(A meditation on how to refuse to be radicalised)
Michael Adebolajo, one of the jailed killers of Lee Rigby with a blood-soaked hand and his blade of shame in the other...No Sanctuary for the Mujahideen!
Dear *Mujahideen,
I hear you are about to embark on a mission to 'matyrdom', but please pause and read this meditation before you begin your journey of no-return:
Never, never, never ever kill because every life is sacred to God.
Allah can fight for himself;
No true Muslim will preach hatred,
Islam is a religion of peace, therefore, don't clothe it with innocent blood,
International campaigners exist to contend for the liberty of humanity and bring peace to our world;
They go to nations to defend those who are being oppressed and killed by their tyrannical leaders
And not to occupy nations for the fun of it!
Report all jihadi recruiters from near and far-flung lands to the police
And dissociate yourself from them;
When greedy recruiters approach you through your imams and some unwary friends of yours to do the dirty job of killing for which they have collected money from blood-thirsty, beastly and crassly insensitive demons (persons), just tell them **D.I.Y:
Go and do it yourself,
Go on the bloody mission yourself,
Or send your loved ones if you so love Allah;
Don't feed on the rubbish posted on the internet by misguided Mujahideens and those vomitted by hate preachers,
Love your neighbour as yourself;
If you cannot bomb/stab/cut/kill yourself with the bomb/blade and gun of shame,
Then don't do it to your neighbour.
In life, don't aim at bringing sorrow upon your family and humanity,
For you are their joy and the joy of the whole world!
Promote peace from and in your little corner,
And never use violence to redeem violence,
As a good citizen of your country,
Report to the police and trusted imams all threats of violence and potential threats to national security wherever they exist that you are aware of.
Be your brother's and sister's keeper,
Blood for many virgins, and blood for Aljanah is absolute rubbish;
Seek matyrdom only for worthy causes and feats,
And ONLY if it will glorify Allah.
Never ever involve and indulge in things that will bring your family community and international shame and ridicule;
Don't take part in terrorism and in any terror activities,
Renounce your membership of all terror cells in your local area and elsewhere;
Be angry about things you feel very passionate about, especially if they don't come as expected,
But don't be bitter as your bitterness can lead you to hate people and hatred can lead you to do unpredictable and shameful things;
HENCEFORTH, turn all your negativities to positivities,
Love life and don't love death,
Allah will love you to be alive to do his good deeds
To all humanity than see you die in a shameful cause.
Therefore, promote life and not death,
Preach love and not hatred,
Tell your friends and others about your faith lovingly and in a friendly manner;
But don't force them to embrace it or be bitter and develop hatred for them,
Especially when they refuse to accept Islam as there could be another opportunity to present Islam to them another day!
Publish your message in literature and keep its contents within the laws of your/host country and Koran and distribute them lovingly and with a smile on your face to people you come across;
Whenever you want to introduce your friends, neighbours and colleagues to Islam,
Do so by inviting them to have breakfast, lunch or dinner with you
And afterward present Isalm kindly and lovingly to them,
But certainly NOT through violence as that will grieve Allah.
If you ignore this advice and do violence and kill people,
Everyone around you will abandon you and you will be left ALONE!
There's even a very high possibility that you could get killed yourself,
And all your dreams and aspirations will die with you!
Besides, you will leave your parents and other loved ones in sorrow forever.
Endeavour to have a confidant or a mentor in anyone you respect,
And any time you are embittered by anything,
Confide in them your anger and worries;
Always occupy your mind with serious things;
Don't join bad company;
Don't bury your talents, but do give expressions to them positively,
Be zealous for your faith, but temper it with consideration for others' faiths,
And let this be based on knowledge, sound doctrine, love and friendship.
Bring creativity to bear on all that you think, do and say;
Always be in the company of good and aspiring friends and positive people.
Remember always that you belong to the broad family of mankind - race, colour, culture, religion creed notwithstanding,
No matter what, keep hope alive at all times,
It's never going to be easy at any time,
But just keep on keeping on until Allah gives you victory/success
And always be positive as there's light at the end of every tunnel,
Work hard and pray,
Labour, labour and wait until you achieve success in your chosen endeavour.
Shun idleness because Satan always finds work for an idle hand,
Be patient, for your time will surely come one day!
Always invest your time wisely,
AND never hang around in streets, at supermarkets and on estates doing nothing,
Seek wisdom, knowledge and understanding - make your local library your home or a place you will always visit to satisfy this quest and thirst.
STOP! Don't rush life and if you do, life will rush you!
NEVER live on the fast lane of life as doing so will lead to your dying young.
Do a little at a time,
Aim high by dreaming big, but let your dream be realistic,
Commit into writing, things you feel very passionate about - publish them in pamphlets, booklets, books and distribute them - or start a blog or twit such,
Start literary and debating club in your locality/neighbourhood where you can debate your ideas with like minds - or go to TV houses and discuss them or write to newspapers editors,
ALWAYS read books that will challenge you positively,
Adopt a hero/role model, dead or alive - Abraham Lincoln, Mandela, Churchhill, Ghandi, Mother Theresa, etc.
Don't do anything in excess;
Don't let any person exploit or take advantage of your youth,
But be an example of a good citizen and a good Muslim,
Prepare for tomorrow from where you are right now because the future is NOW!
Do not live big without commensurate income,
And don't emulate what is wrong,
Never try to be a hero,
Sleep in time - say 9 p.m. and aim at having a good night's sleep,
Don't do drug, nor religion nor ***humanligion, but do God ALWAYS!
Respect yourself, respect others and be yourself always,
And never try to run another person's race or be an echo of somebody,
Obey your parents and obey constituted authorities too,
DON'T rebel for the sake of it, but be a rebel with a cause,
Be the change you want to see in your little corner,
Work and pray - play and work for this is good for your overall health and spiritual well-being,
Don't aim at a better world, but aim ALWAYS to make the world a better place in which to live,
Treat others as if they were you and even better than yourself.
Have a goal, have a purpose and don't be a floater on the ocean of life -
ALWAYS ask yourself these questions: WHO AM I? WHY AM I HERE ON EARTH? WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF LIFE? WHAT WILL I DO IN MY LITTLE CORNER TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD?
Build and don't destroy - and add when neccessary - BUT subtract ONLY when neccessary,
If anyone offends you, don't burst into flames immediately,
But count up to 5000 times and then leave the vexed scene and the people that have annoyed you.
Do a little at a time and take a step at a time,
And always remember - a journey of a one-thousand miles begin with a step.
And do REMEMBER too that a sound mind can only to be found in a sound body!
*Mujahideen - strugglers or jihadists.
**D.I.Y - do it yourself.
***Humanligion - man-based faith; misinterpretation of God-based religions according to sense knowledge and human emotions leading to conflicts and killings; zeal for one's religion without knwoledge and understanding.