Naeem's Blog

I would like to turn your attention to this beautiful post over at Sand Gets In My Eyes. She read my post on Sexual Education and gave me her two cents (plus a few more!).

As I began to write my reply, it ended up so wordy, I decided to make it into a full-fledged post. Plus I felt you all would benefit from this discussion, as I definitely have. Here is my response:

Salaam SGIME,

I'm very glad to hear an opposing viewpoint, one which challenges my stances. Let me start by admitting that this discussion on parenting and sex-ed is one that I am struggling with. I am in no position to claim any absolutes (having two young children years from adolescence). I hope that spirit was clear in my post.

Having said that, I think you misread (or I may have mis-stated) the crux of my post since I find myself agreeing with most everything you said. I clearly believe that sexual education is a necessity for every young adult. Either they will learn it from parents, teachers, and textbooks, or worse (peers, media, etc.). There is no denying that.

My argument is that we ought to introduce this most delicate of subjects within the context of marriage - a responsible, viable outlet for adolescent curiosity and more importantly an ideal conduit into the realm of adulthood. Please note that I am not shirking the responsibilities of the parent by introducing marriage to young adults in hope of avoiding the 'sticky talks about the birds and the bees'. In fact, I would continue to keep the lines of communication open as I explicitly stated (and you quoted):

“I would much rather have my adolescent son ask me why his wife gets upset every month or my daughter ask why her husband is so stubborn than to explain to them why their high-school peers are dating and they aren’t.”

Another point worth considering is that you are working from a social model in which teenagers are coddled and protected from the difficulties of life until they reach their mid-20's when they are finally considered 'adults' (let's not forget the 'basement adult' phenomenon - people in their 30's living in the basement of their parents). I don't accept that paradigm. That is at the root of my original post (as well as this post) – the need to rid ourselves of this culture of immaturity.

I believe that young adults (commonly referred to as teenagers) are very capable of appreciating the beautiful shades of marriage, that special relationship with the opposite sex (I myself was 20, my wife 19 and I've seen many examples of younger couples). Of course, marriage is not suitable for our current-day Nintendo teenagers who are incapable of mature thoughts much less mature relationships. I wouldn't suggest throwing these types of youth to the wolves of marital toil.

It is essential to construct a social infrastructure that supports the institution of young marriages. We can not expect young marriages to succeed within a society that glamorizes the swinging single, openly promotes infidelity, demonizes the in-laws, and allows for unchecked mixing of the opposite sex. To the surprise of no one, even 'old' marriages have a hard time flourishing in such an environment!

Having married and entered into a commitment that general society supports and nurtures, this young couple will accelerate their maturity curve and discover more about the real world than any young teenager going through the ups and downs of dating, clubbing and experimenting with multiple partners.

One final point. I purposely never used the term 'marry off' as I find its underlying meanings reprehensible. I believe that marrying young adults is a life-long project undertaken by two *families*, not a shortcut to get kids out of the house. Marrying our young adults is not dodging the responsibility of parenting, rather it is embracing it and taking it to the next level.

Give me some time to look over the CLASP report. I just wanted to clarify my position for now. :-) I hope I addressed your points of contention.

Take care,
Naeem

PS. Imagine a society embracing young marriages. There would cease to be a market for boy bands! Woohoo! Where's that bad in that? ;-) These young women would be too busy living a reality in their marriages as opposed to living a dream in their minds.

I've written about this before here and here, so sadly its dejavu' all over again...again. The London car bomb scare seems to be another case of the government and its sidekick media going to extremes to paint an apocalyptic landscape.

Keith Olbermann at Countdown has a nice segment where facts are separated from fiction and the threat of this 'Iraqi-style terror' is debunked.

I won't go as far as to deny the existence of the whackos who are behind this stunt, but let's get real. The ex-CIA expert in the interview explained that the worst a person would have suffered would have been sharp ear pain. As he concluded in the interview, "We need to put it in its proper perspective….and lets stop with the alarmist behavior."

Its this same 'alarmist behavior' that feeds the egos of the nutjobs perpetrating these acts as well as the agenda of the shady administration trying to protect us from it. One madness complementing the other madness. How nice.

Here is the link to the video. Thanks to the Largest Minority for the heads up!

I would like to direct you all to this very interesting article which includes some thought-provoking comments. Here’s what I’m currently thinking about it:

In this hypersexualized society where intimate intimations are readily found on corner billboards and waiting-room magazines, what to say of the more in-your-face tactics of TV, movies, and the Internet, young Muslim parents are struggling with the daunting task of broaching this most sensitive of topics to their children.

There are basically two approaches as I see it. Do as my father did, namely ignore the gory details and stick to the core Islamic principles in hopes that I survive the monsoon season of adolescence sheltered in the bunker of my Islamic beliefs and values. Or we can come to terms with the sexualization of our times and introduce the youth to Islamic sexual education, arming them with the knowledge to fend off the attacks of society’s depraved frontline.

Before we choose which method is best for our children, we must understand the narrative in which we operate. Are we going to promote the model of current society in which the youth delay marriage until their mid-to-late 20’s or even early 30’s? Or do we establish our own Muslim norm and buck the system of ‘teenage-hood’ by introducing our post-puberty children to the institution of marriage and all its beautiful nuances, only one of which requires sexual education?

I say that if we choose the former, allowing our children to postpone marriage, we will then be forced to choose the path of introducing halal sexual education to our teenagers. We will be forced to dealing with issues of dating, teen pregnancy, masturbation, and so on. We will be placing our children in the most difficult of paradoxes – live in this society of sex-in-your-face while demanding they maintain piety-in-the-heart – “Oh and here’s a few lectures on sex ed to help you out.”

I propose that we change our approach and begin the destruction of the teenager concept by introducing our young adults to marriage. Let us become the nation who conquered this most vile of modern constructs. And the ideal ax with which to destroy this 'teen idol' (pun intended) is the institution of marriage.

For sure one of the most common justifications for not marrying our children at young ages (besides the need to finish their education) is their lack of maturity. You think?! If we’re constantly exposing our youth to Nintendo, Hollywood and the NFL/NBA, I wouldn’t trust them raising my turtles much less their own children. If we continue to treat them like children, they will be more than happy to return the favor.

Instead, if and when they show the urge towards early sexuality, let us not stifle it with talk of puppy love or teenage hormones. Let us approach them as the young adults they are (or at least ought to be) and mould and nurture this most natural of inclinations.

By hurling sexual education at this monster of a problem, we are only feeding into its desires. Let us refrain from using stopgap solutions and address the core of the issue. Islam is a natural way of life. The onset of puberty is natural. The ensuing sexual desires are also natural. And as our dear Prophet (saw) taught us, the only natural solution is marriage.

Too often we hear the famous Hadith where the Prophet advised young men to fast in order to control their sexual energy. We have conveniently forgotten the first half where the Prophet counseled the youth to marry (and note that his definition of young people was not college graduates!).

This approach to selectively practicing the Sunnah reminds me of the famous hadith on eating, where the Prophet taught us to eat one-third, drink one-third, and leave the last third of our stomachs empty. We use that mathematical breakdown as the Prophetic standard, forgetting the first half of the hadith where he stated:

"…Enough for any son of Adam are some bits of food to keep his back straight. If it must be, then one third for his food, one third for his drink and one third for his breath.” (At-Tirmidhi)

The actual Prophetic teaching is to eat just enough to keep your back straight. That is the REAL Sunnah. The one-third is merely an allowance for those of us who can’t control our appetites.

We must alter our misguided mindset that has been influenced by the materialistic notions of modernity. We must break the unnatural sequence of child to teenager to college student to young adult establishing career to finally husband/wife.

Am I proposing that we close off all channels of communication between parents and children? Absolutely not. I am just making a distinction in the context in which the questions are posed.

I would much rather have my adolescent son ask me why his wife gets upset every month or my daughter ask why her husband is so stubborn than to explain to them why their high-school peers are dating and they aren’t. I would rather have them struggle with the complexities of a marital relationship than struggle to create their own chaste space amongst their promiscuous schoolmates.

In the world I envision, Islamic sexual education would not be veiled behind social taboos nor would it be an instrument to blunt the natural urges of young adults. Rather, it would consist of teaching the adaab (etiquettes) of sexual education to couples preparing for marriage, not teenage kids worried about the next school mixer.

Here's an honest to goodness GNP, unlike my previous Obama piece, which was too much tongue-in-cheek for my own good.

Yousry Desooky is no ordinary youth. Not when the 16-year old found $12,000 in a bathroom stall and decided to do the right thing.

Read the full news article here.

Funny thing is that, eventhough I'm such a pessimist, erm I mean realist, for some reason I am convinced that almost any Muslim put in this young man's shoes would have done the same.

The only scenario I can imagine in which a Muslim would actually hold on to the money would be someone down-n-out with major debts or some crazy financial crisis and s/he may see this as some sort of blessing from Allah. Of course they would still be wrong.

My point is that we Muslims have a unique trait, a firm belief in the Unseen (God, Angels, Day of Judgment), that inevitably forces us to do the right thing, especially in these types of scenarios. Once you lose that, everything is fair game, whether its keeping lost money, committing adultery, or cheating on your taxes.

Wouldn't you agree?

Thanks to ProggieMuslima for the article link!

Tony Blair, the outgoing prime sinister of UK, has recently made it public that he wishes to join his wife's Catholic faith. He visited the Pope a few days ago in hopes of making the big jump from his current Anglican disposition.

And you would think that in this day and age where throngs of people are leaving the Xian faith, a high profile conversion such as Blair's would be a no-brainer for the Catholic Church.

You would think.

It seems that the Pope has some serious objections to the actions Blair took during his 10 year tenure. This post over at the Largest Minority reads between the lines of the BBC report, which deftly dodges the issue of Blair's rejection by the Pope.

As he walks into the sunset of his political career, I really wonder how much this man regrets his decision to blindly follow his good buddy Bush. Not only is he reviled in his own country as well as most of the world, but now he is in danger of being damned in the Hereafter of his choice.

Justice is being served, sooner than later.

Worry not ol' chap (see, I speak British), if all else fails, you always have a backup plan with Islam. We Muslims have a soft spot for high-profile celebrities converting to Islam. After all, look how desperately we want Obama.

Yes folks you heard it here first! Forget the bridge in the cloud, this Good News Post (GNP) brings us something to really celebrate. This may not be as big as Michael Jackson converting to Islam (you gotta love the part where Daniel Pipes confuses Zain Bikha for MJ), but it will do for now.

First a quick history lesson. I think it was Sh. Hamza Yusuf who first coined the phrase 'Islam has been hijacked by the extremists.' Anyways, it has since caught on and most everyone who wishes to distance the extremists from the moderate, mainstream views of one billion Muslims uses the hijacking of Islam expression.

So you can guess my initial reaction when I heard that Barack *Hussain* Obama said "Faith got hijacked, partly because of the so-called leaders of the Christian Right, all too eager to exploit what divides us."

Welcome back, Brother Barack!

Hmmm...I wonder where he heard the 'hijacking the faith' phrase? Been listening to some HY lectures, have you? Good on you, BO!

I know some of you with weak faith and oh-so-big intellects are saying Dude, he was saying it in the context of the Christian faith. Listen, don't be partypooper. Technically, his words were 'Faith got hijacked'. He didn't say *which* faith, right?

Besides, he goes on to say "I don't know what Bible they're reading, but it doesn't jibe with my version." His version of what? Again, he intentionally didn't complete the thought. We all know that his reference to 'my version' was his politically astute way of referring to his version of the book of God, as in the Quran. Wink, wink Br. Obama. We got your back, Barack!

We Muslims are in dire need of some good news, so lets take what we can get.

Some of you are so gloom and doom. Next you're going to deny that Princess Diana was murdered because she converted to Islam in advance of her marriage to Muslim friend, Dodi Al-Fayed.

O ye of little faith!

=============

Obama says some have 'hijacked' faith

Sen. Barack Obama told a church convention Saturday that some right-wing evangelical leaders have exploited and politicized religious beliefs in an effort to sow division.

"Somehow, somewhere along the way, faith stopped being used to bring us together and faith started being used to drive us apart," the Democratic presidential candidate said in a 30-minute speech before the national meeting of the United Church of Christ.

"Faith got hijacked, partly because of the so-called leaders of the Christian Right, all too eager to exploit what divides us," the Illinois senator said.

"At every opportunity, they've told evangelical Christians that Democrats disrespect their values and dislike their church, while suggesting to the rest of the country that religious Americans care only about issues like abortion and gay marriage, school prayer and intelligent design," according to an advance copy of his speech.

"There was even a time when the Christian Coalition determined that its number one legislative priority was tax cuts for the rich," Obama said. "I don't know what Bible they're reading, but it doesn't jibe with my version."

A call to the Washington, D.C.-based Christian Coalition of America seeking comment was not immediately returned Saturday.

Obama is a member of the United Church of Christ, a church of about 1.2 million members that is considered one the most liberal of the mainline Protestant groups.

In 1972, the church was the first to ordain an openly gay man. Two years ago, the church endorsed same-sex marriage, the largest Christian denomination to do so. Obama believes that states should decide whether to allow gay marriage, and he opposes a constitutional amendment against it.

Conservative Christian bloggers have linked Obama to what they call the "unbiblical" teachings of his church. Theological conservatives believe gay relationships violate Scripture, while more liberal Christians emphasize the Bible's social justice teachings.

Obama trails Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York by 33 percent to 21 percent in the most recent Associated Press-Ipsos poll among Democrats and those leaning toward the party.

If you haven't heard about the latest news on the CIA declassifying documents on some of the agency's worst abuses, read the BBC article below. I have just two things to say on this topic:

1. This is nothing new to most politically astute observers. I previously posted on the mischievous nature of the CIA, as have SO many others. I just wish American's would finally get off their high horse and realize that every nation has a dark history of abuse and malevolence. If Gitmo Bay didn't already confirm that, at least these CIA documents should end all arguments. All this 'land of the free and home of the brave' crap is as tiring as the garbage spewed out by Muslim despots and tyrants when they misappropriate Islam for their rallying cry.

2. I must give the American system a tip of my kufi for the bold act of revealing these documents. Sure, most of this knowledge is already in the public domain. Sure, the information is old and irrelevant from 50 years ago. But it just blows my mind that this government is so willing to take a mea culpa, especially in the midst of the Iraq and Afghan war debacles, the 9/11 failures, Katrina, etc.

It is "unflattering" but part of agency history, CIA chief Michael Hayden said.

"This is about telling the American people what we have done in their name," Gen Hayden told a conference of foreign policy historians.

The ability for a government to admit to such brash, illegal activities requires extreme self-confidence that the society will not erupt in civil chaos. Either that or they know full well that Joe Sixpack won't give a rat's ass about what his government did as long as it allowed him to watch the final episode of the Sopranos.

Sorry I couldn't help myself with that last outburst. ;-)

==================


CIA to reveal decades of misdeeds

The US Central Intelligence Agency is to declassify hundreds of documents detailing some of the agency's worst illegal abuses from the 1950s to 1970s.

The papers, to be released next week, will detail assassination plots, domestic spying and wiretapping, kidnapping and human experiments.

Many of the incidents are already known, but the documents are expected to give more comprehensive accounts.

It is "unflattering" but part of agency history, CIA chief Michael Hayden said.

"This is about telling the American people what we have done in their name," Gen Hayden told a conference of foreign policy historians.

The documents, dubbed the "Family Jewels", offer a "glimpse of a very different time and a very different agency".

The full 693-page file detailing CIA illegal activities was compiled on the orders of the then CIA director James Schlesinger in 1973.

He had been alarmed by accounts of CIA involvement in the Watergate scandal under his predecessor and asked CIA officials to inform him of all activities that fell outside the agency's legal charter.

'Skeletons'

Ahead of the documents' release by the CIA, the National Security Archive, an independent research body, on Thursday published related papers it had obtained.

These detail government discussions in 1975 of the CIA abuses and briefings by Mr Schlesinger's successor at the CIA, William Colby, who said the CIA had "done some things it shouldn't have".

Among the incidents that were said to "present legal questions" were:

* the confinement of a Soviet defector in the mid-1960s
* assassination plots of foreign leaders, including Cuba's Fidel Castro
* wiretapping and surveillance of journalists
* behaviour modification experiments on "unwitting" US citizens
* surveillance of dissident groups between 1967 and 1971
* opening from 1953 to 1973 of letters to and from the Soviet Union; from 1969 to 1972 of mail to and from China

The papers also convey mounting concern in President Gerald Ford's administration that what were dubbed the CIA's "skeletons" were surfacing in the media.

Henry Kissinger, then both secretary of state and national security adviser, was against Mr Colby's moves to investigate the CIA's past abuses and the fact that agency secrets were being divulged.

Accusations appearing in the media about the CIA were "worse than in the days of McCarthy", Mr Kissinger said.

Imam Hassan (may Allah be pleased with him) was attending his Majlis (gathering) and a man approached him, ‘Please help me. I have been engulfed in sin for my entire life. My sins have overwhelmed me and I know not what to do. Please teach me some method by which Allah will forgive me.’

He replied, ‘Make continuous Istighfaar (Seek Allah’s forgiveness)’

Another man entered and asked, ‘We are suffering from a drought and our crops are in danger of dying. Please give us some good deed to do or some prayer to make by which Allah will bless us with rain.’

He replied, ‘Make much Istighfaar’

A third man came to Imam Hassan and said, ‘I am poor and downtrodden. My business is failing miserably. For every step I take forward, I fall back two steps. Please advise me with some action by which Allah will put barakah (blessing) in my rizq (sustenance), increase my wealth, and free me from all my debts.’

He replied, ‘Make constant Istighfaar (Seek Allah’s forgiveness)’

A man and his wife entered and asked the Imam, ‘We have been married for years yet have no children. We have suffered for too long with nothing to show for. Please advise us.’

He replied, ‘Make much Istighfaar (Seek Allah’s forgiveness)’

Then a group of men appealed, ‘Imam Hassan, we are farmers with much land but no yield. We have properly cared for our land but it has produced nothing. Help us our dear Master.’

He replied, ‘Make constant Istighfaar (Seek Allah’s forgiveness)’

Another man asked him, ‘I have newly constructed gardens for which I desire to dig a well. Please pray that abundant water spring forth.’

He replied, ‘Make continuous Istighfaar (Seek Allah’s forgiveness)’

Now a man sitting in his gathering who had witnessed all this quietly approached the Imam and humbly asked him, ‘My teacher, so many different people have come to you seeking your guidance and assistance for their various problems and you have told each one of them to make Istighfaar. Is there some secret that we are not aware of?’

Imam Hassan looked up at him and responded, ‘I have not counseled them with anything from my own self. Should I have advised them with something better than the word of Allah? Has He not said in His book:


(Nuh) said Ask your Lord for forgiveness for He is most Forgiving. He will send you rain in abundance. And give you increase in wealth and children and bestow on you gardens and bestow on you rivers.(Surah Nuh 71:10-12)

Here is a funny story about Bert Tatham, a young Canadian UN official sentenced to four years in Dubai for drug possession. He was caught with 0.6 grams (0.02 ounces) of hashish and two poppy bulbs (used to make opium).

Nothing out of the ordinary, except until you realize that he worked as an adviser to the Afghan government's poppy elimination program.

In all fairness to the man, I don't see what the big deal is. He was simply doing his part to rid the country of its drug problem - one joint at a time.

The story gets even more hilarious.

The man's father comes to his son's defense by attacking the malicious media for distorting the facts:

Tatham said his son told him he was "devastated" by inaccurate media reports that his job was to eradicate the drug, when his work actually involved promoting alternatives to poppy cultivation among farmers.

Yeah, get that right people! He wasn't supposed to get *rid* of Afghani poppy seeds and their opium derivative, his job was 'promoting alternatives'...like weed.

And what about the hashish found on his person? His dear mother explains:

The hashish piece found in the seam of his trousers was "the size of your teenie fingernail," she said, adding that the drug was prevalent in Kandahar. "People were giving it to him at various places — at meetings."

It was the size of your little pinky fingernail! C'mon give him a break...people were like just giving it away at the local market. For all we know, he could have innocently taken the samples not knowing they were drugs. Its not like he was some sort of drug expert or anything.

Actually, his lawyer gives a more plausible explanation:

"His trousers must have mistakenly picked up the tiny quantity of hashish," al-Gailani said.

You see, now that makes *total* sense. What were we thinking?! If anything, sentence his trousers to 4 years.

Its all been a big misunderstanding. The man is clearly innocent. I mean, its not like he used the drugs or anything, right? Well besides his urine sample, which showed traces of hashish. But there's a reasonable explanation for that as well:

Traces of hashish found in Tatham's urine were inhaled as "second-hand smoke," Tatham's lawyer said.

For God's sake people, it was all around him! Can't we be practical and a bit more understanding? It's not like he could hold his breath the whole time he was hanging out at the corner crackhouse!

So I'm watching a BBC report on the Prince Bandar bribe scandal where he supposedly took $2 billion in bribes while helping BAE systems win a huge $80 billion contract with the Saudi Air Force. It seems that a special BBC probe determined that there indeed was some fouplay between the former Saudi ambassador to the US and the UK military contractor, explaining why the UK government abruptly halted the investigation last December citing 'national security considerations'.

And I'm wondering to myself what's the big deal? Then I'm wondering, did I just say that? Then I'm wondering, why am I talking to myself?

Once I shake out of it, I start to realize that this bribery scandal is revealing on so many levels. Besides the obvious observation on the sad state of our leadership, it exposes a fundamental sickness plaguing the Muslim masses - we have become so accustomed to their corruption that we have ceased to hold them accountable, which in turn has lead to the ummah's loss of self-accountability, on a collective as well as individual basis.

Ever since its original revelation several months ago, the news of Bandar stealing billions has raised no flags in Saudi society. Forget about the government controlled media - not even the people have expressed disgust. As a matter of fact, I've spoken to several Saudis who have accepted as fact that the Royal family takes upto one third of the country's oil revenues (hundreds of billions of dollars) for their high maintenance lifestyle.

And since it is acceptable for our leaders to indulge, it must be ok for us goes the reasoning on the street. The layman's logic is pretty straightforward: If I tolerate corruption in my leaders, then I can rationalize it in my own actions. And conversely, if I speak out against the corruption of my leaders, then I too must cease to partake in it.

Of course, its not only Saudi Arabia - same goes for [fill in Muslim state]. From the Prime Minister/President down to the local utilities worker, bribes and corruption have kept these countries from moving forward. Sadly, Muslims as a whole have come to expect and accept corruption from their leaders.

But not in the West. There is so much more governmental oversight and inquiry that the Muslim world is simply put to shame. The checks and balances placed in their system, warts and all, far outshines anything available in the Muslim east.

I just can't forget the outrage that took place in the US over the NSA wiretapping. I'm sure most Muslims thought nothing of it, especially those originating from Muslim countries. Such machinations are expected from Muslim governments (read Mukhabarat), but the normal American won't tolerate such governmental intrusions.

And don't forget the current Gonzales attorney-general firing scandal. And then there's Plamegate. And the list goes on. Holding high-level government officials accountable is an enviable hallmark of western society.

(Sidenote: Some will counter that these are mere dog and pony shows to present the semblance of governmental culpability while the reality is that nothing is ever done to punish the wrongdoers. Perhaps true and that facade may in fact be worse than the outright corruption found in Muslim countries, but that is fodder for another post.)

I'm also reminded of the 2000 US presidential elections when the election results were up in the air for months, yet the country didn't miss a beat. Such a major controversy, deciding the fate of its national leader, hung in the balance for months and civil order was maintained all throughout. Amazing. Imagine if that were to have occurred in any Muslim country - rioting and looting would have become the daily norm.

I guess its all about respect for the rule of law. They have it. We don't.

Worse yet, we end up respecting the law selectively. When in the West, many will follow the rules, but the moment we step off the plane back home, we return to the ways of the mob rule. On second thought, forget traveling overseas - have you ever noticed how Muslims park in Masjid parking lots compared to elsewhere? My point exactly.

This double standard reminds me of Saudi driving. The highway fatality rate here is among the highest in the world. Saudis are notorious for their reckless driving and their indifference to the law, yet when they cross over to Bahrain or UAE, they become docile drivers, keen to obey every traffic law. That's because they know they'll be held accountable for their infractions - over there it doesn't matter who you know, what you drive, or how you look, the law is the law across the border.

I find it repulsive that we Muslims have allowed ourselves to degenerate to the levels of our treacherous leaders by turning a blind eye to their cronyism while turning a second blind eye to our own trangressions. Two blind eyes make for a very blind ummah.

The problem is truly within us.

And then we have the audacity to claim that the problem lies with our leaders, as if the mere act of replacing them will remove the infestation within us. It will not. We claim that if we cut off the head of the snake it will die. It will not.

Because our leaders are not like the head of the snake. They are more like the tail of the lizard. Cut off the tail and another will grow. More importantly, the lizard will always remain. We the masses are the lizard.

We blame them for controlling us with their iron fists. We blame the West for supporting them with their political backing. We blame the IMF and the World Bank for financing them. We blame and we blame.

But we never blame ourselves for failing to hold them accountable. And we never blame ourselves for failing to hold *ourselves* accountable.

We have become lizards.

Here's the long-awaited follow up in the GNP (Good News Post) series. Time to turn that frown upside-down folks!

In this episode, I thought to bring some attention to the most amazing bridge in the world:



If you go here, you can see more pics of the bridge, some even showing it during the building process. Simply stunning how extreme the engineering feats of man have become! And if that doesn't make you say Subhan'Allah, then I guess...I guess you just don't like bridges...or clouds...or bridges in clouds. :-P

So how does this qualify for a GNP for Muslims? Good question. Well, I figured since it was built in France and isn't Zinedine Zidane the great Muslim soccer player also from France? So we got sort of a connection there, right? Ok, maybe that's really stretching it. How about the fact that in order to build the bridge, the architects had to use Algebra and we all know that Algebra is a Muslim invention. Fine, just forget it...(throwing my hands up)...I tried.

Also for some nice panoramic pics of the bridge, check out its Wikipedia entry.

Glory and Praise be to the One who gave man the capacity to build such breathtaking beauties!

GNP Bonus: Speaking of Wikipedia and Zinedine, check out his entry. You can scroll down and see the continuous replay of his headbutting. Just Awesome! *That's* the Good News for this Post....Let us rejoice at our Salahuddin of the 21st century overcoming his crusader opponent on the soccer field! Or maybe its a case of another angry Muslim venting his frustrations in an extremely uncalled for manner? I'll choose the former since this is supposed to be a GNP. Yeah, let's turn that frown upside-down!

Yes its true. I have been formally vindicated. Yeehaw!

All you who laughed at me when I said the Rushdie knighting affair was a slap in the face of the Ummah, must now apologize - again. Iran has backed my stance on this most vital of issues to the Muslim Ummah. Additionally, this is proof that high-ranking officials from Iran are reading my blog and taking their cue from yours truly. :-)

Seriously, this is quite asinine. Why is this two-bit writer still warranting any attention whatsoever?! The Iranian spokesman calls him "one of the most hated figures" in the Islamic world. Come again?! Maybe one of the most insignificant, immaterial, inconsequential....why am I even wasting my breath?

Read on:

Iran Condemns British Title For Author Rushdie

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran accused Britain on Sunday of insulting Islamic values by knighting Salman Rushdie, whose novel "The Satanic Verses" prompted the late Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to issue a fatwa death warrant against him.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said Rushdie, awarded the knighthood for services to literature in Queen Elizabeth's birthday honors list published on Saturday, was "one of the most hated figures" in the Islamic world.

Spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini portrayed the decision as an act directed against Islam by Britain, which is among world powers involved in an escalating standoff with Iran over Tehran's disputed nuclear ambitions.

"Honoring and commending an apostate and hated figure will definitely put the British officials (in a position) of confrontation with Islamic societies," Hosseini said.

"This act shows that insulting Islamic sacred (values) is not accidental. It is planned, organized, guided and supported by some Western countries," he told a regular briefing.

The Islamic Republic's government formally distanced itself in 1998 from the original fatwa against Rushdie, issued in 1989 by Khomeini who said the book committed blasphemy against Islam. Rushdie lived in hiding for nine years.

But shortly after it disavowed the death edict under a deal with Britain, Iranian media said three Iranian clerics called on followers to kill Rushdie, saying the fatwa was irrevocable.

Britain's twice-yearly honors ritual -- designed to recognize outstanding achievement -- is part of an ancient and complex honours system. A total of 946 honors were handed out in the birthday list, including 21 knighthoods.

Hosseini said: "Giving a badge to one of the most hated figures in Islamic society is ... an obvious example of fighting against Islam by high-ranking British officials."

London's history of imperial intervention in Iran still overshadows ties between the two countries.

On Thursday, demonstrators pelted the British embassy in Tehran with stones and eggs and condemned anyone attending the queen's annual birthday party as "traitors."

In March, Iranian forces seized 15 British servicemen in the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab waterway that separates Iran and Iraq, triggering a diplomatic crisis. Tehran, which said the Britons were in Iranian waters, released them in early April.

Britain and other Western powers accuse Iran of seeking to build atom bombs. Iran says its nuclear program is solely aimed at generating electricity.

I've always disliked the 'teenager' construct. I've always had strong feelings against treating young adults as 'teenagers'. However as I got older my feelings waned and I stopped giving it much thought.

That's why it was like a sweet breeze reading this article reminding me of my deep-down disdain for the 'teenager' myth. I really like these kinds of articles, written from the young Muslim perspective, as it takes me back to my days of adolescence. I realize that I've lost so much of my own energy and youthful spunk, my fervor to change the world, so its good to be reminded every once in a while by those who still have it.

I particularly liked the author's point on the 'teenager' being a socio-economic fabrication of the West. The perception of young adults in the developing world is further proof:

"You’ll only find “teenagers” in economically developed societies. Here the adults refuse to recognize that these young people are quite capable of contributing to the community, whereas in poor and developing communities, much like the times of old, every sentient individual is expected to pitch in.

This is especially true where the age of life expectancy is low. Where people have to work hard to survive, you won’t find rebellious teens - or at least it won’t be the norm. You’ll only find children, young adults, middle-aged adults and old adults."

I would only add to the sister's thoughts by saying that one of the reasons behind keeping young adults acting like big children is consumerism. There is a huge industry marketed directly to teenagers including clothing, entertainment, and electronics.

This multi-billion dollar industry is built around teenagers and their 'rebellion' with corporations keen on feeding into that mindset. So much so that the irresponsibility associated with teens has now even extended into the early 20's. So the juvenile antics not only persist beyond the teen years but are promoted to greater intensity, what with the gaudy sport scars, expensive video games, and spring break free-for-all's.

Let's pray that Muslims figure this out sooner than later.

This post is for all you naysayers who deny the existence of a clash of civilizations between Islam and the West. I have finally found the smoking gun and will gladly take your apologies in the comments section.

First of all, we have the infamous Salman Rushdie being knighted by the Queen of England. What a collective slap in the face to the Muslim Ummah! Such honorific titles and awards are to be bestowed upon select individuals. What's next? President Bush will give the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Carol Burnett!? Oh wait, my bad.

On second thought, this same honor of knighthood has already been awarded to the likes of Hamid Karzai, Alan Greenspan, and US Generals Tommy Franks and Norman Schwarzkopf so I guess its only fitting that Rushdie get his.

And if that ignominy wasn't bad enough, the kuffar are now using 'science' to steal the legacy of our Muslim Nile. The blasphemous Brazilians are claiming to have the longest river in the world, which every Muslim schoolkid knows is a blatant lie. Such conspiracies to topple our place on top cannot be tolerated. The Nile must always remain the longest river in the world just as K-2 in Pakistan is the highest mountain peak in the world (contrary to what the infidels at Wikipedia say). To claim otherwise is simple de-Nile (ouch, that was bad).

On that sour punchline, I will open the floor for apologies.

A report has come out that is finally stating what Muslims have been saying all along: Muslim extremists are extremists who happen to be Muslim just like Jewish and Christian extremists happen to be Jews and Christians. The report goes on to state that these groups have 'tangible grievances' as opposed to the commonly-held belief that religious doctrine is the sole reason behind their extremist views and actions:

It said extremists from each of the three faiths often have tangible grievances -- social, economic or political -- but they invoke religion to recruit followers and to justify breaking the law, including killing civilians and members of their own faith.

I just wonder how much airtime this little report will get in the media.

PS. I was thinking to post this as a GNP (Good News Post) as the optimist inside me said Woohoo! We Muslims have another thing in common with our Abrahamic brethren - our extremists are 'seen to share views'!, but I thought it would come off as a bit facetious. ;-)

You be the judge.

Extremists in 3 faiths seen to share views

By Claudia Parsons

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Violent Muslim, Christian and Jewish extremists invoke the same rhetoric of "good" and "evil" and the best way to fight them is to tackle the problems that drive people to extremism, according to a report obtained by Reuters.

It said extremists from each of the three faiths often have tangible grievances -- social, economic or political -- but they invoke religion to recruit followers and to justify breaking the law, including killing civilians and members of their own faith.

The report was commissioned by security think tank EastWest Institute ahead of a conference on Thursday in New York titled "Towards a Common Response: New Thinking Against Violent Extremism and Radicalization." The report will be updated and published after the conference.

The authors compared ideologies, recruitment tactics and responses to violent religious extremists in three places -- Muslims in Britain, Jews in Israel and Christians in the United States.

"What is striking ... is the similarity of the worldview and the rationale for violence," the report said.

It said that while Muslims were often perceived by the West as "the principal perpetrators of terrorist activity," there are violent extremists of other faiths. Always focusing on Muslim extremists alienates mainstream Muslims, it said.

The report said it was important to examine the root causes of violence by those of different faiths, without prejudice.

"It is, in each situation, a case of 'us' versus 'them,'" it said. "That God did not intend for civilization to take its current shape; and that the state had failed the righteous and genuine members of that nation, and therefore God's law supersedes man's law."

COMMON WORLDVIEW

This worldview was common to ultranationalist Jews, like Yigal Amir, who killed Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995, to U.S. groups like Christian Identity, which is linked to white supremacist groups, and to other Christian groups that attacked abortion providers, it said.

"Extremists should never be dismissed simply as evil," said the report. "Trying to engage in a competition with religious extremists over who can offer a simpler answer to complex problems will be a losing proposition every time."

Harvard University lecturer Jessica Stern, the conference's keynote speaker, spent five years interviewing extremists for her 2003 book "Terror in the Name of God: Why Religious Militants Kill."

She said it was dangerous for U.S. President George W. Bush to use terms such as "crusade" or "ridding the world of evil."

"It really is falling into the same trap that these terrorists fall into, black and white thinking," Stern told Reuters on Wednesday. "It's very exciting to extremists to hear an American president talking that way."

Stern said to compare violent extremists from the three faiths was not to suggest that the threat was the same.

"These are not equivalent," she said. "The problems arising from Christian or Jewish extremism are not threatening to the world in the same way as Muslim extremism is."

Conference organizers say their aim is to develop a nonpartisan strategy to combat religious extremism.

The guest list includes representatives of the State Department, Homeland Security, the New York Police Department and the U.N. missions of Israel, Iraq, Britain and the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

I know that I've covered this topic several times already and I'm sure everyone is getting sick and tired of reading about this, but for some reason I still feel that this issue MUST get out to the public. This MUST get beyond the world of conspiracy theories. It MUST become mainstream. And like the Mainstream Media, the only way to achieve popular consumption is by constant repetition.

I think we have finally reached the fault line on this issue of bogus terrorist plots being paraded by bogus governments intent on maintaining a bogus aura of fear. With shows like MSNBC Countdown debunking the latest terrorist scare and Huffington Post getting in on the action as well, the collective light bulb is beginning to flicker on.

Here is a very nice segment on Countdown with Keith Olbermann where he breaks down the past 15 or so terrorist scares and the 'coincidental' overlap with politically damaging events.

And I really liked this well written article (posted below) by Ariana Huffington on the JFK Plot. She adds a good point when noting that the scare tactics are not coming from the government alone, but also from the ratings-hungry media:

"What's more, the wave of red alert press coverage turns out to have been based on a misunderstanding of how jet fuel pipelines work. "Such an attack would have crippled America's economy," wailed AP's Adam Goldman. And people wonder why the public has become cynical about how the media uses the war on terror to boost their ratings and circulation."

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The JFK Pipeline "Plot"

The JFK pipeline plot appears to be the work of yet another gang that couldn't jihad straight.

Its ring leader made a living exporting broken air-conditioner parts to Guyana. Talk about your boom market! Where can I buy stock?

There was no set plan. There was no financing. They didn't have any explosives -- and yet government officials were quoted calling the amorphous plot "one of the most chilling plots imaginable" that almost "resulted in unfathomable damage, deaths, and destruction." And people wonder why the public has become cynical about how the war on terror is being used for political purposes.

What's more, the wave of red alert press coverage turns out to have been based on a misunderstanding of how jet fuel pipelines work. "Such an attack would have crippled America's economy," wailed AP's Adam Goldman. And people wonder why the public has become cynical about how the media uses the war on terror to boost their ratings and circulation.

We've been down this road before, with the Fort Dix Six. We are told again and again that if we don't fight "them" over there, we'll have to fight "them" over here -- perhaps at Circuit City, where all new jihadists take their holy war recruitment tapes to be burned onto a DVD.

And we traveled a similar path with that supposedly terrifying plot to bring down the Sears Tower that was hatched by the "Seas of David" nut jobs down in Liberty City, Florida and egged on by the FBI. These things always seem to follow a pattern: Start with a big media splash: "We got the bad guys! We saved the country!" Then it slowly comes out that the terrorists might not have been so terrifying. Indeed, they are boobs that go to Circuit City to get their jihadist recruitment video burned onto DVD, or they are low-level criminals with delusions of grandeur, goaded into grander fantasies and bigger targets by informants who are getting paid or getting their sentences reduced by the FBI if they deliver.

Then we have fear-mongering presidential candidates like Rudy Giuliani wasting no time laying the JFK plot and the Fort Dix plot at the feet of "Islamic terrorists" -- raising the specter of Osama bin Laden.

It's almost comical how Giuliani keeps trying to present himself as a national security expert. Let's not forget: this is the guy who strongly backed the scandal-plagued Bernie Kerik to be in charge of Homeland Security. Is that the kind of appointment we can expect from President Giuliani (even saying the words makes me feel less safe)?

Michael Bloomberg, Giuliani's replacement as mayor of New York, took a rightly dismissive approach to the JFK plot hype: "You can't sit there and worry about everything. Get a life. You have a much greater danger of being hit by lightning than being struck by a terrorist."

Especially a terrorist like the ones lusting after JFK.

I hear the grumbling from my loyal readership...yes, all three of you. So, I've decided to throw you guys a bone and introduce the GNP (Good News Post). I'm through with being a pessimist and will dedicate my efforts to Good News in the Ummah.

Just don't hold your breath waiting for the next GNP. Woops...My bad, there I go again.

============

Mohammed likely to top British boys' names list by year-end

Mohammed will likely become the most popular name for baby boys in Britain by the end of the year, The Times reported on Wednesday, citing government data.

Though official records from the Office for National Statistics list the spelling Mohammed 23rd in its yearly analysis of the top 3,000 names given to children, when all the different spellings of the name are taken into account, it ranks second, only behind Jack, according to The Times.

There are various different spellings of the name because when it is transliterated into English from Arabic, families spell it as closely to their own pronunciations as possible.

In total, 5,991 baby boys were given some version of the name Mohammed, with 6,928 baby boys named Jack.

Thomas was third with 5,921 names, with Joshua and Oliver rounding out the top five.

According to The Times, if the growth of the name Mohammed continues -- it rose by 12 percent last year -- the name will take the top spot by the end of this year.

Here we go again. Remember how several years ago the president of Iran made the infamous speech where he called for the destruction of Israel by 'wiping it off the map'? Well he supposedly repeated that claim a few days ago and as expected, the UN and company are calling for his head.

However, when I read the BBC report (produced below), my gut reaction was instant bewilderment. Ahmadinejad never explicitly stated that Israel the state should be destroyed, but the 'corrupt occupier regime' that runs it (read Regime Change). I found there to be a clear distinction. Was I the only one to pick up on this disparity?

Apparently not. I searched the web and found this Wikipedia article explaining the actual Persian text of his original 2005 speech. Additionally, I found this article by Jonathan Steele of the UK Guardian that there may be some thing lost in the translation and not just by accident.

You be the judge.

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UN condemns Ahmadinejad comments

UN chief Ban Ki-moon has said he was "shocked and dismayed" at recent comments by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad about Israel.

Iran's official news agency reported Mr Ahmadinejad saying that the world would soon see Israel's destruction.

He said the war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006 showed for the first time Israel's weakness.

The Iranian leader is a trenchant critic of Israel and has said the Holocaust of European Jewry is a myth.

"The secretary-general points out that the state of Israel is a full and longstanding member of the United Nations with the same rights and obligations as every other member," the UN statement read.

"Under the United Nations Charter, all members have undertaken to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state."

Controversial comments

Mr Ahmadinejad was quoted by Irna, the official Iranian news agency, as saying: "The hegemony of the occupier regime [Israel] had collapsed, and the Lebanese nation pushed the button to begin counting the days until the destruction of the Zionist regime."

"God willing, in the near future we will witness the destruction of the corrupt occupier regime," Mr Ahmadinejad said.

In October 2005, the Iranian president made a statement in which he envisaged the replacement of Israel with a Palestinian state. This was widely translated as a call for Israel to be "wiped off the map".

While he has repeated similar comments many times, he has insisted that Iran is not a threat to Israel.

Israel failed to achieve its stated aims in the war with Hezbollah last year.

An Israeli inquiry into the war concluded in April that Israel's political and military leaders were guilty of "very serious failings" in handling the war.

Its 11:30pm and I walk up to the counter to start the check-in process while simultaneously beckoning my wife's parents to sit down and relax. The journey was not very long, only an hour flight from Riyadh, but time has taken its toll on their frail bodies. The nice young Saudi behind the counter speaks very nice English – I guess the hiring standards here are a bit more stringent – and welcomes me to the Mecca Hilton.

As he is processing the information, my wife's mother resolutely walks up to the counter, credit card in hand, insisting that she pay for the room. I softly decline her sincere offer, but she won't take no for an answer. She turns to the receptionist and asks him to refuse my payment and instead take her card. He looks unsettled by the request and smiles with a polite shake of his head. My mother continues and before I can compile a complete rebuttal, the man saves me by stating that the computer system will only process the specific card used for the reservation.

He understood the situation. He understood the respect owed to the parents. He understood the repulsion of a grown man allowing his parents to pay.

She politely argues. He respectfully refuses. She sternly insists. He kindly rebuffs. I try to interject with my two cents, but get swatted like an annoying fly. He needs no direction from me as to how to deal with the persistent elder while she gives me the irritated mother look that says ‘Go away child!’

He reiterates his initial explanation and adds that she is like his mother, ‘If I could do anything to accept your card, I would’. She puts the card away having lost the battle, but refuses to lose the war. She takes out a handful of money, 'Then take cash!' she pleads. Patiently, as though he has been through this type of exchange countless number of times, he says that the computer system can only process the credit card used for the reservation – no possibility for cash. Having put up a good fight, she finally backs down and reluctantly returns to the couch. And so started our 24-hour jaunt to the birthplace of Muhammad (saw).

Time for Dhuhr. Time to wake up. Having performed an Umrah that lasted until Fajr, we took advantage of the long break between sunrise and noon by returning to the hotel. Now its time to wake. No more time for sleep. I now return to the House that Ibrahim (saw) built with one specific goal in mind – Allah (swt). I need to reconnect with Allah (swt). I need to reestablish my lifeline.

Here’s a nice spot. Perfect, unobstructed view. Not many people around. Ideal location to soak in the Ka'bah and all its existential wonders. But my focus gets quickly diverted.

So many people with such variety. It is spellbinding and mindboggling. The contingency from Indonesia dominated by scores of tiny women marked by small green insignias of their Umrah group pinned to the back of their white scarves scurries along as a flock of penguins afraid of getting swallowed by the polar bear of a crowd.

Looking back up at the Ka'bah, I swiftly remind myself that merely looking at it is an act of worship. Yet I keep failing. My attention continues to get diverted by the endless flow of the world's peoples as they pass my way in their circumambulation.

Where are the outrageous colors worn by the African pilgrims? Umrah visas likely haven’t been issued for Nigeria and its neighbors I suppose. Fear not, for they have been duly replaced by the equally brazen shades of shalwar kameez donned by the Indo-Pakistani women.

Here comes a Turkish congregation made up of young well-bearded men wearing calm white knee-length overcoats with matching turbans, surely the mark of a Sufi group. Amazing how they stand out even on the blindingly bright white marble floor.

Persian women march along with their chadors pulled over their heads and the sides pulled up and clenched between their teeth, either as an attempt at a face-cover or a functional innovation to prevent it from dragging on the ground.

The graceful walk with an unimaginably straight posture of the elderly rural Pakistani women, surely the result of decades of carrying buckets and pots on their heads, puts to shame the plasticity of any NYC supermodel on the catwalk, who learned to walk with a book on her head and for no other serviceable utility but to show off the clothes on her body.

Enough with the people! Focus! I choose to look down and immediately notice a child sitting in front of me next to his father. Iranians – I can tell from the khaki shirt tucked into the father’s dark slacks in addition to the dark stubble gracing his beardless face. I can’t help but smile when I see the boy playfully swinging a small bag of birdseeds over his shoulder, lightly smacking his back, mimicking a motion he has seen myriad times back home.

Only in Mecca.

Truly my short attention span is indicative of my depraved spiritual state. How can I ever dream to scale these walls of my insatiable nafs when even in the presence of the Ka'bah I am unable to maintain my focus on Allah?

While my ears are straining to hear the celestial calls to the Divine - of the Divine - by the Divine – ringing through my heart ‘Allah! Allah!’, my eyes persist in drawing attention to the swarms of people, preventing the spiritual ascension I so desperately crave.

Or could it be that Allah is deliberately summoning me towards the source of my distraction? Are we not commanded to live and love amongst the peoples of the world? Hermits and monks we are not. Attention to our fellow man ought not to stifle the spirit; it must be used as a vehicle to gaining greater heights.

While endeavoring to build a connection with the Creator, I have inadvertently stumbled onto building a connection with the creation. And in connecting with the creation, have I not but connected with the Creator?

Only in Mecca.

And what about my fine Meccan friend behind the hotel counter? Having so deftly dealt with the urgings of my dear mother, he returned to punching some keys into the computer. He then looked up at me, gave a quick glance to my seated mother, and with a glean in his eye and wry smile on his face, whispered 'Mr Aslam, will you be paying with your credit card or cash?' Only in Mecca.

Here are two timely articles touching on the topic of informants. The first is a nice HuffPo satirical peice on how to become an informant. And the second one is an actual interview of an ex-Muslim ex-FBI informant, currently in hiding.

Nora Ephron "How to Foil a Terrorist Plot in Seven Simple Steps"

Washington Post "The Informer"

I had posted previously on the fiendish attempts by the American law enforcement cabal to stir up a media frenzy and divert attention from their ongoing losses in Iraq and Afghanistan. So many of these terrorism cases are oozing with entrapment - desperate measures by a desperate administration hiring desperate informants.

Cindy Sheehan, the mother of slain US soldier Casey Sheehan, resigned from her unofficial position as the spokesperson for the anti-war movement. After years of trying to make a 'change', she finally gave up. She sums up the political and social infestations in American society in the following two lines:

"People of the world look on us Americans as jokes because we allow our political leaders so much murderous latitude and if we don’t find alternatives to this corrupt “two” party system our Representative Republic will die and be replaced with what we are rapidly descending into with nary a check or balance: a fascist corporate wasteland."

"Casey died for a country which cares more about who will be the next American Idol than how many people will be killed in the next few months while Democrats and Republicans play politics with human lives."

Tell me again what Western Muslims think they can accomplish from working within the decrepit democratic models of the West? If after years of struggling against the political machinery of Washington, Sheehan has come to this conclusion, what pray tell do us Muslims think we can ever accomplish in this 'fascist corporate wasteland'?

And its not about choosing the correct party (Repubs, Dems, or even Independents) to ally ourselves with, for they ALL have an interest in maintaining the status quo:

"The first conclusion is that I was the darling of the so-called left as long as I limited my protests to George Bush and the Republican Party. Of course, I was slandered and libeled by the right as a “tool” of the Democratic Party...

However, when I started to hold the Democratic Party to the same standards that I held the Republican Party, support for my cause started to erode and the “left” started labeling me with the same slurs that the right used."

Its time for a new, fresh approach - protests and boycotts only work to the extent the ruling power allows. Nothing more, always less. Cindy Sheehan learned that the hard way. How long will it take for American Muslims to understand that?

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Good Riddance Attention Whore
by Cindy Sheehan

I have endured a lot of smear and hatred since Casey was killed and especially since I became the so-called “Face” of the American anti-war movement. Especially since I renounced any tie I have remaining with the Democratic Party, I have been further trashed on such “liberal blogs” as the Democratic Underground. Being called an “attention whore” and being told “good riddance” are some of the more milder rebukes.

I have come to some heartbreaking conclusions this Memorial Day Morning. These are not spur of the moment reflections, but things I have been meditating on for about a year now. The conclusions that I have slowly and very reluctantly come to are very heartbreaking to me.

The first conclusion is that I was the darling of the so-called left as long as I limited my protests to George Bush and the Republican Party. Of course, I was slandered and libeled by the right as a “tool” of the Democratic Party. This label was to marginalize me and my message. How could a woman have an original thought, or be working outside of our “two-party” system?

However, when I started to hold the Democratic Party to the same standards that I held the Republican Party, support for my cause started to erode and the “left” started labeling me with the same slurs that the right used. I guess no one paid attention to me when I said that the issue of peace and people dying for no reason is not a matter of “right or left”, but “right and wrong.”

I am deemed a radical because I believe that partisan politics should be left to the wayside when hundreds of thousands of people are dying for a war based on lies that is supported by Democrats and Republican alike. It amazes me that people who are sharp on the issues and can zero in like a laser beam on lies, misrepresentations, and political expediency when it comes to one party refuse to recognize it in their own party. Blind party loyalty is dangerous whatever side it occurs on. People of the world look on us Americans as jokes because we allow our political leaders so much murderous latitude and if we don’t find alternatives to this corrupt “two” party system our Representative Republic will die and be replaced with what we are rapidly descending into with nary a check or balance: a fascist corporate wasteland. I am demonized because I don’t see party affiliation or nationality when I look at a person, I see that person’s heart. If someone looks, dresses, acts, talks and votes like a Republican, then why do they deserve support just because he/she calls him/herself a Democrat?

I have also reached the conclusion that if I am doing what I am doing because I am an “attention whore” then I really need to be committed. I have invested everything I have into trying to bring peace with justice to a country that wants neither. If an individual wants both, then normally he/she is not willing to do more than walk in a protest march or sit behind his/her computer criticizing others. I have spent every available cent I got from the money a “grateful” country gave me when they killed my son and every penny that I have received in speaking or book fees since then. I have sacrificed a 29 year marriage and have traveled for extended periods of time away from Casey’s brother and sisters and my health has suffered and my hospital bills from last summer (when I almost died) are in collection because I have used all my energy trying to stop this country from slaughtering innocent human beings. I have been called every despicable name that small minds can think of and have had my life threatened many times.

The most devastating conclusion that I reached this morning, however, was that Casey did indeed die for nothing. His precious lifeblood drained out in a country far away from his family who loves him, killed by his own country which is beholden to and run by a war machine that even controls what we think. I have tried every since he died to make his sacrifice meaningful. Casey died for a country which cares more about who will be the next American Idol than how many people will be killed in the next few months while Democrats and Republicans play politics with human lives. It is so painful to me to know that I bought into this system for so many years and Casey paid the price for that allegiance. I failed my boy and that hurts the most.

I have also tried to work within a peace movement that often puts personal egos above peace and human life. This group won’t work with that group; he won’t attend an event if she is going to be there; and why does Cindy Sheehan get all the attention anyway? It is hard to work for peace when the very movement that is named after it has so many divisions.

Our brave young men and women in Iraq have been abandoned there indefinitely by their cowardly leaders who move them around like pawns on a chessboard of destruction and the people of Iraq have been doomed to death and fates worse than death by people worried more about elections than people. However, in five, ten, or fifteen years, our troops will come limping home in another abject defeat and ten or twenty years from then, our children’s children will be seeing their loved ones die for no reason, because their grandparents also bought into this corrupt system. George Bush will never be impeached because if the Democrats dig too deeply, they may unearth a few skeletons in their own graves and the system will perpetuate itself in perpetuity.

I am going to take whatever I have left and go home. I am going to go home and be a mother to my surviving children and try to regain some of what I have lost. I will try to maintain and nurture some very positive relationships that I have found in the journey that I was forced into when Casey died and try to repair some of the ones that have fallen apart since I began this single-minded crusade to try and change a paradigm that is now, I am afraid, carved in immovable, unbendable and rigidly mendacious marble.

Camp Casey has served its purpose. It’s for sale. Anyone want to buy five beautiful acres in Crawford, Texas? I will consider any reasonable offer. I hear George Bush will be moving out soon, too…which makes the property even more valuable.

This is my resignation letter as the “face” of the American anti-war movement. This is not my “Checkers” moment, because I will never give up trying to help people in the world who are harmed by the empire of the good old US of A, but I am finished working in, or outside of this system. This system forcefully resists being helped and eats up the people who try to help it. I am getting out before it totally consumes me or anymore people that I love and the rest of my resources.

Good-bye America…you are not the country that I love and I finally realized no matter how much I sacrifice, I can’t make you be that country unless you want it.

It’s up to you now.

Cindy Sheehan is the mother of Spc. Casey Austin Sheehan who was KIA in Iraq on 04/04/04. She is a co-founder and President of Gold Star Families for Peace and the author of two books: Not One More Mother’s Child and Dear President Bush.