Current issue between China, the Philippines and US: Connecting the dots

Just my few cents on this issue without going much into details.

China is the fastest growing economy in the world today that is set to overtake the US few decades from now. Naturally, the US would do something in order to slow this trend, if not to outright reverse it. China, on the other hand doesn't want problem in its own soil so it is buffering, or widening its sphere of influence so that the trouble that the US would do, would not come to the mainland. The logical thing to do is to extend the 'battle ground' to the nearest country and there is nothing between Philippines and Hongkong except the sea. This they have to do in order to preserve the stability and social order in their country; stability and social order that prepared their economy to what it is today.

The gist is this is just an issue of preemptive measure of China in anticipation of  US bullying and in return, China is defending its territory and went a step further, bullied another small country like the Philippines (buffering) so that whatever trouble may come from the US will not affect the mainland. 

In the meantime, a country like the Philippines is dragged into this geopolitical posturing. The Filipinos should not allow themselves to be pawns of these two big countries in competition for economic dominance in the world. 

Niqabi refusing handshake with the King

The First Alien Contact

And so it was said that the most historic moment in human history will be the first ever contact between the human species and aliens. For some this is not a question of 'if' but 'when'. So historic that history will be divided by using 'precontact' and 'postcontact' instead of BC and CE.

Well if we define an alien as something extra terrestial or even extradimensional, then, humans have been in contact with the 'aliens' from the beginning. Prophet Adam alaihissalam was in 'contact' with the angels and Iblees, a jinn.

Further it is argued that these aliens are so advanced in technology that the analogy of possible fighting against them is like fighting using nuclear weapon vs. sponges, we humans of course are the ones with sponges.

Well, again, numerous hadith tells us the ability of Angels and Jinns that are supernatural well beyond the latest technology we have today. Think about how the jinns offered to transport the throne of Queen Bilqees to the palace of prophet Sulaiman.

Historic? Yes so historic these first contacts have been that human history always changes once they happen. When Angel Gabriel came into first contact with the prophet Muhammad, the first chapter of the Quran was revealed. This first event unfolded the the rise of Islamic civilization that spread to east and west and paved the way of lifting out Europe from its Dark Age into its Renaissance.

My main point is that this first contact is not a novel idea to the Muslims and perhaps to the believers of heavenly revealed religions. This idea that beings with higher abilities would come one day to Earth and save us from our self destruction have been done time and over again.

"And I have sent a messenger to every nation proclaiming worship only Allah and avoid worshipping false gods" (Quran 16:36)

The Fiqh of Muslim Minorities

Bismillah walhamdulillah wassaltu wassalamu 'ala Rasoolillah

Islam

There is an All-Knowing All Merciful Lord of the Universe who created human beings on earth although He knew that they will spill blood (Quran 2:30). He placed them therein in order to be His khalifa and should they fufill this, then they would be fulfilling the purpose of their creation - to worship Him alone. In return, Allah sent prophets and messengers (16:36) in order to remind mankind, time and again, about their purpose on this earth.

Maqaasid as Shariah (Objectives of Islamic Law)

The prophets and messengers on the other hand have other secondary missions as well. They also brought laws so that the worship of Allah alone is established and sustained. The Ulama (scholars) of Islam have deduced a number reasons why the Shariah was brought by the prophets. The objectives of Shari'ah are the preservation of:

1. Religion
2. Life
3. Lineage
4. Intellect and Property

The Madhahib (sing. Madhhab) evolved inside Muslim Civilization

The Shari'ah is like a blueprint, if you will, from which all the laws, rules and ordinances can be derived. The Shari'ah is immutable yet its application might differ from place or time. Just like the prophets' laws differ in some aspects because they existed in different places and time, the application of Shari'ah of Prophet Muhammad in different parts of Muslim lands might also differ from place and time. This application of Shari'ah can be called Fiqh and as we all know, the Muslim Ummah have different 'Fiqhs' throughout the history of Islam.

But we are living in a time so different from the time when the Madhaahib evolved. Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Malik, Imam Ash-Shafi'ee, Imam Ahmad, Imam Awzai, Sufyan Ath Thawri and many more lived and passed judgment on Islamic issues while there were living under the protectorate of Islamic 'country' where the Muslims are the overwhelming majority. Therefore, it goes without saying that not all of the issues of contemporary Muslims who are living as minorities are given light inside the books of Madhhabs.

There are many causes why there exist Muslim minorities around the world today. This includes the disintegration of the last Caliphate (Ottoman) whereby sections of Muslim areas were occupied and turned into what is now called a 'country'. Further, there were also the case of the Muslims in the Philippines where relatively small sultanates were incorporated into a country. Lastly, immigration in search of greener pastures also causes sizable Muslim minorities such as in the US and other European countries.

The Fiqh of Muslim Minorities


Muslims as minorities face many challenges in their endeavor to be worshipers of Allah. The issues of hijab, beard, Mosques and Minarets, separatism and rebellion, Islamic education, polygamy, confronting Islamophobia, Halal, election and participation in the political process and many more fall into these challenges.

This is a call

This is a call to all who were endowed with the responsibility of guiding the orphans of this Ummah, the Muslim minorities, first and foremest the Ulama from amongst them to

Some Thoughts During Breakfast

While munching cheese croissant and egg omelet bathed in hot sauce, sipping hot coffee with medium sugar and a teaspoon of coffee mate,   I thought about writing in my blog today...Just had conversation with my wife about a Youtube video of a man who insha Allah was a shaheed or martyred in the way of Allah.

Somehow this reminded me of a very subtle thought just like a video surreptitiously playing in the background inside my head. It is quite possible that somebody who would want to work for the betterment of Muslims in Southern Philippines whose ideology does not conform with the status quo might end up being murdered like Dr. Eustaqio III.

In my interrupted attempt to chronicle a semi-fiction version of my childhood and basically my life - The Hero Quest - I actually planned of ending the series with the murder of Ben (Oh sorry - spoiler alert) because he became successful in changing the status quo, that is continuing Manila hegemony over Muslims of Mindanao  by perpetuating Oligarchy, divide and rule approach for the revolutionaries, and all out war for the extremists. I think this approach might be strategically correct decades or centuries ago but now rendered outdated if not disadvantageous for both the country and the Muslims in Mindanao especially in the long run.

And then, Dr. Eustaqio was murdered! Whatever the reason(s) maybe, this confirms the video playing in my head.