Quite a few people have made rude (to put it mildly) remarks about Muslims since the shootings which occurred yesterday at Fort Hood. If the shooter would have been of any other religion, maybe things would be different. We don't usually hate all Christians when a Christian kills, but there are people who say awful things about Muslims when they find that a person of that faith does an egregious act.
This is painful for me and it is especially painful for most people of the Muslim faith who would never entertain the thought of killing an innocent person.
Would you please add a kind comment on this blog to compensate for the hate that gets a lot of attention? I will pass your words on to some Muslim friends who could stand some kindness right now.
You can comment anonymously, if you want. I reserve the right to delete any unkind messages. It's my blog. If you want to be unkind, there are plenty of other venues for that.
Thank you.
My message:
I have looked into the eyes of my friends who follow the Muslim faith. I have looked into the eyes of my friends who are Christian and Buddhist and Atheist. In the eyes of every person, I have always seen the same thing. I have listened to my friends of all colors and religions, and I have heard the same needs and dreams that others share all over the world.
Hatred and intolerance make it into our sensation-driven media. I KNOW that for every word of judgment and hate that is printed or spoken through the media, many more words and acts of kindness are spoken and performed with little notice.
I hope that, amidst the anger that is amplified in the media hype, you can hear the voices of reason who stand by you every day. My voice is one of them.
In Peace,
Carol
In every human being, regardless of anything else... we are all just that,human.. we are all different in many other aspects but we are all the same in that one regard. In the majority of human beings, there is love, kindness, understanding and above all, potential freindship.
ReplyDeleteReaching out is just the beginning.
The actions of MAJ Nidal Malik Hasan were his and his alone, no matter what his ethnic background or religious preference. In our somewhat crazy nation, driven by some elements of the news and talk radio media, we seem prefer to deny personal responsibly for the actions of individuals and extend the blame to groups that usually have no part in what the person did.
ReplyDeleteThis has been especially true regarding the followers of Islam since 2001. To me, blaming all of the followers of the Islamic faith for the behavior of one person is illogical and absurd. MAJ Hasan was responsible for the murders and wounding at Fort Hood. He made the decision and took up the pistols.
To all Muslims who may read my words, you are not responsible for the actions of MAJ Nidal Malik Hasan. To all who would shift individual responsibility from MAJ Nidal Malik Hasan to his religion, his profession as a psychiatrist, or his position as a army officer, please consider the irrational nature of your doing so.
Asalaam 'Alaykum, my friends.
From everything I have read about Maj. Hasan, I conclude that before he committed these acts, he served many loyal years in the US Army. As a counselor, he must have helped countless soldiers cope with the horrors of war. And he is only one of many thousands of Muslims who serve in the US Army.
ReplyDeleteWe do not understand why he decided to become violent and commit these horrible acts. But his doing so does not represent the Muslim faith or people of the Muslim faith. Just a day later a man in Florida came into an office building with a gun and began to shoot people. We are not discussing his religion as any kind of motive in that act.
I recently had an email discussion with someone who sent me one of those chain emails showing Muslims celebrating 9/11, carrying Hate America signs. In our discussion she told me that she had met several people of Islamic faith and enjoyed talking with them. So, I asked, why are you forwarding this mail? FEAR was the answer. We agreed that we were BOTH afraid for the future we are leaving the children, although we feared different things.
Carol, please tell your friends that there are plenty of people out here who understand that Muslims are people just living their lives, faithfully, like anyone else of any other religion. Maj Hasan is a man who needed more help than he got; Musims who commit suicide bombings are terrorists, not Islamic terrorists, and I know they don't represent the religion or its people.
With love--
The recent tragedy at Fort Hood has us all talking and (hopefully) thinking.
ReplyDeleteIt's probably human nature to have some initial hesitancy and caution in dealing with people who are different from us and whom we don't know personally. The healthy way to deal with this would be to realize that they are human, just like us, and to overcome our own personal fears, and reach out to them in a human way, and get to know them as individuals so that our unfounded fears can be put to rest. Sadly, many people (in part fueled by our pathetic media) take the route of ignorance, separation, racism/bigotry and hatred. All are manifestations of FEAR.
Take today to get to know someone who is not like you. Take a risk, reach out and befriend someone. You might learn something about yourself. You might make a great new friend. Muslims are people just like Christians, Jews, atheists, etc. They're just people. You can't blame an entire group of people for one sick man's actions. Did Christians receive death threats after Timothy McVeigh committed his heinous crime?
Funny that I was just telling Carol that I have not prayed in my life, given my own circumstances. So, I find it ironic that, in this time, it is a prayer that I find arising:
ReplyDeleteLet us all turn towards love and hold our faces high into the sunlight, to feel its nurturing warmth upon us, and not let enter into our minds or hearts the misguided actions, accusations, and fears of those who do not understand. I pray that we all have the strength to resist giving power to the dark and to know, instead, our own goodness.
Nobody can reduce you; Who you really are cannot be reduced, belittled, or made dark. Shine on! and know that you are loved. Know that you are powerful beyond measure.
In the words of Sylvester Stone, "I am everyday people."
ReplyDelete"Let me say this loud and clear. There is a world of difference between terrorist acts and the Islamic Shari'a. Islam is not only a religion, but a way of life. And at its heart lie the sacred principles of tolerance and dialogue." - King Hussein I
Very nice - beautiful comments, all! Thanks
ReplyDeleteIn all of us, there is a capacity to love and a capacity to hate; a capacity to do good, and a capacity to do evil. Until I am shown otherwise by any given individual, I will assume the best and not the worst of folks because that is what I hope others do for me.
ReplyDeleteWhen such horrific acts occur, perhaps it is felt that someone or something has to be blamed.
ReplyDeleteI have only a limited experience of being in contact with Muslims but those I have met here and abroad have been delightful gentle people. They're people like us ... with slightly different ways perhaps, but then all creeds, races and nations have different ways .. and that's something to celebrate.
I am concerned at the apparent ease of access to guns but I guess if someone is determined to kill they will use whatever means are available.
I don't understand hate or killing. A waste of energy surely?
:)
ReplyDeleteDear Carol,
ReplyDeleteWhy on earth should we feel kindly towards those Muslim people you know?
Answer: "Because they are an integral part of the Human Family, that's why!" :)
Btw: "Family" -that's spelled F-A-M-I-L-Y.
A family is a closely-related entity which, whether we like it or not, we are a part of, come hell or high-water, come death, rejection or other sorts of partings -we are *still* of that family...
Of course, there are often rogue elements in families. We only have to look at *leaders* right across the world to evidence this. Leaders are, in essence, in a similar role to elder siblings or parents of a family. And then there are the 'middle' children (the brighter ones). And then the 'younger kids' or babes, -those who aren't so very developed just yet, and need lots of kindly help to grow...
So it is to *leaders* of the human family I often address my remarks, -because they 'should know better' and if they mislead the 'younger ones' -- they are culpable.
As with any family, there are squabbles, -one sibling quarrels with another. A kind, loving and wise 'parent' could step in, but in our present age, such 'parents' (aka: leaders) with such qualities are few and far between, -- (sad to say) -- so instead of helping unite 'all we little beings', they often end up just making things worse. ~ With misinformation and wars etc.
In *reality*, there are no divisions between Muslims and Christians, or Atheists and Dog-lovers, or between Buddhists and Truck-drivers, or Taoists and Great Photographers called 'Carol' ... ! :)
We human siblings sometimes get lost: -- we may loose our *real-eyes* and imagine things, such as irrational, unseemly divisions, but if we look closer, we will find that those 'Other People' –are just as we are: they each have some runny scarlet blood in their veins, they all have a big squidgy thing called a 'heart' in their chest, and they all have a larger squidgy grey thing in their head called a brain.
Unfortunately, if the brain and heart get too narrow and closed-down, then people have hallucinations, and imagine that (e.g.) because someone might have yellow buttons on their hat and not the average green buttons on their hat, then they must be a 'Scary Person'! ;)
I know a secret about your Muslim friends Carol. Oh yes!
Just like I know a secret about my friends from Africa who have skin the colour of tasty dark chocolate: -they are ALL PINK INSIDE! Yes Indeed!
This fact may scare some racist folk (who are very fearful people to begin with) and other 'little brain-heart folk', but it's true anyway.
And... according to 'Our Maker', all people who are pink inside, **are closely related to each other!**
~~~~~
Nb: I might drop by more often, but am writing a few books at the moment, so am v. busy.
Love to you all anyway! :)
Yan xx
We are all people. Beings with families, dreams, ideas, opinions and fears. Our intellect is a tool for becoming a greater race mentally, emotionally and physically. Our arms shouldn't stretch to only our own mothers and fathers but to the entire race as a whole. We are a human family. Love is the only way to bridge the massive canyons we have created among ourselves.
ReplyDeleteMay all who have heard harsh words at their expense know that they are only words and suffering makes you stronger and love makes you resilient.