A few days ago a Muslim brother, Arfan Bhatti, said a few things in a demonstration against the Norwegian forces in Afghanistan. Although I agree like many others that war is not the solution and people in Afghanistan deserve better and therefore forces must move out, I don’t agree to the way the message was read. It wasn’t actually showing the true essence of what our beautiful religion is all about. Yes my Allah is the creator of the world, and I find my religion or way of life as beautiful, but it also teaches me to respect his creations. As a Muslim I have to be at my best character so others can see what Islam changed within me. If my actions are making people point their fingers at my religion then there is something I am not doing right.

I got in touch with various imams and scholars in Norway to get their views on the message read out on 20th January 2012 in Oslo by Arfan Bhatti. (It’s in Norwegian, so you may google translate it to read what they said). The views below are part of mini conversations with the imams and scholars. I find it very important that their views are heard.

1. Imam Maulana Mehboob-ur-Rehman
ICC Moske, Grønland

Siden Norge er ikke direkte en del av krigen i Afghanistan men bare følger det dem får ordre om via en internasjonal pakt er det feil å gå direkte til angrep på Norge. Dette er ikke en religiøs-sak men mer eller mindre en sak som har med menneskerettigheter å gjøre, og det finnes flere måter å få frem sin ord på men det som ble sagt på demonstrasjonen er ikke en måte vi stiller oss bak.

Det utsagnet var ikke noe som forsterker det fine Islam har å tilby men det gjorde akkurat det motsatte. I tillegg til det så ser ikke vi på det som en Islamsk måte å fremme en sak på.

Bare når det er sagt, vil vi ikke gå bort fra det at vi vil at det blir fred i Afghanistan og at alle styrker trekker seg ut.

2. Maulana Tariq Usman
Masjid-e-Aqsa Moske, Strømmen

Uttalelsen som ble lest på demonstrasjon mot norskesoldater i Afghanistan er vi uenig i. Som en Muslim kan vi ikke snakke sånn mot våre medmennesker ikke minst true dem på en sånn måte. En Muslim bør være varsom og skjønne at det finnes flere måter å fremme en sak på. Vi er også enige i at styrker bør komme tilbake nå enn å vente et par år til men det var uheldig at demonstrasjonen ble ødelagt på grunn av mangelen på en god ledelse med forståelse på Islam.

3. Imam Naimat-ullah-Shah
Moskeen Central Jama’at-e Ahl-e Sunnat, Grønland

Vi har og vil alltid være imot alle sånne trusler fra dem som kaller seg Muslimer. Islam tillater ikke noe sånt. Det finnes måter å gå videre med sånne saker og etter å ha hørt hva som ble sagt på demonstrasjonen er ikke vi enig på dem måten det ble lagt frem. Sånne små grupperinger må passe på hva dem sier og hvordan dem sier det.

4. Imam Tehsin Hussein
Sandnes Moske, Sandnes

Det bror Arfan sa er veldig dårlig gjort. Selv om han sier det er advarsel så er det ett ordspill. Vi bør.være mer våkne og motarbeide pluss prøve å holde dialog slik at de ikke blir overbevist av sine egne forståelser som er imot flertallet av lærde.

5. Imam Ikram Shah Jailani, Oslo

Når man ser på antallet som dukket opp på demonstrasjonen kan man klart og tydelig se at det var ikke engang 0.01% av antallet muslimer som bor i Norge. Ingen Imam kan være enig med dems utsagn fordi en Muslim må ha en holdning som gjør at han passer på sine naboer akkurat som sine egne brødre. Og da er det snakk om alle sammen uansett om dem er Muslim eller ikke. Og når det er sagt er det viktig at våre Muslimske brødre passer på at dem ikke misbruker vers fra Quranen for å tilfredstille sine egne interesser.

6. Maulana Shafiq-ur-Rehman
Al-Suffah Islamsk skole, Mysen

Vi som Muslimer kan ikke gi trussler av noen slag til andre medmennesker spesielt om vi skal vise hva Islam står for. Først må dem som prøver å representere Muslimer her se om dem virkelig vet hva Islam står for og for det andre må jeg også legge til at selve saken står fortsatt der, Norske og alle andre styrker må komme seg ut av en sånn krig som kun er basert på løgn.

I have dedicated a website for a show in Pakistan called “sach ka safar” it means in a way “Journey for truth”. In that program the host brings unfortunate people who are suffering in their daily life.

I find myself very fortunate to be in a position like many of you, to help those that might have less than us. In the latest program the host interviewed a sister who lost her husband and is now bound to work at various places to bring up her four little children.The kids are doing great in school but she is unable to pay their fees, she earns 75 Dollars a month and pays 43 Dollars a month for her rent.

Who says it’s supposed to be like this even AFTER we have watched or heard about this? Last time we collected 300 000 rupees for a person who needed an electric wheelchair and a startup fund for his shop in Pakistan, and this time I am sure we can do it again.

I have calculated that we can manage 1000 dollars that will cover her 1 year of rent, start up money, sewing machine so she can sew her own clothes and sell them rather than leaving little kids behind to work as a cleaner.

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Someone once said that worrying doesn’t help but being concerned does, because only then you can look for solutions. If you really look around you, the things that worry you fall in two categories, either it will get you to be more worried or be concerned. All in all, the quote gives us a guidance that helps us realize how to deal with a “worry” or a situation.

If we worry:-

• We will be using our brain to focus on the negative side of things
• We won’t look for solutions, because we won’t have time to look for them
• We will feel that there is no workaround

If we concern ourselves:-

• We will place “worry” on the backseat, while allowing our brain to focus on a solution
• We will be creating positive energy that’s looking for an answer
• If the concern is genuine, we might easily solve a similar problem in the future..

So choose the “concerned” path rather than worry, to avoid wasting time

We are often faced with people who remind us of others. Based on their looks, their character, way of talking, walking or anything for that matter.

But how many people do we meet and say “wow, this person is amazing, never met anyone like him/her before”?

Sadly, we don’t see this that much as we would like to. Reason is quite obvious. In the world we are living in, where media has taken over almost everything from A to Z we are bound to see “copies” of those famous people we often see jumping up and down on tv or movies.

There is hardly any more of the “uniqueness” that’s left, people don’t like going against the flow, and making themselves shine through for the fear of being rejected.

I personally have a strong mindset about being myself, yes I do like to take inspiration from other positive people and historical figures, but I want to be “ME”, because after all as Oscar Wilde once said “

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”

Tips to be unique:-

• Don’t focus too much on what the media wants you to wear or do
• Make up your OWN mind when it comes to creating an image for yourself
• Just because you act or have different clothing than others doesn’t mean you are wierd, it means you are special

In the world we are living in, it’s a very not so normal sight to see people smiling, so whatever you do, whichever route you take, don’t lose that smile

You can never get enough of what you don’t really need. —Eric Hoffer

This quote sums up lots of the issues that we human beings suffer from.

• How many of us really need a house with so many rooms that no one uses?
• How many people do we see who buy car after a car just because they have the money for it, not the need?
• How many of us want the luxuries just so others can envy us?

Sadly no one has the answer to the questions above, because in one way or the other we are all tangled in this web of “showing off”. Even if someone says they need what they have, they will still go for more if they got the chance.

I recall an incident I read about a centuries back, which relates to the time after Prophet Muhammed (pbuh). It was when Hazrat Umar RA a caliph appointed a trusted companion to become the guardian of a city, in other words a Prime Minister type of position. The person refused to be paid a huge salary. He said that this money is the root of evil, and no matter what one says, I won’t allow evil in my life. He then cut his salary to the amount that a person selling fruits on the road took and said, if he can manage in that pay so can I.

Amazing character these people had. And look at us today, we want everything, and in the long run end up not having any peace of mind.

This is what most of the people say when they are starting their conversation after a sigh, which sounds like as if someone has taken all the air out of their lungs.

Remember that you are living in a world where billions of people die just because they can’t manage to get clean water, let alone a few grains of food. You might be one of those lucky people who can afford internet, might be sitting on a chair, under a roof which doesn’t leak when it rains. You have absolutely a billion reasons to be happy about. But yes, does that solve your “i hate my job” thing? Maybe not, or maybe it does, it’s just the way you look at it.

Here are a few things to “love” your job:-

• Apply for something else, something that you “love” doing
• Do more at work, because most of the times one hates a job because one has nothing to do
• At a time where finance crisis might hit again, be thankful for what you have and hang in there
• If you are in a job you hate, and been there for a few years with same mindset, I would never want you working for me, but ask yourself would you hire yourself?
• Do some courses, go on seminars to learn more about your field. The only person who’s stopping you from learning, is you.

If the above few tips don’t help. Then visit the local unemployment center where you live, and see how people struggle to get even a few hours job to manage their day.

I don’t recall a single job I hated, i liked them all in one way or the other. Because it was either that or being unemployed. So the choice is yours. If you want to move up the ladder, give your best and as far as I remember when I used to work as a sales agent at a tiny shop in Norway when employers didn’t see the potential in me, I kept applying until a few did. And I have never looked back.

I do recall and thank God for the moments I have managed to go through, but one thing is for sure… I love all my jobs, because they put bread and butter on my table. *

* Norway is going through a butter-crisis these days, so maybe this line won’t fit

I often wonder what makes a racist person tick, and to be honest I guess everything and everyone that isn’t like them makes them go nuts.

A racist person usually uses his race card whenever he has to prove a point, and most of the times or almost all of the times, the race card is used to ridicule the other person’s feelings and emotions. I am sure if the laws in some western countries are really followed then lots of such people will be charged for psychologically torturing people around them who are just interested in being left alone so they can do their daily chores.

Often it’s shown in the media that Muslims are rude and uncivilized people, but never has anyone bothered to really see what a practicing Muslim is to be like. Often we hear people say “I know how it feels when someone makes fun of your religion or your background”, to be very honest, no one would know unless you are from the same background, that’s the fact.

How to fight racism?

Let’s talk constructive.

• Teach your children to respect others despite what their background is, remember you will be thankful you did, because children who see their parents make fun of others are usually not someone children can look up to, maybe at childhood but when they grow older, they will realize what hate-speech is. So stop sooner than later.
• It’s not wrong to read the news, but remember that most news channels and sites are now tabloids who are just interested in advertisement income, sadly not looking at the after affects of their news.
• If you have hard feelings about someone who is from a different country, first ask yourself if its really worth it that you are holding on to feelings only due to some news channels? Is it a personal experience, then remember you can’t hate the whole group based on one person. To look at it constructively ask yourself if everyone should hate you because you belong to the same background as a serial rapist?

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If you tell me that you have never failed at something, I would probably turn around and call you the biggest liar on the face of the earth. But then again, maybe you haven’t failed at something at all. But then again that’s even worse, because that means you haven’t done anything different to get what you have today.

• A person who hasn’t failed has definitely never tried anything new
• A person who has tried something might have failed but is sitting with great experience
• A person with great experience in something will definitely not fail again in the same situation

Think about it.. are you one of those who just doesn’t like taking risks? I realize that taking risks just out of the blue is silly, but maybe you should just go against the stream and really do something amazing. You might not like to share your failure, but who knows.. you might come out successful and something that might change the world for the better..

If you are not prepared to be wrong, you probably won’t come up with anything amazing.

I read a quote a few days ago and I was amazed by the beauty and depth it covered.

“Never look down on someone unless you’re helping them up.” – Jesse Jackson

Just imagine if everyone around the world thought like this, it would be so much easier to deal with other human beings. What if everyone started looking at others as human beings and as people with a heart that beats. Wouldn’t it be beautiful?

If people put this quote into action:-

• they would be better friends
• they would be better parents
• they would be better husbands and wives
• they would be better inside and outside
• and most of all, they would be better people to be around

How can we help others by following the quote?

• If someone asks for help and you know you can do it, just go ahead
• If someone needs money and you know you can help, just lend it
• If someone requires your time and you know you have it, try to give it

Sometimes, all that stops us from helping others is the boasted ego that has no place in a healthy body…

Life would be so beautiful if we all become happy with what we have rather than wondering how happy we would be with what we don’t have. Yes, it’s a tongue-twister but that’s the way we live our lives.

We want the best when we already have something that’s good enough. We want the greatest when no one ever lasted in this world with anything when they had such a thought. Everything in this world will vanish one day, including us. But the way we look at things around us with eyes full of greed as if we will be here till eternity.

Asking for less and getting less is probably a nice way to thank for what one has. If you have less expectations you will not feel bad about things either. But on the other hand, if you expect the best you will not feel good about anything that someone else would give his whole life for.

I have seen a bigger smile on the face of a Pakistani roadside worker who earns 4 dollars a day than on the face of a billionaire I see in the news every other day. I have seen happier people who live in a tiny hut with no electricity than those living in mansions. I have yet to realize the secret, but I sometimes wonder that it’s probably because they value their relationships rather than trying to find out ways to rip someone off.

As I read somewhere a few months back, “Lucky are those parents who have kids who run into their arms even when they don’t have any money”

Hope and pray we can make our children think like that too..