Dear Brothers and Sisters: As-salamu ‘alaykum – May Peace be Upon You All I am not sure about how many of us Muslims in America are aware of the enormous danger emanating from the Middle East that is threatening our future in America. The unfolding events of the last two years in Syria have led to an accelerated spiral down the black hole of fratricide. We are about to burn the nest we built on the tree of America, facing the bleak future that will be detrimental to future generations for decades to come. As one humble brother and sincere servant of yours for more than 40 years, I am calling you for a common awareness of our presence, hoping to be able to orient ourselves towards a better future. Now we are at the time of a great fitna. Our ummah is completely embroiled in an endless and winless Shia versus Sunni war. The unavoidable results are clear: 1. We have a war with no victors, a war with no end, a war that is not adding to our strength but draining our souls to an anemic weakness. 2. The Sunnis will never eliminate the Shia nor the Shia will eliminate the Sunnis – neither at the global level or in the region. The rhetoric of a nihilistic, brutal “Hitler final solution” is both sickening to the mind and gashing to the heart. 3. The glorious Syrian revolution by a great people demanding their dignity and liberty from the tyranny of a criminal dictator is now reduced to a proxy war. Regional and international powers seek their own interests with the fuel of bloodletting at the expense of the Syrian people. 4. Bashar does not kill because he is an Alawite but because he is a dictator killing anyone in his way. Hezbollah is not there to defend the Mazhab but to defend the supply it is getting from Iran. Iran is there not to support Syria but to preserve its ambitions in the Gulf. Saudi Arabia is meddling because they have to pursue their imperialistic plan, and so on and so forth. Under this stampede, the Syrian people and their aspirations are crushed. 5. The stand of defending the Palestinian rights against Israeli occupation and hegemony is no longer within our field of vision nor in our collective consciousness. 6. The Islamic values of sacredness of life, justice with the enemy, and mercy for all are trampled and retracted completely. 7. This malignancy is manifested in Pakistan, Bahrain, Iraq, and beyond. It is a wildfire beyond control. Is there a role for us as American Muslims? Some would say that we are in an ivory tower far removed from reality – from the pit of fire – so what we say has no bearing. I claim the opposite: we are in dire need for objective points of view that are not corrupted by the fire of anger or blinded by the smoke of bitterness, unable to see beyond the quagmire of their own entangled emotions. In order for us to play a constructive role: a) We should have a common clarity about the previous seven realities. b) We should make our unwavering stand with the Syrian people against the dictator and condemn any foreign intervention in Syria. c) We should not allow this sectarian malignancy to invade the American Muslim body nor should we allow these notions to persist. We should treat any sectarian rhetoric as an obscenity. People are free to express their sectarian biases in their homes or sectarian cocoon, but not in the public among Muslim organizations and mosques. d) We will work together for the future of Islam in America. My brothers and sisters, I know that this letter will not be pleasing to some. I never intended to appease or to please. I just wanted to tell my Lord-- oh Lord, I have conveyed what is true to my heart; oh Lord, be my witness. If this makes sense to you, I very humbly ask you to amplify my tired voice. -- ---------------------------------------------------------- Salam Al-Marayati President, Muslim Public Affairs Council
Posted on: Fri, 14 Jun 2013 14:56:37 +0000
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