Can I Breathe Again?
The fact that God repeats those words - with every hardship comes ease - is a much needed emphasis for those suffering, just in case they miss it the first time.
By Tarik Trad, April 17, 2007
All day long, I had this sinking feeling in my stomach. No doubt, I've felt it before - after the Murrah Building/Oklahoma City Bombing, the first World Trade Center attack, the horrors of 9/11, the Anthrax letters, the DC Sniper - now today.
While horribly sickened and saddened by the senseless loss of fellow Americans shot and killed on campus at Virginia Tech, I couldn't help but think: What if the shooter was a Muslim?
I'm not trying to sound selfish. First and foremost, my thought are with those families and friends. Their pain and grief must be overwhelming. During difficult times, I am reminded of the verses from the Qur'an (94:5-6) that state, "With every hardship comes ease. Verily, with every hardship comes ease!" The fact that God repeats those words - with every hardship comes ease - is a much needed emphasis for those suffering, just in case they miss it the first time. It is part of His mercy and compassion. I usually share these words with friends who have lost loved ones. Today, I am sharing them with all those affected by the tragedy in Blacksburg, Virginia. They need them as much as anyone else in the world.
That said, I wonder if anyone else was thinking the same way or can relate to what I was feeling? Was the entire world waiting to hear a similar outcome? Am I paranoid or should I have a genuine concern about the fate of American Muslims should another attack on our country come from our so-called co-religionists?
When the first video was played on CNN today, the name on the screen was Jamal Albarghouti. My heart sank, only to realize later he was the one shooting the video.
When I first heard the shooter was Asian, I thought, "What kind of Asian - South Asian? Afghani? Pakistani? Indonesian?" Should I feel better now that I know he is of Korean ancestry? Should I feel better that he is not a Muslim?
Now that we know the identify of the shooter, I don't feel any better. In fact, the pain in my stomach won't go away.
Personally, I'm sick and tired from carrying a burden that isn't mine, as if the shooter were a Muslim from my local mosque. Whether some sort of paranoia or a personal defensive mechanism, it's my own self-imposed form of guilt-by-association, and I hate it. I've got enough to worry about with my wife and kids and all the other important things in life. We need to be able to live our lives and not always worry about whether or not such events are going to happen again. Because they will. That is our test, our challenge, and our struggle. How we react to these tests and challenges and struggles is how we are defined, both on earth and the Hereafter. It is part of life.
For the most part, we live in a free and open society. With all the division between left and right, between race and religion, rampant drug and gun use combined with easy access to public spaces, malls, universities and houses of worship, I'm shocked we haven't had more Columbines and Virginia Techs to deal with.
Logically, of course, this was simply a random act by a lone, heartbroken gunman not affiliated with any group. Logically, of course, I shouldn't feel good about the situation. Logically, of course, we cannot control the acts of every zealot and madman intent on death and destruction.
Unfortunately, in today's reality, there is no logic - just more tragedy. But I will make sure my kids and friends and co-workers and anyone else who will listen will know, despite all the hatred and negativity that surrounds us, there is always hope for a better world. After all, with every hardship comes ease.
<i>Tarik Trad is a Muslim community activist based in Los Angeles, CA.</i>
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Original Source: altmuslim.com
<a href="http://www.altmuslim.com/perm.php?id=1902_0_25_0_C">http://www.altmuslim.com/perm.php?id=1902_0_25_0_C</a>
Licensed under <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd-nc/1.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs-NonCommercial 1.0</a>.
Tarik Trad
2007-07-16
Brent Jesiek
Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs-NonCommercial 1.0
eng
VT Students turn to God
<p>Dr. Roger Passman</p>
<p>April 18, 2007</p>
<p>Reporting for <a href="http://tinyurl.com/35g965">Reuters</a>, Andrea Hopkins writes:</a></p>
<blockquote>By all accounts, the prayers started even before the gunshots stopped at Virginia Tech university, and the pleas to God from grief-stricken survivors of the massacre have continued ever since.</blockquote>
<blockquote>"God cares about Virginia Tech," said Megan Martin, 24, joining about a dozen fellow students in a traveling prayer vigil that rambled across the sprawling campus a day after the worst U.S. shooting spree in modern history.</blockquote>
<blockquote>Carrying placards reading: "Jesus loves you," "God knows and He cares," and "Can we pray with you?" the small knot of students worked their way through the university grounds in Blacksburg, a Bible Belt town in the mountains of southwest Virginia.</blockquote>
<p>I suppose turning to God(s) cannot do any serious harm to the individual that does the turning. The evidence, however, does not justify such a move. <i>"God cares about Virginia Tech," said Megan Martin</i>, is quoted in the article. Is this God so cruel that he (she, it) only cares after the fact? Is this God(s) so indifferent that he (she, it) only takes an interest after the dastardly deed has been accomplished? God knows and He cares, is another after the fact fantasy that may serve to salve heightened emotions but does not address the fundamental issue-was this God who cares so much simply on vacation when Cho Seung-Hui decided to engage on a shooting rampage on the VT campus? Does the evidence point to a God(s) who cares, who knows? I think not. What the evidence points to is a random series of events that occur every so often because Americans are willing to sacrifice security for the right to bear arms for any purpose whatsoever. The evidence does not point to a loving God(s) but, rather, to a heightened probability that because guns are so readily available in the United States tragic events such as the VT shootings are more likely than not to occur.</p>
<p>While turning to God(s) is a defensive move in cases of unthinkable tragedy for many people, it seems to me that it is simply a misplaced use of human energy. Telling one's self that God(s) really care, while that might have a temporary calming effect, does nothing to solve the problem that lies at the root of the VT shootings. Far more productive an approach is to focus the anger and frustration one feels in moments of unspeakable tragedy into efforts to place meaningful regulation on the ownership of weapons that have no other use than to cause permanent harm to those to whom the guns are directed. Gun nuts that demand no regulation of weapons spouting rights granted under the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution of the United States <i>(A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed,)</i> must ask: <b>to what militia did Cho Seung-Hui belong</b> when he began his rampage? Why was Cho Seung-Hui permitted to purchase and own guns? Why do we put up with this cowboy mentality? Is life really imitating the wild west shootout of the movies?</p>
<p>Rather than turning to God(s) how about turning to Congress and demanding that your lawmakers do something to prevent tragedies like this from ever happening again. If you don't then, it seems to me, that events like the VT shootings will surely occur over and over, again and again. One Italian journalist wrote that the VT shootings are as American as apple pie. It this the image America and Americans portray to the world? Is this the image we want to portray? It is time to stop the madness.</p>
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<p>Original Source: <a href="http://rpassman.wordpress.com/2007/04/18/vt-students-turn-to-god/">http://rpassman.wordpress.com/2007/04/18/vt-students-turn-to-god/</a></p>
<p>Licensed under <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States</a>.</p>
Roger Passman
2007-05-24
Brent Jesiek
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States
eng