The Mindset Of An American Muslim...you figure?

Source 5-Pillar Column

My American World

The inspiration for this post comes from a telling cartoon: “The World’s Worst Nightmare,” by Carlos Latuff .

5-Pillar Scribe

Although we, as Americans, see ourselves as the champions of freedom and democracy; much of the world - the oppressed, impoverished, less fortunate and even those more fortunate than we are (yes, there are people in this world more fortunate than Americans), see us as an opportunistic, ruthless and blood-lusting bully.

As human beings, we have lately progressed into a decline of being civilized. We wear the tin and tarnished badge of pride and arrogance and claim that we surely live the American dream (although many today would argue that we are living a nightmare); not realizing that we do so through the nightmares of others - foreign and domestic.

When asked to take a hard look at ourselves, we make excuses for what we do and are even proud of the blood we shed. We claim to guess at what others think; then destroy them before they have a chance to explain or bring forth the evidence to show how a grave persecution faces their people if Americans fail to believe them. Their pleas go by the way of dripping blood - isolated, sealed and discarded, never to be seen again.

We have built this blood-drenching tradition since the time of creating this country, on the backs of African slaves (many who were Muslim), solely based on their color, as well as the Native Americans - solely based on their color. We no longer use color as the primary reason for annihilation and forced servitude. But let’s not kid ourselves into thinking it’s a tactic we have abandoned when necessary.

We claim to have progressed and now shed even more blood, but not because of color. We’ve reverted back to addressing a more formidable attribute - the label of a select conscience; but not because of conscience, but rather another deadly sin - greed. As horrific as it is, in and of itself, it may actually be an improvement; for we are no longer primarily picking out a mere physical attribute to determine the quality of a human being.

It is, however, still insufficient to kill based on the brand of a belief system, such as Islam; when that very same belief system has practiced throughout history the protection of freedoms that even Americans have taken for granted today. These freedoms are being washed away with the blood-stained rags needed to achieve temporary and unearned riches.

A squeamish and less than frontal or even a flanked attack has already commenced; not only of the desired gratitude of the global community for their own demise, but for the enslavement of especially the innocents of the American citizenry. This has been done while the enemies of humanity hijacked the concept of a people’s government to later make that same citizenry ignorant accomplices to genocide of peoples of conscience. We are talking about hundreds of millions of people who are facing the race to a global war. We minimize it as much as we can by differentiating them by their nationalities, ethnicities, races, political persuasion; but they are amongst the largest of subsets of mankind - they, rather we, are Muslims.

We have marched on, with our star-spangled banner; even against the advice of the majority of sovereign states - a democratic concept rejected by the Champions of Democracy. For the states that have agreed with us, have instantaneously become guilty by association through their greed or by attempts to rise their lowly status by groveling at the chance to somehow be allied with the world’s beacon - the United States. We march on, even against the advice of our religious leaders and legal scholars, who have sought patience and cautioned about the grave moral and legal consequences by moving in haste. We’ve temporarily padded their organizations’ pockets and promised them a degree of increased power in our political marketplace - where the separation of church and state was imposed upon this once-great society because of the potential abuse from those who do believe - how ironic.

Today, as it was back then, it is power that we relish; not realizing that this world is one that that has nations interdependent of each other. We have no problem cutting up whole populations and cutting through cultures and destroying valuable history and infrastructures to satisfy our unjust desires. That sounded too clean. We have torn the limbs, pierced the flesh, murdered women and children, incinerated whole families, mutilated people - dead and alive. We have destroyed them physically; and for those who still live, we work on stripping their fundamental rights, smearing their reputations, controlling their minds and crushing their spirit.

The only difference we see between us and them is that they are not succumbed to our rapidly changing system. We yell and scream in protest and through our far-from-centered talk shows and other media ploys how “those people” dare whisper to seek or even speak about justice; for they never knew true justice. They should accept the fight for freedom as we proud Americans unjustly and physically address their major cities in shock and awe.

Ours is yet to come. We are next in line, with a relatively bloodless coup by our incorporated government against the true government - We the People. As frogs conjugating in the melting pot with an incrementally-increasing simmer, our own gizzards are being cooked. Our tangible and intangible worth is disappearing from our rights, our property, our money, our means for transportation, our health-care, our education, our sanity, our dignity, and next to be focused on: our will, our minds and our souls.

How I fear the wrath not only from the world’s populous; not only from how my own children will be perceived from the outside as Americans, and the inside - as Muslims; nothing like I’ve felt so far for the several injustices and infractions I’ve faced over my adopted Islamic name, nor for the wrongful perception of the extent of evil associated with it; but to think of the punishment that faces mankind, including me, when it’s all over.

“If it had been your Lord’s will, they all would have believed - all who are on earth. Will you, then, compel the people, against their will, to believe?” [Qur'an 10:99]