Imperialism And Resistance

And guess what, Franklin Graham was also born a Muslim, and every baby born in the US of A was, is, and will be born a Muslim!

See, as most Muslims know, every child is born a Muslim (i.e. in a fitri (natural) state – that is a state of surrender to Allah that is the very meaning of the word Muslim). Only through exposure to the world – our families, societies that we live in etc., that we may become a Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Zorastrian, American, Democrat, Republican, etc.

This is why sometimes Muslims who have converted from another religion, may refer to themselves as “revert” – meaning reverting to their original nature: Islam (or the way of surrender / submission to the will of Allah).

So, yes, it is true Muslims are everywhere, especially all those babies being born every day in the US.

Tags: Obama

“Never will the Jews be pleased with you, nor the Christians, unless you follow their creed. Say, Indeed it is the guidance of Allah which is the (true) guidance.” And should you follow their desires after the knowledge that has come to you, you will not have against Allah any guardian, nor any helper.” (Qur’an 2:120)

The above aya of the Qur’an should be understood in the context of those ideologically identified “Jews” and “Christians” who seek to impose their imperialist worldviews. And who will not rest in their attacks on Islam and Muslims, until and unless Muslims give up our Islam, and adopt their ideology. Repeatedly some Muslims have attempted to appease the imperialists, be it through their cookie cutter condemnations, or by becoming “moderate” “liberal” “progressive” type of a Muslim. These Muslims have still not learnt a very basic lesson of the Qur’an – that attempting to appease the oppressor will only lead to an increase in their act of oppression. Attempting to “fit in” by acting in concert with the FBI, or becoming a US State Department’s token “good Muslim” spokesperson a la Feisal Abdul Rauf (the individual who is heading up the so-called “ground zero” mosque) will end up backfiring. As Ali Abunimah said: “If the State Department could design a Muslim it would be someone like Rauf.”

We now see that for all of his attempts at becoming part of the US establishment, Feisal Abdul Rauf and his project have been vilified not only by the extreme Right but also by many so-called “liberals.” Abdul Rauf has been repeatedly sent to Muslim majority countries, by the US state department, to represent the United States, and to sing laurels of how wonderful the US supposedly is for Muslims. But, now, he has been abandoned by his benefactors.

What should be done now? Any mosque that might be still be built at that site will be forever beholden to the US establishment, and will not be able to raise issues of urgent importance to Muslims – including but not limited to Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, attacks on Pakistan, Iran and other travesties. As such, it is, in my view, now pointless to insist on going ahead with that project. The weak attitude of Feisal Abdul Rauf would not have benefitted Muslims in any case.

As the Ikhras blog correctly noted:

Mark my words: the ground zero mosque will be a breeding ground for ikhras-worthy events. Muslims will host US presidents, US National Security Advisers and other such war criminals there. Friday sermons will consistently fail to criticize US foreign policy. Muslim-American soldiers will pray there before getting deployed to participate in the empire’s crimes abroad. Groups like “Seeds of Peace” will use the mosque as a site to engage in useless negotiations between Zionists and Palestinians. The FBI and DHS will hold sessions to learn “Muslim culture” to look more politically correct when detaining and deporting Muslims

The center would have cost about a $100 million (according to estimates floating around) – this $$$ can instead be put to much better use. Lets take Feisal Abdul Rauf’s intentions at face value:

“bringing back the atmosphere of interfaith tolerance and respect that we have longed for since Muslims, Christians and Jews lived together in harmony and prosperity eight hundred years ago.”

OK, so here’s a proposal sell off that building, land etc. and build three or four centers that would work towards south – south solidarity (plenty of Muslims, Christians, Jews around ). Build centers in Tehran, Beirut, Caracas, La Paz, Gaza and maybe also Quito, Havana, Damascus, and Istanbul – where we would see cultural and faith exchanges. Such a project would go a lot further in developing real ties amongst diverse peoples, instead of a center that would cater to the US state department.

see also:

Feisal Abdul Rauf (and other moderate Muslims) and the Zionists

Park 51 lessons

Ikhras on Abdul Rauf’s statement ” I support the state of Israel”

Tags: Park51

Tags: Hassan Nasrallah

Also see:

Fatima Bhutto: Pakistan’s Devastating Floods Are President Zardari’s Katrina. But I have to say, why do US progressive/leftists have such difficulty in finding authentic voices from Muslim countries? The only types they seem to interview are from the liberal elites, Fatima Bhutto is not even from that class, hers is a feudal massive landowning class, and like most others from both the liberal elite and feudal backgrounds, she has little or no direct connection with the vast working class of the country.

And here Amy Goodman repeats a similar Islamophobic refrain that has become popular amongst the western styled liberals who shudder at the thought that Islamic charities are actually doing what they do best:

And (the Washington Post) goes on to say, Islamic charities, including ones that are known fronts for banned militant groups, have begun distributing assistance in some areas…

The above is really a non-issue, what is an issue is how the US and other imperial powers will attempt to use disaster capitalism and the shock doctrine to try and capitalize on the floods to reshape Pakistan in their own image (they will fail, but they will try). Amy Goodman, instead of just picking a feudal to interview, might have instead tried to bring the voices of those who are directly involved in rescue efforts – such as representatives from the Islamic charities.

Again Amy Goodman:

We’re still on the line with Fatima Bhutto, the Pakistani poet, the niece of the assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

Come on, Fatima Bhutto is not just a “poet” – she is one of the heirs to one of the most powerful feudal political families of the country, These people may put up a face that western liberals might feel comfortable with, but they do not represent the vast majorities of Pakistan, they only represent their own tiny class.

It was perhaps unforgivable, but infact at the time, I was completely calm and composed. In other words, perhaps it was just too much, too enormous to absorb. – Yosuke Yamahata (Photographer, Nagasaki Journey)

Each year, the nuclear – weapons of mass destruction – bombing of the cities of Hiroshima (August 6th, 1945) and Nagasaki (August 9th, 1945) are ceremoniously remembered in Japan with lanterns of peace floating on rivers (Tōrō nagashi). Below is a photograph of a similar rememberence in Berkeley, California 2003.

Shoe thrown at the empire worshiping puppet president of Pakistan

Ikhras was inspired by the Arab and Muslim “activists” and “representatives” that hijacked our identities and name for their own self-aggrandizement and in furtherance of personal ambitions unrelated to our communities’ agenda, interests, and well-being. It was their collaboration that made this project necessary and now Ikhras is here to tell them they do not speak for us. Ikhras adds its voice to those resisting US Imperialism and Zionism with a special focus on exposing, ridiculing and holding accountable House Arabs and House Muslims in the US, to borrow Malcolm X’s expression

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