Abu Hatem أبو حاتم

One more small gift from the Orient, before continuing to more political blog posts.

It was narrated that the Messenger of God Muhammad, may peace and blessings be upon him, said:

My Lord advised me to nine things which I advise you with.  He advised me to:

1. Sincerity in secret and openly
2. And justice when pleasant and angry
3. And moderation in poverty and in wealth
4. And that I pardon who oppresses me
5. And that I give to he who withholds from me
6. And that I establish ties with those who cut me off
7. And that my silence become thought
8. And that my speech becomes remembrance (of God)
9. And that my sight become understanding.

Narrated by al-Razeen.

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Here are some translated excerpts from the comments written by readers in the Arab world on al-Jazeera’s article on Obama’s winning the democratic presidential nomination:

1. “I pray to God Almighty that he will be a lesser evil than other than him.” - Faisal
2. “When will we have the freedom that others have? When will the Arab world wake up and announce the death of tyranny by dictators that believe they are God incarnate? I feel so sad in the difference between us and them. Indeed I feel grief both at the conditions of the Palestinians, and at those who continually repeat that Americans are infidels.” - Mu’tassim
3. “Clinton’s loss is a great loss. Clinton was the wife of the most skilled U.S. president, who fixed their economy and tried to bring peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Obama is going to lose to McCain.” - Basel
4. “I am surprised at all of these Arabs who actually care for the race in the United States and actually think that peace will come from Washington. These people are the enemies of the Arabs and the infidels. They are all, without exception, the enemies of the Islamic nation and controlled by the Israel lobby.” - Khalil
5. “Congratulations to Obama. We need to see a change and even if it is only once.” - Dolama
6. “We really hope that Obama succeeds in implementing the change that he talks about and uses diplomacy to talk to Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas, and ends the occupation in Iraq. And that he not become a slave of the Zionist government in Israel. And we also hope that the Arab leaders and people will learn from this the importance of free and fair elections and the extent of their impact on democracy and freedom.” - Abu Noura
7. “We don’t really care much for U.S. presidential elections. This is because I am confident that Bush alone is not who governors the Unites States, nor the next president, but that the U.S. is governed by the White House and greatly influenced by the Jewish lobby and its controllers in Israel.”- Amaru
8. “All of them, Obama and McCain, are from the same infidel group.” - Khalid
9. “At the very least they have democratic elections! In the Arab world you have only two options: a king or a military coup, and they remain until the grave.” - Anonymous
10. “They are all thugs and pirates who butcher Muslims and are controlled by the Jewish lobby.” - Mahmoud
11. “The American hatred of Arabs will not cease until we begin to please Israel.” - Ali
12. “It is strange that I smell the smell of democracy coming from the shores of the U.S., thousands of miles away, and it smells much better than the stench of dictatorship which comes from the Arabs. Welcome to America, and wake up O Arabs!” - Anonymous
13. “The infidels are all one. I agree. Yet are we Muslims united? Are we Muslims truly better than them? Or are we divided into parts. We are the hypocrites which God condemns.” - Hasan
14. “This competition proves that the soul of democracy stems from patriotism, political awareness, and freedom to chose whoever one feels is most beneficial to the interests of one’s community.” Abbas
15. “We should know that America contains a vast variety of political persuasions. I believe that after America failed, and thank God it failed, at an illegal control of the world, it realized its failures in Iraq and Afghanistan and decided there was no choice except to embrace change. Obama came very quickly to attempt to repair the tarnished image of America.” - Ahmad
16. “But Obama lost so many of the last primaries. And even in many of the places he won he did so barely, they basically split the vote. This did a big favor to the republicans. I think Obama is going to be a weak general election candidate in front of the republicans.” - Samir
17. “This victory should have been announced a long time ago! Nevertheless, the ambition and stubbornness of Mrs. Clinton prolonged the time until the coming of this announcement. Obama’s victory and ability to pick up white votes should be a lesson we should learn in the Arab world: namely, that change is possible if there’s resolve and determination. If this is the case why reject American preaching of democracy in our countries? Are we for change in our own region? I hope that the answer is yes.” - Ibrahim

As you can tell, comments can be divided into basically three types: (a) happiness at Obama’s win and a hope that democracy can be brought to Arab shores, (b) extremist and radical hatred of America and indifference, or (c) punditry done by al-Jazeera viewers in the Arab world. This should further discredit the stereotype that the Arab street’s public opinion is monolithic. But it also affirms that radical anti-Americanism still exists in the Arab world.  The brash foreign policies of the Bush administration seem to be the main causal factor in this as almost each commentator mentioned foreign policies.  Furthermore, the number of pro-democracy and pro-liberty comments should discredit those who see Arabic civilization as the antithesis of liberty.

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I have been reading the Ottoman business law handbook al-Mejelle for the past few days which contains traditional Islamic regulations concerning the doing of business. One of the most impressive parts of the book, which is still used and studied in some Islamic countries, is the emphasis it places on the right of the seller to set a price and the right of the buyer to agree or disagree with the price. The rejection of price controls and the fallacious notion of “just price” has been central to Islamic affirmations of the market economy. Al-Mejelle also notes the importance of property rights, economic freedom, and commerce when honest and ethical.

Overall a recommended book for more on Islam and the market.

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So after posting the earlier speech I had read in The American Muslim magazine I googled Robert Crane, Former US Deputy Director (for Planning) of the National Security Council under President Nixon and converted Muslim, and I realized that Crane was a Burkean Kirkian conservative traditionalist! Crane discusses natural law, natural order, traditionalism, conservatism, et. al. Crane tells Islamonline:

The traditionalists among the Whigs, led by Edmund Burke in England, were like the paleo-conservatives of modern America, who want to maintain the principles of good governance and economic justice as the framework for all public policy. They are called principled conservatives, and their movement differs little, if at all, from the classical liberalism of 19th century America and from enlightened Islam.

I use the term “traditionalism” because it has the least baggage in American political parlance. Conservativism is a bad word, because it smacks of reaction. And classical liberalism, nowadays, has come to denote either intrusive governmental control of all life or else libertarian anarchism.

Traditionalism therefore exists only as a movement, and probably should remain in this mode for the foreseeable future. For Muslims, traditionalism could be the name for an Islamist movement in America. But it would be an unusual Islamism because its goal would not be direct political power but rather the transformation of thought and imagination.

Traditionalism really is a vision of the future based on restoration and creative renewal of the wisdom of the past. It is a vision of justice, order, and freedom based on a transcendent source of values. This would contrast with any vision not so based.

My thinking and writing reflect the wisdom accumulated among the giants of traditionalist thought. Perhaps the greatest of the contemporary traditionalists is Russell Kirk, who has written an entire bookshelf of volumes addressing your question. In his epochal work, The Roots of American Order, Russell Kirk writes, “The good society is marked by a high degree of order, justice, and freedom. Among these, order has primacy: for order cannot be enforced until a tolerable civil order is attained, nor can freedom be anything better than violence until order gives us laws.”

Positivism as taught in American law schools is known as “the command theory of law.” It is the epitome of secular fundamentalism, and has destroyed every civilization in which it took root. “Positivism arose in opposition to the classical natural law theory, according to which there are necessary moral constraints on the content of law. The word ‘positivism’ was probably first used to draw attention to the idea that law is ‘positive’ or ‘posited,’ as opposed to being ‘natural’ in the sense of being derived from natural law or morality.”

 

The denial of any transcendent source of law constitutes a denial of the very roots of Western civilization and, indeed, of any true culture. Legal positivism denies the long history that gave rise to the Great American Experiment, and aims to eliminate the very possibility of bringing the wisdom of tradition to public life and public policy.

This is amazing. I always knew that Crane was a conservative, but not that he was a traditionalist. I wish he would discuss economic freedom more in-depth like Dr. Imad ad-Deen Ahmad of Minaret of Freedom. But, yes, you find new things through google everyday.

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Brian Ross, the same one who broke Reverend Wright, is now breaking the story on Rod Parsley. Muslims have been making up conspiracy theories about how this proves the media hates Islam, that they refuse to cover Parsley. I have defended Rev. Wright before, and also criticized him, but Obama’s pastor was Wright while Parsley was just asked to endorse McCain. There is a big difference in media coverage, no offense.

Nevertheless, the fact ABC is covering this is a good thing. Anyone running for president cannot be around such people, and the very presence of a friendship between the two men serves as a recruiting tool for Muslim radicals.

Ross reports:

Al Moheet, a regional Arabic Web site operating in Egypt, carries the story with a picture of McCain and the headline: “McCain’s Spiritual Adviser Calls for the Destruction of Islam.”

“If there is a McCain presidency, he will start with a serious handicap in the Arab world,” said former CIA intelligence officer John Kiriakou. “And the handicap is that it is already assumed in Muslim countries that they will not get a fair shake from a McCain administration,” said Kiriakou.

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Dr. Imad ad-Dean Ahmad discusses Islam and economic freedom, the virtues of capitalism, natural law, John Locke and his connection to Muslim Ibn Tufayl’s Hayy ibn Yaqzan which ushered in his belief in natural rights theory, and Ibn Khaldun and the subjective theory of value’s influence on the Salamanca Thomists and thus the Austrian school on Antiwar Radio.

Some notes. I don’t agree with everything Dr. Ahmad says always, but he is a very intelligent person in Physics (his Ph.D.), economic history, and its relation to Islamic thought. What he says about Ibn Khaldun on the subjective theory of value is correct, and it is well known that many of the early Thomists such as the great Fransisco Suarez, had this conception of value as subjective (instead of the debunked notion of Just Price).

A few more notes: Hayy ibn Yaqzan is highly noted in Western thought, but the more authentic expositor of traditional Islamic theology is Ibn al-Nafis’ masterpiece Theodactis Autodidactis which I believe is still not translated into English. Khaldun also noted the importance of gold based currency, like the Austrian school, the idiocy (and Islamic prohibition) on price controls, and the importance of economic freedom and property rights. This was all in the 1300s, and it is well known that Islamic jurisprudence accepted the market since the origins of Islam. Fernand Braudel notes this in his works on the history of capitalism which he traces back to the Egyptian stock market in Cairo, and the markets which existed in early Islamic civilization.

The importance of conserving (a) natural order, (b) natural law, (c) tradition, (d) liberty - most especially economic, (e) spontaneous order, (f) the maintenance of social order, is something ecumenic. There have been such thinkers in every time and place. Whether in the depths of China with the Confucians, the Catholic Thomists, the British Burke, the anti-Enlightenment De’Maistre, the American Russell Kirk, etc. The natural order is known through reason in every time and place.

These general principles taken together form the core of true rationalism. By whichever name it is truly called, such conservative principles are self-evident. Time and place again have we understood the importance of the natural order and tradition for happiness. Economically, liberty is the only natural way to trade. We must eschew conquest and central planning. Capitalism is justice and built civilization and sustains it. This historical law has been observed once and again, whether by Ibn Khaldun in the Muqaddimah, or Aristotle in the Politics. Economic freedom is in itself an aspect of justice, natural law, and the natural order, and ecumenically we “conservatives” realize this. Good job Imad ad-Dean Ahmad.

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Poetry has always been a central part of the Arabic tradition. It would be no exaggeration to call it - the Arab tradition - as it occupies perhaps the most important place in the lives of Arabs throughout their history. Arabs never had a tradition of prose, thus pure poetry was the medium of choice for stories, odes, love poems, or even didactic teaching tools.

Poetry actually occupies an interesting part of the Islamic tradition itself. It is well known that the Prophet Muhammad once said, may peace be upon him, that there was much wisdom and eloquence in poetry. He also would quote pre-Islamic poets which had important meanings, such as Labid. It is well known that our Blessed Beloved and his companions sang poetry when working on fortifying the illuminated al-Madinah with a large trench.

Poetry recitations do have their roots in the Islamic tradition. Throughout Islamic history a tradition began called by many names in which Islamic poetry was sung and listened to. Such gatherings occurred often throughout Muslim history. This tradition of specifically Islamic spiritual poetry and music has been called by many names. Perhaps its most well known classical nomenclature is sama’ or “audition.”

The apex of Islamic spiritual poetry are odes sung and recited regarding love of God and his Messenger, the core of Islamic teaching. To this very day such odes are sung in gatherings throughout the Muslim world, and often before and after religious lessons. Such odes are not considered scripture or Divinely inspired - but simply expressions of love. T. J. Winter, a lecturer in Islamic studies at notes of the Syrian tradition of Islamic song:

A striking feature of this music is that it is sung a capella… This immediately invites a comparison with Gregorian chant, whose richness has been rediscovered of late by many Western listeners. The resemblance seems strengthened by the almost complete absence of polyphony. In keeping with the almost universal tradition in Islamic music, the voices soar and descend on a single line, the unison receiving only occasional complexity from a deliberate inconsistency in the duration of some of the notes. But here the resemblance to plainchant ends abruptly. The sound of the monks is redolent of shadowy Gothic spaces, and, like the Gothic style which it inhabits, proposes a world of darkness to which the sacraments alone can bring light. There is a mysterious quality to Gregorian chant which is profoundly foreign to these Muslim Syrian sounds, with their insistent, often exuberant syncopations. The root of the difference is, in the last analysis, theological: Islam has no doctrine of original sin, and its arts and music do not emerge de profundis, but form part of the larger song of creation. ‘Have you not seen,’ says the Koran, ‘that God is hymned with praise by all who are in the heavens and the earth, and the birds in their flight? Each knows its prayer and its form of praise.’ The Muslim believer is invited not to set creation behind him, but to join it, and therefore to experience something of its beauty and joy. ‘I rejoice in the world,’ says one Muslim poet, ‘because the world rejoices in Him.’

Here is one example of a very famous spiritual poem sung by a very famous reciter of poetry, the Syrian reciter Nour ed-Din Khourshid:

The first ode he sings is tabaly a famous Arabic poem which translated is:

Be sweet and kind to me

I have been pushed away and returned

In the deep love of He like the Beautiful Full Moon

In my state of poverty

And of brokenness

I hope for the night of beauty

O withdrawing one

Do not harm me

For upon the longing in love there is no harm

Take from me

And report from me

I am a leader of longing love

O God, O God

My glance at the face of the Beloved was natural

And separation for his lovers is greatly painful

He sings another ode after that on love, here are a few excerpts:

The presence has been made excellent

The view has been made pure

The glad tidings have come

To the people of God

They stood engrossed

From this glad tiding

They established it as a sign

of Loving God

Until others began to doubt

That we had reached insanity

in our love of God

The moons of Diyari said

“Say to the lords of passion,

that everyone who loves Muhammad

is in safety and peace.”

This is just something to think about. Agape or charitas in Greek - or mahabba in Arabic - the spiritual love for one’s religious guide is deep in the hearts of Muslims.

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Our Islamic tradition notes that one of the most fundamental manifestations of Divine mercy are in hardship, tribulation, and calamity. Because it is those things that, although very hard, and may God keep us away from them, make us truly realized in many spiritual virtues - such as thankfulness, humbleness, and patience.

This is the theme of many of the hadith of the Prophet, such as the one which emphasizes that everything which happens to a Muslim is good - because goodness leads to thankfulness while hard times lead to patience.

Some of the early Muslims used to say that if you could see the Divine Tablets (al-lawh al-mahfudh), one would not pray for anything to happen except that which happened, for the bad in one’s life has another side.

God has two great attributes that he manifests in his creation - al-Jalal or “The Majestic” is one of his names, and another is al-Jamal or “The Beautiful.” The Classical Muslim commentators note that God has both names, and that his creation reflect both attributes. Jalal is manifested during trial and hardship, when one is brought to the virtues of awe of God. Jamal are manifested during good and happy times, when one is brought to thankfulness of God.

This I think is one of the core aspects of Islam which one deals with in one’s everyday life. For everything in our lives can in many ways be reduced to good times and bad times. And our scholars note that in every jalal there is jamal, and in every jalal there is jamal. For instance, Mecca is named as the “City of Jalal” for its feeling of awe of God and the fear of its sacred status which it evokes - yet it too contains parts which contain much beauty. And Medina, while it is named as “The City of Jamal” it still contains parts which evoke awe.

Thus in every hard time one can find beauty, and in every beautiful time one can be brought to awe. Yet, in the end it is all positive - as the Prophet (SAW) said this is the affair of none except the believer. One can find positiveness in everything.

I was reminded of this lately because of a very sad fact. One of my good friends, who just graduated last semester, now has leukemia. She is one of the nicest and sweetest people I know. A very kind person who was always there to help people and who really dedicated herself to helping others when they needed it. She is a very positive person, and a religious Christian.

I simply ask if you would all keep her in your prayers. It is a very sad situation, and I am very upset, but in every hardship there is relief (as the Qur’an says), and in every moment where - as hard as it is - we notice God’s awe, we also find his beauty. Firstly, we should thank God that we were not tried with such sickness. But secondly, we notice how humble we are as human beings and how powerful God is. As Muslims say, “Blessed is he in who’s hand is the Dominion and who has power over all things” and as the Christians say “For the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory are yours, now and forever.”

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Never in the history of the United States has any candidate espoused Arab and Muslim American values like Ron Paul. A fervent follower of politics and international news for many years, I never believed I would actually vote in a Presidential election, not due to apathy, but due to the inherent flaws in both political parties and their candidates.

As Arab Americans we have found that no candidate truly serves us. Much of this changed in the Presidential campaign of 2000, when a young Governor named George W. Bush graced our television screens arguing for the repeal of the secret evidence law, free trade, free market economics, low tax rates, and the absence of nation building in foreign policy.  Arab Americans were shocked. This was indeed the ideal candidate for Arab American values, and the vast majority of Arab Americans voted for President Bush in 2000.

After Bush was elected however, everything changed. The passage of the PATRIOT Act, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the increase of spending and big government through the creation of the Department of Homeland Security made Arab Americans further disenchanted with the political process.

Then came 2004, a great proportion of Arab and Muslim Americans did not vote, and those that did end up switching to the Democratic party did so reluctantly. Democrats not only opposed withdrawal from Iraq - the one issue which Arab Americans looked towards them favorably - but they also stood for many values which Arab Americans stood against such as socialized medicine programs, big government spending, increasing taxes on Americans, and abortion. The Democratic party was also highly endorsed by pro-Israel organizations in the United States which in many cases perfered them to the Republican party.

Arab Muslim Americans such as myself, upset and discontent with the realities of contemporary American political culture, believed that there would never really come a candidate who supported our values and beliefs. And then came Ron Paul.

I first learned of Ron Paul watching CSPAN. I remember being excited that there was a free-market Republican against the war, however I was skeptical. Even if this was the case, I thought, Paul would probably be the same sugar coated package we have been so used to having as Arab Americans. I did not look Paul up at the time nor did I truly care to.

However, Ron Paul’s supporters had more in store. All over Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, and political blogs came images of Ron Paul. It seemed as if you could not click a page on the internet without seeing his face. So one day, reluctantly, I tuned into one of his videos - and then it came, I was hooked.

Paul’s message of non-interventionism in foreign policy and his discussion of blowback really struck me. His recommendations of the books of Robert Pape, Michael Scheuer, and others truly blew me away, as these were authors I had read consistently as well. I did more and more research and truly found that Ron Paul was the only candidate in the history of American politics who truly catered to the values of Arab Americans. I continued my research only to read dozens of Paul’s articles, and read many of his books, to truly find that he is the only candidate I could ever vote for. And now, i’m on board.

Arab Americans who are undecided on Paul should research his message, and they will no doubt be convinced. I have listed the following issues as central to the values of Arab Americans and reasons to support Ron Paul.

(1) Ron Paul is non-interventionist in his foreign policy

Ron Paul opposed the war in Iraq from the start. Paul argued that the reason that the terrorists attacked us on 9/11 was United States oppression of the peoples of the Middle East, a concept called blowback. He is the only candidate to ever run for President in modern times that has supported cutting off all foreign aid to Israel. He wants free-trade with Arab states, and opposes sanctions or war with Iran.

Paul, in his writings, has stated that the only just war is the defensive war. He opposes interventionism and aggression and meddling into the affairs of other nations. He has advocated returning to the views of the founding fathers such as Alexander Hamilton who wrote in the Federalist Papers that the United States would set an example being the first country who would not engage in aggressive wars.

(2) Ron Paul supports the free-market

Arab Americans have long been supporters of the free-market. Living under decades of socialist rule which only led them further into poverty, Arabs immigrated to the United States in search of economic opportunity. Such opportunity has made Arab Americans one of the most successful communities in modern American society. Arab Americans are known as engineers, doctors, lawyers, and businessmen. Paul opposes the tax-and-spend policies of big government. He believes that people have a natural right to the property they earn which the government cannot take away from you. He is the only candidate to have never voted for a tax increase, and he has even opposed taking the congressional pension. A doctor by trade, Paul has himself tasted success in the free-market, and thus opposes the unjust policies of the death tax which destroy the savings which parents work so hard to give to their children.

Paul supports the ideas of the well known Austrian school of economics which argued that the quality of life of all people increased in the free-market. The free-market is the only economic system which leads to products and services being created based upon the needs and desires of the people.

Muslim Americans have a long history supporting free commerce. Muslim scholars such as Ibn Khaldun - the great Muslim jurist, religious scholar, and sociologist - argued in the 14th century that cutting taxes gave the state more wealth, an idea which was propogated by Ronald Reagan who quoted Khaldun many times. Historians tell us that the first stock market existed in Egypt in medieval times - and that the economic situation in the medieval Muslim world could truly be described as a free market. The Prophet Muhammad being a merchant, Muslims have a long tradition supporting commerce and free trade.

(3) Paul supports civil liberties

Ron Paul opposed the PATRIOT act from the start. He has always argued for the importance of civil liberties in a democratic society. Paul is against the government spying on its citizens and the national ID card. He has worked his entire life to ensure liberty was protected in accordance with the American constitution.

(4) Paul supports sound money

Muslim Americans throughout the world have long supported a return to the gold standard. The gold standard, it has been argued, would provide sound money to combat inflation. Malaysia has been instrumental in this, advocating Muslim countries return to the gold standard and share a common currency. Muslims have used the gold standard for centuries - and the gold standard has its roots back in the times of the Prophet Muhammad himself.

(5) Paul has the best plan on health care

Another place where Paul supports the values of Arab and Muslim Americans - which include a large proportion of doctors and nurses - is health care. Ron Paul opposes the fallacy that people have a “right,” to health care - for this right infringes upon the natural right for one to own the property they earn or are given. Paul’s health care plan is actually the only one which will bring down the costs of health care and improve its quality through the vehicle of competition in the free market.

Dr. Paul advocates the return to the “pay per service,” system where everyone would pay out of pocket for all health care expenses. Doctors under this system used to find great advantage in keeping the prices low. Churches and charities would provide health care for the poor. Medicare is a great portion of our current budget, and by being gradually phased out it would decrease the taxes which hamper down American taxpayers. Eliminating government bureaucracy is the only way we can make health care more affordable. The fallacies of socialized medicine only bring up the cost of health care, decrease its quality, and eliminate innovation. It has been the free-market which has been the impetus in making health care better and better, and innovative medicine has saved the lives of millions of people. It is by enhancing such innovation, not decreasing it, that our health care system will continue to be the best in the world. Dr. Paul is the only candidate who has proposed such a plan, which is central to the values of a large portion of Arab Americans who work in medicine.

In conclusion, there has been no candidate who has ever - or perhaps will ever - run for President in the history of the United States who has supported the values of Arab and Muslim Americans so deeply. Ron Paul deserves our support. Major Arab Americans activists have already came out in their support of Dr. Paul, and I urge all of those reading this to spread the word and message to others and get out the vote!

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