It is a religious duty to be strong and smart, not whine and complain.

Right.
Except it is kind of hard to do that if you are a war-orphan or a single mother trying to feed your family in the middle of a FUCKIN’ OCCUPATION WARZONE.

In both cases, ahole status notwithstanding, the advice is the same. I would expect and respect that advice coming from a right-winger. “Muslim world. get your shit together. No one respects weakness. Want to bring Israel to the table for peace talks? Show strength. Want the US to stop exploiting you? Show economic viability. Want the world to respect you? Show the beauty of Islam and put a muzzle on the derelicts.

In the pursuit of strength come the answers to attain strength. Not in the pursuit of victimhood. That is idle chatter. Nothing more.

My problem with the view you’re expressing here is this. Telling yourself don’t wait for others (your oppressors) rely on Allah and then yourself is great. Telling your own community “we should not wait on our oppressors but we should rely on Allah and ourselves” is good. Looking at another group, especially a group you are part of oppressing and saying you guys should stop whining and rely on yourselves is being an a-hole and an apologist for Thulum.

So what you are saying about the Muslim world I agree with you if you consider yourself part of that world (the ummah). If you consider yourself part of America or the West and you take a line like that I take a very different view of your statements.

You see what I mean?

There’s a difference between the NOI telling Black people to rely on self and David Duke telling Black people to rely on self.

You understand nature, selection and evolution. The weak feed the strong. Period.

We can talk about tariqa or we can talk about dunya. In dunya, the duty is strictly to cooperate with your family, your community and be strong. Defend what’s right.

Waiting for the West’s philanthropy is not a good game plan. So let’s call it like it is: weak is weak. Corrupt is corrupt. Hypocritical is hypocritical. And philanthropy, in dunya, is generally what happens AFTER you have raped and plundered. (Gates Foundation)

It is a religious duty to be strong and smart, not whine and complain.

Look, you’re responding to a guy (Friedman) who made his billions by marrying a shopping mall heiress–and then wrote a book (and numerous columns) about the evils of American consumerism…Friedman is not worth your time.

True. Friedman has some nerve.

If the Muslim world has not become so sick and decrepid, there would not be such a problem. But alas, you cannot blame a superpower entirely for your own weakness.

At some point, you have to start pointing your little finger at yourself.