All Entries Tagged With: "White House"
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Silent Jihadist Outside White House
Source: OnIslam.net
Dina Rabie, OnIslam Staff
WASHINGTON –- He smiles gently unbothered by curious, or even disapproving, looks of people struck by his scene; a gracefully looking aging man standing right in front of the White House with one big white banner in his hand.
Mohammad Ali Salih actually waits for them to approach him seeking answers to the two questions written in bold black on the banner: “What is Islam” and “What is Terrorism”.
“I just want the American people to think,” Salih told OnIslam.
“I want this man who sees my banner to think before he goes to bed what is Islam, and what this faith is really about?”
Every weekend, he stands with his banner with one goal: spurring Americans to think of the true essence of his much-stereotyped faith and the meaning of the controversial term terrorism.
“I do not think the American people know what Islam is,” believes Salih, who has been a Washington correspondent for several newspapers and magazines in the Middle East since 1980.
“The other thing I want Americans to think about is the term terrorism. There is no certain definition of terrorism. Until now the United Nations has not been able to set a definition of the term terrorism.”
As Salih speaks, many people read what is written on his banner as they walk.
Some of them stop to have a look at the man asking such compelling questions.
One of them comes closer and shakes Salih’s hand.
“My name is Eric. I am Jewish. I just want to thank you for what you are doing.”
A smiling Salih says he meets many people like Eric who appreciate his efforts.
“Just recently, I was approached by groups of churches in Virginia who wanted to meet me at my vigil. They just stood near me and prayed for me and left. Another interfaith group also from Virginia did the same.”
Silent Jihadist
Salih first launched his one-man campaign in late 2008, the last days of George W. Bush’s residency.
“Since 9/11 I started to get a little sad, dismayed and angry as this so-called war on terror started going on and on,” he recalls.
“I have come to believe later that this war on terrorism is a subtle war on Islam and Muslims.”
He continued with his vigil every weekend until Barack Obama came to the White House with his message of change and traveled to Cairo promising a new page in US-Muslim relations.
“There was a lot of hope and expectations to change,” says Salih.
“But I came to believe by the end of last year that Obama was just a politician.
“These days, the media and politicians are talking all over again about terrorism and that’s why I came back again to ask the American people what is Islam and what is terrorism?”
Salih says the arrest of five young Americans in Pakistan last December on terror charges was another reason that made him realize it was time to get back to the White House with his banners.
The five told a Pakistani court they were not terrorists but rather jihadists who wanted to fight alongside the Afghan people against Western forces.
Salih sees his one-man peaceful campaign as a demonstration of what jihad truly is.
“In Islam, the faithful should sacrifice their money, their time and their soul for the sake of Islam and ending injustices. I am not doing any of this. I am only standing here holding this banner,” he explains.
“Everybody has to do whatever he can. And this is the least that I can do. That is my jihad. I am a silent jihadist,” he adds humbly.
“I hope this would send the message that jihad is not about violence. Jihad can also be silent. Talking to people, asking them questions peacefully is also a jihad.”