Forward

Written by Haset Sali, December 2009.

First, I want to emphasize the power of “words.”

Almighty God with His Divine Wisdom chose to inspire us through “His Divine Words” and through the great Stories [or Parables] in The Book [the Torah and Gospel]. The Holy Quran [Koran] acknowledges all the key Divine Messengers and their Divine Revelations. The Quran in fact mentions Abraham, Moses, and Jesus many more times than Muhammad[peace be upon all of them]. To anyone who takes time to study it, the Quran is a Divine Message for all mankind-people of all colours and all races, rich or poor. The Quran’s Message is neither ‘Western’ nor ‘Eastern.’ It goes beyond race, national or tribal culture, fashion, magic or man-created theories or philosophies.

Learned Muslims believe The Holy Quran is the Last Revelation of “The Book, of God” which was revealed step by step to the Divine Messengers including Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad.   

Each Divine Messenger was created and inspired to reveal an important Message to mankind.  The Messages focus on our need to read, learn and think about God’s Way and His Will when facing the challenges of our time in history. 

Abraham came to know how sacred life is when he offered his son Ishmael as a sacrifice to God near Mecca.  The angel Gabriel helped him understand God’s Will or God’s Way withWords: 

God’s Message was:

1. We need to love all life and treat it as sacred.
2. We need to seek peace, understanding and freedom.
3. We need do good and prevent or overcome evil.

Believers in God, who can afford it, are asked to travel to the Ka’ba [the House of God] in Mecca so they can give thanks to God not only for all human life but for all life on Earth and our environment. All life on Earth, including our environment, is sacred and needs to be cherished and nurtured. Some people do not understand this and think the pilgrimage is only about the symbolic stoning of the devil. 

Moses was shown how important freedom is when God saved him and the Children of Israel from the evil Pharaoh. However, we cannot have freedom without obligations to God and to each other. Hence God gave Moses the Ten Commandments [Words] so mankind would think and be mindful of their obligations to God, to all humanity, to all living creatures and to our environment. 

Jesus showed us how we need to love our neighbour [and even our enemies] as we would love ourselves if we want to make it to Heaven. Jesus in fact said he was the Word [of God].It is a pity Geert Wilders and other EU fanatics on both sides do not understand or practice the Truth about Christianity and Islam. Cardinal Pell as a genuine leader of the Catholic Church in Australia in 2006 did the right thing to put his thoughts and concerns on paper. Only through such dialogue can the One God religions have the opportunity to build a better understanding and choose positive ways of building a better future.  Cardinal Pell also refers to Muslims migrating since the fall of the Ottoman Empire and after the Second World War. This is so, but it is also fact that some of the very earliest converts to Islam in Mecca were urged to migrate to Christian Abyssinia [Ethiopia] by the Messenger Muhammad himself to avoid persecution. He knew Abyssinia’s King was a principled and genuine leader.

It is clear right from the outset in Islam there was recognition by the Messenger Muhammad himself that Christians and Muslims can co exist peacefully if leaders and citizens are genuine and principled. I believe this is as true today as it was then. This is why genuine and principled communication is needed between the leaders of the parties involved in the current EU conflict. 

This fact is illustrated by two great leaders of our time:

Pope John Paul who lived his early years in fascist Poland and then in Communist Poland, realised what it is to lose the right to think, write and speak freely. It was Pope John Paul who also humbly prayed in synagogues and mosques to highlight we are all accountable and answerable to One God.

It was also he who helped convince Mikhail Gorbachev the USSR had more to gain and little to lose by pulling down the Berlin Wall and lifting the “Iron Curtain.” He highlighted war, terror and suspicion is simply destructive. Pope John Paul was powerful inspirationally when his physical strength was sapped by ill health. He did it with words not guns, not bombs, not terror campaigns.

Nelson Mandela in the same way, while locked up in prison for 27 years never lost faith in God and His Divine principles. His vision of dismantling apartheid became a reality when he was ultimately freed and became President of South Africa. He was most effective with words not guns, not bombs, not terror campaigns.  

My late parents, were both Muslim and pre-World War Two, humble, non-political migrants, from Albania who never lost Faith in God and His Divine principles. This was so even though for over 50 years absolutely no telephone communication was permitted by Albania’s Stalinist leader.  Letters in or out of Albania were read by government officials. This caused our family to love and cherish Australia. Here, we have “freedom of religion” and “freedom from religion” as well as freedom of movement, freedom to learn, think and speak. Australia’s love of freedom, though coupled with obligations, continually strengthened our family’s eternal optimism, positive spirit and their Faith in God and our nation. Thankfully we lived to see the end of communism in Albania. Sadly many of our loved ones in Albania died before the collapse of communism in 1990-1991; we did not see them or share memories. My Mum cried for months on end when she received a very brief letter saying her Dad had died three years earlier. As a little boy I sincerely pleaded with her not to cry or be sad. She slowly responded and it made me realise how cruel leaders can be and how powerful even the kind words of a child can be.

It also helped me realise how much hurt and suffering is inflicted on innocent people when brutal totalitarian leaders are suspicious and lack compassion and constantly use harsh words. 

All this has helped me realise the belief of the great majority of families in Australia is very similar, we deeply and sincerely love Australia and want peace and prosperity to thrive here and globally.

Muhammad [the Messenger] left Mecca to avoid a plot to kill him and went to Medina where he was welcomed and supported. He and his new friends successfully defended a number of violent attacks aimed at killing him. Ultimately through his powerful skills in mediation and consultation not one drop of blood was shed on his peaceful return to Mecca.

Being humble, caring and compassionate like all previous Divine Messengers he did not stay around and gloat he simply returned to Medina where he lived in peace for the rest of his Earthly life.  However, before he left Mecca he freed all residents from fear and oppression and proclaimed,  see Holy Quran Chapter [Sura] 2:

Verse 256. “Let there be no compulsion in religion. Good stands out from evil; whoever rejects evil and believes in God has grasped the most trustworthy handhold He [God] will never break; for God hears and knows all things.”

Verse 257. “God is the Protecting Friend of those who seek Faith. God will lead them forward from the depths of darkness into Light. Those who reject Faith follow the evil ones from Light back into darkness.”  

Verse 258. “Think about the one who argued with Abraham about God because God had granted him Power. Abraham said: “God gives life and death.” He replied: “I give life and death.” Abraham said: “But it is God who makes the sun rise from the east; can you make the sun rise from the west?” Thus the disbeliever was amazed; for God does not give guidance to those who seek evil.”   

Chapter 4 “Women” further underlines the essence of Islam:

Verse 123. “Neither your desires [Muslims] nor the desires of The People of The Book [Jews and Christians] can prevail over God’s Will. Whoever does evil will be punishedand they will not find any protecting friend or helper against God.”

Verse 124. “Whoever does good works whilst believing and having Faith in God, such will enter Heaven and not the least injustice will be done to them.”

Verse 125. “Who is better in religion than those who commit their purpose to God whilst doing good for mankind and follow the tradition of Abraham the true in Faith? For God did choose Abraham as a friend.”

Chapter 98 “Clear Proof” of the Holy Quran, one of the last of 114 Chapters states:

Verse 4. “The People of The Book [Jews and Christians] were not in dispute until after this Clear Proof [the Quran] came to them.”

Verse 5. “They are asked to do no more than this: Worship only God; be sincere in their [Faith and] devotion to Him; be true [honest, genuine, and loyal]; establish regular prayer practice regular charity. This is true religion.”

Hence the real test of what is true religion is not the religious “label” we choose to carry but our “Faith in God.” Prayer is the key to God’s inspiration. The test for us: Is our actual conduct “good” or “evil.” Our “Faith in God” must be true, honest and genuine and finally we need to practice regular charity.

Cardinal Pell in 2006 spoke of views ranging from “naïve optimism” to the “bleakest pessimism.”

Speaking of the “optimists” Cardinal Pell says in the 20th Century: …“ [Nazism and Communism] ultimately proved to be unsustainable because of the enormous toll they exacted on human life and creativity so too will the religious totalitarianism of radical Islam.” Note: over 50 million people died in the Second World War and over 60 million people died in the USSR and Chinese communist revolutions. Speaking of “pessimists” Cardinal Pell refers to “invocations of violence” he found in the Quran. He goes on to paint a grim historical picture without recognising the fact that the 20th Century was probably the most brutal and devastating of all centuries and that Islam could not be blamed for it. This of course does mean we should all work to ensure history is not repeated.

This is a good time for Pope Benedict [who is German] to meet the Ayatollah and President of Iran and explain that he witnessed Holocaust in Germany and the world does not need to repeat history.

In any event I again refer to the above verses to highlight that in Islam: “…Whoever does evil will be punished.”

In addition, I need to point out that the first word in the Quran is “Read” as the Divine Messages of God require Muslims to “learn.” Above all God wants us to “think” about how best we can serve Him, all mankind, all life on Earth and protect our environment. We need to uphold: Truth, honesty, overcome evil and last but not least improve personal and environmental security.

The Quran reminds us of this obligation over 800 times, with words such as “think, enquire, take heed, reflect, observe the Signs [of God], look and listen.”

The Quran also forbids killing: Chapter 5 “The Table Spread” [of Jesus] Verse 32 in short, says: “To take one life is as if you take the lives of all humanity and to save one life is as if to save all humanity.”  Suicide is not exempt from this obligation.

In the 21st Century the One God religions need “Eternal Optimists” as outlined in Chapter 98 above. It is a contradiction of terms to be talking of “Fighting for Peace.”  In fact, what the world needs now more than ever before is love, forgiveness and inspirational conduct aimed at achieving peace by mediation and consultation.

If we develop and instil security rather than fear in the minds of all mankind, terror will diminish in response. The Israel-Palestinian conflict will only have a hope of resolution if the United Nations has a similar presence in Palestine and the West Bank as in Kosovo even though peace is fragile.

The Quran and the People of The Book both talk about an “eye for an eye” yet both these scriptures qualify this principle by saying it is best to forgive. We all know an “eye for an eye” if practised fanatically would make the whole world blind.

There is an urgent need for a greater global humane effort and shared prosperity right now. This fact was highlighted in July 2005 by James Wolfensohn the retiring President of The World Bank who said his greatest regret was not being able to convince G8 Leaders that their highest priority should be to tackle poverty, homelessness and education. He pointed out that in 2005 alone, $50 billion [US] was being spent to overcome poverty whilst $1,000 billion [US] was being spent on armaments. Genuine effort to build peace and security is the key to a better world for all.

Modern day examples of how small loans can liberate millions of poor people are Muhammad Yunus’ Grameen Bank. He proves we just need to change the focus in our thinking. 

It is not practical to simply try and “export democracy to the Middle East” or anywhere else by just barging in. We need to work closely with the people who need help to establish their needs and then move forward together with a well thought out strategy, even with our own Aboriginals.

Climate Change is another global matter requiring urgent attention. Australia is in a great and unique situation to tackle the challenges of Climate Change and the over dependence on the finite and highly pollutant Petroleum Industry. We have more resources per person than any nation on Earth. However we need to use our resources more wisely

Being one nation about to be affected most adversely by Climate Change we need to implement at least four key initiatives and in doing so set a positive global example:

1. Tackle the South East Australian Water Crisis: Geoff Croker’s Plan: Harnessing Tasmanian Water [see attachment].The Federal Government simply buying up Water Rights for water that does not exist because of Climate Change just wastes hard earned money. We need practical solutions.
2. Capture or harness Australia’s available carbon from our many coal fired power stations. Utilise the carbon to produce Urea which is a great fertiliser and is 95% carbon [currently we import 95% of Urea used by farmers-we should be producing and exporting it]. Alternatively, algae farms need to be set up next to coal fired power stations using carbon to produce massive volumes of bio diesel.
3. We need to develop solar power nationally and renewable energy such as ethanol in Queensland from sugar cane and ocean tidal power needs to be seriously harnessed as it is clean and infinite.
4. Last but not least we need to reward farmers or investors who seriously and constructively adopt positive reafforestation to rejuvenate our parched land.

In Islam pursuit of science, learning and exploration in all spheres is recommended, as long as our new found knowledge pursues God’s Way or Will and serves all mankind, all living creatures and improves our environment.

In short, we all need to seek to improve global security not increase it. I am not convinced expanding the nuclear option is the best way to build global peace especially when nations like Brazil have shown that ethanol and bio fuels are environmentally a much friendlier and less expensive option. Ethanol blend fuels in Brazil cost less than petroleum. We do not need to add more dangerous high-tech solutions at this time. The Quran Chapter 55 verse 33 sums it all up: “…If you can pass beyond the zones of the Heavens and Earth, do so, but you will not be able to do it without [God’s] permission.”

Conclusion:

Building genuine global peace, personal and environmental security can be the only circuit breakers. “Non-violence” is the only road to peace and security. Truthful, honest and proactive mediation and consultation using non-aggressive words provide the key.

Believers in Almighty God, the One God, especially “Eternal Optimists” who believe in worthy conduct- Jews, Christians and Muslims- must not allow those who pursue, war, terror and fear to contaminate their Faith in God and in each other.

Pope John Paul and Nelson Mandela set a great example in the last century surely we can follow their example in this century and search for ways to achieve shared prosperity, peace and security in the future.

I thank God, I live in Australia. I pray and work for the time when all children will live in a world free of prejudice and hatred, where they will not be judged by their sex, the colour of their skin or their religion, but only by whether their conduct is worthy.

Copyright © 2009 Haset Sali.