Saturday, March 04, 2006
Seeking a resolve without war
The truth can take on many definitions when cultural differences exist. This is more than likely the case between 'The West' and Islam. For all too long the leaders of Arabia were willing to deal with countries outside Islam for the sake of economics. In doing so they are seen to have tainted 'the truth' of the faith. It is the reason for the strength of Osama bin Laden and ever growing terrorists groups.
The differences between The Middle East and the West goes beyond simply 'the way they dress.' There are huge divides between what they consider truth and lies. Politics is not based in 'reality' in most Islamic cultures. It is established based on the foundation of Mohammad and the faith they practice. I don't consider that reality. The rest of the world is not Islamic. For them that is an issue. It is why political leaders are in danger in areas of the world torn by strife and chronic violent clashes, including Indonesia.
Politics in The West is known to be deceitful. Politicians, rather than truth tellers, are people whom seek common ground with the electorate to 'handle' the business of the country. They seek political office, ideally, to conduct the people's business. Unfortunately within that role they can stray from the best interest of the people and hence the rest of the world stands in judgment.
The United States has for most of it's existence been a beacon of hope for the world and a role model for many until this administration. The Bush White House has shown the International Community the very worst of American Politics. I am not sure Tony Blair hasn't either. Tony Blair, however, has sought a different role in his responsibilities for liberty. Right from the inauguration of Bush he has placed himself directly in the path of Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney as a buffer to their intent for war and worse. For the indiscretions of Mr. Blair I am a bit grateful at times, but, I prefer Jack Straw's view of the world.
Seeking the people of this world that can make a difference is a difficult task. One would naturally turn to a Muslim that was recognized for his or her accomplishments especially in the scope of literature, a common place for bonding with difference. Literature is a fluid environment where words are mostly 'strict' in their meaning while used in constructively different ways to be plastically attractive to the minds reading them. In seeking such connection between the Islamic traditions and that of The West I ran across an astounding discovery. That discovery revealed to me the fact a poet/essayist can have different messages for different audiences.
That was disturbing and what began as an enlightened venture into bonding of cultures resulted in a devastating truth all of itself. Those we seek in The West to adorn with our affections for their attempts to bring understanding are simply seeking recognition for the sake of it and not for the resolve of any cultural divide. It placed directly in my path the reality there are major inequities of Western Politics that are sincerely and profoundly a point of hatred of Muslim nations while their own monarchs are the focus of the same hatred for the power they hold.
We would like to see terrorist leaders as dysfunctional and criminal as they are defined in our laws and understanding of life, but, they are seen as truth tellers and vindicators in many corners of Islam. The White House in this country has become a threat to national security and it to that end we need to continue to purge ourselves of corruption, lies and those that seek office for monetary gain rather than carrying out the will of the people and providing venues of peace for the world and for our Homeland.
Recently, the United Nations has directed it's attentions to the new Secretary General. One candidate, a newly appointed Deputy I believe, openly criticized the United States for the atrocity that is Gitmo. He stated it needs to be dismantled immediately. That is the view of the International Community of the USA. The American people should be ashamed of it and direct it's political energies in the direction of humanity once again. I am concerned if we don't we will continue to be a blight on Earth and seen as a threat not only to the balance of power, which includes generosity and environmental stewardship, but also to the degree we continue to lack clout in Islamic traditions. That is unfortunate. But through that, we need the sophistication of the electorate to bring us away from the power brokers who endanger our shorelines, lives and international peace.
When a lie becomes the truth...
Blair Scolded for Evoking God in Iraq War Decision
Keys, who lost a son to the Iraq war, accused Blair of "using God as a get-out for total strategic failure."
LONDON, March 4, 2006 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – British Prime Minister Tony Blair drew fire on Saturday, March 4, from families of soldiers killed in Iraq and the political opposition for evoking God in his decision to go to war.
"God and religion have nothing to do with this war," said Reg Keys, the father of Lance Corporal Tom who was one of six Royal Military policemen killed in June 2003, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
He accused Blair of "using God as a get-out for total strategic failure and I find it abhorrent."
Blair said God and history would judge his action in joining the US-led invasion-turned-occupation of Iraq in March 2003. Some 103 British soldiers have lost their lives in Iraq since then.
"That decision has to be taken and has to be lived with, and in the end there is a judgment that -- well, I think if you have faith about these things then you realize that judgment is made by other people," he said in the interview to be aired Saturday night.
"If you believe in God, it's made by God as well," added Blair, a devout Christian.
...............................................................
The Peace And Justice Foundation, Inc.
El-Hajj Mauri’ Saalakhan is a Washington, DC-based human rights advocate; author, lecturer and poet. His work has taken him across America into Africa, Europe, the Indian subcontinent, and the Middle East. He is a founder of the Coalition Against Political Imprisonment (CAPI); a founder and spokesperson for the National Association for Police Accountability (NAPA); and is the founder and director of The Peace and Justice Foundation. He is the author of four books: The Teacher, a work of Islamically-based poetry and commentary on a myriad of social and political issues; Sacrilege In the Haramain, an eyewitness account of the tragedy that occurred in Mecca, Arabia (on 6th Zul-Hijjah 1407/July 31, 1987); Why Our Children Are Killing Themselves, an examination of the root causes behind the crises facing children, youth and families in America; Criminal Justice in America, an examination of the U.S. Criminal Justice System and its impact on the African American community. He is a critically-acclaimed poet, was selected as “An Outstanding Young Man of America” in 1986. In 1995 he was the recipient of the “Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Award,” from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and a “Maryland State Senate Resolution,” (for his human rights work in and outside the State of Maryland). In 1999 Saalakhan served as a consultant for Amnesty International's year long focus on human rights abuses in the United States of America. Presently he heads the National Public Information/Education Campaign (initiated by The Peace And Justice Foundation) to repeal the US government's unconstitutional use of "secret evidence," and to mobilize support for Imam Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin
................................................................
THE PEACE AND JUSTICE FOUNDATION
8604 SECOND AVENUE, PMB 173 SILVER SPRING, MD 20910
WHEN A LIE BECOMES 'THE TRUTH'
Sheik Umar Abdur Rahman and the World Trade Center Bombing
In 1986, in the aftermath of America's criminal violation of international law with the bombing of Libya, the Reagan Administration got itself briefly into hot water when it was discovered that the pretext upon which it had ordered the bombing of a sovereign state was in fact based upon a lie. In the wake of the fallout, an administration official by the name of Bernard Kalb resigned from his position with the following words: "I am dissenting from the reported disinformation program. I am concerned about the impact of such a program on the credibility of the US...."
.... Time and space limitations will not permit me to explore this issue in any more detail at this time; let it suffice to say, the US Department of Justice moved forward with a baseless multi-count criminal indictment against the blind hafiz al-Quran, with the most serious charge being "seditious conspiracy" against the United States. This is what Sheikh Umar Abdur Rahman and eleven other brothers were convicted of - as the late William "Bill" Kunstler put it, "the [alleged] conspiracy to blow up everybody and everything" - and not the "World Trade Center bombing." We must never for get this!
To be continued (insha'Allah),
El-Hajj Mauri' Saalakhan
Director20 Jumada Awwal 1422 (August 10, 2001)
Keys, who lost a son to the Iraq war, accused Blair of "using God as a get-out for total strategic failure."
LONDON, March 4, 2006 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – British Prime Minister Tony Blair drew fire on Saturday, March 4, from families of soldiers killed in Iraq and the political opposition for evoking God in his decision to go to war.
"God and religion have nothing to do with this war," said Reg Keys, the father of Lance Corporal Tom who was one of six Royal Military policemen killed in June 2003, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
He accused Blair of "using God as a get-out for total strategic failure and I find it abhorrent."
Blair said God and history would judge his action in joining the US-led invasion-turned-occupation of Iraq in March 2003. Some 103 British soldiers have lost their lives in Iraq since then.
"That decision has to be taken and has to be lived with, and in the end there is a judgment that -- well, I think if you have faith about these things then you realize that judgment is made by other people," he said in the interview to be aired Saturday night.
"If you believe in God, it's made by God as well," added Blair, a devout Christian.
...............................................................
The Peace And Justice Foundation, Inc.
El-Hajj Mauri’ Saalakhan is a Washington, DC-based human rights advocate; author, lecturer and poet. His work has taken him across America into Africa, Europe, the Indian subcontinent, and the Middle East. He is a founder of the Coalition Against Political Imprisonment (CAPI); a founder and spokesperson for the National Association for Police Accountability (NAPA); and is the founder and director of The Peace and Justice Foundation. He is the author of four books: The Teacher, a work of Islamically-based poetry and commentary on a myriad of social and political issues; Sacrilege In the Haramain, an eyewitness account of the tragedy that occurred in Mecca, Arabia (on 6th Zul-Hijjah 1407/July 31, 1987); Why Our Children Are Killing Themselves, an examination of the root causes behind the crises facing children, youth and families in America; Criminal Justice in America, an examination of the U.S. Criminal Justice System and its impact on the African American community. He is a critically-acclaimed poet, was selected as “An Outstanding Young Man of America” in 1986. In 1995 he was the recipient of the “Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Award,” from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and a “Maryland State Senate Resolution,” (for his human rights work in and outside the State of Maryland). In 1999 Saalakhan served as a consultant for Amnesty International's year long focus on human rights abuses in the United States of America. Presently he heads the National Public Information/Education Campaign (initiated by The Peace And Justice Foundation) to repeal the US government's unconstitutional use of "secret evidence," and to mobilize support for Imam Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin
................................................................
THE PEACE AND JUSTICE FOUNDATION
8604 SECOND AVENUE, PMB 173 SILVER SPRING, MD 20910
WHEN A LIE BECOMES 'THE TRUTH'
Sheik Umar Abdur Rahman and the World Trade Center Bombing
In 1986, in the aftermath of America's criminal violation of international law with the bombing of Libya, the Reagan Administration got itself briefly into hot water when it was discovered that the pretext upon which it had ordered the bombing of a sovereign state was in fact based upon a lie. In the wake of the fallout, an administration official by the name of Bernard Kalb resigned from his position with the following words: "I am dissenting from the reported disinformation program. I am concerned about the impact of such a program on the credibility of the US...."
.... Time and space limitations will not permit me to explore this issue in any more detail at this time; let it suffice to say, the US Department of Justice moved forward with a baseless multi-count criminal indictment against the blind hafiz al-Quran, with the most serious charge being "seditious conspiracy" against the United States. This is what Sheikh Umar Abdur Rahman and eleven other brothers were convicted of - as the late William "Bill" Kunstler put it, "the [alleged] conspiracy to blow up everybody and everything" - and not the "World Trade Center bombing." We must never for get this!
To be continued (insha'Allah),
El-Hajj Mauri' Saalakhan
Director20 Jumada Awwal 1422 (August 10, 2001)
"Nature of the Beast" by Spandau Ballet
It is the key to all the doors,
it is the crashing on the shores.
it lives in your steering wheel.
it hides in the wind and rain,
with voices as cold as steel
it's calling your name
it is the smile upon his face
it is the winning of the race.
it lives in the red-alert.
it lives in the power game
it's easy to take to heart
but harder to tame
this is the nature of the beast
(this is the nature)
this is the nature of the beast
(this is the nature)
without all this heat
they'll be dancing west to east
this is the nature of the beast
it is the glowing in his eyes
it is the reason for his lies
how many know you're there
how many play your game
he's always the man to dare
you're always to blame
it is the need to understand
it is the trigger in his hand
it lives in the uniform
it grows from the need to gain
with faces so old and torn
it's calling your name
this is the nature of the beast
(this is the nature)
this is the nature of the beast
(this is the nature)
without all this heat
they'll be dancing west to east
this is the nature of the beast.
it is the crashing on the shores.
it lives in your steering wheel.
it hides in the wind and rain,
with voices as cold as steel
it's calling your name
it is the smile upon his face
it is the winning of the race.
it lives in the red-alert.
it lives in the power game
it's easy to take to heart
but harder to tame
this is the nature of the beast
(this is the nature)
this is the nature of the beast
(this is the nature)
without all this heat
they'll be dancing west to east
this is the nature of the beast
it is the glowing in his eyes
it is the reason for his lies
how many know you're there
how many play your game
he's always the man to dare
you're always to blame
it is the need to understand
it is the trigger in his hand
it lives in the uniform
it grows from the need to gain
with faces so old and torn
it's calling your name
this is the nature of the beast
(this is the nature)
this is the nature of the beast
(this is the nature)
without all this heat
they'll be dancing west to east
this is the nature of the beast.
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