Jesus (Peace be upon him)

The Return of the Peace Maker

By Syed B. Soharwardy

Introduction

It has been God’s (Allah’s) tradition that He helps those who are oppressed, condemned, victimized and hated by the fellow human beings. It is also God’s law that He does not change His tradition. A study of the divine books such as the Torah, Gospel and the Qur’an, reveals that conflict between good and evil represents an important part of human history. Often evil had mighty powers, armies and resources, while the good was helpless and oppressed. Ups and downs are a part of life but it is not possible according to divine law that good remain down for a very long. Ultimately the good rises and removes evil from the society. Let’s see what the Bible says about God’s tradition:

” Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the LORD had compassion on them as they groaned under those who oppressed and afflicted them.” (Judges 2, 18)

“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the power of Egypt and all the kingdoms that oppressed you.” (1 Samuel 10:18)

“The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.”(Psalm 9:9)

“Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.”(Psalm 82:3)

“The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.” (Psalm 103:6)

“Their enemies oppressed them and subjected them to their power”. (Psalm 106:42)

“He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free” (Psalm 146:7)

“Who struck down great kings, His love endures forever”. (Psalm 136:17)

In the Holy Qur’an Allah (God) says,

” And We desired to show favour unto those who were oppressed in the earth, and to make them examples and to make them the inheritors, (Al-Qasas, 28:15)

“When thou didst say unto the believers: Is it not sufficient for you that your Lord should support you with three thousand angels sent down (to your help) (Al-Imran, 3:124)

“And Moses said unto his people: Seek help in Allah and endure. Lo! the earth is Allah’s. He giveth it for an inheritance to whom He will. And lo! the sequel is for those who keep their duty (unto Him). (AL A’RAAF (7:128)

” Those who have been driven from their homes unjustly only because they said: Our Lord is Allah – For had it not been for Allah’s repelling some men by means of others, cloisters and churches and oratories and mosques, wherein the name of Allah is oft mentioned, would assuredly have been pulled down. Verily Allah helpeth one who helpeth Him. Lo! Allah is Strong, Almighty” (Al-Hajj 22:40)

These verses from Bible and Qur’an very clearly describe that the help from God (Allah) came to those who were either small in numbers or they were victimized by the strong and powerful governments or nations.

God is always on the side of the poor, helpless and oppressed. God never helps the hate mongers, oppressors and corrupt rulers. It is possible that the hate mongers, oppressors and rulers, drunk in their mighty military powers may succeed in their evil mission temporarily but they cannot sustain their victory for a longer period. Pharaohs of Egypt succeeded in making Israelites as their slaves for several years but God helped the Israelites and freed them from the captivity of Pharaoh. The Pharaoh and his army was drowned and destroyed by Almighty God. King Namrood succeeded in oppressing Prophet Abraham (Peace be upon him) and his followers but final victory came to Prophet Abraham (Ibraheem) and King Namrood’s kingdom was destroyed.

Similarly, when Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) tried to establish justice and peace in Makkah the tribal chiefs of Arabia hated him and so they threw him and his followers out of their houses. On several occasions, the tribal leaders tried to kill him and they contradicted his message but the helpless and oppressed Muslims got help from God. The final victory came to the Muslims.

In recent history, we can see a similar pattern of incidents. Hitler and his Nazi army with all their might succeeded in capturing their neighboring countries. In Europe, they made the lives of Jews and other minorities miserable. Hitler and his army killed six million Jews and sent millions of human beings to concentration camps but Hitler and his army was not able to continue this holocaust and genocide for a long period of time. Finally, Hitler and his Nazi army were destroyed and the oppressed human beings were freed.

President Ferdinand E. Marcos of Philippines always thought that he could not be removed from power and he could do whatever he wanted. But at a time when he needed his friends and family members most, nobody came to help him. He died in exile with disgrace.

For several decades, the Shah of Iran succeeded in oppressing his people but finally his downfall came. He died in exile with disgrace. His mighty army was destroyed. The Shah of Iran would never have imagined that he would not be able to get even a few yards of earth for his burial, in his own homeland.

The communist rulers of Soviet Union succeeded in spreading their hatemongering policies for several decades. They controlled the people and their thoughts for many years but they too, had to depart in disgrace.

Khmer Rouge government (Pol Pot) succeeded in killing more than 2 million Cambodians but he was not able to wipe out the entire nation of Cambodia. He could not sustain the killing of innocent people without end. At last, his army was destroyed and the “mighty” Pol Pot died in isolation as a hopeless and helpless person. No one mourned his death and no one missed him.

There are several other examples from our own recent history that injustice cannot prevail and cannot be sustained. The apartheid governments of South Africa, the racial discrimination against women, against aboriginal and black people in the USA and Canada, the oppression by the Taliban government in Afghanistan, the cruel rulers of Rwanda and other African nations, the cruelty of President Pinochet of Chile, the division of German people, the Cruel government of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, etc. are few of the several examples of injustice. But with time all forms of injustice ends. The forces of peace and justice finally defeat the individuals, governments or group of people who are the sources of such injustice.

Interestingly, none of the above mentioned rulers and governments ever realized that they were doing wrong. Even if they did, they simply justified their actions till they appeared “right” to them. It was simple for them for they never viewed ordinary human beings from the eyes of an ordinary human being. They always saw average human beings from their own ‘mighty” eyes. Their knowledge and understanding of fellow human beings was based upon their own personal judgments and bias. Justice was never important as a value to these rulers. For them, the important thing was to protect their own power/control and the interests of their own people. However, they did not realize that this approach was deadly in the long run and would bring an end to their own rule. They read history but never learnt from it. They repeated the same mistakes that their predecessors had made.

These rulers might have believed in “the ultimate superpower” (i.e. God) but when the time came to put this belief into practice these rulers and governments, “themselves” became “Ultimate Superpower” instead of God. These rulers started deceiving themselves and their nations by claiming that their will was the will of God. Hence, they acted like God. Some of the present rulers are also following the same style of government. They too will have to face the similar consequences.

These “mighty” rulers always find some “very influential” religious leaders who can help them in behaving like God. These religious leaders not only change the divine commandments in order to please rulers but they also become part of oppression and injustice. This has been the tradition of all ruthless, cruel and hatemonger rulers. But the tradition of God is that He either gives some time to these rulers and governments so that they can realize their mistakes and become good OR let them carry out their cruel plans and become liable for destroying God’s creation. At last, God destroys those rulers and their governments and brings peace and freedom to the sufferers.

Now the question arises, who are the poor, oppressed and helpless people of our time? No one will say USA or Canada or Europe or Australia or Russia, etc…. Even the people and the governments of these rich countries will say, “Muslims” are the poor, helpless and oppressed people of our time.

After the tragedy of 9/11, Muslims (as a nation not individuals) have “completely” fallen in to the category of the oppressed and hated people. The rich and the powerful are using 9/11 as an excuse to carry out their agenda of oppression, hate and violence against Muslims. This hate and violence against Muslims did not develop after 9/11, it has always been in the hearts of such powerful rulers. The tragedy of 9/11 provided them with a perfect opportunity to spread hate and violence against Muslims. The rulers and their religious helpers are trying to use God in order to occupy Muslim lands and control Muslims.

Two things happened after 9/11 one, the search for Islam increased in the lives of some individuals, however, on the other side the hatemongers started expressing their hidden hate for Islam in open. In the past these hatemongers hated the people of colour and aboriginal people. They killed thousands of natives in North America. Then their focus of hate shifted towards blacks and they abused them with their unjust acts. For long periods of time, they did not consider women as persons. Now, their focus of hate is Islam and Muslims.

The hate for Islam is not new. Initially, the Byzantinian rulers, the Egyptian rulers, the Persian rulers and many superpowers hated Islam. But Almighty God helped the poor and helpless Muslims of Arabia. Later, the hate for Islam was revived by the Crusaders, who killed thousands of Muslims. During the 10^th century, the genocide of Muslims was so large that only in and around the Al-Omar Mosque in Jerusalem, seventy thousand dead bodies of Muslim civilians were found. During the 17th century the hate for Islam and Muslims came to the surface again. Millions of Muslims were killed and the Europeans colonized their countries. From Indonesia toMorocco almost all Muslims countries were occupied by colonial powers.

After 9/11, the hate mongers are reviving hate for Muslims and Islam. The lives and properties of Muslims in America and other western countries are under a microscope. Hate, discrimination, racism and violence against Muslims is on the rise. Hate mongers are not only openly expressing their hate for Muslims in the media but they are also, now attacking Islam, the Qur’an and Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). Since 9/11 most of the North American media has been presenting one-sided biased and hateful propaganda against Muslims and Islam.

In 2002 during an interview with CBS on the “60 Minutes program” Jerry Falwell badmouthed the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) . He has expressed his fanatic views on Islam on many other occasions. Pat Robertson, another Christian fundamentalist, has said similar things about Islam and Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) many times. Franklin Graham and many other Christian leaders have badmouthed Islam, Qur’an and Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) several times. After the July 7, 2005 bombing in London the European and Australian media has not only attacked Islam but also created hate against Muslims. Recently, the Danish newspaper Jyllands Posten published insulting cartoons of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in order to intimidate and insult Muslims. Similar hatemongering techniques and propaganda is being used by many other western media organizations.

After the tragedy of 9/11, the best profession in the world is to become a media expert on Islam. The western media organizations hire consultants and experts who are skilled at belittling Islam. To be considered as an expert on Islam, one does not have to have ever studied the religion in a professional manner, instead one must know how to discredit Islam while appearing to be quite professional. These self-acclaimed consultants and experts have no knowledge of Mulsims or their religion, except for the hate and grudge they hold in their hearts for Muslims. If someone has had a bad experience in his or her life while living with a Muslim or observing a Muslim doing bad things, such a person would be ideal recruit for the media and would be given full opportunity to say whatever negative he/she wants to say about Islam and Muslims. While the bad experiences and observations of Christians, Jews and other religious groups get less coverage or no coverage at all. It seems that the media is not interested in covering the wrong or base of other religions and groups.

The main mission of the extremist right wing Christian leaders and organizations in the US is to use the government of United States and its resources in order to control and occupy the land and the people of Muslim countries. These extremists want to kick-out Muslims from America and the western world, OR at least keep them as second grade citizens. They cannot make blacks and women as their slaves anymore but their habit of controlling others has not gone yet. These colonialists and imperialists want to control Muslims now. It satisfies their phobia of superiority. These hatemongers want to convert a small conflict among some extremists into a broader conflict between Islam and Christianity.

Unfortunately, in the previous US elections these extremists succeeded in putting one of their own in the White House. American Muslims must share the blame for putting President George W. Bush in the White House during his first term elections. Had the American Muslims supported Al-Gore in the first elections, George W. Bush would never have had a chance to be the President of the United States. American Muslims must now surely have learnt their lesson that they should not support a right wing Christian fundamentalist. At the time of the election, American Muslims just saw one benefit in bringing George W. Bush to the presidency of theUnited States that they could receive funds for their Islamic schools. But they did not realize that the same president would also support all those institutions, which want to remove Islam from America.

Many Christian leaders including President Bush and American politicians have claimed on several occasions that the American Society is based upon Judaic-Christian values. This is just a claim, not a reality anymore. The Jerry Springer Show, Maury Show, Jenny Jones show, networks like playboy and other adult pornographic channels, movies, print media, homosexuality, common law relationships, legalized abortions and many other activities reflect the social and moral bankruptcy of American society. Enron and WorldCom are American companies. The Multi-billion dollar frauds are capitalist ways of depriving millions of people from their own life-savings. The large-scale corporate greed was born in America and is now being exported to other countries.

The Christian fundamentalists like Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Franklin Graham and several other right wing American politicians remember and speak about Judaic-Christian values when they feel threatened by the popularity of Islam in America. They want to misinform American people saying that the Islamic values are different from Judaic-Christian values. The social and moral values of Islam are similar to those of Judaic-Christian values. Can these fundamentalists define what are Judaic-Christian values?

Is walking naked on beaches and locker rooms a Judaic-Christian value?
Is wearing a bikini and showing-off your body a Judaic-Christian value?
Is homosexuality a Judaic-Christian value?
Is sexual relationship without marriage a Judaic-Christian value?
What we see on the Jerry Springer Show, are those Judaic-Christian values?
Is killing unborn babies a Judaic-Christian value?
Having multiple relationships with several women/men and producing children out of wedlock a Judaic-Christian value?
Is killing millions of human beings (World War II, Nagasaki, Hiroshima, Vietnam, etc…) a Judaic-Christian value?

I am sure these fundamentalist Christians will say no, and they will be absolutely right. These are not Judaic-Christian values. For their information these do not represent Islamic values either.

Then, what are Judaic-Christian values? I am not a Christian or an adherent of the Jewish faith. I am a Muslim but I have several Christian and Jewish friends. I can comfortably say that the Judaic-Christian values are the values described in Torah and the Gospel. Marriage, modest dress, peace, love, respect, patience, tolerance, care, helping poor, respect for life, scarifies, thanksgiving, and worshipping the Creator are Judaic-Christian values. For the information of Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Franklin Graham, President George W. Bush and American politicians these are also Islamic values.

If Jerry Falwell – Pat Robertson and company think that belief in Jesus Christ as a Son of God or God or Savior makes a person better and more peaceful then they should answer the following questions.

Did Jesus Christ ask his followers to drop nuclear bombs on innocent civilians? Try to remember Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Did Jesus Christ ask to drop chemical and biological bombs on innocent civilians? Try to remember Vietnam.
Do you find anywhere in the Bible the permission to kill innocent civilians and send them in captivity? Try to remember Hitler’s Nazis and more than 6 million Jews in World War II.
Did any of the disciples of Jesus Christ or Jesus Christ himself ask to stop food and medicine for women and children and let them die slowly while they were also suffering from the hands of a dictator regime? Try to remember Iraqi children and women.
Did Jesus Christ or Bible ask Christians to hate their enemies?

On the contrary I found the following verse in Bible,

“You have heard that it was said, ‘you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy” .

” But I say to you: Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (Matthew 5:43-44)

What kind of Christians are Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and George Bush? They claim that they love Jesus Christ. They depend upon Jesus Christ to save them from Hell. But they do not want to follow him. They do not want to listen to him.

Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson or President Bush can not define the Judaic-Christian values. Who could define Judaic-Christian values better than Jesus Christ himself. Jesus said,

“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you” (Luke 6:27).

Christianity does not permit hatred and war but in the past most of the deadly wars were raged by Christians. Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson are not following Jesus Christ. They are, for sure, following the Crusaders not Christ.

Had the conflict among terrorists and extremists remained limited and confined within limited territories, many human beings would have not been affected. But these terrorists and extremists want to involve innocent human beings in their conflicts, which is nothing but destruction. The world politicians are not serious in saving human lives. United Nations and many neutral governments are becoming mere spectators. It is clear that peace is not on the priority list for politicians and rulers.

Occupation of Muslim Countries

Fourteen centuries ago Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) told several prophecies about the future of this world. He described two types of prophecies. The first types of prophecies were about moral, social, economical and spiritual declining of human race. The second types of prophecies were about political situation of the world. As far the prophecies about the moral, social, economical and spiritual declining are concerned, most of them have already been fulfilled. Some of the political prophecies have been fulfilled as well. But after 9/11 the way the political map of this world is changing quickly, it looks that the prophecies of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) about the political situation of the world will be fulfilled soon.

The American government claimed that they will bring freedom to the people of Iraq by removing Saddam Hussein. They succeeded in removing Saddam but the American armies have now occupied the country themselves. They are ruling Iraq with an iron fist, just like a dictator. Instead of bringing freedom to the Iraqi people, the American armies have converted Iraq into a big prison. The American forces and the insurgents have been destroying the Iraqi people and the infrastructure. Abu Ghuraib prison has been the head quarter for humiliating and destroying the dignity of Iraqi people. Americans did not bring freedom for the people of Iraq. Instead, they made a bad situation worse. The war in Iraq has killed more than fifty thousand innocent civilians. This war has destroyed the entire nation. The American army and the insurgents both have hijacked the country and they are robbing it. No one in the world seems to be able to save the children and women of Iraq. The entire world seems to be helpless in front of the American occupation of Iraq. The war in Iraq has created a far bigger genocide of the people than slaughter by Saddam Hussein.

Similarly, Afghanistan has been destroyed too. The American army has dropped semi nuclear bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan. The radiations and the chemicals from these bombs have destroyed the environmental conditions of these countries. American government through war against terrorism has created more terrorists around the world than the number of terrorists existed on the September 11, 2001. People are becoming extremist, terrorists and suicide bombers in reaction to American aggression and cruelty. They are mass producing suicide bombers and terrorists in reaction to American industrialized weapons and terrorism. How can this “counter-retaliation” be stopped?

Although Jerry Falwell and other similar extremists have discredited our beloved Prophet and final Messenger of God, Muhammad (Peace be upon him), we Muslims cannot speak unfavorably about Jesus Christ or Prophet Moses (Peace be upon them) because Jesus and Moses are part of our faith. We respect and honour Jesus Christ and other Biblical Prophets as much as we love and respect our own Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him).

I urge Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Franklin Graham and other Christians to attend the Islam 101 course and correct their understanding about Islam OR give me an opportunity to have a dialogue with them

Beloved Jesus Christ (Peace be upon him) – The Peace Maker

Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said in a Hadith (saying), that when Jesus Christ, Son of Mary will return to this earth, he will establish peace and justice.

Hadrat Abu Huraira (May Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Prophet (peace be upon him) of Allah said: “I swear by Him Who hath power over my life, the son of Mary shall descend among ye as a Just ruler…………………………(Bukhari)

Hadrat Abu Huraira (May Allah be pleased with him) reports the Apsotle of Allah (peace be upon him) having said: “Christ, son of Mary, will then kill the swine and remove the Cross. A congregation for prayer will be held for him. He will distribute such an enormous quantity of goods that none will be left in need of anything. He will abolish taxes. He will encamp at Rauha (a place situated at a distance of 35 miles from Medina) and from there, set out to perform pilgrimage of Makkah (Musnad Ahmad, Muslim Sahrif)

A Plea to Jesus Christ (Peace be upon him)

“My beloved Jesus Christ you never hated anyone. You protected life on earth. But there have been many people who did bring destruction to human life in your name. Throughout history, the fanatics like crusaders have claimed that they were following you. They claimed that they loved you. Many of your self-claimed followers and lovers have killed millions of human beings in South America, Europe, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Kuwait, Iraq,Bosnia, Chechnya, Rwanda, Afghanistan, etc… Now the crusaders are reviving themselves. In your name, they have been committing genocides in Iraq and Afghanistan. Crusaders like George Bush, Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson have built their empires in your name. They are misusing and influencing the resources of the United States to rage war and kill millions of innocent people.

My beloved Jesus Christ (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon you), you gave human beings pure love. You loved your worst enemies. These Christian fanatics are about to bring a bigger chaos and destruction in this world. You know my beloved Jesus that the Muslims of Iraq have suffered from the brutal hands of Saddam Hussein. The mighty and powerful USA kept him in power for many years. The US army could have removed him during the Gulf War but they purposely kept him in power because they wanted to use him as an excuse to build their bases in Persian Gulf. After establishing bases in all regional Arab countries they now have occupiedIraq and Afghanistan. After occupying Afghanistan and Iraq these crusaders want to capture Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iran, parts of Saudi Arabia and other small local Arab States. Some of Turkey is already under their control but they want to have complete control in Turkey as well.

Beloved Jesus Christ (May Allah’s peace and blessings be upon you), you were the helper of poor and helpless. We Muslims are poor and helpless. We love you and honour you. You are part of our faith (i.e. Islam). Our Holy Book, the Qur’an, honours you and your mother, Mary (Marriam). We, Muslims do not believe that you were God or Son of God but we believe that you were one of the best and miraculous creations of God. We, Muslims believe that you are alive. Allah has ascended you towards the Heavens. Our beloved Prophet and last Messenger of God (Allah), Muhammad (Peace be upon him) has given us the details of your coming back. He told us that you would be returning to earth soon.

Both Christians and Muslims believe that you will be returning to earth soon and you will be establishing peace on Earth. Please return to the planet Earth as soon as possible. We desperately need peace. Otherwise these crusaders and the terrorists will succeed in creating the largest holocaust of human history.

Moreover, Muslims are also deviating from your path, the path of Islam. Muslims have become lazy and passive. Our rulers are dictators and corrupt. In many Muslims countries Muslims are killing Muslims. We have also lost respect for human dignity. Muslims too, need to be corrected. Some of the Muslims are getting desperate and they are taking extreme paths. Your return to this earth will bring back the dignity and honour of Muslims. I am sure, upon your return these fanatic Christians, Jews and Muslims such as Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, George W. Bush, Aerial Sheron and Saddam Hussein, etc..will deny you. They will fight against you because they kill and hate human beings but you love and protect human beings.

Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya, Kashmir and many other places are waiting for you. You will be the one who will put an end to the miseries of distressed, homeless people of Palestinian, Iraqi and Afghani, Chechan, Kashmiri and other people. Please return quickly, as we wait with patience, in great desperation and find our sources of strength weakening.

Beloved Jesus Christ, your return will also help in removing the misunderstandings between Christians and Muslims. They will find out whether you are son of God or a wonderful Prophet of God. About you and your mother, our holy book, Qur’an says;

“O Mary! keep to obedience to your Lord and humble yourself, and bow down with those who bow.”
“This is of the announcements relating to the unseen which We reveal to you; and you were not with them when they cast their pens (to decide) which of them should have Mary in his charge, and you were not with them when they contended one with another.”
“When the angels said: O Mary, surely Allah gives you good news with a Word from Him (of one) whose name is the ‘. Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, worthy of regard in this world and the hereafter and of those who are made near (to Allah).”
“And he shall speak to the people when in the cradle and when of old age, and (he shall be) one of the good ones.”
“She said: My Lord! when shall there be a son (born) to I me, and man has not touched me? He said: Even so, Allah creates what He pleases; when He has decreed a matter, He only says to it, Be, and it is.”
“And He will teach him the Book and the wisdom and the Taurat and the Injeel.”
“And (make him) an apostle to the children of Israel: That I have come to you with a sign from your Lord, that I determine for you out of dust like the form of a bird, then I breathe into it and it becomes a bird with Allah’s permission and I heal the blind and the leprous, and bring the dead to life with Allah’s permission and I inform you of what you should eat and what you should store in your houses; most surely there is a sign in this for you, if you are believers.”
“ And a verifier of that which is before me of the Taurat and that I may allow you part of that which has been forbidden to you, and I have come to you with a sign from your Lord therefore be careful of (your duty to) Allah and obey me.”
“Surely Allah is my Lord and your Lord, therefore serve Him; this is the right path.”
“But when Jesus perceived unbelief on their part, he said Who will be my helpers in Allah’s way? The disciples said: We are helpers (in the way) of Allah: We believe in Allah and bear witness that we are submitting ones.”
“Our Lord! We believe in what Thou hast revealed and we follow the apostle, so write us down with those who bear witness.”
“And they planned and Allah (also) planned, and Allah is the best of planners.”
“And when Allah said: O Jesus, I am going to terminate the period of your stay (on earth) and cause you to ascend unto Me and purify you of those who disbelieve and make those who follow you above those who disbelieve to the day of resurrection; then to Me shall be your return, so l will decide between you concerning that in which you differed.”