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Thank-you so much for taking the time to write to us. These are difficult times for people all over the world and it is noteworthy that people like yourself are making an effort to build bridges of understanding. You ask what you can do to help doing what is right and we say to you, you have already started to do something by writing to us. You have brought to the attention of our readers one American’s perspective on the war against Iraq.
People who believe in Islam are called Muslims and come from various nationalities, races and ethnicities. Muslims are also not homogeneous ,when it comes to politics. In general, there is a lot about the American people that Muslims appreciate. It is however not the same when it comes to the American government or more specifically American foreign policy. One such example is the American’s government’s unconditional and unwavering support of the Israeli occupation of Palestine right now which is the greatest threat to constructive American and American-Muslim dialog.
We strongly suggest that you seek out Muslims in your neighborhood and establish some kind of dialog with them. You can begin by visiting the Islamic center or masjid (Muslim place of worship) in your area. There are so many issues of mutual concern that we pray you will be able to find at least one cause to work on together. Thanks for writing, we wish you the best.
From Counselor Hwaa Irfan .
Although your question may be short it does reveal quite a lot. To have and maintain a sense of humanity is not as easy as it used to be. The fact that you fear being hated by Islam, shows that your journey, be it an ideological, religious or spiritual, is one that I pray will be blessed by your respect for Islam.
What is important in your journey is to hold on to your ideals; use them to gain strength. To respect all life is one that affects everything that one does even when others would try to lead you astray. So gain strength from what you have and realize that in Islam what counts are one's intentions. One's true intentions are mirrored in one's actions, and as Muslims in your community observe this, they will too respect your intentions. It is by God’s Grace, that practicing Muslims do not judge by what one sees alone and do not cast people of the same nation into one mould, because of the deeds of ceratin individuals belonging to that community.
Going back to your beliefs, you can try to take time to first look at your own life. By this I mean as a consumer. It is surprising how much we can take for granted as consumers. We see something on the shelf of our local supermarket and assume everything about it is legal. By starting with our most favorite products, we can try to find out about the source of the product, the packaging, the company, the ethics of the company, where it is sold etc, and fro tha build a picture as to whether that product you have been buying helps to enslave, or liberate someone.
- So take stock of the brand names, and try to discover if any of those brand names has helped to perpetuate acts against Iraq, and in favor of multinationals. This could be through trade or even politically in some cases. If you discover such information and you can verify it, seek an alternative and stop buying that product. If you find others that you know buying this product inform them about it.
- Of course an obvious product is petrol, this is always a difficult decisions to make as being able to get around is fundamental to modern day living. However, what you can do is to re-evaluate how much time you spend being driven or driving. When is it possible for you to walk instead of taking that taxi or bus for instance. Not only would you be saving money, you would be reducing your consumption of a product that some will do anything for. You would also be improving your health and your fitness. Walking helps to strengthen the bones, increases respiration and increases the blood flow. Think about it. I am sure there are other thigns that you can think of and share them with the people that you know. The more the merrier.
- The Red Crescent Society is the Muslim arm of the Red Cross Society. The tasks of Red Crescent Society in Iraq will be greater and their resources fewer. Try to find out as much as you can about what they do and where their regional offices are. Why not organize with your friends some kind of fundraiser. It might be a way of introducing yourself to the Muslim community in your area. Once they get to know you, you could help to organize events with them that could help raise funds for the Red Crescent Society in general. The likelihood of you being able to get any form of supplies is limited so by helping a Regional Crescent Society in the Middle East, you would be helping Iraqi people as they would be best placed to help.
Let us know how you get on and we pray for more like you to come forward and to share in what needs to be done, no matter how small.
For further guidance, please try the following link:
Bush Dances: Middle Easterners Die
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