Iraq Crisis

Iraq Crisis Khutbah - Imam Zaid Shakir

Opening Gratitude and Acknowledgments

This promotional CD is brought to you by Young Muslims. For a complete listing of our products, please visit our online store at www.ymsite.biz. That's www.ymsite.biz. First of all, we like Young Muslims and everyone else who had a hand in putting this program together. We'd like to thank all of you who have come out here tonight on relatively short notice for a very important cause. May Allah reward you for your sacrifice. May Allah increase you for any money that you might spend tonight, increase your earnings and your lawful income because of your sacrifice. Charity will never decrease wealth. Wealth will never be decreasing because of charity, as our noble Messenger Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has informed us.

Recognizing Pioneers in Islamic Media

As you all know, and as the previous speakers have mentioned, we'd also like to thank Rana Ghazi Khan, who is not only a very astute activist but is one of the pioneers in the field of trying to develop Islamic media. So when he gives you advice, us advice, in terms of the importance of media and the incumbency of Muslims training media professionals, he's speaking from experience and not from theory or from something he's read about in a book.

Understanding Our Divine Purpose in America

Having said that brothers and sisters, we have a tremendous responsibility as Muslims in this country. Allah does nothing in vain. Allah has placed us here for a reason. Allah has placed us here according to a divine wisdom. And we should constantly ask ourselves: Are we seeking to understand the purpose of our being here? Or are we living our lives oblivious to any higher purpose, any higher mission, any higher commitment? Are we merely trying to take advantage of the economic opportunities? Or are we trying to take advantage of our position as Muslims in what is indisputably the most powerful—or should I say the strongest, because there's a difference between strength and power—the strongest nation on the face of the earth? We should always ask this question.

The Tragedy of Iraq

The situation in Iraq, as we all know, is a situation which saddens many of us. It's a situation which constitutes an outrageous affront to basic human decency, and we should never hesitate to say that. One of the aspects of the war that's being waged not only against Islam—Islam is merely seen as the largest potentially organized source of opposition to those powers and individuals who would seek to place the collective resources of this country in the service of a very narrow agenda—but any source of opposition is, or there's an attempt to silence any potential source of opposition and resistance.

Silencing Dissent: The Dixie Chicks Example

Even someone as apolitical and as politically innocuous as the Dixie Chicks, as you all know, country and

western singers whose popularity is greater than any country and western group in history—and I just found this out recently because I gave a talk at an anti-war rally sponsored by our masjid at the beginning of April, and I said that I'm going to go and buy a Dixie Chicks record to support them. Because anyone that's against or has the courage to speak out against this madness, then I support them. So I went and bought the CD. It's called Fly, and on the cover there's a little label: over 10 million had been sold. So here's a multi-ten times platinum, immensely popular group that makes an innocent off-the-cuff remark about the president and how ashamed they are that the president's from Texas, where they're from, as he was preparing to enter into this invasion of Iraq.

Invasion, Not War

We shouldn't call it a war. War implies reciprocity. When there's a war—and to show the nature of the invasion—every war that America fought, at the conclusion of the war, such as the Versailles Palace, they sat down at a table with representatives of the opposition to sign a peace treaty or at least a declaration of cessation of hostilities. When Iraq was invaded this time—the first Gulf War, this took place—this time there was no representatives of the Iraqi people to sign a treaty. You had American generals and commanders sitting in Saddam's palaces, lounging in the chairs, sitting at the tables. No Iraqi opposition to sign a peace treaty, to sign a ceasefire. Nothing. What is this? This is a farce, brothers and sisters, a farce that we as Muslims should have no part in, a farce that we as Muslims should call for what it is.

The True Meaning of Jihad

Many people get agitated, and in their agitation they get jihad fever: Takbir! Allahu Akbar! O brothers and sisters, this isn't our fight. Our fight is higher than this. Our fight is higher than this. What proof do I have for that? The saying of our blessed Messenger Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him: that the best form of jihad is the word of truth in the face of a tyrannical ruler. That's the best jihad. So if you want jihad, you don't have to go overseas somewhere. Open up your mouth and speak the truth. You don't have to go. Open up your mouth and speak the truth right here. And if we can't do that, if we can't do that, we're not worthy of going to some far-off battlefield. Allah has put us here, and Allah has blessed us to be an educated community, not a community of illiterates, an educated community. So we have to begin to use that education to speak the truth.

(Sunan Abu Dawud)

Hadith Reference: The best jihad is a word of truth before a tyrannical ruler (Sunan Abu Dawud 4344, Sunan al-Tirmidhi 2174, Sunan al-Nasa'i 4209, Sunan Ibn Majah 4011)

Arabic

Building Strong Institutions

We have to begin to use that education, as it was stated, to build strong viable institutions: educational institutions, media institutions. The strength of this country—we've said this on many occasions—lies in the strength of its institutions. It doesn't matter how strong the individual Muslim is. If that strength of the individual is not combined with the strength of other strong Muslim individuals in an institutionalized context, that strength will inevitably go to waste. That strength will inevitably go to waste.

Individual Strength vs. Institutional Power

If I were to ask you: Is the average Muslim a stronger individual than the average non-Muslim in this society? What would you say? Who's stronger educationally? More psychologically balanced? The average Muslim doesn't drink. Does the average non-Muslim drink? The average Muslim doesn't use drugs. Does the average non-Muslim use drugs? Some type of marijuana, a little cocaine here and there. The average Muslim doesn't fornicate. Does the average non-Muslim fornicate? Just the average guy or girl out there. The average Muslim doesn't have a battery of psychological imbalances. Does the average non-Muslim have? But why is it that this strong Muslim individual, this strength, does not translate into power in this society? Because the average non-Muslim is operating in an institutional context where the strength of the institution compensates for the weakness of the individual. And the average strong Muslim individual is acting in a weak institutional context where the weakness of the institution negates the strength of the individual.

Prioritizing Institution Building

So a challenge we have is to build strong institutions. This has to be a priority: strong educational institutions, strong media institutions, strong financial institutions, so that we don't have to put the word out every time there's a crisis, gather the forces, stimulate the people, raise money, so that we can very systematically finance the vital and essential work that needs to be done. And that's not to negate the importance of this and similar programs. Until we have those mechanisms in place, if this is the best we can do, then we have to maximize these opportunities. But we always have to look into the future and look to do better.

The Reality of American "Reconstruction"

Brothers and sisters, as it was stated, many people don't think that the people in Iraq need our help. After all, America is committed to rebuilding Iraq. America committed to rebuilding Afghanistan after that regime change. This wasn't the first regime change, and Afghanistan today is in a mess. You may have noticed two very significant statements by Mr. Rumsfeld in the last three days, yesterday and the day before. The first: that the United States would not permit a religious—instead of clerically run—government in Iraq. That translates into a religious state in Iraq. Yesterday, that the United States forces would remain in Iraq and Afghanistan as long as it takes to set up a stable democratic system. This is an announcement of indefinite occupation. This is an announcement of indefinite occupation. This is an announcement of military occupation, which is incompatible with democracy and development, with democracy and development.

The Need for Non-Governmental Aid

So the people of Iraq, if Afghanistan is any indicator of what they're in for, are going to need a tremendous amount of assistance from non-governmental sources, of which Life and IRNA Relief and similar Islamic organizations are representative of. So brothers and sisters, your help, our help, is essential for these organizations. We all have to sacrifice. We all have to work to strengthen these organizations and the vital work that they're doing.

The Horror of Depleted Uranium

In conclusion, to give you an indication—they mentioned in the slides you saw leukemia—the United States and British military, the British military has backed up from their statement, declared that depleted uranium is harmless. No, they said depleted uranium is harmless. And so they had the soldiers in 1991 cleaning up areas that were hit by projectiles that were tipped with depleted uranium. 300,000 tons—300,000 tons of depleted—or 300 tons, I'm sorry. No, 300,000 tons of depleted uranium, 600,000 pounds of depleted uranium.

Well, if depleted uranium on the tips of armor-piercing and bunker-buster projectiles, if depleted uranium is harmless, you know how they dispose of depleted uranium from power plants here? They will put it in concrete lead case drums and drop it in the bottom of the ocean. That's how they dispose of it. If it's harmless, why don't they just put it in the landfill on Staten Island?

Devastating Health Consequences

Depleted uranium has led to rates of radiation in areas around Basra from the first war up to 100 times higher than normal. Birth defects: no arms, no eyes, internal organs missing, no cranial plates. And the same birth defects appearing amongst the children of GIs who were stationed there. The first Gulf War, they said this was the greatest imbalance of casualties in history. That's not true, because one-third of American forces were casualties suffering from Gulf War syndrome, attributed primarily to depleted, exposure to depleted uranium: 200,000 American GIs.

Greater Devastation in the Current Invasion

Now the point is this, brothers and sisters: more depleted uranium was used in this latest invasion than in the Gulf War of 1991. You saw the bombing of Baghdad, the so-called shock and awe, the city lit up night after night after night by these Tomahawk cruise missiles, these bunker-busting bombs, cluster bombs, ordinary munitions. There's a lot of radiation right in a city of 5 million people. So this is going to lead to disease, the diseases associated with lack of adequate sewage treatment, a major problem: dysentery, diarrhea, typhoid, and other diseases.

The Victims Who Need Our Help

The children who are dying, they need help. The orphans. The mutilated victims of cluster bombs, who continue every day, whose number continues daily to increase because in some areas upwards to 25%—for those of you who don't know what a cluster bomb is, it's a big hollow bomb case filled with small hand-sized bomblets, hundreds, that the case opens in mid-air and these spread out over an area as large as a football field. In some areas, up to 25% of these don't explode. Most areas, 10% don't explode. And they're the same color as the food packets that this government delivers in Afghanistan. The same problem. They're the same color as toys, bright yellow. So the children go and pick these things up and they blow up, killing them, blowing their arms off. They step on them, blowing their legs or feet off. So you have amputees. You have children who suffered horrific injuries, shrapnel injuries that need care.

The Looting and Destruction of Islamic Heritage

And as you know, the hospitals were looted, and this is a war crime that we should be outraged about. Our Islamic heritage has been burned to the ground. It survived the Communist Party in Iraq. It survived the Ba'ath Party in Iraq. As soon as the United States military gets there, it's burned to the ground. But we didn't have the troops to guard it. The troops were lounging in the palaces, sleeping in the parks. And they found enough troops to guard the oil ministry—the only ministry surviving, the oil ministry.

Qurans 1,000 years old, 1,100 years old, manuscripts, the documented history of the Abbasid Khilafah, the documentary history of the Ottoman Sultanate: burned. Tablets of Sumerian cuneiform writing, Sanskrit, never been translated, the heritage of humanity: stolen and smashed. This is the most shocking aspect of this campaign.

The Occupiers' True Priorities

So brothers and sisters, it's obvious that the occupying forces don't have the interest. Hospitals looted. Why were the hospitals looted? We couldn't have posted a guard in front of the hospital? Why loot the hospitals? Obviously they're taking the equipment, the machinery. Oh, they have to reorder. Maybe we'll give the contract to Halliburton or Bechtel. Can't leave the Iraqi people there dying. It's obvious that the occupying power doesn't have the best interest of the Iraqi people at heart.

Our Collective Responsibility

So we, brothers and sisters, must have the best interest of the Iraqi people and the Muslims everywhere at heart, because we're all in this together. And if we can't see that now, we're blind, brothers and sisters. They're not asking what kind of Muslim you are when they throw you in detention. They just want a pretext to get another Muslim off the street. They're not asking what kind of Muslim you are when they deny you an immigration visa in this or that country. Are you a Shia, Sunni, Ash'ari, Salafi? Are you a Muslim? Oh, you are. Denied. We're all in this together, brothers and sisters.

The Call to Sacrifice

So we have to stand up. We have to work for our brothers and sisters. We have to sacrifice. And if we don't, no one will. If we don't, no one will. So we pray that the spirit of sacrifice predominates this evening, and when the call is made to give, that we give abundantly, because this is our religion, this is our religion in this country.

Building Bridges with Good People

And there are a lot of good people in this country. We don't see this as strictly the America against the Muslims. America is made up of many different groups. There's a small group that, as was pointed out by Dr. Ghazi, that vehemently want the presence of Islam stamped out in this country, and not necessarily because they have anything against Islam necessarily, but because it threatens their interests. If they were the Hindus, they'd be against the Hindus with the same fervor. But there are many groups who are supportive of the Muslims. There are many groups who want to hear the Muslim side of the story. And when we finally get a spokesperson articulate enough to articulate that story, they'll say, where have you been? Why haven't we heard from you before now? Why have you been silent for so long?

So there are a lot of good people, brothers and sisters. There are a lot of good people that we should be reaching out to, and we should be building bridges with, and we should be joining hands with to advance the cause of good and decency, not only in this country but throughout the world.

Building Strong Muslims First

And as Muslims, I'd add one thing to what Dr. Ghazi said about building strong schools and building strong media. But as a prerequisite to all of that, we have to build strong Muslims. We have to build strong Muslims. Each and every Muslim individual has to be strong because we're under an onslaught. You might not realize it, but the pressure that's being put on our community, on Muslim individuals, is tremendous, and it's going to get worse before it gets better.

Spiritual Preparation for the Struggle

To survive, we have to be spiritually strong. Go to your Quran. Make sure that you're reading your aurad and reading your adhkar, no matter where you get them from or what their source is. Make sure that you're arming yourself and strengthening your heart and strengthening your spirit and trying to draw yourself closer to Allah, because we are under tremendous pressure.

A Message to Young Muslims

Our young people, you should dedicate your lives to this. If Allah wanted you to be a kafir, He would have made you a kafir. It's that simple. Don't chase after these kafirs. If Allah wanted you to be a kafir, He would have made you a kafir, and that would have been the end of it. But through His wisdom, He chose to put you in a Muslim family, and He chose to make your parents committed to trying to teach you Islam and inculcate into you Islamic values. That's for wisdom. And realize that if you hold on, you have a great honor. You have a great station before Allah, a great station.

The Seven Who Will Be Shaded

There are seven groups Allah will shade in the shade of His throne on a day there will be no shade except that shade. And we say the shade of His throne. Another version of the hadith: first one, the most important, a just leader. The second, the second most important, because the just leader needs soldiers—and not soldiers that will physically fight, but soldiers who will provide support and to provide those willing sacrifices for the cause—a young person who grows up worshipping Allah, a young person who dedicates his or her life to Allah. Those are the soldiers. They always have been and they always will be.

(Sahih al-Bukhari 660, Sahih Muslim 1031)

Hadith Reference: Seven people whom Allah will shade in His shade on the Day when there will be no shade except His shade (Sahih al-Bukhari 660, Sahih Muslim 1031)

Dedicate Your Life to Allah

So you should dedicate your life to the service of Allah. You're not missing anything. You're not missing

anything from this world. I wasn't always a Muslim. I tell you, take my word for it: you're not missing anything from this world. Every pleasure that you think the non-Muslims are enjoying, that pleasure will sooner or later become torment for them.

The False Pleasures of This World

What do you want? The women, if you're a young man, or the guys, if you're a girl? There are a million young girls out there who wanted the guys, and the guys wanted them until they got pregnant. And now they're wretched. They have 2 or 3 babies, 22, 21 years old. Shot, their life is finished. They're in crack houses, alcoholics, or just wretched. The drugs were exciting until it became a habit. Then it became torment. So the one that was partying and chasing the drugs ends up in an alley somewhere begging, stealing to support their habit, robbing people, selling their children's food stamps or money for food. It becomes torment. What is that that's being missed? There's nothing that's being missed, brothers and sisters. Don't even waste your time.

This World: Prison for the Believer, Paradise for the Disbeliever

Give your life to Allah. Give your life to Islam. Give your life to Islam. And the ultimate reward─He said: This world is a prison for the believer and it's paradise for the kafir. It's a prison for the believer. Just as a prisoner is restrained from pursuing his desires by the physical prison, the Sharia, the bars of the Sharia, restrain us from pursuing our wishes. We might want this: I want this woman. She's haram for me. I can't fornicate. That's haram. That's a punishable offense. I want to drink this. It has alcohol in it. I have to wait. I want to eat this. That's an ingredient from the pig. I can't eat that. The Sharia restrains us.

(Sahih Muslim 2956)

Hadith Reference: The world is a prison for the believer and paradise for the disbeliever (Sahih Muslim 2956)

Temporary Restraint vs. Eternal Torment

But what is the inconvenience, if we want to call it that, that the Sharia gives to us compared to the torment of the kafir in the Hellfire? And what is the enjoyment of the kafir in his jannah, with genital packing, so he fornicates, or he drinks alcohol, or smokes marijuana, or eats whatever he wants, has the bacon burger special at Burger King? But what is the enjoyment in all that? As we said, that eventually becomes a torment. You heard about the fat people trying to sue Burger King: But Burger King made me fat! So what is that temporal enjoyment compared to the enjoyment of the believer in our jannah?

Final Exhortation

Brothers and sisters, dedicate your life to Islam. Work hard for Islam. And don't worry about what you miss, because what you miss is nothing. And what's waiting for us because of our sacrifices for this deen is unimaginable.