Making Sense of Senseless Violence

The recent murder of the U.S. Marines in Chattanooga reminds us of the mordant wit of the Sufi mystic who said “I love the moon because it brightens the sky and helps us navigate the dark night. And I hate the sun because it only comes out during the day when it is bright anyway.”

Most of us are capable of missing what is perfectly obvious, especially when we allow our thinking to become fogged with strong emotion.

Yes, we should condemn the murder and mourn the loss of lives in Chattanooga. But we should also struggle to open our eyes and discern the perfectly obvious patterned behavior here.

Why do so many always express utter shock and fail to see common threads among the mass killings that take place roughly every two weeks in America? Why are we not able to pick out the recognizable patterns in the behavior, however aberrant, of solo killers like Mohammod Abdulazeez, Dylann Roof, Adam Lanza, James Holmes, Jared Loughner, Eric Harris, and Dylan Klebold?

An exhaustive 2013 USA Today report called Behind the Bloodshed: The Untold Story of America’s Mass Killings helps us make some actual sense of all-too-frequent bloodbaths in this country that are usually labeled either "senseless" or else fueled by murderous ideology.

Among other valuable revelations, the report discloses that the majority of mass killers give vent to their murderous rage in the context of marital breakups, estrangements, depressions, and family arguments. In a word, our mass killers are almost all profoundly isolated and alienated; they are lost souls who imagine they will “achieve” something through lethal violence. To no one does the the lost soul pattern apply more perfectly than to young Abdulazeez, a “young man in a downward spiral,” as The New York Times aptly titled its profile of the latest shooter.  

We know this in part of our brain. We understand how extreme alienation and murderous rage go hand in hand. But almost always we ignore this part of what we know in our rush to find an ideology on which to pin the mayhem, whether that ideology is radical jihadism, runaway Islamophobia, twisted anti-Semitism, wacky survivalist paranoia, or poisonous white supremacism. Yes, these toxins are real and need to be countered. We have spent our professional lives trying to counter them. But there is always more. Even when there is no known ideology in play, there is always the fatal isolation factor. We ignore this factor at our peril.

The other dimension of our willful blindness concerns the ease of access to guns in U.S. culture. Here, too, part of our brain knows perfectly well that widespread bloodshed can be expected in a country that has at least as many civilian-controlled guns as it has people. But the accepted and even encouraged response to reports of yet more gun violence is to go out and heavy up on our own supply of firepower.

More broadly, even as we recoil in horror from the latest shooting, we also tend to remind ourselves that “we” are all good and decent, whereas “they” are all deranged haters. In this way, we help to keep the process of alienation and isolation going. In an ever-more interconnected and interdependent world, this is a sure recipe for continuing disaster.

There is surely some irony in the fact that we who have learned to see so well in the dark--witness the marvelous three-billion-mile journey of New Horizons to Pluto--are still not able to see what is right before us in the plain light of day. We persist in talking about “lone wolves” without really probing their savage loneliness, let alone trying to heal it. We mount dubious ideology-focused campaigns like the Justice Department’s Countering Violent Extremism while letting the gun lobby and the gun makers block any effort to curb access to lethal weapons.

In an age of connecting the cosmos, America must learn to make connections here on earth between corrosive psychological violence and lethal gun violence, between our tribalism and “their” isolation and alienation, and most obviously between all those bullet-riddled corpses and the smoking guns that any lost soul can so easily buy or steal. Otherwise, we may continue to believe that sunlight is a waste because the days are always bright anyway.
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Rev. Peter Laarman coordinates the LA-based interfaith project known as Justice Not Jails. Shakeel Syed is executive director of the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California.

Sin Grows With Doing Good “Sin grows with doing good,” wrote T.S. Eliot, a major twentieth century poet who was born in Missouri, home to the City of Ferguson. “My conscience is clear,” said Darren Wilson, the Ferguson cop, after the grand jury verdict and before resigning with full benefits. “I did not mean to hurt Mr. Garner,” said Daniel Pantaleo, the New York cop, after the grand jury verdict and while remaining on job with full benefits. Both cops firmly believed they were doing good. Both juries believed Michael Brown and Eric Garner were wrong. A large number of Americans, mostly colored, agrees with T. S. Eliot. They believe the cops sinned thinking they are doing good. It may take decades to learn who is right and who is not. In the interim, America must ask itself: · How could and for how long will white cops keep killing black and brown unarmed men and children? · What makes juries vindicate killer cops? · Why does the nation prefer to remain in slumber? · Who will wake the nation? · When will America begin to see itself from the eyes of a widow or a wailing mother? Unless we seek answers to these questions, sin will keep growing. The bullets and the chokeholds will kill more black and brown men and children and sin will keep growing. Priests will keep preaching. Pundits will keep barking. Politicians will keep pacifying and sin will keep growing. There is a way however to stop America from sinning. America’s redemption lies in the words of a black man, spoken nearly five decades ago … “We must rapidly begin the shift from a “thing-oriented” society to a “person-oriented” society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered.” Let us become a person-centered society where “all” persons are valued and respected. Else prepare for the day when the wretched of the earth shall rise against the sinners!

The Ramadan Holocaust

The Ramadan Holocaust

This past Ramadan, the world near silently witnessed yet another holocaust in occupied Palestine. The Palestinians have lived with such painful reality since they were uprooted from their homes and hearth to compensate for Hitler’s crimes. And they may continue to pay this price but only till the world discovers its conscience. It is Living Holocaust for them.

Undoubtedly what was and has been inflicted upon the Palestinians writes new chapters in a certain people’s inhumanity.

The latest atrocities brought contrasting reactions from Muslims in many parts of the world. Despite the oft repeated boasting of being more than a billion, the global Muslim leadership largely remained a timid observer. The biggest protests however were held by Muslim masses particularly in countries where they live as minorities, even as insignificant minorities.

Some social activists relied heavily on the images of dead and mangled bodies. Perhaps, this was their attempt to awaken the slumbering Muslim rulers and as well the masses. Certainly, they may have done so in good conscience in their own understanding. However, one may wonder if using the images of the mangled bodies (for the purposes of mobilizing masses) undermines the sanctity of human body while raising other ethical questions.

The British Baroness Sayeeda Hussain Warsi, who resigned in protest after failing to persuade her prime minister to change his morally indefensible policy, took one of the most telling actions. Ostensibly free of conscience, David Cameron, the British Prime Minister, instead went on vacation. However, Warsi’s timely tweet to her 60,000 followers (and imagine the re-tweets) made Cameron’s vacation went awry as his own Conservative Party, coalition partner Liberals Democrats, and other opinion makers condemned Cameron and praised Warsi. As expected the hate lobby is trying to defame Warsi but she stands tall.

Regrettably, no such principled action was seen either by Muslim rulers, leaders or scholars except the French-born-British-based Dr. Tariq Ramadan, who decided to boycott the popular annual exhibitions by ISNA & by RIS.

It is up to the Muslims of North America to realize the role that their institutions must play and the responsibility that their leaders must honor. Borrowing the sage words of the martyred Martin Luther King, Jr. that “in the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."

For now and until next Ramadan, various Muslim and non-Muslim aid agencies - each with their own agendas – will be asking for funds to feed the starving, clothe the naked and provide shelter to the bombed people of Gaza only if they are allowed to do so by the Apartheid Israel.

In the interim, the questions must Muslims ask themselves are: who will wipe the tears of orphans, who will restore the smiles of widows and who will heal a people so deeply bruised and battered for more than half a century and that will the next holocaust be inflicted next Ramadan or the one after?

The Poisoned Iftar ...

You are invited to the poisoned Iftar!

I am very disappointed I did not receive the White House Iftar invite. Perhaps because:  

• I signed on to this petition - asking my fellow Muslims to boycott WH Iftar, OR
• I sued FBI, along with the 'other' fellow Muslims who were never invited to WH Iftar
• I called our President, evil 
• I did not vote for the President
• I called Israel, an Apartheid State

Heck ya - I will do this all over again and many times over.

After I signed on the petition to boycott WH Iftar, I received some responses from the "Good Muslims"  which I share below for your pleasure read.

• When President calls, you go.
• America has blessed me and I will not boycott the President.
• No King calls me for Iftar, President does

And now let's see few responses from the "Bad Muslims." 

• I would never sit in the same room with the blood thirsty suckers in dark suits.
• I will die over becoming killers' accomplice.
• Sure I will go if the WH flies me first class & sends a limo so that I can have the Kabobs at the Afghan Kabob House in Arlington, VA 

I have overheard that some Muslims have not only boycotted the WH Iftar but called for a justice-vigil outside the WH while some Muslim organizations have already shipped out their men and women of valor to break bread with Brother Hussein who is afraid to use his middle name.

Since I am at this, let me quote a conversation I have had few years ago with a leading Muslim leader about the WH Iftar:

• Me: Why are "you: not invited to the WH Iftar, after all you are a leading voice of Muslims
• Leader: Shame on me if I am invited and double shame on me if I accept it
• Me: Why do you say "shame?"
• Leader: Any Muslim who is invited to the WH Iftar must be ashamed of himself/herself and the organization they work for. Instead they should ask themselves a critical question, "what are they doing wrong?"

Now I ask that you - whoever you may be the Good Muslim or the Bad Muslim - look up the list of WH Iftar proponents & ask the question to yourself - "are they in service of people or the Master?"

A Musical presentation of our pilgrimage for pathway to citizenship

A beautiful musical presentation by fellow pilgrims ... Music by Josth Stenner, Vocals by Diana Campos and video editing by Estefany Mendez.
Click here to watch.

A Professorial Rebuttal to Knucklehead Kevin McCarthy

My fellow pilgrim Professor Gonzalo Santos offers a sober rebuttal to the knucklehead Rep. Kevin McCarthy. Click here to watch.

Here's a video clip of knucklehead Kevin McCarthy who shamelessly tried to defend himself for not meeting with the pilgrims (including me) who walked 285 miles in 21 days to meet him in his district at his office. And, yet he has the audacity to try to pivot the discussion from immigration reform to my fellow pilgrim Prof. Gonzalo Santos. In a video response, my dear brother Prof. Santos not only graciously responds to Kevin McCarthy's lame attempts but also sets the record straight by explaining why comprehensive immigration reform is long over due in our country. Si Se Peude.

Walking the Prophetic Walk for a Pathway to Citizenship
(also published at another site)

Over the last 30 years, I have worked on many different social justice issues as a central passion in my life. This call to work for social justice is deeply rooted in my faith as a Muslim, and it is this call I have tried to serve since 2005 as the executive director of the Shura Council of Southern California, which is an umbrella association of Mosques and Muslim organizations serving Muslims living in Southern California and society at large.

For more than a millennium, my faith has taught that “when you see a wrong, right it.”

This mandate is without an option for neutrality, let alone apathy.  The choices to right the wrong includes, “action,” “speech” or “empathy,” in that order. Action is considered to be the strongest demonstration of faith while empathy, though admirable is considered as the weakest expression of the faithful.  A central part of our history as Muslims is the migration of the Prophet Muhammad, where he was forced to leave his home and family to seek freedom, justice and peace for all. These teachings, urging me to right wrongs with action and to seek peace by leaving behind home and homeland give me incredible peace as a Muslim.

Central to this call to work for social justice has been my own journey as an immigrant to the United States. I came from India in 1985 and ever since, by watching the journeys of my friends and family members, and through my work in the interfaith community, I have seen the ways that our current immigration system tears families apart. This is especially true for the 11 million aspiring Americans living in this country whose status is uncertain –people of diverse national origin and religious backgrounds, who are often exploited by corporations and often the law with very little if any recourse. They are hardworking people who are forced to live in constant fear of being separated from their families.

For almost two decades, our nation’s indifference toward these undocumented Americans who are freely exploited from the valleys of California to the shores of Maine has left me agitated, unable to be at peace. During these last 20 years, the poor and those without legal status have become poorer and more powerless while the rich have become richer and more indifferent. I saw this wrong; I struggled with how to right it. Peace eluded me. Indeed I have also seen how the policies of this countries broken immigration system have also affected the Muslim community unfairly, as was recently revealed in an ACLU report which exposed the previously unknown national security program known as the “Controlled Application Review and Resolution Program,” where the government purposely and illegally excludes many applicants from Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim and South Asian communities from these opportunities by delaying and denying their applications without authority.

My agitation as a naturalized United States citizen and as a person of faith, I believe now morally binds me to the more than 11 million mothers, fathers, daughters, and sons of myriad faiths and diverse traditions who are aspiring Americans and all those who suffer from unjust immigration policies. Following the legacy and example of the Prophet Muhammad, I decided that I too must become a Pilgrim for the sake of freedom I decided to join the Pilgrimage for a Pathway to Citizenship and walk 111 miles in solidarity with and dignity for the 11 million aspiring Americans yearning for full citizenship and enfranchisement in our great nation.

I walked with my fellow Pilgrims, learned their stories, and shared mine with them.  We are all immigrants, all Americans. Together, we walked, prayed and broke bread. We sang and sometimes, we wept. But for the 10 days on the Pilgrimage for a Pathway to Citizenship, rain or shine, we walked as one—walking for respect and dignity, demanding equality and fair treatment.

Walking is prophetic. On this journey it was my prayer, that we walked in the tradition of Moses who walked out of Pharaoh’s land to free the oppressed. We will walk in the tradition of Jesus who walked to Jerusalem and protested oppressors. And, I will also walk in the tradition of Muhammad who walked from his birthplace to a city afar, for a better tomorrow of his people.

My prayer in downtown Visalia on August 27, 2013, before visiting the office of Congressman Devin Nunes asking him for his support for Pathway to Citizenship.

With me were my 14 pilgrim comrades & also Roberto Bustos, the Capitan of the historic 1966 March that was organized by late Cesar Chavez in support of Delano grape farm workers. They had walked from Delano to Sacramento in 1966 and we walked from Sacramento to Bakersfield in 2013. Injustice continues and so does our struggle for justice! 

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Dear God:

We have gathered here today as your witness and as a witness to the dreams and aspirations of our 11 million brothers & sisters.

We embrace each one of them and their loved ones as our brothers and as our sisters.

We join them and pray with them for their demand of a "pathway to citizenship."

Dear God ... the very creation of our nation was meant to glorify your name, freely, and

to pursue opportunities for a better tomorrow and to also live with dignity, honor and freedom from the tyranny of the oppressors.

Dear God ... we stand here today as people of diverse faiths but a community of conscience who believe that -

You, O Dear God, never ask us for papers, but the ungodly people do.

Dear God, we also know that Your mercy and grace is all inclusive -

You  embrace everyone with Your infinite love, and so do we ...

May "they" come to live and/or work from the shores of the Atlantic or the Pacific

by Sea or by Land, or

may we call them "naturalized" or "aliens" -

we as your devoted servants, welcome them in our hearts and in our neighborhoods, and

we welcome them with our unconditional love and respect, just as you do.

Dear God ... we pray that in this land of all colors and many languages -

ALL of them - ALL of them have only one status, and that

they are YOUR creation - You created them equally and

You have endowed upon all - honor and dignity.

So today our dear Lord, we stand in front of you,

asking you of Your Grace and Mercy upon all of us

Bless us today and tomorrow with the strength

to keep on walking and

to keep on fighting for the

Pathway to Citizenship.

Amen.

 

 

Hoping to Walk the Talk ...

Nearly three decades ago, as I was leaving “home” as an economic émigré, I went to my mother and asked for words of wisdom that can guide my immigration journeys. She smiled and said: “you talk too much – it could be your strength but also your weakness.”

Mothers are indeed the custodians of knowledge and wisdom. I wish I had given due attention to her advise. Instead, I have been talking since and mostly non-sense.

About two decades ago, I had enrolled myself in a class for “public speaking.” I had hoped that a formal tutelage in talking would help me fine-tune my weaknesses that my mother was hinting toward.

My speech teacher opened the class with this sage advise; “it does not matter what you think on your seat, but it does matter what you say on your feet.”

Like mothers, teachers are also the custodians of knowledge and wisdom. I guess my speech teachers’ advise hit me close. I have been talking since, in public and on my feet – protesting this and challenging that. Although nothing got resolved but I keep talking from my seat and also on my feet and for over half a century. I believe it is time to stop talking and start walking.

From the eve of August 24, I will join a small group of conscientious p eople, who are doing just that. They are walking for dignity and also for freedom from the labels of ‘diseased,’ ‘undocumented’ and ‘illegal’ among others.

I will walk (hopefully without talking) a symbolic 111 miles for the 11 million fellow human beings. As a collective, they have been the subjects of hate and bigotry for too long.

I will walk in the tradition of Moses who walked out of Pharaoh’s land to free the oppressed. I will walk in the tradition of Jesus who walked and protested the oppressors. And, I will also walk in the tradition of Muhammad who walked from his birthplace to a city afar, for a better tomorrow of his people. Walking is prophetic. May God’s choicest blessings always be with all of them.

I am hoping that my 111 miles long walk in 8 days from the city of Fresno to the city of Bakersfield, if not prophetic, would be pleasant. I invite you to come along and join me from this space. And if you are really curious of my daily walking itinerary, click here.

Friends, you have always helped and supported my many adventures – from Bosnia to Banda Aceh and Occupied Palestine to Occupy Los Angeles. Please do me two more favors.

1. Call/Email or walk into Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s and tell him that you support full and complete immigration reform and demand that no person be called illegal or undocumented. Remind him that God did not create people with documents but with dignity and honor. And insist that he should stand with the 11 million people and seek full citizenship for them and without conditions and now.
2. And secondly – open your wallet and pitch in a dollar or a million. Nope it is not for me but to help those who are helping others. Please click here to do the needful.

And now I better shut up. My mother was right. I talk too much. It is time for a walk and to sing .. Si Se Peude!

Walking Itinerary from Fresno to Bakersfield - 125.8 miles

LOCATION	DAY & DATE	MILEAGE	NIGHT	NOTES
St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church	Sat - Aug 24		1st night in Fresno	Afternoon Prayer Service
Fresno to Selma	Sun - Aug 25	17.4 miles	2nd night in Selma
Selma - Halfway to Visalia	Mon - Aug 26	14 miles	3rd night - half way point to Visalia
Halfway from Selma - Visalia	Tue - Aug 27	14 miels	4th night in Visalia
Visalia to Tulare	Wed - Aug 28	16.4 miles	5th night in Visalia	Vigil at Dios Habla Church - Tulare
Tulare – Half way to Delano	Thur - Aug 29	16 miles	6th night - half way to Delano
Half way from Tulare – Delano	Fri - Aug 30	16 miles	7th night - Delano
Delano - half way to Bakersfield	Sat - Aug 31	16 miles	8th night - half way to Bakersfield
Half way from Delano to Bakersfield	Sun - Sep 1	16 miles	9th night in Bakersfield
125.8 miles	Mon - Sep 2		Bakersfield	Action w/Rep. Kevin McCarthy

111 Miles in Solidarity with 11 Million

A Jesuit educated Baptist activist friend emailed me about a 285 mile Pilgrimage for a Pathway to Citizenship. After reading his email I questioned myself if my response should be as a Muslim-at-peace or a citizen-agitated. Read the rest and tell me if my response was influenced by my faith or impacted by my agitation.

For almost two decades, I remain agitated for our nation's indifference toward the now demonized "un-documented," who were freely exploited from the valleys of California to the shores of Maine. And during these last twenty years, the poor and the un-documented became poorer and powerless while the plantation capitalists became richer and more indifferent. Some pundits even screamed from their bullhorns, that the un-documented are the "diseased aliens," not worthy of documentation, let alone any recognition. And, this makes me a citizen-agitated. 

For more than a millennium, my faith teaches me that "when you see a wrong, right it." This mandate is without an option for neutrality, let alone apathy.  The choices to right the wrong includes, “action," "speech" or "empathy," in that order. Action is considered to be an expression of the strongest of faith while empathy, though admirable is considered as the weakest expression of the faithful. And, this teaching makes me a Muslim-at-peace.

My agitation as a citizen and inspiration as a faithful now morally binds me to the more than 11 million undocumented women and men of myriad faiths and diverse tradition.

It is for these reasons I decided to join the pilgrimage for a pathway to citizenship and walk 111 miles in solidarity with and dignity for the 11 million undocumented women and men, young and old of our nation.

Along the way from August 24 to September 2, I will walk and learn their stories and share mine with them. Together, we will walk, pray and break bread. We will also sing and may even cry. But for the 10 days as a pilgrim for a pathway to citizenship, come what may - rain or shine, we will be one ... walking for respect and dignity and demanding honor and equality. And this, I believe could be a duty of every citizen, agitated or not and an obligation of each faithful, a Baptist or a Muslim!

I invite you to walk with me virtually by visiting this blog. Also, hold us in your thoughts and prayers. And if you cannot do either, I ask that you consider the following:

1. Write to Rep. Kevin McCarthy  or your legislator and ask them to support comprehensive immigration reform that includes pathway to citizenship without hurdles and obstavcles.

2. Help those who are helping others. Your contributions, however large or small, helps LA Voice to push  in making the Pathway to Citizenship, a Highway to Citizenship.

"Rumsfeld Lied People Died" - I screamed & thrown out ...

Rumsfeld Lied, People Died

When I heard that the war criminal known as Donald Rumsfeld would be appearing in the area, I could not wait to confront him.  Along with handful of enlightened citizens and friends, we showed up at his event at the resting place of his fellow liar, Richard Nixon.

Along with two good friends at a cost of $50 each, we decided to enter the event as attendees and force ourselves to listen to more lies and also receive even bigger lies packed into his new book, “Rumsfeld’s [dumb] Rules.” 

The venue was lit up and nearly full with empty heads in suits and satins. Then came the lying king to live music and he starts off with a complaint that the emcee’s introduction was “moderately good.” I do not know if he wanted us to know the length of his lying life or simply state his age but it went something like, “I am just about one third of our nation’s age and that it makes me old and our nation very young.” No kidding, I thought!

We had decided to give him some space to feel comfortable before launching our vocal missiles. So his other rants included the advice to his daughter that “she should not worry about who to work for but to find and hang out with intelligent people.”  I hope that the young lady would not consider her father in that category.

Then he expressed his shock that the “realities [of our nation] lie outside the 60 square miles of Washington.” I wish he had discovered that before “shocking” the mothers and their children of Iraq and later Afghanistan.  He followed that up with another obscene admission that “as a wrestler, I always look at things from my opponent’s perspective.”  I so wished he could have applied this rule to allow himself to see the world from the perspective of his millions of victims.

We three were getting a bit testy and restless. There came the opportunity when he said that what keeps him awake is “America’s weakness because we ‘only’ spend 4% of our GDP on defense.” That was it for us …

Brian stood up and yelled:  “The ends do not justify the means.” On hand were a bunch of paid uniformed goons to quickly drag Brian out. I stood up, following Brian’s cue, looked into the eyes of the liar and yelled: “Rumsfeld lied; people died!”

The well-lit venue with empty suits and satins were in shock at our uncivilized outbursts. “Take them out!  Throw them out!” were some of the compliments I was able to hear clearly from the empty suits and satins.

Oh yes, thrown out we were in a matter of seconds but not before those few precious seconds were captured on camera by a courageous grandmother and comrade. Click here to watch.

The lessons I learned from this adventure are that those who have destroyed the lives of others deserved to be yelled at, unashamedly. And that they are nothing more than empty suits and must be treated as such. And that this is the best expression of democracy. So I invite you now to visit your local bookstore and if you find the liar’s new book, Rumsfeld’s Rules – grab a copy or copies – and move them to the criminal section. This can be your important contribution to protect and defend our dying democracy. If, however, you’d like to join me next time another liar visits our town, you know well how and where to reach me. I cannot wait to have you by my side for our next adventure!

Postscript: After I blogged, a friend informed me about this newspiece.

Boston, Baghdad & Birmingham

Boston, Baghdad & Birmingham
Shakeel Syed – April 16, 2013

Instead of feasting their feat, innocent men and women of all ages were limping and crying. In a matter of seconds, Boston became Baghdad on the tax day. Bodies, blood and broken limbs were on the streets of Boston and on the television screens of the nation. Everyone I knew, all faiths and ages, confessed that they watched the terror and tragedy through teary eyes. Intuitively human indeed, I said to myself.

I too raised my trembling hands and prayed for the perished and the survivors. I prayed more for the survivors, because they now have to live with the trauma. The perished will be in paradise, anyway. My faith tradition suggests that the death of an innocent in this world merits the best of God’s grace in the life hereafter. And I fervently pray for the perished of the Boston bomb blasts to receive the best of heaven.

As we mourn, we must also reaffirm that senseless violence and terror that subjects life to death (anywhere and by anyone) is always abhorrent. Period. Whether bombs go off in Boston or fall in Baghdad, our respect for life must always remain unconditional. 

If questioned about the comparison of Boston to Baghdad as “untimely and unwise,” I would reply it is not only timely but also wise to question the moral and ethical disparities while being in the very midst of it. That is precisely what we learn from the writings of a modern prophet who was jailed in Birmingham in 1963.

Although Sixty years later, King’s prophetic words seem to have been written also for us and for today. Here are few of his words for our reflection.

“I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

Closing his thoughtful “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” King leaves us with this … 

“Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear drenched communities, and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty.”

I say Amen to the prayer of King and add mine to his. I pray that all people, may they be Bostonians or Baghdadis live in love-drenched communities and free from fear of the other!

Truth, Terror & Tyranny 
March 13, 2013 (10 year anniversary of US invasion on Iraq)
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As the terror master is getting ready to go to the land of tyranny, I thought I should give him some reading material for the road. Instead of going to the land of tyranny, a.k.a. Israel, he should stay home and reflect on the following. 

So sit down, shut up, and listen, Mr. President:

1. On March 19, 2013, visit the families of nearly 5,000 soldiers who lost their lives in Iraq.

2. Kneel down and ask your Creator for forgiveness for killing more than 150,000 innocent Iraqis (including women and children) these last ten years. 

3. While you are on your knees, also ask Him to forgive you for killing more innocent Afghani and Pakistani men, women and children than the buffoon before you.

4. Rethink your love of monster machines that are killing people, including American citizens, all over the world. Remember the adage: “chickens always come home to roost.” This may happen before you meet your Lord.

5. Some avid readers keep Reading Lists; you are known to keep a Kill List. So what does that make you, exactly?

6. How the hell did you manage to become a professor of U.S. Constitutional law and still write National Defense Authorization Act? I am stumped on this one.

7. Your bailouts got the Big 3 in Detroit billions of dollars while the city itself is bankrupt and sewage is already on streets. Your bailouts also gave birth to 17 new billionaires this last year while increasing hungry mouths from 100 million to 100+ million Americans.

8. Now, you are going to the land of terrorists, tyrants, and cowards who terrorize Gazan children from the skies. The other day I heard your loud-mouthed assistant shouting obscenities during the celebrations of Terrorists Lite in Washington DC. He said that none of your predecessors can even come close to your love for these terrorists, tyrants, and cowards.

9. You call yourself a Christian, right? So if you do end up in Bethlehem, visit the birthplace of the man whom you say you worship … close your eyes and ask yourself what would he do if he were you – kill people or save people?

10. And, that is the truth, Mr. President. If it tastes bitter, suck it up … I’ve been forced to do just that for some years.

Shakeel Syed
A taxpayer from California

The lesser of two evils just became the greater …

The lesser of two evils just became the greater … During the recent presidential election cycle, many good-hearted Muslim and non-Muslim friends tried to convince me to choose the lesser of the two evils. Among other components in my response, I asked them three questions: 1. Do you agree that the lesser of the two evils would still be evil? 2. What if the lesser of the two evils keeps doing evil for a protracted period of time; would that candidate still qualify as the lesser evil? 3. Lastly, if the lesser of the two evils surprised them with a heinous act of evil, would they favor truth over hope? Instead of a yes or no answer, most of my good-hearted friends expressed their big hope in the lesser of the two evils. They also asked me to prepare myself for many “pleasant surprises” and to embrace them when they happen. I certainly was waiting for them. These surprises did come early….but I ask, “Are they pleasant?” Less than two weeks after the victory songs earlier this month, we now have two ugly surprises from the lesser of the two evils. Just in case someone failed to notice, here they are: 1. The lesser of two evils declared that “he fully supports Israel’s right to defend itself”, implying that the occupied and the embattled Palestinians are to be denied this same right. The Palestinians evidently are to thank him--the lesser of the two evils and the evil he supports--for the airborne killing machines flying overhead which are so much more merciful than the land-based killers crawling all over them. (Perhaps we are to ignore Israel’s many hints about an imminent ground invasion of Gaza.) 2. The lesser of two evils earns the distinction of being the first to visit Myanmar – a land of monks running amuck. There, the lesser of the two evils heaps praise and offers hope to those who have been killing and watching the killing of a nameless and stateless people: the Rohingyas. May I now ask my good-hearted Muslim and non-Muslim friends to join me in mourning the 10 month old Hanin Tafesh and the mass instantaneous murder of 3 generations of Dalu family. And, having received almost no call-backs from my many good-hearted Muslim and non-Muslim friends, believers in the lesser of two evils, I decided to write this open letter as a reminder that, yes, the lesser of two evils is still evil!

A Voter's Memo to President Obama

A voter’s memo to President Obama: Reply requested by Nov 5th or earlier (Shakeel S – you know where to find me!) As an independent voter, I enthusiastically voted for you in 2008. In 2012 however, I will not vote for you. Here is my very short [initial] list of top ten reasons and I will grant you an opportunity to respond and convince me otherwise. 1. Do you remember Guantanamo! During your last campaign you promised to close the dreaded Gitmo (link) but I guess you forgot. I wonder if you were thinking of them when you accepted the Nobel Peace Prize? 2. I thought no act could inflict more harm than George Bush’s Patriot Act. You proved me wrong. You not only extended the Patriot Act (link, link) but wrote your own National Defense Authorization Act (link) that makes Patriot Act look like a No-Parking sign. As a constitutional law professor, Mr. President, you have encoded sheer government abuse as law of this land (link) and you continue indefinite detentions without review (link, link). Don’t you think all this disguises the Pharaoh as an angel? 3. And, don’t you also have a kill list, assassinating (link) my fellow citizens (and citizens of other sovereign nations). And you claim that you are the judge, jury and the executioner (link) and you do not need any judicial review to kill anyone and anywhere. 4. Also, didn’t you ask for thousands of secret spying warrants (link). Who are you afraid of, Sir? Or are you simply recalling the words of your predecessor from across the aisle: “Why do they hate us?” 5. And then you have the audacity to defend your warrantless wiretapping (link) while trying to stop the Supreme Court from hearing a challenge of warrantless wiretapping (link) and also pushing for laws making it easier to wiretap (link) on innocent and law abiding citizens. 6. On your watch, my tax dollars were spent on illegal and immoral surveillance of Muslim neighborhoods and houses of worship (link). Remember that, Sir? I do. 7. And was it your administration who authorized the raids at the homes of my fellow peace activists (link)? 8. As a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, can you rationalize your peddling $60 billion worth of arms to the Saudi Arabian dictators (link) and continuing the sickening legacy of our annual $3 billion charity to apartheid Israel while my children’s teachers are losing their jobs and their spouses have already lost theirs. 9. Your “withdrawal plan” from Afghanistan leaves more troops than when you started (link) your presidency. So who are you fooling, my friend? We may be a country of fools, but most us can still count. 10. Your drones have killed more innocent people in Pakistan and Afghanistan (link) than any of your predecessors. So, Mr. President, I was not happy but appreciated George W Bush because he was honest and said, hang-in-by-the-cliff, buddy. But in your case Mr. President, you have been dishonest and deceptive; you are asking me to jump from GWB’s cliff and “hope” for a soft landing! Standing by to hear from you & to watch who drops first from the cliff! Si Si Peude…

America: Connect the Dots

The recent tragic death of the US Ambassador and four staff members of the US Embassy in Libya by asphyxiation in the embassy fire ignited by the irate Libyans reminded me of a nomad’s satire. The nomad walks into a café and gives a verdict on the cosmos by saying “I love the moon and hate the sun.” Baffled patrons in the café ask the nomad about his love and hate relationship with the moon and the sun. The nomad explains. “I love the moon because it brightens the night and guides us to find our ways and then he adds, I hate the Sun because it comes out only during the day when it is bright anyway!” Most people miss the most obvious especially when thinking is fogged with emotions. While we condemn the senseless violence and mourn the loss of innocent lives in Libya, I cannot help but remind myself of an incident four years ago in September 2008. About 60 days before the Presidential elections in September 2008, millions of Americans in 14 battleground states received a DVD gift in the mail, titled: “Obsession : Radical Islam’s War Against the West.” That movie was produced by Rabbi Raphael Shore for a tax-exempt New York-based charity by the name “Clarion Fund ” with connections to a strongly pro-Israel Jewish educational organization – Aish HaTorah based out of Israel and an office in the United States. Clarion Fund did not just produce Obsession but also produced The Third Jihad and Iranium. News analysis at the time helped many Americans connect the dots about the September 2008 DVD being used to influence the November 2008 Presidential elections. Now, in September 2012, the world learns of yet another movie, The Innocence of Muslims. More dot-connecting is required. Los Angeles Times reports that the movie was filmed and produced in Southern California but in much mystery. Allegedly, the producer is a Coptic-Christian of Egyptian origins holding extreme anti-Islam views. And then there is a movie consultant and scriptwriter, Steve Klein, based out of the City of Hemet who claims to know but refuses to reveal the identities of those associated with the film in various capacities. Although much is shrouded in mystery, the movie consultant has revealed himself as did some of the production crew-members. And according to the Associated Press a person identifying himself as Nakoula Basseley Nakoula may in fact be Sam Bacille who initially was reported to be “the” man behind the movie. Much uncertainty remains but what we do know for certain is that this 14 minute movie has already contributed four American deaths. The nation is in mourning and political tensions are rising in the region. Conservative political leaders often speak of pre-emptive police action against American Muslims, particularly in Los Angeles. Muslim-American political rights are, to them, expendable. But when right-wing cranks like Steve Klein seek to inflame passions that lead directly to American deaths too many conservative pundits and politicians have preferred to blame President Obama. It is time for American conservatives to criticize the hatred in their own ranks. A more thoughtful position would be to criticize both the film and those carrying out the violence in Libya and other countries. An effort to label President Obama as a Muslim or a Muslim sympathizer – as if being a Muslim is unacceptable – is likely to again sweep the political rights. Mainstream conservatives should denounce such bigotry and Americans should be connecting the dots leading from September 11, 2012 leading to the election on November 6, 2012. ----------------------

Curiosity on Mars & Mayhem in Milwaukee

http://www.presstelegram.com/opinions/ci_21258876/shakeel-syed-we-need-journey-beyond-violence Unlike other sluggish Sundays, this past Sunday I woke up early and excitedly log on to the NASA website to follow the 154 million-mile journey of Curiosity. Instead, I was shocked to read the breaking news about the horrendous act of terrorism at a Sikh gurdwara in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Instinctively I knew this American terrorist intended to kill Muslims at a mosque but ended up killing Sikhs at a gurdwara as similar acts of terrorism have occurred more than once since September 11, 2001. So, after all, what’s the difference between Sikhs and Muslims and gurdwaras and mosques? I found the answer in a devout Jewish friend’s email: “An attack on one house of worship is an attack upon all of us. An assault on one faith community is an assault upon all of us.” Until America embraces this paradigm, some American terrorist will keep killing some innocent and faithful worshiper somewhere. And this reminds me of a man who lived and died for that America: to paraphrase Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “We may have traveled into galaxies and reached stars but have not yet learned how to live on earth like brothers and sisters.” This sage reminder is especially apt at the convergence of the Curiosity completing its 154 million-mile journey to Mars while Wade Michael Page, a former U.S. military PsyOps specialist-turned-terrorist, massacred seven innocent faithful Sikhs. Teresa Carlson, the FBI special agent in charge of the investigation of Sunday's massacre, said “no motive for the attack has been established.” I must ask what else would be necessary to establish the motive? Page was dishonorably discharged from the U.S. military where he served as a Psy-Ops analyst AND the Southern Poverty Law Center identified him as a neo-Nazi AND he shot innocent people at a place of worship. Several other questions keep bothering me. Did Mr. Page’s neo-Nazi instincts precede his U.S. military career or are they a result of his service? Does Mr. Page’s level of education reflect the U.S. military’s criteria for those whose hands are permitted to take lives of others in the name of our country? What about a citizen’s constitutional right to own a firearm versus the State’s privilege to grant a driver’s license: a dishonorably discharged psycho from the U.S. military can own a firearm and massacre innocent people but a law abiding tax paying citizen’s driving privilege can be suspended or revoked if he’s unable to pay couple of parking tickets. While I pondered these questions, I was alerted to another act of terrorism. On the day after the Wisconsin shooting, a mosque in Joplin, Missouri was torched to the ground in the pre-dawn hours during the most holy season of Ramadan when Muslims fast, pray, and give to charity each year. Of course, this is not the first mosque that has been burnt down. A few years ago, a mosque in Adelanto was razed to the ground and some months thereafter an Imam in the same area was tied to a chair in his house and burnt alive. The slow wheel of justice is still turning and no one as yet has been held accountable for this heinous act. We may have reached Mars and may even travel beyond but will that stop massacres and mayhem on our planet earth? Our country has spent $2.5 billion to reach Mars and to study stones. Today, will you spend 2.5 minutes--or a bit more--and force your heart to hear the sobbing orphans and wailing widows in Milwaukee, Wisconsin? While fasting today, I am reading and reflecting on all the darkness that seems to be surrounding us. I am reminded of the sage words, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” And I add, whether on Mars or on Earth, without selfless love and sincere empathy we may continue our curiosity but will not cure the darkness in which we live.

Stifling free speech to help Israel

First published as an op-ed in LA Daily News Republished at Information Clearing House Shakeel Syed is a Muslim-American and a board member of American Muslims for Palestine Jeff Warner is a Jewish-American and a member of Los Angeles Jews for Peace Our message was simple: “Tell Congress: Spend Our Money at Home, Not on the Israeli Military.” We wanted people to understand how their tax dollars are spent. We contracted with CBS Outdoor for a 28-day campaign of 23 billboards. They erected them in Los Angeles and surrounding cities, and we thanked them for allowing free speech. However, a week later, CBS Outdoor took down all our billboards, telling us laughably that our applauding them for allowing free speech was tantamount to their endorsement of our message. They wanted us to take our money and go away quietly. But we decided otherwise. The truth is that CBS Outdoor likely buckled to pressure from pro-Israeli groups and their paid shills in Congress. Rep. Howard Berman wrote a memo (available on his website) to the Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel, the sponsor of the billboard campaign, condemning the billboards and referring to alleged complaints from his San Fernando Valley constituents. In response, Berman received praise from pro-Israel groups such as the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Anti-Defamation League, organizations who called the billboards “provocative.” So what if the billboards contained a message that Rep. Berman and these pro-Israel groups found provocative. Who are they to judge what political messages people in Los Angeles should be allowed to see? On the other hand, we believe that provocative discussions make democracy flourish and stifling discussion will kill democracy. By taking down the billboards and advocating against them, we charge CBS Outdoor and Rep. Berman with stifling discussion and undermining our democracy. As taxpayers, we care how Congress spends our money. As citizens, we want our country to be generous, but not reckless. Rep. Berman and vast majority of his Congressional colleagues continually demonstrate recklessness in wasting our treasure serving Israeli interests rather than fulfilling the needs of the American people. The money the United States is spending on the Israeli military this year, if used at home, would help tens of thousands of Americans recover from the ongoing recession with affordable housing, college loans, green job training, health care, and other support. Rep. Berman demands that America must keep aiding Israel although it was recently ranked by the Center for Public Integrity as one of the top ten human rights abusers in the world receiving U.S. weapons, and Israeli misuse of American-supplied weapons to dispossess and bombard Palestinians may violate the United States Arms Export Control Act, which limits the use of U.S. weapons to “internal security” and “legitimate self-defense.” We disagree. Why is Rep. Berman intentionally disregarding these laws in hawking more weapons to Israel at the expense of unmet domestic needs? Perhaps the answer lies in Rep. Berman being a beneficiary of pro-Israel political action committees, which are among his top five contributors, keeping him in Congress as their many strong advocates. Rep. Berman should stop pandering for military aid to Israel and instead start aiding Americans who are homeless and the jobless, children and the elderly, libraries and schools, police and fire departments. He can start with those right there in his district in the San Fernando Valley. For example, the money destined for the Israeli military under a $30 billion ten year agreement would provide primary health care to 23 million Americans. As for CBS Outdoor whose slogan is, “Always On,” apparently is on for some and off for others. Suppressing free speech, especially that which engenders a debate to mend the American economy, is not only un-American but anti-capitalist. As Jewish and Muslim Americans who devote our lives to seeking peace among peoples of all faiths, we hold CBS Outdoor and Rep. Berman responsible for suppressing an important conversation; the billboards called on our nation to revisit its misplaced spending priorities. We believe in a vibrant and provocative discussion through all lawful means, including by erecting billboards. This is an imperative and not an option. American leaders say they want to see genuine peace and stability in the Middle East. To achieve that America must first stop its financial and military aid to Israel and then use whatever integrity it has left to end the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian people. As long as America’s treasure is bled away to support the tyranny of the Israeli occupation and as long as corporations and Congressmen like Rep. Berman stifles debate and discussion, our country will continue to suffer. CBS Outdoor should not censor the billboards and Rep. Berman should not attempt to chill free speech. Americans deserve to debate the negative impact of U.S. military aid to Israel. Our billboard may have been removed but our spirits soar high with our message to Congress: “Spend Our Money at Home, Not on the Israeli Military.”