Maniac Muslim - Not exactly Dawah

Maniac Muslim - Not exactly Dawah

Islam Online - 50 signs of the Day of Judgement

Islam Online - Discussion Forum

destroying statues

The prophet did destroy the statues stationed in the kaaba. He sent Ali (ra) to destroy the statues and buildings over graves, and level the graves. He told us how veneration turns into worship. He told Ayesha (ra) that the angel Gabriel did not enter her "house" because there were pictures of living things on the pillow she had made.

We have the history of people of this world to learn from. First of all, knowledge gets corrupted or lost, and then people start honoring the statues or pictures. With time, stories are spun around how someone's wishes were granted when he prayed to the person whose statue was so venerated, and thus you have false ilahs.

Can you make sure that your children and children's children are protected through acquiring the right knowledge of the deen. Should some mishap occur (say a natural disaster, or war, or the invasion by the net), wouldn't the knowledge be lost? Would then not our children's children lapse into worship of statues, and jinns, and trees, etc.

The message is clear, but haven't you met people praying to ghairAllah? How did they come to it? Why did they install these statues in the churches and the temples? Culture and entertainment and everything looks all right to us now, but take away a little of the knowledge you have, or corrupt it, and think of the consequences. This is what has happened in the past, and there is no way to ensure it doesn't happen again. The prophet told us about this when he explained the worship of the idols by Noah's (as} people, and when he explained the worship of Jesus (as) and Mary in Abbysinian churches.

may Allah (SubHana Wa Ta`ala) guide us and keep us on the right path

Today it would be wrong to go into temples and destroy the statues there, but tolerance has reached levels where our children, and perhaps even we, are in danger of being swept off in shirk.

In societies with non-Muslim majorities, the Muslim youth finds it hard to stick to Islam. We have many cases of Muslims marrying non-Muslims, and many of the offspring veer way from Islam. We have cases of Muslim women marrying non-Muslim men, which is against the shariah.

The old Testament also warns of marrying or befriending those who worship idols.

There was a famous Muslim authoress in India. I read one of her interviews once. She says in that: "My daughter is married to a Hindu Kashmiri Brahmin. There is an idol in her house at Srinagar. When we visit her house, we prostrate before that idol".
I read a book on Lahore's saints by a Muslim. He wrote it after the British had established control over India after 1857. He worked for them and was asked to compile such a book. He writes that he believes everyone is right, so he prostrates before every idol, and in every place of worship.

Many, many years ago, pre-Pakistan, the new English Deputy Commissioner of Sanghar or Kingri was invited by the Pir of Pagaro. The Pir was suspected of fomenting rebellion. When the Englishman reached there, he was brought to the presence of the Pir in an outfield. A table was laid and food was being cooked for the honored guest. A huge hole had been dug in the ground, and logs placed in it. After obtaining the Pir's permission, the master of ceremonies called people who poured lots of oil on the logs. The logs were lighted. It was cold, but the heat from the logs warmed the guest. The master of ceremonies asked permission again, and then a troop of finely dressed, smart , healthy and ferrocious-looking young men came, saluted the Pir, and stood in line. The Pir raised his hand, and dropped it. The first young man in line ran, stopped near the Pir, saluted him, and ran towards the fire, and jumped into it. The Englishman went white with fear, and saying no, no pir, clapsed the hand of the Pir, lest he raise it again and another young man should die. The young Hurs were dismissed, and these well-built men went crying for not having been allowed to sacrifice themselves for their lord.

The Pirship of Pagaro is a very influential seat in Sind, which was conquered by Mohammad bin Qasim, the nephew and son-in-law of Hajjaj bin Yusuf. Sind is where the scholars of Hadith had flourished before the Muslims here became divided into two states, and were conquered by the Hindus, then by the Qaramita (an offshoot of Ismailis, whose Arabian branch had carried off the Hajre Aswad to Yemen). After that, the Islam in Sind and India became corrupted with the worship of graves and pirs and statues.

I have met Agha Khanis who declare that the Agha Khan is God, and who prostrate before his picture.

I have a colleague who went into a village mosque for Jumma3a wen he was seventeen. The Pir came and led the prayer, but no khutba was said. This young man stood up and said to peoole: "Friends, this Friday prayer is invalid as the khutba has not been delivered, so please say the Zuhr. Having said that, he got up and prayed Zuhr. After he finished, he looked up, and saw the people going to the Pir and prostrating before him, kissing his feet, and returning without turning their backs on him. He was so upset, he shouted out "This is shirk". The people looked at him with anger, but the Pir motioned them to stay where they were, and beckoned this young man. Then the Pir said to the young man: "You know the ayah where Allah says O prophet, you didn't throw that dust in the face of the kuffar (at Badr), but I threw it. Then you know at Hudaybia the prophet took bayiah from the believers and said about his hand that this was Uthman's hand. I am a descendent of Uthman. So, you see, prostrating before me is the same as prostrating before Uthman, which is same as prostrating before the prophet, andd which is the same as prostrating before Allah.

There are many, many stories like this. These have come about because of loss/ lack of knowledge, and a tolerance for behavior and practices that are unIslamic. Perhaps also a lack of Hammiyyah.

The missionary and convent schools set up in Muslim lands did not initially produce the converts the missionaries had hoped for, but they gradually produce people who think all paths lead to God. And this is the wisdom being propagated o the net, and in the movies.

No, I say emphatically: all paths do not lead to God. The last prophet drew lines in the sand. One, he said, led to God, and was the straight path. At every other path Satan lies in wait, to waylay people. So, while we do not go into temples to break the idols, we should build enough eemaan to be outraged at shirk, but explain it so that people come the One and Only God, al-ilah.

I am sorry I was unable to convince you that cultural statues become idols for worship with the loss of knowledge, which comes, because every nation and every individual is to be tested. I have told the story of the prophet, Ayesha (ra) and the angel Jibrael. I wish I were able to convey what it means to me.

Our aim should be to protect as many people from shirk as possible.

I also noticed another sick phenemon in the muslim world. Alot of people especially in the middle east get obssessed with hanging up pictures of leaders and important people. Of course they would claim there not worshipping them, but if you were to destroy the pics they would flip out or maybe even start crying, so I think subconciously they are sort of holding the picture in excessive reverence and therefore worshipping it.

The Hindus venerate their dead by standing before their pictures, and putting garlands round the frames, and then praying to them.

This has become common among the Muslims, too. The unIslamic cultural practices have made us into half-Muslims already. The ruling on statues, with daleel:

Basic_Tenets_of_Faith

Shirk_and_its_different_forms

Nur_al_Layl wrote

hmm...this thread seems to be going in different directions. Awesome topic though Kathy

Kathy you asked if the Sphinx is that important to us...and the first thing that popped to mind is that no one worships the pyramids. They were burial grounds weren't they, for ancient pharaohs? They are cited as one of the wonders of the world, given their sheer magnitude, architectural excellence and beauty. People from all over are awed and historians/archeologists/anthropologists etc are still working to figure out how, centuries ago, without the advantage of technology, "primitive" people could have built them. In the modern times, even if we tried to do something vaguely similar, with all the scientific advantages we have; we wouldn't be able to do it.

The Quran talks about the people in the past who built out of rocks/mountains and had stronger foundations than ours; and yet how they were destroyed. It is interesting that palaces of great stature have recently being uncovered in different places of the world, from deep under the ocean or sands. At the same time, Pharaoh's body (and architecture?) have been left for us as a symbol to contemplate what happens to those who arrogate themselves before God.

If I ever got to visit the pyramids, I would reflect/ponder on how certain architectures even bigger than those have been destroyed and think of the Greatness of Allah in that context.

I think it would be a travesty for Muslims, however good intentioned they are, to go destroy the pyramids or anything else out there for the sake of eradicating shirk. There are so many lessons to be learned from Historical places, so many hidden wisdoms to be gleaned, why would we even think along these lines?

The biggest shirk nowadays has little to do with people worshipping stones or idols. For every religion, Christianity, budhism, hinduism, etc are noticing a huge decline in the active worshippers of their faith. Modernity is about apathy, its about cynism, and how cool to talk about the "history of God" (astaghfirullah) and the "end of the need for organized religion". This is the trend of thought amongst at least the educated ones of our times; and the biggest idol they worship and are encouraged to worship is the *Self*. Isn't the very notion of consumerism and capitalism laid on the foundation of "pleasing thy desires" ? of worrying about no one but "you". Of seeking *your* dreams, finding *your* space, regardless of who you trample and hurt in the process? What Muslims do in other countries as far as worshipping saints/pirs etc. has nothing to do with the presence of statues but a lot to do with sheer ignorance and illiteracy. Why is the notion of seeking knowledge so important to our deen? Why does the Quran consistently appeal to our logic, higher emotions, psychology and challenge every ounce of intelligence in our being? One can hardly be a good Muslim when he/she has blinded their consciousness/faculties. Isn't there a saying roughly "One learned man is harder on the devil than a thousand dilligent worshippers" ? There is a lot of wisdom in that saying.

The Quran outlines so beautifully how our interactions are to be with people who don't believe. Unless we are being fought physically (and even then a lot of restrictions are placed); the message is largely of dealing with them peacefully and with Wisdom. The tone of the Quran is consistenly one of overwhelming Mercy and heart rending beauty; the Rasul was sent to humanity as a Mercy to all; we are hailed as being the Balanced Ummah teaching by the highest example to all...what do all these mean? Like someone often repeated on this board: Do we want people to become Muslims *because* of us; or *inspite* of our dealings with them? I highly doubt a hindu would wanna hear much about Islam; after a well intentioned Muslim went to destroy his/her temple. I highly doubt Ali's instructor would be impressed with his fervor of Islam if he went in with an axe and destroyed their statues.

As impressive as it sounds from a Muslim perspective; there is a little hikma missing there and perhaps Kathy its one of the rough spots that you talked about. But he is young and many people much older than him don't even think of relating the stories of the Prophets (AS) to our daily life. So mad props to him and you sis Anyway, I have rambled enuff for now. May Allah grant us all hidayah and help us be amongst the Wise, compassionate, and righteous of His Ummah. (Amin).

" i am slippin' and slidin' the path's too steep...bleeding mercilessly, from a wound too deep." "Weep and if you cannot weep, then make yourself weep. If only you knew, you would pray until your back broke, and weep until your voice was no more"

timbuktu

wal a3aqibatu lil muttaqeen - والعاقبة للمتقين:

Kathy wrote:

I am glad this topic is taking off, because I have never understood how statues, idols, etc... have prospered so long in Islamic lands. I mean how important is the Sphinx to our lives?

I have so little time at my disposal, and will be unable to find the references or elaborate what I am going to write here, but please if you can, search it out in tafaseer. I will give below an outline only. First the origin and the worship of statues is explained in the tafsir of the verse when the leaders of the people of Nuh (as) warn their nation not to give up the worship of their statues. Whose statues these were and how did they come to be worshipped is explained in tafsir ibne kathir, taken from Abdullah ibne Abbas (ra). Locate the verse, I think it is in Surah Nuh, and see its tafsir in

http://www.tafsir.com

Or look up the many salafi sites for Tawheed and shirk, and statues and graves.

How these statues and idols prospered in Islamic lands, is partly due to some of the Christian population of the lands of the Middle East accepting Islam while retaining some of their concepts of veneration of the dead, their graves, and items associated with them. As we know Christianity by that time had become heavily tainted with erection, veneration and worship of statues of the prophet Jesus (as) and saints.

Some idol worshippers, too, accepted Islam not in its purity. This applies to the Arab idol worshippers as well as the Hindu and Buddhist ones. They brought their superstitions with them when they accepted Islam.

There arose a group of people who looked for inner meanings of the Quran, and said that this meaning was so specialised that only the select few could be taught that. This was the Batini (hidden) movement. Gradually the concept of Allah becoming manifest in the Ismaili Imams took root, and with it the practice of worshipping things associated with the Imam. The Druze and Alawis and many other deviants which worship men like Hakim biAmrillah or Hadrat Ali (ra) also belong to them. The ME has been a ripe ground for breakaway groups.

Another route was non-Muslim wives of the Muslims. Many a times their children concocted hybrid concepts for both their Muslim and non-Muslim roots.

Wars or natural disasters have caused knowledge to be lost. When the Muslims (Moors) of Andalucia were subjugated by the Christians, even the Muslim women had many a times to accept non-Muslim husbands. Many Moors were forcibly converted to Christianity. They practiced islam in secret, but their children lost part of the deen, and when many were exiled to Morocco, they retained some Christian concepts. Som even went so far as to protest that they were Christian, and retained this claim in exile. The same phenomanon is noticed in the Balkans, and the Russian/Soviet Republics, where Muslims had to marry non-Muslims.

Yet another route is when a group has to hide itself or lives in isolation or among non-Muslims where it has to adapt itself to conform to the dominant group or culture, it bends some of the tenets of its religion to survive.

An abundance of the world's wealth has resulted in the human mind seeking recognition through invention or re-invention of corrupting practices. The fitna of Quran being a creation by the Muatezillah is an example.

My explanation for all this is summed up in the verse where Allah says something like will you not be tested when you declare yourself to be a Muslim? please reflect on this and the examples I have quoted.

That was very brief, but if you reflect and are still unable to find explanations, ask here, although I cannot promise that I will be able to write a satisfactory explanation even when I come back from Hajj. But do ask questions if you are unable to expand on what I have written.

Nur_al_Layl wrote:

What Muslims do in other countries as far as worshipping saints/pirs etc. has nothing to do with the presence of statues but a lot to do with sheer ignorance and illiteracy.

sis Nur, what you wrote in the rest of your post is very apt, but I don't agree with what I have quoted you on. I have read some very eloquent defence of the practice of worshipping the pirs and saints and graves, so these people cannot be called illiterate. They are quite knowledgeable, too, as they can quote the Quran and AHadeeth, although they misinterpret these.

put the glass down

Once A professor began his class by holding up a glass with some water in it. He held it up for all to see; asked the students, "How much do you think this glass weighs?"
'50gms!' ?....'100gms!'......'125gms' ......the students answered.

"I really don't know unless I weigh it," said the professor, "but, my question is: What would happen if I held it up like this for a few minutes?"
'Nothing' the students said.

"OK what would happen if I held it up like this for an hour?" the professor asked.
'Your arm would begin to ache' said one of the students.

"You're right, now what would happen if I held it for a day?"
'Your arm could go numb, you might have severe muscle stress & paralysis; have to go to hospital for sure!' ventured another student ; all the students laughed.

"Very good. But during all this, did the weight of the glass change?" Asked the professor.
'No' replied the students.

"Then what caused the arm ache; the muscle stress? Instead What should I do?"
The students were puzzled.
'Put the glass down!' said one of the students.

"Exactly!" said the professor, "Life's problems are something like this. Hold it for a few minutes in your head; they seem OK. Think of them for a long time; they begin to ache. Hold it even longer; they begin to paralyze you. You will not be able to do anything. It's important to think of the challenges (problems) in your life, but EVEN MORE IMPORTANT to 'put them down' at the end of every day before you go to sleep. That way, you are not stressed, you wake up every day fresh; strong ; can handle any issue, anychallenge that comes your way! Remember friend to PUT THE GLASS DOWN TODAY! That's life!!"

put the glass Down

A quick step by step guide on reaching Allah

A quick step by step guide on reaching Allah Re: looking for some direction Name: Kansaa 5/12/2004(2:52) GMT Reply

salam alaykum yaa Samaa7;

God has said: if my servants ask you about me, I am close, I answer the call of the prayer IF he prays.
please note that very important IF
the initiative must always start with you-thats why He gave you a brain.

so first step, do you *really* want to grow closer to Allah?
next step if the answer to the first question is yes then, you must start to obey Him.

1. you have decided to grow closer to Allah

2.ask for repentance for any sins you have ever done, knowingly or unknowingly (why?)because God has said: "and ask forgiveness from God HE is the forgiver, He sends the rain for you, and He extends to you moneys and children, and grants you gardens and rivers"

3. to complete this repentance, give a charity, even if it is a small sum, if it is given to the poor in sincerity it will be accepted in shaa Allah

4. write down all the things you are not satisfied with, judge yourself, you already did to us now, when you told us you wear no hijab, you do not pray all five prayers, and you copy the westerners.

5.start praying on time, yes, as soon as you hear the azzaan.

6. after a week, you will feel very strange if you do not get up for fajr prayer. :)

7.start praying the watr:
thats 2 raka3as after the ishaa(shafi3)=say surat alaalaa
(1st)
then surat alkaafiroun(2nd)
and one raka3a after the shafi3(watr)(say qul huwa Allahu Ahad)

8. couple of months of this and its fixed and part of your daily routine, never forget them samaah==>next the nawaafil. there are twelve raka3as, those who pray them on a regular basis can be sure of a house in heaven-very useful, if you plan on entering heaven. ;)

these are:
2 raka3as before fajr prayer
4 raka3as before dhuhr prayer
2 raka3as after dhuhr prayer
2 raka3as after maghreb prayer
2 raka3as after ishaa prayer
that makes a nice twelve.

give yourself a six month of daily practice and once again its part of your daily routine.

9. start reading the Quraan, if you read arabic, invest in tafsir ibn kathir, if just English, then make sure you read the meaning of the quran you are reading.

10. decide on a day to wear the hijab, make it a special day, give a charity before that special day, pray two raka3as and ask God to help and support you, and read a lot on the proper hijab, and what it looks and appears like:

briefly:
should be wide, not showing any curves
should not be transparent
should not be attracting of attention
should cover the whole body, neck and hair, only face, and wrists showing.
should not look like the clothing of nonMuslims
should not look like the clothing of men
should not be perfumed.
well thats a briefer, and you can get some pretty good books on the subject, be sure that you realise its significance to YOU as a Muslim, to the Ummah as a society,
to the world as a whole. then decide on a date to wear it,
and just do so.

simple.

if you wish to benefit from generocity, give in charity
if you wish to be treated with mercy, do acts of mercy
if you wish to attain knowledge, you must seek it, and learn
if you wish to be honest, guard your tongue from lies
if you wish to go to heaven seek the paths to Gods pleasure, seek Him, and He will border these paths for you with ease, and He will stretch His hands to you to bring you ever closer to Him.

الكرم بالتكرم
والرحمة بالترحم
والعلم بالتعلم
والصدق بالحرص على عدم الكذب
والسعي الى الجنه يبدأ بالبحث والتقرب الى الله،ومن تقرب اليه
شبرا تقرب الله اليه باعا،ومن اتى الله يمشي اتاه الله هرولا

your sister,
Alkhansaa

Conversion To Christianity: A Missionary Deception

Conversion To Christianity: A Missionary Deception
M S M Saifullah
© Islamic Awareness, All Rights Reserved.
Last Modified: 22 November 1999

http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Polemics/deception.html

Assalamu-alaikum wa rahamatullahi wa barakatuhu:

Introduction

The Christian missionary efforts in preaching the Gospel are hardly worthy of emulation. Ever since the appearance of Islam on the world stage and the first sighting of tribes (or natives) of the New World, the crusade to convert the whole world to Christianity was accompanied by the unholy means of deception, exploitation and persecution.

The exploitation of the indigenous tribal people by the resource-hungry invaders called the Christian missionaries, has amounted to the persecution of the most ruthless and relentless kind, including the theft of the tribal land, the stripping of their forest in the name of 'development', the destruction of their cultures, and the wholesale enslavement of their populace. This enslavement continues without abatement by the evangelizing ambassadors of Christianity - the missionaries.

In this document, we will be concerned with the deceptive tactics and exploitation used by the Christian missionaries when it came to preaching the 'gospel' to Muslims or the indigenous people. The detailed study of the issues like persecution of the indigenous tribal people can be found in specialized books on cultural anthropology which the reader can refer to in the libraries.


Muslim & The Christian Missionary

Before reading the below quotes, let have a look at the lecture by Shaykh Salmân al-Awdah talking about Christian Missionaries Sweeping the Islamic World. This lecture by the Shaykh deals with various deceptive tactics used by the Christian missionaries to convert unsuspecting and ignorant Muslims to Christianity. The deceptive tactics of the missionaries include misquoting of the Islamic sources, building churches that look similar to mosques, doing Christian ceremonies on Fridays purposefully and not on Sundays, and use of natural disasters to forcefully convert poor and helpless.


According to the Christian missionaries, this page is a:
(The Islamic Paranoia Page) If only we would have as much impact as he believes Christians have.

In order to verify who exactly is paranoid, we refer to a book called Islam And Christian Witness by Martin Goldsmith, who lectures at All Nations Christian College. This book was given to us a few years ago. It was published by OM Publishing, Carlisle, UK. In a gist, this book is all about how to convert Muslims to Christianity in the Islamic world using the deceptive ways exactly as mentioned by Shaykh Salmân al-Awdah in his lecture.

Without beating around the bush let us quote a few paragraphs from the chapter "How To Witness". Let us start with the Prayer.

Orthodox Muslims place great emphasis on the importance of prayer timings. If they are strict in their religion, they will put other things aside at the prayer times in order to pray. It is vital to realize that the Christian also believes in it and practices it. In some cases, it may even be helpful if we can join the Muslim in prayer, so that they actually hear the Christian communing with God through Jesus Christ.

Muslims pray regularly five times a day at the set times of prayer, to which they are summoned by the call to the prayer. This call is always made by human voice, and never with the use of musical instruments or bells.[1]

And later on the author states:
...and there is no need to export the use of church bells, which may be easily exchanged for a human voice calling believers to pray worship and pray.[2]

The high point of the Muslim prayer is the act of prostration in which the Muslim kneels before God with forehead bowed to ground. In the Bible too we have accounts of people who demonstrated their worship and awe at the presence of God in similar fashion. Should Christian prayer in a Muslim society practise such agreed ritual movement?[3]

The Church in a Muslim context must ask whether it is helpful for prayer to be made in the symbolic direction of Jerusalem. Muslims must pray towards Mecca; Daniel directed his prayers with his face towards Jerusalem; should the Muslim convert follow the example of Daniel?[4]

There are a few interesting ideas about the way a Mosque should be modeled
Should the actual building of the Church be more akin to a Mosque? Are the usual European fashions a necessity? Do we need seats in the Church? Must the focal point be a table or a pulpit? Do we need a special lectern?[5]

In the conclusion of the chapter "The Muslim Convert" the author states:
In coming years we may see new Christian Churches which are outwardly as closely as akin to Muslim Mosques as the early Christians were to their Jewish Synagogue background.[6]

And how to deceptively go for Hajj and do Sacrifice
Some of the festivals are based on the annual pilgrimage to Mecca with its particular background and theological implications. Some aspects may be celebrated with an eye to their fulfillment in Christ, but many Christians would not feel happy to endorse all that the pilgrimage stands for Islam.[7]

And a few thoughts about the month of Ramadan itself
And then comes the question of the fast month. In connection with prayer, fasting is encouraged in the New Testament. Jesus gives teaching on a snare of pride in fasting and the dangers of sanctimonious piety, but true fasting has a significant place in Christian devotion. Is it permissible to introduce a fast month along Muslim lines into a Christian Church? Of course, it must be voluntary and practised in conjunction with prayer.[8]

In some strongly Muslim countries conversion from Islam into another faith is tantamount to suicide. Those who come to faith in Jesus Christ must therefore make a radical decision. They can make an open confession of Jesus as the Lord and Saviour, be baptised and then probably die the death of a martyr. Otherwise they may perhaps be able to flee the country, find anonymity in Europe and North America and there develop a true Christian life. But they then also loose contact with their own people and have no testimony to them. This second alternative is generally open to the wealthier and more educated. Many ordinary people eschew the first alternative and cannot afford the second. They opt for a third possibility, namely, to continue the outward forms of Islam while adding in their hearts a new spiritual dimension based on a person and work of Jesus Christ.[9]

And with regards to wolf dressed in sheep's skin, the author states
After an initial period, however, they may develop sufficient spiritual maturity to enjoy having their Christian faith dressed in Islamic cultural garb.[10]

In other words, the ideas of deception are in fact coming straight from the horse's mouth and then put into practice by his fellow-men. The Shaykh did not invent the statements and neither did other Muslims.

We should also emphasize that this deception was not an "original" idea of Martin Goldsmith. Arthur French, a Christian missionary, wrote about the methodology of "Christianizing" Muslims in India some 80 years ago using a similar deception. He said:

If we are insistant in urging the claims of "specialized" Missions, let it be remembered that until Arabic is conquered Islam remains. Islam is wedded to Arabic in indissoluble bonds till death do them apart, either the death of Arabic or the death of Islam. Arabic must be Christianised, if we were to win Islam. Islam must be won, if we were to win India.

Christian Arabic Prayers, Hymns, Liturgies, Lectionaries; the Five Hours of Prayers; the Call to Prayer; Churches furnished more in Mosque-fashion and erected in Sarcen style; these are the methods which Missions to Moslems need. We have to take over from Islam all that we can with the least possible dislocation.[11]

Dr. cAbdullâh Hâkim Quick writing in the magazine The Message on his recent trip to East Africa says:
I was shocked when I returned from East Africa in May to find Muslim families in a desperate struggle to save their children from leaving their homes and their faith! In Kenya, the Pope and the forces of Christianity vowed last year to change Africa into a Christian continent by the year 2000 CE. Crosses with red fluorescent lighting are being raised on the skyline of Mombasa, Kenya and other traditionally Islamic cities. In Mirti (Northeastern Kenya), Muslim youth are being called to a Christian worship center called "Makkah Center," which is shaped like a masjid, five times a day.

An example of open deception on the WWW can be found here where one can find "suggestions" for using the Qur'ân in the Muslim Convert Church. Interestingly, Christian missionaries talk about being guided by Holy Spirit. Whether it is the God or Devil of Deception is anybody's conclusion!

"The Panare Killed Jesus Christ, Because They Were Wicked"
To misrepresent another religion for fear of people converting is one thing, but to do so to one's own in the hope of gaining converts is another. Christian missionaries, unable to convince the Panare Indians of the Colorado valley to accept faith in Jesus Christ took to compiling books for the natives to read in their mother tongue, this was accomplished during 1975 and 1976.[12] The compiling of the books presented certain linguistic problems, solved in the end in a very cunning fashion.

The problems arose because there are no equivalents in Panare for many words held as basic to the concept of the Christian religion. There are none, for example, for sin, guilt, punishment and redemption. Since Panare tribe lived as an isolated society in the forests for thousands of years, it is impossible to have famines, plagues were unrecorded and the wars that shaped our history were reduced to a ceremonial skirmish. The biblical dramas, therefore, were hardly more than shadow plays.[13]

It was soon realized, however, that before the Indians could be made to accept repentance and salvation - both equally obscure concepts to the Panare - one had to give them something to feel guilty about. The missionaries came up with an ingenious, yet underhand, solution - translate and re-edit the New Testament in such a way so as to implicate the Panare Indians in Jesus' death! Gone from the Bible were Judas's betrayal, the Romans, the trial, and Pontius Pilate. The text now read at the appropriate places:


The Panare killed Jesus Christ
because they were wicked.
Let's kill Jesus Christ, said the Panare.
The Panare seized Jesus Christ.
The Panare killed in this way.
The laid a cross on the ground.
They fastened his hands and his feet
against the wooden beams, with nails.
They raised him straight up, nailed.
The man died like that, nailed.
Thus the Panare killed Jesus Christ[14]


It is clear that if this could create the feelings of guilt, nothing could. Now there was a talk of God's vengeance for the dreadful deed. The re-edited New Testament continued:

God will burn you all,
burn all the animals, burn also the earth,
the heavens, absolutely everything.
He will burn also the Panare themselves.
God will exterminate the Panare by throwing them on the fire.
It is a huge fire.
I am going to hurl the Panare into the fire, said God.
.....
God is good.
'Do you want to be roasted in the fire?' asks God.
'Do you have something to pay me with so that I won't roast you in the fire?
What is it you're going to pay me?'[15]

One does not have to think hard in order to realize what payment was being demanded; namely, unquestioning submission to the missionaries' demands, the abandonment of their traditional lives and their customs, and the acceptance of Christianity. The Indians were terrified. The first Indian woman came forward and said:

".... I don't want to burn in the big fire. I love Jesus."
.... Here we had sat for almost a year teaching one believer and nothing else happening and all of a sudden WOW![16]

It seems it was a common practice among the Christian missionaries to accuse Indians of killing the Christ.

David Stoll, writing in SIL in Peru, describes a missionary teacher calling his Amuesha congregations Jews 'because they did not have faith and were killing Jesus'.[17]

From the present discussion, it would seem that the Bible will be 'translated' for the benefit of winning the souls even if it requires gross deception and misrepresentation of the scripture itself.

In the Gospel according to John, chapter six, Jesus(P) is reported to have said: "I am the bread of life." In the time of Jesus(P) at least, and probably even today in the Middle East, bread is the "staple of life", it is essential and it is available even to the poor. It is a 'relatively cheap' food. If the Bible translators would translate something like that into the tribal languages of Papua New Guinea literally, what would these people think? In these countries, 'bread' is something only the rich can afford. If they read "I am the bread of life," they would immediately think "Oh, Jesus is not for me, I can't afford to become a Christian... " and this would mean a complete miscommunication. In Papua New Guinea the staple food is sweet-potato. And therefore this verse would be best translated by the missionary standards as "I am the sweet-potato of life" as well as communion/eucharist is celebrated with sweet-potato instead of bread. This way the meaning would be "preserved" and convey what Jesus(P) "meant" albeit the original text is re-edited. It is available for all, it is life essential, since for those people a meal without sweet-potato is not a complete meal. Perhaps for the Chinese, Jesus(P) would be the "rice of life". And to win the souls of some Russian drunks, a translation of Jesus(P) being the "vodka of life" would be perfect!

This explains many of the problems within Christianity; they can't make up their mind on the translation of their scripture as much as the actual extent of their scripture. And above all the deception of any kind is exercised to win converts.

Weapons & Wine: A Case Of Tahiti

In 1795 the London Missionary Society was formed, its immediate attention focused upon the Pacific; two years later a convict ship bound for Australia put the first missionaries ashore on Tahiti. It was four years before any of them learned enough of the local language to be able to preach a sermon to a puzzled though sympathetic audience. The Tahitians built houses for them, fed them, and provided them with servants galore, but after seven years not a single convert to Christianity had been gained. The missionaries opted for a more brutal tactic and gained the upper hand by helping to reduce the local chief called Pomare to an alcoholic and then offered him backing in a war against other islands chiefs by supplying firearms (the enemy having only wooden clubs to defend themselves). But Pomare would be backed in a war against the other island chiefs on the understanding that:

his victory would be followed by enforced conversion. Since Pomare was supplied with firearms to be used against its opponents' clubs, victory was certain. 'The whole nation', Orsmond wrote, 'was converted in a day.'[18]

With their power base firmly established in Tahiti, the missionaries moved swiftly to the outer islands. The methods they employed were as before. A local chieftain would be baptised, crowned king, introduced to large quantities of alcohol and left to the work of converting his own people. Chieftains who put up any form of opposition were quickly shown the might of the missionary forces. Where no resistance was found, a native teacher supported by a half dozen missionary police would take over an island within a week.[19] What a way to love your neighbour!

Conclusion
The present discussion has dealt with in the deceptive tactics used by the Christian missionaries to gain converts. The deceptive tactics would involve imitation of the religious ideas of other faiths, gross mistranslation of the Bible even if it involves tampering with the 'word' of God and to persecute people to win the souls for Jesus(P). Commenting on the book of Norman Lewis, The Missionaries: God Against The Indians, the famous writer Graham Greene said:

In the recent years we have found it easy to laugh at the American television evangelists... but until I read Mr. Lewis's remarkable book I had no idea of the danger to human life which they represent.[20]

And Allah knows best!

WWW Sites Dealing With The Dishonest Christian Missionary Tactics
The Muslim's Guide To Missionary Tactics
Hot Times In North America
Exposing TV Evangelism
But is it only the Muslims who are saying that? Why not check out what the Jews say:
The Jewish Guide To Missionary Tactics
Islamic Awareness Polemics Conversion To Christianity: A Missionary Deception

References
[1] Martin Goldsmith, Islam & Christian Witness, OM Publishing, Carlisle (UK), p. 113.
[2] Ibid., p. 135.
[3] Ibid., p. 134.
[4] Ibid., p. 135.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid., p. 137.
[7] Ibid., p. 132.
[8] Ibid., pp. 135-136.
[9] Ibid., pp. 130-131.
[10] Ibid., p. 136.
[11] Arthur J. P. French, "The Problem Of Islam In India (A Discussion Of "Methods")", 1916, The Moslem World, Volume 6, p. 11.
[12] Norman Lewis, The Missionaries: God Against The Indians, 1988, McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, p. 208.
[13] Ibid., adapted from p. 209.
[14] Ibid., p. 210.
[15] Ibid., p. 210-211.
[16] Ibid. p. 211.
[17] Ibid., p. 210, see footnotes.
[18] Ibid., p. 4.
[19] Ibid., see a detailed discussion on the missionaries' tactics from pp. 4-8.
[20] Ibid., see the review on the back flap of the book.

seeking help from Allah (swt)

Nearly three decades ago when I was just thirty and while in Canada, I had problems of health. I hated being alive, because to me it meant suffering. I wasn't a practicing Muslim, except in that I abstained from pork and zina. I took alcohol - a gin and tonic every night before going to bed. It helped control my asthma. I did not offer Salah or keep the Sawm. I didn't even know what days the Eid fell, unless my friends came to me and took me to the mosque for prayers. So I prayed when asked to do so by my friends, not otherwise, but I had this feeling for the Ummah.

I asked Allah then if He had created me to work for this world in the West. Wasn't there something I could do for the Ummah?

One year later I found myself in Islamabad, about which I knew nothing except that the capital had been shifted here from Karachi. And as soon as I landed here, my asthma and my travel sickness and all my allergies vanished. I travelled in a diesel bus for thirty odd kilometers, and was able to so without feeling nauseated.
I didn't need alcohol anymore to be able to breathe :)

Almost a decade prior to that dua in Canada I had committed myself to work for the Ummah if I were asked to do so. So when I was asked that at Islamabad, I saw these as signs of my prayers being answered. I accepted all terms, as I saw this was from Allah.

Then when I started working, I found that my colleagues had ulterior motives; that they told lies about me; that they twisted and misrepresented my words to the bosses; that the bosses were selfish; that the world around me was hypocrite. I fell in the trap of seeking my rewards in this world.

Gradually, my immunity from allergies went away; my asthma came back; but I managed to stay away from alcohol. I found myself being subjected to more and more ridicule and worldly repression. I had thought I will embark on a slow Islamisation of myself, but I didn't say prayers regularly; I could not fast, and I did not offer compensation to the poor for this.

Then one day my boss asked me to call him my Raaziq. I was astounded, but he hounded me, and had it confirmed from a practicing Muslim colleague that this was the right thing to say. An hour of this torture followed. After asking him to be calm and that he should go home and reflect on what he was saying, I eventually had to tell him openly that this was kufr, and I wanted nothing of it. He threatened to dismiss me, or to make my life hell.

I told him my Raaziq, and everyone's Raaziq, was Allah (swt).
When I reached home, I asked myself why me, of all people, had to face this trial in a Muslim country, which had been created in the name of Islam. My conclusion was that I was not practicing my deen. So I decided to Islamise myself fast.

My boss did try to make my life hell, but I held steadfast. He wrote in my annual appraisal that I am not fit for promotion. He reduced my pay. It hurt very much, but I was stuck. I did not have the money to buy tickets to go elsewhere, and I now had a family to support.

It was a long time ago. The bosses have changed. They do not ask me now to call them my Raaziq anymore. Those I taught have now reached the highest levels of management in my organisation. One boss after another, on retiring, has asked me to forgive him, as they have realised upon leaving that they have done me injustices, and ascribed my work to others so as to gain rewards for their proteges.

At the end of every year, there is a promotion meeting, many times in the past the organisation heirarchy has removed my name from the promotion list. Many times they have simply passed it over. :) Every year I wait for my due promotion. I make it known that it is my due, but it doesn't come.

I should be unhappy, and I am, but it is wrong, because when I analyse it from a non-partisan angle, whatever I have is a bonus.

You see, 38 years ago, in August 1966 to be exact, I graduated wth honours and stood first at my university. I had dreams of becoming a top class researcher, and so did my professors. Just three months later, in December of that year, I was told I had a maximum of six months before I went blind. I sought 2nd and third opinions from very proficient eye specialists, but the results were the same. In the world I knew, blind people have to beg for a living, and I did not want to beg. Plus I had severe asthma from my childhood, and felt life for me would be unbearable. Eventually, just before the six months were up, I tried to kill myself with such a heavy dose of barbiturates, that survival was impossible. Before swallowing the tablets, naturally, I was very sad at having to terminate my life. So, I think I may have cried a little, and remembered Allah. I had given up regular prayers a long time before then. I did not fast. Then I remembered that Surah Yaseen is read near the dying. Who would read it for me, I thought. So, I decided to read it for myself. I guess Allah (swt) heard me. While in the sleep induced by the barbiturates, I fell over, and when I didn't wake up, my room-mate called the ambulance, and I was taken to hospital, where they decided the poison had entered by blood, and they could only pass the antidote intravenously, and hope for the best. I lay in that state for 4 days and nights, before coming to.

See, Allah had given me so much even before my prayer in Canada. I should be grateful to Him. Instead I have sought this worldly recognition. How stupid I am? Allah (swt) wants to reserve my rewards for the Hereafter, and I keep running around to get them here.

What do I need this for? Allah had maintained my eyes in working condition for the last 38 years. Despite my handicaps, He gave me education, and jobs where I have make remarkable contributions. He has given me a wife who is a practicing muslimah, two healthy children who have University education from very reputable Universities. a house in a posh sector, two cars. Everything you can wish for.

And I do not suffer from diabetes, or heart trouble, or high blood pressure. My health problems are the same (the sight problem has become more acute, though) that they were when the proouncement on my eyesight was made.

This year I am going for Hajj, insha`Allah. Something I had decided I wouldn't go for, for reasons of health and fear of the rush.

I am truly blessed. If I seek more rewards n this world, this would be kufraane naimat.

raabana atena hasanatanwwa fil akhirati hasanatanwwa qina adhabanNar

my little daughter graduates :)

Saturday was my daughter's convocation (graduation ceremony). The son got his degree from a different University two and a half years ago.

It seems like yesterday the kids was learning to speak the first words, take the first steps. Then into school.

When we moved into our own home, the two kids would run excitedly and repeatedly in the lounge, exclaiming how big it was. The same lounge and house became too small for them when they grew up a little.

When discussing what color carpet to put in their room, the two came to me and said: "we don't need a carpet in our room". When I questioned them in my way, they confided in me, with tears rolling down their eyes: "mama wants to put a dirty carpet in our room!" I laughed quietly. The wife had said to me: "we will put a mellkhora (one on which dirt doesn't show up so easily) carpet in the children's bedroom, and the kids thought she meant dirty.

I would come back from office, and the daughter would present her "news" copy to me. Today's news invariably would be "electricity went from ab:cd am till xx:yy am".

The two played games with me. I would be their horse, and they would sit on my back while I ran on all fours. Over the years I got tired, and they became heavier, so the game became who could hold on longer while the horse tried to shake them off. The boy always got thrown off within half a minute of climbing on the horse, but the little girl managed to cling on. Then the horse got even more tired, and the children even more heavy, so the horse became an alligator. They could sit on the alligator, but the alligator had his stomach to the floor, and didn't move at all. They kept telling me they didn't like the alligator, but the alligator loved it. He refused to become a horse again.

I told them stories. They loved every word of mine, from their youngest age. They would show their happiness at whatever I said to them. Even with the dumbest and most non-sensical words I smithed for them.

One day the two kids came to me and said: "we won't go to school from tomorrow. There is no need". I was surprised. Why, I asked. The reply came: "They are increasing the fees. It just isn't worth it. You teach us well. You can teach us at home". The wife and I were beginning to have arguments over our loan re-payments. She insisted on paying her father immediately, as per promised schedule, and I said our income doesn't allow such fast repayment anymore. Let us ask him to give us more time.

I guess the kids overheard us, and wanted to ease our economic condition. Such considerate kids! I dismissed the story of increase in fees as children's fantasy. Then my neighbour mentioned it. "I am going to take my children out of that school. I can afford the fees several times over, but what will you do? It is unfair to you", he said.

When the school gave us notice for increase in fees, I took out the children from that school, and put them in government model schools. I put the little girl one clss ahead. When getting her to prepare for it, I asked her to do one more exercise. She said: "Papa, I do get so tired!". I realised my mistake. What was I doing to my baby girl, I thought. I hugged and kissed her and said: "Take it easy", but I don't know if the damage had been done.

The same kids, particularly the son, refused my coaching as they got older. I wanted to teach in a way that would open their minds. They wanted to finish it the way their teachers wanted, so that they could get on with their TV. And the media here did not provide education.

Sent the kids to Karachi for holidays, on their own - the travel that is. They stayed with my mother and siblings. When they came back, they ran excitedly to me: "Papa, see what we have brought for you". And what was it they had brought? large thin chapatees that are sold by Karachi's naanbaees (bread makers). For me. They thought their Papa hadn't seen or tasted this "delicacy". At Karachi, they had insisted they would be the ones who go buy these chapatees every mealtime.

We went on picnics, and childrens' parks, and sightseeing. It was fun for them, and for us too. Then gradually it petered out. I don't remember why. Perhaps the wife had too much work to do. It has been real hard for her, being my wife, I guess. Perhaps the kids lost interest. Maybe I started bringing the troubles of the office into the home. I don't remember, but I have missed it.

I thought the kids were more attached to me, they were taking sides for me against their mother, so I gradually made them go back to their mother. But they went too far. They stopped seeing me as a friend. They were insufferable in their teens, but now they have outgrown that.

Anyway, the little girl now has her degree in Software Engineering. :)

At the convocation, the parents of one of her friends greeted us. I didn't recognise them, and the wife scolded me for that. She still doesn't understand my handicap. This is the 7th convocation I have attended. Two of my children's as the father, five of different Universities as the Rector's/Vice Chancellor's representative. I never attended my own - I dislike all occassions official so much, I declined a medal for fear I would be asked to go up the dais and shake hands etc. I was present at two of my convocations though. Outside, not inside to receive the degrees. Didn't have my parents or siblings there. Didn't feel anything special, either.

Official occassions bore me. I feel an air of pretentious make-believe in it. I don't like the robes, the solemnity, the chairs on the dais, the repetitions, the addresses, the protocol, the mutual sctratching of backs, the award of shields to each other by the Rector and the Chief Guest.

I have often wondered, about the pretentions, and the validity of robes, specially when the robes have intricate embroidery on them. Why should faculty wear such robes? I wonder about the robes that ulema wear too. Would that be considered Islamic?

Back to the convocation. The happiness on the young faces washed away all the doubts and questions. And then there was lunch.

The kids have grown up. They have other interests. They don't want to listen to my words any more. Perhaps my stories aren't interesting enough. They don't like going out with me. I have a suspicion they don't like being seen with me. Perhaps they don't like the way I dress, or behave in public. Is it me being paid back in kind. I left home at 16/17, and didn't pay much attention to my mother's emotions. Now that I am a parent, I understand, and I can only give them duas. But these kids do have love in them. The son keeps it underneath. The daughter shows and seeks the visible signs.

cold-blooded murder of a 13-year old girl

Taken from www.Guardian.co.uk

An Israeli army officer who repeatedly shot a 13-year-old Palestinian girl in Gaza dismissed a warning from another soldier that she was a child by saying he would have killed her even if she was three years old.

The officer, identified by the army only as Captain R, was charged this week with illegal use of his weapon, conduct unbecoming an officer and other relatively minor infractions after emptying all 10 bullets from his gun's magazine into Iman al-Hams when she walked into a "security area" on the edge of Rafah refugee camp last month.

A tape recording of radio exchanges between soldiers involved in the incident, played on Israeli television, contradicts the army's account of the events and appears to show that the captain shot the girl in cold blood.

The official account claimed that Iman was shot as she walked towards an army post with her schoolbag because soldiers feared she was carrying a bomb.

But the tape recording of the radio conversation between soldiers at the scene reveals that, from the beginning, she was identified as a child and at no point was a bomb spoken about nor was she described as a threat. Iman was also at least 100 yards from any soldier.

Instead, the tape shows that the soldiers swiftly identified her as a "girl of about 10" who was "scared to death".

The tape also reveals that the soldiers said Iman was headed eastwards, away from the army post and back into the refugee camp, when she was shot.

At that point, Captain R took the unusual decision to leave the post in pursuit of the girl. He shot her dead and then "confirmed the kill" by emptying his magazine into her body.

The tape recording is of a three-way conversation between the army watchtower, the army post's operations room and the captain, who was a company commander.

The soldier in the watchtower radioed his colleagues after he saw Iman: "It's a little girl. She's running defensively eastward."

Operations room: "Are we talking about a girl under the age of 10?"
Watchtower: "A girl of about 10, she's behind the embankment, scared to death."

A few minutes later, Iman is shot in the leg from one of the army posts.

The watchtower: "I think that one of the positions took her out."
The company commander then moves in as Iman lies wounded and helpless.

Captain R: "I and another soldier ... are going in a little nearer, forward, to confirm the kill ... Receive a situation report. We fired and killed her ... I also confirmed the kill. Over."

Witnesses described how the captain shot Iman twice in the head, walked away, turned back and fired a stream of bullets into her body. Doctors at Rafah's hospital said she had been shot at least 17 times.

On the tape, the company commander then "clarifies" why he killed Iman: "This is commander. Anything that's mobile, that moves in the zone, even if it's a three-year-old, needs to be killed. Over."

The army's original account of the killing said that the soldiers only identified Iman as a child after she was first shot. But the tape shows that they were aware just how young the small, slight girl was before any shots were fired.

The case came to light after soldiers under the command of Captain R went to an Israeli newspaper to accuse the army of covering up the circumstances of the killing.

A subsequent investigation by the officer responsible for the Gaza strip, Major General Dan Harel, concluded that the captain had "not acted unethically".

However, the military police launched an investigation, which resulted in charges against the unit commander.

Iman's parents have accused the army of whitewashing the affair by filing minor charges against Captain R. They want him prosecuted for murder.

Record of a shooting

Watchtower'It's a little girl. She's running defensively eastward'

Operations room'Are we talking about a girl under the age of 10?'

Watchtower'A girl of about 10, she's behind the embankment, scared to death'

Captain R (after killing the girl) 'Anything moving in the zone, even a three-year-old, needs to be killed'

humanity isn't dead yet - some blogs/sites

Please Blue Fairy!
caller=http://www.archive.org/download&prefix=
Mosaic20041014&name=Mosaic20041014&
filetype=mov

afsc.org-eyes
amnesty.org.uk/action/lobbying
amnesty.org
antiwar.com
bopnews.com
brainthink.com
cageprisoners.com
english.aljazeera.net
epolitix.com
ericait101.blogspot.com
Kosovo-Photographs.htm
fallujapictures
faxyourmp.org.uk
gallery
fearbush.com
freedomfiles.org
freedomfiles.org/war/atrocity
ftssoldier.blogspot.com
liberalavenger.com
locata.co.uk
~gduncan/massacresl
optruth.org/main
owrentrat.blogdrive.com
physics911.org
politics.guardian.co.uk
stoppoliticalterror
syntheticniche
thenausea
theyworkforyou
tomhurndall.co.uk/
underthesamesun.org

Please, Blue Fairy, turn the children of Iraq into stone

Under The Same Sun: November 2004 Archives: "

Urgent Request to the Blue Fairy:

Please Turn these Children into Stone

November, 8, 2002

Fairy tales often have a universal appeal and draw children of all nations into their magical world. Pinocchio is no exception where the Blue Fairy rewards moral behavior and grants a puppet flesh-and-blood status.

I do doubt, however, that children in Iraq or Afghanistan could understand why an inanimate, man-made object would ever want to be a child of the flesh and blood kind. In their world, the flesh of children is there for the maiming and the blood for flowing --unlike those beautiful, sacrosanct objects of art which must be preserved and doted on.

As the

British Independent reports, "an international band of curators and historians anxious not to repeat the damage inflicted on Iraqi treasures during the Gulf War 11 years ago are appealing to the American government to take the historic sites into account."

A similar surge of concern was observed when, about six months before the 9/11 attacks, Afghanistan made a brief appearance in the news. The world was outraged then, but not because hundreds of thousands children's lives were flickering away in refugee camps where lack of education, food, and opportunities stole away their childhood and diseases and lack of medical care made sure many never grow into adults. The world was not outraged because the Taliban regime was denying medical care to women (and children) by not allowing women healthcare workers to work and men to take care of women. The outrage was not that the United States had pushed the U.N. to slap economic sanctions on the country -because of its refusal to turn over Osama bin Laden- that made things worse for the worst off, the poorest, the most vulnerable in the country (according to some estimates, the sanctions increased the price of basic medicines up to 50%) without providing leverage or means to make things better.

It was the 1,400-year-old Buddha statues carved into the mountainside at Bamiyan that triggered the heart-rending cries of concern. The New York Times (03/19/01) reported that Taliban envoy Rahmatullah Hashimi explained that the decision was made after an international NGO offered money to restore the statues but refused to allow the money to be used in refugee camps -- where 300 children had just died. Hashimi recounted that the NGO was asked that “instead of spending money on statues, why didn't they help our children who are dying of malnutrition?” Upon being told that “this money is only for statues”, they decided to destroy them.

Germany, Malaysia and Japan joined Russia, India, United States, Egypt and others to decry the barbarity. Offers poured in: money to restore the statues, money to remove the statues for safekeeping somewhere else, money to change the rulers' minds. Money that had not been pouring in for the refugee camps, for food, for clean water.

Now the world's archeologists and curators are afraid a similar outrage will occur to the historical artifacts in Iraq. The Independent quotes Helen McDonald, of the British School of Archaeology in Iraq, based at Cambridge University, who explained that last time the Iraqis had tried to move a great deal of their most important objects out into storage in the countryside and that they have already begun to do so again.

"But some things are immovable, such as huge stones. If a bomb hits a museum or something, that would be it," she said.

Sure enough, she notes, "The British School of Archaeology in Iraq has written [about this]. They wrote to the Foreign Office during the Gulf War to express concern, not just on the humanitarian grounds but the effects that it would have on the culture."

Bombing of stones isn't the only potential cause of horrors, according to Charles Tripp, of the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. He warns that in the wake of the Gulf War, sanctions had inadvertently caused as much damage to the archaeological sites of Iraq as direct attack. Trip notes: "The conditions of poverty had led to much looting of archaeological sites and site museums, which often contained significant finds even after the best items were removed to Baghdad. Numerous finds have turned up on the art market in the West." Dr Tripp observes that "there is a lot of temptation in a destitute country to rip something out that has a saleable value in the West."

Yes, especially since UNICEF reports that at least half a million children have died due to those sanctions. I can imagine parents looting and prying loose every single stone, rock, tablet, gem or otherwise inanimate object in that country to try to obtain food or simple medicines.

It has been reported that when a journalist asked Mahatma Gandhi what he thought about Western Civilization, he replied, "it would be a good idea."

Indeed, it would be a good idea; unfortunately, it's unlikely we'll be able to muster that up in short order so we need a more serious, urgent and miraculous intervention.

We need the Blue Fairy who turned Pinocchio into flesh to perform a reverse miracle.

So here goes.

Please, Blue Fairy, turn the children of Iraq into stone. The older the stone better. Stone with cracks and signs of aging and weather damage would be perfect. Hopefully, that will evoke some protective reflexes and caring in their direction.

And, Blue Fairy, while you are at it, please do the same for the children of Afghanistan which is once again facing famine since the investment required and promised has not been delivered, and the children of Southern Africa which is in the midst of a progressing famine due to the drought which might have been triggered partly by global warming, and the children in Central America which is now threatened by famine thanks to the crisis in the coffee industry which never paid farmers more than a pittance of their enormous profit.

If Blue Fairy does not come through, I encourage the Iraqis to start their own make-a-wish foundation, which grants wishes to children with terminal illnesses. Of course, in Iraq, because of the sanctions, easily curable diseases like cholera and treatable childhood problems like leukemia are often terminaland then there are the congenital birth defects in the depleted-uranium-polluted south.

That make-a-wish foundation should take those children, whose childhood we have collectively destroyed, to the precious museums and let them play with all those precious stones and tablets. The children should paint them with indelible ink. They should throw them to the ground from high buildings to see from which floor they pulverize most easily. They should be encouraged to play team games and see which team can hammer a tablet into dust fastest.

Maybe, just maybe, what must surely be the collective wish of all those children and their families will come true. Maybe, amidst the predictable outrage over crushed stone, the world will notice them.
And maybe, just maybe, the biggest miracle of all will happen without the Blue Fairy -- our hearts of stone will turn into flesh and blood.