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Friday 29 January 2016

FASTING WORKS MIRACLES On Your Brain/Body

Neuroscientist Claims:
Fasting Works Miracles
On Your Brain/Body But
Big Pharma Won’t Tell You.

(M. Javed Naseem)


‘If people fast, the food industry loses money.
What about the pharmaceutical industries?
What if people do some intermittent fasting, 
exercise periodically and are very healthy,
is the pharmaceutical industry going to
make any money on healthy people?’
-- Dr. Mark Mattson, PhD
(Dr. Mark Mattson, PhD)
Fasting is extremely beneficial for your physical and spiritual well-being. Unfortunately, the biased media has dubbed it as a Muslim religious ritual (referring to Ramadan) only thus taking away all the health benefits your body can derive from it. Fasting is good for the body and the soul. It’s not only materially beneficial, it’s also a godly act. It’s good for the entire mankind though it’s now obligatory for Muslims only. But all scriptures show that all messengers or prophets of God (like Abraham, Moses, Jesus, etc.) used to fast. And there’s a strong possibility that their followers did the same. The Quran says that fasting was as well obligatory for all other nations as it is obligatory for Muslims. Here's a quote from the Bible:


‘Fasting shifts stem cells from a dormant
state to a state of self-renewal. It triggers
stem cell based regeneration of an organ
or system.’ – Study

BUKHARI:
According to the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.), recorded by Bukhari, Abdullah bin Amr narrated:
“Allah's Apostle was informed that I had taken an oath to fast daily and to pray (every night) all the night throughout my life. So, Allah's Apostle came to me and asked whether it was true. I replied, "Let my parents be sacrificed for you! Yes, I said so."
The Prophet said, "You cannot do that. So, fast for few days and give it up for few days, pray and sleep. Fast three days a month as the reward of good deeds is multiplied ten times and that will be equal to one month of fasting."
I replied, "I can do better than that."
The Prophet said to me, "Fast one day and give up fasting for a day (fasting on alternate days) and that is the fasting of Prophet David and that is the best fasting."
I said, "I have the power to fast better (more) than that."
The Prophet said, "There is no better fasting than that." 
(Bukhari, Book 31, Hadith No. 197) 

In some narrations of Ahadith, it is said that the Prophet (s.a.w.) himself used to fast twice a week (every Monday and Thursday); while in others it is said that he used to fast three days (13th, 14th and 15th) of every month. Yet there are other narrations that he used to fast Mondays and Thursdays, plus three days (13th, 14th & 15th) every month.

I won’t say that there are contradictions in such Ahadith (although there is a possibility) but, in any case, all the above narrations prove the point that I want to emphasize – fasting. This kind of fasting is called ‘intermittent fasting’ (i.e., not continuous).


‘Fasting twice a week could significantly
lower the risk of developing both
Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.’
-- Neuroscientists

What Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) recommended 14 centuries ago, is being discovered and researched by modern world today. Modern medical science has come up with the proof that fasting, especially intermittent fasting, works miracles on your body, especially the brains. But the money-making Big Pharma is not interested in supporting and researching such a study. They would lose most of their clients. They want people to stay sick and suffer from all kinds of illnesses so that they could make money by selling drugs in the name of treatment. This is a trillion-dollar business.
When health becomes a business, the only consideration is to boost the profits. If people are healthy, doctors and Big Pharma would not make big money. Simple!

“Intermittent fasting enhances the ability
of nerve cells to repair DNA.” – Study

Fasting is the latest trend, the new craze! Many doctors and scientists are recommending intermittent fasting for its tremendous health benefits - spiritual benefits are a bonus! There are some biased and ignorant doctors too who think that 'fasting' is something 'Islamic' and they cannot recommend it. Fasting reminds them of Ramadan. So they use the term 'starving', short-term starving or intermittent starving. They don't know that 'starving' is generally forced and has a negative connotation. On the contrary, 'fasting' is voluntary and has a positive connotation. Most educated people acknowledge the health benefits of fasting, whether intermittent or long term. Here are some of them:





Fasting: Your project for 2016!
You can start your fasting campaign
with ‘intermittent fasting’ (twice a
week) and then join your Muslim
friends during Ramadan for complete
physical and spiritual overhauling.

From: CollectiveEvolution
Following are excerpts from an article by Arjun Walia, published December 11, 2015, by Collective Evolution:

Neuroscientist Shows
What Fasting Does To Your Brain &
Why Big Pharma Won’t Study It

Below is a TEDx talk given by Mark Mattson, the current Chief of the Laboratory of Neuroscience at the National Institute on Aging. He is also a professor of Neuroscience at The Johns Hopkins University, and one of the foremost researchers in the area of cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying multiple neurodegenerative disorders, like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.
I chose to include ‘Big Pharma’ in the title because that’s exactly what it is. There have been countless examples of the manipulation of published research at the hands of pharmaceutical companies in recent years.

This is why Harvard Professor of Medicine Arnold Symour Relman told the world that the medical profession has been bought by the pharmaceutical industry.

It’s why Dr. Richard Horton, Editor in Chief of The Lancet, recently stated that much of the scientific literature published today is simply untrue.

It’s why Dr. Marcia Angell, former Editor in Chief of The New England Journal of Medicine, said that the “pharmaceutical industry likes to depict itself as a research-based industry, as the source of innovative drugs. Nothing could be further from the truth.”

And it’s why John Ioannidis, an epidemiologist at the Stanford University School of Medicine, published an article titled “Why Most Published Research Findings Are False” which subsequently became the most widely accessed article in the history of the Public Library of Science (PLoS).

I also chose to mention ‘Big Pharma’ because of Dr. Mattson’s comments towards the end of the video: 
“Why is it that the normal diet is three meals a day plus snacks? It isn’t that it’s the healthiest eating pattern, now that’s my opinion but I think there is a lot of evidence to support that. There are a lot of pressures to have that eating pattern, there’s a lot of money involved. The food industry — are they going to make money from skipping breakfast like I did today? No, they’re going to lose money. If people fast, the food industry loses money. What about the pharmaceutical industries? What if people do some intermittent fasting, exercise periodically and are very healthy, is the pharmaceutical industry going to make any money on healthy people?” 

Mark and his team have published several papers that discuss how fasting twice a week could significantly lower the risk of developing both Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.
“Dietary changes have long been known to have an effect on the brain. Children who suffer from epileptic seizures have fewer of them when placed on caloric restriction or fasts. It is believed that fasting helps kick-start protective measures that help counteract the overexcited signals that epileptic brains often exhibit. (Some children with epilepsy have also benefited from a specific high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet.) Normal brains, when overfed, can experience another kind of uncontrolled excitation, impairing the brain’s function, Mattson and another researcher reported in January in the journal Nature Reviews Neuroscience.”(source)
Basically, when you take a look at caloric restriction studies, many of them show a prolonged lifespan as well as an increased ability to fight chronic disease.
“Calorie restriction (CR) extends life span and retards age-related chronic diseases in a variety of species, including rats, mice, fish, flies, worms, and yeast. The mechanism or mechanisms through which this occurs are unclear.”
The quote above is from a review of the literature that is more than 10 years old. The work presented here is now showing some of these mechanisms that were previously unclear.
Fasting does good things for the brain, and this is evident by all of the beneficial neuro-chemical changes that happen in the brain when we fast. It also improves cognitive function, increases neuro-trophic factors, increases stress resistance, and reduces inflammation.
Fasting is a challenge to your brain, and your brain responds to that challenge by adapting stress response pathways which help your brain cope with stress and risk for disease. The same changes that occur in the brain during fasting mimic the changes that occur with regular exercise. They both increase the production of protein in the brain (neuro-trophic factors), which in turn promotes the growth of neurons, the connection between neurons, and the strength of synapses.
“Challenges to your brain, whether it’s intermittent fasting [or] vigorous exercise . . . is cognitive challenges. When this happens neuro-circuits are activated, levels of neuro-trophic factors increase, that promotes the growth of neurons [and] the formation and strengthening of synapses. . . .” 
Fasting can also stimulate the production of new nerve cells from stem cells in the hippocampus. He also mentions ketones (an energy source for neurons), and how fasting stimulates the production of ketones and that it may also increase the number of mitochondria in neurons. Fasting also increases the number of mitochondria in nerve cells; this comes as a result of the neurons adapting to the stress of fasting (by producing more mitochondria).
By increasing the number of mitochondria in the neurons, the ability for nerons to form and maintain the connections between each other also increases, thereby improving learning and memory ability.
“Intermittent fasting enhances the ability of nerve cells to repair DNA.” 
He also goes into the evolutionary aspect of this theory – how our ancestors adapted and were built for going long periods of time without food.
A study published in the June 5 issue of Cell Stem Cell by researchers from the University of Southern California showed that cycles of prolonged fasting protect against immune system damage and, moreover, induce immune system regeneration. They concluded that fasting shifts stem cells from a dormant state to a state of self-renewal. It triggers stem cell based regeneration of an organ or system. (source)

Human clinical trials were conducted using patients who were receiving chemotherapy. For long periods of time, patients did not eat, which significantly lowered their white blood cell counts. In mice, fasting cycles “flipped a regenerative switch, changing the signaling pathways for hematopoietic stem cells, which are responsible for the generation of blood and immune systems.”
This means that fasting kills off old and damaged immune cells, and when the body rebounds it uses stem cells to create brand new, completely healthy cells.
“We could not predict that prolonged fasting would have such a remarkable effect in promoting stem cell-based regeneration of the heatopoietic system. . . . When you starve, the system tries to save energy, and one of the things it can do to save energy is to recycle a lot of the immune cells that are not needed, especially those that may be damaged.  What we started noticing in both our human work and animal work is that the white blood cell count goes down with prolonged fasting. Then when you re-feed, the blood cells come back. ” – Valter Longo, corresponding author (source)

A scientific review of multiple scientific studies regarding fasting was published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2007. It examined a multitude of both human and animal studies and determined that fasting is an effective way to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer. It also showed significant potential in treating diabetes. (source)


Before You Fast
Before you fast, make sure you do your research. Personally, I’ve been fasting for years, so it is something that comes easy for me.
One recommended way of doing it — which was tested by the BBC’s Michael Mosley in order to reverse his diabetes, high cholesterol, and other problems that were associated with his obesity — is what is known as the “5:2 Diet.” On the 5:2 plan, you cut your food down to one-fourth of your normal daily calories on fasting days (about 600 calories for men and about 500 for women), while consuming plenty of water and tea. On the other five days of the week, you can eat normally.

Another way to do it, as mentioned above, is to restrict your food intake between the hours of 11am and 7pm daily, while not eating during the hours outside of that time.
Bottom line, how you think about your diet is, in my opinion, one of the most, if not the most important part of staying healthy. How you think about what you are putting in your body is important, and I believe this will eventually be firmly established in the untainted, unbiased, uninfluenced medical literature of the future.

(IF means Intermittent Fasting)
Editor’s (M.Javed Naseem) Note:
I have been fasting regularly at least twice a week (Mondays and Thursdays) for about 10 years now. I walk 5-6 kilometers at least 4-5 times a week. I am 70 years and feel great. I have not seen a doctor in decades (except for some dental work and an operation of Hernia in 2012, or a normal eye-test every two years). I don’t take medication. I drink a lot of herbal, ginger, green, black and other Tea. I use dates, olive oil with a small piece of whole-wheat bread, an apple, an orange and milk in my breakfast (of course Tea too .. lol). I mostly avoid red meat and use a lot of fish and turkey meat; sometimes chicken. For more than 20 years now, I have been eating only twice a day – the breakfast and the main meal at sunset (Maghrib). I have no physical/health problems! Alhamdo-lillah! (Thank God!). Now good luck to you! God bless!

**********

Friday 22 January 2016

LIFE OF THIS WORLD IS AN ILLUSION

‘Life Of This World Is But
Comfort of Illusion’: al-Quran
Don’t Chase The Illusion!

(M. Javed Naseem)


*****************************
Give away whatever you want for
yourself! Give love, compassion,
mercy and respect so that in return
you are treated with love, compassion
mercy and respect! It’s tit for tat!

*****************************

Our life is simply a reflection of our actions. If you want more love in the world, create more love in your heart and give more love. If you want more competence in your team, improve your own competence first. If you want respect, first learn to respect others. This equation applies to everything, in all aspects of life. The Almighty says in the Holy Quran:

هَلْ جَزَآءُ ٱلإِحْسَانِ إِلاَّ ٱلإِحْسَانُ
“Is there any reward for good,
other than good?”
(al-Quran 55:60)

Life will give you back everything you give to it. Make sure you give it your best so that you may receive the best. It all comes back to you, sooner or later. Have no doubt about it in your mind!

The Bible says:
Matthew 25:46
“These people will go away into eternal punishment,
but the righteous will go into eternal life.”


Concentrate your efforts on good deeds, sharing love and compassion, helping others, etc. This would not only please other human beings but would also be more pleasing to Allah. Then you’ll enjoy the benefits or rewards of your good actions.

وَأَن لَّيْسَ لِلإِنسَانِ إِلاَّ مَا سَعَىٰ
“That man can have nothing
but what he strives for.”
(al-Quran 53:39)

وَٱلَّذِينَ جَاهَدُواْ فِينَا لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُلَنَا
وَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَمَعَ ٱلْمُحْسِنِينَ
“And those who strive in Our (cause), We
will certainly guide them to our paths; for
verily, Allah is with those who do right.”
(al-Quran 29:69)

Your life is not a coincidence. It’s a reflection of you. So, be a good role-model; be a light to others; be a God-fearing Muslim so that others can learn from you.

The Bible says:

1-Timothy 4:8
“For physical training is of some value, but
godliness has value for all things, holding promise
for both the present life and the life to come.”


Our life in this world is temporary. The world looks very beautiful and full of temptation. But Allah tells the believers that this is just a comfort of illusion. The real life is in the Hereafter. That life is for ever and that is the one we should be chasing and striving for. All the wise people, and those who are closer to God, they reject this world’s temptations. They ignore its charms because they know that it is not lasting, and it’s also a trap.

Actually, this is the real test for a man – a believer. If you fall in love with the world, you move away from God. And if you fall in love with God, you stay away from worldly pleasures. But at the same time Allah takes care of your worldly needs and bestows His bounties on you.

Prophet Jesus Christ (Isa ibn Mariam, a.s.) said that the love for the Hereafter and the love of this world cannot live together in the same heart. They are like fire and water. If you chase your worldly desires, you will become a slave to the world.


Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) said that a person whose sole purpose of life is running after the world (material gains), he has nothing to do with Allah. Allah gives the seeker of the world, four things and he is always occupied with them till death comes to him. These four things are:

1. The worry that never ends – he is always worried about his   wealth, seeking ways and means to accumulate it; and multiply it.

2. An occupation from which he will never get free. In other words, he is so busy in amassing wealth that he has no time for any good deed of charity, helping others, or even thanking God for all the bounties he is enjoying.

3. A poverty that will never make him content/satisfied (the more he has, the more he wants; money is never enough. He remains poor at heart and does not want to share his wealth even with the needy because he thinks that by giving away money, he would become poor).

4. Long list of desires and high hopes that can never be fulfilled. (Again this refers to his struggle for the worldly, material gains and never-ending ambitions.)


It is narrated that once Prophet Mohammad (s.a.w.), was talking to his companions and said:
“On the Day of Judgment, some people will bring large amount of good deeds like the mountains of Arabia but they will be thrown into Hell.”
Somebody asked whether these people used to pray (Salaat). The Prophet (s.a.w.), replied: “Yes, they used to pray; used to fast, even wake up at night for Tahajjud prayer. But they would be those who jumped at the temptation of the world (wealth, fame, status, show-off, honor, material things, etc.) and never even cared what was Halal and Haram.”

That is what the charm of the world, the temptation, the greed, the wealth and the lust can do to you. That is the recipe for Hellfire.


Give the world your good deeds, your compassion, your piety (Taqwah) and try not to take anything (more than your basic needs) from it! Stay away from greed – greed for anything! Always remember death and the grave; and fear Allah! Spend the day, as if it was your last day, glorifying God and pleasing Him with your kind actions. One day you’ll be standing in front of Him, answering questions.

وَلَـأَجْرُ ٱلآخِرَةِ خَيْرٌ لِّلَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ وَكَانُواْ يَتَّقُونَ
“But verily the reward of the Hereafter
is the best, for those who believe, and
are constant in righteousness.”
(al-Quran 12:57)


ٱلَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ وَكَانُواْ يَتَّقُونَ
لَهُمُ ٱلْبُشْرَىٰ فِى ٱلْحَياةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا وَفِى ٱلآخِرَةِ
لاَ تَبْدِيلَ لِكَلِمَاتِ ٱللَّهِ ذٰلِكَ هُوَ ٱلْفَوْزُ ٱلْعَظِيمُ
“Those who believe and (constantly)
guard against evil, for them are glad
tidings, in the life of the present and
in the Hereafter; no change can there
be in the words of Allah. This is
indeed the supreme triumph.”
(al-Quran 10:63-64)

The life of this world is nothing but a puppet show. We should enjoy its temporary glitter and pomp but must not lose sight of our real goal – the Hereafter.  We, as believers of the Hereafter; should think differently from the non-believers.  The non-believer do not, and cannot, see beyond this world and its pleasures. Allah has a stern warning for them:

مَتَاعٌ فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا ثُمَّ إِلَيْنَا مَرْجِعُهُمْ ثُمَّ نُذِيقُهُمُ
ٱلْعَذَابَ ٱلشَّدِيدَ بِمَا كَانُواْ يَكْفُرُونَ
“The world’s portion will be theirs,
then unto Us is their return. Then We
make them taste a dreadful doom
because they used to disbelieve.”
(al-Quran 10:70)

We have to make the choice here – this world or the Hereafter. If we strive for the Hereafter, we’ll be rewarded by the Almighty.  Treat your fellow humans with compassion and mercy so that, in return, Allah will have His mercy and compassion on you! Thus you’ll get the best of the both worlds.


But there is no gain without pain.  We’ll have to go through the trials, hardships and all kinds of adversaries. There is definitely no escape from it. That’s the promised test for the true believers. The Almighty says:

أَحَسِبَ ٱلنَّاسُ أَن يُتْرَكُوۤاْ أَن يَقُولُوۤاْ آمَنَّا وَهُمْ لاَ يُفْتَنُونَ
وَلَقَدْ فَتَنَّا ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ فَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ ٱللَّهُ
ٱلَّذِينَ صَدَقُواْ وَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ ٱلْكَاذِبِينَ
“Do men imagine that they will be left
(at ease) because they say ‘we believe’,
and will not be tested with affliction?
Lo, We tested those who were before them.
Thus Allah knows those who are sincere,
and knows those who feign.”
(al-Quran 29:2-3)


Your simple declaration of “yes, I believe” is not enough unless supported by actions. You’ll have to prove your faith through tests and trials. Are you ready to take the test?


*********

Friday 15 January 2016

'I HAVE A DREAM' -- Remembering Martin Luther King Jr.

Remembering Martin Luther King Jr.
(January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968)

‘I Have A Dream’: MLK

America Has Defaulted On Its
Promise of Freedom And Justice
To Minority Citizens

(M. Javed Naseem)


The civil rights guaranteed by our founding fathers through the most sacred document of American history – the American Constitution – and the subsequent historical First Amendment, are being trampled by the sons of slave-traders, the bigots, the hypocrites, the far-right extremists, and the Fascists. The only difference is that their grandfathers were engaged in the trade of Negro slaves whereas they are promoting and practicing the trade of all-color slaves. The irony is that the screams and cries of today’s slaves are buried under the noisy drumbeat (thanks to the media) of democracy, civil liberties and security.

January 15 marks the birth anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr., a Baptist minister, a social-political activist and a great humanitarian who led the Civil Rights Movement in the United States from the mid-1950s till his death by assassination in 1968.


He played a pivotal role in ending the legal segregation of Black American citizens in the South as well as other areas of the nation. His campaign contributed to the creation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Voting Rights Act of 1965, winning for him also the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.

Many books have been written about Martin Luther King Jr., who was one of the most lauded African-American leaders in history. To sum up his life full of struggle (or Jihad against evil and injustice), I can only say that he went through Hell. All his life he was in and out of prison. Eventually, he was assassinated (shot dead, just like JF Kennedy), only four years after Kennedy was shot dead; and probably by the same mafia, for the same reasons.

The entire world remembers his historic speech ‘I have A Dream’, delivered on the steps of   the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, on August 28, 1963, during the Freedom March.


‘I Have a Dream’
The Speech:

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free; one hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination; one hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity; one hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself in exile in his own land.

So we’ve come here today to dramatize a shameful condition. In a sense we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was the promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.


It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note in so far as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.” But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so we have come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make the real the promises of democracy; now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice; now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood; now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children. It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content, will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.


But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the worn threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protests to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy, which has engulfed the Negro community, must not lead us to a distrust of all white people. For many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back.


There are those who are asking the devotees of Civil Rights, “When will you be satisfied?” We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality; we can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities; we cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one; we can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating “For Whites Only”; we cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro in Mississippi cannot vote, and the Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No! no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until “justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.”


I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations.  Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi. Go back to Alabama. Go back to South Carolina. Go back to Georgia. Go back to Louisiana. Go back to the slums and ghettos of our Northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.  Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.


I HAVE A DREAM TODAY!
I have a dream that one day down in Alabama — with its vicious racists, with its Governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification — one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I HAVE A DREAM TODAY!
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low. The rough places will be plain and the crooked places will be made straight, “and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.”

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.  With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brother-hood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.  And this will be the day. This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning, “My country ’t is of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my father died, land of the pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.” And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.


So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire; let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York; let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania; let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado; let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California. But not only that. Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia; let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee; let freedom ring from every hill and mole hill of Mississippi. “From every mountainside, let freedom ring.”
And when this happens, and when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: “Free at last. Free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last.”


Source: Martin Luther King, Jr., I Have A Dream: Writings and Speeches that Changed the World, ed. James Melvin Washington (San Francisco: Harper, 1986), 102-106.

Here’s the video-clip of that historic speech:


“I have been to the mountaintop.
I have seen the promised land.”
– MLK

Here’s a short video-clip of the last speech of Martin Luther King Jr.: “I’ve been to the mountaintop. I have seen the promised land.”


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Friday 8 January 2016

FASCISTS SPREAD FEAR, HATE. Mankind is One Nation, Part 2/2

Don’t Take The Bait!
Fascists Spread Fear, Hate
And Islamophobia To
Control Your Lives!

They Want To Divide And Rule
Mankind Is One Nation
Part 2/2

(M. Javed Naseem)


No religion promotes hatred, bias, racism or sectarianism. Anybody engaged in promoting and preaching that, is an enemy of mankind. He’s the Devil’s disciple, no matter what he claims to be (a Jew, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist or anything else). Jesus Christ called such preachers ‘The Miserable Ones’ (Les Miserables).

Addressing the selfish priests and scribes – the hypocrites and the corrupt preachers – Jesus, the son of Mary, said:

“Hypocrites! You do this to fill your purse, and therefore you tithe rue and mint.”
“O miserable ones! For to others you show the most clear way, by which you will not go. You scribes and doctors lay upon the shoulders of others weights of unbearable weight, but you yourselves the while are not willing to move them with one of your fingers. Truly I say to you, that every evil has entered into the world under the pretext of the elders. Tell me, who made idolatry to enter into the world, if not the usage of the elders? For there was a king who exceedingly loved his father, whose name was Baal.”
“Whereupon, when the father was dead, his son for his own consolation, caused to be made an image like to his father, and set it up in the market-place of the city. And he made a decree that every one who approached that statue within a space of fifteen cubits should be safe, and no one any account should do him hurt. Hence the malefactors, by reason of the benefit they received therefrom, began to offer to the statue roses and flowers, and in a short time the offerings were changed into money and food, insomuch that they called it god, to honour it. Which thing from custom was transformed into a law, insomuch that the idol of Baal spread through all the world.”
(From the Gospel of Barnabas, Chapters 32 & 38)

Today, we see the same in the Muslim world. People gather at the tombs with offerings and ask for good luck. The graves are being worshipped and people beseech the dead to solve their problems. This is the real ‘Shirk’.

Last fortnight was the festive season of Christmas and Eid-Milaad. Now we are passing through the New Year festivities. I saw plenty of strange, funny, even ridiculous Fatwahs (decrees) from different schools of thoughts who all claim to be the ‘true’ Muslims.

The “Fatwah factories of Islam”, run by
ignorant (Jaahil) Mullahs, come up with
 new products every month, even every
week sometime! If you don’t buy their
product (ideology), they offer you what
you need to support your ideology and
reject what others promote. So, what do
you need? A Fatwah, a Hadith or a story
decorated with Arab names that can
sell your (pro or con) argument?

In the West, Muslims have become the victims of prejudice called ‘Islamophobia’. But what is this ‘Fatwah-mania’ in the Muslim world? Both groups are actively promoting hate and discrimination; bias and prejudice; intolerance, division and anti-freedom behavior. This is against the teachings of the prophets like Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad (may peace and blessings be upon all of them).

We need unity, not division; we need compassion and love, not hate and bias; we need to take care of each other, not condemn and kill each other!

Despite all Fatwahs, I wish you all a
very happy, peaceful and prosperous
new year – 2016! My only hope is that
love, peace and justice would spread,
the sanity prevails, the wars and the
games of bloodshed stop, ande we
finally learn how to live and let live.
May God protect you from all evils.

Mankind is one community and that community can survive only on love, compassion, sympathy, cooperation, tolerance and peaceful co-existence. We need those virtues badly now, more than ever!   


What’s going on in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen and other Muslim countries is horrible, to say the least. Is that bloodshed not enough to wake us up? Let’s be humane and talk about humanity! Let’s try to solve the problems of the suffering mankind! Let’s stop the hand of aggressor! Let’s get together and stand up united against injustice, oppression and persecution! Let’s promote justice, peace, harmony and goodwill! Let’s help each other!

The Bible Says:

1-John 3:14
“We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death.”

1-John 4:20
“If a man says, ‘I love God’, and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he that loves not his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?”

1-Peter 2:17
“Honor all (men)! Love the brotherhood! Fear God! Honor the king!”

John 13:35
“By this shall all (men) know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

Hebrews 13:1
“Let brotherly love continue!”

John 13:34
“A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.”

Philippians 2:2
Fulfill ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, (being) of one accord, of one mind.”

Ephesians 4:29
“Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.”

The Quran Says:

وَٱعْتَصِمُواْ بِحَبْلِ ٱللَّهِ جَمِيعاً وَلاَ تَفَرَّقُواْ
وَٱذْكُرُواْ نِعْمَةَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ كُنْتُمْ أَعْدَآءً
فَأَلَّفَ بَيْنَ قُلُوبِكُمْ فَأَصْبَحْتُمْ بِنِعْمَتِهِ إِخْوَاناً
وَكُنْتُمْ عَلَىٰ شَفَا حُفْرَةٍ مِّنَ ٱلنَّارِ فَأَنقَذَكُمْ مِّنْهَا
كَذٰلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمْ آيَاتِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ
“And hold fast, all together, by the rope
which Allah (stretches out for you), and
be not divided among yourselves; and
remember with gratitude Allah's favor on
you; for you were enemies and He joined
your hearts in love, so that by His Grace,
you became brethren; and you were on the
brink of the pit of Fire, and He saved you
from it. Thus does Allah make His Signs
clear to you, that you may be guided.”
(al-Quran 3:103)


وَٱلَّذِينَ جَآءُوا مِن بَعْدِهِمْ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا ٱغْفِرْ لَنَا
وَلإِخْوَانِنَا ٱلَّذِينَ سَبَقُونَا بِٱلإِيمَانِ وَلاَ تَجْعَلْ
فِى قُلُوبِنَا غِلاًّ لِّلَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ رَبَّنَآ إِنَّكَ رَءُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ
“And those who came after them say: Our
Lord! Forgive us, and our brethren who
came before us into the Faith, and leave not,
in our hearts, rancor (or sense of injury)
against those who have believed. Our Lord!
You are indeed Full of Kindness, Most Merciful."
(al-Quran 59:10)

وَٱلَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ وَهَاجَرُواْ وَجَاهَدُواْ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ
وَٱلَّذِينَ آوَواْ وَّنَصَرُوۤاْ أُولَـٰئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ
حَقّاً لَّهُمْ مَّغْفِرَةٌ وَرِزْقٌ كَرِيمٌ
“Those who believed and left their homes
and strove for the cause of Allah, and those
who took them in and helped them – these
are the believers in truth. For them is pardon,
and a bountiful provision.”
(al-Quran 8:74)

Allah is talking about those believers who became victims of aggression, suppression, tyranny, torture and persecution. Today, they are known as the suffering humanity or the ‘refugees’. Now, for one second, think about “those who took them in and helped them”!
Those are the words of Allah from the Quran! There is no mention of the Jews, Christians or others. There’s just one category – ‘those who took them in and helped them’. That’s a noble cause and the Almighty is going to reward them for this act of kindness (whether they are Germans, Swedes, Americans, Canadians, Turks, Saudis, etc.). He promised ‘pardon’ to them with a ‘bountiful provision’ as bonus. So, who wants it?

We can promote love and compassion; we can combat hate, prejudice and division; we can thwart apartheid and bias; we can unite the mankind by helping each other. The choice is ours!


Now, there is one question about the role of Muslim nations in this situation: What are they doing?
The answer is: Nothing, as usual. The Muslim countries are ruled by hypocrites (the ‘Munaafiqeen’) who neither follow the Quran nor the teachings of the Prophet (s.a.w.). Because, if they did, they won’t be entitled to the positions they hold today. They are just puppets.

We need direction and it comes through true guidance. And the true guidance comes from the Quran. We should avoid jumping to Fatwahs. Just do your best to help others and let Allah be the True Judge!

The irony is that there are people who believe in the Day of Resurrection and they know that they would be held accountable for everything they did on this earth. Still they keep walking on the wrong path ignoring all warnings. They would be the real losers.

ٱلَّذِينَ يَنقُضُونَ عَهْدَ ٱللَّهِ مِن بَعْدِ مِيثَاقِهِ
وَيَقْطَعُونَ مَآ أَمَرَ ٱللَّهُ بِهِ أَن يُوصَلَ وَيُفْسِدُونَ
فِى ٱلأرْضِ أُولَـۤئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْخَاسِرُونَ
“Those who break the covenant of
Allah after ratifying it, and sever that
which Allah ordered to be joined, and
(who) make mischief in the earth;
those are they who are the losers.”
(al-Quran 2:27)


In the battle between the ‘good’ and the ‘evil’, it is the ‘good’ that is bound to succeed as the ‘evil’ is bound to lose – that is the law of nature. Allah narrates that the dwellers of the Heaven will ask the dwellers of the Hell about their plight:

فِى جَنَّاتٍ يَتَسَآءَلُون عَنِ ٱلْمُجْرِمِينَ مَا سَلَكَكُمْ فِى سَقَرَ
قَالُواْ لَمْ نَكُ مِنَ ٱلْمُصَلِّينَ وَلَمْ نَكُ نُطْعِمُ ٱلْمِسْكِينَ
وَكُنَّا نَخُوضُ مَعَ ٱلُخَآئِضِينَ وَكُنَّا نُكَذِّبُ بِيَوْمِ ٱلدِّينِ
حَتَّىٰ أَتَانَا ٱلْيَقِينُ َ
“(They will be) in Gardens (of Delight);
they will question each other, and (ask) of
the Sinners: "What led you into Hellfire?"
They will say: "We were not of those who
prayed; nor were we of those who fed the
indigent. But we used to talk vanities with
vain talkers; and we used to deny the
Day of Judgment, until there came to
us (the Hour) that is certain."
(al-Quran 74:40-47)

So, disobedience to God (not praying, not thanking and not glorifying His name; and not following His commands); not feeding the hungry; not helping the poor/needy; and denying the Day of Judgment are the main causes of our downfall. If we don’t change the course, we are bound for Hell.

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