"CIGAR TREE" LEAF IN THE FALL

"CIGAR TREE" LEAF IN THE FALL, originally uploaded by Shaalom2Salaam (Safiyyah).

Sorry I haven't had much time for writing lately, but Insha Allaah you will enjoy my photographs in the meantime!

Samir (Again)

Samir, originally uploaded by Shaalom2Salaam (Safiyyah).

Like I said before, I NEVER tire of photographing this guy!

He was sleeping and when he heard the camera noises, he got up and I caught him mid-yawn just in time.

I love his face, Masha Allaah!

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Oh, The Joys of Google'ing Your Name

Forum fraught with misconceptions - Letters - News Item

Since the comments are "closed" for the letter written in the above link, I thought I'd respond to it on my own turf:

Mr. Charles H. Shuey, you said:

"And Levine seemed to forget that Muslim women are not allowed to vote, drive a car, obtain an education, or appear in public unescorted, among numerous other barbaric restrictions."

For the record, sir:

I am a registered Republican and "you betcha," I vote!

I not only drive, but I own my own car!

I have a Bachelors degree and various professional certifications!

I am very visible in public!  If you remember, you saw me at the forum unescorted!

Any other "barbaric misconceptions" I can clear up for you?

You cannot paint the entire Muslim world with such a wide brush. The result is exactly what you have written: "fraught with misconception."

Insha Allah Mr. Shuey, you will Google yourself and see this.  In case you miss this, I'll mention this over on Facebook, too.

Samir

     Copyright © 2010 S. E. Jihad Levine, All Rights Reserved


I never get tired of photographing this guy!

SUNDAY SCHOOL!

Copyright © 2010 S. E. Jihad Levine, All Rights Reserved

Blogger (I Want to Add a Bad Word)

As Salaamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatu Dear Readers:

No, I haven't dropped off the face of the earth.  I've been REAL busy the last few weeks.  I was going to upload some pictures tonight, but Blogger is behaving badly.  Every time this happens, I think of defecting to WordPress.  I'm just too lazy and too busy to redesign a new site.  Who knows?  I may get some inspiration to do so yet :)

Arggggggggg ...

Will try again tomorrow, Insha Allaah.

Afghani Children's Juggling Competition

Alhamdulillah! May these children always smile, sing, and have fun. Ameen!

Safiyyah on the Radio!

My friend and I were on the WKOK radio program, Leaders and Lawmakers, on September 23, talking about Islaam.  You can listen here. It's a little less than a half an hour.

The first one of us speaking is my friend.  The host mistakenly called her by my name, lol.  She's the one with the Arab accent.

By the way, if anyone knows how I can permanently post this to my site (I have it downloaded to my computer), please let me know.  I think the link is live only for a few weeks.

How Far You've Come ...

                         Copyright © 2010 S. E. Jihad Levine, All Rights Reserved

... from the Nation of Islam, years ago ... to where you are today ... loving Allaah t'ala ... being steadfast in your prayer and in all of your duties to Him ... from the mean streets of Philly to the classroom, teaching our young men of tomorrow ... Subhan'Allaah! ... I love you ... and am proud and blessed to be your wife.

QUR'AN KAREEM

                                                          © 2010, S. E. Jihad Levine, All Rights Reserved
Hope you all had a wonderful Eid!

Collective Guilt: The 9/11 Qur'an Burning Controversy

I read a Cagle Syndicate op ed piece in my local newspaper written by Tina Depuy.

The name of her piece is A Burning Question: Extremists on 9/11.

By now, I'm sure most of you are familiar with the Dove World Outreach Center's plans for burning Qur'ans on 9/11 in Gainesville, Florida.

I find it ironic that journalists and talking heads are going out of their way to comment that one pastor's bad decision should not reflect on all Christians or all Americans.

"Everything about our country is about to be boiled down to a picture of a heap of Korans smoldering," Depuy writes in the piece.

They fear that all Christians and the American people will be identified with the pastor.  The apologists are out in full force.  Even the military has taken to pleading with this pastor to change his plans.  They say that the Florida pastor's actions will endanger the troops. 

Oh yes - national security.  As if this reprehensible act is not sufficient enough.  We have to drag the troops into it.

"They" could stop this pastor.  First of all, he doesn't have a permit for burning.  The police could stop him.  All they have to do is show up and when the pastor lights the torch they move in and arrest him for burning without a permit.  Or, they can arrest him under the Patriot Act as endangering national security.  After all, if it were a Muslim doing this, they'd pick him up in a hot minute.  Or, they can let him go.  After all, in America, we have the right to do stupid things as long as we are willing to live with the consequences.

Let's see who else in history has burned books (called "libricide)."  According to Depuy's piece:

1.  The Ancient Library of Alexandria - burned by Julius Caesar.
2.  The Mayan codices of their history and religion - burned by the Conquistadors.
3.  The Library of Baghdad - burned by the Mongol invaders.
4.  Book burnings in Germany, Bosnia, Kuwait, China, and Tibet.
5.  Harry Potter books have been burned. 

America's in good company, eh?  A book burning in America.  In 2010.  Imagine it!

Author and professor Rebecca Knuth who studies libricide has concluded that libricide often precedes genocide according to the article.. 

But the most important part of Depuy's piece is the following:

"So as all Muslims are apparently judged by their extremists who on 9/11 crashed planes into buildings - all Americans will be judged by our extremists who on 9/11 burned Korans into ashes ... but most notably it means that THE MUSLIM WORLD AND AMERICANS ARE ABOUT TO HAVE MORE IN COMMON THAN THEY THOUGHT."

Are Americans finally starting to learn a lesson about collective guilt?

Since I wrote this piece, I am thrilled to see all of the non Muslims come out and support the Muslims and condemn the extremist attitudes of some American Christians.

More importantly, they are not so much defending the Muslims as they are defending the US Constitution, religious freedom, and everything that is decent about America.

I pray that Allaah t'ala, with Whom all things are possible, makes something happen so the event on Saturday does not go forward. He tells us,

They intend to put out the Light of Allaah with their mouths.  But Allaah will bring His Light to perfection even though the disbelievers hate it.  (Surat As-Saff, 61:8)

Even if the event does go forward, we will be okay.  As a Muslim, I will look at it as another test, and pray that "this too, shall pass" as it has with other groups in America who have traveled the same path.

Goodbye 2010 Garden Season

Above is the garden once it got going:  nice path, squash, broccoli, cauliflower, beans, tomatoes, peas, peppers, tomatoes (big boys, cherry, and plum), cucumbers, okra, carrots, and lots of different types of herbs.

Once it was harvest time, I was getting a huge basket of vegetables every day.  My whole day consisted of picking, washing, cutting, boiling, and packing into bags for freezing.  And then, there was the joy of giving everybody of the block bags of fresh veggies!
 
Lately, as fall approaches, I've been getting less and less.

Yesterday, the basket looked like this:

One thing I am getting PLENTY of Masha Allaah t'ala is the berries.  We've had a real hot and humid summer.  The bees have been real busy, and the berries are looking good.  They are so sweet and good, Alhamdulillah.  We have been eating them with cake, ice cream, smoothies, and just plain by themselves! 

We had a lot of days where the heat was well into the high 90s and even 100 one or two days.  We had a bit of a drought in July, and the local farmers were very upset.  But, I was out there with the garden hose every night.  The biggest problem with the drought is that even the insects are looking for moisture and cannot find it.  So, they start eating the leaves of everything in an attempt to get moisture.  In the following picture, some type of beetle is making holes in my beautiful poppies.  Oh well, I chalk it off to sadaqa.  Everyone has to eat.

Other flowers have made it, though:

And mums are now in season, so I bought a few pots for my front porch.  Once they start looking a little crazy, it will be time to re-pot them on the side of the house.  I have three years of mums over there and the bushes are HUGE, Masha Allaah t'ala:





So - that's about it.  Pretty soon, it will be time to move all of the porch furniture into the garage, and pull out Buddy's winter house.

Thank you Allaah for the wonderful 2010 gardening season.  Please give me the health and strength to plow the garden under in preparation to do it all over again next year/Ameen!

(Close-up of the carpet in the women's section of the main prayer hall of Al-Aqsa Islamic Society, Philadelphia, PA)

© 2010, S. E. Jihad Levine, All Rights Reserved

how to get free Qurans to burn on "Burn Quran Day"

via Aaminah Hernandez on Face Book. 

Jazaka Allah Aaminah!

Somebody's Always "It" in America, and Currently the Muslims are "It"

As Salaamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatu, and Greetings of Peace:

As things heat up with Muslims and Islaam in America, I find my thoughts swirling like crazy.  Disjointed.  Angry.  Fearful.  Naive.  Denial.  Humor.  Just a few words that come to mind.  What follows is probably a trip down Memory Lane and a long post that doesn't make much sense, even to me, but I feel a need to get it out.  Perhaps brainstorming my thoughts will help to write a cohesive piece somewhere down the line :)

Besides, I had a nightmare last night which I still remember in vivid detail, and when that happens, it always leaves me emotionally vulnerable the following day.

So, if you care to join me and read on, here goes ...

When you were a kid, did you ever play that tag game, "It?"  You know, one kid would tag another, saying "you're it," and then everyone would chase around "it" until he/she was caught.  When kids play the game, it's usually harmless and a lot of fun.  But when we play the game in America, it is anything but fun.

Somebody's always "it" in America (Japanese, Jews, Catholics, Blacks, etc.,) and currently the Muslims are "it."  Just last month, the undocumented were "it," but now, since the NYC mosque controversy, the Muslims are "it."

My mind has been drifting to the past lately, and also to a conversation I had awhile back with a Bosnian sister.  Also, someone commented on one of my other  posts about wondering how the Jews in Europe must have felt prior to Hitler getting a strong foot into Europe.  That also got me thinking.

I was born in New York City a few short years after the end of World War II.  My mother was a Polish Catholic, and my father was a Polish/Russian Jew.  Shortly before I entered kindergarten, our family moved to Chicago.  The city had a large Polish immigrant population and my mother had relatives there.  So we and practically my entire family on my father's Jewish side moved to Chicago.  Why?  Well, mainly the face of Harlem and the Bronx at that time was starting to change to Blacks and Latinos and many Jews fled for the suburbs of New York or other places.  Not that America had a love affairs with the Jews in those days like she does now!  Believe me, we were part of "it" in America in the 1940s and 1950s.  Most Americans could give a rat's behind about the "creation" (theft) of Israel.  Things didn't really start to change for us Jews until after the rise of Evangelical Christianity and the role of the Jews in their agenda which is another post for another time.

Anyhow, my parents bought a small house in a Chicago suburb called Norridge, and my aunt rented a place in Skokie, which had a large population of Jewish people.  My grandparents rented a place smack in the urban part of Chicago.  I remember as a child when my dad would take us around on errands on the weekend, and we would go to Skokie to visit my aunt and so that my brother and I could play with our cousins.  The non Jews used to roam around the Jewish commercial district of Skokie and put their "dawah" materials under the windshield wipers of Jewish cars.  I remember my dad and I returning to our car and him seeing the papers under our windshield, and him getting real mad and tearing up the papers.  As a 6 year old or so little girl, I knew that we were different and people didn't like us because we were Jewish.  I was afraid of non Jews. 

In Norridge, we lived next to a German family.  I think the husband was a German, I can't remember, but for sure, the wife was.  I think she was a German immigrant or a "war bride," or something like that, because she didn't understand English very well as I remember, and she had a thick German accent.  I don't remember the husband having a thick German accent.

(Post for another time: war brides.  Many American soldiers married German women and brought them back to America.  Also, many African-American soldiers married German white women, too.)

The family's name was George and Mary Farr.  To the Farrs: if you are reading this by some chance, maybe you are "Googling" yourselves and come across this post, PLEASE FORGIVE ME AND MY FAMILY for the way we treated you when we lived next door to you whether you were aware of our meanness or not.

As the saying goes, "shit rolls down hill," or "hurt people hurt people," and this is exactly what my Jewish family fell into.  Even though my mom was not Jewish, we were living as a Jewish family at that time, exclusively going to synagogue and identifying as Jewish.  Even though few people liked us or wanted anything to do with us on our block because we were Jewish, my family, and me by extension being a child and copying my parents, contributed to the psychological and social torture of the Farr family.  In those days, Americans didn't like Germans either.  The Germans were "it."  After all, many of our "boys" fought the Germans in the war.  And many of our "boys" lost their lives at the hands of Nazi soldiers.  Just like nowadays, we use words like the "n" word and other offensive words to describe different groups of people and individuals, in those days, many American referred to the German people as "krauts" to refer to a popular German food, sauerkraut.  (By the way, the Jews were mainly called "kikes."  It always makes my skin crawl when I hear some Muslims refer to us Jews as Yehudi ...)

Mary Farr was a housewife.  She took care of her children and home and didn't bother with the neighbors.  Maybe she was anti-social, maybe she was intimidated by her language skills or by our culture, or maybe she was just plain busy.  But the fact remains, that the Farr family was a mystery to our community.  Sometimes we kids would see her in the backyard hanging out her laundry.  We would watch her from behind the bushes, laughing and knocking each other over, calling out, "Mary Farr, Mary from far far away."  She never said or did anything, but she had to have heard us.  We never trick-or-treated at their house on Halloween, and none of the neighborhood gossip ladies hung out at her house for the afternoon coffee clutch.  

(The American housewife coffee clutch: also a post for another time, lol)

Her children didn't come out and play with us or get dirty.  I don't think she allowed them to get dirty.  It was said that she had a spotless house.  Don't know who went in there to see and be able to report back to everyone else, but that was what was said.

But the fact remains that our community was not friendly or welcoming to the Farr family because they were "krauts."

Many years later, when my parents got divorced, my mom and step-dad bought a house next to another German family, lol, the Hess's.  They had a daughter named Janet.  They were a similar family to the Farrs - didn't bother with anyone, kids never played in the neighborhood, etc., and us kids also used to torture Janet and her brother.  I remember that I, myself, beat up Janet real good at the bus stop one morning while waiting to go to school.

These are some of my memories as a Jewish child dealing with the legacy of World War II in America and dealing with the German-Americans.  As we now know, German-Americans aren't treated like that in America anymore, but like I said, someone is always "it" in America.

Recently, I participated in an interfaith seminar with some German Christian chaplains who are first-generation Americans.  They shared that in Germany, the people have a sort of collective guilt and shame about what happened in their country during the war, and for the role that some of their people played in the crimes against millions of people.  They also told us that Germans make it a priority to do interfaith work in that country, and they do not shy away from talking about what happened in their history in the schools so it doesn't happen again.

---

How did most of the Jews feel in Europe when Hitler and his buddies were starting to make noises?

Well, the rich and those with the means saw the writing on the wall and left the various countries of Europe, especially Eastern Europe.  Then there were those in denial.  Jews who believed that no harm would come to them.  How could anyone believe that their government or their neighbors would intentionally engage in genocide?  It was unimaginable to many Jews.  Besides, many Jews believed that being the Chosen People, G-D would protect them.  Even after the Nazis were seizing their property and possessions and driving them from their homes, many left in a passive manner, telling themselves that the situation was only temporary.  Did the message sink in when they were made to wear arm bands with the Star of David identifying them as Jews (think identity cards in America - which many politicians and Americans are in favor of).  Initially, there was a collective denial among the Jewish people that anything bad would happen (kind of like now for the Muslims: we have Constitutional rights, yes?)  Only after they were taken to concentration camps, stripped naked, lead to gas chambers and used in medical experiments did some of them think that perhaps there was no G-d after all.  Then again, some Jews endured it all, seeing it as a test (sound familiar Muslims?), believe that G-d had a plan which they did not even start to try to figure out what it was.  By the end of the war, many Jews were convinced that there was no G-d.  "If there is a G-d, He wouldn't have let this happen to us." 

This is true for some Jews.  I heard these things from my family when I was a child.

---

Something similar happened in Bosnia.  A Muslim sister described to me how the Bosnians initially were in denial about the possibility of the Serbs harming them.  Many Bosnians and Serbs were intermarried.  Bosnians and Serbs lived side by side in the same neighborhoods.  Bosnians and Serbs were friends.  Although the Serbs were the majority and also the ones mainly in powerful positions (police, mayors, etc), the Bosnians never feared them.

Until Bosnian families were awakened in the middle of the night by mobs of Serbians who had the intention of driving the Bosnians from their homes.  Initially, they were asked to leave or driven from their homes.  Those who resisted were beaten and even killed.  It wasn't long before the Serbians lost their manners and stopped asking.  The brutal rape of Bosnian women and girls was commonplace.  My friend knew of Muslim women who, after being raped by scores of men, had rifles put up their vaginas and the triggers were pulled.  My friend and her family saw the writing on the wall and didn't wait to be driven out by the nighttime raids.  They fled their home with only what they could barely carry and ended up in a refugee camp.  They were transferred to several camps in Europe before they were finally sent to America as part of the refugee resettlement program.  They had no choice really as to where they would go.

You may be reading this and thinking that my friend and her family were fortunate.  Sure, they suffered a bad situation, but they were blessed.  They got out, didn't they?

Well, maybe.  But she doesn't see it that way.   My friend's mother, who was ill to start with, died while in the camp.  Her father was practically catatonic with grief, and eventually had a stroke which left him paralyzed and bed ridden.  Once in America, my friend was his sole caregiver.  The well-intentioned brothers at her masjid hooked her up with an Afghan brother for marriage who treated her like crap and forced her to live like a prisoner in her own home.  He took her to the masjid one day during Ramadan, gave her talaq in front of the imam, and left her at the masjid without any of her things or her father.  The brothers had to return to the house to figure out what to do with her and her father. 

And man o man was this sister ever bitter at the United States government and the irony of being resettled to a country for whom she only had hate.  Why?

Because when the Serbs aggressed toward the Macedonians and Croatians, the arms for defending themselves poured in from the UN.  But when it came time for the Muslims in Bosnia to defend themselves, according to her, President Clinton ordered that no arms be given to the Bosnians. 

My friend ended up with PTSD and emotional scars that will never go away.  The only thing that keeps her from going completely crazy is the love for Allaah t'ala in spite of everything.  Subhan'Allaah!

---

One of my commenters said something about making "provisions" NOW in case the Tea Party or their likes end up in power in America. 

What will happen to the Muslims in America in that case?

I can relate.  My passport is in order.  And I have one credit card that could get me and my family out of here.

---

"Ah Safiyyah, why you got to be talking like such a paranoid downer during Ramadan?" you may be saying if you have made it reading to this point.

Do you think it can't happen here in America?

Well, my friends, I think I will enjoy an extended vacation in Istanbul!

Because, at the end of the day, rational voices will prevail in America.  Unlike some other Muslims, I believe America is a wonderful country.  Allaah t'ala tells us in the Qur'aan that He sent the Prophet, peace be upon him, as a mercy to ALL of mankind.  That means everywhere.  I believe that we ARE different than some other countries in the world.  And those of us who believe that the Constitution and the Bill of Rights is suppose to work for ALL Americans, have to stand up against the current injustice. Because if we don't, who is going to stand up for whoever else ends up being "it" next in America?

MOOZ-lum Official Trailer

Watch the trailer and spread the word!

I'm An American, Too!

Over and over on conservative TV and radio, we hear the commentators saying that the United States military men and women are "fighting" for our rights.  That they are fighting to keep us free.

Whose rights?  Whose freedom? 

Just a select few, or only a select few groups of Americans?

I am an American.  Born and raised in the USA.  I am also a Muslim.  American Muslims, like any other group of citizens, deserve the protection of our Constitutional rights. 

I am from a military family.  Even my mother served and was honorably discharged from the military.  I am the ONLY person in my immediate family who did not serve in the US Military.

My mother's people were Catholic, and my father's people were Jewish.  Both groups went through hell in America.  Just like the Muslims are going through hell now.  I think my family has paid our dues!  My family fought for the rights of ALL Americans.

My Mother: 

My Father:

My Step-Father:

My Brother:

There was a time in American history when Catholics, Jews, and Mormons could not or had difficulty building houses of worship.  Haven't we learned anything from the lessons of history?

Where Are All The "Moderate" Christians? An Appeal!

As Salaamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Baraktu and Greetings of Peace:

As I take in all of this controversy over the building of a mosque, Islaamic center, whatever you want to call it, near Ground Zero in New York City, one thing keeps getting hung up in my mind: Where are all of the "moderate" Christians?  Where are your voices?

Why are you not speaking out?  Why do we not see your leaders and clergy on CNN and Fox News?  Do the extremists among you speak for the rest of you?  Shall we hold all of you accountable for the minority among you?  Isn't that what some of you did with Islaam and Muslims after 9/11?

Or is there really a minority?  A CNN poll shown this morning reveals that 68 per cent of all Americans polled, or two-thirds of those polled, do not favor the construction of the mosque near Ground Zero.  Who are these Americans?  Two-thirds of all Americans are against the First Amendment according to this poll?  Don't say that "we are for the first amendment and religious freedom, but just not "there," meaning near Ground Zero.  It is not a matter of apples and oranges.  It is the same thing.  You are either for freedom or against it!

We cry loudly about how America's sons and daughters are dying so "we" can be free. 

Who are "we?"

We cry out in agony, mourning the passing of "our" way of life in America?

What does "our" way of life mean in a diverse, pluralistic America?

After September 11th, you asked, "Where are the moderate Muslims?  Why are they not speaking out?"

Now, I ask you the same question. 

What are you doing to quell the rising tide of Islamophobia in America?

The Ground Zero controversy is a symptom.  It's not about "sacred ground," or the area being a cemetery, or possible body parts in/on the building.  If that were the case, we wouldn't see the push back at the building and renovation of mosques all around America like we are seeing (California, Tennessee, Staten Island, etc.).  Something bigger is going on.  Consider the demonstration held a few weeks ago against the Temecula, CA, mosque proposal:

According to the Valley News in its report "Temecula mosque proposal targeted in pending protest"



-- "a loose-knit coalition of area residents is planning a demonstration at the Islamic Center's existing facility along Rio Nedo west of Murrieta Creek."


-- "An e-mail alert sent to area newspapers last week announced that a one-hour 'singing – praying – patriotic rally" will begin at 12:30 p.m. July 30 at the Islamic Center’s existing facility. The advisory -- sent by a leader of a conservative coalition that has been active with Republican and Tea Party functions – recommended participants 'bring your Bibles, flags, signs, dogs and singing voices.'"


-- "'We will not be submissive,' the notice proclaimed. 'Our voices are going to be heard!' The alert went on to question what its authors described as Islamic beliefs. It suggested that participants sing during the rally because Muslim 'women are forbidden to sing.' It suggested that rally participants bring dogs because Muslims 'hate dogs.'"God help us!

When the church in Florida has its Qur'an burning on September 11th, will America's Christians be there protesting against it?  Or will they be tossing Qur'ans into the fire?  Or, will some let these hate-filled people do the dirty work?  If we're not part of the solution, we're part of the problem.

It is with great sadness that I read about mosques all over America asking for police protection for Eid celebrations.  Eid is the celebration of the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting and spiritual renewal.  It is just coincidence that the Eid date falls around September 11th this year.

Some people are asking Muslims not to have Eid ul-Fitr celebrations on September 11th.  Let's see:  no Eid on September 11th.  No Islaamic center near Ground Zero.  What CAN we do Christian America? 

It's been nine years since the horrible events of September 11th.  You've had nine years the learn the truth about Islaam - not the old tired talking points of the Islamophobes given a voice in the media.  Not the cherry-picking of verses from the Qur'an.

Numerous Muslims died in the attacks of September 11th.  The 9/11 families include Muslim families. 

As a Muslim chaplain and as someone committed to interfaith relations, I do a lot of speaking engagements to non Muslim audiences who are primarily Christians.  You know, it's the same questions they ask each and every time.  The people in the audience are confused.  My friends are confused.  What the media and some of their hate-filled Christian chain emails tell them doesn't jive with what they know about Muslims from being friends and neighbors with me and other Muslims they know.

Truth.  We MUST have the conversation in the land of the free and home of the brave.  Truth.  It requires courage.

I heard a 9/11 firefighter say on television, "That mosque will NEVER be built there."  What will you and your supporters do, sir?  Physically prevent the construction?  Blow it up like the church in Atlanta was blown up resulting in the deaths of Black children during the Civil Rights era only to show displeasure because Blacks wanted equal rights in America?  Is that where this is heading?

Americans tell the Iraqi government that Sunnis and Shias must get along, work side by side in tolerance to build the future of Iraq.  We like to hold up our American values as a model for them.  We like to tell people in the Muslim-populated world that America is not at war with Islam, but only with the terrorists.  Every American president since the creation of the state of Israel has tried to bring the Israelis and the Palestinians together, asking them to work toward the creation of two separate states where everyone can live in tolerance and peace.  Does America have the moral authority to do this work considering that it appears that we are heading down the road where American Muslims require police protection and lawyers to defend their Constitutional rights?

My mother was a Catholic.  One half of my family is Christian.  I practiced Christianity for years.  No one ever taught me to hate or oppress people of other faiths.  I am from am immigrant family.  We came to America from Eastern Europe to get away from the kind of stuff going on in America today.

If we want to "win hearts and minds" overseas, we better start here in America.

The Muslim world is watching.  Christians: find your voice!  Speak out against the hate, fear, and oppression.  To the Christians who are fighting against the insanity: thank you!

Ask yourself: WWJD? (What would Jesus do?)

Ramadan 1431 A.H.