Eddie Mecca

Unfortunately, most people are xenophobic...it's a tribal or lower animalistic trait that we're supposed fight against and overcome...not acquiesce to..."O mankind, We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into races and tribes, so that you may identify one another. Surely the noblest of you, in Allah’s sight, is the one who is most pious of you. Surely Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware." Qurʼān 49:13...I'm unfamiliar with the in-depth, interracial dynamics of the Safavid Empire...there's a good probability that a sayed, Hashemite or shareef will intermarry with one of their own...then again, this rule is not set in stone and with the onset of globalization such traditions (for better or worse) are losing traction with each successive generation (same can be said of arranged marriages and pubescent marriages) I acknowledge they exist, but once again, the fair-skinned ones are in a minority...the region is characterized by its swarthy complexioned inhabitants...short to medium statures, aquiline noses...black, brown or dark chestnut colored eyes are the standard...black or dark brown hair (straight, wavy or curly and considerably thick) is prevalent...blue or green eyes are a lot less common and mostly found in the Levant region...olive complexion in addition to light, medium and dark brown pigmentations are dominant on the MENA skin color spectrum...ruddy complexions, pale or pink skin tones (incapable of tanning) are rare...more later in'sha Allah (God-willing).

Of course religious tyranny has existed throughout history...but secularists are shrewdly deflecting attention away from modern atrocities being perpetrated globally by the materialist machine and onto a bygone era of religious rulership...blue smoke and mirror tactics Starting to notice a trend? It would seem that the European has an ingrained predisposition to xenophobia and fanaticism...in the premodern era this zealotry would materialize in a religious cloak or garment since a scared orientation ruled the day...in the modern context (however) it presents itself in examples of substantialist savagery (Italian coast guard turning a blind eye to Syrian refugees on rafts during "Syrian Civil War" and mercilessly allowing them to drown in the Mediterranean Sea, Israelis dropping white phosphorus on Palestinians during Gaza War 2008 etc.)

No shortage of self-hating Semites and S. Asians...no argument there...Only Uncle Tom, Brown Sahib and white-wannabe types would resent being referred to as people of color...most Middle Easterners are not pale in color or complexion...the fair-skinned, blonde-haired, blue-eyed Persian, Arab, Chaldean, Assyrian, Kurd, Turk, Berber etc. is the exception to the rule...imperialism has heavily influenced beauty standards in the MENA region... yes, colorism in Western Asia is exacerbated by the Arab desire to emulate their European colonizers...classic Stockholm syndrome response.

I commend this brother for an excellent presentation but President Putin wasn't "fighting Muslims in Syria". Russia, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Hezbollah, Houthis etc. were stifling the efforts of NATO-led interventionism in the form of foreign Salafist insurgents (ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Al-Nusra Front, Ahrar al-Sham, Free Syrian Army etc.) from toppling the democratically elected president in Syria and causing turmoil in the region. Assad won 88.7% of the vote according to impartial international observer agencies. If not for the Russian military campaign in Syria, black banners would be flying over the Levant and Mesopotamia.

I meant to say the best thing to happen since the Ottoman Empire...the actual collapse of the Ottoman Sultanate itself and subsequent replacing with modern ME nation-states was a disaster for Muslims

Iranian Jews 'Feel At Home' (3000 year old history in Iran) CNN report 3 min.

@Dave follower of The Way, notice in this clip they're trying desperately to advance their anti-Iranian propaganda but the truth (for the objective, truth-seeking onlooker) shines through regardless

Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Bill Maher, CNN, Fox News (i.e. mainstream, corporate media) narrative

Islamic Republic of Iran is one of the only true free countries on the planet (doesn't take marching orders from NATO, IMF, World Bank etc.)…it's the best thing to happen to the Muslim world since the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire...Iran is a throwback to the Islamic Golden Age...it serves as a source of inspiration to a countless number of idealists around the world...it thumbs its nose at the powerful while assisting the downtrodden and destitute...while everyone is scrambling and trampling over one another in an attempt to flatter the "democratic", "industrial" superpowers, Iran forces the Western world to take a hard look at itself in the mirror...Iran's making inroads into science (fastest-growing scientific output)...it fosters Islamic unity and discourages sectarianism...it celebrates diversity and protects ethnic and religious minorities in the region and abroad...Tehran serves proudly as chief antagonist and proponent of spiritualism to the onslaught of Western-led ideological materialism currently enveloping the world.

God can't do it or He won't do it? I believe He (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) has the ability to do anything but will not do irrational, nonsensical, evil etc. actions or things because of His nature...similar to how prophets possess the capability of sinning but won't sin...for example, Mr. X or Mr. Y has the ability to kill his son...but he won't do such a heinous act because he's a good Jew, Christian, Muslim or conscientious human being...but the ability to perform the action is always there...the capability is innately forever present...think of purchasing a handgun at age 20...it's cocked and loaded and ready to use...at age 80 you die without having had the need to (actually) use the gun...either you lived a peaceful existence or you were able to quell certain social disturbances without having to resort to all-out violence...God won't make a square peg and then insist that it fits into a circular hole...He could do it...but He won't do it...it's an imposed self-limitation.

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” Gandhi

^^^Does anyone know if the Hamza (r) story is true? Sounds like Umayyad propaganda to me...was Hamza's drunken tantrums that bad or is this anti-Banu Hashim mumbo-jumbo? also, the narration about the gazelle complaining to the Prophet (s)...was it the Prophet (s) or Imam Ali ar-Rida (a)?...read a post here (Shia Chat) not too long ago and this hadith was cited but it was attributed to the 8th Imam (a) and not the Prophet (s)...otherwise a pretty informative short talk delivered by Sheikh Hamza...some good information presented

@313_Waiter, when you find some spare time listen to this 30 minute audio lecture by Hamza Yusuf entitled 'Animals of the Prophet Muhammad'...I'm sure you'll find it beneficial