I won't be made useless

Lyrics | Jewel lyrics - Hands lyrics
The other day I attended a talk by Prof Asma Ismail from USM. One word to summarize it all: inspiring.
Of all the things she said, I am most touched when she mentioned how we idolize the West in all our dealings to the extent of looking at local product with disdain because it does not live up to western standards. We ourselves elevate them to be our benchmark. The result? We are always playing catching up. One thing about playing catching up is that you're always behind. They are 10-20 years ahead of us, so how can we ever dream of striding beside them as equals? They never stop to wait for us, so they will always be ahead. So what can we do? Until when should we just follow them around like puppies? Prof Asma offered an antidote for this disease: a blue ocean vs red ocean strategy. We should all try and navigate our course according to the blue ocean strategy, that is to go where no one else has gone before. Explore new areas, make not just ground breaking findings, but make earth shattering discoveries. Prof Asma asked the important question of,

"Instead of being equal to, why not be better than?"

Seriously guys, I think we've got it all wrong before. This is the way we should go. All men are created equal, so why we voluntarily demean ourselves to be the inferior human? Remember: if you put a small value upon yourself, rest assured that the world would not raise your price.

Let us apply this concept to the current situation of Muslims in the world today. OK, let's not go far, just look at the nationwide boycott of US companies directly sudsidizing Israel. I've been reading a bit on this so to me personally, I think this boycott is just something like "jihad kecil" (forgive me if I'm mistaken, is there anything like that? what I mean is that it is just a minor thing to do in face of the war in Gaza). Yeah, by now I think you my stance on this: I think that it is unfair to punish our locals just to get back at their stupid fat boss. It'll harm our economy! It is because Islam holds each and everyone of us for our deeds, no one is punished for the deeds of another. If that person does good, then he/she would go to heaven and if not then that person again would be tossed into hell. No one could be responsible for another, so it is unfair to punish someone for something that they did not do and do not have any power to stop. So, if indeed we want to boycott these companies, we should also provide a safety net or an alternative for the locals involved in the business.
Furthermore, our little country's boycott would be just a slap in wrist or just a little scratch on their butts. Just a minor but annoying thing to have. The crux of the problem is this: they have what we want, and we don't have anything that they want. They could go on with their lives, playing deaf to our voices because we are nothing. Without us, they could still live on. How about us? If they decide to put sanctions on this little country, what would we do? If they decide to withold any technology of the West from ever touching these waters, what would we do? What could we do?
So, we must now focus our powers in is in the mobilization of Muslim people toward achievement in the fields of economy and knowledge. It is now time for us to take the reins for a change, let us decide what would become of our fate.
We should apply the blue ocean model, we should tread on uncharted waters. Let us be leaders, not just meek followers.
I am ok with the boycott, just as long as we don't lose focus on the real problem: the lack of leadership in economy and knowledge.
C'mon friends, wake up! Don't waste your life just thinking about yourself.
Stand up, make use of yourself. Time is running out. If we don't act now, I'll never know whether truly it will all be OK.

You are weak, therefore you must shut up

Slm
Before the end of last year, I've managed to finish "The Afghan" by Frederick Forsyth. As usual it is packed with action with intricate details that make you one with the characters in the book. Mr Forsyth will take you on a journey into the minds of spymasters and 'terrorists' that lead to brilliant manipulation of events and strategic planning to ultimately achieve their target.
The book is about a retired SAS man roped in a plan to slip a mole into the dark and shifting world of al-Qaeda (AQ). The SAS man is disguised as Izmat Khan, a prisoner in Guantanamo Bay whom they call the Afghan to obtain information about a top secret project by AQ called al-Isra' that would make 9/11 seem like child's play.

This book made me think that sometimes right and wrong could overlap and the only way to do some good depend on your perspective. And that perspective come from where you are standing in terms of intellect and common sense.

It is kinda like those free hologram stickers in your cereal boxes that changes the sticker picture anytime when it is rotated. Rotate it to the right you get a picture of Skywalker with his blazing light saber and when you rotate it to your left it changes to Yoda (I got this sticker years ago in a Koko Krunch box if I'm not mistaken).

I don't blame Izmat Khan for being a 'terrorist'. Or anyone for that matter. Anyway, he is only a 'terrorist' in the eyes of the terrified. He is a hero in his own land, the land of the oppressed people. So what if someone far away is calling you 'terrorist'? What matters is that that far away person is dropping bombs at you even though they don't even know your face.

You want them to stop throwing rocks at you? Stop gunning them down.

If someone forcibly took to living in your living room for no apparent reason and then demand that you stay out because they've been there long enough, are we just to understand what they're going through and just give away a part of our home? Stupid.

The 'terrorist' become that way because that's the only way you'll listen. You take their land, kill their families, make them prisoners in their own homes but then you want them to put their defenses down and just let you trample all over them.

I do not agree to the methods used by the 'terrorist'. Killing someone for any reason is wrong. What is wrong could not be right. It could be the most desirable thing to do because that person killed more than you but that still does not justify it. I said earlier that it overlaps, but it does not change into the other. What is black could not be white. However, if these people ask me why are we treated this way, the answer is because we are weak and too caught up greed and the little squabbles over power that has become an embarrassment. I think that there is a root problem that have to be resolved. A bitterment that is the source of the sorrows that lead to the violence. Sometimes a reaction is too much that it is an overkill.

One raid hit a mosque in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, killing 13 people and wounding 33, according to a Palestinian health official. One of the wounded worshippers, Salah Mustafa, told Al-Jazeera TV from a hospital that the mosque was packed.

“It was unbelievably awful,” he said, struggling to catch his breath.

It was not immediately clear why the mosque was hit, but Israel has hit other mosques in its air campaign and said they were used for storing weapons.

Israeli artillery joined the battle for the first time earlier on Saturday. Artillery fire is less accurate than attacks from the air using precision-guided munitions, raising the possibility of a higher number of civilian casualties. - Star Online 4th January

Misinformation is a dangerous thing. Knowledge that is not guided by religion would lead to disaster. Add to these to Power in the wrong hands, and you have yourself an all-out war. This applies to both obvious extremists and the more subtle ones: you know, those hiding behind the crumbling white building. These people do not know reason because they believe whole-heartedly that what they're doing is right. You are the one misinformed, you are the one lost. They are not. So they ignore you. You are as of right now: a Nobody.

I hate the fact that Muslims are devastatingly weak economically. The world is opening up and so the ones with cash are the ones with power.
C'mon, lets get rich. Let us swim in rivers of gold. But don't let it drown you. We must remember that when we are rich, the power to move events is in our hands. Change the world not with your fist, but with your mind. Do not look just at what is before you, cast a wider net and look far beyond. Restore the greatness of Islam and do not let us be degraded again.
When we are strong, then only could we speak up and get noticed. If not, then you should just stuff it and go back to the bottom of the line.