As I write this now, there is talk of ceasefire in Gaza. Yes, we're relieved that a ceasefire may mean that others will not have to perish in the aggression. But how "good" can such news be? Of course, we've wanted the violence to stop from the very beginning. And long before the onslaught began, we called for the "violence" of the siege of Gaza to end, so that 1.5 million people there can resume a life that comes near to being normal.

But now what? When should we expect the next round of oppressive and physical violence against the people of Gaza? Unfortunately, there are more sad questions to ask. When the Israeli soldiers leave, will the children who perished come back to life? Can their parents gather together their flesh and bones and see them walk, talk, sing, and play again? Will the homes, schools, and hospitals suddenly rise and stand on their foundations? Can we comprehend just how long and deep the people of Gaza will live with the terrors of this pre-inauguration war? Can parents ever forget the loss of their children? Can children ever forget the loss of their parents? The answers are obvious.

One of our chief obligations as Muslims, as people of conscience and responsibility, is to care for others, especially when most of the world stops caring. The issues that we raised during the days of war and violence are equally important now. We must continue to speak in support of the voiceless children, the orphans, the widows, the men, the women, and the helpless civilians of Gaza who have lived in hellish conditions for several weeks now and who lived in misery under tyrannical siege for the past two years and nonstop nightmare under military occupation for the past 60 years.

Let us again tell the children of Gaza that we are with you, our hearts are with you, your cries are penetrating deep in our hearts and minds, your wounds are bleeding inside us, and we will do anything in our power to relieve your suffering.

As Barack Obama has become president of the United States, let us remind him of something. During his recent visit to the holy land, he said, "If somebody is sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep at night, I'm going to do everything in my power to stop that."

 President Obama, we agree. However, Mr. President, would you do everything in your power to stop the sending of rockets and bombs on the Palestinian children? Mr. President, what would you do if 60 Israeli F-16 warplanes bombed your children while going to their schools?

 Mr. President, what would you do if American-made, Israeli operated Apache helicopters dropped cluster bombs on your children while asleep? Mr. President, what would you do if Sasha and Malia tell their mother, "Please don't leave us alone, we don't want to die alone, we want to die with you."

 Mr. President, what would you do if five of your daughters: Tahrir, 17 years old; Ikram, 15; Samar, 12; Dina, 8 and Jawaher, 4, were killed while asleep when an Israeli airstrike hit their home with a 2000-pound bomb? This is precisely what happened to the Balousha sisters in the Jabalia refugee camp. Their mother said, "They grew up day after day and night after night, but within a second, I have lost them all." Their lone sister who survived, said she could hear her sisters' cries, "Mom! Mom! Where is my mother? Pull me out!" until their voices stopped coming. Mr. President, what would you do if Malia can see Sasha under the rubble and can touch her hair, but can't do anything to save her life?

 Mr. President guess who sells the warplanes, the Apaches, the 2000-pound bombs, the GPS guided bombs and the cluster bombs to Israel and provides them with the financial aid to buy them? Mr. President, guess how many new radicals are created throughout the world watching the image of bombing and killing in Gaza? How many young people will hate our country and our government because of our silence and complicity?

The Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish said, "All that you have done to our people is registered in our notebooks." Desmond Tutu said, "Our silence and complicity on the situation in Gaza, shames us all."

 Mr. President, you now took an oath to be a leader. And you promised "change." So let there be change. Do not fear standing for justice when it upsets a paralyzing system of political influence and lobby. When you stand with justice, you stand on the side of God. That's all the support you need.

 Peace to all!

Dr. M. Zaher Sahloul

It is a strange thing to watch a war unfold from the comfort of your living room.

For the Palestinians in the United States, particularly those with family currently living in the Gaza Strip, watching the news has become an almost sadistic obsession. Families spend hours in front of the television, some watching footage of their hometowns annihilated before their eyes. Their hands tremble as they click the remote control, scanning the images that flash on their television screens, hoping they won't recognize any of the bloody, dust-covered faces. Satellite dishes have given them a glimpse of the utter nightmare their loved ones are actually living through - a nightmare that has yet to end.

My sister-in-law, of Groton, Conn., barely can speak as she tells me of how she struggles to reach her family members - just to confirm they haven't suffered any fatalities. Her voice cracks as she describes how her family had to flee their home, since a missile struck the home next door, leaving behind nothing but rocks and a hole in the ground behind.

"I sit and stare at the news all day. What else can I do? I am constantly wondering what is happening to them."

She worries about the safety of her 13 brothers, her father, her aunts and uncles. I tell her to try and relax, as she is pregnant and has begun to experience premature labor due to the stress.

"How can I relax, eat and drink when they are suffering? Am I better than them, that I should just go on with my life while they are being tortured?" she sobs.

Many families have depended on cell phones to reach loved ones, but when your entire electrical grid has been eliminated, charging a phone becomes impossible. "I'm afraid to even call them, because I'm worried every time I pick up the phone and someone answers, I'm going to get bad news," she says.

Unfortunately, the American media, notoriously one-sided when it comes to the Palestinian-Israeli issue, has not provided the average American an accurate depiction of the horror that continues to escalate as the Israeli campaign of devastation persists. Families torn apart, homes demolished, lives lost - the human face of conflict has been obscured by the government's, and the media's, ethically blind political loyalties.

As I sat and watched Larry King's show on CNN during the past week, I wondered how Mark Regev, Israeli spokesman, could sit there, with a straight face, saying that Israel is trying to hit Gaza proportionately, in retaliation for Hamas rocket attacks. Call it what you will - I've heard many absurd adjectives used - but proportionate is the most preposterous of them all. I may not be a mathematician, but I know that no proportionality exists between the four Israelis killed by Hamas rockets, and the nearly 800 Palestinians inhumanly butchered.

As I listened to Regev speak, I honestly felt as though he did not himself believe the ludicrous statements he uttered. Moreover, he had the gall to compare the residents of southern Israel to the residents of the Gaza Strip, as if the Israelis could somehow commiserate with the Palestinians, as if the threat felt by the Israelis was in some way commensurate with the annihilation occurring in Gaza.

Prior to this brutal campaign, the overpopulated, refugee-filled Gaza Strip has been crippled by the lack of food and water, and electricity that is sporadic at best. The humanitarian crisis in Gaza prior to the invasion was undeniable, and now suddenly Israeli spokespeople have begun to deny the undeniable. Numerous apolitical, non-governmental humanitarian organizations have documented the lack of all basic necessities. The United Nations and Red Cross have likened the current situation in Gaza to hell on Earth.

America was once the model of integrity, the proverbial "city upon a hill." It is time for us to reclaim our position as the standard for justice in the world. I am not naïve; I realize that America does, and probably will always, put Israel's interests first. But this unrelenting operation that has killed civilians, destroyed infrastructure and inflamed passions will prove to be detrimental to Israel. Its image has been forever marred in the eyes of the world. It's a shame that America has allowed its best friend to make such egregious mistakes without stepping in with some forthcoming, shrewd advice. Aren't friends supposed to look out for each other?

When my sister-in-law picked up the phone on New Year's Day, she received the news she dreaded, yet expected. Her 39-year-old aunt was killed when a missile struck her apartment building. She was unable to escape before the building caved in, trapping her under the rubble.

The Palestinians have coped with deprivation of the things vital to life. Now, many have learned that even life itself is a privilege in the Gaza Strip.

Deanna Othman, an American of Palestinian descent, is a free-lance journalist who lives in the Chicago area.
 

The Mosque Foundation was among 26 recipients of the Environmental Hero Award presented by Lt. Governor Pat Quinn on December 30, 2008.  These awards are presented to Illinois individuals, schools, and groups in recognition of their commitment to environmental health and protection.  Mosque Foundation President Dr. Zaher Sahloul accepted the prestigious award during the presentation ceremony at the James R. Thompson Center in downtown Chicago, on behalf of the Mosque Foundation.  "The citizens here today are truly environmental heroes, " Lt. Gov. Quinn said, "I am proud to salute them for the hard work they have done to show us that when it comes to making the Land of Lincoln a cleaner, better place - we can all make a difference."
 
The Mosque Foundation was awarded for being the first mosque in the nation to install solar panels for heating its water, and was also featured in a recent segment of "Live Green with ABC7."
 

During the sixth and seventh centuries in the Middle East there was an expectation, a clear understanding that a world religious event was about to occur, and it would happen in the Arabian Peninsula. There are authentic stories that allude to the fact that a Prophet was fully anticipated; even his physical qualities were known and remembered by the era's religious authorities, primarily the People of the Book. The following is a brief true story about one man and one historic expectation.

A close relative of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, Zayd ibn 'Amr was a determined man, able to think independently of his surroundings. In pre-Islamic Makkah, this was not an easy quality to nurture. Zayd ibn 'Amr resisted being trapped by the norms and culture of Makkah, which was mired in the worship of idols, and easily resorted to violence against anyone who would dare reject the stones and lumber people worshipped.

Zayd observed, painfully, his clansmen believing in things that made absolutely no sense to him. Idolatry in itself ran against logic and the natural yearning of the human soul to be close to its Maker; but it was especially absurd in a city whose most important structure was the Ka'ba, a House of worship built by Ibrahim (Abraham, peace be upon him) and dedicated to the worship of the one, unseen, and only God.

Zayd did not keep his feelings secret. One day, when throngs of the Quraysh celebrated a festival-with the men decked out in brocade turbans and posh Yemeni attire, women glittering with jewelry, and children in their best clothing, all to watch garlanded animals slaughtered before dozens of idols-Zayd couldn't contain himself.

He shouted, "O people of Quraysh! It is God who created the sheep. He sends rain from the skies from which they drink and causes the fodder to grow from which they feed. You slaughter them in names other than His. You are an ignorant folk!"

When al-Khattab, the father of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, heard Zayd say this, he marched toward toward him and slapped him on the face: "Damn you! We hear such idiocy from you!" Thereafter, al-Khattab provoked some of Makkah's people to persecute Zayd and make his life unbearable, until Zayd was forced to leave the valley of Makkah and seek refuge in the surrounding mountains. (All of this took place before Muhammad, peace be upon him, was called to prophethood.)

Zayd ibn 'Amr would not regret his stand. In fact, he took it to a higher level when he left the region altogether, journeying throughout the land to find answers. His search took him as far north as Mosul in the north of Iraq and back southwest to Syria. In his journey, he asked monks and rabbis about the religion of Ibrahim (peace be upon him). But the answers did not satisfy him.

Finally, he came across a monk in Syria who was honest with Zayd and told him that the religion of Ibrahim which he sought no longer existed. The monk, however, told him that this was about to change, for the time had come when God would send forth, from Ibrahim's own lineage, a prophet who would revive the religion of Ibrahim. The monk also told Zayd that he would never mistaken this prophet if he should ever see him. The monk said one more thing: this prophet would soon appear in the very city that Zayd had been forced to leave, Makkah.

Zayd retraced his steps toward Makkah. His intentions were to meet this expected prophet. He believed in him though he had not met him. But as Zayd traveled through Lakhm, on the southern border of Syria, he was attacked by a group of bandits and killed before he could set eyes on the Messenger of God (peace be upon him). It is said that his last words were: "O Lord, if You have prevented me from attaining this good, do not prevent my son from doing so."

The Prophet (peace be upon him), later during his mission, praised Zayd ibn 'Amr, although he had died before meeting the Prophet (peace be upon him). Still, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said that on the Day of Resurrection, Zayd "will be raised as a nation in himself."

Allah the Exalted answered Zayd's final prayer, for Zayd's son, Sa'id ibn Zayd, became a believer when he was less than twenty. He and his wife, Fatimah ('Umar ibn al-Khattab's sister) had become close followers of the Prophet (peace be upon him). It was Sa'id and Fatimah that 'Umar grew enraged at when he learned that they had become believers, as the well-known conversion story of 'Umar is recorded. When 'Umar confronted the couple about the rumor of their acceptance of Islam, they boldly admitted it. 'Umar hit Sa'id and even struck his sister, who bled. 'Umar was immediately ashamed at what he had done and calmed down. He then heard the Quran recited. 'Umar's life changed, and shortly thereafter he declared his faith before the Prophet (peace be upon him) himself.