Muslim Monsters Invade Memphis TN, Or So They Are Saying!

ANOTHER ATTEMPT AT MAKING MUSLIMS INTO MONSTERS

(I think my picture is scarier than their words..... Don't you?)

     Fe fi fo fum, I smell something yum yum... "It's an infidel", screams the mighty Muslim monster, as the far right explains: "He has entered my city with dreams and hopes of destroying society as we know it, implementing his evil shari'a, and killing all non-Muslim peoples! Wherever you see them, know that they hate you, have spread their way of life via violence, and they will show you no mercy!"

     My comments are concerning another websites' rant about the building and formation of MIC (Memphis Islamic Center). This website ( www.rightsidenews.com ), and their post (here) are just another example of extremism in ignorance. I also experienced this, as a former Christian. Everything I was lead to believe was founded upon a twisted love for Israel and the Jews as a whole, even though they killed Jesus, based upon the modern day interpretation of verses from a book that has been translated from one language to another, then another, then another, and has more versions than I do underwear! (Not meant as hate speech towards the Christian faith, but said in good humor towards the author of the article in question.)

     I want my readers to understand the level of ignorance that they are facing when reading such articles from such sites. We Muslims have a foundation that our faith is built upon, and in that foundation there are principles that are unshakable. One of those principles is protection of human life. The authors of such hate, as the one on the site I am discussing, would have you believe that we are here to kill, steal and destroy! They could not be further from the truth. And his discussion about how rude the Somalian people were, well that has nothing to do with Islam and everything to do with the Somalian culture. He blames the car for the crash and not the driver! lol (i.e. blaming Islam for the personalities, actions, etc. of a Muslim and not blaming the person.)

The following is a small explanation and understanding of that fundamental principle (protecting human life) with an evidence from the verses of the Qur'an, which all ideas and beliefs must have (an evidence from the religious text):

FROM: www.deenresearchcenter.com

مِن أَجلِ ذٰلِكَ كَتَبنا عَلىٰ بَنى إِسرٰءيلَ أَنَّهُ مَن قَتَلَ نَفسًا بِغَيرِ نَفسٍ أَو فَسادٍ فِى الأَرضِ فَكَأَنَّما قَتَلَ النّاسَ جَميعًا وَمَن أَحياها فَكَأَنَّما أَحيَا النّاسَ جَميعًا ۚ وَلَقَد جاءَتهُم رُسُلُنا بِالبَيِّنٰتِ ثُمَّ إِنَّ كَثيرًا مِنهُم بَعدَ ذٰلِكَ فِى الأَرضِ لَمُسرِفونَ
"That is why We decreed for the children of Israel that whosoever kills a human being, except (as punishment) for murder or for spreading lifethreatening chaos on earth, it is as if killing the entire human race; and whosoever saves a life, saves the entire human race. Our apostles brought clear proofs to them; but even after that most of them committed excesses in the land."

-[Qur'an 5:32, referring to revelation that wasn't taken up in the written Torah but in the oral commentaries on the story of Cain and Abel, see "Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5", "Babylonian Talmud Tractate Sanhedrin 37a"]

The verses before 5:32 relate the story of Cain killing Abel (Qur'an 5:27-31, Bible Torah Genesis/Bereshit 4:1-17), which metaphorically refers to the first murder in the history of mankind, and represents the proto-Semitic remembrance of the transition from free-roaming egalitarian huntergatherers and semi-nomads ("Abel was a keeper of sheep", Genesis 4:2, his name comes from a Semitic root that refers to something transitory and unsatisfactory, probably hinting towards how later Mesopotamian society viewed the nomadic life of the past) to landclaiming hierarchical agriculture society ("Cain was a tiller of the ground", ibid. The name Cain comes from a root meaning 'to get' and literally means 'spear', which also hints towards how land and resources were taken) which created the first major conflicts over land and resources in the history of mankind. 

With this as its background, verse 5:32 is presented as a divine decree with important humanistic implications:
1. Killing one human is equal to killing the entire human race: EVERY human, whatever its age, gender, nationality, race, social status, history, worldview or religion, isn't just equal to mankind (al-Nāss), but is equal to the ENTIRE human race together (al-Nāss jamiy'ān), from the first human that has lived untill the last. No single human death can be marginalized by comparing it to larger amounts of deaths or even the total amount of mankind. This is emphasized in 6:151 which says that justice must be upheld (bi-lHaqq), but every life is sacred and inviolable before God (al-Nafsa allati harama Allah). When a person is killed, also the potential good deeds and progeny is killed and thus within one life harbors the potential for many life. Interesting is that the Qur'an shortens the Biblical account by making Cain's only words, "I will kill you", because a killer can have no real justifications for his desire to slay another human.

2. Giving/saving one human is equal to saving the entire human race: It makes an exception for killing in the case of punishing murder and lifethreatening chaos on earth (fasādin fi-l'Ardh), to protect the innocent and weak, but this is only a last resort as even they can be forgiven if they reform and repay their crimes (5:33) or if the victims and authorities forgive them (2:178, 5:45). This is why there are NO exceptions in this verse in the equalizing of one saved life with the saving all of mankind; if a human life is saved or spared, even if he is a murderer, it is as if all of mankind is saved. The literal Arabic makes it very clear: "to give life (a'hyā) to one being is as if giving life to  the entire human race together (a'hya al-Nāss jamiy'ān)". It isn't just sparing a life, it is reviving it. Qadi Ibn al-'Arabi says this concept is the primal standpoint on which the whole Islamic way of life should base itself. Shaykh Muhammad 'Abduh emphasizes that this verse embodies the human rights of the entire human race ("tandhaghim fīhi jamiy'a huqūq al-Nāss"), it's the universal knowledge on which human existence stands and making it inviolable.
Important detail is also that both the Qur'an and Mishnah don't use words as 'mortal' or 'person' but 'nafs/nafash' which comes from the Semitic root 'nafasha' meaning to breath, that which makes someone alive, which in the Semitic religions developed into the concept of a soul or conciousness with a sacred value. And as the opposite to Cain, Abel is represented as understanding his innocence and wishing to remain innocent, "I will not extend my hand toward you to kill you", as even though selfdefense is always allowed (2:190-191, 22:39-40), the story focuses on the remaining stain of guilt (literally 'ithm' means that which weakens) which any killing will leave behind, repeating Genesis 4:13 and Jesus in Matthew 23:33-36 in which he says about murder "and so you will draw down down on yourselves the blood of every holy man that has been shed on earth, from the blood of Abel the holy to the blood of Zechariah." Qadi Ibn al-'Arabi emphasizes that this means that every murderer bears the guilt of not only killing that one human, but the weight of the murder of all mankind ("An 'aylihi ithmi man qatala jamiy'a al-Nāss").

And as I have said before in previous postings, "the verse about killing infidels (non-believers) is concerning a certain group of people who persecuted the Muslims, killed them, tortured them, stole from them, and insisted on whipping them out. God sent down the revelation to Muhammad (peace be upon him): Quran (2:191-193) - "And kill them wherever you find them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out. And Al-Fitnah [opressing others, killing human beings, and rejecting God's message] is worse than killing... but if they desist, then lo! Allah is forgiving and merciful.   And fight them until there is no more  and worship is for Allah alone.  But if they cease, let there be no transgression except against Az-Zalimun (the polytheists, and wrong-doers, etc.)" ]

     This is a very clear cut verse concerning that group of people (The Quraish), which were actually of the family of Muhammad (peace be upon him). For 13 hard years Muhammad (peace be upon him) taught what Moses and Jesus (peace be upon them) taught, that God is ONE and that you should worship Him and Him alone, without associating any partners or helpers with Him. The Quraish and others were so upset that Muhammad, one of their own, was destroying the beliefs of idol worship, as Abraham had done himself (peace be upon him), that they ultimately plotted to assassinate him. He fled to Madina, and they followed. They killed and persecuted the Muslims that did not flee, emptied their houses of their belongings and sent the stuff to be sold in the markets elsewhere. Muhammad and his followers (peace be upon him) set out to retrieve their stuff. The enemies of Islam of today will tell you that they were bandits and raided caravans! And isn't it amazing, that these people never tell you and expand upon the fact that we muslims are not to pursue fighting until all avenues of peace have been exhausted! They will NOT tell you that the Quran commands us to seek peace, until there is no choice but to fight, and if the people we are fighting decide to stop, we are to stop! They conveniently skip all these facts and go strait to the meat of their hatred, "Kill all the infidels!"...

 The facts are all twisted from these ignoramuses. I beg and plead all decent Americans to do the research yourselves. 

     I have found a way of life that is so perfect, but yet I am so imperfect. I have found a religion that has all the answers to all the questions, yet I am and always will be learning and never able to know it all. I have found the meaning to life and the answers to some of the most amazing scientific questions. I have found and embraced a way of life that ultimately gives me a peace of mind and heart, a peace that no drug, person, thing, etc. can provide! I have found Islam, and I am a Muslim! You should be too.....

     I hope and pray that God guides you all to the correct understanding of this beautiful system of belief and action. We need to listen to peoples hate less, and study and research more! As Muslims, we are commanded to go out and learn, because learning increases ones knowledge and knowledge leads to understanding..... and understanding can lead to peace and harmony amongst humanity in many areas of life.

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COMMENT!

An Islamaphobic Little Old-Lady

First they came for the Muslims,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Muslim.

Then they came for the Jew,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for the Christians,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Christian.

Then they came for me,
and there was no one left to speak for me......

(Don't let the powers that be trick you into thinking that Muslims are the boogie man... They will come for you next!)

A little old-lady came into my place of employment the other day, and she began to rant about the problems Memphis, TN has with the blacks. "The worst thing that ever happened to us was the fact that they killed him here... here in our city!", she goes on to tell me about Martin Luther King.

All-the-while she is continuously staring at my head covering (a hat). It is a traditional style cap that the Muslims wear. We ware it for many different reasons. I wear it to let others know that I'm different than them. To make a statement, "I am a Muslim. I do not curse, drink or do harm to others. I do not cheat or steal. I pray 5 times a day and believe in One God. I do not pray to or through anything or anyone that God created... i go directly to the source, by calling on God in Gods name.

This lady rapped up her conversation / rant about the blacks in our city and in America and proceeded to leave. Almost to the door, she turns around ask me, "what are you!?". I couldn't help but let out a small laugh, and then I replied, "I knew you were going to ask me that!". Given her racism, I knew I had to tread lite.

I told her, "I am a Muslim, but I think that it is a conversation for another time and another place." She said, "you bet it is!". I tried fast to give her a brief summery on how we believe in God, when she suddenly cut me off! She waved her finger at me and curled up her lip in anger and said, "I know more about your religion than you do young man! And let me tell you another thing! I don't fallow any religion that tells me to kill all the people that don't believe like me!"

I couldn't get a word in edge wise, so I wrote her this brief letter and handed it to her a few days later.... Now, she comes in and smiles and treats me with a little bit of respect.

Try it (Dawah), and see what changes you can make in the world today!

THE LETTER

Dear mam,

I enjoyed the conversation that we had the other day in the store, and I find you to be a very intelligent and interesting individual. Everything that we know has been taught to us by someone, some book, some experience or life changing event. This means that intelligence is based upon knowledge and that knowledge has to be acquired. One can not claim to understand biology, unless one has taken the proper courses and has had someone to guide them in their understanding. If a person hears or is told something about biology by those who are not biologist, then acceptance of those ideas or facts could indeed be acceptance of false ideas and not be facts. Furthermore, one does not go to a mechanic to get his computer fixed or a gardener to have their roof repaired. They go to those who have the knowledge and experience to do the job at hand.

It bothers me that people outside of a certain religion claim to know more than the one who has spent decades living it, understanding and studying it. Any sane and intelligent person would have to agree with this statement. Understanding any divine revelation requires proper study. A Christian preacher goes to divinity school to learn and understand the bible, in order to go and teach it or preach it to the world or their community, and even then one is dependent upon that preacher having been taught the correct way.

What I am trying to say is similar to what you were explaining to me about Memphis. You told me, “honey I think you're too young to know what I’m talking about”. That is because, in order for me to understand the changes that Memphis has gone through, the fact that the blacks had promised to take over, and the current situation we’re in, I had to have been there and gone through it. You were right! So, how is it that one who is not a Muslim, never took classes in a university or with a Muslim scholar able to dictate the religion of Islam to the Muslims?

Here is the proper way to understand the verse you used to say Islam was bad:

For 13 years, Muhammad was calling people to worship God and to stop worshiping the idols. The same you could say as Abraham. Muhammad was calling people to stop burying their daughters alive; a practice that was prevalent during the time. He also called for rights to be given to the poor, charity to be established, etc. He was the first person to bring about a system whereby women could own property. (Does this sound like the actions of a madman or one who is under the influence of Satan?)

The people of his tribe and city began to torture and murder his followers. Some were even boiled in hot water. The elite of the communities saw that he was calling for the worship of God and cessation of idol worship. This was how the elite made their money; people would come from far and wide to give offerings of gold and monies to the idols that were kept in the sacred house that Abraham had built for the worship of God and God alone. They plotted to kill him (Muhammad), and they made an attempt! He fled to Madina with his followers, where he was pursued. Eventually the elite of Mecca returned and plotted to take an army after him, and to supply the army and out of greed as well, they took all their property left behind and shipped it out on a caravan headed to trade in another place. Muhammad and his followers intercepted the caravan and retrieved their goods. (This is what is used by the enemy of Muslims to say “he robbed and stole from caravans”.)

The problems persisted and an the army of oppressive non-Muslims, those from Muhammad's city, attacked the Muslims that had already fled! Later a peace treaty was made with the elite of Mecca (The Non-Believers / Non-Muslims), which was eventually broken by them, and they attacked Muhammad and his followers once more. This is were the following verses were revealed, and God commanded them to go out in battle and kill these people, (Non-Muslims / i.e. Non-Believers) who had persisted in killing and driving them out of their homes, and NOT (Non-believers in general)... And all of this happened to Muhammad and his follower, and it persist today, because they did as Noah, Moses, Jesus, Abraham, etc. They commanded that God be worshiped, his rules to be fallowed, for the people to give charity, to pray, to be kind to the neighbors, feed the poor and hungry, and many other wonderful good things. Why then do people still say that Islam is from the devil???

Here is the proper explanation and understanding of the verse you used to say my religion was evil:
All you need to do is put the verses in context and they are self explanatory!

[002:190] Fight in the cause of God those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for God loveth not transgressors. (Stand up and fight for what is right and righteous! Don't let people oppress you, kill you and others! Stand up against wrong with honor and humility!)

[002:191] And slay them wherever ye catch them, and turn them out from where they have Turned you out; for tumult and oppression are worse than slaughter; but fight them not at the Sacred Mosque, unless they (first) fight you there; but if they fight you, slay them. Such is the reward of those who suppress faith. (Fight them and kill them, wherever you meet them in battle. Don't run away like a coward, and do not let evil and oppression prevail! Fighting against persecution and oppression, defending righteousness and the helpless, are not even close to the evil that they are committing.)

[002:192] But if they cease, God is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (But if they give up and stop their attack on you, promise to stop killing and oppressing human beings, and they promise to stop worshiping idols, etc., then don't hurt them. This is because God is all Forgiving and all Merciful!)

[002:193] And fight them on until there is no more Tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in God; but if they cease, Let there be no hostility except to those who practise oppression. Do not give up fighting them, until their is no more persecution and oppression and faith has triumphed over disbelief (good over evil). And, if they stop their ways, then do not harbor any hard feelings towards them, only towards the ones who oppress...

I hope this clarifies anything that others have said to make you believe Islam is evil or bad... It is shameful that people sit behind a TV camera or on a pulpit and spew such evil and slanderous things against such wonderful and caring people. As my mamma said, soon after I accepted Islam, "I want to understand your religion! I want to know what it is that changed my son, when I thought he could never be changed!" You see, I was destine to be in jail or dead, with the lifestyle that I was living. God brought me to the best, and I turned my life around! Islam (A way of life of submitting to Gods Will, whereby one attains peace of heart and peace of mind), has made me a better person!

Thank you for talking with me and for sharing with me.... I hope that you go back to those people who have lied about me and on my religion and tell them the truth that you have learned today..... any and all verses have a context in which they were revealed. If you want to understand the verse, you HAVE to understand the context!

As the bible says, "2 Kings 15:¹⁶Then Menahem smote Tiphsah, and all that were therein, and the coasts thereof from Tirzah: because they opened not to him, therefore he smote it; and all the women therein that were with child he ripped up."

Also, "Numbers 31:¹⁷Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. ¹⁸But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves."

[Someone somewhere wants to use Islam and the Muslims as the great big bad Boogie Man. Doing this creates fear in the hearts of Americans and cause us to give up our rights to those in government. When we do this, they use those lost rights to turn on us.....]

By: Yusuf Sneed, born: Joseph Shane Sneed

THE EPIDEMIC OF ALCOHOL AND THE MUSLIMS WHO HELP TO SPREAD IT

ALCOHOL AND THE MUSLIMS WHO HELP TO SPREAD IT AND THE DESTRUCTION THAT FALLOWS..

 It was a normal day at my new found job of delivering cookies and acquiring new stores for the sale of Mrs. Ahmed's homemade handmade Halal cookies. I remember that the day had been a beautiful one! It was mid-afternoon, and the world was rolling on as it usually did in Memphis, TN. The difference today was that it was in the mid-50's, with a nice cool breeze, and I was working! For every $100 of cookies I sold, I got $20 in my pocket. A thousand packs times $.60 equals $600.00, and I was to make around $120.00 for my 4 hours of work......

     I was a new convert to Islam, well, a few years into my new and amazing life of living and learning Al-Islam. I had a zest and zeal that is often found in people, when they find something that changes their life for the better and brings them a soft warm fuzzy feeling in their heart! The sweetness of faith! Yes, I think that is what the preacher called it, as he had explained in a recent lecture I attended. I was tasting the sweetness of Iman (Faith)! But, it wasn't long before I realized something that brought me to my knees! (Others who claimed to believe and act as I did, well... they did not feel the same! In fact, they seemed to take Islam as some sort of a joke. Their is a difference you know, between struggling with your desires and sinfulness and just flat out not giving a hoot.

     One event for ever stained my brain. It's there, somewhere in the deep recesses of my brain, where electrical impulses meets synapsis and produces a permanent memory, and I wish that I could plug up to some sort of technologically sound memory removing device and have it swiped away for good! Yes.. I have many of those type of memories that I would systematically seek out and destroy, because some things that we see and experience in life have a way of turning against you. It's kind of like a parasitic invasion, only it eats at your faith and your emotional stability.

     On that beautiful breezy day, I walked into a convenient store and waited in line to approach the workers and solicit their business. The Budweiser sign flickered on and off as if it had been dipping into its own stash of booze. The old lady in front of me was nervously looking back at her car to see if the 5 year old boy was behaving, or was she scared the police would drive by and see she was endangering her child? Who knows, but it wasn't her or anyone else that I was paying attention to. I was watching, with great interest I might add, the two men behind the counter, specifically the one arguing with an older African American man at the point of purchase. "You stupid motherf****, what did I tell you last time!!?? He said in an accurate thug like voice. "You want this Sh**, then you need to pay up you old ugly man!". When I heard it, my eyes opened up wide, and I almost dropped my basket of cookies. He caught me off guard and sort of spooked me. I thought to myself, "where are these guys behind the counter from?".

     It wasn't long before I had my answer. A few more curse words and having had looked past the sagging pants, the cocked sideways hat, and the gangster attitude, I saw what I was looking for. They were two Yemeni brothers. I saw a Quran nearby, but it was what I heard in the distance that began to make my stomach feel as if it were about to reject my most recent meal. I heard, over all the curse words and the music that was playing from behind the counter, "Fabiyy a-ya-llah... ee-rabee-kum-a too-kathy-ban...." (which of these [from your Lord] will you deny...). My blood began to boil, and I knew I was about to lose everything dear to me. My freedom, new job and several other things were about to be snatched from me in a shorter time than it takes to say " Salaam"! I was going to snatch one of these brothers and beat him to death! (It is a problem I have been dealing with for a while now. I rarely get mad, but when I do, I usually go all the way and for a good reason.)

     I ran out the store and threw the cookies in the car, and I grabbed my prayer rug and laid it out on the door step of this store. I prayed to rakaah and left it at that...

   I have seen a brother incarcerated for shooting at a man who was stealing his alcohol, and once I saw two brothers flipping coins to see who would be fasting the month of Ramadan. Others have told me that they like an occasional drink after breaking their fast, and another time a brother heard my conversion story and closed his store to run to the Masjid and pray. This was something he had not done in over 10 years, so he told me....

   I don't claim to know the reasons behind all of these actions, nor do I judge them. I simply say this: My fellow brothers and sisters in Islam. If you are one of these people, or you are close to them, then Allah will surely ask you about what you did or did not do. We have to find some way somehow to lessen the amount of Muslims that participate in the destruction of humanity here and abroad. The next time a person is killed, raped or beaten, because their mother, father, brother, sister or husband has allowed the sale of alcohol, you will be judged by The Almighty for your part you had to play.... Imagine that your bests friend sales a bottle of alcohol to a man who ends up abusing your daughter or mother! Would you not kill him??!! How is it that we say, "Killing one human being is like killing all of humanity, and to save one human being is as if you saved all of humanity....", and then we go to work and sale the very thing that destroys and kills thousands of human beings daily??? It is hypocrisy!!! 

   I saw a man once. He bought several bottles of alcohol from a Muslims brother, and on the way out the door he fell down. The brothers were laughing at him so hard! The man gave the keys to his 11 year old daughter, who was crying and screaming, "I can't drive papa! Please don't! I can't drive papa, please!" He smacked her and told her to get in the truck... she drove away, but not before banging into some concrete protective barriers.

   I have a dozen or more stories like it, and I'm sure others do as well. It is my opinion that the problem is not from a lack of clarity in our beliefs as Muslims. Well, it is not a high percentage of the problem, but it does account for the many excuses that one hears from those whom we are discussing. I have heard, "It is less than stealing, Yusuf! You have to ask forgiveness from the one who is the victim, and if I sale Khamir (intoxicants), it is between me and Allah only!"

Others say, "If I were to stop selling alcohol akhi,"I would lose my business and have to cease working. It is a Muslims duty to support his family; It is an act of worship Yusuf!" These statements and more like it do show a clear lack of understanding of some ore principals in Islamic Aqeedah us-sahiah ul-Islamiyyah (Sound / Authentic Islamic beliefs) So, How do we handle it, as laymen (non-scholars) in Islam??? A question I now pose to the reader. i.e. You!

   Another opinion I purpose is this: The problem lies in gravity of culture influences on the migrant Muslims who arrive here. The cultures often clash with Islam, provide excuses for evil behavior, deemphasize the importence of many elements in islam, cause undue and unfounded hatred, and in many cases can ruin a revert or converts understanding of the religion and cause them to go astray. So, we can see that culture playes a big part in the problems we are discussing here, today, in this much needed note to all of you, especially to myself.....

   I hope and I pray that we find a way to tackle this problem, because it is doing damage in multiple areas and in multiple ways. It is an issue that has been delt with by those who know better than me and you. Yet, it is gaining more and more speed as it works its' magic accorss the lands. And, as we know well, the faster something goes, the more damage it usually causes.....

   Thank you for allowing me to vent, and I pray that it changes someones life, somewhere, someway, and somehow.... "guide us to the Strait Path, the path of those who have earned Your Mercy, not the path of those who earned anger  or those who went astray." Quran: 1:1-7

AMEEN!

Yusuf

Never Despair The Mercy of Your Lord

"Never Despair The Mercy of Your Lord!"

Left 2008 / Right 2012
AtoZ Market

LIFE'S UNEXPECTED TWIST AND TURNS

A.K.A. DESTINY

Sometimes you may feel like things are never going to go  your way or that life is so unfair. In reality it is not what it seems. There is a force behind the changes in ones life. It is an unseen, but yet carefully planned force. The wisdom of the Creator is far more reaching and seeing than one could ever even begin to comprehend. He knows what you reveal and what you conceal in the deep recesses of your heart.

Quran: 2:32 They said, "Exalted are You; we have no knowledge except what You have taught us. Indeed, it is You who is the Knowing, the Wise."

     In 2008 I was in the 2nd year of my journey through life as a Muslim. I was enthusiastic when it came to learning and practicing my new found way of life, i.e. religion. There were times that I went months walking 2 miles a day just to make it to the morning prayer. Often, I would be overcome with this sweet and wonder feeling of something similar to what is best described as an Ecstasy like feeling. Islamic sources call it "tasting the sweetness of faith". There is nothing like calling on God and watching the answer to your prayer manifest before your very eyes! (Once I had left my backpack, which contained my new Quran, notes from my first ever serious course in Islamic Aqeedah, a language CD and all that was dear to me. My mom asked me on the bus, a day that I will never forget. She asked, "What does Islam teach you to do in this situation?". I smiled and replied, "to ask God to bring it back to me or replace it with that which is better", and I did. Later that night a man came into my hotel with a story that left me speachless. He explained to me, "I found this backpack at a bus stop today, and I just couldn't let it go. I thought about turning it in to lost and found, but I forgot. Finally, I ended up here, where I opened it up and saw a book with a foreign language written on the cover. I figured the hotel worker was foreign and he might like to have it. He opened the book and said he knew the persons whose name was written inside. He rang your room, and here we are."

     What an amazing story! So, I had seen with my own eyes the outcomes of fallowing the commandments and advises in my new found way of life, but also knew that I could expect many a test. I knew that my Creator would not always let things go so easily, and that He would do what was best for me and my life. What I did not know and often wondered about was what that would en tale. What would be my destiny?!!!

     I often tried to search for a wife and a job, but it always seemed a dead end. There were times that I wondered if I was destine to be alone and that my reward and ease would be in the hereafter, after my death. The picture above and on the left is during that time period in my life.... Now I sit in the same store, with another story to tale. In this story,  I am a small business owner, work a night job as a manager, the father of three beautiful kids, married and loving life! In this story, I am rewarded for my continuous and endless march, towards the end of my life...

NEVER DESPAIR THE MERCY OF YOUR LORD....

"Keep your head up and  your goals high..." Joseph S. Sneed 2012

     

AS AN AMERICAN, I’M SCARED

With every day that passes by, with each new shocking email that is automatically sent to me by Google Alerts, keywords “Muslim Islam” or other keywords like it, I grow more and more fearful. I'm fearful of losing my freedom. I'm feerful of being taken away from my family, and I'm  fearful of being caught in America while being Muslim.
These emails tell a short story of how some American Muslim was caught in the act of trying to do some harm in the name of Islam, and the story almost always has the quote, “According to authorities, the well orchestrated FBI / Capital Police "sting operation" eliminated any possibility of the public ever being in danger.”. This is because it was a Government operation from the jump. They found another duck and cooked his goose. They found a weak minded, weak hearted, and ignorant individual to fallow their instructions, and I’m scared! Scared of why they are doing this! The fact of the matter is, that they will probably move away from targeting Muslims and start to go for the Constitutionalist! It seems to be a move to remove all rights and freedoms from the people by creating a false fear.
I was born here!  I grew up here!  I went to school here!  My ancestors are Cherokee Indian and Irish.  Some of my ancestors called this place home before Christopher Columbus dreamed up the idea of even coming here! I hate that this Country was founded on the heads of American Indians, but the fact of the matter is “It is here and I love what it stands for”.
I never ever thought that I would actually be fearful of being an American.  And I never ever thought that I would actually sincerely be scared to be here, in this Country that I have called and still call my home, because I chose to believe in God as ONE.  I am sure that I'm not alone.  I'm quite sure that there are hundreds if not thousands more just like me.  People are scared and wondering what is to come next.  Are they going to do us like the Germans did the Jews and make us wear some sort of identification mark?  Are they going to do us like they did the Japanese and put us in large compounds like cattle?  I can't help but think and wonder what is coming?  What is coming next? 
I recently read a story, and in this story I read about a secret operation, from some sort of group that was intending two monitor and expose extremist elements within the many Muslim Communities around the United States, and these idiots, excuse my French, these idiots actually snuck into Muslim houses of prayer and measured the beards of its leaders and adherents!  Does this not bother anyone?  It sure as hell bothers me!  This bothers me on several different levels.  Number one, people are actually equating extremism with long beards and vice versa.  These idiots are saying that, if you follow Islamic dress codes, you are possibly an individual who believes in the taking of innocent lives.  They believe that following the fundamental teachings of the Prophet Mohammed, peace and blessings be upon him, in matters of dress, signifies that you are the type of individual who needs to be feared. 
This ignorance ladies and gentlemen is NOT the fault of Muslims. It is the fault of us Americans allowing our selves to be tricked into giving up our freedoms for a false sense of security. Did you know that they are releasing drones across the US of A? Did you? No, you probably didn’t, and it’s not for catching terrorist. They are getting ready to take the guns from the gun owners and take control of all that they want to take control of, in the manner that they see fit. Do your research ladies and gentlemen……. Crap is about to hit the fan!
I'm scared that this great nation that was founded upon humane and chivalrous principles, morality, honor and trust and freedom for all is being undermined by someone or some group somewhere…. What do you think?

5yr Old Muslim Boy Dies from falling on glass..

Assalamu Alaikum Dear Joseph Sneed,
We are sad to inform you the passing away of 5-year old boy Br. Munir Alshagi Son of Br. Yaqoob Alshagi, Tuesday, August 30, 2011.

We ask Allah (SWT) to give his family patience and comfort.

The Janaza prayer will be held today (Wednesday, August 31, 2011) after Zuhr prayer (1:30 PM) at Masjid As-Salam followed by the burial at Orr Road masjid Ar-Rahmah Cemetery InshaAllah.

Wa'salam.

Sincerely,

MSM Shura Committee
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I received this email today... My wife tells me that the little boy fell on some glass from a broken window and severed an artery... Either way, he is gone, and we need let this be a reminder of the shortness of this life... And, we need make dua for his parents and all our brothers and sisters around the globe... May allah give them knowledge, wisdom, understanding, patience, comfort & victory over the one that seeks to destroy us all ( ash-shayton).. Ameen