'I Was Transformed'

Angelina Jolie discusses celebrity, refugees and her life in New Orleans.

By Christopher Dickey
Newsweek

March 11, 2007 - Angelina Jolie began traveling as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations some six years ago. She has visited the victims of violence in Africa, Pakistan and Cambodia—first as an observer in the background, then using her fame to draw attention to the plight of the helpless. The movie star spoke to NEWSWEEK's Christopher Dickey about her recent trip to a camp housing Darfur refugees in Chad, her response to critics of 'celebrity tourism' and why she and Brad Pitt like their current home in New Orleans. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: What was your original motivation for working with the UNHCR, for doing these kinds of trips?
Angelina Jolie: I started traveling about seven years ago with film. I would go to places like Cambodia and hear about the many refugees in Thailand and hear about the land mines and hear about the history....I remember sitting up for two days straight and reading everything obsessively. I read about the UNHCR and I realized it was an agency that I didn't know anything about: that they were taking care of 20 million people. ... And I remember realizing that I couldn't understand how I had not known that my whole life.

When did it occur to you that you could do something about this directly? Did people approach you or —
I approached them. I think they thought I was a little crazy.
When was this?
Six years ago. I was very nervous to call the U.N. agency at the time. I [was] considered a rebel in Hollywood. At the time I was also a bit of the wild child. So first I went to Washington [to the UNHCR office] and I sat with everybody there and said, "You know, I know you don't know me. You might have heard things about me… And I don't want to bring negative attention to your agency. If you could just help me, I'll pay my way."
I spent the next year and a half going to, first, two camps in Africa, and then Pakistan and Cambodia. And with no cameras and with no press and had the opportunity to have this great education before I spoke at all…. I was transformed in such an amazing way.

But you do have photographers following you now.
It took me a while to agree to do it. I guess I saw that so many times the picture comes before the knowledge and the substance and I certainly didn't want to do that to myself or the organization. And also, I really just was shy. I was shy about sitting on the floor and talking to a woman and having a camera take a picture because I thought it was making less of my conversation with her. But… I was changed by the faces of the people I saw. "It is something that I am incapable of describing...those faces and that place and those people. And so I think it's just—let the people speak for themselves through the camera. And if I can draw you in a little because I'm familiar, then that's great. Because I know that at the end you're not looking at me, you're looking at them.

I think it's fair to say people start out by looking at you, Angelina.
As long as they end up looking at them, that's the point.
Do you worry about people who say this is celebrity tourism?
I don't know if anybody saying that has spent the last six years of their life going to over 30 camps and really spending time with these people. I can't care. At the end of the day, I'm sure a lot of criticism could keep a lot of people from doing this kind of work…
If someone had a direct criticism of my opinion on the issue, if someone had a direct criticism of the image shown because they think it hurts somebody then I will take that into consideration. But there are a lot of people that simply have an immediate gut reaction and they just don't want to combine artists with foreign policy. And hey, I understand. I get it. I know where you're coming from. And to each his own. … You know, I was more shy when I first went into a camp that other field officers would not want me there.

You were worried that you'd get in the way.
Yeah. That's why I brought no media, it's why I sat back. That's why I just helped them load things. And if I felt that I was ever getting in the way, I wouldn't do it. Because I do care about the opinion of the aid worker, I do care about the opinion of the refugee. I care less about the opinion of the person who's never been in the field but has an opinion about celebrity.

Do you still go with so few people? I can't believe you take no one with you…
I take no one. I [go] by myself on a commercial plane and into the field with my backpack.
You still do that?
Yes, I just did that on my last trip. I met the photographer there.
In the camp?
No, in the airport. We didn't even realize we were on the same flight. We landed at like midnight and got up at like 5 in the morning to catch the WFP [World Food Program] plane [to a town near the camp].

When you got there, what were the people saying about their situation?
There are several photographs with this boy tied to a tent pole, and there's also another photograph of a group of women near some tents, and one of them has her ankles chained. The first time I saw that in the camp [it was] obviously really shocking. They are people who are traumatized by the bombing [by Sudanese government forces attacking villages in Darfur] and by war. The old woman may have had some dementia before. The reality is there are one or two aid workers for every 2,000 refugees. The same with the doctors, the therapists. The basic need there [is] to just try to keep these people safe. To keep the tents up in all the sand storms, try to get the food distributed and basic health-care needs. The [chained] woman started to beat her daughter with anything she could find. She kept hearing voices of the people yelling at her. So she feels constantly under attack. I'm no therapist, so I don't understand all the details. But when I did try to talk to her, she seemed pretty rational. But then she started aggressively telling me that I had to stop them from putting snakes on her. And for the people to stop yelling at her and for the bombs to stop dropping.

And the little boy?
The little boy was a normal 3-year-old [now 7] who disappeared for 48 hours after [his village was bombed]. I can only imagine what he saw. Sure he saw death. And when found, he was found in a state…
As a first reaction you want to remove [the rope]. But the mother, she has four other kids, she's by herself. Therapists visit him, but if [he's] left alone he will disappear or bang himself. I talked to him for like half an hour and just kind of looked at him for a long time before he touched me and there was a little boy in there who was open to a kind sound.… There's a normal little kid right there, but he's got a look of fear. He's nervous to touch. And you can feel that need for safety. The mother unfortunately can't not go work for the other children and can't sit with him all day long and hold him, which is probably what would do some good. But what he needs is probably some serious therapy. [There are] lots of children like him there. Lots of victims of war. [It's a] whole other thing that you usually don't get to address because they have to be so focused on the basic needs of survival. These are the many other casualties of the kind of war that is happening in Darfur.

Do you despair?
Certainly, at times. The first two years I just cried constantly like a woman does.
Oh, like anybody does.
Yes, like anybody does, thank you. I couldn't really talk about the situation without being emotional. And I went through a period of just complete lack of hope. Just feeling like it was way too overwhelming and feeling like I wouldn't be able to make a dent. And then I went through a period of anger that smart, articulate people in power have not been able to answer these issues quickly and clearly and define ways of intervention. And that it just keeps going on. About a year ago, I got a lot of books on international law and I tried to study what was going on—just out of a curiosity about what was this bigger picture. I don't want to have to keep going back to camps, five different times, over the next 30 years of my life, [for situations] that there are no solutions for.

People will look at these pictures of you in Chad and ask, “What can I do?” What should they do?There are great NGOs like SOS [Austria's SOS Kinderdorp] and there are great NGOs inside and under the U.N. that you could send aid to. It's important for the American people to know that a lot of people believe—I certainly believe—that it has been their outcry and their interest that has motivated our government. I think that the American people have paid attention to Darfur—a really amazing groundswell of people that really care, and are moved and emotional about the things they've seen when it is brought to their attention.

Where would you take the spotlight next?
I want to go back to Cambodia. I would like to understand and see what I can find out about what's happening inside Burma.

You're living in New Orleans right now.
Is that just because you like the city or because you wanted to bring attention to New Orleans, too? A bit of both. Brad was doing a film here and so we were going spend a month here. [We] realized it was a place we liked, we liked the people, I liked the school for the kids. They're very diverse. I liked the other parents. I feel very comfortable with them. We're happy having our children here. Brad is working on rebuilding here.... But for me, just as a mom, I love the other parents and the kids and the schools. I'm starting to work on the education here and the school system here. There's a lot of work to be done.

© 2007 Newsweek, Inc. Subscribe to Newsweek

Morality and Religion

From: http://www.islamicity.com/

By: Alija Ali Izetbegovic

Morality can be based only on religion, but morality and religion are not one. Morality as a principle does not exists without religion even thought morality as a practice, as a particular case of behavior, is not dependant directly on religiousness. A common argument that connects them both is the other, superior world. Because it is the other world, it is a religious world; because it is a superior world, it is a moral world. This shows both the interdependence of religion and morality as well as their independence of each other.
There is a certain inner consistency that is not automatic, mathematical, or logical but rather practical; divergencies are possible but sooner or later the dependence is reestablished. Atheism, after all, ends up as a negation of morality, and every true moral transformation starts with a religious renewal. Morality is a religion transformed into rules of behavior - that is, into man's attitude toward other man in accordance with the fact of God's existence. To have to fulfill our duties regardless of the difficulties and risks we face (this being moral behavior as distinguished from behavior motivated by interest), such a demand can be justified only if this world and this life are not the only world and the only life. This is the common starting point of morality and religion.Morality was born by prohibition and has remained a prohibition until today. A prohibition is religious by nature and by origin. Out of the Ten Commandments, eight of them are prohibitions. Morality is always a restrictive or prohibitive principle which opposes the animal instincts in human nature. The Christian ethic can serve here as an example - not as the only but as the most famous and the most evident.The history of religion is full of seemingly meaningless prohibitions. However, from the point of view of ethics, there are no meaningless prohibitions. Of course, a prohibition can have a rational meaning too, but utility is never its primary aim.Morality is not " life in harmony with nature" as the Stoics defined it. It is rather life against nature, provided that the word "nature" is understood in its true sense. Like man, morality is also irrational, non-natural, supernatural. Natural man and natural morality do not exist. Man within the limits of nature is not man; he is, at best, an animal endowed with reason. Morality within the limits of nature is not morality but rather a form of selfishness, a form of wise and enlightened selfishness.In the Darwinian "struggle for survival," the best (in the moral sense) do not win; only the strongest and the best adjusted do. Biological progress also does not lead to human dignity being one of the sources of morality. A Darwinian man may reach the highest degree of biological perfection, a "superman," but he will remain without human quality and, therefore, without human dignity as well. The latter could have been given to him only by God.Social progress as a prolongation of the biological progress has the same effects on morality. The English moralist Mandeville asks: "What is the significance of morality for the progress of society and the development of civilization?" and answers very simply: "None. It may even be harmful." According to him, the means that are usually blamed as sinful have the most stimulating effect on a society's progress since " what increases man's needs promotes his development the most." To be more definite: "The so-called moral and physical evils of this world are the main driving forces that make us social beings."If all progress, biological as well as technical, is to be found in Darwin's theory of natural selection where the stronger suppresses and even destroys the weaker, morality must be in opposition to this essential point of progress. Morality has always demanded protection, compassion, and regard for the weaker and less capable. Thus, morality and nature have been in opposition with each other from the very beginning. "Get rid of the conscience, compassion, forgiveness - those inner human tyrants. Oppress the weak, climb over their corpses..." The parting with morality is very evident. Destroy the weak versus protect the weak - those are the two opposite demands that separate the biological from the spiritual, the zoological from the human, nature from culture, and science from religion. Only Nietzsche consistently applied biological laws and their consequences to human society. The result was the rejection of love and forgiveness and the justification of violence and hatred. For Nietzsche, Christianity, especially Christian ethics, was "the most poisoned poison that had ever been instilled into the vigorous body of the ardent mankind."In Phaedo, Plato expounded a genuine ethic: ordinary courage is only a kind of cowardice, and ordinary moderation is only a hidden lust for pleasure. That kind of virtue is only a commercial business, a shadow of virtue, a virtue of slaves. A true moral man has only one desire: to be away from the physical and closer to the spiritual. The body is the grave of the soul. In its earthly existence, the soul never reaches its aim, and true knowledge comes only after death. That is why an ethical man is not afraid of death. To truly think and live means constant preparation to die. Evil is the force that rules the world, and morality is neither a natural possibility of man, nor can it be based on reason.Established ethics have never been rationally proved and, of course, they cannot be proven by this method. Plato referred to metaphysical proofs instead of anthropological ones, which made him the forerunner of theologically based ethics. This development was lawful. It is well known that Plato proponed a teaching about preexistence which stated that every item of knowledge is only a remembrance. An integral part and necessary presumption of such a teaching is the idea of immorality.Plato's meditations on ethics led him directly to the religious position. Two other ancient thinkers, Epictetus and Seneca, were led to a specific religion (Christianity) through similar meditations. There are very certain indications that Epictetus was a clandestine Christian, and that Seneca corresponded with Paul. In his De viris illustribus, Jerome includes Seneca in the list of church writers. Christianity is a striking example of a perfect harmony, a strong mutual affinity, and almost a unity of a great religion and great ethics. The art of the Renaissance, completely inspired by biblical themes, proves that great art joins them. From a historical point of view, moral thought is one of the oldest human thoughts. It is preceded only by the idea of the divine which itself is as old as man. These two thoughts have been closely connected throughout history. In the history of ethics, there is practically no serious thinker who has not decided about religion, either by borrowing the necessity of religion for moral principles or by proving the opposite. The whole history of ethics is a continuing story of the reciprocal permeance of religious and ethical thought. Statistics cannot be proof in this matter, but it can be pointed out that religious moralists prevail, while atheists almost never do.The so-called laic (secular) ethical movements which stressed the independence of ethics from religion showed that every moralistic thought or activity naturally tends to approach or even to identify with religion. Notwithstanding the contradictory course of these ideas and their oscillation between religion and science, their development is of great importance. Schoolbooks in French state schools, where moral instruction replaced religious instruction, followed the catechism format of teaching religious doctrines in Christian churches. This trend had a permanent tendency to maintain an independent position against religion which all the while continued to approach it unconsciously. Therefore, it is possible to imagine a truly religious but immoral man and vice versa. Religion is one kind of knowledge, and morality is a life lived in accordance with that knowledge. There remains, however, a certain discrepancy between knowledge and practice. Religion is the answer to the question of how to think and believe, while morals are the answer to the question of how to desire and aim or how to live and behave. The tidings of the other world also imply a demand to live in accordance with this wide and infinite vision, although the demand itself is not identical with the vision. Jesus' sublime ethics were a direct consequence of an equally strong and clear religious consciousness. However, the inquisitors' devotions were also sincere, even though this assertion sounds paradoxical. "Believe and do good deeds" - this sentence, which us repeated in the Qur'an more than fifty times, points out the necessity of uniting something that people tend to separate. It expresses the difference between religion ("believe") and morality ("do good") as well as the imperative that they should go together. The Qur'an uncovers a reverse relation and shows how religion can find a strong incentive in morality: "You will not believe until you give amply of what is dear to your heart." It is not: "Believe and you will be a good man," but the reverse: "Be a good man and you will believe." To the question of how one can strengthen his faith, the answer is: "Do good and by so doing you will find God."

Excerpted from the book "Islam Between East and West" by 'Alija 'Ali Izetbegovic. Mr. Izetbegovic is considered by many to be the hero of Bosnian Muslim resistance during the siege of Sarajevo who led his country to independence from the genocidal campaign of Yugoslavia.

Blogger Comment:
These are my simple points of morality some agree with Alija:

1- Morality can exist without religion, but more of social morality. The best morality when you feel that God is seeing you all time. He is your main motivation of morality more than your family, Friends or people around you. You can not deny the sincerity of many atheists or agnostics in being moral. However, if there is no God a lot of people will not go the extra miles to be more moral.
2- Morality is levels:
a- Jungle or animal morality, where people behave like animals to feel their desires and even progress to cause other people to suffer and enjoy that (the latter is even less common in animals).
b- Street morality is higher level than the animal morality. It is how low in morals the street, the community and authority allow you to get away with. It is like corruption in many third world countries became the norm.
c- Social morality is a higher morality but again its purpose is to appease others and to abide with the social restrains of the individual allowed by community.
d- Religious and conscience morality. This is a higher level of morality it is responding to God and/or your conscience in being morals and not of fear of laws or others.
3- Morality is a group act. It is very difficult to be the only moral person and people around you dishonest, corrupt or immoral.
4- Spreading morality is much easier from top to bottom and not from side to side. You need the most moral to be in the top and you will be able to spread morality.
5- Laws guard morality a lot of times but religion make it more of enjoyable morality. It is your conscience and good spirit that make you moral.
6- Human could not be 100% moral and God did not expect that but a strive to be more moral all time.
7- Faith is what you believe in, for religion it is mainly God. Morality is the behaviour that prove to God your faith.
8- Oneself is the most obstacle against morality. Left to nature it will be full of greed, feeling superiority and suppression or hate to others. Oneself is also the way to morality God created us with the inner knowledge and desires to be good. It is our choice to enjoy the good inside us or the bad.
9- Morality is a win-win situation if we all are morals we will make life nice and enjoyable to all of us if we are immoral or wicked we will make our lives miserable.

Is The West Really Sincere About a Dialogue With Islam.

To make it quick and simple: I honestly do not know. The problem with international politics is there is no transparency. When the messiah will come there will be a different political system. Now in preparing for the messiah people are taking different directions. Why the west intentions of opening dialogue or on the substance of dialogue are questioned:
1- Their aims and purposes of dialogue may serve only their interests, or so far what appears to me.
2- They are not willing or liking to see a major structural changes they consider it a geopolitical suicide. One American politicians put it in a polite and funny way to express to people like me their feeling of pain of our situation but do not promise anything. They used to do it with the American people for problems that they can not solve it.
3- They are not keen about our interests. Same old, same old oil and Israel.
4- Global change in the financial and political systems may not suit the imperial corporations that control the world.
5- The strong Arab regimes who are allies in war on terror would not let the west pressure them for major changes. They know also with Iraq quagmire America would not touch one of them.
6- The Muslims ambitions to have a caliphate or even western like democratic Islamic countries is not feasible or interesting to them. They actually consider it threatening to them.
7- Some people believe that an Islamic caliphate will be the end of Israel. The reality is it will be the end of the struggle and the beginning of ever lasting peace.
8- Some Christians leaders in the right are waiting the rupture anytime and they are not interested in world politics except to see the rise of the Antichrist and then they will take off. Some of them are actually in high positions in the American government.
9- For all of the above the Arab tyrants feel secure. They do not know that God and not American is the one who control the history.

For us as Muslims we do not have an alternative except dialogue. Violence create violence, pacifism and giving up may not suit well with God or our obligation to our people. My hope was to find a mega plan that addresses all of the injustices in the Middle East and have new financial and political systems. It is like health care in America I could not see a lot of injustices and just shut up my mouth particularly now when I felt that God had give me great plans to the humanity. I did my part and I tried to get through the TV or other Americans avenues to open the dialogue and I was suppressed by the American Government. I tried to see a conference in Tehran to see how we can resolve the Iraq quagmire and the Iranians turned me down. I do not think I can sit with Jihadis or Arab tyrants both would not listen to me. Other people have to do their jobs and find how we can solve all of these problems in the Middle East particularly the intellectuals from all sides.

Has God removed the Curse of Babylon ?

From: www.jews-for-allah.com

While reading the Bible, I came upon a story which Strengthened my faith in Islam even more.
According to the Bible, { Genesis 11:1} humans all spoke one language at one time. These humanswere trying to build a tower to see God. God Warned them to cease building thetower, yet they disobeyed God and continued to build the Tower.
As a punishment for their disobedience, God cursed them by making them all speaka different language. This tower is now called the "Tower of Babylon." {Genesis11:19} and that is where we get the word "Babel"
The Holy Qur'an is their forgiveness, if the humans return to obeying God, thenthey are again united in a brotherhood and sisterhood of one Semitic language,Arabic.
This is astonishing since only 27% of the Muslims are Arabs and there are almost1.5 Billion Muslims world wide, all united with one language,praying in unison, re-united, this is also predicted in the Bible;
"For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent." {Zephaniah 3:9}
In the Strong's Bible Dictionary, the word "language (saphah)" in this verse can also mean [ side, edge, border]
Therefore, Zephaniah 3:9 can also be translated to read "I will TURN people to ONE direction" which we witness with Muslims all facing -East- to pray and also speaking one language in prayer, a language which non-Arabs describe as a "pure language"
World wide, over a billion people gather worshiping with one language, one direction, one book, one God.
Re-united as brothers and sisters in towards the Kabba which is believed to be directly under the Throne of God in Heaven.
The rich with the poor, the educated with the un-educated, people from all parts ofthe world re-united Obeying One God, Submitting their will to God which is themeaning of Islam.
""And hold fast, all together, by the rope which Allah (stretches out for you), and be not divided among yourselves; and remember with gratitude Allah's favour on you; for ye were enemies and He joined your hearts in love, so that by His Grace, ye became brethren; and ye were on the brink of the pit of Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus doth Allah make His Signs clear to you: That ye may be guided." {Translation of the Holy Qur'an 3:103}

The Dialogue Between The West and Islam.

By: Maged Taman

In order to have a dialogue between the west and Islam we have to have the spirit of understanding:
1- Muslims have suffered a lot for colonism in the old days and in the recent decades from the unjust American policies. President Bush was a good man in explaining how the west for stability and oil have allowed tyranny in this area. Read in my blogs "why Muslims and Arabs despise the American policies" and "the third structure".
2- Muslims carry a great burden of blame on themselves secondary to their actions.
3- Terrorism/Jihadi have a lot of sympathy in the Arab/Muslim world given the sufferings of Muslims/Arabs. However, people understand their tactics are fatal to them and their victims and prolong the agony of us all.
4- Muslims/Arabs should as leaders, intellectuals and even Jihadis to come with a new formula to our existence. We need a plan that secure our freedom and remove all injustices. The Arab kings and presidents have to take the lead they are the ones who created terrorism. The Arab league and Islamic conference should have a real productive conference. The west best role is to facilitate that and not to block it. Revolutions tend to turn deadly and peaceful revolutions can work as a push to major negotiations but would not work alone. Military coup ends by a new doctator regime that can last for years.
5- The Iraqi quagmire should be solved even if we to talk one on one with all factions involved.
6- Israel and Palestine struggle is due for resolution.
7- Iran has the right to have nuclear energy. However, it has to stop the rhetoric against Israel and declare the right of of existence of Israel.
As you see all of the above needs wow a lot of smart politics and diplomacy. It is very easy to make wars and very tough to make peace.

Tactics in doing politics:
1- To show force with no intimidation.
2- To make every side feel that you are in their side or right in the middle.
3- To make every side to feel he is a winner despite the fact that every one knows he has to make concessions
4- To make them know the seriousness of commitment.
5- To make the public force move in your direction.
6- To find the real peacemakers who really enjoy making peace and make them your players.
7- To believe there are roles but to every role there is exceptions.
8- To know that what gets people into wars most are confrontation and anger. So you do your best not to be confrontational and know how to suppress your anger or turn it into just policies.
9- To make them know the importance of your existence as a nation or a negotiator and that how every thing can collapse if you take off and leave them with bad outcomes.

Accepting the messiahship of Jesus (Y'shua) ,

From: www.jews-for-allah.com

Accepting the messiahship of Jesus (Y'shua) , albeit without the Christian theology.

by Misheal Abdullah Al-Kadhi

Many people believe "Messiah" to be a mystical Biblical term which had been reserved by God from the beginning of time as a direct equivalent of "only begotten Son." For this reason, when they see that Jesus is referred to in the Bible as "The Messiah" they immediately translate this to mean "The Son of God." In order to clear up this misconception, let us first define the true meaning of the word Messiah and then show it's exact usage in the Bible.
The word "Messiah" is the English version of the Hebrew word mashiyach {maw-shee'-akh}. The literal meaning of this word in the Hebrew language is "to anoint." In our present day, it is customary for those who are appointed to high office (ie. the President of the US, Supreme Court justices, etc.) to attend a solemn ritual wherein that person is consecrated into office. During this ritual, certain rights of passage or ascension must be performed, such as repeating a solemn oath and so forth. Once such rituals have been successfully completed, only then is that person considered to have officially received the rights and obligations of this office.
In a similar fashion, in ancient times it was a common practice among the Jews to "anoint" those who were appointed positions of high authority. If we were to read the Bible we would find that every priest and king of ancient Israel was "anointed" by their people as a sign of official consecration to office. Further, we find that it was not at all uncommon for inanimate objects and even pagans to be "anointed." For example:
Solomon:
1 Kings 1:39 "And Zadok the priest took an horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, God save king Solomon."
David:
1 Samuel 16:13 "Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah."
Jewish priests:
Leviticus 4:3 "If the priest that is anointed do sin according to the sin of the people; then let him bring for his sin, which he hath sinned, a young bullock without blemish unto the LORD for a sin offering."
Cyrus the pagan:
Isaiah 45:1 "Thus saith the LORD to his Messiah, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut;"
A pillar:
Genesis 31:13 "I [am] the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, [and] where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred."
The tabernacle:
Leviticus 8:10 "And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that [was] therein, and sanctified them."
A cherub:
Ezekiel 28:14 "Thou [art] the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee [so]: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire."
Sick people:
Mark 6:13 "And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed [them]."
Jesus anoints a blind man
John 9:6 "When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,"
When this word was translated into ancient Greek, the words used were "Messias" {mes-see'-as} and "Christos" {khris-tos'} (see John 1:41, 4:25). This is where we get the word "Christ" from, it was originally derived from the Greek word for "anoint." Jesus was indeed "christened," or "anointed," or "baptized," by John the Baptist before the beginning of his ministry as seen for example in Matthew 3:16 among many other verses.
This is not to say that just because the word "Messiah" was applied to others that it was not a specific designation for Jesus. It only goes to show that this title does not imply a position as "Son of God."
For example, all of the prophets of God are "friends of God," however, only prophet Abraham received this title as an official designation for himself (James 2:23). In a similar manner, all of the prophets of God in ancient Israel were all "anointed" prophets, however, as an official designation, this title was reserved exclusively for Jesus. This is indeed confirmed in the noble Qur'an:
"And the angles said 'O Mary, Allah gives you glad tidings of a Word from Him, his name is Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, High honored in this world and the next, of those near stationed to Allah." The noble Qur'an 3:45

Who Saves ?

From: http://www.jews-for-allah.com/

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Some Christians have told me that Jesus has turned their life around, in that they were once lost, now they are found. In that they were drunkards, drug users, abusers, and that Jesus has made them change their wicked ways.
That is Wonderful, this is similar to Prophet Muhammad ending the evil practices of burying newborn girls alive besides other vices for many from the past to the present.
For the Christians who Strive to be like Christ and try to live a righteous life, that is great. Though there is another group of Christians, the _kind_ who use Jesus as a scapegoat, an excuse to do evil. The Christians who *assume* Jesus bore all of their sins and that they are free to sin [indiscriminately].
Those Christians have obviously not reflected upon Scripture. Jesus himself repeatedly states that we are accountable for our own actions.
Then there are the third type of Christians, the Christians who know Jesus, though their impulses to be unrighteous are too strong, and they submit to the temptations to drink alcohol, use drugs, and commit adultery, and even worse.
For everyone who is confused about the Trinity and who want to achieve a higher level of Spirituality, this is an invitation for you to know Allah , who is Allah ?
In Aramayic, the original language of Christ, Jesus called God "Alayho"
Moses in Hebrew called God "Elih"
Muhammad in Arabic called God "Allah"
Allah is the God of Abraham, our Creator, our Resurrector.
Allah is the Arabic name for God as in the Christian Arabic Bible, verses (Genesis 1:1 , John 3:16 , Luke 1:30 , Luke 3:38 , Matthew 19:17 .....) , the name "Allah" is used to mean God.
I am not asking you to switch Gods , I am asking you to know our God more , Love our God more , Respect our God more .
Not split and fractionalize our God up into three , or make various contradictory statues of God.
Allah can give you the added strength and the Faith you need to be on the Right Path, how do you know Allah ? We know, hear and reflect on Allah through the Holy Quran and through prayers.
"And they worship besides Allah things that hurt them not, nor profit them, and they say: "These are our intercessors with Allah". Say: " Do you inform Allah of that which He knows not in the heavens and on the earth"? Glorified and Exalted is He above all that which they associate as partners with Him." (Holy Quran 10:18)
In my experiences, Allah is Greater in saving us from the addictions of this world, and helps to heal the past wounds, Through giving us additional Hope and Faith, if you love Jesus, that is great, you can continue to Love Jesus, but worship the Creator of Jesus, Allah .
Allah gives us bountiful knowledge and spiritual guidance in the Holy Quran, the Final Testament.
In the Quran, you can know God directly without any intercessors or middle men filtering from you the power, strength and connection with God.
God loves you, God is the most forgiving and most merciful. Christianity claims God did not forgive the actions of Adam for millenniums , while Islam teaches Adam was forgiven the same moment Adam repented, and that death is a natural cycle , not a prolonged curse from our Loving God .
Believe in a Loving God of Abraham , one who does not need blood to forgive , one who Judges each individual fairly.
Believe our God is All Powerful , who sees and knows all of our Actions.
The tithing taking Church has conceived the notion that Jesus is the only Savior, but Jesus himself, the Servant of Allah, displayed with his words and actions for those who seek knowledge, that he was a sign from the true Savior, Allah.
Jesus *warns* of entire nations falling into Hell (Mt 23:33-36), Allah *saves* entire nations from Hell. (Holy Qur'an 12:110)Allah Protects His apostles,"So Allah protected him from the evil (consequences) of what they planned" (Holy Koran 40:45)" So naught was the answer of (Abraham's) people except that they said: "Slay him or burn him." But Allah did save him from the Fire. Verily in this are Signs for people who believe." (Holy Koran 29:24)Jesus gives No protection to his apostles; Jesus afraid people may discover him says;"He [Jesus] said unto them [the disciples], But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of God. And he straightly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing." (Luke 9:20 and 21)Jesus, to even further clarify for us that he is not our Savior, infront of the crowd, asked Allah to Save him"And he [Jesus] said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible to thee; remove this cup from me; yet not what I will, but what thou wilt." ("Mark 14:36)Jesus asked our Creator to be his Savior from death, symbolized as "this cup" in Mark 14, undisputedly revealing that Jesus can not be our Savior if he himself prayed for a Savior. even Jesus's disciples knew Jesus does not protect or save, when mere men (soldiers) arrested Jesus, the disciples decided to abandon Jesus and not seek protection in Jesus;" Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled." (Matthew 26:56)While Prophet Muhammad (descendant of Prophet Abraham) knows Allah saves;Muhammad was sitting under a tree when a pagan with a sword approached him to kill him, the pagan asked 'who will protect you', Muhammad replied "Allah", at this moment, the pagan lunged forward at Prophet Muhammad tripped on a stump and dropped the sword which Muhammad picked up and gave it back to the pagan and asked the pagan, "who would have protected you", the pagan replied 'no, one', from that day on, the pagan became a Muslim and one of Prophet Muhammad's closest companions. (Volume 5, Book 59, Number 460: Narrated Jabir bin 'Abdullah)
To Save is also to preserve , the God of Abraham has preserved the final and completed message to us , the Holy Quran . The Holy Quran has been kept the same word for word for 1,400 years , while each month a different Bible is produced .
Finally we come to Salvation in the After life, above we have addressed Salvation on earth, now we will focus on who will save us in the next world.
Whether or not you agree that Allah is our Savior, this will perhaps explain why we Muslims take Allah as our Savior rather than Jesus, so at the very least you understand the thinking behind the actions of the second largest religion in the world and the fastest growing religion in the world "Islam"
One reason we believe Allah is our Savior and not Jesus, is because Jesus throughout the entire New Testament , never stated "I am your savior" or "I will save you from Hell". While on the other hand, Allah throughout the Old Testament and the Final Testament (The Holy Quran), stated we will be saved from Hell through the Grace of Allah.
In fact, Jesus even denied being our Savior;
NEW TESTAMENT
" Not every one who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enterthe kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Fatherwho is in heaven . " Matthew 7:21
"And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone." [Mr 10:18]
" I have come to cast a fire on the earth; and what will Iif already it has been kindled? " Luke 12:49
If Jesus was our Savior, then at the very least, Jesus would know when the day of resurrection was, yet Jesus plainly denies this;
"But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels inheaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." [Mr 13:32]
While the Creator of Jesus, the God of Abraham in the Old Testament and the Quran offers us absolute Salvation:
OLD TESTAMENT
"For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your SAVIOR....It is I, the Lord; there is NO SAVIOR BUT ME..." (Old Testament Isaiah 43:3 &11)
"You shall know that I, the Lord am your SAVIOR, your REDEEMER, the mighty one of Jacob." (Old Testament Isaiah 60:16)
FINAL TESTAMENT (HOLY QURAN)
"But Allah will deliver the righteous to their place of salvation: no evil shall touch them, nor shall they grieve." (Holy Quran 39:61)
"For those who believe and do righteous deeds, will be Gardens; beneath which rivers flow: That is the great Salvation" (Holy Quran 85:11)
"As for those who repent, reform, and proclaim, I redeem them. I am the Redeemer, Most Merciful." (Holy Quran 2:160.15)
Now you have Allah who states He will save you, and you have Jesus who states he will not save you, who would you take as a Savior ?
Allah Saves, through my daily reading and searching through the Gospel, not once have I found a verse where Jesus states he will save us from the Fire, while it is abundant in the Holy Quran that Allah has the Power to save us from Hell:
"And hold fast, All together, by the Rope Which Allah (stretches out For you), and be not divided among yourselves; and remember with gratitude Allah's favour on you; for ye were enemies and He joined your hearts in love, so that by His Grace, Ye became brethren; and ye were on the brink of the Pit of Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus doth Allah make His Signs clear to you: That ye may be guided." {Translation of the Holy Qur'an 3:103}
This is one of the reasons that Muslims declare Allah is our Savior, study Islam with an open mind and heart, learn what Allah can do for your soul.
"They say: "Become Jews or Christians if ye would be guided (To salvation)." Say thou: "Nay! (I would rather) the Religion of Abraham the True, and he joined not gods with Allah." (Holy Quran 2:135).

Blogger comment:

I agree totally with Jews For Allah about the God's salvation:
1- God is the savior.
2- He does not work alone. He will redeem us if we to work with him for that.
3- The strongest thing about our redemption is Satan. He uses all the self-serving temptations as whose God is right that of Muslims, Christians or Jews. Who is the country to control and prevail. How we get the best of the world resources to us, our children and our grandchildren. Even evil temptations to oppress people and silent them.
4- So there is no way to attain our redemption except by knowing his tricks and learn for Islam how to deal with him as God taught us.
5- Three persons are described in Islam at end of time who have large things to do with our salvation.
6- The first the Mahdi who will instruct people to the way of God's redemption and what is his plan is. People would have faith he speaks right and is guided by God. They will follow him as he proceeds.
7- As he succeeds and God's plan is close to be completed the Antichrist would appear in the world scene to try to ruin it.
8-`God will send Jesus the messiah who would through the power of God will conquer the anti-Christ and with Al Mahdi and they will accomplish God's plan of salvation and the kingdom of God will be established in the earth.

Rethinking Islam from Pakistan to Texas.

From: Harvard Gazette.

Rethinking Islam from Pakistan to Texas
Scholars emphasize viewing Islam in historical, political context
By Ryan Z. Cortazar FAS Communications

Two Harvard professor are spearheading a new initiative aimed at defeating "a clash of ignorances," a clash, they affirm, that perpetuates misunderstanding, prejudice, and fear between Muslim and Western societies. Fueled by widespread global illiteracy about the nature of Islam and Muslim civilizations, this clash has dangerous implications for nations that are increasingly becoming multireligious and multicultural in character. Traversing the world from Texas to Pakistan and Boston to Kenya, Ali Asani and his colleague Diane L. Moore are helping secondary school teachers recontextualize Islam and provide new interpretations and understandings of the religion to teens throughout the world.
"By empowering secondary school teachers with new insights into the nature of religion in general, and Islam in particular, we aim to cure the emerging generation of the cultural myopia that afflicts much the world's current views on Islam and the cultures of the peoples that practice it," said Asani, professor of the practice of Indo-Muslim languages and cultures at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Moore is professor of the practice in religion and secondary education at the Divinity School.
Central to the program is Asani's cultural studies approach. Instead of viewing Islam merely through doctrinal texts, devotional practices, or interpretations of the Koran, Asani stresses the importance of drawing from a deeper well of historical, political, and economic contexts to understand how Islam developed in the Arabian peninsula and spread throughout the world, adapting to indigenous customs and cultures.

Ali Asani thinks that Islam has been misunderstood.
He points to the currently limited approach to Islamic studies as a reason for common misunderstandings. "Among the world's great religions, Islam is often seen as the exception, especially in terms of scriptural interpretations," Asani asserted. "People cull the Koran for inflammatory passages and immediately proclaim Islam a violent religion and the source of terrorist violence, but the same doesn't happen with similar bloody passages in the New Testament or Torah because we understand these religions as phenomena occurring in a broader culture. The idea that Muslims commit violence solely because of their religion strips them of their history, their cultural, political, and historical contexts, and ultimately leads to their dehumanization. Part of this project is to help understand how religion functions in Muslim societies and how it does not function. Everything that happens in a Muslim majority society or that a Muslim does cannot be naively attributed to Islam."
To this end, Asani has created a set of educational modules intended to provoke new and innovative understandings of the religion. Starting with lessons on the life of Muhammad and leading into Islamic Modernism and its struggle to adapt to growing Western and international influences, Asani provides teachers with readings, contextual sketches, and discussion questions to lead groups throughout the process. While Asani communicates with the teachers via Internet message boards and visits each of the four international sites to give lectures and elucidate readings through cultural and artistic artifacts, the bulk of the study is done through independent discussion groups moderated by the teachers themselves in a program that typically lasts six months.
At the end of the program, Asani and Moore facilitate discussion among teachers on how to craft their own curricula on the study of Islam and Muslim societies that emphasize the new cultural framework as well as a pedagogical approach that stresses educational independence and a breakdown of the traditional teacher-student construction in order to encourage a more free-flowing dialogue.
"In order for this system to really thrive, it must be a multilevel conversation with students voicing their own insights alongside those of the teacher," Asani said. "If this program is to have any success on the future world's understanding of Islam, we must encourage the next generations to engage in critical thinking on this topic to stimulate conversation, not suppress it."


Copyright 2007 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College

Mahdi Al Muntazer or The Antichrist? : Flip The Coin.

Before Jesus second coming, both Muslims and Christians through interpreting the prophecies of their religions, believe of the coming of a world leader to stay for about 7 years or so. See how amazingly the prophecies are the opposite in both religions:
1- For Muslims he is the Mahdi (The Awaited Divinely-Guided One) and for Christians the Anti-Christ.
2- For the Muslims he will pave the way to Jesus. For Christians he is the enemy of Jesus.
3- There is time of tribulation during part of this period Christians think it is done by the Antichrist but Muslims believe it is due to people are going afar from God and undermining his invitation to come back to him.
4- Both agree he is a Political leader. For Muslims he will bring peace and Justice to the world. For Christians he would bring a false peace and chaos to earth.
5- The rupture that would occur as he comes to world politics is thought to happen where Christians will meet Jesus in the air (interpretation of the sudden absence of the church in the book of revelation). Muslims interpret that as Christians will voluntarily convert to Islam ( God Knows better).
So who is right.
1- A simple way to know that is to flip the coin.
2- However , to know with a much higher probability is to examine the Quran. If it is from God the Muslims are right , if it is false and not truly from God Christians are right.
3-The other way is to examine his message if it is like that of Jesus he is pro-Christ if the opposite he is the anti-Christ.
Make the thinking yourself no one will take your place in heaven or will give you his.
4- The third way is to go through the prophecies of both religions and compare it by the current geopolitics of the world.

If you still feel lazy just flip the coin and see what he turns to be.

Transforming Concept Of One God.

We find that the universe is like a superbly written, fascinating book - can it be without an author?

From: www.islamicity.com

By: Khurshid Ahmad

Tawhid is a transforming concept that constitutes the essence of the teachings of Islam. It means that there is only one supreme Lord of the universe. He is omnipotent, omnipresent and the sustainer of the world and of mankind. Now can one observe the inexhaustible creativity of nature, its purposefulness, its preservation of that which is morally useful and destruction of that which is socially injurious, and yet fail to draw the conclusion that behind nature there is an all-pervading mind of whose incessant creative activity the processes of nature are but outward manifestations? The stars scattered through infinite space, the vast panorama of nature with its charm and beauty, the regular waxing and waning of the moon, the astonishing harmony of the seasons - all of these point towards one fact: there is a God. We witness a superbly flawless plan in the universe - can it be without a planner? We see great enchanting beauty and harmony in its working can they be without a creator? We observe wonderful design in nature can't be without a designer? We feel a lofty purpose in physical and human existence - can it be without a will working behind it? We find that the universe is like a superbly written, fascinating book - can it be without an author? Truly, God said: O, Mankind: worship your Lord, Who created you and those before you, so that you may ward off evil; Who has made the earth a resting place for you, the sky a canopy and Who causes water to pour down from the heavens, thereby producing fruits as food for you. So do not set up rivals to God, when you know better. (Quran 2:21-22) This is the basic tenet to which Muhammad asked humanity to adhere. It is an important metaphysical concept and answers the riddles of the universe. It points to the supremacy of law in the cosmos and the all-pervading unity behind the manifest diversity. It presents a unified view of the world and offers the vision of an integrated universe. It is a mighty contrast to the piecemeal views of the scientists and the philosophers and unveils the truth before the human eye. After centuries of groping in the dark, man is now coming to realize the truth of this concept, and modern scientific thought is moving in this direction. But it is not merely a metaphysical concept: it is a dynamic belief and a revolutionary doctrine. It means that all men are the creatures of one God and that they are therefore all equal. Any discrimination based on color, class, race, or territory is unfounded and illusory. It is a remnant of the days of ignorance that chained men down to servitude. Humanity is one single family under God, and there can be no sanction for those barriers. Men are one - and not bourgeois or proletarian, white or black, Aryan or non-Aryan, westerner or easterner. Islam gives us a revolutionary concept of the unity of mankind. The Prophet came to unite humanity on the word of God, which says: Cling firmly together by means of God's rope, and do not be divided. Remember God's favor towards you when you were enemies; He united your hearts so that you became brothers because of His favor. (Quran 3:103) This concept also defines the true position of man in the universe. It says that God is the Creator and the Sovereign, while man is His vicegerent on the earth. This exalts man to the noble and dignified position of being God's deputy on earth and endows his life with a lofty purpose: to fulfill the will of God on earth. This will solve all the perplexing problems of human society and establish a new order wherein equity and justice, as well as peace and prosperity, will reign supreme. The starting point of Islam is the belief in the oneness of God (tawhid).

Excerpted from Islam Basic Principles & Characteristics by Professor Khurshid Ahmad

Why I Can Not Be The President Of USA?

By: Maged Taman

When I made Taman Health Plan which takes care of all the Americans main problems for generations to come : health care, Medicare, Medicaid, Social security and Pensions I teased the American politicians by sending this plan to over 70 main organizations in USA in health care, long term care, economics and politics.

I knew at that time it will reach them and indirectly I let them know that is my reward is to have a large plan to restructure the Arab and Muslims world as I did to them with my Taman Health Plan. I was hoping to see a plan that fight dictatorship, corruption and eradicate extremism. That was few months prior to the 2004 presidential election when this happened. People at that time were wandering if I am a presidential candidate, dropped from the sky or sent by God. The last one was my choice.

The attention I got allowed me to express to them my ideas through the newspapers. Since they felt that I am going strongly against the Arab tyrants they kept my name secret as one of the last kept secrets in America. They were tape wiring my phones even before I realize that which allowed them to be certain that I have no connection to any political organization what so ever.

Through this http://www.commonsensemessiah.blogspot.com/ and this website I continued to communicate with them politicians, media and intellectuals. I think some people believe I am guided by God others think I should be seeing a psychiatrist. If you are following my story from day one you will believe the first if you are just jumping in you will assume the second. If you go through my Taman Health Plan ( http://www.trafford.com/ ) you will now that God talks to me or I am a real genius. I believe the first. If you ask many well known American politicians or media commentators about me they will not be able to give you a straight answer.

Others may even thought or felt I may have a political ambitions to be the president of USA one day. These are the reasons that I can not be:
1- No one asked me, thank you.
2- I would create millions of enemies to me inside America and outside.
3- If I belong to one party about 25% of the other party will hate me even if I dance for them the Samba, the Rumba or the Lebanese Debka. If I am independent I may even get more hate votes.
4- I would be likely paralysed from making major decisions by the interest groups, the competing party or the people who would like to keep the status quo of the world.
5- The media will find stories to attack me and will pick on everything I say or do.
6- I forgot I am not even an American and I just got my green card.

So what is my ambitions? , please read again this article it is the same to spread democracy and eradicate corruption and terrorism from the Arab and Muslims world.
Who do I give Taman Health Plan to? the American people.
Who would get the credit for the plan? the American politician who would make major positive changes in the Arab and Muslims world.
What I get for myself? the same thing God gave me the Taman Health Plan for: I would see new Arab and Muslim generations living in prosperity, democracy and peace.

Who will be this American Politician? the one who will be the next Ronald Reagan.

Post 9/11, Islam flourishes among US blacks

From: www.islamicity.com

Reuters Monday, 26 February 2007

ATLANTA: Islam is growing fast among African Americans, who are undeterred by increased scrutiny of Muslims in the United States since the September 11 attacks, according to imams and experts.
Converts within the black community say they are attracted to the disciplines of prayer, the emphasis within Islam on submission to God and the religion's affinity with people who are oppressed.
Some blacks are also suspicious of US government warnings about the emergence of new enemies since the 2001 attacks because of memories of how the establishment demonised civil rights leaders Martin Luther King and Malcolm X.
As a result, they are willing to view Islam as a legitimate alternative to Christianity, the majority religion among US blacks.
"It is one of the fastest-growing religions in America," said Lawrence Mamiya, professor of religion at Vassar College, speaking of Islam among black Americans.
He said there were up to 2 million black US Muslims but acknowledged there are no precise figures.
"It's not viewed (by authorities) as a threat because the numbers are small and once we get past the war on terror and all the negative images then it will continue to spread."
Black Americans typically attend mosques separate from Muslims from immigrant backgrounds despite sharing common beliefs, according to Aminah McCloud, religious studies professor at DePaul University in Chicago.
But imams in Atlanta, a US centre for black Muslims, said they were subjected to less scrutiny than Muslims from the Middle East and Indian sub-continent.
Many blacks converted during the civil rights era, when Malcolm X helped popularise the Nation of Islam, attracting boxer Muhammad Ali among others. Islam still attracts prominent blacks such as rapper Scarface, a recent convert.
But the Nation of Islam has declined as a force at the expense of an association of mosques led by Warith Deen Muhammad, the son of Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad, who died in 1975.
At a street-corner mosque in one of Atlanta's oldest and poorest neighbourhoods, a recent Friday sermon illustrated the power of the history of Islam in the United States for blacks.
Men and women sat separately on the mosque floor, heads covered, as cleric Nadim Ali recounted stories from history of Muslim slaves brought from Africa who struggled to uphold their faith in the face of slaveholders' opposition.
If Muslims could remain true to Islam under slavery, the audience should follow their example, Ali said at the Community Masjid of Atlanta in the city's West End district.
"You are talking about a people who were cut off from their roots . . .. Islam reconnects you with Africa and with other parts of the world so your peoplehood transcends race," Ali said later in an interview.
The mosque has a direct link to a slice of black history. It was founded by H. Rap Brown, a one-time member of the 1960s Black Panthers group. Brown became a Muslim in prison in the 1970s and changed his name to Jamil al-Amin.
He was convicted for killing a sheriff's deputy in Georgia in March 2000 and is serving a sentence of life without parole, but in his absence the mosque has continued what Ali said was the low-profile work of building a local Muslim community.
The mosque teaches there was no distinction between Sunni and Shi'ite within Islam, according to people who attend regularly. Sermons urged Muslims to find work, stay free from crime and drugs and maintain stable family lives.
Ali said he assumed the mosque was bugged and infiltrated by informers, in part because its leaders remained skeptical about US policies since Sept. 11.
"They (the government) unplug black people and plug in Arabs or Muslims. They unplug Arabs and plug in communists. America needs war to maintain its economic status," he said.
The larger Masjid of al-Islam mosque in another mainly black neighbourhood of Atlanta is part of Warith Deen Muhammad's group. Its imam, Plemon el-Amin, said he was involved with local interfaith work as well as with a local Islamic school.
One recent Friday, Mark King, a new convert, and hundreds of others at the mosque listened to a preacher urge Muslims to seek God through the Koran. Followers of other faiths should seek God through their own holy books, the preacher said.
King, who wears his hair in dreadlocks, converted after visiting Africa for the first time and in Gambia read the Koran and realised its teaching chimed with his own beliefs, not least in fighting injustice.
"For young African Americans, there is some attraction to learning about traditions that have been associated with resistance to European imperialism," said King, who has adopted the name Bilal Mansa since his conversion.

Women "Surge for Peace"

Omnibus Peace Bill Needs House Sponsors to "Bring Our Troops Home"

It's time for Congress to exercise their oversight authority and pass BINDING legislation to deal with the costly and deadly situation in Iraq. After last week's pros-and-cons marathon in the House, they finally passed the "non-binding" resolution opposing the troop surge by a vote of 246 to 182. Now it's time to get serious. We must urge, no demand, that our Representatives co-sponsor H.R. 508, introduced by Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.), a comprehensive plan to disengage from Iraq within 6 months after enactment and make reparations for the damages that our invasion and occupation have caused to Iraq's people and infrastructure.
Take Action NOW
NOW members and millions of others have voiced their opposition to the war and the occupation of Iraq, both in the streets and at the ballot box. Yet President Bush affirmed his plans to send over 20,000 additional troops to Iraq in his State of the Union address. Last month, Representative Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.) and members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus fought back by introducing the binding Bring Our Troops Home and Iraq Sovereignty Act, H.R. 508. Others have introduced similar bills, including Reps. McGovern and Nadler and Senator Feingold, but NOW supports H.R. 508, the most comprehensive of these measures.
Our cumulative voices and support must be heard in order to win our women's "surge for peace".
Take Action NOW
Details:
This comprehensive bill not only ends the occupation of Iraq and repeals the now infamous vote that allowed us to invade Iraq, the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002. It also puts U.S.-trained security forces and military operations into the hands of the elected Iraqi government within 6 months of the date of enactment. H.R. 508 supports U.S. soldiers by funding health care commitments to returning veterans. To prevent future abuses of power by the president, this bill prohibits funding for any more troops in Iraq, and bans permanent U.S. bases there.
So far the Iraq invasion and occupation has cost U.S. taxpayers almost 400 billion dollars, plus the unknown cost of rebuilding Iraq and the future physical and mental health services needed for returning troops. This enormous outlay of public funds not only racks up debt for future generations, but also re-allocates money that should be used for domestic human needs programs, including expanding education, healthcare, and support for Katrina victims to name a few.
By continuing his ill-advised war, Bush is prolonging the physical, psychological and economic suffering of women and their families. Tens if not hundreds of thousands of women, men and children -- both soldiers and civilians -- have been killed, injured, and sexually abused in Iraq. Rape and abduction of women and girls increases significantly under military occupation and perpetrators are rarely apprehended and prosecuted in such a violent and hostile environment. Families are destroyed, and women and children are left as refugees.
Bring Them Home and Help Rebuild Iraq: Take Action NOW

Blogger Comment:
I was one of the supporters of the war before it was started, in my bedroom watching my little TV. I was hoping for democracy in this area and punshing Saddam for crimes against humanity. President Bush and the Neocons had good intentions when they launched the war. However, they did not predict how tough it could be. Though many in the Arab and Muslims world doubted the intentions of Americans given the chronic wrong policies in the area I trusted their intentions at least some of them. To know how much it is complicated the Saudi and other regimes who secretly supported the war or was helping anyway did not want it to be an easy walk. The Muslim and Arab world should have taken the lead to stop this sectarian violence. Going out of Iraq although has its problems it looks a must do now. I think we made it a part of war in terror and it was not and should not be. I do think the war on terror should not be personalized. I think we should not negotiate with jihadis/terrorists and meantime we should drastically change our policies in the area. I was watching a conference recently about Jihahdis we are playing into their plans. They want the major part of Islamic pyramid to engage in the war against the west through provocation of the west to conduct unjust and disgusting acts against Muslims. In my country we have a proverb "pull the rug from under their feet". Violence creates counter violence and hardliners invite hardliners. Playing nice and calling for peace is not embarrassing it is the message of Jesus if we to read the bible. It is like a good and strong cop, bad guys fear him and he keeps peace while smiling to the children in the streets.

The Land of Canaan should be a Place of Peace and Reconciliation for all True Religions

BY: HARUN YAHYA

The place referred to in historical sources as "the land of Canaan" is where currently Palestine and Israel reside in. This is a blessed land of many holy sites, a land where many prophets have lived and called on their peoples to believe in God's existence and unity. For this reason, the land of Canaan is sacred to the peoples of the three divine religions, in other words, Muslims, Jews, and Christians. This sacred place which brings together representatives of the three religions of the book is extremely important in terms of knowing the common elements of their religions and their faith in one God, whereby they love and respect each other.
In the Qur'an, God presents Jews and Christians as People of the Book, as well as explaining to Muslims in detail what their responsibilities towards them are. People of the Book are aware of the sacred and the profane, and base their moral practices on divine inspiration from God. According to the morality preached by the Qur'an, and the practices of our Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace), it is required that Muslims treat Jewish people and Christians with love, care, tolerance, and respect. The call of Muslims to Jews and Christians is revealed thus in the Qur'an:
"We believe in what has been sent down to us and what was sent down to you. Our God and your God are one and we submit to Him." (Qur'an, 29:46)
This call makes it very clear what Muslims' point of view towards the People of the Book is: We live according to the moral principles professed by our holy books by respecting the limits made clear by God, by loving and respecting the messengers sent by our Lord, and by having faith in one God. Which is why we are beholden to treat each other with care, understanding, respect, and love.
We All Love and Respect the Same Prophets
Muslims have faith in all of the prophets which have been sent. They believe in the holy books sent to people by prophets in the past. One verse of the Qur'an explains this as follows:
Say, "We believe in God and what has been sent down to us and what was sent down to Abraham, Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes, and what Moses and Jesus and all the prophets were given by their Lord. We do not differentiate between any of them. We are Muslims submitted to Him." (Qur'an, 3:84)
Prophets Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, Aaron, David, Solomon, John, Jesus, and Moses (peace be upon them all) are as important to Muslims as they are to Jews and Christians.
The respect of Jews for Moses (pbuh) who is also a prophet of ours and their close bonds with him over thousands of years are very important to sincere Muslims. The great love of Christians for Jesus (pbuh) and their heartfelt attachment to him is of similar importance to Muslims. Of course those who feel love and respect for Prophets Jacob, Isaac, Ishmael, Abraham, Lot, Ayyub, Moses, Jesus, John and other prophets (peace be upon them all) are highly valued people for whom naturally Muslims will feel love and affection and approach with understanding and compassion. Anything opposing this is not possible.
We Should All Live in Peace in Canaan, the Land of Prophets
All believers desire in their hearts, and reap great joy from this, that the people who believe in the same prophets should live in security, love and peace in the land of Canaan - and in fact throughout the entire world. The children of the three divine religions - Prophet Ishmael's (pbuh) children, the Muslim Arabs, Prophet Moses' (pbuh) children, the Jews, and Prophet Jesus' (pbuh) children, the Christians - should be able to live as they desire in the land of Canaan. Jews, Christians and Muslims should be able to practice their religions as they want there, and should be able to live their lives in peace and comfort there, without any fear. It should be the common ideal for all believers.
The land of Canaan is the land of the ancestors of Christians, Jews and Muslims, the descendants of Prophet Abraham (pbuh). Their ancestors have lived and died on this land. Just as their ancestors did, they have the right to worship, live life, and reside in these lands. In these lands - as in the rest of the world - nobody can interfere with them or their worship, limit their movements or place restrictions on them. This is an order from God to all believers in the Qu'ran. All the sacred places and the homes in which the name of God is remembered are under the protection of our Lord. The obligation of the believers is to protect these places where God's name is remembered and believers worship to gain the pleasure of God. God tells us in the Qu'ran:
Those who were expelled from their homes without any right, merely for saying, "Our Lord is God" (if God had not driven some people back by means of others, monasteries, churches, synagogues and mosques, where God's name is mentioned much, would have been pulled down and destroyed. God will certainly help those who help Him - God is All-Strong, Almighty). (Qur'an, 22:40)
But the reality is that because of some radical elements among these three religions, attempts to spread clash and chaos, instead of peace and security, in these sacred lands are common and believers are being dismayed. This is not, however, an acceptable situation. Killing people or trying to remove them forceably from their land are actions anathema to the beliefs of Jewish and Muslim people. It is such an attack on the lineage of the prophets that any true person of faith, either Muslim or Jewish, could not accept it. An attempt to wipe out Prophet Jacob's (pbuh) line is a kind of wrongdoing every truly faithful Muslim would be against. At the same time, attacks whose aim is to wipe out the line of Prophet Ishmael (pbuh) can clearly not be allowed. All true believers must make their attitude known clearly regarding this Dajjal-like (Antichrist-like) game constructed on violence and aggressiveness. It must not be forgotten that Muslims, Jews and Christians should not be fighting against each other, but should be engaged in an intellectual struggle against the threat to all of our societies, irreligion and atheism. All Muslims, Christians and Jews who love God and the prophets should guard against this danger.
With so much strong threat of atheism, materialism and Darwinism in the world today, Jews, with their ties to Prophets Abraham and Moses (peace be upon them), and their faith which has lasted thousands of years, are very precious to Muslims. In the same way, Christians all over the world expressing their faith in God, and their love for Prophets Jesus and John (peace be upon them), are very precious to Muslims. It is a thing of joy for Muslims to see their faith and ties to Jesus (pbuh) over two thousand years. Which is why true Muslims should want from their hearts for Jews and Christians to have stronger faith, and to love God more. Conclusion
The land of Canaan should not be one where Jews and Palestinian Muslims live in fear and terror. Muslims and Jews should immediately put an end to the cruelty, the politics of terror, the oppression, in short the violence. All believers in the religions of the book should be able to live on these lands in comfort, tranquility, safety and peace and lead prosperous lives. There is no place for enmity in the morality prescribed by God. The answer is to be individually determined on friendship, affection and compassion, seeking God's good pleasure without any expectation of reward. In the Qu'ran God tells us that superior morality will destroy enmity:
A good action and a bad action are not the same. Repel the bad with something better and, if there is enmity between you and someone else, he will be like a bosom friend. None will obtain it but those who are truly steadfast. None will obtain it but those who have great good fortune. (Qur'an, 41:34-35)
The example of the history shows us that in these lands it is possible to re-establish a system open to respect and affection in which every group can live in safety and in freedom such as the one which operated through the vision of the Ottomans. As Muslims, it is one of our greatest desires that the Jews should live and trade freely in the land of their forefathers, cooperate freely with other nations in the political, commercial and artistic fields and be free to worship wherever they wish. In the same way, it is extremely important to provide all the means that the Palestinian Muslims should have freedom of movement in the lands of Israel, in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and be able to worship in peace and that they should live in brotherhood with the Jews.
God willing, within a very short time better and brighter days will come when all Christians, Muslims and Jews will live in brotherhood. With the power of sincere faith it will be possible to achieve a world in which peace, security, goodwill and affection hold sway. This is a promise from God to all true believers. Our Lord gives the good news to the faithful in the Qur'an thus:
God has promised those of you who believe and do right actions that He will make them successors in the land as He made those before them successors, and will firmly establish for them their religion with which He is pleased and give them, in place of their fear, security. They worship Me, not associating anything with Me. Any who disbelieve after that, such people are deviators. (Qur'an, 24:55)

Corruption: an evil Arab governments are sticking to

From: http://www.dailystar.com/

By Sufyan Alissa
Commentary by Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Are economic and political reforms an effective way to combat corruption, or do changes such as privatizing state industries actually increase opportunities for corruption? There is not a single answer to the question, but a closer look at the types of corruption that are endemic in various Arab states and the nature of current reform policies can help explain how reform and corruption interact.
There are three main types of corruption in the Arab world. The first is petty corruption such as that of a policeman in a country such as Syria taking a bribe to forgive a traffic offence. The second is massive corruption, which plagues the economies of many countries in the region, especially in the Gulf. This type of corruption takes place during multi-million-dollar contract negotiations between state officials and business leaders to secure business deals. A good example of such corruption is arrangements by BAE Systems PLC, Britain's biggest and most influential arms company, during the Al-Yamamah arms deals in the 1980s with Saudi Arabia. British Prime Minster Tony Blair intervened directly to stop a probe under the pretext of protecting British national interest - an example of how Western powers reinforce corruption in the Arab world.
The third type is political corruption, which is difficult to pin down but plagues the economic health of most countries in the Arab world. Political corruption is the use of economic deals and benefits to reward political allies, which invariably leads to massive diversion of public resources to unproductive activities. It also leads to elite resistance to reform programs that would level the business playing field.
The causes of corruption vary across Arab countries, but are often linked in one way or another to state intervention and the structure of economies and public sectors. In the Gulf countries, much of the corruption stems from the lack of transparency and procedures to guarantee competition in government procurement and contracts. Another problem is the absence of strong enforcement mechanisms for anti-corruption laws, which allows corrupt senior officials to escape any real punishment. The best example of such failure is Bahrain, which has useful anti-corruption laws but weak state enforcement. A similar problem exists in Iraq.
In the Levant and North Africa, large-scale bribery, embezzlement, and fraud are linked to the structure of the public sector and the nature of relations between the government and the economy. The Khelifa Bank case, the largest corruption probe in Algeria's history, involving some $2 billion, is an excellent example of corruption in state institutions. Corruption in Syria, Jordan, Egypt, and Lebanon is also caused by the lack of proper standards of good governance, low salaries for civil servants, and the failure to introduce substantial institutional reform in the executive and legislative branches of government.
Ultimately it is the nature of reform efforts that determines whether they will inhibit or facilitate corruption. Thus far, many governments have opted for uncontroversial programs that aim to promote regime stability rather than transform economies or polities. Within such limited reforms programs one cannot expect that corruption will be significantly reduced; rather, corruption may increase and hinder the effectiveness of reforms.
Fighting corruption requires a real change in the distribution and disposition of institutional power to prevent the people who benefit from the current economic and political arrangements from using their political power to gain privileges at the expense of the public interest. As yet there is little evidence that Arab governments are willing to go that far.
Sufyan Alissa is an associate at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut. This commentary is reprinted with permission from the Arab Reform Bulletin, Vol. 5, issue 1 (February 2007) www.CarnegieEndowment.org/ArabReform (c) 2007, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Bloger Comment:
That is why the Arab governments would resist major changes. To combat corruption as Sufyan mentioned we would need real change. These are some of the measures:
1- Real free elections.
2- Strong free and responsible media that is not under the oppressive hands of government, parties or interest groups. We need real independent media that is honest and responsible that allow the ordinary people to get all the facts even the hidden one.
3- Get the hierarchy of government built well from the top with the honest guys in the top of governments.
4- To have fewer but more well paid jobs within the government.
5- Good banking system that allow financial aids to go directly to the hands of people and not through governments.

How Can We Convert Muslims To Islam?

By: Maged Taman

It sounds funny, but believe me I am serious. If we are eager as Muslims to spread Islam we have first to convert ourselves to Islam. Someone would tell me who in hell are you to say that. I would say I am chosen to say that and if I am chosen to say that, it means you are guys very bad (just kidding). Sorry can not resist not to crack a joke even when I am serious, that is me. Let me first tell you what diseases we have in Muslim world:

1- Selfishness: everyone is running in his own direction caring only about himself or his close family member. This worked well for the tyrants since we are not willing to get together to oppose them.
2- Envoy: we are rather see each other fall rather than we see all of us climb high together. This is a human disease since God created man but is particularly common now. Even you can find it in religious leaders that why we are not one heart.
3- Isolated or inward spirituality: this what usually Arab governments want us to have a spirituality isolated from real life. They do not care about morals or religious awakening they are interested to protect their kingdoms. A lot of Muslims have good spirituality and spent a lot of time in worshipping God, but they do not take it a step further to get Islam applied in out daily relations and have our leaders abide by the justice of Islam and fear corruption.
4- Extremism: I can understand the anger and resentment of Muslims. The thing I do not understand is how extreme measures would solve our problems.
5- Street Morals: the morals of Islam is replaced in daily life of Muslims in many places by street morals. Sayings of these street morals: look for your interest, the kind people spit on him, divide and you prevail, the world is like a sea a big fish eat the little ones, the thing you win with play with and so forth.
6- Hopelessness: In my country when I used to express my frustrations about what state we are in people would say the common proverb "are you the one who will change the world".
7- Blaming America and Israel: there were wrong policies from America and we took Israel an enemy and they did the same in return.
8-Competition: people still in the Arab and Muslim worlds do not realize that there is a difference between ambition, competition and envy. The first two are healthy the last one is detrimental not only for others but for ourselves. You find in a lot of work places people make one another life miserable though their real interest is to have each of them happy and successful. Our GDP (gross domestic product an economic measure is the collective input of all of our productions) similarly our real GDP is happiness is a collective one. If each of us is happy the world will be full of happiness. When people watch a play many times they laugh more for sharing their laughs than the actual jokes of the play.
9- Shia and Sunni against one another: In Islam there is only one sect at time of the prophet: Muslims and it should remain the same. The family of Muhammad (PBUH) are great but he would never accepted that we divide in two sects because of them.
10- Anti-Christians or Anti-Jews: it has no place in Islam. Satan want us to be all enemies.

Thus to Convert Muslims back to Islam:
1- We become less selfish and look after the others and our collective welfare.
2- Overcome envy that make us too selfish to see others succeed and destroy our big dreams.
3- To have outward spirituality means that you decide to live with God not only in your isolated self but as he want you to do it in our daily and political lives.
4-Moderation: Islam is the religion of moderation. As the west opens the dialogue to us we would be able to change the world for better.
5- Islamic morals: the Islam we inherited from the prophet and his first companions gave us the straight path and the real morals that were displaced by street morals.
6- Hopefulness: yes we can change the world. There is no single person that can change the world the most he can do is to call our minds and hearts to the lost message of God for the real understanding of his message, justice and peace. He is not necessarily better than us but he cared enough to make the call.
7- Reconciling with America and Israel: not from a stand of the weak or oppressed but from the stand of the wise and free.
8- Coalition: we should not compete to destroy ourselves but we should work together to improve the cause of Islam, humanity, justice and peace.
9- We should be one sect again Muslims. How we can unite the world if we are dividing ourselves.
10- Christians and Jews are not the enemies but the enemy is within. We can be a great nation again we can win America and secure Israel. If there is Caliphate it is not which city it will be in but what it would do for humanity.

Prophets: Perfect Model for Humanity.

From: www.islamicity.com

By: Saiyid Sulaiman Nadwi IslamiCity* -

History has preserved the life-stories of men, thousands in number, who had achieved eminence in one field or the other. All of them have left their imprints on the pages of history. There are amongst them emperors surrounded by the splendor of royal courts, an array of military commanders and generals, philosophers lost in their thoughts, mighty conquerors intoxicated with power, poets singing to cheer their own solitude with sweet songs and the affluent rolling in riches . All of them have attraction of their own for the sons of Adam. Whether it be Hannibal of Carthage, or Alexander of Macedonia, or Caesar of Rome, or Darius of Iran, or yet Napoleon of France, the life of each has a fascination for the posterity. Similarly alluring are the lives of all philosophers from Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and Diogenes of the ancients to Spencer of England. Even the lives of Nimrod and Pharaoh, Abu Jahl and Abu Lahab and Korah depict yet another trait of human nature and character; but the question is, who amongst these, can be deemed as a model of goodness and virtue fit to be followed by other human beings? Great generals and conquerors, indeed were they, who swept everything before them by their sword, but did they also succeed in leaving an ennobling example of their lives to be followed by others? They had won brilliant victories, but were they able to cut the shackles of superstition and credulous beliefs? Did they solve any social problem besetting equality and brotherhood of human beings? Did they succeed in restoring our moral and spiritual health and happiness or in eradicating the faults and failings of our desires? Did they present any model of moral rectitude and decorous behavior for the posterity?World has given birth to great poets. But, these were painters of fantasy, merely starry-eyed utopians unfit to be assigned any place in the Republic of Plato.There have been sages and philosophers who have plumbed the secrets of nature beyond the limits of perception and changed the concept of things and materials. They have, nevertheless, failed to produce any blueprint for the practical guidance of humanity. For their flight of imagination lacked practical wisdom, they could never provide man with any guidance in the discharge of his obligations. Aristotle was the precursor of ethical philosophy now studied in every university. His brilliant exposition of ethical impulsions is esteemed highly both by the learned and the learners, but how many of them have been able to betake the path of virtue by reading his dissertations? Teachers well-versed in ethical philosophy can be found almost in every institution of higher learning, who know all about its premises and principles, but has their impact been ever felt beyond their class-rooms? On the contrary, we find that very often their conduct and behavior are no better than those of the man on the street. To walk in the right path one has not to hear the sermons but to see the living examples of cardinal virtues.Powerful kings and emperors have also appeared on the stage of this world. They have extended their dominions, played with the life and property of their fellow beings, extracted wealth through taxes and tithes from some and bestowed their bounties on others. They have demeaned on to exalt the other. The Book of God presents, in the words of the Queen of Sheba, this rare picture of their doings on the earth:"Lo! kings, when they enter a township, ruin it and make the honor of its people shame." (Quran, 27:34)The swords of mighty kings have hanged over the heads of criminals in thoroughfares and market places, but they have failed to reach the guilt concealed in the minds and hearts of men. They have enforced law and order in the habitations and townships, but the kingdom of spirit has ever been beyond their reach, or, rather, their own courts and castles have been the breeding dens of moral confusion and spiritual anarchy. What else have the kings like Alexanders and Caesars left for us? How many lawgivers has the world seen from Solon to this day? Their laws were not only short-lived but also failed to cleanse the hearts and purify the morals. Subsequent rulers always placed a new set of laws on the statute book, albeit more often to further their own interests than to enforce the rules of equity. The world has not changed even today. Still, the legislatures in every country make and unmake laws endlessly, but seldom their labors are for the benefit of the people whom they profess to represent. It is more the interest of the powers that be which they seek to promote.
The prophets adorn and illuminate the soul of man: the zealous preachings of Noah, the unshakable principle of God's oneness upheld by Abraham, the patrimony of resignation to Divine will bequeathed by Isaac, the self-sacrifice of Ishmael, the indefatigable efforts of Moses, the faithfulness of Aaron, the self-resignation of Jacob, the lamentations of David, the wisdom of Solomon, the litanies of Zachariah, the chastity of John, the piety of Jesus, the penitence of Jonah, the strenuous exertion of Lot and the endurance of Job have made the life of man winsome and bright
These are, broadly, the higher sections of society which could be expected to work for the welfare of humanity. If you give further thoughts to the matter you would see that whatever light of goodness and virtue you find in the world today, it owes its existence to the pure-hearted souls whom you know by the name of prophets and messengers of God. Wherever you come across compassion and justice and a sincere desire to alleviate the sufferings of the poor and the downtrodden, no matter whether these are found in the cave of a mountain or a dense forest or a populous city, they are due to the call given by one of these men of God. The Quran tells us:"There is not a nation but a warner hath passed among them." (Quran, 35:24)"For every folk a guide." (Quran, 13:7)The lustre of their teachings is to be found today in every country and nation; savages and the civilized people of the world are both equally indebted to them for edification of their souls. Of all the groups of men we have mentioned afore, the most august are they, for they rule not over the bodies of men like the kings, but their authority is enshrined in the hearts of the people. Their kingdom is not of lands and countries, but of hearts and spirits: they do now wield the sword, yet they obliterate the stains of guilt and iniquity at one stroke; they are not dreamy-eyed songsmiths, yet the sweetness of their speech delights the soul; they are neither senators nor law-makers, yet the laws given by them regulate the conduct of statesmen and judges, kings and subjects from age to age. This is not a question of faith or conviction but a matter of fact and history. One has to see whether it has actually been so or not. The edicts of Patliputra's Ashoka are engraved on the pillars of stones, but those of the Buddha are inscribed in the hearts of people. The decrees of the rulers of Ujjain, Hastinapur, Delhi and Kannauj are no more to be found today, but the Dharma Shastra of Manu still prevails. The statutes of Hamurabbi, the King of Babel, have long been buried under the dust, but Abraham's teachings are still alive! Pharaoh's imprudent demand to pay divine honors to him was a transient as the clouds, but Moses still lives in his teachings. How long did the laws of Solon remain in force, but the laws of Torah are still the measure of justice! The Roman Law which persecuted Jesus Christ became extinct long ago, but the doctrines of love that flowed from the lips of Jesus still redeem the wrongdoers and wash them of their sins. The Abu Jahls of Mecca, the Chosroes of Iran and the Caesars of Rome are all dead and gone, but the Lord of Madina still rules over the hearts of people in every part of the world.If these facts are correct, one would have to concede, not on grounds of faith, but through reason and logic of stubborn facts, that no other class of people except the prophets has worked for the welfare and happiness of mankind in its truest sense; theirs was the endeavor consisting of virtue and goodness, purity of heart, moderation and temperance. They all came to this world as messengers of God to preach the gospel of Truth and Faith, and they left their footsteps of righteousness to be followed by the coming generations. It is from their teachings alone that the rulers and the ruled, the rich and the poor and the learned and the illiterate can derive equal benefit."That is Our argument. We gave it unto Abraham against the folk. We raise unto degrees of wisdom whom We will. Lo! thy Lord is Wise, Aware. And We bestowed upon him Isaac and Jacob; each of them We guided; and Noah did We guide aforetime; and of his seed (We guided) David and Solomon and Job and Joseph and Moses and Aaron. Thus do we reward the good. And Zachariah and John and Jesus and Elias. Each one (of them) was of the righteous. And Ishmael and Elisa and Jonah and Lot. Each one (of them) did We prefer above (Our) creatures, With some of their forefathers and their off-spring and their brethren; and We chose them and guided them unto a straight path. Such is the guidance of Allah wherewith He guideth whom he will of His bondmen. But if they had set up (for worship) aught beside Him, (all) that they did would have been vain. Those are they unto whom We gave the Scripture and command and prophethood. But if these disbelieve therein, then indeed We shall entrust it to a people who will not be disbelievers therein. Those are they whom Allah guideth, so follow their guidance." (Quran 6:84-91)These luminous verses of the Quran speak of a particular group among men, some of whom have been mentioned by name, who had been sent to cure the spiritual ailments of mankind and restore its moral health. They were men, holy and angelic in spirit, who preached the word of God in different times and climes and in every land. Whatever of moral rectitude and righteousness, purity and chastity man possesses today, it is all their legacy, and in following their footsteps alone lies the salvation and well-being of humanity. The prophets adorn and illuminate the soul of man: the zealous preachings of Noah, the unshakable principle of God's oneness upheld by Abraham, the patrimony of resignation to Divine will bequeathed by Isaac, the self-sacrifice of Ishmael, the indefatigable efforts of Moses, the faithfulness of Aaron, the self-resignation of Jacob, the lamentations of David, the wisdom of Solomon, the litanies of Zachariah, the chastity of John, the piety of Jesus, the penitence of Jonah, the strenuous exertion of Lot and the endurance of Job have made the life of man winsome and bright. To these consecrated souls can be traced every virtue and goodness found in the world today.There is, however, no denying the fact that culture and civilization, progress and improvement, in short, everything that has contributed towards the welfare and material progress of mankind and helped man to raise himself to the level of vicegerent of God on earth, has been brought about by the combined effort of all men. Astronomers have discovered the movements of heavenly bodies, chemists have found out the properties of substances, physicians have searched the medicines for curing diseases, architects have developed the science and designs of structures and artisans have give birth to useful crafts and fine arts, and all of them have thus a share in the making of our world. We ought to be thankful to all of them. Nevertheless, we are even more obliged to offer our thanks to those who have decorated the world within us. They are the physicians who have cured us of our greed and envy, diagnosed the ailments of our souls and refurbished its lost energy and vigor. They elaborated our behavior patterns and aptitudes, ideas and intentions and showed us the way of attaining purity of heart and sublimity of spirit. It was through the efforts of these God moved souls that the cultural attainments were refined and embellished, the link between man and God, the slave and the Lord, was established. How could the world have attained its excellence if we had been denied the knowledge received through prophetic teachings? We are, verily, indebted more to these men of God than to any other class or group of person. This is the compliment due to the prophets of God and it ought to be paid by all of us whenever their name comes on the lips of anyone. And, this is the benediction taught by Islam to be offered for them: "O God! Have mercy and peace on all of them."

Excerpted from the book "Muhammed, the Ideal Prophet" by Saiyid Sulaiman Nadwi. He was a student of Allama Shibli Nu'mani whose masterpiece, Sirat-Un-Nabi, he edited and presented to the world after his teacher's death. Book can be ordered from www.amazon.com