Spirit in Action

Sami Rasouli - Muslim Peacemaker Teams

Sami Rasouli is an Iraqi-born American citizen who returned to Iraq in the aftermath of the US war there, in order to try to help rebuild Iraq. Inspired by the example of the Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), he has helped organize the Muslim Peacemaker Teams (MPT).

Broadcast on:: 01 Apr 2007
Audio Format:: other

I have no hands but yours to tend my sheep No handkerchief but yours to dry the eyes of those who weep I have no arms but yours with which to hold The ones grown weary from the struggle and weak from growing old I have no hands but yours with which to see To let my children know that I am out and out is everything I have no way to feed the hungry souls No clothes to give and make, give, the ragged and the morn So be my heart, my hand, my tongue Through you I will be done The enders have I none to help I'm done The tangled knots and twisted chains The strangle fearful minds Welcome to Spirit in Action. My name is Mark Helpsmead. Each week I'll be bringing you stories of people living lives of fruitful service, of peace, community, compassion, creative action and progressive efforts I'll be tracing the spiritual roots that support and nourish them in their service. Above all, I'll seek out light, love and helping hands Being shared between our many neighbors on this planet, hoping to inspire and encourage you to sink deep roots and produce sacred fruit in your own life I have no way to open people's eyes, except that you will show them how to trust the inner mind I'm privileged today to have as my guest on Spirit in Action, Sami Razuli. Sami is an Iraqi-born American citizen who returned to Iraq in the aftermath of the U.S. War there in order to try to help rebuild Iraq. Inspired by the example of the Christian peacemaker teams, he has helped organize the Muslim peacemaker teams Sami left Iraq in 1976, eventually settling in the Twin Cities and opening Sin Bads, a Middle Eastern restaurant While visiting Iraq following his mother's death, he was struck by his duty to help rebuild the devastated nation Inspired by Tom Fox and the other CPT members, Sami organized the Muslim peacemaker teams One of their first actions was to organize a group of Shia Muslims to help clean up Fallujah, a Sunni stronghold I interviewed Sami on March 7, 2006 during his visit to Eau Claire Thank you so much, Sami, for taking the time in your really busy tour schedule to speak to me here for Spirit in Action My pleasure, thank you for having me here I think you just came from Eau Claire Memorial High School where you spoke to a couple of classes What did they want to know about that at the school? The students as well, lots of folks around where I ever go, they are 34 information about what's going on in Iraq So as long they know that I am a first-hand witness, an embedded witness, Iraqi American citizen Who I'm privileged to be capable to move around Iraq wherever I go And not only that, I'm maintaining the two ends of that bridge, I always wanted to have between East and West The bridge that bring the kids of Abraham together Where Allah, God, the promise, peace is for God I think you came to the U.S. about 26, 27 years ago I lived in the Minneapolis region, didn't you? I left Iraq, 1976, about 30 years ago, but I lived in the U.S. since 1986, so it's about 20 years And most of the time, I lived in Minneapolis area When I got here, I drove a taxi for a while Then I opened a Middle Eastern grocery bakery restaurant in the Twin Cities area And I maintained that since 1990 until 2004 In September 2004, I sold the business and I decided to go back home To help the Iraqis, which I owe them as relatives, friends, community At the place where I was born, an Abraham was born, an Ur, north of Basra, south in Iraq That decision came up after I visited Iraq a year before In November 2003, my mother died in September 12th of 2003 But I couldn't go, I waited two months Two months later, I was able to visit Iraq after 27 years The funny about the death of my mother, it's not funny But Johnny Cash died at the same day, and they both died at the same age So always, I needed that comfort tools To use beyond the imagination of John Lennon Close my eyes and imagine that both were dating in the Milky Way Singing for her, boy named Sue, or Ring of Fire But she goes, "Well, Habibi, Habibi is a precious world and Arabic means darling" But he goes, "Hey baby, what's up? Hey baby, Habibi, you always wanted to go and visit that prison and sing for the prisoners" *music* Well, you wonder why I always dress in black? Why you never see bright colors on my back? And why does my appearance seem to have a somber tone? Well, there's a reason for the things that I have on I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down Living in the hopeless, hungry side of town I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime But it's there because he's a victim of the time I wear the black for those who've never read Or listen to the words that Jesus said About the road to happiness through love and charity Why you think he's talking straight to you and me? Well, we're doing mighty fine, I do suppose In our streak of lightning cars and fancy clothes But just so we're reminded of the ones who are held back Up front there ought to be a man in black I wear it for the sick and lonely old For the reckless ones whose bad trip left them cold I wear the black in mourning for the lives it could have been Each week we lose a hundred fine young men And I wear it for the thousands who have died Believing that the Lord was on their side I wear it for another hundred thousand who have died Believing that we all were on their side Well, there's things that never will be right, I know And things need change in everywhere you go But till we start to make a move to make a few things right You'll never see me wear a suit of wine Oh, I'd love to wear a rainbow every day And tell the world that everything's okay But I'll try to carry off a little darkness on my back Till things are brighter, I'm the man in black Stop singing now, let me tell you about Iraq Iraq became that huge prison And they low water always you wanted to drink They low water now, it's the fate of the Iraqis In Saudi city alone populated by a million people Mostly she is part of the capital Baghdad Are infected by hepatitis A, M, B and typhus The situation in Iraq became wars and wars Every day passes while the occupation continues in Iraq More than a hundred fifty thousand, maybe two hundred thousand people Innocent people in Iraq got killed as a result of this war And from the other hand, men and women in uniform Are killed and still getting killed every day And more to come as long the Iraqis see us In the uniform controlling their land and the air in the sea And there is no rebuilt construction the country is going on We failed to secure the country, we failed to rebuild the country We failed to have a support of the community and the globe Because the naked aggression of that nation who done nothing to us That nation, Iraq, has no so whatever any connection With allied or September 11 They see us as enemies with naked aggression We destroyed the infrastructure, we dominating the resources And they got nothing Are they better off than they were under Saddam Or were they at least for a while? Was Saddam the brutal dictator who crushed his enemies? Who are his enemies? His enemies, whether they were sunnies, shades, his brother-in-law Relatives, friends, old friends, Kurds, Arabs, Christian He didn't care, he wanted only the power to be maintained The power to be his, he was a secular He was not a sectarian, but under his regime If you didn't step on his toe, you are secure You had your job, you have your clean water, you have your electricity Which is today only 3.7 hours out of 24 hours in a day Is this a liberation? Is this a kind of rebuild that the U.S. bragging about? We are making progress? What kind of progress? The reason for us to be there for a certain mission What is it? The weapon of mass destruction? Which is not there And when that reason was not there, we came with another reason The link of the previous regime with al-Qaeda or the link With the September 11 and those profan not by this September 11, 9/11, commission report And they said well, let's get rid of Saddam and they did Saddam is in trial right now and his government in detention And Bath Party is not there anymore In power, Bathies are underground, reorganizing Next door, Syria is ruled by Bath Party Bath, actually, they are cross-Arabian They are in Lebanon, in Mauritania and Sudan, everywhere there As a political party Why we're doing there and what's our mission? To spread democracy? Have the first election? Write the constitution? Have the other election? All happened, then why we are there? We are there to prevent a civil war We created a mess, a mess, a big mess And Iraqis are frightened I can assure you I heard over and over Iraqis said we wish Saddam never gone They hated him, but to compare the situation By his time and this time The US occupation time? No, far, far away Better was Saddam's and his regime for the Iraqis And I'm sorry to tell you this He was just a dictator He was a friend of our government for many, many years He was about to be tappled in '91 by Iraqis But the US helped him to restore his government There is no light at the end of the tunnel for the Iraqis And they desperately need the occupation To be ended because the Iraqis are split Whether they like Saddam or not Just like George Bush here But they are all united against the occupation is bad You, me, George Bush himself Doesn't like to be occupied by a foreign country And imagine if it happens, what will be the reaction of the Americans? You've been there for at least the last year or so Have the opinions of the Iraqi people change significantly Since the original attack on Iraq back in 2003 Was it viewed much more favorably when originally Saddam was being toppled? Well, I was, as a Muslim peacemaker team And peace activist, I always was And still against violence Saddam, he will not stay there forever Him or his kids But Saddam could be negotiated with Could be pressured, have the people the chance Help the people peacefully change And I met those members of the Iraqi National Foundation Congress Headed by Saididwado Harnessy I met with scholars, political science professors Who formed this Congress And they said we chose to oppose the previous regime Within Iraq, not from outside Iraq We couldn't leave because we didn't have the money But we sent the letter to the previous president To tell him that they were opposing his policies Domestically or the international foreign policy That the Saddam government was adapting And we told him we would like to be opponent A position, peaceful opposition And we have to communicate and address issues That we held those issues important For our people and the future of the people It worked, they were back and forth Talking to the government meeting with the government Without any form of violence But the other opposition who lived in exile They chose to be in exile And they collaborated with the U.S. government And U.K. to come with them With the occupation, with the invasion And they did divide the Iraqis Like the Kurdish and the Shiits Decided to support the occupation But the Sunnis opposed Not only the Sunnis, lots of Shiits Like Seidm of the other He's a young Shiits cleric Who has millions of supporters Until now he's against the occupation And there are many Kurds also Again, the occupation So when I'm talking about the people Or the political parties Who sided with the occupation They were expatriates Who lived in the U.S. and U.K. And some other parts of Europe In Iran too, they decided To come with the occupation Tars Saddam changed the regime But the situation resulted As consequences for the occupation Is really bad and people are suffering There are about 34,000 Iraqis Are detained by the U.S. and Iraqi forces alone Prisons in Iraq are not enough Now the U.S. is using secret prisons Besides Guantanamo and other places In Europe and somewhere else Probably in Afghanistan too We keep getting those information From memos leaked from this administration Or Downing Street in U.K. The healthcare is going to the drain Because as a result of the looting stealing And the failure to restore the conditions That need to be repaired And the hospitals The water treatment plans The national electricity grids Are still behind And never take care of them The reconstruction of the country Nothing happened Beside the corruption Stealing Iraqi monies And the Iraqis don't see the revenue Of the oil that sold For the last three years We don't know the numbers We don't know where the funds was $150 million every day Oil sold But Iraqis have noticed Because the employment rate Trans between 60 to 70% Only jobs available are police forces Or military personnel Or Iraqi intelligence agency And those as average person Who joined to those forces To those agencies Get about an average of $200 a month And they need this $200 to survive To support the family And those three agencies Are primary targets To be attacked by the resistance forces As you see and hear the news Every day there are tens of victims Fell killed as well American forces get killed And injured too For the last three years We have more than 2300 men And women in uniform Get killed and more Of 15,000 Get injured beside the Soldiers who come home With psychological damage Kids the most affected part In that Iraqi ill society Women too Women have no chance to work They cannot be police or in the army So they sell their body unfortunately There are thousands of them Out of the country Whether in Iran, Jordan or Syria They work as prostitutes This is the consequences of the invasion I think for a lot of us In the United States It's kind of difficult to understand The fighting that's going Not only against the U.S. But I think back and forth Between Shia and Sunni Muslims Is there long-standing enmity Between those groups And maybe the Kurdish and others Is that not true or is that Something that's more of a function of the occupation? Again as an Iraqi I never felt Being from the south I'm considered a Shia I was born as a Shia But it never been the case To be identified by my background religion Or faith or sect Another Iraq, her people For many years, different people Sunni, she is Muslim, Christian, Jews Kurdish, German, Sabia, Baptist They are there for centuries And I would like to remind the listeners That Hammurabi lived and born in Iraq And delivered the code of law First time in the history In that piece of land And Babylon So this ancient nation Which share the same consciousness With everybody else In this universe They never have this problem Until the occupation took a place Because as I said The occupation needed allies And they chose the Kurds As a minority And the Shiites They told the Iraqis You are not one people You are Sunnis and Shiites And Kurds And Saddam was Sunni So go ahead now It's your time Go get the Sunnis But the Sunnis are saying We were victim to Of that regime We are related to the Shiites We have the interracial Whether it's tribal Or intermarriage And the faith Imam Ali Alehi Salab He is the so-called leader Of the Shiites And he accepted to be The 4th Khalifa After the death of Prophet Muhammad Alehi Salaam And the 4th Khalifa was The follower of Allah And the Prophet Muhammad That means The leader of the Shiites Was Sunni too Because what Sunnis means Sunnis means The path of Allah And his Prophet Muhammad And Muhammad never Claim originality By Islam Muhammad always referred And this is the Versus in Quran It says Go and read the Torah What Moses had to say And read the Bible Where Jesus had to say So the message was one God was one And we are one people We all the kids of Abraham Again [Music] And once again We gather here As the night grows long Deep in the air It is a season of light A prayer and fasting And the endless longing For love everlasting All the children of Abraham All the children of Abraham [Music] And we are Isaac On the mountain top By the hand of God May the killing stop Faith without measure Hope without end But it is love We'll make the nations bend All the children of Abraham All the children of Abraham All the children of Abraham All the children of Abraham [Music] And he said there is but one And he said there is but one His name is Allah His name is Yahweh His name is Jesus His name is God All the children of Abraham [Music] [Music] So in this year This dark December As we look onward Let us remember, we share this history, we share this place, we share this moment, we ask for grace, all the children of Abraham, all the children of Abraham, all the children of Abraham. And he said there is but one, and he said we are but one, and we know we are but one. And we are Muslims, we are Jew, we are Christian, we are just me and you, all the children of Abraham, all the children of Abraham, all the children of Abraham. All the children of Abraham, all the children of Abraham. [Music] [Music] So that means a Shia not only a Sunni recognition of Judaism and Christianity too within Islam. So Islam is an extension to all those divine religions, and when I run that restaurant, Simbats, I always quizzed my customers, asking them, "Why do you think Allah sent all his messengers to Middle East?" And when they failed to answer, "At home, because the food is good." I agree, as a matter of fact, I've been a vegetarian for about 30 years, and I discovered falafel along the way amongst other things. I'm sorry I never get a chance to code this in that to take part in your food. Did your work in the restaurant, did it prepare you for this spiritual work as part of the Muslim peacemaker teams? How did you get prepared to do something to put your life on the line like that? When I decided to go back, I didn't have any idea what I'm going to do, but I was motivated to go because the scene of the destruction of the war kept hunting me down. So when I went there just coincidentally, I met the CPT and Karbala CPT members. I never had any idea who are those. Then I learned they are Quakers, Mennonites, and members of the Church of Brethren. And they told me we are there just to tell the Iraqis this war is not in our name. [Music] See the plane in the distance. See the flame in the sky. See the young ones running for cover. The old ones wondering why. They tell us that the world is a dangerous place. We live in a terrible tide, but in Hiroshima, New York or in Baghdad, it's the innocent to die for the crime. Not in my name. Not in my name. Not in my name. Not in my name. Witnesses watch through the window. Their hearts lock in horror and pain. Let the man lying strapped to a gurney. The poison had come through his face. And I'm wondering who are the prisoners? Who was the lock and the key? ♪ Who has the power over life over death? ♪ ♪ When will it finally be free? ♪ ♪ Not in my name ♪ ♪ Not in my name ♪ ♪ Not in my name ♪ ♪ Not in my name ♪ ♪ Not in my name ♪ ♪ Not in my name ♪ ♪ Not in my name ♪ ♪ Not in my name ♪ ♪ We stray and we stumble in seeking the truth ♪ ♪ Wonder why it's so hard to find ♪ ♪ But an eye for it, I am a tooth for a tooth ♪ ♪ Need the whole hungry and blind ♪ (upbeat rock music) (upbeat rock music) (upbeat rock music) ♪ Not in my name ♪ ♪ Not in my name ♪ ♪ Not in my name ♪ ♪ Not in my name ♪ ♪ Not in my name ♪ ♪ Not in my name ♪ (upbeat rock music) (upbeat rock music) (upbeat rock music) (upbeat rock music) ♪ Today, as I have watched all your holy words ♪ ♪ Your gee hots, your crusade ♪ ♪ I have been users inspiration ♪ ♪ I've been used as an excuse ♪ ♪ For the murder and the misery you've made ♪ ♪ I thought I made it clear in the Bible ♪ ♪ In the Torah and in the Qur'an ♪ ♪ What is it in my teaching ♪ ♪ About loving your enemies ♪ ♪ That you people don't understand ♪ ♪ Not in my name ♪ (upbeat rock music) ♪ Not in my name ♪ (upbeat rock music) ♪ Not in my name ♪ (upbeat rock music) ♪ Not in my name ♪ ♪ Don't know not in my name ♪ (upbeat rock music) ♪ Not in my name ♪ (upbeat rock music) ♪ Not in my name ♪ (upbeat rock music) ♪ Not in my name ♪ (upbeat rock music) ♪ Not in my name ♪ (upbeat rock music) ♪ Not in my name ♪ (upbeat rock music) ♪ Not in my name ♪ (upbeat rock music) ♪ Not in my name ♪ (upbeat rock music) ♪ Not in my name ♪ (upbeat rock music) ♪ Not in my name ♪ (upbeat rock music) ♪ Not in my name ♪ (upbeat rock music) ♪ Not in my name ♪ (upbeat rock music) ♪ Not in my name ♪ (upbeat rock music) ♪ Not in my name ♪ (upbeat rock music) ♪ Not in my name ♪ (upbeat rock music) ♪ Not in my name ♪ (upbeat rock music) ♪ Not in my name ♪ (upbeat rock music) ♪ Not in my name ♪ (upbeat rock music) ♪ Not in my name ♪ (upbeat rock music) ♪ Not in my name ♪ (upbeat rock music) ♪ Not in my name ♪ (upbeat rock music) ♪ Not in my name ♪ (upbeat rock music) ♪ Not in my name ♪ (upbeat rock music) ♪ Not in my name ♪ (upbeat rock music) ♪ Not in my name ♪ (upbeat rock music) ♪ Not in my name ♪ (upbeat rock music) ♪ Not in my name ♪ (upbeat rock music) ♪ Not in my name ♪ (upbeat rock music) ♪ We are there to promote peace and friendship and the sense of community. It's not only community, a certain community and the city of Baghdad or any city in riverfalls or in luck or clear. And Wisconsin, no, it's the human community. It's the global community which rejecting that naked aggression because the naked aggression is against the fourth Geneva Convention beside the Charter of the United States. The Charter of the United Nations, it's against the international law. You cannot simply go because you feel powerful and attacked people, strip away their security, their dreams, their future. So the CPT were there to demonstrate the real teaching of the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. And they were like an army armed with love because peace, Allah, justice was within them. When they walk, rejecting any protection, any escort of any Iraqi forces or American forces. And they were winning and still winning the hearts and minds of Iraqi people. They are the army, they are the soldiers of God. They are not those army armed with weapon which repeatedly they say that army is army of Ramsville and George Bush. The big difference. Then for not being Iraqis like myself. This is my primary reason to be born in Iraq and I had to feel the duty to go that part of the world and try to help. But they crossed the ocean coming not to where they were born. No, to work for peace and they help us to define and create the new organization which is the first in the Arab Muslim arena called Muslim peacemakers team. They awakened that giant culture of peace within us. Because when they were there then I remembered Islam is submission for non-violence. Because submission to Allah, submission to peace. And Allah has 99 names, 99 attributes among them peace, justice and the truth. And the truth, Allah, Allah, Allah. So, Salaam is not just greeting. Muslims exchange Salaam with each other, exchange greetings with Salaam is the goal. Shalom is the goal. Peace is the goal. So we've been doing lots of peace work, lots of Shalom work, CPT and PT, Christian peacemakers team and Muslim peacemakers team together in Iraq. To bring the people together, removing all kinds of psychological barriers that the occupation brought. That the occupation tried to divide using the all imperial strategies by dividing people and conquer. So we're working in Fallujah and Najafin Karbala and Baghdad and other places at the Syrian borders to bring people together. To exchange love, respect and share the vision for a bright future. Help the people to understand this dilemma is something temporary. It's not what all mankind all about, what we see today. It's distortion for the truth, distortion for Salaam, distortion for Allah. At the end of the day, whether we like it or not, sooner or later, we all will get together on the same table as Abraham kids, as even Adam kids. And realize the eternal truth, the eternal Salaam that we are together and we are one. I've read up a little bit about what you've been doing there in Iraq and the various cities where you've been working, including humbling yourself to do garbage collection. What are the main tasks that you, as part of the Muslim peacekeepers team and the Christian peacemakers team, what kind of actions have you actually been doing and do your lives get threatened? Is it dangerous to you to be there? Danger, we cannot escape danger, we cannot avoid any critical situations as far killing area or military operations. We were moving from place to place, but we were guarded as soldiers of Allah, of God, by peace. And usually fear and peace don't meet. So we were not fearless, but we were peaceful inside. We are human being. So we get nervous and afraid sometimes, but we try to have that way of Allah, of God, of peace within to be the dominating force to move around and accomplish the peace work. The major work that we have done together, the Christian peacemakers team and ourself, the Muslim peacemakers team, was on May 6, 2005, when we went in Fallujah, showed up in that street in Seven Nissans, Sabani Sands, April 7, and we started sweeping, mopping the streets, collecting garbage, knocking at the doors. There were 15 men and women from Najafin Karbala, who had three CP tears, was Douglas Prichard from Canada. He was co-director from Toronto office, Tom Fox from Virginia, and Sheila Provencher, she was from Boston. They were with us for about an hour, we were. We worked hard. First, the theologians thought we are there for pictures. They didn't know who we are. When we told them we are from Najafin Karbala and Canada and US, we are your brothers and sisters. Like we just touched at that human side, which if there are any differences in the color or faith, we are gone. The action removed all the barriers. They cried. They invited us to pray with them. We did. They invited us to eat with them in their houses, and we did. They gave us gifts, the holy book of Quran. They gave us each one copy and they gave us 20 copies, 10 for Imam Hussein in Karbala, and another 10 for Imam Ali the father in Najaf. It was a successful celebration, getting everybody together. It was a huge success. But before this, Cliff Kendi, one of the CP tiers, in a previous visit, he suggested to the Imam of one mosque that we were intended to go and rebuild a house. We told the Imam that we didn't have money, but we would like to participate with physical labor to rebuild a destroyed Fallujahan house. To show the rest of the world, Shia, Sun, Muslim, Christian, together with the Fallujahan and Solidarity. The Sheikh rejected the idea. He was not happy. He said, "You want the media to cover three Christians?" To show that Christians are peace-loving nation, peace-loving religion, they came to rebuild Fallujah. Where were the media when the Jewish Christian army crushed the city twice and destroyed 75% of its people, of its buildings, houses? The media were not there. Now you see the pictures coming out, that army used gas, they used white as far as material as a weapon to kill. I'm sorry to tell you, I don't like the idea because it's not fair. Then Cliff said, "Your point Imam Sheikh is well taken. We left, but when we came back and showed up at that glorious day when we did garbage collecting." The Sheikh, he came with a big smile in his face. He said, "Congratulations, your work is excellent." When we went to pray with them, he changed his sermon, the hotba, and that Friday, the 6th of May, to a unity speech, which was a very touching moment. They were about 2,000 worshippers in that mosque, looking for us to see who are those who came to do that cleaning job. Then we decided to line up at the end of the sermon, at the exit door, and greet each person who was leaving, and they made sure to hug us, kiss us in tears. And they were saying, "Congratulations, thank you for coming here." We were the host, and they were like the guest. It was a beautiful moment. Was that both the MPT and the CPT folks that were taking part in that? It was Tom Fox there and other folks. I was under the impression that they wouldn't have been admitted into the mosque. Tom Fox, Sheila and Doug, they were with us, but they were in the mosque sitting in the office. They were not worshipping with us. They did worship in the office, the way they choose, but they were with us in the cleaning job. They were with us when we went to eat, and they were handed gifts of the Holy Quran by Mr. Al-Kubesi, Sheikh Al-Kubesi at that time. Then after that, we learned Al-Kubesi was arrested by the U.S. forces. Do you have any ideas, Sammy, why the Christian peacemaker teams folks were taken hostage, were abducted? Do you know which factions or people might have wanted to do that? The group called themselves the source of the righteousness. So you will hug. They are not known by any Iraqi. We don't know. It could be anybody. These kidnapping, it's so widely happening in Iraq. My nephew was kidnapped last summer, and he was released for a ransom, $80,000. His mother and father couldn't pay the ransom, so they had to sell their house to pay the ransom. The Interior Minister, Mr. Solag, his sister was kidnapped. Many doublumats were kidnaps among the kidnaps also journalists like Jill Carroll still kidnaps. Scientists, academics, the crime of kidnapping, either it's political or for money, to build a pressure on the Iraqi society, and also from the other side to build pressure on the American government and the Iraqi government to end the occupation if it was political action. But Iraqis are perceiving this war, which is war against terror. It's actually war against Muslims and Islam, unfortunately. And the U.S. as long as it's failing in its strategy against the terror or so-called violence or so-forth, should be in the right in new strategies, and also we should know the Iraqi problem or the Iranian problem or the Syrian problem, and who next? We don't know. But those are not the real problem in Middle East. Middle East, the real problem, is really a Palestinian struggle. And that should be addressed with a fair strategy that deals with both with dignified solution. We cannot be honest, broker, when we side all the way toward Israel, to fund Israel, and definitely with all what they need, billions of dollars, and give them the technology, the weapon they need, while the Palestinians are defend less, they use their bodies to defend themselves. And unfortunately it's working, it's getting resolved, and it's separating around in Chechnya, in Iraq, in Afghanistan. The violence, if you may like to call it in Iraq or in Afghanistan, the insurgency, it's increasing. And that adds another reason for our policies that's failing in that area. The constitution is good, but we should rewrite our foreign policies. We should rewrite how we look at the other part of the world, whether it's in Iraq and Palestine and Afghanistan. We should not dictate those nations, we should hold them as partners, and making policies with respect. We should give and restore the respect to the United Nations. Kofi Annan is not controlling the United Nations as the President of the whole world. We are bullying this institution and other institutions, we are bullying Europe. If France doesn't like our policies, we change the name of the French fries. Mr. Bolton was rejected to be our Ambassador in the United Nations. The US President hired him, actually to bully the United Nations and other nations representatives in that body, in that institution. We should change this and stop practicing the imperial strategy that became old enough while we are living in our 21st century, the 3rd millennium. We should have our head practice more role rather than our iron fist in dealing with the problems. The dialogue should be our tool to talk with the others when problems arise, also on the diplomacy. We don't see diplomatic communication with the others. We tell them, just like Saddam was telling his people, "You are with me or against me." I'm pretty sure that a lot of people in the United States have a very poor understanding of Muslim practice and beliefs in theology. I think a lot of people mistakenly believe that Islam is a violent religion. And certainly, just like there are many Christians who believe that they are probably Muslims who believe in using violence. What does the Quran teach about violence? What did you learn growing up as a Muslim about violence? And when it was appropriate to do it or not. Bismillah Rahman Rahim in the name of God, the most gracious, the most merciful. I am the father and the father is in me, John 1411. We created man and we know what his soul whispers within him. And we are nearer to him than his jiggular vein, Quran 50/16. Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called sons of God, Matthew 5-9. Make peace between your brethren and fear God so you will obtain mercy. Quran 49/10. Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your father in Heaven. Matthew 5-44-45. Do not hate one another and do not be jealous of one another and do not by cut one another and be servants of God as a brother, hadith of Bukhari 78-57. Those are parallel sayings of Quran and the Bible. The real source of information about the Christianity and Islam to teach mankind. Islam is a continuation of the same message. We just need to go back and learn about this more, as I indicated in the beginning. To be our Muslim, to be committed and submitted to non-violence. There is no such thing of violence in Islam. The violence we see from some fanatics, whether they are Jewish, Christian or Muslims, we cannot afford to let them define our religions, we cannot. And those parallel sayings I just recited for you, they are there and several books available if you go online and google Joey Green, who successfully wrote many books about Jesus, Moses and Muhammad and found a common commitment for peace, for the promise, for Allah, for God. If you are really interested to know what about all Islam, you just go and search and you will find the truth, rather than you listen to the distorted messages and the people who cater for hatred and animosity and wage wars. As I stated in the beginning, I am privileged to be born where Abraham was born, my father and your father and their fathers. And beyond that, the global family, whether Muslims or not, Christian or not, Jewish or not, we are one and we need to find this eternal truth. Through this journey from birth to death, we have this chance to find about it. So we grow up, we need to use our head rather than our hands, we need to grow up. Sami, I think you mentioned to me that you had a friendship with Tom Fox and the other CPT members, and you mentioned that you wrote a piece dedicated to him, to Tom Fox. Would you care to share that with our audience? My pleasure. Tom Fox, you are a man, bravery looks for you. A man of tranquility and a man who is too kind. You are the art and the art is you, often quiet. You keep to yourself chuckling, occasionally, but to no one else. You are a wise man beyond belief, who will not rest until the people are relieved. You are with me in Fallujah, where houses were crumbling beyond repair, where we witnessed dry tears on the cheeks of children who gave an agonized glare. Arms wide open, you are there in Najaf brothers and sisters standing by the shrine, awaited you to cook in peace and adjust a hint of lime. And caribola, friends, look for you with tears on faces. As they were in danger, they asked why we were late. But they were welcoming and never know Tom as a stranger. At the Syrian borders, arm reached out into the sky, while smiles grew huge as they, refugees. Sayu and I, you are there in the desert, the sand, the dust, and the rocks in no man's land. We are looking for you, looking for the fox. But you were there in Baghdad, Karade, you were there just like a father, brother, or a son. You were there detained, friends, families, and small children. Sayu and captivity and grow emotionally drained. Struggling to do fine and to connect the dots, you, her, him, them, us, and all other particles in the universe, toward the eternal truth, looking for Salaam. Tom, my friend, it's up to you to come back so we can get on the road again, the road for peace. And if you don't choose to come back, my friend, we will meet again as we rest in peace. As the Iraqi kids roar as the young lines, I promise your message will be delivered across the horizon. Papa Luja, don't cry for me, Minnesota Baghdad, Najaf Karbala, don't cry for me, Virginia. I am already here, you were there, you are here. Please, keep her meat, Norman, Jim, and Tom in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you for that, Sammy. I know you have to run off to another place very soon. Is there anything more that you can share to help invite other people to participate in your peace witness, ways that they can help from here or maybe as part of the work taking place in Iraq? Who are peace and fear, don't meet, never meet. I'm saddened I see the people of the United States are dominated by the fear factor. Please seek Salaam within you so you'll be able to speak out and tell the truth and be connected with all your brothers. Color should not be the fence, believe should not be the barrier. Go cross the borders and look for bridges so you get in touch with Salaam, Shalom, and peace everywhere. Thank you, Sammy, for taking the time to be here today and thank you for your work. May Allah go with you as you do this work across this nation and in Iraq. Thank you for having me and thank you for this opportunity. Students in Ohio, 200 yards away, shut down by a nameless fire, one early day in May. Some people cried out angry, you should have shot more of them down, but you can't bury youth. My friend, youth grows a whole world around, it could have been me, but instead it was you. So I'll keep doing the work you would do when as if I were to. I'll be a student of life, a singer of songs, a farmer of food and the writer of wrong, it could have been me, but instead it was you. And it may be me, dear sisters and brothers before we are through. But if you can die for freedom, freedom, freedom, freedom, if you can die for freedom I can too. The junta took the fingers from Victor Hart's hands, they said to the gentle poet, play your guitar now if you can. Well Victor started singing until they shot his body down, you can kill a man, but not a song when it's on the whole world around and it could have been me. But instead it was you. So I'll keep doing the work you would do when as if I were to. I'll be a student of life, a singer of songs, a farmer of food and writer of wrong, it could have been me, but instead it was you. And it may be me, dear sisters and brothers before we are through. But if you can sing for freedom, freedom, freedom, freedom, if you can sing for freedom I can too. A woman in the jungle, so many wars away, studies late into the night, defends a village in the day. Although her skin is golden, like mine will never be, her song is heard and I know the words and I'll sing them till she's free. It could have been me, but instead it was you. So I'll keep doing the work you would do when as if I were to. I'll be a student of life, a singer of songs, a farmer of food and writer of wrong, it could have been me, but instead it was you. And it may be me, dear sisters and brothers before we are through. But if you can work for freedom, freedom, freedom, freedom, if you can work for freedom I can too. The songs of Nicaragua and El Salvador were long outlast the singers. They raised their guns in war, they sing of a line of fire, and they sing from a fire within. So I'll keep doing the work you were doing as if I were to. I'll be a student of life, a singer of songs, a farmer of food and writer of wrong, all it could have been me, but instead it was you. And it may be me, dear sisters and brothers before we are through. But if you can sing for freedom, freedom, freedom, freedom. You've been listening to an interview with Sami Rasuli of the Muslim peacemaker teams. Children of Abraham by John McCutchen, not in my name, also by John McCutchen, and it could have been me by Holly Nier. You can hear this program again, see information on it and on other programs via my website, northernspiritradio.org. The theme music for Spirit in Action is "I Have No Hands But Yours" by Carol Johnson. Thank you for listening. I welcome your comments and stories of those leading lives of spiritual fruit. You can email me at helpsmeet@usa.net. May you find deep roots to support you and grow steadily toward the light. This is Spirit in Action. I have no higher call for you than this. To love and serve your neighbor, enjoy and selflessness. To love and serve your neighbor, enjoy and selflessness. [MUSIC] [Music]