VOICE OF GLOBAL UMMAH

VOICE OF GLOBAL UMMAH

Volume 112, January 5, 2010

Editors: Haji Mohamed & Hajira Rashida Ziauddin
St. Louis, Missouri, USA

In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent and the Most Merciful

(Special thanks to Sister Najmunisa Yusuf from Chennai, India who responded to our earlier issue in her below Letter to Editor)

SAMPLE OF "LETTERS TO EDITOR":

"Referring to 'Voice of Global Ummah' dated December 29, 2009, I wish to air my views freely. Reading through your article I recall how medical students dissect cadaver to study human anatomy because you have dealt with the topic with precision minutely sifting thoroughly part by part. There is so much logic, intellect and Islamic focus that prods the minds of the readers. I was enchanted and reflective when my eyes were drawn to the tail end of your issue which alluded to the anecdote relating to a professor who taught his pupils concepts in a very playful way punctuated with volumes of thought provoking display like 'The Mayonnaise Jar'. It was mind boggling when we consider the possibilities arising while commenting on it.

While viewing through the prism of Islam I consider golf balls to be 'Takwah' which is the guiding factor that prevents us from becoming animals or wealth and luxury seekers while we live, Takwah has many meanings like piety, fear, keeping away etc to name a few. The golf balls could be compared with insulators which prevent us from getting shocks. Definitely people who have Takwah would never indulge in violent acts or be the transgressors . It is the very essence of our faith. Pebbles are needed to live a full life which can be in the form of profession, shelter, clothing and other essentials of day to day life. Sand signifies waste or rather the remaining dregs found in a tea cup after tea is taken. Sand is akin to gossip, greed, jealousy, anger etc which ruin our chances to do good. I consider two cups of coffee to be the icing of the cake of life as it is the relationships and human to human interaction which makes our lives colourful and enjoyable. Just imagine how you feel relieved when you share your joys and sorrows or disappointments over a cup of coffee with your friends or relatives. It cements our bonds and help us to sit together and discuss things in which we agree or differ and work out the solutions or spread awareness or knowledge. I would like to get feed back from other esteemed readers which mirrors their perspectives.

My hats off to your thought provoking articles which deal with current topics and not mundane things. May Allah bless us to carry on with such online interaction and expand its scope engulfing many more of our brothers and sisters". (Najmunisa Yusuf)

EDITORIAL:

Global ummah is composed of a very diverse community of Muslims of various sects, nationalities, races, ethnicity's, languages and cultures. Despite the differences, our common love for Almighty Allah and beloved Prophet Mohamed (SAW) binds us all together as Muslims.

We hope the global ummah retains the original message of our beloved Prophet Mohamed (SAW) in its purest form, in terms of global ummah being ONE SINGLE MUSLIM COMMUNITY. The overemphasis on issues relating to sects and their subsequent differences are work of the Shaitan and today, the daily sectarian violence, bloodshed and killing of innocents due to sectarian violence is the PRICE THAT WE MUSLIMS ARE PAYING for deviating away from our beloved Prophet Mohamed (SAW) emphasis on ONE SINGLE UMMAH. Needless to say, for the Shaitan, seeing such self destruction within the UMMAH is literally "party time".

The Holy Quran is the torch with which the Ummah should ideally move forward in the darkness of this world. The importance given by Muslims to man-made sects should not be given priority over the gems of the Holy Quran. When the focus of Muslims swings from the Holy Quran to the differences between the sects, it goes without saying they care a hoot about the importance of saving human lives nor having the ability to FORGIVE, instead they follow the principle of EYE FOR AN EYE and there realistically may be no immediate end in sight for the continued spiraling of ongoing sectarian violence across the world specially in Iraq and Pakistan.

From above perspective, we as a (editorial) couple consider ourselves as NON-DENOMINATIONAL MUSLIMS which frees us from our rigid attachment to any particular (made-made) sects and allows us to concentrate all our efforts to retain and reinforce our commitment to the word of Allah through the Holy Quran and our beloved Prophet Mohamed (SAW) original wish of a single universal brotherhood of Muslims. We acknowledge that above may sound idealistic.

We still urge all Muslim brothers whether Shia or Sunni or any other Sect or group to focus on the common points of what we Muslims as ONE UMMAH have and move away from focusing on our sectarian differences.

When dealing with differences within the Global Ummah it is sometimes a challenge to strike a balance between being tolerant, accomodative and open-minded versus having zero tolerance to issues that may impinge on the basic civil right of any human being on this planet specially as it pertains to the helpless children.

(A young boy has his head cut with a ceremonial sword during the festival of Ashoura, when faithful Shiite Muslims show their grief over the 7th-century killing of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, Imam Hussein, in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Dec. 27, 2009.AP Photo/ Karim Kadim)

One of such rights is the right of a child to be protected and physically safe under the care of their parents and/or elders. When such a basic right of a child who really cannot freely speak for himself is violated, then of course we DO HAVE A MAJOR PROBLEM with such blatant child abuse. We stand to oppose any such violation regardless of whichever Muslim sect practices it- be it Sunni or Shia or any other Sect.

It is not an issue of sectarian difference here, it is an issue of BASIC RIGHT OF A CHILD TO BE RAISED FREE OF DELIBERATE PHYSICAL HARM INCLUDING BLOOD LETTING (may we add on an annual basis). This also includes the parents and elders who encourage, coax or in any other way influence the child (includes infant/preteen/teenagers) to voluntarily hurt and mutilate self.

(A Lebanese child cries as he is cut in the head during Ashoura day in the southern market town of Nabatiyeh, Lebanon, Sunday, Dec. 27, 2009. Sunday's commemorations marked the climax of Ashoura, the yearly mourning period in which Shiite Muslims remember the seventh century death of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, Imam Hussein, in a battle in the central city of Karbala.
AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

(Shi'ite Muslim scratches the forehead of a child during an Ashura procession in New Delhi December 28, 2009. Ashura, which falls on the 10th day of the Islamic month of Muharram, commemorates the death of Imam Hussein, grandson of Prophet Mohammad, who was killed in the 7th century battle of Kerbala.
REUTERS/Reinhard Krause)

(A Shi'ite Muslim boy drinks water as he flagellates himself during an Ashura procession in New Delhi December 28, 2009. Ashura, which falls on the 10th day of the Islamic month of Muharram, commemorates the death of Imam Hussein, grandson of Prophet Mohammad, who was killed in the 7th century battle of Kerbala. REUTERS/Reinhard Krause )

What we are referring here specifically is physical injury to a child during the holy occasion of Ashura. If the same action of a father physically injuring a child occurs in the United States, it would be considered a criminal act with possible consequence of the father being punished to the fullest extent of the law possibly including a limited jail time.

We do realize and have very deep respect for the sad and holy occasion of Ashura. However we strongly believe that such an important occasion is NOT A LICENSE TO PHYSICALLY HURT A CHILD OR COAX A CHILD TO HURT HIMSELF UNTIL HE BLEEDS.

(Shiite Muslim worshippers flagellate themselves to mark the Muslim festival of Ashoura, when faithful show their grief over the 7th-century killing of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, Imam Hussein, in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Dec. 26, 2009. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

(A Shi'ite Muslim boy flagellates during an Ashura procession in Karachi December 28, 2009. Ashura, which falls on the 10th day of the Islamic month of Muharram, commemorates the death of Imam Hussein, grandson of Prophet Mohammad, who was killed in the 7th century battle of Kerbala. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro)

(Shiite Muslim worshippers flagellate themselves to mark the Muslim festival of Ashoura, when faithful show their grief over the 7th-century killing of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, Imam Hussein, in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Dec. 26, 2009. AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

WE VERY SERIOUSLY AND RESPECTFULLY REQUEST THE GLOBAL, NATIONAL AND LOCAL SHIA LEADERSHIP TO RECONSIDER THEIR EXPRESSION OF GRIEF INVOLVING INNOCENT, IMMATURE CHILDREN and come up with alternate peaceful expressions of grief.

Paradoxically, to the relief of the Shia kids, the Shia children in the the United States and other Western Countries would find more safety and protection from such involuntary harm compared to the helpless Shia children in Muslim countries. It is really a very sad commentary on the State of Muslim Affairs that have been polluted by cultural and sectarian values. WE WOULD LIKE TO REMIND THE GLOBAL UMMAH, THAT SUCH HARMFUL PRACTICES ARE MAN-MADE (and by default are subject to ERROR) and it definitely is not the WORD OF ALLAH.

We are prepared to get hate mails and even possible death threats, but as Muslims we believe that such harm to children is DEAD WRONG and is a form of GROSS INJUSTICE which must be peacefully addressed, sweetly confronted and passionately fought at all levels even if it means risking our own lives in the process of defending the basic rights of our helpless Muslim children.

(A Muslim boy cuts himself with a knife during a Muharram procession to mark Ashura in Mumbai December 28, 2009. Ashura, which falls on the 10th day of the Islamic month of Muharram, commemorates the death of Imam Hussein, grandson of Prophet Mohammad, who was killed in the 7th century battle of Kerbala. REUTERS/Arko Datta)

(An Indian Shiite Muslim boy flagellates himself during Ashura procession, in Jammu, India, Monday, Dec. 28, 2009. Ashura, which falls on the 10th day of Muharram under the Islamic lunar calendar, is one of the most important holy days for Shiite Muslims. It marks the death of Islam's Prophet Muhammad's grandson Imam Hussein. AP Photo/Channi Anand)

(A young Shiite Muslim worshipper flagellates himself to mark the Muslim festival of Ashoura, when faithful show their grief over the 7th-century killing of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, Imam Hussein, in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Dec. 26, 2009. AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

As we had indicated in the past, the global ummah should first clean its own backyard before pointing its finger to the WEST. We have no short supply of anti-islamic elements repeatedly associating ISLAM and its propensity to VIOLENCE and BLOODSHED. Such VOLUNTARY ENCOURAGEMENT OR SELF-MUTILATING BRUTAL ACTION shockingly by their own fathers / elders only help to confirm the accusation by anti-islamic elements of above association between Islam and Violence - "We told you that Islam is a religion of violence. They hurt and kill not just the infidels but also hurt themselves and their children if the infidels are not around. That's what, Islam is about - blood and violence".

Needless to say, we DO NOT AGREE with the anti-islamic elements false assumptions but at the same time, we ask WHEN ARE THE MUSLIMS REALLY GOING TO TRANSLATE IN THEIR ACTIONS AS A COMMUNITY, THE DEEDS (THAT ISLAM REALLY STANDS FOR) - (A) DEEDS THAT INDICATE PEACE, (B) DEEDS THAT ARE FREE OF VIOLENCE & BLOODSHED (C) DEEDS THAT REFLECT TOLERANCE, UNDERSTANDING AND UNIVERSAL HARMONY ?

SUPPORTIVE PEACEFUL EXPRESSIONS OF GRIEF:

(Shi'ite women mourn during an Ashura procession in Istanbul December 26, 2009. Thousands of Shi'ite Muslims gathered in Istanbul's Halkali district to commemorate the Ashura religious festival, the day when Imam Hussein, one of Prophet Mohammad's grandsons, was killed near the Iraqi city of Kerbala in 680 AD. REUTERS/Murad Sezer)

(Shi'ite girls shout Islamic slogans as they mourn during an Ashura procession in Istanbul December 26, 2009. Thousands of Shi'ite Muslims gathered in Istanbul's Halkali district to commemorate the Ashura religious festival, the day when Imam Hussein, one of Prophet Mohammad's grandsons, was killed near the Iraqi city of Kerbala in 680 AD. The portrait (C) is of Hadrat Ali Ibn Abu Talib, son-in-law of Prophet Mohammad. REUTERS/Murad Sezer)

(A Shiite Muslim worshipper wears a headband with the words 'Hussein you are my eyes,' during the festival of Ashoura, when faithful show their grief over the 7th-century killing of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, Imam Hussein, in Najaf, 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of Baghdad Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Dec. 26, 2009. AP Photo/ Alaa al-Marjani)

Our inter-continental flying kisses to all Muslims across the world be it Shia, Sunni or other Islamic sects or groups. This whole issue is not about Shia Versus any other sect, but about the basic rights and protection of a child that one has come to accept and taken for granted in the 21st century.

WE CALL FOR GLOBAL MUSLIM UNITY. ALL SHIAS AND SUNNIS ARE OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS. We pray for each and every Shia and Sunni victim of sectarian violence. The global ummah should unite under ONE BANNER OF ISLAM and WE ARE MUSLIMS FIRST AND MUSLIMS LAST.

May Allah keep the global ummah away from the shaitan who is hell-bent on division and self-destruction of the Ummah through various ways including igniting and stroking the fires of sectarian violence and extremism. Last, but not the least, our heart goes out to all the Muslim children of the world, who continue to face pain and hardship in various ways due to forces clearly beyond their control.

May Allah guide all of us in the true path of Islam following the gems from Holy Quran and May Allah keep the Global Ummah united despite all challenges that we face in the contemporary 21st century.


THE END