Islam vs Jihadism: Difference between living by charity vs. dying by terrorism

[emilynghiem]

This Nigerian man cannot stop giving: food, money, cars, shops, even houses

^ This story is a beautiful example of a faithful Muslim man who lives by his vow of charity to the poor.
I have met Christians who literally took their vows to serve God and sold all their belongings to travel to poor countries, and serve in Haiti and Rwanda. This man reminds me of those very dedicated faithful called to serve.

The article also mentions he has been THREATENED by terrorist attacks by Boko Haram.
So do other "Jihadists" who wage war on the world as a military cult clearly fight in OPPOSITION to the peaceful Muslims they want to control.

If anyone confuses these two, they are mistaken.

It is as wrong to blame whole populations for "enabling" crimes of others,
as it is to blame "all America" for the crimes and corruption that go on because of freedoms we have that are abused by wrongdoers.

Sure, there ARE many Americans who continue to let votes, party donations, and taxes ENABLE corruption and abuse.

Our political system is based on "blaming, judging and punishing" whole groups or PARTIES for the failures or wrongs of the leaders and officials of that Affìliation.

But what about the oppressed dissension WITHIN the Democratic party and progressive movement that HAS protested and fought against corruption and abuse by leaders in power?
What about the opposition led by Libertarians and Tea Party against abuse of govt?
How is blaming all conservatives helping to stop the abuses by "certain" abusers and wrongdoers? Isn't it better to ALIGN with those standing up against the wrongs, and help ENFORCE corrections instead of blaming and dismissing the whole group collectively by "label."

What about Muslim victims who HAVE resisted and refused to go along with any terrorist or "jihadist" regime?

How are we going to team up and FIGHT against the abuse and oppression
if the opponents trying to stop these wrongs "are divided against each other" by labels?

Clearly the strategy of divide and conquer cannot continue to be used this way to weaken
the ability of law abiding citizens to unite against the wrongdoers,
by "turning them against each other" so the REAL instigators of political oppression, abuse and violence
can hide behind those barriers and continue to go unstopped.

The same way we should support the human rights efforts by Muslims fighting against the forces of oppression, and not attack and dismiss the innocent Muslim victims by assuming and treating them as "enabling the criminals and terrorists,"
across America, we should also support unity among ALL protestors fighting to stop govt abuses,
whether these citizens are affiliated with Democrats, Greens, Libertarians, Republicans or other parties.

Instead of falling victim to the game of divide and conquer,
by uniting forces and efforts, across religious political or social and cultural lines and labels,
we can stand together and stop the abuses of political power, corporate resources and media,
and legal and govt authority.

We don't have to agree or believe the same things,
to work together to invest in solutions, and to expose and demand restitution for problems
causing debts and damages the taxpayers otherwise have to pay.

Thank you!
=============================

“It’s by providence,” he says. “I cannot say I will allow a person to go away empty-handed, without some little satisfaction of the needs they came for. I never lack in giving something that they need. Widows, orphans, all kind of people come to me.”

Buzu is pious, humble and strict.

Born in neighboring Niger, he moved to Maiduguri, a center of religious learning, as a young man 37 years ago to teach Arabic and the Koran. He shared a shabby room as a tenant.

But as his following grew, people made donations in return for his prayers. He built a house for himself, and later added rooms and built more houses for his students and many relations. From there, it grew.

“I divided the property I used to buy into two parts, and I still do. One half, I build houses and give to under-privileged people. The other half, I buy and sell for profit.

“It started gradually, and it’s still expanding.”

His house is a down-at-the-heels maze of compounds, with worn dusty rugs, peeling ceilings and a frightening tangle of electrical wires instead of a fuse box.

The place has an ancient feel to it. In one courtyard, his wives and children sit quietly. In another, men unload bags of wheat and rice, ready to be handed out. Every Friday, a camel is led in to be slaughtered and the meat distributed.

He runs an informal Islamic school, where men and boys pray and write out the Koran in elegant ink calligraphy on yellow parchment.

For much of the day, he receives visitors on a small elevated platform on his airy rooftop, surrounded by broken down couches, some with no legs, others with the insides spilling out. Several of them are occupied by sleepy young men, prayer beads dangling.

Two shifts come morning and evening to recite the Koran, in musical chants.

Despite his popularity, Buzu does have enemies. Four years ago, the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram started threatening the neighborhood.

The militants warned Ahmadu to close his barber’s shop.

One morning, two gunmen sped up on a motorcycle as Buzu was crossing his compound and fired six shots at him, but missed. Their motive is not clear.

“I think they wanted to kill me so my people would suffer and be left in deplorable conditions,” says Buzu. “Then they might turn to Boko Haram.”

 

[Fenton Lum]

"Our political system is based on "blaming, judging and punishing" whole groups or PARTIES for the failures or wrongs of the leaders and officials of that Affìliation."

All of which allows us to escape any sense of personal responsibility for our own situation.

 

[emilynghiem]

"Our political system is based on "blaming, judging and punishing" whole groups or PARTIES for the failures or wrongs of the leaders and officials of that Affìliation."

All of which allows us to escape any sense of personal responsibility for our own situation.

Thank you Fenton Lum
Yes the political parties have both advantages, in organizing collective bargaining and representation by democratically elected structure,
and disadvantages when these are abused for collusion and collective lobbying that violates civil rights of individuals and opposing interests that get excluded or censored.

Since the govt is checked by Constitutional principles, process and ethics (see Bill of Rights, 14th Amendment and Code of Ethics for Govt Service www.ethics-commission.net)
why not hold ALL collective institutions and entities to follow these same guidelines to protect the rights of individuals from oppression by groups with greater influence or resources.

Would that help to hold ALL corporations, political parties, business charity or educational entities,
to signed agreements to address, correct and prevent all complaints or threats of abuse,
in order to qualify for licenses to operate per state. And hold states accountable for licensing abusive corporate entities
so the people and govt of these states DO have responsibility if wrongs occur that cost debts and damages to the public.

 

[Fenton Lum]

"Our political system is based on "blaming, judging and punishing" whole groups or PARTIES for the failures or wrongs of the leaders and officials of that Affìliation."

All of which allows us to escape any sense of personal responsibility for our own situation.

Thank you Fenton Lum
Yes the political parties have both advantages, in organizing collective bargaining and representation by democratically elected structure,
and disadvantages when these are abused for collusion and collective lobbying that violates civil rights of individuals and opposing interests that get excluded or censored.

Since the govt is checked by Constitutional principles, process and ethics (see Bill of Rights, 14th Amendment and Code of Ethics for Govt Service www.ethics-commission.net)
why not hold ALL collective institutions and entities to follow these same guidelines to protect the rights of individuals from oppression by groups with greater influence or resources.

Would that help to hold ALL corporations, political parties, business charity or educational entities,
to signed agreements to address, correct and prevent all complaints or threats of abuse,
in order to qualify for licenses to operate per state. And hold states accountable for licensing abusive corporate entities
so the people and govt of these states DO have responsibility if wrongs occur that cost debts and damages to the public.

You seem to be operating under the premise that this should be a govt for, by, and of “the people”, but that has never been anything more than rhetoric. If you’re suggesting that we need to focus upon the long winding struggle to move closer to living up to that rhetoric for all people, then I agree. That has always been the promise of America; that we might someday live up to that.

 

[emilynghiem]

Yes Fenton Lum I think we are heading that direction.
The human conscience will not stop until equal justice and equal representation is established.

Nobody can stand being oppressed or coerced.
So the political bullying has to stop, when people realize it keeps volleying back and forth.
If they can't handle the backlash, then don't do that to others and it will stop coming back!

We are on a learning curve, accelerated due to the internet and electronic communications.
By the time we can democratize American states and parties,
think what can happen with other countries that need this same thing.

China also cannot survive by oppressing its own population.
So it needs a manageable system, similar to states within a republic.
Europe couldn't stop the corruption and abuse of their union of states
because it didn't have the necessary checks and balances to ensure local regional representation wasn't overridden
by the larger collective.

So all people need to master a system of representation from local
to national and international without abuses going unchecked that crash it.

Our system hasn't totally crashed, because people and states still have the
ability to petition for reforms. So we should use that to solve problems, not
cut and run from them!!!

 

[Fenton Lum]

Yes Fenton Lum I think we are heading that direction.
The human conscience will not stop until equal justice and equal representation is established.

Nobody can stand being oppressed or coerced.
So the political bullying has to stop, when people realize it keeps volleying back and forth.
If they can't handle the backlash, then don't do that to others and it will stop coming back!

We are on a learning curve, accelerated due to the internet and electronic communications.
By the time we can democratize American states and parties,
think what can happen with other countries that need this same thing.

China also cannot survive by oppressing its own population.
So it needs a manageable system, similar to states within a republic.
Europe couldn't stop the corruption and abuse of their union of states
because it didn't have the necessary checks and balances to ensure local regional representation wasn't overridden
by the larger collective.

So all people need to master a system of representation from local
to national and international without abuses going unchecked that crash it.

Our system hasn't totally crashed, because people and states still have the
ability to petition for reforms. So we should use that to solve problems, not
cut and run from them!!!

I suppose we may differ some in that regard, I no longer believe the answer is in attempting to work within what the power structure sees as appropriate means. Concentrated corporate wealth and power manages our system and the trend line is a half century old now. Ours is tantamount to a colonial societal wealth extraction paradigm. I'm glad that many white americans are coming to grips with what others have always had to know by default. The privilege of being able to escape confronting that reality is slipping away. Unfortunately some are still not seeing clearly what they are up against, so all we'll most likely do is try something old and discarded once again, only harder.