The Softening of the Sting...More Harm Than Good CONCLUSION

To Conclude: The purpose of digressing from the main topic of this blog serves to show that regardless of any attempts to use Muhammad Ali's life and death as a glowing example of a more "peaceful" ,"progressive" and "moderate" version of Islam and a beacon of American values, the PR campaign does more harm than good for Muslims in America.

The reality is that Muslims, like other marginalized and fringe groups in America, must come to understand they are in the middle of a battle of ideas within American society, mainly between conservatives and liberals, to which neither side Islam has a total alliance and affinity with. Both philosophies express White supremacist thoughts and ideas with regards to other races, cultures, creeds and religions, although the approach and tactics may differ. Since the rapid growth of Muslims and the Islamic Way of Life in the 1990s, especially among the indigenous population, America has had to come to grips with the reality that Islam in America is growing and is not going away anytime soon, so attempts to stifle, diffuse, and neutralize its potential growth, influence and power have become a priority, despite the huge amount of statistical evidence to prove that the fall of the American society is a product of its own undoing.

Accomodating Muslims will always find themselves ping-ponging on both sides in a futile effort to assimilate into a society that has not fixed its internal issues, beit structural racism, government corruption, crime, drug abuse, failing educational system, or the decline of societal values and priorities which has some people valuing the life of dogs over humans. Homicides, suicides, deaths by alcohol and other drugs, along with death by diseases continue to plague the country, reaching newer heights almost annually, yet all of that is trumped by claims of a so-called global terrorist group seeking to "Islamicize" a country in which Muslims only represent 2.5 to 3 percent of the population.

SIDE NOTE: Islam sees the life of this world as a test, as stated in numerous versus in the Quran, such as the 67th Surah Al Mulk, verse 2: 

It is He(Allah) Who created death and life in order to test those who are best in deeds...

Islam does not encourage any forcing of the religion on one who does not believe on one's own volition. There is no need nor use for forced conversions, as some claim, for they do nothing for the soul in the Hereafter.

To Continue: Conservative propaganda continues to range from the overtly bigoted sites such as Answering Islam to all forms media which basically tells its readers that ALL Muslims cannot be trusted, and are potential terrorists, that Islam is to blame for the destruction of the Twin Towers, to discount dissenting opinions among American citizens regarding 9/11 as conspiracy theorists, how Prophet Muhammad(PBUH) encouraged everything from suicide bombings to domestic violence without giving actual evidence, or using gross distortion of texts, such as the article 164 Jihad Verses in the Quran, where any verse containing words such as kill, fight, die, blood, retaliate and so on are listed as a verse allegedly proving Islam's preoccupation with fighting and killing. No such evidence exists in such texts, however despite the Religious Rights' claim to The Ten Commandments in The Holy Bible, in which one of those commandments levy stern warnings against bearing false witness against thy neighbor, conservatives continue an assault filled with distortions and blatant lies to their Muslim neighbors.

Liberal propaganda against Islam is of a different substance, yet it wishes to produce the same results. Claiming that "Truth is relative", "All religions hold truths" and "All religions encourage people to do good", liberal propaganda seeks to destroy the notion of an Absolute Deity and an Absolute Truth, as long is the notion is pertaining to their conservative counterparts. Allegations of possessing phobias such as the recent Orlando, Florida shooting, which has new twists and turns to the story appear daily, claims of misogyny and inequality among the sexes permeate throughout. Adding to this is the support and propagation of Sufism, a self-proclaimed, mystical version of Islam that claims to look beyond mere Sacred Text, and finding the personal connection with the Divine. This sect is supported by such people as Oprah Winfrey, who along with the rest of the liberal contingency, like it's conservative counterpart, wishes to rid Islam of its essence, which is encased in Shariah, or Islamic Law.

Neither of these approaches have sufficiently given any definition of what Radical Islam means, but instead flood the media with pictures, videos, soundbytes, and distorted writings about what it claims to believe, but as of yet has not given a definition of Radical Islam itself. If one doesn't believe the bloggers' claims, then Google it for yourself. You will not find a clear cut definition, but instead a description which at best is merely subjective, and in the eyes of the beholder.

But in closing all of this would be for naught if the Muslims did not believe in the propaganda pushed on both sides, and not use the subversive terminology which floods these airwaves, intended to cause division, dissension, and dissolution of the True Islamic Way of Life. Some Muslims have taken it among themselves to align themselves with groups and organizations that are contrary to the Islamic ideas in an attempt to placate and diffuse an already ignorant and/or bigoted society, ready to attack and scream extremists and radical at the first instance of an alleged ISIS attack, even if no evidence is found to support such an event.

It is of the utmost importance that Muslims establish credible venues and outlets that give a clear definition of Islam, using evidence from the two main sources in Islam, the Quran and the Sunnah of Its Last Prophet Muhammad(PBUH) to dispel all rumors and accusations, and to set forth a premise so non-Muslims can see for themselves, instead of holding circus acts, such as Muhammad Ali's funeral, which should have been a few days after his death, and holding memorial services with eulogies by politicians and so called interfaith groups claiming tolerance and diversity. Islam is in no need of such PR campaigns to prove that it is not intolerant of other beliefs and ways.

Muslims who use words such as fanatical, radical, extreme and the like to distinguish and distance themselves from what the media says will not stop others from attacking Islam, nor will fatwas (Islamic rulings regarding a particular issue) from accommodating scholars. If someone does not like you, there is nothing you can do to change that. Only the wresting of this terrorist and radical narrative from the liars and media magicians, along with giving a complete and true analysis of Islam can one give a true perspective as to whether or not a group is treading the True Path or has deviated, or has become a misguided and disbelieving group, and in some cases a hypocritical group (Munaafiq, a term for one who feigns Islam but wishes to destroy it), and the person will have a true account in place.

In other words as the Nigerian proverb goes, "Don't let the lion tell the giraffes' story." 

Click here to go to Part One:

http://realquwwa.blogspot.com/2016/06/more-harm-than-good-making-muhammad-ali.html

To Read Part Two, Click on the link;

http://realquwwa.blogspot.com/2016/06/more-harm-than-good-making-muhammad-ali_15.html

To Read Part Three, Click on the link:

http://realquwwa.blogspot.com/2016/06/the-big-switcheroomore-harm-than-good.html

The Big Switcheroo...MORE HARM THAN GOOD CONTINUED.

To continue: Labeling someone a deviant indicates there was an established system already in place, yet for whatever reasons, beit ignorance or willful deception, some people wish to tread a different path. Islam strongly denounces such actions, as well as sectarian groups who attempt to create their own niche. The methodology of implementing the Islamic Way of Life came only through the Prophets of God, ending with Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Only he and God(Allah) alone can sanction any action with the intention of servitude, or in arabic ibaadah.

But in efforts to distort and manipulate, appropriate terms such as deviant, inventor (mubtadi), liar (kadhab), transgressor or sinner (faasiq), wrongdoer (dhaalim), and astray (dhaaleen) are replaced with extremists, terrorists and such to intentionally mislead, and from there comes as the late psychoanalyst Edward L. Bernays coined as "The Engineering of Consent". The creations of "anti-Shariah" laws in certain states, which have now been renamed as "anti-foreign" laws to disguise bigotry towards Islam, as well as the Patriot Act, which allowed spying on American citizens all come from this social engineering and social control.

To further illustrate the point, looking at the profiles of the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, and the current so-called khalifah of the group ISIS, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi (which is not his real name mind you), Wikipedia classifies both individuals as "Sunni Muslims" (another descriptive term that does not exist). This implies that all of their actions have their basis in core Islamic principles. That means when one hears reports of suicide bombings, or internet beheadings, kidnappings, all which are designed to antagonize the so-called "free world" and challenge the "free world" to come and fight, it has it's roots in  "Sunni" Islam, although there is absolutely no evidence to suggest such actions are permissible or even make sense, especially in the constant proclaimation of committing such horrendous acts by certain so-called groups.

Wikipedia also has a site entitled WikiIslam, a page dedicated to discussing Islamic topics only. On this site I found a horrendous article intent on discussing a statement made by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) regarding men who are killed for the religion receiving 72 virgins in Paradise as a reward. Using an array of information, mostly not attributed to the Quran and/or the Prophet(S) himself, as well as unauthenticated statements reportedly made by him,  this article goes to great lengths to 1) describe the Islamic concept of Paradise as a pleasure palace, complete with orgy-esque and free-flowing sex amongst the men and 2) Show justification of the modern-day concept of suicide bombings, or some refer to it as "martyrdom operations".

For the sake of digressing even further, I plan to address that particular article in the very near future, but what I can state now with surety and clarity that there is no evidence that Islam sanctions such actions, and how can such actions be attributed to "Sunni Islam" when there is no such concept mentioned by the Prophet of killing oneself in order to kill others, nor was such actions even possible during his time? History tells us that explosives and gunpowder were invented two centuries after his death! So if "Sunni Islam" is to follow the Way of Prophet Muhammad(PBUH), how can he give such directives without knowing what is an explosive?

 It represents an excellent case in point with regards to the quote "A lie can travel halfway across the globe, while the truth is putting on its shoes." Truth sometimes require extensive research, and those who show so much animosity towards others so much so that they are willing to lie about another's lifestyle or culture can realize the tedious task of finding out the truth in a matter by looking up several sources, and going to the official text to ascertain the truth.

So why the long drawn out digression from the initial topic of Muhammad Ali? 

     (To Be Continued)

Click here to go to Part One:

http://realquwwa.blogspot.com/2016/06/more-harm-than-good-making-muhammad-ali.html

To Read Part Two, Click on the link;

http://realquwwa.blogspot.com/2016/06/more-harm-than-good-making-muhammad-ali_15.html