My fellow Muslims often get upset with me and raise this question. In particular, it is more disturbing for them when I write about the Muslims’ affairs in Jerusalem Post. Before I response to their criticism, I would also like to ask them a question. Why should a Muslim write in a Christian Newspaper or in a Hindu Newspaper or even in a Buddhist Newspaper? After all, some of the followers of these religions are also hostile to Muslim world. In reality, the Christian dominated countries have inflicted more harm upon Muslims than the Jews. They should look at the ruins of Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya in our times and the crusades in the past. Who is responsible for the drone attacks in Pakistan resulting in enormous loss of lives and properties? So, why do we hate Israel and the Jews disproportionately? Let us examine this honestly.
Here are my reasons for becoming a blogger of the Jerusalem Post.
While visiting Israel three years ago, I was fascinated by the history of three great monotheistic religions of the world. I found the city of Jerusalem a unique city that had its enormous charm and serenity along with its bloody history. I wrote my travelogue after the trip and send it to the Jerusalem Post. To my surprise not only that they published it but also asked me if I would like to be a blogger for them. I accepted their offer. This being the primary and simple reason, I also had another reason for my choice.
As a US citizen, I had also lived and worked in Saudi Arabia for almost thirteen years in the past. During that time, I got an opportunity to work with the Arabs from different countries. I had travelled extensively in the Middle East and had discussed politics, religions and cultures with my fellow Arab Muslims including Palestinians. As a Muslim, I wanted to reach to the “people of the book” and found the Jerusalem Post a perfect platform for me. While no Muslim country’s newspaper would give me the opportunity to speak my mind openly especially when I would expose the flaws of Muslims, the Jerusalem Post has so far published all my blogs without any alteration regardless of the subject matter.
Now, I would like to express my views about the policies of the Israeli government towards the Palestinians. It is always appalling to me that a nation that has suffered so much hostilities, exploitations and brutalities throughout its existence would do gross injustice to Palestinians. The history gave the Israelis a great opportunity in 1948 to show the world how a new world order could be established based upon justice and fairness for all. Unfortunately, they failed and opted for the same old path of death and destruction. One can argue many reasons for their choice but the ultimate responsibility still lies with Israel since she has the upper hand. It is the folly of mankind that nations never learn from the history. It was the Christian world that had persecuted the Jews throughout the history while the Jews lived with relative peace and harmony under the Muslim rule. It saddens me to see that the historical tides have changed its course completely now. The enormous guilt of the Christian world has been mischievously covered under the rug of Muslim’s hatred. The Christians seemed to be the strongest supporters of Israel now and the Muslims are perceived as the eternal enemies of the Jewish people. Why did this change of hearts happen? Perhaps, this is an important question for the Muslims and finding a logical answer might help them to learn something from it. Instead of constant Israeli bashing and continuous emotional outburst against the Jewish people, the Muslims must learn from the Jewish people what they did to overcome their adversaries and earned their respect. Muslim in general and the Palestinians in particular must realize that Israelis were victorious against them in all three wars. The losers cannot be the choosers. Self evaluation and then self improvements are the only options for us. Let us talk about the self evaluation first.
The fundamental problem with the Muslims is that they think that either God or America would solve all of their problems. If God was going to help them, He could have done that long time ago. The Muslims have been praying for the destruction of Israel since its existence but their prayers still remain unanswered. The reason for this has been mentioned in their holy book Quran very clearly. “God does not help those who do not help themselves.” Why should America help Muslims? America has her own priorities and national interests. They will preserve and protect their own interests. So where should we go from here? The most simple and logical answer is to clean our own house first. Why are we incapable of producing leaders like Nelson Mandela, Ben Guerin or Muhammad Ali Jinnah now? Here is why. The Muslim world is caught between two extremes and none of it would be their salvation.
On one side is the enormous wealth in the hands of few thugs who have neither the vision nor the desire to improve the condition of their subjects. They have no shame in portraying themselves as the puppets of the West. Their source of pride is being the owners of outrageously expensive paintings, gaudy and tasteless villas, fancy cars and other senseless luxuries. Their top priorities are to build skyscrapers, glittering hotels and the shopping malls. They have the sophisticated military arsenals in their collection which they only use against their fellow Muslims. They cherish modern life styles but cover their women from head to toe and do not even allow them to drive a car.
The other extreme is the majority of Muslims that are the victims of wars, famine, brutal leaders, corrupt military dictators and religious thugs. Look at these so called leaders and the Generals of the Muslim world. The top brass of the Muslims Armed Forces wear their immaculate uniforms with all the badges and the ornaments without giving us any victory over our adversaries. There is no trace of shame or honor found in these soldiers of Islam. Then there is a mafia of the religious thugs who, in the name of Islam, inflame the sentiments of the masses for stupid trivial issues, they roam freely and challenge the rule of laws at their will and the elites watch the shows from the sidelines. No one has the courage to stand against this religious anarchy. Whenever one sees on TV the misery and sufferings of the Muslim masses in Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria or Myanmar, one finds many sick children and women covered in black. The senseless over population, degrading and subjugation of women, deviated and distorted practices of the religion are the hallmarks of the Muslim world. The bigotry, corruption and intellectual impotency are far more dangerous for the world of Islam than anything else. Before we talk of human rights violation in Israel or any other country, we should look into the slavery, bondage and exploitation of millions of fellow Muslims in the rich gulf countries.
Let us now talk about self improvement. Here we should learn from the Jewish people and see what they did to overcome their adversaries. They emphasized on education. They gained economic powers wherever they lived and became influential in the politics of those countries. They always got around the orthodoxy of their religion and never let it become a hindrance in their progress. They let their women have equal rights and become progressive. They controlled their birth rate and believed in quality rather than quantity. Their contribution to science and knowledge speaks volumes. They focused on their survival and at the same time contributed a lot towards the goodwill of the mankind. All their leaders are sincere, united and visionary when it comes to their national interests. They learned from the history, became disciplined and forced their enemies to change their attitudes towards them.
My dear fellow Muslims, please tell me if any Muslim country’s newspaper will publish this article. Let us see if Jerusalem Post publishes it. If it does, then that is also one of the reasons that I write in this newspaper.