How taking photos in a school my children study turned me into a ‘terrorist’

By Najam Quraishy

This a what happen to me last Saturday July 4th, 2015 at Consolata School in Westlands.

I have two kids; a boy and a girl who study there and on Saturday July 4th, 2015 I attended the Opening Day function where my kids were to preform but for some reason they were cancelled at the last minute?

I had my camera and went around taking photos of my family and the other students performing there and of the hawks that were flying around.

I then decided to take a walk towards my car and saw a great shot of a hawk sitting on the branch of the tree which was in the driveway of the school next to the field where the event was taking place. I noticed a girl with a phone with a pink cover taking photos of me one right after the other in all different angles at that time thought she just had an interest in me so I decided to go to the car and wait for her to leave.  I saw her make her way like she was leaving the school on foot and then she returned and I guess continued to the event.  Did not see her after that she looked around 22 to 24?

She inturn sent my pics to her friend James Wariero who posted me on facebook  I quote direct from his post below (This has ruined my name and reputation)

This gentleman might be innocent and then again he might not.  At a public event at Cosolata School and the church in Westlands.  my friend saw this guy acting a bit suspiciously and taking pictures of the church and the school.  This is my interpretation of the Presidents “security starts with you ” He seemed to run away when he saw my pal take notice of him, and seemed to be packing something on the lower left leg from the pics.  I hope it is a simple thing that gets cleared up and we don’t come back to this post in tears when our children and church are attacked to embarrass Obama. Share widely and if he becomes known and is a regular guy, let everyone know and we shall buy him a beer.

Mecca (Makkah), Islam's holiest city, goes live on social media

During the holy month of Ramadan, many Muslims travel to Makkah for Umrah (lesser pilgrimage which can be performed at any time of the year). During the Ramadan more than 15 million Muslims of all walks of life, color and background travel to preform prayers and other forms of religious rituals. it is every Muslim's dream to be part of this blessed congregation especially on the last 10 days of Ramadan which contains the night of power ( Laylatul Qadri). Deeds on this night have more rewards than deeds performed in 1000 months. Snapchat featured the city on the 27th day of Ramadan and the reaction on social media was admiration, respect,amazement and nostalgia.The non-Muslims were specifically superlative in their positive description of what the exposure has taught them about Islam and how it has totally changed their views about Muslims. Some said they will convert to Islam, others vowed to learn more about Islam while others wondered with the level of unity and how it contrasts with the media portrayal of Islam and Muslims.

The reactions point to a world that knows nothing about Islam except what they are fed on by the propagandists. To know someone is to understand him/her but ignorance will always breed hatred and division. Mecca has trended on twitter globally since the feature and here are some of the tweets;

I'm not Muslim but the #mecca_live story is so beautiful! Really shows that Muslims arent how the media show them! What an amazing religion!

— char (@killtyIer) July 14, 2015

THIS IS WHY WE ARE A SOFT TARGET FOR AL SHABAB

In a single day of brazen and senseless killing, we have lost 147 innocent bright young lives. Lives whose only mistake was seeking a bright future for themselves and their country. If the magnitude of this attack is yet to register in your mind, please just close your eyes and count 1..2…3..4…5  to 147. It is just mind boggling and devastating. The attack was claimed and bears all the hallmarks of the militant group Alshabab.

Alshabab are cowards. They always go for soft targets. Targets that are innocent and defenseless. If they are men enough, they would have attacked the military barrack that is less than 2kms from the university. But they won’t although it seems the entire country called Kenya is now a soft target for them. We need to ask why always us? We have lost count of the number of attacks and lives lost .Ethiopia, Uganda, Djibouti and many other countries have troops in Somalia. But these countries are safe. Only Uganda had one attack in 2010 and none since then. Even attacks in Somalia are currently small scaled and far apart.

Ethiopia is an interesting case Study. In my view,everything held constant they would have borne the brunt of Alshabab attacks. Ethiopia played a direct role in the creation of Alshabab. They invaded Somalia and uprooted the Islamic courts union from power. The ICU was effective in restoring some semblance of normalcy in Somalia and was peaceful. Alshabab was a member of this union and consisted mainly of young, violence inclined chaps. However, they were subdued within the larger group. Once the ICU disintegrated, Alshabab splintered and became independent to pursue its violent tendencies and lust for power.

 Ethiopia has troops in Somalia and constantly conducts incursions in to Somalia. Somalia and Ethiopia have been perpetual enemies long before the colonial era and to date. Majority of Somalis habour long held grievances against Ethiopia and attacking her would have given the Alshabab some base support within the Somalis. There are many insurgencies within Ethiopia. The oromo rebels, the ethnic Somali ONLF and the Amahras are all seeking either independence or the toppling of the minority Tigre led government.

All these factors are ingredients for Alshabab to target Ethiopia. But they can’t because they know better. Ethiopia is a very bad country to benchmark ourselves against but on this Alshabab menace we must learn something from them. So what are we doing wrong that others are doing right? Here are my views.

HOW WOULD PROPHET MOHAMMED (PBUH) HAVE RESPONDED TO THE CURRENT HATE AND RIDICULE?

In the wake of the Charlie killings, one question kept whirling in my mind. How prophet Mohammed (SAW) would have reacted to the Charlie caricatures and the many insults thrown at him by people with no idea of who he was? I know him and I can tell you for sure that every aggression would have been repaid in kindness and compassion. He was patient and tolerant. He has been insulted, hated, ostracized and caused bodily harm. He was called a mad man, a witch and a camel’s placenta placed on his head while he prostrated in prayer. He was called saadiq and amen (Truthful and trustworthy) before his prophet hood but was later called a liar by those who did not believe in him. Some people made it their business to irritate and harm him on a daily basis.

How would he have responded to the current hate and ridicule? Let us explore a few examples from his life.

A neighbor of the Prophet tried her best to irritate him by throwing garbage in his way every day. One day, when he walked out of his home there was no garbage. This made the Prophet inquire about the old woman. He came to know that she was sick. The Prophet went to visit her and offer any assistance she might need. The old woman was extremely touched and humbled and at the same time ashamed of her actions. She planned to harm him but he showed concern and love for her.

TO END CLASHES IN NEP, BRING BACK OUR SALAH

Many hailed President Kenyatta’s recent ambassadorial appointments as representative of the Kenyan face. However, the fate of two of the most hard working and diligent ambassadors, I know of, was hanging in the balance. I pray the president has a better plan for them. Wait a minute; I have a better plan for one of them. The former ambassadors of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, Mohamed Mahat and Salah Mohamed, were replaced but there was no mention of their next destination. I hold no brief for either of them and I know it is the prerogative of the president to appoint anyone but anyone who has been to these two countries will attest that they are great people’s servants.

Salah is a legend in Northern Kenya. He single-handedly ended the shifta menace and the constant inter-clan clashes in NEP when he was the provincial commissioner. He was able to bring peace to the region thanks to his unique management style and his grasp of the local culture and politics. He refused to be drawn in to local politics and clan rivalry and dispensed his duties justly. He accomplished all these in a short tenure of about 3 years.

GAZA FORGIVE US, OUR SILENCE IS KILLING YOU.

Forgive us for we are not humans but puppets;

Forgive us for believing Israel has the right to self defense but you don’t have the right to life and your land. We believed Israel cannot tolerate rockets fired in to its territory but you can tolerate decades of occupation and dehumanization. We believed you brought this upon yourself by firing rockets at Israel while ignoring that you are an occupied and besieged people.

Forgive us for believing Israel is a civilized state that does not target civilians but you are barbaric for firing rockets at civilians in Israel. Israelis are dying by the day from these rockets. We believed Hamas is using you as human shields hence the civilian deaths. Blame it on Hamas. The four young boys playing football on the beach whose bodies were shredded in to pieces by Israeli navy fire were being used by Hamas as human shields.

Forgive us for believing Israel is bombing tunnels used by Hamas for smuggling while it is actually bombing water pipes that supply you with that precious commodity of life. We believed Israel is bombing weapons manufacturing factories to save the world from your lethal weapons while it is actually bombing your only source of light and electricity;  the power plant.

Forgive us for believing Israel has the most precise weapons that only affect the targeted terrorists hide outs while it bombs indiscriminately targeting hospitals, schools, mosques and homes for people with disabilities. We assumed the injured and the dead were firing rockets at Israel from their death beds. We believed Israel has the right to kill an 11 month child because he will grow to be a terrorist. We were told the plan is to nip in the bud all terrorists.

Letter from Gaza by a Norwegian doctor

Dr Mads Frederick Gilbert (centre) at Al-Shifa hospital on July 17th, treating a wounded Palestinian child, after an Israeli air strike killed 4 children and wounded 5 others - See more at: http://www.middleeastmonitor.com/articles/middle-east/12920-letter-from-gaza-by-a-norwegian-doctor#sthash.mnue6AQE.mgBd53tB.dpuf

Dr Mads Frederick Gilbert (centre) at Al-Shifa hospital on July 17th, treating a wounded Palestinian child, after an Israeli air strike killed 4 children and wounded 5 others - See more at: http://www.middleeastmonitor.com/articles/middle-east/12920-letter-from-gaza-by-a-norwegian-doctor#sthash.mnue6AQE.mgBd53tB.dpuf

Dearest friends -
The last night was extreme. The "ground invasion" of Gaza resulted in scores and carloads with maimed, torn apart, bleeding, shivering, dying - all sorts of injured Palestinians, all ages, all civilians, all innocent.
The heroes in the ambulances and in all of Gaza's hospitals are working 12-24hrs shifts, grey from fatigue and inhuman workloads (without payment all in Shifa for the last 4 months), they care, triage, try to understand the incomprehensible chaos of bodies, sizes, limbs, walking, not walking, breathing, not breathing, bleeding, not bleeding humans. HUMANS! 
Now, once more treated like animals by "the most moral army in the world" (sic!).
My respect for the wounded is endless, in their contained determination in the midst of pain, agony and shock; my admiration for the staff and volunteers is endless, my closeness to the Palestinian "sumud" gives me strength, although in glimpses I just want to scream, hold someone tight, cry, smell the skin and hair of the warm child, covered in blood, protect ourselves in an endless embrace - but we cannot afford that, nor can they.