More arrests, this time in USA

The FBI today arrested 7 men from the Chicago area on charges of terrorism. Interestingly, they belong to a group called Seas of David who follow a mix of Islam and Christianity. I am surprised where all this is going to

New twist

Allegations of torture and mistreatment have been raised by the attorneys of the men accused of plotting a terrorist act in Toronto. Moreover, the Justice of Peace has banned the reporting of the case until further notice. I am surprised as to what good this ban will do; this case, especially, needs to be dealt with in the full view of the public simply because of the high stakes involved and the passions running high on both sides. Blanketing out the media will not help the least bit other than giving an impression of a government coverup.
The reaction to my “So it happened..” blog entry has been rather anti-climactic: at least one friend of mine disagreed with me, although in muted terms. Another one lauded my efforts. I am glad that what I am writing is making waves in people’s minds. That’s the whole issue behind sharing my thoughts

Debate

Last night I watched with interest two very prominent names in the Canadian Muslim community fight it over on live TV. Tarek Fateh and Zafar Bangash were invited by CBC Television on Sunday night news to discuss the current situation regarding the arrest of 17 Muslim men for alleged terror activities. It was amusing to see them bicker over petty points with each. The most laughable was when Tarek Fateh mentioned that a mosque will not allow a Muslim boy to bring his girlfriend with him to pray. What a fantasy! Maybe Tarek Fateh wanted to do exactly that

On a more sober note, it was heartening to see that there is intense debate going on among the Muslims in Canada afterall. This may be good for the overall situation since healthy debate (with tongues and not with firearms!) always produces results which benefit all of us.

Aftermath

This Friday was the first after the terror arrests in Toronto. The Imam at Al-Falah gave a very balanced sermon where he impressed upon the Muslims to show the Canadian scoeity that Islam is a religion of peace. He also said that as a community we have to ensure that frustrations of our youth are not chanelled in a worng direction. Other mosques are reported to have carried the same message.
In the aftermath of the arrests, a Montreal Imam was attacked with a knife, which the police is taking as a hate crime. I hope that things do not go out of hand and that sanity will prevail.

On another note, I was amused to see the Americans going nuts about border security with Canada and almost implying that Canada is a safe-haven for terrorists. I could not help but laugh to note that Stephen Harper had left no stone unturned to use these arrests to show the Americans that Canada is doing whatever it could to clamp down on terrorists. If history is a guide then someone should tell Stephen Harper that instead of placating the American public opinion (which will never be placated anyways when it come to Islam) he should focus more on his job as a Canadian Prime Minister. I feel, however, that Canadians as a whole are very afraid of the Americans and the one thing which is the driving force beihnd this is the economy. The Canadian public thinks, erronesouly, of coursre, that if the border is shutdown with the States will cause the economy to go down in a spiral and there would be nothing left of Canada.Someone should instill these people with the idea that sustenance comes from Allah and not from USA.

So it happened…..

Something we all knew will hit us one day but something which none of us, Muslim, non-Muslim, everyday Canadians, wanted to face or deal with, has finally got to our door steps. On 2nd June, 17 men, all Muslims, were rounded up in an alleged terrorist plot. Yesterday, they were charged with some very serious crimes: planning to attack the Parliament Hill, the CBC building in Toronto, and beheading the PM of Canada!!!!
As usual, all this is combined with a bombardment of media allegations against the Muslims. We are being stereotyped as ‘terrorists’, fascists, hate-mogerers etc. and a lot of us are being made to under the phenomenon called ‘guilty by association’.

How do we, Muslims, deal with this onsalught? I have been thinking and thinking over it but it was only late last night that I finally got my answer.

Yesterday night I started reading a book written by Dr. Israr Ahmad about the grouping of Surahs in Quran, when I suddenly came across an ayat which caused a flash in my mind and I said to myself: this is the remedy for all of us in these turbulent days. Here goes:

اے ایمان والو ! صبر اور نماز سے مدد لو۔ بےشک اللھ صبر کرنے والوں کے ساتھ ھے ۔ البقرہ 153-154

O believers! seek help in patience and prayer. Surely Allah is with those who are patient (Al-Baqarah: 153-154).

Some further research also got me to this:

اور یقیناً ھم خوف اور بھوک، جان و مال کے ضیاع، اور تمھاری کھیتیوں کے نقصان سے تمھارا امتحان لیں گے۔ خوشخبری ھے اُن لوگوں کے لیے جو ایسے موقعوں پر ثابت قدم رھیں اور جب بھی مصیبت کا وقت آ پڑے تو کہیں کہ ھم اللہ کے ھیں اور اسی کی طرف ھمیں لوٹنا ھے۔ یھ ھیں وہ لوگ جن پر ان کے رب کی طرف سے امن اور سلامتی پہنچتی ھے ۔البقرہ 155-157

“Be sure We shall test you with something of fear and hunger, some loss in goods, lives, and the fruits of your toil. But give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere. Those who say, when afflicted with calamity, ‘To Allah we belong, and to Him is our return.’ They are those on whom descend blessings from their Lord, and mercy” (2:155-157)

And this:

ھر تنگی کے ساتھ خوشحالی ھے۔ یقیناً ھر تنگی کے ساتھ خوشحالی ھے ۔ الم نشرح 5-6

“Verily, with every difficulty there is relief.
Verily, with every difficulty there is relief.”
94:5-6

All of this showed me clealry how to deal with this whole matter on a personal level. Externally, here is how our conduct should be:

اس شخص سے اچھی بات کس کی ھو گی جس نے لوگوں کو اللہ کی طرف بلایا، صالح اعمال کیے، اور کہا کہ میں ‘ مسلم ‘ ہوں ؟
یقیناٰ اچھائ اور برائ برابر نھیں ھو سکتے، لہٰذا تم برائ کے مقابلے میں وہ بات کرو جو اچھی ھو۔ تب تم دیکھو گے کہ وہ جو تمھارا دشمن تھا ایسا ھو جاءے گا جیسا تمھارا جگری دوست۔ یہ مقام صرف ان لوگوں کو حاصل ھو گا جو صبر سے کام لیں گے ۔ یقیناٰ جس کو یہ مقام حاصل ھو گیا اس کو بہترین نعمت مل گئ ۔ اور اگر اس دوران شیطان تمھیں بہکانے کی کوشش کرے تو اللہ کی پناہ مانگو۔ اللہ سب کچھ سننے والا اور دیکھنے والا ہے ۔ فصّلٰت 33-36

Who is better in speech than one who calls (people) to Allah, acts righteously, and says, “I am of those who bow in Islam”?
Nor can goodness and Evil be equal. Return (Evil) with what is better: Then will he, between whom and you was hatred, become as he were your friend and intimate!
And no one will be granted such goodness except those who exercise patience and self-restraint - and whosoever attains this comes to possess great good fortune.
And if (at any time) an incitement to discord is made towards you by the Evil One, seek refuge in Allah. He is the One Who hears and knows all things.
(Quran 41:33-36)

So no matter what the media says, no matter what your neighbours think, and whichever stereotyping tag you get, remember that being patient and praying to Allah is the key factor to getting out of this quagmire. Be patient and do not let any thing said against you or your faith lead you into an agitated state. If you feel angry, ask yourself one simple question: How did our beloved Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) react to circumstances worse than these during his 13 years stay in Mecca? Do not forget the day when he visited Taif and was caused to bleed all over due to the incessant stone-throwing of the city mob, all he prayed to Allah was this:

O Allah! I make my complaint to You regarding the feebleness of my strength, the insignificance of my devices, and my humiliation in the sight of people. O You, the Most Merciful One! You are the Lord of the oppressed, You are my Lord. To whom would You entrust my affairs? To a stranger who would scowl at me? Or to an enemy who would control me? If you are not displeased with me, then I do not care (about any hardship), but an ease bestowed by You will be more accommodating to me. I seek refuge in the light of Your countenance (by which all darkness is dispersed and all affairs of this world and the hereafter are kept straight) from pouncing of Your anger or the coming of Your wrath. I seek your pardon in order that you may be pleased with me. There is no power nor strength except in You”

Some people would say that this approach is a passive approach and will not solve the problems through which the Muslims in Canada (or world over) are going through. I ask them this: what have we, as Muslims, done to fix our own problems? I know that each one of us feels the pinch in our hearts when we see US forces killing innocent civilians in Iraq; when we see Israelis mercilessly throwing poor Palestinians out of their homes and grabbing their land; when we see foreign armies in Muslim countries. First and foremost, this surely is a result of our own deeds. How do we tackle this? I leave this as an open question to whoever reads this blog…

Already a non-starter

Stephen mailed me this Friday. He said that he had got his assignment done and that it went very well, thanks to the observations which he had done at the mosque.
Unfortunately, however, he wrote that it would not be possible for him to take time out to start our ‘People of Peace’ project: this is a blow right at the start of the endeavour!
He says that his studies will leave him little time to devote to such an effort which would definitely require a lot of dedicated hours.
I agree with thim, though I would have loved that we started early rather than late. It is improtant for me that people around me understand that the value of Humanity. Just last week there were chruches burnt down in Pakistan because of the alleged desecration of Quran. It is precisely this kind of behaviour which I think all of us need to put in our efforts to root out.
I am hoping that Stephen and I can start on this project in the near future.

People of Peace Project

I mailed Stephen today asking when we can get started on his ‘mystery’ project. Interestingly, he replied back asking whether he could attend the Juma prayers at Al-Falah with me.Of course I was elated and we went in together for the prayers.
His observations went fine and he had a few questions for me after the prayers had finished. However, the talk of the day was the Project which Stephen wanted to start; it involves reconiling the people of Christian and Islamic Faiths. We discussed a few basic things and I expect him to get back to me in a few days so that we can get started in earnest.