Muharram 1431 issue1

8/14/2019 Muharram 1431 issue1

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ISSUE 1 2009VOLUME 5THE AWAKENING SACRI-

FICE WAKEUPTOTHESAC-

RIFICEOFTHEMASTEROFALL

MARTYRS.1

PATHOLOGYOF DIVORCELEARNABOUTTHEBIGGEST

PROBLEMFACINGOURCOM-

MUNITY PART 1 ............ 4

DAYSOFHOPE (PART 1)REGRETNOURISHESHOPE

.2

Learn how the sacrifice of the greatest of all martyrs can help us change our direction in

life and help us awaken to the realities of this world and its deceptive character.

The Awakening SacrificeBy Mustafa Barakat

Have you ever asked yourself why we reciteSalwat? That is, why do we request that bless-

ings be sent upon Muhammed and the family of

Muhammed (as). Normally when we ask for

blessings to be bestowed on friends and family,

we do it because we love those people. We love

these special people because

they have done favours upon

us that we do not deserve. As

for our families, our parents

have provided us with all

our necessities without us

even asking during our

childhood years. As for our

friends, their very existence

is a favour given to us which

contributes significantly to

our happiness. So surely the

Ahlul Bayt have done us

favours that we did not de-

serve. This article will aim to

shed some light on these

favours that we have received from the Ahlul

Bayt, particularly the event of Karbala.

The event of Karbala took place at a time when

Yazd was the so-called Caliph of the Islamic

Ummah. Yazd was a tyrant who came from a

family who had a history of animosity toward

the Prophet and his Ahlul Bayt. Yazd like his

father Muawiya had greed for power and would

aim to achieve this goal at any cost. Yazd knew

that the Prophet had left behind two invaluable

things so that Muslims would not go astray, the

Holy Quran and the Ahlul Bayt. It is these twovery things that Yazd plotted to destroy. The

most powerful strategies that these ruthless ty-

rants use to legitimise their kingdom and sup-

press any uprising was the spread of propa-

ganda, suppressing the conscience of people and

controlling them through fulfilment of theirdesires. The following are some of the methods

the tyrants would use:

They created an atmosphere of fear by mak-

ing an example out of people (like Muslim

Ibn Aqeel) such that they

could discourage the people

from challenging and rebelling

against the establishment

They funded a number of

religious authorities to distort

the meaning of the Quran to

suit their interests in main-

taining their power and au-

thority and also to the inclina-

tion towards the desires of the

people. The Quran states

"And they shall say: O our

Lord! surely we obeyed our

leaders and our great men,

so they led us astray from

the path" [33.67]

They funded a number of people, including

some of the companions of the Prophet, to

fabricate traditions in glorifying themselves

and disparaging the Ahlul Bayt and creating

animosity towards them - like the cursing of

the Ahlul Bayt from the pulpits of mosques.

All this had contributed towards assisting the

community to justify their misdeeds. The

Quran states that Satan said: "I will cer-

tainly make (evil) fair-seeming to them on

earth, and I will certainly cause them all to

deviate" [15.39]

The people were offered an alluring amount

of money to fulfil the interests of the tyrants

while the followers of the Ahlul Bayt were

highly discriminated against - for example it

was the Supreme Judge who gave the green

light in murdering

DISCLAIMER AND CAUTION

The articles published in this paperare not the views of Al-Fajr or anyparticular Islamic centre but of the

Author. Please handle with care as itcontains names of Allah and His

Prophet

EditorialSalaam Alaykum!Welcome once again to a new se-

ries of Al-Fajr Newsletter! Thistime round we are back with morein assisting our community on thisspiritual journey of life. We hopethat this newsletter will be utilizedas another medium in gainingknowledge and in keeping ourBrothers and Sisters informedabout the obstacles (especially inliving in the West) facing us onthe journey of life and how to over-come them.

Our team of writers consists ofhumble volunteers who have aconcern for the community, andare seeking an opportunity to con-tribute towards preparing ourcommunity for the arrival of theImam of our time (May Allah has-ten his arrival). Our team also con-sists of writers who are well quali-fied in communicating across ac-curate information and we hopethat this will further contribute tothe standing of this newsletter.

We have deliberately released thisissue on this special day since thisis a day we are expected to wakeup and return to our immortal be-loved. We hope you enjoy thismonths issue, and we stronglyencourage readers to provide uswith feedback, this would begreatly appreciated.

Wassalaam

Continued on page 2 >>>>

PRISONEROF GOLDENCHAINS ....................... 6


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Imam usain (as)

They promoted acts (sins) that satisfed the desires of the people

such as music, singing, wine, lust for this world etc.

It should be obvious that the people who were subject to these

strategies were completely indoctrinated. When the people saw

how others were dealt with, they were afraid. They were too at-

tached to this world, to the point that speaking up against the

kingdom was an act that was against their desires. People had en-

joyed the wealth gained from supporting the kingdom and in

acting upon the religious fabrications and distortions. These peo-

ple had really enjoyed the perverted version of Islam that allowed

them to fulfil their desires. These people obviously had a con-

science. However it was easily suppressed by fulfilment of their

desires and the propaganda that incited animosity towards the

Ahlul Bayt, and which helped them justify their deeds. After be-

ing subject to these evil activities by the tyrants these are the very

people who had betrayed Imam usain (as).

Yazd, knew that there was one last

thing that remained a threat to his Ca-

liphate and that was the presence of

Imam usain (as). In acknowledging

this fact he set out to force Imam

usain (as) to pay allegiance or face

death. Imam usain (as) had three

choices:

Pay allegiance

Run away

Sacrifice his life and that of his family

Had he undertaken the first two options Islam would have ended

up like the religion of Christianity, hijacked by corrupt leaders

like Constantine and Saint Paul. The words of the Quran could

have been distorted like the distortion in the Bible. The truthful

narrators and historians could have been killed and their work

could have been destroyed as happened in Judaism and Christian-

ity. The right path of Islam would have disappeared, never to be

recovered, a fate that the Christianity of today has met. Sunnis

would have been further away from the truth than what they cur-

rently are and Islam could have been completely destroyed. How-

ever Imam usain (as) knew what he had to do to prevent the

destruction of Islam. He knew that sacrificing his life and family

members was for the greater benefit of the entire Muslim commu-nity. Yazd really was unaware about what was going to befall him

as a result of murdering the grandson of the Prophet and his fam-

ily members.

After the event of Karbala took place, the martyrdom of Imam

usain(as) and his family members had unleashed a form of

propaganda. This propaganda was a self-sustaining weapon that

crumbled the empire of Yazd. It may seem strange as to how the

news of such an event could have positively awakened the very

people that had betrayed Imam usain. After receiving news

about the event of Karbala, most of the people had realised the

reality of what they had contributed to. No longer could these

people further suppress their conscience. The strategies used by

Yazd had weakened in its ability to influence the people and this

eventually led to numerous uprisings such that some years later

the Ummayad dynasty did eventually collapse.

Today this event of Karbala continues to propagate in the hope

that it will awaken those sleeping in the current and future gen-

erations. What we need to realise is that to some extent we are not

any different to those people in the past. Today we are subject to

the exact same strategies that Yazd and his father had used. The

media is one the most powerful instruments

used today by politicians and the elite in con-

trolling people. Through the media they areable to influence what we consider to be nor-

mal, and consequently control the decisions we

make. With the media they create an atmos-

phere of fear or love which assists them to gain

the support of the people in achieving their evil

motives. They use the media to suppress the conscience of people,

like the portrayal of a group of people to be the enemy, and there-

fore assist the people in justifying their support for war. Religion

is used to justify the injustices committed, essentially convincing

people that it is a green light from God. Sins and the love of this

world are being promoted by all forms of media, and also by thevery people (agents) who are slaves to such media.

As a result of being bombarded with all this propaganda we have

become inclined to our desires and have become attached to the

love of this world. We do not realise that every time we sin we are

in actual fact shooting an arrow towards the camp of Imam

usain (as). It is no surprise that the Imam of our time has not

appeared - otherwise the history of Karbala would have repeated

itself. In overcoming these inner problems in our selves, Imam

usain sacrificed his life and family members in Muharram so

that today we may wake up from our sound sleep. We should be

grateful for such favours, since had it not been for the sacrifice

Imam usain (as) offered, we would have gone far astray. In end-

ing this article please recite Salawt for the favours the Ahlul Bayt

have bestowed upon us.

2Al-Fajr Vol. 5 (9)- 2009

Days of Hope Ali AlSamail

Regret is one of the strongest emotions that can be experienced by

man. It binds the mind with oppressive chains and poisons and

contaminates every thought and every emotion. It is a tape of the

past that plays itself over and over again, and will not respond to

any attempt to stop it. At its peak, regret leaves no escape for man

and leaves him nowhere to go. He will screw up his face, bite his

hands out of frustration, lash out at his surroundings, yet nothing

seems to work, and the tape of the past continues to play itself,

heedless to the pain of this man. At its peak, regret drains man's

spirit and overcomes his will power, it leaves him weak and wait-

ing only for the blessing of time to make the wound less sharp,

and to present him with opportunities to redeem himself and his

situation.

Regret is a result of counter-factual thinking, which is the cogni-tive process of imagining eventualities or conclusions other than

the ones that have occurred in reality. The mind travels to the past

and re-traces the steps that led to the present situation. At one or

more of these steps, it recognizes that it could have made a differ-

ent choice, and it goes on to postulate theories as to what eventu-



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Activities at the Imam Husain Islamic Centre

Being one of the most active communities in Sydney. The Imam Husain Islamic Centre Offers a wide

range of activities throughout the year and for all ages. This is an opportunity for you to awaken your

conscience and take a stand against ignorance and prejudice.

alities would have materialized if it had made those other choices.

If these other possible eventualities are deemed more favourable

than the present one, the bitter unpleasant feeling of regret

emerges.

Despite the cruelty of this emotion, and its depressing impact on

the human psyche, it can be channelled in such a way that it assists

man in requesting choices about his future. Regret leaves such a

strong imprint on man's mind that when he comes to make futurechoices, he attempts to anticipate which of these choices will lead

to the least amount of regret and makes his choice based on that

criteria. The student who does not study for an examination fails,

and the unpleasant consequences of his failure stimulate the pangs

of regret. This regret will in fact become this student's main moti-

vation to study for his next examination.

He will not want to feel the same bitter

emotion again and so this time he will

study.

Despite the pain that regret causes, it is a

useful emotion that can be channelled sothat it has positive outcomes. In fact, it is a

blessing from the Perfectly Wise Creator in

order to assist man in planning out his fu-

ture. He warns His creation of a day of

intense regret, when the matter shall have been

decidedwhilethey live now in negligence and do not believe. (19:39)

This intense regret is everlasting and eternal; a regret that cannot be

blunted-a burning fire that cannot be put out, a wasted life that

cannot be retrieved.

However if man feels regret while he is still in this world, he can,

like that student, atone for his mistakes by making efforts in thetime that remains for him. If he has pained and hurt people, he

can compensate them through various means, is he has sinned

against himself and against his Lord he can still repent. However,

after his death, on the day that he will be raised again to be ques-

tioned about how he used that time he was apportioned, the mat-

ter will have already been decided. The eternity of everything will

already have been set in stone and man's final abode will have pre-

pared. There will be no tampering with the past, nor any correction

of deeds- the time for action will have passed. His regret on that

day will be the final, ultimate and absolute regret.

That regret is born today, and nourished and nurtured in this

world. It is given its existence here, because we live now in negli-

gence and do not believe . The punishments we face in the after-

life are not conventional punishments. Rather they are a direct

effect of actions here. Just like the punishment in this world for a

mother who consumes alcohol while she is pregnant is that her

child will be born hideously deformed, so the punishments of

that Day will be a direct cause of our actions here. We will in fact

see our actions almost 'personified' on that day, it will be almost

as if we give birth to these creatures who will now haunt us on the

most frightening day of our lives. On that day, every soul will be

confronted with all the good it has done, and all the evil it has

done, it will wish there were a great distance between it and its

evil (3:30). We cannot picture these 'creations' that are

expressions of our evil in this life but when we see

them on that Day we will know exactly which action

brought them to existence and the justice of their exis-

tence. They will be like embarrassing companions that

will follow us around and declare to the whole of crea-

tion, including the Prophets the Imams and the piouspeople of our communities that we committed these

awful deeds. They will be companions that we will be

questioned about while we have no answers, and thus

we will be punished.

We brought this eternal punishment to life through

our desire for this world. We ruined our eternity for nothing but

a small portion of this world. Some of us ruined our eternity in

order to spend some time with a beautiful companion of the op-

posite sex, others of us ruined their eternity because of a certain

amount of money that we gained through foul means, others ru-

ined their eternity because they wanted fame, glory and power.Yet there are those of us who are even worse off, those who when

there comes to them yet another reminder from their Lord, they

only hear it while engaged in fun and games, their hearts preoccu-

pied with trifles(21:1-3). These are those of us who cannot even

take account of the hours of the day they are given. These are the

ones who have no purpose besides sleeping, eating and playing.

These are the ones who in fact ruin their eternity for nothing,

they have gained neither this world nor the next and they are the

most pathetic creatures of this world.

TO BE CONTINUED.....

3Al-Fajr Vol. 5 (9)- 2009

Congregational Daily Prayers Friday Prayers Weekly Supplications:

-Dua Ahd Every Morning

-Dua NudbaEvery Friday Morning

-Dua TawassulTuesday Evenings-Dua KumaylThursday Evenings

Classes

-Adult Hawza-Sun. Mon. Wed.

-Islamic studies and Quran Classes forchildrendetailed right panels

-Friday Evening Lecture by Sh. Mansour


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Preface

Divorce is one of the most disliked of hall actions in Islam and

unfortunately over the recent past the trend toward more divorceis becoming apparent not only in the western society but in our

own too. In order to understand and protect ourselves from this

phenomenon, it is essential to study its pathology, which is a

study concerned with the causes and nature of this disease in-

cluding diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment.

The series of lectures on this topic shall focus on a scholarly

study on the nature of divorce, its symp-

toms, its causes, its types, its processes and

consequences and all matters relating to this

social phenomenon. The discussions de-

scribed herewith are specifically intended to

inform and educate the public on this issue.

The examples used in these discussions are

not intended to reflect any particular indi-

vidual or couple. The examples will only

serve to highlight an issue or to make it

easier to understand.

Although the following discussions will

attempt to cover all the relevant issues re-

lated to divorce, it is extremely difficult to

get a complete understanding of the issuesfor two primary reasons. The first is that

most of the cases deal with numerous vari-

ables not all of which are known or can be

understood and secondly, the cases differ

from couple to couple due to the differ-

ences in will power and emotions involved.

It is therefore impossible to analyse this

issue comprehensively in a scientific man-

ner but all attempts will be made to ensure that as much informa-

tion that can deciphered be presented.

The target audiences for these discussions are those who are on

the verge of marriage, although those already married would bene-

fit greatly. It is only by targeting those on the verge of marriage,

who still have the opportunities available to make the correct

decision in the first place, can this disease be significantly re-

duced if not eliminated completely.

Introduction

Of all the social relationships in the world today, marriage is one

of the most prevalent and embraced by every society and culture.

Islam has greatly encouraged this form of social contract for nu-

merous reasons, the obvious being the proliferation of the human

race on earth. This natural phenomenon of

marriage, whose importance in a stable, intel-

ligent and complete society cannot be over-

stated, over the past few decades it has been

viewed as a burden on society due to the in-

creasing levels of divorce and its associated

physical, emotional and spiritual harms.

In western societies in particular, the levels of

divorce are alarmingly high (Figure 1.1) and

are correlated with the materialistic, egocen-

tric lifestyle of people in these countries. It is

inevitable that as the world moves towards

greater individualism, consumerism, and ma-

terialism, the levels of divorce will increase,

dragging more and more families into its net.

Unfortunately, this trend of increasing di-

vorce is a global phenomenon in these coun-

tries such that even within the Muslim, Shia

communities in these countries, the levels are

not any different! The graph below shows the

relationship between the numbers of cases of

divorce and marriage brought to the Imam

Husain Islamic Centre (fig 1.2) and the subsequent rate of divorce

observed (fig 1.3) (It must be noted that these statistics represent both

cases of couples who got married then divorced and those who got mar-ried only or those who got divorced only.)

Although the global trend for the rate of divorce is decreasing,

this is not as a result of more successful marriages, it is as a direct

consequence of people not getting married anymore or registering

their marriage. Another point of note is that there is no specific

correlation between length of time married and divorce rate. For

example a couple who have been married (katab kitaab) as little as

2 weeks sought divorce claiming they cannot stand each other,

while on the other extreme a couple who filed for divorce 3 times

after having been married for 40 years, and the third time the

husband died of stroke due to old age leaving behind grandchil-

dren!

Divorce in Divine Religions

Divorce in Judaism

Divorce in Judaism, called get, is an act

4Al-Fajr Vol. 5 (9)- 2009


Divorce is one of the most painful and stressful emotional experience and it is the most detested of halaal acts in Islam and

yet this problem plagues our community. This series of articles shall try to determine the causes of divorce so that we may

learn to avoid them.

The Pathology of DivorcePART 1Series of Lectures presented by Sh. Mansour LeghaeiWritten by Abidali Mohamedali


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5Al-Fajr Vol. 5 (9)- 2009

although allowed in Judaism, is not encouraged. Judaism recog-

nized the concept of "no-fault" divorce thousands of years ago.

Under Jewish law, a man can divorce a woman for any reason or

no reason. The Talmud specifically says that a man can divorce a

woman because she spoiled his dinner or simply because he finds

another woman more attractive, and the woman's consent to the

divorce is not required. In fact, Jewish law requires divorce in

some circumstances: when the wife commits a sexual transgres-

sion, a man must divorce her, even if he is inclined to forgive her.

The procedural details involved in

arranging a divorce are complex and

exacting. Except in certain cases of

misconduct by the wife, a man who

divorces his wife is required to pay her

substantial sums of money, as speci-fied in the marriage contract. There

are many other rules in regards to

divorce which are outside the scope of

this discussion.

It should be noted that orthodox Ju-

daism and Islam deal very similarly

with the issue of divorce in terms of

its jurisprudence, further evidence

that the latter of divine religions were

sent by God to complete the former.

Divorce in Christianity

Christianity stands alone among the religions in prohibiting both

divorce and marriage to divorced men and women. Jesus (peace

be on him) is reported to have said, "It was also said, 'whoever di-

vorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorcement. But I tell you,

whoever divorces his wife, except on the grounds of adultery, causes her to

commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who has been divorced

commits adultery." (Matt. 5:31-32) "And he said to them, 'Whoever

divorces his wife and marries commits adultery against her; and if a

woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adul-

tery." (Mark 10:11-12). Its for this reason that the church does not

recognise divorce. This is one of the reasons that is disillusioning

many Christians from their faith and from the church, consider-

ing the high rate of divorce in the western societies.

Divorce in Islam

Divorce has been mentioned numerous times in the books of

hadith and in the Quran. Divorce in Islam is considered to be the

most detested of the permissible actions in Islam. This fact is

made clear by Imam Sadiq (AS) who says Nothing is more beloved

to the Almighty God than a house built in Islam by marriage, and

nothing is more detested to the Almighty God than a house ruined inIslam by separation (divorce). [al-Kaafi 5:328]. Imam Sadiq also has

said There is nothing among what God has made Halal more detested

to Him than divorce. Surely the Almighty Allah dislikes the one who

divorces at times and tries different people. [Wasael 22:8]

(283:22 )

The Holy Prophet has said Whoever harms his wife until

she pays him a ransom to free herself, Allah will not accept

any punishment for him less than Fire, for the Wrath of

Allah will be incurred for (in support of) a woman as it will

be incurred for (in support of) an orphan. And whoever

harms a Muslim he/she is not from us and we are not from

him/her neither in this world nor in the Hereafter. And any

woman who seeks divorce from her husband remains in the

curse of Allah and His Angels and His Messengers and all

the people until the Angel of death descends to her telling her:

You woman! Be informed of the Hell. Then on the Day of

Resurrection it will be said to her: You woman! Enter the

Hell with those who are entering. Behold Surely Allah and

His Messenger are free from those women who divorced

themselves without accepted reason. Behold! Surely Allah

and His Messenger are free from whoever that harms hiswife so that she seeks her divorce. [Wasaelu-Shia 22:283]

In Islam there are three types of divorce which will be discussed

in detail in later chapters, the first is Talaq Riji, where the man

applies for divorce. The second is Talaq al Khul, whereby the

woman applies for Divorce and the third is Talaq Mubaraat,

which is a joint application. The reason that The Prophet is spe-

cifically blaming women for divorce is that it is a fact that statisti-

cally, 91% of divorce cases are initiated by women, in the western

world [The 91% Factor -Edward Baiamonte]. These statistics are

reflected even in our very own community whereby more than80% of cases of divorce are brought forward by women. The

Prophet in his statement clearly indicates those who could be or

are at fault when it comes to divorce blaming men and also

women equally. The next chapters shall discuss what these

accepted reasons for divorce.

FACTS ABOUT DIVORCE IN AUSTRALIAAn alarming trend in the social normsin Australia meanswe MUST address thisissue NOW! Or ourchildren will suf-fer.

Divorce ratein Australia is around

40%. Meaning, about 40percent of marriages can be ex-

pected to end in divorce.

The divorce rate in Australia for second mar-riages is little higher than that of first marriages.

The median age at marriage has increased from23.4 years for grooms and 21,1 years for brides in 1971 to31 years for grooms and 29 for brides in 2008.

Cohabitation before marriage has increased from about

18 per cent in 1975 to almost 60 per cent today!Statistics obtained from divorcerate.org


6/6

Ali AlSamail

Prisoner of Golden Chains

One day, I heard that somewhere, far away from here, people were

imprisoned, then raped, tortured and dragged around on leashes

like animals without any justification. The pictures I saw showed

me an evil I had never imagined before. I felt pain and anger, but

I knew I could change nothing, so I told the pain to go away, andtold the anger to shut up. I told the sense of injustice I felt to be

quiet, because that was somewhere else, far away from here- it was

what we leave behind before coming here.

The next day, I heard that a group of kids, somewhere far away

from here, were stopped at a checkpoint on their way to school.

Well-trained soldiers could only communicate with these kids by

pointing guns at them, so the kids had to sit on the sidewalk and

have their class right there. It

made me want to cry, but I told

the tears to go back.

On another day, I saw photos of

a family who lived far away from

here. They were sitting on a

beach, enjoying an outing, when

suddenly they were attacked, their

bodies were torn to pieces, their

heads were cut from their bod-

iesall except one little girl, who

cried endlessly, because she was

holding in her arms her baby

brothers, whose lives had been

stolen even before they had prop-

erly begun. I jumped up, I turned

away from the screen, I closed my

eyes, I shook my head, I wanted some way outbut I sat down

again, because there was nothing I could do.

On yet another day, I saw that somewhere, far away, little children

had no food to eat and no clean water to drink. They were sick-

dying- their bellies inflated as if to point out some sick irony in

their plight. They came from a place whose earth was rich, but

even their piece of earth had been raped, and only they had beenleft on it to rot. But this time, there were no tears, no anger and

no pain. I didnt want to drown in my own helplessness. I didnt

want to choke on my own weakness, this time, I didnt want to

leave any room in my heart for the suffering that someone else

was going through.

This time, I changed the channel before the pictures had their

effect on me, this time, I ignored that newspaper article, this time,

I switched on my Playstation, this time, I give in to the pleasur-

able distractions designed to make me forget, so that those dying

kids would rot even out of my memory. This time I followed themirage that pulled me from reality and took me to a hollow day-

dream. This time, I closed my eyes to the world around me, un-

aware that soon cruelty would knock on my door and take me

from the daydream and into my worst nightmare. This time, I

killed my conscience, and became a zombie- walking and talking,

but rotting with the stench of

death

Then the world shook again.

I was shocked back into life. Why did I not care that my equal in

humanity was being slaughtered, simply because it was out of my

sight? Why did I care more for how many dollars I saved that week

than for how many children died in some corner of the Earth?

How could I see people consumed and pillaged by fire, but myself

take a tentative step back, afraid that even a small spark of that fire

may land at my feet? Why did I so much love to be deceived, why

did I love so much to stay in my cocoon and fear whatever came

from outside of it? Why could I not sift through the lies to see the

truth? Why was I so weak, why was I a pris-

oner of golden chains?

If I stand alone I will change nothing.If we all stand together, we can change any-

thing. We cannot stand, until I stand and

until you stand.

My tears can change the world, my pain

can move the blind hearts that strangle this

planet, my love and compassion can over-

come the greed and hatred that divide the

world into oppressor and oppressed.

My freedom must come from within, butsoar to the world without, and carry with it

those around me and those who will come

after me. My voice must be heard and my

burning desire for justice must not be put

out. The volume of tragedy must not bury me in a heap of despair,

the blatancy of the oppression must not make me doubt the truth,

the off-hand reporting of death counts must not dull my sensitiv-

ity. My conscience must not die, for thenthe world will die.

Documents

Muharram 1431 issue1