Some people have nerve, but not the understanding

[Salaama]

Assalamu Alaikum wa ramatullah wa barakatuh

I would like to share something with you, if I may, and ask you where they get the nerve...:

British Prime Minister Tony Blair is meeting representatives of the Muslim community in Britain today and the leaders of the opposition parties to discuss the details of proposed new antiterrorism legislation. The government plans to hold a series of consultative meetings this week on a bill that will make it illegal to prepare, train, and incite acts of terror. The move comes against a background of the continuing investigation into the London bombings on 7 July.
( http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/07/c07ee922-a... )

That really makes me upset, because it seems as if whenever anything bad happens...it's always the Moslims who get blamed. When will they ever listen, accept, and understand that we are not the terrorists? I can see where the U.K. would be in a sense intimidated by us and a little uneasy because of the fact that we are the 3rd largest group, behind the Christians and Atheists, I think that it makes the Europeans somewhat nervous, and who wouldn't be with the media today, but thankfully the people of the U.K. don't really want this either, and that is beginning to cause Tony Blair's standing to deteriorate. I just hope the U.S. will soon realize how wrong this is, and fight it.

For every Moslim reading this, I want you to know that the rest of the world is looking and watching every move we make, they will remember any bad deed we do, and rarely the good...that is why we must strive to do good, we are the servants of Allah, and we must hold on to our faith tightly and overcome this, I believe that Muhammed (pbuh) would not have let them think we are the terrorists like this, he would have proved and shown by his example the truth, what Islam is. He is not with us right now, that is why we must do it, so please, let us stay strong, be good examples, and show the world what Islam and Moslims are. For many of us, this is the Jihad.

Thank You,

Assalumu Alaikum,
~Salaama

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. the Greater Jihad

is the war with ones own nafs, but I think I like your concept of Jihad as well.

It is odd that the Britains seem to now equate the terrorists with Muslims exclusively. For decades, the IRA, who are, I believe, Catholics, bombed and terrorized Britain, even to the point of killing Lord Mountbatten, great friend and relative of the Queen. I feel that Muslims are being used now as a scapegoat because they are "different"-moreso than the IRA.

[ianna_kur]

3. The Islamic abode as the abode of the "other"

I think that in the case of both Britain and the United States, that discrimination against Muslims is used by some in order to glorify and justify their own claims of superiority, both morally and commercially. It is disgusting, but sadly it has a strong historical precedence. I am beginning to think that as members of a progressive party, we need to take it upon ourselves and do what our political ancestors did - educate those we meet, and the public at large, to the validity and power of truth.

In the book "Islamic & European Expansion", there is an essay by Richard Eaton entitled "Islamic History as Global History". In that essay Mr. Eaton, in an attempt to explain to the reader as to why the great Islamic empires have traditionally been ignored in the West when studying world history, makes the assertion that:

"Since the eleventh century, it was the fate of Islamic civilization to serve in the European imagination as a wholly alien 'other', a historic and cosmic foil against which Europeans defined their own collective identity as a world civilization." (2)

Mr. Eaton's essay primarily concerns itself with the early history of Islam through the Umayyad, the Abbasid, and then the Mughal dynastic periods. There is mention of the concept and reality Dar al-Islam in the near and far east towards the end of his essay.

The essay itself is rather short, but is a good overview for understanding how the educational and cultural traditions in the west during the 10th and 11th centuries have contributed to the saddening ignorance seen in the west today.

[PsychoDad]

2. The actions of a thousand good Muslims each day....

Will not be reported by the media, but the wrongful act of one will be, and those actions are what many judge us by.

You have a good point, our greatest jihad in modern society is against ignorance. Ignorance is a hunger for knowledge, and the western media is ready to feed the masses with lurid tales of faceless swarthy outsiders who are alien in their motives and ways. Dark skinned men with equally dark hearts, their faces covered by dark beards, lurking in the shadows, athurst for the blood of infidels.

A wonderful story, like something from Ali Baba and the forty thieves, I'm sure it makes for great ratings. Too bad it also poisons the mind and heart.

I think your assessment of the action the Prophet (saw) would take is right on the money. The cold, frightening phantasies crafted by a corporate media hungry for ratings can only be fought by replacing them with the reality of a warm smile and the softness of our words and deeds.

That requires us to be proactive, to educate ourselves and others, and to put into practice everything we know to be good about our Islam.

As my respected sister points out above, the greatest jihad is the one within ourselves, and our outward actions will reflect the success we have with regard to that battle. For in the end, the work of our tongues and hands will reflect the work we have done within our hearts.

In the end, we cannot change the heart of any person. The Quran relates that it is only Allah(swt) who can change the hearts, but it is up to us to be the best visible examples of what Islam is.

Salaam Aliekum wa Ramatullah wa barakat.

[plasticwidow]

4. Well said...

Salaama and PsychoDad. Fighting the media and the propaganda the government puts out there in mainstream America has hurt the Muslim communities and Islam. People believe what they hear and see on TV and the media, and TV and the media give just enough fact (sometimes) that if the listener investigates a little bit (yes, Americans in general are a lazy lot.. they don't look very far into what is behind these "facts") they find the "facts" to be true (to an extent anyway) and don't look further. We have a long, hard battle ahead of us, in enlightening the community and the American people about the truth of Islam. Its a slow and arduous battle, but as was said above, by example and actions, by our deeds and our smiles, our gentleness, people will see Islam in action, the real Islam.

Peace!