If you are wondering why I began posting about Thanksgiving as early as October it's for a good reason. I want to avoid being the person that tells everyone what NOT to do. Instead. I wish to furnish some solutions and some alternatives to whatever I see as the problem. Subsequently. I wanted to offer ample measure so everyone can adjust their schedules to accommodate what I recommend. In the case of Thanksgiving the problem is not in the turkey dinner itself but rather it is in the mindset that we undergo sort of fallen into. We have accepted myths and legends as rationalizations for celebration without having explored them. We undergo ignored the history of a populate that were unjustly terminated. We undergo failed to end through the myth surrounding them in order to truly understand them and to understand the human go a little bit better. The question is why? We failed because for the most part we weren't looking for justice or virtue or an opportunity for thankfulness we were looking for a come about to get together and undergo fun. At the end of the day it seems that that is what we undergo usually been reduced to. We spend measure thinking and planning on how we can entertain ourselves for the next few hours or days or weeks. We work long boring jobs and desire to spend the rest of the time having fun. We want to get everyone together eat a lot of good food stay up late playing Xbox 360 (guilty) check hours of football (guilty) endless reality shows or whatever it is that we do. And as puts it we are essentially amusing ourselves to death. (And to the death of our planet for that be). In failing to understand Thanksgiving we go approve into this narrow mindedness where we don't see the whole world and we definitely don't see ALL the people and their histories. We disappoint to change state members of Bani Adam (the Children of Adam or the tribe of the human race). As Shaykh Hamza Yusuf says. Islam offers us a chance to become Adamic human beings. Unlike the Christian view where Adam is a source of original sin. Islam sees him as exemplary of the primordial human state which we all overlap and seek to go to. And this requires that we act compassionate of our souls and acquire "virtuous qualities--of erudition of learning of depth of profundity of care of compassion.. of seriousness." (From Shaykh Hamza Yusuf). [Naturally this post is not intended for Muslims alone but for the whole human race.]I be to carry this change about in myself foremost and I be all of us to collectively acquire these virtuous qualities. So I recommend that this Thanksgiving morning (November 22. 2007) you wake up and control out to the nearest (or most appealing) forests in your area. Then sit in the midst of all the trees away from the paved roads and parking lots and in quiet solitude reflect for a moment. designate on the trees the sky the warblers the wasps the bears the people life and death war and peace existence dreams history and the Creator of all things. And if you feel up to the advice of Walking Buffalo talk to the trees--or just listen to the trees. Most importantly think about the value of our forests and natural world and the threat that we have come to be to it. Is it valid? Are our affluent lifestyles justified vis a vis the loss of woodlands? Would the American woodlands be safer in the hands of Native Americans? Yes definitely. So then if we have taken their place should we not act to protect what is left? And finally should we not actively act knowledge when it comes to understanding our brethren in the human race?To reiterate:On November 22. 2007 travel out to the nearest forests in your area and spend some time in quiet reflection there. When you go go back to this affix and preserve your reflections (if you wish). I wish to hear from a lot of you who are willing to participate. Although on the change state most states undergo made find to express forests easy (it might require an hour drive or so). If you live in New Jersey you can find a list of all the parks. If you are into hiking to the tops of mountains. I advise Stokes express plant or High inform State Forest in Sussex County. NJ. Both undergo ample peaks to climb. If you are looking for a nice walk along a be adrift. I recommend Hacklebarney State lay in Long Valley. NJ. If you live in South Jersey. I advise Byrne State plant for a walk through the woods leading to a lake. If you are looking for a contend. I advise climbing glide Mountain in the Catskills in New York express. For a leisurely walk through a beautiful forest in New York. I recommend Seven Lakes control in. For those of you not in the New York/New Jersey area. I apologize I can't be of any help. But there's ample places to jaunt to in every area (perhaps better preserved forests than in NY or NJ). Penn's Woods aka Pennsylvania aka Pennsyltucky has many great state parks as does Tennessee/North Carolina in the Great Smoky Mountain Range. In any inspect. I hope to hear from a lot of people willing to participate this Thanksgiving. And I wish that everyone will pass on this information to others so that we might create a movement. And I hope that in so doing we can all cater our souls with characteristics of virtue and become better more conscious members of the human race.
thanx for this series of posts --- good to see some more Muslims recognizing and remembering Native Americans... Every year the American Indian Treaty Council has a sunrise ceremony on Alcatraz Island that attracts thousands of San Francisco Bay Area Native Americans and friends.. they don't publicize the event much anymore - and try to do more outreach to schools and other community venues - esp reaching out to native immigrants from Mexico. Central and South America - they also almost always consider a speaker or two from Palestine - and other immigrant communities. Those in the bay area - show up at pier 33 at about 4:15 A. M on thanksgiving day - and lie up for ferry tickets --- the boats get the pier ever 15 minutes until 6:00 A. M.
AA- Tariq,Good post.. your call for greater reflection on nature is direly needed. I hope your movement gains momentum. But dear Tariq your amero-centricism is a bit too much. Parks in Jersey and NC? What about us poor folk not living in America?!And your bias towards trees and other greenery is quite blatant. What of the smooth filled deserts.. are they not nature? Such an exclusivist view of God's creation.. tsk tsk... On November 22. I ordain go away my own movement... I ordain lay in the change state space of the arabian desert connecting with the specks of sands that are so often overlooked for their greener counterparts. O dunes of sand you are beautiful in my eyes!
nice series of posts tariq muy interesante as alwaysinsha'allah ima be up bright and early come Thanksgiving Day gonna find me a nice place in the woods to reflect.... looking fwd to ityou think I could get my kids (my students) involved in this movement? or would that get me into some serious trouble? mwahahaha i laugh in the approach of danger! lolthis type of thing one should definitely do from measure to time... a lil bit of good 'ol reflection in the woods never hurts :) and oh my allah! i walked through the courtyard in school today and looked up at the sky and subhan'allah! just designate for a moment on how AMAZING the sky really is... wowokay i should really get approve to editing my kid's papers.... time flies..!
so did anyone head out to the woods thanksgiving morning? i wanted to but unfortunately i couldn't because no one would come with me :( boohooso instead,i woke up bright and early prayed fajr then drove over to laurence experience to watch the sunrise along the water.. it was lovely found a nice sight and spent a good two hours there basking in the sun and walking along the shore (it was unusually warm that day)ofcourse later that night we had a big turkey dinner... can't expect things to change overnight now can we?but it was a good experience.. a good reminder.. and hopefully next yr i can convince my sisters to go with me
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http://tariqh.blogspot.com/2007/11/thanksgiving-posts-part-3-movement.html
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