Saudi Arabia - Conscience takes a back seat � by Tariq Al-Maeena

Conscience takes a back seat | WorldMuslimCongress.com

As an American Muslim, I appreciate this piece. Stereotyping is one of the things I have been fighting all my life for people to rid their prejudices.

Pieces like this are eye openers, particularly for American Muslims, so many are prejudiced towards Saudi�s without realizing that there are individuals alike everywhere. Saudi bashing is fairly common, and I always remind them the man they adore, admire and call Rahmatul Aalameen comes from that region. 

 The white majority who mistreated the Black people in America are the very same people who supported them to have full rights as equal citizens.  

Not all Saudi�s are Wahhabis, and I don�t have any problem with Wahhabism, provided,  they keep their tradition to themselves and not push it on others.  

Let the followers of Islam spread peace through friendships and caring for others, and not creating chaos through fanaticism, extremism and violence.  If we sincerely believe Islam is the religion of peace, our talks, acts and behavior should express peace and nothing but peace.  The non-Muslims should see that we are for peace and building cohesive societies with freedom and not compulsion and chaos.

Your piece opens the eyes to the people � hey the Saudis are like us, with their conscience governing them and constantly struggling between right and wrong.  Likewise, don�t judge us Americans by Trump but by Bernie Sanders.
 

Conscience takes a back seat � by Tariq Al-Maeena
http://saudigazette.com.sa/opinion/conscience-takes-a-back-seat/#comment-23739

Tariq A. Al-Maeena

As children, most of us were taught the difference between right and wrong and good and evil, and how one path would take us toward righteousness while the other would led to damnation.  And we held on tightly to that childhood creed in order to make us better human beings.

But along the way as we got older, wires seem to have got crossed, and the solid line between right and wrong became a little blurry to some people.  They remain good people, but as I see it, their conscience has taken a back seat.

I was at Farid�s office when he received a call from his son.  I could only hear one side of the conversation, but the gist of it seemed to be that some rental contract was needed.  When he hung up, Farid looked perplexed.  I asked him if all was okay.  �Yes, it�s just that my son needs a house rental contract from me and I don�t know if a real estate office will provide one.�

�Your son is living in the duplex you built for him in the back of your residence.  Is he paying you rent?�

�No, but he needs a rental contract to avoid paying the SR3,500 university fees as an external student.  You see, if he has a rental contract, the university foregoes the fee requirement to alleviate additional financial burdens,� Farid explained.

�Wait a minute, Farid.  Your son has a good paying job, he is living at home for free, and you want to get him a fake rental contract?  Isn�t that cheating?  The university�s intent is to help students with financial burdens and not someone like your son.  He should not ask for an exception and neither should you provide him with a contract,� I admonished.

Looking at me with a wry smile, Farid replied: �Tariq, the system teaches everybody to do it.  So why shouldn�t I?�  I left before I blew a fuse.

Every year prior to the month of Ramadan there is a huge demand for household help.  Ads are everywhere as desperate housewives seek helping hands for the month of fasting when more food is prepared and served than at any other time of the year.  Not to mention that most food is probably thrown away during the holiest of all Islamic months.  Many domestic workers also take advantage of the situation by leaving their sponsors unannounced and searching for the highest bidder.

I had been invited to Mohamed�s house for an Iftar (breaking the fast) gathering last Ramadan.  His household was in disarray a few weeks earlier when his two housemaids decided to quit and left the country.  Looking at the wide array of dishes prepared for the guests, I remarked to Mohamed that his domestic help issue must have been resolved and that he must have recruited and received new help from overseas.

�No, I haven�t yet.  The visas are with the recruitment agency, but it is taking a long time.  That is why we had to hire locally at exorbitant wages.  We were lucky to find two women, one a Sri Lankan and  the other an Indonesian who agreed to work for us.  Thank God, otherwise my wife would have gone crazy.�

�Are these workers on legal work visas,� I asked.  �Have you checked and verified their documents?  Are they legal?  They could have run away from their previous sponsors.�

�Who cares, Tariq?  They are here right now and they are being paid.  They are providing us a service that we are desperately in need of.  You know the household demands during this month with family and friends dropping by.  We needed help.�

�Mohamed, did you ever stop to wonder if these workers left another home in dire straits by disappearing without notice?  Perhaps there is hardship in a home that desperately needed them.  It could have been an elderly lady they worked for, or a young divorced mother with children who needed to be looked after while she was at work.  Not all sponsors are bad.  You and I know that greed has caused many domestic workers to desert their lawful sponsors, especially prior to Ramadan.�

I wanted to ask him how he and his family could sit there and enjoy food prepared by someone who could by her presence in their home have been the source of anguish to the household she left behind.  How can we justify such actions and satiate our hunger while others somewhere else may be suffering?

My thoughts were quickly interrupted by Mohamed.  �Dive into your food Tariq before it gets cold.  Besides, if we didn�t hire them, believe me there are thousands who would.  Now enjoy yourself.�

How could I?  The line between right and wrong has not been blurred to that degree.

 � The author can be reached at talmaeena@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter@talmaeena

Ahmadiyya Muslims should be a part of our language.

Ahmadiyya Muslims should be a part of our language | World Muslim Congress
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2015/07/ahmadiyya-muslims-should-be-part-of-our.html

I don't have a bone of prejudice in me, and I sincerely believe God is Rabbul Aalameen (Creator of the universe), and Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is Rahmatul Aalameen (Mercy to every atom in the universe). We are all from the same couple Adam and Eve, and we are members of one large family, and each one of us is deliberately created to be unique with our own thumbprint, DNA and other uniqueness�s. With that uniqueness we are bound to have irreconcilable differences, and how do we get around that?  God says the best ones among you are those who take the time to learn about each other, and when we do that, conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

All of us have to live in the given space, we might as well learn about each other, to understand and accept the differences, and not force agreements against the will of the people, that would be against what God wants. You live your life and I will live mine, a corollary from Quran 109.6 says,  to you is your faith and to me is my faith.

When we started the discussion group �World Muslim Congress.� I went about learning different denominations as this group and site belongs to "all Muslims" and came across the unbelievable prejudice towards the Ahmadiyya Muslims.  Indeed, they are chased, harassed and persecuted in Pakistan, and the extremity of the hate is even �enshrined� in their constitution, and that beats anyone with any common sense.  The hate virus has expanded to Indonesia, Bangladesh and it has even reached India dividing us all up. There is no justification whatsoever to hate any one.

Why am I writing this? 

As Muslims, we call out on the bigotry of a few evangelicals, before we do that, we need to be clean, so we can cast the first stone.  Let�s not be hateful towards any one and clearly reject the extremist�s ideology of Wajib Qatl (killing is a must) towards Ahmadiyya Muslims. Let�s share God and the Prophet with the entire world as they are not exclusively ours to deny them to others.

Of course the bias is a two way street, I have written extensively about it.  I have done my Iftaar and Friday prayers in the mosques of every (yes every) denomination to understand the differences, so we can learn about each other. We don't need to be friends, but at least we don't have to seethe and brood and be miserable because others believe differently.  It�s all documented at www.Ramadanexclusive.com and www.WorldMulsimCongress.com.

However, the responsibility for caring for oppressed falls squarely on the majority.  It is the white majority that stood up for civil rights to pass as a law; it is the Hindu majority that stood up for Muslim minorities  in India to have their own laws; and it should be the Sunni Majority in Pakistan that needs to speak up and care for its minorities, all minorities.  As a minority ourselves (Sunnis in the United States) don�t we wish the majority understands us and respect us, thank God, at least we are no Wajib Qatl to them, can we be that civil to our own minorities back home?

None of us have to agree, but all of us must choose to mind our own faith, we cannot compel any one to drop their belief and accept ours that would go against the essence of Islam. Allah will not ask you about what others did, he asks you, were you good to his creation?  How would we feel if the Christian majority tells to either believe their way to take the highway?

At World Muslim Congress and Dallas Pakistanis groups, we have carried civil conversations for over 13 years, it was not easy at the beginning, and for many years, I was alone, but now we have many Sunni Muslims who see the point of view in both the groups and I appreciate their being good Muslims. Now comes the editorial in Gulf News that includes Ahmadiyya Muslims in its list of Muslims. 

Today it was a delight to read Tariq Al-Maeena writes an editorial in Gulf news and this is a sea change, and I hope more and more �Muslim writers� start the inclusion process.  Theologically let�s accept us all to be different � each one of the 73 tribes will have its own uniqueness that God has said and prophet has predicted that.

I wrote to him, Tariq, I'm surprised and pleased that you added Ahmadiyya Muslims in your last paragraph, and I applaud you for this.�I am not a Sunni or a Shiite or an Ahmadi or a Khawani. I am a Muslim! I am not a Salafist or a Sufi, a Ja�afari or a Batini. I am a Muslim! I was raised by the Islamic tenets of peace and kindness ... And by God, I am angry that people in the name of Islam defile my religion.�

Thank you Tariq Al-Maeena

My Islam teaches me to be Rahmat (mercy) to the Aalameen, if I am a zahmat (tyrant) towards fellow beings, then should I call myself a Muslim?

Mike Ghouse
# # #

I am a Muslim and I am angry
It angers me to see how a peaceful religion has been manipulated by some to be a tool of terror against their perceived adversaries. 
By Tariq Al-Maeena
http://gulfnews.com/opinion/thinkers/i-am-a-muslim-and-i-am-angry-1.1545173

PUBLISHED: 17:03 JULY 4, 2015

Ramadan is a spiritually significant month for Muslims the world over. It is a time for inner reflection, devotion to God and self-control. It is a time when Muslims repent, ask for forgiveness for sins and spend their time in intense worship. Muslims think of it as a kind of tune-up for their spiritual lives. We are to make peace with those who have wronged us, strengthen ties with family and friends and do away with bad habits and bad feelings. Fasting, reading the Quran, increasing charitable deeds, cleansing one�s behaviour and doing good are some of the ways Muslims use to draw themselves closer to God. This is what true Muslims believe in and do.

On June 26, an explosion rocked a mosque in Kuwait that killed 27 and wounded 227 worshippers. Worshippers had gathered for Friday prayers at the Al Imam Al Sadeq mosque in Kuwait City when a powerful bomb ripped through the courtyard of the heavily-congested mosque, causing much death and damage. The timing of the blast was significant as Friday noon prayers are generally the most crowded of the week and attendance increases multifold during Ramadan.

Investigations later revealed that the perpetrator was a Saudi male who, along with some Kuwaiti sympathisers, intended to stir up Sunni-Shiite divisions with his murderous act. This bearded individual from a village in Saudi Arabia had actually flown into Kuwait from Riyadh on the day of the bombings and left a trail of death and destruction among the faithful. He had stayed at a house owned by an extremist who subscribed to �extremist and deviant ideology� and was then driven to the mosque by an illegal resident to carry out this macabre plan.

Immediate credit

On the same day, there were terror attacks in two different continents conducted by supposed sympathisers of the extreme doctrine followed by the Saudi suicide bomber. In Tunisia, a gunman wandered on to a popular beach at a seaside resort and gunned down guests with an automatic rifle. The death count was 38, while 36 people were wounded, according to Tunisian authorities. In France, a man with suspicious ties to violent groups blew up a factory, injuring two people. A decapitated body and the severed head was found nearby. Daesh (the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) took immediate credit for these gruesome acts.

As a consolation, it was somewhat refreshing to note that leading Islamic institutions immediately denounced such dastardly acts. The leading Sunni institution based in Egypt, Al Azhar, released a statement saying that �the heinous shooting at a Tunisian coastal resort that killed 38 people, mostly Europeans, was a violation of all religious and humanitarian norms�. It also condemned the suicide bombing at the Kuwaiti Shiite mosque and the suspected militant attack in France. In a publicised statement, in reference to Daesh, Al Azhar called on �the international community to defeat this terrorist group through all available means�.

Delivering a message

In Kuwait, the ruling Emir, the government, parliamentary and political groups and clerics all said last Friday�s attack on the Shiite mosque was meant to stir up sectarian strife in the emirate. Terming the attack bluntly as one of �black terror� a statement said that �the objectives of the criminal act have failed. We want to deliver a message to Daesh that we are united brothers, the Sunnis and Shiites, and they cannot divide us�.

I am angry. As a Muslim, it maddens me when criminals use my religion to screen their immoral and murderous intentions.

�I am angry that people in the name of Islam defile my religion.�

-Tariq A. Al Maeena

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It infuriates me that I have to justify my religion and myself to the non-Muslim world in the wake of such barbarity by individuals with no obvious morals. It angers me that a terrorist like the Saudi who flew into Kuwait tarnishes my religion and my nationality with his vicious actions.

It angers me to see how a peaceful religion has been manipulated by some to be a tool of terror against their perceived adversaries. It angers me that such people follow �extreme and deviant ideology� and yet call themselves Muslims.

It angers me to know that some clerics with their hardline views continue to promote sectarian divisions from both sides. It angers me to know that they are still being heard.

I am not a Sunni or a Shiite or an Ahmadi or a Khawani. I am a Muslim! I am not a Salafist or a Sufi, a Ja�afari or a Batini. I am a Muslim! I was raised by the Islamic tenets of peace and kindness ... And by God, I am angry that people in the name of Islam defile my religion.

Tariq A. Al Maeena is a Saudi socio-political commentator. He lives in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Uighur Muslims face Ramadan trials - Saudi Gazette

THE LEAST YOU CAN DO IS PRAY FOR THE OPPRESSED
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2015/06/uighur-muslims-face-ramadan-trials.html


If we can communicate with the Chinese and Myanmar Governments one side, and a few Muslim nations like Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Iraq, Indonesia and others  to treat their minorities fairly and equally. Most of the problems will fade.

It's a shame, that we can predict that if the Rohingyas  and Uighars are continued to be pushed to the corner with no options and no justice, they will be left with the only option to resort to terrorism, which will destroy the fabric of all those nations where they don't respect fellow humans. 

God bless Tariq Al-Maeena for this simple but very Islamic prayer, "Let us also pray for the religiously oppressed everywhere, no matter what their faith.:" That is indeed the spirit of Islam - peace for every human. Some one attempted to issue a fatwa on me some 12 years ago for invoking a similar Dua. 

Mike Ghouse
www.MikeGhouse.net

Uighur Muslims face Ramadan trials

Last updated: Tuesday, June 23, 2015 5:25 PM
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20150624248192

Tariq A. Al-Maeena

Many of us are blessed to live in countries that allow a degree of religious freedom, one that enables us to practice our faith.  But for the Uighur Muslims living in the far western Xinjiang region of China such a freedom has been increasingly curtailed by the central government.

The Uighurs in China, who at the turn of the 21st century numbered an estimated 10 million, are Muslims in a country where Buddhism has the widest influence with Taoism and Confucianism as the other major religions. Islam and Christianity are followed by a minority in a population of over 1.3 billion. Muslims make up the majority of the native population of the sparsely populated western province.

The month of Ramadan has often been referred to as the "best of times". It is also widely believed that the Holy Qur�an was first revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) during this holy month.  In the hot summer months, it is indeed a trial for the fasting Muslim who is deprived of all food and water from before sunrise until the setting of the sun in the evening.  The Chinese Uighurs, however, have to contend with additional trials.  Chinese officials have banned Muslim party members, civil servants, students and teachers from fasting during the holy month of Ramadan.

Restrictions on Islamic religious freedom have come under attack by minority leaders in recent years and have fueled a rise in militancy against what is often perceived as targeted oppression.  Prior to the advent of the holy month for all Muslims, Dilxat Raxit, spokesperson for the World Uighur Congress (WUC) � a group that lives in exile � charged that �China is increasing its bans and monitoring as Ramadan approaches. The faith of the Uighurs has been highly politicized, and the increase in controls could cause sharp resistance.  This is another attempt by China to control their Islamic faith. It can only have dire consequences as such restrictions would force the Uighur people to resist Chinese rule even further.�

Raxit, who is the Swedish based spokesperson for the WUC, told the media that among other tactics, the Chinese government �are extracting guarantees from parents, promising that their children won�t fast in Ramadan. China�s goal in prohibiting fasting is to forcibly move Uighurs away from their Muslim culture during Ramadan. Such policies that prohibit religious fasting are a provocation and will invariably only lead to instability and conflict.�

The government has not been discreet about their intentions either.  The state media reports that Muslim officials are required "to give verbal as well as written assurances guaranteeing they have no faith, will not attend religious activities and will lead the way in not fasting in Ramadan."

Just prior to the beginning of Ramadan, the education bureau in the city of Tarbaghatay in the northern part of Xinjiang ordered schools to communicate to students that "during Ramadan, ethnic minority students do not fast, do not enter mosques, and do not attend religious activities," with threats of strict disciplinary action if such rules were violated.

Muslim-run shops and restaurants have also been ordered to be open during fasting hours and sell tobacco products and alcohol or be shut down.  In late December 2014, China banned the wearing of the Islamic veil in public in the capital city of Urumqi, which lies in the predominantly Muslim region.

Meanwhile, William Nee, a China researcher at Amnesty International, said that what is happening within China�s borders is worrying.  He accused the Chinese government of heavy-handed tactics, saying that "the public wearing of veils, beards and T-shirts featuring the Islamic crescent has been banned in many cities across Xinjiang. Students have been restricted from observing Ramadan, and there have been reports of force-feeding those who insist on fasting. Others have been disciplined for openly worshipping or downloading unsanctioned material."

Such restrictions against religious practices are bound to give fuel to a rise in militancy, just the thing the Beijing government should want to avoid.  �Any religious practice that is not state-sanctioned is then characterized by the government as participating in religious extremism," Nee contended.

Ramadan is much more than just abstaining from eating and drinking.  It is also about caring for the welfare of others.  In this Ramadan, let us remember the brave Chinese Uighurs in our prayers for their steadfast devotion to the faith, and also pray that the Beijing government sees the wisdom of removing all restrictions from the Uighurs in pursuing their spiritual duties.   Let us also pray for the religiously oppressed everywhere, no matter what their faith.

� The author can be reached at talmaeena@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @talmaeena