As many of you may know, the latests bombings in Sharm El-sheikh have killed almost 100 people, most of them low-income, hard working Muslims trying to make some money to feed their families. This, and many other events are very sad and dissapointing.

Iin Pakistan, over 100 Imams were arrested by the goverment for the crime of giving Khutbas over the loudspeakers of the masjid. The reason: because "sermons broadcast on loudspeakers are accused of helping fan sectarian hate." This is just a ruse. The real reason why secular Muslim governments repress any Islamic behavior is the fear of losing their power. For instance Amr Khaled, the Egyptian accountant turned Da'iy talked only about simple stories of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), the Quran, and the Sahaba, yet since his following was so large and the people so dedicated, they exiled him from Egypt.

Women used to hear a lecture from him and run straight to the market to buy a hijab, men stopped doing drugs and chasing after girls, people (and I have heard this myself) would travel miles and miles just to hear him speak. Even though Amr Khaled never spoke a word of politics, because his following was so many, the threat of power was in the back of the leaders' minds. The first rule of any party in power is to keep themselves in power.

Back in Egypt, Friday khutbahs are in fact played regularly on the loudspeaker yet all masjids are forced to close after Isha prayer. After all, If people gather to learn about the deen, perhaps hear a verse of the Qu'ran or two, or maybe a hadith, they might become strong enough to make things right. Of course, we can't have that happening now can we?

In Iraq, the Egyptian Ambassor was kidnapped and executed with claims to him being an "apostate." What was the need to kill this fellow Muslim? Is he a good person, I do not know. But is it up to us to judge him and kill him because he works as an ambassador? Are we so bloodthirsty?

Also in Iraq, Iraqi soldiers and police (criminals and thieves freed from prisons after the occupation and now just wearing a different type of uniform) enter houses of their fellow brothers and steal and plunder as they wish. As one Iraqi person said it to my dad last year in Mecca, "The Iraqi soldiers are worse than the American soldiers."

Let's read some hadith:

Sahih Bukhari
Volume 9, Book 88, Number 184:

The Prophet said, "Near the establishment of the Hour there will be days during which Religious ignorance will spread, knowledge will be taken away (vanish) and there will be much Al-Harj, and Al-Harj means killing."

Why bother worrying about what the West will do to us, what the neo-conservative movement in America will do to us, when Muslims are doing a fine job of killing and betraying one another as it is?

I believe we Muslims, even us Muslims in America really need to examine our inner feelings towards other Muslims. Even without cliques and general dislikes, power and backbiting are two major consistent factors (but not the only factors) in hatred between Muslims. Either someone has power and never wants to let it go (Muslims love power and are the best to abuse it), someone else wants power and wants to change an organization to his liking, or a person with a disease in their heart backbites and talks evil about another person.

PLEASE STOP!

My advice, stay away from power and keep your bad opinions to yourself. If we don't love eacjh other as Muslims, or don't attempt to love one another, than obviously (as you can see int he hadith below) we are not believers. So until we can build mutual love between one another, what good is anything we do in Islam without Eman.

Sahih Muslim
Book 032, Number 6258:

Nu'man b. Bashir reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: The similitude of believers in regard to mutual love, affection, fellow-feeling is that of one body; when any limb of it aches, the whole body aches, because of sleeplessness and fever.

May Allah, subhanna wa taala cure our hearts and guide us to the straight path, the way of those on whom He hast bestowed His Grace, those whose (portion) is not wrath, and who go not astray.