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17 September 2012 By El-Hajj
Mauri' Saalakhan It has been narrated in al-Musnad
of Ahmad b. Hanbal (and by a number of other respected
authorities) that representatives of Musaylama
the liar (a false claimant to prophet-hood)
visited the last divinely sent Messenger of ALLAH (pbuh)
and arrogantly confessed to their own apostasy - with
what would seem to many, then and now, as a
surprising result. Abd Allah b. Mas'ud reported: I was in the presence of ALLAH's
Messenger (pbuh) when this man [Abd Allah b. Nuwaha]
and another man came as official representatives of
Musaylama the liar. The Messenger of ALLAH asked them,
"Do you bear witness that I am the Messenger of
ALLAH?" They replied: "We bear witness that Musaylama
is the Messenger of ALLAH!" ALLAH's [true] Messenger
then said: "I believe in ALLAH and His Messengers;
were I to execute ambassadors, I would have executed
both of you!" This sound hadith from the Sunnah
of the Last Prophet (Mohammed ibn Abdullah, peace be
upon him) reflects the Shariah (Islamic
law) position on the immunity accorded to ambassadors
– and, by extension, even to the embassies of hostile
nations. It is also worth noting that this was the
character of committed Muslims (who followed
the example of the Prophet) many centuries before
the evolution of what is today known as "international
law." On the basis of Al-Islam's
clearly established position on such matters, we
denounce the assault on the embassy in Benghazi,
Libya, and the tragic deaths of four U.S. diplomats.
Our position on the matter does not stop there,
however. The deaths of Ambassadors J.
Christopher Stevens, 52, Sean Smith, 34, and two other
diplomats (who have yet to be identified), is being
viewed by some well informed people as an example of
the chickens coming home to roost. (Remember
that phrase?) Ambassador Stevens (whose death has
received the lion's share of attention) has been
described both as a gifted career diplomat and
America's man in Benghazi during the tumultuous
removal of Muammar Qadhafi from power. Stevens reportedly served in
Israel, Egypt, Syria and Saudi Arabia, and became the
number two diplomat in Libya from 2007 to 2009.
According to The Washington Post ("A Diplomat of
charm, resolve," by Anne Gearan, 9/13/12) he also
became "the Obama administration's envoy to the
opposition" after the so-called "Arab Spring"
reached Libya. (I don't think there is any real need
for this writer to go into some of the things that
this assignment entailed.) The fact is, the deaths of these
American ambassadors – at the hands of "rebels" who
were probably armed by the U.S. and/or its allies –
was as much a consequence of America's success in
Libya, as the belligerents' success in breaching the
walls of the U.S. Embassy. And as sad as many
Muslims in America
genuinely feel for the loss of any innocent
life, I can assure America's policymakers, and their
equally wrong-headed
apologists, that any feeling of remorse
for the demise of these diplomats pales in comparison
to the pain and outrage felt (by many Muslim
Americans) in response to the innocent Muslim lives
being routinely destroyed by the unending wars on
Muslim lands; the drone attacks and other targeted
killings; the unjust open-ended imprisonments (both
here and abroad), and the heart-wrenching familial
disruptions that come in their wake! People of sincere good will of
all faiths long for the day when these cycles of
destruction come to an end! Until then, the struggle
continues… El-Hajj Mauri' Saalakhan Director of Operations The Peace Thru Justice
Foundation |
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