war

May God help us all. May He guide our president to save the lives of Americans as well as others in our global village. May He comfort the victims. May He change the hearts of the oppressors. May He stop victims from becoming wrongdoers. May He let human beings talk to each other to understand each other. Ameen.

Over 1300 people, mostly boys, were stacked like logs into six army trucks. They were placed face down with their hands tied behind their backs, one on top of another, making a pile of four or five persons deep.

In the wake of the war on Iraq, Muslims need to be informed, aware and pro-active when dealing with the American media. Here is a list of tips Muslims can use when dealing with the media in these critical next few weeks.

America's reaction to the torturous sexual abuse of Iraqi prisoners of war is a sign of a nation living its ideals. Although they are reacting to something extremely abhorrent and horrible, it gives me confidence in humanity and in America.

We destroyed our honor in the Muslim world with Abu Ghraib. Now, we have completely obliterated any respect for us by allowing our military officers to abuse the Islamic holy book. No wonder even Pakistan could not but express its outrage at the abuse of the Quran.

Islamophobia is today's accepted form of racism. It will require Muslims to fight hard against it. Muslims are neither solely responsible for its creation, nor will they be able to fight it on their own. It is a collective responsibility for all bridge-builders of the world.

With wars around the world, occupations, genocides and refugees, the state of peace in the world looks very bleak. Here are some practical things Muslim communities, particularly Masjids can do, to promote peace and security in the coming days.