Peacemakers Shall Be Blessed

Matthew 5:9 - Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

Al-Baqarah - 2:11

It is men who truly want peace who will be given paradise.  It is them we should look to in our current struggles. 

Those who call for death and destruction, that is what they will get. 

Matthew 26:52 - Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.

Alaikoam Salam

The Best Kind of W.A.R.S.= World Arising Responsibly and Spiritually

This means that we work on ourselves ie our own personal Jihad (Jihad means struggle the first and most important level is the struggle with self to be the Best Person we can be.)

The Second portion of this Arising Responsible and Spiritual is getting excellent and positive guidance in solveing our personal challenges and the challenges with Family that give respect to all partied involved.

The Third Part is participating in positive change and the evolution of Life and Islam and accept our portion or role in this change within ourselves, others and the world.

The Fourth Part is is living an active healthy life style and staying healthy as anything less has a great impact on the environment, our spirit, our spiritual economy and our Spiritual Environments.

The Fifth Part is developing Respect for Ourselves, others and the world and nurturing a healthy quest for imformation and knowldege so we may understand and appreciate the gift of Our Lives and the Lives of Others and the Precious Gift of the Life of this World.

Inshallah we are currently involved in a Great Sorting Out of People into Groups, ie Counseling, Education, Consultation, Prayer, Living Prayer and Hajj, Pilgrimage made to all levels of Our Lives, Our Families, Communities and Nation and World and in this process we will learn what we have done wrong and what we have done right and where we go from here Inshallah.  May we all be Peaceful, Respectful and Caring in this Important Process.

Salam

Anne Marie Elderkin Habibi

Alaikoam Salam

All the parts mentioned are key in solving the issues of ending, Poverty, violence, ignorance and apathy.

In those developing Nations you have the indigenous peoples hurting, harming and killing each other as well as a number of them denying their own people safe passage and freedom of expression and the freedom to go about the daily buisness of life.

If the people can stop sabatoging their own people and be more respectful and responsible then more development will enter their countries.  They have to want positive change and work on it as a Family and respect boundaries, and open lines of communication and community dialoge to develop community infra structure that will empower their people.

Crying oh the world does not do anything for us is a falacy as Billions are poured into those countries now but the money is pilfered by the greedy.

I do agree that there is work to be done however the people themselves must and need to be part of the positive change not just wait for handouts.

There is hope and it begins with everyone!

Anne Marie Elderkin Habibi

Actually, I started this thread not because of you.  I started this thread because of the "Wipe Israel off the Map" forum that was posted recently. 

Truth cannot be spread with a sword.  Contentions are not always violent.  Contentions can be what we are doing.  Debating and learning. 

Jesus taught us to have compassion, to love our fellow man and to strive for a better world.  He did not teach us to kill, maim and murder in the name of God.

He didn't say we had to be poor in wealth, but he did ask us to be rich in faith.  Rather than striving for riches and ignoring the poor, we should help our fellow man.  This is the purpose of Tithing.  Or in the case of Muslims, Zakat. 

We also should not intentionally provoke another into anger.  This is counter productive and only succeeds in creating hard feelings and further conflict.  Rather, with respect, love and charity.  We can more readily make the world a little better.  It is not my words or my money that helped my husband's best friend stop smoking.  It was watching me stop smoking and turn to God that made him want to become a better person. 

I think the only time I remember Jesus getting violent was when he threw the money changers our of the Temple.  The rest of the time he spent healing and preaching.  He set the world upside down.  Conflict was only inevitable.  He had to warn them that the road was not easy, but he did not call them to arms.