"The Ummah is beginning to rise...."
Reader comment on item: Proving Our Point

Submitted by Tammy Swofford, May 24, 2014 09:00

In 2009 (while still a LCDR in the US Naval Reserves) I released what had become a yearly white paper on Islam.

"Rise as One Man: Islam in the 21st Century", used a quote from "The Myth and Reality of the Islamic State by Abid Ullah Jan as an opening salvo:

"The Covenant of Madina stipulates that the Muslims 'Constitute one Ummah" and 'All believers shall rise as one man against whomsoever rebels or seeks to commit injustice, aggression, wrong action or spread mutual enmity between the believers, even though he be one of their sons....All believers are banded together to the exclusion of other men."

*Attribution given from the English translation of Mithaq al-Madina (The Covenant of Medina) by Montgomery Watt "Muhammad at Medina", 1962 edition, pp. 221-225

My research regarding the emancipation and self-determination movements within the Muslim majority regions pre-dates the Arab Spring by four years. Although the movements we are noting within these regions may seem chaotic, there is a rising global consciousness of what it means to be a Muslim, and how that identity fits into a greater global paradigm.

As a veteran correspondent within Pakistan media I can attest to a complete freedom of expression as I write commentary which both identifies radical Islam and seeks to bring societal homeostasis. But the continued script for public consumption of American mainstream media in collusion with our government is misplaced sentiment. The cordon and self-censorship of jourmalists must cease. Problems must be identified and addressed. Societal homeostasis is only possible when Americans identify as Americans first, not in a jingoistic nationalistic way, but in a way which degrades the ethnocentric, sectarian tendencies embraced by those who are never happy with the blessings which America offers them.

Thank you, Mr. Emerson, for the continued efforts on behalf of a healthy America.

Tammy Swofford

Daily Times Pakistan - Friday correspondent

Economic Affairs Pakistan (SECP journal) - senior writer

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