I wish I were fighting for Pakistan rather than the US…

“I wish I were fighting for Pakistan rather than for the US and I would like my son to be fighting and killing for Pakistan in the Pakistan Army“.

I can already see at least one hysterically paranoid person getting ready to string me up from the nearest lamp-post and a Hell of a lot of other REAL Americans getting mad at me. I can also see a lot of very sincere Americans…reasonable people all, wondering if I have taken leave of my senses and then, wondering what I am doing in the US.

Let’s add the the mix….

What if I then contributed $1000 to Jay Inslee or his opponent-to-be, Rob McKenna. Any bets that my money would be thrown back at me faster than a red-hot brick? they would also condemn my stand and tell me unequivocally, that I should leave this country if my heart and loyalties are so passionately with the country of my birth, Pakistan.

At the same time, I would be pilloried for being an untrustworthy “Muzlem” and I would be used to point out how Muslims are here to undermine this, so free, land of “Judeo-Christian values”.

Now to pull the curtain aside….

Newt Gingrich got a Ten MILLION dollar infusion of cash from billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and it was Sheldon Adelson, who said he wished he had served in the Israeli Army rather the U.S. military—and that he hoped his young son will come back to Israel and “be a sniper for the IDF,” a reference to the Israel Defense Forces. Adelson also said, “All we care about is being good Zionists and being good citizens of Israel, because even though I am not Israeli-born, Israel is in my heart“.

Not a peep from America, not even from the Ultra-patriotic Americans.

Of course, now we understand better, why the Lizard (Newt) said “Palestinians were in invented people” and why he is so bent on destroying Palestinians AND Iran. It is also a chilling revelation of America’s tilt towards Israel and its growing hostility towards all matters Arab and Muslim.

Mind you, I don’t begrudge the support for Israel; Jews have worked hard and worked long to create a climate where America looks at Israel almost as a controlling extension of itself in fact, no other minority has ever worked with such single-minded dedication to support a foreign country than have American Jews. Most of this support from Jews is because of the Shoah. With millions slaughtered, Jews are naturally and extremely concerned that the next Shoah could be around the corner and they need to insure against it with a strong Israel…which pulls at their biblical heartstrings as well!

Such blind support for Israel might still be okay, if it weren’t tied so inextricably to focusing fear and hate against Arabs, Muslims and Islam. What the Blind Supporters of Israel chose to ignore is that hate begets hate and injustice begets injustice and even though Israel today, is stronger than all the mid-Eastern countries put together, Time has a way of switching Alpha-Dog with the Under-Dog. With the enemies Israel’s supporters are so assiduously cultivating, an underdog position is something that could very well become the existential situation that is heralded by Israel almost all the time.

It could be next year or, it could take another hundred years, but if Israel and its blind supporters don’t reach an accommodation based on justice and dignity, there will come a time when Israel will not be able to defend itself as well as it would like, against an enemy that did not need to be created or cultivated.

Back to the Lizard, Jews and Muslims….

The Lizard is a classic example of the way a politicians are willing to sell their bodies and their souls for political support in the form of money or, votes.

Maybe the MANY Jews of good will and other rational supporters of Israel, will find their voices and condemn the pro-Israel=anti-Muslim equation that is looming larger and larger as time passes.

One of these days, maybe Muslims will start getting their political act together and maybe then, we will see a letting up on the persecution of Muslims that is being fuelled so rapidly in America and in the “Judeo-Christian” West.

As for my opening “quote” (in case some nutter is starting to load his gun), I would rather not be fighting for anyone at all.

What is wrong with Peace, Justice and Brotherhood?

January 27, 2012 - Posted by penjihad | Uncategorized | 2012 Elections, 9-11, ADL, Al-Qaeda, American Politics, bigotry, Civil Rights, Genocide, Hate, Islamophobia, Israel, Jews, Middle East, Muslims, Newt Gingrich, Profiling, religion, Republican Party, Sheldon Adelson, Terror, Terrorism, US Foreign Policy, War on Terror, Zoinism, Zoinists

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About

Blogger Jafar “Jeff” Siddiqui is an American Muslim living in WA.. USA.

He grew up in the Khyber Pukhtunkhwa (North-West Frontier) Province and has maintained close contacts in Pakistan.

He is a member of American Muslims of Puget Sound and is a human rights activist. He is involved with movements for inter-faith understanding. He has contributed articles for a textbook on terrorism, used by US law-enforcement agencies. He has also presented discussions and written article, on the Indo-Pakistan hostilities and their impact on Afghanistan.; he writes articles and gives lectures on Civil Rights, American Foreign Policy, on Islam, on current affairs including events in the Middle East, South and Central Asia. His works have been published in various print media. He also gives commentaries on radio and TV on these subjects.

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Dare I say “Jihad”?

Occasionally, I use the term “Jihad” in my articles, as the action needed to help make changes to better the ills of society. I often get feedback in which people worry more about my use of the word “Jihad”, than they do about the injustice about which I wrote; some wonder why I would use such a charged word among non-Muslims.

I intentionally use “Jihad”, because I want to jolt Muslims AND non-Muslims; “Jihad” cannot and must not become de-legitimized just because some people do not care to understand the true meaning of a sacred term and decide to associate it with terrible things.

“Jihad” springs from the Arabic “Jhd” which means “struggle”; “Jihad” means the act of struggle, “Mujahid” (Plural, Mujahideen) is someone who is doing “Jihad”.

At the core (the highest level), it is the duty of every Muslim to struggle against the basic negative predispositions we all have as humans…greed, envy, jealousy, rage, deceit, theft, murder etc.

At the next level, it is the duty of every Muslim to fight against the ills that beset Mankind…hunger, disease, homelessness, illiteracy, injustice, lack of water, pollution etc.,

At the least important level, Muslims are required to fight those who attack us AFTER we have exhausted all other efforts towards peaceful resolution. Even then, if peace is at hand, even at mid-battle, one has to stop and accept terms that are just and preserve the dignity of all parties.

I would imagine these are things that every person needs to subscribe to, not just Muslims.

Yet, there is a growing body of opinion in the non-Muslim West, that “Jihad” can ONLY be equated with murder and mayhem and thus, anyone using the word, can be presumed to be associated with supporting murder and mayhem.

I would suggest that supporters of the body of opinion that would like to taint “Jihad”, are people who consider themselves at “War!” with Islam, Muslims and Arabs. They may be a growing number of people, but they are wrong and it would be wrong for Muslims to lend credence to this opinion by shying away from “Jihad” in word, or in action.

Not so long ago, the Jewish organization ADL, launched an attack on some Muslim groups because the Muslims were wearing the Muslim Affirmation… “Shehada” (“There is no God but one God, and Mohammed is His prophet”) on their headbands and the ADL said that the Shehada stood for terrorism.

There are a growing number of bigots who state that Islam’s holy book, the Quran, is a symbol of evil and violence.

What should Muslims do? Abandon the Shehada and the Quran?

Some may say that we should just not use the Shehada on headbands, why not? Either the Affirmation (Shahada) is sacred or it is not; if it is sacred, then wherever it is used, as long as the use is not profane, is also sacred. If the Shehada is used in a profane manner, then the reflection is not upon the Shehada, but on the abuser.

Hitler took the Swastika as his symbol and today, it strikes fear and revulsion in the hearts of many, especially Jews. However, the Swastika is thousands of years old and among Hindus, the “Savas Tika” (“Peace sign”) is a holy symbol, it is used to adorn temples and used by Hindus at almost every occasion…it can be clockwise or counter-clockwise.

Should the Hindus be asked to abandon the Savas tika as a symbol?

If we dared to make such an absurd demand, we would be laughed off the stage.

The Star of David strikes fear and revulsion among millions of Palestinian men, women and children; should the Jews be asked to abandon the Star of David as their symbol?

I am betting millions of Bosnian Muslims shudder a little when they see a Crucifix, or the Christian Orthodox cross, because of the genocide of Bosnian Muslims by the Serbs and the Croats in the name of Christianity in the 1990s; should those symbols be cast aside?

The principle of “use it or lose it” is quite valid here. If we retreat for any reason, we are acknowledging that our sacred and holy terms or symbols are sometimes themselves, evil. Once we give that ground, then we can no longer use our Savas Tikas, our Crucifixes or our terms…THEN, the bad guys have truly won.

I believe that as reasoned and rational people, we cannot allow ourselves to fall victim to populist bigotries. We must look at what the symbol actually stands for, rather than associate it with the negative events that were tied to it by evil people; we must be able to differentiate between Nazi Swastikas on one hand, and symbols and words that are sacred, on the other.

Jihad; it is a sacred duty for every Muslim, Christian, Jew, Hindu…for every human being of good will.

9-11 ADL Afghanistan AJC Al-Qaeda America American Anti-Muslim myth-buster Anti-Semitism bigotry CAIR Charlie Hebdo CIA Civil Rights Civil Rights in America Daniel Pipes Donald Trump Ethiopia Fasting FBI Foreign Policy Freedom of Speech Gaza Geert Wilders Genocide Gitmo Guantanamo Hate Homeland Security India Iran ISIS in America Islam Islamophobia Islamophobia in America Israel Jews Jim McDermott Kashmir law enforcement Middle East Minorities in Pakistan Muslim Muslim Civil Rights Muslim Civil Rights in America Muslims Muslims in America Obama Pakistan Pakistani Taliban Palestine Police Brutality Police Training Profiling Quran Ramadan religion Rep. Peter King Republican Party Robert Spencer Saudi Arabia Shia Shia Sunni Divide Suicide bombing Syria Taliban Terror Terrorism Thomas Friedman Torture US US Congress US Constitution US Foreign Policy War on Terror

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Penjihad's Blog

"To comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable"