Naeem's Blog

It's time we inject some much-needed perspective into our discussions of groups like the Taliban and Somalia's Al-Shabab. Too many Muslims living in the West have gotten sucked into the efforts to demonize these groups. While I'm not here to defend them, I must clearly state that I don't believe they are evil, as some fellow bloggers have declared them to be.

Sure, these groups are peddling a version of Islam that is foreign to our sensibilities (as reported by Western media) - enforcing the hudood, restricting women's rights, oppressing minorities, etc.

However, it just seems that so many of us are bending over backwards in denouncing these "deviant" groups to appease our compatriots. In either trying to prove our allegiance to liberal, democratic ideals or establishing our credentials in the ongoing war on terror, we're ok with the collateral damage caused by throwing these groups under the bus. All the while conveniently overlooking the societal context in which they came to existence - extreme warlordism, civil war, foreign occupation, rampant crime and rape, and so on.

For all the negative hoopla surrounding these groups, people forget one most essential consideration: they have succeeded where countless others have failed - establishing peace and stability. Western media is quick to focus on the undoubtedly extremist views they impart, but overlooks a more critical benefit that is welcomed by the local population - peace of mind.

My father traveled to Afghanistan back in the 90's as part of a medical support team and the overwhelming sentiment shared by the population was their collective sigh of relief with the safety situation established by the Taliban. After years of war with Russia and the ensuing warlord-based government, the Afghan on the street was finally able to feel some sense of safety and security. Sure, many didn't take kindly to the harsh interpretation of Islamic law, but they found that a small price to pay for a relatively crime-free, stable society.

Exactly the same feelings were expressed by Marian Zeila, chairperson of the Somali Media Women's Association, in this BBC report:

"Sharia law is a part of Islam, it's in the Koran. But it's their interpretation of the law that I disagree with. They are turning Islam into a harsh religion, which I don't believe it actually is...While the transitional government was in charge there was insecurity in Baidoa, they were unable to protect civilians. At least the al-Shabab have restored stability - for the time being."

So before we decide to get on our high horses and offer up our knee-jerk condemnations of these groups for misrepresenting or distorting Islam, let us try and understand the socio-political context of their rise. Or at the very least, as some have suggested, let's simply leave them alone.

I hesitate to write too much about Zionism as too many Muslims use it as a vehicle to transport their anti-Semitic sentiments (which is a very real problem in the Muslim world). However, in this case, I feel the stench from the Zionist propaganda efforts have become too strong to ignore.

Most of you may have heard about the BBC's refusal to air an appeal for humanitarian aid for the Gaza relief effort. And then Sky News (I see them as UK's version of Fox News) needed to get in on the action and decided to follow suit.

This is par for the course as we have seen for many years the old media (print and TV) step to the tune of the Israeli lobby. However, what has really upset me is the way this pressure has migrated to the new media, the Internet.

DIGG is a popular social networking site that allows users to positively 'digg' (or negatively 'bury') a web page, image, or video. There are others like it, such as Reddit and StumbleUpon. All of these sites make use of the internet community to popularize content on the web. So by way of an open vote, links of value are promoted to the front page garnering tens of thousands of views.

So this effort was adopted by a small group of pro-Palestinian supporters who felt that the Israeli propaganda machine could be countered by recruiting fellow supporters to flood these sites with articles and videos promoting their point of view.

MuslimMatters.org, a prominent group blog, spearheaded the effort by sending out regular action-alerts with articles to support. A group in Facebook was created with over 700 members. And so the seed was planted to create a voice for Muslims on the Internet. After all, Israeli supporters have a similar effort with nearly 40,000 members.

(On a side note: Normally, I'm not a strong fan of mimicking the seemingly successful efforts of the Israelis - too many Muslims say 'Look at what the Jews have accomplished' as an argument to replicate their ways. This is an extremely defeatist attitude and Muslims need to create their own identity.

While I do believe that Muslims have serious housecleaning to perform, the battle for hearts and minds in the public sphere must be engaged and the Internet is a new battleground where we can succeed.)

However, no sooner had this effort gained some momentum did the good folks at Digg pull the plug. They banned all diggs for the MuslimMatters blog due to violations of their policies. And they have been extremely rude and blunt in their communications, expressing no desire to discuss or explain their decision. While monstrous efforts such as Giyus.org continue unabated, the newcomer gets the shaft.

Oh well. Such are the ways of bullies.

But all is not lost. 60 Minutes aired an amazing piece sympathetic to the Palestinian perspective. Check it out:

It irks me to no end how Israel carries out its genocidal policies in the shadow of great American political events, using them as smokescreen for their insidious acts.

For example, it's become an indisputable fact that Israel broke the 4-month long truce on November 4, 2008 (US Election Day) when they went into Gaza and killed 6 Palestinians.

And now we have Israel coincidentally halting their 3-week bombing of Gaza on the eve of the great Obama inauguration, like a group of bumbling teenagers cleaning up after their raucous house party before the parents return home. The level of chutzpah that Israel displays in trying to outsmart their American sponsors never ceases to amaze me. And the saddest part is that most Americans fall for it - lock, stock, and barrel.

Of course to anyone who has intimately followed the countless criminal acts of Israel, this is not news. Nonetheless, I felt the need to get it off my chest.

Anyways, let us not forget that despite the ceasefire, the siege on Gaza continues.

Juan Cole presents Top 10 stories of 2008 from the Muslim World.

I really like this new service at MuslimCo.com - they provide streaming access to a host of Muslim TV channels from around the world. (h/t to Mujahideen Ryder)

Amazing Plants. I'm particularly amused by the Orchid flowers that use sexual deception to allure male insects. Amazing how sex is such a powerful tool even in the plant and insect kingdoms!

Not sure why, but I watched this video several times and each time I cracked up even more. I guess I'm very easily amused:

So the latest news coming out of Somalia is that as Ethopian troops are moving out, in-fighting has begun between the moderate Ahlus Sunna wal Jamaat and the more extreme Al-Shabab. Al-Shabab is accusing the Ahlus Sunna group of being warlords, while the Ahlus Sunna accuses Al-Shabab of being foreign fighters sympathizing with Al-Qaeda.

And then there are unsubstantiated reports that the UIC (Islamic Courts) are in battle with the Shabab.

Eerily similar to what happened in Afghanistan after Russia pulled out.

Here we go again. Sigh.

It's quite confusing trying to sort out fact from fiction, truth from propaganda, but my understanding is that most Somalis are moderates with links to Sufism, so they aren't very welcoming of the firebrand version of Islam enforced by Al-Shabab. I recently saw a lengthy interview on Al-Jazeera with one of their leaders and while he seemed sincere, humble, and committed to Islam, he was parroting the Al-Qaeda sales pitch which definitely won't go over well with many Somalis.

But let us look at the bigger picture and agree that such militant movements are really incapable in achieving the real goal of Shariah. The level of adherence to the laws of Allah (swt) in the societal level are merely a reflection of the adherence to those laws on a personal level. The Shariah can never be implemented through the barrel of a gun or the casting of a ballot - it must come via the transformation of the hearts.

I wrote about this before:

And therefore, as a blessing to us (as well as the rest of world), Allah (swt) has placed a political straitjacket on the Ummah – preventing it from tasting any political power so as to prevent it from causing any harm unto others or to itself.

As a blessing to us (and the rest of world), we will continue to see failed political/military efforts for establishing Muslim states or electing Muslim leaders (Algeria, Sudan, Somalia, Afghanistan, Hamas, Anwar Ibrahim).

Allah (swt) will either send the Americans or a military junta or the Ethiopians or the Israelis or even a 23-year-old political aide, but the results will be the same – no power for the Muslims.

We simply are not ready for the immensely grave responsibility of being representatives of the Most High (khalifat-Allah).

As I see it, I refuse to place a gun in my child's hands. Similarly, Allah (swt) has refused to place power in the Ummah's hands.

That's why Islamic political parties (as found in Turkey, Malaysia, Palestine) will never succeed. Nor will militant groups (as found in Somalia and Afghanistan). Sure they may bring about short-term relief in repelling occupying forces, but they will never succeed in the long-term.

Not until the hearts of the masses begin to respect the words of Allah (swt) and the practice of His beloved Prophet (saw).

Some idiot recently wrote about needing to choose action over emotion in these trying times. What he so conveniently forgot was the more fundamental role played by faith.

Action is all good and well, especially when it replaces vacuous emotion. However, neither can carry a stick to the ever-essential faith. Our concrete faith in our Creator must be established before any action is carried out or emotion is expressed.

This faith comes from silencing the all-too-pervasive Logic that has taken control. Logic dictates that actionable steps are the sole means to achieving change. Logic dictates that power is needed to gain respect. Logic dictates that literacy rates, GDP, Internet access, and other silly statistics are measurements of healthy, successful societies. Logic dictates and we submit.

We've become enslaved to our logic. Everything must fall into neatly laid out cause-and-effect.

Where was the logic in Musa (AS) striking the raging sea with his measly staff with the army of Pharaoh in hot pursuit?

Where was the logic in Maryam (AS), suffering the pangs of delivering Isa (AS), shaking the stout palm tree in hopes of dates falling?

Where was the logic in 313 poorly armed foot soldiers facing a heavily armed cavalry of 1000 in the valley of Badr?

Those historic actions were carried out with an unshakable trust and belief in the power of the One who creates and controls cause-and-effect.

So now our new-found god of Logic is dictating that we need a strategy to pull ourselves out of our centuries-long stagnation. This includes education, political activism, social work, economic empowerment, and so on.

All important and invaluable steps, no doubt. However, the foundation of certain faith (Yaqin) must come first. Slaying the idols of logic and cause-and-effect must come first.

We must have that undying faith that adherence to the Sunnah is more critical to success than any college degree or any lobby group. We must exude certainty that our Creator is the sole source of victory, not military force or political acumen.

Until we do, the pain and suffering will continue.

I just listened to an amazing lecture by Imam Zaid Shakir on the appropriate response to the current crisis in Gaza.

I've incorporated much from his talk with some thoughts of mine:

Many are getting very emotional over this deservedly charged issue. Emotion is a commodity not very scarce in the Muslim peoples.

We responded with emotion when Lebanon was invaded by Israel in 1978 and 1982. And we went back to our lives.

We responded with emotion and anger when Palestinians were slaughtered in the first Intifada of the late 80's. And we went back to our lives.

We responded with anger when Sharon marched into the sanctified grounds of Al-Aqsa, leading to the second Intifada in 2000. And we went back to our lives.

What we failed to do in each instance, was to direct that emotion and energy towards constructive change. Social change. Political change. Spiritual Change. Economic Change.

Imam Zaid pointed to the massive protests and rallies that take place in the wake of such tragedies and asked if we've ever seen the pro-Zionist camp at our rallies. They may number 20-30 at most. Reason being that their core supporters are busy in ensuring that the current dynamics remain in their favor.

I'm sick and tired of these stupid rallies that serve more to appease the guilt of the protesters than to aid the cause of the oppressed.

Our response must not be extra prayer for a few nights or weeks, but to institute that into our daily lives. It must not be a check of $500 in support of Gaza, but rather sponsoring an orphanage or a school (like Zaytuna College for which Imam Zaid was raising funds) or organizations like CAIR.

Our response must not be passive crying and wailing, but an active commitment to becoming better human beings - with our relatives, with our friends, with our neighbors, with total strangers.

And until that happens, the One who has beset us with these trials and tribulations will continue to do so.

I think it's time we come to that harsh realization that WE are the cause for the suffering in Gaza, in Iraq, in Somalia, in Congo, and so on. It is due to OUR failings that so many are in pain.

So let us for once put aside the short-lived emotions and work on long-term actionable steps that we can take as individuals, families, and communities.

This has got to be a joke. There is no way Israel would be so sinister and conniving as to sign a crooked natural gas deal worth $4 billion while bombing away at Gaza. There is just no way this story can be true. Please tell me Israel and BG are just not that stupid.

read more | digg story

Global Research has a more in-depth article on this topic here. Very interesting read.

In the midst of this all-out media and web blitz on the Gaza crisis, I'm feeling a bit confused. While my outrage at the tragic events is self-explanatory, I have an additional nagging feeling - a feeling that I'm being manipulated emotionally. And not just me, but the whole lot of us.

I'm incapable of putting into words the horror of what's going on in Gaza. It's truly maddening. But then again, how is the suffering there any more worthier of our attention than the horrors in Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Congo, Darfur, and so on?

How come Al-Jazeera English is broadcasting non-stop from Israel, Palestine, and Egypt with what seems like their entire crew of reporters, while nary a whisper is coming from the other hot spots around the world? Even when the humanitarian crisis in DR Congo was the main news story, they only had one or two reporters assigned to it.

The same goes for CNN International and BBC News.

If it's a pro-Israel bias (which CNN and BBC may be accused of), then one would assume that less coverage of the one-sided affair would be better for the Israeli cause. Not really sure what their agenda is...

I'm actually more upset with the likes of Al-Jazeera. Are they giving it such serious airtime because it's the Holy Land? Or maybe because it's Jews massacring Muslims?

Don't get me wrong. I love Al-Jazeera English for the amazing coverage of stories that never get the light of day in the rest of the media world, especially their unparalleled reporting from South America and Africa.

I'm just not comfortable with the extreme media coverage being given to this issue. Something just doesn't feel natural. I feel like I'm being agitated and poked and prodded to become angry, hopeless, enraged, frustrated, heartbroken, helpless, maddened.

And my other beef is with us, for the gluttony in coverage has brought about a gluttony in reaction. Again, don't get me wrong - it's very heartening to see all these efforts taking place in support of Palestine - fundraising, protests, boycotts, etc. But doesn't it seem like we're simply pandering to the media and its high level of coverage? I feel we've become a Pavlovian people who upon hearing the ringing of the media's bell immediately begin salivating with cries of rage and calls to action.

Am I the only one thinking this?

Celebrating the REAL best of the Muslim blogworldosphere!

Yeah, yeah, so the 'Hey look at us, we're the Brass Crescent poo poo Awards' folks finally gave out their annual awards to the best Muslim bloggers. Or at least that's what someone told me. You see, I just wasn't paying attention this year and it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact I wasn't nominated.

Last year the great minds at BCppA considered my blog worthy of one of their poo poo awards. I, on the other hand, felt one was not enough. I made what I felt to be a convincing case that my blog ought to have been considered for every category. Oddly enough, they didn't see things my way.

No problem. I figured they'd see the error of their ways and eventually come around. So 12 months and hundreds of posts later, you can guess my sheer surprise when I not only failed to get nominated for every single category, but didn't even garner one measly nomination.

No worries (that's Australian for no problem, don't hate me cause I'm multilingual), I was prepared for this most unfortunate turn of events.

This past weekend, I convened the greatest minds of the Muslim blogging world for the sole purpose of nominating blogs for the first annual Gold Star Awards - the way I see it, Gold is better than Brass and a Star is bigger and brighter than a puny little Crescent (bitter? who me? pshawwwright).

Since we're on the topic of that other award whose name we shall no more mention (rhymes with Bass Present), I have it on high authority (my 10-yr old daughter is taking French) that Crescent is in fact English for a French delicacy called the Croissant (the T is silent - so she tells me). So I'm not sure who the marketing people the good folks at that other Muslim blog award (rhymes with Crass Peasant) hired, but they may want to look for a new title. I mean c'mon people, what kind of an award is a croissant?? Do you need MY brain to realize that croissants don't make for good awards?!

Did I mention that I'm not bitter or anything? 'Cuz you know, I'm not. Really.

Anyways, our crack team studied and evaluated over 10,000,000 Muslim blogs with a standard unmatched in the entire blogging world. We'd like to thank all the participants for taking part - in our eyes, you are ALL winners (some less than others).

We chose to present the awards without opening it up for voting - basically, you people simply aren't smart enough. That's why we hired a group of recently laid-off Yahoo! engineers who devised a fool-proof algorithm. We're confident you all will be pleased with the results.

So every winner of the Gold Star Award will receive an original Gold Star made of 24-carrots. We simply ask the proud winners to send us a self-addressed stamped envelope to winners@gsa.com and we'll take care of the rest. No need to thank us. The looks on your face will be enough reward for us. And of course, the winners will have the special rights to proudly display this award logo on their blogs for all of 2009*:

Be proud, you winners are part of a select few.

Without any further delay, here are your winners for the 2008 Gold Star Awards:

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Best Actor Award - Dedicated to the blogger best acting like a real blogger.

Winner: MrEspy - Bro, you haven't posted regularly since August. What does a sick dog, a crying baby, and your blog have in common? They all need to be put to sleep! (Uhm, well, the sick dog might just need to see a vet and the crying baby may have gas, but regardless...your Espyisms blog needs to be put down)

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Most Eco-friendly Blog - Celebrating the bloggers who have consciously chosen a black background for the sole purpose of saving energy.

Winner: Umar Lee - who woulda guessed that the tough talking, uber-manly, gun-reaching Umar was actually a closet treehugger?! (Update: It seems that Umar has changed his background to white. Somehow he must have gotten a leaked copy of the Gold Star awards and made this change to embarrass and spite us. We will not be intimidated. Truth be told, the results of the annual Gold Star awards are the third most coveted item on the web, trailing only pics of Bristol Palin's baby and Windows 7)

Updated Winner: MrEspy - hey, eventhough his blog is garbage, at least it's environmentally friendly garbage.

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Freddie Kruger Award - To the blogger best able to conjure up the most frightening images.

Winner: Achelois - Lice-filled eyebrows and ungroomed armpits?! One year on and I still get chills when I see a desi Auntie walk into a room. Bonus points for her freaky self-portrait on the blog header - she looks like some statue. Suroor, I've got some cream that'll really soften up that rough skin!

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The George W Bush Blogging award - To the blogger with the most confusing blog posts.

Winner: Dunner - For this series of mind-numbing posts relating to Drum Corps ranking. Are they like the folks from the Peace Corps, but with drums? And they have rankings?!

And what's with all those Bedtime Music posts? Why are you constantly trying to put me to sleep? Listen bro, if I wanted to fall asleep, I'd go over to MuslimMatters and read Amad's exposition on the Miller-Modigliani Theorem as it relates to Islamic Finance.

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The Pakistani Stud award - For the most oxymoronic blog. Like a wise man once told me, 'If you wish to be a moron, better to be of the Oxy variety than the Balti'. (Natives of Baltimore are often lovingly referred to as Baltimorons, at least that's what my friends told me when I walked in on their conversation talking about me.)

Winner: aThinkingMuslim - what does a unicorn, a US president that will bring real change, and a thinking Muslim have in common? They're all figments of our imagination. (Hey yeah folks, I'll be here all week!)

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Best Muslim blog dedicated to an extinct Empire - For the blog that immediately comes to mind when you hear Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye (Lofty Ottoman State)

Winner: Yursil - for every other post dedicated to the Ottoman Empire. I mean, for God's sake, he's even got a post about some computer software that generates Ottoman music. Hey, I got an idea, how about a computer program that makes you stop pretending to be a Turk and start acting like the ABCD you really are?!

Fun Fact #1: Did you know that if you google Ottoman and Yursil, our good friend's blog comes up #1? Fun Fact #2: They actually have an entry at Wikipedia dedicated to explaining the term ABCD. Reason #3,622 why I love Wikipedia!

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The Petticoat Junction Award - In memory of this classic black and white TV show that I actually enjoyed when I was a kid, this award goes to the blogger who painfully reminds me of my old age.

Winner: MuslimKid - Anyone who writes on the stresses of Sunday School and pressures of puppy love makes me feel very old. Really very old.

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The Wilford Brimley Award - For the blogger who thankfully reminds me 'at least I'm not as old as THAT dude'. You'll note that no women bloggers were included in this category. There are some sacred grounds that one simply cannot venture into.

Winner: Darvish - Ya Haqq!
Runner-up: Dunner - Anyone who...Wait a sec, the dude just had his first child. My oldest (of three) is 10. Maybe he should be in the previous category?!

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The 2008 Detroit Lions Award (for the international audience who have no clue who the Lions are, this award is called the Saudi Arabia-in-every-FIFA-World-Cup Award) - In celebration of teams that can never win, this award goes to the blogger who always loses.

Winner: Captain Chaos - For his various posts detailing the innovative ways he finds to lose an argument to his wife. For the love of God, win an argument man! You'd think with a WWF name like Captain Chaos, the brother would pull some superfly-Snuka move and win just once.

Runner-up: Achelois - For getting nominated three times in the past two years for that other blogging award (rhymes with Fast Pheasant) and having nothing to show for it. Let's setup a cage match with Achelois and Captain Chaos...I'd pay top dollar to find out who the biggest loser is. We could sell exclusive broadcast rights to HalalTube. Tell me I'm not the only one thinking this...

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Best Blog by a Sister from New Orleans living in Dubai - Because we noticed a blatant gender bias in the awards, we added this token category to appease our female constituency. Please send all notes of appreciation to my personal email femlib4ever@gmail.com.

Winner: Izzy Mo - Good job sister. Keep up the good work being the best New Orleansian blogging sister living in Dubai. I haven't tried it, but I bet if you google New Orleans, Dubai, Izzy, and Blog, you'll be #1. Correct that, I just tried and you've got the top 5 results!! No small feat I tell ya. Bask in your sunlight. Muslimah+New Orleans+Dubai+Blogging=EPIC WIN of the Gold Star variety.

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The Miss Spelling Award - Dedicated to the blogger who forgot to spellcheck the title of his blog.

Winner: Mujahideen Ryder - I’ll admit I’m no spelling bee champ, but I'm guessing it's spelled Rider. Either that or you must have some sort of endorsement deal with the moving truck company. We'll cut you some slack since I hear you're a half Baltimoron.

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Ted Haggard Award - To the blogger who constantly denounces an oppressed minority while secretly harboring traits of said minority.

Winner: Sophister - for all his FOB jokes, me thinks our good friend is trying to cover up for some FOB-related deficiency. Anyone ever hear the dude speak?? Yeah, me neither. Sophister, clear your name by sending me an audio clip of you saying 'I love my wife's volkswagon, Yaar'.

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Favorite Blogging Stage Name - To the blogger who came up with the most imaginative blogging name.

For the first time ever in the long history of the Gold Star Awards, we have an unprecedented tie in this category.

Winner: Aziz Poonawalla. Very cool name you got there bro, but if I had to make one up, I woulda gone with Bloggerwalla. Just makes more sense. Kinda like a dentist renaming himself Dr. Dekay or Les Plack or a comedian named Joe Kerr.

Winner: Marc Manley. Perfect screen name for nikaah.com, but I can see its utility in the blogging world as well. After all, you just got married, no? To a blogging sister no less!

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Get-a-Real-Job award - Celebrating the blogger with the most free time on his hand.

Is there any doubt who the undisputed champion is? :-)

Have a great 1430/2009 everyone!

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*Please refrain from displaying our trademarked logo beyond 2009. Do not force us to pursue legal means. We will prosecute to the furthest extent of the law.

So the Arab League has convened an "emergency meeting" to address the Israeli strikes on Gaza while the UN Security Council is debating a draft resolution demanding a cease-fire.

Nothing new there. These pompous, self-appointed organizations have to go through the motions to feign interest and maybe even outrage at the suffering in Gaza.

The new twist comes from the protesting masses who have traditionally targeted Israel and America but are now directing some of their anger towards their own leaders. I saw in Al-Jazeera some Egyptian lady yelling at the top of her lungs, with her face turning red, "Where are our Arab Leaders???"

And that is truly unfortunate.

Why are we so good at deflecting blame and looking for a scapegoat to our problems?

I previously wrote about this terribly ugly trait we have embodied as a defeated Ummah:

"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."

Fellow blogger Izzy Mo said it well in her recent post:

"“Verily, God does not change the condition of a people until they change themselves.”

Until we get our act together, we will continue to be in this pathetic state."

How to address our pathetic state? Let's start with these time-tested suggestions.