On March 7, 1965, six hundred peaceful civil rights protesters were brutally attacked by police in Selma, Alabama. In the following weeks, Americans of all faiths came to Selma to rally in support of the human rights and dignity of African-Americans. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, one of American Judaism's great theologians said, "When I marched in Selma, my feet were praying."
Since the beginning of their demonstrations for their own human dignity and rights, Egyptian protesters have been chanting, "salamah." The linguistic root of Selma and salamah are the same in Semitic languages: s(sh)-l-m and mean "peace." Like Rabbi Heschel and Dr. King, the Egyptian protesters moved beyond parochial religious identities to come together as Christians, Muslims and secularists to call for a peace that is the fruit of justice in a place where it has been long denied. They have been praying with their feet and with their hands they link together in human solidarity.
The response by the Mubarak military dictatorship has been, like that of the police in Alabama, one of brutality. The oppressive regime and their clients, the oligarchic elite, will not simply abandon an unjust system they rationalize with disdain for the masses.
Two years before the brutality at Selma, Martin Luther King Jr., in his "Letter from the Birmingham Jail," had urged American clergy to reflect upon the nature of injustice so they could understand why the solidarity and witness of "outsiders" was needed in the civil rights movement. Referring to the American domestic situation, Dr. King stated, "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."
President Obama has said that it is not for the United States to determine the leader of Egypt. That is certainly correct. Yet the United States has for many years directly intervened in the trajectory of Egyptian politics by supporting the Egyptian military through vital training and intelligence, and by transferring to them over a billion dollars of aid annually. The physician's motto, "First, do no harm," should be applied here. The United States does not need to intervene, but must at least freeze all military support for Egypt until the state stops hurting its own peaceful citizens.
When President Obama went to Cairo, he chose to speak at the university, where his audience was filled with young people. It is these young people who have given energy to this movement and they now are being beaten and bloodied by Mubarak's thugs. I pray that my brothers and sisters in the American interfaith community will bear witness to this injustice and to call for the President to withdraw military aid to Egypt to protect our sons and daughters there.
John Feffer: Two Cheers for the Brotherhood
2011 Egyptian protests - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Egypt protests show George W. Bush was right about freedom in the ...
The Egypt Protests >> TotallyCoolPix
Egypt protests: live - Telegraph
BBC News - Egypt protests: Anti-Mubarak demonstrators arrested
Egypt protests turn deadly as police open fire on crowds, death ...
Violent protests escalate outside Egypt's capital - Yahoo! News
Egypt protests: change is coming, says Mohammed ElBaradei | World ...
http://peaceful-path.blogspot.com/2011/02/egypt-metaphysical-super-bowl.html
Ms. Mattson who is a convert to Islam has broke the barrier of religious misogyny that some claim existed in Islam. She was elected to be the President of perhaps, the oldest and largest Muslim organization in the U.S. , "The Islamic Society of North America."
Unfortunately, during her leadership she was hardly visible on the national media outlet, obvious this would debunk their pundit inimical argument of the status of women in Islam.
Ms. Mattson, Muslim women, through-out the Muslim world have admired your dedication to Islam and looking forward to see more of your presence and scholarly work.
=====
Very good. And I do not know if the author is old enough to remember the endless wars between Egypt and Israel. The aid has one purpose and one purpose only; as part of a deal to stop those wars.
Do you think Egypt would have been better off with another 10 million war dead and several more wars?
o11.0 NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS OF THE ISLAMIC STATE (AHL AL-DHIMMA)
[…]
o11.5 Such non-Muslim subjects are obliged to comply with Islamic rules that pertain to the safety and indemnity of life, reputation, and property. In addition, they:
(1) Are penalized for committing adultery or theft, though not for drunkeness;
(2) Are distinguished from Muslims in dress, wearing a wide cloth belt (zunnar);
(3) Are not greeted with “as-Salamu ‘alaykum”;
(4) Must keep to the side of the street;
(5) May not build higher than or as high as the Muslims’ buildings, though if they acquire a tall house, it is not razed;
(6) Are forbidden to openly display wine or pork, (A: to ring church bells or display crosses,) recite the Torah or Evangel aloud, or make public display of their funerals and feastdays;
(7) And are forbidden to build new churches.
It's just a guess, but I would say they would not have fared very well.
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
================
True words. As long as "justice" means the same thing to all hearers.
For a supporter of Sharia law, the quote above describes one aspect of Islamic justice. In general terms, "justice" means submission to Sharia law to an Islamist--one set of rules for Muslims, a different set for non-Muslims. Not at all what Westerners mean by the word.
I wonder what Ingrid Mattson's definition is?
letter of Prophet Muhammed to the Christians; link below
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achtiname_of_Muhammad
Your capacity to repeat lies upon lies and commit genocide against every indigenous people of this planet, there is nothing praiseworthy in this.....christians have been living in the muslim world for the last 1400 yrs....what is your record with minorities? in spain 1492, native american indians, africans, australian aborigines, conquistadores in south america .........????? This was history. now you tell us some more cut/paste lies.
============
Let's state the source of those human rights:
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Pub.L. 88-352, 78 Stat. 241, enacted July 2, 1964) was a landmark piece of legislation in the United States that outlawed major forms of discrimination against blacks and women, including racial segregation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1964
American civil law. Also:
Article 1.
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml#atop
The UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
How would those protesters have fared under Sharia law?
Continued--
Umdat al-salik (Shafii fiqh):
k32.0 MANUMISSION (‘ITQ)
(n: This section, which begins, “To free a slave is an act of worship,” deals with a system of ownership that Islam did not invent but found fully established and not possible to instantly abolish, so it rather encouraged its elimination in steps, with incentives.
[....]
Like previous references to slaves, the following four sections have been left untranslated because the issue is no longer current, [....]
The Arab or Middle Eastern slave trade continued into the early 20th century.[130] Slavery in Morocco was outlawed in the 1930s.[131] As recently as the 1950s, Saudi Arabia had an estimated 450,000 slaves, 20% of the population.[132][133]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_slavery#Slavery_in_the_Arab_World
Slavery was banned in Saudi Arabia in 1962.
May I remind you that the Koran and Sunna are the constitution of the Saudi Arabian Kingdom, and that all four schools of Sharia law are recognized as valid in Saudi courts.
Sadly for you, shouting in caps never makes the contents of the capitalized words true. It does emphasize the desperate desire of the author for the words to be true, despite lurking misgivings.
When we serve others I believe, do we not to do so, only for our own self interest? Would that be a true sacrifice? Christ came to sacrifice, his very flesh, blood, doing so, in not using others flesh, blood, one life, to offer, instead to God did he? What is true sacrifice that is acceptable to God? I will help you, but only because I need something from you? Christ gave freely, did so in righteousness, not taking nothing in return, nor in asking us for something in return.
Thousands millions have no righteousness, democracy also, one being Africa. Millions of innocent, helpless, human beings, children, are dying, injustice, forced upon. Are we there with a full military, force, for their safety, needs and a better way of life, freedom of democracy? Interesting. I love all, for all are dearly loved. If I was worth billions, and one needed money, I am sure I too, would have lost of friends? Interesting.