If Pakistan Wants To "Fight" for "La illaha illallah," It Must Figure Out Which Side Allah Is On

Despite their bravado, Pakistani officials seem scared out of their minds of an impending nuclear war with archenemy India.

"It's a fear, worry, that where are we headed?" Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan told the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). "If a conventional war starts between two countries, nuclear countries, anything could happen."

Stress of going up against another nuclear power Khan described as "seven times" bigger than itself is forcing Pakistan to make fear-based decisions that are getting in the way of helping free Kashmir from Indian occupation. In fact, Pakistan has yet to announce a clear Kashmir policy other than to "raise the issue of Kashmir at every global forum."

To avoid being "blamed" for "another Pulwama incident," the Pakistani government says it has "disbanded all militant groups," forbidden its people to "cross the border to join the Kashmiris," and limited protests to thirty minutes of standing in "solidarity with the Kashmiri people."

"Eventually, even speaking out for the Kashmiris will be illegal [in Pakistan]," Syed Jawad Naqvi, chancellor of the Islamic university Jamia Urwa-tul-Wusqa in Lahore, predicted in his September 27 Friday sermon.

To allay their fears, Khan and other policymakers who feel they're "sitting on a hot plate" should review the inspiring Quranic story of Prophet David (A) and Goliath (Jalut). A small contingency of obedient soldiers defeat the tyrannical army of strongman Goliath after young and slender David (A) takes out Goliath with a fatal slingshot aimed at the bright red ruby in the middle of the crown on his forehead.

Quran: "But those who were certain that they would meet Allah said, 'How many a small company has overcome a large company by permission of Allah. And Allah is with the patient.'" (2:249)

This scenario should be familiar to Pakistanis who are witnessing up-close-and-personal the defeat of another modern-day Goliath Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman at the hands of the poor and malnourished Yemenis. Unfortunately, Pakistani soldiers are backing the Saudi Goliath, who is armed to the teeth and supported by the U.S., Israel, and a coalition of 30+ Muslim countries led by retired Pakistani General Raheel Sharif. In a devastating attack this past weekend, the Yemenis reclaimed territory, seized armed vehicles and weapons, and captured thousands of troops in Saudi Arabia. Pakistani soldiers under the command of Sharif were among those captured by the Yemenis, according to Al Jazeera.

If the Pakistani government is set to fight in the name of "La illaha illallah" as Khan told UNGA, it needs to first figure out which side Allah is on.

Quran: "Certainly, your guardian (Vali) is Allah and His Messenger and those who believe who establish prayer and give charity while they bow. And whoever takes Allah and His Messenger and those who believe as his guardian (Vali), so surely the party of Allah will be victorious." (5:55)

The Yemenis recognized that the Guardian Jurist (Vali Faqih) of our time is Imam Syed Ali Khamanei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and they've achieved miraculous success by following his leadership just like David (A) attained astounding victory after obeying his leader Saul (Talut), even if it entailed drinking only a sip of water from the river and enduring other hardships and sacrifices.

If Pakistanis want to defeat India's Goliath Prime Minister Narendra Modi, they must turn away from all other Goliaths of our time and seek out Imam Khamanei's political advice, which is rooted in the Quran and sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (S) and has been a guiding light for the past thirty years.

Khan, who's rushed to meet American, Saudi, and Emirati rulers to resolve the Kashmiri issue, should pay attention to what Yemeni leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi proclaimed to the Saudis:  "When the sea is with you, air is with you, land is with you, oil is with you, cash is with you and the US is with you, but yet you do not succeed, you should know that God is not with you!"

Indeed, Pakistanis must join the path of Vilayat to defeat their Goliath!

In UN Speech, Imran Khan Washes Hands of Kashmir

If only Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was as astute about contemporary issues as he is about historical ones.

It was refreshing to hear Khan openly discuss the roots of Islamophobia,  expose the racist ideology of India's ruling party, defend Muslims' passionate love for Prophet Muhammad (S), regret Pakistan's role in training American-sponsored "mujahideen groups" in Afghanistan,  and lament his country's alliance with the United States after 911 at the expense of 70,000 Pakistani lives and $150 billion lost to the Pakistani economy.

"Our Prophet was the witness to the divine book the Holy Quran. The Holy Quran is the book of guidance for muslims and the Prophet's life was living the Quran so he is the ideal we all try to get to. The Prophet lives in our hearts," Khan explained passionately during his address to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Friday. "When he is ridiculed, it hurts. The pain of the heart is far far far more hurtful than physical pain."

Any Muslim, Pakistani or not, Khan-supporter or not, can't help but swell in pride at such honest and heartfelt discourse delivered at an important international forum.

But with the Muslim region on the precipice of the mother of all wars, we need much more than that. We need leaders who are able to translate past experiences to lessons learned so correct political decisions are taken today.

Unfortunately, Khan's proposed solutions to the Kashmir crisis show he is unable to do that. His solutions, starting with rooting for Modi's electoral win thinking "some kind of settlement in Kashmir could be reached," not only fail to fix problems but create exponentially more!

After listening to back-to-back speeches and interviews Khan gave during his New York trip, it's obvious that the Pakistani government has no plans to help Kashmiris other than lip-service.

And it's not the first time Kashmiris have been abandoned. During a meeting of the League of Nations [precursor to UN] in Geneva, Switzerland, 80+ years ago, Pakistani thinker Allama Iqbal lamented the selling off of Kashmir:

Bade Saba Agar Ba Geneva Guzar Kuni
Harfai Zaman ba Majlisi Aqwame Baz Goyai
Dehkan Wa Kesht Koh Wa Joyai Wa bayaban Farokhtand
Qoumai Farokhtand Wa Cha Arzan Farokhtand

More non-solutions from the "Ambassador of Kashmir":

• Khan handed Kashmir off to the "world community" to resolve, knowing full well that the UN has failed to do so in 70+ years. While Khan vowed to "fight" India if India attacks Pakistan, he said nothing about what Pakistan will do to free Kashmiris, otherwise. In fact, using the Orientalist jingo that he condemned earlier in his speech, he urged the UN to come save the Kashmiris who, left on their own, will become "radicalized" under the horrific curfews.  Like any other oppressed people, Kashmiris will organize, mobile, and resist. Why call that radicalism?

• Khan accepted U.S. President Donald Trump's offer to mediate the Kashmir issue even though, as Khan said in his speech, Pakistan's suffered a "nightmare" every time America came into the equation. Anyone following Trump's mediation in Palestine knows his solution to the Kashmir crisis will likewise be giving land to the occupier and resettling indigenous people to other lands. Khan should have rebuffed Trump's offer as Iranian President Rouhani did in his speech to UNGA. "The solution for [peace, security, and stability] should be sought inside the region rather than outside of it," Rouhani said. "The issues of the region are bigger and more important than the United States is able to resolve. The United States has failed to resolve the issues in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria and has been the supporter of extremism, Talibanism, and Daeshism. Such a government is clearly unable to resolve more sophisticated issues of today." [As a side, Rouhani's failure to mention Kashmir in his UN address was very upsetting!]

• Khan invited the U.S. to "put out flames in the world" despite witnessing (and even condemning) decades of U.S drone attacks in Pakistan and indiscriminate bombing of neighboring countries like Afghanistan and Iraq. How can Khan expect America the trouble-maker to become America the problem-solver? Modi threatened to take Jammu and Kashmir, Azad Kashmir, and then Gilgit-Baltistan. If Pakistan doesn't help Kashmiris kick India out now, the fire burning in Pakistan's backyard will enter its house. 

Help from Pakistan should come in the form of standing behind the Kashmiri Resistance Movement and assisting them in whatever form THEY need, not passing the buck to those behind death and destruction in Muslim lands.

It should be clear to Kashmiris now that they can rely on no one but God and themselves for their freedom. I supplicate in the words of Iqbal: “Bring revolution in the hearts of Kashmiris so that they can live with honor in this world.”

Famous Egyptian YouTuber Urges Actvists to Ally With Iran

Egyptian YouTuber Abdullah Elshrif and Iran's Supreme Leader Imam Khamanei

Lookie here!!

When the Islamic Republic of Iran's Supreme Leader Imam Khamanei urged Egyptians thronging Tahrir Square eight years ago to gain inspiration from the 1979 Islamic Revolution, a prominent Egyptian media personality mocked the Imam. 

"When he [Imam Khamenei] wanted to address the Egyptian people [during a Friday sermon], he spoke in Arabic after always talking in Farsi 'sha shi shi sha she' [gibberish]," Al-Hayat television host Amr Adib taunted. 

"Do our youth even need the support of Iran? None of them knows Tehran!" Adib insisted.

Egyptian media personality Amr Adib

While the Egyptians succeeded in overthrowing dictator Hosni Mubarak and voting in Mohammad Morsi of the Islamic Movement's Muslim Brotherhood organization, the victory was short-lived as a military coup under General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi brought el-Sisi, U.S. President Donald Trump's "favorite dictator," into office one year later.

But as last weekend's street protests against el-Sisi indicate, the Egyptians have not given up on their aspiration for a representative government eight years on from the Islamic Awakening.

And if Egyptians didn't know anything about the Islamic Revolution of Iran then, as Adib claims, they do now thanks in part to famous Egyptian social media influencer Abdullah Eshrif who motivates his nearly two million followers to "learn from [Iran]" despite their religious and political differences.

This summer he posted a video comparing the current Egyptian revolutionary movement to that in Iran before the Islamic revolution. He says the revolution in Iran succeeded after many years of persistence by leader Imam Khomeini, who was imprisoned and exiled before returning to lead his people to a final blow to the system.

"I learned this story from Iran, that there's still hope and that Truth comes back if there are people still voicing it," Elshrif said. "Al Khomeini was keeping people on the streets by passing clandestinely audiotapes from Iraq...nine years of motivational speeches and fearless, striking words that let no place for despair and kept hope rooted in the spirit of the people until the proper moment came."

Egyptians tuning into Iran should review the advice Imam Khamenei gave them in February 2011. He warned that a "collaborating regime is not toppled when its visible leader leaves the country. If these leaders are replaced by others from behind the scenes, then nothing has changed. This is a trap set for the people."

"We believe the following experience could be beneficial to the current circumstances:"

1. "The awakening of people is a war of two wills--the will of the people and the will of its enemies."

2. "The enemy tries to sow despair about achieving your goals."

3. "The enemy sends his well-equipped security forces against you in order to spread terror and chaos among the people. Do not fear them. You are stronger than those mercenaries."

4. "The [most] important weapon of the people when confronting the forces of tyranny and the collaborating rulers is unity and harmony."

5. "Do not trust the role played by the West and America, or the political maneuvers they use towards your awakening."

6. "The circumstances require that the religious scholars, and Al-Azhar with its well-known history of struggle, play a much more significant role. When the people embark on its revolution from the mosques and the Friday sermons, and raise the slogan of 'Allah Akbar,' the Islamic scholars are expected to play a more prominent role."

7. "The Egyptian army, which bears on its chest decorations from at least two wars with the Zionist enemy, is facing a great historic test today. The enemy wants to spur this army to oppress the masses. If this happens, God forbid, it would constitute an unbridgeable breach in the ranks of this proud army. The Zionist enemy, not the Egyptian people, should tremble in fear of the Egyptian army. There is no doubt that the members of the Egyptian army, which is part of the Egyptian people, will join the masses, Allah willing. Then this sweet experience will repeat itself in Egypt." 

8. "America, which supported the collaborating rulers for 30 years, against the will of the Egyptian people, is not in a position to mediate or to advise in the case of Egypt. View any American move or advice with a doubt and pessimism, and do not trust it." 

Egyptian and Iranian Islamic revolutionaries have cooperated and supported each other throughout the last century, setting aside sectarian differences in their struggles to lift their nations out of oppression. Imam Khamenei, in fact, translated many of Muslim Brotherhood icon Sayyid Qutb's books into Farsi to educate the Iranians on the revolutionary spirit of Islam. 

1984

"Learn from them [Iran] and strengthen your weaknesses," Elshrif advises his followers. "Or even ally with them!"

Muslim Ummah Rising Like A Phoenix From the Ashes, But American Muslim Scholars Remain Oblivious

It's quite depressing if you follow American Muslim scholars on social media.

"There has perhaps never been a time in history where it was so painfully obvious that Muslim leaders are the greatest enablers and purveyors of the oppression of Muslim masses worldwide," declared Omar Suleiman on a Facebook post in August.

We are reminded of that oppression in post after post and tweet after tweet describing the desperate plight of Muslims everywhere, from Palestine and Kashmir to Yemen and Burma. These posts are often followed by Quranic verses and Prophetic (S) narrations aimed at guilt-tripping us into donating to a cottage industry of Muslim charities.

Don't get me wrong. It's important to highlight the issues but should be accompanied by breaking down the political situation and identifying those in the forefronts of change. However, our scholars never mention Muslim leaders who are organizing their people and scoring astonishing victories.

For example, this past weekend the Yemeni Resistance movement hit and shut down the world's largest oil refinery Saudi Aramco in retaliation for four years of Saudi bombing and blockade. They are demanding an end to hostilities and free elections or else more of this to come.

"We looked at those photos...they were exquisitely precise, they knew exactly where to hit, they hit it perfectly," according to American energy consultant Bob McNally.

But scholars didn't even mention this on social media. Instead, scholar Yasir Qadhi, for example, posted a video discussing the Islamic ruling of lowering the pants below the ankles!

Muslims in other parts of the world, likewise, are making tremendous progress in freeing their lands of oppressive and occupying forces.

• The Popular Mobilization Forces in Iraq and the Syrian Arab Army have just about defeated ISIS and its allies. 
• Afghani Resistance has gained the upper hand after 18 years and is close to kicking out foreign armies.
• Palestinian Resistance has gained strength through weekly protests and even downed an Israeli drone over Gaza a few days ago. 
• One threatening speech by the Lebanese Resistance promising retaliation recently forced Israeli soldiers to pull on their diapers and flee positions along the border.

Resistance movements in Kashmir, Turkey, Pakistan and other places have taken root.

Of course, the inspiration for all of these movements, the Islamic Republic of Iran under the guidance of Imam Khamenei, is never ever mentioned by these scholars--neither the way it overthrew a 2,000-year-old monarachy 40 years ago nor the way it has survived war, sanctions, and other belligerence from the "international community" for supporting the Palestinians and other oppressed groups.

Instead, scholars continue to dishearten us with proclamations like "our leaders are shameless and betraying our causes," and we are devoid of "any type of Muslim solidarity from Muslim leaders today."

That's not completely true. The Muslim Ummah is rising like a phoenix from the ashes. If our scholars would remove their sectarian sunglasses, they could see it clearly.

Speaking Fees: The Bid'ah Muslim Scholars Don't Talk About

Here's a Quranic verse you won't hear many scholars quoting on the speaking circuit:

"Say, [O Muhammad], 'I do not ask you for this message any payment [but] only good will through kinship.' And whoever commits a good deed - We will increase for him good therein. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Appreciative." [42:23]

In other words, Allah is instructing the Prophet (S) to tell his followers that there's no charge of any sort for preaching Allah's message (except to show love to the Prophet's (S)/your family). The reward will be given by Allah Himself.

As followers and even heirs of the Prophet (S), scholars are obligated to follow that sunnah [tradition] of speaking without a set fee.

However, many of our scholars are neck deep in this unspoken bid'ah [innovation].

Better-known scholars in America are charging a whopping $5,000 to $20,000 per lecture in addition to demanding paid transportation and 4- to 5-star hotel stays. Some even require travel costs for their "personal assistants."

The problem with getting paid for speaking is that public lectures about Islam now become a commodity to go to the highest bidder, starting from wealthy mosques to big-budget conventions to government-sponsored forums to eventually uber-rich kingdoms.

Scholars no longer talk about what needs to be said, but what their paymaster wants to hear. And the richer the host, the less likely they'd want to shake the status quo, though Islam came to challenge it and free the oppressed.

Several years ago a "celebrity Shaykh" came to give a lecture in our town. He's considered one of the more outspoken imams living in a very politically active community so I was excited to go listen to him while the War on Terror was in full swing.

But he ended up talking about the habits of frogs for much of the time.

After the talk, I went up to ask him why he didn't address the ongoing wars.

"Our community is very inactive and I was hoping you would say something to encourage them," I said.

"I do talk about that but it depends on what town I'm in," he said.

"Well, there are other scholars who say what needs to be said no matter what." I then gave him a name of such a scholar.

"I know him," he said. "Look at how many followers he has and how many I have."

I left flabbergasted but convinced that the $83.33 per MINUTE we spent on him was a waste!

Mosques across America should boycott scholars with set fees to free the pulpit for the more sincere and sunnah-following scholars satisfied with whatever recompense is voluntarily given. Those interested in rolling in dough should take up another line of work.

Yemeni Resistance to Shaykh Hamza Yusuf: Ready or Not, Here We Come!

It seems like everyone and their mother (including myself) penned a response to influential American scholar Shaykh Hamza Yusuf's claim in a viral video that Muslim's in the Middle East are "not ready" to fight off their oppressors.

But the best rejoinder came from the barefooted Yemeni Resistance, which, less than a week later, shockingly set ablaze the world's biggest oil refinery Aramco in Saudi Arabia, running up oil prices 18% and pushing down major stock markets in one swift move.

The poorest Arab country, Yemen has produced a strong resistance movement despite suffering death, devastation, and starvation after a coalition led by Saudi Arabia, along with the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.),  started bombing and blockading the Yemenis four years ago for overthrowing a repressive Saudi-backed regime.

The fearless Yemeni Resistance has also warned the U.A.E. of missile strikes on their port city of Dubai if they don't pack up and leave their country.

Guess who lives part-time in the U.A.E. working on a government-sponsored "peace forum"?

Shaykh Hamza Yusuf!

Now, tell me, who needs to get "ready"?

Mother of the Faithful Aisha Retired From Public Affairs After Political Err, Hamza Yusuf Should, Too

Hamza Yusuf is an influential and knowledgeable person but he isn't more influential and knowledgeable than Mother of the Faithful Bibi Aisha, the wife of Prophet Muhammad (S).

More than a thousand hadith of the Prophet (S) are attributed to Bibi Aisha, and, according to the Prophet's (S) Companion Abu Musa Ashari, "Whenever a hadith was unclear to us (the Companions), and we asked Aisha  about it, we always gained knowledge about that hadith from her.”

While Bibi Aisha demonstrated knowledge of Islam, unfortunately, she lacked correct political insight, an attribute essential to be considered a scholar with sway in the public sphere. Specifically, Bibi Aisha took up arms against Imam Ali during his caliphate in the Battle of Jamal where she was defeated after the death of more than 20,000 Muslims and further disunity amongst the ummah.

Immediately, she regretted her political stance and apologized to Imam Ali for supporting the rebellion. 

But what she did afterwards is what today's scholars need to pay heed to: She bowed out of political affairs, allowing those with better understanding to lead Muslims to progress while avoiding enemy traps.  

Hamza Yusuf has repeatedly demonstrated his lack of political insight (regarding police brutality, Palestinian struggle, Syrian rebellion, UAE peace forum, President Trump's human rights panel). These mistakes in judgement are no joke. By encouraging Syrians in 2012 to keep fighting against their government, for example, he contributed to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Muslims. He's regretted some of his positions and even offered public apologies, including one on Syria yesterday.

But he needs to go further. It's time he retire from political affairs--while some of his dignity is still intact--like Bibi Aisha did. Bibi Aisha continued teaching privately. Maybe that's what he should do, too.

Shaykh Omar Suleiman Does Pakistani PM Imran Khan Dirty

American Shaykh Omar Suleiman accused Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan of not being "completely clean" because he "abandoned" the Uighur Muslims in China while advocating for the Kashmiris.

"Don't give a pass to that garbage," Suleiman told his congregation during his Friday sermon on September 6, a week after Khan addressed the 56th Convention of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) via videolink. "Be principled in your critique. Be principled in standing up for your brothers and sisters wherever they are," Suleiman added.

Ever since last summer when U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo started denouncing rival China for detaining up to three million Uighurs in internment camps,  Suleiman has been sounding the alarm about the Turkic-speaking Muslim minority in northwestern China being tortured and stripped of their religious rights.

Suleiman circulated a petition earlier this year that quoted Pompeo, then U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, and U.S. President Mike Pence "lamenting" over the Chinese treatment of the Uighurs, who they say are suffering "food & sleep deprivation, forced medication, organ harvesting, rape, and torture leading to a brutal death." He also supported a bill passed in the U.S. Senate this week that calls for possible sanctions on Chinese officials, and he urged a "Save Uighur" boycott of Chinese goods. Suleiman even addressed a rally in November 2018 for Uighur rights that called for a free and independent East Turkistan.

Chinese officials, on the other hand, say thousands of Uighurs are returning home from fighting in Syria (some alongside ISIS), including those who intend to turn their military training towards a decade-old separatist movement. "Vocational centers" have been set up to educate and provide skills for Uighurs who were "influenced by religious extremism and committed minor legal offenses" so that they can readjust to society, according to the Chinese government.

The international community is split over the American government's calls for action against China. While 22 nations signed a letter this summer calling for the Chinese government to close down their camps, 37 other countries, including Pakistan, penned one defending China's "remarkable achievements" in human rights.

According to London-based Islamic Human Rights Commission, the Uighurs have been persecuted for decades. So why is Suleiman only concerned now that Pompeo is calling it the "stain of the century."

So concerned that he--who supported the now failed U.S. regime-change operation in Syria that Uigurs were duped into joining, putting them in their current predicament in the first place--is chiding Pakistan for not jumping on the bandwagon to rebuke China, it's neighbor, longtime ally, and heavy economic investor and trade partner.

From Syria to China, Suleiman's social activism is too often in line with U.S foreign policy objectives to the detriment of Muslim countries. Khan's smart to decide for himself when and how to support the Uighurs.

Sorry, Omar Suleiman, Personal Opinions Fail Political Activism; Obedience to Religious Leadership Brings Triumph

In Urdu there's a saying: "jitne moo, utni bathey," which translates to "as many mouths, as many opinions."

That applies to scholars these days when it comes to giving Muslims advice on how to free ourselves from endless wars, occupation, and dictators. Hadith are being cited left and right to encourage everything from armed revolt (in Muslim countries) to civil disobedience to doing absolutely nothing. 

With no unified strategy on any political issue, it's no surprise that there is chaos and disillusionment in many quarters. What makes matters worse is that scholars are promoting this hotchpotch approach by glorifying it as the sunnah or tradition of the early Muslims. It didn't work then and it won't work now.

American scholar Omar Suleiman gave a khutbah around Ashura rightfully arguing that Islam has always encouraged political activism, whether it be speaking truth in the face of a tyrant or taking up arms to resist him.

Where Suleiman goes wrong is that he promotes the proliferation of opinions when it comes to political strategy. Instead, it is obedience to a single legitimate religious authority that was required then and is essential now.

"In perfection of Allah's wisdom, each one of these people actually challenged the tyrant in a different way," Suleiman said in his September 6 khutbah, referring to the "trials and tribulations" that befell Muslims soon after the death of Prophet Muhammad (S).

Prominent Muslims, says Suleiman, like Imam Hussain and ibn Zubayr took up arms in resistance. Others like ibn Omar condemned ruthless governor Hajjaj to his face and "actually drove him crazy." Even those who did not take action expressed their dissatisfaction by refusing to be the "mouthpieces" of the illegitimate rulers, Suleiman explained. 

The problem is that to be politically successful, what is needed is OBEDIENCE to a legitimate religious leader (if no Islamic government is present then obedience to the highest religious authority). In order to attain a goal, there has to be a set vision, strategy, and course that everyone adheres to.

"O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger, and those charged with authority among you. If you differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if you do believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is best, and most suitable for final determination." (Quran 4:59)

Allah is NOT saying different strokes for different folks so go ahead and do whatever each of you think is strategically right.

What Allah is saying is that the leadership decides which action--from the arsenal of options available--to take depending on the situation, and the rest are to follow. 

From the life of the Prophet (S) we have examples of differing strategies that the Muslims were  ordered to adopt, including staying put (Battle of Uhad), leaving (Hijra to Medina), fighting (Battle of Badr and others), negotiating (Treaty of Hudaybiyyah), and amnesty (Conquest of Mecca). There was no room for personal opinions.

Muslims need to recognize the highest religious authority at this time and follow him in unison, without allowing personal opinions, nationalism, or sectarianism to get in the way. It takes knowledge, application of that knowledge, and correct political insight to lead Muslims and prevent them from falling into enemy traps, and everyone doesn't have it.

First thing scholars like Suleiman should do is build awareness about the need for political unity among Muslims through obedience to one legitimate religious authority (not to dictators, like some influential scholars are doing!) and stop glorifying the adherence to personal opinions.

Even  ibn Umar warned us on his death bed that his biggest regret in life was following his personal opinion and not the authority of Imam Ali during the fourth caliph's rule. 

"I regret that I did not join Ali and fight the rebellious group," ibn Omar is quoted as saying in Sahih Bukhari.

Seven Years After Insulting the Axis of Resistance, Hamza Yusuf Falls From Grace on Ashura Day

In a newly released video from a 2016 conference, American Muslim "scholar" Hamza Yusuf is seen snickering as he asks Syrians:

"How's that revolution working for you? Huh? You know what the slogan of the Syrian revolution was? Huh? 'The Syrian people will not be humiliated.' They were shouting it in the streets. Now all these poor innocent people are begging non-Muslims to let them into their countries. Allah can humiliate whomever he pleases."

What he forgets to mention is that he was also on the streets in September 2012 leading a Syria Freedom Rally in Washington, fully encouraging the Syrian people to join a (now-failed) regime change plan orchestrated by America and Israel and their Arab and Turkish lackeys. Shouting from the stage, Yusuf promised that "the Syrian people will not be humiliated" in their fight against the so-called "tyranny" of the Syrian government.

However, four years later in the video he is seen sitting on a cushioned sofa in the coastal town of Samsun, Turkey, laughing as he discusses the plight of the Syrians who were duped into destroying their own country by people like him. Now he claims Muslims are "fluff" and don't have the capabilities to choose their own leadership (conveniently ignoring that the Islamic Republic of Iran successfully overthrew a 2,000-year-old monarchy in 1979 and replaced it with an Islamic government).

Chastising those who rebelled against Syrian President Bashar Assad, Yusuf says: "'If you humiliate a [legitimate] ruler, God will humiliate you.' That's a hadith in Tirmidhi."

Once again, he neglects to mention that it was he who was bashing Muslim leaders of the Axis of Resistance at the Syria Freedom Rally: "The leadership...in Lebanon and Iran [allies of the Syrian government] have revealed themselves to be the political machiavellian people that they are. They have revealed themselves to side with the tyrants against those who are oppressed."

The irony of it all is that since insulting the Islamic Republic of Iran and Lebanese Resistance in 2012, it is Yusuf who has fallen in disgrace, tumbling in the eyes of the Muslim masses as he revealed his true self by insulting the Black Lives Movement, affiliating with the UAE government's peace forum, becoming a human rights advisor to President Donald Trump, and crash landing today with the release of this video. He tried to humiliate the Axis of Resistance through the Syrian crisis, but it is his comments on that very issue that are destroying him on social media today.

It's not a coincidence that the final nail in the coffin of Yusuf's respectability as a Muslim scholar came on the day of Ashura, when Muslims around the world commemorate the triumph of good over evil. There are so many political lessons to be learned from Kerbala. If only more Muslims would remember, understand, and analyze the events and personalities of Kerbala, they would clearly be able to recognize the Hussains and Yazids (and Yazid's court scholars) of today.