknowledge that the freedoms we enjoy in the US are more desirable to us than superficial solidarity with the Muslim World. If you disagree, then prove it by packing your bags and going to whichever Muslim country you identify with."- Dr. M. A. Muqtedar Khan

Yeah, but those that disagree with this guy's sensible suggestion are better off (from their point of view) right here on enemy soil, where they can do the most damage.

[Valin]

"It is easy to fly into a passion--anybody can do that--but to be angry with the right person and at the right time and with the right object and in the right way--that is not easy, and it is not everyone who can do it."
Aristotle

[TASMANIANRED]

My response was to a specific question. The US is now friends with Japan with whom we fought a war in self defense, How did this happen?

I ain't trying to solve the problems of the world, just addressing history.

[Stopislamnow]

I work in grocery sales. Some of my stores are in Dearborn, some are arab owned that specialize in imported foods, my employer imports many items from the mideast. While driving through arabtown(mosques, stores with arabic signs, no english signs, etc, its always been called that) I personally witnessed quite a few hanging around raising thier fists while watching the attacks. The store I went to was racous(sp?)/loud talking, when I walked in it got quiet and arabic started being spoken. Other eyewitness reports(now buried, even the reports that everyone saw on the tube of the big palestinian street celebrations that only survive on the net in a few places like FR.)of celebration in restaurants, bars(grain of salt, someone in a bar at 10am and all that), pop vendors(coke driver had the same experience as me), and there WERE media reports on it. Until then, feel free to just write me off as a whackjob, I'll keep looking for it and should I come across it I'll freepmail it to ya. But as an aside, try looking for any of the real big celebrations like the ones in palestine or iraq or iran or pakistan. This is a subject no one wants to talk about, someone don't want it remembered or even to have them discussed again. It was headed for the revisionors of history before the bodies cooled.

[Doc On The Bay]

Luis, I am merely trying to point out that we must live in the world we have.

WHATEVER the "Genius" we MIGHT HAVE KNOWN from an "aborted one,"--DESPITE the Indefensible Loss--we MUST accept the "Facts" as we know Them. `

PERHAPS an "aborted One" MIGHT HAVE given us "FASTER-Than-Light" Travel.

WHAT A LOSS!!

And How Sad that that Fetus Must have been Aborted.

But around 1.5 Million Fetuses have been aborted Yearly--Legal, or Illegal!

The "Thing Is," "It Steam-Engines When It Comes 'Steam-Engine Time!'"

I Believe, (FOOL THAT I AM,) that the "appropriate Genius" will arrive in Our Culture (DESPITE ABORTION) WHEN we are Ready to "Go to the Stars!"

AND. Luis, I Will WONDER (as You will,) WHAT ELSE we might have had when the "Special One" Comes!

But, Because we can NEVER seem to be free of Abortion, we can only wonder what talent we have lost!

Doc

[Valin]

Because the 4,495,000,000 approved of everything their Islamic brothers do!

Tell me are you normally this dense, or are you making a special effort today.

Indonesia's moderate Muslims back terror crackdown
Straits Times By Salim Osman
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/778319/posts?page=2

King offers aid to Moroccan Jews
JTA ^ | 5-20-03 | Peter Ephross
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/915022/posts

[Stopislamnow]

I think the real question about islam is this:

What kind of man founded the islamic religion?

Answer that truthfully and then wonder how it can be anything but evil.

[Luis Gonzalez]

The claim made was "celebrating and dancing in the streets", not "raising their fists" (I raised my fists quite a few times on 9/11 myself), not loud talking, I shouted and screamed that day.

The celebration in Palestine was very well documented and shown repeatedly on TV for weeks after the event.

[Luis Gonzalez]

"What kind of man founded the islamic religion?" A man, and thus, by the very nature of man, an imperfect man.

[Stopislamnow]

Yes imperfect.

A pedophile.
A highway robber.
A murderer.
A slaver.
A rapist.

Of course, this was all AFTER he renamed the moon god of arabia to allah.

Just a few small imperfections after all. Nothing series like he just had a few beers before going home to the wife or enjoys a cigar now and then.

[Coroner]

That article appeared right here on FR!!

[GeekDejure]

The Koran and other scriptures COMMAND "good" muslims to first kill peaceful ("hypocrites") muslims even before the "spawn of pigs and monkeys" (Jews)..."where ever you can find them". "Good" muslims must kill "bad" muslims, who are willing to live and let live, like 90+% of all men, women, and children on earth.

Precisely!!! This ("EXCELLENT READ") is nothing but more clever crapola designed to mystify the easy to fool Americans, and various Freepers who blather thusly: "This is amazing. I hope he stays alive to spread his message." and " Wow! We don't see enough of this!" and "This is beautiful -- thank you for posting it." and "I really don't think he is a Trojan Horse. Just read one of his other articles. " and "BRAVO. It did my heart good to read this, and I thank you for posting it." etc., etc., etc. SUCKERS !!!

This article is nothing but lies, Lies and more LIES... spewed forth in keeping with the precise Islamic instructions regarding how they are to FOOL their enemy BEFORE KILLING HIM !!! They need to fool you long enough to establish a firm foothold inside the USA... and they are making amazing progress in that regard. WAKE UP, DUMMIES, THIS IS FOR REAL !!!

.

[Valin]

No the real question is why would anyone think going to war or killing 1.3 Billion people is a good/doable plan. And why someone would hate people on the basis of their religion.

Me, I stand with the president.

[Coroner]

The 9-11 celebration was'nt only in Dearborn. There were also reports in Paterson NJ and Tampa that were reported in the local media.