A Gift Anyone Dreads To Receive

"For as long as man breathes, the conquest for answers to life's questions continues, and there is an awful lot of answers to face."

Arguably, Eid Al Fitr is the most appropriate time of the year for Muslim communities around the world to celebrate with families and friends.  The celebration would be incomplete without gift-giving  to loved ones and friends, being generous and performing good deeds as the most natural things a Muslim is expected or required  to do. Eid Al Fitr marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan when all adult and able-bodied Muslims are required to fast from dusk till dawn. They also believe that a good deed performed in Ramadan earned them ten or hundred times more reward than an ordinary good deed done in any time of the year, hence they come in abundance.

While most Muslims have the right attitude toward the significance of Eid, sadly there are some who believe the opposite. Just last week, a twin suicide bombing happened in a military academy in Algeria that left 16 students and 2 civilians dead. Al Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) immediately admitted responsibility, and proudly announced that it is their  gift for Eid to the mothers and wives who had lost their sons and husbands in the carnage. The bombings coincided with the time when people in the academy were gathered for the iftar or breaking of fast. The leader of Al Qaida offshoot who took responsibility for the gruesome killings, even congratulated the mothers of the victims for their sons' lives who will be rewarded in "heaven" for their "martyrdom".

In Egypt, a recently released senior leader of the Egyptian Islamic jihad terrorist group Sheikh Adel Shehato, announced that Christian churches in Egypt and others that exist in Islamic countries may need to be blown up and Christians exterminated to allow the advance of Islamic law, or Shariah. He confidently says that his principles are guided by Shariah and that he is not bound by the laws of men or any constitution, but by the "divine law" that says, if Christians don't want to convert to Islam they have to pay what they call a jizya tax, or else they are compelled to exterminate them. He further stressed that the Shariah is not based on logic but by the law of god. 

His take on democracy:

"As Muslims, we must believe that the Quran is our constitution, and that it is impossible for us to institute a Western democratic regime. I oppose democracy because it is not the faith of the Muslims...According to Islam, it is forbidden for people to rule and to legislate laws, as Allah alone is ruler. Allah did not hand down the term [democracy] as a form of rule, and it is completely absent from the Arab and Islamic lexicon."

And on a worldwide Islamic kingdom he envisions:

"Of course we will launch a campaign of Islamic conquest throughout the world. All The Muslims in the world who wish to see the Shariah implemented worldwide will join the Egyptian army in order to form Islamic battalions, whose task will be to bring about the victory. There are Muslims and there are infidels. We will have ambassadors in every country. We want to call all other countries to join Islam, and that will be the task of the ambassadors. If [they] refuse, there will be war."

His pronouncements were quite scary if we were to analyze them, and who would not? The man believes he is following the precepts of his god and in fact he is doing him great service by advancing the cause of Islam. He even believes that true Muslims should not make friends with Christians for it is the commandments of Allah. He would further say that he knows everything what the Quran instructs all Muslims to do in order to please god. Well, these are words coming from a terrorist - a sworn murderer of anyone labeled as infidel. And yes, I was convinced that this does not constitute the true Islam, knowing fully well that Islam is a "Religion of Peace". In fact, this slogan is uniquely endemic to Islam just like "Connecting People" is to Nokia, and "Just Do It" is to Nike.

As though I was poised to discredit the words of the terrorist on my own lame arguments, my curiosity led me to search through Bing and cringed at what  probably one of the most liberating and shocking revelations I have never imagined. Still not convinced, I went on rummaging at my old clothes where the small English Quran  given to me by our company accountant was neatly buried that I almost forgot I hid one there. Perhaps just the second time I laid my fingers on that gift to me, I felt awkward and awesome I had to read it leftward. And there I found the truth that would support the claims of the man, whom many of us would want to call insane and hateful. If  indeed he believes he is actually following what  his religion preaches, then I have every reason to believe that this man knows what he is talking about.

The following are verses I copied from the holy Quran that are worthy to ponder upon. If this is actually what gave birth to unheard of hatred in the world, I hope that all religions can still co-exist without lives being wasted for religions' sake. 

"Believers, make war on the infidels who dwell around you. Deal firmly with them." (Surah 9: 121)

"Prophet, make war on the unbelievers and the hypocrites and deal rigorously with  them. Hell shall be their home." (Surah 9:73)

"Fight against such as those to whom the Scriptures were given [Jews and Christians]...until they pay tribute out of hand and are utterly subdued." (Surah 9: 27)

"Make war on them until idolatry shall cease and God's religion shall reign supreme." (Surah 8:36)

"Believers, take neither Jews nor Christians for your friends." (Surah 5: 51)

"Slay them wherever you find them...Idolatry is worse than carnage...Fight against them until idolatry is no more and God's religion reigns supreme." (Surah 2: 190)

To them, the Bible may be the book of the infidels and the enemies, yet these are what it says pertaining to one's enemy and to people who do harm to them :

"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. - (Matthew 5:44)

"But I tell you who hear me; Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. - (Luke 6: 27-36)

This post would have not led to what you may call a discourse, a debate or what, for it was never my aim to talk about religions. I just found it necessary not to ignore elements of great importance, to be able to perhaps find answers to a polarizing 'truth' why there is enmity towards one another. The articles that I stumbled upon that I thought betrayed logic and defied human compassion, on murdered peaceful sons as gifts for orphaned mothers in Eid - just does not sink in well with my psyche, or maybe I just need to accept the plain truth as it is? As the saying goes, "You should know the truth and the truth will set you free". For as long as man breathes, the conquest for answers to life's questions continues, and there is an awful lot of answers to face. It only boils down to whichever man decides to embrace.

Still the second day of Eid, I prefer to dwell on tradition that this holiday is meant to be joyful for a variety of reasons. Having a longer rest after a month-long of exhausting work is one. After all, I still believe the real God of the universe is a merciful and gracious God who created humans for His glory and that He loves them so much more than anything. Surely, it is comforting to know that the God that I've known personally is rich in compassion and slow to anger. If anything, this divine truth is more liberating as opposed to the anxieties of war, famine, natural disasters, human greed and all these hatred the world is known to offer. Eid Mubarak to all!

Christmas Terror Plot - What Could Have Caused It?

"Call it a subdued confidence. Complacency brought to shame. A weakness laid bare. Or an enemy's unbroken resolve?"

When you are the president of the most powerful nation on the planet - brimming with sharp rhetorics that your administration engages in a no-nonsense war against terrorism, and a vexing call just spoiled your Christmas vacation, informing you that another terrorist plot has just been prevented on Christmas day in an American territory, what would have been your reaction firsthand?

As Barack Obama's administration scrambles to dispel accusations that his Homeland Security people have failed to carry out their duties, air travellers in the US have started to doubt over their safety yet again. This quirky scenario arose from the fact that an Al Qaeda agent has just penetrated US airspace that could have inflicted deaths on innocent Americans.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23 year-old UK student from Nigeria is the suspect in this foiled terrorist attack. Aboard Northwest Airlines for Detroit from Amsterdam, he travelled under already suspicious circumstances. According to reports, he purchased his one-way ticket in cash for almost US$3,000. He also did not check any luggage save for a small bag, in a scheduled 2-week US visit.

Reports would further support that, this young man still carries a valid US visa, inspite of his inclusion in the UK's watch list for suspicion of radicalism. In a more surprising twist, his father had earlier warned the US embassy in Nigeria, in November 2009, about his son's leanings toward extremism that could potentially pose a threat to American interests.

But despite all this, anti-terrorism agents made no effort to take his case seriously. All necessary tools were at their disposal to at least apprehend this walking time bomb, but failed to take heed of the warnings. When the suspect's father himself waved the red flag of the imminent threat, and only a cold shoulder he could get as a response, there must be an air of complacency within their ranks - which is very contradictory to Obama's stance on war against terrorism.

Not wanting to be accused of incompetence, both the Dutch and American authorities started to play the blame game. American authorities alleged that the Dutch did not use body scanners, that could have detected explosives worn by Umar. But their Dutch counterparts were quick to refute, saying those were not allowed by the US to be used, of which the Americans insisted that either way, the suspect should have not gotten through.

The prevention of this botched terror plot however, should be credited to the brave and quick-thinking passengers of the plane, who subdued the suspect and did not blink a bit, to prevent another would have been 9/11 disaster. The suspect did manage to ignite the explosives, but not in a manner he would have wanted. Reports would later indicate, that the young man from Nigeria had received training in Yemen, sometime in Ramadan this year.

An estimated 76 grams of the PETN explosive was concealed in Umar's body, and a syringe with a chemical catalyst, carefully concealed in a pouch sewn into his underwear. This was a potentially strong explosives that had it been successfully detonated, enough to break the plane's fuselage that could have killed all on board.

This latest incident could be a precursor to another imminent terror attack on US soil. The Al Qaeda group - a sworn enemy of the US has famously declared war against America, and this determined enemy is just getting more ruthless and dangerous. In seven years since America unilaterally declared war against Al Qaeda, it has not inflicted heavy dent on the terrorist group, instead they are just getting more pervasive and sophisticated.

As news of this daring plot has permeated media all over the world, a substantial and more stringent security measures have been implemented right away in ports of the US and Canada. Aviation authorities all over the world are expected to follow suit, which is the natural thing to do. This new unfolding of events does not bode well to an already shaky aviation business, as post 9/11 statistics show that most passengers are becoming wary of air travel.

Though this incident would certainly be a challenge to rectify lapses in airport security, no matter how highly-sophisticated are the West's technology to prevent future attacks, the sworn enemy will always find its way and make its presence felt. The future cannot be foretold, whether how many lives will be lost due to hatred. Reports say that willing suicide bombers in a hundreds are undergoing training in Yemen, and it will only be a matter of time before they can carry out their "martyrdom".

Whether we agree or disagree in unison, the reason why all these nonsense happen - is because of religion. It is indeed a nonsense for any upright-thinking human being, but for a radical mind, full of hatred and wrath - this is what they call martyrdom. They were made to believe, that God delights in the shedding of the blood of the innocent, and that their actions merit rewards and special places in heaven. These twisted views reinforce their belief, that the enemy of their religion is also the enemy of God. And the enemy of God deserves to die. How false and sad. For as long as hatred pervades in their system, there will be no scarcity of haters, and consequently, no dearth of suicide bombers.

As we all know, the root of all these problems dates back in the Old Testament time. The enmity between peoples who refuse to live in harmony - one refuses to accept the existence of another, in the same hallowed ground. It is where the cause originated, and as has been prophesied - on that same hallowed ground, its cause will be settled and come to an end.

There is an unending quest for answers to a question left unsolved since the beginning of time, and this calls for wisdom. Generations of leaders from both sides have endeavored peaceful means to achieve peace. But peace will not be attained. They will never find that peace, instead hatred towards each other will consume their being. And the cycle continues - until the prophecy is fulfilled.

I may not be an authority to tackle issues like this, or if I may say I'm getting out of bounds, but indeed the truth cannot be denied. Each one of us may be having some slight disagreements, and or different insights on the issue, or perhaps I just went too far on a deeper perspective, but my conviction is that - unless we open our senses and start to believe that all these happen to give way for that divine prophecy, we may not be able to comprehend things laid out before our eyes. We may be highly-intelligent in a worldly standard, yet we are doomed to perish because of our lack of understanding. For we have been warned to know the truth because the truth will set us free.

When Photography Becomes A Form of Terrorism

"My friend smarting from his experience, reasserted that he is a photographer and not a terrorist!"

November 7, 2009 at around 7:30 pm, when we had a brush with Saudi authorities, albeit literally. The timing could be that so bad. We were on our way home from the office, when my friend chanced upon a prospective subject for his photoblog. We parked our car nearby, and started the shoot.

Little did we know, a police patrol passed by and tracked us down. We did not have any single inclination that the police would give us a chase, as we were pretty aware, we did not violate any Saudi law nor offended anyone. But the sight of the police car blocking our way gave me a hellish sensation, knowing how the Saudi police treat expatriates. I kept myself composed. I was not panicking. "If we were to be interrogated, there would be no reason for us to be arrested", I said to myself.

The police then wasted no time searching our car, took our iqamas ( Saudi labor card), and confiscated my friend's camera-a Canon EOS 450D. Sensing a big trouble at hand, I started to call our office. But unfortunately for me, before I could contact the office, one of the officers snatched my cellphone and playfully started to figure out how to operate it. My cellphone unit is SonyEricsson K850i.

One fat police officer began his interrogation. "What were you doing, why were you taking pictures?" I replied in my best Arabic," Sir, this is for my friend's photoblog supposedly for his black and white series." Who would care then, when he did not understand a thing or two from my explanation? What had transpired subsequently, was an endless jabberwocky.

It did not take long however, before we were dragged inside the police car, and to my horror we were handcuffed like criminals. It was very humiliating, as hordes of people started to swarm and witness a spectacle. On the way to the police station in Aziziyah, these two policemen did not waste time searching for any piece of evidence against us. To their frustration, all they could see from our cellphones were pictures of our families and our visual merchandising files.

At the police station, the gadgets they seized from us were turned over to the desk officer. After which, we were literally pushed inside the detention cell. Inside the stinky cell were different nationalities, notably Bangladeshis with petty cases. One Yemeni inmate was a driver and his case was overloading, as he narrated to us. But he couldn't be released because the police was asking for a bribe from his sponsor worth Sr. 1000.

Inside the cell, I offered to pay Sr.10 to a Bangladeshi guy for a call to our office. Our HR people were quick though to act. We were almost 4 hours inside, when we were eventually released. I really thanked God that our predicament was over. I inquired about our supposed crime and our liaison officer told us, it was an anti-terrorism measure for taking photographs. "Are you kidding me?" Yes, a violation of the Saudi government's anti-terrorism law! That's completely nonsense!But that's the truth. And why it took us so long to be released? Because the bribe was too much at Sr.1,500!

My friend smarting from his experience, reasserted that he is a photographer and not a terrorist! One thing I did realize was, when you get apprehended by the police in Saudi Arabia for a police's self-authored crime; one's detention time varies on how quick your sponsor is able to pay bribes at a bargained price. This is quite a story for me in Saudi Arabia, so that when I go back home I will be grateful enough to tell my tales of being an OFW.