Pluralist in Action

Assalamu'alaikum.

Pluralism. A philosophy that I've taken quite interested in. Because I think it's beautiful, and I think it's a transitional step to become a better person. Because from what I've seen and engaged, people with real pluralism in mind, they are really nice persons. These people - they act upon their belief. They are a bit like Muslims, where almost every step they take and things they do, they revolve around their principles. We may not realize it, but Islam is a very-very comprehensive and meticulous religion. Open up your Internet Explorer, Mozilla, Google, Safary or anything - and compare other religions with ours for good. You will be surprised by how our two main sources are preserved, and applied in our daily lives. Everything we do in our lives is an act of following the way of life of the greatest human on Earth - Prophet Muhammad. Peace and blessings be upon him.

But we are different in terms of faith. From one aspect, we feel relieved, calm, firm and assured by our faith because our physical proof which is the Quran is undeniably preserved and authentic - no doubt about it. And our creed comes with such a beautiful logic. It is like a nice person comes to our house, knocks politely, we feel safe, we like him and we invite him in. There's not an iota of doubt inviting him in. The same goes to our creed. Surah al Ikhlas in the Quran describes very well about our creed - that our God, Allah is the One and Only God. No father and son, independent, and nothing like Him. It follows the logic very well. It is our instinct to feel relief as we meet our purpose of life. We don't have vital conflicts to deal with - such as which one is greater? Jesus, the Father, or Holy Ghost? Nor we have any conflicting and contradicting premises between our scripture and our described creed such as Christians do. They have very much to deal, because the issues are fundamental - Original Sins, The Calling Eli Eli Lamma Sabatchani, who are the Sons of God, is there any other Alpha and Omega other than Jesus,  who are the real writers of important gospels and letters, does Christian's faith today is the real faith of Jesus or is it Pauline Christian, what about other sects that are dismissed especially during Council Of Nicea and many more. We can take another religions but it will be a very long list. While we Muslims, only have to deal with issues regarding misconceptions. So, it is a relief. Plus, we have a strong historical evidence and records following our stands, principles, and vital points of Islam.

Pluralists instead of referring to real physical records, evidences, and scriptures - they believe that truth lies everywhere. It is an entirely different context than we religious people (Read : Muslims, Christians, Hindus) usually believe. We believe that absolute truth is within our religion. Especially in Islam. We strongly believe that absolute truth is within Islam, and as for me, YES, I am confident that absolute truth lies in my religion. Is there any truth in any other religion? How can Muslims regard there is no truth in any other religion? Yes. We believe there have been some truths in other religion, as we believe Allah has sent thousands of messengers and prophets before Muhammad - two of them are Moses and Jesus(peace be upon them) which play a huge role in Judaism and Christianity. There is also possibility that Buddha and Hindu also originally a religion of Allah. But, as time passes by, we believe the essences are corrupted. And as Muhammad the last messenger of Allah, we believe it is a continuation and a completion of religion of Allah. Muhammad came and confirmed previous messages of previous prophets. We believe Muhammad did not create a new religion, but continued a legacy. In Quran for example, the proof that we believe there was a religion of God but carried different names - [2:62], Christians(Nasara), Jews(Yahudi - Haadu), Sabi'ins are example of it. The essence that should be in each of these old religions are belief in Allah, belief in the Day of Judgement, and the importance of good deeds. So if we take a verse from Chandogya Upanishad [6:1:2] "Ekam Evadvitiyam" which means "He is One without a Second" - yes, it is possible that once Hindu was also a religion of Allah. It is a normal perspective from any other religions that the absolute truth lies in theirs.

Islam, the last religion of Allah
Islam, is the last religion of Allah. A religion that will prevail to the end of time. The definition of Islam itself is sufficient to describe what does it really mean. Islam is not only a millah(religion) but it is the deen of Allah. Deen means 'way of life'. The word 'Islam' can be derived from three root words, 1. Aslama(to surrender) 2. Salima(pure, authentic) 3. Salam(peace). So, Islam means, "A way of life by submitting oneself to Allah in a pure and authentic way to attain inner peace and blessings". Why must I add 'pure and authentic' in the definition? To show you one of the differences between Islam and other religions. In Islam, everything we do have its sources. We worship Allah, the way Allah wants us to worship Him. Everything, is according to His wishes.

Pluralists believe that the truth may come from other religion as well - and none of these religions contain all the truth. They believe that everything in this world is inter-connected. Their main pillars are universal values - peace, human right, love, justice and many more. They acted on these values, and you can see that they are not biased to certain sides or groups. When you engage with them, you will learn to respect them. Because of how much efforts they have put to stand and act on what they believe. And I dare to say, although there is no actual pillar or reference to this belief, they hold it really firm. Truth can come from anyone, anywhere. In short, every religion is the same. Same in the context that it does not only bring people to the truth, but to the extent that details of each religion are not as important as the purpose of the religion itself. Contradictions are normal. When I first know about this philosophy, I was thinking, how can you live with all those contradictions in yourself? I mean, because they regard religions are all the same - and when they choose they want to live as a Muslim, they also think it's okay to wear cross or pray in a Gudwara to Satnam because nothing changes. Whoever God you worship, you will arrive to the truth. I myself don't understand how is this even possible. Such contradiction is unbearable.

Pluralism in Physics
But later, I come to understand the situation as I read a book "Isms and Oologies" by 'I don't remember who'.  The example is as follows. In physics, there are two 'contradicting' situations. Newtonian Mechanics and Quantum Mechanics. In Newtonian Mechanics, everything can be predicted and calculated. You can know an object will travel to where, its speed and arrive when - you just need enough information. But in Quantum Mechanics as Michio Kaku describes, 'nothing is certain'. It's a probabilistic world. You can never be sure, NEVER. For instance, you can only know either the momentum of an electron or its position. You can never know both. Never. Regardless how advanced the technology is, you will never know. It's the uncertainty principle.  For example, a specific electron can be at two places at one time. That's the quantum world. It behaves that way. Another example, if you shoot an electron at a big hill, there's a chance that the exact electron will create a tunnel through the hill and be at the other side of the hill. When we bring this example to macroscopic level, it is impossible. Earth cannot be at two places at a particular time. When we throw a ball to a thick hard wall, there's no way the ball could make a hole to that wall and be on the other side and the wall return hole-less. You got the idea? Quantum Mechanics is usually used to deal with things at microscopic level ie electrons and protons, while Newtonian Mechanics is used to deal with things at macroscopic level ie planets and stars. Today's scientists use both to deal with different problems - although in real life it's contradicting, but they use both to solve problems from both worlds. That's what we call pluralist. Still, in this scientific community, there are other people who believe in the theory of eveything - a theory that describes literally everything. They believe one day, the 'truth' they want will be found in the theory of eveything. While pluralist is okay with contradictions, this kind of people (monism) believes that absolute truth is contained in one entity. This kind of people is really much alike with us religious people. They are in search for ToE and they are not satisfied until they are able to explain why are Quantum Mechanics and other mechanics are so different etc. Except for each of us Muslims, Christians, and Jews believes that the absolute truth was already found and is within our own religion. (Read : QM as for now can also be applied to some aspects at macroscopic level)

Ada Shrodinger's cat di situ. Haha

He's a magnificent pluralist
He is very nice. He smiles, treats people nicely, and an ardent advocate of peace. When you talk to him, you will come to know that he is a man of principle. As for now, he often posts at an FB group - a group with various people with various faiths and religions; United Religions Initiative. Here is the example of his posts in the group.
1.
They are forever free who renounce all selfish desires and break away from the ego-cage of 'I,' 'me,' and 'mine' to be united with the Lord. Attain to this, and pass from death to immortality." (Hinduism. Bhagavad Gita 2.71)

"Torah abides only with him who regards himself as nothing." (Judaism. Talmud, Sota 21b)

"O son of Man! If you love Me, turn away from yourself; and if you seek My pleasure, regard not your own; that you may die in Me and I may eternally live in you." (Baha'i' Faith. Hidden Words of Baha'u'llah, Arabic 7)

"The Man of the Way wins no fame,
The highest virtue wins no gain,
The Great Man has no self." (Taoism. Chuang Tzu 17)

"If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it." (Christianity. Mark 8.34-36)

"In the evening do not expect [to live till] morning, and in the morning do not expect evening. Prepare as lone as you are in good health for sickness, and so long as you are alive for death." (Islam. Forty Hadith of an-Nawawi 40)

"He who has no thought of 'I' and 'mine' whatever toward his mind and body, he who grieves not for that which he has nott, he is, indeed, called a bhikku." (Buddhism. Dhammpada 367)

INNERWORK self-reflection for the week: "What does my faith/belief say about the Ego and Self-Denial?


2.‎"Every sacrifice is a boat to heaven." (Hinduism. Satapatha Brahmana 4.2.5.10)

"Lo! We have given you abundance; so pray to your Lord, and sacrifice." (Islam. Qur'an 108.1-2)

"Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (Christianity. John 15.13)

"One must have the courage to face life as it is. to go through sorrows and always sacrifice oneself for the sake of others." (African Tradition. Kenyan-Kipsigis saying)

"A bodhisattva resolves, 'I should accept all sufferings for the sake of sentient beings, and enable them to escape from the abyss of immeasurable woes of birth and death... Why? Because I have set my mind on enlightenment in order to liberate all sentient beings; I do not seek the unexcelled way for my own sake.'" (Buddhism. Garland Sutra)

"Let all your deeds be done for the sake of Heaven." (Judaism. Mishnah, Abot 2.17)

Inner Work self-reflection & self-awareness guide for the week:
"WHAT SACRIFICE HAVE I MADE FOR THE OTHER? WHAT SACRIFICE HAS ANOTHER MADE FOR ME?"

To our Muslim brothers and sisters: Bayramiz Eidil Adha Mubarak Olsun!

To me, a person with this kind of paradigm is nice and kind. He takes good values from every faith, and appreciates it very well. This kind of person, you will have a hard time to start comparing which one is better, your religion or his ideology. You know why, unlike other religions, this philosophy ACCEPTS truth might come from anyone. So they are the kind of people who is very open-minded. For example, when you face people from another religion, it's easier(Read : not EASY) as you can start comparing, and they have 'something' to defend - something fixed - the religion itself. You know what are their weak spots, and you know how exactly they will react. But with pluralists, it's kind of like this "Yeah.. each person has its own opinions" without getting anywhere close to being challenged or provoked at all. And his life revolves around his values. One of the good things that I learned from him, is he really wishes he could stop 'religious-motivated violence'. As he views religion as something beautiful, he wants people to stop using religion as an excuse to do violence. Until now, I do not know, how to really deal with it. Care to give any ideas? The only thing that we Muslims have, is the real assurance of the Oneness of Allah, greatest example of Muhammad, and the outstanding Quran - which lead us to believe we are on the right track. And I know, they only rely on the beauties of their values.

He really is a nice person, and I pray to Allah so that one day, Allah will bless him His hidayah. Amin..

[Declaration of Global Ethics]
Their declaration.

Conclusion
There has been a major confusion to Muslims about how to regard this philosophy. Pluralism, is a philosophy that puts every religion as equal and each religion will bring you to the truth. We believe that Islam is the only way to the truth. We are taught by Prophet Muhammad, to respect another religion and faith, to treat people as nice and kind as possible even though they are people from different faiths, and to live Islam as our way of life. "Lakum diinukum waliya diin" Surah Al Kaafirun. They have their own ways of lives, we have our way of life too. We don't need to be the same as them. Pluralism instead is about lowering your 'fences' to let people in and accept them. Acceptance is the key word. Because the way they see, these fences and differences are the contributing factors to religious-motivated violence. We Muslims have no urgency to lower our fences or dissolve our limitations and prohibitions, because our beloved Prophet had taught us, that he also can live peacefully with the Jews at Madinah without 'lowering any fences'. It's the akhlaq of the prophet that we need to constantly embrace.

Freedom and Justice Party

You can also have a look at a new party in Egypt, Freedom and Justice Party - their vice president is a Coptic Christian. People say that this party is very closely related to Muslim Brotherhood, Al Ikhwan Al Muslimun - but IM says the party operates separately. :) Even a proponent of Daulah Islamiah can have a Coptic as their vice. Still, before the first meeting the Muslim members went to the mosque to pray together. What a view! Video


* This is a post ignited by my amazement towards my friend, a pluralist - May Allah bless him Hidayah! Amin.

Di Manakah Abi?

Dalam damai, teratak sepi menjelma pertanyaan menyentak hati.
Bermainlah pilu sang isteri, membelai pipi permata hati.

"Ummi, di manakah Abi?".
 Bergetarlah bibir mencari, perlukah ku kisahkan apa yang terjadi.
Pada si kecil yang ingin mengerti,
"Sayang Abi, kekasih Ummi pergi mencari cinta Ilahi".

"Tidurlah sayang, Ummi dodoikan bersama zikir mendamaikan.
 Bangunmu esok menjadi pejuang mujahid sepanjang zaman".
[Di Manakah Abi - Ar Raid]

"Apakah doa engkau?" tanya Sa'ad bin Abi Waqqas kepada Abdullah bin Jahsy semasa perang Badar.

"Saya harap yang Berkuasa atas segala-galanya akan membenarkan saya menumbangkan ramai musuh. Hingga akhirnya saya bertemu dengan lawan yang amat kuat dan hebat. Saya akan bertempur dengannya bersungguh-sungguh. Kemudian saya akan dibunuh olehnya. Kedua-dua tangan saya dikerat. Telinga saya dipotong. Kemudian hidung saya dicabut, biji mata saya dicungkil."
"Agar nanti apabila ditanya Allah kemana hilangnya semua pancaindera saya, saya menjawab semuanya telang hilang semasa saya berjuang di jalan-Nya untuk membela Agama dan RasulNya. Lalu Allah membalas jawapanku dengan jawapan 'Sadaqta'(Engkau benar..)." [Doa Abdullah bin Jahsy semasa perang Badar]

Sa'ad mememui badan Abdullah bin Jahsy sesuai dengan doanya di akhir peperangan. Hidung dan telinganya digantungkan pada sebatang pokok dengan seutas tali.

Ya Allah, kau kurniakan untuk aku dan rakan-rakanku syahid, sebagaimana kau kurniakan kepada mereka-mereka yang terdahulu syahid. Jadikanlah kami pembela-pembela agamaMu. Amin.

Di akhir hari, kita hanyalah seorang hambaNya. Allah tidak memerlukan kita, tapi kitalah yang memerlukan Allah.

Picturesque 4 : Of Superbike and Baby Po

Of A Superbike

Kawasaki Ninja

On road, there are a few types of drivers. Along my years (only 5 years.. heh) of driving, I come to a conclusion that drivers of cool cars aren't the same with drivers of cool bikes. They aren't the same. Still, my conclusion only applies to my living area and its vicinity.

The above picture is one example of great bikes. And drivers of these kind of bikes really have set a very good example on road. Let me tell you a bit about how most of them behave on road.

Of Whys
1. During red light, bikers from 'golongan marhaen', rempit or any kind will ignore the red light, find a space, wait for a clear line and then accelerate. Especially when it is raining or on a very hot day. Most bikers will develop a kind of sharp sense knowing when the lights will turn color, the duration for each color, and few seconds of buffer between colors. If you can see at any time, you can see that they don't actually looking at the light in front of them. They will either look at the traffic light across them, or they will see reflection of colors from either signboards or poles from traffic light they can't see straight. So they can have a good guess when their light will turn green. And then, when the other light turns orange, even when their own light is still red, they will accelerate. Most of them will behave this way. BUT, for superbikers, they are different. Even when all bikes have gone ignoring the red light, you will find them still at their place. Relaxed and cool. I don't know the real reason behind this. Whether if they get a ticket it would be much more expensive than normal bike, wallahu a'lam. But, in term of obeying traffic, yes, they do set a very good example.

2. There was a time, at Youth Leadership Programe URI, I sit beside our van driver for the program. He said to me, the thing he's afraid the most on road was motorcyclists. Because of their unpredictable nature. Well, that's understandable. Often, when a motorcyclist sees a hole to slip in a tight traffic, he/she will try to slip as fast as possible. It is because their size is small, so, any hole will do. We call this 'cilok'. And often too, they forget to give signals. It's like if you draw any graph, their curve will not be very smooth and predictable. Still, a large portion of them gives signals. Same goes to superbikers. They respect the road, and they are respected.

3. Usually, when the light turns green, some motorcyclists will 'press' like heaven sampai yang terpacak-pacak. If not terpacak pun, it's like they are trying to lead and be the first of the horde that's just been released. And you know how cool are superbikers, they don't even get distracted by the other bikers. They just speed up normally, and with their own pace catching up with others. Although initially they are left out from the rest of the speeding bikers, those superbikers will end up un'chase'able by the early speeders. And the way you see how they behave from a spectator's view, so cool.

4. And the best is, they are so polite on road, yet they are so skillful. What does I mean is that they give way to people, they don't just cut people's way, during traffic jam especially, they are so skillful in 'mencelah' to the extend sometimes even when usual bikers are afraid to pass through some narrow slips between cars, they pass through it like nothing. And if they can't pass it, they will stay quiet and wait. On the contrary, some bikers even press in free gear to warn car drivers to make way for them. Some even hit the side mirrors. And most will honk 6 harakat or more.

5. And you know why they can drive so fast? One factor that I know is because of their attire. You know, when you are wearing something loose, and you ride your bike so fast, your shirt and your trousers are flapping so fast, it makes you feel cautious. But, when you wear tight driving jacket, the air doesn't make any of your parts flapping, so you kind of forget how fast you are and you just cruise along the road happily. But, it's a bit dangerous, it can be very deceiving.

Why do I say superbikers are different than expensive car drivers?

From what I've seen and experienced, most BMW and Mercedes drivers in the area of Damansara, PJ, Gombak - they really don't have any sense of giving signals. Most of them. The numbers can go up to 90 percent. Even when I'm driving car, they don't know how to give signals. I don't know why. It happens mostly to people with expensive cars. Proton, Innova, and other normal cars do give signals. But them? Entah. Perhaps I'm committing a fallacy of  generalization - but again, this situation only applies in my living area as far as I'm concerned.

If someone wants to compare drivers of great cars and bikes, I can say, they are not the same. One side have less sensitivities, less skillful, and a bit 'noob' on road (Noob in context of respecting road users), another side is more skillful, does a better job in setting example for other drivers.

Ini pun superb!

There are some things worth sharing here, so that new motorcyclists can take note.

1. If it is too windy, stop. I once drove along MRR2, where at that time, rain started to pour. Few of us motorcyclists still continued, so we sped up hoping to get past the raining cloud. So, in that cluster it was like around 100 km/h or more. Then, all of a sudden, a huge blast of wind passed. My cluster, at that time was in the middle lane, somehow was pushed to the right lane where the cars moved so fast. One of us was even almost hit a big lorry. That wind pushed us to the next lane while we were moving. It felt like your bike moved without you realizing. I never thought that wind could be so powerful. Since, I will always bend my body lower when  I'm speeding in rain in case of emergency.

2. For motorcyclists, it is dangerous if you are travelling when the road is wet and there are thunders dancing upon you. For cars, it is safe. But not for bikers. Because lightning can struck you while you are on bike. Once, when some bikers and I stopped under a fly over during a heavy downpour, a flash of lightning struck very near to us. At the same time, almost all of us under the fly-over felt the 'shock', the same feeling when you touched a leaked circuit - hot and numb. We talked about it, and we never knew that lightning have that kind of 'area-of-effect' (AOE). But then, I still suspended my conclusion, until after I watched River Monster, where in that episode, Jeremy Wade's cameraman was zapped by lightning, and he felt a little dizzy. The lightning didn't hit him directly, but the spot so near it made the cameraman went dizzy and fell. So, watch out if there any thunder festival up there. You might get stunned.


Baby Po
So, since baby Shrek, I've never found anything cuter. But, when Dragon Warrior Po came into action to search for his long-lost history, I found his 'smaller' version very intriguing and exciting. And seriously, I couldn't stand the cuteness. Let the picture tells the cuteness....So, I rank baby Po as the most cutest thing in history.

p/s 1 : There're so much reasons for people out there to continue living, why give up? :D
p/s 2 : I'm towards a healthier life. Just weeks ago, masa program, jadi Faci, seorang budak perempuan datang, 'abang akan jadi lagi hensem kalau kurus lagi skit'. *blushing* .. For that, I've been swimming 0.5 kilometers every day. So, keep motivating me! Haha.. Siapa-siapa nak ajar Butterfly Stroke boleh datang rumah.

Ouch.. It hurts.

Assalam.

Semalam, kami satu keluarga beriadah petang-petang main basketball. Memang selalu main. Selalunya game memang laju dan memenatkan, sebab semua main kecuali Ayaz dan Saif paling kecil - mereka buat hal sendiri.

Tapi sebab mereka pun dah membesar, hari ini pula nak join sekali. Jadi, dari game basketball bertukar ke game passing-passing bola dengan budak kecil dua orang itu. Kami semua melayan sekali. Naim, adik aku yang sekarang tengah belajar kat DQ rasa boring ambil nunchaku dia main sementara menunggu Ayaz dan Saif habis main.

Nunchaku dia macam ini lah.

Tengah-tengah duduk pusing-pusing libas-libas nunchaku dia, Bammmm...! Kena gigi dia. Tengok gigi dia bukan patah wholly, tapi gigi depan dia patah dua. Gigi arnab tu masih ada, cuma, pecah - kira gigi dia tinggal separuh. Haha. Agak comel. Kena appointment dengan doktor nak sambung balik gigi.

Dia nilah idola Naim dalam main nunchaku.

Ini pengaruh dalam Tae-Kwon-Do dulu. Tak hilang-hilang lagi.. Balisong. Ingat lagi masa dengan senior-senior dulu, pisau itu memang selalu kena basuh, sebab tak reti main, berdarah. So, kalau sape-sape risau, have this in your pocket - it will be quite handy. I have one. :)

A World Without Islam

Palestine has just been accepted as a new member of UNESCO. As a concern citizen of this world, I embrace the news happily. UNESCO is an agency within UN that deals with education, culture, and science. I see this success as a swift move for Palestine to be 'recognized' by the whole world. My friends posted a video in Facebook showing the reading of the voting results. The situation was so exhilarating, after one by one said "YES" supporting Palestine to be accepted. 107-14 was a big difference. I perked up when countries like China, France and Russia voted 'YES'. The moment the result was announced, crowds jumped and clapped celebrating Palestine as the new member. We are talking about delegates here, international representatives. One of the delegates even shouted out "Long Live Palestine!" in French. It's like a bully with a frightened kid, when the bully got punished, the kid will jump in joy happy to see the bully got what he deserved. Same situation.

The membership granting to Palestine brought a whole new level of benefits exposure to them. Therefore, UNESCO now is entitled to the protection of natural and cultural heritages in Palestine - though it will take time for Palestine to nominate their heritages to be included in the World Heritage List. Palestine therefore has brought their efforts to protect their homeland, including Al Aqsa to be internationally recognized. And it's good Alhamdulillah, because as I'm typing, Israel is doing all-out their unwelcome excavation in the vicinity of Al Aqsa. Wallahul musta'an.

AP journalist and reporter, Matt banged US spokeswoman with heavy questions.

Full transcript of the press

Not surprisingly, shortly after UNESCO announced Palestine as a UNESCO member, US cut its funding to UNESCO worth 60 million, which was one-fifth of UNESCO's whole funding. Both Israel and US proposed the idea that the acceptance of Palestine in the organization will interrupt the 'peace-process' between Israel and Palestine. They thought the step taken by Palestinians will make the peace process harder for both parties. Peace process? How long have you been 'peace-processing'? F*** you Israel! Thousands of children, old people, innocent men and women died, you still care about your peace-process? And you said the innocents who died were collateral damage? Thousands of lives were regarded as collateral damage? Again, f*** you Israel! .

The US spokeswoman even said "I think that the fundamental consequence for both sides is that we’re not getting closer to two states living side by side in peace and security". Living side by side in peace and security? Stop joking. Clearly, 159 countries disagreed with you, and still you said their actions were 'regrettable, premature, and undermines our shared goal of a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in the Middle East'? What is that? I view your reasoning as flawed and distorted, as you acted only in favor of Israel. You failed to see US's interests in this, you just see how much more you can babysit Israel. You can do better than this US.

The events unfolding are getting more interesting. Palestine, Arab Springs, Muslims in the Western and their integration. And I think, it is a wise decision for me to start to know seriously about world politics. In which from the projectile of my decision, I bought a book, "A World without Islam". To me this book is very useful for anyone to understand the basic nature of conflicts happening to Middle east. And I recommend you to buy one, as it will broaden your way of viewing history and the philosophy behind it. And for you to know, Islam, is not as bad as it was portrayed in the media, in fact, better. :)

You'll understand international politics better, and you'll know who to blame. It's not the soldiers and US citizens, it's the policy makers.

So, let us join the world wide movement, in cause at least. BDS. Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions against Israel. This is our best option as a community. We hit them, and hit them hard. Start boycotting as hard as you can. Subsitute - McD, Pepsi, Coca Cola, Nestle. Spread the awareness. Spread the news. Spread love and care for Palestine, and for any part in the world who that is being oppressed.

Iraq Veterans against the War. I recommend you also to visit this site.

* I'm aware that I'm not portraying this issue the way a Muslim should address it, with two vulgar words for the record. I'm just getting emotional when it comes to this.