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Things are not always as they appear, at least not on the surface.
Take
for instance the subject of the "Attack On America" on Sept.
11, 2001. What we have is a short list of facts and a long list of
allegations and suppositions.
Let
us consider some facts: Two airplanes destroyed the Twin Towers; an
airplane hit the Pentagon; another plane crashed in Pennsylvania.
Thousands died. Millions were “terrorized.”
But many more have been "victimized" ever since.
Newspapers, magazines, radio and television all seem to agree with Pres.
G. W. Bush, in that the only possible person who could do such a thing
is none other than a guy they have been trying to get rid of for a long
time.
General Mushaaraf told his countrymen that this was going to be quick
and over with in a short time. He must not have heard G.W.'s speech in
that he said this going to be a long time campaign against terrorism and
terrorists. Then and now the indications all point to a very long and
drawn out process for removing all kinds of "terror" from the
face of the earth. Things are not going along well at all.
Let's change the subject for a while. Maybe I should share a story with
you and then we can both look at things in a better light. Years ago
when I was still a small guy and even before that, we had a president by
the name of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He had a difficult presidency
because of the stock market crash of 1929 and the subsequent run on the
banks. It did not help the situation that America was also going through
a drought of many years. The breadbasket of America had turned into
beach front property without any water. Dust and dirt flew in the air
for hours and sometimes even days at a time. For many there was no food,
no shelter, no clothing, no money and no jobs. The dollar was still
worth a dollar, but there just weren't any dollars to go around. My
grandfather used to go out for a long walk if any company came to their
house for dinner (almost every night somebody came by to join in the
meal). He would walk and walk until he was sure the guests had a chance
to eat and only then would he return home. The average daily wage was
one dollar, if you could find a job. Most men were working for one or
another of the work programs established under Roosevelt. There was the
CCC and the WPA (Works Progress Administration) and others. Men would
load up on the back of trucks and work all day long building bridges;
roads; parks or whatever was needed. A meal and a dollar might be all
they got, if that. The idea was to have a job and help the country. But
there still was no money and even the government was facing hardships.
We needed something to do to make money. We needed to manufacture things
and produce goods. We needed to produce new technologies and invent new
products. The experts all agreed. We needed a war.
But there was a problem. We had just come out of the “War to End All
Wars!” Of course today we call it W.W.I (World War I). But back then
it was still thought of as the end of wars for everyone. And then there
was the idea that we had gone off to fight someone else's battles for
them. We had lost thousands of our “dough boys” and children were
orphaned and women were widowed. Parents lost their young sons in their
prime. It hurt.
There was no amount of poverty, starvation or pestilence that would
allow the American people to enter back into another war. We just could
not face another situation like what had taken place over twenty years
before. We just weren't prepared for that. There wasn't anything that
could pull us into another war on foreign soil. Nothing.
According to some sources near the White House, President Roosevelt knew
of the Japanese raid planned for December 7, 1941. The report says that
he had information about the attack on Pearl Harbor long before it
occurred. He knew he could not take the US into battle unless there was
a strong favoritism by the American people. The US had just come out of
World War I. In those days it was called "The War to End All
Wars." Too bad that it wasn't. Can you imagine the hardship he
experienced? All along he knew what was coming, up to the last minute
and then -- the kamikazes started coming in out of nowhere, one after
the other. They dropped their payloads and then they purposefully
crashed into anything they could so that they could take more
casualties. It was the most horrible attack ever against America.
And the president knew all along.
Let us ask some questions here. Why did these men want to kill
themselves? First of all, did they want to die? Maybe they had no
choice. Checkout the history on this one. You might be surprised to
learn that the Japanese used to be a "War god nation." They
lived for war. Their religion reflected war. War was considered a high
honor, and death in battle the highest of all honors. The parents of the
martyr for Japan were held in high respect and the government was
committed to care for them in dignity. Japan had natural protection from
enemies by having mountains on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the
other. They claimed that they could never be defeated. Even when loosing
the war disgraced the Japanese, it was expected that their leader should
takeout his sword and then fall on it (hara-kiri) for the sake of
Japan's honor.
Let's look a little closer now at the kamikaze pilots and how all 100%of
them carry out their missions without any defectors. One thing was the
horrible disgrace that any one of them would incur if he should turn and
runaway. But that was not the strongest reason for these young, hapless
aviators to fulfill their mission. You see, they also loaded them up on
drugs and alcohol to make them feel “high.” Next, they were only
given enough fuel to reach their targets, not enough to return. And
finally, in an effort to make sure they don't try to land somewhere
else, and to save a few bucks, the landing gear of their planes was
designed to fall away from the plane as soon as it took off and then it
could be reused on another plane.
These poor youths had been brainwashed into thinking they were doing
something good for their country and their god. What did they get?
Nothing.
Even the name of their military division “kamikaze” has become
ridiculed so much so, that in English it has come to mean one who drives
with suicidal tendencies.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor it was very easy to pass the bills
through congress and get all the things that the Democrats had wanted,
and more. Factories were pushed into service for the country and a sense
of patriotism ran through every red-blooded American from one coast to
the other. Unemployment lines were finished. Soup kitchens could now be
closed. People had jobs again. Factories were going to work. And our
youth were going off to save the free world from the “Japs.”
A little note here that frequently and conveniently slips out of the
history books, we also instituted “concentration camps” for the
Japanese Americans. We rounded them all up (and anyone with Oriental
looks could be thrown in with them) and put them away in prisons –
just in case.
Hey. This is America.
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The good news for us today is that we are Muslims. Allah will make it
all come out right for us, if we are patient and continue to work toward
pleasing Him. We must increase our worship and fulfill our obligations
to Allah on His terms. Pray as you have never prayer before. Ask Him. Be
steadfast. Be patient.
May Allah Guide us all, ameen.
Salam Alaykum wa Rahmatulah,
Yusuf |
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