Quote-Unquote – Book II (101-200)
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(101-200)
A Christian Story with a Moral for Muslims – and Others
I once heard a Christian religious leader tell this story and it stayed fresh in my mind. Here is how the story goes:
A very pious man once drowned in a flood. As the man got trapped in the rising waters of the flood, a boat came to him and a man in the boat said: “Hurry, get in the boat.” The man turned down the offer of help and said: “God will save me!”
The boat went away, the man stayed and the water kept rising.
After a while the same boat showed up again and the same conversation took place. The boat went away a second time, and the man stayed in water, and the water rose further, this time reaching the man’s chin.
The boat returned a third time, offering to rescue him. The man said “God will save me!” and sent the boat away this time also. The man drowned and, then, upon resurrection, he asked God: “Lord, why did you not save me?” God said: Three times I sent a boat to rescue you and every time you turned down my offer of help.
This is a story told by a Christian Priest. But it seems to me there is a moral in it for Muslims as well – and for everyone else. Will someone please tell the Muslims this story?
When Will Muslims Re-Learn Their Forgotten Lesson of Truth Telling?
Sometimes, for some Muslims, 2 plus 2 doesn’t quite make 4. Their answer: Don’t worry, it will come out right in the next world. Whereas in Islam 2 plus 2 always makes 4 – whether it is your apples you are counting or your enemy’s.
And there were those among Muslims who were never afraid to tell the truth, even when the truth worked against them.
Those were the times when Muslims were known as the People of Truth.
And it was this lesson – the lesson to speak the truth – that Sir Muhammad Iqbal, the great Poet of Islam, in Urdu and Persian languages, urged Muslims to Re-Learn.
“Re-Learn the Lesson of Truth Telling,” said Iqbal.
…
“For, you are about to be called to the Leadership of the World.”
Anyone with any ability to read the events that rock the world today can see that Iqbal was right and that that time is upon us.
And that Muslims are being called upon to come forward to shoulder the burdens of leadership in the world.
But to merit that noble mantle, and to hasten that day, Muslims must first Re-Learn the Lesson of Truth Telling.
Nothing else will work.
And not just the Muslims but the entire world will be the loser if Muslims fail to Re-Learn their forgotten Lesson of Truth Telling.
Before Islam, Freedom of Expression Was Never a Basic Human Right
Before Islam, there was no such thing as the right to Freedom of Expression in the world. Islam gave people – all people – the right to free speech.
How I wish Muslims had known this fact.
And how I wish the world would know this fact even now.
Figuring Out the Good Guy-Bad Guy Equation
I have often thought about how some of us think: “Truth is what we say.” And “We” are the Good Guys. Propaganda, on the other hand, is what those Other Guys say. And “They” are the Bad Guys.
And I tell myself: Wow, what a perfect recipe we have invented to delude ourselves about what really goes on in the world? And what a great guarantee it is for us to preserve and maintain all kinds of Status Quo that is favourable to us but that is essentially unfair and unjust to others – a Status Quo that some might call Evil.
The major problem I see with this formulation, however, is this: We know, and we insist, that “We” are the Good Guys. But if you went and asked the Other Guys, they are also likely to say the exact same thing. They would most probably say that “They” are the Good Guys and “We” are the Bad Guys.
That means there are actually two Bad-Guys and two Good-Guys in this world: one from “Our” vantage point and the other from “Their” point of view, which means “They” are Bad Guys to Us and “We” are Bad Guys to Them.
If more people understood this simple truth – this reciprocal equation of Good Guys and Bad Guys – about our world, perhaps there will be less violence, hate, prejudice and war in this world.
Demonization of Islam and Muslims – Then and Now
As a child as I studied the vilification and demonization of Islam and Muslims through history, one thing clearly stood out in my mind: There was near-consensus among the critics that there was nothing good that could be said about Islam or Muslims. The chorus that came from every side seemed to say: “Muslims are bad and Islam is no good.”
All I had to do to put this anti-Islam chorus to some kind of a Truth-Test was to look at my own father, and my mother, and my relatives, and all the other wonderful Muslims around me. And it became plain as daylight that those who demonized Muslims and Islam were idiots and ignoramuses or they were outright crooks and liars.
That means they were genuinely confused and misinformed or they were knowingly and deliberately lying through their teeth as the saying goes.
Later on, as I grew up, I was to learn that idiots and ignoramuses most of them were not. And having the kind of often very high educational qualifications and background many of them seemed to have, they had no excuse for being ignorant or misinformed.
I then began to realize how thorough, how extensive and how systematic the propaganda against Islam and Muslims was. And how multifaceted, aggressive, pervasive and powerful it was. And how there was not a lie or distortion the anti-Islam propagandists would not use to give Islam and Muslims a bad name.
And I also began to see how ignorant and unaware of any of this the Muslims were. History offers no parallel to such an unequal matchup of forces – to such an un-level playing field as you might call it.
And, perhaps, nothing speaks to the truth of Islam more loudly or clearly than how Islam survives, even thrives, against such seemingly impossible odds.
Working for Allah Is the Ultimate Formula for Success
One hears a great deal nowadays about Muslims wanting to work for Allah, which is just great. The more, the merrier.
What everyone needs to understand, however, is that a critical component of working for Allah is working for people. Essentially, it is working to make this world of Allah a better place for all of Allah’s creation.
And doing so using the Qur’an as the manual and guide, and the life of Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, as the practical model and example.
And, at the same time, working for Allah is using any word of wisdom and authentic scientific knowledge, truth and rationality that one can find anywhere.
With a winning combination like that, how can anyone fail to unlock the secrets of success and happiness both in this world and in the next world?
Islam Gave People the Right to Say “No!” – Even to God Himself
Prior to the advent of Islam in this world, in the middle of the Seventh Century let us say, often Dissent Meant Death – often a very painful one – whether that dissent was against the King or the Church.
Islam came to give people – all people – the Right to Say “No!” without being punished for saying it. And doing so even to God Almighty himself.
Want Next World to Be Good for You?
Work to Make This World Better for All!
While the Next World should be the most important thing in our life, we should not forget that the only path that leads to that Next World is This World. Therefore, if we really want that Next World to be a good place for us to live, then we need to work to make This World a better place to live – not just for us but for all of God’s creation.
What Christians and Christianity Owe Islam and Muslims –
And What Everyone Should Do about It!
Let me share with you something most Christians don’t know about and most Muslims don’t care about. But our world would have been so much a better place if both these groups had known and cared about what I am about to say.
From 001 AD to 600 AD, Christians had a huge problem on their hands: An unwed young woman of noble birth and great beauty disappears from public view and then shows up later with a baby in her arms.
The words of the Jewish Elders of the day sum up the situation as perhaps nothing else could.
“Mary, dear child, what abomination have you done?” They all say with one voice.
The young woman says in response that when she was out in the wilderness an angel came to her in human shape and gave her the baby as a gift from God.
A likely story, anyone would say.
You can imagine how the story went for the next 500 years or more and how most of the world reacted to it.
Then, over 600 years later, there comes this man out of a mountain cave in Arabia, claiming to be God’s last messenger and final prophet on earth: Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam.
And he brings with him a book, called the Qur’an, that claims to be God’s word on earth.
And the Qur’an proclaims: This young woman, Mary, whose purity and morality her tribe’s elders had questioned so pointedly was indeed a Virgin.
And she was indeed pure and untouched by any man, just as she claimed she was.
And that her son, Jesus, was a special gift to humanity from God Almighty.
May God bless Mary and her son Jesus both!
Islam and Muslims – and Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, and the Noble Qur’an – thus totally and unconditionally absolved Mary, the Blessed Virgin Mother of Jesus, may God bless them both, from the false charge of immorality.
And Islam and Muslims – and Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, and the Noble Qur’an – validated, verified and confirmed Mary’s version of events at a time when her own Tribal Elders had refused to believe her story and when much of the world for the next several hundred years will have trouble believing it.
May God bless Mary and her son Jesus both!
But the Muslims never went to the Christians to claim any credit for what they did.
Nor did the Christians offer Muslims and the world of Islam any token of gratitude or appreciation.
Not even a word of thanks or appreciation did the Muslims demand or receive from the Christians.
But it is not too late for Christians to give Muslims and the World of Islam that credit.
Nor is it too late for Muslims to claim that credit even now – after the passage of 1400 years to the event – for all their continued and unwavering support to Jesus and his Blessed Virgin Mother, Mary, may God bless them both, for over nearly a millennium and a half, without the break of even a nanosecond.
What could be a greater miracle than the fact that nearly a billion and a half Muslims (1,500,000,000) around the world offer this support and this love and respect to Jesus and his Blessed Virgin Mother, Mary, may God bless them both – without the Christians ever having lifted a finger to make it happen.
Nor has there been a greater Public Relations feat in the history of humanity, on such a global and epochal scale, without a single professional source doing a single thing about it.
The only people who don’t seem to know anything about this ongoing Public Relations marvel and ever-living miracle seem to be the Christians – and of course the Muslims.
I wish – and I propose –someone somewhere will take up this issue with the right Ecclesiastical Authorities, as they say – the Pope for example.
Or the Archbishop of Canterbury for that matter, who seems to be a fairly open and broad-minded man at the time of writing in 2010.
Or the Queen of England in her capacity as Head of the Church of England – the Anglican Church.
Or the Patriarchs of the Eastern and Greek Orthodox churches in Russia and other places.
And I wish – and I propose – the Pope and all these other leaders of the Christian Church themselves will take the initiative and issue an Encyclical or some other appropriate communiqué or equivalent document giving Islam and Muslims that credit and that recognition – even at this late hour.
And I wish – and I propose – someone somewhere will take up this issue, not just with the right Ecclesiastical Authorities, but also with the various Secular Authorities of the world.
And I wish – and I propose – the British Parliament will pass a formal resolution of praise and appreciation giving Islam and Muslims that credit and that recognition.
And I wish – and I propose – the American Congress will pass a similar formal resolution of praise and appreciation giving Islam and Muslims that credit and that recognition.
And I wish – and I propose – the United Nations will pass a similar formal resolution of praise and appreciation giving Islam and Muslims that credit and that recognition.
And I wish – and I propose – the UN will go beyond mere expression of appreciation or support of the great favour Islam and Muslims had done to Christians and Christianity, and set aside a special day called World Day of Muslim-Christian Unity and Understanding.
No, I am not oblivious to all the obstacles and challenges that may stand in the way of an idea like this being accepted and a resolution like this being passed by the United Nations or the British Parliament or the American Congress. But what we all need to think about is the incalculable service to the cause of peace around the world passing of such a resolution and celebration of such a day will do.
How much of a better world it would be if they all did that.
And how much closer to Islam and to the real world Muslims would be if they understood all this and laid claim to such credit from their Christian brothers and sisters.
And here is what the Muslims can do. Muslims can go about doing what they must do in several ways:
- Muslims can do that formally, by appealing to the Christian Church leaders and authorities.
- Muslims can do that informally by educating the Christian masses – and the media, such as they are, generally corporate-owned and often agenda-driven – about this most incredible loving and respectful relationship that Islam and Muslims have had with Jesus, God Bless Him, and his Virgin Mother, Mary, God Bless Her, for over 1400 years!
- Muslims can lobby the UN, the British Parliament and the US Congress.
- Muslims can lobby some of the Muslim governments such as those of Malaysia or Turkey to join forces with them in initiating such efforts.
Is that too much to ask – in these modern, enlightened and civilized times?
And what a worthwhile project it would be for Muslims to undertake.
Islamic Government Is Government of the People, by the People
Islamic Government is not a theocracy. For, there are no priests or clergymen in Islam.
It is not even a government by the pious and the virtuous. For, that is what led to the Salem Witch Burnings.
Simply put, Islamic Government is government of the people, by the people.
All governments are. They are all governments of the people, run by people of one kind or another, regardless of whether it is a democracy or dictatorship.
That means every government everywhere is, and always has been, run by people, whether those people are kings, commoners, priests, lords, barons or someone else.
The core element of Islamic Government is this: People Must Govern Themselves.
That means the following things:
- People — All People — must freely and fearlessly elect their own rulers.
- They must obey their rulers when they are right and help them run things smoothly and well.
- They must correct them when they are wrong.
- They must hold them accountable at all times.
- And they must remove and replace them as and when they see fit, using the same open and fair electoral process that put them in office the first time.
That is Islamic Government, no matter what anyone says.
Islamic Government, then, is basically government of the people; by the people.
Undertaken for the pleasure of God Almighty and not just in the raw pursuit of worldly gain by ambitious politicians.
It is a Government of Laws and Due Process.
Presided over by God’s Word, the Qur’an. And the sayings and doings of Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam.
It is Utopia on earth in the best and most positive sense of that term.
And the will of a free people: The People.
By what name people call such government is up to them. There is no one right or wrong name for it.
Democracy is Greek for “People’s Rule.”
Theocracy is Greek for “God’s Rule.”
Plutocracy is Greek for “Government by the Rich.”
Kleptocracy is Greek for “Government by Thieves.”
In the real world, all rule is people’s rule. It is people – human beings – who exercise authority and manage power on earth.
Some people rule in their own name. Some rule in God’s name. But it is always people who rule.
A Challenge to the World: At Least Now, Read the Qur’an
The Qur’an is God’s own word in your hands. You could not defend and protect it against desecration.
The least you can do now is to read it! Is that too unreasonable to suggest?
Dr. Pasha Challenges the World to Read the Qur’an!
Join Me in Taking the Qur’an to Every Home and Heart that Needs It
Join Me in Taking the Qur’an to Every Home and Heart that Needs It! That is the least you can do after being a witness to the desecration of the Qur’an.
Dr. Pasha Responds to Qur’an Desecration!
Join Me in Taking the Qur’an to Every Home and Heart that Needs It
Now that you have had your fun and games in America for over four decades, why don’t you now join me in taking the Qur’an to every home and heart that needs it?
Dr. Pasha Challenges American Muslims!
Reading the Qur’an Every Day Is the Best Answer to
Those Who Dishonour the Qur’an
Commit yourself to read the Qur’an every single day, even if it is only for a few minutes a day!
Dr. Pasha Responds to Qur’an Desecration!
Following Qur’an Desecration, Muslims Must Commit to
Take the Qur’an to Every Home and Heart that Needs It
Now that you have seen with your own eyes the dark deed of Qur’an desecration, why don’t you at least now commit yourself, fully and wholeheartedly, to taking the Qur’an to every home and heart that needs it?
Dr. Pasha Challenges Muslims!
Following Qur’an Desecration, Why Not Sit Down and Read the Qur’an?
Now that We Are Done Desecrating It, Can We Now Start Reading It?
Dr. Pasha Challenges America to Read the Qur’an!
Reading the Desecrated Scripture May Be a Way to
Atone for Our Mortal Sin of Desecrating It
It is a reasonable expectation that those who wilfully, knowingly, and out of malice and hate, desecrate Divine Scripture – regardless of which one it is – will burn in hell, if they were to die unrepentant.
But those of the rest of us who aid and abet in this villainy either by word or by deed, or by culpable acquiescence, silence or indifference, may atone for some of our own complicity by starting to read the desecrated book.
Is that too much to expect or ask?
Some Muslims Forget that This World Is Gateway to the Next World
What seems to matter most to some of our super-pious Muslims is not what life is like in this world – the way it is for us and for all other creation of God, right here and now – but what they think life will be like in the next world, after we are resurrected from the dead.
They seem to forget what Islam says in this regard: that this world is the pathway to the next world, which essentially means, as you sow in this life so shall you reap in the next life.
Muslim Ottoman Empire Provided Safe Haven
to Jews from European Pogroms
Muslim Ottoman Empire was where many European Jews flocked to find safe haven when Europe practiced pogroms – generally a form of officially sanctioned, aided or condoned organized violence, terror and mass killings – against European Jewry.
The Right to Say “No!” a Fundamental Human Right
You have the right to say “No!” to anyone and anything including God Almighty. That is a right given to you by God himself. That is what makes you a human being.
And, believe it or not, that is what Islam came into this world to teach – and to ensure that everyone everywhere had that right. Of course, what you do with that right and how you use it is a different matter.
Muslim Morocco Gave Jews Safe Haven When Christian Europe
Practiced Pogroms against Them
When Europe persecuted Jews and practiced pogroms – generally a form of officially sanctioned, aided or condoned organized violence, terror and mass killings – against them, one place where many European Jews found safe haven was Muslim Morocco, just across the Gibraltar, on the northern tip of the African continent.
Islam and Muslims: At Times Like Two Ships Moored Side by Side at Port
For much of the time, Islam and Muslims are like two ships moored side by side at a port, or passing each other in the high seas. At times, there is an interface of sorts or, if I may spoof off an old expression, a close encounter of some kind between them, and that makes the world what it is.
I wonder what the world would be like if the two – Islam and Muslims that is – really intertwined and merged for any length of time.
Before You Die for Allah, Learn to Live for Allah
There are those in this world who wish to die for Allah. I wish to say to them: “Have you ever tried living for Allah?”
“Give it a shot,” I say to them. I mean living for Allah. “You might like it.”
If you ask me how you do that, my response is simple: “Exactly as the man said: By loving your God with all your might and soul and heart, and, at the same time, by loving your fellow human beings – each and every one of them, regardless of race or religion; age, gender or nationality – as you would love yourself.”
If you can do that, you would be living your life for Allah.
And, oh yes, there is something else you can do: Don’t for one moment forget that God is with you no matter where you are and no matter what you are doing.
And, yes, there is something else too that you can do: Do everything you do as if you actually see God.
Or, even if you don’t see him, surely you are on his radar and he sees you all the time.”
You do these things, and you will be living your life fully and entirely for Allah.
So, love Allah and serve Allah’s creation, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, human and non-human alike.
That is how you live for Allah. And that is what Islam came into this world to teach everyone: How to live for and with Allah.
This is also the core of what is called the Islamic Shari’ah – the Divine Law that God gave to Moses, Jesus, Abraham and Muhammad (God Bless Them All!).
It is a collection of divine principles and practices common to Islam, Judaism, Christianity and all other belief systems with roots in any form of divine guidance. And in a truly global, timeless and trans-cultural context, it represents the best that it is possible for humanity to have.
If you want to lay your hands on Divine Shari’ah, then look no farther than the Ten Commandments. For, that is Shari’ah that the Mighty God placed in your hands.
Two Good Reasons Why American Muslims Must Love America
Muslims of America must love America not only for what America can and has given them, which is a great deal, but also, and perhaps more so, for what they can and have given America, which is also a great deal.
The Miracle of Fast-Breaking in Ramadan that
You Can See with Your Own Eyes
Everyone else will tell you about miracles. But I want to show you one. I mean no disrespect to Muslims when I say this.
But the fact is that Muslims are perhaps among the most unpunctual people on earth. See them in their natural habitat – most Muslim societies of the world – you will find them dragging themselves to things as late and as slow and as tardy as possible. Except when it comes to breaking their fast during Ramadan.
Then all of a sudden the miracle of Ramadan breaks out. No force on earth can stop Muslims anywhere from falling over each other rushing to catch the precise moment for breaking their fast – for Iftaar that is.
If you do not think this is a miracle then what do you think it is? Besides, it is a miracle that you can see with your own bare eyes. And it is one that you can live and experience yourself.
A God besides God, as the Bible Calls It
Anything that gets in the way of your single-minded commitment to God, and your unflinching service to humanity, Islam calls it an “Ilaah.”
The Bible calls it “a god besides God.” Do you think the Bible and the Qur’an may share some common truths? How do you think that came to be?
Shakespeare: And Yet, Conscience Doth Make Cowards of Us All
Liars know they are liars. And they know they are wrong. More often than not, that alone should be enough to keep them from truly enjoying the fruits of their lies and evil ways. Assuming, that is, they do have a conscience of some kind and their sense of right and wrong is not fully atrophied.
Truth vs. Falsehood Is the Same as Light vs. Darkness
Truth is Light and Falsehood is Darkness. Even in defeat, Truth has a luster and sweetness, all its own, that Falsehood even in its greatest moments of triumph cannot match.
Truth Has Had Some Great Advocates and Champions
In the larger battles of life, how can Truth lose when she has men like Gandhi and Martin Luther King as her advocates and champions?
Falsehood Has Many Adherents and Followers, Truth Only a Few
The fact is not that in the battle of life Truth loses and Falsehood wins. The fact is that Falsehood has many friends, followers, practitioners and advocates, Truth has very few.
Daring to Speak the Truth Has Become the Test of Our Times
The tragedy of our times is not that Falsehood wins and Truth loses. The real tragedy is how few people seem to care about Truth or dare to speak it.
Islam Abhors Senseless Violence and Shameless Lies
Islam may be a lot of things. But a champion, advocate, instigator or friend of senseless Violence it is not.
Nor does Islam use lies, fraud and tricks of any kind as part of its repertoire in dealing with others — or with anything.
And those who say Islam is or does any of these things are most likely inveterate liars, or total ignoramuses, or, quite likely, both.
The Eternal Flame of Truth Sets Alight Many a Heart in All Ages
Men like Moses, Jesus and Muhammad (may God bless them all) are stars that are aflame with divine fire.
It is sparks flying from the eternal flame of that Burning Bush that set alight the hearts and minds of men like Gandhi, Lincoln, King, Jefferson and Paine in all ages and places.
Gandhi and Martin Luther King Stood for Truth in Their Time
When Truth has advocates like Gandhi and Martin Luther King, how can it possibly lose?
Truth Is Best Defence of Islam against False Propaganda
In the face of all the falsehood and propaganda against Islam and Muslims, the best defence, as they say, is Truth.
How Rare Is the Authentic Voice of Truth in Defence of Islam
The tragedy of modern times is not that there is so much hate and malicious propaganda let loose from so many different directions against Islam and Muslims.
The real tragedy is how few truly authentic and credible voices there are that are able to articulate the Truth about Islam and Muslims using the best and the most effective methodology that Truth requires and deserves.
Islam Is Not after People’s Wealth
When some rich people think we are after them for their wealth, here is what we say to them: Go home, give all your money away to someone else, or put it all safely away in a “Lockbox,” as former vice-president Al Gore would call it, and then come and join us and work with us.
If you like what we say and do, stay with us. If not, go back to where you came from and live happily ever after.
How hard is that to understand?
Love God? Learn to Seek and Love Truth First!
I have a most respectful suggestion for those who make loud and ostentatious protestations of their love for God: Begin by learning to love Truth first – learn it; speak it; advocate it; stand by it; and defend it. You might be pleasantly surprised how soon you discover that God loves you.
In Islam, Love of Knowledge Is Love of God
To Muslims who really understand Islam, schools and colleges and universities are not in any way less than mosques. And the time they spend in these educational institutions in the pursuit of knowledge is not in any way less than the time they spend in mosques worshipping God.
As a Muslim, I Will Be the First to Defend My Family, Friends and
Neighbours, Regardless of Their Race or Religion
The place where you have your home, business and workplace; and the people in whose midst you live, work and play; and your family and the families of your colleagues and friends and the friends of your children live, work and play.
When it comes to defending and protecting them against enemies and perils of all kinds, both foreign and domestic, will you put your name down to be among the first in the list of volunteers to do so, or will you go hide in a hole and expect others to do it for you, while you cop a mock medical or other alibi of some kind?
And does it make a difference where you live, whether it is India, Arabia, America, Europe, Russia, Indonesia or Malaysia? And does it make the slightest difference what their race or religion is?
I know where a True Muslim’s name would be. I know where my name would be, even though I am centuries and eons and galaxies away from being a true Muslim.
And I know where my late father’s name would be, Allah bless him, who was as true a Muslim as any I may have ever seen. And I know where the names of my boys would be.
They would all be right up there at the top of that list. And they have always been.
All of us – me, my father and my boys – would be the first to defend our home, our neighbours and our friends and family, whether that is in America, India or somewhere else. For, that to us is what life is all about. And that to us is what Islam is all about.
In Islam, Female Education Completes the Faith
There are no ifs, and there are no buts. The bottom line is this. Till such time as Muslims provide their females the best education they can, theirs are but Half Societies. Not full or complete societies, but only 50-percent ones at best.
Now, if you want, you can go and check out that Hadith of Sayyidina Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, which in effect, and in my very broad paraphrase, says: Now go find yourself a wife and complete your Iman.
To the best of what I recall at this time, here are the original Arabic words of a part of that Hadith that touches on the topic of marriage: Faqadistakmalal Eemaan.
Female vs. Male Illiteracy and Education – in Afghanistan or Anywhere Else
Those who are so loud and aggressive about condemning Female Illiteracy in a place like Afghanistan, how loud and aggressive do you think they have ever been in condemning or fighting Male Illiteracy in that society?
Or in any other Muslim society anywhere else in the world?
The answer to that question would tell you how sincere and true they are in championing the cause of Female Education in Afghanistan or anywhere else in the Muslim world.
That would tell you whether they have the true wellbeing of these societies at heart or whether they are merely opportunists and propagandists.
A Crusade to Give Liberty and Education to Muslim Men Everywhere
I am not against those folks – university professors, highly educated professionals, sundry intellectuals, media busybodies and all the others – who seek to enhance their careers by championing the cause of female liberation and education in Afghanistan.
In fact, if I had any voice or influence, and if I had any resources of my own at all, I would have been right up there in the forefront of this battle, fighting this noble fight, side by side with these high-minded people, only harder and even more passionately than them, because while to many of them it may be a smart career gambit, to me it is a personal passion and what President Bush would have called a “crusade,” even though I am only a Muslim and not a Christian.
But how Iwish – and how dearly I hope – all these worthies, as they used to say at one time, would add to their career enhancement strategy a new or additional plank, namely, that of liberating and educating not only the women but also the men – and not just in Afghanistan, but also in Egypt and in Pakistan and in practically every other Muslim society in the world.
Now that would be a real crusade, I should think. And what a day and what a crusade that would be: to liberate and educate Muslim men all over the world!
Four Different Voices, but One Eternal and
Immutable Message: No God but God
Ever heard the expression “Connecting the Dots”? Here are four among the most magnificent dots in all of human history. Let us see if you can connect them.
All right then. This is what everyone knows or should know about the world:
- Abraham was a great monotheist, which means he believed in and preached the message of: No God but God.
- The First Law of Moses – the First Commandment – was also the same: No God but God.
- According to Jesus, the most important Commandment was the First Commandment: No God but God.
- The core of Muhammad’s message to the world also was: No God but God.
May Allah Almighty bless these and all other Prophets and Messengers that he sent to warn, teach and guide humanity!
It seems all these four great leaders of humanity taught and preached the same message: No God but God.
If you were successful in connecting these four dots, you would know they all must have come from the same place – Almighty God – and taught the same eternal and immutable truth: No God but God!
