Who is responsible for this Muslim rage?

Category: Life & Society Values: Excellence, Trustworthiness Views: 11455
11455

Recently, a British newspaper reported that a British-born Muslim stood before a crowd and announced what he considered to be Prophet Mohammed's message to non believers: "I come to slaughter all of you."

Another Muslim is reported to have said "We are the Muslims, We drink the blood of the enemy, and we can face them anywhere. That is Islam and that is jihad."

To pick these Muslim youth as examples, and show case them as the problem with Muslims is not fair. But let us declare on our part, loudly and clearly, No! This is not Islam, and No! This is not how Prophet Muhammad defined God's work. What an irony that a religion that promotes voluntary submission to God and seeks peaceful changes in the heart and mind of individuals can become a faith of hatred in the slogans of those who are unable to control their anger. In their hatred of the west, they have become blind to the extent that they cannot see their own faith rationally and objectively. They have become ignorant of the Quran that refers to Prophet Muhammad as "a mercy to humankind".

What has led these youngsters to believe what they believe in? Who is responsible for that? One can easily blame Israel and the West or the media or whatever. One can blame the daily slaughter of Muslims in the streets of Afghanistan and Iraq for these extreme views. However, if we look inward, we can also find fingers pointing to us.

Let us take stock of our own problems first before we start blaming others for our problems.

In today's Muslim world, unfortunately we find a number of examples that show little value for the life of an ordinary Muslim. The dignity of a human being or the rights of men and women are lamenting tales of the past, the principals of which we read in either the Quran or the authentic sayings of the Prophet .

In our recent history, one can come up with several examples where Muslims have perpetrated violent crimes against fellow Muslims. What happened during the reign of Saddam Hussein in Iraq is well known. What happened in Iran during Shah Reza's regime is not hidden. How many Muslims were killed in Iraq-Iran war? No one even remembers. How many Palestinians were killed by the Jordanian or Lebanese army, no one dares to talk about. How many peaceful citizens were hanged to death in Egypt or slaughtered in Syria, Libya and Sudan by those claiming to be Muslims? No one wants to know.

Some sixty percent of the Muslim world's populations live below the poverty line, experiencing humiliation and deprivation every day. Few among Muslims are willing to talk about this. Some 300,000 Muslim girls are abducted and sold in markets all over the world as sex slaves and no one talks about it. About 53 percent Muslims all over the world are illiterate and most regimes are only concerned about improving their own financial stockpiles.

Muslims must admit that our leaders and masses have failed to preserve the dignity of human beings in societies where they are in majority. We have neglected the poor, the needy, the disadvantaged and the deprived. We have de-valued the life of those who are within our camps. Shia-Sunni killing and ethnic strife all over the Muslim world speak volumes of the discord among Muslims and their frailer to adhere to the Quranic principals of peace and justice.

Our intellectuals have failed us. Our religious leadership has failed us and our political leaders have pushed us into an abyss of humiliation and shame. 

We must admit that before we can move forward. Our recovery from the debacle in which we are quarantined would not come through our anti-west slogans or through our anti-Israeli rhetoric. It will come when we will seriously think and work for the dignity of each and every human that is relegated to a status of non entity. We have to develop an agenda that will establish the God given rights and dignity to all women, laborers, the poor and marginalized people in all Muslim societies. We have to develop an agenda that will see other human beings regardless of their religious background as a beautiful creation of the divine deserving the same dignity that we seek for ourselves.

Through this agenda of human dignity, we have to stand for every human life and defend its right to live at peace with itself and others. Without that, we would never be able to live up to the ideals that Prophet Muhammad set for his followers. Without that, we would not be able to submit to the Divine who defines Himself as the most Merciful and most Gracious.

Dr. Aslam Abdullah is editor in chief of the Muslim Observer, director of the Islamic Society of Nevada and recently appointed director of programs at the Lahore based International Iqbal Institute of Research, Education and Dialogue. He can be reached at [email protected]


  Category: Life & Society  Values: Excellence, Trustworthiness
Views: 11455

Related Suggestions

 
COMMENTS DISCLAIMER & RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
The opinions expressed herein, through this post or comments, contain positions and viewpoints that are not necessarily those of IslamiCity. These are offered as a means for IslamiCity to stimulate dialogue and discussion in our continuing mission of being an educational organization. The IslamiCity site may occasionally contain copyrighted material the use of which may not always have been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. IslamiCity is making such material available in its effort to advance understanding of humanitarian, education, democracy, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law.


In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, and such (and all) material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.


Older Comments:
ABUZAR FROM PAKISTAN said:
Assakamoalikum wa-Rehmatullah ,
I have read this article and I agree with the contents of this. I encourage Mr Abdullah who has shown the real picture of our Muslim states/ Rulers & Society. According to Islamic teachings we should first improve ourselves according to islamic Teachings and do accountability(MUHASEBA) to ourself, Including HUQQ-UL-ALLAH ,we must follow the HUQOOQ-ul-Ebad by words and action, that is the essence of Islam.We should encourage tollerance, harmony,prosperity,peace& Justice, affection& caring,etc.
wa salam,
Abuzarjan
2009-01-25

LISA FROM GUYANA said:
Salaam. I totally agree with Dr. Aslam Abdullah and alhamduilla, he was able to speak out about it while of us would have left it to be hidden. But what Dr. Aslam has done is to highlight the problem but we need to do is to find effective solutions and implement them, starting from the small man.
2008-08-21

SHUAIB FROM CANADA said:
alhamdulilah, this article is very true indeed. I've seen this violence quite a few times.We should teach our youngsters how to deal with situations by using our mouths not by using our fists and we shouldnt make up lies like "We are the Muslims, We drink the blood of the enemy, and we can face them anywhere. That is Islam and that is jihad." subhanallah. thank for this article. Asalamu Alaikum
2007-12-27

JAFFER FROM US said:
This gentleman who wrote this article is correct. It is our 'leaders' who have failed us, not the outside world. We have to improve from within. Why have the Jews gotten so far? Because they work together, unlike our people, where a Kurd wants to kill a Turk, and vice-versa, disregarding they are Muslim, etc.
2007-10-12

KHADIJA FROM KENYA said:
truely, this article brought tears into my eyes. am 21 years muslim girl, currently studying in Russia. around me are so many othe muslims from different part of the world, at first i was so excited to join the muslim society club, but later i found it hard to keep up with that society! when we meet we hug each other, bless each other, eat together but we we apart from our weekly meeting, we brush each others shouldes, we look down upon each other, we classify ourselves into most pious n sinners.... to me it dint make sence, if we muslim in such a small comunity far from our home could treat each other like that, what worse cant we do to each other? we muslims have agreat responsibility over ous eslves first before we realy point fingers on the west... thank you for such an article
2007-06-02

ENIGMA FROM USA said:
Ameen. You speak Allah's ultimate truth, to love and serve eachother.
2007-02-12

DARIANNA FROM USA said:
We don't have to see an artist to recognize a painting, correct? So, if we see paintings without seeing artists painting them, in the same way, we can believe that Allah created everything without having to see Him (or touch, or hear, etc.).

In this temporal world we are to use our senses and our common sense to recognize that all of this universe could not possibly come into existence on its own. That's what faith is all about.

ALLAH does exist, what happens is you don't go to Him and do not look for Him.

http://www.islamtomorrow.com/why_we_donot_see_allah.asp
2007-02-04

ROMESH CHANDER FROM USA said:
Note to Darianna (USA):

You write "If i say "you dont exist because i haven't seen you and i havent met you..." does it make sense??? ".

Yes, it makes sense. Because, if desired, you could write me, call me or even meet me. I am writing this note; hence I must exist, otherwise, I will not be able to write it.

Can I write to God, call him, meet him (in this life, not Afterlife)? Of course, no. Hence, for me, God does not exist.
2007-02-03

DARIANNA FROM USA said:
Note to Romesh:

If i say "you dont exist because i haven't seen you and i havent met you..." does it make sense??? NO, right! Because i have seen the sign that you do exist... in a similar manner if you just care to reflect, you will see that God's signs are everywhere... He has even written to you in the form of Al-Quran. Choosing not to delve deeper into a subject due to boredom doesnt sound like a character of an intellectual!

The following link could useful Insha Allah...

http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-English-AAbout_Islam/AskAboutIslamE/AskAboutIslamE&cid=1123996015952




2007-02-02

ADAM FROM NIGERIA said:
Mr Romesh, i thought al this while, you are an intelligent person why insist in making me believe otherwise? The phrase "..living in a fool's paradise" implies being in a state of illusionary beliefs or something like that, and this is what i mean.

Why do you get scared any time hell or paradise is mention? Thanks be to Allah (God an sustainer of all) for creating us with that state of "fitrah" in us. I can sense your fitrah working for you, Romesh. Have you checkout the links yet?

By the way you don't hate what does not exists you know? I'm sure when you find Him and believe in Him you sure will love Him!

Cheers.
2007-02-01

ROMESH CHANDER FROM USA said:
To adma in Nigeria:

Yes, I checked the link. It did not impress me at all. Not worth wasting time in diving deeply in it. Scriptures bore me.
2007-02-01

ROMESH CHANDER FROM USA said:
Note to Ms.Jummah:

You did not read my post carefully. I said, I am a true believer in the NON-EXISTENCE of God, which is just the opposite of your beliefs.

You write that my post regarding Democracy does not make any sense. Well, you live in USA. Did I describe any thing different than what exists in USA; and you live under that system, like it or not. If you do not like Democracy of USA, I am sure you can find some place where they practice Islamic Sharia (like Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Malyasia). In USA, a constitution written by people (not God) is supreme, and people have no intention of discarding it (even if Jesus Christ appears tomorrow). Pat Robertson and Jerry Fallwll may not like US Constitution; well, that is just too bad for these two fundamentalist christian bozos.
2007-02-01

MS.JUMAH FROM USA said:
To Romesh:

What you just said about you are a True Believer, and when I saw this I am obliged to say that if you are considered a Believer (Mu'min), you believe in One God (Allah), (5 Pillars of Islam).

I believe what you just said about the Democracy and stuff does not make sense.

If you wanna believe what you believe then that's you, but the truth is clear whether you wanna cover your ears, ignore, saying blah blah blah or dislike it
2007-02-01

ROMESH CHANDER FROM USA said:
To Adam in Nigeria:

You write "i think you are really living in a fool's paradise.". Sorry, I do not live in any paradise. I live on Planet Earth. Paradise is a figment of imagination of man and extension of the concept of God.

You also write " How did you reason there is no God? Is it through philsophy? Or through science? Which ever way it may be i know you use a faculty given to us by God (the creator of all and everything; including of course the earth you believe in its existence) known as REASON.".

Sorry, I cannot find God. I never met him. Hence, for me, He (or She -- sorry, I am notr sexist) does not exist.

You also write "Why not try reasoning the other way round and say suppose God exist then what? You will be surprise at the result of that reasoning will be. Just try for once".

I find we kill in the name of God. The history of the world is full of religious wars and conflicts. Just look at your own country, Nigeria. Conflict created between muslims and christians -- all unnecssary conflicts. I cannot differentiate between the actions (or non-actions) of God and his followers; one cannot separate God and his followers (and don't give me nonesense of NOT true followers; there are only followers, True or not True followers is immaterial). So, even if God existed, I will renounce HIM, because He is responsible for awful lot of death and destuction, warfare and killing of human beings; I love human beings and hence I do not kill them. I don't need God to live on planet Earth. I live happily without God; I don't need him, because I am not insecure. Only insecure people and those who don't like living on earth need God and Afterlife. I don't need Afterlife; I need This life.

I hope this explains why I don't believe in God; or should I say, I don't like God, even if He existed.
2007-01-30

ADAM FROM NIGERIA said:
Dear Romesh,

I know you've not checkout the link i gave you yet but you may add these two to that. Don't bother reading them now just dowload them and put them in an unknown folder for later use in your computer. But be sure to go back to them. And i know you will cos i had a couple of indian friends in the university and they told me (which i agree 100%) indians love sciences and love reading. Remove the prejudices and be yourself while reading, Romesh.

http://www.harunyahya.com/Existence_of_God.php
http://dev.islamicity.com/Science/dayjudge.shtml

Cheers

2007-01-30

ADAM FROM NIGERIA said:
Mr Romesh, i'm sorry to say but i think you are really livin in a fool's paradise. How did you reason there is no God? Is it through philsophy? Or through science? Which ever way it may be i know you use a faculty given to us by God (the creator of all and everything; including of course the earth you believe in its existence) known as REASON. Why not try reasoning the other way round and say suppose God exist then what? You will be surprise at the result of that reasoning will be. Just try for once.

I also want to you at your spare time to checkout this link. I hope you find it refreshing.

http://www.harunyahya.com/articles/70the_fall_of_atheism_sci34.php

Regards
Adam
2007-01-29

RUBY FROM INDIA said:
I agree with everyline of this post.
Romesh Chander,There's muslim rage even in India after Saddam's hanging, Thats what brotherhood is. Though he had no relationship with India But every muslim is bonded in brotherhood irrespective to any part of the country he belongs. We feel bad when Gujrat was burnt. Pakistanis and bangladeshis felt bad when Babru Masjid was demolished. Did they see us, meet us --- NO. Thats what brtherhood is?
But yes, rage can be expressed in other way except violence
2007-01-28

ROMESH CHANDER FROM USA said:
Note to Adam:

You write "I said TRUE believer and in God. Democracy is no God. Let me ask u some innocent questions, why fear to believe in God? You don't want rules to govern your live?".

Yes, I am a True Believer. I believe in the NON-EXISTENCE of God. (I hope this does not shock a muslim). The concept of God is a figment of imagination of human mind. Concept of Afterlife and Planet Heaven is an extension of this concept of God. I believe in Planet Earth; I live on it.

Democracy is a system of relationship between state and its people; it has nothing to do with God. You can have Democracy with God and you can have Democracy without God. Democracy and God have nothing to do with each other. We, humans, make laws; modify them when we don't like them. Sometimes we make good laws; other times we mess things royally. But that is lefe on Planet Earth (a known entity); Planet Heaven is an unknown entity (if it is an entity at all).

You are free to go to Heaven (if there is one); I prefer living on Earth (and earth exists). After death, I will not know anything, either about heaven or earth.
2007-01-27

ADAM FROM NIGERIA said:
To Romesh;

It seems you didn't read my note well. I said TRUE believer and in God. Democracy is no God. Let me ask u some innocent questions, why fear to believe in God? You don't want rules to govern your live? Is it? But you can follow Bush rules? Or even set some rules in your family? What an irony, how pitiful the way of the humans (some humans!).

Peace.
2007-01-26

KRIS FROM MALAYSIA said:
Assalamualaikum wrbt and greetings to all.

I agree with Adam's opinion, but then the author's view is a food for thought. I'll write more as now I'm travelling and time constraint hinders me from penning more inputs in this cloumn.

And as Adam puts it correctly, yes there must be total submission. That is one of the meaning of Islam. But total submission also include a good " akhlak " and a harmonise co-existence with others, including the non Muslims. In the Islamic context, of course.

When a Muslim says he wanted to slaughter people, that is deplorable. The " akhlak " of our Prophet Rasulullah ( s.a.w ) will never allow those.

I'll write more upon my return from travelling.

Wassalam and regards,
2007-01-25

ROMESH CHANDER FROM USA said:
Note to Adam in Nigeria:

You say that I must be a Believer first.

Yes, I am a Believer. I Believe in Democracy, which means no submission, not even to George Bush. I believe in Life here and now on this planet earth, not in Afterlife of planet heaven or hell (which are myths created by human imagination). I don't care what happens to me when I am dead.
2007-01-24

ROMESH CHANDER FROM USA said:
Note to Bedretin:

You ask that I forgot to mention 'Hindu Rage'.

Looks like you did not get the point of my post, which is very simple -- 'muslim rage' appears in ALL the countries, even if the reasons for the rage may be in one particular country -- why should muslims in India be raging on the hanging of Sadam Hussein?; he had no relationship to India and its muslims.

Hindu rage is confined to one and only one country, India and that too only for its intrernal problems and not concerned with problems of Hindus in other countries. Yes, there are plenty of Hindus in Indonesia, Malayasia, Canada, US, UK; but no 'hindu rage' when anything happens to hindus overseas. Indian Hindus are Indians first and hindus afterwards.
2007-01-24

YOHAN DAHAL FROM BHUTAN said:
Q. What has led these youngsters to believe what they believe in? Who is responsible for that?
Answer:(....we can also find fingers pointing to us)
Although part of the answer is stated at the end of the question, it is not some individuals, institutions or any contemporary organizations to be blamed. The source of problem dives into history and into the type of spiritual training the so called Muslims (I say so called because I know that I am also a Muslim, a genuine one) get from the Mullahs. Like the communist doctrine " There is no God, ..... Religion is opiate of the people ..." injected in the minds of small children before they are able to search and feed themselves on the truth, the youths are taught to believe in the dangerous error!. They lose godly uprightness and fit into uprightness of men's making. Their brain is occupied with prejudice when they grow.
Youngsters have a sort of straightforwardness and simplicity in comparison to the shrewd older folks who are able to hide their vile in themselves in the aprons of culture and civilization. I say they are more dangerous than the openly revealing youngsters... Whom do we blame for their making? As Romesh Chander identifies there are no other rages of the type like "Christian Rage" or "Buddhist Rage" or "Catholic Rage", or "Confucian Rage", etc, why is there a Muslim rage? The fingers are pointed to the choice of the so called Muslims themselves. It is their prophet and the doctrines of exposing valor in the faith and vengeance against those who might reject the new doctrine that so shapes them, making them different from others " and knowing not the way of peace and conciliation" ... Thus have they failed in the sight of the world, the heaven and the angels... When and where will this end? God loves all His creatures and every evil way men take worries Him more than our loving parents would do.

The solution to the problem would be to turn to genuine, Original Islam as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob ..
2007-01-24

BEDRETTIN FROM US said:
Romesh Chandar, you forgot to mention 'hindu rage'.
2007-01-24

ADAM FROM NIGERIA. said:
A note to Mr Chander first: you need to be a TRUE believer (in a God, anyway) to understand the meaning of the rage Dr Aslam is refering to. And I understand u are not even a believer but an atheist (i stand to be corrected) so ur point in all honesty does not make sense at all, at least to me.

To my comment: While i agree to some extent to Dr Aslam important point of soul searching by all muslims, the idea that blame should be on all? that i rejected. Even Dr Aslam contradicts himself by saying all muslims and later putting the blame where it should when he says,

"Our intellectuals have failed us. Our religious leadership has failed us and our political leaders have pushed us into an abyss of humiliation and shame."

Yes these are the group to blame certainly not the masses.

Another point i dont buy is,

"Through this agenda of human dignity, we have to stand for every human life and defend its right to live at peace with itself and others. Without that, we would never be able to live up to the ideals that Prophet Muhammad set for his followers. Without that, we would not be able to submit to the Divine who defines Himself as the most Merciful and most Gracious."

No Sir, we SUBMIT first then all other things follow. If not, why does Allah says time without number in His glorious Quran, ..innal-ladhina amanu wa 'amilus-salihat.. (..verily those that submit and do good works..). The problem is that we submit partially whereas Allah wants TOTAL submission. As long as our faith in Allah is not TOTAL He will not come to our aid. That is His promise and the promise of Allah is TRUE and manifest for all times. Is either we change or we are doom that is the bottom line.


2007-01-23

STU FROM AUSTRALIA said:
This is a very good article and I agree upon it. I am not a muslim, but a Christian.

80% of all conflicts in this world are directely affected by muslims. Very few predominate muslim majority regemes have been larglely peaceful in the last 30 years and with no serious tensions, and only countries that have excaped this is is nations such as United Arab Emerates and Morocco. Most of the terrorism victims today are people that call them selves muslim as well.

I believe it is important for people to treat others the way they want to be treated.

Maybe one day the predominate muslim world will be a beaken of light for accross the world, where people will live in peace and again live in the golden age it once had, however there are now so many wounds most muslim nations are going through, so there needs so much wounds need to be healing.
2007-01-23

AHMED ASGHER FROM BAHRAIN said:
Well written summary of our plight in the Muslim world. About time we took responsibility for what has befallen us. It is easy to blame others. Seldom humans take a look into the mirror and see their true self. If you wish to be a friend of God, then come to God as Abraham did - with a pure heart (Quran 37:84)
2007-01-22

VERNA ZEE FROM USA said:
More talk. We have heard this before but each time there was no action to do something about it. Is this more of th same?. If it is, it's a shame and a great loss to a religion that once had a glorious history.
2007-01-22

RASHAD ABDUL-AZEEM FROM USA said:
Peace,

I listened to these two Muslim on CNN and I must say that if they are truly Muslims then they have failed to understand and follow the Quran and the noble example of our Prophet. They have been defeated by our enemies because they are using their methods of bloodsheds to reach their objectives. Also, it must be understood that the enemies of Islam (humanity) will send among us imposters to embarrass us and make us look stupid and ignorant in the eyes the world.

2007-01-22

CHARLES JACKS FROM USA said:
I'll borrow something from Runi, or is it Hafeez.

The Self We Share

Thirst is angry with water. Hunger bitter
with bread.The cave wants nothing to do

with the sun. This is dumb, the self-
defeating way we've been. A gold mine is

calling us into its temple. Instead, we
bend and keep picking up rocks from the

ground. Every thing has a shine like gold,
but we should turn to the source! The

origin is what we truly are. I add a little
vinegar to the honey I give. The bite of

scolding makes ecstasy more familiar. But
look, fish, you're already in the ocean:

just swimming there makes you friends with
glory. What are these grudges about? You

are Benjamin. Joseph has put a gold cup
in your grain sack and accused you of being

a thief. Now he draws you aside and says,
"You are my brother. I am a prayer. You're

the amen." We move in eternal regions, yet
worry about property here. This is the

prayer of each: You are the source of my
life. You separate essence from mud. You

honor my soul. You bring rivers from the
mountain springs. You brighten my eyes. The

wine you offer takes me out of myself into
the self we share. Doing that is religion.

It is not like this is anything new. It may be a little more intense than usual. But that just requires us to be more vigilant with ourselves and in so doing better ourselves all the more.
2007-01-22

KRIS FROM MALAYSIA said:
Assalamualaikum wrbt and greetings to all.

To kam and Velde, there are so many versions of the bible. Christians knows that. Why should the Quran be copied from it ? And which version was it copied from anyway, as claimed by both of you ?

There is only one Quran, which is used and accepted by both Sunni and Shiates. And there are many scientific matters in the Quran which are not contained in the bible. Like the development of life in the womb or embyro, so please don't have the audacity to make all sorts of baseless claims. Which bible are you talking about anyway ? Which version ? Is it the one with most contradictions ?
2007-01-22

KAM FROM BRAZIL/CANADA said:
A note to F.Ter. Velde:
Your statement that,"...Pity is that they did not exactly copy the facts from the Bible and changes most things. Nobody can trace who did so and why...." is in away correct.
Many of the books considered 'Holy' by the followers of many faiths are nothing but plagiarized versions of what came earlier with a bit of new.

The trouble starts when The Pious start this business of saying one's faith is so unique and superior to others- seeds of intolerance is planted.

This is true of all organized religions.

Kam
Jan21-07
2007-01-21

CHARLES FROM CANADA said:
I agree with his statemnt; "We have to develop an agenda that will see other human beings regardless of their religious background as a beautiful creation of the divine deserving the same dignity that we seek for ourselves." And I wish the best of luck in this noble objective. Where to start, seems overwhelming
2007-01-21

ROMESH CHANDER FROM USA said:
Note to Kam from Canada/Brazil:

You write If more authors analysed what went wrong with the muslim world.

Guess what. Bernard Lewis wrote a small book "What went wrong". The entire muslim world went ballistic. why? Because, Bernard Lewis, a great scholar of Middle east, is also a jew. Muslim world itself has not able to find 'what is wrong with muslims' and refuses to listen to outsiders.

How great is the current author Dr Abdullah, I don't know. This is the first time I have come across some criticim of muslim society. How well known and influential is the current author and how much stamina Dr Abdullah is standing up to the fundamentalists, I don't know.

Taking criticism or self-criticism is not easy. A is unable to diagnose his disease and hence is unable to provide the necessary remedy.
2007-01-21

DANICA FROM USA said:
Thank you! Your article gives me hope that one day sooner the better we can live good site by side.Butthe preacing in mosks around the world dashes MY HOPES AGAIN THANK YOU
2007-01-21

KAM FROM BRAZIL/CANADA said:
If only few more Authors like this one, who question what went wrong in the Muslim world and ask what could be done to better the lives rather than blame others, it would be a beginning of reform.

Without such a step, the same old cycle of blame the rest, self pity, anger, wallowing in anger and aggression, nothing would change the plight of Muslims.

Aslam Abdullah is a good example for Muslims to follow for a better tomorrow.

Kam

2007-01-21

ABDULLAH FROM USA said:
Most of the unjust, oppressive rulers of the Muslim world are funded by the West. The 'jihadis' that made those comments believe that the West is crusading against Muslim lands to steal their wealth, and in doing so, is deliberately killing innocent Muslims in the process. Because the US and its allies do not differentiate between civilian and military targets, they say, why should Muslims distinguish between civilian and military targets?
I have read many articles and heard many khutbahs with the same line of reasoning as this brother, but unfortunately, such a line of reasoning is historically ignorant. The message of people like Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri talk about the history of relations between Islam and the West, the reason why jihad against the crusaders must be waged, etc., in a surprisingly logical fashion. Thus, youth are often more attracted to what they see as more intelligent, logical discourse, rather than discourse which ignores or downplays key political events.
So my message is that if Muslims like the author of this article would like to appeal to the youth, then they should take a more wholistic and logical view of current events than the people they are trying to disprove.
2007-01-21

ANVAR FROM AUSTRALIA said:
This is absolutely true. First we have to blame ourselves before we blame others. One point I would like to clarify is that we cannot even blame our leaders. Since our leaders are only as good as ourselves. If we work hard and change ourselves, our family and our community, good leaders will come from among us. Allah knows best.
2007-01-21

KHADEEJA FROM USA said:
Nice Article!
2007-01-20

ROMESH CHANDER FROM USA said:
This is the first article published on iviews which made any sense; he has tried to tackle the real problem. And for that, it seems Dr Abdullah has changed his mind recently (and I may be wrong here; it is hard to remember what articles Dr Abdullah published on this forum). But still, he does not question the basic problem -- concept of nation-state even though all muslims live in nation-states.

Why do you call it "Muslim Rage"? After all, we don't have "Christian Rage" or "Buddhist Rage" or "Catholic Rage", or "Confucian Rage", etc. I could understand "Saudi Rage" or "Iraqi Rage" or "Iranian Rage"; but "Muslim Rage"!!. Come on. After all, muslims living in all countries are not the same; the only common thing among them is Koran; but then the only thing common among christian is the Bible. And there is no such thing as 'christian rage'.

Should one consider "Muslim Rage" as an oxymoron. After all, muslims of Iraq invaded muslims of Kuwait; muslims of Iraq and muslims of Iran fought each other; muslims of Libya invaded muslims of Chad; and muslims are fighting each other in Suda (Darfur).
2007-01-20

TASNEEM FROM USA said:
Atlast, an article what I could not put it in words..I thank you and bless you and I hope Islamicity will encourage many writers to help us correct ourselves and solutions,suggestions and education..that will help us to turn in the right direction...maybe complete overhaul of our regimes,education,thinking etc.
2007-01-20

FARHAD FROM CANADA said:
This is very true when we hold one finger towards others, the rest always points to ourselves. One day I was so disappointed when my social teacher was explaining the meaning of 'scapegoating'. He said "it is like muslims blaming all their social and political problems on the west." At the moment I objected on his example, but deep in my heart I knew that he is not 100% incorrect.
2007-01-20

RUBY FROM UNITED STATES said:
Salam to all... i really apprecaite the article and agree with the writer..we as a muslim should take care of others.
2007-01-20

KHALID FROM US said:
Every word is true. the ummah is in a very very sorry state because of the greed/corruption and un-islamic values of the arab and "muslim" heads of states.
2007-01-20

ALEF FROM U.S.A said:
thank you for an excellent article. i think we should have started talking about these themes a long time ago. I believe the true enemies of Islam are many that call themselves muslims and commit the most outrageous acts of violence. i think we as a community are also to blame for not condemning the acts of suicide bombings against the Israelis. No matter how brutal the Israeli tactics against the Palestinians, we should never have condoned or remained silent when the young, the old and non cambatants were targeted. Faith to me says do not expect victory on earth, that's why we have judgement day, the true test is how we deal with the pitfalls on this short journey.
2007-01-20

IBRAHIM SHEHU FROM NIGERIA said:
Glory be to Allah,the modern muslims are now physically and mentally oriented,only a few selfish individuals that are not well versed go about saying provocative words and calling their self muslim.they will surely account for their actiosn,they should know islam is all about peace.alhamdulilla.
2007-01-20

JAN FROM USA said:
Dr Aslam Abdullah has hit the nail on the head. Surely, Muslims would be fools if they don't get their house in order and get prepared to face the challenges ahead.

This is clear from the following verse in the Quran:

"Allah has promised to those from amongst you who believe and do righteous deeds that He would surely make them vicegerents on earth."
2007-01-19

HARUN FROM USA said:
All Praise is to God, Allah, the One and Only! The author speaks for all Muslims over the world who want to follow the true message of Islam. Those who think otherwise are a disgrace as being followers of Prophet Muhammad!
I thank the author for spreading the true Islam in words.
2007-01-19

SYLVIA HORTON FROM CANADA said:
Salam Alaikum,
This is definitely a good article. It is well written. Yes, we must look at ourselves before we can talk about anyone else. I was presented with a newspaper article about racism here in Canada. Sadly to say, since moving to Ottawa, I can count on one hand how many times I have had problems with non-Muslims. But, I could talk for days about being discriminated against by people who call themselves my Muslim sisters and brothers. Yes, the racism and predjudices that I have experienced most have been with the Muslims here. Before we start pointing fingers, let us all take a look at ourselves first. Starting from the East and ending with the West.
May Allah have mercy on us Muslims!!!
2007-01-19