Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Assalamu Aleikum

May Peace Be Upon You,

I should have begun my first post with a little information on how my structure will work. To be honest, I'm not exactly sure right now. However, a guide to my first post goes as follows:

I am a Muslim, and as one, I greet every person who understands the phrase "May Peace Be Upon You", in arabic, with "Assalamu Aleikum." When translated into English, it sounds a little weird, but I would like you to know that this greeting is used by over 1.5 billion people worldwide. When two or more people are parting after a conversation, one person initiates with "Assalamu Aleikum" (May Peace Be Upon You) while the others reply with "Wa-Aleikum Assalam" (And May Peace Be Upon You). 

For the purpose of this blog, however, I'll try to use the english translation so as to not alienate anyone who wishes to fully understand my blog. I use the phrase, not only because it's the custom of my deen ("way of life", in arabic), but I truly believe it to be a kind gesture to others. Though I'll be using the english translation, as a matter of style, I may begin using the arabic transliteration in the future, once I find out which of my friends begin reading this.

May Peace Be With You.

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

The Opening Letter

May Peace Be Upon You,

This is my first post. You probably already know that. I know that nobody is going to read this in the near future, perhaps maybe ever, but I'll write it anyways.

For all intents and purposes, I consider myself an American. I joke often with my sister about how she's the only "American" in our house, but after living here since I was 6 years old (completing Elementary, Middle, High-School and College here) I am in almost every way an American. Yet, despite considering myself an American, it pains me to know that, unless the laws governing the sanctity of the seat of the Presidency change, I can never hope to attain the highest seat in the land. That would be alright if I felt comfortable enough running for the Presidency someday in Kenya, but having absolutely no command of the Swahilli language (a pre-requisite for candidacy) and having not lived there since I was 6, I can never run there as well.

This places me in a very difficult situation. I have the desire to change some aspect of people's lives. I feel that I have been blessed (by both God and the manner in which my mother raised me) in becoming altruistic and idealistic in nature and disposition. I care not about the frivolities in life (though I did a couple of years ago), nor do I care about power. I only wish to fulfill my civic duty as a citizen of our planet. That having been said, I hope from time to time, as you visit my page, you'll comment on whatever I had said.

We have been given the blessings of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We pride ourselves, as a species, on our intellect and our superiority over the animals that roam beside us on this vast and wondrous planet. It's our duty to give back to this planet as much (or more) than it has given to us. Instead of fulfilling that duty, we have spent the past few centuries satisfying our greed, lust, hunger, and thirst for power.  As a result, we've been handed the catastrophes we've witnessed. Yet, though we've lived in jubilant hubris for the past few centuries, we now blame God for our own self-inflicted misfortunes. It wasn't God who chose to industrialize by robbing the earth of its resources and by spewing poisons (chloro-fluorides) into the air. And from what we know of the Laws of Nature, and the laws of cause and effect, the outcome of said sins and crimes against our planet and humanity, only result in severe repercussions. Thus, instead of blaming God, let us blame ourselves, and strive in whatever way befits each and every one of us (whether it be in the name of whatever God or gods you believe in, or no God at all) to better our collective living conditions.

The suffering of the malnourished orphan in India, whose parents died of AIDS, necessitates our empathy, sympathy, and righteous action. The suffering of the single-mother raising two children on her own because her husband was brutally killed in a massacre in Burma, necessitates our empathy, sympathy, and righteous action. The suffering of the prisoner in Zimbabwe, who's only crime was speaking out against tyranny and oppression, necessitates our empathy, sympathy and righteous action. The suffering of the black boy in the southern United States who was lynched because bigotry and hatred for his skin had won over people's better nature, deserves our sympathy, empathy, and righteous action. We owe it to ourselves to help others wherever they are. Nations rise and fall, empires are built and destroyed, but humanity survives and rebuilds. If we don't act to save and serve our brethren across the globe, what hope do we have of eliminating evil and oppression. If we don't act in providing education to the youth around the world, what hope do we have of eliminating ignorance and desperation. We complain day in and day out about the Middle East, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, China, etc. but where were we when all of these nations needed our help years ago. We elected leaders who were corrupt, sought power, and a world built on the political ideology of "realism." You can never change the world if you think it is meant to be the way it is right now. We cite Hobbes and other cynics as credible sources on the nature of man, yet they only studied one part of the globe stemming from a dark period in European history, and never sought to gather information from the entire breadth of human history to make such claims. What kind of credible source is that?
In the end, it all comes down to whether we believe dreams can be fulfilled. The age-old "adage", "the world is not fair", has limited mankind. Ignorance has limited mankind. It pained me to see men and women calling Barack Obama the "anti-christ" only because their Bible told them that the Anti-christ would be charismatic and preach about tearing down the current world order, and implementing a world of peace. Are we there? Are we at the point in which fear of a doomsday, or an apocalypse, would allow us to stagnate as a civilization. Are we at the point where any person who comes around preaching peace in a charismatic manner is deemed the anti-christ. Would not a loving, caring, and Just God allow for those true believers in the world to see the truth behind such an anti-christ. Would not men and women who knew themselves to be pious worshippers of God have called Obama the anti-christ as well (if he truly were the anti-christ)? When did we get to the point where we're so afraid of anything new and innovative, that we slam the door on those men and women who seek to dream; and make that dream a reality? I stand ashamed of myself if I was there and capable to do something at the point in which we turned away from optimism, at the point when idealism was seen as naïve, for I could never look at myself again if I stood there and watched.

I hope that one day, we will no longer be ruled by a fear of the inevitable, but by a unifying hope and desire for a better world.

May You Go In Peace.