President Obama with Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir, a student
who broke
the high school career scoring record in
women's basketball in
Massachusetts, at a Ramadan dinner at the White
House, Sept. 1
Kayhan, Islamic Republic of Iran
Obama 'Lost in a World of Materialism'
Is it 'difficult' for President Obama to reach out to Muslims around the globe because he's part of a world 'lost in materialism and immediate human desires.' That is the thrust of this article from Iran's hardline, government controlled Kayhan newspaper.
Imam Hussein: The tragic deaths of he and his family members in 680AD during the conflict over who should lead Muslims after the Prophet Muhammad's death remains a rallying cry for Shiites.
To live by the Faith is what Imam Ali (AS) [Alayhis Salaam]
is renowned for. His honesty, integrity, justice and unswerving belief in
Almighty God outside of everyday material and human interests signify the core
of many of the beliefs of Shiites. However, every Imam from the bloodline of
the blessed household of God’s last messenger Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him)
has his contributions to make to mankind.
Imam Hussein (AS) is known
as Seyed-ul Shohada or the Lord of Martyrs. The selfless sacrifice of he
and his followers on the plain of Karbala created an epic on which the Muslim
thirst for world justice was modeled.
[Editor's Note: In 680 AD, Imam Hussein, grandson
of the Prophet Mohammad, and about 70 of his relatives, clashed with a force of
about 30,000 from Yazid, the Umayyad caliph, at the Battle of Karbala. Hussein
and his men were killed and beheaded. Their corpses were left for days
without burial and non-male survivors from Hussein's family were taken prisoner.
This was part of the deepening conflict between Sunnis and Shiites over who
should succeed the Prophet Mohammad. It is a rift that continues to this day].
Iranians took to the Good
Religion [Islam] because of the simplicity and sincerity of its message. The
two worlds of the living and the hereafter balance one another. For instance,
the pursuit of wealth is not abandoned in the interest of the afterlife. There
is a harmony struck between the two existences of body and soul.
To preserve life in comfort
is not denied and yet guidelines have been provided for a just system of
attaining wealth so a Muslim and his family don't go hungry while another
gorges himself.
Business monopolies are
forbidden, as they are in Article 157 of the Islamic Republic Constitution, so
the underprivileged and their offspring have a chance to provide for their
daily needs and well being as well as for their future needs.
[Editor's Note: The author
appears mistaken about this. Article
157 does not appear to mention any of these issues].
Unreasonable extremes are
rejected in this balanced world view, while the inevitable sacrifices to
preserve the Faith that must be made are blessed by God.
During the Holy Month of
Ramadan, Muslims fast to remind themselves of the hardships of hunger and
thirst, so they may come to understand and comprehend the difficulties and calumnies
endured by their less privileged Muslim brothers and sisters.
President Barack Hussein
Obama has hosted a dinner to mark the holy month of Ramadan [Sept. 1]. Ambassadors,
senior administration officials and members of Congress joined Obama in the
White House to pay tribute to what he termed "a great religion and its
commitment to justice and progress."
Obama said at the Iftar, the special meal that
breaks the daily sunrise to sunset fast during Ramadan, "The contribution
of Muslims to the United States are too long to catalogue because Muslims are
so interwoven into the fabric of our communities and our country."
Obama also released a video
message [see below] to Muslims before the start of the Holy Month, in which he
called Ramadan's rituals a reminder of the principles Muslims and Christians
share, including advancing justice, progress, tolerance and the dignity of all
human beings.
And the latter video isn't the
only message Obama has released during the last few months. He has reportedly
sent a second direct message to the leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah
Seyed Ali Khamenei.
How difficult it must be to
attempt to reach out to the world of Islam from a world lost in materialism and
immediate human desires.
The leader of the Islamic
Revolution has reportedly not left Obama’s letter go unanswered in the belief
that, “Mankind resembles many rivers … Holy tragedy and grief make the many
one.”
Iran is open to logical
suggestions based on international law. The prime duty of every Shiite is to
uphold justice for the disinherited, the dispossessed and the downtrodden.
The Islamic Republic has
demonstrated its metal by standing by its beliefs over the last thirty years.
The steel of its resolve to drive for a better world in which spiritual values
guide humanity has been apparent in every hardship the Islamic Republic has
endured during.
Imam Hussein’s (AS) red lines
for the faithful, written in his own blessed blood in the sands of the Karbala
plains, will guide every decision made within the Shiite faith.
