by Sami A. Shakir
Daily Lobo Guest Columnist
To my Jewish cousins, tell me please: is there anything in the world worth the life of an innocent child? Is forcing the Israeli settlements worth the life of a child, when all children are innocent? Is the blood of a child precious enough for you and me to take an active role to convince Ariel Sharon to stop a futile occupation and Yasser Arafat to stop a bloody game?
If only you and I could see the agony in the hearts of the mothers whose world has been shattered, our reasons for hatred will melt away. Oh, how many beautiful dreams of so many lovely children been snuffed. Both you and I have blood on our hands for our silence. The blame game has been tried by all of us and gotten us nowhere.
If you believe in a loving, just God, then both you and I will have to explain to Him why we stood by while our children were killing each other.
Many say that Muslims and Jews will never get along. The fact is that except for the first eight years at the beginning of Islamic history and the past 50 years of their 1,500-year history, the Jews and the Muslims lived together and got along very well.
Remember, it takes two sides to create a disagreement. Maybe my people and myself are sore losers, but it is easier for the victor — you — to be magnanimous. Don’t wait for me to snap out of my feeling of bitterness to make the first magnanimous move. You tried over and over to break our will, but it just won’t work. You made your point and by now I know I am no match for you. Now let us save your children and mine.
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The Jewish settlements are immoral and illegal and are a grave risk to Israel. Jerusalem is sacred to us all. Let us ask the United Nations to administer it so that we can all freely sing the glory of the loving Lord together in Jerusalem.
To my Palestinian brothers and sisters, do you expect the Israeli children to jump in the sea? Regardless of how you feel, the world community, as an arbiter, spoke and that is binding on us all.
It is easy for you and I to live in America, sitting in comfortable armchairs expecting somebody else’s child to shed his blood to restore our tarnished honor. Our real enemy is our inability to get our act together. Prophet Muhammad said, “Oh Kaaba (the holiest place to Muslims), your value to God is great, but by God, the blood of one innocent believer is more precious than you (Kaaba) to God.”
The Quran says, “Whomever kills one innocent soul is as if he has killed all of humanity, and whomever saves one life, it is as if he has saved all of humanity.”
True; God wants you to fight for your rights. But how you fight is what makes you either a criminal or a freedom fighter. Understand that the world has changed and is not going to tolerate violence to settle differences. You have lost the sympathy of the world in general, and the Americans in particular because of the methods you are using. If you have despaired from man’s justice, then God’s justice never fails.
When the Palestinians were using civil disobedience and using stones instead of bullets and bombs, less blood was shed, but more people were on your side and you achieved more.
What is the use if you gain the land but you end up living in a lake of blood, and end up losing it again? Are you going to use bullets and bombs to settle problems among yourselves? The Prophet and his followers were forbidden from defending themselves when they were persecuted in Mecca. The Quran teaches us that all Prophets and Messengers were forbidden from using force to defend themselves and spread their message.
God wants us to build a civilized nation and set an example for others. Principles can never be forced. Only after you have a successful nation, are you allowed to use force to defend yourself. Once you get your act together, I guarantee you that Israel will not dare to push you around. That way, you will win the land and the future.
Sami A. Shakir works for Logicon, a Northrop Gruman Company located in the University area.
