My Reflections on Boston Bombing

Boston Bombing is the latest in the war on terror: police crackdown on Middle Eastern looking people;  suspected individuals chased, beaten to a pulp and shot several times in encounter - of course unapproved by any measure of law; hostile towards liberation theology and much more. The bombing has opened a new chapter in America’s history of intolerance and extremism.

The news has worked people in the US up to a frenzy. Obama in a recent speech praised Boston for overcoming the face of evil. The only face of evil is the mostly white men (and women) in business suits on streets and who callously use insults and assaults to subvert their freedom of expression to the advantage of their short-term hate fest, breeding more insensitivity, discrimination, insecurities and outright cancellation of democracy. The real face of evil is the citizenry who are tracking down and maiming the Muslim community: Muslim Palestinian woman, physician by profession in Medford, Massachusetts harassed and punched by a white man for allegedly being a terrorist, two men detained in Boston’s Logan Airport for speaking Arabic, two Chechnyan students shot, one killed. The American public is responsible for the outrage not Muslims. The American public has becom dangerous and classical vigilantes.

For Muslims it’s all too familiar. Almost as soon as the smoke of any bombing is cleared, we know from long experience that immediately the finger of blame will be pointed in our direction. Until Muslims insist and boot out those who are demeaning us, we will increasingly all pay the price of Islamaphobia which is wantonly poisoning the masses against Islam. The media is like a carcinogenic toxin, the more one is exposed to it, the more one is damaged.

The liberation of human mind from the state of ignorance is the epitome of Islam. In 611 AD, Islam brought progressive development, which began in antiquity, reason and challenges to the established religious and Geo-political order. It promoted intellectual interchange, scientific advancement and opposed superstition, racial discrimination, gender inequality and abuses of corporate power. Enlightenment was born out of the Qur'an with the purpose of reforming society using Tawheed and crystallized into a sensitive, just, clean, respectful and moral world view. 

While the Christian world in 2013 still struggles with counter-reformation belief of brown boogie men in beards.

The American news officials have failed to take into consideration the fact that the US Navy Seals had seven agents present prior to the marathon at the exact location of the bombing and a bomb squads was performing a controlled explosion drill. This evidence is reliable enough to support that the US government is responsible for attack.

This is the not the first time that the US, as a hostile government force has targeted its own civilians, politicking the event as a terrorist attack. The reason is because despite their assertion to peace, the US forces have always been hungry for war because the power and money it procures.  

Why them and not us?

What is different about Jews and Muslims?
According to Amy Chua, the author of World on Fire, chapter 10, p. 217-225, the Israeli Jews are fare more economically advanced and successful than the vastly more numerous  generally impoverished Muslims surrounding them. Despite the infusion of trillions of oil dollars into the Gulf States, Israel has nevertheless outperformed all of her neighbours in the Middle East under any number of economic indicators.
According to the World Bank, 2000 Israeli’s per capita income was roughly $16,700 compared to $7,230 in Saudi Arabia, $1,710 in Jordan, $940 in Syria, and $370 in Yemen. In 2000, Israel’s infant mortality rate was roughly 5.5 per 1,000 live births, compared to approximately 43 per 1,000 live births in the rest of the Middle East. Also in 2000, 4% of Israel’s population over the age of 15 was illiterate, compared to 44% in Iraq, 45% in Egypt, and 54% in Yemen. In addition, Israel has a sophisticated welfare state, a powerful military said to have nuclear-weapon capacity, impressive infrastructure rivaling the Western nations, and a high technology sector competitive with Silicon Valley.
In contrast, large portions of the Arab Middle East are characterized by poverty, squalor, and mass frustration despite the region’s enormous oil wealth. In Saudi Arabia, writes Seymour Hersh, "Saudi princes - there are thousands of them - have kept tabloid newspapers filled with accounts of their drinking binges and partying with prostitutes, while taking billions of dollars from the state budget." Meanwhile male unemployment rate is estimate at 30%, and 25% of total population is illiterate. Jordan too, writes Stephen Glian, considered a "bright spot" in the Middle East, "has the same problems as the rest of the Arab world: hordes of disenfranchised, unemployment, hopeless young men susceptible to poaching by extremist group.                                        In still poorer countries of North Africa there is no potable water, electricity or sanitation among vast portions of the population. In Egypt, despite immense amount of Western aid, the disparity between rich and poor has intensified. 

So Why are the Jews so economically successful? 
The history of modern Israel began in 1882, thousands of well educated European Jews came together in their comment commitment to a Jewish state. The emphasized on the rule of law and build a well respected independent judiciary and reduced the levels of corruption and violence, which in turn attracted foreign investors and global markets. 
They also received tremendous amount of financial assistance: Between 1950s - 1985, US government granted Israel $21 billion and continues to donate $3 billion annually. Over the same period, financial contributions from world Jewry totaled $9.4 billion, Meanwhile, between 1950s and 1965, West Germany paid the government of Israel $780 million in Holocaust reparations and $7 billion in personal reparations. 

But most importantly, Israel has Human capital – unusually skilled and educated population and their deep commitment to the survival and success of a Jewish homeland. Israel is a magnet for Jews who move to Israel out of ideology rather than out of hopes for a better life. Most recently, over a million Russian Jews, quarter of them engineers have emigrated to Israel since the 1990s. In part because of this latest influx of engineering skill, Israel has become one of the world leaders in high technology. 

Why haven't the Muslims been so lucky? Despite working around the clock, why aren't Muslim families making enough money? Why are our children dying? Why aren't our masses educated, skilled and committed to preserving Islam in their countries? Why don't we get any reparations for our losses? 

whipping myself back into shape ... mentally

You are your greatest investment.  The more you store in that mind of yours, the more you enrich your experience, the more people you meet, the more books you read, the more places you visit, the greater is that investment in all that you are.  Everything that you add to our peace of mind, and to your outlook upon life, is added capital that no one but yourself can dissipate - George Matthew Adams

After a yearlong, ten months  bonanza of finding the right person, planning a future and family with him, I think I am finally back. Finally back from the thrill of numerous self-reflections, shopping lists, love notes and love stories. One of my most unique memories was vacationing in Dubai - walking on beaches, halal stakes and burgers and not a care in the world. I am  back to turning in papers and reading extra hours, sacrificing sleep, exercise and moving forward with personal goals. Life is constantly moving and changing. To live is to experience new things, almost everyday. The key is to be able to learn and adjust. 
At times life is like a dream, like living in an happy fairy tale. Then there are those times when things are not as effortless, we feel drained, overwhelmed, guilty or resentful. I believe that these are the greatest moments for learning and growth. We don't reflect upon life when our joys are accelerated  Most of us do not feel forced to connect within unless things are not inadequate and frustrating. Writing makes life's learning and adjusting process deliberate and easy. It is empowering, an opportunity to keep the mind sharp and passions burning. Without becoming redundant, writing challenges us to open our mind to new ways of understanding and find strength in obstacles. Life is extraordinary if we work at it. The myriad of events in our lives is what makes us, a masterpiece. Writing conquers life instead of allowing one to be conquered by it.

We cannot change the world as much as we cannot, at times change our life. Writing is a way we can control what we make of the world and how we understand our role in it. The death of Ilmster, the Egyptian Elections, the jailed billionaire's of Russia, Unemployment, Winter, UEFA Euro, In-Laws, the agrarianism reforms of Venezuela, Omar Series,  Massacre at Myanmar, Midnight dinners, the facade of blue eyes  ... life is infinitely rowing upstream, to not write is to close one's eyes and ears to the invaluable discoveries and insightful conversations all around to gather, examine and use.  

Life becomes unbearable when we assume that there is nothing to learn. Receiving life as a lesson sustains hope. Emerson wrote, "In every man there is something wherein I may learn, and in that I am his pupil." This perceptive quote is a tribute and a celebration of life - life offers something to gain and take away. Even pain nurtures skill and injury teaches expertise.

 Here is a test if you want to know if your learning in life is finished: if you are life, it hasn't. Learning is the name we give to our mistakes. She who dares to learn from life, takes the first step in the direction of acquiring wisdom. 

We’re all writers, busy writing our own lives. Powerful stuff but sounds a bit cliché, doesn’t it? 

The story that we choose should invoke change in the world, heal our woes, make our lives happier, more meaningful. But if you see the decisions we make everyday, our lives seem to be about aesthetics. And even if you throw money into the equation, design equate to filling our lives with good-looking, functional widgets.

The key is to divorce our story from any association with consumption.

Lets stop and think about our lives for a moment: life in essence is decision making - good story means good decisions - whether that manifests itself as a cool product, choosing to ride a bike to work, or deciding to go back to school - we are designing our life when we make any decision about what is right for us and for our lives. And this is not a cliche.

A hungry tiger started tracking the scent of a deer. As he followed the deer, he came across the scent of a rabbit. He turned aside and started after the rabbit. Then he was distracted by the scent of a mouse and started following that. He finally came to the hole into which the mouse had vanished. He ended the day hungrier than when he had started the day. This fable illustrates how many of us spend our lives distracted with this or that, and at the end of our lives – feeling even less accomplished.

I want to start a hundred things too. A dozen things I want to attempt. But where will that lead me in life. What will I gain from it other than just the experience and the knowledge of having done it.

What if the focus of my life was a spiritual focus. What if I made everything about my life about my Resurrection.

Regarding the Past - Forgiveness Needed
Regarding the Present - Progress Needed
Regarding the Future - Prize Needed