FITAN

Domestic Violence in the Muslim Community

The following friday khutbah (sermon) delivered by Hesham Hassaballa, as part of a nationwide effort to focus on domestic violence by muslim Americans today.

We praise ALLAH, the Almighty, the Precious Beloved. All praise is due to Him. We seek refuge in the Lord from the evil tendencies of our selves and from the evil of our actions. We bear witness that there is nothing worthy of worship except ALLAH alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (pbuh) is ALLAH’s Messenger and Servant.

Whomever ALLAH guides can never be misguided. Yet, whosoever ALLAH leaves to stray can never be guided aright except by His leave. We ask the Precious Beloved to send down His Mercy, His Prayers, and His blessings upon Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), upon his family, his companions, and the Muslims everywhere. Amen.

By now, everyone has heard of the truly outrageous and barbaric murder of Sister Aasiya Zubair, the estranged wife of the CEO of Bridges TV, who was found brutally beheaded in the offices of that TV station. Allegedly, her husband has confessed to her murder, and the incident has sent shockwaves all throughout the Muslim community in America.

Of course, the haters of Islam and Muslims are all over this, claiming that this is expected from Islam and Muslims. That contention is completely false. Domestic violence is a problem that transcends race, culture, color, and religion. It is a scourge that contaminates every society and socioeconomic status. It is a stain on the human condition, and to blame Islam for it is totally unfair.

Nevertheless, it is irrefutable that there is a big problem with domestic violence in the Muslim community. Refusing to say so in the interest of “not saying anything bad about Muslims” will not make it go away. It is, in fact, treason to the Muslim community, as one of the first things one must do in order to cure a disease is to recognize that the ailment exists in the first place. Denial is deadly.

The brutal and barbaric murder of sister Aasiya is a wake up call to our community that something must be done about domestic violence, and it must be done now. And it is a horrific state of affairs that such a brutal event had to take place in order to jolt the Muslim community into action.

Let us reflect over what marriage is supposed to be about. True, it is the vehicle through which sexual desire is legally satisfied. But that is a very small part of marriage. To get married is to enter into a contract with another human being to form the unit through which society is strengthened and the next generation is nurtured. The family unit is sacrosanct in Islam, and this sanctity begins with marriage.

And in the Qur’an, the images of marriage are ones of peace, harmony, love, and tranquility. In chapter 30, verse 21, it says: And among His signs is this: that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that you may dwell in tranquility with them, and He has put love and mercy between your [hearts]: verily in that are signs for those who reflect.

ALLAH describes it as a sign, or miracle, that He gave us mates from among ourselves. The Arabic word of the verse is taskunu: meaning a place where someone feels at “home,” as the word for home, sakan, comes from the same root word.

In another verse, the Qur’an describes spouses thus: They are your garments, and you are their garments. (2:187) What does a garment do? It protects one from the elements of heat and cold; it hides the faults that are hidden below the garment; it covers what should not be seen by others; and it also adorns and makes the wearer beautiful. That is the perfect description of what spouses do for one another.

Domestic violence and spousal abuse completely destroys that Qur’anic standard of love, mercy, tranquility, and protection. It betrays everything for which Islam calls in a marriage. It is blatant disobedience to ALLAH Almighty.

What does one try to accomplish by abusing his or her spouse? Achieving power? Achieving domination over another human being? Are they trying to enslave another human being? Why abuse one’s spouse? What logical explanation can there be?

There is no logical explanation. Spousal abuse – whether mental or physical – is totally and wholly unacceptable. Period. End of discussion.

Power lies only with the All-Powerful: All power belongs to ALLAH, and to His Messenger, and to those who believe… (63:8) True power does not come from dominating your spouse. No! True power comes from believing in God, being from among the believers, and following His commands and those of His Messenger (pbuh).

To those who abuse their spouses: Are you better than the Messenger of ALLAH (pbuh)? Do you think the advice of the Beloved Prophet (pbuh) was not worthy enough? Was his example not shining enough?

The Prophet (pbuh) said in a hadith: “Could any of you beat his wife as he would beat a slave, and then lie with her in the evening?” In another hadith, he said: “Do not beat the female servants of ALLAH.” The Prophet (pbuh) never beat or struck any of his wives or children. It never happened. Is this not a good enough example for all of us?

Indeed, there will arise disputes among husband and wife. Yet, no matter how difficult the dispute may be, physical violence can never, ever, ever be an option. Never.

All of this that we discussed is on an individual level – between husband and wife. On a community level, we must get extremely serious about the issue of domestic violence. There must be zero tolerance for domestic violence. If any sister comes forward and claims to be in fear for her life at home, she must be take with the utmost of seriousness. She must be supported, protected, and the claim must be investigated.

There is no shame upon them if they come forward and report abuse, and they must not be made to feel ashamed. Our imams and community leaders must not tell the sisters to “be patient” with an abusive husband. Our communities must establish strong ties with social service organizations that help the victims of spousal abuse, and there are several excellent such organizations right here in Chicago as well as across the country.

We must teach our children, especially our young men, that to be a “man” does not mean beating one’s wife into submission. That is not a measure of strength, but rather profound and pathetic weakness. The Prophet (pbuh) said, “The strong man is not one who can wrestle someone to the ground. Rather, the strong man is the one who can control himself when he gets angry.” We all must heed this Prophetic wisdom.

If we know that a man is an abuser, he must not be allowed to marry again and continue the cycle of abuse. Imam Mohamed Hagmagid Ali of the ADAMS center in Virginia first made that call, and I echo it. Sister Aasiya was the third wife of her accused killer, and the two other women filed for divorce because of spousal abuse. How could this be? It does not matter who the man is; if he is a abuser, and does not want to change, then he should not be allowed to marry. Period.

My heart bleeds for the family of sister Aasiya. My heart bleeds for this terrible tragedy. My heart bleeds for the countless other women – Muslim and otherwise – who endure terror at home at the hands of those who should be their best and closest companions.

And my heart burns with rage at those who think that beating their wives is sanctioned by our beautiful faith. They are terribly mistaken. Islam does nothing of the sort, and God does not accept this terrible behavior. Neither should the Muslim community.

Wake up, Muslim community! Wake up! There must never be another Aasiya Zubair. There must never be another instance of an “honor killing.” Nay, from this day forward, there must never be another spouse who goes home to a place where she does not feel safe. As Muslims, who are accountable before ALLAH on the Day of Judgment, we must eradicate the stain that is domestic violence from our community, once and for all.

AND ALLAH KNOWS BEST.

Hesham A. Hassaballa is a Chicago doctor and writer. He is co-author of the Beliefnet Guide to Islam, is Deputy Director of Illume Magazine, and blogs at God Faith Pen.

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LEADERSHIP

Leadership through Example

Dear blessed brothers,

Let us increase our taqwa to Allah s.w.t. Fulfill all of Allah?s commands and refrain from all His prohibitions. Let us continue to be guided by the Holy Quran and the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet s.a.w. in leading our religious life.

My dear brothers,

Each one of us is a leader and assumes a leadership role, whether in our families, among colleagues and friends, or to anyone else who look at us for good examples through our actions. It is thus important for us to be aware of this role that we play, whether consciously or otherwise.

Allah s.w.t created Prophet Adam a.s. as His viceregent and a leader in this world. He was also equipped with knowledge to assume that role. The prophets and messengers after him were also tasked to lead humankind to the path of God.

For example, Allah s.w.t says to Prophet Abraham a.s. in surah Al-Baqarah verse 124:

?And remember that Abraham was tried by his Lord with certain commands, which he fulfilled: He said: ?I will make you a leader to mankind.? He pleaded: ?And also (leaders) from my offspring!? He answered: ?But My Promise is not within the reach of those who are unjust.?

My dear brothers,

From this verse, it is clear that every leadership position signifies a covenant and promise to Allah s.w.t. Secondly, the basis and core of leadership is to strive for justice and fairness in delivering duties, and to refrain from being unjust and unfair in all matters and responsibilities.

Let us reflect upon the life of our greatest leader, Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. How was his leadership in his family life, within the Muslim ummah and even beyond Muslims? Suffice for us to say that he was always loved and needed by others because of his excellent character and his merciful dealings with each and every of God?s creation.

The Prophet s.a.w showed the best examples in leadership. He fulfilled the natural needs of humankind, through attributes such as trustworthiness, truthfulness, explaining the truth, and wisdom.

According to Islamic history, even before his prophethood, leaders of the Quraisy tribe had already called the Prophet as ?The Trustworthy One? or ?al-Amin? because of the Prophet?s integrity when offering his service and contributions to his society. Known as such in his community, the Prophet had created love and trust of others towards him. But he earned so because the Prophet placed his community before himself, and he was a selfless leader who only sought Allah?s pleasure and blessings for all that he did.

My dear brothers,

The Prophet s.a.w said in a hadith which means, ?Each of you is a leader, and each leader will be held accountable for what he has led.? (Hadith narrated by al-Bukhari)

So what can we learn and how can we improve in performing our leadership roles in life? For example, in our family life, each parent, say the father, will need to consider the needs of each family member fairly and not place his self-interest above the rest in making any decision. But more importantly, we must also be aware that real leadership in family life takes place through our own actions and behaviours. Our actions are being watched, especially by our children, and they take cue and model themselves after us, more than what we preach and say to them.

In our work life and in society, an effective leader is one who leads by example; the example of his acts and contributions. Infact, you may be an ordinary employee or worker, and you may not have any subordinates. Yet, if you are the most diligent or industrious, you will become an example to others, and with that, indirectly, you have become a very effective leader.

My dear brothers

So let us reflect upon ourselves and ask how have we carried out our leadership role, whether back at home, or at our work places, among friends or family? Do we hold on firmly and strongly to principles, and we pursue Allah?s pleasure and blessings, or do we place ourselves and our self-interests above everything else when we make decisions? Do we only criticise others, yet do not offer alternatives? Do we only order and command, but we do not give a helping hand to those under our charge? Have we strived to become a good example for others? In other words, do we lead through example? Let?s think about it, dear blessed congregation.

Imagine the outcome for our ummah and community, if each and everyone of us is a successful leader in his or her own right. So we ask Allah that He grant us continued guidance for us to perform our roles and responsibilities successfully in the best possible manner.

Amin.

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AL-ISTIQAAMAH

CONSTISTENCY IN STAYING UPRIGHT AND STEADFAST

Sermon given by Sheikh Usama Khayyat

All praise is due to Allah Subhana wa ta?ala, who ordered us to be balanced in spending. I praise Allah Subhana wa ta?ala and I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except him. Allah Subhana wa ta?ala made marriage from one of his signs and he made it a great blessing upon mankind. I bear witness that Muhammad SallAllahu alaihi wa sallam, is his servant and final messenger sent to mankind. He is the one who ordered mankind to declare their marriages and he also prohibited them from being extravagant in their spending on such occasions. May Allah?s Subhana wa ta?ala?s peace and blessings be upon Muhammad SalAllahu alaihi wa sallam and upon his companions.

Fear Allah and prepare yourself to seek his provisions to help you on the day of judgement. Hold onto the word of Allah Subhana wa ta?ala for indeed Allah Subhana wa ta?ala is your (mowla) protector and how good a protector he is. Oh believers, indeed celebrate the blessings of Allah Subhana wa ta?ala. Have gratitude to Allah Subhana wa ta?ala and praise him for these blessings.

And to enjoy all of these blessings which have been spoken about in our noble shariah. And Allah Subhana wa ta?ala has clarified the wisdom behind these blessings. Therefore, from the blessings of marriage, shariah has ordered us to establish the Walima or this ceremony by which of marriage, to show our gratitude towards Allah Subhana wa ta?ala.

The messenger SallAllahu alaihi wa sallam said that declare this nikah so it is known to the people. Also it has been reported in sahih Muslim and Bukhari that Abdur Rahman Ibn Awf may Allah be pleased with him, Marriage during the reign of prophet Muhammad SalAllahu alahi wa sallam said have the Walima even if it means just sacrificing one sheep. This shows the importance of the Walima. Despite all of that, you will find that many practises go against the practises of the shariah by adding to the celebrations. You will find the people go to extravagance when it comes to the wedding in spending great amounts of money on food, wedding halls etc which all go beyond the means of what is absolutely necessary. And then you find some who even wish to be extravagant even though they are people in the world who are suffering from poverty and they are going through great difficult days. Also you find some people extravagent in buying for the women, they spend great amounts of money in buying wedding clothes, jewellery etc to the extent that you find that they compete against one another in buying the most expensive wedding clothes.

With regards to women, they feel they want to be uniqu e in purchasing their dress even though it means spending ridiculous amounts of money. This makes us realise that people have forgotten the wisdom behind all these blessings and they have forgotten the one who has bestowed all these blessings on them. It is mentioned in a hadith reported by Ibn Hadan, that the Messenger SalAllahu alaihi wa sallam said that the best marriages are those which are most simple, those that lead to the facilitation of marriages. So that is the best form of marriage. And then in another hadith it mentions that one companion spent a great amount of money on his marriage and the process that is embedded as if he carved silver out of a mountain. So this shows that we find in the Shariah that there is a Prohibition of being extravagant. Allah Subhana wa ta?ala says oh children of Adam, adorn yourself in every place of pray and eat and drink but do not be extravagant and do not spend lavishly for Allah Subhana wa ta?ala does not like extravagance.

Likewise, we find other texts in the Quran and sunnah that prohibits this extravagance. For example in a Hadith quoted in the Musnaad of Ahmad Prophet muhammad SalAllahu alaihi wa sallam said eat and drink and wear clothes and give in charity but do not spend with pride and arrogance. Likewise in another hadith in Sahih Muslim noted by Abu Hurairah, the Messenger SalAllahu alaihi wa sallam said indeed Allah Subhana wa ta?ala likes three things but hates three things. As for those three things He likes, He likes you to worship none but Him and you don?t associate Shirk and He also likes that you unite together for the sake of Allah Subhana wa ta?ala and He hates that you report unnecessary statements from people, asking too many questions and wasting wealth.

So the question is how do we prevent ourselves from falling into such extravagance? Firstly we must remember that those blessings that Allah Subhana wa ta?ala has displayed upon us. We must thank Allah Subhana wa ta?ala by means of which He has shown us so we must show Allah Subhana wa ta?ala by being grateful to Him. And the best way of doing that is by adhering to the Sunnah of the Prophet SalAllahu alaihi wa sallam and that you study and look to the way that he was in terms of spending his wealth. And we find all of these event in the books of Seerah and also books of hadith. How the Prophet SalAllahu alaihi wa sallam was when it came to spending his wealth. For indeed his guidance is the best guidance that we can adhere to.

The best way that we can attain any good in this world and in the hereafter and therefore it is no surprise that Allah Subhana wa ta?ala made the prophet Muhammad SalAllahu alaihi wa sallam an exemplary example for us . As Allah Subhana wa ta?ala says in the Quran that indeed you will find in Muhammad SalAllahu alaihi wa sallam, the best of examples for those who wish for Allah Subhana wa ta?ala, and who wish for the goodness in the Hereafter.

Likewise we must also be connected with the Scholars and the people of knowledge and those who call to Islam, for they will guide us as to how we should spend our wealth in a way which is pleasing to Allah Subhana wa ta?ala. And this is one of the most effective ways in which we will be able to attain the correct knowledge and correct perspective as to how we should deal with our wealth. And as believers, we should be examples in ourselves for other people. The Prophet SalAllahu alaihi wa sallam mentioned in Sahih Muslim, whoever who introduces or revives a good deed in Islam, then he will have the reward of doing it and also have the reward of those who did that action as well. And whoever introduces an evil action into this religion, then he will have the sin of that and the sin of those who committed that act, for they heard it from him.

So we ask Allah Subhana wa ta?ala to make us of those upon the Quran and to act upon the Sunnah of the Prophet SalAllahu alaihi wa sallam. And we ask You to make us upon your servants who hear your statement and obey. Indeed they are the people of intellect. May Allah Subhana wa ta?ala make us benefit from the Quran and the Sunnah of Prophet SalAllahu alaihi wa sallam.

2ND KHUTBAH

All prays is due to Allah Subhana wa ta?ala, we thank Him, we seek refuge in Allah Subhana wa ta?ala from the evil of ourselves and from the evil of our deeds. Whoever Allah Subhana wa ta?ala guides none can lead him astray and whoever misguides Allah Subhana wa ta?ala none can guide him. I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah Subhana wa ta?ala and I bear witness that His Prophet and Messenger and slave Muhammad SalAllahu alaihi wa sallam is the final messenger sent to mankind.

Since the religion of Islam is a balanced religion that does not go to extremes, then it is therefore no surprise that we find the Shariah and Islam that prohibits the vice of extravagance in our spending. Allah Subhana wa ta?ala says, oh children of Adam, adorn yourself at every place of pray and eat and drink but do not spend extravagantly and lavishly for Allah Subhana wa ta?ala does not like those who spend in such a way. Allah Subhana wa ta?ala has also said, and give those who are close to you in charity and give to the wayfarer and do not be extravagant in your spending, for indeed those who do so, they are the brothers of the devils.

And likewise Allah Subhana wa ta?ala says do not attach to your neck, meaning that do not be stingy. And likewise do not extend your hand completely, rather you should be balanced and in between that. And the people who adhere to being balanced in the way they spend, will receive blessings in their wealth and they will purify their wealth.

We ask Allah Subhana wa ta?ala to send peace and blessings on the Prophet SalAllahu alaihi wa sallam and as Allah Subhana wa ta?ala says Allah and his Angels give prayers on the Messenger SalAllahu alaihi wa sallam. Oh you who believe, give your blessings on the Prophet SalAllahu alaihi wa sallam. May Allah Subhana wa ta?ala also be pleased with the four rightly guided Khalifs Abu Bakar, Umar, Uthman and Ali and the rest of his Companions. And also those that follow them in righteousness until the day of resurrections. Allah Subhana wa ta?ala give strength and victory to the Muslims and give strength and victory to Islam. And protect the territories of the Muslims and protect them from the mischief of the evil doers. and unite the ranks of the believer and rectify the state of the rulers of the Ummah.
Oh Allah, give victory to the religion and to the Sunnah of prophet Muhammad SalAllahu alaihi wa sallam and to give victory to your pious servants and to those who strive in your way. And rectify the state of our rulers, and make them rule by the Quran and the Sunnah. Oh Allah Subhana wa ta?ala, protect the land of the Muslims and protect them from the harms of the evil doers. Oh Allah, protect us from our enemies and your enemies. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil. Oh Allah, make our affairs end in a good way, and save us from the punishment of the hereafter. And Oh Allah, rectify our religion for us which is a means by which we protect our affairs and save us and rectify our Akhira for us and increase in good and make for us a rest from all forms of evil. And save us, oh Allah, from the destruction.

Oh Allah, we ask you for the success of doing good deeds and save us from the evils. Oh Allah, cure those who are ill from among us and have mercy on all those who have passed away. Oh Allah, we have wronged ourselves and if you do not forgive us and have mercy on us, then we will be of the losers. Oh Allah, we seek refuge in you from the removal of your mercy and to be certainly punished with a calamity. Oh Allah, give us the good in this life and the hereafter and save us from the punishment of the hereafter. May Allah?s peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah Subhana wa ta?ala and all thanks is to Allah Subhana wa ta?ala.

AND ALLAH KNOWS BEST

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PIRACY AT THE HIGH SEAS

Piracy at the high seas

All praise and adoration belongs to ALLAH and may the peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammed .

I hope that we will depart, once and for all from the style of something aching and paining and agonizing Muslims, than they go to the mosque, to hear a talk about a ritual or about a dress code or about something that is really. Not what is agonizing them in their hearts and occupying their minds. So this is a step forward and the reason is we consider that the scope of Islam goes beyond the issue of rituals or identity or declarations. The scope of Islam includes life and one of the very central core issues of Islam, is justice. So as a Muslim, you cannot, you should not, escape the fact that it is your duty to deal with injustice whenever it happens and wherever it might be.

If there is a violation of justice by Muslims or by non Muslims, close or far, a Muslim person he or she, cannot consider this politics or this is economy. Injustice is a reason for having religion, Allah in chapter Al-Hadid [57:25] says:

We have already sent Our messengers with clear evidences and sent down with them the Scripture and the balance that the people may maintain [their affairs] in justice. And We sent down iron, wherein is great military might and benefits for the people, and so that Allah may make evident those who support Him and His messengers unseen. Indeed, Allah is Powerful and Exalted in Might.

Sahih International

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

We have verily sent Our messengers, the angels, to prophets, with clear signs, with the definitive proofs, and We revealed with them the Scripture and the Balance, justice, so that mankind may uphold justice. And We sent down iron, We caused it to be extracted from mineral ores, wherein is great might, with which one may wage battle, and [many] uses for mankind, and so that God may know, a knowledge of direct vision (li-ya?lama?Ll?hu is a supplement to li-yaq?ma?l-n?su, ?so that mankind may uphold?) those who help Him, by helping [to uphold] His religion through [the use of] instruments of war made of metal and otherwise, and His messengers through the Unseen (bi?l-ghaybi: a circumstantial qualifier referring to the [suffixed pronoun] h??, ?Him?, of yansuruhu, ?[who] aid Him?), that is to say, while He [God] is not seen by them in this world. Ibn ?Abb?s said: ?They help Him even though they do not see Him? (yansur?nahu wa-l? yubsir?nahu). Assuredly God is Strong, Mighty, without any need of being helped, but such [help] benefits those who proffer it.

We have sent down the proofs and the messengers and the scale of balance, all of these, so that people can live their life according to justice & wherever there is justice, there is a manifestation of the ????? of Islam. As Ibn Al Qaim (one of the imminent scholar of Islam) said, where there is justice there is ????? which concludes that if there is no justice, there is no ????? no matter what the banner is, or what the title says, so because it is an issue of major injustice. It automatically becomes an Islamic religious issue for us, the group of British Muslims.

Other groups have also a reason to consider this their issue, but the point I am emphasising is that for Muslims in particular. This is a religious issue as far as we are concerned. Otherwise we will be reducing the religion to something that is not vibrating with life and is not affecting the lives of human beings and we are lead to so that people can establish justice and equity and we should never be confused about that.

Because I am sure that certain times in the  past, people say the Islamic centre is talking politics, this is not politics, we are talking Quran and Quran abhors injustice and considers it, incompatible with being a Muslim. So once there is a manifestation of injustice, we are trigger to formulate a stand or to articulate a statement or to take certain steps to correct it. And even if we cannot do any of that, at least in our hearts, we should abhor it. This is what our religion dictates upon us.

The first step to deal with injustice is to understand it.  If you don’t understand the issue yourself, you will not be able to form a stand that will be fulfilling your conscience as a Muslim person. So we have to understand. If we don’t understand how others will define the issue. They will say what the issue is not us and we will find ourselves sacked into their definitions. They framed the issue for us and we just play inside that frame. This is something that ought not to happen. Because simply our frames are formed by us according to the spirit and the teaching of the Quran and the model of the conduct of prophet Muhammad (??? ???? ???? ????). So we have to understand the issue and the issue should be clear.

About 4 years ago a blockade was imposed on Gaza, because the people of Gaza elected what others consider a bad government. I will not discuss a bad government or good government. This is their business & really not the business of anybody else. But because of that, an illegal blockade has been imposed on those people.

The second thing, is a collective punishment which is against all religions and all international laws, have been inflicting the civilians, the children, the innocent people of Gaza because of that blockade. In all civilized legal systems, collective punishment is illegal and should not happen. It is against the wisdom of Allah who create it life and it should not be this way.

Thirdly, there was a military attack on Gaza that demolish everything. This stands now, up to this moment I am speaking. It is the only mass destruction that have not been seriously remedied it. Even in a steps, we have Katrina, we remedied it. We have Tsunami, good effort  to correct the damage of the Tsunami. We have the oil spill, everybody is running to contain the oil spill. We have Gaza nobody dares to say, it must be remedied up to this moment and this is unique.

We Muslims have to understand that, because when they frame this issue for us, they will not frame it like that. But we frame it like that. This is the only mass destruction that no serious steps have been taken to reconstruct. So the people are still besieged and suffering because of the blockade.

They say we don’t want let materials for reconstruction to enter Gaza because it can be used to make bombs. Such outrageous and ridiculous statement passes. Because any material can be used to make bombs, matches, needles, pins, concrete, fertilizer. So what is left, they are saying we make those people starve to death or to surrender under that framing material that can be used to make weapon to be used by terrorists.

The continuity of the suffering doesn’t seem to be bothering the official world a lot. But it bothered some decent human beings. So those decent human beings got together and said we cannot sit idle like that. Let us take food, medicine and made ship houses. No matter what the consequences are. There were several trials, the Flotilla was the last one.

500 activists who are civilians, all of them, one of them is a Holocaust survivor, two of them are Christian bishops and Muslims, Jews, Christians, old and young, man and women. In other words a sample of humanity. This is not a group of religion. This is a sample of civilized humanity, decided to do what  a wise human beings should do. So they take on sea, in peace, to go to offer the help. They said we cannot live with clear conscience with this tragedy going on.

In the middle of the night and in international water, in high sea they were attacked by special forces. Those are the commanders and the helicopters and guns. More than ten were killed. More than fifty were wounded and rest of them were detained, deported, interrogated, insulted. Then, their majesty  the government of Israel decided to release them in group after group. We don’t know really the real number, but this is very important in framing.

You are celebrating that you release people that you shouldn’t have arrested them at the first place but the world swallow this false logic. It is very humiliating, if I captured me and said congratulation we are going to release you, very merciful nation indeed. This is exactly what happened. Then we look into the reaction to that event and reaction actually is more maddening than the event itself.

I want to say loud and clear that the only government that deserves honour and respect is the Turkish government. In my capacity I never praise or criticize governments, because I didn’t find the government that deserve respect. But the stand of the Turkish government, now ought to be celebrated, respected and acknowledged.

The Arab governments, I have no comments because the language I can use is not suitable for a Friday prayer. The most deserving of blame is the government of USA, because: 1) they squeezed the security council  to delete two important words, condemn, it was replaced by we feel sorry for, and deleted the word independent investigating the body, it was replaced by the word transparent investigation. In other words, Israel should investigate the event. In other words Al kaboun should investigate the Mafia. This is exactly what it is. We are the only ones we can say that, so don’t underestimate the value of your voice to America now, otherwise it will be stark.

The government of Israel came with unbelievable statements from Mr Netanyahu,  saying that, small Israel has to deal with the hypocrisy of the world, which is actually, the world has to put up with the arrogance and hypocrisy of Israel.

Our government collect tax from me and you, is still financing a criminal regime that violates every western value. It is a moment of history that is important. The west has to make a tough choice  to be the body guard of Israel or the leader of the civilized world. They have to hear that voice from us.

Whoever is not thankful to people, he is not thankful to Allah, Deputy Prime minister Nick Clegg has told Israel to lift its unjustifiable and untenable blockade on the Gaza strip asap.

And Allah knows best.

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