Loss of Innocence

I played and cavorted along the streets of my town.

I chased dust motes and butterflies.

I laughed and giggled with my friends.

I was young and I was unaware of other things.

Times changed. Adults became uneasy.

Anger filled the air.

I was young and I was unaware of other things.

Then the bombs came.

The sky filled with smoke, cries and screams.

I was young but I was no longer unaware.

I stood and watched as the bodies and injured were brought in.

I stared at the horror that was called war.

I was young but no longer unaware.

I was no longer innocent.

By Rebecca El-Kher

Rebeea Libyan

The Cost of War

I am the mother, the father, the sister, the brother, the child sitting in the rubble.

What is the cost of war?

I am the child sitting in the rubble.

I hear the bombs, the gunfire, and the sounds of screaming as more are buried beneath the rubble.

I am the child sitting in the rubble.

My family is gone, killed by a missile.

I am the child sitting in the rubble.

My possessions buried beneath the pile of concrete and steel.

I am the child sitting in the rubble.

My body is covered with dirt and blood from shrapnel of the missile that took all from me.

I am the child sitting in the rubble.

I did not know hate, I am too young, but now I will learn hate and fear.

I am the child sitting in the rubble.

I am quiet. The time for tears have passed, I feel nothing as the shock overtakes me. My stare is blank.

I am the child sitting in the rubble.

I am a citizen of the world. My innocence stolen by a war I did not ask for and a crime I did not commit.

I am the child sitting in the rubble.

My nationality, ethnicity, or color does not matter.

I am the child sitting in the rubble.

I will now learn to hate.

I am the cost of War.

By

Rebecca El-Kher

Rebeaa Libyan

My Perspective on Islam, Religion and Politics Part II

Cannot believe it is a new year, 2013 had come and gone and now it is January 2014. I hope everyone had a safe New Year's celebration. This continues my ongoing expose' on my perspective of Islam, Religion and Politics.

When I look back over my life I have witnessed many events both on the world stage and been party to events on my local stage. As I stated I grew up mostly in the mid-west. I lived in several different states such as Minnesota, Wyoming (birth state), South Dakota, Montana and lived briefly in California when I was very young. I have many memories of my time growing up and the events I experienced shaped my views of the world.

I remember very vaguely the assassination of John F. Kennedy (I was only 3 at the time) so it was through a young child's eyes that I witnessed this event. Mostly, I remember the shock of my parents and what was being broadcast on TV (we had black and white back then).

I remember the Viet Nam war (or as some referred to it police action) and the treatment the vets received on their return. This definitely colored my perspective on politics. It comes from the point of view that we send our people to war and when public opinion goes against the action the service people are the ones who are vilified (like in the Viet Nam War). In my opinion, this is wrong. We may not agree with what was done but our government was the entity that sent them there. They do deserve our respect for doing a job that many of them do not agree with themselves. Right or wrong it is the government we need to hold accountable not the soldiers. There is the argument some soldiers go over the line and we have seen examples of this and it is those individuals that should be held accountable not everyone.

I have seen many things and could go into details on them but the basic idea is that I have watched, listened and learned from what I have seen and heard. The main thing I have learned is to keep an open mind, because when you close off your mind then you will cease to grow as a human being.

To be continued.

My Perspective on Islam, Religion and Politics

Just a note: A professional blogger I am not, but I am trying to be more consistent for anyone who wishes to read what I have to say.


Political - Religious Commentary

Normally I try to limit my comments on my Facebook wall about religion and politics, especially my views on Islam because many people automatically have their own assumptions and opinions. The issue for me is I see so many misconceptions on Islam and Religion in general and then add in politics or geopolitics and it makes me very sad indeed. First a little about me and then perhaps this will give a better understanding of where I am at in my perspective of these issues. I also want to add I am neither democrat or republican - I consider myself an independent as I prefer the issue rather than the party lines.

I am a mid-westerner by birth, Wyoming to be exact and my religious background was none specific. My father felt that I should be able to make my choice of belief when I was old enough. This did cause some issues as my mom was baptized into the LDS (Latter Day Saints) church when she was young - her mom's family was Mormon since shortly after the church was founded. Dad on the other hand was Baptist - but none practicing.

Mom at the time of their marriage had become distanced from the church so as you see my religious background was very none specific. I had gone to a Lutheran Church, Methodist, been exposed to Catholicism, Pentecostal etc. When I had reached adulthood and moved to where we live now I became more exposed to the LDS church. It wasn't until 1994 after the birth of my sons that my choice of religion became a passion for me. It was funny how this happened - my oldest son who was born in 1984 came up to me one day (we were trying to raise them in both the LDS belief system and Islamic belief system) and asked me "Mom I want to believe the way you believe and I want to believe the way dad believes, Who do I believe". It was like being punched in the stomach and if my jaw could have it would have dropped to the floor. I was doing the same thing to my boys as my parents had done to me and it made me realize I was making a huge mistake. Why? The reason is children need consistency and we were not giving them that as far as their religious beliefs. One mistake parents make when it comes to teaching children religion is they are either to harsh or to lenient. Parents have to be consistent and balanced. If you are to harsh you will drive your children away and if you are to lenient then your children may not have conviction so it is a very delicate balance. Children should always be taught ethics, caring and understanding and if religion is properly used it can enhance these attributes.

I did a lot of soul searching after that question and a lot of research on Islam. Hubby and I had been married for about 12 years at the time so I had some exposure to Islam. We did not live in or near an Islamic community - in fact at the time we had just barely met our first Muslims in the area. Well, as I said a lot of research and soul searching and I decided to take my Shahada (this is what Muslims do when they become Muslim) it is the declaration of faith. There is no God but Allah (Arabic for God) and Mohammad is his prophet.

Shahada


To be continued: