Why don’t you ask African Americans

Israfil wrote: Ak, I love you like a step-brother (if there is such a love of this kind) but the following comment pissed me off and was Bull**** and no offense but I'll tell you why I thought it was bull**** you said: "Also African countries have lot of resources, like Gold, Diamond,Oil,Copper & Ivory" You followed this comment with the question: "What do Palestinians have?" This is exactly my point of how Muslims are ignorant to the problems in Africa and I'm surprised....err....wait lemme change that, not surprised that Herjihad agreed with you. I think its unfair for non-blacks to comment on a black problem just as its unfair to other ethnic groups that blacks comment on an ethnic problem therefore I'll refrain from henceforth commenting on the Israeli/Palestinian issue. But what I have issue with is people comparing suffering using additives such as the resources one country contains as a litmus test of who is priviledged more and who suffers more. Ak that comment was really offensive. Do you honestly think those Africans control those resources? the Dutch in the south has in fact raped the Africans and in their schools retell the story of the Dutch people as if they were the first in habitants of that continent. Africans do not control their own resoruces in Africa contrary to what you may think. Every heard of apartheid? Every heard of African slavery? Yes it still exist. The people with the power and the money are not the Africans. Before you spew such garbage please note the sufferings of those people over there and not justify the great importance of another groups suffering (in this case you note the Palestinians) by comparing it to resources (in this case you use gold, diamond etc). I don't mean to get emotional but the two realities are not the same. Again it goes back to the suffering of then Palestinians! You act like their suffering is the worse of its kind. Many human beings suffered. Jews, Blacks, Arabs, Turks, Armeninans most human groups have suffered. But comparing resources and using it as a litmus test to judge the importance of anothers suffering is in my humble opinion garbage thinking.

Salaams and Bismillah,

Ak, don't worry.  Some of us here love you like a real Muslim brother rather than like a second-class stepbrother.  I mean, I don't even use that word with my real step-brother.

Sorry, but this hick whitey will continue to comment on black, white, yellow and a whole rainbow of issues.  When are white issues talked about here anyway?  Yeah, I know who cares about the coal miners unless it's front page news anyway? 

You guys miss out the entire point.  It's not an issue of race at all.  It's the issue of power and money rule and here we are arguing about a silly issue of semantics when we need to pull together to care for and love all of the oppressed people.  You give me your information, and I'll give you mine and we'll use it to help each other instead of comparing death rates.  We'll build a community of caring, concerned sisters and brothers who are working on changing the dominion of the powerfully rich to making this world one run by true concern for each other all over this globe.

I don't want to sleep peacefully and forget one suffering soul if Allah gives me the strength to do something about it.  So let's work together on issues we all care about.  People, we're Muslims.  We're family in Allah's eyes.  So of course families bicker, but let's get on to the real work real soon, y'all.

Herjihad the comment was a freggin joke give me a break!

I'm sorry if I didn't use emoticon to note that!

Herjihad you have no idea what it is to be black nor understand the suffering of blacks both domestic and globally so therefore, any comments you mention regarding issues within the black culture are null and void because you lack one element: ethnic experience. When you cease to be the "hick whitey" and become black/African/Black-Cuban/latino or whatever and comment on the plight and suffering of this ethnic group then I will listen. When you speak on problesm and issues regarding African problems as you "know" the problem it becomes void. The same rules applies ot myself. I am not Palestinian therefore, I cannot understand the plight of the Arab Palestinians nor can I say I understand their suffering.

You obviously missed the point what AK said!

He used African resources (which Africans do not control themselves by the way) to denote a "higher suffering of the Palestinians. To me using comments to show additive suffering is BS. Suffering amounts to the same experiences IT's ALL SUFFERING. Of course you didn't get that point when I critiqued his view did you?

Hanan, why is it that Isrifil understands what I am saying and others do not. Why is it I have recieved several private messages saying they agree with me but won't argue it here because people here will never admit anything and are in denial. You are making false accusations against me and again getting emotional and angry. Tell me one lie that I have made here. I gave names in my last post of why are Muslims so racist of 2 organizations that are doing work in the region, so maybe you are drunk or unable to read. I said ask African Americans becuase they are often excluded from community afairs, this is not just my opinion but Jeffery Lang a famous phd and author who lectures on Islam around the country at universities says this in his lecture again and agian. He says quote"In spite of Islam, we Muslims tend to be very prejudice people" and goes on to give numerous examples of why this is so. All of which are hard to deny. I say ask African Americans because they are often ignored in the Muslim community just like the muslim communtiy ignores their black brothers and sisters in Africa. That is my point and if you don't get it, that is your problem, plenty of people do.

Jenni wrote: Israfil, I totally agree with you. Herjihad, Thank you for getting another perspective. Abeer23 That is your opinion, I go to college with some of the black african so called Lost boys from Sudan and they have a very different story of murder, opression, prejudice, and having to flee thier homes with nothing. So I think your opinion may be biased. Ask the people of Darfur about how they feel about the Sudanese government. Abeer23 I deal with racism in America all the time, My husband is very dark skinned south Asain and my kids are mixed.People ask me if my children are adopted and I have to allways expain where their dad is from and get lots of looks. We get stared at especially when we leave California. So I am living it, I am trying to change it and there are lots of good people of all faiths trying to change things. That does not change what is happening in the rest of the world. You may have had a good experience here but alot of people have not. And you may not know about all the inside stuff of helping each other out with jobs, and alot of other things that people keep in their own cirlce. Also how many African Americans of Africans did you see married to Arabs or Asians? I agree with some of what you say, but don't compare apples to oranges.And your opinion is biased.

No Jenni that wasn't just my opinion.  I gave you FACTS, that I know you are unaware of due to your arrogance in truly seeking to understand what's going on Sudan.  My beliefs are not biased in the least.  Why?  Because my closest friends are from both the Darfur Region, the Capitol (orignally from the North), and also from the South (I taught English while in Sudan, and the Sudanese Christians take Studying English very seriously).  I see what's going on in Sudan much more objectively than you do.

The examples that you have given me show me how you are a victim of racism in American, not how you're ACTING TO CHANGE IT.  Right now, what you're doing is making fitna (or trying to make fitna) amongst muslims.  I must inform you though, the zandaqa movement is not new to the Islamic community; keep in mind that Allah is watching and listening to you.  I'll tell you for the last time, backbiting is HARAM. 

And to answer your question, I know lots of African-American Women married to Arab men, as well as some Arab women married to African-American men.  In my personal experience, I notice the men tend to marry foreigners more than the women do, which is understandable (people are more protective of their baby girls). 

Salam