Asalaam Aleikum My Muslim Brothers and Sisters,
I am writing you today with both a blessing and a request. The blessing is that the month of Ramadan should bring you opportunities for meaningful reflection, deeper spiritual connection, and greater peace. And in the spirit of the month, I ask you to consider this morning's New York Time's coverage of the new Hezbollah museum in Nabatiye, Lebanon. I ask you to speak out against this museum which is actually a shrine to death. I ask you as members of the American Muslim community, particularly if you are Shia believers who share the tradition of those in Hezbollah, and as followers of a faith committed to the dignity of all human beings.
We can disagree about many things related to Lebanon, Israel and Palestine. We can disagree about imagined histories, desired futures, and sources of the ongoing conflicts in the region. But there should be no disagreement about the danger of celebrating death and destruction, even if we do not agree about the rightness of the cause. I fully realize that martyrdom is a sacred concept in Islam. The truth is that the idea is not foreign to Judaism either, or as we all know, to Christianity as well.
But an institution that dresses bloody skeletons in the tattered uniforms of the army it opposes and displays them for children can not be reflective of that which you believe. And if it is not, you must speak out against it. Not because you must oppose Hezbollah though -- that is one of the things about which we can and will disagree - but because such displays cross the line from respect for martyrs to a cult of death which will destroy us all.
Please consider a comment made by a father who brought his son to this museum:
"I came here to teach my kids the culture of resistance," said a visitor who gave his name only as Ahmed, as he stood with his wife and two children. "I want them to see what the enemy is doing to us, and what we can do to fight them, because this enemy is not merciful."
Is that what you want your children to know? Is it more important to see how any of us can punish our enemies, or to better understand the struggle in which we are engaged? While I would not agree with the narrative in Nabatiye that might replace the current exhibit, I ask you to call upon all who hear your voices, to at least offer the next generation a story that is about something more than hate and rage and death.
Does this father not understand that a so-called "culture of resistance" is not a goal, but a necessity to achieving what he wants? If it is the goal, then the fight must continue forever, for without it both he and his children would lose their identities. And where in this exhibit is the mercy which Ahmed demands from his enemies? How can any of us ask of others what we ourselves will not do? Is that not why so many great Muslim teachers have insisted that the "real Jihad" is the internal one, the one we are called to have with ourselves, even more than with others?
As you spend your days in fasting and in prayer, I hope that you will consider my plea and speak out against this museum and for those values which I believe you hold most dearly.
Add to Del.icio.us
Add to Technorati
Add to Digg
Add to Newsvine
Add to Facebook
Add to StumbleUpon
Subscribe
Author, radio and TV talk show host, and President of CLAL-The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, Brad Hirschfield is the author of 
Dear Chana,
Thank you so much for such a clear and realistic comparison of such differnet things. It is very clear and obvious those who see no wrong with this abomination to mankind have never had to sift through the rubble of an terrorist attack and try to save the lives of those innocent survivors. Not families of terrorist who they try to paint as victims!
Besides they draem and speak of matters that oppose heaven or any conception of heaven in any way. Besides why would someone want to be a suicde bomber and have 70 virgins in the next world when he can't even get along with one in this world? I know for a fact the woman of the least fortune in this world is one born to a religious Islamic family, where they even circumcise them so they will receive no pleasure, and many of them even die from this brutal act. You really have to dead in all your senses to even begin to represent things the some people have here.
You are right it is making yourself a god... the highest form of idol worship... even beyond they deny any providence of G-d by not defending themselves but making the act of revenge as they call it the very goal of their life. What would people say of a person who is killed because he entered a house to murder someone and the family came to extract revenge because he was killed in the process? Is this any different? In truth no, it is not! They are murderers and the sons of murderers! TERRORIST!
Yoshiyyahu,
Again, you have completely misunderstood my post. The Orientalist, Bernard Lewis,has pointed out that Islam never experienced the Western Enlightenment. The zeitgeist of the Islamic world remains rooted in mores that were norms one thousand years ago...polygamy, honor killings, etc. The Rabbi's belief that a reasoned dialogue with Muslims regarding the Hezbollah Death Shrine would reap fruit is naive. Your view is closer to reality. Palestinians are enemies of Israel; treat them as such.
The Palestinian problem will end before the universe collapses. The question is, how will it end?
1. Will a Palestinian State of Gaza and the West Bank be created, with Israel sandwiched in the middle? If so, it would be doomed from its inception because that is essentially the situation that exists now. Jews and Palestinians exist together and never interact. Such necessities as water from the Galilee is controlled by Israel, and a Palestinian State would be powerless, meaningless, and ungovernable.
2. Israel has basically hoped that the Palestinian would eventually migrate out of Gaza and the West Bank to Jordan or other Arab countries. That would, at least, solve the Palestinain problem, if not the problem of co-existance with 21 surrounding Arab countries. However, Palestinians will never comply. They do not really want a Palestinian State but the right of return.
3. Will Israel become a secular democracy where Palestinians and Jews live together? That would mean that Israel would exist without a primarially Jewish character. The raison d'etre for Israel, a Jewish homeland where Jews could live in security, would be diluted, if not ended. Frankly, it seems to me that a secular Israel might be the best answer, as long as it continues to be a safe haven for Jews.
Other than blowing up the whole area, can you think of other alternatives?
Thank You Yosh H. for reading my post and commenting on it. I am not about to get in the thing going on between you and Lucy. I like your posts a lot. B'Shalom - Chana
Lucy you bring up a good point about Islam never experiencing the Western Enlightenment - how about enlightenment period!
How I wish all of Islam would read the Sufi poet Rumi and take to heart his words then enlightenment would flow through their hearts. How much they need our prayers. How very unhappy with their lot in life many of them must be. Yet taking personal responsibility seems a lost concept to those who blame others for their own condition. Shalom All
Lucy, .... just one piece of advice... either go there and live it or listen to those who have. I am and always have been into to saving lives not taking them!......A big difference from Islam of today! I have been shot twice, stabbed once, bayoneted, and fragged several times, all by terrorist! Nice people they are. However how many of them do you think can say they have pulled jews (as I have Arabs) from burning wreckage and gave them the proper and unbiased medical attention needed? I have, and I have even taken from my food in the field and given to their children who for them were less important than their cause. This is were the rubber meets the road, not in books of statistics and political opinions.
You have to live it to really understand it! So either do it or take the words of those who have. Peace will not come unless there is another generation to come up who are not filled with hatred (terroristic ideals) and who are educated in a humanitary and dignified way. But I personally do not see any hope of that because their are too many lies being taught and that would mean the most definite loss of control for Islam as well.
"I want them to see what the enemy is doing to us, and what we can do to fight them, because this enemy is not merciful."
This guy hit the nail on the head. Of course, Israel has been merciful. Israel showed great mercy towards Lebanon during the 2006 war, simply by the focused way it chose to conduct it, especially in comparison to Hezbollah. But acknowledging that would, in the eyes of the parent, eliminate the imperative to fight Israel, so the need to ignore that and build up a fantasy over-rides reality.
It appears that the vast majority of Arabs can't acknowledge the fact that the anti-Israel cause they are devoted to isn't justice, but the perpetuation of evil. Is it because they don't see any way out for their souls if they did?
Post a Comment
By submitting these comments, I agree to the beliefnet.com terms of service, rules of conduct and privacy policy (the "agreements"). I understand and agree that any content I post is licensed to beliefnet.com and may be used by beliefnet.com in accordance with the agreements.