Truth has come and falsehood has perished

There is no online text of Jolani's speech. I literally listened to the entire speech and typed it out.

Truth has come and falsehood has perished

The Speech of Syrian President al Daraa at the UN

September 25, 2025

A land of ancient civilization and culture deserves to be a state of law. Protecting everyone, safeguarding rights, guaranteeing freedoms, and fostering life to flourish while turning the page of a wretched past. We are determined to restore Syria’s dignity, glory and honor. And in continuation of the Syrian story, I declare before you today the triumph of truth over falsehood. Truth has come, and falsehood has perished. Syria is reclaiming its rightful place among the nations of the world. This announcement is the echo of a great people’s will. A people who forged glory throughout the ages, who rose again from beneath the rubble to restore their rights and freedom and dignity. On behalf of the Syrian people, I extend gratitude to everyone who stood by the Syrian cause, who aided Syrians in their tragedy, and who welcomed them in their countries, and to all nations and peoples who rejoiced in the victory of the Syrian people’s will. And I particularly thank Turkey, Qatar, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and all Arab and Islamic states, the United States of America, and the European Union. And before I conclude, let me affirm. The suffering Syria endured, we wish upon no one. We are among the people most deeply aware of the horrors of war and destruction. For this reason, we stand firmly with the people of Ghaza. For this reason, we stand firmly with the people of Ghaza, its children and women and all peoples facing violations and aggressions. We call for an immediate end to the war. In conclusion, the Syrian story has not come to an end. It continues to write a new chapter, entitled Peace, Prosperity, and Development. And may the Peace of God be upon you. 

Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim, in the name of God most Merciful most Compassionate: 

The Syrian story is filled with emotions, and it mixes pain with hope. The Syrian story is a struggle between good and evil, and between the weak, right cause, that has no supporter except God. Our story is one of the lessons of history, and it is an embodiment of noble human meanings and values in this eternal struggle between good and evil. We find in this Syrian story a new chapter of the struggle, one filled with creativity and determination and patience and torture and pain and sacrifice, and clinging on to noble customs and values and hard work and relying on God. All these are tools for truth against injustice and falsehood. 

Your Excellency, Mister Secretarial General, Madame President of the General Assembly. Your Excellency, may the peace of God be upon you. I come to you from Damascus, the Capital of History and the Cradle of Civilizations, a beautiful country that has taught the world the meaning of Civilization and values and coexistence, to be a beacon for the world.

Syria however for 60 years, fell under oppressive rule that disregarded the value of the territory it ruled over. For long years, we suffered under injustice and deprivation and oppression, and we rose - Bismillah - and in claiming our dignity, the previous regime has used the worst kind of torture against our people ; chemical weapons and bombardment and torture and prison and displacement and sectarian strife and using drugs against our people and the world.

It has torn our country apart, and brought forth fighters from around the world. The former regime killed around a million innocent people and displaced thousands and millions, and demolished 2 million homes. Ladies and Gentleman, the unarmed people were attacked, using chemical weapons. Our women and children have inhaled toxic gases. All this to silence truth. And with all this criminality, there was no language for solution. Despite the offers, the community had no choice but to organize itself, and to organize militarily and to oust a criminal regime. 

It was a military operation that was filled with mercy and good, and that prioritized tolerance, and that did not target civilians. It targeted justice without vengeance. We restored our right, and we became victorious for the sake of our grievances. We were victorious for the mothers of the martyrs, and for all of you people of the world, for the future of our children and yours. And we pave the way of the refugee, and we destroyed the trafficking of drugs. Accordingly, Syria has transported from an exporter of crises to opportunities for peace for Syria and the region. 

Ladies and Gentleman. This unique Syrian achievement and the solidarity between our peoples has led us to try to uproot sectarianism and to fight against attempts to divide our country once again. But the Syrian people are once again aware enough to understand, and to resist.

We reformed Commissions for fact-finding and granted access to UN fact finding missions. I guarantee to bring accountable anyone that is responsible for bloodshed. And in this context, the Israeli strikes and attacks against my country continue. And Israeli policies contradict the international supporting position for Syria, which threatens new crises and struggles in our region. For this purpose, and in face of this aggression, Syria is committed to dialogue, and we are committed to the disengagement of forces agreement of 1974, and we call on the international community to stand beside us in the face of these attacks. 

Ladies and Gentleman, from the very moment the former regime fell, we set out a clear strategic policy built upon three pillars: Balanced diplomacy, security, stability and economic development. We filled the power vacuum, called for an inclusive national dialogue and announced a government of competence. We strengthened the principle of participation and established a national commission for transitional justice, and another for the missing, ensuring justice and fairness. We are now proceeding toward electing representatives of people in the legislative council. We restructured all civil and military institutions, dissolving all previous formations. Through intensive diplomatic activity, Syria restored its international relations, and forged regional and global partnerships, and achieved the lifting of most international sanctions. And we call now for the complete lifting of sanctions, so that they no longer shackle the Syrian people. Investment laws have been amended and major regional and international companies have already begun entering the Syrian market, contributing through investment and construction.

Syria today is rebuilding itself through establishing a new state, building institutions, and laws that guarantee the rights of all without exception. A land of ancient civilization and culture deserves to be a state of law. Protecting everyone, safeguarding rights, guaranteeing freedoms, and fostering life to flourish while turning the page of a wretched past. We are determined to restore Syria’s dignity, glory and honor. And in continuation of the Syrian story, I declare before you today the triumph of truth over falsehood. Truth has come, and falsehood has perished. Syria is reclaiming its rightful place among the nations of the world. This announcement is the echo of a great people’s will. A people who forged glory throughout the ages, who rose again from beneath the rubble to restore their rights and freedom and dignity. On behalf of the Syrian people, I extend gratitude to everyone who stood by the Syrian cause, who aided Syrians in their tragedy, and who welcomed them in their countries, and to all nations and peoples who rejoiced in the victory of the Syrian people’s will. And I particularly thank Turkey, Qatar, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and all Arab and Islamic states, the United States of America, and the European Union.

And before I conclude, let me affirm. The suffering Syria endured, we wish upon no one. We are among the people most deeply aware of the horrors of war and destruction. For this reason, we stand firmly with the people of Ghaza. For this reason, we stand firmly with the people of Ghaza, its children and women and all peoples facing violations and aggressions. We call for an immediate end to the war.

In conclusion, the Syrian story has not come to an end. It continues to write a new chapter, entitled Peace, Prosperity, and Development. And may the Peace of God be upon you.

Until we truly understand "la ilaha," how can we understand "il Allah"?

[Note to my Beloved Readers: I posted this a few months ago. I re-post it as a way to let everybody know that I am now all caught up in past postings and now we are back to business. Love you all so much.]


Every single person born on this earth is a Divine Being. While Christianity teaches that all human beings are born flawed, Islam teaches that all human beings are born perfect, sinless.

All human beings have access to their Higher Self if they choose to seek it. Seeking refuge in your Higher Self does not mean that your Lower Self is not real. It just means that your selfish or satanic urges are less important to you. When you sprinkle a teaspoon of salt into your drink, it will take away the sweetness, but if you put a teaspoon of salt into your bath, it will not affect much. Imagine if you put a teaspoon of salt into the ocean, nobody would notice it at all! The best way to deal with evil in your personal life is to make it a very small part of your life.

Instead of worrying about our problems we have to get used to dealing with them and even planning ahead for them to arise.

"Those who are first on the battlefield and await the opponents are at ease; those who are the last on the battlefield and head into battle get worn out. Therefore good warriors cause others to come to them, and do not go to others," wrote Sun Tzu in "The Art of War," a Japanese classic from around 500 BC.

This could mean many things on different levels but those who are at peace with the concept that life is all about struggle are at ease, while those who delay are unlikely to attain any victory.

I open a page of the book by Lao Tzu named Tao Te Ching. "It is easy to maintain a situation while it is still secure."

Lao Tzu is said to be an older teacher of Confucius who was a Chinese philosopher also around 500 BC. Totally different country, same insight. We are most at ease when we are maintaining a situation or position, whether it's military, financial or emotional.

It's not that Asian knowledge is so unique or special but rather that it just makes sense when you think about it. Presumably, these sages were drawing upon centuries of past teachings.

The same thing when we read from the Quran. Although this book is only 1400 years old, it discusses stories and concepts that go back to the BC era. A very large portion of the Quran is dedicated to discussing the Laws of Moses and the Teachings of Christ. I think Moses was supposed to have lived about 2000 BC and Jesus around the year 0. The Buddha is also said to have reformed India from its paganism around 5 BC. The scriptural teachings of the Buddha and Jesus tend to overlap. The spiritual goal of selflessness seems to be the common path.

Shaykh Hakim Moinuddin Chishti writes in the book, "Sufi Healing," that "In its progression through life, the physical body passes through stages from infancy to youth, adulthood and old age. Similarly, the soul passes through specific evolutionary stages or stations."

These are described as the Station of Egotism, the Heart, the Pure Spirit, the Divine Secrets, the Proximity to Allah, and lastly, the Station of Union with the Beloved. There is some philosophical overlap between this and the 7 chakras, which are physical energy centers along the human spine. Knowledge of the chakras is essential for directing healing energy into specific realms. Direction of light into the crown chakra is said to be equivalent to spiritual enlightenment or God-consciousness.

Nowadays people are trying to find spiritual meaning beyond what their parents thought they should strive for. Even if they all agree that Paradise is the goal, their plan of action may differ.

"O chivalrous youth! If tomorrow you go to paradise and you look at it from the corner of your heart's eye, in truth, in truth, you will have fallen short of Adam's aspiration. Something that your father sold for a grain of wheat - why would you want to settle down there?" writes Said al-Din Farghani, a disciple of Ibn al Arabi's stepson, Sadr al-Din Qunawi, in the 13th century.

Therefore our entire idea of paradise could be suspect. We need to let go and experience something like spiritual exile and abandonment, until we find our true home. We can only do this by disbelieving all that we have ever been told. "La ilaha" means rejection of all false gods. It means repudiating this world and all its glittery offerings and falsehoods.

Until we truly understand "la ilaha," how can we understand "il Allah." The Asian concept of Taoism, for example yin-yang, gives us the language of balance and opposites. 'There is no god' is like the night. 'except Allah' is like the daylight. You need both for the 24 hour cycle to exist. It is just as important to doubt everything as it is to believe. Otherwise, your belief has no meaning.

Whether we are doing yoga or doing salat, the aim is spiritual Oneness. May we all be strengthened in our spiritual practices however small, so that we may see the Great.

Helping Political Prisoners is Part of our Faith

The National Coalition to Protect Civil Freedoms (NCPCF) has announced their Fourth Annual Ramadan gift campaign for Muslim prisoners, who have been the victims of overzealous pre-emptive prosecution, entrapment, and false charges. NCPCF was created "to educate the public about the erosion of civil and political freedoms in our society, and the abuses of prisoners within the U.S. criminal justice system especially after 9/11." It is a collection of weak organizations, which need our help to grow stronger and advocate more effectively.

Dozens of American Muslims are living out long prison sentences under abusive conditions and solitary confinement. These are people who are so beloved to Allah that they are being tested. And we ourselves are being tested in relationship to them.

It has been narrated by Saeed through his chain from Hibban bin Jabalah, that the Messenger of Allah (SAWS) said: "Indeed it is obligatory upon the Muslims to free their captives or to pay their ransoms." It is not easy for us in America to pay for someone's freedom - or even pay for their lawyer fees - but we can still make a huge difference to the life of someone caged and helpless.

Those prisoners who have no family in the US, nor a network of friends, may have no money in their commissary. Prisoners need money to be able to make phone calls, or buy razors, toilet paper, toothpaste, stamps and paper as well as snacks.

"The Federal Bureau of Prisons allows for special purchase of Ramadan items (such as dates) during this holy month and NCPCF would like to send the money as soon as possible so the inmates can receive them before mid June."

This Ramadan, NCPCF is seeking 180 individuals to donate $105 to a Muslim in America's prisons. The $5 would pay for the money transfer fee. This is an opportunity to help someone you don't already know about, to go beyond the high profile cases that already have a lot of supporters taking care of their everyday needs. But even the high profile cases, after some time, the world forgets about them. I wrote to one prisoner at CMU after about 8 years of incarceration, who told me that although he used to be well known and respected in the community, nobody but his mother corresponded with him anymore. He had even stopped receiving photos of his children. He requested me to send money to another Muslim prisoner who did not even have shampoo.

If you already have a previously established relationship with a prisoner, please consider them also when you are calculating your zakat. If you don't have the money at least send them a card! There are also volunteer organizations which drive children to visit their parents in prison.

Other ways to help prisoners is to make dua: "ALLAHumma fukka qayda asrana wa asral-muslimeen (O ALLAH! Break free the shackles of our prisoners and the prisoners of the Muslims)." This dua is important because we also need to care about the prisoners in Muslim countries too. The goal of Islam regarding captives is to free them and integrate them into society.

Please send your check to: NCPCF, Ramadan Gifts Program, P.O. Box 66301, Washington, DC 20035. When you make a donation please email them at donate@civilfreedoms.org and tell them that you have sent a donation.

Abu Dawud mentions the hadith narrated by Abu Talha Al-Ansari and Jabir Bin Abdullah, that the Prophet Muhammad (SA) said, "No man forsakes a Muslim when his rights are being violated or his honour is being belittled except that Allah will forsake him at a place in which he would love to have His help. And no man helps a Muslim at a time when his honour is being belittled or his rights violated except that Allah will help him at a place in which he loves to have His help."

Marathon Bombing Case: They Forgave the killer of 9 in Charleston, but not Dzhokhar.

On Wednesday, June 24, 2015, Dzhokhar "Jahar" Tsarnaev finally spoke.

"I would like to begin in the name of Allah, the exalted and glorious, the most gracious, the most merciful, "Allah" among the most beautiful names. Any act that does not begin in the name of God is separate from goodness."

The victims, the jury, nobody was expecting this religious sermon.

"He did crack up and pause a few times, it sounded like he was trying to compose himself," stated a courtroom observer.

Before thanking his attorneys, he invoked the name of Muhammed. He thanked those who testified on his behalf, he thanked the jury for their service, and even the Court.

"The Prophet Muhammed, peace and blessings be upon him, said that if you do not show mercy to Allah's creation, then Allah will not have mercy on you, so I'd like to apologize now to the victims, to the survivors. Now, I am sorry for the lives that I've taken, for the suffering that I've caused you, for the damage that I've done. Irreparable damage."

What he said satisfied neither the victims nor those who continue to believe that he was framed.

"Immediately after the bombing, which I am guilty of - if there's any lingering doubt about that, let there be no more. I did do it, along with my brother."

Those who were hoping he would 'do a Tarek Mehanna' political speech got instead a speech on forgiveness that sounded at once sincere yet highly scripted, but answered nobody's questions like why? or how?

"Now, I am a Muslim. My religion is Islam. The God I worship, besides whom there is no other God, is Allah. And I prayed to Allah to bestow his mercy upon the deceased, those affected in the bombing, and their families. Allah says in the Quran that with every hardship is relief. I pray for your relief, for your healing, for your well-being, for your strength. I ask Allah to have mercy upon me and my brother and my family. I ask Allah to bestow his mercy upon those present here today. And Allah knows best those deserving of His mercy."

This convoluted sort of apology left everyone scratching their heads.

Why would he wait until AFTER he was found guilty and sentenced to death to apologize? And why, how, what the heck - and how is it that he is suddenly speaking with a thick Arabian accent? Not a Russian accent. He sounded Middle Eastern, two different observers told New Trend. It really was him, they said, but strangely out of character. He used to talk like "Yo what's up."

The most bizarre part of it is that not only Carmen Ortiz the lead prosecutor, but Judge O'Toole made public statements condemning Jahar's interpretation of his own religion.

"You did it on purpose... It is tragic, for your victims and now for you, surely someone who believes God smiles on and rewards the killing of innocents believes in a cruel god. This is not and cannot be the god of Islam," said the judge right before condemning Jahar to death. So is he being executed for murder or for a politically incorrect interpretation of Islam?

U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz, whose office prosecuted Tsarnaev, said she was "struck more by what he didn't say.

"He didn't renounce terrorism, he didn't renounce violent extremism, and he couched his comments in line with Allah and Allah's view, which gave it a religious tone, and there was nothing...about this crime that was Islam-associated."

Tsarnaev adhered to a radicalized version of Islam was not in line with the faith's "peaceful and loving" roots, Ortiz explained.

"The youth will not stay quiet while America is killing the innocent Muslims. As my sons there will be many many many inshallah! And I will die with my love towards them," texted Jahar's mother to a supporter.

"Your country kills the brothers and sisters and those good hearted and beautiful souls like my sons who love their ummah cannot see the conspiracies of your government towards our ummah and things like that happen! For example if someone kills my brother or my sister I will not blink and destroy whoever killed them - why?? Because I love them...Everything is by Allah's will... Allah knows the intention and the purity of it and what was the intention for!" concluded Jahar's mother.

I am worried that they are going to execute Jahar before we learn the true story. His statement created as many questions as it answered. This is quite a decade, quite a century, already. However, Jahar has been moved to a prison in Florence, Colorado. It is nearby but not the same place where Imam Jamil al-Amin is being held in Supermax.

Everything is Rainbow Gay this Week

Why not Legalize Polygamy? Sodomy can be a Healh Hazard, Islam Forbids it.
2015-07-06 
http://newtrendmag.org/ntma1609.htm


In the 80's, the Rainbow Flag meant the Rainbow Coalition, which was a black anti-racism campaign that eventually morphed into the Green Rainbow Party of Massachusetts, and other paths. It could also refer to the Rainbow Family, which is a group of anti-war hippies, mainly white Christians. But somehow it got associated with Gay Pride. There doesn't seem to be anything else being discussed on anybody's newsfeed, including that of my children, other than this, lately.

I explained to them that in Islam, if two women are married to the same man, they are allowed to be naked together. But sodomy involves mixing poopoo germs into the mouth or the vagina, which is very disgusting and leads to diseases, which could even involve death of a fetus. In my opinion, the preference of the people of Lut is very harmful to both men and women. This taboo is important to my culture. Some other cultures view sodomy between man and wife to be acceptable, but I do not personally feel comfortable accepting it. In my opinion, regarding religion, I think that sodomy should be avoided by both males and females.

Even though homosexual practices are against my religion, I am not going to raise a voice against gay marriage because I believe that freedom of religion is very important to this country and also to religion itself. If a person wants to practice homosexuality, this means they are essentially a pagan. But pagan beliefs should not be criminalized any more than any other religious belief. Also, normalization leads to more stable relationships, which will significantly reduce the spread of disease.

In the same vein, I would like to see more activists lobbying for polygamous marriage legalization. In Canada, I have heard (please correct me if I am wrong) that a man or a woman can marry as many as will consent to the marriage. It is very important as Muslims to understand the value of the contract. It is far superior to the chaos of desire and fear mixed with freedom.

In my personal life experience, gay partnerships that I am acquainted with are the bedrock of artist and gardening communities because they do not dissolve in the way that heterosexual marriages so often break up. Decades go by and you can visit their home and nothing has changed.

Politicians love the gay community because they have expendable income - they have no more children, so they invest in property and pets. They have professional jobs but no heirs. They are like a priesthood. For those who view gays as a threat to society (which they are in many ways), we can only try to demonstrate that we do better with our own families and communities.

Tonight, which is July 3, Boston is so noisy with loud explosions from fireworks. Just like the starlets outside my window that chirp so loudly at 5am, the Boston Marathon trial seems to have resulted in unprecedented experimentation with explosives. However, despite the very very loud booms coming from all directions, there is an absolute silence of police sirens. It is midnight and I am hearing explosions echoing through the sky from all directions and a complete police absence.

At exactly 1am there is total silence.

I was driving down my own street at 11am and the sound of the explosions were very loud! I felt scared. But also I feel safer knowing that my neighbors hopefully know how to defend us! Now I am hearing a loud helicopter and the explosions stopped for like 45 seconds but then continued.

The local Dorchester radio station, 105.3 plays reggae and promotes a Christian/Rastafarai agenda. The theme that they were promoting I agree with. They said, "We do not curse our enemies. We pray for their redemption." Honestly, I think this is the best way.

Unmet Relational Needs in Muslim Culture

One of the most astonishing things I am noticing about Muslim culture is the widespread tendency to marry a woman and then physically and emotionally abandon her. Men are now using a new excuse:

"It was just an arranged marriage."

Abandonment, whether or not required by economic necessity, is reinforced by shame related to divorce, and the belief that 'good' women don't remarry.

"She is just someone my late mother chose."

A married woman becomes property of her in-laws, as opposed to a life partner of her husband, who feels no shame leaving her alone and pregnant. She is merely a tool to provide his parents with grandchildren.

The cultural taboo against divorce even after abandonment often assumes that a 'decent' woman would never consider gainful employment. So even if a marriage is totally unsatisfactory, the woman would beg the husband not to divorce her. She would pretend that she is still in a marriage, even when the husband has clearly moved out forever, or visits only every few years.

Muslim men seem to think that marriage is defined purely by financial support. There doesn't seem to be any awareness of the relational needs (including sexual) of women. While men are encouraged to marry as many women as they need to make sure there is no buildup of semen, women seem to almost happily consent to the degradation of their internal organs through non-use, as long as there is money coming in, and even when there is not. While financial support is better than no financial support, what is the deal with a man deciding that any woman has no right to have sex, ever again, in her life? He can divorce her and pay child support, maybe alimony.

Surat al Baqara, Verse 229 states: "either you retain her on reasonable terms or release her with kindness."

There is a lofty egotism that says, "as long as I am paying her bills I own the non-use of her body."

We know from hadith that the early Muslims did not have taboos against divorce and remarriage. If Hussain (RA) were alive today, he would be considered quite the gigolo. Pre-Islamic pagan Arab women could initiate divorce merely by turning their tent so that the entrance was facing in a new direction. The newly instituted Islamic concept of marriage was primarily a contract to make sure that parental lineage and responsibility were never in question.

The influence of Hinduism and Christianity added to Islamic practice the concept of shame in remarriage, which is based on the assumption that sex is purely for procreation and not a human right in itself, which is based on the idea that women are innately filthy, that men should try to avoid women, and that a woman should only ever taste one husband, even if that means she spends the majority of her life alone.

The book, "Law of Desire" by Shahla Haeri is based on a study of marriage practices in post-revolutionary Iran. It describes many instances where wives are divorced by their husbands and become destitute, even homeless. Because remarriage is very rare in the culture, this creates an underclass of women who are essentially prostitutes, except that they have to wait 2 months in between sexual encounters, during which time they are merely beggars in front of the shrines. There is such a gross class difference between "kept women" and "husbandless women" that women will compete with each other for dominance instead of welcoming second wives as sisters.

Interestingly, the women most likely to be free to remarry, even if impermanently or non-residentially, are those who have a bad relationship with their parents. This would imply that the parents themselves are preventing the 'good' divorced daughter from meeting a man, because of fears of disgrace overriding their concern for her health.

I'll never forget the day when I was trying to discuss our relationship or the lack thereof with my Pakistani husband, and his solution to the problem was to "send me back to my parents." As an American woman over the age of 30, who had worked in jobs and rented her own apartment before marriage, this sounded completely absurd. I will go to my parents if I decide to go to my parents. I am not a parcel to send somewhere! I was completely baffled that he really viewed me in such a dehumanizing way, as a person without personhood?! He eventually became the perfect ex-husband, but I now notice more and more how people think this is a "man's world."

I do not wish to conclude that non-Muslim culture is superior. I notice the politics of greetings in American culture, where men always greet each other while women are usually mute on the side. While laws do not prevent non-Muslims from marriage and remarriage, gainful employment of the woman seems to be a prerequisite, and her ability to get time alone away from her children. In other words, the man either wants the woman to pay half the bills or else he only wants to visit her when she is alone. He is not volunteering to be the head of a family. This usually requires a third party to be available to take care of the children so the woman can date, which means that the woman owes someone, rather than the man providing for her and her children.

It is hard to know which situation is more humiliating. There are pros and cons to each situation: the man providing for an estranged wife vs. the woman being financially independent. Divorce is never an ideal situation, especially when children are involved. It is a wonderful gift of this century from God, to have the opportunity and freedom to be able to pick and choose wisely between religious and legal laws, to provide the best possible security and outcome for families.

Breastfeeding rates still low despite global education

Despite widespread awareness of the importance of breastfeeding to the human child, mothers in developed countries demonstrate low rates of compliance with global recommendations. Nursing past six months is the exception rather than the rule. Bottle-feeding infants has become normal. Exclusive and extensive breastfeeding has become a pastime primarily for the rich with some interesting exceptions. Nordic countries exhibit the overall highest European breastfeeding rate with England ranking lowest. UAE ruling class mothers exclusively breastfeed the longest among Arabs while Iraq suffers the lowest breastfeeding rates. US Whites and Native Americans are most likely to breastfeed while Blacks and Hispanics are the least likely.

Class plays a large role in decision to breastfeed, for far fewer women belonging to the routine and manual labor socio-economic group nurse beyond six weeks than is typical of professional women and full time mothers. Yet, religion and philosophy also affect women's decision to breastfeed. In Singapore non-Malay Muslim women are 6.7 times more likely to breastfeed than Buddhist women although Malays have the lowest rate. Urban babies receive half the breast milk of rural babies. The youngest mothers tend to supplement with bottles from birth.

The World Health Organization and UNICEF work hard to promote breastfeeding worldwide, but their success is undermined by factors such as free infant formula distribution, hospital practices and lack of personal support. Breastfeeding is a learned skill requiring effort and focus. Good intentions are not always enough to establish lactation. "Baby-friendly hospital" initiatives in many countries have significantly increased breastfeeding but rates are still well below optimum health guidelines.

Almost all new mothers attempt breastfeeding but few continue for the recommended period. According to UNICEF the early introduction of bottle-feeding and complementary food leads to premature weaning, which is the primary cause of malnutrition in children under age two worldwide.

Many women give up nursing in favor of bottle-feeding out of a sense of powerless over the situation. These mothers often wanted very much to nurse their child, but they lost their chance. Hospitals fail to promote exclusive breastfeeding of newborns. Most new mothers receive free samples of formula because of multi-million dollar deals between hospitals and pharmaceutical companies and come home with their babies already addicted to the bottle. Coaxing a newborn child to breastfeed after he has been bottle-fed even just once or twice can be a big struggle. Success may be impossible without the aid of a midwife or lactation counselor because unfortunately even the older generation of mothers lack sufficient knowledge.

When newborns reject the breast, mothers typically try for a while, then give up and supply a bottle. This teaches the baby that refusing to nurse will be rewarded. Parents must exercise "tough love" by declining to give the baby a bottle even if it takes several hours or even days for the baby to nurse willingly. (If the baby gets dehydrated, do give him water with a cup or medicine dropper, but introducing a bottle creates "nipple confusion" which is disastrous for the mother-child relationship).

Some women give up on breastfeeding because the husband insists. This tragedy reveals a stripping away at women's postnatal rights and sets a dangerous precedent. Nursing a baby is an exhausting and time-consuming job requiring family help, encouragement, and support especially from the father to enable mother and child to be together undisturbed as much as possible particularly during the first 40 days of the baby's life.

Many women manage to make it through those hardest days in the beginning and then stop breastfeeding after a few weeks out of fear of insufficient milk supply. These mothers need to increase their consumption of calories and to get adequate rest. Under no circumstances should they give their baby a bottle because this will only decrease the supply of breastmilk. Sometimes it is actually the doctor's advice to start feeding their babies solids before 6 months that leads to premature weaning. A mother needs to weigh the fun of spoon-feeding her infant against the risk of premature rejection of the breast.

Thus bottle-feeding rates remain high despite awareness that breastmilk alone contains all the nutrients, antibodies, hormones and immune factors that a baby needs.

"Encouraging exclusive breastfeeding has to become a high priority in all sectors of society," said Dr. Mahendra Sheth, UNICEF Regional Health and Nutrition Adviser for the Middle East and North Africa. Exclusive breastfeeding for six months followed by complementary feeding between 6-9 months with continued breastfeeding through the first year could save an estimated 1.5 million lives annually.

Women receiving adequate advice can often prolong nursing even after returning to work outside the home. Premature infants particularly need breast milk for the best odds in life.

Pregnant women should read books on how to breastfeed and understand fully the necessary commitment to avoid making a tragic mistake to be remembered with regret.

http://newtrendmag.org/ntma1640.htm

Spiritual Journey: For non-Muslims and Muslims.

Until we truly understand "la ilaha," how can we understand "il Allah"?

Every single person born on this earth is a Divine Being. While Christianity teaches that all human beings are born flawed, Islam teaches that all human beings are born perfect, sinless.

All human beings have access to their Higher Self if they choose to seek it. Seeking refuge in your Higher Self does not mean that your Lower Self is not real. It just means that your selfish or satanic urges are less important to you. When you sprinkle a teaspoon of salt into your drink, it will take away the sweetness, but if you put a teaspoon of salt into your bath, it will not affect much. Imagine if you put a teaspoon of salt into the ocean, nobody would notice it at all! The best way to deal with evil in your personal life is to make it a very small part of your life.

Instead of worrying about our problems we have to get used to dealing with them and even planning ahead for them to arise.

"Those who are first on the battlefield and await the opponents are at ease; those who are the last on the battlefield and head into battle get worn out. Therefore good warriors cause others to come to them, and do not go to others," wrote Sun Tzu in "The Art of War," a Japanese classic from around 500 BC.

This could mean many things on different levels but those who are at peace with the concept that life is all about struggle are at ease, while those who delay are unlikely to attain any victory.

I open a page of the book by Lao Tzu named Tao Te Ching. "It is easy to maintain a situation while it is still secure."

Lao Tzu is said to be an older teacher of Confucius who was a Chinese philosopher also around 500 BC. Totally different country, same insight. We are most at ease when we are maintaining a situation or position, whether it's military, financial or emotional.

It's not that Asian knowledge is so unique or special but rather that it just makes sense when you think about it. Presumably, these sages were drawing upon centuries of past teachings.

The same thing when we read from the Quran. Although this book is only 1400 years old, it discusses stories and concepts that go back to the BC era. A very large portion of the Quran is dedicated to discussing the Laws of Moses and the Teachings of Christ. I think Moses was supposed to have lived about 2000 BC and Jesus around the year 0. The Buddha is also said to have reformed India from its paganism around 5 BC. The scriptural teachings of the Buddha and Jesus tend to overlap. The spiritual goal of selflessness seems to be the common path.

Shaykh Hakim Moinuddin Chishti writes in the book, "Sufi Healing," that "In its progression through life, the physical body passes through stages from infancy to youth, adulthood and old age. Similarly, the soul passes through specific evolutionary stages or stations."

These are described as the Station of Egotism, the Heart, the Pure Spirit, the Divine Secrets, the Proximity to Allah, and lastly, the Station of Union with the Beloved. There is some philosophical overlap between this and the 7 chakras, which are physical energy centers along the human spine. Knowledge of the chakras is essential for directing healing energy into specific realms. Direction of light into the crown chakra is said to be equivalent to spiritual enlightenment or God-consciousness.

Nowadays people are trying to find spiritual meaning beyond what their parents thought they should strive for. Even if they all agree that Paradise is the goal, their plan of action may differ.

"O chivalrous youth! If tomorrow you go to paradise and you look at it from the corner of your heart's eye, in truth, in truth, you will have fallen short of Adam's aspiration. Something that your father sold for a grain of wheat - why would you want to settle down there?" writes Said al-Din Farghani, a disciple of Ibn al Arabi's stepson, Sadr al-Din Qunawi, in the 13th century.

Therefore our entire idea of paradise could be suspect. We need to let go and experience something like spiritual exile and abandonment, until we find our true home. We can only do this by disbelieving all that we have ever been told. "La ilaha" means rejection of all false gods. It means repudiating this world and all its glittery offerings and falsehoods.

Until we truly understand "la ilaha," how can we understand "il Allah." The Asian concept of Taoism, for example yin-yang, gives us the language of balance and opposites. 'There is no god' is like the night. 'except Allah' is like the daylight. You need both for the 24 hour cycle to exist. It is just as important to doubt everything as it is to believe. Otherwise, your belief has no meaning.

Whether we are doing yoga or doing salat, the aim is spiritual Oneness. May we all be strengthened in our spiritual practices however small, so that we may see the Great.

read more at: http://newtrendmag.org/ntma1603.htm

Regular kindness, the best of deeds

Photo credit: Photodune

“The best loved deeds to Allah are the ones that are continuous even if they are not very many.”

The importance of continuous good deeds was demonstrated to me by a cat named Golden, who ended up living in my home at my children’s insistence. Originally a stray kitten taken in by a mentally ill person, the cat’s demeanor was very nervous and somewhat crazed. He had been seriously neglected by his previous owner and had survived by catching mice and getting into the garbage. When Golden came to live with us, he was so tense that I was somewhat scared of him. He would flinch anytime we tried to pat him on the head, as if he had been beaten in the past. He would scratch my youngest child whenever she tried to play with him; and even when there was food in his bowl, he would get into the cabinets and tear open garbage bags. One time I even found him on top of the refrigerator looking for food!

Golden’s transformation from a terrified stray into an adorable, docile family pet worthy of a cute meme was gradual but astonishing. After living a year at my house he no longer flinches, he no longer scratches, and he eats his food out of his bowl. Why? I suppose because he’s not living in a constant state of anxiety anymore. Because of our repetitive good deeds – filling his bowls with water and food, removing his waste from the litterbox, and affectionately spending time with him – he started feeling secure about his emotional and physical needs. Every muscle in his body including his face relaxed. He became a new person, a new cat.

However, he still exhibited some neurotic behavior, begging from my son who fed him small snacks throughout the day whenever the cat begged. As a result, Golden was getting chubby. So I told my son to start giving him exactly two half-cup scoops of food a day, once in the morning and once in the night. Once this routine had been established, and the cat understood exactly how much food he had to eat per time period, he started rationing his own cat food so that it would last throughout the day. He even sometimes leaves two pieces of cat food in his bowl just in case he gets hungry later. Such a total transformation from a kitty that behaved like a robber to a kitty that acts as his own accountant!

Compulsive habits and other destructive behaviors in humans are also often caused by a subconscious fear of scarcity. One person might hoard things while another might overeat, and another person might act in a manipulative way to try and safeguard supplies of security, whether material or emotional. A ninth-grade girl once admitted to me that she started smoking cigarettes, knowing she would become addicted, because she wanted there to be one thing in life that she could want, and have. This is why it is so important to think about engaging in continuous good deeds that provide some security to another person, no matter how little.

If you were a father who wanted to establish good self esteem in your children, you might think that a camping trip would be the best way to create a great relationship. However, in truth, after some years the memory of such a special event will become blurred or even wiped out. My own parents don’t remember our trip to New England when I was eleven! What we do remember clearly though, was that there was a donut shop across the street from the post office. When I was a small child I loved to go with my dad to the post office because it always meant that afterwards, I got to devour a delicious chocolate covered, cream filled delight! A small kindness given regularly – a donut – has more lasting value than an expensive vacation!

In an effort to get some ideas for writing, I posed the question on Facebook, “What have you learned this week about yourself, others or the universe?” The most “liked” response was: “I have learned, over the last year, how much good individuals can do for one another, under the most horrible circumstances… The BIGGEST example is the way so many people came to my support during [his wife] Toni’s final illness and since her passing!”

The support that this man was so thankful for was the online company of his Facebook friends. All we did was “like” his old photographs and read his inspiring messages, giving us hope that true love is possible. He married his wife when he was 25 and she was 40. He adored her like a queen with such humility; he remained truly astonished that someone as ordinary as himself could be at the receiving end of love from a woman so noble and beautiful, even after her death. So not only did he receive benefit from our consistent small deeds but we also gained much.

Sometimes, our well-meaning attempts at good deeds are rejected by others. This could be because we are assuming falsely that whatever we would want is what they should want. Other times, the person is in a defensive or closed-minded state because they are spiritually lost.

Arguing with a lost soul is always a waste of time, because they are actively engaged in denying inner guidance.

“A lost soul has severed ties with the love of the universe, therefore they do not understand how to make choices based on self-love,” Andrea Schulman writes in ConsciousLifeNews.com, advising us not to get sucked into drama. “Loving from afar counts.”

Small but regular kindnesses, even a daily smile from the mailman or a wave from a fellow driver letting you go first, can make the difference between a bad day and a good day, between hypertension and calm.

This could mean the difference between a bad decision and a good one.

http://muslimobserver.com/regular-kindness-the-best-of-deeds/

Worshipping While Flawed

TMO 

Editor’s Note: Karin Friedemann is a TMO columnist. The views expressed here are her own.

Alphonse Dinet painting, courtesy clipart.com.

Say: “O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Quran 39:53)

The Quran states many times that those who repent to Allah will be forgiven and will get a second chance at life. However, repentance is usually defined as promising never to commit the sin again. But how about the multitudes, who engage in habitual sin?

Orthodoxy says these people are hypocrites and that their prayers are suspect. Do these people have the right to pray in congregation with the other Muslims? Naturally, what is regarded as a sin so obnoxious that others would not pray next to you varies from culture to culture and also according to gender and social class. Yet, for those who sins are so bad that they themselves feel embarrassed to go the mosque: should they also feel ashamed to keep salat in the privacy of their own homes?

Are sinners allowed to pray?

Seems like a silly question since the sinner is the one most in need of prayer, but this kind of black and white thinking – either your lifestyle is “Islamic” or it is not – has perhaps kept a lot of people who wanted to be saved away from God.

It can be hard for those who are trying so hard to do everything right, or even for those who refuse out of cynicism to participate in religion, to understand how close Allah remains to the sinner. As long as someone continues to err, there always remains a certain window that stays open. The benefit of recognizing one’s own shortcomings and using that as an approach to Allah sometimes works a lot better than the technique of asking God to recognize you for everything you did right.

It is very important for those people who are mired in sin, whose blood flows with toxic substances, whose ears are ringing from the abusive situation around them, whose mailboxes are filled with bills they cannot pay, whose floors are dirty, whose children are angry – to realize that the practice of prayer is beneficial to all! The practice of prayer is even more important to the sinner than it is to the devout abstainer, because once prayer is renounced, then the bad habits or addictions are all that the person has left to live for. Prayer needs to always co-exist with sin, for hope to continue.

If you have a sin that is hard for you to give up, you should ask Allah to make your true need clearer for you, the need that you are covering up with this habit. Some people eat chocolate because they are lonely. Many people eat cookies when their bodies are begging for fresh fruit. Some people smoke because they never got breastfed as a baby. Most of the stupid stuff we do is because we did not get the correct nourishment, nor the correct guidance.

That is why giving up prayer – just because one cannot live up to the “lifestyle” of shariah – is the last thing one should consider! If it’s too awkward to join the splintered parts of your life, don’t! You don’t have to. Pray in secret. This is America, so worship when and how you like. Don’t let the “good Muslim vs. bad Muslim” divide ruin your opportunity to seek peace and inner guidance.

Pray in the darkest, most secluded part of your home, when nobody is looking. Pray from the deepest parts of your heart that you would like to start using more often. Do not care what other people are doing or thinking. Do not care what the atheists are thinking, and do not allow yourself to care about what the fundamentalists are thinking about your prayer, as it is solely for Allah.

Call me an anarchist, but I think the strength and unity of Islam comes from the individual, and the freedom of each individual to have his own spiritual experience of the One God – or in some cases, various takes on the One God; in other words, the many Names.

Some may mourn the lack of a Caliphate, yet the disorganization of the Muslims is one of Islam’s great protections. There is nobody you can kill in order to get rid of Islam. There is no leader that you could imprison that would cause the path of Islam to vanish from the world.

We actually live in the most beautiful time of the world, ever. We are winning. Nearly half the people in the world are Muslims. All you have to do, if you want to know why you are alive and why you are going to die, is to ask the person next to you, who will very likely be able to give you a well thought out and detailed answer! Never before in the history of mankind has basic Islamic knowledge been so readily accessible to all people!

Oh Allah! It is better to pray alone in sin than to be with those who do not understand us, but please, Oh God, bring us to those who will not leave us alone in sin, but who will encourage us to pray with them in congregation and who will not ask us about our sins. But also, dear God, bring from among them those who will understand our unique wounds, who will know, yet overlook our shortcomings, who will push us forward into the ranks of those who do good! 

Oh Allah, let us all invite humanity to share the peace of those who are content.

Women’s Liberation: Beyond Feminism

TMO 

Recently, I posted a status update on Facebook that read, “Men are supposed to pay for women not vice versa in terms of marriage living expenses. Women income is the nest egg, u can’t touch it. Never buy a big house dependent on two incomes. It’s haram.”

I was actually quite surprised by the vitriol that ensued against me, peppered with insults against Islam. Minus the last two words, my statement isn’t even remotely religious and could be practiced by anyone, regardless of religion. The above statement is just logical financial advice. Most women have no idea that they have a right to ask for maintenance as a condition for marriage, and could even write it into a legally binding contract. Such an agreement would be a tremendous blessing not only for the woman but for the financial stability of the family. When a couple’s lifestyle is dependent on two incomes, if one person loses their job or they get divorced, they lose the house. It simply makes sense to live simply. How does that make me “ridiculous”?

I was told by several people that Islamic law is outdated and Muslims need to come into the modern century and stop viewing women as baby making machines. This attitude did not shift even after I explained that Islam allows birth control. I could understand this reaction if I had stated that Americans should return to last century’s America, where a woman had to get her husband’s permission to open a bank account, and her property automatically became his property upon marriage. Obviously, a jobless housewife of any religion will have limited freedoms. But a woman with her own income and a separate bank account, whose husband pays all her bills, has unlimited options! Why are people so frightened by a woman with unlimited options?

I knew a Pakistani woman who was a fashion designer in New York, whose husband would not allow her to pay for any household expenses. She told me all her female co-workers were jealous of her because whenever they got paid, they had to hand over their paychecks to their husbands. The happy couple delayed parenthood for some years. When they decided to have children it was a good situation for them because the woman had plenty of self confidence about her ability to exist in the world as an independent person, plus they had good savings which enabled her to stay home with her children.

Contrast with a memory seared into my mind where a Christian woman relative of mine was getting chest pains and stomach aches because she dreaded her job so much, where she was treated abusively. She was sobbing and crying at length, saying she wanted to quit her job but her husband said nothing. I asked him, “Why don’t you sell this house and get an apartment so she doesn’t have to be trapped in such stress?” He brushed me off, saying, “Oh she just likes to complain!” How is this not female slavery?

Nowadays a woman who financially supports her husband is considered a “good wife,” while a woman whose husband supports her is treated with derision by society, which views the only choice of female importance as the abortion option. The “power couple” with the big house and no children might throw great parties, but when a wife is obligated to earn her keep in a relationship, full-time motherhood is not a choice.

Ironically, one woman who was bashing Islam mentioned that while she was happy to have a good career, and she was willing to use her money to support a family, she was having trouble finding any man even willing to get her pregnant, a problem which worried her greatly due to being over 40. Many men just don’t want the responsibility of a family anymore, when it’s so common to live with a woman like roommates.

For the classic liberal feminist, career gives a woman status, and without status, a woman isn’t worthy of respect. These men speak of “partnership” but there is no choice for the woman if she wants to work or not. The woman who chooses to stay home is spoken down to with mockery and derision, not by her husband, but by society. Feminism so interpreted is just a more modern way to treat women as chattel. Since children are now regarded as a burden and not valued by society, women are now only valued as financial assets of the man, as someone to pay half his bills.
At the end of the day, only women with money have legal rights. Women have to choose between having legal rights or having children nowadays – unless they follow the Islamic model. What is ironic is that those who angrily cling to the concept of the “power couple”  as if it was the “correct” way to live are the over-40 set.

Among young people, the Asian influence in the public school system is resulting in more family oriented thinking US high schools, even among non-Muslims. Not that it is the norm, just that is a norm. Young ladies now have a choice. This was unheard of in previous decades when having a boyfriend defined a girl’s social status. Young people now have a more clear idea of what they could gain if they stay away from boys and concentrate on their studies. This new generation of women, entering professional jobs with their virginity intact, has a lot more negotiating power than any other generation has had in history. It is wise to learn what a woman can ask for in a marriage contract, including the right to expect her husband to support her, regardless of her income. How she uses her money is her choice. Now that’s feminine progress!