A Letter to the Muslims of the Arabian Nations

As I sit here safe in my small little room and follow the daily events of the war in Iraq and the ripples it is causing in the world; I have to ask myself, why? Whats it all for? What brought us to this point? It is a question I ask the Muslim world.

To the people of the Arabian nations and other Muslim people of that region of the world:

As I sit here safe in my small little room and follow the daily events of the war in Iraq and the ripples it is causing in the world; I have to ask myself, why? Whats it all for? What brought us to this point?

I look at what seems to be a worldwide anti-war protest; people protesting against the war for the cause of peace. What I see is a world full of hypocrites; people complaining about one war and forgetting about all the other wars currently ongoing.

I understand the peace protesters point of view. War is not a real viable solution to world problems. Yet, I have to ask, where was their outrage when Saddam Hussein invaded Iran and used chemical weapons on the good people of Iran? Even when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait where was the worldwide outrage then as we browbeat other nations in order to form a coalition to free Kuwait? Where was the outrage of the Arabian nations and others when Saddam Hussein tortured and killed thousands of his own countrymen sometimes with the use of chemical weapons (this has been recently blamed on Iran)?

Havent we yet reached an age where we have out grown the need for war? Apparently not. What will it take before we can retire our armies and put away our weapons of war forever?

I have read the words of the Prophet Muhammad several times. Of the many scriptures available and comforting to my soul, the words of the Prophet are among my favorite. Though I remain a Christian, I count the Prophet Muhammad to be among the great Prophets of God. I believe in all the revelations given to all the Prophets from their Lord. I make no difference between one and another of them.

In this time of turmoil my soul is troubled and it has been so for a long time, even before the war began. I look at the Muslims of the Arabian nations and wonder what happened to them? The words of the Prophet Muhammad are written in my heart; they are part of my soul. So it troubles me to see your actions, you who think that Islam is a Muslim only club. One day I will go through the Quran and count the number of time that the Prophet said that even among the Jews and Christians there are a few true believers. Those who believe (in the Quran), those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Sabians and the Christians -- any who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and work righteousness -- on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve. (Surah 5 Al Maidah verse 69) It vexes my soul to see those who call themselves Muslims and would be part of the nation of Islam, who should be shining examples of the love that Allah, the most forgiving, would pour out upon all his creations, be such bad examples to the world.

You are the wealth of the world in more ways than one, but you follow leaders like Saddam Hussein who have little regard for human life and whose piety is only skin deep. They build for themselves great palaces while the people they govern live in poverty. Those who would speak out are silenced. More often than not that means that they are killed.

More than a few of your religious leaders fan the fires of hate in the name of Allah which seems at odds with the fact that He is a most loving and forgiving God. Allah the merciful, the most kind, most loving God; slow to anger, quick to forgive all who would do his will. It is not given to man to be a judge over other men. That right Allah has reserved to himself. He will save and reward those whom He will. Yet, it is your leaders who would force men to come bow before God; a God that would force no man to come to him, but has given unto man freewill to be an agent unto himself. Allah has done this that He may judge the actions of all men.

I am a Christian, but I doubt that you would say that I am in the mainstream of Christianity. I understand very clearly what happened to the early Christian church. I know how zealous Paul was for the church and the spread of the gospel, but he inadvertently caused that the entire Judaic Law should be done away with. This was not truly his fault as the early Christians misunderstood him. Truly this was catastrophic for the early church (and all of Europe) for it laid the foundations for the false notions that mainstream Christianity believe today. Then along comes the last great prophet of the dispensation.

The Prophet Muhammad set about to correct many of the false notions and doctrines that had infiltrated into the Christian church at the time. He reestablished the Law updating it for the times in which he lived. The doctrine he taught which the Christians then and now cannot abide is that Jesus Christ was not God. Now, I will speak heresy here when I say that I agree with Muhammad. Jesus is not God the father of all creation. Jesus said so himself and the Prophet Muhammad rightly pointed this out.

The Prophet like Paul was also filled with zeal and he enjoined his followers with more to do than was necessary and this he did in order to help them to stay upon the straight and narrow path that would bring them to the palaces of God where they would find eternal rest. This was not a bad thing until what was meant as a gentle guide became a rigid form.

Muhammad prophesied, that when he would be called to his home to heaven that his followers would divide themselves into sects. When God finally called the Prophet home to his palace in heaven, his followers immediately divided themselves into sects and began to fall upon one another and made war upon each other. And so even today you continue to kill each other, over what; for the sake of doctrinal differences over the interpretational understanding of the Prophets words (dont worry Christians do it too). Death and hate has become the legacy you have left to your children over the centuries. Yet the Prophets teachings can be boiled down to this: ...And they have been commanded no more than this: to worship Allah, offering Him sincere devotion, being true (in faith); to establish regular prayer; and to practice regular charity; and that is the religion right and straight... Those who have faith and do righteous deeds- they are the best of creatures. Their reward is with Allah... (Surah 98 Al Bayyinah 5 -- 8) And again: Except to those who believe and work righteous deeds: for them is a reward that will never fail. (Surah 84 Al Inshiqaq 25) Somehow I doubt that killing each other (or anyone) over petty religious differences, or for any reason, comes under the heading of doing righteous deeds. Please feel free to jump in here anywhere and correct me if I am wrong.

Now let me return to current events. Let me say that I do not agree with President Bushs decision to go to war with Iraq at this time. We have waited for Saddam Hussein to fully comply with U.N. resolutions for a decade. We should have waited a little while longer. I have no doubt that we as a country have many less than noble reasons for our going to war with Iraq, but the bottom line is that our President has a duty to protect American interest and its citizens at home and abroad. Thanks to a few of your fellow (radical) Muslims who in seeking to be martyrs for God ran a couple of planes into a couple of really tall buildings of ours killing over 3000 citizens of the world, mostly Americans, we now find ourselves at war with anyone (individuals or governments) who helped, aided, trained, supplied, or supported those people in any way.

Again I say that I do not believe in using war as a tool to solve the worlds problems; that includes the new age so called holly warriors of God seeking martyrdom. They have no idea what true martyrdom really is. Strapping a bomb on and walking into someplace filled with people and blowing yourself up is not martyrdom; it is suicide. Jesus, perhaps the greatest example of a martyr of all time went calmly to his death. When one of his followers (Peter) drew his sword in Jesus defense, Jesus commanded that he put up his sword and then Jesus healed the man injured in the conflict. Name me one Prophet that suffered martyrdom that died fighting if you can. Do you really think that the Prophet Muhammad would approve of someone strapping on a bomb and go into a shopping mall crowded with children and then blow themselves up? That is not martyrdom that is murder. Martyrs rarely die fighting and the few that have done so did so to save the lives of others. As one martyr for his faith said, I am going like a lamb to the slaughter; but I am calm as a summers morning; I have a conscience void of offence towards God, and towards all men." To be a martyr is to wait calmly for your fate to come to you no matter what form that fate may take, and yes, martyrs can die of old age. To plot the destruction of others in secret and become a living weapon aimed, not at a military target, but at civilians is not martyrdom by any stretch of the imagination. Doing this can only enrage your enemies and will only lead to more suffering on the part of everyone.

To fight the good fight is not a fight with guns or swords; it is to stand steadfast in your faith in God all your days upon the earth. All your life you will face trials of your faith and there is no escape. Or do ye think that ye shall enter the Garden (of Bliss) without such trials as came to those who passed away before you? They encountered suffering and adversity and were so shaken in spirit that even the Messenger and those of faith who were with him cried: When will come the help of Allah." Ah! Verily the help of Allah is always near! (Surah 2 Al Baqarah 214) To give ones life for the cause of ones faith is often the easiest of trails, but to live a life devoted to Allah is often a grievous task. The promise of Allah is that He will always be there to help you no matter how heavy your burden may be if you stand steadfast in your faith in Him.

I know that past American policies brought on by our (cold) war with the former U.S.S.R. have created many of our problems today. The enemies we now face are of our own creations from that time. As our morals decay, so too does our faith in God. If we do not turn again to the God that led our forefathers to this great land of ours then He and He alone will wipe us from this land and give it to another people of faith. Truly, we could not stand before you in battle if you had maintained true faith in God.

Even as our faith in God dwindles as a nation it is enough to overcome those who defend a brutal regime. Your religion is broken into sects warring with each other and you are filled with the hate and anger and rage of centuries fighting among yourselves and with your enemies. With your hearts are so filled with hate you have lost the meaning of what it is to be the people of the nation of Islam. That is why you cannot stand before us in battle and hope to win. I speak to you here as a collective not as individuals.

In a land that is holy to all religions that believe in a singular God the way to God has been barred by the violence there. That I must fear to visit the Holy Land where I could visit the great Dome of the Rock among other places; that I must be afraid to go and offer up a prayer to God in that most holy house of prayer saddens my heart. That the way has been barred is an offence to God. ...But graver is it in the sight of Allah to prevent access to the path of Allah... (Surah 2 Al Baqarah 217) It is not the Jews or the Christians that bar the way. Fighting in and around a house of prayer is also prohibited, which makes it all the more confusing to me that the Muslim world would support a countrys leader whose soldiers have turned mosques and hospitals into military outposts. Someone needs to explain to me why you are not outraged by this most grievous offence against Allah.

If you truly want to stop the fighting, then stop fighting. As decadent and corrupt that we as Americans have become we still fight with honor. Do not fight us, we will not fight you. Stop fighting, if you want to stop the fighting. It really is that simple. Put down your weapons and walk away from them, and then if you die you die as true martyrs. Have you no trust in Allah? Do you not think that Allah can fight your battles for you? Where is your faith in your God?

I wonder if you (the Arabian nations) even see the opportunity that will come out of this war. Here is the chance to create a federation of Arabian nations. Here is a chance to unite the Muslims of the world into a single body and rebuild the Islamic Nation. But, if you sit on the sideline and let America and the coalition forces deal with Saddam Hussein and his brutal regime, the U.N. will take over Iraq and decide its fate. If you take your armies now and go join with the American led coalition forces and help free the Iraqi people from Saddam Husseins tyranny you put yourself in a position to have a significant say in the kind of government that will replace Saddam Husseins regime. You have an opportunity here to create an entire Islamic region in the world, but if you wait too long to act the opportunity will pass you by.

If you would but follow the words of the Prophet, what a world this would be. You would be shining examples to the world for what faith in Allah could do for them. People would flock to your centers of learning and science. They would come to sit at the feet of your philosophers to learn the wisdom of the Prophets. But more important than all this, the Word of Allah would be spread throughout the world reaching even the most remote place, and all the world would come to understand the greatness of the Prophet Muhammad and his teachings.
The choice is yours. You can continue the cycle of death or enter a glorious future of heaven on earth. May you choose the latter choice.

R. B. Chandler

Note to the newspapers and TV stations I send this to: Do you have the courage to publish this letter or will you continue to inflame the hearts and mind of your people in support of a brutal regime who has no regard for life, believer or non-believer alike?