‪Why does terrorism dominate ‬ ‪the headlines?‬ Saudi Gazette

This site is strictly about my writings or writings about me. Thanks to Tariq Al-Maeena for mentioning me in his write up. I really appreciate that.

Mike Ghouse
www.TheGhouseDiary.com

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Courtesy - Saudi Gazette
Why does terrorism dominate ‬ ‪the headlines?‬

Feb 3, 2016

 

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Tariq A. Al-Maeena

Yet another despicable act occurred a few days ago when the Rida Mosque in Mahasen neighborhood of Al-Ahsa in the Eastern Province was bombed by those following a takfiri ideology.  Four people who had been there offering prayers lost their lives to yet another act of terrorism, while another 18 were badly injured. The mosque is frequented by those following the Shia branch of Islam.

The media in the following days was full of condemnation of the latest series of attacks based on sectarian lines, and news of other terrorists who had been captured or are on the run.  But it is not just our own homegrown terrorists who dominate the news.  There are marauding bands such as Daesh (the self-proclaimed IS), Al-Qaeda and other fringe groups who have been thrust onto the front pages or the airwaves with their brutality, all the while chanting religious verses. All that this has succeeded in doing has been to promote a very violent image of Islam to those who are not Muslims.

So is this what Islam and Muslims are all about? The mayhem, murders, and bombings of the innocent?  Is there no other face of Islam?  You would have to dig deep between the pages to read of the other face of Muslims, a people who have dedicated their life to the proper teachings of this great religion and who by virtue of their piety are not seeking headlines.

There are Muslim individuals such as Dr. Mike Ghouse from the US who is a community consultant, social scientist, thinker, writer, news maker, and a speaker on a wide range of issues concerning Islam and the Western world. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day and building bridges between the faiths.

There is also Akbar Ahmed, the world renowned Muslim anthropologist whose various projects have contributed to and shaped contemporary thinking on the relations between the Muslim and the Western worlds. Professor Akbar Ahmed is the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies in the School of International Service at American University in Washington, DC. He has served as a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and was the First Distinguished Chair of Middle East and Islamic Studies at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD.

The list of such distinguished individuals and their positive contributions to society is long but inevitably obscured by the dastardly deeds of Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, the Daesh leader, and his kind.  And yet there are other relatively unknown Muslims who are shunted to the sidelines and deserve to have their story told.  They do not carry impressive credentials, but through their selfless acts they can indeed be a proud beacon to Muslims everywhere.

One such individual is Ali Banat, a Sydney born and bred Muslim who very recently discovered that he had cancer and only seven months to live.  A successful entrepreneur, Ali had everything he wanted, a fleet of high performance cars including a Ferrari Spider, luxury watches, mansions and just about everything else.  Facing his inevitable fate, Ali began disposing of all his assets and made a determination to make a difference in the lives of many who needed a helping hand.

For one of his projects, Ali travelled to Togo, Africa where he felt he could help without too much red tape.  He founded the MATW Africa Project which aims to build a village which will be home to over 200 widows, a school, and a residential dorm to house 600 orphans. A mini hospital/medical center and businesses to support the local community are also going to be established.  Half of the money required has been collected through goodwill donors. Ali explains: “After someone tells you, or you find out that you are sick or haven’t got much time in this life, wealth is the last thing you want to chase and this is how we should be living our life every day.  These people are going for the wrong goals; you will realize that when you get sick when someone tells you, you haven’t got long to live. You will realize all this stuff doesn’t benefit you in any way.

“It all started when I went to the cemetery to attend a funeral and I was thinking to myself after you go there’s nothing, there’s no one there for you, no mother, no father, no brother, and no sister except for your good deeds.  At this point in my life, Alhamdulillah I have been gifted by Allah with cancer throughout my body and I have changed my whole life to helping people.  It is a gift because Allah has given me a chance and some time to change.”

Ali’s days on the earth have decreased as the cancer has begun tearing through his body.  Yet it is his dream to make things happen, and the project in Togo is one of them.  He is a Muslim and he is not a terrorist.  Perhaps that doesn’t command him headline space but his deeds toward humanity should.

 — The author can be reached at talmaeena@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter@talmaeena

Ahmadiyya Muslims should be a part of our language.

Ahmadiyya Muslims should be a part of our language | World Muslim Congresshttp://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2015/07/ahmadiyya-muslims-should-be-part-of-our.html
......

I don't have a bone of prejudice in me, and I sincerely believe God is Rabbul Aalameen (Creator of the universe), and Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is Rahmatul Aalameen (Mercy to every atom in the universe). We are all from the same couple Adam and Eve, and we are members of one large family, and each one of us is deliberately created to be unique with our own thumbprint, DNA and other uniqueness’s. With that uniqueness we are bound to have irreconcilable differences, and how do we get around that?  God says the best ones among you are those who take the time to learn about each other, and when we do that, conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

All of us have to live in the given space, we might as well learn about each other, to understand and accept the differences, and not force agreements against the will of the people, that would be against what God wants. You live your life and I will live mine, a corollary from Quran 109.6 says,  to you is your faith and to me is my faith.

When we started the discussion group “World Muslim Congress.” I went about learning different denominations as this group and site belongs to "all Muslims" and came across the unbelievable prejudice towards the Ahmadiyya Muslims.  Indeed, they are chased, harassed and persecuted in Pakistan, and the extremity of the hate is even ‘enshrined’ in their constitution, and that beats anyone with any common sense.  The hate virus has expanded to Indonesia, Bangladesh and it has even reached India dividing us all up. There is no justification whatsoever to hate any one.

Why am I writing this? 

As Muslims, we call out on the bigotry of a few evangelicals, before we do that, we need to be clean, so we can cast the first stone.  Let’s not be hateful towards any one and clearly reject the extremist’s ideology of Wajib Qatl (killing is a must) towards Ahmadiyya Muslims. Let’s share God and the Prophet with the entire world as they are not exclusively ours to deny them to others.

Of course the bias is a two way street, I have written extensively about it.  I have done my Iftaar and Friday prayers in the mosques of every (yes every) denomination to understand the differences, so we can learn about each other. We don't need to be friends, but at least we don't have to seethe and brood and be miserable because others believe differently.  It’s all documented at www.Ramadanexclusive.com and www.WorldMulsimCongress.com.

However, the responsibility for caring for oppressed falls squarely on the majority.  It is the white majority that stood up for civil rights to pass as a law; it is the Hindu majority that stood up for Muslim minorities  in India to have their own laws; and it should be the Sunni Majority in Pakistan that needs to speak up and care for its minorities, all minorities.  As a minority ourselves (Sunnis in the United States) don’t we wish the majority understands us and respect us, thank God, at least we are no Wajib Qatl to them, can we be that civil to our own minorities back home?

None of us have to agree, but all of us must choose to mind our own faith, we cannot compel any one to drop their belief and accept ours that would go against the essence of Islam. Allah will not ask you about what others did, he asks you, were you good to his creation?  How would we feel if the Christian majority tells to either believe their way to take the highway?

At World Muslim Congress and Dallas Pakistanis groups, we have carried civil conversations for over 13 years, it was not easy at the beginning, and for many years, I was alone, but now we have many Sunni Muslims who see the point of view in both the groups and I appreciate their being good Muslims. Now comes the editorial in Gulf News that includes Ahmadiyya Muslims in its list of Muslims. 

Today it was a delight to read Tariq Al-Maeena writes an editorial in Gulf news and this is a sea change, and I hope more and more “Muslim writers” start the inclusion process.  Theologically let’s accept us all to be different – each one of the 73 tribes will have its own uniqueness that God has said and prophet has predicted that.

I wrote to him, Tariq, I'm surprised and pleased that you added Ahmadiyya Muslims in your last paragraph, and I applaud you for this.“I am not a Sunni or a Shiite or an Ahmadi or a Khawani. I am a Muslim! I am not a Salafist or a Sufi, a Ja’afari or a Batini. I am a Muslim! I was raised by the Islamic tenets of peace and kindness ... And by God, I am angry that people in the name of Islam defile my religion.”

Thank you Tariq Al-Maeena

My Islam teaches me to be Rahmat (mercy) to the Aalameen, if I am a zahmat (tyrant) towards fellow beings, then should I call myself a Muslim?

Mike Ghouse
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I am a Muslim and I am angry
It angers me to see how a peaceful religion has been manipulated by some to be a tool of terror against their perceived adversaries. 
By Tariq Al-Maeena

http://gulfnews.com/opinion/thinkers/i-am-a-muslim-and-i-am-angry-1.1545173

PUBLISHED: 17:03 JULY 4, 2015

Ramadan is a spiritually significant month for Muslims the world over. It is a time for inner reflection, devotion to God and self-control. It is a time when Muslims repent, ask for forgiveness for sins and spend their time in intense worship. Muslims think of it as a kind of tune-up for their spiritual lives. We are to make peace with those who have wronged us, strengthen ties with family and friends and do away with bad habits and bad feelings. Fasting, reading the Quran, increasing charitable deeds, cleansing one’s behaviour and doing good are some of the ways Muslims use to draw themselves closer to God. This is what true Muslims believe in and do.

On June 26, an explosion rocked a mosque in Kuwait that killed 27 and wounded 227 worshippers. Worshippers had gathered for Friday prayers at the Al Imam Al Sadeq mosque in Kuwait City when a powerful bomb ripped through the courtyard of the heavily-congested mosque, causing much death and damage. The timing of the blast was significant as Friday noon prayers are generally the most crowded of the week and attendance increases multifold during Ramadan.

Investigations later revealed that the perpetrator was a Saudi male who, along with some Kuwaiti sympathisers, intended to stir up Sunni-Shiite divisions with his murderous act. This bearded individual from a village in Saudi Arabia had actually flown into Kuwait from Riyadh on the day of the bombings and left a trail of death and destruction among the faithful. He had stayed at a house owned by an extremist who subscribed to “extremist and deviant ideology” and was then driven to the mosque by an illegal resident to carry out this macabre plan.

Immediate credit

On the same day, there were terror attacks in two different continents conducted by supposed sympathisers of the extreme doctrine followed by the Saudi suicide bomber. In Tunisia, a gunman wandered on to a popular beach at a seaside resort and gunned down guests with an automatic rifle. The death count was 38, while 36 people were wounded, according to Tunisian authorities. In France, a man with suspicious ties to violent groups blew up a factory, injuring two people. A decapitated body and the severed head was found nearby. Daesh (the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) took immediate credit for these gruesome acts.

As a consolation, it was somewhat refreshing to note that leading Islamic institutions immediately denounced such dastardly acts. The leading Sunni institution based in Egypt, Al Azhar, released a statement saying that “the heinous shooting at a Tunisian coastal resort that killed 38 people, mostly Europeans, was a violation of all religious and humanitarian norms”. It also condemned the suicide bombing at the Kuwaiti Shiite mosque and the suspected militant attack in France. In a publicised statement, in reference to Daesh, Al Azhar called on “the international community to defeat this terrorist group through all available means”.

Delivering a message

In Kuwait, the ruling Emir, the government, parliamentary and political groups and clerics all said last Friday’s attack on the Shiite mosque was meant to stir up sectarian strife in the emirate. Terming the attack bluntly as one of “black terror” a statement said that “the objectives of the criminal act have failed. We want to deliver a message to Daesh that we are united brothers, the Sunnis and Shiites, and they cannot divide us”.

I am angry. As a Muslim, it maddens me when criminals use my religion to screen their immoral and murderous intentions.

“I am angry that people in the name of Islam defile my religion.”

-Tariq A. Al Maeena

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It infuriates me that I have to justify my religion and myself to the non-Muslim world in the wake of such barbarity by individuals with no obvious morals. It angers me that a terrorist like the Saudi who flew into Kuwait tarnishes my religion and my nationality with his vicious actions.

It angers me to see how a peaceful religion has been manipulated by some to be a tool of terror against their perceived adversaries. It angers me that such people follow “extreme and deviant ideology” and yet call themselves Muslims.

It angers me to know that some clerics with their hardline views continue to promote sectarian divisions from both sides. It angers me to know that they are still being heard.

I am not a Sunni or a Shiite or an Ahmadi or a Khawani. I am a Muslim! I am not a Salafist or a Sufi, a Ja’afari or a Batini. I am a Muslim! I was raised by the Islamic tenets of peace and kindness ... And by God, I am angry that people in the name of Islam defile my religion.

Tariq A. Al Maeena is a Saudi socio-political commentator. He lives in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Muslim Reponse to Pamela Geller and the Bikers in Phoenix - Saudi Gazette

Phoenix Bikers controversy over drawing Prophet Muhammad's cartoons

Tariq A. Al-Maeena 
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20150603245999

A GAME is being played all the way from Melbourne, Australia, to sunny Phoenix, Arizona, in the United States and it is called ‘Muslim Baiting.’ How it works is simple. A public announcement is made under the guise of free speech that a revered figure or scripture for Muslims is going to be attacked and ridiculed.  The game is to goad Muslims into a senseless cycle of reactionary violence.

In the past it seems to have succeeded judging from the reactions of Muslims from London to Lahore where flags, property and other objects were destroyed in retaliation against slurs against Islam. But what did such meaningless reactions accomplish? A new determination by some quacks to push Muslim buttons towards more stupid and inconsequential outcomes.

In the Phoenix goad and bait, biker gangs armed with assault rifles announced their intention to hold a ‘draw Muhammad cartoon contest’ outside a mosque. Displaying slogans and placards with words intended to inflame such as “Stop Islam” and “Support Your Local White Boy” the heavily armed bikers wanted to create a mayhem on the back of Muslim reaction. Violent responses in the past against religious slurs had perhaps encouraged them to goad a new group into a battle. Fortunately, the pro and anti Islam groups were well separated by the Phoenix police and no incident except for the expelling of a lot of hot air was reported.

Perhaps Muslim leaders in America are beginning to understand their role in spreading the right message when it comes to Islam baiting and it is reaching the right ears. Mike Ghouse, the President of the America Together Foundation is one such figure that should be credited with ensuring that Muslims should be responsible and not responsive when faced with slurs against their faith.

In a statement widely circulated before the Phoenix event, Mike implored those sympathetic to Islam to be ‘understanding’ rather than revolting. He said, “Let the Bikers draw cartoons of the Prophet (pbuh), look to this as an opportunity to follow the practice of the Prophet (pbuh), he was a mercy to mankind and it is time for Muslims to demonstrate that. What did he do when he was harassed on his way to Taif? He prayed in the tradition of Jesus, forgive them God, for they know not. God's will was to show a way to build better societies by mitigating the conflicts and nurturing good will and not by aggravating it. Thus he turned the other check as Jesus had taught and prayed for the wellbeing of all.”

Speaking on the eve of the Biker event, Mike stated that “This Friday, I urge Muslims around American Mosques to open up their hearts an minds of understanding, instead of sulking, retrieving to a corner, getting angry or harboring ill-will, I ask them to pray for the welfare of Biker Americans in their Friday sermons across the land and hopefully across the globe. Let them make an effort to build a cohesive America where no American has to live in apprehension or fear of the other. Let’s do our part right and seek God’s help in repairing our relationships.”

“Criticism can fade away or rain on us depending on how we respond to it. Lack of conviction in one's faith breeds intolerance towards criticism, whereas firmness in faith can lead us to learn from criticism, explore the infinite wisdom and realize the strength of our faith (Imaan); a worthy feeling to have, instead of living in doubt and shooing criticism away.

“We need to handle criticism of Qur’an, Islam and the Prophet (pbuh) with grace, and respond to it gracefully. At least it increases the chances of mitigating the conflict and restoring harmony. The other way around is fighting back, which guarantees further aggravation of the conflict and isolation. Let freedom of speech remain the corner stone of Islam.

“I urge fellow Muslims to be open to all the criticism with confidence, let the doors of communications be open. Islam stands on its own; it does not need our defense. M. Ghouse.”

Islam has indeed stood the test of time against many who marauded against it and spilled blood. But it has not been vanquished. Mike’s message should be taken with great consideration for a greater understanding by people not familiar with this religion of peace.
 

— The author can be reached at talmaeena@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @talmaeena

Ramadan’s pluralism message for Muslims - Saudi Gazette

OPINION

Ramadan’s pluralism message for Muslims
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20140702210187

Tariq A. Al-Maeena


Mike Ghouse is from the World Muslim Congress, a think tank committed to nurturing the pluralistic values of Islam. This group is about Muslims and their civic responsibilities; it is not about religious practices but simply about learning and creating a religious, social and civic space for Muslims in the community of faiths.

For this Ramadan, Mike would like to get the following message out: “By the end of 2020, there will not be a major city in America, and perhaps in the world, where you will not find people of different faiths, cultures, ethnicities, races, nationalities and social backgrounds working, eating, praying, playing, marrying, and doing things together. This is bound to create conflicts, and thus we need to prepare ourselves to deal with such eventualities.

“The guidance can be found in every religious tradition; all of them were committed to creating cohesive societies where no one had to live in apprehension or fear of the other.

“I am pleased to reiterate the Islamic tradition in this essay. The Holy Qur’an 49:13 says that God has created us into different tribes, communities and nations. It was indeed His choice to create each one of us to be unique with our own thumbprint, eye print, DNA, color and taste buds. Yet, the whole creation was put together in perfect balance and harmony (55:7).

“That brings us to pluralism which is defined as, ‘respecting the otherness of the others and accepting the (God-given) uniqueness of each one of us.’ ‘You are who you are, and I am who I am.’ Q109:6 (Yousef Ali). ‘To you be your way, and to me mine.’  Your faith is dear to you as mine is to me, together, we have to live and work on maintaining that harmony for our good and for the Creator’s joy. God’s religion is peace.

“Such diversity is bound to create conflict and mess up the delicate balance, so the Holy Qur’an encourages that the best among you are the ones who know each other. Indeed, knowledge leads to understanding and understanding to acceptance and appreciation of the God-given uniqueness of each one of us, and with that conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

“Pluralism is your choice to have good manners, and a good attitude toward fellow beings as guided by the Holy Qur’an, the Prophet (peace be upon him) and common sense. My focus of this essay is application of God’s recommendation ‘to know each other’ within the fold of Islam and with members of the diverse family of faiths.

“A majority of us are saddened with the day-to-day events in the Muslim world, calling each other infidels and killing each other in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Pakistan and elsewhere. The Holy Qur’an says killing one person is like killing the whole of humanity. You are not to kill a single soul unless it is in self-defense. We talk about unity, and spew so much hate for the other in the same breath; it needs to stop as God wants peace.

“I am appealing to those Muslims who have the integrity to match their words with their actions, and pray for the integrity of others who lack it.

“During this Ramadan, please make an effort to do your Iftar (breaking fast) in every mosque of varying denominations, or at least seek God’s guidance to remove hate and bias from our hearts for each other. Invite each other, not to discuss differences but to know each other to learn to respect the otherness of others, and accept each other, so that conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

“Take some fruits and dates and just go there and let the imam or the volunteers know that you are from a different tradition and are making a sincere effort to be part of the larger community in every which way you can.

“Over the last four years, I have been to almost every mosque of every denomination in the United States. I have chronicled the uniqueness of each tradition with full respect at RamadanDaily.com.

“When you visit your friend’s house, you don’t criticize how they have arranged their furniture; in fact you may reluctantly praise it, but never put it down. You don’t dare criticize how their kids keep their rooms, eat or talk. For God’s sake go to other mosques with the same attitude, the attitude of pluralism.

“This year, we have four Fridays in Ramadan; make an effort to attend at least four major denominations on each Friday.

“Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was called Amin, the trustworthy, truthful and just and the person around whom people felt secure. We need to follow similar principles within our society. We need to have comfortable working relationships with everyone from all faiths including fellow Muslims of different denominations.

“The life of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is a bold example of living civility, with openness and confidence. The greater value he taught was to respect the otherness of others. Let’s follow him and build friendships with people of faiths and no faiths and become Amins of society.

“Together as Muslims, let’s make the world a safe and secure place for every one of God’s seven billion to live cohesively. Let’s not blame others, but do our share of good in our own mosques, neighborhoods, communities and towns on a smaller level. This is our home. M. Ghouse”

Just think what the world would be like if we did just a little bit of that?

— The author can be reached at talmaeena@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @talmaeena

A proper response to an inflammatory act - Saudi Gazette

A proper response to an inflammatory act

http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20130821177617Last updated: Tuesday, August 20, 2013 10:10 PM

Tariq A. Al-Maeena
 

 REMEMBER the contentious Pastor Terry Jones out of Florida, who rose to fame back in 2010 with his controversial declaration of burning a copy of the Qur’an, an act that was surely meant to inflame passions within Muslims the world over?

Well guess what? He is now planning something on a much bigger scale. On Sept. 11, 2013, the pastor and his disciples will carry out an “International Burning of 2,998 Qur’ans” to “send Islam a very clear warning.”


The 2,998 figure is meant to signify the number of people who died during the World Trade Center (WTC) attacks.

In a message he said: “On September 11, 2013, to remember those who were murdered by radical Islam, and to send Islam a very clear warning that they will not get their foothold in the American Constitution as they have done in Europe, we will be holding an International Burning. The radical hand of Islam shows itself with violence against anyone who dares to stand up and speak the truth. … We will not be silent.”

This time around an American and his associate have decided to counter the pastor’s intended inflammatory actions with a carefully executed response that smacks of ‘turning the other cheek.’

Mike Ghouse, a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work and social settings is spearheading a move to meet the pastor’s response head-on with a worthy response. Mike, who is zealous toward building a cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day is planning “to respond to Pastor Terry Jones' planned burning of 2,998 copies of Qur’an on September 11, 2013 in positive terms.”

In a press release, Mike and his associate Mirza Beg speaking for the organization
(www.worldmuslimcongress.com) said: “Our response — we will reclaim the standard of behavior practiced by the Prophet concerning “scurrilous and hostile criticism of the Qur’an. It was "To overcome evil with good is good, and to resist evil by evil is evil." It is also strongly enjoined in the Qur’an in the same verse 41:34, “Good and evil deeds are not equal. Repel evil with what is better; then you will see that one who was once your enemy has become your dearest friend.”

“God willing Muslims will follow the divine guidance and pray for the restoration of Goodwill, and on that day many Muslim organizations will go on a “blood drive” to save lives and serve humanity with kindness.”
“We invite fellow Americans of all faiths, races, and ethnicities to join us to rededicate the pledge, “One nation under God”, and to build a cohesive America where no American has to live in apprehension, discomfort or fear of fellow Americans. This event is a substitute for our 10th Annual Unity Day Celebration (www.UnitydayUSA.com) held in Dallas, but now it will be at Mulberry, Florida.

“Unwittingly Pastor Jones has done us a favor by invigorating us by his decision to burn nearly 3,000 copies Qur’an on September 11, 2013. Obviously he is not satisfied by the notoriety he garnered by burning one Qur'an last year.

“As Muslims and citizens we honor the free speech guaranteed in our constitution. We have no intentions to criticize, condemn or oppose Pastor Terry Jones' freedom of expression. Instead, we will be donating blood and praying for goodness to permeate in our society.

“We plan to follow Jesus Christ (pbuh), a revered prophet in Islam as well as Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) — that of mitigating the conflicts and nurturing good will for the common good of the society.

“We hope, this event and the message will remind Muslims elsewhere in the world as well, that violence is not the way. Muslims, who react violently to senseless provocation, should realize that, violence causes more violence, and besmirches the name of the religion that we hold so dear. We believe that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was a mercy to the mankind, and we ought to practice what we believe and preach. We must not insult Islam by the negative reactions of a few.

“We can only hope it will bring about a change in the attitude of the followers of Pastor Jones, and in the behavior of those Muslims who reacted violently the last time the Pastor sought notoriety — We hope this small step towards a bridge to peaceful coexistence would propel us towards building a cohesive society.
“Like most Americans a majority of Muslims quietly go about their own business, but it is time to speak up and take positive action instead of negative reaction. May this message of peace and goodwill reverberate and reach many shores.

“Lastly, we appreciate the Citizens of Mulberry, Florida, Honorable Mayor George Hatch, City Commissioners, police and fire chiefs for handing this situation very well. This will add a ‘feather of peace’ in the city’s reputation. We hope Mulberry will be a catalyst in showing the way in handling conflict with dignity and peace.

“We thank the media for giving value to the work towards peace rather than conflict.”

Thank you for your commitment towards a peaceful solution, Mike. It is the media who should thank you for your commendable cause.


— Tariq Al-Maeena can be reached at talmaeena@aol.com and followed @talmaeena